Deluxicus

ABSU Deluxe Edition Confirmed For American Release

Candlelight Records today confirms the upcoming release of a special deluxe version of ABSU's popular self-titled album. Set for American release January 26, the limited edition format will include a bonus live DVD that was filmed in Montreal amidst the band’s first stateside tour in nearly eight years. The band recently competed a European tour, with support coming from Norwegian label mates Pantheon-I, Australia/England’s Razor of Occam (featuring members of Destroyer 666), and American-based Zoroaster, bringing their highly regarded and self-described “mythological occult metal” to stages for their long-time European fans.

Released in February of this year, the J.T. Longoria (King Diamond, Solitude Aerternus) produced Absu features the trio with an all-star array of guest musicians and showcases the unique graphics of Belgian artist Kris Verwimp. It is the first album from the band released via England’s Candlelight Records, all previous records released by French independent Osmose Productions. In its first month of release, it was pressed three times as fans rushed out to buy the record which held the number two spot on CMJ/College Music Journal’s Loud Rock chart for three consecutive weeks. Terrorizer called the album, “a sound incarnate of a band making the underground amazing again… an undeniable masterpiece.” KNAC.com claimed it, “a captivating album that weaves together black metal, death metal, prog and Sumerian legend into one awe-inspiring package.” Metalsucks.net added, “the crux of Absu is a ridiculously tight band playing perhaps their best songs ever.”

Prior to the start of rehearsals for the ongoing European tour, ABSU announced the addition of session lead guitarist Vis Crom to the group's ranks. He replaces Zawicizuz, who was recently dismissed due to irreconcilable differences. Drummer/vocalist Proscriptor said of the replacement, "we are extremely thrilled to welcome Vis Crom as the newest touring musician of Absu. He has proven to be a conquering performer and we’re delighted to convey our next live chapters with him."

ABSU first came to international prominence with the release of their debut, Barathrum: VITRIOL in 1992. Originally released via Gothic Records, the label later licensed the record to France’s Osmose Productions (Immortal, Enslaved, Marduk). ABSU would establish a solid relationship with the label and thus release all later recordings via the renowned metal independent, including the highly regarded 2001 Tara. In 2007 the band would announce a new partnership with London-based Candlelight Records. The trio spent 2008 writing and recording the thirteen songs that includes new fan favorites “Night Fire Canonization, “Amy,” and “Girra’s Temple."

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Ad referendum

The unleashing of Quantos Possunt Ad Satanitatem Trahunt, the ninth studio album from Norwegian black metal legion GORGOROTH, is drawing near. Recorded at drummer Tomas Asklund's Monolith Studio and mastered at the Cutting Room in Stockholm, Quantos Possunt Ad Satanitatem Trahunt is the first recording featuring the band's official new lineup of guitarist/founder Infernus, former vocalist Pest , former guitarist Tormentor, bassist Frank Watkins (Obituary) and Asklund (Dissection, Dark Funeral et al). The record was produced by Infernus and co-produced/engineered by Asklund. Said Infernus of the nine new tracks: "[they are] mature. The record is indeed harder and more sinister than anything we have ever done before. It is an album I can be proud to say I am standing a 100% behind."

Track-listing:

1. "Aneuthanasia"
2. "Prayer"
3. "Rebirth"
4. "Building a Man"
5. "New Breed"
6. "Cleansing Fire"
7. "Human Sacrifice"
8. "Satan-Prometheus"
9. "Introibo ad Alatare Satanas"

An excerpt of "Prayer" can be found on Regain's MySpace Page

In related news, Quantos Possunt Ad Satanitatem Trahunt will receive a limited-edition picture disc vinyl release on Infernus' own label, Forces Of Satan Records. Check the official website for further updates: http://www.forcesofsatan.com.

GORGOROTH will perform at the sold-out Hole In The Sky Sky festival in Bergen, Norway this weekend. This will mark the band's first live appearance in nearly two years.

