NEW MUSIC TUESDAY - OCTOBER 12TH

Welcome to Tuesday, the wonderful time where new music meets new ears. Here are the three releases we picked for this week! Also be sure to check the new music from Brutal Truth/Bastard Noise (Split), Heart of a Coward, Exivious, Crosses (Deftones/Far), Weekend Nachos, Cronian, Demonical, live recordings from The Ocean and 3 Inches of Blood, and the re-releases of select Dark Funeral albums.

Now THIS is how you re-release an album! To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the classic record, "As The Palaces Burn", Lamb of God are going all out with a re-mixed / re-mastered re-release. Feeling a twinge of nostalgia yet? It hits stores today through Prosthetic Records! Watch the new music video for the classic track "Vigil" below and you might just see why this is worth picking up.

Links: Facebook // Official Website // Merch

There have been several developments in the Veil of Maya camp. First and foremost, they finished up recording their brand new EP, which is set to be released through Sumerian Records sometime soon. Next up, they have re-signed with Sumerian. Not too surprising given the info above. And last, but definitely not least, Veil of Maya dropped a brand new track recently which now available for purchase! Grab it here.

Links: Facebook // Twitter // iTunes

And now for something completely different.... I'm betting some of you have heard the name Daniel Tompkins before. Well... if it doesn't ring any bells he's the ex-Tesseract singer currently working with Skyharbor, Absent Hearts, and In Colour. On top of all those projects, he just released his solo effort this week! White Moth Black Butterfly is the kind of music you rarely get to experience. Pressing play on any of these songs will submerge you in a world of pure atmosphere, aurally pleasing and conceptually huge. The primary focus is in creating unique, flowing, multi-layered soundscapes for fresh ears to traverse. Give a listen on Bandcamp!

Links: Facebook // Youtube // Bandcamp

LAMB OF GOD "VIGIL" MUSIC VIDEO / "AS THE PALACES BURN" RE-RELEASE

Now THIS is how you re-release an album! To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the classic record, "As The Palaces Burn", Lamb of God are going all out with a re-mixed / re-mastered re-release. It's set to be publicly released November 11th through Prosthetic Records.

On top of this, they just released a NEW music video for the 10 year old track "Vigil". Not something you typically see with such an event. The video was directed by Don Argott, who's also responsible for the upcoming documentary based on "As The Palaces Burn". The documentary is due for screening next month with an impending theatrical release in February. You heard right! Lamb of God in theaters! (Most likely select theaters.)

Go ahead and watch the vid for "Vigil" along with music videos for the other hit songs off "As The Palaces Burn"!

Links: Facebook // Official Website // Merch

SEPULTURA "THE AGE OF THE ATHEIST" SINGLE

The Brazilian thrash legends have officially returned! Sepultura is a name shrouded in metal myth and legend. Though much has changed since their emergence in 1984 they are still going strong today, writing heavy music and playing all over the world. Example, they'll be playing with Unearth, Kataklysm, Dark Sermon, and many more in the US very soon.

They're dropping a new album this year and the first aural evidence has arrived. This will be "The Age of the Atheist" as the new single proclaims. This song actually sounds quite different from their previous work. There definitely seems to be a groove over thrash approach here with other elements included in the mix.

"The Age of the Atheist" is the band's first single off their upcoming, thirteenth studio album “The Mediator Between Head And Hands Must Be The Heart“. Produced by Ross Robinson (responsible for releases by Korn and Slipknot), the record will be released on October 29th through Nuclear Blast. Prepare your ear holes!

Links: Facebook // Official Website // iTunes

FREE MUSIC MONDAY - AESTUS

This might actually be one of my best finds this week. Coming out of Los Angeles, Aestus provide a rock solid Progressive Metal sound with elements of Groove Metal, Funk, and Psychedelia in the mix. They pull this off in damn near the best way possible, experimenting and twisting the listeners mind throughout. I thoroughly enjoyed this listening experience.

This upcoming and incredibly talented DIY band just put out their debut EP appropriately titled "Psychonaut". It shows off all I was talking about above and some. And just to sweeten the package, Aestus are giving away the EP for a ridiculous price... FREE! It's highly recommended that you stream below and grab "Psychonaut" for a "name your price" download on their official Bandcamp.

Links: Facebook // Bandcamp

LAMB OF GOD SPEAKS OUT REGARDING THE MALAYSIAN SHOW SHUTDOWN

Due to a supposed infringement on religious sensitivities and cultural values of Malaysian society, Lamb Of God’s concert at the Rockaway Festival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia scheduled for September 28th has been cancelled. This action was put in action by the Malaysian government, who refused to even issue a permit for the show disregarding that the concert had sold over 1,500 tickets.

