Artificial Brain will be releasing Infrared Horizon next Friday(April 21st) via Profound Lore, and we have another incredible new song for your ear holes today. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Artificial Brain
Artificial Brain Debuts New Song – Infrared Horizon
Artificial Brain will be unleashing Infrared Horizon on April 21st via Profound Lore, and we have another mind warping new song for you today. Continue reading
Artificial Brain Debuts New Song – Synthesized Instinct
Artificial Brain will be unleashing their new album, Infrared Horizon, on April 21st via Profound Lore, and the press release states that the record “takes their brand of singular brutal guttural yet technical and ambient sci-fi death metal to a new galaxial plateau.” Continue reading
Pallbearer, Portal, Full Of Hell, Loss, Krieg, And More To Release New Albums Via Profound Lore Records In 2017
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In a post to Facebook, Profound Lore, one of the premier record labels for underground music have announced their partial release plan for 2017. In addition to the already announced Pallbearer and Krieg albums, the label plans to release many notable and cult bands albums in the new year!
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Psalm Zero – Stranger To Violence
What exactly is going on in New York? The city has a long musical history, of course, but in recent years it seems to have become a focus point for challenging, original and distinctive Heavy Metal. We’re not talking about some forced “scene” with three or four decent bands setting the tone for a horde of bland followers, either – though Psalm Zero share a certain spirit with their neighbours in Pyrrhon, Krallice and Artificial Brain, musically they’re as distinctive as those bands are from each other.
Not that the music on Stranger To Violence (Profound Lore) is especially easy to describe. The label blurb makes much of their Pop influence, but this is hardly the chorus-heavy cheese-fest that word may suggest – the song-writing somehow marries catchiness to a genuine sense of unease and strangeness. The Metal elements shouldn’t be overlooked, either – the use of synths often calls to mind the darker side of eighties Pop, but just when you think you’ve got them in a box they’ll shift to a surging bombast that has more in common with Emperor than Depeche Mode. The extremely sparse use of harsh vocals in the most aggressive sections create a real sense of dislocation, too, hitting with an impact that they lack in music which uses them more regularly. It’s Pop Metal, but nothing like any other band that’s been given that name before.
If the music is hard to describe, the aesthetic behind it is no less so. The artwork suggests urban dystopia, and though that is certainly present on tracks like ‘Real Rain’ and ‘Stolen By Night’, there’s also an undercurrent of dark fantasy and strangeness to it that can’t be described easily. It’s frequently as uplifting as it is sinister, as dark as it is catchy.
In a genre with so many offshoots and sub-types that it seems as though every possibility has been thoroughly explored, Psalm Zero have genuinely succeeded in carving their own little niche – and it’s a strange, fascinating little place indeed.
8.0/10
RITCHIE HR
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On the Road… with The Black Dahlia Murder
For over a decade IndieMerchStore has been an indispensable partner to bands and record labels as a great place to sell band merchandise and music. You may not know this, but many bands only make money off of stuff they sell on tour and with the prowess and power of IndieMerchStore, they have a partner with a vested interest in making online sales easy and seamless. In the time since the company formed, they have also been a great help to the touring industry, sponsoring huge tours all the way down to small, get-in-the-van type artists. This holds especially true for underground bands in rock, metal, and death metal. So to celebrate their 10th year the brand booked a tour featuring death metal acolytes The Black Dahlia Murder and a cadre of killer bands. These tours also represented TBDM’s first tours in support of their recent album Abysmal (Metal Blade) Booked in two legs across the USA, the recently completed second leg featured Goatwhore, Iron Reagan, Entheos and Artificial Brain. Each band brought their own special something to the tour. It was loud, it’s was sweaty and in general, everyone raged. Ghost Cult’s Meg Loyal of Meg Loyal Photography caught up with the tour for us at The Sinclair in Boston, and you can see for yourself a sample the energy delivered each night.
