Future Faces – Euphoria (Throatruiner Records, 17 February 2021)
Palecoal – Fake Fates (Throatruiner Records, 17 February 2021)
Good afternoon! Got two to pass along to you today, so how about we don’t waste too much time with introductory nonsense. Ok?
As soon as you find out something is being released by Throatruiner Records you probably already have a pretty good idea what to expect: harsh hardcore or vicious post-hardcore, either way living up to the label’s name with shrieks or screams likely to tear someone’s vocal cords to shreds.
Well surprise! Here we have a pair of albums that came from Throatruiner just last month, which each have far more in common with Depeche Mode than with Converge. So that’s different and unexpected. But in a GOOD way. Let’s check them out…
ALL AGES, 9:00 show / 8:00 doors, $18 in advance / $20 day of show
Tickets are on sale NOW at Ticketweb… OR you can WIN a pair of tickets FREE, courtesy of Opus One Productions and Valley of Steel! Keep on reading to find out how…
Seriously, though, that was my initial reaction on hearing this full album for the first time. I know it’s still very early in the year, and there will be plenty of high-quality releases yet to come (and I’ve even heard a few good ones already), so it’s ridiculous to make such a proclamation at this point. But I can assure you this record will definitely end up in my Top 16 list, probably very close to the top of that list. Because it’s that good.
Hey there, folks! I hope your week is going well. If it’s not, I guess you can be glad that it’s almost over! Personally, I’m just about totally recovered from last weekend’s Winter’s Wake festival, and sometime soon I’ll probably even start writing again.
In the meantime, please enjoy this BRAND NEW feature which will be running periodically here on Valley of Steel — courtesy of the lovely and wonderful person to whom I am fortunate enough to be married!
Six Questions with Slaves BC Bassist Jason Cantu
by Mrs. Valley of Steel
Greetings and salutations! Many of you know me, or have met me, or at least know of me. My name is “Mrs. Valley of Steel.” I’ve been married to “Mr. Valley of Steel” for about five years now — tomorrow [01 March] is our five-year anniversary, in fact.
I’m sure most of you have seen his many posts about shows that are occurring in the Pittsburgh area. Well, he doesn’t just post about them; he actually attends — we both do, actually. [Editor’s note: at least, as frequently as physically possible!] Well, through the course of attending these shows, we’ve met some great people and it occurred to me that you (the general public) might like to hear a little bit more about these interesting people, the bands that they are currently in, and what brought them to the musical path that they are traveling down.
I will be doing these on occasion: they will always be six questions, just enough to give you a sense of the person and their tastes (as opposed to the same old stale band questions you’re always reading). So I hope that you will join me on this new journey in getting to know these wonderful and unique people, and — who knows — maybe you’ll find a new band that may change your life, too!
My first “Person or Persons Unknown” interview is with Jason Cantu, the bassist for Slaves BC, whom we have already seen three times this year. Jason, while just one part of this great band, has an infectious enthusiasm that really enhances their live show. His love and support of music in general is also infectious, and it has inspired me to do these interviews.
Everyone should have a friend like this: someone who’s always posting about records you’ve forgotten about, or wearing t-shirts you would kill for (specifically, I am referring to the Ten Years After shirt he sometimes wears), and someone who is supportive of not only his own band but all local and non-local bands. He is the type of fan that makes you want to be a better fan, too.
Well, friends, here we find ourselves in the waning moments of 2012. It’s been an interesting, eventful year that’s had lots of high and low points — a ton of excellent new music has been released and quite a few brand-new bands have emerged that I’d fully expect to be making some serious waves in the near future.
One of the best things about 2012, for me personally, was that I found myself (and my wife) going to lots more shows than in recent years, and as a result I’ve been fortunate to meet a lot of new people — as well as starting to take a way more active role in the local music scene.
Anyway, a few weeks ago I had a suggestion from one of those people I’ve gotten to know in the past year (I won’t say who — he said he preferred not to be given credit for the idea, although I will say that it’s somebody who contributed to this). The idea was to collect top-ten lists from various folks in the Pittsburgh metal community.
So I put out an open invitation for any musicians or other people who are involved in the scene in some way — I was looking for anything, whether it was the traditional “Top Ten Albums” or something totally off-the-wall like someone’s ten favorite sandwiches they ate during the year. Really, the only rules were that it had to be a list, and involve something from 2012.
