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CALL OF THE VOID: New Video Premiere At MetalSucks

Tuesday, May 14th, 2013

Today MetalSucks wants to reposition your facial features with a video premiere of “Bottom Feeder” by Denver deviants CALL OF THE VOID. Directed and edited by Frank Huang the tune comes from the band’s recently dispersed Dragged Down A Dead End Path full-length and adds a flow of blinding hues to their menacing brand of confrontational audio hate.

Notes MetalSucks of the clip: “The video’s frenetic editing and chromacolour palette represent a fine approximation of what it’s like to get face-fucked by CALL OF THE VOID live.”

Grab a pair of shades and watch “Bottom Feeder” HERE.

Fittingly dubbed “powerful, harsh crust grind at its fucking finest,” by American Aftermath, and commended for their “legitimate, misanthropic emotion,” by Popmatters, CALL OF THE VOID’s filth-ridden rash of powerviolence-stained hardcore continues to earn critical hails and ruptured spleens nationwide with its 25+ minute display of soul-tearing disgust. Recorded at the Boar’s Nest in Salt Lake City, Utah by Andy Patterson, mastered by Chris Mcnaughton, Dragged Down A Dead End Path delivers a merciless fusion of grind, crust and broken spirits.

CALL OF THE VOID will rape the stages of this year’s Scion Rock Fest set to take place in Memphis, Tennessee June 1st. The band will be performing alongside an illustrious lineup that includes Arsis, Municipal Waste, Melvins, Royal Thunder, Pallbearer, Corrosion Of Conformity, Whitechapel, The Shrine, Six Feet Under, A Life Once Lost, The Casualties, The Gates of Slumber, Impaled, Vision of Disorder, Code Orange Kids, Subrosa, Ice Dragon, Indian Handcrafts, Anciients, Testament, Vektor, Gigan, Complete Failure, Inter Arma, Touché Amoré and Hot Lunch. For more info point your browser to THIS LOCATION. The band will then hit Salt Lake City and two shows on their home turf with additional shows to be announced in the coming weeks.

CALL OF THE VOID Tour Dates 2013:
6/01/2013 Scion Rock Fest – Memphis, TN
6/08/2013 Lucifest – Salt Lake City, UT
6/11/2013 7th Circle Music Collective – Denver, CO w/ Discourse, Orphans, Perspective
6/30/2013 Rhinoceropolis – Denver, CO w/ Burning Love, Reproacher, Of Feather & Bone, Catholic Girls

Dragged Down A Dead End Path was recorded at the Boar’s Nest in Salt Lake City, Utah by Andy Patterson and mastered by Chris Mcnaughton. Order a physical copy of Dragged Down A Dead End Path HERE or a digital version via iTunes HERE. Additionally, the record is streaming in full courtesy of Lambgoat.com at THIS LOCATION.

And don’t forget to check out CALL OF THE VOID’s Decibrity playlist compiled by guitarist Patrick Alberts HERE!

“With a raw, messy sound drenched in over-amped guitars and driven by pure bile, they channel grindcore and Iron Monkey-esque sludgy unpleasantness and with each track – the longest topping out at 3:44 – they go off in a half dozen directions without ever losing their focus on destroying everything close by.” – Outburn

“CALL OF THE VOID [are] proving that Denver is a hotbed of serious vitriol and passion.” – Pitchfork

“…one of the best aggressive releases of the year.” – Exclaim!

“…an intense and hard hitting CD, with some of the sickest guitar playing heard since Death’s Spiritual Healing…” – Wicked Channel


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AUTHOR & PUNISHER: New Track Premiere Hosted By Stereogum

Tuesday, May 14th, 2013

Propagated by iconic sound manipulator/engineer/former robotics major Tristan Shone, AUTHOR & PUNISHER relentlessly challenges the traditional principals of doom, industrial and heavy bass music. Shone paints traumatic portraits of sonic contortion through mechanical use, abuse and maniacal decomposition.

His latest ode comes in the form of “Women & Children,” the title track of AUTHOR & PUNISHER’s upcoming fifth full-length, set for detonation this June. In anticipation of its release, the fine mischief makers at Stereogum are offering up an exclusive stream of the tune.

Describes Shone: “‘Women & Children’ is a sullen voyage from the beginning to the end of time, from primordial bliss to devastating chaos. That’s how it feels to me anyway.”

Adds Stereogum: “Shone’s apocalyptic noise blends elements of industrial, doom, and dubstep, and contorts that mass into some chilling, unrecognizable form… We’ve got the album opener/title track for you today, and it’s fantastic: It opens with the sound of electronic cicadas chirping over an empty dystopia, and soon, the low end (synths? bass?) comes to the surface, along with Shone’s distant, distorted vocals. When the track finally explodes — and especially when it moves into its massive final two minutes — it sounds like an amped-up version of El-P’s most discomfiting and narcotic beats, like an invasion or a riot (giving its title an especially morbid undertone).”

Lose your soul for approximately six-and-a-half minutes at THIS LOCATION.

If you missed it, you can still hear “In Remorse” courtesy of Pitchfork HERE, where you’ll also find in in-depth interview with Shone.

Iconoclastic in the truest sense of the word, Tristan Shone inverts the tenets of doom metal completely, relying on cold steel and soulless machinery to sonically replicate the despondency of life. Described most succinctly as “industrial doom,” this one-man project utilizes primarily custom designed and fabricated machines and speakers, devices that draw heavily on aspects of industrial automation and robotics and focus upon the eroticism of interaction with machine. The machines are designed to require significant force from the performer, aligning he/she with the plodding doom-influenced sounds that are created. AUTHOR & PUNISHER has performed with and shown these machines extensively at festivals and exhibitions in the United States and abroad.

