Hey Pittsburgh, it’s Friday! The weekend is just about upon us, so of course everyone is looking for something to entertain themselves with over the next few days, right? I’ve got all the answers RIGHT HERE!
Category Archives: Pittsburgh
Upcoming Shows: Chrome Waves Tour Starts Tonight!
Okay, folks, listen up. Here’s another tour you need to know about. It’s only nine days long and only covers the north-eastern quadrant of the United States, but if you live in or near any of the cities listed below (including Pittsburgh!) you won’t want to miss Chrome Waves. How’s this for a super group: Stavros Giannopoulos (The Atlas Moth), Jeff Wilson (Wolvhammer, ex-Nachtmystium), and Iron Bob Fouts (The Gates of Slumber)!
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Currently Touring: The Catalyst
Here’s another announcement about a current U.S. tour, which somehow slipped past me until after it actually got underway. If you live in Indiana, Illinois, Nebraska, New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, or Texas, then I am very, very sorry.
Just like Windhand, whose summer tour I wrote about yesterday, The Catalyst also come from Richmond, Virginia, and also are with Forcefield Records. These folks are really starting to make waves with their grunge/noise-rock/hardcore sound (Decibel Magazine mentions the “multi-directional weirdness of their AmRep-meets-Melvins-meets-thrash-meets-Lollapalooza-when-it-was-cool sonic soup”).
Their new album Voyager is set to be released on 04 September, in a 12″ vinyl format with full-color gatefold. However, you can get your hands on it earlier: during their tour, the band will have an advance limited run of the LP on clear and orange haze vinyl (limited to 200 pieces) available.
If, however, The Catalyst aren’t coming to your city (or if you live in one of the places they’ve already played), you can also pre-order a copy from Forcefield (here), limited to 100 copies in an orange and yellow swirl with black and red splatter. The pre-orders will ship on 13 August, so you’ll have it very soon — and around three weeks before the official release date!
Damnit! Windhand Tour Started Last Week! Anyway, Here’s the Details…
In reviewing their self-titled debut album, Cvlt Nation calls Windhand “way more than a band that you should be on the look out for, they are a group of humans that will change the way you hear doom.”
With members who’ve also done time in bands like Alabama Thunderpussy, The Might Could, and Facedowninshit, Windhand are gaining enough recognition and accolades to stand out in what sometimes seems like a pretty crowded field of female-fronted occult doom, and rightfully so.
…Which is why I was pretty pissed off when I came across this announcement about their month-long U.S. tour, a week after the tour had already started — particularly when I discovered that they had already been to Pittsburgh last weekend and I hadn’t even heard anything about it until now! Clearly, I’ve been spending way too much time dealing with less-important bullshit (work, for example), and not enough time paying attention to goings-on in the world of good quality music!
So anyway, all of us folks who live in the northeast, and some parts of the midwest (Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan earlier this week) have already missed out — unless some of you readers have been more perceptive than me, and managed to catch one of those shows. But for the rest of you, who live all over the middle of the country or in the southeast, you’ve still got a chance. A full list of tourdates can be found below.
What To Do In Pittsburgh This Weekend (3-4 August 2012)
Hey yinz guys, good afternoon! As I write this, Thursday is approaching an end, which means the end of the work week is not too far off, meaning it’s almost time for the weekend to start! Probably the best news I’ve heard all day.
Do you have your weekend plans all figured out yet? If not, then please allow me to offer a few suggestions — I’ve got the details about some shows taking place around town on Friday and Saturday, and trust me, you aren’t going to want to miss these!
(Unfortunately, a few of these do overlap, so you’ll definitely be missing something, no matter what you end up doing… #firstworldproblems)
Upcoming Shows: What To Do In (And Around) Pittsburgh This Weekend (27-29 July 2012)
What’s up, readers!??
Pittsburgh metal. Good stuff. FREE. Read about it, download it. You won’t regret it, and I won’t stop bugging you until you do it. Seriously.
A whole bunch of the bands who have songs on that comp are playing shows this weekend, along with a whole bunch of other bands. If you’re in the Pittsburgh region over the next couple days, you’ll want to pay attention because here’s your guide to what awesomeness you might have missed if I wasn’t here to help you out!
Cormorant Are Touring All Over the U.S.! (Well, not ALL Over…)
Regular readers of this blog (or the occasional random Googler) will already be familiar with my feelings on Californian blackened progressive metal band Cormorant. For anyone else who might be unaware, here is a brief overview of their discography which I wrote upon the occasion of their most recent release, Dwellings, back in December.
