Tour Dates

MI sponsors MARDUK headlining tour w/NACHTMYSTIUM – you better be there!

MARDUK are coming! For real this time. They have their visas and everything. We are proud to be sponsoring this killer tour which will also feature one of our favorite bands around right now, the mega-epic NACHTMYSTIUM. Rounding out the lineup will be Mantic Ritual, Merrimack and on select dates, Brooklyn's own Black Anvil. This is yet another killer lineup. There seem to be a lot of really good shows happening during the remainder of 2009, so I suggest everybody start saving now. This is surely not one to be missed. Full dates after the jump… (more…)

Blackendfest Show Recap

MAYHEM at Station 4 in St. Paul, MN – the day after Blackenedfest dissolved

Mayhem live @ Station 4

As Mayhem brought Blackened Fest to St. Paul, MN on June 9, 20009, the vibe was unexpectedly and unfortunately even more somber than one would have hoped for the return of some of Norwegian black metal's reigning elite. After already suffering the crippling blow of a late visa-related cancellation from Marduk before the tour began, the rest of the lineup except for Mayhem (Cephalic Carnage, Cattle Decapitation, and Withered) were forced to cut the trek short the night before St. Paul due to a variety of complications described by Justina V. already. Whether or not Justina's indictment of Mayhem's responsibility for the festival's implosion is accurate or not, I'm not here to argue. However, I certainly can understand her resentment as a fellow Metal Injection reporter (non-roving, based in MPLS) and someone who was on the opening band's guestlists that never arrived. To put it shortly, it was a huge bummer to be greeted with the cancellation announcement sign as I walked in, and it made me skeptical I'd even enjoy what was now becoming an expensive evening for me (although, I must admit, the ticket price was actually slashed to 1/2 the original cost for those who bought advanced tickets, and refunds and free tickets to next week's Absu show were being offered to attendees – in other words, the venue was graciously being overly apologetic for the unfortunate circumstances).

While performances from Cattle Decap, Cephalic Carnage, Withered, and Marduk would never occur, Mayhem pushed on alone, against the odds and advice of financial experts, carrying the torch of blackness alone on the remaining dates of a now-solo headlining tour. Playing to a crowd of devoted Twin Cities extreme metal faithful, Mayhem's blistering, theatrical black metal combined with a choice selection of local supports bands eventually succeeded and won over the dejected. (more…)

Blackendfest Dispatches from the Van

Exclusive: The Demise of Blackened Fest

Note from Editor: Blackened Fest is no more. Cephalic Carnage, Cattle Decapitation and Withered have dropped off. Mayhem will now complete the rest of the dates alone. We sent roving reporter Justina Villanueva on the road with this summer's darkest tour, Blackenedfest. She was on the front-lines as the entire tour came to a halt and sent in this report describing what has gone down. See her previous updates and a ton of photos at the Blackened Fest hub

I had my only Almost Famous moment of this tour in Denver, Colorado. We were not exactly in a descending plane but it definitely felt like we were. I watched Blackened Fest collapse within a matter of several hours. It wasn't a short run of a tour but it's demise was very short notice to the people involved.

Just after Withered left the bus to start their set, Cartel (tour manager) came onto the Cephalic/Withered shared mobile home to announce, "Guys, tonight might be the last night of the tour." He started inquiring about who were the unnecessary people on the tour so he could free up bunk space. This included Sid, Leonard's (Cephalic vocalist) son, and Chuck, Nick's (Cephalic's bassist) brother. Because we were in Denver, Cephalic's home, the question at hand was easy to seal away: two free bunks. But, two free bunks doesn't solve the extra 6 people still on Marduk's money-swallowing bus. At that point in the night I knew one bus would be sent home and maybe some crew (most likely me too). But, I didn't expect the actual outcome: a Mayhem only tour. (more…)

Blackendfest Dispatches from the Van

BLACKENEDFEST DAY 13: Men In Black Roam Hollywood's Streets

Hellhammer (center) waiting for parking lot bbq after the Alburquerque show.

The Blackened Fest tour (minus Marduk) has arrived at the House Of Blues on Sunset Blvd. I'm skipping through the last couple of days, which have been great shows and great times. Including when Beau and I got too drunk to find our way out of a parking lot less than a block away from the buses (or our mobile homes). Yesterday the bands had a day off. While Mayhem was living it up at the beach, Cephalic Carnage and Withered spent a spectacular miserable day at Ontario Mall. But, its okay. We're in Hollywood, now, where twatbags who don't do research can write for the LA Weekly… (more…)

Blackendfest Dispatches from the Van

DAY 1: MAYHEM IN NEW YORK CITY

We sent roving reporter Justina Villanueva on the road with this summer's darkest tour, Blackenedfest. She will be checking in constantly with dispatches from the tour. Catch up with all her tour diaries, as well as a ton of photos at the Blackenedfest hub.

