For more on Watch Me Burn, go to the band site.

Watch Me Burn was conceived by screamer (and famed Suicide Girl) Sawa, guitarist Kevin Fetus, drummer Rusty Reens, and bassist Russ Herpich in November of 2000. Right off the bat, WMB took an impromptu fist and shoved it firmly beneath the undercurrents of what is deemed "acceptable" in the grindcore metal scene. Fusing grindcore with thrash, doom, grind and flashes of jazz and funk, Watch Me Burn stands out among the usual suspects with their new album "At The Stake". The album was recorded at Loyola Marymount University by Christian LaRocca and Mastered by Pig Destroyer / Visceral Sound’s Scott Hill.

For more on Zombi check out the band site.

Producing work that is epic in concept, sound, and artistic approach, Steve Moore and A.E. Paterra, the masterminds and multi-instrumentalists behind Zombi, have re-imagined the architecture of progressive rock and dynamic instrumentals—carving a niche in underground music distinctly their own.

The band’s signature sound, achieved using only electric bass, drums, and a collection of analog synthesizers, is deceptively lush considering its two man skeleton crew ensemble. Moore’s bass playing and meticulous synthesizer programming interacts seamlessly with Paterra’s controlled, precision drumming—as if each man is anticipating his counterpart’s next move. Punctuated by Moore and Paterra’s seasoned songwriting skills, each Zombi song—whether grand in design like "Night Rhythms" from the band’s forthcoming LP or powerful and driving like "Orion," the opening track on Cosmos—is entirely autonomous and true to the duo’s creative vision.

Following the success of Cosmos—Zombi’s critically-acclaimed debut album for Relapse Records—and a series of national tours with artists like Dillinger Escape Plan, The Fucking Champs, Red Sparowes, Panthers, and Breather Resist, Moore and Paterra regrouped in Chicago to begin work on their next full-length album.

"Surface To Air is a genuinely progressive album: bigger, denser, and more dynamic than anything we’ve done before," Moore says. "It’s still dark and cinematic, but without being kitschy like some of our earlier releases."

"The album is an accurate representation of who we are and where we are headed as a band," Paterra adds. "It is the culmination of a style and sound we’ve been honing since our inception, but it also puts us in a new direction, one that I am excited to explore."

Larger in scope and sound, Surface To Air is an evolutionary album, anchored by the distinct melodic and technically complex sound Zombi has become known for, but more mature and forward-thinking in its overall conceptual approach. While the track listing may at first appear lean at a mere five songs, the attentive listener will soon realize that Moore and Paterra have composed and assembled more than 40 minutes of emotive, dynamic, multi-layered music—making Surface To Air a magnum opus in its own right.

Informed by the music and boundary-pushing work ethic of icons like Genesis, Tangerine Dream, Van Halen, and Pink Floyd, Moore and Paterra rely just as much on inspiration from the past as they do on their own skill and musical knowledge during the songwriting process. On Surface To Air, the integrity of tracks like "Challenger Deep" with its powerful, driving bass line, and the mysterious mounting tension of "Digitalis" are indisputable evidence of Zombi’s artistic growth and allegiance to producing a diverse and progressive body of work. "Legacy," however, sidesteps, revealing a more introspective direction in Moore and Paterra’s work, while the album’s title track, "Surface To Air," opens with a frantically-paced and hypnotic synthesizer-laden melody.

Experimenting with a vast new sound, Zombi proves that charging forward with an expansive vision can open doors to an entirely new realm. While Moore and Paterra still draw inspiration from the horror genre when composing film scores, a broader range of influences—as well as a desire to push the boundaries of what they’ve already accomplished—now informs the material for their albums. Whether you’re an adventurous listener, diehard fan, or skeptical observer, delving into the latest chapter of Zombi’s prolific and ever-evolving work will never disappoint.

Self-taught musician and composer Sami Jano, a first-generation Arab-American was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan.  His first foray into music was playing trombone in his elementary school band, but soon found his real love was drums. His parents refused to help, so he saved up enough loose change for a pair of drumsticks and a used tape cassette, of ACDC’s Back in Black.  He spent three years playing drums on his knees and various bedroom objects to his favorite rock albums, his parents’ Arabic music, and the “oldies” which played incessantly playing in his dad’s car.   By the time Sami got to high school, he had saved up enough for a real drum set, and started an "experimental-hardcore" band with his friends.

He attended Michigan State University, majored in advertising and fine arts, and started playing the piano and composing. In his second year at Michigan State, he started an instrumental band, Adam’s Castle, in which he played the piano and with whom he toured the country for 5 years, amassing an enthusiastic cult following.  The band also released an EP and a full-length CD.

Currently, Sami resides in New York City where he works as a designer and illustrator as well as a composer for film and advertising.  

For more Jesu check out the band site.

