Sunday 29 March 2020

***DET ÄR DÄRFÖR VI BYGGER STÄDER exclusive song premiere***

"Hundra tusen rubel"
exclusive song premiere
For fans of¡Silencio, Ahora, Silencio!, Suis La Lune and Pettersson


How do I know DET ÄR DÄRFÖR VI BYGGER STÄDER? Well, one of my earlier projects мятеж did a split with them years ago. Featuring members of Careless, Komuso and Nya Stader (among others), I was under the assumption that this band had called it quits, but to my joy that is not the case...and they've got a full length coming out soon!

Today we are premiering the opening track "Hundra tusen rubel" from the forthcoming 12"LP titled 'Nya Slussen' releasing April 12th, 2020 on Dingleberry (Germany), Left Hand Label (UK/Germany), Missed Out Records (USA), See You Next Summer (Sweden), Ungulates (Japan) and Zilpzalp Records (Germany). The records come on 200 gold/100 black and look great, as I've included a pic of the cover art cuz it looks awesome. Also, the band had a planned European tour with Blind Girls that was just cancelled due to COVID. Huuuuuge bummer.

(2020) DET ÄR DÄRFÖR VI BYGGER STÄDER "Hundra tusen rubel" (from 'Nya Slussen')
The album's opener sits nicely between the band's softer, jazzier moments and chaotic shriekouts. It begins with some spoken word before classic Det är flows through the speakers in semi lo-fi screamo, tumbling in and out of jarring melodies and frantic screams. The groove come 1:30 is as uplifting as it is epic and sad, leading the song out for another minute of layered vocals and nice, emo/post-hardcore.

Friday 27 March 2020

***WISHESONAPLANE exclusive song premiere***

WISHES ON A PLANE
"Your Place Is Still..."
exclusive song premiere
For fans ofDuct Hearts, Texas Is The Reason and Elliot

I am extremely stoked to bring you another new/old WISHES ON A PLANE song which can be found on the 'Unreleased' 12"LP that Germany's mainstay Time As A Color will officially put out on April 24th.

There are five songs on this thing which were initially recorded back in 2005 and influenced by Jimmy Eat World's early material, Texas Is The Reason, The Get Up Kids, Christie Front Drive, The Ataris and Elliot, but were only unearthed recently. As a bonus, Daniel from Time As A Color and WISHES ON A PLANE (as well as Duct Hearts) is giving away a free test press to one lucky per-order customer (there were only three made!).

The song is titled "Your Place Is Still..." and the band stated that, "these 5 songs deal with thoughts or fears of two people being no perfect match but intertwined so deeply you find it difficult to embrace a life on your own. Questioning if you know at all what love is, or even more so, what not loving feels like, and how to know when love is gone."

(2019) WISHES ON A PLANE "Your Place Is Still..." (from 'Unreleased')
This song is utterly gorgeous. The angelic singing is most prominent, especially when doubled up or intertwined with backups, and the instrumentals swing the song in and out of a very catchy chorus. It's still emo with a touch of post-hardcore but manages to bridge the gap into stronger, fuller and damn-near alternative/post-rock territory. I've heard the entire release and if you like this song, you'll love the release.

Tuesday 24 March 2020

TEMENIGRU

BandTEMENIGRU
GenresPunk / Hardcore / Post-Hardcore / Metal / Metalcore / Metallic Hardcore / Math Metal / Grindcore / Black Metal / Death Metal / Progressive Metal / Experimental
Related artists: With Their Sons, Diynosaur, Yurameshi, I Love My Job, Kingdom of Eyes, coma., Hollow Rebellion and To Victory.
CountryArcata, California U.S.A.
Years Active2019-present
Song: "Mocking"
Album: "Temenigru"
Year: 2020
For fans ofA Black Rose Burial, Heartland, Genghis Tron, Meshugga, Noise Trail Immersion, Dr. Acula, Dragonforce, Beneath The Ashes, Watabou, Blind Equation, Avenged SevenfoldAs Blood Runs Black, The Black Dahlia Murder, Rings of Saturn, Enterprise Earth, Infant Annihilator, Born of Osiris, Death, The Crimson Armada, In Flames, Cynic, SeeYouSpaceCowboy, Fucking Werewolf Asso, .gif from god, Prototype, Fear Before The March of Flames, Dead To Fall, The Fall of Troy and Protest The Hero.
Label(s): Self Released / Tomb Tree Tapes
This post's artist is from the March 2020 Mix. This is track #3.
You can download: the March 2020 Mix#3 right here or get the new April 2020 Mix#4 here.

