Thursday, November 14, 2019

HELL FIRE share new single to kick off tour w/ Death Angel

"Lots of thrash bands do their best to sound retro, but Hell Fire manage to sound classic." -- Kerrang!

"Hell Fire rocks harder than Stonehenge with the fury of Motorhead!" -- CvltNation

"May very well be one of my favorite albums of 2019. It's pure, driving heavy metal that's written and played exceptionally well and will get stuck in your head basically all the time." -- Metal Injection


San Francisco quartet Hell Fire share a surprise new single today to kick off their tour supporting thrash legends Death Angel throughout North America. Hear and share "Victims" via Metal Injection HERE. (Direct YouTube and Bandcamp.) 

The tour with Death Angel kicks off November 16th in Seattle. Please see all dates below.

Watch and share Hell Fire's classic old school style performance video for "On The Loose" via YouTubeBrooklyn Vegan recently shared Hell Fire's 2019 album Mania in its entirety HERE. (Direct YouTube.) 

"Victims" is a standalone single available on all streaming platforms today. Mania is the band's first proper album on RidingEasy Records, following the label's worldwide reissue of the band's self-released 2017 sophomore breakout Free Again, released on January 18th. 

Formed in recent years in San Francisco, though it may seem more likely that they hatched fresh out of a time travel portal from the mid-80s Bay Area thrash scene, Hell Fire have the classic look and sound of modern metal's halcyon days. Hell Fire's sonic assault warmly condenses elements of influences like Angel WitchIron MaidenRainbowExodusMetallicaRiotVirtue and Diamond Head into 10 tracks of headbanging MUYA anthems. 

The free-wheelin' creativity and infectious vitality of the 80s Bay Area thrash scene is a moment forever locked in time, but its spirit lives on in the band's galloping guitar picks, soaring harmonies and blistering rhythms. Hell Fire's perfect hybrid of NWOBHM theatrics and American thrash attitude.

Mania is available on LP, CD and download, released on March 29th, 2019 via RidingEasy Records. The album is available to purchase HERE.

HELL FIRE LIVE 2019:
Nov 16th - Seattle, WA - Club Sur *
Nov 17th - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theater *
Nov 18th - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theater *
Nov 19th - Edmonton, AB - Starlite *
Nov 20th - Calgary, AB - Dickens *
Nov 21st - Regina, SK - The Exchange *
Nov 22nd - Winnipeg, MB - Pyramids *
Nov 23rd - St. Paul, MN - The Amsterdam *
Nov 25th - London, ON - London Music Hall *
Nov 26th - Toronto, OM - Lee's Place *
Nov 27th - Montreal, QC - Piranha Bar *
Nov 28th - Ottawa, ON - Brass Monkey *
Nov 29th - Quebec City, QC - L'Anti Bar & Spectacles *
Nov 30th - Brooklyn, NY - Saint Vitus *
Dec 1st - New Bedford, MA - Vault @ Greasy Luck *
Dec 3rd - Lancaster, PA - Chameleon *
Dec 4th - Baltimore, MD - Otto Bar *
Dec 5th - Richmond, VA - Canal Club *
Dec 6th - Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club *
Dec 7th - Tampa, FL - Brass Mug *
Dec 8th - Orlando, FL - The Haven *
Dec 10th - Lafayette, LA - Grant Street *
Dec 11th - Houston, TX - Scout Bar *
Dec 12th - Austin, TX - Come and Take it Live *
Dec 13th - Dallas, TX - Tree's *
Dec 14th - Tulsa, OK - The Shrine *
Dec 15th - Enid, OK - 1927 Event Center *
Dec 17th - Albuquerque, NM - Launch Pad *
Dec 18th - Mesa, AZ - Club Red *
Dec 19th - West Hollywood, CA - Whisky A Go Go *

supporting Death Angel 


Artist: Hell Fire
Album: "Victims" digital single
Label: RidingEasy Records
Release Date: November 14th, 2019


01. Victims

Artist: Hell Fire
Album: Mania
Label: RidingEasy Records
Release Date: March 29, 2019

01. Warpath
02. Mania
03. On The Loose
04. Born To Burn
05. Transcending Evil
06. Lashing Out
07. Isolator
08. The Dreamer
09. Knights of The Holy
10. Masochist


On The Web:








Friday, November 8, 2019

New song from NOUS II -- Christopher Bono (Ghost Against Ghost), Thor Harris (Swans), Greg Fox (ex-Liturgy), ACME strings, Shahzad Ismaily -- second album out Dec 6th


"A half-airy, half-aggressive interdisciplinary happening organized by the young and enterprising composer Christopher Bono, who brought together a wise, postcategory, electric and acoustic 12-person crew."  -- New York Times

"You couldn't pigeonhole it into one genre if you tried -- it goes from eerie David Lynchian soundscapes to Eastern melodies to avant-garde jazz drum freakouts to a million other places, all while remaining strangely accessible." -- Brooklyn Vegan

"(Sometimes) it is clear from the get-go that you’re handling something potent, that the music you’re about to hear is going to leap out of the digital format and grab you by heart... A captivating and moving piece of music." -- Heavy Blog Is Heavy


New York experimental music project NOUS, led by producer and composer Christopher Bono, shares a new track today from NOUS II, the followup to their 2018 eponymous debut album. The group shares the melodic single "Uthando" via New Noise Magazine HERE. (Direct YouTube, Spotify, Bandcamp.) 


