Pitchfork

Flyer by Seldon Hunt

The first installment of Pitchfork's Show No Mercy series of metal shows went down this past December on basically the coldest night in New York City history. The godawful karaoke going on in other room of the venue, Brooklyn's Public Assembly, bled through the wall whenever bands would pause between songs, which seriously fucked up the vibe. There was this big weird puddle of something on the ground, and everything ran so late that I had to go home before the headliners, black metal iconoclasts Nachtmystium, took the stage. And I still had fun.

Brandon Stosuy, the guy who writes Show No Mercy, Pitchfork's metal column, is now booking a series of monthly shows that will bring some serious underground metal heavyweights to Public Assembly, the Williamsburg space that formerly housed Galapagos. If you read the column, you already know that Brandon knows his shit inside and out, and he understands how to book a show with a whole bunch of bands who fit together stylistically but don't overlap so much that things get boring. At that first Show No Mercy show, I saw three bands I'd never even heard of, and I liked them all. And now Brandon's worked out the kinks in throwing these shows, so no more five-band bills that stretch into the wee hours.

Brandon's got the next four Show No Mercy shows all booked now, and by the looks of things, asses will be whupped. On the horizon: crazy-epic Maine slow-burners Ocean, lo-fi Jersey black metal warriors Krieg, Philly death metal traditionalists Crucifier, and a monster April bill that will bring together the great Philly Aphex-Twin-as-death-metal trio Genghis Tron with NY doom up-and-comers Tombs. Also a whole slew of bands I've never heard of.

Here's the complete schedule. All these shows go down at Public Assembly, located at 70 N. 6th St.:

02-15: Ocean, Salome, Batillus, Riff Cannon.

03-01: Krieg, Woe, and others to be announced.

03-22: Crucifier, Villains, Castevet, Nocnitsa, Dimentianon

04-12: Genghis Tron, Tombs, Wetnurse.