Quantos Possunt Ad Satanitatem Trahunt will be released in the US on October 27, 2009.
to that which must be brought back
(((03:Earsplit PR)))

Magic(k) Redux

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Celebratin' Moiduh with The Accüsed

All Murder, All Guts, All new line-up. The Accüsed were the first band ever to be released on Earache with their debut, The Return of Martha Splatterhead (that's right, album titles get italicized not put in "parentheses") in 1986 and they've more or less been slaying ass ever since. Well... on average, about two albums a decade. But that's still better than a lot of bands out there who started about the same time... (choke, cough!).

If you're familiar with The Accüsed, you'll be wondering if the vibe's still there. If you aren't, you may be curious. The new album, The Curse of Martha Splatterhead, released on Southern Lord (who like to put album titles in parentheses) kicks like a fucking mule and shows the newbies how retro thrash is done best, by guys who were a part of the scene back in '86 and not part of a play date with another 4 year old.

Produced by Billy Anderson, the album spits the kind of venom that hurts but that makes you go back for more. Like dipping your tortilla chip in Dave's Insanity sauce only to find yourself repeating that step over and over despite the gut-wrenching pain. Others will gasp, but your endorphins will lead your willpower to torture-ville, and you'll love it.

Some of you in the know will recognize the new guy on vox. He's none other than B.R.A.D. formally of Burning Witch and Asva (on drums) and current vocalist in Master Musicians of Bukkake. What more could anyone want? You've got the hipster vote right there.

All kidding aside, don't get this because Brad Mowen is screaming on it and don't get it because you buy everything Southern Lord puts out (guilty), get it because you owe it to yourself to hear Thrash Metal/Crossover from a band that was riding in the truck bed of the scene from the very beginning and did it with a sense of humor and horror. A band that never went industrial in the late 80's or wore make up in the 90's singing about their feelings and who deserve tons of your respect and don't need a Toe Tag (oh yeah, I went there) just yet.

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1/5 DRI, 3/5 Dead Horse, 1/5 Angkor Wat

Our buddy Mike Titsworth (far left) in Pasadena Napalm Division.

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Myth-ritual Theory

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Shuffle 25

The concept is to hit "shuffle" on your player and write down what it selects. This is what played on mine*:

01. "Pleasure to Kill" - Kreator

02. "Rotten to the Gore [Demo Version]" - Carcass
03. "Dance Hall Days" - Wang Chung
04. "Verses" - Converge
05. "Crush My Soul" - Godflesh
06. "Spoils of Victory" - Amebix
07. "Manifesting The Raging Beast" - Glorior Belli
08. "The Curse of Lost Days: Part III" - Kylesa
09. "Lust Almighty" - Killing Joke
10. "Tyrants" - Immortal
11. "Black Rain" - Mono
12. "Hymn" - Pig Destroyer
13. "Sea Hag" - Burning Witch
14. "Starstruck" - Rainbow
15. "Dawn: Dawn is a Feeling" - The Moody Blues
16. "I Don't Care How Many Times You've Seen Fight Club, You Are Not Tyler Durden" - Backstabbers Incorporated
17. "Day Three: Instant Circulation" - Trap Them
18. "Candy Apple Red" - Tom Waits
19. "Fight Terror With Terror" - Nasum
20. "Well You Know, Mean Gene..." - Anal Cunt
21. "She" - The Misfits
22. "Long Gone" - Goatsnake
23. "War Crimes" - Doom
24. "Servo" - The Life and Times
25. "Stranger Aeons" - Entombed

* I couldn't make this shit up... I'm very surprised at some of these, less so of others... and this fucking took forever! Thanks to JVSTN

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Les Paul

Lester William Polfuss (06.09.15 - 08.13.09)

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アーティストTORCHE / Boris（トーチ / ボリス）

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What We've All Needed

The mighty PELICAN are in the studio putting the finishing touches on their fourth studio album, entitled What We All Come To Need.

What guitarist Laurent Lebec has dubbed “the most perfect synthesis of everything we've done to date, sonically”, this new album is a giant step forward within the complex, intricate, beautiful and crushing sound PELICAN is famous for.

