by BBG

Kuxan Suum at Acheron (more by BBG)

Though previously listed with the same lineup as the show they just played at Acheron, this Friday's 9pm Black Twilight Circle show at The Charleston will feature an almost entirely different lineup with Raspberry Bulbs, Volahn, Arizmenda, Shataan, and The Haunting Presence. Black Twilight Circle also visit WFMU that day (10/7).

The show is also one of two upcoming shows for Raspberry Bulbs who will also join Villains, Occultation and Skull at Saint Vitus on 10/18 (tickets).

Speaking of black metal, the.... New Yorker wrote a piece:

The fertile and fractious U.S. scene in the genre known as black metal can be understood through a familiar moment in rock history. In the sixties, British bands like Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones mined American blues, first copying their heroes and then creating something vivid and novel. In the nineties, a range of American acts began drawing from the work of Norwegian metal bands that were famous mostly for a look and for several unpleasant events. The Norwegians were largely faithful to the "corpse paint" costume, in which the face is covered in white makeup, with black circles drawn around the eye sockets. Upside-down-cross pendants and spiked bracelets were common accessories. The tabloid-worthy events centered on a musician named Varg Vikernes, of the one-man band Burzum, who encouraged and participated in the burning of churches. In 1993, while playing bass in a band called Mayhem, he murdered the guitarist, a man known as Euronymous.
Until recently, it was a legacy that the genre couldn't shake. But now American bands such as Liturgy, Krallice, Absu, Leviathan, Wolves in the Throne Room, and Inquisition have left a fair amount of the pageantry behind--not to mention the violence--and helped to create a community, as well as a musical moment that is rife with activity...

Wolves in the Throne Room, who premiered a track at NPR, have also since received 'Best New Music' from Pitchfork.

Speaking of Liturgy, The Quietus recently interviewed Aaron Weaver of Wolves in the Throne Room . They discussed, among other things, Liturgy and its place amongst the "black metal elite": Aaron Weaver says:

"Wolves in the Throne Room has absolutely received the same kind of criticism, because over the years I've said the exact same thing [as Hunter regarding black metal's ability to be positive and optimistic]. That's something that I believe very strongly. I think that maybe the difference is that I've always said that we don't play black metal. I refer to Wolves in the Throne Room as a black metal band just sort of out of convenience. But I've also been really clear over the years that I do think that true black metal, which is a worthwhile and very powerful thing, does need to be negative. It does need to be rooted in the darkest aspects of the human experience - bitterness, negativity, hatred, violence, tribal warfare, mass murder, these sort of things lurk in the human experience, and it's always been there. And true black metal channels that incredibly destructive and insane and violent energy."

Liturgy's tour with Boris hits Irving Plaza later this month.

by BBG

The number one question from last night?

"Who is this playing?"

It may be hard to believe that anyone would go to a show without knowing who was on stage, but that was the case last night at Acheron where four bands from the Black Twilight Circle collective played (Dolorvotre, Kallathon, Shataan, Kuxan Suum) in addition to local greats Mutilation Rites.

To clarify, Black Twilight Circle is West Coast collective of bands that all deal in the dark arts, namely the different faces of black metal. The crew rose to prominence with material by Volahn and Ashdautas, whose members spun off other bands in the following years. One of the most fascinating aspects is that the BTC have kept it in the family, with the number of bands in the stable topping the number of members in the collective; individual members rotate from instrument to instrument depending on the band. This was the case on Monday night. Volahn is the single constant.

The most compelling material of the night though was fronted by Volahn, the soft-spoken and omni-present center of BTC. His vocals were the focus of both the opener Kuxan Suum and the closer Dolorvotre, the latter of which yielded a two guitar attack and were the tightest and most impressive band of the crew. The remainder of the touring bill featured Volahn either on drums (Kallathon, who were plagued with technical difficulty) or on bass (as part of Shataan), with the latter kicking off their almost-garage influenced set with a flute and a demand for "utter silence for this ritual".

Sandwiched in between sets by Kuxan Suum/Shataan and Kallathon/Dolorvotre were the great Mutilation Rites, whose thrash-y black metal power was a welcome break from the overwhelmingly-primitive black metal that was the focus of the evening. Not to say that Mutilation Rites are some glossy metal machine; this Brooklyn band shows their crusty roots but makes sure to keep it tight and well-oiled. Mutilation Rites is definitely a band to watch.

