DEAF CLUB + Metal Injection

"'Bright Side of Death' is just over a minute of blasting grindcore/powerviolence-esque madness. The song is noisy and suffocating the moment it blows through the speakers. Pure punk attitude with an ax to grind."
- Metal Injection

ICYMI: Watch (or re-watch) Deaf Club's video for their debut single, "Bright Side of Death," via Metal Injection, here.

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 Leo Ulfelder (Fissure) approach music as an opportunity to confront our collective sicknesses. We’ve got to try to listen, lest we all frolic headfirst towards the bright side of death, dragging this pillaged planet down with us. So whether you think the music is a radical disruption to the airwaves or just headache-inducing noise, you can feel free to tell them the brutal truth-- they can't hear you anyway.

Video directed by Rogelio Lopez and edited by Lucas Takano.

The band's debut EP, titled Contemporary Sickness, will be released digitally as well as on limited edition vinyl through Three One G Records (date tba). Mixed and mastered by Brent Asbury (who has worked on albums by bands like Retox, Panicker, Dead Cross, Planet B).

PITILESS + Metal Injection

“Though playing a strong straight of extreme metal seen through the lenses of death metal and grindcore, Pitiless play what they want to play: ugly, honest metal that spits blood in your face.”

— Metal Injection

Watch the video for Pitiless’ cover of Terrorizer’s “Human Prey,” via Metal Injection, here.

Pitiless are an emerging two-piece from the cold, harsh, desolate Canadian metal scene, in this case, Toronto, ON, Canada, comprised of guitarist/bassist/programmer Matt DeMille and lyricist/screamer Christopher J. Gramlich (Vilipend, Ancress).
The duo forge their own path by combining non-traditional aggressive vocals — for this style of music — with extreme metal influences, such as death, grind and their various offshoots, as well as film samples (Aliens, Mad Max: Fury Road) and an actual Aztec Death Whistle. Gramlich explains Pitiless’s mindset, musically and socially. “The goal is not to be part of a scene, since we’ve always been outsiders, even in the ‘outsider’ communities of metal, hardcore or whatever, but to form genuine connections via music with individuals.” Not content to sing about heartbreak or personal issues, Pitiless draw lyrical inspiration from famed Polish painter Zdzisław Beksiński, with each song being based upon at least one of his works, as well as mental health issues and chronic pain. Pitiless also utilize a great deal of religious imagery, references and even quotes from religious texts, despite being non-believers and very much anti-organized religion, as such imagery is ubiquitous in our society and undeniably powerful and provocative.

This EP will be released digitally on July 26th. Preorder, here.

Upcoming shows:

August 4 - Toronto, ON @ Bovine Sex Club w/ Fister

NASTIE BAND - "Circle of Knives"

"A sound and image that will remind listeners of the wicked, daughter-tempting, devil-worshipping schlock bands of classic ’80s movies. The bands revels in chains, leather, and snarling heavy rock that pulls from all corners of metal, goth, and noise, with a hard polish of NYC degeneracy... Lumbering doom riffs, death march drumming, haunting whispers, pained cries, eerie church bells, and even a bevy of Celtic Frostian ‘OUGHS!’ throughout. The track certainly feels metal as hell, though its horizons are set firmly outside of the genre’s simple limitations; think of the soundtrack to an unholy blasphemous rite held in a slum basement in a scene from one of the Death Wish films, and you’ll have some idea of what the collective is going for."
–Kerrang!

Nastie Band — the new NYC art-doom collective featuring Roddy Bottum (Faith No More, Imperial Teen), octogenarian Chris Kachulis (a collaborator of electronic music pioneer Bruce Haack), and current/former members of Merchandise, Pollution, Villains, and Cream Abdul Babar – has premiered new track "Circle of Knives," off its upcoming, self-titled, debut album.

