Tours Galore: Hivelords and Sadgiqacea Together Again

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Hivelords and Sadgiqacea Are Embarking on a Joint Summer Tour

 

Hey folks, if you live in the eastern half of the U.S. (that is, anywhere between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mississippi River, plus just a little further west in the case of Kansas City, Columbia, and Des Moines), you’re in for a real treat sometime in the next six weeks. Two Philadelphia-based bands who each play a uniquely interesting variant of black metal — Hivelords and Sadgiqacea — are heading out on the road, starting tomorrow night in New Jersey, and spiralling their way through the northeast, midwest, and southeast, before finally finishing up back in Philly at the end of July.

I saw these bands last July when they both played a show in Pittsburgh, and it made for a pretty amazing experience. I’d highly recommend it if you are able. I’ve got a video from each of their performances at that show, below, and then I’ll share the full list of dates for their current summer tour.

 

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The List of 2013 Year-End Lists

Photo Collage - 2013 Shows - by Mrs. Valley of Steel

Click for full-sized image

 

Hey folks — a very Happy (Belated) New Year to all of you! 2013 definitely turned out to be an interesting year for me, with lots of big changes, new projects, new responsibilities, etc., but an unfortunate side-effect of some of that was (as you’ve surely noticed) that the amount of time I’d been spending writing really tapered off as the year went on, to the point where I didn’t post
anything here for the last few months! Well, as you may have seen, I’ve started writing reviews of some new 2014 releases — and as time allows I promise I will also be sharing plenty of older stuff I’ve missed writing about, because believe me there has been a TON worth sharing!

But more on that later. As I started doing last year, I’ve once again put together a collection of various people’s “best of” lists from 2013. Admittedly I sort of got a late start on this (I didn’t even put out the open invitation until after most websites had already finished with publishing all their year-end stuff), but several people have answered the call and contributed some really interesting lists that you’ll want to check out…

 

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Fister – Gemini

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FisterGemini (self-released, 19 March 2013)

 
Lately, a close personal friend of this website, Mr. Jason Cantu (read more about him here, as part of my wife’s ongoing interview series), has been all atwitter about this sludge/doom band from Saint Louis called Fister. Now, I’ve always had a lot of respect for his judgement about things, because anytime he’s recommended something it’s always been a winner: he seems to really pay attention to what people listen to, and so if he says “You’ll like this,” chances are you will.

But you don’t just have to take my word for it. Jason’s opinions have just gained a whole new level of credibility, as he has recently joined the ranks of The Sludgelord as a contributing writer. So you know that’s no B.S., since that site is world-renowned as a leading authority on heavy music.

So anyway, Fister. The first time I heard of these guys was last year, when one of their songs was included on the Doommantia benefit comp. That song was very slow and heavy, raw and noisy. All things that I would later discover to be part of this band’s signature style.

Fast forward to the present day; Fister are currently in the midst of an excursion across the Midwest and the northeast, which includes a stop in Pittsburgh tonight! All the members of Cantu‘s band Slaves BC have been talking about how excited they are to be part of this show, so I figured it was about time for me to do some investigating.

As it turns out, Fister has quite a lot of material available on their Bandcamp page, so I decided to tackle their most recent album, Gemini (released earlier this year), which is their second full-length. Here’s what I discovered…

 
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VOS Videography 2013: A Mid-Year Retrospective (Part 19)

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Kopec’s (Lawrenceville / Pittsburgh, PA), 23 June 2013

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Storm King – “Aura of Failure”

Storm King – “Backfill”

Slaves BC – “The Four Horsemen: Wild Hunt”

Slaves BC – “Armageddon”

 

The Rock Room (Polish Hill / Pittsburgh, PA), 29 June 2013

DeathCrawl – “Kill or Be Killed”

DeathCrawl – “Dead is Dead”

The Osedax – “Time Unveiled”

Meth Quarry – “Afterlife Daggers”

Slaves BC featuring Meth Quarry vocalist Adam Bailey – “Armageddon”

 

Sluggers (Charleroi, PA), 30 June 2013

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No Movement

Flesh Addict – “Sludge Surf” and “Brain Dead”

 
Stay tuned, because there will be lots more of these, as more shows take place throughout the second half of this year! Just keep checking back, or better yet, subscribe to the channel and you can get notifications whenever there’s something new for you to watch.

 
As an added bonus for making it ALL the way to the end of this lengthy retrospective, here is the full-sized version of the photo collage that was posted on Facebook. (Click to enlarge).
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NAVIGATION
 
Part 1 (28 December – 18 January)
Part 2 (01 – 09 February)
Part 3 (16 February)
Part 4 (22 February)
Part 5 (23 February)
Part 6 (02 – 09 March)
Part 7 (10 March)
Part 8 (14 March)
Part 9 (16 March)
Part 10 (22 – 24 March)
Part 11 (28 – 29 March)
Part 12 (02 – 11 April)
Part 13 (12 – 19 April)
Part 14 (20 – 26 April)
Part 15 (04 – 05 May)
Part 16 (11 – 17 May)
Part 17 (18 – 27 May)
Part 18 (31 May – 20 June)

