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)"

words by Kim Kelly, photos by Erik Luyten

Eyehategod

It's been a long few days for Kim Kelly, who is currently gallavanting around Europe with Mike Scheidt and YOB, but the metal maven filed the below Roadburn report to tie up the rest of her time at the 2010 edition of the epic festival that took place during an equally historic time. If you're just joining us, check out Kim Kelly's report from Day 1 before continuing below... - BBG

Continue reading "Roadburn Festival 2010 in review"

by Black Bubblegum

Rwake (more here)

How do you improve on Shrinebuilder in the flesh? Rwake and Liturgy have been added as support at the upcoming Shrinebuilder show at Le Poisson Rouge on 11/15. Tickets are still available!

Shrinebuilder has also announced their participation in a particularly STACKED Roadburn 2010, along with the new Tom Warrior project Triptykon, the reunion of Goatsnake (!), Thor's Hammer, and acid-folkers Comus who will play their First Utterance LP in it's entirety(!). Oh, and did I mention Candlemass will be performing Epicus Doomicus Metallicus and the festival will also feature appearances from Yob, Moss, Altar Of Plagues, Mouth of The Architect, and many more. Must. Go.

Rwake are currently working on their follow-up to Voices of Omens, and are also scheduled to play Chicago with Shrinebuilder. Rwake has also been added to the Hellfest 2010 lineup which also includes Immortal, Atheist, Black Cobra, Bloodbath, Suffocation, Weedeater, with another 80+ bands TBA.

Wino of Shrinebuilder plays with his solo band at Irving Plaza tonight (10/9, tix here) and tomorrow (10/10, tix here) supporting Clutch, and will be back next week with Saint Vitus at Europa (10/16, tix here)!

Both CT (of Rwake) and Scott Kelly (of Shrinebuilder & Neurosis) host weekly podcasts on Combat Radio, and both are highly recommended.

Al Cisneros of Shrinebuilder will showcase Om over two nights in NYC, Sunday 10/11 at Europa (tickets here) and tuesday 10/13 at Bowery Ballroom (tickets here).

Dale Crover of the Melvins (who plays drums in Shrinebuilder) recently played ATP and Nokia Theater with Down, and have a remix album out NOW entitled Chicken Switch. The LP features contributions from Merzbow, Lee Ronaldo, Matmos, and many others.

Full Shrinebuilder, Rwake and Liturgy dates, as well as a few live videos are below...

Continue reading "Rwake opening for Shrinebuilder ++ Roadburn & Hellfest 2010 lineups ++ Wino, Om, Saint Vitus & more upcoming shows"