Cattle Decapitation Release In-Studio Video for "Monolith of Inhumanity" (Out May 8th on Metal Blade) / Show April 24th at Club Europa

California progressive grind conquerors Cattle Decapitation reveal the first of three in-studio video segments from their Monolith Of Inhumanity recording sessions. Set for North American release on May 8, 2012, the record was produced by Dave Otero of Denver's Flatline Audio and sees the band exploring innovative new techniques in song writing without abandoning their signature formula of confrontational audio wreckage and self-loathing lyrical content.

Check out Dave McGraw’s drum demolition and behind-the-scenes studio footage as well as first single “A Living, Breathing Piece Of Defecating Meat”.



Monolith Of Inhumanity is an achievement that stands out as one of the most volatile, ambitious, and impossible to aptly categorize records you will hear in 2012. Dragging their ever-evolving deathgrind sound kicking and screaming into the epic territory inhabited by the likes of Dimmu Borgir and Anaal Nathrakh, the quartet redefine all perceptions of what Cattle Decapitation is. With their seventh full-length, the band have never sounded more focused, aggressive, or manically determined to get in the faces of those who erroneously believe they’ve already experienced the band at their extreme best.

The 11-track Monolith Of Inhumanity features a host of guests including Mike Majewski of Devourment (guest vocals on "Projectile Ovulation"), Lenard Leal of Cephalic Carnage (backing vocals by on "A Living, Breathing Piece of Defecating Meat"), The Cephalic Carnage Community Men's Choir, consisting of all current Cephalic members and alumni Jawsh Mullen and Zac Joe (gang choir vocals on "The Carbon Stampede"), and ambient and noise interludes by Los Angeles' most extreme decimator of sound, John Wiese, as well as another strikingly brutal cover by Wes Benscoter.

In addition, Cattle Decapitation collaborated with famed pop culture artist Tom Bunk, best known for his work for the 1980s Garbage Pail Kids trading cards and MAD Magazine, for a very special art project. Bunk was gracious enough to create individual pieces of art for each member of the band, heavily influenced by and practically just as they appeared in the Garbage Pail Kids series of the ‘80s! A GPK-inspired Cattle Decapitation trading card set and T-shirts are included with special limited pre-order packages and collector’s bundles.

Cattle Decapitation recently returned from the successful Reborn of Death European Tour with Suffocation, Blood Red Throne, Cerebral Bore, Adimiron, Sadist and Ulvedharr and will take a short break before heading out on the Occupation Domination 2012 with Origin, Decrepit Birth, Aborted, Rings Of Saturn, Battlecross and more!

CATTLE DECAPITATION - Occupation Domination 2012
w/ Origin, Decrepit Birth, Aborted, Rings Of Saturn, Battlecross
4/14/12 - Forum 619 – Cheyenne, WY
4/15/12 - Budd Ugly's – Rapid City, SD
4/18/12 - Blackened Moon – Lansing, MI
4/19/12 - Lansing Elementary Community Center, Lansing OH
4/20/12 - Sonar – Baltimore, MD
4/21/12 - Mojo 13 – Wilmington, DE
4/22/12 - Champs Backstage – Trenton, NJ
4/23/12 - Railroad Tavern – Keene, NH
4/24/12 - Club Europa – Brooklyn, NY (Advanced Tickets are $20)
4/25/12 - Harpos – Detroit, MI
4/26/12 - Brass Rail – Peoria, IL
4/27/12 - Mojoe’s – Joliet, IL
4/28/12 - Camelot Arena – Portage, IN
4/29/12 - Fubar – St. Louis, MO
4/30/12 - The Rogue – Fayetteville, AR
5/02/12 - El Rey Theatre – Albuquerque, NM
5/03/12 - Cheyenne Saloon – Las Vegas, NV
5/04/12 - Ruby Room – San Diego, CA
5/05/12 - The Clubhouse – Tempe, AZ
5/06/12 - The Whisky a Go-Go – Hollywood, CA
5/07/12 - Slidebar – Fullerton, CA
5/08/12 - DNA Lounge – San Francisco, CA
5/09/12 - Plea For Peace Center – Stockton, CA
5/10/12 - The Alley – Sparks, NV
5/11/12 - Branx – Portland, OR
5/12/12 - Studio Seven – Seattle, WA
5/13/12 - The Venue – Boise, ID
5/14/12 - In The Venue – Salt Lake City, UT
5/15/12 - The Summit Music Hall – Denver, CO
5/16/12 - People's Court – Des Moines, IA
5/17/12 - Station 4 – St. Paul, MN
5/18/12 - The Granada Theater – Lawrence, KS

