Ides Of Gemini: Exclusive Track Premiere By The Obelisk

Today heavy riff portal The Obelisk offers up a stream of "Slain In Spirit" from mystical doom conjurers IDES OF GEMINI. The song comes off of the West Coast trio’s forthcoming new studio offering, Constantinople, set for North American release via Neurot Recordings on May 29, 2012.

Notes guitarist/backing vocalist J. Bennett of the track: “‘Slain In Spirit’ might be the only IDES OF GEMINI song -- so far -- that actually addresses lyrically what we try to accomplish sonically: The trance state. The state of being neither here nor there. If that's not pretentious enough for you, try this: Idris Parry, the late, great scholar of German literature, once pointed out that just as there are gaps between the fingers, there are gaps between the senses. ‘In these gaps,’ he said, ‘is the darkness which hides the connection between all things.’ As much as ‘Slain In Spirit’ is a song easily and obviously discernible by the human ear, it very much aspires to create something that at least hints at that intangible darkness.”

Turn up and tune out at THIS LOCATION.

Exclusive pre-orders of Constantinople are currently available through the IDES OF GEMINI blog. Limited to just 33 CDs, each pre-order will be bundled with stickers and a handmade candle made by vocalist Sera Timms, meant to be burned while the album plays for maximum atmosphere. In three of those candles will be a crystal that can be retrieved by burning the candle most of the way down. The crystal can then be mailed back to the band and exchanged for a Disruption Writ EP, cassette and one other exclusive item still to be announced.

IDES OF GEMINI will take their brooding hymns to the stage to the stage tomorrow on the Los Angeles stop of the long-anticipated Decibel Magazine Tour with Behemoth, Watain, The Devil’s Blood and In Solitude. In addition, the band has been officially added to this year’s edition of the Scion Rock Fest, set to take place at the Ritz Theatre in Tampa, Florida. IDES OF GEMINI will appear alongside the likes of Sleep, Merzbow, Church of Misery, All Pigs Must Die and more!

IDES OF GEMINI 2012:
4/25/2012 House Of Blues - Hollywood, CA w/ Behemoth, Watain, The Devil's Blood, In Solitude
5/29/2012 Bootleg Theatre - Los Angeles, CA *record release show w/ VUM, The Nocturnes [more info]

6/2/2012 Scion Rock Fest @ The Ritz Theatre – Tampa, FL

“…darkly beautiful…” -- Pitchfork

 “Sera Timms’ voice is a national treasure. It’s a reverb-soaked choir of 4AD ghosts floating over scratchy guitars. Burzum scoring a spaghetti western. This stuff gives me chills.” – Decibel

“Their accretion of small musical gestures inverts metal’s normal use of space. They imply terror without ever exposing it. Each song is an accumulation of outlines, a sort of sonic daguerreotype.” – MetalSucks

“…music that calls to mind deserts and tundras, angry ghosts emerging from the ether.” – RVA Mag

“Whereas Black Math Horseman makes you feel as if you’ve taken a wrong turn into a desolate medieval village, illuminated by the flicker of mere lanterns, IDES OF GEMINI hovers above complete darkness in a realm that can only be felt by those who welcome it.” – This Is Not A Scene

http://idesofgemini.blogspot.com

http://www.facebook.com/IdesofgeminI

http://idesofgemini.bandcamp.com

http://www.neurotrecordings.com

http://www.facebook.com/neurotrecordings

Nate Hall: Track From USX Creator Streaming At The Obelisk

Following several lauded LPs released through the Neurot Recordings, this May founding USX vocalist/guitarist NATE HALL will unveil his first solo full-length, as another extension of the eclectic Neurot roster.

Set for European release on May 7th and in North America on May 8th, NATE HALL's debut A Great River showcases the songwriter's talents at its most intimate and personal to date, displaying his distinctive style at its most stripped-down core. On A Great River, Hall’s Appalachian heritage shines more than ever before modernizing classic regional Americana through his signature vision.

The Obelisk is hosting a new track from A Great River. Stream Townes Van Zandt cover "Kathleen" AT THIS LOCATION.

A Great River offers up a lush landscape of sonic richness. Recorded in March 2011 by Travis Kammeyer at Fahrenheit Studio in Johnson City, Tennessee, the opus features the pastoral artwork of Dark Castle’s Stevie Floyd. The album is a reflection of a lifetime spent with the echoes of Dylan, Young, Petty, Springsteen, and Van Zandt. It draws from the rich musical history of America, the melancholy of Appalachia, and harnesses the “electric vacuum roar” of guitar slingers past and present.

