Category Archives: Free Stuff

Just Released: Nephelium Offering First Single from Upcoming Album for Free Download

Posted by valleyofsteel on

Brutal death metal band Nephelium formed more than ten years ago in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Although they have long since relocated to Canada, they never left their roots far behind, as is apparent from the music they create, which blends technical death metal with exotic Middle Eastern melodies and flavors. Their debut LP Coils of Entropy is scheduled to be self-released in just over a week (7 February 2012), but as an appetizer they have served up samples of all the songs, including one full song you can download for free!

 

Continue reading →

More News About Shows (In Pittsburgh, This Time) – Part 2, Dethlehem

Posted by valleyofsteel on

As I said in the last post, after spending yesterday talking about shows that I will never get a chance to see, it’s time for some updates for the local (Pittsburgh) area. If you live somewhere else, NOW YOU CAN SEE HOW IT FEELS!!, but also, hopefully you’ll learn about a couple bands that might tickle your fancy.

 

The second of today’s two updates features Dethlehem, who will lay siege to Stage AE on Pittsburgh’s North Shore in a little under a month (Saturday, 18 February 2012). Continue reading →

Ion Vein to Open for Testament; Celebrate With a Free 3-Song Download!

Posted by valleyofsteel on

Chicago based metallers ION VEIN will be making their return to the stage in a big way, opening for the legendary TESTAMENT at The Fuel Room in Libertyville, IL on Friday, February 10th. In a statement released from the band: “We’re very excited to announce that our first show in support of IV v1.0, and our debut show with Scott and Rob, will be sharing the stage with the mighty TESTAMENT and Chicago’s upstart thrashers DIAMOND PLATE. This is the perfect way to kick the IV v1.0 release cycle into high gear and we can’t wait to dial everything up live with all of you once again!”

 

Keep on reading for more information, including a free “DR” (Digital Release) download of the first three songs from the band’s upcoming album!
 

Continue reading →

Just When We Were Starting to Get Over the Whole Morbid Angel Thing…

Posted by valleyofsteel on

Yesterday, in their newsletter, Season of Mist announced a new video for a song from Illud Divinum Insanus, the 2011 release by self-described “extreme music” band Morbid Angel:

Last November, seminal extreme metallers MORBID ANGEL shot a video clip for the song “Existo Vulgoré”, off latest album “Illud Divinum Insanus”. The video was conceptualized by the band and director Thomas Mignone (SLIPKNOT, MUDVAYNE, AVENGED SEVENFOLD) and produced through his production company Doom Incorporated. Mignone filmed the band in Tampa, Florida just prior to their departure to Europe during their recent tour.

If the band had any hopes of regaining the attention of their longtime fans, who seem to have almost universally despised this album, I don’t think the best way to do it would have been to collaborate with someone who has those particular credits on his resumé.  However, pandering to the legions of death metal fans who have supported this band for decades may be exactly what they are trying not to do.  At least, that’s the impression I get from their upcoming remix project.

One of the biggest complaints I’ve heard about this album was the fact that, even if they are trying to distance themselves from the death metal scene and branch out in a new direction (i.e. industrial/techno/whatever), fans of those particular styles are not very likely to enjoy it either, because even as those styles go, it isn’t especially well-done.  Not being a fan of that sort of thing, myself, I can’t really judge the accuracy of these comments.  Nevertheless, I can only assume that their forthcoming release of a “3-hour compilation gathering 39 remixes of songs” (done by several presumably well-known artists of the electronic music genres) will help to push the band’s image further into that new territory they seem to be seeking.  I really don’t know, but if that is their goal then I wish them well.

Getting back to the original subject, the video for “Existo Vulgoré” can be found by clicking here; and the label has also kindly offered the song as a FREE mp3 download here.  After watching, let me know what you think in the comments below.  Or if you have anything at all to say on the subject of this band and its new album or new direction, knock yourself out.

