REPTOID - Worship False Gods

REPTOID: one-man industrial/noise-rock phenom unleashes alien sermons and maniacal sounds via homemade gear; Learning Curve Records to release debut full-length "Worship False Gods"; new track streaming now

Learning Curve Records announces the August 28th release of Worship False Gods, the debut full-length album by Reptoid.

Stream new track "Planned Obsolescence," and pre-order the album, here:
https://learningcurverecords.bandcamp.com/album/worship-false-gods

Reptoid is a one-man, industrial-influenced noise-rock band from Oakland, California. The sole member, Jordan Sobolew, surrounds himself with an army of drums, homemade fuzz pedals, noise devices and a sampler, to produce spastic, hypnotizing rhythms, and painfully amplified sounds drenched in effects through an oversized pedal-board full of odd implements. Vocals are delivered through a mic strapped directly to the face by a modified respirator mask. Everything is performed live and without the aid of a computer or backing tracks. "The intent is to convey frenetic, third eye-opening energy," says Sobolew.

Debut full-length Worship False Gods is dazzling. Even those listeners bearing no knowledge of the music's origin will be wowed by Reptoid – an onslaught of churning noise-rock, punctuated by an array of glitchy sounds and propelled by Sobolew's drumming which ranks somewhere between the frantic assaults of Brian Chippendale and the almighty hammering of Dale Crover. Had Worship False Gods been bashed out by a full band, it would be regarded as a devastating slab of experimental rock, in league with Daughters, The Locust or Lightning Bolt. But the kicker is that this is a solo project, composed and performed solely by Sobolew, using a small mountain of highly customized gear. For one person to execute these songs, live, in real time, without any sort of accompaniment or enhancement, is a technical marvel. As an awe-struck Invisible Oranges proclaimed in 2017: "Reptoid encases feral-yet-precise drumming with noxious clouds of noise and maniacal synth. And it’s just one guy." 

Amidst the din, Sobolew sermonizes like an alien preacher diagnosing the human condition, via lyrics such as: "This human machine is obsolete"; "The abyss is waiting, it’s where we’ve always belonged"; "You’ve already been compromised, you’ve already been digitized"; and "Dig a hole and bury yourself to the neck, buy some shit and fill your existential debt." 

He explains: "I have a somewhat misanthropic view of humanity and I enjoy looking at it from the outside perspective of an alien. I would say the major concept behind the album is taking a look at the various gods we worship and base our lives upon. Worshiping human greed, monetary wealth, status, celebrity, power, possessions, things we try to use to fill a void we feel within. Creating systems where we try to become the gods of our own little universes just so we can stand above others and be worshiped ourselves."

For a taste of Reptoid in action, see here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQZFzOeTWr0

Worship False Gods was recorded at Santo Recording Studio in Oakland by Jordan Sobolew with assistance from Joe Finocchio. It was mixed by Jordan Sobolew at his home studio, The Mothership, in Oakland. It was mastered by Carl Saff (Bambara, Big Business, Moor Mother).

Cover design by Jordan Sobolew; cover photo by Christopher Sturm.

Promo photos by Christopher Sturm.

Tracklist:
1) Planned Obsolescence
2) Void Filler
3) You Have Already Been Compromised
4) We Still Can't Decipher the Meaning of Pain
5) This Is Progress
6) Shifted Probed Implanted
7) Cerebral Wall
8) I Drank the Punch

Discography:
Worship False Gods (2020, Learning Curve Records)
Dope, Guns and Fucking in the Streets, Vol. 14 (comp) (2019, Amphetamine Reptile Records)
Split 7” with Conan Neutron and the Secret Friends (2018, Seismic Wave Entertainment)
Scum Supreme 7” (2017, Cool Room/Barcop Records)
Weird Energy cassette (2014, self-released)

Press:

"Reptoid encases feral-yet-precise drumming with noxious clouds of noise and maniacal synth. And it’s just one guy."
–Invisible Oranges

"Strange and awesome... Beautiful weirdness."
–CVLT Nation

"Disgustingly heavy prog-noise beats."
–Gear Gods

"One part theatrics, one part technical difficulties, and two parts crushing wall of sound... A one-man army of machine, percussion, and sweat."
–The Bay Bridged

BOOTBLACKS - Thin Skies

BOOTBLACKS: Artoffact Records to release NYC post-punks' new album Thin Skies; new track streaming now

"Combining the dancefloor edge of Xymox with the anthemic power of early U2."
–Post-Punk.com

Artoffact Records presents the October 9th release of Thin Skies, the new album by Bootblacks.

