Hey, Look: A New Borracho Video (Plus Drinking Game)!

Posted by valleyofsteel on

You remember Borracho, don’t you? Their debut LP Splitting Sky landed on my Top 11 of 2011 list which was ever so graciously published by No Clean Singing. In that list, I referred to the band as “Fuzzy, grungy, balls-out stoner metal from the District of Columbia,” because that’s exactly what it is.

 

Anyway, just yesterday they sent out an email announcing that they were releasing the first official video from that album, for the single “Concentric Circles.” The video “frames the band’s live show energy and punctuates it with vintage clips of destruction, atrocity and mayhem,” and those clips are the key to the drinking game that accompanies it! As they explained:

… it wouldn’t be a proper Borracho project without an official drinking game to go along. So before you press that play button, grab many beers, assemble a throng of your closest head-banging friends and challenge them to a round of “Boom!” – a beer down for every explosion you see. That’s right! We’ve got your buzz all worked out: every time something blows up, you drink! It’s that easy.

Continue reading →

Let’s Start the Day with More TrollfesT News!

Posted by valleyofsteel on

image

Good morning!  Tuesday’s post about the release of a new TrollfesT song attracted a lot of attention, which is great — I’m excited to hear some new music out of these guys, and I’m glad to see so many other people feel the same way.

Well, guess what!  Since then, I’ve stumbled upon a whole treasure trove of new information — including the track listing and the story behind the new album Brumlebassen (due in August from Noise Art Records) plus the cover art (see above)!  Additionally, there’s been a bit of a line-up change in the works which was just made official in advance of the band’s performance at Inferno Festival (which is taking place later today in Oslo).

 

So!  First things first, here is how the band describes the concept for their upcoming fifth album:

Like all TrollfesT’s albums, Brumlebassen tells a story about one of the characters that inhabit the fantastical universe created by the band.  This time the story is about Brumlebassen the Bee Keeper, whose task it is to care for the bees and brew the Honey Mead that is much loved by the Trolls.  Brumlebassen adores his bees so much that he would secretly like to become one of them himself and he is therefore depicted wearing a bee costume!

I don’t know about you, but to me a story about a troll who wants to be a bee sounds awesomely hilarious.  I can’t wait.

 

Continue reading →

MDF Update: Apparently Morgion was Scheduled to Perform? Anyway, That’s Been Postponed.

Posted by valleyofsteel on

NOTE — Updated 07 January 2013 — This post originally referred to Maryland Deathfest X (which took place in May 2012). However, Morgion was announced as one of the confirmed performers for this year’s MDF XI (scheduled for May 2013). Recent reports (see the comment section, below) are indicating that this may not be happening as planned, either. Stay tuned, and I promise to share all the facts with you as soon as I have heard anything from an official source. But it’s not looking real optimistic at the moment.

 
UPDATE #2 — 08 January 2013 — Okay, it’s now been made officially official, Morgion will not be playing in 2013 either. Possibly not at any other time in the future, either.

 

Ok, first off, what the hell!!? I know I’ve been super busy with work crap and school crap and all kinds of other crap lately, but how did I miss the news that Morgion — the legendary doom metal band from the 90’s and early 2000’s — was getting back together to play at this year’s Maryland Death Fest!?!?

Anyway, so I’ve just learned that the band has been forced to postpone their previously-scheduled reunion performance. It was going to take place at MDF on the 25th of May, but… (as drummer Rhett Davis, formerly of Morgion and now with Gravehill, explains):
 

It is with great regret that I must inform you all that Morgion must postpone our performance at this year’s Maryland Death Fest, on Friday May 25th. Jeremy (Peto – Bass/Vocals) recently sustained a quite serious neck & back injury, serious enough to where he must undergo surgery and months of physical therapy. Needless to say we are all very concerned for his health and well-being, we must ask you to be patient with us just a lil’ bit longer! On the positive, we have our Rabid Decay Demo – Live Rehearsal Demo – Travesty 7″ EP re-release on CD called God of Death & Decay on Dark Descent Records, as well as the double gatefold Solinari vinyl release on Parasitic Records due before MDF! I do have to stress this is NOT a cancellation, this is a postponement… Our sincere apologies for this, but the circumstances are quite serious and we hope our fans/friends understand and wish Jeremy a speedy recovery!

