A quick reissue roundup for anyone who may have missed these:

Godflesh‘s 1989 über-classic, Streetcleaner, has recently been given a two-disc reissue by Earache Records that may or may not be timed to coincide with the announcement that the band will reunite for next year’s Roadburn festival in The Netherlands. Earache, who are the last of the “metal majors” to habitually send out physical promos of albums to press, have been on a spree for the last year or two in repressing landmarks from their back catalog, and Godflesh has been no exception, as the recipient of several boxed editions and multi-album compilations. Streetcleaner is Streetcleaner, though, so it stands on its own.

With the second disc offering unreleased mixes, live tracks from 1989-1990 and rehearsal and studio demos — all of which may or may not have been heard before — the 2010 Streetcleaner is as biting as ever, and shows why over 20 years later, the band are still a much-wanted commodity. It’s one of those albums that, if you don’t have it, you probably should, so I thought it was worth a look.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the sludgy spectrum, three Crowbar records just got reissued by E1, making them more widely available than ever before thanks to the label’s far-reaching distribution. Crowbar, Live +1 and Time Heals Nothing cover the venerable New Orleans slingers’ work from 1993-1995, and though I’m not sure why E1 would go after the rights to the second album, a live EP and the third album without also reissuing 1991′s Obedience Thru Suffering debut, I’m sure they have their reasons, as they’ve been pretty on the ball since deciding it was okay to like metal again in 2008/2009.

All three discs are bare-bones, and by that I mean no bonus material, but honestly, I’m so desperate as for any Crowbar release at this point I might consider picking these up just for the sake of their being newly issued. With the band allegedly beginning a new period of activity that involved touring last month down south, heading north next month and supposedly even recording a new album, there’s plenty to hope for, and of course, guitarist/vocalist Kirk Windstein has been plenty busy in Kingdom of Sorrow and Down (neither of which is as good as Crowbar), but man, it’s time for some new Crowbar. Today.

Until then, this is as good as it’s going to get, and in the case of Godflesh — who I’m actively hoping won’t release a new album — it may be as good as it’s ever going to get. Sure we can sit here and complain about rehashing the same records over and over, but when you find a better way to spend time than listening to Crowbar again, you let me know.

I guess the headline pretty much says it all, but Atlanta doom mavens Zoroaster have made the song “Witch’s Hammer” available for streaming and downloading as part of Adult Swim‘s Metal Swim online compilation, which also features the likes of Jesu, Isis, Torche and Boris.

One can only imagine Adult Swim would rather you checked out the track at their site, and if you’re so inclined, that’s certainly cool by me. If not, however, here’s the song for streaming goodness, followed by the latest off the PR wire:

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Celebrated psych metal band Zoroaster has unveiled the brand new track “Witch’s Hammer” via the just-released [adult swim]/Scion A/V compilation Metal Swim. Described as “a collection of 16 metal tracks from some of the heaviest bands in existence,” Metal Swim features “rare and never-before-released songs from some of the genre’s most notable bands” and is available for free download at adultswim.com/metal now.

Oh wait, I’m sorry, High on Fire tour all the time. That’s not shocking at all. My mistake.

Here’s the latest batch of dates off the PR wire:

World renowned hard rock giants High on Fire have announced a North American headlining tour. The massive fall expedition – dubbed the “Sanctioned Annihilation Tour” — will feature support from Torche and Kylesa and is set to launch on September 29 at The Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, CA.

Additionally, High on Fire has been chosen to participate as part of the 2011 Soundwave Festival. Billed as Australia’s “biggest metal and rock festival” and set to take place in late February and early March of next year, Soundwave will feature High on Fire alongside such names as Iron Maiden, Slayer, Queens of the Stone Age, Social Distortion, Monster Magnet, Rob Zombie and more.

High on Fire North American “Sanctioned Annihilation” headlining tour:
Sept. 29 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall #
Sept. 30 Pomona, CA Glasshouse #
Oct. 1 Flagstaff, AZ Orpheum Theatre #
Oct. 2 Albuquerque, NM The Launchpad #
Oct. 3 Denver, CO Bluebird Theater #
Oct. 5 Minneapolis, MN Varsity Theatre #
Oct. 6 Milwaukee, WI Turner Hall Ballroom
Oct. 8 Rock Island, IL Rock Island Brewing Company #
Oct. 9 Urbana, IL Canopy Club #
Oct. 10 Chicago, IL Metro (Riot Festival)
Oct. 11 Bloomington, IN Bluebird #
Oct. 13 Covington, KY Historic Southgate House #
Oct. 14 Detroit, MI Majestic Theatre #
Oct. 15 Cleveland, OH Grog Shop #
Oct. 16 Rochester, NY Water Street #
Oct. 17 Northampton, MA Pearl Street #
Oct. 19 Halifax, NS The Paragon Theatre (Halifax Pop Explosion)
Oct. 21 Portland, ME Port City Music Hall #
Oct. 22 Providence, RI Club Hell #
Oct. 23 Boston, MA Middle East Downstairs #
Oct. 24 New York, NY Webster Hall #
Oct. 26 Philadelphia, PA Starlite Ballroom #
Oct. 27 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle #
Oct. 29 Gainesville, FL Common Ground (Ye Old Fest)
Nov. 7 Austin, TX Waterloo Park (Fun Fun Fun Fest)
(# = with Torche, Kylesa)

As per usual, I was up late last night, crying to myself and wondering why the hell Crowbar hasn’t put out a new album in half a decade. Was Down III really worth no new Crowbar for all this time? I think we all know it was not.

Somewhere along the line, the lords of New Orleans signed to E1 (seems to be happening a lot lately), and the label is set to reissue 1993′s self-titled, 1994′s Live +1 and 1995′s Time Heals Nothing. Not sure why they didn’t also pick up the debut, Obedience Thru Suffering, but life is strange sometimes.

The PR wire has specifics, and, if you look hard enough, a teaser about a new record:

Newly signed to E1 Music, sludge metal legends Crowbar will re-release three influential records, Crowbar, Live +1 and Time Heals Nothing on October 5th, 2010. With each title originally being released in the early ‘90s, this will be the first time all three records will be widely available in stores. A new Crowbar record is planned for early 2011.

Today, Atlanta‘s Zoroaster release their third album in the head-soaked form of Matador. It is the band’s first release through E1 Music, and it comes as the latest brick in a tower of momentum that can be traced back across last year’s Voice of Saturn full-length and its 2007 predecessor, Dog Magic, both of which the band put out through their own Terminal Doom Recordings.

But, as guitarist/vocalist Will Fiore informs from sunny Hollywood, California, there are just some things you need a label for. As an example, the band are currently embroiled in an extensive US tour with fellow Georgian upstarts Black Tusk and Florida‘s Dark Castle that’s been dubbed the Summer Southern Burn Tour. I’m sure it’s way more comfortable than it sounds.

Of course, Zoroaster are no strangers to the road. Fiore, bassist Brent Anderson and drummer Dan Scanlan have been hitting it hard since the inception of the band in 2003, and as they release the Sanford Parker-produced (longtime engineer Ed Rawls also worked on it) Matador, it seems their work touring is beginning to pay off. They are among the best doom bands of their generation, and more and more, they’re being recognized as such. Not a bad platform on which to issue a new album.

After the jump, you’ll find my recent Q&A with Will Fiore as the Summer Southern Burn Tour was getting started. Since he was in Hollywood, I began the interview with the most important question of all…

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The whole “promoting by not promoting on The Obelisk” bit is tired and sad, so I’m going to let it rest this time. Zoroaster‘s new video for the track “Odyssey” made a premiere well-timed for the release of the Matador album next week on some website that takes ads. Here’s the clip, directed by Chad Rullman:

I’ve been a fan of Adult Swim since the days when they showed clips of old people synchronized-swimming, and in no way is that depressing. The Cartoon Network Sunday night programming block got ahold of the as-yet-unreleased High on Fire track (somehow Kia was involved too), and posted the single as part of a series they’re doing over the course of apparently eight weeks. So, uh, thanks guys.

You can stream the track below or download it at the Adult Swim page linked above. If you don’t recall, High on Fire guitarist/vocalist Matt Pike spoke about this song in our interview.

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I know you’ll all be surprised and devastated to learn that when Atlanta doom mavens Zoroaster were looking for a place to stream “Black Hole” from their forthcoming E1 Music debut, Matador, they did not come to The Obelisk. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, when you’re a band looking to promote a new release, there’s nothing quite like not The Obelisk to get it done.

At least I can take solace from my irrelevance in the fact that it was the good people of Brooklyn Vegan who got the premiere. Matador is out July 13, and Zoroaster hit the road middle of this month to promote the album with the oh-so-hot-right-now Black Tusk and underrated Floridian purveyors Dark Castle. Stream “Black Hole” below.

And in case you were wondering whether or not it’s metal, just look at that dynamic range. No other genre has such oppressive waveforms.

It has been an evident conscious decision by the band Zoroaster that each of their albums should sound different from the one before it. They are, in terms often heard, “trying something different” each time. Certainly 2009’s Voice of Saturn showed marked growth from 2007’s Dog Magic, and their third and latest full-length, Matador, follows the same ethic, pushing the Atlanta trio’s psychedelic doom in yet another surprisingly complex direction.

Matador is Zoroaster’s first album for E1 Music (High on Fire, In Flames, Hatebreed), the first album they aren’t releasing through their own Terminal Doom Records, but I don’t think that accounts for any of the sonic changes the band has undergone. One might expect that, having moved from an entirely independent method of operation to a label of reach as considerable as E1’s, Zoroaster would come across, either consciously or unconsciously, as more commercial, but that’s not – repeat, not – what’s happening on Matador. Rather, it seems guitarist/vocalist Will Fiore, bassist/vocalist Brent Anderson and drummer Dan Scanlan have gone even further out than ever before, incorporating a mutated brand of desert rock riffing into their arsenal while at the same time meshing it with increased use of highly-reverbed and delayed clean vocals that makes a song like opener “D.N.R.” sound spacious even more than what is commonly thought of in doom as heavy. The feel is that Zoroaster have moved beyond the confines of genre, and with the help of producer Sanford Parker, are working on their own progressive definition thereof.

There are also a lot more songs on Matador than in the past. With their third outing, Zoroaster gives us nine full-tracks, where Dog Magic had six and Voice of Saturn had five if you discount the intro and outro (which, in the case of the latter, also takes 14 minutes of runtime off the album and may not be an entirely fair move). Of course, the track lengths here are shorter, with cuts like the heavily rhythmic “Ancient Ones,” “Trident,” “Black Hole” and “Odyssey II” all under four minutes and only “Old World” and closer “Matador” over seven, but if bursts of rocking energy like “Trident,” with Fiore’s righteous and classically-styled soloing, are going to be the tradeoff, I’ll take it, as Zoroaster prove more than capable of handling the style. “Trident” is a surprisingly catchy highlight, tighter with more aggressive vocals, than “Odyssey” before it, but it really is the soloing that sets the song apart. It’s yet another move Zoroaster have made to distinguish Matador from its predecessors.

So naturally, on the next track, which is “Firewater,” they go in the complete opposite direction. The song is 4:14 of noise, feedback, soloing, effects and a Clutch-style bass and drum groove underneath, basically Scanlan and Anderson giving Fiore a little freak-out time. Gone is the structure, the memorable hook, the fleetness of finger (well, I guess that’s still there, but coming from another dimension). Take that, expectation.

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Last week, Atlanta doom titans Zoroaster rolled out the info on their new album, Matador, and they’re following it up today with a 34-second preview clip of the heaviness to come courtesy of the PR wire. Matador is out July 13 on E1 Music. I don’t know about you, but I’ve got half a minute to kill, so let’s do this thing:

…And just to be clear, Canada is the “Great White North” because of the snow. Not a racist thing.

Anyway, High on Fire, who kick off their European dates as the support act for a little band no one’s ever heard of called Metallica tonight, have already announced their next move, which as you might have guessed involves a Canadian tour. Having just seen the band at their recent New York show, I can safely say that you, my Canuck amigos, are in for a treat. Quoth the PR wire:

High on Fire has announced a summer headlining tour of Canada. The two-week tour will launch on July 8 in Vancouver, BC and is scheduled to run through July 24 in Montreal, QC where the band will share the stage with Alice Cooper, Slayer, Rob Halford and more as part of the 2010 Heavy MTL Fest.

High on Fire w/ Metallica:
May 11 Belfast, Ireland Odyssey Arena
May 12 Belfast, Ireland Odyssey Arena
May 14 Budapest, Hungary Puskas Ferenc Stadium
May 16 Zagreb, Croatia Hippodrome
May 18 Lisbon, Portugal Pavilhao Atlantico
May 19 Lisbon, Portugal Pavilhao Atlantico
May 22 Tel Aviv, Israel Ramat Gan Stadium
May 23 Lyon, France Halle Tony Garnier

High on Fire summer Snakes for the Divine Canadian headlining tour:
July 8 Vancouver, BC Rickshaw Theatre #
July 10 Edmonton, AB Starlite Room #
July 11 Calgary, AB The Republik #
July 13 Winnipeg, ON Royal Albert Arms #
July 14 Thunder Bay, ON Crocks (Skeletonwitch supports)
July 16 Toronto, ON Opera House %
July 17 London, ON London Music Hall %
July 18 Windsor, ON The Blind Dog %
July 20 Hamilton, ON The Casbah %
July 21 Kingston, ON Time to Laugh %
July 22 Quebec City, QC Le Cercle %
July 23 Ottawa, ON Capital Music Hall %
July 24 Montreal, QC Heavy MTL Fest – Parc Jean Drapeau %
(# = features support from Russian Circles, Skeletonwitch)
(% = features support from Priestess, Skeletonwitch)

I think, if events play out according to their normal course, Zoroaster will be the first band to have been interviewed twice on The Obelisk. When/if it happens (the subject hasn’t even yet been broached, so who knows, they might decide not to do press at all), the topic of discussion will inevitably be their new album, Matador.

With production from Sanford Parker, mastering by Collin Jordan, artwork by Brian Mercer and a release via E1 Music — this is the first Zoroaster album the band isn’t releasing on their own — Matador is high-profile right out of the gate, and from what I hear there are some sonic shifts the band has undergone to complement. As a fan of the band, I can’t wait to hear how it all plays out. Here’s some info from the PR wire:

Celebrated Atlanta, GA psych metal band Zoroaster has completed work on its sophomore album. Entitled Matador, the record is set for a July 13, 2010 North American release date via E1 Music.

With Matador, Zoroaster dares to defy genre-classification and proves that the band’s formidable reputation precedes it for a reason. Matador is a magnetic tour-de-force, blending vivid rhythms and radiance with the band’s classic use of dynamics and power. Creative, distinct, graceful and strong, Matador features the traits of a benchmark release. From the cosmic march of album opener “D.N.R.” [one assumes it’s not a Testament cover – ed.] through to the leviathan-like closing title track, it is immediately evident that Zoroaster has joined friends — and fellow Atlanta natives — Mastodon and new label mates High on Fire as a unit determined to push modern heavy music into new and uncharted realms.

Matador track listing:
1.) D.N.R.
2.) Ancient Ones
3.) Odyssey
4.) Trident
5.) Firewater
6.) Old World
7.) Black Hole
8.) Odyssey II
9.) Matador

Zoroaster tour dates:
Brooklyn Vegan and Roxwel present:
The Summer Southern Burn tour
Featuring Zoroaster, Black Tusk and Dark Castle
June 15 Birmingham, AL The Nick
June 16 Memphis, TN Hi Tone Café
June 17 Oklahoma City, OK The Conservatory
June 18 Dallas, TX The Lounge on Elm St.
June 19 Austin, TX Emo’s
June 21 Albuquerque, NM Burt’s Tiki Lounge
June 23 Ramona, CA Ramona Mainstage
June 24 W. Hollywood, CA Viper Room
June 25 Oakland, CA Oakland Metro
June 26 San Francisco, CA Thee Parkside
June 28 Portland, OR Satyricon
June 29 Seattle, WA Funhouse
July 1 Salt Lake City, UT Club Vegas
July 2 Denver, CO Larimer Lounge
July 3 Kansas City, MO Riot Room
July 4 St. Paul, MN Turf Club
July 6 Chicago, IL Empty Bottle
July 7 Newport, KY Southgate House
July 8 Pittsburgh, PA 31^st St. Pub
July 9 New York, NY The Studio at Webster Hall
July 10 Philadelphia, PA The Khyber
July 17 Atlanta, GA The Earl (*Matador CD release show!)

I don’t know if I thought this myself or saw it posted somewhere else the other day, but I had it in my head recently one way or the other that it was about time High on Fire hit the road opening for Metallica. Hell, Machine Head did it. Down did it. Mastodon did it. And if High on Fire are to enter that upper echelon of this generation of metal — which they seem poised to do on their new album Snakes for the Divine — this rite of passage simply can’t be ignored. Wouldn’t you know, along comes the PR wire with the news that such a tour is already booked.

Note the family-friendly language in the band’s statement. Can’t have the AP picking up a story where Matt Pike talks about bashing arena crowds with the spiked end of a fucking mace, I guess:

World renowned power trio High on Fire will tour Europe this May with Hall of Fame metal band Metallica. High on Fire has been hand-picked by the legendary group to support it on a number of just announced live dates set to launch on May 11 in Belfast, Ireland.

High on Fire and Metallica will pair up for a slew of concerts over an almost two week span including live performances in Hungary, Croatia, Portugal, Israel and France.

“High on Fire is ecstatic to join Metallica on its upcoming tour,” said the band in a statement. “We are honored to be chosen by James, Lars, Kirk and Robert and look forward to introducing their loyal crowds to our brand of heaviness.”

High on Fire w/ Metallica
May 11 Belfast, Ireland       Odyssey Arena
May 12 Belfast, Ireland       Odyssey Arena
May 14 Budapest, Hungary    Puskas Ferenc Stadium
May 16 Zagreb, Croatia       Hippodrome
May 18 Lisbon, Portugal      Pavilhao Atlantico
May 19 Lisbon, Portugal      Pavilhao Atlantico
May 22 Tel Aviv, Israel        Ramat Gan Stadium
May 23 Lyon, France         Halle Tony Garnier

They are the most potent power trio in metal. Oakland, California thrashers High on Fire seem to accomplish a career’s worth of heavy with each album they put out, and 2010′s Snakes for the Divine (the band’s first release on E1 Music) in no different. The guitar playing of Matt Pike (ex-Sleep), accompanied by the ferocious rhythms of drummer Des Kensel and bassist Jeff Matz (ex-Zeke), has been responsible for some of this century’s most furious riffs and solos, and has almost single-handedly proven that it’s possible to shred in this day and age without sound like a total ProTools jerkoff.

Simply put, they made guitar metal cool again.

Snakes for the Divine introduces a new side of High on Fire. With cleaner production courtesy of Greg Fidelman (Slayer, Metallica), Pike, Kensel and Matz have a crispness to their attack that was never there before. Songs like “Frost Hammer” and “Fire, Flood and Plague” have all the power and drive of the best work on preceding albums Death is This Communion (2007), Blessed Black Wings (2005), Surrounded by Thieves (2002) and The Art of Self-Defense (2000), but with the added clarity and improved vocal technique from Pike, they move High on Fire into a different echelon of heavy metal bands. They are quickly becoming a more influential act, and in the years to come, don’t be surprised how much you see their name tossed around in interviews with other bands. The level of their impact is only beginning to reveal itself.

So, as we embark on yet another era of High on Fire, as rife as ever with battle axes and epic tales of death and war, Matt Pike was kind enough to check in from Florida for a phone interview. Despite a craptacular connection (the reasons behind which are a story for another time), the guitarist opened up on the band’s developing processes, working with Fidelman and what makes touring today different than it was five years ago. Q&A is after the jump. Please enjoy.

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It’s the first Zoroaster album they won’t be releasing on their own, and expectations are high as the band have definitely proven in both the studio and live arenas they’re ready for that elusive next step on the path to world dromination. Voice of Saturn was eminently killer, and I see no reason why Matador shouldn’t be the same. Here’s hoping, and here’s a boatload of PR wire info:

Critically acclaimed “psych metal” band Zoroaster has entered Atlanta’s Living Room Studios (Mastodon, The Black Lips) to begin the recording of its hotly anticipated new album, Matador. A July release via E1 Music is expected.

Zoroaster is working with producer Sanford Parker (Pelican, The Gates of Slumber) on the new album, which will be mastered by Collin Jordan (Black Moth Super Rainbow, Nachtmystium) at The Boiler Room in Chicago, IL.  Matador’s drums and bass are being laid to tape at Atlanta’s Glow in the Dark Studios. Housed in the former location of the renowned Cheshire Sound Studios — the first dual 24 track facility in the Southeast – the recording complex has been home to projects featuring Prince, The Georgia Satellites, Steve Walsh and more.  Zoroaster’s new material is said to be “more direct, more intense and absolutely enveloping.”

Zoroaster will debut a number of new songs at its upcoming SXSW live performances which kick off on Wednesday, March 17 as part of the Action! PR SXSW Showcase (@ Mohawk: 912 Red River St., Austin, TX).  The all ages event will be open to the public as well as SXSW badge and wristband holders.

When asked for comment on Matador, Zoroaster guitarist / vocalist Will Fiore dished, “As a whole, these are the strongest songs we’ve ever put together and they really encompass everything we’ve done until now as a band.  There are some really heavy, slow creepers and some of the faster, more driving songs.  The new material ranges from really aggressive to more melodic and trippy.”  “It’s going to be a pretty straight-forward rock album and I think it’s what we wanted to create with both Dog Magic and Voice of Saturn rolled into one,” offers drummer Dan Scanlan. “There will be a lot of shorter tracks that are very straight forward and hard-hitting — it’s a lot less of a droning record than what people are expecting. The album title Matador sums up the feel of the album perfectly.  It’s an ‘epic’ sort of title; strong and powerful, but graceful.”