TEMENIGRU is a band from Vanja in Arcata, California. The theatrical solo project harnesses an arsenal that includes a dizzying array of metal offshoots with strong ties to the heavier, more tech-focused myspace bands. They were first introduced to me when Vanja sent me the 2019 demo for "Sigmund Sawed-Off Fucking Freud" and all I could think was sassy Genghis Tron meets SeeYouSpaceCowboy and goddamn I love this.

Fast forward to the very end of 2019 and Vanja submitted the self titled 'Temenigru' LP and Tomb Tree Tapes busted out 40 or so tapes, this time bringing metal to the forefront and branching out from the screamy, mathcore single. The mashup of the synths and screams alongside death growls, intricate metal guitarwork and huge breakdowns is done expertly and displayed from the get-go on opener "Equivalent Exchange". The next track "Tragedy of Mormegil" is an instrumental jam that doesn't hold back, it's certified instru-metal and not an interlude. "As Above So Below" is chuggy and all fuck, and once the black metal vocals kick in this becomes one of my obvious favourites. I'd be an ass not to take note of the sweet guitar harmonics as well as that eerie synth-drop breakdown at 1:40, complete with Satan himself on vocals. The opening of "Event Horizon" is cyberslam/synthcore to the max, but the song quickly shifts to demonic death metal with flourishes of fantasy metal. "The Darkness Beneath" continues the gutteral regurgitation (as does "Shadows Die Twice") while "Mocking" takes things back to the synth-driven intro, higher shrieking, palm-mutes galore and a few nice panic chords. "Summoning The Wyrm" is another instrumental song that may well be the heaviest behemoth here despite being the only song less then two minutes in length, as is "Absolution - Ascension", which is the most progressive and dare I say "posty" song on the album, making it one of my favourites. Closer "Lusting for the End of Undeath" is the dirtiest, most sinister and venomous song on the record...holy not-jesus.

I recently made a bunch of tapes for TEMENIGRU via the label Tomb Tree Tapes which turned out very nicely and come on a bunch of different colors. We made 44 in total, with 35 going to Vanja and the other 9 staying with Tomb Tree Tapes / Zegema Beach. 19 are swirl dipped on random colors and the other 25 are on plain random cassettes.

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DISCOGRAPHY

2019 - Sigmund Sawed​-​Off Fucking Freud digital single (stream/download here)

2020 - Temenigru cd/cassetteLP (stream/donate/download here) [buy tape from ZBR U.S.A. or Internationally]

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(2019) TEMENIGRU - "Sigmund Sawed​-​Off Fucking Freud" (from 'Sigmund Sawed​-​Off Fucking Freud')

(2020) TEMENIGRU - "Mocking" (from 'Temenigru')

(2020) TEMENIGRU - "Absolution - Ascension" (from 'Temenigru')

(2020) TEMENIGRU - "As Above So Below" (from 'Temenigru')

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TEMENIGRU additional links
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Thursday 19 March 2020

GLASS NOOSE

BandGLASS NOOSE
GenresPunk / Rock / Post-Rock / Post-Hardcore / Emo / Alternative / Experimental
Related artists?.
CountryChicago, Illinois U.S.A.
Years Active2016-present
Album: "no more dignity"
Year: 2020
For fans ofThe Dear Hunter, Emery, From Indian Lakes, Darla Farmer, Lume, Guiltmaker, Coheed And Cambria, Wishesonaplane and Duct Hearts.
Label(s): Self Released / Tomb Tree Tapes
You can download: the March 2020 Mix#3 right here or get the new April 2020 Mix#4 here.

