Members of Deftones stream live DJ sets on Twitch

Several members of Deftones have been live-streaming DJ sets over on Twitch. I've yet to catch one live set, but it looks as though all the set lists are being added to the band's Spotify page a few days after the live steam.

Here are the sets, so far:

Frank: http://bit.ly/frvnksdjset (17.04.2020)

Sergio: http://bit.ly/sergiosdjset (21.04.2020)

Chino: hopefully we'll get a link soon

A return...

Holy cow! It's been a really long time since I've visited this Blog.

I was about to start a new blog, as a means to document all the ways musicians were coming together to raise awareness about the current COVID-19 pandemic, whether it be through releasing new music for free, streaming live performances from their living rooms, or uploading old concert footage to Youtube. You can find the full list of posts here!

Maybe I should have restarted this project earlier. But, a lot has happened in the years since I last visited: priorities changed, interests shifted, and time poured into other activities. Any way, now seems as good a time as any to get back into blogging.

I don't know how often I'll post (or what additional content will be covered), but for now, I have plans to share new music from Nine Inch Nails, several playlists from live DJ sets by members of Deftones, and a Post Malone playing a Nirvana tribute concert, and a star-studded rendition of Foo Fighters "Times like these." If there are any other videos/playlists/downloads you have come across during your lock down, then don't hesitate to share them in a comment.

#StayHome                                                    #StaySafe                                          #LoveOneAnother

Stream the new album from Lieutenant

The complete new album from Lieutenant, If I Kill This Thing We're All Going To Eat For A Week is currently being streamed exclusively over at NME.

I like what I've heard so far, and am looking forward to being able to pick up a copy of the album after its released on Monday 9 March.

Lieutenant's new song & album details

Lieutenant have premièred their third track, Believe the squalor, over at Stereogum. In addition to the new music, the article also reveals the album's title, contributors, track list, and artwork. 

If I Kill This Thing We're All Going To Eat For A Week (quite a mouthful of a title) will feature contributions by Page Hamilton (Helmet), Joe Plummer (Modest Mouse, The Shins, Cold War Kids, Mister Heavenly), Josiah Johnson (The Head and the Heart), Jeremy Enigk (Sunny Day Real Estate), and fellow Foo Fighter, Chris Shiflett (Me First and the Gimme Gimmes).

The track list looks a little sparse, with only nine songs:

1. Bell epoque
2. The place you wanna go
3. Believe the squalor
4. Rattled
5. Prepared remarks
6. Some remove
7. Sink sand
8. Artificial limbs
9. Lift the sheet

The album is due for release on 10 March, and can be pre-ordered on CD or vinyl.

First track from Foo Fighters' 'Sonic Highways'

Something from nothing is the first full track to be released from the Foo's upcoming record and T.V. series Sonic Highways. Take a listen below, and if you like what you hear why not pre-order the album too.

Two more songs from Slipknot, and hints of possible tour to South Africa

Following on from Sunday's release of Custer, Slipknot have shared two more tracks from their fifth studio album .5: The Gray Chapter:

XIX starts off with some distorted bagpipe sounds, followed by Linkin Park-esque, shouty, emo vocals. It's a weird way to start the album, personally I think the intro to Sarcastrophe would have worked much better

Sarcastrophe is a much better track overall, and possibly one of my favourites from the album so far. Much like Custer, Sarcastrophe could be mistaken for a b-side from the recording sessions from earlier albums.

Even more exciting is the following message posted to the band's Facebook page: 

Hey South Africa, check out our new album “.5: The Grey Chapter”. Pre-Order on iTunes and get songs now!

I'm really hoping this means we will be seeing them on South African shores in the not so distant future.

Slipknot - Custer

Slipknot have released the third track from their forthcoming album .5: The Gray Chapter. From the comments left on YouTube it seems that the fans are divided over Custer. To me Custer sounds a lot like some of the older, Slipknot and Iowa, recordings. This is a good thing. Also the chorus of Custer is dam catchy.

Slipknot - .5:The Gray Chapter

A few weeks after releasing The negative one, which was not the official first single, but rather a "gift for the fans" according to vocalist Corey Taylor, Slipknot have now released the official first single, as well as the title of their upcoming fifth studio release.

The audio for the single, The devil in I was released earlier this morning (listen below), while details concerning the the new album were only released a few hours ago.

The album will be titled .5: The Gray Chapter, an obvious homage to late bassist, Paul Gray. As well as the standard 14 track release, .5: The Gray Chapter will also be released in a deluxe edition containing two additional tracks. Here's the list of tracks released via Facebook;

1. XIX
2. Sarcastrophe
3. AOV
4. The devil in I
5. Killpop
6. Skeptic
7. Lech
8. Goodbye
9. Nomadic
10. The one that kills least
11. Custer
12. Be prepared for hell
13. The negative one
14. If rain is what you want
15. Override (bonus track)
16. The burden (bonus track)

In addition to all this news pertaining to the album, Slipknot also announced the North American Hell Tour, with special guests Korn, and King 810. .5: The Gray Chapter will be released on 21 October, with pre-orders available here. Still no word regarding identity of the drummer on the new album though.

New Track from Okujira

Okujira's second track, Sick of syncronicities* is even harder hitting than their first. Hopefully this will be made available for download in the future. Check below for the link to download Sick of syncronicities.

-- Updated 30 December 2014 --

* The track was originally spelt "Sick of syncranicitys" at the time of release. The track name has been edited on Soundcloud, but the downloaded file name still contains the original spelling.

New Slipknot - The negative one

After a slew of teaser videos from Slipknot, we finally get the first opportunity to hear some new material. The negative one can be streamed over at the band's website, with the video set to unlock on 5 August.

