Alpha Hopper (Hex Records) drop "The Goods" video alongside interview at No Echo

"A frantic, messy variety of guitar rock, that won’t say no to a night out with punk, hardcore, new wave, or which ever genre (or hottie, or mark, or naive and corruptible young fool) catches their eye that evening." -- New Noise

"Alpha Hopper have boiled down the finer elements of noise rock, no wave. and art-punk to create something so distinctly their own, while paying homage to the sordid style of early 90’s AmRep and Touch & Go favorites." -- Post-Trash

"The album will assuredly have everyone mesmerized... Strikingly riveting and original." -- GhettoBlaster

Buffalo, NY quartet Alpha Hopper share a new video today alongside a revealing interview with No Echo. Watch & share "The Goods" HERE. (Direct YouTube.)

The band recently released another stunning video, for the album track "En-Skin" from their recently released third album Alpha Hex Index. The video was created by Tbilisi, Georgia collaborators UTA (wearable sculpture artist) and Virtual Reality filmmaker Flatsitter. Watch & share "En-Skin" video via YouTube.

Hear and share the full album Alpha Hex Index via Bandcamp.

The video is a collaboration between wearable sculpture artist Uta P. Bekia and virtual reality filmmaker Flatsitter and was conceptualized and directed by Jessica Wegrzyn, a costume designer and the band’s long-time personal friend. The concept was inspired by lead singer Irene Rekhviashvili’s lyrics, which demands us to armor ourselves with the protective hides of creatures and the head and heart of our own spirit.

"A bartender, a personal trainer, a graphic designer, and an immigration attorney walk into a practice space..." 

Formed in Buffalo, New York in 2014, Alpha Hopper creates a frenetic stew of guitar-driven rock'n'roll with ingredients from punk, hardcore, noise rock, and no-wave. Their 3rd LP Alpha Hex Index shows them deeper than ever down their rabbit hole. Sassy, snotty vocals punctuating the ever growing wall of catchy, bizarre riffs and prison break drum beats. Dummy math, noise-rock for art-punk drop outs.

For this album the band decided to record the effort themselves in their homes. Pandemic-related shelter in place recommendations caused some hiccups in being able to track the entire effort in a single block, and instead recording sessions were conducted in intervals when the members could safely get together and hash out their respective parts. Once they were satisfied with the mix they handed things over to engineer John Angelo (Gwar, Every Time I Die, Gas Chamber) to handle mastering duties.

Alpha Hex Index is available on LP, CD and digital, released on November 20th, 2020 via Hex Records. 

Artist: Alpha Hopper

Album: Alpha Hex Index

Record label: Hex Records

Release date: November 20th, 2020

01. In The Desert In The West

02. Not the Universe

03. Big Body

05. En-skin

05. #592720

06. The Goods

07. Glows, Explodes

08. Wrestles Snakes

09. #1D2951

10. Spiral

11. Third Man

12. #16161D

On The Web:

alphahopper.bandcamp.com

facebook.com/alphahopper

hexrecords.bandcamp.com

Canadian grunge alt-metalers Planned Dilemma share video from forthcoming debut via Metal Injection

"Alternative metal that practically bleeds punk energy, then you're going to dig the new Planned Dilemma song 'Tell Their Lies'. It's a great blend of noisy breakdowns, slow-burning riffs, and enough sections to incite quite a few pits." -- Metal Injection

Hamilton, ON quartet Planned Dilemma share a video single from their forthcoming debut Inspace today via Metal Injection. Watch and share "Tell Their Lies" video HERE. (Direct YouTube and stream the single via Bandcamp.)

Relentlessly restless, riling. These three words, off Planned Dilemma’s three song debut EP Inspace., describe the band’s frenzied efforts to write, record, and prepare for an early-winter release. Produced and guided by Henry Moss, the band recorded at the illustrious Noble Street Studios in Toronto. 