"…the beautiful and lush work of a songwriter beginning what will hopefully be a long journey." – The Obelisk

http://neurotrecordings.com/artists/natehall/natehall.php

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nate-Hall

https://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/USX.APPALACHIA

Rising: European Tour Announced

RISING will head out on a full European Spring tour in March and April in support of To Solemn Ash. The tour starts on March 16th in Berlin and includes dates in Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovenia, Switzerland, Italy and Luxembourg. In addition to the mainland tour, RISING will play their first headlining shows in Sweden along with one Danish show when hitting Linköping, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö and Copenhagen in April and May. The festivities kick off with three Danish shows in March supporting fellow Danes, punk/thrash outfit The Kandidate.

RISING Confirmed European Tour Dates:

3/08/2012 Paletten - Viborg, Denmark w/ The Kandidate

3/09/2012 Beta - Copenhagen, Denmark w/ The Kandidate

3/10/2012 Kansas City - Odense, Denmark w/ The Kandidate

3/16/2012 Red Rooster - Berlin, Germany

3/17/2012 Rockstation - Halle, Germany

3/18/2012 TBA - Dresden, Germany

3/19/2012 Cafe Na Pul Cesty - Prague, Czech Rep

3/20/2012 Galerie u Mloka - Olomouc, Czech Rep

3/21/2012 Stwst - Linz, Austria

3/22/2012 Club Gustaf - Maribor, Slovenia

3/23/2012 Swamp Club - Massa Carrara, Italy

3/24/2012 Centre Hibou - Chatillon Aosta, Italy

3/25/2012 Ponyhof - Frankfurt, Germany

3/27/2012 Dachstock - Bern, Switzerland

3/28/2012 Rocas Cafe - Luxembourg, Luxembourg

3/29/2012 Bastard - Osnabrück, Germany

3/30/2012 Cafe Nova - Essen, Germany

3/31/2012 Glocksee - Hanover, Germany

4/01/2012 Molotov - Hamburg, Germany

4/02/2012 MAU Club - Rostock, Germany

4/05/2012 L’ Orient - Linköping, Sweden

4/26/2012 Fritz’s Corner@Strand - Stockholm, Sweden

4/27/2012 Sticky Fingers - Gothenburg, Sweden

4/28/2012 Loppen - Copenhagen, Denmark

5/03/2012 Debaser - Malmö, Denmark

6/16/2012 Hultsfred Festival - Hultsfred, Sweden

RISING's debut To Solemn Ash was released in Europe last October and in North America on January 17th, and has been the subject to general praise from the American press. Decibel Magazine gave the album an 8 out of 10, and just recently Pitchfork rated the album 7.6 out of 10 stating: "They've found multiple ways to come off expansive and compelling within a tight, traditional framework…They simply know how to write great riffs.”

Metal/rock blog The Obelisk is still streaming the album in its entirety right here.

To Solemn Ash was produced by new producer talent Jakob Reichert Nielsen and mastered by Alan Douches (Converge, Mastodon, High on Fire, etc.). The album features the iconic artwork of Danish artist and music video director Jakob Printzlau aka Plastic Kid (Lack, Volbeat, Bring Me The Horizon), and is available now in CD, LP and digital download formats via Exile On Mainstream.

http://www.risingmetal.com

http://www.facebook.com/risingdk

http://www.twitter.com/risingdk

http://www.rising.bandcamp.com

http://www.mainstreamrecords.de

http://www.myspace.com/exileonmainstream

King Giant New Album Out Today; Record Streaming + Giveaway

KING GIANT's new LP, Dismal Hollow, is officially available today, now available for purchase worldwide  via deluxe digital download, on digipak CD and on 180-gram gatefold LP, the latter available in swamp green with bone swirl, and bone with gold haze color schemes.

The album was recorded at Inner Ear Studio (Minor Threat, Fugazi, Avail, Jawbox, Dave Grohl) and flows with nearly fifty minutes of KING GIANT's homage-laden southern doom metal portrayed at its finest yet. Internationally-based print and online magazines are currently running rampant with praise of Dismal Hollow's anthem-ridden assault, and of KING GIANT's wholly soulful and authentic overall approach.

In support of the mammoth Dismal Hollow's unveiling, The Obelisk are celebrating the day with a full stream of the entire album now! Fans can also sign up to win a KING GIANT prize pack, including a signed Dismal Hollow LP, a Marshall KT66 power tube USB drive from Power Tunes (the brainchild of Will Sprague of The Crimson Electric) loaded with a Southern Darkness and Dismal Hollow, and more.

Check it all out RIGHT HERE.

Rue Morgue Magazine recently premiered of the first single from Dismal Hollow, "Appomattox," the video capturing a gritty, apocalyptic, backwoods zombie attack, [viewable here]. The album was also featured as "Album of the Day" on Roadburn's official website.

KING GIANT is in the process of lining up select dates and touring for later in the year to be announced as they develop. 

Dismal Hollow can be purchased worldwide at Best Buy, FYE, Amazon, Music Direct, Barnes and Noble, Newbury Comics, Soundstage Direct, CD Universe and many others, and in Europe via HMV and Plastichead.

"Dismal Hollow tells tales of bootlegging, abject alcoholism and spousal abuse with murderous retribution. This is real life. Everything about Dismal Hollow resonates in my mind and memory. 9.2/10" - Metal Injection

"There are eight irresistible rock masterpieces on this release. This album is almost perfect in every detail. 9.5/10" - Doommantia

"The Virginia quintet has a righteous boner for folk, and uses the rich tapestry of the American Civil War, backwoods lore, and all kinds of Americana miscellanea to source the lyrical inspiration that binds Dismal Hollow in one narrative thread. 8/10" - Decibel

"Where Dismal Hollow reaches its peak is with the innate ability to make each song worthy of acclaim on its own, without having to hold up the rest of the album. 4/5" - About.com

"King Giant play odes to boozing, bloodshed, and one of the finest bits of instrumental doom in recent memory." - No Clean Singing

"Wrecking ball riffs come wrapped in a down home doom that makes the album’s eight songs sound like a moonshine’d Danzig dragging a bloated corpse through the dirt and dry leaves." - Broken Beard

"Here's hoping that the tales of Appalachian decadence and discontent found on Dismal Hollow will turn King Giant into troubadours for all the world to hear… because, by God this album deserves to be heard." - Heavy Planet

"What if instead of hailing from the industrial brimstone of Birmingham, England, Black Sabbath had risen from the backwoods of Appalachia? Odds are, I think, that the result would sound quite a lot like King Giant's Dismal Hollow... 4/5" - Metal Underground

http://www.kinggiant.com

http://www.facebook.com/kinggiantband

http://www.myspace.com/kinggiant

http://www.kinggiant.bandcamp.com

Wino & Conny Ochs: Track From Collaborative Album Premieres

Today music fans across the globe can get their first listen to some of the anticipated forthcoming collaborative album from WINO & CONNY OCHS. Entitled Heavy Kingdom, the LP is confirmed for North American release via Exile On Mainstream Records on March 13th.

The folks at The Obelisk are hosting the title track to the Heavy Kingdom LP, as part of the site's weekly installment of "Wino Wednesday." The anthem perfectly displays the folk-inspired acoustic rock magic that takes place when these two seasoned musicians coalesce their talents. Get down with WINO & CONNY OCHS' "Heavy Kingdom" RIGHT HERE.

WINO & CONNY OCHS have also confirmed their first full tour in support of Heavy Kingdom, set tfor performances across Europe for all of March and through mid-April. More dates are still being confirmed; catch the confirmed itinerary and watch for more updates over the coming weeks at Exile on Mainstream's website.

The legacy of SCOTT “WINO” WEINRICH in the world of heavy music is indisputable and ever evolving, and here he teams up with CONNY OCHS, a songwriter so pure and honest in his output that he seems to be the perfect partner for the straightforward WEINRICH. The two met for the first time in 2010 when OCHS was supporting WINO on his acoustic solo tour promoting his acclaimed solo album, Adrift.

Through music they discovered a very similar approach to life and art, and a shared wisdom in creating music. It really seemed like two souls becoming one after they got to know each other. Together the two wrote, performed and recorded an incredible set of soulful tunes that speak for themselves, as well as a Townes Van Zandt cover. The artwork contains drawings by both WEINRICH and OCHS, and follows the dedicated and deeply personal approach of the whole album.

Heavy Kingdom Track Listing:

1. Somewhere Nowhere

2. Heavy Kingdom

3. Dust

4. Vultures By The Vines

5. Dark Ravine

6. Traces Of Blood

7. Heavy Kingdom Jam

8. Highway Kind

9. Dead Yesterday

10. Here Comes The Siren

11. Labour Of Love

http://www.scottweinrich.com
http://www.connyochs.com
http://www.mainstreamrecords.de

http://www.myspace.com/exileonmainstream