DEAF CLUB + Decibel

 “...high energy, future fucking, spastic grind... seared by neon gas on top of the sound of the tears of snowflake Republicans bawling about the forthcoming wheels of fascism not spinning fast enough for their liking.”

—Decibel

Listen to Deaf Club's newest single "Shoplift from Jail," accompanied by Dark Details' music video, via Decibel Magazine, here:

https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2021/12/16/video-premiere-deaf-club-skirts-around-the-law-with-shoplift-from-jail/

Deaf Club is a savage sound bath dripping with sardonicism: a blastbeat-centric hardcore punk assault channeling crust, thrash, and grind (un)sensibilities. Succinct  pauses, surreal frequencies and effects, breakneck pace and sharply hurled vocals characterize the band’s aesthetic, which  seems as though it is rooted in a sort of nasty-sound-meets-highbrow-message ethos. Fueled by the onslaught of society’s insanity and driven mad by tinnitus, Justin Pearson (The Locust, Dead Cross, Planet B), Brian Amalfitano (ACxDC), Scott Osment (Weak Flesh), Jason Klein (Run With The Hunted), and Tommy Meehan (The Manx, Chum Out!) approach music as an opportunity to confront our collective sicknesses. Last October, the band released their debut EP, Contemporary Sickness, as well as a Remix cassette EP of bonus remixes featuring GothBoiClique’s YAWNS, Bubblegum Octopus, 304angstroms, and DJ Embryonic Petit Sac. More recently, the band released a cover and video of Killing Joke’s “The Wait” as a benefit, a slew of other music videos including a long form performance of their upcoming LP in its entirety, have worked on collaborations with clothing brand Brain Dead to release ultra limited test pressings of their upcoming album, and have played a handful of shows in Southern California, including under a bridge in DTLA lit by the spotlight of a police helicopter hovering overhead.

 

“Shoplift from Jail” is off of the LP, Productive Disruption, which will be released on limited vinyl, “persecutor color” limited to 700 and “pyrolysis color” limited to 300, as well as a limited 100 cassettes, via Three One G Records on January 6th, 2022. Preorder, here.

TELEVANGELIST + Under The Radar

 
"...sinister, abrasive, and layered."

— Under the Radar

Watch the video for "Scythe," a single off of Televangelist's Daydream Abraxas, via Under The Radar, here:

https://www.undertheradarmag.com/news/premiere_televangelist_shares_new_video_for_scythe

TELEVANGELIST has been providing the soundtrack to your ego death since 2017. Founded in Brooklyn, NY but originally from Austin, Texas, artist Dorian Domi (who also plays in sludge/hardcore, experimental band Gang Stalker) is responsible for everything with this work: synth, guitar, bass, production, drums.  Domi has played with genre-bending musicians in the past such as Death Grips, Yves Tumor, Machine Girl, and Show me the Body and has worked with acclaimed composer/artists Paul Corley, Telefon Tel Aviv, and Kool Keith for this release. Televangelist has one previous release, Dreams 1-3, which is a 25 min ambient piece. With a life steeped in music, Dorian also co-organizes Oblivion Access, an underground music festival in ATX-- all at only 21 years old.

Daydream Abraxas was released November 19th. Order it, here.

Video for “Scythe” created in collaboration with Jarrod Ajhar.

Out today: SO HIDEOUS - None But a Pure Heart Can Sing

None But a Pure Heart Can Sing, the new album by So Hideous, is out today on Silent Pendulum Records.

Listen and buy, here:

https://silentpendulumrecords.bandcamp.com/album/none-but-a-pure-heart-can-sing

More info, here:

https://thechainworld.blogspot.com/2021/10/so-hideous-none-but-pure-heart-can-sing.html

"None But a Pure Heart Can Sing is the best experimental black metal album of 2021."

–MetalSucks

"Combining symphonic elements with an antagonistic angst-aggregation of post-black/shoegaze/hardcore, So Hideous strikes at the heart with a sweeping combination of majestic grandeur and knife-in-the-gut agony."

–Invisible Oranges

"[None But a Pure Heart Can Sing] injects the band's usual orchestral post-black metal sound with some clear jazz and Afrobeat influence."

