AUGURS & DEATHGRAVE: Cataclysmic Split 7" by the Two Oakland Devastators to Be Released March 17th - Full Stream Available at VICE.

Sentient Ruin is proud to bring you a double whammy of pure concentrated violence, in the form of the split 7" from Oakland'sAugurs and Deathgrave, two bands that have made of grindcore and downtuned sonic aggression a way of life, and of total auditive devastation an absolute dogma. To be released on March 17th 2015 as digital product through Sentient Ruin and as 500 vinyl 7"'s as a co-release between Sentient Ruin, Trill Kommand (US), Shove Records (IT/EU) and The Path Less Traveled Records (US), a pre-order of the digital format and of the 7" can be found on our Bandcamp page. VICE, who has labeled the Split as "wrecking" and as "one of 2015's best underground gems", is now exclusively streaming the release in its entirety (also below).

SIDE A:
1. AUGURS - From Maggots To Fly

SIDE B:
2. DEATHGRAVE - Brutal
3. DEATHGRAVE - Hugged in Half
4. DEATHGRAVE - Inquisitive Apathy

Augurs hail from Oakland and play some of the most grimy, vile and heavy blackened grindcore/sludge you will ever hear. Aided by a humongous and crushing guitar tone, pulverizing d-beat drumming, bulldozer-like bass lines and and absolutely gut-twisting vocals, Augurs are nothing short of a musical cataclysm. One of those bands that are so full of hateful rage that they will just lay to waste anything daring to stand in their path of destruction. Standing somewhere between Corrupted, Coffinworm, Nasum, His Hero is Gone and Discharge, Augurs can simply not be fucked with. Fuck with them and you will be fucked with. Fuck with them, and you will be destroyed...

 

 

 

Deathgrave are known for being the band of Oakland-based sound engineer and owner of Earhammer Studios Greg Wilkinson. Greg is a fucking legend in the bay area having recorded, mixed and mastered a shit load of amazing bands like High on Fire, Noothgrush, Pallbearer, Atriarch and many more and having played in bands like Laudanum and Graves at Sea. But what Greg is probably most known for his his role as vocalist and bassist of the sludge metal war machine Brainoil. In Deathgrave Greg has explored his love for grindcore and powerviolence, handling guitar duties and teaming up with members of Disinhibition, Bird, Cyanic and Amber Asylum to create some of the most rampaging, demolishing and obliterating punk-infested speed metal you will ever hear. Standing somewhere between Infest, Iron Lung, Insect Warfare and Charles Bronson, Deathgrave can drain the listener of all life in a matter of seconds with their overbearing and mauling brand of ultra-violent powerviolence/grind.

 

The Augurs / Deathgrave 7" split was (of course) entirely recorded and mixed by Greg himself and mastered by the legendary James Plotkin. Artwork was handled by Rotting Graphics (Plague Widow's Hal Rotter).

LEUCROTA: Wretched and Vile Debut Demo To Be Released End of February - Track Streaming at CVLT Nation.

We're honored and proud to announce our partnership with Santa Cruz, CA- based hardcore punk monstrosity Leucrota, a band who is only a few months old, as they just started playing their first shows only in the fall of 2014, but that have already caused unrepeatable damage in the Bay Area's punk underground and wrecked complete havoc up and down the West Coast with their pillaging and barbaric live shows. In the wake of this ongoing and completely damaged and wretched spawning of cacophony, the band has also recorded their debut demo, which - recorded in the dungeons of Oakland and boasting the sound of a hellish swarm - will now be released on a limited run of cassette tapes and as a digital product by Sentient Ruin. The five raw, lo-fi, disembodied and totally wretched blasts of pillaging aggression contained on this release will resound in the ears of the listener like a frightening wake up call, like an alarm going off in their heads to be reminded of how disgusting, repulsive and totally fucked the world of humans is. CVLT Nation is exclusively streaming the track Swell below, labeling the demo as "angular and sick in the head punk".

LEUCROTA
Demo

01. Never Again
02. Concealed from the Sun
03. Swell
04. Systematic Violence
05. Rotten Tongue

 

With a release date set for February 28th 2015, pre-orders for the tape and digital version are live and can be found here.

