Neil Harris of English punk rock pioneers SHAM 69 recently passed away from cancer. The band commented:
It is with great sadness that we have to announce, that founder and guitarist of SHAM 69 Neil Harris has passed away. Neil who rejoined the band in 2011 sadly passed away in his sleep, in the early hour’s of Sunday morning. Neil had been bravely fighting Cancer for several month’s and though his fight was continuous, he sadly lost this battle. Its calming to know that Neil went in his sleep, but at this stage we would like you all to show your respect for him and his family with good condolence at this time.
Australian label life.lair.regret unveiled the first new track from ‘Eras of Forfeit’l the newest jaw-dropping record from death metal / metalcore band UNRAVEL. The album offers 11 killer tracks with socio-political commentary considering the higher costs of everything that humanity takes for granted and takes advantage of in this world. It asks the questions, ‘who and what suffers for your entitlement and empowerment?’ and serves a devastating listening experience in the process.
Closed Casket Activities, Evil Greed and Metal Blade Records have launched pre-orders for Gaining Purpose Through Passionate Hatred, the 4th record from groovy metal/hardcore act TWITCHING TONGUES! Check out the amazing ‘Harakiri’ below and expect the official release on March 9th via Metal Blade Records and Closed Casket Activities.
Italian experimental mathy post hardcore act NÊUVEGRAMME have unleashed the full stream of their brilliant new self-titled record on Burning Bungalow label, a consistently listenable and immensely enjoyable record that proves the band to be able to understand the transportive power of emotive music and bring us an exploratory set of catchy tracks with a unique musical and rhytmical setting. This is amazing.
Seattle ferocious hardcore punks FUCKED & BOUND dropped a new killer song called “Terror”, coming from their new record Suffrage, due out February 16 through Atomic Action Records.
Thriving in the grinding corner of hardcore punk, vocalist Lisa Mungo shrieks and roars like a woman possessed over her bandmates as they tear through just over a minute of searing guitars and energetic drumming.
“‘Terror’ is an angsty, piss-driven track that seethes of nihilism and vexation towards the patriarchy,” Mungo tells Decibel, explaining the source of her anger on “Terror.” / Decibel Magazine
Born in a warehouse in South Lake Union, Fucked & Bound delivers Seattle hardcore thats built to spank thru. With their album SUFFRAGE, the band slams forth thirteen songs in twenty-three minutes in an acid bath of pure sonic fury. Brickwalled and claustrophobic, these tracks seethe over feminism, nihilism, and the pitfalls of industry, to ask, what is the cost of good living?
Berlin dark post hardcore band CHAMBERS are streaming a new song and video called “End Transmission”, coming from their new 6-track LP, to be released later this year via Holy Goat Records. The new jam and this amazing video has ventured into well-traveled territory in stunning fashion, proving that beauty can be also found in the face of great heaviness. Great listen. Watch below and stay tuned for more details on that.
Metallic hardcore combo PARASIGHT will release their second full length At leve som hvis der var et håb through Indisciplinarian and Modstand Records on March 9th. The album’s first single Bløder blod is streaming exclusively via No Echo as the band shares album details, artwork and announces release show. GO HERE to check it out.
The members of PARASIGHT had been playing together in different metal and hardcore bands when they gathered as a band in 2009 due to their common love of Swedish punk, D-beat and bands like Motorhead and Discharge. They have release one full length, one 7” and a split 12” EP and toured Europe on several occasions. On their new second album At Leve som hvis der var et håb (Danish for To live as if there was hope), PARASIGHT have sharpened their melodic and Scandinavian sounding D-beat consisting of equal parts metal, punk and hardcore. The first single Bløder blod (Danish for Bleeding Blood) is officially out tomorrow Feb 26th, but right now the single is streaming exclusively via american site No Echo.
Buffalo, New York hardcore legends SNAPCASE performed live on January 20th and they premiered a new song called “Spike Up Your Tone”, their first new music in 16 years.
“We are super excited to be working on new material and will do our best to keep Snapcase a part of all our busy lives.”
Make That A Take Records is streaming the debut full length from Dundee ecossemo emotive post hardcore punks PLEASE, BELIEVE! Check it out below, expect a proper LP release soon and stay tuned for a European tour later this year!
Virginia emotive hardcore / screamo band MAJORITY RULE have announced their Midwest March tour dates.
Crossover thrash punk rockers D.R.I. have announced a serious load of live dates in April, May and this coming Summer, with even more tours to be announced! GO HERE to see all the details.
THE MISFITS have announced a hometown show in New Jersey this May at Newark, NJ’s Prudential Center on Saturday May 19th with Suicidal Tendencies and Murphy’s Law. The band will include original members Glenn Danzig, Doyle and Jerry. GO HERE to see more details.
Energetic post punk band CHILLER have revealed the full stream of their new amazing record , to be released on Dirt Cult Records and Rockstar Records. Listen below!
After relocating to Ottawa for a brief stint, Monctonians Ilisha and Eric need to get their demons out, so they sought out local buds Erin (Black Tower) and Tim (Mother’s Children” to play in what has rightly been deemed as a continuation of Feral Trash (Dirt Cult Records), but with a new name. With Ilisha now on lead guitars instead of drums and sharing the songwriting duties with Eric, Chiller are ready to share their music with the world with this, their first release. Much like Feral Trash, fans of Masshysteri, Hysterese, Allvaret, and The Stops should be thrilled by this record.
Philly’s Hydrogen Man Records is very pleased to announce the upcoming debut EP “Worry” from the United Kingdom’s DRUG VICTIM. “Worry” presents six songs of politically charged hardcore punk in roughly six minutes. Fans of Coke Bust, Punch, Despise You, and Ceremony take note. Available for pre-order now (records will ship early February). Limited to 250 copies with an exclusive, risograph printed, cover for both the US (white cover) and UK (black cover).
Melodic hardcore punk rockers INCISIONS (featured on IDIOTEQ last year) have dropped a new jam called ‘Controlled By Hate’ on Horn & Hoof Records.
The Brazilian ska-punk band ABRASKADABRA is gearing up to release their new album Welcome on February 20th and they just released a new music video for their latest single “The Dream.”
