.JPG)
Britain's premier stoner metal band Orange Goblin will return to perform at venues throughout North America this Autumn.
Following the band’s huge success earlier this year as main support for Clutch on their Earth Rocker North American tour, the Brits return for a full headlining run. Kicking off in New Orleans on September 27, the band will visit 38 cities around the United States and Canada before concluding in Nashville on November 9. Support on the tour will come from Holy Grail and Lazer/Wulf.
The trek finds Orange Goblin continuing a year-long commitment to performances in support of their latest studio album, A Eulogy For the Damned (2012), and first live CD/DVD released earlier this year. This rigorous schedule has seen them perform in over 25 countries across the globe, ensuring that the band is firing on all cylinders and maintaining their reputation as one of the fiercest and most exciting live acts on the planet! In fact, Clutch's own Neil Fallon was recently seen on That Metal Show wearing an Orange Goblin shirt and proclaiming them to be one of his favorite bands!
Released March 12, A Eulogy For The Fans/Orange Goblin Live 2012 includes Orange Goblin’s complete performances from England’s Bloodstock Open Air and France’s Hellfest. The package’s DVD includes the official Tom Cronin directed videos for “Red Tide Rising” and “Acid Trial,” the latter courtesy of Scion A/V. It further includes the Matt Chance directed “Red Tide Rising” documentary and Gaetan Chataigner directed “Highway to Hellfest” documentary. Art and design was provided by Jimbob Isaac under the direction of vocalist Ben Ward. The live album follows the release of A Eulogy For The Damned, now Orange Goblin’s highest selling album in North America. Produced by Jamie Dodd and mastered by two-time Grammy-nominated engineer Andy Jackson (Pink Floyd), the album entered the UK charts at position 96 and for the US landed on Billboard Magazine’s Heat Seekers chart at position 38.
Orange Goblin - Fall 2013 Tour w/ Holy Grail, Lazer/Wulf
09/27/2013 - One Eyed Jacks - New Orleans, LA
09/28/2013 - Red 7 – Austin, TX
09/29/2013 - Fitzgerald’s – Houston, TX
09/30/2013 - Club Dada – Dallas, TX
10/01/2013 - Sister Bar – Albuquerque, NM
10/02/2013 - Yucca Tap Room – Tempe, AZ
10/04/2013 - The Catalyst - Santa Cruz, CA
10/05/2013 - The Satellite - Los Angeles, CA
10/06/2013 - Soda Bar - San Diego, CA
10/08/2013 - The Observatory - Santa Ana, CA
10/09/2013 - Oakland Opera House – Oakland, CA
10/10/2013 - Oak Street Speakeasy – Eugene, OR
10/11/2013 - Fall Into Darkness Festival – Portland, OR
10/12/2013 - The Highline – Seattle, WA
10/13/2013 - Rickshaw Theater – Vancouver, BC
10/15/2013 - The Palomino – Calgary, AB
10/17/2013 - The Pawn Shop – Edmonton, AB
10/18/2013 - Amigos – Saskatoon, SK
10/19/2013 - Windsor Hotel – Winnipeg, MB
10/20/2013 - The Aquarium – Fargo, ND
10/21/2013 - Triple Rock – Minneapolis, MN
10/22/2013 - Reggie’s – Chicago, IL
10/23/2013 - Pyramid Scheme - Grand Rapids, MI
10/24/2013 - Now That’s Class – Cleveland, OH
10/25/2013 - Rockstar Arena – Dayton, OH
10/26/2013 - Rex Theater – Pittsburgh, PA
10/27/2013 - London Music Hall – London, ON
10/28/2013 - The Opera House – Toronto, ON
10/29/2013 - Mavericks – Ottawa, ON
10/30/2013 - Foufounes Electriques – Montrea, QC
11/01/2013 - Empire – Springfield, VA
11/02/2013 - Saint Vitus – Brooklyn, NY
11/03/2013 - The Note - West Chester, PA
11/05/2013 - Strange Matter – Richmond, VA
11/06/2013 - Tremont Music Hall – Charlotte, NC
11/07/2013 - Broadway’s – Asheville, NC
11/08/2013 - The Earl – Atlanta, GA
11/09/2013 - Exit/In – Nashville, TN
Links:
Orange Goblin
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Orange Goblin Returns to North America for Fall Tour / Show at Saint Vitus Bar on Nov. 2nd
Havok - 'Unnatural Selection' CD Review / Show at St. Vitus Bar on August 7th (Candlelight Records)
Unnatural Selection has everything that you would expect in a thrash album: political themed lyrics, winding, chugging guitar riffs and screaming solos, aggressive sneering vocals and rapid fire drumming. What is refreshing is there is a mix of old school metal in the band’s sound – the disc’s lead-off single, “Give Me Liberty…Or Give Me Death” has some blistering riffs and a nice bass/drum groove that could easily be compared to bands like Megadeth and Exodus. Immediately shifting gears, this is followed by “It is True”, which comes across somewhat like an 80’s arena-rocker, though with some funky bass grooves and off-kilter, winding guitar lines intermixed with the crunchy hard-rock riffs. The band’s sound starts moving toward doom toward the back-end of the disc, with the down-tuned “Worse Than War” and this track is a perfect lead-in to the band’s cover of Black Sabbath’s “Children of the Grave”. The band ends the disc on a “thrashy” note with the aggressive and galloping title track “Unnatural Selection”.
