by BBG

Kvelertak in Oslo

Compared to days one and two, day three of By:Larm was considerably more indulgent. Two artists (Kvelertak and Mayhem) have played the US several times, and though I was definitely familiar with both, I wanted to see them on their "home turf" so to speak.

After a day of looking at records at Tiger and Big Dipper, I caught a super-early show from The Avalanche (who I saw on day one) before heading to Folketeateret to catch some of Ida Maria's opening set of indie-laced pop-punk. She commanded the crowd to get out of their seats and the audience agreed, dancing in the aisles.

continued below...

Continue reading "By:Larm 2012 Day 3 in pics & review (Kvelertak, Ida Maria, Mayhem, Arabrot, Nekromantheon & more)"

by BBG

the basement of Helvete in Oslo

Day two of By:Larm (read about day one HERE) started out with a "black metal" tour of Oslo lead by Anders Odden who has played with everyone from Celtic Frost to Satyricon to Ministry and played in death metallers Cadaver. The tour, which was especially educational for those with limited knowledge of the genre, took us to Holmenkollen Chapel (which was famously burned down by Varg Vikernes, Faust & Euronymous), the site of Helvete (the store owned by Euronymous of Mayhem) which is now a coffee shop, and Neseblod Records, a sort of museum/record store located downtown.

continued, with lots of pictures, below...

Continue reading "By:Larm 2012 Day 2 in pics & review (Iceage, Pirate Love, The Amazing, a Black Metal tour & more)"

by BBG

Aura Noir at Maryland Deathfest (more by BBG)

An excellent example of poor planning? I arrived in Oslo on February 9th, just a few short hours before Aura Noir played a local show right next to where I was staying. If their performance at MDF was any indication, I surely missed out. For now their only other upcoming dates are in Europe in May, and are listed below.

One of the strengths of Aura Noir is their ability to bottle their vitriolic energy onto recorded media, a phenomenon that happens again on their latest LP Out to Die due via Indie Recordings on March 23rd (pre-order available). The effort is the band's follow-up to the well-received 2008 release Hades Rise, which sees the past & present members of Mayhem, Virus, Immortal, Dødheimsgard and Cadaver delving deeper into their mailicous brand of black metal and thrash.

Check out the new cover art and tracklisting, along with a stream of new track "Abbadon" which is making its premiere in this post, along with some live video, below...

Continue reading "Aura Noir are "Out to Die" (stream a new song from the LP)"

photos by Stefan Raduta, words by BBG

Egyptian-artist Nader Sadek brought his vision of flesh, petroleum, death metal, and tragedy to life with a FREE show at Santos on 11/20. Based on his In The Flesh concept LP, the artist assembled a team of musicians who helped create the LP including Steve Tucker (ex-Morbid Angel), Flo Mounier (Cryptopsy), Rune Eriksen (Aura Noir, Ava Inferi, ex-Mayhem), Carmen Simões (Ava Inferi) and Novy (ex-Vader / ex-Behemoth). The entire experience, from stage design to the masks worn by some of the musicians to the music, came from the mind of Sadek for this one-time event. Check out some more pictures below...

Continue reading "Nader Sadek brought "In The Flesh" to life at Santos Party House (pics)"

photos by Greg Cristman, words by BBG

Mayhem @ Gramercy Theater

Believe it or not, Mayhem actually did play (and didn't cancel) the "pre-game" for the Metal Suckfest at Gramercy Theater on 11/3. They hit the NYC venue with tourmates Woe, Keep of Kalessin, Abigail Williams, & Hate as part of their string of dates together. No word on if Necrobutcher's recent exorcism affected his on-stage ability, but judging from the below video of "Deathcrush", I doubt it.

That same night, across town, a member of Mayhem (Rune Eriksen) was providing an original recorded soundtrack to artwork at Saint Vitus as part of "Of Stardust", a exhibition/concert at the venue. How was that?

Pictures & video from Mayhem @ Gramercy are in this post (the actual Metal Suckfest pics coming soon!). They continue, setlist included, below...

Continue reading "Mayhem played Gramercy Theater with Woe, Keep of Kalessin, Abigail Williams & Hate (pics, video & setlist)"

St Vincent @ the Met in August (more by Bao Nguyen)

