Here's some April 1 news you may have missed....

Amanda Palmer at T5, NYE 2012 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Music biz insider Bob Lefsetz reports today that Warner Brothers will fund all new albums on the label via Kickstarter:

Perennially third, the smallest of the three majors saw a need to shake it up, to move ahead of Sony and Universal in the game of music production. Lucian Grainge bought EMI, believing it was all about market share, economies of scale...but that's positively old school. Today you drill down into the niches, you solidify your relationship with your fan base, you grow from the bottom up, not the top down.

Yes, Stephen Cooper has just thrown a curve ball so wide, Doug Morris won't even see it.

Believing it's about radio and retail, septuagenarian Morris is putting himself out to his own pasture. Didn't he get the memo? Newspapers are dying, young people ignore mainstream media, to try to close young people via old media is like insisting baby boomers give up their Lipitor. Raw stupidity. Then again, the music business was always about muscle.

But now it's about data.

Speaking of, Google Labs have just released the beta of Google Nose, with an Aromabase of over 15 million "scentibytes."

Boards of Canada

Scottish electronic shoegazers Boards of Canada are finally following up 2005's The Campfire Headphase with a new double album, Quetzalcoatl, reports FACT.

In similar news, legendary metal outfit ISIS have reformed, reports Nefarious Realm. The crew are launching a nationwide tour with Pelican, Converge and Cave In. In what is surely a new world record, they'll be playing all 26 dates on the same day (that would be today).

The White Stripes Mk2

On a related reformation note, Australian site Beat has this exclusive: Jack White is getting The White Stripes back together, though now with actress Tilda Swinton on drums. It may seem like an unexpected choice, but anyone whose seen her 1992 film, Orlando, knows that Swinton can play anything. The White Stripes new album, Evangelical Trout, is due later this year.

What else? A mere two weeks after SXSW 2013, popular Austin venue Mohawk announces, much like Emo's and Antones, it's moving from it's iconic Red River locale.

In in other sad news, nightlife socialite and white jeans wearer Andrew WK is giving up his signature activity. He tweeted earlier today, "As of today, I've officially decided to never party again."

But in happier partying news, Seth Rogen and James Franco are making a sequel to stone comedy Pineapple Express and you can watch the trailer below.

And finally, here's news we've all been waiting for. My Social List has the scoop that Daft Punk's return to the live stage will happen at Williamsburg DIY space 285 Kent on May 12. No, we don't know what time they're on.

Continue reading "ALSO: Warner Bros goes Kickstarter; White Stripes, Boards of Canada and ISIS reform; Andrew WK takes it easy +++ more"

by Fred Pessaro // BBG

Aaron Turner w Old Man Gloom @ Europa, 5/8/12 (more by Fred Pessaro)

As announced some weeks back, Hydra Head has come to a difficult juncture in our existence and the future of the label is precarious... We've arrived at the conclusion that it is no longer possible for us to continue releasing new albums, but rather than shut the label down completely, we're hoping to be able to continue in a capacity that would allow us to preserve and perpetuate our catalog of works by the large cast of truly amazing and groundbreaking artists we've been lucky enough to work with over the years. In order to do this we're asking for help from anyone and everyone that would like to see the label continue and who is willing to support us in this effort. This is not however a request for charity - we would like to offer something in exchange for whatever level of funding our potential benefactors (that is you), are willing to bestow upon us.

Meanwhile, Aaron Turner of Hydra Head / SIGE / Mamiffer / Old Man Gloom fame has dropped off his musings on music in 2012 in list form. Check that out below.

Continue reading "Hydra Head starts fundraiser to keep catalog in print ++ Aaron Turner lists his Top 10 2012 'albums or musical related events'"

by Fred Pessaro // BBG

Hydra Head Records has never been a smooth-running operation. We've spent the majority of our existence excitedly scrambling from one thing to the next, taking on more than we could ever possibly hope to achieve, and never quite finding solid footing in the midst of our self-induced whirlwind of chaos. Though not every second of doing this label has been enjoyable, it has been a very rewarding and meaningful project for me, and I hope for many of the other lives to which it has been directly connected. The fact that it has lasted close to two decades at this point is astonishing, and much has changed during that time - the lives of those directly involved with running the label, the bands and artists we've worked with, and the nature of the music industry itself. Though many of these changes have been positive, or at least illuminating, the impact of our history and current industry circumstances are culminating into a slow and somewhat painful death for the label. It certainly isn't an entirely unforeseen event, but we didn't think it would come quite so abruptly, or (perhaps naively) ever. -[Aaron Turner of Hydra Head Records, Isis, Old Man Gloom, etc]

Full statement is below.