Heavy Blog Is Heavy recently launched "Here In my Chest It Is What It Is" HEREPopMatters previously shared lead track "Nighten Gale" HERE. Treble hosted "Look Again at That Dot" HERE

Nous is an experimental music project with a fluctuating group of artists exploring ritual and spontaneity within music. NOUS II features the same lineup as the debut: multi-instrumentalists Christopher Bono (keyboards/electronics/percussion/vocals), Greg Fox (drums/percussion/electronics), Thor Harris (drums/percussion), Shahzad Ismaily (electronics/guitar/bass) and Grey Mcmurray (guitar), with special guests.

On this album, NOUS founder and curator Christopher Bono takes the project and the musicians on a deeper dive into the post-rock, and ambient genres. The project maintains the spirit of spontaneity, but the musical experiments are conducted within a framework of more melodic exploration alongside cellular motif and groove oriented experiments.

"Nighten Gale" is the first single release from the new album. This piano and strings driven piece was presented in the studio to the the talented group of experimental musicians as a basic lead sheet featuring a simple progression and no dynamic suggestions. The 9 musicians received this minimalist input and together recorded a sweeping new-classical sonic Ark that journeys through contrasting peaks of heavy and gentle dramatic moments.

Woodstock, NY label Our Silent Canvas is preparing to release the second of 3 albums culled from sessions the group recorded in an intensive 7-day immersion at legendary Dreamland Studios with 
producer Kevin McMahon (Swans, Titus Andronicus, Real Estate).

Each recording, and performance will center around a different focal concept, always seeking alternative ways of creating art. The name Nous was chosen for its double meaning. 'Nous' in the French language is the plural personal pronoun in the first person, meaning 'we' or 'us'. However, within the philosophical tradition it is a word, sometimes equated to intellect or intelligence, used to describe the faculty of the human mind which is described in classical philosophy as necessary for understanding what is true or real, similar in meaning to intuition.

Nous band members on this recording:
~ Christopher Bono (Composer, Ghost Against Ghost)  www.christopherbono.com
~ Greg Fox (Guardian Alien, Zs, Ben Frost, ex-Liturgy) 
~ Shahzad Ismaily (Yoko Ono, Laurie Anderson, Bonnie Prince Billy)
~ Thor Harris (Swans, Angels of Light, Amanda Palmer, Shearwater)
~ Grey Mcmurray (itsnotyouitsme, So Percussion, Tyondai Braxton) 

Special guests:
~ Clarice Jensen (Cello, ACME: American Contemporary Music Ensemble, yMusic, Ra Ra Riot
~ Caleb Burhans (Composer, itsnotyouitsme, ACME) 
~ Laura Lutzke (Violin, ACME)
~ Alex Sopp (Flutes, ACME, yMusic)
~ Imago (Cello, Vocals, Múm)
~ Laraaji & Arji (Zither, Ambient Sounds)
~ Akil Davis and Loud Sol Productions


NOUS II will be available on LP and download on December 6th, 2018 via Our Silent Canvas. Pre-orders are available HERE




Artist: NOUS
Album: NOUS II
Record Label: Our Silent Canvas
Release Date: December 6, 2019

01. Look Again at That Dot
02. Formless
03. Here In My Chest It Is What It Is
04. Yoj! Yoj!
05. Nighten Gale
06. World Map One
07. Uthando
08. Formless Too
09. Assume a Sunbeam

On the Web:






Thursday, November 7, 2019

RidingEasy Records 2019: Warish, The Well, Blackwater Holylight, Zig-Zags, Here Lies Man, 'Brown Acid', Hell Fire, Acid King, Holy Serpent, Firebreather, BUS

Below is a complete listing of all RidingEasy Records album and EP releases of 2019 for your year-end coverage consideration. If you'd like any further information or links, please get in touch!
 

RIDINGEASY RECORDS 2019 IN REVIEW:
(In chronological order)


Hell Fire - Free Again
: (STREAM
Released for the first time on vinyl, the Bay Area thrash revivalists' sophomore album kicked off the year in powerful fashion. The band's perfect hybrid of NWOBHM theatrics and American thrash attitude delivers a rousing and genuine expansion on sounds long lost to pointless battles over who can be the most "extreme." Warmly condenses elements of influences like Angel WitchIron MaidenRainbowExodusMetallicaVirtue and Diamond Head.


Warish - 4-Song EP: (STREAM  
Landmark debut EP by San Diego trio fronted by pro-skater and Protomartyrguitarist Riley Hawk. Hailed by Rolling Stone: "Remember when indie rock sounded all grimy, corroded and metal-sludgy -- the last thing you'd hear in a commercial or being played at an arena show? Warish do. It's music to the ears of anyone who wants to damage their ears." 



