photos by Rebecca Reed

Lifetime @ Europa

"We never could [get back together full-time and tour]. It would just be absolutely impossible. There's ... Let me try to count. One, two, three, four... There's like, nine kids between all of us. [laughs] There is just no way any us could get that kind of a free pass. It's just not possible. Ari [Katz] just had his third, Pete [Martin] just had his second; they're lucky they can get away for a weekend, you know what I mean? I guess it goes back to having people do stuff for us with management and whatnot. It's something that we all could do for ourselves, but the people that work for us are our friends anyway. They've been doing it for however long. And it's to the point where we barely function as a band as it is, so when we get together the last thing we want to have to do is have to worry about a bunch of little stuff. We're all best friends, we enjoy each other's company, we enjoy writing and playing music together, but aside from that, that's about as much of a commitment as we can all give." [Lifetime's Scott Golley]

After the show, Iron Chic played again at Saint Vitus for the Lifetime afterparty with Model Home. The Europa show was one of two for Lifetime/Title Fight/Iron Chic, who also blessed First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia the next night (1/8).

Pictures/video of the Europa reunion show and the Saint Vitus after party are below.

Continue reading "Lifetime played Europa w/ Title Fight & Iron Chic (who also played the afterparty w/ Model Home) -- pics & video"

words by Lauren Jackson, photos by Greg Cristman

Psychic TV @ Europa

Psychic TV assembled something of a hodgepodge of people sporting vampire fangs, black clothing and, of course, a fair share of pale, sad faces at Europa on December 15th (one of three December PTV shows. The other two were in Chicago and Austin).

An attendee with no previous knowledge of their legacy might think they were in for a dark and dismal performance, but this latest manifestation of the experimental outfit was undoubtedly more colorful than the people in attendance. Although the band played a set of entirely new songs, the crowd (and I, alike) thoroughly enjoyed the psychedelic spectacle on stage. Through guitar solos and graphic projections, the focal point of the set was always on Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, the only remaining original member.

Genesis conducted the band like a cult ceremony - frenetic at times with vaguely epileptic gestures, and subtle at others. They performed all new "deeply psychedelic" material. Pairing that along with Genesis' heavy presence and ten minute guitar solos, it was easy to fall into a trance. Watching them perform, I was hardly aware of where I was or what was going on, but kept focus solely on how elastic the music sounded.

It was a peculiar follow to the two opening bands, Cult of Youth and Bryin Dall. The night started strong with Cult of Youth performing an impassioned neofolk set that felt more like a sermon than a performance, thanks to frontman Sean Ragon. That fire sputtered a bit with the solo set by Genesis's Thee Majesty band-mate Bryin Dall, but came back strong during the Psychic TV experience.

I suspect it's not the Psychic TV many hoped to see, but the night left me satisfied.

More pictures and setlists, below...

Continue reading "Psychic TV, Bryin Dall & Cult of Youth @ Europa (pics, setlists)"

photos by Andrew St. Clair

Laura Stevenson, BTMI & friends celebrating the holidays


Titus Andronicus were the special guests at Europa on Sunday, 12/18, with Bomb the Music Industry (who played their newest album Vacation from front to back), Laura Stevenson (who recently played a song in a stairwell for us), Bridge and Tunnel, and The Golden Age of Radio. Titus were revealed last minute after playing Brooklyn Bazaar one night earlier (12/17). The Europa show was a holiday benefit...

"This is our FOURTH ANNUAL HOLIDAY CHARITY SHOW or the "WE GIVE A SHIT" as it's often called. All the money left over from the door after expenses will be donated to Safe Horizon... a great non-denomiational charity that aims to move victims of violence from crisis to confidence by providing food, shelter, and all that other good stuff so many of us are lucky to have."

