Music

Black Deal

Netherlands label signs Black Trinity.

By D.X. Ferris 

Cleveland's Black Trinity has signed to Sol Invictus Recordings, a Dutch metal label.

"Black Trinity surprised me with their brand of black-meets-death metal," says label head Guido Heijnens. "It has a feel of old U.S. gods such as Morbid Angel and Acheron, but still mixes this with more European sounds. All in all, very tight and precise."

Heijnens' now-defunct Hammerheart/Karmageddon Media label issued releases by Control Denied, metal legend Chuck Schuldiner's project after the seminal band Death.

Black Trinity is Sol Invictus' first signing. The deal is for one album, with an option for a second. Italy's Masterpiece will distribute the disc, both in retail channels and underground trading networks. Guitarist Sonny "Ibex" Luciano says signing with a starter label half a world away is a good deal.

"After doing some research on Guido Heijnens, we felt that his knowledge of promotions exceeded anything we could ever do on our own," says Luciano. "And we know that he will do his best in order to spread the message that Black Trinity conveys."

The quintet formed in 1997 as Noktuary. They've since honed an image as warrior ghouls, wearing leather armor and black-and-white corpse paint. This year, the band added vocalist Prophryr Ov Tyre (formerly of Cleveland's Guttervamps and Hellfrost). Black Trinity recently finished recording its second album at Cleveland's Track Six Studios with Brandon Youngs (Forever in Terror, Hatecore Inc.). The disc, tentatively titled Bleed for Him, is slated for September release. The group opens for Nile at Peabody's (2083 East 21st Street) on Thursday, August 9.

· The Spider's exterminated: On Saturday, September 9, Interfuse and Radar Secret Service will play the final show at Akron's Lime Spider. Owner Danny Basone had initially planned to stop hosting bands, but has since said the club will close completely due to financial problems and break-ins.

"That is no good at all," says Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach, who still plays and visits the club. "It's not looking good for Akron. The Lime Spider was the only place to play in Akron, for its size and niche. As far as rock clubs go, it was really clean, and they always treated the bands well. I'm sad it's leaving."

· Spittin Image's Verbal has posted two new solo tracks at www.myspace.com/verbalofspittinimage. Spittin Image is working on a new CD, Ventriloquism 4 Dummies, and aiming for a fall release. "I can promise another huge leap forward in the way S.I. and [producers] the Kickdrums make music," says Krossword.

· The Cheap Tragedies have announced an imminent but temporary break following a Saturday, August 11 show at the Get a Life Fest at Parma Heights' The Davenport (6287 Pearl Road). (See Scene's listings for a full lineup.) The old-time hardcore all-stars have a 7" set for release by September, and they'll be recording another single and a full-length.

· A fan site has posted a demo track from Mushroomhead singer Jeffrey Nothing's upcoming solo album. Check it out at www.myspace.com/jeffreynothingfansite.

· Allen from Cleveland paid $100 for two Slayer tickets, but he guessed their start time incorrectly, and he missed the band's set. He'd have known they were taking the stage at 8:05 p.m. if he'd visited Scene's C-Notes blog. Don't be like Allen. Visit blogs.clevescene.com daily for online exclusives, including an interview with 3 Inches of Blood guitarist Shane Clark.