Mastermind of experimental metal, Justin Broadrick (founder of Godflesh, Napalm Death and Jesu) recently relaunched his web label Avalanche Recordings. He started the label in 2000 with limited release CDRs and has returned with limited release CDRs that were intended for sale at concerts Broadrick is involved in. But now Avalanche Recordings has its first full release to offer: an album of unreleased Jesu material titled Pale Sketches! Jesu is set to release their newest album, Lifeline, on Hydra Head in October and Justin Broadrick will perform with both Sunn O))) and Jesu for a short tour this Fall! ([More →])

We’ve got two grand tours by Ipecac artists: The Melvins with Big Business and Otto Von Schirach with The Locust! The Melvins have announced a jam-packed tour of the US from mid-September to mid-October where they will be screening the new DVD they created with hipster cartoon toy designer Dalek - “Purge of Dissidents” at each show! Big Business will be opening the shows, but first The Melvins play one show with Mudhoney in LA (which will also screen the new DVD). If sludge rock isn’t your mug o’music, but weirdness is, you might want to check out the Otto Von Schirach tour with analog afficionado insectoids The Locust that is winding around Europe! Ahhh, I remember when Otto was just a lad, playing underground warehouse shows in SF and The Locust were scaring kids at The Gilman… ([More →])

Steve Albini strikes again! As a recording engineer, he is one of the few who can be trusted with the task of recording extreme music that has a long history of being improperly mastered and mixed-down. He has made all the difference in the world on recordings with Neurosis, Fugazi, Gogol Bordello, The Stooges, Mono, Godspeed You! Black Emperor and many more. Well, it’s no wonder then, that OM trusted him to record their third full-length album at Electrical Audio studio in Chicago. The album will be titled Pilgrimage and it is due to be released on Southern Lord (OM’s first album on this label) on October 2nd. ([More →])

There’s experimental metal afoot! Never content to rest, a few fantastic bands have extended their tours through the Fall, bringing high caliber metal to many regions of the US. Most notably, Jesu will be back in the states for a Fall tour and they will combine dark forces with various other guitar alchemists along the way. They will play a few shows with Torche and Tim Hecker, a few shows with Sunn O))) and Eluvium, as well as a show with Wolves In The Throne Room! ([More →])

Black Metal Updates Abound! Boris will again tour the US, but not with Sunn O))) this time. The tour begins in Chicago on September 30th, and features the japanese metal outfit playing collaborative sets with Michio Kurihara! They will play material off their most recent release, Rainbow plus many surprises! ([More →])

Environmental campaigns seem to go hand-in-hand with music events. Live Earth is a fine example. Many bands are using their tours as platforms for environmental education and recycling programs, like Linkin Park, Cheryl Crow and the Beastie Boys. But nothing sings about environmental doom and destruction like a carefully chosen documentary soundtrack. Finally, someone has matched planetary doom with the perfect soundtrack of doom metal and dark ambient electronica! I feel I have finally found a single category of music to describe many of my favorite bands - a class of music that I haven’t been able to summarize with a single name until today - Music For Environmental Doom! It’s perfect! What other category could so perfectly link Khanate with Gas, Brian Eno with Arve Henriksen, and Mogwai with Sigur Ros or Lamb? I’d love to own a soundtrack with this music, especially if it were on gatefold double vinyl! ([More →])

Spinner does this cool thing called MP3 of the Day, and today you can grab Aesop Rock’s “Coffee” featuring John Darnielle for your digital music collection! You can also get “Let’s Go” off of Ministry’s final album - The Last Sucker. ([More →])

Wolves in the Throne Room have been busy this summer. They’ve been on an extensive tour with Sunn O))) and Earth, they are scheduled to play a few shows with Ludicra, and they have added even more shows that will extend their tour into Fall. Not only that, but they are playing with some of the best live metal bands along the way! I am so excited for the San Francisco show, not only because Wolves in the Throne Room put on a smashing show, but also because they will be playing with one of my fave doom metal bands - Graves at Sea. In other cities they play with Thrones, Asunder, Goatwhore and more! They will even venture into Canada for a few shows, so if you are a metal fan on the west coast, there will be no excuse for missing one of these epic shows… ([More →])