Links:
Cattle Decapitation

The Meatmen Announce October 2011 East Coast Tour / Show at Europa on October 23rd

THE MEATMEN... The very sound of the name can send limp writed Emo simps diving for cover, and always lays a healthy butt hurt on the forces of good everywhere they play. Led by Drum Major in the Squadron of Doom; one Tesco Vee, The Dutch Hercules, the Lansing Liberace, this latest assemblage of Meatboys just finished a whirlwind tour of the West Coast where they laid the musical wood to 25 cities in 25 days, and endured every drug, undocumented alien, and produce checkpoint west of Texarcana.



At one particular "fruit check-point" the boys heard a commotion in the next lane... The shrieks of 'Search me Offither! I'm packing bananas!!" was overheard and alas another band of merry pranksters known as Black Fag 'An Absoultely Fabulous Tribute to Black Flag" were seen chasing the guards around the van demanding attention... and of course an instant bond was formed between these unlikely hardcore wack factories. Yes its true, LA's Black Fag has joined forces with the Meatboy showband and revue for 3 spectacular shows on The Meatmen's upcoming east Coast Extrava-gonzo of sin filled fun and frolic with stops in Boston, Long Island and Brooklyn.



And we are also pleased to announce the bands first foray into Florida in 15 years, the Meatmen will also be tag teaming it with long time LA hardcore stalwarts Youth Brigade in their Miami appearance! This East Coast auditory assault begins Oct 19 and runs thru Oct 30, and will be brimming with more props, confetti and gags than any a Rip Taylor or Gallagher show combined!

Catch The Meatmen and down a shot of old school Motor City Hardcore straight up in a dirty glass!

Dates marked * w/ Black Fag - date marked # with Youth Brigade...
Thu. Oct. 6 Indianapolis, IN - Earth House
Fri. Oct. 7 Columbus OH - The Summit (21+)
Sat. Oct. 8 Sandusky OH - The Underground (18+)
Wed. Oct. 19 Greensboro, PA - 42 St. Rock House (18+)
Thu. Oct. 20 Baltimore MD - Sonar
Fri. Oct. 21 Boston MA* - The Church (18+)
Sat. Oct. 22 Babylon, NY* - Sinclairs
Sun. Oct. 23 Brooklyn, NY* - Europa [Tickets are $15]
Tue. Oct. 25 Myrtle Beach, SC - TBA
Wed. Oct. 26 Jacksonville FL - The Pit
Thu. Oct 27 West Palm Beach, FL # - Respectable St. (18+)
Fri. Oct. 28 Tampa, FL - Brass Mug
Sat. Oct. 29 Atlanta GA - Vinyl @ Center Stage
Sun. Oct. 30 Nashville TN - TBA

For the show at Europa, Black Fag will be making their NYC debut and Runny and Beer and Cable are also on the bill. Doors are at 7PM and the show is all-ages.

Links:
The Meatmen

Pentagram - "Last Rites" CD Review (Metal Blade)

Pentagram "Call the Man" by Metal Blade Records

Earlier this month, Pentagram released their seventh studio disc, Last Rites, which reunites a now clean and sober Bobby Liebling with Relentless-era guitarist Victor Griffin (Place of Skulls). In keeping with the ‘tradition’ of an every-changing lineup, Liebling and Griffin are joined by Greg Turley on bass (who played with Pentagram in the mid-90’s) and Tim Tomaselli on drums (Place of Skulls).

In closing out their fourth decade as a band, Pentagram haven’t sounded this good in years. This disc isn’t a return to the classic riffs of Be Forewarned (1994) but nor does it sound ‘phoned in’ like the band’s last studio release, Show ‘em How (2004). Victor Griffin’s muscular, blues-based stoner riffs, intricate leads and “Drop B” tuning add a lot to this disc and Liebling’s distinctive voice has lost little of its power.