Continue reading "R.I.P. Hydra Head Records"

Sergio of Deftones, on stage with Quicksand, 2012 (more by Rebecca Reed)

With Quicksand (who just played Bowery and MHoW) gearing up to play their last show in the forseeable future at FYF in LA, Deftones are gearing up for what looks to be a string of US dates this fall. In addition to dates in Cali and Colorado, an NYC show at Terminal 5 on 10/30 with Scars on Broadway has also emerged. Tickets go on AMEX presale on September 5 at noon, with regular sale hitting Friday, September 7 at noon. Tour dates are below.

In related news, Deftones members have intermingled with members of Isis to form Palms. Now comes word that Isis will release Temporal, a rarities compilation featuring audio and video and packaged in a 2CD/DVD box. Full details on that are below, look for it on November 6.

Speaking of rarites comps, Kylesa have also produced one of their own titled From The Vault, Vol.1. Look for that in November via Season of Mist. Tracklisting for that is below.

Kylesa and Isis LP details and all Deftones dates are listed below.

Continue reading "Deftones add Terminal 5 date on burgeoning tour; Isis and Kylesa produce rarities LPs"

by BBG

Deftones & System of a Down tease their upcoming tour

System of a Down and Deftones are teaming up for a string of mostly East Coast dates in August, tagging both PNC Bank Arts Center on August 4th and Nikon at Jones Beach Theater on August 5th. Tickets for both shows go on sale on May 5th. The shows are SOAD's first East Coast dates since taking a hiatus six years ago.

Though SOAD has been largely inactive as of late, Deftones have not. The band, which features ex-Quicksand bassist Sergio Vega while Chi Cheng recovers from his auto accident, has begun work on its new LP with producer Nick Raskulinecz, who was behind the boards for 2010's Diamond Eyes.

Chi Cheng is steadily improving according to a recent update, but he still needs your help

CHI IS READY TO GO HOME!
...and i need your help.
1. need to raise money to fly him home. this requires a medical flight.. runs about $20,000
2. need to raise money to buy him a hospital bed that does amazing things to avoid him acquiring bed sores.. runs about $15,000 USED!
3. (could be long term goal but would be nice to get asap for him) a wheel chair accessible van to transport him to and from his treatments and checkups. i am thinking it could run $20-30,000.

In other news, Chino Moreno of Deftones has joined on for another side project called Palms, this time featuring three-fifths of the final lineup of Isis (Aaron Harris, Clifford Meyer and Jeff Caxide):

"Clifford, Jeff and I started Palms a little over a year ago out of a desire to continue making music together after ISIS ended," explained Harris. "Chino joined shortly after and our sound took shape from there. We've worked really hard on this first release and are excited for people to hear it. It's nice to be back behind the drum kit, and with this line up."

"Being a huge ISIS fan I've always dug the moods these dudes convey with their sound," added Moreno. "I am excited to combine my sense of creativity with theirs, and to have fun doing so."

All tour dates and some video below....

Continue reading "Chino forms Palms with Isis members; Deftones team w/ System of a Down for tour; Chi Cheng still recovering"

by BBG

Old Man Gloom is a sludge/doom metal/post-metal band originally formed in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States [in 1999], but now based in Massachusetts. The group, formed by Aaron Turner of Isis and Santos Montano, has now expanded to become a sort of supergroup in the Boston hardcore and metalcore scene. The group is less a band than it is a recording project for a variety of talent. -[Wiki]

Old Man Gloom on the road will reportedly consist of Aaron Turner (Isis, Mamiffer), Santos Montano (Zozobra), Nate Newton (Converge, Doomriders), Caleb Scofield (Cave-In) and Luke Scarola. So far, no word on a follow-up to their massive Christmas LP from 2004.

All tour dates and a video of OMG at North Six in 2002,below...

