photos by Greg Cristman, words by BBG

Natur @ Public Assembly

Thrashy Brooklyn crew Natur headlined a mostly doom bill at Public Assembly on March 1st, featuring appearances from Richmond's Windhand, Providence's Pilgrim and Boston newcomers Magic Circle. The show, part of a larger tour for Natur & Pilgrim, was the first of a set of dates before both hit SXSW and a sort of celebration for Pilgrim's well-executed Misery Wizard LP.

For Magic Circle, which features members of Rival Mob, Boston Strangler, Innumerable Forms, Mind Eraser, and more, the Public Assembly date was their live debut. So far the band has nothing more than a demo to speak of, but we'll keep an eye out. In the meantime, keep on the lookout for Boston Strangler's debut LP Primitive (out now via Fun with Smack Records) and catch them live with Tragedy, Perdition & Sickoids. Tickets are on sale for this 5/12 show at Le Poisson Rouge.

Windhand tour dates and pictures from Public Assembly are below.

Continue reading "Natur, Windhand, Pilgrim & Magic Circle ravaged Public Assembly (pics); Tragedy/Boston Strangler tickets on sale"

by BBG

Tragedy at Chaos in Tejas more by Keith Marlowe

Tragedy, who are also scheduled to play Hellfest in France this summer, will return to NYC for a show on May 12th at a venue TBA with support almost as impressive as the headliner; The Boston Strangler, Perdition, and Sickoids will all support the Portland melodic crust heroes. More details are to come. For now check out some live video below.

Boston Strangler's new LP Primitive is out now via Fun With Smack Records. Stream the title track below. Catch Boston Strangler member Justin Detore perform on March 1st with Magic Circle alongside Pilgrim, Natur, and Windhand at Public Assembly.

Dates, videos and some streams are below.

Continue reading "Tragedy adds NYC date (the real one, not the cover band)"

by BBG

"Providence should be nuked. The music scene there is a disgrace. " - Pilgrim

Check the IDs of the members of Pilgrim and you might be surprised. Though Pilgrim is well-versed in the classic doom sounds of the 70s and 80s, the young band (both as a unit and individually) plays songs well-beyond their years on Misery Wizard, the band's debut LP due on February 14th via Poison Tongue/Metal Blade. Misery Wizard's strength's lies in its ability to reinterpret the greats like Black Sabbath, Saint Vitus, and Reverend Bizarre into something familiar yet wholly new, expanding upon influences instead of rehashing them. Check out three new songs from the album the title track, "Astaroth", and "Quest" (which makes its debut here), below.

Pilgrim will play a handful of dates in the coming weeks, including March 1st at Public Assembly with Natur, Windhand and Magic Circle. Look for them on the road (dates below) and check out a discussion I had with The Wizard (guitar/vocals) where we discuss inspiration or lack thereof, how they hooked up with a member of Primordial, and their hometown of Providence.

Our interview (which includes the quote above), tour dates and all streams are below.

Continue reading "An interview with Pilgrim (and a new song stream)"

by BBG

Inquisition at The Studio at Webster Hall (more by BBG)

With the Dark Funeral dates officially off, Inquisition have announced a two night stay at Saint Vitus on April 26th and 27th. Ticketing info and support is forthcoming. Abigail Williams, who was also on the tour, have added a date at Saint Vitus on 1/30 with Woe in the wake of that cancellation.

Pitchfork is currently streaming the title track from the new Pilgrim LP, Misery Wizard, due via Metal Blade in February. Look for a new track on BrooklynVegan next week.

Inverloch, a new project featuring members of dISEMBOWELMENT (who, as dUSK, will play Roadburn this year) have signed to Relapse Records. Look for the band's new LP this Spring via the label. In related news, Huata have signed on for Roadburn as well. Stream their Atavist of Mann LP below. Download their new demo at Bandcamp, and stream it in full below.

