Album: Exxasens - Eleven Miles

Band: Exxasens

Album: Eleven Miles

Label: Aloud Music

Year: 2011

Tracklist

01. Science Will Save Us

02. Helios

03. Constellation

04. Eleven Miles

05. Baikanur

06. Eclipse

07. Rise Up

08. Nebula Seven

09. Casiopea
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Not having a defined music style is certainly the main appeal of Exxasens proposal. The Exxasens universe is full of sound landscapes which take the listener to a rich world of beautiful and powerful melodies. This could be the homeland of post-rock bands such as Mogwai or Explosions in the Sky, a place full of nice melodies with strong guitar atmospheres. Exxasens' style tries to go beyond by introducing progressive metal.

Exxasens was born in April 2007 in Barcelona as a solo project by Jordi Ruiz, guitarist of Playmotive and Kyba bands. Back then, Jordi began to compose and produce songs at his place only using a computer and his guitar, with the sole purpose of passing the time.

One year after its inception and after composing 12 songs, the new independent label “Counsoling Sounds” decided to go for Exxasens. On May 10th 2008 an initial release of 100 copies was published under the name Polaris.

This first album has 10 instrumental songs that connect the listener with an inner world of melodies and sound effects. Themes like “Spiders on the moon” which narrates Apollo XI’s journey to the moon, “Polaris” which describes the immensity of the universe or “Gamma Channel” which recreates one of the passages of Orson Wells’ War of the Worlds, define what Exxasens tries to convey through his music.

Just a year ago after Polaris , Consouling Sound releases August 27, 2009 their second album. Beyond The Universe, 13 songs more elaborate than his earlier work, which will transport the listener into a universe where an elaborate soundscapes melodic section full of guitars surround delays is particularly prominent. For this new album have also joined the voices in two songs. One of them a remix of one of the tracks on the album Vivalaguerra from Standstill band “¿Por que me llamas a estas horas?.

His last published work gets good reviews from webzines on the internet as The Silent Ballet (http://thesilentballet.com/dnn/) or Metal Observer (http://www.metal-observer.com) or specialized magazines as Visions in Germany or Mondo Sonoro in Spain.

After publication of their two albums, Exxasens is immersed in the production of their third called Eleven Miles, which will be officially released on September 11th 2011. This album consists of a total of 9 new songs with a revamped, more robust sound and with the Exxasens characteristic stamp.

On the other hand, as a support for the publication of the third album, Exxasens is preparing a tour in collaboration with 4 musicians and visual projection which will made each concert something really space.

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Album: Blueneck - Repetitions

Band: Blueneck
Album: Repetitions
Label: Denovali Records
Year: 2011








Tracklist
01. Pneumothorax
02. Sawbones
03. Venger
04. Sleeping Through A Storm
05. Una Salus Victus
06. Ellipsis
07. Barriers Down
08. The Last Refuge
09. Lopuss
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In September 2011 Blueneck release Repetitions, their third album, on Denovali Records.

The new LP is the follow-up to 2010’s The Fallen Host and 2006’s debut Scars of the Midwest.

Though steeped in the trademark melancholy power of their former works, Repetitions resonates with new heights of emotional drama. From the butcher’s knife-edge tension of strident opener ‘Pneumothorax’, past the cocooned confessional ‘Barriers Down’, to the cathartic windswept Americana of ‘The Last Refuge’, Repetitions makes a deliberate lunge for the emotional jugular.

It’s without doubt that this red-blooded output results from Repetitions’ unusual recording process. Whereas the first two albums were constructed in Blueneck’s reclusive studio deep in the farmlands of Somerset, this time the band made the deliberate decision to head to the city. Working with producer Mat Sampson in his Bink Bonk basement studios in Bristol, a recording session started that would eventually span an 18 month period, ending in June 2011.

It wasn’t just the surroundings that needed to change. Contrary to their previous approach, this time Sampson encouraged Blueneck to minimize digital trickery. The band deliberately embraced analogue tools, acoustic instruments and live performances. Much of Repetitions is recorded live as a band using vintage amplifiers, pedals and microphones, a vast array of ancient analogue synths and organs, not to mention the addition of authentic live upright piano, violin and cello.

