Stream OKKULTOKRATI’s “Kiss Of Death” HERE.

OKKULTOKRATI is keeping their fire alive with their new album La Ilden Lyse, which translates roughly to “Keep The Fire Burning,” now announced for release through Southern Lord Recordings in May. The lead single from the LP, “Kiss Of Death” is now streaming.

La Ilden Lyse is an album of pure, cold, grim, rawness. Themes of enduring life, transcending death, worshipping the moon, and triumphant, satanic darkness are all at play here, and the album sounds harder, faster, and nastier than ever.

The band offers, “OKKULTOKRATI has always been more than being a band, making music, touring and making music. “Striving to be something beyond the mundane and trivial. It’s an attitude. In defiance. To everyone and everything. To not chase after trends. To seek truth in music wherever it takes you. To be an outsider and an outlaw, even though it makes you a freak. La Ilden Lyse is music for the misguided, the conspiratorial, the unappreciated and unwanted. It’s black outlaw metal. It’s a beacon in the dark, for desperate times.”

No more messing around. Keep it black, keep it metal, all the time.

Find digital preorders where “Kiss Of Death” is playing HERE.

Southern Lord will issue La Ilden Lyse on May 15th. Watch for physical preorder options to post in the coming weeks.

La Ilden Lyse Track Listing:

1. Thelemic Threat
2. Grimoire Luciferian Dream
3. Loathe Forever
4. Freezing Vortex Death Dreamer
5. Cold And Cruel
6. Kiss Of Death
7. Mother Superior
8. Lunatics-Mondsüchtig
9. The Dying Grass Moon

For coverage of OKKULTOKRATI in North and South America contact dave@earsplitcompound.com and internationally contact lauren@rarelyunable.com.

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Due to the cancellation of Friendship (JPN – Grind/PV – Southern Lord) and Kurokuma‘s (UK – Doom Metal – Astral Noize Records) UK tour after the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the two bands will be hosting a very special streamed performance this Wednesday Mar 25th at 22:00 GMT. The time has been decided as a reasonable meeting point to view the stream from different time zones.

The cancellation of the tour has lead to both bands losing approximately over £4k in flight cancellations and lost revenue. A GoFundMe donation link has been set up to help the bands recoup their losses and hopefully reschedule the tour at a later date. Donations can be made via GoFundMe at this link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/recoup-costs-for-friendshipkurokuma This stream will fall on the night of the planned last date of the tour.

Each band will be streaming a set in their own practice rooms from Tokyo, Japan and Sheffield, UK respectively. Due to health and safety concerns amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, every effort will be taken to ensure that each band comes into contact with as few bodies as possible with strict hygiene procedures set in place. Expect to hear sickening grinding hardcore and pummelling psychedelic sludge spanning continents.

Friendship were due to tour their most recent album Undercurrent – released through Southern Lord and Daymare last year – with seven UK dates confirmed with Kurokuma, whose latest split 7″ was released through Astral Noize Records last year.

Southern Lord will release Home, the final installment in the CASPAR BRÖTZMANN MASSAKER series, on April 17th. The indelible trio continues to perform live, and CASPAR BRÖTZMANN, arguably one of the most unique and innovative guitarists of the last forty years, is exploring new solo material and will release his first solo album this year 2020.

  Originally recorded in 1994 and released in 1995, Home is characterized by MASSAKER‘s ultra-refined riffs of shrieking, screeching feedback, and rattling machine gun staccatos. Exuding confidence, authority and a natural rapport that the musicians clearly had with one another. Certain songs from earlier records were revisited on Home including “The Tribe” and “Massaker” from The Tribe, and “Templehof,” “Hunter Song,” and “Böhmen” from Black Axis. These pieces had evolved following years of rethinking, rehearsing and reshaping them on stage, as well as playing with Danny Lommen, who had replaced Frank Neumeier on drums after Black Axis. These refined versions on Home raise the level of density and tension, the ominous evocations of impending doom, booming threat, and the grim determination that’s always driven MASSAKER.  

The 1994 recording of Home at the Steinschlag Studio (of FM Einheit) features CASPAR BRÖTZMANN on guitar with Danny Lommen on drums and Eduardo Delgado Lopez on bass.  

Home will see release on CD, 2xLP, and digital formats through Southern Lord on April 17th. Stream “Hunter Song” where digital preorders are posted HERE and watch for additional news and physical preorders to post shortly.

Home Track Listing: 1. The Tribe
2. Tempelhof
3. Massaker
4. Hunter Song
5. Böhmen

CASPAR BRÖTZMANN has confirmed new MASSAKER and solo live performances in 2020, including a special performance with FM Einheit in Leipzig at Krake Festival in March. See all confirmed dates below and watch for more to follow.

CASPAR BRÖTZMANN Live:
3/28/2020 Krake Festival – Leipzig, DE w/ FM Einheit
4/22/2020 Beatpol – Dresden, DE
4/24/2020 Donau Festival – Krems, AT
10/21/2020 La Chaux de Fonds, CH w/ Alexandré Babel

The recording for Home took place at Steinschlag, the studio of FM Einheit, famed metal-percussionist for German avant-noisniks Einstürzende Neubauten, with Bruno Gephard on production (also at the helm for Koksofen). BRÖTZMANN‘s connection to FM Einheit traces back to the late Eighties in Berlin, as together they had released the album Merry Christmas in 1994, and subsequently toured in the US.

Recorded in Mauren, a small town in the southern hills of Germany, FM Einheit’s equipment was set up in an unused swimming pool of a detached house in while the band played in the roof of the building; an intriguing setting for the album. Home was originally released on New York-based label Thirsty Ear, which at the time was specializing in releasing renowned records by noise, avant-rock-industrialists like Swans, Jim Foetus, and Einstürzende Neubauten. The album was followed by further lineup changes, and what became MASSAKER‘s largest US tour supporting Helmet with the improvised lineup.

