Dude, Greg Anderson totally has a man crush on Gentry Densley. First they put out the Ascend record together, then Anderson signs Densley‘s band, Eagle Twin, to Southern Lord and puts out their album, The Unkindness of Crows, and now Eagle Twin and SunnO))) are touring together. Get a room already.

Shows are as follows:

9/17/2009 Mr Small’s – Pittsburgh, PA
9/19/2009 AS220 Broad Street Studio – Providence, RI
9/20/2009 First Unitarian Church – Philadelphia, PA
9/22/2009 Brooklyn Masonic Temple – Brooklyn, NY w/ Pelican, Earth
9/23/2009 Sonar – Baltimore, MD
9/24/2009 Bijou Theatre – Knoxville, TN
9/25/2009 The Orange Peel – Asheville, NC w/ Faust
9/26/2009 Legends Banquet & Special Event Center – Atlanta, GA
9/27/2009 Seney-Stovall Chapel – Athens, GA
9/28/2009 Seney-Stovall Chapel – Athens, GA
9/30/2009 Mercy Lounge – Nashville, TN

Was doing some post-midnight lurking on the online, figured I’d share this mp3 posted by Drag City of the song “The Ballad of Charley Harper” by Comets on Fire guitarist Ben Chasny‘s Six Organs of Admittance, who blew my fucking mind at Roadburn when he broke out “Hum a Silent Prayer” from 2003’s Compathia. “The Ballad of Charley Harper” comes off his new album, Luminous Night, which is out on Drag City August 18. I wanna be friends with it.

http://www.dragcity.com/mp3/SixOrgans_BalladofCharleyHarper.mp3

Because, hey, if you’re Atlanta doomers Zoroaster, nothing complements the two weeks of shows you’re doing in August with The Gates of Slumber on the North America is Doomed Tour like 10 dates with Gojira and three weeks in Europe with black metallers Absu and Nachtmystium. Here are the dates:

US tour with Gojira:
September 21, Brooklyn, NY, Music Hall of Williamsburg
September 22, Baltimore, MD, Ottobar
September 24, Atlanta, GA, The Masquerade
September 25, New Orleans, LA, The Hangar
September 27, Houston, TX, Warehouse Live
October 2, Orlando, FL, The Social
October 5, Knoxville, TN, Valarium
October 6, St. Louis, MO, Pop’s Nite Club (also w/ Goatwhore, The Berzerker, Warbringer)
October 7, Milwaukee, WI, The Rave Bar
October 9, Mokena, IL, The Pearl Room

European tour with Absu, Nachtmystium:
October 16, Germany (Darmstadt), Steinbruch Theater
October 17, Germany (Essen), Turock
October 18, Germany (Hamburg), Markthalle
October 19, Denmark (Copenhagen), The Rock
October 20, Germany (Berlin), K17
October 21, Germany (N?rnberg), Z-Bau
October 22, Germany (Leipzig), Conne Island
October 23, Germany (Kassel), K19
October 24, Czech Rep (Prague), Exit Chmelnice
October 25, Hungary (Budapest), Durer Kert
October 26, Austria (Wien), Arena
October 27, Slovenia (Ljubljana), Gala Hala
October 28, Germany (M?nchen), Feierwerk
October 29, Italy (Turin), Spazio 211
October 30, Switzerland (Z?rich), Dynamo Werk 21
October 31, France (Paris), Glazart
November 1, UK (Nottingham), Rock City
November 2, UK (Manchester), Moho Live
November 3, UK (London), Underworld
November 4, Ireland (Dublin), Academy 2
November 5, UK (Plymouth), White Rabbit
November 6, Belgium (Aarschot), JH De Klinker
November 7, Holland (Rotterdam), Watt

It was by only the slightest beard hair that I avoided hearing the nautically-bent Ahab when they made their debut with 2006’s Call of the Wretched Sea. It wasn’t that I had something against the German funeral doom four-piece, just that I knew once I exposed myself to the record (hello!), I’d have to buy it. And we couldn’t have that, right? It stayed on my Amazon wish list for a while as I waited for the price to drop, but it never did, so I took it off and that seemed to be that on Ahab.