–BrooklynVegan

"None But a Pure Heart Can Sing, their triumphant return, has plenty of the blueprint that makes up So Hideous: the use of strings, the intimate fury, the sheer evocativeness of their music, have all been maintained. But they have also been refined. Distilled. Run through a sieve and cleansed of every single ounce of fat."

–Heavy Blog Is Heavy

"So Hideous had little to prove after 2015’s Laurestine. They had already demonstrated their mastery, creating emotive post-black metal that authentically incorporated chamber music in a way that I have heard none of their contemporaries accomplish. Yet, with None But a Pure Heart Can Sing, the band establish themselves less as black metal musicians and more as cinematic composers with metal as only one of many genres they can masterfully draw from to express themselves.

–Everything Is Noise

"Combining black metal, screamo, post-hardcore and orchestral compositions, their songs flow with equal amounts of grace, beauty, chaos and heartache... There’s always one December release that threatens to shake up my year-end thoughts, and None but a Pure Heart Can Sing is definitely that album."

–Nine Circles

"The cinematic qualities of their songwriting are at peak performance... Even when the band’s blackened heart takes charge, fury hasn’t been this blissful in a long time. None But A Pure Heart Can Sing is a marvelous album to close out the year with."

–Heavy Music HQ

Out today: KILLER HILL - Frozen Head

Frozen Head, the new EP by Killer Hill, is out today.

Listen and buy, here:
https://killerhill1.bandcamp.com/album/frozen-head

More info, here:

https://thechainworld.blogspot.com/2021/10/killer-hill-frozen-head.html

“Noise rock, alt-rock and thrash metal colliding over a *ahem* black hole sun... Gravitating between a bouncy playful noisy-ness, innate and furious metallic fire, and touches of moroseness that latch onto Soundgarden’s more pensive moments."
–Decibel

"Radiant songcraft, venomous shred, and euphoric hooks."
–New Noise

"Their sound is that of Mastodon’s and Municipal Waste’s lovechild. And it rocks!"
–Metal Epidemic

"Band of the week. Brute alt rock force. The riffs are chunky and groovy while the rhythm section grinds and pummels."
–Audioeclectica

"From hard hitting thrashers to introspective grooves, 'Frozen Head' executes with aplomb."
–Two Guys Metal Reviews

Out today: CONFINES - Work Up the Blood

Work Up the Blood, the new EP by Confines, is out today on Synthicide.

Listen and buy, here: https://synthicide.bandcamp.com/album/work-up-the-blood

More info, here: https://thechainworld.blogspot.com/2021/10/confines-work-up-blood.html

"A seething industrial-techno bad trip driven by a propulsive beat and metal-inflected vocals."
–Revolver

"A dark, pounding dose of industrial/EBM."
–BrooklynVegan

"The EP will absolutely tear your head off with its foundation-shaking bass."
–Metal Injection

"Body-thumping industrial beats and searing, pulsating synths... Legitimately fantastic, at once hard-charging and emotive, dynamic and nuanced."
–MetalSucks

"Banging techno rhythm with yowled vocals and plenty of low grinding synth noise. Brought to you by the good folks at NYC’s Synthicide, this has some late-in-the-year dancefloor potential we’re happy to explore."
–I Die: You Die

"The sound of Confines is dark and vibrant with tinges of industrial, techno and some synth pop... David’s singing voice helps to take this to a whole other level. The intensity in his screams to delicate melodies create a killer ebb and flow to accompany the controlled chaos permeating from the speakers."
–Audioeclectica

KILLER HILL + Decibel

KILLER HILL: Helmet-affiliated thrash-rockers stream new "Frozen Head" EP via Decibel

Featuring two members of Helmet, Los Angeles/New York trio Killer Hill has teamed with Decibel Magazine to premiere its new EP, Frozen Head.

Stream the EP, here: https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2021/12/02/ep-stream-check-your-head-with-killer-hills-fantastic-frozen-head/

Buy, here: https://killerhill1.bandcamp.com/album/frozen-head

On Frozen Head, Killer Hill dance on a knife's edge between volcanic alt-rock and teeth-gnashing thrash. Across the EP's six songs, swinging grooves and soaring vocals intertwine with fangs-out metal mania. Radiant songcraft meets venomous shred; euphoric hooks meet feral riffage and double-bass volleys. A must-hear for fans seeking levitation as well as annihilation, Frozen Head hits a bulls-eye on the same range where bands such as Helmet, Mastodon, and Red Fang have been firing for decades. It is a riveting new slab of music from three consummate professionals.