today in NYC
* White Light Fest
* Rachelle Garniez @ Barbes
* Bob Mould @ The Bell House
* Goat Structure @ The Stone
* The BoDeans @ Irving Plaza
* Mucca Pazza @ Lincoln Center
* Frank Turner @ Generation Records
* Slow Club, Air Waves @ Mercury Lounge
* St. Vincent, Cate Le Bon @ Webster Hall
* Gregg Bendian's Trio Pianissimo @ The Stone
* Loney Dear, Daniel Knox @ Rockwood Music Hall
* Ben von Wildenhaus, Pure Horsehair @ Zebulon
* Childish Gambino, DJ Sosupersam @ Terminal 5
* Omar Souleyman, Prince Rama @ Santos Party House
* Wharton Tiers, Bela Tar, Regal Degal @ Shea Stadium
* Loma Prieta, Black Kites, Nailed Shut @ The Acheron
* The Dirty Guv'nahs, Vintage Trouble @ Mercury Lounge
* Library Voices, Emily Greene, Ohbijou @ Knitting Factory
* The Suzan, MiniBoone, Cold Fronts, Boy King Islands @ Pianos
* Musk Ox, Ocrilim, Daniel Menche, Kevin Hufnagel @ Saint Vitus
* Chimaira, Impending Doom, Revocation, No Remission @ BB King's
* Weekends, Day Dress, Marlon Rando, The Paiges @ Death By Audio
* Young Boys, Dead Leaf Echo, Small Devices, Free Blood @ Cake Shop
* Lost Boy?, Home Body, Breakfast In Fur, Steer @ Big Snow Buffalo Lodge
* Class Actress, The Chain Gang of 1974, St. Lucia, CSLSX @ Tammany Hall
* Zambri, Beige, Maribu Stork, Autre Ne Veut, DJ Weird Magic @ Glasslands
* The Drums, Patrick Cleandenim, Regal Degal @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Julianna Barwick, Laurel Halo, Alias Pail, Man Forever @ Public Assembly
* Mayhem, Keep of Kalessin, Hate, Abigail Williams, Woe @ Gramercy Theatre
* Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls, Andrew Jackson Jihad, Into It. Over It. @ Bowery Ballroom
* Captain Kirk Douglas (of The Roots), Hundred Watt Heart, DJ Spinna, Questlove (benefit) @ Brooklyn Bowl

Metal Suckfest presents Mayhem at Gramercy Theatre tonight ("The sale has been extended! All tix to The Metal Suckfest continue to be just $25 until 10 pm tonight! Buy here: http://t.co/9o7ggtGo ").

You might remember that Mayhem's bassist was going to be excorcised by a Christian television evangelist on TV. Well it happened. Video below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Thursday?"

words by BBG

Kevin Hufnagel at Union Pool (more by Samantha Marble)

Saint Vitus and Singe Valah Productions will host "Of Stardust", a two-part event on 11/3 that will double as both an exhibition for "Where Purgatory Ends" by Costin Chioreanu, and a show directly after. The event kicks off at 6PM with some complimentary wine and the exhibition, a US exclusive of Chioreanu's works accompanied by the recorded soundtrack of the artist and Rune Eriksen (ex-Mayhem). Listen to some of that audio below. For some examples of the art of Costin Chioreanu head here.

The exhibit will remain up as the event transitions to a live show at 8PM with performances by Musk Ox, Daniel Menche, Ocrilim (Mick Barr), and Kevin Hufnagel, all delivering sets until the evening closes. The Musk Ox and Daniel Menche performances are both one-off appearances. Advance tickets are on sale for the show (for $13), or you can get yours at the door ($15).

Alternately, and on a much bigger note, Rune Eriksen's old alma mater, Mayhem, will be in NYC that same night for a show at Gramercy Theater that's being billed as the "pre-game" for Metal SuckFest which is at the same venue the next two nights (11/4 & 11/5). More Mayhem dates HERE.

The actual Metal Suckfest recently added pornogrind band Lake Bukkake (not kidding) and will run a special on tickets TOMORROW (11/2), reducing ticket prices to $25 from $30.

In also related news, Kevin Hufnagel will be at Saint Vitus on 11/5 as well, this time performing as part of Vaura for their appearance with Rosenkopf and Anatomy of Habit, the latter's exclusive area appearance. Tickets are still available for Anatomy of Habit, a BrooklynVegan/Wierd production.

Check out some "Where Purgatory Ends" video and the soundtrack to said exhibition, along with a teaser for Metal Suckfest below.

Continue reading "'Where Purgatory Ends' exhibition & show in NYC this week, Mayhem & Metal Suckfest too"

by BBG

Necrobutcher (front) with Mayhem at Irving Plaza (more by Paul Birman)

Bob Larson, an American radio and television evangelist and one of the leading practitioners of modern, Christian exorcisms, will conduct an exorcism next week on Jørn Stubberud, best known as the bassist in the legendary Norwegian black metal band MAYHEM (where he performs under the stage name Necrobutcher). The entire event will be filmed by NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation), the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company and the largest media organization in Norway, for a special program which will be aired in Norway in October.

Speaking to the German edition of the Metal Hammer magazine at this past weekend's Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany, Stubberud said, "NRK is sending me over to Phoenix, Arizona next week. There's this famous preacher. I'm not a believer, so I think he's a quack. A very religious guy. He's an excorcist; that's what he does. I'm just there for the fun of it. He's gonna perform an exorcism on me on national TV. So it's gonna be wild as fuck and, of course, I don't expect to suddenly be free from some demons or whatever. I'm just there for the fun of it and for the hell of it." -[Blabbermouth]

Continue reading "Mayhem bassist getting exorcism in Arizona for Norway TV..."

by BBG

Mayhem at Irving Plaza (more by Paul Birman)

After cancelling their last batch of dates, Mayhem will head back out to North America for a fall tour with support from Keep Of Kalessin, Hate, and Abigail Williams. Woe will also join on thirteen dates, though no word on which ones. The tour hits NYC at Gramercy Theater on November 3rd. Tickets info is forthcoming. Full tour schedule is below.

