Long-running Swedish d-beat/hardcore punk icons Wolfbrigade present the sole single from their impending tenth full-length, The Enemy: Reality, set for release next week through Southern Lord Recordings. The hammering new track ‘he Wolfman’ as been revealed through an official new video.
Directed by MeANkind and edited by Henrik Norsell, ‘The Wolfman’ is built upon the theme of Sigmund Freud’s ‘Wolfman’s dream.’ The video is an incredibly stark, prime example not only of Wolfbrigade’s long-established, ever progressing sound, but also of the band’s political message, beliefs, and outlook on humanity. A visual amalgamation of Orwellian overwatch by governmental powers, lessons unlearned from the nuclear arms race of the mid-1900s, and our current state of worldwide socio-political unrest serves as a backdrop for the band’s raging d-beat angst and scathing vocal detestation.
Just as anyone who complained that everything Mötörhead did sounded the same was missing the point, so anyone who complains that Wolfbrigade sound like Mötörhead are, too.
After a thumbs-up review some weeks ago, DIY noisemongering power trio Neverlanded throw their new single, ‘Refuge’ out to the world. We dig it. You should give it a listen.
Cult Black Metal band The Deathtrip have shared the video for new single ‘Enter Spectral Realms’ taken from their sophomore album Demon Solar Totem, the follow-up to 2014’s debut, Deep Drone Master.
A hypnotic yet brutal concoction for this offering. Ferocious and unrelenting, evoking the magical untamed essence of old. Featuring the long-due return of Kvohst (Ex-Dødheimsgard/Code) on lyrics/vocals joining the cold, hypnotic riffs of Host, the primal drumming of Storm (Ex-My Dying Bride, Blasphemer) and introducing the bass playing of Thomas Eriksen (Mork), The Deathtrip offer tickets to primeval possession and open portals to other dimensions. Demon Solar Totem captures the spirit of ancient Darkthrone, Thorns and Beherit imbued with old-English occultism and the chanting of sacred sound formulas.
"From the depths of the blackened tomb, bear witness, as we commune with the spirit world and summon the abyss that will swallow the universe, & our flesh becomes at once scattered and, again, renewed. Enter Spectral Realms. Come. Enter Spectral Realms.”
There’s a reason we’ve been backing London punky indie / alt rock / neo riot grrrl act Argonaut on these pages for a while now. Partly, it’s because we dig their DIY aesthetic, but mostly it’s because we did their scuzzy, grungy, guitar-drive pop tunes. Because there really is no substitute for a solid tune.
This might not be their own solid tune, but the second single in this year’s DIY trilogy is an exuberant and enthusiastic rendition of Cindy Lauper’s 80s classic. It’s kinda chaotic and magnificently lo-fi, but it’s a sincere homage and very much conveys the importance of placing the emphasis on FUN. They’re clearly enjoying themselves, and it’s a joy that’s contagious.
Lungbutter, who scored a rave review here not so long back, return with a striking new video for the track ‘Curtain’ taken from their debut album Honey which came out earlier this Spring via Constellation. Live dates for the UK are currently being booked in for April 2020 – more details to follow in due course.
About the track the band remarks:"The lyrics of this song are about the struggle to be legible to others. They come from the feeling of simultaneously being lonely and spending too much time having long and circular conversations. Our brains and selves are all obscure to us."
Watch the video here:
Lyrics to "Curtain" it’s clearer from the other side me under the big dark mood it’s hard not to think of maybe taking off my blinders you said i have a very dark and heavy personality but that don’t cut through the curtain i could not cut through the curtain now is the time for an increase calm waters only calm fires only
Leprous have shared the 3rd single from their sixth and most ambitious studio album Pitfalls, which is set for release on 25th October 2019 via InsideOutMusic.
Listen to ‘Distant Bells’ here:
Simen Børven (Bass) says: "The instrumental part of ‘Distant Bells’ is a compilation of my musical background. Influences from Nordic Jazz and Symphonic Pop infuses the attempt of stretching an extremely simple idea, from almost nothing, to an explosion towards the ending of the song. To me the composition is like an evolution from a single self-replicating cell into a complex sentient being."
Einar Solberg (Vocals/Synth): "It was both challenging and very refreshing to work on “Distant Bells”, as the main instrumental idea didn’t come from me. It opened up new doors of creativity within myself and it was very exciting to do the melody and lyrics for this track. It’s a very different LEPROUS track, and it turned out to be one of my personal favourites. Simen has a different musical background than myself, and our contradictions are probably what made this song shine so bright."
