Southern Lord presents Gloom Ballet, the debut LP by Los Angeles-based dark punk act, THE WRAITH. As the anxiously awaited album nears release this Friday, it is now streaming in its entirety exclusively through Kerrang! Accompanying the piece, the band’s own Paul Rogers provides a detailed feature on the history of THE WRAITH and their place in the LA punk circuit.
Influenced by the likes of Killing Joke, T.S.O.L., and Samhain THE WRAITH‘s post-apocalyptic Gloom Ballet delivers twelve infectious tracks. The album was recorded by Puscifer guitarist/producer Mat Mitchell, mastered at Audiosiege by Brad Boatright (From Ashes Rise, Tragedy, Alaric), completed with artwork by Rebecca Sauve.
Stream THE WRAITH’s Gloom Ballet exclusively through Kerrang! at THIS LOCATION.
Gloom Ballet will be released worldwide via Southern Lord on November 29th. Find preorders at the label webshop HERE and Bandcamp HERE.
THE WRAITH was founded by imposing frontman Davey Bales, formerly of Virginia peace-punks Lost Tribe, and Kaz Alvis shortly after they both (separately) washed up in Los Angeles. Their irresistibly distinctive sound – skeletal basslines and tribal beats propelling Alvis’ textured swathes beneath Bales’ poetic, anguished bark – immediately gained a following, with homemade demo Comatic Romanceracking-up thousands of YouTube views. Convulsive, chaotic West Coast US shows honed the songs that became THE WRAITH‘s lauded 2017 EP, Shadow Flag.
Several videos and lineup changes later – the band now completed by former Blink-182 drummer Scott Raynor and Brit bassist Paul Rogers – their evocative songwriting and pure-punk authenticity earned the ear of Mat Mitchell, who has worked with Love And Rockets, The Flaming Lips, Meat Puppets, King Crimson, and more. Mitchell recorded the band’s debut LP, Gloom Ballet, and earlier this year, the band signed to Southern Lord Recordings for the worldwide release of the album.
Los Angeles-based rock trio THE PRIMALS – founded by vocalist/guitarist John Henry (also of Darkest Hour), bassist Chad Fjerstad (formerly of Dead To Fall), and drummer Andrew Black (formerly of The Explosion) – has just embarked on their latest tour, supporting Cave In and Helms Alee. The tour begins tonight in Houston and runs through Dallas, Austin, Mesa, San Diego, Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle through November 19th. Watch for additional tour dates to be announced.
THE PRIMALS‘ debut album All Love Is True Love is out now on Southern Lord. Featuring ten infectious tracks produced by John Reis (Rocket From The Crypt, Drive Like Jehu, Hot Snakes) and completed with cover art by Laura K. Giron, the band’s fuzzy execution is equal slabs ripping guitar heaviness and infectious pop sensibility on All Love Is True Love. Concocted by a seasoned group of thrashers with a historical backbone in the D.C. punk community, the disintegrated spirit of grunge rises from the ashes, revitalized in a new light.
Stream THE PRIMALS’ All Love Is True LoveHERE and see the videos for “Fortune & Sons” HERE and “Hello Cruel World” HERE.
All Love Is True Love is available on CD, LP, and digital platforms, available at the Southern Lord US label webshop HERE, the European webshop HERE, and at Bandcamp HERE.
THE PRIMALS w/ Cave In, Helms Alee: 11/08/2019 White Oak Music Hall – Houston, TX 11/09/2019 Club Dada – Dallas, TX 11/10/2019 Parish – Austin, TX 11/12/2019 The Nile – Mesa, AZ 11/13/2019 Soda Bar – San Diego, CA 11/14/2019 Chain Reaction – Anaheim, CA 11/15/2019 The EchoPlex – Los Angeles, CA 11/16/2019 Slim’s – San Francisco, CA 11/18/2019 Star Theater – Portland, OR 11/19/2019 El Corazon – Seattle, WA
Washington, DC metalcore pioneers DARKEST HOUR announce a run of West Coast tour dates for December, with a nine-city co-headlining tour alongside Unearth.
Offers DARKEST HOUR, “2019, we are not done with you yet. Just added some shows on the West Coast with our dudes in Unearth! We have seen all the amazing feedback from you all, and we have listened. Both bands will be playing FULL headlining, rip’n, face melting sets. We have had a ton of fun all over the world with Unearth and we are stoked to slide these dates in before the end of the year. We have some huge things in store for 2020 but if you live in these cities come out and party like its 1999 with us and Unearth!”
A month later, DARKEST HOUR will kick off 2020 with a return to Europe for a sixteen-city special 25th anniversary tour, where they’ll be joined by special guests Fallujah, Bloodlet, Une Misere, and Lowest Creature.
The band comments, “It is with extreme excitement that we announce what we hope to be one of many tour’s next year celebrating our 25th anniversary! Over these past twenty-five years we have toured with both new and established bands and have always worked hard to make our tour packages diverse and interesting. This tour is in keeping with that tradition. Fallujah is ripping progressive death metal who have had our attention for a while, can’t wait to see these riffs live. Bloodlet is a very special band to us. One of our early influences, it is EASY to say we would not be a band (or at least not the same band) without their influence. We grew up going to their shows and it’s a joy to be able to share the stage with them. We got to see Une Misere play this summer and were impressed, insanely heavy, Icelandic mosh of the highest form. Lowest Creature is a killer blend of classic metal elements we all love translated with a new and distinctly Swedish twist. Oh, and you know we will have a few surprises planned for this set special 25th anniversary set. See you in the pit!”
Produced by Kurt Ballou (Converge), DARKEST HOUR‘s eleventh LP, Godless Prophets & The Migrant Flora, continues to solidify the band’s legacy as a major metal powerhouse. Raw, complex, melodic, yet cutting with razor blade precision, Godless Prophets & The Migrant Flora is a fierce album which shows the long-running band as lethal and ravenous as ever. Following its 217 release through Southern Lord, the band has continued to tour regularly throughout North America and Europe.
Godless Prophets & The Migrant Flora is available on CD, black vinyl LP, picture disc LP, and all digital platforms via Southern Lord; find ordering options at the label’s webstore HERE, via Bandcamp HERE, and through all digital providers.
DARKEST HOUR Tour Dates: Co-Headlining West Coast US Tour w/ Unearth: 12/06/2019 El Corazon – Seattle, WA 12/07/2019 Dante’s – Portland, OR 12/09/2019 The Boardwalk – Orangevale, CA 12/10/2019 Club 1720 – Los Angeles, CA 12/11/2019 Brick By Brick – San Diego, CA 12/12/2019 Pubrock – Scottsdale, AZ 12/13/2019 601 Fremont – Las Vegas, NV 12/14/2019 Mesa Theater – Grand Junction, CO 12/15/2019 The Roxy Theatre – Denver, CO 25th Anniversary Tour w/ Fallujah, Bloodlet, Une Misere, Lowest Creature: 1/17/2020 Weiße Rose – Karlsruhe, DE 1/18/2020 Kavka – Antwerp, BE 1/19/2020 Petit Bain – Paris, FR 1/20/2020 Rebellion – Manchester, UK 1/21/2020 Underworld – London, UK 1/22/2020 Willem Twee – Den Bosch, NL 1/23/2020 Conne Island – Leipzig, DE 1/24/2020 Logo – Hamburg, DE 1/25/2020 Bi Nuu – Berlin, DE 1/26/2020 Hydrozagadka – Warsaw, PL 1/27/2020 Arena – Vienna, AU 1/28/2020 Futurum – Prague, CZ 1/29/2020 Dürer Kert – Budapest, HU 1/30/2020 Backstage – Munich, DE 1/31/2020 Kiff – Aarau, CH 2/01/2020 Matrix – Bochum, DE
“The quest that DARKEST HOUR, the DC melodeath warriors, have been on for more than two decades is one that is wholly about tearing faces off with precision, intent, and riffs. The band’s most recent album, last year’s great Godless Prophets & The Migrant Flora, showcased them knowing exactly what kind of music they wanted to make and how to make it.” – Noisey
“This album is full of death metal riffs, savage hardcore pummeling in drums, and melodic beauty, making for a terrific heavy record. Godless Prophets & The Migrant Flora is a work that feels like the good ole days of outstanding hardcore that meets today’s brilliant technicality and soaring metal. This is unlike anything that DARKEST HOUR has presented before in their discography, and dare I say it: their best work. 9.5/10″ – Metal Injection
“As rich and ferocious as it is blessedly authentic…a freshly bloodthirsty DARKEST HOUR with a gritty edge and a fretwork at the forefront…With some of the band’s early spirit restored, some newly memorable songwriting skills, and superbly euphoric guitarwork, it would seem that DARKEST HOUR plus Kurt Ballou plus Kris Norris is as killer a formula as expected.” – Metal Hammer
“They’re firmly back on the horse here with a collection of acerbic aural hand grenades…the quintet set about ripping you limb from limb from the outset…A ripper.” – Rock Sound
North American hardcore collective SECT – formed by longstanding scene veterans from Earth Crisis, Cursed, Catharsis, Racetraitor, Day Of Suffering, and more – has announced new West Coast tour dates for the fall months in support of their third LP, Blood Of TheBeasts, which the band surprise-released through Southern Lord in recent weeks.
Following a recent run of East Coast dates, SECT will now hit the West Coast in support of the new LP. October 11th through 13th will see them doing a weekend in California with shows in San Diego, Fullerton, and Berkeley. A new wave of dates has also just been issued, as SECT will tackle the Pacific Northwest from November 8th through 10th, where they’ll play in Seattle, Vancouver, and Portland. See all confirmed dates below and watch for new tour dates to post through the end of the year.
Stream SECT’s Blood Of The Beasts in its entirety at Bandcamp HERE and see the video for “Like Animals” HERE.
SECT Tour Dates: California October 2019 w/ Power Alone: 10/11/2019 Che Café – San Diego, CA 10/12/2019 Programme Skate & Sound – Fullerton, CA 10/13/2019 924 Gilman – Berkeley, CA Pacific Northwest 2019: 11/08/2019 Fusion Café – Seattle, WA 11/09/2019 CBDB’s – Vancouver, BC 11/10/2019 Watershed – Portland, OR
Comprised of hardcore acts from across the US and Canada dating back to the early 1990s, the members of SECT are life-long committed scene veterans, including vocalist Chris Colohan (Cursed, Burning Love, Left For Dead), guitarists James Chang (Catharsis, Undying) and Scott Crouse (Earth Crisis, The Path Of Resistance), bassist Steve Hart (Day Of Suffering), and drummer Andy Hurley (Racetraitor, The Damned Things). The band coalesces their influences into a gnarled, caustic, metallic alloy of pulverizing hardcore intensity. Blood Of The Beasts LP was recorded at GodCity with Kurt Ballou (Converge, Nails, All Pigs Must Die) who also performed clean guitar on the song “Skies Wide Shut.” The infamous Dre Black also provides guest vocals on the song “Cirrhosis Of Youth.”
With the release of Blood Of The Beasts, vocalist Chris Colohan calls the album, “ten reflections on the myth of progress, the new old tribalism, the single face of all subjugations, the broken promise of automation, love, loss and obsolescence, set against the dying light of a better tomorrow.”
Blood Of The Beasts is out now on CD, LP, and all digital platforms through Southern Lord. Find options at the US label webshop HERE, European webshop HERE, and Bandcamp HERE.
Next week, Southern Lord will decimate the metal underworld with the release of Beyond The Wall Of Desolation, the debut LP by Massachusetts-based HIGH COMMAND. With their album about to invade the public, the band has just posted a run of Eastern North American Fall tour dates with fellow crossover outfit Enforced.
The eight tracks on HIGH COMMAND‘s Beyond The Wall Of Desolation deliver an onslaught of searing thrash/hardcore aggression. The album explodes with the band’s ravenous delivery, magnified by the powerful recording which took place at Machines With Magnets (Daughters, The Body, Lingua Ignota), and mastering job courtesy of Brad Boatright at Audiosiege (Obituary, Integrity, Black Breath).
Following their extensive tour with Spirit Adrift over the summer, HIGH COMMAND announces their next new live excursion in support of Beyond The Wall Of Desolation, this time with Virginia-based Enforced. Beginning October 18th in Enforced’s hometown of Richmond, the At The Walls Of Desolation Tour 2019 will bulldoze northward through the Northeast US and into Canada before coming to a smoldering finale in HIGH COMMAND‘s hometown of Worcester on November 2nd.