Stream the song, here:
https://www.kerrang.com/the-news/exclusive-nastie-band-faith-no-more-villains-live-up-to-their-name-on-diabolical-new-track/

Pre-order the album ahead of its July 26th release date, here:
https://sleepinggiantglossolalia.bandcamp.com/

The sound: spine-chilling dirges, for fans of the creepiest depths of Sunn O))), Today Is The Day, Celtic Frost, and Scott Walker. As Kerrang!'s write-up states, it is a cinematic sound, evoking dark rituals in B-movies of the '80s. Indeed, Nastie Band was assembled and masterminded by New York artist Frank Haines, performing here under the name Sandy Smiles – Haines' body of work includes film, performance art, stained glass, and more.

Nastie Band was recorded at Seizures Palace in Brooklyn by Jason LaFarge (Swans, Devendra Banhart, Opening Bell) and mastered by James Plotkin (Merzbow, Sunn O))), Gnaw).

THE NUMBER TWELVE LOOKS LIKE YOU - Wild Gods

The Number Twelve Looks Like You announces its fifth full-length album – and first new music in ten years: Wild Gods.

Wild Gods will be released September 20th via Overlord Music (double LP vinyl, CD, and digital formats).

Stream the album's first single, "Ruin the Smile," here via the official lyric video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyoHQl9woVo

Pre-order the album, here:
https://noxii.ffm.to/wildgods

From New Jersey, The Number Twelve Looks Like You made its name as a standout of the mid-'00s mathcore scene, bashing out wildly adventurous, technical music, imbued with the musicality of progressive metal and the urgency of screamo. The AV Club once described the sound as a hybrid of "The Blood Brothers' dual-scream abrasion and The Dillinger Escape Plan's nanotech riffing... The Number Twelve knows precisely when to throw a soaring, melodic chorus or a bizarre flamenco flourish into an otherwise grinding, grunting gnarl of prog-metal."

Releasing four albums and one EP between 2003 and 2009, the band then took a long hiatus, returning finally in 2016 with a new lineup: original members Jesse Korman on vocals and Alexis Pareja on guitar, with new recruits Michael Kadnar on drums and DJ Scully on bass. The reformed, revitalized Number Twelve toured the US and Europe with the likes of The Dillinger Escape Plan, and even brought its noise to Russia for the first time ever.

Continuing to tour over the next few years, The Number Twelve grew into the beast we have before us now. Wild Gods, the first new album since 2009, bursts with raw emotion and daring musicality. An absolute feast for the ears, Wild Gods shows The Number Twelve of 2019 to be an evolved, supercharged version of its former self.

Founder and frontman Jesse Korman explains the band's return: "The band ended somewhat abruptly. We all just needed a break from one another. So as the years went on, Alex and I felt like we never got to write some songs that we knew had to be written – that next sound, that next wild record that would push us even more out of our comfort zones and into new waters. We had built such a foundation, such an amazing following, and before we got too old, we knew we should give this one more big shot. To really make a statement for the world to remember us by."

Guitarist Alexis Pareja describes the musical direction on the new album: "The intention here was to create an unexpected journey through atmospheres that make the listener reflect on the tension and release that each song is putting forth while maintaining a connecting thread. Our goal was to find a balance where we were not repeating ourselves, yet staying true to an essence of what the band had achieved in the past. When it comes to influences, I listen to a great variety of world, classical, jazz, and minimalist offerings. We all have very different musical preferences and something interesting is bound to happen."

Korman desribes the new album's lyrical theme: "In the past my lyrics were stories that personally happened to me. It would either be about some experience I went through or something I just simply observed and had to speak about. After we disbanded, I always said that if I had a platform like Number Twelve again, I would speak for others and help tell their stories. Which is what I did. This album is like a galactic freak show advertisement to aliens, telling them to come see this insane place we call Earth. On Earth, there are stories that are so out there, you would think they were made up. But no, this is what happens here on Earth. We have everything from priests who molest children, and churches that cover it up, to men thinking they are superior to women, to people killing wild animals with military grade weapons and calling it a sport. I am sort of like a deranged ringleader to this planet, telling the extraterrestrials to come see and hear all about it, to come see the Wild Gods."

