TorqueZine

In Nomine Odium

2012-01-24T07:33:00.005-06:00

Beginning today, AOL Music will stream In Nomine Odium, the third full-length offering from French black metal miscreants, HAEMOTH in its entirety. Rupture your ear drums at here. In Nomine Odium, called “pretty damn terrifying” by Decibel Magazine in a 8/10 review of the record, comes by way of Debemur Morti Productions.

Following six years of unsettled silence, HAEMOTH return with seven singeing psalms of uncompromising Satanik supplication. Corrupted by the glorious, bountiful presence of all-knowing evil — vice and deviance their predominant muse(s) – the hateful hellmongers channel pestilence, corruption and occult rituals into their most scathing and relentless concoction yet. In Nomine Odium is a caustic, toxic and breathtaking excursion into the darkest corridors of the human psyche, where even the more ambient passages are dark, menacing and deeply disturbing.

“…a cacophonous cauldron of churning fuzz, pitch-black ambience, and way-more-than-two-minutes-hate. “ – Decibelmagazine.com on the song “Slaying The Blind”

“ In Nomine Odium, despite its homogeneous nature, strikes the ideal balance between primal rage and epic grandiosity from which traditional black metal flourished.” — Metal Review

“If you’re looking to drink some nihilistic tincture, the indiscriminate hate of In Nomine Odium is exactly what you’re waiting for.” — Exclaim

“This is a solid BM album that fuses the tranquil with the tumultuous, the serene with the intense, and the raw with the atmospheric. In Nomine Odium is more than worth your time.” — Sea Of Tranquility

“If HAEMOTH‘s goal is to contribute to humanity’s ruin, then I feel they have done an admirable job with In Nomine Odium.” — Teeth Of The Divine

“…raw black metal in its purest form.” — Metal Machine

“HAEMOTH brings the now known as the typical French style to a new and greater intensity. Such a performance should not be underestimated. It is evident that the fans of extreme black metal, at the very least should take notice of this.” – Lords Of Metal

(((03)))

DylanCarlson Wonders from the House of Albion LP/CD/DVD/Book

2012-01-16T06:46:00.003-06:00

Dylan Carlson is creating his first major solo project outside of earth.There will be a limited edition lp/dvd/book and cd/dvd/book(500 of each format) and a special pressing of 150 copies(lp only) with personalized ex libris by Simon Fowler (Who will also do the cover and end papers). The illustrations will be by Kiyo Lappalainen. The limited edition books will be pop-up style. There will also be an open edition with regular flat printing in a cd booklet and flat lp printing. The recording will combine field recordings from various megalithic and other sites of human/fairy encounters across the UK, also the use of ritual and folkloric magical practices. The expedition will be filmed by Clyde Petersen. These recordings will be layered with Dylan's interpretations of classic Scotch-English ballads about human/fairy encounters from early modern England and Scotland(15th-18th century). It will also feature guest vocalists to sing the songs. This is not being done through a label, as earth's output has, but is a labor of love/obsession of Dylan's. Being primarily of Scotch-English descent, this is an historical journey to his personal and cultural past, embracing music/folklore/the occult dimension and history. This is also result of personal experience's of 'the other side'. His blog, has details, if interested. The field recordings will be accomplished in April-May of 2012. The rest of the recording/mastering will be finished in summer and early fall, the artwork is an ongoing process, already begun. Dylan is planning to have it all done for a May 2013 release. Join in the restoration of magic, a return to a world of spirits. Where all objects have a will of their own and a language they speak in, and we have learned how to speak with them again. It will be titled "Coleman Grey presents 'Falling with a Thousand Stars and Other Wonders from the House of Albion'."

(03:Ks)

Anges des Ténèbres, Les démons de Lumière II

2012-01-12T08:34:00.005-06:00

Following the release of EARTH’s praised Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I – released by Southern Lord in February 2011 — the public’s first chance to hear a number from the 2nd installment of the series has arrived.

While conceived in the same sessions as the first installment, recorded by Stuart Hallerman at Avast and mastered by Mell Detmer, Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II invokes even more improvisational and unrestrained energy than its predecessor. Traces of this progression are evident in the track “His Teeth Did Brightly Shine” — the second song from the upcoming album — as premiered worldwide today by Spin Magazine.

Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light will be released by Southern Lord in North America on February 14th via CD, 2xLP and digital download.

(((03)))

Ataraxia/Taraxis

2012-01-11T07:30:00.002-06:00

Thunderous post-instrumental outfit PELICAN have announced the long awaited follow-up to their sprawling 2009 full length What We All Come To Need, a new four song EP Ataraxia/Taraxis to be released via Southern Lord on April 10. With members now residing in separate cities, the EP represents a new chapter in the band’s evolution with a reenergized focus on composition and the utilization of the recording studio as a creative tool in the songwriting process, yielding one of the most diverse efforts in the band’s prolific discography.

The four new songs highlight the manifold sonic strengths of the band by delving into moments of triumphant melodic rock, smokey doom, ambient soundscape, acoustic desert-folk, and minimalist electronics. In contrast to the EP’s origin as the product of four different recording studios, including stints with engineers Sanford Parker (Twilight, Circle of Animals, Nachtmystium) and Aaron Harris (ISIS), the carefully crafted track listing boasts a cohesive narrative flow, lending the release an epic feel worthy of a full album.

Ataraxia/Taraxis Track Listing:
1. Ataraxia
2. Lathe Biosas
3. Parasite Colony
4. Taraxis

PELICAN is supporting the release with a two-week run of dates in Europe and the UK, including coveted spots at Roadburn and Dunk! Festivals.

PELICAN Upcoming Tour Dates:
4/06/2012 Dunk! Festival – Zottegem, BE
4/07/2012 The Garage – London, UK w/ Chelsea Wolfe
4/08/2012 Vudu Club – Birmingham, UK w/ Chelsea Wolfe
4/09/2012 Brudenell Social Club – Leeds, UK
4/10/2012 Stereo – Glasgow, UK
4/11/2012 The Ruby Lounge – Manchester, UK
4/12/2012 The Haunt – Brighton, UK
4/13/2012 The Cooler – Bristol, UK
4/14/2012 Roadburn Festival – Tilburg, Netherlands
4/15/2012 La Maronquinerie – Paris, France
4/16/2012 Jubez – Karlsruhe, Germany w/ Tombs
4/17/2012 Bad Bonn – Dudingen, Switzerland
4/18/2012 Magnolia – Milan, Italy
4/19/2012 Feierwerk – Munich, Germany w/ Tombs
4/20/2012 Cassiopeia – Berlin, Germany w/ Tombs
4/21/2012 Nosturi – Helsinki, Finland

(((03)))

Körkarlen (1921)

2011-11-04T07:50:00.005-05:00

The Phantom Carriage Released on New Year's Day 1921, directed by and starred Victor Sjöström, with Hilda Borgström, Tore Svennberg and Astrid Holm and based on the novel Thy Soul Shall Bear Witness! (Körkarlen; 1912), by Nobel-prize winning Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf.

(((03)))

CORROSION OF CONFORMITY Signs To Candlelight Records; Album Planned For Early 2012 Release (good news, no mention of Pepper)

2011-10-31T08:26:00.004-05:00

Candlelight Records today proudly announces the worldwide signing of CORROSION OF CONFORMITY. Since early this year, the band — featuring the esteemed Animosity line-up of vocalist/bassist Mike Dean, guitarist Woody Weatherman, and drummer/vocalist Reed Mullin — has been working with long-time producer John Custer. Now nearly complete, their still untitled eighth studio album is planned for release early in the New Year.

Gathering last summer to jam as a trio for the first time in over a decade, the treasured threesome quickly rekindled the magic that originally united and ultimately bound the musicians on a journey that today continues to impress both fans and critics. It is the efforts of this line-up that Decibel Magazine recently called “a crucial stylistic lynchpin in the bridge between metal and punk. CORROSION OF CONFORMITY irrevocably reshaped crossover’s sonic possibilities.” AllMusic.com notes, ” C.O.C. weren’t following any trends. They just incorporated all the things they liked about thrash, punk and ’70s metal originators Black Sabbath into their constantly evolving sound. It secured them artistic and commercial credibility.”

Candlelight’s Steve Beatty says of the signing, “Animosity is one of my favorite records ever. To have C.O.C. on Candlelight with that line-up is simply mouth-watering. I saw the band in London recently and they did not disappoint. This hungry child can’t wait for the record.” Candlelight’s Edward Christie adds, “we are extremely excited to welcome the band to the label and are looking forward to an amazing album. We are all huge fans and this is truly a memorable day for all of us.”

The band shares the excitement the immediate future holds. Woody Weatherman comments, “writing and recording this new record as a three-piece has been a blast. Having Reed back in the fold with Mike and I brings it around full circle. I’m really looking forward to all that lies ahead this upcoming year.”

Reed Mullen adds, “Mike, Woody and I essentially learned how to play music together and cultivated our own style, sound, and unspoken language. Re-bonding with them musically has been the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me.”

In addition to intense work on the album, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY has kept busy in 2011 touring throughout the US and abroad. One of the main attractions at this year’s Maryland Death Festival, the band mesmerized a salivating capacity audience. Sean Palmerston, editor for Canada’s online magazine Hellbound, said, “I lapped this set up. It was like the tastiest comfort food after a hard day’s work. I haven’t listened to those classic C.O.C. albums in a long, long time. It put a smile on my face.”

Mike Dean says of the new songs, “we have been overdubbing vocals and guitars in between our live dates for the better part of a year. Now it’s time to mix. The process we started back in April is finally coming to fruition. The results should reflect all eras of the band’s existence filtered through our current reality. This is a beast we can’t wait to set free.”

Formed in Raleigh, North Carolina in 1982, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY quickly transformed heavy music. Politically charged and socially aware, the band has influenced countless others and today remains humble about their accomplishments. With over 1.1 million albums sold in the United States alone, the new album will be their first since 2005’s In The Arms Of God. On release, Billboard Magazine called the album a “riff-fueled set that ranks with (the band’s) best work.”

CORROSION OF CONFORMITY will perform with Danzig tonight at the Gibson Ampitheater in Los Angeles. The band’s final performances for 2011 will be alongside Clutch December 27 through 31. Tickets are on sale now via Ticketmaster and venue box offices.

12/27/2011 House of Blues – Boston MA
12/28/2011 State Theater – Portland ME
12/29/2011 Westcott Theater – Syracuse NY
12/30/2011 Starland Ballroom – Sayreville NJ
12/31/2011 Trocadero Theater – Philadelphia PA

http://www.coc.com

(o3:EsC)

10.29.11

2011-10-11T11:43:00.002-05:00

(((03)))

Al-dhammé Magic(k)

2011-10-09T11:49:00.002-05:00

(((03)))

IM&HRvsOA

2011-09-30T13:59:00.002-05:00

(((03)))

The Lord Giveth

2011-09-23T07:13:00.004-05:00

Upcoming Southern Lord Releases for 2011

In their continued reign of bringing some of the most talented, underground bands on the heaviest end of the musical spectrum to the public, Southern Lord have just unveiled their upcoming schedule for the remainder of the year, including releases from NOOTHGRUSH, DEAD IN THE DIRT, WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM, BLACK COBRA, CRAFT, HEARTLESS and SUNN 0))).

This coming Tuesday, September 27th, prepare for a crushing live release from one of the sludge metal scene’s most underrated, unsung, and recently reformed acts; NOOTHGRUSH. Southern Lord will drop the notorious Bay Area act’s Live for Nothing CD, bearing an hour and 20 minutes of some of the most low-end sludge/doom known to man. The record hosts two live radio broadcasts from NOOTHGRUSH; the first from KZSU from 1996 and the other from KFJC in 1999. Both recordings are a precise document of the powerful group in their prime, the recordings were mastered by From Ashes Rise guitarist Brad Boatright. The label will then release the gatefold 2xLP vinyl edition of Live For Nothing on November 8th.

++++++++++

DEAD IN THE DIRT’s debut 7” Fear will be released will be released next week as well. The Atlanta-based band’s unhinged style draws from the discordant heaviness His Hero is Gone, the urgency of Cursed, the speed of DropDead and the blackened darkness of Deathspell Omega. Fear, is literally one of the heaviest and most brutal recordings from a new act to come out in recent times, and will see a one-time pressing of 1500 copies via Southern Lord on September 27, 2011, and once it’s sold out, it’s dead. Catch DEAD IN THE DIRT still on their current tour through next week and watch for much more in the coming weeks.

++++++++++

A record as dynamic as it is devastating, Invernal, the almighty fourth full-length from San Francisco’s BLACK COBRA, will finally bulldoze its way into the hands of North American fans on CD this October 11th, and on gatefold-jacketed LP to be released in the months ahead. Raging with whiplash-inducing time change-ups and wreaking more damage than lineups three times the size of this brutalizing duo, BLACK COBRA will be on the road with Kyuss Lives! in November and December and will be announcing countless more support and headlining tours through 2012, as always proving to remain one of the hardest-working bands on the scene.

++++++++++

Washington’s WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM recently set free their fourth full-length Celestial Lineage on CD September 13th, boasting some of the clan’s most majestic and mammoth black metal magic to date, and bringing their ongoing trilogy of albums to a brilliant finale. Celestial Lineage has been overtaking their fans and the media, bringing hundreds of fans to nearly every show of their ongoing North American tour. The new opus will be presented on 2xLP this October 25th. Following their currently ongoing North American tour, WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM will embark on their European phase in support of Celestial Lineage.

++++++++++

On October 25th, Swedish horde CRAFT will once again threaten humanity with their gritty, orthodox style of blackened might via the official North American release of their newest full-length, Void. followed by a 12” vinyl pressing on November 8th. Void delivers a nine-track convoy of black hymns over forty nine-minutes, showcasing CRAFT integrating more black ‘n roll vibes and slow-motion suicidal stomps, and ultimately spewing forth some of this hateful Scandinavian crew’s swiftest and cruelest punishment to date.

++++++++++

Pittsburgh hardcore warriors HEARTLESS will make their Southern Lord debut this autumn, with the release of Hell Is Other People. HEARTLESS’ sound is exactly what their moniker implies; brutal, suffocating, and void of remorse. Bellowing with sinister, mayhem that diehards of metallic hardcore in the vein of Integrity, Cursed or Nails, rushing with crust/powerviolence intensity. Following a rash of 7” releases via an array of D.I.Y. labels over the past handful of years, the band’s debut full-length Hell Is Other People will see a North American compact disc release on November 8th, and on LP November at a later date to be announced shortly. Stay tuned for continuous updates on this unit into 2012.

++++++++++

Closing out the 2011 release schedule, Southern Lord will proudly reissue SUNN 0)))’s long out-of-print sophomore album ØØ Void, finally finding its proper resting place. Following the duo’s Grimmrobe Demos debut, ØØ Void was initially released in 2000 via HydraHead in North America and Rise Above in Europe, with only a limited reissue via Daymare Records in Japan in 2008, making these hymns virtually out of print for some eight years. Not only featuring the core guitarists Stephen O’Malley and Greg Anderson, ØØ Void features bass by Stuart Dahlquist (Burning Witch, Goatsnake), as well as guest contributions from Petra Haden (QOTSA, Foo Fighters, The Decemberists) on violins and vocals, as well as Pete Stahl (Scream, Wool, Goatsnake, QOTSA) contributing vocals, and was recorded on 2″ tape by Scott Reeder (The Obsessed, Kyuss, Goatsnake). This 2011 reissue features revamped artwork by Stephen Kasner and a layout by Stephen O’Malley. Now this highly sought-after catalog piece for worshippers of the pulverizing SUNN 0))) drone style will be available again via a proper Southern Lord reissue. The reissue of ØØ Void will hit North American streets on November 22nd via CD, with an LP pressing at a later date to be announced soon.

Stay tuned for tons of news from the Southern Lord camp over the coming weeks, as many a horde of brand new and pending label signings are announced, and a rash of new releases for the first quarter of 2012 are unveiled.

(03:EsC)

Summus void venditiones

2011-09-12T13:04:00.000-05:00

(((03)))

Infernal Magic(k)

2011-08-29T15:22:00.006-05:00

(((03)))

Drôle (Cela n'aurait pas dû arriver)

2011-08-26T11:52:00.003-05:00

(((03)))

So Many Dead Things... So Little Time...

2011-08-25T11:40:00.004-05:00

When I was laid off back in September of '09, TorqueZine took a back seat. I heard from a lot of people that I didn't even know visited that they missed dropping by to see about what I had ranted or news from the "somewhat" underground. When I began working, again, in late '10, I jumped back on board the blogosphere, for a short time, with the intention of going full-time once more in 2011. And, I did... to an extent. There is a lot going on out there and a lot of brilliant music and musical happenings on which I could report. However, there are an even greater number of sources that beat me to the punch more times than not. So why try to compete?

TorqueZine was, and never will be, about reporting, for the most part, what others wouldn't. I was well sick of seeing tiny posts about ISIS next to giant posts about stupider-than-fuck Stone Sour. I was appalled by idiot reviews of great, cult music by the same assholes who gave St. Anger 5 stars. So TorqueZine, named after a once arcane song by ABSU, was brought to life to take the "moron" out of music news and reviews and the beginning came with a bang. I did my research, marketed the blog to the right people and got the only promoter one needs to know to begin sending me material so that I could write and my humble little upstart was getting a thousand hits a week. Enough for said promotions guy to report TorqueZine to labels as a viable means of promotion. It was working.

With the loss of my job and the lack of will to work with a music business that was giving up, TorqueZine was dead (but dreaming). Nearly 2 years later, I have made some progress in the reviving process but it has been a slow road. As I look, each day, at the slew of other sites and blogs, I can't help but notice a SEVERE lack of upkeep that I feel as though I have to take personally. I drop by these sites every day hoping that the label will have news of their bands. That the bands will have news of their shows or how to get merch. Alas, some of these bands and labels haven't bothered to even post a "...we're sorry for the lack of updates" since their last posts in early Spring. Some have taken years to post anything... the point is. If YOU can't... get someone who can. There are THOUSANDS of people out there who would be glad to do posts and updates for you for a couple items from your webstore, or maybe a shirt or entrance to a show... or FOR FREE.

I've lost track... my point is, I am cleaning house. The links on the right side of TZ are going to start disappearing. There is no need to support that which is already gone. In return... I will be making the most out of my position as proprietor of TorqueZine and will start giving you, the reader, more reasons to stop by. As a favor, I would ask that you link me, spread the word, and get this mother fucker back off the ground. The more hits I have, the easier I can get my promoters back and get subject matter about which I can write and we can all live happily, together, until the day we see articles about Machine Head disappear off the face of our planet!

merci d'avance and MUSIC OR DIE!

Matthew Kim Amyx

(((03)))

Me sequere

2011-08-23T10:25:00.008-05:00

Check out the newly launched ABSU website. Complete, thorough and wondrous. To the Abzu, you will follow.

(((03)))

חדש מוות שוא אדם

2011-08-18T07:19:00.004-05:00

(((03)))

Lord Mangrum

2011-08-12T07:28:00.000-05:00

(((03)))

VOID

2011-08-10T13:18:00.003-05:00

Erupting forth from the filthiest ranks of the underworld, the long-awaited new album from Swedish black metal horde, CRAFT, is finally upon us!

Diehards of CRAFT’s vicious, orthodox black metal bombardment have been seething in anticipation of this album for years, their immensely praised/feared 2005-released Fuck The Universe full-length having infected the metal community on impressive new levels for this previously cult outfit. But 2011 will bring that wait to a crushing end, with the release of the band’s fourth LP, Void. Delivering a nine-track convoy of punishing black hymns over forty nine-minutes, Void does not just pick up where Fuck The Universe left off, rather it also explores some crushing new angles, as well as revisits some of CRAFT’s earlier, scathing days, and wholly channels the band’s obvious, endless hate unto the human population.

Void Track Listing:
1. Intro (John’s Nightmare)
2. Serpent Soul
3. Come Resonance of Doom
4. The Ground Surrenders
5. Succumb To Sin
6. Leaving The Corporal Shade
7. Want To Commit Murder
8. Bring On The Clouds
9. Void

Void is set to pollute the North American masses on September 27, 2011, once again under the reign of Southern Lord Recordings, the label having also been responsible for the release of Fuck The Universe to the continent.

(03:EsC)

Su Nioj

2011-08-10T12:49:00.000-05:00

(((03)))

Magic(k) comprobāvī (tersus)

2011-07-26T12:06:00.005-05:00

ABSU’s New Album Confirmed For October 4 Release; Artwork Revealed

Candlelight Records today confirms October 4th as the North American release date for ABSU’s new album titled Abzu. As previously announced, the album is part two of a planned trilogy of recordings from the Dallas-based mythological occult metal band. Mixed by J.T. Longoria (King Diamond/Solitude Aeternus), the album features the original works of Polish artist Zbigniew Bielak (Watain, Behemoth, Destroyer 666, Vader).

Recorded at Nomad Recording Studios in Carrollton, Texas, Abzu finds drummer/vocalist Proscriptor and bassist/vocalist Ezezu sharing equal vocal duties and debuts the skills of new guitarist Vis Crom. Proscriptor comments, “Abzu is the first studio release to feature a co-vocalist alongside myself since our third album, The Third Storm of Cythraul. Ezezu’s vocal presentation is beyond superlative and I am overly pleased with his execution and delivery. The songwriting undertakings were equally distributed between both Ezezu and Vis Crom and I must admit it brings an admirable multiplicity to the album as a whole. The last song on the album, “A Song For Ea,” was composed in six movements, as it brought the entire band together as an equivalent songwriting team. Vis Crom has definitely proven to be ABSU’s most proficient guitarist in the history of the band.”

Writing began on Abzu last autumn as Proscriptor notes, “This album has not only been the most challenging in ABSU’s discography, but the quickest paced – composition and arrangement wise. The current line-up is scattered all across the United States, so the album was physically written utilizing internet file sharing. We even rehearsed, at times, while communicating via cell phones. Lyrically, the album descends deeper into Enki’s lower world as well Thelemic and Enochian Magic(k) Systems. My lyrical architecture is extremely convoluted, so I decided to create a generalized synopsis explaining the themes behind each song. I feel these are my best poems since 2001’s Tara.”

Abzu has benefited from the unity of the band despite limited face-to-face rehearsal time. In fact only two proper rehearsals were had; one preparing for the band’s dates with Immortal earlier this year. The six-date showcase tour was the first live American dates for the band since their headline tour in June of 2009. Proscriptor confirms, “We rehearsed one week prior to the tour supporting Immortal and exactly one week after in preparation for the studio experience. I can honestly say this is the first time ABSU has rehearsed for only one week, as an entire unit, before entering the studio.”

ABSU recently returned from Finland where they performed at the Hammer Open Air Festival. “For the first time in history, we presented a complete and unabridged version of ABSU’s second album, The Sun of Tiphareth,” shares Vis Crom of the performance. “Now, we prepare with eagerness to do the same at upcoming performances in Greece and The Netherlands. The crowds at Party San and Brutal Assault can expect a different, but unique live set. After that, our sights are set on North American abyss.”

ABSU came to prominence with the release of their 1993 debut, Barathrum: V.I.T.R.I.O.L. Each album saw continual expansion of the band’s now highly regarded artistic vision and international fanbase. It was with 2001’s Tara that the band truly arrived. The album reached top lists of countless magazines worldwide. Years, however, would pass before any new material would be recorded. In late 2007, the band finally announced their re-awakening. Now teamed with London-based Candlelight Records, the band would take nearly sixteen months writing/recording their sixth album. Absu, featuring contributions from members of King Diamond, Mayhem, Melechesh, Firstborn and Enthroned, was released early 2009.

Abzu Track Listing:
1. Earth Ripper
2. Circles of the Oath
3. Abraxas Connexus
4. Skrying in the Spirit Vision
5. Ontologically, It Became Time & Space
6. A Song for Ea including:
a. E-A
b. A Myriad of Portals
c. Third Tablet
d. Warren of Imhullu
e. The Waters – The Denizens
f. E-A (Reprise)

Upcoming ABSU Festival Performances:
8/12/2011 Party San Open Air – Schlotheim , Germany
8/13/2011 Brutal Assault Open Air – Jaromer, Czech Republic
9/10/2011 An Club – Athens , Greece (w/ZEMIAL)
10/29/2011 Aurora Infernalis Festival – Driel , Netherlands

(03:EsC) V.2

Reverto tenebrosus

2011-07-25T09:32:00.005-05:00

"...if all goes according to plan, the cursed and wretched new LEVIATHAN full-length album, True Traitor, True Whore, will see its official release on November 8th. The return of Wrest, imminent..."

~Profound Lore Records

(((03)))

Elláda Magic(k)

2011-07-22T09:20:00.006-05:00

(((03)))

GLORIOR BELLI: French Black Metallers To Release The Great Southern Darkness

2011-07-18T12:22:00.002-05:00

French black metallers GLORIOR BELLI have revealed the cover art and track listing for their new album The Great Southern Darkness to be released in North America on September 27, 2011.

Commented the band on the new release: “The Great Southern Darkness has been recorded over a few months period and is comprised of 11 tracks that magnify all the best elements of GLORIOR BELLI in a twisted unique way again; a tremendous journey through dark deserts and evil swamps with Lucifer as a personal guide. It’s also dangerously violent and fast, yet at the same time really dark with all the Americana/stoner/blues elements that we cherish. Though often warm and almost inviting, the allure of GLORIOR BELLI’s bidding is revealed by a vicious duplicity; you will find comfort here, but at an unspeakable toll. The production is clear yet just harsh enough to bring a warm, fuzzy and completely unique sound you won’t find in any other modern recordings. So load up your haversack and hit the dusty road!”

The Great Southern Darkness Track Listing:
1. Dark Gnosis
2. Secret Ride To Rebellion
3. They Call Me Black Devil
4. Negative Incarnate
5. Bring Down The Cosmic Scheme
6. The Great Southern Darkness
7. The Foolhardy Venturer
8. Per Nox Regna
9. The Science Of Shifting
10. Chaos Manifested
11. Horns In My Pathway

GLORIOR BELLI crept out from the temperamental suburbs of Paris in December 2002. What started as a notorious duo soon became a remarkable beast, acting as a beacon for everyone looking to free themselves of the influence of the Demiurge. A symbolic demo — Evil Archaic Order — was released in June 2004, followed by their first full-length album, Ô Lavdate Dominvs, in May 2005. Their sophomore album, Manifesting The Raging Beast, was released in June 2007 via Southern Lord Records followed by, Meet Us At The Southern Sign, which ravaged unsuspecting ears in June 2009 via Candlelight Records.

Lyrics and themes explored over the years reveal a sincere inclination for rebel-ism and a developed sense of poetry. Today, GLORIOR BELLI has garnered a stellar reputation in the extreme music community for mixing desert rock textures with the brutal, ominous, doom-laden vibe typical of black metal. But don’t bother trying to restrain that which cannot be confined, for this is merely the greatest curse of the cosmic scheme.

GLORIOR BELLI:
Julien: Vocals + Guitar
Gionata: Drums
Davide: Bass
Bjørn: Guitar

(03:EsC)

PROPHECY

2011-07-18T08:58:00.001-05:00

My buddy Allen is playing bass for Prophecy. Swing by and check them out!

(((03)))

Mogwai announces new EP: Earth Division

2011-07-14T08:54:00.004-05:00

When MOGWAI released their seventh album Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will, the Scottish post-rockers went back to basics, delivering an effort of Krautrock-tinged metal intensity. Now, though, the band is changing things up once more as they ready the release of a new EP. Due for release on September 13th via Sub Pop, Earth Division will feature four songs taken from the Hardcore sessions that didn’t quite make the cut. These brand new offerings still invoke the LP’s pulverizing sound, but gain a hazy, almost hypnotic sheen thanks to the infusion of a full string section.

Earth Division will be available on CD, 12″, and as a digital download. Check out the tracklist below.

Earth Division EP Tracklist:
01. Get To France
02. Hound Of Winter
03. Drunk And Crazy
04. Does This Always Happen?

(((03)))

WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM: New Album Nears Completion

2011-07-11T11:14:00.003-05:00

After devoting late Winter season to writing and recording, WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM are in the final stages of completing their fourth full-length opus of epic, earthen Black Metal ceremony.

For over six months the Weaver brothers, Aaron and Nathan, have been immersed in the painstaking writing and recording process of their newest album, and this week the process is nearly complete, at press time the album in its final mixing stages. The WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM clan have confirmed the title of this forthcoming astral black metal document as Celestial Lineage.

The transmutation reaches a new level with the completion of the album. In contrast to the bleakly hypnotic architecture of Black Cascade, the lifespan of Celestial Lineage breathes more expansive and visionary life into the duo’s work. The WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM trademark long-form approach to arrangement remains intact, but there is a stronger thread of Popul Vuh-inspired underworld synthscapes and star-lit pulse woven with the intertwining guitar figures. Celestial Lineage will end a trilogy of releases which began with Two Hunters (2007), and is segued by Black Cascade (2009), and like both previous albums, will be released via Southern Lord Recordings, with a street date of September 13, 2011 now confirmed. Three songs on the album feature Jessika Kenney’s liturgical choir and solo voice, as heard on Two Hunters as well as 2009’s Malevolent Grain EP, the album also including orations from Aaron Turner (Isis).

Stated WITTR drummer Aaron Weaver of the writing process for Celestial Lineage: “An ornate constellation of imagery is what that guides the songwriting process. Cedar temples crowned with burnished bronze domes glimpsed in a remote valley. Wild Midsummer bonfires and feasting on roasted flesh. All of the sounds serve to evoke the images that exist in our minds eye. With this record we’re going to explore an entirely new palette of sound. We want the instruments to sound like the liturgical music of a cedar cult.”

