by Fred Pessaro // BBG

One Tail One Head at Inferno Festival, April 2012 (more by Fred Pessaro // BBG)

2012 was a year of considerable personal growth for me, as a person, a photographer and a music fan. As I recounted in my favorite photos of 2012, I got to shoot some of my favorite bands of all time and travel the globe in search of new ones. The beginning of the year was spent dealing with personal drama, and if it werent for key records in my life I shudder to think at where I would be right now. To every band on this list and many who aren't, I cant thank you enough.

First order of business, my musical pallette is much much larger than just a series of metal records. This is NOT a list of my favorite records of the year, because that would surely include other entries from across many different genres. This is, however, a list of some of my favorite heavier records.

To me, the term "heavy" can be defined in many ways, from the elongated riff on a doom record to a noise squall to a particularly punishing punk-rock beatdown. While most of the following records are "heavy" in the traditional "distortion and loud guitars" sense, a few are not. You'll see metal, you'll see deathrock, you'll see raw punk, you'll see hardcore, and many spots in between in the numbered list below. And to answer your question, yes you'll see Swans... right beside D-Clone and Asphyx.

My favorite records of 2012 are below. Hopefully you'll see a connection in favorites or maybe discover something new. Regardless, I hope you found your own favorites of the year whether in this list or outside of it.

Continue reading "The Year in Heavy (Fred Pessaro // BBG's favorite metal, punk & other records of 2012)"

Tombs at Union Pool, March 2012 (more by Di Lynn Ring)

Tombs and -16- will team up for an October tour, part of a BrooklynVegan sponsored trek that covers mostly the East Coast. The dates kickoff in in Pittsburgh and head West and South, eventually looping back to NYC to play Saint Vitus on October 27 with Serpentine Path and Pyrrhon. Tickets are on sale.

Serpentine Path, who have a new LP, recently expanded from four to a five piece with the addition of Stephen Flam of Winter on second guitar (!). Look for the band's live debut at Saint Vitus that night.

All tour dates are listed below, along with the Saint Vitus flyer.

Continue reading "Tombs and -16- on tour, playing NYC at Saint Vitus with Serpentine Path and Pyrrhon"

As discussed, Unearthly Trance may have gone the way of the mastodon, but their mammoth doom riffs trample on in Serpentine Path, the new band featuring members of UT plus Tim of Ramesses/Electric Wizard fame. You can read an interview with them from last year for more info.

The band released their debut 7" via Parasitic last year, and now the band is preparing to release their debut LP via Relapse Records on September 11 which you can preorder here. We're debuting the track from the album, "Only a Monolith Remains," below and you can stream another track as well.

So far no word on any live shows, but I'd get my earplugs ready. They're-a-comin'.

Continue reading "Serpentine Path preps debut LP (stream two new songs)"

by BBG

Kevin Baker of All Pigs Must Die @ Power of The Riff (more by Taylor Keahey)

Here is our third and final installment in a series where we asked our favorite artists about their highlights of 2011. This batach includes contributions from members of All Pigs Must Die, Altar of Plagues, Hull, "Grim" Kim Kelly, J.Bennett, Chris Bruni (Profound Lore) and many others. Part 1 is HERE. Part 2 is HERE. Part 3 is below...

Continue reading "The Year in Heavy 2011 according to artists & friends (part 3)"

by BBG

Serpentine Path 7" art

Take all of Unearthly Trance, add a member of Ramesses (who used to be in Electric Wizard) and what do you get? Serpentine Path, the new collaboration between Tim Bagshaw and NYC's own harbingers of doom. UT first crossed paths with Tim Bagshaw while he was a member of Electric Wizard during the original lineup's 2002 tour together, and over the years have shared stages with Bagshaw's current project, Ramesses. The collaboration has been years in the making, but only shows its head for the first time with a new 7" due at the end of this month via Parasitic Records. Stream half of that 7", "Erebus", for the first time below, and order your copy via the label, who also recently dropped a new Charles Manson and the previously discussed Aldebaran EP on vinyl.

Though Unearthly Trance stepped away from the table for a bit and re-emerged at a show at Saint Vitus earlier this year, Ramesses has remained a constant during all of 2011. The band released the Possessed by the Rise of Magik LP along with Chrome Pineal EP for Ritual Productions in 2011, in addition to Take The Curse which dropped in 2010.

Check out "Erebus" from the new Serpentine Path 7" below, alongside a short interview conducted with Jay Newman (bass) and Tim Bagshaw (guitar)...

Continue reading "Serpentine Path = Unearthly Trance + a member of Ramesses --- interview & song premiere"