On the majority of the songs, in addition to the chugging thrash riffs, there is some great guitar interplay between David Sanchez and Reece Scruggs whose playing ranges from technical shredding to AC/DC meets Iron Maiden hard-rock riffs. Sanchez’s vocals also spans the range from a clean “punkish” sneer to Dave Mustaine style throat shredding rasps and most of the song choruses are shout-along gang vocals. Pete Webber pounds the drums unmercifully (there is a nice, but brief drum solo on disc opener “I Am the State”) and does a nice job of locking into a groove with newcomer, bassist Mike Leon.
The new disc has a really clean sound and was produced by vocalist/guitarist David Sanchez and mixed by Terry Date (Pantera, Overkill, Deftones). The album also features original artwork from Polish illustrator Rafal Wechterowicz (Slayer, Mastodon) and was mastered by James Murphy (Aborted, World Under Blood, Abigail Williams).
Havok – Summer 2013 North American Headline Tour
7/22/2013 - Launchpad – Albuquerque, NM
7/24/2013 - Chameleon Room – Oklahoma City, OK
7/25/2013 - Three Links – Dallas, TX
7/26/2013 - Dirty Dog – Austin, TX
7/27/2013 - Zero’s – Corpus Christi, TX
7/28/2013 - Fitzgerald’s – Houston, TX
7/29/2013 - Siberia – New Orleans, LA
7/31/2013 - Talent Farm – Pembroke Pines, FL
8/01/2013 - Orpheum Theater – Tampa, FL
8/02/2013 - Back Booth – Orlando, FL
8/03/2013 - Ground Zero – Spartanburg, SC
8/04/2013 - Blue Fox – Winchester, VA
8/05/2013 - Empire – Springfield, VA
8/06/2013 - Mojo 13 – Wilmington, DE
8/07/2013 - Saint Vitus – Brooklyn, NY
8/08/2013 - Church of Boston – Boston, MA
8/09/2013 - Backstage at Champs – Trenton, NJ
8/10/2013 - JJ’s Tavern – Florence, MA
8/11/2013 - Heavy Mtl – Montreal, QC
8/12/2013 - Opera House – Toronto, ON w/Finntroll
8/13/2013 - Token Lounge – Westland, MI
8/14/2013 - Peabody’s, Cleveland, OH
8/15/2013 - Ultra Lounge – Chicago, IL
8/16/2013 - Vaudeville Mews – Des Moines, IA
8/17/2013 - Riot Room – Kansas City, MO
8/18/2013 - Fubar – St Louis, MO
8/21/2013 - The Shrunken Head – Columbus, OH
8/23/2013 - The Brass Rail – Peoria, IL
8/24/2013 - Blue Pig – Cudahy, WI
8/25/2013 - The Garage – Burnsville, MN
8/26/2013 - The Aquarium – Fargo, ND
8/28/2013 - The Railyard – Billings, MT
8/29/2013 - The Center – Spokane, WA
8/30/2013 - Studio Seven – Seattle, WA
8/31/2013 - Branx – Portland, OR
9/01/2013 - Red House Live – Walnut Creek, CA
9/05/2013 - The Atrium – Santa Cruz, CA
9/06/2013 - Whiskey – West Hollywood, CA
9/07/2013 - Constellation Room – Santa Ana, CA
9/08/2013 - Royal Dive – San Diego, CA
9/09/2013 - Rocky Point Cantina – Tempe, AZ
9/10/2013 - Orpheum Theater – Flagstaff, AZ
9/13/2013 - Burt’s Tiki Lounge – Salt Lake City, UT
Links:
Havok
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Lord Mantis Release First Track "At the Mouth" from Upcoming Sophomore Album (Out March 13th on Candlelight Records)
When did NPR become hip enough to cover black metal releases?
The first track, "At the Mouth", from Lord Mantis' sophomore release, Pervertor, premiered on NPR's All Songs Considered Blog which was accompanied by an interview with guitarist Andrew Markuszewski (snippet below).
NPR: What role does blasphemy and perversion take in Lord Mantis?
AM: You'll find blasphemy and perversion in various states of practice in every member of this band. Pervertor comes straight from our beating black hearts. While I won't exactly go into specifics on what each of us does in our lives to communicate evil, if you listen to the music and read the lyrics — understand that we practice what we preach, for the most part. I mean, none of us have committed the act of murder on a physical level, yet, but everyone in the band has realized that evil eye in them. Bill [Bumgardner] hates everyone, for the most part. Charlie [Fell] is one demented and twisted soul. He's probably the last guy you'd want to be at the mercy of. He actually bit me in the leg once. I still have a scar. Granted, I did teabag him while he was in a straitjacket, though. Greg [Gomer] is dating an intense and professional dominatrix. I'm a blasphemous and hedonistic monk.
Chicago-based Lord Mantis is comprised of bassist/vocalist Charlie Fell (Nachtmystium, Von, Von Venien), drummer Bill Bumgardner (Indian), and guitarists Andrew Markuszewski (Avichi, Nachtmystium, Von, Von Venien) and Greg Gomer. Undoubtedly one of the most vile releases of 2012, Pervertor is the follow-up to the horde's 2009-released Seventh Rule Recordings debut, Spawning The Nephilim, the new LP exemplifying their pungent, hateful surge more than ever. Pervertor was put to tape with Sanford Parker (Nachtmystium, Pelican, Indian), liberating the organic filth of the hymns with maximum destroying power.
Pervertor Track Listing:
1. Perverter Of The Will
2. Septichrist
3. Vile Divinity
4. Levia
5. Ritual Killer
6. At The Mouth
7. The Whip And The Body
Links:
Lord Mantis
Sunday, August 14, 2011
The Living Fields: Interview with Guitarist / Founder Jason Muxlow
DOWNLOAD: The Living Fields - "Interview with Jason Muxlow", July '11
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
Krieg (NJ Black Metal) Signs to Candlelight Records
Candlelight Records announced the signing of recently reformed NJ black metal band Krieg and will be releasing the band's sixth album, The Isolationist, later this summer.
Main creator Imperial says, “it is truly an honor to get to work with a professional label at this point in Krieg’s career. The Isolationist will be more experimental, uglier, and yet more beautiful than previous Krieg records.” The album will start production in early February at Volume Studios in Chicago and is tentatively planned for a July release.
Links:
Krieg's MySpace Profile
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Ross the Boss - Autograph Session and Meet n' Greet Tomorrow Night at Duff's (Manowar/The Dictators)
Guitarist Ross The Boss will be at Duff's in Brooklyn tomorrow night for a special meet n' greet/autograph signing.
The long-time guitarist for The Dictators and Manowar released his first solo CD New Metal Leader (Candlelight Records) earlier this year. Ross' new band will be making their US debut with a show at Club Europa on August 28th.
The signing runs from 10PM - Midnight tomorrow night. Duff's is located at 168 Marcy Avenue in Williamsburg.
Links:
Ross The Boss' MySpace Profile
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Sinner - Crash and Burn CD Review (Candlelight Records)
Mat Sinner & crew are back with Sinner's sixteenth studio release, Crash and Burn, which was released in the US by Candlelight Records a few week back.
For anyone not familiar with Sinner, the band plays melodic, guitar-driven 70's hard-rock. The closest points of comparison would be pre-disco 70's Kiss and Thin Lizzy. Bassist/vocalist Mat Sinner has a throaty rasp similar to Gene Simmons and the dual-lead guitars of Henny Wolter and Christof Leim give the band's music a pre-NWOBHM sound. The Thin Lizzy comparisons are strengthened by the band covering Lizzy's "Baby Please Don't Go" on their 2007 studio album Mask of Sanity and contributing a cover of "The Sun Goes Down" to a Phil Lynott tribute album. The song "Connection" (which is streaming on the band's MySpace profile) perfectly captures the spirit and sound of Thin Lizzy and could easily be mistaken for a Thin Lizzy cover or outtake.
Take a look at the video for the song "Revolution" and this will give you a good sense for the grittier, hard-rock side of the band.
Some of the strongest cuts from this disc are "Crash and Burn", "Heart of Darkness" and "Connection". All three of these cuts are streaming on Mat Sinner's MySpace profile.
