photos by Greg Cristman; words by BBG

Nergal (sans makeup)

Saturday night (5/12) at Irving Plaza was the final night of the Decibel Magazine tour, featuring names like Watain, The Devil's Blood, In Solitude and most notably, the return of Behemoth following Nergal's battle with leukemia. The sign on the door that read "sold out" was more than just a triumph for the bands, it was a personal triumph for Nergal too.

Local doom greats Evoken opened the show as part of a string of dates for the band with the tour, but sadly we missed them. Pictures from the remainder of the show are in this post.

Watain is currently on the road with Black Anvil. Meanwhile, The Devil's Blood is preparing to play Maryland Deathfest next weekend. Hopefully, their troubles are behind them.

--
Watain @ Irving Plaza

If you weren't at Behemoth on Saturday, maybe it's because you were at one of the other notable heavy shows going on the same night, like Tragedy/Boston Strangler/Perdition/Sickoids at Le Poisson Rouge (pictures).

More pictures from Irving Plaza are below...

Continue reading "Behemoth, Watain, The Devil's Blood, In Solitude, and Evoken played Irving Plaza (pics)"

photos by Rebecca Reed

Mastodon @ Roseland Ballroom

From the opening wails of "Black Tongue" (accompanied by some adorable tongue-wagging by guitarist Brent Hinds) to the soaring peaks of "Octopus Has No Friends," [Mastodon] deftly wove its way through a setlist containing most of the tracks from last year's The Hunter along with other fan favorites. An extra-flashy light setup cloaked the band in hazy neon lights, making already-epic songs like "Blasteroid" downright menacing. The extra bits of A/V magic--including a pair of glowing, flashing eyes embedded in the tapestry behind the foursome--dramatically reiterated what we all already knew: Mastodons are masters of their craft. -[CMJ]

The Mastodon/Opeth/Ghost Heritage Hunter tour breezed into NYC on Wednesday (4/11) when the bands shared a stage at Roseland Ballroom. Here are some pics and all setlists.

The tour rolls on, and the bands play the Riv in Chicago tonight while the Decibel tour (without Watain) plays across town in the same city.

More pictures and the setlists from the NYC show, below...

Continue reading "Mastodon, Opeth & Ghost played Roseland (pics & setlists)"

Mastodon at Terminal 5 (more by Greg Cristman)

The full tour schedule for the previously mentioned Heritage Hunter tour (with Mastodon, Opeth and Ghost) has been revealed. The bands will embark on a month-plus long trek kicking off in Maine and terminating in Atlanta. Along the way Mastodon and Opeth will swap headlining slots, as noted in the full list of dates below.

As discussed, the tour will hit Roseland Ballroom on April 11th for a Mastodon headlined show. Tickets go on LiveNation presale at 10AM on 2/1, with regular sale hitting on Friday. You can also catch the bands in Wallingford, CT.

All tour dates and Mastodon's new video (if you missed it), below...

Continue reading "Mastodon, Opeth, Ghost reveal all Heritage Hunter tour dates"

Ghost at Bowery Ballroom (more by Greg Cristman)

The rumors are true. Mastodon, Opeth, and Ghost will team up for the Heritage Hunter Tour, a string of dates together that have not been entirely revealed, but include a few dates in Las Vegas, Pittsburgh, and NYC at Roseland Ballroom on April 11th. Tickets for the NYC show go on LiveNation presale at 10AM on 2/1, with regular sale hitting on Friday.

Ghost is currently finishing up a string of dates that included NYC at Bowery Ballroom.

In Solitude, which contains members of Ghost, will hit the road for dates with Beheomth/Watain/The Devil's Blood this fall too.

All known tour dates and a recent Mastodon video for "Dry Bone Valley" is below.

Continue reading "Mastodon, Opeth & Ghost teaming up for US tour (dates include NYC at Roseland)"

photos by Greg Cristman

Even before the house was opened, the line snaked down the Bowery with eager metal fans clamoring to get a view of Ghost. Many on line were lucky enough to catch the band during a one-off date last year, while many like myself were seeing them for the first time on this night...

