May 12, 2016

NEUROSIS 30TH ANNIVERSARY T-SHIRTS, HOODIE AND BAGS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER THROUGH NEUROT RECORDINGS


After wrapping up performances at San Francisco's Regency Ballroom and in The Netherlands at Roadburn Festival commemorating three decades of sonic brotherhood, NEUROSIS has now made its special-edition 30th Anniversary merchandise available for pre-order through Neurot Recordings. 

Each of the designs was specially commissioned for the band’s landmark shows. The special 30th Anniversary merchandise, only available until now at those performances, are as follows: 
  • Santos 30th Anniversary t-shirt: Designed by prolific artist and illustrator Santos, the front of this shirt features the six-color poster artwork designed to promote NEUROSIS’ 30th Anniversary shows in both the United States and Europe. The back of the shirt highlights an additional four-color design, also by Santos. 
  • Hooper Mandala t-shirts and hoodie: Designed by Thomas Hooper, the t-shirt designs are offered in both black and grey, and in ladies’ styles, all featuring a one-color mandala drawn by Hooper on the front, and the back of the shirt shows the Neurot Recordings logo. The hoodie shows the Hooper artwork on the back, and the Neurosis/Neurot Recordings logo on the left chest. 
  • Hooper Mandala tote bag: The signature Thomas Hooper 30th Anniversary mandala design is replicated on a cotton canvas tote bag. 
  • Neurot Recordings logo bag: The Neurot Recordings logo is printed in white ink on a cotton canvas tote bag. 
Pre-orders for all NEUROSIS 30th Anniversary merchandise can be placed at THIS LOCATION

All merchandise will begin shipping in early- to mid-June 2016.

Following their monumental milestone 30 year anniversary shows in San Francisco and at Roadburn Festival, NEUROSIS reveal more live shows in summer.

NEUROSIS LIVE DATES: 

08/10/2016, CZ - Jaromer, Brutal Assault Festival

08/11/2016 - IT, Brescia - Festa Radio Onda D'Urto

08/12/2016, CH - Le Locle, Rock Altitude Festival

08/13/2016 - NO, Oslo - Oya Festival

08/14/2016, AT - Vienna, Arena (with Tesa & Ufomammut)

08/15/2016, GER - Leipzig, UT Connewitz

08/17/2016, NL - Haarlem, Patronaat

08/18/2016, BE– Hasselt– Pukkelpop Festival

08/20/2016 - FR, St. Nolff - Motocultor Festival

08/21/2016 - PT, Porto - Amplifest

New album details will be revealed in the coming months.

KOWLOON WALLED CITY ANNOUNCE FIRST EUROPEAN TOUR SUPPORTING MINSK IN AUGUST

Photo Credit: Josh Martines
San Francisco's KOWLOON WALLED CITY, radical reworkers of sludge and post-hardcore, are heading out on the European highway for the very first time this August, and will be supporting atmospheric metal masters Minsk. They will stop off at Migration Fest in Olympia, Washington, before heading to Europe for three weeks, including a performance at Porto’s esteemed Amplifest. This is an excellent chance to witness a band who over the last decade have refined their sound to a powerful zenith. Last year's Grievances LP, released in October via Neurot Recordings, was their furthest departure from their more direct origins, honing in on sparse and more melancholic detuned heaviness.

Vocalist/guitarist Scott Evans, together with guitarist Jon Howell, bassist Ian Miller, and drummer Jeff Fagundes spent over two years working on the seven songs for Grievances. The intense editing process weeded out about two albums’ worth of songs. Howell’s unusual chord changes and discordant aesthetic channel Unwound and Slint. Miller’s gritty bass adds a surprising layer of depth and melody, while Fagundes’ drums resonate in what sounds like an impossibly large room. Evans’ shouted vocals are raw with frustration and disappointment, but without the typical veneer of macho aggression.

