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If you are looking for new Stoner Rock, Doom, Heavy Psych or Sludge Metal bands, then you have come to the right place. Heavy Planet has been providing free promotion to independent and unsigned bands since 2008. Find your next favorite band at Heavy Planet. Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Album Of The Day-Warpig-"Self-Titled" (1970)

The Album Of The Day is "Warpig" by Canada's Warpig.



Review:

One of those bands that miss the boat to stardom during their active lifetime, Canadian hard rockers Warpig would experience a zombie-like afterlife following their demise, when they joined other cult acts like Sir Lord Baltimore, Leaf Hound, and Captain Beyond in haunting the minds of hard rock and heavy metal collectors. Vocalist/guitarist Rick Donmoyer, keyboard player/vocalist Dana Snitch, bassist Terry Brett, and drummer Terry Hook had all accumulated ample wood-shedding experience with an assortment of amateur bands (including the Kingbees, the Wot, and Mass Destruction) before coming together as Warpig in 1968. Smitten with recent, revolutionary albums by the likes of Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience -- seedling examples of what would come to be described as "hard rock" and, later, heavy metal -- the members of Warpig began defining their own style around these new, more powerful sonic parameters from their base of Woodstock, Ontario (just an hour outside Toronto). They weren't alone, of course, as 1968 was the year that spawned debut albums from seminal proto-metal acts like Blue Cheer, Iron Butterfly, and Canadian compatriots Steppenwolf, among others, and the last two, in particular, bore numerous similarities to Warpig's organ-heavy hard rock sound. By the following year, the quartet was building quite a fan following throughout the Ontario club circuit and had signed a contract with local independent Fonthill Records, completing work on their eponymous debut album in late 1970 and proceeding to perform with several visiting luminaries, such as Mahogany Rush, Wishbone Ash, Manfred Mann, and Savoy Brown. But poor distribution and promotion on the part of their indie label meant that Warpig remained largely unknown outside of Canada, and there was little progress made until 1973, when London Records offered to re-release the album with different cover art and two completely re-recorded tracks cut with future Rush producer Terry Brown. Unfortunately, time and changing trends had conspired to seriously date Warpig's once cutting-edge sound, and even though the Deep Purple-esque single "Rock Star" actually scraped into the Canadian charts and convinced London to commission a second album, the band would fall apart following the mid-session departure of Terry Hook and, soon after, Dana Snitch. Rick Donmoyer went on to play with Ash Mountain, but both Warpig and their lone, overlooked album quickly faded into forgetfulness -- until the new millennium, that is, when rare original copies started fetching outrageous prices on eBay. This may have been one of the factors behind Donmoyer and Snitch's reconciliation after 30 years of silence, leading to discussions of a full-blown Warpig reunion, and the re-release of their debut album on CD for the first time, via Relapse Records. (Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide)

Track Listing:

01. Flaggit
02. Tough Nuts
03. Melody With Balls
04. Advance in A Minor
05. Rock Star
06. Sunflight
07. U.X.I.B.
08. The Moth

Listen

Official Website

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Wednesday, July 30, 2008

The Sound of Animals Fighting New Song

The Sound of Animals Fighting have just launched an amazing new song, “The Heraldic Beak Of The Manufacturer's Medallion” from their forthcoming album, The Ocean And The Sun, out September 9th.

Please check it out here: http://www.myspace.com/thesoundofanimalsfighting

Bigelf "Cheat the Gallows"...Where did all the Rock Stars Go?



So where DID all the rock stars go? Did they all drown in a pool of excess or all go join Alice Cooper on the golf course? It’s not the excess that the world is missing out on.........the world does not need any more hair sprayed bands in make up, and if you need a dose of excess past you can always go revisit chapters 1-30 of “The Dirt.” Where are the huge guitar riffs over multi layered walls of sound that drive you into sensory overload? Hallucinatory hard rockers Bigelf have solved this problem with their latest released “Cheat the Gallows.” You can’t help but be swept adrift by the doomed mist of infectious melodies and chilling harmonies that collide with an otherworldly embrace of the psychedelic on “Cheat the Gallows,” the band’s debut release for Linda Perry’s Custard Records. Bigelf does not create music they craft orchestrations . Having formed in 1995 in Los Angeles Bigelf has released two albums overseas where they developed a tremendous cult status following. These releases were followed by empty promises from major labels for worldwide success. But that is the past, and the future is here. Bigelf have cheated the gallows and come out stronger for the wear. Now it’s time for the world to pay the piper at the gates of dawn…

MySpace
Official Website

"Money It's Pure Evil"

Audio
Video

Get a Free Autographed, Limited Edition CD Booklet with Pre-Order of "Cheat The Gallows". Go to NewburyComics.com to order now! Available August 12th.

CLUTCH Release Full Fathom Five eCard

We only have a few more weeks to wait until CLUTCH release their new live DVD and CD, Full Fathom Five.

The band just launched an eCard where you can sample video and audio from the two releases due out on August 12th. The releases are being put out on the band's own record label, Weathermaker Music and will be availble on tour and exclusively at Merch.com.



TO VIEW THE NEW CLUTCH ECARD

http://goto.thesyn.com/clutchecard/



TO PRE-ORDER FULL FATHOM FIVE

http://www.merch.com/clutch/products.asp?dept=444

Album Of The Day-Ganon-"As Above, So Below" (2008)

The Album Of The Day is "As Above, So Below" by Ganon.



Review:

Detroit, MI's Ganon proved plenty on their debut, the long EP/short full-length called In the Dead of Sleep. While they had all the thud, crunch, and power of a doom metal band, they placed their energy and creative aesthetic toward something we now call "post-rock." If Neurosis are a "post-rock" band, so be it. On the album this quintet played slow, used occasional dynamics, were no strangers to lyric melodies, yet plastered them all with distorted waves of low-tuned bass and guitars and still sounded like guys who could write songs. As Above, So Below is a bona fide full-length, clocking in just a hair shy of 45 minutes. It was recorded by Ben Began (who helmed the board for In the Dead of Sleep) and co-produced by himself and the band. Ganon's entire sound has evolved and morphed into something tougher, louder, and more visceral, while keeping their strengths right up front where they belong. In other words, here they sound more like themselves than ever. While it's true that the recording itself is crisper, with more sonic space and dimension than its predecessor, that's only part of the reason for the new offering's head above the pack success. The biggest aspect of what Ganon do better than most is write actual songs. These tracks are not mere frameworks for low-tuned riffage and open drones or simple repetitive guitar parts played ad nauseam as some yob screams into the din. All the listener really needs is a listen to set opener "Descend from the Wind." It begins with a wail and the scree of enormous guitars courtesy of Greg Heaney and Ryan Toohey. The cracking snare, plodding out the four/four as both guitar players take opposite contrapuntal melodic leads in the refrains and bridge is the first notice that something here is very different indeed. The other is that bassist Clark Eagling sounds like a real bass player, not someone who merely keeps time for the drummer to add fills. The wall of atmospheric sound that fills up the middle and hovers freely in the quieter passages amid the snare and tom tom thud is a nice touch, as are Kenneth McNabb's lyrics, put forth loudly and clearly so as to engage the listener from the jump. Various open instrumental passages bring almost proggish melodies (though they are far from pretentious or difficult) into the mix to pull their way into a separate melodic entry. They don't do war with one another. Tempos shift with textures and dynamics and where the tracks end is very far from where they began. Elsewhere, such as on the album's killer hinge piece "Until First Light," Classic American metal, Eno-ish textures and spaciousness, scandalously skeletal instrumental (guitar) interludes, and grinding drums and bass brings something so unusual and hearty to the fore that it furthers this whole genre of loudness mongers. Think of the best overdriven metal guitar riffs laid down by Ride the Lightning-era Metallica, or Hell Bent for Leather- era Judas Priest (with the American sense of aggression), wound together with the beautiful harmonic invention of Ganon at their finest. This description still doesn't quite capture the spirit of Ganon, or As Above, So Below, but it's closer. Where the bassline is so punishing, the soaring guitars and keyboard magic are only exceeded by Brian Fredenburg's propulsive -- you can make a case for convulsive -- militarist snare fills and broken beats. But by the time you get to "The Night Draws Near," with guest cellist Angela Tram helping to introduce this brooding, sinister, minor-key melody, it's brewing up a thudding maelstrom of drum and bass throb as the guitars interplay with the cello, and combine three different lyric lines for McNabb to make obscene with his unhinged vocal. This is where the dark side of rock belongs, in the corridors of power, where volume is combined with musicianship, with songwriting, and with abstraction. Highly recommended. (Thom Jurek, All Music Guide)

Track Listing:

01. Descend From the Wind
02. Collide and Cease
03. Until First Light
04. The Night Draws Near
05. At This Time

Listen

MySpace
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Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Album Of The Day-Teeth Of Lions Rule The Divine-"Rampton" (2002)

The Album Of The Day is "Rampton" by Teeth Of Lions Rule The Divine.