Besides closing out a trilogy within WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM’s own annals, Celestial Lineage also marks the final release to ever be recorded in engineering wizard Randall Dunn’s infamous Aleph Studio, the birthplace of a plethora of groundbreaking releases from Earth, Sunn O))), Boris, Cave Singers, Bjork/Omar Souleyman and countless more over the past decade, as well as where the immense tones and energy on WITTR’s lauded Two Hunters and Black Cascade albums were captured. Check out several brand new in-studio photos from these special recording sessions below.

In support of the album, WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM will commence worldwide touring this September, kicking off in the Americas, and eventually engulfing many other regions of the planet through 2012. Stay tuned for final album details and tour dates to be unearthed in the weeks ahead.

(03:EsC)

Fukking WOW

2011-06-29T12:01:00.004-05:00

(((03)))

BLOODROCK 2

2011-06-24T14:24:00.001-05:00

(((03)))

...at last, VOID

2011-06-20T11:50:00.006-05:00

CRAFT - "Succumb to Sin" from the upcoming album "VOID".

It´s been 6 long years of waiting for Craft-diciples since the release of the critically acclaimed FUCK THE UNIVERSE album
but now CRAFT´s long awaited new opus, titled VOID, will finally be unleashed upon mankind.
The 49 minutes of the album is divided into the following tracks:

Intro (John's Nightmare)
Serpent Soul
Come Resonance of Doom
the Ground Surrenders
Succumb To Sin
Leaving The Corporal Shade
I Want To Commit Murder
Bring On The Clouds
Void

The release date has been set to August 5th 2011.

The CD-version will once again be handled by Carnal Records and the vinyl-version will be released in
co-operation with Trust No One Recordings.

Both labels will soon start taking pre-orders.

Southern Lord will handle the US version.

(((03)))

THOU to crush ancestral homelands

2011-06-17T10:04:00.002-05:00

Our southern sludge brothers THOU are about to embark on a journey to the ancestral lands... in other words, Europe: watch out!

10.06 - Brighton, England at Cowley Club
11.06 - Groningen, Netherlands at Vera
12.06 - Eindhoven, Netherlands at Area 51
13.06 - Leiden, Netherlands at 071
14.06 - Bielefeld, Germany at AJZ
15.06 - Hamburg, Germany at Flora
16.06 - Copenhagen, Denmark at Stengade
17.06 - Berlin, Germany at Cassiopeia
18.06 - Leipzig, Germany at Zoro
19.06 - Praha, Czech Republic at 007 Club
20.06 - Wien, Austria at Arena
21.06 - Koper, Slovenia at Pandamonium
22.06 - Milano, Italy at Dauntaun / Leocavallo
23.06 - Bologna, Italy at XM24
24.06 - Stuttgart, Germany at JH West
25.06 - Versmold, Germany at Cry Me a River Fest
26.06 - Mülheim, Germany at AZ Mülheim
27.06 - Utrecht, Netherlands at dB's CAB-Rondom 100
28.06 - Kortrijk, Belgium at Cinepalace
29.06 - Portiers, France at Le Confort Moderne
30.06 - Paris, France at La Miroiterie
01.07 - London, England
02.07 - Nottingham, England at Stuck on a Name Studios

Shortly upon their return we'll have a substantial new release from these burly boys titled The Archer & The Owle. More info forthcoming, but in the meantime... check out these fiends in action if you live on that side of the pond!

(03:RE)

PELICAN: West Coast Tour Dates: Chicago Quartet Joins The Power Of The Riff & Boomslang Festival Lineups

2011-06-14T12:34:00.005-05:00

Chicago instrumental quartet PELICAN have announced a string of west coast engagements this summer, ending a period of dormancy that has seen the band receding from stages to work on new material and a growing number of side-projects. Joining forward-thinking metal label Southern Lord’s multi-city The Power of The Riff Festival, which sports a lineup including luminaries Pentagram, Winter, Noothgrush, among several others, PELICAN will play installments in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle in addition to their own headlining dates in San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Fresno, and Portland. The following month PELICAN will make a select appearance at Kentucky’s Boomslang Festival alongside Swans, Secret Chiefs 3, Horseback, and many more.

Since 2001 PELICAN has presented a distinct brand of rock that draws on varied, occasionally contradictory, traditions of post-rock, stoner metal, and innumerable other styles, synthesizing a heady amalgam of soaring melody and dizzying distortion. As best experienced on their 2009 full length What We All Come to Need, the seemingly operatic compositions take on a life of their own, unfolding melodically and conceptually, as the four men are lost in performance, heads banging and feet stomping.

PELICAN West Coast Tour w/ ÆGES:

8/12/2011 The Casbah – San Diego, CA
8/13/2011 Echo/Echoplex – Los Angeles, CA @ The Power of The Riff Festival
8/14/2011 SLO Brewing Company – San Luis Obispo, CA
8/15/2011 Audie’s Olympic – Fresno, CA
8/16/2011 The Mezzanine – San Francisco, CA @ The Power of The Riff Festival
8/17/2011 Hawthorne Theatre – Portland, OR
8/18/2011 Neumo’s – Seattle, WA @ The Power of The Riff Festival
9/24/2011 Buster’s – Lexington, KY @ Boomslang Festival

(03:EsC)

2011-06-13T14:01:00.005-05:00

Seth Edward Putnam
(05.15.68 – 06.11.11)

(((03)))

KYLESA at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studio, Denton [06.04.11]

2011-06-06T12:11:00.006-05:00

(((03)))

Locrian/Mammifer/House of Low Culture mini-tour

2011-06-03T12:45:00.007-05:00

My friend and TZ brother, André and his mates are doing some shows with HoLC (One of my personal favorites) and Mammifer. If you have yet to check out Locrian, do yourself a favour and check out The Crystal World 2xCD (with art by another TZ brother, Justin Bartlett. Click the album cover below to obtain info and while you're at it, go to their Facebook Page and click "Like." Music or Die!

Saturday, June 11th @ The Cactus Club in Milwaukee, WI as part of the Utech Records Festival
Monday, June 13th @ The Hideout in Chicago, IL w/ RM73 TICKETS
Friday, June 17th @ Soybomb in Toronto, ON w/ Gates
Satursday, June 18th @ Casa Di Popolo in Montreal, QC w/ ThisQuietArmy BILLET/TICKETS
Sunday, June 19th @ The Pearl Company in Hamilton, ON w/ Electroluminescent

Locrain Fb Here

(((03)))

TOMBS - Path of Totality

2011-05-31T12:14:00.003-05:00

NPR: First Listen
(((03)))

PROTEST:VOX:05.26.11

2011-05-27T08:20:00.003-05:00

(((03)))

EARTH: West

2011-05-26T07:25:00.004-05:00

EARTH – who are about to embark on their next installment of tour dates in support of their Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light 1 opus throughout the Midwest and East Coast US in two weeks — have just confirmed a new full set of West Coast dates for the Summer months as well!

Today EARTH officially unveil eight brand new West Coast shows for July and August, based around their previously-announced performance at Washington’s What The Heck? Fest. The new dates will see the band headlining shows in Oregon, California and their home state of Washington, with direct support from Angelo Spencer et Les Hauts Sommets on all dates, and will also include special guests including Wyrd Visions, Whirr and Tiny Vipers on several shows.

EARTH’s founder/guitarist Dylan Carlson and drummer Adrienne Davies are available to American writers for phone interviews once again next week on Tuesday, May 31, and Wednesday, May 1 between the hours of 2pm and 9pm EST. Please get in touch right away to schedule a chat with one of them.

EARTH Confirmed Live Performances:

Midwest/East Coast American Tour:
6/08/2011 Mayne Stage – Chicago, IL w/ Ô Paon
6/09/2011 Mad Planet – Milwaukee, WI w/ Ô Paon
6/10/2011 Magic Stick – Detroit, MI w/ Ô Paon, Isosceles Mountain
6/11/2011 The Strutt – Kalamazoo, MI w/ Ô Paon
6/12/2011 Grog Shop – Cleveland, OH w/ Ô Paon
6/13/2011 Johnny Brenda’s – Philadelphia, PA w/ Ô Paon
6/14/2011 Wadsworth Atheneum – Hartford, CT w/ Ô Paon
6/15/2011 Middle East Downstairs – Boston, MA w/ Ô Paon
6/16/2011 Le Poisson Rouge – New York City, NY w/ Ô Paon
6/17/2011 Ottobar – Baltimore, MD w/ Ô Paon
6/18/2011 Braddock Carnegie Library – Braddock, PA w/ Ô Paon
6/19/2011 The Historic Southgate House – Newport, KY w/ Ô Paon

*NEW - West Coast Tour:
7/13/2011 Doug Fir – Portland, OR w/ Angelo Spencer et Les Hauts Sommets, Wyrd Visions
7/14/2011 The Northern – Olympia, WA w/ Angelo Spencer et Les Hauts Sommets, Wyrd Visions
7/16/2011 Port Warehouse – Anacortes, WA @ What The Heck? Fest
7/21/2011 Catalyst Atrium – Santa Cruz, CA w/ Angelo Spencer et Les Hauts Sommets
7/22/2011 Slim’s – San Francisco, CA w/ Angelo Spencer et Les Hauts Sommets, Whirr
7/23/2011 Echoplex – Los Angeles, CA w/ Angelo Spencer et Les Hauts Sommets
7/24/2011 Casbah – San Diego, CA w/ Angelo Spencer et Les Hauts Sommets
8/02/2011 Tractor Tavern – Seattle, WA w/ Angelo Spencer et Les Hauts Sommets, Tiny Vipers
8/05/2011 The Shakedown – Bellingham, WA w/ The Narrows, Cold Lake
9/09/11 Hopscotch Music Festival - Raleigh, NC
10/02/2011 I’ll Be Your Mirror, curated by Portishead & ATP – Asbury Park, NJ

http://www.thronesanddominions.com
http://www.myspace.com/earthofficial
http://www.southernlord.com
http://blog.southernlord.com
http://www.myspace.com/southernlordrecordings
http://twitter.com/twatterlord

(03:EsC)

NAILS Video To Premiere On MTV2 This Friday

2011-05-19T13:08:00.009-05:00

Hardcore henchmen NAILS‘ crushing “Conform/Scum Will Rise” video has been confirmed to premiere on MTV2 this Friday, May 20 at 7:00pm EST! Filmed as part of Scoin’s ongoing bi-annual underground artist series, ”Conform/Scum Will Rise” hails from the band’s acclaimed 2010 album Unsilent Death. This is a major step for NAILS and their ongoing campaign for world domination. For now you can crush your enemies to the video, which initially premiered on Metal Injection in late March, at this location.

Exactly one week later, Friday, May 27, NAILS will assault the audiences at Maryland Deathfest on the indoor stage alongside Pulling Teeth, Machetazo, Cripple Bastards, Kylesa, Exhumed, Marduk, and the same night as Corrosion of Conformity and Neurosis. NAILS fly directly to Seattle the next day where they’re scheduled to rain some hell on Rain Fest alongside 7 Seconds, Cruel Hand, Madball, Trial, Weekend Nachos, labelmates Black Breath and tons more. Regional shows will litter the rest of June and July, and then at the end of July NAILS are back on the road on their co-headlining tour with Ringworm!

NAILS Live Actions:

5/27/2011 Sonar – Baltimore, MD @ Maryland Deathfest
5/28/2011 Neumo’s – Seattle, WA @ Rain Fest
6/01/2011 The Blvd – Boyle Heights, CA w/ Weekend Nachos, The Afternoon Gentlemen, Cyborg, ACxDC, Disapproval
6/03/2011 Cobalt Cafe – Canoga Park, CA w/ Cruel Hand, The Carrier, Former Thieves, The Greenery, Habours, Capsize

Death Comes Ripping Tour:
RINGWORM & NAILS w/ Bitter End, New Lows

7/30/2011 924 Gilman – San Francisco, CA
7/31/2011 Chain Reaction – Anaheim, CA
8/01/2011 Nile Underground – Mesa, AZ
8/02/2011 Trainyard – La Cruces, NM
8/03/2011 Red 7 – Austin, TX
8/04/2011 Trees – Dallas, TX
8/05/2011 Downtown Music – Little Rock, AR
8/06/2011 The Record Bar – Kansas City, MO
8/07/2011 Fubar Music Venue – St Louis, MO
8/08/2011 Subterranean – Chicago, IL
8/09/2011 Peabody’s – Cleveland, OH
8/10/2011 Bogies – Albany, NY
8/11/2011 Great Scott – Boston, MA
8/12/2011 *TBD – Philadelphia, PA

The trio are currently writing their follow-up to Unsilent Death for Southern Lord Recordings. Stay tuned for constant updates through the year on all things NAILS.

(o3:EsC)

WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM: New Full-Length Begins To Take Shape

2011-05-10T15:25:00.004-05:00

Black metal cultivators WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM are currently fully immersed in the process of harvesting their next full-length album.

The new album, though still untitled, will be the third WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM full-length for Southern Lord Recordings. Aaron and Nathan Weaver, the founding and only full-time members of the band, will collaborate once again with producer/mystic Randall Dunn (Earth, Sunn O))), Boris) who produced WITTR’s mammoth Two Hunters and Black Cascade albums.

This week Aaron Weaver supplied some insight on the creation of the new album. “I got into a daily rhythm of greeting the weak winter sun in the morning, working outside in the rain until midday, then retiring to our studio to work on the music late into the night. I did this nearly every day for two months. Quite a monastic lifestyle actually. I didn’t see many people. We were totally lost inside the record. Once the record was conceived from beginning to end, we met with Randall and started to slowly build the tracks at his studio in Seattle. I think that this album will be the best thing that Wolves in the Throne Room has created. We’ve never been able to devote this much time to writing and recording. It feels like this will be the culmination of everything we’ve done up to this point.”

In addition to the Weaver brothers, the album will also feature vocal contributions from Jessika Kenny, who contributed so much to the transcendent tone of the band’s massive Two Hunters album.

More information on the album will be brought forth in the coming weeks, as the band complete the album and prepare for a surely busy year of WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM actions worldwide.

(03:EsC)

ЗЕМЛЯ

2011-05-09T12:04:00.005-05:00

American drone ensemble EARTH yesterday completed their five-week European tour with support from Sabbath Assembly, the successful venture coming to a smashing close in Brugge, Belgium.

EARTH are now headed back to Washington to rest up for a few weeks, and prepare for the next leg of their Angels Of Darkness, Demos Of Light 1 tour. Embarking in early June, EARTH will perform for twelve cities throughout the Midwest and Northeast U.S., bringing Ô Paon along for the ride.

The band will not sit around long after, as EARTH are currently plotting upcoming West Coast and Southeast U.S. tours for the Summer months, which will be announced in the coming weeks.

Other confirmed American festival appearances for EARTH in the months ahead include What The Heck? Fest, in their home state of Washington this July, joined by Liturgy, Mount Eerie, Ô Paon, Thrones and many more. EARTH are also confirmed to perform at Hopscotch Music Festival, in Raleigh, North Carolina alongside The Flaming Lips, Swans, Rhys Chatham and countless other acts. In October, EARTH will return to the East Coast where they’ve been invited to take part in I’ll Be Your Mirror, curated by Portishead & ATP America, appearing at the massive festival with Swans, Mogwai, Shellac and dozens more.