Review by: DAVE CULLEN

GLASS NOOSE’s latest LP "no more dignity" harkens back to the early/mid 2000s bands like The Dear Hunter, Darla Farmer, and the earlier From Indian Lakes records. GLASS NOOSE joins these similar bands who took an almost cabaret-like approach to musical structure. It would be hard to not throw the word "progressive" around when describing the music. There’s usually a chorus to fall back on, but in between those you won’t find repeated verses or a standard pre-chorus, but instead a fluid stream of riffs that find their way back to the central chorus.

The vocals are also reminiscent of The Dear Hunter, and actually at times take on the qualities of both vocalists from Emery. This large, almost operatic technique works well with the more post-rock sections of the record, as the guitar tone remains crunchy but with a good amount of clean still coming through to highlight that this isn’t as aggressive of a project as it might lead you to believe.

GLASS NOOSE is the brainchild of Tristan Zemtseff, who is responsible for all of the composition, arrangement, performance, recording, mixing, mastering, and artwork for their latest release "no more dignity". This is actually fairly evident in the music.  You can hear similarities in syncopation along most of the instruments, and overall it feels as though a single person was given keys to the band room and tried to see how much of it they could incorporate. You’ll hear a xylophone here, a bright acoustic guitar there, a manipulated vocal section over here, and usually all with a fair amount of reverb to keep it big and swirling.

If you’ve been feeling nostalgic for this brand of early/mid 2000s post hardcore or progressive indie (basically that four year period where everybody struggled to attach enough adjectives to a genre title to make it seem accurate), throw this album into the center of your brain.  There’s also a new track out on their bandcamp that you can check via this link.

(2020) GLASS NOOSE - "one-sided equation" (from 'no more dignity')

(2020) GLASS NOOSE - "dignity" (from 'no more dignity')

(2020) GLASS NOOSE - "better than before // as bad as it ever was" (from 'no more dignity')

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GLASS NOOSE additional links
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Tuesday 17 March 2020

WE ARE AMONG STORMS

GenresPunk / Hardcore / Post-Hardcore / Post-Metal / Metal / Metallic Hardcore / Doom / Sludge
Related artistsHexis, Église and The Psyke Project.
CountryCopenhagen DENMARK
Years Active2018-present
Song: "My Collection"
Album: "We Are Among Storms"
Year: 2018
For fans ofÉgliseDemersal, Lentic Waters, I Am A Curse, Orphan Donor, HexisLamantide, Converge, Isis, Old Man Gloom, Llynch, Barque, Nine Eleven, The Minor Times and Rorcal.
Label(s): Self Released
This post's artist is from the March 2020 Mix. This is track #1.
You can download: the March 2020 Mix#3 right here or get the new April 2020 Mix#4 here.

WE ARE AMONG STORMS are a band from Denmark that released a self titled digital EP in 2018 that ended up on a 12" vinyl split with Hiraki the following year. They play a dark, heaving hardcore with many a nod to the posts, most notably post-hardcore and post-metal. Imagine if Hexis slowed it down a tad and added the subterranean evil of Église and you're pretty much there. They ride some serious grooves, making the songs simultaneously epic, crushing and catchy.

Opener "Summit" will lull you into safety only to tear you apart, utilizing ferocious vocals and a dense, suffocating atmosphere that is indicative of terrible times that we live in. "No Form" is probably the most jarring and least accessible song on the EP, but if you listen to the band's related acts that won't be an issue for you at all. Being the heaviest of the songs, it reminds me most of Rorcal and I Am A Curse with a sagging, semi-chill midsection. "Closure" is the least heavy of the four, but is easily one of my favourites as the aforementioned groove is on full display here, making it damn near beautiful. Bass-heavy yet soaring with that subtle and soothing guitar progression, this three-minute jam speeds up a bit at 1:16 and injects vocals come 1:40 but don't expect it to properly climax, as that is saved for the ultimate WE ARE AMONG STORMS track and closer, "My Collection". This finale is a goddamned behemoth but begins like its predecessor, hooked on slow, brooding instrumentals until the first drop come 1:21, again at 2:28 and the conclusion at 4:30. The headbangability of these explosive sections are undeniable, and the way they culminate right before they go off is uncanny.

