Category Archives: Shows

Fashion Week – Prêt-à-Porter (2015)

Posted by valleyofsteel on

Fashion Week – Prêt-à-Porter (Solar Flare Records, 23 February 2015)

 

New York Fashion Week, or — excuse me — New York-based band Fashion Week, have been around for some number of years, with some quantity of recordings released during that time. I’ve heard rumors about them forming sometime around 2009, and also that this album from early 2015 was their debut full-length, but I can’t really say for sure since their official biography (on Facebook and elsewhere) is more of a tongue-in-cheek retelling of the Nirvana story with only oblique references to any actual members of Fashion Week.

Be that as it may, I guess it doesn’t really matter how much background information you do or don’t know, as long as the music’s good, right? These guys are on the road with Unsane at the moment (the tour actually started last weekend, sorry about the late notice!) and it’s pretty likely that anyone heading out to see the headliner will go back home as a fan of the supporting act as well. Keep on reading to find out a bit more about Prêt-à-Porter (the album, not the movie), and check out the list of tour dates down in the comments.

 

Continue reading →

Begrime Exemious – Primeval Satellite (2014), The Enslavement Conquest (2016)

Posted by valleyofsteel on

Begrime Exemious – Primeval Satellite (Dark Descent Records, 31 August 2014)

 

Begrime Exemious – The Enslavement Conquest (Dark Descent Records, 04 March 2016)

 

Good afternoon. About three years ago, Edmonton-based filthy death metal squad Begrime Exemious ventured south across the border into these United States, in celebration of which I had dug out their album from two years prior (Visions of the Scourge) to write about it at that time. Well, there have been reports of another stirring from the north — apparently the horde is on the move again — and so it seemed like an appropriate time to share with you a few things the band has done since the last time. Ironically, the first of these was actually released just a couple of months after the previous review was published. And the other came out early last year — so by historical standards I’m actually pretty far ahead of the game by sharing that one with you now! Anyway, please direct your eyes and ears to the following — and then see the comments section for a list of cities slated for begriming.

 

Continue reading →

Cantharone – Sons of the Crow (2015); Mine Collapse – S/T (2016); Livid – Beneath this Shroud… (2017)

Posted by valleyofsteel on

Cantharone – Sons of the Crow (self-released, 06 June 2015)

 

Mine Collapse – Mine Collapse (Nefarious Industries, 22 July 2016)

 

Livid – Beneath this Shroud, the Earth Erodes (Prosthetic Records, 14 July 2017)

 

Today we’ve got not one, not two, not five… but three different bands to talk about, each of which has come across my radar screen within about the past year or so. Cantharone is a four-piece from Minneapolis who have been around since about 2009, and their most recent release was their second EP which came out in the summer of 2015 (and which I’ll be sharing with you today). But despite that relatively low rate of recorded output, the band has kept pretty busy, between putting together their yearly Canthrammer Music Festival featuring a blend of metal and outlaw country bands, as well as frequent touring around the region. Down below in the comments section I’ll include some info about this year’s festival (coming in late August) as well as a list of shows they’ll be playing over the next week or so.

The other two bands that will be included in this article will be sharing a stage with Cantharone at some point in their upcoming travels, and each is equally worth checking out. Mine Collapse (Chicago) dropped their debut EP almost exactly a year ago, while Livid (Minneapolis) saw their debut LP released just days ago — both of those will also be discussed here.

 

Continue reading →

Argus – Beyond the Martyrs (2013), From Fields of Fire (2017); Arduini/Balich – Dawn of Ages (2017)

Posted by valleyofsteel on

Argus – Beyond the Martyrs (Cruz del Sur Music, 01 October 2013)

 

Arduini / Balich – Dawn of Ages (Cruz del Sur Music, 24 February 2017)

 

Argus – From Fields of Fire (Cruz del Sur Music, 08 September 2017)

 

I can still remember the first time I heard Argus — in the burgeoning days of the early 2010s, the song was “The Damnation of John Faustus” from their self-titled album. I can’t say for certain, but it was probably on Foundry of Doom radio, since that’s what I spent most of my time listening to back then. And here, among epic tracks by the likes of Solstice, Atlantean Kodex, Solitude Aeturnus, etc., this song’s dark themes and powerful vocals really caught my ear.

