listen to entire Cauchemar's mLP, European Tour announced

Do you remember Cauchemar? Yes, the Canadian heavy metal/doom band with French lyrics. They took the underground by surprise in the year 2010 with the mLP La Vierge Noire. Since then they didn't look back; the vocalist Annick Giroux and guitarist Francois Patry are on the road touring for almost over a year. Now with an upcoming album scheduled to be released in 2013 also on Nuclear War Now! Productions, Cauchemar has decided to hit Europe for a string of dates starting from April 20th. They will play songs off of La Vierge Noire and also new songs from the upcoming album. You can stream the entire mLP below and for "Rites Lunaires" European Tour dates, visit here.



Click here to order Cauchemar's album/merch via Nuclear War Now! Productions.

R.I.P Randy Rhoads

Today marks 30 years of the death of an influential and talented guitarist Randy Rhoads.

Remembering Randy Rhoads (December 6, 1956- March 19, 1982) :

Mutant Supremacy's Rotting Season EP

If you are familiar with Mutant Supremacy's debut LP Infinite Suffering then you already know what to expect- rotting death metal- the kind when maggots pierce your brain and eat your membranes. Mutant Supremacy's new offering Rotting Season EP is full of filth and vomituous elements. Don't drift by the fact that it contains only four songs because these four songs are enough to bring down the hammer and crush your skull. The band plays some serious old school death metal in the vein of early Morbid Angel or Bolt Thrower to some extent. The fact that Brooklyn swarms with metal bands, it's really tough to hold ground still but Mutant Supremacy have their own set of legacy and this new EP is just another step to claim that they belong here.

The blistering riffs and catchy grooves along with pulverizing drum beats are the highlights of this EP. The vocals are scorching and mixed low somewhat not taking away the brutal effect by any stretch of imagination. The jumbled solos help in keeping the tempos up and interesting. The flow to the whole EP is well balanced and the mid and fast paced passages interconnect each other very well. Instantly the good musicianship is recognizable. The album cover superbly depicts what's in store; just take a look and you can get the picture- that indicates what Rotting Season EP is all about.

The bad news is that Blast Beat Mailmurders have released only 300 hand numbered copies which may or may not be available by now. But don't worry, you can stream the whole thing over Cvlt Nation; I'm not sure whether you are going to be fully satisfied by streaming only. Look forward to the second pressing if you are out of luck. It's a definite must have for extreme metal fans and deserves to be in the top year end lists- I know it's a little bit too early to talk about those (or anyway I don't care much about the lists) but just emphasizing the fact that this record owns.

Impious Baptism's V.A.N.V.D.A 7'' EP

Impious Baptism came to my attention through Hells Headbangers email yesterday. Hells Headbangers became the official distributor of this two track EP which originally was released on Ordo MCM in Januray. I don't know much about Impious Baptism other than it's a one man black/death project, hailing from Australia with a demo and Path Of The Inverted Trinity EP under the belt. I'm quite impressed by this bestial V.A.N.V.D.A EP and now looking forward to hearing the older materials as well. You can order V.A.N.V.D.A 7" EP here.

weekly round up: Sleep, Melvins, Noothgrush, Power Trip and much more

JBI_XVI, the guy over b9 forum with awesome music taste posted some days ago that when he finally managed a safe deal for Sleep's Dopesmoker and while it was on its way, the news broke through that Southern Lord will be reissuing Dopesmoker. That pretty much sums up the whole re issues, re re issues for the album over the years. But the good news is Southern Lord will be releasing the "original" Dopesmoker this time as the band intended for release first time. Below is the official statement:


For the 2012 reissue, there are some very notable changes. The original studio tapes have been remastered presenting the album as the band had originally intended. The audio is clearer, louder, and at last brings a true representation of Sleep's hour-plus Weedian chronicle. Exclusive to this Southern Lord edition is brand new artwork by long time Sleep artist Arik Roper, to be unveiled in the coming weeks. Additionally, this reborn version of Dopesmoker boasts an unreleased live recording of one of the band's best all-time performances: "Holy Mountain" from San Francisco's I-Beam in 1994. 


As stated before, Melvins have released a new EP The Bulls&The Bees through Scion A/V for free download. For the occassion, they released a video for the track The War On Wisdom which you can watch below. Melvins will be releasing another LP Freak Puke this year under the moniker Melvins Lite on June 5th via Ipicac. Check out for that.

