photos by Taylor Keahey, words by BBG

Corrosion of Conformity in San Francisco in August

Though their Starland Ballroom date was cancelled, the NYC return of the Animosity lineup of Corrosion of Conformity with killer support from Keelhaul and Today is The Day is happening tonight/Sunday (10/10) at Highline Ballroom. Tickets are still available for you procrastinators.

Corrosion of Conformity played the West Coast in August, teaming up with a jawdropping lineup of Goatsnake, Eagle Twin, Black Breath, and COC side project Righteous Fool. One stop on that tour was the previously-mentioned Power of the Riff Fest...

"And for the grand finale Headliners Corrosion of Conformity took the stage a bit after 11 PM as true fans in the exhausted crowd had waited hours in anticipation. The minute this line-up (from the Animosity days: bassist/vocalist Mike Dean, guitarist Woody Weatherman and drummer Reed Mullin) kicked into opening instrumental, you can't help but recall how important CoC was to metal - culling together punk and thrash with a love for Black Sabbath, Black Flag and the Bad Brains. Playing an hour long set of pre-Blind era favorites with a couple of new ones thrown in to prove the Raleigh trio ain't exactly a revival act. Still, you couldn't help but feel more than a few twinges of nostalgia for the days when they defined the term "Crossover" - especially when former vocalist Simon Bob (now an L.A. resident) hit the stage to sing "Holier" Over two decades later, Corrosion of Conformity remain a ferocious sound still out of step with everybody." - Mike Gitter

Another stop on that very short tour was two days later at DNA Lounge in San Francisco. A set of pictures from that show continue below...

Continue reading "Corrosion of Conformity's 'Animosity' lineup is finally in NYC (here's some pics from California) "

photos by Adam L. Murray, words by BBG

Goatsnake: Greg Anderson raises his axe in praise of the riff

Think of Sunday's (8/6) all-day Power of the Riff Festival at the Echo and the Echoplex as less of a celebration of heavy metal and more of a mission statement. The objective: Raise respectability for the perennially underground hard rock genre.

"I've been a fan of heavy music for as long as I can remember," said Night Horse singer Sam James Velde, who organized Riff Fest with Southern Lord head Greg Anderson. "I hope this will increase awareness and opportunity for bands of this nature to be able to play. You look at bigger festivals like Coachella, and you have a token heavy band. There's Dillinger Escape Plan, or there's Mastodon. But there's no tent dedicated to that music. Yet metal, hardcore and true rock 'n' roll has an incredible fan base. This is something to try and make a strong impact." -[LA Times blog]

I couldn't agree more, and a gang of people showed up to the 2010 Power of The Riff Festival in Los Angeles last week. With sets from Goatsnake, Corrosion of Conformity III (who are coming to NYC), Repulsion, Trap Them, Black Breath, Nails (who will support Venomous Concept), and many more, the Converse-presented show was free to the public with RSVP.

More pics from the show are below...

Continue reading "Power of the Riff in pics "

by BBG

Speaking of LA, they have another noteworthy festival happening in August, though that show focuses more on the heavier side of things. August 8th will mark The Power of The Riff Fest at The Echo and Echoplex in LA with the return of Corrosion Of Conformity III (aka Animosity era!), Goatsnake, From Ashes Rise, Trap Them, Repulsion, Nails, Coliseum, Black Breath, Eagle Twin, Early Graves, and many others. The Converse-presented show is FREE (wow), but requires an RSVP. Poster and full lineup below.

The original 3-piece Corrosion of Conformity also have a handful of other dates scheduled around that time. Unfortunately none on the east side of the coast (for now), but they are listed below. Three of the dates, including The Power of the Riff, are being called the "Southern Lord West Coast Tour" which all include the lineup of Goatsnake, Eagle Twin, and Black Breath (poster below).

Nails will be in Brooklyn on September 23rd alongside Strong Intention and Venomous Concept at Europa. Tickets are still on sale. Nails are also on the lineup of Philly's 3-day This is Hardcore Fest.

Unfortunately most of this stuff does not include NYC action, though we have two sunn o))) & Boris shows to look forward to, not to mention Boris/Russian Circles/Torche, and SLEEP. Coliseum was just here last week.

Dates and stuff below...

Continue reading "Corrosion of Conformity touring as original 3-piece (dates), playing LA's Power of the Riff Fest (lineup)"

DOWNLOAD: Eagle Twin - Live at KRCL (MP3)

words by Black Bubblegum, photos by Greg Cristman

Pelican

It wasn't all costumes and dry ice at Brooklyn Masonic Temple on Tuesday 9/22. sunn O))) were joined that night by Earth, Pelican and Eagle Twin.

Much like their labelmates Black Cobra, the duo Eagle Twin make a lot of noise for a two piece. Gentry Densley's guitar tone recalls the low-end version of an elephant blowing his trunk, and it gets in your guts. Drummer Tyler Smith has the power to match that tone, as he bashed away at his kit breaking at least three drumsticks in the five minutes I stood near him. This band is much more impressive than The Kindness of Crows would lead you to believe.

Pelican followed, pulling mostly from their upcoming LP What We All Come To Need with a few nods to City of Echoes along the way. The new material seems a bit heavier, and we can look forawrd to hearing some of that again when the band comes back in December with Black Cobra and Disappearer.

Earth's clean tones and Morricone slant were the final band before the funeral dirge of sunn O))). The pensive nature of their material (which was focused on later releases, in particular, The Bee Made Honey in The Lion's Skull) was a sharp contrast to the two heavier acts that preceeded it.

"Led by Dylan Carlson, the quartet has perfected a playing style which derives its narcotic power from an almost impossible slowness, taking John Fahey-style melancholic guitar licks and dragging them out as if they're echoing across an infinite Texas plain in the dark.

Then something unpleasant happened: Earth stopped playing. Whoever the tenth-level puppetmaster is who runs things at the Masonic temple, he/she apparently is a set-time stickler, so despite all manner of enthusiastic applause and catcalls from the crowd, Carlson and crew did not return. Surprising and frustrating." [William]

sunn O))) pics and review HERE. Pelican tour dates and more pics are below...

Continue reading "Earth, Pelican & Eagle Twin @ Brooklyn Masonic Temple -pics"

by Black Bubblegum

Eagle Twin

As members of a secretive brotherhood, Freemasons are no strangers to conspiracy theories. They've heard it all before: that they're child-sacrificing cult members, or religious zealots plotting a New World Order with the Jews, or satanic anti-religious alien spies.

With Dan Brown's newest novel, "The Lost Symbol," hitting bookstores on Sept. 15--much of it rumored to center around Masonic myths--the Masons are in preemptive damage-control mode. [Religion News]

Now that Dan Brown wrote a book on the Masons, it's safe to say that mom, dad, grandma, and my 14 year old cousin will probably know a thing or two about the secret society. Thankfully, Southern Lord will cast a little darkness back upon the Brooklyn Masonic Temple when the label hosts an absolutely mind-bottling lineup of sunn O))), Earth, Pelican, and Eagle Twin on 9/22 as part of The Blackened Music Series. Tickets are still available, though if you're lucky, you can WIN A PAIR as well as a copy of sunn O)))'s Domkirke 2xLP! Just email us at BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM with the subject line of "pronounced sunn not sunno" (include your first and last name).

The Blackened Music series is also responsible for Nadja and Mick Barr, which takes place on Saturday at Union Pool (9/19). Tickets are on sale.

Continue reading "sunn O))) coming soon to the Masonic Temple -- win tix"

by Black Bubblegum

Pelican @ Irving Plaza in June (more by Paul Birman)

"Pelican are in the studio putting the finishing touches on their fourth studio album, entitled What We All Come To Need (out this fall on Southern Lord). What guitarist Laurent Lebec has dubbed "the most perfect synthesis of everything we've done to date, sonically", this new album is a giant step forward within the complex, intricate, beautiful and crushing sound Pelican is famous for. The album features more guests than have ever appeared on a Pelican album before: Greg Anderson of sunn O))), Aaron Turner of Isis, Ben Verellen of Harkonen and Helms Alee and Allen Epley from The Life & Times and Shiner. Content-wise, Lebec says "There is a current of inspiration that feels particular to each album's music and titles. Though we lack a singer, the song names are often conceptual. This new album speaks to a rapidly decaying world, the fulfillment we find in each other, as well as the resolve to move beyond disillusionment."

Chalk up ANOTHER killer band! Pelican has been added to the already sick bill of sunn 0))), Earth, and Eagle Twin at Brooklyn Masonic Temple on September 22nd! Tickets are still on sale. The show is one of a pair for this killer four band lineup (the other is in Seattle on August 6th).

Repulsion, Pig Destroyer & Brutal Truth played Brooklyn Masonic Temple on July 31.

New Pelican album cover art, tracklist, and tour dates below...

Continue reading "Pelican - new Southern Lord album, added to sunn O))) shows"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Eagle Twin - "Murder Of..." (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: sunn O))) - "It Took The Night To Believe" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Earth - "Omens And Portents I : The Driver" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: It's Casual - "The Pantry" (MP3)

sunn O))) rattling the Knit. it closed (sort of) soon after. Coincidence? (Damien Neva)

As previously prophesized, sunn O))) have announced a date at Brooklyn Masonic Temple on Septmber 22nd. Tickets are on sale. Exciting, no doubt, but what's AS exciting is that much like last year's Shoshin/GrimmRobes show at Knitting Factory (with Thou and Tony Conrad), the band has brought some exciting support along from the ride: Earth & Eagle Twin!

Earth, who recently reissued their Radio/Live LP on Southern Lord, currently has one other date on their schedule, July 24th in Seattle at the Capital Hill Block Party. Members of Earth (as well as Burning Witch) are also involved in Master Musicians of Bukkake, who released Totem One on Conspiracy in May.

So just who is Eagle Twin? Eagle Twin contains one Gentry Densley of Iceburn fame, who also recently did time with sunn-er Greg Anderson in Ascend. The band is releasing their debut LP The Unkindness Of Crows via Southern Lord on July 21st, and have dropped off a ferocious new sample in the form of "Murder Of..." available for download above. Eagle Twin, who made their presence felt at SXSW, is scheduled to join sunn O))) on all North American dates (below).

In other Southern Lord news, recent signees Black Cobra will release Chronomega, their new LP on Sept 29, 2009. Featuring production by Billy Anderson and boasting a cover by southern sickos BuzzOv*en, the band is currently streaming "Negative Reversal" on their myspace.

Meanwhile, another band that shared many stages with Eagle Twin during SXSW, It's Casual, has scheduled an east coast show at Union Pool for August 23rd supporting the mad magicians of Wizardry.

Full tour dates for sunn 0))) & Eagle Twin, It's Casual, and KTL are below, as well as a couple for the reunited Thor's Hammer (featuring Stephen O'Malley)...

Continue reading "sunn O))) & Eagle Twin - 2009 tour dates (Brooklyn w/ Earth)"