CULT OF HADES

My friend Matt Kepler makes stuff out of leather, under the name Cult of Hades. His shear holsters, wallets, guitar straps, and accessories are works of art, meticulously designed and hand-crafted out of cow, sheep, python, ostrich, crocodile, pony, stingray, and sometimes human. Matt's a man of vision and precision. His taste for the macabre runs through all his work. Before leather, he was making costumes (a 250-lb chain mail dress, masks made of skulls and antlers), artwork for bands (Brutal Truth, Landmine Marathon), and various other creations (there was this giant, serial-killer dollhouse that was unbelievable).

This Sunday, November 1st, Matt has a new piece in Dreams Were Made For Mortals, the group art show curated by Karlynn Holland at Saint Vitus Bar in Brooklyn. Titled "Cult of Hades Divining Board," it is a hand-embossed black leather gameboard with a gilded human scapula viewfinder and black wax altar.

What's new

Cruising into fall, stacked with the best new music for you.

Oct 16 - So Hideous - Laurestine - Prosthetic Records

• New York City band reaches new heights on sophomore album, utilizing a 30-pc orchestra to create a supremely intense musical ride

• Inspired by film scores, black metal, Mono, Envy, Godspeed...

• Recorded by Dean Baltulonis (Lucero, Sick of It All, Modern Life Is War) and Chris Montgomery (Lily Alen, Mumford & Sons)

• "Devastating, end-of-the-world type shit, putting screamo, post-rock, and atmospheric black metal in a blender and really letting those modern classical influences shine with the orchestral parts." –BrooklynVegan

• "Emotionally devastating... moments of aching beauty" –Exclaim!

Oct 16 - White Widows Pact - True Will - New Damage Records

• Debut full-length sees New York hardcore, '90s death metal, and Southern sludge unite in a storm of grooving power that nods to Madball, Obituary, and Crowbar

• Frontman David Castillo is co-owner of Saint Vitus Bar, Brooklyn's home base for metal and hardcore

• Produced by Dean Baltulonis (Lucero, Sick of It All, Modern Life Is War)

• Guests include Sara Taylor (Youth Code) and Liam Cormier (Cancer Bats)

• "Insanely heavy... Sludgy, ripping guitars... When looking for a new band to get angry to, White Widows Pact have you covered on every front." –Noisey

• "Hardcore peppered with Crowbar's Obedience Thru Suffering..." –Revolver

Oct 23 - Nervous - Duration and Delusion - Twelve Gauge Records

• Oakland, CA noise-punks pound out desperate/stoned tunes descended from The Jesus Lizard, The Melvins, Nirvana, Born Against, Rites of Spring, Econochrist...

• Frontman Jake Spek's rasp is a distinctive new voice – he sings it like he really means it; clean guitars strum urgently and break into surf rock tones as bare-bones drums and bass pound out tight Crass-like cadences!

• "Wrathful, angular punk in the mold of early-90s noizemongers Jesus Lizard, the almighty Nirvana, etc." –High Times

• "Anxiety isn't cool, but appropriately named Oakland hardcore punk trio Nervous totally are." –Decibel

Oct 30 - Justin Pearson / Gabe Serbian - Incompresa Songs - Three One G Records

• Justin Pearson (Retox, The Locust, Head Wound City, Some Girls) teams up with longtime bandmate/collaborator Gabe Serbian (one of SPIN's "100 Greatest Drummers of Alternative Music") on songs for Asia Argento's new film, Incompresa (US title: Misunderstood), in which Justin also has a role playing Charlotte Gainsbourg's boyfriend!

• "Icon of independence since the early '90s, Justin Pearson obeys no one's rules. As a vocalist, bassist, record label owner, author, and actor, the born leader has made a career of staying one step ahead, confounding both the mainstream and the underground in the process." –Mass Appeal

Oct 30 - Driftoff - Modern Fear - Science of Silence Records

• Debut EP by new Brooklyn powerhouse, comprised of members of Junius, Rosetta, and City of Ships!

• Radiant, rock-solid, world-weary jams for fans of Quicksand, Hot Water Music, Planes Mistaken for Stars

• "A model of excellence in heavy music... Driftoff is the band you need to know." –Noisey

• "A brand new supergroup you will certainly be hearing plenty about soon enough... Earnest, angular, '90s-ish post-hardcore" –MetalSucks

Nov 13 - Chain Gang Grave - Bury Them and Keep Quiet - self-released

• Evil, noisy, hardcore punk – shades of The Birthday Party and Scratch Acid, plus double-bass drumming and creepy riffing that brings things into a twisted metal zone!

