Converge "Axe To Fall"

LP - $17.25
LP UPC:723314784359
STREET DATE: 7/21/23
CAT#: DW98
LABEL: Epitaph / Deathwish Inc.

It never ceases to amaze me how the things we initially dismiss, overlook, don’t notice can become the most important and meaningful to us and our lives.

The first time I saw Converge was in 1996 with Deadguy, Coalesce and a number of other bands whose names are now lost to memory in a Legion Hall in a rundown part of Buffalo, NY. I’d like to say they changed my life that night but they didn’t — not that night, anyway. However, there was something about the way their rail-thin singer (Jacob Bannon) threw himself without regard into his performance, and the audience, and glimpses of the more than then-typical Victory Records mosh in their music that spoke of things to come. If you told me that band (Converge, I would discover later while buying Deadguy merch) would become one of the most important to not only myself but to aggressive music and its various scenes and factions, I would have cracked a smile, at the very least. Funny, how things turn out.

Formed in the winter of 1990 in Boston, MA, during the rise and subsequent fall of the legendary Boston hardcore scene, Converge are unarguably one of the most important bands in the history of aggressive music. Through numerous line-up changes (the band are currently comprised of vocalist/visual design terrorist Jacob Bannon, drummer Ben Koller, guitarist/back-up vocalist Kurt Ballou and bassist/back-up vocalist Nate Newton), musical trends (mosh, tech, guys crying and wearing make-up, ’80s thrash revival) and the coming and going of more “the next great thing” than I care to recall, Converge have established themselves as leaders in the aggressive music underground.

It seems redundant to use the word “landmark” when discussing their musical canon, as almost every album is genre-defining, but Converge’s run is unparalleled. Releases such as Petitioning the Empty Sky (1997), When Forever Comes Crashing (1998), Jane Doe (2001), You Fail Me (2004) and No Heroes (2006) have established Converge as trendsetters and innovators, setting new standards in hardcore and metal with each release. These records have evolved the band (from their thrash-inspired, hardcore-drenched beginnings to slower, more ominous and atmospheric work to all-out Tsunami-of-hostility hell-bent on levelling creation) and produced new waves of followers and emulators with each successive work. Honestly, has there been a band more influential on past and present “successful” metal/hardcore acts as unaccredited? It’s true: integrity has its price.

After nearly 20 years, such a glorious run of releases and a live show that’s gone from flailing kids flailing against kids to legendary exorcism for both band and audience — watch the pit during “The Saddest Day” and tell me it’s not the closest thing to a near-religious experience atheists will ever have — Converge could be forgiven for releasing an endeavour that was simply good, okay, just maintaining their status quo. After all, it’s much easier to win the title than retain it, and even the greats slip from time to time. Axe To Fall (Converge’s third release for indie institution Epitaph Records), however, is no such relapse.

True to themselves and their art, as always, no matter the cost, Axe To Fall continues to push relentlessly forward, much like a shark that needs to always keep swimming to survive. Where No Heroes was a refinement and broadening of hostilities declared on previous assaults such as Jane Doe, Axe To Fall returns to the more AmRep-inspired noisecore abrasions of You Fail Me while also updating and making vital the thrash influences that defined earlier Converge efforts (Caring and Killing, Petitioning the Empty Sky) and retaining the hardcore hostilities and frantic pace so vital to their foundation. Of course, the experimental anguish and pleading for salvation are no mere sharpening of past knives but yet another leap forward in an existence full of them.

From frenetic, frantic opening track “Dark Horse,” which is a downhill avalanche of ferocity culminating in one of the heaviest riffs Converge have ever laid listeners to waste with, to “Worms Will Feed,” an ominous exploration that ebbs and flows, building upon crashing then retreating waves of music and lyrical condemnations (“the worms will find a way, the rats will find a way”), to the barely restrained chaos of “Losing Battle” and Axe To Fall’s sanguine, beautiful, climatic seven-minute-plus dénouement, “Wretched Word,” Axe To Fall isn’t just another mere “release” or record from spoiled kids discovering metal and crying about how difficult life is in the suburbs. Axe To Fall is a nearly two-decade culmination of hard roads travelled and unwanted, but necessary, lessons learned, of prayers for salvation lost to the wind and too-fleeting nights where everything was still, if only for a moment, consumed by morning’s inevitable advance, of crushing defeats and the realization that the war only ends when we do, and it’s not one we can win, merely endure.

Once again recorded by Converge’s resident engineering genius Kurt Ballou, whose God City Recording Studios has become the Mecca for aggressive music’s elite to congregate at for assistance realizing their sonic sermons (from Trap Them and Genghis Tron to Torche and Buried Inside), Axe To Fall is as sonically dense a tapestry and punishing a release as Converge have ever conceived, once again perfectly echoing musically Bannon’s heart-ripped-out-of-chest-but-still-beating lyrics. It’s the summation of experiences learned working on records such as No Heroes and You Fail Me, also recorded by Ballou at God City, and it surpasses them.

