Coalesce - OXEP 12"

Already mentioned a few weeks ago, but now available from the band directly as well is the vinyl edition of the OXEP album by Coalesce. And it turns out that the LP version comes on either silver or black 180g vinyl, and has an etching of the artwork. Now I can finally get that knife as well, yihaa. Order at Blue Collar Distro

100 Clear
500 180GM Black
500 White/Silver Split
500 Silver

Aldebaran / Unearthly Trance - Split 7"

Here's a cool new split 7" from Parasitic Records. Uneathly Trance are back with one new track of probably incredibly creepy metal, as well as a His Hero Is Gone cover! Aldebaran are the unknown on this split for me, and by heading over to their myspace I discovered they're a slow sludgemetal doom outfit from Portland who will manage to kick the shit of you. They won me over with the HHIG already, so this is a guaranteed winner.

This split 7" is limited to 500 copies and comes with a vinyl sticker for each band. Available now for $6,00 via Parasitic

Kylesa / Victims - Split 7"

What we have here is a killer intercontinental split 7" between two of the heaviest outfits on the planet: Georgia's Kylesa and Sweden's Victims. Originally pressed as a European Tour 7", limited to 500 copies on orange/black marbled vinyl which Kylesa had with them on their recent tour with Clutch. As announced months ago, Punkdistro finally have a regular version available as well, limited to 300 copies on dark green marbled vinyl. Normally Deathwish will also release a US version of this 7" sometime this winter, but don't sit on it, and get your copy at Punkdistro.de before they're gone. Oh yeah, 1 Kylesa song on here, 2 Victims songs, just the way it should be. I'd buy this just for the groove etching: "Savannah Stockholm Its all The Same To Me :-)"

Keelhaul - LP Reissues

Conspiracy Records are about to re-issue the first 3 Keelhaul albums just in time for their upcoming European Tour with Isis & Circle. If you read what I write over here, you know how much I adore Keelhaul, and in fact, for some strange reason I don't own their "Subject To Change Without Notice" album on vinyl, so now is the time!

The "bad" news is these re-issues are pressed on picture disc, so we'll have to wait and see/hear how good the audio quality will be, but I must admit, they look crazy. On the picture discs are pictures taken by Prutpuss for his alternative nude zine "Poupy Whoopy", and honestly, nipples and vinyl are always a golden combination. These LPs are limited to 300 copies each, and Conspiracy will only have 50 copies for sale directly, the rest of the LPs will be sold during their European tour, so wishlist from Conspiracy to reserve your copy - either seperately, or the 3xLP bundle.

I'll upload some better pictures once I have the LPs.

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.

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.

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.

Cathedral - Endtyme 2xLP

I've been waiting quite a while for this, and mad props to HSJ for spreading the word on this release. Up for pre-order is the legendary "Endyme" 2xLP by Cathedral. This is the first time ever that "Endtyme" is seeing a vinyl release, and the fine folks at Throne Records definitely put an effort into it. It features new artwork, comes in a gatefold sleeve, is pressed on 180g vinyl and is limited to 666 copies worldwide, with 166 copies on handnumbered, purple/gold splatter vinyl.

As usual, this is a one time pressing. There are no ordering or paypal buttons for this release yet, but apparently they do accept e-mails to reserve your copy, so head over to Throne Records and place your order!

The Gates Of Slumber - Hymns Of Blood & Thunder LP

Rise Above Records have started taking pre-orders for the all new The Gates Of Slumber record " Hymns Of Blood & Thunder". Does this title somehow remind you of Mastodon too or is it just me? Either way, this "Hymns Of Blood & Thunder" LP is bound to get some heavy rotation on this side of the Great Pond, at least if it lives up to its reputation. I only recently stumbled upon The Gates Of Slumber and have had quite a fun ride discovering their vintage doom metal, saluting the Greats such as Saint Vitus, Pentagram, Judas Priest and Black Sabbath.

These guys are the real deal. Check their beerbellies, check the killer artwork, check some of the song titles such as "The Bringer Of War", "Death Dealer" or "Iron Hammer" and you can figure out for yourself that this will be one entertaining trip down metal nostalgia lane.

