by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Hatred Surge - "Brutal Tyranny" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Scapegoat - "Jailed" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: STAB - "Blinded By Force" (MP3)

Disma at Union Pool last year (more by BBG)

Save the date folks. August 6th will unleash the most holiest of lineups as part of a record release for Disma's brand new tower of destruction, Towards The Megalith (due via Profound Lore in July). Disma will celebrate their record release at Saint Vitus with the return of Coffinworm (!), an exclusive east coast appearance from Loss (who I recently interviewed), and the mega-destructive Oak from Baltimore (who killed it at MDF)! Ticketing information is forthcoming, but the show will be $15 and kick off at 8PM. More details as they come available. The show is one of a few scheduled for Coffinworm this summer, and one of only two East Coast dates so far.

Indian team up with Bloodiest and Hallux at Union Pool TONIGHT (6/25) Win a pair of tickets at our Facebook page.

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Dark Castle at Scion Rock Fest (more by Adam Murray)

There are a few must-see shows this summer, and Yob/Dark Castle/Batillus (yep! thats right... Batillus just added) is definitely one of them. The trifecta of doom killers at Le Poisson Rouge on July 12th is one of the biggest doom shows of the year, as the Yob/Dark Castle tour checks into the tri-state area as part of a larger US tour that preceeds a European one. Tickets are still available. Both Yob and Dark Castle played Scion Rock Fest (the former in 2010, the latter in 2011) and if you missed the LA show (like I did) then live vicariously through videos of the band at the fest, which make their debut below.

Batillus play NYC again 11 days later (7/23) with Mutilation Rites and Phantom Glue at Saint Vitus. The tour is part of a larger set of dates for Batillus & Mutilation Rites in celebration of their split 7" with Shinebox Recordings. All tour dates are below.

Painkiller have a few new releases including the new Scapegoat LP, the Brutal Supremacy 2x7" (with Mind Eraser, Hatred Surge, Scapegoat), a Stab cassette, and various represses by Vaccine and others. Check the webstore for more details, and download tracks from those releases above. In addition, Painkiller also has a new 7" by Put To Death, which features members of Mind Eraser and Hatred Surge playing "some good old fashioned No Comment style PV".

Pollution has called it quits. Bum. Out.

Sourvein have a new LP in Black Fangs (out now) , and the band will hit the road for a string of dates that will include Saint Vitus on July 8th. Full tour schedule is below.

More suggested NYC shows, tour dates and videos below...

Continue reading "Evillive (Disma, Indian, Dark Castle, Batillus, Scapegoat, YOB, Pollution, Sourvein, STAB & more)"

by BBG

Pollution (more by BBG)

Ryan Lipynsky will play Union Pool TONIGHT (2/12) with Unearthly Trance, and his punk/hardcore project Pollution will team up with Vancouver 's White Lung and Philly's Salvation to slash and burn down Acheron on April 8th.

Pollution recently made my 2010 fave ® smut which is available for free download, but in a different version:

"I've noticed the one thing out there people have said about pollutions latest recording is that "snare sounds like shit" or "drums sound weird" etc. I can tell you our superb drummer elsner wasn't/isn't happy about it either. So as I listened back to these "unmastered" versions I noticed the snare was less "woodblock" sounding but probably not as present in the mix."

Download to contrast/compare to the original LP, which is still available for sale.

The Acheron show is part of a larger East Coast tour for White Lung and one of two NYC dates, the second being on 4/9. No word on where that will go down or with who, but until then check out the new White Lung video for "Sleep Creep" below. Pick up their latest full length It's the Evil, out now on Deranged Records.

Outside of Acheron, Salvation have a few other scheduled shows too. The band will head to Austin to play SXSW, logging the final show with Total Abuse on March 19th. Salvation released Mortality Interactions via Youth Attack last year. The LP is currently sold out, no word on a repress thus far.

All White Lung dates, current suggested shows, and some video is below...

Continue reading "Evillive (White Lung, Salvation, Pollution & more heavy stuff)"

by BBG

Megasus rages

Acheron was beatdown by four killer bands on Friday (8/13), including the first ever NYC dates for Megasus, Judas and The Love Below who played along with the fantastic noisy hardcore trio Pollution. Pollution headlined the evening and totally impressed along with the incredible Megasus (featuring Brian Gibson of Lightning Bolt on drums), who exceeded all of my expectations. Both Pollution and Megasus are must-see, and luckily you will get a chance to see Pollution in the coming weeks; they play 538 Johnson on August 25th and Acheron with Shitstorm on 9/1.