Women & Children will be released via Seventh Rule Recordings on June 11, 2013.

“Once again the envelope has been pushed, the box stepped outside of and the tenants of doom and industrial have been refracted through the prism of the mind of a true innovator and they sound all the better for it. There are so few unique and wonderful things left in music, but AUTHOR & PUNISHER truly is one of them.” –The Sleeping Shaman


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ZOLLE Reaps Debut LP; Peruse The Duo’s Harvest At Altsounds

Tuesday, May 14th, 2013

Blazing out of the backwoods of Lodi, Italy, the ZOLLE duo this week harvest their belligerently unhinged self-titled, debut full-length of rural rampage!

The fully instrumental chaos ZOLLE drunkenly stumbles triumphantly through rages with lively off-kilter riff marches and schizokiller percussive thunder, distressed builds and healthy disharmony. Recorded with a nearly fully live performance by Michelangelo Roberti at Mizkey Studio (Morkobot) and mastered by Giovanni Versari (Zu, Morkobot, OvO, One Dimensional Man), utilizing a massive copper drum kit and an old digital 1950s amp coalescing into a mammoth, organic sound. The album also bears gifts of synth from Urlo (Ufomammut, Supernatural Cat) and Roberto Rizzo (Quasiviri, Runi). Zolle is out now on Supernatural Cat — the underground label run by Malleus Rock Art Lab, the artist collective featuring two members of the psychedelic doom trio Ufomammut. Order the hand-screened 180-gram LP with included CD limited Malleus edition of Zolle direct from the label here.

To celebrate the bountiful harvest, today ZOLLE shares their wares with all who care everywhere through Altsounds; STREAM IT HERE.

ZOLLE also recently released a massive video for their opus “Forko” from the album, an undertaking of monstrous proportions with a near major motion picture production budget.

The ZOLLE clan will venture across the their homeland performing throughout the Spring and Summer seasons, with several shows confirmed between May and August, followed by a European tour with Ufomammut in September and October, the full routing to be announced shortly.

ZOLLE Italian Live Itinerary:
5/17/2013 Club dell’Olmo – Santa Fiora, Grosseto w/ Autoblastindog
5/18/2013 Dal Verme – Roma w/ Lili Refrain
5/31/2013 Meltin Pop – Arona, Novara w/ Evolution ov Violence
6/26/2013 SoloMacello Fest – Segrate, Milano w/ Red Fang, Karma to Burn
6/29/2013 Sidro Club – Savignano sul Rubicone, Forlì-Cesena
7/20/2013 Rock Valley Festival – S. Maria della Versa, Pavia w/ Zeus, Toner Low, Town Portal, Kubark
8/23/2013 Casa della Grancetta – Senigallia, Ancona

“No vocalist needed for this aural assault…what you do get is instant head banging riffs driven by big drums and guitar rhythms that can’t decide if they’re mathy or sludgy, psychedelic, or doomy.” – Invisible Oranges

“Goddamn, this rocks. Yeah, this is off-kilter for sure but in a damn good way. The buzzsaw riffs are incredibly interesting and total headbangers. And other than the epic last track, everything is under three minutes long, so Zolle rips shit up and moves on. Killer. 9/10″ – Popdose

“It’s the subtle nature of arrangement that is the key to its success. It slowly insinuates itself in you and before you realize it your pulse is pounding and you start looking over your shoulder for some leather masked crazy in soft but deliberate pursuit. 8/10″ – This Is Not A Scene

“At the center of their sound is the guitar of Marcello Lan who clearly had visions of volcanoes, herds of rhinos, and everything else that makes the Earth shake and rumble when penning these riffs.  Hovering around him the whole time is the drumming of Stefano, who circles around those riffs like a celestial body waiting so patiently to crash and explode into something, anything, that comes into his orbit.” – Metal Insider

http://www.zolle.org
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HOWL: An In-Depth Look At Ryan Begley’s Cover Art Hosted By No Clean Singing

Monday, May 13th, 2013

If you’ve yet to truly investigate HOWL’s Bloodlines cover art, you’re missing out. A stunning, goretorn blood feast of skulls, bones, impalements, hungry wolves, plotting vultures, nooses and sexy side boob, Bloodlines was created by Ryan Begley (Pelican, Kvlertak, All Pigs Must Die, Cave In, etc.) and visually captures the metallic, lead-footed brutality of the music contained within.

Comments Begley of his work: “I was asked last year to illustrate my third record cover for Providence-based metal band HOWL. I’m really stoked that they’ve stuck with me since their first EP. They’re really good guys and I love doing work for them. Early on we batted around record title ideas and once Bloodlines was introduced as a possible title, the concept came together pretty easily. All the visuals were inspired by lyrical content and both the band and I wanted to have an image with a lot of elements that would take time for the viewer to soak in. I tried to have all the characters and elements interacting and overlapping as much as possible. The blood was one of the more difficult but fun elements to draw for the cover. Figuring out how it would flow and move throughout the frame and around the characters took a while to sketch out. The band wanted a bright and vibrant cover and I thought it would translate best if we kept the colors in the same family. Once I settled on a specific red for the blood the rest of the palette was pulled from that. Thank you HOWL and Relapse.”

Adds the band in a collective statement: “We are incredibly excited to feature Ryan Begley’s art for the new album. The inspiration for his work was drawn directly from our album’s music and lyrics, and he did a tremendous job capturing the brutality of Bloodlines.”