Review:

Sometimes an album comes along that's so deranged and far gone, it invokes naught but stunned looks of disbelief (often accompanied by uncontrollable drooling) from the listener. Surpassing that is Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine's Rampton, an exercise in doom-noise absurdity that craps black sludge on any and all musical conventions in its path, causing one to chuckle at Napalm Death, who at one time had the tenacity to tout itself as the end of music as we know it. Uh huh. It sort of makes sense that TOLRTD is a doom metal supergroup, consisting of drummer Justin Greaves (Iron Monkey), vocalist Lee Dorrian (Cathedral, Napalm Death), guitarist Stephen O'Malley (Khanate, Sunn O))), Burning Witch) and guitarist/Southern Lord leader Greg Anderson (Sunn O))), Goatsnake) — although Rampton is, by design, truly shatterpated, the enemy of all things logical, and most likely the product of excessive ingestion of chemical depressants. Take opening cut "He Who Accepts All That Is Offered (Feel Bad Hit of the Winter)" as a prime example: A quasi-response to Queens of the Stone Age's smugly ironic single "Feel Good Hit of the Summer," the 29-minute track is an endless slog through countless filthy snowdrifts of ambient noise, feedback, and sluggish drumming, Dorrian's goofy, monotonous vocal droning on about (presumably) a particularly bad acid trip, if you care to squint at the lyric sheet, which is printed in a nearly indecipherable font. "New Pants and Shirt" and "The Smiler" continue the album's lead-footed trudge through a polluted haze of billowing smog and soot, sounding like a hellish mixture of Sunn O))) or Earth-style ambient noise dementia and Sleep's one-sloppy-riff-will-do-for-the-next-eight-minutes non-work ethic — kind of like dragging Cathedral or Eyehategod across the turntable at about 11 rpm. And that's it — three songs, 55 minutes, and countless glazed-over eyeballs rolling back into heads. Only Sleep's 52-minute, one-song, one-riff excursion Jerusalem rivals Rampton in sheer ludicrousness. Maybe the members of TOLRTD were really staring into the blackened pits of hell as they passed this black-tarred beast into the night, or perhaps they were snickering while constructing such epic, grotesque excursions into lunacy — either way, their intentions were undoubtedly foul and insidious. For appreciators of mentally unhinged anti-music only, and, uh, handle with care. (John Serba, All Music Guide)

Track Listing:

01. He Who Accepts All That Is Offered
02. New Pants and Shirt (MP3)
03. The Smiler

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New Mammoth Volume Songs Online

From Mammoth Volume:

We just added six brand new songs to the Mammoth Volume official webpage. Songs are taken from the Loved by Few, Hated by Dolphins-project (2008) This digital release will only be available for a short period of time.


Enjoy,
Mammoth Volume

Monday, July 28, 2008

Eagles Of Death Metal Release Date and Tour Dates

"It's been a while since we've heard from the always eccentric, Axl Rose-eviscerating Jesse "Boots Electric" Hughes and his wild 'n' wooly band of cohorts, which of course is co-helmed by almighty Queen of the Stone Age Josh Homme. But finally, they're ready to unveil another mammoth monument to rock.

SPIN.com has the exclusive info on the Eagles' newest full-length, titled Heart-On and scheduled for release Oct. 21 via Downtown Recordings. The album was produced by Josh Homme and, as his partner-in-semi-sardonic-riffage Hughes tells us, is "EODM's latest fabulous weapon, a top-secret music missile, a sonic warhead sexually tipped for her pleasure, shot from the deck of USS EODM Mantastic Fantastic." Tour dates across California and parts of Texas and Arizona (as listed below) will follow with co-headliners the Hives.

And for those of you East Coasters who are all, "Hey, what gives? I want me a dose of that Eagles charm and they're not playing my Podunk town yet," we've got ya covered. Click on the clip below the tour dates for Part 1 of a series of cross-promotional videos Hughes filmed at the reputedly rock 'n' roll Denny's in L.A. In keeping with the album's title, Hughes and the Denny's cooks (chefs might be pushing it) concoct heart-shaped pancakes and breakfast sandwiches, as the band's frontman conjures names for the menu items ("the Lovers Special") and correlating slogans ("Every night is ladies night with Eagles of Death Metal. We put our heart right on a plate."; "It's a heart of rock 'n' roll on a sleeve of taters.").

"Something magical happened in that Denny’s kitchen," says Hughes. "I discovered musical arts and culinary arts are one in the same; transparent and transitionless talent across every spectrum. I'm talking a seamless creative energy force of spatial enlightenment, an atmospheric aphrodisiac of complete artistical awareness. Plus, both have the word art, which is pretty cool."

Oh, and as for whether he might considering sending one of his Lovers Specials to old pal Rose as an olive branch, Hughes laughs and and says, "I don't think a $2.99 Denny’s breakfast messengered to Malibu would come across as a peace offering in this case… It's a positive thought. I love the idea. Friend-effective is relative to every situation… If he ain’t looking for my friendship, I ain’t looking to pursue friendship. Our friends, family, and fans are the backbone of EODM support and solidarity. Friendship is from the Heart."

Eagles of Death Metal Tour Dates (w/ the Hives:

9/16, Austin, TX (Stubbs)
9/17, Dallas, TX (House of Blues)
9/19, Tempe, AZ (Marquee Theatre)
9/20, San Diego, CA (Gas Light District)
9/21, Anaheim, CA (the Grove)
9/22, Ventura, CA (Ventura Theatre)
9/23, San Francisco, CA (Warfield Theatre)
9/24, Los Angeles, CA (Mayan)
9/25, Los Angeles, CA (Mayan)

(Article Courtesy of Spin.com)

Lunch Is Reforming

Lunch is reforming. Lunch features Vince (Beaten Back to Pure, Hail!Hornet, Sourvein) on drums, Will (Mugwart, Sourvein, The Crimson Electric) on guitar, Danny (Mugwart, Sourvein, The Crimson Electric) on bass, and Charlie Lee Beasley (Mugwart) on vocals. No release date is set for the follow up to the Lunch mini-CD EP.


Also, Charlie Lee Beasley has completed the The Misanthrope Project album. It is being mixed now by Vince Burke. The lineup on this project is Charlie on vocals, Vince (Beaten Back to Pure)on guitar,, Justin (Crescent Fresh) on guitar, Ahmasi (Crescent Fresh) on bass, and Joey (Electric Frankenstein, Buzzard) on drums.

Sweden's OPERA DIABOLICUS 'Fixing The Flaws' On Self-Titled Debut

OPERA DIABOLICUS, the Swedish doom rock-opera project featuring multi-instrumentalist Snowy Shaw (THERION, DREAM EVIL, KING DIAMOND, MERCYFUL FATE, MEMENTO MORI, NOTRE DAME), has returned to the studio to "fix the flaws" on its self-titled debut album. According to a press release, "This decision was made in agreement between their future record companies and the band itself, due to the original recording's rather poor guitar sound and that some of the vocal contributions simply [weren't] up to par in comparison to the other singers' contributions in this rock-opera style doom-metal project. Now OPERA DIABOLICUS will bring out the fullest potential of their material. Snowy is currently recording additional lead and backing vocals to the parts that [were] previously recorded by him for the album. OPERA DIABOLICUS has now recruited Mats Levén (KRUX, ex-THERION, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN etc.), Niklas Isfeldt (DREAM EVIL) and Jake E Berg (DREAMLAND, AVALANCHE) to replace the vocal parts previously recorded by other singers. The founding musicians/songwriters David and Niemi are re-doing guitars and bass this time with Andy La Rocque [KING DIAMOND] at his Sonic Train Studio. The female parts were performed by the professional soprano Camilla Alisander of the Gothenburg Opera and the drums were done by Snowy Shaw. The music and concept could be described as dramatic and dark doom metal with atmospheric, epic and progressive elements. A must-have for fans of CANDLEMASS, KING DIAMOND, MERCYFUL FATE, MEMENTO MORI, THERION, NOTRE DAME, DIMMU BORGIR, KAMELOT and more."

The CD is tentatively scheduled for release around Christmas.

For more information, visit www.myspace.com/operadiabolicus.

TROUBLE To Tour East Coast In September

Legendary Chicago doomsters TROUBLE have issued the following update:

"Thanks to all that came out and supported TROUBLE throughout the West Coast tour. It was great to get back out west and see many old friends, and to meet many new ones. These tours would not be possible without the amazing die-hard fanbase that TROUBLE has. You people rule. Time now to shift focus to the East Coast. TROUBLE will begin working east starting September 11, 2008. This tour will go through parts of Canada and work down through Florida. Dates to follow shortly."

TROUBLE will headline the Alehorn Of Power III festival on August 9 at the Double Door in Chicago with SLOUGH FEG, BIBLE OF THE DEVIL, ICARUS WITCH and PHARAOH.

HEAVEN AND HELL To Take Part In Live Listener Call-In Show On SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO

BLACK SABBATH/HEAVEN AND HELL members Ronnie James Dio (vocals), Tony Iommi (guitar), Geezer Butler (bass) and Vinny Appice (drums) will join Buzzsaw host Keith Roth on Sirius Satellite Radio for an hour-long live listener call-in show/question-and-answer session on Friday, August 1 from 1:00 p.m. EST to 2:00 p.m. EST.

Repeat broadcasts:

Saturday, August 2: 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. ET / 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. PT
Sunday, August 3: 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. PT
Monday, August 4: 5:00 - 6:00 p.m. ET / 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. PT
Tuesday, August 5: 11:00 - 12:00 a.m. ET / 8:00 - 9:00 p.m. PT

Dio, Iommi, Butler and Appice will sign copies of their new box set, "Black Sabbath: The Rules Of Hell", at Vintage Vinyl in Ford, New Jersey on Saturday, August 2 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Due to time constraints, the band will only sign copies of "The Rules Of Hell" box set and HEAVEN AND HELL's "Live From Radio City Music Hall" DVD/CD.

Vintage Vinyl
51 Lafayette Road
Fords, NJ
Tel.: (732) 225-7717

Contact the store for further details.

ORANGE GOBLIN Commences Work On New Material

British doomsters ORANGE GOBLIN have issued the following update:

"ORANGE GOBLIN have just started work on material for a new album which they are planning to record in March 2009 for a summer release. So far there are three or four new songs in the pipeline and the band hope to have new material to play live before the end of the year. Expect an announcement regarding record label developments to follow very soon.

"The band are also starting to make plans to re-release their first five albums through Rise Above Records. These will be deluxe packages featuring unheard material such as demos, covers and live recordings as well as new photos and sleeve notes. There are plans to release them on gatefold vinyl as well as a limited edition box set of all five. We'll keep you updated with the progress of these but the band hope to have them available before the end of this year.

"ORANGE GOBLIN are pleased to announce a new deal with German booking company, Vibra-Agency. For anyone wishing to book the band on mainland Europe please contact www.vibra-agency.de."

ORANGE GOBLIN's latest CD, "Healing through Fire", was released in May 2007 through Sanctuary Records. The album was initially released as a CD with a bonus DVD featuring live footage from the band's headline show at London's Mean Fiddler in December 2006.

Album Of The Day-The Mighty Nimbus-"Self-Titled" (2005)

I just wanted to let everyone know that the Album Of The Day is alive and well. I was very busy over the weekend and really did not have much time for posting. Sorry that I didn't give you guys a heads up. With that being said, The Album Of The Day is "self-Titled" by The Mighty Nimbus featuring members of Alabama Thunderpussy and Sixty Watt Shaman. The album also includes a badass cover of Saint Vitus' "Born Too Late"! Doom on \m/.

