Marduk at Music Hall of Williamsburg, June 2012 (more by Greg Cristman)

Marduk will lead a lineup featuring Moonspell, Inquisition, The Foreshadowing and Death Wolf as part of a North American tour that kicks off in the tail end of February and lasts through middle March. The dates start off on the East coast, with February 23 at Gramercy Theatre roped off for NYC. Tickets are on sale.

Meanwhile, Inquisition are currently working on material for a 2013 album, though details are still hazy. Until then, stream all of their last LP, Ominous Doctrines of the Perpetual Mystial Macrocosm, as well as Marduk's last LP, Serpent Sermon, below.

Continue reading "Marduk, Moonspell, Inquisition and more team up for North American tour (dates)"

photos by Greg Cristman

Melechesh at Gramercy Theatre, 10/16/2012

Septicflesh, Krisiun, Melechesh, Ex Deo, Inquisition, and Fin'amor are currently touring the US together, and made a pit stop into Gramercy Theater on October 16 as part of the Conquerors of The World Tour. The show was Inquisition's latest round of dates in NYC after a two night stay at Saint Vitus in April.

More pics from Gramercy are below.

Continue reading "Septicflesh, Krisiun, Melechesh, Inquisition and Fin'amor played Gramercy Theater (pics)"

Inquisition at Saint Vitus (more by Wyatt Marshall)

Inquisition will hit the road as part of a package tour this fall, joining Septicflesh, Krisiun, Melechesh and Ex Deo. Kicking off in Toronto, the dates includes a pair of East Coast stops, including NYC at Gramercy Theater on October 16th. Ticketing info is forthcoming but you can keep checking Ticketmaster.

Inquisition is currently touring the EU, so if you're on that side of the pond, look out for them. Otherwise, look for that "Conquerors of The World Festival Tour" (with Melechesh/Septicflesh/etc, which ironically/hilariously mostly hits Canada) at the dates listed below.

Continue reading "Inquisition hits the road as part of "Conquerors of The World Festival Tour" (dates)"

photos by Wyatt Marshall & Greg Cristman, words by BBG

Inquisition wishes Saint Vitus a happy birthday
in their own unique way (photo by Wyatt Marshall)

Happy Birthday to Saint Vitus, who celebrated the start of their second year with a string of shows at the venue that started with Young Widows (pictures), ended with Revocation and included sold-out appearances from Inquisition on 4/26 and 4/27. The pair of shows featured two completely different lineups, including Black Anvil, Woe and Trenchgrinder on the first night and Castevet (with new bassist Nick McMaster of Krallice) with Villains on the second. Pictures from both shows are below.

Black Anvil, who is also scheduled to head out on the road with Watain on their make-up dates, is playing a second NYC show in the near future at Saint Vitus, this time with Phobia. Tickets are on sale.

Pictures and video from both nights of Inquisition at Saint Vitus are below.

Continue reading "Inquisition played one year-old Saint Vitus twice (pics/video)"

by BBG

Inquisition at The Studio at Webster Hall (more by BBG)

With the Dark Funeral dates officially off, Inquisition have announced a two night stay at Saint Vitus on April 26th and 27th. Ticketing info and support is forthcoming. Abigail Williams, who was also on the tour, have added a date at Saint Vitus on 1/30 with Woe in the wake of that cancellation.

Pitchfork is currently streaming the title track from the new Pilgrim LP, Misery Wizard, due via Metal Blade in February. Look for a new track on BrooklynVegan next week.

Inverloch, a new project featuring members of dISEMBOWELMENT (who, as dUSK, will play Roadburn this year) have signed to Relapse Records. Look for the band's new LP this Spring via the label. In related news, Huata have signed on for Roadburn as well. Stream their Atavist of Mann LP below. Download their new demo at Bandcamp, and stream it in full below.

Magic Circle, a new doom band that features personnel from Mind Eraser, The Rival Mob and The A-Team, will join Pilgrim, Windhand and Natur on March 1st as part of an incredible evening of (mostly) doom at Public Assembly. Its an unmissable night for doom fans, and tickets are on sale. Stream some Magic Circle material below.

Stream a new Pelican track from their forthcoming EP Ataraxia/Taraxis at Spin.