Folks, if you’ve had your ear to the ground over the past few months you might have noticed that there has been some rumbling coming out of the dark underworld of hardcore. There has been so much hype swirling around the crusty, grimy beast known as Meth Quarry lately, that the band has reached a nearly mythical status — without having played a single show yet!
But all of that is about to change, because these guys are finally ready to come crawling out of the dank cellar of Pittsburgh’s underground and expose the good people of the Steel City to their grim “dirge” hardcore style. Last weekend I met up with the quintet (guitarists Chris Smith and Kevin Hogue, bassist Aaron Kaczynski, vocalist Adam Joseph Bailey, and drummer Brandon “Fluffy” Baker) to talk about the story of the band’s formation and what sort of things they’ve got on the horizon — I joined them at one of their rehearsals, which took place in the basement of Kevin’s house, so when I say “crawling out of the cellar” I actually mean it literally…
Hello there, readers! I wanted to bring this to your attention as soon as I learned about it: pre-orders are now available for the Toxic Waste Split 12″ (Municipal Waste / Toxic Holocaust)! CLICK HERE!
**UPDATE 19 June 2012** Since the first pressing of this split sold out so quickly, Tankcrimes has just announced a second pressing! PLUS you can now download both sides of the release FOR FREE! Check out this newer post for all the relevant details!
This record is coming out on 12 June 2012 via Tankcrimes Records, and I’m predicting it’s gonna go fast. If you’re a thrash fan who’s been keeping up with the explosion of retro/revival bands over the past several years, then you already know that these are two of the biggest names in that movement. If you aren’t already familiar with these bands, I’ll give you a brief introduction to them later in this post (including a list of dates for each band’s upcoming world tours!), but first I want to talk about this incredible package — which I’m sure is going to be a HUGE hit with vinyl collectors all over the world…
For the past several months, Scotty at Tankcrimes has often talked about working with various manufacturers and testing a number of different formulations to come up with just the perfect glow-in-the-dark vinyl to use for this release. That kind of dedication should give you an idea of just how important this collectors’ item is going to be…
The extremely limited “Die Hard” edition of the release is available in either the picture-disc (which, as you can see above, features the album’s cover art) or the special glow-in-the-dark vinyl. Either of those will also include a beer koozie and a poster of that cover art, too. Oh, and by the way, I don’t know if you noticed, but the “Toxic Waste” logo inside the glowing globe in the center of the artwork is made of the “T” from “Toxic Holocaust” and the “W” from “Municipal Waste” — sorry, it doesn’t take much to amuse me…
Anyway, for those fans who might not also be into collectible vinyl (or, more likely, for those who want to save the picture-disc or glow-in-the-dark edition in mint condition, but still want to listen to the record) it’s also available in regular boring black or blue vinyl. With any of these editions, you will be sent a link to download a digital copy on the release date, as well.
**UPDATE – 23 MAY** I told you that glow-in-the-dark vinyl was going to be a hot seller and that it would sell out… but I never predicted that they’d all be gone by the afternoon of the first pre-sale day! But, that’s what happened — as of yesterday, there are no more glowing Toxic Waste records left. If you missed out, sorry, it sucks to be you. Next time you need to listen to me when I tell you to jump on something quickly! I just wish I had some extra cash lying around this week, or else I might have grabbed up a dozen copies!
But anyway, all is not lost because that picture-disc edition is still available (although that one surely won’t be around too much longer, either!), as well as the black or blue versions. **
Once again, the link to pre-order the split is here.
Some more big news out of the Pittsburgh music scene exploded onto the internet yesterday, as Deathwish Inc.announced its signing of local hardcore up-and-comers Code Orange Kids.
Code Orange Kids join the DW Family, on tour now, new album later in 2012
Deathwish are proud to welcome Code Orange Kids to our affiliated family.
Fresh out of high school and with an average age of 18 years old, Pennsylvania’s Code Orange Kids remind us off our own embryonic days in the aggressive music scene. They do things their way, creatively cutting their own path through it all. Unconcerned with the direction of other artists, their brand of gritty hardcore/punk is simply refreshing to hear. Merging cryptic melody, dirty hardcore power, and intense dirges into their own uniquely inspired sound.
Valley of Steel 