Concert Review: WHITEHORSE, WAR MASTER, VULGAARI, and PESTIFERE in Minneapolis

Whitehorse, War Master, Vulgaari, Pestifere

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Triple Rock Social Club, Minneapolis, MN

Click on any of the pictures to see more photos of each respective band.

It seemed like a miracle to arrive early enough to a show to catch the local bands, and I’m sure glad I did. Pestifere from Minneapolis plays a more melodic style of black metal whose complexity and maturity took me by surprise. The band is currently mixing their first full album’s worth of material for release, so keep an eye out for this great, promising band.

Rising doom/sludge band from Minneapolis Vulgaari took the stage next, and proceeded to crush the growing crowd with a nice selection of tracks from their debut album. While it was a little disappointing that no new songs were debuted, hearing favorites such as “Lies” is always welcome. Although Vulgaari’s three-guitar attack may seem like overkill, you really can distinguish all three guitarists (Brent Hedtke, Todd Haug, and Zack Kinsey, who also handles vocals) playing distinct riffs that are mesmerizingly layered upon one another.

Houston’s War Master then stole the show with a frenzied, manic performance of their Bolt Thrower-inspired death metal. Although their music may lack some originality, War Master makes up for it with an energetic live show that proves these guys are the real deal. Vocalist Rahi had the crowd laughing between songs with his offbeat, growling banter, and even brandished a sword while chugging beers during part of the set. The band has a West Coast tour lined up in July, culminating in an appearance at the 2014 Grindcore Festival in Los Angeles on July 12, so don’t miss War Master if they play near you.

The crowd seemed drained following War Master, and Australia’s Whitehorse just couldn’t capture what energy the audience had left. Out to support the new Raised Into Darkness album, their slow, droning dirges left me bored. The band was putting their all into it with bear-like vocalist Peter Hyde bellowing from the depths of his imposing girth, but it wasn't enough to inspire much beyond grudging respect.

NEW MEDICINE Lands Opening Slot on 2014 Uproar Festival Tour, Completes New Record

The Uproar Festival Tour has announced the lineup and most of the dates for the 2014 version of this year's outing, and Minneapolis’s rising rock band New Medicine has scored a spot on the bill for the last five dates from September 11–21 (listed below, the complete itinerary can be viewed here). Other bands on the bill include Godsmack, Seether, Skillet, Buckcherry, Pop Evil, Escape The Fate, Redlight King, These Raven Skies, Tattered, and Sons Of Revelry. New Medicine will also participate in the Aftershock Festival in Sacramento, California on September 14.

Watch New Medicine perform a new song called "Desire Into Gold" on April 30, 2014 at Capone's in Johnson City, Tennessee.

In other band news, New Medicine posted to their Facebook page on June 12 that their new album for Imagen Records is complete:

“Just handed in the master recordings of our new record to our label!!! The record is officially DONE.”

September 11 – Post Falls, ID, Greyhound Park

September 12 – Seattle, WA, White River Amphitheatre

September 17 – TBA

September 18 – TBA

September 21 – TBA

Tours: THE CULT Adds New U.S. Dates, Minneapolis Show August 5

Rock band The Cult has added several U.S. shows to a short run of dates in August, including one on Tuesday, August 5 at Mill City Nights in Minneapolis. Tickets for Minneapolis go on sale through AXS this Friday, June 20 at 10:00 am; here’s the current list of North American dates for The Cult:

July 10 – Vancouver, BC, Commodore Ballroom

July 11 – Victoria, BC, Juan de Fuca Recreation Centre

July 26 – Riverside, CA, Riverside Municipal Auditorium

August 2 – Sturgis, SD, Buffalo Chip

August 3 – Sioux Falls, SD, The District

August 5 – Minneapolis, MN, Mill City Nights

August 7 – Royal Oak, MI, Royal Oak Music Hall

August 8 – Traverse City, MI, Ground Zero

August 9 – Chicago, IL, Concord Music Hall

August 12 – Huntington, NY, The Paramount

August 13 – Boston, MA, Wilbur Theatre

August 14 – Bethlehem, PA, Sands Bethlehem Event Center

In Concert This Week - June 17, 2014

Tonight, Wednesday, June 18, doom/folk band Agalloch from Portland will play Minneapolis at the Triple Rock Social Club in support of their new album The Serpent & The Sphere. Joining them will be psychedelic black metal band Obsidian Tongue from Massachusetts and Blood And Sun. Local brewery HammerHeart (yes, named in honor of the Bathory album!) will also release Serpensblod tomorrow, an ale inspired by Agalloch and described as “a dry, smoked red ale, including beechwood, cherry wood, and oak smoked malts, chocolate malt and a generous portion of rye with a mild hop presence, 8.34% alcohol by volume.” Tickets are $15 at the door, and it’s an 18+ show with doors at 8:00.

