Nails: SoCal Power Violence Band Posts "Obscene Humanity" From Upcoming 7" (Southern Lord)

Stream: Nails - "Obscene Humanity" (hosted on CVLT Nation)

Following up on 2010's "Unsilent Death", SoCal power-violence band Nails have released the first track from their forthcoming 7". The Obscene Humanity 7” captures three of the most iconic tracks from the bands’ raging debut 12” EP of the same name, re-recorded during the "Unsilent Death" sessions with their more modern, metallic, pulverizing low-end tonal attack. For anyone interested, Todd Jones details the history behind these recordings and the original sessions on CVLT Nation.

To round out the year, Nails will enter the caverns of Godcity Studios in Salem, Massachusetts with Converge’s Kurt Ballou from late December into early January, recording their anticipated next full-length. The new album, Abandon All Life, will be finished early in the year for a Springtime release on Southern Lord.

NAILS w/ Converge, Torche, Kvelertak:
10/24/2012 El Corazon - Seattle, WA
10/25/2012 Branx - Portland, OR
10/26/2012 Slim's - San Francisco, CA
10/27/2012 Glasshouse - Pomona, CA
10/28/2012 EchoPlex - Los Angeles, CA
10/30/2012 The Nile - Mesa, AZ

Links:
Nails

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Repulsion - Live Photos and Video from Power of the Riff Festival East, Warsaw, Brooklyn, NY 9-2-12

"Repulsion were an early grindcore / death metal band from Flint, Michigan. Their innovations were significant to the development of the death metal and grindcore genres...By 1986 Repulsion's trademark style had matured; characterised by raspy shouted vocals, extremely distorted down-tuned guitars, overdriven punkish riffs, absurd rambling solos interjected as if only as an afterthought, rumbling bass lines, and machine-gun drumming. Repulsion was experimenting with a hammering, static clouded, lo-fi sound that was on a level of extreme that had been touched on by few bands before. To complement the band's sound they penned gruesome lyrics; focusing on fantastic apocalyptic themes ranging from zombie epidemics to nuclear war."

I don't think Repulsion has done a national tour in a few years so it was a real treat to see the band at the Power of the Riff East Festival. In a pre-show interview with BrooklynVegan, Scott Carlson said "We don't want to play too much. The shows have to feel special for us. So, our acceptance of a gig offer is based as much on where it is, who's playing and who's paying rather than how much they're paying. I don't have the stamina for gigs that are just death metal for 12 hours. Events like Power of the Riff are very carefully curated and the acts are chose for other reasons than just 'well, this shit fits together'."

Repulsion were probably my favorite band of the night. Greg Anderson also seemed to share my opinion as I got a big kick out of watching him come out from between the speaker columns during the later half of Repulsion's set - clearly having fun banging his head to Repulsion's last few songs.





Repulsion is back in the area on January 19, 2013 for Decibel Magazine's "100th Issue Celebration Show" at Union Transfer in Philadelphia. Pig Destroyer, Municipal Waste, Tombs and Evoken are also on the bill for this show. Repulsion is also playing Maryland Deathfest XI (along with Carcass) on May 23, 2013.

Links:
Replusion

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Poison Idea - "The Fatal Erection Years (Pick Your Kings)" CD Review (Southern Lord)

Portland hardcore stalwarts Poison Idea are the beast that will never die. While guitarist “Pig Champion” died in 2006 and one-time drummer Steve "Thee Slayer Hippy" Hanford was arrested for a string of pharmacy robberies in 2008, the band continues to soldier on under the leadership of vocalist Jerry A. Poison Idea made their recorded debut in 1983 with “Pick Your King”, a 7” (which was issued with a two-sided cover showing Elvis on one side and Jesus on the other) that blasts through thirteen song of hardcore fury in sixteen minutes.

As part of Southern Lord’s reissue program, the second in a series of Poison Idea titles, The Fatal Erection Years (Pick Your Kings), comes out on August 14th. This new 45-track disc contains the “Pick Your King” EP, the band’s 1984 follow-up Record Collectors Are Pretentious Assholes 12”, “Laughing Boy” (from the "Drinking Is Great" compilation 7”), “Typical”, “Die on Your Knees” and “I Got a Right” from the impossible to find 1985 Cleanse the Bacteria compilation LP. The disc winds up with a 19-track live set that was recorded for a previously unreleased live album at The Met in Portland, OR circa 1983. The audio has been remastered and restored by Jack Control (World Burns to Death, Severed Head of State), and the poster/booklet contains liner notes from Poison Idea vocalist Jerry A, and tons of photos, flyers and more from the band’s early days.

