LESS ART + Bandcamp Daily

"A post-rock outfit combining elements of sludge and noise with more than a few jangly guitars... Less Art tackle in-your-face issues like suicide, animal extinction, and gun control in a way only savvy veterans can."
–Bandcamp Daily

"Vigilante rage courses through the veins of Less Art... A hulking piece of post-hardcore sculpted from Drive Like Jehu's nasty grooves and Unwound's squirrelly tension."
–NPR Music

"A claustrophobic machine of a band, playing post-hardcore in various shades of sheet-metal gray. Vocalist Mike Minnick ranges from almost conversational proclamations to bitter howls, urged on by whip-sharp Shellac-via-Kinsella guitar riffs and a cavernous rhythm section."
–Chicago Reader

"Pummeling... post-hardcore/noise-rock."

–BrooklynVegan

With debut Strangled Light out on Gilead Media this Friday, July 28th, Less Art offers up a stream of the entire album today, exclusively via Bandcamp Daily, along with a new interview with bassist Ian Miller.

Listen and read, here:
https://daily.bandcamp.com/2017/07/26/less-art-kowloon-walled-city-thrice-interview/

Less Art is the new band featuring brothers Riley and Ed Breckenridge of Thrice, Ian Miller and Jon Howell of Kowloon Walled City, and Mike Minnick of Curl Up and Die.  On Strangled Light, these five veterans put forth a muscular new version of post-hardcore that crackles with feeling. Comparisons to OGs like Fugazi, Unwound, and Drive Like Jehu have been flying around – Bandcamp Daily pegs the dark, emotive sound as "post-hardcore in various shades of sheet-metal gray."

Strangled Light was recorded and mixed by Kowloon Walled City frontman Scott Evans at Sharkbite Studios and Antisleep Audio, and mastered by Brad Boatright (Full of Hell, Mutoid Man) at Audiosiege.

Pre-order, here:
https://gileadmedia.bandcamp.com/album/strangled-light

Less Art will set out on a quick West Coast run in August, followed by East Coast dates with Vattnet in September.

Aug 4 - San Francisco, CA @ Hemlock Tavern
Aug 5 - Oakland, CA @ 1234 Go! Records
Aug 6 - Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room
Sep 14 - New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge - w/ Vattnet
Sep 15 - Boston, MA @ Middle East - w/ Vattnet
Sep 16 - Washington, DC @ Songbyrd - w/ Vattnet
Sep 17 - Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts - w/ Vattnet

Photo by Scott Evans

THE NUMBER TWELVE LOOKS LIKE YOU 2017

The reformed, revived The Number Twelve Looks Like You continues to rev up its motor in the second half of 2017, implementing a slew of action that includes a brand new recording, the release of two reissues, a tour with The Dillinger Escape Plan, and the band's first-ever Russian shows.  

The New Jersey-based Number Twelve made its name as a star of the mid-'00s mathcore scene, bashing out wildly adventurous, technical music, imbued with the musicality of progressive metal and the urgency of screamo. The AV Club once described the sound as a hybrid of "The Blood Brothers' dual-scream abrasion and The Dillinger Escape Plan's nanotech riffing... The Number Twelve knows precisely when to throw a soaring, melodic chorus or a bizarre flamenco flourish into an otherwise grinding, grunting gnarl of prog-metal."

On hiatus since 2010, the band returned last year with a string of comeback shows featuring original members Jesse Korman on vocals and Alexis Pareja on guitar, and new recruits Michael Kadnar on drums and DJ Scully on bass. 

The new lineup has confirmed that they are currently at work on writing and recording a brand new single – the first new music since 2009's Worse Than Alone album. 

Meanwhile, fans can now obtain The Number Twelve's first two albums on vinyl – the 2003 debut, Put On Your Rosy Red Glasses, and the 2005 follow-up, Nuclear. Sad. Nuclear. – both available now exclusively through Silent Pendulum Recordings, the label owned by new drummer Kadnar (also a member of Downfall of Gaia and Black Table).

While the Put On Your Rosy Red Glasses vinyl is already almost entirely sold out, Nuclear. Sad. Nuclear. can still be preordered now in various color-vinyl options.

Put On Your Rosy Red Glasses (reissue out August 4th on Silent Pendulum):
https://silentpendulumrecords.bandcamp.com/album/put-on-your-rosy-red-glasses-the-number-12-looks-like-you

Nuclear. Sad. Nuclear. (reissue out September 1st on Silent Pendulum):
https://silentpendulumrecords.bandcamp.com/album/nuclear-sad-nuclear-the-number-12-looks-like-you

The Number Twelve hits the stage this week for three Northeast US shows, then heads to Europe in early August to support The Dillinger Escape Plan for nine dates of their final European tour. After the Dillinger run, The Number Twelve soldiers on through the UK and Europe and concludes the journey with four shows in Russia – the band's first time ever playing in Russia. 

