Tag: Friendship

FRIENDSHIP: Southern Lord To Issue Undercurrent LP By Japanese Blackened Hardcore Outfit In June; Tracks Streaming + Preorders Posted

Posted on: May 29, 2019

Japan’s FRIENDSHIP returns with their merciless new album, Undercurrent, set for vinyl release through Southern Lord on June 14th. Following its CD release through Daymare Recordings earlier in the year, preorders for the LP version have been posted and several tracks from the album are available for streaming.

FRIENDSHIP offers vile, antagonistic, and visionary blackened, sludge-tone hardcore, focused on delivering maximum auditory torture, with the blasting directives of Full Of Hell, Nails, and Infest, backed with the oppressive tonal amplification of Sleep, Coffins, or Iron Monkey. The band is now revered as one of the heaviest modern acts in Japan.

Their second LP, Undercurrent showcases FRIENDSHIP‘s hybrid of ultra-heavy doom sludge/powerviolence as audible torture. With a more technical and precise attack, and a brighter and sharper tone than the preceding Hatred LP, all tracking, mixing, and mastering duties for Undercurrent were handled in Tokyo throughout 2018. The resulting album strikes hard with ten relentless tracks delivered in just over twenty-two minutes.

Stream the tracks “Demise,” “Vertigo,” and “Fiend” from FRIENDSHIP’s Undercurrent at Bandcamp HERE.

Just like with the Hatred LP, Daymare Recordings handles the release of FRIENDSHIP‘s Undercurrent digitally and on CD, and now Southern Lord delivers the vinyl on Friday, June 14th. Find preorders at Bandcamp HERE and find merch options and bundles at the Southern Lord US webshop HERE and Euro shop HERE.

Undercurrent Track Listing:

1. Demise
2. Vertigo
3. Punishment
4. Lack
5. Abandon
6. Fiend
7. Plague
8. Garbage
9. Wrecker
10. Hatred

Following their 2014 formation in the Tokyo area, FRIENDSHIP quickly issued their debut demo cassette, and quickly became known for their monolithic live volume levels and became notorious for releasing over a hundred shirt designs. The band also shortly thereafter self-released two CD EPs which both sold out in under a month (recently reissued as I and II on vinyl and cassette via Sentient Ruin),

FRIENDSHIP signed with Daymare Records in 2016 for the release of their debut full-length, Hatred. Recorded in Tokyo, Hatred was mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege and released on CD and digital versions via Daymare in June 2017. The vinyl version and international digital edition followed through Southern Lord in November 2017, and a cassette version was released by Sentient Ruin.

Over these recent years, FRIENDSHIP has shared stages with Full Of Hell, Sumac, Primitive Man, Endon, Palm, and many others, including supporting the mighty Sleep in Tokyo, as a part of Leave Them All Behind 2018. In September 2018, the band performed at Bloodshed Festival, as well as seven shows across the UK. Immediately following the tour, FRIENDSHIP began the construction of their follow-up album, which now rears its bestial head as Undercurrent.

Watch for FRIENDSHIP tour dates and more to be posted over the months ahead.

For review copies of FRIENDSHIP‘s Undercurrent in North America contact dave@earsplitcompound.com and internationally contact lauren@rarelyunable.com.

FRIENDSHIP: Japanese Group Announces European Tour Dates; Hatred LP Out Now Via Southern Lord And Daymare Recordings

