Ladies and Gentlemen of the Steel City metropolitan region, I am pleased to once again present you with your list of weekendly happenings in the area! Read on, become informed, and then go support your local music scene!
Category Archives: Videos
Vesperia Searching for a New Guitarist (Plus, a Preview of their Upcoming Live DVD!)
Canadian Celtic/Viking metal band Vesperia are definitely not strangers to change. In fact, as you may recall, it was just a few months ago that they announced they had undergone a metamorphosis and rebirth with a brand-new name (they had formerly been known as Bolero).
Well, the winds of change just keep on blowing, it appears, because the band is now announcing that they are looking to replace a guitarist.
In the words of bassist/lead vocalist Morgan Rider,
Hey guys,
It really sucks to have to be typing this and we never thought in a million years we would be doing so… Change has been a defining word for Vesperia in 2012 and so far we have held our heads high and kept our sights in the clouds with all these testing changes and new commitments we have been taking on each week that would have normally seen a band dissolve. Aspiring for the greater purpose with our music and selves has always been our focus.
Our comrade, lead guitarist and brother-in-arms, Tim, has recently felt that in his and the band’s best interest he must hang his hat on guitar duties for Vesperia. There is no tension or bad blood between any of us and him business-wise or personal whatsoever and we will carry on feeling the mutual respect and brotherhood we’ve always had for each other.
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Biipiigwan – Nibaak EP
Biipiigwan – Nibaak EP (Handshake Inc., 27 February 2012)
Man, what a horrendously ugly day this has been. As I begin writing this review, I’ve been at work for over seven hours already, and my feet are STILL cold and damp from traipsing through the streets of downtown Pittsburgh during a deluge of Noachian proportions, after getting off the bus this morning.
If they ever published a list of ways to make being at work less miserable, I can guarantee “walk around with wet socks all day” will not be anywhere on that list.
Nevertheless, regular readers of this blog have probably figured out by now — an ugly day calls for some ugly music! (Very observant regular readers may also have noticed that ANY day can benefit from some ugliness, regardless of the weather!)
So to help me along today, I’ve turned to some new friends, whom I discovered two weeks ago when they came to play a show here from their native Ontario. The band is called Biipiigwan (don’t worry, it’s easier to pronounce than it is to spell — and in fact it isn’t really that hard to spell either — drummer Steve Vargas informed me that the double “i” sounds like an “e”, so just say “BEE PEEG wahn“), and their newest release is an EP called Nibaak (again, the “i” sounds like an “e”, so that’s “NEE bawk“).
Now that we got all that out of the way, let’s turn our attention to the actual music. I’ve already mentioned that it’s ugly, but that isn’t nearly descriptive enough — this is grimy, sludgey, filthy, and soul-wrenchingly painful stuff. Plus, you can listen to it for free or download it for any price you choose. Honestly, what more could you ask for?
Hey, Did You Hear? There’s a New Soundgarden Album Coming Soon!
Iconic Seattle grunge/rock/metal band Soundgarden plans to release King Animal, their first new studio album in over 15 years, on November 13th, 2012!
The band had pretty much been on extended hiatus ever since I was in high school, during which time singer Chris Cornell put out a couple solo records (in addition to working with three-quarters of Rage Against the Machine as Audioslave), bassist Ben Shepherd and drummer Matt Cameron formed Wellwater Conspiracy (while Cameron also served as a member of Pearl Jam — by far the longest-tenured drummer in that band’s Spın̈al Tap-esque revolving door at that position), and guitarist Kim Thayil occasionally popped up with guest appearances but otherwise kept a generally low profile.
However, the quartet emerged from the woodwork a little over two years ago, playing various shows all over the world. And now they are announcing that their sixth full-length will be available in just about two months. I doubt there’s anyone reading this who isn’t already familiar with Soundgarden, but just in case your only exposure happens to be the small handful of maddeningly-overplayed singles (for example, “Black Hole Sun”) that constantly grace the airwaves, you really owe it to yourself to dig deeper into their discography — over the course of a decade or so, these guys put out some incredible albums that never faltered in quality. From their earliest singles like “Flower” or “Loud Love” up through the gems from the Down on the Upside album (“Pretty Noose” or “Ty Cobb”, to name a few) in the late ’90s, there really aren’t any weak spots or low points in the band’s career.