Says Kadnar, "I was always a big fan of The Number Twelve Looks Like You. I even went to their farewell show, seven years ago. To be asked to join the band was an absolute honor. We have been working hard on this new recording and preparing for this tour."

July 27 - Brooklyn, NY @ Gold Sounds †
July 28 - Kingston, NY @ BSP Kingston †
July 29 - Wallingford, CT @ Wamleg
Aug 8 - Nuremberg, DE @ Hirsch *
Aug 9 - Jaromer, CZ @ Brutal Assault Festival *
Aug 10 - Krakow, PL @ Kwadrat *
Aug 11 - Budapest, HU @ A38 *
Aug 12 - Zagreb, HR @ Mochvara *
Aug 13 - Vienna, AT @ Szene *
Aug 14 - Prague, CZ @ Palac Akropolis *
Aug 15 - Cologne, DE @ Gloria *
Aug 16 - Leipzig, DE @ Conne Island *
Aug 18 - Bristol, UK @ ArcTanGent
Aug 20 - Glasgow, UK @ Audio ∆
Aug 21 - Birmingham, UK @ Sunflower Lounge ∆
Aug 22 - London, UK @ The Black Heart ∆
Aug 23 - Haarlem, NT @ Patronaat ∆
Aug 24 - Kaliningrad, RU @ Detroit
Aug 25 - St Petersburg, RU @ Zoccolo 2.0
Aug 26 - Moscow, RU @ Rock House
Aug 27 - Ekaterinburg, RU @ Svoboda

† = w/ Meek Is Murder
* = w/ The Dillinger Escape Plan
∆ = w/ Hexis

Photo by Karen Jerzyk

COUCH SLUT + AdHoc

"An effortless mix of both visceral noise rock and haunting ambiance, a sound that is as angelic as it is satanic."
–AdHoc

"It’s refreshing that this year’s best metal albums have felt particularly bold, pushing the genre to new places... The second half of the year should be no less exciting—with great releases from Spectral Voice, Couch Slut, Sannhet, and more." 
–Pitchfork

"The provocatively named Brooklyn band looks to the miserable spew of Unsane, Today Is the Day and Oxbow to stir its own, but its second album, Contempt, is not without perverse beauty, dripping from the sludge."
–NPR Music

"For as uncomfortable and uncompromising as this material can be, it’s also clever in an engaging way. Squirming underneath the distortion are tons of earworm melodies and hooky textures... That’s Couch Slut’s thing, really: no matter how loud or cringey things get, you can’t stop listening." 
–Stereogum 
 
AdHoc presents the premiere of newest Couch Slut single, "Snake in the Grass," from the Brooklyn band's upcoming sophomore album Contempt.

Listen, here:
http://adhoc.fm/post/couch-slut-find-beauty-unnerving/

As AdHoc states, the song is "as angelic as it is satanic" – hauntingly beautiful and heavy as hell. The song veers from sludgy tar-pit rock of the Unsane school, into cruising, bittersweet Sonic Youth radiance.

An exclusive premiere of the entire Contempt album is set for late Tuesday night on WFMU's My Castle of Quiet show. Tune in live at midnight Tuesday night/Wednesday morning to hear the album in full. The show will be archived and available to stream online at wfmu.org starting Wednesday.

Couch Slut is poised to set sail on a short tour of the US and Canada, kicking off with a hometown record release show on August 31st at Saint Vitus in Brooklyn.

Aug 31 - Brooklyn, NY @ Saint Vitus (record release show w/ Pyrrhon)
Sep 1 - Washington, DC @ Atlas Brew Works
Sep 2 - Norfolk, VA @ Wolves Den
Sep 3 - Durham, NC @ House With No Name
Sep 4 - Nashville, TN @ DRKMTTR
Sep 5 - Cincinatti, OH @ Rake's End
Sep 6 - Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
Sep 8 - Cleveland, OH @ Now That's Class
Sep 9 - Toronto, ON @ Coalition
Oct 17 - New York, NY @ Knitting Factory (w/ Aura Noir)

Contempt will be released July 28th on Gilead Media. Pre-order here:
https://gileadmedia.bandcamp.com/album/contempt

Gilead Media owner Adam Bartlett says this: "As a label that releases a fair amount of black metal, doom, and other varieties of 'extreme music,' the concept of visceral and transgressive art is nothing new to Gilead Media. But Contempt may stand as one of the most vicious and unnerving releases in the label's history."

Photo by Roger Hayn

DEAD CROSS + Stereogum

Dead Cross is a new band, but it has a hell of a pedigree. The berserker hardcore supergroup features Faith No More frontman Mike Patton and OG Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo alongside former members of the Locust and Retox. Their self-titled debut is coming next month… and now they’ve shared a new clip for a frantic, pummeling new song called “Obedience School.”

-Stereogum

View the video for "Obedience School", described as "an evocative look at a world that most of the would've never seen," via Stereogum, here.

Dead Cross emerged out of a series of unlikely happenstance, fallen-through plans, and last-minute musical experimentation. Shows were scheduled before a single song was written, fans were formed before even one show was played. The chaos of its creation seems apt; after all, the band is comprised entirely of artists who have thrived playing tightly-coiled turmoil—intelligent dissonance disguised as disorder. Consisting of Dave Lombardo (Slayer, Suicidal Tendencies, Fantomas), Justin Pearson (The Locust, Retox, Head Wound City), Michael Crain (Retox, Festival of Dead Deer), and Mike Patton (Faith No More, Fantomas, Mr. Bungle, Tomahawk), the impressive, expansive, and eclectic list of prior bands collectively played in would be enough to ensure the unyielding ferocity of the music... but a resume isn’t necessary, here. Dead Cross stands on its own, speaks volumes with its multilayered evil-genius vocals, manic guitar riffs, and severe rhythms.

"Obedience School" was shot by Dennis Bersales. The track is off of Dead Cross’ new self-titled album, produced by Ross Robinson, to be released August 4th on colored vinyl and CD via Ipecac Records and Three One G, as well as digitally through iTunes.

Upcoming shows:

August 10 - Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory
August 11 - Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn Bowl
August 12 - Phoenix, AZ @ The Marquee
August 14 - Dallas, TX @ Gas Monkey Bar & Grill
August 15 - Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
August 16 - Austin, TX @ Emo’s
August 18 - Tucson, AZ @ The Rialto Theatre
August 19 - San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park
August 21 - Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre
August 23 - Berkeley, CA @ The UC Theatre
August 25 - Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre
August 26 - Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
August 27 - Portland @ Wonder Ballroom
August 29 - Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
September 8 - Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage
September 10 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
September 11 - Boston, MA @ Royale
September 12 - New York, NY @ Gramercy Theatre
September 13 - Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw
September 15 - Detroit, MI @ St. Andrew’s Hall
September 16 - Chicago, IL @ Riot Fest
September 17 - Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom
September 19 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
September 20 - Lawrence, KS @ Liberty Hall
September 23 - Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre

Full album stream: SARIN + Exclaim

“Post-metal has been described as thinking man's metal for it's transcendence of heavy music, but while its composers are perhaps intellectual about its creation, sometimes the best way to consume it is to forego thought in favour of feeling, letting it wash over you. Such as the case on Sarin's Darker Lakes, an album with as many layers as elder trees have rings and one that is inspired by them.”

-Exclaim

Stream Sarin's newest LP, Darker Lakes, in its entirety via Exclaim, here.

Sarin’s newest LP, Darker Lakes, will be released digitally via Bandcamp as well as on vinyl through Zegema Beach (NA), Dingleberry Records, Arkan Records, and Dead Punx (all EU) on July 25th. Order digital album here | Order vinyl here.

The album was recorded at Candle Recording Studio and Union Sound Co., both in Toronto. Engineered and mixed by Alex Gamble (who has recently recorded/mixed for Fucked Up and PUP),  mastered by Brad Boatright (Audiosiege).

Sarin have drawn heavily from the band ISIS in the past, but while writing this record, had artists like Prurient, Sunn O))), Sumac, Earth, Old Man Gloom, and a number of electronic/ambient albums on heavy rotation.  Darker Lakes also takes a lot of inspiration from nature and natural elements, which lends itself to the “organic” feel of some of the band’s recordings. The lyrics on the album describe personal experiences, as told through metaphors pertaining to nature/the elements/etc. Specifically, it’s a chronological account of one of vocalist David’s day-long hike taken through the Oak Ridges Moraine around the time of writing, and the reflections one tends to make while on excursions such as those.

Darker Lakes LP:

1. Ice Wrought
2. Amber Guide
3. Darker Lakes I - Moraine
4. Embers Circling Downwards
5. Darker Lakes II - Crater
6. Bloom
7. Ocean Burn
8. Darker Lakes III - Glacial
9. Low Moon

Upcoming shows:

August 11 - Toronto, ON @ Coalition

August 12 - Owen Sound, ON @ H2O Lounge (Slimer Fest)

Sarin - Facebook
Sarin - Bandcamp
Sarin - YouTube

GOD MOTHER - Vilseledd

Party Smasher Inc, the label founded by Ben Weinman of The Dillinger Escape Plan, announces the September 29th release of Vilseledd, the new album by Stockholm, Sweden's God Mother.

