Tonight - MICHALE GRAVES in Minneapolis, RED JUMPSUIT APPARATUS in St. Paul

Former Misfits vocalist Michale Graves plays tonight in Minneapolis at the Cause Spirits & Soundbar with support from Ripsnorter, Regenerators, and They Live. His new album, Vagabond, is more of a folk rock record that differs from what you might expect from him. This is a 21+ show that is $8 at the door, and the bands start around 9:00. Later tonight I should have a From The Vault feature on Misfits with lots of pictures!

Florida rock band Red Jumpsuit Apparatus also plays tonight over in St. Paul at Station 4 supported by a slew of local bands: Throw The Fight, Eversay, Imagine The Silence, The Phoenix Philosophy, and Charlie Siren. This is an early (5:30) all ages show, and tickets are $15 at the door.

Album Review - HYPOCRISY

Hypocrisy – End Of Disclosure

Nuclear Blast, 2013

8/10

Now on their twelfth album, Hypocrisy isn’t treading new ground anymore but they continue to issue forth quality albums. End Of Disclosure is a bit more restrained and slower than 2009’s A Taste Of Extreme Divinity, however, the intensity doesn’t let up. The album starts with the slow, epic title track, and  “Tales Of Thy Spineless” and “The Eye” each gradually pick up the pace in the vein of fast, classic thrash. These songs lead up to “United We Fall”, the most death metal song on the album. From here the remaining six songs are deliberately slower and the output is mixed. There’s not a bad song here, but “Hell I Where I Stay” and “Soldier Of Fortune” are a bit of a drag on an otherwise excellent album. Hypocrisy sticks to the melodic death metal we’ve come to expect from them, with “44 Double Zero” even sounding like In Flames. My only real complaint is that with all of the fast songs upfront, the overall pace of the album could have benefited from an alternate song sequencing. Aside from this, End Of Disclosure is another fine addition to the Hypocrisy armamentarium, an album without compromise that stays true to Swedish melodic death metal.

Hypocrisy has CANCELED their performance on Tuesday, May 7 at Station 4 in St. Paul. Krisiun, Arsis, and Starkill will go on with the show with support from Deretla, Diabolical Sacrilege, and Daigoro.

Hypocrisy performing May 23, 2010 at Station 4 in St. Paul. Click on the picture to see more live Hypocrisy photos from this show (29).

MELECHESH Announces North American Tour, St. Paul Confirmed

Israeli death metal band Melechesh will return to North American in June for a headlining tour that includes a stop at Station 4 in St. Paul on Monday, June 24. The list below of confirmed and tentative dates as announced on the band's Facebook page includes dates in Mexico, the U.S., and Canada. Support will come from Vreid, Lightning Swords Of Death, and Reign Of Lies.

Melechesh, Vreid, Lightning Swords Of Death, and Reign Of Lies tour dates:
June 15 - Mexico City, Mexico, Circo Volador (Melechesh only)
June 16 - Los Angeles, CA, The Joint
June 17 - San Francisco, CA, to be confirmed
June 18 - Portland, OR, Hawthorne
June 19 - Seattle, WA, Studio Seven
June 20 - Vancouver, BC, to be confirmed
June 21 - Edmonton, AB, Pawn Shop
June 22 - Regina, SK, The Exchange
June 23 - Winnipeg, MB, to be confirmed
June 24 - St. Paul, MN, Station 4 (w/Pestifere)
June 25 - Joliet, IL, Mojoe's
June 26 - to be confirmed
June 27 - Toronto, ON, Wreck Room
June 28 - Montreal QC, Petit Campus
June 29 - Keene, NH, Railroad Tavern
June 30 - New York, NY, Gramercy Theater

SANCTUARY Performed Three New Songs in St Paul

This is just a quick note regarding the awesome one-off Sanctuary show last night in St. Paul at Station 4. They played a killer 80-90 minute set that drew heavily from both albums, Refuge Denied and Into The Mirror Black. The highlight of the show was the performance of three new songs slated for their next album, The Year The Sun Died: "Frozen", "Low", and "The World Is Wired". From I understand this was the first-ever performance of at least one of these songs. Secondhand sources informed me that "Frozen" was only written three weeks ago! Based on these songs, the new album should be every bit as good if not better than anything the band has done. Check back soon for a full review of the show with pictures and an audio download of the entire concert.