Until I heard The Divinity of Oceans, Ahab‘s new, second album through Napalm Records. Now I’m in the hole for two of the band’s releases and wondering why I bothered to resist in the first place. The band hone their watery craft across seven lengthy tracks — the shortest is “O Father Sea” at 7:07 — of snail’s pace riffing and deathly growls. Sporadic melodic vocals pop up in various moans and croons throughout, as on closer “Nickerson’s Theme,” and the guitars late into “Tombstone Carousal” are almost hopeful sounding, but the compass is pointing to oppressive doom lethargy, and Ahab are clearly skilled navigators.

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Just in on the PR wire is the good news that Indianapolis traditional doomers The Gates of Slumber have finished their new album, dubbed Hymns of Blood and Thunder. The way I see it, this is the make or break record for these guys, where they either fall into trendy retro lameness or basically become this generation’s Saint Vitus. Should go without saying where my hopes lie. Here’s the abridged press release:

Critically acclaimed ?True Heavy Metal? band The Gates of Slumber has completed work on its new studio album, Hymns of Blood & Thunder.? The album is slated to drop in North America on September 13, 2009 via Rise Above Records.

Recorded in Chicago?s Semaphore Studios with producer Sanford Parker (Nachtmystium, Pelican), The Gates of Slumber unleashes its holy grail in the formidable Hymns of Blood & Thunder.? A mighty document of both powerful songwriting and instrumental skull-crushing, the album is heavy and chillingly bleak; in an almost unrelenting way that hasn’t been heard since Judas Priest‘s heyday (Sad Wings of Destiny, Sin After Sin, etc.).? Displaying a powerful focus and direction and demonstrating a very compelling emotional range, THE GATES OF SLUMBER have upped its levels of both technique and melody, resulting in an album that is at once frighteningly dark in its effect, tight in its grooves and unrivaled in its sheer power.

The final track listing for Hymns of Blood & Thunder is as follows:

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After being exposed to the rich textures of High Watt Electrocutions‘ second album, Desert Opuses, an interview with the creative force behind the band, engineer, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Settee, was inevitable. The record is simply too intricate to be explained by a review alone — not that I didn’t try.

Settee, a Winnipeg native who recorded Desert Opuses over the course of a year in his hometown, centered the album around a Middle Eastern theme that sits well on the layered guitars, vocals and percussion. As a follow-up to 2007’s Night Songs, Desert Opuses‘ distant echoes somehow find cohesion as if they’re holding onto each other to make the whole end product work, and though many records claim the mantle of “being a journey” or “taking you somewhere,” if you sit back and let it, Settee‘s latest actually will.

As he prepares to congeal another High Watt Electrocutions release, Ryan Settee took some time out to prepare thoughtful A’s to my nagging Q’s, resulting in an extended interview about his motivations, life in Winnipeg and where his progressive desert artistry goes from here. As always, the interview is after the jump. Enjoy.

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August 2nd at Public Assembly. We’ll see if I’m cool enough to get in the door. Congrats to the recently-reviewed Stats for getting on such a killer bill.

The PR wire has it that riffy supergroup The Company Band, featuring Clutch‘s Neil Fallon and now Brad Davis of Fu Manchu replacing Jason Diamond of Puny Human on bass, are about to release their debut EP, Sign Here, Here, and Here on vinyl via Restricted Release (MySpace here). In case you’ve forgotten how mucht the EP ruled, it ruled quite a bit. Here’s the news:

Restricted Release proudly presents a special 10-inch vinyl pressing of The Company Band‘s mini-album Sign Here, Here, and Here. Set for release September 15, the pressing features format-exclusive artwork and is limited to 1000 hand-numbered units worldwide.

Recorded in Los Angeles with producer Andrew Alekel (Queens of the Stone Age, Bad Religion), Sign Here, Here, and Here was originally released as a digital-only recording early in 2008 (followed later by its physical digipak partner). It brings together five highly-regarded musicians with nothing but the love of jamming on their minds. Two live performances to date have highlighted their still short sonic union (early fans of the band surely hoping to see more; member schedules permitting).

Founded by Jess Margera (CKY) with James Rota (Fireball Ministry) and Dave Bone in 2006, The Company Band originally got together and recorded some instrumental tracks. Jason Diamond was approached to contribute bass tracks while friend Neil Fallon (Clutch) agreed to appear as a guest on one of the songs but quickly changed status to that of a full fledged member. Brad Davis (Fu Manchu) replaced Diamond earlier this year when the band laid down tracks for their full-length debut which is planned for release later this fall.