This was still months, maybe even up to a year, before the genesis of my career as a writer, but I’ve always been inquisitive and wanted to research and learn more about everything I heard. In this instance, I was struck by how new the band was (their first demo dates back ten years, now, but at the time of this story the debut full-length was about a year or two old), but even more surprised to see that these guys were local (originating in Franklin, PA, just about an hour and a half north of Pittsburgh)!

I also discovered that the vocalist, Brian “Butch” Balich (formerly of Penance), is also a member of Molasses Barge, another local doom band that would greatly impress me when I saw them for the first time just months later. Eventually I’d manage to catch Argus live, as well, and they definitely managed to live up to the high expectations set by their incredible recorded output. I believe this was just before the 2013 release of their third album Beyond the Martyrs — one that immediately made its way onto my writing “to do list” but inexplicably has stayed there for these past years.

But now there’s a ferment of activity surrounding the band once more: they recently announced that their fourth album will be coming later this year — and I’ll be discussing both of those today, with an added bonus that was released a few months back by a side project involving Balich. And to top it all off, Argus will also be performing in Pittsburgh THIS FRIDAY (14 July) at an event that doubles as a preview of September’s Brewtal Beer Fest as well as featuring the world premiere of the new beer produced through a collaborative effort between the band and Big Rail Brewing! So after you’re done reading about the music, pop on down to the comments section for more information about that.

 

Continue reading →

Today is the Day – Animal Mother (2014)

Posted by valleyofsteel on

Today is the Day – Animal Mother (Southern Lord Records, 14 October 2014)

 

Quite a while ago — way back at the beginning of 2014 — we shared some news about a new Today is the Day album, but then somehow totally dropped the ball on actually writing about the album itself once it came out later that year. But now seems like a good time to rectify that: this week the band has kicked off a North American tour to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the landmark album Temple of the Morning Star (and a whole slew of dates have been added for this fall as well), plus there’s a brand-new documentary called The Man Who Loves to Hurt Himself which recently had its world premiere and should soon be made available aux masses.

So you can find information about all that stuff if you scroll down into the comments section. But first, a look at that 2014 album, Animal Mother.

 

Continue reading →

Melvins – Basses Loaded (2016)

Posted by valleyofsteel on

Melvins – Basses Loaded (Ipecac Records, 03 June 2016)

 

Around here, we’ve talked pretty extensively about the Melvins. Mostly because since forming in Montesano, Washington about thirty-five years ago, the band has been a highly influential part of so many of the genres we love, even having a hand in forming and shaping several of those. Also there’s the fact that, with their ever-revolving line-ups, there are approximately ninety-seven Melvins releases (on average) each year. Being so prolific, it’s likely that they’ll have some stuff kind of flying under the radar, and today we’ll be looking at an album from last year that you may have missed. And then down in the comments you can find information about all their tour dates for the rest of the summer and beyond (and if you have the opportunity to see these guys, I really could not recommend it highly enough!)

 
Continue reading →

Wildspeaker – Spreading Adder (2017)

Posted by valleyofsteel on

Wildspeaker – Spreading Adder (Prosthetic Records, 23 June 2017)

 

“Spreading adder” is one of several nicknames for the eastern hognose snake; others include “hissing adder” or “hissing viper,” “blow snake” or “blow viper,” and “puff adder” — this last one despite the serpent being entirely unrelated to the similarly-named highly venomous species found in Africa. These derive from the reptile’s defensive behaviors which include a display of spreading its body like a cobra, hissing aggressively, and feigning attack.

Spreading Adder is the brand-new album by Dallas-based troupe Wildspeaker, just released this past Friday by Prosthetic Records after a handful of self-released efforts over the past three years. Self-produced by the band and recorded in bassist Garry Brents (also a member of Cara Neir)’s own studio, the album comes across with every bit of viciousness and ferocity as its namesake animal.

