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.

by BBG

They hit the west coast last weekend, and now "The Big 4" will make the journey east for their second show together in The Bx. Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth & Anthrax will play Yankee Stadium on September 14th. According to Metallica's site, "tickets go on sale Friday, May 6 at 10:00 AM via www.ticketmaster.com. Met Club members should log in for more information about a special pre-sale starting on Wednesday, May 4. Yankees season ticket holders will have their own pre-sale, also on May 4, starting at noon."

Hopefully by the time the NYC show rolls aroundm Slayer will have founding member Jeff Hanneman back in the fold, though he did made a brief appearance in Indio last weekend...

Slayer hit the stage and even the sun appeared slightly scared as it sank behind the mountains. They were the hardest and most relentless band of the day. Dave Lombardo's double bass drums were thunderous, not so much supporting but propelling the music as Kerry King delivered frequent guitar-shredding solos...They played a new song "America" (sp?) that fit right alongside the classics. As he has been since February, Gary Holt of Exodus sat in for guitarist Jeff Hanneman who is suffering from necrotizing fasciitis in his arm. To the crowd's great delight, Hanneman appeared and played during the last two songs of the set, "South of Heaven" and "Angel of Death". -[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]

Continue reading "Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth & Anthrax (The Big 4) playing Yankee Stadium! (played Indio, CA)"

Coachella sold out in less than a week, but the festival that is going to occupy the same fairgrounds exactly one week later, goes on general sale Friday at 10am (presales happening now), and that is "The Big 4" which will bring together Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax ("together for the first and only time in the US") for one big Indio, California classic metal show on Saturday, April 23rd .

One week after that, Goldenvoice (also responsible for Coachella and The Big 4) will host its annual Stagecoach Festival at Empire Polo Field (same place). "California's Country Music Festival" is being headlined by people you probably don't care about, but will also include sets by names like Wanda Jackson, Loretta Lynn, the Punch Brothers, the Secret Sisters and Phosphorescent who is also playing Coachella. Tickets are on sale.

I unfortunately could not find a ticket link for Brochella. Full lineup (real poster) for Stagecoach, and a Big 4 video trailer, below...

Continue reading "Tickets still available for Stagecoach & "The Big 4""

The Greenhornes @ ATP NY 2010 (more by BBG)

today in NYC
* Honey Ear Trio @ Barbes
* Zim Ngqawana @ The Stone
* Gil Scott-Heron @ BB King's
* Dayna Kurtz @ The Living Room
* El DeBarge @ Highline Ballroom
* Waking Lights, Linfinity @ Maxwell's
* Darcy James Argue Society @ Joe's Pub
* The Greenhornes, The Ettes @ Bowery Ballroom
* Matisyahu, Tally Hall @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* The Radio Dept., High Highs, Braids @ Knitting Factory
* Sean Flinn w/ Jolie Holland, Lone Wolf & Cub @ Union Pool
* Spanglish Fly, Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra @ Cameo Gallery
* The Sway Machinery, DeLeon, Soulico (JDub Benefit) @ Brooklyn Bowl
* Autodrone, The Brother Kite, Ambassadors, Sneaky Legend @ Mercury Lounge
* Charles Bissell & Kevin Whelan of the Wrens, Palomar, Bird of Youth @ Rock Shop
* Candles of Paradise, Grey Gersten, Love-In, Daniel Carter, Shahzad Ismaily, Indigo Street, Ches Smith @ Zebulon

Check out This Week in Indie

It's almost Hanukkah.

The Living Room is hosting a film/TV songwriter showcase before Dayna Kurtz plays tonight, and a mysterious "Danman and the LC" after her. Does anyone know who "Daman and the LC" is?

The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting is tonight:

"Iconic Tree Event to Kick-Off Holidays in New York City The 2010 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree will be lit for the first time on Tuesday, November 30, 2010 with live and taped performances from 7 P.M. - 9 P.M., at Rockefeller Plaza, between West 48th & West 51st Streets and 5th and 6th Avenues, Manhattan. The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is a world-wide symbol of the holidays in New York City. The tree, traditionally a Norway Spruce, is illuminated by 30,000 environmentally friendly LED lights on five miles of wire, and crowned by a Swarovski crystal star. Tens of thousands crowd the sidewalks for the event and hundreds of millions watch the Tree Lighting Ceremony broadcast live across the globe."