Wild Gods was recorded at Backroom Studios in Rockaway, New Jersey, by Kevin Antreassian, with vocal recording done at Brady Street Recordings in Waldwick, New Jersey, by Mikhail Marinas and Jeremy Comitas.

The album's artwork was designed by Jesse Korman, with photos by Karen Jerzyk.

Tracklist:
1) Gallery of Thrills
2) Last Laughter
3) Ruin the Smile
4) Ease My Siamese
5) Sword Swallower
6) Raised and Erased
7) Tombo's Wound
8) Of Fear
9) Interspecies
10) Rise Up Mountain

Tour – The Number Twelve Looks Like You, God Mother, Pound:
10/1 Brooklyn, NY @ Kingsland
10/2 Amityville, NY @ Amityville Music Hall
10/3 Somerville, MA @ ONCE
10/4 Buffalo, NY @ Rec Room
10/5 Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz PDB
10/6 Toronto, ON @ Sneaky Dee’s
10/8 London, ON @ Call The Office
10/9 Lansing, MI @ Mac’s Bar
10/10 Berwyn, IL @ Wire
10/11 Indianapolis, IN @ Citadel
10/12 Columbus, OH @ Big Room Bar
10/13 Pittsburgh, PA @ Smiling Moose
10/15 Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
10/16 Richmond, VA @ Canal Club
10/17 Philedelphia, PA @ Voltage Lounge
10/18 Teaneck, NJ @ Debonair Music Hall

Lineup:
Jesse Korman - vocals
Alexis Pareja - guitar, piano, charango
DJ Scully - bass
Michael Kadnar - drums

Discography:
Put On Your Rosy Red Glasses - Eyeball Records - 2003
An Inch of Gold For An Inch of Time EP - Eyeball Records - 2005
Nuclear.Sad.Nuclear. - Eyeball Records - 2005
Mongrel - Eyeball Records - 2007
Worse Than Alone - Eyeball Records - 2009
Wild Gods - Overlord Music - 2019

Band photo by Karen Jerzyk

COARSE - Cut and Preserved

COARSE to release new "Cut and Preserved" remix EP via 6131 Records; EP features members of The Armed and Street Sects; first single now streaming

6131 Records announces the August 23rd release of Cut and Preserved, the new remix EP by Coarse.

Stream first single "The People of the State of New York vs. Coarse," here:

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/track/2CJkcXCZVlAfJT6fQZMDE8

Bandcamp - https://music.6131records.com/album/cut-and-preserved 

"If Coarse sound like two major U.S. cities on opposing coasts ripping one another to shreds – well, that’s because, in a way, they are. The bicoastal duo – guitarist/vocalist Ryan Knowles of Portland, Oregon, and drummer/vocalist Brandon Gallagher of New York City – have stuffed every East and West Coast influence they’ve ever known into a turbo-speed blender and cranked that puppy on high, for a sound that fuses American sludge metal, grind, and mathcore into one filthy, furious package. The band’s upcoming new EP, Cut and Preserved – a precursor to a full-length the band has planned for next year on 6131 Records – adds a heavy industrial influence to the mix, as if Coalesce and Author & Punisher fell into a vat of mutating slime, and were disposed of in the sewers of Manhattan to rot for a decade or more."
–Kerrang!

Coarse is the bicoastal duo of guitarist/vocalist Ryan Knowles and drummer/vocalist Brandon Gallagher. A project spawned from run-ins during extensive touring schedules, Knowles and Gallagher joined forces to create something entirely new and separate from past endeavors. Described as "feral rock," Coarse is a band exhibiting its individualism on full display.

Coarse stormed out of the gate in 2018 with a fully formed sound and vision. Intense debut EP "I" was written and recorded in four different cities across the US. A juxtaposition of sass and grit, the sound was built on caustic guitars, blown-out drums, and Knowles and Gallagher's dual vocals – a call-and-response of riotous taunts and booming lows. Revolver Magazine nailed it with this description: “Rough and tumble, violent and furious, owing a debt to noisy, acrobatic hardcore heroes such as Botch while breaking into furious Crossed Out–style blasting hatred.”

