MEGADETH Announces Headlining Tour with FEAR FACTORY and NONPOINT - Kicks Off in St. Paul November 23

Thrash titans Megadeth have lined up a new round of U.S. tour dates to promote Super Collider, which kicks off right here in St. Paul at Myth on Saturday, November 23. Direct support will come from Fear Factory with openers Nonpoint. The full list of dates is below, and tickets for the St. Paul show (all ages) go on sale this Friday, September 27 at 10:00 am through Ticketmaster.

November 23 - St. Paul, MN, Myth
November 24 - Madison, WI, Orpheum Theatre
November 26 - Grand Rapids, MI, Orbit Room
November 27 - Detroit, MI, The Fillmore
November 29 - Montclair, NJ, The Wellmont Theater
November 30 - Bethlehem, PA, Sands Bethlehem Event Center
December 1 - Boston, MA, House of Blues
December 3 - Huntington, NY, The Paramount
December 4 - Silver Spring, MD, The Fillmore
December 5 - Charlotte, NC, The Fillmore
December 7 - North Myrtle Beach, SC, House of Blues
December 8 - St. Petersburg, FL, Jannus Live
December 9 - Lake Buena Vista, FL, House of Blues
December 12 - Houston, TX, Bayou Music Center
December 14 - El Paso, TX, Socorro Entertainment Center

From The Vault - CLUTCH

Off the wall heavy rockers Clutch are out now promoting their new album Earth Rocker so I dug through my archives to present the findings from early Clutch shows up through The Elephant Riders. My first live exposure to the band was when they were out supporting their debut album, Transnational Speedway League, on a crushing bill that had them sandwiched between Sepultura and Fear Factory on March 29, 1993 at Big Dog's in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Sepultura was riding high on the Chaos A.D. album, while Fear Factory was promoting Soul Of A New Machine. From my recollection, Clutch ripped through most the debut album, including "Earthworm", "A Shogun Named Marcus", "Rats", and "El Jefe Speaks".

The only time I remember seeing Clutch on the road for their second, self-titled album was in 1995 at The Hurricane in Kansas City on a co-headling jaunt with Tad with Far opening the show. Clutch and Tad was a great pairing, and both bands put on intense performances.

Two promotional pictures of Clutch from 1998 for The Elephant Riders album.

Clutch hit the road heavily for their third album, The Elephant Riders, during which time they played Lawrence, Kansas and Kansas City a number of times. March 11, 1998 had them playing The Beaumont Club in Kansas City on an unlikely tour opening for Limp Bizkit with Sevendust. The crowd was respectful but seemed largely indifferent. That same year, they did a phenomenal headlining show at The Bottleneck in Lawrence as part of a short tour with support from Shine (who later changed their name to Spirit Caravan).

The pictures below were all taken at the Granada Theater in Lawrence, Kansas on October 28, 1998 as direct support to Sevendust together with Stuck Mojo and Ultraspank. Again, Clutch seemed out of place on this tour, but they still rolled through a great set as only they can do.

Clutch performing October 28, 1998 at the Granada Theater in Lawrence, Kansas. Click on any of the live pictures to see more photos from this show (20).

Clutch performs tomorrow, Wednesday, April 10 at First Avenue in Minneapolis with support from Orange Goblin, Lionize, and Scorpion Child.

Concert Announcements - March 22, 2013

Local sludge band Witchden has the “Loud Wednesday’s Residency” at Cause Spirits & Soundbar in Minneapolis for the month of April. The band will play every Wednesday in April (3, 10, 17, and 24) with other local bands for no cover charge.

Former Misfits vocalist Michale Graves returns for a show at Cause Spirits & Soundbar in Minneapolis on Tuesday, April 30 with support from Ripsnorter, Regenerators, and They Live.

Progressive/hard rock legends Kansas return to the area on Friday, May 3 for a show at the Events & Convention Center at Grand Casino in Hinckley. Tickets go on sale Thursday, March 28.

Falling In Reverse will be playing an all ages show at Mill City Nights in Minneapolis on Sunday, May 12. Tickets go on sale today, Friday, March 22 at 10:00 am.

Taproot comes back to the town for a show on Wednesday, May 15 at First Avenue in Minneapolis.

Fear Factory makes their long-awaiting appearance to promote The Industrialist following cancellation of their U.S. tour last summer on Wednesday, May 22 at Station 4 in St. Paul. Support with come from Hate Eternal, Kobra And The Lotus, Climactic, and Standing Alliance. Tickets go on sale today, Friday, March 22 at 10:00 am.

Sludge rock stars Kylesa will be playing the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis on Monday, June 3 with support from Blood Ceremony and White Hills.

Former Iron Maiden singer Paul Di'Anno's June 5 show at Neisen's in Savage has apparently been CANCELLED. Some websites still list other U.S. dates in June, but Paul's official webpage has all U.S. dates removed. I've removed this from the Concert Calendar pending any official word about this.

Prosthetic Records recording artist from Minneapolis Ambassador Gun plays Neisen's in Savage on Saturday, June 8 with Outside, The Murder, Climactic, Ghosthook, and Mastiff.

During a break in their co-headlining run with Lynyrd Skynyrd, hark rock/blues band Bad Company plays their own headlining show with support from Joan Jett And The Blackhearts on Friday, July 5 at the Amphitheater at Grand Casino in Hinckley. Tickets go on sale Thursday, May 9.

As posted a coupledates ago, Alice Cooper has added second show at the State Theatre in Minneapolis on Monday, July 15. Tickets go on sale today, Friday, March 22 at 10:00 am through the State Theatre box office and all Ticketmaster outlets.

Three Days Grace has been announced as the final headliner for Rock Fest in Cadott, Wisconsin on Thursday, July 18, topping the bill with Seether, Halestorm, All That Remains, and Aranda.