Stream new track "Traveling Light" and pre-order the album, here:
https://bootblacks.bandcamp.com/album/thin-skies

Following a handful of formative sessions with prolific drummer/producer Jim Sclavunos (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Sonic Youth), the Brooklyn-based Bootblacks released its first EP, Narrowed, in the fall of 2012. Debut full-length Veins came next in 2016 and was backed by extensive touring. 2017's Fragments found the band expanding to a bigger, more atmospheric and synth-heavy sound; the album landed on many year-end lists and helped earn slots on festivals such as Cold Waves, Terminus, Absolution, Wave Gotik Treffen, and Murder of Crows.

Thin Skies, Bootblacks' first album for Artoffact Records, zooms forward where Fragments left off. The nine songs combine a driving, dancefloor pulse with soulful, melodic post-punk, yielding results that are positively anthemic.

Produced by Jason Corbett of Artoffact labelmates ACTORS, Thin Skies evokes scenes of dark days and reckless nights in the urban jungle – a marriage of post-punk emotion and clubland sweat. Frontman Panther Almqvist's brooding voice captivates as it veers from detached cool to deep vulnerability. Guitarist Alli Gorman's hard jangle "channels the trademark delay techniques of [U2's] The Edge," in the words of Post-Punk.com. Keyboardist Barrett Hiatt's arpeggiated synths are the life force pushing the songs relentlessly forward, as Larry Gorman bashes a mix of acoustic and electronic drums with power and perfection. Backing vocals come courtesy of Shannon Hemmett (ACTORS) and Kennedy Ashlyn (SRSQ, Them Are Us Too).

Bootblacks' hometown of New York City is integral to Thin Skies' sound. The band's name itself is said to be derived from novelist William Burroughs’ description of the dark underbelly of glitzy NYC. Almqvist states: "It's an energetic city and people have all the reasons in the world not to give you the time of day. I think our music has been shaped by that in many ways."

The loneliness of city life pervades the album's music and lyrics. "Most of the lyrics on the album are about loneliness," says Almqvist. "Looking back on the lyric writing process there seems to be some connective feeling of isolation and distance present in all of the songs... I'm always hoping that a listener personalizes the song, that's why the songs never have a narrative but try to embody a feeling."

As well as playing shows at every significant venue in NYC, sharing stages with the likes of Clan of Xymox, Light Asylum, HEALTH, and VOWWS, along the way, Bootblacks has toured North America and Europe, most recently being handpicked by Modern English as direct support for a 2020 North American tour (currently postponed).

Tracklist:
1) Traveling Light (feat. Shannon Hemmett of ACTORS)
2) The Jealous Star
3) Thin Skies
4) Hidden Things
5) Parallel
6) Nostalgia Void
7) Brouhaha
8) New Lines (feat. Kennedy Ashlyn of SRSQ)
9) Inextinguishable

Lineup:
Panther Almqvist - vocals
Alli Gorman - guitar
Barrett Hiatt - synth
Larry Gorman - drums

Discography:
Thin Skies (2020, Artoffact Records)
Fragments (2017, Manic Depression Records)
Veins (2016, self-released)
Narrowed (2012, self-released)

Cover art by Jen Black
Band photo by Katrin Albert

DEAD QUIET - Truth and Ruin

DEAD QUIET: Artoffact Records announces Vancouver heavy metallers' epic third album, "Truth and Ruin"; new track streaming now 

"One of the most imaginative but reassuringly bludgeoning examples of post-millennial Iommi-worship currently available to human ears... Veering from full-throttle metal riffing to swirling, woozy psychedelic squalls with the ease of intuitive masters, they sound like a band that simply understand what makes heavy music tick and why enduring ideas are very often the best ones."
–Metal Hammer 

Artoffact Records announces the September 11th release of Truth and Ruin, the new album by Dead Quiet.

