Bay Area Metal Scene » Author Archive
Upcoming Tour: High on Fire / Priestess / Black Cobra / Bison BC
Rad line-up! There are no shows currently scheduled for the Bay Area, but they’re “adding shows” along the way and I’m pretty sure that since there are two Bay Area bands, there will be a Bay Area show. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Tours
Super Sludge
The newly-formed Super Group of Sludge, Shrinebuilder, kick off their two month tour next month with supporting acts Harvestman, Laudanum and A Storm of Light. Their self-titled LP came out last month and features 5 tracks, each of them exploring the heavy, the soft and the ambient sides of the genre. Shrinebuilder definitely give fans of each member’s band a taste of what they love. Hear their track Pyramid of the Moon on their myspace page … Read entire article »
Filed under: Tours
Toxic Bootlegs: Exodus, Arch Enemy and Arsis.
METAL FUCKING MONDAY! Arch Enemy, Exodus, Arsis and Mutiny Within steam-rolled through San Francisco last night at the Grand Ballroom. I have mixed feelings about this place, but most of them lean towards that one feeling, what’s it called? Oh yeah – MURDER. As in, “I want to murder everyone that works here.” So many rules! “Don’t stand here.” “No video allowed.” “4 dollars for water.” on and on and on. It’s like, with all these rules in place you’d think there would at least be awesome sound, but of course, it’s the complete fucking opposite. For such a grand ballroom their sound blows grand ball sacks. I missed Mutiny Within because the Bay Bridge had traffic and because I’m always late. Arsis had a pretty good set list, but the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Live Music
New Suffokate Album on the Way
Oakland’s newest Death Metal/Death Core band, Suffokate, have released a new video for their song, Not the Fallen. Their new album, No Mercy No Forgiveness comes out February 23rd on Mediaskare records. Last year, they opened for Dying Fetus and The Faceless on the Planetary Depravity tour and are currently on the road as part of the Small Town Shakedown tour. … Read entire article »
Filed under: News
Musical Chairs
What do Job for a Cowboy, Animals as Leaders and the band in this video have in common? More than you think… … Read entire article »
Filed under: News
Chico’s Armed for Apocalypse Opening for Sepultura
Sludge / Hardcore metal band Armed for Apocalypse, from Chico, California are opening up for Sepultura and Crowbar this April. Check it out: A4A came through the Bay in December on tour, but their upcoming tour with Sepultura appears to be a Europe-only deal. You can read an awesome review of their show here. The band is signed to Metal Blade records and has tunes from their album Defeat up on their myspage page. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Check These Guys Out, News, Tours
Hatchet Thrash
The final band in this week’s Thrash dedication toured the U.S. last year in support of their album, Awaiting Evil. Signed to Metal Blade records, Hatchet is the only band in this week’s list of Thrashers signed to a major record label. I caught their show at the end of the ‘09 tour, when they toured with Havok and opened for Warbringer (check out the show review). The bands, the venue and the people all … Read entire article »
Filed under: Check These Guys Out
Zombie Holocaust Thrash!
Today’s Thrash band in this week’s Thrash dedication week is Zombie Holocaust. Signed to indie label EBM records (same label as Hirax and other thrash bands), the Zombies have managed to thrash the Bay Area with their punked-laced metal for a a few years now, finally releasing their debut CD, Strike Force in 2009. These guys definitely have a party vibe going on at their shows, so anyone not paying attention better watch out! Any album … Read entire article »
Filed under: Check These Guys Out
Ridiculous Band Name of the Day: Destroy Destroy Destroy
Destroy Destroy Destroy. It just rolls right off your tongue. It’s not as bad as say, Anal Cunt, but it’s way too close to Attack Attack for comfort. I’ll just call them Triple-D, which I’m sure is a term that most folks would agree conjures up fond memories. Unlike most of the bands I’ve mentioned with ridiculous names, Triple-D actually sound good. They’re like a melodic Thrash Power Metal band from Tennessee. Still, what’s with the unicorn skeleton … Read entire article »
Filed under: Ridiculous Band Names
I’m going to give you the keys to the Lamborghini
Why Michael Angelo is better than you: Can make a career with non-stop guitar shredding. Not afraid to sport a Gold’s Gym tank-top, despite lack of working out. Has a tattoo on right arm of custom signature guitar. People expect him to have a ridiculous hair cut. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Videos
Demotivational?! I think not!
