February 25, 2015

Scott Kelly with New Project Mirrors for Psychic Warfare: European Tour Staring This Week

Scott Kelly is heading back to Europe to introduce his new project Mirrors for Psychic Warfare.

Mirrors for Psychic Warfare is Scott Kelly (founding member of Neurosis, Corrections House, Shrinebuilder, The Road Home, Blood Caldera, River Of Madness, Tribes Of Neurot, and co-owner of Neurot Recordings) and Sanford Parker (Minsk, Buried at Sea, Nachtmystium).

Sanford Parker is a producer, recording engineer and musician from Chicago, IL. Sanford is known from bands like Minsk, Twilight and Nachtmystium and nowadays is part of Corrections House and Buried at Sea. As an engineer he worked for bands like Eyehategod, Woven Hand and Voivod over the last two years - just to name a few.

Scott Kelly about the new project:
Mirrors for Psychic Warfare is an experiment in noise, silence, restraint and aggression in all shapes and forms. The concept will be first performed to a live audience in late February-early March of 2015 on European soil. There will be a 7" record "The Oracles Hex" released by My Proud Mountain to coincide with this tour. I am very much looking forward to the open minds that will allow this in.”

Sanford Parker will also support the show with his solo project Two from the Eye
"Two from the Eye is a visceral blend of heavy rhythms, atmospheric drones and dense psychedelic layers. Debuting live in Europe this spring with an album currently in the works. This music is written with a soul crushing intent.“ 

27.02. NL-Haarlem Patronaat
28.02. GER-Leipzig UT Connewitz
01.03. NL-Arnhem Willemeen
02.03. FR-Nantes Le Ferrailleur
03.03. FR-Blois Chato’Do
04.03. FR-Clermont-Ferrand La Cooperative De Mai
05.03. ES-Madrid Moroder Club
06.03. ES-Barcelona Hangar
07.03. ES-Azkoitia Matadero
08.03. FR-Toulouse House Show
09.03. CH-Geneva La Graviere
10.03. CH-Martigny Sunset Bar

My Proud Mountain will release the first 7" Vinyl & DL "The Oracles Hex" of Mirrors for Psychic Warfare on black & transparent red with black speckles vinyl, which will be available for sale at the above tour dates, and also online through myproudmountain.com/shop.

You can listen to the A side of the 7“ here:
Scott Kelly – MIRRORS FOR PSYCHIC WARFARE
Another great song from Mirrors For Psychic Warfare
is currently streaming at CVLT Nation.



Visit here for more tour details and information. 




February 18, 2015

UFOMAMMUT: First North American Tour Announced Including Support From Usnea; Fourth Ecate Making-Of Episode Released

With the details of their upcoming seventh studio full-length album, Ecate, having been recently unveiled, Italian mystical doom trio, UFOMAMMUT, finally announces their official first-ever tour of North America today, something diehard fans of this colossal outfit have been awaiting anxiously for years.
 

Now more than fifteen years into their time together as UFOMAMMUT, the band’s only prior US outings were two live shows in Los Angeles and San Francisco in 2009 in conjunction with their crushing Idolum LP. Since Idolum, the band’s popularity has grown exponentially, through the magic of their Eve LP, their signing with Neurosis’ label, Neurot Recordings for the 2012 release of their two-part ORO LP, and their following 2013-released XV DVD through their own Supernatural Cat Records. The desire to witness the outfit crafting its psychedelic and decimating craft in the flesh has become nearly overwhelming for stateside fans, but a shift in the tides this Spring will bring a major change as the trio invades American soil for their first-ever widespread US tour in the months ahead.

Initiated by their anticipated performance at this year’s Maryland Deathfest with lablemates Yob, Neurosis and countless others, UFOMAMMUT’s month-long North America Spring 2015 tour has now been declared. The trek will begin in Chicago on May 13th, with Relapse Records’ crushing Portland, Oregon-based cosmic sludge quartet, Usnea, providing direct support for the entire tour, which comes to a close in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on June 13th, including two shows in Canada. The trek will be preceded by a European tour alongside the UK’s Conan, consuming the latter half of April and including appearances at both of this year’s Desertfest events in London and Berlin.

