Blind to Faith Under the Heptagram - 12" EP

It has been 4 years since Blind to Faith released the almighty "The Seven Fat Years Are Over", but they are finally back with a new 12" EP, "Under the Heptagram". This brings three new BTF tracks, that have been definitiely worth the wait to hear. The whole thing comes to just over 11 minutes, but it definitely showcases the true skill of the band. Not many can switch from blistering speed to slow, heavy riffs so seamlessly. 

The whole package is incredibly brutal. Look at that insane artwork, we've got razor blades, rotting flesh, maggots, and that's not even mentioning the bloodied figure in the middle. It is all really quite shocking to the senses, but then so is BTF's music. It may be nasty to look at but it reflects the music so perfectly. Of course this is another great piece by Szymon Seich, who has done the artwork on previous BTF releases, as well as for many other great hardcore bands.

Three versions of the EP have been pressed so far; red, green and black. I believe that red was the preorder colour, as (quite obviously) it was the one I received. It is definitely a cool looking piece of wax, but the real treasure of this release lies beneath. The tracks only take up one side of the LP, which has left the under side available for this amazing etching of the band logo. I think it may have caused the pressing plant some difficulties during production, but it was definitely worth it. The photo doesn't quite do it justice, because it looks truly amazing.

So once again, A389 have been able to put together a great package. But after going back to their site, I have noticed something else particularly neat they are doing. Not only do they have the regular copies available for purchase, they also have what they are calling a "Diehard set". This contains all copies of the colour variants, and a copy of the test press. It is available for many releases, although at $99.99 is really only available to the diehard fans who have the cash...

As always, the entire EP is available to stream online, so enjoy.

New Integrity and Blind to Faith

Yeah this isn't a post about a record, but it is damn exciting news so I thought I would share. Most of you probably know, but it has been an exciting week for new track releases.

First and foremost is the new track from Integrity, from their yet to be released "Suicide Black Snake". It is entitled "There Aint No Living In Life", and is quite honestly one of the best tracks they have released to date. It is really something quite different to what you would expect from the masters of metallic hardcore, but it is truly something amazing.
I guess it can best be described as a perfect blend between Integrity and Roses Never Fade, with a dash of Oede thrown in with the harmonica sections. And yes you did read that last part right. Dwid performs his fantastic harsh whisper vocals seen in RNF that just go perfectly. It has definitely made me even more excited for this new record.

Pitchfork.com originally hosted the new song, but it has since been uploaded onto the A389 bandcamp page if you'd prefer to listen right here.


Next was something that caught me completely off guard, a new track from Blind to Faith. I have literally just written a post about their new live tape, saying how keen I was to hear something new from these guys. A couple of days later they posted a link on their Facebook page to a new track with accompanying video.



This track is entitled "Under The Heptagram" from their new EP with the same name. It picks right up from where The Seven Fat Years Are Over left off, and is just damn brutal. Like Suicide Black Snake, it is set to be released on the almighty A389 records relatively soon, so keep your eyes peeled. I'm sure neither will last very long.

Blind to Faith - Live At The Pits Tape

It almost doesn't seem possible, but it was almost 4 years ago that Blind to Faith released their debut LP "The Seven Fat Years Are Over'. What an album though, not a single low point throughout the whole thing. Since then the only other BTF release we have been blessed with is the split with Gehenna, which was still three years ago. Well all that has changed now with the release of a brand new tape!

Entitled "Live at the Pits", this tape contains a live recording of the band playing at Pits bar in Belgium. Sadly there are no surprise new tracks, but there areall of the classic tracks from "The Seven Fat Years Are Over". They sound like they would have been awesome live too. They managed to take the already fantastic tracks from their album and somehow found some room left to amp up the brutality.

This tape marks the first release for the new label, Soul Slayer records, who have done a great job with the packaging. The tape is right yellow, and is housed inside a red case with a nice thick cardboard insert. The artwork looks cool, and features the band's heptagram logo. Inside is a picture from a flyer that has since been modified into a T-Shirt design and some notes by none other than Mike Apocalypse. A cool Blind to Faith sticker was also thrown in to sweeten the deal, awesome stuff.

This is limited to 100 versions, but it still seems there are a few copies available here. There was originally a version that came with a T-shirt with the tape artwork on it. These seem to be gone now, but if you are quick you can still acquire the tape by itself.

Midnight Mass / I Know VVhere Everyone Lives

I'm going to do something different here. Instead of talking about my latest music pickups, I'll be talking about a magazine. It's okay though, it's still a music magazine, A389's music magazine in fact. That's right, for those who don't know, A389 has recently released their debut magazine entitled Midnight Mass. I'm not gonna be providing every page here, you can order one of the many awesome A389 releases and if you're lucky, you'll get one for yourself. 