Check out a new Primitive Weapons song at Pitchfork, and look for their forthcoming LP, The Shadow Gallery, via Prosthetic this Spring.

Congrats to Code Orange Kids, who have signed to Deathwish. Stream their 7" below, and catch them on tour with Xerxes.

Tickets are now on sale for the Behemoth, Watain, The Devil's Blood, and In Solitude show at Irving Plaza.

I talked to Dave Smalley.

Last weekend I went down to Baltimore for the A389 Anniversary show. Pics and review HERE and HERE. A few of the bands also played Acheron one night earlier.

Suggested NYC shows and some streams are below.

Continue reading "Evillive (Inquisition, Pilgrim, Magic Circle & more)"

by BBG

Inquisition at Rites of Darkness (more by BBG)

Dear Fans, friends and supporters of Dark Funeral,

It is with great regret that we have to inform you today that our North American Tour has to be postponed. Due to circumstances and events way beyond our control, there is no other way but to postpone these dates. And yes, our triumphant return to the United States Of America is definitely not cancelled, but postponed. And we will try to announce the new North American tourdates as soon as possible, so you better stay tuned!

However, our appearance at the 70,000 Tons Of Metal-Cruise will take place as planned. Hope to see some of you there.

by BBG

Midnight at Rites of Darkness (more by BBG)

2011 was a year that I spent delving deep into record bins, in the pit at shows, and searching for the most brutal of the brutal at festivals across the country including Maryland Deathfest, Chaos in Tejas, Rites of Darkness, SXSW, the A389 Anniversary show, California Discord Fest, and many others. It was also a year when I revisited my hardcore roots, and went further down the rabbit hole with DIY shows and independent records.

2011's choices for best of the year were tougher than I could have imagined, as opposed to my clear cut 2010 choice for favorite album of the year. That said, favorite records are about playability, and these are the LPs that wore out my needle and earned the most plays on my digital device (note: I made sure to remove a record that I was directly involved in because that would clearly be near the top of the list). I hope you enjoyed these records as much as I did in 2011 and if not, please share what you enjoyed below. I already can't wait for 2012.

My favorite records and shows of 2011 are below.

Continue reading "The Year in Heavy (BBG's favorite records & shows of 2011)"

words by Kim Kelly, photos by BBG

Adorior @ Rites of Darkness

Rites of Darkness is in full swing, with both pre-fests done and dusted (check out photos of the Bond's show here) and Day 1 still ringing in our ears. On Friday evening, doors opened at 4pm and the opening band, Houston death metallers Warmaster, got short shrift: the line of black leather-clad punters wound 'round the outside of the building waited impatiently for the singular door-person to check their IDs well into and past their set (from what we could hear, their crushing, Bolt Thrower-inspired cacophony deserved better).

Philly black-thrashers Infernal Stronghold (who just got back from a short tour with Absu) ripped through a short set of urban blasphemy, taunting the still-lethargic crowd ("I didn't realize we were gonna be playing a fuckin' nursing home!") until the room filled up and the front row got violent. Ritual Necromancy brought the Incantation worship (filtered through a few grimy layers of doom and blackness), then Grave Upheaval filled the entire fucking room with (funeral) fog, which helped distract a bit from the monotony of their muddy, unfocused material.

Dispirit, who had appeared at the prefest and were hastily added to the fest proper, were once again at the top of their game; their hypnotic, atmospheric black metal rituals captivated and impressed. London horde Adorior, one of the most anticipated acts of the fest, delivered a wickedly intense, utterly savage set of thrashy death/black. Their imposing, leather-and-spike-clad frontwoman Melissa screamed bloody gore, sneering and mocking the "whiners and bitches" who'd been complaining about the fest and unveiling a new song: "This one's about fucking surviving, you know? This is "Gutters of Cum."

Canadian black/death cult Weapon were up next. This was their first-ever time playing the United States, and the maniacs down the front made their appreciation known, as a sea of fists and deafening roars greeted the quartet between every merciless cut of raw, sinewy death, blackened and tempered with shades of Middle Eastern melody. Afterwards, the mighty Demigod, Finnish gods of death, took the stage to play their seminal classic Slumber of Sullen Eyes in its entirety. "Amazing" is the only word that comes to mind; they were utterly on point, totally focused, and devastatingly heavy - a well-oiled war machine. The show closed out with two-man black metal institution Inquisition (who recently laid waste to NYC with Disma). Dagon's vocals, always a matter of contention, were a bit too loud, but the overall effect was fluid and damn near trance-inducing.

