by BBG

Loss in Nashville (more by Diana Zadlo)

After their injury and subsequent cancellation from last year's megashow with Disma, Oak and Coffinworm, Loss has been itching to make it back up to NYC to make up the lost date. Now the band has done it, and will team with the mighty Pallbearer for a show with Sewer Goddess at Saint Vitus on May 19th! Tickets are on sale for this BV/Order of The Serpent production.

It's Loss's only East Coast appearances thus far and one of only three shows scheduled tor them at the moment. They also play the Gilead Media Festival and Chaos in Tejas.

Loss's Despond landed on my favorites list for 2011 and Pallbearer, who released their debut LP Sorrow & Extinction this week, is currently streaming their excellent LP at NPR. Pallbearer will be down at SXSW this year for shows including a thus-far-unannounced-BV event. We'll keep you up to date. If you missed it, I interviewed both Loss AND Pallbearer in the past year.

Stream all of Despond below.

Continue reading "Pallbearer streaming new LP, teaming with Loss for exclusive East Coast show (with Sewer Goddess)"

Bloodiest @ Saint Vitus in Nov. (more by BBG)

When music documentarian (((unartig))) was first asked about a year end contribution, his initial reflex was: "Sausage - Hummus - Hitler!", the first two clearly being worse than the third. But then a performance enhancing Hewlett-Packard printer got in the way and spat out the list of 10 bands, video shot (((unartig))) included, that is below...

Continue reading "(((unartig)))'s top 10 music discoveries of 2011 (videos he shot included)"

by BBG

Inquisition at Maryland Deathfest (more by BBG)

NYC's Studio at Webster Hall will soon host a trifecta of black metal greatness! Inquisition will headline the venue on December 2nd with a rare appearance from Mortuary Drape and Negative Plane. Tickets are on sale.

Italy's Mortuary Drape and Inquisition will then tour their way to Rites of Darkness 3 in San Antonio, Texas where they'll join the newly added Disma, but NOT Urfaust:

URFAUST vs RITES OF DARKNESS III

URFAUST is very sad to announce that we have to cancel our Intoxication Ritual at Rites of Darkness III in Texas, USA.
Our last Alcoholic Rites on US soil where splenditory, so this is just fucked up...
Nothing more to say about this, we hope to return to the USA and Rites of Darkness in 2012!
All hail the madness!
Cheers,
Ix & Vrdrbr on behalf of Urfaust

All known Inquisition dates, the full Rites of Darkness lineup, and some video is below.

Continue reading "Inquisition & Mortuary Drape playing NYC w/ Negative Plane before Rites of Darkness 3 (lineup & dates)"

Oak/Grudges by Sarah Coulter, Punch/Loma Prieta/Get Rad/Ten Thousand Leagues by Carmelo Espanola, words by BBG

The Punch / Loma Prieta tour rolls into town TONIGHT (8/18), teaming with Grudges and Nailed Shut at The Acheron. $7 gets you in the door. The tour stopped on Sunday (8/14) for a show at The Strangelight in Chicago with Ten Thousand Leagues and Get Rad. Pictures from that show adorn this post. Punch's new Nothing Lasts EP is out now via Deathwish and 625 Thrash.

NYC's Grudges also recently played Stolen Sleeves on August 5th with Baltimore's Oak, the night before Oak played Saint Vitus with Disma, Coffinworm, and Unearthly Trance. Pictures from Stolen Sleeves are also below.

Grudges will also play Acheron on 8/28 with DBCR, Defeatist and Victims, as part of the latter's US tour that kicked off with a show supporting Ringworm.

All Punch/Loma Prieta dates, and pictures from Strangelight and Stolen Sleeves are below.

Continue reading "Punch & Loma Prieta played Chicago, touring, play Acheron tonight w/ Grudges who played Stolen Sleeves (pics & dates)"

photos by Greg Cristman, words by BBG

Disma

Disma headlined Saint Vitus on a rainy Saturday night (8/6) in Greenpoint. They were celebrating the release of Towards The Megalith, their debut LP out which is now via Profound Lore Records. The show, which originally featured an exclusive Northeastern appearance from Loss, instead saw opening performances Coffinworm (who ripped), Unearthly Trance (back from the live-grave!), and Baltimore's Oak (fantastic). Pictures and video are in this post, including virtually all of Disma and Unearthly Trance's sets, a new/unreleased Coffinworm track ("Instant Death Syndrome"), and footage from the dimly-lit Oak set.

Coffinworm

The show was one of only two Coffinworm shows on the East Coast, Disma's only NYC date, Unearthly Trance's first NYC date in more than six months, and was one of two Oak dates in two days. They also played Stolen Sleeves on Friday (8/5) with Convulsions and Grudges (who also play The Acheron on 8/28 with Victims).

We interviewed Daryl Kahan of Disma before the show. Check that out if you missed it.

More pictures, the videos and the Disma/Unearthly Trance set lists from Saint Vitus, below...

Continue reading "Disma, Coffinworm, Unearthly Trance & Oak played Saint Vitus (pics, video & setlist)"

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Disma - Spectral Domination (MP3)

The NYC area is rich with veterans of the hardcore and metal scenes, but not quite as fertile with people who have done time in both. Daryl Kahan is one of those. Equally as likely to be found in an SSD shirt as he is to be seen in a Demigod one, Daryl's past is littered with multiple hardcore, blackened, and death metal bands that bear names like Funebrarum, Citizens Arrest, and Abazagorath. One weekend, Maryland Deathfest 2011, called for Kahan to hit the stage with both the blasting hardcore of Citizens Arrest and the unholy death metal of the reactivated Funebrarum. Kahan is an example that the word extreme isn't limited to any one scene.

Daryl's new project, the bulldozing death-metal machine Disma, recently released their latest LP Towards The Megalith and are preparing for their record release party with Coffinworm, Unearthly Trance, and Oak (at Saint Vitus on 8/6, tickets).

I sat down with Daryl to discuss Disma, Citizens Arrest, Funebrarum, Assuck, and cassette trading culture. The results are below.

Continue reading "an interview w/ Daryl Kahan of Disma, Citizens Arrest & more"

words & photo by BBG

Citizens Arrest

After a three days of mayhem (pictures from day 1 HERE, day 2 HERE, and day 3 HERE) featuring sets from Neurosis, Doom, Lack of Interest, Voivod, Extortion, Aura Noir, and tons of notable others, Maryland Deathfest came to a close on Sunday with another full of performances capped by a headlining outdoor set from the reactivated Coroner, their first US appearance in 20 years.

Later that night, the true close to MDF was led by Ghost, whose set was tight and fun visually, but did not impress me as much as the hype suggests (decide for yourself on June 1st at the Studio). The remainder of my day was filled with pretty much every other band on the bill, except for Visceral Disgorge and Doubled Over who I missed in favor of much needed meals. My favorites of the day go to the foul death metallers Dead Congregation and Repugnant, the always awesome Citizens Arrest (who play Europa with another MDF alum, Tragedy, tonight), the energetic Skinless and the over the top goregrind of Last Days of Humanity.

Coroner

Coroner's setlist and more pictures from the final day of Maryland Deathfest 2011, which includes pictures of Oak, Night Bringer, Bad Acid Trip, Gravehill, Malignant Tumour, Dead Congregation, Nokturnel, Repugnant, Orange Goblin, Citizens Arrest, Skinless, Bastard Noise, Nuclear Assault, Wormed, and Last Days of Humanity, are below...

Continue reading "Maryland Deathfest 2011 - Day 4 pics & recap (Coroner, Ghost, Citizens Arrest, Dead Congregation, Doubled Over, more)"

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Oak - "Cowards And Undeserving" (MP3 Excerpt)

Oak II album art

Oak owes a debt of gratitude to the dimly-lit and woofer-rattling corners of doom inhabited by the likes of Burning Witch, Khanate, sunn o))), and funeral doom of the most frightening kind. Light-hearted it is not, but unrelenting and merciless it is. The band's self-titled debut, released on A389 Records, was a sleeper hit for some (like Kim Kelly) and now the band is preparing it's new LP for release, II. The LP, which features "Cowards And Undeserving" excerpted above, is currently available for preorder on 210-gram vinyl in white (100 of em) and black (566).

Also due on A389 is the new LP from NJ's Pharoah, a post-metal/doom/hardcore band who posted their demo for free download earlier this year. The strong, two track demo reappears in 7" form via the label and is currently up for preorder. Check out the cover art below. Maybe you caught the band when they played The Charleston on Saturday with Dutchguts and High Priest.

The label also has a soundboard recording from of a recent Rot In Hell live show entitled Niu (preorder it). The label will also has new records in the works from Integrity, Creepout, Roses Never Fade, Weekend Nachos, Gehenna, The Love Below, Seraphim and others, not to mention a new LP from Pulling Teeth!

In other A389 news, the label confirmed it's annual bash for January 22nd, 2011. No word on the lineup thus far (last year included Ringworm and Integrity among many others) or where it'll go down, but be prepared.

The Pharoah cover art and current Oak tour dates with Anhedonist are below...

Continue reading "Oak releasing "II" (MP3), touring; A389 2011 date announced"

"For 4 years now Wham City has been organizing the WHARTSCAPE. What started as a summer warehouse party turned into a much bigger, multi-day outdoor festival with thousands of bands, performers, and folks traveling to Baltimore from all across the US and Europe.
Since, we organize this festival out of pocket and in our spare time, it is important for us to keep it comfortable and enjoyable for us to do. One thing we talked about at the end of last year's festival was shrinking it down slightly and having it feel more community based and familiar.

This year isn't focused around headliners, but mainly performers and friends that make up the community we tour, work and live in.
We are also greatly reducing the number of MEGA-PASSES (the 3 day pass ticket that grants you entry to every show and every day).
ONLY 300 Mega-Passes will be sold; this is the only guarantee that you can see all the shows.

Tickets will be sold to the individual shows, but it is strongly suggested that you buy a Mega-Pass, as it saves you money and assures you take in the entire poo-poo.
Whartscape will take place July 10-11-12 at the Baltimore Museum of Art, Maryland Institute College of Art Studio Center Parking Lot, and Load of Fun.
We will begin selling tickets at 12 Noon, Monday, June 29th.

Continue reading "Whartscape - 2009 Wham City festival dates & lineup "