Sinner is likely to be temporarily inactive as bassist/vocalist Mat and guitarist Henny are also in Primal Fear and the band is in the process of mixing and mastering their forthcoming disc 16.6.
All-in-all, Crash & Burn is a strong hard-rock album that should catch the ear of fans of 70's/early 80's rock. It would be nice to see the band do a US tour sometime in the near future.
Links:
Sinner's MySpace Profile
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Ross The Boss - New Metal Leader CD Review (Candlelight Records)
After exiting Manowar over twenty years ago, Ross the Boss' first solo CD, New Metal Leader, is a return to the epic power-metal sounds of his past work.
Ross' solo band came about when he played "A Night of Early Manowar" at the Keep It True IV Festival in Germany backed by Manowar cover band Men Of War. Ross ended up taking Men Of War under his wing as the Ross the Boss band.
Ross the Boss - Keep It True Festival
In an interview with Stalker, Ross said "I realized they were special the first time we rehearsed. They´re schooled musicians with deep respect for me and the music. Before playing the Keep It True Festival for the second time, we stepped into Tarek´s studio and laid down tracks for "I Got The Right" and "We Will Kill." The next step was to see if Patrick could write lyrics for the songs. When the songs were finished, I knew I had a band and I never wanted to play another Manowar song again. I never wanted to be an "oldies guy" who paid tribute to himself. Playing Manowar songs with a tribute band was cheesy, but fun. We got great offers and made a lot of new contacts and friends; however, we knew we weren´t going to do it for long."
New Metal Leader isn't quite Manowar's Kings of Metal but it is pretty darn close. The disc's 11 tracks are pretty much all melodic anthems that are sure to get fists pumping in the air. Vocalist Patrick Fuchs doesn't have the road-worn sound of Manowar vocalist Eric Adams but, if you look at Ross' quote above, he wasn't trying to form a Manowar cover band. Patrick has a great voice for this genre of music.
"Blood of Knives" is the first full track on the disc (after the epic metal guitar-driven opener) and is pretty indicative of what the rest of the disc sounds like.
Find more videos like this on Ross The Boss Network
The band stays in this power metal groove for most of the disc but there are a few diversions into the metal ballad territory ("God of Dying") that I associate with The Scorpions and "May the Gods Be With You" is the sort of radio-friendly rock song that Kiss was writing in the early 90's.
Both fans of power metal and early Manowar should enjoy this disc.
Links:
Ross the Boss' MySpace Profile
Ross the Boss' Website
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Viking Skull - Doom, Gloom, Heartache and Whiskey (Candlelight Records)
It doesn't often happen where the title of a CD tells you everything that you need to know about the band. In the case of Viking Skull, Doom, Gloom, Heartace and Whiskey is a very accurate description of this disc.
This is a solid slab of stoner metal where the band combines downtuned guitars with a chugging bass line. Vocalist Roddy Stone has a Lemmy-style gargling with razor blades voice but the overall sound of the disc is closer to Southern metal than Motorhead. Easy points of comparison are bands like C.O.C. and Clutch.
Like all great stoner-rock bands, this disc cops some solid Sabbath-like riffs which are most evident on songs like "In Hell". Viking Skull mixes up the sound across the disc so it isn't one big pot of sludge: there is an acoustic country music intro to "Shot Down" and "19 Swords" includes some Dave Murray/Adrian Smith style guitar work. The last cut, "Drink", is the perfect closer for a disc of songs about drinking, gambling, women and more drinking. "Drink" is a piano-driven bar stomper about the joys of drink with the chorus "We have to drink, drink 'til we sh*t our pants". This isn't a deep and meaningful record (let Bono or Bob Geldof save the world) but a lot of fun.
Viking Skull have had yet another lineup change with this disc and Doom, Gloom, Heartache and Whiskey is the first album to feature the band's two new guitarists: Dom Wallace of the band Deadeye and Rich Vose of the band Gnarlkill.
The band is currently touring with Clutch and then are playing a couple of headlining shows in Cleveland, Maryland and Pennsylvania. (It still perplexes me why all these metal bands skip NYC). Viking Skull are doing a video shoot at their Jan. 4th show and have posted "we will be performing an all ages show at the Note in West Chester, Pennsylvania and also be filming a video for 'Hair Of The Dog' with Joe Frantz and Bam Margera. It's going to be kick-fucking-ass. If you want to partake in that debauchery buy a ticket at www.thenotewc.com."