The band was extremely tight with both vocals and instrumentation. The live renditions of "Elizabeth," "Death Knell," "Ritual," and a dark cover of The Beatles' classic "Here Comes The Sun" both mesmorized the audience before melting their collective faces. Horns were raised high as the crowd song along knowing each and every word throughout the band's set. This lyrical devotion was overly apparent when they played "Satan Prayer" which was the best song performance of the evening. During the chorus, 'the cardinal' gave the metal hungry crowd several chances to sing the hook, often staring directly at us with his piercing eyes, using his hands to lead us like some type of satanic conductor. -[Local Bozo]

Ghost kicked off their string of US dates with Blood Ceremony and Ancient VVisdom at Bowery Ballroom on January 18th. Pictures and setlists from Bowery, as well as remaining tour dates, are below...

Continue reading "Ghost played Bowery Ballroom w/ Blood Ceremony & Ancient VVisdom (pics, setlists)"

by Andrew Sacher

Ghost at the Studio in June (more by Greg Cristman)

Sweden's Ghost were forced to cancel their last US tour due to visa issues which would have hit Gramercy Theater this past September. Like their fellow Swedes in Graveyard, who faced a similar fate, they've scheduled another US tour for early 2012. They'll kick off the tour, which has been dubbed "13 Dates Of Doom," at NYC's Bowery Ballroom on January 18. Tickets for the NYC show go on sale Friday (11/11) at noon with an AmEx presale starting Wednesday (11/9) at noon. All dates and the tour flier are below.

Blood Ceremony

If you're off to any of these shows, be sure to catch Toronto band Blood Ceremony, who open for Ghost each night, along with Ancient Wisdom. Earlier this year, they released their sophomore LP, Living With The Ancients, which, like their self titled debut, is filled with doomy Sabbathian riffs and the occasional psych-folk passage. While tons of doom bands have taken similar routes, frontwoman Alia O'Brien gives the formula a twist. While the guys are busy riffing on heavy blues, Alia provides sharp Jethro Tull-esque flute lines, psych/garage organ, and a demonic voice casting spells of witchcraft and the occult. You can stream a couple tracks from Living With The Ancients below.

All dates, song streams, and tour flier below...

Continue reading "Ghost going on tour w/ Ancient Wisdom & Blood Ceremony (whose new LP is out now) --- 2012 dates"

by BBG

Junius at Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010 (more by BBG)

As reported, Ghost had to drop off the previously discussed US tour with Enslaved/Alcest. It's a hard road to try and find a replacement for a tour of that magnitude, especially at this hour (the tour kicks off next week!), but luckily we can exclusively report that the road-dogs in Junius will step to the plate in their stead! Tickets are still available for 9/25 at Gramercy Theater with Fin'amor. All dates are listed below.

For the unfamiliar, Junius owes as much debt to guitar-drenched alterna-pop of the 90s as they do to Isis or Mogwai. Their alternately pulverizing and melodic tunes use emotionally charged clean vocals as a centerpiece, yet always seem sincere, somber, and never sappy. Junius are preparing to release Reports From the Threshold of Death, the band's new album of expansive and epic space-rock on 10/25 via Prosthetic Records. Check out a track from that album, "All Shall Float", for the first time below!

Reminder: Junius have a split with Rosetta on the way via Translation Loss as well. Alternative Press has a song from that one.

All tour dates, the album art, and the song stream are all below...

Continue reading "Junius replacing Ghost on Enslaved tour (dates), releasing new LP on Prosthetic (song debut)"

Ghost @ The Studio at Webster Hall (more by Greg Cristman)

Everybody,

Due to some last minute complications with our visas, we have been forced to cancel our North American tour.

We are sorry towards the other bands on the tour, Enslaved and Alcest, and we wish them a very joyful tour without us.

And we are most of all tremendously sorry towards all of our fans.

This is truly beyond our control and we are making everything within our (His) powers to be able to come back to the US as soon as possible and perform for all of you.

Thank you all for your support!

Our most malicious of wishes

/A Nameless Ghoul
on behalf of GHOST

Those dates include Gramercy Theater on September 25th (tickets). All affected tour dates are below.

In related news, the mysterious GHOST frontman's identity may have been revealed.

Continue reading "Ghost cancel tour, Enslaved & Alcest still playing"

photos by Greg Cristman

Ghost @ The Studio

After a strong reception at the close of Maryland Deathfest 2011, Sweden's Ghost headed to NYC to play the Studio at Webster Hall on June 1st with a stellar supporting cast of Sabbath Assembly and Natur. Ghost closed their NY set with their creepy cover of The Beatles "Here Comes The Sun" which appears as a bonus track on the Japanese version of their new album Opus Eponymous. Another highlight of the show, captured in the pictures above and below, was the unholy communion, wine and wafers included, delivered by the deathly priest frontman as the band played album cut "Ritual". More pictures from the show are below.

