In the wake of the release of their critically acclaimed physical debut full-length I Was Never Really There, Belgian dark electro trailblazers MILDREDA are now unveiling the illuminating video clip ‘Inner Judgement’. The single had scored #4 in the German Alternative Charts.
MILDREDA comment: "The ‘poisonous muse’, who casts her dark shadow across I was Never Really There and who made her first visible appearance in the ‘Liaisons Dangereuses’ video, now returns to full view in the ‘Inner Judgement’ clip", explains mastermind Jan Dewulf. "This enigmatic being remains cool and impassive in the face of all the anger and biting frustration that push this song forward."
The Answer Lies In The Black Void are a new doom duo featuring Martina Horváth (singer for the avant-garde metal project Thy Catafalque) and Jason Köhnen (Celestial Season, Bong-Ra, ex-The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble).
The debut album, Forlorn is an enveloping exploration of the doom genre and the myriad means of expression within it – journeying from a classic old-school sound to something more contemporary, then expanding further into sludge and industrial terrain, also incorporating elements of Martina’s background in Hungarian folk music. The Answer Lies In The Black Void seeks to embrace beauty in darkness and fragility in heaviness. In their own words, “Forlorn explores the sacred union of the divine feminine and masculine, the light and the dark, the shadows that hide within and the trials of love, lust and loss”.
‘Mina’ is taken from their debut album, released 24th September. Watch the video here:
Sky Valley Mistress who released their debut album Faithless Rituals on New Heavy Sounds last year, just as the UK went into lockdown, are finally heading out to play some live shows to support the new record. To coincide with these dates the band have also shared a new video for ’She Is So’ which you can check out now.
Renowned songstress Chelsea Wolfe has revealed two unreleased songs from her Birth of Violence sessions during which she masterfully returned to her folk roots. Her stunning spin on Joni Mitchell’s eminent single, “Woodstock” and the never before heard, “Green Altar” display Wolfe’s experimental approach as she deliberately ties together her discoveries in rich textures and haunting melodies.
Wolfe recounts, “While preparing for the Birth of Violence tour, I was watching a lot of Joni Mitchell videos. A 1966 Canadian performance that I found of hers ended up inspiring the video for my song ‘Highway.’ One night after working on the live set, Ben and I were hanging out and I was just letting the Joni videos roll.. ‘Woodstock’ came on and I started singing along. After that I simply asked Ben if he’d be into covering it with me for the tour, and we just went back into the studio and started working it out. The cover came together quite naturally and it was a treat to play on stage every night. Joni is obviously such a big inspiration to this side of my music, so it felt right to pay tribute to her.”
“‘Green Altar’ is a cherished song that unfortunately didn’t make it onto the album. It’s a love song I wrote after finding out that my dear friends (artist) Bill Crisafi and (designer) Hogan McLaughlin were engaged. I envisioned them getting married in a lush, green outdoor space outside of some majestic castle ruins.”
Wolfe has also shared an official documentary of her 2019 Birth of Violence Tour which unfortunately came to a halt with the onset of the pandemic. The piece is beautifully shot by photographer/director Bobby Cochran who joined Wolfe at the tail end of the North American leg. Cochran documents the show, stage, and captures moments behind the scenes. The two also sat down to discuss the creation of the album, Birth of Violence, about what it’s like being on tour and her rituals.
Wolfe tells, “It’s not my natural inclination to want cameras around when I’m in my head or doing vocal warmups before a show, or when I’m with friends or family backstage, but Bobby asked, and in the spirit of pushing myself to document that era of my musical life, I welcomed him along. Then, after the COVID-19 pandemic hit and I had to fly home from the European acoustic tour before I got to play a single show of it, I was so grateful that he had this footage and was putting it together. I wanted to share this documentary for that reason as well, for those who had tickets to cancelled shows (I love you!), and as a sort of wave goodbye to the time I spent focused on ‘Birth of Violence’, as I’m now making plans for and in the headspace of the next new album.”
“Woodstock” / “Green Altar” and the Birth of Violence 2019 Tour Documentary are available today via Sargent House.
The latest single from Iranian metal band Confess is an anthem of long-awaited retribution. ‘Megalodon’ started simmering in the mind of frontman Nikan Khosravi as a result of his imprisonment by the Iranian government. The down-tuned groove and ravaged vocals bring 90s acts like Korn to mind. But there’s also a modern death metal sound that introduces us to the band’s new direction.
