Veil of Maya released a video for their track ‘Aeris’ off of their recent album Matriarch (Sumerian). You can watch the video at this link or below:
The band again worked with Tribal Fusion Dancer Natsumi Suzuki (also featured in the video for ‘Mikasa‘ , and was directed by Ramon Boutviseth (Trivium, P.O.D.).
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Whether you agree with the idea of Djent being a genre or not, it’s a difficult thing to pull off live, and very impressive when it happens. The hyper-technical layers of sound are beyond the reach of most in-house PAs, if not engineers.
Sadly, the first band of the evening can’t fully play that card in defence of this evening’s performance. Whilst definitely suffering from a bad case of Support Sound Syndrome, Good Tiger’s thin, reedy vocals and a collectively lacklustre performance failed to reflect the credentials of this “supergroup”. That said, ‘Snake Oil’ (their debut single) as the set closer got a decent reaction and even a singalong from a static crowd that was clearly hungry for the main course.
Chicago’s Veil of Maya were up next, their heavier and bassier sound clearly more compatible with the house rig and a slightly warmer (and tighter) performance was rewarded with a slightly warmer reception in the form of a brief circle pit for ‘Mikasa’. By the end of the set, the assembled Peripherals were suitably warm and even the obvious naysayers were clearly on board.
Come 10 o’clock, Periphery finally took the stage to the opening strains of ‘Muramasa’ and proceeded to deliver a masterclass in How To Play Djent Live, Bitches. Clearly the secret is in the percussive advantage of having every goddamn person on the ground floor moshing in perfect time. Gotta hand it the the Periphery crowd – they got rhythm!
Spencer delivered a supremely confident performance, handling the crowd with ease, allowing plenty of space for (surprisingly tuneful) singalongs and showboating. The ballroom dancing during ’22 Faces’ was a surprise to even this seasoned gig veteran! There was also some Slipknot-style “get down” action, circle pits, a wall of death that didn’t happen and even a spot of row-your-boat from one the most up-for-it crowds I’ve had the pleasure to share a gig with. It’s always a special experience when both crowd and band are clearly happy to be there and genuinely enjoying each other’s company.
Last time I saw Periphery was at Sonisphere in 2011, where they “just” came on stage and kicked everyone’s teeth in. This evening’s recital was far more intimate, polished and accomplished.
With a set list like this no-one goes home unhappy. Ravishing stuff.
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WORDS BY PHILIP PAGE
PHOTOS BY JESSICA LOTTI PHOTOGRAPHY
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Another year, another Rock and Shock Festival arrived on the scene to get us even more in the Halloween mood. A terrific lineup of iconic personalities, and amazing vendors at the DCU Center along with a strong lineup of music titans over at The Worcester Palladium made this a year to remember. I have been to eight of the eleven years of this great festival and it gets better and better every year. This was one of the years where the convention ran slightly ahead of the show for me in terms of love, but that is less about the bands and some the horror giants that were in attendance, among my favorites in the genre, ever.
Friday was marred slightly by the typically shitty I -90 traffic heading out to the venue, taking almost 2.5 hours to arrive from Boston. Not only did we miss a tight group of local bands, I missed some of the bands I really wanted to see like Brick By Brick and Shattered Sun. Getting there in time to catch some of Soilwork at least made up for it. Not only did they play some more recent tracks from The Ride Majestic (Nuclear Blast), they played the throwback classic cut ‘Bastard Chain’ which was amazing.
Following Soilwork it was time for some more old-school jams with Sanctuary and Soulfly. The reactivated power metal/thrashers Sanctuary were super tight and sounded great. Better than I expected or remember. Soulfly also put on a great show. Max Cavalera and crew played a lot of hits as well as Sepultura classics and even a little Nailbomb jam. Maybe about the best Soulfly set I’ve ever seen. Max is just really great at extolling the crowd to move: screaming, rapping, or playing some percussion instruments, the guy does it all.
As expected Hatebreed’s career spanning, 20th anniversary set was as great as could be. Jamey Jasta and his crew have boundless energy and played an almost two-hour set. Track after track of classic beat-down songs and deep cuts from every era of the band rained down from the speakers. Many times Jamey jumped into the barricade and had fans screaming along with him. It was epic feeling and people were just throwing down all over the venue. It was a pretty amazing time and Jamey made sure everyone new Hatebreed is coming back with a new album in 2016.
