Halifax hardcore outfits Thousand Knives and Helsreach as well as Cape Breton powerviolence group Fear and Filth have announced an East Coast tour centered around the upcoming Heavy NFLD Fest 2024. The bands will be performing at a preliminary show in Halifax on July 17th before making their way to the island of Newfoundland for several shows between Corner Brook and St. John’s.
The dates are as follows:
Wednesday, July 17th, 2024 @ Stillwell Brewery – Halifax, Nova Scotia (Wet / Dry)
Friday, July 19th, 2024 @ Retro Arcade and Sports Bar – Corner Brook, Newfoundland (All Ages)
Friday, July 19th, 2024 @ Retro Arcade and Sports Bar – Corner Brook, Newfoundland (19+)
Saturday, July 20th, 2024 @ The Rockhouse – St. John’s, Newfoundland (19+)
Sunday, July 21st, 2024 @ Pavlov’s Electric Verandah – St. John’s, Newfoundland (All Ages)
The first round of band announcements for this year’s edition of Heavy NFLD Fest is here! We’re proud to bring you three touring acts from our neighbours in Nova Scotia to the island in 2024. Coming to you from Alba Nuadh are the hardcore / metalcore outfit Thousand Knives from Halifax, the death / thrash metal-infused hardcore outfit Helsreach, also from Halifax, and the powerviolence quartet Fear and Filth, hailing from Cape Breton.
Along with this announcement we’re happy to bring you a reveal of which shows are happening where. On Friday, July 19th, there will be an all ages show as well as a 19+ bar show at Retro Arcade and Sports Bar in Corner Brook. That same night we’ll be having a 19+ bar show at The Rockhouse featuring a slew of local metal outfits. On Saturday, July 20th, the touring bands from Nova Scotia will be performing at The Rockhouse supported by local hardcore and powerviolence acts. Following that up on Sunday, July 21st, we’re going to have an all day all ages bonanza at Pavlov’s Electric Verandah.
Stay tuned as more announcements for which local bands will be taking part in this year’s fest, and follow the Heavy NFLD Fest Instagram (@heavynfldfest) to stay up to date with announcements as they roll out!
St. John’s blackened / experimental hardcore outfit The Order of the Precious Blood has revealed the posters and full lineup announcements for the remaining three gigs of their upcoming Maritime tour at the end of April.
On April 26th the band will be in Miramichi, New Brunswick performing at The Shred Shed alongside Moncton death metal / grindcore outfit Ibex and Miramichi local hardcore punks Ten Dollar Meat Bags.
On April 27th the band will be in Moncton, New Brunswick at Xeroz Arcade Bar and will be joined once again by Ibex as well as stoner punks Yhorm from Sussex, New Brunswick.
On April 28th the band will be in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia at The Bitten Moon Pub alongside Breakneck, Great Value, and Nova Scotia powerviolence / hardcore outfit Fear and Filth.
St. John’s blackened / experimental hardcore outfit The Order of the Precious Blood have announced a new tour. Coming up this April, this marks the band’s second excursion off the island since their formation. The group will be playing a series of shows across Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick.
The tour dates are as follows:
April 19th, 2024 @ Peter Easton Pub – St. John’s, NL
April 20th, 2024 @ Gower Street United Church – St. John’s, NL
April 25th, 2024 @ Radstorm – Halifax, NS
April 26th, 2024 @ The Shred Shed – Miramichi, NB
April 27th, 2024 @ Xeroz Arcade and Bar – Moncton, NB
April 28th, 2024 @ The Bitten Moon – Glace Bay, NS
The band will be joined by the following acts on each date:
Peter Easton Pub: Kaspam Cult, Of the Black, Killer 9000
Radstorm: Pale Ache, Pavel Stroke, Thousand Knives
The supporting acts for the Miramichi, Moncton, and Glace Bay dates have not yet been announced and there are no posters for these dates as of yet either.
Here are the posters for the two St. John’s dates and the Halifax date:
2023 has been over for a little over a month now so I think it’s time we took stock of all the cool stuff and not so cool stuff that happened over the course of the last year. Let’s dive in!