Today also sees the release of the fourth video episode into the making-of UFOMAMMUT’s new album, Ecate, set for North American release on March 31st through Neurot Recordings. On the follow-up to their acclaimed ORO album, the trio takes a confident step forward with their craft, orchestrating atmospheric processions that take the six songs on the album to places as-of-yet uncharted, the only guide being that of Ecate, the three-sided goddess who moves between the realms of the living, the dead, and the gods. The latest installment showcases the layering of the dense guitar tones, as always with sound wizard Lorenzo Stecconi, for these sessions using his mobile studio at SOMS "Il Progresso" in Sarezzano, Italy.

Watch Ecate’s guitars become realized with episode four RIGHT HERE:



Catch up on the recording of the drums, bass and more with part 1, part 2 and part 3 as well.



UFOMAMMUT Ecate European Tour Dates:
4/04/2015 e20 Underground - Montecchio Maggiore IT
4/10/2015 Bloom - Mezzago IT
4/18/2015 Impetus festival - Delemont CH
4/19/2015 Glazart - Paris FR w/ Conan
4/21/2015 Forum - Bielefeld DE w/Conan
4/22/2015 Schlachthof - Wiesbaden DE w/ Conan
4/23/2015 Feierwerk - Munich DE w/ Conan
4/24/2015 Desertfest - Berlin DE w/ Conan
4/25/2015 AB - Brussels BE w/ Conan
4/26/2015 Desertfest - London UK w/ Conan
4/28/2015 Vortex - Siegen DE w/ Conan
4/29/2015 Kellerclub - Stuttgart DE
4/30/2015 Weekender Club - Innsbruck AT


UFOMAMMUT North America Spring 2015 w/ Usnea:
5/13/2015 Reggies - Chicago, IL
5/14/2015 Now That's Class - Cleveland, OH
5/15/2015 Bug Jar - Rochester, NY
5/16/2015 Mod Club - Toronto, ON
5/17/2015 Le Ritz - Montreal, QC
5/19/2015 Saint Vitus Bar - Brooklyn, NY
5/20/2015 Johnny Brenda's - Philadelphia, PA
5/21/2015 Maryland Death Fest - Baltimore, MD * no Usnea
5/22/2015 King's - Raleigh, NC
5/23/2015 Drunken Unicorn - Atlanta, GA
5/25/2015 Siberia - New Orleans, LA
5/26/2015 Walter's - Houston, TX
5/27/2015 Red 7 - Austin, TX
5/29/2015 Sister - Albuquerque, NM
5/30/2015 Flycatcher - Tucson, AZ
5/31/2015 Complex - Los Angeles, CA
6/02/2015 Catalyst - Santa Cruz, CA
6/03/2015 Elbo Room - San Francisco, CA
6/04/2015 Press Club - Sacramento, CA
6/05/2015 WOW Hall - Eugene, OR * no Usnea
6/06/2015 Rotture - Portland, OR
6/07/2015 Chop Suey - Seattle, WA
6/08/2015 Neurolux - Boise, ID
6/09/2015 Bar Deluxe - Salt Lake City, UT
6/10/2015 Hi-Dive - Denver, CO
6/12/2015 Turf Club - St Paul, MN
6/13/2015 Metal Grill - Milwaukee, WI

February 16, 2015

BROTHERS OF THE SONIC CLOTH Unleashes New Hymn Via NPR; Self-Titled Debut Out TODAY On Neurot Recordings

Photo by: Invisible Hour
Following teasers from Decibel Magazine and Classic Rock, today NPR hurls forth the asphyxiating heaviness of “Unnamed” from Seattle doom bringers, BROTHERS OF THE SONIC CLOTH. The tune makes it’s chest-caving appearance on the band’s self-titled debut, out TODAY in Europe via Neurot Recordings.

