It’s been an interesting year for Boris — for the band and their fans. If you were starved for new music from the band at the start of the calendar year, no doubt you are Thanksgiving-dinner stuffed about now.

Earlier this year, they hit their U.S. fans with two new records, the rock-powered “Heavy Rocks” (an album title they recycled from an earlier effort just to keep you confused) and experimental “Attention Please,” featuring vocals handled entirely by guitarist Wata. We praised both records on this site, and months later we stand by our assessment, even if we’re more in the minority with that opinion. The albums weren’t really praised as all-time-great efforts by many critics, and that seems based largely on how different the two records sounded from the bulk of the band’s catalog. Of course, Boris never were satisfied with sticking to one sound and always were all over the map, so the hand-wringing seemed a bit strange. But hey, to each his or her own.

Now comes a third new album, weirdly enough called “New Album,” that actually would be deemed an old album to their Japanese audience. That’s because two versions of this collection (via Daymare and Tearbridge) actually came out before “Heavy Rocks” and “Attention Please,” though we’re just now sinking our teeth into this thing domestically. Once you grab the record, you’ll also revel in the irony of the album title since “New Album” largely is comprised of different versions of songs that also appear on “Heavy” and “Attention.” You got all that? It’s a little odd, sure, but that’s Boris for you.

If you do like the material and direction on “Attention Please” and “Heavy Rocks,” chances are you’ll be cool with this album. It’s in the same vein and continues to take a gigantic step away from their noise drone and doom metal past. Yet, even when they’re lush and lovely, the songs are loud and probably will decimate your hearing live. It’s strange, however, taking on this record after their two 2011 domestic releases because “New Album” ends up feeling like a best-of remix effort with a couple of new songs. That’s not a complaint, mind you, just kind of how I perceived the record. Had I heard this one first (unemployment prevented me from indulging in the imports), maybe I would feel differently. All of that aside, I like this collection and find it really interesting and nicely trippy. It’s a great example of what I appreciate about Boris, in that they always keep me guessing and usually deliver.

Six of the songs you’ll know if you have “Attention” and “Heavy,” but you won’t recognize their new (OK, not  new, but you get what I mean) attire. “Hope” gets more chirpy and J-pop friendly, with Wata’s precious voice dressing the song perfectly; “Party Boy” is more synth heavy and has a bit of a disco touch; “Spoon” isn’t all that far removed and sounds just fine in this incarnation; “Jackson Head” is radically different, with more of a techno personality rather than a straight-up rock assault, and it’s the one track I definitely do not prefer over the one I knew beforehand; “Les Paul Custom ’86” is just huge, with big synth waves and programmed beats, and it’s a really interesting new perspective; and “Tu, La La” is loud and flattening, making Boris seem as dangerous as any song on the three albums they put out this year. As for material U.S. fans won’t know from the band’s two domestic discs this year, “Flare” and “Looprider” bookend the record and are kind of tied together with a melody line. Both are really catchy, with “Flare” having a pop-punk touch and “Looprider” coming across as more muscular. “Luna” is the longest cut on here, and it’s a mix of outer space dreaming and metallic, blast beat bombast.

How you feel about this collection likely will depend on how tolerant you are of Boris’ constant re-tooling and rejiggering. None of their albums sound alike, and they’re constantly in reinvention mode, though it seems like maybe they hit on something with 2008’s “Smile” because all three of their 2011 efforts at least can be discussed in the same paragraph with that album. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve heard from the band this year, and I don’t mind being in the minority on that. I also don’t chalk it up to fandom considering I’ve outright rejected the last two Mastodon albums, and that band always reigned as one of my favorites. Boris is a fun band, a loud outfit, and a daring trio who refuse to be chained. I hope that never changes, though I do dream that next time around they’ll go down a different road instead of doing retreads of what they delivered this year. I’m not terribly worried about that.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.inoxia-rec.com/boris/

To buy “New Album,” go here: http://hellomerch.com/sh/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=157

For more on the label, go here: http://sargenthouse.com/

It’s been a slow week here at Meat Mead Metal, what with it being December, the place new music goes to die. We’ll have a few more records to look at before 2011 is out, but for the most part, we’re working hard on year-end material that will take up a good bit of December.

Meat Mead Metal will offer its first top 40 metal records list ever, and we’ll start rolling that out for you Dec. 19. That day we’ll give you 40-31. The following day will be No. 30-21. Dec. 21 will be No. 20-16; Dec. 22 will be No. 15-11, and Dec. 23 will be 10-6. The following week, beginning Dec. 26 and going all week to Dec. 30, we will count down the top 5 records of the year. One entry each day. And let me point out, it will be my list of records I liked the most. I think it’s nearly impossible to ordain a best record critically. There are too many sub-genres and bands, and I refuse to tackle that. Always have. So I’ll give you the ones I enjoyed the most. By all means, if you have your own lists, send them our way.

We have a few news items for you today, two things that I’m very excited about and perhaps you will too. One’s something on one of my most anticipated albums of 2012, the details of which finally are coming to light, and the other an exclusive live performance you’ll only be able to witness in one place.

I really loved Earth’s “Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I,” and a fun fact, I was listening to that album on Rehoboth Beach in August when an earthquake struck. What a weird coincidence. Or was it? But the “I” at the end of the record title clearly indicated there was another volume to come, and that second helping lands Feb. 14 with “Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II.” Not sure how they dreamt up that title.

Part II was recorded in the same session as the first volume, and the music is said to be even more improvisational and energetic. According to a release from Earth’s publicists: “The line-up again consists of Adrienne Davies on drums and percussion (on this release there is more percussion of all sorts), Lori Goldston (Nirvana, David Byrne, Black Cat Orchestra, Laura Veirs) returns on cello, and Karl Blau (K Records, Laura Veirs, Microphones) plays bass. This also marks the first time the band on the record has toured outside of the U.S. West Coast in preparation for the album. As with the first part, it again has truly amazing artwork by Stacey Rozich.”

You can see the album art above the entry, and the track listing below. I’m excited.

