WAR OF AGES Announces Headlining Tour

Christian metal band War Of Ages, from Erie, Pennsylvania, will hit the road in October on a headlining tour through the Midwest and South that brings them to Station 4 in St. Paul on Thursday, October 14. This is a package tour entitled "The Project AK-47 Tour" that also features The Color Morale, The Great Commission, Legend, and The Contortionist. War Of Ages is touring to support their fourth album, Eternal (Facedown Records). The full list of dates is:

October 8 - Edinboro, PA, The Hangout

October 9 - Kettering, OH, The Attic Club

October 10 - Cleveland, OH, Peabody's Down Under

October 11 - Detroit, MI, Magic Stick

October 12 - Chicago, IL, Bottom Lounge

October 13 - La Crosse, WI, Warehouse

October 14 - St. Paul, MN, Station 4

October 15 - South Bend, IN, Church Of Heartland

October 16 - St. Louis, MO, Fubar

October 17 - Little Rock, AR, The Village

October 19 - Douglasville, GA, The 7 Venue

October 20 - Augusta, GA, Sector 7G

October 21 - Lynchburgh, VA, Crosspoint Venue

October 22 - Fredericksburg, VA, The Refuge

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GENITORTURERS Returns To St. Paul

Alright, I'm back from another business trip and need to pass along some recent show news over the next couple of posts. First, industrial sex metal band Genitorturers will bring their depraved mayhem to Station 4 in St. Paul on Friday, November 5 according to the Station 4 website. The support bands will be Sweden's Sister Sin, Mary Magdalan from Los Angeles, and local bands Apocalypse Theater and Kali Yuga. I haven't seen news of any another Genitorturers shows, but presumably this will be part of a tour that will launch immediately following their headlining appearance the Guavaween Festival in Tampa on October 30. Aside from band leader Gen, Genitorturers of course also features Morbid Angel bassist and vocalist David Vincent (Evil D). Stay tuned for some crazy stories from past Genitorturers shows!!

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PRIMUS From The Vault

The ever-entertaining Primus is back together and hits the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis tonight. I dug out an old flyer and ticket stubs from a few of times that I've seen Les Claypool and crew.

First up is a flyer from Primus' first national tour right around the time that their debut album, Suck On This, was released in 1989. Believe it or not they played Gabe's Oasis in Iowa City, Iowa with fellow San Francisco transplants from Iowa City, Sonic Disruption Theory (SDT, Suburban Death Trip), and the beautifully named Iowa Beef Experience. Despite only holding about 200 people in the middle of nowhere, Gabe's used to get some great shows. I remember seeing all kinds of cool alternative metal and punk bands there such as Smashing Pumpkins (before they had released anything), Melvins, Das Damen, Bullet Lavolta, The Four Horsemen (with glam band Wildside!), Swingin' Teens, House Of Large Sizes, Babes In Toyland, L7, Animal Bag, Rights Of The Accused, Helios Creed, Voodoo Gearshift, Sludgeplow, The Cows, Helmet, and many others. I actually helped Wildside load their gear for a free pitcher of beer. Nirvana even played Gabe's on the Bleach tour. Anyways, I had a couple friends that were really tuned into the underground metal scene, and we went to check out Primus solely because they had a couple guys from Blind Illusion. This show might even have been before Suck On This was released. This is no doubt a legendary Gabe's show, and Claypool has been known to randomly shout "Gabe's!" during other, later shows they played in Iowa.

Of course, Primus went on to great things, and I didn't see them again until the end of the Pork Soda tour when they opened for Rush on the Counterparts tour in Moline, Illinois at The Mark of the Quad Cities in 1994. An odd pairing to be sure, but it worked. Despite having a population much larger than Iowa City, the Quad Cities (two cities each straddling the Mississippi River in Iowa and Illinois) didn't get many shows. Other shows I remember going to in the Quad Cities from 1987–1994 include Grim Reaper/Armored Saint/Helloween, Billy Squier/Blue Murder/King's X, Flotsam And Jetsam/Prong/Butt Lynt, Faith No More/Helmet, Jane's Addiction, and Megadeth/Stone Temple Pilots.

Probably the best Primus show I saw was on the Tales From The Punchbowl tour in 1995 at Memorial Hall in Kansas City. Former fIREHOSE frontman Mike Watt opened the show. The band was at the top of their game and played a great selection of songs.