Purchase Grievances on vinyl, CD and in t-shirt bundles via Neurot Recordings at THIS LOCATION

You can stream all of Grievances at their bandcamp, and view all dates announced so far below:


KOWLOON WALLED CITY / MINSK TOUR DATES:
08.16.16 Belgium, Antwerp @ Kavka
08.17.16 France, Paris @ La Mécanique Ondulatoire
08.18.16 TBA
08.19.16 TBA
08.20.16 Portugal, Porto @ Amplifest
08.21.16 Portugal, Porto @ Amplifest
08.22.16 Spain, Madrid @ Arena
08.23.16 TBA
08.24.16 France, Montpellier @ Black Sheep
08.25.16 Italy, Misano Adriatico @ Wave
08.26.16 Switzerland, Winterthur @ Gaswerk
08.27.16 TBA
08.28.16 Poland, Poznan @ U Bazyla
08.29.16 Germany, Berlin @ Musik & Frieden
08.30.16 Germany, Hamburg @ Hafenklang 
08.31.16 Sweden, Gothenburg @ Skjul Fyra Sex
09.01.16 TBA
09.02.16 Holland, Tilburg @ Little Devil
09.03.16 UK, London @ Underworld

"One of this year's true masterpieces." - ROCK A ROLLA 

"Grievances manifests its majesty in mounting despair: once your ears attune to its rewarding subtleties, the emotional rush begins to border on the epic. Manna from heaven for anyone who’s ever entertained the idea of Slint, Floor and Twelve Hour Turn locked in a glaring contest; beautifully bleak heaviosity for everyone else."- THE SKINNY

"The entire album is an eloquent and heartfelt rumination and, despite Evans’ assertion that “all of your voices are like silhouettes," Grievances proves that it is possible to make your voice heard, and do so with real vigour."- MUSIC OMH

"A stunning record – big, clean guitars, used as knives, not hammers, over a vicious bass bite and drums that hang and resound, full of anticipation, tension and release.... And what’s most impressive is how the riffs all feel purposeful in an emotional and narrative sense. They evolve, twist and push the songs forward. They’re beautiful, brittle and brutal all at the same time." - THE LIST





May 6, 2016

ALARIC's End of Mirrors is OUT NOW via Neurot Recordings

Photo Credit: Raul Varela
Today Oakland-based dark punk band, ALARIC, releases its long-anticipated End Of Mirrors full-length. The record was captured and mixed by Skot Brown at Kempton House Studios and provides an emotional and deeply physical journey through inky, blackened sonic murk, devoid of all hope.

Purchase End Of Mirrors CDs, vinyl, digital downloads, cassettes and T-shirt bundles directly from the Neurot Recordings store RIGHT HERE

In case you missed it, Revolver is streaming the entire album in all of its unsettling, gloomy-ridden glory at THIS LOCATION.




"If you are looking for something that is dark, aggressive, and more left-of-center than your typical metal band these days, then this is worth your time ... Aggression is a key component of their sound; even in the album’s more passive moments, it’s still bubbling under the surface like a serial killer staring at himself in the mirror.” — No Clean Singing

“End Of Mirrors is a study in all that is great about nearly three decades of largely British driven rock. The darkness, despair and questioning of existence aside, the music is damn catchy and hummable. Simply put, End Of Mirrors is 2016's version of Gold’s No Image — an album that doesn’t fit squarely within the metal genre yet will factor largely in the community’s conversation for years to come.” — Nine Circle

“…A deathrock opera that brilliantly sews together the dusky emotivity of Bauhaus and Christian Death, the punishing and bleak atmospheres of Killing Joke and of the heaviest punk bands, and the desolate and hopeless atmospheres of the most crippling doom.” — Cvlt Nation 

“A dark, almost apocalyptic sweep of sound.” —Aural Aggravation

“Though definitely doomed in their own unique way, ALARIC is a post-punk band at their core, but End Of Mirrors is no Mesh & Lace goth club party anthem ... ALARIC is night music for aging punks – the sound of the last call at an emptied, dimly lit bar slowly purging its last denizens.” — Invisible Oranges

ALARIC, who recently opened for Neurosis on one of their three special thirtieth anniversary shows in San Francisco in March, will bring their unsettling odes to the stage next month on a near-three-week stretch of live dates still in their plotting stages.