In chatting with the band after the show, the new music is progressing well and it's likely that the release will be early 2014 rather than late 2013 as previously announced.

Tonight - KVELERTAK in Minneapolis, SANCTUARY in St. Paul

Hopefully you’re already aware of the three great shows taking place tonight. First, reactivated melodic thrash band Sanctuary will be playing Station 4 in St. Paul. Sanctuary was reformed by vocalist Warrel Dane and bassist Jim Sheppard following the demise of Nevermore. This is show is to celebrate The SwordLord’s 10th year promoting metal shows. Everyone in the Twin Cities area should be grateful for all of the great bands The SwordLord (Nathan Block) has brought to town over the years. Thanks, Nathan! Support for Sanctuary will come from Hollowstone, Avian, and Redshift. This is a 16+ show that starts around 6:00, and tickets are $25 at the door.

Nevermore performing December 11, 2000 in San Diego.

Watch the official video for "Future Tense" from the Sanctuary's 1990 album Into The Mirror Black.

RELATED CONTENT: You can download the audio of Nevermore on October 28, 1997 in North Kansas City here, and I’ve posted some old live pictures and promotional materials of both Sanctuary and Nevermore here.

Yes, visa problems forced Japan’s Loudness to CANCEL their show at the Hi 5 Bar in Burnsville tonight as reported in more detail last night. Local hard rock band Downtread will now do the show themselves with Arena. This is show is now free and the bar will have cheap beer specials. Downtread hits the stage at 10:00.

RELATED CONTENT: Check out the review (with pictures) of Loudness on May 19, 2011 at Ground Zero in Minneapolis, and you can also download the complete audio of the show.

Check out this great live video of Kvelertak performing "Spring Fra Livet" on Norwegian TV.

Another late show takes place tonight at the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis where you can catch Norway’s confounding Kvelertak with Cancer Bats and Black Tusk. Showtime is 10:00 – it’s 18+ and tickets are $15 at the door.

RELATED CONTENT: Read the review of the new Kvelertak album, Meir, here (5/10).

REFLECTIONS - April 9, 2013

Minneapolis metalcore band Reflections has some interesting progressive elements to their sound, and the recently completed a tour with Within The Ruins, The Contortionist, I Declare War, and City In The Sea. The tour steamrolled through Station 4 in St. Paul earlier this month, and here now is the audio of the show for download. The review of this show with pictures was published in two parts, part 1 is here and part 2 is here (Reflections is reviewed in part 1). Look for a new tour announcement from Reflections soon.

The download link is here. As always, please share, but share the link to this post rather than the direct Mediafire link. Enjoy!

Reflections

Fantastic Live Effects

April 9, 2013

St. Paul, MN, Station 4

mp3@192 kbps, 38.1 MB zip file (artwork included)

1. Lost… (1:27)

2. …And Found (5:52)

3. Good Push (6:23)

4. Delirium (2:52)

5. Rotations (7:02)

6. Ceilings (1:57)

Total time: 25:33

LOUDNESS, HYPOCRISY Canceled

Loudness performing May 19, 2011 at Ground Zero in Minneapolis.

This is bad news, indeed - not one, but two big show cancellations. First, Loudness has cancelled their show tomorrow, Saturday, April 27 at the Hi 5 Bar in Burnsville due to visa issues. This was to be the first night of Loudness's short U.S. tour, and it's unclear at this time if this will force the cancelation of other dates. The promoter, Viking Rocker Productions has posted the following notice on the ticket sale page at Vital Culture:

"Viking Rocker Productions was just informed today that National Recording Artist Loudness has cancelled their appearance on Saturday April 27th.

"Our sincere apologies regarding the short notice due to visa issues that LOUDNESS will have to cancel the upcoming scheduled show with you 
Loudness Management" 

Pre-ordered tickets will be refunded as needed you MUST turn in your ticket to get a refund to place of purchase. 