Magic Circle, a new doom band that features personnel from Mind Eraser, The Rival Mob and The A-Team, will join Pilgrim, Windhand and Natur on March 1st as part of an incredible evening of (mostly) doom at Public Assembly. Its an unmissable night for doom fans, and tickets are on sale. Stream some Magic Circle material below.

Stream a new Pelican track from their forthcoming EP Ataraxia/Taraxis at Spin.

Check out a new Primitive Weapons song at Pitchfork, and look for their forthcoming LP, The Shadow Gallery, via Prosthetic this Spring.

Congrats to Code Orange Kids, who have signed to Deathwish. Stream their 7" below, and catch them on tour with Xerxes.

Tickets are now on sale for the Behemoth, Watain, The Devil's Blood, and In Solitude show at Irving Plaza.

I talked to Dave Smalley.

Last weekend I went down to Baltimore for the A389 Anniversary show. Pics and review HERE and HERE. A few of the bands also played Acheron one night earlier.

Suggested NYC shows and some streams are below.

Continue reading "Evillive (Inquisition, Pilgrim, Magic Circle & more)"

by BBG

Aaron with Defeatist at their last show (more by BBG)

I previously posted my highlights of 2011 but my opinion is obviously just one of many. To try and get a better feel for the year, we cornered some of our favorite artists and heavy music industry friends to ask them about 2011 in music, art, and memories. We have so many responses that we needed to split it into three posts. Here is the first. Head below to hear from members of Noisear, Monarch!, Mammoth Grinder, Pulling Teeth, Sulaco, Bloodiest, and many more...

Continue reading "The Year in Heavy 2011 according to artists & friends (part 1)"

by BBG

40 Watt Sun @ Public Assembly

40 Watt Sun played their US debut at Public Assembly on Friday (9/16), headlining a show with lightning fast black metal crew Woe and traditional doom upstarts Pilgrim. The show, part of a string of US dates for the UK crew of ex-Warning members, saw the band stick to the script with newer material from their current The Inside Room LP, and not venturing into any of the much beloved Warning songs during their set.

40 Watt Sun's sad and clean songs were in contrast to the direct support band, the lightning fast and fierce Woe featuring new drummer Ruston Grosse (ex-Master, Sil Veth). Woe's set was primarily focused on their recent recorded output, but they played a new song from a forthcoming TBD release. Pilgrim, who opened the night, was the biggest surprise for me of the night. Though all three members are barely into their 20s, this band has a sound that goes well beyond their years into classic doom metal.

More pictures from Public Assembly are below.

Continue reading "40 Watt Sun, Woe & Pilgrim played Public Assembly (pics)"

photos by Suren Karapetyan, words by BBG

Volture

The gallop and shriek of the old school thunder known as Volture echoed through Union Pool on Sunday, 1/30, the third of three US dates in celebration of Shocking Its Prey, the band's new mini-LP. Also on board for the tour were Earache's band of NWOBHM'ers Cauldron, who will welcome their new LP Burning Fortune on Feb 15th and are currently streaming a new track at their myspace.

Rounding out the bill was MVRs (Most Valuable Rookies) Natur, who clearly drew a crowd hungry for homegrown and potent thrash. If you missed Natur, you're in luck, the band will join on with Earache doom gods Hour of 13 and Pilgrim at Cake Shop on March 5th.

Hour of 13 recently parted with vocalist Phil Swanson who has a new project:

NightBitch is the Connecticut based occult heavy metal band featuring Hour of 13 frontman Phil Swanson (vocals) and Hour of 13 live session members Ryan Adams (guitar), Chris Taylor (drums) and Mark Eles (bass). NightBitch is made up of veteran CT musicians all with their own lengthy resumes. They have joined together in NightBitch to bring back melodic traditional heavy metal elements to the state of Connecticut in its purest form.

Continue reading "Volture played Union Pool w/ Cauldron & Natur (pics), Phil Swanson left Hour of 13 for Nightbitch"