Ok, fine. Slayer isn't actually performing, but it would be amazing if they would (somewhat related video below)...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Tuesday?"

by BBG

Slayer at Nassau Coliseum (more by Matthew Eisman)

Why are metal fans so demanding? We demand our clothes in one color (black). We have our own section on BrooklynVegan. And now we have our own version of Record Store Day:

The Music Monitor Network, largest of the independent record store coalitions with stores in both the US and Canada --is proud to announce the launch of Metal Club. Metal Club is a group of record stores throughout the US and Canada that work to connect the vibrant metal community with their local record store. Fans will be able to visit their local Metal Club store for special metal promotional pieces, exciting in-store events, and a series of exclusive Metal Club releases, starting with ...Metallica.

To celebrate Metal Club, and record stores in general, I have up for grabs the limited edition Slayer vinyl box set, The Vinyl Conflict (a $150 value!), which includes almost their entire recorded output (everything from Reign in Blood on) on 11 LPs. Details on you can win a copy are at the bottom of this post.

Some video, the Metallica tracklisting, and contest details, below...

Continue reading "Metal Club = Heavy Metal Record Store Day -- exclusive releases + a chance to win a Slayer box set "

photos by Matthew Eisman

Slayer

"It has been a really long time since Long Island experienced a real heavy metal show. In fact, it is flat-out embarrassing and insulting to the fans and bands that it has been this long. Thanks to the demonic forces of the dark lord, Long Island was the place to be on Friday night when Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax invaded the Nassau Coliseum.

The "Big 3 of Thrash" performed on the Island together for the first time ever under the heading of the "American Carnage Tour" presented by Jagermeister. The artists, Dave Mustaine in particular, did not let fans forget that as he made at least 5 references to the sponsor during Megadeth's set."

Going into the show, one would think that Anthrax would be the weakest link. Let's face it, Anthrax is awesome but not of the same caliber as Slayer. The band must have had this in mind because Anthrax annihilated the Coliseum. Original frontman Joey Belladona could not have sounded any better. He was dead on. [Gears of Rock]

The meeting of the thrash titans is ongoing through the next two weeks. Check out more pictures from the Nassau Coliseum stop, with videos and setlists, below...

Continue reading "Slayer, Megadeth & Anthrax played classic material w/ classic lineups @ Nassau Coliseum (pics & setlists) "

words by BBG, photos by Samantha Marble

Slayer

In 1991 there was The Clash of The Titans tour, a meeting of some of the biggest names in metal at the moment with Slayer, Megadeth, and Testament all on board for European and US legs featuring a rotating cast of Alice In Chains, Anthrax, Suicidal Tendencies, and more. A lot of time and changes have come to pass since that tour; Slayer lost their founding drummer and then found him, Testament battled cancer and arrived victorious, and Megadeth founder Dave Mustaine has a NY Times best-selling book among many other things. But nineteen years later, these thrash metal giants are still kicking around and reformed for a string of summer/fall dates that included the Izod Center in NJ on August 12th (and includes Nassau Coliseum on October 8th, where the classic lineup of Anthrax replaces Testament as opener).

Testament opened the Meadowlands show to a progressively growing audience at 7PM. The band's 40 minute set featured output from their career, with a few nods to their latest From Formation to Damnation. Although I enjoyed their set somewhat, the sound was unintelligible; guitars were completely buried in the mix with only the highest leads bleeding through the mud. That said, Alex Skolnick still knows how to rip it, Chuck Billy plays a mean air guitar, and they definitely know how to incite a killer Wall of Death (check out the video below).

Normally a set by Megadeth wouldn't get my heart racing, but tonight was Rust in Peace in it's entirety so I was guaranteed some of my favorite Megadeth songs. The band, now with Dave Ellefson back in the fold, followed Testament by launching directly into the classic Rust In Peace opener "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due". Sporting the classic "biohazard" emblazoned drumkit from the "Hangar 18" video, the band continued through the LP in track order declaring declaring "That was Rust In Peace!" at the finish and retreating from stage momentarily for a quick costume change afterword. Megadeth then looped back to classics like "Peace Sells" and "Symphony of Destruction" before a reprise of "Holy Wars" to close out the set. Mustaine's voice was a bit buried in the mix from my perspective, a relief in some ways as when he did come through it was too high pitched and nasal for my liking.

Little has changed since the last time I saw Slayer. Jeff Hanneman is still sporting the baseball catcher's shin plates, rockin a Raiders jersey and has his Heineken-style (that reads Hanneman) guitar. Kerry King still looks like a cross between Junkyard Dog and a cast member of Road Warrior. Dave Lombardo is still one of the best drummers on the planet. But what had changed was Tom Araya, due to his recent back surgery: no more head on a swivel, doctor's orders. The thrashing Araya was missed, but that didn't affect the legend's searing set of Seasons In The Abyss (in order) followed by a short set of Slayer classics. Easily my favorite preformance from the night. Dave Lombardo is god.

Tons more pics, some video and the set lists are below...