Power Trip's self titled EP which contains two original songs and a Prong cover is out now on Lockin' Out Records. If you heard the Demo and Armageddon Tapes, you know what to expect- a hard pummeling drive. Power Trip throws crossover thrash with hardcore elements and packs a punch. The EP is offered as free download by the band on their facebook page.

Mutilation Rites are on a roll and it doesn't look like they are going to stop anytime soon. This time Mutilation Rites are going to unearth a full length LP entitled Empyrian which will come out May 22 on Prosthetic Records and Gilead Media. For the recently released EP I Am Legion, visit here.

Check out the cover arts for the upcoming Candlemass' Psalms For The Dead and Ahab's The Giant below with Noothgrush's full live performance (courtesy of Kill That Cat) on March 4th in Oakland.

Candlemass- Psalms For The Dead

Ahab- The Giant

Melvins- The War On Wisdom


Noothgrush- Full Set (March 4,2012)

exclusive: Blood Red Water unleashes a PLAYLIST of 10 songs to get stoned to

Blood Red Water is a sludge metal band who released the EP Tales Of Addiction and Despair in the first week of January. Sooner the blogosphere grabbed this 5 track EP (available for free download) with open arms and the band received some positive reviews (see here or here). Upon my request, now the band has picked 10 songs off of 10 bands which inspired them in one way or other. And in the process, a playlist surfaced which you would want to jam in a saturday night with bong in hand!

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By: Blood Red Water

Tales of Addiction and Despair EP collects 5 songs written in the first period of Blood Red Water. Our music started in the summer of 2010 in a  practice room located in a disused industrial port area near Venice. It’s a really sludge and sick place and surely has influenced our sound.

Right from the start we’ve tried to create and innovate/solidify our own style but our notes are obviously  influenced by the bands we appreciate.  It’s a right thing if this is blended with BRW at 100%. We feel free to make the music we like, sometimes it’s more into doomy stuff, sometimes it’s more sludgy, it comes naturally and we never  follow a set pattern. Tales of Addiction themes are about the sickness, the filthy and the revenge represented by a lighthouse in a stormy sea. This is what the music do for us: a lighthouse. Lyrics are pretty personal and we spoke about our lives, far away from fantasy themes.

So, here you can find 10 songs, 10 drops with no contraindication, 10 bands we love. Everyone of us has his own taste in music but this playlist is about Blood Red Water in its entirety. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Blood Red Water Playlist:

EyeHateGod - Blank

Best sludge band ever! It is enough just to say this. Take As Needed For Pain album shows EHG at their best. Monumental feedback intros, harsh voice and an incredible groovin’ sound with some slowing down riffs that tear you up. Without a shadow of a doubt they are still a great reference point for us. For the sick!

Electric Wizard - Satanic Rites of Dragula

Many doom bands were influenced by English bands and Electric Wizard with their lysergic sound leading to paroxysm (played with vintage audio equipment) is freakin out!  Maybe Dopethrone is their best album but we’ve selected a song off Witchcult Today with an amazing beginning. Purest England Dope Doom.

St. Vitus - Dying Inside

A legendary band. A legendary song. Lyrics is soaked by dillusioment and hopeless feelings . If  we ever made a cover version, it would be this song. (But we won’t do it!)

Queens of the Stone Age - Feel Good Hit Of The Summer

Blood Red Water has a nibble for good stoner music. This song is catchy with a controversial lyrics we totally love it. You can figure a car at full speed in the summer…

Melvins – The Talking Horse

What can we say about this band? Melvins are the versatile pioneers of slow tempos and they have an influence on our riff maker. It's no surprise that we’ve chosen this song cos our guitar player Volt is mad for the video!

Kyuss - Thong Song

It's pretty difficult to choose a song off a Kyuss album. An incredible band, 4 different minds, 4 timeless albums. This song blows us away nowadays too, so enjoy the sound of desert!

Nirvana – Big Long Now

We all love 90’s. Especially the music of that period.  From Pantera to Mad Season, it has been an outstanding decade. This is a drunk lullaby with a dull shattered voice.

Joy Division - 24 Hours

A speechless beautiful fall into the abyss. Obscured.  In their short life, Joy Divison have written a lot of good music. We don’t like happy music as you have gathered!

