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DWI108 108 "18.61" Format: CD, LP, Digital A release date and Pre-ordering information will be announced shortly. "18.61" comes from the 61st couplet of the 18th section of Bhagavad Gita. Ishvarah sarva-bhutaanaam, hridesh-'rjuna-tishthati bhraamayan sarva-bhutaani, yantra-rudhaani maayayaa Which means: "The controller of all Lies at the heart of the machine And connects it's wires To the living being who is under it's spell." Recorded over a frigid weekend in Boston, MA in the analog domain of Alex Garcia Rivera (ex-Give Up The Ghost) and later mixed by Kurt Ballou (Converge), 108 have returned with their most electrifying and intense album to date, "18.61". From the first tension filled notes struck in "God Talk", it's apparent that a spiritual restlessness and awareness continues to writhe in the collective consciousness of 108 which is an attribute that has set them apart from the rest of the musical world since their inception. From there "18.61" pounds forth with the upmost intensity. Standout track "Crescent Moon" races at manic speed before crashing in on itself in one of 108's heaviest moments ever. Title track "18.61", a moving and brooding song that is as unforgettable as they come, combines all of the unique musical qualities that make up 108. The gritty "Reduced" showcases new drummer Mike Justian (Trap Them, Unearth, etc.) as the new heart at the center of the 108 machine, rhythmically pushing the envelope with his punishing percussive power. Though the aforementioned songs are electric in every way, it's in some of the more daring tracks that "18.61" truly starts to really shine. "Mannequins" and "Forever Is Destroyed", for example, pick up where classics Black Flag and Rollins Band left off, taking frantic and unpredictable sonic turns that only a band like 108 could navigate. All of this makes "18.61" yet another stunning album from a band that continues to write their own destiny as one the most important and influential hardcore/punk bands in existence today.
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DWI99 The Carrier "One Year Later" Format: LP Predating their celebrated "No Love..." 7"EP, "One Year Later" is the highly sought after debut full length from The Carrier. Recorded by Jay Maas @ The Getaway Group, "One Year Later" bursts at the seams with the youthful passion and discordant melody that has gone on to define The Carrier. With every song on the album they collectively shine, pushing their approach to new heights, and solidifying their standing as one of the best melodic hardcore bands to surface in ages. Licensed from Rock Vegas Records. Available for the first time on vinyl thru Deathwish. Pressing Information: First Press 304 Yellow/Red mix vinyl 707 Blue w/ Green splatter vinyl 1015 Yellow vinyl
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DWI100 Blacklisted "No One Deserves To Be Here More Than Me" Format: 12"LP "No One Deserves To Be Here More Than Me" is the new full length album from Blacklisted. The album is available in 12"LP vinyl format (vinyl comes w/ Digital Download coupon inside the release). Side A: Our Apartment Is Always Empty Everything In My Life Is For Sale J.M.N. (Interlude) No One Deserves To Be Here More Than Me G.E.H. (Interlude) The P.I.G. (Problem Is G.) Side B: I'm Trying To Disappear Palisade Skeletons I Am Extraordinary S.M.F. (Interlude) Credits: Engineered by Will Yip at Studio 4 Mixed and mastered by Phil Nicolo and Will Yip at Studio 4 Violin on "Our Apartment Is Always Empty" by Josh Agran Trumpet on "G.E.H." by Oskar Kalinowski Trumpet on "I'm Trying To Disappear" by Oskar Kalinowski and Colin McGinnis Rainstick on "I Am Extraordinary" by David Walling Additional vocals on "I Am Extraordinary" by Melissa Farley Artwork, layout and design by Blacklisted and Meridith Ryan Osifchin Let the music speak for itself. Pressing Information: First Press 109 Black vinyl 319 Orange & Green mix 719 Green w/ Purple splatter 1929 Orange w/ Black splatter
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DWI96 Rise And Fall "Our Circle Is Vicious" Format: CD, LP, Digital Four years since the release of "Into Oblivion", Rise And Fall have now completed their circle. On October 27th, Rise And Fall will release their highly anticipated new album "Our Circle Is Vicious" on Deathwish. Recorded at God City studios by Kurt Ballou (Converge, Disfear), "Our Circle Is Vicious" is Rise And Fall's rightful return to the throne as the kings of dark, ominous hardcore. From the opening barrage of "Soul Slayer" and "Built On Graves" the evolution of Rise And Fall is absolutely stunning. Heavier and harder than ever, it quickly becomes apparent that every aspect of their musicianship has grown leaps and bounds in recent years. Guitarist Cedric Goetgebuer balances bone shattering heaviness and unorthodox melodies unlike any other musician today. Bringing each song to post-apocalyptic life with an electrifying intensity. All of this is complimented by Bjorn Dossche's emotional vocal outpouring as it spills across the album with unforgettable realness. Rise And Fall continue this musical battery throughout, however it is when they unleash the dynamic "In Circles" and the epic closer "Knowing" that the true scope of their creative vision sinks its teeth in. Both songs utterly haunting, moving, and unpredictable in their unique twists and turns. Blurring the divisions and dismissing the limitations that exist within much of contemporary heavy music. All in all, Rise And Fall's "Our Circle Is Vicious" is a stunning artistic achievement. One that will surely cast a shadow over the aggressive music world for many years to come. Pressing Information: First Press 150 - White with Bronze splatter (50 w/ tour cover) 300 - White and Bronze mix 700 - Clear Yellow and Bronze mix 1000 - Black and Bronze mix Second Press 1029 - Bronze vinyl