The next time I saw Primus was on the Ozzfest in 1999 in San Bernardino, California. They really seemed out of place there, but it was still a great show. I have some great pictures from that show, but I haven't had the chance to scan some in yet. Which brings me to the last time I saw Primus in 2004. I was in Washington, DC on a business trip, and a friend (who had recently moved to Virginia) and I caught this show together. This was a cool show because there was no opening band, and after a brief set they played Sailing The Seas Of Cheese in its entirety. Primus always puts on a great show, so get to their concert tonight if you have the chance.

Primus plays tonight, Friday, October 1 at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis. Supporting Primus will be Portugal The Man and Split Lip Rayfield.

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One Year Anniversary

Twin Cities Metal turns one year old today! Quite honestly, the site has taken off to a much greater extent than I expected and I'm grateful for the support shown by all the readers, regular visitors, bands, promoters, and press contacts. I'm amazed at the visitor statistics from all over the world, especially considering I have little to no time to active promote the site. The number of visitors to Twin Cities Metal continues to steadily grow every month, and it's gratifying that I continue to reach new readers. The feedback I have received from everyone has been nothing but positive.

It's been a fun journey for me in adapting what I used to do in print format to the web. I have a very time-demanding day job, and I maintain the site solely because I love hard rock and metal and hope to help foster a strong music scene in Minnesota. By my count, the past year has seen 266 posts (22.2 per month), 64 album reviews (5.3 per month), and 23 concert reviews (1.9 per month). As I've become accustomed to regularly updating the site I've begun to feature interviews and additional news items about bands playing in the Twin Cities. No major changes are planned for the immediate future, but I do intend to incorporate more band interviews.

Thank you for your interest in Twin Cities Metal, and I appreciate your continued support. If you like what I'm doing, all I ask is that you bookmark the site, tell your friends, spread links through email, Facebook, or Twitter, follow me on Twitter, or simply stop by on a regular basis. Cheers!

October 3 BLACK LABEL SOCIETY Gig Moved To Epic

The Roy Wilkins Auditorium website has posted an announcement that the Black Label Society concert scheduled for this Saturday, October 3 at the St. Paul venue has been moved to Epic in Minneapolis. All tickets will be honored, and Clutch, Children Of Bodom, and 2Cents will still open the show.

This is undoubtedly bad news since obviously ticket sales were slow for the 4,000-5,000 seat Roy Wilkins Auditorium, as indicated by moving this to the much smaller Epic nightclub. I've always hated the "long-room" layout of Epic (formerly the Quest Club), with its view-obstructing pillars lining the length of two sides of the floor. On the upside, it's always great to see bands in smaller venues but Epic is a less-than-desirable venue.

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Judas Priest's "The Hellion" Used In Honda Commercial

During the brief amount of football I had the chance to watch yesterday, the glorious chords of "The Hellion" by Judas Priest caught my ear. Turns out that Honda created a TV ad for their Odyssey SUV that features "The Hellion" and a lot of pyro to highlight its sound and entertainment system. It's actually a pretty cool ad, but I agree with the guy that posted this on YouTube that Priest should have been on the car's video screens! Check it out.

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CHRISTIAN MISTRESS Album Review

Christian Mistress – Agony & Opium

20 Buck Spin, 2010

8/10

Hailing from Olympia, Washington, Christian Mistress is a new band out to make their mark with a debut album that evokes the spirit and sound of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM). Agony & Opium also reminds me at times of Ample Destruction-era Jag Panzer. Much is being made of the album’s defiantly low-tech sound, but don’t mistake that for a poor-sounding record. Rather, Christian Mistress has successfully captured a raw, energetic sound that fits the music. With six songs that clock in around 28 minutes, this is the type of short album that I wish more bands would make. Fans of Thin Lizzy and obscure NWOBHM bands will definitely lust after Christian Mistress. “Black Vigil”, with its NWOBHM-type boogie, and “Desert Rose”, which features thumping rhythm and plenty of lead guitar leads, are my personal favorites. Opening track “Riding On The Edges” sets the tone for the album with its fast beat and catchy guitar line. Twin guitar leads and solos are prominent throughout, especially on “Home In The Sun” and “Omega Stone”, a somber song that builds into a massive guitar solo that brings fire to the remainder of the track with a fast riff. “Poison Path” is the weakest track here, but it’s not a bad song, either. The haunting vocals of Christine Davis really set Christian Mistress apart, and the echo on her tracks lends a unique air to Agony & Opium. It took me a few listens to fully appreciate what Christian Mistress is trying to achieve on the album, but now that it has sunk in I like Agony & Opium much more that I initially did. If you appreciate the sound of late 70’s/early 80’s British metal, Agony & Opium should be considered mandatory listening.

