Dave Lombardo & Jeff Hanneman of Slayer

From the official Slayer website

We've just learned that the official cause of Jeff's death was alcohol related cirrhosis. While he had his health struggles over the years, including the recent Necrotizing fasciitis infection that devastated his well-being, Jeff and those close to him were not aware of the true extent of his liver condition until the last days of his life. Contrary to some reports, Jeff was not on a transplant list at the time of his passing, or at any time prior to that. In fact, by all accounts, it appeared that he had been improving - he was excited and looking forward to working on a new record.

Both Tom and Kerry have dropped off eulogies at the Slayer site, and now estranged member Dave Lombardo has done so on his Facebook:

"Jeff was the guy that shaved his head and shared the music he was so inspired by. I enjoyed DEAD KENNEDYS, CIRCLE JERKS, BLACK FLAG and THE GERMS with him.

"My drumming was getting faster and Jeff was writing original songs with a punk attitude.

"The fusion of heavy metal and punk took over SLAYER's early mediocre style, hence a new force was born.

"Thank you, Jeff, for your inspiring discovery of punk rock that has continued to shape my personal drumming style."

by Fred Pessaro // BBG

Founding member of Slayer, guitarist, and metal legend Jeff Hanneman died at 11AM PDT of liver failure at the age of 49, according to a report on Billboard.

Hannemann formed one of the greatest metal bands of all time, Slayer, in 1981, taking them to the top of the metal world and creating bonafide classics like Reign in Blood, South of Heaven, Seasons in the Abyss and more in the process. Thirty years later, Hannemann was forced to leave behind the band he loved after contracting necrotizing fasciitis in early 2011. Exodus guitarist Gary Holt sat in his stead in the time since.

Jeff Hanneman and Slayer are 100% responsible for creating some of the most important records of all time. I am personally saddened by the news. Rest in Peace.

Continue reading "Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman, RIP"

Remaining original members of Slayer at Mayhem Fest 2012 (more by Greg Cristman)

Dave Lombardo is OUT of Slayer yet again... well at least for a coming Australian tour. The drummer posted a statement that details monetary problems within the band, and Kerry King's involvement in ousting the drummer from a future tour. Hopefully it won't keep (their best material was all created with Dave Lombardo behind the kit), but until then check out that full statement below. Let's hope they can resolve this quickly and quietly.

Continue reading "Dave Lombardo out of Slayer?"

Dave Grohl at Deluna Fest 2012 (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

Toro Y Moi @ Mohawk in Austin, Nov. 2011 (more by Tim Griffin)

today in NYC
* Emuul @ The Stone
* Broad City Live @ UCB
* Jeff Garlin @ Caroline's
* Country Mice @ Mercury Lounge
* Joseph Moffett's Claque @ Barbes
* Sondre Lerche @ The Allen Room
* Cliffsides/Cenote Glow @ The Stone
* Dojo, Shopping Spree @ Silent Barn
* The Mandingo Ambassadors @ Barbes
* Hayden, Lou Canon @ Mercury Lounge
* Smoke DZA, Kids These Days @ S.O.B.'s
* Marc Cohn, Rosanne Cash @ City Winery
* Ludwig Persik, Cascading Slopes @ Pianos
* Little King, The Broken Stares @ Sycamore
* WIERD w/ Frank Alpine @ Home Sweet Home
* Toro y Moi, Wild Belle, Dog Bite @ Webster Hall
* Tim Dahl, Pigeons, James Tweedy @ Cake Shop
* Highlife, Pure Horsehair, Daniel Higgs @ The Gutter
* All Boy/All Girl, The Eggs, Modest Midas @ Paper Box
* Beecher's Fault, Lee and The Mumbles @ Pete's Candy Store
* Why?, Astronautalis, Dream Tiger @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* The Model Zeros, Sharif Mekawy, Victoria Levy @ The Grand Victory
* Big Terrific w/ James Adomian, Myq Kaplan, Streeter Seidell @ Cameo
* Ife Mora, Concertina, Teen Girl, Scientist Monthly, Jackpot @ Glasslands
* New Myths, Peanut Butter Lovesicle, Ben Kenney @ Rockwood Music Hall
* Summer & Evem Miko & The Musket, Let Me Be Bashful @ Bowery Electric
* Sound City Players w/ Dave Grohl, Krist Noveselic, Stevie Nicks, John Fogerty + more @ Hammerstein Ballroom
* The Chapin Sisters (are The Everly Brothers), Mike Bones, Austin McCutchen, Alana Amram @ Union Pool