Slow, heavy and wholly unapologetic, Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth is the sound of earthly decomposition and planetary demise. Fronted by legendary guitarist/vocalist Tad Doyle — formerly of TAD and Hog Molly – alongside veteran bassist Peggy Doyle and drummer Dave French (The Anunnaki), the trio’s debut was tracked at at Robert Lang Studios and Doyle’s own Witch Ape Studio in Seattle, Washington, mixed by Billy Anderson (Sleep, High On Fire, Melvins et al) and serves as Doyle’s first recorded release in nearly fifteen years. Already reaping critical hails from both sides of the pond, Invisible Oranges vows, “it will be very difficult for any band to release a better album than this one in 2015,” further gushing, “The glacially paced ‘Empires Of Dust’ evokes Monotheist-era Celtic Frost with some post-punk elements, while ‘Unnamed’ imagines a world where the Melvins play black metal. The album’s crown jewel is the eleven-minute ‘La Mano Poderosa,’ which begins life as pure stoner Sleep worship then slowly, deliberately morphs into a noise rock jam buried under layers of metal distortion and Bonham drums. When the song’s coda comes back to (and augments) the opening riff it feels like Godzilla returning to the ocean. Like the most iconic albums, this one reveals hidden nuances and elements with every listen.”

Comments Doyle of third movement, “Unnamed,” “One of the hardest questions to honestly ask oneself is, ‘Who am I?’ People move through life attaching labels to themselves, and to others. It's human nature for you to call yourself a motorcycle rider if you ride motorcycles. We tend to attach the things that we do -- our jobs, our actions -- to our identity of who we think we are as individuals. By doing so, we are selling ourselves way too short by labeling our existence. The song ‘Unnamed’ is about letting go of false perceptions of ourselves and others in order to be truly open and free from the shackles of perception.”


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Free yourself with “Unnamed,” now playing at NPR at THIS LOCATION.

You can also get crushed by the sounds of “La Mano Poderosa” heavying up the airwaves of Classic Rock at THIS LOCATION and “Lava,” still crushing Decibel HERE.

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BROTHERS OF THE SONIC CLOTH will bring their sonic rumble to the stage this April with a special record release show at The Columbia City Theater in Seattle. Additional live performances are in the plotting stages and will be announced in the coming weeks.

BROTHERS OF THE SONIC CLOTH:
4/18/2015 The Columbia City Theater – Seattle, WA [info]


Out TODAY in Europe and tomorrow in North America, order
Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth on CD or LP at THIS LOCATION.



“The cover says it all: a molten sun cannonballs into a blackened landscape, spraying lava as it careers into finality… From the first chord, Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth demand that the volume dial go up as far as you can get it. A range of musical forms lurch out of the speakers – at times some of the riffs head toward Sunn O))) territory, or the Melvins at their most molasses-thick, but there’s none of the disinterest in rocking out that some denizens of guitar music’s outer reaches can sometimes exhibit.” – Digital Fix


“The riffs and rhythm section are hypnotic. There is nothing short or sweet about this album. Most of the songs are quite long and sound lovingly like chainsaws dipped in tar. Some of the best stoner metal to come out in some time.” – Glacially Musical

“If you’ve ever wondered what might have happened if The Pixies had turned into flesh-eating zombies right after they released Surfer Rosa, your wait is over. Because they probably would have sounded likeBROTHERS OF THE SONIC CLOTH.” – Echoes And Dust


“…so tasty, it’ll have you unashamedly coming back for seconds, and thirds, and fourths, and dessert, and a cheese course, and just one tiny little wafer thin mint...” – Drowned In Sound

“After 15 years of relative silence, it’s good to have Tad Doyle back and in such fine form. God’s balls, Thisis heavy shit.” – MusicOMH





February 12, 2015

Steve Von Till Reveals Details of an Astonishing New Solo Album, 'A Life Unto Itself,' Upcoming on Neurot Recordings in May

The title doesn't quite say it all, but it says some of it: A Life Unto Itself is as much the name of Steve Von Till's fourth solo album as it is the perfect description for the 25-plus years he's spent forging, with his brothers, the incomparable musical force that is Neurosis—not to mention the numerous sonic tapestries he's woven with Tribes Of Neurot and under his alter ego Harvestman. You can hear that rich musical history, and all the life experience that goes with it, on his new solo album A Life Unto Itself – and this album goes deeper still.

