Will Not be Posting This Weekend

We will not be posting this weekend. Hopfuly we will be able to post on Monday. If you wish to contact us then please still do and we will get back to you as soon as we can. Thank you!

David Russ

Dying Fetus Announce Two Select Shows in American

Dying Fetus to play two select shows in American this September. One in Clitfon, NJ at the Dingbatz on September 6th and the second in Amityville, NY at Revolution on September 7th. These shows will serve as the bands warm up shows for their upcoming European tour, 'The Womb to Waste'.


Original Site: http://www.thegauntlet.com/article/504/25926/DYING-FETUS-Announce-Select-North-East-Dates

Vision Divine set to Release New Album in Fall

The Progressive Power Metal band Vision Divine announce to release there new album, titled Destination Set to Nowhere, is to be released on September 18, 2012 by Eagle Rock imprint Armoury Records. The album will feature 11 Tracks:

1. S´io fosse foco
2. The Dream Maker
3. Beyond The Sun And Far Away
4. The Ark
5. Mermaids From Their Moons
6. The Lighthouse
7. Message To Home
8. The House Of The Angels
9. The Sin Is You
10. Here We Die
11. Destination Set To Nowhere

Original Site: http://www.thegauntlet.com/article/80569/25929/VISION-DIVINE-To-Release-New-Studio-Album-This-Fall

Interview: Henri Otto and Sami from Ever Circling Wolves

Band: Ever Circling Wolves

Genre: Doom Metal

Year Formed: 2007

Location: Helsinki, Finland

Members: Otto Forsberg - guitar

Henri Harell - guitar, vocals

Niko Karjalainen - drums

Sami Nevala - bass

Website

Interview Though Email with: Henri (guitar, vocals), Otto (guitar) and Sami (bass) while also finding that perfect bass guitar tone with Sami's new Rickenbacker.

Why start a Doom Metal band? 
     Henri: ""Why not?" as Sami put it so well.
I started writing songs for my solo project, and they turned out doom. Then,
when I had some songs ready, they were so good that I wanted to play them with
a band. After a while, I found some like-minded people to complete the line-up."

What was the game plan going to record "The Silence from Your Room"? Because it was suppose to be an EP what made you
guys know that it was going to be a full-length album? 
     Henri: "We thought we had less material than we eventually
did. After the recording clocked more than 40 minutes, we decided to call it a
full-length."

     Otto: "After all it isn't that hard to write enough
material for a full-length when you play doom metal. I guess it's harder to do
an EP if you want it to include more than two songs."

What is the overall sound of "Chapter III: in which the protagonist finds himself at the bottom of the ocean as well as
in a petrified forest"? 
     Otto: "Deep and watery. And we wanted to have more
dynamics and progression in our songs after our full-length, which was probably
a bit too straightforward - focusing mainly on crushing distortion. That isn't
bad per se, but when album clocks somewhere around 40 minutes, it can get a bit
monotonous."

     Henri: "There's an old song and a newer one, with 3
years between them. I think we managed to make them sound coherent together
even so. Go and listen for yourself, though. The tracks are available for
pay-what-you-want at our bandcamp page (along with the full-length),
http://ecwdoom.bandcamp.com"

How has the band improved since they first started?
     Otto: "Quite a lot, actually, because the first EP
was completely written by Henri, and even though the full-length was recorded
with a full band, most of its material was Henri's handwriting too - the rest
of us just added little tidbits of our own here and there. The more recent material has a lot
more joint songwriting; you can hear influences from all of us.Sami: In other
words, we've managed to focus our vision better and incorporated more
experimental ideas in our music now."

      Henri: "Not like we ever had that verse/chorus/verse
thing going. Now it's just more organic, a swearword though that may be to
some. Also, on a personal level, our musical tastes have expanded, bringing
even more varied influences to the table. And we've tried to overcome limitations
of the genre, even if we skirt the border of several of those. I think there's
a basis of doom, sludge and death in our sound, and then the experimentation."

     Otto: "Exactly. Originally we had a pretty strong
foothold on death/doom and sludge, whereas now we're trying to broaden our
sound in several interesting directions while still keeping one foot steady on
that base of doomy sludge. I hope our listeners will be as excited about it as
we are."

What is the future of this band?

     Henri: "Bright, I hope. We're currently recording our second full-length album, which will display our new, more varied sound."

     Otto: "Some of our focal points for this new album have been increased dynamics - meaning that this time there will be quieter and calmer sections that emphasize those heavier, crushing sections and just to make it sound more interesting; pushing our songwriting further - so that we don't take the most obvious ideas, but make it sound fresh and new, not just the old and same; and have it all sound good and coherent, not just a bunch of wild ideas that don't sit well together."

     Henri: "We'd like to play gigs for audiences who are interested in what we offer, starting here in the gloomy and frosbitten mountains of necroyeti bobsledders in our native Finland and hopefully also eventually abroad (book us, you sumbitch, we're good!) We will also continue to drink good and interesting beers and worship vibrations."

      Otto: "Word."

MASTODON Continues To Celebrate Record Store Day With A Digital Only Release

Can someone please explain this to me. Record Store Day was created to get music fans into the record stores. A lot of record labels and bands offer special pressings or artwork for vinyl releases on this day. I realize the first pressing sold out in 3 seconds, but it was a special Record Store Day release. Why sell it months later as digital only. This release was initially intended to bolster indie store sales and was a huge hit. But to then re-release it months later as digital only is going to cause more harm to the indie stores than good.

Mastodon and Feist are pleased to announce that they will release a digital version of their popular 7" vinyl single, "A Commotion" / "Black Tongue," today - Tuesday, July 31st via Warner Bros. Records and Cherrytree/Interscope Records. The tracks will be available at all participating digital retailers.

Isn't that basically a slap in the collective face of all indie record store owners? On their special day that was setup to help them, the largest label is promoting something to help put that final nail in the coffin. The press release goes on:

This highly sought after release will also include a special Interactive "A Commotion" music video directed by Vice Cooler, and will also premiere today on www.listentofeist.com and www.mastodonrocks.com. The video is launched by an HTML5 "Feistodon" video app that allows users to crossfade between Feist and Mastodon's versions of the "A Commotion" to make their own unique versions.

The "Feistodon" split-single was one of the most in-demand exclusives during Record Store Day this past April 21st. It features Mastodon covering the Feist song "A Commotion," from her current highly acclaimed current album "Metals" (Interscope) while Feist covers Mastodon's "Black Tongue" - a track from the Atlanta rock band's critically lauded present album The Hunter. Only 5000 color vinyl 7" singles were pressed up and sold out instantly.

Mastodon and Leslie Feist met while appearing on the same episode of UK talk show Later... with Jools Holland last October. They were both so impressed with each other's performances that they decided to work together.

Mastodon recently wrapped up a European tour supporting The Hunter. The band will return to England in August to perform at the Reading and Leeds festivals:

Sat Aug 25 Reading Festival Reading, UK
Sun Aug 26 Leeds Festival Leeds, UK

Original Site: http://www.thegauntlet.com/article/585/25920/MASTODON-Continues-To-Celebrate-Record-Store-Day-With-A-Digital-Only-Release