Yeasayer - Ambling Alp 12"

Brooklyn's Yeasayer are finally giving us some new music after their amazing "All Hour Cymbals" LP released in 2007. They describe their music as Middle Eastern-psych-snap-gospel, to me they're one of the most refreshing outfits around, along with their peers Animal Collective and Vampire Weekend. The "Ambling Alp" 12" is the first single of their upcoming "ODD BLOOD" album and includes title track as well as remixes by Memory Tapes + DJ /rupture and instrumentals.

The track itself is available as a free download, but this 12" will only set you back $8, or for $28 you the limited bundle with an exclusive t-shirt. As the vinyl version of "All Hour Cymbals" was extremely difficult to find, don't miss out on this release and order it from Yeasayer directly

Fucked Up - Couple Tracks 2xLP

Matador are taking - early - preorders for the upcoming "Couple Tracks: Singles 2002-2009" 2xLP by Fucked Up. The title is pretty self-explanatory, so what we get is a collection of hard-to-find previously uncollected 7" and 12" tracks from Fucked Up. In total there will be 24 songs on the "Couple Tracks" 2xLP, which will be accompanied by a 7" with the same title. I gave up on trying to purchase all these separate 7"s a long time ago, and will just spin this after listening to the "Epics In Minutes" album.

Pre-order the "Couple Tracks" 2xLP + 7" from Matador for $18. Make sure to enter the promotional code "Fucked" to get 15% off.

Oxbow - Songs For The French LP

Oxbow are gearing up to cross the Great Pond, and will have a limited edition tour-only 12" version with them of "Songs For the French", featuring 3 new tracks on the A side and on the B side 4 live tracks from oxbow's 2008 European tour. Get this 12" at one of the upcoming shows as listed here

A regular LP release should follow somewhere this winter on Hydrahead. I'm thinking the HH version will look something like this:

You Weren't There – A History Of Chicago Punk 1977-1984 LP

What we have here is a documentary about the early punk days in the Windy City entitled "You Weren't There – A History Of Chicago Punk 1977-1984" which was released earlier this week, and is accompanied by a vinyl edition of the soundtrack. What we get on the movie are talks with the DJ's, musicians, promoters, artists, and fans who were pivotal in creating the Chicago Punk scene and rare performances by Articles of Faith, Mentally Ill, Negative Element, Tutu and the Pirates, Jeff Pezzati, Big Black, Rights of the Accused and Steve Bjorklund. The soundtrack has other illustrous punk outfits such as Buzzards, Toothpaste, Verboten and many others.

This limited edition DVD+LP is on sale now and will set you back $30 over at Factory 25.

Fear Falls Burning - The Rainbow Mirrors A Burning Heart LP

Here's a litte heads up! I'm not sure how, but ConSouling Sounds Records have some copies available of "The Rainbow Mirrors A Burning Heart" LP by Belgium's drone pride Fear Falls Burning. This record was originally released in 2006 and captures a live performance of FFB in Germany somewhere late 2005.

This LP is/was limited to 300 handnumbered copies and as far as I know has never been repressed, so I'm guessing these guys won't have that many copies either, so just to be on the safe side, get it immediately from ConSouling Sounds.

The Swell Season - Strict Joy 2xLP

I'm a sucker for romcom movies. Once wasn't one per definition, but still kind of. More importantly, it had that guy from The Frames in it. And I'm definitely a sucker for The Frames. The soundtrack for "Once" obviously featured all the songs that Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova - together called The Swell Season - performed in the movie, but for "Strict Joy" there was no movie. Just music. So, we'll have to create our own images, for now while listening to the stream over at 3voor12

If you like what you hear, pre-order the "Strict Joy" 2xLP which comes with an etching on the D-side from Anti.

US Christmas - Eat The Low Dogs 2xLP

Definitely one of the best and most intriguing bands on the current Neurot roster is US Christmas. I'm Better Than Everyone Records are now finally releasing their "Eat The Low Dogs" on 2xLP vinyl - dammit, why didn't I think of doing this myself?! Anyway, what's so special about US Christmas? Well, they're one of a kind. You see, they're definitely tuned down enough to D to feel at home at Neurot, but are way more psychedelic than other slugde or post metal acts on the label. Instead, US Christmas grab back to the 70s, reminiscing the greats such as Hawkwind, but still "post" enough to make it comfortable for me to name them an apocalyptic doom version of Dead Meadows or the US version of Ufomammut.

The "Eat The Low Dogs" 2xLP is limited to 500 copies, of which 400 on thick black vinyl and a limited eidtion of 100 copies on blue and maroon haze vinyl with a different layout, but that will cost you more. Head over to I'm Better Than Everyone Records for more info, and you might also still want to order that EyeHateGod album - even if the limited edition is sold out.

