Pennsylvania metallers War of Ages have announced their newest album Void to be released on September 13 via Facedown Records.
Void is the follow up to 2017’s Alpha and was recorded at Sicktones Studios.
Check out the first two tracks off of Void – “Miles Apart” and “Sulphur and Salt” over on the band’s Spotify.
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Greetings, y’all. Wanted to get this Fourth of July week of hellish fireworks and bloated nationalistic selectivism off to a better bang with some activism against this hateful Trump regime. I am just back from an ICE/Concentration Camp protest outside Democrat Antonio Delgado’s office in Kingston, NY where many gathered to protest Dems caving on giving funding to Trump’s manufactured border crisis. There was a diverse and passionate crowd including one Jewish man who spoke in horror of having any kind of horrible camps still on this planet. I interviewed a Jamaican immigrant who was a landlady now and she described the racism she had to overcome and a lot of positive energy was put out into my community in the face of this horror show today. I am thankful to have a month and a half sober again, to be back doing activism more and encouraged by my community and support to be back on low dose estrogen , living my truths and experience other amazing people around me who care about trying to heal the world.
There is a lot of negativity in the metal and rock scene and entertainment in general. Ronnie Radke the walking Wikipedia landmine this week was making very transphobic sounding tweets then trying to backpedal through retweets that clunkily seem like he is trying in bad faith to “learn” while simultaneously disavowing the gender spectrum. I tweeted to Brett from Epitaph that maybe it was time to drop their worst signing ever Falling In Reverse but I am sad to say that the dude from Bad friggin’ Religion, one of my all time favorite bands, was too busy retweeting Ricky Gervais both sides schticking about “leftist extremists” being “bad as well” and thus helping do “Antifa is bad” propaganda layup assistance to Andy Ngo grifter fash supporting false equivalency types. Ughh. Jasta also tweeted in support of Louis CK this week and Corey Taylor liked it, which got crickets. Oh, and fucking Varg has a twitter where he is pretending to be god damned…I can’t…Gandalf The (cough) White. FML. And I thought it was a bad time to be a Swiftie this week!
THANK FUCKING NO GOD then that the excellent souls of Black Flags Over Brooklyn and Bandcamp have put out a sick as fuck hardcore, metal and weirdo RIFFS FOR REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE comp to help inspire morale and fight tyranny as well as fight back for abortion rights for people who can get abortions (which includes trans men, by the way). The comp features some of my favorite acts including my friends in Fucked and Bound (covering Sonic Youth, ahhh!!) , Cliterati, my fave Hether Fortune, Redbait and many more. Emma Ruth Rundle, Terminal fucking Nation, Ithaca, Jucifer, False, Woe, Vile Creature, Twilight Fauna, Immortal Bird, Svalbard, Twin Temple, Racetraitor, mighty Underdark…the list of radness goes on and on. HELP SUPPORT and raise funds for abortion rights! Let’s do this!
This comp is a tremendous example of good and positive energy and momentum in the scene and I hope it keeps growing so everything can get better and we can all treat one another with respect for the sake of the future. Pick this up today and spread the word far and wide!
Add to My Radar'Riffs for Reproductive Justice' is a new metal, hardcore, and dark folk @Bandcamp comp to raise $ for @AbortionFunds and @YellowFund, with new tunes from Thou, @RACETRAITORcore @EmmaRuthRundle @closetwitchband and more. #AbortionRights now and forever! https://t.co/CVbdtwhI8M
— Black Flags Over Brooklyn 2019 (@blackflagsovrBK) July 2, 2019
Portland death metallers Witch Vomit are preparing to release their newest album Buried Deep In A Bottomless Grave on August 30 via 20 Buck Spin.
Ahead of that release the band, earlier this week, released “Dripping Tombs.”
Buried Deep In A Bottomless Grave was recorded and mixed by Evan Mersky (Mournful Congregation, Hellshock, Nightfell) and mastered by Dan Randall (Meatwound, Necrot, Ghoul, Vivasick), with artwork by Matt Stikker (Outer Heaven, Power Trip).
Witch Vomit will appear at a handful of fests in the coming weeks including Stardust VII in Brooklyn, New York alongside labelmates Fetid, Daeva and more.
Check out “Dripping Tombs” and Witch Vomit show dates here.
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Photo Credit: Dan Almasy
Miami rockers Torche released their newest track “Admission” earlier this week via Billboard.
“Admission” is the title track off the new album, due out July 12 via Relapse Records.
Guitarist Jon Nunez had this to say about the new track:
“This is a song where the music and the lyrics are a perfect match,” explains guitar player Jon Nunez in the accompanying Billboard article. “It’s as if they were meant to go together. What I was going through at the time really came through in the song, and the music I gave Steve definitely brought out some rather painful emotions for him [regarding] losing loved ones and the process you go through after. You could even hear a quiver in Steve’s voice, and it was like, ‘Wow, this is something we haven’t done before.’ Steve tends to be really secretive with his lyrics. He needed a little bit of a push, but I think deep down inside he wanted to get this off his chest.”
