BAZUndergroundUpdates CCLXXI
And here we are! Moving into the brand-new month of July, The Underground Updates is filled with goodies like never before!
So, let’s see what’s out there…
Check this news…
UPON STONE Single-handedly re-sparking the metal scene´s excitement for the sound of melodic death metal with their 2024 Century Media debut album Dead Mother Moon, Upon Stone has now returned with their strongest offering yet; the three song End Time Lightning EP! Head over here right now to check out the official video to the track Fury My Master, and of course over here to stream the new EP!
CAR BOMB Founded in 2000, Car Bomb celebrated their 25th year with the release of a new EP Tiles Whisper Dreams which will be out August 1st and consists of three new tracks, however, the band has recently released the first track Paroxysm which is now streaming right over here along with its accompanying video! If you like what you hear you shouldn’t forget to also head over here to place your EP pre-order!
BLIND EQUATION Chicago´s Blind Equation returns in 2025 with A Funeral in Purgatory, perhaps their most ambitious release to date! Scheduled for a release on June 18th on Prosthetic Records you can head over here to place your pre-order, and in advance of the record´s release, the band has unveiled the video for Flashback, featuring Strawberry Hospital! Head over here right now to check it out!
FORBIDDEN Bay Area thrash legends Forbidden return with a new video for their first new song in over 15 years! Head over here right now to check out Divided by Zero and its official video, and keep eyes open for band’s forthcoming US and European summer tour dates!
We need it…
ENTHEOS Progressive death metal duo Entheos are very pleased to announce their first ever North American headlining tour, beginning on October 30th in New Orleans, Louisiana, and running through December 6th in Nashville, Tennessee! Support will be provided by Fallujah, The Zenith Passage, and Tracheotomy, and tickets are on sale now right over here!
LIONS AT THE GATE Ferocious metal upstarts Lions at the Gate will hit the road this fall as part of Death Angel´s highly anticipated North American tour! The 17-date run kicks off November 26th in Denver, CO, and concludes December 17th in Los Angeles, CA, promising an unforgettable lineup of thrash, groove, and sonic brutality! Tickets are already on sale over here, so make sure you have quick hands to secure a ticket to a show near you!
PRONG Nearly two years after the release of Prong‘saggressive, eagerly awaited latest album State of Emergency, the New York city native metal icons and premier rock and metal label Napalm Records have officially joined forces – but that’s not all, as the signing arrives just on the heels of the band´s upcoming European headline tour, celebrating 31 years of their 1994 album Cleansing! Kicking off on July 30th in Hamburg, DE, the tour features support from Escuela Grind and Vlad in Tears so make sure you get a ticket here to a show near you!
KASPYX Your friends at Transylvanian Records have released their latest dose of underground metal, in the shape of Kadaver, a three-track EP of gruesome death-doom metal by Indonesians Kaspyx. Head to bandcamp where you can pick up a cassette copy, a Kaspyx bundle, or download the EP for whatever price you want—and while you’re there, check out what other goodies are available from the label.
Future Must have…
CRONOS COMPULSION The ever-wonderful Avantgarde Music have announced the forthcoming debut album by Denver, Colorado’s death-metal four-piece Cronos Compulsion—due for release on the 11th of July. There are three meaty tracks you can sink your teeth into right now on bandcamp where you can also pre-order the album on CD or vinyl.
HELL Mmmmmm there’s a special type of heaviness that Salem, Oregon’s one-man-doom-project Hell (AKA M.S.W.) delivers so well with his gigantic riffs of screaming, overdriven doom and hurrah! the 11th of July sees the follow up to 2017’s self-titled album with Submersus. You can listen to the album’s opening track here where you can also order a digital copy. If you’d like a physical release, step over to the M.S.W. webstore for a vinyl, CD or cassette copy.
Check the following links…
Having to pay gigantic sums for international postage is a real gear grinder. While it’s our default setting to link Bandcamp pages in the case of new and pre-releases, we thought it would be helpful to add some online stores that might provide a useful alternative.
So if you see a release you fancy, but it’s being sold in a far off land and you don’t want to fork out on exorbitant shipping, see if any of the links below can remedy the situation.
Dark Essence (Norway) Dark Essence (US)
Direct Merch (Australia)
eOne Heavy (EU) eOne Heavy (UK) eOne Heavy (US)
Metal Odyssey (EU) Metal Odyssey (US)
Napalm Records (Germany)
Prophecy Productions (Germany) Prophecy Productions (US)
Rough Trade (UK) Rough Trade (US)
Season of Mist (EU) Season of Mist (US)
Southern Lord (EU) Southern Lord (US)
Throne Records (World)
Transcending Obscurity (EU) Transcending Obscurity (US)
This July is really starting out with a bang, and we do hope as always that you take all the advantage that is being offered to us by the fantastic labels and artists out there!
By Julia Katrin and Tom Osman
**Please support the underground! It’s vital to the future of our genre.**
#WeAreBlessedAltarZine
#TheZineSupportingTheUnderground
