SUNN O))) Announces New Album And US Tour Dates In April; Life Metal Trailer Now Playing

SUNN O))) is pleased to present Life Metal, their first new studio album in four years, due for release on Southern Lord Recordings in April 2019. The album will be supported by their first US tour since 2017 and the premier US tour of their 2019-2020 season, including stops at The Masonic Lodge in Detroit, Howard Theatre in Washington, DC, Agora Theatre in Cleveland, Rockefeller Chapel in Chicago, The Caves in Pelham, and Brooklyn Steel in Brooklyn. Dates and details can be found below, with more info to surface soon.

Read a new interview with SUNN O))) and watch the Life Metal teaser now via Stereogum HERE.

At the very beginning of 2018, SUNN O))) co-founders Stephen O’Malley and Greg Anderson set out on a path toward a new album production. They were both determined to create new music and a new method of working in the studio, without forgetting the long and proud history of production and studio accomplishments forged during their first two decades of existence, and the members’ own musical experiences out of the bands. One long term goal was completely clear: to record SUNN O))) with Steve Albini in his Electrical Audio studio. Albini took the call, said “Sure, this will be fun. I have no idea what is going to happen.”

Anderson and O’Malley gathered twice that spring for writing, conceptualizing, and riff woodshedding in the very building where the band was formed: Downtown Rehearsal in Los Angeles. Sonic cosmoses, flashes of abstract color (synthetic and objective), and themes emerged from the mastered depths of saturation and circuits between the two players and their mountains of gear. Themes developed in terms of brightness and energy, while visionary cues pointed toward subconscious areas of practice and the pair realized they were exploring other zones of consciousness via sound/time and sound/energy manipulation. In early summer, a pre-production session with full backline, as a trio with T.O.S. on Moog, was recorded at Dave Grohl’s 606 studios, Northridge, California.

In July 2018, SUNN O))) spent just over two weeks in Chicago at Electrical Audio (Studio A) with Albini at the helm. The results are astounding: there is breadth and luminosity of color, it sounds vast. The sessions were impeccably recorded, authentically represented, and completely accurate. The spectrum cracked the firmament open in clarity. An all analogue technique was used, they recorded and mixed on tape, providing a creative gateway for SUNN O))) to evolve their production methods into stronger, confident, performance based and a more logical executive process. The album was mastered and lacquers cut from tape in October by SUNN O))) ally Matt Colton at Alchemy in London. The LP version is a AAA album, recorded and mixed on tape via a completely analogue production, from the input of the band’s amplifiers and the air coming off the speakers in front of the microphones to needle touching the pressed vinyl on your turntable.

Continuing one of the main currents of the SUNN O))) concept, depth of exploration within collaboration, brought forth Hildur Guðnadóttir to the SUNN O))) constellation. Guðnadóttir has performed as a live collaborator of SUNN O))) and a renowned film music composer, as well as a former member of the bands Múm, Pan Sonic, and Angel. She was a longtime collaborator with the composer Jóhann Jóhannsson (RIP). Guðnadóttir lent her incredible attitude, as well as her voice, breath and electric cello, and the enigmatic haldorophone to the proceedings, culminating in the epic composition/concerto “Novæ.” The cosmos clearly expands.

Tim Midyett, a close friend of Anderson and O’Malley since the Seattle days of the early ’90s, and member of Silkworm, Bottomless Pit, and Mint Mile, joined in a foundational role tying earth to sound with wicked performances on aluminum neck bass and baritone guitars: instruments he helped pioneer playing back in the ’90s alongside Steve and Shellac of course. Dark matter is reality.

Prolific new music composer Anthony Pateras arranged and recorded an incredible contribution of pipe organ for a piece titled “Troubled Air” (titled after an essay by author Aliza Shvarts, who also penned the liner notes for SUNN O)))’s Kannon LP), at Schlosskappelle, Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart. String theory of space.

The resulting album is titled Life Metal. It is fully realized and completely real. The record was produced by the core of O’Malley and Anderson and arranged by the greater constellation SUNN O))). Paintings by visual artist Samantha Keely Smith graciously adorn the sleeve and provide a perfect suitable mask to the proceedings. They collide ideas of 19th century romanticism and late 20th abstract expressionism (mysticism) with SUNN O)))‘s approach to metal (via reference points of Arbo, Turner, Delville, Richter, Turrel, Wou-Ki). Photographer Ronald Dick shot them in baths of light color representing depth of sound pressure in the work.

