VII: REVERBERATION

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(2013–2014)

            In 2013, with a few exceptions, I presented at least one event each month, a particularly active period for ANNIHILVS, starting off the spring season by facilitating a series of East Coast dates for the Australian noir electronics lounge crooner BAIN WOLFKIND April 5–7 and 17.

            APEX FEST V unfolded over four dates in three cities (and four venues) from April 19 to 22. The first date coincided with the shutdown of Boston in pursuit of the Marathon Bombers, but it was necessary to travel there regardless to collect two of the artists who’d been brought in from out of town to perform. The show was moved to the basement of Shane Broaderick’s (TWODEADSLUTSONEGOODFUCK/COREPHALLISM) home (dubbed thereafter as Medford Soaplands), and in spite of the mayhem, there was a relatively decent turnout. Andy Grant of THE VOMIT ARSONIST managed to salvage the New England trip by arranging a show at Machines with Magnets in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The first New York date of APEX FEST V kicked off a slew of ANNIHILVS events at Brooklyn’s Public Assembly.

APRIL 19, 2013 @ MEDFORD SOAPLANDS - MEDFORD, MA (APEX FEST V)
COREPHALLISM, A MURDER OF ANGELS, EN NIHIL, IRON FOREST

APRIL 20, 2013 @ MACHINES WITH MAGNETS - PAWTUCKET, RI (APEX FEST V)
EN NIHIL, THE [law-rah] COLLECTIVE, A MURDER OF ANGELS, IRON FOREST, THE VOMIT ARSONIST

APRIL 21, 2013 @ PUBLIC ASSEMBLY - BROOKLYN, NY (APEX FEST V)
EN NIHIL, THE [law-rah] COLLECTIVE, IRON FOREST, A MURDER OF ANGELS, COREPHALLISM, LUSSURIA

APRIL 22, 2013 @ THE FLAT - BROOKLYN, NY (APEX FEST V)
EN NIHIL, BETA CLOUD, THE VOMIT ARSONIST, SWOLLEN ORGANS, TELOAHQAAL, THE BIRD CAGE THEATER

MAY 5, 2013 @ PUBLIC ASSEMBLY - BROOKLYN, NY (co-presented with CHTHONIC STREAMS)
END.USER, EDGEY, COMPACTOR, VALVEGOD

MAY 12, 2013 @ PUBLIC ASSEMBLY - BROOKLYN, NY
SANNHET, THEOLOGIAN, ONEIROGEN, CROWHURST, TIMEGHOST

JUNE 6, 2013 @ PUBLIC ASSEMBLY - BROOKLYN, NY
BELIEVER/LAW, ALBERICH, WINTER LINE, BELARISK, TEMPERATURE WITHIN

JUNE 28, 2013 @ PUBLIC ASSEMBLY - BROOKLYN, NY
AUN, INSECT ARK, T.O.M.B., REQUIEM, BLOATER

            Meanwhile, THEOLOGIAN made numerous appearances along the way, having begun 2013 with a supporting slot for CORRECTIONS HOUSE (Scott Kelly, Bruce Lamont, Sanford Parker, Mike IX Williams) at Saint Vitus Bar in January, returning to the venue with a supporting slot for DEAFHEAVEN in February, with the incredible Brooklyn instrumental post-black metal act SANNHET. In March, THEOLOGIAN played the first Baltimore Filth Fest, organised by members of T.O.M.B.

            THEOLOGIAN joined THE BODY, SANNHET, and HASJ (featuring members of TRENCHGRINDER and the now-defunct Brooklyn stoner-doom band BAD DREAM) at The Acheron in early June before heading to Montreal toward the end of the month to play at Festival Suoni per il Popolo for the second year in a row, again with AUN, joined by Vancouver noiser WORKER.
    At the tail end of June, THEOLOGIAN and AUN supported LOCRIAN for two dates, at Machines with Magnets, and at Metro Gallery in Baltimore. THEOLOGIAN once again shared the stage with DEAFHEAVEN for a massive sold-out July 4 show at 285 KENT, with AUN as opening act, before taking a month-long hiatus to catch up on some much-needed sleep.

            On August 11, ANNIHILVS kicked off a celebration of seventeen years of antisocial music with a performance in Nyack by ONEIROGEN for my own birthday. On August 13, THEOLOGIAN performed at Derek Rush’s Morbid Monday event at Saint Vitus Bar, which would lead to my meeting Gretchen Heinel, with whom I began a relationship the following month. The Seattle-based black noise act BLSPHM flew over to headline a three-date label anniversary micro-tour August 23-25, joined by Brooklyn speed-sludgers RADIATION BLACKBODY, and Philadelphia heavy electronics project WHORID.

            THEOLOGIAN joined AUTHOR & PUNISHER in Somerville, Massachusetts, on August 18, opened a Philadelphia show with VOID VISION, M AX NOI MACH, and MARTIAL CANTEREL on August 28, and supported yet another Chicago supergroup involving Sanford Parker, WREKMEISTER HARMONIES, at Saint Vitus Bar on August 30. In late September, I traveled alone to Texas for two THEOLOGIAN performances, appearing solo for the first time since February 2012.

