Smoke Or Fire "Beauty Fades"

LP - $14.65
LP UPC: 603111749518
STREET DATE: 5/27/22
CAT #: IOD019
LABEL: Iodine Recordings

Smoke Or Fire were formed in Boston, MA during the late 90s alongside countless bands in the Boston underground scene. They delivered their unique brand of heartfelt emotional punk that included complex layered guitars, dirty vocals, and lyrics that ranged from deeply personal topics to social criticisms of war and politics. The songs often drew comparisons to bands like Avail, Hot Water Music, and Against Me! Although, Smoke Or Fire brought their own unique take on the genre with catchy melodies, and sing along choruses.

The band released their debut EP “Worker’s Union” on Iodine Recordings in 2002, and after several US tours, Smoke Or Fire relocated to Richmond, VA where they caught the attention of the iconic NOFX record label Fat Wreck Chords. They signed to Fat and remained through their career, releasing three full lengths: Above the City (produced by Fat Mike/NOFX), This Sinking Ship, and The Speakeasy. Smoke Or Fire was praised by music critics, and revered by fans for capturing a raw energy and a genuine approach to punk music.

Smoke Or Fire toured relentlessly over their twenty-plus year history, with numerous US and European tours, sharing the stage regularly with bands such as: Avail, Against Me!, Dillinger Four, Hot Water Music, Descendents, Anti-Flag, NOFX, Silverstein, Rise Against, Bad Religion, and The Ataris (just to name a few…).

“Beauty Fades” is a collection of out of print and unreleased tracks from Smoke Or Fire. Side A includes their debut Iodine EP “Worker’s Union” which was completely remixed and remastered at New Alliance Studios in Boston, MA. Side B includes seven rare or unreleased tracks that span the history of the band, including the EP “Rises in the East” which was never released, but included a number of songs that were in the band’s live set throughout their tenure. The entire collection is being pressed on vinyl for the first time ever. Complete with all new artwork and packaging.

“Beauty Fades” documents some of the best moments of the band’s legacy with fist-pumping anthems and emotional breakdowns. Singer Joe McMahon remains adamant that these are the best songs he ever wrote, which capture a youthful energy and idealism that is fleeting for us all.

"Distinctive hooks, infectious melodies and fist-pumping choruses: It’s all here, and it sounds damn near perfect." – ALTERNATIVE PRESS

TRACK LISTING:

1. Sunday Pints
2. Beauty Fades
3. 50 Cent Hearts
4. Second Wind
5. Running in Circles
6. They All Go to California
7. Modesty
8. Nowhere to Go But Up
9. Hand Me Downs
10. Written to be Read
11. Live On
12. Someone Said We Flew
13. Oxygen

MARKETING POINTS:

• Available for the first time on vinyl
• Fully remixed and remastered at New Alliance Studios
• Indie Exclusive colored vinyl
• All new artwork by Jeff Caudill (Gameface)
• Features all rare or unreleased tracks

FOR FANS OF:
Against Me!, Avail, Hot Water Music, Lifetime, Dillinger Four, The Lawerence Arms

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

bigLOVE "Crusaders of Joy"

LP - $16.60 / CD - $8.00
STREET DATE: 5/27/22
CAT #: CRR110
LABEL: Church Road

Shrouded in mystery, abstracted by endearment and drenched in tone, bigLOVE are set to make their presence known to the wider world on May 27 with their debut album, titled Crusaders of Joy, via Church Road Records.

Across the anonymous project’s four song inaugural release, bigLOVE marries atmospheric sludge and themes of eternally unconditional devotion in the name of all that is to be cherished in this waking world of ours. bigLOVE establishes their vision of the genre on highlight tracks Harnessing the Nectar from the Queen Bee and At One With - with both songs wielding Thou-esque lead guitar lines and all the sonic weight of Alice In Chains’ doomier cuts. Vocally, bigLOVE counterbalances the saccharine nature of their melodies with corrosive and hymnal omnipotence.

In an effort to eliminate unnecessary self-scrutiny and create instinctively, bigLOVE recorded Crusaders of Joy as it was being written - with the release's final takes being recorded moments after each part was finalised in the writing. Recorded between 2019 and 2020 before being mastered by UK audio savant Lewis Johns at The Ranch, Crusaders of Joy possesses a preternatural warmth in it’s production that beguiles as well as engulfs. The debut full length is adroitly tied together thematically by Maria Nemm’s (Holy Fawn, Slow Crush, Anthetic) album cover photography, adding another dimension to bigLOVE’s enigma of obscurity and ubiquity.