Midwest/East Coast American Tour:
6/08/2011 Mayne Stage – Chicago, IL w/ Ô Paon
6/09/2011 Mad Planet – Milwaukee, WI w/ Ô Paon
6/10/2011 Magic Stick – Detroit, MI w/ Ô Paon, Isosceles Mountain
6/11/2011 The Strutt – Kalamazoo, MI w/ Ô Paon
6/12/2011 Grog Shop – Cleveland, OH w/ Ô Paon
6/13/2011 Johnny Brenda’s – Philadelphia, PA w/ Ô Paon
6/14/2011 Wadsworth Atheneum – Hartford, CT w/ Ô Paon
6/15/2011 Middle East Downstairs – Boston, MA w/ Ô Paon
6/16/2011 Le Poisson Rouge – New York City, NY w/ Ô Paon
6/17/2011 Ottobar – Baltimore, MD w/ Ô Paon
6/18/2011 Braddock Carnegie Library – Braddock, PA w/ Ô Paon
6/19/2011 The Historic Southgate House – Newport, KY w/ Ô Paon 7/16/2011 What the Heck Fest – Anacortes, WA 9/09/11 Hopscotch Music Festival - Raleigh, NC 10/02/2011 I’ll Be Your Mirror, curated by Portishead & ATP – Asbury Park, NJ

Stay tuned for more interview opportunities with the members of EARTH in the coming weeks, and for more tour dates to be announced as well. Reviews copies of Angels Of Darkness, Demos Of Light 1 are also still available.

“The combination of revisiting the discordant drone of the early days with the dustbowl desolation of its current method is a winning formula…” – Relix Magazine

“…there’s a twang and smolder to its sound, whammy bars smear honeyed licks into gold-leaf lattices, and the moniker has taken on a rootsy ring.” – Filter Magazine

“…the intricacies of this Earth… demand attention and immersion. That is, check in, not out, and you’ll rarely hear four players with as much quiet command.” – Pitchfork

“…Earth’s newest album manages to redefine American roots music, their impressionistic colossus a potential crossover for fans of antiquated country, folk and blues music. 10/10″ – No Ripcord

“…unlike most heavy-music acts it changed over time as human beings actually do. Its music became lighter and clearer and wiser; it started having more to do with Indian music and La Monte Young and Miles Davis’s ‘In a Silent Way.’” – The New York Times

“As Earth developed its heavy instrumental vision in the past six years, subtle deviation has been crucial to the band’s renewal. Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1 is the latest installment in that trajectory, adding a cello, desert blues and British folk-rock motifs to Earth’s slow-moving Americana.” – NPR

“…for those who can surrender to the serene and gradually unfolding sound, this hour-long listen is simply copasetic. 9/10″ – The Montreal Mirror ‘album of the week’

“…Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1 invites its listeners into that silent continuum that makes music whole. 4/5″ – Tiny Mix Tapes

http://www.thronesanddominions.com
http://www.myspace.com/earthofficial
http://www.southernlord.com
http://blog.southernlord.com
http://www.myspace.com/southernlordrecordings
http://twitter.com/twatterlord

(03:EsC)

NAILS Announce Co-Headlining Summer Tour With Ringworm

2011-05-05T11:38:00.001-05:00

Ravenous California hardcore trio NAILS have just confirmed a co-headlining tour with Cleveland’s infamous Ringworm!

This crushing co-headlining venture — dubbed the Death Comes Ripping Tour 2011 — will ruin fourteen cities in a cross-country rampage in July and August. In addition to NAILS and Ringworm, Bitter End and New Lows will also join the brutal mob, making it contender for hardcore tour of the Summer.

The tour news comes in addition to NAILS‘ previously-announced upcoming appearances at Maryland Deathfest as well as Rain Fest in Seattle this month, and won’t be the last, as more live actions are currently in the planning stages.

NAILS Live Actions:
5/27/2011 Sonar – Baltimore, MD @ Maryland Deathfest
5/29/2011 Neumo’s – Seattle, WA @ Rain Fest
6/03/2011 Cobalt Cafe – Canoga Park, CA w/ Cruel Hand, The Carrier, Former Thieves, The Greenery

Death Comes Ripping Tour 2011
RINGWORM & NAILS w/ Bitter End, New Lows
7/30/2011 924 Gilman – San Francisco, CA
7/31/2011 Chain Reaction – Anaheim, CA
8/01/2011 Nile Underground – Mesa, AZ
8/02/2011 Trainyard – La Cruces, NM
8/03/2011 Red 7 – Austin, TX
8/04/2011 Trees – Dallas, TX
8/05/2011 Downtown Music – Little Rock, AR
8/06/2011 The Record Bar – Kansas City, MO
8/07/2011 Fubar Music Venue – St Louis, MO
8/08/2011 Subterranean – Chicago, IL
8/09/2011 Peabody’s – Cleveland, OH
8/10/2011 Bogies – Albany, NY
8/11/2011 Great Scott – Boston, MA
8/12/2011 *TBD – Philadelphia, PA

NAILS are currently constructing their new album, their second for Southern Lord Recordings. Stay tuned for more updates on all fronts.

(03:EsC)

06.07.11

2011-05-03T07:38:00.004-05:00

(((03)))

Armed... Cold weapons in hand

2011-04-29T13:55:00.002-05:00

VOIVOD To Release Live Album In The U.S. Via Sonic Unyon Metal

Sonic Unyon Metal is extremely proud to announce the confirmed upcoming release of a live album from the almighty VOIVOD!

Late in 2009, VOIVOD released their live Tatsumaki DVD, filmed the previous fall when they toured Japan for the first time ever. To celebrate its release of the DVD, VOIVOD performed in front of a sold-out crowd on December 12th, 2009 at Club Soda in their adopted hometown of Montreal, Quebec. It was their first headlining show in the city of Montreal in more than ten years and it was celebrated in grand style. It was a fitting end to a busy year that saw them named Metal Band Of The Year at the 2010 Indie Awards in Canada. The show was recorded for posterity and is now being released as the fifteen-track Warriors Of Ice, the first official VOIVOD live album to feature original band members Denis ‘Snake’ Belanger on vocals and bassist Jean-Yves ‘Blacky’ Theriault, as well as new guitarist Dan “Chewy” Mongrain.

Set for release on June 21, 2011, Warriors Of Ice highlights the classic period of the original VOIVOD lineup as well as a few new songs, all raging with the band’s notorious live energy. Containing songs from their classic albums, spanning from 1984’s War And Pain right up through 1991’s Angel Rat, as well as two songs from their 2009 Infini LP, the album is built of VOIVOD’s signature songs, from “Voivod” and “Nuclear War” to “Tribal Convictions” and “Astronomy Domine.” The cover art for Warriors Of Ice was designed by drummer Michel Langevin, a.k.a. Away, as always.

Warriors Of Ice Track Listing:

01. Voivod
02. The Unknown Knows
03. The Prow
04. Ripping Headaches
05. Ravenous Medicine
06. Tribal Convictions
07. Overreaction
08. Panorama
09. Global Warning
10. Treasure Chase
11. Tornado
12. Nothingface
13. Brain Scan
14. Nuclear War
15. Astronomy Domine (Pink Floyd cover)

The 15-track set captured on Warriors Of Ice is undeniably packed with VOIVOD fan favorites, making it an absolute must-have release for diehard fans and a great starting point for the uninitiated as well. This is the main set VOIVOD ravaged their audiences with on their 2010 US tour alongside Kreator, and at their headlining slot at the 2010 Scion Rock Fest.

VOIVOD are currently touring Europe, and will begin to assault the North American masses again this May when they are scheduled as one of the top headliners of the 2011 Maryland Deathfest. Stay tuned for more North American tour dates to be announced in the coming weeks.

Review copies of Warriors Of Ice as well as interviews with the members of VOIVOD will be available to U.S. writers and outlets in the coming weeks.

In Canada contact Indica Records for more info and promos.

VOIVOD is:

Denis “Snake” Belanger – vocals
Jean-Yves “Blacky” Theriault – bass
Dan “Chewy” Mongrain – guitar
Michel “Away” Langevin – drums

http://www.voivod.com
http://voivod.net
http://www.facebook.com/Voivod
http://www.sonicunyon.com/metal

(03:EsC)

Ze Champ

2011-04-27T07:54:00.009-05:00

From American Aftermath, an exclusive interview with my buddy, Morgan:

It’s the dawning of a new era here at American Aftermath. Two words, video interviews. I recently got a chance to have a chat with Champ Morgan, vocalist of Kill The Client at their show with P.L.F and Massgrave on 4/24/11.

I would like to thank Champ for being such a gracious dude and allowing us to have some time with him.

Make sure to ‘Like’ Kill The Client on Facebook. If you haven’t bought Set For Extinction, go out and cop that shit. It was easily one of the top ten albums of 2010.

Follow Josh on Twitter – @keepitwolfson

– Josh Huddleston

(03:JH)

Abitus sed non oblitus

2011-04-26T12:17:00.003-05:00

"I try not to be negative or cynical, even though we're in a crazy situation, when things go far right, they will have to swing left. We have to become more caring and sharing."

~ Marianne Joan (Poly Styrene) Elliott-Said (07.03.57 – 11.25.11)
Gone but not forgotten
(((03)))

SoHH042911

2011-04-26T07:20:00.004-05:00

FLOOR - THE BLACK RYDER - MAMMOTH GRINDER - KILL THE CLIENT

Friday, April 29th

(((03))

E.T.A.

2011-04-20T16:39:00.002-05:00

My buddy, Brooks, has a band, Elvis Took Acid. Click the link, buy their shit, see their shows. MUSIC OR DIE!

(((03)))

TORCHE/BIG BUSINESS Summer Tour with HELMS ALEE and THRONES:

2011-04-18T12:59:00.001-05:00

TORCHE/BIG BUSINESS Summer Tour with HELMS ALEE and THRONES:

7/07 Houston, TX @ Walter’s on Washington w/Helms Alee (Venue Link)

7/08 Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon w/Helms Alee (Venue Link)

7/09 Birmingham, AL @ Bottletree Cafe w/Helms Alee (Buy Tickets)

7/11 Tampa, FL @ The Orpheum w/Helms Alee (Buy Tickets)

7/12 Miami, FL @ Chuchill’s w/Helms Alee (Venue Link)

7/13 Orlando, FL @ The Social w/Helms Alee (Venue Link)

7/14 Atlanta, GA @ EARL w/Helms Alee (Buy Tickets)

7/15 Greensboro, NC @ Greene Street Club w/Helms Alee (Venue Link)

7/16 Washington, DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel w/Helms Alee (Buy Tickets)

7/17 Baltimore, MD @ The Ottobar w/ Big Business, Helms Alee (Venue Link)

7/19 Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church w/Helms Alee (Buy Tickets)

7/20 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg w/Helms Alee (Venue Link)

7/21 Cambridge, MA @ Middle East Downstairs w/Helms Alee (Buy Tickets)

7/22 Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place w/Helms Alee (Venue Link)

7/23 Cleveland Heights, OH @ Grog Shop w/Helms Alee (Buy Tickets)

7/24 Newport, KY @ The Historic Southgate House w/Helms Alee (Buy Tickets)

7/26 Detriot, MI @ Magic Stick w/Helms Alee (Buy Tickets)

7/27 Indianapolis, IN @ The Hoosier Dome w/Helms Alee (Buy Tickets)

7/28 Chicago, IL @ The Bottom Lounge w/Helms Alee (Buy Tickets)

7/29 Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club w/Helms Alee (Buy Tickets)

7/30 Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room w/Helms Alee (Venue Link)

7/31 Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater w/Helms Alee (Buy Tickets)

8/02 Salt Lake City, UT @ Club Vegas w/ Helms Alee (Venue Link)

8/03 Boise, ID @ Neurolux w/ Helms Alee (Venue Link)

8/04 Seattle, WA @ Neumo’s w/ Helms Alee (Buy Tickets)

8/05 Portland, OR @ Hawthrone Theatre w/Thrones (Venue Link)

8/06 San Francisco, CA @ Slim’s w/Thrones (Venue Link)

8/07 West Hollywood, CA @ The Troubadour w/Thrones (Buy Tickets)

8/08 San Diego, CA @ The Casbah w/Thrones (Venue Link)

8/09 Scottsdale, AZ @ Martini Ranch w/Thrones (Venue Link)

8/10 Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad w/Thrones (Venue Link)

8/12 Dallas, TX @ Club Dada w/Thrones (Buy Tickets)

8/13 San Antonio, TX @ Korova w/Thrones (Buy Tickets)

8/14 Austin, TX @ Red 7 w/Thrones (Venue Link)

(03:HHl)

Mangrum

2011-04-11T16:04:00.005-05:00

I was able, finally, to witness the Lord Mangrum last eve. To say that it was brilliant would be to undermine him and his 45-year career. The man's still got it and last night, he gave it all! Hails to James Mangrum and the inexorable Black Oak Arkansas!

(((03)))

Magic(k)

2011-04-11T11:14:00.003-05:00

Texas-based mythological occult metal trio ABSU are currently hard at work on Abzu, the follow up to the band’s 2009 self-titled album. The album is being tracked at Nomad Recording Studio in Carrollton, Texas and mixed by none other than J.T. Longoria. (King Diamond, Solitude Aeternus).

Drummer/vocalist/lyricist Proscriptor confirms, “The entire rhythm section has been successfully tracked and all that remains are mellotron passages and vocal lines. Before attempting the final mix, we plan to transfer the rhythm section onto two-inch tape to thaw out its digital timbre. With this record, we are appending dirtier elements of psychedelia and fusion. Lyrically, it will descend deeper into Enki’s lower world as well the Enochian Magic(k) System.” Continuing he notes, “I can tell you this album will definitely not be a ‘natural progression’ from previous releases, but a feat of metaphysical conquest and murkiness.”

Abzu is the second of a three-part series that features ABSU’s signature sound in maniacal fashion. Recently completing a string of American dates with Immortal, the band, featuring guitarist Vis Crom and bassist/vocalist Ezezu, performed a cross section of their extensive catalog to enthusiastic audiences. ABSU sold out of merchandise well before the six date journey concluded in San Antonio late February.

ABSU came to international prominence with the release of their 1993 debut, Barathrum: V.I.T.R.I.O.L. Originally released via Gothic Records, the label later licensed the record to France’s Osmose Productions. (Immortal, Enslaved, Impaled Nazarene, Melechesh) ABSU would then establish a solid relationship with the label and thus release all later recordings via the renowned independent label, including the highly regarded Tara in 2001. In 2007, the band would announce a new partnership with London-based Candlelight Records. The band spent much of 2008 writing/recording Absu, which featured contributions from members of King Diamond, Aura Noir, Melechesh, Firstborn and Enthroned.

Planned for release later this year, Abzu will tap the expertise of Polish artist Zbigniew Bielak (Watain, Destroyer 666) and Costin Chioreanu (Ava Inferi, Grave, Demonical) to assemble the album’s packaging. “In the past, we have utilized the talents of Belgium artist Kris Verwimp,” says Proscriptor, “but now we’re aesthetically detouring into more mystifying, Thelemic realms: musically and lyrically.”

