Further In Evil is the debut full length from one-woman metal band, Marthe, which is due via Southern Lord on October 20th. An atmospheric and aggressive blend of punk, Further In Evil is a shift in gears from her musical background in the anarcho-punk scene and inspired by riot grrrl, crust and d-beat. The lyrics are full of rage and the music is full of strength; it has the power of Bathory and the sadness of Tiamat, tinged with the stench of Amebix.

Marthe is, at heart, a solo bedroom project— born out of introversion and a desire to explore new horizons and landscapes alone. “Around 2012, I started feeling the need to express myself in a heavier and more atmospheric way,” explains Marzia, the woman behind the Marthe project. “I coincidentally started hiking more and more… getting closer to lonely soundscapes: my life, feelings and moods started being more introspective and introverted.” She continues, “Marthe suddenly became my comfort zone, my therapy, my shadow of loneliness, my book of truths, my mirror, my alter ego. Locking the door and disappearing in darkness recording music alone became something so powerful… I probably never really met myself before that.”

Further In Evil was composed and demoed over the course of a year during drives or hikes and, fatefully, the first look at the album– its title track–showcases the grandeur of Marthe‘s surroundings. Self-filmed and edited between Italy and Iceland, the “Further In Evil” video boasts the beauty of nature contrasted by Marthe‘s devastating sounds.

Watch / share Marthe’s Further In Evil official music video on YouTube.

Share / stream the track on Bandcamp.

The narrative of Further In Evil is “a journey into evil. I consider it an epiphany in growing armor to make myself stronger. The title means entering the gates of darkness, becoming cold and detached so as not to suffer anymore,” she comments. The source of many of the lyrics comes from a place of betrayal, and grief at losing “people who were central to me.” She comments, “we are alone”, but expels it as a statement of empowerment, rather than sadness – “the strength is ours.” As well as being introspective, Marthe’s lyrics look outwards at “contexts of injustice and suffering, when the main feeling is not having a voice.” Marthe’s music takes influence from other non-musical media as well – she cites the mood, atmosphere and colors of old school Italian horror movies, and continually comes back to nature as a source of inspiration.

Marthe has long been a self-sufficient and introspective voice in metal and punk, and further cements that with the release of Further In Evil on October 20th on Southern Lord. Look for more album singles and announcements to arrive soon from Marthe and Southern Lord.

Marthe, Further In Evil cover art:

Marthe, Further In Evil track listing:

1. I Ride Alone
2. Dead to You
3. Further In Evil
4. Victimized
5. To Ruined Altars
6. Sin In My Heart

For more on Marthe:

BANDCAMP | FACEBOOK | YOUTUBE | LINKTREE

After the breakup of the cult doom/death band Thorr’s Hammer in 1995, Stephen O’Malley, Greg Anderson and Jamie Sykes formed Burning Witch. The band then added G. Stuart Dahlquist and vocalist Edgy 59 to round out the lineup. Anderson left the band and moved to Los Angeles to form the band Goatsnake in 1996, and Burning Witch (without Anderson) recorded songs with Steve Albini which would become the Towers EP (after the sessions for these songs, Sykes left the band and was replaced by B.R.A.D.). Originally released as a demo tape then released by Slap-A-Ham on vinyl in 1998 (and eventually on CD version including Rift Canyon Dreams a comp. titled Crippled Lucifer in 1998) and on 12″ LP in the Box Set in 2011), Towers had long since been out of print.

The sessions that followed the Tower Albini recordings resulted in the Rift Canyon Dreams EP, which would prove to be the final recordings by Burning Witch as they broke up soon after the disc was completed. Originally released by Merciless Records on LP in 1998, Southern Lord released the CD version (Crippled Lucifer comp.) in 1998 and a 12” LP version in the Box Set circa 2011, also leaving listeners and collectors longing for physical variants ever since.