In the context of the modern age paradox of instantaneous connection and spiritual disconnect, Crusaders of Joy triumphs in it’s harnessing of love as philosophy, as it spiritualizes sludge and doom metal’s sonic weight to transcendental heights. Across the vast ocean of time, love remains at the core of all it is to be human.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Harnessing the Nectar from the Queen Bee
2. A Grand Declaration of the Gods
3. At One With
4. Forever Intimate

MARKETING POINTS:

• Featuring Justine Jones and Sammy Urwin of Employed to Serve

FOR FANS OF:
Thou, Cathedral, Godflesh

Hey Thanks! "Start/Living"

LP - 14.65 / CD - $7.00 / Cassette - $7.00
LP UPC: 047338063291
CD UPC: 783495979685
CASSETTE UPC: 783495979678
STREET DATE: 5/27/22
CAT #: IOD036
LABEL: Iodine Recordings

Hey Thanks! formed in 2016 when 5 friends from outside of New Orleans, LA came together to share their love of music. They wrote songs that drew from their wide range of influences to include emo, punk, electronica, and indie-pop. They quickly developed a unique sound that set them apart from the majority of new bands emerging at the moment. They perfectly capture the essence of indie-pop music with earnest lyrics and hooks that you won’t forget. After several early lineup changes, the band found vocalist Travis Opal, who helped refine and define their exceptional sound.

The band gained a lot of attention soon after their formation around the New Orleans scene, being added to Warped Tour dates, and opening for shows with notable bands such as Metro Station, Issues, Save Face, I Set My Friends on Fire, and We The Kings. They quickly developed a dedicated following and have established themselves as one of the most well-known bands in the region.

Hey Thanks! spent the better part of two years writing and recording their debut full length “Start/Living,” working with an all-star team and some of the best production talent around today. The album was engineered and produced by Gary Cioni at Sound Acres Studio (Hot Mulligan, Crime In Stereo, Sorority Noise) and mixed by Brett Romnes (The Movielife, Heart Attack Man, The Front Bottoms, Oso Oso) and mastered by Mike Kalajian (The Devil Wears Prada, New Found Glory, Silverstein).

The band toured relentlessly, prior to the pandemic, and shared the stage with many up and coming bands such as: Greet Death, Keep Flying, Dozer Tx, Nominee, Bad Luck, Sundressed, Fernway, and Super American.

In 2021, Hey Thanks! caught the attention of the recently relaunched Iodine Recordings, who quickly signed them for several records, to include the official release of “Start/Living” on vinyl and CD. Start/Living breaks down the boundaries of pop-music and expertly incorporates elements of 90s alternative, electronic rock, and emo. Twelve infectious songs that captures the complexity of youth, longing, and love. Featuring the singles “From Me 2 U” and “The Part I Call Myself.” They are planning on hitting the road in 2022 to tour and support the release.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Conversations Make A Way
2. From Me 2 U
3. This Small Space
4. The Part I Call Myself
5. On Top Of Me
6. I’m Sure It’s On The Way
7. Fun Charade
8. How It’s Supposed To Be
9. Would You Believe It
10. Promise It’ll Be Over
11. If It Takes Me Forever
12. In Seconds I’ll Be Gone

MARKETING POINTS:

• Debut Release by Hey Thanks!
• Produced by Gary Cioni (Hot Mulligan, Crime In Stereo, Sorority Noise)
• Full PR Campaign by Atom Splitter PR
• Shows and Tours planned for 2022 (US / Europe)

FOR FANS OF:
The Maine, Taking Back Sunday, Motion City Soundtrack, The 1975, The Summer Set, The Academy Is

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

Primitive Man "Insurmountable"

LP - $17.50
LP UPC: 196626731098
STREET DATE: 5/13/22
CAT#: CCA095
LABEL: Closed Casket Activities

Listening to Primitive Man is a devastating experience of Doom as performed by just three members. Their discography of agonizing personal and universal hell is spread across three albums, two EPs and a raft of splits released over more than 10 years. 2020 saw the release of the groups most recent full length album ‘Immersion’ (Relapse Records), a terrifying and confrontational record that expressed resentment and the unbearable during uncertain times. The tension through out the record is palpable. McCarthy’s foul roar feels wrenched from a cavern so deep that it defied language itself. The riffs are vast slabs – edifices dragged and erected to stand tall against the outrages of ‘humanity rotten on the vine’ (‘Consumption’). With 2013’s Scorn and 2017’s Caustic, Primitive Man raged against religious dogma, elitism, capitalism and the creature within, desperate to burst out. They keep the animal inside at bay with a rancorous and cerebral blend of the heaviest sounds. Splits with Hell and Unearthly Trance, and a host of others, have seen the band branch out into experimental noise. Other projects from members of the band – Black Curse, Vermin Womb and Many Blessings – show how they are bursting at the seams to express their outrage at the state of
things, in different mutations.

2022 brings the release of the groups latest album, Insurmountable. Four new suffocating tracks totaling over 38 minutes of Primitive Man in their strongest and most crushing artistic display to date. Mixed and mastered by Arthur Rizk and featuring the artwork of Ethan McCarthy (Hell Simulation). Vinyl comes packaged in a tip-on gatefold lp jacket, complimented with an obi-strip, gatefold insert and deluxe colored vinyl.