Judas and The Love Below were playing dates on the way to their appearances in Philly at This is Hardcore the following day. Ryan of Pollution would play a show the next day as well, this time as part of his doom-y alter ego Unearthly Trance at The Charleston with Coffinworm.

Reminder: The Acheron will host KEN Mode , and Castevet TONIGHT (Tuesday 8/17) as part of a BV/1000 Knives show. Festivities start at 8PM. Unfortunately, I have just been informed that East of The Wall has been forced to cancel their appearance due to a medical emergency, but the rest of the show will go on. The band WILL make it up by playing another BV event in the near future. Details forthcoming!

Pics and video from Friday, below...

Continue reading "Megasus, Judas, Love Below & Pollution played the Acheron (pics & video) + KEN Mode, but not East of the Wall tonight"

by BBG

Magrudergrind supporting Verbal Abuse (more by Keith Marlowe)

With all of the BrooklynVegan-related shows on the horizon, it can be hard to keep up. That said, we have some recent additions to some of our upcoming heavy music bills to report.

Atakke has been added to the upcoming Fuck The Facts / Magrudergrind / Defeatist destruction campaign THIS SATURDAY (8/7) at Cake Shop. Atakke recently roughed up the audience at Acheron supporting The Body. Fuck The Facts will have a new cassette entitled Live In Whitby available at the show, with the remainder showing up online after the tour. Get a copy and download one and pay-what-you-want.

Fresh off of wowing the crowd at Black Cobra, East of The Wall will support KEN Mode and Castevet at Acheron on August 17th.

Tombs have been added to the upcoming Black Army Jacket reunion at Cake Shop on Sept 4th. The show is just two weeks after the band plays Death By Audio on 8/22 with Planks.

And a reminder, Unsane/Keelhaul/Pigs/Disappearer take on Santos TONIGHT (8/5) (tickets) and Pollution, Megasus, The Love Below, and Judas destroy Acheron on August 13th at 8PM. Interested in seeing Unsane, Fuck The Facts, KEN Mode, or Pollution? I have two pairs of tickets available for EACH. Info on how to win, Pollution flyer, and some video is down below...

Continue reading "upcoming metal shows (and a chance to win tickets) "

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Blind To Faith - "R.J." (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Blind To Faith - The Seven Fat Years Are Over (Zipped MP3s)
DOWNLOAD: Judas - Dictator 7" (Zipped MP3s)
DOWNLOAD: Megasus - "Paladin Vs. Berserker" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Love Below - "Some Of Us Have Real Problems" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Pollution - "smut sts" (MP3)

Blind To Faith

Nihilism and destruction is king for Belgium's Blind To Faith (members of Rise & Fall, Reproach, and Amenra), and the band made quite the impression with their Holy Terror stunner The Seven Fat Years Are Over. The LP, which is now available for FREE download (above), may lie somewhere in the grey area between crusty d-beat, Celtic Frost, and modern hardcore, but more importantly it's a killer record. Now the crew will take their fury and downtuned riffs to a split with the mighty Gehenna for a new release on A389 Records. Pre-order that 7", and dig on the Blind To Faith contraction "R.J." available above.

Blind To Faith currently have only one tour date to speak of. That's at the Incubate Festival in Tilburg, NL in September:

Incubate is the annual celebration of independent culture. Expect a diverse view on indie culture as a whole, including music, contemporary dance, film and visual arts. We bring more than 200 cutting edge artists in an intimate context to an international audience. Black metal next to free jazz. Street art next to academic dance.

And all over the map it is, with a diverse selection of bands including Dan Deacon (seriously), Liturgy, Zola Jesus, Final (aka Justin Broadrick), The Bomb Squad, Black Mountain, The Fresh & Onlys, and tons more. For more on the fest, including the full lineup, head to the Incubate site.

Meanwhile, Blind To Faith's labelmates and California hardcore monsters The Love Below are hitting the road for a string of US shows with the great Judas. Those shows include a date at Acheron on August 13th with the kick ass Pollution and the similarly brutal Megasus (mem of Lightning Bolt, who we profiled last year), part of a BrooklynVegan/1000Knives production!

Judas's last release was the Dictator 7", out now on RSR. Download that above, highly recommended. The Love Below has a recent release as well, the Reproductive Rights 7", available now at A389 or one of your favorite distros. Pollution's new ®SMUT 12" is a ripper, and it's out now. Ryan of Pollution will play the day before at The Charleston with his band Unearthly Trance when they team up with the great Coffinworm as well as Archon and Syphilitic Lust.

Full tour dates for The Love Below / Judas trek, along with some videos, are below.