1. Sigil of Brass

2. His Teeth Did Brightly Shine

3. Multiplicity of Doors

4. The Cora scene Dog

5. The Rakehell

For more on the band, go here: http://www.thronesanddominions.com/

For more on the label, go here: http://www.southernlord.com/

We discussed the future of Gilead Media not too long ago, and it seems that the response to their plight was overwhelming. That’s the first bit of good news, but the second is damn-near celebratory with the announcement of the first-ever Gilead Media Music Festival. The event is set for April 28-29 in Oshkosh, Wi., and the venue will be announced once it’s nailed down for certain. The lineup is completely ridiculous, and we’ll supply that below, but it’s just been revealed that Thou will play their “Tyrant” album in its entirety. If that isn’t reason enough to venture out for this event, then I can’t figure what might entice you. I know I’m trying to figure out if I can make the trip (some home stuff could prevent it, but it’s still months away), because I can’t miss hearing the majesty and tragedy of “Tyrant” live.

Besides Thou, other bands confirmed are:

• Ash Borer
• Fell Voices
• Get Rad
• North less
• False
• Mutilation Rites
• Arms Aloft
• Baby Boy
• Protestant
• Sleepwalker

Also scheduled for exhibitions are Reuben Sawyer of Rainbath Visual and Bryan Proteau of Natvres Mores. Things are in the early stages, so check back for more at the links below. We’ll also try to keep you updated as we learn more. Certainly if you like what Gilead Media does, this is the perfect place for you to see a ton of their bands at once.

For more on the event, go here: http://www.gileadmedia.net/fest/

For the event’s Facebook page, go here: http://www.facebook.com/events/145804345523149/

For more on the label, go here: http://www.gileadmedia.net/

Anyone who reads this site with any regularity knows I like the doom metal. I’ll take it in all of its various forms. I like it when it’s deathy and loud, and I like it when it’s full of drone, and I like it when it sounds like it was recorded 30 years ago in someone’s basement. If it’s doom, I’ll give it a shot.

That’s what ultimately led me to seek out The Wounded Kings several years ago. Initially I read about the UK band somewhere on the Internet and eventually tracked down some of their stuff. I got into “The Shadow Over Atlantis,” their 2010 sophomore effort, and the first time I wrote about the band was because of their split last year with Cough called “An Introduction to the Black Arts.” They made me think of sitting in heavily carpeted basements in a cloud of smoke, and that always made me happy. But there was something about them that seemed to prevent the Wounded Kings from grasping greatness, and I just couldn’t put my ginger on what that was.

With their new album “In the Chapel of the Black Hand,” I know what it was that held them back. They didn’t have that dynamic, special singer who made the band stand out from the rest of the pack. I liked George Birch’s throwback-style pipes just fine, and I never saw him as a detriment, but he also didn’t help the band transcend. But with the introduction of new vocalist Sharie Neyland, they finally seem to have that person commanding the band out front that makes them special. This record should be their arrival and has to be the one that inflates the band’s profile. If it doesn’t, then damn it, people just aren’t paying close enough attention.

“In the Chapel” is a 41-minute collection of smoking, gloomy, witchy doom metal, and that’s not just because of Neyland’s haunting vocals. The whole thing sounds like a major conjuring, especially on opener “The Cult of Souls,” where Neyland calls upon Dionysus and warns, “Dark moon rises, the ritual has begun.” You almost can imagine the band huddled around a camp fire in the middle of the woods with nothing but dark spiritual connection as their agenda. Musically, there are séance-style organs, a slowly unfurling haze, and spacey slide guitar work to keep your eyes glazed. “Gates of Oblivion” is deliberately pulverizing and seductive, with some epic lead guitar lines and tortured imagery, especially when Neyland observes, “The skies are weeping blood.” “Return of the Sorcerer” is both gritty and gothy in texture, with some spiraling guitar lines and bluesy, traditional doom soloing. The epic closing title track simmers and shakes, taking on a bloody storytelling mode lyrically, as the whole band unleashes its entire bag of ghostly tricks. Steve Mills and Alex Kearney are stars throughout the album in their own right, but they really go for the throat on the closer, leaving you both satisfied and hungry for more. Considering the amazing clip at which the band has worked ever since their first record in 2008, it shouldn’t be long until they return.

To buy “In the Chapel of the Black Hand,” go here: http://thewoundedkings.bigcartel.com/product/in-the-chapel-of-the-black-hand

Speaking of the Wounded Kings’ debut, Eyes Like Snow/Northern Silence is re-releasing “Embrace of the Narrow House,” the band’s first slab of goodness. It’s only being released in limited quantities, so get on this soon, and it will contain a remastered album, new cover art and a rehearsal version of “Melanthos.” This, of course, gives you a visit with the band’s original form with Birch as vocalist, and really, he’s an excellent, dark singer whose work I really enjoy. He has more of a vintage sound to his voice and understated charisma, and I certainly understand why there was so much hand wringing when he left the band. I just like Neyland’s presence a lot more. Mills, the only other full-time member at the time, handled a bulk of the instrumentation. This certainly is something that’s a must-have for any enthusiast of classic doom metal and certainly for Wounded Kings diehards. You won’t be able to get your hands on this thing until early next year, but we’ll add a link below so you know where to go get this piece of doom history.

To buy “Embrace of the Narrow House,” go here: http://shop.northern-silence.de/

For more on the label, go here: http://www.northern-silence.de/eye-index.htm

That’s a lot of material from the Wounded Kings to absorb, but we recommend you try both on for size. Obviously from what you just read, you’re definitely going to get on the crest of what should be a tidal wave of acceptance from the doom community with their excellent new record, but spending time with “Embrace of the Narrow House” will give you a greater sense of history of the band as well as a deeper appreciation of just how far they’ve come since.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Wounded-Kings/225788354128336

For more on the label, go here: http://www.ihate.se/

Most people know Gregor Mackintosh as the lead guitarist for doom metal stalwarts Paradise Lost. Yet the gloom and sorrow conveyed by that band could not match what Mackintosh endured in 2009 when he watched his father John Robert Mackintosh die of cancer.

That life-altering experience led Mackintosh to take what initially were feelings and emotions he wrote down as part of the grieving process and slowly turn that into the classic-style death metal heard on his new band Vallenfyre’s first full-length album “A Fragile King.” It might sound silly to say that a death metal record focuses on death, but there aren’t many that approach it in quite this way. It’s a very human, vulnerable album when Mackintosh is reflecting on his loss and his father’s struggle. There are other subjects addressed on the album, too, but Mackintosh’s tribute to his dad takes center stage.