HIGH COMMAND declares, “As lightning strikes beneath the crimson moon an unholy alliance of sonic devastation has been forged. Gather warriors! Harness the power of steel! For soon we unleash a vehement assault across the eastern realm…”
Southern Lord will release Beyond The Wall Of Desolation on CD, LP, and digital next Friday, September 27th. Find preorders at the label webshop HERE and at Bandcamp HERE.
HIGH COMMAND At The Walls Of Desolation Tour 2019 w/ Enforced: 10/18/2019 Wonderland – Richmond, VA 10/19/2019 Maywood – Raleigh, NC 10/20/2019 Raindogs – Jacksonville, FL 10/21/2019 Night Moves – Tallahassee, FL 10/22/2019 Poor Boys – New Orleans, LA 10/23/2019 The Firehouse – Birmingham, AL 10/24/2019 Caledonia Lounge – Athens, GA 10/25/2019 Hi Tone – Memphis, TN 10/26/2019 Subterranean – Chicago, IL 10/27/2019 North End Yacht Club – Cincinnati, OH 10/28/2019 Ottawa Tavern – Toledo, MI 10/29/2019 Rock Room – Pittsburgh, PA 10/30/2019 See Scape – Toronto, ON 10/31/2019 Sugar City – Buffalo, NY 11/01/2019 Piranha Bar – Montreal, QC 11/02/2019 The Raven – Worcester, MA
Review copies of Beyond The Wall Of Desolation are now available. For interviews and coverage of HIGH COMMAND in The Americas contact dave@earsplitcompoud.com and all others contact lauren@rarelyunable.com.
North American hardcore collective SECT surprises fans today with the release of their new album Blood Of The Beasts, available now via Southern Lord. The entire record is now streaming in its entirety. SECT also today issues a video for the track “Like Animals” in conjunction with the album’s release.
Comprised of hardcore acts from across the US and Canada dating back to the early 1990s, the members of SECT are life-long committed scene veterans, including vocalist Chris Colohan (Cursed, Burning Love, Left For Dead), guitarists James Chang (Catharsis, Undying) and Scott Crouse (Earth Crisis, The Path Of Resistance), bassist Steve Hart (Day Of Suffering), and drummer Andy Hurley (Racetraitor, The Damned Things). The band coalesces their influences into a gnarled, caustic, metallic alloy of pulverizing hardcore intensity.
As with their previous album, No Cure For Death, SECT‘s Blood Of The Beasts LP was recorded at GodCity with Kurt Ballou (Converge, Nails, All Pigs Must Die) who also performed clean guitar on the song “Skies Wide Shut.” The infamous Dre Black also provides guest vocals on the song “Cirrhosis Of Youth.”
Stream SECT’s Blood Of The Beasts in its entirety at Bandcamp HERE and see the Reid Haithcock-directed “Like Animals” video HERE.
With the release of Blood Of The Beasts, vocalist Chris Colohan calls the album, “ten reflections on the myth of progress, the new old tribalism, the single face of all subjugations, the broken promise of automation, love, loss and obsolescence, set against the dying light of a better tomorrow.”
Blood Of The Beasts is out now on CD, LP, and all digital platforms through Southern Lord. Find options at the US label webshop HERE, European webshop HERE, and Bandcamp HERE.
Blood Of The Beasts Track Listing:
Like Animals
You Too Will Scatter
Wait
Domestic
Terminus
Redundant Gods
Broken & Untenable
The Blankest Cheque
Cirrhosis Of Youth
Skies Wide Shut
SECT has confirmed two East Coast shows directly in conjunction with the album’s release. This weekend they play Brooklyn tomorrow, Saturday, August 31st, followed by a show in the nation’s capital Sunday, September 1st. SECT has also announced a trio of California shows in San Diego, Fullerton, and Berkeley October 11th through 13th. Watch for additional tour actions to be announced in the weeks ahead.
SECT Tour Dates: 8/31/2019 Saint Vitus Bar – Brooklyn, NY 9/01/2019 The Pinch – Washington, DC 10/11/2019 Che Café – San Diego, CA 10/12/2019 Programme Skate & Sound – Fullerton, CA 10/13/2019 924 Gilman – Berkeley, CA
SUNN O))) will release Pyroclasts through Southern Lord on October 25th. The album’s cover art, track listing, and a trailer have been issued.
The Pyroclasts album is the result of a daily practice which was regularly performed each morning, or evening during the two week Life Metal sessions at Electrical Audio during July 2018, when all of the days musical participants would gather and work through a twelve-minute improvised modal drone at the start and or end of the day’s work. The piece performed was timed with a stopwatch and tracked to two-inch tape, it was an exercise and a chance to dig into a deep opening or closing of the day’s session in a deep musical way with all of the participants. To connect/reconnect, liberate the creative mind a bit and greet each other and the space through the practice of sound immersion. The players across the four pieces of Pyroclasts are Tim Midyett, Tos Nieuwenhuizen, Hildur Guðnadóttir, and as always, SUNN O)) founders Stephen O’Malley and Greg Anderson.
The music on Pyroclasts is inextricably woven to Life Metal. It exists on the very same tape reels, was explicitly recorded by Steve Albini. The brightness and vividness of that glorious session glares through these four tracks, the precision and radiance, prismatic lustrousness of the saturation, the elemental sculptural shapes, the abstract renderings. It is a sister, or perhaps a shadow album. Or perhaps the now apparent miasma or aether. But it also exists in a form of a pause, a time space which exist in between and around the compositional structures of SUNN O)))‘s titanic works.
For the listener or recipient/participant there are deep rewards within the patience of pulling down the walls and letting the music feel and feel the music. To be immersed will reveal great detail and color, clarify image, encourage a depth of focus and stillness which may lead to a quite profound experience. Sitting inside the space of time. A deep form of elementalism, even atomism, and connection with presence moment, time and reality.
SUNN O))) would invite our audience to consider these points of perception when experiencing and listening to Pyroclasts. SUNN O))) would also invite and encourage their audience to use Pyroclastsasa lens to review and re-experience the complexity of the Life Metal album, and even to interrupt its sequence with Pyroclasts. This elaboration can bring the astute listener both abyssal, hallowed rewards.
Pyroclasts was recorded and mixed by Steve Albini at Electrical Audio on two-inch tape July 2018 and mastered by Matt Colton through all analogue AAA process at Metropolis July 2019. Four of Samantha Keely Smith’s incredible consciousness memory landscapes grace the album sleeve artwork.
Stephen O’Malley and Greg Anderson would like to dedicate this album to the memories of Ron Guardipee, Kerstin Daley, and Scott Walker.
View the trailer for SUNN O)))’s Pyroclasts at THIS LOCATION.
Pyroclasts Track Listing: SIDE A: Frost (C) Kingdoms (G) SIDE B: Ampliphædies (E) Ascension (A)
SUNN O))) Tour Dates: September 2019 – Western U.S 9/01/2019 Granada – Dallas, TX w/ Papa M, Big|Brave [tickets] 9/02/2019 Emo’s – Austin, TX w/ Papa M, Big|Brave [tickets] 9/04/2019 The Gothic – Denver, CO w/ Papa M, Big|Brave [tickets] 9/06/2019 Metro Music Hall – Salt Lake City, UTw/ Papa M, Big|Brave, Eagle Twin [tickets] 9/07/2019 Arcosanti – Phoenix AZ w/ Papa M, Big|Brave [tickets] 9/08/2019 Mayan – Los Angeles, CA w/ Papa M, Big|Brave [tickets] 9/09/2019 The Fillmore – San Francisco, CA w/ Papa M, Big|Brave [tickets] 9/11/2019 The Showbox – Seattle, WA w/ Papa M [tickets] 9/12/2019 Revolution Hall – Portland, OR w/ Papa M [tickets] 9/15/2019 Hollywood Forever – Los Angeles, CA [Shoshin (初心) Duo] [tickets] Let There Be Drone (Multiple Gains Stages) October 2019 10/07/2019 Backstage – Munich, DE w/ Caspar Brötzmann Bass Totem [tickets] 10/08/2019 HfG / ZKM – Karlsruhe, DE w/ Caspar Brötzmann Bass Totem [tickets] 10/09/2019 Kaserne Basel – Basel, CH w/ Caspar Brötzmann Bass Totem [tickets] 10/10/2019 Felsenkeller – Leipzig, DE w/ Caspar Brötzmann Bass Totem [tickets] 10/11/2019 Unsound Festival – Krakow, PL 10/13/2019 Kablys – Vilnius, LT w/ Caspar Brötzmann Bass Totem [tickets] 10/14/2019 Vene Teater – Tallinn, EE w/ Caspar Brötzmann Bass Totem [tickets] 10/15/2019 Kulttuuritalo – Helsinki, FI w/ Caspar Brötzmann Bass Totem [tickets] 10/17/2019 Kraken Sthlm – Stockholm, SE w/ Carl Michael Von Hausswolff [tickets] 10/18/2018 Kulturkirchen Jakob – Oslo, NO w/ Runhild Gammelsæter & Lass Marhaug Duo [tickets] 10/19/2019 BLA – Oslo, NO [Shoshin (初心) Duo] w/ Runhild Gammelsæter & Lass Marhaug Duo DJ set [tickets] 10/21/2019 Koncerthuset – Copenhagen, DK w/ Puce Mary [tickets] 10/22/2019 Doornroosje – Nijmegen, NL [tickets] 10/24/2019 SWX – Bristol, UK w/ Anna Von Hausswolff [tickets] 10/25/2019 QMU – Glasgow, UK w/ Anna Von Hausswolff [tickets] 10/26/2019 The Crossing – Birmingham, UK w/ Anna Von Hausswolff [tickets] 10/27/2019 Albert Hall – Manchester, UK w/ Anna Von Hausswolff [tickets] 10/28/2019 Roundhouse – London, UK w/ Anna Von Hausswolff [tickets]
INCOMING IN 2020…La Gaîté Lyrique presents: SUNN O))) – Let There Be Drone / One Residence, Two Concepts, Three Concerts 1/30/2020 / Life Metal 2/01/2019 / Life Metal 2/02/2020 / Shoshin (初心)
For those who may have missed out on the first edition in the collaboration between Akron-based effects shamans EarthQuaker Devices and sonic druids’ SUNN O))), never fear: there’s a second chance at a Life Pedal on its way. When initially released last June, the first limited-edition run of 1,000 Life Pedals-an octave distortion and booster-sold out within just a few hours.
Today, another opportunity to immerse yourself in the full spectrum overdriven sonic palette as used on SUNN O)))‘s universally acclaimed Life Metal album, released April 26th through Southern Lord, reveals itself. The circuitry remains the same as the first round, with a coveted LM308 chip helping to capture the same rich, deeply saturated tones of the band’s sessions with the legendary Steve Albini during the creation of Life Metal. Custom folded aluminum enclosure, Analog octave blending, Hand-picked components, and three clipping options are some of the features of this saturation monster. 100 of the Life Pedals available on Reverb will be paired with the namesake LP.
Order the Life Pedal on August 22nd at 11am EST at THIS LOCATION.
Life Pedal is restricted to only 500 units – 300 sold exclusively through Reverb while the remaining 200 will be sold by Sunn O))) directly on the road in the coming weeks (tour dates below).
Chasms are cleared, mountains sheared, glaciers calved, novæ birthed. Transcend to complete saturation enlightenment.
SUNN O)))’s Life Metal is available at the North American outlets HERE and HERE, in Europe HERE, and via Bandcamp HERE.
SUNN O))) Tour Dates: 9/01/2019 Granada – Dallas, TX w/ Papa M, Big|Brave [tickets] 9/02/2019 Emo’s – Austin, TX w/ Papa M, Big|Brave [tickets] 9/04/2019 The Gothic – Denver, CO w/ Papa M, Big|Brave [tickets] 9/06/2019 Metro Music Hall – Salt Lake City, UTw/ Papa M, Big|Brave, Eagle Twin [tickets] 9/07/2019 Arcosanti – Phoenix AZ w/ Papa M, Big|Brave [tickets] 9/08/2019 Mayan – Los Angeles, CA w/ Papa M, Big|Brave [tickets] 9/09/2019 The Fillmore – San Francisco, CA w/ Papa M, Big|Brave [tickets] 9/11/2019 The Showbox – Seattle, WA w/ Papa M [tickets] 9/12/2019 Revolution Hall – Portland, OR w/ Papa M [tickets] 9/15/2019 Hollywood Forever – Los Angeles, CA [Shoshin (初心) Duo] [tickets] 10/07/2019 Backstage – Munich, DE w/ Caspar Brötzmann Bass Totem [tickets] 10/08/2019 HfG / ZKM – Karlsruhe, DE w/ Caspar Brötzmann Bass Totem [tickets] 10/09/2019 Kaserne Basel – Basel, CH w/ Caspar Brötzmann Bass Totem [tickets] 10/10/2019 Felsenkeller – Leipzig, DE w/ Caspar Brötzmann Bass Totem [tickets] 10/11/2019 Unsound Festival – Krakow, PL 10/13/2019 Kablys – Vilnius, LT w/ Caspar Brötzmann Bass Totem [tickets] 10/14/2019 Vene Teater – Tallinn, EE w/ Caspar Brötzmann Bass Totem [tickets] 10/15/2019 Kulttuuritalo – Helsinki, FI w/ Caspar Brötzmann Bass Totem [tickets] 10/17/2019 Kraken Sthlm – Stockholm, SE w/ Carl Michael Von Hausswolff [tickets] 10/18/2018 Kulturkirchen Jakob – Oslo, NO w/ Runhild Gammelsæter & Lass Marhaug Duo [tickets] 10/19/2019 BLA – Oslo, NO [Shoshin (初心) Duo] w/ Runhild Gammelsæter & Lass Marhaug Duo DJ set [tickets] 10/21/2019 Koncerthuset – Copenhagen, DK w/ Puce Mary [tickets] 10/22/2019 Doornroosje – Nijmegen, NL [tickets] 10/24/2019 SWX – Bristol, UK w/ Anna Von Hausswolff [tickets] 10/25/2019 QMU – Glasgow, UK w/ Anna Von Hausswolff [tickets] 10/26/2019 The Crossing – Birmingham, UK w/ Anna Von Hausswolff [tickets] 10/27/2019 Albert Hall – Manchester, UK w/ Anna Von Hausswolff [tickets] 10/28/2019 Roundhouse – London, UK w/ Anna Von Hausswolff [tickets]
Worcester, Massachusetts-based crossover outfit HIGH COMMAND set out on a warpath to create the heaviest work they have produced yet on their debut full-length and Southern Lord debut, Beyond The Wall Of Desolation, now confirmed for release on September 27th.
HIGH COMMAND is, in their own words, “five friends coming together to create the sonic equivalent of a barbarian horde.” The band’s lyrical world, created by vocalist Kevin Fitzgerald, is steeped in lore and savagery, heavily inspired by fantasy-based warfare, and in the band’s words, “boundless quests frozen in the aeons of time and space hacked out of ice and transcribed in lightning. Beyond the thin vail of sanity lies the forgotten age of mysticism and heroes.”
Their studio choice for such proceedings was the legendary Machines With Magnets in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, constantly challenging the boundaries of what is possible in the realm of recorded media. From hearing previous projects recorded there (Daughters, The Body, Lingua Ignota, and Churchburn to name a few) it was apparent to the band that this was a studio that had a focus on the unique and the organic. Seth Manchester, the head engineer, worked tirelessly for the week HIGH COMMAND was there, sculpting a record with a healthy respect to the Old Gods of metal they admire while at the same time, sonically speaking, also carving a realm of its own.
The eight bludgeoning tracks on Beyond The Wall Of Desolation cleave the tender cranium of the listener asunder across their forty-three-minute running time. Bringing forth the undeniable heft in their self-proclaimed New Wave Of Worcester Heavy Metal, the heaviest of armament is advised against the flail.
Stream HIGH COMMAND’s “Visions From The Blade” RIGHT HERE.
Southern Lord will release Beyond The Wall Of Desolation on September 27th. Find digital preorders HERE and watch for physical preorder options and additional audio samples to be posted in the days ahead.
Following their extensive tour with Spirit Adrift in recent weeks, watch for HIGH COMMAND to declare new waves of touring throughout the year in support of Beyond The Wall Of Desolation.