Continue reading "Titus Andronicus, Bomb The Music Industry, Laura Stevenson & friends played Europa (pics)"

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)"

by BBG

Beer & Cable at Acheron (more by BBG)

The Meatmen are going on tour in October, and it will be a full night of snotty punk in Brooklyn right after CMJ, at Europa on October 23rd. The NYC show features support from the one and only Black Fag (the absolutely fabulous tribute to Black Flag in their first NYC appearance!), Runny, and the always obnoxious Beer & Cable (thats a compliment). Tickets for the show are on sale. All daes are listed below.

Beer & Cable will also play a beer-soaked Acheron benefit show TONIGHT (9/16) for a mere $5 (or more if you want). Help keep this important metal/punk space alive.

Meatmen dates and a whole bunch of videos so attendees know what they're getting into, below...

Continue reading "The Meatmen playing shows (dates), 1 in Brooklyn w/ Beer & Cable (who play Acheron tonight)"

Weedeater words by Lindsay Maharry, photos & Oxbow words by BBG

Weedeater

Weedeater headlined Europa Saturday night (9/10), playing alongside Oxbow, Bison BC, and Fight Amp as part of a larger tour for Weedeater & co. It was a rare one-off for Oxbow.

Weedeater as a band, and as people, are completely unaffected, giving their live show a remarkable jolt of undeniable authenticity. Beloved frontman "Dixie" Dave Collins' collision of dirty Southern grit and seemingly effortless talent is mesmerizing. Collins started the show off with a back pocket full of salami cold cuts and an arm full of American flag Budweiser. After riffing Sleep for the sound test, the band exploded into "God Luck and Good Speed". The room shook.

Cross-eyed madman Collins is also a jack of many trades. One minute he's knocking himself in the head, while the next he's straight-faced and seamlessly manipulating feedback in perfect sync with the rest of the band. Between growled lyrics, Collins shot strands of mucus in and out of his mouth, but not without casualties; spit strung through his beard for the rest of the set. He didn't wipe it away.

At one point, early on, he found a bottle of water on the stage. "What the fuck is this for? washin' clothes or something?," he muttered to himself, then threw the bottle over his shoulder and pounded the rest of his beer. He never missed a beat. - LM

Oxbow

Oxbow (my favorite band of the night) vocalist Eugene Robinson's well-documented knowledge of the combative arts translates to his moves on stage, punctuating big bang moments from the songs with uppercuts and downward fist strikes. Slithering to the band's bluesy-avant-jazz-meets-Am-Rep backing, Robinson would disrobe piece by piece- eventually grabbing, fondling and thrusting himself in his skivvies and a black leather vest. To say Robinson's performance is confrontational is an understatement, but also to discount Oxbow as a band with a novelty frontman would be a travesty. The trio of Dan Adams, Greg Davis, and Niko Wenner are exceptional musicians that write incredibly compelling tunes regardless of the vocal situation. David Yow knows it, so take notes young folk... this is how it should be done: raw, in your face, soulful, brutal and excellent.

Fight Amp and Bison BC also delivered my favorite performances yet. Bison are at the top of their live game. More pictures from the show, below...

Continue reading "Weedeater, Oxbow, Fight Amp & Bison BC brought the crazy to Europa (pics & review)"

Chelsea Wolfe @ St Vitus (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Well, technically it's not a CMJ show, but it's during CMJ. Chelsea Wolfe (and her full band) plays Europa on Wednesday, October 19th. Tickets are on sale. Stay tuned for more dates and Brooklyn show details TBA.

Cult of Youth are opening for Psychic TV at Europa on December 15. Tickets are on sale.