• One of Brooklyn's exciting young prospects, the very newest in a recent legacy that includes punk/metal creeps like Raspberry Bulbs, Villains, and Couch Slut

• "Discordant, noisy, anti-social... Great shit." –Noisey

Coming soon - Muscle Beach - new album - Sailor Records

• Denver trio brings the angst and the hooks in equal doses on debut LP – it's an extremely driving, rockin' brand of post-hardcore, in line with Refused, The Bronx, and Kvelertak... All that, plus lyrics about pirates and aliens. Produced by Dave Otero (Cattle Decapitation).

Coming soon - Graf Orlock - new album - Vitriol Records

• New full-length album by one of my favorite bands in the game... LA hardcore/grindcore, based entirely on movies... This new album promises a new plot twist!

Coming soon - Ghostlimb - new album - Vitriol Records

• New full-length album from LA post-hardcore crew featuring Justin Smith of Graf Orlock and Vitriol Records!

THANKS

THANKS

THANKS

10 years

September 2015 marks 10 years in business for me. I left Earache Records in August '05 to start up my own thing and here we are now a decade later. Good working with you, my friends of old and new. Coming up this fall: so much more good music! Enjoy the long weekend, all.

Sep 4 - Axis - Show Your Greed - Good Fight Music

Sep 11 - Unbroken - "And/Fall on Proverb" - Three One G Records

Sep 18 - Of Feather and Bone - Embrace the Wretched Flesh - Good Fight Music

Oct 16 - So Hideous - Laurestine - Prosthetic Records

Oct 16 - White Widows Pact - True Will - New Damage Records

Oct 23 - Nervous - Duration and Delusion - Twelve Gauge Records

+

Coming up next:
Justin Pearson & Gabe Serbian
Driftoff (members of Junius, Rosetta, City of Ships)
Chain Gang Grave
Graf Orlock
+ more!

Recap of new releases

OUT NOW:

Stern, STATS

NEXT UP:

Extinction A.D., Nathan Gray, Axis, Unbroken, Of Feather and Bone

JUST ANNOUNCED:

So Hideous, White Widows Pact

TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON:

Driftoff, Nervous, Justin Pearson & Gabe Serbian, Chain Gang Grave, Graf Orlock, and more

!!!!!

Thanks, all, for the work you do with me and my bands! Some of you have worked with me for 15 years now. Others, just a few days. I am here to hook you up with the info and assets you need, on behalf of bands and labels I believe to be worthy contributors to this culture of ours. Hit me!

!!!!!

FULL LIST OF NEW RELEASES:

Aug 7 - Stern - Bone Turquoise - New Atlantis Records

• Members of Kayo Dot, Time of Orchids, Secret Chiefs 3, Vaura

• "Alien pop" – dissonant, cinematic, soaring songs, in line with Mike Patton, Shudder to Think, Ennio Morricone

• Recorded and mixed at Strange Weather Studio (Liturgy, The Men, DIIV)

• In the Brooklyn scene of Kayo Dot, Mick Barr, Psalm Zero

• "Strange, aqueous... full of pop-like tunes, all hip-checked sideways and left to melt in the summer sun." –Decibel

• "Stern draw on everything from avant-garde metal to film scores in forging their self-described 'alien pop' sound." –Invisible Oranges

Aug 7 - STATS - Mercy - New Atlantis Records

• The passion of hardcore punk meets the musicianship of progressive rock

• Produced by ex-The Men guitarist Ben Greenberg

• Members' past/present credits include stints in Aa, Psalm Zero, Extra Life, Ocrilim, and projects with members of Dazzling Killmen and Craw

• "The muscle of Black Flag's weirdo hardcore era and the skronk-jazz chops of King Crimson." –NPR

• "Dizzyingly complex screamoid marathons... the mangled jazz/metal of [late] Black Flag collide head on with Don Caballero's avant-prog mania." –Noisey

Aug 21 - Extinction A.D. - Faithkiller - Good Fight Music 

• Ex-This Is Hell members administer razor-sharp thrash metal attack

• "A 21st-century powerhouse upgrade of Eighties thrash... The best aspects of early Metallica and Testament." –Guitar World

