DR. ACULA - "How to Kill a Monster"

DR. ACULA: evolved deathcore pioneers offer political solutions on new single "How to Kill a Monster"; official music video now streaming

After a decade hiatus, Dr. Acula is back and their new music video, “How to Kill a Monster,” is streaming now: https://www.metalsucks.net/2022/09/29/exclusive-dr-acula-learn-how-to-kill-a-monster-in-new-music-video/

The party's over and the reunited Dr. Acula is bringing serious issues to the table. Bassist Rob Guarino states: “US politics have garnered a fanaticism that’s more akin to sports, except politics have real consequences on our lives. People blindly cheer on their team and loathe the opposition with a surface-level understanding of the policies they support and even less of an understanding of the effect on society. The reality is, both sides create policy and take actions that have material impact on not only the lives of the US population, but the world at large. This song is a fantastical vision of the removal of the powers-that-be.”

Dr. Acula's first new album in ten years is a radical reboot that sees this comedic outfit reborn as a dark, focused, beast of a modern metal band. MetalSucks states: “First things first: Dr. Acula sound a lot more modern… The songs themselves are closer to something like Every Time I Die playing deathcore, with a notably more serious outlook.” The album drops October 28th via Silent Pendulum Records.

Nov 4 - Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen w/ Varials
Nov 5 - Lakewood, OH @ The Foundry w/ Varials
Nov 6 - Detroit, MI @ The Sanctuary w/ Varials

Pre-order the album: https://silentpendulumrecords.com/collections/dr-acula

More info: https://thechainworld.blogspot.com/2022/07/dr-acula.html

Photo by Christina Fiorino

Out today: KEN mode - NULL

KEN mode: acclaimed new album "NULL" released today on Artoffact Records

NULL, the eighth full-length album by KEN mode, is out today on Artoffact Records.

Stream the album and buy it, here: https://kenmode.bandcamp.com/album/null

See North American tour dates, here: https://ken-mode.com/pages/tour-dates

KEN mode guitarist/vocalist Jesse Matthewson points to the bleakest days of the COVID-19 pandemic as a well of inspiration for the new album, proclaiming NULL to be "a direct psychological reaction to the collective experience of the last two and a half years." 

Recorded and mixed by Andrew Schneider (Cave In, Unsane), NULL is the first KEN mode release to feature collaborator Kathryn Kerr (saxophone, synth, piano, percussion, backing vocals) as a full-fledged member of the band; the album features a new palette of No Wave and industrial-tinged sounds (shades of Swans, John Zorn, Einsturzende Neubauten), infiltrating its base of noise-rock and metallic hardcore.

Reviews of NULL highlight its extreme emotional rawness and its forward-thinking musical experimentation. Among other honors, the album has earned KEN mode the cover of Decibel Magazine (October 2022 issue).

The band kicks off a short run of headlining Canadian shows tonight in its hometown of Winnipeg, followed by a headlining US tour in October and November.

More info: https://thechainworld.blogspot.com/2022/06/ken-mode-null.html

"KEN mode finds catharsis in roaring at stone walls, veins engorged, knuckles constricted—you could bounce a quarter off their exhaled anger."

–Angry Metal Guy

"KEN mode has always been adventurous and experimental, but there's an obvious sense that the band found a new sense of urgency and freedom with NULL, utilizing art as an avenue toward catharsis."
–Blabbermouth

"Desolate and apocalyptic."
–BrooklynVegan

"A hardcore noise onslaught, an opus that is mental collapse and despair made sonic.”
–CVLT Nation

"Evocative, guttural, 'Howl'-esque poetry laid over frantic, Godfleshian soundscpaes."
–Decibel

"KEN mode has dealt in anxietycore for quite a while now, but it feels as if an apex has been reached here... NULL is what you get when the abyss stares back."
–Everything Is Noise

"The band hone in on precision, elliptical rhythms and smatterings of post-rock/90s clues... all the while with No Wave markings of dissonance and disarray doing battle."
–Gimme Metal

"Hardcore/noise flagbearers KEN mode return with fury on NULL, a thirty-five-minute exercise in catharsis."