Pyramids With Nadja

I've been looking forward to this release for a few months now, so join me and head over to pyramidswithnadja.com for a full stream of the upcoming Pyramids with Nadja LP. The CD version is already up for pre-order over at Hydrahead, no word on an LP release date yet. However, Ulver and Lustmord apparently remixed the first track on this album, "Into the Silent Waves," for a limited 12" to be released early 2010. Stay tuned for more info.

I Can Watch This For Hours

An Albatross - London Live LP

Kitty Play records just released a limited tour only LP by An Albatross. This album is a live-recording from their show in 2008 in London's Astoria, and "captures the AA FAMILY at breakneck-psychedelic speed, belting out a veritable sonic asswhipping!" Those of you who have ever seen them live, know it's quite an experience, so this live album might actually be fun! An Albatross are an amazing noise band, highly recommended for fans of The Locust, Melt Banana, Lighning Bolt with a touch of Slayer and Napalm Death. That's right.

All LP's are 4-color hand screen printed and come in a limited edition of 500 copies on multicolored marble vinyl. These records are normally only available from An Albatross directly on tour, but if you get in touch with Kitty Play Records, you might still get your hands on one, and some of you lucky bastards might even be able to get one of the test-pressings for $20.

Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures 2xLP

One of this year's most anticipated releases is now up for pre-order from Insound, the debut album by Them Crooked Vultures. This new supergroup featuring Dave Grohl, Josh Homme, and John Paul Jones has obviously gotten a lot of attention thanks to the line-up and their heritage, but truth be told, so far I haven't been too impressed by what I heard. I do appreciate their somewhat mysterious first sparks of life and the whole art theme they have going on, but will wait for a full album stream before actually purchasing this.

For those of you who can't wait, head over to Insound and reserve your copy before the November 23rd release date.

Grief - ... And Man Will Become The Hunted 2xLP

Oh hell yes! Boston's influential doom metal outift, Grief who inspired many of our favourite acts out there such as Electric Wizard, Unearthly Trance, Floor and even Sunn0))), are seeing their farewell album "... And Man Will Become The Hunted" finally released on vinyl by Spain's Throne Records. They split up somewhere around 2000 and this is their last studio-album, but Southern Lord released a live album of theirs from a reunion gig somewhere around 2005.

Grief are essential listening with their take on monolithic and nihilistic doom, and I personally only own their split 7" with Corrupted on vinyl, so this one is definitely essential for my collection. Pre-order the "...And Man Will Become The Hunted" before the early December release date, and get one of the 166 handnumbered copies on semistransparent brown / grey splatter 180g vinyl, only available from Throne Records directly. Total run is 666 copies worldwide on 180g, in a deluxe gatefold with black inked paper bags. Get it now, now, now for €30 in Europe and €37 worldwide - shipping included - from Throne Recs.

Coalesce - OXEP 12"

The Omega Order are now accepting pre-orders for the 12" vinyl version of "OXEP" by Coalesce, the continuation and completion of their "Ox" album which was released earlier this year. For those of you unfamiliar with one of Midwest's most shattering and heavy outfits around (still!), you can stream the entire album right here. There was a time that they formed the Holy Trinity of C's, along with Cave In and Converge as leaders in the whole mathrock/metal thing, but then they went on a 10 year hiatus. I must say, I had no expectations at all for "Ox", but after finally seeing them live in Europe, these new tracks managed to blow my mind and still manage to accompany me at least once a week on my drive home. Given the fact that I mostly have a headache after work, that says alot.

Anyway, what we have here is the follow-up to that album, and according to the band OXEP contains: "5 new original coalesce songs. There are 7 tracks, but 1 and 7 are a percussive intro and outro. These songs are not cuts that didn’t make ox. We wrote and recorded these songs specifically for an ep release after ox was already done and delivered to Relapse for production. We continued our americana theme and expanded them on these songs, therefore wanted them to be considered part of the 2009 ox sessions". Check out their myspace for one new track from the "OXEP" sessions.

As usual, no direct pre-ordering from Relapse yet, but you can send your money to The Omega Order to reserve your copy of the vinyl edition. I personally don't have any experience in ordering from them, but they seem to be a huge, well-run distro. I myself, am hoping that these 12"s will also go online from the band directly, so I can get that OXEP Engraved Folding Knife as well.

Agnostic Front - Victim In Pain LP Reissue

Has it really been 25 years? Well, apparently so, because Bridge9 is gearing to re-issue the classic debut album "Victim In Pain" by the Godfathers of NYHC: Agnostic Front. This LP also comes with their first 7" from 1983 entitled "United Blood". The album comes in a special gatefold cover with emblossed logo, original (uncensored) artwork .

The "Victim In Pain" and "United Blood" records come on black, red, and gold vinyl. The limited edition of the LP + 7" comes on gold vinyl, and first come, first serve. There's also a package available, including a limited shirt, a poster and whatnot. This is the only Agnostic Front worth purchasing, so head over to Bridge 9 and complete your essential NY hardcore discography. If you don't know who AF are, don't start bothering now.

