Category Archives: New Releases

More MAKE News…

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Hey there, party people! You might have noticed that I just wrote about these guys a little over a week ago, when I learned that they had a new three-track EP ready to be released at the beginning of next month. At that time, I told you that Axis was being released through Black Iron Records as a digital download on Bandcamp, on the first of November — which is just two more days away, so hopefully you’re as excited as I am about that!

But since that post, I learned even better news, with the promise of even more new MAKE material coming our way in the not-too-distant future!
 
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Who Wants Some Free Music?

Posted by valleyofsteel on

Hello there, folks! In case you can’t read a calendar (or you just woke up from a coma or something), it’s Monday again. So that means back to work, or school, or whatever the hell you do all day. Generally this isn’t really a good thing. But, once you see what I have to share with you, maybe you won’t mind as much…

See, I didn’t really get around to doing a lot of writing over the past week, besides a couple updates about shows happening in the Pittsburgh area over the weekend — if you hadn’t noticed, my last article before those was on Tuesday, when the Doommantia Vol. 1 benefit compilation for Ed Barnard was released.

Since then, I’ve bought myself a copy and downloaded it, and believe me it’s well worth at least the minimum purchase price — which, once again, goes towards helping out a friend in need. If you missed the news last week (or if you saw it and said you’d come back to it later and then forgot about it) you can check iit out here.

Anyway, I was saying I hadn’t really written much since then. That’s mostly due to the fact that things were so busy at work last week. But don’t worry, I spent tons of time listening to music and finding some good quality stuff to pass along to you!

Besides the Doommantia compilation, I’ve run across several more good ones recently, many of which can be downloaded for FREE, and I’d like to tell you about those today!

 

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FOR A GOOD CAUSE: Doommantia Vol. 1 Compilation

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Various Artists – Doommantia Vol. 1 (23 October 2012)

 
Hey folks. We’ve already talked about Ed Barnard, who operates the Doommantia website, but in case you’ve forgotten, this is the guy who has dealt with being bankrupted by astronomical medical bills, eventually resulting in being evicted from his home. More information on the situation is available elsewhere, if you care to look.

Anyway, it’s a pretty terrible story, but the brotherhood (and sisterhood — or, let’s just say, siblinghood) of Doom Metal has been quick to respond. The Doommantia website itself has been collecting funds via a Paypal button; earlier this month, Maryland-based War Injun put together a benefit concert.

And now, an enormous (39 tracks! Over four hours long!) compilation of songs from all kinds of amazing bands has been put together by members of South Carolina’s Compel. Downloads are available for purchase from Bandcamp; the minimum price is only seven bucks, but naturally you have the option to decide to donate any amount you wish.

 
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MAKE Announce a New EP, to be Released Soon!

Posted by valleyofsteel on

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So the North Carolinian blackish post-something-or-other band MAKE just saw their album Trephine (read my review here, in which I invent the term “post-atmospheric-blackened-doom-metal”) released on vinyl by Devouter Records not quite three months ago, and the original self-release (online and on CD) was just over four months earlier.

However, they apparently didn’t want to sit around and waste any time before getting back to work, because this morning the band announced that not only had they completed work on a new three-song EP, but that it’s all ready to be released in just thirteen days!

 

On November 1st, 2012 we’ll be releasing our latest EP, Axis, on Black Iron Records (that’s us) as a digital download via Bandcamp. We’ll include a PDF of liner notes then, but for now here’s the cover art [above] and tracklisting:

1. Axis
2. Chimera
3. The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters

 
You can be sure I’ll be bringing you more information about this as soon as I know anything new, but in the meantime you can keep an eye on the band using the assortment of links below…

 
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MAKE: blog, Facebook, Bandcamp

Carpathian Forest Frontman: “Fuck You All!!!”

Posted by valleyofsteel on

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Formed more than twenty years ago (in Norway, despite the eastern European name) and with a plentiful number of releases under their (presumably studded leather) belts, black/blackened thrash band Carpathian Forest have remained relatively quiet over the past few years.

Naturally, as is often the case when longstanding groups lapse into a period of inactivity, whispers began to circulate through the grapevine that their dissolution was imminent, as well as a variety of reasons for this turn of events — most prominently (again, as is often the case) being attributed to a communication breakdown or a falling-out among the band’s members.

Recently, though, the band have been appearing on a gradually increasing number of festival line-ups for 2013 (including a first-ever appearance in these United States!), and so it has become clear that these rumors have been exaggerated — if not outright fabricated.