Review:

Like death metal/black metal, the doom metal/stoner rock/sludge field hasn't given listeners a lot of multi-platinum sellers, but has a very enthusiastic cult following. Orange Goblin and Fu Manchu aren't outselling Slipknot, Metallica, or Limp Bizkit, but the headbangers who get into doom metal really get into it. Doom enthusiasts are always on the lookout for a quality doom band, and this self-titled effort by the Mighty Nimbus demonstrates that they are, in fact, a quality doom metal band. Actually, the Mighty Nimbus is a side project for Alabama Thunder Pussy's Erik Larson and Pete Champel of Sixty Watt Shaman, although this early-2005 release doesn't sound very much like Alabama Thunder Pussy. While ATP offers alternative metal with a strong Southern rock/country influence (much like Hammerlock), the Mighty Nimbus remains faithful to doom metal's unapologetic Black Sabbath worship — that is, Sabbath worship with death metal-ish vocals. While the generally slow guitar riffs have the strong Sabbath influence that so many doom bands are known for, the vocals often favor the sort of deep, ominous, guttural growl that one expects from death metal. Of course, that blend of Sabbath-minded riffs and growling vocals isn't groundbreaking by 2005 standards — Grief, just to give one example, was doing that sort of thing in the early '90s. Anyone who expects the Mighty Nimbus to be innovative will be disappointed, but if this album is derivative, it is enjoyably derivative — and what Larson and Champel's collaboration lacks in originality, it makes up for in terms of quality, infectiousness, and enthusiasm. Anyone who still listens to Saint Vitus and Grief religiously will find the Mighty Nimbus to be an enjoyable, if less than distinctive, addition to the underground doom/stoner/sludge world. (Alex Henderson, All Music Guide)

Track Listing:

01. Everything I See
02. I’ll Never Weep
03. Broken Hoop
04. Drinking on a Pile of Skulls
05. Fenrir
06. Raising the Mammoth
07. Impose My Will
08. Sacrament of the Sick
09. Eclipse
10. Born Too Late

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*This download is for preview purposes only. It will be deleted in 24 hours. Please support the band and purchase their merchandise.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Crucial Blast Updates

From Crucial Blast:

www.crucialblast.net

Here's what's new this week from Crucial Blast HQ:


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CRUCIAL BLAST LABEL AND ARTIST NEWS
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Much to report this week, folks.
We have a bunch of bands playing out this summer, with several tours being lined up in the Fall (including the first ever U.S. appearance of French doomsters Monarch!), several new releases from Crucial Blast on the horizon (Noism, Black Elk, Monarch, Geisha, Genghis Tron and more), and the grand opening of our BRAND NEW Crucial Blast webstore, now up and running at www.crucialblastshop.net ! This new webstore has literally
been two years in the making, and it's now live and ready for you to flip through all of our available titles, check out actual photos of the stuff we carry, and read all of the reviews that are now organized on the site! We also have over 300 older titles that have been added to the store, not including the latest New Additions list! Holy crap.

***THIS JUST IN: Wildildlife has just been confirmed as the opener for the mighty HARVEY MILK for this Sundays show at Great American Music Hall in San Francisco! That's THIS SUNDAY - if yer in the Bay Area, there's no excuse to miss what promises to be one hell of an amazing show. Cruise over here for more info: http://www.gamh.com/artist_pages/harvey_milk_072708.htm


Just got word that Skullflower has been confirmed for the upcoming Colour Out Of Space festival in Brighton, UK. Sponsored in part by Rock A Rolla Magazine, this festival is taking place from September 5th through the 7th, and is being curated by Dylan Nyoukis. The event will feature over thirty acts, films and more incuding: Thurston Moore & Chris Corsano, Limpe Fuchs, Aaron Dilloway & Joseph Hammer, Leslie Keffer, Adam Bohman, Ghedalia Tazartes, Skaters, Lionel Marchetti & Yoko Gami, Astral Social Club & Axolotl, Charlie Drahiem, and many more.
For more info and updates see www.colouroutofspace.org


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WILDILDLIFE NEWS: NEW LIVE AT WFMU CDR AVAILABLE + PEASE FEAST 12" and HARVEY MILK SHOW TOMORROW !!!
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new Wildildlife Live At WFMU CDR out now + Pease Feast 12" coming this fall.
We have a new Wildildlife CDR available this week from the Crucial Bliss series. Live At WFMU, as you may have guessed, features a complete live set of Wildildlife performing live in the studio at the venerable New Jersey freeform radio station WFMU, on The Brian Turner Show. The six songs that Wildildlife played ranged from tracks off of their debut album on Crucial Blast Six to songs from the band's self-released Peas Feast CDR, with all of the galactically stoned and trippy improvisation/effects f**kery/longform jamming/extreme weirdness that makes Wildildlife one of the best goddamn live bands I have ever had the pleasure of getting stomped by. As much as I love Six, when these cats perform live, the air turns into a particularly neon-blue-hued strain of cottage cheese, and if you weren't lucky enough to catch them on their U.S. tour back in the spring, this is the next best method
for experiencing Wildildlife's mutant psychedelic sludge. The disc comes in a full color sleeve with photos and artwork from the band, features a goofy/funny interview with the band at the end, and is limited to 300 copies.



MP3 EXCERPTS:
Track 1: "Metal" ::MP3 EXCERPT:: http://www.crucialblastshop.net/audio/wildildlife_metallive.mp3
Track 2: "Grinder" ::MP3 EXCERPT:: http://www.crucialblastshop.net/audio/wildildlife_grinderlive.mp3

We also have a vinyl edition of Wildildlife's Peas Feast coming out this Fall through Crucial Blast. The band released this EP as a handmade CD-R that has been sold at shows over the past year, but the songs on Peas Feast are so cool that we wanted to give this a proper vinyl documentation. We are also planning to include a digital dropcard in the vinyl package that will allow you to download the tracks from the Peas Feast EP as well as access some additional bonus music that will be exclusive to this digital download. The Peas Feast 12" will be coming out
around late October. Stay tuned for more info!

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new AUN Multigone CDR out now from Crucial Bliss.
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Another new Bliss disc that is surfacing this week is the new full length Multigone from AUN. Montreal native Martin Dumais has been an active participant in the Quebecois underground electronic music scene since the early 1990's, beginning with the Industrial project Odds and continuing through to the French house/electro/disco hybrid Les Jardiniers and the techno project Juicebox. Over the past few years, Dumais has been engaged in a very different sort of project, the largely solo endeavor AUN. Using heavily processed guitar and electronics as his primary intrumentation, AUN generates massive post-industrial dronescapes and grinding machine-doom that is reminiscent of the white-light supernovas of Skullflower's most explosive recordings, the classic dark industrial ambient of Lull and Cranioclast, Troum's blissed out dream drones, and

the blackened, formless amplifier sludge of Black Boned Angel and Sunn O)))'s 00 Void. I was introduced to AUN's music after Martin, a longtime customer at Crucial Blast, sent me copies of his excellent AUN CDs that were released on the ORAL label out of Montreal. As heavy and distortion/feedback-damaged as any of the more abstracted noise/metal magma that has been oozing out of Battlecruiser, Southern Lord and 20 Buck Spin, but coming from what is clearly a background rooted in Industrial and electronic music, AUN's mesmerizing, crushing and often quite
beautiful music became an immediate new favorite.
After picking up AUN's Blackhorse CD on Oral to carry at Crucial Blast, we started working on releasing a full length that Martin had recorded called Multigone, which he thought would fit well with the Crucial Bliss aesthetic. This seven track disc is undeniably the heaviest music that AUN has created so far, a grinding, distorted soundscape that begins with the keening electronic drones and muffled, disembodied metallic riffing that becomes endlessly tanged in a nest of squirming low-end noise in the opening title track, and steadily ratchets up the heaviness with each track, until we come to the punishing "Palejoy", a bludgeoning Industrial metal dirge that has massive, Godflesh-like percussion fused to processed, almost synthetic sounding doom riffage, a black cloud of buzzing, ultra downtuned black dirge drifting over a muffled, slow motion breakbeat. In between, AUN erects vast
walls of crumbling distortion and rhythmic guitar loops forged into apocalyptic ambient drift streaked with heavenly synth choirs and sweeping cosmic fx, crushing fifteen-minute blasts of immolating amplifier ragas formed from a nebula of melting woodwind sounds, distant elephantine tympani drums, hellish symphonies of rusted, scraping strings and celestial electronic whiteout that ends up sounding like something from Skullflower's Orange Canyon Mind but one hundred times heavier, and strange deep-space blues jam instrumentals with impossibly detuned guitar soaring through black holes of reverb and tape fluctuation.
This is seriously crushing stuff that stands out in sharp contrast to the hordes of amp-leaning feedback riders, and is highly recommended to anyone into KTL, Final, Black Boned Angel, To Blacken The Pages, K.K. Null, Aethnor, Fall Of The Grey Winged One, Fear Falls Burning, Hlidolf, Messiah Complex, and other heavy, textural industrial/ambient/sludge groups.
Multigone is packaged in the signature Bliss sleeve with full color artwork, and the disc is attached to the interior of the sleeve on a plastic hub. Issued in a limited edition of 300 copies.