Mackintosh took time to talk with Meat Mead Metal about “A Fragile King,” his supergroup lineup that also features fellow Paradise Lost member Adrian Erlandsson on drums, Hamish Hamilton Glencross of My Dying Bride on guitar, Mully on guitar and Scott on bass, and what future, if any at all, this new band sees for itself. Oh, and stick around for some details on the next Paradise Lost platter.

Meat Mead Metal: It seems “A Fragile King” is getting a lot of very favorable reactions. We spoke very highly of it on our site, and we certainly weren’t alone in our praise. Are you happy with the reaction it’s gotten?

Gregor Mackintosh: Well I’d have to say yes, because I never expected anything at all. This was something that wasn’t even meant to be a record, let alone a band. We had no plan whatsoever. We’re just going with the flow and having fun with it and seeing what happens. Every good review is a bonus, and I’ve only seen a handful of reviews that have been a little bit derogatory, and the rest have been positive.

MMM: Now that the record’s been done for a while and you can kind of step back from it and look at it more critically, how do you feel about how the music turned out?

GM: I think it’s good. I would have liked to keep (the band) anonymous a little while longer, because when we released the EP (“Desecration”) first, we didn’t announce who was in the band or anything. But it was Century Media’s decision (to reveal the members). I mean, they paid for it to be recorded, so they wanted to announce who was in it. But apart from that, everything has been good. It’s nice because a couple of the guys from Century Media grew up in the scene where I came from and kind of knew what I was going for, from the production, to the artwork, to the vibe of it. So luckily I didn’t really have to explain myself.

MMM: Did you want to keep the lineup a mystery just because of how people perceive the “supergroup” concept? Expectations can be high and sometimes people can be overly skeptical.

GM: Yeah, that was it exactly. It was really our bass player Scoot’s idea, because he comes from the crust punk scene, and he said that having guys from bands like My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost may not be such a good thing initially. Wouldn’t it be better to reach people with no bias either way? I think that was a better way to approach it, and it was interesting at first because you’d read reviews online of the EP, and these people have no history to go on at all and no baggage – I mean that in the best sense of the word – and it kind of took the pressure off. It felt fresh to do it that way, and there were only a couple of guys in their reviews who said, like, “Hang on. This doesn’t sound like a bunch of teenagers doing this.” (laughs) I guess you can’t fool everyone.

MMM: Well, I guess that’s good they didn’t think it was a bunch of teenagers. That might have been a tough one to handle.

GM:  Well, yeah. I’ve seen a lot of bands bandy about the term “old-school death metal,” but to me it really is just a term. They’re missing the whole vibe that I can’t really put into words. We were there, we did it, and we were involved in that early scene. It’s a vibe we can achieve but we can’t really explain. So yeah, I guess the fact that we’re old-timers (laughs), for lack of a better word, that probably helped.

MMM: Now you’re doing both guitar and vocals with Vallenfyre, as opposed to just playing guitar in Paradise Lost. Is this something you always wanted to do? Did you have that itch to front a band?

GM: Absolutely not. It’s something that never occurred to me in a million years, and it’s not something I imagined I would end up doing. I’m not really a mouthy guy, and I’m not really interested in being the center of attention, which usually is what vocalists are like. It kind of happened by accident, and I sort of became a reluctant vocalist. But I’m enjoying it, and it’s a new challenge. This album was borne out of my dad dying, and if that taught me one thing, it’s stop pontificating. Stop thinking about doing things and start actually doing them. What’s the worst that can happen, you know?

MMM: Well, let’s get into the album a little. “A Fragile King” … I don’t know if I should day it’s about your late father or it’s inspired by your father, so you tell me. Tell me what made you decide to make this record and how your father inspired you.

GM: It’s more for my father than about. The whole record is dedicated to him, but lyrically, only about 60 percent of the lyrics are about what I was going through, what I felt and what I thought when he was ill and the aftermath. It’s general observations and emotions and stuff like that. Some of it, some people have asked me if it feels weird putting it out there, but I think it’s better than keeping it inside. Also, why is it not OK to talk about this when it’s OK to talk about millions of other subjects that are as near to the bone? I just felt it was an important thing for me to do. It was a life-changing experience, and it made me want to do something.

MMM: Were the songs written after he passed away? Or was he aware you were working on what would become Vallenfyre and “A Fragile King”?

GM: No, because it really didn’t turn into a musical thing until a month or two after he’d gone. I started writing things down, feelings and stuff, when he was in the final stage, and that was a part of grief counseling really, but it wasn’t a thing where I thought, “Right, these are going to turn into songs.” That came slowly in the months following, and those thoughts turned into lyrics and then it turned into songs.

MMM: So it sounds like a really organic process.

GM: Absolutely. It’s just like the vocal thing you asked me about. I only became the vocalist because I couldn’t think of any of my friends whose vocals would fit with the music. As the lyrics progressed, I couldn’t imagine anyone else voicing those words. I just thought why not give it a go?

MMM: Was it cathartic for you to do the vocals? As you said, you wrote the words and you experienced this loss, so was it helpful for you to convey these emotions?

GM: I can say that while I was doing the demos for the music, yes. But when I was in the studio, I’d say it had turned into a straight tribute, and it was about having fun with friends, really. We just wanted to enjoy our time doing the recordings, and we all go back a long way. We’d never done anything together before, so it was fun just to do that.

MMM: Tell me a little bit about your father. What was your relationship like?

GM: He was cool. He was a really easy-going guy, a really affable guy. He was always kind of laughing about stuff and never took things too seriously. That’s how I aspire to be. It’s a great way to behave in life. People plan for the future too much, I think, and it’s a really daunting prospect. I think you should be happy for today and just roll with that. My dad was very much like that, and it’s a trait that hopefully I have in some aspects but I know I don’t have in others.

MMM: I thought I had read something about how he was into extreme metal or something along those lines?

GM: Well, that’s not quite accurate. But when I started Paradise Lost, he took a great interest in what I was doing, and he took it upon himself to actively pursue what I was doing. He drove us to our first few gigs, he drove us to our first demo recording, and he followed all of the things we did to the point where he started listening to other bands who we might be touring with. He said, “I really like the John Peel sessions on the radio by Bolt Thrower,” and that was purely because we were gigging with them at the time. It wasn’t the music he was into, but he followed the music that surrounded what we did.

MMM: You don’t always hear that kind of story from parents who have kids in bands.

GM: Yeah. He was an engineer by trade, and he was interested in how things work. So he became interested in how we did what we do.

