Sunday, May 28, 2006

Deicide 1 tracks online on 6.6.6

Question: So am I correct in that I read the new Deicide cd wpnt be coming out noe tipp August?? That sucks. Looks like Earache is treating Deicide like Roadrunner did. More respect please, not only for the band , but for us fans. From: sherfoto@comcast.com

Answer: The album & art is not even completed yet- and its what- 6 days to go to that special 'once in a 100 years' evil calendar event!!So, I'm sorry but the delays to the CD album were unavoidable i'm afraid and are mainly due to the band taking the time in the studio to perfect what is easily the BEST Deicide album ever. First, it was remixed again as the band were'nt happy with their first mixdown, and secondly the band had to take time off over Easter to complete an important West coast USA tour right in the period of the recording process, so delaying things further.Lastly, The band are also on their second photoshoot for the booklet as the first session pics were scrapped.Hence-we are now looking at August 21 in UK/Europe and August 22 in USA..tho it should more realistically be TBC.

Slayer have done exactly the same thing it seems....originally announced date of 6.6.6 pushed back to July. and a 1 track advance online at iTunes on 6.6.6 aswell..sound familiar? is their label disrespecting their fans too?

Because we felt all the hype we had generated (BBC, New York Post, Washington Post, Inside Edition TV, USA Today, the myspace website) about the originally announced date of 6.6.6 was worth at least some kind of 'release' on that unholiest of dates, the 1 downloadable track seems a kinda compromise to fans, as downloads take seconds to set up and require no artwork/packaging- fans can now get a taster in advance of the album proper, and be blown away by the quality of the songs.No release at all would have been lame.Ok maybe the band are victims of the runaway success of our hype- but fear not- IT WILL BE WORTH THE WAIT!! This one is categorically the best Deicide album ever...the proof is online on 6.6.6.

Y'know, even the most satanic and brutal of bands are powerless in the face of the unrelenting nature of the calendar.

Check out the video trailer here;

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Berzerker=Generated X-ed? Err- no!


Question: Two The Berzerker questions for you, first of all I\'ve seen for sale by a couple of US eBayers a copy of a The Berzerker album called \'Protest and Survive\' apparently released on \'EARACHE RECORDS/CAROLINE\' on \'4/11/2000\' featuring tracks called \'Industrial Is Dead\' and \'LSD Recharge\' amongst others - is this release genuine?
Also, I\'ve heard the brilliant remixes of Morbid Angel\'s \'Day of Suffering\' and \'Abominations\', where can I get a copy \'The Ancient Ones\'?
Thanks From: Evil__Jeff@Hotmail.com

Answer: nah mate- you are getting bands mixed up..the album you are referring to is by Berlin based Generated X-ed, not berzerker.It is a genuine Earache release tho..it sounds like extreme drum n bass, the main man from Generated X-ed was part of the Digital Hardcore scene from late 90's in berlin and I liked his stuff enough to release it.Its an undiscovered gem and will blow your mind i think, if you like harsh electronmic music, a bit like Berzerker but less guitars.You can hear it and download it at metaltracks.com As for the track "the Ancient Ones' by Morbid Angel remixed by the Berzerker, its unreleased i'm afraid. It was done at the same time as the other tracks for our Hellspawn comp- Extreme metal meets extreme techno, but did not get released. (pictured is Generated X-ed main man- Tha Bomb)

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Earache PC game demo on cheap label comp in July.


Question: Will the upcoming Earache Game have Online play? If it has multiplayer online play included, I am definately interested in this game! From Rob.. \\m/etal From: robgamer345@hotmail.com


Answer: Sadly i don't think the game has online play facility- but according to the developers it will be out on PC CD-ROM, as well as PSP and PlayStation 2.The FREE playable demo for playing on PC's launches from this website www.6-6-06.co.uk and is also available on the upcoming Earache CD + DVD cheap Label Compilation "Chop Your Own Head Off" - due onsale late june.We beleive it may be the first label sampler to include FREE video game, who knows?More details of the low price sampler are here.

Monday, May 22, 2006

Napalm Death Scum original colour LP ?