They're still active as they are hard at work on a new LP

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DISCOGRAPHY

2019 - We Are Among Storms (aka Hiraki split 12") EP (stream/donate/download here)

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(2019) WE ARE AMONG STORMS - "My Collection" (from 'We Are Among Storms')

(2019) WE ARE AMONG STORMS - "Closure" (from 'We Are Among Storms')

(2019) WE ARE AMONG STORMS - "Summit" (from 'We Are Among Storms')

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WE ARE AMONG STORMS additional links
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Saturday 14 March 2020

NYA STÄDER

BandNYA STÄDER
GenresPunk / Rock / Hardcore / Emo / Screamo / Skramz
Related artistsDet är därför vi bygger städer, Ken Burns, The Saddest Landscape, etc.
CountryStockholm SWEDEN / Boston U.S.A.
Years Active2019-present
Song: "II"
Album: "Nya Städer"
Year: 2019
For fans ofThe Pine, Det är därför vi bygger städer, Suis La Lune, Via Fondo, Döda Löv, Dosaken Vakchi ZigotPetterssonElleIwrotehaikusaboutcannibalisminyouryearbook and ¡Silencio, Ahora, Silencio!.
Label(s): Self Released
This post's artist is from the March 2020 Mix. This is track #2.
You can download: the March 2020 Mix#3 right here or get the new April 2020 Mix#4 here.

NYA STÄDER is a band comprised of members of many bands, but for the sake of conciseness, this Swedish/U.S. band is kind of the next evolution of Det är därför vi bygger städer, which featured at least two of the same members. Their twinkly, screamy and multiple-screamer concoction is delightful, and their debut three-song cassette EP 'Nya Städer' was released in December of last that will most definitely turn the heads of fans of most Swedish screamo fans, most notably of the Suis La Lune, Via Fondo variety.

The opener 'I' is arguably the softest of the three, with some nicely sung vocals and wonderful Via Fondo/Suis La Lune swirling guitars. Also present is Mans' unmistakable, warbly shriek, a fair amount of twinkles and a spoken-word Envy part. On 'II' Mike Van Buren takes over most of the vocals, which obviously bring back memories of Ken Burns with a beautiful Swedish flare. 'III' begins hazy and almost out-of-tune, only to flip at 39 seconds at catapult itself forward in very Iwrotehaikusaboutcannibalisminyouryearbook style.

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DISCOGRAPHY

2019 - Nya Städer cassetteEP (stream/donate/download here) [buy from ZBR distro U.S.A. here / Canada/International here]

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(2019) NYA STÄDER - "II" (from 'Nya Städer')

(2019) NYA STÄDER - "III" (from 'Nya Städer')

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NYA STÄDER additional links
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Sunday 8 March 2020

***2020 OMSB mp3 Mix #4 (April)***

(((((OPENmind/SATURATEDbrain)))))
April 2020 mp3 MIX #4
 => ***DOWNLOAD HERE*** <=
https://www55.zippyshare.com/v/5p3hmcct/file.html
...and updates

***
2020 has been a goddamned rollercoaster thus far, for many reasons. In ZBR news we dropped the IWROTEHAIKUSABOUTCANNIBALISMINYOURYEARBOOK which promptly sold out in a few hours. We have ordered 200 more but expect the need for a third run before the summer arrives. BONEFLOWER releases tomorrow. ORPHAN DONOR on March 13th. MAHRIA later this month. And did we finalize the Zegema Beach Records Fest 2020 lineup? You bet your ass we did. Take a looksie.


Here's the tracklisting for OMSB mix#2 that was reviewed in February:

1) SOMN - "The All-devouring"

2) DSGNS - "Bolter"

3) RESI NOTH - "Coma Berenices"

4) THE WIND IN THE TREES - "A white light in autumn"

5) coming next month

GEISTERFAHRER - discography review by Tarquin

Much love,

Dave @ (((((OPENmind/SATURATEDbrain)))))

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ZBR Store/Bandcamp

BONEFLOWER 'A(r)mour' LP


ONES AND TWOS 'Compilation' LP
Euclid C Finder
Yubari Gogo
cassette (order here for US / here for everywhere else)
(listen here)


YURODIVY 'Tell Me When the Party's Over' LP
(listen here)


IWROTEHAIKUSABOUTCANNIBALISMINYOURYEARBOOK 'Discography' LP
cassette (run #2 pre-order coming in April)