With each part they laid down, they dialed in to the vast array of sounds from which they draw their inspiration. Sounds of grunge, hardcore, shoegaze, and vocalist Amina’s recalling of the soulful and powerful rock vanguard (the Joplins, Cornells, Morrisettes, etc.), all fused together to create Planned Dilemma’s distinctive sound. The songs were then mixed and mastered by Zach Weeks at Kurt Ballou’s GodCity Studio, where they were given the GodCity signature gnarl. All in all, whether viewed as politically charged, self-loathing, or a personal respite, one thing escapes interpretation. The band channels these songs through the psyche of disgruntled youth in a culture of uncertainty. 

Through the towering halls of alternative rock, the sleazy streets of hardcore, and the gritty rooms of grunge and shoegaze, Planned Dilemma sits in the center. Over a zealous summer in 2018, the 4-piece, fronted by Cairo, Egypt transplant Amina Axi with guitarist Josh Agnoletto, drummer Rob Singh and bassist Dan Scime fully formed in a Hamiltonian basement. There, they tended towards driven, groovy rhythms and swaying dynamics, dipped in a dose of anger-fuelled melancholy. 

To harbour such a multi-dimensional sound, they moulded together their influences from bands such as Deftones, Smashing Pumpkins, and Hum — with soaring, Janis Joplin-like vocals, putting the icing over a grungy, noisy cake. 

Inspace. will be available on CD and download on February 19, 2021. Pre-orders are available HERE. 



Artist: Planned Dilemma

Album: Inspace.

Record Label: self-released 

Release Date: February 19, 2021

01. Tell Their Lies

02. Softly

03. Without You

On The Web:

https://www.facebook.com/PlannedDilemma/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6oc1UmQUIXQTn3Z_4Yc3jQ

https://planneddilemma.bandcamp.com

PG.LOST (ex-Ghost, Cult of Luna) share live-in-studio video for "E22", named #1 Post-Rock Album of 2020 by CvltNation

Watch “E22” video HERE

"At the top of the list of post-metal and rock for me, always delivering emotional, clever, and inimical works of emotive, atmospheric, and surprisingly heavy music. You are not going to want to miss this one." -- Heavy Blog Is Heavy

"Heavy, intense, climactic, beautiful music, and Pg.lost know exactly how to suck you in and keep you enthralled." -- Brooklyn Vegan

"A special talent among post-rock." -- Decibel Magazine

Swedish quartet PG.LOST share a live in-studio video today performing "E22" from their new album Oscillate on Pelagic Records. Watch and share "E22" via YouTube HERE. 

CvltNation named the album the #1 Post-Rock Album of 2020 HERE. 

Oscillate is available to hear and share on all streaming platforms HERE.

Decibel Magazine recently shared another live performance video, for album track "Shelter" shot on multiple cameras with professional sound at the band's own rehearsal studio. Watch and share "Shelter" HERE. (Direct YouTube.) Brooklyn Vegan previously hosted the official video for "Suffering" directed by  Mats Ek (Myrkur.) Watch and share HERE. (Direct YouTube.)

This is PG.LOST’s Oscillate  -- the band’s latest LP packed to the gills with pure drama and catharsis. Their fifth overall and first effort since 2016’s much lauded Versus, Oscillate leans on an instrumental approach and while their keen understanding oftension/release may warrant comparison to the likes of MONO, Explosions in the Sky and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, PG.LOST is unafraid to move into exciting new directions. With influences that range from the emotional heft of Big Thief to the inventive spirit of krautrock to the brutality of Neurosis to the dark experimentalism of COIL, these heavier elements intertwine and open up into wide-eyed expansiveness of Fennesz or Tim Hecker, revealing a beauty shimmering underneath and a range of depth rarely found in today’s over-compressed and spit-shined version of “modern music.”

In making the new LP, PG.LOST opted to keep it simple and follow their gut. “On the previous records we have always tried to make it very basic and clean when it comes to production, not too many overdubs or add-ons,” reveals bassist Kristian Karlsson. “This time was more about not thinking about that at all. We don’t try to over analyse our records -- it always starts with one or two songs and they often set the mood of the rest of the writing process. I think this album has more layers to it -- you hear new things every time you listen. We’re really looking forward to hearing what the listeners think.”

