BARRENS Debuts New Video “Atomos “, NECK OF THE WOODS Stream New Album “The Annex Of Ire”, BEAR Release Video For “Kuma”.
Gothenburg, Sweden-based post-rock trio BARRENS, featuring members of long-running alternative/experimental indie rock unit Scraps Of Tape, is pleased to unveil their disquieting new video for “Atomos.”
The moving track comes by way of the band’s impending debut full-length, Penumbra, set for release on April 10 via Pelagic Records.
“The video of ‘Atomos’ plays as a recording of a fever dream, or perhaps of a life,” issues the band. “The chaos and cross cutting; the distorted reality and loose references; the beautiful and the abstract blend together to form a broken narrative that most of us can relate to. Created by Linus Johansson it supports a track which explore a dreamlike state which careens almost out of control and then back again. A metaphor for being alive.”
Formed in early 2014, Neck of the Woods’ exhilarating brand of progressive metal and charged live shows have quickly earned them a reputation as one of the most exciting acts to emerge from Vancouver’s metal scene.
The group’s complex and dynamic sound along with their resonating live performances helped the band quickly rise to prominence. Following the release of their self titled EP in 2015, they took to the road making appearances at multiple Canadian festivals including both Calgary and Armstrong Metalfest. Summer 2016 saw them accompany metalcore legends Misery Signals on the Canadian leg of their 2016 tour as well as embarking on a headlining tour of Western Canada. It wasn’t long before they caught the eye of U.K label Basick Records who welcomed them to their roster in Spring 2017.
Their debut album ‘The Passenger’, released September 15th, 2017, sparked candid debate amongst metal critics across the globe; its diverse sound defies categorization while delivering a blend of aggressive attitude, emotive expression, progressive intellect, and modern flair.
Performing in support of major touring acts has become a well-rehearsed routine for the band. From warming the stage for Converge at Sled Island Music & Arts Festival to directly supporting Every Time I Die, the group has established themselves with a high energy performance that is not to be missed. The band spent the majority of 2018 on the road, kicking things off with a six-week North American tour that included debut performances in New York, Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Shortly thereafter the group embarked on their first tour of the West Coast, they’ve continued to tour regionally on a regular basis ever since.
2019 began with Neck of the Woods receiving a nomination for “Heavy/Hard Artist of the Year” by the Western Canadian Music Awards. In March of 2019 the band returned to Rain City Recorders to work with Jesse Gander on the recording of their forthcoming album. Recently signed to Pelagic Records, Neck of the Woods will be releasing their second full length album titled ‘The Annex of Ire’ on March 20th, 2020. Following the release of their new album the band will be traveling to Austin Texas to attend and perform an official showcase set at SXSW 2020.
“The Annex of Ire”, is out now!
Do you know the feeling of not being sure if you’ve seen that movie before? If BEAR were a movie, they wouldn’t be like that. BEAR are that band you won’t ever forget seeing live. A threat.
They come to you, they confront you, they give you the feeling that you are not safe in the audience. And what a rare gift that is, in our safe world of comfort stable mediocrity, where security has become the ultimate value.
By that, BEAR revoke the spirit of great hardcore bands of the 90’s… bands like Catharsis or Gehenna, bands whose raw energy, uncompromising delivery and relentlessly violent performance was as energizing and invigorating as it was puzzling for the oftentimes baffled audience, who had their teeth caved in by guitars thrown in their direction, and a bearded front man caving through them like a derailed freight train, coming to a flaming halt at the end of the room, behind the mixing desk.
BEAR hail from Antwerp, Belgium’s 2nd largest city and home to a thriving local metal and hardcore scene ever since the 90’s, which is when members of BEAR first met at a local venue where all punk- & hardcore-bands made a stop when touring Europe. This year marks their 10th anniversary as a band. With 3 albums released since on Let it Burn and Basick Records, performances at festivals such as Graspop, Roadburn, Rock Herk, Euroblast, UK Tech Fest, Complextiy Fest and headline tours through Europe and India, the band has made themselves a name in the heavy music underground scene as one of the most punishing live acts out there.
The first few seconds of opener “Dissolve Dissipate“ leave no doubt that Propaganda is an angry album– an album against propaganda. Against the manipulative character of communication and product-placement that we face each time we turn on the TV, walk through the aisles of a supermarket or tune in to Spotify without a paid subscription. And while blatant ideological propaganda is being camouflaged behind product propaganda within an endless floating spectrum of ever-growing artificially created needs and demands, ideology is as a matter of fact constantly being reinstated and affirmed. We are never and nowhere free from it.
BEAR are alluding to this with metaphors and artwork referencing historic propaganda, and the political practices used by the terrible dictators of the 20th century: presented in a pop-art style that is equal parts ironic and iconic. BEAR critizise propaganda by making Propaganda of their own: with their very own aural bombs, symbols and manifestos. Fear the BEAR.
Check out first single, Apollo’s Heist here
