HOT GRAVES Covers Release - Free Download

HOT GRAVES Release Necros Mixos Sacraficio Covers EP for Free Download Gainesville, FL's d-beat death-thrash destroyers ov the faith, HOT GRAVES, have just released a brand-new covers EP, Necros Mixos Sacraficio, and thrown it up for free download on their Bandcamp page. The hell-raisin' trio take us on a blackened d-beat odyssey through both cult and classic territories. A cut from The Accused cozies up next to a Discharge anthem, Roky Erickson's ghost turns its wild eyes to the Floor, a moment of Midnight crashes into  GWAR's unholy racket, and the carnage left by Cannibal Corpse bleeds into Pentagram's last days. Download Necros Mixos Sacraficio for FREE here: http://hotgraves.bandcamp.com/album/necros-mixos-sacrificio*

HOT GRAVES frontman Myk commented: "Cover songs: most people start out playing them to get acquainted with the in's and out's ov songcraft and performance, we all certainly did. But after awhile, they take on more significance, music becomes more sacred, or more worthy ov blaspheme. This recording signifies for HOT GRAVES a tribute to influences, and a credit to our own sense ov taking liberties within arrangements and lyrics and adaptations. For one thing, we tend to play everything D-Beat, and that is no exception here. Some ov these covers may seem strange to you, hopefully not, but each one represents a key to what makes HOT GRAVES, including the song we took our name from." NECROS MIXOS SACRAFICIO - Cover Songs Worship

TRACKLISTING:
1. War = Death 2011 - The Accused
2. What Do I Get? - Discharge
3. White Faces - Roky Erickson
4. Scimitar - Floor
5. Hot Graves - Midnight
6. Maggot Medley - GWAR / Cannibal Corpse
7. Madman - Pentagram

ABUM CREDITS:Released 08 April 2011
Myk - Guitar / Vocals
Hutch - Bass
Matt - Drums

Guest backing vocals on "Maggot Medley" and "War = Death" by Mike & Micah from Bartholin. Guest vocals on "Maggot Medley" (2nd half) by Damian from Impurity. No songs written by Hot Graves, all songs by respective artists named, all arrangements by Hot Graves. Drums recorded 04/01/11 at Thee Goatshed. All other everything recorded 04/02/11-04/05/11 at Baphomet's Lair Studio. Recorded / Mixed / Mastered by Myk Colby.

All respect due to the bands we cover here.
LINKS:Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#!/HOTGRAVES666?sk=info>
http://www.youtube.com/user/hotgraves
http://www.myspace.com/hotgraves
http://www.hotgraves.bandcamp.com
http://satanikrecordings.bigcartel.com/
http://www.satanikrecordings.wordpress.com

WOLVSERPENT to Headline American Tour

WOLVSERPENT, the blackened brainchild of longtime collaborators Blake Green and Brittany McConnell, have announced that they will once again be hitting the road in support of their avant-garde masterpiece, Blood Seed. The sprawling compositions contained therein gracefully wend their way through the valleys of death, drone, black metal, doom, and chamber music and arrive triumphantly on foreign shores. Borne of the duo's 20+ years of classical training and deep appreciation for the works of composers like Arvo Part, Gyoygy Ligeti, and Ennio Morricone, WOLVSERPENT's vision combines stringed amplified instruments with a 21st century approach to composition to create works that are dark, emotional, menacing, cinematic, atmospheric, and heartbreakingly beautiful.

Blood Seed was originally released on virgin vinyl by the illustrious 20 Buck Spin in the year 2010, and will soon be made available as a 2xCD (containing the Blood Seed album as well as Gathering Strengths, an earlier release under their former moniker) by Crucial Blast on May 31st, 2011. A mammoth 32-date tour looms ahead of WOLVSERPENT and opening allies, blackened dronesters A STORY OF RATS. Along the way, they'll be joined by the likes of SCOTT "WINO" WEINRICH, MASTER MUSICIANS OF BUKKAKE, AMBER ASYLUM, TOMBS, A STORM OF LIGHT, WITCH MOUNTAIN, UZALA, KAYO DOT, and many more.

*WOLVSERPENT SPRING TOUR 2011 DATES:*

*Wed 5/11 in Boise, ID @ VAC w/Uzala*
*Thu 5/12 in Seattle, WA @ El Corazon w/Master Musicians of Bukkake, The Blinding Light*
*Fri 5/13 in Portland, OR @ East End w/Witch Mountain*
*Mon 5/16 in Arcata, CA @ The Alibi*
*Tue 5/17 in SF, CA @ Thee Parkside w/Amber Asylum*
*Wed 5/18 in Oakland, CA @ Eli’s Mile High Club w/Laudanum*
*Thu 5/19 in LA, CA @ Bordello Bar w/Wino (acoustic)*
*Fri 5/20 in Phoenix, AZ @ Sound Kontrol w/GOG, John Mannion, Rituals*
*Sat 5/21 in Santa Fe, NM @ Warehouse 21*
*Sun 5/22 in Las Cruces, NM @ The Trainyard w/Yazata, Ghost Icon*
*Mon 5/23 in Austin, TX @ Headhunters*
*Tue 5/24 in Dallas, TX @ Rubber Gloves*
*Wed 5/25 in Texarkana @ Dave’s Skate Shop*
*Thu 5/26 in Shreveport, LA @ Dalzell*
*Fri 5/27 in Nashville, TN @ Little Hamilton*
*Sat 5/28 in Athens, GA @ Caledonia Lounge*
*Sun 5/29 in Columbia, SC @ TBA*
*Mon 5/30 in Durham, NC @ Casbah w/MAKE*
*Tue 5/31 in Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter w/Wildildlife*
*Fri 6/3 in Baltimore, MD @ Talking Head*
*Sat 6/4 in Brooklyn, NY @ Acheron*
*Sun 6/5 in Providence, RI @ TBA*
*Wed 6/8 in Milford, CT @ Daniel St w/Kayo Dot*
*Thu 6/9 in Pittsburgh, PA @ Garfield Arts w/Dwarf Fortress*
*Fri 6/10 in Columbus, OH @ Cafe Bourbon St*
*Sat 6/11 in Lansing, MI @ Mac’s Bar*
*Sun 6/12 in Chicago, IL @ Pancho’s w/Tombs, A Storm of Light*
*Tue 6/14 in Milwaukee, WI @ Borg Ward*
*Wed 6/15 in Minneapolis, MN @ TBA*
*Thu 6/16 in Iowa City, IA @ TBA*
*Fri 6/17 – TBA*
*Sat 6/18 – Denver, CO @ TBA*

OFFICIAL WEBSITE <http://www.wolvserpent.com>

Stephen O'Malley of SUNN 0))) Contributes Foreword to 'METALION: The Slayer Mag Diaries'

Bazillion Points Books is proud to reveal that innovative metal musician Stephen O'Malley of SUNN 0))) has contributed a lengthy foreword to the upcoming 744-page hardcover book METALION: The Slayer Mag Diaries, an anthology and memoir by Norway's metal godfather Jon Kristiansen.

As a graphic designer during the 1990s,

O'Malley befriended Kristiansen during the early 1990s, during the initial rise of Norway's black metal phenomenon. He later designed music packaging for Norwegian black metal artists including Mayhem, Burzum, and Emperor.

Says O'Malley: "Discovering Slayer 9 in early 1993 was a significant step in my initial descent into the cultural underground via music, guided by the unique filter of Metalion. Right when it counted, Slayer Mag brought the black metal thing into human perspective. Somehow Metalion's interview subjects were always at ease as human beings, projecting less of their anti-superhero or negative rock-star personas. I would say that each and every one of them was honored and pleased to be in the magazine... Slayer Mag really is a true cult."

Years in the making, METALION includes over 600 reproduction pages from every issue of Slayer mag, spanning from the early 1980s through 2010. In addition, author Jon Kristiansen recounts his life's story, from alienated outsider to central figure in Norwegian black metal to world-weary metal survivor. The book also features over 100 rare photographs, including two color sections and a portrait gallery of photographs taken by Kristiansen himself.

"The greatest heavy metal story ever told" will be available June 6, 2011, wherever books are sold, and is available for preorder now with two bonus limited patches from Bazillion Points Books, "America's smallest but heaviest book publisher."

http://www.metalionbook.com

PARIS IS BURNING - Free FRENCH Metal Compilation!!

HELLO

Attached is the link to listen or download the first compilation of French scene (from the collective karoshi Entertainment) PARIS IS BURNING where you can find the best metal band / hardcore band from PARIS and its suburbs like the Arrs / Memories Of A Dead Man / The Prestige / Post offense / Lokurah .....

Download this motherfucker...

thank you to you if you can to relay the info and the link to your pages / media (flyer is in attachments with full list and details) This compilation is free and whose sole purpose is to develop and advance the European metal scene.

for information / chronic / interview contact me ben: boneshxc@gmail.com

Now don't be an asshole and support this scene...

BARONESS & CITIZENS ARREST Added to CHAOS IN TEJAS

Chaos in Tejas, the country's greatest gathering of underground punk, hardcore, indie, grind, thrash, and heavy metal heroes old and new from around the world, has just announced the final additions to this year's 2011 event.

In addition to the previously confirmed performances by Killing Joke, Converge, Autopsy, Unbroken, Tragedy, Fucked Up, Youth of Today, Doom, Dillinger Four, F.Y.P, Omar Souleyman, Seein' Red, Orange Goblin, Guitar Wolf and more, Chaos is proud to announce additional headlining performances by newly crowned metal kings Baroness, and legendary East Coast hardcore band Citizens Arrest!

Taking place in downtown Austin, TX, Chaos in Tejas is the punk rock version of SXSW, hosting some of the biggest, most renown, and most historic names in the counter-culture underground. Drawing in fans from all corners of the globe to fill the city's streets and venues, the event aims to bring some of the noisiest and most memorable experiences of their adult and adolescent lives.

Now in its seventh year, Chaos has previously played host to such legendary acts as Los Crudos, Eyehategod, Propagandhi, Roky Erickson, Cro-Mags, Harvey Milk, X, Rorschach, Ted Leo, Amebix, Subhumans, The Thermals and countless more, serving as one of the only, and possibly largest, punk-focused music festivals in the world.

For more information, visit:
www.chaosintejas.com

New U.S. CHRISTMAS Record + Live Dates

Neurot Recordings is proud to unleash the latest full-length from Appalachian masters of dark psychedelia, USX. Titled The Valley Path, the epic follow-up to 2010's critically-lauded Run Thick In The Night consists of one, near 40-minute mammoth track of esoteric beauty set for release in North America on May 31, 2011.

Commented guitarist/vocalist/wordsmith Nate Hall of the prodigious offering: "When the idea for The Valley Path was imagined, all involved agreed it was true and went forward. Forward in thought, forward in vision, forward in action. We achieved what we wanted to achieve, and whatever is said about The Valley Path, it will stand. USX has played more gigs than I can remember, from Marion to Prague, Detroit, Austria, Memphis and Switzerland. Dirt floors and Masonic temples, churches and ghettos, wilderness and cities. To dozens and hundreds - occasionally thousands. We have recorded our songs, projected our collective visions. We have realized all that we have imagined. At this point, we have nothing to prove. We've been under the gun many times, and whatever anyone might think about us, we've never flinched. Never compromised. When things are good - and they usually are, being in this band is a dream. But we can't entirely escape reality. Fuse boxes blow, power fails, instruments break, people leave. We vomit in parking lots and go play inside. We sleep sitting up and wake up sore. Or we sleep in places most people would not willfully enter. We are hungry and miss home. We go on, and we are thankful because we have songs. And when we write our songs become a part of us, our center. Our home. A song does not have to be a part of a collection. It is more important for music to take the path it chooses, and an artist must be willing to let this happen. The Valley Path is one song. And a song is a thing that changes."

As a precursor to the release of The Valley Path, USX will be performing several one off shows, including three full acoustic performances in North and South Carolina. Confirmed dates include:

USX Live Actions
4/16/2011 Earshot Records - Greenville SC ACOUSTIC SHOW
4/22/2011 Static Age Records - Asheville NC ACOUSTIC SHOW
4/29/2011 or 4/30/2011 (TBA) Night Light – Chapel Hill, NC ACOUSTIC SHOW
5/25/2011 Pilot Light - Knoxville, TN w/ Black Skies, Generation of Vipers
5/26/2011 The Get Down - Asheville, NC w/ Black Skies, Generation of Vipers, Caltrop
5/27/2011 King’s - Raleigh, NC w/ Black Skies, Caltrop, Royal Thunder

Sci-Fi Adventures: A for Andromeda

I figured this might be a bit of fun. Editor man has all the cool goings-on of the music world posted day after day, so why not a little geek for the ole' Sparrow blog? This is the first of my proposed articles on sci-fi novels I waste my time reading, mainly old ones from the glory days of sci-fi starting from the late 1800s and ending around the mid to late 1980s. Quite a run for the genre! Everything sucked after that because we ran out of ideas. Anyway, each entry will serve as a short review of a novel I've tackled. I figured I'd start with a rather famous one, though no one remembers it anymore, A for Andromeda.