DSGNS - 'Ceremony' cd/cassetteEP
cassette (order here for US / here for everywhere else)
(listen here)

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***Interviews/live shows/premieres coming up this month for sure:
-
- BEST OF 2019 (seriously, it's coming this month)

***Interviews/live shows/premieres posted last month:
ØØØ song premiere
- DEMERSAL music video premiere
- REPUBLIC OF DREAMS / ALLES BRENNT split premiere
- PODCAST #39 w/Tom McCone
AU BOUT DE MES LÈVRES / PIQUE / A PARAMOUNT, A LOVE SUPREME / WILD HEART split premiere

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***The following page have changes:
- nada
________________________________________________________________________

As always, on or around the 1st of every month, I will be posting a ZIP file with songs for the upcoming month with ALL specifics deleted from the tags, so unless you already know the band, there is NO information regarding each track.

During the following month, I will post reviews for those bands and link the tracks to the review so you can associate the two together. This way you can listen to a new song/band and have little-to-no bias. Below, I have re-posted the March mp3 mix that is used for this month's reviews.

OLD MIX
***2020 OMSB mp3 Mix #3 (reviewed in March)***
https://www55.zippyshare.com/v/kwqqPXin/file.html
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The new 2020 OMSB mp3 Mix #4 has the new standard of 5 songs and include:
*-* the best record I've heard in 2020
*-* awesome band name, awesome 2019 LP
*-* good god that sounds like Kidcrash (and they're playing ZBR Fest!)

NEW MIX
NEW => ***2020 OMSB mp3 Mix #4 (reviewed in April)*** <= NEW
https://www55.zippyshare.com/v/5p3hmcct/file.html
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Any bands/labels that are interested in having their stuff reviewed, please email zegemabeachrecords@gmail.com: with "Open Mind Saturated Brain" as the subject. Please keep in mind that I don't review everything, just what jives with the blog. I will, however, listen to everything you send me. I would recommend emailing with an idea for a song/album premiere 2 months prior to that song/album release date for a much stronger chance at being reviewed on this blog. Bands that have already had their discography reviewed can also submit new albums for review if they include song/album premieres.

Friday 6 March 2020

DSGNS

BandDSGNS
GenresPunk / Hardcore / Post-Hardcore / Post-Metal / Metal / Metalcore / Metallic Hardcore / Math Metal / Mathcore / Black Metal / Doom
Related artists: Thumbscrew, Spitfire, Fjord, Channel, The Bearer, The End Of The Universe and Project 208.
CountryAustin, Texas U.S.A.
Years Active2011-present
Song: "Bolter"
Album: "Ceremony"
Year: 2020
For fans ofNarrows, Botch, Anodyne, Breather Resist, Circle Takes The Square, The Power And The Glory, Llynch, I Am A Curse, The Abandoned Hearts Club, Converge, Coarse, Lamantide, Lavotchkin, Deadguy, Curl Up And Die and Stuntman.
Label(s): Self Released / Tomb Tree Tapes / Pluto Records / Coin Toss Records / Red Flag
This post's artist is from the January 2020 Mix. This is track #6.
You can download: the February 2020 Mix#2 right here or get the new March 2020 Mix#3 here.

DSGNS have existed for almost a decade but I didn't find out about the Austin, Texas metallic hardcore band until 2019 when they emailed me about their upcoming EP 'Ceremony', which kicks major ass and got me interested in their back catalogue.

In 2012 the band released their first two EPs, both housing four tracks each. 'WSTLND' was released in January and is anchored by very dark and primal vocals that fall somewhere between black metal and hardcore. The standout track has gotta be "Champagne Man" and the chuggy, driving instrumentals that back the vocals better than the previous track, making it sound more metalcore than black metal. On the opposite end of 2012 DSGNS released 'LXCN' which continues the pikey Circle Takes The Square vocals but the instrumentals and recording/mastering of the instrumentals really take this EP up a level. Things are apparent from opener "Denial of Service", get pretty straightforward hardcore on "Bukowski", post-hardcore on the title track "LXCN" and use the closer "Long in the Tooth" to knock it out of the park, bringing to mind the sick German band Llynch.