–Heavy Music HQ

"This is miserable music for miserable people."
–Last Rites

"KEN Mode have returned with a new member in the mighty multi-instrumentalist in Kathryn Kerr. Noise and rage are still front and center, but Kerr is shaking things up with saxophone flurries, synth sections, and more."

–Metal Injection

"Music that sounds like the feeling you get when one of the characters in your nightmare turns to you and says, 'when you wake up from this, I’m coming with you.'"
–MetalSucks

"NULL adds some new wrinkles to their dense sound... Hard-edged, industrial sounds that are definitely influenced by early Swans and Einsturzende Neubauten."
–New Noise

"Venomous, abrasive and chaotic, the touchstones here are the Jesus Lizard, the Melvins and, of course, anything Rollins. Throw in John Zorn's Naked City, too — due to the presence of Kathryn Kerr, whose squawking saxophone consummates her new full-time KEN mode membership."
–Revolver

"The band’s sound mashes together decades’ worth of sterling underground grime — from Scratch Acid and Big Black to Unsane and Today Is the Today — into a bilious noise-rock confection, all rumbling bass, spat-out vocals and rusty-wire guitar."
–SPIN

"NULL is KEN mode at their peak as composers... What blows me away is that it somehow retains that young-band spark."
–Stereogum

"Insane noise-rock. Super heavy. Savage as hell."
–The Needle Drop

"The math-y technicality of this band is truly incredible, their new record NULL providing a delightfully maddening blend of sonically crushing tracks."
–The Pit

"NULL maintains a balance between moments of blistering abrasion and sonic nihilism, frequently finding a groove and a good hook in spite of the malaise and loathing that oozes from its pores."
–Treble

Photo by Brenna Faris

FOEHAMMER - Monumentum

FOEHAMMER: DC doom duo announces transcendent new double-album "Monumentum"; new track streaming now

Silent Pendulum Records announces the November 18th release of Monumentum, the new double-album by Foehammer.

Stream new track "The Disk" via The Obelisk, here: https://theobelisk.net/obelisk/2022/09/16/foehammer-monumentum-announce-the-disk-premiere/

Pre-order the new album (physical): https://silentpendulumrecords.com/collections/foehammer

Pre-order the new album (digital): https://silentpendulumrecords.bandcamp.com/album/monumentum

Based in northern Virginia, Foehammer is the power-duo of guitarist/vocalist Jay Cardinell and drummer Ben Price. Founded in 2013 by Cardinell as a Black Sabbath cover band, Foehammer has evolved over the past decade into its current configuration – stripped of excess, Cardinell and Price operate as one, in harmony, conjuring underworldly sludge-doom that captivates and hypnotizes.

"Being from the Virginia suburbs just outside DC, my musical education in punk and metal came from going to shows in DC in the late 90’s, and I cut my teeth on the burgeoning grindcore, powerviolence and sludge music of the time," states Cardinell. "There were bands I saw in this period that would become major influences, such as Grief, Noothgrush, and Corrupted. It wasn’t until later in my 20's that I discovered Spirit Caravan and through that, the rest of the Maryland Doom scene, all of which together became part of the stew of influence that created Foehammer."

"After multiple iterations we've landed at a two-piece lineup simply because of the personal and songwriting chemistry," he explains. "We just want to create heavy music that we would want to listen to, with an emphasis on crushing riffs as well as exploring space and ambience in the music."

Progressing beyond the glacial pace of prior Foehammer releases, Monumentum is a thrilling album that rolls through a spectrum of tones and tempos. "We made an effort this time to branch away a bit from the strict, slow style we had previously adhered to, while trying to maintain the crushing and mesmerizing riffs that have become the band's trademarks," says Cardinell.

Indeed, Cardinell's sweet, sweet riffs still crush and mesmerize, and his deathly vocals still emanate as if from a subterranean crypt. But, propelled by Price's ace pounding, the band moves through blastbeats and headbangable grooves, smashing the limits of the funereal dirges for which it was known. The pair maneuvers deftly, carrying the listener along for the entire hour-long journey. Adding an additional new dimension to the music are elements of cosmic drone that appear throughout the album, like rays of light through cracks in the tomb.

Of the album's standout track, "The Disk," The Obelisk reports: “'The Disk' lumbers forth with timeless weight at its core and a deathsludge lurch to coincide... Its impact is near immediate in the stick-in-your-eye snare and massive, raw sounding crush that ensues, but it’s worth listening for the angularity that emerges in the last couple minutes as well."

