PLQ MRX - "Lead Poisoning"

PLQ MRX: Unsane, Ecstatic Vision members drop acid-fried "Lead Poisoning" single and video

Head over to Decibel Magazine now to stream the new PLQ MRX track, “Lead Poisoning,” by way of a trippy music video, and read a new interview with vocalist Cleetus Alreetus Alrightus: https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2025/04/01/track-premiere-plq-mrx-lead-poisoning/

From Philadelphia, PLQ MRX puts forth an extremely grimy, sludgy, acid-fried version of punk, in the spirit of Flipper, Butthole Surfers... and Funkadelic. Pounding mid-tempo drums and walls of guitars are peppered with clown samples and detuned trombones in a dizzying blast of noise rock, psychedelia, and gallows humor.

Members are rumored to hail from such bands as Swans, Unsane, Author & Punisher, and Ecstatic Vision.

New EP Cumgitsum drops April 25th on Reptilian Records (US), Totem Cat Records (EU), and Fuzzed and Buzzed (Canada).

Connoisseurs of the dangerous and depraved might recall a Philadelphia band known as Plaque Marks which surfaced initially in 2017, releasing one EP, Anxiety Driven Nervous Worship, and touring the US with Unsane. Stereogum's review of that EP described it as "primitive and feral... smashed-to-shit vocal distortion, gravel-throated bass tone and a couple guitars that sound like they're being picked with glass shards." Like a crazed phoenix rising from those ashes, PLQ MRX picks up where Plaque Marks left off. Amidst the current noise rock boom, exemplified by the ongoing success of Chat Pile and festivals such as Caterwaul, PLQ MRX puts forth a spectacle that pushes the genre into a more theatrical and psychedelic realm.

Pre-order the EP, here:
US: https://reptilianrecords.bandcamp.com/
EU: https://totemcatrecords.bigcartel.com/
Canada: https://fuzzedandbuzzed.com/

Photos by Gene Smirnov

BRONSON ARM - "Permitted to Be Omitted"

BRONSON ARM: noise rock minimalists drop anthemic new single "Permitted to Be Omitted"; music video streaming now

Bronson Arm has released "Permitted to Be Omitted," the second single from its upcoming album, Casket Schwagg.

Casket Schwagg will be released May 9th on Learning Curve Records. Pre-order the album, here: https://bronsonarm.bandcamp.com/album/casket-schwagg

Stream the official "Permitted to Be Omitted" music video, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udMgPpeopL0

"This track was the first to be written for the new album," says Bronson Arm baritone guitarist and vocalist, Blake Bickel. "It explores feelings of confusion and dread… being lost, and building up the nerve to start over on a monumental task."

Set in one location – a white room in the duo's hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan – the "Permitted to Be Omitted" video commands attention without bells and whistles. Clean and minimal, just like the band's sound, the video captures the interplay of Bickel and drummer Garrett Yates as they pound through the song with intention and control.

Just one year ago, Bronson Arm rattled the underground with the release of their self-titled debut album on Learning Curve. Using only baritone guitar, drums, and voice, the Kalamazoo, Michigan pair boldly introduced its singular style: austere anthems that swelled with tension before bursting open into cathartic hooks. Ominous like Sonic Youth, explosive like Fugazi, Bronson Arm's songs penetrated deep and ultimately sounded like no one else's.

Recorded by Addison Eilers at Analog Time Machine in White Hall, Michigan, mixed by Brandon Eggleston (Swans, Helmet), and mastered by Bickel himself, whose mastering credits include Soft Kill and King Dude, Casket Schwagg is a glorious follow-up that sees this unique band come into full bloom. Across nine hard-rocking songs, Bickel and Yates fully mesmerize with a mix of martial rhythms, doomy tones, and euphoric melodies.