Where Steve Von Till's previous solo recordings took on a more traditional approach with a respectful nod toward American and European folk music, A Life Unto Itself expands and ventures into compelling uncharted territory for its maker. Steve Von Till's weathered, distinctive voice and sparse acoustic guitar provides a foundation, but a much wider variety of sonic textures are presented here. Bold and ambitious arrangements weave vintage synth, sublime strings, percussion, and electric guitars in and out of these unique and expansive songs as Steve Von Till's raspy whisper dives deeply inward and speaks genuinely of visions, memories, and self-reflection in a way that feels both seasoned and exposed.

A Life Unto Itself is a powerful and evocative collection of beautiful Celtic balladry, haunting folk songs, dark psychedelia and expansive Americana, transporting one to the very heart and soul of its creator. If you allow yourself to fully submit to it, abandoning all preconceptions, the rewards can be magnificent.


photo credit: Niela Von Till

February 11, 2015

IDES OF GEMINI Announces US Live Rituals With Mountain Goats

West Coast atmospheric sound conjurors, IDES OF GEMINI, will bring their sonic rituals to the stage this Spring supporting indie folk rock trio, Mountain Goats. Slated to commence on April 2nd, 2015 in Nashville, Tennessee, the journey will coil its way through seventeen cities coming to a close April 23rd, 2015 in Millvale, Pennsylvania.

"We are beyond thrilled to be going on tour with Mountain Goats this Spring," IDES OF GEMINI guitarist J. Bennett says. "And we're honored that John Darnielle and his bandmates chose to bring us along for the ride. I can't think of another bill that's quite like this one, so I've gotta give them huge props for taking a chance on us and doing something different."
 
Photo by Michelle Pullman


IDES OF GEMINI w/ Mountain Goats:

4/02/2015 Mercy Lounge - Nashville, TN
4/03/2015 Grey Eagle - Asheville, NC
4/04/2015 The Jinx - Savannah, GA
4/07/2015 Cat’s Cradle - Carrboro, NC
4/08/2015 9:30 Club - Washington, DC
4/09/2015 Webster Hall - New York, NY
4/11/2015 City Winery - New York, NY
4/12/2015 City Winery - New York, NY
4/13/2015 Union Transfer - Philadelphia, PA
4/14/2015 House of Blues - Boston, MA
4/16/2015 Bogart’s - Cincinnati, OH
4/17/2015 Majestic Theatre - Detroit, MI
4/18/2015 Vic Theatre - Chicago, IL
4/19/2015 Cedar Cultural Center - Minneapolis, MN
4/21/2015 Headliners - Louisville, KY
4/22/2015 Wexner Center - Columbus, OH
4/23/2015 Mr. Smalls Theatre - Millvale, PA


IDES OF GEMINI features Bennett, drummer Kelly Johnston-Gibson and the haunting vocal prowess of singer/bassist Sera Timms, also of West Coast dark-psych conjurors Black Mare. The trio will be touring in support of their critically championed Old World New Wave full-length released in September via Neurot Recordings. Captured at Valley Recording in Burbank, California, engineered and mixed by Chris Rakestraw (Danzig) and mastered by Grammy award winning producer Matt Hyde (Slayer), Old World New Wave offers up nine tracks of dark, mesmerizing soundscrapes.


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Bearded Gentlemen Music crowns the record “…an enjoyable dream-doom filled sonic journey from start to finish,” while Noisey notes, “…there’s enough droney doom on [Old World New Wave] to make you feel like you’re stuck in David Lynch’s dreams.” 

Invisible Oranges gushes, IDES OF GEMINI has a knack for atmosphere, for creating a world of sound and inviting the listener in. Their music has the feel of a classic horror film: all psychology, no fake blood or cheap startles. If there’s a goth revival afoot in metal culture — and, given last year’s releases by In Solitude, Beastmilk and others, there’s certainly an argument to be made for that — then IDES OF GEMINI is among its most evocative front-runners.” 

Adds Decibel, “A stark blend of black metal-derived guitar riffs, rigid, martial beats, and the haunting, gothic vocal harmonies of bassist Sera Timms and drummer Kelly Johnston-Gibson, this album washes over the listener, feeling simultaneously comforting and unsettling. Better yet, there are moment that see the band exploring more hook-oriented material… which makes you wonder just how much the band’s 2013 tour with Ghost B.C. had an effect on them.”



IDES OF GEMINI’s Old World New Wave is out NOW on CD and digitally via Neurot Recordings and on vinyl via SIGE Records. For CD orders, point your browser HERE and for T-shirt bundles, point your browser to THIS LOCATION.










February 5, 2015

Brothers of the Sonic Cloth: Classic Rock Premiere 'La Mano Poderosa' From the Seattle Trio's Debut Album

Classic Rock today premiere the epic centerpiece of Brothers of the Sonic Cloth's self-titled debut album, 'La Mano Poderosa'. Eleven minutes of shifting sands and foreboding intonations potently convey the ominous nature of the band's end-times music, with periods of decisive and direct riffing interspersed with captivating lamenting melodies.


Photo Credit: Invisible Hour

Vocalist/guitarist Tad Doyle further comments, “Originally the main riff was one of the first songs for BOTSC, conceived in 2007 and developed over a period of seven years until this release. Lyrically the subject matter is of the notion that one has been here for thousands of years. This comes with the realization that there are 'old souls' who may have been here many times and have witnessed glimpses of past lives through a series of déjà vus. Some who have lived as hunter gatherers working soil, some as soldiers on bloody battlefields joining their blades with others flesh, and those who have witnessed their lives as other living beings and animals. This return to ‘here', being the last time.”

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 Listen to 'La Mano Poderosa' HERE from Classic Rock 

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Don't forget, you can still sample a taste of the heavy ahead of the record's February 17th release date with a five-minute video teaser that finds Doyle presenting an in-depth look at the impetus in creating Brothers of the Sonic Cloth, the tracking process and the weighty themes that bind the record. Watch the video teaser here. Pre orders for the CD and LP are now available, and can be placed at the following location here, through Neurot Recordings.

Brothers of the Sonic Cloth is the sound of earthly decomposition and planetary demise; a slow, entrancing dance towards a looming apocalypse… thick, monolithic, deliberate and devouring. Fronted by Seattle’s legendary guitarist/vocalist Tad Doyle — formerly of TAD and Hog Molly— Brothers of the Sonic Cloth is a trio of longtime rock soldiers that includes veteran bassist Peggy Doyle and drummer Dave French (The Anunnaki) and their forthcoming full-length debut maintains a long-held tradition of conjuring some of the heaviest music from the darkest depths of the Pacific Northwest.

Slated for release next month via Neurot Recordings, Brothers of the Sonic Cloth was captured at Robert Lang Studios and Doyle’s own Witch Ape Studio in Seattle, Washington and mixed by Billy Anderson (Sleep, High On Fire, Melvins et al). Thrusting forth five hauntingly heavy tracks, with two bonus hymns included on the CD edition the offering serves as Doyle’s first recorded release in nearly fifteen years. Brothers of the Sonic Cloth’s audio manifestations are welcomingly unfamiliar, splicing thick, jagged riffs through chilling post-punk drumming and hulking compositions that blow soulfully hot and desolately cold, sometimes within the confines of one track. Their long-form pieces present the kind of mature ideas and expansive progressions that outpace the listener’s short-term memory leading them off the proverbial map; familiar landmarks like sludge, post-metal, rock all but disappeared over the horizon. Authentic and authoritative, Brothers of the Sonic Cloth is as much a persistent thudding body punch of sonic destructive force as it is a thoughtful statement of awareness and the inescapable raw condition of life.




Brothers of the Sonic Cloth Track Listing:

1. Lava
2. Empires Of Dust
3. Unnamed
4. La Mano Poderosa
5. I Am
6. The Immutable Path
7. Outro





February 4, 2015

Ufomammut Reveals First Track from Their Seventh Album 'Ecate', Along with Tour Dates, Artwork, and the Next 'Making of' Video

There's smoke rising from the chimneys as Ufomammut annoint their first track to be spread across the lands - "Temple", from their upcoming seventh album Ecate, is an ambitious break away from their usual approach to crafting songs, and features biting riff work combined with an assured sense of regality, as well as a sweet tooth for luscious progressive breaks. Clocking in at over seven minutes, "Temple" has the same earworm quality that makes their previous albums so rewarding to return to, but also sees Ufomammut developing a tendency to explore territories outside of their ritualistic boundaries.

LISTEN TO 'TEMPLE'
[ LINK TO QUIETUS PREMIERE ]




The band are also thrilled to announce the Ecate release tour, which kicks off in April and takes the band across Europe, including appearances at both of this year's Desertfest events (in London and Berlin). Ufomammut will be accompanied by Liverpool's Conan, whose live show feels like a tombstone being dragged across your ears. Tour dates can be found below, with more to be confirmed...

APRIL 2015
19.04 (Fr) Paris, Glazart (+ CONAN)
21.04 (D) Bielefeld, Forum (+ CONAN)
22.04 (D) Wiesbaden, Schlachthof (+ CONAN)
23.04 (D) Munich, Feierwerk (+ CONAN)
24.04 (D) Berlin, Desertfest (+ CONAN)
25.04 (Be) Brussels, AB (+ CONAN)
26.04 (Uk) London, Desertfest (+ CONAN)
28.04 (D) Siegen, Vortex (+ CONAN) 
29.04 (D) Stuttgart, Kellerclub 

MAY 2015
21. Maryland Death Fest – Baltimore – MD (US)





About Ecate...
Ecate is the title worthy of deities and of Ufomammut's seventh album, which is due out on 30th March via Neurot Recordings.
The Italian power trio, known for their almighty heavy capabilities and psychedelic prowess, have as many discernible similarities as they do differences to their formative roots. Never pandering to the easy classification of doom, Ufomammut charge their sludgy output with inimitable energy and wild, wayfaring ambition which is matched by the tight-knit musical understanding that flows telepathically between the three members; Poia, Urlo, and Vita.
On their latest album, Ufomammut take a confident step forward with their craft, orchestrating atmospheric processions that take the six songs on the album to places as of yet uncharted, the only guide being that of Ecate (Hecate in English), the three-sided goddess who moves between the realms of the living, the dead, and the gods. Traditionally associated with matters of the liminal (statues of her can be found at crossroads and city walls, where she would be believed to either bless or curse travellers), she represents the link between the past, the present and the future in a way which resonates true with Ufomammut, and with the name of the band, too.



WATCH THE THIRD PART OF THE 'ECATE' RECORDING SESSIONS DOCUMENTARY HERE


Don't forget you can still view part 1 and part 2. These short videos offer a chance to explore the story behind the recording of the album and the roots of their sound, re-affirming the band's DIY approach to everything they do. From their second video, drummer Vita explains, "Every time we record a new album we are used to saying it is much different from the previous releases. This time it really is! It has different solutions, a different sound and more complicated drum parts, with much more use of the double kick and also parts that are more accelerated." You can watch the band go in to more depth about the method and the madness of recording Ecate at the links above.

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In addition to the Neurot Recordings CD and LP release, Supernatural Cat shall be releasing a limited edition LP version for Europe and worldwide (excluding the US) so stay tuned for further details and pre-order links.



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