Upcoming Tour Dates:
Dec 28 2008 7:00PM, Webster Theater w/Clutch, Hartford, Connecticut
Dec 29 2008 7:00PM, 930 Club w/Clutch, Washington DC
Dec 30 2008 7:00PM, Newport Music Hall w/Clutch, Columbus, Ohio
Dec 31 2008 7:00PM, Orbit Room w/Clutch, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Jan 2 2009 7:00PM, Spitfire Saloon w/Backwards Payback, Cleveland, Ohio
Jan 3 2009 8:00PM Krug’s w/Backwards Payback, Frederick, Maryland
Jan 4 2009 6:00PM, The Note (video shoot/gig) with Backwards Payback, West Chester, Pennsylvania
Links:
Viking Skull's MySpace Profile
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Burzum - Lord of Darkness Anthology CD Review (Candlelight Records)
It is hard to know where to start with this review -- Burzum is a one-man black-metal project of Varg "Count Grishnackh" Vikernes, who was the one-time bass player for the Norwegian black-metal band Mayhem. Vikernes has been in jail since 1993 after being sentenced to 21 years imprisonment for the murder of Mayhem guitarist Oystein "Euromymous" Aarseth and a number of church arsons.
A number of Burzum CDs have been released while Vikernes has been in prison and this anthology covers tracks from Burzum's recording career from 1991 - 1999.
There are nine tracks on this disc:
1) Feeble Screams from Forests Unknown: is from Burzum's self-titled debut in 1992. This is a lo-fi recording that, musically, would be comparable to Christian Death's Only Theatre of Pain or Deathwish. The gothic music is complemented by Burzum's genre-expected "tortured death rasp" vocals
2) Stemmen Fra Taarnet (The Voice From The Tower): is from the 1993 Aske EP. Like a couple of the tracks that follow, the music starts to drift further into the area of goth-punk.
3-4) Lost Wisdom & Svarte Troner: are from Burzum's second LP Det Som Engang Var. The first song continues in the same goth/death rock vein as Stemmen Fra Taarnet while Svarate Troner is an ambient instrumental piece.
5) Det Som En Gang Var (That Which Once Was): is from the Hvis Lyset Tar Oss album. This track, which is mostly instrumental, is an aggressive 14 minute soundscape that is powered by pounding drums, a gothic keyboard sound and clean, ringing guitars.
6-7) Jesus' Tod (Jesus' Death) and Gebrechlichkeit II (Decrepitude): are both from Filosofem. Burzum's musical style continues to shift and the best comparison to Jesus' Tod would be Ministry. The song's intensity is powered by some aggressive drum work and Vikerens' vocals are as clean as I have ever heard them.
Gebrechlichkeit II shifts styles again and is an ambient piece that would be comparable to some of the work of Brian Eno. This is an all instrumental piece where machine noises are combined with low-tuned fuzzed guitars and a delicate piano sound.
8) Balferd Baldrs (The Burning of Balder): is from Dauoi Baldrs. This is a keyboard-based piece that includes both strings and horns.
9) Ansuzgardaraiwo (Warriors Of Asgard): is from Hlioskjálf. This is another keyboard-based piece but the arrangement is much more sparse and mechanical sounding than Balferd Bladrs.
For someone like myself who wasn't that familar with Burzum's music, this anthology serves as a fascinating introduction to Vikerens' music and its evolution over the years.
Links:
Burzum's Website
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Manes - "How the World Came to An End" CD Review (Candlelight Records)
This is a bit of a surprising release from Candlelight Records, given that Candlelight is the home of Emperor and other black metal bands. While Manes started off as a ‘traditional’ black metal act, their sound on this 2007 release emphasizes elements of world music, free-form jazz and hip-hop. Immediate points of comparison are the 80’s line-up of King Crimson and/or the world music side of Peter Gabriel crossed with the electronica/goth sounds of 80’s Depeche Mode.
This is an adventurous release by Manes as it is both danceable and accessible to the masses. Tracks like “I Watch You Fall” and “The Cure-All” have both clean vocals and an intricately layered soundscape of melodies and sounds. There are a number of guest vocalists/artists on this release (11 guests are listed on the band’s website) but, even with the stylistic differences between tracks, this disc flows as a cohesive body of work. The atmosphere of the disc is highlighted by crystal-clear production which keeps the layers of sounds from being overwhelming and it also makes for great headphones listening.
It appears that Manes’ MySpace page is down, Mains’ website hasn’t been updated in a year and the band parted ways with Candlelight Records earlier this year so I’m not sure what the best way is to keep up with the band. The band though is supposed to be working on a upcoming release, tentatively entitled 'Be All End All', so I’m sure that Manes will resurface on the web soon.