Category Archives: New Releases

Coming Soon: Krampus Reveal Title, Artwork, Release Date for Debut Full-length!

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Well, good morning!  I’m still half-asleep, or perhaps even less-than-half, but this little piece of news grabbed my attention anyway…

Italian folk-metal band Krampus, whom we’ve discussed in terms of their two EPs from 2011 (here and here), have been working on putting together their first LP.  Today they’ve unveiled the cover art (see above) as well as tracklist for the upcoming album!

Survival of the Fittest, which seems aptly named when you consider their typical subject matter of the eventual reassertion of nature’s dominance over humans and their technology, will be available on CD and digital download through NoiseArt Records on 24 August 2012.

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The “Signmeto” Unsigned Band of the Week: Scent of Remains

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Good evening, blog readers of the world! Another new week has begun, which means another trip to the “Sign Me to Roadrunner Records” website to find some new music! Remember last week when we were too hung over from a long holiday weekend and I said I had skipped over some great heavy bands in favor of something mellower and more relaxing? Well now we’re going to back it up and revisit one of the more brutal metal bands…

Scent of Remains, from Knoxville, in the eastern end of Tennessee, play some pretty heavy-hitting music that hovers somewhere between melodic death metal and a more thrash-groove-oriented style. They’ve been at it for about three years now, during which time they’ve released one full-length CD, as well as a recent EP of teaser tracks from a second album due to be released in the near future.

 
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Free Music Alert: New Compilation from ThrashHead Magazine

Posted by valleyofsteel on

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Hey, Readers!  How are you on this fine Saturday evening?  Just wanted to throw up this quick update to let you know about a great new collection of FREE music you can download right now from ThrashHead Magazine!

This was brought to my attention when Armor Column posted about it on their Facebook page — the collection A Gallery of Rogues includes a song of theirs, plus a whole bunch of other great bands, like: Hellbastard, Helm, Humungus, Amebix, Arkham, Rezet, Cormorant, Ramming Speed, Out of Tune, Hell’s Thrash Horsemen, Resistant Culture, Conan, Hellkrusher, Impalers, Suicide State, Occultist, Hot Graves, SMD, Toe Tag, Slomatics, Monger, Insane, Rat Damage, Worshit, Juventud Podrida, Cain, Aphatos, Fucktard, Krang, Hollow Leg, Church of Disgust, Violentor, and Randomorder!

Grab it here:

Enjoy…

 
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ThrashHead: website, Facebook

Get ’em While They’re Hot: The Fourth (and Final) New Vesperia Song is Available for FREE!

Posted by valleyofsteel on

STOP! You should totally check out THIS POST instead. Vesperia‘s entire The Swordsman demo is now available to download for free; the full details are included there.

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Out Now: Young Hunter – Stone Tools (Touring with Cormorant!)

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Young Hunter – Stone Tools (18 May 2012, Self-released)

 
A couple days ago, I saw an announcement that Cormorant would be heading out on an eight-night tour all along the west coast. (If you need a refresher on that band, check out this review of their latest album Dwellings, which incorporates a discussion of their entire discography.) Now, as they operate independently and self-fund all their activities, they don’t get the chance to do shows all that often, so for them to announce a multi-date tour is a pretty big deal. (Full details are included later in this post.) When I read that all the arrangements were made in collaboration with another DIY band, Young Hunter (who are also appearing on almost all of the scheduled dates), it made me want to check these guys out as well.
 
I’m glad I did, and now I’m going to share them with you — so you can be glad too.
 
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In Case You Missed It: Vattnet Viskar – Self-Titled EP

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Vattnet Viskar – Vattnet Viskar (15 March 2012, Broken Limbs Recordings)

 
So I decided it was time to reach into my great big pile o’ stuff waiting to be reviewed, to find something to write about today, when the name Vattnet Viskar jumped out at me. Since they released their self-titled EP through Broken Limbs back in March, I’ve been seeing a lot of buzz surrounding this band, culminating in the announcement last week that they had been signed to Century Media Records.

Prior to this recent EP, the band had self-released a demo tape in 2011 in extremely limited quantities (only 30 copies were made, according to my research). But, before you go scouring eBay, don’t dispair: since that time they’ve made that recording available for free download; I’ll hook you up with the details at the end of this post.

