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Events, News, Releases, Videos

FACES OF THE BOG: Chicagoland’s psychedelic sludge masters to officially release debut album Ego Death on DHU Records

Initially conceived in a dingy rehearsal space in Humboldt Park during the fall of 2011, Faces of the Bog have fast become one of the underground’s most celebrated secrets following the self-release of their debut album Ego Death late last year.

For the Chicagoland quartet, their own unique interpretation of sludge has never run neatly alongside preconceived notions of how this kind of music should be played. Choosing to ignore convention and instead, power brutal riffs headfirst into psychedelically heightened grooves, relying on atmosphere and mood to create melodic textures they are a band constantly pushing the envelope. “Ego Death is a revelation. I’ve been longing for a band to step up and challenge the existing music scene and the way Faces of the Bog do it is so exciting.” (OUTLAWS OF THE SUN)

Produced and engineered by the band and Sanford Parker (Voivod, Yob, Wreckmeister Harmonies, Bloodiest) at Electrical Audio and Decade Music Studios, Ego Death hit pretty damn hard for an “independently put-out” album. Released digitally and on CD in October 2016, Metal Injection was quick to praise its, “existential ride of psychedelic waves and auras [and] collection of bangin’ sludge jams,” all of which journeyed the same sonic highways shared by the likes of Pink Floyd, Tool and Neurosis. Going one further, they described it as a record packed with, “a fascinating range of psychedelic sludge and hints of doom and acid tones.”

“It’s truly amazing these days when an underground band from a US city like Chicago can release an album completely on their own,” explains guitarist/vocalist Trey Wedgeworth. “We’ve been amazed and humbled by the feedback we’ve received all over the world. Fans from places like Germany, Norway, Portugal, Brazil, Australia, and Russia have all reached out to us to give their kind words to what we’re doing.”

It was while playing a handful of shows last year with pacific north-westerners Mother Crone that the band were introduced (in a roundabout way) to the good work of Nederland-based record label, DHU Records.

“Mother Crone ran into some transportation issues while out on tour and we were fortunate enough to be able to help some good dudes in need,” says Wedgeworth. “They more than repaid the favour by putting us in touch with Robert Black at DHU Records. DHU is a DIY label that releases limited edition vinyl packages for some of the heaviest bands in underground music today, so we quickly forged a great relationship and are completely ecstatic that he’s now rereleasing Ego Death on vinyl.”

Ego Death will get an official vinyl release on 22nd September through DHU Records but can be streamed and purchased digitally through Face of the Bog’s Bandcamp page here.

Watch and share The Making of Ego Death video here and preorder here.

Live:

5th Aug – Cold Shot – Appleton, Wisconsin (w. Atalla and Black Road)
11th Aug – Reggies – Chicago, Illinois (w. Castle)
4th Oct – Liars Club – Chicago, Illinois  (w. Disenchanter and Swamp Ritual)
2nd Sept – Beard Metal Fest – Custer Park, Illinois (w. Pale Horseman, Starless and DeepSpacePilots)

News, Releases, Videos

Norwegian progressive metallers THE SOUNDBYTE announce Solitary IV

Led by visionary musician Trond Engum, composer and guitarist for Norwegian experimental band The 3rd and The Mortal, The Soundbyte is a solo venture intended to pierce the dark heart of avant-garde and experimental metal.

Since their formation in 1998 in Trondheim, Norway, The Soundbyte has become an unstoppable vehicle for creative exploration and one that has found Engum drawing on a myriad of outsider influences ranging from Norwegian folk, electro-acoustic and ambient forms of progressive and post-rock. In collaboration with fellow The 3rd and The Mortal member and accomplished drummer Rune Hoemsnes, in addition to the central line up for Solitary IV – their fourth full-length album and first for new label Temple of Torturous Records – the album also consists of contributions from several excellent guest musicians, including amongst others the expressive vocal styling of singers Tone Åse and Kirsti Huke.

Built almost entirely around Engum’s unique guitar and electronic sound, Hoemsnes’ signature rhythms and haunting and ethereal vocal work The Soundbyte has created what is undoubtedly their finest work to date and 2017’s most progressively breathtaking record. Solidifying the duo’s off-kilter vision for sonic expression and paying painstaking attention to every detail, it is a multifaceted endeavor designed for constant re-visitation and one that will reward listeners time and time again.

Recorded by Engum himself, co-mixed with Michael Tibes (Helloween, Kamelot) and mastered by Neil Pickles (Piano Interrupted, Fernandez 4), Solitary IV by The Soundbyte will be released on 30th June via ToT Records as a deluxe digipack with a limited LP release to follow this Autumn.