• "A blend of early '90s Slayer and Sepultura filtered through a prism of Kill 'Em All... Groovy thrash that explodes with modern energy." –VH1

Aug 21 - Nathan Gray - NTHN GRY - Good Fight Music

• Debut solo EP from Boysetsfire frontman

• Satanic post-industrial pop with nods to Death in June, Dead Can Dance, Skinny Puppy, Portishead

• "Best known as frontman for Delaware post-hardcore standouts Boysetsfire, Nathan Gray has set off on his own with debut solo EP NTHN GRY. It's a big musical departure... The new record delves into electronic and darkwave, following the lead of Portishead and Dead Can Dance." –PopMatters

Sep 4 - Axis - Show Your Greed - Good Fight Music

• Killer young band from Orlando, FL on the metallic hardcore tip – the heaviness of Turmoil/Buried Alive, the gloom of Kiss It Goodbye

• Mixed by Taylor Young of Nails and Twitching Tongues

• On tour this summer w/ labelmates Old Wounds, Of Feather and Bone, and more

• "A ferocious outing, mixed by Taylor Young (Nails, Twitching Tongues) and chock full of metallic hardcore that will remind listeners of esteemed fan favorites such as Turmoil and Kiss It Goodbye." –Lambgoat

Sep 11 - Unbroken - "And/Fall on Proverb" - Three One G Records

• Reissue of Three One G Records' very first release, from 1994

• A crucial early-'90s statement by this legendary metallic hardcore band with pompadours... ahead of every curve!

• "By the time Unbroken disbanded in 1995, their bleak, introspective lyrics and greaser look influenced two bands which changed the trajectory of modern hardcore: American Nightmare's suicide-note lyrics begat a generation of hardcore kids fixated on their own sadness, and Eighteen Visions' Morrissey-meets-Hollywood style was the template for metalcore fashion." –Alternative Press

Sep 18 - Of Feather and Bone - Embrace the Wretched Flesh - Good Fight Music

• Ripping young trio from the Denver scene of Primitive Man, Call of the Void, etc. – savage crust/grind/gloom in line with His Hero Is Gone, Acme, or modern-day warriors Cult Leader

• Produced by Andy Patterson (Cult Leader, Call of the Void)

• On tour this summer w/ labelmates Axis, Old Wounds, and more

• "Of Feather and Bone crush instruments a la APMD and Nails... Disturbing and foreboding" –New Noise

Oct 16 - So Hideous - Laurestine - Prosthetic Records

• New York City band reaches new heights on sophomore album, utilizing a 30-pc orchestra to create a supremely intense musical ride

• Inspired by Envy, MONO, and composers like Max Richter and Hans Zimmer

• Produced by Dean Baltulonis (Lucero, Sick of It All, Modern Life Is War)

• "Emotionally devastating... moments of aching beauty" –Exclaim!

Oct 16 - White Widows Pact - True Will - New Damage Records

• Debut full-length sees New York hardcore, '90s death metal, and Southern sludge unite in a storm of grooving power that nods to Madball, Obituary, and Crowbar

• Frontman David Castillo is co-owner of Saint Vitus Bar, Brooklyn's home base for metal and hardcore

• "Insanely heavy... Sludgy, ripping guitars... When looking for a new band to get angry to, White Widows Pact have you covered on every front." –Noisey
• "Hardcore peppered with Crowbar's Obedience Thru Suffering..." –Revolver

Coming soon - Driftoff 

• Debut EP by new Brooklyn powerhouse, comprised of members of Junius, Rosetta, and City of Ships!

Coming soon - Nervous

• Bay Area grungers pound out awesome, paranoid jams in the Nirvana/Jesus Lizard vein on new LP!

Coming soon - Justin Pearson & Gabe Serbian 

• The Locust/Head Wound City bandmates team up on two songs for Asia Argento's new film, Incompresa, in which Justin has a role!

Coming soon - Chain Gang Grave

• Brooklyn noise punks pound out the brutal blues in a manner that should click with those intelligent and perverse enough to dig bands like Raspberry Bulbs and Tidemouth!

Coming soon - Graf Orlock

• New full-length album by one of my favorite bands in the game... LA hardcore/grindcore, based entirely on movies... This new album promises a new plot twist!

!!!!!

THANKS

THANKS

THANKS

JESSEFEST

Benefit party for Jesse James Madre, tonight at Lucky Bar, Jersey City, NJ.

