by Fred Pessaro // BBG

Svarttjern at Inferno Festival

Its been quite a ride for me personally and as a photographer in 2012. I've had the distinct honor to cover some of my favorite bands in the world this year, including legends and favorites that vary as widely as Morrissey (HERE), New Order (HERE), Autopsy (HERE and HERE), Godflesh (HERE), Dead Can Dance (HERE), Swans (HERE), Jesus & Mary Chain (HERE), Chain of Strength (HERE) and many many more.

But I'm also very interested in the new, and 2012 afforded me the ability to shoot great younger bands like Terrible Feelings (HERE), Whitehorse (HERE), White Lung (HERE), Milk Music (HERE), Nude Beach (HERE) and loads more. Its been a great year, and though I still have some shooting left in the tank for 2012, here are my favorites as of right now along with brief blurbs on why . We'll start with the above photo....

Continue reading "Fred Pessaro // BBG's favorite Live Music Photos of 2012 ---------(that he took)"

photos by Jonathan McPhail

Morbid Angel at BB King Blues Club, 9/27/2012

The return of death metal greats Morbid Angel to the stage was a long time coming. The legendary Floridian crew headlined BB King Blues Club on 9/26 alongside appearances from their tourmates and black metal pummelers Dark Funeral, Swedish death metal tyrants Grave, and Vadimvon.

Pictures of the last three bands are below, along with their setlists (we missed Vadimvon). The four are currently about a quarter of the way through a full US tour, one that concludes in Texas in mid-October.

Continue reading "Morbid Angel, Dark Funeral, Grave, and Vadimvon played BB King Blues Club (pics/setlist)"

by BBG

Morbid Angel at Maryland Deathfest (more by BBG)

Just days after playing Maryland Deathfest, Nikki Sixx David Vincent and Morbid Angel will hit the road for a string of US dates with Dark Funeral and Grave. Kicking off in Atlanta and going coast to coast, the tour includes an NYC stop at BB King's on 9/26. Ticketing info is still forthcoming. The dates are in celebration of the band's recent LP, Illud Divinum Insanus, which which received a remix treatment recently via label Season of Mist, morphing the already industrial heavy tracks with techno and electro.

Meanwhile, Grave's last US stint saw the band performing all of Into The Grave at Gramercy Theater and you can check out pics of that here).

Full listing of tour dates, plus related audio and video streams, are below.

Continue reading "Morbid Angel touring with Grave and Dark Funeral (dates)"

by BBG

Trey Azagthoth of Morbid Angel

May 26th was a day of firsts for me at the tenth annual Maryland Deathfest. It was the first time I saw Confessor, Deviated Instinct and Haemorrhage. The first time I heard "new" material from death-doom godsWinter. The first time I saw Noothgrush with new live vocalist Dino Sommese (Ghoul, Dystopia, etc). And maybe most memorably, the first time I witnessed a man whip out his junk out on stage, piss in his cupped hand and wipe his face with it.

The latter first came care of Horna, who's lead singer Spellgoth performed the "urine baptism" at center stage (pictures below, NSFW?) and was one of several notable black metal-influenced performances (Archgoat, Tsjuder, Black Witchery) on that brutally hot Saturday. The moment wasn't noticed by many, but the foul stench of old blood and human fluids left a trail throughout the indoor stage.

My mid-afternoon arrival at Sonar meant that I sadly missed sets by Infernal Stronghold, Bloody Phoenix, and Looking for an Answer, and not-so-sadly missed October 31 (members Deceased) and Anvil (the former being eons better than the latter). The remainder of the sweltering hot day was largely a string of successes with stellar sets from crusty thrashers Hellbastard, UK's Dragged into Sunlight, deliciously obnoxious goregrind from Haemorrhage, death-doom pioneers Winter (who played unearthed songs at MDF), thrash from Morbid Saint and an impressive set from the reunited technical-doom crew Confessor.