Chelsea Wolfe made her NYC debut, before a headlining set by Cult of Youth, at St. Vitus in August. Psychic TV (sort of) played a show in Manhattan on the same night.

words & photos by BBG

Krum Bums @ Europa

A blackened crust band. An updated NWOBHM band. A poppy street-punk band. A blackened thrash band. A slow crusty doom band, and a traditional doom band with female vocals. Outside of a grind band and a hardcore band, I'd say that almost all heavy bases were covered on Friday night at Europa and Acheron. My night started with the Toxic Holocaust / Holy Grail / Krum Bums tour which hit Europa with support from Salo. Though the crowd was insanely into both Toxic Holocaust and Holy Grail (I preferred the former way more than the latter), Krum Bums were my favorite band at Europa that night. Their high-energy street punk awoke the quiet crowd, who were circle-pitting by their set's end. Toxic Holocaust had the audience eating out of their hand too, with the much larger circle-pit giving way to on-stage sing-alongs for favorites like "Wild Dogs" and "War is Hell".

side note: Toxic Holocaust's fans at Europa need to take a cue from the book of hardcore when it comes to stage-diving; thirty seconds of hesitation and searching for the right spot to dive isn't just embarassing, its just plain pointless.

After Europa, I headed over to the free after-party at Acheron featuring Windhand with local Belus. NYC's Belus is only on their second show, but the band shows maturity and songwriting way beyond their years. Make sure and catch them whenever you get the chance. Windhand was all the makings of an amazing traditional doom band: great vocals, memorable riffs, and bombastic sound. Can't wait to see them again.

All pictures and some recent video (including some from Europa) is below.

Continue reading "Toxic Holocaust, Holy Grail, Krum Bums, Salo, Belus & Windhand played Brooklyn Friday (pics & video)"

photos by Andrew St. Clair & Tamara Porras

Laura Stevenson and the Cans (who have a free Daytrotter session you can listen to/download) played Europa on Saturday (8/13) with Wagers and The Brooklyn What. The show was one of a few US shows the band had scheduled before they head to Europe for a month long tour in September. Tons of pictures from the show and updated tour dates below...

Continue reading "Laura Stevenson and the Cans & friends played Europa (pics)"

by BBG

Black Witchery

As the clock ticked towards 2AM on Monday night (8/8), a five band bill of raw and dissonant black metal was entering its seventh hour. Plagued by equipment issues and over-long sets, the blackened school night in Greenpoint featured an early-Tuesday morning appearance from Spain's Proclamation, along with support from Black Witchery, a reunited Abazagorath, Deceiveron, and Villains.

Early support was a mixed bag, ranging from tongue-in-cheek and fun, to horrid, and not in an "ugly black metal" sort of way. Brooklyn's Villains match over-the-top and revolting in on-stage banter, with seriously great blackened street-punk. Deceiveron followed Villains, and were probably the low point of the evening. Besides being out of tune for the duration of their stage time, their set was long and uninteresting. Due to equipment issues, Abazagorath (who was next) took close to 45 minutes to set up and were relegated to a 13 minute set. Despite that considerable setback, the reunited New Jersey band's thrashy black metal was engaging. Make sure you catch them on an upcoming go-around.

Black Witchery had the largest crowd of the evening, possibly due to the hour that the band hit the stage (around 12:30). The trio's blackened blasts of war metal incited pits while the band kept it interesting with an animated and costumed live show. Black Witchery's theatrical and anti-melodic black metal was my favorite performance of the evening.

The audience had thinned considerably for Spain's Proclamation, and though they they delivered an excellent set of Blasphemy-style war metal, their late set-time and much-more-energetic direct support of similar-influence made it hard to stay enthralled.

More pictures and video from Europa are below.

Continue reading "a late & long night of black metal @ Europa in pics, video & review (Black Witchery, Proclamation, Abazagorath & more)"

photos by Amanda Hatfield

Eleanor Friedberger & band @ Europa

After checking out Guided By Voices earlier in the day, Fiery Furnaces' Eleanor Friedberger played Europa instead of St. Cecilia's Church on Saturday (6/18) as part of the Northside Festival. The show was opened by Ida, Rebecca Gates, and Spectre Folk. To make that lineup even more exciting, Ted Leo showed up as a secret guest to perform a set right before Eleanor (the second time Ted played Europa in less than a month). Bradford Cox was among the Northside attendees at the Brooklyn show which is pictured in this post.