HIGH COMMAND: Kevin Fitzgerald: Vocals Ryan McArdle: Guitar Mike Bonetti: Guitar Chris Berg: Bass Ryan Pitz: Drums
Beyond The Wall Of Desolation Track Listing:
Inexorable Darkness
Merciless Steel
Impaled Upon The Gates
Devoid Of Reality
The Commander’s Code
Visions From The Blade
Forged To Kill
Beyond The Wall Of Desolation
Review copies of Beyond The Wall Of Desolation will be issued in the days ahead. For coverage of HIGH COMMAND in The Americas contact dave@earsplitcompoud.com and all others contact lauren@rarelyunable.com.
Montreal’s BIG|BRAVE announces new tour dates for this summer, including dates with Sunn O))), Deafkids, and more. The band continues to perform in support of their critically-lauded A Gaze Among Them LP, released in May through Southern Lord Recordings. Following recent tour dates in Europe with MyDisco and others, as well as North American tours with the likes of Primitive Man, Dreadought, Planning For Burial, and more, BIG|BRAVE will tour across the Western US in late August and early September.
Leading with two shows on their own August 15th and 16th, BIG|BRAVE will headline a run of shows running from the Upper Midwest down the West Coast with support from Brazilian trio Deafkids through August 30th. BIG|BRAVE will then join up with labelmates and familiar touring partners Sunn O))), supporting the group for a trek across the Southwest and West Coast from September 1st through 9th. BIG|BRAVE will tour their way back home with another set of headlining shows. Watch for even more tour dates to be announced in the days ahead.
Stream BIG|BRAVE’s A Gaze Among ThemHERE, and see their “Sibling” video RIGHT HERE and the “Holding Pattern” video HERE.
A Gaze Among Them is available on CD, LP, and digital via the Southern Lord webshop HERE and Bandcamp HERE.
BIG|BRAVE Tour Dates: 8/15/2019 Grand Gerard – Toronto, ON 8/16/2019 Ribco – Rock Island, IL 8/18/2019 Eagles 34 – Minneapolis, MN ^ 8/20/2019 Mutiny Info Café – Denver, CO ^ 8/21/2019 Diabolical Records – Salt Lake City, UT ^ 8/23/2019 El Corazon – Seattle, WA [tickets] ^ 8/24/2019 The Valley – Tacoma, WA ^ 8/25/2019 High Water Mark – Portland, OR ^ 8/26/2019 Old Nick’s – Eugene, OR [tickets] ^ 8/28/2019 Elbo Room JL – Oakland, CA [tickets] ^ 8/29/2019 Lexington – Los Angeles, CA ^ 8/30/2019 HOCO Fest – Tucson, AZ ^ 9/01/2019 Granada – Dallas, TX [tickets] * 9/02/2019 Emo’s – Austin, TX [tickets] * 9/04/2019 The Gothic – Denver, CO [tickets] * 9/07/2019 Arcosanti – Phoenix AZ [tickets] * 9/08/2019 Mayan – Los Angeles, CA [tickets] * 9/09/2019 The Fillmore – San Francisco, CA [tickets] * 9/13/2019 Mr. Roboto Project – Pittsburgh, PA 9/14/2019 – Basilica Hudson – Hudson, NY ^ w/ Deafkids *w/ Sunn O))), Papa M
Since their inception seven years ago, BIG|BRAVE has remained loyal to a triad of key principles: space, volume, and raw emotion. That commitment to style and form has never been more evident than with A Gaze Among Them. Doubling down on their explosive chemistry, earsplitting dynamism, and sonic discipline, this new LP finds the trio more confident than ever.
A Gaze Among Them was spawned by a simple, but no less profound, question: “How do we take very little and make something bigger than what we actually have?” Toying with stark minimalism, melodic tension, and Wattie’s staggering vocal strength, the album serves as a culmination of BIG|BRAVE‘s near-decade of musical fearlessness. Anchored by their tried-and-true three-person lineup, A Gaze Among Them also enlists a who’s who of guest talent. With Thierry Amar (Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Thee Silver Mt Zion) on Contrabass and Seth Manchester on synth overdubs, A Gaze Among Them is BIG|BRAVE‘s most evolved, inclusive work yet.
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