A//TAR share "solemn post-metal" first track from forthcoming debut via Metal Injection

"A//TAR brings solemn post-metal and sludgy doom with the crushing ferocity of Souls At Zero-era Neurosis and cinematic metal of Amenra." -- Metal Injection

Portland quintet A//TAR share the first track from their forthcoming debut today via Metal Injection. Hear and share "Horology" HERE.(Direct Bandcamp.)

A//tar launch a West Coast tour in September following the album release. Please see current dates below. 

Hailing from the dark and gloomy Pacific Northwest, Alltar (stylized as A//tar) deftly combines elements of Post-Metal, Doom, and Sludge; and in an act of pure alchemy, wholly creates their own image. In the midst of the bass-heavy, distortion-laden wall of sound lies an element of somber, melodic beauty. 

The Portland, OR quintet are masters of slow-burn dramatic tension and explosive riffs with impassioned vocals giving their songs a formidable intensity. Reminiscent of the crushing ferocity of Souls At Zero-era Neurosis, the cinematic metal of Amenra, and multifaceted haze of Cult of Luna, A//tar are a return to thoughtcrafty heavy music.

Founded by guitarist Tim Burke (also of Hound The Wolves) in 2016, the band has developed through a careful, deliberate evolution to reach its perfect lineup with Juan Carlos Caceres (vocals, Moog), Nate Wright (drums), Colin Hill (guitar, samples) and Casey Braunger (bass.) With the same deliberation, the band spent the latter half of 2017 recording their 4-song debut album at 3 different studios in Portland, then mixing and mastering in Spring 2018. A record label came into the picture soon thereafter, though the album release was held up as the label’s funds were scarce. Eventually, the label folded and the band wrestled back their masters, choosing to self-release, now well into 2019. 

“Upon the A//TAR we place our past,” the band declares. “Through the triumphs and tribulations of human-kind. From the technical and artistic birth of society’s achievements in art and technology, as well as the rise of power, war, destruction, and the control of humanity. Through the inevitable dark decay and cold loss, our music is inspired.”

Hallowed will be available on CD and download on September 6th, 2019. Pre-orders are available HERE. 

A//TAR LIVE 2019:

09/21 Boise, ID @ The Shredder

09/22 Reno, NV @ TBA

09/23 Sacramento, CA @ TBA

09/24 San Jose, CA @ The Ritz

09/25 Santa Cruz, CA @ The Blue Lagoon

09/26 Oakland, CA @ The Golden Bull

09/27 Portland, OR @ TBA

09/28 Seattle, WA @ The Highline

Artist: A//tar

Album: Hallowed

Label: Monochord Records

Release date: September 6th, 2019

01. Horology

02. War Altar

03. Induction

04. Spoils

On the Web:

altar.bandcamp.com

facebook.com/ALLTAR.PDX

instagram.com/alltar.pdx

twitter.com/Alltarpdx

Firebreather share first track from forthcoming RidingEasy Records debut via Brooklyn Vegan

"Firebreather veer towards roaring, High On Fire-esque sludge, and they’ve got the chops and the grit to pull this kind of thing off." -- Brooklyn Vegan

Swedish trio Firebreather share the first track from their forthcoming debut on RidingEasy Records, Under a Blood Moon today via Brooklyn Vegan. Hear and share "Dancing Flames" HERE.(Direct YouTube.)

Fire is what happens when a carbon based object is consumed by oxygen. That chemical reaction is fitting to the sound of Firebreather: The riffs are suffocating, the rhythms fast moving and all-consuming. It's so blindingly and deafeningly monolithic, don't be surprised to find yourself gasping for air while listening.

The Gothenburg, Sweden trio has a streamlined focus on driving, symphonic riffs in the vein of High on Fire, Inter Arma and their tour- and label-mates Monolord. The guitar and bass tones are, quite simply, entrancing. Like watching flames engulf a forest, the billowing guitar tones are simultaneously beautiful and destructive, while the rhythms sway and lunge with vicious precision.

"It's riff based, heavy as fuck, but with a groove to it," explains vocalist/guitarist Mattias Nööjd, formerly of popular Swedish doom merchants Galvano. "We had gotten off a tour with Monolord in February of 2018 and by that time we had the song 'Firebreather' done," but soon thereafter new drummer Axel Wittbeck joined the fold.