The thirteen tracks on “Pick Your Kings” are predominately old-school hardcore numbers that are dominated by Jerry’s hoarse bellow and Pig Champion’s speed/thrash riffs. Beneath all of this – the drums pound away but there is no sign of a bass in the mix. The only track that breaks from the full-out hardcore assault is “I Hate Reggae”. The band seems to have more of a metal edge on the Record Collectors are Pretentious Assholes tracks. Pig Champion’s riffs are more ‘metallic’ and Jerry’s voice is more balanced and his vocals are more controlled. On these tracks, the bass is audible and an integral part of the band’s attack (check out “The Rich Get Richer”). Songs like “Time to Go” and “Thorn in My Side” show how the band’s songwriting abilities has grown by leaps and bounds. Taking things one step further, the four compilation tracks show the band moving into Black Flag territory.



The 19-track live show captures the sound of the punk sound of the early 80’s perfectly. The recording is reasonable and supposed to be from the soundboard but one has to remember that many soundboards at punk venues were held together by string and bubblegum. (I remember a Husker Du show that had to be stopped when the band blew out the board.) The band reminds me of Black Flag’s live show – and they do a similar deconstruction of “Louie Louie” along with scathingly funny “My Hard-On Withers in Your Face”. There isn’t a lot of dialogue between Jerry and the audience but Jerry introduced the punk-rock putdown “Slam Dance Jam” by saying “By the way, we are Adam Ant”.

While the video that follows is a different show than the bonus live show - it is a good representation of how Poison Idea sounded live in 1983.



Poison Idea is back on the East Coast (I think this is the band’s first NYC show in 10 years) to play the Power of the Riff Festival at Warsaw on September 1st. Fans of old-school hardcore (like Negative Approach, who is also playing the Power of the Riff East show) owe it to themselves to give this disc a listen.

Links:
Poison Idea

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Sleep - "Dopesmoker" CD Review (Southern Lord)

You have to “love” the major labels – in the frenzy to sign the next Nirvana, many bands were signed to labels that had no idea what the band was about or how to market the band to a mass-market audience. The sad thing is that many solid ‘underground’ bands wouldn’t have appealed to a mass-market (think Pearl Jam) audience in the first place. Recently reflecting on the band’s flirtation with Atlantic Records, J. Robbins from Jawbox said “As far as my experience goes and understanding the major label music business, it's a machine for creating massive pop culture phenomena. So, if you want to be Prince or Madonna, if you want to be the biggest f*cking thing in creation and be a household word...if you want to be Lady Gaga, that is absolutely the world to step into."

The Meat Puppets had become more-or-less socially acceptable by the time they signed to London Records but I can’t imagine who signed the Butthole Surfers to Capital or Sleep to London Records. The Butthole Surfers got onto “modern rock” radio with “Pepper” but there was no way that Sleep was ever going to get onto the radio or MTV with an hour-long epic to “drop[ping] out of life with a bong in hand” (“Dopesmoker”).



The new Southern Lord release of Dopesmoker contains the epic-length title track and a live version of “Holy Mountain” that was recorded in 1994 at the I-Beam in San Francisco. Dopesmoker has been out of print for years so it is almost irrelevant to compare this new version to the previous 2003 pressing (Tee Pee Records) but…this new version was mastered from the original studio tapes by From Ashes Rise guitarist Brad Boatright and has more sonic depth than the previous issue (or any of quasi-legit/bootleg issues).

Sleep had toured for Holy Mountain (1993) with Cathedral and Hawkwind and Dopesmoker stretches the sound of Holy Mountain to incorporate best of these two bands. The title track, “Dopesmoker”, is old-school sludgy doom metal in the spirit of Black Sabbath (and Cathedral) with epic, lumbering guitar riffs that brings out the listeners’ visceral emotions as Sleep takes the listener further and further into their stoner-rock aural landscape. To steal a phrase from a past Southern Lord festival, Dopesmoker emphasizes the power of the riff – the guitar riffs are almost organic as they grind and crash, one after another – with no sign of stopping, while Al Cisneros’ vocals are delivered in an almost cathartic chant. The 11 minute live take of “Holy Mountain” has more of a ‘traditional’ song structure than “Dopesmoker” but this extended live version shows how the band was rapidly moving further into the sludgy Sabbath ‘void’. This live recording sounds like it was taped from the audience but it is a great representation of Sleep in all their primitive glory.