Check out some rough and final pencil sketches of the cover as well as the mammoth gatefold layout, hosted by No Clean Singing at THIS LOCATION, where you’ll also find the band’s latest video for “Demonic.”

In related news Bloodlines entered the Billboard Heatseekers Chart at #50 upon its first week of release! In addition, the record landed at #57 on the Billboard Hard Music Chart and #173 on Billboard’s Indie Music Chart.

HOWL’s Bloodlines douses listener with 40 relentless minutes of maniacal dirge and continues to reap critical accolades from fans and critics alike for its thunderous riffing and primal urgency. Dubbed, “deliciously vicious” by MetalSucks, Bloodlines was recorded at the infamous Planet Z Studio in Hadley, Massachusetts with Chris “Zeuss” Harris (Soulfly, Crowbar, Municipal Waste, 3 Inches Of Blood et al) and is currently streaming in its entirety at the band’s official BandCamp page HERE. Order your copy of Bloodlines HERE and stay tuned for Summer tour dates to be announced shortly!

“… the type of galloping, growling, grot-filled effort you expect from a Motörhead shirt wearing metal band.” – Decibel

“HOWL plays with a power and energy that is hard not to admire, with influences that go beyond a single sub genre; to simply label HOWL as pure doom is to potentially limit their appeal. I’ve no doubt if you’re a fan of High On Fire or Electric Wizard, this would be an excellent addition to your library. That said their sound should equally have the heads of Iron Maiden fans and corpse painted true metal warriors banging alike.” – Ave Noctum

“…if you like imp shrieking, wah-imbued stunt guitar, sludge chugs, and lyrics about demons, Bloodlines just might be up your alley.” – Mxdwn

“…a fantastic way to spend an afternoon waxing philosophic or a night getting beaten to death by a group of angry Rhode Islanders…” – Dead Rhetoric

“Bloodlines features enough powerful riffs and angry attitude to sate the mainstream, while the underground will dig the overall feeling of doom and hatred. Did I mention the utterly stellar songwriting?” — Ghost Cult

“…the equivalent of being punched repeatedly in the gut with brass knuckles and then pushed down the mouth of an active volcano.” – American Aftermath

“If [debut album] Full of Hell was a tsunami, this album is a sniper attack.” – Alternative Control

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EIGHT BELLS Issues Post-Tour Statement

Monday, May 13th, 2013

Trance-inducing sound contortionists EIGHT BELLS recently wrapped up a short run of live ceremonies alongside Salt Lake City sludge collective SubRosa. The eclectic trio made their way through Seattle, Vancouver, Spokane, Boise, Salt Lake City, Oakland and San Francisco, dousing listeners with their ethereal hymns of jammy, majestic panic.

Comments Melynda Jackson of the journey: “We have returned to our lives and jobs. Our excitement for upcoming tasks is evident, and we are planning a couple of local shows and weekend trips for the Summer, although our focus is on writing for a new album. We thank everyone who was supportive, and that was pretty much everyone we encountered, and we also thank SubRosa for being amazing artists and road partners. I don’t really have any great crazy stories from the road so I will make a random list of disjointed ideas: peacocks screamed at me in Idaho way too early in the morning; there was an actual outhouse that was actually used; we visited and revisited the fact that Stevie Wonder’s song ‘Part Time Lover’ has a very uncomfortable and awkward drum beat. Canadians are very nice people. Wet wipes are a touring band’s best friend. People who spend 20 minutes telling you that your band is good, but just not what they would ever listen to as if their opinion matters that much and who distract you from talking with actual friends are hilarious; nothing makes napping more beautiful than the sound of tires droning on the surface of the interstate..”

EIGHT BELLS released their debut full-length in the form of The Captain’s Daughter earlier this year via Seventh Rule Recordings. Offering up four oceanic dreamscapes that are at once soothing, cerebral and often forboding, The Captain’s Daughter continues to captivate listeners globally. Sentire Magazine commends the band’s “black metal and drone tinged journey through psychedelic doom,” Metal Psalter calls The Captain’s Daughter, “a journey into the far reaches of one’s mind through sound that acts as its own wordsmith,” and Exclaim! opines, “Almost Victorian in its elegance and graceful complication, EIGHT BELLS have created a masterpiece that is part clockwork, part cameo and a little bit mad.” Willamette Weekly notes, “…everything locks in and works towards the simple goal of warping the fragile mind of whoever is listening,” while This Is Note A Scene adds: “EIGHT BELLS layer emotional sound upon experimental anguish, and come through the other side somewhat intact… in the physical sense at least. Join them for this tumultuous journey on the desperate waves of life.”

EIGHT BELLS features within its ranks SubArachnoid Space alumni Melynda Jackson and Christopher Van Huffel. Jackson’s EIGHT BELLS continues in SAS’ tradition of heavy guitar exploration, adding a blackened dissonance and minimalist vocals to the mix. Jackson is accompanied by classically trained six-string bassist Haley Westeiner who created the centerpiece vocals on “Fate and Technology” and also provides harmonic counterpoint to Jackson’s newly discovered vocalizations. Van Huffel resumes the throne he occupied for ten years, bringing his thunderous, nuanced double kick playing with him. With this power trio, Jackson has found a group that brings focus and support to her unapologetically expressionistic experimental metal music.

The Captain’s Daughter is available now through Seventh Rule Recordings. Order your copy HERE.

“…this release ain’t exactly cannibals in chainmail burning down churches, but it’s a dark, sometimes glassy-smooth, sometimes turbulent, often emotionally heavy trip that should appeal to anyone who digs great music – it’s as simple as that.” – Last Rites

“Psychedelic metal with an angry streak, The Captain’s Daughter is never short on exhilarating music. Minimal vocals pave the way for floaty riffs and spastic beats, spread across four tracks that range from a digestible four minutes to a gargantuan 12 minutes.” – About.com

“The Captain’s Daughter is a record you’ll listen to a good five times over and still be taken for a spin by that-one-part-you-forgot about.” – Invisible Oranges

“…a masterpiece… the music is so complex, and there’s so much going on in terms of song structures and the interplay of the musicians that it not only holds up to repeated listens, it demands them.” — Ironhops

“It took forty seconds for this album to drop my jaw…” – Echoes And Dust

“Perhaps the most tremendous achievement of The Captain’s Daughter is its ability to evoke atmospheric qualities of a multitude of genres without succumbing to the confines of any of them.…” — SteelForBrains

“Instrumental music is about journeys of the mind and emotion. Jackson has been on many journeys herself, as The Captain’s Daughter represents a resurrection after the dissolution of her former band, Subarachnoid Space. This pedigree and intensity of emotion is all over The Captain’s Daughter, to the benefit of most who will listen. Although the album is relatively short (just barely over 30 minutes), the musicianship and the amalgam of different genres makes time seem to slow down. The Captain’s Daughter is a worthwhile debut, but it is not for the faint of heart or people who want a quick sonic fix.” – SSG Music


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EARTHLING: Debut LP Streaming Via Terroirzer; Midwestern U.S. Invasion Begins

Monday, May 13th, 2013

A furious and infectious maelstrom of doom-infused thrash mastery, Dark Path — the blazing debut LP from Harrisonburg, Virginia-based EARTHLING — is out now on Forcefield Records.

Through an organic, blackened, thrashing hybrid of metal drawing influences from across the spectrum of extreme music, EARTHLING has finally captured their corrosive sound on record. A diverse, premier debut offering, Dark Path is a coarse display of the band’s terrorizing spirit; a ravenous force that has guided the group through countless shows, relentless demo recordings, and over five years of sheer sacrifice. Recorded by Garret Morris (Windhand, Cough, Parasytic, Bastard Sapling) and mastered by Mikey Allred (Inter Arma, Hellbender, Across Tundras), one can rest assured that this album is well versed in sonic mayhem.

As Dark Path is now available on CD, LP and via digital delivery, Terrorizer Magazine is hosting a stream of the album. Have your face removed RIGHT HERE.

Following their recent Northeastern U.S. tour supporting Virginia brethren Inter Arma, EARTHLING is prepared to forge west this week. With shows booked in Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Tennessee and their home state of Virginia between this week and the end of the month EARTHLING will share stages with a plethora of rad acts including Zuul, Oblong Box, Across Tundras, Inter Arma, Cobalt and Lord Mantis. Additional tour dates are being devised which will take the band out on the road frequently through the remainder of 2013. Order Dark Path direct via Forcefield HERE.

EARTHLING May Tour Dates:
5/15/2013 Al’s Sidecar – Lexington, KY
5/16/2013 Casa Demise – Dayton, OH
5/17/2013 Livewire – Chicago, IL w/ Oblong Box
5/18/2013 Cusumano’s – Saint Louis, IL w/ Oblong Box
5/19/2013 Lost Cross – Carbondale, IL w/ Zuul
5/20/2013 Owl Farm – Nashville, TN w/ Across Tundras
5/28/2013 Blue Nile – Harrisonburg, VA w/ Cobalt, Lord Mantis, Inter Arma

“Earthling shifts between various speeds of thrash… Those changes in direction and speed allow Earthling to push each part of the song decisively into the red, so that, just when the whole thing starts to wobble, they transition and regain their footing. The instability breeds the same sort of excitement as a mosh pit, where the risk of wiping out only increases the thrill of serving as a standing pinball.” – Pitchfork

“…a ripping blend of crust and proto-black metal riffs that boil from a vast melting pot of extremity; their truly diverse extreme sound also brings with it the incessant need to thrash.” – Terrorizer

“…Earthling’s first full length album gallops at break-neck speed through a crusty, blackened, desolate musical landscape. 4/5″ – About.com

“Earthling is quite original. They basically play thrash metal but their take on it is completely different compared to the sound of most thrash metal bands you hear these days. The sound is heavier and contains numerous black and heavy metal influences.” – Lords of Metal

“…like bong ripping yourself into a black hole where the other side is the embodiment of Mob Rules era Sabbath with the addition of some major Mega Man shred duals.” – Mxdwn

“…a potent blend of Southern riffs and black metal atmospheres, casting off much of that genre’s pretentious silliness in favor of an earthier pummel.” – The Aquarian Weekly

“The urgent speed that the band goes at for the most part easily reminds one of the early days of Teutonic thrash, and bands such as Kreator and Destruction quickly come to mind with the extremity that is present on the record.” – Heavy Metal Tribune

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EARSPLIT PR – Roundup From The Compound: May 13, 2013

Monday, May 13th, 2013

EARSPLIT PR – Roundup From The Compound: May 13, 2013

Blow The Scene Hosts P.A.W.S. Benefit; Philly-Based Art Show & Music Festival Confirmed – This June, Philadelphia-based music/arts webzine Blow The Scene is co-hosting a massive benefit drive including both an underground art show and killer music fest to aid in funding a no-kill animal shelter and rescue for P.A.W.S. (Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society). [More…]