Leucrota are the sound of teeth grinding, bones rattling and skin rippling in fear. They are the sound of a garbage dump full of rats, of a slum over boiling with misery, of a mass-grave circled by vultures. They are the sound of hunger, starvation, emaciation, loss and of one's endless slipping into an abyss of despair. Their abrasive, death-ridden, vile and suffocating hardcore punk is the shit of nightmares. Black Flag run through the most frightening dungeons of the most horrifying mental hospital. Born Against plunged into an abyss of hallucinating madness. Unwound run through a black metal meat grinder. Fugazi wretched and disfigured from within with a daunting selfcombustion of grimness and bitterness completely spun out of control. Hardcore punk, noise rock, d-beat crust, sludge and black metal colliding and disintegrating in a hideous implosion of despair.

Leucrota hail from sunny Santa Cruz, CA, but there is no light in this band's spastic and plague-ridden music. Everything in this band's music is a chocking and a beating, constant, uninterrupted humiliation and sadism. Fans of bands like Cursed, Full of Hell, Retox,Baptists, Void, Crucifix, Dead in the Dirt, and Heartless can not sleep on this release whatsofuckingever, and  will not want to miss the utter sandblasting of aggression, cruelty and bitterness delivered by Leucrota on their debut offering. This is the pinnacle of filth, rawness, hatred, and desperation in the world of all things underground hardcore and punk.

ABSTRACTER: Second Towering Full-length "Wound Empire" Out in February - Tracks Streaming at CVLT Nation and VICE.

We're extremely proud and honored to announce the release of Abstracter's brand new second full-length album, in collaboration with An Out Recordings from Portland, Oregon. The album will be also available on 12" Vinyl LP through our amazing friends over at Fragile Branch Recordings (US), Vendetta Records (EU/DE), 7Degrees Records (EU/DE) and Shove Records (EU/IT), and through COF Records (Church Ov Fuck) (UK) as a limited edition hand-assembled CD. A pre-order of the release will be live soon at the band's Bandcamp. Stream the first track - Lightless - below, courtesy of CVLT Nation, and Cruciform courtesy of VICE.

Crafted in near-seclusion over the past two years, Wound Empire is a forty-five minute hallucinating voyage into a frightening wasteland of complete darkness-ridden heaviness. Spread across four, ten minute-long, massive slabs of obliterating crusted blackened doom, this new album by the Oakland band showcases a massive expansion upon their previous sound as seen on their critically praised debut album, Tomb of Feathers (which was released on CD in 2012 on The Path Less traveled Records and on tape by us), and presents us with a greatly evolved and enhanced vision of Abstracter’s abyssal and crushing sound and of their grimness-injected sonic aesthetic.

ABSTRACTER
Wound Empire

01. Lightless (10:56)
02. Open Veins (09:45)
03. Cruciform (10:21)
04. Glowing Wounds (11:10)

(Total running time: 42 minutes)

 

Centered once again around the construction of lengthy, winding and abyssal build up and collapse progressions, Wound Empire this time also brings entirely new elements to the sonic palette of the band and of their staple massive and enveloping riffing, appearing to be driven by an almost insatiable darkness and by a sinister and primordial hunger for complete sonic annihilation.... From the first disheartening notes of opening blackened sludge crusher Lightless it is in fact immediately clear that what is about to unravel on the listener is an almost absurd rampage of total sonic obliteration. For forty two minutes of senseless and uncontrolled hostility, Abstracter rip through four titanic ten minute-long surges of darkness-fueled anger and unleash an almost unbearable barrage of sonic devastation, snaking and winding their way down a path of complete and dismal destruction in which crust, doom metal, sludge, black metal, noise and psychedelia twist and collide into a daunting sonic downfall. Drawing musical influence from legendary underground heavyweights like Godflesh, Swans, Amebix,Neurosis, His Hero is Gone, Blut Aus Nord, Dystopia, Beherit, Corrupted, Grief, and Darkthrone, Wound Empire is a concept work that once again sees the band dwell in its obsession for massive and crushing riffing, dismal and unsettling soundscapes, and with their fascination with concepts of human decline, cultural and industrial ruin, and complete social collapse. 

Wound Empire was recorded and mixed between May 23 and June 13th 2014 at Earhammer Studios in Oakland, California by Greg “The Wizard of Doom” Wilkinson (Brainoil, Iron Lung, Pallbearer Lycus, Laudanum, High On Fire, Noothgrush, OM, Atriarch, Sleep, Worm Ouroboros, Vohl) and was mastered at Audiosiege Mastering studios in Portland, Oregon by Brad Boatright (Wolves in the Throne room, Culted, Oathbreaker, Dead in the Dirt, Nails, Sleep, Sunn O))) and countless others), and is with out a shadow of a doubt a release to look out for in the underground and in the realm of all things heavy and dark, and is also an absolute must for any fan of bands like Altar of Plagues, Inter Arma, Thou, Samothrace, Amenra, Drudkh, Tragedy, Coffinworm, Indian, Unkind, Wolvhammer, Unearthly Trance and the such. The tape we're releasing with An Out Recordings  will come in 100 units as a six-panel j-card in clear Norelco box with cardboard outer sleeve, and will bear beautiful artwork crafted for the band by Kevin Gan Yuen (Viraloptic.com) of Sutekh Hexen fame.

 

Abstracter’s previous recordings have earned accolades from the press, including, “An impressive triumph” by Metal Hammer, “post metal in excelsis – out of this fucking world good!” by CVLT Nation, “Absolutely Immense” by Doommantia, “Amazing” by The Sludgelord, and “exceptionally vibrant DIY doom” by Exclaim! Having shared the stage with Eyehategod, Inter Arma, Hexis, Bell Witch, The Atlas Moth, Primitive Man, Kayo Dot, Author & Punisher, Usnea, Stonerburner, Braveyoung, Children Of God, Centuries, Eight Bells and many more, Abstracter will perform sporadic live shows throughout 2015 in support of their latest works. Read the press release by Earpslit PR here. Read Abstracter's previous press here. Wound Empire will be released on February 10th 2015 on the following formats and by the following labels: CASSETTE TAPE: Sentient Ruin Laboratories (US) An Out Recordings (US) 12’ VINYL LP: Fragile Branch Recordings (US), Vendetta Records (EU/DE) 7Degrees Records (EU/DE) Shove Records (EU/IT) CD: COF Records (Church Ov Fuck) (UK).  DIGITAL: Sentient Ruin Laboratories (US) All formats will bear beautiful artwork crafted for the band by Kevin Gan Yuen.

AMERICAN: "Coping With Loss" Out in August - Exclusive Album Stream at CVLT Nation

Get ready to be tortured. american (spelled all lowercase) have finished recording their debut album, it will be called Coping With Loss, and will be released on August 19th 2014 on digital + limited edition cassette tape. You can already pre-order the release here. CVLT Nation is now streaming the album in its entirety.

Coping With Loss is a scary album to say the least. It's extremely ruinous and death-ridden sonic and conceptual aesthetic is something that you will rarely see around these days, and it's pulverizing and annihilating splicing of black metal, noise, industrial, hardcore and grind is so sadistic and vile that it will leave a path of complete and total savagery and cruelty in it's wake. Gracing the release will be beautiful artwork crafted for the band by Kevin Gan Yuen of Viraloptic and Sutekh Hexen fame. Track listing and artwork for the digital release are as follows:

american
Coping With Loss

Tracklisting:
01. Ritual Suicide (04:13)
02. Decedents (03:23)
03. Retinere (02:32)
04. Lamb to Slaughter (04:24)
05. Pulse Beating Slowly (03:28)
06. Solace in the Silence (04:23)
07. Coping With Loss and the Insurmountable Guilt of Existing (17:54)

 

american are an enigma of sorts. Two obscure and reclusive individuals from Virgina living quite some hours drive apart who get together when they can to bust out the meanest, filthiest, evil, most vile and corrosive blackened hardcore you can think of. The band has thus far relied solely on their own means and efforts to record and release their music, and are an extremely evasive and shy entity that has completely shied away from live activity or any other kind of spotlight,  and that is why we're absolutely flattered and fucking stoked that they have opened up to us and that they are down to work with us... 