Decibel describes the sound: "Noise rock, alt-rock and thrash metal colliding over a *ahem* black hole sun... Gravitating between a bouncy playful noisy-ness, innate and furious metallic fire, and touches of moroseness that latch onto Soundgarden’s more pensive moments."

Frozen Head was engineered and mixed by Travis Pavur (Black Lips, Eagles of Death Metal) at Golden Beat Recording Studio in Los Angeles, CA and mastered by Pete Lyman (Sturgill Simpson, Trash Talk) at Infrasonic Mastering in Nashville, TN.

In addition to Helmet, the band members' collective resumé includes Amphetamine Reptile greats Guzzard, death metal veterans Afterbirth, and hard rockers Burning Brides.

Photo by Raz Azraai

CONFINES + Metal Injection

CONFINES: new EP "Work Up the Blood" now streaming 

Confines' new EP, Work Up the Blood, is now streaming in its entirety via Metal Injection.

Stream the EP, here: https://metalinjection.net/av/full-album-stream/confines-streams-industrial-heavy-new-ep-work-up-the-blood

Thumping NYC industrial-techno anthems, Confines is the solo project of David Castillo — co-owner of Brooklyn’s Saint Vitus Bar, co-founder of Faktor Music, and vocalist of Primitive Weapons.

The sound is a mix of banging rhythms and heavy ambience, referencing the likes of Nitzer Ebb, Depeche Mode, Vatican Shadow, and the Colombian cumbia music that played in Castillo's childhood home. Taking the music to an even higher and more universal level is Castillo’s impassioned vocal approach – soulful screams and murmurous melodies reflecting his years embedded in the hardcore punk and metal scenes.

Confines is Castillo's most personal project to date and Work Up the Blood is its ultimate representation so far. In Confines, Castillo has created a space where he can exorcise his own demons while also selflessly providing a thumping, cathartic soundtrack by which for others to find their release.

Metal Injection states: "The EP will absolutely tear your head off with its foundation-shaking bass.”

Work Up the Blood officially drops December 3rd via Synthicide, the label owned by acclaimed author/DJ/promoter Andi Harriman.

Pre-order the EP, here: https://synthicide.bandcamp.com/album/work-up-the-blood

Photo by Nikki Sneakers

LOSS BECOMES vinyl

LOSS BECOMES: NYC metalcore powerhouse, featuring Chef Brian Tsao, launches vinyl-only release of self-titled debut album

Following a year's worth of potent singles and powerful live performances, Loss Becomes present their highly anticipated self-titled debut album in its entirety, via an exclusive vinyl release.

Consisting of a limited pressing in two colors, the vinyl release is the first and only format in which the full album is available. Five singles from the album have been released since December 2020; the album's remaining three tracks can now be experienced for the first time by fans who purchase the LP. A digital release will follow in 2022.

Order the LP, here (clear vinyl and Pepto-Bismol pink vinyl): https://www.mangoerecords.com/product/loss-becomes-self-titled

A new video, guest starring Tim Howley (Fit For An Autopsy) and YouTuber Justin Whang as notable Christmas personalities, offers a glimpse at the hard work behind this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUgWnVAq3x0

An official record release show is booked for January 7th at Lucky 13 Saloon in Brooklyn, NY.

Guitarist Brian Tsao states: "After a year of releasing singles I'm excited to have fans hear the full vision of Loss Becomes. Every song title ties into what loss can become and what it can mean to us. I think that concept displays how important and empowering loss can be. The songs were also sequenced to show an evolution in our sound and things to come."

Vocalist Anthony Copozzi states: "This record is very personal. I’ve cared for each song on its own. But as a whole I’m proud of what we have created as a band. It is terrifying and exhilarating to finally release this onto the world. I’m hoping it can help someone the way it helped me writing and recording it."