Lamb Of God’s guitarist Mark Morton has issued the following statement regarding this unfortunate scenario:

“It is very evident (and a bit frustrating) that the groups, parties and powers that have taken the most offense to our music and lyrics, have themselves only made a passing glance at the content and meanings of those songs. We would invite anyone offended by our music to engage in a discussion regarding the true motivations behind our work, especially before publicly slandering us based on assumptions and shallow misinterpretation.

We sincerely apologize to our amazing fans in Malaysia for the cancellation. Many thanks to all who have spoken out in support of us through this.”

Shows scheduled in New Zealand, Australia, and Thailand will still be performed by Lamb Of God.

For more details, take a look here.

-\m/eyer

Links: Facebook // Official Website // Merch

NEW MUSIC TUESDAY - AUGUST 27TH

More new music today, no surprise. Here’s three to check out.

New Wave of American Heavy Metal (yes that is as annoying to type out as it is to read) band Devildriver returns with their newest album today. The album is titled “Winter Kills” and is the band’s sixth release, the first album since leaving Roadrunner Records. So far, so meh. I haven’t heard all of it, but aside from the clear Gojira influences, it sounds like typical Devildriver, swingy, fun, heavy, but passable.

Links: Facebook // Twitter // Merch

Nekrogoblikon are back with a new release today, titled “Power.” These guys are ready to dish out another slice of goblin themed metal with this release. While the gimmick of goblin metal seems to be something that could prove to be incredibly enjoyable (think pirate metal and Alestorm), Nekrgoblicon still needs to prove their competency as songwriters and musicians before they can rise above the limitations of the gimmick.

Links: Facebook // Twitter // Merch

As the most successful act in, and the torch-bearer for, the modern mainstream metal scene, every single one of Avenged Sevenfold’s releases are pretty important. As a gateway band for young metalheads, based solely on their immense popularity, Avenged Sevenfold has a lot of clout. So their new album’s , “Hail to the King” out today, throwback to and worship of 90s metal may lead some fans in that direction. The tunes are pretty cool so far, definitely worth checking out.

Links: Facebook // Twitter // Official Website // Stream

-Trisolino

RANDY BLYTHE TO PUBLISH MEMOIR

I don’t think anyone in the world is unfamiliar with the recent story surrounding Randy Blythe. The incarceration in the Czech Republic on charges that obviously wouldn’t stick in any rational court was really only the beginning. Randy spent a significant time in jail and had to shell out a huge sum of money to make bail. This actually ended up bankrupting the band and it seems like the guys aren’t out of the water yet with this one. Check the interview with Chris Adler I linked to below if you want more details on that.  Now is the best time to pick up some merch and support the band.

What stuck out more than the accusations was the honorable way Blythe handled the adversity thrown at him. From the beginning it was obvious that though this tragic accident was an awful mishap, it could in no way be blamed on the actions of Randy Blythe. Rather than run from the obvious overzealous prosecution, Randy faced the justice system head on with the honor he often speaks of. In the end, Blythe was acquitted and proved himself to be a class act.

Often when musicians appear to be intelligent, either in their lyrics or in the press, further examination reveals this to be not true. A lot of musicians, even the ones who seem smart, really aren’t all that intelligent. Well now we have our chance with Randy Blythe. Next year an as of yet untitled memoir will be released. This book was entirely written by Blythe with no ghost or co writers, according to a press release revealing the book. The focus will be on the last year of his life, featuring a lot of his trial and prison experience. No surprise there. This is the best opportunity to get a really good look into Blythe’s mind. Look for the upcoming memoir in 2014.

-Trisolino

Links: Facebook // Official Website // Chris Adler Interview

RANDY BLYTHE TELLS US TO “BE CAREFULLY”

Randy Blythe has further cemented himself as a class act and great guy with his latest blog post and comments regarding his accusation of manslaughter in the Czech Republic that resulted in Randy being acquitted. Everyone in the metal world knows the story of what happened so I won’t go into huge details. In a nutshell Randy was accused of being responsible for the death of a fan who was attending a Lamb of God show.

What stuck out more than the accusations was the honorable way Blythe handled the adversity thrown at him. From the beginning it was obvious that though this tragic accident was an awful mishap, it could in no way be blamed on the actions of Randy Blythe. Rather than run from the obvious overzealous prosecution, Randy faced the justice system head on with the honor he often speaks of. In the end, Blythe was acquitted and proved himself to be a class act.

Blythe’s blog post titled “Be Carefully” is just one more reason to respect the guy. The Lamb of God frontman is attempting to fulfill the family’s wishes and promote safety at shows and convey the pain they feel. It’s a powerful statement well worth reading in full. Click here to read it. I’m not much of a Lamb of God fan, but wow Randy is a great guy.

-Trisolino

Links: Facebook // Official Website // Be Carefully