Finally, Southern Lord brings these two milestone albums to vinyl formats once again. Towers has been remastered from the 1/2″ master tape (lost until this version) by Mell Dettmer and will be available on black, opaque red and opaque gold vinyl. Rift Canyon Dreams will be available on black, cloudy clear and opaque evergreen vinyl.

Stream / share / buy Burning Witch Towers and Rift Canyon Dreams on Bandcamp

Order Tower and Rift Canyon Dreams vinyl from the Southern Lord store.

The sound, attitude and execution of Burning Witch is very slow, painful, and heavy. While the band was unabashed about their influences, they effectively used them to create something unique for the time. Ultra-lumbering, dark minimalist riffs, bombastic bass, and plodding war drums collided with vocals which alter between a nasal, melodic singing voice to a brutal, tortured demented scream/shriek. Burning Witch were truly the first band to incorporate the dark atmosphere of Black Metal with tortured doom-metal and marked the unholy birth of a genre.

Blurring the edges of consciousness voids, time manipulation, experiments in black, down-tuned drone and harrowing vocals, members of Burning Witch eventually went on to Sunn O))), Khanate, Goatsnake and ASVA. The Towers and Rift Canyon Dreams albums serve as important artifacts of the cryptic domain.

Towers cover art:

Towers track listing:

1. Sacred Predictions
2. Country Doctor
3. Tower Place
4. Sea Hag

Rift Canyon Dreams, cover art

Rift Canyon Dreams track listing:

1. Warning Signs
2. Stillborn
3. History of Hell (Crippled Lucifer)
4. Communion

Further In Evil is the debut full length from one-woman metal band, Marthe, which is due via Southern Lord on October 20th. An atmospheric and aggressive blend of punk, Further In Evil is a shift in gears from her musical background in the anarcho-punk scene and inspired by riot grrrl, crust and d-beat.

“I always loved metal and heavy sounds, too, but playing music was mostly a political form of activism to me, so I’ve been playing punk for pretty much my whole life,” she comments. Marthe is “music for broken souls that can’t find peace.” The lyrics are full of rage and the music is full of strength; it has the power of Bathory and the sadness of Tiamat, tinged with the stench of Amebix.

Watch / share Marthe’s Further In Evil album teaser on YouTube.

Video credit to Marthe. Filmed in Settefonti abandoned church in Bologna, il buco della luna abandoned cave in Carrara, seaside in Marinella di Sarzana and the Studio Hammer.

Marthe is, at heart, a solo bedroom project— born out of introversion and a desire to explore new horizons and landscapes alone. “Around 2012, I started feeling the need to express myself in a heavier and more atmospheric way,” explains Marzia, the woman behind the Marthe project.
“I coincidentally started hiking more and more… getting closer to lonely soundscapes: my life, feelings and moods started being more introspective and introverted.” Marzia continues, “Marthe suddenly became my comfort zone, my therapy, my shadow of loneliness, my book of truths, my mirror, my alter ego. Locking the door and disappearing in darkness recording music alone became something so powerful… I probably never really met myself before that.”

The main narrative of the record is “a journey into evil. I consider it an epiphany in growing armor to make myself stronger. The title, Further In Evil, means entering the gates of darkness, becoming cold and detached so as not to suffer anymore,” she comments. The source of many of the lyrics comes from a place of betrayal, and grief at losing “people who were central to me.” Marzia comments, “we are alone”, but expels it as a statement of empowerment, rather than sadness – “the strength is ours.” As well as being introspective, Marthe’s lyrics look outwards at “contexts of injustice and suffering, when the main feeling is not having a voice.”

Marthe’s music takes influence from other non-musical media as well – she cites the mood, atmosphere and colors of old school Italian horror movies, and continually comes back to nature as a source of inspiration.

Further In Evil was composed and demoed over the course of a year during drives or hikes, and recalls one funny moment when recording vocals for the first edition of the song “Victimized“— “I went to my old grandmas cellar since it had a natural echo, but the house had been empty for 10+ years and a neighbor called the police to report “a woman screaming and being tortured in the basement of an abandoned house”, so I got interrupted by the police knocking at the door – I had to show them the recording set up so they would believe me!”