Founded by guitarist Brian Tsao, Loss Becomes revitalize the spirit of American metalcore and drench it in NYC attitude. With Tsao hailing from Queens, drummer Alec Kossoff from Manhattan, vocalist Anthony Copozzi from Long Island, and bassist Will Gomez from the Bronx, Loss Becomes is a thoroughly New York beast. The quartet's self-titled debut album, produced by Anthony Lopardo (Moon Tooth, Cryptodira) at Westfall Recording Company in Farmingdale, NY, rocks ferociously with equal parts thrash, groove, and anthemic melody, evoking the likes of Every Time I Die and Throwdown. A recent write-up from Revolver Magazine states: "Do yourself a favor and check out [Loss Becomes]... It will have you hitting rewind."

Also an acclaimed chef, Tsao first rose to fame in 2014 by outdoing celebrity chef Bobby Flay in Season 1 of the hit Food Network show, Beat Bobby Flay. In the years since, he has held head chef positions at NYC hotspots such as Beauty and Essex and has appeared everywhere from CBS This Morning to Metal Injection. The metalhead epicurean is currently opening his own sandwich shop in the heart of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, while producing the "Sandwich Sunday" YouTube series which unites his passions for food and music.

Tracklist:
1) Focus
2) Promises
3) Memory
4) Moments
5) Healing
6) Demons
7) Fragments
8) Grudge

Upcoming shows:
January 7 - Brooklyn, NY @ Lucky 13

More info:
https://linktr.ee/lossbecomes
https://chefbriantsao.com/

Photo by Sean Ageman

SO HIDEOUS - "Motorik Visage"

SO HIDEOUS: NYC post-metal visionaries reveal drum playthrough video for new 11-minute track "Motorik Visage"

Just days away from the release of its new album, None But a Pure Heart Can Sing, New York City post-metal visionaries So Hideous have revealed a new video showing drummer Michael Kadnar playing through "Motorik Visage,"an epic, 11-minute track from the album. The video was shot at Backroom Studios in Rockaway, NJ, by Sean Ageman and Washed Up Media.

So Hideous' first new album is six years, None But a Pure Heart Can Sing will be released December 3rd on Silent Pendulum Records, the label owned by Kadnar himself who, in addition to his role in So Hideous, also occupies the drum throne for The Number Twelve Looks Like You.

Stream the "Motorik Visage" drum playthrough, here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD9-2PkNRhE

None But a Pure Heart Can Sing is the band's first new album since 2015's acclaimed Laurestine, released on Prosthetic Records. Described with words like "stunning" and "haunting," 2015's Laurestine is an album of post-metal tempests, augmented by a 30-piece orchestra. BrooklynVegan hailed the album as "devastating, end-of-the-world type sh*t, putting screamo, post-rock, and atmospheric black metal in a blender and really letting those modern classical influences shine with the orchestral parts." Mass Appeal called it "metal heavily influenced by the sound of film scores... atmospheric bliss."

Still raging as hard as ever, still expressing the extremes of torment and beauty, None But a Pure Heart Can Sing sees So Hideous incorporate new sounds and rhythms into its approach. Composer/guitarist Brandon Cruz describes in detail the new direction the band has taken: "I think we still have the foundation of what we laid before, being influenced largely by Japanese post-metal bands Mono and Envy, and composers such as Arvo Part and Max Richter. We wanted more rhythm this time and we expanded outward to include influences from Fela Kuti and Tony Allen's Afrobeat percussion, James Brown's horn section, and the balladry of Otis Redding and Sam Cooke. It was also nice to finally experiment a bit with more Penderecki-style tone clusters and glissando on the more dissonant sections."

Absolutely thrilling on a musical level, absolutely cathartic on an emotional level, None But a Pure Heart Can Sing is an example of the triumph of art created with open minds and open hearts.

None But a Pure Heart Can Sing was engineered, mixed and mastered by The Dillinger Escape Plan guitarist Kevin Antreassian at Backroom Studios.

Photos by Sean Ageman

CONFINES - "Concrete Club"

CONFINES: new industrial-techno anthem "Concrete Club" now streaming

Confines' new track "Concrete Club" is now streaming via Revolver Magazine.

Stream the track, here: https://www.revolvermag.com/music/hear-confines-new-song-concrete-club

"A seething industrial-techno bad trip driven by a propulsive beat and metal-inflected vocals," in the words of Revolver, "Concrete Club" appears on Confines' new EP, Work Up the Blood, out December 3rd release on the acclaimed Synthicide label.

