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Homemade shirtPhoto by Skullgal I am no fan of festivals, metal or otherwise. Large crowds annoy me. Expensive tickets annoy me. Dilettantism, which multiplicity encourages, annoys me. I prefer my experiences intense and intimate, not diluted and truncated. Yet Maryland Deathfest 2009 lured me with an eye-popping lineup, including Hail of Bullets, Mayhem, and Bolt […]

Bands that exude joy are rare. Even if music is supposed to be “joyful,” all too often its execution isn’t. Technical difficulties plague shows; personal differences get in the way of music. These small details can turn hot gigs into merely warm ones. Thus, Stinking Lizaveta completely surprised me at New York’s Cake Shop last […]

Trap Them Curran Reynolds’ Precious Metal weekly is Manhattan’s epicenter of underground metal. But it’s even better for music that ends in “-core.” The best metal is big and grand; the best “-core” is in-your-face. Lit Lounge’s basement, where Precious Metal takes place, is a narrow, dimly-lit grotto. It could be someone’s wine cellar. The […]

The Funeral March, cover detail Mighty Swedish grindcore outfit Gadget is playing two rare US shows. The first is Friday, May 15 in Philadelphia at 941 Theater (941 N. Front St., free beer by Yards Brewing, flyer here). The second is Saturday, May 16 in Brooklyn for the Auditory Assault Fest at Club Europa (98 […]

Photo by iamdonte To celebrate their 10th anniversary, Japan’s Mono played a one-off show last Friday at New York’s Society for Ethical Culture. Originally, it was to be their only North American date to support their new album, Hymn to the Immortal Wind. However, it sold out, causing the addition of a second date. People […]

Lord Mantis Seventh Rule labelmates Lord Mantis and Wetnurse are teaming up on a US East Coast mini-tour. (See dates below.) Lord Mantis’ Spawning the Nephilim, which I reviewed for Decibel (#56, Isis cover), is no joke. I compared it to Kylesa and Khanate; Blabbermouth compared it to Black Cobra and Khanate. It’s brutal. Wetnurse […]

Photo by Cosmo Lee You think you know what to expect. You’ve seen the band before. Yet when Landmine Marathon raze the Lit Lounge, you are just as saucer-eyed as every other punter afterwards. The band has quite a look: four beards and a skinny young lady in skinny jeans. On their first note, bassist […]

Brendon Small w/ All-StarPhotos by Joanna D. Robertson I love seeing children interact with metal. They’re not scenesters yet; they haven’t been told by society not to like metal; they just like the music. The adult pursuit of metal is perhaps an assertion of youthful fantasy and play in a world unrewarding of such things. […]

Photos by Carmelo Española Band reunions don’t excite me. Nostalgia is a debilitating condition. Cashing in on it is preying on the weak. Every dollar spent on a reunited band could go to an up-and-coming one. Sure, it’s nice to see bands get props if they didn’t get them back in the day. But if […]

Bonded by Blood, Exmortus, and Witchaven are playing a free show in Brooklyn Queens this Saturday 3/28 at The Water Grill, a French/Japanese restaurant The Lone Star Bar and Grill, a Country/Western bar Maric Lanes, a bowling alley (7pm, 1945 49th St., Long Island City, NY). These California retro thrashers are currently out on the […]