On the front cover is some amazing artwork from the rather talented Brianvdp. 

On the first page we are greeted to a heart warming photo of Dom and his child, with words thanking the reader for keeping all this alive. I find is somewhat ironic that he thanks us, when really we should be thanking him for all he has done for this community. Hell, most of this blog wouldn't exist if it weren't for all A389 has done.

The first article in this magazine is an interview with Countdown to Oblivion. I can't say I'm terribly familiar with the band, although it was still an interesting read. In fact for those interested, the interview is up on cvltnation to read, as well as a stream of the band's discography.

Next up is a collage of live photos from the latest A389 bash. There was literally a plethora of bands playing at this event, and the photos just make it look fantastic. I truly wish I could have been there to witness it all. That'd require some serious travelling though sadly.

It seems A389 has been ridiculously busy as of late. Not only have they put out this printed material (on top of their busy release schedule), but they recently released a 52 track digital mixtape all for free. This magazine contains the official companion to this mixtape. As I mentioned in my post about it, there were a few curly tracks on the mixtape, so it's great to definitely know what they all are and where they all come from.

On the left-hand side of the page is an advertisement for the infamous Holy Terror records, showing off their current releases. If you look closely you can see two yet-to-be-released records, namely a new 7" by Broken Cross, and an Integrity split with Gehenna. Broken Cross released a new song for the mixtape curated by Oede, and if that is anything to go by, this 7" will be amazing. Integrity has also released the song from their Gehenna split, and is available to buy from their bandcamp page. Of course this song is great, so I'll embed it at the bottom for you. Oh, and if you've slept on this, I'm sorry to inform that the pre-order has already sold out. I have a feeling it just took two days, but not all is lost. Yours truly is awaiting a copy so I'll write about it when it arrives.
Anway, back to the magazine. The subsequent few pages contain an interview with Integrity discussing David Araca and Integrity in the 90's. Seeing how big this band has become,I'm sure most people would be interested to read this.

Next up is another interview, this time with Szymon Siech, a creative artist behind several prominent releases. I was actually unaware one guy was behind the artwork for the releases you can see below, but now I can definitely see a link between these artwork pieces. He mentions how collage techniques are his favourite, and they certainly turn out great.

And there we have it, the end of Midnight Mass vol. 1. It's not exactly the longest magazine in the world, but I certainly believe in quality over quantity. And quality is something this has in bucket-loads.

Blind To Faith / Gehenna Split 7"

After hearing "The Seven Fat Years Are Over", I decided that I needed to hear more from Blind To Faith. That record was just so raw, and I craved more of the same. After a little googling I found that they had released a split 7" with Gehenna. At the time I still wasn't too fond on Gehenna, but bought this record regardless. I didn't know that copies were still available from certain online stores, so went onto Ebay to have a look. I was a bit disappointed later to find that I could have gotten a nicer version of the record brand new for not much more than I paid on Ebay, but what can you do?

The cover artwork has a lot going on and looks pretty fantastic. The most obvious is the gruesome looking character staring at you. There is also the Blind To Faith logo on there, and 7 crovvns at the top. No doubt this is due to Gehenna.

Inside the cover we have the lyrics to all of the songs on top of some more artwork. There is also some Japanese down the middle, which I have forgotten how to read. I'm quite interested to know what it actually says.

 The record is actually quite plain; it is on black vinyl with the stock A389 center labels on both sides. 

Blind To Faith - The Seven Fat Years Are Over 12"

Here we have the debut LP from Blind To Faith. This is a raw 8-track masterpiece from Holy Terror that was allegedly written and recorded in just under three days. Stats like that really show the talent that this band has. 

I was late picking this up, so was not able to get the clear version. Nevertheless, I am completely satisfied with the black. I actually have two copies of this record now. I ordered this copy from holy terror at the same time as I ordered a package from A389, for which postage was pretty horrendous. Dom was kind enough to throw in a couple of goodies for me, and this was one of them. Strangely enough, that copy didn't have a cover.

This cover is a jumble of various images, as you can see below. What you can't really see is that band logo (on the vinyl label) is also printed in invisible ink, which only reveals itself on certain angles. Curiously, the record has been reverse mastered, so it plays from the inside out. It's a nice little touch making the record a bit different.

The rear cover in plain black with the Holy Terror logo printed and (you guessed it) the song titles printed in invisible ink. I did try to show this in the photo, but once again I have not succeeded all too well.

Inside the sleeve is this great patch complementing the centre labels, and hidden picture on the front of the record.

This is up for free download on the Holy Terror vvebsite. You need to hear this.