by BBG

DOWNLOAD:Noisear - "Endless Reincarnation" (MP3)

Unearthly Trance at Saint Vitus (more by Greg Cristman)


Unearthly Trance shows are few and far between nowadays, but the band will awaken from their live slumber to play Acheron on March 1st as part of a bill that includes The Communion, Water Torture, and Syphilitic Lust. $8 gets you in the door. Check out the flyer below.

Horseback has completed their new LP Half Blood due via Relapse this Spring. Details are limited so far, but Roadburn has more details about the record and its "amalgamation of drone, doom, black-metal, psychedelia, post-rock, noise, and ambience recorded with a wide array of instruments including guitar, bass, drums, keys, piano, bells, contact mics, field recordings, drum programming, noise and various signal processors." Yep, sounds like a Horseback record!

Check out a new Noisear track from their upcoming three-way split with Antigama and The Kill above. The track features vocals by Mitchell Luna of ex-Maruta fame.

Perdition will join Varix, Murderer and Sad Boys at Heaven Street Records TONIGHT (2/3). Door entry will cost you zilch and beers will cost you a dollar. Sounds like a winning night of furious, crusty punk to me.

Drainland will share a split 7" with Crows due on Suburban Mayhem Records. Stream the material from that release below.

Slices are preparing their new LP Still Cruising for Iron Lung Records. Look for it in the coming weeks and stream "Greensleeves" from the LP below.

One interesting and important footnote to the upcoming Behold the Arctopus show at Saint Vitus on Feb 24th... Support will come from Mindless Blasting and Geryon, two bands which feature Mick Barr with Nondor Nevai and Nick McMaster with Lev Weinstein respectively. Basically, a night of Krallice-related projects... should be interesting. Tickets are on sale.

Like Flipper, a reunited Sleepytime Trio are playing a show at SXSW in Austin this year.

No NYC dates, but Ringworm, Cancer Bats & Primitive are touring from Ohio to SXSW and then back to Ohio together. OFF! were also recently announced on the SXSW lineup.

Mastodon/Opeth/Ghost tickets went on sale earlier today.

Saturday's Ceremony, Pissed Jeans, The Rival Mob, Hoax, Kim Phuc, Gods and Queens show @ Le Poisson Rouge is now sold out.

Converge announced a tour.

YOB recently visited NJ with Tool. Right before that, they headlined their own show in Chicago with Anatomy of Habit and an opening set by YOB's Mike Scheidt who is going to release a solo album this year on Thrill Jockey. BV Chicago has pics from the Chicago show.

If you missed it, check out my interviews we just posted with English Dogs guitarist Gizz Butt and Mark "Barney" Greenway of Napalm Death. (Pilgrim too actually.)

A list of suggested NYC shows with song streams, the "Beaten & Left Blind" video by Landmine Marathon, and a set of European SUNN O))) tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Evillive (Unearthly Trance, Noisear, Horseback, Slices & more)"

by BBG

Landmine Marathon at Union Pool (more by Paul Birman)

The best compliment that I can give a band in heavy music is unpredictablity. Never knowing when or where a vocalist will grab you or scream in your face is one of the basic tenets of excellent punk and hardcore; it's that sense of danger that draws people to the pit or off of a PA speaker into the crowd. Landmine Marathon understand that; psycho frontwoman Grace Perry paces around the stage, grabbing and pushing members of the audience while the rest of the band rips out a taut and energetic set of early-Earache-meets-crust-core. Landmine Marathon rips live, but make sure and look for the falling bodies overhead.

While LM's live show is pretty much undisputed, the band has yet to capture that feral live energy on record. Its a common problem, but one that moves closer to remedy on Gallows, the band's latest LP due via Prosthetic Records on 9/27. Unlike Sovereign Descent's fade into opener "Exist", Gallows hits you out of the gate with a battering ram of whammy-laced guitars and foul down-tuned bludgeon on "Three Snake Leaves". Grace's vocals sound more belligerent than ever, and the beatings continue with "Cutting Flesh & Bone" and eventually "Beaten & Left Blind", the track which makes its first appearance here today. Check out all three tracks below.

As previously mentioned, you can catch Landmine Marathon on tour with Warbringer, Lazarus AD, and Diamond Plate. The bands hit Gramercy Theater on 10/18. Tickets are still available. All tour dates and song streams are below...

Continue reading "listen to 3 new Landmine Marathon songs (premiere)"

by BBG

Immolation at The Studio at Webster Hall (more by Greg Cristman)

Immolation will hit the road for a string of dates with Gigan and Jungle Rot, hitting Gramercy Theater on 10/10. Tickets for Gramercy, and all other US dates are currently on fan presale. Immolation recently released the new video for "A Glorious Epoch". Check that out below, alongside all other tour dates.

In other metal news, Warbringer, Lazarus AD, Landmine Marathon and Diamond Plate will team up to play Gramercy Theater on 10/18 as part of a larger campaign dubbed "America Torn Asunder". Tickets for all dates on the tour, which kicks off in October and runs through early November, are currently on presale and listed below.

Both Warbringer (who played Slaughter By The Water) and Landmine Marathon are preparing to release upcoming LPs ON THE SAME DAY, with the former welcoming Worlds Torn Asunder and the latter welcoming Gallows on 9/27. More details on those releases are forthcoming.

Landmine Marathon kick off a short batch of dates at the end of this month with a show with Toxic Holocaust/Holy Grail/Krum Bums in Canoga Park on July 29th. That Toxic Holocaust tour hits Europa on August 19th. Tickets are on sale. Stream all of Toxic Holocaust's new LP Conjure and Command at AOL.

All tour dates and some video is below.

Continue reading "Immolation, Warbringer, Landmine Marathon & more (a bunch of new albums, tours, NYC shows & videos)"

by BBG

Floor at Red 7 for the BrooklynVegan Fun Fun Fun Fest After-Party

Robotic Empire dropped the exhaustive Floor box set earlier this year and now Chunklet will release a Floor DVD entitled Sight & Seen, a two disc compilation on the mighty Floridian band that spawned also-greats Torche and Dove. The DVD includes multi-angle video from both Floor renunion shows at The Earl in Atlanta (pictures here) as the centerpiece, the set also includes a featurette on the band with more live footage and interviews, audio from both shows, and older video that spans Floor's original run. If it's anything like the Harvey Milk Anthem DVD, you'll want to get your hands on it... Get your copy via Chunklet, but hurry; only 700 will be released in varying colorways. Look for it the first week of December 2010.

Not-surprise guest Floor headlined the BrooklynVegan FFF Fest afterparty at Red 7 in Austin on Sunday (11/7) alongside Landmine Marathon, Mammoth Grinder, and Ratking.

After a long day of incredible performances Sunday at Fun Fun Fun Fest (pictures are on the way), I was a bit worn out (not just from the day, but from Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday too). But the energetic performances from all bands- Ratking is brutal crusty noise/hardcore featuring Coop from Made out of Babies, Mammoth Grinder is a personal fave, and Landmine Marathon was especially great with their new drummer- got my heart racing. Even though I caught Floor earlier that day at the fest, I enjoyed them much more as my final band of the Fun Fun Fun trek.... just incredible. Thanks to Transmission and all that filled Red 7!

More pictures from Red 7, and the Sight & Seen trailer, are below...

Continue reading "Floor played Red 7 w/ Landmine Marathon, Mammoth Grinder & Ratking (pics), releasing DVD (trailer)"

by BBG

Devo, Crocodiles, and Dum Dum Girls have all cancelled their appearances at Fun Fun Fun Fest in the past few days. Sucks, yes. But the evil geniuses at the Austin, Texas Festival (November 5-7, 2010) have already drummed up some replacements. New bands include Cults, and Margot and the Nuclear So and Sos (who were originally on the fest, but had to drop off a few weeks ago and were replaced by The Antlers, and now are back but on a different day). Washed Out also recently replaced Cold Cave, and the Nortec Collective was a recent addition too. Oh, and to replace Devo: new headliner Descendents!

"I really can't believe it. The Descendents were one of those bands on my dream list that I thought I would never get to book" Says Graham Williams, FFF Founder. "A week ago, we had no idea what we were going to do, and now we couldn't be more happy".

Speaking of Cults, they recently played a gang of shows during CMJ, and their only other show at the moment is with The Morning Benders and Twin Sister at Webster Hall in NYC on 11/18 instead of Oberhofer (tickets).

I'm preparing to head down to Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin next weekend as well, and along with all of the incredible heavy music that's already going on at the festival (Mastodon, Floor, Snapcase, High on Fire, Kylesa, Municipal Waste, Suicidal Tendencies, Hatred Surge, Ringworm... the list is endless) we'll be hosting an event of our own. On Sunday, November 7th BrooklynVegan will host a killer after-party at Red 7 (doors at 9) with incredible secret guests, along with Landmine Marathon, Mammoth Grinder, and Ratking (mems MOoB, Gorilla Biscuits). The show will be FREE to Fun Fun Fun Fest wristband holders and a measly $5 at the door for those of you without.

Not into metal or need something to do on the other nights of that weekend in Austin? Not to worry. Like the lineup of the festival itself, the selection of bands playing other afterparties on each night of the fest is diverse. There are plenty of options including a November 5th Gorilla Vs Bear shindig (also with secret guest), and many more.

BrooklynVegan show flyer, some video of those bands in action, info on the fest's 2010 Circus Stage, and more, below...

Continue reading "the Descendents, Antlers, Cults & a BrooklynVegan afterparty added to Fun Fun Fun Fest!"

words by BBG, photos by Chris La Putt

Landmine Marathon

Salome, from northern Virginia, is a doom-metal band with no bass player: one of the few... At Union Pool on Tuesday night, early in the band's second song "Master Failure" [vocalist] Kat brought the microphone to her face with both hands, enveloped two small fists around it and began a deep, dreadful growl, altering the tone with the shape of her mouth, something like yawwheeawhhhheee... It was more an earth sound than a body sound; the imagined howl of undersea canyons.