The video is a wild ride inside the head of their vocalist Du, depicting a collection of different dreams he has had (which makes you wonder what the hell he’s eating before bed). If you dig it and would like to check out the rest of the record before it’s out, please let me know! Less Than Jake’s drummer Vinnie Fiorello has even reached out to the band personally to let them know how much he digs the album’s first single “Heavy Hitters“.
Arising in mid-2003, Abraskadabra’s new album Welcome delivers their own vision of the ska punk essence. Written as a whole band, they searched for a raw punchy sound while exploring the full capacity of melody. Instead of recording in a traditional studio environment, the seven-piece ensemble crammed themselves into an old house and captured everyone’s feelings and motivations in the moment.
Since inception, the band has toured all around Brazil and the US, sharing the stage with legends like Bad Religion, Rise Against, Goldfinger, Less Than Jake, and many more. In 2014, the band’s cover of No Use For Name’s “Not Your Savior” was featured in the Fat Wreck Chords doc A Fat Wreck.
Long Island’s indie emo rockers OSO OSO have just signed to Triple Crown Records! Triple Crown will be reissuing the indie punk band’s critically acclaimed 2017 album The Yunahon Mixtape, which can be heard now on Spotify, Apple Music, and across all streaming platforms. The band has also just released a music video for their song “Reindeer Games” off of that record. The video can be seen now via Triple Crown Records.
Oso Oso is the latest project of Jade Lilitri out of Long Beach, New York. After a couple of early records, the band self-released their first fully realized album The Yunahon Mixtape on Bandcamp in early 2017. Despite this low key release, the album quickly gained traction across the scene, winning over both fans and critics with it’s diverse, recognizable knack for memorable choruses and instantly relatable lyrics. In 2018 the band was signed by Triple Crown Records, who plan to reissue The Yunahon Mixtape in advance of new music coming soon.
Oso Oso is on tour now with Tiny Moving Parts and Mom Jeans. A full list of dates can be found HERE.
Two weeks after their video premiere here on IDIOTEQ, Italian blackened chaotic crusst hardcore band STORM{O} have revealed the full stream of their new astounding record ‘Ere’.
Milwaukee based five-piece STONE is taking the hardcore scene by storm with their forthcoming, highly anticipated debut album ‘Inch of Joy‘ that’s scheduled for release on March 2nd, 2018 from Pure Noise Records. Today, the band has unveil a video for their brand new track “Skeletons.”
Pure Noise Records’ newest hardcore signing, Milwaukee’s STONE, has also announced that they will be embarking on a European tour in support of Backtrack.
Synth industrialized noise makers AT THE HEART OF THE WORLD have revealed the full stream of their new record ‘Rotting Form’, teased in mid December in this roundup!
At seven tracks, Rotting Forms is a seismic wonder, quaking from beginning to end with existential fury and thunderous walls of static guitar and murderous synth. Engineered and mixed by Derek Moree and mastered by Brad Boatright, ATHOTW’s debut is a clear, focused work of intensity that acts as the missing link between legends Godflesh and contemporaries, Youth Code. Today, CVLT Nation is pleased to premiere Rotting Forms in full. Set for a release on 1/26, Rotting Forms can be preordered from Glory Kid Ltd. / CVLT Nation
’00s melodic post-hardcore rockers CHASING VICTORY have announced their first release in nearly 11 years, which is an EP titled, Friends Vol. 1. The title track is available for streaming on the band’s Facebook page with an accompanying music video showcasing footage of the group through their active years in the 2000s.
While the band currently have no plans to tour, they will be periodically releasing new music in the form of volumes-based compilation efforts. In the meantime, Friends Vol. 1 picks up right where the band left off in 2007 with their album Fiends. Both old school fans and newcomers will find things to like from this first release, which is due out Feb. 9. There will be another single dropping next Thursday, Feb. 1.
CHASING VICTORY originally formed in 2001, but wasn’t consistently active until 2003. A year later in 2004 they released their debut EP, A Not So Tragic Cover-Up on Mono Vs Stereo. They returned in 2005 with a more refined musical approach on their debut full-length album, I Call This Abandonment. The album has developed a legacy over the last 13 years, even being cited as influential by Bring Me The Horizon vocalist Oli Sykes.
In 2007 the band released their second full-length album, Fiends. Though they announced their breakup later that year, they played sporadic shows in 2008. After a solo reunion show in 2014, they released a stand-alone single, “She Haunts Me,” in the fall of 2016, which featured I Am Terrified vocalist Patrick Schefano.
In support of the release of their new album and Lifeforce Records debut “Ghosts Of The Timeless Void” Berlin’s ANCST will be heading out on a trek of European tour dates! GO HERE to see the details.
Houston eclectic, catchy punk rockers GIANT KITTY are streaming their new record ‘Rampage’,
oout now on Miss Champagne Records.
Experimental blackened, crusty post death metallers NEVERENDING WINTER have premiered a new record “Сеногной”, an interesting new take on various styles and moods, “inspired by the reflections on both landscapes and surroundings and the state of life among neverending frigid colds and frosts”.
Ukrainian raging hardcore punks ZRADA have droped a new single called ‘Я смогу’. Listen below and contact the band via their Facebook page to book a show for this coming Summer.
Kharkiv is Ukraine and will always be! Fuck Russian predatory voracious imperial ambitions!
Polish groovy crossover hardcore act SOUL BLAST have issued the details of their new EP “The influence lab”, featuring 8 tracks that expand the expand the spectrum presented on their debut record “Juicy Groovy Cake”. The tropes of multi-style influences are self-consciously manipulated here, and the band has obviously surrounded themselves with quite uncommon vibrations. The mellower interludes bring even more interesting moments, allowing for SOUL BLAST to expand their powers with a style.
London collage artist and DIY multi-style experimentalists ASHLEY REAKS has dropped a new surprise record called ‘The Earth Swan Sings Again’, an epic and emotional endeavour with a plethora of progresive, folk, and jazz, and avant-rock influences with some mysterious depths and a stunningly unique instrumental setting.
Seattle crusty grind powerviolence pack ENDORPHINS LOST are streaming their side of their new explosive split with OSK. The ENDORPHINS LOST/OSK split will see release on February 1st through a coalition of underground labels, Rotten To The Core Records, Delusions Of Terror Records, Agromosh Records, You All Die Records, and New Age Pyrate Punks Records.