Monumentum was engineered and mixed by Foehammer drummer Ben Price and mastered by James Plotkin (Sunn O))), Earth). It follows a self-titled demo (2014), a self-titled EP (2015, Australopithecus Records), and a double-album titled Second Sight (2018, Australopithecus Records).

"Lyrically the album pays tribute to a couple of my favorite authors, Ursula K LeGuin and Jorge Luis Borges," reveals Cardinell. "As well as sketches of a sort-of mythology or overarching story I have been building within Foehammer's lyrics, with threads connecting to all of our previous works. There is an unnamed main character who figures into several of our songs. Intrepid fans who read the lyrics may be able to connect the dots."

Stand by for news of the next Foehammer shows. In the past few years, the band has shared stages with a litany of crucial names: Thou, Bell Witch, Ilsa, Usnea, Primitive Man, Outer Heaven, and more.

Tracklist:
1) Orm Embar
2) Oblivion of Sand
3) The Disk
4) The Great Cortege I - Accession of the Elder
5) The Great Cortege II - Annointment of the Gift-Child

Lineup:
Jay Cardinell - guitar, vocals
Ben Price - drums

Photo by Ben Price

VIRGIN MOTHER - "Blossoming Winter"

VIRGIN MOTHER: meth. frontman Seb Alvarez drops haunting new single from noise-rock solo project

Flood Magazine has debuted “Blossoming Winter,” the new single from Seb Alvarez’ solo project, Virgin Mother.

Sonic Youth meets Converge in Alvarez’ moody, murky, thunderous version of noise-rock, inspired by his experiences with mental illness and addiction.

Stream the track, here: https://floodmagazine.com/116994/virgin-mother-blossoming-winter-first-listen/

Flood reports: “For over half a decade now, Seb Alvarez’s noisecore sextet meth. have been terrorizing Chicago’s metal and hardcore scenes by gigging their haunting atmospherics building up to extreme experiments in everything from screamo to grindcore to industrial metal… In spite of its drastically reduced lineup, the early samples of the [Virgin Mother] record harness the same terror-inducing soundscapes meth. deals in. The latest cut ‘Blossoming Winter’ provides a heavily layered and brutally warped assault against the senses…”

New album “Mourning Ritual” drops October 14th. Pre-order the album, here: https://virginmother.bandcamp.com/album/mourning-ritual

A US tour with Nerver kicks off in October:

10/19 Chicago, IL @ Subterranean
10/22 Iowa City, IA @ Hill Haus
10/24 Toronto, ON Handlebar
10/26 Providence, RI @ Focal
10/27 Brooklyn, NY @ Kingsland
10/28 Philadelphia, PA @ The Meadow
10/29 Baltimore, MD @ House Show

More info: https://thechainworld.blogspot.com/2022/08/virgin-mother-mourning-ritual.html

Photo by Angel Tumalan

FLIEGE - One Day They'll Wonder What Happened Here

FLIEGE honors 40th anniversary of John Carpenter film "The Thing" with enthralling new album "One Day They'll Wonder What Happened Here"; new music video streaming now

New York City duo Fliege announces the November 4th release of its new album, One Day They'll Wonder What Happened Here.

A monumental project, musically and conceptually, One Day They'll Wonder What Happened Here is a scene-by-scene retelling of John Carpenter's 1982 film, The Thing, starring Kurt Russell, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.

Stream the official music video for the album's first single, "Jaws of Life," here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGb3urohmVI

Pre-order the album, here: https://dasfliege.bandcamp.com/album/one-day-theyll-wonder-what-happened-here

One one level, One Day They'll Wonder What Happened Here is a couple of film buffs' meticulous tribute to one of their idols. Fliege mastermind Coleman Bentley states: "John Carpenter is probably my favorite director and at some point I really wanted to explore one of his films through the Fliege prism." 

More than just an album inspired by a movie, One Day They'll Wonder What Happened Here is a complete, chronological companion piece, tackling The Thing from start to finish. First single "Jaws of Life" retells the film's iconic "autopsy scene," wherein a detached human head sprouts spider legs. The official music video, co-created by Brandon Gallagher, the multimedia artist behind acclaimed industrial project Trace Amount, is a nightmarish, 3D-animated clip.

