Hi there. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve done one of these “What To Do In Pittsburgh” features, but there are a couple interesting events coming up this Saturday (12 May) that I’d like to bring to your attention. For the record, 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.
Category Archives: Shows
Get ’em While They’re Hot: Download a Brand New Bonded By Blood Song for Free!
Good morning. Do you like free music? Do you like thrash metal? Of course you do, I was only kidding.
Bonded By Blood, who are associated with the contemporary “re-thrash” revivalist movement (and not, as the name implies, an Exodus tribute band), are putting out a new album, The Aftermath, on the 3rd of July (2nd July in Europe) through Earache Records. In anticipation of that forthcoming release — their third full-length and fourth overall — they’re offering up a brand new track from that album for you to download for FREE!
Also I’ve got some pre-order info as well as tour dates to share with you, so keep on scrolling…
Cover Me: Shining Does Katatonia, Meatshank Does Metallica (With a Little Help from Overkill Drummer and Friends)
We all love a good cover, right? Of course, nobody can quite agree on the definition of a “good” cover — but most often, these are usually the ones that honor the spirit of the original while taking them in a new direction, or those that are totally unexpected choices for the band doing the covering. Anyway, I’ve got two brand new ones for you in this post, and you can be the judge!
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First, Swedish atmospheric/depressive blackened death metal band Shining has released the first song from its upcoming covers EP Lots of Girls Gonna Get Hurt. Scheduled to come out 16 May 2012 from Spinefarm Records, this will feature versions of songs by Katatonia, Kent, Imperiet, and Poets of the Fall. Apparently, the renditions here are different enough from the typical Shining material, that frontman Niklas Kvarforth issued a statement (the quote here is taken from a paraphrasing of that statement, which was published in a press release by the band’s management), saying that this EP
…is definitely not a change of direction for the band. It was recorded at the same time as the band’s as yet untitled eighth album, and represents some of the artists and music that Shining’s members like and listen to. The fact that some Shining followers will be ill at ease with the material is, according to the band, irrelevant.
Upcoming Shows: Sabaton Swedish Empire Tour
Sabaton Swedish Empire Tour
Hey readers! If you’re looking for something to keep you busy on a boring Monday evening, head on down to Altar Bar in the Strip, because I’ve just learned that Swedish power metal giants Sabaton are swinging through town tonight as part of their Swedish Empire Tour through North America! I would’ve posted this earlier but I just found the above poster this morning, which local thrashers Sick Twisted Debauchery had linked to on their Facebook page last night. (People need to tell me about these things sooner so I have time to pass the word along to you!)
Anyway, details for this particular show are reprinted at the bottom of this post, after a list of all the confirmed dates remaining on the tour…
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Upcoming Shows: Akron Deathfest 2012
(Click for full-size image)
Akron Deathfest 2012
Saturday, 28 April 2012
Annabell’s Lounge in Akron
$6 cover charge ($10 if under 21)
Doors open at noon
784 West Market Street, Akron OH
See the Facebook event page for complete details.
The schedule of bands — which includes a couple from Pittsburgh, as well as all across Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Illinois — is listed below.
Click on a band name to visit their Facebook page.
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Upcoming Shows: What To Do In Pittsburgh This Weekend (19-22 April 2012)
Hello again, readers. To paraphrase a certain local musician’s recent post on Facebook, there are like 8,000 killer shows taking place right here in Pittsburgh this month! It seemed like about half of those were taking place last weekend (see here for a summary of those), but there are tons more going on this week too! Some big names, and some not-so-big but who have been talked about frequently on this very blog… details below.
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Upcoming Shows: What To Do In Pittsburgh This Weekend (12-15 April 2012)
Hello, readers! How are you? I think I’ve officially recovered from the holiday weekend and am ready to get back into the swing of posting updates. Did you have a nice Easter? I’ve been spending a lot of time listening to Ghost, since I finally got around to picking up Opus Eponymous on CD almost two weeks ago. I like it a lot, but I’ve kind of got a funny feeling about it. I haven’t tried slowing it down or playing it backwards or anything, but I get the impression that there might be some kind of hidden evil messages or something. Oh well. Hey, speaking of which, they’ll be coming to town in just a few more days! In fact, they’re just one of a whole slew of awesome bands playing in Pittsburgh over the coming weekend. Just keep on reading for all the details on this show and tons more.
Upcoming Shows: Warriors of Metal Open Air (WOM Fest V)
…and while we’re on the subject of metal festivals on American soil that don’t suck…
Here’s the latest info on Ohio’s Warriors of Metal Festival, which is being held on the 29th-30th of June this year (which is, coincidentally, the same weekend as the birthday of a certain metal blog writer/editor!) in Pataskala, Ohio (just east of Columbus). Tickets are on sale now at this location; $50 for both days or $30 for either Friday or Saturday ($40 for both or $25 each if you buy your tickets in a four-pack, and youth tickets are also discounted).
This open-air festival is now in its fifth year, and this year’s headliners include two legends of American heavy metal: Wichita’s Manilla Road and Helstar from Houston, Texas! Plus, there will be a pre-show in Columbus on Thursday night, the details of which have not yet been announced can be found here.
UPDATE, 15 MAY 2012: I’ve just learned that the 2012 Promo Video for Warriors Of Metal Fest V Open Air has been released. The video was produced by the vocalist & guitarist of the Brazilian Thrash Metal band Machinage.
Upcoming Shows: Maryland Deathfest (MDF X)
As everyone knows, almost all of the awesome metal tours and festivals take place over in Europe. They’ve got Wacken Open Air in Germany, Download Festival at Donnington Park in England, Metalcamp in Slovenia, and what seems like millions of others — all with the most incredible lineups imaginable. Meanwhile, the rest of us are pretty much just forced to contend with tours that have a far-too-high ratio of shitty-to-good, like Ozzfest or the Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival.
Well, with a few exceptions, and probably the biggest exception each year is the Maryland Deathfest. This weekend-long metal party is held annually in the city of Baltimore, which as everyone knows was named for the seminal 1970s metal band Sir Lord Baltimore.
This year, the Deathfest is taking place between the 24th-27th of May, and tickets are available for three out of those four days. As we’ve recently discussed, Morgion had to pull out of their scheduled performance, but there is still a fuckton and a half of awesomeness in the lineup.
**Update (3 May 2012) — the official time-slot schedule has been released; details below**
Upcoming Shows: Across Tundras Heading Across the U.S.A.
Hey, just a quick heads-up so you can start getting excited about this: Nashville, Tennessee’s Across Tundras are heading out on tour in just a couple of days, and will be making their way back and forth across the country, almost non-stop for two months. A full list of dates can be found at the end of this post, including a few yet to be confirmed or still needing booked.
But first, here’s a small sampling of what’s in store for you if the band is coming near where you live (spoiler alert: they are coming to Pittsburgh!) If the name wasn’t already in use for a similar genre, I’d be tempted to call this desert rock, because in my opinion that expression suits this music perfectly: it’s very mellow and introspective, sometimes sparse, and it’s extremely heavy without being especially loud. I don’t know if that makes sense, when you read it, but have a listen and see what I mean…
Valley of Steel 