In related news, Woe mastermind Chris Grigg recently penned an open letter to Liturgy's Hunter Hunt-Hendrix, an excerpt of which follows:

To the point, then: we get it, dude. You think you are very, very important. Everything about you oozes a sense of superiority. Looking at only the first few pages of your Transcendental Black Metal essay, we find the following:

You somehow decided that black metal is the "culmination of the history of extreme metal."

You explain that traditional black metal is ultimately unfulfilling: "Hyperborean [traditional, Scandinavian-derived] Black Metal represents the mountaineer's arrival at the peak and a supposed leap off of it... And he is left, crestfallen, frozen and alone, in the Hyperborean realm."

You authoritatively claim the blast beat as belonging to black metal, though far from unique to it, because it allows you to rationalize your I-can't-maintain-a-hyper-blast beat by plainly stating, "the technique of Hyperborean Black Metal is the blast beat."

You audaciously inform us that your work is the next stage of the art's evolution with "[Transcendental Black Metal] is a sublimination of Hyperborean Black Metal in both its spiritual aspect and its technical aspect."

Those passages, the essay on the whole, and every attempt to defend your position shows that you lack even the smallest sliver of modesty or respect for your peers or listeners. These qualities -- rather, the lack of these qualities -- are not unusual for black metal artists to possess; after all, concepts of superiority and elitism are hallmarks of traditional black metal. In your case, though, they do not apply because you have gone so far out of your way to show that you are not the typical black metal musician, you are not part of this world -- you are an outsider wearing some (just some) of black metal's skin. I appreciate you taking the effort to describe what you are attempting to do; however, when you make lengthy, authoritative statements decrying black metal as dead and outdated, when you deride everything that came before you as little more than a failed attempt at something that is unreachable, you're thumbing your nose at everyone who does not see things your way. It's obnoxious. It's rude. It's annoying.

Continue reading "Mayhem announces a new North American tour, Chris Grigg of Woe calls Liturgy rude, annoying & much more"

photos by Greg Cristman

Lustmord

"Rumbles, thunderclaps and a baleful reading from the Old Testament prophet Amos -- "I will slay the last of them with my sword" -- opened the set by Lustmord on Sunday night at the Abrons Arts Center, the finale of the Unsound Festival of electronic and contemporary music and video. It was an extraordinarily rare live performance by the British musician Brian Williams, who has been recording as Lustmord since 1980 but has given only a handful of public concerts during his career, emerging for the Unsound Festival in Krakow, Poland, last year.

Lustmord has been a pioneer of what is generally called dark ambient music. It is textural rather than melodic, ultra-slow and submerged in bass and sub-bass frequencies, merging natural reverberations -- Lustmord has recorded in crypts -- with electronic ones. It opens abysses and lingers in them. When Lustmord got started it was associated with post-punk industrial music. Mr. Williams was a member in the 1980s of the Australian industrial group SPK and more recently has collaborated with the Melvins and Tool. While recording prolifically as Lustmord he has worked extensively as a sound designer in Hollywood, bringing ominous resonances to movie soundtracks."
[NY Times]

Continue reading "Lustmord played rare US shows @ Abrons Arts Center w/ Robert Piotrowicz & Void Ov Voices (pics)"

by BBG

Krallice at Union Pool (more by Lori Baily)

Who needs Mayhem with a lineup like this? BrooklynVegan and Osiris are proud to present that the great Ludicra will team up with Krallice, Castevet, and Atakke for a killer show at Europa on 4/18. Tickets on sale soon. A few more announced Ludicra dates are below.

Ludicra is prepping for an appearance at Scion Rock Fest, but more imminently, have their new record The Tenant due in March. Order that record via Profound Lore.

BrooklynVegan is also on board as the official sponsor for the Profound Lore/20 Buck Spin Official Showcase at Headhunters on 3/19 during SxSW. Ludicra won't be on that show, but the killer trio of Salome (who is also playing a BV Day Party), Coffinworm, and Yakuza will be reppin' the label.

The Ludicra show is one of three BV-presented metal shows scheduled for April. The other two are Weedeater on 4/10 (tix, a BV/Osiris show) and Narrows on 4/24 (tix, a 1000 Knives/BV show).

Some live Krallice and Ludicra videos below...

Continue reading "not touring w/ Mayhem, Krallice & Ludicra add NYC show"

by BBG

Ludicra @ Santos (more here)

I guess dreams don't come true? Mayhem has cancelled all North American dates with Ludicra and Tombs, including the previously discussed show at Irving with Krallice. A statement from the band is forthcoming.