Torche will be heading out on tour with Baroness, Wear Your Wounds, Whores., and War On Women early next month. Check out those tour dates as well as “Slide” and “Times Missing” here.
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California metallers Imagika have signed to Dissonance Productions. Imagika, who have been on a ten year hiatus, are back and preparing to release a new album Only Dark Hearts Survive in September.
Only Dark Hearts Survive was recorded by guitarist Steven D. Rice (Kill Ritual), vocalist Norman Skinner (Skinner, Niviane, Hellscream), bassist Jim Pegram (Mudface, Angerhead) and guest drummer Matt Thompson (King Diamond). The album was mixed and mastered by Andy La Rocque at Sonic Train Studios.
The band’s first ever video was shot in March with Mike Sloat (Testament, Machine Head,Lynyrd Skynyrd) for the track “The Spiteful One” at the infamous Sound Wave Studios in Oakland, CA. A lyric video for the title track “Only Dark Hearts Survive” will drop as the first introduction to the new album.
Check out what guitarist Steven D. Rice has to say about the rebirth of Imagika here.
[Photo Credit: Daryana Romanovskaya]
“Pendulum” comes off the band’s forthcoming album Spellcrying Machine due out August 30 via Season of Mist Records.
Regarding the new album, the band comments:
“One of the most attractive buildings in our hometown is Minsk city crematorium! The comprehension of the fact that there’s a very high probability that our physical presence in this world will end up there and the bodies will be committed to flames, puts a veil of peculiar magic on this place. When walking in the halls of crematorium you cannot but notice giant pendulums that stand still symbolizing frozen time. It is the pendulum that gives more emphasis to the present before the inevitable end to come thus leaving us greedily gasping for the moments remaining. The pendulum in ‘Spellcrying Machine’ holds a special place and we’d like to set off a story with this composition. Until then, let the Pendulum swing!”
Check out the Spellcrying Machine artwork and tracklist here.
[photo by Francesca De Franceschi Manzoni]
Ufomammut is preparing to release a box set called XX in celebration of their 20th anniversary as a band. The XX box set will feature nine Ufomammut’s albums. The box sets will include all eight studio albums; Godlike Snake, Snailking, Lucifer Song, Idolum, Eve,Oro, Ecate, and 8. Additionally, the box will include a new release, titled XX. This new recording features six revisited tracks – “Satan,” “Plouton,” “Lacrimosa,” “Infearnatural,” “Mars,” and “Destroyer – which were re-recorded during the band’s recent European tour.
XX sees Ufomammut’s Poia performing acoustic guitar and effects, Urlo handling vocals, synth, and effects, and Vita on drums and percussion, with Ciccio and Stefano Tocci handling sound production and recording. The sound was mixed by Stefano Tocci at Ampire Studio and mastered by Luca Piazza at Zen Garden Studio.
Ufomammut offers:
“We thought it could have been great to celebrate our twenty years as a band with something different. We wanted to collect all our music in a single place, but we wanted also to do something that we never did before, so we thought about to play a different version of some songs. The ‘acoustic side’ came out from that and we’re very proud of the result we were able to play in front of our beloved fans during our latest spring tour. It was amazing to share these songs with all the people that are following us since the beginning. This is a present for all of them and also for us, for what we’ve been during these long twenty years.”
The XX box set will see release on September 9 through Ufomammut’s own Supernatural Cat Records.
Check out Ufomammut tour dates here.
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Indiana metallers The Contortionist earlier this week released a music video for their newest single “Early Grave.”
“Early Grave” comes off the upcoming EP Our Bones due out August 9 via Entertainment One/Good Fight Music.
The “Early Grave” video was produced and directed by Corey Norman and produced and edited by vocalist Michael Lessard.
Our Bones is a follow up to 2017’s Clairvoyant.
“Once I was finally able to get Robby to record that riff we started piecing together the song in the back of the van, while on tour in Europe,” Lessard recalls of “Early Grave.”
“We try to do something different with everything we create,” explains Lessard. “With our albums, we tend to work with overarching interconnected themes. Our Bones is a departure. It offered an opportunity to dive into some things we haven’t had a chance to explore, and the shorter EP format allowed us to be hyper-focused on each song.”
Our Bones was mixed and mastered by longtime collaborator Jamie King (Between The Buried And Me, Through The Eyes Of The Dead), who worked on Language and Clairvoyant.
The Contortionist will be heading out on tour next month with Between The Buried and Me and Nick Johnston. Check out the video for “Early Grave” as well as those tour dates here.
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The Minnesota metallers in Ashbringer are today releasing their newest album Absolution via Prosthetic Records.
You can check it out over at Brooklyn Vegan. Absolution was mixed by TKris Hilbert (All Hell, Between The Buried and Me) and mastered by Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Portrayal of Guilt).