ENDORPHINS LOST released their debut LP, Choose Your Way, through Six Weeks Records in November 2016, unabashedly introducing the masses to their blistering style of metallic, grinding, crust/powerviolence. The band will now stomp a fresh dose of salt into the wounds inflicted by their debut with four scathing new tracks, sharing a slab of 7” vinyl with their allies in Canadian grind/hardcore outfit OSK who add three tracks to the flipside. The ENDORPHINS LOST tracks were recorded in March 2017 by Mike at Soundhouse Studios in Seattle, Washington, with additional vocals recorded by Dylan Ludwig at Raven Sound Studio in Prescott, Arizona, and mixed and mastered by Greg Wilkinson at Earhammer Studio in Oakland, California. The OSK tracks were recorded, mixed, and mastered by Jesse Gander at Hive Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia in the spring of 2013.
ENDORPHINS LOST will support the new release with regional performances as well as a Western US tour. Running from March 7th through March 24th, the tour routing currently includes eighteen cities, beginning in the band’s hometown then crushing a counter-clockwise path around the western half of the country, and includes a show with Ghoul and Brainoil in Oakland, and a set at LA Speedfest in Los Angeles. The tour poster art was drawn by Michelle Hughes. GO HERE to check it out.
Melodic mathy hardcore band PALM READER have shared a new single called ‘Swarm’, taken from their highly anticipated third studio album ‘Braille’, recorded and produced by Lewis Johns (Bastions, Rolo Tomassi, Gnarwolves, Muncie Girls,) at The Ranch, Southampton, to be released on April 6th via Silent Cult Records. Catch them live this March with ROLO TOMASSI.
The line-up for this year’s Primavera Sound in Barcelona has been announced, and it includes loads of amazing artists like SLowdive, Björk, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, The National, Arctic Monkeys, and more. GO HERE to see the details.
Portuguese hardcore pack REALITY SLAP have dropped a new video for their song “Berzerk”, the last song from their WAR Records debut, “Limitless.”
Combining the best of old-school aggression with a modern hardcore vibe, REALITY SLAP‘s songs are full of tight riffs, heavy grooves, and they always pack a massive punch.
In 2016, REALITY SLAP signed to WAR Records, owned by Andrew Kline of Los Angeles hardcore band, Strife. The band refined their sound and recorded their strongest material to date, Limitless, at Eyeball Studios in Portugal. Limitless bridges the gap between the old and the new, merging the enduring influence of DMIZE, Outburst, Breakdown, Cro-Mags, and Bad Brains mixed with modern bands like Turnstile, Backtrack, Down to Nothing, and Terror.
Wilmington, Delaware’s straight edge metalcore / metallic hardcore pack VICIOUS EMBRACE are streaming their new killer EP called ‘Winter Demonstration’ on RAGE label. The trio of raging crossover tracks brings a solid dose of sonic assault, a familiar feel of older times, akin to releases from labels such as Carry The Weight or life.lair.regret.
“Vicious Embrace” is a pure warm-up instrumental track, lingering in with gloomy tension, while also giving us a small taste for the hectic instrumentation to come. “Impure Harvest” has the band offering their full potential on display. The aggressive barking from the vocals is met with the contorting guitar work and churning drums. Together, the band emits this cold air, really driving home the emotion within their work. “Cease Life” takes a brief period to warm-up, all before unleashing this tension fueled shredding. Rather than go for straight forward speed, the material takes its time to trudge forward, dropping this dense emotional tone throughout their instrumentation. / MetalInjection
AT THE DRIVE-IN, one of the defining bands for the post-hardcore movement that would change alternative music in the 90s, is finally launching their new 3-song EP “Diamanté” on digital. The band, which had broken a decade of silence with the much discussed “Internalia”, went on to release “Diamanté” on vinyl exclusively for Record Store Day back in November. You can check it out below.
See At The Drive In play live in Europe at the following shows. Tickets are available from this spot.
Catalan indie alt rock duo CALA VENTO returns with a new EP called “Canciones de Sobra”, just launched for streaming via BCore label. There’s an addictive quality to their neat combination of various influences and it’s really worth a check. Listen below.
Slovenia’s sludgy grind metallers SLUND have released a jaw dropping split with raw hardcore/crust punk band CHIKARA! It simply cuts through! Check it out below and grab it via Skitnaste Records.
Aberdeen, Scotland-based rock band COLD YEARS are pleased to reveal details of their brand new EP titled Northern Blue which is set for release on 2nd March 2018 via German independent label Homebound Records and is available to preorder now. To celebrate the news they’re streaming another huge new track from the record in full. Listen to ‘Seasons’ here: https://youtu.be/a9_Sn1CNyZo
As well as having toured the UK, the band also recently travelled to Germany to showcase their increasingly impressive live act. An already busy schedule for 2018 will see their return to the continent in support of the release of the new EP, with further dates and details TBA over the coming months.
British metalcore act MALEVOLENCE have released a new music video for the title track of their new record Self Supremacy. Watch below and catch the band on tour across Europe supporting DESPISED ICON this February.
Belgian DIY label Black Basset Records has shared “I”, the newest repress and remaster record from instrumental funk experimentalists LA JUNGLE. When the mind bending instrumentalism gets this good, with a freestyle charm that belies LA JUNGLE’s smart arrangements, why bother adding vocals?
Czech dirty raw, crusty d-beat hardcore punks KRÜGER are streaming a couple of new jams from their new record ‘OBLBNUTE MOZKY’, to be released on DIY Koło Records on April 4, 2018.drive
Creator-Destructor Records is extremely excited to announce the late March release of Through All Unknown, the upcoming full-length from Bay Area-based REALMS OF VISION (members of SET YOUR GOALS and ANIMOSITY). REALMS OF VISION began in 2015 and has been establishing a name for themselves regionally with their special blend of slow destruction. Featuring Frank Costa (Animosity, Entheos) and Corey Largent on guitars and vocals, Mike Ambrose (Set Your Goals) on drums, and Brandon McCubbin on bass, the California hard-hitters are road-worn experts in their craft, and the nine tracks that comprise Through All Unknown reveal that resoundingly.
