Knuckle Puck – “Shapeshifter”
Alright, we’ve got another RECORD OF THE WEEK blog coming at ya!
“Shapeshifter” isn’t just an album name for Chicago pop-punk act KNUCKLE PUCK’S new record – it represents a dynamic growth in songwriting and musicianship since the band’s inception. Coming from its midwestern DIY roots with the independent releases of several standout EPs to the band’s first full-length, “Copacetic,” KNUCKLE PUCK is poised to take a spot as one of the genre’s brightest new stars. “Shapeshifter” is no fly-by-night record, and the good folks at RISE RECORDS have ensured us that it’s going to be one to remember as they give us SEVEN different configurations including the beautiful ‘Kelly Green,’ ‘Grimace Purple,’ and ‘Redish’ Tri-Color vinyl or the ‘Redish’ in ‘Highlighter Yellow’ Color-in-Color variants. Pick up a copy over at RISE or from the band on tour!
BAND NAME: Knucklepuck
LABEL NAME: Rise Records
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ARKAIK return with their landmark progressive tech-death masterwork entitled “Nemethia”. A continuation on the conceptual saga of the two previous releases, the journey of “Cyrix” expands into new landscapes, as does the bands technical prowess and creativity. ARKAIK’S fourth full length on UNIQUE LEADER RECORDS and most ambitious studio album to date! ARKAIK is out on tour now and you can preorder “Nemethia” over at UNIQUE LEADER!
BAND NAME: ARKAIK
LABEL NAME: Unique Leader (Website / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube)
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“Jerry Lee’s Greatest!” is the second album from JERRY LEE LEWIS, originally released in 1961 by the legendary Sun Record Company. The album includes LEWIS’s biggest hit, “Great Balls of Fire,” which had been left off of his debut LP. The album has been remastered for vinyl and is presented true to form with original artwork and liner notes. You can thank ORG MUSIC, an internationally distributed independent record label, based in Los Angeles, which specializes in quality vinyl releases and reissues.
BAND NAME: Jerry Lee Lewis
LABEL NAME: ORG Music (Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram)
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“All Talk” is a three song EP by THE FLYTRAPS, an L.A. based band who started as an all female Garage Rock n Roll in 2011 by teenaged singer/bassist Kristin Cooper and lead guitarist Elizabeth Boyd. They’ve released their music on cassettes and digitally for various labels previously but this OUTRO RECORDS’ release is their first on vinyl. Keep tabs as THE FLYTRAPS have tours planned in 2017 and 2017 including SXSW and Mexico!
BAND NAME: The Flytraps
LABEL NAME: Outro Records (Website / Instagram)
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Born under the political strife that led to the Balkan conflicts of the early 1990s, BOMBARDER formed in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia (now Bosnia and Herrzegovina) in 1986. Although the band played a style of speed metal most heavily influenced by the likes of Exciter and Motorhead, BOMBARDER never reached the same level of exposure, due in part to their country’s geopolitical isolation and the aforementioned turmoil that had begun to engulf their homeland. In reverence to these historic documents of Evil Slavic Speed Metal past, NUCLEAR WAR NOW! proudly presents vinyl reissues of “Speed Kill” and “Bez Milosti,” which include both albums available separately on black vinyl or bundled together on colored vinyl as a die-hard edition. Since the master reels were lost during the war, great care was taken to procure the best sources available and the sound was properly remastered and restored by the venerable James Plotkin. The resulting product is one that calls appropriate attention to two speed metal relics that carry equal potency today as they did when originally conceived.
BAND NAME: Bombarder
LABEL NAME: Nuclear War Now! Productions
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Down and out. High and flying. Fatalistic with a grin. UGLY TARANTINO takes you on a cinematic journey with strikingly sincere lyrical scenes projected through a shattered lens. Featuring MC Kenneth Masters aka Kmass, MC Gums and DJ Lady X. UGLY TARANTINO’S clever lyrics, cinematic story-telling and masterful cuts have garnered a cult following of dedicated fans. “You Magnificent Bastard” is coming out on BLACK BOY AWESOME (BBA) , a record label that captures great works of urban music on vinyl.
BAND NAME: Ugly Tarantino (Soundcloud / Facebook / Bandcamp)
LABEL NAME: Black Boy Awesome (Website / Soundcloud / Facebook / Instagram)
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DEATH, the heavy metal institution founded, realized, and helmed by legendary guitarist Chuck Schuldiner, released the “Individual Thought Patterns” album in 1993. Expectations were high following “Human”, but Schuldiner proved once again that he could rise to any occasion. “Individual Thought Patterns” further honed the forward-thinking and progressive direction birthed with “Human”, and included “The Philosopher”; arguably the best song to ever come from the world of extreme metal and to this date the most widely-recognized. Make your way to RELAPSE RECORDS to get this deluxe LP reissue!
BAND NAME: DEATH
LABEL NAME: Relapse Records
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HIDDEN VOLUME RECORDS officially started 2014 in Baltimore, Maryland and is dedicated to garage rock, power pop, psych and anything cool. GROOVY MOVIES is the brainchild of one Nick Carlisi, former member of The Tough Shits who decided to get in touch with his inner sunshine pop self. The record was originally released on cassette-only. Carlisi has since made his one-man-band a full live outfit and they are in the middle of a spate of shows including the Meltasia Fest in NY with Raekwon, Roky Erickson and Pissed Jeans as well as shows with A Giant Dog, Starcrawler and Boogarins. You better head over the HIDDEN VOLUME quick if you want on of those ‘Easter Yellow’ and ‘Cyan’ AsideBside versions!
BAND NAME: Groovy Movies
LABEL NAME: Hidden Volume Records (Website / Facebook)
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Check you next time!