Bronson Arm, live:

April 04 - Grand Rapids, MI - Pux Cider
April 05 - Kalamazoo, MI - Papa Petes
May 15 - Kalamazoo, MI - Bell’s Back Room
May 16 - Minneapolis, MN - Cloudland Theatre
May 17 - Milwaukee, WI - MKE Ultra
June 07 - Michigan City, IN - Burn ’Em Brewing

Photo by Brady Olson

Out today: MERCY TIES - Reflections and Criticisms

Reflections and Criticisms, the new album by Mercy Ties, is out today on The Ghost Is Clear Records.

Reflections and Criticisms is the Pacific Northwest band's first new music in 10 years. Regrouped and revitalized after a hiatus that saw one member relocate to Europe and another commit himself to competitive powerlifting, Mercy Ties has returned with its strongest work yet. Engineered and mixed by Scott Evans (Kowloon Walled City, Sumac) and Chris Common (These Arms Are Snakes, The Mars Volta), the new album is a slab of supremely intense, rain-soaked hardcore that Revolver Magazine compares to "a more brooding Botch."

Stream the album, here: https://mercyties.bandcamp.com/album/reflections-and-criticisms

Buy the LP, here: https://theghostisclearrecords.limitedrun.com/products/863124

Mercy Ties will hit the road in April for a West Coast tour with Throes:

April 18 - Boise, ID @ Realms
April 19 - San Francisco, CA @ Neck of the Woods
April 20 - Fresno, CA @ Destructive Warehouse
April 21 - Los Angeles, CA @ Genghis Cohen
April 22 - Merced, CA @ The Partisan
April 23 - Sacramento, CA @ Cafe Colonial
April 24 - Eugene, OR @ Wandering Goat
April 25 - Portland, OR @ Commonwealth
April 26 - Seattle, WA @ The Black Lodge

"Mercy Ties’ new album, 'Reflections and Criticisms'... [RIYL] original wave screamo ragers Pageninetynine, evil math rockers Botch and French noiseniks Birds in Row."
–Decibel

"With their return, Mercy Ties brings a potent and gripping blend of intense hardcore, infused with elements of sludge and a deep, brooding darkness which permeates their sound."
–Destroy//Exist

"Are you keeping up with The Ghost Is Clear Records? Last year they were voted, by a panel of one, Record Label of the Year, here at Getting It Out, and this year they seem to be doing everything they can to retain that title, as the deluge continues and Mercy Ties is another piece of that."
–Getting It Out

"Tension and release, packed with raw, biting energy... Honesty is the core of 'Reflections and Criticisms,' a work that unpacks themes of human frailty, societal collapse, and existential reckoning."
–Idioteq

"A particular kind of Pacific Northwest-made heaviness (think a more brooding, less mathematically groove-driven Botch)."
–Revolver

Out now: SPIRITWORLD - Helldorado

Helldorado, the third album by SpiritWorld, is out now on Century Media Records. 

The band hits the road April 18th for a North American tour with Obituary, Nails, Terror, and Pest Control.

Purchase the new album, here: https://spiritworld.lnk.to/Helldorado-AlbumPR 

Visit the band's official merch store with exclusive vinyl and Helldorado merch, here: https://spiritworldprophet.com/ 

Stream the latest music video, "Waiting on the Reaper," here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlVkav1Sf9s

"'Helldorado' is just fun as hell. SpiritWorld’s riffage is front-and-center, but you’ll also be singin’ these songs into the moonlight with a clunky guitar and a cup o’ cowboy coffee, pardner."
–Angry Metal Guy

"As concepts go, SpiritWorld's is rock solid. 'Helldorado' is the Las Vegas crew's third album, and the most potent demonstration yet of their unique blend of brutish thrash and sun-scorched Americana."
–Blabbermouth

"Heavy, hard-rockin’ Western twang."
–BrooklynVegan

"No one else out there is blending rockabilly, metal, horror films and quality prose in one place... 'Helldorado, the third album, is a cultural mash-up perfect for these apocalyptic times."
–Decibel

"'Helldorado' is just a ton of fun. The story is packed with mature philosophical asides and campy B-movie allure, like the Coen Brothers collabed with Robert Rodriguez. The heavy instrumentation calls back to the death and thrash metal pantheon, accented extraordinarily well with a keen, finely executed country music aesthetic."
–Everything Is Noise

"Thrash metallers SpiritWorld are back... ['Helldorado'] blends H.P. Lovecraft and Western pulp for one hell of a wild ride."
–Fangoria

"Combining country music and bedazzled outfits with punk aggression and thrash metal riffs, the Las Vegas act are a sight to behold and they return with a vengeance on third full-length album "Helldorado.'"
–Ghost Cult

"Helmed by mastermind Stu Folsom and visualized by artist extraordinaire James Bousema, 'Helldorado' stands tall as a journey navigating all ends of the metal, punk, Western, and hardcore arenas, never settling on linear conventions."
–Heaviest of Art

"'Helldorado' ruthlessly delivers a collection of groovy, raw riffs that ignite the bloodiest mosh pits while also bravely exploring Western themes through folk-punk and alternative country tunes."
–Heavy Music HQ

"Functioning as the completion of his overarching, acid western headtrip, the album bookends what Folsom began with 'Pagan Rhythms' and further built with 'Deathwestern.' More importantly, 'Helldorado' seems to showcase Folsom as a songwriter in the truest sense of the word."
–Knotfest

"The third in what's their calling their 'death-western trifecta' has plenty of twang but is able to dip a toe in a lot of metal flavors still. If you've ever been curious about this band's deal, this would be a great place to sample them and them travel backwards into a whole unique world."
–Metal Injection

"Proudly displaying the dichotomy of his Native American heritage with his old west cowboy lineage as part of the band’s iconography, Folsom braids this seamlessly into the band’s sound that takes from outlaw country, early crossover, and filthy hardcore. Buckle up, buckaroo, because this here’s the wildest ride in the wilderness!"
–New Noise

"I’ve always had a soft spot for Westerns... And, I love me some abrasive deaththrash. So imagine my elation upon finding SpiritWorld who puts these things together as effortlessly as breathing... The band’s third full length 'Helldorado' finds them supremely comfortable with their brand but comfortable enough in their own skin to try new things and shed their bulletproof exterior."
–Nine Circles

"Their ability to churn out absolutely disgusting riffs and fuse them with their Old West aesthetic makes them the most relevant cowboys from Hell since Dimebag did it 30 years ago."
–No Clean Singing

"While Spiritworld’s new 'Helldorado' concludes the band’s gothic-horror-themed album trilogy with some of the most tumbleweed-tumblin’ country sounds of their career thus far, the Las Vegas, Nevada, genre-hoppers are still metal and hardcore kids at heart."
–Revolver

"On their first two albums, 2020’s 'Pagan Rhythms' and 2022’s 'Deathwestern,' Stu Folsom’s Las Vegas punk-metal crew SpiritWorld explored the darker, grimier side of the cinematic myth of the American West. Both records are full of twangy, guttural riffage and demonic cowboys, and they’re a lot of fun... Stu Folsom has long sought to find room for old-school country music influence in his kitsch-damaged hot-rod metallic roar, and 'Helldorado' [steers] further in that direction."
–Stereogum

"Reverend Horton Heat one moment, the next second Slayer. But the beauty of Spiritworld, never more evident than on 'Helldorado,' is that you don’t hear the static between the musical styles. They flow so seamlessly, your head doesn’t spin a millimeter."

–Treble

Out today: SPIRITWORLD - Helldorado

SPIRITWORLD releases third album "Helldorado"; cinematic new "Waiting on the Reaper" music video streaming now

Helldorado, the third album by SpiritWorld, is out today on Century Media Records.

Purchase the album, here:
https://spiritworld.lnk.to/Helldorado-AlbumPR

Visit the band's official merch store with exclusive vinyl and Helldorado merch, here:
https://spiritworldprophet.com/

With the album officially released today, the band has revealed its latest music video. Directed by longtime collaborator Todd Hailstone, the "Waiting on the Reaper" video is a delightfully cinematic clip that brings SpiritWorld's nefarious Western narrative to life. In the spirit of Sergio Leone and Quentin Tarantino, the video depicts a cursed preacher's bloody escape from from an Old West jail. Fans will recognize the clip to be a prequel to SpiritWorld's recently released "Abilene Grime" video, which illustrates that same preacher's ultimate descent to hell.

Stream "Waiting on the Reaper," here: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlVkav1Sf9s

Led by iconoclastic frontman Stu Folsom, SpiritWorld thrives in its own realm, purveying a sound and vision entirely its own. A Las Vegas native whose grandfather worked as a rodeo clown and ranch hand, Folsom has built a universe where thrashy hardcore and country-western stylings coexist in macabre harmony, bonded by a supernatural horror storyline. Stereogum has described the unique project with these words: "A gory symphony that owes as much to Slayer as Cormac McCarthy... A whole fleshed-out universe of pulpy sonic violence inspired by Westerns, horror, outlaw country, the occult, and the heavy metal classics of the late 20th century."

Third album Helldorado sees SpiritWorld indulge in metallic hardcore blitzes, world-weary country-punk stomps, and even a wistful, finger-picked lament. Folsom explains the diversity of the music: "This record, more so than the last two, I think you hear way more fearlessness and confidence in the choices... Maybe it is a risk to incorporate things that will be pretty far out there for the casual punk or metalhead, but having the opportunity to make a record comes with a responsibility to me. I dreamed of making records for so long. I only want to do things in life that I am all in on. If that makes me an outcast or even more fringe than your average underground music act then that's okay. The stench of being genuine is beautiful." 

Guests on the album include Sgah’gahsowáh (Black Braid), Zach Blair (Rise Against), and Frederic Leclercq (Kreator).

Clad in matching Western suits, Folsom and his boys will tour North America this spring with Obituary, celebrating the 35th anniversary of the death metal legends' Cause of Death album.

Obituary, Nails, Terror, SpiritWorld, Pest Control:

Apr 18 - San Antonio, TX @ Aztec Theatre
Apr 19 - Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater
Apr 21 - Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theater
Apr 22 - Mesa, AZ @ The Nile Theater
Apr 23 - Las Vegas, NV @ Fremont Country Club *
Apr 24 - San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
Apr 25 - Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues
Apr 26 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether
Apr 27 - Berkeley, CA @ The UC Theatre
Apr 29 - Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
Apr 30 - Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
May 01 - Boise, ID @ Treefort Music Hall *
May 02 - Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
May 03 - Denver, CO @ The Oriental Theater
May 04 - Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room **
May 05 - Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater
May 06 - Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
May 07 - Detroit, MI @ The Majestic Theatre
May 08 - East Islip, NY @ AMVETS Post 18 **
May 09 - Montreal, QC @ Club Soda
May 10 - Toronto, ON @ The Concert Hall
May 12 - New Kensington, PA @ Preserving Underground
May 13 - Covington, KY @ Madison Live **
May 14 - Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl
May 15 - Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
May 16 - Tampa, FL @ The Orpheum *
May 17 - Jacksonville, FL @ Underbelly **
May 19 - Louisville, KY @ Mercury Ballroom
May 20 - Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
May 21 - Harrisonburg, VA @ Golden Pony **
May 22 - Maspeth, NY @ Knockdown Center
May 23 - Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church *
May 24 - Worcester, MA @ The Palladium
May 25 - Reading, PA @ Reverb
May 26 - Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage +

* Nails headline, no Obituary

** Terror headline, no Obituary

+ Memorial Day Meltdown w/ Nails, Terror, Incendiary, Drug Church, Soul Blind, Pest Control, Doubt, Out To Destroy

Photo by Jasmine Garcia

TONGUECUTTER - Minnow

TONGUECUTTER: thrash and grunge collide on "Minnow," the towering debut album by Michigan power trio; first single "Urgency" streaming now

Learning Curve Records announces the May 2nd release of Minnow, the debut full-length album by Tonguecutter.

