Batillus/Whitehorse – Split LP (20 May 2012, Vendetta Records)
Good afternoon! Here's some exciting news that just came my way recently. I haven’t talked a whole lot about Brooklyn post-doom heavyweights Batillus, although I did name their album Furnace as one of my “Top 11 of 2011.” Nevertheless, ever since I discovered the band sometime in the early part of last year, I’ve been a big fan of their immensely powerful doom’n’gloom soundscapes.
Well, just recently, Vendetta Records has released a 12″ split that also includes Whitehorse from Melbourne, Australia. To be honest, this is my first time hearing of that band, but anything that involves Batillus is guaranteed to catch my attention. The LP is now available for purchase from the Bis Auf’s Messer webstore, or you can pick up a copy directly from the two bands when they head out on tour together next month (see a full list of dates later in this post). The first 100 copies will be on a limited-edition white vinyl; all the rest will be available in standard black.
However, the two tracks from the Batillus side of the record can be downloaded for free (or whatever price you choose to pay) from their Bandcamp page —
Guess what! After last week’s post about the upcoming Municipal Waste/Toxic Holocaust split (still available for pre-order from Tankcrimes), I got word from Scion A/V that they will be giving away a pair of tickets to each and every date on the current Municipal Waste U.S. tour (with Black Tusk and 3 Inches of Blood)!
I apologize to those who live in North Carolina and Georgia, since the shows in those areas have already taken place; also, if you live in Florida, the winners for tonight’s show (29 May) in Orlando and tomorrow’s show (30 May) in Pensacola have already been drawn. Sorry!
But for the rest of the country, take a look at those tour dates (listed in last week’s post), then check out these simple directions:
Tweet this message: “@SCIONAV @MWTour [date of show]”
And that’s all there is to it. The randomly selected winner for each date will be notified one day before the show.
Just in case the chance to see them in concert for free isn’t enough for you, there’s even MORE Municipal Waste news… how about a pair of tracks for you to download ABSOLUTELY FREE?
Hey there, readers. Real quick, I wanted to bring this to your attention: in a joint effort between Blistering.com and Clawhammer PR, for the next few days you can have the opportunity to win a prize package from Portlandian death-thrashers Stonecreep!
This giveaway will include a digipack of the 2011 re-release (via Old-School Metal Records) of their 2009 album The Deathmarch Crushes On, a CD copy of the 2007 demo EP We Bleed Disaster, a t-shirt, sticker, and beer koozie. All you need to do is click right here, and fill in the relevant personal information. Be sure to submit your entry soon, because the contest will close on Friday (1 June)!
Oh, and while we’re on the subject, the band will soon be heading out across the U.S. in support of the Deathmarch album’s recent re-release, on what they’re calling the Storm of the Deathmarch U.S. Tour 2012. So far there have been sixteen confirmed dates over the course of three weeks between June and July (including a stop in Pittsburgh). See below for the full details…
Update 12 June: the contest may have ended but the Deathmarch tour is still, umm, deathmarching soon! I’ve learned of a few adjustments to the tour schedule, which has been updated accordingly, below, along with an explanatory statement from the band…
Embers – Shadows (Self-released, 29 March 2011 / vinyl by Iconoclast Records, 25 May 2012)
Californian blackened-crust band Embers released their debut LP Shadows to much critical acclaim early last year. At that time, it was made available as a free (or pay what you choose) download, and it’s still available that way (more details later), but the band recently announced that the album is finally being made available in a vinyl format for those fans who had been requesting that…
Tomorrow (Friday, 25 May) Embers will be kicking off a two-week European tour, starting in Bologna (see the end of this post for a list of dates). At the same time, they will be releasing Shadows as a 2xLP vinyl edition via the Bolognese label Iconoclast Records.
Hello there, Pittsburgh-area readers. Once again, it’s time for me to share my weekly digest of shows and events that are happening in town. As it turns out, I’ve got a few pretty interesting ones, and they’re all taking place Friday night (the 25th). Below you will find all the necessary information and details, and then YOU can decide which you want to attend!
And once again, I can only write about what I know about — so if you work for a local promotion company, a venue, or a band, please be sure to get in touch with me with anything you want to share.
Hello there, readers! I wanted to bring this to your attention as soon as I learned about it: pre-orders are now available for the Toxic Waste Split 12″ (Municipal Waste / Toxic Holocaust)! CLICK HERE!
**UPDATE 19 June 2012** Since the first pressing of this split sold out so quickly, Tankcrimes has just announced a second pressing! PLUS you can now download both sides of the release FOR FREE! Check out this newer post for all the relevant details!
