Steve Brodsky lent an unreleased cover to Exploding in Sound's free, new, digital compilation, Battery Acid Audio. He is in pretty good company on there (Marnie Stern, J Mascis...) so go give it a listen.

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. 

Brodsky has been busting out high end solo material for years...the man just can't be stopped. His last album was on CS and Digital back in March though Hydra Head, and we're pretty sure his self released CD version may appear in tandem with these solo UK tour dates...but don't quote us on that just yet. If you live in the UK and haven't seen Stephen perform, do yourself a kindness and give it a go. He'll be out with Neurosis' Scott Kelly from December 7th through 15th. Nice!

STEVE BRODSKY
9/12 Allston, MA @ O'Briens w/ Orbs, Trophy Scars
12/7 Tunbridge Wells, UK @ The Forum w/ Scott Kelly
12/8 Southampton, UK @ Joiners w/ Scott Kelly
12/9 Leicester, UK @ Firebug w/ Scott Kelly
12/10 Glasgow, UK @ Captain's Rest w/ Scott Kelly 
12/11 Belfast, UK @ Auntie Annie's w/ Scott Kelly
12/12 Dublin, IE @ Academy 2 w/ Scott Kelly 
12/13 Newcastle, UK @ Trillians w/ Scott Kelly
12/14 Leeds, UK @ Joseph's Well w/ Scott Kelly
12/15 London, UK @ 12 Bar w/ Scott Kelly

Stephen Brodsky, frontman of recently reformed quartet Cave In and occasional bassist for Converge, is venturing out on his own again with the March 23 release of his fourth solo album, Here’s To The Future, via Hydra Head. Featuring a blaring electric guitar and a combination of harsh and mellow vocals, Brodsky's solo act strays from Cave In's hardcore metal sound and goes for a more relaxed but still raw vibe. Drawing comparisons to the White Stripes and Elliot Smith, the new album's title track and first single showcases Brodsky's talents both instrumentally, through the earth-shattering electric guitar riffs, and lyrically, through emotional lyrics that strike a balance between pessimism and optimism.

The nine-track Here’s To The Future will be available both digitally and as a limited-edition cassette. Both versions will include booklets featuring words of wisdom from Brodksy.

Announces New Full-Length Album, "Here's to the Future," Out March 23rd on Hydra Head!

Steve Brodsky's, of Cave In, Pet Genius, Stove Bredsky & The Octave Museum, Top Ten Of 2009

1) Cooking skills elevated beyond bachelor-pad level from working at restaurant.

2) Minuteman and Cape Cod Rail Trail bike rides; no wipe-out's.

3) Live excursions with Cave In for the first time in nearly four years.

4) Camping trip + dance party-jam with New Generation of Cave In Children at Warner NH compound.

5) Trips to Funspot in New Hampshire for lengthy old-school video-gaming sessions.

6) Getting to play on a Converge album for the first time in over ten years.

7) Doomriders "Darkness Comes Alive" sounding fantastic dubbed onto cassette for car-listening.

8) Getaway's to Maine for complete silence & starviews uncluttered by city lights.

9) Jesus Lizard, live @ The Paradise, wiping the floor with my face.

10) Stop-motion movies starring my little sister created w/the family over the Christmas holiday.

Also, Hydra Head would like you remain aware of the fact that Steve completed a phenomenal solo album recently titled, "Heres To the Future." Hydra Head will be releasing this as a limited cassette (including an awesomely illustrated novel of a booklet) and digitally late February/early March... (the sketch above is one of the many images that are being incorporated into the layout of the booklet...)

Purchase Steve Brodsky Merch Here!

Happened upon some pretty killer Brodsky clips.. if you have the time (if your reading this its safe to assume you do) check them out!

The above image is photographic proof that the much delayed CHAMPIONS OF SOUND 2008 2x7" is finally approaching completion. The fantastic printing job, and art was done by the good people at Liberated Images.  We can't wait to have them in hand, and then in your hands.  

3 new pieces of eyeball candy posted and boasted in the "Sounds Like" section. Co-produced by Boston-area filmfreak Joe Constantine.

Chew on clips of "Prospect Hill", "Lima Bean", and "Dead Battery" as if browsing through the Martian Vaudeville section of yr favorite local video store.

Originally made for SCAT TV (Somerville Cable Access Television) but deemed too far out for the average casual 3 am boob tube junkie.

www.mypace.com/stevebrodsky
Prospect Hill

Dead Battery

Lima Bean

This is the second published item from our fledgling Robotic Boot division...first came the Melvins comic last fall, and now this,  Stephen Brodsky’s : "A Shoebox Tuneful" Book + 4xCD.

"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

You can pick up a copy from Brodsky himself at the last two Champions of Sound dates or from us after that.