Life Metal Track Listing:

  1. Between Sleipnir’s Breaths
  2. Troubled Air
  3. Aurora
  4. Novae

There is a second more meditative LP titled Pyroclasts, also recorded by Steve Albini in parallel, and which will be revealed in the autumn 2019 with all music performed by Stephen, Greg, T.O.S., Tim Midyett, and Hildur Guðnadóttir. Further details will be released later

SUNN O))) is touring in Europe this March, in the US in April and again in September, and again in Europe and the UK in October. See all confirmed dates below and watch for more tour updates to be issued soon.

SUNN O))) Let There Be Drone (Multiple Gains Stages):
2/28/2019 Mousonturm – Frakfurt, DE [info]
3/01/2019 Orpheum – Graz, AT @ Elevate Festival [info]
3/02/2019 Divadlo Archa – Prague, CZ [info]
3/03/2019 Kampnagel – E. Hamburg, DE [info]
3/04/2019 Paradiso – Amsterdam, NL [info]
3/06/2019 L’Epicerie Moderne – Lyon, FR [info]
3/07/2019 L’Autre Canal – Nancy, FR [info]
3/08/2019 La Vapeur – Dijon, FR [info]
3/09/2019 QuasaRites Day/Le 106 – Rouen, FR [info]
3/11/2019 Le Temps Machine – Tours, FR [info]
3/12/2019 Stereolux – Nantes, FR [info]
3/13/2019 La Sirene – La Rochelle, FR [info]
3/14/2019 Le Rocher de Palmer – Bordeaux, FR [info]
4/17/2019 Agora Ballroom – Cleveland, OH
4/18/2019 Masonic – Detroit, MI
4/19/2019 Rockefeller Chapel – Chicago, IL
4/20/2019 The Caverns – Pelham, TN
4/24/2019 Underground Arts – Philadelphia, PA
4/25/2019 Brooklyn Steel – Brooklyn, NY
4/26/2019 College Street – New Haven, CT
4/28/2019 The Howard – Washington, DC

Tour produced by Ideologic Organ Music. SUNN O))) booking in EU by Odyssey / Vincent Royers. SUNN O))) booking in USA by David Strunk / UTA. SUNN O)))‘s recordings are released by Southern Lord Recordings.

Review copies of Life Metal will be issued in the coming months. For coverage of SUNN O))) in The Americas contact dave@earsplitcompound.com, all others contact lauren@rarelyunable.com.

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DARKEST HOUR: Death To False Metalcore Canadian Winter Tour With Unearth Begins Today

Washington, DC-based DARKEST HOUR today embarks on the Death To False Metalcore Tour across Eastern Canada. The tour runs through February 8th and sees DARKEST HOUR co-headlining alongside Unearth.

This Canadian segment of the tour will be followed by a European leg of Death To False Metalcore, which will see DARKEST HOUR and Unearth co-headlining with support from Misery Signals, Malevolence, and Left Behind, from March 21st through April 1st.

Produced by Kurt Ballou (Converge), DARKEST HOUR‘s eleventh LP, I, continues to solidify the band’s legacy as a major metal powerhouse. Raw, complex, melodic, yet cutting with razor blade precision, Godless Prophets & The Migrant Flora is a fierce album which shows the long-running band as lethal and ravenous as ever. Following its 217 release through Southern Lord, the band has continued to tour regularly throughout North America and Europe.

Godless Prophets & The Migrant Flora is available on CD, black vinyl LP, picture disc LP, and all digital platforms via Southern Lord; find ordering options at the label’s webstore HERE, via Bandcamp HERE, and through all digital providers.

Stream DARKEST HOUR’s Godless Prophets & The Migrant Flora LP HERE and see their video for “Enter Oblivion” HERE.

DARKEST HOUR – Death To False Metalcore Tour:
1/31/2019 L’Anti – Quebec City, QC *
2/02/2018 Brass Monkey – Ottawa, ON *
2/03/2019 Foufounes Electriques – Montreal, QC *
2/05/2019 Overtime – Kingston, ON *
2/06/2019 The Foxx – Barrie, ON *
2/07/2019 Rum Runners – London, ON *
2/08/2019 Hard Luck – Toronto, ON *
3/21/2019 Essigfabrik – Köln, DE #
3/22/2019 Het Entrepot – Brugge, BE #
3/23/2019 ULU – London, UK (no Malevolence) #
3/24/2019 Tivoli Pandora – Utrecht, NL #
3/25/2019 Schlachthof – Wiesbaden, DE #
3/26/2019 Markthalle – Hamburg, DE #
3/27/2019 SO36 – Berlin, DE #
3/28/2019 Backstage – Munich, DE #
3/29/2019 Conne Island – Leipzig, DE #
3/30/2019 Futurum – Prague, CZ #
3/31/2019 A38 – Budapest, HU #
4/01/2019 Arena – Vienna, AU #
*w/ Unearth
#w/ Unearth, Misery Signals, Malevolence, Left Behind