TRACK LISTING:

1. This Life
2. Boiled
3. Cage Intimacy
4. Quiet (Smashing Pumpkins Cover)

MARKETING POINTS:

• Mixed and mastered by Arthur Rizk
• Artwork by Ethan McCarthy (Hell Simulation)
• Vinyl features a tip-on gatefold jacket, obi-strip and gatefold insert

Redemption Denied "Where Dead Ends Meet"

LP - $15.30 / CD - $9.60
LP UPC: 305390598237
CD UPC: 305390598275
STREET DATE: 5/13/22
CAT #: ISO036
LABEL: Isolation Rec.

Bjorn Dossche of Rise & Fall and Chain Reaction on Redemption Denied and their new album "Where Dead Ends Meet":

Somehow, longevity is a rare thing in hardcore. Consider yourself lucky if your favourite band made it past the 3 year mark. What's even rarer is a band that pushes on - despite line-up changes, personal careers and the pressure of "adult" life - to deliver their first ever full length album almost a decade after their debut EP.

But, that's exactly what Redemption Denied did. And the damn thing hits like a sledgehammer. Granted, the subtle approach was never theirs, but on this album the vigor, determination and sheer power can be felt in every single song, every single riff and every single word singer Kasper spits. It's clear that while "Where Dead Ends Meet" was being written, Redemption Denied sharpened their skills and made sure their all out assault didn't lose the dynamics needed to keep everyone's attention, all of the time.

Their 90s CTHC (Hatebreed, Death Threat) meets Upstate NY (All Out War, Stigmata) sound has never hit harder, not in the least by the increased death metal influence that tips "Where Dead Ends Meet" over the edge of what's socially acceptable in terms of heaviness. The destructive aggression their music possesses, is more than matched by the apocalyptic, socio-political lyrics that strike a precarious balance between embittered and empowering. It's their testament, written in blood.

"Where Dead Ends meet" was recorded at Jupiter Studios in their native Belgium, mixed to perfection by Taylor Young (Nails, Twitching Tongues, Xibalba, God's Hate) and mastered by Brad Boatright (Ringworm, Never Ending Game, Integrity), and boasts incredible cover art by Ridge Rhine (Terror, Knocked Loose, Judiciary). To top things off, it also features guest vocals by Tyler Mullen (Year Of The Knife) and Bjorn Dossche (Chain Reaction, Rise And Fall).

TRACK LISTING:

1. Prelude (To The Apocalypse)
2. Testament (feat. Bjorn Dossche)
3. Verdict
4. The Last Hour
5. Beyond Salvation
6. Dying Breed (feat. Tyler Mullen)
7. Where Dead Ends Meet
8. Buried Alive
9. Final Witness
10. Before The Fall
11. Another Victim

MARKETING POINTS:

• Mixed by Taylor Young (Rotting Out, Twitching Tongues) at The Pit
• Mastered by Brad Boatright (Dropdead, Blacklisted, Ringworm)
• On tour with No Turning Back, Risk It and Lifesick in Europe in May 2022
• Featuring gust vocals by Bjorn Dossche (Rise And Fall, Chain Reaction) and Tyler Mullen (Year Of The Knife)

FOR FANS OF:
Terror, Hatebreed, Bitter End

Instagram | Facebook

FAIM "FAIM"

12"EP - $12.70
STREET DATE: 5/13/22
CAT#: SIR029
LABEL: Safe Inside

For Denver’s FAIM, hardcore is the spark that lights the way to bigger things in this life - personal catharsis, critique and political engagement. To that end, FAIM seeks to bring those ideas to the forefront of their music with lyrical content focusing on political apathy, abusers within the hardcore scene, class anxiety, and the ever-present daily injustices. Their brand of fast, aggressive hardcore is a vessel for hope and change set against the background of youthful angst.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Wolf
2. It Follows
3. All Talk
4. Bought and Sold
5. Midlife Crisis
6. Beatty
7. Time Is Now

MARKETING POINTS:

• Reissue includes an unreleased bonus track

FOR FANS OF:
Modern Life Is War, Go It Alone, Suicide File

Instagram

Feverchild "Witching Hour / You Know I Can't"

CASSETTE - $7.00
STREET DATE: 5/13/22
CAT#: SDR075
LABEL: Sunday Drive

Following their 2021 self-titled EP, Feverchild continued to write and have had the opportunity to play songs in front of a live audience for the first time—mostly amongst the Belgian hardcore scene. "Witching Hour" and "You Know I Can't" pick up where their previous EP left off—incorporating much of the '90s emo influences heard prior, but with more post-hardcore leanings. Heavier guitar riffs and palm muting recall the sound from heavier '90s emo bands like Memorial Day, early-Falling Forward, and Kill Holiday. Lyrically, Feverchild still delivers strongly and thoughtfully with a memorable bridge like, "So cure me—secure me". Feverchild continues to progress in the genre, with the help of producer, Gilles Demolder, to write their strongest songs yet. It's a preview of what's to come, as the band begins to write their follow-up album later in 2022.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Witching Hour
2. You Know I Can't

MARKETING POINTS:

• Produced by Gilles Demolder (Oathbreaker)

FOR FANS OF:
Texas is the Reason, Sunny Day Real Estate, Falling Forward

Instagram

G-Anx / Filthy Christians "Split"

7"EP - $7.00
STREET DATE: 5/13/22
CAT#: ARMAG035
LABEL: Armageddon Label

G-anx was from Jönköping, Sweden. Started already in 1982 but in 1984/1985 they developed into the first Swedish (proto-) grindcore band. In 1985 a demo was made and a tour to Yugoslavia. This split is their first release and contains 4 awesome songs in ultra-speed with slower parts. The line up was Patrik (Vox), Steve (guitar), Hedda (Bass) and Hoccy (drums). The band released 4 EP’s and an album was planned as well, but of some reason the master tape got erased. They stopped playing in 1992. There is a discography called "Flashbacks" which contains all their EP’s. G-ANX deliver five tracks of their powerful and aggressive hardcore, very fast, fierce, angry and raw..

Filthy Christians from Falun, Sweden, started out as a hardcore band but wanted to play faster. The vocalist Per Thunell was also behind the microphone of Protest Bengt together with Åke from Mob 47. They released the unbelievable 32 song EP with Protes Bengt. Filthy Christians were influenced by bands like Heresy and Napalm Death which you clearly can hear on this split EP. Filthy Christians tracks come from their second demo tape: imagine the crust brutality of Bombanfall enriched with some grindcore hints that pop up here and there. There are brutal vocals, rough guitars, beat changes with slower parts followed by fast outbreaks, there is a grindcore feeling but this is not the grindcore as we know it nowadays, six tracks are delivered and some of them last less than a minute.

TRACK LISTING:

1. True Story - G-Anx
2. Chicken Fuck - G-Anx
3. Mitt Liv - G-Anx
4. Enkelbiljetten - G-Anx
5. No Religion Can Save Us From Hell - G-Anx
6. Satanist - Filthy Christians
7. Lev Som Du Lär - Filthy Christians
8. Vaktmästar Jazz (Olle P) - Filthy Christians
9. Meningslöst Våld - Filthy Christians
10. Another Metal Band - Filthy Christians
11. Skate And Die - Filthy Christians

MARKETING POINTS:

• Remastered by Carl Saff

FOR FANS OF:
Totalitar, Napalm Death, Heresy, Siege, Anti-Cimex, Mob 47

Ufomammut "Fenice"

LP - $15.95 / CD - $9.60
LP UPC: 733102724511
CD UPC: 733102724528
STREET DATE: 5/6/22
CAT #: NR122
LABEL: Neurot

This May, Italian alchemists and power trio Ufomammut return with their ninth studio album, Fenice via Neurot Recordings. But not as we’ve heard them before, now “more intimate, more free.”

For over 20 years, the band has combined the heaviness and majesty of dynamic riff worship with a nuanced understanding of psychedelic tradition and history in music, creating a cosmic, futuristic, and technicolor sound destined for absolute immersion.

Fenice (meaning Phoenix in Italian) symbolically represents endless rebirth and the ability to start again after everything seems doomed. The album is the first recording with new drummer Levre, and truly marks a new chapter in Ufomammut history.

“I think we lost our spontaneity, album after album,” says Urlo. “We tried to make more complicated songs and albums, but I think at some point we just ended up repeating ourselves. With Fenice, we were ready to start from zero, we had no past anymore - so we just wanted to be reborn and rise from the ashes..”

While the band are well-known for their psychedelic travels into the far reaches of the cosmos, Fenice is a much more introspective listening experience. Fenice was conceived as a single concept track, divided in six facets of this inward-facing focus. Sonic experimentations abound in the exploration of this central theme; synths and experimental vocal effects are featured more prominently than ever before as the band push themselves ever further into the uncharted territory of their very identity.

The towering synths on the opening track ‘Duat’ evoke an almighty machine rising from the depths of primordial ooze. There’s a shift to a frenetic garage-psych pace before mellowing out into a more familiar doomy stomp. ‘Kepherer’ is a respite, albeit a slight one, returning to the pulsing rhythms of the album’s intro before plunging the listener into the menacing build and release of ‘Psychostasia’ next. Each oscillation of this extraordinary album feels inevitable - Ufomammut are after all, masters of their craft, and when it comes to creating enveloping sonic journeys into the unknown, it’s their uninhibited sense of exploration that breaches new sonic ground.

Fenice is the sound of a band whose very essence has been rejuvenated, and are welcoming the chance to create music in the way they know best; by unfolding carefully and attentively, by melding those extreme dynamics which render Fenice as a living and breathing creature - and by writing gargantuan riffs that herald their very rebirth.