The song was written and recorded in Norway, soon after the founding members earned refugee status. Mastered by Grammy-nominated producer Machine (Lamb of God, Suicide Silence, Miss May I, and many others). ‘Megalodon’ describes the need for justice in the mind of a political prisoner. Being locked up in jail and released on bail, forced to live in obscurity. “Many people think you’re gone, and you don’t exist anymore, and it makes them happy!”, Khosravi explains.
But the beast observes and waits for its day of reckoning. “Like Megalodon, an ancient creature that everyone thinks they are extinct. But there are rumors that they still exist and live in the depth of the ocean.” he continues. When you least expect it the monster can resurface and eat up any massive animal, just to disappear again.
The track is Khosravi’s first experiment with 7 strings. It’s also the band’s first production in the Scandinavian winter. "To me, it has a vibe that reminds me of the environment I live in."
Listen here:
AA
Confess describe themselves as a “five-piece street protest”. Khosravi and Arash Ilkhani (DJ / Sampler) faced arrest and prison in Tehran, following the release of the band’s second album in 2015. Both musicians obtained refugee status in Norway in 2018 and have been playing across the country. They recently opened for Mayhem at Festspillene i Nord.
Released 10thSeptember 2021 via Rexius Records, the single is part of the band’s upcoming album Revenge at All Costs which is due for release in early 2022.
A Place To Bury Strangers announce ‘Hologram: Destroyed & Disassembled,’ a Record Store Day Black Friday exclusive out 26th November 26th on Dedstrange. Their Hologram EP is deconstructed and expanded into a 13-track album featuring mind-altering remixes by Daniel Fox of Girl Band, Penelope Isles, Do Nothing, BODEGA, Weeping Icon, Ganser, Grimoose, The Bodies Obtained, bandmates Ceremony East Coast plus Dedstrange label mates Jealous, Data Animal, Plattenbau, and Randy Randall of No Age. Vinyl will be available at your local record store on Black Friday. Visit www.recordstoreday.com for more details.
They’re also sharing a new music video for ‘Playing the Part’ directed by Heather Bickford to celebrate the vinyl release of Hologram.
As noisy as they can be, there’s true prettiness in the APTBS sound. Sometimes it’s buried in the hypnotic mixes, and sometimes, it’s right there on the surface. ‘Playing The Part’ is one of the most winsome things the group has ever recorded — it’s got a glorious guitar tone, an active, melodic bass line, and a graceful vocal from Ackermann that could legitimately be called sweet. Director Heather Bickford has matched the song with a video that underscores its beauty, and its strangeness, too. Bickford, who also stars in the clip, shoots Ackermann in a historic house in Flagstaff, Arizona that looks like something out of a reverie: there’s antique wallpaper, stained glass windows, curio cabinets stuffed with bone china, landscape paintings in gilded frames, and velvet drapes over the bed. Microphone in hand, thoroughly bewitched, animated by the enchantment of his surroundings, Ackermann slips into a dream.
Bickford elaborates: “‘Playing the Part’ was shot in Flagstaff, Arizona, on Oliver’s birthday, while Ollie and I were on a little getaway last November. He had actually proposed to me the day before while we were at Zion National Park so we were in a dream-like state of mind. Shot in a historic home, the vintage decor and wallpaper provided the perfect backdrop for the video."
Watch ‘Playing The Part’ here:
A Place To Bury Strangers 2022 North American Tour Dates – Tickets on sale here
Wed. September 15 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom $ Mon. October 11 – New Orleans, LA @ Civic Theatre * Tue. October 12 – Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre * Wed. October 13 – Raleigh, NC @ Ritz * Thur. October 14 – Washington, DC @ Anthem * Fri. October 29 – Austin, TX @ Levitation Festival Tue. February 1 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s # Wed. February 2 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz # Fri. February 4 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace # Sat. February 5 – Detroit, MI @ El Club # Sun. February 6 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle Mon. February 7 – Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club # Tue. February 8 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Ave. 7th Street Entry # Fri. February 11 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos % Sat. February 12 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios % Sun. February 13 – Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre % Tue. February 15 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel % Wed. February 16 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom % Fri. February 18 – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar % Sat. February 19 – Tucson, AZ @ Hotel Congress % Tue. February 22 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge % Wed. February 23 – Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck % Fri. February 25 – Nashville, TN @ The High Watt %
* with Future Islands $ with Maxband & Wah Together # with Glove % with TV Priest
A Place To Bury Strangers 2022 European Tour Dates – Tickets on sale now
Wed 09 March – Hafenklang – Hamburg, Germany
Thu 10 March – Beatpol – Dresden, Germany
Fri 11 March – Klub Poglos – Warsaw, Poland
Sat 12 March – Futurum – Prague, Czech Republic Sun 13 March – Randal Club – Bratislava, Slovakia
Mon 14 March – Durer Kert – Budapest, Hungary
Wed 16 March – Control Club – Bucharest, Romania
Thu 17 March – Mixtape5 – Sofia, Bulgaria Fri 18 March – Eightball – Thessaloniki, Greece
Sat 19 March – Temple – Athens, Greece Mon 21 March – 25th of May Hall – Skopje, Macedonia
Tue 22 March – Club Drugstore – Belgrade, Serbia
Thu 24 March – Mochvara – Zagreb, Croatia Fri 25 March – Freakout Club – Bologna, Italy
Sat 26 March – Largo – Rome, Italy Sun 27 March – Legend Club – Milan, Italy
Tue 29 March – Bogen F – Zurich, Switzeralnd Wed 30 March – Backstage – Munich, Germany
Thu 31 March – Caves Du Memoir – Martigny, Switzeralnd
Fri 01 April – La Trabendo – Paris, France Sat 02 April – Lafayette – London, UK Mon 04 April – Kayka – Antwerp, Belgium Tue 05 April – Gleis 22 – Munster, Germany Wed 06 April – Melkweg – Amsterdam, Netherlands
Thu 07 April – Vera- Groningen, Netherlands Sat 09 April – Hus 7 – Stockholm, Sweden Sun 10 April – John Dee – Oslo, Norway Mon 11 April – Pumpehuset – Copenhagen, Denmark
Tue 12 April Hole 44 – Berlin, Germany Wed 13 April – MTC – Cologne, Germany
"I wrote ‘Revolve’ on an unplugged electric guitar in a hotel room in San Francisco and it sounded great! Obviously then it wasn’t hard to make an all acoustic version of Revolve work. it’s a great riff" says Buzz Osborne of The Melvins of the latest track to be shared from their forthcoming album, Five Legged Dog (Oct. 15, Ipecac Recordings), which premiered yesterday via Kerrang! and is now streaming on all digital platforms.
The 36-song newly recorded, acoustic collection features a career-spanning collection of songs, from 1987’s Gluey Porch Treatments to 2017’s A Walk With Love & Death, the entire gamut of the legendary band’s catalogue is represented.
Five Legged Dog also features acoustic versions of several rarities from the influential band’s overflowing discography including a cover of Redd Kross’ “Charlie” (from the limited-edition “Escape From LA” single), “Outside Chance,” a Turtles’ cover from the “Slithering Slaughter” single and new interpretations of The Rolling Stones “Sway,” Brainiac’s “Flypaper,” and Fred Neil’s “Everybody’s Talking” (popularised by Harry Nilsson). Butthole Surfer Jeff Pinkus lends his vocals (and banjo) to “Don’t Forget to Breathe” and “Everybody’s Talking.”
“I knew I wanted to do something ridiculously big,” explains Buzz Osborne of the band’s first ever acoustic offering. ”36 songs reimagined by us acoustically is certainly ridiculous but it works. The magic of the songs is still there regardless of it being acoustic. Since we weren’t touring we had the time to do something of this size. I’m very excited about this record. Dale and Steven did a fantastic job on this. I think it’s a very special record. I can’t think of anyone else who’s done something like this.”
Dale Crover noted: “I think people will be surprised that we can do an acoustic version of a song like ‘Night Goat’ without losing any of the heaviness. We also worked hard on the vocal arrangements. People are going to freak out!”
Emma Ruth Rundle’s forthcoming Engine of Hell is stark, intimate, and unflinching. For anyone that’s endured trauma and grief, there’s a beautiful solace in hearing Rundle articulate and humanise that particular type of pain not only with her words, but with her particular mysterious language of melody and timbre. The album captures a moment where a masterful songwriter strips away all flourishes and embellishments in order to make every note and word hit with maximum impact, leaving little to hide behind.
A gentle melancholy piano line introduces album opener and lead single “Return,” and when Rundle finally sings, every syllable guided with the utmost intention, she unleashes the ominously cryptic opening lines “A rich belief that no one sees you / Your ribbon cut from all the fates and / Some hound of Hell looking for handouts / The breath between things no one says.” The ambiguity may obscure the muse, but it doesn’t diminish its heaviness.
“Return” is available today via Sargent House and comes accompanied with a striking and introspective video directed by Rundle herself. The visual was heavily inspired by Jean Cocteau’s ‘Orpheus’ and Wim Wenders’ ‘Wings of Desire’, and gives nods to other films and images. Of “Return”, Rundle unfolds, “An examination of the existential. A fractured poem. Trying to quantify what something is definitely about or pontificating on its concrete meaning defeats the purpose of art making. I’m not a writer. I make music and images to express things that my words cannot convey or emote. I’ve been studying ballet and the practice of expression through movement, which I incorporated into the video. I choreographed a dance to the song – some of which you see. Pieces show through. Since completing ‘Engine of Hell’, I’ve stepped away from music more and more and into things like dance, painting and working on ideas for videos or little films. ‘Return’ is the result of the efforts.”
Oakland-based heavy music savants Kowloon Walled City have announced Piecework, the quartet’s first album in six years, confirmed for an October 8th release via Neurot Recordings and Gilead Media. Since forming 15 years ago, the band has increasingly refined its deconstructed approach to noise rock, math rock, and post-hardcore, embracing dynamics and negative space to a degree that few others in the world of heavy music match. With Piecework Kowloon Walled City has managed even greater levels of restraint: songs are bleak and slow, but also shorter and more concise; counterpointing moments of austere beauty with stretches of near silence. While the band has always operated under the MO that less is more, it has doubled down on that ethos for Piecework. Singer/guitarist Scott Evans and guitarist Jon Howell, the main songwriters, self-imposed restrictions to push themselves creatively—“restraining ourselves into oblivion,” as Howell puts it.
The negative space amplifies the ruptures of heady aggressiveness that anchor Piecework. Angular guitar notes from Howell skew off the neck, dissolving into space. Ian Miller’s bass lines churn in the muck. Drums and cymbal smashing by Dan Sneddon punctuate dead air. (Sneddon, formerly of Early Graves, makes his recording debut with the band five years after joining.) There’s sadness and anger in Evans’ shouted vocals, but also a desire for something better; hints of perseverance and hope pushing through the resignation and regret. Piecework feels not only like an artistic accomplishment, but a triumph of resolve and vision.
Evans was dealing with the loss of his father during the writing of the album. He found strength in the women in his life, especially his maternal grandmother, who worked at a shirt factory in Kentucky for 40 years while raising five kids. The album name (and title track) is a nod to her line of work—and her quiet resilience. The themes of absence and death, surrendering to aging, and familial strength and love are all encapsulated in album artwork by photographer Melyssa Anishnabie—the tattered beauty of an abandoned home reveals the faint edges of where life used to be. Evans likens it to watching a grandparents’ house fall into disrepair. As with all previous KWC releases, Evans recorded and mixed Piecework (his impressive recording CV includes Thrice, Yautja, Great Falls, Ghoul, Town Portal, and many others) and like previous albums Container Ships (2012) and Grievances (2015) the tracks were recorded live at Oakland’s Sharkbite Studios, with minimal overdubs.
‘Phaedra’ is the second single from Amon Tobin’s forthcoming album How Do You Live, which will be fully released on September 24th via Nomark. The track is an experiment, an exploration with harmonics, “a physical model of a saxophone” as Amon describes it.
How Do You Live is Amon Tobin’s first new album since he launched his Nomark Records label with the #1 Fear in A Handful of Dust and its sister album, Long Stories, in 2019.
In the 25 years since Amon Tobin released his first album under the pseudonym Cujo, he has made music that has not only tested the boundaries of sound but has also challenged our emotional response to the music that electronics can make.
A zoomed out macro view, like an astronaut looking at the world from Space. Amon expands on this further when comparing the record to other recent albums, "If Fear In a Handful of Dust and Long Stories were intimate and close, like a microscope. This one is like a telescope."
From the ominous opening of title track "How Do You Live", the album dances carousel-like through a delicious cacophony. “Sweet Inertia (featuring Figueroa)” embraces us with the warming notion of procrastination as an infallible temptress. The aforementioned new single, “Phaedra” has the air of a darkened, ethereal waltz danced along the street in the half-light. Throughout the album rhythms are teased and tossed, beats explode and turn like a twister hurtling through Tornado Alley. As the record crescendos to the final track, the sublime “All Things Burn”, we are bathed in the glorious glow of all that remains possible.
Tobin has released pioneering bass music as Two Fingers, psyche-folk as Figueroa, rock electronica as Only Child Tyrant and his most recent outing as Stone Giants showed another side as he explored love songs through his own unique lens.
When considering the influence of his Nomark label mates on this new album, Amon comments, "Everything feeds in. After spending time in the micro of personal experiences with Stone Giants and Figueroa this record explores bigger scenery from a distance, for the most part."
In a quarter century of music making Tobin is one of those artists who has never sat still; restless to always try one more thing, one more avenue, a different fork in the road.
Tobin’s records are musical anomalies. They’ve been this way since the beginning, and in 2021 his musical curiosity remains as sharp as ever.
Aural Aggravation 