This year was another rough year for businesses as both Bar None and The Abbey were forced to shut down, nixing two venues for live music and other events from the underground music community in St. John’s. Aside from that, things got rougher as members of the music community mourned the loss of Will Hapgood, the owner of The Deck who passed away suddenly earlier in 2023. His loss sent shockwaves throughout the community and resulted in an enormous show happening at the Bowring Park Amphitheater to celebrate his life and memory.
An absurd amount of new music was released throughout the year, perhaps more so than any year prior since I’ve been involved in this scene. A slew of new records from bands like The Skeats and Category VI were joined by a cavalcade of EPs from the continuously exploding hardcore punk crowd that seems to churn out new bands at the same frequency that rabbits reproduce.
There were also a ton of mainlander bands who came through Corner Brook and St. John’s this year, including Montreal black metal bands Akitsa and Infernach, Halifax d-beat warriors Black Dog, long time Newfoundland expats Brutal Youth, Montreal hardcore group Deadbolt, New Brunswick stoner punks Diner Drugs, Montreal death metal power trio Obelisk, Toronto thrashers Ammo and Californian NWOTHM upstarts Night Demon, as well as Halifax deathcore ensemble Pale Ache. For a province that sees precious few touring acts pulling through, this past year was exceptionally great.
We also held the very first edition of the Heavy NFLD Fest this past year! This was something that was a long time coming, and has always been my ultimate goal for this project, so finally seeing it come to fruition was a triumph. We’re hoping to do it again this year so stay tuned for Heavy NFLD Fest Vol. II!
Here’s hoping that this year brings with it more good news and less of the bad. Here’s to a kickass 2024.
Biggest Stories – Bar None Closes Its Doors – Big Space Win Jazz Recording of the Year at the ECMAs – Da Slyme Wins Music NL ‘Loud Artist of the Year’ Award – The Deck Renamed to Pavlov’s Electric Verandah – Friends Hold Raffle for Sheavy Frontman Steve Hennessey’s Recovery Following Cancer Diagnosis – Grenadier Release Trumpets Blare in Blazing Glory on Vinyl – Heavy NFLD Fest Vol. I – Ken Power Tattoo Company Reopens at New Location – Lawnya Vawnya 13 Announces Lineup – Madison Strip Calls it Quits – Memorial Show for Will Hapgood to Happen at Bowring Park Amphitheater July 9th – Precious Blood Announce 2023 Maritimes Tour – Precious Blood and Da Slyme Nominated for Music NL Loud Artist of the Year – R.I.P. Will Hapgood – Stanley’s Pub Now Hosting Heavy Metal Karaoke Nights – Triskelyon Signs to Moribund Records – Triskelyon Resigns to Moribund Records in Two-Album Deal – Yes, Officer Signs to Scilly Cove Records
Come from Aways – Akitsa and Ifernach to Perform at The Rockhouse in September with Grole and Grenadier – Black Dog (HFX) to Play at First Light CPAC on July 15th – Brutal Youth to Return to the Rock for Two Shows in August – Deadbolt to Play The Rockhouse & First Light CPAC on September 8th and 9th – Diner Drugs to Play The Deck and The Abbey on May 12th and 13th – Mistwalker and Øbelisk Announce 2023 Tour with Shows in St. John’s, Corner Brook, and Glovertown – Night Demon and Ammo to Perform at the Bella Vista Events Venue on August 25th – Pale Ache Announce Fall Tour Including Multiple Dates in Corner Brook and St. John’s – Slaughter, Quiet Riot, and Great White to Perform at Iceberg Alley Performance Tent 2023