Posted on: August 24, 2018
Mysterious Japanese group FRIENDSHIP, known for their incredibly loud live shows, announces a full European tour this September in support of their most recent release Hatred, a collaboration between Southern Lord and Daymare Recordings.
While FRIENDSHIP‘s identity remains an enigma, those who have encountered their antagonistic, loud, and murky sonic world, can testify to the sheer power of the auditory torture the band creates. FRIENDSHIP has previously self-released two CD EPs which sold out in a month since reissued as I & II vinyl and cassette version through Sentient Ruin. For their Hatred LP, the band delivers twelve caustic tracks in just over twenty-five minutes, the album recorded in their home city of Tokyo, the album then mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege. Blackened, ominous, and intense, fans of prior Southern Lord releases by Nails, Heartless, Dead In The Dirt, Gust, and similarly devastating acts should not ignore this.
Originally released by Daymare Recordings on CD and digital formats, Southern Lord subsequently issued FRIENDSHIP‘s Hatred on LP in October 2017. Blackened, dark, loud, fast, and intense, fans of prior Southern Lord releases by Nails, Heartless, Dead In The Dirt, Gust, and other brutal, grinding devastation should take heed.
FRIENDSHIP will now be touring Europe and the UK in September supporting Palm. Find the confirmed routing below and watch for updates in the days ahead.
Stream FRIENDSHIP’s entire Hatred LP HERE.
Place digital orders for Hatred HERE and order physical product HERE.
FRIENDSHIP Europe/UK Tour w/ Palm:
9/14/2018 Bloodshed Fest – Effenaar – Eindhoven, NL
9/15/2018 T Chances – London, UK
9/16/2018 Rebellion – Manchester, UK
9/17/2018 The Harley – Sheffield, UK
9/18/2018 Gorilla Studios – Hull, UK
9/18/2018 Banshee Labyrinth – Edinburgh, UK
9/20/2018 Stuck On A Name – Nottingham, UK
9/21/2018 Temple Of Boom – Leeds, UK
9/22/2018 TBA
9/23/2018 La Scene Michelet – Nantes, FR
9/25/2018 TBA
9/26/2018 TBA
9/27/2018 ZXRX – Leipzig, DE
9/28/2018 TBA – Berlin, DE
9/29/2018 TBA – Cologne, DE
9/30/2018 Het Bos – Antwerp, BE
Stereogum declares of Hatred‘s vile attack, “tracks like ‘Life Sentence’ also showcase a riff dexterity and subtle multi-section mastery that evades a lot of genre-adjacent HM-2 steppers… Other bands would labor over a way to get the listener from Point A to Point B. FRIENDSHIP realizes that you don’t need much connective tissue if Point A and Point B both kick ass. And that’s the takeaway: While fast/slow, particularly punk-fast and sludge-slow, is one of the dustier tropes, to be a legitimate two-tool threat is still rare.” Svbterranean’s review includes, “From start-to-finish, FRIENDSHIP make quite the name for themselves on this monstrous, unforgivably heavy debut. Despite their name, FRIENDSHIP‘s music is the furthest thing from friendly.” Metal Trenches warns, “Hatred, as the name suggests, is a no frills, no bullshit slice of bitter hardcore and grind with no regard for your eardrums or well-being… Listening to this album conjures images of concrete slabs and dried bloodstains.”
For review copies of Hatred in North America contact dave@earsplitcompound.com and internationally contact lauren@rarelyunable.com.

FRIENDSHIP: Hatred LP By Japanese Harsh Hardcore Act Now Available Through Southern Lord; Album Streaming

Posted on: November 3, 2017

Hatred, the corrosive debut full-length onslaught from Japan’s mysterious harsh, doom-fueled crust/hardcore outfit FRIENDSHIP, is now available through Southern Lord, the LP streaming in its cruel entirety.

While FRIENDSHIP‘s identity remains an enigma, those who have encountered their antagonistic, loud, and murky sonic world, can testify to the sheer power of the auditory torture the band creates. FRIENDSHIP has previously self-released two CD EPs which sold out in a month since reissued as I & II vinyl and cassette version through Sentient Ruin. For their Hatred LP, the band delivers twelve caustic tracks in just over twenty-five minutes, the album recorded in their home city of Tokyo, the album then mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege. Blackened, ominous, and intense, fans of prior Southern Lord releases by Nails, Heartless, Dead In The Dirt, Gust, and similarly devastating acts should not ignore this.

Stream FRIENDSHIP’s entire Hatred LP HERE.

Originally released by Daymare Recordings on CD and digital formats back in June, Southern Lord now issues FRIENDSHIP‘s Hatred on LP format.

Place digital orders for Hatred HERE and order physical product HERE.

Having gained a reputation for extremely loud live shows through playing with the likes of Full Of Hell, Sumac, Endon, and others, FRIENDSHIP will open for Sleep in Tokyo in January. Find more info HEREand watch for international tour dates from FRIENDSHIP to be announced in the months ahead.

FRIENDSHIP Leave Them All Behind 2018:
1/13/2018 Garden – Tokyo, JP w/ Sleep, Mutoid Man, Nepenthes

Stereogum declares of Hatred’s vile attack, “tracks like ‘Life Sentence’ also showcase a riff dexterity and subtle multi-section mastery that evades a lot of genre-adjacent HM-2 steppers… Other bands would labor over a way to get the listener from Point A to Point B. FRIENDSHIP realizes that you don’t need much connective tissue if Point A and Point B both kick ass. And that’s the takeaway: While fast/slow, particularly punk-fast and sludge-slow, is one of the dustier tropes, to be a legitimate two-tool threat is still rare.” Svbterranean’s review includes, “From start-to-finish, FRIENDSHIP make quite the name for themselves on this monstrous, unforgivably heavy debut. Despite their name, FRIENDSHIP‘s music is the furthest thing from friendly.” Metal Trenches warns, “Hatred, as the name suggests, is a no frills, no bullshit slice of bitter hardcore and grind with no regard for your eardrums or well-being… Listening to this album conjures images of concrete slabs and dried bloodstains.”

For review copies of Hatred in North America contact dave@earsplitcompound.com and internationally contact lauren@rarelyunable.com.

http://www.southernlord.com
http://southernlord.bandcamp.com
http://twitter.com/twatterlord
https://www.facebook.com/SLadmin