Projected track listing of Abzu (in this particular order) is:

I.) Ontologically, It Became Time & Space

II.) Circles of the Oath

III.) Abraxas Connexus

IV.) Skrying in the Spirit Vision

V.) Earth Ripper

VI.) A Song for Ea including:
a. E-A
b. A Myriad of Portals
c. 3rd Tablet
d. Warren of Imhullu
e. The Waters – The Denizens
f. E-A (Reprise)

Upcoming ABSU Festival Performances:

7/15/2011 Hammer Open Air - Lieto, Finland
8/12/2011 Party San Open Air – Schlotheim, Germany
8/13/2011 Brutal Assault Open Air – Jaromer, Czech Republic
9/10/2011 *TBA – Athens, Greece

“Absu is an energizing sprint through black metal, bedrock thrash, symphonic flourishes and arcane mythological references. All told, it’s so intense that, by cool down, you might still be contemplating the first verse of that warm-up.” – Pitchfork

“…ever-shifting rhythms, clean in contour and even cleaner in recording. Let this album be another piece of evidence in the trial against ‘necro’ production choices in black metal.” – MetalSucks

“…progressive, atmospheric, unrelenting…” – Stereogum

“…this 18-year pillar of metal still reigns supreme in the land of the dark.” – The Austin Chronicle

http://www.myspace.com/absu
http:/www.candlelightrecordsusa.com

(03:EsC)

FLOOR touring for first time in over eight years

2011-04-08T12:55:00.003-05:00

Floridian heavy trio FLOOR are about to embark on their first proper tour in over eight years. Since disbanding, FLOOR's overdue notoriety has slowly grown, due in part from laying the foundation for guitar player/vocalist Steve Brooks' non-stop activity in TORCHE.

Reuniting to celebrate the release of their massive Below & Beyond discography/box set, FLOOR returned for a few key shows over the past year to an overwhelmingly positive response. As a result, the band is now hitting the road for the first time since 2003. In regards to the tour, Brooks had the following to say:

"It's a celebration. Celebrating our 19 years together, apart, back together, apart and back together again! Dropping bombs like it's Floorld War III!"

The (updated) scheduled dates are as follows:

4/9 - Gainesville, FL @ Common Grounds - w/ Hawks
4/10 - Atlanta, GA @ The Earl - w/ Hawks
4/11 - Charlotte, NC @ The Milestone - w/ Hawks
4/12 - Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter - w/ Hawks, Amarok
4/13 - Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall Of Williamsburg - w/ Hawks
4/14 - Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church - w/ Hawks
4/15 - Providence, RI @ Club Hell - w/ Doomriders
4/16 - Buffalo, NY @ Soundlab - w/ Doomriders
4/17 - Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop - w/ Doomriders
4/18 - Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen - w/ Doomriders
4/20 - Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater
4/22 - Missoula, MT @ Secret Show
4/23 - Seattle, WA @ Funhouse - w/ Totimoshi
4/24 - Portland, OR @ Branx - w/ Totimoshi
4/26 - Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Theater - w/ Totimoshi
4/29 - Dallas, TX @ Sons Of Hermann Hall - w/ Mammoth Grinder
4/30 - Austin, TX @ The Mohawk - w/ Mammoth Grinder
5/1 - Houston, TX @ Walter's - w/ Mammoth Grinder
5/2 - New Orleans, LA @ Siberia
5/3 - Tallahassee, FL @ The Engine Room

http://www.myspace.com/Floor

(03:RE)

KTC

2011-04-08T12:29:00.001-05:00

(((03)))

SOMA + MOORE + ATP

2011-04-07T12:14:00.004-05:00

Stephen O'Malley is happy to announce this 3rd collaboration with the mighty ALAN MOORE!

GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR,
ALAN MOORE & STEPHEN O'MALLEY, CINEMA PROGRAMME ANNOUNCED
for "I'LL BE YOUR MIRROR" Curated by PORTISHEAD & ATP
23rd & 24th July - Alexandra Palace, London

Portishead’s only scheduled UK shows for 2011

On 23rd & 24th July 2011 at the stunning Alexandra Palace, London, All Tomorrow's Parties will present the first UK I'll Be Your Mirror event, which will be curated by the mercurial Portishead (who headline both nights) and ATP. Acting as sister events to the world famous ATP Festivals which usually take place in holiday resorts, I'll Be Your Mirror is a new series of artist curated music, film and art events taking place in cities worldwide.

Today ATP are very pleased to announce the addition of two stunning new performances to the Sunday 24th line-up: the legendary Godspeed You! Black Emperor who only recently reformed for a string of rapturously received sold out shows, and also a special collaboration between graphic novelist Alan Moore (Watchmen, From Hell) and musician Stephen O'Malley (Sunn O))), KTL) who will respectively provide text and guitar for an expanded soundtracking of Harry Smith's 1962 animated alchemical film "Heaven & Earth Magic".

We are also pleased to confirm the first of the films that will be screened in the cinema at the event. Heading the list we are excited to present the acclaimed Submarine which will be introduced by writer/director Richard Ayoade (Saturday 23rd) and we are also thrilled to invite Mark Cousins who will introduce his documentary feature The First Movie. Other films confirmed include The Treasures of Long Gone John and three films by John Minton - Field, Jock Scott and September, with a full schedule and more films to be confirmed shortly.

Portishead will headline both nights, with a different stunning supporting line-up joining them each day. Tickets will cost £59 per day with weekend tickets priced at £100. These are the only scheduled UK shows Portishead will play in 2011.

Here is the current schedule for each day with more to be confirmed for both the Saturday and Sunday line-ups....

Saturday 23rd July

PORTISHEAD
PJ HARVEY
DOOM
COMPANY FLOW (original line-up - first UK show in 10 years)
THE BOOKS
FACTORY FLOOR
BEAK>
DD/MM/YYYY
FOOT VILLAGE
& MORE TBC

Sunday 24th July

PORTISHEAD
GRINDERMAN
GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR
SWANS
BEACH HOUSE
CARIBOU
ALAN MOORE + STEPHEN O'MALLEY
LIARS
THE TELESCOPES
THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC
ANIKA
S.C.U.M.
& MORE TBC

With more artists, DJs and other activities to be confirmed for both days in the coming months! Across the weekend we will be bringing to the venue a cinema, amazing food vendors, adding extra bars (including some cash bars) and toilets and also putting on shuttle buses from Wood Green underground to the venue and back to ensure the best experience possible for everyone that attends. Early Bird tickets are sold out with full price Weekend and Day tickets available now.

Tickets on sale now - www.atpfestival.com

(03:I.o)

...per chance to dream

2011-04-03T19:51:00.005-05:00

Following the successful Marijuanaut’s Return tour of September 2010, West Coast stoner metal legends SLEEP recently announced three North American dates for 2011. The mini run of dates will include New York City on June 22, Los Angeles on June 26 and an appearance at the Sled Island Music & Arts Festival in Calgary, Alberta, Canada on June 24.

SLEEP 2011 Live Dates:

6/22/2011 Terminal 5 – New York, NY
6/24/2011 Sled Island Festival – Calgary, AB
6/26/2011 The Wiltern - Los Angeles, CA

Said Noisecreep of the band’s last live excursion: “…if the band put any more stacks on the stage, it just might have collapsed.” Added Popdose: “SLEEP was fucking killer and who knows what the future holds… if you get a chance, they are well worth your time and money…be prepared for one of the loudest fucking things you’ve ever heard.” Rolling Stone Brazil gave the band’s performance a perfect 5 out of 5 rating while Redefine Magazine noted: “SLEEP, despite being broken up for over ten years, seemed like they hadn’t missed a beat — and Holy Mountain never sounded so good in the process. This was the definitive show of the weekend, if not the definitive show of my year.”

SLEEP split in 1997 after two hugely influential albums. Members went on to form OM and High On Fire. Original members Al Cisneros and Matt Pike were joined by drummer Jason Roeder of Neurosis last Fall for a short stint of reunion dates that floored their earliest fans and converted new ones.

The band debuted with 1991’s Volume One album, recorded for San Francisco label Tupelo. Earache Records received the band’s next recordings in the mail as a demo. The label — impressed by SLEEP’s single-mindedness and unique vision — immediately signed the band and released the tape exactly as it was received. Record stores worldwide have stocked SLEEP’s Holy Mountain from November 1992 to this day.The band then signed to London Records. Their debut album for the major took the form of one mammoth 63-minute leviathan of a track entitled “Jerusalem.” They resisted the label’s attempts at radio edits and bringing in their own engineer to remix the album in view of “marketability.” London balked at the prospect of promoting what probably still is the most extreme music ever recorded for a major label, consequentially shelving the record and dropping the band.

In addition, SLEEP’s music has been featured in films by Harmony Korine and Jim Jarmusch.

http://www.weedian.com

(03:EsC)

Kibou

2011-03-14T20:07:00.006-05:00

Dear Friends,

We are all safe. But it was definitely one of the most powerful, longest earthquakes ever though. Many thanks for thinking of us during this crazy time.

MONO

(((03))) V.2

Actualité

2011-03-07T23:15:00.001-06:00

(((03)))

06.01.11

2011-03-03T12:12:00.003-06:00

My buddy, Brian from Noisear and my friends Morgan, James, Chris and Brian (same one) from Kill the Client. Shitstorm is pretty fuckin' terrific, too (with Jon and Rick from Torche). Attend!

(((03)))

03.11.11

2011-03-02T15:33:00.001-06:00

A bunch of friends of mine are playing on March 11th. Attend!

(((03)))

WOE: Philadelphia Black Metal Legion Announce West Coast Tour Dates; Band To Ravage Scion Stage…

2011-03-01T16:56:00.005-06:00

Philadelphia black metal legion WOE will embark on rare string of live dates this March. The short trek will commence on March 5 at the annual Scion Fest in Pamona, California alongside the likes of Morbid Angel, Obituary, Integrity and Nails and ravage its way around the West Coast before drawing to a temporary close in Seattle, Washington at The Highline. The festivities will pick up again on the 31st with a hometonw show at Kung Fu Necktie and a spot on this year’s MACRoCk fest on April 1 in Harrisonburg, Virginia with Cannabis Corpse, Inter Arma, Withered, US Christmas and more.

Said band mastermind Chris Grigg of the upcoming dates: “WOE is not given to hyperbole so it is with stern, stoic determination that we say we hope those in attendance of our upcoming West Coast performances are ready to have their heads blown the fuck off.”

WOE West Coast Tour 2011:
3/05/2011 Scion fest – Pomona, CA
3/06/2011 The Hamat – Oakland, CA
3/07/2011 On The Y – Sacramento, CA
3/08/2011 The Knockout – San Francisco, CA
3/09/2011 Ol Hawk Eyes Art Shackle – Chico, CA
3/10/2011 Empire Squared – Eureka, CA
3/11/2011 Plan B – Portland, OR
3/12/2011 The Highline – Seattle, WA
3/31/2011 King Fu Necktie – Philadelphia, PA
4/01/2011 MACRoCk – Harrisonburg, VA

WOE’s critically acclaimed Quietly, Undramatically was released in North America on October 12 via Candlelight Records. The full-length was recorded at Gradwell House in Haddon Heights, New Jersey with additional tracking completed at frontman Chris Grigg’s BS1 in Philadelphia. The album is the first to feature a full band ensemble comprised of members from Absu, Woods Of Ypres, The Green Evening Requiem, Infernal Stronghold and Rumpelstiltskin Grinder and continues to reap praise from fans and critics alike.

Said the Washington Times of the record: “Woe’s artistry cuts so deep as the band understands the depths of desperation. Their music at times wallows in its own hatred while at others displays optimism that life will improve. It is a satisfying bait and switch because the band knows when to sacrifice betterment at the altar of the bleak.” Added MetalSucks, “Woe’s punk spirit goes beyond bouts with d-beats and energy to spare. They don’t give a fuck about convention, just about stretching what they love to the point where it may not be what it originally was anymore… Undramatic my ass. This is the sound of black metal to come.” Metal Underground commended the band saying: “The album has a huge amount of variation, and tacks on enough unforeseen twists to keep even the most jaded metal fan listening for the whole run time. Fans of U.S. black metal need to make a point of keeping up with Woe,” while About.com noted, “After the brilliant A Spell For The Death Of Man, Woe puts out another sharp, dynamic black metal album that shows major growth and maturity.” Popdose kept it short and sweet: “The USBM scene needs more bands like Woe to take charge and push the genre forward.”

(03:EsC)

SXSW I

2011-02-22T14:24:00.003-06:00

Two colossal bands, Tombs and Castevet, performing at SXSW this year under the banners of Brooklyn Vegan and Profound Lore. Austin day party at Lovejoys will run from noon-7pm. FREE, March 19th. Music or Die!

(((03)))

Käz-mik Hərs

2011-02-22T11:05:00.004-06:00

As responsible for introducing me to new music as he is for reminding me of great gems from the past, Aesop Dekker's Cosmic Hearse Blog is a vast array of music that must be visited to be believed. It displays bands and artists rooted in many genre's, all of which carry the banner of brilliance. From Hyper-Jazz to Uber-Kvlt, Aesop is the man, truly. Visit and enjoy and as always, Music or Die!

(((03)))

The Plus of The Minus Times

2011-02-22T07:57:00.008-06:00

I obtained a copy of this CD after getting Mosquito Control in Austin the day after deadrightthere played a skate park north of there. I was floored by how heavily influenced they were by GODFLESH without totally ripping them off. However, it could not have prepared me for the total brilliance of The Red Sea, which I ordered from Relapse with a birthday gift certificate given to me by deadrightthere guitarist, Dave Powell (Happy Birthday to him, today, BTW!).

Although very short in length, it is by far one of my favorite albums and is smothered in obscure passages from the a short-lived David Lynch project called Hotel Room which adds layers of a haunting and disorienting, nonexistent storyline.

I was also lucky enough to get a copy of the 8" first press in opaque orange/white marble which is limited to 88 copies, world-wide (the only version that is more rare is the aqua/green transition version which is limited to 3 copies and is likely not owned by anyone not in the band or with the label).

In the grand scheme of the all-too-short career if ISIS, this stands alone as their heaviest and most extreme moment in my opinion and is worth a listen from anyone who worships at the altar of GODFLESH but sometimes needs to hear them honored instead of copied.

EP, Second Nature Recordings
April 16th, 1999

1.	Charmicarmicarmicat Shines to Earth	02:23
2.	The Minus Times	05:25
3.	Red Sea	07:17

(((03)))

Boris to Release Two Albums on the Same Day

2011-02-16T14:47:00.006-06:00

This spring, Japanese fuzz-rock overlords Boris will pull a Guns N' Roses/Springsteen/Bright Eyes and release two albums on the same day. Outside of Japan, Sargent House will release the new albums Heavy Rocks and Attention Please on April 26.

Boris already released an album called Heavy Rocks in 2002, but this new Heavy Rocks is a completely different work, one destined to confuse record-keepers for years to come. The new one even has similar cover art to the last one. According to a press release, the band is bringing back the title because the new album "seeks to redefine 'heavy' music in a culmination of the band's tireless efforts over the past two decades." Makes perfect sense!

