SLUG Contributor Limelight
October 21, 2007
Contributor Limelight: Gavin Hoffman
Gavin Hoffman aka loveyoudead has been gracing the pages of SLUG Magazine with his metal reviews since March of this year. Gavin is best known in the community, not for his love of the Decemberists or his feline fellowshipping, but for his amazing drumming. Gavin has drummed for such local bands as Iodina, Day of Less, Union of the Snake etc. Currently, he slaps the sticks for Minerva. When Gavin isn’t hanging out with his cats he is a super-master-elite tech specialist at Convergys.
Articles by contributor
Reviews: Void Meditation Cult/Sperm of Antichrist – Sulfurous Prayers of...
What essentially amounts to a split release by the same band (Void Meditation Cult was previously called Sperm of Antichrist), the first side of Sulfurous Prayers of Blight and Darkness is Void Meditation Cult and the second side is Sperm of Antichrist—confused yet? … read more
Reviews: Watain – The Wild Hunt
I don’t quite understand why it is that Watain has become such a polarizing band in the metal underground—people either love them or absolutely despise them. … read more
Reviews: Nunslaughter – The Devil’s Congeries, Vol. 1
Ah, Nunslaughter—my favorite “collector’s-fucking-nightmare” devil metal band. To the uninformed, these Pittsburgh natives (now residing in Cleveland) play absolutely filthy, blasphemous metal, and they have more releases than there are shitty “reality” television shows about people I don’t give a fat fuck about. … read more
Reviews: Dead in the Dirt – The Blind Hole
This is one of the most angry and downright filthy releases I’ve heard in many moons, managing to stuff 22 songs into roughly 20 minutes. … read more
Review: Tier Instinct
Released by Salt Lake’s own Slaughterhouse Records, the third release under the Tier Instinct moniker by a high-ranking member of the Church of Satan, Volume III is described as being dedicated to the Satanic Perspective, is a death knell for the project, and is a notably bleak and disturbing listen. … read more
Review: The National – Trouble Will Find Me
Disclaimer: I really wanted to like this release. Second disclaimer: I fucking loathed it. … read more
Review: Nunslaughter / Antiseen – Split 7in.
After my initial thought of “What the fuck?” regarding Nunslaughter and Antiseen releasing a split 7”, I immediately realized how much sense it actually makes. … read more
Review: MB – Mental Machination Musing and Hic Omnia Ur-Aizib
I’ve always been on the fence regarding musicians/artists who mesh noise with dark ambient or soundscape-type material: Sometimes I absolutely adore it, and sometimes I simply throw the physical copy in the garbage. … read more
Review: Into Another – Omens EP
Into Another = Iron Maiden + Handsome + Supertouch … read more
Review: Hell – III
I’d heard of the one-man doom cult Hell at different points over the past few years, but I was never sufficiently interested to actually give the band a listen. … read more
Local Review: AODL – Arsenblotz 63
Before I go any further, let it be known that I am in no way the world’s foremost expert on noise/power electronics/industrial. Quite the opposite, in fact. However, good music (noise?) is good music, and I like what I like … and I like this release from AODL. … read more
Review: Cultes des Ghoules
Hailing from Poland and named after a book in the Cthulu mythos, Cultes des Ghoules fall into the category of, well, “really awesome black metal.” I was extremely impressed with their previous full-length, Haxan, and blown away by their one-sided EP, Spectres Over Transylvania, and Henbane is the perfect melding of both of those releases. … read more
Review: Dead Can Dance – In Concert
If you have ever heard Dead Can Dance, then it should be obvious that my “equation” does them no justice. … read more
Review: Coliseum – Anxiety’s Kiss
Coliseum = Young Widows + Torche + Leatherface … read more
Review: Cerekloth
Cerekloth took me completely by surprise with their 2011 EP Halo of Syringes, and I was even more intrigued when I learned the band included members of the highly underrated Church Bizarre. … read more
Review: Baptists – Bushcraft
Baptists = Skitsystem + Disfear + From Ashes Rise … read more
Judge Return to SLC
An accomplished musician, yogi and spokesperson for all things positive, Porcell’s (arguably) most infamous band, Judge, returns to Salt Lake City for the first time in roughly 30 years, set on bringin’ it down as only they know how. … read more
Local Reviews: Madraso/Blackhole
Now this is a welcome listening experience. SLC’s Blackhole and Portland’s Madraso each offer up one song on this bit of vinyl heaven (the one they sent me was on clear orange wax). Reviewing 7″s kind of sucks because they’re so short, so I’ll keep this review the same. … read more