Stream new track "The Sign of a Sealed Fate" and pre-order the album, here:
https://deadquiet.bandcamp.com/album/truth-and-ruin

From Vancouver, Canada, comes Dead Quiet. The third full-length album, Truth and Ruin, shows the band at its peak, delivering its arena-ready, proto-metal bacchanal with power and flair. Dead Quiet's dramatic, organ-heavy songs are saturated with respect for the hard rock and heavy metal titans of the late '70s and early '80s – there are traces of blazing Deep Purple jams and hellbent Judas Priest bangers – but the band rocks with a prowess all its own. Dead Quiet respects its elders while fully owning its own craft. It is a fine balance, which brings to mind Ghost, among others.

Vocalist Kevin Keegan, formerly of Metal Blade band Barn Burner, has range and charisma in spades – in 2018, Metal Hammer declared that he might be "the next great stoner rock visionary." In league with Keegan are guitarist Brock MacInnes, also of Anciients, newest member Mike Rosen on keyboards, and the rhythm section of bassist Mike Grossnickle and drummer Jason Dana.

Of new album Truth and Ruin, frontman Keegan states: "We just wanted to make a record that was relentless. On Grand Rites we took our time and meandered quite a bit but with Truth and Ruin it was more about 'point and shoot,' always keeping us and the listener on their toes. I love a good hook. I like the idea of a song that rips but also gets stuck in your head like a good pop song."

Of the album's lyrics, Keegan says: "I had a really rough year and the inspiration came from there. I was in a really unhealthy relationship, I had some friends pass away, and I experienced some real trauma in my line of work as a frontline worker dealing with the fentanyl epidemic. Brock, Dana, and I all work in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver as mental health, overdose prevention, and harm reduction workers."

Truth and Ruin was engineered and mixed by Jesse Gander (Japandroids, White Lung) at Rain City Recorders in Vancouver, BC. It was mastered by Alan Douches (Mastodon, Chelsea Wolfe) at West West Side Music in Hudson Valley, NY.

Since its formation in Vancouver in 2014, Dead Quiet has toured with the likes of John Garcia (Kyuss) and Cancer Bats, and played festivals like Desertfest and Into the Void.

Recommended if you like: Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy, Metallica, Queens of the Stone Age, Graveyard, Witchcraft, Ghost.

Tracklist:
1) Atoned Deaf
2) Forever Unsung
3) Of Sound and Fury
4) Truth and Ruin
5) Partial Darkness
6) The Sign of a Sealed Fate
7) Cold Grey Death

Lineup:
Kevin Keegan - vocals, guitar
Brock MacInnes - guitar
Mike Grossnickle - bass
Mike Rosen - keyboards, backing vocals
Jason Dana - drums

Discography:
Truth and Ruin (2020, Artoffact Records)
Dead Quiet (2019, Artoffact Records)
Grand Rites (2017, Artoffact Records)

Cover art by Taylor Borque 
Band photo by Milton Stille

DEATH EYES EP + Video

"It's a bittersweet release, and it's all the proof you need that Alberto was taken from us as he was at the height of his powers as a vicious punk vocalist."

- BrooklynVegan

Stream the EP here, along with the video for "Management Is Not Your Friend", via BrooklynVegan, here.

Death Eyes first came to be in January of 2014, a merging of members from San Diego bands Rats Eyes and Death Crisis (hence the name), made up of Alberto Jurado (vocals), Jimmy Armbrust (bass), Jason Blackmore (guitar), and John Cota (drums). More recently, Cole Mears took over as bassist, with plans of more extensive touring. Having played with bands such as The Weirdos, Agent Orange, M.D.C., Nails, and Big Business, it’s evident that what emerged was something brutal, potent, and relevant to hardcore punk. Tragically, in the midst of working on what was to be their upcoming LP, the band suddenly lost vocalist Alberto Jurado in January 2020, just weeks before they were set to tour with Big Business. This EP is what was completed from these final sessions. The accompanying video for “Management Is Not Your Friend” serves as a mix of brutal, relevant found footage, as well as live performances that celebrate all of the life and swagger that Alberto had, always.

“We Miss You, Alberto. Rock’n Roll!!!”

Death Eyes’ final EP, State of Fear, will be released digitally through Three One G Records on July 3rd. Preorder, here.

State of Fear EP:

1. Management Is Not Your Friend

2. State of Fear

3. Untitled

DEATH EYES Bandcamp

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ASEITAS - "Blood into Oil"

ASEITAS: extreme metal boundary-pushers sign with Translation Loss Records; vinyl release of new album "False Peace" confirmed; new single "Blood into Oil" streaming now 

Aseitas have released the third single from their upcoming new album, False Peace.

Stream the sprawling, progressive, 10-minute epic, "Blood into Oil," here:
https://aseitas.bandcamp.com/track/blood-into-oil-2

False Peace will be released digitally on July 10th.

In an exciting turn of events, venerable independent label Translation Loss Records announces today that they have signed the band and will release a vinyl version of False Peace on September 25th.

Pre-order Translation Loss' vinyl release, here:
https://translationloss.com/

Gage Dean of Aseitas states: "We are absolutely elated to announce our signing with Translation Loss Records. 'False Peace' is set to be released as a vinyl double record on September 25th, with pre-orders now available through TL's website. Their synergistic vision and dedication to seeing this release through have been nothing short of inspiring; we look eagerly towards a future of aural destruction together."

Drew Juergens of Translation Loss states: "I’m beyond honored to be able to collaborate and help release Aseitas’ stunning new record 'False Peace.'  From the moment I heard the first single 'Scalded,' I knew I was listening to something groundbreaking. I was immediately blown away by their truly immersive use of noise and death-laden doom and got the same feeling I had hearing TL bands Wake, Teeth, Rosetta and Mouth Of the Architect (among many TL acts) for the first time. It was something that was undeniable and uniquely all its own. I hope the world is ready, because this record is going to mow you over."

From Portland, Oregon, Aseitas belongs to an echelon of extreme metal bands prevailing on two fronts simultaneously: challenging the mind while punching the gut. Equally progressive and savage, Aseitas marries the far-reaching and heady with the grounded and visceral.

Sophomore album False Peace is a courageous 72-minute journey, dense with musical ideas – a wildly adventurous brand of death metal that veers freely into noise and post-rock realms.

With dizzying shred, soaring melody, pensive interludes, and hideous slime-grooves, Aseitas has burned the rule books and created an album of vivid color that should thrill fans of any and all forms of adventurous music.

Artwork by Noah Cutter Meihoff.

Band photo by Sam Forencich.

More info:
http://thechainworld.blogspot.com/2020/05/aseitas-false-peace.html

SEEMING - The Birdwatcher's Guide to Atrocity

SEEMING: Artoffact Records to release post-industrial mastermind's third album, The Birdwatcher's Guide to Atrocity; new track streaming

Artoffact Records presents the August 21st release of The Birdwatcher's Guide to Atrocity, the third full-length album by Seeming.

Stream new single, "Remember to Breathe," here:
https://open.spotify.com/album/3KFwqGWmycn1IqAmclEeaE

Pre-order the album, here:
https://seeming.bandcamp.com/album/the-birdwatchers-guide-to-atrocity

Menacing but vulnerable, furious but intimate, Seeming's post-industrial music is on the fringe of a new generation of heavy, dark, cerebral pop. The upcoming The Birdwatcher's Guide to Atrocity bears traces of elder visionaries, from Peter Gabriel and Roger Waters, to Diamanda Galás and Trent Reznor, and places Seeming in the company of modern-day darlings like Drab Majesty, Blanck Mass, and The Knife.

Led by New York-based author, theorist, and composer Alex Reed, Seeming broke out in 2014 with its Madness & Extinction LP, earning an Album of the Year award from darkwave tastemakers I Die: You Die. Sophomore album SOL: A Self-Banishment Ritual, released in 2017, was named Album of the Decade by UK blog A Model of Control.

With pounding drums, a dazzling palette of synth sounds, and Reed's voice exuding both confidence and humility, Seeming’s third album, The Birdwatcher's Guide to Atrocity, is another staunchly unique masterpiece – a breathtaking work from an artist who reinvents himself with every song.

Urgent in tone, grandiose in style, The Birdwatcher's Guide to Atrocity was co-produced with renowned avant-garde percussionist Sarah Hennies and features a guest vocal by Bill Drummond of legendary, inscrutable, UK duo The KLF – Drummond's first recorded vocal appearance in two decades.

