Photo by Greg Cristman
Gregory R. Cristman

Ohm Resistance show lineup includes Blood of Heroes w/ Bill Laswell (who played in Bladerunner, plays Prospect Park w/ Flea, Patti Smith, Bruce Hornsby & more)

words by Ian Chainey, photos by Greg Cristman

Bill Laswell performing with Bladerunner
Bladerunner

The Ohm Resistance Label Showcase to be held at Brooklyn club Saint Vitus on May 31 has taken shape and it’s just as wild as you’d expect from the Brooklyn-based avant-garde label. The Blood of Heroes with Bill Laswell will be making their live debut. They’re joined by Silent Killer, Invertia, SHVLFCE, and Katmai. Advanced tickets are available now.

The Blood of Heroes are an experimental troupe bringing together the talents of Bill Laswell, Justin Broadrick (Godflesh, Jesu), beatmakers Submerged and Enduser, and Dr. Israel behind the mic. The result is a synthesis of the players’ day jobs: drum n’ bass, jungle, dub, industrial metal, and ambient. It can also be none of those things. Their eponymous debut was released by Ohm Resistance in 2010. (It also received a full set of remixes that same year.) A follow-up, The Waking Nightmare, came out via Ohm in 2012 and featured contributions from Tony Maimone (Pere Ubu) and a guest spot from Tompa (At the Gates, Disfear), among a varied collection of others.

For this particular event, the Blood of Heroes lineup will be as follows: Laswell, Dr. Israel, Submerged, Jason Selden (Apparatus), Matt Labozza (A Storm of Light), and haZMat, including guests. Laswell certainly has the connections to make the “guest” part interesting. He just played Le Poisson Rouge on May 4 with John Zorn and Dave Lombardo under the Bladerunner moniker (a few pictures from that event in this post). Justin Broadrick, on the other hand, won’t be available thanks to Godflesh being back in business. The influential industrial metal duo recently released a new song, “Ringer,” following a 13 year studio break. They’ll be touring with Loop in the UK, starting in Glasgow on June 2.

While Broadrick’s creative spirit will be missed, the Blood of Heroes’ eclectic approach runs throughout the entire bill. Silent Killer construct atmospheric rich drum n’ bass, Invertia twist black metal, noise, and industrial together, SHVLFCE do rhythmically inventive IDM, and Katmai play blissed-out electronic pop with an ambient whoosh. They also do none of these things. Needless to say, should be a crazy night.

Bill Laswell will also take part in the Ornette Coleman tribute in Prospect Park in June, which now features Laurie Anderson and David Murray, in addition to Bill Laswell, Bruce Hornsby, Flea, Geri Allen, Henry Threadgill, James Blood Ulmer, Patti Smith, and more.

Ohm Resistance showcase details, along with streams of the entire lineup and two more pics from the Bladerunner gig appear below.

Bladerunner at Le Poisson Rouge
Bladerunner
Bladerunner

The Ohm Resistance Label Showcase
THE BLOOD OF HEROES: with Bill Laswell
SILENT KILLER
INVERTIA
SHVLFC
KATMAI

May 31st @ 7:00 P.M.
Tickets are $15 in advance/$20 day of show
Saint Vitus
1120 Manhattan Avenue
Brooklyn, New York 11222
For ticket information, visit www.ohmresistance.com.

Loop and Godflesh 2014 Tour
June 2 – SWG3, Glasgow, UK
June 4 – Heaven, London, UK
June 5 – Heaven, London, UK
June 6 – The Fleece, Bristol, UK