VOS Interview: Dethlehem!!

 
Good evening, readers! As I mentioned earlier today, local RPG-nerd-metal band Dethlehem are headlining The Pittsburgh Scene‘s second birthday extravaganza at Stage AE tomorrow evening.

Preparations have been underway for this show for quite some time — the Dethlehem guys have been sharpening their swords and patching their chain mail, as well as rehearsing their music. But during a recent practice, they were kind enough to allow me exclusive access to their underground lair to sit down and chat, and to find out what’s been happening with the band.

 
Continue reading

What To Do In Pittsburgh This Weekend (29-30 September 2012)

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Steel City metropolitan region, I am pleased to once again present you with your list of weekendly happenings in the area!  Read on, become informed, and then go support your local music scene!

 
Continue reading

What To Do In Pittsburgh This Week: Part 2 (26-27 September 2012)

Hello again, readers. As promised yesterday, here’s your to-do list for the remainder of this week (covering Wednesday the 26th and Thursday the 27th). Read on, and then party on. Or something like that.

Continue reading

What To Do In Pittsburgh This Week: Part 1 (24-25 September 2012)

Wow, sometimes it feels like all I ever do anymore is write these “What To Do In Pittsburgh” posts. It might look that way, but don’t worry — there’s some cool stuff brewing behind the scenes around here, some big changes and announcements will be coming shortly. In the meantime…

Usually I end up covering a weekend’s worth of events with these things, but it seems like this week there’s an extraordinary amount of stuff going on in between the weekends. So that’s why I’m throwing together this special two-part weekday edition — there’s some stuff to keep you busy each evening from Monday through Thursday this week! This post will cover tonight and tomorrow night (Monday the 24th and Tuesday the 25th) and stay tuned for the rest to be posted tomorrow…

 

Continue reading

What To Do In Pittsburgh This Weekend (22-23 September 2012)

Happy Friday everyone!

Isn’t it so weird how time works? Or, our perception of time, anyway…

I mean, it feels like this week has been dragging on forever — like it seemed that the weekend would never get here (and now it’s just a few hours away!) But then, looking at the bigger picture, it feels like this year has been flying by. Like, it doesn’t seem like it should be September already, and here we are approaching the END of September!

And as of tomorrow, it’ll officially turn from summer to fall — which is fine with me, because I’m so sick of hot weather anyway, but my point is, time just seems to keep slipping away so fast… unless you’re stuck at work, that is.

Anyway, since summer’s basically over now, the schedule of local shows seems to have gotten a little bit lighter — but there’s still plenty of chances to get out there and rock out! (Or, to thieve the slogan from local printers Commonwealth Press on their new NHL-related tees, “Rock aht with your lock aht”!)

 
Continue reading

Michale Graves Announces More War of Information Tour Dates

 
Michale Graves, former Misfits, Graves, and Gotham Road vocalist, has announced a new string of dates being tacked onto the previously announced War of Information Tour (which ultimately is supposed to be leading up to the recording and release of an album by the same name). These new shows, kicking off next Tuesday in Pittsburgh, will consist of acoustic-only performances.

 
Continue reading

Now Available: Low Man – Self-Titled EP

 

Low ManLow Man EP (self-released, 14 August 2012)

 
Hey there, friends and comrades, how are you all doing?! Feel free to imagine all the typical witty “oh man it’s Monday, I really hate Mondays” rhetoric here. Honestly, though, I’m not really feeling that terrible so far.

It could just be that I’m still not quite awake enough to really feel it yet, or maybe it could be a lingering positive feeling from watching (my local football team) the Steelers utterly demolish the visiting New York Jets yesterday. (By the way, if anyone reading this is a Jets fan, I’m sorry — for many reasons…)

But anyway, whatever the explanation, I think I’ll take advantage of this ultra-rare pleasant mood (relatively speaking, of course), and do something productive. The first thing I want to do is talk to you about Low Man.

Now I’ve mentioned these guys a time or two in the past, when they’ve had various shows scheduled, but I’ve never really taken the time to discuss the band at length before. And since they’ve recently released their self-titled debut EP (which has been online for the past few weeks, but will also be available on CD starting today), it seems like a good time to start!

 
Continue reading

What To Do In Pittsburgh Tonight (17 September 2012)

 

Pile, Old Accusers, Low Man

 

at the Mr. Roboto Project

5106 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh (Bloomfield)

 

Monday 17 September 2012 | 7:00 pm | $5 | All ages

 
The following description was lifted directly from Low Man‘s official Facebook event page:

Oh shit yes. Pile, our favorite proggy hardcore sons of the revolution are trekking out on tour from their beautiful city of Boston and stopping here in Pittsburgh just to have a good time with you.

How could that possibly get better? How about the fact that we invited local crushers Old Accusers to play as well? They’ve got a brand new album out, just like we do, and they’re going to rip your face off and use it as a frisbee.

As for your friendly neighborhood stoner punks, we’ll hopefully have a wonderful surprise in store, along with some new and old jams for your most devious pleasures. We’ll keep you in the loop on that shit, don’t you worry.

