Hi and welcome to this week’s Crunch. I guess the big news in metal this week is the restructure at Roadrunner Records by label owner Warner. Roadrunner has done great things for metal for over 30 years now, and the folks at Roadrunner Australia are so dedicated to and passionate about rock and metal. They really understand what it takes to work with and for a metal audience, and I sincerely hope, for the sake of remaining Roadrunner Australia staff and Warner, that this understanding continues under the restructure. And best of luck to those who have lost their jobs due to the restructure.
The Tea Party Return To Melbourne!
It’s been a long time since they rocked and rolled: reformed Canadian legends The Tea Party reformed for some shows in their homeland last year, and it went so well that they’re back, baby! Their seven-year hiatus is broken (but don’t let that dissuade you from checking out the awesome Jeff Martin 777 album The Ground Cries Out from last year). The Tea Party play at The Palais on Saturday July 14 – my birthday! How did you guys know? More info at The Palais website and Ticketmaster. See you there!
Gig Alert: King Parrot
King Parrot return with their infamous live show on Saturday May 5 at The Bendigo Hotel on Johnston St in Collingwood. They recently released a live video for the song Psychotherapy and Valium which will give you a good idea of what to expect: raucous moshing, booze, violence, hilarity and heavy as hell, balls to the wall metal. Joining them on the bill will be legendary South Australian act Double Dragon (who are about to break up and reconfigure as Sons of Asena – this is the last round of DD shows ever), Abrasion, Broozer and A Murder of Crows. Entry is $12 and the action kicks off at 8pm. King Parrot also play at The Newmarket Hotel in Bendigo on Friday May 4, The Karova Lounge in Ballarat on Friday May 11 and The National Hotel in Geelong on Sunday July 1 with Macabre, and they’ll also appear at the annual High Voltage festival at The Corner on Saturday June 30.
Gig Alert: Gruntbucket
Gruntbucket will launch Songs From An Empty Room on Saturday May 5 at The Tote in Collingwood, with support from Iowa and Teenage Libido. The album is the follow-up to 2009’s Receiving, and has already had regular airplay on radio. You can pick it up on CD, download from iTunes or on Vinyl (featuring a download card with two exclusive bonus tracks), from their website and in select independent record stores Australia-wide.
Kunvuk Ready Album #2
Kunvuk (pictured) will release their second album, Consume Rapture, in June via The Light of Damnation Records. It’s the follow-up to 2010’s Immute: Jackals, and is once again being produced and mixed by guitarist/vocalist David Hart. The album will be mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side Music in New Windsor, New York. The video for Where Orchidectomy And Mastitis Street Meet Is Why I Will Die is on YouTube now.
Gig Alert: Desecrator
Here’s a press release I received from the band Desecrator, and normally I’d rewrite this in Crunch style, but it has a vibe that I really like and which sums up the vibe of the band better than I could, so I thought you’d like to see it: “What’s heavy metal? Skulls! What’s tougher than skulls? Tanks! What does all this mean? Who cares! Because it’s time for friends to thrash with Desecrator at the infamous Pony Bar 2am slot this Saturday night, free entry and limited venue capacity so get down early and drink up, Pony won’t know what hit it!”
Gig Alert: Rock N Load
The inaugural Rock N Load festival kicks off at The Espy on Saturday May 26. There will be over 30 acts across the entire venue including Electric Mary, Bugdust, The Stiffys, King Of The North, Ten Thousand, Heaven The Axe, I Am Duckeye, The Charge, Anna Salen, Hailmary (WA), Shadowqueen, The Morrisons, Beggars Orchestra (NSW), Shadowgame, Bottle Of Smoke, System Of Venus, Arcane Saints, Apache Medicine Man, The Vendettas, Riot In Toytown and many more. Check out rocknloadfestival.com for lineup and ticketing info.
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