Day 1

First lesson of the tour: If the tour manager gives you a photo pass, don't loose it.
I got to Irving Plaza 5 hours after I said I would have. After spending hours staring at my luggage because I could not do the whole toiletry Tetris shuffle, I spent 90 minutes in traffic. By the time I got to the venue I was on another planet. Which explains why when Cartel (tour manager) handed me my photo/crew pass I put it "somewhere" and didn't see it for the rest of the night. And, because a tour laminate is not good enough for Irving Plaza crew to recognize someone as part of the tour, I had to run around during Lair of Minotaur looking for Cartel to fix my mess. But, don't worry, Lair of Minotaur will be catching up with the tour again in a couple weeks. I'll get pictures of them then.

Marduk
Everyone on the tour (bands and crew) have heard different stories and has begun to speculate their own version of what could be the issue. Including the ol' "maybe they're not even a real band" joke. All I can tell anyone is that I really don't know when/if they will join the tour. (more…)

Blackendfest Dispatches from the Van

Day 0: Blackened Has Only Just Begun


Dear America,

Mayhem has arrived. Today marks the first day of the Blackened Fest tour. And also the first day of an installment of (almost) day reports from the road, as I embark on a dark trip throughout the US in a bus with one of the 5 bands on this tour. For me the last two days have been a hectic stream of running errands and shooting shows. For Mayhem the last two days have only been a stepping stone for perfecting just how they will "infect" America. (more…)

Free Swag The Hook Up

Win A Pair of Tickets to BLACKENEDFEST (Mayhem, Marduk, Cephalic Carnage) – A Winner For Every Stop!

Win Tickets To BlackenedfestYou know that when Metal Injection sponsors a tour, we hook up our junkies, and Blackendfest is no different. The trek, which features the inventors of grim, MAYHEM along with MARDUK, CEPHALIC CARNAGE, CATTLE DECAPITATION and WITHERED will make its way across the country (and into Canada) and we're giving away a pair of tickets to each stop. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post, copying and pasting the date and location for the show you'd like to attend, and feel free to include a sentence with a goofy reason for why should win. But hurry up, this contest only lasts one week. We will be picking winners next weekend…

May 21 – The Fillmore at Irving Plaza – New York, NY
May 23 – Ground Zero – Spartanburg, SC
May 24 – Club Firestone – Orlando, FL
May 26 – Numbers – Houston, TX
May 27 – The White Rabbit – San Antonio, TX
May 28 – Chic’s – El Paso, TX
May 29 – Sunshine Theater – Albuquerque, NM
May 30 – Clubhouse – Tempe, AZ
May 31 – House of Blues – San Diego, CA
June 2 – House of Blues – Hollywood, CA
June 3 – DNA Lounge – San Francisco, CA
June 4 – Hawthorne Theater – Portland, OR
June 5 – Studio Seven – Seattle, WA
June 6 – Knitting Factory Concert House – Boise, ID
June 7 – Cervantes Masterpiece – Denver, CO
June 9 – Station 4 – St Paul, MN
June 11 – House Of Blues – Chicago, IL
June 12 – Peabody’s – Cleveland, OH
June 13 – The Majestic Theater – Detroit, MI
June 14 – The Opera House – Toronto, ONT
June 15 – Les Foufounes Electriques – Montreal, QC

Tour Dates

MAYHEM returns to the U.S. in '09 with MARDUK, CEPHALIC CARNAGE, CATTLE DECAPITATION

blackenedfestMetal Injection is extremely honored to annouce that we are sponsoring BLACKENEDFEST, the 2009 return to the U.S. by black metal legends MAYHEM. Along for the ride is the equally awesome MARDUK as well as CEPHALIC CARNAGE, CATTLE DECAPITATION and WITHERED. Seeing as though we are sponsoring this tour, you can expect our usual ticket giveaway to each stop very shortly! For now, check out the tour itinerary and get your battle axes ready. Tickets go on sale this Friday, 2/13.

5/21/09 New York, NY @ The Fillmore at Irving Plaza
5/22/09 Baltimore, MD @ Sonar (Maryland Deathfest) (Tickets)
5/24/09 Orlando, FL @ Club Firestone (Tickets)
5/26/09 Houston, TX @ Numbers
5/27/09 San Antonio, TX @ White Rabbit (Tickets)
5/29/09 Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theater
5/30/09 Tempe, AZ @ Clubhouse (Tickets)
5/31/09 San Diego, CA @ House Of Blues (Tickets)
6/2/09 Hollywood, CA @ House Of Blues
6/3/09 San Francisco, CA @ DNA (Tickets)
6/4/09 Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre (Tickets)
6/5/09 Seattle, WA @ Studio Seven (Tickets)
6/6/09 Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory Concert House (Tickets)
6/7/09 Denver, CO @ Gothic Theater (Tickets)
6/9/09 St Paul, MN @ Station 4
6/11/09 Chicago, IL @ House Of Blues (Tickets)
6/12/09 Cleveland, OH @ Peabody's
6/13/09 Detroit, MI @ The Majestic Theater
6/14/09 Toronto, ON @ The Opera House
6/15/09 Montreal, QC @ Les Foufounes Electriques

Newer Entries »