Deafheaven at Public Assembly in 2012 (more by Greg Cristman)

As mentioned, San Francisco black metallers Deafheaven are releasing their new album, Sunbather, on June 11 via Deathwish. You've already heard the first single, "Dream House," and now they've let loose the title track, which like the last single, leans just heavily on shoegaze and post-rock as it does on metal. Check it out below (via FADER).

Deafheaven's tour with Marriages hits NYC for an Invisible Oranges-presented show on July 2 at Saint Vitus with NOTHING. Tickets for that show are still available.

Song stream below...

Continue reading "listen to the title track from Deafheaven's new 'Sunbather' LP"

Deafheaven will hit the road for a tour this summer, snagging dates with Marriages as part of a full campiagn in celebration of their new LP, Sunbather. Full tour schedule is below, and you can look for the bands to team with NOTHING for a show at Saint Vitus on July 2. Info on tickets, which will set you back $12, is on the way.

Sunbather, the band's new LP, is due on June 11 via Deathwish Records. Invisible Oranges followed the band into the studio during the recording. Stream a track from that effort below and look for them at a town near you.

Continue reading "Deafheaven announce tour with Marriages, including show at Saint Vitus with NOTHING (dates)"

Deafheaven in the studio recording 'Sunbather' (more)

Boris has announced their supporting bands for their run of residency shows, including  Deafheaven, Young Widows, Marriages and more. Look for Young Widows to support on the string of dates including  Le Poisson Rouge on May 6 (the show dedicated to "all-time classics along with many new songs never before played in the US"). Openers for the second LPR show on May 7 (dedicated to their 2000 LP, Flood, as well as some drone/experimentalism) have not been announced. Tickets are still available for both shows.

In a related note, Deafheaven will be in the NYC area soon too, tagging Saint Vitus on February 22 with Sannhet, Clean Teeth and Theologian. Tickets are still available.

If you missed it, Deafheaven recently stopped in to Invisible Oranges to drop off a studio diary detailing the recording of their new LP Sunbather. Check that out HERE.

All Boris dates plus video of Young Widows are below.

Continue reading "Boris announce supporting acts for 'Residency' tour (Deafheaven, Young Widows, Marriages, more)"

Argonauts at Union Pool, March 2012 (more by Di Lynn Ring)

Let's be honest, supporting Torche is not the most enviable of positions when you've got a sold-out show. It takes a band with balls to play right before them, and luckily the first of two openers for the sold-out show at Saint Vitus on March 2 has been revealed. Argonauts (mems of Revocation, East of The Wall, Burnt By The Sun, Municipal Waste) will play direct support to Torche, with more bands still to be revealed. As stated above, tickets are sold out, but as sponsors of the show, BrooklynVegan will be giving away a few pairs for free. Details on how to enter are below.

BV and Invisible Oranges are also proud sponsors of upcoming shows at Saint Vitus with Deafheaven / Sannhet, Acid King, and most imminently, two nights with YOB that kick off on Sunday (2/10). Tickets for all of those shows are still available.

UPDATE 6PM: Tonight's St. Vitus show (Dept. of Health, ANASAZI, Blackboot, A Truth) has been cancelled due to Nemo.

In related metal news, as we just updated in our list of Nemo-related cancellations, we thought we'd let you know that tonight's scheduled Gojira / Devin Townsend / Altas Moth show at Irving Plaza has been postponed till February 19. That's one day after their show at Music Hall of Williamsburg.

Torche track stream and contest details are below.

Continue reading "Argonauts added to Torche's Saint Vitus show (win tix); tonight's Gojira / Atlas Moth show postponed"

Sannhet at Saint Vitus, November 2012 (more by Fred Pessaro // BBG)

BrooklynVegan and Invisible Oranges are proud to present an exclusive East Coast appearance from Deafheaven, who will join Sannhet, Clean Teeth and Theologian at Saint Vitus on February 22. Tickets are on sale. The show will also work as a coming-out party...

We are Sacrament Recordings and Merchandise, created by the owners of Brooklyn's premier dark music institution Saint Vitus. Sacrament's mission is to proliferate the culture that is experienced by thousands every year at our club through recordings, merchandise, mixtapes, and of course EPIC shows... we have a lot of exciting things coming up, especially from our favorite band Sannhet.