Knowing that this DIY band manages to put together strings of tourdates fairly infrequently, it’s always a big deal when they announce some shows. However, when I saw Primordial (Irish black-metal-turned-blackened-doom-metal, of whom I’m also really really fond) announce a jaunt through the eastern U.S., and Cormorant’s name appeared on the poster too, well I almost passed out.
Unfortunately, on closer inspection (and with helpful guidance from Cormorant bassist Arthur von Nagel), I realized that these two bands — along with the epic/melodic doom band While Heaven Wept — were only playing most of the dates listed.
While Pittsburgh’s Smiling Moose bar is shown in the image (see below), the asterisk next to that date, according to the legend at the bottom, means “WHW only”.
I’ve heard that that literally means “WHW only”… I’ve also heard (from Bandsintown, and later from Primordial themselves when they shared that event) that Primordial would indeed be playing Pittsburgh that night. Later, Primordial’s wall post was deleted, although the Bandsintown event remains. And the dude from Meatmeadmetal tells me that Metal Blade has confirmed there will be no Primordial.
What a huge fucking mess — I have no clue what’s happening. Opening bands at the Pittsburgh date will also include two local greats, Argus and Vermithrax. Those are both worth seeing, and if you like While Heaven Wept, then there’s another plus. Go check out the show, maybe Primordial will show up, maybe they won’t. Maybe fucking Black Sabbath will reunite with Bill Ward for one night only and play a secret show at The Smiling Moose. I wouldn’t be surprised by anything at this point.
Personally, I can’t help feeling a good bit of disappointment at the absence of Cormorant; however, Cleveland is only a few hours away, so ‘Burgh-area fans may want to keep that possibility in mind… or possibly Rochester or Philadelphia, if you’re feeling especially adventurous.
Anyway, here is the tour poster, in all of its bewildering confusingness, followed by a full list of dates:
Upcoming Shows: What To Do In Pittsburgh This Weekend (20-21 July 2012)
Hey! Have you seen the new Iron Atrocity Vol.2 compilation? If you live in the Pittsburgh area, or if you live anywhere and just want to discover some amazing music — that’s totally FREE to download — then you need to go check it out right now!
After you’ve read that post and downloaded the compilation… seriously, do it… then come on back here because I’ve got some shows to tell you about for this Friday and Saturday!
Get Yourself Some FREE Pittsburgh Metal: Innervenus Music Collective – Iron Atrocity v.2
Innervenus Music Collective – Iron Atrocity v.2 (Innervenus Music, 03 August 2012)
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past nine months, or have never ever seen a post on this blog before, chances are you’ve heard me talking about the Iron Atrocity project. This is purely a labor of love by the wonderful folks who run the Innervenus Music Collective, and designed as a showcase for the array of high-quality metal (and other related music) we’ve got here in the Pittsburgh area.
It’s been a long time coming, and there have been many trials and tribulations along the way, but the second edition of this compendium of local talent has been completed! Just like volume 1, this new collection will be handed out for free by Innervenus-related bands at shows and other events (beginning with the Iron Atrocity Vol.2 release show, which is scheduled for Friday 03 August 2012), but also just like its predecessor, the compilation can be downloaded for free — and it’s available right now!
The new CD has assembled tracks — some newly recorded, exclusively for the compilation, some taken from recent releases — from sixteen different local bands, all of whom have been mentioned on this website in some form or fashion, at one time or another. Nevertheless, I’ll give you the full rundown on all the songs, about an hour and a quarter in all, that will be yours FREE when you grab this download. All you need to do in return is listen and enjoy, spread the word, and whenever possible, show your support by heading out to some shows (or buying some merchandise)!
Upcoming Shows: What To Do In Pittsburgh Tonight (17 July 2012)
Allure of the Earth Productions presents:
Sons of Tonatiuh, Vulture, and Sistered
Mr. Roboto Project
5106 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh (Bloomfield)
17 July 2012 | 7:00pm doors | $7
http://www.facebook.com/events/285866544829061/
Atlanta’s Sons of Tonatiuh are making their way up to Pittsburgh tonight, to contaminate the Mr. Roboto Project with their southern sludge metal. This show is part of the band’s “Beckoning the End Tour,” which will continue through the end of the week with stops in Philadelphia, New York, Virginia, and North Carolina (see the image above). See their website for full details, including more upcoming shows in August and September.
Their new album Parade of Sorrow (just released in June) is available to hear or buy through Bandcamp…
…and here’s a video for “Consumed” from their 2010 self-titled LP (also available on Bandcamp).
Joining them will be those titans of Steel City Sludge, Vulture (who can also be heard on Bandcamp), and Cosmic Stoner Punk band Sistered (surprise, Bandcamp again).
Valley of Steel 