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The Heavy Lowdown: Electric Wizard, Empty Vessels, Mortals, Judas Priest, Bastard Sapling, weekend shows & more

by Ian Chainey

Electric Wizard at MDF 2012 (More by Fred Pessaro)
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UK doomers Electric Wizard announced a new album. This one is called Time to Die and the title plays into a theme, according to singer/guitarist Jus Oborn: “All of our albums in the past have had a theme — revenge, drugs, black magick — and the theme of this one is death. Of course, death to us really means rebirth, so this album is a manifestation of a very primal occult belief in the final sacrifice. We have gone full circle — it was inevitable, but we had to do it. We had to kill the band so we could be reborn. It was the only way to ensure we could come back even stronger.” A release date hasn’t been lined up, but Electric Wizard will be playing some select Euro fests this summer. Cover art and dates can be seen below.

In tour news, Empty Vessels, who recently played Punk Island, are hitting the road in support of the Kurt Ballou-produced Seizures Within Reason. This tour mainly swings through the West Coast. The full slate of dates and three tracks from Seizures Within Reason are below.

Don’t forget to keep up with the rest of our metal coverage during the week.

Now that you’re, ahem, fully briefed, let’s recap all of the A/V transmissions.

Mortals
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Wolves in the Throne Room are spinning Celestite (preorder) — their kinda ambient, komische reworking of prior material — in full at the Grey Lady. Will Shortz, huge weed hound. Plus, Judas Priest have put the entirety of Redeemer of Souls on iTunes. They’ll be hitting New York in the fall. Wolvhammer have unveiled Clawing Into Black Sun (preorder). You can check that one out below. Finally, Mortals — who will be playing a record release show at the Acheron on July 18 — dropped the monstrous Cursed To See the Future (preorder), which you can play below. All four albums will see a physical release on July 8.

For single tracks and teasers, Bastard Sapling previewed “Forbidden Sorrow” from Instinct is Forever (August 26, Gilead Media). The blackened d-beaters Martyrdod are streaming the title track from Elddop (July 22, Southern Lord – Preorder). And the mighty YOB are providing another tantalizing peek at Clearing The Path To Ascend (September 2, Neurot Recordings). All songs and videos are available below.

Got it? Good. To shows we go:

TODAY (7/3): Wanna catch some up-and-comers before the holiday? Buckshot Facelift, Huldra, OTTO MAN, Dealers, and Thera Roya play Saint Vitus (tickets).

Saturday (7/5): Collaborators Thou and the Body play twice on Saturday, hitting ABC No Rio for an afternoon matinee with Mongrel and Vilkacis before heading to Palisades for a late-night show with Ghastly City Sleep and Pygmy Lush. ThouTickets are $8 at the door. If compacter punk is more your game, Warthog, Leather Daddy, Jock’s Blood, and Ajax are playing Saint Vitus (tickets).

Looking for late adds and dates ahead? NYC Metal Show Calendar has got you covered.

Let’s talk IO: Upcoming Metal Releases was slim, but as always, the quality was there. We had premieres aplenty from Mutilation Rites, Entrails, and Wrought Iron. We also blabbed with quite a few metallers, including Phil Hall (Cannabis Corpse), Craig Hayes (South of Heaven), and the legendary Ihsahn (Emperor). But the highlight of the week were the pretty pictures snapped at Agalloch and Martyrdoom.

Alright, consider the decks cleared. What did we miss? What are your plans? Let us know and catch all of the dates, reams of streams, and other noted details below. And enjoy your July 4 Weekend.

Dates, streams, etc, below…

Electric Wizard – Time to Die cover art
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Electric Wizard – 2014 Tour Dates
July 3 – Roskilde, Denmark – Roskilde Festival (Arena Stage)
July 4 – Knebworth Park, UK – Sonisphere (Stage headline)
August 16 – London, UK – Jabberwocky (The Excel Centre)
September 12 – Valada, Portugal – Reverence Valada (headline w/Hawkwind)
October 10 – 12 – Antwerp, Belgium – Desert Fest

Empty Vessels

Empty Vessels – 2014 Tour Dates
7/06 – New London, CT @ The Savage Patch – 1pm – w/ Thou, Snow Orphan, Iron Hand
7/11 – Philadelphia, PA – PhillyPunxPicnic @ PhilaMOCA – 7pm – w/ Cop Problem, Cetascean, Napalm Donut, Repellers
7/12 – Borea, OH – Flowerpot Records Fest @ Cafe Ah Roma – Noon – w/ Graves., Llama Tsunami, a ton of others
7/12 – Cleveland, OH @ Candlewood DIY – 7pm – w/ The Heel, Campfire Conspiracy, Us
7/16 – Spokane, WA – Pending
7/17 – Bellingham, WA @ Cabin Tavern – 8pm
7/18 – Olympia, WA @ The Track House – 8pm – w/ Shit Blizzard, Heathen Washington, Shot On Site, Reverse The Curse, Fools Rush
7/19 – Bremerton, WA – OASIS FEST 2014 @ The Coffee Oasis – w/ 25+ bands – starts at noon
7/20 – Portland, OR @ Dave’s House – 4pm- w/ Skoi, M-section, General Nasty, Barbarian Riot Squad
7/21 – Tacoma, WA @ Aurora House – 7pm – w/ Baus, Cult Evaders, Bod
7/22 – Portland, OR @ Megaton House – 7pm – w/ Nunhex and Night Nurse
7/23 – Eureka, CA @ The Ink Annex – 7pm – w/ Shadowhouse and The Disaffectionate
7/24 – San Francisco / Oakland – Pending
7/25 – Sacramento, CA @ Casa De Chaos – 8pm – w/ M. Section, The Left Hand, Buried at Birth, Dead Weight
7/26 – Pomona, CA @ Demented – 8pm – w/ Iron Fist, Out Of Tune, Who Gives A Fuck
7/26 – Los Angeles – 2nd show – Pending
7/27 – San Bernardino, CA @ Black Flame Collective – w/ Moth, more tba – 7pm
7/28 – Bakersfield, CA @ Munoz Gym – 7pm – w/ Savageheads, Ausencia, Fumigados, Mutant Itch, Stark Moon
7/29 – Phoenix, AZ – Pending
7/30 – El Paso, TX – Pending
7/31 – Austin, TX – Pending
8/01 – New Orleans, LA – Pending
8/02 – Gainesville, FL @ Display DIY – 8pm – w/ Scream Puff, Sweet Hangs, more tba
8/03 – Savannah, GA @ The Bomb Shelter – 7pm – w/ Crazy Bag Lady and Beneath Trees
8/04 – Washington, DC – Pending
8/16 – Bethel, CT – Battle Stag Records Fest – w/ Bird Death, Watchlist, Bad Decisions, Intercourse, Polyphony, Make Amends, plus more
8/23 – Quincy, MA @ The Workshop – w/ Neighborhood Shit, Scowl, Bone Machine, Ultra//Negative, Stranger

Wolvhammer

Mortals

Bastard Sapling

Martyrdod

YOB