The trio went on to release and tour the final album, Mute Massaker (Rough Trade Records, 1998), after which, the artistic story of MASSAKER was over and BRÖTZMANN disbanded the trio.

Review copies of Home will be issued shortly. For all CASPAR BRÖTZMANN coverage in North America contact dave@earsplitcompound.com and elsewhere contact lauren@rarelyunable.com.

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American/Canadian hardcore collective SECT has announced new East and West Coast North American tour dates in support of their third LP, Blood Of The Beasts, which was released through Southern Lord last summer.

The members of SECT are life-long contributors to the hardcore scene, collectively hailing from acts who have been active since the early 1990s. Comprised of 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, metallic intensity. Blood Of The Beasts 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.”

SECT will raid the East Coast US with support from Hive, with shows in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Baltimore March 6th, 7th, and 8th. Just over a month later, SECT will support labelmates Darkest Hour on the band’s North American West Coast 25th Anniversary trek, with additional support from Misery Signals. The tour runs from April 16th through 26th, with shows in Denver, Albuquerque, Scottsdale, San Diego, Anaheim, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver. See all confirmed dates below and watch for additional news and tour dates to be issued.

Stream SECT’s Blood Of The Beasts at Bandcamp HERE and see the video for “Like Animals” HERE.

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.

SECT w/ Hive:
3/06/2020 Preserving Underground – Pittsburgh, PA
3/07/2020 The Pharmacy – Philadelphia, PA
3/08/2020 Ottobar – Baltimore, MD

w/ Darkest Hour, Misery Signals:
4/16/2020 The Marquis Theater – Denver, CO [tickets]
4/17/2020 The Launchpad – Albuquerque, NM [tickets]
4/18/2020 Pub Rock – Scottsdale, AZ [tickets]
4/19/2020 Brick By Brick – San Diego, CA [tickets]
4/20/2020 Chain Reaction – Anaheim, CA [tickets]
4/21/2020 Club 1720 – Los Angeles, CA [tickets]
4/23/2020 Holy Diver – Sacramento, CA [tickets]
4/24/2020 Hawthorne Theatre – Portland, OR [tickets]
4/25/2020 El Corazon – Seattle, WA [tickets]
4/26/2020 The Rickshaw – Vancouver, BC [tickets]

For review copies of Blood Of The Beasts and all coverage/interviews with SECT in North America contact dave@earsplitcompound.com and internationally contact lauren@rarelyunable.com.

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Washington, DC metalcore pioneers DARKEST HOUR begin their co-headlining West Coast tour with Unearth today. The festivities commence tonight in Seattle, with shows in Portland, Orangevale, Los Angeles, San Diego, Scottsdale, Las Vegas, Grand Junction, and Denver through December 15th. 

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. 

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 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

For DARKEST HOUR coverage requests in North America contact dave@earsplitcompound.com and in Europe contact lauren@rarelyunable.com.

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Los Angeles, California-based dark punk outfit THE WRAITH presents the first official video from their debut LP, Gloom Ballet, which saw worldwide release last week through Southern Lord. The album’s maiden video, created for the track “Wing Of Night,” now makes its public debut through a premiere hosted by Kerrang! Magazine. 

Directed, shot, and edited by Alisa Akay, the “Wing Of Night” video’s concept juxtaposes imagery reflecting the song’s lyrical themes – the embrace of pain, struggle, darkness, and inevitable (yet not truly final) death – with footage of THE WRAITH‘s lauded live performance, centered around frenetic frontman/poet Davey Bales. The band filmed the video over two days in a historic haunted theater in North Hollywood, just around the corner from producer Mat Mitchell’s studio where they recorded Gloom Ballet almost exactly a year prior. The band was keen to work with director Alisa Akay because, as Mitchell’s fiancée, she was intimately familiar with their music. 

“Alisa would often drop by the studio during the Gloom Ballet sessions, and she later worked on some of Davey’s poetry videos,” offers bassist Paul Rogers. “So, she really gets our sound and vibe, and we loved her vision for the video.” 

The video’s opening séance – conducted by The Wraith’s spiritual guide, psychic-medium Tiffany Retrozombie – was more real than intended: “Every time I closed my eyes I saw a blinding white light – I thought someone had turned on the production spotlights, but we were still sitting in the dark,” recalls guitarist Kaz Alvis. “When I mentioned it to the medium, her eyes got very big and she said it was a spirit trying to come through me.” 

Kerrang! writes with their premiere of the video, “the band’s shadowy sound and black-drenched look are what brought death-obsessed punks into the fold since Dead Moon first twanged out of the darkness. As such, THE WRAITH offer a refreshing sound that is still scratches the classic punk itch at its root. The band’s new video for ‘Wing Of Night’ walks that line with endearing grace. The footage is stylized to look like it was found in a camcorder from 1984, and shows the band taking part in a Satanic Panic-style occult ritual.” 

See THE WRAITH’s “Wing Of Night” video at Kerrang! RIGHT HERE. 

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. 

Gloom Ballet is available worldwide via Southern Lord Recordings at the label webshop HERE, Bandcamp HERE, and through all other providers. 

The “Wing Of Night” video is the first of several new videos to be issued from the Gloom Ballet LP. Watch for new videos, tour dates, and more on THE WRAITH to be issued over the coming months.

For review copies of Gloom Ballet and all interviews and coverage of THE WRAITH in North America contact dave@earsplitcompound.com and internationally contact lauren@rarelyunable.com. 

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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.

For review copies of Gloom Ballet and all interviews and coverage of THE WRAITH in North America contact dave@earsplitcompound.com and internationally contact lauren@rarelyunable.com. 

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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 Love HERE 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