Stay tuned to BrooklynVegan for continuing coverage from Rites of Darkness 2011. Check out more pictures from Day 1 below...

Continue reading "Rites of Darkness 2011 -- Day 1 pics & review"

by BBG

Inquisition @ The Studio

Inquisition are on their way to the crumbling four-day Texas festival known as Rites of Darkness, where they'll join-up with an ever decreasing number of bands. Since "finalizing" the lineup earlier this year, a staggering 20 of the 54 bands, most of them headliners and exclusives, have all fallen off of the lineup due to an issue with Paypal.

As the festival has grown closer, the list of casualties has increased. Some bands succumbed to the pleas of fans begging to stay on (like Zemial), and others tried but ultimately still had to drop off (like Pagan Altar). The festival issued a definitive statement on 11/30 which confirmed the lineup, but then six more bands cancelled. It has, to say the least, been a rollercoaster ride for Rites of Darkness ticketholders, who are now still awaiting confirmations from Zemial, Hell Militia and Nunslaughter. Regardless, I'll see you there this weekend.

UPDATE: Both Hell Militia and Nunslaughter have cancelled. Nunslaughter's official statement is here, while Hell Militia's is here.

Meanwhile, Northwestern black metal duo Inquisition played The Studio at Webster Hall on Friday 12/2, joined by Disma and Agrath (after Mortuary Drape and Negative Plane dropped off of the show). NJ death metal crew Disma were also scheduled to play Rites of Darkness but cancelled their appearance alongside related bands Evoken and Funebrarum, so the NYC show was unfortunately their last of the year.

Drenched in fog (courtesy of the itchy trigger finger of Tooth from Natur) and red lighting, both Inquisition and Disma ripped at The Studio, playing favorites from their recent LP offerings Ominous Doctrines of the Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm and Towards the Megalith respectively. Agrath, which contains members of Negative Plane, opened the evening to a mostly packed house with their primitive blackened stomp.

More pictures from the NYC show are below.

Continue reading "Inquisition played Studio @ Webster w/ Disma & Agrath (pics); Rites of Darkness festival continues to crumble UPDATED"

by BBG

Inquisition at MDF (more by BBG)

"This is Danny, the promoter for Rites of Darkness. I understand people have been getting frustrated with lack of news so I personally apologize for that. We have gone through a rash of cancellations which were beyond our control.. Paypal froze the Festival's account which caused delayed flights for months. By the time Paypal decided to release our account flights escalated beyond our set budget. So the show is NOT cancelled by any means but the following bands will not be performing: Root, Akitsa, Interment, Demonical, Valkyrja, Dead Congregation, Hour of 13, and Strid"

The festival has remained silent about the situation for close to two weeks, but finally updated festival-goers today. Their message, excerpted above and available in full below, explains the situation, but neglects to mention that Pagan Altar also cancelled (they were slated for a two hour set) and that Zemial cancelled too. Another band that is currently in flux, Stargazer, is reportedly without flights (the band is from Australia) at the moment. The listing is missing General Surgery, and no announcement has been made about the pre-fest which includes France's Hell Militia. Previously announced cancellations include Ondskapt, Urfaust, Behexen, and Sargeist. RoD has added new Profound Lore signees Pallbearer.

Reminder: two RoD bands, Inquisition and Disma, are scheduled to play The Studio at Webster Hall on 12/2 with Agrath. Tickets are still available.

UPDATE: Both Zemial and Pagan Altar are reconsidering their appearances. Statements from both are below.

UPDATED AGAIN: Disma, Funebrarum, Evoken, and Oak have all cancelled their appearances.

The most recent Rites of Darkness statement and the current lineup is below.

Continue reading "Rites of Darkness 2011 still on despite heavy cancellations UPDATED"

by BBG

Tombs at BV-Rocks Off Official CMJ Showcase 2011 (more by Jonathan McPhail)

Decibel released their list of the best LPs of 2011. The list features a few repeat offenders and not too many surprises. One record listed technically came out in 2010 (and made my list of favorites that year). You can check out the full thing below. What record do you think they left off?