Kicking off with a blossoming dark ambient passage on the title track, an ascendant guitar/synth part builds tension until final release is achieved with a massive chorus, wavesof eye-opening guitars and elephantine tribal drums. It’s emblematic of the album as a whole -- massive in scope and even larger in sound, Oscillate is the true definition of its title with incredibly tense swells to the point of collapse leading to a slow but pensive disintegration. And again. And again. Oscillate is not just instrumental music, it’s cinematic -- it’s high drama, executed in IMAX with a pristine soundtrack blasting at 120db.

The LP was recorded by the band in their own studio, and mixed/mastered by Magnus Lindberg from Cult of Luna. In creating the LP, the only hurdle seemingly was an internal one and making efficient use of individual scheduling. “When we formed the band we spent almost every night in the rehearsal space,” recalls Karlsson. “Nowadays we only rehearse for tours or when we plan to have writing sessions for example upcoming records. It is not as spontaneous as it used to be, but I think it forces us to really make the best out of it when we do see each other.”

Founded in 2004 in Norrköping, Sweden, PG.LOST is Mattias Bhatt, Martin Hjertstedt (ex-Ghost), Gustav Almberg (The Great Discord) and Kristian Karlsson (Cult of Luna). Formed in pursuit of a singular love of post-rock, ambient and shoegaze with a bent towards post-metal, the band released their self-titled and the Yes, I Am EPs in 2006 and 2007. From there PG.LOST dropped their 2008 LP It's Not Me, It's You! quickly followed by 2009’s In Never Out, Key, the Wang Wen split LP and Versus followed in 2012, 2013 and 2016 respectively. Sovereign in execution and mammoth in scope, Oscillate is ten tracks of pure dramatic bombast and a massive step forward for the decades-old band. The four years away have been worth it. 

Oscillate is available on LP, CD and digital, released on November 20, 2020 via Pelagic Records. Orders are available HERE. 

Artist: PG.LOST

Album: Oscillate

Record label: Pelagic Records

Release date: November 20, 2020

01. Oscillate

02. E22

03. Mindtrip

04. Shelter

05. Suffering

06. Waves

07. Eraser

08. The Headless Man

On The Web:

pglost.com

pelagic-records.com

HERE LIES MAN share new single, Rig Rundown & influences. Antibalas members "If Black Sabbath played Afrobeat" on RidingEasy Records

"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

Los Angles, CA quartet Here Lies Man share a new single from their forthcoming fourth album Ritual Divination today on all streaming platforms. Hear and share "Collector of Vanities" via YouTube, Bandcamp and Spotify. 

Brooklyn Vegan yesterday hosted a revealing, exclusive walkthrough of the band's influences on the new album HERE. And, Premier Guitar Magazine featured HLM's Marcos Garcia last week in their illustrious Rig Rundown series HERE. 

Four albums in, the convenient and generalized catchphrase for Here Lies Man’s erudite sound — if Black Sabbath played Afrobeat — might seem a little played out. But Ritual Divination is perhaps the best rendering of the idea so far. Particularly on the Sabbath side of the equation: The guitars are heavier and more blues based than before, but the ancient rhythmic formula of the clave remains a constant. 

“Musically it’s an opening up more to traditional rock elements,” says vocalist/guitarist/cofounder Marcos Garcia, who also plays guitar in 2020 Grammy nominees Antibalas. “It’s always been our intention to explore. And, as we travelled deeper into this musical landscape, new features revealed themselves.” 

The L.A. based band comprised of Antibalas members have toured relentlessly following their breakout 2017 self-titled debut. Their second album, You Will Know Nothing and an EP, Animal Noises, both followed in 2018. Third album No Ground To Walk Upon emerged in August 2019. All of them were crafted by Garcia and cofounder/drummer Geoff Mann (former Antibalas drummer and son of jazz musician Herbie Mann) in their L.A. studio between tours. Ritual Divination is their first album recorded as the full 4-piece band, including bassist JP Maramba and keyboardist Doug Organ.