There are several vinyl versions of this record available. The regular edition comes on Clear (300 ex), Transparent grey (300 ex) and Deep Red (300 ex) vinyl. There's also a deluxe black 180g vinyl box edition, limited to 300 copies which come a full colour glossy box with 24" x 12" full colour folded insert. Last but not least, there's a Die Hard box editon, which comes in a full colour glossy box. Limited to 300 copies, including a back patch of the album artwork/logo, full colour A2 glossy poster, 24" x 12" double sided full colour folded insert. Vinyl comes as double 180gm with sides A&B being transparent Brown and sides A&D transparent claret. Shipping is a bitch, but it's worth it, so pre-order this instant metal classic from Rise Above Records.

Saviours - Accelerated Living 2xLP

At first I didn't get this band. I probably still don't because the clue has not found me yet, but after seeing them twice doing their thing on stage, I found them so entertaining it's hard not to like them. You see, I didn't get Saviours because they had Yaphet Kotto members but sounded nothing, and I mean nothing at all, like that. Then, I always saw their name dropped in the same sentence as The Sword and Kylesa, two bands that just don't do it for me. Plus, I wasn't sure if this was "hipster-metal" or "gimmick-metal" or whatnot, but I was actually just confusing them with Genghis Tron (don't even know why). But, here we have it, the ugly truth is, I like me some Saviours!

"Accelerated Living" is the newest (3rd? 4th?) studio-album by this Oakland, CA outfit, and promises to be a blast. Saviours play metal. Their metal is classic, yet stonerish. They have as much in common with Thin Lizzy as with Motörhead. Their love for the power reminds of High On Fire, their love for the beer reminds of, well, Motörhead.

Saviour's new gatefold 2xLP "Accelerated Living" contains all the tracks from their recent 7"s (minus the covers), as well as 5 new tracks. Pre-orders are now up from Kemado

Baroness - Blue Record 2xLP

Here we have it. The highly anticipated "Blue Record" by Baroness is now up for pre-order at Insound. Baroness have been evolving their sound ever since their first 2 EPs, and at first the "Red Album" didn't do it for me as it was too straight-up rock, even radio-friendly. Live the new tracks absolute shredded though, and in time "Red Album" became one of those records that I should've just gone ahead with and ordered blindly. So, that's exactly what I plan on doing with this new album.

The three new songs they put online on their Myspace don't suggest any surprises from this Savannah metal powerhouse. At the risk of sounding redundant, Baroness have always been compared to Mastodon which I honestly never totally understood except for both having astounding productions, both sounding epic and both trying to raise the bar of modern metal. I will say though that if one continues this comparison, "Blue Record" will stand nicely next to "Leviathan", as the gents incorporate more progrock in their sound. And they get away with it.

As usual Relapse are slow with their pre-orders, so just head over to Insound and reserve your deluxe 2xLP gatefold edition due October 13th.

Neurosis Video Retrospective

Found this on Ideologic, and had so much fun watching and just listening to this previously unreleased footage from Neurosis, shot between 1994 and 2008, most of which in Hamburg, Germany that I figured this could please you too.

Check out the clips at UnartigNYC and take some time to read the piece by Kevin Egan (Beyond, 1.6 Band) while you're at it. Favourite quote: "I can’t remember how long they played. It seemed like a day or two"

Cannabis Corpse - The Weeding EP 12"

Ok, that does it: this is officially the Richmond, VI week over here at Hex. Third and definitely weirdest upcoming vinyl album from Richmond this week is the new 12" from Cannabis Corpse called "The Weeding EP" . Now, judging by the bandname, title and press release, smoking played a big part in recording this album, but that can't spoil the fun now can it? This is some fun oldschool deathmetal featuring members of Municipal Waste, Battlemaster and Parasytic, comes with crazy artwork by Andrei Bouzikov and this first pressing which is now up for pre-order is limited to 500 and comes on hot pink vinyl. Buy it from Tankcrimes

Floor - Below & Beyond 10LP Boxset

Available for pre-order NOW are the previously announced "Below & Beyond" Boxsets by the almighty Floor. This MASSIVE boxset contains 10 LPs, one 7", eight CDs, an exclusive t-shirt and a (roughly) 32-page booklet of writings, photos, lyrics, artwork (and more) are all to be housed in separate jackets contained within a custom cloth-bound box. Each record comes on a different color of vinyl to match to the corresponding artwork, and two etchings accompany recordings that didn't have appropriate flipsides. Booyaa.

