photos by Adam Murray and Genie Sanchez, words by BBG

Morbid Angel

Two outdoor tents, a club, and a theater hosted 26 bands. Perhaps by design, the premises lacked alcohol (except for the theater). So bad behavior was scarce. Fans happily bounced from venue to venue, queuing for some bands (Wormrot, Floor, Atheist, Obituary, Morbid Angel), and eating burgers from the Grill 'Em All trucks. To order the Witte Burger (beef, bun, cream cheese, deep-fried bacon, beer-and-Sriracha-soaked onions, malt vinegar aioli), my friend Robert merely pointed several feet away, where Dave Witte himself was standing.
-[Invisible Oranges]

Saturday (3/5) was the left coast's turn for Scion Rock Fest 2011. The one day, multiple venue festival relocated to Pomona, CA this year, and housed legendary names like Morbid Angel, Obituary, Integrity, Agalloch, and many more alongside names of tomorrow and underground favorites like Bastard Noise, Anaal Nathrakh, Floor, Wormrot, and many more.

Kvelertak were supposed to play too. but their passports and visas were stolen at the airport moments before they boarded the plane to the US. As a result, they'll also miss some days of the Weedeater/Zoroaster tour, but should "be in the states by Friday" (3/11). That means they should have no trouble making it to SXSW where they're on board to play Full Metal Texas. The band was replaced in Pomona by Black Cobra.

More pictures and some videos from Scion Rock Fest 2011, below...

Continue reading "Scion Rock Fest 2011 in pics & video (Morbid Angel, Obituary, Integrity, Agalloch & more) (but not Kvelertak)"

by BBG

Yob at Scion Rock Fest 2010 (more)

Scion has confirmed exclusively to LA Weekly that they will be bringing their metaltastic Rock Fest this year to Southern California.

"Scion's major event of the year," confirms their publicist, "is a huge metal festival with four stages and 30 bands. We did the first in Atlanta and the second in Columbus [check out part one and and two of our pics & review]. It's always a mix of legendary bands, important bands and up-and-coming bands, representing all the areas of underground metal. And like all the stuff we do it's all ages and free."

"What no one knows yet," he continues "is the next one will be on March 5, 2011 in Pomona. We're taking over the Fox Theater and the Glass House and building two more stages nearby."

Headlining the Scion Rock Fest in the LA area will be death metal royalty Morbid Angel with their first US show in six years (and as of now, the only scheduled US date in 2011)

...Founding member guitarist Trey Azagthoth, regarded by many as the greatest death metal guitarist of all time, will be at the helm along with bassist David Vincent (member 1986-1996 & 2004 - present) and Destructhor (member since 2008).

The Scion Rock Fest will include 26 bands on four stages (including The Fox Theater, The Glass House and two outdoor stages). -[LA Weekly]

Rumors circulated right around the announcement of Scion Rock Fest 2010 that Morbid Angel would play that year's show. Glad to hear that those were (somewhat) true. Hopefully Morbid Angel schedule some shows outside of California too.

One of the bigger names at Scion Rock Fest in 2010 was Shrinebuilder. Don't forget that half of Shrinebuilder, Scott Kelly and Wino, are going on a solo tour in February. Tickets are still on sale for the February 12th Mercury Lounge show which now looks like this:

Scott Kelly (of Neurosis) 11:30
Wino (of Saint Vitus) 10:30
Man's Gin (of Cobalt) 9:30
Hunter Hunt-Henrix (of Liturgy) 8:30

You can also catch all of Liturgy (who played Scion Rock Fest 2010) on January 14th At Silent Barn with Controlled Bleeding, Cellular Chaos, PAK, and Diablo, January 27th at Union Pool with Naam, Yr Youth, and Arms, February 10th at Glasslands with Extra Life, Lichens, and Chaos Majik, and February 25th At Monster Island Basement with Talk Normal and Nat Baldwin. More local metal shows are listed in the latest edition of Evillive.

The PRP is also reporting a rumored list of other artists playing Scion Rock Fest 2011. I can confirm that at least half of a dozen of those are true. That list is reprinted below...

Continue reading "Scion Rock Fest 2011 will be in California, Morbid Angel confirmed (and more artists rumored) ++ more Liturgy dates"

Willamette Week's Musicfest NW announces this year's festival line-up which will be held at various venues around the Portland, OR metropolitan area on September 16, 17, 18 & 19. On the heels of the most successful MFNW to date, MFNW 2009 launches with nothing but the hope of a bigger and better festival. MFNW's ultimate aim is to provide Portland with a unique and special musical experience that features all types of acts including nationally renowned artists while still honoring and supporting the special musical scene of the Northwest.

Four-day passes to the fest are on sale now.

The lineup so far, including the newly-reunited Sunny Day Real Estate, is below...

Continue reading "Musicfest NW in Portland, OR (Sept 16-19) - lineup"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Black Kites - "Advancement To Ruins" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Grayceon - "It Begins, And So It Ends" (MP3)

Yob

The mighty YOB have revealed details on their upcoming new album for Profound Lore! In a blog post entitled "Tracking And Mixing Is Done", the band offered the following update:

The new album has been tracked and mixed. It will be mastered at the end of the month by Billy Barnett at Gung-Ho Studio in Eugene, Oregon. Sanford Parker did such a fantastic job and was so easy to work with. Truly professional and amazing at every turn. We are confident our friends worldwide are going to dig our new vibes channeled through Sanford's engineering wizardry.

The album will be titled The Great Cessation with 5 songs clocking in @ 62 minutes... The tentative release date is late July... The titles: Burning The Altar, The Lie That Is Sin. Silence Of Heaven, Breathing From The Shallows, The Great Cessation

DOOM!

I second Mike Scheidt's last statement.

As we mentioned before, 108 will be in NYC on April 25th, bringing along with them the mighty Pulling Teeth, who just dropped their new album Paranoid Delusions, Paradise Illusions. Tickets are still available, or you can win a FREE pair of tickets and a copy of Pulling Teeth's new CD! Details on how to win are below, before the tour dates.

Black Kites

Black Kites have dropped their new LP, Advancement To Ruins, and it is a manaical chunk of crust-laden hardcore that reminds me of Acme, Cursed, Disembodied, and a ton of other bands that I WISH the hardcore community would look up to. Comprised of ex-members of The Assistant, This Ship Will Sink, You and I, and current members of Zhenia Golov, check out the title track available for download above, and pick up the record at Ride The Fury Records. In the meantime, look for the NJ trio to play June 13th at ABC No Rio, as well as a few other shows around the tri-state. Full tour dates are below.

Pentagram will team up with Nachtmystium for a handful of dates on the west coast and in Blake's native Chicago. Nachtmystium's new EP Doomsday Derelicts drops on May 15th via Battle Kommand/Century Media. Pick it up before one of them gets killed in a drive-by. Pentagram played Webster Hall earlier this year.

Footage of Crom Live at Cake Shop, 1349, Anaal Nathrakh, Napalm Death live footage, and so much more as This Week In Metal continues...

Continue reading "This Week In METAL (04/24/09)"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Khanate - "Wings From Spine" (MP3 Excerpt)
DOWNLOAD: Grey Machine - Vultures Descend (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Outlaw Order - Siege Mentality (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Millions - "Lest the Professor Catches Fire"(MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Orphan - "Bogman"(MP3)

Hmm.... who's guitar rig could this be?

In his own special way, Stephen O'Malley dropped a bunch of news on his upcoming projects via a detailed discography. SOMA posted the following unreleased, unannounced records:

SUNN O)))
Che (SUNN O))) & Pan Sonic do a Suicide cover, pic 10" 2009)
Dimensions (TBA) (2xCD & 2xLP 2009)

Æthenor
Faking Gold & Murder (CD & LP 2008)

Khanate
Clean Hands Go Foul (LP & Picture Disc 2008, CD & CD Japan 2009)

So, TWO new sunn o))) records, a Khanate, AND an Æthenor record! We knew that sunn 0))) was working on a new record, but a quick search turned up that Blast First (Petite) will drop that sunn 0))) and Pan Sonic pic 10". On further review, Æthenor's website reveals the following:

David Tibet sings and contributes lyrics on the forthcoming Æthenor album; other guests are Kristoffer Rygg (Ulver) and long time Æthenor collaborator Alexander Tucker [who just played ATP].

Tentatively titled 'Faking Gold and Murder' from a line in the text, Æthenor is the project of Sunn O)))'s Stephen O'Malley, Vincent de Roguin (Shora) and Daniel O'Sullivan (Guapo)

Most importantly though, what the hell is that Khanate record Clean Hands Go Foul?!? Stephen O'Malley had this to say:

The long lost 4th KHANATE album Clean Hands Go Foul will finally emerge later this year. This was recorded directly after the Capture & Release album at Bisi Studio Brooklyn February 2005.

James Plotkin, bassist for Khanate, posted one unreleased song excerpt to his website, "Wings From Spine" which is downloadable above. Will "Wings" appear on Clean Hands Go Foul? Who knows, but in the meantime prepare for the thundering evil doom of the mighty Khanate! On a related note, Plotkin's Khlyst, is taking orders for Chaos Live, a multicamera live DVD shot at Hydra Head's CMJ show in 2006. While you're there, pick up Boris's limited-to-1000 Floorshaker 12".

