by BBG

Crowbar at Santos (more by Samantha Marble)

As discussed, the "Metalliance" tour will join Helmet (who will play all of Meantime) with Saint Vitus and Crowbar. Tickets are currently on sale for the NYC stop which will hit Irving Plaza on March 25th with additional openers Howl, Red Fang, and The Atlas Moth (and even more bands TBA). The full lineup for the entire tour will be revealed in one week, but until then you can check out the routing below.

Meanwhile Kirk Windstein of Crowbar will be back in NYC to play Nokia Theater on April 28th and in NJ at Starland Ballroom on April 30th as part of Down. Tickets go on AMEX presale at 10AM on 1/26 and regular sale at noon on 1/28 for Nokia, and at noon on 1/28 for Starland Ballroom.

Down's Jimmy Bower will play Europa on Feb 18th as part of Eyehategod. Tickets are still available for the show which includes Misery Index, Magrudergrind, Strong Intention & Mutilation Rites.

Don't forget that Crowbar's new LP Sever The Wicked Hand will hit store shelves on February 8th via E1 Music. Tour dates and some videos below...

Continue reading "NYC Metalliance date on sale ++ Down announce shows"

by BBG

Kirk on stage with Down at Nokia Theater (more by Nathaniel Shannon)

Metalsucks: I guess first thing's first, man: how are you? I know you've been to rehab recently. Is that something that you're still involved in?

It's actually not rehab. I'm in AA and attending meetings. Today is the 48th day, so I'm feeling good, man.

Congratulations. That's great. Was this something that you were coming to terms with for awhile?

Thank you. It's all good. Yeah, totally, it's been difficult. It's one of those things when I'm at home I'm fine. I play in three bands, and this past summer was overkill. I went to Europe four times between the beginning of April and the end of July: twice with Crowbar and twice with Down. I had other problems in the past - cocaine and whatever. That hasn't been an issue for over a year, thank god. Little by little, when I'm at home everything is fine. I might drink some beer at night, but I don't get drunk or anything. I go to the gym, workout, I'm on a schedule and everything's cool. If I don't have the responsibility of a gig everyday, I end up (out of boredom and loneliness) drinking to pass the boredom basically. It got to be too much, man. This has got to stop. You know?

Kirk is currently finishing up the new Crowbar LP, which will see release on E1 next year. The 12 track effort will be the band's first release since 2005's Lifesblood for the Downtrodden. Windstein is also featured on the recently released Diary Of A Mad Band set by Down, which features two-disc document of a show in London and a 130-minute DVD as well chronicling the history of the band. Down is Kirk, Phil Anselmo (Pantera), Jimmy Bower (Eyehategod), Rex Brown (Pantera), and Pepper Keenan (of Corrosion of Conformity, but not Animosity COC, who recently played NYC).

All dates and some videos below...

Continue reading "a more sober Crowbar touring w/ Black Tusk (2010 dates) "

words by Black Bubblegum, photos by Nathaniel Shannon

Down recently released the following statement:

"This past week Philip Anselmo did an interview with writer Dave Wedge of the Boston Herald... Within the article Mr. Wedge made some statements that are falsehoods and we wanted to clear it up before the rumor mill starts turning.

First off, Mr. Wedge states that 'Down has no plans to record after this tour.' This is absolutely untrue. The band will be writing and recording for a release in 2010.

Secondly he states, 'Rex Brown, who also played in Pantera, has left the band for personal reasons.' This is categorically and unequivocally untrue. As you all know Rex did not join this tour due to imminent health concerns. As Philip states on stage every night, Rex is the bass player in Down and will continue to be...

"We hope this clears up any questions anyone may have had." -[Blabbermouth]

Unfortunately, no pics of Weedeater or Evil Army from this show, but dig on more Down & Melvins shots below. Full tour dates, as well as a video of Down performing the Van Halen classic "Ain't Talkin' Bout Love" also below...