This is an all ages joint, right across from Spak Bros, so get a killer slice and a cream soda, and then cross the street to get your earholes blown out with your best friends in the world.

 
You can check out more information about all three bands (and hear previews of what you might expect at tonight’s show) at the following links: Pile, Low Man, Old Accusers

 
In addition, regarding that “wonderful surprise” that the band hinted at above, well the cat’s been let out of the bag now:

This is now the Official Low Man CD Release Party Thing, so if you want our new EP in a tangible form, bring your five dollar bills and you can have one!

 
Yeah, the band’s brand new self-titled EP is now available on CD as well — read my review of the album here, then head to Roboto tonight to grab your very own copy!

RSVP here.

What To Do In Pittsburgh This Weekend (14-15 September 2012)

 

Solarburn CD Release Show

with special guests Sistered and Embers to Ashes

 

at Howler’s Coyote Cafe

4509 Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh (Bloomfield)

 

Friday 14 September 2012 | doors 9:00 pm | $5 | 21+ only

 
Yes, folks, it’s finally here: the instrumental metal machine that is Solarburn is unleashing its brand-new debut album 13 (pictured below)! Come on out to Howlers to party with the band, and pick up a CD or one of their newly-designed t-shirts! Also joining in the festivities are local metalheads Sistered (hear ’em here) and Embers to Ashes.
 

This show also comes with a 100% face melt guarantee. If for any reason your face is not completely melted by the end of the show, simply approach any of the bands involved so we can promptly tell you to go fuck yourself….guaranteed!

 

 
RSVP here.

 
——————————————————-
 

 

 

Motorpsychos, VⒺⒼA, Black Plastic Caskets

 

at the 31st Street Pub

3101 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh (Strip District at the 31st St. Bridge)

 

Saturday 15 September 2012 | 10:00 pm | $5 | 21+ only

 
If you head down to the Pub Saturday night, you’ll be in for a rip-roaring, hard-rocking, beer-guzzling good time. Or something like that. Join local bands Motorpsychos and VⒺⒼA in giving a warm welcome to our Ohio neighbors Black Plastic Caskets in their first-ever Pittsburgh performance!

You can RSVP and get more details on the show here and here.

 
——————————————————-
 

 

Click image to make more bigger

 

Concert Chaos Entertainment and Metalsucks Present:

Skeletonwitch, Havok, Early Graves, Horrid Ordeal

 

at The Smiling Moose (upstairs)

1306 E Carson Street, Pittsburgh (South Side)

 

Saturday 15 September 2012 | doors at 5:00pm | $12 advance, $15 at door | ALL AGES

 
Please note the venue and time change for this show! The poster says Ironworks but the show has been moved to The Smiling Moose! And the doors will be opening at five rather than six as previously reported. Also, Dethlehem was originally scheduled to perform, but due to the changes and the time constraints, they opted to drop off the billing for the evening. (Don’t worry, there will be some Dethlehem news coming your way in the very near future…)

Anyway, the show is being held upstairs, and it is an ALL AGES event, although there is a full-service bar in the lower level of the Moose. Check out some big (and semi-big) names, as they swarm their way through Pittsburgh!

You can get your tickets here, and then RSVP here.

What To Do In Pittsburgh Tonight? (10 September 2012)

Seriously, that’s a tough question. Must-see shows don’t come around all that often, and even less frequently on a Monday night… but by some strange, freak-of-nature coincidence, there will be two of them taking place in town tonight!

Here are the details for each of them, and then — I dunno, you can flip a coin or something:

 
——————————————————————
 

 

Root of Evil Collective Presents:

False, Bellow, Egality, Wrought Iron

 

at the Mr. Roboto Project

5106 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh (Bloomfield)

 

Monday 10 September 2012 | show starts at 7:00 pm | $5 | all ages

 
 
Appearing tonight at Roboto are a pair of bands visiting our fine city from Minneapolis! Neither one (apparently) believes in using Facebook, but you can check out False‘s self-titled LP of angry black metal at the Gilead Media Bandcamp page (here) and Bellow‘s self-titled EP of atmospheric doom on their own Bandcamp page (here — download for free, or pay whatever you like!). Kicking things off will be Egality from Derry, PA, and Wrought Iron from Pittsburgh!

RSVP for this event here.

 
——————————————————————
 

 

Allure of the Earth Productions presets…

The Atlas Moth, Supervoid, Falling Upward

 

at The Smiling Moose (upstairs)

1306 East Carson Street, Pittsburgh (South Side)

 

Monday 10 September 2012 | 9:00 pm | $10 | 21+ only

 
 
Chicagoan black/doom metal band The Atlas Moth‘s An Ache for the Distance (Profound Lore Records) made countless year-end best-of lists in 2011. You can listen to the album here, then you can hear the band tonight at the Moose! Featuring the much-hyped local hard rock supergroup Supervoid as well as the Burgh’s prog-metal darlings Falling Upward.

PS: The poster shown here is an old image; the date was changed since then, so disregard where it says “Sunday” — honestly, the show is tonight (Monday)!

RSVP for this show here.