Stream the official music video for the first single, "Urgency," here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W0WDQDE1FA

Pre-order the album, here: 

https://tonguecutter.bandcamp.com/album/minnow

A power trio hailing from the remote lakeshore town of Muskegon, Michigan, Tonguecutter initiates a spectacular collision of thrash and grunge on its debut full-length, Minnow. Meaty riffage and sly rhythmic shifts lay a base over which vocalist/guitarist Chantal Roeske lets loose an irradiant display of angst. The jubilant riffage of Suicidal Tendencies, the progressive bent of Voivod, and the almighty howling rage of Hole are all present. But the real greatness lies in Roeske's melodic sensibility, as a singer and songwriter, with each song taking unexpected twists and blooming with unforeseen hooks.

The album's opener and first single, "Urgency," opens with grumbling bass, uppercutting drums, and a bouncing riff that might easily boost the global sale of Pepsi this year. Roeske then takes charge with a voice that commands like the best wailers of the grunge era, culminating in a powerhouse six-second scream that sends the song into a new dimension of odd-time signatures and mesmerizing melodies. Casual listeners might have no idea that the band has cruised discreetly from 12/8 to 11/4 to 5/8 to 7/8, but they will certainly feel the power of Chantal's soaring voice in their chests as she brings the song toward its heart-melting conclusion.

Reflecting on "Urgency," Roeske states, "Last year we had a chemical spill in Muskegon and it inspired us to write this song about escaping chemical warfare." Her lyric, "Pull me out of it before we get sick," delivered with maximum conviction and repeated twice, is especially haunting in the context of the song's story.

"Urgency," along with the other ten songs on Minnow, reveal Roeske to be a rare musical talent with a fully-formed aesthetic. While it is initially shocking that a debut album could be this good, Roeske has in fact been honing her craft in relative obscurity for decades. She gives a glimpse at the long road that led here, as she discusses the mix of influences that initially fueled her more than 30 years ago: "I started my first band as a teenager in 1994, with influences like DRI, Anthrax and Babes in Toyland. It was fast as hell but had a lot of grunge and riot grrrl flavor. Guitar was always really important for me. I loved bands like Seven Year Bitch and L7. I've been a Pixies and Breeders fan since the beginning of time too. Kim Deal is the reason I picked up a guitar."

In Tonguecutter, Roeske is flanked by two strapping collaborators – bassist Addison Eilers and drummer Cam Polidan – whose muscular playing provides the perfect foundation on which to build. The three are proud to be part of a thriving Michigan scene that includes bands such as Cloud Rat, Bronson Arm, and Them Teeth and, despite occasional chemical spills, they have pride in their hometown, a municipality containing less than 40,000 people and a surprising wealth of punk lore. "Muskegon is the jam," declares Roeske. "It’s gritty, real and accessible. It might be small but the people here are legit and authentic. We have an incredibly beautiful lakeshore on Lake Michigan. We’ve got quite a punk legacy here with legendary clubs like The Ice Pick whose owner played drums in GG Allin's band. And Iggy Pop was born here in 1947!"

Minnow was recorded and mixed at Analog Time Machine and mastered by Bronson Arm's Blake Bickel at Dynamic Sound Service. Also making an appearance on the album is Something Is Waiting frontman Eddie Gobbo, who lends his unmistakably sassy, snarling vocals to the track "Antipode."