The Brown Book - Thirty Nothing LP

Haven't quite made up my mind about this release, as it seems to please me in many ways, but then again there's something nagging here that I can't exactly put my finger on. The Brown Book are an instrumental post-rock band who will definitely please fans of acts such Russian Circles or Don Caballero, but will also do something for those of you into Oxes or earlier Liars. And maybe that's just what's nagging at me. When I put on a post-rock record, it's because I'm in that kind of relaxed mood, I don't want to hear some guy singing or screaming, but I also don't want to be abruptly woken up and thrown into a discordant loud mess. Then again, that might just be their strength. Oh, now I'm confused.

It seems like these guys are getting quite some attention, and are having a record release with the almighty Ocean coming up. That's a good thing in my book. "Thirty Nothing" was recorded by Keith Souza by the way, who also worked for Battles and Lightning Bolt, and mastering was done by Alan Douches who worked his magic on Animal Collective, Dillinger Escape Plan, Mastodon and a ton others. So, they seem to be surrounded by the right people, now all they need is for you to pick up their record, right here.

Boduf Songs - Inviolate Projection, Blood From Rome (Blankets) 10"

I wrote about the Latitudes LP by Boduf Songs a couple of weeks ago, and now I managed to bump into a killer 10" by England's "Ministrel of Misery". What we have here is a one-sided 10" with a 12 minute track of dark singersongwriter doom/drone. That description doesn't make much sense, but just imagine fragile, whispered vocals on top of some creepy eerie drones and minimal acoustic guitar riffs and you'll get the picture.

This 10" comes in a silk-screened sleeve, and comes on black vinyl, with an incredible etching in pearl ink on the B-side. This is a limited, one-time pressing of only 300 copies worldwide, so I suggest you order from Blue Sanct right away.

Devotion - Bastard Son of Affluence Blues LP

Up for pre-order from Rivalry Records is the debut album "Bastard Son of Affluence Blues" by Devotion. This band is actually a solo-project of Mark Palms, the former frontman of hardcore outfit Go It Alone, with a little help on drums from ON's Aaron O'Neil. I've heard one song off this album, and it reminds me a lot of Damnation A.D. which is a very good thing.

There's no limited vinyl edition, just regular black vinyl, but don't let that stop from pre-ordering this LP from Rivalry. Non-US customers are forced to buy a minimum of 2 releases though, but as Rivalry also released vinyl for The First Step, Verse and Go It Alone that shouldn't be too hard.

Young Governor - Hidden Love 12"

Released sometime this summer is the Young Governor "Hidden Love" 12" and I only found out about this record yesterday. So much for checking this blog to discover new releases, hey? But, I figured it's still worth a small mention, as Young Governor isn't just any another sweet lo-fi band following the steps of Kurt Vile or Jay Reatard. You see, Young Governor is actually Ben Cook's solo project. Some of you might remember him from fronting one of Canada's most popular hardcore acts No Warning, since then, he's been playing in Violent Minds and then ofcourse, anno 2009, the most important reference of all, Fucked Up!

For those of you expecting hard-hitting singalong hardcore anthems might be down in the dumps, for those of you expecting sweet summer melodies ala Jay Reatard, "Hidden Love" will be right up your alley. This 12" is apparently already sold out from the label, but I'm ordering mine from Revelation HQ

Former Ghosts - Fleurs LP

Former Ghosts was a name that drew my attention, the title of their debut "Fleurs" did it less for me, but who am I to complain about flowers? Former Ghosts are yet another supergroup of sorts, featuring Freddy Ruppert (of This Song Is A Mess But So Am I), Jamie Stewart (of Xiu Xiu) and Nika Roza (of Zola Jesus). What we get on "Fleurs" is an album of melodic synth-pop, with some crazy discordant moments, pleasing fans of Joy Division or Interpol relying heavily on synthesizers.

Available from Upset The Rhythym is a white vinyl pre-order LP edition of "Fleurs". As this label is UK based, US customers can also get the regular black version from Insound for $15,99.

Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind 12"

It's been a while... All work no play make... So, anyway, what's in stock for us this week? First up is the the new "Fall Be Kind" 12" EP by Animal Collective! There were some rumours about this, nobody sure what it was all about, but according to Insound this EP has "five brand new studio tracks that are every bit as lush and beautiful as those found on Merriweather."

This new 12" isn't available from Domino directly yet (though the Brother Sport 10" is still up for pre-order), so for now pre-order it from Insound before the December 8th release date.

Pontiak - Sea Voids LP

Released yesterday is the new "Sea Voids" LP by Pontiak. I only have their split LP with Arbourteum from last year, and apparently this is already their 3rd new record since! Impressive to say the least. And even more impressive that they somehow manage to still release quality music, even at that rate! Now, besides the fact that their names always make me think of cars, Virginia's Pontiak are definitely one of my favourite new acts out there because their monolothic metal infused with southern stoner and some fuzzy psychedelic acid reminds me obviously of Dead Meadow but also of The Walkmen at the same time, and one of their new tracks is riff-worshipping ala Black Sabbath or Led Zep, with the desert feeling of Master of Reality, and the first seconds are equally downtuned as OM . If you're into any of these bands, "Sea Voids" is definitely a safe bet, and for only $13 a pretty cheap one too.