From the eerie opening of the intro, “Invoke,” straight into the absolutely decimating sludge/stoner riffage of “State Of Silence,” the listener can tell immediately that these musicians know what they’re doing on Through All Unknown. While combining down-tuned, expertly-written riffs and song-structures is the band’s specialty, the powerful vocals of Costa harken back to the best and darkest aspects of ’90s grunge, with a clean-singing approach that adds crucial memorable hooks to the band’s sound, while not detracting from the sheer heaviness in the slightest. Creating such a unique sound is no easy feat, but REALMS OF VISION has here succeeded in spades.
Tracks like “Deception Mask” and “Isolation’s Crown” reveal a combination of influences such as Alice in Chains, High On Fire, Type O’ Negative and Black Sabbath; an amalgamation of darkness, melody, and esoteric intensity, potently paired with the modern flare of Costa’s slam/death metal tendencies on guitar from his years in San Francisco’s furiously technical hometown heroes, Animosity.
Sabotage Records has launched a stream of the newest tape from SPRING, “a four piece from northern Germany who formed in 2015 and now are back with five more unpolished mid-tempo shots of pissed-off and dirty hardcore-punk from the basement, against perfection and trying to make punk “scheisse” again! Influenced by traditional US hardcore, some “Youth Attack” bands and who knows what else.”
London hardcore label Quality Control HQ is streaming the 2016 demo of RAPTURE, a killer youth crew punk band from Leeds!
Some new faces turn out a stomper of a short sharp demo with Turning Point style vocals and the music of Floorpunch and Youth of Today.
Washington, DC-based GENOCIDE PACT shares the official video for “Pain Reprisal” which hails from their impending, new full-length Order Of Torment, due out this Friday via Relapse Records.
GENOCIDE PACT unleashes their raging sophomore full-length and Relapse debut, Order Of Torment. Recorded by Kevin Bernsten at Developing Nations in Baltimore (Full Of Hell, Code Orange, Magrudergrind), and featuring cover art from the legendary Joe Petagno (Motörhead, Pink Floyd, Autopsy, Marduk), Order Of Torment features eight tracks of pulverizing, relentless death metal that harkens to the greats while pushing the genre to chaotic new realms of possibility. With a thick, titanic crunch that focuses on crushing groove as much as skull-splitting intensity, GENOCIDE PACT is the death metal band to watch in 2018.
Ohio’s metalcore act THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA have premiered a new video for “Transit Blues,” the title track of the band’s latest album, released on October 7, 2016 through Rise Records.
Swedish melodic death metal pioneers AT THE GATES have completed the recording process of their upcoming studio album with producer Russ Russell (Napalm Death, The Haunted, Dimmu Borgir, etc.) at Parlour Studios in the UK. ‘To Drink From The Night Itself’ will hit the streets oon May 18th, 2018 via Century Media Records.
Brighton melodic pop punk rockers RIVER JUMPERS have shared a new single and video called ‘Thick Blood’.
Brooklyn-based rockers RUSSIAN BATHS have dropped “Slenderman,” the first single off of their forthcoming debut EP, Penance, out 2/23 via Good Eye Records. The track premiered along with an interview on New Noise Magazine who said, “‘Slenderman’ arrests from the outset with menacing, booming drums as the jet-fuel soaked bassline meets crashing, incendiary guitars…It’s an exhilarating initial entry into the world of Penance.”
Intertwining feedback and harmony with equal significance, Russian Baths paint in searing strokes finding beauty in towering, looming, incendiary noise-rock. Comprised of Luke Koz (guitar, vox), Jess Rees (guitar, keys, vox) and joined by Evan Gill Smith (bass) and Jeff Widner (drums), the band has been honing their craft and chemistry since initially storming listeners with their split single, “Ambulance / Ghost.”
Incorporating dissonance into traditional song structures, Penance’s aesthetic recalls Big Black’s caustic fits, ’70s space rock, Chapel Hill’s noise pop, Big Muff driven grunge, and the angular arrangements of British post-punk. The breadth of Russian Bath’s scope in sound is marked by the distance and cohesion between singles in the furious, driving “Slenderman” and the elegant thunderstorm that is “Poolhouse.”
Emotive alt rockers CADET CARTER are streaming a couple of new tracks from their debut self-titled record on Uncle-M label.
Within a mere few weeks since starting out in the early summer of 2017, the Munich-based four-piece have established themselves as a Punk Rock insiders’ tip, blending 90s College Rock, Punk and Emo to create their very own sound – with Germany’s leading newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung calling them a “fresh breeze of air for the genre”.Without a doubt, CADET CARTER live up to these expectations. Their version of punk-induced Indie Rock finds its place somewhere between the urgency of The Get Up Kids, Jimmy Eat World’s anthems and the lyrical candidness of Nada Surf. Still, CADET CARTER‘s sound can only be described as remarkably unique.
Their debut LP CADET CARTER is perfect the proof of this statement. The melody of Car Park Song is just as catchy as it is full of euphoria, and its lyrics speak to everyone will to change their own destiny, and start all over again.
Tokyo-based instrumental rock band OVUM have released a new album “In My Sanctuary”. The album features a string quartet and it lend eye-opening ferocity and intricacy to dramatic compositions woven by both the quartet and the band itself.
In March 2016, OVUM demonstrated this new “instrumental rock band” concept with the release of a 3-track EP, “Nostalgia,” that merged well-defined rhythms using twin pedal with metal-inspired guitar riffs.
Four years on, the band returns with a full-length album, “In My Sanctuary,” and with it a solid, freshly acquired originality that can be described as “metal-oriented instrumental rock,” pushing to greater heights their newfound aggressiveness and the beautiful melodies that remain at their core. To further drive home this point, the album also features a string quartet, lending eye-opening ferocity and intricacy to dramatic compositions woven by both the quartet and OVUM themselves, as well as to the songwriting skills that first give their vision life.
“In My Sanctuary” is OVUM’s career magnum opus, given flesh through the band’s renowned compositional skills and musical tenacity.
Frank Turner has announced his seventh album, Be More Kind, t be released on May 4 via Xtra Mile Recordings/Polydor UK/Interscope. Check out the new single “1933,” below.
YOU VANDAL! punk rockers have shared a new video for their song ‘Collapse’, coming from their latest album I Just Want to Go Back to Hell, available now through Jump Start Records. Listen below and GO HERE to see their live dates.
