CATERWAUL: one week away

CATERWAUL: 2026 festival kicks off June 5th in Minneapolis

One week from today, the fifth installment of Caterwaul is set to ignite. The annual festival, celebrating a diverse array of artists from the noisiest fringes of rock, kicks off Friday, June 5th at Zhora Darling in Minneapolis and runs through Sunday, June 7th. This year's stellar lineup is stacked with iconoclasts of old and new, from Dazzling Killmen and Rye Coalition, to Stress Positions and Muscle.

Caterwaul has been hailed by BrooklynVegan as "a unique mix of noise rock, punk, metal, post-punk and beyond" and by New Noise as "a gathering of some of the best underground bands existing today."

Co-founder Rainer Fronz, who organizes Caterwaul alongside Conan Neutron and Melanie Thomas, gave this statement to New Noise in a recent interview, reflecting on the communal vibe that makes the fest special: "It has a DIY spirit and a grassroots feel. You’re part of it when you’re there. You’re not just a dollar sign or an influencer."

Buy tickets here: https://www.caterwaul.org/

Friday, June 5:

01:15 am - The Crosses
12:15 am - Didjits
11:15 pm - Mike Watt + The Missingmen
10:30 pm - Season to Risk
09:45 pm - New Brutalism
09:00 pm - Resurrectionists
08:15 pm - Birdhands
07:30 pm - Mad Mojo Jett

Saturday, June 6:

After Party:
12:30 am - Muscle
11:45 pm - ¿Watches?
11:00 pm - The Thirsty Giants
10:15 pm - Art Star

09:00 pm - Rye Coalition
08:05 pm - Great Falls
07:20 pm - Whippets
06:35 pm - Heet Deth
05:50 pm - Panel
05:05 pm - Orlock
04:20 pm - The Hammer Party
03:35 pm - Burned or Buried
02:50 pm - Bone Bag
02:05 pm - H.E.A.T.

Sunday, June 7:

08:00 pm - Dazzling Killmen
07:10 pm - Point Line Plane
06:25 pm - Body Stuff
05:40 pm - Bronson Arm
04:55 pm - Stress Positions
04:10 pm - Buio Omega
03:25 pm - We Are the Asteroid
02:40 pm - Cani Sciorri
02:05 pm - Baby Gurl
01:20 pm - Flesh Narc
12:35 pm - Battery Eyes

Poster by Aesthetic Apparatus

CHAINLINKS 067: Rye Coalition

Chainlinks is a series we started back in 2017 to give our friends a space to share the stuff currently inspiring them — music, film, books, or anything else they wanted to recommend to the world.

For Chainlinks 067, we have three members of Rye Coalition: vocalist Ralph Cuseglio, drummer Gregg Leto, and bassist Dave Leto.

Hailing from Jersey City, New Jersey, the shapeshifting Rye Coalition stormed the scene in the '90s as a scrappy, sassy post-hardcore outfit, in league with the likes of Drive Like Jehu and Nation of Ulysses. The new millennium saw the band lean heavily into its classic rock and hard rock influences. Despite the playfulness of song titles such as "ZZ Topless," "Paradise by the Marlboro Light" and "Between I-Roc and a Hard Place," the transformed Rye Coalition of the early '00s rocked with power and conviction, finding a producer and champion in Dave Grohl, and landing tours with Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age, and The Mars Volta. 

After two decades spent mostly out of the spotlight, the band will descend upon Minneapolis for the weekend of June 5-7, 2026 to play the fifth installment of Caterwaul, the annual festival celebrating all the noisiest, most iconoclastic fringes of rock. Blast Rye Coalition here, get your Caterwaul tickets here, and enjoy Chainlinks 067...

Ralph Cuseglio, Rye Coalition:

Jackie Rogers Jr. 

A flamboyant albino lounge singer played by Martin Short on the Canadian sketch comedy show SCTV and Saturday Night Live. I’ve loved this character since I was kid. One of the greatest sketch comedy characters of all time, hands down. Amazing outfits, laugh, wit and writing. Completely absurd (which is right up my alley). Still makes me laugh every time.

Half Man (2026)

An HBO miniseries by writer and actor Richard Gadd. It is an interesting commentary on masculinity and the question, “what does it mean to be a man?”. The series is about dichotomic yet symbiotic relationship between two stepbrothers growing up in Glasgow, Scotland, the pain they cause themselves and each other, as they wrestle with their respective identities in the shadow of childhood trauma.

This Is Water

A graduation commencement speech delivered by David Foster Wallace. You can hear a recording of the speech on YouTube and find it in print too. I’ve always thought about the speech as a mediation on the importance of what we spend our days thinking about, resisting our natural self-centered urges, and consciously choosing to step outside of our limited perspectives to be more connected and empathetic. All of which is much harder than it seems (and I’m making it sound). Just listen to the speech.