CASPAR BRÖTZMANN MASSAKER: Southern Lord Reissues Of The Tribe And Black Axis LPs Out Today And Streaming

Southern Lord’s CASPAR BRÖTZMANN MASSAKER album reissue series begins this week as the label today officially presents the masterful debut The Tribe, originally released in 1988, and second album, Black Axis, originally released in 1989. Both albums have been remastered and presented as they were when originally released, and they are both now in stores everywhere and available for streaming.

One the first five albums have been re-released, they shall be made available in a collector’s boxed set complete with extensive liner notes, artwork by BRÖTZMANN, as well as a silkscreened print which will be hand numbered and signed by the artist. Full details of the series to be revealed in the coming months. CASPAR is also rumored to be working on brand new material.

Tune in and stream CASPAR BRÖTZMANN MASSAKER’s The Tribe at Spotify HERE and Bandcamp HERE, and stream Black Axis at Spotify HERE and Bandcamp HERE.

Both reissues are now available on CD, LP, and all digital platforms. Find order options at the Southern Lord webshop HERE and Bandcamp HERE.

CASPAR BRÖTZMANN is one of the most unique and innovative guitarists of the last forty years. With his Berlin-based trio MASSAKER, he evolved a whole new autonomous approach to writing rock songs, starting from sounds that were widely considered ornamental if not detrimental “sonic waste” such as shrieking feedback and droning overtones. This plethora of sounds were arranged into tracks to sound like breaking concrete, grinding metal, or bursting glass, at once monumental and threatening, impenetrable and hermetic, yet also archaically tender and loving.

Even today, as the art of noise has reached a level of sophistication that no one could have imagined thirty years ago, CASPAR BRÖTZMANNMASSAKER‘s music is resoundingly singular. Ultra-heavy riffs and beats, ominous tribal chants, and a raw physical force is conjured up by these three sinister and proud minds of their era. Their unhinged, unified stream of energy is captured on these remastered reissues and the results are thrilling.

Born in 1962 in a post-war divided Germany, CASPAR BRÖTZMANN started out playing the piano, his main inspirations included, Hanns Eisler, singer Ernst Busch, his mother’s “Hausmusik” (German tradition where the family gathers to play their instruments together), and also by the roaring sounds of his father, a virtuoso saxophonist aka “The Teutonic Axe” – a key player in the European free jazz movement, Fluxus artist, and ideologically adamant communist. CASPAR lived in fear and awe of his strict father, and he took to the guitar knowing that his father and his peers sneered at Americanized music, and especially electric guitars and the hard rock sounds that appealed to him, the likes of Ritchie Blackmore, Jimmy Page, and Jimi Hendrix. The guitar became, CASPAR says, “his shield against the unsettling world,” also noting, “It wasn’t about virtuosity, rather the love of the instrument.”

BRÖTZMANN didn’t have any formal training, but Hans Reichel — a family friend and an avant-garde guitarist who built his own instruments — showed him the ropes. Hans taught him how to manipulate the workings and mechanics of the guitar. CASPAR‘s left-handed instrument is less of a nod to left-handed Hendrix and more of a technical improvement to his own playing, allowing for a stronger low end, better access to the volume control, and the vibrato bar, all of which gives CASPAR BRÖTZMANN MASSAKER‘s music an unparalleled dynamic range.

The Tribe was CASPAR BRÖTZMANN MASSAKER‘s first album. Recorded at Jost Gebers’ legendary jazz studio FMP in Berlin. To Gebers, who was far from being a fan of amplified music, BRÖTZMANN recalls, MASSAKER‘s music sounded “honest”. The iconic sleeve was designed by CASPAR BRÖTZMANN‘s father. Prior to this record, CASPAR honed his craft as a solo artist opening for the likes of Nick Cave. It is now reissued as it was originally released, remastered for LP and CD.

MASSAKER lineup for The Tribe:
Caspar Brötzmann – guitars/vocals
Eduardo Delgado Lopez – bass
Jon – drums

Julian Cope once stated that CASPAR BRÖTZMANN MASSAKER was, “The trio to end all power trios.” Like The Tribe, Black Axis was recorded at Jost Gebers’ FMP tudios in Berlin. Black Axis came to life in a rehearsal room so small with a ceiling so low that BRÖTZMANN, at nearly six-and-a-half feet tall, could barely stand up straight. The artwork was created by Brötzmann himself. The album is here reissued as it was originally release, remastered for 2xLP and CD.

MASSAKER lineup for Black Axis:
Caspar Brötzmann – guitars/vocals
Eduardo Delgado Lopez – bass
Frank Neumeier – Drums

For press inquiries in The Americas contact dave@earsplitcompound.com and elsewhere contact lauren@rarelyunable.com.

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JESUS PIECE Announces West Coast North American January Tour Dates; Only Self LP Out Now Through Southern Lord

As their first tour through Japan wraps up this week, Philadelphia-based metallic hardcore outfit JESUS PIECE announces a run of late-January West Coast North American dates in support their vicious debut LP, Only Self, which saw release through Southern Lord in August.

JESUS PIECE recorded Only Self at Bricktop Recording Studio in Chicago with Andy Nelson (Weekend Nachos, Like Rats, Dead In The Dirt), after which the album was mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege (Integrity, Nails, Xibalba) and completed with artwork by Dom Pabon. The album has ranked with the year’s heaviest hardcore releases and is now appearing on year-end lists abroad, including being crowned the #1 hardcore album of 2018 by Stereogum.

JESUS PIECE has toured mercilessly alongside Darkest Hour, Comeback Kid, Burn, Knocked Loose, Terror, Vein, Year Of The Knife, and many more across North America, Europe, and Japan this year. The new set of West Coast Demonstration 2019 tour dates is booked from January 22nd through 27th, with shows in Vancouver, Portland, Berkeley, Fullerton, and Las Vegas. JESUS PIECE will be joined by Gag and Vamachara on the US dates.

Only Self is out now on CD, LP, and digital formats through Southern Lord. Find physical order options at the label shop HERE and digital at Bandcamp HERE, iTunes HERE, and through all other digital providers.

JESUS PIECE West Coast Demonstration 2019:
1/22/2019 333 – Vancouver, BC
1/23/2019 Watershed PDX – Portland, OR w/ Gag, Vamachara
1/25/2019 924 Gilman – Berkeley, CA w/ Gag, Vamachara
1/26/2019 Riff Mountain – Fullerton, CA w/ Gag, Vamachara
1/27/2019 American Legion Post 8 – Las Vegas, NV w/ Gag, Vamachara

JESUS PIECE is quickly developing a reputation as one of the heaviest, most uncompromising acts both on record and on the stage. With the brutalizing grooves of Disembodied, Turmoil, Harm’s Way, and labelmates Xibalba, the band incorporates elements of noise, ominous tones, and haunting atmospheres into their dynamic songwriting. With crushing, modern production, the eleven new tracks on their Only Self debut LP place JESUS PIECE among the scene’s darkest and heaviest acts and delivers one of the most anxiously-awaited albums of the hardcore/metal underground this year.

“JESUS PIECE rage at the nexus of hardcore, death metal, industrial, and ’90s metalcore. They’re part of a new metalcore movement that proves that experimentation and succinct, clobbering riffs can not only coexist, but make for natural partners. On their first full-length, Only Self, they make the case that such should be the new tradition.” – Pitchfork

“Through clenched teeth, vocalist Aaron Heard sounds like an unhinged animal, ferociously tearing through drop tuning, d-beats, blasts and exaggerated breakdowns to create the ideal pied piper to lead us all down this path of hate and frustration.” – Revolver Magazine

“It’s unclear what’s in the American water these days (or perhaps the current political tenor makes it quite obvious…), but the United States is producing some of the best hardcore the country ever has. And Philadelphia’s JESUS PIECE might as well be the poster boys for the movement.” – Kerrang

“They’ve got a fat, bass-heavy attack that favors pure brutality over complexity. It’s the kind of thing that can seem like it exists just so angry kids have an excuse to go to a show and slam their bodies into each other for twenty minutes, but further listens reveal Only Self to be an album that’s a little more tasteful than that.” – Brooklyn Vegan

For review copies of Only Self and interviews/coverage of JESUS PIECE in The Americas contact dave@earsplitcompound.com and internationally contact lauren@rarelyunable.com.

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TOADLIQUOR: Southern Lord Recordings Presents Cease & Decease 2xLP Discography; Newly-Recorded Track Playing At Cvlt Nation

Southern Lord Recordings presents Cease & Decease, a double-LP discography by oppressive sludge juggernaut, TOADLIQUOR, released as part of Southern Lord’s 20th Anniversary series. The unreleased newly-recorded song included on the record, “(Closing Sections Of) Inter-Stellar Space,” is now streaming at Cvlt Nation.

The mysterious TOADLIQUOR continues to hold its position as one of the most crushing sludge outfits from the ’90s, while maintaining a shroud of mystery and diehard cult following two decades later. Not only does the collection encapsulate the entire 1993-released Feel My Hate – The Power Is The Weight – R.I.P. Cain LP as well as some unearthed extremely scarce and previously-unreleased recordings, it also includes a newly recorded song that was especially prepared, written and documented for this release. Cease & Decease also marks the first time the band’s entire four-part “Inter-Stellar Space” opus is pressed together; the first three sections were found on different releases, and the closing section had never been recorded before now.

Several of the initial recordings were originally recorded by Tim Green (The Fucking Champs, The Nation of Ulysses) and some of the resurrected tracks on Cease & Decease have here been remastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege. Housed in a deluxe gatefold Stoughton sleeve which includes existing as well as brand new artwork, Cease & Decease is pressed on two massive slabs of vinyl, with a full black pressing and a limited silver pressing strictly exclusive for the label’s subscription series.

Cvlt Nation is now streaming the newly-recorded and previously unreleased “(Closing Sections Of) Inter-Stellar Space,” stating of the track, “TOADLIQUOR were all about creating timeless fucking doom laced with crust. The vocals from this band sound like tortured mental patients screaming to be heard. TOADLIQUOR had the whole Sabbath riff thing, but flipped it with more distorted vibe, plus their sound had an undertone of sinister and brutal crust… To say that it’s an honor to share this with you is a HUGE understatement.”

Stream TOADLIQUOR’S “(Closing Sections Of) Inter-Stellar Space” at Cvlt Nation HERE.

Find Cease & Decease at the Southern Lord USA shop HERE and Bandcamp HERE.

Cease & Decease Track Listing:
LP 1 – The Complete Sections Of Inter-Stellar Space

A1. (Opening Sections Of) Inter-Stellar Space
A2. (Continuing Sections Of) Inter-Stellar Space
B1. (Second Continuing Sections Of) Inter-Stellar Space: Love
B2. (Closing Sections Of) Inter-Stellar Space
LP 2 – The Feel My Hate – The Power Is The Weight – R.I.P. Cain LP
C1. Gnaw
C2. Swarm
C3. Charred
D1. Fratricide: A Requiem
D2. Survival Is The Fittest
D3. Tenderloin
D4. Nails

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DARKEST HOUR Announces Death To False Metalcore Canadian Winter Tour Dates With Unearth And The Agony Scene

Following their Northeast US Coast headlining mini-tour as well as their set at The Power Of The Riff in Los Angeles, Washington, DC-based DARKEST HOUR announces new tour through Canada for early 2019. The Canadian leg of the Death To False Metalcore Tour will see the band performing across Eastern Canada from January 31st through February 8th, co-headlining with Unearth with support from The Agony Scene.

The new dates precede the previously-announced European leg of Death To False Metalcore, which will see DARKEST HOUR and Unearth co-headlining with support from Misery Signals, Malevolence, and Left Behind, from March 21st through April 1st.

Produced by Kurt Ballou (Converge), DARKEST HOUR‘s eleventh LP, Godless Prophets & The Migrant Flora, continues to solidify the band’s legacy as a major metal powerhouse. Raw, complex, melodic, yet cutting with razor blade precision, Godless Prophets & The Migrant Flora is a fierce album which shows the long-running band as lethal and ravenous as ever. Following its 217 release through Southern Lord, the band has continued to tour regularly throughout North America and Europe.

Godless Prophets & The Migrant Flora is available on CD, black vinyl LP, picture disc LP, and all digital platforms via Southern Lord; find ordering options at the label’s webstore HERE, via Bandcamp HERE, and through all digital providers.

Stream DARKEST HOUR’s Godless Prophets & The Migrant Flora LP HERE and see their video for “Enter Oblivion” HERE.

