Metal 455 Items

Modern day Amsterdam is a bit of an oxymoron. On the one hand, the city proudly brandishes its reputation for alternative and sub cultures, pushing back against lawmakers and their incoherent policies to adopt approaches that are more realistic and levelheaded. On the other, its a place of such rampant commercial development the local government actively discourages visitors and new hotel developments. Look closely, though, and you can still feel the spirit of what, during the latter half of the 20th Century, made this place so special. Paradiso is one of those spots. A waterside cultural venue with a history first as a church, then an illegal squat, before becoming what it is today, the walls themselves seem to pervade a sense of brave, adventurous heritage. An ideal place to catch one of the most defining bands of the 1980s in their heyday, then, here Depeche Mode deliver an astounding set in a space with the atmosphere to match.

High Roller Records, COMMEMORATIVE EDITION, 40 YEARS OF UNLIMITED THRASH 1982–2022, picture vinyl, ltd 500, individually numbered, 425gsm heavy cardboard cover, printed inner sleeve, poster, mastered for vinyl by Patrick W. Engel at Temple of Disharmony, original 1986 sound

The second album of Canadian tech death metal outfit Deviant Process, offering a genuinely brutal and original progressive mix of tech death metal!

M-Theory Audio is proud to announce the first-ever vinyl releases of the two acclaimed albums by metal supergroup Divine Heresy, featuring members of Fear Factory, Morbid Angel, Bad Wolves and Nile! After temporarily parting ways with Fear Factory – the influential, gold-certified industrial metal band he co-founded – in 2002, guitarist and extreme metal pioneer Dino Cazares (also of Brujeria and Asesino) began laying the foundation for a new project that would combine metallic aggression, muscular precision, and melodic accessibility. Upon joining forces with acclaimed drummer Tim Yeung (Morbid Angel, Vital Remains, Hate Eternal), and vocalist Tommy Vext (Bad Wolves, Snot), Cazares’ vision was realized, and Divine Heresy was born. The group’s 2007 debut, “Bleed The Fifth” – produced by former Machine Head/Soulfly guitarist Logan Mader (Gojira, Devildriver), and released in North America via Century Media Records and via Fear Factory’s longtime home, Roadrunner Records, in Europe – received rave reviews from the global metal press. Metal Hammer called Divine Heresy “a quintessential 21st Century American metal band,” while Kerrang! raved that the album “couldn’t be more metal if it hung a massive V around the neck of the Eiffel Tower while gargling liquid mercury.” After adding bassist Joe Payne (Nile), the band supported the album’s release by touring extensively alongside the likes of Killswitch Engage, All That Remains, Static-X, Arch Enemy, Dark Tranquillity, Shadows Fall and Chimaira. Unfortunately, Divine Heresy’s initial lineup splintered in 2008 when Vext left the band, but Cazares, Yeung and Payne quickly rebounded with new vocalist Travis Neal (Dirge Within, The Bloodline) and released their second album, “Bringer of Plagues,” in 2009. Again, produced by Mader, the album – which cracked the Billboard Top 200 upon its release – was heavier than its predecessor, with AllMusic describing it as “a head-down, hair-pinwheeling metal album” and Kerrang! praising its “thunderous, jaw-dropping intensity.” Again, the band hit the road with gusto, touring with the likes of Moonspell, Gigan, After The Burial and 36 Crazyfists, but soon after Cazares re-joined a new-look Fear Factory, Divine Heresy went on hiatus. After more than a decade in hibernation, the time has finally come to shine a fresh light on Divine Heresy via the first-ever vinyl releases of “Bleed The Fifth” and “Bringer of Plagues.” “Bleed The Fifth” will be released on white vinyl, while “Bringer of Plagues” will be offered on clear wax.

This edition will be released with new cover artwork and includes a different version of "Skulls And Candles" and the song "Toledo", which was originally released only on the 4 way split with Weedpecker, Spaceslug and Major Kong. Stoner/Doom band from Poland. Founded in late 2010 in Lublin. Released their debut album "Magick Rites" in 2012 followed by "Black Arts, Riff Worship & Weed Cult" in 2014, "Children of the Haze" in 2017, "4 Way Split" with Weedpecker, Major Kong and Spaceslug in 2019, " Sign Of The Devil" in 2020 and "Reality Dagger"(EP) in 2021. Smoking, rehearsing and touring. Their main inspirations are: old movies, 70s music and magical herbs. They tune low and play slow!

In this accompanying remix set, "Earth 2.23: Special Lower Frequency Mix", the Bug has taken a bit of "Seven Angels" and laced it with feedback and big bass, allowing grime luminary Flowdan to climb atop it with his dark, staccato visions. Responsible for many transformational records himself, Justin K. Broadrick of Jesu and Godflesh crawls inside "Teeth" to lash at it with punishing drum machines and sordid layers of new distortion, building it into some brokedown palace of industrial mayhem. Loop's Robert Hampson makes good on the premise of ambient metal with his 30-minute hypnotic beauty, while longtime Earth cohort and longtime Built to Spill multi-instrumentalist Brett Netson seems to float the sound through a benighted graveyard on his clever "Teeth" revamp. These are not obvious directions for Earth's impact. Again, Earth 2 was never an obvious record. 30 years on, have we yet to grasp the enormity of Earth 2, an album that has continued its slow cycle of influence, uninterrupted? Probably not. Hell, most of us don't even know there are horses on the cover. Very limited indies only Loser copies pressed on lovely Curacao Blue vinyl!

Did you know there are horses on the cover of Earth 2: Special Low Frequency Version? There are at least three in the right hand corner, gathered inexplicably near a white canvas tent, a human possibly perched among its folds. As widescreen and vast as the cover may seem, those little details-the horses, the possible human, the faint wisp of white clouds-give it depth and wonder, something to which the imagination can return. Did you know that the music on Earth 2-repressed now for its 30th anniversary, back in its original artwork, and accompanied by a riveting set of remixes that demonstrate the reach of what Dylan Carlson long ago called "ambient metal"-works much the same way? The surface is massive and obvious, the meatpaw riffs of Carlson and bassist Dave Harwell pounding and swiping and pawing at the speakers, a true bludgeon in three-dimensional sound. Listen, though, for the details in the corners, for the finesse beneath the force, and Earth 2 reveals new levels of depth and wonder. The widespread impact of Earth 2 suggests that others have indeed been leaning in, listening to these minutiae and making something new of them. A masterpiece without many genre precedents, Earth 2 surely helped send doom metal down its more modern drone, ambient, and avant-garde avenues. Those descendants are obvious. Perhaps more surprising and gratifying are the ways it has influenced electronic music, modern composition, and even hip-hop by realigning our senses of tempo, time, and texture. Earth 2 engendered a rearrangement of expectations, regardless of preferred form.