Blog: crustcake

By Chase Macabre (STL)On their Facebook page, Cormorant describe the genre of music they play as "post-black metal weirdshit." While existing in the same aesthetic sphere as other US black metal, especially those with whom they share the same long red bridge over the bay, the band is closer to black Sabbath than they are to Darkthrone or Bathory or any other black metal band. To call them "black

by theseseans (NYC) There are bands that I listen to, and there are bands that take me over. Sutekh Hexen, are the latter. As I recently found myself immersed in a world of harsh noise, Sutekh Hexen were a very welcome discovery. Their sound has been highly abrasive, using a substantial amount of raw noise, which as I wrote in my Best of 2011 list, receiving equal mix and attention as the musical

Took us long enough, but we've got our first stream for 2012!Cop Problem are a new ensemble from Philadelphia, and if you're into crusty, d-beat-laden hardcore, they'll be a favorite for you. So far, they've only got a tape to their name, but that will change soon. The group will release a self-titled EP through War Torn Records on March 29, and we've got the first track, "Monuments" for you now.

GhostWhen: January 28, 2012Where: Marquis Theater, Denver, COWith: Blood Ceremony, Ancient VVisdomBy Andy O'Connor (Denver)Ghost were prepared to make waves in the States as support for Enslaved last year, but even a fervor for the Dark Lord can't make visa problems instantly go away. You mean to tell me that he can make me kill my parents, but can't cross the ocean? Some days, you have to put

Kool KeithWhen: January 22, 2012Where: Reggie's Rock Club, Chicago, ILBy Carmelo Espanola (CHI)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.It's not often that hip hop artists possess crossover appeal to metal fans. Public Enemy, Wu-Tang Clan, Ice-T,

By Andrew Wilhelm (Denver)Yob reigned supreme over metal in 2011. The Eugene, Ore., trio has always been a cult favorite amongst doom-inclined metalheads, and in the past year, they've ascended to new levels. I put Atma, their most recent effort, as the No. 1 record of 2011, and for good reason. Yob got rawer on that record, which made them heavier even without some of the psychedelic touches

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 Andrew Wilhelm (Denver)Goodbye, 2011. Hello, 2012. This year is going to be just as shitty as the last (unless the apocalypse happens, which will RULE), which means I've been

Wrekmeister HarmoniesAlong with the city's vibrant metal community, one of the things I miss the most about living in Chicago were Tuesdays at the Museum of Contemporary Art (220 East Chicago Ave.). Admission was free, and quite frankly, you couldn't put a price on some of the oddities on display. Goes to show that art is alive and well, depending on your definition of "art."Tonight, as part of

Does your Christmas need to be wackier? Than we've got just the thing for you - A Grindcore Christmas!Phil Acevedo, a Rio Grande Valley experimental musician who records under A Beautiful Lotus, has assembled a collection of demented carols from a wide swarth of grindcore and noise artists. These aren't your grandfather's Bing Crosby yuletide classics, and better yet, these are surely not your

I will not be sorry to see 2011 go. I am, by nature, an optimist, but there are limits on what a man can take and still wake up smiling. And it got pretty close on more than one occasion. To be sure, highlights abounded, but in the win-loss columns of life, I'm leaning towards the latter for this one. I do have high hopes for 2012, however. It's not every day you get to witness the end of the

2011 was a weird year for metal. On one hand, any metal band with some sort of "artistic" element was embraced and pumped up by indie rock media, which lead to a lot of deserving bands and labels getting some well-earned garnered acclaim and maybe even some money, but for the rest of us lifers. it kind of felt like a lot of fireworks for not a lot of delivery. As a 31-year-old recovering hardcore

Time to make the noxious cloud of information smog even thicker! At least I'm telling you about awesome music you should be listening to, instead of giving you false empowerment through hackneyed optimistic sayings or trying to co-opt you into a political movement by saying you are JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE. Or worse yet, using the internet to complain about how metal was better back in the 80s and

• YOB - Prepare The Ground Mastered

Music is an intensely personal form of art - for both those who create and those who take the time to appreciate. Music is often reflective of time periods within life. I feel that this list represents a very significant change in my life within the last year: the disappearance of time. My list last year had records that I enjoyed on a very deep level. I spent a lot of time listening to

By Andrew Wilhelm (Denver) and Van Damned (SATX)The most amazing thing about last weekend's Rites of Darkness III festival in San Antonio was that it actually happened. The venue opened its doors, people showed up and bands played. "No shit, y'all, bands are supposed to show up and people are supposed to come." You're right, but the prognosis wasn't looking healthy for Rites of Darkness. Shrouded

By Andrew Wilhelm (Denver)Post-punk and '90s alternative influences in metal are nothing new. What happens, though, when a large part of metal is erased from the equation?The end result is Crooked Necks. The duo's recent release, Alright Is Exactly What It Isn't, is one of the most metal non-metal albums this year - it's got the darkness you want from a metal record, but not presented in the

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. This weekend, Andy and Van will be perverting churches and nuking crosses at the third (and likely final) Rites of Darkness festival. By now, you might have caught ill wind of

• shared a rehearsal track » UFF rehearsal preview.mp3

The second half of drone doom legends Earth's ponderous study in glacial folk and chamber doom, Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light, has been announced for a February 2012 release date. Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II (duh) was recorded in the same two-week session as its predecessor but will have a slightly different feel than the stately, austere I. "The second part is more stuff like

Do you need even more new music in your life? Don't you already have enough to listen to?Chrome Waves says you don't. And with a lineup that features Stavros Giannopoulos (The Atlas Moth, Twilight), Jeff Wilson (Wolvhammer, ex-Nachtmystium), and Bob Fouts (Apostle of Solitude, ex-The Gates of Slumber), you're in no position but to agree.The trio has just released a song called "Height of the

By Andrew Wilhelm (Denver)San Francisco's Acephalix have used both crust and death as weapons since they first formed in 2007. And even with that accomplishment, they have turned into a full-on death metal beast. Earlier this year, Southern Lord released Interminable Night, a collection of the band's Flesh Torn in Twilight and Interminable Night. Even if it's technically a compilation, it's

by The Swizard (ATX) A389 Recordings is running their label the right way: they put out bands they love. The proof is in their roster. Established hardcore legends like Ringworm and Integrity? Check. Metal bands taking things to unique places, like Pale Creation and Mindsnare? Affirmative. Youthful chaos of varying degrees in Children Of God, The Love Below, Seven Sisters Of Sleep, and Low