Continue reading "Decibel Magazine's Top 40 of 2011"

by BBG

Kuxan Suum at Acheron (more by BBG)

Though previously listed with the same lineup as the show they just played at Acheron, this Friday's 9pm Black Twilight Circle show at The Charleston will feature an almost entirely different lineup with Raspberry Bulbs, Volahn, Arizmenda, Shataan, and The Haunting Presence. Black Twilight Circle also visit WFMU that day (10/7).

The show is also one of two upcoming shows for Raspberry Bulbs who will also join Villains, Occultation and Skull at Saint Vitus on 10/18 (tickets).

Speaking of black metal, the.... New Yorker wrote a piece:

The fertile and fractious U.S. scene in the genre known as black metal can be understood through a familiar moment in rock history. In the sixties, British bands like Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones mined American blues, first copying their heroes and then creating something vivid and novel. In the nineties, a range of American acts began drawing from the work of Norwegian metal bands that were famous mostly for a look and for several unpleasant events. The Norwegians were largely faithful to the "corpse paint" costume, in which the face is covered in white makeup, with black circles drawn around the eye sockets. Upside-down-cross pendants and spiked bracelets were common accessories. The tabloid-worthy events centered on a musician named Varg Vikernes, of the one-man band Burzum, who encouraged and participated in the burning of churches. In 1993, while playing bass in a band called Mayhem, he murdered the guitarist, a man known as Euronymous.
Until recently, it was a legacy that the genre couldn't shake. But now American bands such as Liturgy, Krallice, Absu, Leviathan, Wolves in the Throne Room, and Inquisition have left a fair amount of the pageantry behind--not to mention the violence--and helped to create a community, as well as a musical moment that is rife with activity...

Wolves in the Throne Room, who premiered a track at NPR, have also since received 'Best New Music' from Pitchfork.

Speaking of Liturgy, The Quietus recently interviewed Aaron Weaver of Wolves in the Throne Room . They discussed, among other things, Liturgy and its place amongst the "black metal elite": Aaron Weaver says:

"Wolves in the Throne Room has absolutely received the same kind of criticism, because over the years I've said the exact same thing [as Hunter regarding black metal's ability to be positive and optimistic]. That's something that I believe very strongly. I think that maybe the difference is that I've always said that we don't play black metal. I refer to Wolves in the Throne Room as a black metal band just sort of out of convenience. But I've also been really clear over the years that I do think that true black metal, which is a worthwhile and very powerful thing, does need to be negative. It does need to be rooted in the darkest aspects of the human experience - bitterness, negativity, hatred, violence, tribal warfare, mass murder, these sort of things lurk in the human experience, and it's always been there. And true black metal channels that incredibly destructive and insane and violent energy."

Liturgy's tour with Boris hits Irving Plaza later this month.

by BBG

Inquisition at Maryland Deathfest (more by BBG)

NYC's Studio at Webster Hall will soon host a trifecta of black metal greatness! Inquisition will headline the venue on December 2nd with a rare appearance from Mortuary Drape and Negative Plane. Tickets are on sale.

Italy's Mortuary Drape and Inquisition will then tour their way to Rites of Darkness 3 in San Antonio, Texas where they'll join the newly added Disma, but NOT Urfaust:

URFAUST vs RITES OF DARKNESS III

URFAUST is very sad to announce that we have to cancel our Intoxication Ritual at Rites of Darkness III in Texas, USA.
Our last Alcoholic Rites on US soil where splenditory, so this is just fucked up...
Nothing more to say about this, we hope to return to the USA and Rites of Darkness in 2012!
All hail the madness!
Cheers,
Ix & Vrdrbr on behalf of Urfaust

All known Inquisition dates, the full Rites of Darkness lineup, and some video is below.

Continue reading "Inquisition & Mortuary Drape playing NYC w/ Negative Plane before Rites of Darkness 3 (lineup & dates)"

words & photo by BBG

Inquisition

After Cathedral and Neurosis on days one and two respectively, Voivod headlined the large outdoor stage at Maryland Deathfest on Saturday (5/28), with Inquisition heading up the indoor stage at Sonar.