Detroit, Michigan post-rock 4-piece MAN MOUNTAIN has signed with Spartan Records and has announced plans to release their debut full-length, “Infinity Mirror,” on March 16th. The album was mastered by Mike Kalajian (Circa Survive, Prawn, Moving Mountains). A new song titled “Memory Trace” is debuting on Arctic Drones.
Los Angeles-based progressive outfit NIGHT VERSES have dropped a surprise EP, Copper Wasp today! The three song teaser to their forthcoming full length is an introduction to the band moving forward as an instrumental trio. The EP, produced by Will Putney (Every Time I Die, Body Count, Knocked Loose, Amity Affliction) signals a dramatic change in direction and marks the start of their full US tour in support of INTERVALS.
About three years after the release of their ‘Debut EP’, French blackened-sludge/post-metal-hardcore five-piece SSANAHTES announced the official release of its debut and self-titled full-length album, coming out for CD & Digital formats on March through the Germany-based record label WOOAARGH (Ancst, Employed To Serve, Grim Van Dom…).
Birmingham old school hardcore punks BALANCE will release their demo on Demuns Run Amok Entertainment on February 23rd.
They are combining Hardcore with Grunge and Crossover elements in on punky 90es outfit. A must have for fans of bands like Turnstile.
THE SMASHING PUMPKINS are recording a reunion album with Rick Rubin! GO HERE for more details
Los Angeles based indie punk rockers SPANISH LOVE SONGS have just announced their new album Schmaltz, set to be released on March 30th via A-F Records (US) and Uncle M Records (UK/Europe). The album follows their 2015 debut Sings The Blues, and their recently released EP Buffalo Buffalo, which includes two songs also featured on Schmaltz. That EP can be heard now via A-F Records.
On the new record, Spanish Love Songs’ songwriter Dylan Slocum delves into themes of guilt, depression, and stagnation while he tries to come to terms with his past mistakes and feeling like he hasn’t yet grown past them.
Wild punk rockers PEARS are set to embark on their first headlining tour of Australia this May. GO HERE to see the details.
Cvlt Nation is currently streaming “Prosector” from horror-obsessed, underground cult ILSA. The track comes by way of the band’s impending new full-length Corpse Fortress set for release this March via Relapse Records. Writes Cvlt Nation of the record overall, “The D.C. band’s fifth full length finds them continuing to hammer skulls in with the sheer density of their blown out brand of sludge. Dirty and squealing with feedback, something about their sound has always felt streetwise…”
ILSA weaves together tales of depravity and devil worship on their Relapse debut Corpse Fortress. Recorded by Kevin Bernsten (Full Of Hell, Code Orange, Magrudergrind, Integrity) in Baltimore, Maryland at Developing Nations, Corpse Fortress delivers nine tracks forged in filth with dense layers of emotionally draining sludge, murky, primordial doom, and feedback-laden, crusty death metal. Corpse Fortress is easily the rawest, most abhorrent, and nasty album in ILSA’s decade-long career and the perfect soundtrack for the initiated miscreants of this rapidly dying orb.
Bloom, the new mini-album from cinematic post-rock visionary LIGHTS & MOTION, has just received a short audio preview, and will be out everywhere on Deep Elm Records on 2 February 2018.
Coming out of hibernation with Bloom set on the promise of Spring, cinematic post-rock visionary LIGHTS & MOTION truly transcends emotion. Consistently beautiful, gut-wrenching and full of melancholic hopefulness, Christoffer Franzen’s unfailing creativity delivers yet again. He just gets it. “I feel really connected to the title track. I did something unusual for me in that I conceptualized a song before I had even written a note. I wanted to create a song that would sound like a flower in bloom, in that it is ever changing and evolving” says Franzen. Produced, recorded and mixed by Franzen at UpSweden Studio in Gothenburg. Mastered by Dave Cooley at Elysian Masters in Los Angeles (M83, Paramore, Serge Gainsbourg). Album artwork by Shane Labelle. Photography by Fredrik Sellergren. Absolutely stunning. (DER-580)
Artoffact Records presents the March 9th release of It Will Come to You, the debut full-length album by ACTORS. Stream new track “Slaves,” from It Will Come to You, here, and pre-order digital, vinyl, CD, below! From Vancouver, Canada, ACTORS electrify with a modern take on post-punk. On debut full-length It Will Come to You, anthemic songs evoke the urgency of early-’80s U2 (Boy, October, War) as well as the driving, synth-drenched scores that emanated from that era’s movie screens. As scene authority Post-Punk.com put it, the band conjures “cinematic new-wave… that belongs on a Michael Mann soundtrack.”
Frontman Jason Corbett’s rich vocals command with all the passion of a young Bono and the coolness of Peter Murphy. Songs like “L’appel du Vide,” “Slaves,” “Face Meets Glass,” and “Bury Me” are bangers that glisten via Corbett’s production job: slamming beats propel warm layers of synth, guitar, and vocals. Corbett writes, produces, mixes, and masters all ACTORS music at his own Vancouver studio, Jacknife Sound.
Corbett names David Bowie as a fundamental influence – Bowie’s sense of confidence and creativity are in full effect on It Will Come to You. But much more than a “retro” act, this is music that stands all on its own, full of life and unforgettable hooks. Perhaps best described as a “post-post-punk” band, ACTORS belongs in the discussion alongside bands of today like The Soft Moon and Cold Cave who are pushing music forward via a deep knowledge of the past.
Corbett has also been quoted saying he was raised on the classic era of Roadrunner and Earache death metal – while these bands are nowhere to be found in ACTORS’ sound, the intensity and perfection displayed on It Will Come to You befits a former metalhead. Bassist Jahmeel Russell is an ex-member of metallic noise-rockers KEN mode and their predecessors in the Winnipeg scene, Kittens.
Metallic-hardcore two-piece PROBLEM OF PAIN will release their new EP, I Will Always Want To Let Go, on February 9th via Blood & Ink Records. (Pre-orders are on sale now.) The lead single, “The Rust In My Veins,” is premiering now on Exclaim!.
US crossover legends SUICIDAL TENDENCIES have premiered a new track called ‘Nothing To Lose’, coming from their new 10-track EP titled ‘Get Your Fight On!’, due out March 9th via Suicidal Records, The record will serve a proper teaser just a couple of months prior to the release of their new album ‘STill Cyco Punk After All These Years’ which will be released in July.
