AXIS - Shift

"Axis have now officially joined the ranks of cutting-edge metallic-hardcore bands in the grand tradition of Converge... Their sound is white-hot fire and seething vitriol and everything great about extreme music."
–MetalSucks

Metallic hardcore powerhouse Axis returns with sophomore album Shift, coming November 10th on Good Fight Music. 

Hear first single "Fear and Impulse," here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3LHeNJ6a64

Before Shift, there was Axis' 2015 debut full-length, Show Your Greed, which compelled Stereogum to describe the band as rightful heirs to '90s heroes Botch, Turmoil, and Kiss It Goodbye. An all-out assault, Show Your Greed pummeled and bruised, and Axis took its show on the road with bands like Old Wounds and Homewrecker.

Rather than trying to top the tooth-gnashing of Show Your Greed, Axis then took a left-turn in 2016 and teamed up with adventurous Memphis trio Seraph/The Light to create a collaborative EP which saw the two bands merge into one unholy mega-church, pounding out a slower, crushing vibe inspired by Neurosis and Cult of Luna.

Upcoming new album Shift is the culmination of all this recent history, taking the bark and bite of Show Your Greed and boosting it with lessons learned from the Seraph/The Light experiment – namely, a thicker, more massive sound, and a masterful wielding of tension via the interplay of guitarists Dylan Downey and Patrick Chumley. 

Shift also marks the departure of frontman Rafael Morales, and the transition of Axis from 5-piece to 4-piece, with guitarist Downey taking on vocals in addition to guitar. Drummer Thomas Cantwell and bassist Tyler Forsythe (also both members of Gouge Away, currently on tour with Touche Amore) have beefed up their attack into an all-powerful wallop.

Downey states: "The goal with Shift was to write a much more dynamic, compelling, and emotionally provocative album than Show Your Greed. Writing the collaborative record with Seraph/The Light last year played possibly the largest role in pushing our creative boundaries. We also drew influence from a much wider breadth of artists – a lot from the Hydrahead catalog – along with more unlikely influences like Shellac and Drive Like Jehu."

Axis' bellicose personality is in full effect on bangers like "Fear and Impulse" and "Ravine"; "Faith" adds haunting vocals; "Consume" batters with Albini-style weight and repetition; and "The Altruist" is an absolutely earth-shaking dirge. Aptly titled, Shift is a document of a band in transition – and creating astonishing art in the process.

Shift was recorded and mixed by Andy Nelson (Weekend Nachos, Harm's Way), with additional recording by Ethan Murphy (Blistered) at Back Forty Recording. The album was mastered by Brad Boatright (Nails, Full of Hell). 

Tracklist:
1) Shift I
2) Fear and Impulse
3) Sovereign
4) Solipsism
5) Parasitic Eye
6) Faith
7) Ravine
8) Consume
9) Soma
10) The Altruist
11) Shift II
12) Tightrope

Lineup:
Dylan Downey - vocals, guitar
Patrick Chumley - guitar
Tyler Forsythe - bass
Thomas Cantwell - drums

Press for Axis' 2015 album Show Your Greed:

"If you think fondly of hateful Philly bands like Starkweather and Turmoil; if you were down with Converge and Coalesce back when they played mathy chugga-chugga-stop breakdowns; if you wish Botch, Burnt By The Sun, and Kiss It Goodbye had released more music: congratulations! You have the chutzpah to appreciate the good kind of metalcore... Axis pretty much stick to the established template for this kinda thing on Show Your Greed, but they are so goddamn good at it..."
–Stereogum

 "A hellish storm of gnashing teeth and balled-up fists... This is straight up pummelling you into the ground with every passing second."
–Metal Injection

"Packing plenty of punch for modern-day hardcore crowds, [Axis] definitely recalls the discordant '90s work of Turmoil, Deadguy, and Kiss It Goodbye. 'Discouraged' hits like a sledgehammer, with atonal, chunky riffage and bone-bashing grooves supporting full fierce tough guy howling."
–Exclaim!

Cover art by Katharine Leigh Lyons

Photo by Mike Moynihan

MONOTROPE - Unifying Receiver

Monotrope announces the November 10th release of debut album Unifying Receiver on New Atlantis Records.