But even while Converge and Axe To Fall stand alone — as Bannon is so fond of saying live: “we’re born into this world alone, and we die alone, so make your mark while you’re here” — they’ve never forgotten the core values of the hardcore scene they were raised in, and raised others on: community. Axe To Fall is Converge’s most collaborative effort to date, even while paradoxically sounding as focused as ever. Axe To Fall features the likes of John Pettibone (Undertow, Himsa), Ulf Cederlund (Entombed, Disfear), Cave In’s Steve Brodsky, Adam McGrath and J.R. Connors, F. Sean Martin (Hatebreed), George Hirsch (Blacklisted) and Genghis Tron’s Mookie Singerman, Hamilton Jordan and Michael Sochynsky, amongst others, contributing to its dense sonic soundscapes. Even Steve Von Till (of legendary star destroyers Neurosis) graces the record on “Cruel Bloom,” an ignoring of musical confines that sounds akin to something Tom Waits and Mr. Bungle might concoct if trapped in a watering hole on the fringes of Purgatory right before the end-time hit.

Something Bannon said to me years ago during our very first interview has stuck with me ever since: that hardcore needs to be about something more than bad poetry and Slayer riffs. And that search for and desire to be something more have defined Converge since their inception, and continue to propel them and their art ever-forward. Through sheer hard work, perseverance and an unwavering commitment to artistic integrity Converge have risen from humble beginnings to become that mercurial and so very rare “something more.” Axe To Fall continues their reign, long may it last.

  • Christopher Gramlich

TRACK LISTING:

  1. Dark Horse
  2. Reap What You Sow
  3. Axe To Fall
  4. Effigy
  5. Worms Will Feed / Rats Will Feast
  6. Wishing Well
  7. Damages
  8. Losing Battle
  9. Dead Beat
  10. Cutter
  11. Slave Driver
  12. Cruel Bloom
  13. Wretched World

MARKETING POINTS:

  • Features guest appearences by John Pettibone (Undertow, Himsa), Ulf Cederlund (Entombed, Disfear), Steve Brodsky, Adam McGrath and J.R. Connors (Cave In), Sean Martin (Hatebreed), George Hirsch (Blacklisted), Mookie Singerman, Hamilton Jordan and Michael Sochynsky (Genghis Tron) and Steve Von Till (Neurosis)
  • Over 17k copies sold on vinyl
  • Received a 8.5 from Pitchfork

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

Converge "Jane Live"

2xLP - $19.40
LP UPC: 791689665405
STREET DATE: 7/7/23
CAT#: DW245
LABEL: Deathwish Inc.

Converge "Jane Live" is the classic "Jane Doe" album performed and recorded live in its entirety at Roadburn Festival in The Netherlands. The set was mixed by Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou at God City Studio and mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege.

Recorded by Marcel Van De Vondervoort
Mixed by Kurt Ballou at God City Studio
Mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege
Artwork by Ashley Rose Couture
Photography by Karen Jerzyk
Design by J. Bannon

TRACK LISTING:

  1. Concubine (Live)
  2. Fault and Fracture (Live)
  3. Distance and Meaning (Live)
  4. Hell to Pay (Live)
  5. Homewrecker (Live)
  6. The Broken Vow (Live)
  7. Bitter and Then Some (Live)
  8. Heaven in Her Arms (Live)
  9. Phoenix in Flight (Live)
  10. Phoenix in Flame (Live)
  11. Thaw (Live)
  12. Jane Doe (Live)

MARKETING POINTS:

  • Available again on vinyl for the first time in 6 years
  • Recorded live at Roadburn Festival
  • Mixed by Kurt Ballou
  • Mastered by Brad Boatright

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

Greet Death "New Hell"

LP - $17.25
LP UPC: 791689665450
STREET DATE: 6/30/23
CAT#: DW216
LABEL: Deathwish Inc.

Greet Death is a three piece post-rock band from Flint, Michigan. They initially made waves with their infectious debut album "Dixieland" (Flesh and Bone, 2017). The album was well received, with Pitchfork giving it a "7.7" rating and stating "...This is a remarkably tuneful, forthright pop-rock band that just so happens to play six-minute songs at bradycardic tempos".

"New Hell" is the latest album from Greet Death. It was recorded by Nick Diener (The Swellers) at Oneder Studios. Additional recording was done by Jake Morse. It was all mastered by Jay Maas at Getaway Recording, and artwork for the release was created by illustrator Liam Rush.

The album as a whole is a creative intermingling of lush melodic atmosphere with melancholic lyrical content. Within that haze their personal subject matter is cleverly cloaked amid beautiful vocal deliveries and dreamy guitar work. This is the case in songs "Circles of Hell", "Do You Feel Nothing", "Let It Die", and "You're Gonna Hate What You've Done". This not-so-subtle vitriol continues to spread through self reflection in unforgettable songs like "Entertainment", "Strange Days", as well as the tone-soaked "Strain". While "Crush" plays as a complex outpouring disguised as a hook-laden pop number. All of this leads to "New Hell", a nearly ten minute epic of towering proportions. Lovingly constructed before ominously swaying in the wind and collapsing under its own emotional weight.

TRACK LISTING:

  1. Circles Of Hell
  2. Do You Feel Nothing?
  3. Let It Die
  4. You're Gonna Hate What You've Done
  5. Entertainment
  6. Strange Days
  7. Strain
  8. Crush
  9. New Hell

MARKETING POINTS:

  • Available again on new color vinyl
  • Recorded by Nick Diener (The Swellers)
  • Mastered by Jay Maas (Title Fight, Bane, State Champs)
  • Received a 7.9 on Pitchfork

FOR FANS OF:
Failure, Hum, Nothing, True Widow

Instagram | Facebook

Loma Prieta "Last"

LP - $17.25
LP UPC: 723314784281
INDIE LP UPC: 723314784304
STREET DATE: 6/30/23
CAT#: DW239
LABEL: Deathwish Inc.