DARKEST HOUR – Death To False Metalcore Tour:
1/31/2019 L’Anti – Quebec City, QC *
2/02/2018 Brass Monkey – Ottawa, ON *
2/03/2019 Foufounes Electriques – Montreal, QC *
2/05/2019 Overtime – Kingston, ON *
2/06/2019 The Foxx – Barrie, ON *
2/07/2019 Rum Runners – London, ON *
2/08/2019 Hard Luck – Toronto, ON *
3/21/2019 Essigfabrik – Köln, DE #
3/22/2019 Het Entrepot – Brugge, BE #
3/23/2019 ULU – London, UK (no Malevolence) #
3/24/2019 Tivoli Pandora – Utrecht, NL #
3/25/2019 Schlachthof – Wiesbaden, DE #
3/26/2019 Markthalle – Hamburg, DE #
3/27/2019 SO36 – Berlin, DE #
3/28/2019 Backstage – Munich, DE #
3/29/2019 Conne Island – Leipzig, DE #
3/30/2019 Futurum – Prague, CZ #
3/31/2019 A38 – Budapest, HU #
4/01/2019 Arena – Vienna, AU #
* w/ Unearth, The Agony Scene
# w/ Unearth, Misery Signals, Malevolence, Left Behind

For DARKEST HOUR coverage requests in North America contact dave@earsplitcompound.com and in Europe contact lauren@rarelyunable.com.

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CASPAR BRÖTZMANN MASSAKER Reissue Series To Launch In January 2019 Through Southern Lord, Beginning With The Tribe And Black Axis

CASPAR BRÖTZMANN is one of the most unique and innovative guitarists of the last forty years. With his Berlin-based trio MASSAKER, he evolved a whole new autonomous approach to writing rock songs, starting from sounds that were widely considered ornamental if not detrimental “sonic waste” such as shrieking feedback and droning overtones. This plethora of sounds were arranged into tracks to sound like breaking concrete, grinding metal, or bursting glass, at once monumental and threatening, impenetrable and hermetic, yet also archaically tender and loving.

Even today, as the art of noise has reached a level of sophistication that no one could have imagined thirty years ago, CASPAR BRÖTZMANN MASSAKER‘s music is resoundingly singular. Ultra-heavy riffs and beats, ominous tribal chants, and a raw physical force is conjured up by these three sinister and proud minds of their era. Their unhinged, unified stream of energy is captured on these remastered reissues and the results are thrilling.

Southern Lord will reissue CASPAR BRÖTZMANN MASSAKER‘s The Tribe on CD, LP, and digital platforms and Black Axis on CD, 2xLP, and digital platforms on January 18th, 2019. Watch for preorders to post shortly.

Born in 1962 in a post-war divided Germany, CASPAR BRÖTZMANN started out playing the piano, his main inspirations included, Hanns Eisler, singer Ernst Busch, his mother’s “Hausmusik” (German tradition where the family gathers to play their instruments together), and also by the roaring sounds of his father, a virtuoso saxophonist aka “The Teutonic Axe” – a key player in the European free jazz movement, Fluxus artist, and ideologically adamant communist.

CASPAR lived in fear and awe of his strict father, and he took to the guitar knowing that his father and his peers sneered at Americanized music, and especially electric guitars and the hard rock sounds that appealed to him, the likes of Ritchie Blackmore, Jimmy Page, and Jimi Hendrix. The guitar became, CASPAR says, “his shield against the unsettling world,” also noting, “It wasn’t about virtuosity, rather the love of the instrument.”

BRÖTZMANN didn’t have any formal training, but Hans Reichel — a family friend and an avant-garde guitarist who built his own instruments — showed him the ropes. Hans taught him how to manipulate the workings and mechanics of the guitar. CASPAR’s left-handed instrument is less of a nod to left-handed Hendrix and more of a technical improvement to his own playing, allowing for a stronger low end, better access to the volume control, and the vibrato bar, all of which gives CASPAR BRÖTZMANN MASSAKER‘s music an unparalleled dynamic range.

The Tribe was CASPAR BRÖTZMANN MASSAKER‘s first album. Recorded at Jost Gebers’ legendary jazz studio FMP in Berlin. To Gebers, who was far from being a fan of amplified music, BRÖTZMANN recalls, MASSAKER‘s music sounded “honest”. The iconic sleeve was designed by CASPAR BRÖTZMANN‘s father. Prior to this record, CASPAR honed his craft as a solo artist opening for the likes of Nick Cave. It is now reissued as it was originally released, remastered for LP and CD.

MASSAKER lineup for The Tribe:
Caspar Brötzmann – guitars/vocals
Eduardo Delgado Lopez – bass
Jon – drums

Julian Cope once stated that CASPAR BRÖTZMANN MASSAKER was, “The trio to end all power trios.” Like The Tribe, Black Axis was recorded at Jost Gebers’ FMP tudios in Berlin. Black Axis came to life in a rehearsal room so small with a ceiling so low that BRÖTZMANN, at nearly six-and-a-half feet tall, could barely stand up straight. The artwork was created by Brötzmann himself. The album is here reissued as it was originally release, remastered for 2xLP and CD.