Thanks to myspace pal roseman for this one: … Read entire article »
Filed under: Friday Funnies
Getting Low: An Interview With Renowned Bassist Steve DiGiorgio
Ask any metal-head to name the first bass player that comes to mind and 99% of the time you’ll get one of two Steves: Harris or DiGiorgio. Both are great, but only one of them is considered the de-facto go-to person for bands in need of someone that can dominate the low-end of the audio spectrum. DiGiorgio has worked with countless legendary metal bands like Death, Testament and Sadus, and continues today with his new bands … Read entire article »
Filed under: Interviews
Fog of War Thrash
Day 3 of Thrash week! Today’s Thrash band is Fog of War from Benicia. Fans of old Flotsam and Jetsam or King Diamond will appreciate Fog’s thrashing vocals and bass-forward sound in the mix. This is perhaps the only band so far this week with a vocalist that could pull-off the high-pitch screams and falsetto. There are also plenty of shredding guitar solos and harmonies to accompany said thrashing. Fog of War are not currently … Read entire article »
Filed under: Check These Guys Out
Spitting Venom: An Update From Black Cobra’s Rafa Martinez
It’s been 8 years since Jason Landrian (guitars, vocals) and Rafa Martinez (drums) started making noise together as Black Cobra. The two-piece sludge metal band, having just released their 4th CD Chronomega last year (check out our review), are getting ready to unleash their fangs on tour in 2010. Before they hit the road, I was able to exchange a few quick emails with Rafa to get the scoop on what he thought about their … Read entire article »
Filed under: Interviews
Laceration Thrash
The second band in this week’s Thrash dedication is the Bay Area-based band Laceration. Formed in 2006, Laceration have been playing shows throughout the Bay Area and released an E.P. in 2008 titled Consuming Reality. The band lists Death Metal as an influence, and you can hear the darkness come through in their songwriting. The production on the E.P. is pretty “vintage”, but what do you expect when you’re on a metal budget!? Although the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Check These Guys Out
Light This City Playing Farewell Shows This April
San Francisco’s Light This City is playing what appears to be their “final tour.” If you recall from two years ago, the band, at what seemed to be their peak metal moment, “disbanded” and left fans saying, “Whaaaa?” From their myspace bulletin: It has been just about 2 years since Light This City came home from the Death Angel tour and decided to call it quits. Needless to say, it has been an exciting and interesting two years since … Read entire article »
Filed under: Tours
Invection Thrash
The first band in honor of this week’s Thrash dedication is Oakland-based Invection. Formed in 2007, Invection have played various shows throughout California and released an E.P. last November titled Demented Perception. The E.P. features lots of double-bass and epic Thrash riffing, and the production quality is pretty good, which gives it a modern Thrash sound. As a relatively young unsigned band, they have managed to work hard and make a name for themselves, opening … Read entire article »
Filed under: Check These Guys Out
Poll: Do you care about the Grammys?
For those of you that watched Rob Halford receive the Grammy for Best Metal Performance, it felt like it was long overdue. For others, it was a disappointment that their band didn’t win. And for another group of people, it felt like an exercise in tedium watching all four-thousand categories of music before finally getting to the metal category. Personally, I think there are too many fucking categories. Best Tropical Latin Album? Best Album Notes? … Read entire article »
Filed under: Polls
Thrash Week!
One of the best parts about living in the Bay Area is the primo selection of old-school and new-school Thrash bands. You obviously have the big guns like Exodus, Testament and Metallica, but there are also a bunch of young-guns that travel each week from dive to dive, Thrashing like it was 1985. So, we’re kicking-off February by taking a look at a few Thrash bands that the Bay Area has to offer. A dedication … Read entire article »
Filed under: Check These Guys Out
Photos: Sepultura / Metallica in Brazil
Image links to the official Sepultura flickr account. … Read entire article »
Filed under: From the Rail
American Carnage Tour – Take 2!
