The Sludgelord News: ENSLAVED | NEW TRACK 'THURISAZ DREAMING' STREAMING ON YOUTUBE

In Times is the title of the thirteenth studio album by Norwegian extreme metallers, ENSLAVED, and is due to hit UK stores on the 9th of March. Until then, the band has decided to give fans a sneak peek of the album by releasing a new track online. Listen to the stonking 'Thurisaz Dreaming' over on YouTube: http://youtu.be/a640Wu6PQbs

Ivar Bjørnson commented:
“Finally, the first song from the album is released upon the world! This great lyric video is certainly a good way to present the song and the album. “Thurisaz Dreaming” was the first song to be written for the album and kept the place as the natural opener for the album all the way throughout the entire making of the album. It leaps out of the speaker and grabs you by the throat – it’s a song that makes you take a stand right there during the first seconds of the album: are you up for the journey?! Of course you are!“

The main recording session for In Times took place at Duper Studios and Solslottet Studio in Bergen, Norway with additional recording sessions taking place at Conclave & Earshot Studios (run by band members Larsen and Ice Dale), as well as Ivar Bjørnson’s Peersonal Sound Studios. Additional experimentation and sonic exploration was conducted deep in the woods of Valevåg (south of Bergen), where a mobile studio recorded additional sounds.

In Times was produced by band members Ivar Bjørnson, Grutle Kjellson & Herbrand Larsen together with Iver Sandøy. Mixing was completed by Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden.

The hand-painted artwork for the new album was created by long time collaborator and the ‘sixth member of ENSLAVED’, Truls Espedal. The band has just released the first album trailer detailing the development of the artwork - watch as Truls walks you through the painting process, here:  http://youtu.be/IFyu4ugMrXo 

Truls Espedal states:
“Working with oil paint and a deadline can be somewhat aggravating and I learned that red paint takes really really long to dry! But I almost made the deadline finishing three paintings and layout, all the time with IN TIMES on the stereo. I've played the album closer to two hundred times by now, and I find it to be more in every way. It sounds potent and fresh, and the tracks are just fucking inspirational. So, I went for more as well. I wanted the cover to have more atmosphere, starker contrasts and be more subtle yet dramatic. Ivar and Grutle's concept allowed me to add new elements and be more experimental, without wanting to leave the familiar. It also allowed for more diversity through the cover, especially the vinyl.

The three paintings for this release range from figurative work to very stylised, almost abstract, expanding upon the front cover. The process was also a bit different; more dynamic. A lot of the artwork was improvised, which is not typical me. I enjoyed it. And I feel I'm getting the hang of the oil paint now, so I'm really excited for next time.”

Frontman Grutle Kjellson adds:
"I just love the album cover. I honestly think this is the best artwork I have ever seen. That is of course because Truls has developed the ability to transform me and Ivar’s often surreal concepts and ideas into an actual painting. This painting is the perfect projection of our lyrics, it even extends the written words. This is a picture of mythology, life, death and time. Truls has made a masterpiece, we have made the soundtrack."

In Times will be released on March 9th via Nuclear Blast and is available to pre-order below:

SIGNED CDS OR VINYL FROM RECORDSTORE:

Limited Digipack CD inc signed insert:

http://bit.ly/InTimesCDSigned

Limited Double Gatefold Etched Vinyl inc signed insert:  http://bit.ly/InTimesVinylSigned

Source: Nuclear Blast UK

The Sludgelord News: BROTHERS OF THE SONIC CLOTH: CLASSIC ROCK PREMIERE "LA MANO PODEROSA" FROM THE SEATTLE TRIO'S DEBUT ALBUM

(photo credit - Invisible Hour)

   Classic Rock premiere the epic centrepiece 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. 

   About the track vocalist/guitarist Tad Doyle 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.”

LISTEN TO "LA MANO PODEROSA"

http://classicrock.teamrock.com/news/2015-02-05/tad-back-with-brothers-of-the-sonic-cloth

   Don't forget, you can still sample a taste of the heavy ahead of the record's February 16th 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 followinglocation http://neurotrecordings.merchtable.com/artists/brothers-of-the-sonic-cloth

   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

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brothers-of-the-Sonic-Cloth/63586406187?fref=ts

http://www.taddoyle.com/botsc
http://www.neurotrecordings.com
http://www.facebook.com/neurotrecordings

Source: Rarely Unable

The Sludgelord News : PILGRIM: Rhode Island Doom Bringers To Release Sophomore Full-Length; New Track Streaming + Live Takeovers Confirmed

Wizards and warriors, rejoice, for the chosen ones have returned! Since the early 2012 unveiling of their debut sonic behemoth, Misery Wizard, fans and critics alike have patiently yet anxiously awaited the second chapter from Rhode Island doom bringers, PILGRIM. Welcome II: Void Worship.

Wielding eight new epic tracks laden with tales of swords and sorcery, death, doom and destruction,II: Void Worship was recorded at Moonlight Mile Recording by audio architect Mike Moebius and supplies an extraordinary quality of tone and heaviness. With II: Void Worship, PILGRIM takes a new approach to their songwriting, replacing meditated, repetitive hypnosis-inducing dirges with more calculated and demented power-house riffs. They build, shape, and climb into frenzied climaxes and fade into sweet sonic releases, molding perfectly crafted rock songs into twisting spires of evil doom metal masterpieces. It is obvious that PILGRIM has matured, both musically and as individuals, in their past two years of global conquest.

Feel the gargantuan crush of third hymn, "The Paladin," now streaming athttp://www.metalblade.com/pilgrim.

II: Void Worship Track Listing:

1. Intro

2. Master's Chamber

3. The Paladin

4. Arcane Sanctum

5. In The Process of Evil

6. Void of Worship

7. Dwarven March

8. Away From Here

In related PILGRIM news, the band will bring their epic earth-rumblings to the stage next month supporting reunited stoner rock icons, Spirit Caravan. Slated to commence on March 7th in Baltimore, Maryland, the trek will rupture nearly two dozen cities and include a performance at this year's edition of SXSW. See confirmed dates below.

  

PILGRIM w/ Spirit Caravan:

3/07/2014 Metro Gallery - Baltimore, MD

3/08/2014 Strange Matter - Richmond, VA

3/09/2014 Chop Shop - Charlotte, NC

3/10/2014 Drunken Unicorn - Atlanta, GA           

3/15/2014 SXSW - Austin, TX

3/17/2014 Launchpad - Albuquerque, NM

3/18/2014 Cheyenne Saloon - Las Vegas, NV

3/19/2014 Thee Parkside - San Francisco, CA

3/21/2014 Rotture - Portland, OR

3/22/2014 El Corazon - Seattle, WA

3/24/2014 The Shredder - Boise, ID

3/25/2014 Burt's Tiki Lounge - Salt Lake City, UT

3/27/2014 Marquis Theater - Denver, CO

3/29/2014 Reggie's - Chicago, IL

3/30/2014 Cactus Club - Milwaukee, WI

3/31/2014 The Fifth Quarter - Indianapolis, IN

4/01/2014 Outland Ballroom - Springfield, MO

4/02/2014 Rock Island Brewing - Rock Island, IL

4/03/2014 Fubar - St. Louis, MO

4/04/2014 Hi Tone - Memphis, TN

4/05/2014 V Club - Huntington, WV

4/06/2014 Hideaway - Johnson City, TN

4/08/2014 Pyramid Scheme - Grand Rapids, MI

4/09/2014 Skully's - Columbus ,OH

4/12/2014 31st St Pub - Pittsburgh, PA

4/13/2014 Empire - Springfield, VA

4/14/2014 AS220 - Providence, RI

4/15/2014 Saint Vitus Bar - Brooklyn NY

.

II: Void Worship is scheduled for release on April 1, 2014 in North America, and on March 28/31 in Europe/UK via Metal Blade Records. Special preorder packages, including vinyl, are currently available at THIS LOCATION.

http://www.facebook.com/hailthepilgrim

http://www.metalblade.com

Source : Earsplit PR

The Sludgelord : ALTERBEAST: New Track From Progressive Death Metalists Now Wreaking Havoc At Decibel

The crypt-keepers at the Deciblog are delighted to spew forth "Vile Remnants" from Sacramento progressive death metalists, ALTERBEAST. The latest spleen-rupturer comes courtesy of the band's Immortal full-length, set for imminent detonation just one month from today.

Methodically assembled in several locals throughout 2013, with guitars and bass recorded at Augmented Audio in Los Angeles by former The Black Dahlia Murder bassist Ryan "Bart" Williams, vocals arranged at Mayhemeness Studios in Sacramento by Bob Swanson (Rings Of Saturn) and drums tracked at Castle Ultimate Studios with Zack Ohren (Light This City, All Shall Perish, First Blood, Cattle Decapitation, Warbringer et al), who also mixed and mastered the offering, Immortal is a dynamic, instrumentally pummeling and plainly scathing manifestation of auditory brutality. Said Sea Of Tranquility in an early investigation of the record, "Fans of Necrophagist, Morbid Angel, Death, Spawn Of Possession, Decrepit Birth, Beneath The Massacre, Deeds Of Flesh, and The Black Dahlia Murder will certainly love all the zig-zagging, herky-jerky riffs and blazing solos flying about.... These guys just crush on tracks like 'Vile Remnants' and 'Ancient's Retribution,' with [Gabe] Seeber's manic drum blasting keeping up every step of the way..."

