Lord Vicar - Fear No Pain 2xLP

Wow. Lord Vicar is a new doom metal outfit, but somewhat different from the one started by the the kids in your neighbourhood who think that wearing a Paradise Lost shirt makes them as doom as gloom. Oh no. Lord Vicar is a new band featuring Chritus (Count Raven, Saint Vitus, Terra Firma) on vocals, Jim Hunter (Revelation, WHW) on bass, Gareth Millsted (Centurions Ghost, End of Level Boss) on drums and Peter Inverted (Reverend Bizarre, Orne) on guitars. That's right! And what else can we expect from an international line-up of doom legends than Tru Kult Doom in the line of Saint Vitus, Trouble, Sabbath and Pentagram.

Their debut full-length "Fear No Pain" was released on vinyl this August by The Church Within but only now caught my attention because they played a show in my town with The Gates Of Slumber recently. Now, the "Fear No Pain" 2xLP looks i.n.c.r.e.d.i.b.l.e as it comes on high quality vinyl, but the real eyecatcher here is the hardcover gatefold with a 24 page full-color book. I'm definitely dishing out the $30 and ordering this 2xLP from The Church Within. US readers can also order an imported version over at Parasitic Records

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

Switchblade - s/t 2xLP

I reported about Switchblade's newest self-titled album a while ago, and now Denovali have all the work done on what looks like a must-have piece of vinyl here. The LP version comes in heavyweight gatefold covers with varnish, and is limited to 180 copies on clear vinyl and 320 copies on black vinyl. Both editions have a special screenprint on the D-side.

Pre-order just the 2xLP for €18,5 or get it with a limited shirt for €30. Order and stream some tracks over at Denovali

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!

Bohren & Der Club Of Gore - Mitleid Lady LP

One of my favourite installments in the Latitudes series is finally becoming available on vinyl. I'm talking about "Mitleid Lady" by Germany's doom-jazz ensemble Bohren & Der Club Of Gore

Perhaps not their best work, but it's still Bohren, and I adore the Latitudes series, for the choice of bands, the artwork, and the whole concept behind the series, so "Mitleid Lady" will definitely get its place in my LP collection. No ordering information from Southern yet, so get one of the 500 copies from Norman

Nihill - Krach 2xLP

Hydrahead are taking pre-orders for the CD version of "Grond", the 2nd part of the trilogy by Nihill. They released "Krach" on CD a few weeks ago already, but still no news on the vinyl edition. So, I figured, some of you might be interested in knowing that instead of waiting on HH to release this, it might also be worth your while to order the original pressing of the "Krach" 2xLP on Holland's Monument Records (a division of Reflections Records). Nihill are an amazing project that's surrounded by a lot mystery and though supposed to come out of some bleak Norwegian forest, well... I won't spoil the fun...but they're Dutch...

All I want to say, is that the "Krach" 2xLP is still available from Monumentum, which was released about 3 years ago or so. Although limited to only 500 copies on black vinyl, copies are still available, which will change in no time once all the Hydrahead-followers catch on to this. So, beat them to it and order from Monumentum / Reflections

Sunn O))) - Monoliths & Dimensions 2xLP

Sorry for the lack of updates, get used to it in the weekends. I'm sure those of you care at all will know this already, but for the sake of reminding myself to purchase this album today: here's the longawaited vinyl edition of "Monoliths & Dimensions" by Sunn 0))). Besides their White1 album which I unfortunately don't have, all the rest of their records in my collection look outstanding. Southern Lord definitely take pride in deliviring quality vinyl products, and it seems no different for the 2xLP version of "Monoliths & Dimensions": besides the 180g black vinyl, the album jacket is, and I quote "a heavy-weight cardboard "tip-on" style that contains two printed inner-sleeves and a fold out "poster" with the lyrics and album credits. This jacket is then encased by a printed velum dust jacket that resembles a dust jacket you would find on a hardcover book. This is then inserted in a poly-bag." Sounds all killer no filler!

There are 2 options available. Either you get just the 2XLP for $25, or you can treat yourself and spend $45 and get a bag full of useless but nonetheless cool Sunn 0))) goodies. Shipping starts October 9th.

I myself am pre-ordering the regular 2xLP from Southern Lord and I'm hanging on to the extra $20 that I'm saving now, to hopefully spend on a special European version of this record when they pass through Brussels in a week or 2. I'll keep you posted if they have any special Euro LPs with them.