::Click here for more information and online ordering::. http://www.crucialblast.net/aun_multigone.html
MP3 EXCERPTS:
Track 1: "Multigone" ::MP3 EXCERPT:: http://www.crucialblastshop.net/audio/aun_multigone_multigone.mp3
Track 2: "Consumed By Flies" ::MP3 EXCERPT:: http://www.crucialblastshop.net/audio/aun_multigone_consumedbyflies.mp3
Track 3: "Kwelbo Krong" ::MP3 EXCERPT:: http://www.crucialblastshop.net/audio/aun_multigone_kwelbokrong.mp3



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new Black Elk shirt design available. New album Always A Six, Never A Nine coming October 2008.
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We have a new Black Elk shirt design that is now available. This new shirt features a high-quality two-color print of original artwork from Mark McCormick at Mad Pakyderms in Portland, Oregon. The artwork first appeared on a silkscreened show poster that Mark created for the Spring 2007 tour with Black Elk, Ludicra and Giant Squid, and when I saw the poster design, I decided immediately that we had to print up a shirt
using this artwork. The Black Elk shirt is ready to ship now, head over to the Shirts & Apparel page to order.

http://www.crucialblast.net/shirts.html

In other Black Elk news, the band has just wrapped up their new album Always A Six, Never A Nine, and we have this scheduled to come out on October 21st.
"Always A Six, Never A Nine" is the second album and the follow up to the 2006 self-titled debut from Portland, OR aggro wreckers Black Elk, whose psychotic brand of crushing, noise-rock influenced heaviosity is a return to the unhinged underground rock force of bands like Jesus Lizard, Melvins, Black Flag and Hammerhead. This new album features ten songs of seething weirdness, with the dissonant, crushing riffage, lunging rhythmic push and awesome freaked out, Yow-esque vocals of singer Tom Glose that made their debut a fave among anyone who remembered the days when Amphetamine Reptile ruled the underground rock scene, but with some interesting new elements (bleak guitar ambience, piano, etc.) that add new shadows to Black Elk's ferocious sound. "ALways A Six, Never A Nine" will be coming out through Crucial Blast on October 21st and will be available as both a CD in deluxe gatefold
packaging and digital download, with touring to coincide with the release.



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new limited-edition CD from UK whitenoise rockers Geisha coming soon.
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It's been in the works for awhile, but we're finally announcing the release of the new CD from Bristol's Geisha, which follows their awesome Mondo Dell'Orrore CD that we released in 2006. Titled Die Verbrechen Der Liebe (taken from de Sade, I presume), this hour-long, six track monolith follows Geisha into a psychedelic black storm, their blown-out and raw rock infused with a bone-rattling recording and covered in a thick sheen of white noise and gritty distortion. As with their previous album, the spirit of seminal noise rock / sludge rock (think Cherubs, Melvins, My Bloody Valentine's Isn't Anything for coordinates) is combined with violent, chaotic NOISE and tainted with blurred VHS cassette visions and vague allusions to BDSM, and then jammed through an orgone accumulator, forming a ferocious, crushing rock beast that reveals it's powerful hooks and melodies underneath the churning
distorted bass rumble and sludgemetal riffage , blasts of psychedelic drone-noise and corrosive skree, percussive pummel, and deranged singing. The sound is immense, and the first five tracks on Die Verbrechen Der Liebe deliver Geisha's in-the-red heaviness and hooks in surplus. "Prelude To Amber Pays The Rent", "A Wilderness, Except By Sight", "Sportsfister" - every one is a crusher.
But then Geisha pull out the monstrous thirty-minute, thirty-five second closer "Theme From Diana", and the tone changes completely. This track is a re-working of a "metal percussion" set that Geisha originally performed live several years ago, and it begins as a slowly building fog of voices and effects and shimmering metal that blooms into an expanse of droning, fx-heavy guitar, looping samples, cosmic effects, and improvised percussion. It's a kind of rumbling industrial dronescape that stretches out forever, until suddenly in the last few minutes the drifting drones and psychedelic guitars and sampled voices suddenly explode in an immolating nuclear blast of overdriven, speaker-annhilating noise and the track immediately, terrifyingly changes shape into a monstrous lumbering noise-metal dirge that bulldozes out of your speakers, whooshing Hawkwind effects swooping overhead, the band
knotted together into a white-hot blast of ultra heavy riffage, distortion, and a wall of percussive force. "Diana" is one of the most crushing pieces of music that I have ever heard from Geisha, like some majestic and brutal conglom of Swans, Skullflower, Merzbow, and Burmese forged into a destructive space-metal supernova.
Crucial Blast is releasing the CD version of Die Verbrechen Der Liebe in a limited edition of 1,000 copies, packaged in a full-color gatefold jacket. The CD will be available in stores on October 21st, but will be available to order directly from Crucial Blast earlier in the month.


MP3 EXCERPTS:
"A Wilderness, Except By Sight" ::MP3 EXCERPT:: http://www.crucialblastshop.net/audio/geisha_verbrechen_AWildernessExceptBySight.mp3
"Prelude To Amber Pays The Rent" ::MP3 EXCERPT:: http://www.crucialblastshop.net/audio/geisha_verbrechen_PreludeToAmberPaysTheRent.mp3
"Theme From Diana" ::MP3 EXCERPT:: http://www.crucialblastshop.net/audio/geisha_verbrechen_ThemeFromDiana.mp3


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Genghis Tron remix 12" coming December 2008 from Crucial Blast.
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The word has been out for a couple weeks on this already, but if you haven't heard yet, we are taking part of a massive five-volume series of remix 12"s for Genghis Tron's Board Up The House album on Relapse. Beginning in August and continuing through the rest of 2008, Genghis Tron will be releasing five 12" remix records on five different record labels (Temporary Residence Ltd., Lovepump United, Relapse Records, Anticon Records, and Crucial Blast respectively). Each individual volume will be limited to 1,000 copies, pressed on colored vinyl. Board Up The House cover artist, Jon Beasley, will also be providing each remix album with alternative artwork.
Each record will feature a select number of Genghis Tron songs taken from Board Up The House, remixed by a variety of artists. Some of the participating artists include Black Moth Super Rainbow, Ulver, DNTEL, Telefon Aviv, Steve Moore, Justin Broadrick/Jesu, Danny Lohner, Rob Crow, Subtle, Odd Nosdam, Circle, Tim Hecker, and many more to be announced soon.

The 12" that will be coming out on Crucial Blast will feature Tim Hecker and Aidan Baker/Nadja, and even though I haven't heard either of the remixes yet, we are expecting nothing less than epic, blissed-out fuzzfests that are going to sound amazing.The guys in Genghis Tron commented on the series: "We are very excited to announce a series of special Genghis Tron releases which we've been scheming for quite some time now. Those who have been following us for a while know that we've always been interested in remixes, but to date we've only released a few GT remixes on a few tour-only CDs. We've wanted to do something grander and more "official" for a long time, so we're proud to say that we've finally assembled a very massive, very official remix project. We reached out to lots of musicians who we admire and overall we've been completely overwhelmed at their willingness to participate in
this massive, awesome project. More importantly, the remixes are sounding pretty mind-blowing so far...we're excited to share them with you."

Each release will be available for pre-order for roughly a month prior to its release. Temporary Residence Limited is slated to release volume one of the series in September, with pre-order beginning in July. Further information, including preview tracks, artwork, pre-order options, and more will be announced over the coming months.

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CRUCIAL BLAST WEBSTORE: NEW ADDITIONS LIST FOR SATURDAY, JULY 26TH
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www.crucialblastshop.net

Here it is. Yer lookin' at it. The all-new Crucial Blast online store. I could go on a serious ramble about how much time and effort and hair-pulling has gone into this project, but I won't bore you with all of that s**t. I'm just breathing in a huge sigh of relief at this very moment that this thing is finally here.
Those faithful Crucial Blast customers and friends that have been ordering from us since 2004 will notice right off the bat that this new store is on a whole new level of navigability, compared to the ridiculously clunky site of old. We now have a fully functional keyword search that will allow you to dig deep into our virtual crates, and we also now have the menu on the left of the screen that will allow you to sort record listings/reviews by artist name, format, label, and even genre.
In addition, we also have the links on the side that are labeled "Specialties". These are some of the things that I try to give some extra attention to, stuff that I personally really dig. Like black metal from France. British Industrial and Power Electronics. Japanese noise. Music from right here in the Maryland/DC region. And yes, compilation albums, a dying art form that I am still a really big fan of.

PLEASE READ: One of the changes that we have just implemented with the new Crucial Blast webstore is that we are no longer including shipping in the prices that are listed for our CD and 7" items. CDs and 7"s have been listed as postage-paid in the U.S. ever since we went online with the current store in 2004, but with the growth and increased mailorder business we are now handling, and with the recent postage hike in May, we are no longer able to essentially ship stuff for free as we have been. For all of our longtime customers that typically order two or more items from us, you will actually be seeing cheaper prices for the stuff that we carry, as we will be marking many releases down slightly. The new shipping charge is cheap and simple, and will be based on weight: for orders of 1-2 CDs or 7"s in the U.S., 1st class shipping will be generally be around $2.50. You'll be able to see
the shipping charge stated in the shopping cart when you click on "CHECKOUT". And shipping for
orders over $100 is FREE. This change will allow us to further streamline our operation and actually lower prices on the CDs and 7"s that we carry.

We will also be featuring a different label every two weeks with every New Additions update. This will spotlight different labels that I am personally a big fan of, and many of the featured labels that you will see might be labels that aren't active anymore but whose catalogs we still stock here at Crucial Blast, or tiny, obscure labels that you've never heard of that I think are cool. The inaugural Featured Label is
Charnel Music, which isn't around anymore, but this label (run by Mason Jones, psych-guitar master and founding member of San Fran space rockers Subarachnoid Space) is still awesome, and we have a bunch of their releases in stock, which are all pretty hard to find.

And lastly, we are getting ready to launch a bi-weekly podcast called Blastwave. Yep, a podcast, one that will probably be available for download every other Sunday evening and which will feature new jams from the amazing artists that we carry here at Crucial Blast, old classics and long-lost obscurities of strange, adventurous, experimental heaviness exhumed from the dusty corners of our warehouse, the latest from bands on the Crucial Blast label, artist news, live sets, interviews, and more, all hosted by yours truly. Hopefully this particular new feature of the site won't devolve over time into drunken ranting and two-hour blocks of nothing but total wall-of-noise electronics, but we'll have to wait and see.

A big thanks to Jake at Web-Synthesis.com for helping us design and execute the new Crucial Blast webstore. After several years of trying other avenues to get this moving forward, we finally stumbled across Web-Synthesis right here in Hagerstown at the beginning of the year. Definitely recommended for anyone that is looking to launch a php/mySQL driven online store.

There are a few buggy items that we are still tweaking that you might notice as you go through the site, mainly grammatical stuff, image formatting weirdness, etc, but we'll be fine-tuning all of that over the next week. If you do happen to run into any weirdness that you want to let us know about, please hit us up at info@crucialblast.net and let us know what you are experiencing so we can resolve it.

