Though we can pretty much rule out a long-awaited follow-up to Axe To Fall before year’s end, Converge aren’t planning to finish 2011 quietly. According to the band’s latest news update, the hardcore hellions will play two December dates, in Denver and Seattle, respectively. The former of these (12/8) is a make-up show with Alternative Tentacles’ Git Some opening, while the latter (12/9) serves as a birthday party of sorts for their tour manager. That second show features some openers you’ll likely recognize, including Black Breath and ex-Botch frontman Dave Verellen’s Narrows. Other things in the pipeline include an “eco-friendly repackaging” of The Long Road Home and a 12″ edition of Unloved And Weeded Out, both due out on J. Bannon’s Deathwish imprint.

Now, two gigs do not a tour make, and unless you live near these towns you’re probably a bit bummed about the whole thing. Still, since Converge claim to be hard at work writing that new record, let’s go a little easy on them, all right?

-GS

Contrasting with the unsettling amount of mind-numbing sonic uniformity dominant in today’s American hardcore scene, San Diego’s Lewd Acts offer a much needed corrective, as made so evident with Black Eye Blues, their new album for Jacob Bannon’s Deathwish Inc. imprint. Sure, the band serve up enough uptempo cuts to fuel the savagely vibrant circle pits we’ve all come to expect at hardcore shows, be they at recreation centers, dive bars, or mid-sized general admission concert venues. Yet as with labelmates Narrows, Lewd Acts infuses creative growth and artistic progression into a genre largely categorized by its ironic stagnancy.

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The name Dave Verellen should mean something to anyone who laments the 2002 breakup of Botch, the esteemed hardcore act whose legacy has made it more popular now than when it was an active unit. As the voice of that group, Verellen deserves partial credit – and perhaps a little blame – for the glut of roaring metalcore vocalists that came in his wake. From a publicity perspective, this influence strengthens the already impressive pedigree of Narrows, his latest band featuring members of noteworthy heavy ensembles such as Unbroken and These Arms Are Snakes. As evidenced by its full-length debut New Distances, the group refuses to rest on its proverbial laurels and instead goes above and beyond its participants’ discographies, yielding something truly exceptional.

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More br00tal than a hasid in the moshpit. More br00tal than a cage match between Pig Destroyer and Suffocation. More br00tal than a monkey murdering a carpet salesman. So br00tal that MySpace apparently wouldn’t even post it.

The song is “Gypsy Kids” from the record New Distances. Enjoy.

-VN

NARROWS: GYPSY KIDS (2009) 872 x 480 from My Black Cat on Vimeo.

I’m admittedly a late bloomer when it comes to getting into Deathwish Records, but after buying Blacklisted’s Heavier Than Heaven, Lonelier Than God a couple months ago I knew I’d be back for the rest of the roster, which includes Narrows. You might have caught wind of this band on the free Deathwish Records digital compilation, and if “Chambered” is any indication of what the rest of the forthcoming New Distances album will sound like then we’re in for some of the heaviest hardcore of 2009. Then again, Narrows features Dave Verellen of the one-and-only Botch, so nobody should be surprised by just how AWESOME this shit is. If, like me, you can’t wait for the May 12 release date, be sure to pick up a copy of last year’s self-titled EP.

-GS

[Gary Suarez shouted at the devil, but the devil shouted back. He also writes for Brainwashed and usually manages the consistently off-topic No Yoko No. Say, why don't you follow him on Twitter?]