Category Archives: New Releases

Get ’em While They’re Hot: Deep in the Mire Offering Three Free Songs

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Good evening!  I usually don’t get a chance to post anything on Sundays, but I was just listening to these songs I downloaded the other day from Leodensian prog-rockers Deep in the Mire, and I just felt that I had to toss this little announcement out there, so you could check them out, too.  You’re welcome.

These guys have been posting recording updates on their Facebook page for the past couple months, and making vague references to giving away free downloads during much of that time as well.  Then, a couple days ago, I got an email from bassist Sidge Rushton, who said:

Long ago (maybe FOUR MONTHS??!!) we promised you all some free DITM music. After numerous technical difficulties we worked out this was the best way to bring it too you.

 Go here:

http://soundcloud.com/deep-in-the-mire

You can listen to each song in full before you download it. If you want it click on the little downward facing arrow next to ‘add to set’ and it should start downloading. Up there is ‘Again’, ‘Biganeha’ and new single ‘The Moth’ all for free.

Download and enjoy and feel free to send the song to anyone you want.

Love and respect from the DITM Tribe.

I have to warn you, the downloads are pretty large, because these are WAVs rather than MP3s.  Of course, the upside to that is the sound quality is much better.  Also, as stated above, you have the opportunity to listen to the streams on Soundcloud before deciding to download.  In fact, I’m embedding the player for each of the three songs below, for your listening convenience.

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Help Make Iron Atrocity v.2 a Reality!

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You might remember I talked about this project before — back in November I posted about some upcoming Molasses Barge shows which included a benefit show in Decmeber to support the Iron Atrocity v.2 compilation.

If you don’t remember, Iron Atrocity is a digital download (available free by visiting www.ironatrocity.com) or CD compilation (I do not know if any copies are still available, but it was given out for free at shows associated with Innervenus or any of the bands on the CD) which highlights some of the best in Pittsburgh-area metal music today.

Well, the second compilation in the series is currently in the works, and the folks at Innervenus are trying to raise a little extra capital to get this thing off the ground…
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Out Today: Wykked Wytch – The Ultimate Deception

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Wykked Wytch – The Ultimate Deception (14 February 2012, Goomba Music)

Happy Valentine’s Day, readers! Hugs and kisses and hearts and flowers, and all that. I don’t know if they have anything like this wherever you live, but here, February 14th is supposed to be some sort of commemoration for the martyred Roman-Catholic Saint Valentinus (although various accounts differ as to which particular saint named Valentinus or Valentine the day is named for, or even whether he was actually a real person in the first place), but of course in typical fashion, any links to a religious observence that originally existed have long since gone out the window (just like Easter turned into a day for little kids to get fat eating bunnies made out of chocolate), and nowadays it’s mostly just a time where people are expected to spend a bunch of money on cards and candy or fancy dinners for their significant others. At least, if they want to keep that person as a significant other.

So, in keeping with this tradition, I’ve got a lovely Valentines Day gift for you, Dear Reader. It’s a heart-shaped box filled with dulcet melodies and harmonious sonnets; love songs with lyrics so beautiful you might just be moved to tears.

Yeah, fuck all that. Actually what I’ve got for you is a review of a record being released today on Goomba Music, called The Ultimate Deception, which is the fifth album by Floridian extreme metal band Wykked Wytch — whose core is as black as the crispy, charred remains of a martyr who’d been burnt at the stake.

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Get ’em While They’re Hot: Kosher Komp Vol. 2 Now Available!

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Hey folks, just a quick heads-up about a huge FREE metal compilation that was just released by the folks at Kosher Metal.  They are an internet radio station that plays nothing but metal music.  In case you are wondering about the name, there are multiple meanings of the word; in this case, I’m pretty sure they are referring to metal that has been brined with large quantities of garlic.  Or you can read their explanation here.

Anyway, here’s the official trailer for the compilation, and further down you can see more information, including where to download it, and all that fun stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXq_mYbXcIQ

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Out Tomorrow: Kruds/Rampant Decay – Split 7″

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Kruds/Rampant Decay – Split 7″ (3 February 2012, PATAC Records)

Particularly observant readers may have noticed a slight change to the layout of the blog this week.  For those of you who read the mobile version, or get updates by email or RSS, or those who have just discovered the Valley, I’ll give you a hint.  For the first time ever in the extensive (coming up on four months soon!) history of the VoS, I’ve added an advertisement to the sidebar of the page.  Now, before you all panic, or start writing me scathing emails about how I’ve sold out or whatever, let me explain.  First of all, in order to sell out, I’m pretty sure technically you have to be making some money — and I hardly have the volume of traffic where that would be very plausible.  No, I’ve basically just put in a link to PATAC Records because it’s good to support small, independant companies, and in particular I have a lot of respect for their business model.  Essentially, it works like this: all of their releases are available for you to listen to or download for free (or for whatever price you think they are worth), and when you find something you really like, you can buy it on CD or vinyl (or grab one of the bands’ t-shirts or whatever).  Simple, but effective.

