Category: News
HIGH COMMAND: Massachusetts Crossover Crew Begins Summer Annihilation MMXVIII Eastern US/Canada Tour; Debut LP To See Release Via Southern Lord
8/11/2018 Coalition – Toronto, ON
8/12/2018 The Fireside Inn, Detroit MI
8/13/2018 Chi Town Futbol – Chicago, IL
8/14/2018 Spacebar – Columbus, OH
8/15/2018 Best Friends Bar – Lexington, KY
8/17/2018 Radio Café – Nashville, TN
8/18/2018 Rock House Live – Memphis, TN
8/19/2018 Santos Bar – New Orleans, LA
8/20/2018 Firehouse – Birmingham, AL
8/21/2018 529 Bar – Atlanta, GA
8/23/2018 Strange Matter – Richmond, VA
8/24/2018 The Pinch – Washington, DC
8/25/2018 Lava Space – Philadelphia, PA
8/26/2018 St Vitus Bar – Brooklyn, NY
JESUS PIECE Issues “Punish” At Cvlt Nation; Only Self Debut LP Nears Release Through Southern Lord
SECT Announces Co-Headlining European Tour With Gust
THE PRIMALS: Los Angeles Trio Featuring Current/Former Members Of Darkest Hour, The Explosion, Dead To Fall, And More To Release Debut LP Via Southern Lord; “Fortune & Sons” Now Streaming
AXIS OF DESPAIR: Cvlt Nation Streams Contempt For Man Album; Debut LP From Band Formed By Members Of Nasum, Coldworker, And More Sees Release Tomorrow Via Southern Lord
JESUS PIECE: Kerrang Premieres “Neuroprison” As Only Self Debut LP Nears August Release Through Southern Lord
Kerrang is hosting a premiere of “Neuroprison,” the new single by Philadelphia-based JESUS PIECE, as the brutal metallic hardcore act prepares for the August release of their Only Self debut LP through Southern Lord.
Only Self was recorded in Chicago at Bricktop Recording Studio with Andy Nelson (Weekend Nachos, Like Rats, Lord Mantis) mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege (Integrity, Nails, Full Of Hell), and completed with artwork by Dom Pabon.
With the “Neuroprison” release, JESUS PIECE vocalist Aaron Heard discloses, “To be locked in a Neuroprison is to spend most of the day lost in your head while the world keeps turning around you.”
The write-up at Kerrang offers in part, “the United States is producing some of the best hardcore the country ever has. And Philadelphia’s Jesus Piece might as well be the poster boys for the movement.”
Unleash the new JESUS PIECE track “Neuroprison” at Kerrang RIGHT HERE.
JESUS PIECE is quickly developing a reputation as one of the heaviest, most uncompromising acts both on record and on the stage. With the brutalizing grooves of Disembodied, Turmoil, Harm’s Way, Xibalba and similar acts, the band incorporates elements of noise, ominous tones, and haunting atmospheres into their dynamic songwriting. With crushing, modern production, the eleven new tracks on their Only Self debut LP place JESUS PIECE among the scene’s darkest and heaviest acts and delivers one of the most anxiously-awaited albums of the hardcore/metal underground this year with Only Self, a record which proves itself as one of the year’s most vicious releases.
Southern Lord will release Only Self on CD, LP, and digital formats on Friday, August 24th. Find digital preorders at Bandcamp where “Curse Of The Serpent” is streaming HERE, and physical preorder options HERE.
JESUS PIECE has toured mercilessly alongside Darkest Hour, Comeback Kid, Burn, Knocked Loose, Terror, Vein, Year Of The Knife, and many more across North America and Europe over the past year. The band will also make their return to This Is Hardcore in July, performing with the likes of One King Down, Ten Yard Fight, E.Town Concrete, Sick Of It All, Arkagnel, Eighteen Visions, All Out War, Merauder, Harvest, and many more. Watch for new tour dates for JESUS PIECE to continually to be announced throughout the year in support of Only Self.
JESUS PIECE Live:
>7/29/2018 The Electric Factory – Philadelphia, PA @ This Is Hardcore [info]
JESUS PIECE is a band that works tirelessly to play to everyone they can. Their anthems lyrically range from personal struggle and loss, to racism, police brutality, and many other social and political injustices. The band formed in 2015 and self-released their first demo/EP in the same year, followed by a self-released EP in the Summer of 2016. Bridge Nine Records released a split 7″ between JESUS PIECE and Malice At The Palace in early 2017. The band has paved their own way into the national scene by booking multiple headlining coast-to-coast tours among many bouts of regional touring and performances at notable festivals including This Is Hardcore, Nature World Fest, Sound And Fury, FYA Fest, and others.
Review copies of Only Self will be released in the weeks ahead. For coverage of JESUS PIECE in The Americas contact dave@earsplitcompound.com and internationally contact lauren@rarelyunable.com.
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https://jesuspiecehc.bandcamp.com
AXIS OF DESPAIR: Metal Injection Premieres “Lockdown” By Swedish Grindcore Kingpins; Contempt For Man Debut LP Nears Release Through Southern Lord
Metal Injection is hosting a premiere of “Lockdown,” the new single by Swedish grindcore kingpins AXIS OF DESPAIR. The band – formed by current and former members of Nasum, Coldworker, Infanticide, Volturyon, Livet Som Insats, Nervgift, Overtorture, and more – is preparing for their Contempt For Man debut full-length to see release through Southern Lord at the end of July.
Contempt For Man dispatches twenty super-charged tracks of AXIS OF DESPAIR’s brutalizing but hook-laden grindcore attack. The album surges with blasting percussion delivered with savage force, yet every hit finding its target with pinpoint accuracy. The blazing riffs leave charred scars in their path, while lyrically the band unloads their noncompliance with humanity’s declining ways.
Of “Lockdown” the band offers, “While the title is a nod to fellow grinders Lock-Up, the music centers around an idea of doing a chorus riff with clear notes that moves around, thus creating a hook that makes ‘Lockdown’ stand out on the album. This is a quite good slice of AXIS OF DESPAIR‘s type of grindcore: while ‘Lockdown’ has its share of drive and aggression, it also has catchiness and a certain groove that we really like.”
The Metal Injection write-up defines the track as, “a rather quick dose of buzzing guitars and blasting drums. It builds off a strong hook and a menacing groove. While only a small sample of AXIS OF DESPAIR‘s newest effort, it shows a promising forecast for the rest of Contempt Of Man.”
Experience AXIS OF DESPAIR’s “Lockdown” at Metal Injection RIGHT HERE.
Contempt For Man was recorded by drummer Anders Jakobson at Soundlab Studios and in the band’s rehearsal room Summer 2017, mixed at Studio Ülgnor by Johan Berglund, and is completed with artwork by Paul Romano (Mastodon, Circle, Hate Eternal).
Southern Lord will release Contempt For Man on LP, CD, and digital formats July 27th; find preorders at the label webshop HERE and at Bandcamp where the tracks “A Life Of Ceaseless Grind,” “Crush The Empire,” and “The Wolven Law” are streaming HERE.
AXIS OF DESPAIR will perform at Obscene Extreme 2018 in Czech Republic on July 19th with more live actions to follow. Watch for additional tour dates, audio samples, and further album updates in the weeks ahead.<
AXIS OF DESPAIR Live:
7/19/2018 Obscene Extreme Festival – Trutnov, CZ
AXIS OF DESPAIR was formed in late 2013 by former Coldworker members Joel Fornbrant (vocals), Oskar Pålsson (bass), and Anders Jakobson (drums). The lineup was completed by guitarist Kristofer Jankarls (also in Livet Som Insats) a few months later and the quartet focused on songwriting. The first recording took place in the spring of 2015 and the twelve tracks were released on the two 7″ EPs — Time And Again, released via Selfmadegod Records, and Mankind Crawls, a co-release through Give Praise Records and Spela Snabbare Records. Following both EPs and several live shows, AXIS OF DESPAIR set to work on new material, striving to create a striking grindcore album with an aggressive, yet diverse selection of strong songs. The writing process was spread out over a year until the band went into the studio and begun the recordings in the summer of 2017, now set to arrive in the form of their debut album, Contempt For Man.
For review copies of Contempt For Man and coverage of AXIS OF DESPAIR in The Americas contact dave@earsplitcompound.com, all others contact lauren@rarelyunable.com.
THE SECRET: Revolver Reveals “The Sorrowful Void” By Italian Metal Cult; Lux Tenebris EP Preorders Posted By Southern Lord
HIGH COMMAND: Massachusetts Crossover Outfit Signs To Southern Lord; Debut Album Under Construction
Worcester, Massachusetts-based crossover henchmen HIGH COMMAND have signed to Southern Lord and are currently plotting their debut full-length release for the label.
Surging with the strength of the early US thrash and crossover scene, HIGH COMMAND projects a scathing display of scorched earth vocals and spiraling divebomb riffs, soaked in napalm leads, and percussive devastation. With competitive and fantasy-inspired lyrical scourge, the band drives their message forth with might and conviction.
The raw barbarity of HIGH COMMAND‘s crushing early recordings caught the ear of Southern Lord who hunted the band down and now has them locked and loaded for the release of their debut LP. Writing for the new record commenced in the autumn of 2017, and the album will be completed in the coming months and released by early 2019. Stand by for further missives on the band’s impending aural assault.
The brainchild of guitarist Ryan McArdle and vocalist Kevin Fitzgerald, HIGH COMMAND began in rebellion to the brutal winter months, yet quickly spiraled into a full-bore killing machine, initiating the recruitment of like-minded area friends, the lineup fleshed-out by guitarist Mike Bonetti, bassist Chris Berg, and drummer Ryan Pitz.
HIGH COMMAND recorded The Secartha Demos at The Paincave with Chris Corey (Mind Eraser, Magic Circle, No Tolerance, Inumerable Forms) and had it mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege (From Ashes Rise, Integrity, Obituary) which saw release on Haftvad Records, the label issuing, “With razor-sharp metallic riffs, pure punk adrenaline, and an original Sword and Sorcery theme, HIGH COMMAND delivers a demo of skull crushing fantasy violence and aggressive atmosphere. If the brutal literary worlds of Robert E. Howard and Karl Edward Wagner manifested in the musical form of Sodom, Mercyful Fate, Integrity, and Cro-Mags, The Secartha Demos would likely be the result. For those who live for the lust of battle and music that bludgeons with the fury of a spiked-mace.” The label then issued the two-song The Primordial Void 7″ shortly after.
Decibel Magazine called the band, “A brawny and narrative-driven kind of crossover, draped in outlandish lore, taking zero prisoners,” and No Clean Singing offered, “It’s a powerhouse dose of crossover thrash that’s thoroughly galvanizing when the pedal is to the metal, and hits hard enough to rupture organs in the mercilessly grim slower sections.”
HIGH COMMAND:
Kevin Fitzgerald – vocals
Ryan McArdle – guitar
Mike Bonetti – guitar
Chris Berg – bass
Ryan Pitz – drums
Additional info on HIGH COMMAND will be issued shortly, including tour dates, updates on their debut album, and more. For coverage of the band in The Americas contact dave@earsplitcompoud.com and elsewhere contact lauren@rarelyunable.com.
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