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

VREID Album Review

Vreid - V

Indie, March 2011

9/10

Every once in a while an established band steps out of their shell to release an unexpectedly brilliant album, and Norway’s black metal stormtroopers Vreid have done just that with their fifth album V. Vreid’s past output left me feeling respectful but uninspired. Smash all your previous notions about the band because V is one of the best black metal albums of the year. With new guitarist Ulcus (ex-Windir, along with the rest of the band), Vreid has evolved their sound into the harsher, raw-edged brother of Enslaved. A masterful production job enables the introduction of acoustic passages, bone-jarring riffs, and subtle keyboards to the band’s sound without taking away from the vicious sting of their buzzsaw guitars and harsh (yet surprisingly understandable) vocals. It’s true that many Viking and black metal bands have run with this same sonic and conceptual masterplan laid down by Bathory on Blood Fire Death in 1988, but Vreid succeeds by bringing forth progressive elements without sounding forced or contrived. “Slave” is the most extreme example, with a recurring march-style drum beat that leads into ballad-like verses with acoustic guitars and clean vocals, eventually building up to a well-crafted guitar solo near the end of the song. Similarly mind-bending are “The Sound Of The River” and “The Other And The Look”, both of which twist and bend Vreid’s sound in interesting ways. Not all vestiges of the band’s earlier work is lost, and “Welcome To The Asylum” and “Arche” retain enough brutality to help V seem like a progression. “Wolverine Bastards” is the only song to not scale the heights of the remainder of the album, but only enough to be a minor blemish on an otherwise masterful album. V is strong enough to vault Vreid to the upper echelon of progressive black metal bands, and I have no doubts that nothing but more praise and visibility will come to the band if they further evolve their sound in the manner shown here.

Vreid performs a co-headlining show with Kampfar on Wednesday, August 31 at Station 4 in St. Paul with support from Necronomicon, Enshrined, and Maledicere.

NEW CONCERT ANNOUNCEMENTS: SOIL, CHILDREN OF BODOM, DIAMOND HEAD, VREID, FIREWIND

The snow here will have melted by tonight, so get out for one of two great shows. Bay Area thrash masters Death Angel land in Station 4 in St. Paul with Daigoro, Deretia, Purified, and Lockgnar for an 18+ show. Across town in Medina, the Medina Entertainment Center will be hosting 80s phenoms Cinderella with support from Scarlet Haze. The Cinderella show is now sold out!

A few new shows at Station 4 in St. Paul were announced this week, including a couple mind-boggling, amazing bills. First up in this new round of shows is hard rockers from Chicago Soil on May 20 with Wrecking Day, Tepetricy, and Whither The Tide.

Children Of Bodom tops the bill with Devin Townsend Project, Septicflesh, and Obscura on July 5. This should be a crazy night, and this one is sure to sell out!

The most unexpected announcement in years comes from NWOBHM legends Diamond Head, who will be playing on August 24 together with Girlschool, Al Atkins (former Judas Priest vocalist), and Hydrogyn. This could be the only opportunity to ever see Diamond Head, so don't miss this!!

A night of black metal will be had on August 31 with Vreid, Kampfar, and Enshrined.

Lastly, Firewind returns to Station 4 on October 19 with a full-throated bill that includes Arsis, White Wizzard, Nightrage, Havok, Cwn Annwn, and Under Eden.

Vreid, Kivimetsän Druidi Concert Review

Heathenfest – Eluveitie, Belphegor, Alestorm, Vreid, Kivimetsän Druidi

Monday, November 9, 2009

Station 4, St. Paul, MN

No promotion existed for Century Media recording artist Kivimetsän Druidi, so I was surprised to see this Finnish band on stage as I entered the venue. I only caught the last couple of songs, but the band seems to have an interesting, powerful take on folk metal. Their female singer is certainly captivating on stage, and her high trills and dancing kept the audience’s attention. Kivimetsän Druidi was well-received for an opening act, so maybe we’ll get the chance to see them again soon.

Norway’s Vreid next took the stage, and this black metal outfit was the reason I came out to this show. Both in attitude and style, Vreid comes across as militaristic, hatefilled-steamroller. Their aggressive, confrontational demeanor caught the audience by surprise, but the response was enthusiastic. The band had a generous 40 minutes or so, and used it to maximum advantage in showcasing material from throughout the catalog on their first tour of the United States. “Speaking Goddamnit” and “Milorg” from 2009’s Milorg album were featured. It was a little surprising that the set wasn’t heavily slanted from Milorg, instead, older songs such as “Raped By Light” and “Pitch Black” were placed alongside a few other catalog tracks. All in all, Vreid put forth a powerful display of their talents and seemed to win over a large number of converts this night.

Home duties called, so unfortunately I was required to take an early leave and missed the remainder of the show. The entire lineup of Heathenfest was quite diverse and the attendance was excellent for the early part of the show that I caught, so hopefully more interesting tours like this will be coming through the Cities in the near future.

Click on the photos to see more pictures of Vreid (6) and Kivimetsän Druidi (3).