Via brilliant lyrics, The Birdwatcher's Guide to Atrocity speaks with radically progressive fervor to social, political and environmental crises of today. The album is startlingly in sync with the news headlines of summer 2020, though the songs were composed prior to these events: "The Flood Comes for You" features the phrase "I can't breathe"; "Go Small" and "Celebration Song" both address a "virus"; and the album title itself takes on eerie significance in light of the Amy Cooper incident in Central Park.

Reed states: "The album is about the struggle to remain alive and sane while coping with Earth's insanity and cruelty. But it also brims with reminders of how to survive another day." Whilst acknowledging apocalypse, it ultimately uplifts and empowers.

The Birdwatcher's Guide to Atrocity was recorded by Reed, with Aaron Fuleki and Sarah Hennies, in various locations: Ithaca, NY, Amsterdam and the south of France. "We recorded in garages, outdoors in fields, and at airports," claims Reed.

As a companion to The Birdwatcher’s Guide to Atrocity, Artoffact will release bonus album Monster. Undulous and looming, Monster showcases Reed’s more sprawling songs. 

As an author, Reed's works include the 400-page Assimilate: A Critical History of Industrial Music and a 33 1/3 book about They Might Be Giants' Flood. He is currently Associate Professor of Music at Ithaca College.

Tracklist:
1) The Fates
2) Go Small
3) Someday Lily
4) The Flood Comes for You
5) Remember to Breathe
6) End Studies
7) Permanent
8) Reality Is Afraid
9) Learn to Vanish (feat. Bill Drummond of The KLF)
10) Celebration Song

Lineup:
Alex Reed - songwriting, vocals, instruments
Aaron Fuleki - drums
with
Sarah Hennies - drums

LPs:
The Birdwatcher's Guide to Atrocity (2020)
SOL: A Self-Banishment Ritual (2017)
Madness & Extinction (2014)

EPs, singles, bonus collections:
Monster (bonus album) (2020)
Life on Mars (single) (2019)
Talk About Bones (EP) (2017)
Faceless (EP) (2017)
Worldburners (EP) (2015)
Silent DiscoVery (8-Track) (2014)
Silent Disco (single) (2014)

Band photo by Benjamin Torrey

Out today: NETHERLANDS - Zombie Techno

Netherlands' new album, Zombie Techno is out today on Records And Tapes Records.

Stream the album and buy it, here:
https://thenetherlands1.bandcamp.com/album/zombie-techno

Brooklyn band Netherlands has been cranking out its psych-prog-sludge-pop since 2012 – somewhere between the colossal weight of the Melvins, the sugary hooks of Torche, the gleeful drama of Rush, and the absurdism of Frank Zappa. Founder Timo Ellis' lyrics contain scathing critiques of capitalism, materialism, and environmental devastation.

Zombie Techno was recorded by Ellis, mixed by Adam Sachs (Swans, Joan As Policewoman), and mastered by Ron A. Shaffer (Tricky, Usher). With Zombie Techno out now, Netherlands is already at work on the next album –  the as-yet-untitled sixth full-length is being recorded with Converge's Kurt Ballou at GodCity Studio (Torche, High On Fire) and mixed by Grammy-nominated producer Alex Berthelot (Gojira, Frank Ocean).

"Purveying a kaleidoscopic, sugary yet heavy sound that's been described as 'psych-prog-sludge-pop,' New York's Netherlands have won over big-name fans including Mastodon's Bill Kelliher and Gojira's Joe Duplantier, the latter of whom has called them 'one of my absolute favorite bands!' Led by vocalist-guitarist-songwriter Timo Ellis, the quartet are gearing up to drop their fifth full-length, 'Zombie Techno'...The LP includes the single 'We're All Gonna Die One Day,' aptly titled for our apocalyptic times, a churning, bottom-heavy cut that shimmers with sarcastically sunny hooks."
–Revolver

"The song states its intent with some laid-back synths, an ultra slow tempo, and some equally soft vocals. However, anybody familiar with Netherlands' work know that conventions settle only for a limited period, and a surprise shift into more turbulent industrial recesses adds a whole new bombastic persona to the song. Genius! As a whole, 'Zombie Techno' has the potential to be 'album of the year' material."
–Everything Is Noise

"Some of their greatest work to date."
–New Noise