Serious star power tonight at Hammerstein Ballroom for Dave Grohl's Sound City Players, featuring the Foo Fighters plus his old Nirvana bandmate Krist Novoselic, plus Stevie Nicks, John Fogerty, FEAR's Lee Ving and more. Should be interesting.

Fashion Week continues, and though we're mostly ignoring it this time around, you'll find a flyer below for one of the many parties happening tonight. This one at Le Baron with Mike Nouveau, DJ duo Ladies Night (who are the very last act listed on this year's Coachella flyer), and more.

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The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Flaming Lips are playing SXSW. Check out a new teaser the new Yeah Yeahs album below..

Local Natives, who were just in NYC, made a video for their track "Heavy Feet" and you can watch that below.

What says "til death do us part" more than Slayer's "Raining Blood"? Check out video of a couple's wedding where the classic tune was used in a rather, er, unique way.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Wednesday?"

Back by popular demand is the uber-kitschy Descendents sweater, which features the band's mascot with crossbones amidst a grid of musical notes Available in two colors, this bastion of ridiculousity is on sale now for the Milo in your family.

Similarly, Slayer, the obvious go-to for holiday merch, has a Christmas sweater of their own on sale now. Because nothing says holiday cheer like a chest full of skulls and pentagrams.

This of course isn't the first time that Slayer has been juxtaposed against the holiest of days. Check out some of our favorite videos of Christmas lights below.

Don't like Slayer or Descendents? How about a David Bowie sweater? Or a Morrissey one? Or New Kids on The Block? Check out a few different ideas at Buzzfeed.

Lets keep on, keepin' on with spreading the holiday cheer by letting everyone know that King Diamond's holiday classic "No Presents for Christmas" will see a picture disc release for the first time in 25 years. Get yours today, Black Friday at your nearest participating record store.

Deck the halls, and reign in blood.

Continue reading "Festive holiday sweaters & a Slayer & King Diamond Christmas"

The NY Comedy Festival is underway, and includes a show by Slayer and voting fan Rob Delaney at NYU on Saturday (11/10). It now also includes a 2nd Rob Delaney show on the same day in the same venue but later. 100% of proceeds go to Sandy Relief. On Sale now.

Before this show was added, Rob also posted this letter about the early show:

On Saturday I'm doing a show at NYU's Skirball Center. It's sold out, but if you are attending, may I ask you to please bring your checkbook and be prepared to write a check to The American Red Cross in Greater New York? I will be donating 100% of the money I'm making from the show, so if you bring a check too it will be like we're in a cozy little club together. Just give me or one of my volunteers your check after the show and then I'll bring it to the Red Cross in my leather helicopter.

If you aren't going to the show, but would like to donate, you can do so online here:

http://www.redcross.org/charitable-donations

Thanks.

photos by Taylor Keahey

Autopsy at Slaughter by the Water, 8/25/2012

Slaughter by The Water went down over the weekend in San Francisco, packing a festival lineup aboard the USS Hornet in the Bay on Saturday (8/25). The show featured appearances from Exodus, Autopsy, Impaled, Absu, Scott Kelly, Witchaven, Philm (featuring Dave Lombardo of Slayer) and many more during the day long event.

Check out more pictures from that sunny day in the Bay Area below.

