crustcake - METAL BLOG: NEWS, REVIEWS, INTERVIEWS, MP3s AND MORE

SCORE SOME 'BLASPHEMOUS BIRTH CANAL': AN INTERVIEW WITH MIDNIGHT

2012-05-30T12:00:00.000-04:00

By Andy O'Connor (TX) Rites of Darkness may have had logistics from hell, but no attendee would deny it was an amazing weekend. Most of the fest was top-shelf black and doom, but one of the highlights that broke from the kvlt kollective were Ohio speed metal unit Midnight. Stagediving and horn-pumping were reached their peak during Midnight's raucuous set. Some stagedivers even got a face full

CRUSTY CLIP OF THE WEEK: WINTER - 'GODEN' LIVE IN BROOKLYN

2012-05-30T10:30:00.000-04:00

Every single Wednesday without fail, your hosts post a suitably stale video clip that we think needs to be revisited. Click here for more Crusty Clips. Got a clip you think we should post? Send it to crustcake@gmail.com. Low and slow. Low and fucking slow. Need we say more? Winter will play at Mohawk on Saturday with Antisect, Deviated Instinct, Zyanose, Hoax, The Impalers, and Death

BLASTS AND BUD ICE: AN INTERVIEW WITH ABSU

2012-05-29T21:00:00.000-04:00

All photos by Melanie Hathaway By Andy O'Connor (TX) [Ed. note: Absu were forced to cancel their Chaos in Tejas appearance, as Proscriptor was rushed back to Texas following their Maryland Deathfest performance to perform surgery on a knee infection, and unfortunately will not recover in time for Saturday's show. Nonetheless, we wish him a full and speedy recovery.] One could argue that Absu

CRUSTY CLIP OF THE WEEK: DOUBLE CHAOS IN TEJAS EDITION - BLACK WITCHERY AND MAUSER

2012-05-23T10:00:00.000-04:00

Every single Wednesday without fail, your hosts post a suitably stale video clip that we think needs to be revisited. Click here for more Crusty Clips. Got a clip you think we should post? Send it to crustcake@gmail.com. By Andy O'Connor (TX) Two bands from Florida will compete at Chaos In Tejas - Black Witchery and Mauser. Crunk black metal vs. crust punk. Who will win? Black Witchery

TEENAGE RIOT: AN INTERVIEW WITH PSYCHIC TEENS

2012-05-21T09:00:00.000-04:00

By Andy O'Connor (TX) Imagine if Joy Division, Sonic Youth, and Hüsker Dü got together for a jam session. Everyone wanted to stick around for some Akira, Broken Flowers, and a few episodes from Twin Peaks' first season afterwards. Make a run for beer before the store closes at midnight, order some pizza (from a local joint, not a chain), plop on the couches, and chill out. Philadelphia

WE STILL MISS YOU, DIO

2012-05-16T18:00:00.000-04:00

CRUSTY CLIP OF THE WEEK: DOUBLE CHAOS IN TEJAS EDITION - DOKKEN AND SAINT VITUS

2012-05-16T17:00:00.000-04:00

Every single Wednesday without fail, your hosts post a suitably stale video clip that we think needs to be revisited. Click here for more Crusty Clips. Got a clip you think we should post? Send it to crustcake@gmail.com. By Andy O'Connor (TX) Dokken doesn't have any Chaos in Tejas shows planned, or any upcoming Texas shows for that matter. What do they have to do with the festival? Don Dokken,

TO 'INFINITY GUITARS' AND BEYOND: SLEIGH BELLS LIVE

2012-05-16T15:47:00.000-04:00

Sleigh Bells Where: Warehouse Live, Houston, TX When: April 18, 2012 With: Javelin, Elite Gymnastics By Andy O'Connor (TX) Trolls, this is the penbanger you're looking for. Why am I covering Sleigh Bells, a band who's been on the cover of Spin, show on a metal site? Well, they're are an exception to one of metal's key characteristics: that when metal mixes with any other genre, metal is

ZZ TOP DOING '25 LIGHTERS': STRANGEST COVER EVER?