--
Ted Leo @ Europa

If you missed Ted at Europa, catch him as a special guest again on Hot Tub with Kurt and Kristen at Littlefield this Monday (6/27). He also plays a free 4Knots Fest kickoff show at Seaport on July 9. He won't be at the actual 4Knots Fest, but Eleanor will (and, as announced today, so will Mr. Dream, the band featuring ex-Village Voice writer Nick Sylvester).

Back in February Eleanor took part in a Loser's Lounge tribute to Queen show at Joe's Pub. Backed by an 8+ member ensemble, she got her Freddie Mercury on to "You're My Best Friend". Check out the video, and more pictures from the Northside show below...

Continue reading "Eleanor Friedberger played Europa w/ secret guest Ted Leo, Ida & Rebecca Gates (pics), covered Queen @ Joe's Pub (video)"

Eleanor Friedberger @ Lambert's (more by Tim Griffin)

As some already know, but I just realized last night, the Eleanor Friedberger, Ida, and Rebecca Gates Northside Festival show that was scheduled to take place at St. Cecilia's Church TONIGHT (6/18), was moved to Europa.

Eleanor kicks off a proper tour in support of her Merge solo album in July. All of those dates and her new video (again), below...

Continue reading "Eleanor Friedberger playing Europa instead of the church (and other tour dates)"

photos by Keith Marlowe, Konstantin Sergeyev & Sarah Coulter

Tragedy by Konstantin Sergeyev

Tragedy (not to be confused with the Bee Gees cover band who just announced a residency at Brooklyn Bowl) completed a round of dates, Maryland Deathfest included, at Europa in Brooklyn Tuesday night with fellow MDF-ers Citizens Arrest, Night Birds, and Teargas (who played Europa a few days earlier with Doom). Pictures from the Tuesday show adorn this post.

Citizens Arrest by Konstantin Sergeyev

Tragedy, Citizens Arrest, and Teargas fly down to Austin to play Chaos in Tejas this week. There they share a lineup with Autopsy, Mind Eraser, Omegas, Capitalist Casualties, and many others. Tickets for some shows are still available.

More pics from Europa below...

Continue reading "Tragedy, Citizens Arrest, Night Birds, Teargas @ Europa (pics)"

by Keith Marlowe

There was a packed house Friday night (3/27) at Europa. People were hungry to see Tear It Up at one of the two reunion shows they were playing (the Irish in Kearney was the next night, with Night Birds). Tear It Up's motto is "Play to Destroy", and the original line-up, Dave, Paul, Andy, Doug, and Matt did just that, playing a setlist taken mostly from their crushing 2002 EP Nothing to Nothing. It was an impressive display from a group that hasn't played together for eight years. From the first note of "Don't Call Me Tonight" until "It's the End" people catapulted off the stage and each other. It's one thing to play a reunion set, another to get the songs out while people are constantly slamming into you and the singer keeps disappearing beneath a crush of bodies.

Singer Dave Ackerman dove into audience again and again, surrounded by a sea of faces screaming along with him. The crowd was pushed up onstage, getting closer to the band with every song, while people leapt over Dave. After the show he told me, "I got hit in the neck really hard." I thought, "Yeah, I bet you did."

Boston's Last in Line also reformed to play this and a few more gigs, and Cell Mates from Maryland opened the Brooklyn show. More pictures (setlist included) from Europa (though none of Cell Mates unfortunately) and videos from both shows, below....

Continue reading "Tear it Up reunited, played Brooklyn & NJ (pics & video)"

photos by Chris Gersbeck

Deerhoof @ Europa

Tickets are still available to tonight's "Deerhoof & Friends" extravaganza at Le Poisson Rouge featuring appearances from Ichi and If By Yes (aka Yuka Honda + Petra Haden). It's "A musical event within Carnegie Hall's 2011 JapanNYC Festival, presented by Wordless Music" and Deerhoof's only current U.S. date.

For If By Yes (Petra Haden, Yuka Honda & more(, tonight's show will be the second date this week (they played Littlefield last night) and one of three in two weeks, as the band will hit Mercury Lounge on March 25th (tickets). They are also headed to SXSW and have a show scheduled in LA. All of the dates are inanticipation of the band's new LP, Salt on Sea Glass, out on March 22nd and available for preorder now.