The next year they released two songs on an 'Uglytwin split'. These two songs take things deeper into the hardcore/metal subterranea, hitting more of the math metal and adding sludge and a bit of doom to the mix. The vocals also definitely take a step in the right direction here, ditching the pukes for a dark, throaty scream. There is one original and a cover of "Oh, James" by Blonde Redhead. Speaking of covers, 2015's 'Sexed and Bloated' are two Stone Temple Pilots covers, which is pretty gosh darn sick. It's funny, the two covers of "Dead and Bloated" and "Sex Type Thing" sound almost like Graf Orlock covering the 90s alternative all-stars/trainwreck.

The lone DSGNS full length 'Hexes' was released in 2015 and is the crowning achievement of the band's first sound incarnation. Featuring 12 songs and released on 12" by Pluto Records, the speedy metallic hardcore borders on bands such as Botch, The Bled, Converge and The Abandoned Hearts Club. "13" is definitely my jam as it bears quite a bit of resemblance to Curl Up And Die, but "White Crosses", "Nothing Pretty to See Here" and "Let's Get Invisible" are a few other notable bangers.

The band's final release for a whopping four years was the 'Venomspitter split' 7" featuring two new songs that may very well have been recorded during the 'Hexes' session, but parts of "Chemical Peel" show up on their 2020 release and "" is another song the helps bridge the gap between the old releases and the newest.

After four years of recording silence, DSGNS switched vocalists on 2020's 'Ceremony' by picking up Daniel from Thumbscrew fame. This very slight lineup shift has helped bring the band into a sound that fits like a nice new jacket that was tailored just for them. The vocals are now straight up punishing, sometimes bordering on that Thumbscrew shriek, and the instrumentals/recording bring all the good stuff to the forefront. Opener "Crooked Teeth" blasts through in 1:43 of manic, pulsating metallic hardcore, followed directly by the very Lavotchkin-esque "Dead Husk" that houses a behemoth of a section at around the 45-second mark that sounds kind of like death. "Zealot" is a banger that the band made a sick music video for and the title track "Ceremony" is an unstable, nightmarish and brooding song that has some of the best and most diverse moments on the record as well as some synth work (done by Matt Bayles, who also recorded the record. "Hungry Tombs" is another quick banger and closer "Bolter" is my favourite cut, dishing out some seriously punishing hardcore in the vein of Deadguy, Stuntman but with multiple vocalists and an ending not unlike Norma Jean's "Memphis Shall Be Laid To Waste".

Not only did DSGNS release 'Ceremony' on cd in January, but Tomb Tree Tapes and the band just released 60 cassettes over two very nice variants. And on March 19th there's a Prosthetic Records/Mathcore Index Showcase in Austin with a plethora of friends including: Olam, Meth., Amygdala, For Your Health, Glassing, Shin Guard...cripes that makes me weak in the knees. Here's the poster. Can't wait to hear what you've got cookin', my friends.
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DISCOGRAPHY

2012 - WSTLND digitalEP (stream/donate/download here)
2012 - LXCN digitalEP (stream/donate/download here)

2013 - Uglytwin split cdEP (stream/donate/download here)

2015 - Sexed and Bloated cassetteEP (stream/donate/download here)
2015 - Hexes cd/12"LP (stream/buy here)

2016 - Venomspitter split cassette/7"EP (stream/donate/download here)

2020 - Ceremony cd/cassetteEP (stream/buy here) [buy from ZBR distro USA / International]

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(2020) DSGNS - "Bolter" (from 'Ceremony')

(2020) DSGNS - "Zealot" (from 'Ceremony') official music video

(2020) DSGNS - "Ceremony" (from 'Ceremony')

(2016) DSGNS - "Damager" (from 'Venomspitter' split)

(2016) DSGNS - "13" (from 'Hexes')

(2015) DSGNS - "Dead and Bloated" (from 'Sexed and Bloated')

(2013) DSGNS - "Animal Heart" (from 'Uglytwin' split)

(2012) DSGNS - "Long in the Tooth" (from 'LXCN')

(2012) DSGNS - "Champagne Man" (from 'WSTLND')

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DSGNS additional links

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