Continue reading "Down played Nokia Theatre w/ Melvins (pics), writing & recording for a release in 2010 & stuff"

photos by Paul Birman

As we made kind of obvious and then confirmed yesterday, Weedeater were the special guest at last night's Laptop of Satan / Naam show at The Charleston in Brooklyn (9/10). Weedeater are currently ona tour with Down, The Melvins and Evil Army which hits Nokia Theatre in NYC TONIGHT (9/11). From there the tour continues, but without one of the bands on Saturday (sorry Philly). That's when The Melvins make a pitstop in upstate NY to perform at ATP. On Sunday they all rejoin in Boston.

Naam have more NYC shows coming up too - one for CMJ, and other with Om.

More pictures from last night's intimate show, below...

Continue reading "'special guest' Weedeater joined Naam & Lapdog of Satan @ The Charleston (pics), play w/ Down & Melvins TONIGHT"

words by Black Bubblegum, photos by Justina Villanueva

Goatwhore @ Gramercy! (July 23, 2009)

The legendary dark sons of southern hatemongering, Eyehategod, will trudge their way through the swampy muck of the Lousiana lowlands towards the Northeast where they will team up with Goatwhore and Strong Intention for a trio of dates. One of those dates will include Pig Destroyer on Oct 24th as part of a Rocks Off Boat Cruise in NYC!!! Tickets go on sale today (8/3) at noon. All dates below.

Goatwhore, winners of my award for "favorite band with the least favorite name", has a particularly amazing pedigree of former members of Acid Bath as well as current members of Soilent Green (which in turn shares members with EHG). Dax Riggs (of solo and Deadboy & The Elephantmen fame) was also a member of Acid Bath.

Goatwhore released the mega-Carving Out The Eyes Of God earlier this year and the band recently played (7/23) Gramercy Theater in NYC with Abigail Williams, SWAATS, Abysmal Dawn, and Daath. Pics from that show are above and below.

Meanwhile, EHG affiliated projects are going full speed ahead. NOLA supergroup Down (with Jimmy Bower of EHG) is hitting the road with Melvins & Weedeater (Nokia on Sept 11, tix here).

Pig Destroyer played NYC on July 31 with Repulsion & Brutal Truth. Those pics are forthcoming, but dig on a killer three way interview done between the guys here.

Other bands who recently announced boat shows include Deer Tick and Dead Meadow.

Pics and dates below...

Continue reading "Eyehategod tour dates including a Rocks Off boat in NYC w/ Pig Destroyer & Goatwhore (who played Gramercy - pics)"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Weedeater - "God Luck & Good Speed" (MP3)

It's official... As previously discussed, Down, Melvins, and Weedeater WILL team up for a tour with Canada getting Voivod (!!!) while the US will split Danava and Evil Army (NYC gets Evil Army). Tickets for the Nokia Theater show on 9/11 are on sale and full tour dates are below.

Southern doom gods Weedeater recently released their 2007 album God Luck & Good Speed on LP via Southern Lord. Dixie Dave of Weedeater first came into the public eye as a member of the legendary southern doom troupe Buzzov*en, but went on to play bass in Bongzilla and his cousin T-Roy's band Sourvein before forming Weedeater. Dixie Dave also plays with Hail! Hornet with T-Roy.

Voivod, who counts former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted as a studio member, released their final album Infini on Relapse last week. The album marks the final release for the band and the last material written by founding member Dennis "Piggy" D'Amour before his untimely passing.

Phil Anselmo's (of Down) bandmate in Arson Anthem (with Mike Williams of Eyehategod) and the now-defunct Superjoint Ritual, Hank III, recently played Music Hall of Williamsburg.

Bassist Bones of Evil Army recently passed away.

Full Weedeater tour dates as well as a video of "Downava", aka Down + Danava below...

Continue reading "Weedeater IS touring w/ Down/Melvins (& Evil Army) (dates)"

by Black Bubblegum

EyehateAnselmo: Mike "IX" Williams and Phil Anselmo at Hellfest in France (vivosi8)

They should call this tour Eyehatebigbusinesspornconformity with a crowbar, ritually.... As discussed, Down is hitting the road with the Melvins. That tour will hit NYC on September 11th with a show at the Nokia Theater in Times Square. Tickets go on AMEX presale today/Wednesday 6/24 at 10am, with regular Joes/Janes gettin' theirs on Friday at noon. All dates, with more likely to be announced, below.