Bands, DJs, raffles and giveaways from Allied Tattoo, Jersey City Tattoo, Inked Magazine, Coda Skateboards, NJ Skate Shop, and more. I DJ some tunes at midnight. Cued up:

A.R.E. Weapons
Anasazi
Billy Idol
Boogie Down Productions
Call of the Wild
Company B
D.A.D.
Damned, The
etc.

Info, here.

Photo by Dean Chooch Landry

Recap of new releases

OUT NOW:

Jun 30 - Old Wounds - The Suffering Spirit - Good Fight Music

Jul 10 - Power - Heavy Muscle - Twelve Gauge Records

Jul 10 - Great American Ghost - Everyone Leaves - Good Fight Music

UP NEXT:

Aug 7 - Stern - Bone Turquoise - New Atlantis Records

• Members of Kayo Dot, Time of Orchids, Secret Chiefs 3, Vaura

• "Alien pop" – dissonant, cinematic, soaring songs, in line with Mike Patton, Shudder to Think, Ennio Morricone

• Recorded and mixed at Strange Weather Studio (Liturgy, The Men, DIIV)

• In the Brooklyn scene of Kayo Dot, Mick Barr, Psalm Zero

• "Strange, aqueous... full of pop-like tunes, all hip-checked sideways and left to melt in the summer sun." –Decibel

• "Stern draw on everything from avant-garde metal to film scores in forging their self-described 'alien pop' sound." –Invisible Oranges

Aug 7 - STATS - Mercy - New Atlantis Records

• The passion of hardcore punk meets the musicianship of progressive rock

• Produced by ex-The Men guitarist Ben Greenberg

• Members' past/present credits include stints in Aa, Psalm Zero, Extra Life, Ocrilim, and projects with members of Dazzling Killmen and Craw

• "Dizzyingly complex screamoid marathons... the mangled jazz/metal of [late] Black Flag collide head on with Don Caballero's avant-prog mania." –Noisey

• "Pissed-off noisy hardcore, math rock technicality, and a weird operatic part... It's out-there stuff." –BrooklynVegan

Aug 21 - Extinction A.D. - Faithkiller - Good Fight Music 

• Four ex-members of This Is Hell

• Razor-sharp thrash metal

• On tour now in US

• "A 21st-century powerhouse upgrade of Eighties thrash... The best aspects of early Metallica and Testament." –Guitar World

Aug 21 - Nathan Gray - NTHN GRY - Good Fight Music

• Debut solo EP from Boysetsfire frontman

• Satanic post-industrial pop with nods to Death in June, Dead Can Dance, Skinny Puppy, Portishead

• European tour in August

Sep 4 - Axis - Show Your Greed - Good Fight Music

• New Good Fight Music signing

• Killer young band from Orlando, FL on the metallic hardcore tip – the heaviness of Turmoil/Buried Alive, the gloom of Kiss It Goodbye/All Else Failed

• Produced by Taylor Young of Nails and Twitching Tongues

• On tour this summer w/ labelmates Old Wounds, Of Feather and Bone, and more

Sep 18 - Of Feather and Bone - Embrace the Wretched Flesh - Good Fight Music

• New Good Fight Music signing

• Ripping young trio from the Denver scene of Primitive Man, Call of the Void, etc. – savage crust/grind/gloom in line with '90s German crust gods Acme, or modern-day warriors Cult Leader

• Produced by Andy Patterson (Cult Leader, Call of the Void)

• On tour this summer w/ labelmates Axis, Old Wounds, and more

AND COMING SOON, NEW RELEASES BY:

Graf Orlock

Hollow Earth

Nervous

So Hideous

White Widows Pact

+ more!

THANKS

THANKS

THANKS

CR + Mass Appeal 56

Mass Appeal issue 56 is now online, including my interviews with Nikki Sneakers and Jessica Pimentel. 

Read it, here.

CR + Mass Appeal 56

My interviews with Nikki Sneakers and Jessica Pimentel are out now in Mass Appeal issue 56.

Recap of new releases

May 12 - Invisible Things - Time As One Axis - New Atlantis Records
• Noise-rock/free-jazz madness from Brooklyn and Chicago

• Ex-US Maple guitarist, ex-Parts & Labor drummer

• Produced by Martin Bisi (Sonic Youth, Swans, Unsane, Herbie Hancock)

• US tour in May

• "A racket all you Lightning Bolt lifers will dig" 

–Self-Titled

• "Driving eccentric noise-rock" 

–BrooklynVegan

• "Skronky indie rock zaniness... a tapestry of gloriously messy tones" 

–Exclaim!

