Tucson-based punk act Awful Truth has come into some public controversy over their decision to use the photo of a recently slain police officer on their album cover. According to the Arizona Daily Star, police are condemning the use of the image and note that it is a violation of copyright to use this image in this context:

It’s a violation of copyright, and we have not, and would not, give permission for this photo to be used in any way. We have communicated with the band to take the necessary steps to get the image removed from sites that display and sell it.

Awful Truth singer David Stine said the album was put out in December. Its cover was meant to be “dark humor,” he said. The police responded:

What part of an officer giving his life is humorous? I ask for the community’s support in recognizing this is an absolute disgrace to Officer Hite, who gave his life defending our community While they may have certain beliefs that they want to express, the venue in which they expressed it is disgusting, and I’m outraged.

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Australia’s Parkway Drive have announced a tour of China beginning in February. The band released Horizons in 2007 via Epitaph.

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Bloc Party have added many more dates to their international tour in support of Intimacy.

The band will be hitting dates in the UK, Europe, Canada and the United States.

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The Decemberists have launched a free download of their new track, “The Rake’s Song.” The song comes from the band’s ambitious new album. The record is titled Hazards of Love and is due out March 24, 2009.

The band has noted that the record is a “17-song suite that demands to be listened to from start to finish and reveals more with each subsequent play. It is rooted in ancient language and imagery, yet entirely modern and accessible.”

You can find the download here.
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The Swellers have begun blogging the recording process of their forthcoming album. The band is keeping track of their progress via the myspace blog and have also shot some studio videos.

Check out the first entry here.

The band released My Everest in 2007.
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The Riverfront Times has an interesting look back at the early punk and hardcore scenes of Springfield, Missouri from the early 1990s. The article talks about Born Against’s first visit to the city which led to conflict with white power thugs as well as the gradual evolution of the punk scene in the Ozarks. The article also points to ozarkpunkrock, a blog which looks at the local scene and posts free music rooted in the city.

Check out the article here.
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Past Lives, the new band from Jordan Blilie of The Blood Brothers have announced some tour dates surrounding their upcoming appearance at SXSW.

Punknews.org ran an interview with the band shortly after their debut release, Strange Symmetry.

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Aiden has begun work on their next full length for Victory Records. Frontman William Francis had this to say:

I am up at Sleepy Hollow making last minute preparations for the recording session slated to begin tomorrow. I have spent the last week here morning, noon and night getting everything ready. I cannot tell you all how excited I am to get into it. We have been rehearsing and playing the fuck out of these new tunes. This will be the first Aiden record that I officially produce myself. I am super pumped about it. We have enlisted our friend Justin Armstrong to help engineer and mix.

They released Conviction in 2007.
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NOFX has announced plans to release their Fuse.TV television series, Backstage Passport on DVD. The show aired on the network last Spring and followed the band on a world tour. With the release of the DVD, the program will finally be available to many of the countries that NOFX visited on the tour.

Fat Wreck Chords has announced that the DVD edition will feature all eight televised episodes as well as two hours of bonus footage which was cut from the final show. The DVD drops March 17, 2009.

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On the heels of the news that Bob Nanna and Damon Atkinson of Hey Mercedes had regrouped comes some more information about the new project.

According to some research from Thinksphere.org, the new band is titled Certain People I Know and the band will be making their live debut on February 19th at the Beat Kitchen in Chicago, IL. The band only has a Facebook Group currently, but Bob is promising some new music soon.
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Animal Collective have a full stream of their upcoming album. The record is titled Merriweather Post Pavilion and is due out January 20, 2009. It is the follow-up to Strawberry Jam which was released in 2007.

If you’re in the US, check out the album via Rhapsody.
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Morrissey has premiered the new video from his forthcoming album. The record is titled Years of Refusal and is due out February 17, 2009.

Source Continue reading Morrissey: “I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris” →

Dates have been announced for the upcoming tour featuring Lamb of God and supported by As I Lay Dying and Children of Bodom. The opening slot will alternatively feature God Forbid and Municipal Waste.

Source Continue reading Lamb of God / As I Lay Dying / Children of Bodom / Municipal Waste / God Forbid →