by BBG

Black Army Jacket at Best Friends Day 2010

After a return to the stage at Best Friends Day 2010, Black Army Jacket are readying to play Cake Shop on SATURDAY (9/4) with the newly added Tombs (!), Defeatist, Concrete Cross, and Grown Ass Men (ex Phobia, Wheelbite, Stop It!). The show will be the first for the band in ten-plus years, and as such, we cornered bassist Carlos Ramirez to ask him about the return of Black Army Jacket, some of his fond memories from that time, and possible plans for the future....

Continue reading "an interview w/ Black Army Jacket (who play NYC Saturday) "

by BBG

Wormrot have been forced to delay the start of their tour due to visa issues. That means they won't be appearing at Santos Party House tonight (9/2), though all the other bands on the bill still will. To make up for it, Wormrot have rescheduled their NYC show to this SUNDAY (9/5) at Bowery Electric at 11PM. From there they move to Cleveland and tour as planned, though now we can also announce one more show that was being kept a secret up until now: BrooklynVegan & 1000 Knives are proud to present Wormrot with Mutant Supremacy, Defeatist, Psychic Limb, and Curandera at the Acheron on 10/3!

Wormrot's Abuse was one of my favorite LP's of 2009. Updated tour dates and a video of Wormrot in action is below...

Continue reading "Wormrot cancel some dates & add some others (playing Sunday instead of tonight & in October @ Acheron too) "

by Kim Kelly

Ludicra at Scion Rock Fest (more here)

The metal world is rife with curious individuals and iconoclasts, demonic personas and mysterious, elemental figures. We're none of us "normal," and neither are our heroes. One of the most interesting (and hard-working) figures in modern American extreme metal is one Aesop Dekker. As an artist, Dekker makes his mark on this ever-evolving world as the drummer and driving force behind such fascinating, innovative, and often life-affirming projects as Agalloch, Ludicra, and as of recently, Worm Ouroboros. As a fan, his rabid and bottomless enthusiasm for all things heavy, dark, obscure, and honest is laid bare in his popular blog Cosmic Hearse and in various other behind-the-scenes efforts.

The man himself recently granted an e-interview to BrooklynVegan's erstwhile pillar of ravishing grimness, Kim Kelly, to discuss his thoughts on USBM, the lure of San Francisco, and Agalloch's upcoming 4th album (and upcoming live shows!). Read the whole thing, below...

Continue reading "an interview w/ Aesop Dekker of Agalloch & Ludicra"

by BBG

Keelhaul at Santos (more by Keith Marlowe)

Keelhaul and a secret special guest have been added to the previously discussed Corrosion of Conformity show at Highline Ballroom on October 10th. Tickets are still on sale for the NYC show, and for the CoC one happening at Starland Ballroom too. Special guest announcement coming next week (Monday is the day).

In related news Craw (featuring Will of Keelhaul) reunited last night in their native Cleveland supporting Unsane who are on their way back to NYC after playing AmRep25. Thus far no pics or video have made its way out of the show, though we'll keep you posted.

Keelhaul's Dana Embrose used to be in La Gritona, a band we just recently posted a large feature on courtesy of Mike Hill.

Right before NYC, Corrosion of Conformity play Riot Fest in Chicago with Bad Religion (who announced three NYC shows), Negative Approach (who just played one), and many others.

Tickets went on sale Saturday for all three Bad Religion shows happening at Irving Plaza, and they are all currently still available (10/20, 10/26, 10/27).

Some recent video of Keelhaul, including Unsane performing with Aaron of Keelhaul, is below.

Continue reading "Keelhaul added to CoC, Craw reunited, Bad Religion on sale..."

photos by Taylor Keahey, words by BBG

God Bullies

On what was a perfect day to celebrate anyone's anniversary, a sold-out crowd gathered at Grumpy's in downtown Minneapolis to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the legendary local label Amphetamine Reptile Records. It was an all-day event (on 8/28) that honored and saluted an influential and groundbreaking scene, as well a bunch of bands that perhaps never got their due back in the day. All the groups played to a large, receptive crowd that was, if not trying to turn back time a bit to see a bunch of bands that they never had a chance to, than maybe just feel younger for one day at least. Everywhere you looked there were old friends running into each other for the first time in years, and there were broad smiles plastered on everyone's faces (due in no small part to the $5 Surly's). It was a glorious commemoration of a label that still packs quite a punch and knows how to throw one hell of a party. -[City Pages]

Pics of both day one and two, as well as some video, continue below.

Continue reading "AmRep celebrated 25 years (pics & video) (Unsane, Melvins, Boss Hog, Hammerhead, Vaz, God Bullies & more)"

Nick and Lev of Krallice / Bloody Panda (more by Greg Cristman)

Krallice have spent some time away from the live stage as of late, but will return on October 7th for a show with incredible blackened blasters Infernal Stronghold and Concussion at Shea Stadium in Brooklyn. The band has been working their follow-up to Dimensional Bleedthrough for Profound Lore Records, though no word on a date or the current state of the release. - BBG

In related news, Nick McMaster of Krallice appears on Nader Sadek's new In the Flesh.

