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