From the inbox:

“On June 12th 2006, metal titans SHADOWS FALL return with their much-anticipated new release, Fallout From The War. The record‚Äôs sessions were again produced and mixed by long-time friend, Zeuss (Hatebreed, God Forbid), at Planet Z Studios in the band‚Äôs home state of Massachusetts. Fallout From The War is a must-have for the band‚Äôs dedicated following as each of the album‚Äôs eleven tracks is either a brand-new, original SHADOWS FALL track, an exclusive brand-new cover song, or a newly re-recorded version of rare material from over the years.

Fallout From The War Track listing:

01. In Effigy

02. Will To Rebuild

03. Haunting Me Endlessly

04. Seize The Calm

05. Carpal Tunnel

06. Going, Going, Gone.

07. Deadworld

08. This Is My Own

09. December (Only Living Witness)

10. Mark Of The Squealer (Leeway)

11. Teasn’, Pleasn’ (Dangerous Toys)

Brian Fair (vocals) spells out the details on the tracks from the new album:

‘Hello everyone! All of us in SHADOWS FALL are very excited to announce the release of Fallout From The War on Century Media. This album is meant to be a companion piece to our last full-length, The War Within, and it contains six originals songs written during the sessions for that very album. We returned home from an amazing summer on Ozzfest 2005 and decided to get together to record these songs as a perfect way to close out The War Within album cycle and give our fans a chance to hear some killer new material. The recording sessions themselves went incredibly well. We were able to realize the full potential of these songs and with the Zeuss‚Äô help we were able craft an amazing disc with a wide variety of styles and emotions.

These songs cover everything you have come to expect from us and it was also a chance to re-record a few tracks that had previously only been available as bonus tracks in Japan and Europe, including a new version of ‘Deadworld’ – a song that’s one of the first-ever Shad tunes (dating back almost 10 years!). This version is also the first one featuring Jason on drums allowing him to add his signature sound to the track. We also re-worked ‘This Is My Own,’ a track from The Art Of Balance sessions, with some new vocal harmonies and a few twists and turns.

For the cover songs, we decided to dip back into our own history to shine some light on bands that were huge influences on us but never seemed to get the attention they deserved. For one, ONLY LIVING WITNESS was an amazing and highly underrated rock band from the Boston area and we covered their tune ‚ÄòDecember‚Äô ‚Äì and had a blast doing it! Next, we banged out a version of ‚ÄòMark Of The Squealer‚Äô by NYHC legends, LEEWAY. To me, LEEWAY was the ultimate metal/hardcore crossover band with sick thrash riffs and hard-as-nails lyrics. And finally, we recorded an updated version of DANGEROUS TOYS’s party anthem ‚ÄòTeasn’, Pleasn’‚Äô that features original D. Toys‚Äô vocalist Jason McMaster singing along with myself. We went through a few thirty packs to make sure we got this one right! Good times indeed.

This will be our last release for Century Media, who as a label have helped us to grow into the band we are and allowed us to achieve things we never thought possible. We see this as the perfect finale to our Century Media legacy and we hope you enjoy it.”

- LEEWAY and DANGEROUS TOYS material on the same disc… weird.

From the inbox:

“After a few days of recovery I am still amazed over how awesome the West Coast shows were. We had a blast with our friends from LOOK BACK AND LAUGH and the shows were awesome.

If you missed the shows you can check out this awesome video from Gilman Street with our last three songs (“Arctic,” “Curse of Instinct” and “Solitary”) at: userwww.sfsu.edu/~unamused/108Gilman4.23.06/108Gilman4.2006.mov

Here are two songs from the DC Show:

Holyname:

- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRe-I01MNOI

Woman:

- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmeXK3xQTfU

Both coasts were fucking amazing.

With all of that said the time spent together by the band members was probably the most special part. We have a deep connection with one another and the music we have made together. With that we have decided to throw convention to the wind and begin writing new material as well as touring. We are in the process of working on possible tours of Europe and Japan as well as more US dates and working on the new material and recording a new record.

Thank you to all of the promoters who assisted with these shows, and all of our old and new friends.