"Sea Voids" is limited to 1,000 copies worldwide and comes in a custom fabricated jacket silk-screened with metallic gold ink, available from Thrill Jockey.

One Starving Day - Atlas Coelestis 2xLP

Here's another reader submission, thanks guys! Up for pre-order is the "Altas Coelestis" 2xLP by Italy's sludge metal/hardcore ensemble One Starving Day. I'd honestly never heard of these guys before so I'm quite grateful they wrote me, as this Italian band has been around for over a decade already, and their music is right up my alley. One Starving Day have nothing in common with that other Italian band One Fine Day. They do have something in common with other avant-garde, atmospheric, claustrophoic and dark acts such as Mogwai, Isis, Neurosis, Swans and GYBE! I did like One Fine Day back in the 90s though, I should try to sort out my mess and see if I can still find one of their albums in my house somewhere. If you point your cursor on the album artwork, it'll direct you to their myspace and you can check out some recordings, neat hey!

Anyhoo, as far as I get it, this new 2xLP by One Starving Day which was mastered by Shellac's Bob Weston by the way, the vinyl is available in Europe through Narshardaa Records, and the CD version will be handled by Beta-Lactam Ring Records. The "Altas Coelestis" 2xLP is due late November and is limited to 50 copies on 180gr. black vinyl, 100 copies on red vinyl and 100 copies on regular black vinyl. Pre-order Here

Bonny Billy & The Picket Line - Funtown Comedown LP

Life is keeping me from updating this blog as much as I want, but expect much more next week. Life isn't too bad, Sunn0))), Sonic Youth, Amenra and Massive Attack concerts plus work commitments are keeping me busy, not too shabby I guess.

Today, for starters, I have the following for you: the new LP by Bonny Billy & The Pickets. I'm not 100% sure about this, but what I managed to understand is that this is a live recording by Will "Bonnie 'Prince' Billy" Oldham under once again another moniker, with a bunch of his friends, aka The Picket Line. Here's what Drag City has to say, which makes much more sense: "next-generation bluegrass band known as The Picket Line. They’re the official dance band of Funtown, a metaphysical little community in the woods outside Louisville. Bonny and the boys (and girl) run through a set of BPB classics, some Palace songs and a few classic country covers."

The Funtown Comedown LP is a vinyl only release, gotta love it! I for one am trying to complete my Bonnie "Prince" Billy collection, and am pre-ordering this LP from Norman

Nurse With Wound - Chance Meeting On A Dissecting Table Of A Sewing Machine And An Umbrella 2xLP

Now here's a mouthful. The re-issue of the "Chance Meeting On A Dissecting Table Of A Sewing Machine And An Umbrella" 2xLP by Nurse With Wound went online last week over at Dirter Records and it looks like this a real collector's treat. What we get here is the re-issue of their debut album from back in '79, and 30 years after its original release Nurse With Wound proves to still matter anno 2009. Like Dirter put it, this debut album is "the Sgt. Pepper of the avant garde" which seems quite fitting.

As for the vinyl? Well, this 2xLP comes in a beautiful gloss laminated sleeve, including printed inners with liner notes by Steven Stapleton. Plus there'a a bonus track on here called "Strain, Crack, Break" which comes for the first time on vinyl. To top things off, there's an etching on the D-side. I'd get it for the artwork alone. For only £20 UK, £25 Europe and £30 for the rest of the world, that's a pretty good deal over at Dirter.

Fu Manchu - Signs of Infinite Power LP

Has anyone heard this yet? Released last week with little fuzz which is weird given they have the patent for heavy fuzzed-out desert-riffing. So,"Signs Of Infinite Power" is already the 11th studio album by Fu Manchu and I can't say I've been eagerly awaiting this album, nor that the artwork inspires me to get excited, but they are a legendary act so worth the write-up. The strange thing is that only European distros seem to have the LP version available, but I could be mistaken of course. Best deal out there is the limited ed. LP + CD for €17,99 from Just For Kicks out of Germany.

If you happen to catch them live, they also have a limited 7" with them called 'Bleach Blanket Bongout", only sold on tour, featuring 1 song off "Signs Of Infinite Power" and a JFA cover on the b-side. Limited to 1000 copies.

Molina and Johnson - Molina and Johnson LP

They've already aptly been dubbed "The Phantoms Of Folk" in reference to that other indie supergroup, but what we have here is the collaboration between Jason Molina from Magnolia Electric Co. and Songs: Ohia and Will Johnson of Centromatic and South San Gabriel. Two heroes in my book, and judging by their first song on their myspace this debut album promises to deliver 14 tracks of dark, introspective folk-infused singer-songwriter music, which will most likely become my partner on late-night roadtrips.