Like most Pentagram discs, Last Rites is a split between re-recorded tracks from the 70’s and newly written tracks. “Walk in Blue Light” and “Everything’s Turning to Night” were originally released in demo form on the First Daze Here and First Daze Here Too compilations. “Call the Man” is from demo tapes from 1971 and “Into the Ground” and “Nothing Left” are from Liebling’s pre-Pentagram band, Stone Bunny.



The new material is good but somewhat of a mixed bag. Victor Griffin takes lead vocals on “American Dream” and this is a political song about the decline of the middle class. “Death In First Person” starts with a creepy “Alice Cooper Band” spoken word intro from Bobby before Griffin kicks in with the power riffs midway through the song. “Windmills and Chimes” is an “odd” number as I wouldn’t have expected Pentagram to record an alt-rock power ballad. The most interesting track is “8” which starts with some of the more creative drumming on the disc.

Pentagram has come a long way since (from the Washington DC City Paper) the days that Bobby required the City Paper interviewer to : 1) Always call after midnight; 2) all references to black magic and human sacrifices were to be off the record; and 3) at each 40-minute mark, Liebling would have to pause to smoke crack.

Last Rites is the first of a three-album deal with Metal Blade and, if they can hold this lineup together (and Bobby stays straight), they might reach beyond their core group of fans to become the “American Black Sabbath” (which is a label that has been following the band for years).

Links:
Pentagram

Hull Plays Club Europa with Pentagram in January // Sole Lord CD Review

Hull’s debut disc Sole Lord (The End) was released last year but somehow I missed this disc first time around. Getting straight to the point, this disc will be on my ‘End of Year’ best-of list.

Not to start with a diatribe about the music industry but my belief is that weak product and iTunes have done more damage than illegal downloading ever will. If you take a band like the Rolling Stones, iTunes allows you to selectively purchase the one, two or three decent songs from each of their recent releases rather than forcing you to muddle through the other nine tracks of dross on each release. I’m old enough to remember the days when music (like Pink Floyd’s Meddle and Genesis’ Lamb Lies Down on Broadway) required an active commitment. Thanks to iTunes, music is now a lot more disposable and consumed in “bite-sized” three minute chunks. Pink Floyd felt their songs weren’t meant to be consumed on a song-by-song basis on iTunes and Hull’s Sole Lord falls into similar territory.

Sole Lord takes me back to the early Pink Floyd days as the band combines the ambient psychedelic (or perhaps a better descriptor is “psychosis”) of Meddle-era Pink Floyd with the sludgy doom of bands like The Melvins. While some bands release discs that are consistent from start-to-finish, Sole Lord comes across as one body of work that just happens to be divided across ten tracks. Songs seamlessly flow into the next and some riffs are reused across songs which add to the overall impression that this is one 47 minute body of work.

I wouldn’t use the word “prog” to describe Hull but Sole Lord is a rolling opus of gentle instrumentals which segue into groove-oriented walls of distorted guitars before returning back to another instrumental. The ‘light’ and ‘dark’ elements of this disc are pretty evenly balanced as there are an equal number of instrumentals balanced with songs that make use of roared/chanted multi-part vocals. Hull’s use of contrasting tempos across this disc makes for engaging listening so this is the sort of disc that you are going to want to block some time to actively listen to.

Below is a video from Hull’s “secret show” at Public Assembly in Brooklyn. Hull is playing with Pentagram at Europa on Jan. 06, 2011. Tickets are $15.



Links:
Hull

Nails - Unsilent Death CD Review (Southern Lord)

Tim Lambesis ruined the ability of music reviewers to use the phrase ‘totally brutal’ with his Austrian Death Machine project but I’m going to go for it anyway and call the new CD from Nails “totally brutal”. Over the last few decades, I’ve seen some crazy mosh pits but Nails’ new disc sounds like an immediate flashpoint that will start the violence flowing.