TRACK LISTING:

1. DUAT
2. KHEPERER
3. PSYCHOSTASIA
4. METAMORPHOENIX
5. PYRAMIND
6. EMPYROS

MARKETING POINTS:

• European Tour May 26th - May 31st
• Festival appearances in June including Hellfest, Years Sound of Liberation & Desert Fox Festival

FOR FANS OF:
Neurosis, Sleep, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath

Instagram | Twitter

Deaf Club “Bad Songs Forever”

7"EP - $6.00
7"EP UPC: 795044139389
STREET DATE: 5/6/22
CAT #: 31G123
LABEL:Three One G

Having just released their debut LP, “Productive Disruption,” in January of 2022, Deaf Club wasted no time in the relentless pursuit of perfecting sci fi crust punk from the future; the result is their newest EP, “BAD SONGS FOREVER.“ Made up of 3 original tracks as well as a Pixies cover of “Broken Face,” the band claws and spews its way into a heightened state of controlled chaos, taking time to more deliberately build, layer and pace each track in ways they previously hadn’t. As their shared style comes increasingly into laser-focus with each new song, Deaf Club continues to meld d-beat and thrash sensibilities with unhinged battery acid buzzes, disgruntled rhythms, and tongue in cheek lyrics spit cynical and sharp.

TRACK LISTING:

1. If You Eat a Rat, It Might Taste Good
2. But Does It Fart?
3. Broken Face
4. Ride With Cops, Shoot With Robbers

MARKETING POINTS:

• Features Justin Pearson’s (The Locust, Dead Cross, Satanic Planet), Tommy Meehan (The Manx, Sweatband Records co-founder), Brian Amalfitano (ACxDC), Scott Osment (Weak Flesh, Planet B), Jason Klein (Run With the Hunted)

FOR FANS OF:
The Locust, Retox, Dead Cross

Instagram | Facebook

No/Más “Consume/Deny/Repent”

LP - $17.50
LP UPC: 196292069877
STREET DATE: 4/29/22
CAT#: CCA098
LABEL: Closed Casket Activities

No/Más dispenses a face-ripping combination of grindcore, metal, death, and thrash that would cut deep a decade ago or a decade from now. The Washington, D.C. group — Roger Rivadeneira [vocals], John Letzkus [guitar], Patrick Merson [bass], and Henry Everitt [drums, vocals] — engage an uncompromising sensory assault, barreling forward like a runaway freight train only bolted to the rails by deft riffing, explosive drumming, and vocal brutality.

Under the influence of everything from Slayer and Napalm Death to Wormrot, NO/MAS materialized in Washington, D.C. They made waves with their 2018 full-length debut, Raíz Del Mal, which Metal Injection christened “one of the most intense releases of the year.” Meanwhile, Decibel added, "Every song on their latest album, Raíz Del Mal, is a nice little rollercoaster that tends to make its twists and turns around grind, black metal, D-beat and hardcore." In between dropping the Last Laugh EP in 2019, they graced bills with the likes of Exodus, Pig Destroyer, and many more.

Produced and Engineered by Taylor Young at The Pit Recording Studio and featuring the Artwork of Ethan McCarthy (Hell Simulation).

TRACK LISTING:

1. Manipulate/Consume
2. Sin Vergüenza
3. Exile
4. Interrogation
5. Sudor Frío
6. Mal De Ojo
7. Arson/Repent
8. Ciego
9. Ausencia De Luz
10. Refugio
11. Deny/Disgrace
12. Against My Will
13. Rabia
14. Police Brutality
15. Hypothermia

MARKETING POINTS:

• Produced by Taylor Young of The Pit Recording Studio
• Artwork by Ethan McCarthy (Hell Simulation)

FOR FANS OF:
Napalm Death, Nails, Full of Hell

Squint "Feel It"

CASSETTE - $7.00
STREET DATE: 4/29/22
CAT#: SDR078
LABEL: Sunday Drive

"Feel It" is the debut EP from St.Louis, MO melodic-hardcore band, Squint. Featuring various members from Missouri bands Time and Pressure, New Lives, Soul Craft and Choir Vandals, Squint has a nice palette of sounds ranging from hardcore to alternative/indie rock. Largely influenced by a shared liking of Rites of Spring and Turning Point, "Feel It" take the sound of melodic-leaning hardcore, but Squint is able to put their own spin on it with fuzzed-out guitars and big riffs—recalling tones heard from bands like Seaweed and Sugar. Most importantly, as the title suggests, "Feel It" loudly communicates a huge array of emotions. Themes of anger, presence, loving, depression, and more are delivered by vocalist and songwriter, Brennen Wilkinson. Each word is passionately shouted by Wilkinson, and with the backing of huge guitars and hard-hitting drums, all you want to do is shout-along, bang your head, and of course—feel it.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Squintro
2. Ghost
3. Dealer Wins
4. Homesick
5. Mantra

MARKETING POINTS:

• Featuring members of Time and Pressure, Still, New Lives, Choir Vandals

FOR FANS OF:
Seaweed, Sugar, Drug Church

Instagram

Heriot "Profound Morality"

LP - $15.95 / CD - $8.00
STREET DATE: 4/29/22
CAT #: CRR120
LABEL: Church Road

Following their 2021 addition to the Church Road Records roster and a string of single releases throughout the year, UK metal upstarts HERIOT have announced the release of their first EP proper - titled Profound Morality. Due for release on April 29, Profound Morality is eight tracks of uncompromisingly polymorphic extreme metal, hardcore and industrial music.

