Storming out of Oslo, Norway, DAMAGE CONTROL truly bring back the spirit of ’88 with some heart stopping melodic straight-edge hardcore in the vein of their obvious heroes, GORILLA BISCUITS, CHAIN OF STRENGTH, UNIFORM CHOICE and 7 SECONDS. Without a doubt in my mind, if “What It Takes” was a part of the classic Revelations [...]

…but this one is pretty off the charts.

LIARS ACADEMY, CATCH 22, DON’T LOOK DOWN, and WHOLE WHEAT BREAD. The two week East Coast tour starts tonight, and all the dates can be found here.

In other EVR band news, FEAR BEFORE THE MARCH OF FLAMES have posted a video for “”Should Have Stayed In The Shallows”" right here, which comes from the band’s recent full-length, Art Damage.

From the inbox:

MELEE ON TOUR WITH MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK, PLAYING BAMBOOZLE AND FLIPSIDE!

Melee are heading out on the road with good buddies Motion City Soundtrack for a string of dates along the Mid West and East Coast as they make their way to the heavily anticipated Bamboozle and Flipside Festivals. Make sure to catch this bands incredible live show. Below is a list of dates. Head on over to the HopelessRecords.com for more information.

MELEE TOUR DATES

4/15/05 Fri Grand Rapids, MI – The Intersection (with The Donnas, The Sights)

4/16/05 Sat Madison, WI – Club 770 (with Number One Gun)

4/18/05 Mon Chicago, IL – The Bottom Lounge (with Bloom)

4/19/05 Tue Duluth, MN – Kirby Ballroom (with Motion City Soundtrack)

4/20/05 Wed Mankato, MN – What’s Up Lounge (with Motion City Soundtrack)

4/21/05 Thu Milwaukee, WI – Wisconsin Room (with Motion City Soundtrack)

4/22/05 Fri La Crosse, WI – The Warehouse (with Motion City Soundtrack)

4/23/05 Sat Ames, IA – Iowa State University (with Motion City Soundtrack)

4/25/05 Mon Toledo, OH – Headliners (with Motion City Soundtrack)

4/26/05 Tue Pittsburgh, PA – Mr. Smalls (with Motion City Soundtrack)

4/27/05 Wed Edinboro, PA – The Hangout (with Motion City Soundtrack)

4/30/05 Sat Asbury Park, NJ – Asbury Park Convention Hall (BAMBOOZLE FESTIVAL with Further Seems Forever, Midtown, Fall Out Boy and more…)

5/1/05 Sun Fails Church, VA – Fairfax County Park – Flipside Festival (FLIPSIDE FESTIVAL with The Starting Line, Mae, Early November and more…)

5/3/05 Tue Richmond, VA – Alley Katz (with Motion City Soundtrack)

5/4/05 Wed Columbus, OH – The Basement (with Motion City Soundtrack)

- Hooray for Flipside Festival, May 1st in Falls Church, VA. I should actually leaving my cave for this thing. OVER IT is also on the bill. Should be a great event.

Former Solid State recording artists, LIVING SACRIFICE have just released their retrospective on the label, titled In Memoriam, with a tracklisting that spans their entire career, plus three new songs! This inventive metalcore act was always on the cutting edge of songwriting and sound quality, and you can check four songs from the band on their purevolume site. Lead vocalist and guitarist, Bruce Fitzhugh has gotten into the producing game, and he recently did work on the fantastic debut from THE SHOWDOWN, A Chorus In Obliteration.

Press Release:

DEATH BY STEREO are set to release their astonishing new album Death For Life June 7 on Epitaph. Produced by ‚ÄúThe Factory,”" Fred Archambault and Bruce MacFarlance (Avenged Sevenfold, Eighteen Visions), Death For Life marks a new sound and dynamic for the band.

“I think we really found out how to get our ideas on tape with this album. We’ve been trying to find this sound for so long and we finally unlocked the door,” says vocalist Efrem Schulz. “Working with Fred and Bruce was the best thing that could have happened to us. They really cracked the whip and made us play better than we ever have,” Schulz added.