Continue reading "Deafheaven playing exclusive East Coast date as part of Sannhet release party; Saint Vitus launches label"

by Fred Pessaro // BBG

Justin Broadrick of Godflesh @ MDF 2012 (more by Fred Pessaro // BBG)

The final effort by the great Godflesh has been given the VIP treatment, and will see the light of day in the start of the new year. 2001 Hymns will be reissued and remastered via The End Records on February 19, featuring a second disc of demo material. (Pre-order yours.)Stream the remastered demo for "Paralyzed" below for the first time below.

In semi-related news, Godflesh recently toured the far east with Deafheaven, and that band will welcome their new LP, Sunbather, via Deathwish in Spring 2013.

Justin Broadrick's other project, JK Flesh, is featured on the final Hydra Head release.

Full tracklist for the Godflesh reissue and the stream of the demo are below.

Continue reading "Godflesh reissuing 'Hymns' (stream a bonus track); Deafheaven preps new LP"

The unwavering NYC video god (((unartig))) has swooped in with his best of for 2012, listing off important topics like "Best Album", "Best Show", "Goosebumpiest moment" and the all important "The show at which I wished I could secretly inflict everlasting and agonizing pain upon everyone." His picks for those are listed, along with accompanying video, below. (see his 2011 list HERE and 2010 HERE)

(((unartig))) was last seen shooting video at Eyehategod at Saint Vitus on Tuesday (11/27). Pictures from that show are HERE and last night's show are HERE. Stay tuned for his footage.

Continue reading "(((unartig))) names his favorite (and not so favorite) musical moments of 2012 (each with a video)"

by Fred Pesarro // BBG

Anne

Like minded left-coast shoegaze crews Anne and Whirr have joined forces for a new split 2x7" EP, due on Run For Cover on October 16. Both bands contribute a pair of tracks to the proceedings, with side D of the release being devoted to an etching for all of you vinyl nerds out there. Check out a stream of the third track from the release, "Pet Names," available for streaming below and preorder yours if you so desire.

Anne also recently dropped an acoustic cover of Radiohead's "Motion Picture Soundtrack," which was recorded in one take. Download that via Mediafire.

In related news, members of Whirr either currently or have previously logged hours as a member of Deafheaven, and you can look forward to their split release with Bosse De Nage via The Flenser Records. Deafheaven contributes a cover of Mogwai's "Punk Rock / Cody" while BDN's contribution comes in the new track "A Mimesis of Purpose".

All tour dates and that new Anne stream is below. If you missed them, make sure and check out Anne's previous release on A389 and Whirr's releases work on Tee Pee.

Continue reading "Anne and Whirr team up for a double 7" split (stream a song); Deafheaven and Bosse De Nage prep split EP"

After teasing folks with a few names here and there -- like Run DMC most recently -- Austin's annual Fun Fun Fun Fest (Nov 2 - 4) has revealed it's full line-up, including Public Image Ltd, De La Soul, Superchunk, Santigold, Refused, X peforming Los Angeles, and lots, lots more. 3-day passes go on sale at 10AM CST.

Full FFF Fest lineup is below.

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest full lineup (De La Soul, Refused, Fucked Up, Public Image Ltd, Santigold, Sharon Van Etten, Rakim, X, Converge, Japandroids & more)"

Russian Circles at Bowery Ballroom (more by BBG)

Russian Circles will hit the road soon, starting with a string of dates with And So I Watch You From Afar on the West Coast that will include a stop at Sled Island in Calgary next week.

After that, the Chicago post-rock/hardcore/metal hybrid will team up with Chelsea Wolfe and Marriages for a string of dates out East, hitting Highline Ballroom on August 18th. Ticketing info is forthcoming.

For the unfamiliar, Marriages is Greg Burns and Emma Ruth Rundle of Red Sparowes, and they've lassoed in drummer Dave Turncrantz of Russian Circles to sit behind the kit during this set of dates. The band released their Kitsune EP earlier this year, and you can stream that in full below.

