[NEWS] Minus the Bear Readies "Omni"

As the list of great bands currently prepping new records for release this year increases, Minus the Bear's newly announced 5th studio record has to be towards the top of the list of most anticipated. The lovable and extremely talented Seattle quintet has a new record label in Dangerbird Records, and has set May 4th as the day the newly deemed "Omni" hits stores. "Omni" is produced by Grammy Award-winner, Joe Chiccarelli (The White Stripes, My Morning Jacket), and from the sound of the new single "My Time" it seems the band's sound has taken a slight left turn. "My Time" features Dave Knudson's new toy, a Japanese omnichord synthesizer, and boasts more or less a touch of R&B flavor. Interesting change of pace, but undeniably Minus the Bear. I'm itching to hear the rest, but can these guys really do any wrong at this point? Minus the Bear will be out at Sasquatch this year, which is of course excellent news. You can listen to "My Time" below or download the new track and pre-order the album in various formats at minusthebear.com.

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[NEWS] Melvins Announce "The Bride Screamed Murder"

If you knew me you'd know that right about now the hugest shit eating grin ever known to man is plastered across my bearded mug. Why?? The MELVINS will release their new album, "The Bride Screamed Murder", on June 1 via Ipecac Recordings. "The Bride Screamed Murder" is the third release featuring Buzz Osborne, Dale Crover and BIG BUSINESS's Coady Willis and Jared Warren, and like I mentioned before the foursome will make a stop as Showbox at the Market July 6th. Also, the word on the street is that much like their 25th anniversary gigs from 2009, the Melvins will play two sets. Tickets onsale now via ticketbastard for actually a very reasonable 17 bones.

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[VIDEO] The Lights' "Famous Gunshots" @ Funhouse

I guess time flies when you're having fun, because I just realized I forgot to post this video from The Lights' record release show. Seattle's own The Lights have just released a fine fine slab of garage rock n' roll upon the world entitled "Failed Graves". They celebrated by throwing a little party, and by putting on one heck of a performance for an almost sold out and now deaf Funhouse crowd a couple Friday's ago. The local trio revealed the great new material in front of a kick ass projection backdrop that featured older concert footage expertly mixed with on-the-spot live footage in such away that it seemed like we were watching a vintage 60's or 70's concert dvd. Kudos to the person behind that brilliant idea. Take a cue from me and pick up The Lights' new LP, you'll be glad you did. Opening was the flamboyant and entertaining Erik Blood as well as Partman Parthorse, whose just about naked frontman all but lived up to his reputation by once again performing without a single shred of self-conscienceness.

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[PODCAST] Rock Guy Cast Vol. 9

Podcast by Matt Abramson

We at Seattle Rock Guy are expanding our blogging horizons and the means by which we spread great music in new ways in 2010. One of which is with the launch of our weekly podcast series "Rock Guy Cast".

Matt's got another killer cast for you this week, ripe with tasty nuggets and a few sweet left field surprises. The cast is now available for download-- So click the little arrow on the player, throw the sucker on your portable music device and away you go. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer**
We realize that there may be copyright laws out there concerning podcasts and the subsequent usage of music without asking permission first. We may not get around to asking every time, but rest assured that we are operating under only the best of intentions here at SRG. If you represent an artist and listen to our podcast, and it offends you that we are talking about and/or playing their music, then email us. Remember we are on your side. Rock!

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[VIDEO] The Dillinger Escape Plan's "Farewell, Mona Lisa"

We at SRG are pretty stoked about the new DEP record being released March 23rd, entitled "Option Paralysis". We are equally as stoked for DEP's return to Seattle on Saturday April 10th at El Corazon. Very few bands are as vociferous or visually stunning in a live scenario as The Dillinger Escape Plan, and so of course it should prove to be one hell of an evening. Below is DEP's brand new video for "Farewell, Mona Lisa", and on March 9th they will release another new track entitled "Chinese Whispers", so look for that as well. Enjoy!

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[FROM THE CRATES #16] The Cure - Pornography (1982)

Review by Matt Abramson

The Cure - Pornography
(Fiction 1982)

I am not a huge Cure fan. In fact, I make it a point to mercilessly mock hardcore (male) Cure fans that I encounter. The Cure have made some solid fuckin' tunes though, and a couple really solid albums to boot. Most folks will point to 'Disintegration' as the standout in their catalog

(Extensive paragraph-interrupting side note: here’s a classic example of a band and an album getting tagged by the masses because of a huge commercial hit - "Love Song" was on 'Disintegration'. This mentality about music is completely retarded. It's like associating Judas Priest solely with "Breakin' the Law". If a band lasts longer than a couple albums, their catalog deserves consideration. However, there is a huge exception for bands like The Rolling Stones, U2 and AC/DC that should have hung it up long ago but continue to crap out fuckin' sellout commercial shit records.)

but 'Pornography' and the Ross Robinson-produced eponymous 2004 album (very much worth a listen as well) are the real winners.

'Pornography' is an album marked by violent disassociation colored with visceral sonic texture. The album opens with the frantic, mechanical drums and dizzying noise guitar of "One Hundred Years". From there it's all drums that aren't washed out in lame digital reverb (unlike most albums in the 1980s) with guitars and bass completely drenched in flange and modulation effects. Many of the sounds are uniform throughout, but presented in such a thoughtful matter (claustrophobic drums, harsh treble-heavy bass) that they do not ever seem repetitive. The songs brood like only The Cure can, yet feel markedly introverted instead of whiny. Robert Smith's "oh help me I am such a poor little injured English fellow" wail functions more as a support and counterpoint to the instrumentation than vice versa. I should give Robert Smith a little more credit for badassness though, legend has it he was so strung out on smack that he has no recollection of writing or recording any of the record.

The production on ‘Pornography’ is so in tune with its themes of isolation and utter weirdness that it's almost spooky. This is even more so on the 2005 remastered version, which remains true to the original but sounds much clearer and louder - as any respectable remaster should. The unusual blend of cello, synths and almost trashy-sounding drums (possibly recorded at double speed then played back normally to create a slow, murky drawl and add to the overall sensory disinformation that permeates the album) on "Cold" works better than most would think. By the time you reach the title track, which is also the final track, everything is completely inside-out and foreign. The album ends disturbingly in a frantic avalanche of backward tape edits and gradual total noise saturation which builds to a sudden cut off. 'Pornography' is a dark, fucked-up drug album and an entirely strange head space altogether.

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[SHOW ALERT] Iron Maiden Returns to White River June 22nd!

Iron Maiden w/ Dream Theater - June 22nd, 2010 @ White River Amphitheater!

Official word:

IRON MAIDEN ANNOUNCE NEW STUDIO ALBUM "THE FINAL FRONTIER"
AND NORTH AMERICAN TOUR

IRON MAIDEN are pleased to announce that their forthcoming new studio album will be called 'THE FINAL FRONTIER', and is expected be released late summer of this year.

The announcement comes with news of a North American Tour with Very Special Guests Dream Theater to open in Dallas, Texas, on 9th June and finish in Washington D.C. on 20th July, making it Maiden's most extensive North American tour in many years.

Following these shows in USA and Canada The Final Frontier World Tour will travel back to Europe for a few selected major festival and stadium shows with the band planning to continue to many other countries in 2011 (full currently confirmed dates below).

The full Live Nation North America press release for the North American Tour is posted here.

An exclusive pre-sale allowing members of the IRON MAIDEN fan club first access to tickets to the North American Maiden Shows will be made available two days prior to them being available to the public.

Tickets for the Canadian shows will go on sale to the public on Saturday 13th March at 10am PST (10am EST for Toronto and 12 noon EST Montreal).
Exclusive first access to the tickets will be available to IM fan club members on Wednesday 10th March at 10am PST through to Thursday 11th March at 6pm PST (EST for Toronto).
Regretfully due to technical reasons an exclusive Pre-Sale in Montreal is not possible.

Tickets for the US Shows will go on sale to the public on Saturday 20th March at 10am EST.
Exclusive first access to the tickets will be available to IM fan club members on Wednesday 17th March at 10am EST through to Thursday 18th March at 6pm EST

As IRON MAIDEN are actively dedicated to ensuring their fans always have access to the best possible tickets at the fairest possible price, without being subject to scalping for good seats, so many North American shows will operate, at least in part, a paperless ticket policy: More information on Ticketmaster Paperless Ticketing can be found here

To give IRON MAIDEN fan club members a privileged insight to their touring world, IMTV will return to www.ironmaiden.com to cover THE FINAL FRONTIER WORLD TOUR. This exclusive footage includes regular video from the live shows, touring, band interviews, insights into our crew and what they do and much much more. The website will also feature exclusive tour diaries, exclusive photographs and anything else that helps the fans get a real insight into the dynamics of a big tour.

**THE FINAL FRONTIER 2010 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR**
With Very Special Guests Dream Theater

Tour dates for the Iron Maiden/Dream Theater run are as follows:

June 9 – Superpages.com Center – Dallas, TX
June 11 -The Woodlands - Houston, TX
June 12 - AT&T Center - San Antonio, TX
June 14 – Fiddler’s Green – Denver, CO
June 16 – The Pavilion (formerly Journal Pavilion) - Albuquerque, NM
June 17 – Cricket Wireless Pavilion – Phoenix, AZ
June 19 - San Manuel Amphitheatre – San Bernardino, CA
June 20 – Sleep Train Pavilion – Concord, CA
June 22 – White River Amphitheatre – Auburn, WA
June 24 – General Motors Place – Vancouver, BC
June 26 – Rexall Place – Edmonton, AB
June 29 – Credit Union Centre – Saskatoon, SK
July 3 – Molson Amphitheatre – Toronto, ON
July 7 – Bell Centre – Montreal, QC
July 9 – International Summer Festival – Quebec City, QUE
July 11 – PNC Bank Arts Center – Holmdel, NJ
July 12 – Madison Square Garden – New York, NY
July 14 – Post Gazette Pavilion – Pittsburg, PA
July 15 – Blossom Music Center – Cleveland, OH
July 17 – DTE Energy Music Theatre – Detroit, MI
July 18 – First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre – Chicago, IL
July 20 – Jiffy Lube Live – Washington, DC

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