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Goatwhore To Kickoff Last Tour For 2015 This Weekend
New Orleans metal masters Goatwhore begin their final tour of 2015 this weekend on the Indie Merch 10 Year Anniversary Tour. The tour also features headliners The Black Dahlia Murder, Iron Reagan, Entheos, and Artificial Brain for one of the most brutal, technical, and uncompromising tours of all of 2015. Goatwhore has also announced their first big show of 2016, Inertia Entertainment 20th Anniversary Show at The Opera House in Toronto, ON with Sacrifice, Macabre, and Panzerfaust.
Goatwhore remaining tour dates for 2015 with The Black Dahlia Murder, Iron Reagan, Entheos, Artificial Brain:
Nov 27: The Tree – Joliet, IL
Nov 28: Mill City Nights – Minneapolis, MN
Nov 29: Granada Theater- Lawrence, KS
Nov 30: Marquis Theater – Denver, CO
Dec 02: Jub Jub’s thirst Parlor – Reno, NV
Dec 3: DNA Lounge – San Francisco, CA
Dec 4: Regent Theater – Los Angeles, CA
Dec 5: The Pressroom – Phoenix, AZ
Dec 7: Alamo City Music Hall- San Antonio, TX
Dec 8: Trees – Dallas, TX
Dec 9: Warehouse Live – Houston, TX
Dec 10: One Eye’d Jacks – New Orleans, LA
Dec 11: Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
Dec 12: The Orpheum – Tampa, FL
Dec 13: Green Street Club – Greensboro, NC * Goatwhore only
Dec 14: Baltimore Soundstage – Baltimore, MD
Dec 15: Union Transfer – Philadelphia, PA
Dec 16: Gramercy Theatre – New York, NY
Dec 17: The Sinclair – Boston, MA
Dec 18: Waiting Room – Buffalo, NY
Dec 19: Mr. Smalls – Pittsburgh, PA
Dec 20: Agora Theatre – Cleveland, OH
Feb 27: The Opera House – Toronto, ON Inertia Entertainment 20th Anniversary Show w/ Sacrifice, Macabre, Panzerfaust
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Die Choking Book Upcoming Tour Dates With Artificial Brain
Philadelphia thrash grinders Die Choking have booked a string of Northeastern US dates, aside from a number of other upcoming live dates which are posted below.
Mar 26: Main Manor – New Castle, DE (w/ Artificial Brain, Traitor, Wojtek, Vicious Embrace)
Mar 27: Ottobar – Baltimore, MD (w/ Artificial Brain, Mother Brain, Kreig, Occult 45 – all ages)
Mar 28: The Shop – Pittsburgh, PA (w/ Artificial Brain, Dendritic Arbor, Meth Quarry – all ages)
Mar 29: The Meatlocker – Monclair, NJ (all ages w/ Artificial Brain, Organ Dealer, Sunrot)
Apr 25: Ortleibs – Philadelphia, PA (w/ Starkweather, Darkside NYC, Edgewise, Dysphoria)
May 01: Bremen Cafe – Milwaukee, WI (w/ No Brainer)
May 02: No Tomorrow Fest – Appleton, WI (w/ MDC, Hemdale, Solstice, Sick/Tired, Tenement, Cloud Rat, Deathwish, more)
May 03: Spunk Manor – Indianapolis, IN (w/ Cloud Rat, Sick/Tired)
May 14: Lucky 13 – Brooklyn, NY (w/ Fantasy Panther, Scowl)
May 15: TBA – New England
May 16: TBA – New England
Die Choking will enter Studio 4 in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania with Will Yip (Lauryn Hill, Circa Survive, Blacklisted, Cop Problem) April 1st to lay down thirteen tracks for their debut LP. With an unyielding and uncompromising style of thrash-gone-grind speedfreak hardcore, Die Choking’s already frighteningly unhinged attack will be witnessed with even greater magnitude on the as-yet-unnamed LP, with even faster BPM-rates and more complicated arrangements employed in the design work of the songs.
Watch band drummer Josh Cohen playing in the studio below.
Watch their music video for “Tonsil” below.