... Before Salome came Landmine Marathon, from Phoenix, dealing out a combination of death-metal and hardcore punk... The band's music can be rushed and impersonal, with riffing and shifts of tempo predetermined by its genre. But [vocalist Grace] Perry's real-time reactions to it were extravagant. In "Shadows Fed to Tyrants" she opened her eyes wide and rolled them back in her head, drew her hand across her neck, beat her fists on her collarbone and finally went marauding through the crowd for a few quick turns, pushing and being pushed. She's magnetic as she re-enacts boiling over, but then leaves her work at the office. Quickly after the last riff, she was smiling, gregarious, normative. - [The New York Times]

Last night, July 15th, the two marauders destroyed Manhattan, specifically Cake Shop, where they teamed up with Batillus (Cleanteeth unfortunately was forced to cancel due to a funeral). As to be expected, both Salome and Landmine delivered, but I found myself transfixed by Batillus who seems to grow by leaps and bounds every time I see them. The band showcased three new songs, one of which was captured on video which you can watch below. In addition, Batillus was joined by Salome's Kat on vocals at one point, a special treat which added a touch of grimness to the proceedings.

More pictures and some video from Cake Shop below...

Continue reading "Landmine Marathon, Salome & Batillus played Cake Shop, NYC (pics & video)"

photos by Paul Birman, words by BBG

Salome

The first night of the Salome / Landmine Marathon madness struck Union Pool last night (7/13), leaving a wake of overheated bodies and bruised/unprepared mosh casualties in it's path. The show saw the return of Wetnurse, who have been hiding as of late while the band works out new material and 40% of the band concentrates on performing as new members of Today Is The Day. Some of that new material, albeit in instrumental form, surfaced at the show and definitely shows potential.

Landmine Marathon primed the fourth pit that I have witnessed at the venue (the others being Skeletonwitch, Krallice last year, and Misery Index / Magrudergrind), with vocalist Grace personally instigating one of those. Salome were beyond brutal, showcasing a few new songs in their set.

The madness continues with Batillus (No Cleanteeth or Wetnurse) on Thursday (7/15) at Cake Shop, but until then, bear witness to the Union Pool show in pictures and video below...

Continue reading "Salome, Landmine Marathon & Wetnurse played Union Pool (pics, video) "

Landmine Marathon photos by Taylor Keahey, words and photos of Failures & Mammoth Grinder by BBG

Landmine Marathon at Kimo's

Salome and Landmine Marathon are in NYC, and are ready to tear the roof off of Union Pool TONIGHT (7/13) as part of a two night campaign of obliteration. Wetnurse, who have been on the low this year to work on new material, will get the assist on tonight's shindig, while Batillus will support the pair two days later (7/15) at Cake Shop (unfortunately, Cleanteeth had to cancel their appearance). Want tickets? I have THREE pairs available for giveaway for EACH show. Details on how to win are at the bottom of this post.

The Landmine/Salome dates are two of three BV shows scheduled for this week. The Funeral Pyre will team up with Early Graves, Mutilation Rites and the recently added Valdur(!) play Union Pool on July 17th (Sat). Valdur, who shared a split with the great Lightning Swords of Death (check out our interview), are in the NYC area to play a second show as well. The Cali black metal crew will also take on Precious Metal at Lit on Monday (7/17) alongside Mutilation Rites (again) and Syphilitic Lust.

Landmine Marathon recently played Kimo's in San Francisco on their way out east, a trek which would eventually lead them to Dudefest (pics from Dudefest) where they crossed paths with Failures and Mammoth Grinder. Failures played Acheron on Sunday (7/11) with Vaccine, Raw Nerves and Rats In The Walls, and though I missed all the support. Pics from that show are below.

Mammoth Grinder played the Thrasher party during SXSW, and a set of unpublished pics from their appearance are below as well. The band plays The Charleson on July 15th as part of a tour that was originally supposed feature Lewd Acts, who have now officially called it quits...

Lou Dax succumbed on June 20th, 2010 to the coma brought on by a head wound sustained in New York City on May 6th. Lou is survived by his 4 sons. In lieu of flowers, pick up a Lou Dax memorial shirt or record at www.lewdacts.bigcartel.com or www.deathwishinc.com to help his legacy live on. Thank you to everyone who ever listened, saw, helped, or cared about Lou. - [Facebook]

Continue reading "Landmine Marathon & Salome are here (win tickets) ++ LM, Failures & Mammoth Grinder live pics, Lewd Acts & more"

words by BBG, photos by Kris Arnold

Arab on Radar

Indianapolis was ablaze this weekend (July 9th & 10th), as Arab on Radar and Municipal Waste headlined Dudefest in Indianapolis, Indiana as part of a two day event in that city. The event also featured many other luminaries from the hardcore/underground metal scenes which also featured Voetsek (coming to NYC), Capsule, Get Rad (profiled here), Coffinworm (coming to NYC), Failures & Vaccine (who played NYC last night, pics coming soon), Landmine Marathon (who play NYC TWICE this week, with Salome), Trap Them (their new EP is out now), Phoenix Bodies, Pollution (who have a new 12"), and many others. Our photographer sent in his notes...