Ludicra is set to appear at Scion Rock Fest, and their new LP The Tenant will impact Profound Lore in March.

Tombs is scheduled to hit the road in March, tagging SXSW at Relapse's official showcase on 3/17 with Voivod, Howl, Graves of Valor, Kill The Client, Mammoth Grinder, and Brian Posehn. Flyer below...

Continue reading "Mayhem cancels entire upcoming North American tour"

by BBG

Mayhem at Irving Plaza (more by Paul Birman)

Mayhem. Krallice. Tombs. Ludicra. Each one of these four bands have delivered some of my favorite records and performances of the past few years. And now, all FOUR bands will team up for a tour and a NYC show TOGETHER! BrooklynVegan is beyond proud to present the return of Norwegian black metal legends Mayhem with Ludicra, Krallice, and Tombs at Irving Plaza on April 8th, one show of an overall US campaign to level the musical landscape of all suckas. NYC tickets will be on sale soon. Must.... calm... down..... excitement.... overtaking.....

In addition, we are happy to announce that Tombs honcho Mike Hill will pen a tour diary for BV along the way. You can see his prior dispatches from the road on his website or on Decibel's blog.

Of the participating bands, Ludicra is the only one with a new album imminent; make sure and pick up The Tenant via Profound Lore on 3/2 and dig on an interview that drummer Aesop Dekker did with Brandon Stosuy. Mayhem's last release was 2007's Ordo Ad Chao and both Krallice and Tombs released great LPs in 2009.

Many show going New Yorkers can attest to the greatness of this lineup, as all of these bands have played shows recently. Tombs played Union Pool on 1/22 with Rosetta, City of Ships and Battlefields (pics are on the way). Krallice just decimated the Knit with Crucifist. Ludicra beatdown Santos with John Cobbett's other project, Hammers of Misfortune. And of course Mayhem famously toured sans Marduk, but with Withered, Cephalic Carnage and others. That NYC show was also at Irving Plaza.

Ludicra is one of many bands on board for Scion Rock Fest 2010 in Columbus Ohio. Look for Tombs at SXSW this year.

Some videos of all bands, including a Tombs video from Union Pool, and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Krallice, Ludicra & Tombs touring w/ Mayhem - 2010 dates (BV Presents the NYC show at Irving Plaza) "

FF photos by Joseph Xu

DOWNLOAD: Mountain Goats - Genesis 3:23 (new MP3)

Final Fantasy @ P4K

Final Fantasy played the Pitchfork Festival on July 18th, which is where the photos in this post are from (check out his Mayhem t-shirt). About a week later he played the Hillside Festival at Guelph Lake in Canada during a storm (probably not a good idea)...

A few songs into his bravura one-man baroque-pop set, the skies filled with thunder and lightning as rain began to drench Pallett, who continued shredding his bow fiercely across his violin.

As stagehands covered equipment with plastic, and organizers frantically tried to cut him off, Pallett kept playing the appropriately dramatic 'Lewis Takes His Shirt Off.' "One more minute," he yelled, as sheets of water hit him full force.

The stunned (and soaked) crowd broke into wild cheers as one minute turned into two and Pallett sped toward the song's big finish like a man possessed -- until the stage crew finally pulled the plug. Still, his heroics had already created Hillside's most memorable moment. [Spinner]

This November he (Owen Pallett) heads out on tour to open up for The Mountain Goats (John Darnielle), who will be playing as a full band (though there is a much shorter string of Darnielle solo dates too). The trip ends with a pair of NYC gigs on December 1st and 2nd, when they respectively visit Webster Hall and the Bell House. Tickets for Webster Hall go on AmEx presale today at noon; general sale starts Friday, August 7th at noon. Bell House tickets are on sale today at noon.

The occasion for this tour is a new record from The Mountain Goats, enigmatically titled The Life of the World to Come, which comes out October 6th on 4AD. All song titles on the new album are Bible verses. John says,

The album was recorded between April and June: first at Electrical Audio with Brandon Eggleston; then at Sonic Ranch with John Congleton; and finally at Baucom Road with Scott Solter. Scott also mixed the entire album at Baucom Road. The band is still Jon Wurster, Peter Hughes, and me; Owen Pallett did string arrangements & played on the Electrical session.

I guess the obvious question is going to be: "John, have you had some sort of religious awakening?" and while I guess lots of people might want to be coy about answering that, that's never really been my style, so: no. It's not like that. It's not some heavy-narrative-distance deal either, though, and it's not a screed. It's twelve new songs: twelve hard lessons the Bible taught me, kind of. More than that I'd want to wait to say until some people have heard it, which won't be long.

Continue reading "Mountain Goats - new Bible album, MP3, 2009 tour dates w/ Final Fantasy (who played Pitchfork & Hillside in a storm) "

by Black Bubblegum

Irving Plaza last month (more by Paul Birman)

Call it mini-Blackenedfest if you will. Marduk, after never making it to the actual Blackenedfest to do visa issues, have scheduled three US tour dates with Withered (another Blackenedfest participant) and the now-Relapse-signed Black Anvil. The NYC show will take place at the Gramercy Theater on 8/15 with Tombs also on the bill. Tickets for that show go on sale at noon on 6/23 here. All tour dates below.

Black Anvil also have an additional FOUR shows scheduled for NYC including July 11 @ Rockstar Bar with Dimentianon, July 20 at Europa with Eyes of Noctum, August 15th at Aladdin's Garden, and August 17th @ Lit Lounge with Lightning Swords Of Death. The shows lead up to Relapse's reissue last year's Time Insults The Mind LP (due Sept 1st). Black Anvil is currently writing material for a follow-up LP. All dates below.

The Blackenedfest, which played Irving Plaza in May, concluded last week with only Mayhem left on the bill.

Tombs recently played Irving Plaza as well, but with Isis and Pelican.

All dates below...

Continue reading "Marduk will finally enter the country in August - 2009 tour dates w/ Withered, Black Anvil & Tombs"

by Black Bubblegum

Mayhem at Irving Plaza (more by Paul Birman)

With the end clearly in sight, the Mayhem tour has withered (pun!) away into a solo tour with the defection of Cephalic Carnage, Cattle Decapitation, and Withered from the ranks. Marduk has been AWOL since the start. Our colleague Justina Villanova reports for Metal Injection:

It was a brutal (not in a good way) end to the tour. For the most part, no one got to say goodbye to anyone. It was abrupt and unexpected (that's what she said). Most of all, it painted the final picture of the kind of people Mayhem are.

Continue reading "every other band dropped off the Mayhem tour"

"The situation with MARDUK not having performed during the first week of Blackenedfest is due to vocalist Mortuus not having received his visa yet. Note, it is not a "denied" visa. The band filed for a P-1 non-immigrant work visa, which is required for a band to play in the states. The visa was approved by the United States Government's Homeland Security Office. Furthermore, as required, the band members each individually went to their Visa appointments at the US Embassy in Stockholm for the standard interview, at which point the persons handling the band's applications informed the band that there was no further action needed and that they should expect their passports in the mail with the P-1 visa attached. Everyone in the band received theirs except Mortuus. The day before tour, while the rest of the band were at the airport awaiting to board their flights to the US, Mortuus returned to the embassy to inquire as to the location of his passport. At this point, he was informed that he was missing one document in order to finalize the visa. No one in the band, nor the label, was made aware of this missing form. After we were made aware of this missing document, we provided the document to the Embassy in Stockholm and we are currently awaiting each day for the Passport to be returned to Mortuus with the visa stamp. The Embassy is aware of the urgency of this matter and we expect the band to join the tour in progress any day now. We are hope to announce the arrival of the band soon." -MARDUK

by Black Bubblegum

"Varg" Rathbone and Varg Vikernes... Guess which one is the actor

Varg Vikernes is a free man. According to Blabbermouth, the once Mayhem-er (before the whole murder thing) and artist currently known as Burzum recently confirmed to Norway's Dagbladet that he had indeed been set free and "will have to report [to the parole officer] for one year -- initially every two weeks, and then once a month".

Varg Vikernes was originally sent away to prison for the brutal murder of Øystein Aarseth, who was found stabbed twenty-three times on August 10th, 1993. There have been many stories regarding the events of that night, motives, etc... one version of which was recounted by Vikernes himself on his website. Another version of the events on 8/10/93 can be found in a book that Vikernes has described as "brain-dead" - the highly popular Lords Of Chaos.

Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground is a book by Michael Moynihan and Didrik Søderlind... The book focuses on the scene surrounding the extreme heavy metal sub-genre black metal in Norway between 1990 and 1993... The book... details the April 1991 suicide of Mayhem front man Per Yngve "Dead" Ohlin and the formation of a radicalized "inner circle" around Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth, based out of his small black metal retail shop Helvete (Norwegian for "hell") in Oslo, Norway.

In 1992 and 1993, members of the group became connected with a series of crimes, starting with the arson of the Fantoft stave church on June 6, 1992, although the book mentions that there had previously been a "small, ineffectual fire at Storeveit Church.". Church arsons continue but with a steady decline up until the year 1995. On August 10, 1993 Aarseth is murdered by Vikernes, who receives a 21 years sentence for the murder and several cases of arson related to the church burnings.

posted by : Neil Young's Cocaine Booger
5/21/2009 12:05:50 PM

I heard a rumor that Jamie Foxx is gonna play Euronymous, Justin Timberlake is gonna play Dead, and that douchebag from High School Musical is gonna be Snorre Ruch.

Continue reading "Jackson Rathbone to play Varg Vikernes in Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground"

photos by Paul Birman, words by Black Bubblegum

In their first NYC show in eight years, and first since the return of legendary vokillist Attilla Csihar, Mayhem played Irving Plaza last night (5/21) as part of The Blackened Fest with Cephalic Carnage, Withered, and Lair of The Minotaur. When I arrived, I was greeted by quite a few disappointed faces due to an announcement that Marduk would not be performing. Word is that there was an issue with their flights, and that their appearance at Maryland Death Fest tonight is in jeopardy as well. Hopefully Baltimore will have more luck than we did.