The album features more guests than have ever appeared on a PELICAN album before: Greg Anderson of sunn O))), Aaron Turner of Isis, Ben Verellen of Harkonen and Helms Alee and Allen Epley from The Life & Times and Shiner. Content-wise, Lebec says “there is a current of inspiration that feels particular to each album's music and titles. Though we lack a singer, the song names are often conceptual. This new album speaks to a rapidly decaying world, the fulfillment we find in each other, as well as the resolve to move beyond disillusionment.” If the recent Ephemeral EP is any indication of what’s to come, we can expect nothing less than the apex of PELICAN’s creative output.

If you are lucky enough to be in Seattle or NYC in the coming months, don't sleep on checking out the new songs live:

8/06/2009 Neumo's - Seattle, WA
9/22/2009 Brooklyn Masonic Temple - Brooklyn, NY
(*Both shows with sunn 0))), Eagle Twin and Earth)

What We All Come To Need Track Listing:
1) Glimmer
2) The Creeper
3) Ephemeral
4) Specks Of Light
5) Strung Up From The Sky
6) An Inch Above Sand
7) What We All Come To Need
8) Final Breath

http://www.myspace.com/pelican
http://www.southernlord.com
http://www.myspace.com/southernlordrecordings
http://blog.southernlord.com

(((03:Earsplit PR)))

Framing Rips & ATP - New York, 2009

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Static Touring

KYLESA will hit the road this fall for a headlining tour in support of Static Tensions. Support will come from a rotating cast of bands including Lionize, Bison BC, Tombs, Red Fang and more. This is their first tour since supporting Mastodon this spring. The dates are as follows:

9/17 Wilmington, NC @ Soapbox
9/18 Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel (Planet Caravan)
9/19 Charlotte, NC @ The Milestone
9/20 Nashville, TN @ The End
9/21 Memphis, TN @ Hi Tone Cafe
9/22 Birmingham, AL @ Bottletree
9/23 New Orleans, LA @ Hi Ho Lounge
9/24 Austin, TX @ Red 7
9/25 San Antonio, TX @ Rock Bottom Tattoo Bar
9/26 Denton, TX @ Rubber Gloves
9/27 Oklahoma City, OK @ Conservatory
9/29 Tempe, AZ @ The Sets w/ Landmine Marathon
9/30 Hollywood, CA @ Knitting Factory w/ Blackmath Horseman
10/1 San Francisco, CA @ DNA Lounge w/ Saviours
10/2 San Jose, CA @ Voodoo Lounge w/ Ludicra
10/3 Eureka, CA @ Nocturnum
10/4 Portland, OR @ Satyricon
10/5 Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey
10/6 Missoula, MO @ The Palace
10/8 Salt Lake City, UT @ Club Vegas
10/9 Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater
10/10 Lawrence, KS @ Granada Theatre
10/11 Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club
10/12 Chicago, IL @ Reggies
10/13 Pontiac, MI @ Pike Room
10/14 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop

(((03:P)

A New Day

Prosthetic Records' has signed Seattle's TRAP THEM. The band's sound combines elements of old school Swedish death metal, punk, and d-beat and takes influence from bands such as Entombed, Black Flag, Nasum and Tragedy. Trap Them has spent time on the road with Napalm Death, Disfear, Skeletonwitch, Victims, Rotten Sound, Toxic Holocaust, and Coliseum, amongst others and has appeared at Maryland Death Fest & New England Metal and Hardcore Fest. (In fact, Mark "Barney" Greenway of Napalm Death was quoted as saying, "Trap Them restored my faith in extreme music.") Before entering the studio to record their Prosthetic debut, due in the first half of 2010, the band will be releasing an EP through Southern Lord Records.

The band commented, "After a few months of very positive talks, we are proud to announce we have signed with Prosthetic Records. This is a step forward for the band and a move that opens up a lot of doors that we have not yet explored in the last three years of distortion. Prosthetic has been supportive of Trap Them's modus operandi for quite some time, just as we have a great respect for the high standards in which their label is run.

