Inter Arma at Invisible Oranges SXSW 2013 day party (more by Greg Cristman)

After part of the docket was revealed last week, Scion Rock Fest have announced the entirety of their 2013 lineup which happens in Memphis Tennessee on June 1. Testament and Melvins claim the top slots, while additional bands announced for the fest are Municipal Waste, Whitechapel, The Obsessed (!), Corrosion of Conformity, The Casualties, Negative Approach, Pallbearer, Six Feet Under, Impaled, Vision of Disorder, Royal Thunder, Vektor, Arsis, A Life Once Lost, Touché Amoré, Code Orange Kids, The Gates of Slumber, Hot Lunch, Rotting Out, The Shrine, Ice Dragon, Call of the Void (who recently played NYC), Subrosa, Gigan, Anciients, Dirty Streets, Inter Arma, Complete Failure, Indian Handcrafts and Noisem.

SRF is free but RSVP (which opens on April 10) is required.

In related news, Inter Arma, who recently played the Invisible Oranges Day Party at The Jr (pictures HERE), have been announced, along with Sannhet, as support for the NYC date of the Intronaut tour, set for Saint Vitus on June 15. Tickets are on sale.

If you missed it, pictures from the official Invisible Oranges SXSW night showcase are available HERE, featuring shots of Pallbearer, John Baizley with Mel from Royal Thunder and Bruce Lamont, Mutilation Rites, Full of Hell, KEN Mode and Homewrecker.

Check out a video from Inter Arma's daytime set below...

Continue reading "full lineup for Scion Rock Fest announced; Inter Arma and Sannhet added to Intronaut's NYC show"

Scion Rock Fest has released a partial lineup of their 2013 edition, set to happen in Memphis, Tennessee on June 1. As with previous years, the festival will go down in a single day across multiple venues. Look for appearances from Melvins, Municipal Waste, The Casualties, Pallbearer, Six Feet Under, Impaled, Vision of Disorder, Arsis, A Life Once Lost, Code Orange Kids, The Shrine, Ice Dragon, Subrosa, Anciients, Indian Handcrafts and Noisem. More bands and details are on the way.

In related news, The Casulaties, who just played Acheron, will also play Tammanny Hall on May 18 with Violent Affair. Tickets are on sale.

words and photos by Caroline Harrison

Graveyard @ MHOW, 1/27/2013

Graveyard played Music Hall of Williamsburg last night (1/27), the second of two NYC shows with Los Angelenos The Shrine. The Swedish rock group is touring in support of Lights Out, released last October.

Opening for a band like Graveyard must be pretty daunting and, admittedly, the Shrine isn't really my speed. However, they rose to the challenge and delivered a skillful set blending Sabbath-y stoner grooves and vintage LA punk/thrash. They were tight, people dug it, but I found myself enjoying their set more when I couldn't see the band. Maybe that was because the giant wolf banner with the spotlights on the eyes was distractingly gimmicky.

Graveyard's musical predecessors would frequently fall prey to spiraling, jammed out live performances with excessive, albeit technically adept soloing. Where the Allman Brothers would jam out "Whipping Post" for 20+ minutes (see any of the Fillmore East recordings), Graveyard's soloing is economical. Lyrical guitar licks last a few bars. Frenzied drum solos augment a song's pacing, not diverge from it. Similarly, the band's stage presence is reserved and controlled, with the exception of drummer Axel Sjöberg's animalistic fervor.

This is a band that sounds just as polished, tight, and clean as they do on record. The ease with which Joakim Nilsson can move between raw, gritty vocals and silken blues crooning is nothing short of jaw dropping. Graveyard is a band that, for the most part, knows exactly how to play to their strengths, saving two of their strongest songs ("The Siren" and "Endless Night") for the encore. The only baffling moment of their set was when they broke out an absolute stomper of a B-side, evocative of frenzied Crossroads era Clapton.

Graveyard moves on to Asheville, NC tomorrow night. The Devil's Blood, originally scheduled to support on a few dates with Royal Thunder, announced their immediate dissolution, effective January 22. Keep an eye out for a possible replacement for those dates.

More pictures from Music Hall of Williamsburg last night are below.

Continue reading "Graveyard played Music Hall of Williamsburg with The Shrine (pics)"

Pallbearer at Knitting Factory, September 2012 (more by Fred Pessaro // BBG)

Decibel Magazine has compiled their annual list of top 40 albums of the year. As usual, there are some surprises but the 2012 top ten is basically a list of nine veterans with only a single newcomer to the bunch. The full list of top records of the year according to Decibel Magazine is below, along with a tweet from the winning band. Buy your copy HERE.

Continue reading "Decibel Magazine's top 40 LPs of 2012"

photos by Wei Shi

Fans make their way back from the FIDLAR merch table @ The Echo, 1026/2012

California garage punks FIDLAR played The Echo in Los Angeles on 10/26, joined by The Shrine and Pangea. The band is currently touring their way eastward with Delta Spirit, and will hit Fun Fun Fun Fest before scooting on over to Irving Plaza on 11/27 as part of a round of dates also with Jeff the Brotherhood. Tickets are still available.

FIDLAR's much-anticipated debut album will be out in January on Mom & Pop Records. You can stream "White on White" from it below.

Meanwhile, The Shrine recently played dates on the East Coast during CMJ, including The Acheron on 10/18 with Toys That Kill (who played a BV day party).

More pictures from The Echo, and all tour dates are below.

Continue reading "FIDLAR played L.A.'s The Echo w/ Pangea and The Shrine (pics); touring with Delta Spirit now (dates)"

The Shrine are California through and through, embodying both the stoner grooves and the thrashy skate punk of the area in the 80s and 90s. The band's new effort, Primitive Blast, is their second long-player and is available now via Tee Pee Records.

Primitive Blast features the Black Flag/Blitz/Thin Lizzy-style burner, "Freak Fighter," the subject of the new Scion A/V produced video which we're premiering below. "Freak Fighter" has no qualms with wearing its influences on its sleeve, clearly nodding to old skate videos and featuring guest appearances from people like Chuck Dukowski (Black Flag) in between live footage/stage diving mayhem. Check out the Coan Buddy Nichols-directed video below alongside all (West Coast only) tour dates.

Continue reading "The Shrine released 'Primitive Blast,' made a new video (watch)"