  BUS - Never Decide(STREAM
Metal Injection calls this Athens, Greece quartet's blazing rock, "fantastic, crazy fun rock that's also stupid catchy." It sounds like a mob of wild-eyed lunatics on the expressway to your skull. Anthemic and fun rock in the vein of The HellacoptersAlice Cooper BandIron Maiden and Orange Goblin




Hell Fire - Mania: (STREAM
Formed in recent years in San Francisco, though it may seem more likely that they hatched fresh out of a time travel portal from the mid-80s Bay Area thrash scene, Hell Fire have the classic look and sound of modern metal's halcyon days. "Lots of thrash bands do their best to sound retro, but Hell Fire manage to sound classic." -- Kerrang!




V/A - Brown Acid: The Eighth Trip: (STREAM
The popular compilation series of long-lost vintage 60s-70s proto-metal and stoner rock singles' sixth edition continues the headbanging tradition. The series is curated by L.A. label RidingEasy Records and retailer/label Permanent Records. The two have assembled a selection of songs that's hard to believe have remained unheard for so long and tapped a goldmine of hard rock brilliance. 



The Well - Death and Consolation: (STREAM
Among the heaviest heavy psych bands in existence. So when we say that there's even more darkness and intensity to the band's third album than previous efforts, take heed. It's a deep sea diving bell of enveloping heaviness and longing. NPR named The Well in 9 Austin Artists You Should Know. Praised by Consequence of SoundKerrang!Doom ChartsMetal Sucks and more. 



Zig-Zags - They'll Never Take Us Alive: (STREAM
L.A. punk-metal trio's fourth album, and first on RidingEasy, is their most streramlined and hard-hitting release. L.A. Weekly named them Best Metal Band and Metal Hammer, Kerrang!Metal InjectionBrooklyn Vegan and many more heaped praise on the album which packs Dead Moon's charismatic DIY attitude, Mudhoney's tongue-in-cheek sarcasm and Kill 'Em All-era Metallica's take-no-prisoners thrash attack into one refreshing punk-metal hybrid.


Here Lies Man - No Ground To Walk Upon(STREAM  
What if Black Sabbath played Afrobeat? The musical concept heard round the world on the band's 2017 debut is fully realized on this mini-album by the L.A. based quintet founded and conceptualized by Marcos Garcia of Antibalas. Press praise from MojoUncutQuietus and countless others continues while the band wows audiences at Primavera Sound, L.A.'s Desert Daze, and nonstop headlining tours in North America and Europe. 


Acid King - Busse Woods: (STREAM
20th Anniversary reissue and first time on vinyl for the classic stoner rock album originally released on Frank Kozik's legend making Man's Ruin Records. Remastered with updated artwork, the album that tastemaker site The Obelisk calls a "desert island record." 




  Warish - Down In Flames(STREAM
Full length debut album by San Diego trio fronted by pro-skater and Protomartyr guitarist Riley Hawk. Equally praised by Rolling StoneLoudwireRevolverBrooklyn VeganConsequence of Sound and more. Loved by everyone from Brett Michaels to scruffy skate punks and everyone inbetween. 




  Firebreather - Under a Blood Moon(STREAM
The Swedish trio's 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. These frequent tour mates with Monolord earned praise from Brooklyn VeganMetal SucksMetal Injectionand more. "Scorching hot riffs, stomach-churning bellows, lightning-fried drums and intestine-rattling bass.The souls of all MetalSucks staffers have been incinerated through one mere listen." -- Metal Sucks


Blackwater Holylight - Veils of Winter: (STREAM
Portland, OR quintet's sophomore album finds the ladies a fluid convergence of sound that's heavy, psychedelic, melodic, terrifying and beautiful all at once. The band's quick ascent to popularity earned them a spot at Desert Dazefestival and tours supporting Monolord and Thou. Press praise includes Revolver MagazinePremier GuitarMetal Hammer, Paste Magazine and more. 



  Holy Serpent - Endless(STREAM
The third album by Melbourne, Australia's Holy Serpent could likely be its defining moment. Seemingly bottomless in its relentless heft, with billowing and suffocating riffs leading glistening melodies, it's the sound of a band that has locked on to something unique. Endless is fully conceptualized throughout, encapsulating an oceanic theme from the lyrics and art, even to the very structure of the sounds themselves. CvltNationThe Obelisk and Doom Charts all agree it's a contender for Album of The Year


V/A - Brown Acid: The Ninth Trip: (STREAM
The popular compilation series of long-lost vintage 60s-70s proto-metal and stoner rock singles' sixth edition continues the headbanging tradition. The series is curated by L.A. label RidingEasy Records and retailer/label Permanent Records. The two have assembled a selection of songs that's hard to believe have remained unheard for so long and tapped a goldmine of hard rock brilliance. 




On The Web: