Touche Amore are one of the best new bands to come around. Their fusion of hardcore music with almost pop guitar melodies is really awesome, and I especially dug their recent split with Pianos Become The Teeth when they took a more post-rock turn. It really boded well for them, and as of today, the band are already done tracking drums for the newest record, set to be released this fall via Deathwish Inc. I’ll tell you, it’s going to be a big year for Deathwish: Touche Amore, Deafheaven, Harms Way, Young And In The Way and possibly even Trap Them all have records set to come out, and I’m stoked for all of them, even more so because I know that Deathwish is a killer label who always puts out quality releases. Watch the teaser video below and keep up with their Facebook, and we’ll have more news as it comes!
As fascinating and as forward-thinking the metal world is a lot of the time, sometimes it’s hard to beat a combination of infectious energy and rough cut riffs. Call Of The Void embody that statement shamelessly and their debut record Dragged Down A Dead End Path finds the band refining and honing those ideals with some impressive results. The basic gist of their sound takes the head-moving underlying groove of Trap Them and stirs in a lethal dose of the grinding car-crash that is Gaza. Through the entire duration of Dragged Down… you’re subjected to a selection of headstrong riffs, that are more concerned with blunt force than any real finesse or subtlety, d-beats and gruff vocals in two distinct ways; tracks like ‘Napalm Lungs‘ and ‘The Liar’s Heart‘ take the direct grind route and, on the other hand, ‘Endless Ritual Abuse‘ and the brilliantly titled ‘I Hope You Two Fuck‘ place the focus on mid-tempo stomps. It’s a familiar approach and not one would displace any disbelievers in the style any time soon, but it’s not one that you could ever fake and the sheer amount of honesty on display here is infectious. Call Of The Void are callous, loud and, although it sounds like an antonym, sagacious, let’s hope they don’t change any time soon. – DL
01. Agnus Dei
02. May God Damn All Of Us
03. Violent Infection
04. Geometric Power
05. Post Mortem Nihil Est
06. Daily Lies
07. Love Your Enemy
08. Vermin of Dust
09. Darkness I Became
10. Heretic Temple
11. The Bottomless Pit
12. Obscure Dogma
13. Seven Billion Graves
[10/23/12]
[Southern Lord Records]
There is a certain perverse irony behind the title of The Secret’s fourth album, Agnus Dei. The Italian metallic hardcore outfit’s latest offering bears the title of the peaceful Christian symbol of a holy lamb, yet presents itself as a wolf amongst the flock devouring the innocent beasts. While initially an intriguing and entertaining endeavor, repeated listens quickly reveal that this analogy would be more appropriately adjusted to describe Agnus Dei as a wolf in sheep’s clothing. For while The Secret provide a solid performance of the recent trend of sludgy, grind influenced hardcore, this lycan ferocity is padded down by certain wooly missteps.
Consider The Secret a secret no longer for myself. This Italian hardcore group deliver grinding hardcore in the same vein as the recently discussed Early Graves, so after my first listen of the title track of their upcoming album it was one of those ‘where have you been all my life!?’ moments. ‘Agnus Dei‘, or ‘lamb of god’ to the latin speakers, is a Kurt Ballou produced, feedback drenched brute of a track that brings to mind the more unhinged moments of Trap Them and their ilk and you can hear it courtesy of BrooklynVegan in the Soundcloud player below.
Southern Lord will release Agnus Dei on October 23rd.
Hardcore fans everywhere rejoice. The legendary bands Converge and Napalm Death have teamed up for a split EP, and it is now available for digital download at Deathwish, Inc. Here’s the information and tracklist on the release:
Recorded as part of their new album sessions, Converge offer up the blazing new song “No Light Escapes.” Already a staple of their live set, this whirlwind of an emotional charged song is a soon to be a discordant hardcore/metal anthem for the band. Also on the release, Converge offer a “We Are The World” styled rendition of the influential Entombed classic “Wolverine Blues“. Joining them in tribute is a number of friends including Tomas Lindberg (Disfear, At The Gates, Lock Up), Aaron Turner (Isis, Old Man Gloom, Split Cranium), Kevin Baker (APMD, The Hope Conspiracy), Brian Izzi (Trap Them), and more. A new Converge album will surface later in 2012 on Epitaph/Deathwish.
On the flip side, metal pioneers Napalm Death offer up two new aural monsters. First, “Will By Mouth” erupts in classic grind fashion. A buzz of brutal guitars and a crushing blast beat lay a foundation for Barney Greenway’s vicious vocal attack. All of it uniquely bleeding together to paint a vivid picture of social unrest. Also on the release, Napalm Death offer the slower and textural new song “No Impediment To Triumph (Bhopal)”. A deeply resonant number that lyrically sheds light on the horrific Bhopal Gas Tragedy of 1984. Without question, “No Impediment…” is truly a powerful and poignant moment for this legendary band.
TRACK LISTING:
01. No Light Escapes – Converge
02. Wolverine Blues – Converge
03. Will By Mouth – Napalm Death
04. No Impediment To Triumph (Bophal) – Napalm Death
With a signing to Southern Lord and members list that includes stints in Trap Them, Shai Hulud, Misery Signals and, of all things, Fallout Boy, it’s probably fair to say that Enabler have a pedigree. And while the idea of a ‘supergroup’ tends to bring out the cynics in flocks, upon first listen of their new album All Hail The Void it’s hard to deny that they do themselves justice. Comprised of crusty, metallic hardcore that seats itself in the same school of ‘Entombed-core’ as bands like All Pigs Must Die and the aforementioned Trap Them — it’s exactly the kind of violent aural massage I needed to start this week and you can catch the full album stream too over at BlowTheScene.com before it drops tomorrow!
It’s almost here, folks. Converge‘s upcoming album All We Love We Leave Behind has been finished and everything is ready to go. The above image was posted to Jacob Bannon’s Instagram with the caption “AWLWLB Finis” depicts the final masters of the album being zipped for label delivery, and now everyone is freaking out, myself included. Converge are the true definition of hardcore music, and we really have them to thank for all of the Trap Thems and Every Time I Dies in the world today.
All We Love We Leave Behind will be out September 11th via Deathwish/Epitaph Records. GET EXCITED!
SLC noisemakers GAZA have unveiled the cover art for their upcoming wrecking ball of an album No Absolutes In Human Suffering. Done by artist Mike Wohlberg (Trap Them, Tombs, Today Is the Day, etc), the art will likely capture the aesthetic you’d expect to hear on the record:
“Anthony [Lucero, Gaza bassist] contacted me earlier this year asking me to do what I had been dreaming of doing since I first met these guys – a layout for their next full-length. I was provided with two photos of a old political rally and the idea of an upside down heart, conveying the album’s tone of faceless, binding hopelessness. I took the images and ran with them: adding distress, blotting out likeness, blowing out the sky, essentially turning it into an image of a silent hell brought on under a sigil of active despair. I worked very closely with Jon [Parkin, Gaza vocalist] and Anthony, turning out a couple of weeks worth of work in about four days to meet their deadline. The stress was invigorating, fueling the process and making the imagery that much more raw and intense. In the end, I feel like I accomplished a piece that both met their expectations of what they hoped to convey and my strict standards of the work that I present to the world. I’ve been fortunate enough to call these guys friends in the five years that I’ve known them and I am forever thankful to be a part of this album and their legacy as a band.”
GAZA’s No Absolutes In Human Suffering is due out July 31st on Black Market Activities. A new song from the record was posted last week, so give it a listen if you have not yet done so. Be sure to check out GAZA on tour this summer, with their current itinerary after the jump!
01. A Hammer And Nails
02. Deceiver
03. The Gallows Await
04. Burning At Both Ends
05. Things Are Different Now
06. Breathe
07. Hidden Hands
08. Escapism
09. Dead Weight
10. Faith / Fate
[03/20/12]
[Deathwish Inc.]
Forming from the ashes of two other bands and only being around since 2002, Belgian rockers Rise and Fall have quickly become one of the most successful and hard hitting bands in the European hardcore/punk/metal scene, as well as gaining popularity here in the states. Already having a well established discography under their belts, which includes three full-lengths, splits and 7″s, Rise and Fall return after 3 years to give us the loudest and heaviest album of their career, the frenzied and razor sharp sounding, Faith.
Wolfbrigade aren’t a band I’m familiar with, despite having a career stretching back to 2001 and playing under the name Wolfpack for five years prior to that. However thanks to the combination of the impeccable taste of American Aftermath and the work of Southern Lord records, I’ll get a chance to hear the new full length Damned from these Swedish d-beat merchants in April with ‘Peace Of Mind‘ being the brilliant first impression. Fans of Black Breath, Disfear and Dead In The Dirt should easily find something to love about ‘Peace Of Mind‘ whether it be the scorching tremolo leads, the deep hardcore shouts or the pummeling drums.
Call Of The Void – Dragged Down A Dead End Path
The Secret