Order this limited edition of 305 copies NOW from Robotic Empire. OK, it's $250, but this seems like one of the best purchases one can make this year - and those who don't will regret this for many many many years to come. Torche collectors take note: yes, you want this as well.

Here's more info from the label: It's pretty rare when a band comes along that creates something truly unique. Scarcer still are multiple standout recordings from the same group. Rarest of all is one who amasses a large body of work that varies greatly, yet consistently remains impressive.

Southern Florida's FLOOR were around for roughly 10 years and recorded well over a dozen times during their on-and-off existence. Nearly 100 tracks are the result of a decade of persistence amid overall underappreciation, and only in the wake of their demise did underground audio followers finally take note. Their huge body of work yielded only a few officially released records, and most of what the band recorded just collected dust in the vaults. Finally, everything ever laid down to tape by this truly ahead-of-their time(s) outfit has been compiled into one massive release.

From the living rooms and basements of 1992 to the studios of 2001/2002, FLOOR had an incredible evolution from the GODFLESH and early-MELVINS-inspired sludge worship, to the unrivaled sugary doom/pop amalgamation which would eventually pave the way for TORCHE, HOUSE OF LIGHTNING and others. The changes in sound from recording-to-recording means the sheer variation of style (and audio fidelity) witnessed throughout this collection is astounding, and when dating these recordings against what would eventually follow, it becomes crystal clear that FLOOR were consistently operating on that fabled "next level".

It is with great honor and elation that we are able to present the Below & Beyond Box Set to you. After many years in the making, FLOOR is finally able to conclude their existence with this extensive collection.

EyeHateGod - Confederacy of Ruined Lives LP

New Orleans' EyeHateGod are seeing their last album "Confederacy of Ruined Lives" reissued on vinyl, and here's one ugly Belgian kid being siked about it! You see, EyeHateGod are one of the legendary bands in the southern doom / sludge metal NOLA scene amongst Crowbar, Soilent Green, Down and Outlaw Order - no coincidence that the 2 latter bands also feature members of EyeHateGod. Honestly, "Confederacy of Ruined Lives" isn't their best record, for that you need to get into "Dopesick", but these guys can't do much wrong in my book.

This LP re-issue is limited to 500 copies, of which 400 on black and 100 on white vinyl with tan/black splatters. All LPs are hand numbered and come encased in a deluxe triple gatefold! It's expensive, but worth it, so pre-order yours from I'm Better Than Everyone

Converge - Axe To Fall LP

The longawaited Converge LP "Axe To Fall" is now up for pre-order, and if you're into Converge, you're probably way ahead of me and have ordered it by now. I would as well, but my Visa was recently fraudulently used by some unknown wanker to purchase tickets to Marocco, so now I'm royally screwed.

Converge are one of those few bands that I own everything from. I wouldn't call myself a collector, but I caught onto them early on in their "Halo In The Haystack" days and am glad I did. Ok, not everything they've done is great, especially "You Fail Me" was a dissapointment, but "Jane Doe" is obviously a Magnum Opus, and even the last record "No Heroes" has some fantastic tracks on it, especially worth mentioning is "Grim Heart/Black Rose" with Jonah Jenkins.

So, they're back with a new record. The first MP3 they made available on their myspace sounded very promising, so I'm hoping for the best So, pre-ordering has become possible as of yesterday (sorry peeps, I was sleeping, different time zones and all), both through epitaph.com and deathwishinc.com. I was hoping for a gatefold edition, but no. Anyway, here comes the tricky part. There are three vinyl colorways of this release available through Deathwish, and if you order multiple copies they'll do their best to get you all available colorways. These puppies have no pressing information. The exclusive edition that Epitaph has is limited to 500 copies and comes on tan vinyl. (pictured above) Then again, as Deathwish is licensing this album, I'm confused as to what colours they have. Anyway, good luck!

