In their enduring dedication to that which is as aurally fucked as possible, collaborative outfit The Body & Braveyoung have announced a run on the East Coast for the early part of February. After seeing The Body the last time they came through Brooklyn at the Saint Vitus bar, I can safely say if you like volume, you’ll probably want to catch them if they’re headed out by you. Nothing Passes was also one of 2011′s most unrepentantly creepy records.

The PR wire speaks to YOU — do you listen???

Following a myriad of regional touring together, as well as their recently released fully collaborative full-length Nothing Passes, apocalyptic doom duo The Body and orchestral/drone rock outfit Braveyoung have just confirmed another stint of shows together.

The new Braveyoung & The Body tour will tangle with eight East Coast cities in early February, which will see both acts performing individual sets, in addition to an additional collaborative set with both bands simultaneously performing material from their Nothing Passes album on several of the dates. Braveyoung are on their way to Providence to record new material during this special tour, which immediately follows the current West Coast tour The Body are embarked on with Thou — including the band’s first-ever shows in Mexico this week.

The Body West Coast Tour w/ Thou (remaining dates):
01/13 Burial Grounds Salem, OR
01/14 924 Gilman Street Berkeley, CA w/ Brainoil
01/15 Submission San Francisco, CA w/ Brainoil
01/16 Pioneer Santa Cruz, CA
01/17 The Smell Los Angeles, CA
01/18 Bica Tijuana, Mexico
01/19 house show Rosarito, Mexico
01/20 Che Cafe San Diego, CA
01/21 The Trunkspace Phoenix, AZ
01/22 The Train Yard Las Cruces, NM
01/23 Sons of Hermann Hall Dallas, TX
01/24 Zeitgeist New Orleans, LA

*NEW – The Body & Braveyoung Collaborative East Coast Tour:
02/04 Bull City Metal Fest Durham, NC
02/05 The Courthouse Downtown Rock Hill, NC
02/06 Drunken Unicorn Atlanta, GA
02/07 The Milestone Charlotte, NC
02/08 Floristree Baltimore, MD
02/09 Saint Vitus Brooklyn, NY
02/10 Dad City Amherst, MA
02/13 AS220 Providence, RI

I’m already tapped for three shows this weekend (and I’m what’s the word, oh yeah: old), but I might have to hit up Brooklyn‘s Saint Vitus Bar next Thursday too to catch Rhode Island doomers Pilgrim as they play their forthcoming Misery Wizard album in its entirety. The band are signed to Primordial frontman Alan Averill‘s Metal Blade imprint, Poison Tongue Records, and have more in common with The Gates of Slumber than just the one dude’s skullet. Plus, Dutchguts are always fun.

Here’s the news:

The latest addition to the Metal Blade roster via Alan Nemtheanga‘s imprint, Poison Tongue Records, is Rhode Island‘s Pilgrim. The doom trio, which consists of: Krolg Splinterfist, Slayer of Men on drums, Count Elric the Soothsayer on bass guitar and The Wizard on guitar and vocals, will be performing their first ever headlining show next week in New York. The show will be at the Saint Vitus Bar in Brooklyn with Salo, Dutchguts and The Year is One. Doors are at 7:30pm and tickets are $8.

Pilgrim’s debut album, Misery Wizard, will be available on February 14 in North America and January 30 in Europe. Fans that attend the Saint Vitus Bar show will hear the band perform the album in its entirety! If you’re in the NYC area, don’t miss out!

Pilgrim with Salo, Dutchguts, The Year is One
12/15 Brooklyn, NY Saint Vitus Bar

I guess the headline pretty much says this one. Avant-garde Rhode Islander doomers Queen Elephantine have a new record out and some tour dates booked to support it. Kind of undercut myself this time around.

Anyway, here’s the news, the Bandcamp stream of the three-song album, and the jpeg of the cover art, which rules:

Queen Elephantine, modal psychedelic doom, presents their third album: a long song in three parts, Garland of Skulls. They have also released several EPs, including splits with Sons of Otis and Elder. Formed in Hong Kong in 2006 and migrated to USA, the band is currently based between NYC and Rhode Island.

Queen Elephantine & Fashion Week August Tour:
08/16 Philadelphia, PA M-Room w/ Human Shield
08/17 Pittsburgh, PA Howler’s Coyote Cafe w/ Chrononaut
08/18 Youngstown, OH The Royal Oaks
08/20 New York, NY Saint Vitus (Fashion Week only)
08/24 Fairfax, VA The Old Firestation #3 (Queen Elephantine only) w/ Ancient Astronaught
08/25 Wilmington, DE Frottage Cottage w/ Bubonic Bear, Pagan Wolf Lord and Chromelord

It’s coming up on two weeks ago now that I was in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to attend a wedding with The Patient Mrs., and while I could easily recount the awkwardness that ensued there at great length, I’d rather talk about buying CDs. I had put it out on the forum that I’d be in the area and was looking for places to go, and a few really good suggestions came back. I didn’t have time to hit everything up, but I made out alright with what I had.