VOS Videography 2013: A Mid-Year Retrospective (Part 12)

VOStube

 

Altar Bar (Strip District / Pittsburgh, PA), 02 April 2013

 
Solarburn – “Titties on the Floor”

 
Solarburn – “B.F.Y.J.” (“Because Fuck You John”)

 
Solarburn – “Beard of the Wizard” and “Rumplestiltskin”

 

Thunderbird Cafe (Lawrenceville / Pittsburgh, PA), 05 April 2013

 
The Old E Allstars – “Ain’t No Party” and “No Water”

 
The Old E Allstars – “Warrior with a Bottle”

 

The Smiling Moose (South Side / Pittsburgh, PA), 11 April 2013

 
On this day, Slaves BC released a split record with Cousin Sleaze from New York. These videos came from the show both bands had that evening.

 
Cousin Sleaze – “Never Will I Forget”

 
Cousin Sleaze – “Begin Again”

 
Cousin Sleaze – “Guilty of Being White” (Minor Threat cover)

 
Slaves BC – “Place Axe to Root”

 
Slaves BC – “To My Beloved Bride”

 
Slaves BC – “Dust” (New Song)

 
Under Everything – “Smoke Wizard”

 
Under Everything – “Nobody’s Hero”

 
NAVIGATION
 
Part 1 (28 December – 18 January)
Part 2 (01 – 09 February)
Part 3 (16 February)
Part 4 (22 February)
Part 5 (23 February)
Part 6 (02 – 09 March)
Part 7 (10 March)
Part 8 (14 March)
Part 9 (16 March)
Part 10 (22 – 24 March)
Part 11 (28 – 29 March)
 
Part 13 (12 – 19 April)
Part 14 (20 – 26 April)
Part 15 (04 – 05 May)
Part 16 (11 – 17 May)
Part 17 (18 – 27 May)
Part 18 (31 May – 20 June)
Part 19 (23 – 30 June)

VOS Videography 2013: A Mid-Year Retrospective (Part 10)

VOStube

 

Belvederes Ultra-Dive (Lawrenceville / Pittsburgh, PA), 22 March 2013

 
This was quite an interesting show: as originally conceived, they were going to set up four bands in the four corners of the room, with the audience in the center. Each band would take turns playing one song at a time. Well, once they got all the equipment in there, they realized that there wouldn’t be much room for anyone to watch, so they changed it so that two bands would set up and play, and then the other two bands. At the end, both in the original line-up and in what eventually transpired, Oh Shit They’re Going to Kill Us played a set by themselves, up on the stage.

 
Come Holy Spirit – “Bywater”, followed by Flora Fauna – “Ithaca”

 
Liebestod followed by Nomad Queen

 
Oh Shit They’re Going to Kill Us – “Survival is a Dying Art” and “Combat Shock”

 

Slaves BC rehearsal space (Bellevue / Pittsburgh, PA), 24 March 2013

 
These guys were supposed to play a show on this particular evening, but due to faulty communication or some such thing, that ended up falling through. Not to be discouraged, the band adjourned to its basement rehearsal space, with everyone who’d showed up to see them…

 
“Everything Under the Sun” (B&W video)

 
“Everything Under the Sun (color video)

 
“Lucifer Bound”

 
“The Four Horsemen: Wild Hunt”

 
“Everything is Meaningless”

 
NAVIGATION
 
Part 1 (28 December – 18 January)
Part 2 (01 – 09 February)
Part 3 (16 February)
Part 4 (22 February)
Part 5 (23 February)
Part 6 (02 – 09 March)
Part 7 (10 March)
Part 8 (14 March)
Part 9 (16 March)
 
Part 11 (28 – 29 March)
Part 12 (02 – 11 April)
Part 13 (12 – 19 April)
Part 14 (20 – 26 April)
Part 15 (04 – 05 May)
Part 16 (11 – 17 May)
Part 17 (18 – 27 May)
Part 18 (31 May – 20 June)
Part 19 (23 – 30 June)

VOS Videography 2013: A Mid-Year Retrospective (Part 6)

VOStube

 

Kopec’s (Lawrenceville / Pittsburgh, PA), 02 March 2013

 
Diamondbreaker – “Fish Chum”

 
Slaves BC – “Armageddon”

 
Originally there was a third band scheduled to play at this show, but it seems they forgot to show up, or to tell anybody that they weren’t going to show up. But there happened to be some members of Meth Quarry and Liquified Guts in the audience, so somebody grabbed a couple extra guitars and they threw together an impromptu jam session — which is captured here in its entirety (in two sections):

 

 

 

Howlers Coyote Cafe (Bloomfield / Pittsburgh, PA), 09 March 2013

 
VEGA – “Children of the Fright”

 
VEGA – “Fall Upon the Sword” (New Song)

 
World’s Scariest Police Chases – “Robocop”, “Cannabusted”, and “You’re Only Punk Once”

 
Asphyxian – “A Sophisticated Insult”

 
Asphyxian – “Black Coffee”

 
Asphyxian – “700 Miles til Graceland”

 
Invader – “BDR 529”