Pre-order the EP, available in digital and cassette formats, here: https://synthicide.bandcamp.com/album/work-up-the-blood

Confines is the solo project of David Castillo, a pillar of NYC's music scene in 2021 — co-owner of Brooklyn’s Saint Vitus Bar, co-founder of Faktor Music, and vocalist of Primitive Weapons. The sound is a mix of banging rhythms and heavy ambience, referencing the likes of Nitzer Ebb, Depeche Mode, Vatican Shadow, and the Colombian cumbia music that played in Castillo's childhood home. Taking the music to an even higher and more universal level is Castillo’s impassioned vocal approach –– soulful screams and murmurous melodies reflecting his years in metal and hardcore.

"'Concrete Club' was written in isolation from the only home I ever knew in my adult life, New York City," Castillo states. "The fear-mongering around the uprisings, COVID, the supposed 'anarchy' state of the city, etc... The music is written to convey that ominous vibe while longing for NYC nights where I've often solace from the chaos of the world."

Confines is Castillo's most personal project to date and Work Up the Blood is its ultimate representation so far. In Confines, Castillo has created a space where he can exorcise his own demons while also selflessly providing a thumping, cathartic soundtrack by which for others to find their release.

More info: https://thechainworld.blogspot.com/2021/10/confines-work-up-blood.html

Photo by A.F. Cortes

SO HIDEOUS - "Souvenir (Echo)"

SO HIDEOUS: NYC post-metal visionaries reveal opening track "Souvenir (Echo)" from upcoming new album

NYC post-metal visionaries So Hideous have revealed "Souvenir (Echo)," the opening track from upcoming new album None But a Pure Heart Can Sing.

None But a Pure Heart Can Sing will be released December 3rd on Silent Pendulum Records.

Stream the track and pre-order the album, here:
https://silentpendulumrecords.bandcamp.com/album/none-but-a-pure-heart-can-sing

None But a Pure Heart Can Sing is the New York City band's first new album since 2015's acclaimed Laurestine, released on Prosthetic Records. Described with words like "stunning" and "haunting," 2015's Laurestine is an album of post-metal tempests, augmented by a 30-piece orchestra. BrooklynVegan hailed the album as "devastating, end-of-the-world type sh*t, putting screamo, post-rock, and atmospheric black metal in a blender and really letting those modern classical influences shine with the orchestral parts." Mass Appeal called it "metal heavily influenced by the sound of film scores... atmospheric bliss."

Still raging as hard as ever, still expressing the extremes of torment and beauty, None But a Pure Heart Can Sing sees So Hideous incorporate new sounds and rhythms into its approach. The album features the debut of new bassist DJ Scully and drummer Michael Kadnar – the explosive rhythm section of The Number Twelve Looks Like You.

Brandon Cruz describes in detail the new direction the band has taken: "I think we still have the foundation of what we laid before, being influenced largely by Japanese post-metal bands Mono and Envy, and composers such as Arvo Part and Max Richter. We wanted more rhythm this time and we expanded outward to include influences from Fela Kuti and Tony Allen's Afrobeat percussion, James Brown's horn section, and the balladry of Otis Redding and Sam Cooke. It was also nice to finally experiment a bit with more Penderecki-style tone clusters and glissando on the more dissonant sections."

Absolutely thrilling on a musical level, absolutely cathartic on an emotional level, None But a Pure Heart Can Sing is an example of the triumph of art created with open minds and open hearts.

None But a Pure Heart Can Sing was engineered, mixed and mastered by The Dillinger Escape Plan guitarist Kevin Antreassian at Backroom Studios. The vocals were recorded at Atomic Garden West by Jesse Nichols.

Photo by Sean Ageman

HYRROKKIN & MERZBOW - “Spatially Raised, From Seed To Volatility”

"Fans of these unique projects know that what’s about to emerge from their dystopic womb has been worth the long gestation... it’s raw, disturbing, and sonically violent, as we already knew it would be."

-Cvlt Nation

 Experience The Sonic Violence Of HYRROKKIN & MERZBOW “Spatially Raised, From Seed To Volatility,” via Cvlt Nation, here:

https://cvltnation.com/experience-the-sonic-violence-of-hyrrokkin-merzbow-spatially-raised-from-seed-to-volatility/

“Spatially Raised, from Seed to Volatility” is off of their upcoming album, Faltered Pursuit, which will be released via Sleeping Giant Glossolalia on November 5th, 2021. The final album consists of Merzbow's recordings, topped by Hyrrokkin's accompaniments (performed live, but composed in part by computer), laced with additional contributions from various guest musicians. It was then put in the hands of Rob Mazurek for a total "remix," and was mixed by Jason LaFarge (Swans, Nastie Band) at Seizures Palace in Brooklyn and mastered by James Plotkin (Sunn 0))), Gnaw). The artwork was created by Ian Anderson/The Designers Republic (Aphex Twin, Stern). Preorder, here.

With releases by the likes of Gnaw, Couch Slut, and Nastie Band, Sleeping Giant Glossolalia has been leading the pack when it comes to extreme sounds from the fringes of the avant-metal scene. An exercise in controlled chaos, Hyrrokkin & Merzbow's collab raises the bar once again, pushing the concepts of "collaboration" and "remixing" out into the stratosphere.

The project stems from Hyrrokkin's 2013 Inspire Rioting album, for which the band enlisted artists like KK Null (Zeni Geva) and James Plotkin (Khanate) to remix tracks from its Pristine Origin LP. When they contacted Masami Akita, a.k.a. Merzbow, to contribute, he instead sent over a pair of his own new recordings and invited Hyrrokkin to use them as the basis for new compositions – flipping the script on the typical remix, Merzbow put Hyrrokkin in the cockpit and gave the band the power to build something new from a Merzbow foundation. Here now, years later, is the final result: Faltered Pursuit. It is also Hyrrokkin's swan song. Having shared stages with Black Flag, Body/Head, Deerhoof, Bill Orcutt, Mick Barr, and many more, the Yellow Springs, OH band officially ended its run in 2014; the band's spirit lives on in Ed Ricart's current band, Monotrope, an instrumental, avant-rock quartet which Burning Ambulance has described with these words: "Don Caballero quickly jumps to mind... Rodan, Slint, and perhaps even a bit of the Dazzling Killmen... They continually skirt the boundaries between math rock and those much heavier sonic landscapes."

SLEEPING GIANT GLOSSOLALIA Bandcamp

Website

HYRROKKIN & MERZBOW - Faltered Pursuit

"Hyrrokkin, the now-defunct avant rock trio from Ohio, did not overtly have much in common with the revered Japanese noise experimentalist Merzbow (né Masami Akita)… other than, of course, a shared sense of creative adventurousness sorely lacking from so much modern music. But it’s precisely those sonic differences’ combination with that overlapping willingness to think outside the box that actually makes the two project perfect bedfellows."

- Metal Sucks

Stream Faltered Pursuit in its entirety, via Metal Sucls, here:

https://www.metalsucks.net/2021/11/04/exclusive-album-stream-hyrrokkin-merzbows-faltered-pursuit/

Faltered Pursuit will be released via Sleeping Giant Glossolalia on November 5th, 2021. The final album consists of Merzbow's recordings, topped by Hyrrokkin's accompaniments (performed live, but composed in part by computer), laced with additional contributions from various guest musicians. It was then put in the hands of Rob Mazurek for a total "remix," and was mixed by Jason LaFarge (Swans, Nastie Band) at Seizures Palace in Brooklyn and mastered by James Plotkin (Sunn 0))), Gnaw). The artwork was created by Ian Anderson/The Designers Republic (Aphex Twin, Stern). Preorder, here.

With releases by the likes of Gnaw, Couch Slut, and Nastie Band, Sleeping Giant Glossolalia has been leading the pack when it comes to extreme sounds from the fringes of the avant-metal scene. An exercise in controlled chaos, Hyrrokkin & Merzbow's collab raises the bar once again, pushing the concepts of "collaboration" and "remixing" out into the stratosphere.

