Out today: CATERWAUL

The third edition of Caterwaul, the annual music festival celebrating "independent-minded, iconoclastic, noisy music," kicks off tonight in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Spanning four days and two venues (Palmer's Bar and Mortimer's Bar), this year's fest features Brainiac, Couch Slut, Oxbow, Part Chimp, Whores., and dozens more.

Full schedule and tickets, here: https://ticketstripe.com/2024caterwaul

Read an interview with the fest organizers, here: https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2024/05/02/caterwaul-festival-a-noisy-and-rocking-late-may-alternative/

Read an interview with the fest organizers, here: https://newnoisemagazine.com/interviews/third-times-a-charm-for-this-years-caterwaul-fest/

Stream an interview with the fest organizers, here: https://queencitysoundsandart.wordpress.com/2024/05/18/queen-city-sounds-podcast-s4e20-caterwaul-festival/

Stream a Caterwaul playlist, created by the fest organizers, here: https://www.scenepointblank.com/news/site-news/2024/05/01/spb-featured-stream-caterwaul-2024/

"The third edition of Minneapolis’ Caterwaul Festival runs May 24 -27 at Palmer’s Bar and Mortimers Bar. The lineup is unique mix of noise rock, punk, metal, post-punk and beyond."
–BrooklynVegan

"The excellent Caterwaul... If bands like The Austerity Program, Gay Witch Abortion, Whores., Couch Slut, Part Chimp, Murf, Thrones and Oxbow (and any of the 37 others playing) and downtown Minneapolis is more your speed, then do yourself a solid and get thee to the midwest and the spiritual home of noise rock."
–Decibel

"Well, Memorial Day Weekend is coming fast upon us. For fans of a certain type of “independent-minded, iconoclastic, noisy,” music, that means one thing: it’s time for Caterwaul... The fest, now in its third year, has become a gathering of some of the best underground bands existing today."
–New Noise

"Caterwaul is a music festival that showcases of paragons of the weird, loosely defined, in underground music. The organizers of the event have been steeped in left field music, going back decades as musicians, bookers, record label employees, running labels and otherwise active participants throughout the ecology of the subculture. Since 2022 Caterwaul has hosted a finely curated and small scale event across two venues..."
–Queen City Sounds and Art

"This annual Memorial Day weekend fest, which takes in pretty much every genre centered on loud guitars, kicks off tonight with local rockers Murf and just keeps going from there. Featured over the next three days at Mort's and Palmer's: unpredictable San Fran experimentalists Oxbow, London noisemakers Part Chimp, reunited Ohio scene-fomenters Brainiac, Jawbox album J. Robbins, and plenty of locals."
–Racket

"Caterwaul is once again returning to Palmer's and Mortimer's for their third installment this Memorial Day weekend... From the reunited surviving members of '90s legends Brainiac, UK noise makers Part Chimp, the one-man doom of Thrones, and Jawbox frontman J. Robbins' solo act, this year’s festival is shaping up to be another big one."
–Reviler

"Running May 24-27 in Minneapolis, this year's lineup at Caterwaul features a ton of heavy hitters."
–Scene Point Blank

Caterwaul poster by Burlesque of North America

Out today: SEMUTA - Glacial Erratic

Glacial Erratic, the debut full-length album by Semuta, is out today.

From Portland, Oregon, Semuta is the duo of guitarist/vocalist Benjamin Caragol and drummer Ben Stoller; the two summon a mournful strain of sludgy post-metal, marked by enthralling songcraft and passionate execution. Reference points include Neurosis, Russian Circles, Cave In, and King Crimson. Glacial Erratic was mixed by Scott Evans and mastered by Brad Boatright.

Stream the album and buy it, here: https://semutamusic.bandcamp.com/album/glacial-erratic

More info: http://thechainworld.blogspot.com/2024/03/semuta-glacial-erratic.html

Tour dates:

May 31 - Portland, OR @ The High Water Mark
June 1 - Bellingham, WA @ Make Shift
June 2 - Seattle, WA @ The Sunset Tavern
June 8 - Santa Rosa, CA @ Shady Oak
June 9 - Oakland, CA @ The Stork Club

"Progressive, melodic sludge metal."
–Decibel

"Glacial Erratic... so deftly weaves post-metal and progressive stylings with sludge that you could even call it beautiful."

–Doomed and Stoned

"Semuta glide between slowly building escalations of intensity (there’s plenty of shifting time signatures and neat, powerful drum rolls to be enjoyed along the way) and floating passages where minimal, glistening guitar and bass parts give the listener time to catch a breath."