Loma Prieta are a Punk band from San Francisco, CA.

For nearly two decades Loma Prieta have evolved in front of our eyes. With each release, they have elevated the post-punk sub-genre to high art without abandoning the heart at its core. All serving as an artistic reflection for their personal growth amid the complex world that surrounds us all.

"Last" was recorded by engineer Jack Shirley at Atomic Garden Studios (Deafheaven, Gouge Away). It is comprised of eleven songs which took shape amid the turbulence the world has collectively faced over the last number of years. The emotional tension within each is palatable. At times, unfurling contemplatively with delicate melody while at others, exploding with sonic violence. All giving voice to the manic nature of the modern human experience.

TRACK LISTING:

  1. Sequitur
  2. NSAIDs
  3. Sunglight
  4. Dose
  5. Fire in Black & White
  6. One-Off (Part 2)
  7. Circular Saw
  8. Symbios
  9. Dreamlessnessless
  10. Glare
  11. LLC

MARKETING POINTS:

  • 5th full length, follow up to 2015's "Self Portrait"
  • Recorded by Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Gouge Away)
  • Music video for first single "Glare"
  • Full-service PR by Stephanie Marlow (Deafheaven, Converge)

FOR FANS OF:
Touché Amoré, Deafheaven, La Dispute

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

Cult Leader "Lightless Walk"

LP - $17.25
LP UPC: 723314784267
STREET DATE: 5/19/23
CAT#: DW183
LABEL: Deathwish Inc.

Cult Leader are a chaotically aggressive band from Salt Lake City, Utah. "Lightless Walk" was recorded and engineered by Kurt Ballou at God City Studios (Converge, High On Fire). From the first menacing thumps of "Great I Am", Cult Leader unleash grinding musical fury. "The Sorrower" gallops before crashing into a wall of heaviness as they vocally declare "...nothing will get better". The pessimistic spiral continues in "Sympathetic" and "Suffer Louder", two tangles of cacophony that give birth to crushers of ending riffs. "Broken Blades" then emerges as a near constant barrage, showcasing the technical prowess thriving underneath Cult Leader’s layers of grime. While "A Good Life" ushers in new dynamics, clawing through melodious dirt before taking flight again. "Walking Wastelands", "Gutter Gods", and "Hate Offering" are all metallic monsters in their own right, lurching towards the epically haunting pairing of "How Deep It Runs" and "Lightless Walk". Two songs that show Cult Leader at their most depressive and powerful as they recede into introspective darkness.

TRACK LISTING:

  1. Great I Am
  2. The Sorrower
  3. Sympathetic
  4. Suffer Louder
  5. Broken Blades
  6. A Good Life
  7. Walking Wastelands
  8. Gutter Gods
  9. Hate Offering
  10. How Deep It Runs
  11. Lightless Walk

MARKETING POINTS:

  • Available again on vinyl
  • Recently released a split with END
  • Over 6 million lifetime streams

FOR FANS OF:
Converge, Trap Them. Full Of Hell

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

Cult Leader "A Patient Man"

LP - $17.25
LP UPC: 723314784250
STREET DATE: 5/19/23
CAT#: DW208
LABEL: Deathwish Inc.

Cult Leader is a chaotic band from Salt Lake City, Utah. “A Patient Man” was recorded and engineered by Kurt Ballou at God City Studios (Converge, Nails, High On Fire). From the first hits of opener “I Am Healed” Cult Leader take listeners on a sonic rollercoaster ride. Much of the album follows this blueprint. Songs like “Curse of Satisfaction”, “Craft of Mourning”, and “Share My Pain” are driven by a weave work of unorthodox metallic riffing and fueled by hyper-aggressive percussion. While the tech- nical proficiency is impressive, it’s in their use of dynamics where they truly shine. The album contains four beautifully brooding epics; “To: Achlys”, “A World of Joy”, title track “A Patient Man”, and “The Broken Right Hand of God”. Each one of them carries a maturation and sense of melody that few “extreme” bands have within their arsenal. Proving that aggressive music still has much to offer the world in terms of originality, creativity, and emotion.

TRACK LISTING:

  1. I Am Healed
  2. Curse of Satisfaction
  3. Isolation in the Land of Milk and Honey
  4. To: Achlys
  5. A World Of Joy
  6. Craft of Mourning
  7. Share My Pain
  8. Aurum Reclusa
  9. A Patient Man
  10. The Broken Right Hand of God

MARKETING POINTS:

  • Available again on vinyl
  • Recently released a split with END
  • Over 6 million lifetime streams

FOR FANS OF:
Converge, Trap Them. Full Of Hell

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

Bossk "Audio Noir"

LP - $17.25
LP UPC: 723314784243
STREET DATE: 5/12/23
CAT#: DW187
LABEL: Deathwish Inc.

Their album "Audio Noir" is transcendent aural experience. Opener "The Reverie" transports the listener to new dimensions through hypnotic repetition and layered instrumentation before taking a turn into stoner doom territory with "Heliopause". Emotional instrumental "Relancer" builds to a sonic crescendo while leading to the awesome "Kobe". A song that shifts a multitude of gears before setting into one of the more chaotic hooks the band has ever produced. "Atom Smasher" then carries some of the heaviest moments of the album before beautifully disintegrating into the touching track "Nadir". Lastly, Bossk unveil "The Reverie II", a brilliant ten minute reprise that shows the band at the peak of their creative powers. Solidifying "Audio Noir" as the best kind of masterpiece; a sea change that the music world never saw coming.

TRACK LISTING:

  1. The Reverie
  2. Heliopause
  3. Relancer
  4. Kobe
  5. Atom Smasher
  6. Nadir
  7. The Reverie II

MARKETING POINTS:

  • Available again on vinyl
  • "Audio Noir" has over 2 million lifetime streams
  • Appearing at Damnation Festival

FOR FANS OF:
Russian Circles, Amenra, Caspian

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

Frail Body "A Brief Memoriam"

LP - $17.25
LP UPC: 723314784236
STREET DATE: 5/5/23
CAT#: DW215
LABEL: Deathwish Inc.

Frail Body is a hardcore/punk band from Rockford, IL that embodies the spirit and soul of what many define as "screamo". "A Brief Memoriam" combines a new four-song recording session with their sought after "At Peace" session into one proper album. Both sessions were recorded by engineer Zack Farrar at Choir Room Audio.

A-side opener "Pastel" erupts with unhinged emotion driven by discordant guitars and hyper-speed drumming. This leads to the powerful "Your Death Makes Me Wish Heaven Was Real" a moving song of mourning and remembrance. "Aperture" then explores concepts of identity and growth amid a tangle of beautiful musical debris. Lastly, the poignant "Tradition in Verses" unfurls with a ground shaking emotion that is hard to capture in words. The B-side of "A Brief Memoriam" is comprised of their incredible "At Peace" session; a recording that shows Frail Body even in their earliest state was a heartfelt, creative force.

TRACK LISTING:

  1. Pastel
  2. Your Death Makes Me Wish Heaven Was Real
  3. Aperture
  4. Traditions In Verses
  5. Cold New Home
  6. At Peace
  7. Old Friends

MARKETING POINTS:

  • Available again on clear vinyl
  • On tour w/ KEN Mode in March

FOR FANS OF:
Touché Amoré, Loma Prieta, Jeromes Dream

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

Touché Amoré “Is Survived By”

LP - $17.25
LP UPC: 723314784229
STREET DATE: 5/5/23
CAT#: DW151
LABEL: Deathwish Inc.

"Is Survived By" was produced and engineered by Brad Wood (Smashing Pumpkins, Sunny Day Real Estate) and mastered by Hans DeKline (Lisa Loeb, mewithoutYou).

"Is Survived By" shows Touche Amore embracing a maturation of their trademark melancholy. The sounds are welcomingly familiar; inspired percussion amid a sea of imaginative guitars and impassioned vocals. However, the underlying unrest is more complex and touching than any previous Touche Amore release before it. Simply put, these are not simple "love" songs that dwell in the past, but complex "life" songs about living in the present. Throughout the entire album vocalist/lyricist Jeremy Bolm digs deeper in search of personal catharsis, allowing us to relate to his drive to be clearly heard, truly understood, and unapologetically remembered. "Is Survived By" not only shows growth in subject matter but musicianship for Touche Amore. The jangly guitar work of Clayton Stevens and Nick Steinhardt is on a new level here. Throughout the release they effortlessly entangle one another to construct beautiful yet unexpected melodies. While the explosive rhythm section of Tyler Kirby and Elliot Babin shines in the frenetic pace they keep. Achieving a stunning balance of hook laden listenability and emotion.

TRACK LISTING:

  1. Just Exist
  2. To Write Content
  3. Praise / Love
  4. Anyone / Anything
  5. DNA
  6. Harbor
  7. Kerosene
  8. Blue Angel
  9. Social Caterpillar
  10. Non Fiction
  11. Steps
  12. Is Survived By

MARKETING POINTS:

  • Available again on vinyl
  • Band just celebrated their 15 year anniversary
  • Produced by Brad Wood (Smashing Pumpkins, Placebo, Sunny Day Real Estate)

FOR FANS OF:
La Dispute, Drug Church, Pianos Become The Teeth

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

Touché Amoré “Parting The Sea Between Brightness and Me”

LP - $17.25
LP UPC: 723314784212
STREET DATE: 5/5/23
CAT#: DW121
LABEL: Deathwish Inc.

In February of 2011, Touche Amore piled into their beat up tour van in an Los Angeles suburb and set off on a twenty six hour journey to Eudora, Kansas. With a population of just over four thousand people, Eudora may be a peculiar place for a punk band to go, but nestled in its rural isolation is acclaimed engineer Ed Rose and his Black Lodge Studios (formerly Redhouse Recording Studio). There under Rose's attentive ears, Touche Amore poured their patchwork soul into their latest work, "Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me".

In "Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me", Touche Amore's creative formula is driven by emotional affect, not contemporary studio effects. In the purest form possible, raw shouted vocals and clean manic guitars fight for volume over roomy bass and percussion. Creating a sound that is shockingly simple as it is emotionally engaging. The serene and fragile opening notes of "Tilde" serve as the album's introductory serenade before Touche Amore pound and jangle into the hook-laden song. And seconds later, when vocalist/lyricist Jeremy Bolm screams "...I'm parting the sea between brightness and me...", a tone of desperation sets in that resonates throughout the duration of the album. His straight forward cries convincingly tell his own personal story. To some, this lyrical writing could read as a diary based purely in self deprecation, but his words cut and pull from a much deeper place in the heart. Serving as an open window into his constant soul searching amid life's constant trials and tribulations. Songs like "Home Away From Here" and "Sesame" are great examples of this, infectious in their sound and moving lyrical spirit. While "Method Act" and the emotional "Condolences" show the band experimenting with epic leanings while maintaining their beloved trademark character.

TRACK LISTING:

  1. ~
  2. Pathfinder
  3. The Great Repetition
  4. Art Official
  5. Uppers/Downers
  6. Crutch
  7. Method Act
  8. Faceghost
  9. Sesame
  10. Wants/Needs
  11. Condolences
  12. Home Away From Here
  13. Amends

MARKETING POINTS:

  • Available again on vinyl
  • Band just celebrated their 15 year anniversary
  • Produced by Ed Rose (Coalesce, The Get Up Kids)

FOR FANS OF:
La Dispute, Drug Church, Pianos Become The Teeth

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

END / Cult Leader "Gather & Mourn"

12"EP - $14.00 / CDEP - $7.00 / CASSETTE - $7.00
12"EP UPC: 791689665542
INDIE 12"EP UPC: 196925263382
CDEP UPC: 196925272032
CASSETTE UPC: 196925330930
CD/CASSETTE STREET DATE: 9/9/22
12"EP STREET DATE: 1/27/23
CAT#:CCA180 / DW241
LABEL: Closed Casket Activities / Deathwish Inc.

What happens when two of underground music’s most undeniable and unpredictable forces of nature collide? Well, the union of END & Cult Leader resulted in the 2022 split EP, Gather & Mourn [Closed Casket Activities & Deathwish Inc.].

This four track-collection finds each of these each of luminaries firing at full blast with the kind of heavy music that simultaneously repulses as it enraptures, fusing grind, hardcore, and death metal with an ominous intensity befitting of a world on fire.

The project itself represents the strength of the underground community, marking an important joint release between arbiters of integrity Closed Casket Activities and Deathwish Inc. Converge guitarist and producer Kurt Ballou [Code Orange, High On Fire, KVELERTAK] notably mixed Cult Leader’s two tracks, while GRAMMY® Award-nominated super producer and END guitarist Will Putney recorded, mixed, and mastered END in addition to mastering Cult Leader. Deathwish Inc. founder and Converge frontman Jacob Bannon also personally created the artwork and layout.

Both heads of this vicious sonic hydra have built an unshakable foundation, leaving fans and press in awe. Among widespread acclaim from Brooklyn Vegan, Invisible Oranges, and more, END’s 2020 full-length, Splinters from an Ever-Changing Face, earned a rare “5-out-of-5” star review from KERRANG! followed by “4-out-of-5” from Metal Hammer.

However, END roar back with their first release since 2020 now. With an unimpeachable pedigree, the group consists of Will Putney (Graphic Nature Audio, Fit For An Autopsy) [guitar], Brendan Murphy (Counterparts) [vocals], Gregory Thomas (Ex-Misery Signales) [guitar], Jay Pepito (Reign Supreme, Ex-Blacklisted) [bass], and Billy Rymer [Drums] (ex-Dillinger Escape Plan). Drawing on the chemistry between these seasoned musicians, their first single from the split, “Eden Will Drown,” steamrolls forward at full speed fueled by bludgeoning rhythms, smart bomb-precise guitars, and a foreboding roar.

Meanwhile, Cult Leader continues to fixate listeners with a different breed of darkness. Gather & Mourn picks up where they left on 2018’s A Patient Man. The latter landed highly coveted year-end spots on Consequence’s top 25 Metal and Hard Rock Albums (#19), Revolver’s Best Albums (#11) and more; it also generated millions of streams, highlighted by “to:Achlys” and “I am Healed.” Cult Leader unleash their first new music in four years now with the single “Ataraxis.” Clocking in at just under two minutes, it hinges on guttural growls, pummeling percussion, and chaotic guitars, speaking to the band’s mastery of cataclysmic intensity.

Gather & Mourn heralds a next era of heavy music, translating the pulse of the underground into an unshakable sonic storm.

TRACK LISTING:

  1. Eden Will Drown (END)
  2. The Host Will Soon Decay (END)
  3. Ataraxis (Cult Leader)
  4. Long Shadows (Cult Leader)

MARKETING POINTS:

  • END features current/former members of The Dillinger Escape Plan, Counterparts, Fit For An Autopsy, Misery Signals and Reign Supreme
  • END on tour all summer
  • Artwork by J. Bannon
  • Mastered by Will Putney

FOR FANS OF:
Trap Them, Full Of Hell, Converge

END:
Instagram | Facebook

Cult Leader:
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

Blacklisted " No One Deserves To Be Here More Than Me"

LP - $17.25
LP UPC: 791689665573
STREET DATE: 1/13/22
CAT#: DW100
LABEL: Deathwish Inc.

"No One Deserves To Be Here More Than Me" is a full length album from Blacklisted. The album marked a more experimental turn for the band. Let the music speak for itself.

