Torche's second full-length, Meanderthal, is set for an April 8th release through Hydra Head (vinyl to be released on Robotic Empire).

Recorded throughout November 2007 at God City Studios, the 13 track album is Torche's first with Kurt Ballou (Converge, Genghis Tron, Disfear) at the helm.

"Having built a unique sound with their self-titled debut and followup “In Return” EP, Torche fully realize their potential with their most infectious recordings to date. No amount of heaviness is compromised on “Meanderthal”, an album that should fuel fans heavy fix as well as their undeniable need for catchyness. - Andy Low (Robotic Empire, completely biased supporter of Torche)

Catch the band as they head to SXSW:



Torche w/ Harvey Milk:
March 11 @ Drunken Unicron, Atlanta, GA
March 12 @ Downtown Music, Little Rock AR
March 13 @ Andy's Bar, Denton TX
March 14th @ HHR Show at SXSW (also w/ Kayo Dot, Clouds, Everlovely Lightingheart, and
more)

www.myspace.com/torche

Finding out that The Wizard reads our blog was enough to make us wear our Captain America and Spiderman t-shirts for a few days in a row....and now that The Wizard is actually posting about something we are doing we might just have to post that pic we have of Aaron in his Bat Girl Underoos...in the meantime check out The Wizard's nice post about the upcoming Melvins project that the artist Tom Neely has been working on with us...maybe one of these days we'll actually tell you the exciting specifics of this secret project...

CLICK HERE to preorder

Hesperus, 5ive’s forthcoming full-length LP, prods and provokes the listener to ascend through a modulated mind muddle, in attempts to exhume the brimming melodic crest slumbering beneath a cyclic miasma of transformative sound. Ben Carr (Guitars) and Charlie Harrold (Drums) after seven years of relative anonymity, have graced us again with both their presence and a picture perfect record, which serves as a frame worthy summation of the band’s past impressions and conceptual progression. Produced by Grammy nominee Andrew Schneider (Cave In, Daughters, Scissorfight), these seven tracks will send you silently swaying into a somnambulant state and then abandon you still stirring and stark naked in a roomful of uncomfortable silence.

Is there an emptiness in your closet that can only be filled by a 5ive shirt or hoodie? Lucky you, because we're offering a 5ive shirt and zip hoodie for you to buy with this CD pre-order. These lovely, soon-to-be wardrobe staples were designed by Ben White, and will be printed on super-slimming Navy Blue garments. While the shirt will be available to buy after the pre-order for this CD is over, the hoodie is a limited-edition item and will not be back. Get yours ordered on or before the 10th of February, or else you're out of luck on the hoodie, and will have to wait for the shirt. Amen.

Track Listing:

1. Gulls (4:09)
2. Big Sea (7:30)
3. Kettle Cove (2:50)
4. Heel (2:08)
5. Polar 78 (7:25)
6. News I (8:31)
7. News II (12:14)

Read all about it right HERE.

CLICK HERE to preorder

Hayaino Daisuki’s approach to frantic grind is far more sugar high than blood thirsty. This isn’t to say that this 4-song EP is pop-chart ready and already up for hip-hop remixes, for there is plenty of metal up your ass from a band who’s name translates to simply, “I Love Speed”. They do indeed. Here to provide you inhuman speed levels are Takafumi Matsubara (Mortalized) on the ax, Eric Schnee on the drums, and screaming all over the surprisingly catchy madness is none other than speed and all things Sci-Fi obsessive Jon Chang of Discordance Axis fame.

So if you have been keeping up with the upcoming releases we here at Hydra Head are about to plant into your ears in ’08, Hayaino Daisuki’s “Headbanger’s Karaoke Club Dangerous Fire” is the second Jon Chang affiliated project to write a blog about along with the upcoming Gridlink release. Hayaino Daisuki’s introductory release may be small, but it is in no shortage of what everyone has come to expect from a Jon Chang project, not to mention Fast, Fast, Fast, and Fast. So get out your Discordance Axis T-shirts and grow out your hair, because we ain’t got a speed limit.

Need something to wipe the blood from your punctured eardrums, or the tears from your eyes as you listen to "Headbanger's Karaoke Club Dangerous Fire"? You may think you won't - but you will - and may we suggest doing so with a limited-edition t-shirt, long sleeve t-shirt, and/or hoodie designed by Jon Chang. Get your mits on one now, cause after February 10th, they'll be gone!

Track Listing (Listen to Hayaino Daisuki at http://www.myspace.com/hayainodaisuki):

1. Into the Throat of Berserk (2:47)
2. Haiiro Ikotsu Gakidou (4:35)
   
3. Horobit Monogatari (3:07)
   
4. Aka (3:33)

Tons of newer and older preorder merchandise is now up on the ebay store in very limited quantities. Here's your second chance. Get them while you can at the HydraHeadShop

Check out the beginning stages of artist Tom Neely's comic book, inspired by The Melvins' "A Senile Animal" LP. Here is a link to Tom Neely's Blog

An interview and live footage from the Jesu in-store performance at Amoeba Records in Hollywood this past October can be viewed HERE.

