Melvins Summer Tour Dates

My absolute favorite band just finished working on their newest record. The title and release date have yet to be revealed. But I'm willing to bet it's out before they hit the road on June 1.

June 1: San Diego, CA @ The Casbah
June 2: Tempe, AZ @ The Clubhouse
June 3: Albuquerque, NM @ Launch Pad
June 5: Austin, TX @ Emo's
June 7: Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
June 8: Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon
June 9: New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks
June 10: Birmingham, AL @ Bottle Tree
June 12: Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Festival
June 14: Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club
June 16: Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
June 17: Philadelphia, PA @ T.L.A.
June 18: New York, NY @ Webster Hall
June 19: Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
June 20: Boston, MA @ Paradise
June 21: Boston, MA @ Paradise
June 23: Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
June 24: Detroit, MI @ Small's
June 25: Chicago, IL @ Double Door
June 26: Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon
June 27: Des Moines, IA @ House of Bricks
June 29: Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
July 2: Calgary, Alberta @ Sled Island Festival
July 3: Calgary, Alberta @ Sled Island Festival
July 5: Vancouver, British Columbia @ Rickshaw Theatre
July 6: Seattle, WA @ Showbox at the Market
July 7: Eugene, OR @ John Henry's
July 9: San Jose, CA @ Blank Club

Looks like I'll be driving down to Austin [and maybe Houston too].

WATAIN NEWS!!!

At last...the long wait is almost over. It's been three years since Watain released their stellar third album Sworn to the Dark. This morning Season of Mist sent out the following press release:

Swedish black metal kings WATAIN just completed their fourth full-length album, after two intense months at Necromorbus Studio! Vocalist and mastermind E. comments: "I am now holding in my hand the final master tape of what might be the most dynamic and charged WATAIN release ever recorded. May the gods unto which it is written be pleased! We are very much looking forward to share this rich feast with our followers, whom we know have been hungering for a very long time. All I can say is that it will be worth the wait. We raise our cups unto all of you whose patience and support have been constant during the three fiery years since the release of "Sworn to the Dark", and look forward to set the night aflame with you again soon!" The unveiling of WATAIN's fourth monument will take place on June 7th, under ceremonial circumstances yet to be revealed. In collaboration with Sweden Rock Magazine and Season of Mist, WATAIN have put together a special CD that all subscribers of the magazine will get with issue #70 (out April 6th). The CD consists of a cover of BATHORY's "The Return of Darkness and Evil" as well as the brand new track "Reaping Death", from WATAIN's upcoming album, which title is yet to be announced. Last but not least, WATAIN will release a single entitled "Reaping Death". It will be released as a picture 7" EP on Walpurgisnacht. This single will feature the track "Reaping Death", along with a special B side.

Three month and change seems so far away at this point. But I know it'll be worth the wait.

Watain will be appearing May 28 in Baltimore, MD as part of Maryland Deathfest.

The Skill of Gymnastics...The Kill of Karate!!!

I'm a big fan of movies that are so bad that they're great. Take Gymkata for example. It's fail is so epic that it becomes full of win. And that's why when I found a set of French lobby cards on eBay for FIVE BUCKS I was all over it. The set arrived in today's mail.



This envelope's humble appearance belies the greatness contained within!




The card above is awesome. It's from the film's most infamous scene:









If you'd like to learn more about Gymkata click here. Purchase the DVD here. Once it arrives, invite some friends over to play...



You might want to have an ambulance waiting in the driveway.

1349 - New Album Details

1349 released the following statement on their website:

Prosthetic Records is proud to announce the release of the brand new album from Norwegian black metal legends 1349 in North America via an agreement with Indie Recordings. The new album, which promises a return to their more traditional raw, yet technical black metal sound, is slated for an April 13, 2010 release. In support of the yet to be titled record, the band will be supporting Cannibal Corpse in April and May along with Skeletonwitch and Lecherous Nocturne. (Note, 1349 are not on the last week of the tour; the following are only dates featuring 1349.)

Decibel & Metal Sucks Present in association with BC Rich Guitars & Iron Fist Clothing
The Evisceration Plague Tour featuring CANNIBAL CORPSE, w/1349, Skeletonwitch, & Lecherous Nocturne

Tue/Apr-20 Orlando, FL Club @ Firestone
Wed/Apr-21 Atlanta, GA Masquerade
Thu/Apr-22 Raleigh, NC Volume 11 Tavern
Fri/Apr-23 Springfield, VA JAXX
Sat/Apr-24 Worcester, MA Palladium (Metal Fest)
Sun/Apr-25 Long Island, NY Crazy Donkey
Tue/Apr-27 Montreal, QC Club Soda
Wed/Apr-28 Toronto, ON Opera House
Thu/Apr-29 Chicago, IL House of Blues
Fri/Apr-30 Milwaukee, WI Eagles Club
Sat/May-01 St. Paul, MN Station 4
Sun/May-02 Lawrence, KS Granada Theater
Mon/May-03 Denver, CO Gothic
Wed/May-05 San Francisco, CA Slim’s
Thu/May-06 Los Angeles, CA House Of Blues

More information regarding the release, as well as 1349 headline dates will be announced in the coming weeks.

The band, who were formed in 1997 from the ashes of the band Alvheim and features Frost of Satyricon on drums, and take their name from the year the Black Plague reached Norway, have toured with the likes of Celtic Frost, Carcass, Suffocation, Aborted, among others and will appear at this year’s Wacken and Summer Breeze Festivals. 1349’s record “Hellfire” received critical acclaim from music outlets worldwide and was considered an instant classic.

Prosthetic Records sent out a press release with the following info:

Norwegian black metal titans 1349 have announced the title and release date of their new album. The album, entitled “DEMONOIR,” will be released by Indie Recordings throughout Europe on April 26, and by Prosthetic Records in North America on April 27.

For the band’s fifth full-length release, 1349 decided to suck out the fiercest and most potent energies from every single member and surroundings, channeling it into songs that are pulsating with uncanny atmospheres, rawness and nerve shattering intensity. The whole process of getting the material on record was like one long, exhausting black magic summoning that could not be allowed to go wrong.

“DEMONOIR” is without a shadow of a doubt 1349’s darkest, most sinister and brutal work to date, and in this case it comes to mean that the band has gone from the utterly extreme to the genre-expanding and mindboggling. Black Metal cannot, and will never be the same.

“DEMONOIR” will be available in North America as a digipack CD and a limited edition 12” picture disc LP.