CATERWAUL tonight!

CATERWAUL: "noisiest festival in town" kicks off tonight in Minneapolis with The Crosses (Die Kreuzen), Didjits, Mike Watt, more

Caterwaul kicks off tonight, 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, with tonight's bill featuring The Crosses (member of Die Kreuzen), Didjits, and the iconic Mike Watt.

Minneapolis news outlet Racket calls it "the noisiest festival in town" and New Noise Magazine calls it a meeting of "the best underground rock bands."

Adding another dimension to this year's festival, Caterwaul co-founder Rainer Fronz underwent a successful heart transplant last weekend and is currently recovering at University of Minnesota Medical Center.

Buy Caterwaul tickets here: https://ticketstripe.com/caterwaul2026

Support Rainer Fronz here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-me-through-this-heart-transplant

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"The annual Caterwaul ... A very highly regarded presentation of underground music."
–Getting It Out Podcast

"Caterwaul 2026, the fifth edition of an event that’s quietly become one of the most stubbornly off-grid rock festivals in the US ... The room has gotten bigger, the booking sharper, and this year leans further into mixing genre-bending newer artists with names from underground rock’s deeper bench."
–Idioteq

"Caterwaul will return to Minneapolis for its fifth edition June 5th-7th, 2026 at Zhora Darling. Founded in 2020, the festival has positioned itself as a yearly showcase for the noisier fringes of rock."
–Lambgoat

"Caterwaul is returning for its fifth installment this year, taking place June 5-7 at Zhora Darling in Minneapolis. Once again, this year’s event brings together the best underground rock bands going, including Mike Watt, Rye Coalition, Dazzling Killmen, Didjits, Stress Positions ..."
–New Noise

"The noisiest festival in town returns, and this year all three days will take place at Zhora Darling. Big names in 2026 include punk stalwart Mike Watt and his band the Missingmen, Jersey screamo pioneers Rye Coalition, and the brutally mathy Dazzling Killmen."
–Racket

"Caterwaul returns to defiant Minneapolis, MN in 2026, taking place June 5-7, 2026 at Zhora Darling this year. 2026 marks the festival's fifth iteration."
–Scene Point Blank

"For its fifth annual run, the three-day noise-rock/avant-garde festival once proudly described as a 'gathering of the weirdos' is moving to a new location in lieu of its old base, Palmer’s Bar. It also boasts a few of its biggest names yet; not that it’s ever been about big names."
–Star Tribune

"Caterwaul is an exceptional festival that leans toward noise rock and punk rock ... Incredible bills, all three days of the weekend."
–Vinyl & Vision Podcast

"If you are not aware, Caterwaul is a DIY music event bringing together all kinds of fantastic bands ... If you are a fan of creative, noisy, fearless, underground, DIY music, this is a place to go to, where I am sure you will find many like-minded individuals."
–Whatever Comes Next Podcast

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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

Posters by Aesthetic Apparatus

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

CHAINLINKS 062: Fatboi Sharif

With the 10th anniversary of The Chain happening this month, we've relaunched Chainlinks, 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 062, we have rapper Fatboi Sharif, whose work Rolling Stone has described as "punctilious, every-word-counts lyricism... like GZA’s Liquid Swords, Ghostface Killah’s Supreme Clientele, and RZA’s Gravediggaz work all congealed in a thrilling sonic stew." Sharif will be performing at The Chain’s official 10th anniversary celebration, April 19th at Elsewhere in Brooklyn, NY (presented by Saint Vitus Bar), along with Swing Kids, Trace Amount, Venus Twins, and Body Stuff. Get your tickets!

Begotten (1989)

A one-of-one film that, every time I watch it, and it's been a ton, LOL, the feeling it gives my body and the energy and inspiration I'm left with on a creative end is unmatched. It's something that I constantly recommend to people and when they ask me to explain it I always say you just gotta watch it on your own and let it have its way with you. I'll say, it's something that will stick with you after you watch it and you'll wanna return to it and every time you do you'll get something new out of it.

Pig (1998)

The feeling and emotions I always get from this one carry extreme weight. Just 23 minutes long, it punches deep like a two hour epic and it leaves you wanting more. Directed by Nico B. and Rozz Williams, this twisted tale starts in the land of the unknown and as time ticks it leaves you on the edge of your seat where, when it reaches its final frame you'll feel exhausted like you just ran down a two mile street at top speed on the hottest California day ever but in the most extreme way possible but you'll wanna continue that race and won't wanna see an end in sight.

Haxan (1922)

Visually stunning, a film that has stuck with me for years and remains to inspire on the aspect of how it makes me feel and it constantly getting me in a zone to create whenever I watch it. A silent film that speaks volumes across the board.

Trash Humpers (2009)

Harmony Korine's perhaps wildest work. I actually saw it for the first time like 5 years ago after years of being a fan of Korine's work and it instantly reminded me why he's one of my favorites. The film is odd, extreme, and honestly I didn't fully know how to feel about what I saw after first viewing, but it had me in a trance that stayed with me after and for me that's what true art is all about.

Photos by Jackie Roman

CHAINLINKS 061: Venus Twins

With the 10th anniversary of The Chain happening this month, we've relaunched Chainlinks, 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 061, we have noise punks and identical twins Matt and Jake Derting, a.k.a. Venus Twins. The NYC (by way of Texas) duo will be performing at The Chain’s official 10th anniversary celebration, April 19th at Elsewhere in Brooklyn, NY (presented by Saint Vitus Bar), along with Swing Kids, Fatboi Sharif, Trace Amount, and Body Stuff. Get your tickets!

Veganism

We have been vegan for 8+ years now and will never look back. Not only is it important for the environment and health, but the main reason we are vegan is for the animals. Once you make the connection that what you’re eating/purchasing caused the intense suffering of a living creature, you may not want to go back.

Ease into it, go full tofurkey, whatever- As long as you’re learning how to cook vegan and stay healthy you’ll do great.

Songwriting

We’ve been writing songs for a long time, but in the last two years or so, we started writing a song nearly every day, and trying different genres and techniques for fun. It’s a beautiful artform and craft that has become the central focus in our life. We’ve picked up books like the war on art and the creative act, that helped further along the process.

Making time for family/friends

Everybody’s busy as hell, got somewhere to be all the time – yada yada yada. But once every couple months we’ll set aside time to go upstate to see family, it resets us from the busy city. We’re lucky to have family we get along with well. Every visit with them or to go work with our twin friends Disaster Artist in Philly becomes a memorable and amazing time.

KILTER - Ten Billion Years

KILTER: Paris/NYC jazz-metal trio announces cosmic concept album Ten Billion Years

 
Franco-American trio Kilter announces the June 19th release of its new album, Ten Billion Years, on Excursus Production.

A concept album depicting nothing less than the birth and death of our solar system, Ten Billion Years unfolds with cosmic-level grandeur, its instrumental compositions exploring spaces between the sounds of John Coltrane, Sunn O))) and Meshuggah.

Stream the video for first single, "Weather Cycle," here: https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2026/04/08/video-premiere-kilter-weather-cycle/

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

Based in Paris and New York, Kilter has been operating at the crossroads of jazz and metal since 2018. Founder/electric bassist Laurent David states: "By merging influences from jazz and metal, two seemingly opposing worlds that have always fascinated me, we create a bold and distinctive musical language. My musical journey reflects a personal tension between different musical traditions. Rather than choosing one over the other, I have embraced the richness of these two complementary artistic approaches."

David (whose musical journey has included collaborations with Didier Lockwood of Magma, Grammy Award nominee Ibrahim Maalouf, and Folterkammer) is flanked in Kilter by bass saxophonist Ed Rosenberg III (Jerseyband) and drummer Kenny Grohowski (John Zorn, Secret Chiefs 3, Imperial Triumphant). The band's output so far includes works such as the acclaimed debut full-length, Axiom, and the sprawling opera, La Suspendida.

Reviewing Axiom in 2020, Metal Injection reported: "Kilter have done something admirable. They’ve made something that should be unlistenable into art. Any great art worth its salt should make the viewer/listener feel uncomfortable, and Axiom does plenty of that. But after the record finishes, you’ll find yourself wanting to listen to it again."

Two years in the making, Ten Billion Years continues to push Kilter's legacy forward with another wholly unique and challenging album, mining an epic concept and displaying instrumental mastery in the process. In David's words, the album follows "the odyssey of a water droplet born in space at the moment of the formation of the solar system, whose journey leads it through matter, life, climate, and time, until its final dissipation into the interstellar void."

Using bass, drums, and sax, Kilter animates the water droplet's story, translating into music the undulations of the universe – the cycles of tension and release, spiraling onward, on microscopic and galactic levels. Across ten tracks, David, Rosenberg, and Grohowski move through ominous drones, murky lulls, and violent storms, as if leading a guided tour of the history of existence – from primordial formlessness, to a thriving state of systems in harmony, to a dissolution, back into nothingness. "We wanted to imagine what ten billion years might sound like if recorded in 40 minutes," states David.

A majestic dirge, the album's first single, "Weather Cycle" builds from a lurching groove to blastbeat-ridden heights, then repeats, vividly rendering the water droplet's experience of evaporating into the clouds then raining down into a flowing river. Decibel Magazine describes it as "vast, disorienting and strangely physical — music that doesn’t just describe transformation, but enacts it in real time."

"Jazz is about elasticity—time, harmony, interaction," says David. "It breathes, it moves, it questions itself constantly. Metal is about commitment. When something is there, it’s there. The weight, the repetition, the physical impact—it doesn’t negotiate. Kilter exists somewhere in between those two forces."

Accompanying Ten Billion Years, packaged together with the LP, is Ten, a strictly limited, 10-minute EP, available only here in this 7" vinyl format. Ten consists of a series of minute-long compositions, inextricably connected to Ten Billion Years; the album's ten tracks are slowed-down, stretched-out reinterpretations of the pieces on the EP. For a project exploring the concept of transformation, it is only fitting that Kilter would transform its own compositions in this way. Inspired in part by the experimentations of John Cage, David states: "The project treats time-stretching as an artistic gesture in its own right. This process reveals sonic micro-structures and opens up new and unexpected listening spaces... We were interested in stretching time to a point where music stops behaving like music and becomes something else."

Thought-provoking and spirit-stirring, Ten Billion Years is another impressive offering from a wildly imaginative group. Armed with world-class chops, Kilter is that rare band capable of turning lofty concepts into devastating works of art.

Ten Billion Years tracklist:
1) Built & Broken
2) Falling & Vaporizing
3) Raining & Raining
4) Rivers & Ocean
5) Depth & Darkness
6) Living & Rising
7) Weather Cycle
8) Awakening & Living
9) Darkness Again
10) Escaping to Infinity

Ten EP tracklist:

1) Ten

Lineup:
Laurent David - electric bass
Ed Rosenberg III - bass saxophone
Kenny Grohowski - drums

Discography:
Ten Billion Years (2026)

La Suspendida Live (2025)

La Suspendida (2024)

The Suspended Woman EP (2023)
SYS EP (2021)
Axiom (2020)
Kilter EP (2018)

Band photos by Malena Marquez

Cover art by Peurduloup

https://instagram.com/kilter_us/

https://facebook.com/kiltertrio/

https://kiltertrio.bandcamp.com/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7nxYcPzm6nQqzZ3NcaC4bU

CHAINLINKS 060: Brandon Gallagher

With the 10th anniversary of The Chain coming up in April, we've relaunched Chainlinks, 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 060, we have our own Brandon Gallagher – co-founder of The Chain and the primary creator behind industrial project Trace Amount. Trace Amount will be performing a special set with live drummer Ignabu at The Chain’s official 10th anniversary celebration, April 19th at Elsewhere in Brooklyn, NY (presented by Saint Vitus Bar), along with Swing Kids, Fatboi Sharif, Venus Twins, and Body Stuff. Get your tickets!

1. Cooking at home

Obviously New York City is the Mecca for all things - food, nightlife, basketball, you name it but I’ve learned there’s nothing more damaging than ordering take out after a night of 100 beers. I’ve always loved to cook, but getting your macros right and finding high protein, low fat substitutes for things I love has been quite a thrill, and no surprise I feel a lot better. Gotta get into those spice, paste, and sauce racks and read the labels. I guess you could call my cooking style "elevated dog bowls". Don't be afraid to eat a protein with boiled potatoes. 0% fat greek yogurt is your best friend, put it in everything. Get decent containers, so you can make a bunch and either freeze it or keep it in the fridge for the week.

2. Running / walking

Now that I’ve gotten my eating right (for the most part) I’ve thrown myself back into the gauntlet known as “running”. There’s a level of numbness I achieve while running that’s pretty hard to get any other way. Even if you’re not down for the running aspect, go on a walk, breathe in fresh air, and try to just zone the fuck out. No thoughts just move.

3. Learning a new language

I feel like all of my friends read hundreds of books a year, and I just can’t do it, so I decided my replacement would be to learn a new language. Entonces, estoy aprendiendo español. I started with the apps, but now I’m watching Curb Your Enthusiasm with Spanish subtitles and voice overs. En serio? Si. Listening to a ton of Bad Bunny and reading the lyrics. Watching basketball and soccer with Spanish commentary when I can. It's all helping for sure. Trying to understand and listen to native speakers is the hardest part for sure, although when I got my hair cut in my neighborhood the other day my barber from Ecuador said my Spanish was just as good as his English, so I'll take it. Soy practicando.

Photo by The Tinfoil Biter
Flyer by Brandon Gallagher

CHAINLINKS 059: Curran Reynolds

With the 10th anniversary of The Chain coming up in April, we've relaunched Chainlinks, 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 059, we have our own Curran Reynolds – co-founder of The Chain and vocalist/songwriter behind hard rock enigma Body Stuff. Body Stuff will be performing at The Chain’s official 10th anniversary celebration, April 19th at Elsewhere in Brooklyn, NY (presented by Saint Vitus Bar), along with Swing Kids, Fatboi Sharif, Trace Amount x Ignabu, and Venus Twins. Get your tickets!

I set out to tell you about three things that have inspired me in the past month. Here's seven:

Boxing

I love the grace and finesse, the movement and angles, the calm under pressure. Vasiliy Lomachenko is one of my favorites, it's like watching Baryshnikov. And younger guys like Shakur Stevenson and Ryan Garcia.

James Joyce, Ulysses 

I am 650 pages into this beast of a book. It's everything they say it is. Inscrutable, hilarious, astounding. He blasts language apart and plays with the remains. 

Powerplant, Bridge of Sacrifice

Weird, wonderful music, drawing its own crooked line between punk and metal. Nice to hear a band mix shit up in a wild way but make it sound authentic and necessary.

Kim Gordon, PLAY ME

I've been listening to this iconic voice since 1989: wavering, quavering, vulnerable, powerful, pissed off, cool and warm. I don't care for the tracks she's singing over on her new album, PLAY ME. Very blah, very 2026, no passion. But Kim's presence makes it great. She shines. She thrives. Her "Count Your Chickens" art show opened last week here in my neighborhood and I will wander up there soon and check it out. Generally speaking, longevity is something that inspires me. Seeing an artist work for decades and decades, going through the inevitable peaks and valleys, booms and lulls. The perseverance is the thing. What they do in their seventies might put a whole new spin on what came before. My mom is around Kim's age and she's an example of this. Still creating, the intensity as high as ever.

Angel Du$t, Cold 2 the Touch 

I like the minimalism of the songs and the soulfulness of the lyrics. The vibe is humility, but there's some swagger too. Pain is indeed a must. 

Jean Cocteau, Blood of a Poet 

A beautiful silent film. I based my next music video on a scene where the dude is peeping in keyholes.

William Friedkin, To Live and Die in LA

A perfect representation of 1985. Willem Dafoe radiates androgynous power. Soundtrack by Wang Chung, the first band I ever saw live in concert (1987, Portland, Maine, opening for Tina Turner).