Blog: crustcake

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 long jams without

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

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 (

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

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

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 does't neuter the power of either. Let me rant about how vocalist and

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

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