Boris at Brighton Music Hall last night (more by Tim Bugbee)

Boris is currently on their previously discussed "residency tour" and completed a two-night stint at Brighton Music Hall in Boston, MA. The dates kicked off with their "classics" night on May 4 and continued with Flood on the following evening, featuring special guests Doomriders. More pictures from that show are over at InvisibleOranges. The "residency" tour continues in NYC at Le Poisson Rouge with Young Widows and Ornament tonight (5/6) and  Cave In's Stephen Brodsky and Amen Dunes on Tuesday (5/7). Tickets are still available for both shows.

The Boston hardcore and metal scene has banded together in the wake of the marathon attack, forming a benefit show for the victims of the tragedy. The lineup is nothing less than stellar, featuring a headlining appearance from Slapshot along with Converge (who will play MDF), Dropdead (who recently played NYC), Wrecking Crew, Doomriders, New Lows, The Revilers, For the Worse, Insult & Sexcrement. The show  goes down at South Shore Music Hall in May 6 in Quincy, MA. Tickets are still available.

photos by Fred Pessaro // BBG

Turbonegro / the crowd, House of Vans 8/30/2012

Jean jackets, lipstick, eye make-up and their forebearers, Turbonegro helped close out House of Vans' last night (8/29) with the help of Doomriders and Night Birds. The show was the final HoV event of the season, yet was a rather sparse affair in attendance. Of course this could not deter the ravenous Turbojugends from bouncing along to favorites like "I Got Erection" and "The Age of Pamparious".

Though the show was a light and fun in temperament, there was a bit of a shadow cast over the event due to the cancellation by Baroness due to the horrific accident in the UK. Get well soon guys.

More pictures and video from House of Vans last night are below, including the Turbonegro setlist.

Continue reading "Turbonegro played House of Vans with Doomriders and Night Birds (pics, video, setlist) "

Converge at MHoW, April 2012 (more by Jonathan McPhail)

Converge have released a new video for "Aimless Arrow," a track from the band's forthcoming LP, All We Love We Leave Behind, due via Epitaph on October 9 (preorder). Video and album tracklisting are below. As mentioned before, Converge is on tour this fall and Converge bassist Nate Newton plays House of Vans tomorrow (8/29).

Similarly, the great Neurosis have released details on their forthcoming Honor Found in Decay LP which we told you a little about already. The band's first long-player in five years will arrive on their own Neurot imprint on October 30. Details on that are below.

Release details and that Converge video are below.

Continue reading "Converge released a new video from forthcoming album; Neurosis reveal more details about their new LP"

Turbonegro, backstage at Santos 2011 (more by Keith Marlowe)

For those of you who "got erection" at the idea of a free Turbonegro show, RSVP is now open for their appearance at House of Vans on August 29th with Doomriders and Night Birds (who played Saturday at Acheron) but not Baroness (who cancelled due to injury). The show is final HoV event for the summer (bum-out!) and Turbonegro's first NYC date since the release of their new LP, Sexual Harassment, which we chronicled the making of.

In related news, Nate Newton of Doomriders also serves as a member of Converge, and you can Catch them on the road with Kvelertak and Torche.

In still other related news, Baroness recently cancelled their appearance at Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin. Get well soon guys!

King Khan  at The Bell House, Nov. 2011 (more by Keith Marlowe)

The full House of Vans 2012 free show schedule is up. The Greenpoint/Williamsburg space has already housed The Rapture and Tanlines this year, and we knew about the 7/12 show with H20, 7 Seconds and Tournament, but here's the rest of the summer's line-up, brought to you by the folks at FYF and the sneaker people:

July 12: H20, 7 Seconds, Tournament
July 26: King Khan & The Shrines, Nicky Da B, The Everymen
Aug 2: Washed Out, Chairlift, Lemonade
Aug 16: Cursive, Titus Andronicus, Love As Laughter, Joyce Maynor
Aug 29: Turbonegro, Baroness, Doomriders, Nightbirds

One thing you notice not on this list is Quicksand which was one of the big rumors of this year's VANS schedule. That either means that Quicksand will play somewhere else, or like the upcoming free Dum Dum Girls/Widowspeak show, it won't be part of this series of "House Parties."