Attention Please, meanwhile, marks the first time guitarist Wata has sung lead on an entire Boris album.

We've got the covers and tracklists for both albums below. Also below, check out the band's video for "Statement".

Heavy Rocks:

01 Riot Sugar
02 8
03 GALAXIANS
04 Jackson Head
05 Missing Pieces
06 Key
07 Window Shopping
08 Tu, la la
09 Aileron
10 Czechoslovakia

Attention Please:

01 Attention Please
02 Hope
03 Party Boy
04 See You Next Week
05 Tokyo Wonder Land
06 16:47:52...
07 Aileron
08 Les Paul Custom '86
09 Spoon
10 Hand in Hand

(P)

BLACK BREATH Prepare For Tour; Recording Plans Announced

2011-02-15T15:31:00.002-06:00

Northwestern metallic hardcore assassins BLACK BREATH have announced an upcoming rash of live attacks in North America for the coming months, kicking off with the Scion Rock Fest in Pomona, California March 5th alongside labelmates Nails, as well as Morbid Angel, Integrity, Obituary, Bastard Noise, Atheist and countless more.

BLACK BREATH also now unveil new tour dates for as they forge their way across the Midwest and Northeast US on a return trip to Massachusetts’ God City Studios (Converge, Trap Them, The Secret, Disfear) to have Kurt Ballou again put the BLACK BREATH sound to tape for their second full-length album as with their Heavy Breathing debut. To once again be released via Southern Lord Recordings, more info on the album and recording updates will be issued over the coming weeks.

Confirmed BLACK BREATH Live Assaults:
3/05/2011 The Glass House - Pomona, CA @ Scion Rock Fest
3/16/2011 Albion House – Chicago, IL
3/17/2011 Revolution – Toledo, OH
3/18/2011 Sugar City - Buffalo, NY
3/19/2011 PA’s Lounge – Boston, MA
4/02/2011 The Studio At Webster Hall – New York, NY w/ Ken Mode
4/03/2011 Warren Legion Hall – Warren, NJ w/ Ken Mode
4/04/2011 Strange Matter – Richmond, VA w/ Ken Mode
4/05/2011 Chestnut House – Louisville, KY
4/06/2011 Fubar Lounge – St. Louis, MO
4/07/2011 Scion Lab -Kansas City, MO
4/08/2011 Blast O Mat - Denver, CO

Like Entombed fighting Wolfpack in a Poison Idea cover song competition after soaking in bourbon for a year, BLACK BREATH’s tonal massiveness is as crushing and dominating as it is upbeat and empowering. The Seattle-based quintet’s heavy sound integrates elements invented by Swedish death metal and hardcore legends, yet still flowing with plenty of pissed-off American blood, as proven on their potent Razor To Oblivion EP — released in early 2009 then re-released by Southern Lord later in the year — and then even more impressively on their debut full-length Heavy Breathing, which infiltrated endless best of 2010 lists everywhere.

(03:EsC)

...of Mantinea

2011-01-29T16:44:00.005-06:00

A lot’s changed in American black metal since Krallice formed three years ago. A lot’s changed for Krallice, too. Strange it’s only been three years — feels like they’ve always been around. Maybe because despite Mick Barr, Colin Marston, Lev Weinstein, and Nick McMaster performing in a dozen bands outside their USBM juggernaut, they’ve managed (more or less) to offer a new collection each year: Their sophomore album Dimensional Bleedthrough surfaced at the end of ‘09, they hit the road heavy in 2010, and now, as we start ‘11, we’re getting to sample another blackened whirlpool. The quartet’s third, most ambitious, unrelenting (and heaviest, fullest sounding) album, the Friedrich Hölderlin-referencing Diotima, is out in April. Musically, it’s a sort of combination of 2008’s self-titled debut and Dimensional, but as the group gets more comfortable with smashing formulas they’ve taken on an a darker, weirder, stronger, manlier shade. They’ve shaken off the Weakling references at this point, cool? It’s worth remembering that McMaster, who in 2008 handled “additional vocals” and live bass, has substantially increased his writing role and generally made his presence felt. (It’s also worth noting Barr recently relocated from NYC to the D.C. area — Maybe another factor in the shift?) Conceptually, the guys are still brainy, grim in intelligent real-life ways: We have songs dissecting Hölderlin’s “Ode To Diotima,” online existentialism, the apocalypse, Stéphane Mallarmé, the void, divinity’s mortality, rot, endless mausoleums, etc. Sonically, you get a sense of both sides of the palette via lead track, the 12+ minute “The Clearing,” one of the band’s strongest songs to date (which is saying a lot, but after listening, you’ll realize I could say even more). Lyrically, it features the following mind twister: “All death has eaten itself / so it turns to life.” (It’s also just a fucking twister.) Take a listen and ponder your inevitable demise. It’s alright if you cry: Really, no one else is making music like this right now.

Krallice – “The Clearing”

Here’s the Diotima tracklist. The running times are worth noting:

01. “-” (2:07)
02. “Inhume” (6:51)
03. “The Clearing” (12:11)
04. “Diotima” (12:27)
05. “Litany Of Regrets” (13:40)
06. Telluric Rings (12:09)
07. Dust and Light (9:33)

Diotima is out 4/26 via Profound Lore. That’s not the official cover art, it’s a preliminary sample. McMaster’s still finalizing.

(Sg)

Abyssus Magic(k)

2011-01-27T16:48:00.004-06:00

Absu's Proscriptor carved some time out of his very full schedule of 16-hour studio sessions and preparing for a tour with Immortal to grant this exclusive interview to Noisecreep. The magic-centric, Texas-based black metal band will release a new album via Candlelight in the autumn season.

The other two members, Vis and Ezezu, don't reside in Dallas with Proscriptor; they're in Philadelphia and Lubbock, Texas, respectively. So it's crunch time for Absu, who will begin recording when they get back from their short showcase trek with Immortal. Proscriptor gave Noisecreep the scoop on the long hours, starting every day with a 10-tarot-card spread, magic, the next two albums in a trilogy based on their name and how to avoid the burn out.

How deep are you into the new album?

We are working on the final touches. It's composed and arranged. We are prepping for a small showcase tour February 19 through the 26, and depending on preparation, we enter the studio one to two weeks immediately after to track the album. We're looking for a September release date and to play some festivals.

That's a lot of activity in a short amount of time. How are you managing the stress?

It's a new experience, and I cannot speak for the other two members, but the songwriting process for this album has been nothing more than file transferring and phone conversations ping ponged and mirrored back and forth to one another. It is stressful, but -- ironically speaking, at the same time -- it has been the fastest paced album as far as songwriting completion.

Both members of the band have come up with splendid songwriting ideas, and I am zealous and satisfied. So it's stressful, but optimistic stress. With this new album and the Immortal tour, it's been a double dose of activity versus trying to complete the album.

What details can you reveal about the new album?

It'll be called 'Abzu, which is Mesopotamian spelling. The last album was self-titled, and the album after this will be called 'Apsu,' which is the Sumerian spelling. It's the trilogy of the Absu name.

It's the most maniacal collection of songs under the name -- lyrically and theme-wise. It will include the standard topics I've discussed: Sumerian magic and mythology. But we're test driving a new kind of musical theme. Lyric-wise, it's about Enochian magic, which is a system of ceremonial magic based on evocation and commanding of spirits and is planet-oriented.

Sounds intense.

We always go for diversity, which is the most important element of Absu's work.

Do you think you've achieved that diversity with 'Abzu'?

Personally, I am a fan and follower of diversity and incorporating non-metal influences into extreme metal music. It makes it fresh and invigorating. I am getting near the age of 40, and I feel that the fans of Absu are becoming younger and younger, and I want to express my different influences and turn them on to different types of music, implementing those styles. I could be wrong.

Is there a connecting theme?

The origin behind the name, which derives from Assyrian, Mesopotamian and Sumerian origins, is the abyss -- the never-ending, endless void and dark chasm. It's the companion to Tiamat [an ocean goddess who mated with Abzu] within those mythologies. The basic and key origin behind last album and next two is about the abyss, what it is about, how it channels souls into a dark void.

Where did your interest in magic stem from?

I have been a student and follower since the age of 12. I met a few people that were influenced by esotericism and magic and mythology. And by the time I reached 12 and started to experiment with hallucinogenic drugs, it became a pastime and hobby to escape mortal manifestation of planet Earth. Magic is a way to mentally escape of it all.

How extensively do you practice magic?

Every day. I start every morning with a 10-card-tarot spread, which will forecast my day and how my day will pan out.

How accurate is the daily 10-card-tarot spread?

I had not mastered it at the beginning, but with enough practice and projecting daily, you can master it. Like with music, practice makes perfect.

What can we expect during the Immortal tour?

We are looking forward to being direct support for Immortal. We were once labelmates with them on Osmose Productions. I do like the fact that we are able to tour with them. They do not bring direct support.

With these 16-hour studio days, are you hooked up to an IV of coffee, Red Bull or some form of caffeine?

These long days are kicking my ass -- but no, there's nothing like that. The secret to keeping the momentum going is by hour seven or eight, when the burn-out factor kicks in, to take a 15-minute break on the hour, every hour. That helps us avoid the burnout factor.

(NC:AS)

The Filth and The Fury

2011-01-26T08:33:00.005-06:00

I got this wax last year along with the Southern Lord vinyl subscription and recently got the limited CD version. I've been spinning Trap Them since my friend and artist, Justin Bartlett (who has graced the cover of two TT releases, including this one and has designed several of their t-shirts, too) got me to check them out and I have to say that the direction taken on this release is one that's brought a great deal of excitement along with it. Track 3, "Day Forty: Dead Fathers Wading In the Bodyground" is a long, slow screw that makes the short 14+ minutes of this EP worth every penny for every second. There are still some copies of the CD available at Southern Lord as well as a few vinyl subscriptions for the trve.

(((03)))

Caloric(k)

2011-01-25T18:18:00.007-06:00

For almost 20 years, Absu has put out albums that resemble ancient documents that transport us to the worlds of Sumerian, Mesopotamian, and Celtic mythology. The fact that the band began in Plano, TX attests to the capability of the United States to bring forth some of the most thematically exciting and original-sounding black metal ever. Crafting a burger that lives up to the Absu name is quite a task, but Kuma’s Corner is successful at it.

The Absu burger is a cultural exchange of American and Mexican flavors. The colors are a rich saturation of shades of green, similar to the Tara and self-titled albums. The pretzel bun and 10 oz. beef patty are the foundation for a temple of complex flavors. Pepperjack cheese provides a soft carpet of gooeyness over a thin layer of tomatillo salsa. The tomatillo salsa could benefit from more flavor, but the avocado/onion relish more than compensates for that. The avocados, which complement the chopped onions well, are plump and fresh. A liberal sprinkling of crumbled queso fresco helps prepare the tongue for a triumvirate of deep fried chiles comprised of habanero, jalapeño, and fresno peppers. Deep-frying these peppers magnifies the spiciness a few notches. These are no pillars of mercy for those who cannot handle spicy food. I would’ve preferred to pair this burger with Mexican hot chocolate, but the Left Hand Brewing Milk Stout proved to be a worthy companion. The twists and turns within the palate from this burger are like Proscriptor McGovern’s vocal-and-drum attack.

Absu will be touring next February with Norwegian blizzard beasts Immortal. Until then, this burger should temper the craving for black thrashing fire in the sub-zero temperatures of the Midwestern winter.

Carmelo Española

(((03:PMcG)))

Gator Country

2011-01-25T12:32:00.007-06:00

A grandiose find at the Movie Trading Company in Hurst (and it was only $5.99). I have been looking for this on CD for a great number of years. I remember my dad buying it back in '85 and it got played day and night and for any and all visitors to the house. I had everything memorized... songs, between-song banter, even crowd noises. It was recorded in Dallas at Reunion Arena which no longer exists and will forever live on as one of my favorite live albums of all time. LONG LIVE DANNY JOE!!!

(((03)))

Respekt

2011-01-24T19:36:00.002-06:00

FZ: 1976

(((03)))

Playlist 01.24.11

2011-01-24T07:49:00.005-06:00

...straight off of the player:

DEATHSPELL OMEGA - "Apokatastasis Pantôn" - Paracletus
TRAP THEM - "Day Forty: Dead Fathers Wading In the Bodyground" - Filth Rations
MOGWAI - "Hunted by a Freak" - Special Moves
DOOM - "Fear of the Future" - War Crimes (Inhuman Beings)
MINUTEMEN - "Little Man With A Gun In His Hand" - Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat
JESU - "Dethroned" - Metal Swim
OCRILIM - "Part 1" - Annwn
VON - "Devil Pig" - Satanic Blood
EARTH - "Father Midnight" - Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1
KEN MODE - "Obeying the Iron Will" - Venerable
NADJA - "Clinodactyl" - Bodycage
GRAVE - "In Love" - Into the Grave
SIEGE - "Cold War" - Cleanse The Bacteria
GRIDLINK - "Amber Grey" - Phoning it In
BLOODY PANDA - "Miserere" - Summon
ABSU - "Vorago (Spell 182)" - Tara
ABRUPTUM - "Calibus Frontem Tumeo Acidus Abcessus" - Evil Genius
SARCOFAGO - "Nightmare" - INRI
CARNAGE - "Aftermath" - The Day Man Lost
POISON IDEA - "Typical" - Cleanse The Bacteria
WEAKLING - "This Entire Fucking Battlefield" - Dead as Dreams
CRAFT - "Assassin 333" - Fuck The Universe
STARGAZER - "Passing Stone" - A Great Work of Ages
URGEHAL - "Dodelagt" - Ikonoklast
SODOM - "Sepulchral Voice" - In The Sign of Evil
NOCTURNUS - "Droid Sector" - The Key
MORBID ANGEL - "Sworn to the Black (remix)" - Liabach Remixes
PELICAN - "Angel Tears (JK Broadrick remix)" - March into the Sea
AUTOPSY - "Destined to Fester" - Mental Funeral
GOATSNAKE - "Easy Greasy" - Flower of Disease
VIO-LENCE - "Calling In The Coroner" - Eternal Nightmare
NAILS - "Suffering Soul" - Unsilent Death
PALE SKETCHER - "Can I Go Now (Gone Version) (Donnacha Costello remix)" - Can I Go Now (Gone Version)
CATHEDRAL - "Hypnos 164" - Cosmic Requiem
D.R.I. - "Go Die" - Crossover
BROKEN BONES - "Problem" - Decapitated

(((03)))

O)))n the way...

2011-01-21T22:08:00.001-06:00

(((03)))

NEUROSIS Prepare For Souls At Zero Reissue And Upcoming Live Performances

2011-01-12T11:56:00.003-06:00

For Oakland, California’s NEUROSIS, their entire catalog can be considered brilliant not only for its sonic merit but also for its need to wander from the beaten path. Rare is it that a band can make you feel the cold and hard texture of concrete while allowing you to smell the growing vine in the confines of one song. Perhaps this is the reason why so many have looked to and borrowed from their table.