 
Continue reading →

Now Hear This! Previously Unreleased TrollfesT Song Now Streaming

Posted by valleyofsteel on

Over their nearly-decade-long existence, TrollfesT (who inexplicably describe themselves as “True Norwegian Balkan Metal”) have really built a name for themselves, as much for their unique folk instrumentation as for the drunken party environment that surrounds everything they do. By all accounts, their live performances are truly something to behold — and for those who live in Europe you just may get a chance to witness this, as they are playing at Norway’s Inferno Festival this Thursday (05 April) before embarking on a tour with kindred spirits Korpiklaani this month, as well as dates in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland as part of MetalFest in July, Slovenia’s Metalcamp in August, and finally the Heidenfest tour in October and November.

For those of us who live elsewhere and aren’t lucky enough to be able to attend any of these festivals or tours, we can take heart in the knowledge that sometime this summer the band’s fifth album Brumlebassen will be released by Noise Art Records, but maybe that isn’t quite enough for you — perhaps you are still feeling left out?

Sadly, I can’t magically make the band appear in your city (although they did mention on Facebook, a while back, that they’d love to come to the U.S. — they just need enough people to go to their local venue owners and concert promoters and demand it! ask politely), but what I can give you is a sneak peek at a song that was previously only available at live shows!

 
Continue reading →

Get ’em While They’re Hot: Three Free HUGE Compilations from Grip of Delusion Radio!

Posted by valleyofsteel on

Check this out! The nice people at Grip of Delusion Radio have put together a gigantic compilation in three volumes (over one hundred songs altogether!) and they’re yours for the taking, absolutely free of charge. There are some pretty awesome bands represented here, including a couple I’ve written about in the past (Vulture and Undersmile) and one that I’ll be reviewing very soon (Fire in the Cave), plus Banda de la Muerte, Heavy Lord, Forged in Flame, Wo Fat, Cultura Tres, Thorr Axe, Behold! The Monolith, Shroud of Despondency, and tons more!!

These were just released on Sunday (01 April) and by Monday they had already run out of free Bandcamp downloads! But mere minutes ago, it was announced that due to the generosity of The Soda Shop, they’ve just added on another thousand downloads… so hurry up and grab one while you still can!

See the Bandcamp widgets below for each of the three volumes, where you can download them if you like (or just listen to the songs and then download your favorites)…

If the Bandcamp well runs dry again, don’t fear, they have alternate download capabilities on this page — including a link to Mediafire (where you can grab the songs one at a time) and Dropbox (which offers all three volumes in a single Gig-and-a-half bundle).

 

Continue reading →

The “Signmeto” Unsigned Band of the Week: Obscurcis Romancia

Posted by valleyofsteel on

Well, it’s Monday again, and that can only mean one thing.  It’s time for the “Signmeto” Unsigned Band of the Week!  As you are already aware, this is that thing where I go to the “Sign Me to Roadrunner Records” website and check out the messages that bands have written to me asking for a review of their music.  Then I pick one at random (where “at random” usually means “whoever wrote to me the longest amount of time ago”), I listen to the songs they’ve got posted, then I write about them here so YOU can discover some awesome new music. 

This week we’ve got a nice sample of black metal from the frozen tundra of the far north — except instead of northern Europe like you might be expecting, this is northern North America.  Specifically, we’re looking at a band who come from the French-Canadian province of Québec, who call themselves Obscurcis Romancia.  If you couldn’t decipher it yourself, the band’s name (which seems to be a hybrid of French and Latin, as far as I can tell) translates to something like “Obscured Romance.”  They play a fantastically proficient form of classically-influenced black metal, and they’ve also recently released their second full-length album (details on how to get your hands on a copy, later in this post!)

 

Continue reading →

Upcoming Shows: Wykked Wytch Joining Soulfly on Tour

Posted by valleyofsteel on

Hey, you remember Wykked Wytch, don’t you? Blackened death metal with vocals by a lady who is clearly possessed by demons? If not, you can check out the review I wrote for their latest album The Ultimate Deception, which was released by Goomba Music on the 14th of February, and you can also listen to it on Soundcloud:

 
 

Anyway, it’s just been announced that the band is heading out on the road with Soulfly, on what’s being called the “Maximum Cavalera” 15th Anniversary North American Tour…

I haven’t seen anything that clearly explains the meaning of the name — my first thought was that Max might be accompanied by his brother (and ex-Sepultura and Cavalera Conspiracy bandmate) Igor, but as far as I can tell, this is not the case. Rather, it appears to be a reference to one or more of Max’s sons; from what I understand, there were guest appearances by three offspring on one of the songs from Soulfly’s latest album Enslaved, and one of them reportedly was playing drums with the band on a recent South American tour. Furthermore, it looks like there are a few junior Cavaleras involved with the opening act, which would add up to a hell of a lot of Cavalera (if not literally the maximum as advertised).