OK, so after all of that, here we go with the first New Additions list and featured album of the week for the new and improved Crucial Blast shop!

There have been so many killer albums that came out over the past two weeks that I had to chew on it for awhile before I could decide which one has been commanding the most amount of time in my stereo. Fact is, it's the new album from Made Out Of Babies, the New York aggro squad featuring singer Julie Christmas, who may just be the most intoxicating female vocalist in underground heavy music right now. I had already
been captivated by her voice in Battle Of Mice, the band that she also plays in with members of Neurosis/Red Sparowes, and here, Julie and MOOB follow up their two albums on Neurot with The Ruiner, their first for new label The End. And it's a surprisingly mature and focused album from a band that really hasn't been kickin' it for all that long. The Jesus Lizard-esque angularity and slithering menace is still a part of their
sound, as is the dark, apocalyptic heaviness that is reminiscent of their former label bosses Neurosis, but the songs are more powerful, more focused and crushing and surprisingly catchy than MOOB's first two records. Definitely recommended.

Some of the other new and new-ish titles that are on this weeks list:

The new album from powerviolence/noise/hardcore destroyers The Endless Blockade, total brutality.
A lung-collapsing debut disc from Japanese doom-ghouls Funeral Moth, featuring ex-members of Coffins.
A couple of killer albums from the more psychedelic/doomed corners of the MeteorCity vaults, like the heavy metal doom rock of Abdullah's Graveyard Poetry, and a couple of crucial discs from Jersey doomlords Solace!
A super-limited vinyl only release of Paso Inferior from Japan's Corrupted, imported from Germany.
A ton of Weasel Walter-related chaos, including a bunch of older Flying Luttenbachers CDs that we are stocking for the first time, a CD re-issue of the Luttenbachers extreme death/jazz assault Trauma that will kill all posers, and a new disc of hyper-complex, hyper-hyper guitar/drums duets between Weasel and Mary Halvorsen which blasts off into some truly geeked realms of extreme math-blast.
FOUR DIFFERENT ABRUPTUM TITLES! Hell yes. The ultimate in fucked-up damaged outsider-improv "Black Metal".
Ascend's Ample Fire Within: the crushing debut from this new duo of Greg Anderson (Sunn O)))/Engine Kid) and Gentry Densely (Iceburn).


Of course, there's much more mutant heavy music to be had, folks...so keep reading below to check out all of the amazing new music that we have in this week's New Additions list!

Head over to the Crucial Blast Webstore to check out all of the new stuff.


http://www.crucialblastshop.net

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CRUCIAL BLAST LIVE ACTIONS
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ACROSS TUNDRAS
8/2/2008 Dyersburg TN @ No Hope w/ Buzzardstein, SeaWitch, Gosh, Hellen Keller
8/10/2008 Nashville TN @ Springwater w/ Sourvein, Cough, SeaWitch
8/11/2008 Charlotte NC @ Lunchbox Records w/ Cargo Cult Revival, Burbis

AUN
9/19/08 New York NY @ Fontanas w/ Subarachnoid Space


BEHOLD THE ARCTOPUS
8/1 Columbus OH @ Ravari Room w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
8/2 Indianapolis IN @ Melody Inn w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
8/3 Pittsburgh PA @ Howler's Coyote Cafe w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
8/4 Buffalo NY @ Xtreme Wheels w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
8/5 Endicott NY @ Downtown Quarterback w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
8/6 Cambridge MA @ Middle East w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
8/7 Providence RI @ Living Room w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
8/8 New York NY @ Knitting Factory w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
8/9 Doylestown PA @ Siren Records w/ Fight Amp Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
8/10 Washington DC @ DC-9 w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
8/11 Richmond VA @ Nara Sushi w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
8/12 Charlotte NC @ The Milestone w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
8/13 Atlanta GA @ Drunken Unicorn w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
8/14 Orlando FL @ The Haven w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
8/15 Tampa FL @ Brass Mug w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
8/16 Gainesville FL @ The Atlantic w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
8/17 Metarie LA @ High Ground w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
8/18 Memphis TN @ Hi Tone Cafe w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
8/19 Fayetteville AR @ OPO Downstairs w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
8/20 Little Rock AR @ Downtown Music w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
8/21 Dallas TX @ Red Blood Club w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
8/22 Austin TX @ Red 7 w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
8/23 Oklahoma City OK @ The Conservatory w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
8/25 Farmington NM @ Gator's w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
8/26 Tempe AZ @ The Clubhouse w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
8/27 Hollywood CA @ Knitting Factory w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
8/28 San Diego CA @ Chaser's w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
8/29 San Francisco CA @ Annie's Social Club w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
8/30 Portland OR @ Rotture w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
8/31 Roseburg OR @ Riversdale Grange w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
9/1 Seattle WA @ Studio Seven w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
9/3 Denver CO @ Marquis Theater w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
9/4 Lawrence KS @ Replay Lounge w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
9/5 St Louis MO @ 2 Cents Plain w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
9/6 Des Moines IA @ Vaudeville Mews w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect
9/7 Chicago IL @ Reggie's Rock Club w/ Intronaut, Mouth Of The Architect


BLACK ELK
7/26/2008 Seattle WA @ Capitol Hill Block Party w/Akimbo
8/16/2008 Missoula MT @ Totalfest
8/30/2008 Portland OR @ Rotture w/Intronaut, Mouth of the Architect, Behold... The Arctopus
9/4/2008 Portland OR @ Doug Fir

MICROWAVES
8/1/2008 NYC NY @ The Stone
8/2/2008 Philadelphia PA @ Above Circle Thrift


NADJA
8/1/2008 Meaford ON @ Electric Eclectics w/ Tony Conrad, Mary Margaret O'Hara, Alexander Hacke
8/5/2008 Toronto ON @ The Boat w/ Nice Cat, Orn


TOTIMOSHI
8/5/2008 Tempe AZ @ The Sets w/ Nebula
8/6/2008 Albuquerque NM @ Ralli's 4th St. Pub w/ Nebula
8/8/2008 Austin TX @ Red 7 w/ Nebula
8/9/2008 Dallas TX @ Granada Theatre w/ Nebula
8/10/2008 Houston TX @ Rudyards Beer Bar w/ Nebula
8/12/2008 New Orleans LA @ One Eyed Jacks w/ Nebula
8/13/2008 Birmingham AL @ The Nick w/ Nebula
8/14/2008 Jacksonville FL @ Landshark Cafe w/ Nebula
8/15/2008 Orlando FL @ The Backbooth w/ Nebula
8/18/2008 Atlanta GA @ Smith Ts Old Bar w/ Nebula
8/19/2008 Wilmington NC @ Soapbox w/ Nebula
8/20/2008 Virginia Beach VA @ The Jewish Mother w/ Nebula
8/21/2008 Washington DC @ Black Cat w/ Nebula
8/22/2008 Philadelphia PA @ The Khyber w/ Nebula
8/23/2008 Baltimore MD @ The Ottobar w/ Nebula
8/24/2008 Boston MA @ Church of Boston w/ Nebula
8/25/2008 New York City NY @ Knitting Factory w/ Nebula
8/27/2008 Cleveland Heights OH @ Grog Shop w/ Nebula
8/28/2008 Lansing MI @ Mac Ts Bar w/ Nebula
8/29/2008 Columbus OH @ Ravari Room w/ Nebula
8/30/2008 Chicago IL @ Reggie's w/ Nebula
9/1/2008 Madison WI @ High Noon Saloon w/ Nebula
9/6/2008 Portland OR @ Ash Street Saloon w/ Nebula
9/10/2008 Los Angeles CA @ Viper Room w/ Nebula
9/11/2008 Long Beach CA @ Alex Ts Bar w/ Nebula

Saturday, July 26, 2008

TONY IOMMI Says HEAVEN AND HELL Has Written 'About Six Or Seven New Songs'

Gary Graff of Billboard.com reports that HEAVEN AND HELL — featuring Ronnie James Dio (vocals), Tony Iommi (guitar), Geezer Butler (bass) and Vinny Appice (drums) — has started work on a new album, the group's first since "Dehumanizer" in 1992.

In the wake of a new box set of BLACK SABBATH's Dio years, "The Rules of Hell", guitarist Tony Iommi tells Billboard.com that he, Dio and bassist Geezer Butler have already convened in Los Angeles to begin writing material for the project.

"We've got about six or seven new songs," Iommi reports, "and then we stopped to do this (Metal Masters) tour. When we finish that, we'll take a couple of weeks off, then carry on writing."

The guitarist adds that he's "really pleased" with what the group has come up with so far, describing the material as "really good, pretty powerful."

Read the entire article at Billboard.com.

EyeHateGod Announces Katrina Show

New Orleans own EyeHateGod has served up 20 years and seven albums of original, painful and misanthropic feedback laden hardcore blues to an ever increasing doomed climate of world-wide despair and degradation and have absolutely managed to have fun doing it. Multiple tours of Europe, the USA and even Japan have seen these southern gentlemen Preaching the End-Time Message and influencing new generations of hedonistic roustabouts to spread their Rock-n-Roll nihilism since 1988.

The band will play at One-Eyed Jack`s on the third anniversary of Katrina, Friday August 29 with Crowbar and Hellkontroll. Tickets available at Ticketweb.com.

Witch To Tour West Coast

Witch will be heading out on their first ever West Coast tour this September. Joining them will be Tee Pee Records label mates Earthless and Assemble Head In Sunburst Sound. J Mascis will not be touring with the band on these dates due to Dinosaur Jr. commitments. Instead Mario Rubalcaba of Earthless will man the kit throughout the tour, adding his crushing drum beats to Witch`s sinister assault. The tour promises to be a sonic, face melting experience.

Witch, Earthless, Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound Tour Dates
9/2: Seattle, WA - Studio 7

9/3: Portland, OR - East End
9/4: San Francisco, CA - Café Du Nord
9/5: Brookdale, CA - Brookdale Lodge
9/6: San Diego, CA - The Casbah
9/7: Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex (Tee Pee Records Manifest Destiny), with Graveyard, The Warlocks, Earthless, Ancestors, Assemble Head In Sunburst Sound + More.