MMM: What is the meaning of the title “A Fragile King” to you? Why did you choose that?

GM: It doesn’t have to do so much with the illness. It’s basically an observation where you look up to someone your whole life, and you kind of feel they’re invulnerable and nothing can ever happen to them. Then you’re faced with this stark reality where you see the person stripped bare, basically, and it becomes pretty raw. You build someone up so much that when you see the person get knocked down, it’s kind of shocking.

MMM: You’ve talked about the Vallenfyre lineup a bit and how you all came up in the same scene and knew one another. But how did these five people actually come together as Vallenfyre?

GM: Well, when I was writing a lot of the music, I’d travel a lot to my hometown to see family and friends, because it was still shortly after my dad died. So when I’d come home, I’d always end up at the pub with Hamish of My Dying Bride and having a few drinks. I’d mentioned to him I was working on this record and I was getting a little bogged down in it. It started to feel like I was wallowing. So we discussed the idea of turning it into a band and having fun with it. So he was the first person I asked to join, and we just started thinking about other people. Scoot I shared a house with about 20-something years ago, and I’d see him a lot when I went to my hometown, so it seemed obvious to ask him. The other guys just fell into place because they were friends of ours.

MMM: It sounds like the band came together much in the same way as the music.

GM: Yeah. I had a friend of mine working A&R at Century Media and I was talking to him about something else, Paradise Lost actually, and I mentioned I was doing this thing with some friends of mine. He asked to hear a demo, and I sent him a five-track demo, and he said, “You really ought to release an album of this.” I asked if anyone would want to hear it, so he played it for a couple of guys at Century and they told us we should do it.

MMM: Are you looking at this as a permanent band going forward? Is this a one-off? What are the plans?

GM: I’m looking at it as if we’re having fun doing it, we’ll continue. I have no expectations, none of us do, and like I said, it’s about having fun and stripping things back to the way they were when we were starting bands 20 years ago. If someone asks us to do a gig, and we can afford to do it, and all we get out of it is beer and a laugh, then we’ll do it. We have no plans to record anything else, but we’ll see how we feel a couple of years down the line.

MMM: So no touring plans at the moment?

GM: We’re getting offered stuff at the moment, and we’ll see where it goes. Oh, I mean, if someone offers us a tour and it looks like it might be fun, why not? We’ve gotten a few offers at the moment for tours in places like Finland and Greece and some festival appearances, but if I have one goal at the moment for Vallenfyre … I would really like to tour the States with this. In the process of doing interviews for this, I’ve noticed you guys missed out on a lot of the early European death metal, and there seems to be a hunger for it and a genuine understanding of it. I feel like Vallenfyre could help bridge that gap to 20-some years ago, but it’s going to take people going out, getting the record and pestering promoters.

MMM: Quickly to Paradise Lost, you guys have a new album in the works. Anything you can share?

GM: I’m actually talking to you from a studio in a converted chapel in the middle of nowhere recording the new album. We’ve only been here a few days so far. Adrian is about a third of the way through his drums, and I’m sitting around bored. There’s not even a pub here! There used to be a pub but it’s closed for refurbishments, so we’re kind of banging our heads against the walls. And we’re here until mid-December.

MMM: So if the new Paradise Lost is a little angrier, I guess we’ll know why?

GM: (laughs) No, it’s not angrier. It’s actually more melodic than the last one, but a little more guitar-oriented. There are no keyboards on it, and it’s more inspired by classic metal and classic doom metal. There’s a lot of lead work on it, a lot of harmonics, some acoustic stuff, more riffs. Doing Vallenfyre, I sort of realized where that line ends and Paradise Lost begins. It made me feel more positive and confident with what I’m doing with Paradise Lost. Had I not done Vallenfyre, some things might have leaked into Paradise Lost, and that wouldn’t have been fair to Paradise Lost or true to them.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.vallenfyre.com/

To buy “A Fragile King,” go here: http://www.cmdistro.com/Artist/Vallenfyre/95067

For more on the label, go here: http://www.centurymedia.com/

So the Grammy Awards are still around. I know. I’m shocked, too. I hear they had big blowout concert tonight for the nomination show. That’s like having a football game at the NFL Draft. But what are you going to do? I’m not going to watch these shenanigans anyway.

But each year we get the hilarious metal award nominees, now known as the hard rock/metal category because the people responsible for picking the bands probably think that metal’s a dying genre, and this year’s is no less hysterical than every other year. Now, sadly, we didn’t get a perverse nomination for Metallica, Motorhead, Ministry or some Black Sabbath song just because the band slithered out and did a version of a 40-year-old tune live. That’ll be next year. Instead, we got two bands that really belong elsewhere because they do not fit the parameters at all, but hey, the fossils who pick these bands have heard of them. Then we get three these folks either have heard of or know because the groups are on the grandkids’ Christmas lists. Here we go. So excited, right?

• “On the Backs of Angels,” Dream Theater
• “White Limo,” Foo Fighters
• “Curl of the Burl,” Mastodon
• “Public Enemy No. 1,” Megadeth
• “Blood in My Eyes,” Sum 41

I know. Sum 41’s still a band?! Maybe they aren’t. Who knows? These are the Grammy Awards, after all. I guess they saw the word “blood” and thought it was so, so dangerously metal. Foo Fighters should just get lumped in with all the mainstream categories because, no disrespect, they’re basically an edgy pop band. But they’ll probably take home this year’s “metal” award, and Dave Grohl likely will feel stupid about it since he’s actually a metalhead. Actually, Foo Fighters are nominated in every category containing the word “rock,” including the Finest Field Recording of a Moon Rock slot. Someone’s going to feel dumb tomorrow. If the new FF album was blank, it still would get nominated. If I had to make the call, I don’t know what I’d do. Mastodon, I guess? Who cares?

I know there are millions of great metal records and songs that should get the nod for nomination. But the people behind this farce don’t even know they exist. Nor will they ever. So do as I do and miss the show and just laugh at the results the next day.

Also, want to thank everyone who stopped by for the Cormorant review. It was one of most-read first-day stories in our history. That thing just blew up. Good. Go buy the album.

When I was in college and was working a menial restaurant job to have some spending money, a friend of mine and I would discuss heavy metal. Now, he was devoutly religious and refused to listen to “the devil’s music” anymore, but he knew enough to have some opinions. One of them was that Bruce Dickinson was too smart to be in heavy metal. He cited “Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” the Iron Maiden epic classic, as proof.