Continue reading "new Blind to Faith MP3 (and free older album), the Love Below touring w/ Judas (playing Brooklyn w/ Pollution & Megasus)"

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Pollution - "smut sts" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Coffinworm - "Start Saving For Your Funeral" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Coffinworm - "High On The Reek Of Your Burning Remains" (MP3)

Coffinworm in Austin (more here)

Besides supporting High On Fire and playing with the reunited Deathcycle, Unearthly Trance has a new show in our midst, playing The Charleston on August 14th with Archon, Syphilitic Lust and the great Coffinworm! The show is part of a short string of East Coast dates for 'da Worm, who will welcome their incredible debut When All Became None (that was released on Profound Lore earlier this year on CD) on gatefold vinyl via Seventh Rule. The pressing is limited to a scant 500 copies, so order that bitch when it hits the Seventh Rule store kiddies.

Meanwhile, Ryan of Unearthly Trance is not only prepping the release of V via Relapse as well as his split with The Endless Blockade for Chrome Peeler, but also has a new release out for his another project, Pollution. Out now via Pollution guitarist Light's imprint, C6 Recordings, the ®SMUT is currently available at the C6 webstore with the first 93 orders coming with a baggie of "smut confetti". I'm guessing you don't use that for grandma's birthday party.

And while we're on the subject, Ryan's other other project, The Howling Wind, released Into The Cryosphere via Profound Lore earlier this year.

Both Pollution AND Coffinworm are scheduled to play Dudefest 2010 this year, alongside Arab On Radar, Municipal Waste, Trap Them, and many esteemed others. We interviewed Coffinworm earlier this year.

Full tour dates and some video is below...

Continue reading "upcoming Coffinworm & Unearthly Trance shows & stuff"

by BBG

Gospel at Union Pool (more by Samantha Marble)

While we're scrambling around SXSW, NYCers also have a great show to look forward to this week! Gospel is scheduled to play Death By Audio on 3/19 with Pollution and Giancarlo Bracchi. The show is the only one currently on their schedule and is all ages.

Pollution is also scheduled to take on Stolen Sleeves on 3/18 with Chicago's Duress and are currently booking a June tour with White Lung.

by Black Bubblegum

Hex Machine @ SXSW 2009

FRANCOSO (aka Dr. Happy Roll) prescription of BASS GUITAR throbbing attack from super excellent bands Sleestak and Noise Information extreme underground disease music; RUIZ (aka Oki-Sapo) delivery of ultra explosion tiger DRUM style makes rhythm music with Slowrider, Loser, Harelip and Daniel Lanois very sparkle boom sounds; NELSON (aka Momotaro) on monster hot rod ELECTRONIC DEVICE style from Unicorn, Man is the Bastard and or Bastard Noise very ear pain groups! Please enjoy GERONIMO original spirit sounds with smile and ear happiness!

While I enjoy that that brief synopsis on the origins of Geronimo (taken from their own MySpace page), Aquarius Records does one better:

CAVEMAN THIS HEAT.
Sold? We would be. Imagine Man Is The Bastard transported back to the early seventies and let loose in This Heat's Cold Storage recording studio, or take the black hypno kraut noise of former aQ record of the week, Aluk Todolo and strip it down to its bare essence, a sound based almost entirely on rhythm. A pounding, Neanderthal groove, pelted with squelches, and laced with a strangled inhuman mewling, huge chunks of grinding minimalism and long swaths of dreamy shimmering bliss, an ultra intense slab of kraut-doom power violence for sure.

Any band that has a mention of This Heat, Man Is The Bastard, and Aluk Todolo is worth a look for me. Geronimo are currently touring the east coast and have a show scheduled in Brooklyn on Thursday (August 27th) at Death By Audio with the mighty Hex Machine and the equally kick ass Pollution.

Hex Machine are rocking a handful of dates with Geronimo before heading out on the road to do a few with Dysrhthymia. The pics above and below are from SXSW when they played the Slow Southern Steel Showcase along with Rwake, Zoroaster (who recently played The Studio @ WH), The Devil & The Sea, and Music Hates You.

Pollution has one other dates scheduled. It's at the DIY spot Stolen Sleeves Collective with Battletorn, Regrets, Black Kites, and Swallowed Up on 9/10. All dates below...

Continue reading "Geronimo & Hex Machine tour dates - Thursday @ DBA"

words by Black Bubblegum, photos by Justina Villanueva

Harvey Milk salutes you!

Pop quiz! Name two things that are kind of awkward at a Torche / Harvey Milk show!