We would like to thank Tre, Jake and all the rest of the Deathwish Inc. family for working so hard the last few years, releasing our records and helping us stay on the road as much as we possibly could. We felt honored to have them invest as much time in this band as they did and we greatly appreciate the efforts they made to treat us as a band they believed in.

This is the first step in the next progression of Trap Them and we extremely excited that it involves Prosthetic. We've built this beast on depression, desperation and blasphemy and there is literally no ending point in our sights. We function by the expression, "Go heavy or go home," be it how we write our music, how we approach our tours, or how we live our lives. The days won't stop and we're ready to rage. See you all soon."

Trap Them has released several seven inches and EPs and two full lengths, the latest being "Seizures in Barren Praise," on Deathwish Inc. which made Decibel and Terrorizer's year end top 40 lists, in 2008.

myspace.com/trapthem

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A bit o' Repoeshun...

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ABSU: Visiter de la Magic(k)

Exclusive tour pics from recent live excursions. Many thanks to Proscriptor!

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Infinité

CD Version available for purchase now on Avalanche Recordings. Go to the new and almost complete Avalanche Website here and head to the store. Shipping begins mid next week, July 29th onwards.

Full album length song Infinity on Avalanche Recordings (AREC017), written, recorded and mixed early 2009, with all instruments by Justin K Broadrick. Infinity is the most expansive and organic jesu release to date, here JKB revisits his roots of heavy guitar driven music yet still retaining the ethereal atomsphere / soundscape of modern jesu. Approximately fifty minutes of music, CD housed in a beautiful 6 panel digi sleeve. First edition of 2000. Vinyl edition of 1300 copies of which the first 400 are on grey vinyl, the remaining 900 on black, all pressed on super heavvyweight 180grm vinyl will be available late August, MP3 / FLAC available in approximately 7-10 days.

(((03:JKB)))

Respekt

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Monozygotic Bird of Prey

In much the same way Harvey Milk defied categorization when they spilled onto the scene in the early '90s, so too does Eagle Twin defy pinpointing with their debut album, The Unkindness of Crows.

The Album starts off like the bastard child of instrumental Black Flag ala The Process of Weeding Out with the freestyle jazz-noise fest of "In the Beginning was the Scream". Haunting guitar tones over even more haunting chants of god-knows-what before dropping into what almost resembles a song.

"Murder of..." slams, simple as that. Think Thou's Tyrant with the sickness of it all replaced by a Mississippi duck hunter who was lost in the woods 20 years ago and has grown an appetite for depressed teenage girls who haplessly end up in his basement. Not kidding, spooky only "kinda" describes it. Warned.

"Birds of Black Hot Fire" kicks things into gear...but only 2nd gear at best. Slow in approach and heavy handed in delivery, this sludge with extra gravy makes you wonder if your blood will ever again flow through your veins now that it's turned into cement. Coat that with a nice Melvins-y sheen and you've got yourself a fuckin' ditty!

"Storytelling of Ravens" is what I'd call a glance into a world where Tom Waits wrote and performed prose over the music of SUNN O))), then they recorded it, you bought it on vinyl and placed it on your turntable turning it 1/2 speed with your finger...ever look at the moon...on weed?
"Crow Hymn" marries all the aspects of a Southern Lord band together without really letting you easily say for sure of who it reminds you. "Yeah, it reminds me of..." fill in the blank and you'll only be about an eighth right as there is so much going on here. Listen, enjoy...but you aren't done yet.

"Carry on, King of Carrion" is the kind of tune that'd get Dylan Carlson fans to pep right up and pay attention. The "Earth" tones present give it the same vibe as one might hear from Mr. Carlson's later day work sprinkling ever so subtly here and there some the best of what made the early work of those bands from the state in the far north-eastern part of the country... Eh, hem...

Which brings us to the end of the first Eagle Twin opus in the form of "And it came to pass that birds rain down as black snakes". What better way to cap off an album with the sum of all it's parts? I tell you, Eagle Twin's got something in their water, something sounds like the south, something that swings like the swamp, that swelters like the desert...that kills like a drought and refreshes like spring rain.