Reunited crust-death metal crew Deviated Instinct wins for my favorite of the daytime performances (they played at close to the same time as The Devil's Blood), and though bassist David Vincent gave me a bit of a Nikki Sixx douche-chill during Morbid Angel's headlining set, the band's performance of the early classics absolutely murdered. Brujeria, the supercrew made up of members of Napalm Death, Carcass and more, were great headliners for the opposing outdoor stage but I opted for Noothgrush.

More pictures from day three at Maryland Deathfest are below. If you missed them, check out day one pictures HERE, a set of Rorschach's pictures HERE, and day two pictures HERE.

Continue reading "Maryland Deathfest Day 3: Morbid Angel, Winter, Brujeria, Dragged Into Sunlight, Haemorrhage, Confessor and more"

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)"

by BBG

Today Is The Day at Highline Ballroom (more by BBG)

And so it has begun. After a fun Maryland Deathfest 2011 (pictures of day 1, 2, 3, 4), the festival has announced confirmations for MDF 2012 including some amazing names (Bethlehem, Demigod, Ghoul, Church of Misery, The Devil's Blood, Dragged Into Sunlight, Ulcerate, others) and even a true a headscratcher (Anvil?). Full lineup thus far is below. Maryland Deathfest X kicks off on May 24th, 2012 at Sonar. No tickets yet

In related news, Today is The Day, whose rhythm section once was home to half of Mastodon and now features members of Wetnurse (Curran & Ryan), have completed their new LP Pain Is A Warning and are preparing its release for August 16 on Black Market Activites/Good Fight. Preorder it now, and check out the lead track "Expectations Exceed Reality" streaming below.

Anvil plays Bowery Ballroom on July 30th as part of a summer tour. Tickets are still available.

All MDF additions, that new Today is The Day, and some video is below.

Continue reading "initial Maryland Deathfest lineup, new Today is the Day song"

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Loss - "An Ill Body Seats My Sinking Sight" (MP3)

Sabbath Assembly at Roadburn 2011 (more by Stefan Raduta)

The previously discussed Ghost show at The Studio at Webster Hall (on June 1) gets more impressive with the addition of Sabbath Assembly and Natur to the bill. Tickets are on sale. Sabbath Assembly features vocalist Jex Thoth, and the band recently wowed the crowd at Roadburn 2011 with their retro-blues-y compositions punctuated with Thoth's sultry vocals.

After a killer succession of demos and splits (including the favorite Life Without Hope... Death Without Reason demo pressed on vinyl via Parasitic Records last year), Profound Lore has posted a new track from the always impressive Loss, whose debut LP Despond will be released by the label on May 31st. Fans of funeral doom, behold "An Ill Body Seats My Sinking Sight" available above.

Japanese hardcore punks Origin of [M] will release their debut 12" on vinyl via Burai Core. Fans of crusty Japanese style hardcore, take note and catch the band at one of their upcoming US dates including an appearance at both Chaos in Tejas and at Acheron on June 17th. All tour dates and the tour flyer is below.

Kieltolaki is also playing from Chaos In Tejas, and will also log a NYC show too. Look for the band to team with Brain Killer and Nomad at Acheron on June 11th. Kieltolaki released Massahypnoosi on Feral Ward last year.

Krallice is currently streaming all of their new long-player, Diotima, at NPR. You can also stream the previously discussed Agoraphobic Nosebleed / Despise You split in its entirety at Crustcake. Krallice is hitting the road with Withered for a set of dates including The Studio at Webster Hall on 5/2.

A list of upcoming NYC shows and a stream of a new Morbid Angel track is below.