WEEDEATER Drinking Cough Syrup With Heavy Dicks; Spring Tour Locked – Following a few months on a hi[gh]atus from tour, Cape Fear sludge-slingers WEEDEATER will hit the bong and the road once again later this month. The gravelly groove of the twisted trio will smoke-out nine East Coast cities between May 22nd and June 1st, the new rampage booked in conjunction with WEEDEATER’s trip up to blaze Baltimore at this year’s installment of the Maryland Deathfest. [More…]

VREID: Norwegian Black ‘N’ Roll Legion To Return To North America – Norwegian black ‘n’ roll legion VREID will take their hell hymns to the streets this June on a North American tour alongside headliners Melechesh. Set to commence June 16 in Los Angeles, California, the long-awaited trek includes over two weeks of live assaults and will come to a close in New York City on June 30th. .Additional support will come from Lightning Swords Of Death and Reign Of Lies. [More…]

HOWL: Exclusive Video Premiere Hosted By Metal Injection – Today Metal Injection offers up an exclusive video premiere of “Demonic” from Rhode Island riff manglers, HOWL. The tune comes by way of the band’s newest studio offering, Bloodlines, which officially dropped in North America last Tuesday via Relapse Records. [More…]

GRIMUS: New Jersey Brutal Death Metal Crew Drops Details Of Debut Full-Length – Almost three years after their pummeling Gutter Earth EP was inflicted upon the masses, cold-blooded Elizabeth, New Jersey-based death metal insurgents GRIMUS have completed their first proper full-length, Omnicide. [More…]

TARJA: Finnish Songstress Reveals Title + Street Date Of Forthcoming New Full-Length – Despite her light and airy character, the music of Finnish songstress/former Nightwish soprano, TARJA has always been shrouded “in black” – the color of heavy rock, mystery and elegance. With her latest studio recording, fans will find that same darkness highlighted by an array of new emotions, multihued landscapes and musical atmospheres. [More…]

AMON AMARTH: Live Video Of “The Pursuit of Vikings” From 2012’s Summer Breeze Festival Posted – Check out the live video of “The Pursuit of Vikings” from AMON AMARTH’s performance at 2012’s Summer Breeze Festival in Germany! More footage from this show coming soon! [More…]

CHTHONIC: Taiwanese Metal Ensemble Releases New Video Single – Today, Taiwanese metal ensemble CHTHONIC reveals the first of a series of video singles from their forthcoming new full-length. “Defenders of Bú-Tik Palace” comes by way of the band’s seventh studio recording, Bú-Tik. With Bú-Tik, CHTHONIC continue their mission to build awareness of the myths of Taiwan and the tragic events in their country’s history. [More…]

SADGIQACEA: Invisible Oranges Now Playing Entire Debut LP – Philadelphia’s genre-morphing duo SADGIQACEA today celebrates the official North American release of their debut album, False Prism. Recorded by Chris Grigg (Woe), the sprawling forty-minute album projects the organic, monstrous tones and unified, distinctive style which has helped the two-piece act become one of Philly’s hottest live acts over the past two years. [More…]

GODHUNTER Drops Lyric Video For “Vultures’ Wake” – GODHUNTER has posted a new lyric video for their new track “Vultures’ Wake,” the first new material from they’ve recorded since their late 2011 Wolves EP. The track was recorded by Ryan Bram (Territory) at Homewrecker Studios in Tucson, and mastered by Brad Boatright (From Ashes Rise) at Audiosiege, and will be available on an upcoming split 7” with fellow Tucson act Anakim. [More…]

IN THE SILENCE: Debut From Dark/Prog Band Out Now; Full Album Streaming – Sacramento California-based quartet IN THE SILENCE this week proudly officially releases their debut full-length, A Fair Dream Gone Mad, the ominous but epic release out now worldwide via Sensory Records. With incredibly moving riffs and otherworldly atmospheres, boasting a huge mid-tone clean vocal performance atop a thunderous display of technical metal percussion, A Fair Dream Gone Mad’s forty-five minute lifespan possesses massive, pristine production, further magnifying the band’s skilled approach. [More…]

HAVOK’s Unnatural Selection Set For Release – Candlelight Records confirms June 25 as the North American release date for Unnatural Selection, the new studio recording from Denver thrashers HAVOK. The ten-song album was produced by David Sanchez with mixing handled by Terry Date (Pantera, Overkill, Deftones). Unnatural Selection features original artwork from Polish illustrator Rafal Wechterowicz (Slayer, Mastodon) and was mastered by James Murphy (Aborted, World Under Blood, Abigail Williams). [More…]

EXHUMED: European Takeover Commences Today – Following a maniacally successful run of US live assaults alongside Suffocation last month, West Coast road goliaths EXHUMED will take their hymns of repugnance overseas on an epic long storm through Europe. The journey deploys today in Bristol, UK and will soil nearly three dozen cities! No one is safe. [More…]

MAMMOTH GRINDER: Austin Crossover Crew Hooks Up With 20 Buck Spin For Third LP – It’s been nearly four years since the last MAMMOTH GRINDER full length Extinction Of Humanity was released via Relapse Records (CD) and Cyclopean Records (LP). That album showcased the band’s direction into a distinctly death metal permutation, full of aggression and punk rawness. [More…]

INTEGRITY: New Hymn From Pending Tenth LP Streaming At Pitchfork – As the villainous INTEGRITY prepares to release the band’s tenth LP, Suicide Black Snake, another new track has uncoiled today via Pitchfork. [More…]

