I do not know down what horrific avenues Legion of Andromeda‘s first album, Iron Scorn, will take listeners upon its release in Feb. 2015, but I do know that the Tokyo-based death-doom-death-doom — they’re extreme enough to warrant two of each — two-piece served vicious notice with their 2013 self-titled demo (review here), and that their sound is based around unbridled aural punishment. So yeah, I’m expecting Iron Scorn will be pretty heavy.

Two early preview tracks, “Overlord of Thunder” and “Scourge of Pestilence,” providing lumbering, gurgling indication of the same. Check them out below if you dare, along with info on the release that came down the PR wire:

LEGION OF ANDROMEDA to release debut album, recorded with Steve Albini

Today, At War With False Noise and Unholy Anarchy announce February 20th, 2015 as the international release date for Legion of Andromeda’s debut album, Iron Scorn. Conceived, constructed, and assembled in 2012 by the demented minds of -M- (axe/machinery: Japanese) and -R- (vokills: Italian) and lurking within the inhuman megalopolis of Tokyo, Legion of Andromeda is blessed by the will of total war.

Sculpted in reiteration, repetition, and cyclical rotation, Legion of Andromeda’s impenetrable cacophony outbursts the breath of cosmic frost: raw, minimal, brutal; primitive, obtuse, barbaric. Albeit genuinely inspired by such diverse acts as Big Black, Suicide, Godflesh, Ildjarn, Swans, Khanate, VON, and Pan Sonic, among others, the band have crafted a totally original and unique sound.

The duo’s first offering, released in November 2013 and quickly sold out within a few months, was a four-track/32-minute self-titled demo comprising total aural disintegration, and was recorded, mixed, and mastered in August 2013 by Shigenori Kobayashi (Coffins/Sete Star Sept) at Noise Room Studio in Tokyo for maximum audial displeasure.

In July 2014, Legion of Andromeda recorded their first proper full-length with the legendary Steve Albini (Neurosis/High On Fire/Nirvana) at his own Electrical Audio in Chicago. Titled Iron Scorn, the album is colossal, punishing, and devastating in terms of production, dynamics, and sound. Albini’s extraordinary engineering skills and unique genius brought to life a real monster, a huge sonic crusher of devastating proportions. The record, mastered by John Golden (Melvins/Om/Sleep/), will be released on February 20th, 2015 on vinyl format only by At War With False Noise in the EU and Unholy Anarchy in the US. On the artwork side, the insanely talented Tony Roberts (Conan/Electric Wizard/Unearthly Trance) provided visual aggression to the album. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Legion of Andromeda’s Iron Scorn
1. Transuranic Ejaculation (05:43)
2. Cosmo Hammer (06:21)
3. Overlord Of Thunder (06:01)
4. Scourge Of Pestilence (04:04)
5. Sociopathic Infestation (07:30)
6. Aim At The Starless Sky (06:13)
7. Fist Of Hammurabi (07:03)

Live to hate. Cosmo Hammer Master Of The Universe.

www.legionofandromeda.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/legionofandromedaofficial
www.twitter.com/ovandromeda

Legion of Andromeda, Iron Scorn (2015)

The swing and analog garage fuzz of Ragged Barracudas‘ debut 7″ are immediate. Putting on “Living the Dream,” the A-side, is like unearthing a relic. Something you stumbled on from the stage just before punk became punk, when rock was heavy without realizing it, and the drugs were friendly but the vibe still a touch dangerous. They’re a modern trio from Germany, and you’d be right if you called them retro, but Ragged Barracudas sidestep most of the tropes and Sabbath/Graveyard-isms of the modern European throwback movement in favor of an acid rock sound more obscure, and ultimately, more original. Vocals and drums are blown out and the bass and guitar — layered in the first quick solo part — are warmly toned and more or less daring your stereo system to be older, but drummer/vocalist Christian Dräger, guitarist Janik Ruß and bassist Tom Weiten show off something of a jammy sensibility as well, both in the later stretches of “Living the Dream” and deeper into side B’s “Cheap Allure/Motor Jam.”

Pressed in an edition of 600 black-vinyl copies and released through an assortment of labels that includes Unholy Anarchy, Cardinal Fuzz, At War with False Noise, and Who Can You Trust? Records, the 7″ really gets down and dirty on the B-side. Listening to the record — that is, the physical version — I couldn’t even tell where “Cheap Allure” ended and “Motor Jam” started, but it became clear with the stream on Who Can You Trust?‘s Bandcamp. “Cheap Allure” slows down some of the jet-engine stutter in the main riff of “Living the Dream,” but is catchy in a subtler way and, with a stop preceding an instrumental finale, puts its boogie tradeoffs into a different perspective — just because you see the shuffle coming doesn’t mean you don’t still want to get down. Ruß trips out a psychedelic soul-o and Dräger holds back on vocals to dedicate himself more fully to the forward drive, which stomps to a finish before “Motor Jam” announces its arrival proper with dueling layers of ultra-buzzsaw riff fuzz with some sweet low end buried underneath. That part of the B-side is less than two minutes long, but I’d have been fine if Ragged Barracudas had filled the whole side with it. That’s not to take away from “Cheap Allure,” which most definitely lives up to its title, just to say that “Motor Jam” — named for the Netherlands’ Motorwolf Studios in Den Haag, where the single was recorded — gets locked in during its short runtime and sounds like the band could’ve easily carried that vibe further.

They don’t, however, and ultimately, “Living the Dream and “Cheap Allure/Motor Jam” conk out after 11 minutes or so of raw righteousness. Probably best for Ragged Barracudas to keep it short, since the classic spirit they’re going for — and, I’d argue, attain — did likewise, but I’d be interested to hear how they manage over the course of a longer release, even if it’s just a 10″ EP, and if their analog-worship holds up as their methods expand. For now, and for this single, the simpler they go, the better off they are, and in capturing a raw, heavy, proto-punk sound, Dräger, Ruß and Weiten show that there’s room for nuance both in primitivism and in traditional structures. Bonus points for the killer Adam Burke cover art.

Ragged Barracudas, “Living the Dream” b/w “Cheap Allure/Motor Jam” (2014)

Ragged Barracudas on Thee Facebooks

Ragged Barracudas at Who Can You Trust?’s Bandcamp