Blueneck will follow the release of Repetitions with an extensive European tour throughout October and November 2011.

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Album: Victoria - Trial And Error EP

Band: Victoria
Album: Trial And Error EP
Label: Self Released
Year: 2011










Tracklist
01. Adversity Theme
02. Too Little To Lose
03. A Happy Ending
04. The Human Tragedy
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Victoria are a post-metal band hailing from the UK city of Bradford. Nic and Simon (Milo) initially started a hardcore band with friends but soon progressed to producing more progressive, experimental guitar music. Heavily influenced by bands such as Rinoa, Bossk, This Will Destroy You, Mogwai and Sigur Ros, Victoria combine down-tuned, harmonised guitar chord patterns and lead arpeggios with programmed synth and drum patterns.

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Album: Mars Red Sky - Mars Red Sky

Band: Mars Red Sky
Album: Mars Red Sky
Label: Emergence / Discograph
Year: 2011







Tracklist
01. Strong Reflection
02. Curse
03. Falls
04. Way To Rome
05. Saddle Point
06. Marble Sky
07. Up The Stairs
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Mars Red Sky is a french stoner/psychedelic rock band from Bordeaux.

On a winter night in 2007, Julien Pras and Jimmy Kinast met at a tiny club in Bordeaux for the Berlin Vs Brooklyn show, a repetitive math-rock duet. The surprise that awaits them is huge: behind his drums, Benoit Busser is a perfect fusion of John Bonham and Todd Trainer. Blown away by his technique, Julien and Jimmy will imagine on their side the band they could form together and finally achieve their musical fantasies.By this time, Julien Pras was currently promoting the 5th album of his band Calc and was dreaming of a noisy psychedelia with Big muff pedals and plenty of reverberated guitars. On his side, Jimmy Kinast who held his bass during the 90’s in several noisy pop bands is feeding the same desire.It won’t take long before benoit et Julien will start working together. After three jubilant and productive rehearsals ( two tracks are then developed) Jimmy join them behind the bass.Obssesed by the 70’s, from Black Sabbath to Led zeppelin, and more recently by Dead Meadows and the band witch, the three of them will form Mars Red Sky…

The alchemy is here and they will soon be writing many songs together. Jimmy and Julien are sharing the microphone, their universe is heavy and aerial at the same time, especially based on the use of a particular tuning, a good half-dozen semitones below normal.

Encouraged by the first concerts they played in Bordeaux and the response they received from a well surprised audience, they decided to record their songs properly, in the stones of this magical Spanish place called the Bardenas desert.

Pierre Fillon, in charge of the recording and the mixing, will help to shape and colour the whole project.

In 2011, Mars Red Sky is finally ready to conquer the clubs all over Europe.

Opening act for the great “Sleepy Sun ” from San Francisco, Tweak Bird, Shannon Wirght, A Place To Bury Strangers, Earth and Killing Joke at the Bataclan In Paris. After a tour in Germany and Netherland next June, Mars Red Sky will also play Les Eurockennes 2011 Festival on July the 2nd with Queen Of The Stone Age, Motorhead and Kuyss Live.

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Album: Hazards Of Swimming Naked - Our Lines Are Down

Band: Hazards Of Swimming Naked
Album: Our Lines Are Down
Label: Self Released
Year: 2009







Tracklist
01. Requiem
02. I'm A Friend Of Edward J. Stevens
03. Sparks Fly
04. Sveta Pače
05. ...And A Whole Assortment Of Uppers And Downers
06. Don't Cry For Me, Dario Argento
07. Dreams Don't Come True, That Is Why We Dream…
08. Kip Keino
09. Aabar Dekha Habe
10. Reverie
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Hazards Of Swimming Naked are a Brisbane based 5 piece instrumental band originating from Queensland's tropical far north. The humidity and vibrancy of that region permeates their music and culminates in a sound which shares all the cinematic grandeur of artists such as Mogwai, godspeed you black emperor and Mono.

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Video: Falling Down IIV Teaser

Available in 2012.