So anyway, the point of all of this is basically just to introduce the new release I am listening to today.  This 9-minute, 6-track split between Kruds of San Antonio, TX, and Rampant Decay from Providence, RI, has been available for streaming or downloading since 17 August 2011, but PATAC has announced that it will be available to purchase on 7″ record starting tomorrow (3 February 2012).  See below for how to grab the free download, but this one’s already worth the purchase price of the physical copy just for that awesome cover art of a hippie getting scalped by a machete, amirite??

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Just Released: Mondvolland – Pestvogel

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Mondvolland – Pestvogel EP (Self-released, 28 January 2012)

I’ve learned that internet radio can really be a blessing during a long, boring day at work. There are stations out there that specialize in literally any genre or style you can imagine. I can usually find one that suits whatever mood I’m in on any given day, and as an added bonus, I often end up discovering new bands I never heard before. Whenever I hear a song I really like, I usually stop what I’m doing to search for that band on Facebook so I can “like” them and then keep informed about what they’re up to.

This is how I came across a band called Mondvolland; once upon a time I was in a folk-metal mood (when this happens, Warrior Radio is usually my drug of choice), and I heard some excellent quality blackened folk, which turned out to be by this Dutch group.

Fast-forward to December, and I started seeing updates from the band about some new material they were recording. I asked them at that time to please let me know when they had anything finished, because I was anxious to hear it. Well as it turns out, I didn’t have to wait long, because this week I got an email from bassist/vocalist/co-founder Mickeal who told me they had just put out a press release: to give fans a taste of the new direction the band are taking, they decided to release a 3-song EP to download for free!

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

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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!

 

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Now Available for Pre-Order: (drama) – Zastor Tišine

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(drama) – Zastor Tišine (Altsphere Production, 24 February 2012)

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Fuck me, I can’t seem to keep my eyes open.  I’ve probably had about five cups of coffee today, but still, here I sit staring at this computer screen and it keeps going out of focus.  Why does the last day of work before a break– especially a nice, long holiday weekend– always seem to drag on forever?  Not that things will get any better when I leave here; I am completely dreading the fact that later tonight, and probably much of tomorrow as well, I will have to venture out into the world of holiday shopping!  Suffering through the world’s worst drivers (they always seem to come out in hordes this time of year, don’t they?) to struggle to find a place to park; pushing through huge crowds of horribly annoying people to get the chance to spend money I can’t really afford on a bunch of crap that my family members don’t really need anyhow… it’s enough to seriously bring on an anxiety attack just thinking about it!

Of course, that’s why the past few days I have been cheering myself (and hopefully some of you out there in internet-land, as well) with great big heaps of awesomely depressive doom metal.  Today’s post will complete the trilogy I described earlier (part I | part II), as we voyage to Croatia to check out the debut LP of a band from Zagreb called (drama), which is entitled Zastor Tišine (Croatian for The Curtain [or Shroud] of Silence).

Following a 2006 demo, the band actually recorded this full-length back in 2010 and made it available through various digital outlets earlier this year.  I can’t remember, now, where I first became aware of them, but I know I heard one of their songs somewhere; I enjoyed it enough to be willing to put in the effort necessary to track down more info about the band– which was no small task!  You try Googling the word “drama” – with or without the parentheses, it makes no difference – and see how easy it is to wade through the billions of results!  (By the way, for your benefit I’ve included a list of links at the bottom of this post, so you can have a much easier time learning more about the band and keeping informed about them.  You’re welcome.) Continue reading →

Just Released: Ever Circling Wolves – Chapter III

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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 →

Out Tomorrow: Phase Reverse – Phase Reverse

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Phase Reverse – Phase Reverse (Aural Music, 16 December 2011)

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If you enjoyed yesterday’s dose of heavy rock with a metallic edge, now I’d like to introduce you to Phase Reverse, the debut full-length from Athenian trio Phase Reverse. Originally available in a limited Greece-only release in December 2009, the album is now being made available to audiences worldwide on CD and digital download via Italian label Aural Music. Continue reading →