Social Distortion has gone back into the studio to finish work on their new album after finishing writing last month. Frontman Mike Ness posted updates on the progress as well as some hints about how the record may sound:

Going back to finish the album after a month of more writing. I love this record and can’t wait to hit the stage with new songs. This album is a blend of Rolling Stones, Ramones, Hank Williams and Johnny Thunders… STOKED!

The band recently signed to Epitaph Records who will release the album in the fall. The record is the first studio release from the long-running band since 2004’s Sex, Love and Rock ‘n’ Roll in 2004. The band will spend the summer on the road with Dan Sartain and The Action Design. Those shows kick off late next month.
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Metalcore outfit The Ghost Inside have posted their video for “Unspoken.”

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Riverdales have posted two songs from their upcoming album, Tarantula. It’s expected in July. The new album is the follow up to 2009’s Invasion, USA which was itself the first record after a six year gap. The album was originally scheduled for a release on Recess Records, but the band is now saying that the label is “to be announced.” The band also spoke o Reax Music about the record who said this about the sound:

This album is a bit more “hardcore” due to the use of two guitars and will feature 80’s style guitar solos.

Check out the music and the full interview here.
Source Continue reading The Riverdales: “Bad Seed Baby” →

Green Day‘s new entry into the Rock Band series was given a first review by Joystiq. Along with some mixed opinions about the band itself, the review talks about the mechanics and other details:

It’s not like I have a problem with them, they’re a pretty good band. But they’re following the freaking Beatles. Not only do those guys have a ton of amazing, really different songs, pretty much everybody loves them. When I told people I was going to an all-Beatles Concertition, everybody wanted in, even my mother-in-law. Who wants to listen to six hours of Green Day?

They’ve got pretty much every Green Day song mainstream fans would ever wanna hear. […] They’ve got like … three different venues. Everybody who does well gets a bunch of pictures and stuff, and if you can do good for a few songs in a row you can get some performance videos and interviews. It’s awesome fan service.

Check out the review here. The game is due out today, June 8, 2010. As we noted earlier, the game includes music from the band’s major label records: Dookie, Insomniac, Nimrod, Warning, American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown. The band was not able to produce the digital masters needs for their earlier, independent albums: 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hour and Kerplunk!, neither record contributes anything to the game. .
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Frank Turner has posted a blog entry about his recent trip to Israel and his thoughts on the boycotts which include The Pixies, Gorillaz, Elvis Costello and more. An excerpt from his comments:

For what it’s worth, I think the basic problem of two competing nationalisms claiming the same territory is a thorny one. I think Israel has a real problem in that its leadership schooled itself in an era of genuine existential threats (1967, 1973, to say nothing of the Holocaust) but is applying that mindset to a fundamentally different reality with a different balance of power. I think the Palestinians are suffering, but I think too many people are too quick to overlook what an awful bunch of shits Hamas are.

It’s not at all clear to me that, even if I did unconditionally condemn the Israeli government (which I don’t), I shouldn’t play shows there. The shows were organized by private citizens without any state involvement, and I’m not in the habit of judging individuals by the actions of their government. We in the UK and the USA, after all, have the Iraq war and occupation hanging over our collective heads. Of course I’m aware that some artists are boycotting Israel, as is their right; however it seems morally duplicitous to me to boycott Israel and not (say) the USA. Maybe big artists can afford to boycott one small state for the sake of some media grandstanding, and not the other, their main cashcow?

Later this summer, Turner will be opening for Green Day and Gaslight Anthem on shows in the US and UK. He released his Epitaph Records debut, Poetry of the Deed, in 2009.
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Legendary new wave/punk pioneers Devo have been confirmed for an appearance in a forthcoming episode of Futurama. The episode will see DEVO campaign for mutant rights in the series’ 100th episode special. According to the press release, the members of DEVO have mutated over the years and vocalist Mark Mothersbaugh helps out with their campaign for equality.

The show is returning with new episodes on June 24th after being cancelled in 2003. In the interim, a series of DVD movies were released which led to the upcoming new season. Due to the setting in the future, the show has had relatively less guests compared to The Simpsons, but previous musical visitors include the Beastie Boys, Coolio and Beck as well as the disembodied heads of people like Leonard Nimoy and Al Gore.
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Tera Melos have posted a trailer in anticipation of their upcoming album. The band also posted a lengthy, all-caps note about the record:

As previously mentioned, our new record is finished. Artwork just got completed the other day. It sounds and looks awesome. No band will ever tell you that their favorite record was their first, or anything that came before their present body of work, hence, our new album is our favorite/the best piece of art Tera Melos has produced. […] In any case, this is the first fully realized, focused record we have made. Everything sounds intentional and the way we wanted it to sound. There are no cringe moments for us. In a lot of ways we look at it like it’s our first album. It is 100% honest and not catered towards anyone. It’s tricky making a record that way, it’s even trickier structuring a band that way.

Find the trailer here and the blog post on Tumblr.
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Unartig has launched a retrospective looking back at the long-running Brooklyn-based hardcore/punk outfit Yuppicide. The band, first formed in 1988 and continued for more than a decade before splitting up in 1999. They then reformed and have been performing occasionally and have two shows in July. The Unartig feature includes video, interviews and words by Don Fury, Wreckage’s Pavlos and four members of Yuppicide.

Check out the entire feature here.
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We’ve posted some new reviews. You can check them out below:

• Against Me! – White Crosses
• Down to Nothing – All My Sons 7″ EP
• Native / This Town Needs Guns – live in Brooklyn
• Maker – I-91 7″ EP
• Purple Mercy – Purple Mercy 12″
• Overstand – Razors Edge/Kali Yuga [compilation]
• The Brass – Demo EP
• All Through a Life – Cities Become Ideals 7″ EP
• The Cherry Poppin’ Daddies – Zoot Suit Riot [compilation]
• Black Flag – Live DVD

You can check out any of our 9346 reviews right here.
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Hot Hot Heat has posted the new video from their imminent new album, Future Breeds. The record is the Vancouver quartet’s first album for Dangerbird Records and the album is set for release on June 8, 2010. It is the follow up to their two major label albums: 2007’s Happiness Ltd. and 2005’s Elevator.

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Syracuse, NY pop-punk outfit Mayflower will soon embark on a fortnight of east coast dates in support of their upcoming full-length for Kiss of Death, Second Best Sunsets.

If you’ve yet to hear Second Best Sunsets, it’s currently streaming at the band’s Punknews.org page.
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