Catalog: SRUIN003
Release Date: August 19th 2014
Genre: black metal / crust / noise / industrial
Format: Cassette tape (limited edition) / Digital

Composed of seven tracks for a total running time of little over forty minutes, Coping With Loss is a frightening voyage within the bleakest depths of the most cruel sonic ruin and auditive annihilation imaginable. This album is an absolute statement in musical perversion, torture, sadism, and complete sonic savagery, an authentic sonic ordeal surging up and rupturing from depths unknown that draws inspiration from a wide array of influences, spanning from raw black metal-infused punk in the vein of Iskra, Alkerdeel and Gallhammer, to the proudest and most vile moments of raw black metal as you would find in bands like Xasthur, Leviathan, early Mayhem and Gorgoroth, all the way to the slimiest depths of experimental metal depravation found in bands like Blut Aus Nord, The Body, and Darkspace. All this maelstrom of unpredictable, lawless and shape-shifting black metal sickness is then injected by american into a frightening backdrop of putrefying noise, mauling industrial striations and an absolutely frightening neocrust/noisegrind attack. Many modern and forward thinking extreme bands come mind while witnessing the utter destruction and evil spilling out of this band’s corrosive and disembodied blend of noise, hardcore and black metal: anything from the blackened punk malevolence of bands like Black Monolith, The Secret, Young And In the Way, and Hexis to the pulverizing intensity of epic extreme metal stalwarts like Altar of Plagues, Dragged Into Sunlight, and Ash Borer all the way to experimental black metal and noise hybridizations like Wold, Gnaw their Tongues and Sutekh Hexen. american are indeed a frightening enigma, one of those musical projects that were birthed at the outskirts of everything, at the very edge of existence, within a remote wasteland of complete anti-human introversion and detachment. Nothing is basically known about the band and its internal functioning outside of the fact that it is formed by two obscure and recluse Virginia locals living quite some distance apart who get together cyclically to craft the meanest, most vile, putrid and desolate blackened pile of lurid cacophony they can materialize in their evil-corroded minds. No touring or any kind of live activity and the complete reclusiveness of the duo have further enhanced the mystery and disheartening obscurity that shrouds the band, paving the way for a listening experience of their hideous sonic craft that is absolutely daunting as it howls from depths unknown. 

american links: 
facebook.com/americanvirginia
americanvirginia.tumblr.com

SUTEKH HEXEN: "Become" Cassette Tape Dropping in May.

We are extremely proud and humbled to work with Bay Area blackened noise cult, Sutekh Hexen to release one of their finest and most devastating works: Become EP, consisting of two towering tracks, a half hour of relentless, vile, and smoldering blackened bath of frequency worship. Become showcases Sutekh Hexen doing what they do best: practicing their blackened craft of weaving rich sonic tapestries with electric guitar, field-recordings, vintage analog synthesis, unorthodox percussion and disembodied incantations. Already available on vinyl LP via King of the Monsters and the expanded CD edition will be coming out soon on Cold Spring, and now we present the final installment as a limited c30 via Sentient Ruin on May 20th 2014

SUTEKH HEXEN
Become

01. Five Faces of Decay (15:00)
02. The Voice : The Void

 

Become was recorded in 2012 by the band it self here in Oakland, and is yet another incredible and otherworldly composition of blood-soaked madness that enhances further the bands frightening discography, which has now reached well over ten releases in less than five years.

Originally released in an edition of 99 copies on 1/4" tape reels by Auris Apothecary,  Become  thematically centers on the manifestation of vortex, repetition, and inducing trance-like states. This release serves to bridge the gap between Behind the Throne LP (2012) and Monument of Decay EP (3rd quarter 2013). Re-mastered for tape/CD by James Plotkin, artwork and layout by Kevin Gan Yuen with source photography by Patricia Cram. Stream Become and order the tape HERE.

Second Release: "Dopo L'Apnea" by Buioingola.

Two years after our first release saw the te light of day in 2012 - the cassette version of Abstracter's Tomb of Feathers - we've made this imprint a serious deal and we'll start releasing stuff for our friends as well. First up is the debut album by italian gloomy and desolate crust-doom band Buioingola, from Pisa, Tuscany, titled Dopo L'Apnea. This album is a monstrous slab of icy aural malevolence, inconsolable grimness, and crushing doom. These three guys have brought Bauhaus, The Cure, Neurosis, Yob and Amebix all under the same roof and the final result is nothing short than fucking gorgeous and annihilating. The album was already self released on a limited edition digipack by the band and digitally on Bandcamp, and will be released digitally world wide and as a limited edition, home-made cassette tape by us, to start with in 100 hand numbered copies. The release date is April 1 2014.