Taking the well-honed darkness of Atriarch‘s 2011 debut, Forever the End (review here), to someplace entirely more goth and dramatic, the 2012 sophomore outing, Ritual of Passing, intrigued both in concept and execution, and found the Portland act discovering their niche within not only their own severely crowded scene, but also the wider sphere of the heavy underground. Released on CD by Profound Lore last October, Ritual of Passing is also out now in vinyl issue through Seventh Rule Recordings, which is the impetus behind the tour. See how everything ties together?

Here’s the info:

ATRIARCH West Coast shows…

5/22 Thee Parkside San Francisco, CA W/ Wild Hunt, Lycus, Caffa
5/23 The Catalyst Atrium Santa Cruz, CA W/ Gloam
5/24 Five Star Bar Los Angeles, CA W/ Lightning Swords of Death, Usnea, Deathkings
5/25 924 Gilman Berkeley, CA W/ Worm Ouroboros, Sutekh Hexen, Gloam
6/5 White Owl Portland, OR

Atriarch, “Parasite” from Ritual of Passing

Meeting at the intersection of punishing modern doom and industrial experimentation, Brooklyn’s Batillus seem destined to always be an oddball musically. Their 2011 Seventh Rule debut full-length, Furnace (review here), reveled in its bleak weirdness, and I’d expect no less of the follow-up, Concrete Sustain, which is due out March 19 through the same label.

Also sprach the PR wire:

BATILLUS: Avant-Industrial Doom Conjurors To Unleash Concrete Sustain Via Seventh Rule Recordings Next Month

Artwork + Track Listing Revealed

Brooklyn, New York avant-industrial doom conjurors BATILLUS (buh-TILL-us) today confirm March 19, 2013 as the official North American release date of their forthcoming new full-length. Titled Concrete Sustain, the follow-up to 2011’s critically-lauded Furnace long player, was recorded and mixed by Sanford Parker and BATILLUS at Sound Generation in Manhattan and Hypercube in Chicago and mastered by Collin Jordan at the Boiler Room.

With songs that range from relentless mid-tempo churns to subterranean crawls, BATILLUS cohere the extremes of heavy music into a surge of massive riffing, rolling over and descending on the listener with the force and intensity of a sudden storm. Concrete Sustain delivers six unforgettable tracks of chilling industrial doom.

Concrete Sustain Track Listing:
1. Concrete
2. Cast
3. Beset
4. Mirrors
5. Rust
6. Thorns

Originally conceived in 2007 as an instrumental trio, the BATILLUS lineup expanded in 2009 to add vocals, synthesizer, and samples to the dynamic range of their music. The tight and focused songs on Concrete Sustain reflect this expanded palette, which has had a profound effect on the band’s writing process.

Concrete Sustain will be released via Seventh Rule Recordings. Stay tuned for further info on BATILLUS, including a stretch of live rituals, in the coming weeks.

The latest update from Portland, Oregon-based hyper-droners Megaton Leviathan is nothing if not an efficient declaration of relevant info. In a relatively short few paragraphs, vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Andrew James Costa informs that the band has signed with Seventh Rule Recordings – an awesome fit — and that Chris Beug has left the band, and also that they have a new album in the works. It’s a lot going on in a relatively minimal announcement, and considering their songs have a tendency to psychedelically meander for upwards of a half-hour, a longer treatise wouldn’t necessarily have been out of character.

Nonetheless, quick and to the point with this from Megaton Leviathan‘s Thee Facebooks page:

Dear friends of Megaton Leviathan

I’m putting out a direct statement to those of you who are closest to the band.

Over the last month Megaton Leviathan attempted to record our 2nd full-length album. After much set backs, schedule changes, conflicts, and the lack of communication the recent attempt at a collaborative effort between Chris and I had dissolved, is the best way I can put it. The end
result is that Chris Beug is no longer a member of Megaton Leviathan

It boils down to this; I am completely unwilling to rush and compromise the creative process or output of this project. Megaton Leviathan is the result of years of hard work, and my desire to mix all of the things I love into one art project. I am very grateful for all the experiences I have had over the years, good bad and indifferent. For they have shaped what this project has become.

It will not go without saying Chris was instrumental in getting Megaton Leviathan out of the studio and on the road, is responsible for a lot of its image and made many sacrifices along the way just as I have. For the record it has been a emotional week.

Megaton Leviathan is still very much alive. I have recently joined forces with 7th Rule records here in Portland, and he has been very supportive through this. With his help and the support of my friends this album will get done, and see the light of day sometime in 2013. It wont be the album I thought it was going to be, but it’s going to be the album it’s meant to be. That’s psychedelic isn’t it?

Andrew James Costa Reuscher

More tba.