Though there are no pictures of Masakari, Mammoth Grinder, Creative Waste, Cretin, & Blood Freak, I did catch sets from the headliners as well as Avulsed, The Kill, Drop Dead, Doom, Defeated Sanity, Acid Witch, Hooded Menace, Cyanide, In Solitude, Impaled Nazarene, Hail of Bullets, Nunslaughter, and Exhorder.

Voivod

A crusty and furious set from Doom, an awesome and energetic set from Voivod, blackened doom destruction from Hooded Menace, Austrailian grinders The Kill and Detroit doomers Acid Witch were definitely my favorites, but I also thoroughly enjoyed what I saw of Hail of Bullets (around half of their set) as well as the political and furious Drop Dead.

Hooded Menace play Union Pool TONIGHT (5/31) with Negative Plane, Anhedonist, and Ilsa (who we interviewed) as part of a BrooklynVegan event. Online ticketing is not available, but there are tickets at the door for $13. Doors are at 8PM and the show starts at 8:30.

Tragedy, who played MDF Day One, also plays a show in Brooklyn tonight.

More pictures from the third day at Maryland Deathfest are below...

Continue reading "Maryland Deathfest 2011 -- Day 3 in pics & review (Voivod, Inquisition, Hooded Menace, The Kill, Acid Witch, more)"

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Thou - "By Endurance We Conquer" (MP3)

Sleep at Brooklyn Masonic Temple (more)

Lists are very subjective. A "best of" list is always an amalgam of personal experiences - that fateful moment when you press "Play" for the first time, in addition to a grade of excellent songwriting. The records I've listed below had a profound impact on me this year, as did many of the shows that I attended and put on in the past twelve months. I'd like to thank all the artists who made this list as well as the ones who didn't, in addition to people like 1000 Knives, Osiris, Bill Dozer, Ian Dickson and venues like Union Pool, The Studio at Webster Hall, Acheron, Santos Party House and a slew of others for keeping heavy music alive in NYC. But mostly, thank YOU, the reader and the listener!

Alright, enough with the sappy bulshit, let's RAGE...

Continue reading "the year 2010 in Metal (BBG's favorite records & live shows) "

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Inquisition - "Command of the Dark Crown" (MP3)

Inquisition at Red 7 (more)

Corpsepainted hordes, Inquisition want you to know that it doesn't take over the top complexity (like Deathspell Omega) or underachieving lo-fi simplicity (like 90% of the current "kvlt" genre) to make a great black metal record in 2010. The duo has done it with their new LP Ominous Doctrines of the Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm, out now exclusively through Hell's Headbangers (official street date is January 18th). The ten-track release is anchored by fantastic songwriting and better riffs, all with crunchy-yet-crystal-clear production; it's maniacally brutal but endlessly listenable, and one of my favorite records of the year. Dig on the song "Command of the Dark Crown" which is available for download above and streaming below. And you can stream the album opener, "Astral Path to Supreme Majesties", at Hell's Headbangers.

Hell's Headbangers is also offering the band's "diehard version" of Into The Infernal Regions Of The Ancient Cult on colored gatefold 2xLP, as well as the CD version. Pick those up. The vinyl in particular is impressive.

Inquisition's 1990 Anxious Death Mini-LP and their 1993 demo Forever Under has been combined to receive a repress and for a 2LP repress treatment courtesy of Nuclear War Now. Jump on the Diehard version (comes in different colors) or the regular vinyl now.

Inquisition, whose stage show was punishing at Red 7, have limited live action scheduled in the coming months but are on board to play Maryland Death Fest 2011 along with an obscenely large cast of hooligans. Tickets are on sale.

Full tour dates, the song stream and some video is below.

Continue reading "Inquisition release 'Ominous Doctrines of the Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm' (MP3)"

by BBG

Inquisition @ Red 7

Will the whole thing be like this? I'm currently in Austin, TX prepping to see Fun Fun Fun Fest (tickets here) this weekend and already in the two days leading-up Red 7 has hosted a pair of killer shows. The Wednesday show featured the new Faiza Kracheni (ex-Hatred Surge) project Mindless alongside the crusty and blackened Wolvhammer. Last night (11/4), Chaos in Tejas hosted a free and eclectic heavy shindig headlined by Saviours and featuring Inquisition, Pack of Wolves, HOD, and Naw Dude.