Dudefest, Day 1: The evening started off fairly sparse with a few crowding to the front to watch the bands and the occasional minipit. The hall was packed densely with merch booths and the bathroom supplying the Emerson Theater classic carnival game, piss on the cockroach in the urinal until he drowns. The crowd seemed to pick up by the time Landmine Marathon took stage, but it was the full force rage of Municipal Waste that really brought things into a fury.

Day 2: Irony-a-plenty at the ES Jungle. For those that don't know its a church and you can only chuckle when bands like Black Arrows of Filth and Impurity are on the bill and you're staring down a line of people wearing t-shirts depicting bloodied carcasses atop a pentagram. This day was a bit more rough and by the end of the night it turned into a photography war zone, just replace bombs with people, feet, and elbows.

Videos from both Arab on Radar shows and more pictures from Dudefest (Capsule, Failures, Municipal Waste, Landmine Marathon, Phoenix Bodies, and more... WARNING: don't look on an empty stomach), below...

Continue reading "DudeFest 2010 in pics & video (Arab on Radar, Municipal Waste, Landmine Marathon, Phoenix Bodies, Failures & more) "

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Coffins - "Black Fog of Burning Flesh" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Coliseum - "Everything To Everyone" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Suma - "Headwound" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Dispirit - "Bitumen Amnii" (MP3 Excerpt)
DOWNLOAD: Dispirit - "Ixtab's Lure" (MP3 Excerpt)
DOWNLOAD: Leng Tch'e - "Wirehead Imbeciles" (MP3 Excerpt)
DOWNLOAD: Thou - tracks from Dwell in the Darkness of Thought and Drink the Poison of Life EP Split (rar)
DOWNLOAD: Moloch - "Dry Cough" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Ghast - "Crawl, Blighted and Afraid" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Fistula - "The Ones That Got Away" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Aun - "Drainbow" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Thou - tracks from Tears That Soak A Callous Heart Split (rar)
DOWNLOAD: Ramesses - "Khali Mist" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Endless Blockade - "Clean & Prone" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Masakari - "XVI Rapid Dominance" (MP3)

Thou at Scion Rock Fest (more by Christopher Mumma)

The grotesquely prolific Thou is forever on the move, and in addition to their out-now Baton Rouge, You Have Much To Answer For EP and the upcoming studio LP Summit due in July on GIlead Media (CD) and Southern Lord (Vinyl), the band has a pair of splits on deck. First up is the band's split with The City Is The Tower entitled Dwell in the Darkness of Thought and Drink the Poison of Life. Thou contributes two songs of the five, both of which are available above. Preorder that record.

Last, but certainly not least, the band has split with fantastic UK sludge-doomers Moloch, due on Perpetual Motion Machine in 12" and cassette formats (preorder it). Download one Moloch track, "Dry Cough", and all of Thou's contribution to that split above. Moloch has a badass debut 10" on Feast of Tentacles and recently contributed a Rorschach cover to Clone Vol II (which also featured Thou, Shadow Of The Torturer, and many others)

Landmine Marathon have filled out the rest of their US tour dates which include two NYC shows, July 13th and Union Pool and July 15th at Cake Shop both with Salome. Meanwhile, Salome is currently working on their new LP, and debut for Profound Lore.

Profound Lore has signed Agalloch! The band is currently crafting their new LP in their lair in Portland through the end of July. More details are forthcoming. Aesop Dekker of another fantastic west coast black metal band, Ludicra, serves as their drummer. While we're on the subject of Ludicra's new LP The Tenant is out on 2LP courtesy Throne Records.

continued below....

Continue reading "Short Wave Warfare (6/18/10)"

by BBG

Landmine Marathon & Salome @ Emo's (more photos by Tim Griffin & Brian Reilly)

It's with the utmost excitement that I can announce Landmine Marathon and Salome will team up for a TWO nights of carnage in NYC! The pair will swap headlining duties over the two dates. LM headlines Union Pool on July 13th (with the return of Wetnurse). Then two days later Salome will headline at Cake Shop (on 7/15) with Batillus and Cleanteeth. The pair of dates are part of a stretch of shows that Landmine & Salome will do together, and part of a longer set of dates for Landmine Marathon that will also land them at Dudefest 2010 (alongside Arab on Radar, Voetsek, Trap Them, Weekend Nachos, Coffinworm, and many notable others). Most of these dates are still TBA.

Current tour dates, some video and the show flyer is below...

Continue reading "Landmine Marathon & Salome teaming up for shows (dates)"

by BBG

Arab on Radar

Arab on Radar are a Providence, Rhode Island based noise rock band founded in the mid-1990s. They went on hiatus in 2002. Members of the band went on to form or join the bands The Chinese Stars, Athletic Automaton, Made in Mexico... Arab on Radar's early sound was typified by thickly distorted, repeated bass grooves, 4/4 drum beats, and two deafening guitars that employed contrasting melodies and near-unison chords that drew comparisons to the Contortions.

It's one of two notable shows recently announced for the Midwest this summer, with the incredible 25th anniversary of Amphetamine Reptile being the second! That show goes down in Minneapolis at Grumpy's on 8/28, and features a plethora of the label's greats including Melvins, Boss Hog, Today Is The Day, God Bullies, a Hammerhead reunion, and many others. For those considering the trek to Minnesota, the label has set up group rates for a hotel. Show flyer is below. Somewhere I hope that Unsane and pre-Betty Helmet's phone is ringing....

The Melvins are touring and playing NYC with Isis. Tickets for Webster Hall are still on sale. The Melvins will welcome their new LP, The Bride Screamed Murder via Ipecac on June 1st.

Weekend Nachos have a new EP on the way, while Get Rad was recently profiled in the latest edition of Short Wave Warfare.

Full dudefest lineup and AmRep flyer/more detals are below.

Continue reading "Arab on Radar playing Dudefest 2010 in Indiana, Amphetamine Reptile celebrating 25 years in Minneapolis (both lineups)"

words by BBG, photos by Diana Zadlo, Samantha Marble, BBG

Grace of Landmine Marathon (by Samantha Marble)

A hearty thanks go out to everyone who showed up to the BrooklynVegan/1000 Knives/Crustcake show at Hoeks Death Metal Pizza on 3/18! Though the hot sun was blaring down, the bands in the shade somehow made it hotter with their scorched earth policy and unbridled energy.

Trash Talk was beyond violent, The Atlas Moth was soaring/epic as usual, The Funeral Pyre was furious and powerful (as I found out the previous night), Book of Black Earth's crusty metal was ferocious, and Kill The Client was just as punishing as they were at Emo's. Due to some scheduling issues, we bumped Speedwolf to the last slot after Trash Talk and I missed them entirely, though reviews from the trustworthy point toward badass. Zoroaster played mostly newer material from their promising new doom-crust-leaning LP, and managed to hold back their massive firepower on stage to just "loud as fuck" as opposed to "bleeding ears". Landmine Marathon were fun and elblematic of what is great about metal today. And Coffinworm? Just plain sick blackened doom.

More pics and and a bunch of videos are below...

Continue reading "pics & video from the Hoeks pizza party (Coffinworm, Trash Talk, Landmine Marathon, Zoroaster, Atlas Moth, more) "

photos by Jessie Barber, Christopher Mumma

Matt Martinez of Landmine Marathon belts it out (by Jessie Barber)

While BBG and Kim Kelly were trolling about the blackened stage at Bernie's, getting southern-fried by the Louisiana frighteners Thou, and checking out the thundergods known as YOB, Chris and Jessie were on the case at the other Scion Rock Fest on 3/13 in Columbus, Ohio. Pictures from their travels which include some (more) shots of Landmine Marathon, as well as Shrinebuilder (right before they played NYU), Pelican, D.R.I., Black Tusk, Voivod (who then made their way to SXSW), Magrudergrind, Saviours, and so much more, below....

Continue reading "Scion Rock Fest pics (part 2) - Cannibal Corpse, Voivod, Black Tusk, Magrudergrind, Pelican, Shrinebuilder, Deadsea & more"

words by Kim Kelly, intro by BBG, photos by Christopher Mumma & BBG

Thou

SXSW was a blast, but days before that the Scion Rock Fest shook the college town of Columbus, Ohio (March 13th) with it's mix of metal gods of the past (DRI, Cannibal Corpse, Voivod, Shrinebuilder, etc) and killers of today (Ludicra, Landmine Marathon, Yob, Thou, etc). The one-day fest was spread throughout four of the town's venue, meaning any one person could only see a limited amount of the full lineup. Luckily I went to Columbus with my own camera, two other photographers (Jessie Barber and Christopher Mumma), and crossed paths with writer Kim Kelly along the way. If there is a metal show worth a damn within hundreds (thousands?) of miles from Kim, she'll be there. Her version of the story along with half of the pictures from the day (the rest HERE), below...

Continue reading "Scion Rock Fest in pics & review (part 1) - Ludicra, Liturgy, D.R.I., Yob, Thou, Lightning Swords of Death & more "

words & photos by BBG

Matt Pike of High on Fire @ the Mohawk

Want to make my life simple? Put two killer showcases in the same venue. Well, unfortunately it wasn't three showcases in the same venue (Relapse was going on over at Red 7 - pics coming soon). Following the big bang of the BrooklynVegan day party at Emo's, I hightailed it over to the Mohawk on 3/17 (right next door to our quieter official BrooklynVegan showcase going on at Club DeVille...) (editor's note: ...that was often drowned out by the metal sounds blaring over the wall while bands like the The Middle East were playing soft sets...) for a double bill of mayhem with the Action PR Showcase on the outdoor stage and the Prosthetic Records showcase on the indoor. The night at the Mohawk show was marked by competing headlining sets: the great Landmine Marathon (who played the BV day party that day) and none other than High On Fire (one of their only appearances at the fest).