Question: was the original napalm death scum vinyl release the green one or the orange one? From: mjwallage@hotmail.com


Answer: Original release was in June 1987 on LP in 2000 copies with black n white cover + Bright Yellowy Green. See here. A sticker (black text on white) was also affixed.Later editions followed in years 88- 90 or so..with Orange being next to be pressed and later Green, also Blue later.A Gold colour edition was pressed for the supposed splatter-color vinyl edition.Interestingly, no picture disc edition has even been issued.Maybe we'll rectify this when we release the expanded remastered 20th anniversary Scum release soon.

Deicide cancel entire European 2006 Summer festival dates


Question: And Deicide did it again... whole Eurotour cancelled, without good reason. yieehaa!!!!

What`s going on? Where is some official news with reasons behind this never ending farce? How on earth Earache keeps tolerating this kind of behaviour? From:



Answer: Earache has no say in or control over the live performances of Deicide- we do their retail CD's + DVDs, not live shows.Earache do the bands recordings basically, and thats the extent of our involvement.I know Deicide recently split from their long time European agent (Metalysee), also splitting from their long time USA agent (First Row talent) at the same time, in order to be represented exclusively for the world by Tammy Taylor booking out of Austin Tx.This is the actual reason why the remaining European festival dates- totalling 3 gigs- Graspop/Full Force/Waldrock etc - are cancelled.Don't forget that the bands appearance at France Hellfest was cancelled by the promotor,not them,after the organisers got nervous about the band playing so soon after a spate of Deicide-inspired satanistic grave desecrations in the area.The new Cd is running late too- its just been recorded and mastered at the weekend- so is expected to land instores in Uk/Europe now on August 21, Aug 22 in USA.The band want to wait till its out to perform the new live show set including many new songs from 'Stench'.
Deicide have no website they control themselves, and the Earache site and myspace page is the nearest to an official news source for Deicide's happenings you can get. The rest is just rumour.

Sure, these cancellations are high profile festival shows, and its tough on the European fans, but since the new members were drafted in I think they have done more far flung touring stints- including South America, Korea etc -than any other Earache act..Deicide are self-managed, so operate according to their own rules. Overall we are totally stoked that they have made an incredible album, and we 100% respect their choices in who represents them on the live circuit, and when and where they choose to play.

Friday, May 19, 2006

No Deicide news on Earache site?


Question: Hello,
Why is it that I can read more about the new Deicide album on Blabbermouth.net(owned by Roadrunner) than I can on the Earache site. As a big fan on Deicide, I am really looking forward to the new Deicide album and keep checking the Earache site for info, but I can find out so much more about it on Blabbermouth. Cover art and studio news and track listings being an example. Why are we not seeing this on the Earache site?
Also, there has been a news item on the Earache site for sometime saying that there has been some old TV footage of Deicide found, I try to click on the link and it does not work. I find this happens alot with your site. From: Unknown.

Answer: The album is not yet finished and thats why nothing official has been announced from Earache.(This page is just my personal rambling blog, where i try my best to answer your questions).All news on Blabbermouth etc is gleaned from unofficial sources usually,tho i admit,most of the time Blabber is pretty much correct, but it always lacks the finer details.As I write this, 'The Stench Of Redemption' is STILL being recorded and tweaked and its on its second mixdown at Morrisound studio, due to be finally completed this Saturday night. Obviously the original album release date of 6.6.6 is blown- its more like August now..we call it -TBC. But to celebrate that most unholiest of days coming in 2 weeks time -6.6.6 - we are currently hopeful of offering fans an exclusive Deicide downloadable EP via iTunes Music Store on that date- it will include a brand new track from the "Stench" sessions, probably an early mix.Again, nothing is set in stone, as we have no actual album!

As for the bad links on the news at earache.com-errr dunno what you mean matey?the links work fine for me and the webmaster - if you have some crappy browser and slow machine then maybe the page takes a while to load but invest in some patience for once- wait about 10 seconds and then the story appears.If you are tired of your browser taking an age to open the link, then heres the link direct to the You Tube clip of Amon 1988 well worth watching- Its fucking prime Glen Benton- killer!

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Napalm Death's 3 inch CD?