Die Choking on Facebook
Die Choking on Bandcamp
The Compound Records on Facebook
The Compound Records Official Site
Earsplit Distro Official Site
The Compound Records on Bandcamp
Die Choking Recording Debut Full Length Album
Joshua Cohen of Die Choking. Photo Credit: Charlie Gibb
Philadelphia thrash-grindcore trio Die Choking has completed writing 13 new songs and will be entering Studio 4 in Conshohocken, PA in early April to begin recording their debut full length with producer Will Yip (Lauryn Hill, Circa Survive, Blacklisted, Cop Problem). Stream the video with band drummer Joshua Cohen (also of Cop Problem) here.
Stream the music video for “Tonsil” below.
Die Choking shoved their second EP of hyperactive, earthmoving grind/thrash down the world’s collective throat, with II. Comprised of members previously/currently hailing from other acts Total Fucking Destruction, Cop Problem, Burden and more, the band follows up their self-titled debut EP with another five tracks in less than six minutes, the material swarming with even more enraged and psychotic songwriting, and more of an ominous powerviolence approach, while stepping things up in the songwriting department and delivery on all levels. II was recorded and mixed at Mark It Zero Studios with Dan O’Hare (Brutal Truth) and mastered by Brad Boatright (Tragedy, Baptists, Code Orange Kids) at Audiosiege. The 7″ is 300 copies on vibrant red vinyl, each copy joined by a document that function’s as a real, personal Living Will, in the theme of the closing track, “Tonsil.” Fans of Wormrot, Brutal Truth, Human Remains, Magrudergrind and Noisear don’t walk away without it.
The band has a string of upcoming live dates:
Mar 26: Main Manor – New Castle, DE (w/ Artificial Brain, Traitor, Wojtek, Vicious Embrace)
Mar 27: Ottobar – Baltimore, MD (w/ Artificial Brain, Mother Brain, Kreig, Occult 45) – all ages
Mar 28: The Shop – Pittsburgh, PA – all ages (w/ Artificial Brain, Dendritic Arbor, Meth Quarry)
Mar 29: The Meatlocker – Monclair, NJ – all ages (w/ Artificial Brain, Organ Dealer, Sunrot)
Apr 25: Ortleibs – Philadelphia, PA (w/ Starkweather, Darkside NYC, Edgewise, Dysphoria)
May 01: TBA – Milwaukee, WI (w/ No Brainer)
May 02: No Tomorrow Fest – Appleton, WI (w/ MDC, Hemdale, Sick/Tired, Tenement, Cloud Rat)
May 03: TBA – Chicago, IL
May 14: Lucky 13 – Brooklyn, NY (w/ Fantasy Panther, Scowl)
May 15: TBA – New England, MA
May 16: TBA – New England, MA
Die Choking on Facebook
Die Choking on Bandcamp
The Compound Records on Facebook
The Compound Records Official Site
Earsplit Distro Official Site
The Compound Records on Bandcamp
2014 Staff Picks- UK Editor Steve Tovey’s Top 25 not in his Top 25…
Here are the “Top 25″ albums I heard this year that didn’t quite make my Top 25. Maybe there’s something in this for you to check out?
As is always the way I’m discovering more great albums from this year now from everyone else’s lists, so, looking forward to checking out Code Orange, Indian, Krokodil, Hark all amongst others!
ANAAL NATHRAKH – Desideratum
Relentless anarchic vitriolic mix of black metal and intense industrial. Reviewed this one – you can read the review here: https://ghostcultmag.com/anaal-nathrakh-desideratum/
ANTROPOMORPHIA – Rites ov Perversion
Old school influenced Death Metal. Good vibe. Nowt new, but bloody well done. Reviewed this one n’all: https://ghostcultmag.com/antropomorphia-rites-ov-perversion/
ARCH ENEMY – War Eternal
Best one they’ve done since Burning Bridges. New vocalist is better than Gossow too. Ha, another I reviewed if you’re interested. https://ghostcultmag.com/arch-enemy-war-eternal/
ARTIFICIAL BRAIN – Labyrinth Constellation
Mental Death Metal.
AUTOPSY – Tourniquets, Hacksaws & Graves
More great Autopsy, innit
COFFINWORM – IV.I.VIII
Hateful, with big, skull crushing riffs. Heavy, weighty. Bit of sludge, bit of doom.
