If you heard that girlish squeal a little bit ago, don’t worry, it was just me reacting to the latest PR wire teaser of info about the forthcoming two-part Neurot Recordings debut by Italian space doom progenitors Ufomammut. Oro: Opus Primum is due out April 17. Here’s the latest, including the Malleus (of course) cover art, which you can click to enlarge:

More details on Oro: Opus Primum – the first installment of the new two-album series from Italy’s supernatural doom sorcerers, Ufomammut — have this week been confirmed.

Already known for their attention to detail with each release, including meticulous, quality artwork and packaging as expansive and layered as every obliterating Ufomammut release is musically, this time they take it one notch higher and have completed a massive two-part album, set for release months apart.

Now confirmed for release in the UK on April 9th, throughout the rest of Europe on April 13th, and in North America April 17th, this week the artwork and track listing for the incredibly anticipated first installment of the series — Oro: Opus Primum — have been unveiled for the first time:

Oro: Opus Primum Track Listing:
1. Empireum
2. Aureum
3. Infearnatural
4. Magickon
5. Mindomine

More details on the album will be released in the weeks ahead as the world awaits the arrival of Ufomammut’s latest art. The second chapter in this monolithic two-part album, Oro: Opus Alter, will be released sometime in September with more details to be unveiled throughout the months following Opus Primum.

2012 will see Ufomammut expanding their touring circles wider across the face of the planet in support of Oro. Stay tuned throughout the year as more details on the release and the act’s tour schedule are confirmed.

Master Italian purveyors of the mega-heavy, Ufomammut will make their Neurot debut this coming April. Today it’s announced they’ve finished the recordings for Oro, the two-part follow-up to 2010′s excursion into the alpha and omega, Eve. The first half of Oro will be out in April and the second in September, and the PR wire has more specifics on what’s to come.

Goes without saying this is one of 2012′s most anticipated releases, but I just said it anyway, so there you go.

Ufomammut, Northern Italy‘s sorcerers of supernatural and obliterating doom, have completed the recordings for their sixth full-length, and first as part of the Neurot Recordings family. This week we are beyond excited to announce the details of this highly anticipated, mammoth follow-up to their 2010 full-length Eve, the band’s most critically-acclaimed and devastating piece of magic to date… until now.

Oro is the title for Ufomammut’s latest work, divided into ten massive movements overall which is now confirmed to be delivered in two separate pieces during the coming year. The first chapter, Opus Primum, will see arrival in April, and the second, Opus Alter, in September. The vinyl versions of both chapters will be handled directly by Ufomammut‘s own label Supernatural Cat Records, who were responsible for the release of all of the band’s previous material. This is the third album in a row the band recorded with Lorenzo Stecconi.

As with all previous Ufomammut albums, the concepts behind Oro are expansive and multi-faceted, mutating the Italian palindrome which translates to “gold” with the Latin translation of “I prey.” Oro explores the concept of knowledge and its power; the magical stream controlled by the human mind to gain control of every single particle of the World surrounding us. Oro is the alchemical process to transform the human fears into pure essence; into Gold. Although Oro‘s two chapters will be released months apart from each other, they must be considered as a single track in which the musical themes and the sounds show up and hide, mutating and evolving, progressively and increasingly stratifying culminating in the crushing final movement. Oro is like an alchemic laboratory in which substances are flowing, dividing and blending themselves in ten increments from the alembics and stills, culminating into the creation of Gold. The band are also in the process of crafting a full video/visual version of Oro which will accompany the audio.

Ufomammut is:
Poia – guitars and effect
Urlo – bass, vocals and synths
Vita – drums
Ciccio – soundlord
Lu – visuals

There’s some good and some curious news that comes out of the following press release announcement of a Scott Kelly West Coast tour. The good news is he’s playing new material for a record he’s going to lay down once off the road — if you didn’t hear it, his last album, The Wake, was a triumph. The curious news is what his touring and recording solo means for the timeline of a new Neurosis album and the second Shrinebuilder. Both bands have been playing new material live, and Kelly‘s obviously integral to the lineups of each, so it should be interesting to see how it all plays out going into 2012.

I’m gonna get started on that math. You enjoy this from the PR wire:

Scott Kelly has announced his next solo acoustic tour for late this Autumn, with 16 shows confirmed throughout the western half of America from the end of November through mid-December.