Band: Adolf Plays The Jazz

Band: Adolf Plays The Jazz
Album: Cognac Or Brandy EP
Label: Cognac Or Brandy (Self Released)
Year: 2005







Tracklist
01. Cognac Or Brandy
02. Barada
03. Beerla
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Band: Adolf Plays The Jazz
Album: Muzzle The Birds EP
Label: Cognac Or Brandy (Self Released)
Year: 2005







Tracklist
01. Neon Lights
02. Sad Story
03. Jean Baptiste Grenouille Fake The Aroma
04. Prozac Nation
05. Frank Zappa Needs Haircut
06. oo
07. In Vortex
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Band: Adolf Plays The Jazz
Album: Art Brokolo
Label: Cognac Or Brandy (Self Released)
Year: 2006







Tracklist
01. Art Brokolo
02. Dambira (Lesson In Progress)
03. Jam:Plan
04. Too Small To Succeed ,
05. Too Desperate To Fail
06. Crimson
07. Re[turn]
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Band: Adolf Plays The Jazz
Album: Melt EP
Label: Cognac Or Brandy (Self Released)
Year: 2007







Tracklist
01. Pink Noise
02. Melt
03. Loner
04. Jean Baptiste Was Scentless
05. Dambira (Remix)
06. Weather Changes
07. Over The Hill
08. Living Upstairs
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Band: Adolf Plays The Jazz
Album: Day 4 | Urban Fiction
Label: Cognac Or Brandy (Self Released)
Year: 2007







Tracklist
01. Inumb
02. Terminal
03. Every Single Moment
04. Norman Bates
05. Learning
06. What If
07. Foremost
08. Jasm
09. For What Is Made To Fail
10. Of Dogs And Mice
11. Waste
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Band: Adolf Plays The Jazz
Album: Stealth EP
Label: Cognac Or Brandy (Self Released)
Year: 2008







Tracklist
01. Nothing To Lose
02. Stealth
03. Nameless
04. Overseas
05. Strange World
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Band: Adolf Plays The Jazz
Album: Dirty Waters
Label: InTakt Netlabel
Year: 2009







Tracklist
01. Dirty Water
02. Ad Funk
03. False Trail
04. Matter of Fact
05. Mos[cow]
06. Black Flags
07. Lush
08. Ungdomshuset
09. No Return
10. Trap
11. Drive
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Adolf Plays The Jazz have nothing to do whatsoever with politics and fascism especially.

In essence, the band is formed in 2002, even though the first song created under the name Adolf Plays The Jazz was created in 1998 (it's "Frank Zappa needs haircut", which was later included in the Muzzle The Birds EP).

2005 marks the first official release, Cognac Or Brandy EP. The style of music is influenced by the post-rock scene, albeit with some cinematic elements, which are made even more obvious through the use of samples or movie dialogues.

Next, Muzzle The Birds EP is released, which is a compilation of previously unreleased songs written between 1998 and 2005 and in 2006 the first LP is released, titled Art Brokolo. It incorporates some heavier and more progressive elements, with an ever-present cinematic feel. During the same year, another compilation is released, featuring songs from all previous releases. Its title is Another slice ? and was handed out in the Red Sparowes concert in Athens that year.

2007 marks the release of Melt EP and Day 4 | Urban Fiction Part 1 which are both part of a tribute to life in the city, the latter being the first volume of a concept album, as suggested by its title. Melt EP features a more electronic/trip hop song structure, with heavier use of loops and samples.

Adolf Plays The Jazz have never had a specific line-up. Anyone who has been involved in our releases and activities in any way is considered a member of the band. Of course it's not about a collective of any sort. Due to this line-up fluidity, Adolf Plays The Jazz made their first live show on may 2010 .

The terms post-rock and shoegaze might be the most appropriate to describe their music, but Adolf Plays The Jazz are influenced by everything they listen to, read or see...

Their music has always been distributed for free and this will always be the case for Adolf Plays The Jazz. You can download all our stuff from our site for free.

