ESSES: Oakland post-punk/deathrock crew’s Visual Album Release Livestream takes place this Wednesday; ‘Bloodletting for the Lonely’ to be out Friday - @thebeast

Join Visual Album Release Livestream Party for the upcoming ESSES’ album, ‘Bloodletting for the Lonely’   Oakland-based dark post-punk/deathrock quintet  ESSES  is all set for the sophomore album,  Bloodletting for the Lonely , due out August 06 th  via  Atakra Records  (US) and  Bat-Cave Productions  (Poland). A  Twitch TV Visual Album Release Livestream Party  hosted by  Davey Bones  of  New Music Mondays  takes place on  August 04th  at  08:00 PM Pacific time .  On the show, ESSES will be premiering their new album along with 9 exclusive music videos, visualized contents, interviews, live sets by  DJ Miz Margo  and  Adrienne Scissorhands , and special guest artist,  Bestial Mouths . Tune in at 08:00 PM (Pacific time) on Twitch ( https://www.twitch.tv/davey_ bones_oaklandia )  to join  ESSES  on the   Bloodletting for the Lonely   trip and embrace the darkness together. Esses bassist Scout Leight expresses: “So much of the ESSES experience comes from our live performances. Miss Kel bewitches the audience with her hypnotic presence as the guitars and drums crash around her like ocean waves against the rocks and pull back like undercurrents that hide beneath the ocean surface. “Kel realized the only way we could do justice to our fans and properly convey the emotions and urgency of this recording would be a visual album. And so, in February of 2021, we embarked on a 5-month journey of the band’s most expressive and yet demanding project. As a band and with the support of some creative friends (Akiko of Otzi and Yama Uba, Kristin Cofer, Sung Kim, and others), we have created a video for each song on ‘Bloodletting for the Lonely.’ Each video is truly DIY, self-produced and now an integral component of the album. “Today, as we approach the Visual Album Premier date, we are incredibly proud of what we have accomplished and are extremely humbled by the opportunity to bare our souls in this new medium. Looking forward, after tasting what we can accomplish as a band (all while being distanced by a pandemic), we are very excited for what the future holds for ESSES. Whatever it is, we promise it will be special. This is our truth in its purest form. We hope you join us for the Visual Album Premiere.” PRE-ORDER   vinyl/digital  directly from  ESSES  on  Bandcamp   RIGHT HERE , or BUY CD/vinyl from  Bat-Cave Productions   RIGHT HERE . ESSES has shared three preview singles so far, and each of them comes with a striking music video: Watch the “Little Mouse” Music Video  HERE Watch the “Pierce the Feeling” Music Video  HERE Watch the “Before the Blight” Music Video  HERE Formed in 2014, ESSES has gradually become one of the pillars in the thriving Oakland and San Francisco underground. Encompassing elements of deathrock and dark post-punk shrouded under a veil of forbidding doom, Esses captures an atmosphere that is intimate and intense at the same time. The Oakland five-piece — featuring current and former members of Altar de Fey, Black Ice, The Phantom Limbs, Red Voice Choir, and The Holy Kiss — carry through transcendently dark live performances with surreal and sublime vitalities. ESSES has played Poland’s notorious Return to the Batcave Festival in 2019, Oakland’s own Near Dark Festival in 2016 and 2019, and a slew of shows across the US.     A follow-up to the 2018’s EP, Offering, the upcoming album, Bloodletting for the Lonely, centers around the topics of mental health, memory, and trauma, roaming over the events that are internalized into an unconscious space like a lucid dream and the world around which we cannot escape. The record interprets the psychology of moving through this comatose space as two separate beings inhabiting the same body and archetypal imagery. Emerging with “The Source” and culminating in “Schism,” the record progresses with a continuous storytelling approach throughout the nine meticulously ordered numbers.   On Bloodletting for the Lonely, ESSES instigates a rivetingly high-powered yet spectacularly emotional outing. Gloomier and heavier than ever, the group extracts out their otherworldly reverb-drenched energies with bone-rattling drums, haunting melodies, and stoic basslines. Together with the bewitching songwriting, the piercing yet evocative vocals of Miss Kel help the tracks conceiving their destined mental image.   TRACKLISTING: 1. The Source 2. Pierce the Feeling 3. Four Corners 4. Infinite Void 5. Before the Blight 6. Little Mouse 7. Faceless Past 8. Caged Beasts 9. Schism   CREDITS:  – ESSES –    Miss Kel – Vocals, Lyrics Dawn Hills – Guitars Skot B – Guitars Scout Leight – Bass Kevin Brown – Drums – Others –  Recorded and mixed by Skot B at Kempton House Studios, Oakland, CA. Mastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, CA. Artwork and design by Kelly Correll. Photography by Kevin Brown.   FOR MORE INFO: – ESSES – https://www.facebook.com/essesoakland https://www.instagram.com/essesoakland https://essesoakland.bandcamp.com https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG5u985z7N6LLd7Kum88MTQ  
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PESTILENTIAL SHADOWS: new promo materials from SEANCE RECORDS - @thebeast