I was only loosely familiar with Nails prior to Unsilent Death [the band’s second disc] and had made some assumptions based on guitarist/vocalist Todd James’ time in Terror. There is really no comparison between the two bands as Nails’ music sits right on the line between hardcore and grid. The disc’s ten tracks blast through in fourteen minutes and most tracks clock in at about a minute.

The disc contains two ‘longer’ songs ("Unsilent Death" and "Depths") which are given the opportunity to develop musically but even the shorter songs have a chance to spew their fury. These shorter songs don’t feel like the typical grindcore microsong as producer Kurt Ballou brings out the band’s chugging riffs, noisy leads and blast beats so that they are all individually distinguishable. Even more noticeable is that the vocals are (somewhat) understandable and the listener can hear James’ lyrical themes about railing against authority and the struggle of the human condition.

Nails just came through with Venomous Concept and here is some live footage from their stop in Albany.



Unsilent Death was originally released earlier this year on CD (Six Feet Under) and limited edition vinyl (now sold out). Southern Lord recently reissued the new disc on both CD and 180 gram black vinyl.

Links:
Nails

Evile Guitarist Ol Drake Posts Instructional Guitar Video for "Time No More" // Evile Plays NYC on Oct. 10th

UK thrash metal band Evile are eagerly anticipating their next major North American tour which starts next week in Tulsa, OK. To pass the time (and to make sure that fans air guitar correctly at all of the shows), guitarist, Ol Drake has made an instructional video that teaches viewers how to play the Infected Nations track, "Time No More." Ol teaches the song riff-by-riff at varying speeds to give fans a truly in-depth experience with learning the material.



Evile vocalist and guitarist Matt Drake recently commented on the band's impending North American tour:

"For the second time this year, Evile are proud to be able to say we're coming across the pond to play some more shows throughout America and Canada. Last time we were there for two months, this time we're staying for three, playing at loads of places we never went to last time, but also revisiting many places we played at with the mighty Overkill and Kreator earlier in the year. We just can't get enough of it!

This time we're joining up with Overkill, Forbidden, Early Man, Gama Bomb and Bonded By Blood for many different tours, also some headline shows of our own, so if you saw us play last time, make sure you come and see us again and bring everyone you know for some metal madness!"

Upcoming Evile Tour Date:

w/Early Man and Bonded By Blood
Sept. 30 - Marquee - Tulsa OK
Oct. 01 - Walter's - Houston TX
Oct. 02 - White Rabbit - San Antonio TX
Oct. 03 - Emo's - Austin TX
Oct. 04 - Ridglea Theater - Ft Worth TX
Oct. 05 - The Muse- Nashville TN
Oct. 06 - Budda's Place - Newport News VA
Oct. 07 - Sonar - Baltimore MD
Oct. 08 - Championship Bar and Grill - Trenton NJ
Oct. 09 - Rocko's Rock Club - Manchester NH
Oct. 10 - Europa - Brooklyn NY
Oct. 12 - Sneaky Dee's - Toronto ON
Oct. 13 - Broadway Joe's - Buffalo NY
Oct. 16 - Mad Planet - Milwaukee, WI
Oct. 17 - Reggie's Rock Club - Chicago il
Oct. 18 - The Riot Room - Kansas City MO
Oct. 19 - Larimer Lounge - Denver CO
Oct. 20 - Club Vegas - Salt lake City UT
Oct. 22 - Dante's - Portland OR
Oct. 23 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon (w/Gama Bomb)