The July 26 show is one of many local dates from NJ's Everymen who are also playing Pianos this Friday, July 6 as part of the CBGB Festival. (Advance tickets are on sale.) After the House of Vans show, the band will go on a short East Coast tour while putting the finishing touches on their new album New Jersey Hardcore which will come out in October on Killing Horse Records. All Everymen dates are below.

Continue reading "House of Vans full 2012 schedule announced: King Khan, Cursive, Washed Out, Titus Andronicus, Turbonegro, and more"

by BBG

Old Man Gloom is a sludge/doom metal/post-metal band originally formed in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States [in 1999], but now based in Massachusetts. The group, formed by Aaron Turner of Isis and Santos Montano, has now expanded to become a sort of supergroup in the Boston hardcore and metalcore scene. The group is less a band than it is a recording project for a variety of talent. -[Wiki]

Old Man Gloom on the road will reportedly consist of Aaron Turner (Isis, Mamiffer), Santos Montano (Zozobra), Nate Newton (Converge, Doomriders), Caleb Scofield (Cave-In) and Luke Scarola. So far, no word on a follow-up to their massive Christmas LP from 2004.

All tour dates and a video of OMG at North Six in 2002,below...

Continue reading "Old Man Gloom scheduling East Coast Tour (initial dates)"

photos by BBG

Four stages and more. Fun Fun Fun Fest truly is non-stop fun of many varieties. BBG spent most of Friday at the Black Stage (the one Danzig headlined). His pictures, including Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall, Murder City Devils, Russian Circles and the afterparty at Red 7, continue below...

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 -- Day 1 in pics (part 1) -- Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall, Murder City Devils, Russian Circles & more"

by BBG

BrooklynVegan will return to Fun Fun Fun Fest this year and yes, we are hosting another bill of heavy music in Austin, Texas as part of the newly annointed Fun Fun Fun Nites (aka the afterparties)! The almost-fest-within-a-fest will feature some bands on FFF and others playing only the night shows, which run from the night before the fest (Thursday, 11/3) through the final night of the festival (Sunday, 11/6).

The BrooklynVegan show will go down at Red 7 on 11/4 over two stages with headliners Doomriders alongside From Ashes Rise, Phobia, Mammoth Grinder, and Mindless (ex-Hatred Surge) while the indoors will feature a headlining appearance from Powertrip with Touche Amore, Pianos Become Teeth, Dead End Path, and Miles Away. The show is all ages and FREE for FFF wristband holders.

Over the rest of the FFF Nites, bands like Ty Segall, Cold Cave, Glass Candy, Kool Keith, Trash Talk, Deafheaven, Russian Circles, Mates of State, Neon Indian, Purity Ring, Dom, Zero Boys, Death Grips, The Thermals, David Liebe Hart (who played 2 NYC shows yesterday), Toxic Holocaust, and many, many more will play the after-parties, all of which are listed below.

The actual fest schedule is HERE.

If you somehow don't have tickets to Fun Fun Fun Fest, then you are in luck! I have five pairs of THREE DAY PASSES (which includes all of the FFF Nites admissions) AND a Slayer prize pack to give away! In order to enter, you can try for a pair via the BrooklynVegan Faceboook (contest will be up soon), or you can follow the directions at the bottom of this post to try and win one of the other four pairs we have. Good luck!

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest is coming, afterparties too (WIN one of FIVE 3-day passes we're giving away!)"

photos by Markus Shaffer, words by BBG

Hull @ Mercury Lounge

Hull is currently on the road with The Fucking Wrath, and is also scheduled to play a Fun Fun Fun Fest Nite show in Austin with Toxic Holocaust and Pushmen at Red 7 on 11/3.

Hull have also been added to the previously mentioned Doomriders / Eyehategod show on December 4th at Europa with Knight Terror.

Hull recently played Mercury Lounge with Rwake as part of their Record Release celebration, and Union Pool as part of the Tee Pee CMJ Showcase. Time Out reports on CMJ:

By my count, my CMJ 2011 consisted of 13 metal sets. Not every one was great, but what impressed me overall was the willingness many of the bands displayed to cut across the genre's constrictive sub-borders. Locals Raspberry Bulbs and Tombs--whom I caught, respectively, at Saint Vitus on Tuesday and on Rock Off's East River-faring Jewel on Saturday--each drew on black metal; but while the former spiked the style with grimy punk, the latter took a more expansive and emotive path. Likewise, Norway's Kvelertak (who also played the Jewel) juxtaposed dire metalcore breakdowns with primitive, almost Queens of the Stone Age-ish rock & roll. Best of all, though, was Hull, a local quintet that toggled gracefully between doom and thrash stylings. On Friday night at Union Pool, the band's riffs, ground out by a trio of heavy-bearded six-stringers, rolled forth from the stage like massive boulders, and its stage presence oozed conviction; these were players who had clearly pored over everything from Sabbath to Mastodon, synthesizing their research into epic treatises on the nature of heavy. --Hank Shteamer