"Once Axel had joined, it was like the flood gates opened," says bassist Kyle Pitcher. "The rest of the album just came together." Under a Blood Moon was recorded at Elementstudion in Gothenburg with engineer Oskar Karlsson, who also recorded the band's lauded 2017 self-titled debut on Suicide Records. 

Album opener "Dancing Flames" sets the stage for the onslaught to come with a slinking, serpentine riff over slow churning rhythms. Nööjd's hushed, gravelly vocals sink into the mix, more like a baritone guitar than a human voice. "Our Souls, They Burn" nicely exemplifies the band's furious grind that makes even faster tempo songs sound impossibly heavy, like a slow motion stampede. Elsewhere, "We Bleed" perfectly sums up the band's focus on the riff and groove, honing in on the power of hypnotic attrition. Closing epic, "The Siren" opens with lugubrious, slightly swinging drums and rumbling bass building tension over delay- and phaser-soaked guitar harmonics, until a massive, sliding riff crashes headlong into the proceedings. The song seems to cleverly shape shift across several harmonic and rhythmic parts, without losing the core groove underneath. A short pause for breath, then it's off to the races with a galloping crescendo for succinct closure. 

Under a Blood Moon will be available on LP, CD and download September 27th, 2019 via RidingEasy Records. Preorders are available HERE.

FIREBREATHER LIVE 2019:

Sep 20 Gothenburg, SE @ Musikens Hus w/ Halshug

Oct 01 Utrecht, NL @ De Helling *

Oct 02 Brussels, BE @ Magasin 4 *

Oct 03 Pratteln, CH @ Up In Smoke Festival *

Oct 04 Reims, FR @ La Cartonnerie *

Oct 05 Paris, FR @ Saturday Mud Fever Festival *

Oct 07 Dortmund, DE @ Junkyard *

Oct 08 Nuremberg, DE @ Z-Bau *

Oct 09 Cologne, DE @ Helios 37 *

Oct 10 Mainz, DE @ Schon Schon *

Oct 11 Hamburg, DE @ Molotow *

Oct 16 Oslo, NO @ John Dee *

Oct 17 Gothenburg, SE @ Sticky Fingers *

Oct 18 Malmo, SE @ Babel *

Oct 23 Linkoping, SE @ The Crypt *

Oct 24 Stockholm, SE @ Close Up Baten *

Oct 25 Tampere, FI @ Olympia *

Oct 26 Helsinki, FI @ Nosturi *

* w/ Monolord

Artist: Firebreather Album: Under a Blood Moon Label: RidingEasy Records Release date: September 27th, 2019 01. Dancing Flames 02. Our Souls, They Burn  03. Closed Gate 04. Firebreather 05. We Bleed 06. The Siren On the Web: facebook.com/Firebreathergbg firebreatherdoom.bandcamp.com ridingeasyrecs.com

Ether Feather shares new track & trailer, L.A. hooky heavy psych by Man Man, Lydia Lunch, Mike Patton players

"Built upon Ryan's impeccable drumming, it is buoyed by delightfully aggressive bass lines and Young's searing guitar work. It asks to imagine a fusion between progressive rock of the 1970s and the blues-based heavy rock of acts such as Budgie and Pentagram while sounding thoroughly up-to-date." -- PopMatters

L.A. trio  Ether Feather share the first track from their forthcoming full length debut today via PopMatters. Hear and share "Your Half In The Middle" HERE. (Direct Bandcamp and Soundcloud.)

What resides in the ether? Floating like a lead balloon in Ether Feather’s inverse universe is the meeting point between Black Sabbath, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Kyuss and Captain Beefheart. 

The Los Angeles trio’s sound is a weighty, swinging brand of desert rock influenced heft informed by elements of No Wave, free jazz and post-punk. It’s not jammy for jam’s sake, nor is it neo-jazzbo navel gazing - it’s crafty and astute, head-bobbing thud with a flair for tasteful melodic quirks. 

