Wondering what the vinyl colors of the Hydra Head Record Store Day releases look like? Just look at these pictures. All five titles come on black, which is not shown because you should already know what black vinyl looks like.

Here is the color breakdown:
Oxbow - King of the Jews LP - black vinyl
Neurosis - Sovereign LP - Black vinyl, Clear vinyl, Red/Black Marble vinyl
Clouds - B Chuggas May Be Logging 12" - Black vinyl
Prurient - Many Jewels Surround the Crown 7" - Black vinyl, Greenish Clear vinyl
Discordance Axis - The Inalienable Dreamless LP - Black vinyl, Sky Blue vinyl

There are still some copies of Oxbow, Clouds and Prurient in our webstore. Neurosis and Discordance Axis are sold out in the webstore, but you can still look for them at your local independent record store on Saturday, April 16th - Record Store Day!

2011 Hydra Head Record Store Day releases

Neurosis - Sovereign LP

Discordance Axis - The Inalienable Dreamless LP

Prurient - Many Jewels Surround the Crown 7"

Saturday, April 16th, is Record Store Day. Its like a great big present for anyone involved with creating, making, selling or buying records.  Stores get to sell a lot of albums, fans go bananas and labels, well obviously we're totally loving it all right about now! When else could we release five titles on the same day and not have a mild panic attack?  Last year we put our toe in slightly (Melvins orange box set on black vinyl), for November's Black Friday we got in right up to our knees (Daughters 's/t' LP, Harvey Milk 's/t' 2xLP, Cave In 'Anomalies' LP), and this year we we're pinching our nose and going full on submerged.  We've got 5 titles scheduled, all of which we have received an overwhelming response to.  In fact, they are each oversold via our distributers to a degree where we're still having a hard time believing.  So, for you diehards out there, here's the full rundown.  Today at noon west coast time we'll be putting up pre-orders for the 5 titles via our online shop.  Since RSD is about physical retail stores, we have limited quantities available of these titles through our online store.  Over the coming two weeks, in advance of RSD, we'll put together a full list of US stores that have ordered, and will be receiving, our titles for April 16th.  If you don't get in on today's pre-order for something you'd like, then go old school and get in touch with your local record store.  You know, tell 'em how much you love Hydra Head Records, and how they really need to be carrying our records;)  And, without further ado, here's the jams: 

A box of tapes showed up this week from our pals J/Q, aka Johnny Northrup (Clouds, Pet Genius) and Q (Clouds), with cute little notes for everybody at the office. Check out their new jammers at www.jslashq.com and snag one of the J/Q cassingles (limited to 100!) before they're gone. 

1.Life in NE with the Lady, Duane & Flea.

2.Pj Harvey & John Parish 6/6/09 @ House of Blues: Boston.

3.Cycling the Minute Man Trail

4.Jamaican Thanksgiving

5.Clouds @ Power Chord Academy

6.Cave In Live Revival

7.Raekwon the Chef - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt. II

8.Converge - Axe to Fall

9.Jesus Lizard 11/14/09 @ The Paradise: Boston.

10.Alpine Skiing Adventures.

Purchase Cave In Merch Here!

Purchase Clouds Merch Here!

Also, the Pre-Order for Cave In "Planets of Old" CDep+DVD is still up and running! however we are running super low on the bonus Cave In Live CD... So if you want/need one of those things it would be wise to act now... like today!

A couple weeks ago it was Mahk Thompson's birthday. A year and a couple weeks ago Sugarbear shot this video at the party at Mark's house. Cameos by members of Torche, Clouds, Helms Alee, Minus the Bear, and Isis. Also, Mark shows up in a Pelican video on Headbanger's Ball.

Clouds posted some interrupting news on their Myspace page today... It looks like the show date (listed below) might be the band's last... This isn't the kind of news I like delivering, especially when it pertains to a such an excellent group of dudes who continuously nailed it musically. Ok so, if you find yourself standing, sitting, eating or sleeping within a reasonable distance of Cambridge Mass on July 30th you'd be a fool not make the drive... This one counts.