Just hours before the ceremony, I could be found a dingy, unshowered, greasy, smelly wreck of a human being at Spinnaker CDs in Hyannis. The store reminded me of what I recalled Newbury Comics had turned into from visits there years before (I don’t get to Massachusetts that often), with toys and DVDs and t-shirts supplementing the stock of music, which was ample enough. I spent a good 20 minutes dejectedly looking through their “New/Used” racks, not finding much of anything, before I stumbled on the “2 for $10″ wall.

There were a few Man’s Ruin-type goodies — Solarized and Disengaged I remember specifically, but several others too — but it wasn’t anything I didn’t already have. I did manage to grab an advance copy of TAD‘s Inhaler (somebody’s promo went down a long road to get to that shelf) and the self-released version of Proving Ground by Penance. I had the Martyr Music re-release, but figured screw it, the price was good enough and Penance rule.

The young woman behind the counter at Spinnaker was rude enough that even if I lived there, I’d be hesitant to go back. She didn’t tell me to fuck myself or anything, but the contempt was just oozing off her. Granted, I wasn’t at my best, but seriously, it was more than necessary, even for a record store employee. Compared to Newbury Comics at the Cape Cod Mall, which I hit on my way off the arm the next day, she was almost cartoonishly angry. In all likelihood, it had nothing to do with me and I was just the lucky sap who got to absorb it, but still.

I didn’t have any real goals for the weekend of shopping, other than picking up a full copy of the new Karma to Burn record, V, which I reviewed a bit ago (amazing how many broke-ass unsigned bands are willing to send out full-artwork promo CDs to reviewers and how many broke-ass labels aren’t), and they had it on the cheap at Newbury Comics, so I grabbed that, a used non-reissue copy of Turbo by Judas Priest and the Svidd Neger soundtrack by Ulver, which I haven’t been brave enough to listen to yet but was just so enthralled at the idea of finding a used Ulver CD that I had to buy it nonetheless. You just don’t run into that kind of thing that often.

By this point, vaguely hungover from the reception before, I was feeling kind of “meh” about the record shopping experience of the trip. Not that I wasn’t thankful to have found what I did (that TAD promo was cool, and Priest is Priest), but there wasn’t anything that really kicked my ass, so with some little haranguing of The Patient Mrs., I managed to divert our course into Providence for a stop at the Armageddon Shop on Broadway.

Of the trip’s finds, those from Armageddon were easily the best. All used, I picked up Shroud of Bereavement‘s first EP, 1999 Man and Long Day’s Flight ’till Tomorrow by Euroboys (both on Man’s Ruin), Pod People‘s Doom Saloon, the Ramesses/Negative Reaction split on PsycheDOOMelic, Conifer‘s first album, Who Do We Think We Are! by Deep Purple, the American version of We’re Here Because We’re Here by Anathema (such a sucker for that band; I bought it for the three bonus demos), Type O Negative‘s CD single for “Love You to Death,” and — in the spirit of finding The Satellite Circle last time I was at Armageddon and buying it despite knowing nothing about them — The End of Space by No Rest for the Dead.

That turned out to be a little noisier than I’d expected, and more abrasive in the vocals than I was really looking for, but it was cool anyway. Even better, though, was the cassette of Cathedral‘s The Ethereal Mirror for five bucks. They had a couple others too, but I figured that was a decent start. It’s going to suck when my car shits the bed and I don’t have a tape player anymore, but the ride back to Jersey from Rhode Island was pretty much set between that tape and the rest of the trip’s haul.

At just over five and a half minutes long, the gorgeously-packaged Menace of the Universe 5” from Providence, Rhode Island, bash and thrashers Megasus is over almost before it starts. Where their 2009 20 Buck Spin self-titled full-length offered a few minutes here and there of respite, on such a small vinyl, there’s barely time for the songs themselves, let alone a breather, so you’re in, you’re out, all of a sudden you have a black eye, and that’s it. Time is not wasted, either theoretically or practically, as Megasus up the intensity on both of the included tracks, “Menace of the Universe” and the b-side “Damned Hammer,” enough so that I wondered in my first time hearing it if I wasn’t listening at the wrong speed. I wasn’t. Megasus bring out the thrash and let it run roughshod all over Menace of the Universe.