New LPs Released – 6000apez – January 12 – Beereaucracy – Beereaucracy – Beereaucracy / Catshit – Split – Brutal Youth – Rebuilding Year – C.A.R.E. – Creating a Righteous Energy – Category VI – Firecry – Chris McGee – The Strange Ritual of the Golden-Faced Man – Count Cromulent – Thrillhouse – Desperta – Desperta – Falter – Salt in the Soil – First Frost – It’s Dangerous to Go Alone – Lithops – ((BendeR)) – Mike Fisher – Diary of a Psychic Vampire – Mistwalker – Oceanic Heritage – Mistwalker – Under the Fallen Sky: 10 Years in the Mist – Needle Crafts – Frow’d Up – Neko Suicide – Bound by Chains and Ripped in Half – Neko Suicide – Midtown – Neko Suicide – St. Georges, Hell 3:00 AM – Nfrared – Under the Stairs – The Skeats – The Skeats IV – Triskelyon – Artificial Insanity – WXO – Waxsongs – Zack St. John’s – Prince of Fogtown – Zackary Anderson – Graveyard Filled with Snow
New EPs Released – 6000apez – Farmlife – 6000apez – Glauchoma! – 6000apez – Mule Touch – Adam Sharr – To the Woods – A Body Without Organs – Broken Terminal III: Milk Blood – Bog Rot – Sex, Drugs, Bog N’ Roll – Canvas – Down Horrendous – Carnage – Free at Last – Cerebral Palsy – Seas of Bloody Mist – Chimp Apparatus – Sober – compareyourself – Mary and the Misanthropic Buzzard – Cortex Strikes Back – Cortex Strikes Back – The Crevice – 11th Hour / Valley of Flies – Foundation Chain – Sanrio-core – Fucked to Death – The Penile Code – Glitterglue – Friends Club – Jaded Truth – Bitter – Knarl – Bad Luck – Lil Dirtbag – It’s Been Too Real – Love Letters to Lewis – Letter One: Vemödalen – Mistwalker – Pumpkinsmasher – Mistwalker – War on Christmas – Neko Suicide – Cross – Ninth Quarter – Below Knee – Nuclear Casket – Irascible – Of Wilds – A Ghost at the Strid – The Order of the Precious Blood – I No Longer Wish for Salvation – Pouch Dweller – Goes to the Movies – Ratpiss – Misanthropy Now! – Roach Smoking Buddies – Roach Smoking Christmas – Sex Hole – Kill or Be Killed – Shit Dildo – Odes to the Fecal Phallus – Skreeched In – Skreeched In – Smoke Signals – Send Me Flowers While I’m Still Here – Sons of an Eastern Moon – Borealis – Winterhearth – Beyond the Frosted Graves – Winterhearth – Rape of Eden – Wiremouth – EP2 – WXO – Albert Rolling Down the Magical Infinite Hill
New Singles Released – Amer Ali – “Face in the Clouds” – Amer Ali – “Forever” – Amer Ali – “Never Say I Don’t Care” – Artach – “Black Metal Drummer Boy” – Artach – “Hell on Halloween” – Bonewing – Assorted Singles – Category VI – “Firecry” – Cerebral Palsy – Assorted Singles – Chimp Apparatus – “Garfield” – Choplicker – “Brigandine” – Choplicker – “Heliouroboros” – CR – “Last Address” – Dendron – “The Glass Spire Redux” – Disposition – “Decomposed” – Disposition – “Slow Haze” – Drop Your Trust – “Hacked” – Drop Your Trust – “Think for Yourself” – Elder Caius – “Alien Space Bats” / “From Below” – Elder Caius – “Kailash, When It Rises” – Everose – “Flourish” – Ex Press – “The Island” – Guntmold – “Menstrual Shark” – Guntmold – “Munging” – Guntmold – “You Suffer” [Napalm Death Cover] – Homesick N’ Wanderlust – “When I Grow Up” – Jaded Truth – “Bottom of the Bottle” – Jaded Truth – “Samsquanch” – Jaded Truth – “The Shake-Up” – Last Cigar – “Pitchforks” – Love Letters to Lewis – “I, the End” – Needle Crafts – “Worried Sick” – Neko Suicide – “2015” – Nemophilist – “Aurora” – Nemophilist – “Failure, Goodbyes. Isolation” – Nemophilist – “Put Me on a Ship That is Sinking” – Nemophilist – “Tragedy and Loss Never Known” – Nerve Shack – “Ash” – Nerve Shack – “Forever in Your Lie” – Nerve Shack – “Yellow Teeth” – Nfrared – “Betrayed for the Better” – Nfrared – “Innocent Criminal” – Nfrared – “Piece of Mind” – The Order of the Precious Blood – “Suffer and Die” – Qyn – “Ideologue” – Rot – “Rupture” / “Delight” – Sex Hole – “Stay Out of My Way” – The Skeats – “Fine Wine” – The Skeats – “Torch” – The Skeats – “Twitch” – So Violento – “Elegia Moderna” – Sought – “Samqwan” – Sought – “Valorous Asinus” – This Day – “Euphoric State” – Triskelyon – “Visionaires” – Vertebraeker – “Buried Again” – Winterhearth – “Winter Punks” – WXO – “A.I. Instincts”