Om - Conference Live Handmade LP

Important made some handmade versions of the Om "Conference Live" LP available. Apparently these are some left-overs from the first pressing which were defective, and now they've been restored/replaced with a special screen printed sleeve by David d'Andrea (same as the poster) and gold vinyl to boost. Only 200 are available, in my opinion they look much better than the original, so get yours fast from Important Records

Corrupted - Nadie LP

Because some of you have been asking for some more metal, I figured I'd take a look at the Thone Records site to see if they have any news concerning the Cathedral "Endtyme" 2xLP yet. Well, turns out they don't. However, my visit wasn't for nothing, as it turns out that they still have some copies available of Corrupted's "Nadie". The first pressing was released a few years ago, no idea when this second pressing arrived, but it doesn't get more metal than Corrupted. Everybody happy again now? Jolly! Except me that is, because I don't own this record yet...and now I'll have to. It compells me.

Japan's Corrupted are/were (??) one of thé most important bands in the sludge / doom genre. If I'm not mistaken, "Nadie" was their very first full-length, released somewhere in the mid 90s. The Spanish Throne Records who are extremely good in releasing quality vinyl albums, figured that "Nadie" deserved a proper vinyl release and went for it. So, the version that's still available is the second and last pressing and is limited to 500 copies. Go for it at Throne and first take a look at the artwork for that Cathedral album. Looks killer.

As long as we're on the topic of Corrupted, that German site I was talking about earlier also still has some copies of the "Paso Inferior" LP by Corrupted. For €40, you can even order a test press of this LP, so you might as well head over to Bis Aufs Messer and get this grimm masterpiece too.

Thou - Tape Boxset

Thou are one of the heaviest band out there, no wonder they'll be releasing their next album on the dark lord's label aka Southern Lord. And being fully aware that this blog is called "Hex Vinyl", I'm making an exception for this killer tape boxset release, spanning pretty much their entire discography. Here's the info:

cassette 1 - tyrant full length + The Retaliation of the Immutable Force of Nature EP
cassette 2 - peasant full length
cassette 3 - To Carry a Stone EP,We Pass Like Night, From Land to Land EP / Leech split tape
Thrive & Decay EP / Black September split
Malfeasance / Retribution EP

The boxset comes with pro printed pro audio cassettes, silk screened on the divisions style cassette cases 100lb epic black linen paper, a 32 page booklet with all song titles, lyrics and images included, a sticker button and patch that are all exclusive to the boxset, a glass 'potion' bottle with mixed brazilian pepper seeds inside of it, all resting on a bed of moss in a jet black silk screened 4x4x4 box. strictly limited to 300 copies. This is a split release between Drugged Conscience and Peasant Magik.

Ordering is via paypal only, while confirming your order put "Thou Boxset Paid" in the title of the mail.
US orders: - $20ppd
canada - $23ppd
world - $29ppd
paypal to burnxnaples@yahoo.com

Boris - 8 7"

I heard some rumours about a new upcoming 7" by Boris on Southern Lord, but no official information has been released yet, let alone a preview of the artwork. However, Norman Records have the details, and already have the "8" 7" up for pre-order. Here's the info:

"For over 15 years Boris has lead the charge as Japan's most exciting experimental rock act. Considering their peers and countrymen this is no easy feat. Even stacked up against a lot of their Southern Lord brethren (a roster including some of the hardest-working, forward-thinking artists in music) Boris always stands out as some of the biggest risk-takers, with a voluminous catalogue to back up that reputation.

This fall marks yet another first for the band as they release Japanese Heavy Rock Hits, a series of 7 inches showcasing their wide-reaching, genre-smashing sound.Volume One titled 8, features two newly recorded EXCLUSIVE tracks.

On Side A, the title track "8" continues the spacey hard-rock sound established on their classic albums Pink and Smile, building from a mono, lo-fi wall of feedback into a ripping, slab of lush vocals, crunchy guitar and thunderous drums.Things get switched up on Side B with "Hey Everyone", a chewy bit of power-pop bubblegum that sees the band mining a much lighter source for their s$most daring thing this band can do is record something so straight-forwardit could easily be misconstrued as "alt-pop".

This all-new 7 inch, along with the rest of the Japanese Heavy Rock Hits series are gonna be must-have's for all fans of Boris, Southern Lord and all things heavy."

