…And the big news of the day (everyone try not to freak out):
Add to My RadarHail! We are grateful & pleased to announce the new SUNN O))) album “Life Metal” (2xLP, CD, sunn300) emerging April 2019 on Southern Lord . Read our full announcement here : https://t.co/kFAS6uJGQx pic.twitter.com/w34iXS79TC
— Stephen F. O'Malley (@IdeologicOrgan) February 5, 2019
photo by Ryuji Segawa
Alabama hardcore crushers GIDEON have released a 2 song EP called No Love/No One. The EP is just the tip of the iceberg for what’s to come from Gideon, as the band enters the studio to record a full-length due out later in the year. The band will also be making an appearance at Rock USA this summer.
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Pacific Northwest hardcore/powerviolence practitioners ENDORPHINS LOST will release their scathing Seclusions full-length next month via the newly-launched From The Head Of Zeus Records, helmed by Bay Area punk veteran Athena Kautsch (Six Weeks Records, Voetsek, The West Coast Power Violence Project). Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Greg Wilkinson (Brainoil, Deathgrave, Graves At Sea) at Earhammer Studio in Oakland, California, Seclusions finds the band in their most ferocious form yet boasting fourteen tracks of audio acrimony; the sound of end times incarnate.
Seclusions will be released on CD, vinyl, cassette, and digital formats on February 16th. Preorders are currently available via the official ENDORPHINS LOST Bandcamp page at THIS LOCATION where first single, “Caduceus Rising” can be streamed.
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Urban Fusion Metalcore heroes Candiria have a killer deal for fans over at the Rising Pulse merch page right now. For a limited time you can get the triumphant While They Were Sleeping record bundled with two T shirt designs. The band writes:
If you have yet to purchase ‘While They Were Sleeping’ the latest full length album by Candiria on deluxe colored vinyl, now is your chance to get the best deal possible. We are bundling two overstocked tee shirt designs and offering them for free (practically).
Check it out HERE.
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On March 8th, the Faroe Islands’ Tyr will release their eighth full-length, Hel, via Metal Blade Records. Hel is a collection of ruthlessly melodic and irresistibly compelling progressive folk metal that will immediately resonate with any who have followed the band at any point over the two decades of their storied career. For a preview of the album, the first single, “Fire and Flame”, can be heard at: http://metalblade.com/tyr/ – where Hel can also be pre-ordered or watch the lyric video below.
Hel track-listing:
1. Gates of Hel
2. All Heroes Fall
3. Ragnars Kvæði
4. Garmr
5. Sunset Shore
6. Downhill Drunk
7. Empire of the North
8. Far from the Worries of the World
9. King of Time
10. Fire and Flame
11. Against the Gods
12. Songs of War
13. Alvur Kongur
Relapse Records probably more dedicatedly than any other label in the scene release an annual free sampler. I, personally, thought it had to have been more frequent then annually, but, the press release says annually.
The sampler this year features 33 tracks “With genres ranging from death metal, black metal, doom, sludge, and grindcore to hard rock, electronic, synth, industrial, darkwave, experimental, and more,” according to the press release.
Check out the sampler here.
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L.A. doomers Deathchant have premiered their newest track “Pessimist.”
“Pessimist” comes off the band’s forthcoming self-titled album due out on January 10 via King Volume Records.
The album was captured live over a two-day period at a secluded cabin in Big Bear, California.
Check out “Pessimist” and “Hex” as well as Deathchant tour dates here.
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Swedish doom metallers Candlemass are preparing to release their newest album The Door To Doom in February.
This will be the band’s first album since their 1986 debut Epicus Doomicus Metallicus to feature vocalist Johan Langquist.
The Door To Doom will be released via Napalm Death Records and features Tony Iommi on “Astorolus – The Great Octopus.”
Tony Iommi on his appearance:
“Candlemass are a major force in Scandinavian heavy rock and have always acknowledged the influence we had on their music. They asked if I’d contribute to a track which sounded pretty good so I thought ‘why not’ “.
Leif Edling states:
“We feel very honoured that Tony Iommi said yes to play the solo on ASTOROLUS. The song was sent to the management and amazingly enough, the master agreed to let his mighty SG sing on the track! For me personally this is a dream come true. Tony Iommi has always been my hero and guiding light when it comes to heavy music, so to hear that he likes the song and also would like to play on it, gave me chills down the spine! I’m still in shock! But kudos to him to be so cool to even listen to it. Hats off! Tony Iommi is and will always be God!”
Check out the tracklist and album art for The Door To Doom here.
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Boston metallers Unearth have embarked on a North American tour in support of their upcoming album Extinction(s).
Extinction(s) is due out on November 23 via Century Media Records.
They will be on the road with Fit For An Autopsy, The Agony Scene and Traitors.
Check out the tour dates here.
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L – R: Steven Cope (Drums), Tommy Fradette (Bass), Simon Lavoie (Vocals), Ludovick Daoust (Keyboards), Vincent Bruneau (Guitars)
Photo Credits : Eric Sanchez Photography
Canadian progressive metaller’s Fractal Cypher are premiering a new track, “The Grandeur Of It All.”
“The Grandeur Of It All” comes off the band’s “mini-album” Prelude To An Impending Outcome which is due out on November 8.
Prelude To An Impending Outcome was produced by Chris Donaldson (Cryptopsy, The Agonist, Beyond Creation).
Guitarist Vincent Bruneau says this of “The Grandeur Of It All:”
“‘The Grandeur of It All’ is definitely more energetic and straight forward, with back beats on drums, rock n roll riffs on guitars and catchy vocal lines in choruses and verses. There’s a “bluesy” vibe in the song that is quite obvious all the way through, but we keep it progressive in terms of the song structure, dynamics and tempo changes. ‘Let’s have fun!’ is the mood of this song.”
The artwork for Prelude To An Impending Outcome was done by Silent Q Design out of Montreal.
The band adds:
“’Prelude To An Impending Outcome’ is a mini album of 4 songs that are completely different from one to another to create a maximum roller coaster effect and make it non linear and interesting to listen to. The clash of style is more important and more obvious than our previous album, but the songs have gained in maturity in term of songwriting and sound. The vibe of this mini-album is really more intimate, due to the lyrics and the overall ambiance/universe of the songs. The melodic side of the band is still really present, offering catchy vocal lines and outstanding solos all over the songs.”
Check out “The Grandeur Of It All,” the tracklist and the album art for Prelude To An Impending Outcome here.
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Swedish progressive metallers Soen are preparing to release their fourth album Lotus on February 1 2019 via Silver Lining Music.
Drummer Martin Lopez had this to say about the album:
“We are all very fortunate to have this place where we can go and explore thoughts, perspectives and emotions which everyday life maybe does not have the room for. There are definitely things that we say, and places we go, in Soenwhich would be very hard to express without us coming together and creating music.”
Produced by David Castillo and Iñaki Marconi at Ghostward Studios and Studio 6 between July and October 2018, the album marks the first recorded Soen work of new Canadian-born guitarist Cody Ford, whilst the center-point of the album remains those trademark, snap-heavy, progressive Soen riffs.
“The world right now is undeniably a very strange, tense place,” says Lopez. “I think the songs clearly reflect that, but they also reflect that we must now be stronger than ever in challenging, confronting, and dealing with the pandemonium life throws at us all.”
“We each have our own personal ideas as to what it means,” says Lopez, “but we’d much rather discuss what others think, what our audience thinks, what the media thinks… I think it’s extremely important that we all communicate with each other and take the time to fully conceive our own meanings and interactions with life and creativity.”
Vocalist Joel Ekelöf had this to say about Lotus:
“Ultimately Lotus is about rising from whatever darkness, or dark places, you might find yourself. And its inspiration comes from a deep motivation to not just settle for the situation you might find yourself in. Lotus is about changing life — both your own and your surroundings for which we must all take responsibility — and make them better rather than letting darkness pacify you and take you down.”
Check out Soen European tour dates here.
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Portland, Oregon metal noise makers Hair Puller are preparing to release their debut full length album Old Friend on November 16. The album will be released on vinyl via Nadine Records and on cassette via Accident Prone Records.
The band returned to the studio in October 2017, recording drums at Stop / Start with friend and scene-mate Robert Comitz of Marriage + Cancer, and recording the rest themselves over the next several months. The resulting 10 songs were mixed by guitarist Eric Leavell, and mastered by Julian Silva of On Air Mastering.
Check out “Waste” and “Chores” off of Old Friend here.
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[photo by Alyssa Maloof]
Frontman Dana Helmuth had this to say about the album:
“We had moved back to the country, into a small cottage in the woods, with no plumbing for the first three months we were there. We had an outhouse and outdoor shower. It was primitive, and it was during that time that I started writing all the material for Death Ritual. The solitude and the darkness of the night put me in a space of prolific writing and I wrote all eight songs in a month. We rehearsed three times a week and immediately started playing live shows regularly in Baltimore and New York City. We were able to channel that same darkness in the writing, also into our live shows, and the positive response was tremendous and really pushed us harder on our journey.”
Yatra’s full-length debut, Death Ritual was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Grimoire Records’ Noel Mueller in August of 2018. The artwork features four mixed-media pieces by Aki Pitkänen, layout by Mueller, and the hand-drawn logotype by Dana Helmuth.
Released one year after the series’ origination on Samhain 2017, GRIDFAILURE issues When The Lights Go Out Vol. II. As with its predecessor, which focused on supernatural forces, dimensional vortex transitions, cadavers, paranoia, stalkers, and unexplained phenomena, the second volume expands further into such topics, with a slightly more spiritual undertone. An atmospheric album created for the harvest season , this album transitions the auras of nocturnal nature, apparitional screams, and supreme paranoia, into a place where no otherworldly forces will save you, the listener.
Recorded and created by GRIDFAILURE’s David Brenner, who provides vocals, keyboards, synth, guitars, bass, percussion, and more, When The Lights Go Out Vol. II. is strewn with guest contributions, including acoustic guitar and keyboards by Liz Ciavarella-Brenner, vocals from Faith Ciavarella, traveling preacher organ from Benjamin Levitt, vocals from Morgan Evans, recordings from David Rodgers, and more, spiraled into a vaporous envelopment of end-time dirge.
Harvest season only begins now. The lights go out again.
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Just a reminder that the new one In Our Wake from blood sucking metalcore bruisers Atreyu hits streets October 12th and it is a winner. Here is the title track “In Our Wake” in case ya missed it. Much higher production value video than the early days, lol. Brandon still grand slams those catchy cleans to the moon. We stan. Like Thrice, it is good they have embraced their grandest ambitions because the songs aren’t held back and the emotion can come through without being self-conscious.
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Ohio's Bes are a calamitous racket of alt-rock infused heavy sounds and have recently released the very worth your time Pieces Missing EP. Fans of Torche, Failure or even some KEN Mode will find stuff to latch on to here. I don't know how intentional it was but I hear a lot of late nineties influence in some of what this band is doing, but paired with an even more aggressive edge befitting our times.
Recommended Track: "Lost It All".
