by BBG

Vaura at Death By Audio (more by BBG)

As discussed, Vaura have been added to the Deafheaven/Alcest show on 3/31 at Public Assembly (tickets), but the band also has a few other notable shows to speak of including the most imminent, 2/18 at Knitting Factory supporting Junius and O'Brother. Tickets are on sale.

The show is part of Junius/O'Brother's string of dates together, and in support of the latter's Garden Window, which dropped on 1/10 via Triple Crown Records/Favorite Gentlemen. Stream an O'Brother track, "Malum" which hit Decibel earlier this year.

Vaura will ALSO play smaller shows including 3/14 at Home Sweet Home (their official Record Release party) and 4/20 at The Stone (a special acoustic show). All dates and some streams from the band's forthcoming Selenelion (including "Vanth" which was recently posted to Pitchfork) are below....

Continue reading "Junius/O'Brother currently on tour; Vaura added to NYC show at Knitting Factory"

photos by Tim Griffin

Hum @ Fun Fun Fun Fest

I can say without any reservations that this was a moment I had thought about for nearly 15 years. HUM was a band that I worshiped from my mid teenage years until well into my twenties. Their two major label records, You'd Prefer An Astronaut and Downward is Heavenward, I clutched tightly against my chest and listened to on repeat in the closed world of my angst-fueled bedroom. Next to ninja turtles bed sheets, posters of Nirvana and Issac Asimov novels, were cassette and CD copies of both albums. I can still remember hearing when I was 13 or 14 that HUM would be playing a small festival show at Worlds of Fun with my other favorite band of the time, Kill Creek. I've been beating myself up for missing that show for over a decade. -[Demencha]

If you missed them (possibly because you live in the East Coast), we also have a consolation prize in the form of a live recording via Cavis Tapes who recorded the whole Fun Fun Fun Fest set and posted it as a free download, Grab that before the link expires.

You can also get your Hum fix via a tribute LP which was recently released via Pop Up Records. The record features contributions from names like The Esoteric, Constants, Junius, City of Ships, and many others.

So far Hum has not announced any more shows. More of those belated Hum pictures from Fun Fun Fun Fest are below...

Continue reading "Hum pics & audio from FFF Fest +++ a tribute CD out now"

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"

photos by Greg Cristman, words by BBG

"Ghost isn't playing" - Ryan Jones

"Enslaved is playing at the Gramercy tonight. Their fan base looks exactly like what you would expect them to look like." - William Hart

Enslaved @ Gramercy Theatre

Despite a sizeable loss with the subtraction of Ghost from the lineup, the Enslaved/Alcest tour has soldiered on with Junius picking up the slack. The trio of bands hit NYC at Gramercy Theater on Sunday, 9/25, one of their first dates on a tour that ends on the West Coast in October.

All three bands have recent releases to celebrate; Enslaved released a new EP, Alcest has the recent Le Secret EP, and Junius has a new LP in Reports From the Threshold of Death via Prosthetic. Alcest is also planning to release a new LP due early next year, though details are still forthcoming.

More pictures and setlists from Gramercy Theater are below.

Continue reading "Enslaved, Alcest & Junius @ Gramercy Theatre (pics, setlists)"

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)"

by BBG

Rosetta at Santos (more by Samantha Marble)

Philiadelphia astro-metallers Rosetta create another georgeous and sprawling epic on their upcoming split with fellow delay-pedal fans Junius. The new release, due 9/27 on Translation Loss Records, features a song from each band, including a melancholic new Rosetta burner "TM-3" which makes its debut here. Stream it below.

Rosetta have confirmed their involvement in the Metal Suckfest at Gramercy Theater on 11/5 (aka the second day of the festival), and with Cynic, The Red Chord and Obscura. Though the lineup has yet to be fully announced by day, that may mean that Municipal Waste, Today Is The Day, and Magrudergrind are all on board for the first day (11/4). Ticketing info is still on the way.