Continue reading "Slaughter by The Water in pics (Autopsy, Exodus, Impaled, Scott Kelly, Absu, more)"

photos by Greg Cristman

Motorhead / Anthrax / Slayer at Mayhem Fest 7/27/2012

It was Slipknot who headlined the date of the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival at Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, NJ on July 27. Featuring a supporting cast of names like As I Lay Dying, Asking Alexandria, The Devil Wears Prada and many, many more, it was clearly a festival skewed towards younger metal fans instead of the old-school diehards that the rest of the upper bill appealed to (Motorhead, Anthrax, Slayer). Here are some pictures, mostly of the headliners. More, with some of the setlists, below...

Continue reading "Slayer, Motorhead, Anthrax and more played Mayhem Festival in New Jersey (pics & setlists)"

Three of the leading gear/technology companies for both musicians and consumers alike are returning with their successful "Metal Masters" clinic series... "Metal Masters 4" is bringing back some of the classic "Metal Masters" while adding a few new members to the list. As always, fans can expect some surprise appearances and unforgettable performances. "Metal Masters 4" will be comprised of Philip Anselmo (DOWN, ex-PANTERA), Kerry King (SLAYER), Dave Lombardo (SLAYER), Scott Ian (ANTHRAX), Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX), Frank Bello (ANTHRAX) and newly added masters Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG, DAVID LEE ROTH) and Gary Holt (EXODUS, SLAYER).

Reminder, Slayer is on the road with the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem tour this summer.

Also, look for Down on the road this fall, including a stop in NYC for a show at Best Buy Theater and another at Starland Ballroom in Sayreville.

by BBG

Hanneman on stage with Slayer at Nassau Coliseum (more by Matthew Eisman)

Slayer wrote:

Slayer fans everywhere - it's time to let you know what is going on with our brother Jeff Hanneman.

As you know, Jeff was bitten by a spider more than a year ago, but what you may not have known was that for a couple of days after he went to the ER, things were touch-and-go. There was talk that he might have to have his arm amputated, and we didn't know if he was going to pull through at all. He was in a medically-induced coma for a few days and had several operations to remove the dead and dying tissue from his arm. So, understand, he was in really, really bad shape. It's been about a year since he got out of the hospital, and since then, he had to learn to walk again, he's had several painful skin grafts, he's been in rehab doing exercises to regain the strength in his arm; but best of all, he's been playing guitar. We were all excited when he joined us onstage for the encore a year ago at The Big Four show at Coachella. Since then, we've given him all the time and support he's needed to continue his rehab so he can come back to the band fully recovered and able to deliver the kind of shows we all want him to. While Jeff's been doing some writing and has been coming to rehearsal over the past several weeks, he has decided he needs to take more time to continue his rehab. While we want him back onstage with the band, all of us support his decision. So, we're very grateful that Gary Holt will continue to fill in for Jeff, and will tour with us until Jeff completes his rehab and is ready to return. How long will that be? The best and most honest answer we can give you is 'as long as it takes.' We also wanted you to know that we've been doing some writing and recording for the next Slayer album - we've tracked a few songs, and will finish the album when we're off the road later this year. Gary will join us on tour in Europe and the UK in May and June, and then we'll all see you on this Summer's Mayhem Festival.

by BBG

High on Fire at the BV/POTR Deathmatch (more by Greg Cristman)

Knowing the High on Fire guys, it's safe to say that the Oakland metal trio will probably try to tour their asses off on the strength of their recent LP De Vermis Mysteriis'. Continuing to prove that true, now comes word that the band will headline a pair of NYC shows which will also feature appearances from Torche and Kylesa (who are currently touring with Gwar). The three bands, a repeat lineup from a previous tour, will hit Bowery Ballroom on August 1st and Music Hall of Williamsburg on August 2nd. Tickets for both the Bowery show and the MHoW show go on AMEX presale on April 25th at noon, and regular sale on Friday.

UPDATE: Torche and Kylesa are no longer on these shows, and have disappeared from the Bowery sites.

The shows are in addition to High on Fire's appearance as part of the Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival tour which hits Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, NJ on 7/27, Saratoga Performing Arts in Saratoga Springs, NY on 7/31, and The Comcast Theatre in Hartford, CT on Aug 5th. That tour includes names like Slayer, Anthrax, Slipknot, Motorhead, and many others, which vary by date. More details are available at the Rockstar site. All tour dates are listed below.