Sleep 2012 U.S. Tour Dates:
6/02/2012 The Ritz – Tampa, FL
6/03/2012 Neumos – Seattle, WA
6/04/2012 Neumos – Seattle, WA
6/05/2012 Fox Theater – Oakland, CA

Links:
Sleep

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Harley's War: Harley Flanagan Signs with Southern Lord

I'm both impressed and glad to see Harley back in action...

Harley Flanagan, bassist/vocalist of Cro-Mags and Harley's War fame, has officially signed with Southern Lord for several upcoming releases!

Southern Lord owner Greg Anderson released the following statement regarding this new alliance with Harley's newest endeavors:

"Harley Flanagan is one of the most revered, controversial and infamous musicians of the last 25 years of underground music. His resume and reputation speak equal amounts of vitriolic decibels as does his bass stack blaring in your face. I have personally been a huge fan of Harley and his work with the Cro-Mags from the first time I heard their debut album Age of Quarrel in 1986. Much like the feeling you got when you first heard Bad Brains, Discharge or Minor Threat, Cro-Mags were musically and aesthetically on another level that was matchless. Through the power of the net and sheer luck I started talking to Harley Flanagan over emails and telephone past year. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the intensity and honesty of his playing also carried through in his personality. Harley is humble, raw, intelligent, driven and focused. To say it is an honor for Southern Lord to be working with Harley Flanagan is a enormous understatement! We're in shock and CAN NOT WAIT to get this shit going! The first release we will be doing together will be the forthcoming Harley's War album. The demos of the material he has shared with us for this are fucking phenomenal! The new Harley's War material has the same feeling as the initial musical impact the Cro-Mags first had in the mid-'80s. Killer songwriting, raw lyrics and Harley Flanagan's trademark bass playing. As mentioned above this is "other level" shit! Expect nothing less than a brutal musical beatdown from the master!"



Links:
Cro-Mags

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Sunn O))) - "ØØ VOID / The Iron Soul of Nothing" CD Review (Southern Lord)

Sunn O)))’s newest release, ØØ VOID, brings back into print the band’s second disc, which was recorded in Hollywood in 2000 with producer (and Goatsnake / Kyuss bassist) Scott Reeder and originally issued on Hydra Head.

Like most Southern Lord releases, ØØ VOID is available as a limited edition vinyl pressing (1K on cream colored vinyl / 5K total pressing). There is also a limited 2CD edition of ØØ VOID (1,000 copies) being sold through Southern Lord’s web store that includes a bonus disc that features the ØØ VOID album remixed by Nurse with Wound. (Note: this bonus disc was originally released on the 2CD edition of ØØ VOID that came out on the Japanese label Daymare Recordings in 2008). Stephen O’Malley is also selling a vinyl edition of the Nurse with Wound remixes entitled “The Iron Soul of Nothing” through his new Ideologic Organ label.

ØØ VOID epitomizes the band’s “Maximum Volume Yields Maximum Results” philosophy as the disc is composed of four epic-length (~15 minutes each) tracks of menacing, monolithic drone. Each of the songs moves at a glacial pace and the band builds up layer upon layer of notes and riffs that are held to their limit and then crash like an ocean wave prior to rising again with the next riff. These pieces (I can’t really call them songs) are like aural sculptures that are designed to be felt and experienced so this disc requires a time commitment to really appreciate its power.

For this release, the band is joined by guest bassist Stuart Dahlquist (Burning Witch, Goatsnake) and the disc includes contributions from both Petra Haden (violinist/vocals) and Pete Stahl (vocals). I haven’t pinpointed where Haden’s contributions are woven within this thick sonic tapestry but there are a lot of different layers and dimensions within these recording so different facets become visible after multiple listens. Pete Stahl’s adds ‘vocals’ to “NN O)))” which are buried under waves of buzzing electronics with the end result sounding like a ghost in the machine.



“The group approached the compositions of this album in a different way than their previous recordings: each member focused intently on one composition/piece and brought it into the recording session. Then, each of those songs that were brought in were translated to the other members and nuances were worked out, on the spot, in the studio. Greg Anderson (aka The Duke) brought in “NNO)))”, Stephen O’Malley (aka Mk Ultra Blizzard) brought in RA at Dusk, Stuart Dahlquist (aka G.Subharmonia) brought in Richard. The exception to all this was the inclusion of a rendition of a obscure Melvins song called Rabbits Revenge. This song was actually never recorded in the studio by the Melvins and the riffs were salvaged from a live tape that Anderson had of the band playing the Gorilla Gardens in Seattle from March of 1985!”—from SouthernLord.com

The Nurse with Wound remixes amount to a complete re-working of ØØVOID so there really isn’t a one-to-one mapping between this disc and the original recordings. There is a bit more “light” and ambiance in this reworking and one of the highlights is “Ash on the Trees (The Sudden Ebb of a Diatribe)” where Pete Stahl’s vocals are pulled out from beneath the wall of noise of the original track to become a menacing instrument of unease onto itself.