And speaking of Shea Stadium, Pygmy Shrews, Unnatural Helpers, and the Babies play there tonight (8/30). It will be the Unnatural Helpers' 2nd of four NYC-area shows. On Saturday they played Dead Herring because that's where their show scheduled for Bruar Falls was moved to. Tuesday, 9/1, they're at Maxwell's and Wednesday is Cake Shop. More info in This Week in Indie.

by BBG

Adam "Nergal" Darski, the 33-year-old guitarist/vocalist from Poland's greatest extreme-metal export, BEHEMOTH, has been diagnosed with a life-threatening form of leukemia, a cancer of blood-forming tissues of the bone marrow. The disease, for which Adam is currently receiving treatment at the hematology division of the Gdansk Medical University Hospital, has advanced to the point where he is in urgent need of a bone-marrow transplant. (A bone-marrow transplant is when special cells [called stem cells] that are normally found in the bone marrow are taken out, filtered, and given back either to the same person or to another person.) In light of this, Darski wants to remind everyone about the need to be on the marrow registry. The more people get tested and donate, the more of a chance for life there is for him and others in the same situation. -[Blabbermouth]

Behemoth cancelled all previous dates of a tour with Watain, Withered, and Black Anvil. Now Watain have rescheduled, but this time with Black Anvil and Goatwhore. The tour (sans Goatwhore) will play Santos on 12/2. Tickets are on sale. While Goatwhore isn't on the NYC date, they WILL play NYC on September 30th at Europa supporting The Black Dahlia Murder with Arkaik . Tickets are on sale.

Our wishes are with Nergal. All dates and some videos below...

Continue reading "Nergal needs bone marrow, Watain reveal rescheduled dates, touring w/ Goatwhore who are touring w/ Black Dahlia Murder"

photos by Justin Tyler, words by BBG

Tombs

Tombs completed a run of dates with Germany's Planks, playing Death By Audio on August 22nd with Gods & Queens, Radiation Black Body (2/3 of Defeatist), Dawn, and Yautja.

The show was Planks' first in NYC, and were very impressive as they ran through songs from their self-titled 12" in addition to newer material (watch their ENTIRE set below). Tombs played a good portion of new material as well, and are even more venomous with the addition of a second guitar (video below). Gods & Queens channelled song structures from greats like Quicksand, Helmet, and other 90s bands, killing it in the process (video below). Radiation Black Body's instrumental grind/hardcore brought to mind a jazzier Bastard Noise without the electronics. In all, a fantastic string of four bands.

Justin and I arrived at the venue late, missing Dawn and Yautja. Pictures and video of the rest of the show, continue below...

Continue reading "Tombs, Planks, Gods & Queens & Radiation Black Body played Death by Audio (pics & video) "

DOWNLOAD: La Gritona - "Jupiter" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: La Gritona - "Tony Alamo" (MP3)

words by Michael Hill

I lived in Boston for most of the 90's. I moved there to be with a girl; it didn't work out. At the time Helmet has just come out with Meantime, Nirvana were on their way to rock stardom and the Rollins Band had released The End of Silence. The concept that you could play "punk rock" and make money was starting to sink into a lot of people's heads at the time. In Boston, a lot of the kids that were punks and hardcore kids in the 80's had graduated high school, went to college and started dabbling in rock music. Suddenly people were growing their hair longer, tuning lower and digging up Master of Reality.

It was amidst all of this that I discovered Suicide King, who would later become the band La Gritona. During this short-lived era, only three of the four that would assemble as La Gritona were present: Thos Niles (drums), Colins Burns (vocals) and (current Keelhaul member) Dana Embrose (guitar), the rest of the lineup were comprised of ex-members of Eye for an Eye: Kevin Norton and Dean Baltulonis. There was a club called Bill's Bar in Boston that used to have shows every Tuesday night, usually three band bills and all locals. It was fun, and I got to see a lot of really good bands like Suicide King. I recognized the singer from a band called Slaughter Shack that had won the WBCN Rock 'n' Roll Rumble several years earlier.

continued below...

Continue reading "an interview with La Gritona"

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Christian Mistress - "Desert Rose" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Christian Mistress - "Home In The Sun" (MP3)

Thrones

After Grey Wolves, my journey into the Melvins past would continue with their ex-bassist Joe Preston and his solo project Thrones. With a looping pedal, drum machine, and some sort of vocal harmonizer, Joe churned out compelling and doomy rhythms, leads, and everything in between, making for a fascinating one man show. [review from No Fun Fest 2009]

The show is one of many that Christian Mistress and Thrones will play together, starting in Portland in September, and ending back in the same state on Halloween. All dates below.

Christian Mistress are celebrating their new LP Agony & Opium out NOW via 20 Buck Spin. With classic 80s Euro riffs and a vocalist that brings to mind Geddy Lee, Agony & Opium feels like a lost relic from the NWOBHM. Dig on the killer retro goodness on "Desert Rose" and "Home In The Sun" available for download above.

Some videos, with all dates, below...

Continue reading "Christian Mistress & Thrones tour dates, Brooklyn w/ Villains"