THE OBSESSED: Self-Titled Full-Length Reissue Out Now And Streaming Via Relapse Records. 

Today marks the official unveiling of the self-titled reissue from doom rock legends THE OBSESSED. Originally released in 1990 and out-of-print for almost two decades, the now-iconic debut album from THE OBSESSED comes completely remastered with previously unreleased bonus tracks, including the highly-sought after four-track Concrete Cancer demo (1984), expanded artwork, never-before-seen photos, and extended liner notes from frontman Scott “Wino” Weinrich. This is a true piece of doom history! The deluxe 2xCD version of the record includes a bonus disc containing the Concrete Cancer demo as well as a full live set from 1985 in Washington, D.C.. The Concrete Cancer demo is also available separately as a limited-edition LP. Rock Shock Pop crowns the collection, “…the definitive take on an album that clearly laid a lot of the ground work for the current doom and stoner rock bands,” while Hellbound raves, “If you’re looking to hear The Obsessed in all its original glory, look no further!”

Stream in full here! 

Stream via Spotify HERE.

The Obsessed is available on 2xCD, LP, 2xLP, and digital formats via Relapse Records. Physical bundles and digital orders are available via Relapse Records HERE and streaming services at THIS LOCATION.

THE OBSESSED was formed in the late 1970s in Potomac, Maryland by legendary guitarist Scott “Wino” Weinrich (Saint Vitus, Spirit Caravan). The band spawned in the realm of musicians/artists such as Black Sabbath, Frank Zappa, The Dictators, and The Stooges. The earliest lineup consisted of Wino, bassist Mark Laue, guitarist John Reese, and drummer Dave Flood. In 1983, Wino took over vocal duties and the band became a three-piece to record the Sodden Jackal EP.

The band broke up in the late ’80s after Wino moved to California to join Saint Vitus. At that time, German label, Hellhound Records, and the booking agency that had signed Saint Vitus, released The Obsessed, originally recorded in 1985, prompting Wino to reform THE OBSESSED. After multiple lineup changes, the band signed to Columbia Records in 1994 to release their third and final album, The Church Within. Despite highly acclaimed reviews, THE OBSESSED would breakup following the release, seeing Wino forming Spirit Caravan (then Shine) and other projects.

In September 2011, THE OBSESSED returned to the stage at Roadburn Festival with The Church Within‘s legendary lineup (featuring Wino, Greg Rogers, and Guy Pinhas). The band played a few more reunion shows over the next couple years at Hellfest Open Air 2012 and Maryland Deathfest XI in May 2013 with bassist Reid Raley.

Wino announced the full-time return of THE OBSESSED in March 2016 and the band’s official signing to Relapse Records to record the follow up to The Church Within. The new lineup originally consisted of Spirit Caravan bassist Dave Sherman and Wino’s longtime friend and former road crew member Brian Costantino (drums). On October 31st, 2016, Wino announced another new lineup change for THE OBSESSED, including Bruce Falkinburg (bass) and Seraphim (guitar), making that the first time the band had been a four piece in over thirty-five years.

Early this year, THE OBSESSED unleashed Sacred, the band’s first studio album in over twenty years. With renewed energy and purpose, THE OBSESSED sounds heavier and more relevant than ever before. On Sacred, the band doubles down on enormous, heaving riffs and pummeling low-end across twelve tracks of eternal doom. Rounded out by Wino’s lyrical honesty and iconic throaty vocals, Sacred is an album that further pushes THE OBSESSED into the annals of heavy metal history, well worth the two-plus decade wait. The band now performs once again as three piece featuring Wino, Reid Raley and Brian Costantino.

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OBLIVION: The Path Towards Full-Length From Extreme Metal Titans Uniting Current/Past Members Of All Shall Perish, Antagony, The Zenith Passage, And More Out Now And Streaming Via Unique Leader

Today marks the long-anticipated release of The Path Towards… full-length from extreme metal titans OBLIVION. The Path Towards… was recorded and engineered by Zack Ohren (Animosity, Suffocation, All Shall Perish, Cattle Decapitation, Fallujah et al) at Castle Ultimate Productions and features artwork by Daniel McBride (Black Label Society, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Chimera et al).

Stream in full here! 

Various physical bundles of OBLIVION’s The Path Towards… are currently available at THIS LOCATION. For digital orders, point your browser HERE.

On the eleven-track The Path Towards…, OBLIVION — featuring within its ranks vocalist/bassist Nick Vasallo (ex-Antagony), guitarists Ben Orum (All Shall Perish, ex-Antagony) and Ted O’Neill (ex-Alchemicon), and drummer Luis Martinez (ex-Antagony, ex-The Zenith Passage) — has manifested a record that’s darker, heavier, and even more eclectic than their critically-adored debut, Call To Rise. Composed by Vasallo early this spring, the recording boasts an all-star lineup of guest artists that includes Karl Sanders (Nile, guest songwriter), Eddie Hermida (Suicide Silence/All Shall Perish, guest vocals), Enrico H. Di Lorenzo (Hideous Divinity, guest vocals), and Carlos Saldana (Connoisseur, guest vocals). The album also marks Orum’s and Vasallo’s first time collaborating on music since Antagony’s debut in 2001. With precise and intricate guitar solo work by O’Neill and legendary performances by Martinez, OBLIVION forges ahead stronger than ever with The Path Towards…

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Dutch Hardcore Band 18 MILES Release Brand New Music Video ‘Millennial Waste’

After three releases, debut album ‘Darker Times’ (2013) and conceptual two-piece ‘Revive’ (2015) and ‘The Grey’ (2017), the quintet presents ‘Millennial Waste’. A song that speaks up about the struggles the millennial generation, the generation that grew up with the rise of the internet, has to deal with.

Singer Daan says ‘social division seems a bigger problem than ever. Depression and burnouts are the new trend. Never finish an education or a job, because the lack of persistence that is not taught anymore. ‘Take for example social media’, he continues. ‘People need likes on social media to get confidence, while trying to achieve the same perfect, successful, but totally unrealistic images they are constantly bombarded with online and in the media. This results in a twisted sense of self in a reality that is not real.’

‘People really having trouble with finding a goal and meaning in this life’, Daan concludes. ‘Everybody wants to make a difference in this world, while nobody dares to stand out.’

The New Breed Of Dutch Hardcore

When hardcore band 18 MILES started in the muddy and windy Netherlands back in 2010, all members were living 18 miles apart from each other. A lot has changed since, except their own furious, hard-hitting twist of modern hardcore with a positive attitude. A sound that is comparable to both old school bands such as Death Before Dishonor and No Turning back, and more recent ones such as The Ghost Inside and Stick To Your Guns.
 
18 MILES played shows all over Europe, different festivals such as Jera On Air, The Sound Of Revolution and Zwarte Cross, and played a sold out ‘The Grey’ release show in renowned music venue Melkweg Amsterdam. The crew is known for their pumping, unstoppable energy and sincere performance. Expect a band at its strongest, and triple that…

After listening to this track I’m very impressed by this band. The song title made me laugh at first… It’s a very unfunny truth though in these lyrics. ‘We are the children of a social regression, we are millenial waste!’ These lads don’t buy into the illusion though and clearly saying life owes you nothing. Go and earn it…  

A band I’ll keeping an eye on and hopefully they porgress and gain more followers as a result of this song. 

One to watch! 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/18MILES

OBLIVION: Metal All-Stars Project Release Their Second Album ‘The Path Towards…’ Via Unique Leader On November 17th

Focused on crafting music to transcend time and genres, OBLIVION features a compelling lineup with internationally-acclaimed composer and Antagony founder Dr. Nick Vasallo on vocals and bass, All Shall Perish and Antagony founder Ben Orum on guitar, thrash metal veteran guitarist Ted O’Neill, and drum virtuoso Luis Martinez (formerly of The Zenith Passage), trained by renowned jazz funk musician Ndugu Chancler. Their songs are masterfully composed by Vasallo using material from all the band members. Each album is highly unified conceptually and musically. Their debut album, Called To Rise was crowned, “the must-own album of 2013,” by Metal Injection and a “progressive metal masterpiece,” by Sputnik Music, who furthered, “the band’s eleven song display of nothing more than pure aggression with more musical depth than many bands can find in their entire discography.”
 

The highly-anticipated follow-up to that critically-acclaimed masterpiece arises in the form of The Path Towards… Darker, heavier, and even more eclectic, The Path Towards… was composed by Vasallo early this spring and boasts an all-star lineup of guest artists that include Karl Sanders (Nile, guest songwriter), Eddie Hermida (Suicide Silence/All Shall Perish, guest vocals), Enrico H. Di Lorenzo (Hideous Divinity, guest vocals), and Carlos Saldana (Connoisseur, guest vocals). This album also marks the return of Ben Orum and Nick Vasallo collaborating on music since Antagony’s debut album in 2001. With precise and intricate guitar solo work by O’Neill and legendary performances by Martinez, OBLIVION forges ahead stronger than ever with The Path Towards…

We were sent the album and it’s certainly the most varied Death metal release I’ve heard in quite some time. The nucleus of the album is technical death metal, but with so many guests on this album the dynamics of each song are different. ‘Awaiting Autochton’ for example was co written by Karl Sanders of ‘Nile’ so that particular track has a real Nile feel as a result. 

The album kicks off with a short intro of the same name, and then things really kick off with ‘Dominion’ it’s a real tour de force start to finish. An excellent track! 

‘Mechanistic Hollow’, ‘Concrete Thrones’ and ‘Awaiting Autochton’ all follow. As all tracks were previously released, we shall include them here for you to check out! I think you’ll agree with me that they are all brilliant songs. 

‘Holders Of The Sword’ follows and another excellent track. ‘Harsh Awakenings’ may be my favourite track on the album. An excellent death metal track that just hooks you in start to finish. 

‘It has Become’ has a real Black metal feel throughout and yet again, another excellent track.  The guitar work on this song is incredible! 

Eddie Hermida (Suicide Silence & All Shall Perish) guests on the albums final two tracks ‘Zenith and ‘Under a Dead Sun’ and both are incredibly different from the other tracks. Carlos Saldana (Antagony) also provides guest vocals on ‘Zenith’ so the dynamic and overall vibe on that track is very different as a result. 

The album concludes with a short outro also of the same name and there is much to digest and analyse. 

In conclusion, while a very varied album in many regards. It hits the spot on every level in my opinion anyway! I would personally call this one of the best death metal releases of 2017. Every track held my interest throughout and there’s no weaker track on this album. 

In regards to Death metal this is a very refreshing album and has many layers. I love Death metal, but some albums can start to just flow into each other without notice. Not this album though! That’s why it’s easily in my list of best Death Metal albums of 2017!

9.7/10

Eddie Hermida (Suicide Silence & All Shall Perish) provides guest vocals on ‘Concrete Thrones’, ‘Zenith’ and ‘Under A Dead Sun’. 

Enrico Di Lorenzo (Hideous Divinity) provides guest vocals on ‘Awaiting Autochton’ and Co wrote by Karl Sanders (Nile). 

Carlos Saldana (Antagony) also provides guest vocals on ‘Zenith’. 

DIGITAL PRE ORDER NOW AVAILABLE: https://uniqueleaderrecords.bandcamp….

Preorder bundles are currently available at THIS LOCATION.

PRE-ORDER NOW AVAILABLE: https://www.indiemerchstore.com/b/oblivion

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ZUD: A Wilderness Left Untamed Album By Maine-Based Blackened Metal Cult Now Available Digitally

Following the limited CD release at Shadow Woods Metal Fest in September, A Wilderness Left Untamed, the second album from Portland, Maine’s blackened rock/metal cult, ZUD, is now available for digital purchase.

ZUD‘s A Wilderness Left Untamed was engineered and mixed by Todd Hutchisen (East Of The Wall, Falls Of Rauros) at Acadia Recording Co in Portland, Maine, and mastered by Carl Saff (Grails, RVIVR, Unsane) in Chicago, Illinois, its ten new tracks clocking in with an hour-long journey which will take the listener on a ride from one end of the rock universe to another, the record full of unexpected turns, all the while distinctly always very clearly recognizable as the output of ZUD.

Be it with first-wave black metal, surf, sappy ’80s pop, NWOBHM, classic rock, garage, or psyche of the ’60s and ’70s, hardcore of the late ’90s, or somehow everything at once, A Wilderness Untamedis an album which may trigger memories the listener may not have realized they’d had. ZUDtraverses an insanely hilarious emotional roller coaster ride through the dark subconscious in a chaotic world, trying to make sense of it all, wondering what the point is, always remembering that though there is no argument in that “only death is real.”

Following their set at Shadow Woods Metal Fest and several shows in their native state this year,ZUD has one more live performance confirmed for 2018, headlining a gig in Bangor, Maine onDecember 16th where ZUD‘s proceeds will be donated to their friend Kathy Findlay’s leukemia bills.

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SCOUR: Extreme Metal Collective Featuring Philip H. Anselmo, Members Of Cattle Decapitation, Misery Index, Pig Destroyer, And More Releases Signature Guitar Pedal Via Amptweaker 

Following the release of their Red EP via Housecore Records, SCOUR — the extreme metal supergroup featuring Philip H. Anselmo and members of Cattle Decapitation, Misery Index, Pig Destroyer, and more — has collaborated with Amptweaker engineer James Brown to release a signature SCOUR guitar pedal. The pedal is a modeled after Amptweaker’s TightMetal Pro pedal, which is a distortion pre amp with built-in noise gate, effects loops, boost controls, and a special Side Track ™ loop for other effects when the preamp is not engaged.

Prior to this project, Brown also designed Peavey’s original 5150 with Edward Van Halen, the Peavey JSX amplifier with Joe Satriani, the Schecter Hellwin with Synyster Gates of Avenged Sevenfold, the original Tight Metal pedal with Mark Kloeppel of Misery Index, and many more.

Said Brown, “It’s been almost a year since Derek Engemann (SCOUR, Cattle Decapitation) began using Amptweaker TightMetal pedals on tour, including the bass version in Cattle Decapitation, and the TightMetal Pro for crushing guitar tones in his black metal supergroup SCOUR. We built some custom units for the band for live shows, and now you can buy your own custom SCOUR TightMetal Pro for a limited time…only from Amptweaker.”

Stream ‘Red’ in its entirety here. 

Red is available on CD, digital, and vinyl formats. Physical orders are currently available at this LOCATION. Desirers of the digital edition, point your browser HERE.

Forged in 2015, SCOUR‘s debilitating fusion of black metal, grindcore, and thrash made its debut with the ferocious single “Dispatched.” The band’s debut EP, Grey, was released the following year via Anselmo’s own Housecore label. Just before a crushing performance at Hellfest Open Air, which featured a cover of the Pantera classic “Strength Beyond Strength,” the band recorded their Red EP at Nodferatu’s Lair with Steve Berrigan (Down, Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals, Eyehategod, Haarp, Classhole, etc.) at the helm. The record was once again mixed and mastered by Dave Otero (Cephalic Carnage, Cattle Decapitation, Cobalt, Khemmis) at Flatline Audio.