Order now from Secretely Canadian who are rapidly becoming one my "blind buy" labels. Speaking of which, I picked up the Volcano Choir "Unmap" LP last weekend, and it's beautiful!

Enablers - Now You Can Answer My Prayers 10''

Released somewhere late July, but only now caught my attention is this superb new 10" by Enablers. This 10" has 2 new tracks on it with a hand etchted foil blocked sleeve and face it, it looks killer.

I honestly only have their Neurot release from way back, but for those of you who don't know, Enablers are a band with members of Swans, Tarnation, Nice Strong Arm and Toiling Midgets who create big melodic soundscapes and are fronted by Pete Simonelli who does a kind of spoken narrative.

Order this from the label directly via paypal to hello@lancashireandsomerset.co.uk for £9.50 ppd UK, £10.50 ppd Europe, £11.50 ppd USA, or if you're afraid of paypal order from the aforementioned Music Fear Satan

The XX - Islands 7"

The XX are one of the hottest acts bands of 2009, and so will this "Islands" 7" be. Why? Because all their 7"s sell out in no time, but thanks to this little blog and the fine folks over at Banquet you can pre-order the 7" and make sure you get your copy. Ordering isn't even up from Young Turks yet, so yeah! This 7" by the XX features 'Islands' with a remix/cover of Kyla's UK funky anthem 'Do You Mind?'.

Arctic Monkeys - Cornerstone 10"

Domino have the pre-orders up for the "Cornerstone" 10" by the Arctic Monkeys. This is their second single off the "Humbug" album and gives us three new b-sides – “Catapult,” “Sketchead,” and “Fright Lined Dining Room”. Actually, this releases comes both on 10" format, and on 7" version but then you only get the 2 first songs.

That's all I have to say on that, so head over to Domino and get this 10" or 7", just know that most of their EP's are sold out and worth a dime or 2 by now.

The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble - Here Be Dragons 2xLP

Have you heard that The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation album called "Succubus" yet? Well, you should!!! It recently served as my soundtrack while reading "The Road" and what a perfect company it proved to be. Well, The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation are actually The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble, the latter just with a few less people helping out. And yes, they like long names and yes, they like to stress that they're an ensemble/corporation, but just like that other "Club" this Dutch outfit succeeds in creating amazing dark nu-jazz that will take you on a mysterious trip through space and time.

I actually prefer their Mount Fuji incarnation because it focusses more on doom and drone, whereas the ambient Kilimanjaro depends more on electronics. But, both bands will please anyone into other darkjazz music such as Bohren & Der Club Of Gohren (yeah, thàt other club) or let's say David Lynch soundtracks in general. The 9 epic and at times creepy tracks on this new album "Here Be Dragons" can be streamed entirely over at 3voor12. Check it out, and order the 2xLP from Ad Noiseam and while doing so, send them a note and bug them for a vinyl version of "Succubus" as well, will you? Thank you.

Shadow of the Torturer LP - Marching Into Chaos LP

Read this over at the almighty HSJ site, a much darker place for all your metal, doom and downright freaky needs: up for pre-order from Blind Date Records is the Shadow of the Torturer LP called "Marching Into Chaos" and boyee is this heavy. Apparently this is an already defunct band compromised of members of Yob, Aldebaran and H.C.Minds. What we get here are 5 songs of sloooow, epic doom metal and although the tracks on their myspace lack somewhat in recording quality, they still sound heavier and scarier than about 79% of the rest of your collection.

Pre-order this LP from Blind Date and I would hurry up as there are only 100 copies on white vinyl and 200 copies on black vinyl. Once again, thanks a lot to HSJ for introducing me to this band and now that this is finished, let's have The Great Cessation on vinyl please!

Forfeit - The Lower Depths LP

Even more hardcore here at Hex? Well, just look at that artwork and you'll get why it caught my attention. Besides that, I must admit that Forfeit was a surpise to me, and a pleasant one as they play heavy mid-tempo hardcore that one can mosh to and also point some fingers to and even sing along to during the melodic vocal parts, reminding of bands like Cold World, Blacklisted, Unholy with a slight clevo twist to it. Check out their myspace to get into the groove.

There are tons of blogs out there who write exclusively about hardcore which are much more fun to read, so I'll just leave it at this and give you guys the heads-up for the pre-order of the vinyl version over at Reaper Records (yeah, run by Patrick Kitzel of Spawn/True Blue). The LP comes on either red or white vinyl, so order now from Reaper Records and show it to your friends.

Insurance Risk - Violence In Our Minds LP

Released late last month is the discography LP by Insurance Risk called "Violence In Our Minds". I rarely post about hardcore records, let alone listen to them, but I'm glad to make an exception for Norway's Insurance Risk. I'm guessing these guys are no longer active, and only released 2 7"s or so, which have now been compiled onto one LP. Why is this record any good though? Well, because Insurance Risk were the real deal: raw old-school hardcore influenced by the likes of SSD, DYS, Negative FX and other early Boston Crew bands. No frills, just angry hardcore that will make you punch the walls.

Get the red vinyl edition limited to 259 copies or the black version limited to 261 from Crucial Response and pay your respects to one of Europe's best HC bands in the genre.

Thou / Salome - Split LP

Thou shall not kill...easy for now. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife...tough One. Thou shall not purchase this record...a damn shame. Because what we have here, is two of the Greats pressed onto one piece of vinyl to worshop the power of the Riff. Thou and Salome teaming up is definitely one of the best split albums of the year (on paper, haven't heard a single note of it, but who cares), and will hopefully deliver some amazing sludgy doom metal to get us through the winter.

The Thou/Salome split LP is limited to 1000 copies, 900 on black vinyl, 100 on red vinyl reserved for pre-orders, so make sure that's you. Or, you could whine and complain about the euro-dollar currency, the steep shipping and whatnot ofcourse. I for one applaud the times that the cool releases come from this side of the pond, because normally it's us Euros who have to import everything. There! International customers have to pay...€17,00 shipping included. Not too bad I guess.

Pre-order this Split LP from Vendetta and while you're at it, they'll throw in the Salome 's/t' LP for a nice discount price, and you might also want to pre-order another upcoming split LP by Omega Massif and Mount Logan.

Taint - All Bees To The Sea 12"

The Welshmen Taint are a sludgemetalforce to be reckoned with and are back with a new 12" called "All Bees To The Sea" - a title that intrigues. What we get here are 4 new tracks plus a full live set taken from their Roadburn appearance in 2008, on limited 12" vinyl. There are 200 copies on transparent yellow vinyl and 300 copies on transparent blue vinyl, that's all folks.

It feels like these guys have come a long way and deserve the support. At first they were just trying, these last few years they're actually creating, and though not new perhaps, it's definitely cool to see a band play with the sound of Led Zeppelin or Jethro Tull and give a modern sludge metal twist to it. If you care, you'll head over to Destructure and order it for only $10, and while over there you'll remember that I posted about that limited Euro version of the Lords "FAYMF" LP that's worth getting as well.

Cremation - Black Death Cult LP

It's been a while. Busy busy. But that doesn't make the metal stop. So, up for order is the "Black Death Cult" LP by Cremation. This consists of long-gone demo material, containing the Demos “Pire Gah Hoath Raclir Od Lalpor” from 1993, “Hail The Rise of Med Pe Gal” from 1994 and “The Flames of An Elite Age” from 1995. The LP comes on heavy vinyl with reverseboard printed jacket, A2 poster, and insert. There's also a die hard version on gray vinyl with patch and sticker, as pictured above.

Cremation were an early death metal band, who over the years turned more and more black metal. They're mostly known because their drummer went on to other notorious acts such as Conqueror, Revenge, and Axis of Advance. Here's your chance to own some classic metal antiquity, so order now from Nuclear War Now!

Rorschach - Protestant LP & Remain Sedate LP

Rorschach, next to Deadguy one of the most influential hardcore / metal bands on the last decade recently played some reunion shows, and for that occasion both the "Protestant" and "Remain Sedate" LPs got repressed onto 180g vinyl, and put into a gatefold 2xLP package. Now, the shows are over, but there are still some copies left over, on gold, blue, silver, red, green or clear vinyl. Each colourway is comes on an edition of 150 copies, limited to one per customer.

Not too impressed by the layout, but very much by their music, so let's order from Gern Blandsten shall we?

Rumble Mumble Jumble

- From Ashes Rise are back from the ashes! Makes me happy.
- Small Brown Bike are riding their bikes again. Makes me happy.

- I hear something about a Casket Lottery discography 2xLP? Does Second Nature still exist?
- Will Haven have their original singer back. Couldn't. Care. Less. But nice for them.
- Insound are already taking pre-orders for the new Vampire Weekend LP. A bit too early for my tastebuds, but you have the address.
- There are less than 50 tickets left for the Amenra showcase in Kortrijk, Belgium next week. Hurry up and order now
- The Pixies concert of "Doolittle" was pretty amazing. The LP reissues are still and will always be too expensive. My girlfriend mixes Frank Black with Jack Black.

- I saw some shitty flyer for a repress version of the "Eternal Jihad" LP by Day Of Suffering on xCatalystx. Does anybody know if those straight-edge warriors actually released this?
- Listen to the last Bon Iver show for a while here
- Beck is going to tackle the Leonard Cohen legacy with help from Devendra Banhart and MGMT, sounds promising.

- I like pictures. This one served as inspiration for Chris Walla and J. Robbins.

- The new Death Cab For Cutie song doesn't do it for me. It's for some movie.

- In movie news, 3 parts of Arcade Fire have composed the score for that upcoming The Box movie. Someone in the world will die.

- I'll also go see "Where The Wild Things Are". But not for the score. Karon O Can Suck It. Why else would they use an Arcade Fire track for the trailer?

- Keelhaul will be touring Europe with Isis and Circle. Be excited.
- Isis will have the new Live V LP for sale on tour by the way.
- I like Tool. I detest Puscifer. Just so you know.
- Two new Integrity songs are available off their upcoming Deathwish album. Holy Terror on Myspace
- Jason Molina and Will Johnson are "The Phantoms Of Folk". Album due November 3. Expect me posting some rave blog about this soon.
- Pelican are getting their own burger of beef, scallops and lardons. No bird meat will be used.
- I'm wondering if this weekend I'll finally take the time to discover Mammifer. It seems I might want to like them.
- The Iceburn Collective LP version of "The Power of the Lion" might just be the coolest piece of artwork I've held in my hands in weeks. So nice.
- If I would live in NYC, I'd go to the VICE Helloween party with Bad Brains and The Jesus Lizard. But I don't.
- Don't attempt washing gonnorhea-stained underwear. Best to throw it away. Trust me on this one.

- Hex Vinyl is on Twitter now. I don't quite get it yet, but tweet me or whatever they call it over there. It feels evil though.
- With the recent announcement of a special Racounteurs LP and random White Stripes 7" I'm considering paying that Vault thing over at Third Man Records. Has anyone subscribed yet?

- Because I absolutely adore Split Lip and Chamberlain, I figured the David Moore solo-album would equally satisfy me. I was wrong.

- RIP Dickie Peterson of Blue Cheer, the spirit of your riffs will love on for eternity.

- I'm sincerely hoping to piss off the US readers (aka most of you) by picking up some über-limited-tour-only-sold-out-before-it-was-pressed Sunn0))) vinyl after their show in Brussels next week.

- The weekend is coming up, which will affect the number of posts, because I'll be "busy". Enjoying it.

A Storm of Light - Forgive Us Our Trespasses 2xLP

Up at one of thé bést labéls évér Neurot Recordings is the new A Storm Of Light 2xLP called "Forgive Us Our Trespasses". Great, but why don't they have that Shrinebuilder vinyl up yet to help me save on shipping!?! Anyway, A Storm Of Light are back with their sophomore effort, and even if I wasn't too impressed by their first album, after seeing them live I'll definitely pay a bit more attention to this one. On paper, this band is perfect though. Featuring current and former members of Blood And Time, Red Sparowes, Battle Of Mice, Asea and guest vocals by Lydia Lunch, Nerissa Campbell and Jarboe , they're bound to attract some hype. But, somehow their debut album didn't hit right the spot for me. Maybe it was the vocals, maybe because it didn't meet up to my expectations even if Josh Graham has surprised me time and time again in being able to deliver some crushing riffs, but no, it didn't feel right.

I'm thinking "Forgive Us Our Trespasses" might just change that. But then again maybe the vocals might... No... You see, A Storm Of Light get obvious comparisons to Neurosis because Josh Graham is their visual director, and the influence is definitely big, but it actually reminds me more of another band that's influenced by Neurosis: present day Isis. And on that note, the riffs, the feel, the doom are stronger than the later works of Isis, when the band is going all out that is. But Graham is no Scott Kelly, nor an Aaron Turner for that matter - but he definitely tries. Though not weak, his vocals just don't stand out enough, and getting backed by some of the most progressive female vocalists around definitely helps, but is more like a patch on a blister. It's not excruciatingly painfull, it just bothers you now and then. Another slight setback are the post-rock almost shoegaze passages like in Red Sparowes, which take away the sheer force and which I'd rather see replaced by some repetitive doom riffing. And oh yeah, synthesizers are just wrong. Wrong I tell ya. Skip track. But then again, all that synth and shoegaze and postrock stuff might just be what they're going for. And for that matter, "Forigve Us Our Trepasses" will definitely get more spins than their debut album over here, even if it's for the sole purpose of me deciding if I put it in my metal or post-rock shelves. If it has to compete with say the new Shrinebuilder or OM records, or with the new Russian Circles...? Hmm, choices.

On to the vinyl news then! Neurot are finally taking orders for the 2xLP of this album, and the outcome looks pretty amazing. There are 2 versions online, a European and a US one, now I'm not sure if us Euros aren't able to order the US version as well, so give that a try for yourself if you prefer the one or the other. The only difference is the marbled or splattered vinyl, but both versions look pretty astounding to me. No pressing information, but Neurot releases usually aren't too limited so for only $20 you might as well get both version from Neurot!

PS: I warned you these things might turn into reviews of some kind. My bad.

Apse - Climb Up 2xLP

I told you guys about the teaser 7" a while ago, and now orders are popping up for the full-length 2xLP by Apse called "Climb Up". I'm pretty excited about this album, because Apse have always tried to be innovative and seem to reinvent themselves on each release, whilst holding on to their own personality. Always labelled "post-rock", but they have very little in common with the usual suspects like Mogwai or EITS. In fact Apse are pretty hard to pigeonhole, so check out 4 new tracks on their myspace and maybe you might agree with me when I say that their sound reminds of Sigur Ros, Faust, a mellow Arcade Fire or even Radiohead.