Mastodon's Brent Hinds had a little run-in with King Khan over the weekend, and while we have heard King Khan's side of the story, ridiculous pictures included, we haven't heard a peep from Brent Hinds. My thoughts echo that of one astute Blabbermouth reader: "The real victim here is the beer". Brann Dailor of Mastodon was recently interviewed by Metal Injection.

Justin Broadrick (Jesu, ex-Godflesh) dropped a bombshell of sorts.... a new project, Grey Machine, featuring Aaron Turner (Isis), Diarmuid Dalton (Jesu), and Dave Cochrane (Transitional)! From the upcoming album Disconnected, the band posted "Vultures Rise" available for download above!

Crom is back on the west coast, but evidence from their east coast killing spree is popping up all over the net. Check out pics from their show in Worcester, MA at Return To The Pit, an interview with a shirtless Crom at Vice magazine, as well as audio (and video below) from their appearance at WFMU.

Crom Live at WFMU, Mayhem, Amon Amarth, Baroness, Tweak Bird, Bison BC and more below.....

Continue reading "This Week In METAL (09/30/08)"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Crom - King Osric (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Crom - The Black Ring (M4A) (as seen here)

Crom (via Vice)

Instead of going on and on about Crom, who are playing late tonight at Cake Shop with Villains (doors at 12AM), I figure I will let Crom's guitarist Phil Vera (ex-16 and Despise You) try and persuade you:

VICE: Let's try a fill in the blank, it's easier. For the unassociated: Crom is a ________ band. We sound like ______.
Crom: Crom is a shitty band. We sound like garbage.

....In other words, the average person at a Crom show is...
Fat kids, the associated press, train-jumping crusties, nothing worth fucking, and the spirit of beerwolf.

Dude, come on.
I know this sounds like a joke, but it's totally fucking true.

OK, maybe that didn't work.... but imagine if Girl Talk decided to splice together some of the greatest metal riffs of all time, add in some sludge-grind of his own (thats a fun thought), and interweave the whole thing with Conan The Barbarian samples.... thats kinda what you would get with Crom.

Yes, I just mentioned Crom and Girl Talk in the same sentence.

Crom's sample-heavy metal assault is scheduled for a live WFMU "sesh" before skipping around the east coast and finally to Rockstar Bar in Brooklyn on Sept 13th (the same day as Lightning Bolt & Krallice). All dates below...

Continue reading "Crom - 2008 Tour Dates (tonight and stuff)"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Sigh - "Black Metal" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Salome - "Black Tides" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Salome - "White Tides" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Crom - "The Black Ring" (M4A)
DOWNLOAD: Light Yourself On Fire - "Love And Death" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Monarch! - "Mer Morte" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Tweak Bird - "Whorses" (MP3)

War is beautiful...... Torche (more by Jason Bergman)

Torche have teamed up with labelmates (and former tourmates) Clouds, for a string of freshly minted US tour dates with Coliseum and Black Cobra providing support. Torche is also currently gearing up for a European tour with another set of labelmates, Pelican, which concludes on October 11th. The first date on the Torche / Clouds tour is October 24th with Coliseum. CMJ is October 21st - 25th. Will we see Torche, Clouds or Coliseum at CMJ? No word yet (natch), but when we know, so will you. Full tour dates below.

Speaking of Pelican, the boys have issued a rather thorough update in which they detail their loooong awaited split with These Arms Are Snakes (due on Hydrahead, limited quantities), a split 7" with Young Widows (due in 2009), a collaborative split 7" with Suicide Note, and a Fire In Their Throats.... 2LP release in Viva Hate Records. But the band also dropped more interesting news..... including the fact that the band will tour the east coast in the fall, have a video for "Lost in the Headlights" in the works, and are working on their follow up to City Of Echoes. More details to come. Speaking of These Arms Are Snakes, the band recently posted "Red Line Season" to their myspace for streaming.