Justin Broadrick, living legend. Man of a million musical hats: Godflesh, Final, Techno Animal, God, Ice, Curse of the Golden Vampire, ad infinitum. Man whose influence is nearly legion: Neurosis, Ministry, Isis, Fear Factory, Cult of Luna, even Korn. Justin Broadrick, the man who brought us Streetcleaner. Justin Broadrick, the man who’s bringing us Jesu.

Hallelujah, Jesu is here. The selfsame band’s debut album proper, 75 minutes in penetrating duration and eight epics comprising that (intensely personal) song-cycle, Jesu sees Broadrick and mysterious company abstracting The Rock more than hinted at on the preceding Heart Ache EP, that sublime bittersweetness that earmarked Godflesh’s most sensitive moments here even deeper and more revealing. This is music that’s laid open so bare, so naked in its emotional resonance, the result is absolutely disarming. But this is no whinge-fest, though: The Groove dominates, but it’s a groove markedly more understated than Godflesh’s most shuddering moments- trust us, they had many- and yet shuderring nonetheless in the metaphysical depth it conveys. And if Broadrickphiles ever wanted the man to explore his ghostly clean-tenor the he did on such Flesh classics as "Mantra" and "The Internal," Jesu is pure manna delivered by the God(head) himself.

Justin Broadrick, Godhead. Justin Broadrick, Jesu now and maybe forever.

For more on Junius check out the band site.

Junius blurs the line between dark New Wave and brooding cinematic art rock to form a genre-defining Post-Wave aesthetic. Alternative Press says "This darky lush epic...is the best soundtrack for reveling in the melancholy of actually living since My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless."

"Genius as far as contemporary New Wave/cinematic art-rock goes... [an] epic audio masterpiece..." - The Big Takeover

"One of the most engaging dark rock albums to come out since Joy Division last graced a stage." - Disclosure Magazine

"This fiery Boston quartet displays the potential to emerge as the bridge between post-grunge and the future of alternative rock." - Amplifier Magazine

"Breathtaking atmospherics and dark sensibilities deserved of being likened to The Cure’s Disintegration... Vocalist Joseph E. Martinez deadpans a brooding style that clashes at the perfect angle with the swirling sounds that rise around his words. Without straying into anything too heavy, Junius manages to maintain an intense presence that is as stylish as Interpol but carries a sincerity and distinction not found in enough young acts. This band seems to have borrowed just enough from previous decades to build and shape something all its own. This Boston-based quartet approach new wave tendencies with a shield of spacey guitars and artistic vocal stylings to create something that is not soon forgotten. With high energy emanating out of a pensive sound, Junius punctures each track with unshakable singularity until it turns into something addictive and encompassing." - Exclaim! Magazine

"Blood is Bright showcases [Junius’] modern take on New Wave, with spacey guitars, looming vocals and enough originality to set them at the top of the game. The band has created strikingly original material while avoiding many of the trends of the current music scene, in turn bringing forth work that would make their influences proud." - Decoy Music

"With their latest release, Blood Is Bright, the Massachusetts quartet has produced a well-crafted EP that will surely grab attention from old fans, new fans, and those simply willing to put their blast-beats on hold for twenty minutes. If you enjoy intelligent music of all genres, then giving Blood Is Bright a couple listens will be well worth it." - Lambgoat.com

"[Junius] owe as much to instrumental post-rock as they do to the Goth acts of the eighties... The arrangements are unique and the sound is, at times, a perfect reproduction of that elusively cool eighties vibe." - Skyscraper Magazine

"They wear their brooding eighties swirling darkness on their sleeve, yet still manage to conjure something fresh, majestic and uplifting. The vocal drips onto a textured canvas of chiming echoed guitars and a throbbing backbeat reminiscent of Pornography-era Cure, with the bombastic crunch of My Bloody Valentine." - The Noise

"Take the darkness of The Cure’s best and mix it with the heaviness of A Perfect Circle and moodiness of Placebo... This fell into my lap at the right time." - Razorcake

"This album certainly might catapult them into the realm of the most revered bands in their genre." - Absolute Punk

Prophet 7;13 began with a 4-track and an artist by the name of J. Mikeal .G .  Originally from Los Angeles, California,  Mr. Mikeal created music, like many artists, as therapy to deal with an empathic heart and to curb his desire for the musical taste he wasn’t finding on the radio or in the record stores.

In the year 2000 J. Mikeal moved to Arizona where he formed a performing band who played with such acts as The Strand, Hardwire, Misociety (formerly Miso), and Cut Throat Freak Show. Although the music of Prophet 7;13 leans towards a more aggressive New Wave Metal sound, the band’s image and attitude seemed to attract the more Hardcore Industrial Metal crowd, which might be explained by the band’s appreciation for good gore and horror films.