The two songs, released via Brutal Panda Records, run 2:48 and 2:46, respectively. “Menace of the Universe” is a quick kick in the ass, guitarist Ryan Lesser’s tone reminding of Entombed and drummer Brian Gibson hitting a bright, punkish snare to accent the riff. Jason Kendall’s vocals are far back and similarly effected here as they were on the self-titled, but he screams maniacally on the first track, and is no less appropriate in doing so than he is the subtle, sub-psychedelic melody he throws in later on before Lesser’s solo brings the song to a close. Bassist Paul Lyons has more of a role to play on “Damned Hammer,” which is slower (still not as slow as some of the Megasus material was) and offers more room for him to run counter to Lesser’s riffing. The Motörheaded aspect of “Menace of the Universe” is all but gone from “Damned Hammer,” and Megasus show more of their doom side in the shorter track, still managing to keep the immediacy of the a-side, just cutting the pace.

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Rhode Island duo The Body, who made a splash last year with the avant weirdness of their At a Loss debut, All the Waters of the Earth Turn to Blood, have announced a quick run over the next week-plus that has them playing with the likes of Thou and haarp. The tour started last night in New Orleans and hits Baton Rouge this evening, and the PR wire has the rest of the dates below.

Providence‘s punishers The Body are back on the road early in the New Year, set to kick off a Southeastern US mini-tour today. The duo will devastate cities in Louisiana, Florida, North Carolina and Maryland over the coming days, appearing alongside Thou, haarp and more over the short onslaught. These dates all build up to The Body’s appearance later this month where they are scheduled to provide support for reunited hardcore icons The Universal Order of Armageddon in New York City.

The Body January 2011 Tour:

01/04 Tupac’s Bungalow Baton Rouge, LA w/ Thou, Haarp
01/05 Sluggo’s Pensacola, FL
01/06 Farside Tallahassee, FL
01/07 Wayward Council Gainesville, FL w/ Civilization
01/08 Lomax Lounge Jacksonville, FL w/ Civilization
01/10 Legitimate Business Greensboro, NC
01/11 some warehouse space Baltimore, MD
01/21 The Cake Shop New York, NY w/ Universal Order of Armageddon, Orphan

Named for a UFO that allegedly surfaced on the Japanese coast in the 19th Century, Utsuro Bune is the Providence, Rhode Island-based drone project of Matt Kattman (ex-Kingpin), who shines through on his debut album with a self-awareness that comes out as immediately as in the title, The Drone Remains the Same (Heavy Lifting). Not only is it true of drone and a clever play on Led Zeppelin, but it displays a sense of humor rarely seen in the generally-joyless realm of repetitive of experimental riffing. Utsuro Bune is strictly guitar, effects and loops from Kattman, who also recorded the album himself live on a two-track and did the art for the limited-to-100 physical CDR release. The skull front (it’s either white on black or black on white, depending which way you face the liner in the sleeve) is a little incongruous with the joke in the title, but Kattman pulls everything together musically, so not to worry.

The Drone Remains the Same is comprised of five tracks, two of which are over 10 minutes long. Opener “Massive Atmospheres” (more of that self-awareness) is 10:08 and has a touch of SunnO)))’s hyper-distortion to it, and “Raking the Cosmic Leaves” (more of that humor and just one of the many chores no one considers when owning a piece of the interstellar dream) is 12:10 and more orchestral, brighter-sounding like something off of Earth’s Earth 2. Between the two relative behemoths is the 2:35 “Kinetics,” and following “Raking the Cosmic Leaves” is “Whispers in the Abyss” (5:07) and “Disappear Slowly” (3:13). I wouldn’t go as far to call “Kinetics” or any of the three shorter tracks interludes — in part because it’s drone and it’s not like they’re leading two or from songs with catchy choruses — but they manage well in terms of affecting the overall feel Kattman is going for. Part of his obvious familiarity with the drone scene comes out in the surprising amount of diversity from track to track. In terms of hearing it elsewhere this year, I’d point to fellow New Englander Darryl Shepard’s Blackwolfgoat project, which was similarly able to keep a measure of sonic consistency (essential for drone) while also “changing it up” as much as possible when you’re one dude with a guitar and a pedal board.

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You might recall esoteric doom prodigy Indy Shome from Providence thunderfoots Queen Elephantine, whose album Kailash was reviewed on this site a while back. Well, even if you don’t, I count Indy as a friend of the site and doom compatriot, so when he reached out to me about his new project Throne of the Void in the Hundred Petal Lotus, I jumped at the chance to check it out.