NEUROSIS is pure emotion, in every positive or negative form. Souls At Zero is NEUROSIS’ first flash of true brilliance. Never before were they able to show their passions and exploratory needs so eloquently, while still keeping their musical hearth concussive and visceral. Synthesizers, acoustic guitars and other non-traditional instruments came into play, as did tribal chants and an ethereal smokescreen which enabled the band to shapeshift from one musical being to another. NEUROSIS’ expansion into the uncompromising and groundbreaking act that they are now began here, making the importance of Souls At Zero larger than even the band could ever know at the time. This album is the glint that never leaves your aural vision, no matter how hard you try to escape it. A catastrophic tinnitus that you hope won’t go away.

Neurot Recordings is proud to reissue this perpetual flame of a release while celebrating the band’s 25 years of brilliance. With demo version additions of “Zero” and the title track along with a bonus live cut “Cleanse III”, this updated release is the perfect portal to witness the development of underground music’s titan force. Artwork by the revered Josh Graham completes an awesome package worthy of timeless worship, which Neurot will officially release on February 15th, 2011.

Souls At Zero Reissue Track Listing:
1. To Crawl Under One’s Skin
2. Souls At Zero
3. Zero
4. Flight
5. The Web
6. Sterile Vision
7. A Chronology for Survival
8. Stripped
9. Takeahnase
10. Empty
11. Souls (Demo Version)
12. Zero (Demo Version)
13. Cleanse III (Live in London)

Following NEUROSIS’ recent live appearances in the UK in early December, as well as their year-end double-header in Seattle last week, the band will invade the Bay Area next week for two shows in San Francisco; their first shows in their native stomping grounds since 2008! NEUROSIS will also headline the first night of this year’s installment of the Maryland Death Fest in May, with support from Corrosion Of Conformity, Exhumed, Aura Noir, Marduk, Goatsnake and countless more that night.

Confirmed NEUROSIS Live Appearances:

1/15/2010 Great American Music Hall – San Francisco, CA w/ YOB, U.S. Christmas
1/16/2010 Great American Music Hall – San Francisco, CA w/ Saviours, U.S. Christmas
5/27-29/2010 Maryland Deathfest 2011 – Baltimore, MD

http://www.neurosis.com
http://www.myspace.com/officialneurosis
http://www.neurotrecordings.com
http://www.myspace.com/neurotrecordings

(03:ESC)

011111 (The Return in Binary)

2011-01-11T11:39:00.005-06:00

It's been a long while since TorqueZine has been active. For that, I apologize. I am back, though, and will be reviewing albums, updating you on shows around the world and giving you a front row seat to my musical opinions. So stay tuned world and thanks a million to The One True Patchie and to Proscriptor McGovern for pushing and believing in me.

Music or Die!!!

(((03)))

photo by: Cassiopeia Hale (L to R: Proscriptor (Absu), James Delgado (Kill the Client), Dave Ybanez (Dross), Jason Hans (ex- Torment Defined) and me, in the middle of the mayhem, New Years 2010-2011 (Missing is Dave Powell (Dross) who had passed out.)

...some sort of apology

2010-07-08T23:07:00.005-05:00

Posts have been lacking to say the least. Some know, some don't, but I lost my job last September and it's been sluggish getting back in the game. I promise to get TorqueZine up and running again soon' (if I can get used to a laptop after being weened on a tabletop) and keep posting about the kind of music that most media won't touch. Be on the look out for updates on ABSU, Tarot Productions, Locrain, Ozark Empire, Protest as well as goings on from Hydra Head, Southern Lord...etc. You know, the kind of shit I buy that I know has a market out there. In the mean time, here is Sean and Jes from Coaleace...a mere taste of the HUNDREDS of pics I took at the Converge/Coalesce/Gaza/Black Breath show. Keep buying CDs and/or wax, stop downloading like a pussy and wave the fucking flag! Music or DIE!

(((03)))

RAPTURE!!!

2010-06-08T14:33:00.012-05:00

My copy is the original Earache import I bought when this album first came out...so I've been waiting a great number of years for a remaster of this, one of my favorite albums of all time. Click the image to read more.

(((03)))

SOMAConception

2010-05-25T13:12:00.006-05:00

O)))

Memoria in aeterna

2010-05-16T21:47:00.004-05:00

"Lyrically, I like to use themes that make the listener use his or her imagination, and to give a little of the lessons I've learned in my own life." ~Ronald James Padavona (07.10.42 - 05.16.10)

(((03)))

MMIX

2010-01-14T12:13:00.006-06:00

Here it is finally, our opinions on the best of 2009. Thank you to everyone who sent me a list and sorry it took so long to post. For any bands I might have forgotten, I'm sorry to you also. There was SO much out there that deserved a listen that I just didn't get to or couldn't fit into a top 10. Maybe next year a top 20..?

Matt Amyx (Torquezine)

ABSU - Absu
TOMBS – Winter Hours
COALESCE – OX
CONVERGE – Ax to Fall
PELICAN – What We All Come to Need/Ephemeral
SUNN 0))) – Monoliths and Dimensions
ISIS – Wavering Radiant
THE LIFE AND TIMES – Tragic Boogie
KYLESA – Static Tentions
KHANATE – Clean Hands Go Foul

Honorable: Jesu – Infinity

2010: CRAFT - Void

Morgan (Kill The Client)

GOATWHORE: carving out the eyes of god- this album fucking rips! i've probably played this a couple of hundred of times this year and seen them live 4 times. they turned up the guitars in the mix and cut the amount of lyrics. RIFFS-A-PLENTY! just a fantastic album all the way around. great songs and great production. SICK FUCKIN RECORD!
TOMBS: winter hours- this is one of the most open and layered sonic experiences EVER! this album is huge and expansive. yet almost closterphobic at times. just pure genius. it has some black metal elements just a 1000 times smarter. very experimental and heavy.
HATRED SURGE: deconstruct- this record makes me want to smash everything i own. by far the single best sounding power-violence record ever recorded! just plain punishing. i can't say enough about this band or this record.
NAPALM DEATH: time waits for no slave- one of the top 10 bands of all time! a huge influnce on me personally and this album is more proof why. awesome awesome shit. grindcore at it's absolute finest!
COALESCE: ox- you know when you set around with your friends and say "i wish this band or that band would get back together"? this is that dream come true. it's a coalesce record to the next level. just crazy jerking, hulking, spaztic noise! AMAZING!
WEEKEND NACHOS: unforgivable- chicagos finest! another power-violence/hardcore band that just puts violence on record. huge riffs and angry breakdowns make morgan a punching machine! grab your mouthpiece and start destroying!
CONVERGE: axe to grind- i can't say enough about his band. every record feeds into the next record that goes to the next level. un-fucking-touchable live! axe picks up and passes the torch and just keeps going. converge have really become a genre crushing musical monstrosity.
MAGRUDERGRIND: s/t- what do you get when you mix grind, power-violence, hardcore, and good times? this record. they really stepped up the production this time around. great samples on this record too. fast, pissed, and awesome!
SHRINEBUILDER: s/t- one part st vitus, one part neurosis, one part sleep, and one part melvins... GODLIKE is what it is! this is a supergroup, people! every single track on this album is everything you thought it would be like when these masters of time and space came together. a huge almost spritual audible experience.
BURNT BY THE SUN: heart of darkness- this album is/was everything i had hoped it would be and just a little more. sad to say this is the end of the road for this amazing band. at least they're going out leaving something behind to take notes from for the next 10 years.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
BRUTAL TRUTH, GAZA, AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED, JAVALINA, KEELHAUL, SLAYER, RED CHORD, HARMS WAY

NOTABLE LET DOWNS:
BARONESS, ISIS, HATEBREED, MASTODON

WATCH FOR IN 2010:
RATKING

James Delgado (Kill The Client)

Tombs - Winter Hours
Vorum - Grim Death Awaits
Dinosaur Jr. - Farm
Weekend Nachos - Unforgivable
Hatred Surge - Deconstruct
Suffocation - Close of a Chapter (Live)

Dave Powell (Dross)

Nirvana 2002 - Recordings 89-91
Absu - Absu
Heaven & Hell - The Devil You Know
Burnt By The Sun - Heart Of Darkness
Dying Fetus - Descend Into Depravity
Slayer - World Painted Blood
The Red Chord - Fed Through The Teeth Machine
Goatwhore - Carving Out The Eyes Of God
Suffocation - Blood Oath
Obituary - Darkest Day

Proscriptor (Absu)

INPO:

Krallice - Dimensional Bleedthrough/Portal - Swarth (Tie)
Gong - 2032
W.A.S.P - Babylon
Peaches - I Feel Cream
Foreigner - Can't Slow Down
Razor Of Occam - Homage To Martyrs
Circulus - Thought Becomes Reality
Astra - The Weirding
Kiss - Sonic Boom
Zemial - I Am The Dark

Honorable Mention:

King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King, Lizard & Red - 40th Anniversary Series - Steven Wilson Remix Editions (CD/DVD-A)
Genesis - 1973-2007 - Live Box Set

Andre (Locrian)

Horseback – The Invisible Mountain
Gog – MFTRM (Mist form the Random More)
Buried Inside – Spoils of Failure
Josh Lay – True Mask
Wrnlrd – Myrmidon
The Human Quena Orchestra – The Politics of the Irredeemable
Khanate – Clean Hands Go Foul
Gnaw – This Face
Vagus Nerve – Lo Pan
Aun - Motorsleep

Terence (Locrian)

Expo '70 - Psychosis (LP)
Habsyll - MMVII (CD)
Wolf Eyes - Always Wrong (CD)
Fell Voices - Fell Voices
Horna -Sanojesi Aarelle (CD)
The Human Quena Orchestra - The Politics of the Irredeemable (CD)
Hans Joachim-Roedelius - Durch Die Wuste (LP Reissue)
Absu - Absu (2xLP)
Vomir - Proanomie (CD)
Horseback - The Invisible Mountain (CD)

Justin Bartlett (VberKvlt Art Lord)

Embrace of Thorns "Atonement Ritual"
Stench of Decay "Where Death and Decay Reign" cassette
Altaar "Dødsønske" cassette
Black Majesty "Seventh King of Edom" 7" EP
Portal "Swarth"
ABSU "Absu"
Funeral Mist "Maranantha"
Beherit "Engram"

notable:
Katharsis "Fourth Reich"
Teitanblood "Seven Chalices"
Depeche Mode "Sounds of the Universe" boxset
SUNN O))) "Monoliths and Dimensions"
The Observatory "Dark Folke"
Gravetemple "Le Vampire de Paris"

re-releases/new versions:
VON "Satanic Blood Angel" diehard LP version
SIXX "Sister Devil" diehard LP version
Aura Noir "Hades Rise" LP version
Virus "Black Flux" die hard LP version

Jason Burris (Corruption Code)

Absu - Absu
Goatwhore - Carving out the eyes of god
Slayer - world painted blood
Baroness - Blue Record
Mastodon - Crack the Skye
Tombs - Winter Hours
Torche/Boris (split) - Chapter ahead being fake
Spinnerette - Spinnerette
Clutch - strange cousins from the west
The Dead Weather – Horehound

Mark Dawursk (Photo Lord/Walking Billboard for Hydrahead and Southern Lord)

In no particular order

ISIS - Wavering Radiant
Converge - Axe To Fall
Coalesce - OX
Nihill - Grond
Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vestusta II: Dialogue With the Stars
Funeral Mist - Maranatha
Yob - The Great Cessation
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - White Luna
Sunn O))) - Monoliths & Dimensions
Altar Of Plagues - White Tomb

Honorable mentions:
Friends & Family
Cave In - Planets Of Old EP
A Serious Man
Halo : ODST
McSweeny's entire 09 output
The Hangover
Where The Wild Things Are
COD: Modern Warfare 2
The Venture Brothers
Groom Lake (graphic novel) - Ben Templesmith

(((03:Everyone)

Deluxicus

2009-11-18T12:42:00.003-06:00

ABSU Deluxe Edition Confirmed For American Release

Candlelight Records today confirms the upcoming release of a special deluxe version of ABSU's popular self-titled album. Set for American release January 26, the limited edition format will include a bonus live DVD that was filmed in Montreal amidst the band’s first stateside tour in nearly eight years. The band recently competed a European tour, with support coming from Norwegian label mates Pantheon-I, Australia/England’s Razor of Occam (featuring members of Destroyer 666), and American-based Zoroaster, bringing their highly regarded and self-described “mythological occult metal” to stages for their long-time European fans.

Released in February of this year, the J.T. Longoria (King Diamond, Solitude Aerternus) produced Absu features the trio with an all-star array of guest musicians and showcases the unique graphics of Belgian artist Kris Verwimp. It is the first album from the band released via England’s Candlelight Records, all previous records released by French independent Osmose Productions. In its first month of release, it was pressed three times as fans rushed out to buy the record which held the number two spot on CMJ/College Music Journal’s Loud Rock chart for three consecutive weeks. Terrorizer called the album, “a sound incarnate of a band making the underground amazing again… an undeniable masterpiece.” KNAC.com claimed it, “a captivating album that weaves together black metal, death metal, prog and Sumerian legend into one awe-inspiring package.” Metalsucks.net added, “the crux of Absu is a ridiculously tight band playing perhaps their best songs ever.”

Prior to the start of rehearsals for the ongoing European tour, ABSU announced the addition of session lead guitarist Vis Crom to the group's ranks. He replaces Zawicizuz, who was recently dismissed due to irreconcilable differences. Drummer/vocalist Proscriptor said of the replacement, "we are extremely thrilled to welcome Vis Crom as the newest touring musician of Absu. He has proven to be a conquering performer and we’re delighted to convey our next live chapters with him."

ABSU first came to international prominence with the release of their debut, Barathrum: VITRIOL in 1992. Originally released via Gothic Records, the label later licensed the record to France’s Osmose Productions (Immortal, Enslaved, Marduk). ABSU would establish a solid relationship with the label and thus release all later recordings via the renowned metal independent, including the highly regarded 2001 Tara. In 2007 the band would announce a new partnership with London-based Candlelight Records. The trio spent 2008 writing and recording the thirteen songs that includes new fan favorites “Night Fire Canonization, “Amy,” and “Girra’s Temple."

(((03)))

Ad referendum

2009-08-25T20:36:00.001-05:00

The unleashing of Quantos Possunt Ad Satanitatem Trahunt, the ninth studio album from Norwegian black metal legion GORGOROTH, is drawing near. Recorded at drummer Tomas Asklund's Monolith Studio and mastered at the Cutting Room in Stockholm, Quantos Possunt Ad Satanitatem Trahunt is the first recording featuring the band's official new lineup of guitarist/founder Infernus, former vocalist Pest , former guitarist Tormentor, bassist Frank Watkins (Obituary) and Asklund (Dissection, Dark Funeral et al). The record was produced by Infernus and co-produced/engineered by Asklund. Said Infernus of the nine new tracks: "[they are] mature. The record is indeed harder and more sinister than anything we have ever done before. It is an album I can be proud to say I am standing a 100% behind."