The quintet (the line-up also includes vocalist Natalie Kahan, drummer Ricky Rivera, and Nelson Favela and Zak Pitts on guitar) are currently in the middle of a tour across the U.S. — but unfortunately we’ve just learned that they’ve had a bit of a van mishap! Click here for more details on that story, including a link to a Gofundme page to help with needed repairs — or you might also consider buying a copy of their new album or other merch to help get them back on the road. (The remaining scheduled tourdates will be listed in the comments section below, but you probably ought to keep tabs on Facebook to see whether there is any new information.)

 

Continue reading →

Portrayal of Guilt – S/T (2017)

Posted by valleyofsteel on

Portrayal of Guilt – Portrayal of Guilt (Miss the Stars Records / Contrition Recordings, 02 May 2017)

 

Recently I got a message from this band called Portrayal of Guilt, with barely any information other than the fact that they had a brand-new EP out, and a link to their Bandcamp page. So, armed with that miniscule amount of knowledge, I went to check it out, as one does. There I learned that the band is from Austin, Texas; a bit more poking around revealed that they seem to be a relatively new group: all of their social media presence dates back no further than January of this year. Oh, and also I found that one of the keywords they use to describe themselves is “screamo.”

Now I don’t know about you, but that word tends to make me feel a bit trepidatious. After all, just like its predecessor “emo” and distant ancestor “hardcore,” what originated as a great concept became completely perverted and bastardized over the past few decades — to the point where, in modern usage, the term came to be applied to something completely unrecognizable when compared with its archetypal format. But I decided the EP was only three songs — barely more than six minutes altogether — so I might as well give it a shot. And to make a long story short, as you could infer from the fact that I’m writing about it now, that concern turned out to be completely unfounded.

 

Continue reading →

Hollow Leg – Murder, He Whose Ox is Gored – Paralyzer, Cave of Swimmers – The Sun (2017)

Posted by valleyofsteel on

Hollow Leg – Murder EP (digital: Argonauta Records, 03 March 2017; cassette: Southern Druid Records, 16 June 2017; Crown, Murder Edition CD: Argonauta Records, 30 June 2017)

 

He Whose Ox is Gored – Paralyzer 7″ (Chain Letter Collective/Void Assault Records, 16 June 2017)

 

Cave of Swimmers – The Sun 7″ (Southern Druid Records, 03 July 2017)

 

Today I’ve got three different releases to share with you. Don’t worry, I won’t take up too much of your time — each of these has just two or three songs. But more importantly, all three come from bands who have had some pretty incredible previous releases we’ve already talked about: Hollow Leg, He Whose Ox is Gored, and Cave of Swimmers. So you can already be guaranteed these will all be great, too!

Oh yeah, and if you scroll on down to the comments section, you can take a peek at the dates for Hollow Leg‘s current tour which centers around an appearance at The Maryland Doom Fest on Saturday (24 June)!

 
Continue reading →

Borracho – Atacama (2016-17), Beastmaker – Inside the Skull (2017)

Posted by valleyofsteel on

Borracho – Atacama (Kozmik Artifactz, 02 December 2016 CD/digital, 10 March 2017 vinyl)

 

Beastmaker – Inside the Skull (Rise Above Records, 19 May 2017)

 

Hey folks, let’s take a look at some recent (and semi-recent) releases from another two bands who are appearing were scheduled to appear at this weekend’s Maryland Doom Fest, one of whom will still be performing* — specifically, they’re both kicking off the festivities Thursday night at the Pre Fest Party. Representing the east coast, D.C.-area heavy-fuzz dealers Borracho, clearly no strangers to this website, dropped their third full-length at the tail end of 2016, while left coast doomsters Beastmaker saw the release of their second LP just last month. Listening to either of these would absolutely be time well-spent, so please feel free to continue reading …

Beastmaker has announced that they will be unable to make it to this year’s Doom Fest. Borracho is still slated to be there Thursday night!

 

Continue reading →