Singapore’s groovy prog death metallers DANTE’S THEORY are celebrating their 10th anniversary with w new single called ‘Deconstruct’, to be released later in 2018.
San Diego, California-based thrash/crossover act PISSED REGARDLESS is preparing for the release of their Feed The Birds EP through Creator-Destructor Records in early February. The band and label have partnered with No Clean Singing for the premiere of the record’s “Trust No Pulse.”
PISSED REGARDLESS is five-piece outfit built on pure angst and fury, unwavering in heart, and sharp in focus and performance. Following more than two years since their latest LP, Force Fed Gods, the band’s debut for Creator-Destructor Records comes in the form of the brutalizing 7″ EP titled Feed The Birds, their first new output since the revamping of their lineup. Capturing the live energy of band’s West Coast thrash metal fueled with volatile hardcore/crossover energy, Feed The Birds unloads five tracks in barely more than ten minutes. The album was recorded by Jeff Forrest at Double Time Studios in San Diego and completed with cover artwork by Richard Sampson.
Dreamy alt pop rockers PURE MIDS have released their debut record called ‘Optimistic-Ism’. The new musical project from song-writer/multi-instrumentalist William Gonzalez, proudcer/multi-instrumentalist Steven Martinez and THE AMBIENT LIGHT drummer Daniel Jurado, brings an adventurous, shoegazin’, neo-psychodelic set of mesmerizing jams that surprisingly create a time capsule and a box of fine surprises. Great listen.
New York harsh experimenter GRIDFAILURE will release a new full-length titled Irritum in February, as the twisted project marks its two-year anniversary; the first of many new titles in its third year. The track “It Feeds On Negative Energy” is now streaming at Bandcamp.
While contributions from a wide cast of talented collaborators are a major part of many GRIDFAILURE releases, others are executed solely by creator David Brenner, which is the case on Irritum. A savage dose of GRIDFAILURE’s effects-soaked powerdementia, Irritum attempts to manifest the dispirited tones and unwelcoming surroundings of the act’s debut, Ensuring The Bloodline Ends Here. The album swells with vicious enormity and unnerving creepout aura, Irritum’s scathing noise-driven dirges, maniac vocal wrath, and off-kilter rhythms culminate and deliver an inexorable sense of dread and paranoia with thirteen new tracks, totaling more than fifty minutes of lunatic rage. Irritum was performed, recorded, and produced by Brenner, utilizing an arsenal of instruments including guitars, bass, drums, keys, theremin, harmonica, and much more.
Toronto rock’n’roll punk rock spinsters THE KILLER WAILS have a new track “Shake It” and it can very well be the jam to shake the winter blues away. The track has the grime and guts of the Circle Jerks with the nerdy charm and wittiness from the Jello Biafra era of the Dead Kennedys .They played enough shows around Quebec and Ontario making them a household name while opening for bands like Cancer Bats,the Isotopes, The Murderburgers & The Dudes.
Sentient Ruin label has shared the first new song from the debut demo tape by Minnesota-based primitive death metal aberration NOOSE ROT.
NOOSE ROT hail from Minnesota and play just totally fucked and putrid death metal. The band came to be around a shared love of members of Gatecreeper, Skeletonwitch, and Wolvhammer for primitive and involved death metal in the vein of Autopsy, Pungent Stench, Coffins, Nihilist, Grave, and Repugnant – deciding to join forces to birth their own unholy death metal abomination that would worship at the altar of the Finnish and Swedish gods of ancestral death and decay.
Gruesomely regressed and appallingly involved, In their wretched and bludgeoning debut EP NOOSE ROT spew forth a vomited cascade of complete aural filth that engulfs the listener in a blinding deluge of chainsawing guitars, steamrolling drums, and putridly tortured vocals. At its most delicate and refined The Creeping Unknown is nothing more than a coffin-born aural stampede of complete aural rot where caveman-death metal is taken to a sickening new extreme, conjuring similar diseased atmospheres as seen in bands like Cruciamentum, Vastum, Acephalix, Disma, and Grave Miasma.
WILL HAVEN and FAKE FIGURES (members of ATREYU) will play a trio of California gigs in May.
New LONG NECK, Will This Do?, is out now via Tiny Engines. You can stream the well-thought alt rock indie masterpiece HERE or below.
MAMMOTH GRINDER returns with Cosmic Crypt, an 11 track slab of primitive, punk-inflected death metal featuring members of Power Trip and Iron Reagan! Stream the full record below.
MAMMOTH GRINDER return after five long years with their fourth full-length Cosmic Crypt, a non-stop, meteoric force of aggression and mayhem. Self-recorded by the band at Trax East in South River, NJ, mixed by Arthur Rizk (Power Trip, Sepultura, Inquisition) and mastered by Toxic Holocaust’s Joel Grind, Cosmic Crypt is an 11 track slab of primitive, punk-inflected death metal. Frontman Chris Ulsh (Power Trip, Impalers) recruited Mark Bronzino (Iron Reagan) and Ryan Parrish (Iron Reagan, ex-Darkest Hour) to take MAMMOTH GRINDER to new heights of misanthropic rage and blazing songcraft! Features stunning cover art from the legendary Joe Petagno (Motorhead, Autopsy, Angelcorpse, Pink Floyd).
Legendary British post punk / rock band THE DAMNED have released a video for a new single, ‘Standing On The Edge Of Tomorrow’ taken from their first new album in a decade, Evil Spirits, scheduled for release on Search And Destroy / Spinefarm Records on April 13th.
American hit pop rocker ANDREW W.K. has released a new music video for his new jam “Ever Again”, cming from his new record You’re Not Alone, out March 2 via Sony.
Wales’ emotional hardcore upstarts, CASEY, have shared another powerful track and its accompanying video from their recently announced sophomore album, Where I Go When I Am Sleeping, due out March 16th via Rise Records (North America) and Hassle Records (UK, EU). “Phosphenes” highlights the growing sense of dynamics and melody on Where I Go When I Am Sleeping without ever sacrificing Casey’s raw energy. The track is also at the center of the album’s lyrical narrative, as vocalist Tom Weaver explores the fragility of existence through the lens of his own struggles with mental and physical health.
