by BBG

Seven Sisters of Sleep at A389 2011 (more by BBG)

Seven Sisters of Sleep (mems Tafkata) are two for two with releases in 2011, dropping both their excellent debut and their similarly crushing split with Children of God this year. Get both at A389. Though no full East Coast trek has been planned, Seven Sisters of Sleep will join the great All Pigs Must Die, labelmates Low Places, and NYC's Grudges for an NYC date at Acheron on 1/20, just a few days after the always awesome A389 Anniversary show at Sonar in Baltimore with Eyehategod, Gehenna, and many others.

All Pigs Must Die was recently given an "honorable mention" in Pitchfork's top metal of 2011 list (though no shout out for Seven Sisters of Sleep). Check out the full list, along with some streaming APMD material and a few videos below...

Continue reading "Pitchfork lists the best metal of 2011, All Pigs Must Die & Seven Sisters of Sleep schedule a Brooklyn show"

by BBG

We typically don't like covers. And as much as we love Joy Division, we think the JD influence is overdone. Despite those two incredibly thwarting factors, the brutal reality here is that out of real life tragedy was born the most honest collection of covers we have heard. Crooked Necks leaves the spirit of Joy Division completely intact, while running it through their own highly innovative filter. -[Handmade Birds]

Though Crooked Necks contains Lurker, alumnus of a zillion bands of the blackened ilk, CN only utilizes that brooding atmosphere on their drug-hazed goth/shoegaze/post-punk/slowcore LP Alright is Exactly What It Isn't which is out now. Listen to "Taste The Sounds" from that album below.

Crooked Necks takes the same approach on the above-referenced Joy Divison covers EP entitled Something Must Break. It's five covers of classics by the UK post-punk godfathers that expand on the impending dread that marked the releases of the ultimately doomed band. The fascinating reimagination was quickly snapped up when released on limited cassette, but is now available on vinyl for the first time. Stream it in full below, and order your copy of the LP and the EP at Handmade Birds. While you're at it, check out their split with the eclectic (and awesome) Circle of Ouroboros as well.

Those songs and more below...

Continue reading "Crooked Necks cover Joy Division on limited EP (stream it) (and check out their new LP of originals too)"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Portal - "Larvae" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Pelican - "Strung Up From The Sky" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Heims - "W.O.F." (Edit) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Heims - "Heims" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Merrimack - "In The Halls Of White Death" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Gnaw Their Tongues - "Rife With Teeth" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Mammoth Grinder - "Frozen" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Mammoth Grinder - "Total Extinction" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Converge - "Dark Horse" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Kowloon Walled City - "Clockwork" (MP3)

Yes, that is a clock on his head.

Portal is currently prepping their new album, Swarth, for release via Profound Lore on 10/20. For the unaware, Portal is definitely an odd duck (in the best way possible!), as the Aussies employ discordant chord patterns ala French BM masterminds Deathspell Omega, and a generally discomforting atmosphere abounds. Dig on the extremely promising "Larvae" from Swarth available above! The abstract blackened death metal band from Australia is also one of a few bands that have already been announced for Maryland Deathfest 2010 along with additions like Gorguts, Asphyx, Wolfbrigade, Gridlink, Impaled, and many many noteable others! Full MDF list is below.

Mammoth Grinder has released their new LP, Extinction of Humanity, which is available via Cyclopean Records. The band, which (as we know) shares members with Hatred Surge & Iron Age, combines an old school death metal approach of Entombed / Dismember with the charge of hardcore. Their new LP delivers on the promises made on No Results. Check out a pair of MP3s from Extinction of Humanity available for download above!

As previously discussed, Gnaw Their Tongues are releasing All The Dread Magnificence Of Perversity on 9/8 via Crucial Blast. Check out a song from the LP above, "Rife With Teeth".

In case you somehow missed it, the new Converge track, "Dark Horse" premiered on Stereogum last week. Axe To Fall has been in heavy rotation since I received a copy of this bad boy a few weeks ago, and I think that this could be their best record since Jane Doe. Check out the MP3 above and judge for yourself.

Pelican

Their show with sunn O))) / Earth / Eagle Twin is little more than three weeks away (tix), and now Pelican has dropped a new MP3 for download from their LP, What We All Come To Need. Dig on "Strung Up From The Sky" above. Helmed by Chris Common (These Arms Are Snakes) in July and featuring appearances from Greg Anderson (sunn O))), Goatsnake, etc), Aaron Turner (Isis), Ben Verellen (Harkonen, Helms Alee), and Alan Epley (Life And Times), the new album is set to blast off at their new home, Southern Lord. Look for Pelican to hit the road with Black Cobra and Disappearer for a fall tour. Black Cobra also recently signed to Southern Lord.

As previously discussed, Kowloon Walled City, is currently prepping their new LP Gambling On The Richter Scale for release 9/29 on The Perpetual Motion Machine. Preorders for the new Kowloon Walled City are up here, but meanwhile, dig on one of the tracks from the LP, "Clockwork", above.

More on Teitanblood, Heims, Slow Southern Steel, Rise & Fall, Municipal Waste, Circle Of Dead Children, and many more as This Week in Metal continues...

Continue reading "This Week In METAL (09/01/09)"