Completing the package was bold, black-and-white, collage-style artwork, created by Gallagher to evoke the harshness of city life. A zine titled Fur was released alongside the EP as an extension of the artwork. The music video for "Hoax," shot/directed by Gallagher and colored/edited by Samuel Gursky, took the aesthetic to nauseating depths – a VHS-style nightmare of urban decay and sickness. Like Black Flag or Crass before them, Coarse's graphics are inextricably married to its music, with the two sides adding up to the whole.

Now signed to 6131 Records, Coarse shifts into a new chapter. The duo has just completed its first round of shows touring in Japan, and an exclusive appearance at Groezrock Festival in Belgium. While the band continues to work on its full-length debut, the upcoming, chopped-and-screwed Cut and Preserved EP is a stunning detour into the electronic realm that was only lurking in the shadows on the EP. Ominous, hypnotic industrial-metal of the Godflesh variety brushes up against noise and hip-hop elements, as musical fragments from the "I" EP get totally reanimated in this new context. The 4-song release, comprising one entirely new track and three remixes, features guest parts from members of The Armed, Street Sects, Precious Death, and Hash Gordon. Some tracks were recorded in Brooklyn, NY in Gallagher’s apartment, others were recorded with Adam Cichocki in Bayonne, NJ at Timber Studios. The whole effort was mixed and mastered by Adam Cichocki at Timber Studios.

Cut and Preserved tracklist:

1) The People of the State of New York vs. Coarse

2) Cut and Preserved (feat. someone from The Armed)

3) Untitled (feat. Leo Ashline of Street Sects)

4) Shed (Precious Death remix feat. Hash Gordon)

Cover art and photo by Brandon Gallagher

https://coarseisaband.bandcamp.com/
https://instagram.com/coarseisaband/
https://facebook.com/coarseisaband/

New Video + Band Announcement: DEAF CLUB

The Chain is excited to be among the first to introduce DEAF CLUB.

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 Leo Ulfelder (Fissure) approach music as an opportunity to confront our collective sicknesses. We’ve got to try to listen, lest we all frolic headfirst towards the bright side of death, dragging this pillaged planet down with us. So whether you think the music is a radical disruption to the airwaves or just headache-inducing noise, you can feel free to tell them the brutal truth-- they can't hear you anyway.

The band's debut EP, titled Contemporary Sickness, will be released digitally as well as on limited edition vinyl through Three One G Records (date tba). Mixed and mastered by Brent Asbury (who has worked on albums by bands like Retox, Panicker, Dead Cross, Planet B).

View the video for the band's first single, "Bright Side of Death," directed by Rogelio Lopez and edited by Lucas Takano, exclusively on the band’s Instagram:

View this post on Instagram

Deaf Club • A new (un)musical project featuring members of The Locust, ACXDC, Weak Flesh, Run With The Hunted, and Fissure • “Bright Side Of Death” is the first video from their forthcoming Contemporary Sickness EP coming via @threeoneg soon! • Directed by @rogetonez • #deafclub #threeoneg #consic #punk #noiserock

A post shared by Deaf Club (@deafclubband) on Jul 3, 2019 at 8:02pm PDT

INUS + Post-Trash

"Gloriously mangled and deranged, INUS take a hyper-active look into corporate malaise and dead-inside institutionalism, with a jerky and erratic approach to deconstructed punk and serrated noise rock. INUS inhabit a planet all their own..."
- Post-Trash

Watch the video for "Time is a Person", described as "a warped and melted polyrhythmic masterpiece" by Post-Trash, here.

INUS (aka The Institute for Navigating the Universal Self) is a pre-postapocalyptic, post-honky-tonk-prog-skronk, space Tropicalia, math-lounge powersilence trio from San Diego, California comprised of guitarist/vocalist Bobby Bray (The Locust, Holy Molar), drummer Brandon Relf (Sleeping People), and Chad Deal (Phantom Twins).The video for INUS’ song "Time is a Person" is comprised of a sampling of competitors' commercials. The satirical and transformative video collage highlights archetypal images and tactics: panning to students hovering over a laptop; outdated technology; and juicy, comfy chairs just waiting for you to take out a huge loan and enroll.

Western Spaghettification will be released digitally as well as on red vinyl through Three One G Records on August 9th. Preorder, here.

PITILESS + Metal Sucks

"What’s in a name? In the case of Pitiless, everything... the adjective isn’t just a moniker… it’s a warning. Pitiless do not show mercy."
-Metal Sucks

Listen to the "cynical dialogue" and "pulverizing death-grind" of Pitiless' "Ugly on the Inside," via Metal Sucks, here.

Pitiless are an emerging two-piece from the cold, harsh, desolate Canadian metal scene, in this case, Toronto, ON, Canada, comprised of guitarist/bassist/programmer Matt DeMille and lyricist/screamer Christopher J. Gramlich (Vilipend, Ancress).

The duo forge their own path by combining non-traditional aggressive vocals — for this style of music — with extreme metal influences, such as death, grind and their various offshoots, as well as film samples (Aliens, Mad Max: Fury Road) and an actual Aztec Death Whistle. Gramlich explains Pitiless’s mindset, musically and socially. “The goal is not to be part of a scene, since we’ve always been outsiders, even in the ‘outsider’ communities of metal, hardcore or whatever, but to form genuine connections via music with individuals.” Not content to sing about heartbreak or personal issues, Pitiless draw lyrical inspiration from famed Polish painter Zdzisław Beksiński, with each song being based upon at least one of his works, as well as mental health issues and chronic pain. Pitiless also utilize a great deal of religious imagery, references and even quotes from religious texts, despite being non-believers and very much anti-organized religion, as such imagery is ubiquitous in our society and undeniably powerful and provocative.

This EP will be released digitally on July 26th. Preorder, here.

A GOOD ROGERING + Metal Injection

"The track is haunting and hard hitting. It starts out eerie with just a simple bass line and slowly comes creeping in. The heaviness builds as the track becomes more and more uncomfortable. It builds like a script."

- Metal Injection

Watch A Good Rogering's newest dystopian offering in the form of lyric video, via Metal Injection, here.

Driven by the baser instincts of their caveman predecessors, A Good Rogering delivers a raw and powerful sound best described as eclectic heavy-rock. Post the release of their animated parody Death Metal video "This Is Death Metal," the band ventured into lighter territory with the acoustic introspective single "Out of Reach," and a rework of their funk anthem "Mr. Peanut." Notorious for their wild, often manic live performances, the Austin, TX quartet comprised of Skunk Manhattan (vocals/guitar), Rick Lambert (guitar), Sammiard Alvarado (bass), and Rom Gov (drums), is now back in the studio recording a full on proper rock album.

This track is off of the band’s 2017 EP release, This is Death Metal. The EP was tracked by Rob Hinton at Mesa Recording Studios in Austin, TX, mixed by Marc Urselli of East Side Sound in NYC and mastered by Maor Appelbaum of Appelbaum Mastering in Los Angeles, CA. EP and digital download is available here as well as through iTunes and Spotify. 

This is Death Metal EP:
1. Never Miss Again
2. The Snail
3. Five Ministries
4. This Is Death Metal

Upcoming Shows: June 29 - Austin, TX @ Come and Take it Live

WINGTIPS - "Deaf Pursuit"

WINGTIPS: CHICAGO GOTHS PREMIERE "DEAF PURSUIT" MUSIC VIDEO FROM UPCOMING "EXPOSURE THERAPY" ALBUM; NEW TOUR DATES ANNOUNCED

"Darkwave is experiencing an incredible renaissance right now, in part due to stylish and talented duos like Drab Majesty... Another rising act in the genre is Chicago's Wingtips, the devastating twosome of Vincent Segretario and Hannah Avalon."

–Revolver

Wingtips have premiered the music video for new single "Deaf Pursuit" via Revolver.

Watch, here: 
https://www.revolvermag.com/music/hear-darkwave-duo-wingtips-channel-cure-early-ministry-deaf-pursuit

"Deaf Pursuit" is the first track off Wingtips' debut full-length album, Exposure Therapy. The album will see an August 23rd release via Artoffact Records (Kælan Mikla, GOLD, Cloud Rat).

Pre-order, pre-add, and pre-save the album, here:
https://orcd.co/exposuretherapy

From Chicago, Wingtips is the duo of Vincent Segretario and Hannah Avalon. Their dark anthems are in line with Ministry's early, "With Sympathy"-era synth-pop and the textural, yearning sounds of The Cure. Scene authority Post-Punk has described the band as “a cross between John Hughes soundtrack cuts from Thompson Twins or OMD, and guitar work reminiscent of The Cure’s Disintegration.”

Modern-day reference points include Drab Majesty, with whom Wingtips have shared the stage.

Debut full-length Exposure Therapy follows the band's 2016 Greyarea EP. Exposure Therapy was engineered, co-produced, and mastered by Brian Fox at Altered States Studio in Chicago.

Wingtips' Vincent Segretario gives this statement about new single "Deaf Pursuit": "Not only is 'Deaf Pursuit' the lead single on but it’s also the song which sparked the writing process for the rest of the album. In terms of style and emotional intent, everything fell into place after 'Deaf Pursuit.' The song came to us at a time we were both expelling a shared toxic energy present in our lives – one that lived in people we were close to. One of the most dominant themes on the album is renewal, so I felt it proper to begin the album’s course by quite literally stating 'you’re dead to me.' I feel as though I’m speaking to that which I’m moving on from in my life. You can’t get more to the point than that! Haha!"

Wingtips embark on an extensive North American tour in August, including slots on Cold Waves VIII in Chicago, Absolution Festival in Tampa, and much more.

Tour:
Aug 3 - Minneapolis, MN @ Loring Bar  #
Aug 27 - Omaha, NE @ Reverb Lounge  $
Aug 28 - Denver, CO @ Rhinoceropolis
Aug 30 - Boise, ID @ The Shredder
Aug 31 - Seattle, WA @ Belltown Yacht Club
Sep 4 - Vancouver, BC @ The Astoria
Sep 5 - Portland, OR @ The Lovecraft
Sep 6 - Oakland, CA @ The Uptown  %
Sep 8 - San Diego, CA @ The Whistle Stop
Sep 10 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Moroccan
Sep 11 - Phoenix, AZ @ Lunchbox
Sep 12 - El Paso, TX @ Rockhouse
Sep 13 - San Antonio, TX @ The Amp Room  &
Sep 14 - Austin, TX @ Empire  &
Sep 15 - Dallas, TX @ Three Links
Sep 17 - Tulsa, OK @ The Starlite
Sep 18 - Kansas City, MO @ miniBar
Sep 20 - Chicago, IL @ Cold Waves Festival
Sep 26 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Spirit
Sep 28 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Bazaar  +
Sep 30 - Richmond, VA @ Banditos  +
Oct 2 - Raleigh, NC @ The Wicked Witch  +
Oct 5 - Tampa, FL @ Absolution Festival  +
Oct 10 - Nashville, TN @ Drkmttr
Oct 11 - Louisville, KY @ Art Sanctuary
Oct 16 - Detroit, MI @ UFO Factory
Oct 17 - Toronto, ON @ The Boat
Oct 19 - Newark, NJ @ QXT's

# = w/ Silent Servant, Fee Lion
$ = w/ Plack Blague DJ set
% = w/ Ash Code
& = w/ Twin Tribes
+ = w/ Korine

Exposure Therapy tracklist:

1) Eintrot

2) Deaf Pursuit 

3) Accidental Effigies

4) After the Storm

5) The Eye That Follows Suit

6) Sentinel

7) Here and Now

8) Ghosted

9) Relativity

10) Innocent Blood

Lineup:
Vincent Segretario - lead vocals, guitars, electronics
Hannah Avalon - backing vocal, guitars, electronics

Cover art and photo by Alexus McLane

wingtips.bandcamp.com/

facebook.com/wingtipschicago/
facebook.com/artoffact/