My Dying Bride - The Songless Bird

Again, our dark, slow gloomy side. Turn Loose The Swans is a melancholic  masterpiece. Volt describes My Dying Bride as simple guitar riffs with impact, mellow obsessive rhythms with abrupt changes that chop you off. Figure a hunter during a shooting.

 The Wounded Kings - The Cult of Souls

Thankfully the doom scene all over world is alive (and hostile), there are a lot of many many bands… The Wounded Kings  are one of these. They are  absolutely visionary and apocalyptic.  It’s a sure sign that The Cult of Souls is a great doom song.

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Blood Red Water bandcamp page
Blood Red Water facebook page

Blood Red Water are Michele, Fiorica, Volt and Lorenzo (in EP Tales Of Addiction And Despair)

Special thanks to Michele and the band for this collective piece.

Ufomammut's Oro Recording Sessions

Ok I'm really not a fan of studio teaser, studio update, album preview or anything of this sort unless it is detailed and to the point. Surely one can argue that it's a good way of letting people know that something is coming up and after all it's a digital multimedia world. You got to ask: what's the real intent or purpose behind the whole idea? Anyways I try to avoid as many studio updates as I can but this Ufomammut's Oro recording sessions' video (may or may not be official release) is a killer. The video is bizarre, strange and unusual; just like what you would expect from Ufomammut. You can watch it above.

Ufomammut's Oro- Opus Primum is the first installment of the two series which will come out April 9th in UK, April 13th in Europe and April 17th in North America. The other album entitled Oro- Opus Alter will be released sometime in September. For the album cover art and more info, visit here.

freedigger: Wilds Forlorn's We, The Damned

Welcome to Freedigger Edition where we focus on a particular band which officially gives the entire album for free! But don't take things for granted, if you like an album, please buy it and support the artist (see here, here or here for previous editions).

I've been really lazy on this particular section lately but let's get things started. As many of you know that one man act Wilds Forlorn is not entirely new as Yeri Theuns started his somber journey around 2008 and since then he managed to put out two full lengths and two EPs to my knowledge. His earlier works consisted of piano but soon evolved into black metal along with orchestral /neoclassical arrangements. The lastest offering We, The Damned came out this year in early January as a free downloadable version and the album will be re released by Obscure Abhorrence Productions soon. We, The Damned perfectly follows the promising 2010's full length album The Great Loss and EP Bellum Omnium Contra Omnes. It offers bleak and melancholic black metal with atmospheric arrangements of orchestral and piano works. Yeri Theuns vocal doesn't only deliver soul crushing black metal dissonance but also leaves marks on listener's mind. The extortionate guitar tones (note: check out the solo on Traces performed by a guest musician), melodic tremolo riffing are layered with blast beats on the drums which often changes into mid paced and slow paced passages. It's not your average black metal release; once absorbing it fully, you will feel the difference. Wilds Forlorn's bandcamp page is currently offering free downloads (note: lyrics are also included) but the page is limited to 200 downloads per month. Therefore a mediafire download is also offered on the bandcamp page. Also don't forgot to download earlier albums which are also available as free downloads.

Falling Down IIV Compilation includes The Flying Eyes, Monarch, Dyskinesia, Aidan Baker(Nadja), Syndrome and much more

Falling Down Webzine has arranged a compilation entitled Falling Down IIV after the success of Volume I and II which will contain exclusive and unreleased tracks from psychedelic, drone and post metal artists all around the globe. In addition to the Compilation Digipack 2xCDs, there will be very limited FD IIV Endless Edition which includes a CD, a DVD, visual cards enclosed in a metal box. FD IIV will come out in the month of April. For a full set of artists and pre order, visit here.

Conan's Monnos streaming in full, vinyl pre order is up

UK based doom bringers Conan's upcoming LP Monnos can be streamed over Metal Hammer (or use the soundcloud player below) which follows their promising 2010's Horseback Battle Hammer and the split with Slomatics. The ultra gnarly Monnos comprising of six tracks running over 39 minutes is their finest effort to date. Conan is finally getting some recognition that they fully deserve and to their credit, they have been asked by Sleep for opening in Norway. Get the full dates after the jump and for pre ordering vinyl, visit here.

Conan's Monnos will come out April 2nd on Burning World Records.