Although there is no official indication that the Down tour will also feature long-rumored touring partner Weedeater, their merch company (which also happens to be Ryan Patterson of Coliseum) writes that "WEEDEATER joins MELVINS and DOWN for an incredible package tour in July". Maybe they meant September. We'll let you know when we get official word! In the meantime, Weedeater is playing NYC on July 9th at Cake Shop (CANCELLED), one of a few confirmed dates that the band has laid out for the coming months. All dates below.

In related news, Phil Anselmo's ex-bandmate in Superjoint Ritual and Arson Anthem, Hank III, is currently on the road with his band Assjack and will be at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Wed 6/24. Tickets are still available. Assjack (Hank III's death metal band) is touring to promote their upcoming debut album due via Curb Records on Aug 4th. All dates below.

Just one day after Melvins play the stages of Nokia, the band will play to an entirely different crowd up at Kutscher's for ATP New York. ATP New York's lineup also includes Autolux and Sleepy Sun, as well as Boredoms, Boss Hog, Deerhunter, No Age, and many more. Tickets are available here.

Down recently played Hellfest in Clisson, France along with Eyehategod, Torche, Amebix, and many many others. Phil Anselmo (of Down, Pantera) joined Eyehategod on stage to perform "Sisterfucker" from their classic LP Take As Needed For Pain.

Kylesa also played Hellfest SANS founder/guitarist Philip Cope, who is having passport issues and will join the band by next week. Video of that Cope-less performance is below.

Torche are coming to NYC soon too, and with Harvey Milk. Tickets are still available for their show at Music Hall Of Williamsburg on July 26th.

All tour dates and live videos of Weedeater and Down below...

Continue reading "Melvins tour w/ Down (and Weedeater?), play NYC (tix) before ATP NY ++ Hank III tour w/ Assjack (dates) & more"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Celeste - Misanthrope(s) LP (Zipped MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Ulcerate - "Caecus" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Ulcerate - "Tyranny" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Black September - "Purification" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Bloody Panda - "Miserere" (Excerpt) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Oak & Bone - "Build Walls" (MP3)

Ulcerate

Back to bludgeon.... it's This Week in Metal! This week, we kick things off with a death metal record that is currently in high rotation, Ulcerate's searing new LP Everything is Fire. Out NOW via Willowtip, check out a pair of MP3s from that LP available above. This New Zealand band are able to hit that seemingly impossible sweet-spot where brutality meets technicality and melody meets dissonance. Highly recco'd!

Bloody Panda is back a new LP due on Profound Lore, Summon. Due August 11, the band will release a CD/DVD for Summon which will include seven tracks, one of which ("Miserere", an excerpt above) is interpreted visually on DVD. Yoshiko Ohara, their signature vocalist and a known visual artist, is responsible for the cover art. The DVD was shot, in Brooklyn and Indonesia, and edited by band members Bryan Camphire, Blake McDowell, and Josh Rothenberger. Josh also told us that...

the whole DVD project came about through our collaboration with Cave dance studio on Grand St. in Williamsburg. It was there that we met Berlin-based Butoh dancer Yuko Kaseki a few years ago. We Asked her to dance to one of our tunes last year, and then shot most of the DVD at Cave with her last August/Septemeber.

Fresh off of a triumphant set at Maryland Deathfest, Asphyx is back and will domestically release their new album, Death...The Brutal Way via Ibex Moon. Due September 1st, the record will also be released in a limited edition version with a live DVD, Live at Party.San Open Air Festival 2007. Asphyx recently welcomed Martin van Drunen (Pestilence, Hail of Bullets, Bolt Thrower) back into the fold after his departure 17 years ago.

Black September, who first came onto my radar via their work with Thou and Winters In Osaka, has a new 7" out NOW, The Sermon of Vengeance. Mastered at The Boiler Room by Collin Jordan (Nachtmystium, Minsk), check out "Purification", one of two new tracks by the black metal punks from The Sermon of Vengeance above and order that 7", as well as other releases here.

Pelican's new EP, the tour only CD Ephemeral, is out on 12" at Southern Lord packaged with a Seldon Hunt designed tee. In addition, Earth's previously rare Radio/Live LP is available via Southern Lord as well.

