In case you didn’t read Axl’s four-and-a-half out of five horns rave review of Avalanche of Worms, the debut album from Levi/Werstler, we’ll sum it up for you: “Avalanche of Worms is a trippy, freaky, cinematic, vivid narrative that unfolds in multiple dimensions at once.” Axl also said that the album “is really is best enjoyed in a single sitting, as one large piece of work.”

Which you can do right now! We’re streaming the entire thing below before its release tomorrow on Magna Carta. And it’s already 4/20 in some parts of the world! So sit back, light up, and enjoy Avalanche of Worms…

[this promotion has ended]

I know I’m gonna get shit for the review I’m about to give Levi/Werstler‘s Avalanche of Worms. Eyal Levi writes for this site! Sure, I could remind you that I’ve been pretty openly a non fan of Daath’s first album, The Hinderers, or tell you that we never even met Eyal until after we’d already heard (and were blown away by) Daath’s second album, The Concealers. But what’s the use? You either believe I’m unbiased or you don’t. So fuck me and don’t listen to it, if that’s how you feel. Your loss.

So, with that out of the way…

I have to admit that it’s only recently that I really sat down and examined Jorden Haley‘s cover art for AOW as anything more than a collection of abstract shapes. It’s really psychedelic, dude: either black clouds are raining hot pink goo (It is snot? Blood? It’s definitely too thick to be water.) on a trio of semi-skinned faces (the noses and giant, Pac-Man pupiled eye balls are perfectly intact), or the faces (One each for guitarists Emil Werstler and Eyal Levi and one for drummer Sean Reinert, perhaps?) are snotting/bleeding/whatever onto the black clouds. I almost wish there was no text on the cover, so you wouldn’t know which way is up, ’cause the piece looks just as cool no matter which direction it’s facing.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is a perfect marriage of cover art and music. Avalanche of Worms is a trippy, freaky, cinematic, vivid narrative that unfolds in multiple dimensions at once.

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Actually, there is no doubt that a preview of another new Levi/Werstler track has been posted. I just wanted to see how many times in a row we could phrase a headline as a question. Sorry.

ANYWAY, as I said, Levi/Werstler HAVE posted another preview of another new track, this one called “Casting The Molten Sea.” An like the other previews we’ve heard, it sounds pretty sweet – but it’s too short a taste! WE WANT MORE, GOD DAMN YOU!

Oh well. More we shall have on 4/20, when Levi/Werstler’s debut album, Avalanche of Worms, comes out on Magna Carta. In case you’re the one person who doesn’t know, the album also features drums by Cynic’s Sean Reinert, which is just that much more of a reason to get excited for the release. Pre-order that shit here.

-AR

We’re a little late on reporting this, but there’s a sample of another new Levi/Werstler track, “Obsidian Fissures,” now streaming on their merch page. It’s maybe twenty seconds of the song, which is to say it’ll pretty much give you sonic blue balls. But that’s only because it’s so awesome.

Levi/Werstler’s debut album, Avalanche of Worms, comes out April 20 on Magna Carta, and features drums by the great Sean Reinert, of Cynic fame. While you wait (and pine for a longer taste of “Obsidian Fissures”), you can watch another clip of Emil playing some of “Dura Mater” below. You can also download some free guitar tabs here, so that all of you shred nerds can start trying to learn some of this shit.

And, finally, it’s worth noting that Eyal and Emil are currently accepting questions via their MySpace, Facebook and Twitter pages; they’ll answer the best ones in an upcoming video.

-AR

I know that there are lots of reasons why the Levi/Werstler project may never get to do a live show (or, better yet, a tour, even): there’s the usual considerations about the costs (financial or otherwise) of being on the road, and the Daath boys are hitting the studio in the not-too-distant future to record their new album, plus you’d have to coordinate their schedules with that of Cynic’s Sean Reinert, who plays drums on the album – and that would probably be a major pain in the tuchus. Still, I hope against hope that they somehow end up on Prog Nation, or something awesome like that. It would be kind of a shame if videos like this one were the only chance fans ever have to see these dudes play some music from Avalanche of Worms:

I have no idea what that song is called, but I’m ready to hear the rest of it now.

We are going to continue to remind you all that Avalanche of Worms comes out 4/20 on Magna Carta pretty much until it’s out. You can pre-order it here.

-AR

If you’re like me and you love watching great guitarists play because you yourself are a terrible guitarist but you just love the grace it takes to be a good guitarist, than you will enjoy this clip of Emil Werstler playing some of “Dura Mater.” The song is the first taste of Avalanche of Worms, the debut solo/side/not-really-sure-what-to-call-it project from Daath’s guitarists (with Cynic’s Sean Reinert on drums!):

If for some reason you still haven’t listened to the complete stream of “Dura Mater,” well, you’re depriving yourself of awesomeness, and you should go listen to it now.