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Band: Arktika

Band: Arktika
Album: At Zero
Label: Narshardaa Records
Year: 2010







Tracklist
01. We Live Our Lives In Black
02. A Fire To Everything
03. Interlude & Vowbreaker
04. Diorama
05. Johnny Castle
06. At Zero
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Band: Arktika
Album: Heartwrencher EP
Label: Narshardaa Records
Year: 2009







Tracklist
01. Heartwrencher
02. The Rest Of Your life
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We made a post about Arktika's debut album a while ago, and now they give their releases for free in their bandcamp page.

"From today on we’ll make both of our releases „Heartwrencher“ and „At Zero“ available as a free download. Just head over to our new bandcamp-page and download them instantly. If you want there’s a possibility to make a donation. You decide what the releases are worth to you.

We decided to make our releases free because our limited edition CD-version of „At Zero“ is nearly sold out. We wanted to give you the opportunity to get our music directly from us, even if you are not a fan of vinyl. We still believe in vinyl as a beautiful piece of art to transport music on the one hand and the power of the digital format on the other hand. Vinyl will stay our format of choice for future releases.

If you want to buy the vinyl versions of the albums or other stuff head over to our online-shop at big cartel.

Thanks to all of you for the support and feedback." - Arktika

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Album: Barrows - Imprecari Island

Band: Barrows
Album: Imprecari Island Label: Self Released
Year: 2011









Tracklist
01. Wrath Of The Sea
02. Imprecari Island
03. Red Winds
04. Obsequies
05. Lost In The Woods
06. Vultures
07. Apparition By Moonlight
08. Wind In The Sails
09. Pirates
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Barrows is a four piece instrumental post-rock/metal band from Los Angeles, CA.
They previously released a self-titled EP and just released their debut album.
Personally it's the most exciting album I heard for a while. So even if you're not planning on buying it, be sure to check it out by streaming it.

*Thanx to Olivier for pointing this band and Jim for contacting me.

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Album: Riding Alone For Thousands Of Miles - Brick City Ghosts

Band: Riding Alone For Thousands Of Miles
Album: Brick City Ghosts
Label: Bad Panda Records
Year: 2011







Tracklist
01. Lullaby
02. Anya's Prayer, Anya's Dream
03. She Was My Lighthouse
04. Love Song
05. Satellite
06. Last 100 Days
07. Final Notice
08. Eli
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Riding Alone For Thousands Of Miles are an immensely talented outfit from New Jersey, who make tense instrumental rock in the vein of Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

The 10-piece band’s name is taken from a Chinese/Japanese movie released in 2005 and their demo album from 2008, A Boldogság Minden Reményét Elragadták (from Hungarian, “All The Hope Of Happiness Has Been Stolen”) is one of the best kept secret among the post-rock lovers.

The band has no website and is virtually faceless on the internet (except for their last.fm page).

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Album: Sobre A Máquina - Areia

Band: Sobre A Máquina
Album: Areia
Label: Sinewave
Year: 2011







Tracklist
01. Língua Negra
02. Barca
03. Foz
04. Garça
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Finding a curious mix between chaos and chilling, Sobre A Máquina, idealized by Cadu T., bets on trippy beats and beautifully crafted timbres in a meticulous work, bringing together the well-known minimalism of their melodies and the complexity of the everyday big city worn out sound.

The trio started with Emygdio C. and Ricardo G. around 2010. Decompor, the first album, released in 2010, granted compliments on a lot of alternative medias.

In July 2011 the band releases their second album titled Areia. A new step that preserves the simple in between the complexity filled with extreme influences which goes from early-industrial to free-jazz, featuring Alexander Zhemchuzhnikov playing the tenor saxophone.

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Album: No Made Sense - New Season​/​New Blues

Band: No Made Sense
Album: New Season​/​New Blues
Label: Self Released
Year: 2011







Tracklist
01. No Gain From Seeking
02. Lying On My Own
03. Four
04. Swings
05. I've Not Been
06. Half Of The Wall
07. Silence
08. Down
09. You Might As Well
10. Sleep
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No Made Sense are a progressive/experimental rock band from the UK.

They finished their second album in 2011 and self-released it available for streaming or free download. The band have stated they are on indefinite hiatus and is possible they may never gig or release a record again.

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Album: Crosses - Crosses EP

Band: Crosses
Album: Crosses
Label: Self Released
Year: 2011







Tracklist
01. †his Is A †rick
02. Op†ion
03. Bermuda Locke†
04. †hholyghs†
05. †
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Also known as the symbols †††, the musical side project of Deftones singer Chino Moreno, Far guitarist Shaun Lopez and Scott Chuck, based in Los Angeles, California, and formed in 2011.

Having recorded together previously, Deftones singer Chino Moreno began recording with childhood friend and neighbor Shaun Lopez, also of the band Far, as well as Scott Chuck. Moreno described the project as “minimal and soothing and it’s sort of like the stuff I like listening to when I’m not screaming my head off.” With a tentative title of Crosses as the name of the project, they began recorded for over fours a day, completing nearly 16 songs with plans to self-release a series of EPs.

Their debut self-titled EP was released for free on August 2, 2011, with a higher quality version made available on their website. Sean Adams of Drowned in Sound stated that the EP “finds the pair drifting toward Depeche Mode territory, and wandering into the blissed our summer breezes of Diamond Eyes” while the music is “both unnerving and uplifting, but it’s that that lithe-yet-dominant, serpent voice, which puts you beneath its sex hex, which is, as always, utterly lush and makes this debut EP the start of something special.”

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Video: Maserati - Pyramid Of The Sun

Album: Calista Divine - Calista Divine

Band: Calista Divine
Album: Calista Divine
Label: Self Released
Year: 2011







Tracklist
01. Intro (The Syndrome Of Heaven Extinct)
02. Ursa Major
03. Conflicts On Venere
04. The Metamorphosis Of The Creator
05. Static Motion
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"We've mixed the emotions given by peace to portray the esselunga of the end.
We are Calista Divine."

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Album: Sahara Surfers - Spacetrip On A Paper Plane

Band: Sahara Surfers
Album: Spacetrip On A Paper Plane
Label: Self Released
Year: 2010







Tracklist
01. Colour Jam
02. Propeller
03. Age
04. 812
05. Sister In Shade
06. Gas
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Austria. The Alps. Idyllic scenery. Wooden mountain shelters surrounded by countless cows and sheep grazing down juicy pastures. Herdsmen and dairymen yodeling at each other. A setting that had not changed for hundreds of years. Until the day in 2007 four guys from down the valley brought a sound from the desert to tradition-rooted Tyrol. Stoner rock was to be heard up to the mountain tops for the very first time when fuzzy waves quaked the surrounding land. It was the day Sahara Surfers tuned their guitars for the first time.

3 years later the band is reaching beyond and started their "Spacetrip On A Paper Plane" that is free for everybody to join since June 2010.

How peaceful the mountains look from above. But appearances are deceptive. Cause we know better! Something has changed...

New album coming in September.

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Movie: Blood, Sweat & Vinyl: DIY In The 21st Century

This captivating documentary is the product of five years of obsessive filming of live concert footage, exclusive interviews, and historic documentation focusing on three fiercely independent music labels and their bands.

Featuring Neurosis, Isis, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Pelican, Oxbow, Evangelista, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra, Cave In, and many others whose music and art found ideal homes in the artist-run record labels of Hydrahead, Neurot, and Constellation.

These labels combine hard-to-define, heavy music with a visual aesthetic that has enraptured worldwide fans, without the need for radio or corporate media outlets. They uphold the legacy of treating music as an art form, not as a product.

This film is an answer to those who question where the spirit of punk rock is today.

Over 20 bands and visual artists.
3 record labels.
1 philosophy.

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Video: Birds Of Passage / Leonardo - Here's Lookin'At You, Kid

From the forthcoming Dear and Unfamiliar, which is a cinematic concept album by Birds Of Passage & Leonardo Rosado, to be released via Denovali Records.

Album: Telepathy - Fracture

Band: Telepathy
Album: Fracture
Label: Self Released
Year: 2011







Tracklist
01. Glaciers
02. Nexus
03. Fracture
04. Gravity
05. Minus Ten
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Telepathy formed in the summer of 2010, aiming to create a fresh and interesting take on modern heavy music. Combining elements such as complex time signatures, ambience, dynamic textures, post rock guitars and unrelenting heaviness to create a fresh and exciting sound.

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