"As great as it is, it took a while to grow on me, but there's at least one part in pretty much every song that makes me shake my head at how nice it is. Guitar, guy/girl vox, pounding drums, fuzzed out bass playing solid, heavy and clear rock music. All interspersed by these moments of amazing stuff."- Electrical Audio


"The strangeness that is Torche has returned to my speakers once again and I could not be happier. This album is in and out like the wind with thirteen songs in thirty-six minutes. They have often been described as a stoner-metal equivalent to The Foo Fighters and I don’t think that’s an off base comparison to be honest. Admission of guilt, I actually like The Foo Fighters."- Teeth of the Devine

"Just listen to Meanderthal, the Miami band's newest album, and you have to agree: Torche are onto something. Something big. And big is the operative word here."- Vanguard

"They've been classified in a number of ways - stoner metal, sludge metal or heavy metal - all of which are accurate to some extent. But none of those monikers truly apply to the members of Torche, scheduled to perform Friday at Caledonia Lounge."- Red and Black

"The vocals are melodic in the vein of punkish yell-singing, but filled with intelligent hooks and often layered with harmonies."- Jon's World of Delusion

"As evident on tracks like "Godeater," a 22-minute behemoth that sits like a pound of severed human flesh slowly dripping blood in the middle of a banquet dinner, Williams doesn’t go for much theatrics."- Tiny Mix Tapes


"The ep’s opening tune “Farewell” sees Broadricks’ vocals centered just below the surface within the mix amongst growing atmospherics, a tinkling keyboard, coupled with backmasked drums and a lulling vibraphone"- Cyclic Defrost

"Much has been made of Jesu’s previous work in the music nerd circles I so stylishly attempt to frequent. The self-titled full-length from 2004 achieved critical acclaim for its attention to thick sludge details. It was Conqueror from 2007, however, that really sealed the deal for most fans. Broadrick and his band achieved the sound of “indie metal,” pulling encrusted drone and ambient effects along for the ride on a surprisingly melodic album."- BlogCritics

"The one general consensus concerning Stephen Brodsky is that while his sonic palate might not be the most vast in musical history, it is nonetheless one that can take a variety of distortions, tunings, atmospheres and song structures as if sound were a three-flavored Neapolitan ice cream expanded rigorously into, like, nine or 12."- Treble


"Amber Grey clocks in at less than 12 minutes long, with 11 songs, the shortest of which is just over half a minute, the longest just under a minute and a half. Chang, whose high-pitched rape whistle vocal style makes even the listener's throat go crimson, leads the project with three other musicians, which includes bass this time."- Treble

Since I slacked on posting some of these up last week I thought Id start this week off with a banger.

"Clearly, ex-Godflesh frontman Justin Broadrick isn’t strictly an industrial metal artist anymore. But having spent more than 13 years as a mainstay of the genre, he’s entitled to do whatever the hell he wants as long as it’s cool."- Head Banger's Blog

“Elsewhere on the album, the band seems unsure of what it wants to be” - Blurt

“Clouds clearly do whatever the fuck they want and the rest of us can hang or get out.”- None Louder

Clouds hits high on the WMBR chart

“The Black Ribbon Award pushes outside any of Brodsky's past work, which is likely why it has come to fall under a separate name.”- Sputnik Music

“Like the mythic proportions of one Paul Bunyan, Zozobra’s sophomore effort Bird of Prey is a lumbering giant in its own right”- Mouth of War

"I can't see much of anything wrong with this release. While not re-inventing the wheel, it deftly combines a few different styles of songwriting into a fast-paced juggernaut of an EP."- Music Emissons

“All it takes is one listen to the opening track “Death Goes to the Winner” to realize just how much higher a level this band is operating on than the majority of their peers right now.”- Pop Matters

"Ok so Harvey Milk are named after a murdered politician, look like grizzled rednecks, talk about how they should probably be shot, and are famous for their powerful doomy dirges but if you’re still not totally ready for it then this thing will take your face off."- New Noise

“Life…The Best Game in Town is a brutal listen. It is also a clear display of matter over brain.”- Deaf Sparrow

“The Best Game In Town signals the return of Harvey Milk as almighty force, delivering a record right up there with their, and the, best.”- Zap! Bang!

"In related news, the REAL Harvey Milk, is set to get a bio-pic of his own" - Brooklyn Vegan

“Visually the album is a treat. The CD package is a mini-gatefold with olde-worlde thick card from the days of vinyl.”- DSD

“Avant Garde soundscape weird wonderful proggy brilliance from Hydra Head’s stable.”- Subba Cultchaa

Hydra Head Records is pleased to announce their second ever Champions of Sound US Tour. Originally conceived in 2003 and also featuring label staples and instrumental metal masters, Pelican, this year's trek sees avant-metal pioneers Kayo Dot, supporting their latest "Blue Lambency Downward," and Cave-In frontman Stephen Brodsky (aka Stove Bredsky), support his psychedelic rock masterpiece that is "The Black Ribbon Award." Joining the bill in major cities such as New York, Philadelphia, and Boston, are the almighty Zozobra, whose latest, "Bird of Prey," has been pummeling our eardrums for the past month.

Full tourdates below, if you're lucky enough to live in these cities, do not miss your chance to see one of the best tours to come through town in quite some time.

Our man, Stove Bredsky (aka Stovetop Bredsky, a.k.a. Steev Brawdski, a.k.a. Steve Brodsky), is playing a benefit tonight for Spare Change Magazine. it's at Great Scott's in Allston Mass. Viva Viva, Doomstar and Apollo Sunshine are also playing. Starts at 9 sharp. Steve says to bring a raincoat and yo drinkin face.

And be on the look out for what we are cooking up for The Black Ribbon Award post-order. It should be worth the wait.