Teenagers playing live music (especially rock) 

There is something about seeing this, whenever and wherever it is, that makes me happy. The band doesn’t have to be particularly good (and they usually aren’t). But, seeing the excitement, pride, and joy (and sometimes terror) each kid is experiencing, is what playing music is all about. The feeling of playing in front of an audience for the first time can be magical. I remember that feeling. It all being so new. While playing live music is still fulfilling, the novelty of the playing live for the first time (or in the beginning stage) is something special. I feel lucky when I witness it. And it’s always immediately recognizable.

Gregg Leto, Rye Coalition:

The Congos, Heart of the Congos

One album I can’t stop returning to, over and over again, and consistently recommend, even to people who are not necessarily into reggae/dub. Such an otherworldly record on so many levels. Nothing else quite like it. Luckily, my 16-year-old son has become deeply into the album as well, so listening to it with him has been like hearing it again for the first time. Love geeking out on music with that kid.

Dave Leto, Rye Coalition:

A$AP Rocky, Don’t Be Dumb

 

It’s the album Kanye (if he wasn’t living with mental illness) should have made. The art, music, videos, clothing, and live performances, and having it scored by Danny Elfman, all have this really fresh approach to hip hop which is more punk rock. Sounds that never had a place in hip hop are now being explored. This album made "newer” hip hop interesting to me again.

Born to Bowl (2026)

Just an amazing inside look at professional bowling which is nowhere near the glamour that the top athletes in other sports have. It not only makes you care about these athletes, but you also learn about the whole history of bowling and how lanes are oiled to ensure that bowlers can’t just go anywhere and bowl perfect games. It’s super nerdy, but you watch an episode and you’re hooked.

CHAINLINKS 066: Stress Positions

Chainlinks is a series we started back in 2017 to give our friends a space to share the stuff currently inspiring them — music, film, books, or anything else they wanted to recommend to the world.

For Chainlinks 066, we have Stephanie Brooks, vocalist of Stress Positions. With releases on Three One G Records, the band has been described by Post-Trash as "a band as brutal and raw as it is sociopolitically conscious and steadfast in unrelenting conviction" and by Chicago Reader as "cuttingly precise despite its blistering speed and colossal sound."

Stress Positions are among the many great bands descending upon Minneapolis for the weekend of June 5-7, 2026 to play the fifth installment of Caterwaul, the annual festival celebrating all the noisiest, most iconoclastic fringes of rock. Blast Stress Positions here, get your Caterwaul tickets here, and enjoy Chainlinks 066...

1) Call Her Ganda

This documentary is important, painful, and moving. Jennifer Laude’s story is unfortunately just one of so many cases of abuses of women in the Philippines perpetrated by overseas military personnel.

2) Minnie Riperton

I’ve just been listening to her on repeat. Her voice is so insanely impressive. “Perfect Angel” is a perfect album for warm weather.

3) Free Roku Live TV Channels

I’m really obsessed with channel flipping. Something about starting a movie halfway through and trying to discern the plot tickles my brain in a way few nostalgia chasing activities do. There’s this channel called “Stingray Cityscapes” that just shows aerial views of cities from around the world with downtempo jazz playing behind it. It rules.

CHAINLINKS 065: Dazzling Killmen

Chainlinks is a series we started back in 2017 to give our friends a space to share the stuff currently inspiring them — music, film, books, or anything else they wanted to recommend to the world.

For Chainlinks 065, we have Nick Sakes, founder, vocalist, and guitarist of Dazzling Killmen. Decibel Magazine reports: "Dazzling Killmen are among the most fearless and inventive bands of the early ’90s. The once-overlooked group is a major inspiration for a raft of bands that built on their combination of emotion and melodicism, among them Dillinger Escape Plan, Coalesce, Converge, and many more."

Dazzling Killmen are among the many great bands descending upon Minneapolis for the weekend of June 5-7, 2026, to play the fifth installment of Caterwaul, the annual festival celebrating all the noisiest, most iconoclastic fringes of rock. Blast Dazzling Killmen here, get your Caterwaul tickets here, and enjoy Chainlinks 065...

1. Joshua Tree / Mojave Desert

Having never been to the Mojave Desert, seeing this otherworldly landscape absolutely blew my mind. Photos and videos cannot convey the alien feel of this place.

2. Redwood Trees / Massive Mountainous Landscapes

Being in a state of total awe for the hours we drove in Northern California on our day off on the recent West Coast tour was unforgettable. Being dwarfed by nature is one of my all-time favorite states of mind. Highlight: Drive-Through Tree Park in Leggett, CA.