            THEOLOGIAN’s late-October performance at The Silent Barn in Brooklyn served as a precursor to Autumn Dirges, yet another East Coast micro-tour, headlined by Italian occult electronics act SPETTRO FAMILY. THEOLOGIAN co-headlined, joined on the road by STATIQBLOOM, COMPACTOR, SWOLLEN ORGANS, and WHORID (with special guests SOFIA RETA and MARTIAL CANTEREL filling the co-headlining slots at The Acheron).

            Another monthlong hiatus followed, in anticipation of two East Coast dates in mid-December, featuring legendary Seattle black noise act BLUE SABBATH BLACK CHEER, co-headlined by WHORID, joined by BASTARD NOISE contributor Anthony Saunder’s project EID (EXISTENCE IN DECLINE), COMPACTOR, and I SAY FUCK at The Acheron. After a tense drive north in the midst of a blustery snowstorm, BSBC headlined a show supported by KINTAAN, ALLERGEN, and THE VOMIT ARSONIST at Dusk in Providence.

            As the winter months dragged on with no apparent end in sight, 2013 turned slowly into 2014. THEOLOGIAN’s first appearance of the new year was on February 12, at Nothing Changes, the legacy project of several people who’d been involved with the production of Wierd, joined by Floridian-cum-New Yorker NICK KLEIN. This was followed by a much-desired supporting slot alongside THE BODY, with openers COUCH SLUT, at Saint Vitus Bar on March 21.

       THEOLOGIAN headlined a show on Easter Sunday at Brooklyn venue Don Pedro, joined by Providence stoner-drone band QUEEN ELEPHANTINE, and an assortment of psychedelic noise acts, most of whom featured a minimum of one to two saxophone players, one including Thurston Moore. THEOLOGIAN then headlined the third Baltimore Filth Fest, in a collaborative performance with WHORID, on May 3. On May 8, THEOLOGIAN shared the stage once more with THE BODY, alongside WHITEHORSE and GNAW.

       The first-ever West Coast appearances by THEOLOGIAN took place on May 23 and May 24 in Portland, Oregon, first with local acts CRYOGLYPH and [product] on Friday, then opening a show with LKN, EYE OF NIX, and EIGHT BELLS on Saturday.
ANNIHILVS then curated a series of live events in April 2014, under the Spring Reverberations designation.

APRIL 5, 2014 @ DUSK - PROVIDENCE, RI
((SPRING REVERBERATIONS I)
HOT GUTS, M AX NOI MACH, NEAREST, BROWN RECLUSE ALPHA, SOFT TARGET

APRIL 25, 2014 @ MACHINES WITH MAGNETS - PAWTUCKET, RI
(SPRING REVERBERATIONS TOUR)
VULGAR FASHION, STATIQBLOOM, CRAOW, NEAREST, KIDAUDRA

APRIL 26, 2014 @ THE ACHERON - BROOKLYN, NY
(SPRING REVERBERATIONS TOUR)
VULGAR FASHION, HOT GUTS, NEAREST, KIDAUDRA

APRIL 27, 2014 @ KUNG FU NECKTIE - PHILADELPHIA, PA
(SPRING REVERBERATIONS TOUR)
VULGAR FASHION, STATIQBLOOM, NEAREST, KIDAUDRA

Following these dates, ANNIHILVS presented more events through the spring and summer months, including the label’s 17th anniversary event, headlined by former COIL member DREW MACDOWALL.

MAY 19, 2014 @ THE ACHERON - BROOKLYN, NY
SATURN (JOHN MANNION), SOFT TARGET, DAVE PUBLIC, COMPACTOR

JUNE 14, 2014 @ THE ACHERON - BROOKLYN, NY
ERRORAEON, XIPHOID DEMENTIA, BEREFT, PENCHANT

JULY 23, 2014 @ THE ACHERON - BROOKLYN, NY
FILTH, DROMEZ, CORPORATE PARK, PUBLIC HEALTH, COMPACTOR

AUGUST 2, 2014 @ THE SILENT BARN - BROOKLYN, NY
(APEX XVII)
DREW MACDOWALL, YORK FACTORY COMPLAINT, WINTER LINE, CAGES

            As Crucial Blast geared up to issue the vinyl edition of Some Things have to be Endured, and THEOLOGIAN planned future gigs, a June 28 show in Brooklyn teamed THEOLOGIAN with Crucial Blast label-mates HUSERE GRAV, along with FRKSE, LONG DISTANCE POISON, and SWOLLEN ORGANS. In mid-July, THEOLOGIAN travelled to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to play the first night of a two-date event, with LA act 3TEETH, along with KINTAAN. Fade Kainer’s STATIQBLOOM project appeared on the second date.

            In September, I organised a series of live dates on the East Coast for MK9, the project previously known as DEATH SQUAD, coming full circle from the earliest days of ANNIHILVS-related events by including EXISTENCE IN DECLINE, as well as OMEI, the more darkly ambient project side project of SICKNESS.

            From October 15 to 29, ANNIHILVS presented the North American tour for Swedish industrial legends BRIGHTER DEATH NOW, DEUTSCH NEPAL, and RAISON D’ÊTRE, which was an unmitigated success. Beginning in Montreal, moving to Pawtucket Rhode Island, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Chicago, and two shows in Texas, the tour brought in big turnouts and phenomenal performances.