Continue reading "Old Man Gloom scheduling East Coast Tour (initial dates)"

We are understandably excited about the Locrian/Mamiffer collaborative LP Bless Them That Curse You, out now via SIGE/Utech/Profound Lore. As a result, we fanagled the world's most eloquent pugilist, Oxbow's Eugene Robinson, into discussing the release with both bands. The results of said discussion is below. -BBG

--------

TWO + THREE = INFINITY or: How Mammifer and Locrian will make mad the weary and drown the stage in tears.

by Eugene S. Robinson

A lot of times, well almost more times than not, the math and the mathematicians bungle the fucking job and adding cool to cool just results in everything being half as much instead of twice as much cool. How this happens and why probably has everything to do with the fact that this is more about magic and less about math, and putting Aaron Turner and Faith Coloccia's Mammifer together with the fine young men in Locrian and the results are less about a subtle power and grace and much more about the first hand experiences of loss, failure, and unnamed corruptions.

Forthwith: a chat with AARON TURNER, FAITH COLOCCIA, TERENCE HANNUM, STEVEN HESS and ANDRE FOISY....

Continue reading "an interview with Locrian & Mamiffer by Eugene Robinson"

Andy Nelson with Paint it Black at Fun Fun Fun Fest (more by BBG)

Mamiffer, Tombs, Locrian, Thou, Fuck The Facts, The Atlas Moth and many more contribute to the second part of our continuing series where we asked some of our favorite artists about their 2011 highlights. Part One HERE. Part Two below...

Continue reading "The Year in Heavy 2011 according to artists & friends (part 2)"

by BBG

Crone photo by Danielle Hardy

You may recognize the name Jeff Caxide as a guilty party in one of the most influential bands of the early 2000s, Isis. With that stellar and much revered project behind him, Caxide has entered into a new venture with Crone and a new album Endless Midnight due on July 19th via Translation Loss. The new LP explores some of the ambient textures that Isis touched upon, yet goes further down the rabbit hole.

Dont think Jeff can escape his past that easily though. His former Isis cohorts Aaron Harris and Bryant Clifford Meyer lend guest appearances on the record along with John LaMacchia (Candiria) while Aaron Turner joins Mamiffer bandmate Faith Coloccia on artwork detail. Check out the Endless Midnight art and a stream of "The Silver Hammer", the third track from the James Plotkin produced LP, below.

Meanwhile, Isis has unleashed the floodgate on older live material, releasing five live LPs via their website. Tracklistings and album details are also below...

Continue reading "Jeff Caxide of Isis is Crone, releasing LP (song premiere)"

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Metal Swim Compilation (Zipped MP3s)

Zoroaster at The Studio at Webster Hall (more by Markus Shaffer)

Adult Swim have posted an album of FREE downloadable tracks. The record, entitled Metal Swim features rare and unreleased tracks from some familiar names around these parts (Isis, Boris, Skeletonwitch, Ludicra, Zoroaster, Red Fang, etc) including new tracks from Withered's forthcoming LP Dualitas, Torche's Songs for Singles, AND Kylesa's Spiral Shadow among many many others. Download the album at the site or above, and dig on the tracklisting (and some video) below.

Continue reading "new tracks by Boris, Isis, Torche, Kylesa, others on free comp "

Owl City fans (by Chris Lynch)

Absolute Punk: I also read online that when you are a fan of Botch, that seems a little different especially for the music that you make. What kind of role do you feel a heavy band like them play on your music? Do you think you will ever try out heavier music or are you going to stick to the softer stuff for now?

Adam "Owl City" Young: I used to play drums in a heavy band called Isle, largely influence by stuff like Botch, Pelican, Neurosis, Isis. Even though bands like that are generally on the opposite side of the spectrum from the music I put out, I think the thing that inspires me still comes though -- the idea of becoming completely lost in the sound. The idea that imagery can be merely suggestive but not so subjective as to tell you how or what to think. It's far more about what the music says to you rather than somebody telling you how to feel. That's really interesting to me...

...Absolute Punk: You also have listed Mogwai as a musical influence, which shows that you are into a wide array of musical tastes. Do you feel like people overlook that based on your music output?

Adam "Owl City" Young: It's funny how a lot of people might assume a given artist only listens to the kind of music he/she creates. That certainly may be the case for some, but for me, it's nearly the opposite. I have a hard time truly enjoying anything I hear on pop radio, or even pop music in general. It's always been tough for me to draw any kind of inspiration from "conventional" music so to speak. Blame it on the stuff I listened to in high school, but for some reason bands like Mogwai or Rachel's or Telefon Tel Aviv are just way more interesting. They payoff is greater. Their songs hold a mystique that three and a half minute radio singles, in my opinion, often tend to lack. Therein was an exciting challenge when I began creating music for Owl City. It was pop music. I'd never made pop music before, I didn't even listen to it, but I wanted to create it because it was new.