Getting up early on Saturday, we made sure to spend a lot of time at the convention at the DCU center and really get to see and do everything over there. There were many awesome vendors, specifically a lot of local businesses, which was great to see. There were also several dog rescues and pet adoption tables with people doing great work to find some puppies and kitties new homes in the middle of all this metal and horror greatness. While I was only able to get glimpse of George A. Romero, some of the movie personalities I got to chat with made up for it such as Doug Bradley (Hellrazor), William Sanderson, Bill Mosley, Traci Lords, and especially Stephen Macht and Michael Mackay from Monster Squad. Most of the band signings were happening here, with the longest line I saw being for Superjoint.
Saturday’s lineup was a little deeper and more eclectic than most years too. The second stage had an array of diverging styles represented by The Relapse Symphony, Byzantine, Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein with his solo band, and Eyes Set To Kill among others. The main stage was led off by doom masters Witch Mountain. New singer Kayla Dixon has a tall order to fill replacing the much adored Uta Plotkin, but Kayla has amazing pipes and stage presence. She does justice to all of Uta’s material, the other past material of the band, and definitely brings her own style to the table too. I am so looking forward to a new WM album with her at the mic.
For a bit of consistency, the next three bands had a common thread in Wednesday 13, New Year’s Day and The Rocking Dead, all bringing an old/new take on horror punk, glam rock and metal. Wednesday performed the best, NYD had the most fans in the house, and The Rocking Dead was beautiful wreck. Both the later two performed with The Rocking Dead, an all-star collection of talented folks playing all covers. It was exciting to see and hear Doyle and Taime Downe of Faster Pussycat jam out to some great songs, but the band hadn’t rehearsed at all and the sloppy performance was not amusing.
Prong was up next and were one of the best bands of the weekend. The band seems reinvigorated by some new blood in the band and performed a mix of old-school (‘Beg to Differ’, ‘Unconditional’) and new-ish (‘Revenge Best Served Cold’) tracks. Props to Tommy Victor for pulling double-duty this tour with Danzig. I’m waiting patiently on that new Prong album in early 2016 too.
After catching a little bit of Veil of Maya’s performance, we had to grab some provisions (beers and food) and do a final sweep of the band merch for the weekend. Then it was time for Superjoint to open up a total can of whup-ass on The Palladium. Easily the most brutal set and pits of the entire weekend by far. Between Phil Anselmo’s between song levity, the amped up playing it was a really fun time. With an excellent blend of hardcore, doom riffs and heaviness, the band was actually tighter and better than they were back in the day to me.
Finally the set changed over for Danzig. As always he had an impressive stage set up and props, with the ominous “Skull Horns” mascot emblazoned on everything. The backdrop and stage were definitely the best of the entire weekend in contrast to the other bands except for maybe Soulfly. The band came out strong with ‘Skin Carver’ and ‘Hammer of The Gods’. Glenn still has a mighty voice live after all these years. The good thing about being an enigmatic artist and not touring all the time is that people are not burned out on seeing you. Even the songs you have heard a million times on record sounded good live. Feeling every note and dramatic beat, the front man flung himself around the stage like a much younger man. While this challenged him to keep his breath and tone steady, he held up well. The set list was also pretty eclectic with three new cover songs from his new Skeletons album (Evilive/Nuclear Blast).
One thing that was a bummer was the much talked about photo policy. As everyone now knows, Danzig hates photographers; professional or otherwise. I saw at least 25 people kicked out of the show by security for taking pics or videos, and that number may have been 3-4 times that number from what I have been told. Although I admit this policy is extreme, Danzig has a point. Everybody put your phone down and watch the goddamn show! Plus there were signs everywhere and it wasn’t exactly a secret since security guys were warning people all night and stopping the from filming.
Overall Danzig’s set was pretty sweet, although some people I talked to after quibbled with the song choices. He did mix it up well with 15 tracks spread across 7 albums. And I might have chosen a different closer than ‘Brand New God’ from Danzig 4P (American), but no matter. If it’s the last time I ever see the guy live, it’s all good to me.
See you next year Rock and Shock!