Avalanche of Worms comes out 4/20 on Magna Carta. And while we’re on the topic, you should also head over to Noisecreep for a pretty cool interview with Emil and Eyal – they talk about Avalanche and also explain a little bit more why Kevin Talley (who I can assure you is still very much the drummer for Daath) sat out a chunk of the band’s 2009 tour.

-AR

If you’re a regular reader of Eyal Levi’s blogs for this very site, than you’re already aware that he and his fellow Daath guitarist, Emil Werstler, have been working on a new, non-Daath record with Cynic drummer Sean Reinert. Well, hey, guess what? The album has a name now, Avalanche of Worms, and an oh-so-appropriate release date of 4/20 on Magna Carta. And as if all of that weren’t exciting enough, they’re already streaming a new track, “Dura Mater,” on their merch page (scroll down – the player is on the lower right hand side).

The track, it should go without saying, rips. It certainly has a Daath-y vibe to it – the long instrumental intro of the song “Translucent Potency” from The Concealers comes to mind – but it’s definitely not Daath. The music has been taken to a whole other level here. It’s shreddier and proggier than anything we’ve heard these fellas do before, but not at the expense of good songwriting – there is structure here, and strong hook. I dunno… it’s just good music, dude. I’m loving it, and can’t wait to hear the rest of the album. (It also bodes really, really well for the next Daath record – if this is the kind of growth Eyal and Emil are showing, the future can only be full of good things.)

You can stream “Dura Mater,” and pre-order Avalanche of Worms in a variety of sexy packages here. The project also now has an official website, a MySpace page and a Facebook page, so you can stay up-to-date on all their latest news. And, of course, we’ll give you more info as we get it…

-AR

If you loved Daath’s The Concealers as much as we did – and both Vince and myself included the album fairly highly on our 2009 year-end lists – than you’ll be as excited as we are to learn that there’s a buttload of activity going on in the Daath camp right now. For one thing, guitarist/MetalSucks columnist Eyal Levi and guitarist Emil Werstler have completed a solo/side album with Cynic’s Sean Reinert playing drums, and while we haven’t heard that record yet, we know people who have, and those people have good taste, and they assure it’s awesome. As though there were any doubt that it would be.

If that wasn’t enough, Daath have no apparently begun the songwriting process for their next release. I’m so stoked to see where Daath go from here, I can’t even tell you – The Concealers was a major evolutionary leap forward from the band’s first album, The Hinderers, and I’d wager we’re gonna get something pretty different once again. In fact, the band has said as much.

But why take my word for it? Here’s a lengthy statement from the band giving you the skinny on all their various goings-on:

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Are you ever going to write again? Is your column at Metalsucks over? Where the fuck have you been? Why don’t you hang out? You better be ditching me for a really good reason! You’re in town? Why didn’t I know? Etc. Etc. Etc.

At first I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. If I did, I would’ve told everyone in my life that I was going to have to disappear for about a month or two but I was not expecting this to be such a gargantuan undertaking. But it is. When the questions as to my absence started coming in I didn’t make much effort to answer them because I figured the workload was going to lighten up a little. It hasn’t. Friends, fans, family members, band mates, business partners, ex-girlfriends, and more have all been hitting me up asking where the fuck I’ve been. When Vince wrote me and asked me where I was I figured ok, its time to come out of the cave for a moment.

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First of all, I have to say, if you’re into Muse then check out their new album, The Resistance, which comes out today. It’s fucking brilliant. They always manage to take a different approach from album to album, and this one continues on that path. Anyways, its great stuff and I recommend it highly.

I’ve had music writing on my mind a lot these days. Maybe its because I have a lot on my plate. The record I’m doing with Emil from DAATH and Cynic’s Sean Reinert needs to be delivered by the first of the year. It’s going to be released in the spring of 2010. My side project wants to record an EP of still to be written material this December. And last but not least, DAATH is looking to go into the studio in April to record our next one. We’d like for it to be out by the end of Summer 2010.

That’s a shit load of music to write in a very short period of time if you consider that we’re still touring. Some advice I get from people is “Don’t rush.” That’s good advice. None of this is going to be rushed and it will all get what it needs and wants so that it can grow into the work of art it deserves to become. I think I’ve figured out how to write on the road and this next tour will be the perfect situation for that. We are sharing the bus with a straightedge band. Can’t be partying like usual because my health could relapse. Instead of staring into space and wishing I could party, I’ll occupy my time with creative things. So I’ll be writing music on the road. And a lot of it!

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Laying in a bed in Atlanta, Georgia has never felt so sweet. One week ago tonight I was laying in a hospital bed in Hartford, not sure if I was going to live out the week. One week before that, I was breaking fevers in the van once every three hours, not able to breath, and breaking down from the exhaustion of getting really fucking sick on the road.

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