Keep an eye out for our Discography on Equal Vision Records in July 2006 (Woo!!! – Ed.) and future dates/tours. If you are interested in merchandise from the last shows you can get everything from the EVR Store at their website.”

With Love…

Robert/Rasaraja and 108

The “never slow down” fellas in LESS THAN JAKE are only weeks away from releasing yet another full-length. Punknews.org caught up with the band as they’re currently storming their way across Europe. As is the case every couple of years, LESS THAN JAKE will be on the entire Warped Tour this summer. Check out the interview here.

From the inbox:

Lawrence, KS innovators THE ESOTERIC have begun work on their sophomore release for Prosthetic Records, entitled Subverter.

The cutting-edge outfit begins recording May 8th at Black Lodge Recording in Eudora, KS as well as in an undisclosed location in Kansas City with Producer/Engineer Paul Malinowski (SHINER, OPEN HAND, SEASON TO RISK, etc.). The follow up to last year‚Äôs relentless touring schedule and critically-acclaimed debut With the Sureness of Sleepwalking, Subverter will be mixed at KCMO’s West End Recording Studios and is slated for a tentative fall 2006 release date through Prosthetic Records.

Vocalist Steve Cruz comments, Subverter is the next chapter for The Esoteric. It will take the listener through a crash course of everything we have undergone in the last year… a testament to our trials and tribulations as a band and as individuals. We are making this record to challenge the beliefs and ideas of ourselves and of the listener, and to spite the general lack of integrity that’s been infecting these so called ‚Äòscenes.‚Äô”

Some advance song titles include “Science Is Sexy”, “Our Exquisite Corpse”, “Clone Culture and the Cut-Up Method”, “Destroy, She Said”, “Nothing Remains the Same”, “We Will Not Be Convinced That Now Is Not Our Time”, “Don’t Waste Guts”, and “You Are the Execution”.

Who is Eric Dellon? You may recognize Mr. Dellon’s voice from ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE (another SHAI HULUD side project) and his own group, SHALLOW WATER GRAVE.

Reissues of “A Profound Hatred of Man” and “Hearts Once Nourished With Hope And Compassion” are very tenatively scheduled for late summer 2006, and they stress that there is no hard and fast date.

The “Pray Not a Fallen Banner” DVD has no release date whatsoever, and the group reminds readers that the DVD is being made on other people’s spare time and favors.

On May 10th, 1994, Weezer released the holy grail of modern rock music, the proclaimed Blue Album. Although not initially received with open arms, the instant the humorous throwback video to the album’s second single “Buddy Holly” cracked MTV’s airwaves the band excelled into unprecedented popularity. The rest is history from there as gems like [...]

Denver’s alt-country/indie rockers GHOST BUFFALO are the subjects of a lengthy write-up on Aversion.com. There’s a great bit of detail about the band’s origins and the personal relationship between vocalist Marie Litton and guitarist Matt Bellinger that seemingly drives the band forward. GHOST BUFFALO released their self-titled debut full-length earlier this year on Suburban Home Records.

From ye ol’ inbox:

“Dangerbird Records has become a breeding ground for emerging talent and is pleased to announce a new addition to their already stellar roster. DARKER MY LOVE will join the stable of impressive acts including Silversun Pickups, Peter Walker, La Rocca, Joy Zipper and Sabrosa Purr, with a scheduled release date of August 22, 2006. The album is self-titled.

Founder Jeff Castelaz comments, “Darker My Love is the perfect addition to the Dangerbird label. Their music is reckless, beautiful, addictive – an immediate rock and roll experience.”

Darker My Love is no stranger to the business of music as drummer Andy Granelli was a member of the DISTILLERS and both he and singer Tim Presley were founding members of Bay Area punk band, NERVE AGENTS. The newly formed union melds droning guitars with brooding post punk recalling the feedback-filled days of Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine and the Velvet Underground. Presley’s sweet yet distorted vocals push through the wall of sound revealing songs full of melody and sinister lyrics.

Two local shows have been confirmed in May, while tour dates will be announced shortly. Darker My Love will pull double duty on Tuesday, May 9 when they share a stage with ANGELS AND AIRWAVES at the Troubadour, followed by a second show later that night at Safari Sam’s.”