Miami four-piece Torche recently played NYC at Gramercy, are scheduled to hit the Orion Festival, and have a new LP in Harmonicraft. Stream that in full at Spin.

All tour dates and some classic video below.

Continue reading "High on Fire schedule NYC shows during Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival tour (dates) UPDATED"

DOWNLOAD: Body Language - Holiday (Savoir Adore Remix) (MP3)

today in NYC
* Whiplash @ UCB
* Brain Cloud @ Barbes
* Hot Tub @ Littlefield
* Common @ Highline Ballroom
* Marianne Faithfull @ City Winery
* Wale, Meek Mill @ Best Buy Theater
* Body Language (DJ set) @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Puss n Boots Christmas Spectacular @ Bell House
* Matisyahu, Aunt Martha @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Reverend Vince Anderson & His Love Choir @ Union Pool
* Dan Neustadt plays songs from the REM catologue @ Knitting Factory
* Belikos, Pants Velour, The Canon Logic, Escape Directors @ Pianos
* Rachel Cox, Pat Sullivan, Stephanie Rabins, Brian Osborne @ Zebulon
* Dear Lions, The Sanctuaries, Your 33 Black Angels, Sam Bay @ Cake Shop
* Woods, Alex Bleeker & The Freaks, Steve Gunn, Tide Eyed (DJ Set) @ Glasslands
* Teddy Kumpel Loopestra, Steve Broderick, The Vanity Belles, Stephanie White & The Philth Harmonic, Derek James, Jay Stolar, Morgan Karr, Abby Ahmad, Martin Rivas, The Vanity Belles, Emily Kinney, Jeep Rosenberg, Tiff Randol @ Rockwood Music Hall
* Wolf!, Tony Scherr Trio with Anton Fier and Rob Jost, Chris Riffle, The Goodnoise @ The Living Room

Death By Audio is closed from 12/19 to 1/3.

I don't think Rock Shop is closed, but they don't have any more shows scheduled until 1/5.

Savoir Adore, who opened for Oh Land last week, remixed Body Language who DJ at Brooklyn Bowl tonight and who open for Matt & Kim at Hammerstein Ballroom on New Year's Eve. You can listen to the remix below (or download it above).

Matisyahu's beard will not be present at Music Hall of Williamsburg tonight.

SLAYER CHRISTMAS LIGHTS 2011 video below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Monday?"

Greg Dulli of The Afghan Whigs (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

On Sunday 27th May 2012 Alexandra Palace will host the first show in 13 years from Cincinnati's rock legends THE AFGHAN WHIGS. Formed in 1986, the bands career from then until 2001 saw them release six acclaimed albums highlighted by the classic Gentlemen LP in 1993. Fusing classic rock with grunge-era distortion and a heavy soul influence, Afghan Whigs were one of the most renowned live bands of their time and this long awaited reformation will no doubt be a very special event.

ATP are also pleased to confirm their return to Asbury Park, New Jersey USA where they will follow last year's debut in that city with a 2012 I'll Be Your Mirror event, the Saturday night of which will be headlined by The Afghan Whigs and curated by the Whigs' frontman Greg Dulli.

As you can see in the poster, tickets will go on sale in January. More of the lineup will also be announced at that time.

All Tomorrow's Parties' I'll Be Your Mirror UK, which just lost Guided By Voices, will host The Afghan Whigs and has moved further into the "unreal" category with additions of Wolves In The Throne Room, Yob, Dirty Three, Floor, Chavez, Balam Acab, The Oh Sees, Yuck, Archers of Loaf, Demdike Stare, and Siskiyou to appearances from Sleep, Melvins, Mogwai, Codeine and Mudhoney.

Full ATP I'll Be Your Mirror UK lineup is below.