Russian Circles will team up with Deafheaven on a few of those dates on the West side, and Deafheaven will be in NYC on Friday to play the Show No Mercy/WIERD Northside Fest showcase at Saint Vitus.

A listing of all tour dates, streams and video are below.

Continue reading "Russian Circles touring w/ Chelsea Wolfe & Marriages (dates)"

Deafheaven at Public Assembly (more by Greg Cristman)

With only twelve days to go, Pitchfork's "Show No Mercy" have announced their Northside Festival showcase with Wierd Records. The June 15th show at Saint Vitus will feature an exclusive headlining appearance from Deafheaven, who will be joined by Austin psychedelics Indian Jewelry, gothic post-punk crew Pinkish Black (who we recently profiled) and black-metallers Vattnet Viskar. Tickets are on sale or you can get in with your Northside badge.

The show is at the same time as the previously discussed show with Harkonen, The Atlas Moth, Fight Amp, and Whores show at Union Pool. The show features a rare appearance from Harkonen, one of their first in NYC since their 2005 dissolution and one of only three dates on the East Coast. Tickets are still available for that as well, or you can also get in with your badge.

Vattnet Viskar, who released a self-titled EP earlier this year, recently signed with Century Media for their next LP. The band played Lit Lounge last month as part of a Broken Limbs showcase (pictures).

Deafheaven appears on the latest Deathwish sampler, which is out now and FREE.

Flyer for the Show No Mercy/WIERD Northside show is below.

Continue reading "Deafheaven, Indian Jewelry, Pinkish Black & Vattnet Viskar playing Show No Mercy/WIERD Northside Showcase "

photos by Greg Cristman, words by BBG

Alcest, Deafheaven, and Vaura teamed up at a sold-out Public Assembly on March 31st, the last of Alcest's dates with Deafheaven that kicked off directly after SXSW. The bill was the perfect mix of bands that draw from metal, but don't feel the need to be confined by its trappings: Alcest is a shoegaze band with black metal pedigree, Deafheaven is a shoegaze-y band with black metal, post-rock and screamo influences, and Vaura mixes clean vocals with everything from shoegaze to prog to black metal on their recent Selenelion. I enjoyed all of the bands that night, and apparently so did some others:

This show easily enters my God Tier of shows, no contest. All three bands performed wildly beyond my expectations to create one of my favorite live music experiences in recent memory. The only shortcomings were that the sound could have been a bit better, especially during Vaura's set, and the loathsome hipster population both reached and exceeded critical levels* - but that's only to be expected from a show in Williamsburg, the trendiest of Brooklyn neighborhoods. But overall, these negatives paled and withered away beneath the commanding performances of the three acts. If any one of these bands comes to your locale, do not miss out. I can't stress that enough. -[Metalblast]

More pictures/video from Public Assembly below.

Continue reading "Alcest, Deafheaven & Vaura played a sold-out Public Assembly (with DJ BBG) --- pics & video"

photos by Amanda Hatfield & Tim Griffin; additional pictures by Nate "Igor" Smith

Frankie Rose & band @ Hotel Vegan (by Amanda Hatfield)

BrooklynVegan's Hotel Vegan, located at Austin venues Hotel Vegas & Volstead Lounge, began at noon back on Wednesday, 3/14/2012, on three stages. As "bob dylan wrote propaganda songs" points out:

"...it offered the perfect setting for seeing multiple bands within an intimate setting in a short amount of time. Sure it was a long walk down Sixth Street to get there, and it may not have been the most well kempt venue (I'll be honest, it was a shit-hole), but the three stage set-up provided for prime SXSW day party viewing. I had the pleasure of seeing Chelsea Wolfe, Japandroids, Frankie Rose, Deaf Heaven, and Japandroids all within the span of a couple hours. All of these bands were on my list of bands I wanted to see, and thanks to this venue, I was able to cross more bands off my list than past years"

Deafheaven @ Hotel Vegan (by Amanda Hatfield)

Like on Friday and all four days, we served complimentary HobNob Wines all day. On Wednesday we also proudly passed out Brooklyn Brewery beer and Sailor Jerry drinks.

Special thanks to our official backline providers Vox, Blackstar and Korg, and thank you to NadaMoo for supplying free vegan treats, and to Honest Tea for the tea.

