by BBG

Gizz Butt

To certain fans of punk, crust, and metal, Gizz Butt may be a familiar face. Gizz Butt recently logged time performing Crass tunes as a member of Steve Ignorant's Last Supper, is the current bassist for UK thrash greats Sabbat, served as guitarist for the live lineup of The Prodigy and is currently one of the driving forces behind the reformation of the English Dogs: Forward Into Battle lineup.

Gizz Butt, who was a member of the band during that classic period, is preparing to hit the road with the English Dogs for a string of US dates that include the upcoming show at Europa on 2/12 (tickets). We cornered guitarist to discuss the upcoming tour, the reunion, Rudimentary Peni, Rachmaninov, Excel and his thoughts on the "other" English Dogs. The results are below.

Continue reading "An interview with English Dogs guitarist Gizz Butt"

by BBG

Napalm Death at Gramercy (more by Justina Villanueva)

Mark "Barney" Greenway and his co-conspirators in Napalm Death are back with Utilitarian, their new Century Media-released LP due on Feb 27th in the EU and Feb 28th in the US. We recently dropped a new track from the grindcore pioneers and now have cornered their long-time frontman for a short interrogation on the new record, their plans for the immediate and longer-term future, and what it means to be punk in the 21st century. The results of said discussion are below.

Continue reading "an interview with Mark "Barney" Greenway of Napalm Death"

by BBG

"Providence should be nuked. The music scene there is a disgrace. " - Pilgrim

Check the IDs of the members of Pilgrim and you might be surprised. Though Pilgrim is well-versed in the classic doom sounds of the 70s and 80s, the young band (both as a unit and individually) plays songs well-beyond their years on Misery Wizard, the band's debut LP due on February 14th via Poison Tongue/Metal Blade. Misery Wizard's strength's lies in its ability to reinterpret the greats like Black Sabbath, Saint Vitus, and Reverend Bizarre into something familiar yet wholly new, expanding upon influences instead of rehashing them. Check out three new songs from the album the title track, "Astaroth", and "Quest" (which makes its debut here), below.

Pilgrim will play a handful of dates in the coming weeks, including March 1st at Public Assembly with Natur, Windhand and Magic Circle. Look for them on the road (dates below) and check out a discussion I had with The Wizard (guitar/vocals) where we discuss inspiration or lack thereof, how they hooked up with a member of Primordial, and their hometown of Providence.

Our interview (which includes the quote above), tour dates and all streams are below.

Continue reading "An interview with Pilgrim (and a new song stream)"

You may know the name Dave Smalley from one of his bands like Down By Law, All, or Dag Nasty, but one of Smalley's first roles was as frontman for Boston hardcore band DYS. DYS reunited in 2010 and have since created new material for release via Bridge 9, dropping a single per month including their latest track "Unloaded" which makes its streaming debut here and is out TODAY via iTunes. Head to Bridge 9 for the previous two singles, "Wild Card" and "Sound of Our Town" featuring Dicky Barrett of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.

We cornered Dave Smalley to ask him a few quick questions regarding DYS, the reunion, and the single-per-month model of releasing the new DYS material. The results, and that song stream, are below.

Continue reading "an interview with Dave Smalley; a new DYS song"

by BBG

Dom with Pulling Teeth at Maryland Deathfest (more by BBG)

2012 will be the third year that BrooklynVegan will be in attendance at the A389 Anniversary (check out pics from 2010 and 2011), and while the staggering lineup (which now includes Magrudergrind in place of the cancelled Starkweather) will surely mean a day of negative and brutal hardcore, there will also be a bit of sadness mixed in. Pulling Teeth, which contains A389 Records honcho Dom Romeo, will play their final show in their hometown of Baltimore. The band, which formed in 2005, was rooted in the nihilistic hardcore of bands like Left for Dead but experimented with different genres as they grew, eventually releasing last year's Funerary.

As A389 gears up for their annual anniversary show this weekend, and Pulling Teeth play their final practice in preparation for their final goodbye, we cornered Dom to discuss his thoughts on the band, A389 Records, the forthcoming show, and his attempts at a reunion of Bloodlet, Deadguy, or Integrity with the Melnicks. The results of said conversation is below.

FYI, tickets are still available for the A389 Anniversary show at Sonar in Baltimore, MD on January 21st. See you there.

Continue reading "an interview with Dom Romeo (Pulling Teeth, A389 Records)"

by Andy O'Connor

Pallbearer L to R: Devin Holt, Joe Rowland, Chuck Schaaf, Brett Campbell (photo by Erika Taylor)

Doom unit Pallbearer hail from Little Rock, Arkansas, but if that makes you think of down-tuned moonshine madness, you'll have to adjust your expectations. Whereas most of their contemporaries are influenced by punk and filth, Pallbearer guide you through long songs that bear grace with pain. Brett Campbell's vocal work soars high above the uncomprimising melancholic doom. Think of Robert Lowe of Solitude Aeturnus/Candlemass with the grandiosity cut back just a tad enough to fit the music. There are heavy riffs aplenty, as any doom band should have, but Pallbearer also have some of the most poignant minor-key leads you've heard in ages. All this makes for a band where sadness is next to godliness.

In 2010, they released a self-titled demo (available for streaming below), and while it took a little over a year to burn into the consciousness of the metal public, that flame couldn't be brighter. Profound Lore took notice, and they'll release Pallbearer's full-length debut, Sorrow and Extinction, on February 21st. Sorrow is a continuation of the demo's strengths, with an added dose of heaviness on the guitars and two songs that break the ten-minute point. You may have just gotten through a bevy of year-end lists, but this album will make you start your 2012 list very early.

Check out "Devoid of Redemption," a re-recording of a song from the demo, making its debut in this post. Stream it below.

We spoke with Pallbearer's bassist Joe Rowland about Sorrow, the band's cover of "Gloomy Sunday," and Rites of Darkness. The results and all streams are below...

Continue reading "an interview with Pallbearer (plus a new song stream)"

by BBG

Young And In The Way (photo by Reid Haithcock)

Young and In The Way have barely three years behind them, and already have logged two EPs and as many LPs, in addition to a split 7". The North Carolinian blackened crust band are now preparing to release another record with V.Eternal Depression, a limited edition 12" which is available for purchase TODAY (12/2) via Antithetic and streaming below in full.

Choirs, blackened shrieks, dark ambiance, tribal drums and an escalating feeling of dread dot the new EP which recalls moments of Wolves in The Throne Room, later Neurosis, and recent fare like Amenra. But all of that is an aside to the blunt-force trauma that is this band at full speed; think Cursed, Rot in Hell, Pulling Teeth, or any hardcore/crust band that dares to flirt with the darkside.

Continue reading "an Interview with Young and In The Way (stream their new EP)"

by BBG

Serpentine Path 7" art

Take all of Unearthly Trance, add a member of Ramesses (who used to be in Electric Wizard) and what do you get? Serpentine Path, the new collaboration between Tim Bagshaw and NYC's own harbingers of doom. UT first crossed paths with Tim Bagshaw while he was a member of Electric Wizard during the original lineup's 2002 tour together, and over the years have shared stages with Bagshaw's current project, Ramesses. The collaboration has been years in the making, but only shows its head for the first time with a new 7" due at the end of this month via Parasitic Records. Stream half of that 7", "Erebus", for the first time below, and order your copy via the label, who also recently dropped a new Charles Manson and the previously discussed Aldebaran EP on vinyl.

Though Unearthly Trance stepped away from the table for a bit and re-emerged at a show at Saint Vitus earlier this year, Ramesses has remained a constant during all of 2011. The band released the Possessed by the Rise of Magik LP along with Chrome Pineal EP for Ritual Productions in 2011, in addition to Take The Curse which dropped in 2010.

Check out "Erebus" from the new Serpentine Path 7" below, alongside a short interview conducted with Jay Newman (bass) and Tim Bagshaw (guitar)...

Continue reading "Serpentine Path = Unearthly Trance + a member of Ramesses --- interview & song premiere"

by BBG

Summon: Invocation has finally arrived. The reimagining of Bloody Panda's downtuned doom-riff destruction and the icy-demonic screams of Yoshiko Ohara by names like Matmos, Mick Barr, Portal, Sanford Parker and many others, will finally be released in full for FREE DOWNLOAD via the band.

To cap off our series of interviews with bands that contributed to the Bloody Panda remix, we sat down with G. Stuart Dahlquist and Edgemont Martin currently of Bird Eye and ASVA respectively, but formerly of the titanic doom gods Burning Witch. The pair collaborated on a remix of "Gold" for the LP, and their pairing marks the first time that the two have collaborated since the dissolution of that doom juggernaut. Burning Witch recently announced a 4xLP box set for Southern Lord, which is on preorder NOW.

In our final interview we asked Dahlquist/Martin about their involvement in the remix, and the possibility of a return of Burning Witch. Check that, and their remix of "Gold" below.

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Continue reading "An Interview with G. Stuart Dahlquist & Edgy 59 ++++++++ Bloody Panda's Summon: Invocation out now (free download)"

by BBG

Portal at Knitting Factory (more by Samantha Marble)

Continuing our ongoing Bloody Panda remix series (we interviewed both Sanford Parker and Matmos), we sat down with the veiled madman behind Portal, Horror Illogium, to ask him a few questions about his contribution to Summon: Invocation. The results and the song stream, which appears here for the first time, are below.

Continue reading "an interview with Portal's Horror Illogium (and the debut of his Bloody Panda remix) ----- read & listen"