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DWI98 Converge "Axe To Fall" Format: LP (CD on Epitaph) It never ceases to amaze me how the things we initially dismiss, overlook, don’t notice can become the most important and meaningful to us and our lives. The first time I saw Converge was in 1996 with Deadguy, Coalesce and a number of other bands whose names are now lost to memory in a Legion Hall in a rundown part of Buffalo, NY. I’d like to say they changed my life that night but they didn’t — not that night, anyway. However, there was something about the way their rail-thin singer (Jacob Bannon) threw himself without regard into his performance, and the audience, and glimpses of the more than then-typical Victory Records mosh in their music that spoke of things to come. If you told me that band (Converge, I would discover later while buying Deadguy merch) would become one of the most important to not only myself but to aggressive music and its various scenes and factions, I would have cracked a smile, at the very least. Funny, how things turn out. Formed in the winter of 1990 in Boston, MA, during the rise and subsequent fall of the legendary Boston hardcore scene, Converge are unarguably one of the most important bands in the history of aggressive music. Through numerous line-up changes (the band are currently comprised of vocalist/visual design terrorist Jacob Bannon, drummer Ben Koller, guitarist/back-up vocalist Kurt Ballou and bassist/back-up vocalist Nate Newton), musical trends (mosh, tech, guys crying and wearing make-up, ’80s thrash revival) and the coming and going of more “the next great thing” than I care to recall, Converge have established themselves as leaders in the aggressive music underground. It seems redundant to use the word “landmark” when discussing their musical canon, as almost every album is genre-defining, but Converge’s run is unparalleled. Releases such as Petitioning the Empty Sky (1997), When Forever Comes Crashing (1998), Jane Doe (2001), You Fail Me (2004) and No Heroes (2006) have established Converge as trendsetters and innovators, setting new standards in hardcore and metal with each release. These records have evolved the band (from their thrash-inspired, hardcore-drenched beginnings to slower, more ominous and atmospheric work to all-out Tsunami-of-hostility hell-bent on levelling creation) and produced new waves of followers and emulators with each successive work. Honestly, has there been a band more influential on past and present “successful” metal/hardcore acts as unaccredited? It’s true: integrity has its price. After nearly 20 years, such a glorious run of releases and a live show that’s gone from flailing kids flailing against kids to legendary exorcism for both band and audience — watch the pit during “The Saddest Day” and tell me it’s not the closest thing to a near-religious experience atheists will ever have — Converge could be forgiven for releasing an endeavour that was simply good, okay, just maintaining their status quo. After all, it’s much easier to win the title than retain it, and even the greats slip from time to time. Axe To Fall (Converge’s third release for indie institution Epitaph Records), however, is no such relapse. True to themselves and their art, as always, no matter the cost, Axe To Fall continues to push relentlessly forward, much like a shark that needs to always keep swimming to survive. Where No Heroes was a refinement and broadening of hostilities declared on previous assaults such as Jane Doe, Axe To Fall returns to the more AmRep-inspired noisecore abrasions of You Fail Me while also updating and making vital the thrash influences that defined earlier Converge efforts (Caring and Killing, Petitioning the Empty Sky) and retaining the hardcore hostilities and frantic pace so vital to their foundation. Of course, the experimental anguish and pleading for salvation are no mere sharpening of past knives but yet another leap forward in an existence full of them. From frenetic, frantic opening track “Dark Horse,” which is a downhill avalanche of ferocity culminating in one of the heaviest riffs Converge have ever laid listeners to waste with, to “Worms Will Feed,” an ominous exploration that ebbs and flows, building upon crashing then retreating waves of music and lyrical condemnations (“the worms will find a way, the rats will find a way”), to the barely restrained chaos of “Losing Battle” and Axe To Fall’s sanguine, beautiful, climatic seven-minute-plus dénouement, “Wretched Word,” Axe To Fall isn’t just another mere “release” or record from spoiled kids discovering metal and crying about how difficult life is in the suburbs. Axe To Fall is a nearly two-decade culmination of hard roads travelled and unwanted, but necessary, lessons learned, of prayers for salvation lost to the wind and too-fleeting nights where everything was still, if only for a moment, consumed by morning’s inevitable advance, of crushing defeats and the realization that the war only ends when we do, and it’s not one we can win, merely endure. Once again recorded by Converge’s resident engineering genius Kurt Ballou, whose