FEAR, EMPTINESS, DECIBEL: IMMORTAL AND ABSU VENTURE INTO THE WINTER WASTELAND
Before there were blogs there were these things called magazines, and the only metal magazine we still get excited about reading every month is Decibel. Here’s managing editor Andrew Bonazelli…
So, Immortal and Absu are doing a six-city quickie on this side of the pond in February — pretty cool that it’s not just the usual “three exclusive dates in Manhattan/Brooklyn” deal, but venturing into metal-friendly winter wastelands like Baltimore, Chicago and Denver. (I’m not saying anything positive about Pittsburgh ever, much less the week before the AFC Championship.)
Anyway, it doesn’t take a lazy, jaded music “journalist” like yours truly to reinforce the notion that the only thing better than seeing an amazing band who rarely plays the States is seeing an amazing band who rarely plays the States for free. And not just for free, but free after winning a completely arbitrary lottery contingent on you buying something! That’s just the opportunity that Immortal, Decibel and Nuclear Blast are offering for the following stateside six-pack:
2/19 – New York, NY – Gramercy Theatre (16 & older)
2/20 – Baltimore, MD – Sonar (all ages)
2/21 – Pittsburgh, PA – Mr. Small’s Theatre (all ages)
2/22 – Chicago, IL – Bottom Lounge (17 & older)
2/24 – Denver, CO – Summit Theatre (all ages)
2/26 – San Antonio, TX – Backstage Live (all ages)
Go here and snap up a copy of our Black Metal Hall of Fame Issue, featuring a six-page oral history on Immortal’s 1999 classic, At the Heart of Winter. You’ll be entered in a drawing to win two spots on the guest list for any one of the aforementioned gigs. There will be one winner per show, and said winner cannot opt out for the cash equivalent. Note: If you’ve already purchased the issue, you’re automatically eligible to win tickets.
Speaking of Immortal (horrible transition alert), you won’t be seeing their 1997 platter Blizzard Beasts in a dB HOF anytime soon, but you just may see it in our blog’s recurring Wednesday morning column, “Justify Your Shitty Taste.” I contributed a defense of Ministry’s Filth Pig this week — an album that I’m pleased and confounded to find that people actually tolerate 15 years later — and next week we’ll have our first contribution from a musician. Maybe someday— who knows — we’ll actually get a musician to defend his own album.
-AB
Regardless of whether or not you have shitty taste, you should check out the February 2011 issue of Decibel — or, better still, just go ahead and get a full subscription to ensure that you never miss an issue!