This one spawned a famous TV series that was eventually redone, and of course no one paid attention to that when it happened. At any rate, back in the early 60s we still thought we had a chance of eventually getting somewhere in space. Numerous novels appeared revolving around ideas of what alien life would actually be like, most quite clever. Even the derivative ones were pretty damn entertaining, if only for their humor factor. A for Andromeda was written as a collaboration between the famous astronomer/philosopher Fred Hoyle and "novelist" John Elliot. That's in quotes because this is actually the only book he ever wrote.

A for Andromeda is classic 'aliens-coming-for-us' science fiction. It takes a different approach, however. Instead of a physical invasion, the alien mind, which we never actually get to see in the book, attempts to get us to create a machine that will eventually lead to our destruction. It opens with a lot of science babble that's honestly quite dry, but it starts to pick up when the team of scientists catches an alien broadcast of sorts using a new, high-powered satellite dish somethingrather. One of the researchers, Fleming, is smart enough to figure out the data is from an alien race, perhaps a now dead race, and is being sent in binary. Using his skills, he discovers the code is actually a sequence describing how to build a never-before-seen, high-powered computer, and the rest of the message is data to be placed into it. Of course, this is the first build of excitement in A for Andromeda. From there, the story moves slowly, but there's enough tension in wondering what's going to happen to keep you reading. The computer is, of course, eventually built, and they start to feed it the data.

From there, the machine begins to essentially ask questions using very basic understandings of life in the universe. It eventually finds out, for example, that carbon-based life is present on earth. Using this method, it comes upon a formula that it feeds to the scientists. Said formula is a plan to create artificial, living tissue. At first a few growing cells, and then this eyeball beast with enough mental power to cause someone to commit suicide to test her body, and then eventually Andromeda, a totally hawt chick that is, of course, an uber being alien, even though she looks human. The computer has simply created something based on what we have here. And also of course, Andromeda slowly learns how to be human in spite of the fact she's here to kill all of us, she reaches a conflict with the machine, rebels, and blah blah there's a sad ending that I'll save for you to find out if you read it.

Really, A for Andromeda is an okay read, at least at first. There's enough cool science and theory for the nerds out there, and the tension of discovering exactly what the computer is going to do keeps the action going. But, really, when it comes down to it, other than some mixing of international intrigue through some spy games that are damn boring, A for Andromeda is bland overall. It takes a good chunk of chapters to really get going, and by then there's just barely enough to keep you interested. It's cool to see what the machine's going to do and it's a neat take on how an alien race could invade another world, but with the slow pace and occasional, anti-capitalist undertones, it might just be annoying to some readers. Cool book for the history of the genre, and okay overall, but there are better alien invasion novels out there.

FLOOR Tour - 1st Time in 8 Years

Floridian heavy trio FLOOR are about to embark on their first proper tour in over eight years. Since disbanding, FLOOR's overdue notoriety has slowly grown, due in part from laying the foundation for guitar player/vocalist Steve Brooks' non-stop activity in TORCHE.

Reuniting to celebrate the release of their massive "Below & Beyond" discography/box set, FLOOR returned for a few key shows over the past year to an overwhelmingly positive response. As a result, the band is now hitting the road for the first time since 2003. In regards to the tour, Brooks had the following to say:

"It's a celebration. Celebrating our 19 years together, apart, back together, apart and back together again! Dropping bombs like it's Floorld War III!"

The (updated) scheduled dates are as follows:

4/9 - Gainesville, FL @ Common Grounds - w/ Hawks
4/10 - Atlanta, GA @ The Earl - w/ Hawks
4/11 - Charlotte, NC @ The Milestone - w/ Hawks
4/12 - Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter - w/ Hawks, Amarok
4/13 - Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall Of Williamsburg - w/ Hawks
4/14 - Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church - w/ Hawks
4/15 - Providence, RI @ Club Hell - w/ Doomriders
4/16 - Buffalo, NY @ Soundlab - w/ Doomriders
4/17 - Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop - w/ Doomriders
4/18 - Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen - w/ Doomriders
4/20 - Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater
4/22 - Missoula, MT @ Secret Show
4/23 - Seattle, WA @ Funhouse - w/ Totimoshi
4/24 - Portland, OR @ Branx - w/ Totimoshi
4/26 - Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Theater - w/ Totimoshi
4/29 - Dallas, TX @ Sons Of Hermann Hall - w/ Mammoth Grinder
4/30 - Austin, TX @ The Mohawk - w/ Mammoth Grinder
5/1 - Houston, TX @ Walter's - w/ Mammoth Grinder
5/2 - New Orleans, LA @ Siberia
5/3 - Tallahassee, FL @ The Engine Room

http://www.myspace.com/Floor

ORLANDOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM!!!

If you are in Orlando on April 23rd, and do not mind getting your head blown off you must attend this...

KRUIZ Rocks Your Gym Socks Off!!!

I used to wait for hours for this video to come on a pirate TV station in South America. They would play it about once every two weeks, somewhere in the middle of the heavy metal block, which usually lasted about 45 minutes and tended to rotate the same ten videos over and over and over. The image and the audio quality was fucked. Someone who worked at the pirate TV UHF station had probably taped it in VHS while on a trip to Europe and would occasionally sandwich it between tedious repetitions of Twisted Sister's classic "You Can't Stop Rock n' Roll" and Dio's "Holy Diver". Kruiz was on a different level though. They were thrashy but not thrash. They were fast, but I always thought of speed metal as faster and less melodic. 

I was hooked on Kruiz from the first time I saw the video. I had no idea who they were or where they were from. I knew they were named Kruiz because we can see the band's name displayed in the video but I was never able to get a hold of this record. Back then, I consumed Spanish metal magazines like an idiot (issues would make it down south eleven months too late), and never, ever saw any coverage of Kruiz. 

I love absolutely everything about this song; from its upbeat tempo to its catchy chorus and nifty solos. And I love everything about this video, from the vocalist's hairdo, foolishly disguising his thinning hair all the way to his extra large, knee high gym socks. Kruiz fucking rocks! 

Introducing WINO's PREMONITION 13

By now, the musical exploits of Scott "Wino" Weinrich are the stuff of legend. The Obsessed. Saint Vitus. Spirit Caravan. The Hidden Hand. Shrinebuilder. After releasing his solo debut in 2009, Wino went acoustic in early 2011 with Adrift, a gut-wrenchingly personal album written by a man who has survived a lifetime of
gut-wrenching scenarios and lived to tell the tales.

Wino's latest project sees him plugged back in-both to his amplifier and the full-band format. Enter PREMONITION 13, a musical entity that finds its genesis in jam sessions dating back two decades, when Wino first met fellow guitarist Jim "Sparky" Karow. "Jim and I have known each other for about 20 years," Wino explains. "His wife was basically the first manager of the Obsessed. We played guitars together one day and then we had this really good conversation about magnetism. We realized we had a common love of Mesoamerican stuff and ancient cultures. So we've been jamming together for about 15 or 20 years-just me and him, two guitars, no drums or anything like that."

And so what started as a series of informal jams out at Karow's spread in the high California desert-a place once inhabited by Brave New World author and LSD enthusiast Aldous Huxley-eventually became songwriting sessions. After enlisting the talents of Ostinato drummer Matthew Clark and former Meatjack bassist Brian Daniloski, they began playing live under the moniker Premonition. But a subsequent Internet search turned up quite a few bands with that very name, so Wino proposed a numerical addendum. "13 is one of my favorite numbers," he explains. "It's actually a very positive number, but it's been misconstrued quite a bit throughout history. Friday the 13th is considered bad luck in America, but that's just another fear trip. It's also considered good luck by some esoterically-minded folks because Friday the 13th was the day that Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, was burned at the stake. As he was being burned, he cursed the pope and the king, and they were both dead within a year."

Recorded at RTX guitarist Brian McKinley's unnamed studio in Costa Mesa, California, PREMONITION 13's debut sees Wino venturing into territories both new and familiar. "The band has two guitarists, first off, which I did for the first time in Shrinebuilder just a couple of years ago," he explains. "But I've also found that that there's a little bit of humor in this band. There're some tongue-in-cheek lyrical things; it's not quite as serious as some of the other stuff I've done. But at the same time, it is serious: we make some comments on conspiracy, the negative effects of control, and all the stuff one might protest against."

Musically, Wino cites Black Sabbath, King Crimson and his previous conspiracy-minded band The Hidden Hand as reference points for PREMONITION 13. He and Karow also make generous use of the E-Bow, a handheld guitar effect that sustains notes in a battery-powered electromagnetic field. "It's still pretty heavy, but it's definitely a departure from other bands I've been in," Wino offers. "I'm just excited for it to get out there so people can hear it."