Carpark Records is excited to share WENDYFIX‘s “Swinging Softly” video via Uproxx, who called the video, “an intimate glimpse into the college lives of the band members, Hyman in particular.” The album recently released two special new albums from label founder Todd Hyman’s early 90’s college bands, the aforementioned Wendyfix and Remy. Originally released on cassette and long since out of print, these gems of indie rock are newly remixed by Pat Jones (Toro Y Moi, Washed Out) and remastered by Joe Lambert from the original half-inch tape masters and are being digitally released for the first time on Todd Hyman’s Carpark Records.
Long before Carpark had formed, Hyman was making music from his Chicago dorm room during the golden age of Chicago’s indie rock and punk scene. Yet on the geographical and formal edges of this cultural maelstrom was a group of young college students taking a different approach. Fusing together indie Anglophilia (New Order, Psychedelic Furs, Swervedriver) and the sensitive emo of loud/quiet acts like Slint and Bedhead, Wendyfix was a blacksheep in the Chicago indie music zeitgeist.
Formed by a trio of college radio DJs from Northwestern University, the band played numerous house parties in Evanston and around Chicago before going on to play the usual haunts like the Lounge Ax, the Metro, and the brand new Empty Bottle. Things seemed to be on the up and up but then the band members, Todd Hyman, Jon Solomon (Comedy Minus One Records), Ted Pauly, and Brian McGrath graduated college and things fell apart. All that was left was two recording sessions at King Size Studios in Chicago, and two one-off recordings for compilations. A seven inch with two songs was released at the time, but until now most of the music has been unavailable.
Boston atmospheric ambient rockers HEAVY SLEEPER have shared a new video for their single ‘Night Swim’.
“’Empty Handed” starts things off with a chilling riff that is bound to send shivers down your spine as it leads you into the first lyric on the record; a drawn-out and haunting delivery of ‘Won’t you shed some light/on my darker side’ that kicks Alive and Well off in the right vein. ‘Night Swim’ starts off strong and ends the record in a like the dizzy final throws of a codeine trip; you’re left feeling spun and unsure of everything except the fact that you’re ready for round two of this ride” – substreammagazine.com
Travis Barker’s annual tattoo convention and music festival Musink has revealed this year’s lineup, including BLINK-182, DESCENDENTS, THE ADOLESCENTS, STRUNG OUT, and more! GO HERE to see more details.
Montreal’s Pouzza Fest has revealed more details and bands for this year’s 8th edition of the fest, including REEL BIG FISH, ANTI-FLAG, TSUNAMI BOMB, and more! GO HERE to check it out.
MACHINE HEAD are streaming “Volatile”, another track from their impending new album, “Catharsis“, as well as a new documentary video on the record.
The full stream of McCafferty and Heart Attack Man’s alt emotive pop rock split 12″ record has been launched online below. Take This To Heart Records had the pleasure of teaming up with Triple Crown records to release this. Catch McCafferty on tour this spring w/ Moose Blood and Lydia. GO HERE to see the dates.
Ohio’s McCafferty began as most good earworms should: melodies looped into and blended with pop-rock backbeats, a knack for urgent relatability, and a dedication to capturing a universal feeling. McCafferty edges on the quirky emo/rock of The Weakerthans or Rozwell Kid. We released their last album “Thanks. Sorry. Sure” on June 30th. Grab It
Also from Ohio, Heart Attack Man originally started as a solo recording project for singer/guitarist Eric Egan in 2013. Driven by an engrained appreciation for addictive melodies and hard hitting alternative rock, the project quickly evolved into a full band. Shortly after the EP Acid Rain was released the band hit the road playing throughout the US and Canada. Ready to record more the band headed to Philadelphia and began recording Ian Farmer from Modern Baseball at Headroom Studios. The result is band’s debut full length The Manson Family
Midwestern melodic punk 4-piece TURNSPIT has signed with Dodgeball Records, which will release the band’s new LP ‘Desire Paths’ on February 16, 2018. The Chicago band has revealed cover art and track listing for the 12-track release, which was self-produced and engineered by Dan Tinkler, with assistance from Justin Yates, Chris DeQuick and Paddy McGuire. The album was recorded at Atlas Studios in Chicago, IL.
Symphonic blackened metallers DIMMU BORGIR have announced their new record Eonian, their first offering in 7 years, to be released on May 4th.
Choosing Mental Illness As A Virtue, the raging new full-length from PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS, will descend upon the masses this Friday, January 26th. Revolver is offering up an advance taste of the record alongside a live video of “Finger Me.” Hear Choosing Mental Illness As A Virtue now courtesy of Revolver at THIS LOCATION.
PHILIP H. ANSELMO hasn’t just paved his own path; he’s bulldozed it with his bare hands. His primal, powerful presence led Pantera to Grammy Award nominations, sales of twenty million albums worldwide, legions of diehard fans, and an indisputable heavy metal legacy. Simultaneously, Down carved out a distinct niche with a gold-selling debut and three more critically acclaimed releases. Superjoint made a triumphant return in 2016 and in the midst of everything, ANSELMO joined Scour alongside members of Pig Destroyer and Cattle Decapitation and teamed up with horror icon Bill Moseley for the Bill & Phil project. However, PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS speaks to a certain need for him.
Instead of treading the same ground, ANSELMO and his bandmates in THE ILLEGALS, open up another doorway altogether with their 2018 sophomore release, Choosing Mental Illness As A Virtue. It’s extreme, abrasive, aggressive, and anthemic. In other words, it’s purely ANSELMO.
Durham, NC pop punks THE SECOND AFTER have signed with Revival Recordings and are debuting a new music video for “Homewreck Sick” below. The song appears on the band’s upcoming label debut EP, “Treadmill at the Finish Line,” out April 6.
The release of THE LAST GANG’s debut FAT full-length, Keep them Counting, is all set for March 2nd! Keep them Counting features 10 punk infused tracks showcasing their diversity, from infectious riffs to punky ballads. You can pre-order the album right now via your favorite digital music site, and in doing so, you’ll get to download the first single –”Sing for your Supper” – immediately. Even better, watch them perform it in the video below! You’ll be able to catch them live, as they’ve announced a flurry of shows which include dates with The Lillingtons, Good Riddance, and Propagandhi! All of the dates and info can be found here!
BODY COUNT performed live at GRAMMY Awards pre-show on January 28th.