Our Sincere Apologies
Viking Rocker Producitons"

Downtread will still perform tomorrow at the Hi 5 along with Arena - this will be a free show.

Hypocrisy performing May 23, 2010 at Station 4 in St. Paul.

Visa issues today also forced the cancellation of the upcoming Hypocrisy tour as reported by Blabbermouth. The tour was scheduled to stop at Station 4 in St. Paul on Tuesday, May 7. According to this report Aborted has also dropped off the tour, but it will continue with Krisiun, Arsis, and Starkill. I'll post more details about this show when they are confirmed.

From The Vault - NEVERMORE and SANCTUARY

Late 80s/early 90s melodic thrash metal band Sanctuary reformed after the demise of Nevermore in 2011, and they are coming to Station 4 in St. Paul this Saturday. The current version of Sanctuary features all original members except guitarist Jeff Loomis (who played Station 4 recently with Soilwork), including Nevermore singer Warrel Dane and bassist Jim Sheppard. Their new album, The Year The Sun Died, is slated for release later this year. Here's a variety of pictures and promotional items from Sanctuary and Nevermore that I unearthed from the archives.

Sanctuary only released two major label albums, and this flyer is from a show in support of the second, Into The Mirror Black. The date of this show is September 3, 1990 at Partytown in Des Moines, Iowa; Minneapolis band Intensity was one of the openers. This was a show that, unfortunately, I could not attend.

I first saw Nevermore on October 28, 1997 at Roadhouse Ruby's in North Kansas City while they were promoting their second album, The Politics Of Ecstasy. They were opening for Flotsam & Jetsam, and put on an excellent show where they even played one Sanctuary song, "Sanctuary". You can read my account of the show in more detail and download the complete audio of the concert here.

Nevermore's third album, Dreaming Neon Black, is their finest. The first promotional picture below is from 1998 on the eve of the album's release. In September or October 1999 I was fortunate enough to catch Nevermore on this tour opening for Mercyful Fate in San Diego at Cane's. The growth and confidence of the band on stage had increased exponentially, no doubt Nevermore was sensing the band's rising status.

Nevermore promotional picture from 1998.

Nevermore in 2000.

Dead Heart In A Dead World took Nevermore into darker, more complex musical territory and was a worthy successor to Dreaming Neon Black. I also saw them once on this tour at Brick By Brick in San Diego as direct support to In Flames with Shadows Fall and Burn It Down. Most of the material from the first two albums had largely vanished from their show at this point, this particular concert primarily focused on Dead Heart In A Dead World.

2000 show poster signed by all members of In Flames.

Click on any of the pictures to see more live photos from Nevermore on December 11, 2000 (13).

Nevermore was essentially an outgrowth of Sanctuary, so if you're a Nevermore fan you will be want to catch Sanctuary when they are here.

Sanctuary performs tomorrow, Saturday, April 27 at Station 4 in St. Paul with support from Hollowstone, Avian, and Redshift.

Concert Announcements - April 26, 2013

Brace yourself for massive updates to the concert calendar (see the complete calendar on the right)! There's a huge variety of shows that have been confirmed during the last week, including additions to Moondance Jam and Halfway Jam and hints that Blue Öyster Cult will be playing the Minnesota State Fair.

Neisen’s in Savage has lined up a big night of local metal on Saturday, May 11 with Blue Felix, Throw The Fight, Gabriel And The Apocalypse, and A Sound Theory.

The Mandy Lion, Scream At The Sun, Hooligans Union, and Crashmatic show at Station 4 in St. Paul scheduled for Monday, May 13, along with all May concert dates, has been CANCELED. A post on the Mandy Lion Facebook page has the press release from Hard Attack Entertainment, the band’s new booking agency:

“Unfortunately, Mandy and his former booking agency had reached a stalemate in the their professional relationship after only a hand-full of dates were scheduled across the USA. We (Hard Attack) do not feel we have enough time to get the fill in dates booked properly at this point. There is just no way that we can logistically or financially make it a sensible run of dates as it stands now. We do however want to let EVERYONE know that we will have Mandy back out on the road starting in late June and there will be 14-17 shows booked accordingly.”