If you haven't heard Eagle Twin yet...you'll want to do yourself a favor and look into doing so before you become the last person in "the know".

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Witching Hour

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This September (...finally)

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Have Gun - Will Devastate

AMBASSADOR GUN began in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the summer of 2002. Within the music, there is ingrained a unique ability to master catchy and truly memorable elements. Using rhythmic and aggressive vocal patterns, dissonant down-tuned chords and progressions along with drive saturated low-end. They envelop music expressing comical, political and social disdain; put home lyrically, and fired through a blistering soundtrack of metal, punk, grooves and grind.

Previously known as A SECOND FROM THE SURFACE, the band have shared the stage regionally with national acts including Today Is The Day, Weedeater, Sourvein, Dead To Fall, Battlefields, Red Sparrowes and countless more over recent years, and further live/tour plans are in the works for the coming year.

To be released August 11th on the bands' own imprint Pangea Recordings, the band's 4th full-length When In Hell is a thunderous, angst-ridden, cross-genre stampede of energy, combining elements of Slayer, Nasum, Cattle Decapitation, Mastodon and more.

AMBASSADOR GUN live:
8/15/2009 Triple Rock Social Club - Minneapolis, MN (When In Hell CD Release Show)
8/28/2009 Filth Moon Fest - St. Paul, MN

Myspace

(((03:Earsplit PR)))

Respekt

My father, Orin Kim Amyx.

(((03))) (photo by Sunni)

The Accüsed

On Sunday July 12, 2009, as they prepare for the Supersonic Festival gig and London's Scala Club UK appearance at the end of the month, THE ACCÜSED will play an impromptu, friends and family-style midnight live set of material at fave watering hole The Bit Saloon, located in Northwest Seattle's historic Ballard neighborhood.

For this sneak-peek live set, THE ACCÜSED will include brand new songs from their upcoming Southern Lord Records CD The CURSE Of Martha Splatterhead (scheduled for release on August 5th) as well as many of their classic Splatter Rock favorites.

Local support acts will join the band on the bill this night so early arrival is suggested. Patrons are asked to give a small donation at the door which will go directly to R.A.I.N.N. (Rape Abuse Incest National Network), an organization the band strongly supports. For more info visit: rainnmakers.rainn.org/theaccused.

The Bit Saloon
(Ballard)
4818 17th Ave. NW
Seattle, WA 98107-4723
(206) 782-1680

The official record release celebration for The CURSE Of Martha Splatterhead is scheduled for August 5, 2009 at Neumo's in Seattle where they will be joined by headliners Sunn O))) + support act Eagle Twin, to begin their West Coast Tour together.

THE ACCÜSED w/ SUNN O))) and EAGLE TWIN
8/05/09 Neumo’s - Seattle, WA
8/08/09 Independent - San Francisco, CA
8/09/09 Historic Brookdale Lodge - Brookdale, CA
8/11/09 Center for Arts, Eagle Rock - Los Angeles, CA
8/13/09 Bluebird Theatre - Denver, CO
8/14/09 Avalon Theatre - Salt Lake City, UT


http://www.myspace.com/kingsofsplatter
http://www.splatterrock.com
http://www.southernlord.com

(((03:Earsplit PR)))

LOCRIAN - Drenched Lands

Lending itself more to the likes of House of Low Culture than to name drop contemporaries Sunn O))), there's a distant, resonant desperation to the music of Locrian that doesn't separate it from the later but is more closely related to the uniqueness of the former.