ALARIC TOUR DATES:

6/15/2016 The Complex – Los Angeles, CA w/ Ides Of Gemini 
6/16/2016 TBA - Long Beach, CA
6/17/2016 Womb Room - Las Vegas, NV
6/18/2016 The Quarry – Bisbee, AZ
6/19/2016 Meow Wolf - Santa Fe, NM 
6/20/2016 TBA – Austin, TX 
6/21/2016 TBA – Houston, TX 
6/22/2016 Three Links - Dallas TX w/ Pinkish Black 
6/23/2016 TBA - Oklahoma City, OK
6/24/2016 Hi Dive – Denver, CO
6/25/2016 Order Of The Eagle - Ogden, UT
6/26/2016 TBA – Boise, ID
6/27/2016 Highline – Seattle, WA
6/28/2016 Obsidiak – Olympia, WA 
6/29/2016 High Water Mark – Portland, OR
6/30/2016 Starline – Sacramento, CA
7/01/2016 Elbo Room - San Francisco, CA

ALARIC — featuring within its ranks current and former members of Dead And Gone, Pins Of Light, Noothgrush, Hedersleben and UK Subs — began their voyage in 2008 with an eye toward creating moody and compelling music unlike any other. Beginning with influences from such progenitors as Killing Joke and Christian Death to the darkest, heaviest punk bands and the most epic psychedelia, the band has dedicated itself to creating a singularly shadowy electric guitar-driven music. ALARIC’s previous releases include a debut single Animal/Shadow Of Life (FYBS/ Buried In Hell Records, 2010), a self-titled LP (20 Buck Spin, 2011) and a split 12” LP, with Atriarch (20 Buck Spin, 2012).






May 3, 2016

ALARIC: Dark Punk Outfit Uniting Current/Former Members Of Dead And Gone, Noothgrush, UK Subs, And More Streams End Of Mirrors At Revolver; Record To Drop This Friday Via Neurot + Live Dates Confirmed

Photo Credit: Raul Varela
This Friday, May 6th, Oakland-based dark punk alchemists, ALARIC, will unveil their long-anticipated End Of Mirrors full-length. Set for global release on CD, vinyl, and digital formats via Neurot Recordings, and on cassette via Sentient Ruin Laboratories, the record was captured and mixed by Skot Brown at Kempton House Studios and provides an emotional and deeply physical journey through inky, blackened sonic murk, devoid of all hope.

In advance of its release, Revolver offers up the record in all its unsettling, gloomy-ridden glory at THIS LOCATION.

For various End Of Mirrors preorder bundles go HERE.




In a recent investigation of ALARIC’s End Of Mirrors, No Clean Singing notes, “if you are looking for something that is dark, aggressive, and more left-of-center than your typical metal band these days, then this is worth your time,” further elaborating, “Aggression is a key component of their sound; even in the album’s more passive moments, it’s still bubbling under the surface like a serial killer staring at himself in the mirror.”

Nine Circle concurs: “End Of Mirrors is a study in all that is great about nearly three decades of largely British driven rock. The darkness, despair and questioning of existence aside, the music is damn catchy and hummable. Simply put, End Of Mirrors is 2016s version of Gold’s No Image — an album that doesn’t fit squarely within the metal genre yet will factor largely in the community’s conversation for years to come.” 

Cvlt Nation champions, “…a deathrock opera that brilliantly sews together the dusky emotivity of Bauhaus and Christian Death, the punishing and bleak atmospheres of Killing Joke and of the heaviest punk bands, and the desolate and hopeless atmospheres of the most crippling doom.” Aural Aggravation elaborates, “As a whole, it’s a dark, almost apocalyptic sweep of sound. Sitting alongside the recent releases by Se Delan and Madame Mayflower, 2016 is starting to look like the year goth is reborn. Forget darkwave and all that cal: emerging from a protracted period of social and economic turmoil, uncertainty, unrest, fear, and an all-pervading sense of existential trauma, we’re back in the late ‘70s and early 80s, and this is the real deal.” 

Abysmal Hymns hails a record that’s, “as heavy sonically as it is aggressive… While this band might have come into my consciousness when the death rock revival rolled into the inner webs, a song like ‘Angel’ makes it clear that to dismiss this band as death rock is dramatically over simplifying it even at the most morose. The ghostly quality to this song doesn't make you feel like you are sharing needles in West Hollywood on Halloween night. It is more expansive in the way it haunts you. It's going to take a few more listens before this slow working drug is fully in my system, but it lives up to the legacy they began...”

