Taiwanese extreme metalists ChthoniC—fresh from a tour of duty with Ozzfest and currently in the midst of their first-ever North American headline shows, which precede a brief tour with Cradle of Filth—have confirmed their first batch of fall European tour dates. For you non-international metalheads, ChthoniC are fresh off the international re-release of 2002s Relentless Recurrence and have been melting faces across America with their unique style of symphonic black metal….(yea, you read that correctly. In fact ChthoniC may...

Spencer Krug, he of Wolf Parade and Frog Eyes and Swan Lake (and, since he is Canadian, may very well be a secret member of Broken Social Scene. I think they all are, even my Canadian cousins from Alberta), is gearing up to release the latest Sunset Rubdown album Random Spirit Lover, out Oct. 9th on Jagjaguwar. Somehow, the man has found time to tour and show off his new pretty baby to North America. He's even hitting Saskatoon! All...

So once upon a time, The Gossip were going to put out a live album. That live album was going to hit streets in November, and the band was going to tour in support of said live album with The Long Blondes and Panther (not The Panthers, or Pantherz, but Panther. It's easy to get them all confused). But then the live album got delayed, so touring in support of a non-existent album didn't seem to hold too much water....

It can't be reunion time all the time. Sometimes a man like Mr. Black Francis has to take to the road and make sure everyone remembers life after The Pixies. And so, in support of tomorrow's Bluefinger, the bald gentleman will do fourteen dates up and down the west coast. Why the change back to the Pixies-era moniker? "I privately went back to the old stage name, if that even makes any sense, almost as a joke," explains Black Francis....

Yes, the double disc. Long the subject of great musical controversy and many a late-night beard-scratching debate, the double record is either an artist's magnum opus or their bloated excess. However, if there is one thing that can be agreed upon by both sides, it is that these dubious discs are connected by a unique kinship. Undoubtedly, it is this: "You know, man, this would have been way better as one record." Surely every double player has endured this criticism...

Ah, vinyl. There’s a certain bent appeal and romance in the mental image of a grooved, black disc spinning on a turntable. The debate regarding which medium sounds better (records vs. compact discs) may never be solved as there are convincing arguments on both sides, but like John Cusack said in High Fidelity—“fetish items are not unlike porn” and Magnificent Sevens Records exists to cater to that group of audiophiles who get a thrill out of a record’s warmer, truer...

For those that know the band or have even a passing knowledge of the American underground music scene that came around in the 1980s, there is a portion of the Butthole Surfers’ history, recorded output and lore that is incredibly tantalizing. The backstory goes like this: formed in 1981, Austin’s Butthole Surfers gradually built a cult following on the strength of spectacularly orchestrated (not necessarily on purpose, mind you) and wilfully perverse live performances (outlined in dripping Technicolor in Michael...

Sea Wolf will celebrate the arrival of his long-anticipated debut LP, Leaves in the River (Dangerbird Records), with a performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Tuesday, September 25, day of release. The revered storyteller, along with band, recently returned from a second stateside jaunt alongside Silversun Pickups and will embark on a tour with Nada Surf later this fall. Before heading out, the L.A. locals have been tapped to perform their orchestral indie pop alongside French superstars Air, at The Greek...

Oakland, California’s Sleepytime Gorilla Museum teeter into the theatrical prog while still resting in everything from near-classical compositions to chug-chugging metal anthems, and then retreat back into softly spoken studies into “black math” (where 1+1 is, in fact, 0) and the Futurists vs. the Unabomber. Drummer/percussionist Matthias Bossi and vocalist/guitarist/etc Nils Frykdahl thought it commodious and eye opening to welcome Ground Control on the SGM bus (a converted mid-80s full length complete with a sleeping area,...

"Retreat! Retreat!" somebody shouted, and followed by several other people. No, it wasn't an order, but it's a song title from 65 Days Of Static, the band from Sheffield, England who made their way to Bottom Of The Hill, San Francisco. It's probably 65 Days Of Static's most well-known song, thanks to its air share on MTV2. 65 Days Of Static has been hailed as the new Mogwai with their soft-loud, crescendo sound. What sets them apart from other imitators...