Missed it? The Black Twilight Circle will descend on The Charleston on 10/7 with the awesome Raspberry Bulbs in tow. You can also catch them that day on WFMU. More pictures from Acheron last night are below...

Continue reading "The Black Twilight Circle played Acheron (pics), playing the Charleston & WFMU"

photos by Tim Griffin, Keith Marlowe & BBG, words by BBG

After three amazing days in Austin (pictures from day 1 HERE and HERE, day 2 HERE and HERE, and day three HERE and HERE), most of which I spent at Emo's, Chaos in Tejas came to a close for me across two venues. Black metal posse Black Twilight Circle was holding a bit of a showcase at Red 7 outdoors (with Dolorvotre, Ashdautas, Volahn, Arizmenda, Blue Hummingbird on the Left, Shataan, and Axeman) which was pretty much comprised of a core of a few members who rotated instruments and added new members as the night went on. Volahn was definitely my favorite of the bunch, though I missed both Ashdautas and Dolorvotre.

Meanwhile, Emo's outdoors was hosting a mostly crust/punk lineup that oddly enough featured Baroness as a headliner. Opening with a set from the Czech Republic's See You In Hell, the night also featured sets from Chicago hardcore crew Manipulation, Brooklyn nihilistic faves Perdition, Australia's Teargas (who played NYC twice... with Doom and with Tragedy), and powerviolence greats Capitalist Casualties. Perdition and Capitalist Casualties were definitely my favorites of the night, though I enjoyed every set. See you next year!

Before I got my lazy ass out to the shows, Tim Griffin, Keith Marlowe, and Harriet Roberts were already at Red 7 checking out Dillinger Four with Fucked Up and many others, and they took pictures to prove it: HERE. The rest of the pictures of everything described above, are below....

Continue reading "Chaos in Tejas 2011 in pics & review (part 7)"

by BBG

Rorschach at The Charleston (more by Ryan Muir)

Last year's jaw-dropping lineup at Chaos In Tejas was sick, and 2010 is proving to be no different. For four days across four different Austin venues, May 27th to the 30th at Emo's, Mohawk, Red 7 and Beerland, the festival will offer some of the most impressive names in the independent/underground scene including the indestructible Rorschach, the first ever US appearance from Australian punk greats X, a one-time reunion of Japanese crust-core band Bastard, the quirky cutesy indie pop-punk of Grass Widow, Gehenna (who just played A389), Subhumans, Bastard Noise (who have a new record), Bone Awl, BV faves Jeff The Brotherhood, The Spits, Psychedelic Horseshit, Ty Segall, The Ponys, Iron Lung (who recently played Cake Shop), Poison Idea, Inquisition, and many many many others.

In addition to the obvious mayhem that will ensue over the four days, Chaos in Tejas will also showcase art from some of the scene's most interesting names including Tim Kerr (of Big Boys), Winston Smith (responsible for tons of collage work, including the Dead Kennedys best album art), and Bryan Ray Turcotte (best known for his book Fucked Up and Photocopied).

The full (and intimidating) list is below...

Continue reading "Chaos in Tejas 2010 (May 27-30) - intial lineup (Rorschach, Bastard reunion, Spits, Bone Awl, Ty Segall, much more)"

by Black Bubblegum

it hasn't turned out to be a disaster on the level of Blackenedfest, but the current CIII tour has had it's fair share of ups and downs. First Averse Sefira dropped off and were subsequently replaced by Rumplestiltskin Grinder. Then French Black Metallers Glorior Belli drop off. That said, Absu is still prepared to destroy NYC with Sothis (and Rumplestiltskin Grinder) this Sunday (6/21) at BB King's. tickets are still available.

In addition to Sunday's show, tonight's sold out gig at Fontana's (6/19) will offer a rare live glimpse into the black metal underground with the first EVER US show by Quebecois BMer Akitsa crossing paths with Bone Awl, Ashdautas, and Volahn.

Absu is currently touring off of their first LP in 8 years, and first to feature an entirely new lineup save for drummer/vocalist Proscriptor McGovern. In addition to the CIII tour, the band has lined up an appearance at Hostile City Deathfest with Deicide, Vital Remains, Monstrosity, Anal Cunt, Fuck The Facts and many many others.

Glorior Belli recently added a new drummer and has a new album out NOW, Meet Us At The Southern Sign.

Anal Cunt & Fuck The Facts will join Copremesis, Gwynbleidd and Locrian for Show No Mercy on July 5th. Stay tuned for some VERY exciting announcements regarding Show No Mercy August!

Check out the Seldon Hunt-designed flyer for Show No Mercy, all Absu tour dates, and a few Absu videos below...

Continue reading "Absu Sunday, Akitsa & Bone Awl tonight -- a black metal weekend in NYC ++ other tour dates "

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Minsk - "Three Moons" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Magrudergrind - "Excommunicated" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Magrudergrind - "Lyrical Ammunition For Scene Warfare" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Afgrund - "Klinisk Digital Kyla" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Afgrund - "Borja Fran Noll" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Thou - "Into The Void" (Black Sabbath cover, MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Thou - "Sweet Leaf" (Black Sabbath cover, MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Thou - "Lord Of This World" (Black Sabbath cover, MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Thou - "Black Sabbath" (Black Sabbath cover, MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Black Pyramid - "Visions of Gehenna" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Gnaw Their Tongues - "Rife with Deep Teeth Marks" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Complete Failure - Heal No Evil (ZIPPED MP3 Album)

Lots of ground to cover, since we missed ya last week, so lets get right to it with the mighty Minsk! The Chicagoan's new album With Echoes In The Movement Of Stone is out now, and it definitely delivers on the promises of The Ritual Fires of Abandonment. Highly recommended, as evidenced by the monstrosity "Three Moons" available for download above!

At The Charleston on 5/29, I managed to catch the pummeling Magrudergrind along with the equally awesome powerviolence of The Endless Blockade. The pair are touring surrounding their MDF appearance, and while TEB doesn't have a new album out, Magrudergrind DOES; a self-titled LP available now via Willowtip! Cop that here, and cop a pair of songs from the record above!

Also up at Willowtip, the new LPs by Defeatist and Afgrund! The new Defeatist LP, Sharp Blade Sinks Deep Into Dull Minds, is actually a compilation of previous EPs and other releases, but definitely provides a good preview as to what these grinders are about before their new LP drops (soon). Meanwhile Afgrund's new LP, Vid Helvetets Grindar, is also on preorder. Check out the band's deathgrind-y groove on tracks like "Klinisk Digital Kyla", "Borja Fran Noll", both downloadable above.

Check out two noteworthy streams... Khanate's Clean Hands Go Foul and Xasthur's All Reflections Drained. Both albums are out NOW via Hydra Head Records. In the meantime, check out an awesome interview with James Plotkin of Khanate and make sure and buy that Khanate hunting knife too!

Goes Cube are finally home from their tour promoting the massive Another Day Has Passed. Their "homecoming show" is scheduled for tonight (6/5) at Union Hall with The Detachment Kit amd The Thin Man. Tickets are still available.

Ancestors have completed recording their follow-up to last year's Neptune With Fire. Featuring four songs, and three interludes, I had a chance to preview a few tracks which are definitely as epic as their previous material, and just as compelling. Look for Sera Timms from Black Math Horseman and David Scott Stone to make an apperance on the as-yet untitled LP, and look for more news very soon!

A member of Pelican and a member of Tombs have agreed to a "bro tat" commemorating their current tour together. So what you say? YOU can decide what it is! Pictures from their recent show together at Irving Plaza are HERE in case you missed them.

Iron Age and Sex Vid are in town this weekend. More info, dates, and an MP3 from Iron Age's Tee Pee Records debut, HERE.

Liturgy have been added to our Northside Festival showcase. Howl have been added to the roster of Relapse Records, and we just got word that so were Black Anvil!

Black Pyramid has released their new self-titled LP on the doom stable Meteor City Records. While vocalist Andy Beresky comes off sounding like J.D. Cronise at times (NOT a bad thing), these Massachusetts boys definitely are in a whole different category than The Sword. With an ability to balance their bombastic blues riffs with stylistic touches of the greats (ie Electric Wizard, Sleep, Pentagram, etc) without sounding derivative, check out a video for Black Pyramid's "And The Gods Made War/Visions of Gehenna" below and download "Visions of Gehenna" above! Full BP tour dates are below, including their appearance at the Stoner Hands Of Doom Festival.

That video and Thou, Indian, Ulver, Brutal Truth, Wolves In The Throne Room, Municipal Waste, and Narrows as This Week In Metal Continues...

Continue reading "This Week In METAL (06/05/09)"