3. Semi-retirement from TradWork Office Space

I turned 62 years old last December right after triple bypass heart surgery and a couple of months later got laid off from my office job as an architectural designer. I decided to start drawing my social security money, taking unemployment and scheduling as many Dazzling Killmen shows as possible and just entering a new lifestyle, albeit a little leaner moneywise. Semi-retired semi-pro musician now.

4. Mississippi Studios, Portland, Oregon

Hands-down, the best venue I’ve ever played... the people running the place, the look of a small Vaudeville theater, that separate restaurant and bar next door, just WOW. A+++

KILTER - "Awakening & Living"

KILTER: Paris/NYC jazz-metal explorers drop second single from "Ten Billion Years" album

 

"Awakening & Living," the new single by Kilter, is out today. The track is the second single from Ten Billion Years, the Paris/NYC trio's upcoming new album, coming June 19th on Excursus Production.

Stream the official music video, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5RNSIPkwkE

Pre-order the album, here: https://kiltertrio.bandcamp.com/album/ten-billion-years-ten

Kilter’s highly experimental jazz-metal exists in a space between John Coltrane, Sunn O))), and Meshuggah. Drummer Kenny Grohowksi is known for his work with John Zorn, Secret Chiefs 3, and Imperial Triumphant.

The upcoming new album, Ten Billion Years, is a musical rendering of nothing less than the birth and death of our solar system. Inspired in part by John Cage’s explorations in time-stretching, the trio’s process was to record 10 minutes of music, slow it down to 25% of its original speed, then recreate the pieces from scratch at the new, glacial tempo – a process of reinterpretation and rediscovery they liken to the way in which entire new worlds are revealed when looking through a microscope.

A recent Decibel Magazine article states: “It’s an ambitious premise, but Kilter approaches it with precision rather than spectacle, building tension through repetition, instability, and gradual transformation.” Decibel describes Kilter's sound as “lurching low-end grooves and explosive, blast-driven peaks… vast, disorienting and strangely physical.”

New single "Awakening & Living" depicts the stage in the Earth's evolution where life moves from ocean to land. The track is a moody waltz laced with beautiful sax work and ending in cinematic vocals courtesy of Grohowski.

Stream "Inside Kilter's Ten Billion Years," a 15-minute documentary about the making of the album, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reM6AEwJrx0

Photo by Malena Marquez

CHAINLINKS 064: Muscle

Chainlinks is a series we started back in 2017 to give our friends a space to share the stuff currently inspiring them — music, film, books, or anything else they wanted to recommend to the world.

With the fifth edition of the glorious Caterwaul festival coming up on June 5-7 in Minneapolis, we'll be passing the mic to Caterwaul artists over the next couple weeks. Kicking things off, we have none other than Baltimore noise-punks Muscle. A recent No Echo article describes the band as "a jagged, unpredictable listen—hardcore-adjacent but constantly veering into stranger, more unstable territory."

Crank Muscle's latest album, get your tickets to Caterwaul, and enjoy Chainlinks 064...

Road House (1989) 

The concept of being the best bouncer in the world alone is reason to watch. “Pain don’t hurt.” 

Human Highway (1982) 

Neil Young is a gas station attendant at the end of the world and DEVO works at the local nuclear power plant. It’s sort of a narrative until it switches to them all covering "Hey Hey My My" and then shows footage of DEVO playing "Come Back Johnny" and Neil gettin' in the pit.

“Immaterial” by Sophie 

It’s our pre-show pump up song. Sophie forever <3

Isamu Noguchi 

Big crazy stone sculptures you can touch. We all got in one at Storm King recently. Sculpting a butt at the height of his fine art career.

KILTER - Inside Kilter's Ten Billion Years

KILTER: jazz-metal mavericks release "Inside Kilter's Ten Billion Years" mini-doc

With the new Kilter album, Ten Billion Years, coming June 19th, the Paris/NYC trio has released "Inside Kilter's Ten Billion Years," a 15-minute mini-doc revealing behind-the-scenes footage from the album's recording process as well as interviews with all three band members – bassist Laurent David, saxophonist Ed Rosenberg III, and drummer Kenny Grohowksi, known for his work with John Zorn, Secret Chiefs 3, and Imperial Triumphant.

Kilter's highly experimental jazz-metal exists in a space between John Coltrane, Sunn O))), and Meshuggah. The new album, Ten Billion Years, is a musical rendering of nothing less than the birth and death of our solar system; it traces the journey of one water droplet as it travels and transforms through space and time. 

A recent Decibel Magazine article states: "It’s an ambitious premise, but Kilter approaches it with precision rather than spectacle, building tension through repetition, instability, and gradual transformation."

