I had a good time today. It's not often that over the course of a workday I'm able to direct some attention to my periphery, just enough that I keep to the necessary tasks while engaging with something more worthwhile. In this case, I spent some time today checking out some long overdue songs and artists that I'd meaning to investigate for the past few weeks. It's been a bit since I sorted through browser tabs.  That said, there's a lot to review. I hope you enjoy. Feel free to comment.  ____________________________ Deniz Cuylan: "Hidden Language Of Four" (from Rings Of Juniper releasing 10/14/22 by Hush Hush Records ) Deniz Cuylan · Hidden Language Of Four Courtesy of C L A N D E S T I N E  L A B E L  S E R V I C E S. Deru : "The Dirt" (from  We Will Live On  releasing 10/28/22 by Friends Of Friends ) Courtesy of Terrorbird Media.  Bill Nace : "E:E" (from  Through A Room  releasing 11/11/22 by  Drag City )   Courtesy of Drag Ci...

Good afternoon, As a resident of the Philadelphia region, and a music enthusiast to boot, I'm happy to promote any organization that helps grant children of underserved communities the gift of music education. Rock To The Future , founded by Executive Director  Jessica Craft , has partnered with Relapse Records in curating and making available a new 2019 sampler, for which any money spent will help fund Craft's cause.  Great music, worthwhile effort. If you want to check out some selections from the Relapse sampler, you can hit up the embedded Bandcamp link . All info on Rock To The Future and Relapse Records can also be found below. Links and info were provided by Relapse Records. Relapse Sampler 2019 by Relapse Sampler Relapse Records is proud to offer our annual FREE label sampler highlighting another year of incredible music from our eclectic roster, featuring the best dark and heavy music from around the world. With genres ranging from death metal, black metal,...

No more silence! Behold!  Spotlights : "The Age of Decay" (via Rarely Unable /  Ipecac Recordings  / YouTube) Via Rarely Unable: Spotlights , the Brooklyn-based band whose music finds “that perfect balance between crushing heaviness and dreamier melodies” (WFPK), release Love & Decay on April 26 via Ipecac Recordings. Spotlights' music is iron tone in a velvet glove. They strike with full force, perfectly balancing the weight and sound spectrum of each instrument. And yet it's a weight that's also sublime in its beauty, with dream-like vocals encased in the mix of subharmonics. A rich and unctuous vibration that melts in your ears, nourishes your brain, and engulfs you with their warmth, like the gravity of a small planet. " The Age of Decay encapsulates everything we do on this record,” explains guitar player/singer Mario Quintero . “Musically, it has some of the heaviest moments as well as the most dynamic and melodic. It shows litt...

Young Fathers : "In My View" (via YouTube) "In My View" is featured in Cocoa Sugar , the upcoming new album from Young Fathers .  The album is scheduled to release 3.9.18 via Ninja Tune . __________________________________________________________ Blackwater Holylight : "Sunrise" (via Us-Them Group/ RidingEasy Records /YouTube) From Us-Them Group: Portland, OR quartet BlackWater HolyLight announce their forthcoming self-titled debut album today with an advance listen to lead single "Sunrise", available to hear and share via YouTube HERE . The notion of "heavy music" is continuing to expand of late, with many intrepid artists finding new ways to incorporate the power of traditional metal into new music, but without all of its trappings. Enter Portland, OR quartet BlackWater HolyLight to further swirl musical elements into a captivating hybrid of emotional intensity. Heavy psych riffs, gothic drama, folk-rock vibes, garage...

Boris Dear Sargent House Released: 7.14.17 No Ripcord review Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Melvins A Walk with Love & Death Ipecac Recordings Released: 7.7.17 No Ripcord  review Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

It's under the guise of sanctified ritual that Monolord 's "Rust" begins with what sounds like a church organ belting out a variation of the track's key melody, (apparently a contribution from Mondo Drag 's John Gamino ), before being overridden by an onslaught of buzz and groove.  While the clean vocal melody from Thomas Jäger certainly demands listener attention, it is the crawling utterances of his guitar and the corrosive, rhythmic fluidity generated by drummer Esben Willems and bassist Mika Häkki  that give "Rust" a sound worthy of the track's title.  As announcement of the band's upcoming release, Rust , the Swedish doom-trio Monolord shouldn't need to go any further than this single to incentivize interest, the band's reverent nods to Pentagram , Goatsnake , and Sabbath reason enough to garner want (maybe even need) of this album.   Rust is being released by RidingEasy Records , scheduled to hit the physical shelves an...