Marthe has long been a self sufficient and introspective voice in metal and punk, and we look forward to this first peek into her dark and thoughtful inner world with Further In Evil. More news and album singles from Further In Evil will arrive soon from Marthe and Southern Lord.

Marthe, Further In Evil cover art:

Marthe, Further In Evil track listing:

1. I Ride Alone
2. Dead to You
3. Further In Evil
4. Victimized
5. To Ruined Altars
6. Sin In My Heart

For more on Marthe:

BANDCAMP | FACEBOOK | YOUTUBE | LINKTREE

Available now on Bandcamp and from Southern Lord. // Out on DSP’s and retail stores on July 28th.

One of the vanguards of the 90’s underground, punk/hardcore community, San Diego’s Heroin released their first 7” in 1991 before disbanding in 1993. In that short time, the band went on to influence countless post-hardcore and screamo bands of that era and into today. Heroin’s first 7” also marked the first release for the legendary independent label Gravity Records, which was central in developing and promoting the “San Diego sound” and also branched out into other forms of experimental music across their extensive catalog.

Southern Lord revealed the band’s long-awaited discography exclusively for Record Store Day last April. The extensive discography contains all of the Heroin’s out-of-print 7”s and 12”s, compilation tracks, as well as the session the band recorded at the infamous Inner Ear Studios in Washington, DC, and never-before-heard unreleased songs. A double LP Gatefold “tip on” jacket is beautifully packaged with a special zine with tons of photos and liner notes by Sonny Kay.

Check out Heroin’s Discography on Bandcamp here.

“Heroin was a product of our time and our youth so I’m sure we would be unrecognizable if we kept putting out records for thirty years… I think our overall spirit could be relevant today because our lyrics and message were mostly existentialist observations and kind of just poetry,” the band comments.

Read the rest of the new, in-depth interview with Heroin here.

Heroin, Discography track listing:

Side A (1)

1. Meaning Less
2. A Portion
3. The Obvious
4. We Can Never Know
5. In General
6. Moving Parts
7. Another

Side B (2)

1. Leave
2. Wander
3. Blind
4. With No Name
5. Head Cold
6. Undertaking
7. Indecision

Side C (3)

1. This Time
2. Never Ever
3. Has Been
4. I’ve Got Mine
5. Cost*
6. Wander*
7. Things Change*

Side D (4)

1. Comes To Mind
2. How Could I*
3. Compelled*
4. This Time*
5. A Portion*
6. Undertaking*
7. Has Been
8. Destination
9. Second Coming

The razor-sharp recording that effectively proves how lethal Power Trip was in a live setting, Live In Seattle, arrives today on vinyl, CD and digital formats. The 43-minute collection was recorded as the title states in Seattle, WA at Neumos on May 28, 2018. Originally released in June of 2020, Live In Seattle is a must-have for any fan of Power Trip.

Listen / share on Youtube.

The set list for Live In Seattle is a selection of classic tracks from the band’s discography; Nightmare Logic and Manifest Decimation albums (the Grammy™ nominated Best Metal Performance “Executioner’s Tax [Swing of the Axe],” “Conditioned to Death,” “Firing Squad,” and more), and even a deep cut / fan favorite, “Suffer No Fool,” these eleven thrashing crossover tracks are full of the fire and venom that only Power Trip can deliver.

Revisit the “Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Axe)” visualizer on YouTube.

Revisit the Live In Seattle unboxing video on YouTube.

The 43-minute Live In Seattle set is available on all formats here.

Live In Seattle, track listing:

1. Drown (Intro)
2. Divine Apprehension
3. Suffer No Fool
4. Soul Sacrifice
5. Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Axe)
6. Crucifixation
7. Heretic’s Fork
8. Conditioned to Death
9. Firing Squad
10. Manifest Decimation
11. Crossbreaker

The RSD-exclusive deluxe double LP’s will be available on April 22, 2023.