"In 2007 we commissioned Nurse With Wound to re-work the masters of SUNN O)))’s second album “ØØVOID” to be included as a bonus CD on the Japanese reissue of said album released a year later on Daymare Recordings. We dug up the original 2" reels from the 2000 session, had Mell Dettmer bake the tapes, made the multitrack transfers and send the drive over to IC studios. The initial brief was to hopefully come up with to come up with something in the vein of Nurse’s legendary Soliloquy for Lilith set (my favorite release of the collective). What was returned was way beyond our expectations, completely transformed and rediscovered material, including highlighting formerly obscured vocals of the legendary Pete Stahl (Scream, Wool, Goatsnake). A vast creepy sonic journey some part drone/depth of SUNN O))), other part concrete weirdness of Nurse, third part just downright out there in surreality and obscure referencing." —Stephen O'Malley

Links:
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Poison Idea - "Darby Crash Rides Again - The Early Years" CD Review (Southern Lord)

"We were going to write some self-righteous diatribe about the 'good old day' - but those days weren't good - we were pissed off then and we are pissed off now - go die. Positive = Boring"
- from "Darby Crash Rides Again" 7" inner-sleeve

Portland hardcore stalwarts Poison Idea are the beast that will never die. While guitarist “Pig Champion” died in 2006 and one-time drummer Steve "Thee Slayer Hippy" Hanford was arrested for a string of pharmacy robberies in 2008, the band continues to soldier on under the leadership of vocalist Jerry A. Poison Idea made their recorded debut in 1983 with “Pick Your King”, a 7” (which was issued with a two-sided cover showing Elvis on one side and Jesus on the other) that blasts through thirteen song of hardcore fury in sixteen minutes. While this was one h*ll of a debut, Poison Idea reached further back in their catalog in 1989 and released a 7” of 1982 demos entitled “Darby Crash Rides Again” (American Leather Records) which was clearly influenced by The Germs in both sound and lyrical outlook.

Southern Lord will be reissuing a number of Poison Idea titles this year on CD and the first of these, Darby Crash Rides Again: The Early Years, comes out on January 30th. This disc contains twenty-nine tracks (53 minutes) from the band’s earliest days, the 100% previously unreleased Boner’s Kitchen demo from 1981, the complete "Darby Crash Rides Again" demo from 1982, the complete uncut live-on-the-air set from the 1983 KBOO radio benefit, and outtakes from the Record Collectors Are Pretentious Assholes recording session. Much of this material has either been out-of-print or never before officially released! All the recordings have been meticulously restored and mastered by Jack Control at Enormous Door Mastering. The booklet contains liner notes, old flyers and tons of previously unpublished photos from the band’s beginnings.

The Boner’s Kitchen demos are similar to The Germs’ "What We Do Is Secret" EP as the band careens through six lo-fi hardcore blasts like a runaway freight train that is consistently on the verge on derailing. The tape is continuously rolling during this demo session so you can hear both bum notes and band dialogue between the songs. Prior to "Poser" kicking in, you can hear Jerry A., in a faux-British accent (similar to Darby's) say "Don't erase that, keep that". The eleven songs on "Darby Crash Rides Again" are similar blasts of hardcore fury that all clock in around the one minute mark. This recording has better sound quality and production (production is cheekily credited to Joan Jett, producer of The Germs' (GI)) than the 1981 demos but that doesn’t take away from or diminish the intensity of the band’s attack. The KBOO radio benefit is hilarious as the band plays a solidly sloppy set while alternatively threatening to stop playing if more pledges don’t come in and following that by threatening “if you don’t call in, we are going to keep playing this f@cking noise until it drives you crazy”.

Some songs are repeated between the four different recordings on this disc but that should be of little worry as I don’t think the band played any song the same way more than once. What is particularly enjoyable is the band’s deconstruction of the Lemmy-penned Hawkwind tune “Motorhead” which shows up in live in the KBOO benefit set and as an outtake from the Record Collectors session.