Absolute Punk: You also have a tour coming up with Maroon 5 in about a week, and then John Mayer after that. How excited are you for that?

Adam "Owl City" Young: It'll be new territory and I'm excited to see how touring works at that level. I don't know much about either band but I'm looking forward to the tour to say the least.

intro by BBG, interview by Mike Hill

Last night, June 23rd, marked the final Isis show ever in Montreal. And here is Part Two of our discussion with Aaron Turner of Isis (check out part one). Mike Hill cornered the guitarist and Hydrahead Records owner on one of their last ever dates on the west coast in early June (they played MHOW and Webster this past weekend). The Isis frontman reflects on his time with the group, band democracy, the writing process, House of Low Culture/Old Man Gloom and so much more. The results are below...

Continue reading "an interview with Aaron Turner of Isis by Mike Hill (part 2) "

words by BBG & Klaus Kinski, photos by Meghan McInnis

Isis played their last show in Brooklyn last night. Holy hell, amazing. They will certainly be missed. -isjimthere

One night after bidding Manhattan adieu at Webster Hall, Isis played Music Hall of Williamsburg with the Melvins and Totimoshi as part of the final leg of their ongoing tour together (which concludes tonight in Isis's old home base of Boston). After tonight (6/21), Isis will trek to the great white north with Cave In for a pair of dates leading to their final gig in Montreal - the site of the first Isis show in 1997.

Au revoir Isis, you will be missed. Klaus was at the show. His review with more pictures and video from MHOW, and Isis's setlist, below...

Continue reading "Isis played their final NYC show @ Music Hall of Williamsburg w/ Totimoshi & the Melvins - pics, video & setlist"

words by BBG, photos by Lori Baily

"Totimoshi, Melvins, Isis @ Webster Hall. Why would
I not be here? #fuckyeah." - Aaronzeem

"After Totimoshi, the Melvins hit the stage! I was expecting Isis to be next, as they were always billed as the support act, and, honestly, the Melvins are just more important. But, I'm guessing the groups are alternating for the stint they're doing together, which I guess makes sense, especially since, as mentioned before, Isis is breaking up." [An Uncontrollable Urge]

Mike Hill of Tombs recently interviewed Aaron Turner of Isis. Part one of that interview is posted, with a second and equally fascinating part on the way.

All Isis dates, with the Webster Hall pictures and two of the night's setlists, below...

Continue reading "Isis, Melvins & Totimoshi @ Webster Hall - pics & setlists"

by Mike Hill

Aaron Turner of Isis

I received a phone call from Isis guitarist Mike Gallagher one night back in March asking if my band, Tombs, would be available to support Isis on a short run of dates on the West Coast. The Mayhem tour, which we were supposed to be on, had just been cancelled, we were eager to get back on the road so the answer was emphatically "yes". Furthermore, touring with Isis is one of the easiest tours you could ever be on. Aside from the shows being packed, the band and their crew are some of the warmest and most professional people I've ever known.

During the months leading up to the tour, it was announced that this would be the final Isis tour, ending a nearly 13 year career. To me it was an end of an era, both personally and as a fan of extreme music. I had witnessed the formation of the band back in Boston during the late 90's at most of their early shows. It was clear to me that the band was on a trajectory that would take them past their murky, D.I.Y. roots and propel them into a realm that most bands aspire to but few actually reach.

[ED: Make sure and catch the band at their last NYC shows this weekend! Tonight's show at Webster Hall (6/18) is soldout, but MHOW tomorrow (6/19) is still available]

Their contribution to the world of music is undeniable as most of their imitators would attest to. Within the decade plus that the band existed, they continued to challenge themselves and their fans with an ever expanding palette of creative textures and moods, yet always maintaining a common thread running through each release that would identify them as the originators.

During the week that would be their final West Coast shows, I had the opportunity to sit with Aaron Turner and reflect of the past, present and future.

===

MIKE HILL: We're a couple of days into this tour, how is it going so far? Is everyone having a good time?

