Category Archives: Shows

Coming Soon: Titans Eve – Life Apocalypse (Free T-Shirt with Pre-Order!)

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Titans Eve – Life Apocalypse (13 July 2012, Self-Released)

 
Good morning, readers!

You may have noticed that I don’t normally publish album reviews before the official release dates. Part of the reason might be because I want to share things with you when they’re actually available for you to get your hands on them, because I know how short people’s attention spans can be sometimes — myself included! Sometimes when I read about something several months before it comes out, I might think to myself, “Oh that sounds great, I’ll have to check that out” and then I completely forget about it a few days later.

More than that, though, it’s mostly because I usually just don’t get around to it. I hear about loads of great music and I want to write about all of it, because I want to make sure the bands get the exposure they deserve, and I want to make sure YOU have every opportunity to hear about the new music you want. Besides that, I try to spend as much time as possible with something before I start writing — albums usually get numerous listens on several different days, so that I feel familiar enough with the material to be able to describe it adequately AND so that I can be sure I wasn’t hearing something wrong just because I was grumpy or preoccupied on a particular day.

Unfortunately, I don’t have an unlimited amount of time for writing, which means I’m perpetually running behind. I’ve still got a bunch of albums from 2011 I haven’t even listened to yet, not to mention how much stuff I haven’t had the chance to write about!

When I heard this album full of killer thrash music by Vancouver’s Titans Eve, I knew I would want to write about it and share it with you, but then when I found out that they have pre-order packages (either the digital or CD versions) where they are throwing in a FREE t-shirt, I decided I needed to bring this to your attention sooner rather than later! This Friday (the 13th of July) is the official release date, so hurry up and finish reading, then at the end of this post you’ll get the chance to hear the album for yourself, and I’ll give you all the links you need to take advantage of this special pre-order deal.

For my Canadian friends, I’ve also provided the dates for the band’s July/August tour of western Canada with Anvil, as well as a list of stops when they will be heading east across the rest of the country with Kill Devil Hill.

 

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Time for Another “Signmeto” Unsigned Band Profile: Wearing the Inside Out

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Hey, what’s up, loyal readers? It’s been a long time since I’ve done one of these “Signmeto Roadrunner Records” Band Profiles. For a few months I was doing them on a weekly basis, but some scheduling issues arose and — as you may have noticed — I ended up missing a few weeks.

So what the hell leads me back to the Signmeto website today — on a Sunday, no less, when I normally don’t even do any writing or post anything at all? Well I just learned that local (Pittsburgh-area) band Wearing the Inside Out, who have a few of their songs on that site, are in the midst of a campaign to raise funds for their upcoming east coast tour. I only just found out about this today, but apparently this is the last day (the deadline is midnight tonight, about SIX HOURS from now!), so I wanted to share it as soon as I could.

As I always do in these Signmeto Band Profiles, I’ll check out the songs you can hear on the website and tell you a bit about them. I’ll also tell you about the great gifts (CDs, t-shirts, etc.) you can get for helping the band out with donations…

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Upcoming Shows: What To Do In Pittsburgh Tonight (7 July 2012)

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Good morning, Readers, and a happy Saturday to you!

I had all sorts of plans for yesterday, including another album review and a post to tell you about all the great shows happening in Pittsburgh last night and tonight… but, well, some things came up and I never did get a chance to get anything published.

It’s not such a big deal about the review, because I’ll get a chance to finish it sometime over the next couple days, but last night’s shows have already happened, and if you depend on this blog for news about local shows, then I’m sorry but you missed some good ones!

For example, The Cheats had their CD release show for their new album Pussyfootin! (read the review here), while also opening for Michale Graves on his War of Information Tour. Also appearing were local acts Children of October and Fist Fight in the Parking Lot. You can read more about the War of Information Tour here, and see if perhaps there’s another date you’re able to check out. The Cheats are also playing on a few other nearby shows — including tonight in Cleveland, tomorrow night in Huntington WV, and again next month in Altoona.

Other cool shows I didn’t get the chance to write about for last night included the Icarus Witch release party for their new album Rise (see the review for that one here), who were playing with Thunderfist, Rat Tits, and Reduce to Ash… and another show with local heavy-rockers Whiskey Rebellion.