CONAN – Blood Eagle
Epic, heavy doom, innit. Reviewed n’all: https://ghostcultmag.com/conan-blood-eagle/
DARKEST ERA – Severance
Bit of trad, bit Celtic, good riffs, strong vocals. Promising. Good band, good album. Another I wrote about. https://ghostcultmag.com/darkest-era-severance/ (Not necessarily the song I’d have chosen for a vid, but decent enough)
DELAIN – The Human Contradiction
Poppy, bit more symphonic than I was expecting. Went down a storm at Wembley with Within Temptation too.
DEVIN – Dark Matters
Aka Ziltoid 2. The heavier, more symphonic, more metally of the two parts of the double album. I like it, just a bit too much monkeying around at the expense of the songs, for me.
DRAGONFORCE – Maximum Overload
Not quite as good as ‘The Power Within’ but still proving they write better songs since changing vocalists. Some belters on here, tbf.
ENGEL – Raven Kings
Like In Flames, but heavier guitars and catchier choruses. I like this one (well, I like them all on here, or they wouldn’t be on here, but this surprised me). Wrote about it, too. https://ghostcultmag.com/engel-raven-kings/
EPICA – The Quantum Enigma
Took a few listens, but once it clicked, there’s a lot going on but it’s bloody massive. Symphonic to the max. Another I wrote about. https://ghostcultmag.com/epica-the-quantum-enigma/
GRAND MAGUS – Triumph & Power
Ronseal Metal. Doesn’t quite compare to Hammer of the North or Iron Will to me, but big Valhalla filling songs. Very enjoyable, if no surprises. Another of mine. https://ghostcultmag.com/grand-magus-triumph-and-power/
I AM HERESY – Thy Will
Haven’t listened to it for a while, but appealed a lot at the start of the year, and a good combo of metal and hardcore that mixes it up a bit. https://ghostcultmag.com/i-am-heresy-thy-will/
JOB FOR A COWBOY – Sun Eater
Took me by surprise this one. Adding a large dose of Ulcerate to their sound, but all the better for it. Rather than rattle clattering through a load of sterile overly tight DM/core, they wrote some (very) heavy songs, too.
KING 810 – Memoirs Of A Murderer
The marmite album of 2014! Ha, I liked it. Big angsty anthems. Not perfect, but some quality tunes. Korn meets Slipknot fo’ sho’, but some different stuff going on too. Another one off the review list! https://ghostcultmag.com/king-810-memoirs-of-a-murderer/
LORDI – Scare Force One
I like Alice Cooper. I love King Diamond. This mixes the two with aplomb, delivering a monster munch bunch of good fun tracks. https://ghostcultmag.com/lordi-scare-force-one/
MORBUS CHRON – Sweven
Interesting album, this one. Don’t think I’ve quite given it all the time it deserves, but another I’ve liked this year that doesn’t just sit in a box. It starts from Death Metal but doesn’t stay there.
OBITUARY – Inked In Blood
Really good comeback album. Big grooves. Big riffs. Great tunes. Well done. Best Obi’s album since ‘Cause of Death’ , for me.
ORIGIN – Omnipresent
This is a relentless fucker, this one. Love the aggression, love the riffing, love the technicality, love how much it just wants to punch you in the ear drums.
SLEEP OF MONSTERS – Produces Reason
Babylon Whores are one of my “hidden treasures”, probably the most underrated band of all time, always loved Ike’s vocals, too. He doesn’t quite hit it with his new outfit, but some cool gothy, dark/death rock going on. Grabbed this one for review as soon as it appeared in the inbox. https://ghostcultmag.com/sleep-of-monsters-produces-reason/
SLUGDGE – Gastronomicon
Only heard this once so far, but really impressed me on first go, will be getting a fair few listens going forward. Interesting modern melodic death metal.
TOMBS – Savage Gold
Black metal meets post-metal. Really good shit.
WITHIN TEMPTATION – Hydra
Started the year with this one. Massive pop-metal. Preferred the last one and Silent Force, but it’s got some big old songs, mofos. https://ghostcultmag.com/within-temptation-hydra/
Steve Tovey