- Brand new song from the band’s upcoming full-length “Awake and Empty”, out in October on Pure Noise Records. Reminds me of HOPESFALL with the layered guitars and vocals. Awesome.

From the inbox:

Swedish melodic metal maestros, SOILWORK, are currently in the studio with producer Jens Bogren (OPETH, AMON AMARTH, BLOODBATH) recording the follow-up to their 2010 release The Panic Broadcast. The Soilworkers have been toiling away and burning many a midnight oil to bring us not just one CD of amazing music, but two! That’s right, SOILWORK’s upcoming album The Living Infinite will be a double album!

Commented vocalist Björn “Speed” Strid:

“So here’s the scoop. Me and the boys have been waiting to share this for quite some time now: The Living Infinite will be a double album! A REAL double album, in the true sense of the word, which means no fillers and no left-overs.

I’ve been wanting to do this for a while and I proposed the idea to the rest of the guys in the band, during our festival tour last summer. Everybody liked the title The Living Infinite and also the idea of working towards the goal of releasing a double album. David Andersson was already playing with us last summer, so he has also been a part of this goal from the start. I feel very excited and proud that we’ve managed to find the inspiration and dedication it takes to create somewhat of a conceptual double album, especially since it’s dealing with a lot of existential questions.”

The Living Infinite, will also mark the recording debut of long-time touring guitarist David Andersson (NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA).

- Let me propose something: quit while you’re ahead with one crankin’ full-length and then just include maybe something like a special 10 year anniversary of Natural Born Chaos. Deal?

From the inbox:

NGHBRS has officially released its new mixtape for free download via Paper + Plastick Records. The mixtape is available to listen to and download on a new webpage dedicated solely to the new release.

Recommended If You Like: Incubus, Foo Fighters, RX Bandits, MuteMath, Thrice, As Tall as Lions

NGHBRS’ new mixtape consists of seven songs – two acoustic B-sides, a remix, two live tracks recorded at Converse’s Rubber Tracks Studios, and two jazzy versions of existing songs that were recorded in studio. This mixtape is a follow-up to the Long Island, NY-based group’s Hellomind EP, which helped burst NGHBRS out onto the scene and received rave reviews from fans and critics. NGHBRS will head into the studio this fall to record its new full-length record for release in early 2013.

From the inbox:

Simba Zine started in 1992 as a traditional zine and morphed into one of the most popular and well-respected “emo” zines of the 90′s hardcore scene. This a comprehensive collection of the personal and political writings from the 7 years Simba zine was published, plus 5 years of columns and articles from HeartAttack, Fracture, and Clamor Magazines. All personal writings are political and revolutionary in their own right. Challenging gender roles, rules, and assumptions about sex, friendship, and love, never afraid to discuss something “too personal”, these writings challenged the way people thought and behaved. Simba crossed the boundaries between the hardcore and riot grrl scenes and was undoubtedly one of the most influential zines in the 90s.

- Roughly 260 pages, perfect bound paperback. Release date October 16.

- Preorder shirt packages available, one of two shirts pictured below. Sizing available sm-xl on American Apparel shirts. Shirt packages are $20.

- Part of the new Vitriol Literary Series

Ordering information

- Since it’s not entirely clear from the announcement, Simba was helmed by Vique Martin, who has been a long time Revelation Records employee. Simba also became a record label in the late 90s. They released a KILL HOLIDAY EP that was one of my first introductions to the emo/post-hardcore genre in the 90s. For more on Martin, check out this extensive article on punk feminism from Huck Magazine, which includes a number of quotes from her and background on the 90s era.

- Off-kilter, wildly-played punk/grunge/metal/funk from this Minnesota four-piece band. From the start, this screamed “artsy Midwest twisted noise pool”. The vocals are mostly sung, yet abrasive, and I’m not nuts about them, but they help give the band their unique spread.

- CONVERGE just added this song to their Bandcamp page. Originally released in 2002 on Initial Records’ “Black on Black: A Tribute to BLACK FLAG” contribution, and later re-released on Reignition/Law of Inertia (and still available digitally). Hard to believe, but I reviewed the compilation ten years ago.

From the inbox:

The track listing for ISIS’ Temporal (Ipecac), a collection of unreleased rarities, remixes and videos  spanning the band’s thirteen year career, features 14 songs spread over two discs and five music videos on an accompanying DVD.

1.  Threshold of Transformation (demo) *
2.  Ghost Key (alternate demo version) *
3.  Wills Dissolve (alternate demo version) *
4.  Carry (demo) *
5.  False Light (demo) *
6.  Grey Divide (demo) *

1.  Streetcleaner (Godflesh cover, recorded in 1999)
2.  Hand of Doom (Black Sabbath cover, originally released on the Sawblade CD, 1999)
3.  Not in Rivers, But in Drops (Melvins/Lustmord remix; originally released on Holy Tears, 2007)
4.  Holy Tears (Thomas Dimuzio remix; originally released on NIRBID, 2008)
5.  Temporal (Recorded in 2009) *
6.  Way Through Woven Branches (Originally released on Melvins/ISIS split LP, 2010)
7.  Pliable Foe (Originally released on Melvins/ISIS split LP, 2010)
8.  20 Minutes/40 Years (Acoustic version) *

DVD (Official music videos)
1.  In Fiction
2.  Holy Tears
3.  Not In Rivers, But in Drops
4.  20 Minutes/40 Years
5.  Pliable Foe *

* Previously unreleased

Aaron Harris, Jeff Caxide and Clifford Meyer recently partnered with Chino Moreno (Deftones) to form PALMS.  The band’s debut album will be out in early 2013 via Ipecac.  Aaron Turner’s OLD MAN GLOOM released No in late June and he will be touring the U.S., Japan and Europe this fall with Old Man Gloom and Mamiffer.  Mike Gallagher continues on with his solo project MGR as well as scoring films, most recently 22nd of May.

- From the band’s upcoming seventh full-length, A War You Cannot Win, due out on November 6th on Razor & Tie. This song is a far cry from their early thrashin’ metalcore days, but just another step in the band’s evolution towards ‘heavy rock’ band status. First impression: this has ‘military pride video” written all over it.