Check out the trailer for new song ‘Descending’ here:

News, Videos

BEASTWARS premiere final video for ‘Some Sell Their Souls’ with Decibel Magazine

Having returned in 2016 with one of the year’s most revelatory releases in The Death Of All Things, Beastwars are back one final time with a new video directed by Alistair MacDonald for ‘Some Sell Their Souls’.

The song, sung from the perspective of a troubled singer at a small suburban church who is trapped by his demons and plagued by memories proved to be one of the most talked about songs on last year’s album. Attributed in no small part to singer Matt Hyde’s weathered and worn viewpoint on morality and redemption.

“Like ‘Witches’, the first video off our last album, it was inspired by experiences of the band,” explains drummer Nathan Hickey. “In the case of ‘Witches’ it was in response to a record label exec shrieking, ‘They’re so old!’ when he saw a video of us. So we decided to replace ourselves with a coven of female musicians. The video for ‘Some Sell Their Souls’ was inspired by a set of studio videos we did called The Sundae Sessions, where the audience was sitting around us on chairs. Some of the YouTube comments are hilarious with complaints about how sedate the crowd look, why isn’t there a mosh pit etc. With this video we took the audience response to a Beastwars experience to it’s extreme.”

The album, produced by the band and James Goldsmith in their hometown of Wellington, New Zealand, mixed by Andrew Schneider (Unsane, Big Business) and mastered by Brad Boatright (Sleep, Windhand) brought with it the closing chapter in the band’s post-apocalyptic trilogy of albums, and signalled the arrival of, “one of metal’s best-kept secrets.” (Metal Hammer)

Heavily admired by both fans and critics alike, Beastwars transformed New Zealand’s metal landscape and in doing so created music that that at its very core channelled a colossal mood filtered to a point where, “every wail, every riff, every bass thump and every cymbal crash serves to remind you that this is enigmatic and darkened metal, straight from the murky heart of the Antipodes.” (Sixnoises)

As a thank you for the continued support Beastwars received in 2016, their unremitting triptych of sludge – their 2011 debut Beastwars, 2013’s Blood Becomes Fire and last year’s The Death Of All Things – are being offered on Bandcamp as ‘Name Your Price’ up until 20th April 2017 – www.beastwars.bandcamp.com.

Watch the new brand new video for ‘Some Sell Their Souls’ via Decibel Magazine – http://decibelmagazine.com/blog/2017/3/28/video-premiere-beastwars-some-sell-their-souls

News, Releases, Videos

BEASTWARS to release new album | Stream and share ‘Call To The Mountain

Obey The Riff… As far as aphorisms go few hit harder than Beastwars’ heavy metal mantra.

Returning in 2016 with what will undoubtedly become one of this year’s most revelatory releases, Beastwars are a band so heavy, and heavily admired by fans in the Southern Hemisphere, they practically weigh the world in place and stop it spinning wildly off its axis.

The Death Of All Things was produced by the band and James Goldsmith in their hometown of Wellington, New Zealand, mixed by Andrew Schneider (Unsane, Big Business) and mastered by Brad Boatright (Sleep, Windhand) and is the third and final full-length in a post-apocalyptic trilogy. An album that signals the arrival of one of metal’s best-kept secrets out from under; primed to take on the world full tilt.

In 2011, Beastwars released their self-titled debut to critical acclaim and in doing so transformed New Zealand’s metal landscape. Reviewers celebrated the album’s, “slow- burning furnace of bass-trawling riffage,” (The Sleeping Shaman) as well as its distinctive blend of lysergic and premonitory metal that compared the band to Kyuss, Neurosis and Godflesh, while hinting at influences as distinctive as The Jesus Lizard, Black Sabbath, and in Hyde’s ‘avant-grunt’, Celtic Frost. Music that at its very core channels a colossal mood filtered to a point where, “every wail, every riff, every bass thump and every cymbal crash serves to remind you that this is enigmatic and darkened metal, straight from the murky heart of the Antipodes.” (Sixnoises)

Two years on from their internationally acclaimed debut, Beastwars returned in 2013 with Blood Becomes Fire which landed at #2 in the nations music charts. The album delivered ten songs retaining all the strength and psychedelic fire of their first while presenting a powerful evolution in vision.

The Death Of All Things is released worldwide through Destroy Records on 22nd April 2016. On 11th March a pre-order for limited edition vinyl will be available from http://www.obeytheriff.com but in the meantime, you can stream and share their brand new video for ‘Call To The Mountain’ below: