It suddenly occurs to me that I never reviewed The Atlas Moth’s Candlelight debut, A Glorified Piece of Blue Sky. What a dick. While it’s a little late, I may or may not rectify the situation sometime soon (that vague enough?). While I’m weighing out the pros and cons, check out these tour dates from the PR wire:

Cerebrally pulverizing Chicagoan quintet The Atlas Moth will be blazing a good chunk of the East Coast and Midwest on the road this March with Coalesce and Harvey Milk. The low-end triple-guitar thunder the band are well-known for creating on stage is as massive as it is mesmerizing, as witnessed on their 2009 live with Dark Castle, Wetnurse, Black Cobra, Nachtmystium, Pentagram, Javelina and countless more.

The Atlas Moth w/ Coalesce, Harvey Milk:
3/05/2010 Rex Theatre – Pittsburgh, PA
3/06/2010 Kung-Fu Necktie – Philadelphia, PA
3/07/2010 The Ottobar – Baltimore, MD
3/08/2010 Le Poisson Rouge – New York, NY
3/09/2010 Middle East [Downstairs] – Boston, MA
3/10/2010 Il Motore – Montreal, QC
3/11/2010 Wreckroom – Toronto, ON
3/12/2010 Smalls Bar – Hamtramck, MI
3/13/2010 Subterranean – Chicago, IL

The Atlas Moth at SXSW 2010:
3/18/2010 East End Tattoo – Austin, TX @ Chronicyouth.com showcase
3/20/2010 The Metropolis – Austin, TX – early show
3/20/2010 21st CO OP – Austin, TX – late show
3/21/2010 Red 7 – Austin, TX – Goodbye Southby

Yes, that title is sarcastic. Touring is hard, grueling work. Yes, you get to play music, but unless you’re rich, pretty much everything else about it blows. I still don’t know how I feel about Chicago wunderkinds The Atlas Moth, or their Candlelight debut, A Glorified Piece of Blue Sky, but if a band’s going to get out there and sell their wares one person at a time on the road, you have to at least respect that no matter what you think of the music. The PR wire sent these updated tour dates in and I thought I’d pass them along for your perusal.

With A Glorified Piece of Blue Sky out now on Candlelight Records, the band is currently on tour promoting the release, with a long list of killer shows alongside Dark Castle, Wetnurse and more along the way:

11/03/2009 The Kickstand – Gainesville, FL w/ Dark Castle
11/04/2009 Brass Mug – Tampa, FL w/ Dark Castle
11/05/2009 Will’s Pub – Orlando, FL
11/06/2009 The Warehouse – Jacksonville, FL w/ Dark Castle
11/07/2009 Lenny’s  – Atlanta, GA w/ Across Tundras, Dark Castle
11/08/2009 The Hangar – Greenville, SC w/ Dark Castle
11/09/2009 The Reservoir – Carrboro, NC
11/10/2009 The Triple – Richmond, VA
11/11/2009 Starlight Ballroom – Philadelphia, PA w/ Wetnurse
11/12/2009 Sidebar – Baltimore, MD w/ Wetnurse
11/13/2009 Court Tavern – New Jersey w/ Wetnurse
11/14/2009 The Sweatshop – Providence, RI w/ Wetnurse
11/15/2009 Unit 11 – Allston, MA w/ Wetnurse
11/17/2009 Union Pool – Brooklyn, NY w/ Dark Castle, Wetnurse
11/18/2009 The Spot – Akron, OH w/ Dark Castle, Sofa King Killer, Rue
11/20/2009 Elbow Room – Ypsilanti, MI w/ Dark Castle, Ganon
11/21/2009 Mac’s Bar – Lansing, MI w/ Dark Castle, Ganon
11/22/2009 Carabar – Columbus, OH w/ Dark Castle, Struck by Lightning
11/23/2009 Belvederes – Pittsburgh, PA w/ Dark Castle, U.S. Christmas
11/24/2009 The Vollrath – Indianapolis, IN w/ Dark Castle
11/25/2009 Cobra Lounge – Chicago, IL w/ Dark Castle, Black Tusk, Black Cobra, Plague Bringer

…And that’s only news because they’re from Chicago, which means the burger is at Kuma’s Corner, and it’s a unique and artery-clogging concoction named for the band. The Atlas Moth’s Candlelight/Battle Kommand debut, A Glorified Piece of Blue Sky, is out Oct. 20. In the meantime, dig this recipe (and other info) as told by the PR wire:

The Atlas Moth have announced a record listening party on October 4th at Chicago’s Kuma’s Corner (MySpace here), the restaurant known for naming its burgers after international and hometown favorite metal bands. Here they’ll unveil the mammoth “Atlas Moth Burger“… a 10 oz. slab of beef on waffles, topped with collared greens, fried chicken, chicken fried bacon and a bacon infused maple syrup. Amazing!

My chest hurts just thinking about it. Fortunately the band will get a good workout touring the US for about two months to support the album after a record release show at Reggie’s in Chicago with Kylesa, Saviours and Red Fang. Other dates follow after the jump.

Read more »

In case you were wondering whether opening for Pentagram in your hometown might ever have some positive benefits, witness Chicago’s recently reviewed The Atlas Moth, who are the latest act from Christopher Nolan’s Gotham City to find themselves hooking up with a killer label. This time it’s Candlelight, which will be releasing A Glorified Piece of Blue Sky in October.

As per the PR wire:

Candlelight Records confirms the worldwide signing of Chicago?s The Atlas Moth. Popular throughout the Midwest region, the quintet joins the UK-based label?s growing American roster having already shared the stage with Pentagram, Saviours, Intronaut, Nachtmystium, Wolves in the Throne Room, Coalesce and many others. Recently completing tracking at Chicago?s Phase Recordings, the doom warriors expect to hit the road in the next month performing tracks from their forthcoming label debut.

A Glorified Piece of Blue Sky, featuring artwork by Ryan Kasparian, is scheduled for American release on October 6. Produced by the band with post-production work handled by Michael Kandel (Tranquility Bass), the album showcases the band?s triple-guitar wall of sound that is sure to leave a lasting impression. Clocking in at just under an hour, the album?s eight metal epics are dynamic, expressive, and heavier than sin. Looking back on the album?s creation, guitarist/vocalist Stavros reveals, “A Glorified Piece of Blue Sky became something none of us could have expected. It is a completely collaborative record, from start to finish. It really is a true representation of our band.”

Track listing for A Glorified Piece of Blue Sky:
1. A Night In Venus’ Arms…
2. A Glorified Piece of Blue Sky
3. Grey Wolves
4. Our Sun, Our Saviour
5. Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Evidence
6. One Amongst the Wheat Fields
7. Jump Room to Orion
8. …Leads to a Lifetime on Mercury

Nearly everything about The Atlas Moth screams new school doom, from their Chicago origins to their triply-guitared lineup (which is excessive until you consider how often the third guitar is used more as a noisemaker than an instrument and how often recordings feature multiple tracks anyway) to their silhouetted promo photos to their oceanic references to their screams to their pace. They couldn’t be more Windy City if they took up residence at Sanford Parker’s Volume Studio and started serving deep-dish pizza to the tens of thousands of bands who seem to record there every week.

You could easily call it a wall of sound The Atlas Moth create with their debut EP, Pray for Tides (Witch Trial Records). They go from the tasteful lead that opens “Hope for Atlantis” immediately into visceral screaming and riff out underneath tapped lines and crashing mid-paced drums. The tempo stays up for the most part — they never really get slow, which I take as a demonstration of their age, but in the new school of doom speed doesn’t seem to matter so long as the atmosphere is crushing, which it undeniably is on these five tracks.

Read more »