AARON TURNER: I think everybody's having a good time. There's a lot of mixed feelings I think. Everybody in the band going into this knowing this is the last tour colors their perception of the experience quite a bit. I can't really say what it's like for those guys, but I was expecting some sort of cathartic feeling out of the process but it really, at the moment, just feels like another tour; which is not to say that I'm cynical about it because with almost every show I've ever played with Isis, I've tried to put myself into it as much as I possibly can so that still holds true. There is a thought that's crossed my mind at times, during each set, knowing that this is the last time that we'll ever play as Isis in this particular city...I don't really know how I feel about it yet, I feel like it's going to take me a while to process it and I feel like it's not going to actually feel like the final shows until we're at the end on the east coast and there's like two shows left.

But everything is going pretty good, I mean...we've toured with so many bands, I've gotten to see how other bands interact and I feel very lucky with how well we get along even if we're deciding to call it quits and there's some weird stuff that comes up with that, for the most part we get along really awesome.

continued below...

Continue reading "an interview with Aaron Turner of Isis by Mike Hill (part 1) "

by BBG

DOWNLOAD - Melvins - "The Water Glass" (MP3)

Murder City Devils at Nokia (more by Brian Reilly)

After a show at Nokia earlier this year, The Murder City Devils are coming back for more east coast shows and a second NYC-area helping in 2010. That new short run of east coast dates includes a Maxwell's show on July 16th. Advanced tickets for the NJ show are only available at Tunes (according to the venue's website).

The show is less than a month after MCD drummer Coady Willis plays NYC twice with The Melvins, as part of their tour with Isis and Totimoshi (Isis's last tour ever). Tickets for 6/18 at Webster and 6/19 at MHOW are still available.

In other news, The Melvins have their new album The Bride Screamed Murder, due on Ipecac on TUESDAY (6/1). Dig on "The Water Glass" above. The LP isn't their only release on deck either. They'll also share a split on Hydra Head Records with tourmates Isis:

...Two ISIS songs featured on this split are amongst the last recorded output to be released by the band, and are (relatively) exclusive to this 12". The first, "Way Through Woven Branches" has previously only been available as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of their most recent full length "Wavering Radiant". The second track "Pliable Foe", has never been released anywhere, and believe or not (at the time of this writing anyway), has managed to escape being sucked into the shadowy vortex of illegal internet file sharing. Both tracks were recorded during the sessions of the aforementioned "Wavering Radiant" album... The Melvins tracks featured on the flipside of this platter are culled from their latest full length album "The Bride Screamed Murder", albeit in highly altered forms from what appears there and are exclusive to this release. Remixed and reworked by the band themselves along with the help of ever nimble and able engineer and ally Toshi Kasai, these tracks are prime examples of The Melvins persona as we've come to know it - alternately jarring, tuneful, heavy, and bizarre.

All dates and some videos below...

Continue reading "Murder City Devils announce dates (Maxwell's) ++ a new Melvins MP3 & a split with Isis being released"

by BBG

Isis at Irving Plaza (more by Paul Birman)

"ISIS has reached an end. It's hard to try to say it in any delicate way, and it is a truth that is best spoken plainly. This end isn't something that occurred over night and it hasn't been brought about by a single cataclysmic fracture in the band. Simply put, ISIS has done everything we wanted to do, said everything we wanted to say. In the interest of preserving the love we have of this band, for each other, for the music made and for all the people who have continually supported us it is time to bring it to a close. We've seen too many bands push past the point of a dignified death and we all promised one another early on in the life of the band that we would do our best to ensure ISIS would never fall victim to that syndrome...

Continue reading "Isis is breaking up"

by BBG

"Seriously, when is this show going to appear on the MHOW and on ticketmaster? It's killin me!" -Anon

Isis at Irving Plaza (more by Paul Birman)

As previously reported and now realized, The Melvins & Isis will team up with Totimoshi for a second NYC show, at Music Hall of Williamsburg on June 19th. Tickets finally go on sale Thursday at noon. Tickets are also still available for the show at Webster Hall one day earlier. Full tour dates and some vids are below...

Continue reading "updated Melvins & Isis tour dates (Brooklyn show appears) "

by BBG

Melvins played all of Houdini at Webster Hall in 2009 (more by Ryan Muir)

The Melvins will hit the road for a string of dates in early summer. Those dates include the previously discussed Bonnaroo, as well as a pair of NYC dates: June 18 at Webster Hall and June 19th at Music Hall Of Williamsburg. Ticket info is forthcoming.