SEANCE RECORDS is proud to present PESTILENTIAL SHADOWS' highly anticipated sixth album, Revenant, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats. One of Australia's longest-running and most respected black metal bands, PESTILENTIAL SHADOWS have been building a towering canon of work since 2003. Whereas many of their native land's extreme metal exports either tend toward the chaotic or too clean, the shadowy collective led by founding vocalist/guitarist Balam consistently create compelling swathes of drama and darkness, all-enveloping emotion and regal-yet-gritty grandeur. Truly, PESTILENTIAL SHADOWS are black metal classicism par excellence. Lo, it's been seven long year's since the band's last full-length, the widely celebrated Ephemeral, but now PESTILENTIAL SHADOWS arrive in a cursed world with Revenant. Here, they delve into the core themes that have always been at the heart of the band’s work: namely, the grand reaper DEATH and the many possible pathways that death leads the mortal flesh upon, to its rest and unrest. Inspired by the riddle "What is dead that doesn't die?," Revenant likewise offers many sonic/spiritual pathways of death, decay, pestilence, and putrefaction As suggested by its namesake, Revenant is the unclean spirit who returns after death, re-animated with the foul breath of death; DEATH leads its conquest into the ground and then raises the hapless soul from the grave, to endure an afterlife of unrest and ghostly torment. Suitably, each individual song here sees PESTILENTIAL SHADOWS explore the planes of our existence and the numerous incarnations of death. The album's seamless and flowing rise-and-fall vividly illustrate its themes, presenting black metal in a plausibly professional manner without sacrificing any of the church-burning fire that so ignited the early '90s. Revenant, then, is refreshing in its equally modern/timeless contours: darkness unbound! Completing the totality of Revenant is its haunting cover artwork, especially commissioned and predominantly created by Greallach with additional artworks by Balam, which intertwines with the album’s lyrics to illustrate imposing landscapes and scenes of pestilential horror from each of the songs. It's a suitably epic comeback for PESTILENTIAL SHADOWS as they once again assume their throne - long may they reign! MORE INFO: www.facebook.com/pestilentialshadowsofficial  www.seancerecords.com www.facebook.com/seancerecs www.seancerecords.bandcamp.com
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CEREMONIAL WORSHIP and OMENFILTH split album for ETERNAL DEATH now streaming on GrizzlyButts.com - @thebeast

On August 6th internationally,  Eternal Death  will release  The Pact of Morbid Conspiracy , a special split tape between  Ceremonial Worship  and  Omenfilth . And today, heavily trafficked web-portal  GrizzlyButts.com  streams the tape  in its entirety . Aptly titled, this split album brings together two hordes who reverentially kneel at the altar of ancient Hellenic black metal. Hear  Ceremonial Worship  and  Omenfilth 's  The Pact of Morbid Conspiracy  in its entirety exclusively  HERE . Hailing from Hellas itself,   Ceremonial Worship  are up first with four exclusive tracks of stately mysticism and lurking dread. The singular creation of one High Priest C.W.,   Ceremonial Worship  is the ultimate expression of his individual inner-darkness, so far manifesting in two EPs. Here, a studied & nuanced primitivism is explored, revealing a depth of texture within its thick pulsing walls of dread and doom. Simple but by no means simplistic,   Ceremonial Worship  create black metal that's undeniably early '90s Greek - and straight from the source! Hailing from the Philippines,  Omenfilth  also deliver four exclusive tracks to this release. For nearly a decade, the quartet have been unsung pillars of authentically ancient Hellenic black metal. Although the geography's far removed, the passion and power are certainly as convincing as it comes, if  Omenfilth 's three albums and now-five splits are anything to go by. By comparison, one could say that  Ceremonial Worship  here approximate early Varathron while  Omenfilth  synthesize more open elements of death metal and thrash, arriving at a sound favorably not unlike old Thou Art Lord. Likewise, the Filipino cult create epic visions with more pronounced melodies and dynamics - always dark, of course! For those who lament the death of the old Greek black metal sound and are looking for new standard-bearers who speak the lexicon rather than try to change it,  The Pact of Morbid Conspiracy  is one you must undertake! Fully undertake that Pact exclusively  HERE , courtesy of GrizzlyButts.com. Preorder info can be found  HERE  at  Eternal Death 's Bandcamp. Cover and tracklisting are as follows: Tracklisting for The Pact of Morbid Conspiracy 1. Ceremonial Worship - Frost Around the Globe 2. Ceremonial Worship - Into Dungeons of Mysticism 3. Ceremonial Worship - Mission of Decay 4. Ceremonial Worship - Anthems of Pure Hate 5. Omenfilth - To Dwell in the Pits of Barathrum 6. Omenfilth - Conjurers of the Pestilential Storms 7. Omenfilth - Swallowed by the Umbral Void 8. Omenfilth - Arktouros MORE INFO: www.ceremonialworship.bandcamp.com  MORE INFO: www.omenfilth.bandcamp.com  www.eternal-death.com eternaldeath.bandcamp.com www.facebook.com/eternaldeathUSA
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Jon Mikl Thor New Album “Alliance” is the Fourth Album Co-Produced By Kevin Stuart Swain - @thebeast