Rosetta also have a Philly show coming up. Dates and the "TM-3" stream below...

Continue reading "Rosetta releasing split w/ Junius (listen to a new song) "

by BBG

Snapcase

It's 1PM in Texas and I just tied a bandana around my face before its time to get down to business. I'm not some outlaw out to rob a bank and hop on a speeding stagecoach; With the dry dirt and the hordes of kids in full-on circle-pit/floorpunch mode, a bandana or a surgical mask is a key tool in dealing with the clouds of dust that form around the chaos.

Chaos it was, off-stage that is, as the crowd popped for the likes of Suicidal Tendencies, Snapcase, Dwarves, Municipal Waste, Gwar, Mastodon and others on Fun Fun Fun Fest's Black Stage (where I spent a good bit of my time). Though I wandered to the Orange Stage to catch amazing performances from Cap'n Jazz, The Hold Steady & Descendents (among many others) and the Blue Stage to catch scorching shows from Big Freedia, Pharoahe Monch, Dam-Funk, and A-Trak, but it was the Black Stage where I caught pretty much every single band in action.

And that's a lot! One of the great things about the Black and Orange stages is that they are actually TWO stages each. A band will finish their set, and then on a stage right next to it, another band will line check and play. Times between bands varied (due to set time length and on occasion, technical difficulties), but there were moments when it was as low as 5 minutes between sets. More music and less downtime.

I started out my Saturday (11/6) with Black Congress, whose powerful post-hardcore impressed the early crowd. Hatred Surge followed, and even with a new singer in tow, the brutality has stayed a constant. Power Trip was next, and they do crossover-thrash that is less DRI/ Municipal Waste, and more serious/furious. Bands this good shouldn't play this early.

I'm very picky about sung vocals and punk rock, so it's sort of no surprise that I didn't care for either Bad Religion (who had no guitar in the mix for the first three songs), The Briggs or The Vandals, but I did enjoy what I saw of Strike Anywhere's live set (even though I am not into their recorded output). Dreadlocked singer Thomas Barnett is as energetic a frontman as I would see on the Black Stage all weekend, and really added tremendous power to the band's melodic hardcore.

Muncipal Waste (more here)

Strike Anywhere is from Richmond, and the band got a "Richmond represent" shout out from the great Municipal Waste that day. The band thrashed their way through one of my favorite sets of the afternoon, complete with thrown trash cans, a wall of death, stage diving, and an "execution" courtesy of fellow Richmond band Gwar. Gwar was fun in a kitschy way and delivered a great set later in the day, but the crowd energy and the precision of MW's live show was the most memorable.

Also on the Black stage were Valient Thorr and The Casualties who both delivered energetic sets, with the latter giving a crusty spin on the Ramones classic "Blitzkrieg Bop". The mohawk-ed kids went ape, and a wall of death, which was later faux-mocked by Municipal Waste when they initiated their own wall of death, was called upon by vocalist Jorge Herrera.

On the Orange stage, I managed to catch Woven Bones, The Appleseed Cast, and Jeff The Brotherhood. Jeff The Brotherhood is a staple of the small stage in NYC, so it was a bit odd to hear that guitar tone blaring out of 50 feet of PA speakers. Odd, but no less fun/impressive.

Along with Municipal Waste, Big Freedia was another one of my favorite sets of the day. Her nonsense odes to ass, ass, and ass-clapping were a pure sugar-rush and left 90% of the crowd in hilarious amazement and the other 10% with a big old "WTF" look. The Freedia set was tamer than her usual appearances, but no matter, it was still much fun and much booty-shakin. Dam-Funk would also get the crowd moving on that same stage hours later.

Seeing Big Freedia meant missing a good portion of Cap'n Jazz, who announced on stage that Fun Fun Fun would be their last show. Unbelieveably kinetic and powerful, Cap'n Jazz reminds me that emo is short for "emotional" and not just a psuedonym for pop-crossover. Mesmerizing and awesome.