Pre-order it from Norman Records

Ancestors - Of Sound Mind LP

Tee Pee records are finalizing the release of the sophomore effort by LA's Ancestors. a progrock-stoner-doom quintent. Yep, these guys manage to pay tribute to both Sleep's "Holy Mountain" and Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" and get away with it. Their debut was very impressive, so I'm definitely looking forward to hearing their new effort. The preview which is available from Stereogum definitely sounds promising.

On their new album, which is recorded by Pete Lyman, known for his work with Mars Volta andNo Age, they also get a little help from their friends, such as David Scott Stone (Melvins, Unwound, Slug) and Sera Timms (Black Math Horsemen).

"Of Sound Mind" is due 10/06 on Tee Pee, but already up for pre-order from Norman Records

Switchblade - s/t

Sweden's Switchblade are back! I had no idea these guys were working on a new album, even more that it's already finished. For now, they're only taking CD pre-orders due 09/09/09 (nifty!), so if that's your thing, go for it. However, patient folks like us, will just wait for the LP version to surface, but in the meantime can already listen to the entire beast online on their site

These 3 new songs seem to mark the natural progression Switchblade have been making. Whilst at first more into the whole Isis/Neurosis/Amenra vibe, these guys gradually slowed down more & more, becoming much more doom, without forgetting the monumental build-ups and punishing vocals. I'll definitely keep you posted about a possible LP release - Trust No One are ususally always a few months later with the vinyl, but in the meantime, pre-order the CD from Trust No One

Switchblade & Kongh are touring early September by the way, check out Switchblade.se for more info.

Ocean - Pantheon Of The Lesser 2xLP

Not available from Important Records yet, but I see these surfacing at several distributors, and since Ocean (definitely not to be confused with The) are one of my favourite doom bands out there, doesn't hurt to already pre-order this, I know I will. "Here Where Nothing Grows " was one hell of a debut, and last year Ocean hit back with "Pantheon Of The Lesser", which is now finally getting the vinyl treatment.

Packaged in "deluxe letter-pressed covers foil printed heavy duty cardboard jackets" with art by Bruce Hutchison, the vinyl itself is double 200-gram (wow!) vinyl, and there are 2 versions available, either with a white or a black cover, both limited to 500 copies. Besides the cover, what also sets them apart is the content on the D-side. On the white version you get an adaptation of The Swans song "You're Not Real Girl". On the black version is an adaptation of Roy Orbison's "It's Over".

I paid over $40 for their debut album back in the day, and although worth every penny I kinda missed the ball by a few months, so now let's order this on time and save some bucks shall we? Available from Darla for only $19,99 (Insound has them for 29,99). I'm getting both versions, just for the heck of it.

Black Boned Angel - Verdun LP

Well hell, speaking of Black Boned Angel. Turns out Riot Season are taking pre-orders for "Verdun", the new album by Black Boned Angel! Hooray!

Here's the release info from the label: "The eagerly awaited and much delayed (our fault!) new studio album from Black Boned Angel. Described by Rock-A-Rolla magazine as the bands "most sombre and realised work to date", and who are we to argue ?

Sharing a similarly bleak ground to Corrupted, Sunn 0))) and Earth, New Zealand's Black Boned Angel return with their fourth full length album 'Verdun', and perhaps their most sombre and fully-realised work to date.The Battle of Verdun was fought between the German and French armies, and was one of the critical battles during World War 1 on the Western Front. It resulted in more than a quarter of a million battlefield deaths and at least half a million wounded. Verdun was the longest battle and one of the most devastating in World War 1 and indeed in history. Over the course of 50 minutes, BBA soundtrack that brutal conflict with their trademark dark ambient drones and doom-laden riffs."

Limited edition black and colored vinyl LP, available for pre-order from Riot Season

Orthodox - Sentencia LP

One of the few European doom bands to get the Southern Lord "two thumbs up", Spain's Orthodox are back with "Sentencia". The LP comes in a beautiful gatefold, with debossing on cover, printed inner sleeve, and coloured vinyl. "Sentencia" is another jumb in the sense of the evolution for a band like Orthodox. With an instrumentation closer to jazz than ever before, the album is best example of the music progression the band always wanted to show, from their unique heavy metal perspective, and particular vision of the traditional andalusian music has to be performed in their own repertoire.

Available on black or gold vinyl from Alone Records