ICYMI: Los Angeles, CA – The long-awaited 39th studio album from classic metal superhero THOR is officially released worldwide! This marks the fourth album co-produced with Kevin Stuart Swain. Kevin also appears as an engineer, songwriter and musician. To celebrate this monumental release, THOR shares a brand-new video of the Thor/Swain composition ” Because We’re Strong”, the Official Music Video for the short film “LIBERATOR” starring Lou Ferrigno, Peta Wilson and Ed Asner. The flaming punk of “Power Hungry” that Kevin Stuart Swain’s six and four strings push towards a climax. -- DME Let It Rock Purchase or stream at https://orcd.co/thor_alliance_album The album, Alliance, includes special guest appearances from W.A.S.P.’s Chris Holmes, Danko Jones, Anthrax’s Neil Turbin, Ross “The Boss” Friedman, Prism’s Al Harlow and many more. It features stunning artwork from Timo Wuerz and is available on both digital as well as on CD in a digipak and limited-edition silver vinyl in a gatefold jacket! Kevin sat down to discuss his involvement in the Thor album Alliance. What was your full involvement with the new Thor album? "On Alliance as with his last 3 albums, I was an engineer,co-producer, co-writer, Guitarist, Bassist, Background vocalist. I recorded all the vocals for the entire album and was heavily involved with 7 tracks. I coordinated with other contributors and over saw the overall project to varying degrees. As it was a co-production, Jon Mikl Thor was more hands on production on the other album tracks. Of course the lines are blurred and we worked together on all of it. As we all have to wear a lot of hats these days, I also directed and created/edited the " Because We Are Strong" video, and will be involved in future videos coming up. I have made videos for Jon for years, beginning with “Thunderstyker”." How did you approach the new album differently than the previous album? "On the previous album, Rising, we had time constraints and our original intention wasn't to do a whole album. Thor had a tour booked for the USA in early 2020 and we wanted him to have an album to promote. Because of that we had to get it done quickly. It turned out that he was playing venues in areas that where hard hit by the emerging covid epidemic and clubs and cities where closing the doors as he moved to the next town. I stayed home and re-recorded- remixed 3 single versions from Rising that I felt needed more attention. Ted Jedlicki, who is a writer, bassist and project coordinator on the new album and many other Thor albums mentioned that my single versions inspired him to increase production values on his contributions, so we were all on the same page. I would say that I didn't approach the album differently, I just had better tools and more experience, so I did what I usually do with a clearer focus and a great team I could go to." How did COVID impact the writing and recording of the new album? "The impact of Covid affected everything. How we wrote, how we felt and the logistics of making a record. Because I live alone I was always allowed 2 people in my bubble. They were Lisa Freakrock and Jon Mikl Thor. Lisa is a videographer and photographer, so she did a lot of work on videos and shots we needed. In the height of lockdown and in the early days I would put Jon in a vocal room and we wouldn't even physically see each other too much. We didn't know what the future held but threw ourselves into work and remembered that music is very healing. We had time and could polish and shape the songs. We connected with guest artists and technicians with zoom and dropbox etc, and got the parts, songs and mixes we needed. I assembled all the finished pieces and came up with an LP and CD order. Input from Thor and Ted Jedlicki changed that slightly, but I feel together we made this thing happen. I would say Jon's friendship and enthusiasm really got me through some dark days and inspired me to keep going." Thor Allliance Track List:  1. We Need Musclerock feat. John Gallagher (Raven) 2. Niflhel (Realm Of The Dead) feat. Björn Strid (Soilwork) 3. The Ultimate Alliance feat. Chris Holmes (W.A.S.P.), Ross “The Boss” Friedman (Manowar), Nina Osegueda (A Sound Of Thunder) & Fang VonWrathenstein (Lords Of The Trident) 4. Ode To Odin feat. Dan Cleary (Striker) 5. We Will Fight Forever feat. Neil Turbin (Anthrax) 6. Because We Are Strong 7. Rock Around The World feat. Danko Jones 8. Queen Of The Spiders feat. Frank Soda (The Imps) 9. Power Hungry 10. Bounty Hunter feat. Frank Meyer (The Streetwalkin’ Cheetahs) & Dennis Post (Warrior Soul) 11. Battlements feat. Trevor William Church (Haunt) 12. Thor vs. The Juggernaut (War Of The Gods) feat. Sean Peck (Death Dealer) 13. Generation Now feat. Joey Killingsworth (Joecephus & The George Jonestown Massacre) 14. After The Laughter feat. Martin Gummesson (Thundermaker) 15. Good Stuff feat. Al Harlow (Prism) 16. Congregate feat. Joey Roads & Sheldon Byer (Roadrash) 17. We Will Fight Forever (Reprise) More information: http://kevinstuartswain.ca https://www.facebook.com/kevinstuartswain https://thorcentral.net
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Skrog - Enter Sandman (Metallica Cover) - Featured At Mtview Zine! - @thebeast

Skrog - Enter Sandman (Metallica Cover) - Featured At Mtview Zine ! Check it out here at this link: https://www.mtview.site/2021/08/skrog-enter-sandman-metallica-cover.html Release date: July 29 2021 FFO: Metallica, Strapping Young Lad, Slayer, Ministry Skrog is the brainchild of artist/musician Jay Reiter.  Based out of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Skrog is an industrial metal band that explodes creativity and aggressiveness.  Jay Reiter started Skrog out as a solo project in 1999.  Armed with only the Sony Music Generator "video game," his G1 Playstation , and a guitar, Skrog started off as an exploration into music creativity. Eventually Jay started working with other musicians to push the boundaries of the music.  These musicians along with Jay formed the band Skull Fuckers Incorporated. Skrog was pushed to the wayside until 2010. Starting in 2010 Jay Reiter wrote several songs that would appear on Skrog's first album, " The Global Elite ."   The album was produced and eventually released in 2013 under Goomba Records . The influences for Skrog span several genres of music.  Ranging from dance/techno bands like Lords of Acid , Skinny Puppy , and Frontline Assembly all the way to Slayer , Ministry , and Cannibal Corpse .  Jay wanted to use Skrog as a means of pushing industrial metal into a more modern and aggressive form of music.  Skrog's freshman album, “The Global Elite,” ranges in styles from black metal to death metal, from doom to thrash. Jay is now working on remastering "The Global Elite," with a fall of 2021 release under Jay's own music label, Satyrn Studios .  In the meantime, Skrog will be releasing a cover of Metallica 's " Enter Sandman ."  The song is slated to be released on all major global platforms July 29th of 2021. Skrog will be releasing its second album, " Under The Covers ," winter of 2021.  This will be an album of Jay Reiter's favorite songs and influences.  Songs appearing on that album will range from Slayer 's, " South of Heaven ," to Ministry 's, " NWO ." Check out the video! Check it out on Spotify and add it to your playlists! Follow the band at these links:  https://music.apple.com/us/album/enter-sandman-single/1578664458 https://www.facebook.com/satyrnstudios https://www.facebook.com/Skrogband/ https://open.spotify.com/album/2MjybYARHcYVK4pvENgj6y
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Cassius King - Interview 2021 - The Zach Moonshine Show

ICYMI: Dan Lorenzo from Cassius King and Vessel Of Light joins us on the show to talk about the new record from Cassius King called Field Trip. We take questions from the audience and play new music from the band. Full episode available at: https://www.mixcloud.com/thezachmoonshineshow/cassius-king-featured-interview-the-zach-moonshine-show/ Join us live every Friday night at: https://metaldevastationradio.com/ Follow the band at: https://nomadeelrecords.bandcamp.com/album/field-trip
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Dusty Hill, ZZ Top Bassist, Dead at 72 - @thebeast

FYI: Dusty Hill, bassist and longtime member of ZZ Top, has died at the age of 72. “We are saddened by the news today that our Compadre, Dusty Hill, has passed away in his sleep at home in Houston, TX,” surviving ZZ Top band members Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard said in a statement. “We, along with legions of ZZ Top fans around the world, will miss your steadfast presence, your good nature and enduring commitment to providing that monumental bottom to the ‘Top’. We will forever be connected to that ‘Blues Shuffle in C.’ You will be missed greatly, amigo.” Via COS
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