Diagnos : "Walking Down" (via mutante-inc./ Control Freak Kitten /Soundcloud) Melvins : "What's Wrong With You" (via Speakeasy PR/ Ipecac Recordings /YouTube) Dead Rider : "Ramble on Rose ( Grateful Dead cover)" (via mutante-inc./ Drag City /Bandcamp) Crew Licks by Dead Rider Beneath : "Ephemeris" (via Earsplit PR/ Unique Leader /Bandcamp Ephemeris by Beneath Blood And Glass : "Punk Shadows" (via Simone Records /YouTube) Tobacco : "Got Wet in the Bomb Shelter" (via Force Field PR/ Rad Cult /Soundcloud) Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

As announcement for their upcoming new album, Boris dials up the power-sludge with "Absolutego," the first single from the Sargent House release, Dear . With its title borrowing from the band's 1996 album of the same name, "Absolutego" is somewhat of a return to form for Boris, their last few albums a series of pop-fueled excursions, hook-heavy and melodic.  Having just toured for the 10-year anniversary of their much-celebrated album, Pink , Boris's want of muddied distortion seems to owe itself to that series of shows.  Its oozing bass tone and rattling percussion generates a welcome mire of viscous delight.  With a stinging cry from guitarist Wata , her notes ascend beyond the muck midway just before the song shifts into doom-laden shriek and battery.  It's damn near perfect. Dear is up for pre-order here , available in LP and CD formats.  The official U.S. release date is July 14th via Sargent House .   Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

If you're in the mood for bleak, you're welcome. Aseethe 's scorching track, "Sever the Head III," gets the visual accompaniment it deserves: a grim series of murders captured following the act(s), the violence inferred from their visualized aftermath(s).  The track was lifted from the band's very recent new release, Hopes of Failure , which was put out via Thrill Jockey Records .  You can check out the video below: All info, tour dates, and links were provided by Thrill Jockey Records. Aseethe's bleak vision embodied in the deadly, unforgiving video for "Sever the Head III" Monolithic masterpiece Hopes of Failure out now Aseethe touring throughout the U.S. this Spring & Summer Watch Aseethe's video for "Sever the Head III", directed by Joshua Ford After releasing their acclaimed Thrill Jockey debut Hopes of Failure last week, Aseethe have shared their bleakly unforgiving video for "Sever the Head III,...

Pissed Jeans : "Ignorecam"  (via Sub Pop /YouTube) Laetitia Sadier Source Ensemble : "Undying Love for Humanity" (via mutante-inc./ Drag City /Soundcloud) Unearthly Trance : "Famine" (Earsplit PR/ Cvlt Nation / Relapse Records /Soundcloud) David Bowie : "No Plan" (via YouTube) Monolord : "Lord of Suffering" (Us-Them Group/ Metal Injection / RidingEasy Records /YouTube) Pharmakon : "Trasmission" (via Rarely Unable/ Sacred Bones Records /Soundcloud) Equinox : "Goodbye (feat. Dementio13 )" (via Shameless Promotion/Soundcloud) Ummagma : "Winter Tale" (via Shameless Promotion/Bandcamp) Winter Tale by Ummagma Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Obviously, I have my copy.  And now you can have a copy, too, without paying any jacked-up, opportunistic prices online.   Sleep 's "The Clarity" 12" is finally being put out officially by Southern Lord Records on February 10th in editions of either black, white, or orange vinyl.  There are some t-shirt/hoodie combo offers as well.    You can click here to pre-order. All info comes courtesy of Earsplit PR. SLEEP's "The Clarity" 12" Receives Official Pressing Via Southern Lord; Preorders Now Live This February, Southern Lord will re-release SLEEP's "The Clarity," a special 12" containing the first new song from the band in over two decades. Initially released digitally as part of the Adult Swim Singles Program in 2014, "The Clarity" is the first new SLEEP track the band has released since their critically-adored, life-changing, 1998-issued Dopesmoker album. Afterward, the band issued a very limited...