TRACK LISTING:

  1. Our Apartment Is Always Empty
  2. Everything In My Life Is For Sale
  3. J.M.N. (Interlude)
  4. No One Deserves To Be Here More Than Me
  5. G.E.H. (Interlude)
  6. The P.I.G. (Problem Is G.)
  7. I'm Trying To Disappear
  8. Palisade
  9. Skeletons
  10. I Am Extraordinary
  11. S.M.F. (Interlude)

MARKETING POINTS:

  • Remastered for vinyl
  • Available again on limited edition clear vinyl and gatefold jacket
  • Features the track "Our Apartment Is Always Empty"; Blacklisted's most streamed track

FOR FANS OF:
Nirvana, Neutral Milk Hotel, American Nightmare

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

Chastity "Suffer Summer"

LP - $14.00
LP UPC: 723314783932
INDIE LP UPC: 723314784069
STREET DATE: 12/2/22
CAT #: DW237
LABEL: Deathwish Inc.

Brandon Williams makes resonant songs that capture isolation and resilience. As the songwriter behind Chastity, the Whitby, Ontario musician has made three unrelentingly perceptive albums culminating in the cathartic Suffer Summer, which is out January 13, 2022 via Deathwish and Dine Alone Records. The LP caps off an album trilogy that showcases both Williams’ emotional range as a lyricist but also his boundless love of outsider music. His 2018 debut Death Lust pulled from Unwound and The Smashing Pumpkins as he grappled with mortality while 2019’s Home Made Satan dealt in world-weary anxiety and Hum-like atmospherics. But Suffer Summer is a meditation on happiness, channeled through powerhouse riffs and undeniably potent choruses, sung with Mineral and Jimmy Eat World worn on his sleeve. It’s an album that shows how healing and staying content is hard but necessary work.

Williams mostly wrote Suffer Summer throughout 2019 while he and his band joined acts like Fucked Up, DIIV, and Alexisonfire on tour. It was a fruitful and exciting period for Williams, who whittled down 24 new tracks to 10, taking several new creative leaps while penning these songs. Take “Happy Face,” the first song Williams wrote for Suffer Summer and his most autobiographical offering to date. Written as a tribute to his longtime friend who died of an overdose, Williams sings, “You and I were alive at the same time / I’m lucky for it / You showed me the Misfits and we sang Out 'Last Caress’ / I’m lucky for it.” It’s raw and gutwrenching in a way that Williams has never allowed himself to be but writing about grief proved to be cathartic for him. “Until now I’ve always tried to keep a safe arm's length away from the real-life content of my songs but on that song, I couldn't,” said Williams. “It was just a needed tribute to him.”

For any artist, taking risks, trusting your intuition, and relinquishing control is a delicate balance but for these songs, Williams knew he needed to step out of his comfort zone by making his writing more collaborative. He enlisted one of Chastity’s earliest and most vocal supporters PUP frontman Stefan Babcock to co-write opener single “Real World” and LP highlight “When You Go Home I Withdrawal.” Both songs find Williams stretching his voice for surging choruses that are anthemic and immediate. “It was so great to work with Stefan: just his attention to detail, song structure, and everything,” said Williams. “He’s a legend and has pumped my tires so much in an actual practical way that has given me courage throughout Chastity.”

Babcock isn’t the only surprise collaborator on this LP. Alexisonfire and City and Colour’s Dallas Green appears as a guest vocalist on “Vicious Circle,” the emotional centerpiece of Suffer Summer. The song, which Williams co-wrote with his partner Ellis’ Linnea Siggelkow, boasts some of his best writing (“Borrowing an old feeling to cover the pain / Can’t keep memories of only the good things,”) and when Green joins to sing the second verse, it makes for the most transcendent moment on the LP. “After we put strings on this song it was just too damn beautiful for my voice,” said Williams. “Dallas’ voice reached right into that beauty. Recording this was the single most surreal and sentimental moment of the project for me I think, with how formative Alexis was for me.” Green also collaborated on the shimmering single “Somersault” in an unexpected way. “He sent me a voice memo called ‘Pumpkins?’ and offered it as a Chastity riff,” said Williams. “It was sludgy but we sped that up into this up-tempo, brighter verse riff that'd become this song: it went from ‘Bullet With Butterfly Wings’ to ‘Today.’”

Suffer Summer was recorded throughout 2020 in fits and starts, with Williams returning to the studio to hone the LP. One song that came together during this time was the single “Pummeling,” another exercise in Williams expanding his creative palate. “‘Pummeling’ was a place I was afraid to go,” said Williams. “I’ve been so focused on my music being challenging, technical, and correct. But on this, I wanted to allow myself to go simple, out of my comfort zone.” The result is undeniably accessible but look below the surface of the welcoming hooks and you’ll find some impossibly dark lyrics. “Same thing every day / I run from feeling fucked til it’s jumping me,” sings Williams. This juxtaposition is where Chastity thrives.

Chastity started as a way for Williams to find community in his suffocating and isolating suburban life, his songs serving as an outstretched hand for the like-minded people on the fringes. The long-lead single “Dying to Live,” encapsulates this ethos when Williams sings, “Another sick person just trying to get well / You, me, everyone I know.” Like all of his music, this song comes from his hometown, in these places graffitied with memories for him: pain, loss, grief, but ultimately acceptance. “We've all been sick this last year and a half: Everyone I know is feeling fucked,” said Williams. “We survive through each other, through being close with each other and finding community and a sense of purpose in our friendships.” Suffer Summer is both a validation and comfort that while the world might be irrevocably fucked, you’re not alone.