The punishment at Red 7 continues through the weekend and into Sunday (11/7), when BrooklynVegan will host Landmine Marathon, Mammoth Grinder, Ratking (mems Made out of Babies, Gorilla Biscuits) and an act that was previously listed as "special guest" that we can now reveal as Floor! The Red 7 show is their only non-Fun Fun Fun Fest show (they play the festival proper that afternoon) coming up, and quite possibly could be their last show EVER. If you are in the area, get down to Red 7... it's free with your FFF writband and a measly $5 without.

Unfortunately I missed all support for the Wolvhammer/Mindless show, as well as Pack of Wolves, HOD, and Naw Dude (all bands I was looking forward to seeing), but pictures of the rest, below...

Continue reading "Floor revealed as our Fun Fun Fun guest @ Red 7 -- where Wolvhammer, Inquisition, Saviours & others just played (pics) "

words by BBG, Elbo Room photos by Taylor Keahey

DOWNLOAD: Man's Gin - "Solid Gold Telephone" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Man's Gin - "Smiling Dogs" (MP3)

Smiling Dogs by Man's Gin

Simply put, Cobalt is my shit. In release after release of riveting blackened war metal (including recent fave Gin), Cobalt has proved a laser-pointed focus on well-crafted and incendiary songwriting. With half of the band (Phil McSorely) tending to the duties of soldier-at-war, multi-instrumentalist Erik Wunder delved into new directions with his solo project Man's Gin. Due at the end of August via Profound Lore is the band's debut album Smiling Dogs, an effort more akin to a southern-fried acoustic Alice-in-Chains that dips its toes into the same gothic blues-y gene pool that produced bands like Wovenhand (who is coming to NYC with Sareena Maneesh) and Dax Riggs (him too). Dig on the title track and "Solid Gold Telephone" which makes its first appearance above. It's a surprising turn for the man associated with such destructive output in the past, but a fascinating one nonetheless.

Man's Gin will play NYC on August 1st, alongside Altar of Plagues (who we interviewed), Velnias, and Castevet at The Studio at Webster Hall. Tickets are still available. The show takes place two days before another BV event in the same venue with Black Cobra/Howl/Struck By Lightning/East of The Wall. Tickets are still available for that as well.

Altar of Plagues and Velnias are currently on the road together, and the band teamed up with Dispirit (who we profiled here) and headliner Inquisition (who played NYC in May) at the Elbo Room in San Francisco on July 16th. Pics from that show are below...

Continue reading "a Man's Gin MP3, Altar of Plagues live pics (Inquisition too)"

words by Kim Kelly, photos by Keith Marlowe

Inquisition


Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult

This past Sunday (May 23, to be exact) Colombian-bred, Pacific Northwest-dwelling cult black metal horde Inquisition brought their necromantic live ritual to Europa's be-disco balled stage, and were joined by Germany's Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult on the latter's first-ever US tour. This was the duo's only East Coast date, and the last of three very special shows on the Anthems of Pestilence & Death 2010 minitour, which had kicked off in LA last week. Having caught Inquisition before at Heathen Crusade III in Minnesota and 2008's legendary performance at Remains (featuring the live debut of everyone's favorite blackened tech 'heads, Krallice), I couldn't resist making the trip up to see 'em again. After all, third time's the charm...

People-watching at New York metal shows is an endlessly entertaining pastime, especially if you've stumbled into the kind of show that rolled into Europa this past Sunday. From the Spanish Glen Danzig lookalike to the handful of leather-clad corpsepaint wearers, to the barely-legal drunk broad who kept trying to mosh it up with the pit bosses and falling flat on her face and the smattering of very worried-looking hipsters (this was Greenpoint, after all), it was one hell of a subcultural mish-mash up in there.

continued with more pics below....

