Usnea, Portland Cosmic Sludge Quartet Begins Most Extensive Tour To Date

by David Rosales on May 9, 2015

USNEA

In support of their Relapse Records debut LP, Random Cosmic Violence, Portland, Oregon’s decimating cosmic doom/sludge act, USNEA, has just embarked on the band’s most extensive tour ever. Kicking off in their hometown tonight, the quartet will take their dredging hymns across North America with nearly three dozen shows through mid-June. Leading off with several solo gigs,USNEA will rendezvous with Italian psychedelic doom trio, Ufomammut, mid-next week, and will directly support them for the entirety of their first North American tour, with several one-off shows confirmed along the way, in addition to a performance at this year’s Maryland Deathfest with Ufomammut as well as Primitive Man, Mantar, Conan, Yob and more.

USNEA Tour Dates:

  • 5/08/2015 High Water Mark – Portland, OR * tour kick-off w/ Eye of Nix, Hiding, Shine of the Serpent
  • 5/09/2015 Neurolux – Boise, ID – w/ Inter Arma, Uzala, Yautja5/10/2015 Metro Bar – Salt Lake City, UT w/ Odium Totus
  • 5/11/2015 Lost Lake Lounge – Denver, CO w/ Inter Arma, Yautja, Prison Death
  • 5/12/2015 Frank’s North Star Tavern – Lawrence, KS

USNEA North America Spring 2015 w/ Ufomammut:

  • 5/13/2015 Reggies – Chicago, IL w/ Bloodiest, Cokegoat5/14/2015 Now That’s Class – Cleveland, OH w/ Contra
  • 5/15/2015 Bug Jar – Rochester, NY w/ Blizaro, The Highest Leviathan5/16/2015 Mod Club – Toronto, ON w/ Olde, Sons of Otis
  • 5/17/2015 Le Ritz – Montreal, QC w/ Tunguska Mammoth, Show Of Bedlam5/18/2015 Middle East Upstairs – Boston, MA w/ Stomach Earth, Wormwood, Slow Mover [no Ufomammut]
  • 5/19/2015 Saint Vitus Bar – Brooklyn, NY
  • 5/20/2015 Johnny Brenda’s – Philadelphia, PA w/ Ominous Black
  • 5/21/2015 Ram’s Head Live – Baltimore, MD @ Maryland Deathfest
  • 5/22/2015 King’s – Raleigh, NC w/ Make
  • 5/23/2015 Drunken Unicorn – Atlanta, GA w/ Order Of The Owl
  • 5/24/2015 HiTone Café – Memphis, TN [no Ufomammut]
  • 5/25/2015 Siberia – New Orleans, LA w/ Space Cadaver
  • 5/26/2015 Walter’s – Houston, TX w/ Holy Money, Defending The Kingdom5/27/2015 Red 7 – Austin, TX w/ Unmothered
  • 5/29/2015 Sister – Albuquerque, NM w/ Black Maria
  • 5/30/2015 Flycatcher – Tucson, AZ w/ Sorxe, Inoculara
  • 5/31/2015 Complex – Los Angeles, CA w/ Kata
  • 6/01/2015 Sweet Spring Saloon – Los Osos, CA [no Ufomammut]
  • 6/02/2015 Catalyst – Santa Cruz, CA w/ The Bad Light
  • 6/03/2015 Elbo Room – San Francisco, CA w/ Badr Vogu, Hornss
  • 6/04/2015 Press Club – Sacramento, CA w/ Lycus, Church
  • 6/06/2015 Rotture – Portland, OR w/ Survival Knife, Church
  • 6/07/2015 Chop Suey – Seattle, WA w/ Survival Knife
  • 6/08/2015 Neurolux – Boise, ID w/ Brett Nelson & Snakes
  • 6/09/2015 Bar Deluxe – Salt Lake City, UT w/ Subrosa
  • 6/10/2015 Hi-Dive – Denver, CO w/ In the Company of Serpents
  • 6/12/2015 Turf Club – St Paul, MN w/ Vulgaari
  • 6/13/2015 Metal Grill – Milwaukee, WI w/ Asatta
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Reissue of Vulcano’s Bloody Vengeance coming on May 18

by David Rosales on May 9, 2015

vulcano

Greyhaze Records is set to unearth Bloody Vengeance, the 1986 full-length debut from Brazilian death metal pioneers Vulcano. Formed in 1980, Vulcano is thought to be the first band from Brazil, and possibly South America, to play extreme metal. An early influence for the likes of Sepultura and Sarcófago, Vulcano’s primal blend of black, thrash and death metal sparked a flame that quickly spread across the mid-80s underground metal community.

Bloody Vengeance is being reintroduced to a new generation of metalheads. Fully remastered and restored, the album is accompanied by a DVD that features a live performance from the 1986 Festival Da Morte. Greyhaze Records will reissue this cult classic as a six-panel digipak CD/DVD on May 18.

Vulcano will celebrate the reissue at this year’s Maryland Deathfest. The MDF set will be the band’s first-ever live performance on American soil. With no other U.S. dates in the works, MDF XIII looks to be the only chance to experience the madness that is Vulcano north of the equator.

