ARCH ENEMY HEADLINES SUMMER SLAUGHTER 2015

 Metal News  11 Responses »
May 222015
 

 

Over time I’ve come to enjoy tours that mix and match, that cross genres and by doing so introduce Band Y to fans who come to see Band X. Of course, there’s also a risk in this strategy, especially if what you’re mixing are all well-known bands, and the fans of some wouldn’t be caught dead in the presence of the others. I’m thinking there might be some of that risk in this year’s edition of the SUMMER SLAUGHTER TOUR.

Arch Enemy has been announced as the headliner — and bear in mind, this is Arch Enemy with Jeff Loomis in the line-up. Obscura are on this tour, too, along with Cattle Decapitation and Beyond Creation. And then these bands are also on the line-up: Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK (PART 2): GALVANO, DEUIL, FORNDOM, CALIGULA

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHADES OF BLACK  4 Responses »
May 212015
 

 

(This post was supposed to appear yesterday, following Part 1 (here), but my trip to Baltimore for Maryland Deathfest and the pre-fest show last night derailed those plans.)

I think once upon a time I explained that when I use the title Shades of Black in posting about collections of new songs, it doesn’t necessarily mean that what follows will be black metal (though that’s usually what follows). Sometimes the music has strands of recognizable black metal instrumentation mixed with other motifs. Sometimes it’s a matter of shared spirit. Sometimes, the music is just bleak and crushing.

I’m reminding you of this because I doubt anyone would call all of the following songs “black metal”. But I sure as hell do like all of them, and hope you do, too.

GALVANO

It was almost two years ago when I last wrote about this two-man sludge metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden — July 4, 2013, to be exact. Back then, the subject was a song from their last album, Two Titans. Now they have a new full-length named Trail of the Serpent that’s being released on May 25 by Candlelight Records. (with vinyl coming in July via Pelagic Records). Thanks to an alert from Bandcamp yesterday I learned that a new song named “Stench of Prey” is now available for streaming. It is one hell of a song. Continue reading »

TOURISM: BÖLZER, RITUAL NECROMANCY, PSEUDOGOD

 Metal News  13 Responses »
May 162015
 

 

We post about metal tours in North America on an exceedingly infrequent and random basis. Usually when we do it, it’s an extensive tour that really is nationwide in scope. If we’re not going to be comprehensive in spreading tour news, it seems like when we do, it ought to be about tours that would be of interest to the largest number of people. But I’m making an exception here, for two selfish reasons.

First, the bands are personal favorites of mine. Second, even though both tours involve a small number of dates, Seattle is on both schedules. This makes me happy, and I know that if I’m happy, that necessarily makes you happy, too.

BÖLZER / RITUAL NECROMANCY

I haven’t seen an official announcement about this tour by the Swiss band Bölzer and Ritual Necromancy from PDX. All I’ve seen (thanks to a tip by Facebook friend JCB) is the flyer up above, which appeared on Facebook yesterday. Continue reading »

THE PREMIERE OF A NEW AMIENSUS SONG AND AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF AN AMIENSUS-WARSEID TOUR

 Metal News, Premieres  7 Responses »
May 152015
 

 

We’ve been following Minnesota’s Amiensus very closely, from their excellent 2013 debut album Restoration (reviewed here), to their split that same year with Oak Pantheon, entitled Gathering (reviewed here), to the release of their cover of Forefather’s “Wolfhead’s Tree” last fall, which we had the privilege of premiering (here). And now we’re delighted to bring you a stream of the first advance track from the band’s new album Ascension — plus we’re announcing an NCS-sponsored Amiensus tour with Wisconsin’s Warseid. First, the music…

AMIENSUS: “WHAT WORDS CREATE”

The new Amiensus song is “What Words Create”, the third track in order on Ascension. It’s a dynamic, multifaceted song — dramatic, atmospheric, sweepingly melodic, and also charged with hard-driving energy. And it gets stuck in your head very quickly. Continue reading »

THE THRILL IS GONE

 Metal News  7 Responses »
May 152015
 

 

From the obituary in The New York Times, May 15, 2015:

B. B. King, whose world-weary voice and wailing guitar lifted him from the cotton fields of Mississippi to a global stage and the apex of American blues, died Thursday in Las Vegas, The Associated Press reported. He was 89.

