Taiwan Housing Project Veblen Death Mask Kill Rock Stars Released: 5.7.17 I’ll admit that I was bombarded by an internalized slew of questions, all of which I had no answer for, that seemed to transpire all at once while I was listening to Taiwan Housing Project ’s Veblen Death Mask . My brain, which was responding interestingly to much of what I was hearing, started off with, “What happened to the Butthole Surfers ?” And it wasn’t asked as “Where did they go? Are they still alive?” It was more of a “ponder the void they’ve left and pity the generation now celebrating the 10 years since so-and-so bestowed upon us that forgettable soft rock/crying folk record that did little more than encourage beard growth: why are we content to have celebrated indie rock’s demise?” We live in a strange time. And this isn’t an opportunity to inject political commentary and/or punditry into a record review, but instead offer a light assessment of what our current landscape looks like:

Melvins A Walk with Love & Death Ipecac Recordings Released: 7.7.17 No Ripcord  review Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

It's under the guise of sanctified ritual that Monolord 's "Rust" begins with what sounds like a church organ belting out a variation of the track's key melody, (apparently a contribution from Mondo Drag 's John Gamino ), before being overridden by an onslaught of buzz and groove.  While the clean vocal melody from Thomas Jäger certainly demands listener attention, it is the crawling utterances of his guitar and the corrosive, rhythmic fluidity generated by drummer Esben Willems and bassist Mika Häkki  that give "Rust" a sound worthy of the track's title.  As announcement of the band's upcoming release, Rust , the Swedish doom-trio Monolord shouldn't need to go any further than this single to incentivize interest, the band's reverent nods to Pentagram , Goatsnake , and Sabbath reason enough to garner want (maybe even need) of this album.   Rust is being released by RidingEasy Records , scheduled to hit the physical shelves an

Low Sun : "Into Sun" (via Art of the Uncarved Block / New Noise Magazine /Soundcloud) "Into Sun" is to be featured as part of a split release made with labelmates  Humanities called, Human Sun .  The release will be out via Art of the Uncarved Block on July 13th, but you can pre-order it here . DEAFKIDS : "Pés Atados" (via Neurot Recordings /Earsplit PR/YouTube) This track is taken from Configuração Do Lamento , which will be released October 6th via Neurot Recordings . The Convalescence : "This is Hell" (via Unique Leader Records /Earsplit PR/Bandcamp) "This is Hell" is the title track to the band's upcoming LP to be released at Unique Leader Records on September 1st.  Digital copies are currently available for pre-order . This is Hell by The Convalescence Labyrinth Lounge : "Trouble Won't Last" (via Rufftone Records /Shameless Promotion/Soundcloud) "Trouble Won't Last" is the

As has been the case for a few years now, the members of  Neurosis continue to keep the band's early records in print while bolstering its already robust discography with new music.  Announced today, the band's label, Neurot Recordings , will be pulling The Word As Law out of obscurity on August 25th. Originally released in 1990 via Lookout! Records , The Word As Law is the second Neurosis LP, their sound at this point based more in hardcore punk rock than the doom-laden and heavily percussive brand of post-metal music they would come to perfect and pioneer. Like Black Flag , Bl'ast , D.R.I. and other legacy hardcore acts who were looking to evolve within their genre, Neurosis also managed to devise some means of elaborating on the otherwise simplistic but effective bastions of angry, loud, n' fast, composing a viable creative stepping stone that makes no compromises on intensity or pace. Keeping in mind how Neurosis's sound grew with subsequent albums like