Friday, 24 October 2025

*** MASSA NERA exclusive song premiere ***

MASSA NERA
"Avalon Cove"
exclusive song premiere
For fans of
Meth.Detach The Islands and Andthecanaryfell


     It's kinda nuts to have been around to see the majority of New Jersey's MASSA NERA journey, as I played a show with them back on August 9th of 2016 (linked here) and was blown away at the band's talent. Zegema Beach Records then helped release 'Los Pensamientos De una Cara Palida', their four-way split 12"s, two cover songs, and 'Derramar | Querer | Borrar'. The band also played a string of five straight ZBR Fest performances, with their most recent 2024 appearance being their most visceral and soul-cleansing set I've set from them yet. This is an extremely long-winded way of saying "I know them well," lol.

     Okay so with that said, it's with extreme excitement that I get to share the band's final single from their upcoming October 31st, 2025 full length 'The Emtpiness of All Things' on Persistent Vision Records via 500 records, 250 White & Blue Galaxy + 250 Coke Bottle w/Black & White Smoke with additional help from Deathwish. You can also check their previous premiere with Get Alternative for the song "Lavender" here and their music video for "Mechanical Sunrise" here.

This song was inspired by AvalonBay Communities, White Desert Antarctica, whale deaths, the documentaries of Werner Herzog, the musical stylings of late-period Scott Walker, and Pg.99's "'Living in the Skeleton of a Happy Memory.


(2025) MASSA NERA "Avalon Cove" (from 'The Emptiness of All Things')


     After seeing Meth in 2022 and 2023, it seemed that my friends in MASSA NERA were very taken witht he band's music, and even told me after their sets, "we need to sound more like that." And here we are. This album is definitely heavier than its predecessor, but the underlying unease of it all - the darkness, the anger, the unnatural silence as well as the explosive meltdowns. The song begins with an eerie and unsettling opening that hints at an oncoming nightmare. The monster is finally unleashed just before the two-minute mark in a brief but terrifying rampage before the song then dips back into a subdued and jagged midsection that keeps it quiet (but manages to sneak in at least one faux-build). At about 3:10 the song fully detonates, ripping shards from the members in a display that when witnessed live must be one helluva spectacle. Halloween is a fitting release day indeed. Fuckin' wowza.

Wednesday, 22 October 2025

*** FAINTING DREAMS exclusive song premiere ***

FAINTING DREAMS
"Disappearing Act, Pt 1 (feat. Midwife & Allison Lorenzen"
exclusive song premiere
For fans ofEthel CainNicole Dollanganger, Skullcrusher, and Lingua Ignota


     I am extremely stoked to bring you the final single from the upcoming FAINTING DREAMS album "Disappearing Act, Pt 1" which features members from Midwife, Athousandangelsandseven, Endless/Nameless, as well as Allison Lorenzen. This third track (out of six) is exceptionally honest and brutal in its beauty. It is both simple and complex. Gorgeous but crushing. Uplifting but dark. The piano really helps accentuate the soaring, choir-esque vocals, wrapping the song in a comforting, soft, ethereal blanket, not unlike Ethel Cain and Nicole Dollanganger's "Observatory Mansion". If you enjoy this jam, you'll be sure to like the full album!


(2025) FAINTING DREAMS "Disappearing Act, Pt 1 (feat. Midwife & Allison Lorenzen)" (from 'You Can Be Anything')


“You don’t say a word
I talk enough for the both of us
If I’m not being seen or heard
Will my body turn into dust

The silence, it scares me
The fears it brings I don’t know what they mean
If someone, just loves me
Just touches me then it might cure this disease
But somehow 
I feel 
So much more alone 
With you here too

What do you want me to say
What do you want me to do 
I’ll bleed a little more 
If it pleases you 
I’ll let you hide me away 
In an old motel room 
I’ll be the lover in your closet
I won’t tell anyone about it 

What do you want me to say
What do you want me to do 
I’ll bleed a little more 
If it pleases you 
I’ll let you hide me away 
In an old motel room 
I’ll be the lover in your closet
I won’t tell anyone about it”


Thursday, 9 October 2025

NSIXHUNDRED

BandNSIXHUNDRED
For fans ofHayworth, Rex Kwon Do, Gxllium!, Me And Him Call It Us, The Number Twelve Looks Like You, Kiowa, Antarctica, The Great Redneck Hope, (early) .gif from god, and Thank You Driver.
GenresHardcore / Metallic Hardcore / Mathcore / Screamo / Skramz / Math Grind / Chaotic Hardcore
Related artistsdeparmefrombearisland, aplacewevealwaysbeen, and jimmy h doolittle.
CountryLos Angeles, California U.S.A.
Years Active2024-present
Label(s): Self Released / Zegema Beach Records

     Someone posted this band in a mathcore group and listed Hayworth and Me And Him Call It Us in the for fans of section so I immediately checked it out. They were spot fucking on. This is righteous, sassy, explosive metallic hardcore with grind, screamo, and metalcore elements thrown in at just the right doses. Right from the get-go, their first EP and subsequent split knocked me on my ass, and the new demo just makes me salivate even more at what's on the horizon.

     The band's debut EP 'and longing for the truth i say…' houses five absolute bangers and the band really comes out of the gate with precision and confidence. You'll find earth-shattering breakdowns in nearly every song, but the band plays around with a lot of higher end instrumentals like Antarctica, Hayworth, and The Number Twelve Looks Like You. My choice picks are the opener/title track and closer "well guess what?!", both of which go off like nuclear bombs at the end with multiple vocalists just losing their shit.

     The following year (aka this year) the band released their best songs to date on a 'Dance Of The Second Crow split' with "Mr. Noob" whose last riff is some tasty shit, "The Duel" which is like a swarm of bees delivering devastating shockwaves, and closer "Return of the Shirt" that boasts more than just an awesome title, as it throws blow after blow to the brain and even swings into a bit of The Great Redneck Hope territory - and is arguably their strongest track. 2025's 'two song demo' continues the aural assault, as "let's have a ball!!!" and "santiago's big day", the latter of which unravels by the end in a sea of ear-piercing shrieks and breakdowns, as the band leans into an even heavier, more pulverizing direction. Gxllium comes to mind, and that's a helluva compliment.

     Aight I've spoken with the band and we'll have a physical release of all this material late 2025/early 2026 with some unreleased tracks on Zegema Beach Records. Fuckin' bam, cuz that split is top 5 EPs of the year for me.

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DISCOGRAPHY
coming soon to the Zegema Beach Records Bandcamp page!

2024 - and longing for the truth i say… EP

2025 - Dance Of The Second Crow split ?
2025 - two song demo EP

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(2025) NSIXHUNDRED - "Return of the Shirt" (from 'Dance Of The Second Crow' split)

(2025) NSIXHUNDRED - "The Duel" (from 'Dance Of The Second Crow' split)

(2025) NSIXHUNDRED - "santiago's big day" (from 'two song demo')

(2024) NSIXHUNDRED - "well guess what?!" (from 'and longing for the truth i say…')

(2024) NSIXHUNDRED - "and longing for the truth i say…" (from 'and longing for the truth i say…')

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