My answers are mosh pits and dry-humping, but unfortunately, I witnessed both when the pair played Music Hall of Williamsburg on 7/26 as part of an ongoing tour/victory lap in the wake of their critically acclaimed 2008 LPs. Since the release of those LPs, both bands have undergone lineup shifts (one officially, one not so officially- Joe Preston was absent from Harvey Milk again) and, at least for one band, their live firepower recently seemed diminished (see Torche at Scion).

Pollution was the first band on the bill, and it was beyond odd (but very welcome) to see the band's crust-laden metal pouring from the stage at MHOW. The venue is larger than they usually play, and they were playing to a much larger crowd then I've ever seen them play to at The Charleston or Union Pool.

Harvey Milk followed, and though they were sans Joe Preston and his voice, the otherwise soft-spoken Creston Spiers's cro-magnon howl needed no such vocal accompaniment. The band ran through moments from across their output including "I've Got A Love" and my favorite from Life... The Best Game In Town, "Motown". With Joe absent, along with the base layer of heavy rhythm riffage that he provides, it becomes apparent what Harvey Milk really is: a cross-eyed, demented, southern heavy-blues band.

"Is this fucking George Jones?" someone yelled jokingly at the stage.

From behind a trucker hat emblazoned with "fresh frozen vegetables", bassist and smiley southern boy Stephen Tanner laid down a rumbling low-end to match the goings-on outdoors (it was raining like a mutha). Meanwhile, clean cut drummer Kyle Spence kept time, adding Keith Moon-style fills.... when the song was over 80 BPM that is.

"How many people saw Torche last time they were here?", asked Creston Spiers of Harvey Milk.

Crickets.

That may be a testament to the (lack of) power of dredg (who Torche played with last time they were here) and the short opening set Torche played on that tour, or that may be a testament to the growth of Torche since their days on Robotic Empire. Both make sense to me. Either way, call it a small victory that the band played to a mostly-full bottom floor (mezz was closed) as opposed to the house shows of days passed.

Torche hit the stage around 1130. One of my main complaints from their performance at Scion Rock fest was the lack of middle tones along with that patented "thunder string" that make up the signature Torche sound. Those middle tones are still not present in the wake of Juan Montoya's departure, but the trio have figured out a way to make a fuller sound which approaches that high watermark... an impressive feat.

And the band is a trio of showmen. Steve Brooks crowd-surfed, rubbed his ass on the first row, and pogo-ed around blissfully while Jonathan Nunez thrashed about. Besides the fact that Rick Smith is an absolutely punishing drummer, which in and of itself is a spectacle, he did his part to be as showy as his bandmates. Smith would stand up and smash down on his kit, forcing his whole body downward as he swung his drumsticks. As they closed the set, Rick Smith raised his cymbal above his head triumphantly like a Tusken Raider (yes I am a Star Wars nerd).

The band played new-new material (as in "King Beef", post-Meanderthal) and relatively older ("Meanderthal", "Across The Shields", and "Healer", the latter of which started a mosh pit) including my favorite Torche jam, the uber-heavy "Tarpit Carnivore" off of the monolithic In Return EP.

Besides my admittedly petty gripes about the loss of Juan Montoya, as well as the lack of any encores, the show would have been otherwise beyond incred-amazing if it weren't for a pair of "fans" standing next to me during the show. The couple were literally making out and dryhumping during a good portion of Harvey Milk and into Torche. (Gag) This ain't no R. Kelly people.

More pictures from the show below...

Continue reading "Torche, Harvey Milk & Pollution @ Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn - pics "

by Black Bubblegum

Torche at Highline Ballroom (more by Justina Villanueva)

If you somehow missed it, the Torche/Harvey Milk mega-bonanza swings it way into Brooklyn's Music Hall of Williamsburg (and our hearts?) on Sunday (July 26th) with the mysterious but crushing Pollution. Tickets are still available. Good times.

Sunday is also the Trail of Dead Pool Party just a couple of blocks away. Consider the show at Music Hall the unofficial afterparty.

In addition, Harvey Milk recently released a split 7" with another fave around these parts, Wildildlife, which is available via Volcom's split 7" series. That 7" is extremely limited, much like Harvey Milk's other 2LP which is limited to 300 copies, the S/T "Tour Edition" LP more commonly known as The Bob Weston Sessions. Who wants to win one of them and/or a pair of tickets to Sunday's show? Details at the end of this post.

Torche recently dropped a video for "Healer" from Meanderthal and the Healer/Across The Shields 12" (which features exclusive tracks). Check that out below. Floor, which featured members of Torche, recently reissued their first 7".

And while we can neither confirm nor deny that members of Pollution are also members of Unearthly Trance, we CAN confirm that Unearthly Trance will be at Public Assembly one week after MHOW... at the BV-BBG Show No Mercy show! Set aside August 2nd to catch Keelhaul (who have a kick ass new album on the way), Minsk (who have a new album of their own), STATS (who gives away free music), and Defeatist (who recently played with Hatred Surge), and in the meantime, dig on the new Seldon Hunt flyer below!

Continue reading "Torche & Harvey Milk touring - in Brooklyn Sunday (after the Trail of Dead Pool Party) - win tickets & records & stuff"

photos by Jason Walker, words by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Pollution - "Tiny Black Burns" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Unearthly Trance - "Diseased" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Defeatist - "Isolation Tactics" (MP3)

Unearthly Trance

Call me greedy, but when I recently posted the Show No Mercy/BV-BBG lineup of Keelhaul, Minsk, and STATS, followed by that lonely "+1 TBA"... I got a little sad. Why just one? Luckily, Brandon Stosuy & I (we came up with the lineup together) were on the same page, so that +1 TBA is now +2, AND we are proud to announce the addition of Unearthly Trance and Defeatist to the August 2nd lineup at Public Assembly!

Defeatist, which contains members of the much lamented Anodyne (with Mike Hill of Tombs), recently dropped Sharp Blade Sinks Deep Into Dull Minds on Willowtip. The LP is actually a compilation of previously released EPs and splits that will have to sate us while we await the arrival of Sixth Extinction, featuring 19 new tracks recorded by Colin Marston. The band is scheduled to take on the destructive Texas duo of Mammoth Grinder (who we profiled here) and Hatred Surge (who I loved at SXSW) on July 17th at The Charleston.

Unearthly Trance recently played the BV-BBG bash at Europa, and are scheduled to take on Lit Lounge on Monday (7/13) with the mighty Harpoon, one of two dates for Harpoon (they headline The Charleston on 7/14). Full Unearthly Trance & Harpoon dates are below.

In possibly related news, Pollution, a band that may or may not contain members of Unearthly Trance and/or Villains, has been added to the kick-ass Harvey Milk/Torche shindig at Music Hall of Williamsburg on July 26. Tickets are still available. The band is also scheduled to play Don Pedro's on Saturday (7/11) with The Choke and Bukkake Boys. Pollution dropped the nasty.DNA cassette, which will reportedly surface on LP via Feast of Tentacles. Check out "Tiny Black Burns" from that release above. Feast of Tentacles is responsible for the recent 2LP of another fave, Cough.

More pics and some thoughts on Unearthly Trance, Cough, Howl, Javelina, Doomriders, Sourvein, and Clouds at the BV-BBG at Europa on 6/14, as well as tour dates for Pollution and Harpoon are below....

Continue reading "bands added to BBG Show No Mercy show (@ Pub Assembly), more pics from the BBG show @ Europa (Northside Fest)"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Bloodhorse - "Paranoiac" (MP3)

Combining elements of punk, doom, and plain 'ol brute force, Boston's Bloodhorse have dropped their new LP Horizoner on Translation Loss. Check out the sublime "Paranoiac", available for download above, and stream the entire LP at MySpace.

In celebration of the release of Horizoner, Bloodhorse will play a record release show at Union Pool in NYC (?) on June 10th with the mighty Medusa (mems Racebannon, profiled here) and Pollution! Check out the flyer below, that's a great triple bill.

Continue reading "Bloodhorse - an MP3, new album & NYC record release show"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Cloak/Dagger - "Runways" (MP3)

Cloak/Dagger will headline a night of hardcore and pop-punk when they host Psyched To Die, Young Hearts (ex-Dear Tonight), Used Kids, and Pollution on Dec 6th at The Charleston in Brooklyn. The show is 21+ and tix are $8, flyer is below.

Psyched To Die is a new band featuring Mike Yannich of the fallen pop-punks The Ergs! along with members of the like-minded For Science. For Science recently announced their final show at Maxwell's on Feb 7th 2009 as part of a Don Giovanni Records showcase. Ticket info is forthcoming. The Ergs! recently dropped That's It... Bye, along with a repress of Jersey's Best Prancers on Don Giovanni... pick it up here.

Meanwhile, Pollution are doing double duty this week, prepping to cavort with local badasses Orphan when the band plays Union Pool two days earlier (12/4).

Cloak/Dagger are still ragin' off of their 2007 throttler We Are on Jade Tree Records, and have scheduled a few dates besides just Brooklyn. Check out a recent interview with Jason Cloak/Dagger. Check out all tour dates for everyone below...

Continue reading "Cloak/Dagger, Psyched to Die - Charleston, other tour dates"