MASSAKER lineup for Black Axis:
Caspar Brötzmann – guitars/vocals
Eduardo Delgado Lopez – bass
Frank Neumeier – Drums

For press inquiries in The Americas contact dave@earsplitcompound.com and elsewhere contact lauren@rarelyunable.com.

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BAPTISTS Announce Their First Ever European Tour Dates, Supporting SUMAC. Album BEACON OF FAITH, Out Now Via Southern Lord

Baptists have announced they are heading to Europe for the first time ever – supporting SUMAC, their third album Beacon Of Faith is out now via Southern Lord. Also joining the tour on select dates are Endon and Nordra. Find full dates below:

BAPTISTS EUROPEAN DATES:
08/03/2019    DK    Aalborg    1000fryd    w/ Nordra
09/03/2019    DK    Copenhagen    Alice    w/ Nordra
10/03/2019    SE    Gothenburg    Skjul Fyra Sex  w/ Nordra
11/03/2019    NO    Oslo    Blä  w/ Nordra
12/03/2019    SE    Stockholm  Kafe 44 w/ Nordra
14/03/2019    NL    Dortmund  Junkyard w/ Endon
15/03/2019    BE    Brussels    Magasin 4 w/ Endon
16/03/2019    UK    Bristol   The Exchange w/ Endon
17/03/2019    UK    Glasgow  Stereo  w/ Endon
18/03/2019    UK    Manchester    Deaf Institute w/ Endon
19/03/2019    UK    London    The Underworld  w/ Endon
20/03/2019    FR    Paris    Petit Bain w/ Endon
21/03/2019    DE    Karlsruhe    Jubez  w/ Endon
22/03/2019    DE    Leipzig    Institut Fur Zukunft w/ Endon
23/03/2019   DE    Berlin    Zukunft Am Ostkreuz  w/ Nordra

BAPTISTS ARE:
Andrew Drury – vocals
Danny Marshall – guitar
Sean Hawryluk – bass
Nick Yacyshyn – drums

BEACON OF FAITH FULL ALBUM STREAM

About the album, Beacon Of Faith broadly follows the same trajectory as the album’s predecessors, Bushcraft (2013) and Bloodmines (2014) – combining raw adrenaline-fuelled emotion, venomous vocal delivery, gigantic guitar sound, and a visceral rhythmic propulsion – a sonic manifestation of desolate rage, bolstered by a palpable sense of urgency. Find out more at the links below, and feel free to ask any questions about the album, live shows or for interviews availability.

http://baptistssl.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/pages/baptists/111676572202547
https://southernlordeurope.com/band/baptists/
www.facebook.com/SLadmin
www.twitter.com/twatterlord

THIS WHITE LIGHT: New Band Featuring Members Of Sunn O))), Engine Kid, Pelican, And Tattle Tale Shares “The House” And Announces First Live Dates

THIS WHITE LIGHT, the new band featuring guitarist Greg Anderson (Sunn O))), Goatsnake), drummer Jade Devitt (Lucky Me, Gale Forces), bassist Bryan Herweg (Pelican), and vocalist Jen Wood (solo artist and formerly of Tattle Tale and collaborator with The Postal Service) shares a new track, “The House,” as they announce their first live dates.
Exploring the contrast of darkness and light, THIS WHITE LIGHT‘s music is delicate when called for, powerful when necessary.

Listen to “The House” and revisit the early demo track “Winter Flowers” RIGHT HERE.

THIS WHITE LIGHT will play their first-ever live shows this fall, confirming their performance alongside legendary garage rock act The Sonics as well as The Primals at the kickoff party for The Power Of The Riff 2018 in Los Angeles on November 17th. THIS WHITE LIGHT will also play two more shows with The Primals in San Francisco December 7th and San Diego December 9th.

THIS WHITE LIGHT Live:
11/17/2018 Echoplex – Los Angeles, CA @ The Power Of The Riff w/ The Sonics, The Primals [info]
12/07/2018 Elbo Room – San Francisco, CA w/ The Primals
12/09/2018 Bancroft – San Diego, CA w/ Primals, Modern Love

In March 2017, Greg Anderson and Jade Devitt began to make music with one another again, having previously played together in the nineties with Engine Kid. Starting with the formula of extreme dynamics that they had perfected in the years previous as Engine Kid, the pair have added their more-than-twenty-years of musical experience and taken the music in a new and different direction. Chance encounters and serendipitous moments fortified the final line up of THIS WHITE LIGHT with the addition of Bryan Herweg and Jen Wood. The four-piece recorded with Josh Homme at his Pink Duck Studios in April for their next release, with more info to follow soon.

