I recently got my hands on a copy of the band’s brand new full-length for Corrosive Recordings, titled This Is The Second Death. Calling it “new” is a bit of a stretch as the techmetal group began recording it in mid-2004 when they were signed to another label. Second Death utterly kicked my ass… and then it on fire. Check out some songs by HARLOTS at their myspace page and look for another full-length from the band due out later this year.

Anyone pick this up yet? Worth checking out? Judging by the list of bands on here, it seems like this one took a number of years to assemble. Drop me a line if you got it!

Tracklisting:

1

1. Leaves the office at 5:30pm.

2. Attemps to turn on iPod. iPod out of battery life. Crap.

3. Arrives at the commuter train station at 5:45.

4. Train is listed as on time for the first time since Thursday. Woohoo!

5. Train is 10 minutes late.

6. Train is 20 minutes late.

7. Calls wife… says the train is late indefinitely, and for no apparent reason.

8. Train is 30 minutes late. Rumors fly that dispatcher cancelled train accidentally due to signal problems.

9. Train is 40 minutes late.

10. Train is 50 minutes late.

11. Train is an hour late. Still no explanation. Commuters are enraged.

12. Boards train. Calls wife. Grumbles.

13. Train arrives at home station at 7:15pm. Wife picks husband up. Wife recommends picking up Chinese food to disgruntled, tired, and cranky husband. Wife is very, very smart.

From the inbox:

“Takeover Records‚Äô third ‘Sign My Band’ contest is already in full effect, but this time around a new twist has been added to the competition: There‚Äôs no guarantee one band will be offered a record deal from the label. ‘I want to use the contest more as platform to showcase ten amazing unsigned bands and help jump-start their careers,’ said Takeover Records owner Ben Harper. ‘I may or may not sign one of them.’

After seeing previous ‚ÄúSign My Band‚Äù contest finalists picked up by labels like Virgin (The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus), Nitro (Hit The Switch), SideCho (Stars of Track and Field) and Outlook (Daphne Loves Derby), it became apparent that the contest had some clout. ‘Takeover will be recommending all finalists in the contest to other labels we‚Äôre affiliated with,’ Harper said. Though it‚Äôs uncertain if a record deal will be offered up, one song from each of the ten finalists chosen will be featured on an up-and-coming Takeover Records compilation CD, and the winner of the contest will get to tour the U.S. with bands on the label‚Äôs roster in 2007.

Demo submissions for the ‘Sign My Band’ contest are being accepted all summer at the Takeover Records tent on any stop of the Vans Warped Tour, and the ten finalists will be selected by Takeover staffers. The finalists can expect to be promoted on PureVolume.com and receive prizes from Ambiguous Clothing, The Wedge Studios and Wonka Candy, as well as have one of their songs on the compilation to be released by Takeover. Oh, and a full recommendation by Takeover Records is also part of the deal.”

- I like the “may or may not” sign your band part… it’s nice bit of not-so-subtle economic protection.

COLISEUM- “S/T”

THE PROGRESS- “MERIT”

BURNING AIRLINES- “Mission Control”

MOGWAI- “Come On Die Young”

NAKED RAYGUN- “Understand”

Reported by absolutepunk.net, the group is canceling their dates on Warped Tour so the singer can have a node removed that affects his voice.

Children of God’s Fire is a monster of a full-length. Recorded over the course of a 14 month period in 2003 and 2004, this CIPHER release is a longtime coming, but it has been well worth the wait. Hailing from Long Island and NYC, CIPHER has been this growing ember of metalcore that has been [...]

Coolfer has a write-up about Tower Records’ foray into the world of online digital music sales. Here’s a snippet:

Tower’s digital store reminds Coolfer of the late ’90s when companies rush to get an online presence. Even if they didn’t know what the presence was going to be, they had to have one. Tower hasn’t done anything special here. Actually, given the Tower legacy the digital store is a disappointment. If it survives, it will be due to the power of the Tower name brand and from wringing out synergies with its brick-and-mortar stores.

The biggest trouble that I can see – the songs are sold (of course) exclusively in Windows Media format. The other uncomfortable part of this, which Coolfer touches on is that, at least for me, Tower is only large chain store that I consider to have a truly worthwhile selection of indie music. Not just in new titles, but in catalog as well. I still view going to Tower as a key event – something to look forward to, and something that I make sure I do every month or so. Given that such an experience is nearly impossible to recreate in the digital world, I too have to wonder if anyone is going to care much about Tower’s digital store.