Also joining Soulfly and Wykked Wytch on this month-long, 24 27-city trek are Incite and Lody Kong. See below for a full list of dates. UPDATE 11 April: three new dates have been confirmed and added to this list – Wilmington NC, Dallas TX, and Lubbock TX – see below.

 

Continue reading →

Contest Alerts: Win a Shitload of CDs or Records!

Posted by valleyofsteel on

Is today your lucky day? It might be! Check it out — I’ve got the details here for TWO different contests, one where the prize is a total of 29 CDs, and another where you can win a whole bunch of vinyl (including some ultra-rare pieces)!
 

First of all, check out this contest sponsored by Clawhammer PR and MetalReview.com:

The fine folks at Clawhammer PR have always been good to us here at MetalReview, but they’ve outdone themselves with this one. Quite simply, this is the biggest contest we’ve offered up in many a malevolent moon, if not forever and ever. So, first off, let’s all say a special thanks to the Clawhammerkids for hooking us up with this gigantic haul. Once we’ve done that, let’s get down to business, shall we?

WHAT YOU GET (if you win):

Of course, in any contest, you want to know what the prize is, right? Well, for this one, if you win, you get a proverbial shitload of CDs*. Here’s the full list:
Continue reading →

Upcoming Shows: Iron Atrocity Benefit, Vulture CD Release, Ernie and the Berts

Posted by valleyofsteel on

This post goes out to anyone who will be in or around the Pittsburgh area this weekend and can’t find anything to do: GET YOUR ASS OUT TO SOME SHOWS, because there are some awesome ones happening all three nights!! Check out the details below, and get excited!

——————————

Iron Atrocity Vol.2 Benefit Show

at The Smiling Moose bar on the South Side
1306 East Carson Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15203
Friday, 30 March 2012 – doors open at 9:00, show runs until 1:30am
21+ only, $5 per person (suggested minimum donation)

For more details, see the Facebook event page.

You’ve seen me talking about Iron Atrocity, the free compilation of the Pittsburgh metal scene many times before, and for good reason. There’s lots of great stuff on the first volume (don’t belive me? Download it here!), and there promises to be just as much awesomeness when the second one rolls around.

Innervenus, the local record label and music collective responsible for assembling this compilation, held a Kickstarter fundraising campaign recently to help finance the production of the CD. That was mostly successful — at least, enough pledges were made to cover about two-thirds of their target, while the Innervenus staff ended up supplementing the remainder out of their own pockets.

Well, some nice folks decided to throw together another benefit show to help offset some of those costs, and that show is happening this Friday night.

The Smiling Moose Facebook

Iron Atrocity Facebook
Innervenus Facebook, Website

 
 

——————————

If that isn’t already too much excitement for you to handle, there’s plenty more on the way…

Continue reading →

Get ’em While They’re Hot: Free Meshuggah Track Download, Ticket Giveaway

Posted by valleyofsteel on

 

Well, the nice people of Scion A/V have done it yet again, hooking you up with some more free metal.  This time around, they’re letting you grab the song “I Am Colossus” from Koloss, the new Meshuggah album that was just released on Nuclear Blast.

Here’s what Scion had to say about the band and this song:

The larynx-lacerating, off-the-meter metal of Swedish powerhouse Meshuggah is so distinctive that it birthed its own sub-genre, called djent. On this exclusive single for Scion A/V, the band plumbs heavy grooves as only they can. Turtle-paced but with tightly-coiled potential for acceleration, “I Am Colossus” is one of the best Meshuggah songs in their gem-stuffed discography. Power up.

FREE DOWNLOAD OF MESHUGGAH’s “I AM COLOSSUS” HERE.

 
 

And if that isn’t enough for you, Scion A/V is also giving away a pair of tickets to every Meshuggah show on their upcoming tour with Baroness and Decapitated.

  To enter for a chance to win:

1. Read the RULES and TOUR SCHEDULE: http://www.scion.com/Meshuggahsweeps

2. Follow ScionAV on TWITTER: http://www.twitter.com/ScionAV

3. Tweet “@SCIONAV #Meshuggah [date of show]”

Each winner will be chosen at random from the entries provided for each show. Winners will be contacted via Twitter one day before the concert with details on how to redeem the tickets.  Tour dates are listed below…

 

Continue reading →