• BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE – Fever
• Various Artists – “Punk Goes Classic Rock”
• WALTER SCHREIFELS – An Open Letter To The Scene
• GOGOL BORDELLO – Trans-continental Hustle
• DISCOVER AMERICA – Future Paths
• JESSE MALIN AND THE ST. MARKS SOCIAL – Love It To Live It

I’m sure that at some point among the several thousand reviews I’ve written since Pastepunk started I’ve used the descriptions, “power-pop trio,” “pop-punk trio,” but the phrase “sludge-metal trio,” is likely hitting new terrain. California/Washington state band THE ABOMINABLE IRON SLOTH squeeze a mammoth sound out of their basic tripod of instruments. The first thing [...]

Long Island label State of Mind has announced two upcoming releases. The first is from Sweden’s vegan/straight-edge metallic hardcore band ANCHOR. It will be a collection of EPs, splits, and a newly released 7″. The second item will be a CD/7″ from the Salt Lake City melodic hardcore band REVIVER.

- Solid pick ups. REVIVER is great – very COMEBACK KID influenced with standout raw vocals.

Warbird Entertainment will be releasing a “Best of” release from the German punk rock band SMALL TOWN RIOT as their first introduction to the US. Titled Fuck Those Who Go Untried, the 19 song outing spans material from 2000-2010. You can stream the song “Burning Flags” in the Warbird audio player.

- On first listen, the band reminds me of RANCID songs with Lars singing. Not a bad thing!

1. Relapse has signed the awesomely named MOSE GIGANTICUS. The metal/electronically-tinged outfit will be releasing the full-length Gift Horse on July 20th. You can listen to the band’s new song “The Left Path” on their MySpace page.

2. Effective May 1st, Vinyl Collective/Suburban Home will be transferring all of its warehouse, online store, and customer servicefunctions to Interpunk. Vinyl Collective and Suburban Home will still continue on in full-force with exclusive releases and renewed focus on the labels. The message board and blog will live on as well. As many have noted on the VC board, I’ll miss the personal touch of placing an order with Virgil and his staff, but running a huge mailorder operation is an absolute resource killer, and if this allows the companies to keep putting out great releases and building a solid music community, then there is nothing else to do but with everyone the best with the new partnership.

3. Baltimore hardcore/metal label A389 Records did a quick interview with Noisecreep.

4. I doubt we’ll ever see it happen, but I’m rooting for a HARVEST discography release with all of their recordings remastered. They were one of the true gems in the early Trustkill years and their thoughtful, complex take on metallic hardcore has aged very well. Here’s a stream to their breakout full-length, Transitions.

To this day, some 12+ years since acquiring STRIFE’s In This Defiance, I have yet to understand why the band included the three minute long industrial noise intro track that precedes “Waiting.” In the MP3 era, the intro thankfully can be (and has been) discarded. It’s all the more puzzling when you consider the strength of the “Waiting,” the first real song on the album. With an ominous kick of the bass drum, a brooding bass line, and the sudden whooooooooosh of screaming guitars, STRIFE streak down the runway and take flight.

Music blog Where It Ends has posted a comprehensive interview with Sweet Pete, former vocalist for the defunct Boston straight-edge hardcore band IN MY EYES. You can check it out here. Shooting down the chance of a reunion any time soon (or ever), Pete said:

“Bands are special because of a time and place. I don’t mean physical place. I mean the place in life all five of us were in when we did the band. Once a flame of a band burns out you cannot recapture that no matter how hard you try, because everyone is in a different mindset years down the line.”

Rejuvenated Deep Elm Records has posted a brand new 18 song sampler that features a bounty of music from the label’s new signings and some recent ‘hits’ as well. Track listing and download link are below.

• 01. She Bears – “Victim Of Circumstance” from the album I Found Myself Asleep
• 02. Les Sages – “Nomads” from the album Share This
• 03. This Drama – “She Had A Knife!” from the album San Diego XIII
• 04. The Lions Rampant – “Lights On” from the album It’s Fun To Do Bad Things
• 05. Moonlit Sailor – “Hope” from the album So Close To Life
• 06. Public Radio – “Forgot Love” from the album Sweetchild
• 07. Papermoons – “Live Right” from the album New Tales
• 08. Moving Mountains – “8105″ from the album Pneuma
• 09. Cari Clara – “Stars Evading” from the album It’s Our Hearts They’re After
• 10. Goonies Never Say Die – “Everyone Comes To Life” from the album In A Forest Without Trees
• 11. Nathan Xander – “Trial By Fire” from the album The Fear
• 12. Late Night Condition – “Saviour” from the album Give & Take
• 13. Down To Earth – “Prisms 1″ from the album Prisms
• 14. Track A Tiger – “Heart” from the album I Felt The Bullet Hit My Heart
• 15. Ride Your Bike – “The Connection” from the album The Connection
• 16. Desoto Jones – “Don’t Fail Me” from the album Aurora
• 17. 500 Miles To Memphis – “The Regret” from the album Sunshine In A Shotglass
• 18. Papermoons – “Car Lights” from the album New Tales

Link: “We Dream Alone” Deep Elm Sampler

- Of the new signings, I highly recommend checking out the new releases from RIDE YOUR BIKE and THIS DRAMA, the latter especially if you’re into THE BRONX.