Continue reading "Hull played CMJ, added to Eyehategod show (here's a second set of pics from Mercury Lounge)"

by BBG

Eyehategod at Power of the Riff (more by Adam Murray)

Still no word on any new material, but Eyehategod will return to NYC on December 4th for a show at Europa with Doomriders, Knight Terror & more TBA. Tickets are on sale. The show is the band's only 2011 East Coast date thus far, but they have pair of shows scheduled at Sonar in Baltimore in 2012: A389 Anniversary and Maryland Deathfest.

They'll also be at Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin in November. All dates are listed below...

Continue reading "Eyehategod announce more shows, Europa again (dates)"

Slayer at Izod Center (photos by Samantha Marble)

Slayer, Thee Oh Sees, Public Enemy, Girls, Danzig Legacy, (Danzig + Doyle von Frankenstein playing Misfits, Samhain & Danzig), Hot Snakes, Diplo, Major Lazer, Henry Rollins, Ted Leo & The Phramacists, Spank Rock, Murder City Devils, Hum, Lykke Li, Passion Pit, Four Tet, Rakim, The Damned, Austra, Purity Ring, and Flynt Flossy are just a few of the acts announced today as part of the Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 lineup. Another amazing year! Check out the full lineup below and stay tuned for more announcements coming in August and September.

The new additions to the Austin, Texas festival, which takes place from 11/4 - 11/6, are in addition to the the previous "lineup leaks" that included Brian Posehn, Odd Future, Okkervil River, M83, X (performing "Los Angeles"), Reggie Watts, Flying Lotus, Tune-Yards, Ra Ra Riot, Kid Dynamite and others

2011 is the festival's sixth year, but first at its new home Auditorium Shores (no more Waterloo Park). Tickets are on sale now.

Slayer also has a NYC performance coming up with Metallica, Anthrax and Megadeth as part of the "Big Four" show at Yankee Stadium on 9/14. Tickets are still available.

Fun Fun Fun 2011 flyer and almost-full lineup is below.

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 lineup (Danzig Legazy, Passion Pit, Slayer, Lykke Li, The Damned, Henry Rollins & much more)"

photos by Jonathan McPhail, words by BBG

Sweet Cobra had a helluva welcome at their very first NYC appearance on February 12th. A few short moments after the Chicago band took the Union Pool stage, the show sold out. It helped that they were the first band on a serious bill that included the heavyweight left-right punches of Thin-Lizzy-worshipping skate-punks Doomriders & dark-doom-lords Unearthly Trance.

The room was packed to the gills with moshpits breaking out during Unearthly Trance that were only later outdone by the crowdsurfing during Doomriders. More pictures and some videos from the incredible Saturday show are below.

Continue reading "Doomriders, Unearthly Trance & Sweet Cobra played Union Pool (pics & video)"

photos by Al Mojica, words by BBG

Scott Kelly @ Viper Room

Two greats of the heavy underground kicked off their unplugged tour together at The Viper Room in Los Angeles on Feb 5th (pictures from that show adorn this post). The trek is a short one. Wino and Scott Kelly (Neurosis) will play Baltimore's Sonar tonight (2/11) before closing up shop in NYC at Mercury Lounge on 2/12 with Man's Gin and Hunter of Liturgy. Tickets are still available or you can try your luck at winning a pair below.

If you're looking for something with a little bit more crunch, dont forget that Doomriders will team up with Sweet Cobra and Unearthly Trance to play Union Pool that same night. Though advanced tickets are no longer available, the show is not sold out. Doors are at 9PM and will cost you $12, or you can try to win one of two pairs below.

More pictures from the Viper Room in LA, which clearly show that the two greats collaborated on stage, and details on how to win tickets, below...