More pictures from the entire SXSW Wednesday at Hotel Vegan, below....

Continue reading "#HotelVegan Day 1 pics (Future of the Left, Japandroids, Bear in Heaven, Frankie Rose, Maps & Atlases, Deafheaven, more) "

by BBG

Gorguts at Knitting Factory (more by Greg Cristman)

The Death to All tour got a little more interesting today with the addition of the amazing Gorguts to the lineup. The reactivated death metal crew, which now contains John Longstreth (Dim Mak, Origin, The Red Chord), Kevin Hufnagel (Dysrhythmia, Vaura), and Colin Marston (Krallice, Dysrhythmia, Behold.. The Arctopus) in addition to mastermind Luc LeMay, will participate in all dates on the tour including the previously discussed date at Irving Plaza on June 28th. "VIP Tickets" are currently on sale, with general admission hitting on March 30th.

Reminder: I will I DJ the evening on March 31 at Public Assembly when join Vaura (with Kevin Hufnagel) is joined by Alcest and Deafheaven (both of which played our day parties during SXSW). Tickets are still available, but dangerously close to sell-out.

All Gorguts dates and some video below.

Continue reading "Gorguts added to the "Death to All" tour"

photos by Greg Cristman, words by BBG

Trash Talk @ Scoot Inn, Austin, TX

The BrooklynVegan/Power of The Riff day show took over two stages at Scoot Inn on 3/16, and one day of the multi-day Converse/Thrasher Deathmatch at the venue. With a ticket price tag of free and a stacked lineup that included High On Fire, Trash Talk, Off!, Ceremony, Deafheaven, Black Cobra, Full of Hell, Dead In The Dirt, Code Orange Kids, Heartless, and Balaclava, its understandable that there was a line around the block for most of the amazing day.

We already posted one set of photos from the show at BV Austin, including shots of Heartless, Ceremony, Balaclava, Full of Hell, and Code Orange Kids. Here are some pictures & video of High on Fire, and Off!, and more of Balaclava, Trash Talk, and Ceremony. Photos of Dead In The Dirt, Deafheaven, Black Cobra, and others are on the way. More below...

Continue reading "pics & video from the BV/Power of The Riff Deathmatch party at Scoot Inn (part 2)"

As you know, BrooklynVegan is taking over ALL THREE STAGES at connecting Austin venues Hotel Vegas & Volstead for FOUR DAYS STRAIGHT this week, and it's all 100% FREE (no RSVP or badges either). There's a big outdoor stage, and smaller stages inside Hotel Vegas & Volstead. Collectively we're calling the four day long party "Hotel Vegan" (located at 1500 E. 6th St, Austin, TX).

We announced Thursday, Friday, and Saturday too. Here is Wednesday: Wednesday at Hotel Vegan (March 14, 2012)

Stage 1 (Hotel Vegas Outside)
12:00 PM - Devin
12:45 PM - Big Deal
1:30 PM - Pujol
2:15 PM - We are Augustines
2:50 PM - Sun Araw Band (live) + Matthewdavid (DJ Set)
3:45 PM - Frankie Rose
4:30 PM - Japandroids
5:15 PM - Bear in Heaven

Stage 2 (Hotel Vegas Inside) (BBG Stage)
12:10 PM - Freshkills
12:50 PM - White Ring
1:35 PM - The Coathangers
2:20 PM - Razika
3:05 PM - Chelsea Wolfe
3:50 PM - Deafheaven
4:35 PM - Bleached
5:20 PM - Future Of The Left

Stage 3 (Volstead) (BV Chicago stage)
12:00 PM - Minor Characters
12:35 PM - Gypsyblood
01:15 PM - FIELDED
02:00 PM - White Mystery
02:45 PM - Maps & Atlases
03:30 PM - The-Drum
04:15 PM - Flosstradamus
05:00 PM - JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound

And in addition to the completely free lineup of 24 bands playing on THREE stages, we will also have complimentary drinks courtesy of Brooklyn Brewery (while supplies laset) and HobNob Wines, the official wine parter of our entire week of FREE PARTIES at Hotel Vegan (check out HobNob's Facebook page for free music downloads), and a hosted bar courtesy of Sailor Jerry

We will also have FREE VEGAN TREATS courtesy of NadaMoo! and FREE Honest Tea. Arlo's great Vegan Food truck, located right next door, will be at all four days of Hotel Vegan selling food.

Special thanks to all of our partners and sponsors for making this party possible - including Vox, Blackstar and Korg, our official backline partners. And special thanks to Tim Griffin for making our Hotel Vegan flyer.

--

This just one of four full days at Hotel Vegan. Thursday lineup HERE. Saturday lineup HERE. Friday lineup HERE.

We also have THREE official showcases (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday), and a Saturday metal day party at Lovejoys, AND a just-announced bridge show.

by BBG

High on Fire at Fun Fun Fun Fest (more by BBG)

March 16th, March 16th, March 16th! If you're going to be in Austin, save the date on your calendar folks! On Friday March 16th, 2012 at Scoot Inn (1308 e4th St), BrooklynVegan, The Power of The Riff, and Southern Lord will combine forces for a MARATHON of events that kickoff at noon and end waaaaay after the sun goes down.

The FREE daytime portion, in conjunction with the four-day Thrasher/Converse "Death Match" event at the venue, is an all-ages shindig that will kick off at noon and feature a skateramp with skaters and bands all day long. Shortly after doors open, expect to see eleven bands across two stages including sets from the following:

March 16, 2012 @ Scoot Inn, Austin, TX (noon-6pm)
* High on Fire
* Off!
* Trash Talk
* Black Cobra
* Ceremony
* Deafheaven
* Full of Hell
* Heartless
* Balaclava
* Dead in The Dirt
* DNF (members of Trash Talk, Touche Amore)

As the day show comes to a close, we'll get ready for our night show at the same venue... amounting to a total of FOURTEEN HOURS of destruction! Not to mention the food trucks, a full bar, and so much more to keep you fed and hydrated (or buzzed, depending on your poison) during the onslaught. Stay tuned to BrooklynVegan for details regarding the official night showcase (it has been announced), and for more about the day show (or our OTHER day show on Saturday at Lovejoys), including set times. In the meantime, head below for video of some of the bands playing our MEGA-show at Scoot Inn on March 16th!

Continue reading "BrooklynVegan, Southern Lord & Power of The Riff present a back-to-back day show/official SXSW showcase at Scoot Inn"

by BBG

Deafheaven at Bowery Ballroom (more by BBG)

Deafheaven has been added to a string of Alcest dates including the recently announced Public Assembly show on 3/31. I will be on board to DJ the evening, which will also feature an appearance from the just-added Vaura! Tickets are still on sale. Alcest recently released their new LP Les Voyages De L'Âme, stream it in full.

Vaura are prepping to release their debut LP Selenelion for WIERD Records. The LP, which features members of Dysrhythmia, Gorcuts, Religious to Damn and Kayo Dot, goes up for pre-order on 2/14. Stream the previously posted "Obsidian Damascene Sun" below, alongside all tour dates.

In related news, Deafheaven's sometime-drummer serves as a member of Lycus, who is welcoming their demo in physical format via The Flenser. Order your copy via the label, and download a FREE copy or stream that demo in full below...

Continue reading "Deafheaven added to Alcest tour (Public Assembly included); Vaura LP & Lycus demo out soon"

by BBG

Midnight at Rites of Darkness (more by BBG)

2011 was a year that I spent delving deep into record bins, in the pit at shows, and searching for the most brutal of the brutal at festivals across the country including Maryland Deathfest, Chaos in Tejas, Rites of Darkness, SXSW, the A389 Anniversary show, California Discord Fest, and many others. It was also a year when I revisited my hardcore roots, and went further down the rabbit hole with DIY shows and independent records.

2011's choices for best of the year were tougher than I could have imagined, as opposed to my clear cut 2010 choice for favorite album of the year. That said, favorite records are about playability, and these are the LPs that wore out my needle and earned the most plays on my digital device (note: I made sure to remove a record that I was directly involved in because that would clearly be near the top of the list). I hope you enjoyed these records as much as I did in 2011 and if not, please share what you enjoyed below. I already can't wait for 2012.

