Deftones Release a Track From Eros

Another one I'm a few days late on. This was written up heavy circa early last week but then got yanked down due to copyright issues. By posting this I certainly do not wish to step on one of my favorite band's toes - I'm just glad this stuff is finally going to see the light of day. And with the Deftones also reportedly working on a follow-up album to their absolutely breath-taking Koi No Yokan, this could be a very good year for fans of the band, of which I am most definitely one.

Eros is the final album featuring original Deftones bassist Chi, who was in an automobile accident in 2008 and passed away after a long struggle in 2013. You can read more about the love and support that made Chi's struggles easier at One Love for Chi.

Queens of the Stone Age - Smooth Sailing Video

I am waaay late on this. My friend and fellow QOTSA fanatic Josh FB'd me to ask my opinion on this like a week ago and I've consistently forgotten about it. Until now.

Hard to pick a favorite track on a record as mammoth as ... Like Clockwork but this is in the top tier. It's so Revolting Cocks it's not funny, and Mr. Homme's trademark snake-snark is at full hilt.

Oh, and in answer to your question Josh, I haven't smiled this much while watching a music video for the first time since Grinderman's Heathen Child back in 2010.

Danzig - Long Way Back From Hell

So yesterday I happened by The 7th House, the Official Fansite for Danzig. There I found news that there are now five tracks recorded for an upcoming Danzig album. This is not the long-talked about covers album, which is apparently finished and due to fall from hell straight into our hands any time now. No, this is from the next Danzig proper album. Now, I'm not going to tell you I dig the last few Danzig records as much as I dig the first few, but I will tell you that Danzig 7: I Luciferi is in my top four of his soon to be ten regular release albums, and that's saying something because John Christ, Eerie Von and Chuck Biscuits are not on that album and previous to its release and my eventual digestion of it (thanks always to The Goatchild for that) I never would have thought it possible that one of those post-original line up records could earn such a hardcore place in my heart. But it did, and that record along with tracks like 1000 Devils Reign, Skull Forrest and Black Angel, White Angel from Circle of Snakes (Danzig 8) and Rebel Spirits, Deth Red Moon and On a Wicked Night from Deth Red Sabaoth (Danzig 9) prove the man can still write some absolutely killer tracks.

To celebrate the news I felt inclined to post the first Danzig song I ever heard, Long Way Back From Hell - still one of my favorite ever tracks by this guy. Back around the time this was released I had no idea who Glenn Danzig was, but in the early 90's my ever-vigilant WXAV 88.3 St. Xavier's University introduced me to a ton of great music. I heard this song while driving in the car with my mom and I remember immediately falling in love with the whole dark tone/blues howl going on. But as was the problem with radio back in the pre-internet days, if you got from point A to point B before the DJ came on to tell you what they'd just played you might well miss your chance to hunt it down. That's exactly what happened in this instance, and it wasn't until sometime Junior year when Jay Stanek ("Did you know Bruce Dickinson was a history major?") lent me Danzig 1 and I heard the opening 'Ah-yeahah' of Twist of Cane that everything came together full circle and I was finally able to worship at the dark altar of Danzig. Previous to that they were just a group on a friend's older brothers t-shirt that kinda freaked me out, circa 1988.

Nothing Cover Low

Via Brooklyn Vegan. This comes less than a day after my good friend Jacob text me that he had ordered me a copy of Nothing's new album, which is available here and from the little bit I've heard, every bit as fantastic as Downward Years to Come, which was my introduction to the band somewhere around a year ago.

Thank you Jacob! And thank you to Relapse for continuing to promote this wonderful band.

Transformers: Regeneration One - The Epic Conclusion

I really hate to see this book go! Seriously, for the record I very strongly dislike the movies. I watched the first one in the theatre and almost had a freakin' seizure from rolling my eyes so much. Hate would probably not be too strong a word. But Simon Furman's run on this, the twenty-years in the making conclusion to his late 80's/early 90's run on the classic Marvel comic is fantastic. It's also the topic of discussion in this week's edition of Thee Comic Column over on Joup!

Liars - Mess on a Mission - Video

My god, every time Liars put out a new record they also throw down a video that blows my mind. Case in point.

Swans - To Be Kind Trailer

I cannot wait for this record. Swans' 2012 magnum opus - and yes that word is overused but NOT in this regard - The Seer really just blew my fucking mind when I heard it in the early part of 2013 (I've mentioned here recently that had I heard it in '12 it would have been #2 on my year end list). I've felt a bit removed from current music lately but this is something that I am really looking forward to, to the point that this is without a doubt a 'day of release' buy for me.

Apparently this trailer is for the DVD available with the deluxe edition of To Be Kind, out May 13th via Young God Records/Mute.

Can't wait!