by Bill Pearis, Fred Pessaro and Andrew Sacher

Savages @ CMJ 2012 (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

SXSW gets underway today (3/13) in earnest, with 83,207 bands* playing SXSW this year. Trying to figure out who to see can be an overwhelming feeling. (Actually, just standing on 6th St. on Friday night is an overwhelming feeling.) Hopefully this post will give you some inspiration if you're among the throngs of people. Or maybe just some new stuff to listen to if you're not there.

Of course you could just hang out at all our day parties (our first starts at noon today!) and evening showcases, as we're really proud of our line-ups. But there are bands who we are pumped to see who aren't playing too. So here are 40 bands we're genuinely pumped to see in Austin this week. We made a Spotify playlist of all the bands (at least the ones on the service) you can stream below.

Check out our list below...

*not the actually number of showcasing bands. But it feels accurate.

Continue reading "40 artists we're excited to see at SXSW"

John Baizley at Union Transfer (more by Maclyn Bean)

Baroness, Bitter End, Coliseum, Culo, Cut Hands, Soul Search and Waste Management are the latest batch of additions to the 2013 iteration of Chaos in Tejas, joining names as varied as Bolt Thrower, Manilla Road, Terveet Kadet, Framtid, Andy Stott, The Marked Men, The Damned, The Bats, Iceage and many more. The fest happens May 30 - June 2. Full lineup is below and tickets are still available.

In addition to the festival, Chaos in Tejas will ALSO host at least a pair of shows during SXSW including an unofficial show at Beerland on Thursday night with Blundertown (3/14) featuring Wiccans, The Spits (who play the BV day party on Thurs), Off with their Heads, Waxahachee, Meat Market, Virals and Rough Francis (who also play a BV day party). Then look for Chaos in Tejas to split Red 7 along with Relapse on Saturday 3/16, bringing along another eclectic lineup that includes Iron Lung and Big Freedia. Wow. Flyers are below.

As mentioned, John Baizley of Baroness plays his ONLY solo show at North Door on 3/16, part of the Invisible Oranges/BrooklynVegan official SXSW showcase.

Chaos line-up and SXSW flyers below...

Continue reading "Chaos in Tejas lineup expands again, announces SXSW shows"

The Damned at Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011 (more by Fred Pessaro // BBG)

Chaos in Tejas has announced yet another round of bands, including  The Damned, Gehenna (who play next weekend in NYC with Catharsis), Tragedy, Rotten Sound, Rival Mob, New Zealand's The Bats, Andy Stott, Power Trip, Hoax (who play NYC this weekend), Iceage (who have a new song/tour coming), Anhedonist, Akitsa, Parquet Courts and many more. Full list of names are below, which join the previously announced names like Bolt Thrower, Infest, Abigail, Integrity, Iron Lung (who play DBA soon), Final Conflict, Manilla Road, Merchandise, Milk Music, Total Control, and many many more.

The announcement comes on the same day that passes for the Austin festival, which happens May 30 - June 2,  go on sale. Passes are on sale.

Continue reading "Chaos in Tejas lineup expands again, adds The Damned, Tragedy, The Bats, Gehenna ++ more"

Merchandise at WIERD, September 2012 (more by Phil Maler)

Freelance writer and DJ Maria Sherman gave us a list of her favorites of 2012, including top shows and her favorite label. Check out her list below.

On that list is Merchandise's performance at 538 Johnson, one of the few early performances to feature now-permanent drummer Elsner Nino (also of Shoxx). The new-look Merchandise will perform twice at 285 Kent this week, including tonight's show WITH Night Sins, Pharmakon, Herzog Rising AND Shoxx.

Maria Sherman's Best of 2012 and a video of Merchandise from 538 Johnson earlier this year, below...

Continue reading "Merchandise are now with drummer; Maria Sherman tells us her Favorites From 2012 (Merchandise with drummer included)"

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)"

Chaos in Tejas 2013 (5/30 - 6/2) expands yet again with some mammoth additions to their lineup! Among today's announcements are names like Framtid (from Japan, playing their first and only US show!), Infest (who are also playing MDF), Total Control, the Men, Iron Lung, the Marked Men, Effluxus, Absu, Mammoth Grinder, Mitochondrion, Screaming Females, Step Forward, UV Race, Wiccans and Wrathprayer.

Full lineup so far is below, with 100+ bands still TBA. The announcement comes on the heels of last month's batch of bands that included Bolt Thrower, Final Conflict, Abigail, Manilla Road, and more. Ticketing info for the  weekend are forthcoming.

Check out the current Chaos lineup, as well as releated video, below.

Continue reading "Chaos in Tejas 2013 announces more bands (Framtid, Infest, Total Control, UV Race, Screaming Females + more)"

by Fred Pessaro // BBG

Vektor

Thrash crew Vektor will hit the road for a string of US tour dates that includes a stop in NYC at Saint Vitus on August 12 with Bezoar and more TBA. Tickets are on sale. Vektor's Outer Isolation was a favorite amongst the thrash-y prog set. Fans of Voivod (check their logo, clearly), take note.

Denton, TX hardcore crew Wiccans will hit NYC for a pair of shows at Tommys Tavern on 8/8 with Deformity, Radiation, Bastard Deceiver & Dead Reich and Acheron on 8/9 with Warthog, Nuclear Spring, Altered Boys and Shoxx. Download the latest Wiccans LP Skullduggery via mediafire and look for the new LP Field II soon via Katorga Works.

In addition to the previously discussed and now sold out Santos show, Gojira have added a show at The Studio at Webster Hall on 8/14 with Car Bomb. Tickets are on sale.

Two weeks worth of Evillive-approved shows and Vektor tour dates are listed below, along with streams and video.

Continue reading "Evillive (Vektor, Wiccans, another Gojira show & more)"

by Fred Pessaro // BBG

Zyanose

Japanese noise punks Zyanose will play NYC on November 10th at Acheron, joining a bill that includes the great Perdition, Truncheons, Zatsuon, Nomad and Bortgang. Details, including ticket price, are forthcoming. D-Clone will also hit the road for an East Coast tour a month prior, hitting Acheron on October 6th and a second show on October 11th.

Wiccans have released a new track from their upcoming Field II LP due on Katorga Works. Stream that below, and look for the on sale once it hits at the KW site.

Scott Kelly is preparing to release a new LP, The Forgiven Ghost In Me, via Neurot Records on August 14th. The venture, dubbed Scott Kelly & The Road Home, sees him teaming with Noah Landis (Neurosis) and Greg Dale.

I'm doing up the Pitchfork Fest this weekend but  there are two week's worth of Evillive-approved shows below, along with a new video from Japan's Slang, and a stream of new Hessian material (mems Amenra). What did I miss?

Continue reading "Evillive (Zyanose, Scott Kelly, Slang, Hessian)"

by BBG

Members of Torche and Asshole Parade converge to form Post Teens, a five piece punk crew welcoming their new The Heat EP on June 5th via No Idea. Clocking in at a short-but-sweet six minutes over as many songs, Post Teens mine the snotty melodic punk territory occupied by current favorites like The Spits and recently seen on the latest Toys That Kill record. Stream the title track for the first time below. The new EP is the follow-up to last-year's debut 7" which hit via Sound Study Recordings and features "Fucked Up Perception", available in video form below.

Post Teens are on the road in late May with the great Mauser, playing a string fo dates on their way toward Chaos in Tejas on June 2nd, where they'll team up with Dopamines, Joyce Manor (who recently played NYC), Shoppers, Wiccans and Creem (who have a new 12" due via Deranged) for a whopper of a show at Scoot Inn.

All tour dates, those Post Teens streams, and a full album stream of the new Creem LP are below.

Continue reading "Post Teens ready new EP for No Idea (stream a new song)"

by BBG

Saint Vitus @ Irving Plaza in 2011 (more by BBG)

Chaos in Tejas (May 31-June 3 in Austin) have announced ANOTHER batch of bands to add to their ridiculous lineup including Saint Vitus, Church of Misery, No Statik, Toys That Kill, Pegasus, Martial Canterel, Anasazi, Bloodwing (mems of The Spits, who are on tour soon), Harm's Way, Hatred Surge, the Hex Dispensers, John Wesley Coleman, Joyce Manor, and many many others. The current full lineup and flyer is below and tickets are FINALLY going on sale TODAY (1/31).

Doom legends Saint Vitus are currently preparing their new LP Lillie: F-65 for Season of Mist. The record, their eighth and first in seventeen years (!), is tentatively set for release at the end of March. More details are forthcoming.

In related news, members of Mind Eraser also serve as personnel in Magic Circle, another Chaos in Tejas band. Look for Magic Circle to team with Pilgrim (who we recently interviewed), Windhand, and Natur at Public Assembly on March 1st.

The updated Chaos in Tejas lineup is below along with the flyer.

Continue reading "Chaos in Tejas 2012 expands again; tickets on sale today"

by BBG

Dropdead at Europa (more by Keith Marlowe)

Chaos in Tejas have announced another round of bands for their 2012 shindig (first round here), including rare appearances from legendary post-hardcore band Moss Icon (a one-time only reunion), as well as Japan's Reality Crisis and Skizophrenia (their only US dates), and repeat offenders/favorites like Dropdead, Municipal Waste, Midnight, Ares Kingdom, Puerto Rico Flowers, Xeno & Oaklander, Thou, the Rival Mob, Boston Strangler, Crazy Spirit, Brain Killer, Power Trip, Wiccans (who just played one of the final shows at Emo's), and many many others. A full list of additions and the new flyer is below.

Since the original announcement, two previously announced bands have dropped off the original lineup: Mexican black metal band Nyogthaeblisz disappeared from the lineup after their anti-Islamic/Semitic/Abrahamic stance and involvement in known NSBM (National Socialist) label Satanic Skinhead was pointed out by a few blogs. That led to Antisect and The Mob even threatening to not play. Word then spread that Disma's Craig Pillard released nazi-glorifying records under the name Sturmfuhrer. Disma then dropped out as well due to "the drama" that ensued. Craig would not comment on the matter, but other members of Disma say he has changed.

In related news, Thou will hit the road for a string of dates with The Body this week on the West Coast. Both bands will also be at the inaugural Gilead Media festival (chaired by the Gilead Media label) in Oshkosh, Wi on 4/28 and 4/29 which will feature appearances from (in alphabetical order) Arms Aloft, Aseethe, Ash Borer, Baby Boy, Darger + Plague Mother, False, Fell Voices, Get Rad, Hell, Loss, Mutilation Rites, Northless, Protestant, A Scanner Darkly, and Sleepwalker. More details are available at the site.

All tour dates, new additions to Chaos in Tejas, and the show flyer is all below.

Continue reading "Chaos in Tejas adds bands & loses some due to controversy; Gilead Media launches festival"