Also along for the ride were such notable greats as The Gates of Slumber, Withered (who also played Emo's), Zoroaster, Naam, Priestess, The Funeral Pyre, and many others. Not a single bad apple in the bunch. Of those, I had never seen The Funeral Pyre or Clinging To The Trees of A Forest Fire - both were impressive. TFP did blackened death with such intensity, it was hard to not be compelled to head nod. Clinging did abstract and atonal grindcore in the best way.

Although I missed Landmine Marathon (who would probably be in the running), best performance of the night goes to High On Fire who blazed through new material and old including the epic "Baghdad" (!) from their debut The Art of Self Defense. As their set progressed, it seemed that the band got looser on their instruments, and as a result, much tighter and more cohesive.

In related news, High On Fire recently dropped the new video for "Frost Hammer". View it, as well as other vids and some pics from the epic show, below...

Continue reading "new High on Fire video, pics from the Action PR & Prosthetic Records SXSW showcases, more "

words by BBG, photos by Samantha Marble, Tim Griffin, Brian Reilly

"Emo's Jr. is way too tiny to handle [Torche and] their enormous sludge, enormous hooks, enormous energy, enormous crowd." - Rolling Stone.com

Landmine Marathon (by Tim Griffin)

While Fucked Up and six other bands were causing a ruckus on the bigger stage at Emo's (3/17), the BrooklynVegan day party began early and STRONG with a hot blast of Kill The Client at noon on the indoor stage. The newly Relapse-d and semi-local (partial Austin/Dallas) grinding four piece was a metallic triple-espresso to kick start the day.

Trophy for busiest metal band goes to The Atlas Moth, who booked a whopping seven shows in Austin during SxSW. Their trek began with Emo's and a killer set from their new album A Glorified Piece Of New Sky. Jovial singer Steve was all smiles at the show, and the band's epic sound echoed throughout Emo's.

Philadelphia's Javelina followed The Atlas Moth with their positively pummeling sludge filth, keeping momentum going. Bands like Buzzoven, Eyehategod, and others come to mind when listening to this quartet, but their driving sound is decidedly more punk rock in it's gallop but just as "fuck you" in it's 'tude. A big thank you goes out to the band, who also went on to fill in for the broken Nebula at Red 7 on Saturday (3/20). They rule, and can't wait to see them again on Wednesday (3/25) at Cake Shop with Howl, Sea of Bones, and Flourishing.

Though the band spent a good hour circling Emo's, Dark Castle did manage to squeak into the venue and be only a touch late for their designated set time. Again the Florida duo impressed. Dark Castle's sound is positively mammoth, and through the large PA at Emo's they sounded bigger than ever.

Salome was similarly massive, and I felt fortunate to have the band booked for their only unofficial appearance at SXSW. With the band having issues unloading gear due to street closures and general parking malaise, it seemed like vehicular frustration bred more stage-side fury. The trio's sludge doom caused numerous screams of joy and lots of recitations of the word "amazing". Agreed, and I truly believe that Salome was one of the best bands at SXSW this year.

Grace Perry may have been given the dubious ranking of one of the "hottest chicks in metal" according to Revolver (even though I agree), but don't think that Landmine Marathon's success is attributable to anything but hard touring. This band's strength is in the live show, which was firing on all cylinders at Emo's and leading to circle pits, including one with Perry on vocals! Video of that is below.

Withered's icy blasts were the antithesis of Torche's pop bliss, but the band were as sinister and powerful. I caught them again at Mohawk later that night (pics coming). I was honestly worried about Withered and Dark Castle's lighting rigs, and their ability to translate on stage during the day time, but I forgot about the most important part of those bands: both have intense and kinetic live shows, whether with or without a fancy stage setup.

Torche closed out the room with an assist from a fill-in drummer in the absence of Rick Smith (who broke his hand while touring with his side project Shitstorm). Although Smith's theatrics were missed (you rarely ever see anyone standing and jumping down TOWARD the kit, save for Rob Shaffer of Dark Castle and a few others), the band played a well-executed set of bubblegum pop which contained one song from their upcoming split with Boris, and a ton of thundering but sugary classics. The band closed with my favorite Torche track ever, the sickeningly heavy "Tarpit Carnivore" from their killer In Return EP.

More pics and some videos from the show are below...