Nels Cline plays on the new If By Yes album and with them at all the shows, as do other special guests who are all listed below.

Deerhoof played Europa on February 8th with Buke & Gass and Ben Butler & Mousepad, a show that relocated from Ridgewood Masonic. Belated pictures from that show, which took place on the night before Satomi's birthday (there was cake!), are below along with all dates...

Continue reading "Deerhoof played Europa w/ Buke & Gass (belated pics), playing LPR (tonight) w/ If By Yes (Nels Cline included)"

photos by Samantha Marble, words by BBG

The Eyehategod / Misery Index / Magrudergrind / Strong Intention destruction train came into Europa station on Friday night (2/18) bringing along a sold out crowd (and quite a few fresh faces). If you're familiar with Eyehategod live in their last few rounds, then Friday's setlist wasn't much of a surprise except for new matieral like "New Orleans is The New Vietnam". Watch one of the new songs in a video from the Philly show at the end of this post.

Mutilation Rites also opened the show at Europa, and would later join Woe and We Are All Savages (but not Magrudergrind) for a late-night show at The Charleston.

More pictures & video from Europa below...

Continue reading "Eyehategod, Misery Index, Magrudergrind, Strong Intention & Mutilation Rites played Europa (pics & video)"

photos by Keith Marlowe, words by BBG

It was the metal equivalent of the first day back at school on January 6th when Europa hosted the first killer show of the year featuring doom gods/recent Metal Blade signees Pentagram, the great-and-currently-working-on-a-new-record Hull, all-female Judas Priest cover band Judas Priestess (get it?) and Bezoar. Bursting at the seams, Europa was packed-solid with doom fanatics who were unashamed to start the pit by the time that Judas Priestess set it off. Killer show from all bands.

More pictures from Europa, including one of Pentagram's setlist, are below.

Continue reading "Pentagram played Europa w/ Hill, Bezoar & Judas Priestess (pics & setlist)"

The above-pictured Jimmy McMillan action figure comes in regular and talking versions. Jimmy's new album (yes, he's a musician in addition to a ex-gubernatorial candidate) "The Rent Is Too Damn High (Volume 1)" can be purchased in MP3 format. Jimmy can be experienced in person at Europa Thursday night (12/16), unless you think the tickets are too damn high!

Continue reading "Jimmy McMillan the doll, Jimmy McMillan the musician (who is playing Europa Thursday night)"

photos by Greg Cristman

"OUR DEAR AND HEARTLOVED COUMPANION IN CREATION...Peter Martin "Sleazy" Christopherson, who chose to drop his body on November 24th 2010, laid at rest and then was cremated in Bangkok 7 days later. We feel consoled and comforted to know that another very dear friend BEE (who lives in Bangkok) was able to be there, as was JENKS.

Apart from participating in the vigil as loving representatives of us all, Bee took these photographs as a memorial document. In our grief, we naturally crave evidence to fulfill our inescapable need to believe something that seems to be an irreversible finality cannot TRULY be so. And, of course, our gift from Sleazy is one we can see all around us. Thousands of flowerings of empathy and love. Each of us taking that facet of Sleazy that is most precious to our personal understanding of him and amplifying it within our own mind, through Creation, adding our own frequencies to those of Sleazy so that his most favorite of Nature's elements may grow ever brighter, ever purer and ever whiter...LIGHT! -BREYER P-ORRIDGE nyc 2010

Though "Sleazy" and Genesis were playing together again recently in TG, Christpherson hasn't been a member of PTV since the 80's, so though there was no denying Pete's spirit was in the air Thursday night at Europa (12/09), and that Genesis is affected by his passing, it was business as usual for Psychic TV at their lone-US show for 2010.

Psychic TV did have a new guitarist named Jeff Berner though, and he played an impressive and extended solo on "Maggot Brain", one of six songs the Genesis-led group played over two hours. The full setlist is below.