Death For Life, the bands unrelenting and thoroughly original third full length release on Epitaph, also features guest vocals by Avenged Sevenfold singer M. Shadows as well as the tasty licks of new bassist Tyler Rebbe of labelmates Pulley; “Tyler’s a total shredder,” guitarist Dan Palmer claims. “He brings all sorts of good rhythmic ideas to the band.”

In anticipation of the new release, DEATH BY STEREO will perform with Shadows Fall on April 7; then kick off a headlining tour April 14, followed by a main supporting slot with Mastodon in May.

w/ SHADOWS FALL

Thu/Apr-07 Bakersfield, CA Montgomery World Plaza

HEADLINE:

Thu/Apr-14 Los Angeles, CA Knitting Factory

Fri/Apr-15 Las Vegas, NV The Roadhouse Casino

Sat/Apr-16 Sacramento, CA Boardwalk

Sun/Apr-17 San Francisco, CA Slims

Sat/Apr-23 Phoenix, AZ Neck Beards

Sun/Apr-24 Denver, CO Bluebird

Mon/Apr-25 Colorado Springs, CO Navajo Hogan

Tue/Apr-26 Ft. Collins, CO Starlight

Wed/Apr-27 Omaha, NE Ranch Bowl

Thu/Apr-28 Kansas City,MO El Torreon

Fri/Apr-29 Des Moines,IA House of Bricks

Sat/Apr-30 Davenport, IA Quad City Live

MAIN SUPPORT TO MASTODON:

Mon/May-02 Milwaukee, WI Rave

Tue/May-03 Chicago,IL Bottom Lounge

Wed/May-04 Grand rapids, MI The Intersection

Thu/May-05 Cincinnati, OH Bogart’s

Fri/May-06 Detroit, MI Harpo’s

Sat/May-07 Cleveland, OH Grog Shop

Mon/May-09 Philadelphia,PA TLA

Tue/May-10 Latham, NY Saratoga Winners

Wed/May-11 Worcester, MA The Palladium

Thu/May-12 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom

Fri/May-13 Sayreville, NJ StarlandBallroom

Sat/May-14 Towson,MD Recher Theatre

Mon/May-16 Richmond, VA Alley Katz

Tue/May-17 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle

Wed/May-18 Jacksonville, FL Jack Rabbit’s

Thu/May-19 Lake Buena Vista, FL House of Blues

Fri/May-20 St. Petersburg, FL State Theatre

Sat/May-21 Atlanta, GA Masquerade

Death For Life Track Listing:

1. Binge/Purge

2. I Give My Life

3. Forget Regret

4. Entombed We Collide

5. Forever and A Day

6. This Curse of Days

7. Middle Fingers

8. Nosotros Controlamos Todo

9. W.W.J.D.?

10. Don’t Piss On My Neck and Tell Me It’s Raining

11. This Is Not the End

- I just got this album in the mail yesterday – it’s wildly different than their previous releases, in both positive and negative ways. Let’s just say that the ballad song threw me for a loop. The recording quality is pretty unique too, but there’s no doubt that most of these new songs are going to sound fantastic live.

Amazingly, I read the news about drummer Derrick Plourde (ex-ATARIS, LAGWAGON, BAD ASTRONAUT, MAD CADDIES, and RKL) committing suicide this morning shortly after reading about how the Take Action Tour had their most successful run yet, raising over $65,000 for the Suicide Hotline. Incredible. As the phrase goes, “life is the most precious thing you can lose.” We extend our sympathies to the families, friends, and fans of Derrick.

I’ve been a long time fan of Jonah Matranga’s work, from the before-their-time sound of FAR to the diverse NEW END ORIGINAL. His music has always embodied an honest integrity, and while that might be labeled simply “emo” by many of you, you can’t deny that the guy just writes honest songs. ONELINEDRAWING’s last album, [...]

The Killers, sir Chad, like many other catchy UK-inspired pop acts, are quite good, even if I did see them recently covered by a band that had Greek letters on all of their instruments.