Christian Mistress performs Saturday, October 2 as direct support to Thrones with Seawhores at the Turf Club in St. Paul.

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Stolen KATATONIA Guitars Recovered By St. Paul Police

Sweden's Katatonia posted yesterday on their website that the two guitars stolen from Station 4 in St. Paul on Saturday, September 18 have been recovered by the St. Paul Police. The band states that "We won't get into the murky ugly details right now as the priority was and is that we get them back on the road for our shows and then onto the competition winners, so let's celebrate that for now while the police continue to do their job." It sounds like the investigation is ongoing, and this is certainly great news for the band.

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DIVINITY Embarking On Canadian Tour

For the Canadian readers, the technical death metal band Divinity is about to set out on a Canadian tour to promote the release of their second album, The Singularity. This is one amazing album! The Singularity is hands down one of the best technical death metal albums to come out in some time. The band released the album themselves at the end of 2009, and it was recently given a proper release through Candlelight Records. Get the album, and if you live in Canada get to one of these shows! The best that US fans can do is if you happen to live in Detroit and can make it to the show in Windsor. Here's the complete list of current Divinity tour dates, and I've embedded their "Beg To Consume" video to view.

September 25 - Calgary, AB, MacEwan Hall, Noctis IV Festival

September 30 - Chicoutimi, QC, Le Bunker w/Beneath The Massacre

October 1 - St-Hyacinthe, QC, Bar Le Trash, Trash Metalfest w/Beneath The Massacre

October 2 - Victoriaville-Warwick, QC, Salle Du Canton w/Beneath The Massacre

October 3 - Québec, QC, L'Impérial De Québec w/The Black Dahlia Murder, Goatwhore, Arkaik

October 4 - Rimouski, QC, L'Aprés-Match w/Dischord

October 6 - Saint John, NB, Sunstar Lounge w/Panic And War

October 7 - Sherbrooke, QC, Bar Le Magog w/Deciet's Embrace

October 8 - Montreal, QC, Foufounes Electriques w/Endast

October 9 - Toronto, ON, Hard Luck Bar w/Hallow Die

October 10 - Windsor, ON, Coach And Horses w/Goliath, Reasons Lost

October 11 - London, ON, Moon Over Marin w/ Darkness Rites

October 12 - Guelph, ON, Club Vinyl w/Terrorhorse, Darkness Rites

October 13 - Brantford, ON, Ford Plant w/Terrorhorse, Darkness Rites

October 14 - Cambridge, ON, The 515 Concert Club w/Terrorhorse, Darkness Rites

October 15 - Trois-Rivieres, QC, Batisse Industrielle, Metalfest 10 w/Depised Icon, Misery Index

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Two Great Local Shows This Weekend

There's certainly a huge number of national and international bands coming to town in the next couple of months, but you shouldn't forget about the killer local metal bands we're fortunate to have here. There's two great local shows coming up this weekend that you should make every attempt to attend.

Tomorrow, Friday, September 24, there's a rare metal show at Star Bar & Grill in Columbia Heights. Ill-Gotten, Alation, Ugly Beauty, and Bloodtrust are all on the bill. I'm a big fan of Alation (demo review and update, show review w/video and pictures), and I'm looking forward to seeing them again. I haven't seen the other three bands yet, so it should be a fun night.

On Saturday, September 25, local Metal Blade recording artist Epicurean returns to live action at Robert's in Mounds View. They've lined up an equally heavy bill with Dying Euphoria, A Moment Without, Iron Thrones, and North Sky. It's been a while since Epicurean has played live, and they're billing this as their "comeback show". Hopefully we'll get the chance to hear some new songs they've been working on for their second album. If you were planning on going to Kamelot on Saturday, head out to Robert's instead since Kamelot has postponed their show.

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