Anyway, then the EP came out on 10″ vinyl and CD and within about two months this relatively obscure band from New Hampshire was inking a deal with one of the biggest labels in the metal world. So what’s up with all the hype surrounding this American band with a Swedish name (it translates to “Whispering Water”)? You’re about to find out. And pay close attention, because these guys are about to get huge. No, astronomical. Trust me.

 
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Upcoming Show: Catch The Whiskey Holler for Free at Market Square

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The Whiskey Holler – Hive Songs (6 April 2012, Self-released)

Good morning, readers. If you don’t mind (and actually, even if you do — tough shit, this is my blog), I’m going to step outside the realm of “metal and heavy music” for a second time this week, and talk about another “guilty pleasure”…

My wife and I have developed somewhat of an agreement whenever we’re in the car. We sort of take turns with the driving duties, and consequently we also alternate who will be the passenger. Over time, the job of passenging has evolved to include having control over the radio/CD player. Since there’s very rarely anything worthwhile on the radio, this usually means being responsible for selecting CDs for the duration of us traveling.

Now, we do have a bit of an overlap in our musical tastes, but that isn’t always the case — there are plenty of things I like that she might not have chosen, and vice versa. But after repeated exposure, I’ve discovered that we each have been adapting and expanding our comfort zones a bit, in terms of what we listen to. For example, with her obsession over neo-folk/bluegrass styles, I’ve begun to develop an appreciation for some of this material as well.

So recently when I discovered the the Pittsburgh-area band The Whiskey Holler, they really grabbed my attention.
 
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Get ’em While They’re Hot: Download Batillus Tracks from Recent Split LP for FREE!

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Batillus/Whitehorse – Split LP (20 May 2012, Vendetta Records)

Good afternoon! Here's some exciting news that just came my way recently. I haven’t talked a whole lot about Brooklyn post-doom heavyweights Batillus, although I did name their album Furnace as one of my “Top 11 of 2011.” Nevertheless, ever since I discovered the band sometime in the early part of last year, I’ve been a big fan of their immensely powerful doom’n’gloom soundscapes.

Well, just recently, Vendetta Records has released a 12″ split that also includes Whitehorse from Melbourne, Australia. To be honest, this is my first time hearing of that band, but anything that involves Batillus is guaranteed to catch my attention. The LP is now available for purchase from the Bis Auf’s Messer webstore, or you can pick up a copy directly from the two bands when they head out on tour together next month (see a full list of dates later in this post). The first 100 copies will be on a limited-edition white vinyl; all the rest will be available in standard black.

However, the two tracks from the Batillus side of the record can be downloaded for free (or whatever price you choose to pay) from their Bandcamp page —

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Contest Alert: Win a Copy of the New Dying Fetus CD!

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The new album from death metal gargantuans Dying Fetus, Reign Supreme (their seventh full-length), is scheduled for release on 19 June (US), 22 June (Germany and Benelux), or 25 June (worldwide) through Relapse Records.

However, thanks to Metalhit.com and Metal Maniacs (in cooperation with Relapse), three lucky winners will get a free copy of that CD along with a sticker…

All you need to do is click here, and fill out your name and address!

Good luck!

 
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Dying Fetus: Facebook, Myspace, Youtube
  Pre-order Reign Supreme here!
Relapse Records: website, Facebook
Metal Maniacs: website, Myspace
Metalhit: website, Facebook, Myspace

Contest Alert: Win Municipal Waste Tickets (PLUS Free Downloads!)

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Guess what! After last week’s post about the upcoming Municipal Waste/Toxic Holocaust split (still available for pre-order from Tankcrimes), I got word from Scion A/V that they will be giving away a pair of tickets to each and every date on the current Municipal Waste U.S. tour (with Black Tusk and 3 Inches of Blood)!

I apologize to those who live in North Carolina and Georgia, since the shows in those areas have already taken place; also, if you live in Florida, the winners for tonight’s show (29 May) in Orlando and tomorrow’s show (30 May) in Pensacola have already been drawn. Sorry!

But for the rest of the country, take a look at those tour dates (listed in last week’s post), then check out these simple directions:
 

  • Read the official rules here
  • Follow Scion A/V on Twitter here
  • Tweet this message: “@SCIONAV @MWTour [date of show]”

 
And that’s all there is to it. The randomly selected winner for each date will be notified one day before the show.

 
Just in case the chance to see them in concert for free isn’t enough for you, there’s even MORE Municipal Waste news… how about a pair of tracks for you to download ABSOLUTELY FREE?
 
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