Missing Lair Of The Minotaur completely, Withered were setting up when I arrived at the venue. The Atlanta foursome's Weakling-inspired take on Black Metal pleased the sea of Mayhem and (sadly) Marduk tee-shirt wearers. I am not one to encourage/mix it up in the pit (anymore), but it was good to see a considerable amount of movement for the upstart band.

Cephalic Carnage's weed-tech-grind followed, along with dedications to cheetos, masturbation, and glass pipes (that they also sold at the merch table!), and props like a horse mask. It was well-executed and entertaining, but somewhat of a mild comedown following the energetic and pummeling assault of Withered.

Finally, the night belonged to the black metal pioneers. Mayhem took the stage a little before 10:30, playing a set that lasted until before midnight, when they retired sans encore. The core duo of Hellhammer and Necrobutcher with live members Morfeus and Silmaeth banged out rapid-fire blasts of black metal fury, spanning their entire discography.

For all of their impressive technical prowess and energy (lots), the highlight of their live set is the infinitely watchable Attila Csihar. Attila's formidable on-stage presence can only be described as dictatorial; he towers over his bandmates, gives the thumbs down as if he is deciding the fate of a man's life, punctuates lyrics with a clenched fist, and barks at his devoted minions with his thick Hungarian accent. In between a pair of impaled "heads", Attila sang from behind a "tree stump" podium which doubled as an area to hide both effects triggers and various gross-out props. Attila made sure to fondle and rub his face against those heads and an IV cart with dangling arm for further nauseating effect. Kitschy? a little. Fun/ny? Definitely.

Besides being visually arresting, Attila is one of the most versatile vocalists in all of heavy music. Barks, pitch perfect viking vocals, Celtic Frost grunts, screams that last longer than it seemed humanly possible, and what I like to call "squeaking elf"... a low end screech that was part Gollum and part creaking door, were all present and impressive.

In all, Mayhem was pure fun and I already can't wait for Attila's return with sunn 0))) in the fall. More tour dates HERE. More pictures from the show, below...

Continue reading "Mayhem, Withered, Cephalic Carnage (but not Marduk) played Irving Plaza in NYC - pics"

by Black Bubblegum

Attila, all dressed up and ready to destroy! (Photo by Perole)

Mayhem has arrived, both literally and figuratively. After a failed tour attempt in 2007, the legendary Norwegian Black Metal band will concurrently celebrate their 25th anniversary and kick off their first EVER US tour TONIGHT (5/21) at Irving Plaza! Tickets are still available at the door. All dates below...

Joining Attila, Necrobutcher, and Hellhammer (not their real names), are corpsepainted Swedes Marduk, hazy deathgrinders Cephalic Carnage, sickos Lair Of The Minotaur, and blackened doom favorites Withered!

You won't see any pictures on BrooklynVegan by Justina Villanueva for the next month. That's because she is hitting the road with this historic Blackened Fest, documenting her, and Mayhem's, travels along the way. Her first shot comes from a practice session that Mayhem had in the five boroughs... Dig on drummer Hellhammer's kit, and all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Mayhem kicks off tour in NYC tonight - 2009 tour dates"

by Black Bubblegum

What do Varg Vikernes and the band Iran have to do with each other? Read on....

Varg Vikernes in the slammer no more

The single most infamous man in all of metal is set to walk free.

It is never reassuring to hear that a man who calls himself Count Grishnackh is to be released from prison. And yet that is what is happening to the Norwegian black-metal icon Varg Vikernes, who murdered Mayhem's guitarist and set three churches on fire.

It was just 16 years ago that Vikernes was sitting in an Oslo court, smiling as he received a maximum sentence. Best known as the leader of Burzum - whose first album begins with a song called Feeble Screams from Forests Unknown - Vikernes was also a far-right political activist and, er, grim dude.

Though he was refused four times for parole - most recently in September 2008 - Vikernes is now set to walk free, he told Daglabet magazine....

For the past couple of years, Vikernes has been allowed to leave the prison and make visits to his family, according to Blabbermouth. His mother, wife, 18-month-old son and 16-year-old daughter all live in Tromsø near the prison. "I look forward the day that I [can] work on my farm, create music, write books and be with the wife and kids around the clock -- and live a normal life," he said.