Continue reading "Evillive (Loss, Sabbath Assembly, Origin of M, Kieltolaki, Morbid Angel, Ghost, Natur & more)"

photos by Adam Murray and Genie Sanchez, words by BBG

Morbid Angel

Two outdoor tents, a club, and a theater hosted 26 bands. Perhaps by design, the premises lacked alcohol (except for the theater). So bad behavior was scarce. Fans happily bounced from venue to venue, queuing for some bands (Wormrot, Floor, Atheist, Obituary, Morbid Angel), and eating burgers from the Grill 'Em All trucks. To order the Witte Burger (beef, bun, cream cheese, deep-fried bacon, beer-and-Sriracha-soaked onions, malt vinegar aioli), my friend Robert merely pointed several feet away, where Dave Witte himself was standing.
-[Invisible Oranges]

Saturday (3/5) was the left coast's turn for Scion Rock Fest 2011. The one day, multiple venue festival relocated to Pomona, CA this year, and housed legendary names like Morbid Angel, Obituary, Integrity, Agalloch, and many more alongside names of tomorrow and underground favorites like Bastard Noise, Anaal Nathrakh, Floor, Wormrot, and many more.

Kvelertak were supposed to play too. but their passports and visas were stolen at the airport moments before they boarded the plane to the US. As a result, they'll also miss some days of the Weedeater/Zoroaster tour, but should "be in the states by Friday" (3/11). That means they should have no trouble making it to SXSW where they're on board to play Full Metal Texas. The band was replaced in Pomona by Black Cobra.

More pictures and some videos from Scion Rock Fest 2011, below...

Continue reading "Scion Rock Fest 2011 in pics & video (Morbid Angel, Obituary, Integrity, Agalloch & more) (but not Kvelertak)"

by BBG

Yob at Scion Rock Fest 2010 (more)

Scion has confirmed exclusively to LA Weekly that they will be bringing their metaltastic Rock Fest this year to Southern California.

"Scion's major event of the year," confirms their publicist, "is a huge metal festival with four stages and 30 bands. We did the first in Atlanta and the second in Columbus [check out part one and and two of our pics & review]. It's always a mix of legendary bands, important bands and up-and-coming bands, representing all the areas of underground metal. And like all the stuff we do it's all ages and free."

"What no one knows yet," he continues "is the next one will be on March 5, 2011 in Pomona. We're taking over the Fox Theater and the Glass House and building two more stages nearby."

Headlining the Scion Rock Fest in the LA area will be death metal royalty Morbid Angel with their first US show in six years (and as of now, the only scheduled US date in 2011)

...Founding member guitarist Trey Azagthoth, regarded by many as the greatest death metal guitarist of all time, will be at the helm along with bassist David Vincent (member 1986-1996 & 2004 - present) and Destructhor (member since 2008).

The Scion Rock Fest will include 26 bands on four stages (including The Fox Theater, The Glass House and two outdoor stages). -[LA Weekly]

Rumors circulated right around the announcement of Scion Rock Fest 2010 that Morbid Angel would play that year's show. Glad to hear that those were (somewhat) true. Hopefully Morbid Angel schedule some shows outside of California too.

One of the bigger names at Scion Rock Fest in 2010 was Shrinebuilder. Don't forget that half of Shrinebuilder, Scott Kelly and Wino, are going on a solo tour in February. Tickets are still on sale for the February 12th Mercury Lounge show which now looks like this:

Scott Kelly (of Neurosis) 11:30
Wino (of Saint Vitus) 10:30
Man's Gin (of Cobalt) 9:30
Hunter Hunt-Henrix (of Liturgy) 8:30

You can also catch all of Liturgy (who played Scion Rock Fest 2010) on January 14th At Silent Barn with Controlled Bleeding, Cellular Chaos, PAK, and Diablo, January 27th at Union Pool with Naam, Yr Youth, and Arms, February 10th at Glasslands with Extra Life, Lichens, and Chaos Majik, and February 25th At Monster Island Basement with Talk Normal and Nat Baldwin. More local metal shows are listed in the latest edition of Evillive.

The PRP is also reporting a rumored list of other artists playing Scion Rock Fest 2011. I can confirm that at least half of a dozen of those are true. That list is reprinted below...

Continue reading "Scion Rock Fest 2011 will be in California, Morbid Angel confirmed (and more artists rumored) ++ more Liturgy dates"