From their first full-length studio album, Drenched Lands, "Obsolete Elegy in Effluvia and Dross" is a straightforward soundscape that seemingly promises hope and refuge. A sublime turning point from a path one dare not take and a prologue to what lay ahead.
"Ghost Repeater" is drone the way it was meant to be ingested. Layers of sub-static and maddening free form synths echoed in the halls of a mind that could only belong to the introverted. Simple in it's essence, epic in it's delivery.
"Barren Temples Obscured By Contaminated" strums in the kind of terror that exists before the stalker attacks rather than punching us in the face with the kind of obviousness of where the song could go. This carries on, allowing us to savor the exhausting horror of anticipation, never dropping us into the pit over which we dangle.
"Epicedium" summons up beauty and serenity within subtle guitar tones and synths leading up to heaviness that never is overbearing but adds just enough flavour to an already appealing structure.
"Obsolete Elegy in Cast Concrete" is a return visit to the graveyards once strolled by a young Béla Lugosi type and is layered with the crush of guitar and tortured vocal misery the likes of which create pictures in ones mind of said graveyards slowly teaming with life made up of the dead... Brilliance by way of darkness and imagination.
The album is capped with the 30 minute, 9 second soundtrack-esque "Greyfield Shrines". This opus sums up the album (and band) as a whole, encompassing more than the mere sum of it's parts. Guitar and synth blend together inducing images of landscapes deserted and cold and home to the rust and decay of civilizations long gone. Half way through one is jarred from the ambiance and cast out into a furnace of Merzbow worship that will have you begging to have the spikes pulled from your palms and feet and have them inserted into the heart.

Locrian deliver audio that is not for the faint of heart, but rather for the strong of imagination. At no point in my frequent listens to Locrain did it not take me to places one would likely see in early Lynch or mid-career Tsukamoto.

Interesting facts: The Locrian mode is a musical mode or diatonic scale. It may be considered a minor scale with the second and fifth scale degrees lowered a semi-tone. The Locrian mode may also be considered as a scale beginning on the seventh scale degree of any Ionian, or major scale.

Examples of which are:
"Symptom of the Universe" by Black Sabbath is said to be in Locrian mode
The beginning of "YYZ" by Rush is in C Locrian
The main riff of "Painkiller" by Judas Priest
"Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun" by Pink Floyd

LOCRIAN on Myspace

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Å seing Frem

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0:13

Pretty much all I will be listening to for a very long time...

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American Live Aktio)))ns Phase 2

Following their previously announced Midwestern US tour beginning next week, the band will devastate the West Coast this August. The tour kicks off in Seattle where SUNN O))) will headline two Southern Lord label showcase events. The first night will be as a duo performing the the Shoshin/GrimmRobe Demos in its entirety! They will be joined by labelmates The Accüsed (this show serving as a record release show for the Accüsed album The Curse of Martha Splatterhead!), An encore Seattle performance follows the next night, this time alongside Southern Lord brethren Earth, Pelican and Eagle Twin. SUNN O))) then surges south along the coast through California and into Utah and Colorado alongside labelmates Eagle Twin and The Accüsed.

SUNN O))): MONOLITHS & DIMENSIONS WEST COAST 2009
8/05/2009 Neumo's - Seattle, WA w/ The Accüsed (record release show!), Trap Them, Black Breath
8/06/2009 Neumo's - Seattle, WA w/ Earth, Pelican, Eagle Twin
8/08/2009 Independent - San Francisco, CA w/ the Accüsed, Eagle Twin
8/09/2009 Historic Brookdale Lodge - Brookdale, CA w/ the Accüsed, Eagle Twin
8/11/2009 Center for Arts, Eagle Rock - Los Angeles, CA w/ the Accüsed, Eagle Twin
8/13/2009 Bluebird Theatre - Denver, CO w/ the Accüsed, Eagle Twin
8/14/2009 Avalon Theatre - Salt Lake City, UT w/ the Accüsed, Eagle Twin

MAXIMUM VOLUME YIELDS MAXIMUM RESULTS.

http://www.ideologic.org
http://www.southernlord.com
http://blog.southernlord.com
http://www.myspace.com/southernlordrecordings

(((03:Earsplit PR)))

EYE Rehearsal [06.17.09]

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20k

TorqueZine reached 20,000 hits... not bad, eh? Thank you to EVERYONE who has linked me, checked in everyday, left feedback and been supportive! Russ "Proscriptor" Givens, Patchie and my brothers Thee Claw, Justin Bartlett, Mark Dawursk, Arik Roper, and to all who correspond and make it kick ass to have TorqueZine. See you at 30,000!