Stay tuned for further news from THIS WHITE LIGHT in 2019. For further info, in The Americas contact dave@earsplitcompound.com and in Europe contact lauren@rarelyunable.com.

https://www.facebook.com/This-White-Light-1876836728993706
https://thiswhitelightsl.bandcamp.com

DARKEST HOUR East Coast Mini-Tour Begins Next Week; Band Announces Death To False Metalcore European Tour And Launches Signature Ice Cream

Washington, DC-based DARKEST HOUR will embark on their special East Coast mini-tour next week, which will see the long-running metal quintet headlining with support from some of their hand-picked favorite hometown scene acts.

DARKEST HOUR will kick off the mini-tour on their home turf in DC on November 13th, followed by shows in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Brooklyn through November 16th. On all four shows, the band will be joined by iconic hardcore outfit Damnation A.D., blackened punk act Cemetery Piss, hardcore punk outfit Walk The Plank, and new outfit No Man. Just two days after the mini-tour, DARKEST HOUR traverse the country to take part in The Power Of The Riff on November 18th, performing with Sunn O))), Scream, Xibalba, Xasthur, Papa M, and Entry.

With this tour rapidly approaching, DARKEST HOUR also announces the first European tour dates of 2019. The newly-announced trek, dubbed Death To False Metalcore, will see the band co-headlining with Unearth, with support from Misery Signals, Malevolence, and Left Behind, and runs from March 21st through April 1st.

Additionally, DARKEST HOUR has teamed up with Mount Desert Island Ice Cream shop in Washington DC, owned by Dischord Record employees, to create a new signature flavor, Savor The Chill. The band worked diligently to help perfect this amazing blend of dark chocolate and whiskey to perfect the flavor, which is now available through November 22nd. Read more about the shop HERE

Stream DARKEST HOUR’s Godless Prophets & The Migrant Flora in its entirety HERE and see the official video for the track “Enter Oblivion” HERE.

DARKEST HOUR Tour Dates:
11/13/2018 U Street Music Hall – Washington, DC * [tickets]
11/14/2018 Baltimore Soundstage – Baltimore, MD * [tickets]
11/15/2018 Voltage Lounge – Philadelphia, PA * [tickets]
11/16/2018 The Kingsland – Brooklyn, NY * [tickets]
11/18/2018 The Echoplex – Los Angeles, CA % [info]
3/21/2019 Essigfabrik – Köln, DE #
3/22/2019 Het Entrepot – Brugge, BE #
3/23/2019 ULU – London, UK (no Malevolence) #
3/24/2019 Tivoli Pandora – Utrecht, NL #
3/25/2019 Schlachthof – Wiesbaden, DE #
3/26/2019 Markthalle – Hamburg, DE #
3/27/2019 SO36 – Berlin, DE #
3/28/2019 Backstage – Munich, DE #
3/29/2019 Conne Island – Leipzig, DE
3/30/2019 Futurum – Prague, CZ #
3/31/2019 A38 – Budapest, HU #
4/01/2019 Arena – Vienna, AU #
* w/ Damnation A.D., Cemetery Piss, Walk The Plank, No Man
% at The Power Of The Riff w/ Sunn O))), Scream, Xibalba, Xasthur, Papa M, Entry
# Death To False Metalcore w/ Unearth, Misery Signals, Malevolence, Left Behind

Produced by Kurt Ballou (Converge), DARKEST HOUR‘s eleventh LP, Godless Prophets & The Migrant Flora, continues to solidify the band’s legacy as a major metal powerhouse. Raw, complex, melodic, yet cutting with razor blade precision, Godless Prophets & The Migrant Flora is a fierce album which shows the long-running band as lethal and ravenous as ever. Following its 217 release through Southern Lord, the band has continued to tour regularly throughout North America and Europe.

Godless Prophets & The Migrant Flora is available on CD, black vinyl LP, picture disc LP, and all digital platforms via Southern Lord; find ordering options at the label’s webstore Darkest Hour, via Bandcamp HERE, and through all digital providers.

Direct DARKEST HOUR coverage requests in North America contact dave@earsplitcompound.comand in Europe contact lauren@rarelyunable.com.

http://officialdarkesthour.com
https://www.facebook.com/DarkestHourDudes
https://twitter.com/darkesthourrock
https://www.instagram.com/darkest_hour_official
http://www.southernlord.com
http://southernlord.bandcamp.com
http://twitter.com/twatterlord
https://www.facebook.com/SLadmin