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PHOTOS BY MEG LOYAL PHOTOGRAPHY
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Once again it’s on at the annual Rock And Shock Festival at Worcester MA this weekend, October 16th, 17th and 18th. The amazing horror convention slash- music concerts is one of the best combo experiences and certainly one of the dominant concert events on the east coast yearly. Bands now route their tours just to align with the festival and this years biggies are Hatebreed, performing a special 20th anniversary show, Danzig’s Blackest of The Black Tour, and the We Sold Our Souls To Metal Tour featuring Soulfly and Soilwork. Ticket information can be found at this link:
Many people come to Rock and Shock just for the horror convention element, one of the best organized and heavily attended of its kind. The collection of talent, vendors, and films premiering on display are enough to satisfy the most discerning gore-obsessed fan. While there is a big presence of major stars and mainstream film coverage, it is the chance to meet (or is it meat?) the biggest names in celluloid axeman-ship and scream queens galore that will keep you coming back. Luminaries of the bloody sliver screen such as Tobin Bell (Saw), industry legend George A. Romero, director Adam Green, Naomi Grossman (American Horror Story), Samantha Mathis (The Strain, American Psycho), William Sanderson (Blade Runner, True Blood), Bill Mosley (The Devil’s Rejects, Halloween) Derek Mears Friday The 13th) Doug Bradley (Hellraiser), and Traci Lords (Blade) are just the tip of the iceberg. Many will be meeting fans, taking pictures and signing autographs most of the weekend. There are costume contests, tattooing, discounted entry for America’s Armed Forces servicemen and women and much more.
Friday night is the a fore mentioned Hatebreed retrospective set. The Palladium is basically a hometown type show every time the band plays there, so expect chaos. Following right behind are Soulfly, Sanctuary, Soilwork, Decapitated, Shattered Sun, and Brick By Brick. They will be joined by a host of local bands on the Upstairs stage.
Saturday is the day of Danzig’s Blackest of the Black tour with Superjoint, Veil of Maya, Prong, Jeremy Saffer’s The Rocking Dead all-star jam (Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein–The Misfits/Doyle, Alex Story–Doyle/Cancerslug, Wednesday 13–Murderdolls, Kyle Castronovo–Wednesday 13, Ace Von Johnson–Faster Pussycat, Taime Downe–Faster Pussycat, Ash Costello–New Years Day, Nikki Misery–New Years Day, Mike D’Antonio–Killswitch Engage, Acey Slade–Joan Jett And The Blackhearts, and Bret Von Dehl–The Relapse Symphony), New Year’s Day, Wednesday 13, and Witch Mountain on the Main stage. Upstairs features Get Scared, Eyes Set To Kill, Doyle, Hatchet, Byzantine, and The Relapse Symphony.
Sunday features horrorcore rappers such as Twiztid, Blaze, Boondox, Prozak, Wolf Pac, Scum, Kissing Candice and many more. There is also an after party performance too.
Superjoint, the band risen from the ashes of 90s hardcore metal band Superjoint Ritual is currently on the road opening for Danzig’s “Blackest of the Black Tour”, along with Veil of Maya, Prong, and Witch Mountain. Superjoint was conceived of and is led by Philip Anselmo (Pantera, Down, Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals), Jimmy Bower (Down, EyeHateGod) and Kevin Bond (Christ Inversion, Artimus Pyledriver) and came to form a supergroup 15 years ago. They are currently backed by Anselmo accolytes José Manuel Gonzalez Jr. on drums (Warbeast, Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals) and Stephen Taylor (Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals, Wovenhand, 16 Horsepower), on bass. In addition to tearing it up on the Danzig tour the band is heading toward the finish line of Phil’s 3rd annual Housecore Horror Festival. On the first night of the full tour at The Marquee in Tempe, Superjoint seemed energized from coming back and the reaction of crowd was vocal in their support. Unlike other bands trying hard to be clean and all prettied up, Superjoint is 100% no bullshit. Just ugly music for brutal music fans, who don’t need their riffs white-washed with interludes or overlong jams. The only breakdown you will hear is an emotional one, collectively from the crowd when all is said and done. Thanks to Melina Dellamarggio of Melina D Photography for being on point in the photo pit on this night.
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The heaviest tour of the summer rolls across the USA as the 9th annual Summer Slaughter package makes its way from sea to shining sea. We attended the Worcester MA date at the Palladium. Although there have been years past when the tour was much more brutal and years where the bands on the tour was more proggy, but the 2015 line-up ha proven to be solid. Touring behind 2014’s War Eternal (Century Media) album, Arch Enemy continue to be a worthy headline act for this type of tour. They have their full production with them and the showmanship of Alissa White-Gluz and guitarists Michael Amott and Jeff Loomis shows. Born of Osiris and Veil of Maya bring the deathcore fans out and into the pit. One of the highlights of the Worcester date was that for The Acacia Strain, it was practically a hometown show, in a venue they often fill up by themselves. As usual, it was a mix of carnage and hilarity. For a lot of people, the most anticipated band of the day was Cattle Decapitation. With their new album out, The Anthropocene Extinction (Metal Blade), this is just the beginning of a long cycle of tours for the band. Beyond Creation was also warmly received by the early crowd. The Worcester date was captured for Ghost Cult here by Meg Loyal of Meg Loyal Photography, and looks like it was a sick time all around.