Witch is touring in support of Paralyzed, released in March on Tee Pee Records. Paralyzed finds Witch evolving beyond the standard Sabbathian riff structure that defined much of their first record. Witch step into a new realm on Paralyzed, melding punk rock tempo`s with acid guitar freak outs while maintaining sludgy head nodding grooves.


Earthless released Rhythms From A Cosmic Sky in 2007 and have their first ever live record, Live In Tilburg set to hit stores in October. The album was recorded at this year`s Roadburn Festival. Assemble Head In Sunburst Sound will head into the studio this fall to record the follow up to their 2007 record Ekranoplan, a lesson in stoney, space psychedelia.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

SOILENT GREEN: Riff Lesson with Brian Patton

MetalKult.com has just posted an extensive video interview and riff lesson with SOILENT GREEN guitarist Brian Patton.

The footage was filmed at MetalKult's Manhattan headquarters on June 25, 2008, when SOILENT GREEN came to New York City to play the Nokia Theatre (with DETHKLOK and CHIMAIRA) in support of its latest album, "Inevitable Collapse In the Presence of Conviction" (Metal Blade).

In part one of the two-part lesson, the ex-EYEHATEGOD, current SOILENT GREEN guitarist weighs in on his role in creating the NOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana) metal sound, the roots of SOILENT GREEN's riffs, his use of chord sliding and how to build a song out of many different, non-repeating sections.

Part two shows Patton demonstrating how to play some riffs from a variety of SOILENT GREEN tracks, such as "Antioxidant", "13 Days a Weak", "In the Same Breath" and "Sewn Mouth Secrets".

Check out the footage in two parts: Part#1, Part#2.

BISON B.C. To Release 'Quiet Earth' In September

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada's BISON has changed it name to BISON B.C. and will release its new album, "Quiet Earth", on September 30 via Metal Blade Records. the CD was recorded with Jesse Gander (3 INCHES OF BLOOD, SUBHUMANS, MASS GRAVE, S.T.R.E.E.T.S.) at The Hive Studios in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.

"Quiet Earth" track listing:

01. Primal Emptiness Of Outer Space
02. Dark Towers
03. Slow Hand Of Death
04. Wendigo Pt. 1 (Quest For Fire)
05. These Are My Dress Clothes
06. Wendigo Pt. 2 (Cursed To Roam)
07. Medication
08. Quiet Earth



BISON is:

James Farwell - Guitar/Vocals
Dan And - Guitar/Vocals
Masa Anzai - Bass
Brad Mackinnon - Drums

For more information, visit www.myspace.com/bisoneastvan.

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE Frontman Gets His Wings Again

According to The Pulse of Radio, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE frontman Josh Homme has once again gotten behind the drum kit for his other band, the EAGLES OF DEATH METAL, whose third album, "Heart On", arrives on October 21. Homme and guitarist/singer Jesse Hughes started the group several years ago, with a debut called "Peace Love and Death Metal" arriving in 2004 and a sophomore effort titled "Death by Sexy" surfacing in 2006.

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE will play a tribute concert for late keyboardist Natasha Shneider next month in Los Angeles, before heading to England for two festival dates.

The EAGLES OF DEATH METAL will kick off a co-headlining tour with the HIVES on September 16 in Austin, Texas.

DOWN: Six New Songs Recorded

DOWN/ex-PANTERA vocalist Philip Anselmo has posted the following update on the DOWN web site:

"Well, once again it's been TOO long since I last contacted all of you — but here it is!

"We've been hammering Europe to pieces as of late, and today is our last of four shows in Gothenberg, Sweden. Two shows earlier we were in Germany, which was a blast (awesome crowds!). When we played Hamburg, as a boxing journalist/enthusiast, I snuck away on the day off there and hung out with the world heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitchko and his trainer Emanuel Steward for the day and into the evening!

"What a blast!

"That experience itself has me so fucking pumped up for the upcoming five METALLICA shows, that take DOWN to uncharted territory for us like Latvia, Bulgaria, and Istanbul, Turkey. Unbelievably DOWN ends the tour by playing Tel Aviv, Israel on our own. We come in peace! (Let's hope we make it out of there in one piece!).

"ALSO!!! We've been fucking around with some new material, and we've got enough material already recorded (at least six new songs) as well as some unreleased stuff from the 'Over The Under' sessions. It's definitely enough for an awesome EP, with some surprises within.

"We are dying to get back home to the U.S. and do some touring! There's WAY too many cities we haven't hit, and the big cities NEED to have another jam session with us. It's coming… I promise! We're in the process of putting a tour together as I write, so be ready when the time comes."

THE GATES OF SLUMBER's 'Trapped In The Web' Video Posted Online

"Trapped in the Web", the new video from heralded Indianapolis, IN doom metal masters THE GATES OF SLUMBER, can be viewed below (courtesy of MTV's Headbanger's Blog). [Note: Video stream may not be available to some non-U.S. residents.] The clip, which was filmed on April 13 with Andy Reale (THROWDOWN, IMPENDING DOOM), will make its world-television premiere this Saturday, July 26 as part of MTV2's long-running "Headbanger's Ball" program.

"Trapped in the Web" comes off THE GATES OF SLUMBER's latest album, "Conqueror", which was released in North America on May 27 via Profound Lore (I Hate in Europe). The CD was recorded at Volume Studios with producer Sanford Parker, who has previously worked with BIBLE OF THE DEVIL, LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR and NACHMYSTIUM, among others.

THE GATES OF SLUMBER will have its "Suffer No Guilt" and "The Awakening" albums re-released on vinyl in September/October via Iron Kodex.

The details are as follows:

* 350g heavy gatefold sleeve
* Inserts containing all lyrics and new liner notes
* Limited to 525 copies each
* Brand-new and exclusive artwork by Ken Kelly for "The Awakening"

For more information, visit www.ironkodex.de.

BIGELF Completes Work On New Album

Psychedelic progressive rock band BIGELF has completed work on its long-awaited new album, entitled "Cheat the Gallows". The follow-up to the band's acclaimed full-length "Hex" is scheduled for release on August 12 via the Custard label.

"Cheat the Gallows" was recorded at Kung Fu Gardens studios in North Hollywood and produced by BIGELF frontman Damon Fox. The album features 10 diverse tracks of hallucinatory hard rock, showcasing the band's multi-layered arrangements, rich, sophisticated vocal harmonies and Fox's spectacular dual-Mellotron / Hammond organ / Moog synthesizer saturations. On "Cheat the Gallows", BIGELF's "new classic" sound blends strong post-Hendrix ferocity with a potent post-BEATLES tunefulness, resulting in diabolically-heavy pop rife with epic guitars, infectious hooks and unforgettably refined melody patterns that will undoubtedly find appeal with classic hard rock fans, vintage prog-heads and heavy metal enthusiasts alike.

An in-studio montage featuring images of the band recording "Cheat the Gallows" can be viewed below.

The first single released from "Cheat the Gallows" is "Money, It's Pure Evil". Lyrically, "Money…" is a philosophical look at how the almighty dollar "changes people" while musically, the track rides on a Lennon-McCartney-infused tidal wave of expression. Check out "Money, It's Pure Evil" now at this location.

When asked about the new album, BIGELF frontman/keyboardist Damon Fox comments, "Every decade needs a defining rock opera/concept album to stir the pot and get people inspired about music again. I believe 'Cheat the Gallows' is one of those albums."

"Cheat the Gallows" track listing:

01. Gravest Show on Earth
02. Blackball
03. Money, It's Pure Evil
04. The Evils of Rock & Roll
05. No Parachute
06. The Game
07. Superstar
08. Race With Time
09. Hydra
10. Counting Sheep

In support of "Cheat the Gallows", BIGELF has announced a string of live performances including a day-of-release in-store performance at Amoeba Records Hollywood on August 12 and a special Los Angeles record-release show, set to take place on Wednesday, August 13 at The Roxy.

BIGELF's mesmerizing live performances — boasting theatrics reminiscent of rock shows from the 70's — have seen praise from such music luminaries as Alicia Keys, former NIRVANA/current FOO FIGHTERS frontman Dave Grohl, BLACK CROWES head-honcho Chris Robinson and Serj Tankian of SYSTEM OF A DOWN (who released BIGELF's second record "Money Machine" through his own Serjical Strike Records). In 2007, BIGELF teamed with pop superstar Christina Aguilera to record a cover of the JOHN LENNON classic "Mother" for the major benefit-album project "Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur".

Album Of The Day-Federation X-"American Folk Horror" (2001)

The Album Of The Day is "American Folk Horror" by Federation X.



Review:

Federation X offers a scary, brutal folk-core sound that is part Tom Waits, part Anti-Seen, and part murder ballads. One can picture them in a lonely woodshed conjuring their twisted music unbeknownst by distant civilization and probably best left undisturbed. For disturbed is what they seem, with their fearsome tales of a "hatchetman," knives, and blood in a Southern gothic, deliberate, hard rock delivery. (Tom Schulte, All Music Guide)


Track Listing:

01. The Hatchetman
02. Charlie Jackie Freedom Pride
03. Song About the Sweet Lovin' Woman
04. Song About the Knife
05. Southern Comfort
06. Moose Blood
07. Echelon

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Wednesday, July 23, 2008

MASTODON: New Video Interview With BRANN DAILOR Available

Synthesis.net conducted an interview with drummer Brann Dailor of Atlanta progressive metallers MASTODON at a recent stop on the band's current Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival tour with SLIPKNOT and DISTURBED. Watch the five-minute chat below.

MASTODON bassist and vocalist Troy Sanders recently shot down rumors that the band's as-yet-untitled new album will be a concept record about Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin. Yes, Dailor drew a mad-eyed image of Rasputin with the band's name tangled into his untamed beard. Yes, the band used the image on t-shirts, posters and stickers. But no, Rasputin won't be the subject of MASTODON's next epic prog-metal opus.

"One big rumor gets out there, and it kind of spreads quickly, which is cool," Sanders told Headbanger's Blog. "I'm glad people are speculating on what the record's gonna be. We want to keep some of the mystery behind it until the record hits the stands. But the record is not based on the life of Rasputin."

DOWN: Budapest Concert Cancelled

DOWN — the acclaimed New Orleans band featuring CORROSION OF CONFORMITY guitarist/vocalist Pepper Keenan, drummer Jimmy Bower (EYEHATEGOD, SUPERJOINT RITUAL guitarist), bassist Rex Brown (ex-PANTERA), guitarist Kirk Windstein (CROWBAR), and vocalist Philip Anselmo (SUPERJOINT RITUAL, ex-PANTERA) — has issued the following statement:

"We regret to inform you that tonight's show (July 23) in Budapest, Hungary has been cancelled. This is beyond our control as the circumventing promoter did not have the fans' best interests at heart. If there was any way that we could perform tonight we would. We will make this up to you and at this time we ask for your understanding."

Remaining DOWN shows:

July 25 - Sofia, Bulgaria - Levski Stadium (w/ METALLICA)
July 27 - Istanbul, Turkey - Ali Sami Yen Stadium (w/ METALLICA)
July 29 - Tel Aviv, Isreal - Barby Club

Album Of The Day-Hackman-"The New Normal" (2007)

The Album Of The Day is "The New Normal" by Hackman.



Review:

On their debut effort, 2007's The New Normal, Boston trio Hackman converge their lengthy combined experience in the heavy stoner rock underground into seven acts of worship to the almighty riff. Many of these instrumentals (prime examples being groove-addled opener "Packed Bat," psychedelic tripper "Chin Music," and chord-sequence exercise "Ababac") were obviously hacked out (pun intended) quite spontaneously during band rehearsals, and it's ultimately a combined sense of casual creation and regimented final recording that defines their charms. As with all instrumentals, they demand a slightly more dedicated type of listener than your average pop-consuming Joe or Jane, but fine diners will relish the structural variety of "You Can't Ever Get What You Want" and the uniquely low-key almost jazzy swing of "Fuck You I Played Altamont" (note trumpet contributions from bassist Jase Forney!). When he does finally choose to sing on "The Anthem" and the silly-named but ominous-sounding "I Don't Need this Shit, I Played Budokan," one-time Roadsaw and Milligram man Darryl Sheppard risks no more than a viciously spat growl; making it obvious that these were merely supplementary afterthoughts, and leaving one to wonder why he even bothered. Perhaps that's why, in the end, The New Normal's entire enterprise feels just a tad bit unfinished and thrown together for Hackman to inspire devout fan loyalty; but then not every music fan is looking for a lifetime commitment in every record purchased, right? (Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide)

Track Listing:

01. Packed Bat
02. The Anthem
03. You Can't Ever Get What You Want
04. Chin Music
05. I Don't Need This Shit, I Played Budokan
06. Ababac
07. Fuck You, I Played Altamont

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Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Album Of The Day-High Tide-"Sea Shanties" (1969)

Going back quite a bit, I decided to make the Album of The Day a total classic. Somewhat obscure, "Sea Shanties" by High Tide is a classic Doom Rock album. Imagine Jim Morrison singing for Black Sabbath with totally psychedelic guitar wailing. Awesome!



Review:

With the Misunderstood, Tony Hill co-wrote epochal psych-rock anthems like "Children of the Sun"; however, while High Tide's sound has roots in the peace-and-love era, the band was also in tune with the post-psychedelic comedown at the decade's darker end. On Sea Shanties, there's nothing fey and flowery in Hill's bleak lyrics or his doomy Jim Morrison-like delivery, and psychedelia's melodic whimsy is supplanted by a physicality more in line with the visceral heft of metal progenitors such as Cream, Blue Cheer, and the Jeff Beck Group. Hill's grinding riffage and searing, effects-laden guitar pyrotechnics combine with the punishing rhythms of drummer Roger Hadden and bassist Pete Pavli to forge some of the heavier sounds to emerge from Britain in 1969: tracks like "Futilist's Lament" are matched only by Led Zeppelin for sheer weight. High Tide weren't a power trio, though, and it was the interplay of Hill's guitar with Simon House's violin that created the band's unique signature. Showing that rock violin needn't be a marginal adornment, House whips up an aggressive edge that rivals the guitar: on the nine-minute "Death Warmed Up," House refuses to play second fiddle and matches Hill's scorching assault all the way, while on the album's other epic, "Missing Out," the violin generates a trance-inducing Eastern groove. High Tide had the muscularity of a no-nonsense proto-metal band, but they also ventured into prog territory with changing time signatures and tempos, soft-hard dynamics, multi-part arrangements, and even some ornate faux-Baroque interludes. Indeed, "Pushed, but Not Forgotten" and "Walking Down Their Outlook" share common ground with King Crimson (especially Crimson's mid-'70s work with violinist David Cross). Far from the collection of nautical ditties its name suggests, Sea Shanties is an overlooked gem encapsulating the shifting musical currents in late-'60s British rock. (Wilson Neate, All Music Guide)

Track Listing:

01. Futilist's Lament (5:17)
02. Death Warmed Up (9:08)
03. Pushed, But Not Forgotten (4:43)
04. Walkin Down Their Outlook (4:58)
05. Missing Out (9:38)
06. Nowhere (5:54)

Bonus tracks on 2006 remastered edition:

07. The Great Universal Protection Racket (11:24)
08. Dilemma (5:14)
09. Death Warmed Up (demo) (7:35)
10. Pushed, But Not Forgotten (demo) (4:01)
11. Time Gauges (6:24)

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TROUBLE: Nashville Photos Available

Photos of TROUBLE's July 19, 2008 concert at The End in Nashville, Tennessee can be found at this location (uploaded by Flickr user "jeremiah3").

The group's setlist for the show was reportedly as follows:

01. R.I.P.
02. The Sleeper
03. Come Touch The Sky
04. Plastic Green Head
05. The Eye
06. Endtime
07. Simple Mind Condition
08. Mr. White
09. Trouble Maker
10. 'Scuse Me
11. Goin' Home
12. At The End Of My Daze
13. Psychotic Reaction
14. The Tempter
15. All Is Forgiven

YEAR LONG DISASTER ADD MORE SHOWS WITH FOO FIGHTERS

Year Long Disaster first selected to take the opening slot on five dates during Foo Fighters Midwest run, have now been added to the remainder of the Foo Fighters U.S. tour that also features special guests, Supergrass.

07/22/08 Grand Rapids, MI - Van Andel Arena
07/23/08 Indianapolis, IN - Conseco Fieldhouse
07/25/08 Cleveland, OH - Quicken Loans Arena
07/26/08 Pittsburgh, PA - Petersen Events Center
07/28/08 Rochester, NY - Blue Cross Arena
07/29/08 East Rutherford, NJ - Izod Center

Since the release of their eponymous debut on Volcom Entertainment, Year Long Disaster, the three-piece blues-based rock band of Daniel Davies (son of Dave Davies of The Kinks), Rich Mullins (Karma to Burn, Speedealer) and Brad Hargreaves (Third Eye Blind), have brought their formidable live show to thousands of enthusiastic fans across the globe. They have toured extensively in both the United States and Europe sharing the stage with the likes of Velvet Revolver, The Sword, Clutch, Turbonegro, Nick Oliveri’s Mondo Generator, Dropkick Murphys, Valient Thorr, and The Cult.

The website for the wildly popular television network, Adult Swim, is hosting Year Long Disaster’s debut video for the single, “Leda Atomica,” which was written and directed by Matt Maiellaro of Aqua Teen Hunger Force fame.

Year Long Disaster’s debut has consistently received critical acclaim, including Rolling Stone magazine, who heralded YLD as one of 2008’s Best New Bands in their annual 10 Artists to Watch feature.

MySpace

THE GATES OF SLUMBER: 'Suffer No Guilt', 'The Awakening' To Be Re-Released On Vinyl

Indianapolis doom metallers THE GATES OF SLUMBER will have their "Suffer No Guilt" and "The Awakening" albums re-released on vinyl in September/October via Iron Kodex.

The details are as follows:

* 350g heavy gatefold sleeve
* Inserts containing all lyrics and new liner notes
* Limited to 525 copies each
* Brand-new and exclusive artwork by Ken Kelly for "The Awakening"

For more information, visit www.ironkodex.de.

Video footage of THE GATES OF SLUMBER performing the song "Black River I" at the Declaration of Doom show on July 5, 2008 at the Sidebar in Baltimore, Maryland can be viewed below.

THE GATES OF SLUMBER's latest album, "Conqueror", was released in North America on May 27 via Profound Lore (I Hate in Europe). The CD was recorded at Volume Studios with producer Sanford Parker, who has previously worked with BIBLE OF THE DEVIL, LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR and NACHMYSTIUM, among others.

THE GATES OF SLUMBER filmed a video for the song "Trapped in the Web" on April 13 with Andy Reale (THROWDOWN, IMPENDING DOOM).

Monday, July 21, 2008

Album Of The Day-Altamont-"The Monkees' Uncle" (2005)

The Album Of The Day is "The Monkees' Uncle" by Altamont.



Review:

Picture a more "stoner rock"-based version of the Melvins, and you wouldn't be too far off from Altamont. After all, longtime Melvins drummer Dale Crover is the leader of Altamont, as he "pulls a Dave Grohl" and puts down the drums sticks in favor of vocal and guitar duties. Unlike the first releases from the group (which also includes bassist Dan Southwick and drummer Joe Osbourne), 2005's The Monkee's Uncle sees the trio expand to include an additional percussionist and an organ player. Although they follow much more traditional song structures than the Melvins, both groups put the importance of the almighty guitar riff first -- albeit in a more garage rock style. Highlights include the barnstorming album opener, "Frank Bank," the surprisingly up-tempo ditty "El Stupido," and the riff monster "The Bloodening." Crover has obviously learned well from witnessing the Melvins' Buzz Osborne torture his Les Paul after all these years. (Greg Prato, All Music Guide)

Track Listing:

01. Frank Bank
02. Bathroom Creep
03. Dum Dum Fever
04. El Stupido
05. Laughing Boy
06. Pedigree
07. Monkees' Uncle
08. The Bloodening
09. Easter Sunday
10. Bull Ramus
11. In a Better World

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Sunday, July 20, 2008

GEORGIAN SKULL Signs With SCARLET RECORDS

Ontario, Canada's GEORGIAN SKULL has inked a deal with Italy's Scarlet Records. The group's debut album, "Mother Armageddon, Healing Apocalypse", will be released later in the year. The artwork was designed by Vince Locke (CANNIBAL CORPSE).

