by Black Bubblegum

Rwake (more here)

How do you improve on Shrinebuilder in the flesh? Rwake and Liturgy have been added as support at the upcoming Shrinebuilder show at Le Poisson Rouge on 11/15. Tickets are still available!

Shrinebuilder has also announced their participation in a particularly STACKED Roadburn 2010, along with the new Tom Warrior project Triptykon, the reunion of Goatsnake (!), Thor's Hammer, and acid-folkers Comus who will play their First Utterance LP in it's entirety(!). Oh, and did I mention Candlemass will be performing Epicus Doomicus Metallicus and the festival will also feature appearances from Yob, Moss, Altar Of Plagues, Mouth of The Architect, and many more. Must. Go.

Rwake are currently working on their follow-up to Voices of Omens, and are also scheduled to play Chicago with Shrinebuilder. Rwake has also been added to the Hellfest 2010 lineup which also includes Immortal, Atheist, Black Cobra, Bloodbath, Suffocation, Weedeater, with another 80+ bands TBA.

Wino of Shrinebuilder plays with his solo band at Irving Plaza tonight (10/9, tix here) and tomorrow (10/10, tix here) supporting Clutch, and will be back next week with Saint Vitus at Europa (10/16, tix here)!

Both CT (of Rwake) and Scott Kelly (of Shrinebuilder & Neurosis) host weekly podcasts on Combat Radio, and both are highly recommended.

Al Cisneros of Shrinebuilder will showcase Om over two nights in NYC, Sunday 10/11 at Europa (tickets here) and tuesday 10/13 at Bowery Ballroom (tickets here).

Dale Crover of the Melvins (who plays drums in Shrinebuilder) recently played ATP and Nokia Theater with Down, and have a remix album out NOW entitled Chicken Switch. The LP features contributions from Merzbow, Lee Ronaldo, Matmos, and many others.

Full Shrinebuilder, Rwake and Liturgy dates, as well as a few live videos are below...

Continue reading "Rwake opening for Shrinebuilder ++ Roadburn & Hellfest 2010 lineups ++ Wino, Om, Saint Vitus & more upcoming shows"

words by Black Bubblegum, photos by Ryan Muir

The Melvins, in retro formation, played Webster Hall on Friday (5/15) as part of their 25th Anniversary celebration. As advertised, the band played the complete and slightly reconfigured Houdini, as well as portions from their 2005 collection of early demos, Mangled Demos.

Mangled Demos material leans more toward their hardcore roots, and I was always more of a fan of their heavier Sabbath-y material. That said, it was interesting to see Dale Crover on bass (he was introduced as ex-bassist, and ex-Mudhoney member, Matt Lukin) for a few songs. The trio for this opening portion of the night also consisted of Buzz, and original drummer Mike Dillard. Then Dillard left the stage and The Melvins became just Dale and Buzzo, sans bass (Dale moved back to drums) - all of the low end punch was gone out of the instrumentation.

Luckily, the Melvins-as-hardcore-duo was short-lived, and Trevor Dunn arrived later in the set clad in a camo druidian robe to set Webster Hall a-rumblin'. With Melvins the trio now on stage, Houdini was disassembled and played out of order with the band closing the show with a drum solo (with Trevor Dunn and Mike Dillard providing additional percussion) and a short Trevor Dunn bass solo. No encores (natch). As an experiment, I tried to listen to as little of Houdini as humanly possible before Friday, attempting to try and get a fresh perspective on a record that I had admittedly played to death years ago. Houdini classics such as "Honey Bucket", "Hooch", "Going Blind" were fantastic, and for a moment, they helped erase the fond memories of latter day Melvins with Coady and Jared (of Big Business). Smiles.

Packing in a smidge over two hours worth of material, Melvins finished just in time for Webster Hall curfew, and luckily I had Grey Wolves, Thrones, and Bastard Noise at No Fun Fest (at Music Hall of Williamsburg) to keep my energy and spirits high. More on that later.

More Melvins pics, a couple of videos, and the full setlist, below...

Continue reading "the Melvins (25th anniversary) @ Webster Hall - pics, setlist"

by Black Bubblegum

"So I have to be guarded in a way and kinda prepare myself for what's gonna happen, because when it happens, I don't even know."

From their crust punk origins of more than twenty years ago, Scott Kelly and Neurosis have forged their own path with searing imperial riffery and singular artistic vision. Over the course of nine LPs including 2007's critically acclaimed Given To The Rising, Neurosis's firebrand mix of hardcore, metal, psychedelia, and all-of-the-above has inspired fans and musicians alike, giving way to sub-genres and sub-sub-genres based on their compelling, emotive songwriting.

Outside of Neurosis, Scott Kelly has took on additional projects like Blood & Time, Tribes of Neurot, solo recordings, his online radio station Combat Music Radio, and Neurot Recordings. In addition, Kelly announced his involvement in Shrinebuilder, an underground metal supergroup featuring Scott "Wino" Weinrich, Al Cisneros (Om, Sleep), and Dale Crover (Melvins).

With Roadburn 2009 going down this weekend in Tilburg and Neurosis on board to curate Beyond The Pale, we sat down with Scott Kelly in March to discuss Neurosis, the making of Shrinebuilder's debut LP, and why children's mobiles should come installed with music box versions of Lunar Womb!

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Where are you exactly in the process as far as Shrinebuilder is concerned? I know you provided recent updates on your blog, but since then, how's it coming along?

We are basically in the same spot we were... Not finished mixing yet, artwork's not done yet, but getting closer on both. Wino ended up doing an extra day of guitar in Baltimore about ten days after he did the initial recording and Dale's done a little bit of percussion overdubs and we've been kinda dialing in each song a little at a time. Its actually really close to a final mix. Al is recording the new Om album in Chicago, so when he gets done he'll be in there with those guys. I'd expect to have it all mixed probably within a couple weeks... it's really close.

continued below...

Continue reading "an interview w/ Scott Kelly (Neurosis, Neurot, Shrinebuilder)"