2012-05-15T16:27:00.000-04:00

By Andy O'Connor (TX) Having grown up outside of Houston (Galveston, to be specific), I can't help but love ZZ Top. Whenever "Sharp Dressed Man," "La Grange," and "Tush" came on the radio, and later whosoever iPod we hooked up to a cassette adapter, I cranked them full blast. To this day, I still idolize the divine beardliness of Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill. Of course, also being from the

CRUSTCAKE ON PITCHFORK

2012-05-10T08:30:00.000-04:00

Sometimes, Crustcake writers make it on to other sites. Your boy Andy got himself a Chrome bag, a fixed-gear and a twelve-pack of Pabst. Which is to say, he's on Pitchfork today. Fret not, he wasn't assigned to review Best Coast. He heaped praise on Deathless Master, the new Acephalix record. It really is a fantastic album, perhaps the best death metal joint of the year, so make haste and read

TORCHE'S HARMONICRAFT: ROCK FOR LIGHT

2012-05-08T08:00:00.000-04:00

By Andy O'Connor (TX) Forget what the optimism evangelists preach from their digital pulpits. There are times in your life when it's perfectly fine to be a sad bastard. Your beloved pet passed away, your partner left you, somebody outbid you on that copy of Deathcrush on Ebay, whatever. Shut the blinds, throw your phone in the trash, deactivate your social networking accounts, chug as much

THERE IS NO COW LEVEL: CRUSTCAKE STREAMS BLACK SHEEP WALL'S 'BLACK CHURCH'

2012-05-04T14:15:00.000-04:00

We've gotten our Starcraft jokes out of the way with the title, so let's focus on what matters: Los Angeles sludge crew Black Sheep Wall are nasty. Almost 30 years after Side B of Black Flag's My War laid the punks-on-Sabbath blueprint, Black Sheep Wall continue to lay on the thickness. Sometimes, more harmonious moments arise ala Pelican, but they don't dominate the phalanx of downtuned hate

CRUSTY CLIP OF THE WEEK: IGGY POP - "RAW POWER" LIVE IN PARIS 1996

2012-04-18T16:00:00.001-04:00

Every single Wednesday without fail, your hosts post a suitably stale video clip that we think needs to be revisited. Click here for more Crusty Clips. Got a clip you think we should post? Send it to crustcake@gmail.com. By Andy O'Connor (TX) There are two types of people in the world: people who prefer the 1973 David Bowie mix of Iggy and the Stooges' Raw Power, and people who get down to

SEE YOU AT HOPSCOTCH?

2012-04-18T14:15:00.000-04:00

Pictured: Sunn O)))Questlove will get droned out with Sunn O))). MC Ride will form a side project with Pallbearer. Danny Brown will show The Atlas Moth all about that income tax swag. People might actually be able to hear Zola Jesus.All these are possible scenarios thanks to Hopscotch Festival.Taking place in Raleigh, NC from September 6-8, the fest brings an electric gathering that Chaos in

DREAMLESS SCHEDULE LIVE SHOW IN MINNEAPOLIS

2012-04-13T14:00:00.001-04:00

We'll cut to the chase. You've seen us fawn over Minneapolis metalgaze trio Dreamless. But do you want to actually see them live?If you happen to live in the Twin Cities, make sure to clear your plans for May 12. Dreamless have scheduled a show at Hell's Kitchen (80 S. 9th St., Minneapolis) - "our first true live performance," as guitarist, bassist, and vocalist Cory Strand puts it. The band's

CRUSTY CLIP OF THE WEEK: HEAVEN AND HELL - "THE MOB RULES" LIVE AT RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL 2007

2012-04-11T10:19:00.007-04:00

Every single Wednesday without fail, your hosts post a suitably stale video clip that we think needs to be revisited. Click here for more Crusty Clips. Got a clip you think we should post? Send it to crustcake@gmail.com.By Andy O'Connor (TX)"OH MAH GAW BLACK SABBATH'S PLAYING LOLLAPALOOZA THIS IS SO EXCITING!!!!!!" - Every other metal blog."Yawn. I've seen Heaven and Hell. They were way better.