Question: hey there, my question is related to the digipack version of NAPALM DEATH\'S \'Utopia Banished\' cd. When i initially purchased this disc it came with a limited edition \'mini\' CD with a few tracks on it. Problem is, my copy of utopia banished was stolen, and i was wondering if the tracks from the mini disc are available anywhere else. Thanks alot From: carl_smith@telstra.com

Answer: yeah the 3 inch CD given away with the 1992 Utopia Banished album was quite a unique looking extra, and contained 4 bonus tracks. Obviously the 3 inch disc is long sold out. However those same tracks are included on our recently released 2 x cd best of set from Napalm Death called "Noise for Music's Sake" so they are available on that release.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Earache- the good ol' early days (Part 2,876)


Question: I have a question that was inspired by an answer you gave to one of the questions, Why do you think people cling to the old days of earache as opposed to concentrating on the new stuff. My personal theory is that people get a nostalgic feeling when they listen to old earache in that they know the guys tried to achieve alot with the little and basic equipment they had i mean justin broadrick used to build gear in his shed from what i read in an article.another reason is because during the 80s and 1990s earache was really the only label other than peaceville having the sort of bands that existed on the label at the time
im interested to hear your opinions on this From: Unknown.

Answer: Yeah, looking back, its what 20 years ago now- Earache's early era was explosive and was the fireball that the late 80's-90's metal scene badly needed-you gotta remember the metal scene back then was dominated by mega-selling-but-dire Glam bands, (Def Leppard anyone?) meanwhile we prefered a selection of excellent DIY politico-hardcore bands (Discharge,Disorder,Minor Threat, DRI, LARM etc) who were highly regarded, but who lacked the ambition to break out of the safety of the tightly-knit HC scene, and of course the big 4 Thrash bands too-Slayer and Metallica and even Death had all begun to make serious waves with their debuts, influencing the direction of metal music back towards the heavier end of the spectrum.

Earache's style was a Frankenstein-esque hybrid of all that- a mixture of the most crushing downtuned metal riffs allied to blistering punk/HC drumspeeds, with vocals sung thru the garbage disposal- the whole package was released with OTT artwork, for added extremity.We were literally the first label to do this which such singleminded purpose-so, naturally our stable of acts caught the attention of much wider media not connected to the metal scene, people like the revered DJ John Peel played us constantly on the radio,and the UK's NME music paper even covered Earache's acts,and highly regarded Jazz saxophonist John Zorn helped promote Napalm Death by personally arranging thier debut stateside show too. All those folks embraced the early MOSH catalog, and the effect snowballed until even the average joe in the street became aware of the extreme sounds of the bands coming outta our little office in Nottingham.

The words 'extreme' and 'music' were hardly used together until Earache made it the labels aim to release 'Extreme Music'.We also coined the term Grindcore- that word first appeared in printed form on the sleeve of our 1989 "Grindcrusher" LP.Excess was always an admired attribute in metal but no other label seemed to revel so single-mindedly in making excessive volume, speed and unlistenable noise its whole core and ethos, with no exceptions.

I think fans soon realised Earache's bands really were truly pushing the envelope as far as they could, and i'm certain the fans could relate to that struggle, and supported it for that reason.As Albert Mudrian correctly points out in his magnificent book "Choosing Death" which accurately recounts the birth of the Extreme Metal scene,Earache and its choice of early acts were the catalyst and blueprint for a good percentage of the myriad Extreme Music 'scenes' that exist today, with the notable exceptions of Black Metal and Gothic Metal which we-stupidly, in hindsight-ignored. (Peaceville's Paradise Lost kick-started the latter, after they turned down our offer of a contract)

As for the present set of Earache bands.... we think Akercocke, Decapitated, Mortiis, Municipal Waste, Anata, Ephel Duath,Cult Of Luna, the Berzerker, Biomechanical, et al, all stand up to whatever has gone before.They are all putting their own original stamp on extremity in music in 2006- thats exactly why we signed em..Earache does'nt peddle 20+ variations of Carcass clones or 3rd rate At The Gates wannabees in its catalog- we stick with the originals who were - and those that currently are-the first and the best.

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Jap Grind Legends SOB on Earache?


