Read my primers on three of the best music festivals on the planet–Brutal Assault in Czechia, Maryland Deathfest in Baltimore and Wacken in Germany–in this summer music-fest preview feature for Knotfest.com.
Summer Music Fests Near for Those About to Rock
Posted in Features with tags Brutal Assault, Maryland Deathfest, Wacken on 05/17/2025 by Kurt OrzeckCallous Daoboys’ ‘I Don’t Want to See You in Heaven’: Two Cent Review
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags Callous Daoboys on 05/16/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
I Don’t Want to See You in Heaven is The Callous Daoboys’ latest push into their postulation that Heaven will be deafening and yet widely accessible. Read my short Treble review.
Rilo Kiley’s ‘That’s How We Choose to Remember It’: Two Cent Review
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags Rilo Kiley on 05/16/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
There are too many rock-band reunions to count happening these days, but one of the most excitedly received is that of Rilo Kiley, who have already sold out their show tomorrow night at Boise’s Treefort Music Hall. Get warmed up for it by reading my FLOOD review of their greatest-hits record that arrived today.
Michael Younker and His Kitty Are Like Two Cool Cats in a Pod
Posted in Interviews with tags Michael Younker on 05/14/2025 by Kurt OrzeckSinger/songwriter Michael Younker’s affection and connection with his cat Birdie is air-tight in more ways than one. The two share a 700-foot flat in Brooklyn and rarely leave each other’s sight. Birdie is not only an indispensable friend to Younker but a pet that keeps the artist throughly entertained when he’s not making music. Read my hot-off-the-proverbial-press New Noise interview with the enormously talented and kind-as-can-be musician.
Harpist/Violinist Duo LEYA Out to ‘Conquer the World’
Posted in Interviews with tags Leya on 05/13/2025 by Kurt OrzeckGo to New Noise for my intriguing interview with Brooklyn harpist Marilu Donovan and vocalist/violinist Adam Markiewicz, who are touring incessantly and wowing crowds across the world with their one-of-a-kind music project, LEYA.
Wildernesses’ ‘Four Hour Drive’: Two Cent Review
Posted in Reviews with tags Wildernesses on 05/12/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
With breathy vocals, driving melodies and highly listenable production, one immediately wants to hop another ride with newcomers Wildernesses as soon as their six-minute maiden tune, “Four Hour Drive,” sticks its landing. Read my short review of the tune on Treble.
Preoccupations’ ‘Ill at Ease’: Two Cent Review
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags Preoccupations on 05/12/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
Calgary post-punks Preoccupations couldn’t sound more comfortable in their own skin on their ironically titled fifth album, which seamlessly alternates between joyful and haunting moods. Read my FLOOD review.
NOLA’s BRAT Promise a ‘Deranged’ Set in Boise Tonight With Nekrogoblikon
Posted in Interviews with tags BRAT on 05/11/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
Mayhem in the tallest order is slated for tonight at Boise’s Treefort Music Hall, which is still (as Outkast would say) “so fresh and so clean” after opening a couple of years ago. It’ll be something of a miracle if the venue is still standing, and if the Hall’s top-of-the-line acoustics are still intact, at the end of the night. On tap for the shambolic shenanigans are self-described “barbiegrind/bimboviolence” combo BRAT, blackened-deathcore demons Ov Sulfur, technical death/thrash metal vets Revocation and irreverent melodic death-metal monsters Nekrogoblikon.
The Bad Penny had the good fortune and distinct pleasure of catching up with BRAT, who graciously granted us some of their time after the bill’s performance last night in Seattle, to talk about some of what they have up their collective sleeve for tonight’s destined-to-be-unhinged show. Expect to hear ample selections from BRAT’s latest full-length, Social Grace, which they released early last year through discerning metal label Prosthetic Records–and a slamming cover of Heart’s “Barracuda” that’ll blow your socks out through your eyeballs.
Continue readingIn Search of Soul: Caliban Venture ‘To Hell and Back’ on 13th LP
Posted in Interviews with tags Caliban on 05/10/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
Founding guitarist Marc Görtz keeps it real in discussing the band’s creative missteps and how facing the criticism of fans head on allowed Caliban to return from the brink bigger and better than ever. Read my feature on the German metalcore band via Knotfest.com.
Mclusky’s ‘World Is Still Here and So Are We’: Two Cent Review
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags Mclusky on 05/10/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
With age comes wisdom, perspective—and, in the case of the iconoclastic vocalist/guitarist Andy “Falco” Falkous—a practically equal balance between focusing on what’s at stake and the absurdity of what the West has become. Read my review of The World Is Still Here and So Are We, the latest record by his band Mclusky, on Treble.
The Bad Penny (beta) 