Digital Download Store Closing Tomorrow. ONE DAY DIGITAL SALE.

So, the Hydra Head Digital Download store is going offline TOMORROW, June 1st 2011.  Its a long story that is entirely out of our control. We are totally not psyched even one little bit. Mega bumout on many levels...

Since the ship is already going down, we've decided to set it aflame with a last ditch fire sale. ALL ALBUMS ARE $3.99 OR LESS UNTIL THE STORE CLOSES!

So go grab all those records that you have been meaning to listen to, or only have on an unlistenable scratched CD, or have never even heard of before in your life!

We are working on a way to make downloads available directly again, but at this point it is hard to say how long it will be before we have it up and running.

HELMS ALEE 'Weatherhead' LP/CD/Digital out June 21st!

Announce New Album "Weatherhead" Out June 21st on Hydra Head
Local Dates w/ Young Widows and Akimbo, US Tour w/ Big Business and Torche This Summer!



"Whether they are unleashing torrents of churning riffs, hypnotic waves of distortion or gruff or lilting calls into vast spaces, Helms Alee do so in limpid, atmospheric and unique fashion. No doubt, the crisp and cavernous production from Matt Bayles serves them well as tremolo-picked guitars gush like waterfalls, drums rattle timbers and the Pixies-esque male-female vocals sound like they’ve traversed continents." - PopMatters

"Helms Alee featuring Ben Verellen of ex-(current?) Harkonen seemed to be the clear winner of the "OMG-I-didn't-know-they-ruled-so-hard" award." - BrooklynVegan

"...part metal, part post-punk, part melody-driven rock, and all abandon... Think of Neurosis joining up with The Breeders for a quick outing into the wilderness." - Alarm Press

"The overall hype and general praise of Night Terror has sparked the curiosity of many fans who’ve wondered when a follow up might see the light of day." - The Synthesis

"Helms Alee are known for one thing: stoned freak-outs of the heavy, slow variety." - The Stranger 

"...a noisy, nasty yang to Seattle's beardy, folky yin. Pastoral metal is a necessary thing." - Seattle Times

Helms Alee’s sophomore album, Weatherhead, could turn any cultural critic into a histori- cal revisionist. Let’s pull the buckshot back through the maw of a 20th century icon. Let’s reassemble the bloody mess and set a disenfranchised young man on a different trajec- tory, one devoid of celebrity and tragedy. Let’s re-envision the last twenty years. The other crucial variables can remain in place - hair metal still choked on its own excess, the beguiling mixed-gender vocal harmonies and alternating jangle and clang of The Pixies still seduced college radio, the antagonistic sludge of The Melvins continued to rumble across the globe, and the orchestrated discord of Sonic Youth still proved noise could hold artistic merit. But punk never broke, never became a cliche. Do you buy into Tolstoy’s belief that the individual is a mere pawn in history’s master plan? Would the lineage of rock music have found another reluctant voice of a generation?

Much as Tolstoy suspected that a stillborn Napoleon would not have prevented another hegemonic ruler from sweeping across Europe, the tastes and tides of public demand would’ve most likely elevated another unglamorous tortured artist into the limelight. But it’s still tempting to think of a parallel universe where the idiosyncratic marriage of wounded pop music and wrathful dissonant rock never found a footing in the mainstream world. It’s a dream not born out of a disdain for the pairing of the opposing musical tactics of brawn and sophistication, but the disappointment that the balancing act is so commonly butchered by popular artists. These men, lacking vision, have turned it into a cheap formula. In the alternate reality, a band like Helms Alee reigns above all. Here, no one seeks to tame guitar squall to fit in a radio format or, inversely, needlessly dirty up a good hook to provide an air of authenticity. Here, Helms Alee’sbalance is the archetype - masterful and enthralling.

Given the history of the last two decades and the deepening sense that melody and muscle compromise one another, Weatherhead becomes heroic. It’s not just gallant in intent, but in sound. Granted, heroism is subjective; listeners are bound to have their own preferred reverberations to conjure an inspired rallying cry. But Helms Alee’s gamut of timbres--from the most guttural blown-out roar to the most graceful lilting melody- -summon a sense of triumph, empowerment, and conquest. The relentless chugging fuzz and vocal harmonies of “Elbow Grease”, the concrete thrust of the central riff of “8/16”, the thunderstruck arpeggio of “Pretty As Pie”, the siren song of “Pig Pile”, the unbridled scuzz of “Ripper No Lube”, and the alternating agit-punk and anthemic approach of the title track all reinforces Helms Alee’s position as masters of diametrically opposed tactics. They are the true heroes and heroines of the loud-quiet-loud.

Weatherhead was recorded by Matt Bayles at Studio Litho and Red Room Studios in the Winter of 2010-2011. It’s set for release via Hydra Head Records on June 21st, 2011. Helms Aleeare currently scheduled to hit the road with label mates Torche and Big Business in June 2011. Bear witnesses to the path that never saw fame and fortune taint the beguiling rumble and bow to the throne of Helms Alee. -- Brian Cook



"Weatherhead" Track List
1. *
2. Elbow Grease
3. 8/16
4. Music Box
5. Pretty as Pie
6. Anemone of the Wound
7. Mad Mouth
8. Epic Adventure Through the Wood
9. Speed Sk8r
10. Pig Pile
11. Revel!
12. Ripper No Lube
13. Born in Fiberglass
14. Weatherhead

Eugene S. Robinson of Oxbow: Life Changing Albums

Eugene S. Robinson not only fronts one of our favorite bands, but he also has a wealth of knowledge and historical perspective on a musical community that he has called home looooong before we ever did.  For Noisecreep he drops a bit of insight into what lead him to do what he does now. We're loving this, and can't wait to get the albums that he considers life changing.

PS: Oxbow are on tour right now in Europe.  Go see them or you are in trouble with us.  9 dates left!

5/26 Lille, France @ Aeronef

5/27 Lyon, France @ Epicerie Monderne

5/28 St. Nazaire, France @ VIP

5/29 Paris, France @ Vilette Sonique Festival

5/30 Bordeaux, France @ Heretic

5/31 Pau, France @ La Route Du Son

6/01 Madrid, Spain @ Moby Dick

6/03 Angouleme, France @ La Nef

6/04 London, UK @ Buffalo Bar (Venue Link)

New CAVE IN track 'Heartbreaks, Earthquakes' streaming now on Self-Titled

In case you haven't already picked up the new album, here's a chance to check out another track from White Silence.  Self-Titled is streaming the previously available 'Sing My Loves' and now also premiering the previously unavailable 'Heartbreaks, Earthquakes'.  The sonic journey continues!

Cave In - Full Krazy Fest set video

For all you poor souls (like us) who are too far away to make it to one of Cave In's tour stops, here is a bittersweet consolation prize: their full set from Krazy Fest.




White Silence LP/CD/Digital is in stores now, and judging from the response, people really like it.

Andrew James Cox (aka Sugarbear)'s Comic - Pocket Book 4

Our very own Sugarbear aka Andrew James Cox makes small comics when he is not busy packing RTK orders and photographing delinquent amplifiers. They are collections of funny drawings and stories that he calls Pocket Book. 

He just posted a bunch of pages from the latest one on his site: andrewjamescox.com, a couple of which you can see below. You can order Pocket Books 1-4 from his webstore.

Pocket Book 4 - front cover

CAVE IN (aka @SonicDeathwall) mini-tour starts today!

Cave In head out for a quick string of dates today (including KrazyFest on Saturday!) in support of their new headbanger, White Silence.  The album comes out on Monday worldwide (yes, Monday) on CD/LP/Digital, but if you see the band on tour then you are amongst the lucky few that can find it on one more format as well (but more on that in the next post...)

And just in case yr the twitterin' type, you can track the bands every move now that they've joined The Twitter via their handle @SonicDeathwall

5/19 New York NY @ Santos Party House (Buy Tickets)
5/20 Pittsburgh @ The Altar Bar w/ LA Dispute, Defeater, Native (Buy Tickets)
5/21 Louisville, KY @ Expo 5 (Krazy Fest) (Buy Tickets)
5/22 Washington, DC @ The Black Cat w/ Pianos Become The Teeth, The Regents (Buy Tickets)

THE AUSTERITY PROGRAM on tour. REALLY.

Our memory is pretty baaaaaad these days, but we're fairly certain this is the first string of five The Austerity Program dates in possibly forever.  None of us in the office can recall them playing five shows in a row on consecutive days.  We think that maybe they did this with Daughters several years ago, and possibly with the 5ive nearly a decade ago (Justin was VERY sweaty and caffeinated at the Allston, MA show.  It was funny), and perhaps a they did this in 2003 on the Champions of Sound super tour with Pelican, Scissorfight and Harkonen, but we're too busy moving units right about now to ask all knowing The Google if its true or not.  What is true is that they are playing tonight, tomorrow, the day after that and then the day after that!  Git to it if you know what's good for ye.  Tell Drum Machine we said hi.

5/15 Brooklyn, NY @ Union Pool w/ Coliseum, The Year is One (Buy Tickets)
5/16 Bethlehem, PA @ Secret Art Space w/ Coliseum, Gods and Queens
5/17 Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Neck Tie w/ Coliseum, Gods and Queens (Buy Tickets)
5/18 Boston, MA @ Great Scott w/ Coliseum, Gods and Queens (Buy Tickets)
5/19 Providence, RI @ AS220 w/ Coliseum, Gods and Queens (Buy Tickets)

Last minute Czech Republic KEELHAUL shows announced

We just received word from KEELHAUL that they've got two last minute Czech Republic shows.  C'mon you Czechs, snap to it!


Monday May 16, 2011 
Olomouc, Czech Republic
at Lafayettova 9 
with Bruce Lamont, René Binamé


Tuesday May 17, 2011 
Brno, Czech Republic
at Club Boro
with Bruce Lamont

Cave In 'Heartbreaks, Earthquakes/Reanimation' live clip

Cave In Satellite TV have posted another clip from their February 2011 show at Great Scott in Allston, MA.  And if that weren't cool enough, the clip is of live versions of two tracks from the band's upcoming album 'White Silence'.  Dig it!

Jesu / Justin Broadrick amp for sale

In 2007 Hydra Head bought some equipment for Jesu to use on their 2007 US Lifeline tour. This Marshall JCM 800 has been sitting in the hallway of Hydra Headquarters since Jesu dropped it off (along with a quarter-full tequila bottle, a beer, and a cardboard sign that read "Jesu needs weed, will trade for merch").

JKB and JCM at CMJ 2007

JCM making a grilled cheese.

JCM drinking JESU's leftover tequila (and peppers).

JCM passed out because it's a lightweight (you try drinking 4 ounces of the spiciest tequila ever tasted when you only weigh 41 pounds)

JCM reading on the john

JCM signing Lifeline posters (clinging on to the glory days)

JCM skating out front of HHQ.

JCM busting a sick kickflip.

The amp is fun to have around, making grilled cheeses, getting tanked, and skating out front, but it is time for it to get out in the world and back to work. It has been coasting on having been on tour with Jesu for almost 4 years now.

If you want to give it a good home, check out the ebay page here.