Beaut, 4th Sign Of The Apocalypse (featuring Bryin Dall of Thee Majesty) and Ariana Reines opened the show. Ariana did a brief acoustic set followed by a vulgar spoken word set that most people were talking through. She screamed at people to shut up, but most people ignored her.

More pictures and setlists from the show are below...

Continue reading "Psychic TV played Europa (pics & setlist) "

photos by Suren Karapetyan, words by BBG

Incantation

"When I arrived at the venue, California's Fatalist had set up their guitars and banner, but there wasn't a single amplifier on the stage. Not a good sign... Just when it appeared all was lost and the show would be canceled, Incantation showed up with the gear. Mortician set up directly, meaning Fatalist and Funerus wouldn't get to go on... Knowing their time was short, Mortician ripped open a casket of gore with "Zombie Apocalypse." The crowd, who had been standing around for several hours making liberal use of the bar, erupted into an immediate pit... Unfortunately, the set couldn't have lasted more than 15 minutes.

Incantation took agonizingly long to set up, perhaps disbelieving the strict curfew. When they ripped into the succulent opening riff of "Golgotha," all else was forgotten. The decently sized crowd seemed cowed into passivity for a moment, but erupted into mayhem at the first lumbering groove...I was quite interested to see who would be on stage for this show. No band seems to have had more line-up changes in their history than Incantation. John McEntee handled the vocals ably. He dispensed serpentine riffage while growling out gobs of incomprehensible lyrics. The crowd reacted with rapture to each track, hair flying and pit raging. Several erudite fans yelled along, displaying the improbable knowledge of all the album's lyrics...

I know I should be upset that only seven out of the ten original Onward to Golgotha tracks were performed... But it was still a good time, and an experience I won't soon forget. -[MetalInjection]

Continue reading "Incantation & Mortician, but not Fatalist & Funerus, played Europa (pics)"

Beard competitors at Fun Fun Fun Fest (more)

Please list category you are competing for (please only list one - full beard natural, freestyle, moustache, goatee, recession beard or fake beard ):

Do you have a special name for your facial hair?

What is the best thing about having facial hair?

Videos from previous years are below...

Continue reading "NYC Beard & Moustache Competition coming to Europa "

photos by Jason House, words by BBG

The crowd goes wild for Mob 47 @ Europa

Mob 47 and Parasytic played Europa on Wednesday (11/10) as part of a string of dates for the pair and part of a larger East Coast tour for Mob 47. The nutty Crazy Spirit and Nomad both also played the Brooklyn show. Pictures are in this post.

If you missed the show, unfortunately your window to catch Parasytic, Crazy Spirit, and Nomad has closed. But luckily, as mentioned yesterday, Mob 47 will play 538 Johnson TONIGHT (11/13) as part of a bill that will include all of the bands at ABC No Rio today at 3PM (Punch, Loma Prieta, Vaccine, & Death First) in addition to Passive Aggressor.

The 538 Johnson show flyer, some videos and more pictures from Europa, below...

Continue reading "Mob 47 played Europa (pics), playing show @ 538 Johnson"

by BBG

Venomous Concept

Grind supercrew Venomous Concept battered a small crowd at Europa, where the band blasted through 25+ songs with support from Cali killers Nails and blackened and badass Villains. The show was part of an overall tour for VC, who played a string of West Coast dates with BV SXSW alumni Kill The Client prior to the eastside mayhem. Nails supported on all east coast dates.

Locals Villains, who have laid low as of late, played new tracks from a forthcoming release due on the great Nuclear War Now. No official word on the release date for the LP, but the material sounds very promising live and I can't wait to see them again when the open for Thrones and Christian Mistress (on 10/13 at Acheron).

Nails, who will see their Unsilent Death re-released by Southern Lord on 10/5 (it originally surfaced on Six Feet Under), lived up to the hype that the band has been receiving as of late, delivering a blistering 20 minute set that would probably have gotten somer serious crowd movement if the turnout was larger. Cop Unsilent Death, it's a burner.

