Authors: Ricky Vigil
Cobra Skulls @ Kilby Court
To put it bluntly, Cobra Skulls—their name, logo, music and everything they entail—are completely bad ass. Hints of psychobilly, reggae, country, ska and good old rock n’ roll all influence their music, but Cobra Skulls play pure punk rock that is smart enough not to take itself too seriously. … read more
Anamanaguchi @ Urban Lounge
Meet Anamanaguchi: a Brooklyn-based band who substitute amps for old-school Nintendo systems, creating a rockin’ symphony of blips and bloops that sound like what might happen if Ratatat fucked a Game Boy–but in a good way. I had seen live videos of pasty-skinned, acne-covered kids losing their shit at Anamanaguchi shows, so I was excited to see these guys play at Urban. … read more
Bitter and Then Some: Touche Amore Interview
Welcome to the first edition of Bitter and Then Some, the latest in a series of weekly metal blogs brought to you by SLUG. This week we have an interview with Touche Amore, whose second album was released on June 7th via Deathwish and who will be in town on June 13th. Also included are a rundown of this busy week full of events, blog exclusive reviews, relevant videos and links to streaming music. … read more
Bitter and Then Some: Liturgy Interview
Welcome to the second installment of Bitter and Then Some, bringing you the falsest of false metal on a non-regular basis! This week we have an extended interview with the controversial Brooklyn-based black metallers Liturgy, a very sparse rundown of metal events happening this week and a few blog exclusive reviews from SLUG’s own Dylan Chadwick. … read more
Smoking Popes @ In the Venue 07.12
Snatched up by a major label in the wake of Green Day’s mainstream breakthrough, The Smoking Popes are one of the great under-appreciated punk bands of the ‘90s. They took the basic blueprint of Lookout! Records pop punk and filtered it through the romantic and soulful vocals of crooners like Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett, creating a sound that is truly their own. … read more
Bitter and Then Some: All Pigs Must Die
This week we have an interview with Kevin Baker of All Pigs Must Die, who are releasing their full-length debut via Southern Lord on August 16. Also included is a rundown of this week’s metal happenings around Salt Lake, a stream of the new singles collection from screamo pioneers Pg.99 and extended reviews of new albums from Ringworm and Harm’s Way by Dylan Chadwick. … read more
Napalm Flesh: Heartless Interview
Welcome to yet another edition of Napalm Flesh. This week we have an interview with Pittsburgh hardcore crew Heartless. Also included are excluxive reviews of music from The Afternoon Gentlemen, Cradle of Filth, The Dead Lay Waiting, Hummingbird of Death/Titanarum, and Untimely Demise. And, as always, we have a rundown of this week’s metal happenings in Salt Lake and beyond. … read more
Bitter and Then Some: Raves and Reviews
Welcome to this week’s edition of the SLUG Mag metal blog! This week, we’re crammed full of reviews for your reading pleasure. We have extended reviews of the latest releases from Pro-Pain and Vader as well as exclusive reviews of new releases from Atriarch, Ghost Brigade, Mournful Congregation, Protest the Hero, Trivium and War Hungry. Also included is a listing of this week’s metal happenings around Salt Lake and links to some unexpectedly aggressive music streaming from NPR. … read more
Napalm Flesh: Deafheaven Interview
This week we have an interview with yet another band taking black metal to uncharted territory: Deafheaven. Their mixture of black metal, hardcore, shoegaze and post-rock is one of the most interesting and fresh spins on aggressive music to emerge in the last year. We also have links to streaming music, reviews of new and recent releases from The Body & Braveyoung, Old Silver Key, Opeth, Midnight Odyssey, True Widow and Warbringer, as well as this week’s rundown of metal events. … read more
OFF! Interview with Keith Morris
The vast majority of punk rock legends are either dead or boring. Keith Morris is neither of these things. Morris’ new band OFF! takes punk back to its angry, simple roots, and in the process has raised the bar not only for Morris’ fortysomething comrades, but for punk rock musicians of all ages. I got the chance to speak with the dreadlocked one in advance of OFF!’s performance in Salt Lake City this Friday, October 7. … read more
Napalm Flesh: East of the Wall interview
Welcome to another edition of Napalm Flesh. This week we have an interview with New Jersey prog-sludgers East of the Wall, who will be in town this Saturday at Burt’s Tiki Lounge. We also have reviews of new albums from The Body, Charnel House, Heartless, Megadeth, Sick of It All and Speedwolf. And, as always, we have a rundown of this week’s metal events happening in Salt Lake and beyond. … read more
Napalm Flesh: Crucial Fest Preview
This week, we have a quick preview of Crucial Fest, the local music festival that kicked off last night and runs through this weekend and next. With dozens of local and national bands of multiple genres playing at various venues throughout Salt Lake, it is truly an exciting event for our city. Also included are reviews of Homewrecker, Lord Mantis and Pleasant Living, and this week’s metal happenings. … read more