Though Vikernes will no longer be bound by prison schedules, he will have to regularly report to a parole officer, intially for every two weeks and then once a month. Count Grishnackh plans to move to a small farm near Bø and says he no longer has any ties with far-right Norwegian groups. - [The Guardian]

Until the Light Takes Us is a feature length documentary chronicling the history, ideology and aesthetic of Norwegian black metal - a musical subculture infamous as much for a series of murders and church arsons as it is for its unique musical and visual aesthetics. This is the first (and only) film to truly shed light on a movement that has heretofore been shrouded in darkness and rumor and obscured by inaccurate and shallow depictions... Featuring: Gylve "Fenriz" Nagell, Varg Vikernes, Jan Axel "Hellhammer" Blomberg, Kjetil "Frost" Haraldstad, Ivar Bjornson, Abbath and Demonaz Doom Occulta, Kris "Garm" Rygg, Bjarne Melgaard, Harmony Korine, and more. The film, shot on 35 mm and dv, is directed and produced by Audrey Ewell and Aaron Aites.

Until The Light Takes Us is screening at SXSW too - on March 19th at the Alamo Drafthouse with a question/answer session with Ewell and Aites. Tickets are on sale and a shuttle service is available to and from the theater.

Trailer, interviews with the filmmakers, and clips below...

Continue reading "Varg Vikernes is free, Iran, a Norwegian black metal movie"

by Black Bubblegum

Ocean

My favorite of the two Oceans, the one missing a definite article in front of their name (Ocean of Maine), will be the next heavy band to headline Show No Mercy at Public Assembly (Feb 15th). As part of some sort of bizarre doom-off, Ocean will try to out rumble and underpace the mighty Salome, Riff Cannon, and Batillus who are also on board for the (anti-) festivities. Both Ocean (profiled here) and Salome (who we profiled in August) released full-length LPs last year... Pantheon of The Lesser and S/T respectively. Riff Cannon will drop their debut LP in 2009 and Batillus recently made their new self-titled EP available for free download here.

Speaking of Salome, lead vocalist Kat will make her first Agoraphobic Nosebleedappearance on Agorapocalypse, the latest LP from Scott Hull's pummeling grindcore project. Due April 14th, Agorapocalypse won't be the lone AnB in 2009; the band plans a series of splits for this year with a wide array of bands including Despise You, ANS, Agents of Satan and Thrones!

Mayhem, Marduk, Cattle Decapitation, and Cephalic Carnage have added a date together in Seattle Washington @ Studio Seven on June 5th. Pleasegodletitbeafulltour... Pleasegodletitbeafulltour... Cattle Decapitation's The Harvest Floor dropped on Jan 20th.

Brutal Truth recently announced their involvement in the Auditory Assault Festival (with Gadget, Kill The Client, Jig-ai and others), and now comes word that the band will have released their new record before then! Enter Evolution Through Revolution, recorded at Watchman Studios by Doug White (Psyopus) and due on April 14th via Relapse. Stokeage. Brutal Truth drummer Richard Hoak will do double duty at the Auditory Assault festival, also playing with his Total Fucking Destruction project.

Isis announced their new album, Wavering Radiant, due on May 5th via Ipecac Records! Produced by Joe Baressi (Tool, Queens of The Stone Age), look for the wax to hit the streets on Apr. 21. Tool's Adam Jones contributed guitar tracks to a pair of songs on Wavering Radiant.

Sweet do, Jared Big Business!

Big Business have announced their new album, Mind The Drift due in April via Hydra Head Records. Produced by Phil Ek (The Shins, Earth, Fleet Foxes, Built To Spill), the record is the first to feature new guitarist Toshi Kasai. Stream the new track "Gold and Final" at their myspace.

Ahhh... NOW I know why 1349 are heading out on tour.... Revelations Of The Black Flame is the name of the recently announced new album by the black metallers! Recorded at StudioStudio Nyhagen in Bøverbru, Norway, 1349 have enlisted Tom Gabriel Fischer to help man the boards! Look for it sometime this spring. Meanwhile, Tom Gabriel Fischer's new venture post-Celtic Frost, Triptykon, is currently in the demo phase. 1349 will be at BB Kings on March 2nd, tickets are available here.

The sickos in Sourvein have scheduled a few new dates, including an NYC date that looks to be part of an upcoming US tour. No details just yet, but set aside April 19th until then. Tour dates below.

The previously announced Converge show at Europa on March 27th (tickets here) just got a little bit nuttier with the addition of Genghis Tron, Ceremony, Rise and Fall, and Pulling Teeth.

Lair Of The Minotaur's new DVD, WAR METAL BATTLE MASTER is out NOW at Southern Lord. Meanwhile, bassist Nate Olp (Demiricous) has been sent in to replace the departed DJ Barraca for live gigs. DJ recently left LOTM to joined Harpoon, who's new record, Double Gnarly / Triple Suicide is due on Feb 10th via Interloper Records.

News on Sublime Cadaveric Decomposition, Weekend Nachos, Carcass, Blut Aus Nord, Lamb Of God, Javelina, and more below...