Southern Lord continues its prolific output with two exciting new releases for Record Store Day: 2006’s monolith Altar from Sunn O))) + Boris, and a collection of recordings from 90’s mainstays Heroin.

Heroin Discography

One of the vanguards of the 90’s underground, punk/hardcore community, San Diego’s Heroin released their first 7” in 1991 before disbanding in 1993. In that short time, the band went on to influence countless post-hardcore and screamo bands of that era and even today. Heroin’s first 7” also marked the first release for the legendary independent label Gravity Records, which was central in developing and promoting the “San Diego sound” and also branched out into other forms of experimental music across their extensive catalog.

The Heroin discography contains all of the band’s out-of-print 7”s and 12”s, compilation tracks, as well as the session the band recorded at the infamous Inner Ear Studios in Washington, DC, and never-before-heard unreleased songs. A double LP Gatefold “tip on” jacket is beautifully packaged with a special zine with tons of photos and liner notes by Sonny Kay.

Sunn O)))/Boris Altar

Out of print for over 15 years, Altar will finally return on double LP. The album is a collaboration between experimental music groups Boris and Sunn O))), originally released on October 31, 2006 through Southern Lord Records. In addition to major players Sunn O))) and Boris, Altar also boasts an extensive roster of guest musicians/collaborators such as Kim Thayil (Soundgarden), Joe Preston (Earth, Thrones, Melvins, High on Fire), Phil Wandscher and Jesse Sykes (both of Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter) as well as long time Sunn O))) collaborators TOS Niewenhuizen and Rex Ritter.

Greg Anderson comments, “We had a lot of fun making Altar— we transcended all barriers and boundaries to create our own sonic language that still strongly resonates. It was incredibly adventurous for us at that point in time. We played in the moment without a preconceived direction then arrived at a beautifully heavy place together.” He continues, “Altar is a monumental documentation of some early experiments with collaboration. We learned a lot from working with Boris and engineer/producer: Randall Dunn as well as Bill Herzog, Jesse Sykes, Joe Preston etc. We definitely carried those ideas and spirit into recordings that followed Altar.”

Boris and Sunn O))) continue to circle each other with reverence; most recently, Boris’s Wata and Takeshi did a session with Sunn O)))’s “Life Pedal” which you can watch now courtesy of EarthQuaker Devices.

Watch / share the Boris Life Pedal session on YouTube.

Sunn O))) + Boris, Altar track listing:

1. Etna
2. N.L.T.
3. The Sinking Belle (Blue Sheep)
4. Akuma No Kuma
5. Fried Eagle Mind
6. Blood Swamp

Heroin, Discography track listing:

Side A (1)

1. Meaning Less
2. A Portion
3. The Obvious
4. We Can Never Know
5. In General
6. Moving Parts
7. Another

Side B (2)

1. Leave
2. Wander
3. Blind
4. With No Name
5. Head Cold
6. Undertaking
7. Indecision

Side C (3)

1. This Time
2. Never Ever
3. Has Been
4. I’ve Got Mine
5. Cost*
6. Wander*
7. Things Change*

Side D (4)

1. Comes To Mind
2. How Could I*
3. Compelled*
4. This Time*
5. A Portion*
6. Undertaking*
7. Has Been
8. Destination
9. Second Coming

*previously unreleased

A razor-sharp recording that effectively proves how lethal Power Trip was in a live setting, Live In Seattle was recorded as the title states in Seattle at Neumos on May 28, 2018. Originally released in June of 2020, the collection will finally arrive on vinyl, CD, and digital formats on June 23rd, 2023.

The set list for Live In Seattle is a selection of classic tracks from the band’s discography; Nightmare Logic and Manifest Decimation albums (the Grammy™ nominated Best Metal Performance “Executioner’s Tax [Swing of the Axe],” “Conditioned to Death,” “Firing Squad,” and more), and even a deep cut / fan favorite, “Suffer No Fool,” these eleven thrashing crossover tracks are full of the fire and venom that only Power Trip can deliver.

Watch / share the “Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Axe)” visualizer on YouTube.