The sound of Faltered Pursuit is a glorious, raging onslaught which often overwhelms like seven free-jazz bands playing simultaneously. Yet, there is deep, hypnotic satisfaction lurking here. Hyrrokkin guitarist Ed Ricart explains how the album took shape, and reveals the hidden order behind it:

"Once we had Merzbow's tracks, the process started with a bunch of listening. I wrote down the time code wherever I saw a good opportunity for us to respond to what he was doing. I found some key pitches that worked within these various sections I mapped out. I assigned a numerical value to each of the pitches. I used a random number generator to output sequences, and we used those sequences to determine the order of the pitches I'd selected, and made a bunch of different tone rows that way. I made a giant matrix of these various sequences. I wanted to pay homage to Merzbow's process, giving some control over to the computer, to allow it to influence my own compositional choices. It was fun to approach the composition process as sort of a nod to the genesis of electronic music, serialism, Stockhausen, etc." 

In the summer of 2013, the band recorded the basic tracks for Faltered Pursuit in one afternoon with engineer Bill Skibbe (Protomartyr, Fucked Up, Jack White) at Key Club Recording in Benton Harbor, MI. Pushing the collaborative spirit of the project further, the band invited friends from around the country to contribute new layers to the recording: Jerry Busher (Fugazi, All Scars) tracked additional drums and percussion; Chuck Bettis (Meta-Matics, All Scars, Mossenek) recorded vocals and additional electronics; Andrea Parkins, an integral fixture within NYC's improvised music community and beyond, delivered amplified accordion and electronics. With this part of the project in place, the group then reached out to prolific composer and cornet player Rob Mazurek to completely reimagine their creation for the B-side of the record. Working out of his home in Marfa, TX, Mazurek had free rein to rework the sum total of everything recorded, however he wanted, bringing the entire project full circle to one final layer of long distance reinterpretation. 

"It just seemed outrageous and perfect and somewhat hilarious to put yet another remix on the B-side of this record," says Ricart. 

Faltered Pursuit is an exhilarating example of the possibilities of collaboration, and the interplay of structure and chaos.

Faltered Pursuit Tracklist: 

1. Spatially Raised, From Seed to Volatility 

2. The new economy 'seemed' suddenly to dissipate overnight 

3. Let's All Dance in a Rigorous Line (Rob Mazurek remix)

SLEEPING GIANT GLOSSOLALIA Bandcamp

Website

WINGTIPS - "Run for Shelter"

WINGTIPS: "Run for Shelter" music video now streaming; North American tour kicks off in November

The official music video for Wingtips' track "Run for Shelter" is now streaming via Post-Punk.com.

The song appears on Cutting Room Floor, the Chicago duo's sophomore album, released in September on Artoffact Records.

Stream the video, here:

https://post-punk.com/goth-pop-duo-wingtips-explore-love-and-sensuality-in-their-dance-driven-video-for-run-for-shelter/

Buy the album, here:

https://wingtips.bandcamp.com/album/cutting-room-floor

Of the new album, Post-Punk.com states: "Wingtips’ sophomore album Cutting Room Floor is a love letter to the classic dark pop sound of the 80s, while highlighting songwriting that transcends nostalgia with shimmering melodies and heartfelt emotions that resonate throughout."

A recent review in the Chicago Reader proclaims: "Vincent Segretario and Hannah Avalon have developed an aesthetic steeped in love for theater and the dreamy, dreary sounds of gothy 80s and 90s synth-pop bands, but on Cutting Room Floor they also embrace new directions and experiments—as well as some of their best songwriting yet."

Of the new music video, Wingtips' Vincent Segretario states: “For the music video, we sought to take the story to the next level through movement and dance. Our collaborator, Neil Schwartz, a visionary choreographer based in NYC, truly captured the unique dynamics of the song. The final product is a beautiful story of how love is fluid, and how the uncertainties of life can lead you through divergent paths ultimately finding your true self.”

Having just completed a US fall tour, Wingtips returns to the road in November for more dates, including shows with Vision Video and Lebanon Hanover.

Nov 26 - Tampa, FL @ Crowbar (w/ Vision Video)
Nov 27 - Orlando, FL @ Will's Pub (w/ Vision Video)
Nov 28 - Miami, FL @ Gramps
Dec 2 - Indianapolis, IN @ Black Circle
Dec 4 - Louisville, KY @ Art Sanctuary
Dec 7 - Richmond, VA @ Fallout
Dec 8 - Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery
Dec 9 - Philadelphia, PA @ Warehouse on Watts
Dec 11 - New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
Dec 12 - Providence, RI @ Dusk
Feb 11 - Toronto, ON @ Lee's Palace (w/ Lebanon Hanover)
Feb 12 - Montreal, QC @ Theatre Fairmount (w/ Lebanon Hanover)

Photo by Carlos Azuara

CONFINES - Work Up the Blood

CONFINES: Synthicide label to release new "Work Up the Blood" EP; new track streaming now

NYC vocalist and producer David Castillo announces the release of Work Up the Blood, the newest manifestation of his solo project, Confines. A five-song EP, Work Up the Blood will see a December 3rd release via the acclaimed Synthicide label.

Stream first single "Oro y Muerte" and pre-order the EP, available in digital and cassette formats, here: https://synthicide.bandcamp.com/album/work-up-the-blood

A lynchpin of Brooklyn's nightlife scene for more than a decade, Castillo synthesizes his experiences and passions into Confines, a project which sees him out on his own for the first time and zealously pursuing a new mode of expression.

Castillo's first forays under the Confines name included 2019's debut EP, Geography of Nowhere 1, a Full of Hell remix track, and this year's "Hammer and the Dance" single. This small handful of tracks established the blueprint: hard, seductive industrial-techno built on irresistible rhythms and heavy ambience, the type which could only be created by a person who knows firsthand the euphoria of early morning hours spent on NYC's darkest, smokiest dance floors.

Of the new EP, Castillo states: "I saw Jeff Daniels play Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird on Broadway. Instead of using the phrase 'work up the nerve,' he said 'work up the blood,' and it just hit different. I needed to work up the courage to fully be myself and just explore everything I am, or could become, musically. NO FUCKING FEAR."

On Work Up the Blood, Castillo's newfound energy radiates from every beat and hook. "My ideal for this EP was to create dance music that incorporates the rhythms and bass heaviness that get me excited to move, while juxtaposing it with a memorable mood that gives it depth," he says. The result is five absolute bangers that demand to be spun repeatedly. Reference points range from the militant EBM of Nitzer Ebb to the moody synth-pop of Depeche Mode; from the darkest techno of Vatican Shadow to the Colombian cumbia music that played in Castillo's childhood home. 

"As far as process goes, I recorded a bunch of my own samples in my dad's machine shop," he says. "I produced the entire thing at home." Work Up the Blood's rhythms and textures are designed for maximum impact and they deliver, but the secret weapon is Castillo's singing voice, an element which barely appeared on previous Confines tracks. Castillo peppers Work Up the Blood's songs with soulful screams and murmurous vocal melodies that elevate the EP from mere "electronic music" status to something even greater and more universal – music with the potential to stir the passions of anyone with a pulse. "I am happy to be using my voice more now," he says. "Vocally, I am a product of years in punk, hardcore, metal and that reflects clearly, alongside some new more melodic approaches."

Lyrically, Castillo credits NYC as his first and foremost muse and his lyrics navigate the existential highs and lows of life in the city. But not only has Castillo been a resident of NYC and witness to its extremes, he has been a very central figure in the city's music scene for the past decade. As co-owner and booker of Saint Vitus Bar – the wildly popular Brooklyn venue where all manner of heavy, underground sounds coexist under one roof and where artists ranging from Converge to Dreamcrusher have performed intimate shows since 2011; as a vocalist in stage dive-worthy bands like Primitive Weapons; and, most recently, as the co-founder of new label Faktor Music; Castillo's efforts have arguably been shaping the culture of the very city he is singing about.

Confines is Castillo's most personal project to date and Work Up the Blood is its ultimate representation so far. In Confines, Castillo has created a space where he can exorcise his own demons while also selflessly providing a thumping, cathartic soundtrack by which for others to find their release.

Work Up the Blood was produced entirely by Castillo at his home studio, Chateau Castillo. The EP was mixed and mastered by Kris Lapke (Alberich). The cover art was created by AJ Annunziata.

Tracklist:
1) Oro y Muerte
2) Buried Clothes

3) Every Day the Warehouse Shook

4) Concrete Club

5) Parma at Midnight

Discography:

Geography of Nowhere 1 (EP) - 2019, Synthicide

Angels Gather Here, Confined (Full of Hell remix) - 2019, self-released

Hammer and the Dance (single) - 2021, self-released

Work Up the Blood (EP) - 2021, Synthicide

Photo by A.F. Cortes