Category Archives: Shows

Mutants of the Monster 2018 (15-17 June, Little Rock AR)

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Mutants of the Monster

 

Friday 15 June through Sunday 17 June 2018

at Revolution Music Room (The Rev Room), 300 President Clinton Ave, Little Rock AR 72201

All Ages | $15 each day | doors 6pm / music 7pm

 

Sunday 17 June 2018

at The White Water Tavern, 2500 West 7th Street, Little Rock AR 72205

21+ only | $15 | doors 6pm / music 7pm

More details: http://www.facebook.com/events/125506641561652
Tickets: Friday | Saturday | Sunday (sold out!)

 
Named for a song by their state’s most famous band, Mutants of the Monster is a weekend-long festival of heavy music taking place in Little Rock — featuring local legends such as Pallbearer and Rwake, a visit from the current Yob + Bell Witch tour, and more!! See the full list below …

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Yob – Clearing the Path to Ascend (2014), Our Raw Heart (2018)

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coverFINAL

Yob – Clearing the Path to Ascend (Neurot Recordings, 02 September 2014)

 

Yob – Our Raw Heart (Relapse Records, 08 June 2018)

 

Oregonian doom trio Yob vocalist/guitarist Mike Scheidt has always had a distinctive voice. Whether it’s as a member of Lumbar or making a guest appearance with Red Fang or a whole plethora of others, there’s just no mistaking who is singing. Piercing and powerful, like Conan‘s Jon Davis, expressive and emotional like Argus/Molasses Barge‘s Butch Balich, and always just a bit grizzled and weathered like Wino or Lemmy.

But since the last time we heard from these guys (Clearing the Path to Ascend, which in a year filled with tough competition, still came out as our clear #1 album of 2014), some serious health complications cast some doubt as to whether we might ever hear that voice again. You can read all about that journey in this Rolling Stone interview, where the band’s sole remaining founding member (over twenty years ago!) describes his harrowing experiences while also discussing the creation of Our Raw Heart.

The album was “largely penned from what he worried would be his deathbed,” said the magazine, quoting Scheidt as saying, “there was no guarantee that I was going to live long enough to record the album.” Fortunately for himself, his family and friends, and also for everyone on planet earth who has ears, he did survive and he did record the album, which undoubtably will be contending for the same spot in this year’s list. In this post we’ll touch upon that record from four years ago, as well as the follow-up which hits stores TODAY. Furthermore, keep on scrolling to see a list of opportunities North American readers will have to experience Yob live: for one month (starting next Thursday, 14th June) with Bell Witch or again during September with Acid King and CHRCH.

 

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Tombs – The Grand Annihilation (2017)

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Tombs – The Grand Annihilation (Metal Blade Records, 16 June 2017)

 

Hey! Remember almost a year ago when we let you know that Brooklynite post-black metal ensemble Tombs would be releasing a new record — the fourth full-length in their decade-plus of existence, which would be the first thing coming out via the band’s new relationship with Metal Blade? And furthermore, that it would be the first LP featuring [the bulk of] the new line-up that had debuted a year earlier on the All Empires Fall EP?

Well anyway, that happened, and with Tombs hitting the road tonight for a handful of shows across the northeast over the course of the next week, it seemed like an appropriate time to finally get around to sharing that new album with all you swell people. Those dates are listed down at the bottom of the page.

 

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Ufomammut – Ecate (2015), 8 (2017)

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Ecate

Ufomammut – Ecate (Neurot Recordings, 31 March 2015)

Ufomammut – 8 (Neurot Recordings, 22 September 2017)

 

The name Ufomammut seems to be one that we Americans tend to struggle with. But fortunately the band has been kind enough to explain its origin: “ufo” (OOH-foe) is the Italian word for “UFO,” while “mammut” (MAMM-utt) means “mammoth.” Therefore the correct pronunciation of the name would be “OOH-foe-MAMM-utt.” Got it?

The etymological origin of their name is also one of the most accurate descriptions a band has ever given itself, as this trio combine the mysterious spaced-out vibe of a flying saucer with the earth-shaking immensity of a prehistoric pachydermic behemoth.

And now, for the first time in two years, they are bringing this spectacle to North American soil: hitting Maryland Death Fest this weekend, as well as Northwest Terror Fest in early June, and then surrounding these dates with a month-long loop around the whole country that kicks off TONIGHT (Wednesday the 23rd) in Providence. Of course we’ll supply you with details about all these shows later. But first, an introduction to the band’s music for the uninitiated …

 

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Body Void – Ruins (2017), I Live Inside a Burning House (2018)

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Body Void – Ruins (Crown and Throne Ltd/Dry Cough Records, 31 January 2017)

Body Void – I Live Inside a Burning House (Crown and Throne Ltd/Dry Cough Records/Seeing Red Records, 11 May 2018)

 

At some point throughout all these years of running this website, it has become apparent that it’s very difficult for someone to go back and remember everything they heard at the end of the year, pick out all the best things, and rank them in some kind of order. And as we’ve grown and attracted more attention, with the hundreds and hundreds of things submitted here each year, to do so nowadays would be downright impossible. So here’s a quick pro-tip: the start of each new year brings with it the start of a new list. For example, the first seventeen releases from 2017 would have made that year’s list by default. Once the eighteenth release rolls around, was it better than anything already listed? Then it gets slotted in there somewhere, and everything else gets bumped down a slot. And so on through the end of December.