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With under two months to go, GWAR’s GWAR B-Q has announced they are nearly sold out of VIP passes for the event. In addition to the previously announced VIP Meat & Great with bands like Clutch, Cro-Mags, Ghoul, Goatwhore and more; there will be an exclusive celebrity signing with Phil Anselmo only for VIPs.
Many other perks and all the fest info can be found at the Ultimate Bohab Guide To GWAR B-Q, and the FAQ page for the fest: https://gwarbq.com/faq.
Phil Anselmo with Down, photo by Echoes In The Well
Premium/VIP Ticket benefits include:
An exclusive VIP Laminate (mailed in advance)
Entry to B4BQ pre-party show at the National
VIP seating at the B4BQ
VIP Meet n Greet with B4BQ bands
VIP drink specials at the B4BQ
All day entry to GWAR B-Q at Hadads Lake
Official GWAR B-Q event t-shirt
GWAR B-Q swag bag stuffed with FREE shit!
FREE beverage ticket/token for the GWAR B-Q
Access to VIP Pavilion at the GWAR B-Q
Access to VIP Restrooms at the GWAR B-Q
Access to Express Lanes including – Main Gate Entry, Merchandise Booth, and Beverage Ticket Kiosks at the GWAR B-Q
Exclusive Celebrity Signings – GBQ Bands TBA
Not to mention the pinnacle of any Bohab’s miserable existence; a Meat-n-Meet signing with GWAR, and a chance to win the ultimate prize; a once in a lifetime opportunity to be killed on stage by the mighty GWAR!
Get your VIP tickets here: http://gwarbq.com/buy-tickets
Cattle Decapitation has released a new song today, ‘Mammals In Babylon’, from their forthcoming new album The Anthropocene Extinction due for release from Metal Blade on August 7th. You can stream the track at this link.
The Anthropocene Extinction is the followup to the critically acclaimed and beloved by death metal fans Monolith of Inhumanity. The Anthropocene Extinction was produced by frequent collaborator Dave Otero (Allegaeon, Cephalic Carnage) at Flatline Audio in Denver, Colorado, and includes guest appearances from the Philip H. Anselmo, Tristan Shone/Author & Punisher and Bethlehem’s Mr. Jurgen Bartsch.
Cattle Decapitations’s artwork for cattle decapitation ‘The Anthropocene Extinction’
Cattle Decapitation will appear on this year’s edition of the Summer Slaughter tour with Arch Enemy, Born Of Osiris, Veil Of Maya, Obscura and more.
In conjunction with the Summer Slaughter Tour, the band has announce a special Halfway To Slaughter contest! To enter go to the Summer Slaughter Tour’s FaceBook page and share the streaming single post to enter: https://www.facebook.com/SummerSlaughterTour. One random fan on FaceBook will be selected on July 6thto win prizes courtesy of Indie Merch and Metal Blade Records. The mega prize pack will include:
– The Anthropocene Extinction T-shirt
– 30″ x 60″ full-color custom album art beach towel
– Aluminum water bottle with gold band logo print
– 4′ x 2′ full-color album art tapestry
– 4-count button pack with custom hangcard
– 5″ square full-color album art sticker
– 5″ embroidered patch with gold band logo
– Cassette copy of The Anthropocene Extinction
– CD copy of The Anthropocene Extinction
– Double LP copy of The Anthropocene Extinction
Prize package is expected to ship around August 3rd, 2015. Prize pack details and image are available at http://www.indiemerch.com/metalbladerecords/item/33188.
Progressive metal stalwarts Periphery, who released the double album Juggernaut: Alpha and Juggernaut: Omega (Sumerian) in January, have made available JuggerDoc: The Making of Juggernaut, The 45-minute long making-of style documentary is available now via iTunes.
Up to now, the documentary had only been available as a bonus item with physical copies of Juggernaut Omega.
The band recently announced a fall tour of Europe with label mates Veil of Maya opening, in addition to summer time appearances at Spain’s Resurrection Fest and Heavy Mtl Montreal.