Adds Invisible Oranges of the band’s “Mirrors” single specifically, “Though definitely doomed in their own unique way, ALARIC is a post-punk band at their core, but End Of Mirrors is no Mesh & Lace goth club party anthem. Maintaining a sluggish tribal beat for the majority, ‘Mirrors’ reaches the lowest levels of despondency – psychedelic, woozy, and cold – before reaching a rabid and aggressive conclusion. …Though I had previously asserted that ALARIC had achieved their peak with their contribution to their 2012 split with fellow gloomers Atriarch, ‘Mirrors’ sets the bar higher. ALARIC is night music for aging punks – the sound of the last call at an emptied, dimly lit bar slowly purging its last denizens. To quote a song from a previous Alaric release, ‘the sadness goes on,’ and it certainly does.”

ALARIC, who recently opened for Neurosis on one of their three special thirtieth anniversary shows in San Francisco in March, will bring their unsettling odes to the stage next month on a near-three-week stretch of live dates still in their plotting stages. Additional live confirmations to be announced in the coming days.


ALARIC:

6/15/2016 The Complex – Los Angeles, CA w/ Ides Of Gemini 
6/16/2016 TBA - Long Beach, CA
6/17/2016 Womb Room - Las Vegas, NV
6/18/2016 The Quarry – Bisbee, AZ
6/19/2016 Meow Wolf - Santa Fe, NM 
6/20/2016 TBA – Austin, TX 
6/21/2016 TBA – Houston, TX 
6/22/2016 Three Links - Dallas TX w/ Pinkish Black 
6/23/2016 TBA - Oklahoma City, OK
6/24/2016 Hi Dive – Denver, CO
6/25/2016 Order Of The Eagle - Ogden, UT
6/26/2016 TBA – Boise, ID
6/27/2016 Highline – Seattle, WA
6/28/2016 Obsidiak – Olympia, WA 
6/29/2016 High Water Mark – Portland, OR
6/30/2016 Starline – Sacramento, CA
7/01/2016 Elbo Room - San Francisco, CA


ALARIC — featuring within its ranks current and former members of Dead And Gone, Pins Of Light, Noothgrush, Hedersleben and UK Subs — began their voyage in 2008 with an eye toward creating moody and compelling music unlike any other. Beginning with influences from such progenitors as Killing Joke and Christian Death to the darkest, heaviest punk bands and the most epic psychedelia, the band has dedicated itself to creating a singularly shadowy electric guitar-driven music. ALARIC’s previous releases include a debut single Animal/Shadow Of Life (FYBS/ Buried In Hell Records, 2010), a self-titled LP (20 Buck Spin, 2011) and a split 12” LP, with Atriarch (20 Buck Spin, 2012).





May 2, 2016

Introducing Neurot Recordings Deep Cuts & Deep Cut #1: Zeni Geva's 10,000 Light Years


This new series of communications from Neurot Recordings will revisit the depth of our catalog. We're calling it DEEP CUTS, and our hope is to bring attention to these amazing artists and their sounds. We will focus not only on the obscure and unsung, but also the historically significant and influential works that we have had the honor of releasing. 


DEEP CUTS #1
NR011
RELEASED: 2001

ZENI GEVA is one of the most punishing and relentlessly devastating bands to ever burst your skull open, crushing blow after blow with only slight moments of reprieve in a psychedelic vortex.

Formed in Tokyo in 1987 and led by renowned experimental noise artist KK Null, this explosive and innovative rock unit was spawned out of the unique Japanese extreme noise scene. The sounds emanating from across the Pacific were harsh, challenging, and alien to most music heads in the west.

We were first introduced to their music by Mason Jones of Charnel Music, an early champion of independent noise from Japan. He arranged for us to play with ZENI GEVA at the Kennel Club in San Francisco in 1992. After seeing them live and listening to their early records, we were completely blown away. Drawing comparisons to certain artists or movements in heavy music seems rather pointless, as they completely stand on their own unique mountain, but I will give it a shot just to be able to put up some signposts: somehow they combined the crushing, slow burn anger of Swans, the aggression of hardcore, the noise rock guitars of the Midwest and also make you think of the progressive nature of King Crimson, or things more cosmic, but all from a unique and original perspective.

We released 10,000 Light Years back in May 2001, the band's seventh album. Recorded by Steve Albini at Chicago's Electrical Audio, the album features Null - long-known for making his own instruments - creating a frenzy of static and distortion from own electrical creation, the "nulltron." -Steve Von Till


PURCHASE ZENI GEVA'S 10,000 LIGHT YEARS, ON SALE NOW, AT THIS LOCATION.



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