Continue reading "Scott Kelly & Wino on tour, Doomriders Saturday too (win tix)"

by BBG

Doomriders at Brooklyn Masonic Temple (more)

BrooklynVegan and 1000 Knives are proud to present Doomriders with Sweet Cobra and one more TBA at Union Pool in Brooklyn on February 12, 2011. Tickets are on sale.

Doomriders have kept a relatively low profile as of late, but recently opened for Sleep at Brooklyn Masonic Temple. The Union Pool date will be one of at least two they will play with Sweet Cobra who they are releasing a split 7" with via Hawthorne Street Records in March. Dates we know about so far are below.

Sweet Cobra recently dropped Mercy via Black Market Activities earlier this year, and will also play New Years Eve at Abbey Pub in their native Chicago with Pegboy. The band also recently finished ew songs for a split 7" with Get Rad.

The Brooklyn show flyer, all dates and some videos are below...

Continue reading "Doomriders & Sweet Cobra are playing Union Pool, other dates"

Sleep night 1 photos by Greg Cristman
A Storm of Light/Lichens by BBG, Sleep night 2 by Justina Villanueva

Sleep (by Justina Villanueva)

Sleep played their second and final show at Brooklyn Masonic Temple on Wednesday (9/8, first show was two days earlier), this time with an assist from A Storm of Light and Lichens. As with the previous night, support was fantastic though in much different ways. A Storm of Light featured Zohra Atash (Religious To Damn) on vocals, new drummer RJ from US Christmas, and Will Lindsay (Indian, Wolves In The Throne Room) on second guitar, which added tremendous depth to the already massive sound that the band has cultivated and on the PA at the Masonic Temple, it only sounded larger. Lichens followed, and although technical difficulties truncated Rob Lowe's set to a paltry 15+ minutes, his vocal and primitive synth harmonies were enthralling in those brief moments. Excellent set.

Thirty minutes earlier than the night before, Sleep launched into their set with the opening bars of "Dopesmoker".

Your primary document tonight is 1993's Sleep's Holy Mountain, a churning monolith wherein tunes like "Aquarian" change tempo and velocity in a real casual, nonchalant way, a nice balance of dirge and thrash, narcotics and histrionics. "Traveling toward the atomic sky!" Cisneros growls on "Inside the Sun," and verily you soon feel like you're standing in it yourself. (The Brooklyn Masonic Temple remains a fantastic place to hear these bands, your Sunn O)))s and Mastadons and Neuroses, thanks to the high ceilings, the grimy feel, the liberal approach to volume, the conservative approach to stage lighting, the words "Masonic" and "Temple.") The miniseries-length "From Beyond" is like a portable natural disaster, ebbing and flowing, a super-brooding trudge that powers down to a soft, almost gentle interlude (Roeder tapping cymbals with his bare hands) and then inevitably supernovas into an extinction-level event, with Pike's wildest and most eruptive solo of the night as punctuation. The cops didn't even bother showing up to gawk at this one, most likely because they were completely terrified. Their loss, your hearing loss. -[Village Voice]

Continue reading "Sleep played Brooklyn Masonic Temple again (pics) "

words & photos by BBG

Sleep @ Brooklyn Masonic Temple Monday night

Back before Boris and Sunn O))) took over the place, Sleep played their first of two NYC shows at Brooklyn Masonic Temple on Monday night, Labor Day (9/6). Unearthly Trance and Doomriders opened the show, and the legendary stoner band will do it AGAIN TONIGHT (9/8), this time with different openers: Lichens and A Storm of Light. The show, which WAS sold out, will now have tickets available when doors open at 7PM TODAY.

Sleep's reunion tour so far also included shows at ATP NY and at FYF Fest out west.

Unearthly Trance's next NYC show is at Union Pool on 9/29 with Swedish doom destructors SUMA and NJ's Pharoah. The show is part of a short stint of dates for the duo and doubles as their record release party for the forthcoming V due on Relapse Records at the end of this month. Unearthly Trance and SUMA will share a collaborative EP on Throne Records in the coming months, not to be confused with their previous, and now sold-out, split 10".