Fargo’s Egypt plays the Triple Rock Social Club on Thursday, June 19 with Witchden, Wicked Inquisition, and Flintlock. This is an 18+ show that starts around 8:00, and it’s $8 at the door.

Things then get insane over the weekend with a ton of shows in all manner of heavy musical styles. First, Extreme Noise Records in Minneapolis is celebrating their 20th anniversary with the second of three weekend’s worth of shows. The events start Friday, June 20 with a Twin Cities punk art show at the store, and Teenage Moods, Animal Lover, Miami Dolphins, and Rabbit Holes playing a free show at the Hexagon Bar in Minneapolis. Saturday, June 21 and Sunday, June 22 Extreme Noise takes over Memory Lanes in Minneapolis for record swaps that run from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, followed by all ages shows in the parking lot at 3:00 pm for $5 each day. Playing Saturday afternoon are Los Crudos, Organism (from Japan), Cleveland Bound Death Sentence, Mean Jeans, Banner Pilot, and Kontrasekt, and Sunday afternoon has Iron Lung, Lebenden Toten, Radioactivity, Frozen Teens, and Condominium. Saturday night (10:00 pm), Question, Gas Rag, Pillage, and Varix play a free show in the bowling alley. As if that’s not enough, Extreme Noise also has free shows at the Hexagon Bar Saturday and Sunday with Arms Aloft, Boilerman, The Crash Bandits, and The Okerlunds on Saturday, and Bad Sports, Real Numbers, Joust, and Hot Rash on Sunday.

Friday, June 20 also has Impaler, Exiles, The Regenerators, and Fatal Kaliber playing at the Amsterdam Ball & Hall, Lockgnar, Plagued Insanity, Invidiosus, and Time Destroyer at Big V’s Saloon in St. Paul, The Rope, Maledicere, Prostate, The Funeral And The Twilight, and Begrime Exemious at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis, and Mommy Sez No and Jolly Roger Bandits at the Red Carpet Keller Bar in St. Cloud.

On Saturday, June 21, the Terminal Bar in Minneapolis has a night of underground black metal billed as The Devil’s Coven II with Nyogthaeblisz and Hellvetron from Texas along with locals Masshu, Bestial Whore, and Volkeinblucht. This starts around 7:00, and it’s a 21+ show that’s $15 at the door. Also on Saturday, you can catch Nuisance, Dead Horse Trauma, Gabriel And The Apocalypse, and Ghost Hook at the Fine Line Music Cafe in Minneapolis, and 32Headshots, Left In The Lurch, and Dark Side at the Red Carpet Keller Bar in St. Cloud.

Tours: BLACK VEIL BRIDES to Embark on U.S. Tour, Play St. Paul October 24

Black Veil Brides have lined up a Fall American tour to coincide with the October 28 release date of their new album. No support acts have been announced at this time, and the bands rolls into St. Paul at Myth on Friday, October 24. Tickets for the St. Paul show are on sale now through AXS.

October 21 – Niagara Falls, NY, Rapids Theater

October 22 – Columbus, OH, The LC Pavilion

October 24 – St. Paul, MN, Myth

October 25 – Chicago, IL, Riveria Theatre

October 27 – Denver, CO, The Fillmore Auditorium

October 30 – Las Vegas, NV, House of Blues

October 31 – Tempe, AZ, The Marquee Theatre

November 1 – Los Angeles, CA, Wiltern Theatre

November 3 – San Francisco, CA, The Warfield

November 5 – Portland, OR, Roseland Theater

November 7 – Seattle, WA, Showbox SoDo

November 8 – Spokane, WA, Knitting Factory

November 9 – Boise, ID, Knitting Factory

November 10 – Salt Lake City, UT, The Complex

November 12 – Kansas City, MO, Uptown Theater

November 14 – Indianapolis, IN, Egyptian Room at Old National Centre

November 15 – Royal Oak, MI, Royal Oak Music Theatre

November 16 – Cleveland, OH, Agora Theater

November 17 – Pittsburgh, PA, Stage AE

November 19 – Philadelphia, PA, The Electric Factory

November 21 – Stroudsburg, PA, Sherman Theater

November 22 – Worcester, MA, Palladium

November 23 – New York, NY, Best Buy Theater

November 26 – Portland, ME, State Theatre

November 28 – Clifton Park, NY, Upstate Concert Hall

November 29 – Silver Spring, MD, The Fillmore

December 2 – Louisville, KY, Expo Five

December 3 – Atlanta, GA, The Tabernacle

December 4 – Orlando, FL, House of Blues

December 5 – Charlotte, NC, The Fillmore

December 6 – Norfolk, VA, The NorVa

December 8 – Grand Rapids, MI, Orbit Room

December 9 – St. Louis, MO, The Pageant

December 11 – Houston, TX, Bayou Music Center

December 12 – Dallas, TX, South Side Ballroom

December 13 – San Antonio, TX, Backstage Live

December 15 – Albuquerque, NM, Sunshine Theatre