The 43-minute Live In Seattle set will be available for pre-order ahead of its June 23rd release on Southern Lord soon.

Live In Seattle, track listing:

1. Drown (Intro)
2. Divine Apprehension
3. Suffer No Fool
4. Soul Sacrifice
5. Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Axe)
6. Crucifixation
7. Heretic’s Fork
8. Conditioned to Death
9. Firing Squad
10. Manifest Decimation
11. Crossbreaker

Live In Seattle, cover art:

“fantastical big-room thrash like 1986 never ended” – Stereogum

High Command have announced U.S. and Canada tour dates this May, ending at the Milwaukee Metal Fest on May 28th (full routing can be found below). This run marks High Command’s first jaunt away from the east coast in support of their new album Eclipse of the Dual Moons and follows the band’s support slots for Sunn O))) in Philadelphia and Brooklyn that closed out 2022.

On their second album, Eclipse of the Dual Moons, the band take their love of storytelling a step further, deepening and widening the world of Secartha, the realm of High Command’s songs. The band place themselves as omniscient narrators of the world they have created, and say that they are inseparable from Secartha and its people.

“It’s one thing to make a good metal record, but it’s another to put on top of it a sort of overarching story that makes sense to listeners. The whole High Command project is enriched by lyrics articulating characters, a world, and trials faced within it. We want our records to be immersive and leave listeners with a feeling they’ve experienced something bigger than the music.”

It’s not just a question of widening the world, which the band first started exploring on The Secartha Demos (2016); Eclipse of the Dual Moons sees High Command honing their process to a fine art “it’s like we started with chiseling a rock… this record is the moment the rock in question begins to look like an actual sculpture.”

Revisit Eclipse of the Dual Moons singles linked in the track listing below and catch High Command on the road soon:

High Command, on tour

May 20 Hartford, CT @ The Webster

May 21 Brooklyn, NY @ The Brooklyn Monarch

May 22 Philadelphia, PA @ Brooklyn Bowl Philadelphia

May 23 Worcester, MA @ The Palladium

May 24 Quebec City, QC @ Imperial Bell

May 25 Montreal, QC @ Fairmount Theatre

May 26 Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern

May 27 Pontiac, MI @ The Crofoot Ballroom

May 28 Milwaukee, WI @ MKE Metal Fest

Eclipse of the Dual Moons, track listing:

1. Eclipse Of The Dual Moons
2. Immortal Savagery
3. Imposing Hammers Of Cold Sorcery
4. Omniscient Flail Of Infamy
5. Fortified By Bloodshed
6. Chamber Of Agony
7. Siege Warfare
8. Spires Of Secartha

FOR MORE FROM HIGH COMMAND:

FACEBOOK | BANDCAMP | INSTAGRAM

1989’s Manic Ride is now sonically enhanced with an aggressive remaster from Brad Boatright. // Pre-orders are available now.

Frenetic, coarse and frequently atonal. Nothing is more a distillation of that sound than the mighty BL’AST! ’s final studio album, Take The Manic Ride (1989). Over 30 years later, and the album is getting the reissue treatment on Southern Lord.

In June of 1988 BL’AST! went into the studio with Black Flags’ live sound GOAT: Dave Rat (RATSOUND), and the breakneck Take The Manic Ride was recorded. This version was later destroyed after the band was dissatisfied with the original production. Now, this unmissable piece of hardcore history has been carefully restored under the strict guidance of mastering engineer Brad Boatright (also remastered the other BL’AST! albums re-released by Southern Lord). Manic Ride will be released by Southern Lord on March 10th.

Mike (Neider, guitar) comments on the reissue:

“The release of Manic Ride is essential to finish the history of past BL’AST! releases. It displays how off the beaten path BL’AST! is and always has been. The music and lyrics does not tread lightly. We’re grateful to have Manic Ride’s affiliation w/ Rat Sound/Dave Rat, SSTRecords and Southern Lord and for all of our friends, fans and family, as well as the BL’AST! blood brotherhood. For this to be released in our fortieth year as a band is truly amazing.