TRACK LISTING:

  1. Real World
  2. Pummeling
  3. Dying To Live
  4. When You Go Home I Withdrawal
  5. The Barbed Wire Fence Around Happiness
  6. Somersault
  7. Happy Face
  8. Overstimulate
  9. Vicious Circle
  10. Smiling

MARKETING POINTS:

  • Deathwish debut album
  • "Vicious Circle" features Dallas Green (City and Color, Alexisonfire)

FOR FANS OF:

  • Nothing, Teenage Wrist, Hum

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

Greet Death "New Low"

12"EP - $12.70
PURPLE / BLACK 12"EP UPC: 723314783864
RED / BLACK 12"EP UPC: 723314783857
INDIE 12"EP UPC: 723314783840
STREET DATE: 8/26/22
CAT#: DW234
LABEL: Deathwish Inc.

Greet Death is a four piece shoegaze band from Flint, Michigan.

"New Low" is a new 5 song 12"EP from Greet Death. The first four singles from this session were released digitally over a span of months in 2021 into 2022, leaving the title track exclusive to this final collection. With "New Low" Greet Death continue to explore the layered melancholic atmosphere they are known for while expanding into unconventional melodic territory.

Produced by Greet Death
Engineered and mixed by J. Kalmink at The Stooge in Zeeland, MI
Mastered by Will Yip
Music and Lyrics by Logan Gaval and Sam Boyhtari
Vocals by Gaval and Boyhtari
Drums and Percussion by Jim Versluis
Guitars and Bass by Gaval and Boyhtari
Piano by Boyhtari
Photos by David Beuthin
Scythe Logo by Liam Rush
Original Band Logo by Brendan Coughlin
Design by Jacob Bannon

TRACK LISTING:

  1. New Low
  2. Panic Song
  3. Punishment Existence
  4. Your Love Is Alcohol
  5. Hate Everything

MARKETING POINTS:

  • On tour with Foxing this summer July 5th - August 13th
  • Full service press by Stephanie Marlow (Deafheaven, Touche Amore, Boris)

FOR FANS OF:
Hum, Nothing, Cloakroom

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

Converge "Bloodmoon: I"

2xLP - $18.15 / CD - $9.60
2xLP UPC: 723314783970 / 2xLP Indie UPC: 723314783987
CD UPC: 045778777020
STREET DATE: 6/24/22
CAT #: DW236
LABEL: Epitaph / Deathwish Inc.

“We wanted to do something grander than the typical four-piece Converge music.”

That’s Converge vocalist Jacob Bannon talking about the seed of inspiration that eventually bloomed into Bloodmoon: I, the new collaborative album created by the legendary hardcore band alongside dark songstress Chelsea Wolfe, her bandmate/writing partner Ben Chisholm and Cave In vocalist/guitarist Steve Brodsky.

“I’ve been a fan of Chelsea and Ben’s work for some time,” Bannon says. “I bought the Apokalypsis record from Aquarius Records in San Francisco, and Ben and I started communicating here and there. He had roots in this world of music, so it started to make sense that we could all work together in some way.”

“Ben introduced me to Converge when we started playing music together in 2009,” Wolfe says. “A couple of years later, we saw that Converge had put Apokalypsis on a year-end list, so we were totally fanning out about that. When they reached out to Ben about performing some Converge songs with new arrangements, I said, ‘I want in on that...’ And it seems like they were happy to have me along.”

Fast forward to a 2016 European tour and a rapturously received appearance at Roadburn that saw all seven musicians performing revamped Converge material. Overnight, what had started as a mutual admiration society had become one of the most formidable musical constellations in recent memory. “We felt like there was enough energy in the live collaboration to actually create new music together,” Converge guitarist and Bloodmoon: I producer Kurt Ballou explains. “It just took a few years to free up the time to get together.”

The musicians descended upon Ballou’s God City Studios in Salem, Massachusetts, to work on material in late 2019. Future sessions were planned for 2020, but then the pandemic hit. The rest of Bloodmoon: I was recorded remotely, though you’d never know it. “I wanted a record that breathed like a band playing together in a room, even if it wasn’t possible during this time period,” Ballou says. “It feels like we achieved that.”

Harrowing and atmospheric, triumphant and melodious, Bloodmoon: I is Converge as you’ve never heard them before. It’s Chelsea Wolfe and Ben Chisholm as you’ve never heard them before. It’s Steve Brodsky as you’ve almost never heard him before—after all, he was a member of Converge in the late ’90s and played bass on 1998’s When Forever Comes Crashing.

“It’s been a real treat to see one of my favorite bands continue to do cool stuff and break the molds of what’s considered hardcore and punk,” Brodsky says of Bloodmoon: I. “It’s a very rare thing in this kind of music to go an experimental route and challenge the quote-unquote ‘rules’ of what’s been laid out beforehand—and do it successfully.”

As Bannon points out, Bloodmoon: I has been a long time coming—longer, even, than the 2016 shows would indicate. The members of Converge—Ballou, Bannon, bassist Nate Newton, and drummer Ben Koller—tipped their hand ever so slightly with the release of 2009’s Axe To Fall, which featured a lengthy list of guest musicians, including members of Neurosis, Entombed, and Genghis Tron—not to mention Brodsky and some of his Cave In bandmates.

“Kurt and I have been talking about trying to do something more collaborative even prior to the Axe To Fall album,” Bannon reveals. “For years, there was talk of doing ‘Con-Cave’ or ‘Verge-In,’ a Converge and Cave In supergroup, and some versions of those songs ended up on Axe To Fall. But this is different.”

Thrilling in its apocalyptic grandeur, Bloodmoon: I is a collaborative work in every way—to the point where Wolfe, Bannon, and Brodsky found themselves writing lyrics for each other. “That’s one of the keys to the album,” Ballou points out. “Sometimes when there’s a collaborative group, it just sounds like such-and-such a person doing the thing they do in their band while the other people are doing the things they do in their bands. So for Jake to write lyrics for Chelsea or for Chelsea to write lyrics for Steve, it forces each person to approach the vocals in a way that’s unique to the project.”

Holding down the fort at GodCity while tracks came in from across the country, Ballou and Bannon were often surprised by the songs Wolfe chose to sing on. “I was surprised as well,” she confirms. “The project stretched my vocals in new ways. It’s so different than what I normally sing over that I was able to open up and be vulnerable with my vocals. I feel like I also heard that with Jake and Steve. It became one of the most fun recording experiences I’ve had in a long time.”

“As someone who’s been making loud music with the same guys for a long time, adding new elements to what we’re doing and having a new version of the band is very exciting,” Bannon enthuses. “Our dynamics are pushing and pulling in all different directions on this record, and I find that to be creatively rewarding.”

Indeed, the more hectic and seemingly Converge-esque material like “Lord of Liars” or the Cave In-like “Failure Forever” quickly veer into unexpected territory as Bannon trades vocal parts with Wolfe on the former and Brodsky on the latter. And even those tracks are outliers on an album that can’t be pinned down as the work of any one of its creators. Epic opener “Blood Moon” and the profoundly haunting “Coil” might be the best examples of this. They mark an indelible and climactic collision of artists working at the height of their collective powers.

“With a project like this, egos could have really flared up,” Brodsky says with a laugh. “But I feel like everyone just kept the music in mind and wanted to do what’s best for the song. We’ve all done this enough to know that if we don’t get our way every time a decision needs to be made, we’ll be okay. We’ll get our time in the sun at some point.”

“It’s hard to find new ways to be creative, but I think we’ve been good at sort of forcing ourselves to do that,” Ballou says. “And this project is no exception. Getting Steve and Chelsea and Ben to contribute with us, we were kind of playing musical Cupid with all of them. But we had a feeling that if we got this group of people together, something powerful would come out of it.”

First Press:
100 - Clear (Friends and Family Exclusive)
300 - Red / Black Mix (Deathwish Exclusive)
300 - Blue / Black Mix (Converge Exclusive)
500 - Black / Red / Neon Violet Mix (Chelsea Wolfe Exclusive)
500 - Clear / Navy Cloudy (Revolver Exclusive)
1000 - Red / Blue Mix
1000 - Black / Red / Blue Mix (Newbury Comics Exclusive)
1650 - Navy w/ Red & Orange Splatter (Epitaph Exclusive)
4000 - Black / Navy / Neon Purple Mix (Indie Exclusive)

∞ x Transparent Red / Transparent Blue

TRACK LISTING:

  1. Blood Moon
  2. Viscera of Men
  3. Coil
  4. Flower Moon
  5. Tongues Playing Dead
  6. Lord of Liars
  7. Failure Forever
  8. Scorpion’s Sting
  9. Daimon
  10. Crimson Stone
  11. Blood Dawn

MARKETING POINTS:

  • Features Chelsea Wolfe, Stephen Brodsky & Ben Chisholm
  • Vinyl features a gatefold jacket, printed o-card w/ die cut, printed inner sleeve and 24" x 24" poster

FOR FANS OF:

  • Chelsea Wolfe, Cave In

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

Doomriders "Darkness Come Alive"

LP - $14.00
LP UPC: 723314784175
STREET DATE: 4/1/22
CAT #: DW95
LABEL: Deathwish Inc.

Recorded and engineered at God City Studios by Kurt Ballou, "Darkness Come Alive" shows a more monstrous Doomriders emerging. Songs like "Jealous God" and "Heavy Lies The Crown" carry a precision and infectious quality, while the title-esque track "Come Alive" is a stunning example of their new found muscle. The opening seconds of the aforementioned sets an electrifying backdrop before erupting into one of the most hook laden ebb and flows of recent memory. Effortlessly throughout the album they continue this bombardment, with rhythm section JR Conners (Cave In) and Jebb Riley (Disappearer) as the hurricane force wind at the back of Chris Pupecki's (Cast Iron Hike) riffs and Nate Newton's (Converge) gritty duel guitar/vocal attack. Shedding influences to stand with them as contemporaries, Doomriders "Darkness Come Alive" is a monumental full length achievement. Proving not only that aggressive music still has much to offer, but that Doomriders are more soulful and heavier than all.

TRACK LISTING:

  1. Fade From Black
  2. Heavy Lies The Crown
  3. Bear Witness
  4. Knife Wound
  5. Come Alive
  6. Night Howler
  7. Crooked Path
  8. Lions
  9. The Equalizer
  10. Night Lurker
  11. Jealous God
  12. Mercy
  13. Night Beckons
  14. Blood Avenger
  15. Bloodsuckers
  16. Rotter

MARKETING POINTS:

  • Available again color vinyl
  • Features Nate Newton (Converge, Cave In, Old Man Gloom)

FOR FANS OF:
Danzig, Torche, Baroness

Facebook