Continue reading "Afghan Whigs reuniting, ATP returning to Asbury Park in 2012"

photos by Tim Griffin

Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 came to a close on Sunday night. It was another successful year for the well-rounded music fest, and the end of its first in the larger (and much dustier) Auditorium Shores. And though Ryan Gosling may have been the most talked about artist at the festival (Danzig was a close second), the real star was festival organizer Transmission Enertainment for putting together such a kickass lineup on four stages for three days straight (not to mention a mechanical bull) (and skate and bike ramp and tons of good food and vendors and merch and posters and wrestling) (and Turquoise Jeep).

After Hum and then a quick set of comedy by metal comedian Brian Posehn (he did his Slayer joke and one that involved Pantera), Slayer closed out the large Orange stage on Sunday (the other metal acts played on the slightly smaller Black Stage all weekend, but the Orange was the biggest and actually specially built to Slayer's specs).

Slayer wasn't the only wild headliner of the day though. In fact, that's an understatement. Trash Talk played after Henry Rollins did his set of spoken word in the Yellow Tent because Trash Talk had to miss their originally scheduled set on the Black Stage earlier in the week due to a family emergency. Thanking everyone for missing Slayer to see them (actually not true because it ended up Trash Talk was done before Slayer even started), Trash Talk started their hardcore insanity by pointing out that they were on the only stage with no barricade (the stage comedians usually played). Circle pits, stagediving, stage crowding, grabbing the mic, pumping fists (and skateboards) and just general craziness characterized the next 20 minutes or so.

The always controversial Odd Future drew their own giant and enthusiastic crowd to their headlining set on the Blue Stage, and Blonde Redhead closed out the Black Stage to a more intimate and chilled out audience (in the location that was metal, punk, garage and hardcore the rest of the weekend).

Here is our second set of pictures from the final day of the fest, including Asobi Seksu, the reunited Hum, We Were Promised Jetpacks (who just played NYC and one of our CMJ day parties), Odd Future, G-Side, Austra, Grimes, MNDR, Mates of State, Budos Band, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, Architecture in Helsinki, Del the Funky Homosapien, Brian Posehn, Flying Lotus, Brody Stevens, Trash Talk, Henry Rollins, and more SLAYERRRR.

We previously posted pictures from both day 1 and day 2, and a second set by BBG day 1, day 2, and day 3

The rest of day 3, below...

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 -- Day 3 pics (part 2) -- Henry Rollins, Brian Posehn, Odd Future, Trash Talk & more"

Codeine

On the weekend of the 25th-27th May 2012 at Alexandra Palace, London, All Tomorrow's Parties will present the second UK I'll Be Your Mirror event. Tickets are on sale via ATPFestival.com from Friday 11th November at 10am.

ATP are incredibly excited to announce that this year the event starts on Friday 25th May when the incomparable SLAYER will present their undisputed classic Reign In Blood live in it's entirety during their headline set to celebrate it's 25th anniversary! Released in 1986, it is widely considered one of the greatest albums of all time - in 2006 Metal Hammer named it "The best metal album of the last 20 years." Joining Slayer on Friday night are influential doom metal trailblazers SLEEP - this will be their first UK visit since reforming for two amazing ATP festival shows in 2009, and legendary Washington sludge group MELVINS, with more to be confirmed.

On Saturday 26th May, the first ever ATP festival curators MOGWAI will return to headline, and to curate the rest of the day's line-up - this will be their only show in England in 2012 and their first choices to play alongside them are another great Washington band in the form of the fantastic MUDHONEY, and playing their first shows since 1994 with their original line-up in anticipation of also re-issuing their astounding back catalogue, reformed slow-core heroes CODEINE return to the UK. More of Mogwai's choices are to be confirmed very soon.

"These are Codeine's first public performances since 1994. We are performing to celebrate the release of WHEN I SEE THE SUN - the reissues of all our music by the esteemed NUMERO GROUP, of Chicago, Illinois, coming in the spring of 2012. The 3 albums will be released as vinyl double albums, which will include compilation tracks, 4 track demos, peel sessions, and entirely heretofore unreleased songs. The six albums will also be released as a limited edition boxed set, possibly with a bonus 7-inch. Our hope is to make our music and legacy available to all who are interested. To spotlight this release, we will be performing a very limited series of concerts in the US, UK and Europe.

Slayer played Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin on Sunday (and they got everything they needed). Pictures from their set are HERE. Their setlist is below...

Continue reading "Codeine reunited, planning US shows, playing ATP in the UK (that Slayer are also playing 'Reign In Blood' at)"

by BBG

My final day at Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 ran the gamut from 90s-indie-worshippers Lemuria to the poppy-hardcore of Kid Dynamite, the Prince-clad hardcore of Ceremony to the glitchy dance of Flying Lotus, and the operatic/enigmatic Austra to the great Slayer. Of the bands that I was not familar with prior to that day (namely OBN IIIs and Les Butcherettes) OBN IIIs set was my favorite; high energy punk/garage was an excellent way to turbo-charge the day. Le Butcherettes were no slouches though, playing fun and spazzy garage-punk featuring the endlessly watachlbe Teri Gender Bender up front and surprise guest Omar Rodriguez-Lopez on bass.

I'll save the "Fun Fun Fun" knee-slapper for pretty much every single band's pre/intra-show banter ("Are you having fun? Are you having Fun Fun Fun?") but yes, Fun Fun Fun Fest lives up to its name.

Previously posted pictures are here: day 1 & day 2, and day 1 & day 2.

More pictures from day three including shots of Lemuria, Le Butcherettes, OBN IIIs, Davila 666, Ceremony, Nobunny, Kid Dynamite, Zero Boys, Eyehategod, Austra, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, Cannibal Corpse, Boris, Del The Funkee Homosapien, Slayer, Blonde Redhead, and much more, below...

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 -- Day 3 pics (part 1) -- Slayer, Blonde Redhead, Kid Dynamite, Zero Boys, Boris & more"

by BBG

BrooklynVegan will return to Fun Fun Fun Fest this year and yes, we are hosting another bill of heavy music in Austin, Texas as part of the newly annointed Fun Fun Fun Nites (aka the afterparties)! The almost-fest-within-a-fest will feature some bands on FFF and others playing only the night shows, which run from the night before the fest (Thursday, 11/3) through the final night of the festival (Sunday, 11/6).

The BrooklynVegan show will go down at Red 7 on 11/4 over two stages with headliners Doomriders alongside From Ashes Rise, Phobia, Mammoth Grinder, and Mindless (ex-Hatred Surge) while the indoors will feature a headlining appearance from Powertrip with Touche Amore, Pianos Become Teeth, Dead End Path, and Miles Away. The show is all ages and FREE for FFF wristband holders.

Over the rest of the FFF Nites, bands like Ty Segall, Cold Cave, Glass Candy, Kool Keith, Trash Talk, Deafheaven, Russian Circles, Mates of State, Neon Indian, Purity Ring, Dom, Zero Boys, Death Grips, The Thermals, David Liebe Hart (who played 2 NYC shows yesterday), Toxic Holocaust, and many, many more will play the after-parties, all of which are listed below.

The actual fest schedule is HERE.

If you somehow don't have tickets to Fun Fun Fun Fest, then you are in luck! I have five pairs of THREE DAY PASSES (which includes all of the FFF Nites admissions) AND a Slayer prize pack to give away! In order to enter, you can try for a pair via the BrooklynVegan Faceboook (contest will be up soon), or you can follow the directions at the bottom of this post to try and win one of the other four pairs we have. Good luck!

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest is coming, afterparties too (WIN one of FIVE 3-day passes we're giving away!)"

photos by Dana (distortion) Yavin

The concert, or the tour, or the notion, is called the Big Four, and it needs an asterisk. Long ago one of the four became much bigger than the rest.

In alphabetical order, Anthrax, Megadeth, Metallica and Slayer -- who all played at Yankee Stadium in a thorough and memorable seven-hour concert on Wednesday night -- were the most popular bands of mid-1980s thrash-metal. (Some would prefer a Big Five, and include Testament or Exodus.) Thrash was a powerful mutt: it ran at hardcore-punk speeds and wedged hyper-articulate firebomb guitar solos into small spaces...