As Poison Idea seems to have fallen off the radar in recent years (due to infrequent touring and most of their discs going out of print at various times), this disc is essentially listening for fans of old school hardcore. After listening to this, I’m going to see if I can find my tape of the band’s 2002 CBGB show and ‘re-live’ the Poison Idea live experience.

Note: The CD reissues are coming out Southern Lord while TKO Records is handling the vinyl reissues.

Links:
Poison Idea

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Wolves in the Throne Room - "Celestial Lineage" CD Review (Southern Lord) // NYC Shows on Sept. 12th & 14th

On September 13, Wolves in the Throne Room are releasing Celestial Lineage (Southern Lord), which finishes the trilogy that began with Two Hunters (2007). This new disc is more organic (and perhaps less malevolent) than Black Cascade and, while these seven tracks are a noticeable step toward a more open sound, the disc incorporates all of the elements from the band’s past. Immediately noticeable is the return of angelic vocalist Jessika Kenney (who added vocals to Two Hunters (2007) and “Malevolent Grain” (2009)) whose voice starts off the first track “Thuja Magus Imperium”.

In describing the writing process for Celestial Lineage, drummer Aaron Weaver stated: “An ornate constellation of imagery is what that guides the songwriting process. Cedar temples crowned with burnished bronze domes glimpsed in a remote valley. Wild Midsummer bonfires and feasting on roasted flesh. All of the sounds serve to evoke the images that exist in our minds eye. With this record we’re going to explore an entirely new palette of sound. We want the instruments to sound like the liturgical music of a cedar cult.”

Celestial Lineage’s seven tracks run just under fifty minutes and brunt of the disc is comprised by three epic tracks: "Thuja Magus Imperium" (11:41), which opens the disc, and "Astral Blood" (10:16) and "Prayer of Transformation" (10:57) which close the disc. “Theja Magus Imperium” opens with a majestic soundscape before heading into black metal darkness and then the song resurfaces back into the light before the ending. The band utilizes these contrasting moods and sonic colors on a few other tracks such as “Subterranean Initiation” which includes delicately picked guitar work along with the sonic blast beats and “Astral Blood” which has an acoustic interlude which break up the black metal fury.

The other four tracks include the brooding “Woodland Cathedral”, which features clean vocals from Jessika Kenney; two short instrumental interludes, “Rainbow Illness” and “Permanent Changes in Consciousness” with the later including chanting courtesy of Aaron Turner (ISIS) and the pounding black metal of “Subterranean Initiation”. Celestial Lineage is not your run-of-the-mill black metal disc and drummer Aaron Weaver has said "Wolves in the Throne Room is not black metal, or, more accurately we play black metal on our own terms, for our own reasons."

In support of the album, Wolves in the Throne Room kicked off a US tour earlier this month and plan on eventually engulfing many other regions of the planet. In the US, they will travel with their own PA system thus “enabling them to perform in warehouses, groves and collapsed barns rather than the well-worn circuit of the clubs and bars”.

Wolves in the Throne Room Fall Tour Dates
Fri, Sep 30th 2011 - Denver, CO, Rhincoeropolis

Wed, Sep 28th 2011 - Fort Worth, TX, Lola's Saloon
Playing with: Garuda and Megton Leviathan

Tue, Sep 27th 2011 - Austin, TX, Red 7
Playing with: Megaton Leviathan

Sun, Sep 25th 2011 - New Orleans, LA, Nowe Miasto
Playing with: Thou and Megaton Leviathan

Sat, Sep 24th 2011 - Tallahasse, FL, The Far Side Collective
Playing with: Megaton Leviathan

Fri, Sep 23rd 2011 - St. Petersenburg, FL, The Chop Shop
Playing with: Megaton Leviathan

Thu, Sep 22nd 2011 - Atlanta, GA, Club 529
Playing with: Megaton Leviathan

Wed, Sep 21st 2011 - Nashville, TN, The Little Hamilton
Playing with: Megaton Leviathan

Tue, Sep 20th 2011 - Sheffield, AL, JD's
Playing with: Megaton Leviathan

Sun, Sep 18th 2011 - Greensboro, NC, Legitimate Business
Playing with: Mt. Eerie, Megaton Leviathan

Sat, Sep 17th 2011 - Richmond, VA, Strange Matter
Playing with: Megaton Leviathan

Fri, Sep 16th 2011 - Bethlehem, PA , Steel Cty Firehall, Lower Saucon. Adress: 2121 Riverside Drive Bethlehem, PA 18015
Playing with: Megaton Leviathan and Fursaxa
Additional info: Buy advance tickets here: www.angeldess.bigcartel.com