Question: Why did Earche not release SOB with Napalm Death split? Rise Above Records released the Japanese grind legends instead. From: Russcore@hotmail.com

Answer: Errr thats a good question Russ..but why do so many of you folks out there on the inter-web want to know historical facts about Earache and its old bands?- don't any of you care about our current acts?Hmmm.
Anyways-I loved Japanese HC back in the day..getting hold of the hella obscure and totally OTT extreme Japanese HC records was part of the record collecting fun.I did my bit to expose Japanese HC bands to a world audience-The early pre-earache flexis i released DIY style included bands like Lipcream and Execute on them..but when we heard SOB's "Leave Me Alone" 7inch they literally blew the roof off everything. SOB arranged the very first tour in Japan for Napalm Death in 1990, and both acts became good friends, Lee especially had a good friendship with SOB's singer Tottsuan.When Lee started his Rise Above Records he did a Napalm Death/SOB split 7inch.For some reason- maybe out of respect for and not rocking Lee's new label boat,Earache didnt really think about doing SOB.Tragically, years later, Tottsuan commited suicide by jumping under a train.

Sunday, May 07, 2006

Clutch EP's on Earache?

Question: what happened with earache\'s relationship with clutch were the cds under lisence or were they actually signed to you, is just that two eps five years apart and knowing clutch\'s work schedule it looks off on paper From:

Answer: Yeah, I suppose it looks odd that we have 2 Clutch EP's in Earache's catalog from as you say, 1992 and 1997. The original 92 Passive Restraints 3 track EP was actually deleted to be re-issued with the addition of 2 more tracks( taken from long outta print 'Naive' comp) to form the expanded 5 trk Impetus EP in 97.

Clutch were discovered by Earache's USA A&R man Jim Welch after their debut DIY hardcore 7 inch, and were due to sign to Earache in 1992, hence contributed 2 early songs to our Compilation LP 'Naive' (Sleep also appeared on that now exceedingly hard-to-find comp), but the lawyer we encouraged the band to seek advice from became their manager instead, and promptly took them to East/West, leaving us high and dry.However,as was the custom at the time, Majors often sought to grow an underground fanbase before launching an act to the Rock/radio mainstream, so it was decided since Earache was already sort-of working with Clutch, a useful indie level fanbase-building tool would be to do the introductory Clutch EP 'Passive Restraints' on Earache.Earache introduced the band to the world via that EP, designed solely to build the bands fanbase for East/West. Clutch soon changed style to more of a Stoner Rock vibe, and as planned, went on to forge a lengthy, highly successful career -later moving to Atlantic, then Columbia and several other Major and Indie labels along the way to the present day.Clutch's singer Neil Fallon has often questioned in public why Earache never pays them any royalties for that debut EP.After a particularly vicious outburst a few years back I invited him to drop by the office to seek an explanation directly, whereupon I recited to him the above history lesson. Namely,- that Earache never had any obligations to Clutch at all- our 'copyrights' pre-dated their Major label recordings and are a result of a side-deal struck between East/West and Earache designed to benefit Clutch's long term career, but did not actually involve them.

Deicide- The Stench Of Redemption tracklist.


 Question: Hey, do you know when the art/song titles/mp3 will be revealed for Stench of Redemption? from: Aaron
Answer:
The Stench Of Redemption
Death To Jesus
Desecration
Homage For Satan
Never To Be Seen Again
The Lord's Sedition
Walk With The Devil In Dreams You Behold
Crucified For The Innocence
Not Of This Earth

+ Bonus Track -Black Night    (Deep Purple cover)

Friday, May 05, 2006

Conflict on Earache?


Question: i heard somwhere that a long time ago earache tried to sign legendary punk/hardcore band conflict is this true? also did you really try to sign the refused when they were between labels? From:

Answer: Nah thats not true..i've never been that much into Conflict tho many of the other UK anarcho bands were my total faves.Earache was'nt going when they were in their heyday and later on I think they have formed thier own label- Mortarhate which has been very successful for them.As for refused- Nah again.We were aware that they were an important band, but chances to sign them never came up.