Commented singer/guitarist Al "The Yeti" Bones (also frontman for USA's sludge kings THE MIGHTY NIMBUS and Canadian stoner band MISTER BONES): "The new record will blow the fuckin' doors wide open on who we are and what we're doing musically at this moment in time. It is more than just a vibe. It's our lives. We put our heart and souls in this record and it aint nothing to be fucked with... This is the real deal.”

According to a press release, GEORGIAN SKULL draws inspiration from 1970s hard rock and heavy metal — BLACK SABBATH, LED ZEPPELIN and THIN LIZZY — fused with heavier acts such as DOWN, CLUTCH, PANTERA, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY and ENTOMBED. They have shared the stage with such groups as ANVIL, CRYPTOPSY, TODAY IS THE DAY, GOATWHORE, TROUBLE, SONS OF OTIS, and many, many more.

For more information, visit www.myspace.com/georgianskull.

Album Of The Day-Orthodox-"Gran Poder" (2006)

The Album Of The Day is "Gran Poder" by Orthodox.



Review:

English name, Spanish band; Orthodox is a mysterious trio from Sevilla who like to dress up like hooded, Benedictine monks, and whose debut album, Gran Poder, emulates the great powers of extreme doom in the '00s: Earth, Sunn 0))), Boris, etc. At 28 minutes of lethargic, lumbering, gradually developing riff themes, overwhelming opener "Geryon's Throne" is clearly a (demon) child of Sleep's "Dopesmoker," with warbling, unintelligible vocals that only surface about ten minutes in, a second half sequence of guitar, bass, and drum improvisations that seem almost jazz-like in spirit, and, finally, an uncharacteristically nippy, full band rock out to wrap things up. Orthodox don't dare repeat this singular feat of endurance as the album carries on, but they come damn close with ensuing epics "Arrodillate Ante La Madera y La Piedra" (11 minutes of Earth-like droning, briefly interrupted by more yodeling and snatches of melody), and the amusingly named "El Lamento del Cabrón" (17 minutes, but featuring much more dynamic diversity and a temporary transformation into High on Fire). All that's left after that are "Oficio de Tinieblas," which is a throwaway piano interlude, and a spitting-image cover of Venom's "Genocide" (tacked onto the American release), which stands out like a super-sore thumb -- but hey, it's Venom. And that about does it for Gran Poder, which hints at some interesting possibilities for Orthodox's future travels, but by itself represents merely a competent, generally interesting album. And, like any ultra-doom opus of its magnitude, enjoyment ultimately comes down to the listener's taste and infinite patience, more than anything else. (Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide)

Track Listing:

01. Geryon's Throne (27:28)
02. Arrodillate Ante La Madera y La Piedra (11:36)
03. Oficio de Tinieblas (01:26)
04. Lamento del Cabrón (16:56)
05. Genocide (03:56)


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Wizard Eye Returns to Maryland

Philadelphia`s own white panther brother-freaks Wizard Eye returns to Maryland to finish the second half of their "Dixie Doom" tour with their southern-fried brethren Ol` Scratch, Oak, and Admiral Browning for an evening of mind-numbing volume and down-tuned riffage.


We`ll supply the ear plugs!



When
Thursday, 7/24 at 8pm


Where
Talking Head
203 Davis Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21201


If you`re not there, you should be dead! If you`re in jail, break out!

Album Launch Show Announced for Hotel Wrecking City Traders

The hometown album launch for Hotel Wrecking City Traders` debut full length Black Yolk takes place next Thursday in the fine city of Melbourne, Australia.

The album was recorded at Head Gap Studios, Melbourne with Neil Thomason (Ricaine/Grey Daturas/My Disco) and mastered by Nao Anzai (Laura/Goatwitch/Firewitch)


HWCT will be celebrating it`s release thru (Bro Fidelity) -

Thursday, July 24, at Bar Open, 317 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, Melbourne.


We have two amazing bands in the form of Bachelor of Arts (Exo Records) and Spider Goat Canyon (Chairfish Recordings) joining us for the night.


Get down at 8 pm, so not to miss out on all the bands. The show is free. Black Yolk will be available at a reduced price for this show. Limited edition t shirts will also be available.

HWCT will slay their little black hearts out.


What folks have said about Black Yolk:


"So many shadowy images of it`s influences and peers appear that the album never sounds as if it was ever dependant on them. Across the album the ghosts of Torche, Karma to Burn, Mogwai, Capricorns, Goliath Bird Eater, Circle, and of course, Zeppelin and Sabbath, rise from the tracks like hypnotic, post-metal leviathans with these two grand mages in the centre conducting and realigning."
- Lobster Quadrille Magazine/Not For Resale - UK - June `08




"You know those bits on Young Team when Mogwai build up softly layered guitars then absolutely detonate a song with big dirty riffs and distortion? Well Black Yolk, the debut album from Melbourne psychedelic rockers Hotel Wrecking City Traders, is sort of like a really grimy and stripped-back version of that, minus the all the wussy soft bits. Before I put on the disc, I read that the album was mastered by Nao Anzai who has worked with fellow Melbournians Laura and I was half expecting the thing open with some to some delicate washes of sound and swirls of post-rock drama. It didn`t."
- Sammy W/The Dwarf (http://www.thedwarf.com.au)- Australia - July `08



"Here`s the Australian 5ive. Not that easy to get this review over with apparently. I took a long time to get this name right. Hotel Wrecking City Traders. I frankly didn`t know what to expect from an instrumental guitar-drum brother-duo`s first album - would it be some Explosions in the Sky type thing? or is it going to be like Earth? Om? The right answer of course is, none of the above. 5ive and Karma to Burn are very valid reference points dear readers, but this band, unlike that bitch Stella, has its own groove right at start and has no problem whatsoever finding it."
- Review By Srikanth Panaman (www.kvltsite.com) India, July 2008

Final Blind Dog Songs Now Online

A year after it was first promised, Blind Dog`s last seven songs on the Captain Dog Logs Out EP have been made available on their website.

The band wrote, “After just over ten years as a band it was about a year ago to this date (July 2008), that Blind Dog decided to quit. Nevertheless we did have a couple of songs and ideas that we didn’t want to throw away. We decided to make one final recording and release the songs for free but due to numerous circumstances we didn’t start recording until May 2008. Adamant that we would get it done here we are finally.”

Throttlerod Summer Updates

From Throttlerod:

Howdy kids,


We just wanted to send out a quick update to share some exciting news. First off, we hit the studio TOMORROW to start recording our next full-length. Well, actually, we`ve recorded four songs late last year and are now going in to record another seven. This record will be quite the ride as these 11 songs (at least ten will make it on the album) are some of the most mutant and most dynamic we`ve ever written. This is definitely our band at its best.


In other news, we found out a couple of weeks ago that we will have some more music on MTV`s Road Rules Challenge as well as on the Living Lohan TV show.


Lastly, we will be playing a rock n roll birthday bash on 8/16 at Alley Katz in Richmond for Allison from Taboo. For those outside of RVA, Taboo is an adult toy store. This show will be with RPG, Adam West, and Switched On and will be 18+. We go on 2nd, so come early.


www.throttlerod.net
www.myspace.com/throttlerod

Misty Morning`s New Release

Title: Martian Pope
Format: EP (mini album)
Release Date: March 2008
Reference Genres: Doom, stoner, southern rock, space rock, other


“… and a rumble shook the galaxy. The goat and the mole arrived, adoring. From the highs of the new Babel tower He stood tall, proud and austere: Martian Pope. Meantime, on the planet Earth, the mist of the morning didn’t seem to clear away…”


The musical entity Misty Morning was born in the far 1995 from the mind of Luca Moretti who, together with Massimo Vendittozzi, decided to give sonic form to the strange agitations of their souls. At the dawn of the year 2007, after more than one decade of musical experiences and parallel projects, Francesco de Dominicis finally joined the duo. The agreement of this three-some, held together by the shared influences of the individuals, gives life to the musical alchemy of the band, that after a year of live exhibitions and studio work, recorded the lysergic testimonies and the mystic visions of Martian Pope.


Fat and sepulchral voices, monolithic guitars, acid and choky basses, cosmic-hermetic-like drums are their weapons of choice. Martian Pope is a galaxy set with wondrous tales, it’s a journey on a starship piloted by Misty Morning through the Dantesque rounds of multiverses; The trio, though inspired by the doom founders, manages to keep a very personal sound and songwriting and their Astral Stoner Doom` n` Roll breathes and transudes from the five aria which compose their first EP. If the title track begins the poisonous celebrations for the awakening of the Pontiff From Mars, “Doom Saloon” sings about the centre of the universe: sci-fi-western blends with fast-paced southern-doom and makes arrangements for the coming of the stony suite: “My Wicked Dream (The Fabulous Trip of Mangustadrone in the Land of Cobra Porn),” a granitic mantra with pachydermatous movements inspired by Jodorowsky’s Holy Mountain. “No Mood (Necromancer’s Ride)” is akin to a Cathedral-style doom ride, where the rhythmic breath scans the phases of a Faust-like thirst of knowledge, until the final stage: the dramatic loss of the last bit of humanity (like the best Lovecraftian tradition teaches us). A vague arpeggio from the ancient Egypt brings a sandy taste to the mouth as we’re introduced to “Astrosarcophagus,” a reflection on the dilemma of the never ending war. Inspired by the Warhammer 40.000 gothic-future setting, the sulphureous gait à la Electric Wizard shows all the agony of a soldier’s soul, sentenced to fight on, even after his own death, up to the end of the universe. This is the journey of the Martian Pope, this is the Astral Stoner Doom` n` Roll of Misty Morning.


Tracklist
01 - Martian Pope (1.22)
02 – Doom Saloon (4.29)
03 – My Wicked Dream (The Fabulous Trip of Mangustadrone in the Land of Cobra Porn) (9.43)
04 – No Mood (Necromancer’s Ride) (6.16)
05 - Astrosarcophagus (7.09)
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