UPDATE: Some of these Melvins dates are with Isis!

Coady of Melvins/Big Business also plays with Murder City Devils who recently played Nokia Theatre, their first NYC show in many years.

Dale Crover also plays in Shrinebuilder who are scheduled to play NYU with Wolves In The Throne Room and Salome on 3/11. Tickets for NYUers are up now.

All tour dates and some vids below...

Continue reading "The Melvins & Isis - 2010 Tour Dates"

After a hectic day of updating the constantly updating Bonnaroo lineup page, the entire thing has been announced. Gwar, Norah Jones, and the rest of the lineup below...

Continue reading "the complete 2010 Bonnaroo lineup (Stevie Wonder, The Melvins, Kings of Leon, Isis, Local Natives & many more) "

The lineup to the 2010 Bonnaroo Festival is being announced today, but not all at once. Bands playing the the festival will each be announcing themselves one by one... making it like a big game for people to figure out, and...

For the first time ever, tickets will go back on sale the same day as the announcement. The top two tiers of tickets sold out quickly during our Holiday pre-sale in December, so make sure to act fast. Payment plans will once again be offered for both GA and VIP tickets.

The festival will be held from June 10-13, 2010 on our beautiful 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee. Get ready for an amazing four-day weekend with more than 150 of your favorite bands, top comedians, art, activities, workshops, vendors and much more.

UPDATES: Jeff Beck, John Fogerty, Medeski Martin & Wood, Punch Brothers, Isis, Chromeo w/ guest Daryl Hall, The Avett Brothers, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Carolina Chocolate Drops (video below), Big Sam's Funky Nation, Neon Indian, The Black Keys, Monte Montgomery, Bassnectar, The Constellations, Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers, Ingrid Michaelson, Blues Traveler, 311, The xx, Mayer Hawthorne and the County, Regina Spektor, Wale, Norah Jones, Jay-Z, Thievery Corporation, GWAR, She & Him, Jimmy Cliff, Tokyo Police Club, Kid Cudi, Japandroids, Dr. Dog, Baaba Maal, Zac Brown Band, The National, John Prine, Dave Rawlings Machine, Manchester Orchestra, Local Natives, Dropkick Murphys, Jay Electronica, The Postelles, Reblution, Damien Marley & Nas, NeedtoBreathe, Tenacious D, Jamey Johnson, They Might Be Giants, Lotus, The Entrance Band, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Clutch, Tori Amos, The Melvins, The Dodos, Kings of Leon, The Dead Weather, Deadmau5, Martin Sexton, Blitzen Trapper, The Gaslight Anthem, Mumford & Sons, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Ave, Tinariwen, Here We Go Magic, Julia Nunes, Disco Biscuits, Rise Against and reportedly the Flaming Lips with Stardeath and White Dwarfs covering Dark Side of the Moon (still not confirmed by the band). Paul Simon is also rumored.

Continue reading "2010 Bonnaroo lineup revealing itself today (keep track of who's playing here) ++ tickets on sale at noon"

Baroness @ Bowery Ballroom - 11/20/2009 (more by Tim Griffin)

BBG will publish his own list of the best metal albums of 2009, but in the meantime here's what Decibel Magazine had to say:

Continue reading "Decibel's Top 40 Metal Albums of 2009 "

photos by Paul Birman, words by Klaus Kinski & Black Bubblegum

Aaron Turner of Isis

Isis, assisted by Chi-town's Pelican and local heroes Tombs, hit up Irving Plaza on June 2nd as part of a larger tour for the ex-Boston, now-LA band. The Irving Plaza show marks the home stretch for Pelican and Tombs who have basically been on tour since March, having hit up SXSW and joined forces with Wolves In The Throne Room (who recently played NYC).

Klaus Kinski was at the show Tuesday night, he writes...