New Demos Released – 6000apez – The Consequential Mudhole – Bazooka – Demo 2022 – Beereaucracy – Vote for Us – Blender – D03s 1t Bl3nd? – Choplicker – Rollercrisis – Disciplinary Action – Floor Demo 2023 – Doberman – Shed Demo ’23 – Glitterglue – Shed Demo ’23 – Guntmold – Guntmold – Kicker – Kicker Demo – Kris Butt – Old Path Demos – Life Jolt – Floor Demo ’23 – Malpractice – We Don’t Go to Church – Nerve Shack – Sheep Kill – Paranoia – Paranoia – Vehement Slaughter – Demo – Vomit Denial – Demo ’23 – Wannabe Erudite – Remembered Demos – Winterhearth – The Rehearsal Session
New Compilations Released – Aeria – The Deadman Collection
New Live Albums Released – Defense Force – Live Like Death – Killer9000 – Live at The Deck 02/11/23 – Malpractice – Live June ’89 – Smoke Signals – Live at The Rockhouse 01/28/23
New Music Videos Released – Artach – “Hell on Halloween” – Beereaucracy – “Beerboarded” – Category VI – “Coven” – Category VI – “Valkyrie” – Hakapik – “Don’t Make Me Laugh” – Jaded Truth – “Bottom of the Bottle” – Jaded Truth – “Riders” – Jaded Truth – “The Shake-Up” – Jaded Truth – “Worthless Meek” – Nerve Shack – “Forever in Your Lie” – Nerve Shack – “Yellow Teeth” – The Order of the Precious Blood – “Bastard! Rejoice!” [Live] – The Order of the Precious Blood – “X You Out”
Album Announcements – Artach – Untitled New LP – Bog Rot – Untitled New EP – Da Slyme – If There’s No Rubble, You Haven’t Played! – Grole – Untitled New LP – Guntmold – Blackened Infection – The Hellfire Club – Volume III – Jaded Truth – Bitter – Mistwalker – Oceanic Heritage – Nocturnal Prayer / Funeral Fullmoon – Disciples of the Moonlight Worship – The Order of the Precious Blood – I No Longer Wish for Salvation – Qyn – Untitled New Release – Riproar – Untitled New Release – The Skeats – The Skeats IV – Smoke Signals – Send Me Flowers While I’m Still Here – Triskelyon – Artificial Insanity – Wendigo – Untitled New Release – Winterhearth – Rape of Eden – Yes, Officer – Untitled New LP
Live Sets Filmed – Bazooka – Live Set @ Peter Easton Pub – December 23rd, 2022 – Defense Force – Live Set @ The Dank Basement – August 17th, 2023 – Dendron – Live Set @ The Rockhouse – August 19th, 2023 – Everose – Live Set @ The Rockhouse – August 18th, 2023 – InfectDead – Live Set @ The Rockhouse – August 18th, 2023 – Jaded Truth – Live Set @ The Rockhouse – August 19th, 2023 – Kaspam Cult – Live Set @ Gower Street United Church – August 19th, 2023 – The Mill – Live Set @ The Corner Pocket – August 16th, 2023 – Mistwalker – Live Set @ The Dank Basement – August 17th, 2023 – Mistwalker – Live Set @ The Rockhouse – August 18th, 2023 – Mistwalker – Live Set @ The Rockhouse – August 19th, 2023 – Needle Crafts – Live Set @ Peter Easton Pub – December 23rd, 2022 – Obelisk – Live Set @ The Corner Pocket – August 16th, 2023 – October Wasp – Live Set @ The Corner Pocket – August 16th, 2023 – Shit Dildo – Live Set @ The Dank Basement – August 17th, 2023 – Sick Puppy – Live Set @ Peter Easton Pub – December 23rd, 2022 – The Skeats – Live Set @ The Rockhouse – August 19th, 2023 – Tunnel Vision – Live Set @ Peter Easton Pub – December 23rd, 2022 – Wretched Fiend – Live Set @ The Dank Basement – August 17th, 2023
New Merch Drops – Artach Reveal New T-Shirts – Everose Reveal New Patches – Fog Coffin Reveals New Pins – Fog Coffin Reveals New Stickers – Grole Reveals New Hoodies – Grole Reveals New T-Shirts – Guntmold Reveals New Stickers – Heavy Metal Karaoke Reveals New Stickers and Pins – Metaphora Reveal New T-Shirts + Other Merch – Mir Reveals New T-Shirts – The Order of the Precious Blood Reveal New T-Shirts – Ratpiss Reveal New Black on White Patches – Ratpiss Reveal New White on Black Patches – Sea Shanty Studios Now Offering Patch Services – The Skeats Reveal New Hats – Skreeched In Reveal New Patches – Smoke Signals Reveal New Circular Patches – Winterhearth Reveal New Diamond Patches