LEPROUS – Live 2019:
LEPROUS + The Ocean & Port Noir:
01 November Esch (Luxembourg) – Rockhal
02 November Zwolle (The Netherlands) – Hedon
03 November Leiden (The Netherlands) – Gebr. De Nobel
04 November Berlin (Germany) – Kesselhaus
05 November Köln (Germany) – Kantine
06 November Frankfurt (Germany) – Batschkapp
07 November Antwerp (Belgium) – Zappa
08 November London (UK) – ULU
09 November Manchester (UK) – Academy 2
11 November Zurich (Switzerland) – Plaza
12 November Paris (France) – Cabaret Sauvage
13 November Lyon (France) – CCO
14 November Biarritz (France) – Atabal
15 November Madrid (Spain) – Shoko
16 November Barcelona (Spain) – Apolo
18 November Parma (Italy) – Campus Music Industry
19 November Munich (Germany) – Freiheiz
20 November Vienna (Austria) – Szene
21 November Prague (Czech Republic) – Palac Akropolis
22 November Dresden (Germany) – Beatpol
23 November Wroclaw (Poland) – Pralnia
24 November Hamburg (Germany) – Uebel & Gefahrlich
25 November Copenhagen (Denmark) – Lille Vega
26 November Gothenburg (Sweden) – Pustervik
27 November Stockholm (Sweden) – Fryshuset Klubben
LEPROUS:
28 November Oslo (Norway) – Vulkan Arena
29 November Stavanger (Norway) – Folken
30 November Hamar (Norway) – Festiviteten
LEPROUS with Amorphis, Soilwork & The Ocean: 05 December Turku (Finland) – Logomo 06 December Rauha (Finland) – Saimaa Areena
Closing out a long year spent on the road, singer/songwriter Emma Ruth Rundle has revealed her final music video to accompany her 2018 album On Dark Horses. Directed by Mitch Wells (Thou) and starring the song’s muse and inspiration, Blake Armstrong, the video for ‘You Don’t Have to Cry’ is poignant and affecting and further solidifies Rundle’s place as one of music’s most dextrous minds.
PSOTY (formerly known as Pet Slimmers of the Year) who release Sunless this Friday on Candlelight Records have shared the 2nd track from their album. Describing the ‘King of Ephyra’ as ‘a total band favourite! Driving guitars, big vocals and some powerful melodies throughout. Another embodiment of what we wanted to achieve on this record.’ It’s another example of PSOTY’s heavy focus on melody and dynamics, combining multi-layered guitars, hypnotic bass-lines, crushing riffs and groove oriented drum patterns to create a live sound much greater than the sum of its components.
Cunts, the snarling LA-based punk band featuring Michael Crain (Dead Cross/Retox) and Matt Cronk (Qui), release their self-titled debut album on 1 Nov via Ipecac Recordings. Ahead of the full album review, you can listen to the debut single, ‘A Hero’s Welcome’ here:
After a spellbinding performance at The Cure’s Pasadena Daydream Festival this past weekend in LA, Chelsea Wolfe is just one week away from releasing her latest album Birth Of Violence via Sargent House on September 13th.
Birth of Violence is a return to the reclusive nature of her earlier recordings where we see Wolfe withdraw into her own world of enigmatic and elusive autobiography. But the album also exists in the present, addressing modern tragedies such as school shootings and the poisoning of the planet.
On the song Wolfe tells us “Deranged for Rock & Roll” is my love song to music. Every time I ever tried to walk a different path, music always called me back home to it. It’s in my blood; it’s my one source of true peace. I love its chaos and its rough edges, and I love the way it can bring understanding and comfort. I belong to music, and it to me. I feel Gilbert’s video illustrates that unnamed pull towards something so well. My character is destined to sing the same song over and over in this purgatory of a desert bar, while different people come through the town and begin to feel the pull as well, drawing them into this vortex to stay for good.”
Video director Gilbert Trejo (Pixies, DIIV) says “From the beginning we knew this video took place outside of society. The melody invokes compulsion, a certain type of purgatory, the inability to just buckle down and fly the straight path. Everyone’s purgatory exists side by side, and we affect one another without ever knowing.”
Aural Aggravation 