Peelander-Z

Sunday (11/7) was a late start for me, so I got to the venue to see the tail end of Junius (who played 2nd, after Eagle Claw on the Black Stage). They're a band I'm very familiar with for their latter-Isis crunch-and-clean vocals steelo. It was surprisingly the next band that really got me going: Peelander-Z. With a large crowd looking on, Peelander-Z delivered an incredible mix of energy, stage presence, audience participation, fun and simple song-craft, and plain old good times. They played from the crowd. They stage dove. They led the audience in a giant game of limbo. They had a footrace. Totally fun.

I have a lot of recent experience seeing OFF!, High on Fire, Kylesa, Floor, Mastodon, and The Bronx, who all played the Black Stage that day. All gave predictably excellent shows though Kylesa in particular seemed a bit more energetic that usual (lots of Laura pogoing). It might have been the fact that FFF marked the end of their US tour with Torche and High on Fire, but they were particularly good on that sweltering Sunday afternoon. Floor was great as usual, though I enjoyed them more at Red 7 later that night... possibly because their music felt like a bookend to a great weekend. Both High on Fire and Mastodon's setlist delved into all of their recorded efforts which, as a long time fan, was comforting.

I'm not particularly scared of anyone, but Human Furnace of Ringworm gives me the shakes. His gravelly voice propels the rest of the Clevo-hardcore band forward and blew my mind that afternoon. They were one of my highlights of the day, and if I had only seen them and Snapcase on Sunday, I would have been content.

If my dad listened to modern music anymore, he would go apeshit for The Hold Steady. The band cranked out a crunchy Springsteen-esque set and sounded better than I have ever heard them before. Though they were killing on the Orange stage, I made the hard decision to bounce to catch the rest of Suicidal Tendencies' set.

Nothing against Mike Muir, but he isn't in the same shape that John Joseph of the Cro-Mags is (Muir and the rest of the known universe). No matter, it doesn't stop him from zigging and zagging back and forth on stage as the rest of Suicidal Tendencies runs through hits like "You Can't Bring Me Down" and "I Saw Your Mommy". High energy stuff; I can't imagine running in circles while trying to recite the words to "Institutionalized". Catch Suicidal and Cro-Mags together at Terminal 5 on November 14th.

If I was to pick two of my favorite sets from Sunday, the winners easily go to Snapcase and Descendents. Snapcase was brutal, technical, confrontational, and totally fun; the crowd gave back every ounce of energy that the band put in. From the opening notes of their third song, "Zombie Transmission" from Progress Through Unlearning, I knew that this was going to be a highlight. We need more shows from Snapcase.

Descendents, who we also need more shows from, are one of the few bands that pass my "no clean vocals in punk rock" test. Their songs are funny without being goofy, melodic without being overtly pop, and driving/hard when they want to be. Classics like "Suburban Home", "Bikeage" and a good portion of Somery, "Everything Sucks" and many of the highlights from that LP, and tons of others all made their way onto the setlist that night. And yes, the band made sure to fit in "All" and "Weinerschnitzel". Too fun, and though I left Mastodon early to catch them, I have no regrets.

As far as pictures go, we already split the fest up into ten other posts, my pictures from Saturday included. This post is number 11 and it includes all my pictures from Sunday (and it is our final set of Fun Fun Fun pics from this year) which continue, below...

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest in review w/ more Day 3 pics (part 4) - Snapcase, Floor Suicidal Tendencies, Kylesa, Ringworm & more"

photos by Alysse Gafkjen, words by BBG

Valient Thorr strike a pose

Valient Thorr headlined Southpaw in Brooklyn on 9/23 with support from Junius and Howl as part of a larger overall tour for the three bands. If you missed Howl, you won't have to wait long to check them out again, as the band is hitting the road for an upcoming tour with Trap Them and ETID. Tickets are on sale for their date at The Studio at Webster Hall on November 3rd.