Heralded as one of Kerrang! Magazine’s sounds of ‘22 and labeled as ones to watch by the likes of Metal Hammer and Revolver - not to mention praise from none other than Machine Head’s Robb Flynn - to say that HERIOT’s debut record is highly anticipated would be an understatement in the wake of a recent UK tour support slot alongside labelmates Svalbard.

HERIOT live up to their well-earned hype in spades across Profound Morality’s runtime. Early EP highlight Coalesence and the previously released Enter the Flesh belabour grind, industrial and hardcore’s sonic template into the ground with feverish intensity, as Jake Packer and Debbie Gough trade mercurial vocal barbs over tonally acerbic instrumentation. Elsewhere the band expand upon their artistic vision with cuts such as Abattoir and opener Abaddon, bringing together sonic textures not dissimilar to Justin K Broadrick’s Godflesh and Jesu projects.

Marrying disparate sounds from all ends of the broader metal spectrum is no easy task, which makes Profound Morality all the more powerful when taken in as a collective whole. Since their 2020 inception HERIOT have offered glimpses of their capabilities on bite-size releases, however, their latest work stands as a watershed moment for both the band and those who wish to draw outside of genre lines within abrasive music. With UK festival appearances at the likes of Bloodstock, 2000 Trees and Upsurge on the horizon, things are only just getting started for HERIOT.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Abaddon
2. Coalescence
3. Carmine (Fills the Hollow)
4. Near Vision
5. Mutagen
6. Enter the Flesh
7. Abattoir
8. Profound Morality

FOR FANS OF:
Fuming Mouth, NAILS, Portrayal of Guilt

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

The Locust "Safety Second, Body Last"

12"EP - $14.00
12"EP UPC: 795044139402
STREET DATE: 4/29/22
CAT #: 31G125
LABEL: Three One G

2005 saw the Ipecac Recordings/Radio Surgery release of The Locust’s “Safety Second, Body Last,” the follow-up EP to their acclaimed album, “Plague Soundscapes.” The concept for SSBL has been explained as one 10-minute song split into two tracks, each of which is further dissected into separate movements. The result is a timeless sci-fi onslaught described in reviews as an “elegant mind-fuck of organized noise” and “a fascinating contrast full of viciously dadaist musical fragments and surreal, perceptive lyrics.”

The now well-recognized cover art is a piece titled “Treatment” by Neil Burke, a member of likeminded experimental band Men’s Recovery Project.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Armless and Overactive
   Who's Handling the Population Paste?
   Invented Organs
   New Tongue Sweepstakes
   Consenting Abscess (Part 1)
   Consenting Abscess (Part 2)

2. One Decent Leg
   Movement Across the Membrane
   Oscillating Eyes
   Immune System Overtime
   Hairy Mouth

MARKETING POINTS:

FOR FANS OF:
Swing Kids, Some Girls, Head Wound City, Holy Molar, Retox, Le Butcherettes

Instagram | Facebook

Violent Apathy "11/29/81"

7"EP - $4.75
STREET DATE: 4/29/22
CAT#: RADIO031
LABEL: Radio Raheem

Along with The Fix, Necros, Negative Approach, and The Meatmen, Kalamazoo, Michigan’s Violent Apathy was one of the pioneering bands for the Michigan Hardcore Punk scene of the early 1980s. A few months after recording their contribution to the highly sought-after Midwest Hardcore compilation Process of Elimination, Violent Apathy went into the studio with Necros bass player and head honcho at Touch & Go Records Corey Rusk in the production seat and 11/29/81 contains six songs from that session. With a head full of frantic earnesty, the crazed caterwauling of Violent Apathy contained on 11/29/81 is more akin to Land Speed Record-era Husker Du than the menacing, boot-stomping sounds any of their peers from the mitten state were kicking out at the time. After lingering in the dark recesses of the internet and crusty tape collections for years, No Idols and Radio Raheem are proud as punch to team up and present this obscure and unheralded piece of Michigan Hardcore history to the underground.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Live In
2. Vice Grip
3. On Trial
4. Reason
5. Ignorance Is Bliss
6. Theme Song

FOR FANS OF:
Negative Approach, Necros, Midwest Hardcore

Nathan Gray “Rebel Psalms”

12"EP - $15.95
STREET DATE: 4/29/22
CAT#: EH077
LABEL: End Hits

After releasing his third solo album Rebel Songs in late 2021, Nathan Gray presents the new EP "Rebel Psalms" with four new songs taken from the Rebel Songs recording session exclusively out on End Hits Records. The four songs display a calmer counterpart to the more upbeat and politically fueled protest songs on Rebel Songs eventually showing Nathan Gray’s (singer of Boysetsfire) musical versatility. Rebel Psalms was produced by Brian McTernan (Be Well, Battery & producer for Turnstile, Converge, Thrice, Texas is the Reason) at Salad Days Studio with the renowned rock drummer Charlie Walker (Chamberlain, Samiam, New End Original).

"Rebel Psalms" is available on vinyl with a screenprinted B-side and is limited to 550 copies with no repress.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Ghosts
2. Unhinged
3. Stay
4. My Ascent

MARKETING POINTS:

• Additional tracks from "Rebel Songs" recording session
• Screen printed B-Side

FOR FANS OF:
Boysetsfire, Chamberlain, The Gaslight Anthem

Amenra, Cave In, Marissa Nadler "Songs of Townes van Zandt Vol III"

LP - $14.65 / CD - $9.60
LP UPC: 733102724818
CD UPC: 733102724825
STREET DATE: 4/22/22
CAT #: NR120
LABEL: Neurot

My Proud Mountain is thrilled to announce Songs of Townes Van Zandt III, continuing the tradition of well-known artists in the heavy music and dark genres covering the songs of Townes Van Zandt. The LP features nine new and unique covers by Amenra, Cave In, and Marissa Nadler.

Opener “Quicksilver Dreams of Maria” paints Nadler as a pastoral daydream of mournful siren vocals, embodying the lovelorn and lustful side of Van Zandt some listeners tend to overlook. “I wanted to shine a light on some of Townes Van Zandt’s lesser known, but equally excellent songs from his vast body of work,” says Nadler. “His deeply romantic lyrical tendencies are intricately displayed on the three songs that I chose, as well as the pervasive loneliness and deep-seated sadness, always waiting right outside the door.”

Her covers of “Sad Cinderella” and “None But the Rain” capture the tender and weary surrender to hope in the face of turmoil, like a flower blooming on a gravestone. The melodic and rhythmic contributions of Milky Burgess help make the covers a hazy carnival of memories that may be real or imagined, depending on where your eyes are following the setting sun over the hillside. “I recorded the songs at my home studio, with an intimate close-mic approach, and tried to be as raw as I could with them. The feeling that Townes is singing right in your ear, standing right next to you, comforting you – that is what I love about so many of his recordings. His attack and delivery go straight to the heart.”

Amenra strip back their sludge metal sound to just vocals and acoustic guitar to pay tribute to the tortured soul at the center of Van Zandt’s work. “The sadness and despair in his songs are unparalleled,” says guitarist Lennart Bossu. Tackling “Kathleen”, “Flyin’ Shoes”, and the eerie “Black Crow Blues”, Amenra shine a light on the real pain that made Van Zandt’s lyrics all the more haunting. “We recorded the songs with Gilles Demolder, in his little studio, where he added keys and atmospheres to “Kathleen” and “Flyin’ Shoes,” continues Bossu. “After working a little bit on tempos and composition, we surrendered to the songs, and tried to get as close to Townes’ original intention as we could.” The result is the Texas desert by way of Belgium, a set of stark and emotionally raw ballads for long night drives to nowhere.

“We’re gonna play another cover here,” says Cave In’s Stephen Brodsky from the Roadburn Festival stage in April 2018, a slight Texas twang escaping his mouth in anticipation of what comes next. “We’re gonna do a Townes Van Zandt song.” He and fellow Cave In guitarist Adam McGrath then launch into “Nothin’”, turning Van Zandt’s withering and detached anthem of forced sobriety and solitude into a proclamation of goodwill and tender absolution to a friend in the afterlife – departed Cave In bassist Caleb Scofield. “Caleb was a big fan of Townes Van Zandt, so we did it in remembrance of our friend,” says Brodsky. “When we think of Townes, we also think of Caleb – that’s the heavy shit.”

Cave In’s full-band covers of “The Hole” and “At My Window’ find them at their most cavernous, slowing down their high-wire sound to a sidewinder crawl to navigate the claustrophobic darkness. “I heard what Marissa Nadler and Amenra did with their covers, and it convinced me to go back to the drawing board,” says Brodsky. “It was pretty obvious that traditional-sounding Cave In versions of Townes Van Zandt wouldn’t work in this context.”
At nearly 7-minutes long, their doomed-out cover of “The Hole” is as black as west Texas midnight. “Our version was recorded mostly remotely – it started with me just singing and playing keys at the same time. I’m not sure there’s any other Cave In recording out there without me playing guitar,” continues Brodsky.”

For their cover of “At My Window”, Brodsky says, “We actually recorded 3 or 4 different versions. We eventually turned down the volume and slowed the tempo, with everyone going a little further outside their comfort zones to achieve something that would blend well with the other contributions. The Swans vibe that we eventually settled on seems to have garnered the best result for this application.”