w/Overkill, Forbidden, Gama Bomb and Bonded By Blood
Oct. 24 - Vancouver, BC - Red Room*
Oct. 27 - Regina SK - Exchange*
Oct. 28 - Winnipeg, Manitoba - Royal Albert Arms*
Oct. 29 - Thunder Bay, ON - Crocks*
Oct. 30 - St. Cloud, MN - The Rox Tavern*** (w/Abigail Williams)
Oct. 31 - Indianapolis, IN - The Dojo*
Nov. 01 - London, ON - Music Hall*
Nov. 02 - Buffalo, NY - Broadway Joe's*
Nov. 03 - Trenton, NJ - Championship Bar and Grill*
Nov. 04 - Springfield, VA - Jaxx ***
Nov. 05 - Rochester, NY - Montage Music Hall**
Nov. 06 - Farmingdale, NY - Crazy Donkey**
Nov. 07 - Providence, RI - Club Hell**
Nov. 08 - Baltimore, MD - Sonar**
Nov. 09 - Virginia Beach, VA - Gil's**
Nov. 10 - Charlotte, NC - Amos'**
Nov. 11 - Raleigh, NC - Volume 11**
Nov. 12 - Jacksonville, NC - Hooligans**
Nov. 13 - Orlando, FL - Club Firestone**
Nov. 14 - Ft Lauderdale, FL - Culture Room**
Nov. 15 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade**
Nov. 16 - Cleveland, OH - Peabody's**
Nov. 17 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall**
Nov. 18 - Pittsburgh, PA - Diesel Nightclub**
Nov. 19 - Manchester, NH - Rocko's**
Nov. 20 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom**
Nov. 21 - Ottawa, ON - Mavericks***
Nov. 22 - Montreal, QC - Foufounes Electriques***
Nov. 23 - Toronto, ON - MOD Club***
Nov. 24 - Detroit, MI - Blondies***
Nov. 25 - Nashville, TN - The Muse***
Nov. 26 - Louisville, KY - Phoenix Hill Tavern***
Nov. 27 - Chicago, IL - Reggie's***
Nov. 28 - Milwaukee, WI - The Rave***
Nov. 29 - St Paul, MN - Station 4***
Dec. 01 - San Antonio, TX - Scout Bar***
Dec. 02 - Austin, TX - Emo's***
Dec. 03 - Houston, TX - Scout Bar***
Dec. 04 - Ft Worth, TX - Trees***
Dec. 05 - Amarillo, TX - The War Legion Underground*
Dec. 06 - Tucson, AZ - The Rock***
Dec. 07 - Mesa, AZ - U.B.'s***
Dec. 08 - West Hollyood , CA - Whiskey a Go Go***
Dec. 09 - Ramona, CA - Ramona Mainstage***
Dec. 10 - Sparks, NV - New Oasis***
Dec. 11 - San Francisco, CA - DNA Lounge***
Dec. 12 - Anaheim, CA - Chain Reaction*
Dec. 13 - las Vegas, NV - Cheyenne Saloon*

*w/GAMA BOMB and BONDED BY BLOOD
**Killfest II w/OVERKILL, FORBIDDEN, GAMA BOMB and BONDED BY BLOOD
***w/FORBIDDEN, GAMA BOMB and BONDED BY BLOOD

Evile's 2009 album, Infected Nations, is due to be re-released on October 12th as a limited edition redux version. This special version of the album includes a bonus disc with fifteen extra tracks, including the band's popular cover of Pantera's "Cemetery Gates", as well as eight songs recorded live in the studio with new bassist Joel Graham and six songs recorded live at Hammerfest in 2009. Earache Records is currently taking pre-orders through their web store.

Links:
Evile

Bonded By Blood: "Exiled to Earth" Press Interview with Vocalist Jose Barrales, Earache Records, NYC July '10

Earlier this month, I had a opportunity to catch up with Jose Barrales, vocalist for the Pomona, CA thrash band Bonded by Blood. The band's second album for Earache Records, Exiled to Earth, is due out August 10th. This time around, the band recorded with producer Ralph Patlan (Megadeth, UFO and White Wizzard) and the end results are a heavier and tighter sound.

I talked with Jose about the new release (and the limited edition signed comic strip that comes with the disc if you order through Townsend Records), the evolution of the band since the "Four Pints of Blood" demo and their upcoming tours with Exodus, Overkill, Evile and Early Man.



Bonded by Blood are on the road from August through the end of the year and local shows are August 28th at Gramercy Theater with Exodus and October 10th at Europa with Early Man and Evile. The show at the Gramercy Theater also has Malevolent Creation and Holy Grail on the bill and tickets are $20. Details about the show at Europa aren't posted yet.