I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for all these bands to be playing again, and will do my best to keep you informed about it if they do! But like I always say, I’m far from perfect, and I do miss stuff from time to time. (Also I’m not so delusional as to think that anybody out there really relies on me as their sole source of news!) I would highly recommend that you check out two other excellent sources of information, in addition to this one, for local events: The Pittsburgh Scene and MoshPittsburgh.

Having said all that, there are two shows I would like to let you know about for tonight (Saturday, 07 July)…
 
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Upcoming Shows: Sangre – Devastation Across the Nation Tour 2012

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If you aren’t familiar with the So-Cal metal band Sangre yet, you probably missed my review of their album The Great Tribulation back in February. Even if you did read that before, you should totally check it out again, because the post was recently updated with the band’s second video, for the title track from that album.

Anyway, hot on the heels of their performance at the Rockstar Mayhem Festival in San Bernardino, Sangre are all ready to kick off their Jägermeister-sponsored “Devastation Across the Nation” tour, which begins TONIGHT in Arizona, then runs nonstop all around the USA for the next few weeks!

 
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Upcoming Shows: Michale Graves – War of Information Tour 2012

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If you’ve ever studied the family tree of people who’ve either been in the Misfits over the years, or at least played in bands with former Misfits members, then you know there are more characters there than in the cast of most soap operas.

Without going into too much detail (or doing any research, so any factual errors are due to my own faulty memory)…

After the original band dissolved in the 80s, singer Glenn Danzig went on to form Samhain, which evolved into Danzig, with a number of different people. Meanwhile, the Misfits were later reformed by bassist Jerry Only. Here again there was a rotating line-up of members, but one of the best-known was the foursome that put out a few albums in the late 90s, which included Only’s brother Doyle von Frankenstein (who I believe had also participated in the band’s earlier incarnation for a time) on guitar, a drummer named Dr. Chud and vocalist Michale Graves. All of those folks have left the band at various times, leaving the bassist once again as the sole original member (and now, as I understand it, also handling vocal duties himself). Von Frankenstein was last seen as a member of the Danzig Legacy tour, which also featured the titular singer. Graves and Chud had set out on their own prior to this, working together in a band called Graves, if I’m not mistaken. Then the two parted ways, playing in other bands, and eventually the singer embarked on a solo career, which finally brings us to the present day.

Michale Graves has been performing solo acoustic shows for the past few years, in addition to releasing the album Illusions Live/Viretta Park via Screaming Crow Records in 2008. Now he’s back with a full band and kicks off his “War of Information” summer tour TONIGHT in New Jersey…

 
UPDATE – 18 September 2012 – click here to see the latest additions to the War of Information Tour dates!
 
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Out Today: The Cheats – Pussyfootin!

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The Cheats – Pussyfootin! (03 July 2012, Screaming Crow Records)

 
So I’d just like to go on the record as stating, holidays in the middle of the week are kinda stupid. Basically it’s like having a weekend, but it’s only one day: all day long there’s that feeling of dread that’s usually associated with Sundays, where it feels nice because you aren’t working, but you know you can’t really do anything especially crazy because you have to be up early the next morning to go back to work.

Lots of holidays are specifically designed to coordinate with your weekend — Memorial Day and Labor Day are on Mondays; Easter is on Sunday but most people get off work the Friday before it; and Thanksgiving is always a Thursday, but if you’re lucky that ends up turning into a four-day weekend.

Some of the other major holidays that could fall on any day of the week (because they have a specific date) can be flexible too: there’s New Years Eve, New Years Day, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day, and usually it works out to where those holidays end up adjacent to a weekend, or you at least get both days off so it’s like having a second weekend anyway.

However, tomorrow (Wednesday) is the 4th of July, when we Americans celebrate our Independence Day because that was the date (two-hundred-thirty-some years ago) that some folks had signed the Declaration of Independence from Britain. While that was generally regarded as a good thing (people weren’t real happy about the way they were paying a whole bunch of taxes to the king while feeling like they weren’t really getting much in return), as a holiday it’s only significant enough to justify one day off work. That means, when it ends up being on a Wednesday, I get to be all excited to leave work on Tuesday (today), knowing that I’ll get a break the next day… but that excitement will be short-lived because Wednesday (tomorrow) I’ll realize that there’s still two days left in the week and I have to come back.