Rest In Power to the artist of the Manic cover, Justin Forbes.”

The original line up for Take The Manic Ride:

Dave Cooper – bass

Bill Torgerson – drums

Mike Neider – guitar

Clifford Dinsmore – vocals

Available to order via Bandcamp, and the Southern Lord, and Southern Lord Europe stores.

MANIC RIDE track listing:

1. Somewhere I’ve Found/Falsehood Claws
2. Overdrive
3. Out of Alignment
4. Start the Machine
5. Turn and Face the World
6. Blast it Back
7. Bones
8. Powerize
9. It’s Time
10. Abraxis
11. Look Inside

Additional bio information:

Having formed in 1983, the highly influential Santa Cruz hardcore legend BL’AST! released their first album, The Power of Expression in 1985. This debut album went on to become one of the highly sought after, must-have hardcore albums from the 80s.

BL’AST! were beyond intense, continually pushing the boundaries of hardcore with their advanced musicianship, unstoppable energic delivery and explosive live performances. This overwhelming power caught the attention of SST records, who released the band’s second album, It’s In My Blood in 1987. Their third album, Take The Manic Ride, was then released in 1989.

BL’AST!‘s wide-eyed, ambitious approach and intense perseverance became an influence for many bands to come. Shortly after the release of Take The Manic Ride the band broke up and their story was, for some time, buried by time and dust…

The band reformed in the 2000s, and released the 7” EP, For Those Who Grace The Fire, from 2015, which featured Dave Grohl on drums and Chuck Dukowski on bass. They then released Blood!, an album consisting of then-lost recordings, and remixed by Dave Grohl, in 2013. Later on, they also did a split 7″ with Eyehategod, contributing “Cut Your Teeth” in 2017.

For More on BL’AST!:

WEB | BANDCAMP | INSTAGRAM | MERCH STORE

2022 has been a phenomenally active year for Greg Anderson as The Lord.
Having previously shared standalone track releases, he then released his debut solo album Forest Nocturne in Summer followed by a collaborative album with Petra Haden,  Devotional in October. 

Now, he is heard in collaboration with David Pajo in a brand new track, “Nazarite“, which sees the two musicians meet over ominous arpeggios and spoken word segments in this new track which Greg suggests is a “gateway” to more collaborations in the future.

Greg says, “I’m beyond honored to have been able to collaborate with David Pajo for this ever evolving output as The Lord. Slint remains one of the most important bands ever to me. I composed the music for Nazarite as a love letter to Slint that exemplifies my obsession and devotion. David’s brilliant response to my humble offering is clear proof of his genius.“

David Pajo says, “In Tennessee, I played a bit of acoustic guitar on the Goatsnake song ‘Another River To Cross.’ It was then that I realized we had a perfect working dynamic. We seem to be able to push an idea from nothing into solid shape, without much effort or ego. I trust Greg’s ear and musical sense implicitly—he’s fearless.“

Listen to “Nazarite” on Bandcamp.

In an interview with Earthquaker, Anderson explains that he first met Pajo in Los Angeles (around 2015), and the pair became friends. Pajo later played a guitar intro on a Goatsnake album. Sunn O))) first invited David Pajo to join them on tour in 2019 and the pair remained in touch to eventually collaborate on this new track.

Greg continues; “Making music as The Lord has given me the freedom to collaborate with some of my favorite musicians from William Duvall to Petra Haden to David Pajo as well as exploring my own sound as a solo musician. Each track or full length that Southern Lord has put out so far has gone way beyond expectation and taken on a life of its own. These musicians have brought out the different sides of my musical interests in a very organic way, and it has been life-affirming to try things that I’ve never explored before.“

We look forward to sharing more from The Lord in 2023. 

FOR MORE ON THE LORD:

WEB | INSTAGRAM | BANDCAMP

FOR MORE ON DAVID PAJO:

WEB | FACEBOOK | BANDCAMP | INSTAGRAM