On a deeper level, Bentley and his co-conspirator, vocalist Peter Rittweger, are using the format to explore their own existential questions. Bentley explains: "When COVID hit I revisited 'The Thing' and was immediately grabbed by the themes of infection, isolation, and paranoia that were swirling all around us in real life at the time. I saw an opportunity to write about an awesome sci-fi movie from one of my favorite directors and also about the brand new world taking shape around us."

About "Jaws of Life," he states: "The song is about the human body as a cage – imprisoning oneself in chains of illness and infection. In the 'The Thing' this is treated literally, with the invasion of a parasite turning the body against its owner. In our song it is a metaphor for the effect of any corrupting influence – stress, substances, sickness, pollution. Sometimes those influences are so great that over time we begin to change and evolve. One day we wake up and realize we have become something other. A thing."

Concepts aside, One Day They'll Wonder What Happened Here is a musical tour-de-force, showcasing the fleet fingers and sheer open-mindedness of principal songwriter/guitarist Bentley; Bentley is a bona fide guitar hero and the new album is a sumptuous feast of shred, authoritatively bringing an array of '80s flavors, from hair metal to new wave, into a modern, extreme metal context. Within "Jaws of Life" alone, he glides gracefully through Sisters of Mercy-esque hard-goth, blazing Steve Stevens-worthy histrionics, and Slayer-ific chugging. Rittweger delivers lethal blackened screams, colored by Bentley's clean vocal hooks. Programmed drums lend an industrial-metal backbone. A bed of retro synths conjures the dance floor or the dungeon, depending on one's perspective.

An enthralling mix of styles, One Day They'll Wonder What Happened Here is progressive and irresistible. Bentley lists The Police, Def Leppard, and Blood Incantation, amongst the many influences that went into the album. "I worked very hard to try to write songs that defied traditional structures and listener expectations," he reveals. "I think it is deeper, more musically challenging, and potentially has greater staying power, than our past work."

Prior Fliege releases have each focused on another film: David Cronenberg's The Fly, Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal, and Shinya Tsukamoto's Tetsuo: The Iron Man. Four releases into its career now, Fliege has proven itself, beyond doubt. Bentley and Rittweger's commitment to their concept is undeniable and laudable. But most importantly, they have created an album whose music transcends.

Tracklist:
1) The Thaw
2) Glaciers of Eden Pt. 1
3) Man Is the Warmest Place to Hide
4) Jaws of Life
5) Terra-form
6) Sight for the Snowblind
7) Blair Built a Spaceship
8) Glaciers of Eden Pt. 2

Lineup:
Coleman Bentley - guitar, bass, synth, drum programming, vocals
Peter Rittweger - vocals

All music and lyrics by Coleman Bentley
Produced by Coleman Bentley
Mixed and mastered by Nikhil Kamineni

Photo of Fliege, by Chris Palermo

CITY OF INDUSTRY - Spiritual West

CITY OF INDUSTRY: Seattle hardcore outsiders announce new album "Spiritual West"; new music video streaming now

City of Industry announces the November 11th release of its new album, Spiritual West, on No Funeral Records and Modern Grievance.

Stream the official music video for Spiritual West's first single, "Chalk This Up to Assault," here: https://noecho.net/features/city-of-industry-spiritual-west

Pre-order the album, here (vinyl): https://store.nofuneral.ca/product/city-of-industry-spiritual-west-vinyl

Pre-order the album, here (CD, cassette, digital): https://cityofindustry.bandcamp.com/album/spiritual-west

Seattle trio City of Industry made its first indelible mark with False Flowers, released in 2020. That album's official press release read: "With False Flowers, Seattle, Washington's City of Industry reveals itself to be one of the most compelling new hardcore bands of today. While many contemporaries in the scene are obedient dogs whose motivation is to follow the latest trends, City of Industry frontman and songwriter John Caraveo is an outsider, operating from a place of pure passion."

Stereogum's review of False Flowers noted the band's unique style: "City of Industry’s sound is a wracked, intense take on metallic hardcore... But they’re not fundamentalists, and they also take inspiration from a few generations of scuzzy noise-rock." Decibel Magazine described it as "hyper-melodic squatter anthems as distressed as Dystopia."

