Taking place on February 28, the Scion Rock Fest hosts a spate of crushing metal bands in Atlanta. Performing bands include Mastodon, Neurosis, High on Fire, Boris, Cryptopsy, Torche, Nachtmystium, Baroness, Kylesa, Zoroaster, Toxic Holocaust, Rwake, and many more.
In an interview with Billboard, bassist Doug McCombs shared details on the upcoming album from jazzy post-rock instrumentalists Tortoise — its first full album of original material since 2004. Still untitled, the album will be released April 21 on Thrill Jockey and feature layers of synthesizers as well as “unconventional drumming and percussion.”
The release date for the new Isis album, Wavering Radiant, has been set for May 5 via Ipecac.
Italian sludge-jazz trio Zu has announced the first of its dates for a world tour, which stretches from the end of January through April. Mike Patton (who sings on a pair of tracks from the band’s great new album, Carboniferous) joins Zu to perform as the Zu / Mike Patton Quartet for a pair of dates in March.
More bands have been confirmed for the newest incarnation of Neurosis‘ three-day rock festival, Beyond the Pale at Roadburn 2009. The concerts, from April 23-25, will now include Grails, Earth, and Tribes of Neurot.
Get a free download of Busdriver‘s song about Obama, “Will He (Inaugural Tribute),” at his website.
Mastodon will debut a new track (“Divinations”) from its upcoming album, Crack the Skye, on next week’s installment of the BBC Radio 1’s “Rock Show.”
After 25 years, founding member and multi-instrumentalist Mick Harvey is leaving Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.
The An Albatross Family Album, one of our favorite releases from 2008, is now available on (white) vinyl from the Eyeball Records webstore.
Long-form psychedelic collective Dark Meat, with its 17 members, has announced a string of concert dates that cover the West and the South. The group also has a pair of new 7″ records for sale; one is a split with Long Legged Woman.
Ches Smith‘s Congs for Brums began a two-week European tour on Tuesday. Smith lends his percussion skills to Secret Chiefs 3, Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog, Trevor Dunn’s Trio-Convulsant, and Xiu Xiu.
An interview with Italian prog-metal group Ephel Duath can be streamed here. In the twelve-minute clip, the group discusses its new album, Through My Dog’s Eyes, which will be released on Earache next week (January 26). The band, essentially a duo, recently replaced long-time singer Luciano Lorusso George with Guillermo Gonzalez.
Experimental folk group Akron/Family (now a trio) has announced that a new album, Set ’em Wild, Set ’em Free, will be released on Dead Oceans on May 5.
Prog/math rockers Stinking Lizaveta have a new album, Sacrifice and Bliss, that will be released on March 31.
Theater director Richard Foreman is staging a presentation of Astronome, the second album from John Zorn‘s Moonchild quartet, to run at New York’s Ontological-Hysteric Theater for two months, starting on February 5. The Moonchild quartet consists of Zorn, Mike Patton, Trevor Dunn, and Joey Baron.