RED FANG @ THE LARIMER LOUNGE 6/14/12 DENVER-CO

Red Fang play down-tuned blues-fueled psychedelic rock with a touch of sludge metal. They formed in Portland in the mid-00’s and they release the stoner rock gem “Murder The Mountains” full of haunting melodies, pummeling drums, floor-shaking bass, catchy vocals and heavy metal riffs. A pure assault of beer-soaked, head banging rock!

THE GATES OF SLUMBER @ THE LARIMER LOUNGE 6/11/12 DENVER-CO

“From the time of the seven kings, Til the tyrants iron rule, Fate written with the stroke of steel, Broken spear in bloody pool, Roman will must be fulfilled, Drumbeat on a march to war, The slave collar for those not killed, Their hollow screams ring evermore”

Mournful cries, crawling bass, galloping riffs and drums, pure doom metal is what The Gates Of Slumber play. Formed in the late 90’s in Indiana, they’ve released several masterpieces of heavy, slow, crushing doom like “The Wretch” “Hymns Of Blood And Thunder” and “Conqueror.” Doom Shall Rise!

Also playing: Hail!Hornet – sludge metal from North Carolina and Black Sleep Of Kali – stoner/sludge metal from Colorado.

NEEDFUL THINGS @ BLAST-O-MAT 6/08/12 DENVER-CO

Blast beat, barks and growls, heavy distorted down-tuned guitars, songs that are seconds long but brutal as hell and pure abrassive rage is what Needful Things play. Formed in the mid-90’s, they hail from the land of Pilsners and goulash, the Czech Republic. They have released many splits, compilations, ep’s and one full album that I know, “Dead Point.” Satan Zije!

ACROSS TUNDRAS @ 3 KINGS TAVERN 6/05/12 DENVER-CO

Across Tundras are a band from Tennessee that play stoner-infused western sludge rock. They’ve been playing since 2004 and have released several albums of melancholic melodies and slow americana grooves like “Dark Songs Of The Prairie” “Sage” “Western Sky Ride” and “Old World Wanderer” pure psychedelic dark country.

THE CULT @ THE OGDEN THEATER 5/30/12 DENVER-CO

“Black hearts of devils in the night, Mean streets rage me up to fight, I’m a lover but I’ve been known quick to strike, You think you know me, oh, but you’re never right”

TOXIC HOLOCAUST @ THE MARQUIS THEATER 5/28/12 DENVER-CO

“Hear the air raid sirens that warn you of your death, Close your eyes, say goodbye, and take your last breath, Turn this place to rubble, a city turns to ash, Nuclear fire will turn the sand to glass, Bombers bringing death with every fly ahead, Total fucking holocaust, everyone’s dead, Death and destruction is all you’ll ever known, Living in the ashes that you once called home”

GOES CUBE @ 3 KINGS TAVERN 5/25/12 DENVER-CO

“You ask me why, I won’t forgive, Cos I hold grudges, People never change”

Goes Cube play a heavy, intense and powerful mix of metal, punk an alt-rock. They’ve released two masterpieces “In Tides And Drifts” and “Another Day Has Passed” these albums are full of melodic remarkable harmonies, brutal hardcore moments, lowly-tuned guitars, dizzying drum fills and the vocals change from gentle tones to harsh howls.

Also playing: Exotic Animal Petting Zoo – experimental metal from Indiana.

THE BODY @ BLAST -O- MAT 5/23/12 DENVER-CO

“Hands fail, Hearts fail, as babies born, as corpses dead, Vaguely alive with arms that forgot how to hold, To pray for the death of all that breathes, The awful journey that led to this, To tear away this fleshy veil, A body, empty”

FEAR FACTORY @ THE SUMMIT MUSIC HALL 5/19/12 DENVER-CO

“God raped souls, of our lives, Hammers crush all our lives, just like clockwork, They’ll crush our lives”

Fear Factory plays harsh, technology dominated death metal. Formed in L.A. in the late 80’s they been releasing excellent albums like the raw, inhospitable industrial masterpiece “Soul Of A New Machine” “Concrete” “Mechanize” and their newest (welcome back Dino) “The Industrialist.” Their music is cold and calculated, it projects an image of desolation and freezing darkness, they use low tuned riffs very mechanic and hammering with atmospheric synthetizers, insane bursts of double bass drums, apocalyptic sounding vocals that create abrasive up-tempo chaos and harsh industrialist soundscapes like large machinery grating the bones of humans in a factory.

EDWARD KA-SPEL & THE SILVERMAN @ THE WALNUT ROOM 5/18 & 5/19 2012 DENVER-CO

“Capsule was diving, the temperature rising, Was hardly surprising his tears turned to steam in the blink of an eye, Just the hint of a cry, Baby knew he was dying, he knew he had failed, And the mountainside opened, a moment to pray for all the souls he’d come to save, Now he couldn’t save himself, that’s the way the world goes round, it spins so fast, it made him giddy, Sucking all the power from the Silver Man”

Edward Ka-Spel and The Silver Man are The Legendary Pink Dots, if you try to distinguish between both projects you probably will fail. Mr. Ka-Spel’s voice is distinctive, quite charming and musical, his songs at times sound a bit disjointed and leaned toward beautiful sound collages and a lot of strangeness. They have released about 30 studio albums, many live lp’s, singles an EP’s of dark psychedelic folk noise with haunting, heavily echoed keyboards, random samples and oceans of feedback. Their songs go through phases between surreal soundscapes an actual songs and are extremely offbeat and full of explorations. Prepare to take a journey through a world of insane, demented noise and haunting, strange and beautiful psychedelia.