If you missed Valient Thorr and Junius, you won't be able to catch them in NYC in the forseeable future, but you will be able to catch them both in Austin at Fun Fun Fun Fest along with a slew of other notables. Look for Valient Thorr to dip into Stranger at the show, as that recently released LP is out now.

More pictures from the show are below...

Continue reading "Valient Thorr, Howl & Junius played Southpaw (pics) "

by BBG

Trap Them at Knitting Factory (more by Samantha Marble)

Trap Them and Howl will hit the road for a string of dates with Every Time I Die as part of "Shit Happens: The Tour", tagging The Studio at Webster Hall on 11/3 in the process. Tickets are on sale. The show is one of two Howl dates in the NYC area, as the band will play Southpaw on 9/23 with Valient Thorr and Junius (who recently played Acheron). Tickets are still on sale for that too.

Meanwhile, Trap Them will spend the month of September working on their new LP for Prosthetic Records with Kurt Ballou at God City, documenting the process on their spankin' new blog.

All tour dates and some videos, below...

Continue reading "Trap Them touring w/ Every Time I Die & Howl who is touring w/ Valient Thorr & Junius (dates)"

photos and words by BBG

On their way to Boston to record their new LP with Kurt Ballou at God City, acerbie noise rock killers KEN Mode played Acheron on Tuesday (8/17) with Brooklyn's own blackened hardcore greats Castevet and Boston's spacey post-rock/metallers Junius. The heroes in Junius filled in at the last minute for East Of The Wall after an illness required the band to cancel their appearance.

Junius are currently out with ORBS, but will circle back through NYC with Howl and Valient Thorr, tagging Southpaw on 9/24. All dates below.

In related news, Acheron has a pair of interesting shows this weekend: Friday is grind-day with Baltimore's Triac, along with Curandera (ex ASRA & Tombs, current Mutilation Rites) and Backslider, and Saturday is female-fronted Richmond doomers Windhand (mem Facedowninshit).

More pictures and some videos from the KEN Mode show below...

Continue reading "KEN Mode, Castevet & Junius played the Acheron (pics, video, more upcoming shows, Howl dates)"

Junius at Public Assembly in April (more by Brian Reilly)

A BIG shout out goes to Junius, who have been added to the KEN Mode / Castevet shindig TONIGHT at Acheron in the place of the ailing East of The Wall. Doors are at 8, and $10 gets you in. GET THERE! - BBG

Also in Brooklyn tonight, we forgot to mention, Hamish Kilgour's band The Mad Scene are playing Bruar Falls with Eux Autres and Knight School.

More, including Lee Scratch Perry at Highline Ballroom in What's Going on Tuesday

by BBG

Wormrot

Singapore grind trio Wormrot, who released one of my favorite LPs of 2009 (which has since been reissued by Earache this year), will play Santos Party House on September 2nd alongside Order of Ennead (members of Deicide, also Earache), Mobile Deathcamp (which features Beefcake of GWAR) and Skull Crusher. Tickets are on sale.

Cannibal Corpse will play Santos on Nov 19th with Dying Fetus, Vital Remains, and Devourment. Tickets are on sale. The show is one of two at Santos for Devourment, as the band will also support Cattle Decapitation a month prior (10/18, tickets).

Merauder has been added to the previously discussed Inside Out show at Santos on August 14th (tickets).

Early Man will headline Europa on 10/10 with an assist from a pair of other Earache bands, Evile and Bonded by Blood. Tickets are on sale. The band is on the run promoting their new LP Death Potion, out now via The End.

Revocation and Misery Index will support Despised Icon at their last ever NYC show alongside The Judas Syndrome and Everything's Ruined at Europa on 9/11. Tickets are on sale. Misery Index released Heirs to Thievery earlier this year via Relapse. Full tour dates for the whole trek is below.

Howl was just in NYC with Black Cobra, and now the Rhode Island band will loop back to NYC to play Southpaw with Valient Thorr and Junius on September 24th. Tickets are on sale. Full Valient Thorr dates are below....