Continue reading "Inquisition & Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult played & wore corpse paint @ Europa in Brooklyn - bloody pics & video "

by BBG

Magrudergrind at Scion Rock Fest (more by Christopher Mumma)

This weekend begins the onslaught of pre-Maryland Death Fest and Chaos in Tejas madness, in addition to ongoing general NYC metal-insanity. And for those of you who are looking to take it the hard way (i.e. go to 10 shows instead of one looong one) there are tons of chances to check out some interesting young bands in heavy music. We talked about quite a few shows on the way already, including the FREE and ALL AGES Trash Talk show TONIGHT (5/21) at Acheron.

Czech death-grinders Ingrowing (their second NYC show in a week) will play The Charleston TONIGHT (5/21), and it's a rager. Featuring Buckshot Facelift, Flourishing, Backslider, the show also marks the return of The Communion, who will soldier on in the wake of the loss of guitarist Lee Altomare:

...after all this, we will be hunkering down and working on new material. we will also be operating under a different name. Lee and I always said that if the Communion ever did a full length, we would call it Kanalbrigade. so as a tribute to Lee, we will be known as KANALBRIGADE. add us on Myspace. also Facebook

Zona will host Beau Finley, DBCR, Something About Death or Dying (which includes members of Chambers, The Gaslight Anthem and Spiro Agnew) and Paranoid Critical Revolution for it's monthly shindig at Zona. The Public Assembly show kicks off on Sunday (5/23) at 8PM.

That same night at the Charleston, Tyrhombus Rex will team up with Richmond's Balaclava (who have a killer new release on Forcefield), Elks (who are playing with Cough at Cake Shop) and Mortals for a show at the Charleston.

In other news, Sodom has cancelled their US tour, which affects all US dates including 5/26 in Hollywood, MDF on 5/29, and NYC on 5/28:

"Due to solid problems with our local tour promoter and getting our Visa in time, we are forced to cancel the upcoming shows.... We are deeply disappointed by this situation, but in the end there's the awareness, that not everything is done to our entire satisfaction... We owe this to our fans, even more because we made ourselves scarce in the US since the foundation of this band, of course through no fault of our own... We surely will catch up on these shows as soon as possible, which we especially owe to our fans."

Some videos and details on the upcoming MADNESS (AKA a list of shows) are below...

Continue reading "the Communion change name to Kanalbrigade, upcoming metal shows, Sodom cancels, free Capitalist Casualties tix & more"

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Altar of Plagues - "Atlantic Lights" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Black Breath - "Children Of The Horn" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Celeste - Morte Nee(s) (Zipped LP)
DOWNLOAD: Get Rad - "Life Without A Plan" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Get Rad - "Honest Man/Wild Man" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Inter Arma - "Epicenter" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Ufomammut - Eve Snippets (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Nachtmystium - "No Funeral" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Yakuza - "Stones And Bones" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Sayyadina - "Razor Discipline" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Culted - "Spirituosa" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Year of No Light - "Hierophant" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Castevet - "Grey Matter" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Deathwish MMX Spring Sampler (Zipped MP3 files)

Twilight

Surprise! After a few CDs made their way into record stores accidentally (I am told) Twilight, the Blake Judd/Wrest project that now features N. Imperial (Kreig), Aaron Turner (Isis), Stavros Giannopoulos (The Atlas Moth) and Sanford Parker (Minsk) is out NOW on CD via Southern Lord! The record was engineered by Sanford Parker, who also contributed synths, and features eight tracks with Robert Lowe (Lichens) contributing vocals to three of them. No official word on a release date for the LP, but get out and order a copy... I think I may enjoy it more than the new Nachtmystium. Speaking of the new Nachtmystium, Stereogum recently premiered the keyboard heavy "No Funeral" from the forthcoming Addicts: Black Meddle Pt. II. Dig on that above.

Call me obsessed, but the new Black Breath, Heavy Breathing, is on serious rotation lately- much like their previous EP Razors To Oblivion was last year. The new LP has Kurt Ballou's dirty little fingers all over it, bringing their rich early Swedish death metal meets hardcore sound to life, as exhibited in "Children of The Horn" available above. Get Heavy Breathing now via Southern Lord. Black Breath will open the BV/1000 Knives/AEG Live Converge extravaganza at Santos Party House on 5/6 along with Touche Amore and Lewd Acts. Make sure and get their early (their live show is worth it), and get your tickets in advance (it WILL sell out). Seriously brutal and fun stuff... you gotta love a band that screams "reject Christ, spit on the cross" at the top of their lungs. Or am I alone on that one?

Though it only lasts two tracks (but conversely- 35 minutes), the new EP from Altar of Plagues, Tides, is every bit as powerful as White Tomb, one of my favorite LPs of last year. AoP's new Tides EP is currently up for pre-order via Burning World Records (cop it), but until that package arrives, make sure and dig on "Atlantic Lights" from the EP (50% of the record!) , which makes it's world premiere here!

An LP from last year that was just too good to be free was Celeste's Misanthrope(s). With a potent mix of black metal, furious hardcore, and even melody, it was a seriously underrated record that deserved much more attention than it got. Even though Misanthrope(s) is barely in the rear view, the band has released their new LP, Morte Nee(s) for FREE download (get it above). Make sure and order a copy of the LP for yourself via Denovali as well though, it's one to keep for posterity.

Richmond's Inter Arma totally floored me at The Charleston with their furious mix of black metal, southern stoner style and Neurosis-style imperial riffage. Besides being a jawdropping live band, Inter Arma has also put together a pretty memorable record as well in the form of Sundown, out soon on Forcefield Records. Featuring members of another great Richmond band, Bastard Sapling, check out the band when they hit the road in July, but until then, check out Sundown!

A darkness has settled over the land... details on Watain's new album have been revealed! Entitled Lawless Darkness, the effort was recorded at Necromorbus Studio (Deathspell Omega, Funeral Mist, Ondskapt, Nominon, Unanimated et al) in Alvik, Sweden, and is due on June 7 with the below cover art and the tracklisting as listed down below. The release follows their picture disc EP Reaping Death which quickly disappeared, though the CD single is currently available.

That Watain cover, plus news on Blood Revolt (Primordial + Revenge), Loss, Man Is The Bastard, Hail of Bullets, Woe, a new Inquisition LP, and more as Short Wave Warfare continues....

Continue reading "Short Wave Warfare (04/20/10)"

by BBG

Seattle by-way-of-Columbia black metal duo Inquisition will headline a show at Europa in Brooklyn on 5/23 with Germany's Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult and support from miscreants Agrath and Dimentianon. Tickets are $25, and purchase link is forthcoming. Inquisition's appearance comes a little less than two years after their now legendary FREE performance at Remains with Copremesis, SMES, and Dagon and the debut of Krallice.

Inquisition is also scheduled to play Austin on May 29th as part of the upcoming Chaos in Tejas fest with Rorschach, Bone Awl, Bastard Noise, The Ponys, Ty Segall, and many many more. Tickets are on sale for the Emo's shows.

Show flyer and some videos are below...

Continue reading "Inquisition playing NYC & Chaos in Tejas (tickets on sale) "

by BBG

Rorschach at The Charleston (more by Ryan Muir)

Last year's jaw-dropping lineup at Chaos In Tejas was sick, and 2010 is proving to be no different. For four days across four different Austin venues, May 27th to the 30th at Emo's, Mohawk, Red 7 and Beerland, the festival will offer some of the most impressive names in the independent/underground scene including the indestructible Rorschach, the first ever US appearance from Australian punk greats X, a one-time reunion of Japanese crust-core band Bastard, the quirky cutesy indie pop-punk of Grass Widow, Gehenna (who just played A389), Subhumans, Bastard Noise (who have a new record), Bone Awl, BV faves Jeff The Brotherhood, The Spits, Psychedelic Horseshit, Ty Segall, The Ponys, Iron Lung (who recently played Cake Shop), Poison Idea, Inquisition, and many many many others.

In addition to the obvious mayhem that will ensue over the four days, Chaos in Tejas will also showcase art from some of the scene's most interesting names including Tim Kerr (of Big Boys), Winston Smith (responsible for tons of collage work, including the Dead Kennedys best album art), and Bryan Ray Turcotte (best known for his book Fucked Up and Photocopied).

The full (and intimidating) list is below...

Continue reading "Chaos in Tejas 2010 (May 27-30) - intial lineup (Rorschach, Bastard reunion, Spits, Bone Awl, Ty Segall, much more)"