Bloody Vengeance is available at store.greyhazerecords.com.
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Defect Designer Posts Artwork for Upcoming Album

by David Rosales on May 9, 2015

defect

Progressive death metal band Defect Designer announce their signing with Sleazy Rider record label.The band has posted artwork for upcoming album Ageing Accelerator. Artwork is done by Seth Siro Anthon, famous for his work with Soilwork, Paradise Lost, Moonspell, Sybreed and other acts.

Ageing Accelerator recording lineup includes:
– Flo Mounier (Cryptopsy) – drums
– Stelios Mavromitis (SepticFlesh live guitarist) – guitars
– Martin Storm-Olsen (Trollfest) – guitars and clean vocals
– Christos Antoniou (SepticFlesh) – sampling and orchestration
– Dmitry Sukhinin (Diskord) – vocals, bass and guitars
The band was originally started in Siberian Russian city Novosibirsk, and reestablbished after mainman’s relocation to Oslo, Norway. Defect Designer has a full-length album, Wax released worldwide viva My Kingdom Music.

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A Comment on Bardic Tradition in metal

by David Rosales on May 9, 2015

leypold-wandererinthestorm

The terms bardic or minstrel metal have often been used to describe bands that usually sing in a clear voice and with anthemic overtones, often imitate medievalesque motifs and write lyrics in the manner of romanticized ancient legends. Generally, the metal subgenre most readily associated with bardic expression is power metal because they advertise themselves as modern-day minstrels and theirs is the kind of catchy and upbeat music most people can latch on to most easily. The bardic spirit along with the culture it transmits, however, requires a sturdier medium that is able to etch its runes indelibly without detracting from the importance of their message.
(more…)

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War Iron – Procession of the Equinoxes

by David Rosales on May 9, 2015

war iron

War Iron released their first album in 2010 with the explicit intention of making pulverizing heavy music and creating bone-crushing riffs. If they accomplish the first of these is up to each particular listener to decide, the second is true by the very nature of slow-tempo, duple-time patterns played in de-tuned guitars with incredibly fat but clear distortion. But music with a profound and long-lasting repercussions, that is, with depth, relies on its concrete and intrinsic (rather than an external argument for possible) multiple levels of appreciation, which go beyond attributes of heaviness.

As the sharp observer of metal artwork covers may notice, the colors and penmanship of Procession of the Equinoxes are a fair warning of what this music is and what it is not. The lyrical topics are a cartoonish and theatrical representation of topics deemed occult and dark in popular culture. It is then no surprise that the music is consistent with these as well. Sludge (a slow counterpart to the vacuous Stoner) riffs march in procession. One by one they march. They do not talk to each other, they do not communicate anything. They do groove though. And they groove heavily. And then the album is over.

Fans of intense and heavy riffing, slow trudging music and a cool, and dark atmosphere that feels like the music accompanying a recitation of Evil Dead‘s Necronomicon will love this for its uncompromising devotion to heaviness.

 

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Psycroptic To Headline “Bloodletting North America’ Tour

by David Rosales on May 9, 2015

BLOODLETTING NORTH AMERICATOUR

Australian tech-death act to return to the U.S. this summer in support of new self-titled album. During their first North American tour since supporting Nile in 2010, Psycroptic will blast tunes from their brand new self-titled album — which reached #59 on the Australian pop charts and is one of the best-reviewed metal records of the year to date — along with favorites from their five previous releases over the past 10 years. The new album was produced, engineered and mixed by guitarist Joe Haley while being mastered by Alan Douches (Converge, Baroness).

Prior to their venture to the States, Psycroptic will travel to Japan for two headlining gigs before returning to Australia to join The Black Dahlia Murder on tour throughout June. Dates can be found below, and for tickets or further event details, please visit www.facebook.com/psycroptic.
6/7 Osaka, JP – Nanba Rockets
6/8 Tokyo, JP – Duo Music Exchange
6/19 Adelaide, AU – Fowlers #
6/20 Melbourne, AU – Northcote Social Club #
6/21 Melbourne, AU  – Northcote Social Club # (All Ages, Afternoon Show)
6/21 Melbourne, AU  – Northcote Social Club # (18+ Only, Evening Show)
6/25 Newcastle, AU – The Cambridge #
6/26 Canberra, AU – The Basement #
6/27 Sydney, AU – The Factory #
# with The Black Dahlia Murder & Colossvs
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Destruktor set Release Date for Long-Awaited Comeback Album

by David Rosales on May 9, 2015

destruktor

Hells Headbangers sets July 24th as the international release date for Destruktor‘s highly anticipated second album, Opprobrium. The band’s first full-length in six years, Opprobrium follows the warring black/death path laid out on their critically acclaim debut album, Nailed. Since 1997, these Aussie tyrants have been patiently honing a sound that seethes with the war-metalled fire their homeland’s world renowned for, yet over the years finessed with an acute attention to propulsive, immediately memorable songcraft. Nowhere is this more pronounced than on Opprobrium. Across seven swift songs in a lean ‘n’ mean 34 minutes, Destruktor quickly whip up a fury that walks the fine line between chaos and control – neither too blackened, nor too deathly – maintaining the teeth-gnashing gnarliness of their early work whilst exhibiting a startling sense of clarity. That clear-yet crushing production amplifies Destruktor‘s scabrous assault tenfold here, every track a heat-seeking missile until the penultimate closer, “Forever the Blood Shall Flow.” Indeed it shall, as you prepare for the force of Opprobrium…