NYC's Hallux will celebrate the release of their debut LP alongside Malkuth and Bad Girlfriend at Union Pool on September 9th.

Tour dates and some video is below....

Continue reading "Wormrot, Early Man, Evile, Bonded by Blood, Cannibal Corpse, Merauder, Revocation, Misery Index, Valient Thorr & other upcoming shows & tour dates"

words by BBG, photos by Brian Reilly

Rosetta

Rosetta have no lack of releases they're a part of in 2010. Their new album A Determinism of Morality is on the way via Translation Loss (look for it May 25th). They also recently contributed to a three way split with East Of The Wall & Year of No Light, as well as volume 15 of The Silent Ballet compilation which also featured Year of No Light, along with notables Kodiak, Across Tundras, Aidan Baker, Heirs, SardoniS, and many others. Download that for FREE.

The band showcased material from the forthcoming LP at their recent show at Public Assembly (3/28) with City of Ships, Junius, and Immanent Voiceless (Starkweather cancelled). Pictures and video from that show continue below...

Continue reading "Rosetta played Public Assembly w/ Junius & City of Ships (pics, video), on free Silent Ballet compilation (download)"

words by Ilya Blokh, photos by Jason Jamal Nakleh

Mike Armine of Rosetta with ppl rocking the f out.

Saturday (12/12) brought Tombs, Junius, Irepress and Rosetta to The Studio @ Webster Hall for a somewhat bizarre cross-section of heavy genres. Tombs are fresh off a month-long European tour promoting Winter Hours with Buried Inside, while Rosetta have just released a three-way split with Year Of No Light and (the newly revamped) East Of The Wall.

Rosetta opened the show with a mind-blowing set - easily the highlight of the show. Their vast, powerful, and almost nautical sound reminds me a lot of Russian Circles. The singer, Mike, was clearly not a fan of the stage and spent most of his time down on the floor with the crowd - always a welcome gesture. The crowning moment was when the audience literally peer pressured the guys into playing an encore - it's always great to see this sort of connection between band and fans. Can't wait for their next show in January with Tombs, Battlefields and City of Ships.

Next up were Irepress. Instead of focusing on a coherent sound, they threw a pile of disconnected elements - dance beats, proggy guitar noodling and some basic breakdowns - on top of each other, in a quantity over quality approach. Why have a keyboardist if he spends most of the show playing air drums? In any case, part of the crowd was clearly into it and there was a decent amount of "dancing", including a strangely epileptic mix of drum'n'bass moves and flying kicks.

Junius played next, with a heavier take on the old goth/darkwave sound that moved from straight pop songs to darker and more complex pieces, straying even into some Radiohead'ish moments. Not my cup of tea really, but it was well put together, soothing and a nice break before the last band.

The excellent sound at Webster Hall was a good match for Tombs' wall-of-sound approach, which tends to get lost on sub-par sound systems. Easily the most consistent and hard-working band in the NYC scene, the guys tore through a solid set with their trademark, all-business approach (have you ever seen one of them smile?) which, as always, ended with at least one band member smashing their instrument on the ground. They are at their best when the drums slow down and a little groove enters the mix and hopefully we'll see more of that in the future.

More pictures from the show are below...

Continue reading "Tombs, Rosetta & friends @ The Studio @ Webster Hall - pics"

by BBG

Tombs at Cake Shop (more by Samantha Marble)

As previously discussed, Tombs will do battle with Rosetta, Irepress, and Junius at the Studio @ Webster Hall today (Saturday, 12/12, tix here), but that isn't the only show scheduled for the Brooklyn killers/year-end list toppers.

BrooklynVegan is proud to present Tombs with Rosetta, City of Ships, and Battlefields at Union Pool on January 22nd in association with our friends at 1000 Knives. Flyer for that show is below.

In other Rosetta news, the band recently dropped a three way split with Year of No Light and East Of The Wall on Translation Loss. Pick that up here. The East of The Wall lineup on the split differs slightly from the lineup today:

EAST OF THE WALL is excited to announce its new lineup. Joining the band are guitarist Chris Alfano and drummer Seth Rheam. Both played in the band Biclops with EAST OF THE WALL bassist Brett Bamberger and guitarist Kevin Conway. Due to the merging of the two bands' lineups, all music created by the aforementioned collective, along with guitarist Matt Lupo, will be released under the name EAST OF THE WALL. This will include the release of the groups next record, Ressentiment, due out next summer through Translation Loss Records.

With this lineup change, EAST OF THE WALL has parted ways with original drummer Mike Somers. The band would like to thank Mike for his outstanding musicianship and hard work since the inception of the band.

January is turning out to be a nutso month, with the previously announced Magrudergrind/Defeatist show at Cake Shop and HopeCon/Blacklisted at Cake Shop (TICKETS), not to mention the previously discussed Disembodied show at Santos.

Rosetta/Battlefields/City of Ships & East of The Wall dates, along with the Tombs flyer, below...

Continue reading "Rosetta touring w/ Battlefields (dates), playing NYC show w/ Tombs (BV presents), released split w/ Year of No Light"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Cannabis Corpse - "Shit of Pot Seeds" (MP3)

Tombs @ Gramercy (more by Chris La Putt)

The killer Burnt By The Sun / Tombs / Black Anvil / Bloodhorse / Torchbearer rockstravaganza blasts off TOMORROW (10/2) at the motherlovin' Cake Shop, but if you were to have to miss Friday (why?), luckily, another Tombs show is right around the corner. (BBTS, that's another story... )

After supporting gigs with the likes of Marduk, Isis and Pelican, and Genghis Tron, Tombs have scheduled a headlining show of their own at The Studio @ Webster Hall with star-gazing post-metallers Rosetta, the emo-meets-Isis stylings of Junius, and the ever-technical Irepress. Tickets are on sale. Yikes! 'Tis a good 'un.

Tombs play Richmond tonight with Cannabis Corpse and Infernal Stronghold, a pairing that will hit NYC on Saturday (10/2)! Cannabis Corpse plays ABC No Rio during the day and then hits The Charleston with Infernal Stronghold that night. We premiered two new tracks from Infernal Stronghold, and now you can check out a new song from Cannabis Corpse's EP The Weeding available above!

BBTS/Tombs extravaganza isn't the only massive show of the weekend. BV is also proud to present Woe, Aluk Todolo, Malkuth and Castevet at Union Pool on 10/4! It's only $8 to get in, but a lucky TWO WINNERS will receive a pair of tickets gratis! Just email us at BVCONTESTS@HOTMAIL.COM with the subject line of "Woe is ME!" (include your first and last name).

Rosetta is preparing to release a three way split with the awesome Year of No Light and East Of The Wall on Translation Loss. Preorder that bad boy here. Irepress recently released Sol Eye Sea I on the same label.

Junius is currently offering their new LP for free in digital form and on pre order in the physical

Full Tombs and Cannabis Corpse tour dates and an awesome Cannabis Corpse video is below!

Continue reading "Tombs shows, a Cannabis Corpse EP & dates ++ win Woe tix"

words & photos by Black Bubblegum

Ancestors @ Room 710 in Austin - March 19, 2009

My SXSW adventure began Wednesday morning at the airport. Talk about starting things off on the wrong foot! A woman fell into a diabetic coma (she was ok later that morning) on my 6:30AM flight. That led to an unplanned stop in NOLA which was followed by a layover in a fogged up Houston Airport... to say I was a little late to our own day show at Emo's was an understatement. Unfortunately, Trash Talk were wheeling their amps out the door when I got there (which meant I also missed Garotas Suecas and Psychedelic Horseshit), but I managed to catch Trash Talk vocalist Lee cruising around, with a microphone grill imprinted on his forehead. His pain, our pleasure...

Continue reading "Black Bubblegum's SXSW-metal recap - part 1 "