Continue reading "Isis, Pelican & Tombs @ Irving Plaza in NYC - pics "

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Orcustus - "Asphyxiokenisis" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Subrig Destroyer - "God Of Furnace" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Disappearer - "A Skull Full Of Bats" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Roller - "Rattle Of The Shaman" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Gnaw Their Tongues - "Rife with Deep Teeth Marks" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Velvet Cacoon - "Funeral Noir" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Black Arrows Of Filth & Impurity - "Damn, Girlfriend, That Napalm Exfoliates As It Burns" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Black Arrows Of Filth & Impurity - "If Shit Were Gold, The Poor Wouldn't Have Assholes" (MP3)

Orcustus

Orcustus, a vile and caustic black metal crew that at one point featured Infernus and Tormentor of Gorogoroth, have released their long-time-coming LP via Southern Lord. Try and choke back the vomit while you check out "Asphyxiokenisis" above, and pick up the LP here.

While we're on the BM tip, a misanthrope who released my second favorite record of last year, Leviathan, has dropped a new split entitled Sic luceat lux with Greek black metallers Acherontas. Pick it up at Zyklon-B Productions.

Converge is currently in the studio recording their new album, fingers perched with on twitter. Meanwhile, Nate of Converge dropped some details on the new Doomriders record, Darkness Come Alive, which he professes to be "not as [much of a] party record" and a "little more serious". More in an interview here.

Speaking of Doomriders, Boston's Disappearer (also featuring Jebb Riley) have released The Clearing on Magic Bullet Records in CD and 2LP formats. Pick it up here, and dig on the MP3 for "A Skull Full Of Bats" above!

20 Buck Spin is repressing one of their greatest releases, the Graves At Sea / Asunder split. Pick that up here.

Red Sparowes have announced that they will hit the studio in August to record their LP follow-up to Amorphisms EP. Follow Red Sparowes on Twitter.

UK doomers Moss have a new 10" EP, Tombs Of The Blind Drugged, due this month via Rise Above Records. Preorder info isn't available yet, but when it is, you can pick it up here.

Black Arrows of Filth & Impurity. I know, the name is kind of a mouthful... but the names of the bands that are associated with this death/grind/ambient crew are pretty common around these parts: Demiricous, The Dream Is Dead, and Racebannon. BAOFAI drop their new album 1984 (Eternal) on Gilead Media and are streaming four tracks at their myspace, but have dropped off "Damn, Girlfriend, That Napalm Exfoliates As It Burns" and "If Shit Were Gold, The Poor Wouldn't Have Assholes" above! Pick up 1984 (Eternal) here.

Call me a loyalist, but I had the feeling that after being somewhat disappointed by In The Absence Of Truth, Isis would come back as strong as ever. Make sure and check out Wavering Radiant on May 5th or now, if you are a record fiend or feel like streaming it all at their myspace. Look for Isis at Irving Plaza on June 2nd with Tombs & Pelican (tickets here), and check out the video for "Holy Tears" below!

That video, Subrig Destroyer, Beherit, Velvet Cacoon, sunn 0))), Nattefrost, and more, as This Week in Metal continues!

Continue reading "This Week In METAL (05/02/09)"

by Black Bubblegum

Genghis Tron Live at Europa, 3/27/09 (more by Justina Villanueva)

Pelican and Tombs have been added to select dates of the previously mentioned Isis tour including the currently on sale show at Irving Plaza on June 2nd. Updated tour dates are below.

Tombs also has two other dates on their calendar: April 19th with the mighty Bison BC in Danbury CT and April 12th (Easter) with Wetnurse, Black Anvil and Genghis Tron for Show No Mercy at Public Assembly. Want to go to the Brooklyn one? I have 2 pairs of tickets up for grabs. Details on how to win below.

After defiling Easter Sunday, Genghis Tron will head to Coachella. From their they head home to dedicate the rest of the year to writing and recording the follow-up to Board Up The House. Public Assembly may be their last show for a long time, so if you didn't catch them (and possibly almost get killed) when they played Europa with Converge and Coliseum, don't miss this.

Isis have a new album on the way, Wavering Radiant. Look for it on May 15th.

Pelican recently played SXSW and recorded their debut EP for Southern Lord.

Mike Hill (of Tombs) and Isis have a history together; Hill produced songs on Isis's The Red Sea EP. Before the release of Tombs' mammoth Winter Hours, we interviewed Mike Hill. Tombs recently played SXSW, check out a video of that below.

Black Anvil, who recently dropped Time Insults The Mind on LP, have a few other dates lined up including April 10th in Bethpage, NY.

Bison BC will also be in the hood soon... taking on Children at Death By Audio on April 18th.

More videos and all tour dates below....

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