Local Reviews: Dulcesky
If I were ever given the chance to make love to a local record, this would probably be it. And I don’t mean “get sloppy with a lady while a record is spinning;” I literally mean I would fuck this record. … read more
Local Reviews: SubRosa
The ever-changing lineup of SubRosa has yielded some musical surprises over their brief recording history, and they continue to surprise with Swans Trapped in Ice, their latest three-song EP. … read more
Local Reviews: Eagle Twin
Salt Lake City’s own Eagle Twin have (finally) released an album that is sure to wind up on many top 10 lists at the end of this year. The band’s debut full length, recorded in Seattle by Southen Lord’s “go-to guy” Randall Dunn, simply oozes heaviness. … read more
Local Reviews: Up.River
Apparently, Old News Records has been started in order to either release or re-release recordings, primarily from Salt Lake-based hardcore bands, that were either initially released in small quantities, or never released at all. Not a bad idea. Up.River’s self-titled album, although not necessarily my cup of tea, is certainly deserving of a listen, even if it’s nothing very original. … read more
Local Reviews: Black Seas of Infinity
Black Seas of Infinity = Raison D’etre + Nostalgia + Hexentanz … read more
Discogs: Virtual Vinyl Meeting Place
Over the past decade or so, varying degrees of music collectors worldwide have seemingly begun to defect from large online retailers like eBay and Amazon in favor of “smaller,” more intimate online stores. The most popular, and quite possibly the fastest-growing, is Discogs. … read more
Local Reviews: Black Cum
According to the Black Cum “manifesto,” they don’t write songs, practice or do second takes—they just get fucked up, press record and play. I’ll give them props for apparently adhering to these self-imposed rules. This double-cassette release (with a nifty little patch included) is an…interesting listen, but I don’t exactly get the feeling they give too much of a fuck what some old, washed-up hack like me thinks about their releases. … read more
Local Reviews: Curseworship
Many bands have tried—and many bands have failed—to blend genres as seamlessly as Curseworship has been able to on this three-song release. The band is able to flow in and out of relatively harsh noise (à la Wolf Eyes), crusty metal and straight tone-worship without batting an eye. … read more
Local Reviews: Discoid A
Good god damn, this thing is fun! What started as an “acoustic D-beat” band has morphed into a full-blown loud machine. Recorded with one mic, this release encompasses an astounding 37 songs in 36 minutes, and it is one of the dirtiest punk rock recordings I’ve ever heard. … read more
Local Reviews: Eagle Twin
If you live in Salt Lake City and you are even remotely into heavy music, you, at the very least, have heard of Eagle Twin. Master craftsmen Gentry Densley and Tyler Smith return with their highly anticipated follow-up to 2009’s epic, The Unkindness of Crows, and the anticipation is far from unwarranted. This fucker is heavy, and I don’t mean just a little. … read more
Witchcraft Show Review
No personal offense to Will Sartain, but his new band The Future of the Ghost really did not belong on this bill. I’m sure some people will dig on these guys as they play out more, and Will is a very talented individual, but they kind of disrupted the whole vibe of the evening, at least for me. … read more
Seasons in the
The Finnish Black Metal juggernaut known to the world as Horna, originally known as Shadowed, was begun in late 1993. The name was changed to Horna in 1994, and the first demo recording, entitled Varjoissa, was released in 1995. Since then, 15 official full-length albums and EPs have been released on various labels, and several
Burzum: The Extended Interview
Few names in metal music—or music as a whole—generate as much vitriol as Burzum or its sole member, Varg Vikernes. What follows is an e-mail conversation with Vikernes on the eve of the North American release of his latest effort, Fallen. *Disclaimer: SLUG magazine does not necessarily agree with, condone, or support certain comments in the following interview, but it is understood that censorship of any kind is a detriment. … read more
Mogwai @ Avalon 05.03
Glasgow’s Mogwai were plagued by visa and family issues before they were even able to kick this tour off, so the fact that they were able to pull this show off deserves a round of applause. Now, in case you’ve never seen them—or heard them, for that matter—Mogwai play a blistering mish-mash of rock, shoegaze, metal, indie, and trance-inducing drone. … read more