Here are the tour dates for the run of shows with Exodus, Malevolent Creation and Holy Grail:

08/16/10 Hawthorne Theater - Portland, OR
08/17/10 Rickshaw Theater - Vancouver, BC - CANADA
08/18/10 Studio Seven - Seattle, WA
08/20/10 The Complex - Salt Lake City, UT
08/21/10 Bluebird Theater - Denver, CO
08/23/10 Reggie's Rock Club - Chicago, IL
08/24/10 The Mod Club - Toronto, ON - CANADA
08/25/10 Foufounes Electriques - Montreal, QC - CANADA
08/27/10 The Palladium - Worcester, MA
08/28/10 The Gramercy Theater - New York, NY
08/29/10 Polaris - Philadelphia, PA
08/31/10 Jaxx - W. Springfield, VA
09/01/10 Peabody's - Cleveland, OH
09/02/10 Phoenix Hill Tavern - Louisville, KY
09/03/10 The Masquerade - Atlanta, GA
09/04/10 The Social - Orlando, FL
09/05/10 Culture Room - Ft. Lauderdale, FL
09/07/10 The Door - Dallas, TX
09/08/10 Emo's - Austin, TX
09/12/10 The Avalon - Santa Clara, CA

Links:
Bonded By Blood

Enforcer: Photos from Club Europa, Brooklyn, NY 9-18-09 (NWOBHM)

Swedish traditional-metal/NOWBHM-influenced band Enforcer made their first trek through the US this Summer as part of the North American Nightmare tour. The band played Club Europa last month with Cauldron (Earache), Black Anvil and At War.

Don't make the same mistake that I did and forget to wear earplugs - Enforcer is loud and vocalist Olof Wikstrand has one h*ll of a metal scream.



Enforcer started about three years ago but the band didn't hit my radar until their song "Mistress of Hell" was included on Earache's Heavy Metal Killers compilation that came out earlier this year.



Enforcer is a young band but they have managed to capture the melodic power of the early 80's metal bands and sound like a cross between early Iron Maiden and Motley Crue. The band released their debut album Into the Night about a year ago on Heavy Artillery Records and are currently back in the studio to record a follow-up. There is a new track, "Roll the Dice", streaming on the band's MySpace profile.

Zandelle - Photos from Club Europa, Brooklyn, NY 8-28-09

I lost track of Zandelle after L'Amours (in Brooklyn) closed but I probably saw the band over a dozen times during L'Amour's final run in Bensonhurst ('99 - '04).

Time has been good to Zandelle and the band has gotten better with age. The band's sound hasn't changed much over the years and they are still playing epic power metal. What has changed though is the band's lineup (yet again) and this appears to be for the better as both the band's song writing and live show have gotten tighter.



Earlier this year, Zandelle signed with the German label Pure Steel Records and released their third disc, Flames of Rage, this past June. Many reviewers are calling this new disc Zandelle's best to-date.



Links:
Zandelle's MySpace Profile

Raven - Photos from Club Europa, Brooklyn, NY 8-28-09

Raven is sort of like the Dorian Gray of heavy metal - trends come and go, bands age, break up, change their sound and all the while Raven still seems like the exact same band that I saw in the 80's open for Judas Priest.

Raven was in town in August to play the Brooklyn Thunder Fest at Club Europa with Ross the Boss, White Wizzard and Zandelle. The band's latest disc is entitled Walk Through Fire and it was released last March on the Japanese label King Records.





Here is the set list from the show:

01. Take Control
02. Live at the Inferno
03. All For One
04. Gimme a Break
05. Breaking You Down
06. Long Day’s Journey
07. Rock Until You Drop
08.. Guitar Solo
09. Speed of the Reflex \ Run Silent Run Deep \ Mind Over Metal
10. The King
11. On And On
12. Bass Solo
13. For the Future
14. Break the Chain









Links:
Raven

White Wizzard: Video Interview & Live Footage, Club Europa 8-20-09 (Earache)

Los Angeles based NWOBHM/traditional metal band White Wizzard made their East Coast debut last month at the Brooklyn Thuder Fest at Club Europa. The band's debut EP "High Speed GTO" was released on Earache Records earlier this month and is getting excellent press. (Check out the coverage in the Village Voice)

I had the opportunity to catch up with the band before their set and I've included some footage from the band's live set after the interview.