His death was reported to The A.P. by his attorney, Brent Bryson.

Mr. King married country blues to big-city rhythms and created a sound instantly recognizable to millions: a stinging guitar with a shimmering vibrato, notes that coiled and leapt like an animal, and a voice that groaned and bent with the weight of lust, longing and lost love. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: HIDEOUS DIVINITY, COFFINS, TEMPLE OF DAGON

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
May 142015
 

Hey there. I thought I’d quickly throw a few new things your way that I found earlier today. Then I have to go do something that actually pays my bills. Regrettably, on some days there seems to be a limit to how much unvarnished fucking off I can do at my job.

HIDEOUS DIVINITY

There’s a new play-through video for one of the best songs on Hideous Divinity’s latest album, Cobre Verde. The song is “The Alonest of the Alone”, and though you may be expecting a guitar or drum video, because most people seem to find more sex appeal in those things than a play-through on the humble bass, this is A BASS VIDEO. Continue reading »

HIGH ON FIRE: NEW ALBUM, NEW SONG, NEW TOUR

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
May 122015
 

Lots of news about High On Fire and new HoF music today.

First, we received a reminder that the band’s new album, Luminiferous, will be released on June 16 via eOne Music. It was recorded at Salem, Massachusetts’ GodCity Studios with producer Kurt Ballou. You can see the artwork above,

Second, the group premiered a new song from the album named “The Black Plot” via Rolling Stone — and I’ll have a bit more to say about it in a minute.

Third, the band announced a headlining U.S. tour that begins on July 30 in San Diego and finishes in New Orleans on August 23. Along for the ride will be Pallbearer, Lucifer, and Venomous Maximus. Here are the dates: Continue reading »

AN NCS-SPONSORED TOUR: MOBILE DEATHCAMP AND CARNIVORA

 Metal News  5 Responses »
May 082015
 

 

About ten days ago we announced details about a tour that we’re helping to sponsor, headlined by West Virginia’s Byzantine with support from Toledo, Ohio’s Mobile Deathcamp. And now we can tell you that when the Byzantine tour reaches its conclusion, Mobile Deathcamp will join forces with Carnivora from Massachusetts, to continue on a cross-country rampage.

As previously announced, Mobile Deathcamp’s tour with Byzantine will begin on June 12 in Elmhurst, NY, and continues through a date in Asheville, NC, on June 27. And then on July 1, the Mobile Deathcamp-Carnivora onslaught will begin in Indianapolis and continue through August 9 in Danville, Kentucky, with stops in a total of 18 states. To get all the details, click on the flyer above to view an enlarged image — or check the alternate flyer just after the jump. Continue reading »

A KATAKLYSM UPDATE: “OF GHOSTS AND GODS” IS COMING — WITH TEN VIDEOS TOO

 Metal News  2 Responses »
Apr 292015
 

 

Here’s a bit of fairly hot-off-the-press news from Canada’s Kataklysm:  First, they’ve announced that their twelfth studio album Of Ghosts and Gods will be released on July 31 (via Nuclear Blast Records).

Second, as you can see, they’ve disclosed the cover art, which was created by an artist called artist Surtsey. I like it. (According to the band, the background shows an ancient incantation written in Aramaic.)

And third, they’ve announced that there will be music videos created for every one of the album’s ten songs, with each video crafted to reflect the concept behind the music. Continue reading »

TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT: BYZANTINE ARE HITTING THE ROAD AGAIN!

 Metal News  4 Responses »
Apr 272015
 

 

We’re stoked to help spread the news that West Virginia’s Byzantine are hitting the road again on a new NCS-sponsored tour that will bring their unique brand of heavy metal to lucky fans up and down the East Coast in June. Joining the band for this new rampage will be some speed merchants from Toledo, Ohio — Mobile Deathcamp.

Long-time readers of our site will be quite familiar with Byzantine because we’ve been writing about them virtually non-stop since the day in January 2012 when they officially announced their resurrection after splitting up in 2008.  But at this point it would be tough to find any metalheads with good taste who don’t know about Byzantine. Their new album To Release Is To Resolve is one of 2015’s true highlights, and now lots of people are going to get the chance to hear the music live — along with choice cuts from throughout the band’s discography.

We asked frontman Chris “OJ” Ojeda for his thoughts about this new tour, and here’s what he told us: Continue reading »

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