Continue reading "Slayer, Megadeth & Testament played classics, led a Wall of Death @ the Izod Center (pics, video, setlists) "

by BBG

Slayer, live in Poland

Though tickets are still available for their date at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, NJ, the second leg of the American Carnage tour (Slayer + Megadeth) has been announced. That leg includes Nassau Coliseum on Oct 8th, and though tickets go on regular sale on July 23rd, they are currently on Live Nation presale through Thursday at 8PM. The password is "venue". Testament wont open the Nassau Coliseum show like they will at the Izod Center in August, but Anthrax will!

Full tour sked and some vids are below..

Continue reading "Slayer & Megadeth add more dates, Long Island w/ Anthrax"

Trash Talk in Austin during SXSW (more by Diana Zadlo)

tonight in NYC
* Todd Barry @ Caroline's
* Pat Metheny @ Town Hall
* Flobots @ Gramercy Theatre
* Inlets @ Permanent Records
* Jefferson Starship @ BB King's
* So Percussion @ The Whitney
* The Beets, Acrylics @ Brooklyn Fire Proof
* Visqueen, The Art of Shooting @ Union Hall
* Child Abuse, Orphan, Dead Body @ Union Pool
* LCD Soundsystem, Holy Ghost @ Terminal 5
* Rooftop Films w/ Frances @ Open Road Rooftop
* Immortal Technique, more @ Santos Party House
* Paul Metzger, Amen Dunes @ Issue Project Room
* Buffalo Tom, Mean Creek (early) @ Mercury Lounge
* Buffalo Tom, The Candles (late) @ Mercury Lounge
* Pearl Jam, Band of Horses @ Madison Square Garden
* A Proposition by Matthew Barney @ The New Museum
* Ecstatic Sunshine, Dan Friel, Starring @ Silent Barn
* Fuck Buttons, Oneohtrix Point Never @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Secret Country, The Defibulators, John Foti, Holy Moly @ Maxwell's
* Trash Talk, La Dispute, Cerebral Ballzy, Psychic Limb @ The Acheron
* Ava Luna, Nicole Hale, Ridgemont, Like Claws @ Bushwick Music Studios
* Alexisonfire, Trash Talk, La Dispute, Therefore I Am @ Bowery Ballroom
* Medications, Deleted Scenes, Paul & The Patients, Birthwat @ Bruar Falls
* Paleface, Hoots & Hellmouth, Among the Oak and Ash, Daniel Wayne @ Southpaw
* Truman Peyote, Many Mansions, Beach Arabs, Philip Seymour Hoffman @ Party Expo
* Malaikat dan Singa, When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, Numerators @ Death By Audio
* Archipelago w/ ACME & Craig Wedren, Corey Dargel & ICE, more @ Galapagos
* Outtacontrollers, Girls at Dawn, Crusaders Of Love, Foster Care, WLWL @ Cake Shop
* Wax Poetics party w/ Noel & Chico Mann, DJs Stay High & Tha Pumpsta (late) @ Glasslands
* Cotton Candy, The Smittens, Allo Darlin, Pants Yell!, Tender Trap (NYC Popfest) @ Don Hill's
* Baby Birds Don't Drink Milk, Silver Stairs of Ketchikan, Coasting, Earthmasters @ Shea Stadium
* Project Jenny, Project Jan, Swimming in Speakers, Carnivores, Sunglasses @ Monster Island Basement
* Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, Savoir Adore, Botanica, Little Annie, Paul Wallfisch, Barbez, Services, Franz Nicolay, Lapis Lazuli, Black Sea Hotel @ Angel Orensanz
* Ingrowing, Communion, Flourishing, Backslider, Buckshot Facelift @ the Charleston

Killing Joke won't play tonight, but will be in NYC in December.

Naughty by Nature and Black Sheep won't play tonight either.

"In celebration of Wax Poetics' Hip-Hop Issue & Latin Freestyle, Kenny Herzog & Wax Poetics Present: Noel (of "Silent Morning" Fame) & Chico Mann (of Antibalas) w/ DJ Sets From The Original Whiteboy KYS, R.Kenny, The Pumpsta, Stay High." Tonight at Glasslands. Flyer and video below.

Arrington de Dionyso's (Old Time Relijun) new project (& touring band) Malaikat Dan Singa make their Brooklyn debut tonight at DBA.

Trash Talk play tonight. Early and LATE.

Pavement and Grizzly Bear tickets went on sale.

Matthew Barney is at the New Museum tonight. Some of his below...

Slayer played Kimmel! Video below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Friday?"

by BBG

Dave Lombardo of Slayer's drumkit

We already knew that the three thrash titans would hit the road together, but now comes a new development...