Coffins have contributed two songs, one new and another a cover of "The Day Man Lost" by swedish death metallers Carnage, to a split 7" with sludgy-grind enthusiasts Skullhog. Pick it up NOW at No Escape, it's limited to 500 copies (200 on red wax). Coffins also have the following releases lined up: the Warhead 7" EP (on Torture Garden); Split 7" EPs with Womb (on Necroharmonic), Lobotomized (on Plague Island), and Spun In Darkness (Battle Kommand); Split 12" LPs with The Arm And Sword Of A Bastard God (the vinyl release on Enucleation, originally on CD via 20 Buck Spin), Anatomia & Grudge (the three-way split vinyl release on Enucleation, originally dropped on Grindmind), and XXX Maniak (the vinyl release on Haunted Hotel, originally released on CD via Creeping Vine); a Singles collection from 2004-2008 (on Living Dead Society); a mini album (on Bones Brigade); a track on the Death Metal Power Compilation Vol.1 (on Final Punishment).
Engineer is currently working on their follow up to The Dregs, and have "close to five songs completed". Look for the band to line up a few new shows in the coming months.

Sigh drops their new record, A Tribute to Venom, on limited edition etched vinyl with CD via The End Records on Sept 2nd. A Tribute To Venom is just that, a set of Venom covers reimagined in way that only Sigh could. Check out the artwork below, download their cover of the Venom classic (and namesake for an entire genre) "Black Metal" above. Want a copy of A Tribute To Venom on vinyl/CD? Email BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM (subject: Sigh). Include your first and last name. One winner will be picked at random and contacted. Sigh will hit the road in September with Zimmer's Hole & Unexpect, hitting BB Kings in NYC on Sept 16th. Tickets are still available, full tour dates are below.

Salome, Lair Of The Minotaur, Behemoth, Napalm Death, Municipal Waste, and much more below.........

Continue reading "This Week In METAL (08/28/08)"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: U.S. Christmas - "The Scalphunters" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Lions Of Tsavo - "The Hooven Swarm" (M4A)
DOWNLOAD: Lions Of Tsavo - "Body Drift" (MP3)

Intronaut

Intronaut is about to get prehistoric on dat azz, when the new LP Prehistoricisms (full tracklisting below) hits the shelves on September 16th via their new label Century Media. Metalkult has a preview in the form of "Australopithecus" which is downloadable at their site. .Tickets are still on sale for their show at Knitting Factory on August 8th with Behold The Arctopus, Mouth Of The Architect, Deadsea, and Wetnurse (one helluva bill). Mouth Of The Architect drops Quietly this week and Wetnurse drops Invisible City on September 30th. Deadsea's S/T record is out now, catch it at their myspace. "Prehistoricisms" album art there to the right.

I have heard from a very credible source that the mighty sunn 0))) will return to NYC to play a special show in celebration of the ten year anniversary of The Grimmrobe Demos. Um, yowsers. As details come in, you'll get em.

Sweden's Burst have posted two new tracks from and announced a release date for (September 16th in the US) their new record Lazarus Bird. Dig on "Cripple God" and "(We Watched) The Silver Rain" streaming at their myspace. The band has commented "Expect an album that will NOT be Origo Part 2, but something new", and if this is any indication, should be a good 'un.

Speaking of good 'uns, the Bowery Ballroom show on July 25th featuring Early Man, Valient Thorr, and the mighty Monotonix should be a grand ole time. Wanna get in gratis? Email us at BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM (subject: Denim Vests) with your first & last name, and we'll randomly pick two winners and drop 'em a pair of tickets each.

Lions Of Tsavo, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Akimbo, Obituary and more below...

Continue reading "This Week In METAL (07/24/08)"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: The Sword - "Fire Lances Of The Ancient Hyperzephyrians" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Soilent Green - "Antioxidant" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Iron Maiden - "Intro", "Aces High", & "Two Minutes To Midnight", Live in Tokyo Feb 16th, 2008 (VIDEO, WMV)

Neurot Recordings have announced details for THREE Neurosis-related releases in the next two months! First up, a new solo album from the mighty Scott Kelly, who will release The Wake on May 5th, his first release in the seven years since his debut Spirit Bound Flesh. Two weeks later, the world's most intense elementary school teacher Steve Von Till drops A Grave is a Grim Horse, his first non-Harvestman release in six years (Harvestman recently collabo'd with Fear Falls Burning). More details on A Grave Is A Grim Horse can be found here. The third we knew about, but has now gone official: A Storm Of Light's debut And We Wept the Black Ocean Within will be released on June 2nd. Read our recent interview with Josh Graham here.

Tickets for the previously mentioned second At The Gates show go on sale Thursday April 3rd at 10 AM here. Tomas Lindberg's other band, the mighty Disfear, have announced a few more dates, including another show in Brooklyn at Europa on May 22nd with Trap Them and Bloodhorse! Ticket info for Disfear at Europa isn't available, but there are still tickets for their show at the Knitting Factory. New tour dates are down below.

MUCH MORE..............

Continue reading "This Week In METAL (04/02/08)"