My favorite records and shows of 2011 are below.

Continue reading "The Year in Heavy (BBG's favorite records & shows of 2011)"

by BBG

Seven Sisters of Sleep at A389 2011 (more by BBG)

Seven Sisters of Sleep (mems Tafkata) are two for two with releases in 2011, dropping both their excellent debut and their similarly crushing split with Children of God this year. Get both at A389. Though no full East Coast trek has been planned, Seven Sisters of Sleep will join the great All Pigs Must Die, labelmates Low Places, and NYC's Grudges for an NYC date at Acheron on 1/20, just a few days after the always awesome A389 Anniversary show at Sonar in Baltimore with Eyehategod, Gehenna, and many others.

All Pigs Must Die was recently given an "honorable mention" in Pitchfork's top metal of 2011 list (though no shout out for Seven Sisters of Sleep). Check out the full list, along with some streaming APMD material and a few videos below...

Continue reading "Pitchfork lists the best metal of 2011, All Pigs Must Die & Seven Sisters of Sleep schedule a Brooklyn show"

words & photos by BBG

Russian Circles @ Bowery Ballroom

I'm covered in drool and sweat from last night (11/14), but couldn't be happier. Besides a blown guitar head that hindered The Men's opening set, Russian Circles/Deafheaven's tour stop at Bowery Ballroom went spectacularly, featuring both touring bands in prime form. And if The Men weren't plagued by technical difficulty (I know what that band is capable of), the show could have possibly gone down as one of my favorites of the year.

The Men opened the show energetically, pulling material from their latest LP Leave Home. After borrowing a head from Deafheaven, the band ripped into three songs before trouble started to set in; the head would not work. After fumbling with it for one song and some awkward pauses, the band went into a final track before calling it a night.

"You're blowing our big chance!" the bassist jokingly said to his bandmates before sounding off for the evening. Disappointing set, but by no fault of their own... the band's rendition of "Think" from the new record was particularly ripping (one of the few songs they played from start to finish).

A fuse was replaced in guitarist Kerry McCoy's rig in between bands, and Deafheaven preceeded to wow the crowd with their screamo-infused take on black metal. Though the band was sporting a pair of new members (on guitar and drums), they sounded no worse for the change. In fact, by the time they really dug into the set-opener "Violet" (which we premiered in February), I was convinced that this was my favorite live outing from the band thus far (I have seen them at least four times by this point... at our SXSW parties and Cake Shop). Maybe it was my experience of seeing them on Bowery Ballroom's juggernaut-of-a-system, but the Bay Area band was in rare form last night.

Russian Circles batted clean-up, utilizing minimal stage lighting and counting on half a dozen light bulbs around stage to set the mood. The Chicago trio played an impressive set of hardcore-infused post-rock, equally as jaw-dropping as their Fun Fun Fun appearance amidst the sunset at Auditorium Shores. Russian Circles cannot make a bad album and in my experience, are incapable of a bad live show.

If you missed the show last night, do your best to get to Maxwell's tonight (11/15). Tickets are still on sale and surely The Men will have worked out their guitar head situation, and will definitely up the ante from an already impressive Bowery Ballroom show last night.

The Men also play a show with Total Control in Brooklyn on Wednesday.

More pictures from Bowery Ballroom are below.

Continue reading "Russian Circles, Deafheaven & The Men played Bowery Ballroom (pics) ------ catch them again @ Maxwell's tonight"

by BBG

Total Control at Fun Fun Fun Fest (more by BBG)

In addition to their previously discussed dates with Thee Oh Sees, Australia's Total Control have added a third NYC date which is actually happening before the others. The band will team with The Men, Nude Beach & Kicking Spit at Saint Vitus on 11/16. Tickets are on sale OR you can roll the dice and try to win a pair! Details on how are below.

Meanwhile The Men, who are going to SXSW in March, will support Russian Circles and Deafheaven at Bowery Ballroom tonight (11/14) and Maxwell's tomorrow.

Total Control's NYC shows with Thee Oh Sees happen at 285 Kent on 11/17 with The Beets and Doomsday Student who ripped it at Public Assembly (tickets), and at LPR on 11/18 (tickets).