Now, never mind that bassist Steve Harris actually wrote that song as well as the bulk of Maiden’s material, but he’s right about Dickinson’s intelligence. But how does that make him too big for metal, exactly? I always found that comment rather dismissive and insulting, because I was working my way through college, doing quite well, and soundtracking my marathon study sessions with tons and tons of metal. Did that make me some kind of rube? It also suggests that by playing in a metal band that you’re somehow too dumb to do anything else. That is patently ridiculous.

But let’s pretend for a moment that Dickinson (or, you know, Harris) is too smart for metal. Then what does that make Arthur Von Nagel, bassist, vocalist and primary lyricist for Cormorant? Is he too intelligent for music itself? Or is this just a stupid assertion that has no place in a music review other than to point out other people’s lack of understanding of the metal genre? Von Nagel and his band made a gigantic impression on the metal world with their incredible 2009 full-length debut “Metazoa.” It was a prog-metal landmark, an album so strong and accomplished that it’s amazing that labels weren’t ponying up tons of money just for the honor of releasing the thing. And maybe that happened, but Cormorant have maintained a DIY ethos while going way over the top with their music. Now comes their sophomore release “Dwellings,” one of the most emotional, thought-provoking, well-informed records in any genre this year. It’s an effort that should destroy once and for all people’s assertion that metal is only for unwashed mouth-breathers who are barely equipped to function in society. This record could be a thesis statement about humankind, the struggle for a place in the world, our eventual demise and the antagonistic forces that often impede our journeys.

“Dwellings” is an album that’ll force you to learn. You can’t just sit idly by while Von Nagel and his bandmates – guitarist/clean vocalist Matt Solis, drummer/clean vocalist Brennan Kunkel, and guitarist/mandolin player Nick Cohon – tell historical tales of the Aborigines, a failed Cosmonaut space mission, and Lope de Aguirre and the El Dorado myth and not at least go to Google to find out more. I certainly did that because Von Nagel’s lyrics are descriptive enough that you can find key words that can guide your search. I spent an entire afternoon doing that very thing, and while I knew some of the details of these events, such as the Russian space tragedy, I was able to fill in a lot of the holes in my head. I don’t remember the last time a record made me do that, and I’m thankful for the experience. Plus, the passion and emotion with which the band delivers these songs and the history-rich material is nothing short of moving. It’s all of these reasons, along with the music being an incredible concoction of prog, folk, power, black and death metal (with a little hardcore thrown in for good measure), that this album is being so heavily embraced. NPR just named it the best metal record of 2011. Isn’t it amazing it took a December record to finally crown a chart-topper?

The music and vocals on “Dwellings” are more aggressive, heavier and angrier than what’s on “Metazoa.” A lot of that can be pinned on the lyrical content of these songs focusing on atrocities and misdeeds that shook families, settlements and nations, leaving people’s lives forever altered. Von Nagel certainly seems to try to get into his characters’ shoes and walk their paths in order to properly convey his messages. He never fails to capture the heart and mind, the rest of the band steps right up and backs him with astonishing, soul-swelling, pure heavy metal magic that should touch fans of every genre and sub-genre of extreme music. “The First Man” opens the record with a power metal-style assault that’s made gravelly by Von Nagel’s growly, grisly vocals that are far improved from his work on “Metazoa.” And I have no qualms with his singing on that record. “Funambulist” is about wire-walker Philippe Petit who walked between the World Trade Center towers in 1974, and the song is as impressive for its attention to event detail as it is to making sure the ever-changing pockets of music fit the scene being described. Crushing and sinister “Junta,” that has a rousing hardcore section that could cause a furious circle pit, addresses the 2009 sexual assault wave toward women in Guinea during pro-Democracy rise-up rallies. “A Howling Dust” is raspy and thorny, but it also washes itself out in a storm of shoegaze, while its words tell of a man who wishes to forget his role in ethnic cleansing in a California ghost town Hornitos. It’s the darkest, most upsetting song on here. “Unearthly Dreamings,” the story of Vladimir Komarov, the first space casualty, is rumbling and furious as it should be, and it washes away with what sounds like a lost space transmission from a mission that was foolhardy from the start.

“Dwellings” is musically and emotionally stunning, a once-in-a-lifetime piece of work that should be this band’s crowning jewel. But it’s only album two, so I don’t want to assume they can’t go to even greater heights next time. You’ll devour this record like you do a good book that changes the way you see your life. You’ll learn things perhaps you didn’t want to know, but you’ll wonder how these events weren’t revealed to you on a greater level before. But don’t fret about that. Now you know, and you have Cormorant’s amazing new album to lead the way. You’ll think, you’ll hurt, you’ll rage, but most of all you’ll grow. Cormorant sure have as artists, and who knows how far they can go in the future? We’re sure to be here to find out.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.cormorantmusic.com/

For their Bandcamp site, go here: http://cormorant.bandcamp.com/

To buy “Dwellings,” go here: http://cormorantmusic.blogspot.com/2011/09/cormorant-dwellings-limited-edition-pre.html

I had planned for this to be a busy week here at Meat Mead Metal. Then my dog accidentally poked my eye with his snout – hard – and gave me an abrasion of the cornea. Not sure how many of you have suffered through this injury, but if not, imagine the worst pain you’ve ever experience and multiply that by 1,000. It sucks. You can’t sleep, you can’t relax, you can’t get away from the pain.

So we’re going to do a quick entry today about a couple of essential re-releases and then go back to our Vicodin and eye salve. Fun times. Apologies if this is a bit disjointed. But we’ll get back to normal by the end of the week as long as my eye recovers at the pace that is expected, and one of those pieces will be our first-ever MMM interview, a conversation I’m quite excited to bring to you about one of this year’s finest death metal albums. Look for that by the end of the week. I hope …

So we’re talking re-releases today, something of which I’m a big fan. I know some people hate them because it’s like, why do you have to keep paying for the same record? One of these may make you feel that way since it’s been given new treatment before. But if the album is good, as both of these are, then what’s wrong with having a sparkling new version? I, for one, didn’t mind a bit re-collecting all of the Carcass albums because the new packages looked amazing and have cool extra stuff tacked onto them. Same when Iron Maiden reissued all of their CDs several years back. If I like the music enough, I want the best-sounding, slickest-looking version possible.