Tracklist:
1) Urgency
2) Dust Collector
3) Tupperware Party
4) Big Ol' Tree
5) Minnow
6) Do You Play Leads
7) RATAP
8) Bitch Ass Energy
9) Antipode

10) Yarn Horse

11) Bone to Pick

Lineup:
Chantal Roeske - vocals, guitar
Addison Eilers - bass
Cam Polidan - drums

Discography:

Minnow (2025, Learning Curve Records)

Tupperware Party EP (2023, self-released)

Photo by Viki Stark

MERCY TIES - "A New Hell Every Day"

MERCY TIES: reunited Pacific Northwest crew evokes 90s mathcore, demands class consciousness, on seething new single "A New Hell Every Day"

Mercy Ties has revealed "A New Hell Every Day," the third single from its upcoming new album, Reflections and Criticisms.

Stream the track, here: https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2025/03/06/track-premiere-mercy-ties-are-bringing-a-new-hell-every-day

Pre-order the new album, Reflections and Criticisms, out March 28th on The Ghost Is Clear Records, here: https://theghostisclearrecords.limitedrun.com/products/863124

Decibel's Kevin Stewart-Panko describes "A New Hell Every Day" as a mix of "original wave screamo ragers Pageninetynine, evil math rockers Botch and French noiseniks Birds in Row."

Mercy Ties vocalist Andre Sanabria, also frontman for Neurot Recordings rippers Ex Everything, delivers devastatingly blunt lyrics: "Trapped in a world legislated by zealots that believe in mystic realms and fables / Thousands of children slaughtered / Now say to us that any god worth serving would condone such atrocities / We’re condemned to watch it all unfold."

Sanabria discusses the motivation behind the seething track: "The moment we wake up we learn of a new hell every day. We're complicit, like digital serfs toiling and sharing atrocities, catastrophes, scandals with one another, gathered throughout the various fields of social media — while those living in Gaza, Sudan, Yemen, Ukraine, even here in the US, experience it in real time as their daily existence. It’s easier for others to just tune it out, focus on themselves, their loved ones, an empty pursuit of wealth. That's exactly what the ruling class wants: supplication, division and overall anti-intellectualism. The essential message in this song is that class consciousness is the only weapon we have, and if we as a collective will not rise up against the parasitic billionaire class and death driven crypto-fascist evangelicalism, we’re doomed; not as a nation, or a culture, but as a species."

Reflections and Criticisms is Mercy Ties' first new music in 10 years. After a strong start in the 2010s, the Seattle-born band went on hiatus, with some band members migrating away from the Pacific Northwest and away from music. Guitarist Trevor Bebee immersed himself in the world of competitive powerlifting; drummer Chris Pereira relocated to Europe. With the spark reignited now and the band members regrouped, Mercy Ties returns. Engineered by Scott Evans (Kowloon Walled City, Sumac) and Chris Common (These Arms Are Snakes, The Mars Volta), and mastered by Brad Boatright (The Armed, Necrot), Reflections and Criticisms is not only a comeback, it is the band's strongest work yet.

Mercy Ties will hit the road in April for a West Coast tour with Throes:

April 18 - Boise, ID @ Realms
April 19 - San Francisco, CA @ Neck of the Woods
April 20 - Fresno, CA @ Destructive Warehouse
April 21 - Los Angeles, CA @ Genghis Cohen
April 22 - Bakersfield, CA @ 415 BKFD
April 23 - Sacramento, CA @ Cafe Colonial
April 24 - Eugene, OR @ Wandering Goat
April 25 - Portland, OR @ Commonwealth
April 26 - Seattle, WA @ The Black Lodge

Guitarist Trevor Bebee gives this statement about the tour: "When the band began talking about potential shows this year, our good friend Rich Hall — always a strong supporter of our band — stepped in to help us book a tour. We’re grateful for everything he did, not just for us but for the entire live music industry and scene; in honor of his memory the band will be donating a portion of our proceeds from this tour to his family. On this trek we will be joined by some of our oldest buds Throes and we can’t wait to get in the van with them. We hope to see many friends, old and new."