If you don’t have the album yet, but you are interested in checking it out (morbid curiosity, perhaps?), you can pick up the CD here, grab the digital download version here, or check out the huge wooden box deluxe edition here. Illud Divinium Insanus – The Remixes can be pre-ordered from the Season of Mist e-shop, here.

Just Released: Ever Circling Wolves – Chapter III

Posted by valleyofsteel on

Ever Circling Wolves – Chapter III: In Which the Protagonist Finds Himself at the Bottom of the Ocean as well as in a Petrified Forest (December 2011, Dethroned Productions)

Well, believe it or not, Christmas is almost here. I know I can’t believe it, myself — these past several months have been so busy for me that they’ve just flown by. Often it seems that all the stuff that needs to be done exceeds the amount of time available in which to do it, which of course means there is actually less than zero time left over in which to do anything that I want to do. That sucks, and it’s made even worse by how short the days are (the only time I see a little bit of sunlight is on my way to the bus stop when I leave work in the afternoon — unless it’s raining or snowing, which is often the case). When you add all the stress and anxiety involved with the holiday season on top of everything else, it’s no wonder so many people go into a deep depression around this time. Clearly, we need something to shake off these dark feelings and bring joy and cheer back into our lives. I don’t know about you, but for me there is nothing that can turn my frown upside-down faster than some good ole DOOM METAL!!  The doomier it is, the better it makes me feel.  So I’ve scoured the world in search of something to cheer me up, and I’ve found just what the doctor ordered.  Three different doses of it, in fact, and so I will be sharing these over the next three days — just long enough to take us through Christmas eve.

The first stop on our global quest for euphoria is in Finland, where death-doom quartet Ever Circling Wolves have just released their third recording (an EP, appropriately titled Chapter III) on CD via Dethroned Productions… Continue reading →

In Case You Missed It: Visions – Home

Posted by valleyofsteel on

Visions – Home (Basick Records, 18 July 2011).

image

Dear Reader, I have a confession to make.

I know this has the potential to forever diminish your opinion of me as a music critic, as a metalhead, and perhaps even as a person, but it’s something I need to get off my chest. 

Here goes… I’m just not that into Dillinger Escape Plan.  I never have been, and to be honest, I fail to understand why this band is held in such universally high regard by critics and fans alike, just as I fail to understand the majority of the music they make.

I accept that there are surely listeners out there who thrive on such frenetic chaos and see a complex beautiful sense of order in what appears to be only random madness to my simple ears.  But on the other hand, I expect that there must be some like-minded souls out there, nodding in agreement as they read these words, but afraid to ever speak publicly for fear that (like in the case of the Emperor’s New Clothes) they would be ridiculed by the others who DO get it (or at least who claim to).

Anyway, the reason this discussion is sort of relevant stems from my decision to listen to Peterbourian band Visions‘ debut LP Home, which was released earlier this year.  Since they are a relatively new band (formed in 2009), and given that this is their first album, I didn’t really know what to expect beyond what is written in the official press release and some other advertisements I’ve seen.

First, we have the fact that they had been signed by UK label Basick Records (and the fact that the album itself was mixed and mastered by members of labelmates Monuments and Chimp Spanner), which sort of hints at some proggy/techy/melodic-y leanings.  But at the same, I kept seeing that infamous marketing phrase “for fans of…” and in every case, it seems to include Dillinger Escape Plan.

Well, if any of that made me feel apprehensive at all, I decided to plow ahead anyway (or I guess I should say “plough ahead” since we’re talking about a British band here), and let me just say, I’m really glad that I did.

Keep reading after the jump for some more in-depth analysis, plus your chance to listen to some of the songs (including one available for free download)…

Continue reading →

Just Released: My Ruin – A Southern Revelation (Free Download!)

Posted by valleyofsteel on

My Ruin – A Southern Revelation (self-released, 7 December 2011)

image

Imagine this: your band has just been offered a deal with a record label, to include help with promotion, distribution, and touring support for the new album you’ve just recorded.  You’re happy with your new music and thrilled with the new contract and all the benefits that the head of the label promised you.  Then suddenly, without warning, the rug gets pulled out from underneath you, and nothing is happening according to the agreement, resulting in delays to releasing your record, cancelled tourdates, huge losses in profits, and eventually, nasty messages sent through lawyers.  What would you do?  Run off in a corner somewhere and cry?  Decide that life as a musician is too hard, and that you might as well just give up?

