LIMBONIC ART release the third and final advance single ‘The Wrath of Storms’ taken from the forthcoming album Opus Daemoniacal. The new full-length of the Norwegian black metal legends is chalked up for release on June 28, 2024.
Check it here:
AA
LIMBONIC ART comment: "The track ‘The Wrath of Storms’ unleashes a relentless metal onslaught of dark negative energies", mastermind Vidar "Daemon" Jensen explains. "As nature’s destructive fury rages across the planet and lays the domains of feeble entities and deities to waste, this track relates a profound tale of horror through the eyes of the beholder."
the Jesus Lizard, undeniably one of the most iconic and influential bands to emerge in the late 20th century, return with Rack, their first new album since 1998’s Blue, on Sept. 13 via Ipecac Recordings.
A preview of the 11-song album arrives today with the release of ‘Hide & Seek,’ a track David Yow describes as “a perky ditty about a witch who can’t behave, and it’s got nearly as many hooks as a Mike Tyson fight.” An accompanying video captures the foursome of Duane Denison, Mac McNeilly, David Wm. Sims, and Yow as they recorded the “ditty” with Producer Paul Allen at Nashville’s Audio Eagle Studio.
Check ‘Hide & Seek’ here:
“There are definitely some references to the past,” Denison says, in reference to the album, adding, “but it’s more as a point of departure: We don’t stay there.”
the Jesus Lizard reconvened in 2009 for a finite number of shows, and have spent the intervening years as both friends in close contact with one another, and touring bandmates. “We literally only made the record because we thought it would be fun to make the record,” Sims shares. With McNeilly highlighting the strong relationship amongst the musicians: “We are bonded by the music we make, and also by the respect we have for each other.”
The band has also announced tour dates, stretching well in to 2025, with more performances to come:
June 6 Nashville, TN Third Man Records SOLD OUT
June 8 Pomona, CA No Values
June 9 Garden Grove, CA Garden Amp
September 7 Raleigh, NC Hopscotch Music Festival
October 13 Las Vegas, NV Best Friends Forever Music Festival
InsideOutMusic is proud to announce the signing of Italian instrumental, prog-metal fusionists Asymmetric Universe to a new worldwide deal. The band, formed by brothers Federico Vese & Nicolò Vese, are also pleased to launch a brand new track titled ‘Don’t Go Too Early’, and you can watch the video for that here:
The band comment:
“We are so excited to join such a big family as InsideOutMusic! Being part of a team with legendary artists and bands that we’ve been listening to since we started studying music, is a dream come true!
Our new single, “Don’t Go Too Early”, is a mixture of fusion-jazz, aggressive progressive metal, wind quartet arrangements and an avant-garde string quartet orchestration, that brings a unique colour to complex yet catchy music. We can’t wait to share with you all the music we are already working on!”
Freddy Palmer, InsideOutMusic, adds: “Asymmetric Universe are a perfect example of the kind of exciting, instrumental guitar music making waves right now, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to add them to the label’s roster, and be a part of their bright future.”
The band are currently confirmed to support Plini & Haken in Milan, Italy on the 5th July, as well as playing Arctangent Festival in the UK on the 16th August alongside Meshuggah, Animals As Leaders & many more.
Formed in 2018, with the goal of pushing the limit of modern prog and fusing disparate genres, they combine metal with jazz & ambient music, alongside chamber orchestration. In 2023, the band released their second EP ‘The Sun Would Disappear As I Imagined All The Stars’, which was mixed by Forrester Savell and mastered by Ermin Hamidovic. They also embarked on their first European tour as support to Australian progressive metallers Ne Obliviscaris, as well as opening for Caligula’s Horse in Italy.
Both brothers are mostly self-taught musicians, who have been heavily involved in composition and orchestration, as well as music production.
Federico has composed music for as wide ranging places as Radio Montecarlo (one of the biggest Italian radio stations), as well as one of the largest Italian amusement park Mirabilandia. He is a metal/rock producer and this background influences his work as a composer in the video game industry. He is also a professional music and guitar teacher with online students from different parts of the world.
Nicolò has composed pieces for various orchestral organisations (two pieces were performed in the latest symphonic season of Orchestra Sinfonica of Sanremo and one performed at Rome Jazz Festival in 2021 with a big band), worked as a composer in many Musicals and he is currently working in the video game soundtrack industry (also as a sound designer), ranging from indie games to bigger productions. He also professionally teaches composition, orchestration and adaptive music techniques for video games.
Adios MF is a musical collective spearheaded by Nathan Keeble carving fresh dark wave and electronica sound the underground of Sheffield. Their latest single, ‘They,’ was recorded between Brooklyn and Brixton, serves as a sonic manifesto of what’s to come. Their music defies categorisation, blending elements of post-punk, electronica, and avant-garde into a sonic tapestry that’s uniquely their own.
With sleek production by Nathan Saoudi and Richard Wilson yet coursing with enough detail and character to set it apart, with this impish 80s beat, sinewy guitars, metallic dapping keyboards, and sample loops, it forges a uniquely futuristic sound that’s at once both familiar and yet mirrors the churn of the cityscape.
With a sound that hints at the influence of acts like Human League, Depeche Mode, Kraftwerk and Molly Nilsson, the vocals are addictive and almost mechanical, driven with hooky melodic ticks that sink their nails into and won’t let go, and yet the lyrics reside with a disquiet at the creeping gentrification of urban redevelopment “They built a Starbucks on my street” and reference to shadowy figures who might take you away. It hints at a dark underbelly and Sci-fi dystopia where your every action is being watched.
ADIOS MF say “’They’ is a Kitsch byproduct of existence amid the constant churn of urban development and the persistent buzz of drilling. It was written as a tonic to the realisation that resistance is futile; you must simply acquiesce to the world of urbanism and let it carry you along on its unpredictable journey, set to a naughty 80s beat.”
We dig it here at Aural Aggro, and you can get your lugs round it here…
HIGH DESERT QUEEN celebrate the release of their sophomore full-length Palm Reader with a new video single of the title track. The Texas desert rockers are also streaming their hot new album in full now on all relevant outlets.
“We couldn’t be happier with how this album came together,” vocalist Ryan Garney writes. “Going to YellowDog, and deciding to record the whole thing live without a click track while creating new songs after getting off the road allowed this to be an album that’s helping mold what High Desert Queen is becoming. The title track came together in the studio when Phil started playing the drum beat as a joke. We were all laughing until Rusty ripped into the intro guitar riff, and within an hour we had the music completely written. What you hear on Palm Reader is what we created in real time, and it’s not like anything we’ve written before. We knew right away it needed to make it on the album, and it really showcases the spontaneous creativity behind the entire record.”
“Party doom” riff merchants GURT recently announced their return with their latest, crushing-ist opus yet, Satan Etc. Now they have shared new single ‘Appetite for Construction’, with the band commenting,
“It’s no secret that Gareth is a fan of a famous little building brick, and this song started life as an ode to his favourite hobby, what it ended up as was a twisted tale of an unknown evil, building its twisted world around an unsuspecting people, a legacy of pain!’”
Sweden-based industrial/dark ambient artist ULVTHARM has released his second opus “7 Uthras” on May 3rd via Cyclic Law. The album is available as digisleeve CD (limited to 300 copies), black vinyl (limited to 200 copies), and red & black marbled vinyl (100 copies).
An official video has been released for the song ‘Sinners Will Inherit The Earth’. The video displays a female character – interpreted by the actress Emelina Rosenstielke (Feed) – sitting in a colorless room and in the center of a target painted on the floor. The character, who embodies modern civilization, is apparently afraid of the risks she may incur. Ulvtharm’s arrival on the scene and the subsequent initiation of a ritual reveal the true identity of the character, as well as of our civilization – thirsty for blood and personal success. We are all sinners on this Earth.
Watch it here:
“7 Uthras” is the second release from MZ 412 co-founder Jouni Ollila. Ulvtharm is painting his world as a sprawling, post-apocalyptic industrial wasteland, where humanity clings to survival in the shadows of monolithic factories and decaying cities. Skies choked with ash, and a sun that seldom breaks through the omnipresent smog. Within this landscape, the Seven Uthras exist not as beings of benevolence, but as ancient, god-like entities that emanate from the darkest depths of the earth, commanding forces beyond human comprehension. 7Uthras serves as a sonic gateway to otherworldly realms, offering a glimpse into the abyss that challenges and expands the listener’s perception of the known universe.