Mono
Having just released their sixth full-length album, For My Parents, and on the eve of the Salt Lake City stop of their current U.S. tour, Japan’s instrumental powerhouse MONO were kind enough to take a few minutes to talk to SLUG via email to give us some insight into the band, their new album, and everything in-between. … read more
Deafheaven, Marriages, Cult Leader @ Kilby Court 07.10
The old adage about how the more things change, the more they stay the same is perfect for a description of Kilby Court, the favored venue of the underage and over-hip in Salt Lake City. Since the first time I attended a show there in 1998 or 1999, many improvements have been made to the venue, but the actual room itself is still a sweltering hot mess of juvenile machismo and shared sweat. Granted, the sound has improved immensely from when the venue first opened, but, at least to me, that doesn’t make up for having to wade through the throngs of terrible “ironic” mustaches, distressed V-neck T-shirts and dudes in cut-off chick jeans. Trivialities and old-man judging aside, I ventured out of my cave to attend the Deafheaven/Marriages/Cult Leader show at the aforementioned venue, and though not a total loss, it isn’t an experience I’m going to treasure for the rest of my life. … read more
LAST MAN STANDING: The Record Collectors David Hansen Explains Collecting,...
When I was 13 years old, I remember opening the yellow pages in search of record shops in Salt Lake City … I was one full-length away from completing my Skinny Puppy collection on cassette. … read more
London After Midnight
While the group has been somewhat of a revolving door for musicians, the mainstay has been Mr. Brennan, who was kind enough to grant SLUG an interview via e-mail in anticipation of their appearance here in Salt Lake … read more
Smile! Japan’s Boris is Headed to SLC
For those of you who have never experienced the sheer earfuck that isJapan’s Boris, it’s not too late to get on theboat. With their latest release on SouthernLord, Smile, Boris has once again shown themasses why they refuse to be pigeon-holedand are constantly re-writing what heavymusic “should be.” By some sheer stroke ofinsane luck, I was granted an e-mail interviewwith Atsuo, Boris’s drummer and apparentspokesman … read more
Ample Fire Within: An interview with ASCEND
Greg Anderson, mad scientist behind such projects as Goatsnakeand SunnO))), has a history with SLUG Magazine. “I picked upa copy of the SLUG sometime in 1998 while I was on tour,” saysAnderson, “and the issue I got just happened to have a reviewof Sleep’s Jerusalem release.” The reviewer not only trashed therecord, but caused Anderson’s jealousy to flare up. … read more
You won’t hear this stuff in Amsterdam: This is Salt...
What seems like every indie kid’s dream––running a record shop, which spawns into a record label––is actually Jared Russell and Tia Martinez’s reality. … read more
The Worded Aeon Has Awakened: An Introduction to Black Seas...
Sometimes, an interview completely takes on a life of its own, and it becomes difficult to submit to the reader in a standard “question-and-answer” format, or even as a standalone narrative piece. Such is the case with ex-Salt Lake City resident Jhon Longshaw and his excellent black noise vehicle, Black Seas of Infinity.
… read more
Destroyer… Pig Destroyer
I felt like a dick when I called Pig Destroyer vocalist J.R. Hayes for this interview and interrupted his dinner, but he’s a champ. … read more
Maximum Volume Yields Maximum Results: Feedback from SUNN O)))
O’Malley and Anderson have been releasing speaker-destroying albums under the SUNN O))) moniker since the late 1990s, and have no fewer than 20 splits, full-lengths, collaborations and EPs to show for their efforts. … read more
Craft Lake City Artist: Carrie Eldredge
When not slaving away, Carrie Eldredge spends her time recycling. She recycles things that other people have discarded into her own art. … read more
Mike Sasich
“I was always interested in how the bands I listened to could do separate guitar parts and such.” Initial experiments aside, when Sasich moved back to Salt Lake from California roughly eight years ago, he began doing live sound, which somewhat naturally flowed into studio recordings, initially conducted in his house. … read more
National CD Reviews – October 2009
Reviews of national music, including new releases from The Black Dahlia Murder, Converge, The Entrance Band, Exene Cervenka, Health, Karl Blau, Liturgy, Mew, Pissed Jeans, Thrice, The Twilight Sad and many more. … read more
Skinny Puppy visits Salt Lake City without a new album.
On the proverbial eve of Skinny Puppy’s third show in Salt Lake City since officially reforming in 2003, vocalist and mad showman Nivek Ogre (aka Kevin Ogilvie) seems to be in a fine mood…despite my interrupting a Skinny Puppy rehearsal and the fact that their current label, SPV, has filed for insolvency, essentially putting the status of the newest Skinny Puppy album in limbo. … read more
Pentabike
“I’ve lied, bullshitted, exaggerated and fabricated some incredibly ridiculous stories about the creation of the Pentabike design in order to lend some sort of dark credibility to the question,” says Dave Strunk, “but the reality is that it started in about 1989 or so when I was working in a book warehouse here in Denver.” According to Strunk, the book warehouse afforded him the luxury to begin seditiously planting the good, old-fashioned pentagram in many popular book titles being shipped to what he refers to as “religious propaganda stores across this great land.” … read more
CLC Artist: Illuminati
ILLUMINATI, a chandelier refurbishing and redecorating collaboration between Natasha Sebring and Callie Capps, has only been functioning since February, 2010, but the work these two ladies are spinning out is nothing short of, well, awesome. Thus far, none of their handiwork has been publicly displayed or sold, but all of that will change at this year’s Craft Lake City. … read more
Bang the Drum Loudly: An Interview with The Melvins’ Dale...
For almost thirty years—and roughly as many bassists—The Melvins have been disgusting mainstream music listeners and blowing the faces off of their fanbase, combining the best elements of punk rock, doom/heavy metal and noise into one sonic haymaker. Drummer Dale Crover, with the band since 1984, handled a telephone call from yours truly in anticipation of the band’s Oct. 4 show in Salt Lake City. … read more
Burt’s Tiki Lounge
Jeremy Sundeaus—or “Jerm” as most folks know him—has been involved in the local and national music scenes since before most mall-punks were born. He can often be found slinging drinks, loading the stage at our own Burt’s Tiki Lounge, occupying said stage with his current doom act Muckraker, and also bearing an uncanny resemblance to the Prince of Darkness with the extremely awesome and underrated Black Sabbath tribute band Irony Man. … read more
Valen: Burzum’s Varg Vikernes talks Focus, Frustration and Fallen
Few names in metal music—or music as a whole—generate as much vitriol as Burzum or its sole member, Varg Vikernes. The Norwegian recording artist has been referred to as the most hated and most dangerous man in metal music. What follows is an e-mail conversation with Vikernes on the eve of the North American release of his latest effort, Fallen. … read more
CLC Artist: Jorge Arellano
“I started doing stencil art with my friends,” says Arellano. “At that time, we didn’t have an option to do silk screening, so spray painting was the easiest thing to do, and the easiest way to spray paint on clothes was to use a stencil.” Upon moving to Salt Lake, Arellano abandoned stencil art for many years until he created a few pieces for his band All Systems Fail. He began creating stencil art again, quite secretively, but his talent and love for the art couldn’t be hidden forever. … read more
Silva Illustrations: Sharpies, Self-Portraits and Suicidal Tendencies
James Silva has been a presence in the Salt Lake City punk and hardcore scenes since before time began, or so it seems. Following a stint as a tattoo artist, Silva’s impatience got the best of him, and he traded in his tattooing equipment for … Sharpies—as in the tried-and-true, everybody’s-got-one, black markers. To most, that would seem like one hell of a downgrade, but to Silva, and those who have seen what he can do with a Sharpie, it was one of the best decisions he ever made. … read more
Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggits
Upon first hearing of a band that calls themselves Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggits, one might find it somewhat difficult to discern just what the hell type of music these weirdos actually play. Describing themselves as a “satiric folk rock band,” the duo has been active for going on 16 years, and on October 7, the two-piece will return to Salt Lake City. … read more
Come On Die Young