A statement from founding vocalist/guitarist Glenn Destruktor reads: “We believe we have shown once again why Rome wasn’t built in a day. Opprobrium stems from many years of dedication, and was recorded with our longest-standing and strongest lineup to date. The small circle that has been subjected to our Opprobrium believe it a step up from anything we have done before, and it would be very hard for us to disagree. Clearly a Destruktor release, Opprobrium sticks to the formula of the past with total aggression, darkness, heaviness, and riff after riff of extreme metal that clearly sticks to the traditions of those long before. Opprobrium is finally ready for release, and we are looking forward to smashing cunts live, and on your stereo with our new hymns of desecration!”

Tracklisting for Destruktor’s Opprobrium
1. Priestality
2. Besieged
3. Tyrants Condemnation
4. Immaculate Deception
5. Blood Poison
6. Eradication
7. Forever the Blood Shall Flow
MORE INFO:

 

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Bathsheba to Release The Sleepless Gods

by David Rosales on May 8, 2015

bathsheba

Doom Metal band Bathsheba will release The Sleepless Gods on May 15th through Svart Records. Bathsheba play a rehashed 1970s “witchy” doom metal that appeals readily to a mainstream audience looking for a moderate and palatable dose of the mainstream and casual “occult” . Women’s vocals accentuate the late 1960s and 1970s horror movie concept of the witch’s covenant celebrating a bloody black sabbath. For fans of average retro music.

Tracklisting for Bathsheba’s The Sleepless Gods:

  1. The Sleepless Gods
  2. Daughter of the Oath

More Info:

www.facebook.com/bathshebakills

www.bathshebakills.bandcamp.com

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Obliterations Expands North American Tour

by David Rosales on May 8, 2015

obliterations

Punk/hardcore band, Obliterations, have announced additional dates to their previously-announced impending Eastern North American tour with While Lung, including a set at this year’s ultra massive NXNE Festival. Additional Obliterations shows are being added to the routing to be announced as the tour begins, at which time the band will also release their next official video from Poison Everything, being finalized for the track Scapegoat.

Obliterations Tour Dates:

6/06/2015 The Studio At Webster Hall – New York, NY

6/08/2015 DC9 – Washington DC w/ White Lung

6/09/2015 Rumba Café – Columbus, OH w/ White Lung

6/10/2015 The Demo – St. Louis, MO w/ White Lung

6/11/2015 7th Street Entry – Minneapolis, MN w/ White Lung

6/12/2015 Underground Lounge – Chicago, IL

6/13/2015 PJ’s Lager House – Detroit, MI w/ White Lung

6/14/2015 Beachland Ballroom – Cleveland, OH w/ White Lung

6/15/2015 Mohawk Place – Buffalo, NY w/ White Lung

6/16/2015 Great Scott – Allston, MA w/ White Lung

6/17/2015 Bar Le Ritz PDB – Montreal, QC w/ White Lung

6/18/2015 Ottawa Explosion Weekend – Ottawa, ON w/ White Lung

6/20/2015 Lee’s Place – Toronto, ON @ NXNE w/ Girl Band, Mission Of Burma, California X, Grooms [info]

Obliterations released Poison Everything through Southern Lord in October 2014.

Stream and purchase Poison Everything HERE, and scope their video for “Mind Ain’t Right” at THIS LOCATION.

http://www.facebook.com/Obliterations

http://obliterations.bandcamp.com

http://twitter.com/obliterations_
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Vod – Tuurngait

by David Rosales on May 8, 2015

tuurngait

Vod is the one-man project of bassist Dave Trembley. Announced as an indescribable anomaly, a blend of interesting ideas in astounding ways, this is a actually a fairly clear mixture of influences that never coalesces into an original voice. Dancing and jumping between general ambient, post rock, and the break-down metal of Meshuggah (mostly in derivative and simplified Djentish manner, for groove more than for percussion wankery). The whole album is nonetheless covered by a recognizable blanket, although it is not a distinct expression but only a consistency in the use of the same collection of styles.
Rather than establish a mood and submerge the listener in it, or take us into a spiraling well of moments to build atmosphere, Vod simply gives us cool-vibe-inducing moments gathered from the aforementioned genres. Heavily relying on the most primal effects of both ambient and Djent, Tuurngait will often fall into a simple ambient drone or into the simplest and easiest to catch syncopated modern groove. Careful and smooth in taking the songs from a whisper to a full-on groove-party, this music is good conversation material as it is easy to digest.

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