In a story broken by our friends at Lambgoat.com, for the first time in its 15 year history, Brooklyn’s Iconic metal venue Saint Vitus Bar was shut down by order of The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB). Citing a bunch of violations, the Mindforce show on February 16th was shut down in the middle of their show with Balmora, Godskinpeeler, xNOMADx, Discontent, and Gigan Animal Thugs, and they did not get to play. The promoter is hoping to rebook the show at a later date. Other shows, like last night’s SUMAC show on February 17th was moved to TV Eye in Bushwick. Thanks to the reporting of Lambgoat, we now know the citations for missing certificate and proper signage are the things the DOB has cited, but the venue has operated without incident for a decade and a half, as the home of underground metal shows in New York without equal. In addition to providing a constant home from underground Metal and Hardcore shows, special events such as Metal Band Craft Beer launches, Black Metal Yoga, gothy arts and crafts events, music documentary showings, and has hosted legendary events such as one of the few ever Nirvana reunions, and intimate shows Anthrax, Megadeth, Machine Head and more. Like many venues the band was shuttered during the global COVID-19 pandemic and fan supported crowdfunding kept them a float and led to a minor remodel of the club in the last few years. Ghost Cult has covered countless shows at Saint Vitus Bar, it has always been a safe, great place to see a show and it would seem some of these claims are without merit in our opinion. Why does the DOB show up at 8 PM on a Friday to close down a club? Not the police or the fire department. We will update this news as it develops and pray Saint Vitus Bar can reopen soon, since it is essential for bands in our scene. Watch the video of the moment the final show for now was canceled. Continue reading
Category Archives: News
Megadeth Observes The 40th Anniversary of Their Debut Concert in Berkley, California
Megadeth shared a post on social media celebrating the 40th anniversary of the first two live performances in the bands’ history. Returning to Dave Mustaine’s old stomping grounds with Metallica, Megadeth’s first two live performances ever were in the Bay Area. February 17th, 1984 the band played at Ruthie’s Inn, and February 19th, 1984 the band played at The Stone. Fellow L.A. band Abbatoir opened. At Ruthie’s INN Chicago Doom Metal legends Trouble also opened. Megadeth shared a flyer from the weekend and images by noted Bay Area Thrash documentarian Brian Lew (Murder In The Front Row book). Continue reading
Jari Mäenpää (ex Ensiferum) of Wintersun Addresses Controversies About Crowdfunding,“Time II” Album, and More in A New Video Message to Fans
Jari Mäenpää of Wintersun has his fanbase excited in 2024, announcing the long awaited release of Time II, and releasing the tracklisting and artwork for the album, as well as a larger Time Package digital release with many extras aimed at delighting die-hard fans. Over the years Jari and the band have been much maligned over the handling of “crowdfunding” – the plan to raise funds for a studio to operate individually as a band, his annoyance at fan criticism and impatience with him, and more. To Jari’s credit, the video below explains the entire history of the plans for Time II, The Forest Seasons album (2017), the exact amounts of money they raised from fans, what the money was spent on, and future plans. Pre-orders will open via Indiegogo on March 1st, A new single and video are due this summer for the album, due later in 2024. Watch the video now! Continue reading
Vogg Kieltyka Has Quit Machine Head, Focusing on Decapitated
Guitarist Wacław “Vogg” Kiełtyka has quit Machine Head. He had been a member of the band since September 2019, after replacing Phil Demmel who quit in 2018. Vogg confirmed that he’s leaving the band to continue focusing on Decapitated, with a world tour about to embark and new music recording coming soon. Vogg’s final show with the band was in October 2023. He recorded one album with the band, ØF KINGDØM AND CRØWN (Imperium Recordings, Nuclear Blast Records) the Ghost Cult Album of the Year for 2022. For his part, Vogg’s statement is amicable and he wishes the band the best. Machine Head is currently on tour in the USA on the Slaughter The Mayrtour run of dates with Fear Factory and Orbit Culture. Read our review here. Reece Scruggs of Havok has been touring with Machine Head as their lead guitarist of late. Robb Flynn responded in Vogg’s comments section that the band was “lucky to have him for the time they did.” The band has yet to comment on the situation with Vogg. Read Vogg’s statement below: Continue reading
Aborted Share a New Single and Video “Dreadbringer” ft. Ben Duerr of Shadow of Intent
After slaying January with the announcement of their upcoming album Vault of Horrors, Belgian death metal miscreants Aborted take a stab at another horror movie classic. Together with Shadow Of Intent’s Ben Duerr, the band evoke The Thing with their latest single “Dreadbringer” – a psychotic blend of guttural growls and razor sharp riffs.
Watch the visualizer for “Dreadbringer” here:Continue reading
Escuela Grind Guitarist Thomas Sifuentes Says His Next Two Shows Are His Last Following “Safety Concerns”
Escuela Grind has been in the news a lot lately for both on and off stage exploits. Current second guitarist Thomas Sifuentes recently shared some posts to social media that the next two shows from the band will be his very last. In his posts he cited “safety concerns” as the main reason that he is leaving. Ultimately he says it is amicable. Escuela Grind continues to tour in support of their recent EP DDEEAATTHHMMEETTAALL (MNRK Heavy). Read our review here.
High on Fire Shares a New Single and Music Video for “Burning Down” – New Album “Cometh the Storm” Due Out Soon
Iconic U.S. rock band, High on Fire, will release its new LP, Cometh the Storm on April 19 via MNRK Heavy. The GRAMMY Award-winning group, celebrating its 25th anniversary, recorded ‘Cometh the Storm’ at GodCity Studio in Salem, Massachusetts with producer Kurt Ballou. The 11-song effort — the band’s ninth studio album — marks the release of the first new High on Fire music since 2018’s ‘Electric Messiah’ and the first to feature drummer Coady Willis (Big Business, Murder City Devils), alongside bassist Jeff Matz, and guitarist/vocalist Matt Pike. ‘Cometh the Storm’ is advanced by the lead track, “Burning Down”, and a haunting, fever dream video, directed by Lars Kristoffer Hormander. Pre-order and pre-save the album at the links below and watch the video now: Continue reading
Iterum Nata (The Abbey, Henget, ex-Hexvessel) Share New Single and Video, “A Manifested Nightmare”
Iterum Nata, the project by Jesse Heikkinen (The Abbey, Henget, ex-Hexvessel), has just unveiled its new single, “A Manifested Nightmare.” It is the third track released from the upcoming full-length, From the Infinite Light. The fifth studio album from Iterum Nata, it is due out via the Nordvis record label on March 15th. Head into the article below to watch the new video for “A Manifested Nightmare” and find out more.
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Kamelot Book European and UK “Awaken The World” Tour Dates with Ad Infinitum and Frozen Crown
Symphonic metal icons, Kamelot, have announced they will bring their Awaken the World tour to Europe this October. The multinational band, founded and led by guitarist Thomas Youngblood, have added new dates in 17 cities across 11 countries. They will be accompanied by special guests, Ad Infinitum and Frozen Crown – both Napalm Records labelmates – as well as bonus support act Blackbriar. Keep reading below for more details about the upcoming tour.
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