Continue reading "BrooklynVegan Emo's day party pics (SXSW 2010 - Torche, Withered, Salome, Dark Castle, Landmine Marathon, more) "

by BBG

Grace Perry barking at thee

Landmine Marathon was the first band I caught on the big stage at Scion Rock Fest in Columbus, Ohio on March 13th and they positively ripped it. Downtuned old-school death metal riffs and a kinetic frontwoman made them all the more powerful and fun. Good time, which can be were relived TODAY at Emo's when the band plays the BrooklynVegan day party that kicks kicked off at noon.

For more on the seven shows and 91 bands that BV will host over 3 days, head to our complete guide of BV events. To see our picks on metal shows at SXSW, check out our guide to metal.

More pictures from Scion below...

Continue reading "Landmine Marathon @ Scion Roc Fest - pics "

As previously mentioned, we've lost our minds and are doing seven shows in Austin during SXSW this year. The first of those parties kicks off at Emo's at noon on Wednesday, March 17th, 2010 (doors @ 11:30am) on two 100% FREE stages:

Outside/Main Stage
12:00 YellowFever
12:45 The Rural Alberta Advantage
01:30 The Morning Benders
02:15 Japandroids
03:00 Titus Andronicus
03:45 The Black Angels
04:30 GZA
05:15 Fucked Up

DJs: Finger on the Pulse

Inside/Metal Stage (Emo's Jr)
12:00 - Kill The Client
12:35 - The Atlas Moth
01:20 - Javelina
02:05 - Dark Castle
02:50 - Salome
03:35 - Landmine Marathon
04:20 - Withered
05:05 - Torche

FREE DRINKS COURTESY OF: Magic Hat & Firefly Vodka & Vitamin Water (while supplies last)
FREE VEGAN BREAKFAST TACOS COURTESY OF: Mr. Natural
(starting @ noon. while supplies last)
MORE FREE FOOD COURTESY OF: Daily Juice (catering from 2-5)
MORE FREE FOOD COURTESY OF: Raw Revolution Bars
MORE FREE FOOD COURTESY OF: Hail Merry

Thanks Zach Jaeger for the sweet flyer.

The Morning Benders, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Austin's own YellowFever, AND GZA are all being announced for the first time in this post. Those following along already knew about Fucked Up, The Black Angels, Titus Andronicus, and Japandroids.

It should be a wild first day in Austin and needless to say, we're very excited for this one. And did we mention this was all free? No RSVP. No Badges. Just stop by. Get there early if you want a free vegan breakfast taco. Stay around if you want even more catering by Daily Juice. Drink for free from our 10 kegs of Magic Hat beer and the many bottles of Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka that we'll be pouring. Then after the show, if you're still hungry (and standing), get dinner quickly and head over to the official BrooklynVegan SXSW showcase at Club DeVille right down the block (Dawes go on at 8, Serena Maneesh finish things off at 1am). Then get some rest because you've got 19 more bands to catch on Thursday afternoon at Spider House.

And for those in NYC, don't forget that we're also hosting a free Morning Benders show, TONIGHT (3/8).

We also just announced the full lineup of our Saturday day party at Red 7 which is happening at the same time as our Saturday day party at Galaxy Room.

GZA's "Liquid Swords" video below...

Continue reading "BrooklynVegan presents a day party @ Emo's (Fucked Up, GZA, Black Angels, Torche, TRAA, Withered & much more) "

by BBG

Withered with Mayhem at Irving (more by Paul Birman)

Enough of the onesy-twosy crap! We've already let it slip that the BrooklynVegan Day Party at Emo's on 3/17 will feature some heavy hitters like Torche, Fucked Up, The Atlas Moth, Dark Castle, and Salome. But now we are proud to announce more details! Kicking off at noon, the first (of a few) free BV Day Parties will be held across the two stages at Emo's (not the Annex). The "outdoor stage" will feature a headlining set from the hardcore hooligans in Fucked Up with a jawdropping lineup to fill out the rest of the bill (including Titus Andronicus, The Black Angels and Japandroids). The "indoor stage" will be where the darkness happens, and will feature the following lineup:

Wednesday, March 17, 2010 @ Emo's Indoor Stage - daytime lineup::
Torche
Withered
Landmine Marathon
Salome
Dark Castle
The Atlas Moth
Javelina

We will announce a third heavy music leaning show at Red 7 on 3/20 in the coming days Stay tuned for that along with more information on our seven shows in Austin this year, and don't forget to follow @bvSXSW on Twitter for lots more SXSW coverage!

Continue reading "BV Wednesday day party @ Emo's - full metal stage lineup "

by BBG

So a few weeks ago,I sat down with Crustcake.com and Rich Hall (1000 Knives) to decide the greatest Austin venue for a metal show. BrooklynVegan metal is already going HUGE this year between a show on 3/17 at Emo's (with Torche, Fucked Up, Salome, Dark Castle, The Atlas Moth, Javelina and more TBA), and another day party at Red 7 on 3/20 (lineup TBA), so we figured why not go small. REALLY small.