Venomous Concept finished out the night with an hour+ of d-beaty grind culled from the band's recent Poisoned Apple, as well as their prior work with Buzz Osbourne for Retroactive Abortion. Kevin Sharp was as jokey and unhinged as ever, and the core unit of Dan Lilker/Danny Herrera/Shane Embury were taught and blistering. Excellent set from this 1/2 Napalm Death, 1/2 Brutal Truth crew.

More pictures from the show are below...

Continue reading "Venomous Concept, Nails & Villains played Europa (pics) "

words by BBG, photos by Samantha Marble

Brian of Eyehategod/Soilent Green

It'd be easy to mistake the Eyehategod/Brutal Truth/Nachtmystium/Black Anvil/Tombs throw down as a full on assault on the audience. And while in a sense it was, to the metal fans in attendance, it was a more of a big party. Songs like "Sister Fucker", "High on Hate", and "Filled With Secrets" don't outwardly point to a celebratory vibe, but in the context of that show, beers were hoisted and invisible oranges were raised.

Tombs kicked off the evening at a ridiculously early 6PM with a set that seemed to be filled with new tunes making full use of their new guitarist. It was my first experience with Tombs as a four piece, and the addition definitely adds a fuller sound.

Black Anvil followed with a set that also relied heavily on newer material from their upcoming Triumvirate. The band's relative cooling to the the live stage in 2010 (to write and record mostly) meant a heaping dose of brutality... of course then again, maybe it's the whole "don't know what you've got, til it's gone" factor. (I missed their set opening for Immortal, and only caught them briefly at Scion Rock Fest)

Nachtmystium was up next, and aside from brainchild Blake Judd, the band was sporting a wholly new lineup made up of members of Lord Mantis and a new guitar player (Jeff Wilson recently left the band). Their set contained little of the controversial elements from their new LP Addicts (meaning, no keyboards, overly-compressed snares, etc) and instead concentrated on the melodic black metal blasting. "High on Hate" from the new LP sound particularly impressive live.

Brutal Truth followed, pulling from across their groovy grind catalogue, as barefooted vocalist Kevin Sharp barked out vocals at the crowd. Their set was good, but I found my eyes glued to drummer Richard Hoek for almost the entire set. Hoek is infinitely watchable/listenable, as he alternates between precision blasting, goofy faces, and making ridiculous remarks at the crowd.

After all that lightning-quick pummel, it was nice to have Eyehategod on stage to take it nice and slow. The band pulled out all of the classics for their shortened set (a shade over an hour), and whipped the crowd into a fever pitch. Pit action, stage dives, and sing-alongs were a-plenty, and the band seemed genuinely more excited to be in Brooklyn than they were just seven months prior. Incredible set.

More Eyehategod dates HERE. Tons of pics, and some videos from the Brooklyn show, below...

Continue reading "Eyehategod, Brutal Truth, Nachtmystium, Black Anvil & Tombs played Europa in Brooklyn - pics & video"

words by BBG, photos by Keith Marlowe

Capitalist Casualties

The trail to Maryland Deathfest is blazed by a ton of bands, four of which populated the Europa show on Saturday night (5/22). Fang headlined Europa with an assist from hardcore old schoolers Verbal Abuse, powerviolencers Capitalist Casualties, the killer Magrudergrind, and Strong Intention part of an overall campaign that will see the bands (not SI) crash land at MDF 2010.

Speaking of MDF bands in NYC, Europa will ALSO host MDF'er DRI on Sunday 5/30. Tickets are still on sale, or you can try you hand at winning one of TWO pairs. Details on how are at the bottom of this post.

Sunday at Europa was the Inquisition & Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult show. More pics from Saturday's show are below...

Continue reading "Fang, Verbal Abuse, Capitalist Casualties, Magrudergrind & Strong Intention played Europa (pics) (+ win tix to D.R.I.) "