Unjust & unwanted wars, poverty, prisons for profit and now cyberspace censorship…unholy fuck, there is some crazy shit happening right now, and luckily some bands are willing to take a stand against it! Appalachian Terror Unit are a West Virginia anarcho punk band who create music that gives a voice to the downpressed humans worldwide. Sometime in the near future, ATU will be releasing their Black Sands 7″ via Profane Extistence. This record will not disappoint – 4 songs that clock in over 13 minutes, packed with awesome metallic riffs and lyrics that bring home issues we all should have on our minds. What’s so on point about this band is that they are the total fucking package; not only do they incite change on the lyrical tip, but the music they lay down is so epic. ATU are able to balance all of the influences of metal, crust and punk with pure passion and conviction, which makes their songs dig deeper into your mind. On their title track, “Black Sands,” they have this riff that is dipped in caustic empathy, that screams just as loud as both vocalists and gets your braincells spazzing out on some revolution brainwaves. This band composes tunes that are laced with righteous fury that will stand the test of time. Fuck the powers that be, ATU are a band that represents the truth how I see it, and they manifest what the world needs to hear if the planet has any chance of sticking around. What I just can’t get over is their mammoth songwriting. When you hear “The End Of Complacency,” it fucking bleeds with the anger of the have nots, but at the same time it packs so much angst that’s directed at the truly wicked, you can’t help but get hyped. Damn, I’ve got to give the drummer some, on every track the warrior beat is alive and well. Ever since I heard this band years ago, I have been impressed with the dual vocals, and nothing has changed – I’m still into the vocal delivery on this 7″. If Black Sands could transform into a weapon, it would destroy those who have been taking advantage of us for their own profits. Appalachian Terror Unit are not terrorists, they are our freedom fighters – let’s all stand with them in unity, the world is ours!

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Full Live Ritual After The Jump!
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Lately I have really been into checking out the visuals that bands are creating to go along with their releases. To me, creating interesting videos to work in partnership with songs make perfect sense. This is just the case for French drone/sludge masters MONARCH who will releasing their new album, OMEN, on At A Loss Recordings on February 28th, 2012. I have heard the album, and I must say it’s fucking outergaltic gnarly in all of the right directions, stay tuned for a full review coming soon. It must be said that this record is a magic carpet ride to the drone side of the moon. What really impresses me is the video they released as a teaser – I’m sure after watching this OMEN will get under your skin, and you won’t mind at all!

Monarch-Omens. from Sabbat Noir on Vimeo.

RENOUNCER is a fairly new band from Kansas City, with members of Kicked In and Diskreet, and they play Hardcore just the way I like it: It’s hard as nails without being dull, it varies speeds so it stays interesting, it’s metallic without being metalcore, the musicians are skilled without jerking off about it and they stick to a dark and hateful theme that is the golden thread that runs through the four songs of this EP (entitled Incorporeal Insurrection, released on Disgorge Media).

Listen to three of those songs (recommendation: track 2), full review after the jump!

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I know this is already going viral since being put up on Youtube yesterday, but when we saw it this morning, we knew we had to post it. This is where we see our little girl in 8 years. I know she is pre-pubescent, and hasn’t been fully exposed to all of the myths and societal expectations that cripple so many young women, and I hope that she will never give in to that bullshit. Stay strong Juliet! You are fucking hard core! Those faces! You will be inspiration for 7 month old Sinead Sunshine, who already has a dope punk scream. Maybe she can do backup for you on your next video.

My favorite part about writing for CVLT Nation is that I can sit back and look at a collection of art that truly reflects my taste for the macabre. Occasionally I have been able find galleries or curators dedicated to dark and/or disturbing artwork, but up until recent years I have found myself at group shows, admiring one one or two of the artists, people who see the infinite beauty in grotesque places. This Friday the 20th from 6-9pm, Black Thorns in the White Cube is opening at the Paragraph Gallery in Kansas City, MO, and it is an exhibition of artists that I would jump at the chance to see together if only I wasn’t 1,600 miles away. Curated by artist and scholar of black metal Amelia Ishmael, Black Thorns in the White Cube features work by Alexander Binder (Stuttgart, Germany), Vincent Como (Brooklyn), Terence Hannum (Baltimore), Karlynn Holland (Brooklyn), Elodie Lesourd (Paris, France), Aaron Metté (Brooklyn), Grant Willing (Brooklyn), and Tereza Zelenkova (London, England). This is an intellectual exploration and visual interpretation of black metal, and the artists participating are visionaries of their dark crafts. Ishmael is internationally known for her study of black metal in art, and has spoken at several international conferences, including the Black Metal Theory Symposium in London and the Home of Metal Conference in Wolverhampton, U.K. To hear her discussion of Black Thorns in the White Cube, come out to the gallery on Saturday the 21st at 4pm. The exhibition runs until March 3rd, and then will be resurfacing in Chicago for a western exhibit. If you can’t make it out this Friday, stay tuned for coverage of the show next week here on CVLT Nation.
(Image from Alexander Binder’s Maleficium I)