Those familiar with Queen Elephantine‘s more experimental edges will recognize some of those elements in Throne of the Void in the Hundred Petal Lotus, and though the production on their first recorded outing — a 16-minute single track bearing the same cumbersome name as the band that can be heard on their MySpace or on the player below — is rough, Shome and company are able to affect a mini-Dopesmoker vibe by the end of the piece, riffing with similarly stoned abandon and droning repetition. I shudder to think of the expanses the band might cover given proper studio time and recording.

The psychedelia present in “Throne of the Void in the Hundred Petal Lotus” (as opposed to all those other thrones of the void out there) is dark and gritty, and where the music leads you to think perhaps there’s going to be a bright turn, there absolutely isn’t one, so as you listen, be prepared for drudgery. I might like to hear Shome and his band experiment with some lighter psychedelic elements à la a massively proportioned Lamp of the Universe — though I’ll allow that band’s propensity for long lotus-infused titles is part of the connection in my head –but until then, their premiere output has a weight to it that’s bound to get the attention of the doomed underground. It has mine, anyway.

Prolific-as-fuck youngins Queen Elephantine (MySpace here) have announced they’ve got a new live album out via France‘s Ruralfaune/Faunasabbatha (MySpace here) that was recorded in Brooklyn way back in 2008. I was just thinking to myself how it had been a couple weeks since Indy and Co. had put anything out, so I guess they were due. Here’s the info:

We’re very honored to have a live CDR and cassette released by the great French label Ruralfaune/Faunasabbatha.

The artwork is done by Emil Tibell. The show was on November 8, 2008, at the Meat Wallet. The documentary Such Hawks Such Hounds was screened and also playing that night were Naam, Weird Owl, and Bad Dream. The show was put together by Tiffany Ang and Death by Drone. Many thanks to everyone.

We live in an age where beasts and wizards and magic and metal have all come together into one steaming chaosserole. In the last decade, acts like High on Fire and Mastodon made it big on tales of giants and wildebeests, and now we can see bands from throughout the world taking on and defeating such monsters. The Providence, Rhode Island four-piece, Megasus, on their self-titled debut, gather their brave kinsmen and ride into epic metal glory, with just a hint of tongue-in-cheek good times (okay, more than a hint). What’s most important, though, is they’re heavy.

Comprised of vocalist Jason Kendall, guitarist Ryan Lesser, drummer Brian Gibson and bassist Paul Lyons, Megasus has already seen international acclaim thanks to exposure via the Guitar Hero series of videogames. Since all four members of the band work at Harmonix, the company responsible for Guitar Hero and its sundry spinoffs, it’s no big surprise that Megasus would be included, but the response their songs — over 30,000 downloads and countless videos of people trying to keep up with them on YouTube — speaks for itself, as does the fact that after catching wind of the independently released vinyl version of Megasus, respected underground label 20 Buck Spin picked up the band for the CD release.

It’s good news for Megasus, who’ve found the virtual enthusiasm shown for the band translates to the real world as well (or as real as this world is, anyway) and who continue to spread the word of swords and sorcery across the barren metalscape. Kendall and Lesser recently checked in to inform on the band’s origins, processes and proclivities for the riff. Thanks to them for taking the time and to you for reading. Interview’s after the jump.

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It?s a new school form of the Heavy in which Megasus traffic. The Providence, RI, four-piece unit, making their debut on 20 Buck Spin with this self-titled effort — originally a digital release and independently pressed to 200 vinyls — riff with a post-High on Fire largess and crash and rumble with the grandiose 21st Century definition of doom. The traditional groove is all but completely absent, but the frantic, chaotic, seemingly unhinged headbang-worthy fury that has come to typify the genre in this decade is present and then some.

Without getting into a debate over whether something must necessarily be played slow to be doom (I?d say no and point to any number of faster songs in the Sabbath and Pentagram catalogs), it?s clear Megasus are drawing more on the modern than the classics for their influences. This doesn?t necessarily have to be a detriment, but it does make the album Megasus easier to pigeonhole, which works against it. And with songs like ?Swords,? ?Paladin vs. Berserker? and ?Iron Mountain,? they?re not exactly breaking new thematic ground.

However, they are falling right into line with this generation of metallers? re-embracing classic metal subject matter: wizardry, mythology, epics, etc. And let?s face it, if we didn?t think that stuff was cool at least on some level, we probably wouldn?t be here in the first place. But, like a lot of what Megasus are doing on this record, it?s been done before. Moments like ?Hexes/Szaadek,? which give Slayer a Lair of the Minotaur-style dirtying up before a tempo switch and some cymbal panning from drummer Brian Gibson, are more satisfying, particularly as regards the performance of vocalist Jason Kendall. The centerpiece track of the total seven, listening to it makes me want to say, ?Yes, do this.?

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