Ether Feather is the brainchild of L.A.-by-way-of-Chicago drummer/vocalist Dylan Ryan, who has also played with Man Man, Cursive, Red Krayola and more. The newly minted trio includes guitarist Tim Young (guitarist on the Late Late Show and studio player: Todd Rundgren, Mike Patton, Fiona Apple) and bassist Sylvia Black (Lydia Lunch.) The band arose from a previous incarnation called SAND, featuring Ryan and Young, which had released two albums in 2013 and 2014 respectively. 

“By the time I started writing the third Sand record, it became clear the music was shifting from the Mahavishnu-esque mid 70's-fusion to more part-oriented structures and the songs seemed to want vocals,” Ryan explains. Encouraged by engineer Andrew Murdock (Alice Cooper, Lou Barlow) while tracking new songs, the band embraced stylistic shifts and emerged anew with an EP, Other Memory in 2017. After touring that material a couple of times with bands like Cursive and Minus the Bear, Ether Feather further honed its sound to form the hook laden 8-track debut album, Devil - Shadowless - Hand.

“Ether Feather is definitely a band where we can try weirder stuff and stretch out creatively in ways that may not be appropriate in other musical situations,” Ryan says. “We can mix and blend aesthetics and make hard turns. Tim was in the Pacific Northwest during the first wave of grunge and brings something very different from me to the table, having come up in the late 90's Chicago No Wave/Free Jazz/Metal scene.” 

Album opener “Falconer” pits a chugging Helmet-eque guitar riff against Ghost-like harmonies and indie rock rhythms before busting open with a beautiful stadium rock guitar solo. Elsewhere, “Your Half In the Middle” floats along, led by the Byrds-esque vocal harmonies of Blue Oyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear The Reaper,” with similar juxtaposition of melody and ominous tones. “New Abyss” flexes the band’s jazz chops, but moreso in the manner of Richard Hell & The Voidoids or the Minutemen waxing prog-punk. Throughout, every song is full of surprising and enchanting musical twists that keep each song exciting and demanding repeat listens. 

Devil - Shadowless - Hand will be available to stream and download on September 6th, 2019. 

Artist: Ether Feather

Album: In Devil - Shadowless - Hand

Label: Ether Feather

Release date: September 6th, 2019

01. Falconer

02. Interstellar

03. Haggard Hawk

04. New Abyss

05. Cayenne

06. Dawn of Orion

07. Your Half In The Middle

08. The Ultimate Halcyon

On the Web:

facebook.com/etherfeatherband

etherfeather.bandcamp.com

instagram.com/etherfeatherband

ZIG-ZAGS premiere low budget horror video for "Killer of Killers", announce more tour dates

"Sounds like Kill ‘Em All-era Metallica meets Motorhead but with claustrophobic garage rock production. It’s a real ripper." -- Brooklyn Vegan

"A potent dose of galloping, cartoonishly vicious rock'n'roll -- material previously perfected by bands like Motörhead and Megadeth." -- Pitchfork

"Noisy, aggressive, and raucous music that careens between garage rock and heavy metal like an amusement-park ride." -- Stereogum

L.A. punk-metal trio Zig-Zags premiere a new video from their recently released fourth album, and debut on RidingEasy Records, They'll Never Take Us Alive today via CvltNation. Watch and share the low budget horror spoofing "Killer of Killers" HERE. (Direct YouTube.)

Metal Injection also recently shared the wildly intense video for anthemic album opener "Punk Fucking Metal" HERE. (Direct YouTube.) 

Kerrang! Magazine also recently streamed the full album alongside an in-depth interview HERE. LA Weekly recently named Zig-Zags "Best Metal Band" in their annual Best of L.A. Music issue. 

Zig-Zags are in the midst of a busy year of non-stop touring throughout the EU, UK and US. The next leg kicks off in Europe next week. Please see complete dates below. 

They'll Never Take Us Alive is available on LP, CD and download, released on May 10th, 2019 via RidingEasy Records. Purchase it HERE. 