Two years down the road, Caraveo's outsider status has only intensified and his passion burns hotter. Armed with two more years' worth of pain, Caraveo continues moshing to his own beat, a truly original soul seeking his own answers and making music that no one else could. "I am not completely like other people," states the sampled voice at the start of "Chalk This Up to Assault," Spiritual West's opening track. "People dislike me because I am not completely like them."

"Spiritual West is, musically and lyrically, the most honest, raw, and poignant piece of work I've ever done," Caraveo states. "In the past two years I've experienced the death of some people very close to me. I am facing the fact that every single relationship we have will undoubtedly come to an end, in one way or another. I am facing my own imminent death. I am realizing how small and insignificant I am, and every other person who has lived or will live."

Caraveo says these existential reckonings are guiding him toward a more liberated state where he is unconcerned with people's judgments: "I don't want to fit in or seek the 'scene's' approval in any way. I want to be myself, all the time, one hundred percent. Unapologetic aggression. Knowing I can be myself and be honest and sleep well at night."

On Spiritual West, Caraveo's impassioned vocals hit like the confessions of a man who has reached his breaking point; the band's moody, metallic, hardcore punk drives forward, laced with morose melodies, drenched in Pacific Northwest rain. The sheer urgency sets this band apart from the mob. There are not many comparisons to be drawn; Converge or Show Me The Body might be two.

As raw and real as City of Industry can be, there is another side to the band. Throughout Spiritual West, the trio's musical experimentation creates moments of grandeur that elevate the album to an even higher place. Triumphant church bells, gleeful glockenspiel, ominous synths, and sampled voices add color and contrast that make the songs penetrate that much deeper and show, once again, that Caraveo and his comrades – bassist Jack Thompson and drummer Pablo Lara – are following no one else's rules.

Spiritual West was recorded by Nich Wilbur (Mt. Eerie, Sumac) and mixed and mastered by Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Gouge Away). 

A West Coast tour with Ultra Love begins in November.

Tracklist:

1) Chalk This Up to Assault
2) Commoners Garden
3) Ships of Mercy
4) Perrequier
5) Spiritual West
6) Death Sickness
7) Dissociation
8) Despite Loving Efforts
9) Everybody's Cross These Days, Darling
10) Raindrops
11) He Condescends to Glide
12) In Cloud and Majesty and Awe

Lineup:
John Caraveo - vocals, guitar, synth, percussion
Jack Thompson - bass, backing vocals
Pablo Lara - drums, percussion

Guests:
Jakob Keizer - vocals on "Chalk This Up to Assault"
Wesley Sisk - vocals on "Ships of Mercy" and "Chalk This Up to Assault" 

Frank G West - vocals on "Death Sickness"

Mat Houot - vocals on "Despite Loving Efforts"

Discography:
City of Industry EP (2017, Amerikan Aesthetics Records)
American Habits Are Hard To Break (2018, Amerikan Aesthetics Records)
"Guilt" single (2018, Amerikan Aesthetics Records)
Conspire Conspire Conspire (2019, Amerikan Aesthetics Records)
I Digress EP (2020, Amerikan Aesthetics Records)
False Flowers (2020, Amerikan Aesthetics Records)
Spiritual West (2022, No Funeral Records, Modern Grievance)

Cover art and band photo by John Caraveo

CLOUD RAT - "Corset"

CLOUD RAT: progressive grinders release fourth single from new album "Threshold" – "the most intense record we have made"

Cloud Rat has unveiled "Corset," the fourth single from upcoming new album Threshold.

Stream the track, here: https://www.invisibleoranges.com/cloud-rat-interview-premiere/

Pre-order the album, out October 7th on Artoffact Records, here: https://cloudrat.bandcamp.com/album/threshold

With more than 20 releases under its belt – a treasure trove of albums, EPs, splits, and seven-inches, released since 2010 – Cloud Rat is a singular force in the extreme music scene. Cloud Rat has been labelled a "grindcore" band, but the prolific Michigan trio is so much more. Within its punishing songs, the band glides freely through a range of musical forms; underneath its full-throttle grind swirls a Lake Superior of emotion. Vocalist Madison Marshall's gut-purging screams and drummer Brandon Hill's hyperactive hammering meld with guitarist Rorik Brooks' epic riffs, into songs that are equally bone-crushing, heartbreaking, and uplifting.