Across 14 tracks, God Mother packs hardcore, grind, sludge, and noise into lethal projectiles, fueled by bilingual lyrics denouncing society's ignorance, in both Swedish and English. The sound is electrifying – inspired as much by the grinding speed of Nasum and Rotten Sound as by the almighty weight of the Melvins. 

The band's 2015 debut Maktbehov was hailed by Pitchfork as "an asteroid crash of an album that renders most of its competition extinct."

The Dillinger Escape Plan guitarist and Party Smasher label founder Ben Weinman has stated this: "After 20 years of touring the world and playing thousands of shows with thousands of bands, it is hard to impress me. But Sweden has done it again. God Mother is an undeniable force majeure that demands attention like bands did in the old days, by just being that fucking good. Torch, officially passed!"

Vilseledd was recorded at Soundtrade Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, the historic studio where artists from ABBA to Rammstein have made music. The album was mixed and mastered by Magnus Lindberg of Cult of Luna.

Vilseledd tracklist:

1) Dödfödd

2) By the Millions

3) Tar Mirror (featuring Keijo Niinimaa of Rotten Sound)

4) No Return

5) Acrid Teeth

6) Anti Anthem

7) De Ovälkomna

8) Weak

9) 10,000 År

10) Caved In

11) Enkla Svar

12) Charlatan

13) Carve Them

14) Burdenless

Revolver Magazine has premiered the video for "By the Millions," the first song to be revealed off Vilseledd. Watch and listen, here:

http://www.revolvermag.com/uncategorized/listen-dillinger-escape-plan-approved-spazcore-group-god-mother/23553

Directed by Jakob Jennerholm Hammar, the video's raw vibe was achieved using VHS tapes. Drummer Michael Dahlstrom explains the story behind the song: "The words come from a poem called 'Fear,"by Neil Cathan, a writer based in the UK... It's about the idea that all evil and violence stems from fear. Every terrible thing that we do to each other comes from fear, and every terrible thing makes us more afraid, so things accelerate and build until they reach a crescendo like they did in 1939."

God Mother will support The Dillinger Escape Plan and The Number 12 Looks Like You on a European tour in August:

Aug 8 - Nuremberg, DE @ Hirsch
Aug 9 - Jaromer, CZ @ Brutal Assault Festival
Aug 10 - Krakow, PL @ Kwadrat
Aug 11 - Budapest, HU @ A38
Aug 12 - Zagreb, HR @ Mochvara
Aug 13 - Vienna, AT @ Szene
Aug 14 - Prague, CZ @ Palac Akropolis
Aug 15 - Cologne, DE @ Gloria
Aug 16 - Leipzig, DE @ Conne Island

Sebastian August Campbell - vocals
Max Lindstrom - guitar
Daniel Noring - bass
Michael Dahlstrom - drums

Photo of God Mother, by Stephen Odom

PRAY TO KEEP + AP Discover

"Bitter Half", the lead off single from the self-titled PRAY TO KEEP ep is now featured on Alternative Press' weekly Spotify playlist, AP DISCOVER.

AP Discover: https://play.spotify.com/user/altpress.com/playlist/2Pxd813nZUVW4E0JyrozSI

Hailing from Philadelphia, PA, Pray To Keep emerges as a new breath of mid 2000’s influenced emo rock taking cues from the likes of Taking Back Sunday, Rival Schools, and Jimmy Eat World. 

The leadoff track “Headstone Lottery” is a catchy singalong track where the vocal melodies are reminiscent of Taking Back Sunday and My Chemical Romance’s break through records. This is where the combination of Fred Mascherino’s production and Vince Ratti’s signature mix truly shines the brightest. “Bitter Half” takes a more raw and exposed approach similar to Armor For Sleep paired with looming vocals that nod to Jawbreaker.

Founded in 2016 by lead singer and guitarist Will Schaeffer, bassist Jason Duarte, and Dan White on drums, the band spent most of the year writing and recording. Pat Voytko (Agitator) was added on second guitar shortly after recordings were completed. While having a strong musical background, the band prides themselves on being heavily involved in the arts. Bassist Jason Duarte, is the creative director of a studio, while drummer Dan White works on music videos and productions in Philadelphia.  

The effort was recorded with Fred Mascherino (Taking Back Sunday, Terrible Things) at Diverdown Studios, mixed by Vince Ratti (Circa Survive, The Wonder Years) at Skylight Studios, and mastered by Bill Henderson (Bayside, Neck Deep) at Azimuth Mastering. The layout and design was done by members Dan White and Jason Duarte, as well as Dom Pabon (Malice At The Palice, Jesus Piece).

Follow:

https://www.praytokeep.com/

@praytokeep