Tag Archives: USA

Ion Vein to Open for Testament; Celebrate With a Free 3-Song Download!

Posted by valleyofsteel on

Chicago based metallers ION VEIN will be making their return to the stage in a big way, opening for the legendary TESTAMENT at The Fuel Room in Libertyville, IL on Friday, February 10th. In a statement released from the band: “We’re very excited to announce that our first show in support of IV v1.0, and our debut show with Scott and Rob, will be sharing the stage with the mighty TESTAMENT and Chicago’s upstart thrashers DIAMOND PLATE. This is the perfect way to kick the IV v1.0 release cycle into high gear and we can’t wait to dial everything up live with all of you once again!”

 

Keep on reading for more information, including a free “DR” (Digital Release) download of the first three songs from the band’s upcoming album!
 

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Get to Know: Bell Witch (Review of Bell Witch Demo 2011)

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Bell Witch – Bell Witch Demo 2011 (3 October 2011)

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I am forwarding this to you, because otherwise I would be responding to the message directly.

And I know if I did that, I would get into a lot of trouble.

That is a direct quote from an email I wrote to my boss today, passing along a rather impolite message I had received from someone in a different department. Without going into any specifics about the situation, I think that should give you enough of an idea about how MY day has been. How about you, Dear Reader? Are you in a better mood than yesterday? Have extra days off work or school on account of the holiday this weekend? Got all your presents bought and wrapped? Paid for all of them in cash, so there won’t be any huge credit card bills to look forward to, AND managed to pay all your regular bills this month, too?

If you answered “no” to any of these questions, or if you answered “yes” or if you just said “fuck off, why are you asking me so many questions” — in any case, I suspect that you could benefit from some more holiday cheer. And I don’t mean a bottle of wine (although I’m sure that couldn’t hurt, either!). No, just like I said in yesterday’s post, the best way to brighten your day, even if it’s just for a little while, is a healthy serving of some nice, bleak DOOOOOM. As I promised yesterday, I’ve got one batch coming your way today, and then another to follow tomorrow.

Our journey of discovery now takes us to the northwestern United States; specifically, to the city of Seattle, which was made famous in the 1990s as it is commonly regarded as the birthplace of the grunge movement. However, what we are seeking is something much deeper, much darker, and a whole lot slower — and we find exactly that on the recent demo recording by Seattleite duo Bell Witch, which is cleverly titled Bell Witch Demo 2011.

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Just Released: My Ruin – A Southern Revelation (Free Download!)

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My Ruin – A Southern Revelation (self-released, 7 December 2011)

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Imagine this: your band has just been offered a deal with a record label, to include help with promotion, distribution, and touring support for the new album you’ve just recorded.  You’re happy with your new music and thrilled with the new contract and all the benefits that the head of the label promised you.  Then suddenly, without warning, the rug gets pulled out from underneath you, and nothing is happening according to the agreement, resulting in delays to releasing your record, cancelled tourdates, huge losses in profits, and eventually, nasty messages sent through lawyers.  What would you do?  Run off in a corner somewhere and cry?  Decide that life as a musician is too hard, and that you might as well just give up?

Well, according to southern-fried-hard-rock/alt-metal duo My Ruin, that’s exactly what happened to them, but their reaction to the situation was to write and record another whole album full of kick-ass, angry music. And then as a great big “fuck you” to the whole industry, they decided to give it away for free!  Keep reading to learn more about this band, their new album A Southern Revelation, and where you can pick up a copy absolutely free of charge…
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Just Released: MorgueMart – Skeleton of the American Dream

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MorgueMart – Skeleton of the American Dream (Deadslab Records, 25 November 2011)

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At a time when the world of heavy music is bemoaning so many of its heroes falling from grace, whether that means abandoning any remaining metal characteristics in favor of a hard rock sound (sometimes not even all that hard, either!), watering everything down with shitty electro-industrial garbage, or trying to spice things up by adding the semi-coherent ramblings of an aging beat-poet, it can sometimes be a refreshing change of pace to see some consistency.

Skeleton of the American Dream, the latest release from Charleroi (PA, USA) grind/crust/punk band MorgueMart, literally picks up where its predecessor, 2008’s Ten Cent Cadavers, left off. Continue reading →

Out Today: Cormorant – Dwellings

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Cormorant – Dwellings (self-released, 6 December 2011)

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First off, let me just say, I fucking hate Tuesdays. If I worked with that obnoxious lady from payroll or whatever in Office Space, she’d surely tell me I have a case of the Mondays every Tuesday. See, most people complain about Mondays because they don’t want to go back to work after the weekend, and they’re still a bit groggy throughout that morning. Well, I take this to a higher level, because I basically sleepwalk through Monday, go through the motions without really accomplishing much; you could say I’m virtually dead to the world for the entire day, so I’m more or less numb to how truly awful Monday really is. Then, after getting by on just vapors, I end up completely out of fuel by that night, and start out Tuesday feeling the way most people do on Monday. Anyway, that’s pretty much my story so far today.

There is one good thing I can say for Tuesdays though: that’s most often the day new music gets released. Ordinarily that would not be much of a consolation, but every once in a while, a Tuesday will roll around where there is a new release I have been looking forward to so much, that I almost forget how dreadful it is to be alive that day. Almost. And today is one of those rare days, because I’ve been counting down the days for the past few months, since I first saw the announcement from Californian blackened metal band Cormorant‘s bassist/vocalist/lyricist/spokesperson Arthur von Nagel, and now their new LP, Dwellings, is officially here.

For those out there who are already familiar with this band, and who have heard their earlier releases, you probably pre-ordered this weeks ago, and you are probably already listening to the digital copy while anxiously awaiting the CD (and all its fantastic artwork) to be delivered. If you know their past discography but you haven’t bought the new one yet, then probably you just missed seeing the news or you don’t know where to get it, so here you go: click this link.

If you’re still with me, then I assume you’ve never been exposed to Cormorant or their music before, so keep reading and we’ll go on a little trip through history.
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Coming Soon: Cormorant’s New Album Now Streaming, and Once Again Available for Pre-Order!

Posted by valleyofsteel on

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This is awesome news for anyone who, like myself, may have accidentally missed out on the deadline a couple months ago for pre-ordering the new album by Californian blackened progressive metal band Cormorant, Dwellings, due to be self-released on 6 December, 2011.

While we may now be out of luck in regards to some of the elements from their totally awesome packages that were being sold the first time around (a signed poster of the full album cover – one panel of which is visible above, but which can be seen in its full glory here; exclusive downloads of unreleased demo materials; inclusion of our names among the credits in the accompanying booklet; etc.), at least the meat of the previous offerings (digital download of the album, CD digipack, t-shirt or sweatshirt with the album artwork) are once again available to pre-order in various combinations.

If you’ve heard the band’s previous offerings – 2009 LP Metazoa or 2007 EP The Last Tree, then clearly you don’t need any more convincing that Dwellings is going to be a must-own.  No, all you need is a link to the preorder page, which is conveniently located here, at Bandcamp.

If, on the other hand, you are a newcomer to the Cormorant experience, well I’ve got a real treat in store for you to get yourself educated… Continue reading →

Dia de los Muertos Celebrate Dia de los Muertos by Offering Dia de los Muertos for Free Download!

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Well, Dia de los Muertos (the holiday) has come and gone, so I may be a little tardy making this announcement, but if you haven’t yet taken advantage of this opportunity, it’s still available!  So jump on it!

Dia de los Muertos (the band) announced a few days ago that they had put Dia de los Muertos (their 2005 EP) on their website for free download.  I just got around to grabbing it this morning, myself, and haven’t gotten around to listening yet, but just based on their album Satánico Dramático, which was released earlier this year, I’d strongly urge you to follow the link at the bottom of this post!

These Los Angeleno purveyors of death-thrash have incorporated a distinctively Latin-flavored groove into their metal sound, complete with Spanish lyrics and occasional classical guitar intros or outros.  Their sudamericano-style take on a classic thrashy death metal formula makes for quite an enjoyable listen; you may find yourself wishing every day were the Day of the Dead.

Click here for the Dia de los Muertos (2005 EP) download page.
Bonus!!  Click here for the Satánico Dramático (2011 LP) download page.
Dia de los Muertos on Facebook
Find official DDLM merch here

Upcoming Shows – Don’t Miss Molasses Barge!

Posted by valleyofsteel on

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Pittsburgh’s own Molasses Barge is kind of a recent discovery for me.  I had become aware of them a while back by virtue of the fact that singer Brian ‘Butch’ Balich is also the frontman for the fucking awesome Pennsylvanian doom band Argus.  But, I hadn’t actually heard them until this August when I saw them open up for Pentagram.

In a clear case of truth-in-advertising, Molasses Barge sound just like how something with such a name should sound.  The main thing that struck me as I witnessed this sludgey beast in action was the setup drummer Wayne Massey was using.  He seemed to have all the drum and cymbal hardware adjusted to the lowest possible height, so that it was all barely above the level of his throne.  In this way, he constantly seemed to be hunched over the kit, throwing everything he had into a downward motion as he struck each beat.  While it seems this would take a lot out of a person – in fact, before the second song began, Massey had already cast aside the t-shirt he’d begun the set with, and also by this time he was looking as though he might have benefitted from a jug of water like the one Butch was constantly taking swigs from between sections of vocals – nevertheless the technique was very effective in laying down a thundrously driving rhythm underneath the rest of the band.

Guitarists Justin Gizzi and Ken Houser mainly hung off to their respective sides of the stage, out of the spotlight, but their combined crunchy riffs and melodic soloing built a substantial wall of noise that more than made their presence felt.  And Butch sort of bounced around the area between the two guitarists,with an imposing presence and also very impressive singing; meanwhile, occupying whatever real estate the vocalist had vacated at any given moment, Amy Bianco sort of meandered through the middle of it all, offering up basslines that similarly filled the empty sonic space between the others.

Of course, I can say all the words in the world describing the show these folks put on, but nothing would help you envision the experience as much as an actual video of the event.  Well fortunately, some kind soul recorded the show I saw, and then made it available on Youtube for all who had missed it.

Part One | Part Two

Anyway, now you pretty much know all you need to know, in order to know that you need to get out there and see this band live, as soon as possible!  And you are in luck, because over the next few weeks you’ll have not one, but TWO opportunities to do so – as long as you are fortunate enough to be within driving distance of the greater Pittsburgh area.  See below for descriptions and details for each of the upcoming shows.

Molasses Barge on Facebook

You might also be interested in:
Molasses Barge – Jewels (download)
Argus – Boldly Stride the Doomed (CD | download)

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Rescheduled! MorgueMart CD Release Show on Black Friday

Posted by valleyofsteel on

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Click here for the official Facebook event page.

This was supposed to be going down last Saturday, but then some sort of last-minute problem came up and forced them to postpone.  Well, the party is back on and rescheduled for Black Friday night (November 25) at the 31st Street Pub in Pittsburgh.

$5 gets you in the door and also includes a free copy of the new MorgueMart disc.  Their debut, Ten Cent Cadaver, was an excellent slab of local (well, local to me- these guys hail from Charleroi, PA, just across the valley from here) grindy crusty punky awesome, so I’d highly recommend getting to this show if at all possible!  Unfortunately I will be out of town that weekend- already got my tickets for Korpiklaani and Arkona in Cleveland- or I’d be there for sure.  However, I’ll see what I need to do to snag myself a copy of the CD, so you can probably look forward to a review sometime in the near future.

For more information:
MorgueMart official page
MorgueMart on Facebook
31st Street Pub page
31st Street Pub Facebook page