New single "Corset" perfectly exemplifies the mix of beauty and violence that makes Cloud Rat such an intense band. Taking musical cues from Discordance Axis and My Bloody Valentine, the song drags the listener to both extremes in less than two minutes.

In a new exclusive interview with Invisible Oranges, accompanying the premiere of "Corset," Cloud Rat drummer Brandon Hill describes the creation of such multi-dimensional music as "an attempt to channel the seemingly boundless energy, joy and horror that is the incredibly frail and fleeting existence that is life."

Guitarist Rorik Brooks has described new album Threshold as "our best work so far." Vocalist Madison Marshall has stated: "I feel like this is the most intense record we have made."

More info: https://thechainworld.blogspot.com/2022/06/cloud-rat-threshold.html

Photo by Luke Mouradian

END OF THE LINE + Cvlt Nation

 

"I want to share this extremely sick album from END OF THE LINE that was created in the summer of 1991. I’ve got to say that this band fucking rules and that their aggro, angular energy is really captivating. Imagine putting your reality in a whirlwind of sonic chaos — the outcome would sound like one this band tunes. Real Talk, the word “unhinged” comes to my mind as I listen to this record."

—Cvlt Nation

Stream the album in its entirety, officially out September 16th on Three One G, here:

https://cvltnation.com/crush-your-eardrums-melt-your-brain-blast-end-of-the-line-90s-hardcore-punk-cult-classic-lp/

End of the Line, the short-lived San Diego hardcore band that was in the right place at the right time. Existing during summer 1991, its membership boasted Matt Anderson, Scott Bartoloni and Aaron Montaigne of seminal 90s band Heroin, who, for the most part, had switched instruments. Further intensifying this lineup was leather-throated vocalist Cory Linstrum. A mutual appreciation of Bl’ast!, Faith, Void and SSD acted as its starting point, leading the band down the left hand path of chaotic punk and hardcore. EOTL played a dozen shows during its brief reign. Its teeth were cut appearing alongside Aspirin Feast, Say No More, Struggle, Undertow, Downcast, Media Children and Blatz (among others), before obtaining an opening slot on a Born Against/Rorschach show. The display of raw pandemonium unleashed that evening saw End of the Line’s buzz spread to the East Coast as these bands returned from tour. Rapidly a bidding war began with EOTL in the middle. Vermiform offered a seven-inch deal, while Ebullition dangled the opportunity of a full length. The band chose the full length. Having previously recorded three tracks, EOTL now had the opportunity to record the rest of its set for posterity. The band was aware it wouldn’t last much longer. Heroin would be releasing its own LP and leaving for tour, while Linstrum would relocate to the Bay Area to front John Henry West. It was during these recording dates that End of the Line concluded with its final appearance, a September 1991 show with Fugazi and Jawbreaker. Without an active band to promote the release, Ebullition’s version of the End of the Line LP wallowed in obscurity, where it slowly became a cult classic of early 90s hardcore. Let End of the Line crush your eardrums like an artillery shell, leaving you in the mud with the rats, lice and dogs!

 

This record has been remixed and remastered by Tim Green (Nation Of Ulysses/The Fucking Champs) at LOUDER studios. Pressed on limited edition color vinyl with a screen printed 3D cover and accompanying individually printed 3D glasses, to be released by Three One G on September 16th.

Order it, here:

https://threeoneg.com/archive/vinyl/self-titled-3

 

Track listing: 

1. Trapped

2. End

3. Please

4. The Engine

5. Guilt

6. Past

7. Unnecessary

8. Burning Down

9. Sedative

CONTRACULT - The New Torment

CONTRACULT: industrial-metal powerhouse goes independent and vows to "Keep Goth Hard" on dazzling new album "The New Torment"; collaborators include Attila Csihar (Mayhem); official music video for new single "The Glutton" now streaming via Revolver Magazine

"It almost killed me." –Contracult frontman Svart, on the making of "The New Torment"

Contracult announces the November 4th release of its new album, The New Torment, on the band's own Hogwasche Music label.

