Apr 042018
 

 

Micawber have already made quite a name for themselves over the last decade despite the challenges of self-releasing their recordings. They’ve produced two albums and three EPs, to growing enthusiasm among fans and critics, and have participated in 25 tours across North America and Europe, supporting such bands as Sepultura, Vader, Vital Remains, and Internal Bleeding, as well as appearing at numerous metal festivals. But with their new third album, Beyond the Reach of Flame, it could hardly be clearer that the band’s ambitions are still soaring.

Among other things, this new one will be released by Prosthetic Records, who know a good thing when they hear it. For another thing, Prosthetic and Micawber turned to the great Dan Seagrave for the cover art, and the record was mastered by Ryan Williams (Black Dahlia Murder). But even more importantly, the band have also stretched their creative wings on the new album, incorporating a broader range of metal genre elements into their core death metal sound and upping their game both in songwriting and in performance.

We hasten to add that this is not empty PR talk. It is backed up by what you will hear today, as we present the debut of an electrifying track from the new album named “In Shadow and Light“. Continue reading »

Jun 012015
 

 

(In this post our man DGR reviews a Sacramento performance by Sepultura, Destruction, Arsis, Boris the Blade, and Micawber.)

Two shows in two days can sometimes be a difficult prospect, especially when you’re used to working those evenings. When you’ve barely recovered from one, dragging yourself to another can feel like a herculean labor. You don’t have the ‘holy shit I’m here’ adrenaline of being at a festival, it’s just two separate events on two different days, and as it would turn out, on two fairly different scales.

The previous night before this show, I wind up seeing Anaal Nathrakh in a venue the size of a fairly large kitchen (that show reviewed here), and this time I was slated to see Sepultura at Ace Of Spades — a venue that I have lavished many loving words over, mostly in hopes that they keep booking metal shows because they have a knack for bringing bands that normally wouldn’t roll through to Sacramento. Of course, you have to keep in mind that this show was a fairly large cultural icon at this point, with both Sepultura and Destruction being long-running international bands at about thirty years a piece. Hell, this was a Sepultura thirty-year anniversary tour, all things considered. (While we’re on the subject, Boris The Blade turned out to be from Australia, meaning this was quite the international tour.) Continue reading »