 

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Coming Soon: Fen Wrapping Up Work on Third Album

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So here’s some more exciting news coming from Italian label Code666 Records: the final details are coming together for a forthcoming release by UK progressive/atmospheric black metal band Fen, which the band just finished working on — this will be their third full-length album, and also their third release through Code666.

Not only that, but Fen have also renewed their contract with the label for another three album deal!

 
Frontman The Watcher stated:

We have been happy with the way we’ve been treated by Code666 in respect of the first three albums, and were impressed by the enthusiasm that the label has always shown for Fen and the faith they have placed in us, so it was logical for us to continue a relationship that was obviously working well.

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Coming Soon: Saille Working on Sophomore Album

Posted by valleyofsteel on

 
Hey, folks. Here’s some interesting Monday afternoon reading for you — there have been some new developments in the world of Belgian melodic black metal band Saille, which I will gladly share with you now.

First and foremost, the band announced that they’ve been working in Aartrijke (Belgium)’s Shumcot Studios, alongside producer Reinier Schenk, recording their second album — the follow-up to 2011’s Irreversible Decay.

Keyboardist Dries Gaerdelen commented,

When creating our new album, I did research on and was inspired by several ancient destruction rituals. The new songs are therefore darker, faster, more aggressive and create a feeling of unease.

The lyrics, written by frontman Dennie Grondelaers, explore the history of those death rites. With the drums being recorded a while ago, we’ve all got a “recording state of mind” and have a feeling we’re creating more than just songs. We’re looking forward to unleashing our creations on the audience, both on cd and live!

 
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Kosher Komp Vol. 3 – FREE MUSIC!

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Good morning, folks! If you ever feel sluggish and unmotivated during the day, it’s probably because you didn’t start things out right — every morning routine should always start out with plenty of loud music to help the blood start flowing and the brain to start thinking.

Internet radio station Kosher Metal knows this is true, and so they’ve helpfully assembled another collection of some of the great underground music they play.

You might remember I told you about their second compilation earlier this year. That had some great stuff on it, and a few bands (Mouth of the Serpent, Sangre) that I ended up writing more about later.

Well, as of midnight last night, Kosher Komp Vol. 3 has been released and is now free for you to download!

 
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Wizard Smoke – The Tickler EP (Free Download / On Vinyl Soon)

Posted by valleyofsteel on

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Wizard Smoke – The Tickler (self-released, 28 September 2012)

 
In a world that often feels overrun by generic stoner/psychedelic metal bands, where you can hardly turn around without running into another group of hirsute Big-Muff-pedal-stompers, who use more drug references per song than an entire Cheech and Chong movie that co-stars Bill Hicks, and who often get complimented on the cool fog machine effects during their shows when in fact they don’t even use one…

I think you get the idea. Anyway, in spite of all of that, Atlanta, Georgia’s Wizard Smoke have always stood out among the crowd, to me; their output easily meeting the standards set by some of their more famous fellow southern U.S. contemporaries, as well as that of any of the similarly-named bands you might think of, either across the country or across the pond.

My deep appreciation for this group began the very first time I heard one of their songs — that being the opening track from 2009’s Live Rock in Hell, the confusingly titled “II”. The rest of that album and the 2011 follow-up The Speed of Smoke both maintain a pretty consistently high quality of material, but “II” remains among my absolute favorites across the entire genre.

I guess the point I’m trying to drive home is, if you are a fan of all things fuzzy and sludgy, and you also enjoy harsh vocals that often veer into blackened territory, you really ought to be familiar with the Wizard Smoke catalog. Lucky for you, I’ll have some helpful links later on.

But first, I want to say a few words about The Tickler, the new EP they just made available about a week and a half ago. Like everything else the band has done so far, it’s good stuff — and also like everything else they’ve released, you can download it totally free!

 
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Another Mortal Music DR Coming Soon: Monsterworks

Posted by valleyofsteel on

Well holy shit, check this out.  It’s just like they say: speak of the devil and he appears at your elbow.

In this case, “the devil” is Mortal Music‘s Digital Releases — their little gift packages containing a few tracks at a time from a particular band, and made available for free download for a limited time, eventually leading up to a full-length album from that band.

Just this afternoon I was talking about the fact that Ion Vein is getting the details straightened out for their second DR, and I had literally just hit the “Publish” button on that article, when an email suddenly popped up in my in-box telling me that Monsterworks has announced details for the release of their second DR!

 
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