The Neurosis/Shrinebuilder guitarist will be playing most of his next upcoming studio album, which will be recorded immediately following the tour. Kelly will be joined by several companions including country/folk artist Jay Munly and outlaw country rocker Bob Wayne as opening support on all dates. Stated Kelly about the purpose of this new tour: “I have two main goals with this tour: The first is to play all of my new songs, as I will hitting the studio to record my new record the day after the tour finishes. The other is to keep forging a new path for underground folk and country inspired artists such as Munly, Bob and myself; this is something that I am committed to doing.”

Scott Kelly Western US Tour w/ Jay Munly, Bob Wayne:

11/29 Tractor Tavern Seattle, WA
11/30 Mississippi Studios Portland, OR
12/01 Neurolux Boise, ID
12/02 Garage on Beck Roadhouse & Grill Salt Lake City, UT
12/03 Hi Dive Club Denver, CO
12/05 Low Spirits Albuquerque, NM
12/06 Rhythm Room Phoenix, AZ
12/07 Club Congress Tucson, AZ
12/08 Bar Pink San Diego, CA
12/09 Juke Joint Anaheim, CA
12/10 Echo Los Angeles, CA
12/11 Alex’s Bar Long Beach, CA
12/13 Fulton 55 Fresno, CA
12/14 The New Parish Oakland, CA
12/15 Brick and Mortar San Francisco, CA
12/16 Crepe Place Santa Cruz, CA

Congratulations to Italian megadoomers Ufomammut, and really, congratulations to Planet Earth. This is some of the best news I’ve seen in a while. A perfect storm of apocalyptic tonality. As Ufomammut make ready to follow the stunning work they did with last year’s Eve, I shudder to think what devastation they’ll unleash this time around.

This from the PR wire:

It comes with absolute honor to finally announce the meeting of marvelous minds, as Italian masters of thunderous psychedelic doom Ufomammut sign to Neurot Recordings for their next album. Their last album, Eve, was met with great critical acclaim worldwide, and judging by the studio updates we are receiving, their next opus will be even more epic in its proportions and probably their heaviest and most cacophonous record to date.

This is what Neurot owner Steve Von Till had to say about the signing: “Welcome Ufomammut to the Neurot family. Ufomammut is our kind of band. These sonic brothers from Italy are heavy, psychedelic, and driven. We couldn’t be happier than to have them working with Neurot Recordings for their next full-length album. Though we have been fans of their music for a while, being able to meet them and share the stage with them on our recent trip to Europe was awesome. We formed a great and meaningful bond, which of course is the most important aspect of what we do. We admire their prolific nature as visionary musicians, as members of the Malleus art collective, and as owners of their own label, Supernatural Cat. They truly embody the same spirit of music and art that we all strive for. Ufomammut is in the studio at this very moment working on their next epic.”

Ufomammut also commented…”Working with Neurot signals an evolutionary change for Ufomammut. In the last years we’ve built up our own music world, doing everything by ourselves, working on our own art and recordings, creating a label, and taking care of every aspect of our projects.

We feel very excited by this change because this confirms that we did a good job, especially coming from these guys who we have always considered a great inspiration.

We’re sure this Neurot and Ufomammut friendship will open new perspectives and directions in our sonic adventure, because we feel we have the same vision and attitude about what music should be. In few words we feel totally honored and proud to become a part of the Neurot Family.”

This news really does mark the alliance of almighty talent and we hope that you will follow this story as it unfolds in the coming weeks, more news as and when we can bring it. In the meantime, European fans can catch Ufomammut on tour beginning next week and into October.

09/14 Groovestation Dresden D
09/15 Festaal Kreuzberg Berlin D
09/16 Stengade Copenaghen DK
09/17 Inkonst Malmo SWE
09/18 Blitz Oslo NO
09/19 Truck Stop Alaska Goteborg SWE
09/21 Nuclear Night Club Oulu FI
09/22 Lutakko Jyväskylä FI
09/23 Yo-talo Tampere FI
09/24 Korjaamo Helsinki FI
09/26 Molotow Hamburg D
09/27 Underground Cologne D
09/28 013 Tilburg NL
09/29 Bastard Club Osnabrück D
09/30 Baroeg Rotterdam NL
10/01 Het Depot Leuven B
10/03 The Croft Bristol UK
10/04 The Well Leeds UK
10/05 The Continental Preston UK
10/06 Purple Turtle London UK
10/07 Nouveau Casino Paris F
10/08 Gaswerk Winterthur CH
10/09 Les Caves Du Manoir Martigny CH