 
Invader – “Tools of God”

 
NAVIGATION
 
Part 1 (28 December – 18 January)
Part 2 (01 – 09 February)
Part 3 (16 February)
Part 4 (22 February)
Part 5 (23 February)
 
Part 7 (10 March)
Part 8 (14 March)
Part 9 (16 March)
Part 10 (22 – 24 March)
Part 11 (28 – 29 March)
Part 12 (02 – 11 April)
Part 13 (12 – 19 April)
Part 14 (20 – 26 April)
Part 15 (04 – 05 May)
Part 16 (11 – 17 May)
Part 17 (18 – 27 May)
Part 18 (31 May – 20 June)
Part 19 (23 – 30 June)

VOS Videography 2013: A Mid-Year Retrospective (Part 2)

VOStube

 
 

Mr. Smalls Theatre (Millvale, PA), 01 February 2013

 
Enslaved – “Riitiir” and “Ruun”

 
Enslaved – “Allfǫðr Oðinn” and “Immigrant Song” (Led Zeppelin cover)

 
Pallbearer – “An Offering of Grief” and “Foreigner”

 
Royal Thunder – “Shake and Shift”

 

31st Street Pub (Strip District / Pittsburgh, PA), 09 February 2013

 
Slaves BC – “Lucifer Bound”

 
This show originally included Supervoid in the line-up, but due to an emergency they had to cancel at the last minute, so some of the members of VEGA agreed to fill in. Here they are performing with their then-guitarist Lee playing drums. (For the record, this band has recently reformed as Dope Lake.)

VEGA – “Steal Your Light”

 
Meth Quarry – “Flatline Divinity”

 
NAVIGATION
 
Part 1 (28 December – 18 January)
 
Part 3 (16 February)
Part 4 (22 February)
Part 5 (23 February)
Part 6 (02 – 09 March)
Part 7 (10 March)
Part 8 (14 March)
Part 9 (16 March)
Part 10 (22 – 24 March)
Part 11 (28 – 29 March)
Part 12 (02 – 11 April)
Part 13 (12 – 19 April)
Part 14 (20 – 26 April)
Part 15 (04 – 05 May)
Part 16 (11 – 17 May)
Part 17 (18 – 27 May)
Part 18 (31 May – 20 June)
Part 19 (23 – 30 June)

VOS Videography 2013: A Mid-Year Retrospective (Part 1)

VOStube

 
Well folks, here we are on another lovely Monday morning.  Another weekend has come and gone, and consequently, I find myself back at work once more. Even though I keep crossing my fingers and checking the results at lottery.net. I always see them reporting these huge dollar amounts followed by plenty of zeroes (and not just dollar amounts, either — jackpots in pounds and euros and stuff like that, for games all over the world that I’ve never even heard of). However, what I haven’t seen — yet — is any winning numbers that correspond with my numbers. I keep hoping, and thinking about how a few hundred million dollars (or whatever) would be pretty helpful in being able to live a more leisurely lifestyle; one in which my days are spent playing in a band, attending as many shows as I want to, listening to music. I’ll tell you one thing: I’d have a lot more time to get some writing done! And not having a job to go to would definitely mean I’d get the videos from shows edited and uploaded in a much more timely fashion.

But of course, I haven’t won any huge jackpots (yet), so I still do have to be back at work today. But following that incredibly awkward transition, speaking of going to shows and uploading videos to YouTube and stuff… we’re now halfway through this year, meaning I’ve now got six months worth of incredible bands’ performances available for your viewing pleasure!  On reaching this milestone, I’ve decided to invite you to join you in taking a retrospective look at that vast collection.

 
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Deathcrawl – Accelerated Rate of Decay

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DeathcrawlAccelerated Rate of Decay (self-released, 16 October 2012)

 
Okay, true story: earlier this month, I had a cookout for a handful of friends (mostly musicians or music-related folks, just because that’s how I roll). At some point in the evening, as we were standing around the fire and socializing, I remember talking to someone about a song that was playing (I’d hooked up my MP3 player and set it to shuffle); during that conversation, the song ended and the next one began — and on hearing the grimey riffs that were pouring out of the speakers, I then remarked, “Oh, and this is Deathcrawl.”

Well. Standing nearby just happened to be Josh Thieler, vocalist for Slaves BC. You may recall that his band creates some awesome music, and so it’s no surprise that he’d generally have pretty good taste in stuff to listen to. Anyway, I could see that his eyes were all lit up. “I was just about to ask you what this is,” he told me, “because it’s really good. This is Deathcrawl?” I nodded, and he added (I’m paraphrasing here; this was a couple weeks ago), “So, my band is playing with this band at the end of the month??” I nodded again, and his face lit up even more.

Because yes, I’m pleased to say, the Ohioan sludge factory that is Deathcrawl is finally playing a show in Pittsburgh, and that show is tomorrow night!! In addition to Slaves BC, that line-up will also feature Meth Quarry and (coming back to the city for the first time since last summer) The Osedax from Virginia. More details on that show coming up soon, but first, I’d like to bring you up to speed on a band and an album that you really need to be listening to (if you haven’t already)!

 
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