Mournful Congregation Set to Pillage West Coast

October 19, 2011

This is still some weeks away, but now is the time to book your flight to the west coast or Texas to see one of the premier doom bands in the world sweep across the plains and possibly rattle California into the ocean. Australia’s Mournful Congregation is coming to America at the end of November…

Tom S. Englund (Evergrey) interviewed

October 19, 2011

What makes Tom tick? You’ve been doing Evergrey for more than 15 years now.Tom S. Englund: I don’t know, man. Must be as simple as the love for creating music and music in general. That and, of course, travelling the world numerous times as a result of the chords I play and write of course…

Behold One of the Strongest Beers in the World

October 18, 2011

Do we have your attention now? Good. First, we need to address a few things about this photo, which we must admit, we find quite hilarious. #1) No live animals were harmed. These taxidermied critters—a stoat and a squirrel—had previously met their demise before they had bottles of what was, at the time (July 2010),…

Woe Redux: Less Quiet, More Drama

October 18, 2011

As an unabashed booster of the original version of Quietly, Undramatically, I have to admit I was a bit skeptical when I heard Woe mastermind Chris Grigg was embarking upon a full remix of the record. The end result, however, definitely won me over, bringing a new level of epic-ness and clarity out of the…

KVELERTAK/SKELETONWITCH: Tour Preview/Reminder/Warning for Livers

October 17, 2011

OK, so this is is effectively grabbing a pile of kindling and tossing it onto the hype inferno, but fuck it, we should probably remind/advise you that his forthcoming Kvelertak/Skeletonwitch tour is the most exciting thing that’s happening Stateside in the immediate future. Consider this a public service announcement, or something to that effect. Shit,…

STREAMING: Encoffination “Rites of Ceremonial Embalm’ment”

October 17, 2011

When death and his plague exhaling horse come knocking on your front door, the last sound you’ll hear won’t be “…Baby One More Time”. It’ll be the dirge of doom expulsed by Texas/Georgia duo Encoffination. Not unlike the members’ grime-encrusted outfit Father Befouled, Encoffination’s brand of death is unpolished, guts hanging out, but ultimately dangerous….

The Lazarus Pit: Glenn Branca’s Symphony No. 6 (Devil Choirs at the Gates of Heaven)

October 14, 2011

Welcome to The Lazarus Pit, a biweekly look at should-be classic metal records that don’t get nearly enough love; stuff that’s essential listening that you’ve probably never heard of; stuff that we’re too lazy to track down the band members to do a Hall Of Fame for.  This week, we rush the pearly barricades armed…

Beware of the dog! My Dying Bride’s new EP, the Barghest O’ Whitby, is a leg-humper and a biter

October 14, 2011

My Dying Bride have done something truly remarkable: they’ve piqued my attention, big-style. Maybe it was years of clandestine market research or a visit to some cobwebbed shaman, experimentation with psychedelics or an acupuncture/hypnosis combo, but deciding to record a 27-minute histrionic doom track about a supernatural dog is on the face of it an…

HOLY SHIT!

October 13, 2011

Truth be told, I spend way too much money on music. Truth be told, and considering my monthly take home, I spend waaaay too much money on music. A couple years ago, as a means of avoiding homelessness, I came up with a plan to curtail my record shopping insanity. Basically, if I’m browsing at…

True Till Def – Hardcore & Hip-Hop – 10/22 – NYC

October 13, 2011

Motha fuckin’ True Till Def. It’s a free event at Santos Party House, merging two genres that go together like bread and pudding: hardcore and hip-hop. I absolutely fucking loved it when Anthrax did that song with Run DMC. Oh, and did I mention that it’s free? (You have to RSVP, it’s like a wedding.)…