This record is coming out on 12 June 2012 via Tankcrimes Records, and I’m predicting it’s gonna go fast. If you’re a thrash fan who’s been keeping up with the explosion of retro/revival bands over the past several years, then you already know that these are two of the biggest names in that movement. If you aren’t already familiar with these bands, I’ll give you a brief introduction to them later in this post (including a list of dates for each band’s upcoming world tours!), but first I want to talk about this incredible package — which I’m sure is going to be a HUGE hit with vinyl collectors all over the world…
For the past several months, Scotty at Tankcrimes has often talked about working with various manufacturers and testing a number of different formulations to come up with just the perfect glow-in-the-dark vinyl to use for this release. That kind of dedication should give you an idea of just how important this collectors’ item is going to be…
The extremely limited “Die Hard” edition of the release is available in either the picture-disc (which, as you can see above, features the album’s cover art) or the special glow-in-the-dark vinyl. Either of those will also include a beer koozie and a poster of that cover art, too. Oh, and by the way, I don’t know if you noticed, but the “Toxic Waste” logo inside the glowing globe in the center of the artwork is made of the “T” from “Toxic Holocaust” and the “W” from “Municipal Waste” — sorry, it doesn’t take much to amuse me…
Anyway, for those fans who might not also be into collectible vinyl (or, more likely, for those who want to save the picture-disc or glow-in-the-dark edition in mint condition, but still want to listen to the record) it’s also available in regular boring black or blue vinyl. With any of these editions, you will be sent a link to download a digital copy on the release date, as well.
**UPDATE – 23 MAY** I told you that glow-in-the-dark vinyl was going to be a hot seller and that it would sell out… but I never predicted that they’d all be gone by the afternoon of the first pre-sale day! But, that’s what happened — as of yesterday, there are no more glowing Toxic Waste records left. If you missed out, sorry, it sucks to be you. Next time you need to listen to me when I tell you to jump on something quickly! I just wish I had some extra cash lying around this week, or else I might have grabbed up a dozen copies!
But anyway, all is not lost because that picture-disc edition is still available (although that one surely won’t be around too much longer, either!), as well as the black or blue versions. **
Once again, the link to pre-order the split is here.
I haven’t really seen a lot of press about this, but fortunately I just happened to stumble upon a post by The Gates of Slumber on Facebook which referred to new tour dates… as it turns out, the Indianan colossi of epic doom metal are heading out across the country, beginning tonight (21 May) in Cleveland and tomorrow night (22 May) in Pittsburgh!
It’s been about a year now since the band released their latest album The Wretch (their fifth, not including a whole slew of EPs, splits, and demos), and the critical praise just keeps on pouring in. I’ve been a huge fan of these COTD-ers since 2008’s Conqueror, but haven’t yet had the chance to see them in a live setting. They’ve got such an enormously crushing sound on record, though, I can only imagine it would be a pretty monumental experience. Full dates listed below.
Hello. It’s time once again to talk about “What To Do In Pittsburgh” this weekend. There are a couple cool goings-on in the world of heavy music, coming up this Saturday (19 May) that I’d like to bring to your attention — one in Pittsburgh, and one that’s a few hours away (but both involve local area musicians). And just to remind you once again, if you work for a local promotion company, a venue, or a band, I can only write about the shows that I know about! So get in touch with me if you’ve got something you want to share.
Crust Warriors Dresden Announce May/June Tour Dates
…and they include Pittsburgh! Even better, although the show is on a Sunday, it’s the night before Memorial Day, so you don’t even have to worry about going to work in the morning.
Here is the official press release, and the list of dates will follow below.
Crust punk crew Dresden will be hitting the road later this month, burning their way through their native Midwest and out towards the coast. The band’s M.O. is a powerful mixture of D-beat hardcore and powerful punk imbued with a vicious intensity that comes from their depth of experience playing in bands like Wartorn, Despite, In Defence, False, and Remission. Along the way, Dresden will be joining forces with Profane Existence cohorts and legends in their own right Deviated Instinct, Antisect, Wartorn, Appalachian Terror Unit, and Tragedy. Don’t miss out on these gigs – blood will be shed, cities will be leveled, justice will be served.
Good afternoon! It’s been a little while since we checked in with our friends in Sangre… most recently when this review of their latest album was published back in February. Well, they’ve been keeping themselves busy — it seems like they’re constantly playing shows all over the southern California area.
But recently they’ve been gearing up to make their way across the rest of the country, with extensive touring all over the west coast, east coast, and everywhere in between! There are still a few dates that haven’t been nailed down yet, and I’d love to see these guys make their way to the western PA area, just as I’m sure you’ll be glad to have them in whatever city you live in.
Of course, there’s a lot of cost associated with that much traveling, and without the backing of a major label, the band will end up bearing that entire cost themselves. On top of that, it turns out the van they have been using is pretty old and beat-up, and quite frankly it might not make it that far! So they are looking at the option of renting something newer and more road-worthy. And that’s where you come in…
Valley of Steel 