From the ashes of Winter & Throat Records, a new label has risen into to the world – Die Rot Records. They sent a bunch of their releases to us, and I’m pretty stoked on the future of this label. One band that has got me hyped is Hell Blitz, who are releasing a tape really soon. What will you hear on this is pure fucking lo-fi weirdo dis-beat that is as catchy as a virus. Hell Blitz’ song writing is interesting and simple. What will draw you in for sure is the vocalist’s delivery – it’s dead pan, almost spoken, and it has this cool no wave vibe about it. The vocals combined with the dirty proto d-beat mean the end product is something totally refreshing. I dig everything about their song “In Times Of War” – the first dirty riff that rides through the composition, the scat drum beat that makes your head move non-stop, and the way the tune starts to melt into chaos. After that, Hell Blitz kicks you in the head with “Little Remains,” which has the same ingredients as the first song, but the tone of the riff hits your heart in different way. This band is proof that it does not take a lot to make a huge impact. Fuck yeah, I want to hear more from this band, because I feel that they have something to say that the universe should hear! Much respect Hell Blitz, job well done…stay tuned to CVLT Nation for more music from Die Rot Records!

I know who I am, but I don’t know who I would be without skateboarding. I can say for a fact that growing up being a part of the Venice skate culture in the 70′s was my gateway into the social hardcore scene. My skating roots were very localized and homegrown – back in the day, we had certain artists who would hand-draw all of the graphics, way before silkscreening on boards, and if you were not from Venice, you could’t get a deck. Things changed once skating started to boom, but then in the 80′s it died and went underground. As it started to reemerge, taking shape was a skateboarding monopoly, where only a certain few controlled the whole industry. Then came Steve Rocco, who flipped skating on it’s head when he started his skate company World Industries. For a certain time I think he became the most hated human in the skate industry, because he did not play by his rules. Steve made up his rules as he went along, in a way the motto of his company was “uncontrolled chaos breeds controlled constructive madness!” I could tell you his whole story, but that wouldn’t be fun, because I’m sure the documentary The Man Who Souled The World would do a better job than I could. I will say that I respect him because of his courage to start something new, when everyone said he couldn’t do it, that’s pretty D.I.Y. Check out this killer film, The Man Who Souled The World, after the jump – it has some awesome skating in it, so get gassed!

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Hidden in the alleys and gutters of the Bay Area, something special is taking place. I could try and label it, but why? There are some new heavy bands on the rise, and some foundation bands that are shaking the heavens. An extra mammoth gig took place at the historic Gilman Street in Berkeley, and videographer Kevin Hobbs was on hand to capture two gnarly sets. CVLT Nation’s favorite Bay Area doom wizards Swamp Witch destroyed shit, and the ultra awesome Brainoil whipped the crowd into state of sludge-laden mayhem. Respect is due to Kevin for the out of this world effects he did on the Swamp Witch footage, and the way that he filmed Brainoil’s set you can almost smell the weed in the air! Again, CVLT Nation salutes the northern California scene for their true spirit of unity, and for waving the flag of heavy fucking music higher than high. Now load up your bong, spark that shit and peep these resinated visuals!

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I’m a music nerd and I’m super fucking proud of it! I get excited when I find a label that puts out brutal releases one after the other. It means a lot to me when I find a label that I can trust, and one such label is PRGNT Records. One of their most recent releases is Chicago’s SEA OF SHIT, and I must say, audio vomit has never sounded so good. Their music creates an intense wall of power that pushes itself through every song. SEA OF SHIT makes an effort to punish the listeners’ ear drums, and they do a great job at it. Buried under their rage, the band builds huge grooves of chaotic melody that in their own way are catchy. The amount of conviction that this band packs will have your head spinning; they have taken powerviolence and injected it with dirty metallic fury. Blast their song “Worn Out” and wait for the breakdown to come in. SEA OF SHIT actually makes a sea of “we do not give a fuck” with their songwriting. Unholy hell, they use distortion and feedback as weapons of mass awesomeness, and they engage your imagination in a game of violent braincell stabbing for fun. The last song on the 7″, “Resignation” is a heavy shit storm of black maggot blood. SEA OF SHIT’s vocals are in maniac mode for the full nine minutes, and the band does nothing short of spitting up rancid filth on every track. When I listen to this band, I get the urge to go outside and drag my knuckles on the concrete until I can see bone. PRGNT has done it again by unleashing a SEA OF SHIT on to the world!

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Gnarly live footage after the jump!
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The Body and Thou are two bands that have risen to the top of the underground over the past year or so. The Body have pushed the envelope by pulling off unconventional collaborations with the Assembly of Light Choir and post-rock band Braveyoung. They’ve also toured relentlessly and built a fan base across the whole United States. Thou embody the true spirit of DIY. With everything the band does there is a tangible dedication and attention to detail. Their innumerable splits and EPs have kept people interested in between each one of their three impeccable full lengths. With each release, Thou have kept a visual cohesion and a reputation for creating intense and creative compositions. When I found out that these two creative forces would be touring together, I couldn’t help but be thrilled. I attended all three of the bands’ Bay Area performances at 1234 Go Records in Oakland, Gilman in Berkeley, and Sub Mission in San Francisco. Each night had great local support and intense performances from both headliners. Check out more words and tons of photos after the jump!

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