Filth-ridden hardcore is the order of business for Syracuse's Oak & Bone, a badge the band wears with pride on their debut 7" out NOW via Hex Records (one time home to Ed Gein, Engineer, Playing Enemy, and Cursed). Check out "Build Walls" from that 7" above. The crew recently played NYC with another fave of mine, crusty black-metal punks Infernal Stronghold, and are prepping to release a split 7" with Like Wolves on Barbarossa Records. Pick up their debut 7" and look for that split!

Anaal Nathrakh's Mick Kenney is back with his former bandmates in Mistress to resurrect Fukpig, who released their last LP Nuclear Apocalypse in 2003. Pick up Spewings From A Selfish Nation before it's gone (100 copies total!). Anaal Nathrakh's In The Constellation Of The Black Widow is out June 26th via Candellight. Preorder the vinyl at Mick/Shane Embury's FETO records.

A preview of that Fukpig, as well as news on Down touring with Melvins(!!!) Jucifer, Celeste, Mastodon, Clutch, and much more below...

Continue reading "This Week In METAL (06/16/09)"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Outlaw Order - "Siege Mentality" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Soilent Green - "Antioxidant" (MP3)

Outlaw Order, aka Eyehategod sans Jimmy Bower (also of Down), have announced a show at Europa on Mar 24th with If He Dies, He Dies. Tickets are on sale. More tour dates below.

Outlaw Order and another Eyehategod side-project, Soilent Green, released excellent records in 2008. Soilent Green's Inevitable Collapse in the Presence of Conviction earned an honorable mention as best of 2008, and to be perfectly honest, Outlaw Order's Dragging Down The Enforcer barely missed my cut. Check out "Siege Mentality" and "Antioxidant" available for download above.

Eyehategod have two shows on the calendar: Feb 29th at The Bar in Metairie in their native Louisiana, and a headlining spot at the Los Angeles Murderfest. No New York love. Los Bastardos!

Mike IX Williams (of EHG and 00%) was recently interviewed by Bloodlust where he discussed, among many other things, his role at Phil Anselmo's Housecore Records. Housecore signees Evil Army recently lost their bassist (RIP).

In 2006, Soilent Green also shared a split with Sulaco, who was one of the recent additions to NYC's Auditory Assault Festival.

All dates below...

Continue reading "Outlaw Order shows, Eyehategod, MP3s & stuff"

Crystal Castles @ MHOW - New Years Eve (more by Ryan Muir)

Al Green @ the Wellmont Theater - Nov 2008 (more by Eric M Townsend)

Superfly Productions and A.C. Entertainment are excited to announce the initial lineup for the 2009 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. The eighth annual four-day camping and music festival will be held on June 11 - 14 on the same beautiful 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, 60 miles south of Nashville. Every year Bonnaroo seeks to make history by offering unique and exclusive performances by rock's greatest legends as well as its most significant newcomers. A full list of confirmed acts follows, and more will be announced in the coming weeks. The final Bonnaroo 2009 lineup will total over 120 bands and over 20 comedians performing on 13 stages over four days. Tickets go on sale exclusively through www.bonnaroo.com on Saturday, February 7 at 12:00 PM Eastern.

Coachella announced their initial lineup less than a week earlier.

Metallica played Bonnaroo in 2008. Metallica played NY & NJ this past weekend.

Full (initial) 2009 Bonnaroo lineup below...

Continue reading "Bonnaroo announces initial 2009 lineup (Bruce Springsteen, Phish, Beastie Boys, NIN, Wilco, Animal Collective...)"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: -16- - "So Broken Down" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Obscura - "Universe Momentum" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: JODIS - "Continents" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Satyricon - "The Sign Of The Trident" (MP3)

Happy New Year and Welcome Back to The Week In Metal! We took some time away, but believe me, the hate only grew STRONGER.

