Baz Underground Updates XVI

Come one! Come all! The amazing BAZ Underground Updates XVI is upon us and at the cost of only a few scrolls you can be informed of a new week filled with events, live streams and offers that help keep us going through these difficult times! Once more our writers, Julia Katrin and Tom Boatman, have dug through the foliage and succeeded in their search for exciting mentions.

Let’s see what’s out there…

Band: Suicide Silence

As the second half of July is upon us, so we draw closer to the end of the Suicide Silence virtual world tour. So far the tour has been a great success and with a new week upon us it is time to remind you of which places are coming up this time. For today Lawrence and Portland are up on the schedule, Memphis on Thursday the 23rd, Bangkok, Mexico City and Vancouver on Friday the 24th, Minneapolis and San Francisco on Sunday the 26th, and finally Charlotte and Salt Lake City on Monday the 27th.  Keep in mind that after the already mentioned shows and dates, there are only two more dates on their tour schedule so make sure to grab your ticket now to get a chance to indulge in the 90 minute multi-camera live stream, skits & exclusive media content, video Q&A and much more. Check out the band’s Facebook page to see the timetables and further instructions, also check here in order to secure your ticket today.

Label: Nuclear Blast

If any of you are interested in comics you may be aware that the San Diego Comic Convention, or SDCC, has been cancelled. However what you might not be aware of is the fact that the SDCC is not breaking the tradition of 50 years of history and has decided to present us with the Comic-Con@Home 2020! What this means, is that people all over the world will get free access to prestigious exclusives and panels that have throughout time attracted thousands of people to San Diego each year.

The reason why we have decided to mention this event here is that Nuclear Blast has announced its participation in the event and on Wednesday, July 22th, you can join in here for exclusive products, live streams, and of course to check out what this event has in session! We won’t spill any information, but we urge you to check it out no later than now!

Band: Lone Wanderer

With the first pressing long since sold out, Fucking Kill Records have graciously released a second pressing of excellent funeral doom release “The Majesty of Loss” by Freiburg, Germany’s Lone Wanderer. This second pressing comes in a mere 96 hand-numbered copies. If you weren’t on the ball when the album first came out, you can atone here. If you wish to sample the bleak magnificence first, click below.

Band: Undeath

Coming straight for you with a taste to eat your eyeballs out of your skull, Rochester, New York’s death metal savages have prepared a delightfully bowel-quaking dose of sickening metal battery with their forthcoming release “Lesions of a Different Kind”. Due out on Prosthetic Records on the 23rd of September, they’ve already pre-sold all of a number of different vinyl editions, but you can still get your hands on a blue/purple vinyl edition (and digital) here, where you’ll also find a link to where the cassette version is on sale. Check out the promo track below and get your bass turned up!

Band: Aghast

Originally released back in 1995, Infinite Fog Productions have unearthed a great slice of blood-chilling dark wave eeriness in “Hexerei Im Zwielicht Der Finsternis” from Norway’s Aghast. However brightly the sun may be shining outside, you will find this music a sobering antidote to any summer feelings. Ominous and bleakly powerful stuff. Check out the vinyl, CD, digital and t-shirt offers here and take a stiff shot of a cold dark night below.

Band: Atræ Bilis

Transcending Obscurity Records never slouch on the special editions and abundances of merch. Just announced on the label is Canadian death metal band Atræ Bilis and their pulverising debut album “Divinihility”. Taking some of the technical, but equally brutal aspects of death metal, you can expect to have your ripped in half and squished back together with this one. And there are no shortage of options when deciding how you’d like your metal assault packaged. Click here to see all the wonderful vinyl, CD, clothing options with limited editions and boxsets galore. And here’s a sample of the brain shredding music to get you on the path.

Band: Fawn Limbs

Ahhh Fawn Limbs. If you haven’t experienced the band before then prepare your ears for a sound that will make Dillinger Escape Plan sound like chillout music by comparison. The latest release by the band who label themselves as ‘Geometric Noise/ Mathematical Chaos’ (yup, that pretty much captures it) have announced their latest release “Sleeper Vessels” alongside a raft of new editions of their previous releases. So if you want to get hold of a cassette version, you can visit Sludgelord Records here; while for vinyl (and new back catalogue pressings) click here for the US store and here for Europe. And prepare to have your brain burst out of your nose.

Band: Ayr

Having released one of my favourite albums of the year so far a few months back (the difficult to write “Ω – V” by Ainsoph), Dutch label Wolves of Hades Records have announced the release of the epic atmospheric black metal of Ayr and their fittingly titled album “The Dark”. You can get your hands on a copy of the limited edition vinyl here where you can also find a link to the US store.

It appears as if we have almost managed to slide through July without any terrible surprises. No reports have been circulating of the Plague running rampant, nor have there been any sightings of giant cats with laser beam shooting eyes fighting Godzilla, and we would therefore like to believe that the year 2020 might be settling down. But that doesn’t automatically mean that we can all start up the mosh pit and stop washing our hands! But until we do, we encourage you to enjoy the events and offers that are out there and continue to support the labels and artists that take no time off, even during a world pandemic, to entertain us.

By Julia Katrin and Tom Boatman

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