God City Recording Studios has become the Mecca for aggressive music’s elite to congregate at for assistance realizing their sonic sermons (from Trap Them and Genghis Tron to Torche and Buried Inside), Axe To Fall is as sonically dense a tapestry and punishing a release as Converge have ever conceived, once again perfectly echoing musically Bannon’s heart-ripped-out-of-chest-but-still-beating lyrics. It’s the summation of experiences learned working on records such as No Heroes and You Fail Me, also recorded by Ballou at God City, and it surpasses them. But even while Converge and Axe To Fall stand alone — as Bannon is so fond of saying live: “we’re born into this world alone, and we die alone, so make your mark while you’re here” — they’ve never forgotten the core values of the hardcore scene they were raised in, and raised others on: community. Axe To Fall is Converge’s most collaborative effort to date, even while paradoxically sounding as focused as ever. Axe To Fall features the likes of John Pettibone (Undertow, Himsa), Ulf Cederlund (Entombed, Disfear), Cave In’s Steve Brodsky, Adam McGrath and J.R. Connors, F. Sean Martin (Hatebreed), George Hirsch (Blacklisted) and Genghis Tron’s Mookie Singerman, Hamilton Jordan and Michael Sochynsky, amongst others, contributing to its dense sonic soundscapes. Even Steve Von Till (of legendary star destroyers Neurosis) graces the record on “Cruel Bloom,” an ignoring of musical confines that sounds akin to something Tom Waits and Mr. Bungle might concoct if trapped in a watering hole on the fringes of Purgatory right before the end-time hit. Something Bannon said to me years ago during our very first interview has stuck with me ever since: that hardcore needs to be about something more than bad poetry and Slayer riffs. And that search for and desire to be something more have defined Converge since their inception, and continue to propel them and their art ever-forward. Through sheer hard work, perseverance and an unwavering commitment to artistic integrity Converge have risen from humble beginnings to become that mercurial and so very rare “something more.” Axe To Fall continues their reign, long may it last. -Christopher Gramlich Pressing Information: First Press 100 - Clear w/ colored shards 300 - Solid Blue and Beer split with yellow splatter 400 - Beer w/ blue white and yellow splatter 500 - Cream (Epitaph mail-order exclusive) 800 - Beer, Coke Bottle Blue and black tricolor 1000 - Beer (European exclusive) 2000 - Coke Bottle Blue 2000 - Solid Light Blue Second Press
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DW95 Doomriders "Darkness Come Alive" Format: CD, LP, Digital Rage and gloom have come to roost in Doomriders' second proper full length album "Darkness Come Alive". Recorded and engineered at Godcity Studios by Kurt Ballou, "Darkness Come Alive" shows a more monstrous Doomriders emerging from the depths. Songs like "Jealous God" and "Heavy Lies The Crown" carry a precision and infectious quality that is rare to experience, while the title-esque track "Come Alive" is a stunning example of their new found muscle. The opening seconds of the aforementioned sets an electrifying backdrop before erupting into one of the most hook laden ebb and flows of recent memory. Effortlessly throughout the album they continue this bombardment, with rhythm section JR Conners (Cave In) and Jebb Riley (Disappearer) as the hurricane force wind at the back of Chris Pupecki's (Cast Iron Hike) riffs and Nate Newton's (Converge) gritty duel guitar/vocal attack. Shedding influences to stand with them as contemporaries, Doomriders "Darkness Come Alive" is a monumental full length achievement. Proving not only that aggressive music still has much to offer, but that Doomriders are, in fact, more soulful and heavier than all. Pressing Information: First Press 309 - Red with Grey splatter 714 - Black and Tan mix 999 - Black and Grey mix Second Press 1024 - Beer w/ Black splatter
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DWI93 Lewd Acts "Black Eye Blues" Format: CD, LP, Digital Lewd Acts' brand of raw noise reeks of true soul and stunning originality. Opting to embrace their pre-1988 punk and hardcore influences, they collectively shun metal tendencies of todays hardcore scene. Vocally crooning and sonically winding their way through each song in ways that are continuously moving and exciting. Their latest album "Black Eye Blues" was engineered by Kurt Ballou (Converge) at God City Studios. "Black Eye Blues" shows Lewd Acts growing right before our eyes, splitting shoes as they evolve at a monstrous rate. Their razor sharp precision and dynamic instrumentation continues to reach passed punks limitations while embracing it in spirit. All of this is a vivid backdrop for vocalist Tyler Densley's poetically bruising storytelling. His gruff candor is unforgettable; Sad, tragic, and true to life. Songs like the thematic pairing "You Don't Need Me" and "I Don't Need You" are a true example of this. While the epic closer "Nowhere To Go" proves that Lewd Acts are comfortable creatively coloring outside the lines. Habitually defying the rules as they artistically redefine what is real rebellion in song. Pressing Information: First Press 100 Tri Color vinyl (Orange, Purple, Blue) w/ Sound And Fury covers 100 Tri Color vinyl (Orange, Purple, Blue) w/ standard covers 200 Black vinyl 300 Coke Bottle Blue / Bronze split vinyl 500 Bronze vinyl Second Press 1129 Clear vinyl
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