Enslaved - 8xLP Wooden Boxset

Germany's Viva Hate Records have started taking pre-orders for the Enslaved Wooden Box Set last week, and the first 100 and most limited copies are already gone. Want to know what the fuss is all about? Well, this is a Wooden Box of Norwegian's cult metal act Enslaved, containing 6 long time out of print and sold out albums with alternate layout:
-Enslaved “Frost” LP
-Enslaved “Eld” 2xLP
-Enslaved “Blodhemn” LP
-Enslaved “Mardraum” LP
-Enslaved “Monumension” LP
-Enslaved “Below The Lights” LP

If that's not enough, the box also has the following extra goodies:
-A reissued demo tape version of the original demo: YGGDRASSILL
-An exclusive one sided record with rough instrumental recording of “Hal Valr”, never before released…(recorded in 1992!!!)
-An exclusive Enslaved belt buckle
-An exclusive Enslaved military cap with embroidered logo

So, in total, you get 8 out-of-print tru kult records, all pressed on thick 180g vinyl and a nifty packaging which will fit perfectly on your ikea furniture. The 2 remaining versions are either on Green vinyl (200 copies) or Tru Black vinyl (400 copies)

I've ordered from Viva Hate before, and these guys are the real deal. Deluxe packaging, fast delivery, excellent music, just look at the pictures of this box and be dazzled! Get yours for €160 from Viva Hate

Kongh - Shadows Of The Shapeless 2xLP

Kongh's sophomore album "Shadows Of The Shapeless" has finally been released on vinyl. Kongh are definitely one of Europe's finest metalacts, gradually working towards the same status as Amenra or Switchblade. Speaking of those 2, and if you're unfamiliar with Kongh, imagine the droning, repetitive sludge riffs of Amenra with the nationality of Switchblade (yeah I know, just saying they both hail from Sweden), and add just a pinch of melodic vocals that Mastodon could come up with, and you get a pretty good idea of what "Shadows Of The Shapeless" sounds like.

This brandnew 2xLP features 5 songs, covering over an hour worth of music, so don't expect to get happy by listening to this. Music Fear Satan are responsible for this vinyl pressing, which looks really well done, I'm just hoping they used the heavy cardboard for the gatefold and not the cheap soft ones. Anyway, "Shadows Of The Shapeless" comes in a limited edition of 800 copies, of which 200 copies on bloodred vinyl. Definitely keep your eyes peeled on the MFS label by the way, as they have (split) LP's coming between acts such as Year Of No Light, Fear Falls Burning, Lesbian, Conifer, Nadja, Starkweather, Overmars, etc. Cool!

For now, get your bloodred Kongh 2xLP Here. I'm picking my copy up on their show with Switchblade in Belgium this saturday, stoked!

Isis - Panopticon 2xLP repress

Robotic Empire just released the 5th repressing of "Panopticon", the 3rd full-length album by the mighty Isis. If you don't own this yet, here's your chance to get one. The pressing information is as follows:

- Clear w/ Orange Splatter - 120 copies

- Blue/ Black Swirl - 209 copies

- Black w/ Orange Splatter - 289 copies

- Black - 1400 copies

If I didn't already own this record, I'd definitely go for the clear/orange splatter version, those things look sweeeeeeet. Get yours from Robotic Empire

Fall of Efrafa - Inlé 2xLP

Never really knew what to do with these guys. You see, Britain's Fall of Efrafa not only have an awful name, they're also all over the place, mixing elements of post-rock, hardcore, black metal and even krautrock. Yep... It seems a lot of people are into them though, maybe just for parts of the songs in their respective genre, or because this way they only have to sit through one band while consuming a lot of others at the same time. Comparison wise, I'd say this is somewhere in between earlier Mouth Of The Architect and Battlelfields.

The story behind these recordings is interesting enough though, as this is apparently the final chapter of their "Watership Down" inspired Trilogy of records known as "The Warren Of Snares", consisting of:
- Owlsa, (warrior) the first record, created the narrative of an unnamed society in the final throws of a war against mankind.
- Elil (predator)was the second full length and dealt with these beliefs, and the oppressive reign of religious indoctrination.
- Inlé" (death) is the final recording effort of Fall of Efrafa, after this they disband.

Sound Devastation are now taking pre-orders for the 2xLP, available on regular black vinyl, as well as different coloured versions, all limited to 200 copies.