Artist: KEN mode

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

Even though The Pilgrimage is the band's second album, and even though guitarist/vocalist Thérèse Lanz was briefly the bassist for KEN Mode, Mares of Thraces were really not on my radar until I read Daniel Lake's Pilgrimage review in the May issue of Decibel, which is both funny and full of arresting imagery. In fact, that review persuaded me to [...]

Ahh, it's that time of year again. One of my favorite times of the year in fact. Christmas lights, rampant consumerism, the approaching NFL playoffs, the sun beginning to set before 5pm which causes depression and sickness, and a chill in the air that feels like it wants to choke you to death. Seriously folks, the thing I actually love the most about this season is all of the fabulous "Best of

With Cake Bites, we present you with sweet, crusty morsels of our writing in bite-sized form. Think of them as heavy metal petit fours -- all killer, no filler left-hooks to your brain's mouth. Photo by Scott Stewart KEN mode When: Oct. 13, 2011 Where: The Korova, San Antonio I usually hate resorting to referencing tropes like glaciers cracking or mountains heaving, but KEN mode really are

Hopefully, you Suckahs have been following my Bleeders' Lists this year. If not, you can play catch-up here - Missed Albums Finally Listened to from the First Half of 2011, June, May, April, Ma rch, February, January. As of the end of June, I have listened to 356 new releases this year - each one all the way through. I have listened to [...]

I am old and married to a kindergarten teacher, therefore, I can only go to concerts during the sweltering months of summer. This is my summer vacation (Part II). WHO: ECOCIDE, KEN mode, DEAFHEAVEN WHERE: The Ten Eleven - San Antonio, Texas WHEN: June 10, 2011 After the previous night's cockrocktravaganza (AKA Mötley Crüe), I needed [...]

Hey Metalheads! Today is Wednesday so I have got the metal charts from http://earshot-online.com/ ! So check it out! Artist Title Label TW [...]

Hey Metalheads! Today is Wednesday so I have the metal charts for you to observe! Here they are from http://earshot-online.com/ ! Lots of changes this week! Artist Title Label TW [...]

Before the quibbling starts: I didn't include YOB's Atma because it isn't out until August. It would be way up there. I've also been listening to Dragged Into Sunlight's Hatred For Mankind quite a bit, but since it has an original release date of '09 before Prosthetic's 2011 reissue, I didn't include that either. On the other side of things, I've recently started listening pretty intensely to Servile Sect's Trvth (Handmade Birds), a collection that feels like it'll stick around for awhile. Otherwise, this is what I've found myself returning to [...]

Can I make one thing clear? The debut Bravest Man in Metal column wasn't designed to be provocative. Nor was it designed to make fun or denigrate those of you who enjoy the mind, body, personality and sexual function altering properties of alcohol. That came more from the title that Ol' Neilstein saddled said entry [...]

Howdy Metalheads! Today is Wednesday so I am here to keep you updated on the charts from http://earshot-online.com/ ! Check it out! Artist Title Label TW [...]

Hey Metalheads! It is Wednesday so we have some metal charts for you right here from http://earshot-online.com/ ! Check them out! Artist Title Label TW [...]

THE KEN MODE TOUR EDITION – PART 1 The overlords here at Metalsucks have on at least a couple of occasions referred to me as the Bravest Man in Metal. Not because I sit around in a fur-lined loincloth in a metal-themed man-cave (pictured above) chewing the legs off Cornish game hens while pining for the [...]

Summer in the Midwest is looking righteous this year, and for us headbangers, it has nothing to do with Lollapalooza. First, we got you hip to Utech Fest in Milwaukee, and now the Indianapolis' Dudefest will return July 27-30 at The Hoosier Dome. A slew of killer names have already been confirmed -- Torche (pictured), Big Business, and Helms Alee's previously announced tour will include a stop at

In our coverage of SXSW, you heard us gush about Canadian noise rockers KEN mode (pictured) and San Francisco blackened ones Deafheaven. Well, in case you don't live in Austin or didn't want to plunge into a Hipstamatic Holocaust, the two groups will be touring the States this summer. You'll be hearing from these bands a lot in the coming months, so it's imperative you make it out to at least one

Last year (and the year before) I got way too busy with this thing called life and missed out on a lot of quality music. I am here to rectify the error of my ways, month by month. Here are the March 2011 releases that got under my skin, burrowed their way into my brain, made [...]

On Sunday, April 3rd, Ride The Fury Shows presents BLACK BREATH (Seattle Death Metal), KEN MODE (Winnipeg Noise Rock/Metal), FLESHTEMPLE, DYSTROPHY, AND DETHRONED EMPEROR at the Warren American Legion. The show kicks off at 6:30 and is $10 to enter. This show is only a day after BLACK BREATH and KEN MODE make an appearance at The Studio below Webster Hall and a day before the tour package continues on down to Richmond, VA. Earlier in March, BLACK BREATH had the opportunity to share the stage with the likes of MORBID ANGEL, MUNICIPAL WASTE, FLOOR, and INTEGRITY at [...]

Batillus at Broken Neck Brigade, all photos by Carmelo EspanolaCrustcake, represented by the intrepid Andrew Wilhelm and Van Damned, spent four days in Austin, Texas, at South By Southwest, one of the world's largest, film, interactive and music festivals. Between the two, they saw 49 bands, ate four tacos, two gyros, one bratwurst, and drank 26 beers, two whiskey and cokes and exactly one shot

After years of hard work, the Canadian noise trio finally starts to live up to its promise on its fourth album. For the better part of the past decade, KEN Mode has been cementing its reputation as a force on the Canadian prairies, to the point now where the Winnipeg, Manitoba, noise rock trio are regarded very highly by scenesters and Canadian media alike. With three full-length albums (2003's Mongrel, 2006's Reprisal, 2008's Mennonite), the band has ably carved its own niche in the noise scene, deriving heavily from such usual suspects as Unsane, the Jesus...

• KEN mode - Obeying The Iron Will

by Chase Macabre (STL)KEN mode are currently ripping through U.S. soil. The band is tearing across the country for the next several months, including a stint at SXSW. Crustcake had a chance to talk to guitarist and vocalist Jesse Mathewson over the phone just before they left their lovely Canadian home of Winnipeg. If you haven't heard their new record Venerable yet, it's streaming over at