White Wizzard recently posted on their MySpace page (link below) that they just finished recording their first full-length disc which is due out early next year.

Links:
White Wizzard

Cage Is Headlining Club Europa on Sept. 13th with Ravage, Machines of Grace, Martyrd and Phoenix Reign

DOWNLOAD: Cage - 9 Song Music Mega-Pack
Note: This download is legit - the band has made available 9 full length songs as a free download

San Diego power-metal band Cage are coming to the New York area to play the Binghamton Metal Festival on Sept. 12th. Before leaving the area, the band is playing a headlining show at Club Europa on Sept. 13th.

Cage has now been together for over 15 years and the band released their fifth album Science of Annihilation earlier this year. Cage plays traditional heavy metal (I learned this phrase from Al Ravage) and later period Judas Priest or Megadeth are easy points of comparison.

Cage is sharing the bill with Ravage, Machines of Grace (featuring Zach Stevens from Savatage), Phoenix Reign and Martyrd. Tickets are $10 and doors are at 7PM.

Links:
Cage's MySpace Profile

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

Bruce Springsteen/Suicide Split 10" Out on Blast First

The world is definitely getting stranger when one can mention Bruce Springsteen and Suicide (the band) in the same sentence.

Well...Blast First has released a limited edition split 10" with Bruce Springsteen covering Suicide's "Dream Baby Dream", a live performance of Suicide playing "Dream Baby Dream" on the Midnight Special, and a cover of "Mr. Ray" by (the recently defunct NYC band) Beat The Devil. This 10" is the first in a series of limited edition releases celebrating the 70th birthday of Suicide vocalist Alan Vega.

The vinyl edition is a limited pressing of 4,000 and available in most indie music shops (Vintage Vinyl is always a reliable source) and the mp3s are available for purchase from Blast First (click on the LP cover to go to the Blast First site).

Suicide are playing Club Europa in Greenpoint on December 11th.

Les Breastfeeders: Live @ Club Europa, Brooklyn, NYC 7-20-08

Here are the first two songs from Les Breastfeeders live set at Club Europa last Sunday night. The band's live set made a believer out of me and I'm looking forward to seeing the band come back through the town in 2009.



Links:
Les Breastfeeders MySpace Profile
Les Breastfeeders Website

Les Breastfeeders: Live @ Europa, Brooklyn, NY 7-20-08 + Interview

Montreal's Les Breastfeeders finished up their US tour last Sunday night with a show at Club Europa. The band has been on the road for about two years, touring behind their second release,Les Matins de Grands Soirs, and they are going back into the studio to record new material later this year.

The band is a lot of fun live and they were kind enough to let me film some of their set. I also had the chance to catch up with Sunny (Lead guitar) and Pat (Drums) before the show for a brief interview on a Greenpoint street corner.



I'm going to try to get a follow-up video of the some songs from the band's live set posted tonight. Unfortunately, those in the US will likely have to wait until 2009 to catch the band live but Les Breastfeeders are playing some shows around Quebec this month and next.

Links:
Les Breastfeeders MySpace Profile
Les Breastfeeders Website

Les Breastfeeders Announce Show at Club Europa in Brooklyn

French-Canadian band Les Breastfeeders are making one final run through the US in support of their 2006 release Les Matins de Grands Soirs (Mornings of Great Evenings). The band is playing Club Europa on Sunday, July 20th and tickets are $10.

Les Matins de Grands Soirs is a great slab of garage rock crossed with the pop influences and girl group stylings of early Blondie. The band's lyrics are all in French so I'm not sure what they are singing about but all the songs are pretty damn catchy.


Links:
Les Breastfeeders' MySpace Profile
Les Breastfeeders' Website

The Hidden Hand (Southern Lord) are Playing Two Local Shows in Feb.

Southern Lord recording artists The Hidden Hand have announced two dates in the area in February.

2/13 - Brooklyn, NY @ Club Europa
2/14 - New York, NY @ Club Midway w/Unearthly Trance






The new Hidden Hand LP/CD, entitled The Resurrection of Whiskey Foote, is scheduled for release on February 20. It is safe to assume that there will likely be a limited edition colored vinyl LP edition available only through the Southern Lord website.