1. Havok - “Covering Fire”

    I’ll just leave this here.

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    The bass lines on this record are just as awesome as the album cover.

    thrutheerhythm:

    Thee Oh Sees // “The Dream” // Carrion Crawler/The Dream // In The Red Records

    Check out our review of the LP here.

    Title
    Thee Oh Sees - "The Dream"
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    I get to talk about metal records all day at work, which obviously rules.  But it also means I don’t always have a place to express how utterly, deeply awesome “Detroit Has A Skyline” is.  FIX’D.

    (Ahem: if you also dig Cymbals Eat Guitars as much as I do, then watch this.)

    (via gogocatastrophe)

    Title
    Detroit Has a skyline
    Artist
    Superchunk
    Album
    Here's Where the Strings Come In

  4. If I ever heard this on commercial radio, my life would feel permanently validated.  If you’ve never heard Riot’s Thundersteel, picture Judas Priest’s Painkiller, except made three years earlier, better (yes really), and American.

    sdg86:

    30 Songs in 30 Days: Riot - Thundersteel

    • Day 18 – A song that you wish you heard on the radio

    And now at last we know he’s real
    The power of his sword we feel
    Thundersteel Thundersteel

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    MonstrO - “Stallone”

    It’s songs like this that make me feel incredibly pumped about being a radio promoter now.  Seriously, this is the perfect “hey guys, it’s September, let’s DO this!” song.  Come on fall, it’s on!

    Title
    MonstrO - Stallone
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    Demolition Hammer - “Skull Fracturing Nightmare”

    More metal, this time from one of the most purely aggressive old-school thrash bands ever.  The change-up in the drums to meet the guitar rhythm right around 2:22?  Yep, that’s what perfection sounds like.

    Title
    Skull Fracturing Nightmare
    Artist
    Demolition Hammer
    Album
    Epidemic Of Violence
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    Obscura - “Septuagint”

    Though there is plenty of stuff for me to catch up on, this is my favorite metal song so far this year.  That intro, the build-up into the verse, the brilliant lyrics, and (obviously) the ridiculous musicianship all seem to be from a completely different planet, which is exactly how it should be.  

    I’m perpetually interested in how well-written songs across genres can be dramatically opposed and yet find unity in how their melodies are put together.  Try listening to Bon Iver’s “Perth” (which I reblogged about two seconds ago) and then this song; I’m kind of amazed at how well they flow in tandem.  My fascination with gradual shifts in harmonic and dynamic ideas is a huge part of what I love about music, and also why I find that the music I write tends to cover both of these ends of the spectrum.

    Title
    Obscura- Septuagint
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    Death - “Vacant Planets”

    Relapse is reissuing Human in a few weeks.  Looks like I’m buying that album twice.

    Title
    Vacant Planets
    Artist
    Death
    Album
    Human

  9. This could have been a really bad idea, but it wasn’t.  Oh man it wasn’t.

    twentyfourbit:

    Video: St. Vincent Covers Big Black

    Wye Oak, tUnE-YarDs, Dirty Projectors, Titus Andronicus and a host of awesome indie rockers hit the stage of NYC’s Bowery Ballroom over the weekend, paying tribute to Michael Azerrad’s must-read Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991 by covering songs by bands (Nirvana, Replacements, Sonic Youth, Minor Threat, etc.) documented in the classic book. By all accounts — including highlights posted by Azerrad himself, who crowd-surfed at the encouragement of Jenn Wasner — everyone killed it. This video of St. Vincent’s Annie Clark slaying Big Black’s “Kerosene,” though, is the best I’ve seen today. You can check it out above and watch another angle, which includes her take on “Bad Penny,” here. Also, NPR is streaming audio from the whole show.

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    I reviewed Nursing Home for CMJ this week (you should read it!), and it’s a huge step up for the band.  Did they nail the guitar sound on this thing or what?  OK, I know Steve Albini helped, but holy ASS.

    use-hearing-protection:

    Let’s Wrestle - In Dreams Part II


    Let’s Wrestle are an indie rock band based in London, UK consisting of Wesley Patrick Gonzalez, Sam Pillay and Darkus Bishop.

    The band’s debut album - In The Court Of The Wrestling Let’s - was released in the UK on 29 June 2009 via Stolen Recordings and in the US a year later on Merge Records.

    The band’s second album Nursing Home is due for release on Merge Records and Full Time Hobby in May 2011.

    Title
    In Dreams Part II
    Artist
    Let's Wrestle
    Album
    Nursing Home