News Roundp: Melvins, Mithras, Wodensthrone, Criminal, Graves at the Sea, Sylvain and more

March 11, 2016

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We’re bringing you more news so you can shut your mouth.

Few bands from the rock world can say they’ve inspired multiple mainstream and underground acts; Melvins is one of them. The monsters of Seattle have been rolling up the world under their feet since 1983, and they are still hungry for more heads. King Buzzo and Dale Clover always had a revolving door of bassists, so this time they set up the battlefield and will release two albums (yes! TWO!). Three Men and a Baby will be published this April 1st. This is the unreleased record they prepared in 1999 that was never finished. The bassist on this piece is godheadSilo’s Mike Kunka. The other record is the ingeniously titled Basses Loaded, scheduled for September, and will include participation from six musicians, starting from older collaborators of the band, like Jared Warren and Trevor Dunn, as well as Steven McDonald (Redd Kross) and Krist Novoselic (Nirvana). Open your ears to “Hideous Woman” and surrender to the Buzz (this one is with Steven McDonald).

Mithras’s last invocation to the mystical realms was with 2011’s Time Never Lasts EP. Since Sarpanitum has had great success, does it means that Mithras is dead? Hell no! On Strange Loops will be the next album from these brutal death metallers from the United Kingdom, and they recently teamed up with Willowtip Records to give you a taste of their otherworldy riffage with “The Statue on the Island”. Check it out; it cosmically rules. Meanwhile, look for the constellations and jam this tune while you wait for the awaited release date.

Sad news: Wodensthrone is no more. The band announced an amicable split-up through their official Fan Page on Facebook. Meanwhile, I will be burning magic incense to honor these fallen Pagan comrades. Here is the message:

We regret to announce that after ten years of activity, Wodensthrone is no more, following the amicable departure of… Posted by Wodensthrone (Official) on miércoles, 9 de marzo de 2016

Their last record, Curse, was released on 2012, through Candlelight Records. I recommend checking it for more arboreal black metal.

Metal Blade Records is one of the biggest labels in the extreme genre right now, built largely upon great roster of bands in the underground 80s days. In case you are a clueless kid, the label helped to promote the then-unknown bands with a series of compilations titled Metal Massacre. In this series, Brian Slagel, founder of the label, recommended great bands that would later become commanders or part of the cavalry of the metal genre, like Metallica, Cirith Ungol, Overkill, Armored Saint, Slayer, Trouble, Voivod, Hellhammer, and many many more (Seriously, check out the track-listing!).

Well, since the retro aesthetic is back and the internet is filled with metal, the label is reviving the old tradition of the Metal Blade compilation in 2016 after 10 years of absence.

Here is the cover art and the track-list for this edition:

01. The Traveller (Metalian)
02. Until Then…Until the End (Noctum)
03. Bell of Tarantia (Gatekeeper)
04. The Demented Force (Assassin’s Blade)
05. Denim Attack (Cobra)
06. The Siege of Jerusalem (Stone Dagger)
07. Will of the Ancient Call (Crypt Sermon)
08. The Ripper in Black (Savage Master)
09. No Tomorrow (Outcast)
10. Brothers (Corsair)
11. Cold Cold Ground (Walpyrgus) **
12. Final Spell (Visigoth) **
13. Into Depths (Ravencult) **

** Bonus tracks only for the digital version.

Chilean thrashers, Criminal are streaming in full their new album Fear Itself on Soundcloud. The blend of metal with hardcore shouting sounds caustic, with plenty of riffs and a pissed-off attitude (also, it features a Costin Chiouraneu illustration on the cover). I recommend it!

You can pre-order now this release on Bandcamp and the physical version through the Metal Blade Records store.

More DOOM!

Graves at Sea is a band that has been had at work since their first demo in 2003. And all their discography is comprised of Splits and EPs. But this year, we will have their debut full-length, via Relapse Records. If you are interested in what the band prepared with The Curse That Is, I suggest you check out the premiere of a new track titled “Tempest” for 7 minutes of doom (via Cvlt Nation).

If you dig this, you just have to pre-order and wait for the release this April 20th. Also, check out this cool little poster with the dates of their shows. It’s so cute!

The evocative mindscape of Norwegian multi-instrumentalist Sylvaine will be shown this May with the release of Wistful. To tease the followers of the melancholic paths and the lush imaginative worlds of the “shoegazy” side of the post-rock genre, the song “Saudade” is being premiered on Pop Matters.

If you are a fan of the French school of blackgaze and the overall post aesthetic, you can give it a listen. And yes, Neige, from Alcest, is drumming on this record.

To our fellow concert-goers, the Metal Alliance Tour is back.

The lineup of this year’s edition is composed of: Dying Fetus, The Acacia Strain, Jungle Rot, Black Crown Initiate and System House 33. Reaping Asmodeia and Nylithia will play select dates too!

If you are interested in attending this, check out the dates below. Have fun if you go!

April, 29. Soundstage. Baltimore, MD.
April, 30. Mill City Ballroom. Lowell, MA.
May, 01. Gramercy Theater. New York, NY.
May, 02. Agora Ballroom. Cleveland, OH.
May, 03. Reggies. Chicago, IL.
May, 04. Cabooze. Minneapolis, MN.
May, 05. Park Theater. Winnipeg, Canada.
May, 08. Shredmonton Festival. Edmonton, Canada.
May, 10. Studio Seven. Seattle, WA.
May, 11. Hawthorne Theater. Portland, OR.
May, 12. Phoenix Theater. Petaluma, CA.
May, 13. Glasshouse. Pomona, CA.
May, 14. Whisky. Los Angeles, CA.
May, 15. Joe’s Grotto. Phoenix, AZ.
May, 17. Summit Music Hall. Denver, CO.
May, 18. Riot Room. Kansas City, MO.
May, 20. Rail Club. Fort Worth, TX.
May, 21. Dirty Dog. Austin, TX.
May, 23. Southport Hall. Jefferson, LA.
May, 25. Orpheum. Tampa, FL.
May, 26. Masquerade. Atlanta, GA.
May, 27. The International. Knoxville, TN.
May, 28. Oddbody’s. Dayton, OH.
May, 29. Arizona Pete’s. Greensboro, NC.

In other news:

In support of “The End”, Epiphone guitars chatted with Tony Iommi to discuss Black Sabbath and his new signature SG axe. Watch it here.
US Tech-Death dreamers Fallujah are sharing some videos of the making-of Dreamless. You can view them here.
Oranssi Pazuzu’s last full-lenght is a masterpiece of psychedelic obscurity. To engage their fans with the music of Värähtelijä, they have prepared one stunning videoclip. Seriously, it’s great. Check it!
Ex-Angra vocalist, Edu Falaschi, will release an acoustic solo piece titled Moonlight. Scheduled for May 20th, the record features acoustic renditions of some of his greatest hits. Listen to “Nova Era” in this format.
Lacuna Coil have another record. If you want to know, it will be titled Delirium, and according to the band members, it will have a more “cinematic sound”. Get prepared for this May 27th.
Swedish legionnaries of the traditional black metal way, Dark Funeral, will blast this world with their upcoming album, Where Shadows Reign, this June 3 via Century Media (h/t to fellow reader, KSOFM for the info).