Ritual Divination continues with an ongoing concept of HLM playing the soundtrack to an imaginary movie, with each song being a scene. “It’s an inward psychedelic journey, the album is the trip,” Garcia says. “The intention and purpose of the music is to create a sonic ritual to lift the veil of inner space and divine the true nature of reality.” 

Likewise, musically and sonically, the album is self-reflexive. “On this album the feel changes within a song,” Garcia says. “Whereas before each song was meant to induce a trancelike state, now more of the songs have their own arc built in.” Similarly, the guitar sounds themselves herein eschew the fuzz pedals of previous recordings, going for the directness of pure amp overdrive and distortion using an interconnected rig of 4 amplifiers. And, here, the well-versed live band is able to record as a unit, giving it much more of a live and dynamic feel.

Rough Trade named the band’s self-titled debut 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. Each subsequent album 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. 

“We’re very conscious of how the rhythms service the riffs,” Garcia explains. “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.”

Ritual Divination will be available on LP, CD and download on January 22nd, 2021 via RidingEasy Records. 

Artist: Here Lies Man

Album: Ritual Divination 

Record Label: RidingEasy Records

Release date: January 22nd, 2021

Digital & CD:

01. In These Dreams

02. I Told You (You Shall Die)

03. Underland

04. What You See

05. Can’t Kill It

06. Run Away Children

07. I Wander

08. Night Comes

09. Come Inside

10. Collector of Vanities

11. Disappointed

12. You Would Not See From Heaven

13. The Fates Have Won

14. Out Goes The Night

15. Cutting Through The Tether

Vinyl:

Side A:

01. In These Dreams

02. I Told You (You Shall Die)

03. Underland

04. What You See

05. Night Comes

Side B:

01. Come Inside

02. Collector of Vanities

03. Disappointed

04. The Fates Have Won

05. Out Goes The Night

Bonus 7" (UK pressing & direct from RidingEasy)

Side A: Run Away Children

Side B: I Wander

On The Web:

ridingeasyrecords.com

hereliesman.com

facebook.com/hereliesman

hereliesman.bandcamp.com

RidingEasy Records shares FREE download Holiday 2020 Mixtape w/ unreleased & new tracks

 

Los Angeles record label RidingEasy Records today shares a free download compilation "mixtape" of tracks released in 2020 along with some unreleased singles slated for 2021. The RidingEasy Records 2020 Holiday Mixtape is available at Bandcamp HERE. 

The label is also offering a sitewide 20% off on LPs, CDs, merch and downloads via the label's official website www.RidingEasyRecords.com 

The mixtape features brand new, never heard tracks from Warish, Alastor, Deathchant, Brown Acid: The Twelfth Trip, the forthcoming soon-to-be-legendary compilation series Scrap Metal, and Coventry (Mondo Drag's John Gamino's modular synth project.) 

Plus, it includes standout 2020 singles from Here Lies Man, Spelljammer, Warish, Brown Acid: The Eleventh Trip, The Goners, The Death Wheelers, R.I.P., Hell Fire, Randy Holden, Ice and Monolord guitarist/vocalist Thomas Jäger's solo debut.

On The Web:

ridingeasyrecords.com

www.facebook.com/RidingEasyRecords

www.instagram.com/easyriderrecord

www.soundcloud.com/easyriderrecords

www.youtube.com/easyriderrecords

Alpha Hopper (Hex Records) share "En-Skin" video by wearable sculpture artist UTA & VR filmmaker Flatsitter

"A frantic, messy variety of guitar rock, that won’t say no to a night out with punk, hardcore, new wave, or which ever genre (or hottie, or mark, or naive and corruptible young fool) catches their eye that evening." -- New Noise

"Alpha Hopper have boiled down the finer elements of noise rock, no wave. and art-punk to create something so distinctly their own, while paying homage to the sordid style of early 90’s AmRep and Touch & Go favorites." -- Post-Trash

"The album will assuredly have everyone mesmerized... Strikingly riveting and original." -- GhettoBlaster

Buffalo, NY quartet Alpha Hopper share a stunning video for "En-Skin" from their recently released third album Alpha Hex Index today via New Noise Magazine. The video was created by Tbilisi, Georgia collaborators UTA (wearable sculpture artist) and Virtual Reality filmmaker Flatsitter. Watch & share "En-Skin" video HERE. (Direct YouTube.)