First up, we get a new version of the Sunn 0))) classic “ØØ Void,” the band’s 2000 sophomore effort that was released in the States by Hydra Head, by Rise Above in Europe, then by Daymare eight years later in Japan. The long-out-of-print tracks feature the core members Stephen O’Malley and Greg Anderson, but they’re also joined by Stuart Dalquist (Burning Witch, Goatsnake) on bass and contributors Petra Hayden (who also played with Queens of the Stone Age and The Decemberists) on violin and vocals and Pete Stahl (who played with Goatsnake, QOTSA, Scream and Wool) on vocals. So it was a sign of things to come as far as their collaborative spirit is concerned but maintained that primitive, smoldering doom drone for which they became so highly regarded. This truly was a landmark effort for the band and for those who followed in the group’s footsteps.

The four cuts are slithering and impossibly heavy, which is obvious, right? They slowly move like a hulk across the land, from the spacey ambiance and enveloping darkness of “Richard”; the oddly melodic, mind-altering “NN 0)))” a song that has even more effect when you’re on painkillers; “Rabbits’ Revenge,” the powerful reinterpretation of The Melvins’ cut “Hung Bunny,” a song that clearly stood as a major influence on O’Malley and Anderson; and the chunkier, more aggressive closer “Ra at Dusk” that finds the band striking harder than they usually do but also dissolving into a nice noise wash that carries you away into space.

Sunn 0))) also have a second effort planned via O’Malley’s Ideologic Organ of their collaboration alongside Nurse With Wound. It’s coming out on double-gatefold vinyl, and a link for more information is below. Buy one, or even better, buy both of these albums. If you’re serious about doom, drone and darkness, you need to have them in your collection. Try them with Vicodin!

For more on the band, go here: http://www.ideologic.org/

To buy “ØØ Void,” go here: http://www.southernlord.com/store.php

To buy the Nurse With Wound effort, go here: http://editionsmego.com/ideologic-organ/

For more on the label, go here: http://www.southernlord.com/

The second piece up for discussion is the latest reissue treatment for the Coalesce classic “Give Them Rope,” the band’s explosive 1998 debut that dumped metal, hardcore, math metal, and all of their crossover sub-genres on their ears. The Kansas City-based metalcore pioneers absolutely steamrolled people with this platter, a record they weren’t entirely happy with upon its release and have worked since then to get into acceptable form. This reissued version is that goal accomplished, and it’s a combo of remastered, repackaged copy of the original release, complete with extensive liner notes, and a second disc that contains the 2004alternative mix and master “Give Them Rope She Said.” You got all that? Basically, you’re getting two different versions of the album.

“Give Them Rope” (originally out on Edison Records) always has been my favorite Coalesce album, flaws aside that apparently didn’t bother me as much as they did the band. But I understand where they’re coming from, and if you’ve worked as hard on something as they did this record and endured as much frustration as they did getting this thing out there (and even holding the band together), you’d want it to be as perfect as possible. Sean Ingram sounds in total command on this album, barking and shouting his way through these 11 tracks (or, um, 22 if you want to add up both versions) in a way only he can (and he’s just as ferocious and affecting today), and the rest of the band backs him up with furious thunder and hardcore-laced metallic punishment so many bands have tried to duplicate but never came close to equaling.

This new version of the original sounds fantastic, especially on headphones where you get a healthy dose of what is closer to their original vision, and the 2004 add-on still sounds interesting, even if the differences aren’t always entirely evident. This is an important record that, like the Sunn 0))) album, inspired a legion of followers. And yeah, metalcore has a horrible, damaged connotation now, but this is how the music was supposed to sound before it morphed into a commercially driven mess.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.facebook.com/Coalesce

To buy “Give Them Rope,” go here: http://www.relapse.com/give-them-rope-reissue-2cd.html

For more on the label, go here: http://www.relapse.com/

With it being Black Friday, easily the most evil day of the calendar year – a statement bursting with irony – it’s only fitting that we visit something dark, foreboding, uncomfortable. Some vicious, hate-inducing black metal, you ask? Actually, no. We’re going to pay a visit to a band that has a very unconventional way of making dreary music that pushes the boundaries of what can be labeled heavy metal.

Wreck and Reference are a Sacramento outfit pushing and altering the parameters of extreme music. It’s a two-man operation of multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Felix K. Skinner and drummer Ignat Frege in the studio (live photos of the band performing show more folks bringing the noise), and they eschew the whole guitar-based rock formula. Now, listening to their first effort “Black Cassette,” originally released by themselves, then put out on CD by Music Ruins Lives, and now on vinyl via Flenser, would make an uninformed person think there is an army of guitar players on this thing. Instead, the music is created solely by electronics and live drums, and most of the sounds are recreated live by use of an MPC-style controller. For someone intellectually challenged when it comes to discussing the technicalities of recording – I’m a writer, not a player, unfortunately – that’s about the best I can do trying to describe this. But yeah, won’t matter once you place this sucker on your turntable and get lost on their depressing, stormy sounds. You won’t care how they made, only that they did make it.

It’s also difficult to really pinpoint influences or like-minded bands. There are little bits of piece of all kind of groups, both metal-friendly and not, such as Slint, Swans, Killing Joke, the Cure, Sonic Youth, New Order, and Bauhaus, mostly because the vocals sound delivered by some kind of warped second coming of Peter Murphy. And Murphy isn’t even dead! It’s creepy and downtrodden, and if you’re in one of those moods where the next thing you grab is either a tranquilizer or a knife, you might make the wrong decision when hearing “Black Cassette.” It won’t make you feel better about your life. But maybe, and that’s a big maybe, you’ll be able to relate and use this recording as some sort of catharsis.

The recording is EP length, with six songs that move in, make their point, and get out. There’s no lingering or extended drubbing common with most bands that get any portion of the doom label, and those traits certainly exist here along with post-rock, post-metal, goth, no-wave and plain old expressive indie rock. One might even find these songs catchy in their lo-fi gaze and noise blanket, and there are some unique, catchy vocals hooks that might even have you singing along, once you decipher the words. The singing is clean, warbling, and psychologically monotone, with only fleeting moments of shrieks and shouts, such as on chaotic closer “A Lament.” In fact, had these guys decided to go straight with their approach and just done an honest rock record, they might even make a compelling case for radio airplay. But their sound is too dangerous and muddy for a mainstream drone to absorb.

