“This new Kingdom of Sorrow stuff is literally heavier than pre-op Johnny Popper bashing the living you-know-what out of Carnie Wilson in a tub of lard.” – Kirk Windstein

With a quote like that, how can you possibly ignore Kingdom of Sorrow, the collaboration between Windstein and Jamey Jasta?

Like Axl, I wasn’t especially blown away by Kingdom of Sorrow’s 2008 self-titled debut record. It sounded like the sum of its parts, but every time I tried listening to it I just zoned out… and by the time the record ended I hadn’t retained anything. There was nothing wrong with it other than that it wasn’t especially memorable in the songs department.

But Kingdom of Sorrow have posted the new song “God’s Law in the Devil’s Land” on their MySpace page today — the first taste of their new album Behind the Blackest Tears (June 8th, Relapse) — and I’m happy to report that it’s most certainly memorable. It’s got big, bluesy riffs of Southern sludge and it’s got Windstein and Jasta’s croons in equal measures… which you’d expect… but most importantly it’s got hooks the size of uh, pre-op Johnny Popper bashing the living you-know-what out of Carnie Wilson in a tub of lard. I hope the rest of the record is full of songs just like this one.

-VN

I’d never heard of Suicide War before this morning, when MS tipster supreme Saul Hudson alerted me to a posting on their MySpace page announcing that Kirk Windstein has joined the band:

“Yes!! It is true…. Kirk will be doing vocal duties along side Ben in SUICIDE WAR. He will also be filling the bass duties, if and when SUICIDE WAR plans to do some shows. I know some people are expecting his signature Crowbar style vocals, but he has approached this project from a completely different angle.”

Kirk Windstein’s involvement with any project is a big deal – but in case you’re wondering, the “Ben” they’re referring to in the above statement is Ben Falgoust. As in, “The dude from Goatwhore and Soilent Green.” As in, “AWESOME!” Black Label Society drummer Craig Nunenmacher (who also used to play with Windstein’s Crowbar) is also in the band, which I find a little less exciting, but whatever. The group also sports two members of Valume Nob (that’s a not a typo, by the way), an outfit I’m not really familiar with.

But who cares? Any band that has Falgoust and Windstein is, at the very least, going to be worth paying attention to. More news as we get it. In the meantime, you can check out some instrumental demos here.

-AR

Our Bro-test the Heroes over at Crustcake posted the video for a personal favorite of mine, Down’s “Stone the Crow.” Sure, it was Down’s most popular song but it earned that distinction for a reason, namely that it’s fucking great.

I love the interplay between Pepper Keenan and Kirk Windstein’s guitars in the intro/main riff… each guitar is playing a completely different line that perfectly compliments the other. Metal bands just don’t write riffs like that anymore… any time there are two guitars they’re playing the same damn thing (or close). Also, Phil Anselmo is second only to Layne Staley in the constantly-changing-hair-styles-and-overall-looks department, and I love observing his constant metamorphosis throughout the years. In this video he’s sporting a ’50s Greaser kind of look from the neck up and an early-mid ’90s neo-grunge rocker (flannel and camo shorts) from the waist down… an odd combination, but with Philip it works.

-VN

Kingdom of Sorrow, the sludgecore supergrouping of Hatebreed’s Jamey Jasta with Crowbar’s Kirk Windstein, has just announced via press release that they have re-upped with Relapse Records, with a new album to be released some time this Spring. And while admittedly I’m having a little bit of harmless fun with the band’s unintended double entrendre (referenced above), in actuality I’m seriously fucking excited about this. We don’t have a name for the record yet, or any other details, but I loved their debut enough to call it my favorite album of 2008. One thing’s for sure: the guys have some nice things to say about Relapse!

Windstein commented on the resigning and new album; “Jamey and I are really excited to be working with Relapse on another Kingdom Of Sorrow album. They were a big part of the success of our first album and have been a great company to work with. Our new material kicks ass, we can’t wait to unleash it! It’s a real beast!”

Jasta continues; “It was a no brainer to re-sign with Relapse for another Kingdom Of Sorrow album. They are a great company who really gets it and we’re extremely excited to have them 110% behind us.”

Click to read more…

As a fan of Kingdom Of Sorrow, Jamey Jasta’s collaboration with the incredibly Kirk Windstein, I follow the Connecticut-based hardcore vocalist on Twitter. I’m not a huge fan of his main project Hatebreed, largely because so many of their songs, while angry and uplifting, sound so damn similar. As a result, I’ve been reluctant to pick up their recent self-titled album. I mean, if I want to be motivated by metal, I’ll pop in ANDREW W.K.’s I GET WET!!!!!!

Click to read more…

Just because I wasn’t that into Kingdom of Sorrow’s eponymous debut doesn’t really mean anything; I know plenty of respectable people who think it was just swell.

So I thought it was worth posting the band’s new, Kevin Custer-directed video for “Lead Into Demise.” I don’t think it’s a very good video, but it’s gonna be a slow news day… I can feel it in my bones.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://lads.myspace.com/videos/vplayer.swf" width="430" height="346" fvars="m=31929101;type=video" wmode="transparent" /]

-AR

Well well well. Kingdom of Sorrow, the self-titled, forever-in-gestation project from Kirk Windstein and Jamey Jasta, has leaked a full month before it’s due to hit stores, and can currently be found at Kill the Music. I haven’t had a chance to give it a listen yet, but it should make a nice way to kick off the weekend…

Kingdom of Sorrow will be released February 19 through Relapse.

-AR

Between Windstein and Jasta’s commitments to Down, Crowbar, Hatebreed, Icepick, and writing a friggin’ coffee table book, I had kind of assumed that Kingdom of Sorrow would be one of those supergroups that never actually played live. But, lo and behold, the band has begun to announce some tour dates:

Feb. 27 – Palladium – Worcester, Massachusetts
Feb. 28 – Ottobar – Baltimore, Maryland
Mar. 01 – Valentines – Albany, New York
Mar. 02 – Knitting Factory – New York, New York
Mar. 04 – El Macombo – Toronto, Ontario
Mar. 06 – Reggie’s Rock Club – Chicago, Illinois
Mar. 07 – Magic Stick – Detroit, Michigan

No word on whether or not the band will be traveling on that scary looking horse from their cover art.

Kingdom of Sorrow’s self-titled debut comes out February 19, a.k.a. the same day as half the other exciting winter metal releases (Genghis Tron, Hate Eternal, etc.). Relapse’s small and probably overworked PR department is about as dependable as a rumored release date for Chinese Democracy, so I guess I’ll have to wait for the frickin’ thing to leak just like the rest of you before I can judge the final product. In the meantime, I know where I’ll be on March 2.

-AR

UPDATE: Hey, look at that! The band just posted a new track, “Lead into Demise,” on their MySpace page. Suh-weet. 

I feel like I’ve been waiting for the debut album from Kingdom of Sorrow, the collaboration between Jamey Jasta (Hatebreed) and Kirk Windstein (Crowbar, Down) for-fucking-ever already. So I was very glad to hear that the band’s self-titled debut will finally drop on Relapse on February 19. That’s the same day as the new Genghis Tron album, so, God willing, it will be a day which will live in infamy.

Check out Kingdom of Sorrow’s MySpace page if you haven’t heard any of their music yet. It pretty sounds exactly like a cross between Hatebreed and Crowbar, which, at least if you’re me, is a good thing. And if nothing else, that cover art is pretty cool.

-AR