Continue reading "This Week In METAL (01/23/09)"

by Black Bubblebgum

sunn o))) @ Knitting Factory (more by Damien Neva)


Ya hear that rumble? Thats the sound of great records perched in the distance waiting to descend on 2009 (more on that later). While this year will bring about great music and another set of "next big things", let's take the time to be thankful for 2008 and all of it's memorable records and shows. Here are my favorite records of 2008:

Continue reading "the year in Metal (Best of 2008, what's coming in 2009)"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Khanate - "Wings From Spine" (MP3 Excerpt)
DOWNLOAD: Grey Machine - Vultures Descend (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Outlaw Order - Siege Mentality (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Millions - "Lest the Professor Catches Fire"(MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Orphan - "Bogman"(MP3)

Hmm.... who's guitar rig could this be?

In his own special way, Stephen O'Malley dropped a bunch of news on his upcoming projects via a detailed discography. SOMA posted the following unreleased, unannounced records:

SUNN O)))
Che (SUNN O))) & Pan Sonic do a Suicide cover, pic 10" 2009)
Dimensions (TBA) (2xCD & 2xLP 2009)

Æthenor
Faking Gold & Murder (CD & LP 2008)

Khanate
Clean Hands Go Foul (LP & Picture Disc 2008, CD & CD Japan 2009)

David Tibet sings and contributes lyrics on the forthcoming Æthenor album; other guests are Kristoffer Rygg (Ulver) and long time Æthenor collaborator Alexander Tucker [who just played ATP].

Tentatively titled 'Faking Gold and Murder' from a line in the text, Æthenor is the project of Sunn O)))'s Stephen O'Malley, Vincent de Roguin (Shora) and Daniel O'Sullivan (Guapo)

The long lost 4th KHANATE album Clean Hands Go Foul will finally emerge later this year. This was recorded directly after the Capture & Release album at Bisi Studio Brooklyn February 2005.

Mastodon's Brent Hinds had a little run-in with King Khan over the weekend, and while we have heard King Khan's side of the story, ridiculous pictures included, we haven't heard a peep from Brent Hinds. My thoughts echo that of one astute Blabbermouth reader: "The real victim here is the beer". Brann Dailor of Mastodon was recently interviewed by Metal Injection.

Justin Broadrick (Jesu, ex-Godflesh) dropped a bombshell of sorts.... a new project, Grey Machine, featuring Aaron Turner (Isis), Diarmuid Dalton (Jesu), and Dave Cochrane (Transitional)! From the upcoming album Disconnected, the band posted "Vultures Rise" available for download above!

Crom is back on the west coast, but evidence from their east coast killing spree is popping up all over the net. Check out pics from their show in Worcester, MA at Return To The Pit, an interview with a shirtless Crom at Vice magazine, as well as audio (and video below) from their appearance at WFMU.

Crom Live at WFMU, Mayhem, Amon Amarth, Baroness, Tweak Bird, Bison BC and more below.....

Continue reading "This Week In METAL (09/30/08)"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Bloodbath - "Slaughter The Will To Live" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Samothrace - "Slaughter The Will To Live" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: North - "Eidolon" (MP3)

Attila Csihar of Mayhem, The Winterdemon (metalnorge)

Highly influential black metallers Mayhem have announced that they will tour the US in spring of 2009! The 21 date tour will be announced soon, but in the meantime, look for the band to announce a new guitarist to replace departing axe-slinger Blasphemer. Mayhem's Attila Csihar lent his unholy vokills to the new Jarboe record Mahakali due Oct 14th on The End. Skip on down for video of Thurston Moore discussing Mayhem.

Doomriders are currently grinding away at their new album due on Deathwish in 2009! In the meantime, look for the band to hit the Autobahn on a European tour with Disfear & SSS. SSS is currently streaming two new tracks from their upcoming record The Dividing Line. Doomriders recently played Europa.

Metallica is streaming six tracks from Death Magnetic. Check out my review for their new record below.

Guitarist Kris Norris has left Darkest Hour and is "actively pursing some producing routes and any band that might want a guitarist".

Corrupted LIVE (tawaraya)

The extremely elusive Japanese doomers (in fact, the above is one of the only pictures I have ever found of them), Corrupted announced a brief West Coast tour with Asunder, check out the flyer here. Asunder's Works Will Come Undone recently dropped on vinyl via Kreation Records, pick it up here. Corrupted's (current? these guys are elusive I tell ya!) bassist Lowell Isles's old band, YOB recently reformed.

Vikings Amon Amarth are streaming a new track, "Guardians of Asgaard", from their upcoming Twilight Of The Thunder God.

Bloodbath, the death metal supergroup featuring Mikael Åkerfeldt (Opeth), Anders "Blakkheim" Nyström (Katatonia), Jonas Renkse (Katatonia), Martin "Axe" Axenrot(ex-Witchery, Opeth), and Per "Sodomizer" Eriksson, will drop their new studio album The Fathomless Mystery on Oct 28th via Peaceville Records. Filled with ""nothing but hateful brutality", check out "Slaughtering The Will To Live" available for download above and stream another track, "Mock The Cross", at their myspace.

Bloodbath's cover art, plus news on Danzig, Celtic Frost, Landmine Marathon, sunn 0))), Necrophagist, Immortal and so much more....

Continue reading "This Week In METAL (09/15/08)"