Megadeth and Slayer, who last toured the U.S. together 19 years ago on the "Clash of the Titans" extravaganza, have confirmed that they will each perform, start to finish, their 1990 releases - Slayer's world-wide, million-selling Seasons In The Abyss and Megadeth's Platinum Rust In Peace - on the upcoming Canadian and American Carnage Tours. ...With Slayer and Megadeth co-headlining, Testament will be Special Guest on all dates.

Tom Araya recently recovered from back surgery, which cancelled all previously scheduled dates for the American Carnage tour.

Full tour dates and some video from those classic LPs are below...

Continue reading "Slayer & Megadeth will perform their 1990 albums on tour"

by BBG

It had some hiccups, but now the Slayer, Megadeth, Testament tour is back on:

The American Carnage Tour, originally scheduled to take place in January and February, had to be put on hold due to Slayer's vocalist/bassist, Tom Araya's ongoing, minimally-invasive treatments for what was diagnosed as a Cervical Radiculopathy, an occupational hazard for the rocker who is known for aggressively swinging his long mane of hair while performing. Right after the first of the year, Araya made the difficult decision to undergo a surgical procedure, called an Anterior Cervical Discectomy with Fusion, a relatively routine practice with an excellent recovery rate. That surgery took place early last week.

"The doctors said that Tom's surgery went very smoothly and was a resounding success," said Rick Sales, long-time Slayer manager. "He's home now, doing really well, and he said the numbness in his fingers had already diminished considerably."

Shortly after the surgery, Slayer's Kerry King received a text from Tom: "Awake and feeling good, actually whatever he did, it feels better."

The original set of March Slay/Mega/Testa dates have been replaced by Megadeth/Testament/Exodus dates, which unfortunately bypass NYC in favor of the home of Dunder-Mifflin (Scranton,PA). Normally I would find that new tour lineup only a smidge more than intriguing, but the bands have upped the ante by announcing that in honor of the 20th anniversary of Megadeth's classic Rust In Peace LP, the band will perform that LP in its entirety. What's more, Testament will join the fun by performing all of their classic The Legacy! No word so far as to whether Exodus will play Bonded By Blood (which they recently re-recorded) (and have performed in full in the recent past), but here's to hoping.

Some videos, Mega/Testa/Exo tour dates, and the new Slay/Mega/Testa tour dates which include the Izod Center on August 12th (no ticket info yet), are below...

Continue reading "Tom Araya's surgery went well, Slayer reschedules tour dates, Megadeth & Testament meanwhile playing full albums"

Bon Iver in a graveyard in Sept. (more by Darren Kim)

tonight in NYC
* Kid Cudi @ Irving Plaza
* Spoon & Mahogany @ Mercury Lounge
* Spacecamp, Your Nature @ Coco66
* Akoya Afrobeat @ Knitting Factory
* Questlove (DJ), Q-Tip (DJ) @ Brooklyn Bowl
* MNDR, Zambri, Tayisha Busay @ Glasslands
* Vetiver, Avi Buffalo, Inlets @ The Bell House
* Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) & Steve Kimock @ Merkin Concert Hall
* Darlings, Lonnie Walker, Motel Motel, Gunfight @ Union Pool
* Free Energy, Eastern Midwestern, pow wow!, Neighbors @ Pianos
* Signal Break, Sunshower Orphans, Mr. Dream, NT Trio @ Cake Shop
* Langhorne Slim, April Smith & the Great Picture Show @ Maxwell's
* Dub Is a Weapon, Bigga Mention, Rob Symeonn @ (Le) Poisson Rouge
* Vampire Weekend, Kwame Dawes (author) @ Barnes & Noble Union Square
* Lady GaGa, Jason Derulo, Semi Precious Weapons @ Radio City Music Hall
* Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, Supercute, Julia Weldon @ Knitting Factory Brooklyn
* Support Haiti Benefit w/ Lewis Black, Vernon Reid & Corey Glover of Living Colour, Rich Pagano & The Sugarcane Cups, Marshall Crenshaw, David Johansen @ City Winery

Vampire Weekend appear at Barnes & Noble tonight with Kwame Dawes. Expect a line.

Spoon announced that some tickets will be available at the door for tonight's Mercury Lounge show. Expect a line.

Lightspeed Champion is not playing Bowery Ballroom tonight.

Justin Vernon aka Bon Iver appears as part of the NY Guitar Festival tonight. You can catch him in Ohio in April.

Tonight's Cake shop show, put on by Music vs. Hunger, benefits Haiti relief. Questlove and Q-Tip DJ at Brooklyn Bowl for Haiti, too.

Various new videos below.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Thursday?"