CLICK HERE to pre-order

For this pre-order we've made up a batch of 50, and only 50, Ocrilim coffee mugs. These flagons of darkness will hold 11oz of your favorite beverage. Bonus features include a handle. For real, though, there are only 50 and it's an Ocrilim mug, you can't beat that. The mugs will be available during the entirety of this pre-order, or until they sell out. If there are any left over after the dust settles we'll put them up by themselves in the new Hydra Head Shop "Housewares" category.

There’s a man that goes by the name Mick Barr - he's a man of many talents and many masks, and a master of them all. Mr. Barr has performed in a number of groups, as well as a solo artist under such banners as Orthrelm, Octis, Crom Tech, The Flying Luttenbachers, Zach Hill & Mick Barr, and most pertinently Ocrilim. The Wikipedia entry on Mr. Barr marks him as an "american avant-garde metal guitarist", and while this may not be entirely accurate, it's probably as close as anyone will come to paraphrasing the genre defying compositions made by Barr and his occasional collaborators. It can be said without hesitation that the content of "Annwn" (comprised entirely of pieces for multiple electric guitars), is his crowning achievement, and a considerable achievement in the larger scope of modern music. Though Mr. Barr may be in some way categorized as a metal guitarist, this album has as much to do with modern classical composition as it does with anything associated with the term "heavy metal". Daunting as that may sound to some, "Annwn" is an album that will appeal to anyone with ears and a true sense of musical adventure.

Track Listing (listen to Ocrilim at http://www.myspace.com/ocrilim):

1. Part 1 (13:05)
2. Part 2 (15:22)
3. Part 3 (8:59)
4. Part 4 (10:18)
5. Part 5 (13:05)
6. Part 6 (11:25)
7. Part 7 (7:23)

CLICK HERE to preorder

Recorded in 2000/01 and initially issued on a mere 150 CD-Rs, "A Gate Through Bloodstained Mirrors" is a crucial transitional release in Xasthur’s blackened oeuvre, the turning point at which mastermind Malefic was thrust into the unenviable (but ultimately more satisfying) position of running Xasthur as a one-man operation for the first time. As such, "A Gate Through Bloodstained Mirrors" is the accursed genesis of Xasthur as you know it/him today: cold, black and solitary, the sequestered misanthrope with a heart full of hate and no “band members” to impair his bleak and terrifying visions. In 2004, a more instrumental version of the album was released on cassette and CD by Sweden’s Total Holocaust Records—this version eventually appeared on vinyl in a limited edition of 500 from France’s Debemur Morti Productions. Hydra Head’s deluxe 2xCD package—the last-ever edition of "A Gate Through oodstained Mirrors" —includes that definitive version of the album in all its miserable mono-aural glory, complete with Burzum (“Black Spell Of Destruction”)
and Mütiilation (“Eternal Empire Of Majesty Death”) covers and a six-track bonus disc of unreleased material from the same era. It’s impressive, we know—but let’s just say we’re doing our part to keep hate alive.

As of now, until January 29th, get "A Gate Through Bloodstained Mirrors," along with a t-shirt featuring Xasthur artwork originally created at about the same time as the album in 2000/01. This shirt will become a permanent feature in the Hydra Head Records store, but not until after this pre-order is over - so why wait to get yours?

CD 1 - A Gate Through Bloodstained Mirrors

1. Intro (1:21)
2. Moon Shrouded In Misery Part I (7:15)
3. Suicide In Dark Serenity (12:22)
4. Dwelling Beneath The Woods (5:24)
5. Cursed Be The Memory Of Light (7:21)
6. Posession (5:42)
7. Spell Within The Winds (4:42)
8. Storms Of Red Revenge Part 2 (1:49)
9. Storms Of Red Revenge Part 1 (2:39)
10. Eternal Empire Of Majesty Death + Mütiilation Cover (7:10)
11. A Gate Through Bloodstained Mirrors (8:36)
12. Kingdom Of Burning Crucifixions (4:37)
13. Moon Shrouded In Misery Part 2 (2:03)
14. Black Spell Of Destruction + Burzum Cover (6:11)
15. Lost Behind Bloodstained Mirrors (0:38)

Disc 2 - A Darkened Winter Promo '01 + 1"

1. Conjuration Of Terror (First Attempt w/o Vox) (6:28)
2. Tyrant of Nightmares (6:40)
3. Doomed By Howling Winds (10:34)
4. Middle Ages Return (4:22)
5. (What Became) The Funeral Of Being (3:08)
6. Untitled - Rehearsal June '97 (6:25)

CLICK HERE to pre-order

Our man Eugene Robinson—you know him as the dude who choked you out at the Oxbow show—has been threatening to write a fight book for some time now, and the good folks at HarperCollins finally told him to put his mouth where their money was. the result is FIGHT: Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Ass-Kicking But Were Afraid You’d Get Your Ass Kicked For Asking, a black-eyed, split-lipped, bloody-knuckled journey into the black heart of the fistic arts—from Ultimate Fighting, underground fight clubs and kickboxing to soccer hooliganism, vicious “rock n’ roll” prison-cell combat, and good old-fashioned bar brawls. The best part is that we managed to convince him (actually, it didn’t take much convincing) to record an audio version of FIGHT for release on 2xCD. The tapes he sent us play out like Ray Liotta’s voiceover from Goodfellas transposed across a series of merciless, technically proficient beatings—only without all the messy coke scenes and, like, antipasto. Come get some.

As of now, you can get your copy of Fight with a limited-edition, ass kicking t-shirt. If you want one, you better get it before Monday January 14th, cause after that you'll only be able to order the Fight audio book - but NOT the t-shirt. Missing out on this shirt would be like getting punched in the face by stupidity (aka your own self).

CD 1: Knuckle

1. FIghting: Why Not? (19:32)
2. My Shrink Asks A Few Questions In A Thinly Veiled Attempt At Seeing If He's Go The Stones To Take Me On (7:13)
3. GQ Magazine & Fear & Sickness Unto Death (4:00)
4. Let's Get It On (14:34)
5. Far East Fighting For Fun & Profit (13:24)
6. So: You've Been Stabbed (2:03)
7. While My Knife Gently Weeps (5:55)

CD 2: UP

1. Jailhouse Rock & Ass Banditry (21:57)
2. The Anatomy Of A Prison Fight (10:20)
3. Curbs, Car Doors & You (16:31)
4. The Real Sad And Weepy Part Of Our Story (10:19)
5. I Stoop To Conquer (6:07)
6. The One Finger Punch (6:15) CD Only Bonus Track!

CLICK HERE to pre-order

They say that the colors of the real world don’t look really real until you see them on the video screen... but who knew these dudes were so fucking handsome? Still, when instrumental sensations Pelican attained maximum onstage transcendence at the Scala in Kings Cross, London, those in attendance weren’t all that surprised. After all, these accomplished Chicagoans have been kicking ass and taking down the names on an international basis for years now. After the Ceiling Cracked features Pelican’s already legendary London live set from December 20, 2005, interviews and live bonus material shot at various stops on the band’s past US tours, a video for “Autumn Into Summer,” and an extensive photo gallery. Also included is a 3" audio CD** containing two versions of the song “Pink Mammoth” (a major-key reworking of the Untitled EP track “Mammoth”)—one of which features all the members of Seattle rock destroyers These Arms Are Snakes—and “End of Seasons,” a Prefuse 73 remix medley of “Aurora Borealis” and the untitled track from The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw.

DVD Content:
Live from Kings Cross Scala, London, December 20, 2005:

1. March Into The Sea
2. Autumn Into Summer
3. Nightendday
4. Last Day Of Winter
5. Aurora Borealis
6. Sirius
7. Australasia

Live Footage Collection 2003-2006:

1. Sirius (interview w/ Larry and Laurent)
   Nightendday and City Of Echoes
   Live from Neumo's Crystal Ball, Seattle, WA 06/03/06
2. Pink Mammoth and extra footage
   Live from The Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA 05/29/06
3. Last Day Of Winter
   Live from Nanci Raygun, Richmond, VA 05/12/06
4. GW
   Live from Sabalas, Portland, OR 08/13/05
5. Mammoth, Drought, and Red Ran Amber
   Live from The Nyabinghi, Youngstown, OH 05/30/04
6. Forecast For Today and The Woods
   Live from The Nyabinghi, Youngstown, OH 10/11/03
7. Autumn Into Summer music video

Photo and art gallery:

1. Photos and posters from all eras of the band

3" CD Content:

1. Pink Mammoth
2. End Of Seasons
3. These Arms Are Pink Mammoths

For a limited time only you can order a limited-edition navy blue Pelican t-shirt and/or hoodie along with your "After the Ceiling Cracked" DVD + 3" CD. These shirts and hoodies will ONLY be available through Sunday, January 13th. After that: want this snazzy Pelican shirt or hoodie you will, but find them you will not!

After The Ceiling Cracked DVD - Available 01.22.08

Oh yeah, and please see this. We have nothing to do with it, but it is hilarious.

Old Man Gloom is pleased to announce a handful of live shows to be held in March. These will be on the west coast of these united states, and will follow through the southwest, ending in Austin for South by Southwest. After our 5 year sabbatical, the first show of this "tour" will be our 10th show, and as we are all supporters of the metric system, we are expecting total planetary alignment. Dates and cities will be confirmed shortly. Keep your eyes peeled.
Don't fuck this up, you'll regret it.
yours truly
Dr.Jacco Macacco
The OMG Institute For Alien Simian Technology