From The negative one it sounds like Slipknot have picked up from where they left off after the All Hope is Gone sessions, despite losing founding member Paul Grey, and the recent departure of Joey Jordison. After the announcement of Jordison's departure, many people began to write the band off. Fortunately, Slipknot seems to have found a more than capable replacement; if you didn't know better, you probably wouldn't even realise it wasn't Jordison drumming.

I'm intrigued to hear the rest of the album. I'm especially interested to know if the new drummer continued to emulate Jordison's playing style for the recording of the entire album, or if they brought something new to the mix. As yet, the new drummer has not been named, but I suspect Shawn 'Clown' Crahan has taken of the role, while various others have also been rumoured to have filled the position.

Killer Be Killed: full stream of the self-titled album

Killer Be Killed, a new supergroup comprising Max Cavalera (Soulfly, Cavalera Conspiracy), Greg Puciato (The Dillinger Escape Plan), Troy Sanders (Mastodon), and Dave Elitch (The Mars Volta), has appeared almost out of nowhere. The first I heard about the group, was when a link to stream the self-titled album appeared in my Facebook feed.

I've finally gotten around to listening to the album, and it's easily one of the best offerings from a supergroup in recent years. If I can find this at my local record store, then I'll definitely be adding it to my collection. Otherwise I could always ask my future brother-in-law, to grab a copy for me in the States, and bring it back with him next time he comes to visit.

25 minutes of new music from Hello Beautiful

Local electronic act Hello Beautiful (Matthieu Auriacombe) has released a 25 minute long mixtape of new material. For now Mix Tape 01 is not available as a download, but comments on Facebook and Soundcloud suggest that it will be in the next couple of days. Mix Tape 01 can be downloaded using the link in the widget below.

-- Updated 12 December 2014 --

The Jezabels - Psychotherapy (Aaron Harris Remix)

Here's a link to a neat remix of the The Jezabels track Psychotherepy by Aaron Harris of Palms. I'd never heard of The Jezabels before, but I'm glad I found this remix. The rest of the songs over on their Soundcloud aren't too bad either. Definitely worth a listen.

Stream ††† new EP

That's right children, the new ††† EP was released two days ago, and you can stream the entire thing over at Pitchfork. The self-titled EP contains a full album's worth of tracks, as it includes the 10 tracks previously released on the EPs † and ††, as well as five new tracks.

Vuvuvultures - Deaf epic (Creep remix)

Dazed Digital are streaming the new Vuvuvultures remix by the talented duo Creep. This version of Deaf epic removes the 'happier' sounding instrumental parts, replacing them with atmospheric synths and percussion, giving the song a more brooding undertone. 

I'm really hoping to catch Vuvuvultures at one of their South African gigs in the coming months. I still need to give their album, Push/ Pull a proper listen on something other than my laptop too.

-- Updated 27 January 2014 --

Vuvuvultures have made the Deaf epic (Creep Remix) available as a free download for a limited time. All you have to do is follow this link, and fill in your e-mail.

Epic new track from aKING

Here'a a new track from one of my favourite South African bands, who also happen to be one of the lesser appreciated local acts when it comes to radio play, and getting opportunities to open for touring international acts. Follow is the first single from aKING's forthcoming full-length album, Morning After.

Stream ††† new track, 'Bitches brew'

Yesterday Spin.com announced that the groups first track off 'EP †††' could be listened to online. We heard teasers of the new track, Bitches brew, back in August and September, via the promotional videos released by Sumerian Records.

††† are set to release their third EP in February 2014. Pre-orders for the album will go live on record label Sumerian Records' website later this month. The EP will be available in both digital and physical formats, and will include tracks released on EP † and EP ††.

I'm wondering if the, "five additional songs," mentioned at the end of the Spin.com article will be made available as a stand-alone download for those who have already downloaded the first two ††† releases? Maybe that is the digital release, while the three EPs bundled together into a full length album could represent the physical release. Either way, I'm definitely interested in the physical release, as I'm not so sure I'd be prepared to pay to download these EPs again, just for five extra tracks, since I've already paid for the high-quality audio files of EP † and EP ††. However, I wouldn't mind paying again for the physical release.

††† - The epilogue

Finally, after waiting a month since the last teaser video from †††, we have been given the opportunity to listen to the first complete track off the band's third release. The epilogue is possibly the best track to come from the project so far.

††† have also posted the date 11/12/13 on their Facebook account, suggesting the release date for the third EP, as well as a grainy Instagram picture (right) with the caption '†es†,' confirming that the EP will be released on a physical format.

I hope this will be released on CD too, as that is my preferred format, although I'll probably order the vinyl anyway if it isn't.

Stream the full Scar the Martyr album now

Listen to Scar the Martyr's self-titled début album here.

Track list

Intro

Dark ages

My retribution

Soul disintegration

Cruel ocean

Blood host

Sign of the Omeneye

Anatomy of Erinyes

Prayer for prey

White nights in a day room

Effigy unborn

Never forgive never forget

Mind's eye

Last night on earth

--
While I was listening to the album, I decided to try my hand at making an animated gif, based on the Scar the Martyr website. I think it worked out pretty well.

First music video from Palms

Palms have released the first music video from their self-titled LP. Future warrior is the opening track on the record, and has also been hailed by some as the best track from the group so far.

This video has it all; dreamy time-lapses of clouds, a tattooed hottie swimming, and a voyeur...

After watching the video, you can decide for yourself if Future warrior is indeed Palms best track, by streaming the entire record via SoundCloud below.