All tour dates, contest details, and some streaming audio, below...

Continue reading "Total Control playing 3 NYC shows this week, The Men too"

by Andrew Sacher

Russian Circles (not Danzig) @ FFF Fest (more by BBG)

Post rockers Russian Circles released their most recent LP, Empros, on October 25 via Sargent House. Some of the album, especially the track "Miladek," which you can grab HERE, tends to cross over into the territory where post-rock meets emo and post-hardcore, similarly to The Appleseed Cast, though the sludgy guitars of their earlier albums still come through in full force. Though the majority of the album is instrumental, vocals do appear on the last track, "Praise Be Man." You can listen to the whole thing at Spotify.

Russian Circles are currently on a tour that just hit FFF Fest in Austin, and will come to the NYC-area for shows on November 15 at Bowery Ballroom and November 15 at Maxwell's with shoegazey San Francisco black metallers Deafheaven. The Men are also on both shows. Tickets are still on sale for the Bowery show and the Maxwell's show.

Updated dates below...

Continue reading "Russian Circles released 'Empros', continue on tour"

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Russian Circles - "Miladek" (MP3)

Russian Circles

Russian Circles willl team with Deafheaven (whose former tourmates KEN Mode just played NYC) for a tour that includes a show at Bowery Ballroom on 11/14. Tickets for the NYC show go on sale on 10/7 at noon.

The tour hasn't been announced in full yet (UPDATE: it has now, dates updated below), but will also include an appearance at Austin's Fun Fun Fun Fest and a free show for FFF ticketholders on 11/5 at Red 7 with Boris as part of "Fun Fun Fun Nites", a string of post-festival after parties with a lineup almost as venerable as the fest itself. Full details on FFF Nites are below and tickets for Fun Fun Fun Fest are still available. BrooklynVegan is a proud sponsor of at least one party during FFF Nites, details are forthcoming.

Before Russian Circles hits the road for those dates, they'll be in readying the release of Empros, the band's new LP and follow-up to the awesome Geneva due on 10/25 via Sargent House. The LP features "Mladek" which is available for download above. LP art and album details are below.

Reminder: Boris plays Irving Plaza on 10/27.

More details on FFF Nites, as well as all known Russian Circles dates are below.

Continue reading "Russian Circles readying new LP, touring w/ Deafheaven --- MP3, some dates & initial FFFFest afterparty lineup"

by BBG

Deafheaven @ Cake Shop

Sans KEN Mode (who was originally scheduled to play the show but changed their tour to go to Europe), Deafheaven ripped the basement of Cake Shop on Friday night (6/17) with the help of the one-man-black-metal-meets-Jesu of Planning for Burial (who I enjoyed thoroughly), as well as the impressive doomy post-hardcore boom of Gholas who also played with the band in Philadelphia and Connecticut (the shows surrounding NYC). The Cake Shop appearance is part of an ongoing tour for Deafheaven, who will link back up with KEN Mode in the coming days after KEN Mode returns from an appearance at Hellfest in France.

All three bands were impressive on Friday night. Planning for Burial combined black metal, shoegaze, clean vocals, and looping to create ethereal soundscapes before Gholas brought the shock and awe with their Isis-influenced hardcore nuggets featured on their current LP Загадка. Get that for FREE via via mediafire. Though Deafheaven is clearly derived from strains of black metal, the band's roots in hardcore show live as vocalist George gets into the crowds faces and provokes singalongs, shoving the microphone into members of the crowd's face. After the show, I was talking to George outside of Cake Shop when a fan approached him:

"Your lyrics are so inspiring to me. You are an English major right? So am I, I can definitely tell in your writing".

I've been to enough bullet-belted and nail-cuffed shows to know that this sort of interaction is a rarity amongst the corpse-painted set, but then again Deafheaven doesn't neatly fit into that or any category.

After the show, I headed to Public Assembly to catch Iceage and Prurient. More about that later.

More pictures from Cake Shop, all tour dates and a video of all of Planning for Burial's set, below...

Continue reading "Deafheaven played Cake Shop w/ Planning for Burial & Gholas who are giving away their new LP (download, pics, video)"