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Respekt

"My ego only needs a good rhythm section."

~ Miles Dewey Davis III

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Playlist 06.12.09

PIG DESTROYER - Painter of Dead Girls
DARKEST HOUR - Deliver Us
1000 HOMO DJS - Supernaut
RWAKE - Voices of Omens

Watching: There Will Be Blood, Speed Racer, Eyes Wide Shut, Breaking Bad: Season 2, Burn Notice: Season 3, In Plain Site: Season 2, Medium: Season 4

Reading: The Vampire in Europe by Montague Summers

Happy Birthday: Proscriptor (Late) and Ruppel (Early)

(((03)))

Der Korruptioncode

Point.Click.Corrupt

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American Live Aktio)))ns

Sunn 0))) will be heading to the Midwest for the first time in quite a while, playing shows in many cities and states they have not been to before.

The lineup for these Midwestern sonic rituals will be:

Attila Csihar - Invocations | Steve Moore - trombone, keys | Stephen O’Malley - Guitar | Greg Anderson - Bass

Joining Sunn 0))) on these live aktions will be one of Southern Lord's latest signings, Eagle Twin.

West coast dates for Sunn 0))) in August and east coast dates for September are in the planning stages and will be announced soon.

Sunn 0)))'s recently released 7th studio full-length Monoliths & Dimensions is currently being devoured by the media; the band's constant/inherent tonal devastation and atmospheric tension have soared to traumatic new heights on the album. On stage, the band has just recently conquered shows in Japan, Mexico, and have just wrapped up a European tour.

You can witness one of Sunn 0)))'s recent shows in a massive church in Leuven, Belgium at this location: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a0Z2yndlOs

Sunn 0))) w/ special guests: Eagle Twin

7/02/2009 Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL

7/05/2009 Varsity Theater - Minneapolis, MN

7/06/2009 Sokol Auditorium / Underground - Omaha, NE

7/07/2009 The Riot Room - Kansas City, MO

7/08/2009 The Firebird - St. Louis, MO

7/10/2009 House Cafe - Dekalb, IL

7/11/2009 Eagle Theater - Pontiac, MI

7/12/2009 Southgate House - Newport, KY

"Sunn’s music has shown an astonishing capacity for expansion and transformation." - Signal To Noise

"...inverts all expectations; negative space infuses their pulverizing tendencies, revealing that light is the new heavy." - Spin Magazine

"Needless to say, this is not your dad’s heavy metal.... John Cage–inspired sonic experimentation, elements of modern classical music, folk, post-rock, and free jazz are embedded under the crush of ambient feedback. Ozzy it’s not." - New York Magazine

"Per Sunn O)))'s long-standing dogma, "Maximum volume [still] yields maximum results." But this time, there's enough musical range and temperance to usher even the most resolute naysayer into this intricate wonderland." - Pitchfork.com

"This is an album for people who love their music, not something that can be dropped into a playlist for easier digestion. Monoliths & Dimensions is tremendous in every way." - Brainwashed.com

MAXIMUM VOLUME YIELDS MAXIMUM RESULTS.

http://www.ideologic.org/
http://www.southernlord.com/
http://blog.southernlord.com/
http://www.myspace.com/southernlordrecordings

(((03:Earsplit PR)))

Grim and Frostbitten Respekt

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Putting My Mouth Where My Money Is

It's true, I'm a complainer. I complain especially loud about things that really REALLY fucking bother me. Merch that doesn't fit. Deadbeats who don't ship at all... and shipping costs. Especially when said shipping costs guarantee little more than a lengthy wait by the mail box for your shit to come in and even then it's a gamble as to whether or not it's going to be correct. Case in point:

When Southern Lord put out the Burning Witch 2xCD, no one was more excited than I (just ask Proscriptor) and I pre (yes, that's PRE) 0rdered my copy along with one of the two new shirts that came with it. I waited a couple of weeks and began checking my mail box every day for the album I'd been trying for for AGES to get a hold of. 2 weeks went by, then 3. A 4th week passed and I thought to myself, "It will be any day now." Most mail orders say to allow 4 weeks and 4 weeks is what I allowed. After all, I've gotten shipments to Texas from New York that took 2 days, never mind 2 weeks, but I digressed. I let a 5th week pass to lend the benefit of the doubt to them and then I contacted Southern Lord. 4 (count them) 4 days later I received a mail back that stated simply, "Please wait 4 weeks for your order to arrive."