Listen to "Monoliths," from Unifying Receiver, here:
https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2017/09/28/monotrope-collaborating-greg-ginn-merzbow/

A brand new collaboration, Monotrope exists in a realm of instrumental rock that is progressive in its musicality but punk at its core. In a space between the twists and turns of Don Caballero, and the raw, heartbreaking power of Slint or Rodan, Monotrope's compositions drive forward, equal parts complexity and grit. Guitars intertwine in dissonant, polyrhythmic webs, while the rhythm section forges ahead on a straighter, unrelenting path. Abstract and intricate when viewed closely, Unifying Receiver rocks hard from the bird's eye view; its six songs are emotive, guitar-driven tales of struggle and catharsis, travel and arrival, tension and release.

Tracked in a DIY fashion at four locations across the nation, and mixed by Tim Green (Melvins, Sleater-Kinney), the recording is as live and natural as can be – straight from the creators' hands to your ears – yet the sound is rich and full, and a joy to get lost in. The album was mastered by Carl Saff (Unsane, Big Business).

A truly bicoastal bunch, the Monotrope members are spread wide across the USA, representing California, Texas, Ohio, and Maryland. Guitarist Ed Ricart, known from bands such as Hyrrokkin and Matta Gawa, is owner of New Atlantis Records, the label handling the Unifying Receiver release, whose catalog boasts an awesome range of acts from the experimental fringes of jazz, rock, and noise. Bassist Matthew Taylor is a member of Bellini, alongside Girls Against Boys drummer Alexis Fleisig, and worked for years as art director for Touch & Go Records, designing iconic album layouts for the label's revered roster of bands.

Ricart and Taylor are flanked by guitarist Dan Wilson (ex-Hurl) and drummer Joe Barker (Unraze). Between the four of them, these men have collaborated in one way or another with a phonebook's worth of eminent musicians: from avant icons like Glenn Branca and Merzbow, to members of hardcore and indie-rock royalty like Black Flag, Fugazi, Brainiac, and Tortoise. 

On Unifying Receiver these vets channel their vast experience into a sound which reflects their next-level musicianship and love for the avant, but which, above all else, bursts with feeling and takes us on a ride. Without words, this album says a lot. 

Ricart offers this perspective: "The title Unifying Receiver was chosen to convey a general sense of monolithic potential and hope, despite things obviously not feeling all that hopeful lately...  It seems to me like some messianic entity in receivership of the sum total of the world's bullshit and filth and misery, and through facilitating the processing of said bullshit, it effectively aids and transcends it all and brings the world together on commonalities instead of points of division. Which is effectively what many people do in some capacity, every day, seeing and experiencing various degrees of beauty and misery, processing it all, and hopefully finding ways to weave tighter bonds with others and ourselves in the process."  

Tracklist:
1) XLIII
2) Aileron Pair
3) Monoliths
4) Ganoderma
5) Thirty Nine
6) Long Form

In addition to New Atlantis' vinyl and digital release, a cassette release is in the works with Sleeping Giant Glossolalia.

Edward Ricart - guitar
Dan Wilson - guitar
Matthew Taylor - bass
Joe Barker - drums

Photo by Jay Divinigracia

VITRIOL - Pain Will Define Their Death

From Portland, Oregon, Vitriol prepares the release of sophomore EP Pain Will Define Their Death, a recording that will establish this band as one of the most thrilling new prospects in extreme metal.

Watch the video for "Victim," a track from Pain Will Define Their Death, here:
http://www.metalinjection.net/video/vitriols-victim-music-video-is-slow-motion-fast-paced-brutality-at-its-finest

Due for release on November 10th, Pain Will Define Their Death sets forth Vitriol's sound in no uncertain terms. Through the EP's three tracks, the band lashes out with a style rooted in the turn-of-the-millennium works of Morbid Angel, Hate Eternal, and Nile – death metal landmarks like Gateways to Annihilation, King of All Kings, and Black Seeds of Vengeance. Vitriol's three members – guitarist/vocalist Kyle Rasmussen, bassist/vocalist Adam Roethlisberger, and drummer Scott Walker – attack the hallowed genre with a fresh aggression that cannot be faked. Dense, visceral, overwhelming, Vitriol's tornado of sound is familiar but new.

On top of this base, Vitriol adds inspiration from avant-black visionaries like Xasthur and Deathspell Omega. Faint blackened layers open emotional dimensions beyond the scope of brutish death metal. In the words of guitarist/vocalist Rasmussen: "Black metal provides a spiritual and emotional violence, whereas death metal provides the physical violence. I wanted to be able to impart all of these experiences with our music. A full existential attack."

Lyrically, Vitriol is committed to this vision of violence – not gore but a broader, more poetic view of it. The EP kicks off with the following lines, setting the tone: "A hammer to crash through what it is to be human / Wield it with contempt or have it torn from your arm / We are wolves chewing at the ankles of the world."

As Rasmussen explains, "Violence is the element that will always be found in any Vitriol song. Trivializing the human experience and shining a light on its frailty and natural cowardice. Vitriol isn't so much about being above those things, just acknowledging them, detesting them, and punishing them. Sometimes even in myself." He considers this harsh perspective to be inclusive, not elitist: "I truly believe that what we want to communicate and represent with our band is a universal truth to everyone. We're trying to tap into something that everyone has inside of them, to varying degrees. It's base, it's instinctual."

Pain Will Define Their Death was recorded by the band and Derek Leisy at Audiosiege (Obituary, Full of Hell), and mixed by Taylor Young (Nails, Xibalba). It was mastered by Stephan Hawkes (Red Fang). The result is a raw, natural performance, captured purely, without studio gloss, but finalized with a mastering job that allows all the breakneck complexity of the music to be discerned.

Extreme metal, of the blasting, athletic variety, is a game of inches – within a limited space and rule-set, many bands clamor to be heard. In order to shine in this arena, a band must possess something ineffable that sets it apart. Vitriol has that edge: that extra burst of energy, that extra beat per minute, that extra quart of passion. Above all, there is realness coursing through every note of this band's work – you can hear the blood and sweat in the mix – and that is what indicates this band could be one of the greats.

Vitriol, live:
Oct 11 - Portland, OR @ Tonic Lounge (w/ Hissing)

Tracklist: 
1) Pain Will Define Their Death
2) Victim
3) Violence, A Worthy Truth

Lineup: 
Kyle Rasmussen - guitar, vocals
Adam Roethlisberger - bass, vocals
Scott Walker - drums

Cover art by Melissa DiMartino

Photos by Charlotte Gane

PLAQUE MARKS + BrooklynVegan

"The most primitive and feral elements of its style... John Bonham kick tone, smashed-to-shit vocal distortion, gravel-throated bass tone and a couple guitars that sound like they're being picked with glass shards... Cruelly effective."
–Stereogum

"Rising Philly noise rock royalty Plaque Marks... Nasty in all the right ways."
–Decibel

"Their sound takes cues from the style Unsane helped define."
–BrooklynVegan

Philly noise-rock all-stars Plaque Marks have unleashed new song "Oregon Chem-Trail" upon the world today. An absolute banger of the rawest, most caustic variety, "Oregon Chem-Trail" appears on the band's upcoming debut EP, Anxiety Driven Nervous Worship, out October 27th on Learning Curve Records.

Listen, here:
http://www.brooklynvegan.com/plaque-marks-creepoid-ecstatic-vision-fight-amp-prep-ep-touring-w-unsane/

The self-proclaimed "stain on the smile of the Philadelphia music scene," Plaque Marks comprises members of Creepoid, Fight Amp, Ecstatic Vision, and The Powder Room. Caveman drumming, tooth-rattling bass, painfully distorted guitars, and buried yells are the elements at play, and on Anxiety Driven Nervous Worship they sound like they were recorded with one lone mic, hanging from a noose in a Philly warehouse. 

The band hits the road with none other than Unsane for a cross-country trek in November and December.