The collection opens with “All Ships Have Been Abandoned,” a title that should clue you into the despair ahead. There’s a weird melody drowning below the sizzling feedback, and vocals sound like they’re coming from a lost soul buried under floorboards. “Surrendering” is somber and expressive, washed out and unhinged, and eventually a doom-choked cloud floats in and hangs over the proceedings. “Evening Redness” has wail, warble and a fairly deliberate pace that appears eager to drub you into submission; and “Desire, Ether” sounds a little bit like Xasthur’s more recent work, with hypnotic meandering, weepy vocals, and dark feedback wails that pierce you. The only complaint I have about this song is that it just kind of ends out of nowhere, sort of leaving you hanging. But it’s a very tiny hang-up.

“Black Cassette” may have some traditional rock traits that could sway a few less-daring listeners or those who grew up digging alternative rock in the 1980s, but any glisten is pinned underneath of planet of chaos that might also scare the same people into the hills. For those who like some danger and adventure in their music, along with a caterwaul of negative emotion, this could be like an awakening for you. I find “Black Cassette” to be a really strong, really listenable album that’ll be a part of my regular rotation. I’m even going to play it for my non-metal-loving wife, because she’s daring otherwise and I think she’ll be into this. We’ll see how that goes. I’m also looking forward to the release of the band’s next work in 2012 that also will be out on Flenser. Until then, there’s enough here to keep me wholly depressed through the winter.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.facebook.com/wreckandreference

To visit their Bandcamp page, go here: http://wreckandreference.bandcamp.com/

To buy “Black Cassette” on vinyl, go here: http://store.theflenser.com/product/wreck-and-reference-black-cassette-lp

To buy “Black Cassette” on CD, go here: http://musicruinslives.bigcartel.com/product/wreck-and-reference-black-cassette-mrl11-cd

For more on the label, go here: http://theflenser.com/

I’m under the weather. That sucks and it doesn’t. I have been sneezing all day and weird amounts of liquid are pooling in my head, but I get to sleep in the dark, watch college basketball and laugh while the cats go all MMA on each other. But I also wanted to get some work done, so I needed something that was going to keep me from falling back into slumber.

That’s where two new releases from Willowtip come into play. If you can tag anything that label puts out as pedestrian or rudimentary, then you just can’t be entertained. No matter what you think of their grind and technical death metal menu, you can’t say they don’t have some interesting bands to unleash upon the world. The two we’ll discuss here have been with the label for some time, and revisiting them today was a nice way to counteract the meds and make sure my brain had at least a bit of a charge. My apologies in advance if there’s some nonsense in this. I’m my own editor, you see. I also just saw another “buy someone a Lexus” ad on the TV right now and have this urge to burn one of the vehicles. That makes some chest-crushing death metal feel that much better.

And we open with the new one from Dim Mak, a record that should make you smile and want to pillage a community at the same time. “The Emergence of Reptilian Altars,” an album title that should clue you into the insanity and fun of this fourth full-length, is violent and downright nasty at times, but they always level you with a keen sense of musicianship and a proficiency that’s just not fair. It makes the wait after 2006’s “Knives of Ice” worth all that impatience. The cover itself reminds me of a Nile album, and the band has some traits that kind of remind me of the Egyptian history dorks, even if the content is not the same. Something about the sound makes me feel the same way.

“Emergence” has the debut of singer Joe Capizzi (formerly of The Dying Light), and his inclusion manages to make the band even more beastly than they were in the past. He growls and screams his way through these eight tracks of carnage, almost like a caged, vicious fighter looking for a quick tap-out victory. That’s fitting considering the band’s penchant for the martial arts, though sadly because the words are monstrously indecipherable, I can’t tell if any references made their way into the songs. At least it sounds like a Junior Dos Santos punch to the jaw. As for the rest of these sick bastards, you still have guitar mangler Shaune Kelley (ex-Ripping Corpse, ex-Hate Eternal), bassist Scot Hornick (also ex-Ripping Corpse, ex-Faust), and drummer John Longstreth (current Origin/Gorguts, ex-Malicious Intent, Skinless, etc.), so you know what’s in store. If you’re somehow new to the band, look at their resumes, and imagine your expectations flattened by a bulldozer, because that’s basically what they do to you on kick-punching opener “Thrice Cursed”; the off-kilter savagery of “The Secrets of the Tides of Blood”; the mega-shredding, somewhat doomy “Fully Disassembled”; and the blast-filled, choppy, soaring, and even ambient (um, for a few moments) “Kutulu.”

With horrible holiday traffic and even-worse annual shoppers marring the roadways and making things miserable for the next month, my guess is “The Emergence of Reptilian Altars” might help me make better sense of the absolute awfulness that won’t go away until 2012. Or if anything, it may make me envision applying a rear-naked choke to the next asshole who cuts me off at a stop sign on his way to some doorbuster deal.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.facebook.com/DIMMAK.DEATHMETAL?sk=info

To buy “The Emergence of Reptilian Altars,” go here: http://www.willowtip.com/releases/details/dim-mak-the-emergence-of-reptillian-altars.aspx

On the other end of the death metal spectrum are Illogicist, an Italian band that hails from Aosta Valley and really enjoy making your brain work overtime trying to decipher where the hell they’re going musically. These guys are about as non-straight-forward as you’re going to get, and if you’re one who needs something a little more conventional from your death metal servings, these guys may not be for you. If you’re way into dorking out over musical dexterity, get ready to go nuts.

The band’s second full-length effort for Willowtip and third overall is tricky, rollicking, sometimes cartoon-like and a perfect example of how accomplished these guys are as musicians. They sometimes tend to immerse themselves a little too much in their playing and their wacky, scary proficiency, but they remember to floor you with brutality. That’s very important, because if they didn’t adhere to this pattern, their songs might come off as boring. Another thing that really stands out is how crazy good bass player Emilio Dattolo is, and his spidery, gloopy work always pierces the surface of their songs. But he doesn’t take over the album. He just provides extra bursts of color to these tracks that most other bands cannot boast to have. Guitarists Luca Minieri (he also handles vocals) and Diego Ambrosi thrash, stitch together insane guitar lines, experiment with strange patterns and make for an interesting listening experience that, even if you don’t like this style of metal (and I’m one of those people), will keep you alert. “Ghosts of Unconsciousness” is proggy and propulsive, complete with Minieri’s creaky growls; “Hypnotized” is crazy and all over the map; “The Mind Reaper” is the meatiest, most violent cut on the collection; and “Misery of a Profaned Soul” has some gut-check chugging and shifty exploration that keeps you wondering if these dudes are even human.