Jun 9 - Wolfnote - Wolfnote - Head2Wall Records
• Dark pop-punk from Chicago

• Guitarist and drummer of Harm's Way

• Produced by Andy Nelson (Harm's Way, Weekend Nachos)

• "Sonically diverging from the metallic hardcore of Harm's Way, their main influence is Alkaline Trio" 

–Alternative Press

• "Brilliantly crafting some of the most amazing music I've heard this year" 

–American Aftermath

Jun 9 - Tidemouth - Velvet and Stone - Melotov Records

• Raw, blackened punk with a goth streak, from LA

• A masterpiece of simplicity, melody, and angst

• The latest in Melotov Records' hot streak that has included releases by ACxDC, The Banner, Old Wounds, Outer Heaven, and more
• "Noisy, stripped-down punk, shot through with elements of goth" 

–Noisey

• "Blackened punk... brings to mind the lo-fi punk of Raspberry Bulbs" 

–Stereogum

Jun 9 - The Space Merchants - The Space Merchants - Aqualamb Records

• Co-ed psych rock/country from Brooklyn – self-proclaimed "country music for space travelers," inspired by The Velvet Underground, Black Sabbath, Bobbie Gentry, Waylon Jennings

• Drummer also plays in filmmaker Jim Jarmusch's band, SQÜRL

• Aqualamb Records is the new Brooklyn label known for releasing albums in the form of 100-pg softbound books

• "A unique brand of lo-fi psych rock... huge-yet-minimal sound, mixing psych with blues and country-style riffs to make something great" 

–Magnet

• "Neo-Paisley Underground" 

–CMJ

Jun 16 - Abrams - Lust. Love. Loss. - self-released

• Sludged-up post-hardcore from Denver

• Produced by Andy Patterson (Cult Leader, SubRosa, Call of the Void)

• US tour in June
• "Effortlessly meshing angular mathcore with chunky stoner metal... recalls Remission-era Mastodon" 

–MetalSucks

• "Post-hardcore, filtered through big Melvins-esque guitar rigs" 

–Invisible Oranges

Jun 30 - Old Wounds - The Suffering Spirit - Good Fight Music

• The crushing sophomore LP from New Jersey's finest young cannibals!
• Produced by Andreas Magnusson (The Black Dahlia Murder, Despised Icon)

• Takes cues from the heaviest hardcore of the late '90s – Turmoil, Disembodied, Buried Alive – and laces it with drama, soul, and melody inspired by Type O Negative and Deftones

• "Emotionally charged, stylistically diverse metalcore... Furious and meticulous..." 

–Pitchfork

• "Old Wounds are making a name for themselves the old-fashioned way: getting in people's faces and freaking them out with punked-out metalcore." 

–Alternative Press

Jul 10 - Power - Heavy Muscle - Twelve Gauge Records

• Pacific Northwest hardcore punk in the Black Flag tradition

• Recent shows with Cro-Mags, Harm's Way, Code Orange and more, West Coast tour in June
• Twelve Gauge Records is the SF label behind Sabertooth Zombie, Youth Funeral, Nervous, etc.

• "If Coliseum were Damaged fanatics, this might be what you would get." 

–PunkNews

• "The wild-eyed, antisocial, bloodied knuckles and beer-stained jeans flipside to the old school hardcore coin. Drawing influence from Black Flag... vicious and unpredictable..." 

–Tight to the Nail

+

Coming soon: new releases by Great American Ghost, Stern, STATS, Graf Orlock, Nervous, White Widows Pact, Hollow Earth, Extinction A.D., So Hideous, and more!

+

Sept 25-26 - Cold Waves IV Festival 

• 4th annual industrial music festival, Sept 25-26 at Metro in Chicago, featuring Godflesh, Frontline Assembly, Lustmord, Pop Will Eat Itself, Severed Heads, Prurient, Author & Punisher, High-Functioning Flesh, and more! 

THANKS

THANKS

THANKS

TODAY IS THE DAY + MDF X

The official soundtrack for David Hall's Maryland Deathfest: The Movie III, recorded live at MDF X in Baltimore, MD, in 2012, is now available here.

Features Godflesh, Napalm Death, Nasum, Unsane, and Today Is The Day with myself on drums. A fun memory from my time in the band.