Unsane, Plaque Marks:
Nov 17 - Brooklyn, NY @ Saint Vitus 
Nov 18 - Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
Nov 19 - Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter
Nov 20 - Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
Nov 21 - New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa
Nov 25 - Austin, TX @ Lost Well
Nov 26 - Fort Worth, TX @ Ridglea Lounge
Nov 28 - Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
Nov 29 - Las Vegas, NV @ Beauty Bar
Dec 1 - San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
Dec 3 - Sacramento, CA @ Blue Lamp
Dec 4 - Eugene, OR @ Old Nick's
Dec 5 - Seattle, WA @ Highline
Dec 6 - Vancouver, BC @ Cobalt
Dec 7 - Portland, OR @ Tonic Lounge
Dec 8 - Boise, ID @ Neurolux
Dec 9 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Diabolical Records
Dec 10 - Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive

Pre-order Anxiety Driven Nervous Worship, digital:
http://plaquemarks.com

Pre-order Anxiety Driven Nervous Worship, vinyl:
https://learningcurverecords.bandcamp.com/album/anxiety-driven-nervous-worship

Photo by Dante Torrieri

GOD MOTHER + Metal Injection

"God Mother are one of Sweden's most vicious exports..."
–Metal Injection

"God Mother, the Swedish powerhouse signed to Party Smasher Inc, escape easy classification. Their blend of sludge, hardcore, punk and grindcore is blistering."
–Decibel

"An utterly relentless burst of skittish Swedish metal... God Mother have basically taken spazzy, Melvinsy, HM-2-y mathcore to Pluto."

–Gear Gods

"A pummeling rapture of audio violence."
–Loudwire

"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!"

–Ben Weinman of The Dillinger Escape Plan

Metal Injection has premiered the new music video for God Mother's track, "Weak," off the Swedish band's upcoming new album Vilseledd. Watch the clip, here – a typical Swedish breakfast, descending into psychedelic horror:
http://www.metalinjection.net/video/god-mother-weak-is-heavily-gruesome-for-the-ears-and-eyes

Vilseledd will be released October 20th on Party Smasher Inc, the label founded by Ben Weinman of The Dillinger Escape Plan.

Pre-order, here:
http://partysmasherinc.limitedrun.com/

On Vilseledd, 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."

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.

The "Weak" video was filmed by David Ahrström and Pär Rockner, and edited by Oleg Rooz.

Photo by Stephen Odom

REPTOID + Cvlt Nation

“There’s really no accurate way to describe the beautiful weirdness REPTOID create…”

-Cvlt Nation

“'The New Reality' is one of the heaviest things you’ll hear all summer: as abrasively noisy as it is fuzzily earworm-y. And, of course, there’s a badass concept of inter-dimensional reptilians controlling our society a la They Live."
- Gear Gods

“This noise-punk brain-child of Jordan Sobolew attacks listeners with abrasive tones and angular drumming patterns that are sure to please fans of the sonically abstract. However, even with the project thematically assuming the perspective of a malevolent shape-shifting alien, the songs aren’t so unapproachable as to alienate all but the most die-hard of noise-philes.”

-Ghettoblaster Magazine

“Reptoid encases feral-yet-precise drumming with noxious clouds of noise and maniacal synth. And it’s just one guy. ...Reptoid crafts complex mathcore that rests on the same echelon as that of The Locust, Daughters and Lightning Bolt.”

--Invisible Oranges

Check out the video premiere of Reptoid's newest video, "Overlords," via Cvlt Nation, here.

Scum Supreme was recorded and mixed by Jordan Sobolew in Oakland, CA. Mastered by Nick Zampiello at New Alliance East Mastering. The EP will be released on 7” vinyl on August 24th through Cool Room Records and Barcop Records, as well as digitally through all major outlets (including iTunes, Amazon, Apple Music, Spotify, etc.). Preorder here.

Scum Supreme EP:

1. Dead Planet
2. The New Reality
3. Overlords

THECHAINWORLD.COM

New website is live!

DEAD CROSS Afterparty

NYC, come hang out!

PLAQUE MARKS + Unsane

"The most primitive and feral elements of its style... John Bonham kick tone, smashed-to-shit vocal distortion, gravel-throated bass tone and a couple guitars that sound like they're being picked with glass shards... Cruelly effective."
–Stereogum

"Rising Philly noise rock royalty Plaque Marks... Nasty in all the right ways."
–Decibel

"Philly noise rock royalty" Plaque Marks will hit the road in November as main support for the legendary Unsane on a large chunk of the band's coast-to-coast North American tour. 