Well, according to southern-fried-hard-rock/alt-metal duo My Ruin, that’s exactly what happened to them, but their reaction to the situation was to write and record another whole album full of kick-ass, angry music. And then as a great big “fuck you” to the whole industry, they decided to give it away for free!  Keep reading to learn more about this band, their new album A Southern Revelation, and where you can pick up a copy absolutely free of charge…
Continue reading →

Get ’em While They’re Hot: Basick Records Offering a Free 2011 Sampler!

Posted by valleyofsteel on

image

Okay, I realize it isn’t 2012 yet, and I’m pretty sure Basick Records knows it too, but this sampler represents a cross-section of the British prog-tech-metal label’s roster going into the new year.  Several of the tracks here are swiped from Basick bands’ latest (i.e., 2011) releases, including “Oceans” from Visions‘ debut album Home (of which, coincidentally, I am in the middle of writing a review), and several others; however, also included are sneak peeks at a couple of the label’s recent signings who haven’t yet put out a record through Basick, such as Blotted Science and Skyharbor.

Best of all, it’s absolutely free!  Check out the announcement on Basick’s website  for additional information.  Or if you’re really impatient, you can just skip on over to Amazon to grab a copy.  However, if you aren’t able to download MP3s from Amazon.co.uk due to country restrictions, they have also made it available to download via their Bandcamp page (just see the embedded widget below).   Also free!  You can’t lose, either way.

Coming Soon: Cormorant’s New Album Now Streaming, and Once Again Available for Pre-Order!

Posted by valleyofsteel on

image

This is awesome news for anyone who, like myself, may have accidentally missed out on the deadline a couple months ago for pre-ordering the new album by Californian blackened progressive metal band Cormorant, Dwellings, due to be self-released on 6 December, 2011.

While we may now be out of luck in regards to some of the elements from their totally awesome packages that were being sold the first time around (a signed poster of the full album cover – one panel of which is visible above, but which can be seen in its full glory here; exclusive downloads of unreleased demo materials; inclusion of our names among the credits in the accompanying booklet; etc.), at least the meat of the previous offerings (digital download of the album, CD digipack, t-shirt or sweatshirt with the album artwork) are once again available to pre-order in various combinations.

If you’ve heard the band’s previous offerings – 2009 LP Metazoa or 2007 EP The Last Tree, then clearly you don’t need any more convincing that Dwellings is going to be a must-own.  No, all you need is a link to the preorder page, which is conveniently located here, at Bandcamp.

If, on the other hand, you are a newcomer to the Cormorant experience, well I’ve got a real treat in store for you to get yourself educated… Continue reading →

Get ’em While They’re Hot: Seventh Rule Recordings Offers Free Album Downloads for Cyber Monday!

Posted by valleyofsteel on

[W]e could have emailed you Friday about this awesomeness, but honestly we were too busy sleeping in…

So begins the announcement sent out by Seventh Rule Recordings last night.  The Chicago-based underground label then wastes no time getting to the meat of their message:

We figure that every year, all businesses try to grab every bit of money you have in your wallet. This year we wanted no part in that, in fact we just wanted to make it so you could enjoy Seventh Rule releases without spending any money at all. This is our thanks to you, our friends and supporters.

That’s right, well over a dozen albums full of high-quality stoner/sludge/doom/ambient/whatever metal are now yours for the taking, absolutely free of charge!  The only catch is, this appears to be a today-only offer, so get on it ASAP!

Seventh Rule official website is here, but to jump straight to the download section, you’ll want to visit their Bandcamp page here.

If you find the vast list of free downloads overwhelming, fear not!  Here are some suggestions that I’ve had in my personal library for quite some time, and which come highly recommended by yours truly: