Mike Patton & The Ictus Ensemble: Laborintus II (7/3/12, Ipecac)
Recorded live with The Ictus Ensemble in 2010 at the Holland Festival, Laborintus II is the latest recording credit from the eternally unpredictable Mike Patton. The three-part offering, written to celebrate Dante’s 700th birthday, is a new take on the work of experimental Italian composer Luciano Berio (as inspired by poet Edoardo Sanguineti).
Primate: Draw Back a Stump (Relapse, 7/3/12)
“Silence of Violence”
Featuring members of Mastodon, Brutal Truth, and The Despised, Atlanta’s Primate is a new hardcore super-group — a furious bastard child birthed by hardcore, punk, grind, and metal. Heavy-music geeks quickly will recognize the names of vocalist Kevin Sharp and guitarist Bill Kelliher, but the rest of the lineup is no less impressive or important in crafting the band’s maiden opus.
Nile: At the Gate of Sethu (Nuclear Blast, 7/3/12)
Nile: “The Inevitable Degradation of Flesh”
Nile_The_Inevitable_Degradation_of_Flesh
Nile guitarist and occasional vocalist Karl Sanders has been living death metal for as long as the genre has existed. From a brief but storied stint living with Morbid Angel to Nile’s breakthrough in 2000 with Black Seeds of Vengeance, Sanders has been there. It is then all the more remarkable that his songwriting and lead playing have been ratcheted up another notch for Nile’s newest full-length, At the Gate of Sethu.
Gangpol & Mit: The 1000 Softcore Tourist People Club (Ipecac, 3/29/11)
Gangpol & Mit is a French audio/visual duo creating quirky electro-pop that draws from myriad influences, including funk, digital, noise, and cartoon and video-game worlds. Gangpol handles the boops, blits, and whirs, while Guillaumit contributes his equally bizarre animations that feature colorful geometric shapes and characters. The result is a whimsical, humorous romp through the absurd.
Aesop Rock: Skelethon (Rhymesayers, 7/10/12)
Iconic wordsmith Aesop Rock’s latest effort, Skelethon, hasn’t been released yet, but the video for the album’s new single, “ZZZ Top,” was worth the wait. In it, Chinese martial artist Hao Zhi Hua — better known as Patti Lee — holds her own against a horde of misguided attackers. Check out some formidable knife-slinging / general bad-assery below.
Beastwars: s/t (9/11/12)
Hailing from New Zealand, stoner-sludge outfit Beastwars has been making music that’s as much an assault on the senses as an assault on nature, borne and bred out of isolation at the bottom of the earth. Without regard for classification, these dudes are playing heavy tunes for heavy times, contributing to a musical landscape built around social and political commentary.
Hot on the heels of his Iradelphic full-length in April, electronic maestro Clark is back at it with the Fantasm Planes EP, a six-track offering due 9/4/12 from Warp. On it, Clark debuts three brand-new cuts and three new takes on tracks from Iradelphic, the latter coming as a pseudo-recreation of his recent live setup.
The title track, heard below, is a progressive, classically tinged tune that is propelled by a throbbing, syncopated pulse and, later, a steady dance-floor beat.