If you miss them tonight, Lichens also have another show coming up soon:

Wednesday September 15th @ SHEA STADIUM

:: INTERNATIONALTAPES.COM & TODD P present:

:: Janka Nabay ----------------- solo
:::: Highlife -------------------- Doug Shaw, Social Registry records
:::::: Ali Kamiya Dit Ba aka Ali Baba -- from Mali, w/ Adrian Orange of Thanksgiving
:::::::: Lichens ------------------ Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe

:: special guests: CLOUDLAND CANYONS
:: International Tapes djs

| SHEA STADIUM |
20 Meadow St btwn Waterbury St & Bogart St | Williamsburg, Brooklyn
L-Grand, G-Metropolitan | 8pm | all ages | $8
| MYSPACE |-- http://sheastadiumbk.blogspot.com

Continue reading "Sleep played Brooklyn (pics, setlist), do again (TONIGHT)"

by BBG

Matt Pike of Sleep, on stage with High On Fire (more by Markus Shaffer)

I get my fair share of emails, but lately the number regarding a single issue has trumped all others: the sold-out Sleep show at Brooklyn Masonic Temple on 9/8. Unfortunately, those tickets are completely gone - relegated to the black market (not that I condone...). Luckily though, BrooklynVegan and Osiris Productions are proud to announce a SECOND show at Brooklyn Masonic Temple on September 6th, this time with support from Doomriders and Unearthly Trance! Tickets are on sale.

The show takes place the same day that Young Widows, Helms Alee, and Marching Teeth will take on Cake Shop as part of a BrooklynVegan/1000 Knives event. Tickets are on sale.

It's not the first time that Matt Pike and the boys from Unearthly Trance have shared a stage. It also happened when High On Fire played Music Hall of Williamsburg in late July with Natur.

Current Sleep dates and tons of videos are below...

Continue reading "Sleep add a 2nd Brooklyn show (the 1st one is sold out) "

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Red Sparowes - "Giving Birth To Imagined Saviors" (MP3)

New band member. New sound. And just like an abbreviation of the first track on their last LP, the new Red Sparowes represents a "Great Leap Forward".

As expected, the LA band's recent addition of guitarist Emma Ruth Rundle and the amicable departure of Josh Graham has left a indelible mark on their upcoming LP, The Fear is Excruciating, But Therein Lies the Answer. But it's not for the worse; soaring and heartbreaking melodies are still the primary (and fulfilled) objective and that achy-breaky pedal steel will still get you every time. In a nutshell, it's a Red Sparowes record, filled with expansive, emotional pieces like "Giving Birth To Imagined Saviors", downloadable above. Hanky not included.

Red Sparowes are scheduled to take the stage with Doomriders over two nights at Mercury Lounge: April 13 (tix) and April 14 (tix)

Full Red Sparowes dates and an album trailer are both below....

Continue reading "Red Sparowes (w/ new lineup) releasing new record (MP3)"

by BBG

Red Sparowes w/ Brendan Tobin of Made Out of Babies (more here)

Red Sparowes and Doomriders will team up for a pair of NYC dates at Mercury Lounge on April 13th (tix) and 14th (tix). Tickets go on sale at noon on Friday (2/5).

Red Sparowes will be another species of bird entirely, Mockingbirds, when the band support Imaad Wasif at LA's Spaceland on 2/4. Confused? Let the band explain:

For those of you in the Los Angeles area, we are playing a mostly-improvised set of songs this Thursday night, February 4th at Spaceland under the name Mockingbirds. This is not a set of Red Sparowes songs. There will be no visuals. It's just a chance for us to play around with some musical ideas. We'll have a special guest doing vocals on one song.

Doomriders have a few dates on their calendar as well, including a few with Skeletonwitch. All Doomriders dates are below. Meanwhile Nate Newton of Doomriders' other band, Converge, was recently mentioned in an interesting tweet/twitpic by Coalesce...

If this is a real tour, please someone kindly remove my jaw from the floor...

As pictured in the Fun Fun Fun fest pic on top, Brendan Tobin of Made Out of Babies occasionally fills in for Bryant Clifford Meyer (Isis) on guitar in Red Sparowes. MOoB will be at Union Pool with Unsane, United Nations, and Dark Vibe on 2/12 (a BV Presents prodiction). Tickets are still available, but get 'em now, this show WILL sell out.

All dates and that video below...

