If you live in The Netherlands or plan to visit this summer, long-running Oakland, California-based industrial / alternative / metal pioneers Neurosis, alongside AmenRa, will be playing the Patronaat, Haarlem on Wednesday, July 8th.

Neurosis - Patronaat Haarlem

Colosseum - Chapter 2: Numquam

Lovingly pinched from Chronicles of Chaos.com:

The word “epic” is thrown around a lot when describing metal bands. It makes you wonder what officially constitutes a band as being “epic”.  If there are indeed real requirements to “epicness” other than being exceptionally long and engaging the listener into a fantastical tale, it is to leave all in the wake of what can be described as a twirling tsunami.

Well, if any band is truly epic, Colosseum would definitely fall into that category. The production of Chapter 2: Numquam is very clear, with the vocals and strong bass chords also giving it a gelling sense of thickness until the drumming cuts in a gaggle of geese ripping through a cloudy sky.

Please read the full review at: CoC : Colosseum – Chapter 2: Numquam : Review.

Clutch - Strange Cousins From The West

Lovingly pinced from one of our favorite e-zines: Riding high on the success of their critically acclaimed album From Beale Street To Oblivion and their first-ever live DVD release Full Fathom Five, underground cult act Clutch are back with the release of their ninth full-length album, Strange Cousins From The West.

Described by the band themselves as the next logical progression from the psychedelic blues sounds of their last studio release, and sure enough, the album is indeed a shift in direction, but still primarily very much the sound of Clutch that we’ve come to expect throughout the years.

Please read the full review at: Blistering.com Review: Clutch – Strange Cousins From the West.

Keelhaul

Stolen lovingly from (our favorite blog) www.terrorizer.com:

Keelhaul have finally got around to announcing their new album, ‘Keelhaul’s Triumphant Return To Obscurity. It’s out August 18th through Hydra Head.

According to their website:

“Keelhaul’s ‘Triumphant Return to Obscurity’, is not just a clever name for an album marking a band’s return from obscurity, it’s an album title for a band’s release marking that same band’s return from obscurity, innit?

Chris Smith, Aaron Dallison, Dana Embrose, and Will Scharf have been at it as Keelhaul for over ten years and it shows. This record picks up on the band’s progression as if they were steadily releasing records throughout their six year hiatus

Please read the full newsflash:  KEELHAUL ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM | Terrorizer.com.

Kayo Dot

Fresh off of a U.S. tour opening for Trey Spruance’s amazing Secret Chiefs 3, Kayo Dot has arrived in Seattle to begin recording its second full-length release for Hydra Head Industries.

Throughout the tour, Kayo Dot performed and refined the new compositions, bringing them to new audiences and honing them for the upcoming recording, with Toby Driver also picking up bass duties for Secret Chiefs 3 each night.

According to a press release, “The new music features another sonic shift in the ever-evolving sonic lexicon of Kayo Dot.

Please read the full newsflash at:  BLABBERMOUTH.NET – KAYO DOT Begins Recording New Album.

Ancestors

Ancestors have announced they will release the follow up their critically acclaimed debut album Neptune With Fire on October 6th. The brand new album will be titled Of Sound Mind.

Recorded, mixed and mastered at Infra Sonic Sound by Pete Lyman, known for his diverse work with Mars Volta, Qui and No Age. Ancestors, including contributions by notable Los Angeles artists David Scott Stone (Melvins, Unwound, Slug), Sera Timms (Black Math Horsemen) and cellist Ramiro Zapata have created an album truly Of Sound Mind; a refreshing and aptly named experience of incredible proportions.

Please read full newsflash at Tee Pee Records.

Masters of reality - Pine

Masters of Reality will release its long-awaited sixth studio album, Pine/Cross Dover, on August 24 via Brownhouse/Mascot Records.

Pine/Cross Dover was recorded at the Hacienda in North Hollywood, California and features guest appearances by EAGLES OF DEATH METAL bassist Brian “Big Hands” O’Connor and guitarist Dave Catching, as well as former QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE guitarist Brendon McNichol, among others.

Masters of Reality leader Chris Goss stated about Pine/Cross Dover, “I did a rock ‘n’ roll record this time — I was able to exorcise a lot of different styles of music that are really important in my life. And not just LED ZEPPELIN, CREAM, THE BEATLES, or BLACK SABBATH. It’s a lot of everything on this record. But proud to say, not one acoustic guitar — it’s all electric and very rhythm-oriented.”

Read all about it – including the track list – at: BLABBERMOUTH.NET – MASTERS OF REALITY To Release ‘Pine/Cross Dover’ In August .

Sunn O)))

Supersonic are delighted to confirm that SUNN O))) have been confirmed for this year’s festival in Birmingham. The show will be the first SUNN O))) performance in the UK since the release of Monoliths and Dimensions and the ONLY European performance this summer.

SUNN O))) will be playing material from GrimmRobe demos exclusively. Expect pure, raw, uninhibited invocations featuring O)))’s core members: Stephen O’Malley and Greg Anderson and accompanied by 2 Les Paul guitars, 4 Sunn fullstacks and 4 Ampeg bass stacks. No guests, no vocals, no keyboards. We hope you will join us!

via Capsule Blog.

EyeHateGod - Confederacy of Ruined Lives

New Orleans’ Eyehategod have spent the last two decades at odds with a corrupt music industry, using their music as a proverbial middle finger aimed at everything from government officials to sanctimonious shitheads hiding behind organized religion.

They have defied all odds and continue to exist and persist despite personal and professional setbacks, from drug addiction to natural disasters. In the midst of all this turmoil, Eyehategod have become the high water mark when it comes to “sludge metal”, having birthed rock’s unholy bastard feasting on the teat that Black Sabbath and Black Flag built.

Please read the full news report at:  BLABBERMOUTH.NET – EYEHATEGOD’s ‘Confederacy Of Ruined Lives’ To Be Released On Vinyl.

Yob - The Great Cessation

Lovingly pinched from one of our favorite websites: Playing in a band isn’t supposed to be pretty or fair, but what happened to Middian was about as dogshit awful as it gets. Mike Scheidt’s post-YOB project had every indication of surpassing YOB’s already awe-inspiring output (and this, mind you, I base on “Dreamless Eye” alone), and then some do-nothing, go-nowhere band from – well, who the fuck cares, really? – hits them with a cease and desist order due to a trademarked name. If you can barely break even on tour, how are you going to pay for legal fees? The short answer is “You can’t,” so Middian hung it up.

That would have been a completely disastrous turn of events had Scheidt not resurrected YOB. And, judging by the anguished roar that he lets loose at two minutes and 23 seconds into lead track “Burning the Altar,” he also channeled the rage and pent-up aggression of the Middian experience into The Great Cessation. Doom – be it traditional, crust, funeral, psychedelic, or whatever other sub-sub-genre’s out there – is meant to be dour and slow, but here it’s also furious.

Please read the full review at:  StonerRock.com – YOB – The Great Cessation.