Track-listing:

1. "Aneuthanasia"
2. "Prayer"
3. "Rebirth"
4. "Building a Man"
5. "New Breed"
6. "Cleansing Fire"
7. "Human Sacrifice"
8. "Satan-Prometheus"
9. "Introibo ad Alatare Satanas"

An excerpt of "Prayer" can be found on Regain's MySpace Page

In related news, Quantos Possunt Ad Satanitatem Trahunt will receive a limited-edition picture disc vinyl release on Infernus' own label, Forces Of Satan Records. Check the official website for further updates: http://www.forcesofsatan.com.

GORGOROTH will perform at the sold-out Hole In The Sky Sky festival in Bergen, Norway this weekend. This will mark the band's first live appearance in nearly two years.

Quantos Possunt Ad Satanitatem Trahunt will be released in the US on October 27, 2009.
to that which must be brought back
(((03:Earsplit PR)))

Magic(k) Redux

2009-08-24T11:22:00.006-05:00

(((03)))

Celebratin' Moiduh with The Accüsed

2009-08-20T12:42:00.015-05:00

All Murder, All Guts, All new line-up. The Accüsed were the first band ever to be released on Earache with their debut, The Return of Martha Splatterhead (that's right, album titles get italicized not put in "parentheses") in 1986 and they've more or less been slaying ass ever since. Well... on average, about two albums a decade. But that's still better than a lot of bands out there who started about the same time... (choke, cough!).

If you're familiar with The Accüsed, you'll be wondering if the vibe's still there. If you aren't, you may be curious. The new album, The Curse of Martha Splatterhead, released on Southern Lord (who like to put album titles in parentheses) kicks like a fucking mule and shows the newbies how retro thrash is done best, by guys who were a part of the scene back in '86 and not part of a play date with another 4 year old.

Produced by Billy Anderson, the album spits the kind of venom that hurts but that makes you go back for more. Like dipping your tortilla chip in Dave's Insanity sauce only to find yourself repeating that step over and over despite the gut-wrenching pain. Others will gasp, but your endorphins will lead your willpower to torture-ville, and you'll love it.

Some of you in the know will recognize the new guy on vox. He's none other than B.R.A.D. formally of Burning Witch and Asva (on drums) and current vocalist in Master Musicians of Bukkake. What more could anyone want? You've got the hipster vote right there.

All kidding aside, don't get this because Brad Mowen is screaming on it and don't get it because you buy everything Southern Lord puts out (guilty), get it because you owe it to yourself to hear Thrash Metal/Crossover from a band that was riding in the truck bed of the scene from the very beginning and did it with a sense of humor and horror. A band that never went industrial in the late 80's or wore make up in the 90's singing about their feelings and who deserve tons of your respect and don't need a Toe Tag (oh yeah, I went there) just yet.

(((03)))

1/5 DRI, 3/5 Dead Horse, 1/5 Angkor Wat

2009-08-19T06:54:00.002-05:00

Our buddy Mike Titsworth (far left) in Pasadena Napalm Division.

(((03)))

Myth-ritual Theory

2009-08-18T08:26:00.003-05:00

(((03)))

Shuffle 25

2009-08-13T15:12:00.005-05:00

The concept is to hit "shuffle" on your player and write down what it selects. This is what played on mine*:

01. "Pleasure to Kill" - Kreator

02. "Rotten to the Gore [Demo Version]" - Carcass
03. "Dance Hall Days" - Wang Chung
04. "Verses" - Converge
05. "Crush My Soul" - Godflesh
06. "Spoils of Victory" - Amebix
07. "Manifesting The Raging Beast" - Glorior Belli
08. "The Curse of Lost Days: Part III" - Kylesa
09. "Lust Almighty" - Killing Joke
10. "Tyrants" - Immortal
11. "Black Rain" - Mono
12. "Hymn" - Pig Destroyer
13. "Sea Hag" - Burning Witch
14. "Starstruck" - Rainbow
15. "Dawn: Dawn is a Feeling" - The Moody Blues
16. "I Don't Care How Many Times You've Seen Fight Club, You Are Not Tyler Durden" - Backstabbers Incorporated
17. "Day Three: Instant Circulation" - Trap Them
18. "Candy Apple Red" - Tom Waits
19. "Fight Terror With Terror" - Nasum
20. "Well You Know, Mean Gene..." - Anal Cunt
21. "She" - The Misfits
22. "Long Gone" - Goatsnake
23. "War Crimes" - Doom
24. "Servo" - The Life and Times
25. "Stranger Aeons" - Entombed

* I couldn't make this shit up... I'm very surprised at some of these, less so of others... and this fucking took forever! Thanks to JVSTN

(((03)))

Les Paul

2009-08-13T11:39:00.003-05:00

Lester William Polfuss (06.09.15 - 08.13.09)

(((03)))

アーティストTORCHE / Boris（トーチ / ボリス）

2009-08-05T11:06:00.001-05:00

(((03:Dm)))

What We've All Needed

2009-08-04T18:12:00.000-05:00

The mighty PELICAN are in the studio putting the finishing touches on their fourth studio album, entitled What We All Come To Need.

What guitarist Laurent Lebec has dubbed “the most perfect synthesis of everything we've done to date, sonically”, this new album is a giant step forward within the complex, intricate, beautiful and crushing sound PELICAN is famous for.

The album features more guests than have ever appeared on a PELICAN album before: Greg Anderson of sunn O))), Aaron Turner of Isis, Ben Verellen of Harkonen and Helms Alee and Allen Epley from The Life & Times and Shiner. Content-wise, Lebec says “there is a current of inspiration that feels particular to each album's music and titles. Though we lack a singer, the song names are often conceptual. This new album speaks to a rapidly decaying world, the fulfillment we find in each other, as well as the resolve to move beyond disillusionment.” If the recent Ephemeral EP is any indication of what’s to come, we can expect nothing less than the apex of PELICAN’s creative output.

If you are lucky enough to be in Seattle or NYC in the coming months, don't sleep on checking out the new songs live:

8/06/2009 Neumo's - Seattle, WA
9/22/2009 Brooklyn Masonic Temple - Brooklyn, NY
(*Both shows with sunn 0))), Eagle Twin and Earth)

What We All Come To Need Track Listing:
1) Glimmer
2) The Creeper
3) Ephemeral
4) Specks Of Light
5) Strung Up From The Sky
6) An Inch Above Sand
7) What We All Come To Need
8) Final Breath

http://www.myspace.com/pelican
http://www.southernlord.com
http://www.myspace.com/southernlordrecordings
http://blog.southernlord.com

(((03:Earsplit PR)))

Framing Rips & ATP - New York, 2009

2009-08-04T11:12:00.002-05:00

(((03)))

Static Touring

2009-08-04T06:09:00.001-05:00

KYLESA will hit the road this fall for a headlining tour in support of Static Tensions. Support will come from a rotating cast of bands including Lionize, Bison BC, Tombs, Red Fang and more. This is their first tour since supporting Mastodon this spring. The dates are as follows:

9/17 Wilmington, NC @ Soapbox
9/18 Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel (Planet Caravan)
9/19 Charlotte, NC @ The Milestone
9/20 Nashville, TN @ The End
9/21 Memphis, TN @ Hi Tone Cafe
9/22 Birmingham, AL @ Bottletree
9/23 New Orleans, LA @ Hi Ho Lounge
9/24 Austin, TX @ Red 7
9/25 San Antonio, TX @ Rock Bottom Tattoo Bar
9/26 Denton, TX @ Rubber Gloves
9/27 Oklahoma City, OK @ Conservatory
9/29 Tempe, AZ @ The Sets w/ Landmine Marathon
9/30 Hollywood, CA @ Knitting Factory w/ Blackmath Horseman
10/1 San Francisco, CA @ DNA Lounge w/ Saviours
10/2 San Jose, CA @ Voodoo Lounge w/ Ludicra
10/3 Eureka, CA @ Nocturnum
10/4 Portland, OR @ Satyricon
10/5 Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey
10/6 Missoula, MO @ The Palace
10/8 Salt Lake City, UT @ Club Vegas
10/9 Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater
10/10 Lawrence, KS @ Granada Theatre
10/11 Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club
10/12 Chicago, IL @ Reggies
10/13 Pontiac, MI @ Pike Room
10/14 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop

(((03:P)

A New Day

2009-08-03T05:57:00.003-05:00

Prosthetic Records' has signed Seattle's TRAP THEM. The band's sound combines elements of old school Swedish death metal, punk, and d-beat and takes influence from bands such as Entombed, Black Flag, Nasum and Tragedy. Trap Them has spent time on the road with Napalm Death, Disfear, Skeletonwitch, Victims, Rotten Sound, Toxic Holocaust, and Coliseum, amongst others and has appeared at Maryland Death Fest & New England Metal and Hardcore Fest. (In fact, Mark "Barney" Greenway of Napalm Death was quoted as saying, "Trap Them restored my faith in extreme music.") Before entering the studio to record their Prosthetic debut, due in the first half of 2010, the band will be releasing an EP through Southern Lord Records.

The band commented, "After a few months of very positive talks, we are proud to announce we have signed with Prosthetic Records. This is a step forward for the band and a move that opens up a lot of doors that we have not yet explored in the last three years of distortion. Prosthetic has been supportive of Trap Them's modus operandi for quite some time, just as we have a great respect for the high standards in which their label is run.

We would like to thank Tre, Jake and all the rest of the Deathwish Inc. family for working so hard the last few years, releasing our records and helping us stay on the road as much as we possibly could. We felt honored to have them invest as much time in this band as they did and we greatly appreciate the efforts they made to treat us as a band they believed in.

This is the first step in the next progression of Trap Them and we extremely excited that it involves Prosthetic. We've built this beast on depression, desperation and blasphemy and there is literally no ending point in our sights. We function by the expression, "Go heavy or go home," be it how we write our music, how we approach our tours, or how we live our lives. The days won't stop and we're ready to rage. See you all soon."

Trap Them has released several seven inches and EPs and two full lengths, the latest being "Seizures in Barren Praise," on Deathwish Inc. which made Decibel and Terrorizer's year end top 40 lists, in 2008.

myspace.com/trapthem

(((03:P)))

2009-07-31T14:50:00.001-05:00

A bit o' Repoeshun...

(((03)))

ABSU: Visiter de la Magic(k)

2009-07-31T07:20:00.009-05:00

Exclusive tour pics from recent live excursions. Many thanks to Proscriptor!

(((03)))

Infinité

2009-07-28T09:21:00.003-05:00

CD Version available for purchase now on Avalanche Recordings. Go to the new and almost complete Avalanche Website here and head to the store. Shipping begins mid next week, July 29th onwards.

Full album length song Infinity on Avalanche Recordings (AREC017), written, recorded and mixed early 2009, with all instruments by Justin K Broadrick. Infinity is the most expansive and organic jesu release to date, here JKB revisits his roots of heavy guitar driven music yet still retaining the ethereal atomsphere / soundscape of modern jesu. Approximately fifty minutes of music, CD housed in a beautiful 6 panel digi sleeve. First edition of 2000. Vinyl edition of 1300 copies of which the first 400 are on grey vinyl, the remaining 900 on black, all pressed on super heavvyweight 180grm vinyl will be available late August, MP3 / FLAC available in approximately 7-10 days.

(((03:JKB)))

Respekt

2009-07-22T12:51:00.000-05:00

(((03)))

Monozygotic Bird of Prey

2009-07-21T11:52:00.013-05:00

In much the same way Harvey Milk defied categorization when they spilled onto the scene in the early '90s, so too does Eagle Twin defy pinpointing with their debut album, The Unkindness of Crows.

The Album starts off like the bastard child of instrumental Black Flag ala The Process of Weeding Out with the freestyle jazz-noise fest of "In the Beginning was the Scream". Haunting guitar tones over even more haunting chants of god-knows-what before dropping into what almost resembles a song.

"Murder of..." slams, simple as that. Think Thou's Tyrant with the sickness of it all replaced by a Mississippi duck hunter who was lost in the woods 20 years ago and has grown an appetite for depressed teenage girls who haplessly end up in his basement. Not kidding, spooky only "kinda" describes it. Warned.

"Birds of Black Hot Fire" kicks things into gear...but only 2nd gear at best. Slow in approach and heavy handed in delivery, this sludge with extra gravy makes you wonder if your blood will ever again flow through your veins now that it's turned into cement. Coat that with a nice Melvins-y sheen and you've got yourself a fuckin' ditty!

"Storytelling of Ravens" is what I'd call a glance into a world where Tom Waits wrote and performed prose over the music of SUNN O))), then they recorded it, you bought it on vinyl and placed it on your turntable turning it 1/2 speed with your finger...ever look at the moon...on weed?
"Crow Hymn" marries all the aspects of a Southern Lord band together without really letting you easily say for sure of who it reminds you. "Yeah, it reminds me of..." fill in the blank and you'll only be about an eighth right as there is so much going on here. Listen, enjoy...but you aren't done yet.

"Carry on, King of Carrion" is the kind of tune that'd get Dylan Carlson fans to pep right up and pay attention. The "Earth" tones present give it the same vibe as one might hear from Mr. Carlson's later day work sprinkling ever so subtly here and there some the best of what made the early work of those bands from the state in the far north-eastern part of the country... Eh, hem...

Which brings us to the end of the first Eagle Twin opus in the form of "And it came to pass that birds rain down as black snakes". What better way to cap off an album with the sum of all it's parts? I tell you, Eagle Twin's got something in their water, something sounds like the south, something that swings like the swamp, that swelters like the desert...that kills like a drought and refreshes like spring rain.

If you haven't heard Eagle Twin yet...you'll want to do yourself a favor and look into doing so before you become the last person in "the know".

(((03)))

Witching Hour

2009-07-20T11:51:00.005-05:00

(((03)))

This September (...finally)

2009-07-20T10:40:00.002-05:00

(((03)))

Have Gun - Will Devastate

2009-07-17T09:30:00.006-05:00

AMBASSADOR GUN began in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the summer of 2002. Within the music, there is ingrained a unique ability to master catchy and truly memorable elements. Using rhythmic and aggressive vocal patterns, dissonant down-tuned chords and progressions along with drive saturated low-end. They envelop music expressing comical, political and social disdain; put home lyrically, and fired through a blistering soundtrack of metal, punk, grooves and grind.

Previously known as A SECOND FROM THE SURFACE, the band have shared the stage regionally with national acts including Today Is The Day, Weedeater, Sourvein, Dead To Fall, Battlefields, Red Sparrowes and countless more over recent years, and further live/tour plans are in the works for the coming year.

To be released August 11th on the bands' own imprint Pangea Recordings, the band's 4th full-length When In Hell is a thunderous, angst-ridden, cross-genre stampede of energy, combining elements of Slayer, Nasum, Cattle Decapitation, Mastodon and more.

AMBASSADOR GUN live:
8/15/2009 Triple Rock Social Club - Minneapolis, MN (When In Hell CD Release Show)
8/28/2009 Filth Moon Fest - St. Paul, MN

Myspace

(((03:Earsplit PR)))