ANTIGAMA: Polish Grind Purveyors Unload New Track From Upcoming Meteor LP – Polish blastmongers Selfmadegod Records have this week posted a brand new track from Meteor, the looming sixth full-length from Warsaw’s grindcore technicians, ANTIGAMA. The third of eleven new tracks that encompass the highly anticipated album, “Prophecy” is a punishing predictor of what the planet can expect when this album makes landfall on May 28th, as the full album will strike with ten times the strength of this one track. [More…]

SONS OF TONATIUH: Down-Tuned Sound Savages Announce Spring Tour Dates – Down-tuned sound savages SONS OF TONATIUH will bring their bottom heavy sludge back to the streets this Friday beginning with a show in Atlanta alongside Torche. The band will then writhe its way through the Southeast on a round of weekend shows through July with additional dates to be added in the coming weeks. [More…]

THE OCEAN: First Week Chart Numbers Revealed – Pelagial, the new maritime-themed studio offering from progressive metal revolutionists THE OCEAN, entered the Billboard Heatseekers Chart at #10 upon its first week of release! In addition, Pelagial landed at #55 on the Billboard Top Independent Album Chart, #26 on the Billboard Current Hard Music Chart and #39 on the Billboard Top Hard Rock Chart. In Canada, the record ranked in at #23 on the Hard Music Chart and #194 on the Top 200 Current Albums Chart. Elsewhere, Pelagial hit #72 on the German Media Market Chart and #68 on the German Media Control Control Top 100 Chart. [More…]

KILLING JOKE: New Video Single Unveiled – In celebration of their astounding thirty-fifth anniversary, KILLING JOKE today unveils their latest video single in the form of “Corporate Elect.” The tune comes by way of the band’s critically-lauded MMXII full-length released last year via Spinefarm Records and serves as a taster of the band’s three-CD anthology — The Singles Collection 1979-2012. [More…]

HAUST: Backwoods Blackened Oslo Punks Drop Third LP Via Fysisk Format – Three years since their previous album, HAUST are back with their most raw and primitive release to date. A tirade of oxymorons in musical form, in the nine short tracks of NO the listener is pulled back into a time where rock and punk were synonymous with rawness and vulnerability; a worship of total humiliation, of the pleasure in realizing one’s own limitations. Like all outsider music, HAUST celebrates those who walk their own paths; who run away from Sunday School to go berserk in the woods. [More…]

CYNTHESIS: Visionary Prog Metal Troupe Releases Track From New Album Via Metal Underground – As Pleasanton, California-based prog metal superforce CYNTHESIS prepares to release ReEvolution — the second full-length in their ongoing trilogy of albums — today the first full single from the album has been released. [More…]

KAMIKABE: Bloodletting North America Tour 2013 Currently Underway – Pittsburgh technical death metal tyrants, KAMIKABE, are currently fracturing limbs and tearig ear drums on the Bloodletting North America Tour 2013 which commenced on May 3. Brought to fruition by Unique Leader, KAMIKABE are joined by headlining labelmates/French tech death metal masters, Gorod. Additional support is provided by Inanimate Existence (Unique Leader) and Vale of Pnath (Willowtip). [More…]

EARSPLIT on Tour!

Contact us about live coverage opportunities for the following bands:

ABIOTIC – AEON – AMON AMARTH – ASSEMBLY OF LIGHT CHOIR – BATTLECROSS – BEHEMOTH – BEYOND THE SHORE – BLACK BREATH – BLOOD CEREMONY – BONE SICKNESS – CANCER BATS – CATTLE DECAPITATION – DEAD IN THE DIRT – DEVOURMENT – EIGHT BELLS – ENABLER – FEAR FACTORY – FULL OF HELL – GLORIOR BELLI – GOATWHORE – GYPSYHAWK – HATE ETERNAL – HOD – IDES OF GEMINI – INTEGRITY – JOB FOR A COWBOY – KAMIKABE – KILLING JOKE – LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR – LIGHTNING SWORDS OF DEATH –NIGHTBITCH – SIX FEET UNDER – SURGEON – THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER – THE OCEAN – VISE MASSACRE – VREID – WARTORN – WHITE WIDOWS – WHITECHAPEL – WOE

Or visit our tours page at THIS LOCATION.

http://www.earsplitcompound.com
http://www.facebook.com/EarsplitPR
http://www.soundcloud.com/earsplit

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KAMIKABE: Bloodletting North America Tour 2013 Currently Underway

Thursday, May 9th, 2013

Pittsburgh technical death metal tyrants, KAMIKABE, are currently fracturing limbs and tearig ear drums on the Bloodletting North America Tour 2013 which commenced on May 3. Brought to fruition by Unique Leader, KAMIKABE are joined by headlining labelmates/French tech death metal masters, Gorod. Additional support is provided by Inanimate Existence (Unique Leader) and Vale of Pnath (Willowtip).

Comments the band: “We couldn’t be any more stoked about this tour! An opportunity to shred with Gorod in the States is not something that happens too often. Plus, adding Inanimate Existence and Vale of Pnath to the lineup, as well as several other sick bands on select dates, makes this tour that much more crushing! We’ve been sharpening our blades to destroy every city we hit. The years of hard work and support from everyone that has helped us along the way really speaks volumes for the death metal culture that we’re lucky to have!”

KAMIKABE – Bloodletting North America 2013 [Remaining Dates]:
5/09/2013 White Swan – Houston, TX
5/10/2013 Siberia – New Orleans, LA
5/11/2013 Brass Mug – Tampa, FL
5/12/2013 TBA – Atlanta, GA
5/13/2013 New Brooklyn Tavern – W. Columbia, SC
5/14/2013 Casbah – Charlotte, NC
5/15/2013 Empire – Springfield, VA
5/16/2013 Reverb – Reading, PA
5/17/2013  The Foundry – Cleveland, OH
5/18/2013 Harper’s Pub – Clementon, NJ
5/19/2013 Saint Vitus Bar – Brooklyn, NY
5/20/2013 Bogie’s/2013 Albany, NY
5/21/2013 Railroad Tavern – Keen, NH
5/23/2013 Maverick’s – Ottawa, ON
5/24/2013 Alize – Montréal, QC
5/25/2013 L’Agitee – Québec, QC
5/26/2013 The Rockpile – Toronto, ON
5/27/2013 Reggie’s – Chicago, IL
5/28/2013 TBA – St. Paul, MN
5/31/2013 Studio Seven – Seattle, WA
6/01/2013 Astoria Pub – Vancouver, BC

KAMIKABE are touring in support of their punishing Aberration Of Man long player unleashed via Unique Leader Records last Fall. Commended for a 33-run time “chock full of furious and complex, yet pristine brutality that blurs the who deathcore/tech death metal line with aplomb,” by Teeth of The Divine, the pile-driving Aberration Of Man is a reference to the inevitable demise of mankind and the confrontational sounds of societal ruination. Aberration Of Man was recorded and produced by Brette Ciamarra at Studio 344, features guest vocals and lyrics by The Faceless’ Geoff Ficco on the track, “Only the Dead Rest.”

Check out a full stream of the record on the band’s official BandCamp page HERE.

“KAMIKABE play some of the rippingest, most ferocious death metal I’ve heard in some time. I’d guess that these guys would cite Spawn of Possession and Nalpalm Death as big influences, a dandy combination for fans of fast death metal.” – MetalSucks

“…a storming, riveting listen, with pummelling drum blasts and terrorizing guitars that simply drag your mind from the mires of indifference onto the battlefield of attention. When you put this on for the first time, put on your war face and get ready to roar.” — Sludgelord


http://www.facebook.com/kamikabe
http://kamikabe.bandcamp.com
http://www.uniqueleader.com

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KILLING JOKE: New Video Single Unveiled

Thursday, May 9th, 2013

In celebration of their astounding thirty-fifth anniversary, KILLING JOKE today unveils their latest video single in the form of “Corporate Elect.” The tune comes by way of the band’s critically-lauded MMXII full-length released last year via Spinefarm Records and serves as a taster of the band’s three-CD anthology — The Singles Collection 1979-2012.

Conceived, filmed and directed by Mikee Goodman, the video is only the fourth official clip sanctioned by the band in the past few years, following “In Excelsis, the animated “European Super State” and the “In Cythera” clips in which the band have barely appeared. Notes Goodman, former frontman of UK outfit SikTh, one half of Primal Rock Rebellion (along with Iron Maiden guitarist, Adrian Smith), and now recording with new project, Outpatients: “This video has been my biggest creative challenge yet. I had never previously met Jaz Coleman, but was blown away by the powerful and passionate performance he delivered. I did not sleep properly for five weeks. Now I have, I have looked at it again with fresh eyes. And smiled. I was honored to be asked to make a music video for KILLING JOKE, and so pleased to hear they liked it.”

The Singles Collection 1979-2012 captures KILLING JOKE’s ever-evolving legacy with a series of dark, apocalyptic songs that have successfully combined disco, funk and shamanic wisdom with the dark side of punk rock. Called “a timely reminder why KILLING JOKE continue to be held in such high esteem,” by Drowned In Sound, The Singles Collection 1979-2012 delivers thirty-three career-spanning singles over two CDs with an additional third disc of rarities which includes previously unreleased studio tracks. The three-CD version will be limited in number, reverting to two CDs containing the singles tracks. Notes BrooklynVegan, “KILLING JOKE is, like many of the great bands of our time, unique and generally unclassifiable. Punk in both ethos and origin, the UK band has dipped its toe in industrial, metal, funk and dance music in their close-to-35-year career, carving out their own niche and more importantly their own sound.”

If you missed it, you can still check out a stream of “Four Stations Of The Sun,” a remix of which appeared on the 1998 LP Wardance – The Remixes and included on disc three of The Singles Collection courtesy of BrookynVegan at THIS LOCATION. You can also hear the band’s “Timewave” demo, brought to you by Decibel Magazine HERE. Previously unreleased, the track was recorded during the Absolute Dissent studio sessions and is included on the third rarities disc.

The digital version of The Singles Collection 1979-2012 is out now! The three-disc deluxe and regular two-CD version is set for release via Spinefarm on the new date of June 4, 2013. Pre-order your copy HERE.

http://www.killingjoke.com
http://www.facebook.com/killingjokeofficial
http://spinefarmrecords.com/usa
http://www.facebook.com/SpinefarmRecordsUS

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THE OCEAN: First Week Chart Numbers Revealed

Thursday, May 9th, 2013

Pelagial, the new maritime-themed studio offering from progressive metal revolutionists THE OCEAN, entered the Billboard Heatseekers Chart at #10 upon its first week of release! In addition, Pelagial landed at #55 on the Billboard Top Independent Album Chart, #26 on the Billboard Current Hard Music Chart and #39 on the Billboard Top Hard Rock Chart. In Canada, the record ranked in at #23 on the Hard Music Chart and #194 on the Top 200 Current Albums Chart. Elsewhere, Pelagial hit #72 on the German Media Market Chart and #68 on the German Media Control Control Top 100 Chart.