Stream the official music video for new single "The Glutton," here: https://www.revolvermag.com/music/see-contracults-gripping-video-gnashing-new-song-glutton

Deemed a promising new up n' comer since its debut single dropped in 2020, Contracult comes into its own at last with The New Torment. The album sees the LA-based band graduate from "prospect" status to that of a fully-realized musical force. Having parted ways with Roadrunner Records, Contracult made The New Torment on its own terms and the results are monumental. The album is a true expression of the collective visions of its creators – founder/frontman Svart (Travis Bacon), guitarist Cultprit (Nick Emde), and newest member Bx (Bec Hollcraft).

 
Svart states: "While I was proud of the music we created before, I felt as though the songs we were writing always came from this lens of these outdated writing formulas which we had to 'learn' rather than them just be something that came out of us. With 'The New Torment,' I feel we were able to hone in on the sound more organically and not follow some rule book that doesn't even exist. With this record we wanted more of a 'Downward Spiral' thing going on. Every song has its own unique vibe and texture while still sounding like it's all from the same band."

Boasting guest appearances by legendary vocalist Attila Csihar (Mayhem) and drummer Jon Siren (IAMX, Front Line Assembly), The New Torment was engineered by Svart; mixed by Svart, Arthur Rizk (Power Trip, Ghostemane) and Eric Emery (Periphery, Scale the Summit); and mastered by Rizk.

As displayed on new single "The Glutton," the sound is an onslaught of serrated metallic rock, armored in layer upon layer of industrial stylings. An immersive experience, a dizzying ride, The New Torment wields a dense mix of pedal-to-the-metal beats, thick-as-tar riffs, and head-spinning electronic elements. As the band's own motto states: "Keep Goth Hard."

Guitarist Cultprit describes the musical palette that inspired the writing of the new album, in addition to the aforementioned Nine Inch Nails: "From the heavy bands that are lifelong influences to me, from Napalm Death to Fear Factory, to modern rap like City Morgue. The crossover styles of artists like Ghostemane were definitely inspiring to get juiced up and have the urgency to write. Having Bx in the band opened the doors quite a bit too and helped expand our writing."

Above the fray, infectious hooks soar, bathing the songs in color. Svart's vicious snarl transforms into a commanding singing voice that couples with Bx's angelic croon, elevating the songs to anthemic heights. "[Contracult] are certainly part of the industrial resurgence that has emerged over the past few years, but they instantly stand apart from the crowd," reads a post from MetalSucks. "The only way it won’t get stuck in your head is if you have no head."

Beyond the music, Svart speaks candidly about the inner struggles that equally fueled and threatened, the making of The New Torment: "The record was written and produced during probably the most precarious time for me," he states. "I was diagnosed as bipolar during the creation of it. It's a piece of work I am forever proud of, but it almost killed me."

RIYL: Nine Inch Nails, Fear Factory, 3TEETH, KMFDM, Ghostemane

Tracklist:

1) Welcome to...

2) The New Torment

3) Drown

4) The Glutton

5) Infirmary

6) Geography of Loss

7) Meek

8) M.S.K.

9) The Viral Generation

10) Trauma Garden

Lineup:

Svart - vocals, programming

Cvltprit - guitar

Bx - vocals, synth

Photo by Steven Anthony Roe

Out today: MORAL PANIC - Validation

Validation, the new album by Moral Panic, is out today.

Mere months after the release of the acclaimed "White Knuckles" seven-inch, NYC punks Moral Panic are back with a new album's worth of electrifying songs, recorded by Joe Hogan (Ronnie Spector, Murphy's Law) and mixed by Jeff Burke of Radioactivity and The Marked Men.