WHAT THE FUCK?!?! Someone doesn't read their e-mails. I'd waited 5 weeks and had been patient as hell. I worded my inquiry very delicately as I know how fucked up people can get toward someone working a help desk and I didn't want to be one of those hick fuckers that thinks the universe revolves around them. BUT, this mother fucker kinda forced my hand.

I wrote back that I'd waited not 4 weeks but 5 and nothing had come in and asked again that he check to see if my order shipped. Another 2 days and I got a 7 word semi-response, "Order didn't ship. Will get out asap." No sorry... no explanation as to the "why" of this fuck up, just a surgically cold fucking brush off. But still, at least it was on the way this time right..?

Another 2 weeks passed. That's right, 2 WEEKS and nothing. I wrote Southern Lord again and to my surprise was actually answered the next day, "Order went out today." Jesus fucking tap-dancin' Christ. 2 months into this mother fucker and I still didn't have my merch... and this from a fucking mail order that charges 7 fucking dollars for the first item. This was the bottom of the fucking barrel of customer service. Even places that ship for free, for whom you allow a lot of leeway in a situation like this in exchange for "free shipping" don't treat their customers this badly. I was a little fucking pissed to say the fucking least. At no time did I get so much as an apology either.

My package from "Southern Lord" arrived in a whopping 2 days. 2 DAYS! I thought back to when I placed the order, allowed for the time til it shipped as it was a pre-order and I should have received it 2 months ago. This was only insult to injury so to speak. I opened my package and pulled out the shirt and CD. The shirt was a long sleeve. I ordered a short sleeve. I looked at my order and there it was, short sleeve and a CD. Maybe this was someone's way of apologizing, and while most of you would say, "Long sleeve, that's great" I would agree. In Texas however, we have the occasion to wear a long sleeve a grand total of about 3 weeks per year due to the heat so... so much for sporting my new Burning Witch shirt very often... oh well, at least I only waited 2 months to get it.

This was a worst case I know, and I'd have forgotten it all at the small cost of a "we're sorry" from at least one mother fucker involved... but here's my point: there is much better out there and you won't get raped for nearly another $10 for shipping and "handling" by some douche that doesn't give a shit.

You can get free, fast shipping from Omega Mail Order and their selection is awesome. An independent sellers of note is Scott Slimm and Archive Recordings. Free shipping and ULTRA-FAST. Robotic Empire USED to be free shipping and used to have a site that you could easily navigate, but they are fast and still have a lot of goodies (I got Guilted by the Sun on CD from them and that fucker is GONE). Hell's Headbangers, Battle Kommand and Moribund Cult are cheap and fast and their customer service is impeccable.

Hydra Head are great guys and super nice but just so happen to be the most expensive shippers at almost $9 for the first item, and that's the most economical shipping method available too. However, those guys are fast as hell and almost always throw in extra goodies for ordering with them and that to me is worth the cost of shipping. It's great to feel like they appreciate their customers.

Of late, I have been ordering from Relapse. You heard me right. They have a base of $3 for the first item and $1 for each additional item and have pretty much everything I'm ever looking for. Just recently I ordered the new Khanate CD/DVD and the new Sunn o))) CD and it was $31, with shipping for both. Had I ordered either by themselves from their respective labels I would have paid close to that for each. So do yourself a favor, shop around. I'm not hurting these labels at all since... well I am buying "their" shit. I just don't feel a need for the ass-fucking they shell out as I shell out my cash.

(((03)))