Mandy adds:

“I would like to apologize to the fans, venues and promoters for the delay. This was not an easy decision for us to make but unfortunately prior associates booked single sporadic dates with too much down time in between concerts and routing which makes it impossible to honor the dates. We are, however, very excited to let everyone know that Hard Attack Entertainment is currently rescheduling a tour with proper routing. We are looking at only a few weeks delay before we are coming to your town. I want to thank you all for being patient and kind. Looking forward to seeing you all soon!”

French technical death metal band Gorod invades Station 4 in St. Paul with Inanimate Existence, Kamikabe, Vale Of Pnath, Sadistic Passage, and Solar Slaughter on Tuesday, May 28.

Local metal band Tepetricy has lined up a show with Heaven’s Gate, Embrace The Ending, and Minos at the Wicked Moose in Rochester on Friday, May 31.

Quirky punk legends The Dead Milkmen return for a show at First Avenue in Minneapolis on Friday, June 7. No support bands have been announced at this time, and tickets go on sale today, Friday, April 26 at 12:00 noon through etix.

Pop punk band Face To Face plays the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis on Saturday, June 22 with Teenage Bottlerocket, Blacklist Royals, and Joshua Black Wilkins. Tickets go on sale today, Friday, April 26 at 12:00 noon through etix.

Underrated 70s progressive rock legends Martin Turner’s Wishbone Ash and Nektar play together on Sunday, June 30 at Famous Dave’s BBQ & Blues in Minneapolis (this is the Uptown location).

As reported here yesterday, industrial shock superstar Marilyn Manson plays Myth in St. Paul on Tuesday, July 2. It looks like support will come from Picture Me Broken, and tickets go on sale today, Friday, April 26 at 12:00 noon through etix.

Impaler performing July 17, 2011 at Station 4 in St. Paul. Click on the picture to see more photos from this show (10).

Following their July 18 show at the What’s Up Lounge in Mankato, costumed metal band Green Jellÿ (of “Three Little Pigs” fame) is now also confirmed to play the next night, Friday, July 19 at Station 4 in St. Paul with Impaler, Iguana, The Rock & Roll Whores, and Screaming Mechanical Brain (their The Policy Of Universal Hate is reviewed here, 9/10).

Cain singer Jiggs Lee performing at the band's first ever reunion show at their induction into the Mid-America Music Hall Of Fame on September 17, 2010 in Minneapolis. Click on the picture to see more photos from this show (27).

Moondance Jam, taking place July 17-20 in Walker, has added some interesting bands to the bill each night. On Thursday, July 18, rounding out the bill topped by Mötley Crüe and Cheap Trick are Buckcherry and 70s cult bands Shooting Star and Cain! The lineup for Friday, July 19 is Slash & Myles Kennedy, Bachman & Turner, Blue Öyster Cult, and Sweet. Saturday, July 20 has The Offspring, Theory Of A Deadman, Halestorm, and Head East. There’s still a couple slots remaining to be filled, and the bands playing the pre-jam party on Wednesday, July 17 have yet to be announced.

Survivor singer Jimi Jamison performing a solo show at the Minnesota Music Cafe in St. Paul on March 1, 2013. Click on the picture to see more photos from this show (48).

The main stage lineup of Halfway Jam in Royalton over July 25–27 has been finalized. Thursday, July 25 features Pop Evil, Saliva, and Smile Empty Soul; Friday, July 26 has Tesla, Survivor, Great White Featuring Jack Russell, and BulletBoys; Saturday, July 26 features Loverboy, Ratt, Steelheart, and Electric Eye. Second stage bands have yet to be announced, and tickets, including one- and three-day passes, VIP, and camping, are on sale now.

Steelheart performing July 17, 2010 at G.B. Leighton's Pickle Park in Fridley. Click on the picture to see more photos from this show (13).

The one and only ZZ Top play Myth in St. Paul on August 6. Tickets go on sale Friday, May 3.

The official Blue Öyster Cult page has them performing at the Minnesota State Fair in St. Paul on Saturday, August 24 and Sunday, August 25. I can’t find any other confirmation of this, but I’ll have more information as it’s released.