Unsane, Plaque Marks:
Nov 17 - Brooklyn, NY @ Saint Vitus 
Nov 18 - Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
Nov 19 - Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter
Nov 20 - Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
Nov 21 - New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa
Nov 25 - Austin, TX @ Lost Well
Nov 26 - Fort Worth, TX @ Ridglea Lounge
Nov 28 - Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
Nov 29 - Las Vegas, NV @ Beauty Bar
Dec 1 - San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
Dec 3 - Sacramento, CA @ Blue Lamp
Dec 4 - Eugene, OR @ Old Nick's
Dec 5 - Seattle, WA @ Highline
Dec 6 - Vancouver, BC @ Cobalt
Dec 7 - Portland, OR @ Tonic Lounge
Dec 8 - Boise, ID @ Neurolux
Dec 9 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Diabolical Records
Dec 10 - Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive

The self-proclaimed "stain on the smile of the Philadelphia music scene," Plaque Marks is a new quartet comprising members of Creepoid, Fight Amp, Ecstatic Vision, and The Powder Room. Debut EP Anxiety Driven Nervous Worship is set to drop October 27th on Minneapolis label Learning Curve Records. 

Listen to new song "Plaque Marks," here: 
http://plaquemarks.com

Caveman drumming, tooth-rattling bass, painfully distorted guitars, and buried yells are the elements at play, and on Anxiety Driven Nervous Worship they sound like they were recorded with one lone mic, hanging from a noose in a Philly warehouse. Lyrics are from the perspective of a rogue's gallery of characters – a corrupt cop, a cough syrup addict, a Christian zealot.

Plaque Marks credit Texas legends Rusted Shut and Cherubs for inspiration, as well as the early works of contemporaries Pissed Jeans and tourmates Unsane – but the Plaque Marks racket is in a league all its own, over in the darkest corner of the noise-rock room. As a review on Stereogum put it, the band deals only in "the most primitive and feral elements of its style."

Pre-order Anxiety Driven Nervous Worship, digital:
http://plaquemarks.com

Pre-order Anxiety Driven Nervous Worship, vinyl:
https://learningcurverecords.bandcamp.com/album/anxiety-driven-nervous-worship

Photo by Dante Torrieri

MOSSBREAKER + Revolver

Revolver presents the premiere of Mossbreaker's new music video, "Between the Noise and You." The song is the title track off the Los Angeles trio's latest album, Between the Noise and You, released in July on Glory Kid Ltd.

Watch, here:
https://www.revolvermag.com/music/see-mossbreakers-trippy-new-video-featuring-failures-ken-andrews

As displayed on "Between the Noise and You," Mossbreaker makes heavy, dreamy rock, descended from '90s alternative icons like Failure and Hum. A driving beat and fuzzed-out guitars set up vivid hooks that absolutely enthrall – melancholy yet electrifying. 

In a perfect match-up, none other than Failure frontman Ken Andrews, a true pioneer of the '90s scene, provides the guest vocals heard on the song. Rolling Stone called Failure, "one of the great unsung alterna-metal bands of the Nineties... Muscular, rhythmic, beautifully spacey rock."

Mossbreaker frontman Gabe VanBenschoten says this about collaborating with Andrews:

"It was a dream come true to have my mentor and one of our biggest influences take part in a piece of music we've created. I began working for Ken in 2012, starting out as an intern at his home studio then eventually becoming Failure's touring guitar tech. I've been through a lot with Ken and the guys over the past five years and I consider them family. It's still pretty surreal to have Ken Andrews sing on our record and appear in the video."

Andrews himself adds:

"I've known Gabe and Mossbreaker for a while now. I've always liked his band but when I heard this song I was really impressed. I had a great time singing on it."

The "Between the Noise and You" video was directed by Chris Wolford and shot and edited by Chad Hill. The projections seen in the video were created by artist Ryan Converse. 

The song, and the album it comes from, were recorded and mixed by frontman VanBenschoten who has helped engineer and mix recordings for M83, Youth Code, Ancestors, and more. It was mastered by Brad Boatright (Nails, Full of Hell).

Buy the album and merch, here: 
http://glorykid.com/categories/mossbreaker

Mossbreaker embarks on a West Coast tour this week, with Sheer on most dates:

Sep 7 - Los Angeles, CA @ Lot 1 w/ Sheer
Sep 8 - San Francisco, CA @ Neck of the Woods w/ Sheer
Sep 9 - Portland, OR @ The Alleyway Bar w/ Sheer
Sep 10 - Seattle, WA @ Black Lodge w/ Sheer
Sep 11 - Medford, OR @ Johnny B's

Photo by Priscilla Scott