Prolific and with a multi-faceted sonic approach steeped in wide-open Americana and new-school intellectualist metal crunch, Nashville, Tennessee, trio Across Tundras make their Neurot Recordings debut with Sage. It’s the band’s seventh full-length since they got together in 2004, and it has a naturalist, organic edge to it, with clear separation between the guitar, bass, vocals and drums, and a cohesive full-album flow that offsets its prairie licks with heavy rhythms and Sabbathian bass runs from “Big Jim” Shively. Shively’s tone and playing are consistent highlights throughout Sage, starting with Spaghetti Western opener “In the Name of River Grand,” which lays out much of the dustbowl romanticism Across Tundras have on offer with the record. Their songwriting varies from the straightforward to the avant, and their greatest achievement with Sage might be keeping themselves from losing the wagon-wheels when it comes to structuring the tracks. “Hijo de Desierto,” just more than half the length of the opener at 4:56, is built around a strong, memorable chorus and even as it decays into a darkly psychedelic fever dream, it keeps that chorus going as a way to ground the listener in the experience, showing both maturity and structural prowess on Across Tundras’ part.

Guitarist/vocalist Tanner Olson – Shively also contributes backing vocals, as does drummer Nathan Rose – ranges from shouts to the sub-country croon of “Buried Arrows,” on which fellow Nashville resident Lilly Hiatt (of Lilly Hiatt and the Dropped Ponies) guests in classic Grand Ol’ Opry duet fashion. “Buried Arrows” is probably the best vocal performance on Sage, despite the lyrics seeming somewhat contrived with generic images of hitching down hard roads, days of the buffalo, high desert land, etc., and Olson’s guitar displays a suitable twang to match, underscored by Rose’s subtle floor tom rhythm, evoking at once a Native American tradition and the weighted low end that typifies so much modern doom. Shively’s bass is once again gorgeously crisp, but it’s on the more open centerpiece cut “The Book of Truth” that he really shines, filling the empty spaces between guitar stops and laying the foundational groove on which the track is built. He’s not overly flashy in his playing, not showing off or anything like that, but if I was sitting with a friend talking about the new Across Tundras record – and of course I’d have to specify Sage, since it probably won’t be all that long before the next one is out – the first thing I’d say is that the bass makes the album. That’s not to take away from what either Olson or Rose contribute to the band, it’s a trio, so every member is essential to the whole, just that a killer bass tone isn’t something that comes easily or often, so the Geezer Butler runs at the end of “The Book of Truth” are worth appreciating double.

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Good for them. I wasn’t a huge fan of Western Sky Ride, but I liked their debut, and they’ve apparently put out no fewer than five records in the last three years, so what the hell. Way to go, Across Tundras. May it be a long and fruitful relationship between you and Neurot Recordings, and may your first child be a masculine child (I’m on a Godfather kick lately). Here’s looking forward to whatever comes next.

The PR wire has this:

Creating unique moonshine-soaked organic rock in the hills of Tennessee, Across Tundras seamlessly meld classic rock, folk, country, psychedelia, and doom into an original, organic style of rock that defies classification and bleeds true Americana. In true nomadic style Across Tundras have previously set-up camp on multiple labels including Crucial Blast and Forgotten Empire, have now found a home with Neurot Recordings.

Stated Neurot/Neurosis‘ Steve Von Till on the signing: “It is with great honor that Neurot Recordings welcomes Across Tundras to our home. Their past releases have shown immense dedication to spirit and commitment to growth and sonic evolution. Those are traits that we admire and look for when declaring kinship among those also on the quest for emotional release through sound.”

Across Tundras‘ Tanner Olson this week also made a statement on their induction into Neurot‘s family: “The opportunity to stand alongside such a talented and driven group of artists and musicians is something we have been working along time for. Neurot Recordings releases the most inspired and original music out there, and its a huge compliment that they see us as kindred musical spirits. Eternal gratitude to the Neurot family for believing in us and giving a proper home to our nomadic sounds.”

More details on the recently completed new Across Tundras album will be announced shortly. Stay tuned for tour announcements and more through the coming months as well.

If it wasn’t enough that it was The Patient Mrs.‘ birthday and I still got to go to the show, I knew walking into The Mercury Lounge that it was going to be a good night because the dude at the door said, “Hey man, I dig your beard.” Had it been anyone else playing that night, I might have just cut my losses and gone home right then, opened up my diary (or WordPress) and written, “Today was a good day.” Instead I celebrated with an $8 Sierra Nevada.

I figured out the last time I was at the Mercury Lounge was a couple years back to see Dax Riggs, and though I expected my skin to be burned off in hipster hell, it wasn’t actually that bad. Well, maybe it was, but the last acoustic show I went to was Six Organs of Admittance, and the volume of that crowd was so loud it was offensive, and that definitely wasn’t the case here. I don’t care how ironic your flannel is so long as you’re there for the music and you’re not a dick about it.