BrooklynVegan/Crustcake/1000 Knives Present a Pizza Party at Hoeks Death Metal Pizza! The day show happening on Thursday, March 18th will be headlined by a special guest we can't announce yet and feature nine of our favorite destroyers. This show promises to be one of the biggest- um, I mean SMALLEST metal shows during SXSW. Who's on board?

lineup:
* Special guest
* Zoroaster
* Coffinworm
* Kill The Client
* Landmine Marathon
* Book of Black Earth
* The Atlas Moth
* The Funeral Pyre
* Speedwolf

The party kicks off at noon. More details are on the way. Check out the flyer and some videos of other recent shows at Hoeks below...

Continue reading "come to a metal show @ Hoeks Death Metal Pizza in Austin"

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Landmine Marathon - "Exist" (edit) (MP3)

Sovereign Descent

Seeing is believing, and last year I had a revelation. Landmine Marathon laid waste in the basement at Lit Lounge. Booming, vintage Bolt Thrower/Earache style riffs vibrated onlookers, while unhinged vocalist Grace Perry ran circles around the room like a five year-old on a gallon of Red Bull. It was an incredible performance (one of my favorites of the year) and had I attended with Vinny from Jersey Shore, coordinated fist-pumps would have been in order.

Their muscular second LP Rusted Eyes Awake was front and center then, but now the band is happy to introduce their new (maladjusted) baby, Sovereign Descent, due on March 16th. The album is their first LP for Prosthetic, and was produced by guitarist Ryan Butler with mastering by Alan Douches. The nine track LP is a burner, another set of brutal old-school death metal with a modern twist - more punishing riffs with more hooks perfomed with ferocity. Exhibit A is the album opener "Exist", available for download above in edited form. Pre-order the LP at Prosthetic.

Landmine Marathon begins its next live campaign of riffs/beatdowns in Arizona on March 6th, continuing on to an appearance in Columbus, Ohio for Scion Rock Fest, and eventually scooting all the way down to SXSW for a string of dates TBD. Until then, for more information and updates check back here or join the Landmine Blogathon.

Full tour dates and a few videos are below...

Continue reading "new Landmine Marathon album - 'Sovereign Descent' (MP3)"

by BBG

Shrinebuilder at LPR (more here)

Atlanta no more! Scion Rock Fest 2010 will take place in Columbus, Ohio on March 13, 2010. The show will officially expand its reach from one to FOUR venues in Columbus: Circus, Newport Music Hall, Skully's, and Bernie's Distillery. 2010's lineup contains zero return bands from the 2009 festival but does contain sets from bands that released my favorite albums of last year (namely Magrudergrind, Yob, Absu) and played my favorite shows of last year (Lightning Swords of Death, Landmine Marathon, Trap Them, Black Tusk, Ludicra) in addition to sets from headliners Cannibal Corpse, Voivod, Shrinebuilder, Brutal Truth.

The rest of the lineup, the show flyer, and RSVP info is below...

Continue reading "Scion Rock Fest 2010 (March 13 in Ohio) - lineup announced"

by BBG

Laura of Kylesa (more by Paul Birman)

Earlier I discussed my favorite LPs of the year, but why leave the fun to just one? I asked some of my favorite artists and promoters for their 2009 highlights. The responses were great. You already saw some of them. Justina listed some quotes, Liam Wilson talked about Philly, and Josh Graham listed good things about 2009. They continue below. You'll find lists of favorite songs and albums of the year, not to mention answers to crucial questions like:

• What are Coalesce's favorite pizza toppings?
• Which one of my top 20 artists of the year tried to get in a cab with Kirsten Dunst?
• What is the #1 sauce/condiment of 2009?

Continue reading "The Year in Metal continued (BBG asked countless others to make lists... and here they all are)"

photos by Justina Villanueva, words by Black Bubblegum

Her name is "Grace" and she has it... when she isn't on stage I mean. On stage, Grace Perry of Landmine Marathon will unleash the most unholy bellow within two inches of your face. And she did at Lit last Monday night (4/13), one of Landmine Marathon's two NYC shows, supported by the dark sorcerors Wizardry, the filthy perverts in Villains, and the hyper-costumed Seizure Crypt.

I arrived moments before Villains, though by all accounts and judging by the photos, I truly missed out on Wizardry.

I've seen Villains (who we profiled here) many times, but Monday was undoubtedly my favorite set from the crew. Vocalist Desecrator spat at the crowd, pelvis-thrusted his way through "Crazy for Blowjobs", and proclaimed "only vinyl is real, fuck CDs and fuck blogs". Well fuck you too Desecrator! ...but I still think you guys rule, and so does Lifecode of Decadence.

I was not prepared for Landmine Marathon; vile and revolting riffage combined with crazed-mama Grace Perry on vocals will most likely slide easily onto my short list of best shows so far this year. If you like any of the following bands, Landmine Marathon is a MUST: Napalm Death, Bolt Thrower, Misery Index, Assuck, Carcass, early 90s death metal/grind and pretty much anything in the early Earache stable.

More pictures and a video from the show below...

Continue reading "Landmine Marathon, Villains & Wizardry @ Lit Lounge - pics "