It's likely that today’s digital landscape of plug-and-play creative freedom would have benefited an artist as fiercely committed to independence as Townes Van Zandt. My Proud Mountain is delighted to use today’s technology to help artists create an LP of covers that showcase his sad, brilliant, and highly influential music that continues to touch people the world over to this day.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Quicksilver Daydreams of Maria - Marissa Nadler
2. Black Crow Blues - Amenra
3. Nothin' - Cave In
4. Kathleen - Amenra
5. The Hole - Cave In
6. Flyin' Shoes - Amenra
7. Sad Cinderella - Marissa Nadler
8. At My Window - Cave In
9. None But The Rain - Marissa Nadler

MARKETING POINTS:

• Long awaited Vol 3 of the series “Songs Of Townes Van Zandt” featuring cover songs from Townes Van Zandt
• 3 songs each of Amenra, Cave In & Marissa Nadler

FOR FANS OF:
Cave In, Marissa Nadler, Amenra, Converge, Neurosis, Steve Von Till, Townes Van Zandt

The Darling Fire “Dark Celebration”

LP - $14.65
LP UPC: 810017640553
STREET DATE: 4/22/22
CAT #: IOD-SPAR063
LABEL: Iodine Recordings

After years of individual success in some of the scene's most beloved bands, The Darling Fire was born of both deep struggle and deeper friendships. A veritable mosaic of indie notoriety, the band features members or ex-members of The Rocking Horse Winner, Further Seems Forever, Dashboard Confessional, Poison The Well, Shai Hulud, As Friends Rust, and Strongarm among others. The debut album, Dark Celebration, is in many ways what you'd anticipate — energetic, powerful, melodic, and heavy; however, it is far more nuanced than you would imagine. The collective sum of the parts and the alluring heart-on-sleeve lyrics produce a more intimate, spacey and bewitching experience — an authenticity that speaks to the true cathartic nature of the project. The result of their collaboration with producer J. Robbins (Jawbox, Burning Airlines, Government Issue) is a powerful coalescence of artistry and vision — a record that five artists spent their entire careers waiting to make.

TRACK LISTING:

1. For the Loveless
2. Nevertwin
3. Omaha
4. Catatonia
5. Silver Spider
6. The Constant
7. Saints in Masquerade
8. In Twilight

MARKETING POINTS:

• Featuring members of: Shai Hulud, The Rocking Horse Winner, As Friends Rust, and Dashboard Confessional
• Playing Furnace Fest 2022 in Birmingham, AL
• US Tour planned for Summer 2022

FOR FANS OF:
Deftones, Nothing, Hum, Narrow Head, Slow Crush

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

Thin & The Wind In The Trees "Split"

7"EP - $6.50
STREET DATE: 4/15/22
CAT #: TG053
LABEL: Twelve Gauge

This split EP brings together Thin and The Wind In The Trees two grind-adjacent sounds of their own that compliment one another to deliver 9 minutes of loud, frenzied chaos.

Thin is a 3-piece mathgrind band from New York City. The trio have developed a reputation for quick, cathartic, off-kilter compositions, with similarly chaotic and aggressive live performances. Listening to Thin is the sonic equivalent of rolling around in broken glass, and liking it. For fans of Ed Gein, Maruta, and Discordance Axis.

The Wind In The Trees is a 3-piece grind band from Baltimore made up of guitarist Dave Gill (ex-The Heads are Zeros, No Note), drummer Wade Civitarese and vocalist Brandon Winter (ex-Whenskiesaregray, Leveless). The band, which eschews a bass player in favor of a wall of amps and an octave pedal, delivers a chaotic and punishing performance that belies their minimalist lineup. For Fans of Ion Dissonance, Robinson, Sawtooth Grin.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Thin - I Don't Go on Walks Anymore
2. Thin - Feeding Your Best Friend His Last Meal
3. Thin - Swear to Dog
4. Thin - He Was a Friend of Mine
5. The Wind In The Trees - Eons from Mortality
6. The Wind In The Trees - Thoughts Entombed by Gravity

MARKETING POINTS:

• Thin's second release on Twelve Gauge, following up their debut LP, Dawn.
• The Wind In The Trees features ex-members of Whenskiesaregray, Leveless, The Heads are Zeros, No Note
• On tour this summer

FOR FANS OF:
Ed Gein, Maruta, Discordance Axis

Thin:
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

The Wind In The Trees:
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

Still "Faint"

LP - $14.00
STREET DATE: 4/8/22
CAT #: SDR064
LABEL: Sunday Drive

"Faint" is the debut EP from St. Louis, Missouri shoegaze band, Still. The band was formed in 2020 by Michael Hoeltge, Ben Koeing, David Shanle (New Lives, Time and Pressure), and Chris Wright, with a goal to write something different from their previous bands, primarily consisting of indie, hardcore, and pop-punk music. Still is a drastic change from the aforementioned, incorporating classic elements of shoegaze, with a mix of slowcore.

"Faint" feels like a journey from start to finish—introduced with guitars fading in on "Spinner" and concluding with fuzzy guitars, melodies, and heavy-hitting drums on "Downward". Throughout all of the noise, however, there is still a sense of catchiness, which can be difficult to capture in the genre. Still pull off the sound extremely well, with the help of local St.Louis producer, Gabe Usery, and master engineer, Zac Montez (Cloakroom, Turnover). “What's left to feel with all the sounds, as it all falls down?”

TRACK LISTING:

1. Spinner
2. Heavy
3. Blur
4. Faint
5. Downward

MARKETING POINTS:

• Features members of Time and Pressure, New Lives.
• Mastered by Zac Montez (Cloakroom, Turnover)

FOR FANS OF:
My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Ride, Nothing, Cloakroom

Instagram | Twitter