Vortex Scimitar

Mesopotamian black metal in a flying V: Melechesh’s signature 12-string Vortex Scimitar

Ashmedi, the front-man for long-running “Mesopotamian black metal” group Melechesh, has teamed up with Fernandes Guitars to release a signature 12-string model, the Vortex Scimitar. Produced in a V shape, the Vortex is aimed at the extreme metal crowd, and, according to Ashmedi, “the octave sounds are subtle and great when playing power chords, single notes, and fast riffing.” Check out the specs and a few images below.

Motörheadphönes are a thing now

In a sentence that we never thought we’d be typing, Lemmy of Motörhead stopped by the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show to premiere his band’s new line of listening peripherals, the why-hasn’t-this-happened-before Motörheadphönes.

Aimed at “the rock/pop audience, a target group who are critical listeners,” the three headphones and six in-ear models will be more focused on the mid-range of sound than other “lifestyle” models such as Beats by Dre. Launched last fall in Europe, and with a pedigree including an engineer from Gothenburg, Sweden, Motörheadphönes will be hitting the US market towards the end of April 2013.

Contest: Win a Relapse Records five-CD prize pack!

From its modest roots as a basement mail-order operation to its status as one of the premier independent metal labels, Relapse Records has carved a niche as purveyor of distortion-heavy talent. In addition to a few ALARM favorites from Pig Destroyer, Liberteer, and Primate, this year saw noteworthy releases from Dying Fetus, Baroness, Horseback, LocrianSerpentine Path, and many others.