Hear and share the full album Alpha Hex Index via Bandcamp.

The video is a collaboration between wearable sculpture artist Uta P. Bekia and virtual reality filmmaker Flatsitter and was conceptualized and directed by Jessica Wegrzyn, a costume designer and the band’s long-time personal friend. The concept was inspired by lead singer Irene Rekhviashvili’s lyrics, which demands us to armor ourselves with the protective hides of creatures and the head and heart of our own spirit.

"A bartender, a personal trainer, a graphic designer, and an immigration attorney walk into a practice space..." 

Formed in Buffalo, New York in 2014, Alpha Hopper creates a frenetic stew of guitar-driven rock'n'roll with ingredients from punk, hardcore, noise rock, and no-wave. Their 3rd LP Alpha Hex Index shows them deeper than ever down their rabbit hole. Sassy, snotty vocals punctuating the ever growing wall of catchy, bizarre riffs and prison break drum beats. Dummy math, noise-rock for art-punk drop outs.

For this album the band decided to record the effort themselves in their homes. Pandemic-related shelter in place recommendations caused some hiccups in being able to track the entire effort in a single block, and instead recording sessions were conducted in intervals when the members could safely get together and hash out their respective parts. Once they were satisfied with the mix they handed things over to engineer John Angelo (Gwar, Every Time I Die, Gas Chamber) to handle mastering duties.

Alpha Hex Index is available on LP, CD and digital, released on November 20th, 2020 via Hex Records. 

Artist: Alpha Hopper

Album: Alpha Hex Index

Record label: Hex Records

Release date: November 20th, 2020

01. In The Desert In The West

02. Not the Universe

03. Big Body

05. En-skin

05. #592720

06. The Goods

07. Glows, Explodes

08. Wrestles Snakes

09. #1D2951

10. Spiral

11. Third Man

12. #16161D

On The Web:

alphahopper.bandcamp.com

facebook.com/alphahopper

hexrecords.bandcamp.com

When noise rock goes hard rock: Wenches (ex-Racebannon) premiere "Bad Man" video from forthcoming debut via Metal Injection

"Straightforward, no-nonsense rock." -- Metal Injection

Bloomington, IN quartet Wenches (ex-members of Racebannon) share the first video single from their forthcoming debut album Effin' Gnarly today via Metal Injection. Watch and share "Bad Man" video HERE. (Direct YouTube and stream the single via Bandcamp.)

Assembled from broken bits and leftover chunks of various known and unknown groups in the punk, metal and post-hardcore world, Wenches hail from Bloomington, Indiana in the heart of the Midwest. Described by No Echo as “raw, no bullshit...undiluted rock realness" and in the vein of proto-punk bands like MC5 and The Stooges, the debut album Effin' Gnarly is slated for a February 2021 release. 

Tracked at Russian Recording (Built to Spill, Tortoise, of Montreal) and mastered by James Plotkin (Sunn O))), Pelican, Earth, ISIS), the band portrays the album as “high-energy screaming hard rock played the only way long-haired punk metalheads know how. "After a rotating door of bassists and drummers, the band has finally landed on what hopes to be a lasting lineup. Effin' Gnarly follows a previously sold out 3-song "demo" cassette and precedes the release of a limited edition 7" single entitled State Fair Hair. 

Effin' Gnarly will be available on LP and download on February 26, 2021 via Master Kontrol Audio. Limited edition cassettes will be released by Small Hand Factory. Pre-orders are available HERE. 

Artist: Wenches

Album: Effin’ Gnarly

Record Label: Master Kontrol Audio 

Release Date: February 26, 2021

01. Mama, Wake Up

02. Truck Stop Tank Top

03. Bad Man

04. What’s Next To The Moon

05. My Lady’s On Fire

06. Break Up To Make Up

07. Six To Midnight Man

08. Slip Slidin’

09. 100,000 Years

On The Web:

www.wenches.rocks

facebook.com/wencheswencheswenches

instagram.com/mstrkntrl