Continue reading "Red Sparowes (new LP soon) & Doomriders playing 2 NYC shows together & other dates"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Doomriders - "Lions" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Portal - "Omenknow" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Javelina - "Step Child" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Karma To Burn - Live at Lit Lounge 4/20/09 (Zipped MP3)
DOWNLOAD: 20 Buck Spin Label Sampler (Mediafire, Zipped MP3 via)
DOWNLOAD: Kowloon Walled City - Gambling On The Richter Scale (Zipped MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Converge - "Axe To Fall" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Power Pellut - "Black Molly" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Black Skies - "Smoke and Mirrors" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Yoga - "Seventh Wind" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Sleep - Live at ATP 5/9/09 (MP3)

Javelina @ the Northside BV-BBG Showcase (more by Jason Walker)

Alright! I get it. Doomriders rules. Revocation is up there. There's a new Converge and Baroness on the way. But even with all of those great releases, it suprises me that Javelina isn't near some of the top of those lists. The band's filthy debut was a monster and their new one, Beasts Among Sheep, only adds to their considerable reputation. If you are a fan of the last LP, this one is a must have. Dig on "Stepchild" above and preorder the limited edition LP version of Javelina's Beasts Among Sheep via Brutal Panda Records and the CD version via Translation Loss.

Speaking of that Doomriders album, Darkness Come Alive is out NOW via Deathwish Records. Though the party vibe that permeated through Black Thunder is mostly gone, it has been replaced by a propulsive punk rock fury and, at times, a Misfits-era Danzig croon (see "Come Alive")! There are quite a few killer moments on this long-player, but we present to you the most "fuck you" of them all, the galloping "Lions" downloadable above!

In our last round up, we shined a light on into the deepest fathoms of Australia and the truly frightening Portal. The band's claustrophobic and positively frightening new death metal LP, Swarth, relies as much on freak-out atmosphere as it does killer discordant riffery. Swarth is due out on 10/20 via Profound Lore and we have a second taste in the form of "Omenknow" above.
Misery Index have completed four new songs and are looking to enter the studio in early 2010 to record their follow up to Traitors! Stoked.

Iron Age @ Cake Shop (more by Jason Walker)

I still remember that kick ass Cake Shop show with Iron Age, Mind Eraser, and Sex Vid, and walking out of that show wanting more. Thankfully, I can add to those great memories with a PAIR of Iron Age shows in the coming weeks! First up, the rowdy Texans will team up with the great Mother of Mercy (profiled here) for a show at Cake Shop (10/16). The next day (10/17), look for the band to pull a double header with a day show at Generation Records and a night show at The Charleston with Brain Killer, Naam & Descender. Speaking of Mind Eraser, the band will team up with the kick ass Iron Lung for a string of east coast dates which will include Cake Shop on 11/8! Full Iron Age and Iron Lung dates are below.

Black Skies will release the limited edition vinyl from their 2008 EP Hexagon on I'm Better Than Everyone Else Records. The Chapel Hill doom trio is currently on the hunt for drummer #5, but not before blessing us with some seriously killer riffage in the form of "Smoke & Mirrors" above. Preorder Hexagon here.

Power Pellut is also releasing their debut LP via I'm Better than Everyone Else Records. Preorder that here and dig on "Black Betty" from that LP above!

Church of Misery will release a live record culled from their recent set at Roadburn 2009! More details are to come, but look for Burning World to do the honors in November/December of this year. In the meantime, dig on this killer live video from Roadburn 2009!

That video, news on Kowloon Walled City, Boris, Asphyx, Struck By Lightning, Ringworm, Repulsion and more!

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

by Black Bubblegum

Charles Maggio of Rorschach

June 1993 at ABC No Rio with Assuck & Scrog.

That's the last time that the mighty Rorschach blessed NYC. The band called it quits shortly after, splintering into projects like Gern Blandsten Records, Beautiful Skin, Deadguy, Kiss It Goodbye, and tons more, but those great successes only highlighted an undeniable fact: Rorschach were innovative and before their time.

After deciding to reunite earlier this year in honor of the 20th anniversary of the Remain Sedate LP, Rorschach announced a short east coast tour. The band is currently in the midst of that tour, which impacts Asbury Park in their native New Jersey tonight (9/24) and Santos Party House TOMORROW (9/25, tix here).

We spoke with the mighty Charles Maggio (Vocals, owner Gern Blandsten Records) to get to the bottom of the reunion and what we can expect going forward....

Continue reading "an interview w/ Charles Maggio of Rorschach (who are in the middle of their short run of reunion dates)"

words and photos by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Moutheater - "Swallowed Whole" (MP3)

Doomriders

While I managed to catch most of the "North America is Doomed" show on 8/9, I did scoot over to Union Pool just in time for the mighty Doomriders and Converge-related breathren/new Deathwish signees Acid Tiger. That means that I missed Moutheater (mems-Jesuit) as well as I Hate Our Freedom (mems-Pilot To Gunner, Milhouse).