Neurosis has just announced that they will play Austin in November and will be announcing more US dates soon. ([More →])

The West Coast US is positively spoiled for epic underground metal music. Especially in the last 6 years, when we’ve had regular access to incredible performances by Sunn O))), Earth, Ludicra, Wolves In The Throneroom, and many of Mike Patton’s incarnations. My apologies to metal fans of afar who are teased by our repeated thrashings and harmonic tremors. Behind this veil of an intro, lies news of a metal extravanganza for all ages. It begins with warnings for the weak of heart residing on the west coast which is about to be invaded by Ludicra, Wolves In The Throne Room, Wormwood, Middian, Orb of Confusion and more. But, if you are in the UK, you can skip the first half of this article and read the report on Earth, Sunn O))) and Boris in London below. West Coast and UK read on - if you dare… ([More →])

Do you feel Ozzfest isn’t enough to satisfy your need for extremely dramatic metal music, live and larger-than-life on stage? I have a solution, but, alas, it does not include the King of Black Metal - the Oz himself. What it does offer is Cradle Of Filth! The absolute best at theatrical, operatic metal in all its gothic glory! Check it: ([More →])

The 428,000 free tickets to Ozzfest that have been given away thus far represents the “largest number of free tickets distributed in the US in the history of the concert business”! And it’s not over yet! Ozzfest organizers have unleashed a second round “on the house” for the remaining 21 shows that make up the mega-metal tour. Those who want free tix, still have to jump through the hoops at Live Nation’s website, because only the most metal-worthy may gain audience with the Oz! ([More →])

Southern Lord is giving away FREE STUFF including tickets to west coast shows on the 777 Tour, Sunn O)))/Boris LPs and Southern Lord goodies. This is your chance if you don’t already have tickets to see Earth, Sunn O))), Wolves In The Throneroom, and Weedeater in either LA, San Diego, Portland or Seattle. ([More →])

Today’s theme is charities that benefit from rock merch…

Metallica is the latest addition to London’s Live Earth concert on 07/07/07. Immediately after their performance, an exclusive download of the set will be available for a reasonable fee. All the proceeds from the sale of this download will be donated to the 4 climate charities that Metallica has chosen:
Sierra Club
The Apollo Alliance
WWF
Rainforest Action Network

That last one is one of my fave NGOs. Sierra Club and WWF have some issues and may not be truly charitable. The download will be available on iTunes and Metallica’s own live show download page, livemetallica.com

AND, even though Live Earth has long been sold out, Metallica must have been given some tix when they were added on at a late hour because MetClub members can find out how to purchase a ticket. See the Live Earth news on the Metallica website for more info.

That better be a biodiesel or veggie oil truck they’re riding around in! Knowing this fella, it’s pure ethanol, eh?

More Metallica Links

official website
Metallica live show page

Live Earth website

Sunn O))) album update -

Last week I mentioned the Sunn O))) album Oracle is being pressed to vinyl for release along with a 48 minute bonus disc consisting solely of the song “Helio)))sophist”. The album was available as a limited edition CD on their very recent tour through the Pacific Rim and Brainwashed got their hands on a copy. John Kealy has written up an honest review of the album which is accompanied by mp3 samples of all three pieces. Kealy reports that “Belülrol Pusztít” involves the FM3 Buddha Machines as its foundation, but the version of the song on Oracle is not the same version the band submitted for the Jukebox Buddha compilation. As previously noted, this new version utilizes the jackhammering of Joe Preston and the terrifying screeching of Attila Csihar. Meanwhile, “Orakulum” is a sonic venture that was originally commissioned for an art installation by Banks Violette and, as intended, is a solid representation of the droning riffs that Sunn O))) live shows have become notorious for. In a sudden plot twist, the epic track on the bonus cd, “HeliO)))sophist”, is in fact a sound collage of Sunn O))) live performances from 2005 that was arranged by their tourmate BORIS’ Oren Ambarchi.
Read the full review and listen to samples of all three songs on Brainwashed.