Their deepest and most accomplished work to date, THE OCEAN’s Pelagial is a 53-minute exploratory composition written, recorded, mixed and intended to-be-performed-live as one single piece of music. Centered around all five pelagic depth zones — epipelagic, mesopelagic, bathyalpelagic, abyssopelagic, and hadopelagic – Pelagial quite literally submerges its listeners into an aquatic journey that is at once tranquil and terrifying. Pelagial begins rather light and progressively gets heavier and slows as the band reaches the unfathomable depths of the hadopelagic zone, characterized by complete darkness and a thousandfold increased pressure as compared to surface level. Said Decibel Magazine in a recent review of the massive undertaking: “Where the band was once steeped in sludgy noise/metalcore with orchestral interludes, they’ve become more luxurious, experimental and textural. Pelagial…further continues that shift, working on multi-tiered levels and drawing from DEP-inspired chaos, Opeth-like moods and Between The Buried And Me genre fiddling. It’s an album that strives to be all things at once without crossing into a ‘look-at-me’ mess.”

Pelagial was mixed and mastered by Jens Bogren (Opeth, Katatonia, Witchcraft) at Fascination Street Studios in Örebrö, Sweden and comes as a double CD, which includes a vocal and an instrumental version of the album.

Check out the special clip video of the record currently posted at Invisible Oranges at THIS LOCATION as well as a full stream of the instrumental version, courtesy of Spin Magazine, HERE. Order your copy of Pelagial at: http://www.theoceancollective.com/pelagial.

THE OCEAN will return to North America as part of the seventh annual Summer Slaughter Tour, presented by Indie Merch Store, ESP and Guitar World. The band will appear alongside The Dillinger Escape Plan, Animals As Leaders, Periphery, Norma Jean, Cattle Decapitation, Revocation, Aeon and more. As a precursor to their Stateside takeover, the band will play four special European shows with Mastodon. See confirmed tour dates below.

THE OCEAN w/ Mastodon:
5/31/2013 Essigfabrik – Cologne, DE
6/01/2013 Garage/Kleiner Club – Saarbrücken, DE (no Mastodon)
6/02/2013 Atelier – Luxembourg, LU
6/05/2013 Lido – Berlin, DE
6/06/2013 Beatpol – Dresden, DE

THE OCEAN on The Summer Slaughter Tour:
7/19/2013 Regency Ballrom – San Francisco, CA
7/20/2013 House of Blues – Los Angeles, CA
7/21/2013 The Observatory/Constellation Room – Santa Ana, CA
7/24/2013 Diamond Ballroom – Oklahoma City, OK
7/26/2013 House of Blues – Dallas, TX
7/27/2013 House of Blues – Houston, TX
7/29/2013 House of Blues – Lake Buena Vista, FL
7/30/2013 The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
7/31/2013 Old City Courtyard – Knoxville, TN
8/01/2013 House of Blues – Myrtle Beach, SC
8/02/2013 The Filmore Silver Springs – Silver Springs, MD
8/03/2013 The Palladium – Worcester, MA
8/04/2013 The Trocadero – Philadelphia, PA
8/07/2013 Best Buy Theater – New York, NY
8/08/2013 Sound Academy – Toronto, ON
8/09/2013 Metropolis – Montreal, QC
8/10/2013 Upstate Concert Hall – Clifton Park, NY
8/11/2013 The Majestic Theatre – Detroit, MI
8/12/2013 House of Blues – Chicago, IL
8/13/2013 The Rave – Milwaukee, WI
8/14/2013 Station 4 – St. Paul, MN
8/16/2013 Ogden Theatre – Denver, CO

“The sixth album from German post-metal doombringers THE OCEAN is huge… In the course of the record, tender piano interludes get stomped on by Mastodon-shaped footprints, lush strings work next to bulldozing double-kick work, and, at the end, the submarine crashes at Melvins tempos.” – Spin

“…as fantastic as it is dense. The concepts are dense. The music is dense. The two hundred and something individual tracks, all mastered together as one single piece of music, scream density like being sat on by a bull elephant.” – The Monolith

“Pelagial is brilliantly written, expertly executed and filled with the kind of songwriting most bands can only dream of.” – Crave online

“Pelagial resonates so deeply because its sonic continuity is matched with shifting, unified composition. The album viscerally depicts the spectrum of submersion while highlighting the musicians’ versatility and cohesion. The band has never written more intriguing music, and THE OCEAN COLLECTIVE has never been a more apt name.” – MetalSucks

“…a journey within itself…” — Metal Insider

“…destined to be one of the year’s best releases.” – Echoes And Dust

“Creating music with a real meaning cannot be taken as a hobby. Either you put everything into it and make your message known or you don’t. Their correlation between diving deeper into the ocean and diving into the inner workings of the human mind is astounding…you would be a complete fool to not pick up this true work of art.” – New Noise Magazine

“Pelagial is quite possibly THE OCEAN’s most ambitious record to date — not only conceptually, but musically as well… THE OCEAN have been on the cutting edge of progressive songwriting since their inception, but Pelagial may be the record that finally puts them ahead of their peers.” – Heavy Blog Is Heavy

“Beyond impressive. It’s godly almost; perfectionism to the point that every minute flaw forces you to question whether it’s you or the album that’s to blame. It’s an album with a layered depth rarely found in modern music that never demands your exploration of those depths in order to appreciate the music.” – Axis of Metal



http://www.theoceancollective.com/pelagial
http://www.facebook.com/theoceancollective
http://www.metalblade.com/theocean

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