Get mind-fucked with "Vile Remnants," currently wreaking havoc at Decibel,HERE.

Additionally, you can still sample the sonic severity of "Mutilated Marvel" streaming at Gear Gods at THIS LOCATION as well as opening track "Flesh Bound Text" HERE.

Formed in 2011 under the working title Gary Busey Amber Alert (GBAA), ALTERBEAST combines the teachings of The Black Dahlia Murder, Necrophagist and Spawn Of Possession with the classic death metal mastery of band's like Dissection and Morbid Angel into an irately cathartic sound expulsion.

Immortal will wage war on the living on March 18, 2014 via Unique Leader. Preorder packages are available HERE.

http://www.facebook.com/ALTERBEASTofficial
http://www.youtube.com/ALTERBEASTofficial
http://uniqueleader.com 

Source :  Earsplit PR

The Sludgelord News : THE SOCKS: Psychedelic Fuzz Rock Collective Premieres New Track Via The Obelisk

The riff wranglers at The Obelisk, who are celebrating their fifth year of apex underground rock coverage, offer up an exclusive premiere of "Gypsy Lady" from French psychedelic fuzz rock collective and recent Small Stone signees, THE SOCKS!

The fiery new psalm comes by way of THE SOCKS' self-titled debut full-length. Slated to drop this Spring, The Socks was recorded and mixed by Raphaël Cartellier at Studio Cartellier, France, mastered by Christopher Goosman (Early Man, Sasquatch, Dixie Witch, Solace et al) at Baseline Studio in Ann Arbor, Michigan and features nine tracks of road-tripping, booze-binging goodness where thick, glassy-eyed, jams swell into kaleidoscopic riff torrents, gristly vocal serenades and hypnotic grooves.

Elaborates The Obelisk of the tune, "Vocalist/guitarist Julien Méret solos fluidly over fellow six-stringer/backing vocalist Nicolas Baud's keyboard work as drummer Jessy Ensenat sets the march and bassist Vincent Melay runs around and through the riffs in heavy '70s tradition. If 'Gypsy Lady' has anything in common with [recently leaked] 'Some Kind of Sorcery' - other than being the same band on the same album, duh - it's a righteous slowdown, this one arriving after two minutes into the track's total five, marked out by insistent wah in the guitar and a classically doomed stomp in the rhythm section, giving way to a screaming lead and tense build back up to the original shuffle.Add to this a potent hook and I'm not sure what else one could reasonably ask of THE SOCKS that they're not delivering."

Adds the band, "The atmosphere of 'Gyspy Lady' reminds us of a bizarre psychedelic circus, going from a progressive acceleration to one of the darkest partS we've done. This song is like a trip through different universes that make it a perfect representation of the album."

Get trippin' with "Gypsy Lady," courtesy of The Obelisk, HERE.  

Additionally, fans can still check out the video for "Some Kind Of Sorcery" at THIS LOCATION.   

THE SOCKS are a duel-guitar French foursome formed in Lyon in 2009. Their 2010 EP, entitled Side Aoffered up five well concentrated songs from a band still finding themselves. Inspired by the teachings of Sabbath and Zeppelin, THE SOCKS supported the release by playing with an array of national and international acts, boasting intensely energetic gigs while continuing to develop their style. The next two years drove the band to write darker, heavier, songs that were more calculating and less frenetic. The resulting 2012 EP, Bedrock spouted a pseudo psychedelic, neo-grunge moodiness that proved captivating upon first listen.

The Soda Shop dubbed it "some pretty epic fucking stoner rock," while Church Of The Riff opined, "The entire EP shows that THE SOCKS know how to write damn good songs. Everything sounds fleshed out and exciting, without ever getting repetitive or redundant...The riffs, vocal harmonies, tasteful solos and keyboard work show a band that knows exactly what they are doing." The record eventually caught the ears of Small Stone Recordings. During the Fall of 2012, THE SOCKScompleted their first European tour. Drawing on experience garnered from festivals and gigs alongside Karma To Burn, Red Fang, Truckfighters, Horisont, Mars Red Sky, Black Rainbows and many others with whom they share various elements while still maintaining a personality all their own, they were instant crowd pleasers. As the band continues to thrust themselves into Europe's next generation of heavy rock 'n' roll beside acts like Abrahma, Deville, Asteroid, Isaak, Black Rainbows and Mother of God, Small Stone is pleased to bring their debut full-length to the masses on March 18, 2014. Further info, including preorder links, to be unveiled in the coming weeks.

 For more information :

http://www.thesocks.fr
http://www.facebook.com/thesocks
http://www.smallstone.com

Source : EarSplit PR