But all that seems pretty depressing, and I guess I should try to think positive: no matter what day of the week it is, it’s always better to have one day off than zero days! So, fuck it. I’m going to resolve to take advantage of the time I have, however short it may be, and enjoy myself tonight and tomorrow.

But, in order to have a good time, that would also require some good music, right? Naturally. Well, I’ve got just what the doctor ordered, and I’ll gladly tell you all about it…

 
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Out Today: Power Theory – An Axe to Grind

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Power Theory – An Axe to Grind (29 June 2012, Pure Steel Records)

 
So who out there is heading out to the Warriors of Metal Open Air Festival today (or tomorrow, or both days)?

Well, I suppose if you were going today, you’d be there already. But I dunno, maybe you’re heading out later in the afternoon, or maybe you’re catching up on the latest Valley of Steel updates in between bands or something…

Myself, although I’ve been reporting about it for months, unfortunately I’m stuck here at work, which is pretty shitty because it sounds like it’s going to be an awesome time! (Although the heat and humidity are forecasted to be pretty brutal this weekend — hell, when I left home at 5:30 this morning the air was already difficult to breathe — so anyone who’s attending, have fun, but be sure to drink lots of water!)

Although it sucks I’ll be stuck inside a boring office all day with no throngs of screaming metalheads (and no alcohol), at least I can try to make myself feel better by listening to some heavy tunes. No matter how high I turn the volume on this computer, I know a pair of headphones will never compare to a huge stack of speakers on an outdoor stage, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

Anyway, when I was trying to decide exactly what I should be blasting into my ears today, the perfect choice suddenly became obvious: the brand new Power Theory album! Not only is German label Pure Steel Records releasing An Axe to Grind today, but the band will be celebrating that release when they take the stage at WOM this evening!

Maybe I won’t be there to see it live, but I can at least experience it vicariously through the studio version — and for all those readers out there who are also unable to make it to the Frontier Ranch in Pataskala Ohio, I’ll tell you where you can hear some Power Theory too, and where you can get your own copy of this album.

 
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Upcoming Shows: What To Do In Pittsburgh This Weekend (28-30 June)

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Good afternoon! For those who will be in or around the local area this weekend, the Valley of Steel blog is proud to present you with: What To Do In Pittsburgh This Weekend!

Once again, there is a TON of stuff going on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night, and I’ve collected as many events here as I could! (But once again, I’m only human, and if you know about anything else that’s happening, either this week or anytime in the future, please be sure to let me know!)

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Upcoming Shows: Warriors Of Metal (WOM V) Pre-Fest Showcase

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So the Warriors of Metal Open Air Festival V is all set for next weekend (29-30 June)! I wrote a post about the festival way back in April, and if you haven’t seen it recently (or if you haven’t seen it at all), you should definitely look at it again, because there have been several changes to the line-up since it was originally published!

 
I also noted in that earlier post that there would also be a third day of activities: a pre-festival show on Thursday night (28 June) with details to be announced later. Well… now it’s later.

 
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Upcoming Shows: What To Do In Pittsburgh This Weekend (22-23 June)

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Hey, look — it’s Thursday already, so there’s just one more day until the weekend! This week hasn’t been so bad, unless you take into account the HORRIBLE FUCKING OPPRESSIVE HEAT we’ve been having.

Anyway, I hear the weather’s supposed to chill out just a little over the next couple days, at least to be a bit more bearable and closer to normal for this time of year. Of course, anyone who’s spent any amount of time in or around Pittsburgh would know that there’s really no such thing as “normal” here!

In any case, all the Pittsburgh-area readers will certainly be glad, not having to contend with such hellish levels of heat and humidity this weekend, especially once you get packed into a bar or club with a few hundred other sweaty drunk people!

And I’m sure you’re going to want to do that; the only problem will be deciding which show you want to go to, because there are a LOT taking place over the next couple days! I’ve got a bunch listed here for you (but as always, I’m only human, and I’m sure I’ve missed sharing something — if you know about anything else that’s happening, either this week or anytime in the future, don’t forget to let me know!)

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