The trailer for the black metal documentary “Until The Light Takes Us” is making the rounds on the intert00bz and I highly recommend you check it out. It includes, among other mayhem, arson, a dude cutting his forearm, and lots and lots of corpsepaint.

The movie lands on the dead cold night of November 20th. Check out the trailer here.

Power-doom trio THE GATES OF SLUMBER are getting set to release their new album Hymns of Blood & Thunder on September 29th via Rise Above Records, and we’ve got a little taste of the new album for everyone to check out. If you enjoy bands such as THE SWORD, ST. VITUS, and even a dash of WITCHCRAFT, I think you’ll enjoy what THE GATES OF SLUMBER are serving up.

So, if you’re feeling particularly epic and bellicose at the same time today, check out “Beneath The Eyes Of Mars” below.

THE GATES OF SLUMBER – Beneath The Eyes Of Mars

Australian weirdo death metallers PORTAL have a new song making the rounds from their upcoming album Swarth. For those unfamiliar with PORTAL, it’s metal done through surrealist lenses (think DEATHSPELL OMEGA). Click the link to grab the song “Larvae”.

Swarth will be out on October 20th through Profound Lore Records.

PORTAL – \”Larvae\”

This sounds like the relatively bland bastard child of the RED SPAROWES and EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY. Nice try, dudes.

First of all, it should be noted that I am writing this review from approximately 33,000 feet in the air, courtesy of Virgin America’s in-flight WiFi. I love technology! And it seems somehat apropos that I am writing about thunderous band like TORCHE while two massive jet engines roar outside my window. The main difference being that being close to TORCHE results in what my friends like to call “bangover”, while being close to jet engines results in instant death.

TORCHE “touched down” (airplane puns, haha!) this past week at DC’s Rock & Roll hotel, the first time as a three-piece since guitarist Juan Montoya left the band. However, there was something about the band this time around, almost as though a weight had been lifted from their shoulders. Playing as a three-piece clearly agrees with them and they are enjoying being on tour with each other and having fun playing their songs. While the songs don’t sound remarkably different without a second guitarist, the energy that they are giving off on-stage now makes seeing TORCHE a priority for any fan of heavy music.

The set ran the gamut from the band’s first self-titled album to their current beast of an album, Meanderthal. Selections from Meanderthal included crowd favorites such as “Healer”, “Across the Shields”, and my personal favorite, “Fat Waves.” It was also during this song where it was made crystal clear to me how much fun singer/guitarist Steve Brooks is having now. He noticed that I was rocking out with my arms in the air during”Fat Waves” and responded with an ear-to-ear grin and tongue waggle that looked more impish than demonic. As an added bonus for all the fans, the band performed FLOOR’s “Scimitar”, a song by Brooks’ old band on No Idea Records. That song was performed by audience request and was something that I’ve never seen them do despite the fact that audiences have requested it at past shows. Furthermore, as though things could not get heavier, the band played the absolutely monstrous “Tarpit Carnivore” from their In Return EP towards the end of the set, and the venue’s foundation was shaking to its core…

All said and done, TORCHE is out there having fun and they have not lost their edge. Should they be coming to your neck of the woods on this tour, do yourself a solid and check them out, whether you’ve never seen them before or if this is your 5th time in several years. One way or the other, you are guaranteed to walk out of the venue with some serious bangover.

In the last 48 hours, the internets have been abuzz over the absolutely wretched metalcore cover of the beloved POSTAL SERVICE song ‘Such Great Heights’. Before I go any further, below is the evidence:

While the overarching shittiness of this cover/band does not really need further explanation, there are a few major issues here that really irritate me:

1) There is zero melody in this cover. The resulting effect is that the song sounds dead inside.

2) Related to point #1, all attempts at melody appear to be through the playing of harmonics vs. actual fretted notes. This adds to the hollow sound of the overall song.

3) There is RAMPANT abuse of drum triggers in this recording. Furthermore, the drummer appears to be biting moves from the drummer for AS I LAY DYING.

4) Furthermore, why have the band members chosen to abuse the hair straighteners of their boyfriends and/or girlfriends?

1) The new MAGRUDERGRIND record is a firestorm of shred in 30 minutes. Not to mention the Kurt Ballou production makes them sound a LOT like CONVERGE.

2) The last PARAMORE album – Riot! – has barely left my rotation since last night (first time hearing it). It serves as a reminder that music doesn’t need to be all doom & gloom all the time and we can enjoy the occasional piece of sugary goodness (metaphorically speaking).

3) Jordan neglected to mention that the new SKELETONWITCH album will be produced by Jack Endino, who produced the last HIGH ON FIRE album and NIRVANA’s Bleach and Incesticide.

Sweden’s one-man black metal project BERGRAVEN (which translates to ‘Mountain Raven’) is about to release his new album Till Makabert Väsen (which roughly translates to ‘To The Macabre Guard’) on Hydra Head. I would encourage all of your to go check the spookiness out here…IF YOU DARE!!!