7/30 Cambridge, MA @ Middle East Upstairs w/ Moving Mountains, Goes Cube

Lambgoat.com is hooking you up with some of our recent releases.
Click here and answer their Hydra Head Trivia question for your chance to win, I have a feeling this is gonna end quick.

We have a few of these hats leftover from the Clouds LP pre-order...we think they are for the band though...but if you REALLY REALLY want to buy one then email chelvanin@hydrahead.com and perhaps he'll hook you up.

The crew over at Dead Format giving away the latest Clouds LP. They're looking for a caption for this photo. Be witty and make us laugh...say something like 'worst lay in the world'.

Back in his RCA days Adam used to have weekly power meetings with the A&R big wigs on how to prevent 'the damn kids' from stealing his music....playing in Clouds has apparently destroyed his entire moral fabric at this point.

This one might go pretty fast. Currently there are four colors to choose from. Each record comes with an additional 12" that has 4 bonus songs not available on the cd version. There's also the new Clouds shirt in 2 color schemes, and an extremely limited hat (only around 40 are being made) exclusive to this pre-order. Enough talk, go GET IT!

Congrats on being the best and fastest nipple pickers around!

"Defective Epitaph terminates with the ambient dirge “Unblessed Be.” It is mid-way into this track that you’ll be struck with the surreal, sinking feeling that Xasthur has slowly led you down a long, dark corridor towards an unknown room (the room with the noose from his press photograph?). Defective Epitaph is the suffocating sound of that descent into darkness. Bang your head metal? This is bag your head metal."- Metal Kult

"On Defective Epitaph, Xasthur's sonic palette adds acoustic drums and cello. Conner's drumming ranges from wobbly to functional, but the sound is more important. The room ambience of live drums adds depth; the booming reverb on "Oration of Ruin" brings to mind a severely hungover John Bonham. The drum machine on previous recordings had its own tinny, futile charm, but the human element much better suits Xasthur's mission. A minute and a half into "Malignant Prophecy," the drums adopt a double bass tattoo, but it's buried in the mix, a weakly crepitating heartbeat. This is the antithesis of metal's typical hypermasculinity; for all the breast-beating about death, the other side turns out to be a lonely, miserable place. "-Stylus

"Further exposing these arrangements as ambient dream-pop, where texture and mood are favoured to structure, the alternates fade out with little heartbeat at all. With the funereal pulse and cool synths to guide your trance-like state, Why Are We Not Perfect is a half-hour of chilly electro-touched rock that prepares us for winter." - SCQ Reviews

"Grindcore is dead. At least that's what you'd believe from looking at the garbage that passes for it these days. The Locust are a joke, Pig Destroyer is essentially a death metal band now. Who does that leave us with? Daughters? Kill me now. But, there is hope. From the ashes of greatness comes something with the speed and complexity of early '90s grind acts."- two one five

"With drummer Rick Smith and bassist Jonathan Nuñez, they've created the triumphant Meanderthal. The album is--thanks to an uncanny melding of Helmet and the Melvins--quite simply one of the most refreshing and satisfying metal releases of the year. Riffs of gorgeous sludge are layered upon each other to create a lush, hypnotic and almost pop-catchy monument of heavy rock."- Tucson Weekly
"Cave In are turning into the Wu-Tang Clan of indie rock: The amount of solo, side and affiliated projects on top of their already prolific main project has started to reach epic levels. What's noteworthy about this isn't necessarily the quantity of the output so much as how good everything is. Steve Brodsky has released several solo records in the past, all encompassing different moods. On The Black Ribbon Award, Brodsky may have obscured his name because this sounds like his last solo record on drugs (and definitely not uppers). The lo-fi recording combined with long spells of guitar effects make for an eerie atmosphere encasing otherwise rather poppy, Kinks-aping jams into a dark and mysterious mood that sounds more like some of Tom Waits' more esoteric efforts. The thing is, it works. The album demands beginning-to-end playing, and the recording simulates the warmness of an old turntable. The only thing that might help this record is a chorus of howling coyotes"- Alternative Press