And it was just announced that Ghost wil hit the road to support Enslaved with Alcest as part of a US tour this fall. NYC gets a date of its own, Gramercy Theater on September 25th. Tickets go on sale at noon on Friday (6/10). Full tour schedule is below.

Enslaved recently released a new EP, The Sleeping Gods, via Scion that is available for free download. Stream it in full, with the dates and pictures, below....

Continue reading "Ghost consecrated the Studio w/ Sabbath Assembly & Natur (pics), touring w/ Enslaved & Alcest (dates)"

words & photo by BBG

Citizens Arrest

After a three days of mayhem (pictures from day 1 HERE, day 2 HERE, and day 3 HERE) featuring sets from Neurosis, Doom, Lack of Interest, Voivod, Extortion, Aura Noir, and tons of notable others, Maryland Deathfest came to a close on Sunday with another full of performances capped by a headlining outdoor set from the reactivated Coroner, their first US appearance in 20 years.

Later that night, the true close to MDF was led by Ghost, whose set was tight and fun visually, but did not impress me as much as the hype suggests (decide for yourself on June 1st at the Studio). The remainder of my day was filled with pretty much every other band on the bill, except for Visceral Disgorge and Doubled Over who I missed in favor of much needed meals. My favorites of the day go to the foul death metallers Dead Congregation and Repugnant, the always awesome Citizens Arrest (who play Europa with another MDF alum, Tragedy, tonight), the energetic Skinless and the over the top goregrind of Last Days of Humanity.

Coroner

Coroner's setlist and more pictures from the final day of Maryland Deathfest 2011, which includes pictures of Oak, Night Bringer, Bad Acid Trip, Gravehill, Malignant Tumour, Dead Congregation, Nokturnel, Repugnant, Orange Goblin, Citizens Arrest, Skinless, Bastard Noise, Nuclear Assault, Wormed, and Last Days of Humanity, are below...

Continue reading "Maryland Deathfest 2011 - Day 4 pics & recap (Coroner, Ghost, Citizens Arrest, Dead Congregation, Doubled Over, more)"

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Loss - "An Ill Body Seats My Sinking Sight" (MP3)

Sabbath Assembly at Roadburn 2011 (more by Stefan Raduta)

The previously discussed Ghost show at The Studio at Webster Hall (on June 1) gets more impressive with the addition of Sabbath Assembly and Natur to the bill. Tickets are on sale. Sabbath Assembly features vocalist Jex Thoth, and the band recently wowed the crowd at Roadburn 2011 with their retro-blues-y compositions punctuated with Thoth's sultry vocals.

After a killer succession of demos and splits (including the favorite Life Without Hope... Death Without Reason demo pressed on vinyl via Parasitic Records last year), Profound Lore has posted a new track from the always impressive Loss, whose debut LP Despond will be released by the label on May 31st. Fans of funeral doom, behold "An Ill Body Seats My Sinking Sight" available above.

Japanese hardcore punks Origin of [M] will release their debut 12" on vinyl via Burai Core. Fans of crusty Japanese style hardcore, take note and catch the band at one of their upcoming US dates including an appearance at both Chaos in Tejas and at Acheron on June 17th. All tour dates and the tour flyer is below.

Kieltolaki is also playing from Chaos In Tejas, and will also log a NYC show too. Look for the band to team with Brain Killer and Nomad at Acheron on June 11th. Kieltolaki released Massahypnoosi on Feral Ward last year.

Krallice is currently streaming all of their new long-player, Diotima, at NPR. You can also stream the previously discussed Agoraphobic Nosebleed / Despise You split in its entirety at Crustcake. Krallice is hitting the road with Withered for a set of dates including The Studio at Webster Hall on 5/2.

A list of upcoming NYC shows and a stream of a new Morbid Angel track is below.

Continue reading "Evillive (Loss, Sabbath Assembly, Origin of M, Kieltolaki, Morbid Angel, Ghost, Natur & more)"

photos by Stefan Raduta, words by BBG

Godflesh

Coachella isn't the only heavyweight festival going on this weekend... Roadburn 2011 is in full swing over in Holland. It kicked off on Thursday April 14th, and pictures from that first day in are in this post. They include Alcest, Godflesh (who played all of Streetcleaner), Soilent Green, Year of No Light, Winterfylleth, Pentagram, Wovenhand, Ghost (who are headed to the states soon), Circle, Wardruna, and more. They continue, with some videos too, below...

Continue reading "Roadburn 2011 day 1 in pics (Godflesh, Alcest, Pentagram, Soilent Green, Ghost, Wovenhand, Wardruna & more)"

by BBG

Look out for men dressed in evil pope/executioner outfits in the East Village area, as the avalanche of post-MDF shows continues with Sweden's Ghost! The band will play a rare show at The Studio At Webster Hall on June 1st, days after their MDF appearance, in support of their new album Opus Eponymous (out now via Metalblade). Tickets for the NYC show are on sale. No word on whether the band will add more North American dates, or who if anyone will open the NYC show.

Ghost joins names like Hooded Menace, Tragedy/Citizens Arrest, Doom, Cripple Bastards, Noisear/The Kill, Innumerable Forms/Hatred Surge/Miasmal/Mammoth Grinder, and many others who have all added shows surrounding their MDF appearance.

Speaking of MDF, we recently interviewed MDF: The Movie director David Hall. Check that out.

All Ghost dates and some live video, below...

Continue reading "Ghost playing NYC after Maryland DeathFest"

Phil of Kylesa at Public Assembly (more by Markus Shaffer)

Kylesa are having a great end-of-year thanks to many accolades for their 2010 effort Spiral Shadow. I'm sure they'll see many new fans in the audience while touring at the end of Dececmber and through most of January. Tickets are still on sale for their headlining show at Santos Party House.

We asked Phillip Cope of Kylesa what he listened to in 2010. His list makes me think that maybe Beach House is the answer to world peace, or at least that Beach House is something that Broken Social Scene, Kate Nash, S Carey and Kylesa can all agree on (and an album that SPIN and Rolling Stone BOTH put at exactly #17 on their lists). His full list of favorite songs, most of them with video streams, below...

Continue reading "Kylesa's Phillip Cope lists his favorite songs of 2010 (listen)"

Dean Wareham playing Galaxie 500 8/18 (more by Chris Gersbeck)

Damon & Naomi will take the stage of Knitting Factory TONIGHT (10/29) with Magik Markers, supporting Masaki Batoh of Ghost. The show is not the first time that members of Ghost and 2/3 of Galaxie 500 have shared the same stage, and based on their recorded/live history, it most likely will not be the last (especially since they are both scheduled to play Northampton, MA one day later). All dates below.

Damon & Naomi, both ex-Galaxie 500, meanwhile have not been participating in the "Dean plays Galaxie 500" shows that their ex-bandmate Dean Wareham has been doing, like at Bowery Ballroom on 10/22 during CMJ:

"Headliner Dean Wareham sat poised to play an exclusive set of music from the Galaxie 500 catalogue, encircling the 90's dream-pop band's fans with memories and treating them to a set of classics like "4th of July", "Flowers", "Blue Thunder" and "When Will You Come Home". Sans original band mates, Wareham invited bassist Britta Phillips (Luna, Dean & Britta), drummer Jason Lawrence (Dean & Britta) and guitarist Matt Sumrow (HeaveN) to play with him for the sold-out stint, which was as warm, subtle and pretty as the band's music".-[Sonic Diet]

The Bowery show was one of three shows on 10/22 for Dean & Britta , who brought said project to Bowery Electric as the surprise guest for the Village Voice/Red Eye day show in addition to their previously discussed performance "13 Most Beautiful...Songs for Andy Warhol's Screen Tests" at NYU's Skirball Center. Crushable was there:

"In a Q&A after the show, Dean and Britta explained that with hundreds of tests to choose from they wanted to compose for people who were part of Warhol's daily life -- and not folks who merely stopped in at the Factory once or twice (this is why we don't get any score for Bob Dylan's test, grr). Among the 13 compositions are videos for Billy Name, Lou Reed, Edie Sedgwick, Paul America and Nico.

The songs are dense and beautiful, some have lyrics and some are purely instrumental. It was fascinating to see both product and inspiration at the same time. There was something so raw and almost intrusive about the experience, and I imagine that's just how Andy Warhol would have wanted it."

If you missed Dean Wareham "plays Galaxie 500" at the Bowery show, no worries. He'll be back in NYC to presumably play the same set (or similar) at Music Hall of Williamsburg on 12/17. Tickets are still available.

All dates and some videos below...

Continue reading "Dean & Britta played CMJ, Damon & Naomi play tonight "

Damon & Naomi (the other Galaxie 500-related couple-duo) will be at 92Y Tribeca on Saturday, January 30th for the first-ever movie theater screening of their 2009 career-spanning DVD Damon & Naomi: 1001 Nights. After the film, the pair will do a Q&A with Harvard Film Archive director Haden Guest. Following that is a concert, with Damon & Naomi accompanied by guitarist Michio Kurihara (from Ghost). Sharon Van Etten opens the music portion. Tickets to the film and music are on sale, as are music-only tickets. We also have a pair of movie+music tickets to give away. Details are below.

A similar movie & music event will be at Boston/Cambridge's Brattle Theatre the next night (1/31).

A live performance from the DVD and contest details are below...

Continue reading "Damon & Naomi film & shows w/ Michio Kurihara & Sharon Van Etten - dates (win tix)"

words & photos by Sarahana

"The evening in DC started off on the same crazy note as it did in Philly. We arrived at the concert venue (this time a Synagogue) and had another unexpected Gos-sighting.

We were walking to get a place in line and my friend glanced through these two double doors and said, "Oh my God, there he is!!!" I backed up to peek in, and lo and behold, THERE HE WAS!!!!!! I squealed and ran away like I was about eight years old. Scratch that. My eight year old daughter wouldn't have even reacted like that big of a lunatic. Clearly, I need professional help.

We took our place in line (much closer to the front-thank goodness) and waited in the pouring down, freezing rain for the doors to open. It was painfully cold. By the time I got inside, my feet were so numb I thought there was a very good possibility that they might actually fall off.

Something funny happened as we waited. The security guard came out to tell us that there was only five more minutes and he said, "Ladies and gentle-oops, I guess I should just say ladies. Wow, there are sure are a lot of you ladies here tonight.""
[Daily Mish Mash]

That review is from DC, but the NY show also had a long line the around the corner despite the rain. You'd think it'd mostly be women, but the NYC event was actually popular with couples.

Instead of opening bands there was a bizarre talent show put together from an open call. It was hosted by a ghost, and featured, in order of appearance:

(1) a man who "made sounds"
(2) a twelve-piece, all-men a cappella group from NYU
(3) a woman who twisted her body into yoga tricks despite a hip replacement and a blade in her shoulder
(4) a theatrical duo of tricksters
(5) a highly impressive pair of "time travelers" that stomped and danced to the tragic songs they sang and played on their fiddles--they were really good! [and scantily dressed]

Then came Ryan Gosling and crew. The ghost host sang a song with Ryan and Zach before the full band came on. The NYC choir didn't pull through, so the kids came from Philly. At one point a girl from the choir "died" and they projected her afterlife thoughts on a handheld piece of fabric. She came back to life to sing "Bang Bang". Halloween theme was prevalent, and there were bags and bags of candy that the kids threw at the audience.

More pictures from Thursday night's show (10/15), below...

Continue reading "Dead Man's Bones & an assortment of openers played a ghostly show @ Le Poisson Rouge in NYC - pics"

by Black Bubblegum

Ghost LIVE in 2003

Before Michio Kurihara was involved in a little band named Boris, he played in another long lasting Japanese band named Ghost. Ghost have scheduled a North American tour in April and May. That includes a show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn on May 9th. Tickets go on AM EX pre-sale beginning Wednesday, today, at noon and go on general sale on Friday.

A collective of psychedelic-minded Japanese musicians headed by guitarist Masaki Batoh, Ghost records commune-minded free-range psychedelia with equal debts to the Can/Amon Düül axis of Krautrock, as well as West Coast psych units like Blue Cheer and Jefferson Airplane. -[allmusic]

Ghost's last release was a live album CD/DVD for Drag City in 2007, Overture: Live in Nippon Yusen Soko 2006.

Also on May 9th, just across town, another great Japanese rock band will play as part of the Wordless Music Series... MONO have added a second night to their Hymn To The Immortal Wind engagement with a live orchestra. You can also catch them on May 8th.

Amon Düül are scheduled to play as part of Roadburn 2009, along with Saint Vitus. All Ghost dates below...

Continue reading "Ghost - 2009 Tour Dates (MHOW)"

DOWNLOAD: Grampall Jookabox - Ghost (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Grampall Jookabox - Ghost (Nobody Remix (MP3)

Grampall Jookabox tour dates below...

Continue reading "Grampall Jookabox - Ghost (MP3 & that MP3 remixed)"