Thu, Sep 15th 2011 - Philadelphia, PA, Broad Street Ministry
Playing with: Megaton Leviathan, Vit and Woe

Wed, Sep 14th 2011 - NYC, Death By Audio
Playing with: Thou

Mon, Sep 12th 2011, 20:00 - NYC, The Bell House
Playing with: THOU



Links:
Wolves in the Throne Room

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All Pigs Must Die - "God Is War" CD Review (Southern Lord)

Latest tracks by apmd



There is something to be said for the sheer b*lls to name your band “All Pigs Must Die” and these guys have the brutal hardcore chops to back up the name. About ten years ago, I tried to pull together a hardcore band and had people interested in playing with me but they backed away after I told them I was planning on naming the band “Satanic Death Piggy” and wanted to work a Bobby BeauSoleil song into the set.



Following in the same vein as some of the crusty, brutal thrash-metal that Southern Lord has been putting out as of late, the label is issuing All Pigs Must Die’s debut full-length, God Is War, on August 16th. This disc is the follow-up to the band’s self-titled 2010 EP (Deathwish). All Pigs Must Die features vocalist Kevin Baker (Hope Conspiracy), former Bloodhorse members Adam Wentworth (guitars, x-The Red Chord) and Matt Woods (bass), and Ben Kollar from Converge on drums. Given that this is a MA-based band that shares a member with Converge, it was probably a given that this disc was recorded with Kurt Ballou at his Godcity Studio.



This new eight-track disc (33 minutes) finds the band spitting enough hate and venom to sound like one of the bands from the early Florida metal scene (Obituary, Deicide) crossed with a Swedish death metal band. At the core though, God is War is primal d-beat style hardcore album. Vocalist Kevin Baker delivers his lyrics which touch on the realities of life in a harsh bark backed by Ben Kollar’s pounding blast beats coupled with buzz-saw guitar tones and crushing grooves from Wentworth and Woods. The band doesn’t stray too much from their core sound but most songs get up in the three – four minute range so the songs have a chance to build their own identities without racing by in a blur of brutality. The band even slows down (slightly) on the eight minute brooding closer “Sadistic Vindicator”.

All Pigs Must Die (Full Set) from hate5six on Vimeo.

All Pigs Must Die’s God Is War is coming out in limited edition mail order version on both CD and vinyl (with Florian Bertmer art) through Southern Lord’s webstore. The mail order version of the CD is a 2xCD set which contains the band’s first EP as a bonus disc and the vinyl pressing is on 180 gram clear vinyl and is limited to 500 copies.



All Pigs Must Die have dropped out of the lineup for the Converge show at House of Vans and posted the following to the band's Facebook page: "Brooklyn, due to scheduling errors we will no longer be playing the House of Vans show that was originally announced for Thurs August 25th and is now changed to a day earlier on Weds August 24th. We promise to make it up in the near future. See you soon."



Links:

All Pigs Must Die

Southern Lord

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Sarabante - "Remnants" CD Review (Southern Lord)

One of the newer releases on Southern Lord is Remnants, the debut CD from Sarabante, a five piece aggressive thrash-core band from Athens, Greece. The band was brought to the attention of Southern Lord by Brad Boatright of From Ashes Rise and has a lot in common musically with bands like From Ashes Rise and Tragedy. Similar to these bands, Sarabante incorporates elements of d-beat crust and blackened gloom into their music.

There isn’t a lot of info about the band on the ‘net but, according to a blog entry posted by the band earlier this year, they took a long-term hiatus from the live stage and just started playing out again in advance of the release of this new eleven track/ 35 minute disc. Below is a live video from the band’s first live show in almost three years.



Sarabante pushes the thrash-core envelop with a cleaner sound than most of their contemporaries and songs that are long enough to grow and musically take root. The disc starts with dark keyboards and down-tuned guitars that sound like something from Candlelight Records' roster of bands before kicking into their pummeling metal attack. This isn’t all “speed blitzes” though as there is enough diversity in the band’s sound which keeps the music sounding fresh. One example is that the two guitarists slip in some melodic leads (which leads to a comparison to Neurosis) to complement their thrash attack and there is even an instrumental track on the disc.

This CD is limited to 1,000 machine numbered copies and is available through Southern Lord’s webstore for $10.

Sarabante is: Vagelis - Guitars/Vocals, Manos - Guitars, Aris - Vocals, Antonis - Bass, Markos - Drums

Links:
Sarabante

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