Concert Announcements - June 29, 2012

Minneapolis-based hard rock band New Medicine will be headlining a Live on Arrival benefit show on Friday, July 27 at The Cabooze in Minneapolis with Toussaint Morrison, Sheeped, Dr. Wylie, Big Villian, Q’s Junction, and Chrome Lotus.

Taproot and Smile Empty Soul have lined up a date at Station 4 in St. Paul on Monday, July 30

Henry Rollins brings his spoken word performance out on the road for an appearance on Thursday, September 27 at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul. Tickets go on sale today, Friday, June 29 at 12:00 noon.

Folk metal fans can rejoice at the return of Finland’s Korpiklaani to Station 4 in St. Paul on Labor Day, Monday, September 2. Joining them for this voyage are fellow Finns Moonsorrow, Denmark’s Týr, and Estonia’s Metsatöll.

Hard rockers Chevelle play at 21+ show at First Avenue in Minneapolis on Friday, September 7. Locals Throw The Fight open the show before apparently heading to Ellsworth, Wisconsin to headline their own show at the Gaslight Bar & Grille. General ticket sales begin at 12:00 noon today, Friday, June 29, and you can buy presale tickets through Etix (linked at the First Avenue website) using the password "93x".

A second Lagwagon date has been added at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis on Wednesday, October 3. The October 4 show must either be sold out or close to it, so get your tickets soon!

Finntroll, Moonsorrow, And Swallow The Sun Concert Review

Finntroll, Moonsorrow, Swallow The Sun, Minos

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Station 4, St. Paul, MN

Death metal outfit Survivors Zero was supposed to round out the Finnish Metal Tour, but delays in approval of their work visas forced them to pull out of the entire tour. Stepping in to open the show was Rochester’s Minos, a relatively new folk metal band. This was their first show with new drummer James Hamersly, but unfortunately I arrived right as the band was walking off the stage.

This was Swallow The Sun’s second appearance at Station 4, and this larger crowd was much more enthusiastic and familiar with the band. Somehow promoter The SwordLord convinced both Swallow The Sun and Moonsorrow to perform longer than usual sets, so Swallow The Sun absolutely crushed the stage for nearly an hour with their powerful, emotional doom. The band’s imposing stage presence matches the mood of their music, and they ripped through a nice selection of New Moon. “Sleepless Swans” and “These Woods Breathe Evil” sat well alongside older songs such as “Descending Winters” and “Plague Of Butterflies”. The set ended with “Swallow”, with its devastating riffs having the impact of an aural sledgehammer. Don’t miss them when they’re back in town in September with Katatonia. Go here to read the review of Swallow The Sun’s latest album, New Moon.

Click picture for more photos of Swallow The Sun (15).

Click to watch Swallow The Sun play “Sleepless Swans”.

Click to watch Swallow The Sun play “Swallow”.

Click to watch Swallow The Sun play “Plague Of Butterflies”.

Moonsorrow turned out to be the biggest surprise of the night, as the folksy elements of their black metal sound were toned down on stage under the weight of the guitars. I don’t know who can remember the tongue-garbling Finnish names of their songs, but the band played a full hour’s worth of career-spanning selections. Their show is both entertaining and impressive for the high level of intensity maintained throughout their lengthy songs. Judging from the amount of merchandise sold, Moonsorrow has built a dedicated fan based in town and it’s easy to see why. Seeing Moonsorrow live gave me newfound appreciation for the band, they are certainly one of the best folk-style metal bands out there.

Click picture for more photos of Moonsorrow (14).

Click to watch Moonsorrow play “Köyliönjärven Jäällaä”.

Finntroll certainly had a challenge ahead in matching the performance of Swallow The Sun and Moonsorrow. They were the most energetic and on stage tonight, but their heavy folk influences simply don’t interest me that much. The crowd was clearly here to see Finntroll so their headlining status was warranted. Like Moonsorrow, all of Finntroll’s songs are sung in Finnish so titles of songs that were performed escape me. Finntroll seemed to playing in top form, but I quickly lost interest in their style. Nevertheless, the audience response was huge for this band and there’s a large contingent of people whose opinion of Finntroll differs from mine.

Click picture for more photos of Finntroll (9).

The SwordLord, promoter for this concert, interviewed members of Finntroll and Moonsorrow at the venue and featured the conversation was featured on the Root Of All Evil radio show on KFAI. Head on over to The SwordLord’s Myspace blog for details on how to listen to this insightful interview!

Swallow The Sun will be returning to Station 4 in St. Paul as direct support to Sweden’s Katatonia on Saturday, September 18. Additional support will come from Israel’s Orphaned Land and Minneapolis Sleazy Rider Records recording artist Cold Colours.

Barren Earth EP Review

Barren Earth – Our Twilight EP

Peaceville, 2009

7/10

Barren Earth should attract immediate interest due to the fact that their lineup sports current and former members of European underground luminaries such as Amorphis, Kreator, Swallow The Sun, and Moonsorrow. The band has no North American tour plans that I know of, but I thought I’d review their debut EP since many of the members’ main bands will be coming through St. Paul this year. The biography of Barren Earth describes their sound as progressive death metal, and this isn’t too far off the mark although immediate comparisons will be drawn to Amorphis and Swallow The Sun. The material here is slow, depressive death metal, and an edited version of “Our Twilight” opens the proceedings with heavy, poundings rhythms that lead into a cleanly sung chorus. “Jewel” is an outtake from 2009 recording sessions, and features liberal use of piano and organ to give this song its prog sensibilities. The final two tracks, “Flame Of Serenity” and “Floodred” were recorded in a 2008 session and have a sound that’s a bit denser, but sound a little heavier than the first two songs. There’s a lot of promise shown here, and Barren Earth would likely appeal to fans of early Amorphis and other slow, progressive-sounding death metals bands. The debut full-length album will be released in April in the United States.

Kreator will be appearing at Station 4 in St. Paul on Sunday, March 14. Support will come from Voivod, Nachtmystium, Evile, and Lazarus A.D.

Moonsorrow and Swallow The Sun will be appearing as support to Finntroll at Station 4 in St. Paul on Saturday, April 17. Additional support will come from Survivors Zero.

Finntroll Concert Announcement

The concert announcements for 2010 continue to pour in, and the latest tour to roll through The Cities is the so-called Finnish Metal tour. This month-long tour of exclusive Finnish bands will be headlined by Finntroll, with support from Moonsorrow, Swallow The Sun, and Survivors Zero. They will be playing at Station 4 in St. Paul on Saturday, April 17.