"This past March Clouds hit SXSW promoting the release of their album "We Are Above You" on Hydra Head Records. As always, the four day music fest an onslaught of music from around the worlds, as well as a showcase of fans' willingness to flock to Texas to see their favorite, or soon to be favorite bands. SXSW may swell the population of Austin by about ten times, but according to Jim, the vibe is really the same that weekend as on any given Monday night."- Gapers Block

"Before anyone scoffs: I don’t require radio singles, from this band or any other, but Night Terror suffers a bit from "one giant song" syndrome, which is another way of saying, "This song is good, but gets a bit old after thirty minutes and ninety different sections, only about twelve of which stand out." Only the intro track, the busy riffing of "Big Spider," and the devastating fuzz-bass in "Paraphrase" really reach out and grab me, and all three of those are arguably the most "riffy" moments of anything on hand. (In its best moments, "Paraphrase" is especially powerful)"- Metal Review

"Vocalist/guitarist Ben Verellen holds down the role of showing you the ugliness of the chaos within the sludgy guitars and razor-sharp lyrics. Conversely, co-vocalist and bassist Dana James bring in the comfort and solace needed after the beating. Some bands that use two singers taking turns at the mic don't gel for the most part with the listener. Not with Helms Alee. The two vocalists and their respective places in each song, bring a balance to the music which make it both grotesque and beautiful at the same time."-Mammoth Press


Stumble across any good (or bad!) reviews of our new releases?! Send them to us! info@hydrahead.com
subject: Band Name Review

This is what happens when Clouds makes Q ride their shitfaced label guy around his kitchen. Also, Mark can dance like a mofo when he's lit. Our favorite line is Q repeating "I'm nervous, I'm nervous".

Obviously not this fella, otherwise known as the happiest man in the universe.

Clouds have been on tour in California for a nearly a week now. They've stunk up our living room something wicked. They have a few more dates left in CA and then they leave for their tour of AZ. Come to the Scene tonight and buy us beers.

11/10 Glendale, CA @ The Scene w/ The Was (featuring Travis from Piebald!)
11/12 Riverside, CA @ SOS Project w/ Trash Talk, Alpha and Omega
11/14 San Diego, CA @ The Casbah w/ Torche, Black Cobra
11/15 Los Angeles, CA @ Spaceland w/ Torche, Black Cobra

‘CLOUDS’ OPEN UP

by Matt Brown

To open up the new year of the Student Voice’s Local Spotlight, I recently sat down with the band Clouds. Bassist John Northrup and drummer Michael Quartulli, otherwise known as Q, discussed their new record, their sound, their future, and they also managed to fit in some politics.

Your sound is not generic rock, how would you describe your sound? Would you call yourselves "radio friendly"?

Johnny: We've been described as "The worst doom-pop crap I've ever heard", "…will only really appeal to greasy middle aged virgins who still live at home", and "Hard to listen to and even harder to like."

Read the full interview on With Cruel Intent

Check out these recent clippings! Click the photos for a retina friendly version.

“But wait, was that a female singer I heard?”- Music Emissions

“Well, from the moment the first chunk of guitar bursts forth from your speakers, you’ll be saying “yes”."- Sonic Dice

“Fronted by former Cave In guitar maestro Adam McGrath, the band has delivered another fine offering here, though they have refined their fuzzed-out punk sound with an even wider sampling of influences.”- Scene Point Blank

“When the tracks that make up the first half of this EP were first released about a year ago on a split 12” with Eluvium, it represented a somewhat drastic change from what Jesu had been doing up to that point.”- Brainwashed

"For a founding member of Napalm Death, Justin Broadrick sure has come a long way from his grindcore past."- Treble