Wolves In The Throne Room have emerged from the dark forests of the Pacific Northwest to announce a pair of new releases and drop more details on their previously announced upcoming live LP, Live At Roadburn 08! First up, the Malevolent Grain EP will hit Southern Lord with a 180-gram LP bang, with Conspiracy Records dropping a small pressing of picture discs for the record (a limited batch of CDs will be available on tour). Then on March 31st, the band will drop Black Cascade their new full-length on Southern Lord! Both Malevolent Grain and Black Cascade were recorded by Randall Dunn/Mell Dettmer and are the first to feature new guitarist (former touring member) Will Lindsay of ex-Middian / Age Eternal fame. In addition, WITTR's Live at Roadburn 08 will be released with a companion DVD available with the first pressing of 500 copies, with 150 coming in gold vinyl with a silkscreen. Full WITTR tour dates are below, including their date at Scion Rock Fest.

Obscura, an astonishing tech-death band from Deutchland that may or may not be named after the classic Gorguts LP, are streaming a trio of new tracks from massive and recommended upcoming LP Cosmogenesis. Relapse has been kind enough to allow one of those tracks to be made available here for download... check out "Universe Momentum" available above! Cosmogenesis impacts on Feb 17th.

Tombs is pulling double duty on Feb 21st, having scheduled a day show at ABC No Rio with Black Anvil, Woe, and Bastard Sapling and a Winter Hours Record Release show with Defeatist, Engineer, and The Wayward later that night at Death By Audio. Winter Hours is due on Feb 17th via Relapse.

YOB have announced that they will hit the studio in late March with Sanford Parker to record their new album of "5 songs hitting about the 60+ minute mark". Look for it to surface in late summer 2009. In the meantime, Northwesterners can catch the band at their first reunion gig on 2/28 at The Ash Street Saloon in Portland, Oregon.

Shrinebuilder

Shrinebuilder is in progress! The band blogged through the weekend as they completed recording of their debut album for Neurot.

The previously announced Down/Weedeater/Evil Army tour has been postponed.

With a tagline like "2 stages + 2 days = Total Brutality", you better f'n deliver. That said, The LA Murder Fest will turn those sunny California skies black on May 9th & 10th when Coffins, Landmine Marathon, Ghoul, Stormcrow, Agenda of Swine, and Lack of Interest hit the stages of The Knitting Factory in Hollywood! Also on the bill are sickening sludgemeisters -16-, who's new record Bridges To Burn drops on Jan 20th. Check out "So Broken Down" available for download above from the record and to all y'all left coasters, support the band when they hit the road with Giant Squid! Tour schedule is below.
General Surgery will also report for duty at the LA Murderfest, and recently announced the release of their split with Butcher ABC. Look for it on CD via Obliteration Records on January 11 (email grindrock@hotmail.com for a copy) and limited-to-1,000 LP in February via Living Dead Society/Coperaction Records (email unsane_crisis@hotmail.com for a copy). The band will also hit the road with Ghoul following the Murderfest and leading up to Maryland Death Fest (thx SMNNews). Full tour dates are below.

Malkuth, an absolutely killer black metal band featuring members of No Neck Blues Band, have scheduled a show on 1/25 at Public Assembly with Villians, Castevet, and Ipsissimus. Malkuth recently released Mutus Liber out on Hospital Productions and are prepping their second LP for the label.

Converge have scheduled a show at Europa on March 27th! Tickets are on sale. Converge has been added to the Scion Rock Festival in Atlanta... yet one more reason to go! (Thanks Chris!)

Also recently added at Europa, Young Widows will team up with The Austerity Program, My Disco, and Tournament for a show on April 1st! Ticket info is forthcoming, full Young Widows tour dates below. Tournament is lined up to play with Kylesa, Tombs, and Black Anvil at The Charleston.

Satyricon's new record The Age of Nero drops on Jan 13th via KOCH Records, and I have to say that I definitely enjoyed it a hell of alot more than Now, Diabolical. Check out the video for "Black Crow On a Tombstone" below and dig on "The Sign Of The Trident", which the band has made available for download above! Satyricon will hit the road opening for Cradle of Filth at Starland Ballroom on Jan 15th (tix here) and have scheduled an NYC date at Nokia Theater on Feb 27th (tix here).

That Satyricon video, Mastodon, Khanate, Burnt By The Sun, Dillinger Escape Plan, Coliseum, Amenra, Pestilence and more as The Week In Metal continues...