The rescheduled dates for the American Carnage Tour have been posted! Jul. 23 – Pavillon de la Jeunesse, Quebec City, QC CANADA Jul. 24 – Heavy MTL, Parc Jean-Drapeau, Montreal, QC CANADA Jul. 26 – Metro Centre, Halifax, NS CANADA Jul. 27 – Moncton Coliseum, Moncton, NB CANADA Jul. 29 – Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto, ONT CANADA Jul. 30 – John Labatt Centre Center, London, ONT CANADA Aug. 11 – Glens Falls Civic Center, Glens Falls, … Read entire article »
Filed under: News
Photos: Saviours / St. Vitus
Image links to gallery and show review. … Read entire article »
Filed under: From the Rail
Bootlegs: Nile, Krisiun, Immolation
Finally! It’s been a long time coming, but I finally got to see Nile. Actually, it seems like everyone got to see Nile – it was a sold out show! I really wanted to see Krisiun as well, so I got to kill to birds with one stone. Nile were crushing. I love how epic and thematic their shows are. Dallas needs a little work on his stage banter between songs, but otherwise they worked the crowd into nothing less than a voracious frenzy. Immolation were pretty awesome, but admittedly, I don’t know as much about them as I probably should. Krisiun were just as heavy as I thought they’d be, although the crowd wasn’t at capacity at this point and wasn’t as loud as it could’ve been. Dreaming Dead I … Read entire article »
Filed under: Live Music, Videos
There is a Metal Mole Covering The Grammy’s This Weekend!
Ryan Seacrest can piss-off. The Grammy’s have someone new who knows how to represent rock and metal. Check out http://www.grammy.com/live throughout the weekend to watch Jamie Harvey, aka the Hard Rock Chick, interview and raise hell on the red carpet! Sadly, there is no Best Metal Album category, but there is a Best Metal Performance category in which Slayer, Megadeth, Judas Priest, Ministry and Lamb of God are nominees. Not a bad selection! … Read entire article »
Filed under: News
Ridiculous Band Name of the Day: “Cliteater”.
Cliteater is a grindcore (shocker!) band from Europe. I don’t know how I found these guys…definitely not through Google. Extra points for ridiculous logo to accompany said ridiculous name: … Read entire article »
Filed under: Ridiculous Band Names
Slaughterbox: Embrace your “inner squeal”.
As if the artwork didn’t give it away, Northern California Death Metal band, Slaughterbox, have embraced their inner pig-squeal with a furious assault of Death Metal blast-beats and squealing vocals. Seriously, I don’t think I’ve heard drumbeats this fast anywhere. Is that even human? The band is currently in writing mode and will be recording next month. Until then, check out their tunes on their myspace page. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Check These Guys Out
New Film to Feature Death Metal Artwork
If you though Daniel Craig was scary as James Bond, just wait until you see Dream House. Apparently he and Naomi Watts are going to star in some “psychological, suprernatural thriller” (i.e., running away from ghosts) in 2011. The film will be using an assortment of Death Metal poster artwork from MONSTROSITY vocalist and metal illustrator Mike Hrubovcak of Visualdarkness.Com as background set dressing for a location in the film. There is a young metal couple … Read entire article »
Filed under: News
Metal Survival Tips: 5 Things for Modern Metal Bands to Avoid
I’m no music expert, by any means. I’m not in a band, in the music industry or even in sales. But I do listen to a lot of metal, own an mp3 player and have a website, so that pretty much guarantees that I’m like an expert. I can’t help but notice that a trend has developed over the past few years with modern metal bands and especially guitar players these days. So, with the help … Read entire article »
Filed under: Metal Survival Tips
Anvil’s Drummer is Named Robb Reiner?
Maybe I should know this, but I didn’t make it through the entire Anvil movie so I don’t know any better. No wonder these guys are so popular. They remind you of Spinal Tap. Robb Reiner: Rob Reiner: Anyways. Spinal Tap ANVIL are playing at The Fillmore next week. … Read entire article »
Filed under: News
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