Buy (US): https://www.reptilianrecords.com/products/729524
Buy (Europe): https://aliensnatch.bandcamp.com/album/moral-panic-validation

"The record lands somewhere between Dead Boys, The Who, and KISS, capturing the band at their best yet. Kelley’s guitars take center stage, supported by the rhythm section of Michael Dimmitt (Overdose) and Eric Robel (ex-The Heroine Sheiks)."
–New Noise

"Though they're based out of New York City, punk outfit Moral Panic was started by West Coast native Daniel Kelley back in 2013... Within the first few years, Moral Panic released two albums and played gigs with everyone from Night Birds to Spiritual Cramp to D.O.A. 2019 saw Kelley welcome in bassist Michael Dimmitt and drummer Eric Robel into the Moral Panic fold, solidifying the lineup into true fighting shape."
–No Echo

"Electrifying songs."
–Idioteq

"Neatly crafted hardcore punk n’ roll... Quick, effective, and with a satisfyingly garage-bound ache."
–Grizzly Butts

"Unmistakably punk... More flare than the sun through a lens."
–Metal Epidemic

"Loud punk n' roll band Moral Panic is back, bringing us Validation..."
–Scene Point Blank

"Notable Release of the Week"
–BrooklynVegan

More info: https://thechainworld.blogspot.com/2022/07/moral-panic-validation.html

KEN mode - "Throw Your Phone in the River"

KEN mode releases "Throw Your Phone in the River," the fourth single from upcoming new album NULL; official music video now streaming

KEN mode's new single "Throw Your Phone in the River" is now streaming on all platforms. The track appears on the band's eighth full-length album, NULL, out September 23rd on Artoffact Records.

Stream the official music video, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwL556pzCXU

Stream the single, here: https://open.spotify.com/album/1tGRUI9RiQv5D7J0w5JGIe

Pre-order the album, here: https://kenmode.bandcamp.com/album/null

With an ironclad rhythm section churning beneath frontman Jesse Matthewson's unhinged vocals, "Throw Your Phone in the River" is the fourth single to be released from upcoming new album NULL. The song is a searing new slice of the band's metallic hardcore, by way of noise rock.

The video, directed by Christopher Mills and Tyler Funk, captures the white-knuckle intensity of the band's live assault, then shrouds it in layers of VHS-style glitches.

Matthewson, who has stated that the new album was born from the isolation and alienation of the COVID-19 pandemic, describes the origins of "Throw Your Phone in the River": "'I can't help you if I can't even help myself. I'm drowning in this cyclical mess, and it just won't finish me off.' This is pretty much the sentiment of this one. I wrote it in about an hour one afternoon in the thick of the worst part of 2020. Just banged it all out. It felt perfect in its simplicity."

Recorded and mixed by Andrew Schneider (Cave In, Unsane), NULL is the first KEN mode release to feature collaborator Kathryn Kerr (saxophone, synth, piano, percussion, backing vocals) as a full-fledged member of the band.

Founded by Matthewson and his brother Shane, KEN mode has come to define intensity and dedication, via tours with Russian Circles, Torche, and Full of Hell, and releases produced by the likes of Steve Albini, Kurt Ballou, and Matt Bayles. New album NULL sees this warhorse of a band emerge from the darkest of times with new energy, evolved and ready to carry on into its next chapter.

The band embarks on a US tour in October, with support from Frail Body (Deathwish Inc).

Oct 20 - St Paul, MN @ Turf Club

Oct 21 - Davenport, IA @ Raccoon Motel

Oct 22 - Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen

Oct 23 - Indianapolis, IN @ Black Circle Brewing Co.

Oct 24 - Columbus, OH @ Big Room Bar

Oct 25 - Nashville, TN @ DRKMTTR

Oct 26 - Little Rock, AR @ Vino's

Oct 27 - Oklahoma City, OK @ 89th Street

Oct 28 - Austin, TX @ The Lost Well

Oct 29 - Houston, TX @ Black Magic

Oct 30 - Denton, TX @ No Coast Fest

Oct 31 - New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa

Nov 2 - Atlanta, GA @ The Earl

Nov 3 - Charlotte, NC @ Snug Harbor

Nov 4 - Philadelphia, PA @ Silk City

Nov 5 - Brooklyn, NY @ Saint Vitus

Nov 6 - Cambridge, MA @ Middle East

Nov 7 - Montreal, QC @ Turbo Haus

Nov 8 - Toronto, ON @ The Baby G

Nov 9 - Detroit, MI @ Sanctuary

Nov 10 - Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club

Nov 12 - Fargo, ND @ The Aquarium

Further info: https://thechainworld.blogspot.com/2022/06/ken-mode-null.html

Photo by Brenna Faris