I’ve never been a huge fan of Illogicist (I don’t dislike them either), and this record didn’t change that. But don’t mistake that as me saying it isn’t a good album, because I would imagine people into this style will overdose on this thing. It just goes against my personal tastes, and hey, that happens. But I certainly acknowledge how good these guys are as players, and each time I heard the disc, I was able to enjoy it as much as I can with this brand of death metal. Check it out and see how you feel.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.illogicist.com/

To buy “The Unconsciousness of Living,” go here: http://www.willowtip.com/releases/details/illogicist-the-unconsciousness-of-living.aspx

For more on the label, go here: http://www.willowtip.com/

What I’m about to say today is something you won’t often read here on this site. I may never write anything like this ever again. Actually, it would be nice if I don’t have to do an entry like this in the future. It would mean good things are happening.

I’ve written a lot in the past about Gilead Media, a damn awesome label that has released some of my favorite music of 2011. In fact, when the time rolls around for me to reveal my picks for best metal records of the year, you can bet Gilead Media will be represented. In an age where so many labels sign questionable bands just to move units, make money and end up on terrible horror movie soundtracks, Gilead Media is a rarity. I rank them up there with Profound Lore and Flenser Records as boutique-style operations where you know the music they’re distributing is out there because they believe in the artists 100 percent. I’m certain that if Gilead Media leader Adam Bartlett discovered a band that blew him away, yet everyone else hated the act, he’d release it anyway. You can tell he believes in what he’s doing and he takes the Gilead Media stamp very seriously. He’s not stamping it on your music just to make money.

So it was disturbing when I woke up this morning and got the regular Gilead label update e-mail. I saw the words “label status and future” and my insides nearly turned to liquid. You may find that overly dramatic. It isn’t. I think that much of Gilead Media and enjoy their output to such a great degree that not having it in existence would put a serious dent in my music life. Reading on, it was not quite as dire as I feared, but the news wasn’t sparkling either. Here’s what Adam wrote in his message. And keep in mind, his regular updates never contain content such as this, and if he wasn’t worried about the future of Gilead Media, it wouldn’t have been revealed. Here it is:

2011 has been a year of immense growth for the label. I made the decision in 2010 that I would focus solely on metal releases, and that was a choice I’ve become very happy with. I’ve released a large quantity of records this year, especially for being a one-guy operation with some-time help from friends. I handle almost every aspect of a release, organizing the mixing and mastering of the audio, rendering and laying-out art files for packaging and inserts, screen printing all patches and posters that come with releases, and making all buttons. It’s a huge task for just one release, let alone the batch I’ve done this year. As of November 19, 2011, that total is seven new releases and six represses – all of which were vinyl. 

It’s been a crazy year, and it’s been rough. While doing all of this I’ve also been managing a screen-printing shop, Offbeat Press, and working on producing a film I co-wrote & co-directed, Dead Weight. 2011 has been a year of very little rest, a lot of coffee, and a lot of stress. On the opposite side of things, this has been the most productive and fulfilling year of my life.

On the label side of things, I owe that success to all the people that have ordered records and to all the folks that run websites, blogs, magazines etc. that have covered or promoted my releases. I’ve met tons of incredible people and built some great relationships over the course of the year. The level of support I’ve had is overwhelming. It started to feel like the label was unstoppable.

That’s what made things so hard when I found out I won’t be seeing much, if any, of the $5,500 I was owed by my old retail distributor, the Independent Label Collective. It was like running full speed into a brick wall.

There are 1,300+ words written in this little essay, and you can view the entire statement over at the Gilead Media blog. I didn’t want to bog down this entire email with 2.5 pages of it. Basically, the label has hit a big financial rough patch because of this situation, and I need people to pick up some records if they were thinking of it and haven’t. Please head over and check out the full article I wrote.

I’ll give you the link to his blog below so you can read it in full. I care deeply about independent metal, and I try to champion those bands, releases and labels to people as much as I can because they need the support. Losing something like Gilead Media might not make a gigantic blip on the mainstream world, and it wouldn’t even get a blurb in a business journal somewhere, because they’re so invisible to so many people. But it would be one fewer place for bands such as Barghest, FALSE, Thou, Fell Voices, Arms Aloft, Ash Borer and many others to find an outlet. These are bands that probably won’t be snapped up by a Nuclear Blast or a Century Media anytime soon. Would these bands cease to exist without a Gilead Media? Probably not since those bands thrive on their musical passion, but they’d have less of a chance of getting their art out to people who would devour it. I credit Adam and Gilead Media for introducing me to Thou many years ago, way before plenty of other people started to catch on to what they do. I am eternally grateful for that.

If you value Gilead Media or labels like it, there’s something you can do to help. Go buy something from them. Don’t download it, buy it. If you need suggestions for what to get from Gilead Media, look at the bands I listed above. You cannot go wrong with any of them. Go buy some shirts, too. They have a pretty sweet Krallice design, and it isn’t exactly easy finding that band’s shirts unless you go to a show. They also have designs for Ash Borer, Thou, FALSE and Barghest, among others. All are more than reasonably priced and they don’t just look like your average metal merch. I have purchased from Gilead Media many times in the past, and the items always are excellently packed, contain goodies such as buttons and matches, look amazing and, most importantly, sound great. I’m going to do what I can this holiday season to see to it that my metal-loving pals get a few Gilead Media-related goodies.

More than once Adam has written to me to thank me after something I posted about one of his bands. He doesn’t need to thank me. I love the music and the bands he presents, and if anything, I should be thanking him. I also feel compelled to mention that no one asked me to write this. Not Adam, not anyone. I did it because I believe in Gilead Media and would consider it a great tragedy if one day it didn’t exist. Adam runs a great shop, and I have yet to be disappointed by anything he has sent my way. I hope that lasts well into the future. Now let’s go out and make sure that’s possible.

For more on the label, go here: http://www.gileadmedia.net/

For the label’s web shop, go here: http://www.gileadmedia.net/store/

For the label’s Bandcamp page, go here: http://gileadmedia.bandcamp.com/

For the rest of Adam’s message, go here: http://broad-cloak.blogspot.com/2011/11/status-future-of-gilead-media.html