ZIG-ZAGS LIVE 2019:

07/06 Nikolsdorf, AT @ Sticks & Stone Festival

07/07 Wien, AT @ Venster99

07/09 Bratislava, SK @ Kulturak Klub

07/10 Berlin, DE @ Toast Hawaii

07/11 Hamburg, DE @ Komet

07/12 Erfurt, DE @ Stoned from The Underground

07/13 Ludwighsafen, DE @ Ein Schoner Tag im Freien

07/15 Tolosa, ES @ Bonberenea

07/16 Madrid, ES @ Wurlitzer Ballroom

07/17 Barcelona, ES @ Rocksound

07/19 Helsinki, FI @ Hori Smoku Summer Boogaloo 2019

07/20 Den Haag, NL @ Grauzone Summer Special 

07/21 Bristol, UK @ The Old England

07/23 Liverpool, UK @ Drop The Dumbulls

07/24 London, UK @ The Black Heart

07/25 Le Havre, FR @ Fort de Tourneville

07/26 Lille, FR @ La Gare Saint Sauveur

07/28 Rokycany, CZ @ Fluff Fest

07/30 Wiesbaden, DE @ Schlachthof

07/31 Koln, DE @ MTC

08/01 Kassel, DE @ Goldgrube

08/02 Waldbad Stolzenhain, DE @ Elite Culture Festival

08/03 Schierling, DE @ Labertal Festival

08/04 Slavonice, CZ @ Barak

08/08 Santarem, PT @ InStr

08/09 Moldeno, PT @ Sonic Blast Moldeno

08/10 Sinzendorf, DE @ Void Fest

09/21 Portland, OR @ Dante's - Northwest Hesh Fest

11/09 Austin, TX @ Levitation Festival 

Artist: Zig-Zags

Album: They'll Never Take Us Alive

Label: RidingEasy Records

Release date: May 10th, 2019

01. Punk Fucking Metal

02. Killer of Killers

03. Fallout

04. No Way Out

05. Ms 45

06. The Shout 

07. Why I Carry a Knife

08. They'll Never Take Us Alive

09. Nothing To Do

10. God Sized

On the Web:

facebook.com/zigzagsmusic

zigzags.bandcamp.com

ridingeasyrecs.com

DVNE sign to RidingEasy Records, play Psycho Las Vegas in August

Edinburgh, Scotland quintet DVNE have signed to L.A. purveyors of heavy, RidingEasy Records

for worldwide release of future recordings. 

The band also returns to the US this summer to perform at the hugely popular Psycho Las Vegas festival on August 17th. 

DVNE (pronounced dune) is a 5 piece progressive rock/metal band from Edinburgh Scotland. Founded in 2013, the band was then called Dune in reference to Frank Herbert sci-fi masterpiece of the same name.

The band consists of Victor Vicart (guitar, vocals, keys), Dudley Tait (drums), Daniel Barter (guitar, vocals), Jack Kavanagh (bass) and Richard Matheson (keys).

To date, the band has released one studio album and two EPs. They emerged within the UK scene with their first EP Progenitor (2013), shortly followed by a second EP, Aurora Majesty (2014). At their releases, both EPs received very favourable receptions, with reviewers calling their releases "Progressive metal at its best" (This Is Not A Scene - US), "Stunning and majestic" (Nine Hertz - UK), "breathtaking debut release" (The Sludgelord - UK).

Dvne quickly began to make a name for themselves in the UK and around Europe, with various tours over these territories and support shows of households names such as Eyehategod, Crowbar, Dragged Into Sunlight to name a few. The band's sound at the time was already crossing over various music style including post-metal, progressive rock and sludge metal, but it is with their first full-length album Asheran that the band established further their unique blend of heavy music.

Released in August 2017, on double-disc vinyl, CD and digital, Asheran was overwhelmingly praised by the press; "their best album to date [...] sublime Dvne past releases" (La Planete Du Stoner Rock - FR), "boundary-pushing songs" (Metal Hammer). The album was listed on many best albums of the year lists such as Echoes and Dust naming Asheran best release of that year.

Since Asheran's release, Dvne has toured all over the UK, Europe and North America and appeared at prestigious festivals such as Psycho Las Vegas, Desertfest London and Inferno Festival Norway to name a few.

Not content to repeat their previous releases and always looking to push their sound forward DVNE are about to enter Chamber Studio in Edinburgh this summer to record their 2nd full-length concept album, planned for release on RidingEasy in late 2019. 

DVNE LIVE:

08/17 Las Vegas, NV @ Psycho Las Vegas 

On The Web:

songs-of-arrakis.bandcamp.com

facebook.com/DvneUK

https://www.instagram.com/dvne_uk/

ridingeasyrecs.com

HERE LIES MAN share track from upcoming mini-album, Antibalas members "if Black Sabbath played Afrobeat"

"An evolutionary step forward for their sound." - Metal Hammer "A woozy wall of Afrobeat inspired fuzzbox riff worship and pounding circular rhythmic power, Here Lies Man connect the stoner rock underground straight to downtown Lagos." - The Quietus "Here Lies Man are still really, really good at making riffy, rhythmic psychedelic rock that sounds like the '60s/'70s but still feels fresh today. Fans of anything from Nuggets to Ty Segall and King Gizzard should take note." -- Brooklyn Vegan "This is a band ahead of their time." -- The Obelisk Los Angeles quartet Here Lies Man share the lead single from their forthcoming 7-song mini-album No Ground To Walk Upon today. Hear and share "Clad in Silver" via YouTube and Bandcamp.  Dinked, the UK collective of independent retailers, are offering an exclusive special edition of the release that comes with a signed picture of the band, a patch, and a tote bag, on purple vinyl with orange swirl. For more information see Dinked HERE. Here Lies Man took the music world by storm in 2017 with their self-titled debut positing the intriguing hypothesis: What if Black Sabbath played Afrobeat?  Since that time, Here Lies Man has expanded and expounded upon their sound and ideas of heavy riff rock and psych within the ancient rhythmic formula of the clave. The L.A. based band comprised of Antibalas members have toured relentlessly over the past 2 years, while also releasing a second album, You Will Know Nothing and an EP, Animal Noises, both in 2018.  No Ground to Walk Upon is due worldwide in August 2019. It continues with an ongoing concept of HLM playing the soundtrack to an imaginary movie, with each song being a scene. The lead single "Clad in Silver" is the soundtrack snippet of a journey to the imaginary place called home, which can never be arrived at. With every step, the character imagines getting closer, but it is a hallucination that fades in and out of perception. Rough Trade named Here Lies Man in their prestigious Top 10 Albums of 2017. BBC 6 & Classic Rock Magazine deemed it among the year's best, as well as countless other press outlets singing its praises. 2018's You Will Know Nothing furthered the band's reputation for genre-smashing rhythmic experimentation, topping many year-end lists as well as earning features from countless metal and indie rock outlets, plus cover stories in weekly papers. No Ground to Walk Upon is the next step in the band's rapid ascent to what is bound to be influential upon riff based rock. "We're very conscious of how the rhythms service the riffs," explains founder and vocalist/guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Marcos Garcia (who also plays guitar in Antibalas) of the band's sound. "Tony Iommi's (Black Sabbath) innovation was to make the riff the organizing principle of a song. We are taking that same approach but employing a different organizing principle: For Iommi it was the blues, for us it comes directly from Africa." No Ground To Walk Upon also includes an interesting conceptual mathematics to the entire proceedings, a theme begun on the prior album. "There are interludes between each song that are 2/3 to 3/4 of the tempo of the previous song," Garcia says. "The reason it breaks down to 2 over 3 or 3 over 4 is that everything in the music rhythmically corresponds to a set of mathematical algorithms known as the clave. The clave is an ancient organizing rhythmic principle developed in Africa." Garcia and cofounder/drummer Geoff Mann (former Antibalas drummer and son of jazz musician Herbie Mann) recorded the mini-album much like they did their previous releases, at their own L.A. studio on a Tascam 388 8-track tape machine. Additional layers were recorded with former Antibalas keyboardist Victor Axelrod and other contributors in various other locations, all while the band continued its rigorous touring schedule.  Here Lies Man has already spent much of the past three years on tour, with dates supporting Antibalas, Earthless and Fu Manchu, as well as headlining treks through the EU & UK. The remaining months of 2019 and 2020 will see the band once again performing at numerous International festivals (including Austin's Levitation Fest in November.) No Ground to Walk Upon will be available on LP, CD and download on August 16th, 2019 via RidingEasy Records.  HERE LIES MAN LIVE 2019: 11/09 Austin, TX @ Levitation Fest 2019