Opening the show was Hunter Hunt-Hendrix of black metallers Liturgy doing a solo performance that turned out to be him, a looper, some vocal effects, and nothing else. His voice mimicked strings and he set up elaborate choruses of himself over the course of a couple separate pieces. It was brave, but probably not something that should be done for more than 10 minutes at a stretch, as after that the “What the hell am I doing here?” impulse kicked in and I went to the bar out front for another drink and to wait for Man’s Gin. People were in and out from the back room and I could hear just fine in case he, you know, took out a guitar or something. Nope. Semi-melodic moaning all the way.

The plan for the night was Man’s Gin, then Wino, then Scott Kelly, then Wino and Scott Kelly together, and it was a good plan by me. I dug Man’s Gin‘s Smiling Dogs record and was psyched to see the Erik Wunder-fronted outfit in their full-band incarnation after when I last caught them at Lit Lounge and it was just Wunder and standup-bassist Josh Lozano with percussion behind. Fade Kainer (Inswarm, Batillus) handled drums and Scott Edward guitar, and they were loose, but sounded good all the same.

They got a mixed reaction from the crowd, but it seemed more positive than ambivalent, which translates to triumph in Manhattan. Everyone in attendance who was conscious of their surroundings during the grunge era probably had a better idea of what they were going for than those who weren’t, whatever that says. Highlight of the set was the Neurosis-style drum jam at the end and “Doggamn.” Still waiting for them to do “The Ballad of Jimmy Sturgis” live.

It was a party when Wino took the stage, and that spirit continued through his set, numerous whoops and hollers coming from the crowd. Wino, up there by himself with just an acoustic guitar, couldn’t help but rip into a fuzzed-out solo about halfway in, but aside from playing them a bit faster (as he acknowledged he had a tendency to do in our interview), he was loyal to the versions of the songs that appear on his Adrift album. The split 7″ single he shares with Scott Kelly was mentioned as being for sale for just $5 — end of tour blowout price — and it seemed only proper to pick one up.

He covered Townes Van Zandt, as would Kelly when he took the stage later, but the highlight of Wino‘s set was probably “I Don’t Care,” which he prefaced with a story about being 15 and getting locked up in a Maryland juvenile detention center and writing the song then. It was one of my least favorite tracks on Adrift, but the performance live and the context made it a high point of the evening. I actually saw people dance. It happened.

The thing about Wino is that, even if he’s doing something else (i.e. playing acoustic), he’s a classic rock songwriter, and he can’t help but rock out. He brought the crowd along with him for the trip, and when Scott Kelly took the stage later, it was clear that, despite their apparent friendship and cohabitation in the supergroup Shrinebuilder, they’re two very different performers.

Scott Kelly plays s-l-o-w. He’s really, really good at it. The room — apart from one dude who decided it would be a good idea to accompany Kelly‘s guitar by banging on a cinderblock and eventually brought the show to a screeching halt — was dead quiet. So much so that Kelly remarked approvingly on it more than once (we did good!) as he went through his set of morose, low-key but still highly emotive songs. He covered his half of the split with Wino, taking three tries to get through the song because of the aforementioned cinderblock jackass, and by the time his version of “Tecumseh Valley” was done, my arrived-at conclusion of the evening became, “Well, I guess it’s time to buy a Townes Van Zandt record.” He made a pretty convincing argument.

I had been hoping for “Remember Me,” which originally appeared on Blood and Time‘s At the Foot of the Garden before Kelly re-recorded it for his last solo album, the brilliant The Wake. That was a no dice, but the new Shrinebuilder song Kelly brought Wino on stage to play, and the jam that ensued from there, was more than enough to make up for anything lacking. The crowd had thinned some by the time they were done, but not much, and those who were there were entranced by what they were watching. Wino took leads (higher in the mix, or maybe it was where I was standing) while Kelly played rhythms, and each guitarist seemed to enjoy most of all the chance to be on stage with the other. It was something I was glad to have witnessed when it was over.

Something I was less glad about was having lost the ticket from coatcheck. Whoops. It really is a wonder I’m not divorced by now. The Patient Mrs. and I stood, describing the contents of her coat pockets to the heavy-sighs of the girl at the rack, and eventually, we got her jacket and left. I don’t know if it was her best birthday ever, and I don’t know if it’s the only time I’m ever going to get to see Wino and Scott Kelly perform together in this fashion (they looked to be having a good enough time that I wouldn’t be surprised if they did it again at some point), but man, if ever there was a time I was happy to be in New York on a Saturday night, this was it.

Originally released by Alternative Tentacles in 1992 and subsequently reissued in 1999 at the launch of the band’s Neurot Recordings label, Neurosis’ third album, Souls at Zero, is an essential document in an essential catalog. The post-hardcore (though not by the modern genre definition) approach of their first two albums, 1988’s Pain of Mind and 1991’s The Word as Law, led the seminal Oakland, California, outfit to new ground of sonic experimentation, and Souls at Zero is the first instance of that experimentation made flesh. Not even as assured as they’d be a year later on Enemy of the Sun, these songs capture a critical moment in the transition of the band. The raw immediacy of their earliest work is still there – you can almost feel the panic coming through the speakers nearly 20 years later on opener “To Crawl Under One’s Skin” – and they leaned heavily on their much-noted Swans influence, but the process of refinement that would result in Neurosis’ later career triumphs was definitely under way.

Like the 2010 Neurot Recordings reissue of Enemy of the Sun, this new Souls at Zero has been given a visual reinterpretation by Neurosis artist-in-residence Josh Graham. Sound-wise, the disc overall sounds louder and clearer, but that could just as easily be me reading into it as any change mastering/pressing technology improvements have brought about. The guitars of Scott Kelly and Steve Von Till are still distinct, and more present here than in the original is Dave Edwardson’s bass, which does much to thicken out the songs and make moments like the apex of “Sterile Vision” hit with more impact. The balance between the keyboards (then provided by Simon McIlroy, who was replaced by Noah Landis in 1995) and guitars/bass is given careful treatment on that track as well, and on “Stripped” and the chaotic “The Web,” where an underlying layer of noise seems to come through in a way it never did on previous versions of the record. Those who’ve spent significant time with Souls at Zero over the years either since its original release or previous reissue will no doubt hear things differently as well. Even if it’s the same album, it’s a new experience of it.

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The only thing I don’t like about Wino and Scott Kelly touring together performing solo acoustic sets (as opposed to when they tour together as part of the same band in Shrinebuilder) is that they’re playing New York on The Patient Mrs.‘ birthday. And 2011′s a big one. Curse you, satisfying and longstanding loving relationship!

But just because I can’t nerd out doesn’t mean you can’t. This came down the wire the other day, so it might be old news by now, but here’s the US release info for Wino‘s acoustic album, Adrift, and the tour dates:

Answering the call from his friends and supporters to record an acoustic solo album following the sudden and tragic passing of friend and bandmate Jon Blank, who appeared on Wino‘s Punctuated Equilibrium album in 2009, Scott “Wino” Weinrich set to work on his most personal and powerful recording to date. Adrift is a revealing alternative view of this underground legend’s personality and history. Stripped down to the bare minimum — just his voice and his guitar — the songs on Adrift follow classic American songwriting ideals offering a compelling mixture of emotion and storytelling.

Adrift Track Listing:
01. Adrift
02. I Don’t Care
03. Hold on Love
04. Mala Suerte
05. Old and Alone
06. Iron Horse/Born to Lose
07. Suzanes Song
08. DBear
09. Whatever
10. Shot in the Head
11. O.B.E.
12. Green Speed

Adrift is set for official release on respected German label Exile on Mainstream Records March 8th, 2011, in North America, the label now distributed domestically by E1 Entertainment. A limited edition vinyl version of the album featuring extended liner notes and more is to be released in the US on January 18th by Volcom Entertainment.

Wino will hit the road Stateside this February on a short acoustic tour, rocking alongside longtime friend, and also Shrinebuilder bandmate, Scott Kelly (Neurosis). The tour will be in support of the upcoming split 7″ between Wino and Kelly, to be released early in the year by Volcom, as well as the Adrift album. Sponsored by BrooklynVegan, the tour will venture through California, Texas, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland and New York, showcasing both legendary artists each in solo, acoustic mode.

Wino/Scott Kelly February 2011 Tour:

02/05 Viper Room, Hollywood CA
02/07 Casbah, San Diego CA
02/08 Emo’s, Austin TX
02/09 Abbey Pub, Chicago IL
02/10 Great Scott, Allston MA
02/11 Sonar, Baltimore MD
02/12 Mercury Lounge, New York NY

At this point, the subgenre’s trend level has crested and most of what the specific style of music has to offer has likely been explored, but although it gets the ol’ eye-roll “not this again” treatment these days, it’s worth remembering that post-metal has produced some great, landmark albums, and that the bands who came after had solid reasoning behind being influenced as they were.

Blending post-rock elements with heavier, often crushing guitar work, the classification post-metal is as amorphous as any genre term. I’ve heard everyone from High on Fire to Ulver referred to under its umbrella, but I want to be clear that when I talk about post-metal, I’m thinking of what’s also commonly called “metalgaze,” the specific branch of metal heavily inspired by the bands below.

I wanted to do this Where to Start post not just for those looking to expose themselves to the genre, but also in case anyone who maybe is tired of hearing bands that sound like this has forgotten how killer these records were. Here’s my starting five essential post-metal albums, ordered by year of release:

1. Godflesh, Godflesh (1988): I saw the album art on hoodies for years before I knew what it was. 1989′s Streetcleaner was better received critically at the time for its industrial leanings, but Justin Broadrick‘s first outing after leaving Napalm Death has grown over time to be the more influential album. At just 30 minutes long in its original form (subsequent reissues would add bonus material), it’s a pivotal moment in understanding modern post-metal that predates most of the genre’s major contributions by over a decade.

2. Neurosis, A Sun That Never Sets (2001): Take a listen to A Sun That Never Sets closer “Stones from the Sky,” then go put on just about any post-metal record, and you’ll see many of them trying to capture the same feel and progression — if not just blatantly transposing that riff onto their own material. Say what you want about Neurosis‘ earlier material, I think if everyone was honest about it, it would be A Sun That Never Sets mentioned even more. An awful lot of the modern wave of post-metal bands formed in 2001 and 2002, and I don’t think that’s a coincidence.

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I’ve been racking my brain to try and understand why North Carolinian psychedelic progsters US Christmas (I’ve also seen it as U.S. Christmas, with punctuation, but on the album it’s without and I prefer it that way anyhow) have such a buzz around them. Musically, the six-piece don’t really do anything that’s never been done before, adding some Appalachian ruggedness to the well-established tropes of modern psych and post-rock, but I don’t think they satisfy in either their meandering structures or most spacious moments any need that acts like Naam, Quest for Fire, Farflung, Sula Bassana, and a dozen others don’t already fulfill. Seriously, I’ve been through and through US Christmas’ fifth album, Run Thick in the Night (Neurot), and the only reason I can come up with for why US Christmas has received all this hype and these other bands haven’t is because Scott Kelly likes them. Apparently that makes all the difference in the world.

Not that I wouldn’t also seek to curry favor from the venerable Neurosis guitarist and vocalist for a musical project, and not that this is anything to be held against US Christmas in terms of their sound or the quality of Run Thick in the Night as both a whole album and collection of songs, but clearly these things matter. Since Neurot released US Christmas’ Eat the Low Dogs in 2008, I feel like a shitload of people have grasped onto the band in a big way as torchbearers for modern space-driven psychedelia, and don’t get me wrong, Run Thick in the Night has its moments — at 76 minutes long, there’d better be a couple in there — and the band has ironed out some of its kitchen-sink approach (lineup changes are also a factor), but in terms of crafting memorable songs, US Christmas seem to take more of a part-construction point of view, making tracks that flow well enough but don’t necessarily stay with you after listening.

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[NOTE: I wanted to give Neurosis' Live at Roadburn 2007 some attention because, well, it's Neurosis and that's what I do, but I was conflicted because I wrote the promotional bio for the album, got paid for it and can't even attempt to feign impartiality as I usually do. My solution is to print the bio itself; it's a review of sorts anyhow. Hope you dig it. Live at Roadburn 2007 is available now through Neurot Recordings.]

Neurosis – Live at Roadburn 2007

This will be my last letter. I’m tired of trying to make you understand. Hell, I’m tired of trying to understand. After this, you won’t be hearing from me again. I’m not coming back.

You know where everyone still has it wrong about Neurosis? The mind. Look at the legion of imitators and you’ll see they’re like children trying to build a treehouse without instructions. There are mathematical equations being done, but they’re the wrong ones. Emotion plus volume. The cerebellum gets all the credit, but this music comes from the stomach. Listen to the washes at the back of “Water is Not Enough.” Listen to the grimacing cries of “At the End of the Road,” the mortal desolation of “A Season in the Sky.” You’ll hear it or you’re a fool.

Not that it’s perfect. That isn’t the idea. It’s the humanity you’re getting here. The raw stuff of human performance. The need to transmit from one to another an idea, shape, sound. It is as close to authenticity as we come.

What do you think they called a square the first time saw it drawn in the dirt? It was a thing without a name. It was a creation inextricably tied to the one who crafted it. It was art. That’s what this is, delivered at painful volume to ears that, if they could, would scream back as if to say, “I’m here too, I can see it now. It is even on all sides.”

Imagine what it must have been like to have Neurosis step out on that stage. The 013 Popcentrum, Tilburg. Roadburn. An event unlike anything else the world over, and Neurosis with a legacy of carved granite. It must have been like rivers joining, flowing in the same direction. Forces of nature.

There are nine tracks on this release. As you listen, set aside expectation. Put away your thoughts about what you think the work should or does sound like. It is not about the definitive. It is the execution. The temporal and the fleeting. You need to understand: This is the moment, captured. Emotion plus volume. They’ve been doing it one way or another since Reagan.

If you’re still reading this, you know the deal. That year they released Given to the Rising, which was the black to The Eye of Every Storm’s grey, and to the red of A Sun that Never Sets, and the hard lines of Times of Grace, and so on. The material is fresh, vibrant and unrelenting. Even when it breathes, you don’t. Two years later they’d be asked to curate their Beyond the Pale Festival under the Roadburn banner, hand-picking the artists with whom they would share the stage for their return performance. This is the genesis of that.

Like they say: “Sun-whitened bones in a landscape of hounds.” We’re those hounds, you and I. All we can do is feast, chew endlessly and hope to get a bit of marrow. Break our teeth on it. And maybe understand. I’m tired of trying to make you understand. So tired.

–JJ Koczan

Say what you want about A Storm of Light making their name because Josh Graham handles visuals for Neurosis (the band’s first gigs were opening for them at Brooklyn Masonic Temple), countering all those arguments is a whopping list of tour dates in both the US and Europe that shows them working their collective ass off to support their second album, Forgive us Our Trespasses. And furthermore, that album kicked ass, so quit being grumpy that their friends are cooler than your friends and get with the program.

So there.

Here is the aforementioned plethora of dates, complete with comment from Graham on the work ahead, all courtesy of the PR wire:

Brooklyn kings of atmospheric doom, A Storm of Light, are gearing up for a short stint of US tour dates next week that include performances with experimental metal/noise exhibitionists Today is the Day and reunited stoner metallers Sleep before heading to Europe for a month’s worth of shows in October.

Said guitarist/vocalist John Graham of the upcoming shows: “The next couple of months are going to be a lot of fun for us. We’re lucky enough to share the stage with the legendary Sleep, brutalists Today is the Day, and then embark on our fourth European tour. Awesome!”

A Storm of Light US/Europe tour dates 2010:
08/31 31st St Pub – Pittsburgh, PA w/ Today is the Day
09/01 Ottobar – Baltimore, MD w/ Today is the Day
09/03 Santos Party House – New York, NY w/ Today is the Day
09/04 AS220 – Providence, RI w/ Today is the Day
09/07 Starlight Ballroom – Philadelphia, PA w/ Sleep
09/08 Brooklyn Masonic Temple – Brooklyn, NY w/ Sleep, Lichens
10/01 Brudenell Social Club – Leeds, UK
10/02 Whelans – Dublin, Ireland w/ Stand up Guy
10/03 The Spring and Airbrake – Belfast, Ireland w/ Stand up Guy
10/04 Captain’s Rest – Glasgow, Scotland
10/05 The Croft – Bristol, UK
10/06 The Underworld – London, UK w/ Sedula, Sons of Alpha Centauri
10/07 Nouveau Casino – Paris, France
10/08 Simplon – Groningen, Netherlands
10/09 013 – Tilburg, Netherlands
10/10 Juha West Matinee Show – Stuttgart, Germany
10/12 Rhiz – Vienna, Austria
10/13 Kset – Zagreb, Croatia
10/14 Randall – Bratislava, Slovakia
10/16 Firlej – Wroclaw, Poland
10/17 Powiekszenie – Warsaw, Poland
10/20 Nabaklab – Riga, Latvia
10/21 Nosturi – Helsinki, Finland
10/23 Garage – Oslo, Norway
10/24 Debaser – Stockholm, Sweden
10/25 Loppen – Copenhagen, Denmark
10/26 Hafenklang – Hamburg, Germany
10/27 Feierwerk – Munich, Germany
10/28 Spazio – Turin, Italy
10/29 Urban – Perugia, Italy
10/30 Init Club – Rome, Italy

Speaking of bands heavily influenced by Hawkwind, the PR wire informs that North Carolina upstarts U.S. Christmas — who as I understand it are all the rage with the kids these days — will have a new album out on Neurot come September 20. I still consider myself in the “I just don’t get it” camp when it comes to these guys, but rumor has it they’ve got a whole new lineup, so maybe Run Thick in the Night is the record that’ll turn me around.

Here’s the latest:

Neurot Recordings is proud to unleash the latest full-length from psychedelic, high-volume blues rock ensemble U.S. Christmas on September 20. Titled Run Thick in the Night, the band’s fifth long player was recorded by Sanford Parker at FahrenheitStudio in Johnson City, Tennessee, mixed by Parker and USX members Nate Hall, Matt Johnson and Josh Holt at Semaphore Studios in Chicago, IL and mastered by Collin Jordan.

Run Thick in the Night track listing
1. In the Night
2. Wolf on Anareta
3. Fire is Sleeping
4. Fonta Flora
5. Ephraim in the Stars
6. The Leonids
7. Suzerain
8. Maran
9. The Quena
10. Deep Green
11. Devil’s Flower in Mother Winter
12. Mirror Glass
13. The Moon in Flesh and Bone

U.S. Christmas will kick off the weekend performing two special shows with Corrosion of Conformity before heading out on a handful of one-off performances in September throughout North Carolina including at stop at the Hopscotch Music Fest in Raleigh. The fest features countless artists from all genres including Weedeater, Harvey Milk and Public Enemy. Confirmed dates below. Further dates TBA.

U.S. Christmas live:
7/30/2010 Stella Blue – Asheville, NC w/ Corrosion of Conformity (Animosity lineup), Zoroaster, Righteous Fool
7/31/2010 The Pour House Music Hall – Raleigh, NC w/ Corrosion of Conformity (Animosity lineup) Black Tusk, Righteous Fool
9/05/2010 Static Age Records – Asheville, NC w/ Body and Enoch
9/11/2010 Hopscotch Music Fest – Raleigh NC
9/16/2010 Legitimate Business – Greensboro, NC w/ Caltrop
9/17/2010 The Milestone – Charlotte, NC w/ Caltrop

U.S. Christmas is:
Nate Hall – Guitars, Words, Vocals
Matt Johnson – Synthesizers, Guitars, Sounds
Chris Thomas – Guitars, Bass
BJ Graves – Drums
Justin Whitlow – Drums, Experimental Sounds
Josh Holt – Bass, Drones
Meghan Mulhearn – Violin

Right at the end of August, when the whole world feels like that episode of The Twilight Zone where the earth is moving closer to the sun, when the haze of humidity covers the eastern half of the US like a blanket from Hell — is there any better time to reissue one of the most intense albums of all time? Neurosis‘ 1993 full-length, Enemy of the Sun — originally released on Alternative Tentacles, then reissued in 1999 on Neurot Recordings – will once again see new life through Neurot on August 30.

The tracklisting is the same as the 1999 reissue, but the album will feature newly-interpreted artwork from Neurosis‘ resident visual artist, Josh Graham. As per the PR wire:

Neurot Recordings is proud to announce the reissue of one of the most groundbreaking releases in the ever-expanding lineage of icons Neurosis, Enemy of the Sun.

With Neurosis’ earlier releases — 1987’s Pain of Mind, and even 1990’s The Word as Law — the band’s jagged and eerie blend of metallic, hypnotic, post-gutter punk was instantly recognized as wholly unique, yet it took multiple releases for the then Bay Area unit to infinitely define their sound, forcing the world to listen, then run for cover. Their 1992 full-length Souls at Zero showcased the band branching off into much more expanded songwriting, giving birth to much longer hymns, infusing them with tribal rhythms and slow-building post-doom bastardization, then breaking massive new ground for the metal world.

But it was their follow-up in 1993, the crushing Enemy of the Sun LP, that would be the album to take the pulsing, hypnotizing monoliths Neurosis was crafting down to much darker, and much, much heavier territory for the rest of the band’s still-growing roster of masterpieces. Still to this day, critics and fans of heavy and experimental metal hold this release to be one of the harshest, spine-chilling, mind-warping releases in history, and countless acts have cited Enemy of the Sun as “the one that changed everything” for them.

The eight tracks on the release was one of the most massively cavernous, crushing records the world had experienced. A mesmerizing, pressurizing, dirge-driven display of brutal riffing, thick with haunting samples, layered, anguished vocal tracks, raging multiple-member percussion contributions, and some of the most mammoth buildups ever, Enemy of the Sun was an album that left a sense of anguish in your soul long after the record was over.

Neurot Recordings are exceptionally proud to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Neurosis, and once again issue this classic album to the masses. 2010’s reissue of Enemy of the Sun bears a fully redesigned package by visionary artist, Neurosis live visual master Josh Graham, and will be released worldwide on August 30th, 2010.