–Ghost Cult

“This is an expansive and extremely well composed post metal album that channels all of the great themes and sounds of the sub-genre to an impressive degree of proficiency."
–Heavy Blog Is Heavy

"The melodies glow and usher in a psychedelic calm... The ground quakes as the tension builds, the guitars lighting up the sky, prog-fueled ambition driving harder, the leads glistening."
–Meat Mead Metal

"If you're looking for something to switch on and just sink into, Glacial Erratic is the album to do it with. It's very, very, very well put together. For a debut, it's even more remarkable."
–Metal Epidemic

"Challenging the norm with off kilter time signatures and unexpected juxtapositions of melancholy and crushing crescendos, the duo’s debut is nothing short of a sludgy post metal soirée that is as forward thinking as it is blissfully aware of the world crumbling around it."
–Nine Circles

"Don’t be surprised when this one shows up on the list of 2024’s best debut albums come December."
–The Obelisk

"If you’re into the crushing dirges of ISIS, Russian Circles, or Pelican, and you’ve indulged in the progressive heaviness of Cave In or Baroness, then this record is for you."
–The Pitch of Discontent

Photo by James Rexroad

HABAK - Insania

HABAK: Tijuana, Mexico crust punks reissue debut album "Insania" via Persistent Vision Records; live dates include Dark Days Bright Nights, European tour, more

Persistent Vision Records announces the June 28th reissue of Insania, the debut album by Habak.

From Tijuana, Mexico, Habak exploded onto the DIY scene with what they describe as "crust melódico" – emotionally charged music that blazes a path through crust, screamo, and post-metal. Debut album Insania, originally released in 2015, captures the intensity of the band's early days, melding aggressive Tragedy-inspired d-beat with dark moments of melody that bring to mind contemporaries like Envy or Pageninetynine. 

Sung in Spanish, vocalist Alejandra Valdez’s lyrics touch on themes of mental anguish, isolation, and hopelessness. Guitarist Juan Cintora states: "Many people see mental illness as something insignificant, when the reality is that no one is exempt and we have to understand that many times it is a side effect of the capitalist society in which we live."

Persistent Vision Records' reissue of Insania was remastered by Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Frail Body) and includes a bonus live version of one song, “Orbe de Almas,” recorded in 2023 by Saetia/Off Minor member Steve Roche at his Philadelphia studio, Permanent Hearing Damage. Never before pressed on vinyl, Insania will be available in two color vinyl variants.

Persistent Vision Records owner Paul Hansbarger gives this statement: "When I first heard Habak, I was instantly drawn to their unique sound, which takes inspiration from many genres that I love. I hear inspiration from an eclectic mix of bands, from His Hero Is Gone to Neurosis. Add to that, female vocals with socio-political lyrics and a dedication to DIY punk ethos, and I think it makes Habak one of the more unique and interesting bands going right now. It doesn't hurt that they are also wonderful and kind people as well, so I am excited to be working with them on 'Insania' along with other releases in the works."

Pre-order the LP, here: https://persistentvisionrecords.com/products/habak-insania-lp

Stream remastered tracks from the album, here: https://habak.bandcamp.com/album/insania-remastered

With the Insania reissue coming in June, Habak will make an appearance at Fear of Noise Fest in San Diego in May, followed by a full European summer tour. The band closes out the summer with a slot on Dark Days Bright Nights, the Richmond, Virginia fest curated by Persistent Vision's Paul Hansbarger and Pageninetynine guitarist Mike Taylor.

Persistent Vision's reissue of Habak's Insania comes in the midst of a big year for the label, including the recent release of the acclaimed new album by industrial-metal powerhouse Prisoner, upcoming new releases by the likes of Fórn and Blind Girls, and the aforementioned Dark Days Bright Nights festival, whose inaugural lineup sees Habak play alongside Portrayal of Guilt, Thou, Soul Glo, and dozens more. The label also recently repressed Habak's 2023 split LP with Lagrimas, which will be available in June.

Tracklist:
1) Inmune al Dolor
2) Orbe de Almas
3) Rostros Borrosos
4) Condenado al Olvido
5) Insania
6) El Deceso / Vestigios
7) Orbe de Almas (live)

Lineup:

Alejandra Valdez - vocals
Eduardo Valdez - guitar

Juan Cintora - guitar
Alejandro Perez - bass
Patrick Alexander - drums

Tour:
May 31 - San Diego, CA @ Fear of Noise Fest
Jun 28 - Zelebsko, Poland @ Ultra Chaos Piknik
Jun 29 - Berlin, Germany @ Koepi
Jun 30 - Leipzig, Germany @ Atelierhaus Zoro E.V.
Jul 3 - Carpi, Italy @ Carpi Skatepark
Jul 4 - Milan, Italy @ Casa di Alex
Jul 5 - Pordenone, Italy @ Tune Music Lab
Jul 6 - Lausanne, Switzerland @ Porno Diesel Squat
Jul 7 - Munich, Germany @ Kade Kult
Jul 10 - Vienna, Austria @ Pankahyttn
Jul 11 - Zagreb, Croatia @ Mocvara
Jul 12 - Budapest, Hungary @ Dopamine
Jul 13 - Warsaw, Poland @ Ada Pulawska Squat
Sep 14 - Richmond, VA @ Dark Days Bright Nights

Photos by J. Donovan Malley

Out today: THE RED CHORD - Fused Together in Revolving Doors

Black Market Activities' reissue of Fused Together in Revolving Doors, the 2002 debut album by The Red Chord, is out today.

22 years after its original release, this groundbreaking classic is now available on vinyl for the first time ever. The LP features a new reimagining of the original album art, created by artist Mike Wohlberg.

Fused Together in Revolving Doors freely combined influences from across the board of extreme metal and hardcore and would contribute greatly toward inspiring an entire scene of younger bands on the rise, soon to be labelled "deathcore." Existing in a strange space between Suffocation-level brutality, Hatebreed-level swagger, and Mr. Bungle-level eccentricity, Fused stands as a document of a young band gleefully disrespecting the rules.

The Fused reissue also marks the return of Black Market Activities, the long-dormant label founded in the '00s by The Red Chord frontman Guy Kozowyk, responsible for releases by Fit For An Autopsy, Today Is The Day, and many more.

The Red Chord plays Milwaukee Metal Fest this weekend, followed by Big Texas Metal Fest and two, sold-out, Boston-area record release shows in June with support from Deadguy and more.

Buy the LP and merch, here: https://deathwishinc.com/collections/the-red-chord

More info: https://thechainworld.blogspot.com/2024/02/the-red-chord-fused-together-in.html

"Massachusetts deathcore veterans The Red Chord have announced plans to revisit their watershed 2002 studio album debut, Fused Together in Revolving Doors. For the first time ever, the album largely credited with offering a stylistic foundation for what would become deathcore, will see a vinyl release... The news also marks the revival of The Red Chord frontman Guy Kozowyk's long-dormant label, Black Market Activities - a label that nurtured the early careers of bands like Fit For An Autopsy and Nashville noisecore specialists Today Is the Day."
–Knotfest

"Highly renowned record label Black Market Activities are to mark their return with the vinyl release of The Red Chord's debut album Fused Together In Revolving Doors...The album truly fused extreme metal music with hardcore influences, and the band’s mastery over their sound gained them a strong impression on the younger bands."
–New Noise

"The Red Chord have announced the first-ever vinyl pressing of the deathcore trailblazers' debut album, 2002's Fused Together in Revolving Doors... Notably, the release marks the return of Red Chord frontman Guy Kozowyk's record label, Black Market Activities."
–Revolver

Photos by Karen Jerzyk

FROM A SECOND STORY WINDOW - Recompose

FROM A SECOND STORY WINDOW: reunited metalcore greats to release new "Recompose" 7" via Black Market Activities; upcoming shows include The Red Chord, Furnace Fest

Black Market Activities, the label founded by The Red Chord vocalist Guy Kozowyk, announces the release of Recompose, the new 7" vinyl single by From a Second Story Window.

Consisting of two new tracks – "Earthen Eyes" and "So Say We All" – the Recompose 7" is the Ohio band's first new music since the release of its Conversations album in 2008.

The tracks are streaming now on all platforms. The 7" will be available from Black Market Activities in summer 2024; stand by for more details, coming soon. 

Burning bright and hot throughout the first decade of this century, From a Second Story Window was a standout of the same thriving metalcore scene that spawned bands such as The Acacia Strain, Between the Buried and Me, and Premonitions of War. FASSW released two full-length albums and one EP, all on Black Market Activities. After a 15-year hiatus, the band played a reunion show in Youngstown, Ohio in 2023.

New tracks "Earthen Eyes" and "So Say We All" are dark, anthemic rippers that see the band charge forward with all the intensity of the old days; the latter busts into a soaring vocal part in its second half. The songs were recorded, mixed and mastered by Jason "Jocko" Randall.