Album Reviews – Category VI – Firecry [by Akhenaten] – Count Cromulent – Thrillhouse [by Akhenaten] – Dead Inner Youth – Dead Inner Youth [by Stephen] – Jaded Truth – Take a Seat [by Akhenaten] – Triskelyon – Triskelyon [by Akhenaten] – Vertebraeker – Spinal Sword [by Akhenaten]
EP Reviews – Bog Rot – Sex, Drugs, Bog N’ Roll [by Akhenaten] – Chimp Apparatus – Sober [by Akhenaten] – The Crevice – 11th Hour / Valley of Flies [by Akhenaten] – Glitterglue – Friends Club [by Akhenaten] – Foundation Chain – Sanrio-core [by Akhenaten] – The Order of the Precious Blood – I No Longer Wish for Salvation [by Akhenaten] – Ratpiss – Misanthropy Now! [by James Titford] – Ratpiss – Vermin Urine [by James Titford] – Sick Puppy – Haunt the Hill [by Stephen] – Skreeched In – Skreeched In [by Akhenaten] – Sons of an Eastern Moon – Borealis [by Akhenaten] – Winterhearth – Rape of Eden [by Akhenaten]
We also released twelve new episodes of the Heavy NFLD Official Podcast this past year. We did our typical installments such as the RPM Re-Cap in March, Heavy Halloween in October, and Merry Fucking Solstice in December, but we also had genre-specific episodes focusing on grindcore, hard rock, hardcore, and grunge. Other episode topics included focuses on metal and punk from Prince Edward Island, a smattering of new metal and punk released in Newfoundland and Labrador over the past year, bands who have come to Newfoundland from elsewhere in recent years, a re-cap of artists that my own band played with during the Atlantic Annihilation Tour, and a re-cap of the bands who played this past year’s installment of Heavy NFLD Fest. You can listen to all these and more on the Heavy NFLD Bandcamp which will be linked down below.
As usual life has gotten the best of me, and keeping up with these month in review segments has proven to be difficult. Yet, we maintain the structure. Here’s all the cool stuff that happened in September 2023. October and November review segments will follow suit throughout the week.
We also released the 58th episode of the Heavy NFLD Official Podcast in which we recapped all the bands that played at the very first installment of Heavy NFLD Fest. This episode was released on September 30th and features cover art created by Airline Bourbon. You can listen to this episode on Bandcamp and YouTube.
Albums Archived – Dirt Stache – Bitter IV: Smoke Break [Single / Post Hardcore] – Dirt Stache – Indecisive [Single / Post Hardcore] – Dirt Stache – Playing God [Single / Post Hardcore] – Dirt Stache – Salutations [Single / Post Hardcore] – Dirt Stache – Twelve Days of Xmas: As Told by Dirt Stache [Single / Post Hardcore]
On this episode of the podcast I take you through a journey of the killer local bands we played with while my band Mistwalker and our friends in Obelisk were on tour across the Maritimes!
Released August 31, 2023
All songs belong to the original artists. Podcast recorded by Greg “Akhenaten” Ravengrave.
Tracklist:
01. S.W.E.A.T. – “You Are Only Free When You Are Dead” 02. Tunt – “Obey the System” 03. Sedmi – “Grey” 04. Messe – “Sceance Tenante” 05. Ritual Warfare – “Alcohol and Misery” ~ Story Time ~ 06. Mutated Void – “Slash the Altar” 07. Medvsa – “Miserable” 08. Electrika – “Agonia” ~ Story Time ~ 09. Raped God 666 – “The Eyes of Hate” 10. Obelisk – “Maggot Christ”
On this episode of the Heavy NFLD Official Podcast we pay deference to those bands from the mainland who have deigned to make the treacherous and expensive trek eastward to the humble isolated hellhole we call home.