Faint Pulse on myspace

Question: um i was asking if u kan check out our muisk on myspace its myspace/faintpulse and tell us what you think it\'s not well recorded but i think we could do good thanx(luis)frm.faint pulse From: bloom_1_er@ayoo.com

Answr: well I checked out your myspace page and I wasn't too impressed dude, sorry. I could do a whole Pop Idol type discussion and breakdown of the pros and cons of your band and how i think you should improve to get signed with ya if you want? But for now- i can say its too early in your career to be thinking about getting signed to any label.Good luck with the band and so long as you enjoy making music and interacting with fans, thats great, i wish you the best of luck.

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Most influential HC band to early earache era?


Question: Who was the most important hardcore band to the Early Earache era ? Seige? Septic Death or Larm? where can i get their cds? From: pusfan666@hotmail.com

Answer: That might be Discharge or D.R.I mate- and Venom in the early 80's.I can say they all influenced me to release everything that came afterwards on the Earache label....Dirty Rotten Imbeciles' first 'Dirty Rotten' 7 Inch in 1982 was mindblowingly super speedy hardcore, with 22-count em- tracks on it- it set the standard for extremely short, fast hard hitting songs.Not forgetting the Swedish HC bands Mob 47 & their offshoot band Protes Bengt who set the benchmark too, for sheer number of songs on a 7 inch- it was maybe 32+, i cant recall.Incredible stuff.Septic Death was lead by Pushead who was a notable USA scenester who loved his fast music and helped me/Earache enormously in the early years with amazing support.In later years he would design T-Shirts for Metallica. Other mid 80's UK notables who lead the way for music to descend into the utter chaotic noise we all love, have got to be Disorder and Chaos UK.Not forgettting Deep Wound and The Neos.

Napalm Death's whirlwind drummer Mick Harris would wear a homemade cap with Boston's SEIGE on it and a home made T-shirt with Holland's LARM. Major influences both.Those bands' early demo tapes reached the Earache crew and undoubtedly influenced Napalm Death and Heresy etc to go even more berserk and mental writing ever faster/shorter songs..Grindcore as demonstrated on the A-side of Scum is basically a mix of Seige-type blast beat and Celtic Frost slow riff, in one song.Other notable speedy bands were Kansan Uutiset and Bostons Impact Unit(featuring later Mighty Mighty Bosstones singer Dicky Barrett and Negative FX (featuring Choke from later band Slapshot). Good luck finding them, most of the original vinyls are long sold out but Cd comps are available i think.

Mortiis remix album?

Question: Whats your status on the release of the Mortiis remix disc? From: Unknown

Answer: We have been given no remixed tracks or any material from Mortiis to release, tho a proposed remix album has been discussed with him.. Mortiis himself came up with the idea and it is Mortiis who is commissioning the remixes....we think Gothminster has done one and maybe some other creative talents in electronic/ambient music who Mortiis rates- as you can see we are a little in the dark about it...possibly Rhys Fulber might make a mix too, he is currently slated to produce the next Mortiis album.We guess that the majority of the tracks receiving the remix treatment will be from 'The Grudge' album.

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Lost Fudge Tunnel material on Earache?


Question: alex newport said in an interview that he has some unreleased fudge tunnel material left over if and when this is released will this likely to be on earache From: Unknown.

Answer: thats doubtful cos no one has mentioned the word Fudge Tunnel round here for about a decade.There appears to be no interest in that band since they split...where a lot of Earache's older bands garner new followings as each generation of extreme metallers discovers the 'classics', I'm afraid the passage of time has not looked upon their creative output kindly.I guess they must have some fans like yourself, otherwise why would you bother asking- but sadly its not enough to warrant any release.

Earache Extreme Metal Racing PS2 Game in USA?


Question: Please tell me that your video game is coming out in the U.S. A game with a sound track I would actually listen to? What are the odds? From: rhinofrench@yahoo.com

Answer: Its really quite likely you'll see the PS2 Game onsale in USA Game stores this summer.The UK based developers are attending the E3 expo in LA next week to meet with potential licensees for the game in USA.They seem hopeful that a USA release will come about- so watch this space for news of Earache Extreme Metal Racing for PlayStation 2 in USA. Earache fans will be blown away with the soundtrack when they play it..The game features about 50+ tracks from all the well known Earache bands as well as dozens of video clips and even unreleased songs and bonus never before seen videos as you progress thru the higher levels of the game too.It's still set for a July 7th street date in UK/Europe.