Fortunately, I was able to catch up with the Moutheater guys prior to Acid Tiger, picking up a copy of their newest LP, Ornament. This noise-crust-core band's long-player sits comfortably in a groove between the Albini-produced greats of yore (Jesus Lizard, Neurosis, Shellac, et al) and in fact, Mr Albini lent his considerable weight to the band's debut 7", Lot Lizard. That LP is out now via Thrashed Records, and you can grab a hold of an MP3 from it above!

Acid Tiger is cut from a similar cloth as Doomriders. Featuring Ben Koller of Converge on drums, the band's vaguely hardcore, vaguely sludge, vaguely punk chug carries less of the party vibe that ran through the center of Black Thunder, but a good portion of the power. Besides the catchy riffs, J Rattlesnake is a riveting frontman and Acid Tiger has the energy to make their debut worth a listen.

New Doomriders material seemed to be the focus of the show on Sunday, and from the sound of it, their upcoming LP Darkness Comes Alive will be less "the soundtrack to chugging beers" and more "the soundtrack to smashing a bottle over another man's head". Great set as usual from this foursome, who closed with "Black Thunder" which ignited a mosh pit (in Union Pool!) but... GUYS! Whats up with being more amazing on Sunday than you were at Europa? Gr.

Converge will join Mastodon, High On Fire, and Dethklok at Hammerstein Ballroom on 10/30. The band's new LP, Axe To Fall, is due via Epitaph on 10/20.

More Union Pool pics below...

Continue reading "Doomriders & Acid Tiger played Union Pool (pics)"

by Black Bubblegum

Saviours at Union Pool (more by Paul Birman)

Saviours have been added to all three previously announced Saint Vitus dates, which include Europa on 10/16 (tix). In addition, the band will play Summerstage for FREE on Aug 16th with Dinosaur Jr and The Walkmen.

Saviours have also jumped on the previously discussed Kylesa tour, replacing Doomriders who can't make it due to Nate Newton's commitments with Converge (meaning, their impending tour with Mastodon & High On Fire):

"We've gotten alot of messages regarding our dropping off of the Kylesa tour and yes....unfortuately the news is true. Due to scheduling issues between Doomriders and Nate's other band, Converge, we had to pull out of the tour. Our deepest apologies go out to our friends in Kylesa, and also to anyone who had planned on coming to see us play on the tour. We love Kylesa, and we love our brothers in Saviours who have taken our spot on the tour and encourage everyone to go to these shows and have a blast! It's going to be a great tour and we're all very sad that we won't be a part of it. We will hopefully be announcing some exciting tour plans for later in the year very soon. We're sorry everyone! We'll see you next time!" -[Lambgoat]

Continue reading "Saviours added to Saint Vitus shows, replace Doomriders on Kylesa tour (because Converge is touring w/ Mastodon)"

by Black Bubblegum

Doomriders @ Europa (more by Kason Walker)

August 9th isnt even here yet, and now we have a second Doomriders show to look forward to in the coming months. They're scheduled to play with Kylesa, Red Fang, Tournament, and Bison BC at Santos Party House on Oct 19th (a date that is awfully close to CMJ 2009). Stoked!

UPDATE: The lineup of this show is unconfirmed, and will not include Kylesa who reportedly "pulled all their East Coast dates". Stay tuned.

NYC's Tournament recently dropped their new LP, Years Old, on Forcefield Records and, as usual, these tireless punks have a few other NYC dates on their schedule including August 16th at Union Pool with Night Horse & Orphan, as well as August 21 at The Charleston with Cannabis Corpse.

Doomriders recently announced the release date for their new LP, Darkness Come Alive.

Kylesa is scheduled to play Oya in Oslo on August 12th, as well as the Planet Caravan Festival with Wino, Pentagram, and Yob.

Red Fang are currently "in the basement cranking out new songs" to follow up their self-titled LP from earlier this year.

Bison BC is currently on tour with Lazarus AD and Woe of Tyrants. Full tour dates for them, Red Fang, and Tournament are below...

Continue reading "a Doomriders show @ Santos ++ other tour dates"