FRESHLY BAKED: ENCOFFINATION

2012-04-10T19:00:00.001-04:00

In "Freshly Baked," we feature promising young bands or bands that are otherwise lacking the attention we think they deserve.By Andy O'Connor (TX)"Only death is real."Uttered by Hellhammer. Lived by Encoffination.Vocalist, bassist and guitarist Justin "Ghoat" Stubbs is surrounded by death on a daily basis - he makes his living as a mortician. Death metal is preoccupied by, naturally, the other

CRUST BY CRUSTCAKE 2012

2012-03-28T18:00:00.001-04:00

By Andy O'Connor (TX)Spring Break is over, guys. Time to get back to class. Now that SXSW 2012 is done, we're counting down the days until the next one. I mean, we're looking forward to Fall Break (Fun Fun Fun Fest), Summer Break (Chaos in Tejas), and Senior Skip Day (Rites of Darkness IV?), but SXSW is such a distinctive animal that no other music fest compares to it. It's overstuffed, yes, and

SXSW PREVIEW: PILGRIM

2012-03-14T09:00:00.001-04:00

By Andy O'Connor (TX)Now that The Body have moved down South, Pilgrim are the leading contenders for the doomiest in the smallest state in the nation, Rhode Island. Don't expect any singing in tongues or industrial tinges from this trio though - they keep it big, lumbering and traditional. Pilgrim first burst out with last year's Forsaken Man demo, which even then showed the group's prowess for

SXSW PREVIEW: NACHTMYSTIUM VS. TURQUOISE JEEP, PALLBEARER AND THE IMPALERS VS. JUVENILE AND NOLA BOUNCE

2012-03-13T11:30:00.000-04:00

Conflict is the essence of SXSW. Pulling your hair out because two hot day parties clash with each other. The lack of cell phone reception in the concrete-and-brick jungle of downtown Austin. Locals doing away with their shyness towards out-of-towners. Wanting to go Will Rahmer on the lines at Franklin BBQ.But we weren't expecting this. Two of the most amazing matchups of metal and hip-hop are

SXSW PREVIEW: CLINGING TO THE TREES OF A FOREST FIRE

2012-03-12T20:00:00.000-04:00

By Andy O'Connor (TX)Us music writers tend to come up with some funny genre names - "witch house," "sissy bounce," and "djentstep," to name but just a few. Denver's Clinging to the Trees of a Forest Fire may have beat us at our own game with their self-inflicted tag "funeral grind." You might think - Skepticism with blastbeats? Napalm Death played at 33 1/3 RPM? Don't get it twisted. CTTTOAFF (

SXSW PREVIEW: SPEEDWOLF

2012-03-07T11:00:00.000-05:00

By Andy O'Connor (TX 666)Our love of Denver thrashers Speedwolf is quite established by now. They played our SXSW Pizza Party back in 2010, we premiered "Up All Night" from them back in October, and we gave them a stellar live review not too long ago. In addition, I put their debut album, Ride With Death, on my Best of 2011 list. If somehow, you missed all of that, you're wondering what our

CRUSTCAKE PICKS - NEW CAKE IN THE OVEN: DEAD NEANDERTHALS - JAZZHAMMER/STORMANNSGALSKAP

2012-03-02T10:00:00.001-05:00

By Andy O'Connor (TX)Grindcore, more so than the varieties of music/"music" we cover, is best enjoyed through short bursts. There's so much flying at the listener at once -- over-distorted speed-picked guitars, drums that make the metronome go "fuck this," and indecipherable ramblings of madmen (or laymen masquerading as madmen -- that too much of a good thing is, well, too much. That's why

FRESHLY BAKED: DREAMLESS

2012-02-23T11:00:00.004-05:00

In "Freshly Baked," we feature promising young bands or bands that are otherwise lacking the attention we think they deserve.By Andy O'Connor (TX Once More)Give me a chance to talk to you about Minneapolis' Dreamless, and I will make your ears fall off. I could harp on about their fusion of metal and shoegaze that doesn't neuter the power of either. Let me rant about how vocalist and

HAPPY HOLIDAZE: VALENTINE'S DAY

2012-02-14T15:00:00.000-05:00

How can Valentine's Day be metal, you ask? Metal is about HATE and DESTRUCTION, not LOVE and CREATION! Well, French poet Charles Baudelaire proved otherwise way before metal was invented with his poem "Une Charonge," often translated as "A Carcass." Baudelaire speaks of rotting flesh like most of us would talk about someone we'd like to engage in carnal pleasure with. However it's translated, it