All songs belong to the original artists. Podcast recorded by Greg “Akhenaten” Ravengrave.
Tracklist:
01. Pale Ache – “Blood” 02. Obelisk – “The Architecture of Suffering” 03. Black Dog – “Gnashing of Teeth” 04. Ammo – “Too Metal for Metal” 05. Diner Drugs – “Under Fire” 06. Black Absinthe – “On Earth or in Hell” 07. Doom ‘An Blue – “Ran Down” 08. Deadbolt – “Natural Born Hater” 09. Mistwalker – “Frigid Lacerations” 10. Shit Dildo – “Throbbelisk”
Halifax metalcore / hardcore outfit Pale Ache are hitting the road this fall for several shows spanning the Maritimes between September and November. Among these dates are several shows in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Newfoundland dates are as follows:
Friday, October 6th in Corner Brook @ The Backlot (All Ages) w/ Dirt Stache, Paranoid
Friday, October 6th in Corner Brook @ Retro Arcade w/ Dirt Stache, October Wasp
Saturday, October 7th in St. John’s @ The Rockhouse w/ Smoke Signals, Knarl
Sunday, October 8th in St. John’s @ Erin’s Pub (All Ages) w/ Knarl, Chokeslam, Carnage
Joining the band for these Newfoundland dates is local metalcore stalwarts The Order of the Precious Blood, who just returned from their own Maritimes tour in August, during which they played multiple shows with Pale Ache.
Glovertown blackened heavy metal outfit Mistwalker, which has since relocated to Montreal, along with Montreal death metal / sludge metal trio Øbelisk, have announced a full three week tour of the Maritimes in August of 2023. The Atlantic Annihilation Tour will make its way through Eastern Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia before eventually making its way to Newfoundland.
The bands will perform in Corner Brook on August 16th at The Corner Pocket on West with local support from The Mill and October Wasp. They will then make their way to Glovertown on August 17th, Mistwalker’s hometown, where they will be joined by short sets from Defense Force, Wretched Fiend, and Nemophilist. The bands will then hit St. John’s for a series of three shows. Two of these shows will take place at The Rockhouse on the evenings of August 18th and 19th where the bands will headline both shows but play different sets each night. On the 18th they will be joined by Winterhearth, InfectDead, and Everose, while on the 19th they will be joined by The Skeats, Dendron, and Jaded Truth. On the 19th they will also play a matinee show at the Gower Street United Church alongside Bazooka, Sick Puppy, and Buck 50’d, courtesy of Barely There Media.
Full list of tour dates:
July 22nd – Montreal @ The Rat Trap w/ Beef Baron, S.W.E.A.T. August 4th – Trois-Rivieres @ Taverne Royale w/ Tunt August 5th – Quebec City @ Le Knock-Out w/ Sedmi August 6th – Rimouski @ Underground Rimouski August 8th – Fredericton @ Broken Record Bar and Music Room w/ Fogger August 10th – Charlottetown @ Howie’s Records w/ Omnivide August 11th – Halifax @ Radstorm w/ Ritual Warfare August 12th – Halifax @ Good Robot Brewing Company w/ Mutated Void August 16th – Corner Brook @ The Corner Pocket on West w/ The Mill, October Wasp August 17th – Glovertown @ Tucker’s Pit w/ Defense Force, Wretched Fiend, Nemophilist August 18th – St. John’s @ The Rockhouse w/ Winterhearth, InfectDead, Everose August 19th – St. John’s @ Gower Street United Church w/ Bazooka, Sick Puppy, Buck 50’d August 19th – St. John’s @ The Rockhouse w/ Dendron, The Skeats, Jaded Truth August 22nd – Yarmouth @ TBA August 23rd – Saint John @ McGill’s w/ Swarm of Pestilence August 25th – Sherbrooke @ Bar Le Magog w/ Raped God, Electrika
This tour is sponsored by Heavy NFLD, Geomorph Records, and Viridian Records.
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