Springing from the heat of Phoenix, Ariz., Come On Die Young is a band seemingly on the verge of shaking up what most people know as “punk rock.” With members who have been playing music of all types for more than half of their lives, and a guitarist whose roots lie in Salt Lake City, the band combines elements of traditional punk rock, powerviolence, metal and late-‘90s beard rock. … read more
Suedehead: The Rhythm and The Groove
Formed just over a year ago, Southern California’s soul-pop pushers Suedehead are all about positivity … and dancing. “Our only real goal is to be productive and try and play good music,” says vocalist/guitarist Davey Warsop. “That’s what gets us off. That’s what matters.” If the band’s first three vinyl EPs—released on their own International Soul Rebel Society imprint—are any indication, they are certainly living up to Warsop’s stated goal. … read more
Local Reviews: All Systems Fail/@patia No
After waiting for roughly a year and a half, this split LP has finally dropped, and boy howdy, it’s a fucking doozy. Seven songs apiece from SLC’s most under-appreciated band, All Systems Fail, and Venezuelan anarchists @patia No. The ASF side showcases songs that have been live favorites for a couple of years at least, and they sound absolutely brutal on this slab. … read more
National CD Reviews – January 2012
New and recent releases from The Cure, The Devil’s Blood, Errors, Kepi Ghoulie, Laura Gibson, Majestic Downfall, Mickey Moonlight, The Slackers, Tim “Love” Lee and many more are reviewed. … read more
Noise Not Music: City of Dis Just Says No To...
I’ve known Sam and Conrad for almost five years—well before they delved into the abyss of recording and releasing music (theirs and others’) via their somewhat understated label, City of Dis. As Sam explains, “‘City of Dis is a reference to Dante’s Inferno … and the fact that we like ‘Dis’ music.” For the unfamiliar,
Torche Song Trilogy: Drummer Rick Smith is Homeless and Happy
Beginning with 2008’s Meanderthal and continuing with the band’s newest release, Harmonicraft, Torche has steadily written material that has more in common with Led Zeppelin than with Black Sabbath. “We get a lot of shit for not being as ‘heavy’ as we used to be,” says drummer Rick Smith. “Not everyone is supposed to like your band.” … read more
Roger That: Michael Sieben Talks Art and Skateboards
Austin-based artist Michael Sieben may not be a household name, but his art has been seen by skateboarders, art aficionados and mall-walkers for close to a decade, even if people haven’t been able to match the name with the artist. Sieben will be one of more than 20 artists submitting pieces to Salt Lake City’s own FICE for their All Dead art show, being displayed on Friday, Nov. 2. Sieben was awesome enough to talk to SLUG about his influences, past galleries and skateboard company, Roger Skateboards. … read more
Skateboarding After 35: Do It For Fun or Don’t Do...
In April of 2012, I decided to give skateboarding another go. I had made a conscious decision to abandon the sport in the late ’90s in favor of pursuing music after skating almost non-stop, beginning in the late ’80s. Skateboarding never really left my heart, though, and I felt the time had come to get out and have fun on a skateboard again. Simply picking up the latest Thrasher, Low Card or Juice magazine and pushing around on a cruiser board as I have done for the past few years just wasn’t cutting it anymore. … read more
Running Into Walls: The Return of Into Another
Back in 1994, there was no bigger band in my mind than New York City’s Into Another. When I learned that they were reuniting to play the Revelation Records anniversary shows in California this past summer and New York this fall, I was not only elated, but also dismayed, as my current financial situation would not allow me to attend any of the shows. I suppose that the following interview with founding member and vocalist Richie Birkenhead is somewhat of a consolation prize … and a damned good one, at that. … read more
Localized – February 2013
February’s Localized highlights two of Salt Lake’s most punishing punk bands—Chainwhip and Filth Lords. While the bands vary stylistically—with Filth Lords incorporating pop- and street-punk elements, and Chainwhip crushing skulls with hints of black and death metal brushed over the top of D-beat crust—this show promises to be an all-around ornery affair, with Year of the Wolf kicking things off at The Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 E., on Friday, Feb. 8. As always, $5 gets you in, 21+. … read more