Artist: Here Lies Man Album: No Ground to Walk Upon Label: RidingEasy Records Release Date: August 16th, 2019 01. Clad in Silver 02. Swinging From Trees  03. Long Legs (Look Away)  04. Washing Bones 05. Get Ahold of Yourself  06. Iron Rattles 07. Man Falls Down On The Web: hereliesman.com facebook.com/hereliesman hereliesman.bandcamp.com ridingeasyrecs.com

Woolly Bushmen share genius video for "Little Bit of Life"

"Kicks like a mule, grooves like vintage shambolic garage rock and kills with the in-your-face attitude of Jerry Lee Lewis. Ultimately, this trio takes listeners on a wild and thrilling ride." -- PopMatters

"A unique blend of old-school rock 'n' roll and surf with a fiery garage rock spirit, with an intensity and raggedness in the vein of Reigning Sound or Black Lips." -- Treble

"Rather than rely on gimmicks and mimicry, The Woolly Bushmen are modern rockabilly done right: gritty, in-your-face, and unquestionably irresistible. This album and this band are not ones to be missed." -- New Noise

Garage soul trio The Woolly Bushmen share a brilliantly clever video for "Little Bit of Life" from their recently released album In Shambles today via Pure Grain Audio. Watch and share video HERE. (Direct YouTube.)

Hear and share In Shambles album via Bandcamp, Spotify and YouTube.

Formed in early 2011 and based out of Winter Park, Florida, The Woolly Bushmen have managed to combine 1960's rock and roll with 1950's rockabilly and a dash of soul, forming their own unique genre of all original crowd-rocking songs. These young musicians have captured the respect and admiration of seasoned musicians, some icons in their own right, that are twice their age while grabbing every audience by the scruff of their necks and whipping them into a dance frenzy. Teenagers, middle-agers, old-agers, male, female, black, white, green, purple, The Woolly Bushmen tend to appeal to everyone without compromising their style and musical integrity...mass appeal without losing cult appeal...they do their thing and it works! 

A typical Woolly Bushmen show will see lead singer, Simon Palombi, switch from vintage Farfisa organ to guitar, whilst, Jacob Miller, switches from bass to guitar allowing the band to play two different sets in one, much to the surprise and delight of the audience. The songs of The Woolly Bushmen are based around catchy organ and guitar riffs with infectious choruses that sound straight out of the charts of the late 1950's and 1960's. These all original songs give you, the listener/audience, the sense that you've heard them before...only, you haven't unless you've seen The Woolly Bushmen or listened to Tampa, Orlando, St. Louis, and Philadelphia college/independent radio. The sole purpose of The Woolly Bushmen's music is to get people dancing...and it works every time!

Leave your angst at home, nothing heavy or moody here! One reviewer said, "It's like Buddy Holly fronting The Troggs." Or, "Jerry Lee Lewis on crack" that is the unusual and unique mix of 1950's and 1960's at its best.

In 2015 The Woolly Bushmen released their first properly yet self-produced LP Sky Bosses on their self run label Chesterwick Records. The group recently released their latest LP Arduino on L.A.'s Pig Baby Records, produced by Rick Miller of Southern Culture On The Skids. 

The band's third full length, In Shambles is available on LP, CD and download, released May 10th, 2019 via Pig Baby Records. Purchase HERE. 

THE WOOLLY BUSHMEN LIVE 2019:

08/02 Orlando, FL @ Will's Pub

Artist: The Woolly Bushmen

Album: In Shambles

Label: Pig Baby Records

Release date: May 10th, 2019

01. What Yer Doing To Me

02. Paid

03. Fine

04. Goin' Out West

05. Let It Be Known

06. Weeping Eyes

07. Dense

08. I Pushed You

09. Little Bit of Life

10. The Noose

11. Fire Tonight

On the Web:

facebook.com/Woollybushmen

thewoollybushmen.bandcamp.com

pigbabyrecords.com