Feast Your Eyes (and Ears) On These!
Hello there. It’s Monday morning. It’ll be a shorter week than usual, for me, because I’ve got a couple vacation days leading into the three-day holiday weekend (Labor Day is Monday in the U.S.A.). So, I suppose the knowledge that I’ll only have to suffer through a few days (rather than a whole week) makes it easier to bear, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s Monday morning.
So the best thing to do, that I can think of, is to go grab a cup of coffee, and blast some music into our ears until we can’t feel feelings anymore. I like my metal like I like my coffee: black, and strong enough to tear your soul apart.
The Last Trollfest Post, I Swear! (Before the New Album is Released)
So okay, I know there’s been an awful lot of attention paid to the “True Norwegian Balkan Metal” collective known as TrollfesT. There’ve been video trailers, free songs to download, and all kinds of other stuff floating around. Well, here’s one more update about the band, where I’ve collected some of the latest bits of information and news, as we inch closer to the official release of their fifth album, Brumlebassen (out via Noise Art Records on the 24th of August — that’s tomorrow!)…
Just the other day, the band released a track-by-track video guide to the new record, which can be seen below:
Get a Sneak Peek at Krampus’ Debut Full-Length!
Survival of the Fittest, the debut full-length album by Italian folk metal octet Krampus will be here in just two more days!
As you might recall, back in June I shared the announcement of the album title, artwork, and tracklisting. This came on the heels of a pair of reviews of the band’s prior works: the Shadows of Our Times EP from March 2011 and the Kronos’ Heritage EP from August 2011.
Well, since then, there’s been a flurry of activity in anticipation of the new album’s official release (via Noise Art Records) on the 24th of August…
First of all, the band launched a brand new website. Check it out for all the latest news and information in the world of the Krampus.
Then, they put out a video trailer for the Survival album:
Music Makes Miserable Monday Mornings More Manageable
Good morning, Readers!
I hope you are doing well today. Personally, I’m really not sure yet, really not quite conscious enough to even have a general positive or negative impression of today, so far.
But regular visitors here might be familiar with my often-stated opinion — an opinion that I understand is a bit controversial and unconventional (although I think many people secretly agree with me, but I just happen to be the only one brave enough to come right out and say it) — that Mondays completely suck.
But fortunately, there’s also a correllary to that particular theory, which is that Mondays suck just a little bit less when there’s good music, so I’ve found a few songs I’d like to share with you on this Monday morning, to try and ease the pain somewhat!
Coming Soon: New Daylight Dies Album – Details Revealed
Ladies and gentlemen, here’s another bit of news I am very pleased to pass along to you. This was actually announced a couple weeks ago, but I didn’t really get a chance to write about it until now.
Daylight Dies is an excellent, excellent melodic-death/doom band, which I was first introduced to with their appearance on a couple Relapse Records samplers (Contaminated 5.0 and VI included the songs “I Wait” and “The Line that Divides,” respectively, both taken from the band’s debut full-length, 2002’s No Reply) — the same way I discovered Neurosis (“The Tide” and “A Sun that Never Sets,” respectively, appeared on those same collections) and literally dozens of other artists that I fell in love with in the early part of this millennium.
Anyway, fast-forwarding through the next decade, Daylight Dies went on to sign with Candlelight Records and put out two more albums, and now we find that Candlelight is set to release a third (the band’s fourth overall, for those keeping score at home)…
What To Do In Pittsburgh This Weekend (10 – 12 August 2012)
Hey Pittsburgh, it’s Friday! The weekend is just about upon us, so of course everyone is looking for something to entertain themselves with over the next few days, right? I’ve got all the answers RIGHT HERE!
Valley of Steel 