[Metallica's] set list was almost identical to what the band played in Indio. It started with the old ("Creeping Death"), moving to the new ("All Nightmare Long") and a we've-earned-it instrumental section ("Orion"), then the hits and landmarks ("One," "Master of Puppets") and back to the old again ("Seek and Destroy"). And it was a proper retrospective, with songs fast and slow and medium, compassionate and merciless.

The last set also included a song involving members of all four bands. Cleverly it was a version of Motorhead's "Overkill," a song that keeps stopping and starting up again. Each time it reanimated, a different drummer took over: Lars Ulrich of Metallica, Dave Lombardo of Slayer, Charlie Benante of Anthrax; the guitarists traded off too.
[New York Times]

Continue reading "pics of Metallica @ Yankee Stadium (The biggest of the Four)"

photos by Dana (distortion) Yavin

Slayer / Anthrax

Right from the start, when Anthrax hit the stage for its very early 4 p.m. slot, the collective goal of artists and audience alike seemed to be to peel the paint off the walls with violent volume and loosen the bolts that held the joint together, with the bounce of dance moves.

Of the opening three acts before Metallica took the stage at 9 p.m., Anthrax was the outfit that owned The Bronx.
Over the course of an hour, the quintet wowed the fans with cornerstones of their songbook such as "Indians," "Thrashing Mad" and "I Am The Law."

Megadeth was the second band to play and was the least successful act on the bill. Lead singer Dave Mustaine told the house he had just had neck surgery earlier in the week, adding "I shouldn't even be here." He was right.

Slayer was the heaviest band on the bill. Their set was pure brute force. The shred guitar solos were impossibly fast, and the drumming made thunder sound tame...[NY Post]

Continue reading "Slayer, Megadeth & Anthrax @ Yankee Stadium (Big 4 pics)"

photos by Dana (distortion) Yavin

Rocks Off hosted a boat cruise to the Big 4 show at Yankee Stadium (Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax). The pictures from the actual concert are coming shortly, but here are some taken on the high seas (the Hudson River) on the way there. They continue below...

Continue reading "pics from the boat ride to Big 4 @ Yankee Stadium"

today in NYC
* Michael Pisaro @ The Stone
* Steely Dan @ Beacon Theatre
* HTRK @ Home Sweet Home
* Erasure, Frankmusik @ Terminal 5
* The Big Terrific @ Cameo Gallery
* Bomba Estereo @ Le Poisson Rouge
* The Klezmatics @ Highline Ballroom
* Funky Meters, Turkuaz @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Mike Bones, Sleepy Doug Shaw @ Zebulon
* Grouplove, Young Man @ Bowery Ballroom
* Tica Douglas, Gold Smoke @ Cameo Gallery
* Rich Medina, Akalepse @ Le Poisson Rouge
* Two Door Cinema Club @ The Studio @ Webster
* K Holes, Grave Babies, Pop. 1280 @ Cake Shop
* The Gypsy West, Suzanne Real @ Bowery Electric
* Aunt Martha, The Barr Brothers @ Mercury Lounge
* Japandroids, Bass Drum of Death @ Mercury Lounge
* Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax @ Yankee Stadium
* Luck War, Super Melody, Darren Sylvester @ Bruar Falls
* Steve Earle, Allison Moorer @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Gabriel Kahane, Elizabeth and The Catapult @ Littlefield
* Toro y Moi, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Ava Luna @ Webster Hall
* Cinjun Tate, Thunderegg, Clownage, My Dear Mycroft @ Union Hall
* Wolves in the Throne Room, Thou, Mutilation Rites @ Death By Audio
* Saadi, ShadowBox, The Echo-Friendly, Queen of Coney Island @ Glasslands
* Dinosaur Feathers, Man/Miracle, Our Mountain, Adam Faucett & The Tall Grass @ Pianos

Check out This Week In Indie for more.

Girls played two new songs from Father, Son, Holy Ghost last night on Fallon. Videos below.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Wednesday?"

Metal megashow The Big 4 hits Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, 9/14. Anthrax fans with jobs (which they probably have if they were able to afford a ticket to this show), may not be happy to find out that the set times for the weekday gig are as follows...

DOORS: 2:00PM
ANTHRAX: 4:00PM
MEGADETH: 5:30PM
SLAYER: 7:00PM
METALLICA: 8:35PM

Anthrax recently made an appearance on Jimmy Fallon to help promote their new album. The video and more Anthrax tour dates below...

Continue reading "The Big 4 hits Yankee Stadium Wednesday (set times)"

Slayer at Izod Center (photos by Samantha Marble)

Slayer, Thee Oh Sees, Public Enemy, Girls, Danzig Legacy, (Danzig + Doyle von Frankenstein playing Misfits, Samhain & Danzig), Hot Snakes, Diplo, Major Lazer, Henry Rollins, Ted Leo & The Phramacists, Spank Rock, Murder City Devils, Hum, Lykke Li, Passion Pit, Four Tet, Rakim, The Damned, Austra, Purity Ring, and Flynt Flossy are just a few of the acts announced today as part of the Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 lineup. Another amazing year! Check out the full lineup below and stay tuned for more announcements coming in August and September.

The new additions to the Austin, Texas festival, which takes place from 11/4 - 11/6, are in addition to the the previous "lineup leaks" that included Brian Posehn, Odd Future, Okkervil River, M83, X (performing "Los Angeles"), Reggie Watts, Flying Lotus, Tune-Yards, Ra Ra Riot, Kid Dynamite and others

2011 is the festival's sixth year, but first at its new home Auditorium Shores (no more Waterloo Park). Tickets are on sale now.

Slayer also has a NYC performance coming up with Metallica, Anthrax and Megadeth as part of the "Big Four" show at Yankee Stadium on 9/14. Tickets are still available.

Fun Fun Fun 2011 flyer and almost-full lineup is below.

Continue reading "Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 lineup (Danzig Legazy, Passion Pit, Slayer, Lykke Li, The Damned, Henry Rollins & much more)"

Tickets go on general sale at 10am for the Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax show happening at Yankee Stadium.

by BBG

Metalion: The Slayer Mag Diaries cover

"For twenty-five years, Norway's Slayer Mag published the gospel of black metal and death metal, combining eye-ripping graphics, brutally honest writing, and relentless offbeat humor. With this anthology/memoir, editor Jon "Metalion" Kristiansen unfolds the extreme highs and lows of a life lived for heavy metal. Founded in 1985 in Sarpsborg, Norway, Slayer Mag quickly rose to prominence by championing countless unsigned death metal pioneers. The pages of Slayer Mag exploded along with the extreme metal underground, and as black metal rose to prominence in Norway in the 1990s, Slayer Mag remained the final word on the moods and motivations of those dark times.

The astonishing combination of archival material includes scores of key historic interviews with the most revered figures in extreme metal, including Mayhem, Emperor, Slayer, Kreator, Nihilist, Celtic Frost, Bathory, Cathedral, Entombed, Morbid, Napalm Death, Metallica, Opeth, Cradle of Filth, Sadistik Execution, Usurper, Nifelheim, Darkthrone, Sodom, Destruction, Morbid Angel, Deicide, Exodus, Dissection, Candlemass, Carcass, Sepultura, Gorgoroth, Death, Watain, Sadus, Satyricon, Enslaved, Pentagram, Jarboe, Immortal, Possessed, Overkill, Ulver, Dark Angel, and countless others."

Bazillion Points is also responsible for the awesome Only Death is Real, a look into early Celtic Frost & Hellhammer, as well as Hellbent For Cooking, a cookbook featuring recipes from Amebix, Wino, Eyehategod, Cauldron (who play NYC TONIGHT/WEDNESDAY at Union Pool) and many others. They are also responsible for the essential and near-encyclopedic Swedish Death Metal.

"Slayer Mag" is not to be confused with Slayer the band who are playing Yankee Stadium on September 14th. The Metallica Fan Club and other presales are going on now. General sale begins Friday at 10am.