Concert Announcements - July 6, 2012: BANSHEE Reunion, FEAR FACTORY/VOIVOD Shockwaves Tour Cancelled

Minneapolis-based Tooth & Nail recording artist Write This Down have scheduled a show at Station 4 in St. Paul on Tuesday, July 10 with support from Red Moring Voyage, Harp & Lyre, Awaken, Imagine The Silence, and Sick Of Talking About It. Write This Down released their new album, Lost Weekend, last month.

Following the announcement a couple weeks ago of major lineup changes to the Shockwave 2012 Tour and co-headliner’s Voivod July 3 cancellation, Blabbermouth reported two days ago that the other headliner, Fear Factory, has also dropped out resulting in the whole tour having the plug pulled. The tour was supposed to start tonight, July 6 in Seattle, and pull into Station 4 in St. Paul on Thursday, July 12.

Hard rockers 12 Stones return to the area on Monday, July 23 for an all ages show at the North Star Room in Mounds View with Blameshift, Digital Summer, Throwing Gravity, and Sinful Angel.

As Blabbermouthreported earlier this week, the revamped Queensrÿche with new lead singer Todd La Torre will still be playing their scheduled show at Halfway Jam in Royalton, Minnesota on Saturday, July 28. This lineup has played two shows as Rising West, but apparently this will be their first appearance officially as Queenrÿche.

Hardcore/crossover band Media Blitz from California will storm the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis for a special half-room show on Wednesday, July 25 with In Defence, Triple Crossed, Rivit, and Total Trash.

Local metal band Tomorrow Brings New Blood are having a record release show on Friday, July 27 at Station 4 in St. Paul with Beastface, The Atlantis Theorem, Element, and Apothecary. This is an early 18+ show. Tomorrow Brings New Blood will be selling their new, self-titled album for only $5 at the show.

Support for the Taproot and Smile Empty Soul show announced last week at Station 4 in St. Paul on Monday, July 30 has been set. Opening the show will be Severah, 14 Clicks, Requiems’s End, and Terror Overising. This is a 16+ show that starts early at 6:00 pm.

Totally underrated technical power metal band Banshee has reformed with a new singer, George Call (Omen, Aska), and released a new album, Mindslave. Original guitarist Terry Dunn is taking the band out on the road, and they will be playing Station 4 in St. Paul on Wednesday, August 1. I witnessed the first Banshee reunion concert with original vocalist Tommy Lee Flood in 1999 at America’s Pub in Kansas City, and they guys blew down the house. This promises to be another killer show.

Rock band The Classic Crime is making a stop at the North Star Room in Mounds View on Saturday, August 18 for an early all ages show.

Black metal band Abigail Williams has booked a final, lengthy U.S. tour that circles the continent from July 26 in Santa Barbara, California to September 15 in Portland, Oregon. Right now they are slated to play in St. Paul on Thursday, September 6. This show is unconfirmed, but I would guess that it will happen at Station 4. Additional details will be posted when they become available.

Norwegian industrial/electronic band Icon Of Coil are touring North America this fall and hit Ground Zero in Minneapolis on Wednesday, September 12 with [:SITD:}, Gabriel And The Apocalypse, and Dissociate.

Stoner-sludge band Big Business will hit the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis on Monday, September 17. This is an 18+ show, and tickets go on sale Monday, July 16 at 12:00 noon.

Write This Down was recently added to the list of artists performing on the Shiprocked cruise from November 27 to December 1. The cruise departs Fort Lauderdale, Florida for the Bahamas with an impressive roster of hard rock bands including Godsmack, Five Finger Death Punch, P.O.D., Sevendust, Filter, Fuel, Geoff Tate, Gilby Clarke, Lit, Black Stone Cherry, and In This Moment. You find more information at the Shiprocked website.

FEAR FACTORY Album Review

Fear Factory – The IndustrialistCandlelight, June 20129/10

Like any band around for more than 20 years, Fear Factory has had their highs and lows both in terms of sonic output and bizarre personnel changes. Fortunately, The Industrialist sees Fear Factory back at the top of their game after after some sub-par efforts. Written entirely by the triumvirate of guitarist Dino Cazares, vocalist Burton C. Bell, and keyboardist and producer Rhys Fulber, The Industrialist is the missing link between Demanufacture and Obsolete. This a crushing album of short, fast, crunchy riffs melded with Burt’s trademark screaming-melodic clean singing style aped by countless metal- and mall-core bands over the years. Curiously, the album only merely dabbles in industrial metal despite what the title suggests. Much has been made of the fact that drum machines, rather than a live drummer, were utilized for the entire recording, but the fact is that only a drumhead or studio buff could immediately tell that Raymond Herrera or Gene Hoglan isn’t sitting behind the kit. One of the primary things I consider when critiquing album is: Is this a complete recording that can be enjoyed in its entirety, even over multiple listens? Or, is this a collection of some good or great songs mixed in with filler that usually has me skipping to select tracks upon attempts at repeated listens? The Industrialist is the former, and it’s rare when I can say that 10 songs over nearly 50 minutes kept my attention. This is especially remarkable since most would agree that Fear Factory’s best days were seemingly long gone. It’s futile to pick favorites, but “Difference Engine”, “Recharger”, “God Eater”, and “New Messiah” are particularly strong tracks. I gotta hand it to Dino and Burt for persevering through hardships and doubters like myself to deliver one of the best Fear Factory albums. Hopefully this is only the beginning of a new era of creativity for the band.

Fear Factory headlines the Shockwave tour on Thursday, July 12 at Station 4 in St. Paul with support from Voivod, Misery Index, Revocation, Havok, Dirge Within, Last Chance To Reason, Vildhjarta, The Browning, and Forged In Flame.