Continue reading "This Week In METAL (01/13/09)"

by Black Bubblegum

Anselmo, Keenan, Windstein, Bower & Brown are totally Down

Tennessee thrashers Evil Army are reporting that they will open for Down, Hank III and Weedeater during tour in the middle of Feb through March, including a date in Sayreville, NJ on March 2nd. Ticket info for the Starland Ballroom show is currently unavailable.

UPDATE: Now the word is that Hank III is not on this tour anymore

UPDATE 2: This whole tour has been postponed.

Down is a crew of southern metal all-stars, including Phil Anselmo (Pantera, Superjoint Ritual, Arson Anthem, etc), Kirk Windstein (Crowbar, Kingdom of Sorrow), Rex Brown (Pantera), Pepper Keenan (Corrosion Of Conformity), and Jimmy Bower (eyehategod).

In semi-related news, Jimmy Bower is the only member of eyehategod not to participate in Outlaw Order, who released their superfantabulous Dragging Down The Enforcer in late Nov 2008. Vocalist Mike IX Williams recently told Decibel that Outlaw Order will tour in 2009, so we'll also watch out for that.

Down opened for Metallica at a few dates in 2008, but won't be in the house when Metallica play sold-out shows at Nassau Coliseum (Jan 29th) and Prudential Center in Newark (Jan 31st & Feb 1st). Openers for those shows are Machine Head and The Sword (who still have tix available for their show at Bowery on Jan 30th).

All Down/Weedeater/Evil tour dates below...

Continue reading "Down, Evil Army & Weedeater - 2009 Tour Dates (postponed)"

by Black Bubblegum

Do you think he got it done after St. Anger?

In between the dates at Nassau Coliseum (1/29) and Prudential Center (1/31, 2/1), The Sword will opt to NOT go shopping around Soho (like Metallica might) in lieu of another date in the NYC area. Tickets go on AMEX presale 11/19 and regular sale on 11/21 at noon for a January 30th show by The Sword at Bowery Ballroom. It's one of a few shows the band added to fill in the holes between Metallica dates. Some of the added dates are also with Lamb Of God who is also on tour with Metallica. Others are with Year Long Disaster.

Lamb of God recently announced details of their new album, due in 2009. The Sword recently released a video for "How Heavy This Axe". That video, and all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "The Sword - 2008/09 tour dates (some Metallica, some not)"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Kill The Client - "Divide And Conquer" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Kill The Client - "Cleptocracy" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Planks - "Deluge" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Planks - "A Sunken City" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Beehoover - "Dance Like A Volcano" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Black Elk - "Hospital" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Black Elk - "My Last Shred Of Decency" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Black Elk - "She Pulled Machete" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Kowloon Walled City - Turk City EP (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: sunn o))) - Shoshin/GrimmRobes LIVE in Los Angeles, CA 10/10/08 (MP3, MEGAUPLOAD LINK)
DOWNLOAD: Deathwish Inc. Fall Sampler (ZIP FILE) *

Kill the Client

Let's kick this thing off the RIGHT way, an absolutely BRUTAL grind record out NOW on Willowtip.... no, not the new Phobia (though that is good, and out NOW) or the new Maruta (also out NOW)... it's Cleptocracy by unstoppable force known as Kill The Client! Blazing through eighteen tracks of searing grindcore, Cleptocracy is both destructive and engaging.... Check out "Cleptocracy and "Divide And Conquer" downloadable above!

* The above Deathwish sampler features songs by Trap Them, Blacklisted, Cold World, Narrows, 108, United Nations, The Hope Conspiracy, Victims, Rot In Hell and many others.

Graf Orlock have announced details of their upcoming cinemagrind monstrosity, Destination Time Today, along with a new track streaming at their myspace! Look for the record to land on Level Plane (Date TBD) possibly around the time that Graf Orlock hits the East Coast for a tour that is (not fully) scheduled for Jan 2009! Check out the basic itinerary below, and hold tight for details to come.

Mastodon have anounced details for Crack The Skye, their upcoming album due in 2009! As discussed, Brendan O'Brien will be on the boards for the seven track (listing below), fifty minute opus which was was recorded at Southern Tracks Studios in Atlanta. Meanwhile, the band has announced a handful of European dates with Metallica (find 'em below).