Naturally there will be a need to revisit the listed items at year-end, to see how well they’ve held up to repeated listens and to solidify the order. Also, anything that just narrowly missed making the cut will be kept track of throughout the year, in case it feels like there need to be any substitutions made by that time. But for the most part, it’s been a pretty decent system.

Arriving at the actual point of all this nonsense — with a January release date, San Franciscan trio Body Void‘s debut LP Ruins would have been one of the earlier records to get ranked in the 2017 list, and whatever else came in throughout the following eleven months, it ended up hanging around in that top 10 the entire time. And now, their follow-up I Live Inside a Burning House has just been released this month, boldly demanding a spot in the current year’s list (and not looking likely to be unseated any time soon).

In this article we’ll give both albums a listen, and then at the bottom don’t miss the list of their June/July tour dates, all the way across the country and back again!

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Live Music Alert! GHOST and MELVINS in Pittsburgh this Weekend

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That’s right, these two titans of (the music) industry will be making an appearance in Pittsburgh: Ghost (who were here exactly five years ago today and gave one of the more memorable performances I’ve ever witnessed) TONIGHT, Friday the 18th; and (the) Melvins (who also came through town five years ago this month, with what was quite possibly THE best show I’ve seen) TOMORROW night, Saturday the 19th!

Stick around for more details on this weekend’s shows, as well as a bit of a walk down memory lane…
 
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Opera IX – Back to Sepulcro (2015)

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Opera IX – Back to Sepulcro (Dusktone, 01 November 2015)

 

This year marks three full decades since guitarist Ossian started Opera IX in Biella (Piedmont region, in the foothills of the Italian Alps). The band has put out an extensive discography in thirty years, and undergone numerous line-up changes, as they gradually morphed into the titans of occult black metal they would become known as.

One major shake-up occurred back in 2014 with a wholesale replacement of the entire band (other than its founder), including the departure of bassist Vlad who had been around since very early on, and vocalist of the previous decade-plus M. the Bard (who sadly departed permanently late last year).

With a brand-new ensemble — including M:A Fog (drums), Alessandro Muscio (keyboard), Scùrs (bass) and Abigail Dianaria (vocals) — in tow, Ossian proceeded to put together an album (in late 2015) that featured brand-new recordings of several songs from Opera IX albums past.

In today’s post we’ll check out Back to Sepulcro — as well as discussing what the band has been up to since that time. (Spoiler alert: a new album anticipated later this year, plus an appearance at MDF later this month!)

 

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Shadow Woods Metal Fest IV (September 2018, White Hall MD)

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Shadow Woods Metal Fest IV

Thursday 13 September through Saturday 15 September 2018

at Camp Hidden Valley, 4722 Mellow Rd, White Hall MD 21161

Weekend pass $130; single-day tickets $30-60 each; tent or cabin camping available for an additional charge.

 
Shadow Woods Metal Fest, the Mid-Atlantic’s only open-air camping heavy metal gathering, is back for a FOURTH year, featuring “over 40 of the underground’s leading bands, representing many genres and subgenres of heavy metal, folk, rock, experimental, and noise” on three alternating stages with no overlap.

After the fate of the festival was up in the air for a while following the sale of the summer camp that has been its home for the past few years, and (apparently) some issues ironing out details with a new venue, the folks at Shadow Woods are pleased to announce they will be returning once again to Camp Hidden Valley. Full line-up for the three-day fest can be found below.

 
More details: website | Facebook event page | Tickets

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Holy Rivals – Self-titled (2016)

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Holy Rivals – Holy Rivals (self-released, 25 May 2016)

 

Hey folks, remember all the way back to yesterday, when we talked about a pair of Howling Giant releases from 2016 and 2017? If not, make sure to go check it out! Anyway, way down at the end of that post you might notice that the Tennesseans are heading out on a tour of the eastern United States tomorrow night (Thursday, the 10th of May) and swinging through Pittsburgh soon after (Saturday, the 12th).

Well as it turns out, one of the local bands performing at that show also happens to be someone whose music we’ve been meaning to share with you for a while — in fact, their self-titled debut EP came out two years ago this month. So before any more time passes, today let’s listen to the self-described “three sludge/grunge dudes from Pittsburgh” known as Holy Rivals!

 

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Howling Giant – Black Hole Space Wizard: Part 1 (2016), Part 2 (2017)

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Howling Giant – Black Hole Space Wizard: Part 1 (self-released, 12 August 2016)

 

Howling Giant – Black Hole Space Wizard: Part 2 (self-released, 25 August 2017)

 

Starting this Thursday (the tenth of May) and then lasting for the next two-plus weeks, Nashvillian trio Howling Giant will be traipsing all over the eastern USA in what they’re calling their “Escape from the Lab” tour. We’ve got details down below, and on your way there we’ll be covering the first two portions of the band’s planned trilogy Black Hole Space Wizard. That way, once you get to the list of dates you’ll either be very excited if you find your city included or very disappointed if you find it omitted. Either way, though, you’ll be treated to some great music — which you’ll have the opportunity to download for as cheap as you’d like. Win-win!

 

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