The artist masterfully blends the essence of dark industrial soundscapes with layers of mystical ambiance, creating an immersive experience that is both deeply unsettling and profoundly enlightening. This new album is not just an exploration of sound but a journey into the soul of its creator, exploring the chaos and darkness within his imagination. ULVTHARM’s deeper vocal experimentations are weaving a narrative that is both personal and universal. The album’s blend of dark, martial, pulsating rhythms and ambient organic soundscapes invites us to confront the death and ruins of our world. As each track unfolds, we will be drawn deeper into a narrative of chaos and transformation, where the end of one world signifies the birth of another. “7 Uthras” is not just an album; it is a ritualistic journey that seeks to unlock the ancient doors of perception and embrace the darkness as a path to enlightenment. All hail the Serpents, all hail the Seven Uthras!
Dawn Of Ashes is a Los Angeles-based group whose very name brings to mind ‘the beginning of the end’. Formed in 2001, DOA have broken ground across multiple genres, from aggrotech/terror EBM to industrial/extreme metal, producing a unique hybrid of dark electro and metal styles. This fusion of terrifying soundscapes with brutal, relentless rhythms forms the foundation for the lyrical themes of founder and frontman Kristof Bathory, which explore concepts of horror, anti-monotheistic religion, misanthropy and the negative aspects from emotional abuse.
DOA have recently issued a new album entitled Reopening The Scars that was preceded by the single ‘Anhedonia’, a video for which has just been made available. Bathory describes the song as “a glimpse into the dark abyss of the subconscious. We are explorers into the often unspoken, dark and cruel reality of mental anguish, torment and depression,” adding that “there are various circles of Hell when it comes to emotional suffering. Depression is a place that can cripple the mind in so many different ways. Anhedonia is the state of depression where nothing matters anymore, and you become paralysed by your own self punishment.”
Reopening The Scars is DOA’s first album for Metropolis Records since returning to their former label home in late 2023. “It is a continuation from our previous album, Scars Of The Broken,” Bathory has previously stated. “It goes down a darker hole into a place where each lyrical topic touches on the struggles of self-destructive behaviour. Pain and suffering dictated the writing process and created the sounds of emotional hell.”
As for the music that DOA is now creating, Bathory concludes that “after all these years dabbling in dark electronic music as well as industrial and extreme metal, we have found a unique style that complements each genre as one. DOA is neither one or the other in a separate category. The music and lyrical content speaks for itself under a form of darkness that fits for all people who enjoy various types of aggressive music. Reopening The Scars defines that in a perfect form.”
With yet another 24th May release, Philadelphia-based Cathari has released their EP, It Will Hurt the Entire Time You Are Alive, their first studio offering since transitioning into noisecore from doom metal. The EP is available on cassettes and digital.
Vocalist Magdalena Stephens shares: “‘It Will Hurt The Entire Time You Are Alive’ is like a thesis statement for my own sadness and disappointment into adulthood. Every song is about disappointment in its own way, be it with the music scene, the people I used to call friends, or even myself. Growing older has been a bitter and unforgiving experience and I wanted to capture the rage that percolates beneath the surface of my life as I come to find it’s just all disappointment all the way down.”
Darkwave band, DICHRO has just unveiled their latest single & video, ‘Mercy’ from the forthcoming full-length album due out in August via Distortion Productions. The song carries a message that we should have mercy not just in our every day encounters, but free one another from judgement for choosing how to believe, if we believe, and what we believe. If we can start seeing one another with empathic eyes and hearts, perhaps we can rid our global atmosphere of so much fear and uncertainty. ‘Mercy’ is an outreach piece.
Says vocalist, Charmaine Freemonk: “We are reaching out to ask that everyone calm down a bit, take a breath, and be more conscientious of our actions. It is a heartfelt plea that we consider whether we are helping or harming one another, practice empathy, and if we cannot help, to at least not harm."