FASSW's Paul Misko states: "I wrote the bones for these two new songs in Austin, TX, and we worked on them remotely before I moved back to Ohio to be near the band again. These two songs, for me, were about incorporating all of the things I wanted to do musically with this band but never got the chance to since we broke up before our final record, Conversations, came out in 2008. It was a chance to revisit how our sound could have evolved if we had stayed a band, while bringing in new influences I've picked up over the years and approaching writing as a more mature person and musician. We have many more songs in the works and are hoping to re-enter the studio this fall."

Next up, FASSW hits the East Coast, June 1st and 2nd, for a weekend of shows with Through the Eyes of the Dead, beginning in Brooklyn, NY, and traveling north to Boston, MA to support The Red Chord for one of its two sold-out shows celebrating the reissue of debut album Fused Together in Revolving Doors.

The band is then part of the stellar lineup for the final edition of Furnace Fest, October 2024, alongside the likes of August Burns Red, Coalesce, and Trapped Under Ice.

Black Market Activities has made a comeback of its own this year, after a long hiatus. With The Red Chord's Fused Together in Revolving Doors reissue and FASSW's Recompose 7" coming up, Kozowyk states: "It is my pleasure to work with my friends of over two decades again. It’s even more exciting since FASSW sound better than ever before. They were among the first bands I ever had the privilege to work with, and I love that we can open this new chapter in whatever comes next for BMA together.”

Photo by Jenna Forte

Out today: GOD MOTHER - Sinneseld

Sinneseld, the new EP by God Mother, is out today.

Stream the EP and buy it, here: https://godmothersverige.bandcamp.com/album/sinneseld

More info: https://thechainworld.blogspot.com/2024/03/god-mother-sinneseld.html

"A large part of both the appeal and success of God Mother’s music has always come down to its urgency. In 'Sinneseld’'s case that is exactly how tracks like the borderline accessible 'Big Things Coming' and the brutish grind of 'Human+' can exist and work on the same record, and such a short one at that... Raucous and ramshackle and furious."
–Distorted Sound

"Already known for wreaking chaos on a global scale, Swedish metallic hardcore unit God Mother are returning with their new EP 'Sinneseld' and more of their trademark madness. I originally ran into this band at New York City’s Terminal 5 as part of the original run of Dillinger Escape Plan farewell shows... Their live performance was enough to make sure I followed them on subsequent releases."
–Invisible Oranges

"5/5. God Mother continue raising the bar."

–Metal Epidemic

"This EP is roughly seven minutes of unrelenting chaos. It has all the madness of Better Lovers with the stoner rock filter of a Baroness. A wild combo and a wild release – as always – from God Mother."
–Metal Injection

"An intense yet excellent EP from God Mother. If you’ll remember, this is the same band that Dillinger Escape Plan was absolutely enamored with and they’ve literally heard it all so take a cue from them, and us, and seek out this EP."
–Nine Circles

"From blasts of jagged math rock to cocksure splashes of rock and roll swagger, the Swedes output may not be as outright chaotic as material by Dillinger or Converge but when they veer from the infectious stomp of 'Big Things Coming' to the 48-second 'Human+' where all hell breaks loose in an almost Napalm Death-esque way, they prove themselves to be full of surprises."
–V13

BANGLADEAFY - "Pastures"

BANGLADEAFY: NYC synth-punks drop new single "Pastures"

“Pastures,” the latest single from Bangladeafy's upcoming new album Vulture, is out now.

Stream the single and pre-order the album, here: https://www.nefariousindustries.com/nef114

Stream the official music video, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAOkoo8SCj4

After wowing the underground for years with its prog-punk shredding (what one VICE writer described as “Lightning Bolt and The Melvins eating big, greedy spoonfuls of each other’s candy-colored vomit”), the NYC duo replaced bass guitar with synths and began moving toward its next form.

On new album Vulture, Jon Ehlers and Atif Haq – whose sensorineural hearing loss and Bangladeshi heritage, respectively, provide the basis for the band name – mash chaotic rhythms, euphoric hooks, and plenty of existential horror into songs that teeter between panic and ecstasy. Reference points include Devo, Skinny Puppy, The Locust, Dan Deacon, and Nihiloxica.

Fecking Bahamas describes the new track, “Pastures,” as “an angry screed of poetry with sparse, dislocated drums and some pretty radical synth stabs."

Speaking on his hearing disability, Ehlers states: "I’ve certainly faced criticism, or murmurings that I might not have what it takes to hang with the big dogs, so to speak, because there’s a limit to what a hearing disabled musician might be able to do. If anything, I feel that I've proved myself and have worked harder to get there."

Vulture drops June 21st on Nefarious Industries. A NYC record release show is booked for June 26th at Brooklyn Made.

More info: https://thechainworld.blogspot.com/2024/04/bangladeafy-vulture.html

Photo by Jenna Hill