CORROSION OF CONFORMITY’s long anticipated No Cross No Crown full-length, released on January 12th via Nuclear Blast Entertainment, toppled Billboard charts upon its first week of release earning #67 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart, #12 on the Billboard Top Current Albums Chart, and #3 on the Top Hard Music Albums Chart making it the highest charting album of the band’s career!
Captured in North Carolina with longtime producer John Custer, No Cross No Crown marks the first studio recording with vocalist/guitarist Pepper Keenan in over a decade and has reaped critical accolades from fans and critics alike both stateside and abroad.
CORROSION OF CONFORMITY is currently in the midst of a massive North American live excursion supporting Black Label Society. The tour commenced in Denver, Colorado December 27th and will make its way through nearly four dozen cities upon its conclusion on February 27th in Los Angeles, California. Additional support is being provided by Eyehategod and Red Fang on select shows. See all confirmed dates HERE.
Alt rockers CIRCA SURVIVE had a huge 2017, releasing their adventurous sixth full length, The Amulet, via Hopeless Records, and stretching their brand of intricately appealing post-hardcore into intense new territory. Now the band are hitting the ground running in 2018 with a North American headlining tour featuring support from Foxing and Hail The Sun. VIP tickets are available now, with general tickets on sale Friday, January 26th. GO HERE to see the details.
Alt prog rockers MINUS THE BEAR have announced the 10 year anniversary tour for Planet of Ice, the band’s third full-length album, released on August 21, 2007 by Suicide Squeeze Records. GO HERE to see more details.
Folksy punk rockers DUCKING PUNCHES are teasing their new record ‘Alamort’ with a new song called “Distant Shadows”. The new album will be out on February 16th via Xtra Mile Recordings) and the band will be supporting it on tour. GO HERE to see the dates.
Chicago instrumental post metallers RUSSIAN CIRCLES have announced a string of dates with doom band KKING WOMAN, who released their debut LP Created in the Image of Suffering on Relapse Records last year. GO HERE to see the details.
Swedish tech math metallers MESHUGGAH have announced a handful of June dates in Europe. GO HERE for details and HERE for their full live itinerary.
The 2018 Rebellion Festival line-up has been annunced and it’s a killer medley of punk and rock bands including MAD CADDIES, THE EXPLOITED,
LAGWAGON, COCKNEY REJECTS, THE ADICTS, BUZZCOCKS, and a lot lot more!
Deathgrinders CATTLE DECAPITATION have parted ways with their bassist Derek Engemann. GO HERE to see thefficial word and HERE to see the details of their upcoming New Zealand, Australian, and South African dates!
KORN frontman Jonathan Davis has announced the American and European dates for his solo world tour in support of his forthcoming new solo album, due out this year via Sumerian Records.
Metalcore / deathcore acts CARNIFEX have teamed up with OCEANO, SPITE, WINDS OF PLAGUE, BURIED ABOVE GROUND and more bands for this year’s “Chaos & Carnage Tour” in the U.S. GO HERE to see the details.
PRIMUS and MASTODON will be touring together throughout spring and summer tour of the United States. GO HERE to see the details and the full live schedule from PRIMUS.
Emo alt rockers DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL have shared “Heart Beat Here,” the latest track to be released off their forthcoming LP Crooked Shadows, out February 9th. “Heart Beat Here” is available today at all DSPs and streaming below. Crooked Shadows, which marks the return of Dashboard Confessional and the band’s first new album in over eight years, is available for pre-order today at all DSPs with exclusive bundles available at Dashboard Confessional’s official webstore.
Set for release February 9th on Fueled By Ramen, Crooked Shadows features the lead single and politically minded rallying anthem “We Fight,” which the band performed earlier this week on Conan. Furthermore, “We Fight” is accompanied by the David Mack – Emmy nominated writer and artist behind Daredevil from Marvel Comics – directed official music video. Rolling Stone declared, “The powerful song explores the fighting spirit and strength found within a community,” with Consequence of Sound adding, “the motivational anthem encourages listeners to lift each other up in these trying times.” Get more details HERE.
Modern Thrash Metal trailblazers HAVOK continue to promote their much acclaimed latest album “Conformicide” and will make their return to European stages for a tour in April together with Darkest Hour, Cephalic Carnage and Harlott. Here is a list of all upcoming European dates.
Ohio melodic emo rockers ABSOLUTE HERO will release new single “Death of Innocence” digitally on February 9th. Founded in 2015 by vocalist Sarah Nichole and multi-instrumentalist Justin Moegling, Absolute Hero have made a name for themselves in the underground rock scene over the past two years touring regionally everywhere from New York to Chicago. A marked departure from their previous effort Sing For Sanity, “Death of Innocence” is the first single to be released from the band’s upcoming EP Gone Bad, which showcases modern rock sensibilities mixed with a range of diverse influences. The band is currently recording with producer Nick Ingram (Hawthorne Heights, For Today) at Capital House Studios and plan to release Gone Bad in autumn 2018. “Death of Innocence” will be available for purchase on iTunes and Amazon MP3 and streaming on Spotify and Apple Music on February 9th.
California emo trio OLD NOTES strive to please old followers and captivate new listeners with their highly-anticipated sophomore album, With A Heavy Heart. The band create a somber, reflective atmosphere with their seamless shifts between ambient soundscapes and energetic emo tracks.
A follow-up to their 2016 debut EP, With A Heavy Heart displays a natural progression and maturity. Old Notes explore their sonic boundaries and experiment with more subdued buildups to crashing climaxes, all the while evoking the same tension and release within the listener. The experiences and thoughts conjured throughout the record expose listeners to more pensive, darker perspectives, while taking them on the same journey of questioning and self-discovery. Much unlike their debut EP, Former Self, this new record tackles darker and heavier life struggles including suicide, loss, abusive relationships, and overall unease with life. “A vast divergence from the last record, With A Heavy Heart comes from a snapshot in time with no light at the end of the tunnel.” The lyrical myriad of emotion is reflected within the trancelike, incisive guitars and heavy-hitting percussions, as well as heartfelt clean vocals that often break into screams with palpable intensity. With the combination of highly evocative lyrics and heavy instrumentation, Old Notes have created a dynamic record that serves as the pinnacle of their talent, introspection, and exploration. Old Notes will release their sophomore album, With A Heavy Heart, through Old Press Records on Friday, February 16th, 2018.
