EMPERORS & ELEPHANTS To Play Various Midwest Dates, SXSW Showcase, Mankato March 27

 Emperors & Elephants performing November 18, 2014 at the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis. You can view all pictures (40) from this concert in Flickr here, and look for a review of this show coming soon.

Chicago-based rock band and Pavement recording artist Emperors & Elephants have a few shows in the Midwest in March and April, including one at Buster’s in Mankato on Friday, March 27 with St. Paul’s Matrekis. The band’s itinerary also includes a trip to Austin, Texas for a showcase a the SXSW Festival on March 15. Emperors & Elephants wrapped up 2014 touring with Tantric in support of their debut album Devil In The Lake.

Watch the lyric video for "Who You Are" by Emperors & Elephants.

Advance tickets for the Mankato show are on sale now for only $5 ($7 at the door), and this is a 21+ show. Here is the complete list of upcoming Emperors & Elephants shows:

March 13 – West Chicago, IL, Cairo Ale House, w/Fashion Bomb, ADD, Kurt Arft

March 14 – Denison, TX, Fat Daddy’s

March 15 – Austin, TX, Delve Inn, SXSW Showcase

March 27 – Mankato, MN, Busters, w/Matrekis, Nowhere Fast

March 28 – Algona, IA, Afterlife Lounge, w/Matrekis, Far From Innocent, Down One Digit

April 25 – South Barrington, IL, Penny Road Pub, w/Platinum, Kurt Arft

INSOMNIUM Announce North American Headlining Tour with OMNIUM GATHERUM, Minneapolis Concert August 18

Finnish melodic death metal band Insomnium will circle the North American continent for a headlining tour with support from fellow Finns Omnium Gatherum during August and September. The campaign starts August 9 in Montreal at the Heavy Montreal Festival, and ends September 7 back in Quebec in Quebec City. Tuesday, August 18 will be see the tour stop in Minneapolis at the 7th Street Entry with local support from Cold Colours. This is an 18+ show, and tickets are on sale now through etix.

Watch the video for "While We Sleep" from the latest Insomnium album Shadows Of The Dying Sun.

August 9 – Montreal, QC, Parc Jean Drapeau, Heavy Montreal Festival

August 11 – New York, NY, Gramercy Theatre

August 12 – West Springfield, VA, Empire

August 13 – Worcester, MA, The Palladium

August 14 – Albany, NY, Bogies

August 15 – Pittsburgh, PA, The Altar Bar

August 16 – Westland, MI, The Token Lounge

August 17 – Joliet, IL, Mojoes

August 18 – Minneapolis, MN, 7th Street Entry, w/Cold Colours

August 19 – Winnipeg, MB, The Zoo

August 21 – Edmonton, AB, Pawn Shop Live

August 22 – Calgary, AB, Nite Owl

August 23 – Vancouver, BC, Red Room

August 24 – Seattle, WA, El Corazon

August 25 – Portland, OR, Hawthorne Theatre

August 26 – San Francisco, CA, Thee Parkside

August 27 – West Hollywood, CA, Whisky A Go Go

August 28 – San Diego, CA, Brick By Brick

August 29 – Las Vegas, NV, LVCS

August 30 – Mesa, AZ, Club Red

September 1 – Denver, CO, Bluebird Theater

September 3 – Louisville, KY, Expo Five

September 4 – Cleveland, OH, Agora Ballroom

September 5 – Toronto, ON, The Garrison

September 6 – Ottawa, ON, Ritual Nightclub

September 7 – Quebec City, QC, Le Cercle

Cult thrashers INDESTRUCTIBLE NOISE COMMAND Announce U.S. Tour Supporting TANTRIC, Minneapolis Show November 18

Connecticut thrash band Indestructible Noise Command, reactivated 20 years following the release of two minor classics in the late 80s (Razorback and The Visitor), have announced an unlikely tour pairing with Tantric that hits most areas of the U.S. in November. Fortunately, the tour stops in Minneapolis at the 7th Street Entry on Tuesday, November 18. The full itinerary is below, and check out the blistering lyric video for “Stirring The Flock” from their newly released fourth album Black Hearse Serenade.

November 5 – Colorado Springs, CO, Sunshine Studios Live

November 7 – Las Vegas, NV, The Divebar

November 8 – West Hollywood, CA, Whisky A Go-Go

November 10 – Phoenix, AZ, Joe’s Grotto

November 12 – Grand Junction, CO, Mesa Theater Lounge

November 13 – Denver, CO, Roxy Theatre

November 14 – Waterloo, IA, Spicoli’s Grill/Reverb Rock Garden

November 15 – Cherry Valley, IL, Take 20

November 16 – Ringle, WI, Q&Z Expo Center

November 18 – Minneapolis, MN, 7th Street Entry

November 19 – Madison, WI, The Annex at the Red Zone

November 20 – Lafayette, IN, Hideaway Bar & Grill

November 21 – Westland, MI, The Token Lounge

November 22 – Battle Creek, MI, The Music Factory

November 23 – Akron, OH, Ripper’s Rock House

Tonight - ST. VITUS and PALLBEARER in Minneapolis

If you missed them last year at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis (like I did), you can redeem yourself by catching cult doom legends St. Vitus at the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis with support from fellow doomsters Pallbearer and Louisville punk band Hookers. This is an 18+ show that starts at 8:00, and tickets are available at the door for $25.

St. Vitus's Wino performing acoustically with Conny Ochs on August 16, 2012 at the Turf Club in St. Paul.

For fun, here's an old St. Vitus flyer from their infamous 1987 tour with the Mentors that friend picked up for me that I've previously posted.

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).

Album Review - KVELERTAK

Kvelertak - Meir

Roadrunner, 2013

5/10

Forget everything you’ve heard about this Norwegian group being black metal, it’s like calling Skid Row thrash metal. Sure, there’s some elements of black metal in spots, usually just some fast snare drumming, but that’s about it. Kvelertak’s second album owes a lot more to garage punk and hardcore than anything else. “Åpenbaring” is a decent if not somewhat mundane opening for Meir, but things get interesting quickly with “Spring Fra Livet”, a catchy little song with an amazing chorus. “Trepan” is another showcase for the unconventional writing style of Kvelertak; what starts off sounding like black metal suddenly morphs into a cool alternative rock vibe. The silly melody of “Bruane Brenn” doesn’t really work, while “Evig Vandrar” drags until a master guitar riff takes over the second half of the song. “Snilepisk” and “Månelyst” are more straightforward rock, and the sprawling, ambitious “Nekrokosmos” is all over the map. Some Thin LIzzy-style riffs make “Undertro” more interesting than most of the album but this energy can’t be maintained for over six minutes. Interest wanes by this point and the nearly nine minute-long “Tordenbrak” simply flies by before “Kvelertak” brings the album to a stomping close. Meir has some bright moments, but most of the album is too disjointed, confusing, and noisy. Kvelertak is onto a pretty unique sound, however, the lack of great songs ultimately fails to sustain my attention.

Kvelertak performs on Saturday, April 27 at the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis with support from Cancer Bats and Black Tusk.