"Inside Kilter's Ten Billion Years" highlights the chemistry between David, Rosenberg, and Grohowski as they work together in the studio to realize this extremely challenging project. Inspired in part by John Cage's explorations in time-stretching, the trio's process was to record 10 minutes of music, slow it down to 25% of its original speed, then recreate the pieces from scratch at the new, glacial tempo – a process of reinterpretation and rediscovery which Rosenberg likens to the way in which entire new worlds are revealed when looking through a microscope.

In Decibel's words: "The Franco-American trio bend jazz elasticity and metal force into something far stranger... music that doesn’t just describe transformation, but enacts it in real time."

Stream the "Inside Kilter's Ten Billion Years" mini-doc here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reM6AEwJrx0

Pre-order the Ten Billion Years album here: https://kiltertrio.bandcamp.com/album/ten-billion-years

More info: https://thechainworld.blogspot.com/2026/04/kilter-ten-billion-years.html

Photo by Malena Marquez

CHAINLINKS 063: Heavy Halo

The Chain was officially launched 10 years ago today: April 21, 2016. To celebrate our 10th anniversary, we recently revived Chainlinks, a series where we ask our friends and colleagues to tell us about the things currently inspiring them: music, books, film, anything they want to recommend to the world.

Today we pass the mic to McKeever, one-half of NYC industrial rock duo Heavy Halo. Described by CVLT Nation as "soaring industrial metal" and by Revolver Magazine as "nihilistic yet melodic," Heavy Halo just wrapped up a US tour supporting the legendary My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult and darkwave powerhouse Light Asylum.

Warlock Corpse

Warlock Corpse has dozens of epic albums on Bandcamp that range from dungeon synth to darkwave goth to black metal to even ravey happy hardcore. A lot of material to dig into here and I’m loving the shadowy medieval artwork + aesthetic.

Janet Jackson - Rhythm Nation

We have been bumping this in the van on our tour with Thrill Kill Kult and I’m surprised by how HEAVY and EBM the production is. The drums and bass programming on a song like Escapade shares so much DNA with 80’s industrial like Nitzer Ebb. Very adventurous.

Kurt Vonnegut - Cat’s Cradle / Slaughterhouse Five

With the current chaotic state of the world, these books have been at the forefront of my mind. Cat’s Cradle explores the consequences of unchecked scientific advancement that carelessly leads to a global apocalypse. Slaughterhouse Five deals with the absurdity of war and the lengths people go to process trauma. Sadly, more relevant than ever!

Photo by Tori McGraw

CATERWAUL 2026 Schedule

CATERWAUL: 2026 schedule revealed, featuring Rye Coalition, Dazzling Killmen, Coliseum, more

The full schedule for this year's Caterwaul, taking place June 5-7 at Minneapolis venue Zhora Darling and featuring such artists as Rye Coalition, Dazzling Killmen, and Coliseum, has been revealed.

The annual festival, now in its fifth year, has been hailed by BrooklynVegan as "a unique mix of noise rock, punk, metal, post-punk and beyond" and by New Noise Magazine as "a gathering of some of the best underground bands existing today."

Tickets are on sale now: https://ticketstripe.com/caterwaul2026

Friday, June 5:

01:15 am - The Crosses
12:15 am - Didjits
11:15 pm - Mike Watt + The Missingmen
10:30 pm - Season to Risk
09:45 pm - New Brutalism
09:00 pm - Resurrectionists
08:15 pm - Birdhands
07:30 pm - Mad Mojo Jett

Saturday, June 6:

After Party:
12:30 am - Muscle
11:45 pm - ¿Watches?
11:00 pm - The Thirsty Giants
10:15 pm - Art Star

09:00 pm - Rye Coalition
08:05 pm - P.O.S.
07:20 pm - Great Falls
06:35 pm - Whippets
05:50 pm - Heet Deth
05:05 pm - Panel
04:20 pm - Orlock
03:35 pm - The Hammer Party
02:50 pm - Burned or Buried
02:05 pm - Bone Bag
01:20 pm - H.E.A.T.

Sunday, June 7:

08:00 pm - Dazzling Killmen
07:05 pm - Coliseum
06:20 pm - Point Line Plane
05:35 pm - Body Stuff
04:50 pm - Bronson Arm
04:05 pm - Stress Positions
03:20 pm - We Are the Asteroid
02:35 pm - Cani Sciorri
01:50 pm - Baby Gurl
01:05 pm - Flesh Narc
12:20 pm - Buio Omega

CHAIN X

Scenes from The Chain’s 10th anniversary party, last night at Elsewhere in Brooklyn, featuring performances by Body Stuff, Venus Twins, Trace Amount, Fatboi Sharif, and Swing Kids, and an afterparty with DJ Nikki Sneakers. Viva La Chain!

Photos by Jackie Roman