"Climb Up" will be a perfect companion for the gloom fall, and will keep you warm in times of need. I'm getting my 2xLP fix over at Norman Records. Their last release sold out pretty fast, so don't sit on it.

Akron/Family - River 7"

Dead Oceans are taking pre-orders for a new 7" by one of the most groundbreaking acts out there: Akron/Family. This new single is called "River", and you'll never know what track it has on it?! So, besides this song that was already featured on their most recent album and that has nothing to do with Bruce Sprinsteen, there is also some new, thus more interesting work. The B-side has the wonderfully named "Morning on Michigan Avenue (Thinking of Old Friends)" song on it, which none of us has ever heard before! Hooray!

This 7" is limited, but Dead Oceans aren't giving pressing information. In my book, everything that is manufactured on scale is limited to some extent, so yeah. But who cares, this is Akron/Family we're talking about, so use today's lunchmoney to pre-order the "River" 7" from Dead Oceans.

Cant / Arthur Russell - Number One split 7"

Grizzly Bear = Chris Taylor = Cant. Nuff said. Released this tuesday is the "Number One" split 7" by Cant and Arhur Russel. Cant is side-project of Grizzly Bear, on the Taylor's own record label Terrible Records, and sounds pretty much like a lo-fi, even dreamier version of Grizzly Bear. You can check out the track 'Ghosts' over at Stereogum if you're curious. On the B-side comes a long lost posthumous folk track by Arthur Russell. ‘Come To Life’....‘Come To Life’was recorded by Russell in the late 70s, and should have but didn't appear on last year’s Rough Trade compilation "Love Is Overtaking Me". So, here we have it, on a split 7" limited to 1000 copies. Get yours from Terrible Records today.

And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - The Century Of Self Tour Edition 2xLP

Can't find much information about this vinyl pressing, but up for pre-order from Amazon UK is a Tour Edition gatefold 2xLP of "The Century Of Self" by Trail of Dead. Like I said, can't get any details, all I know is that I sincerely enjoyed this record as it sees Trail Of Dead returning to true form. So, up for pre-order for £12,98 is a limited edition tour version 2xLP, grab it while you can from Amazon.co.uk and let me know if you have more details about this.

A Place To Bury Strangers - Exploding Head LP

Had my first go at the "Exploding Head" LP by A Place To Bury Strangers yesterday, and what a pleasant trip it was! What we get here from "The Loudest Band of NY" is a brandnew record of delicious 'total sonic annihilation' like they tend to call it. After a first spin, I'd say that this new album is a bit closer to their live-performances, meaning that the new tracks have a bit more structure and melody compared to their debut. Still, My Bloody Valentine worshipping is still high with these fellows, but one can also hear strong influences of The Cure or Joy Division on "Exploding Head", making their sophomore effort a must-have record for not only the shoegaze lovers, but for anyone into exploring the depths of pop-noise (does that term make sense at all?). The artwork is as tight as a duck's arse as well, so this is one seriously highly recommended album!

If you haven't done so yet, order your copy from Amazon because it's dirtcheap there!

Criminal Element - Guilty As Charged LP

Now, here's one of the nominees for worst artwork of the year. Nevertheless, it did make my eyebrows slightly move, because Criminal Element features current and former members of Suffocation, Misery Index and Dying Fetus. The CD (which also had very poor artwork) was released last year, and as far as I can tell Germany's Damage Done Records only recently put this out on vinyl. This is a supergroup of sorts, call it the Shrinebuilder or Dead Weather of Death Metal if you like, and unlike many other supergroups (except for the aforementioned ones), these guys pull it off well together. "Guilty As Charged" is a hi-energy album filled with old-school trash metal with a lethal dose of death metal thrown into the mix. There are also 2 covers on this album, by Exciter and Carnivore, which are quite entertaining.

Comes on heavyweight black 180g vinyl with a gatefold cover. If you manage to forget about the artwork, this might just be worth picking up from Damage Done

Good Old War - Only Way To Be Alone LP

Ok, never heard of Good Old War to be frank, but since their debut LP "Only Way To Be Alone" is up for pre-order and you have to pick up the Red Sparowes 12" and Russian Circles 2xLP anyway from Sargent House, I figured it might be fun to raise awareness for Good Old War as well. So, for those of you who are as clueless as me, head over to Goodoldwar.bandcamp.com where you can stream the entire album and decide if you like them at all.

I'm personally in dubio. These guys used to be in bands such as Days Away and Unlikely Cowboy, and this debut album counts 12 poppy, sometimes harmonic folky americana singer-songwriter tracks. Not too lo-fi, not too preppy either, so "Only Way To Be Alone" is quite an amusing album but I don't know if it will really stick with me. However, I do have my cowboy moments, so who knows what "Only Way To Be Alone" will do for me in months or years to come.

Pre-order the Brown/Gold Swirl Vinyl for $15, or get it in the pre-order bundle together with a t-shirt and more good stuff, from Sargent House