Ashbringer will be heading out on tour next month, you can check out dates for that here.
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Swedish metallers In Mourning are preparing to release their latest album Garden of Storms.
Garden of Storms is due out October 4 via Agonia Records and will be the follow up to 2016’s Afterglow.
The band commented on the new album:
“We made a new album! It’s called The Garden of Storms ans it is the final piece in a trilogy which started with The Weight of Oceans. We’ve headed back.. and forward, at the same time. We’re back recording with Jonas Kjellgren who made the sound of our earlier albums, yet we have a lot of things that are new with this album. The band constellation is new with Sebastian and Jocke, we’ve worked in ways we’ve never done before, new vibes and new songs even if we planted the seeds to some of them a long time ago. In times where things kind of seem to scatter and change a lot around us, this still feels like our most solid, honest and complete album to date.”
In Mourning will be heading out on tour in October in support of the album. Check out those tour dates plus album art here.
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Danish hardcore punks OXX are preparing to release their upcoming album The Skeleton Is Just A Coat Hanger; These Are The Black Strings That Make You Dance.
The Skeleton Is Just A Coat Hanger is due out on August 16 via Nefarious Industries. The forthcoming album will be a follow-up to 2017’s Night and the City.
The Skeleton Is Just A Coat Hanger; These Are The Black Strings That Make You Dance, was recorded by OXX, mixed by Klaus “Q” Hedegaard, mastered by ET Mastering, with artwork by Aske A. Hvidtfeldt, photography by Malte Riis, and design by Greg Meisenberg.
Check out a tracklisting and a preview of The Skeleton Is Just A Coat Hanger here.
Massachusetts metalcore mainstays Killswitch Engage yesterday announced their newest album Atonement.
The upcoming release, due out August 16 via Metal Blade will be the band’s eighth album and follow up to 2016’s Incarnate.
The band have also released the track “Unleashed.”
Of “Unleashed” and Atonment singer Jesse Leach says:
“‘Unleashed’ is about inner passion and rage coming up to the surface. We all have that wild within that often stays dormant until a tragic event triggers and awakens it. This song is about that awakening within. I feel we were able to capture something raw and intense on this song and I’m stoked for everyone to hear it! The new album Atonement is a reflection of perseverance and passion through the trials and suffering of our existence.“
Killswitch Engage will be heading out on the road on a co-headlining tour with Clutch next month.
Check out “Unleashed,” KSE tour dates and the track list and album art for Atonement here.
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New Jersey metallers Electric Frankenstein have re-issued How To Make A Monster.
The re-release includes limited edition colored vinyl, new artwork by friend and famed artist COOP, extensive liner notes by Joel Gausten with additional insights by Eddie Spaghetti (Supersuckers), Tony Reflex (Adolescents), Ace Von Johnson (Faster Pussycat), plus Captain Sensible (The Damned), a digital download and an 18″ x 24″ poster of COOP’s ‘Electric Bride.’
Says bassist Dan Canzonieri:
“The re-release of How To Make A Monster was very important to us and we worked hard to make it something special for our fans. It’s hard to believe this record is 20 years old! We are celebrating this release by performing the album live in its entirety for the very first time in Europe starting in July. Our US fans will be able to see us play the album later this year and we will post dates as soon as they are confirmed. This includes a round two return to Europe in the fall.”
Check out Electric Frankenstein tour dates and stream How To Make A Monster here.
Minnesota metallers Ashbringer have posted the title track for their upcoming album Absolution.
Absolution is due out June 28 via Prosthetic Records. The album was mixed by Kris Hilbert (All Hell, Between The Buried and Me) and mastered by Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Portrayal of Guilt).
Check out “Absolution,” as well as Ashbringer tour dates and the Absolution tracklist and album art here.
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Swedish death metallers Bastard Grave are preparing to release their newest album Diorama Of Human Suffering via Pulverised Records.
The album, which will be the band’s sophomore effort, is due out on August 16.
Diorama of Human Suffering was recorded, mixed and mastered by Ulf Blomberg (Crawl, Age Of Woe, Inevitable End, etc) and features an artwork by Australian artist Stewart Cole (Contaminated, Noisem, Scorched, etc).
Check out the title track, the track listing and the album art here.
If you were only allowed to pick one black metal album to hear for the rest of 2019, I would strongly suggest you choose False's Portent. A dizzying leap forward from an already very talented and rightfully well regarded act, it does not take long into ten minute opener "A Victual to Our Dead Selves" for the song to grab your undivided attention and never let go. Dedicated to the memory of several friends, the record is professional, passionate, heartbreaking and exhilarating. "Rime On The Song Of Returning" is an exceptionally poetic ode to natural abandon that seems to question our size in the scope of the march of time. The band have never sounded more precise, empowered and fiery, like there is a fortune teller at band practice urging them to claim destiny's heights. If this album holds significance of metal's future it is one that honors the best of the past while boding very well for the genre's horizons.