Periphery tour dates:
Jul 16: Resurrection Fest- Viveiro, ES
Aug 07: Heavy Mtl -Montreal, QC
Periphery tour dates: with Veil of Maya
Nov 13: Marble Factory- Bristol, UK
Nov 14: Academy 2 – Manchester, UK
Nov 15: The Garage- Glasgow, UK
Nov 16: The Library @ The Institute- Birmingham, UK
Nov 17: Waterfront – Norwich, UK
Nov 19: Koko – London, UK
Nov 20: Muziek-O-Droom -Bristol, UK
Nov 21: Essigfabrik – Koln, DE
Nov 22: Epic Metal Fest – Eindhoven, NL
Nov 23: Markthalle – Hamburg, DE
Nov 25: Sticky Fingers – Gotebord, SE
Nov 26: John Dee – Oslo, NO
Nov 27: Debaster Strand – Stockholm, SE
Nov 29: Tavastia – Helsinki, FI
Dec 01: Lille Vega – Copenhagen, DK
Dec 02: C-Club – Berlin, DE
Dec 03: Proxima – Warsaw, PL
Dec 04: Fabryka – Krakow, PL
Dec 05: Rock Café -Prague, CZ
Dec 06: Szene- Vienna, AT
Dec 08: Backstage Halle- Munchen, DE
Dec 09: Schlachthof – Weisbaden, DE
Dec10: Substage- Karlsruhe, DE
Dec11: Kiff – Aarau, Switzerland
Dec12: R’n’R Arena- Romagnano Sesia No, IT
Dec14: CCO Lyon, FR
Dec15: Razzamatazz 2 – Barcelona, ES
Dec16: Caracol- Madrid, ES
Dec17: Rock School Barbey – Bordeaux, FR
Dec18: Divan Du Monde – Paris, FR
| June 12, 2015, Washington, D.C. – Periphery’s
JuggerDoc: The Making of Juggernaut, the 45-minute documentary that captures the making of the band’s dual albums, Juggernaut: Alpha andJuggernaut: Omega, is available now via iTunes (http://hyperurl.co/Juggerdoc_iTunes).The documentary had been previously only available as a bonus item with physical purchases of Juggernaut: Omega.Periphery released Juggernaut: Alpha and Juggernaut: Omega simultaneously in late January via Sumerian Records, with the pair of releases landing at #22 and #25 on Billboard’s Top 200 (#15 and #16 on the Top Albums chart as well as #2 and #3 on Billboard’s Hard Rock Chart).The band recently announced a European tour for the fall with Veil of Maya opening: J |
Clutch, by Evil Robb Photography
Maryland rock royalty Clutch have been added as the co-headliner of the 6th Annual GWAR BQ. In addition the B4BQ event pre-party show now features the entire lineup of the Summer Slaughter Tour, as well as Coal Chamber and Fear Factory.
The B4BQ has come into its own as an event the last few years, after getting its start as an informal gathering. The show will be held at The National (708 E Broad St, Richmond, VA) on Friday, August 14th. Doors are at 2:00 PM and features Coal Chamber, Fear Factory, Arch Enemy, Born Of Osiris, Veil of Maya, The Acacia Strain, Obscura, After the Burial, Cattle Decapitation, and Beyond Creation.
Tickets to the B4BQ go on sale TODAY! June 3rd at 2:00pm EST Buy yours here: http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/01004EC398BD3071
VIP Ticket Options and Package Details Are also now available
Premium/VIP Ticket benefits include:
An exclusive VIP Laminate (mailed in advance)
Entry to B4BQ pre-party show at the National
VIP seating at the B4BQ
VIP Meet n Greet with B4BQ bands
VIP drink specials at the B4BQ
All day entry to GWAR B-Q at Hadads Lake
Official GWAR B-Q event t-shirt
GWAR B-Q swag bag stuffed with FREE shit!
FREE beverage ticket/token for the GWAR B-Q
Access to VIP Pavilion at the GWAR B-Q
Access to VIP Restrooms at the GWAR B-Q
Access to Express Lanes including – Main Gate Entry, Merchandise Booth, and Beverage Ticket Kiosks at the GWAR B-Q
Exclusive Celebrity Signings – GBQ Bands TBA
Not to mention the pinnacle of any Bohab’s miserable existence; a Meat-n-Meet signing with GWAR, and a chance to win the ultimate prize; a once in a lifetime opportunity to be killed on stage by the mighty GWAR!
Get your VIP tickets here: http://gwarbq.com/buy-tickets