The sickening crusty hardcore of Planks are one my my latest obsessions, and their limited 12" (500 copies) is out NOW on Narshardaa. Pick it up here and check out "Deluge" from that LP, which the band has made available for download above and scoot on over to Aversionline, who has a second track for download! Also out now on Black Box, a split LP that Planks rocked with Tombs... a taste of which is above in the form of "A Sunken City". Speaking of Tombs, the band permenantly added Andrew Hernandez (ex-ASRA badass) on drums, and I must say that he absolutely KILLED it when I saw them lay waste to the Relapse showcase during CMJ.

Black Elk's Always A Six Never A Nine is available NOW over at Crucial Blast. Check out THREE songs from the record available for download above!

Cattle Decapitation have posted a new song from and announced a date for (Jan 20th, 2009- INAUGURATION DAY!) their new album, The Harvest Floor! Produced by Billy Anderson, The Harvest Floor will include contributions by Ross Sewage (Impaled/Ludicra), Dino Sommese (Dystopia/Asunder), Jarboe (Swans), Jackie Perez Gratz (Grayceon/Amber Asylum), and John Wiese. Check out the album cover below....

Continue reading "This Week In METAL (11/03/08)"

by Black Bubblegum

Lars Ulrich with his best friend & helper...ProTools

Metallica have announced North American dates in support of their September 12th release of Death Magnetic. The Sword will open all dates with Lamb Of God, Machine Head, and Down opening select dates. The NYC area gets a pair of shows with Machine Head, January 29 @ Nassau Coliseum and Jan 31 @ Prudential Center in Newark. Ticket info is forthcoming.

In related Metallica news, the band "leaked" video of a new song, "Cyanide", as well as footage of the band blazing through a medley of Mercyful Fate classics with King Diamond from their performance at Ozzfest. Check it out, as well as the sphincter-like artwork below.

Down guitar player Kirk Windstein is going on tour in Kingdom of Sorrow with Gwar and Toxic Holocaust.

Metallica dates and videos below...

Continue reading "Metallica - 2008 Tour Dates with The Sword (and stuff)"

by Black Bubblegum

Type O Negative (Gonzuuh)

Black nail polish, camo shorts, AND denim vests? Dark lords Type O Negative will hit the road in May with kings-of-the-breakdown Hatebreed and goat-horders 3 Inches Of Blood. Tickets for a New York date at Terminal 5 are not on sale yet, but a Type O Negative show at Starland Ballroom on May 5th goes on sale Friday, March 28th at noon. Tickets are also currently being offered on pre-sale for select shows (not NYC so far). Tour Dates and videos for "September Sun" and "Trial Of Champions" below....

Speaking of Jamey Jasta's band, he's got another one as well with the six-string king of N'Awlins Sludge, Kirk Windstein of the thoroughly awesome Crowbar and Down, called Kingdom of Sorrow. It's out now, and it sounds pretty much what you would think it sounds like.... Jamey "crooning" over Kirk's doom heaviness. Check out KoS jamming on the Crowbar classic "All I Had (I Gave)" below.

UPDATE: Kingdom of Sorrow have some shows coming up too, and it ends up.....they're opening for Type O Negative. All dates below.....

Continue reading "Type O Negative, Hatebreed, 3 Inches of Blood - Tour Dates"

photos by Leia Jospe

Down and feathers are very popular fill choices for pillows, but one which unfortunately is associated with numerous animal rights issues. The material is collected from ducks and geese in one of two ways. Feathers are either plucked while the animals are still alive, or they're gathered after the animals have been killed for meat, says Karen Davis, president and a director of the advocacy group United Poultry Concern. Ducks and geese who are killed for their meat are typically raised in large factory farms where animals are raised in filthy living conditions and deprived of access to water and the outdoors.

Because of the animal rights issues associated with down, Pier 1 Imports recently decided to cease using it in all of their pillows. They had been purchasing the down from a subsidiary of Maple Leaf Farms, one of the country's largest poultry producers and one which is known for unsavory living conditions for animals.

Some companies advertise that their down comes from "free-range" animals and gathered during the animals' natural molting phase. However, "free-range" is not a certified label and does not provide any assurance that the feathers were plucked humanely. [National Geographic]

Continue reading "Union Square NYC pillow fight pictures (March 22, 2008)"