Well, it's been a while since the last update and the new year snuck up on us fast. We want to rebuild this site, but continuing it's uninterrupted operation is more important. So here it is, stripped down as usual, alphabetical as usual, and lengthy as usual. If you only care about 1 or 2 bands, you can use these hotlinks to find out the news on your personal favorite(s) but we hope you like more than just 1 or 2... A Life Once Lost - Capsule - Circle Takes The Square - Crowpath - Cursive - Daughters - Ed Gein - Grails - Isis - Kayo Dot - Magrudergrind - The Minor Times - Pageninetynine + Pygmy Lush & Verse En Coma - Pink Razors - The Red Chord - Red Sparowes - Shitstorm - Stop It!! - Torche - Ultra Dolphins Also, before we dive into the bulk of it, let it be known that our Online Store is updated multiple times a week and we're quite on the ball with all of that overall. Our tour dates page, however, is weak sauce. For now, you're best off monitoring the bands' websites or Myspace page to see all their live dates, and this is highly encouraged! Look for the and icons below each band photo for links to said pages, maybe trying Myspace first as most bands seem to update those most frequently nowadays.
A LIFE ONCE LOST (photo: Return To The Pit)	Philadelphia's A Life Once Lost continue to tour like the maniacs that they truly are, having just returned home from a massive string of excursions with the likes of As I Lay Dying, The Dillinger Escape Plane, Every Time I Die, Madball, Norma Jean, Unearth, Zao and more. Barely catching their breath, the group will head out again in Feb/March to pummel the US alongside Darkest Hour, Himsa, Dead To Fall and others. Their Ferret debut, Hunter, has received critical acclaim across the board and is available in our Online Store along with their entire available back-catalog on Robotic Empire, including deluxe reissues of the groundbreaking The Fourth Plague: Flies CDep and Open Your Mouth For The Speechless CD debut. Click here to see all items for sale from A Life Once Lost.
CAPSULE	Miami's Capsule are gearing up for their first official release, and simultaneously kick-starting what will be a series of limited cassette releases on Robotic Empire this year. Some amazing bands have been lined up for the series, and we'll have more details on all of that soon... but in the meantime we suggest checking out some newly mastered tracks from Capsule's debut cassette here or here. These are the first and last songs on the tape, combining the 7 demo songs with 3 brand new ones for an awesome and powerful 20-minute ride. They will be on the road this spring, then recording their debut full-length at Southern Noise studios (Torche, Shitstorm, etc.) later this year, but we plan to tease you with this limited tape release in the meantime. It should be available in the coming weeks, so click here to see all cassette items for sale in our Online Store to monitor its upcoming availability.
CIRCLE TAKES THE SQUARE (photo: Return To The Pit)	Savannah's Circle Takes The Square are gearing up to hit the road once again this Feb/March, this time on a full-US tour with Boston's Junius. The band has been busy these past months, acquiring a new drummer and playing recent shows with everyone from Ampere and Gospel to The Blood Brothers and Thursday. They have launched a new merchandise website so folks can obtain all those t-shirts you can't download and will be re-releasing their demo EP sometime soon on Hyperrealist. We definitely plan to carry it upon it's release, but until then you can click here to see all items for sale from Circle Takes The Square.
CROWPATH	Sweden's Crowpath have just released their sophomore full-length Son of Sulfer on Willowtip and the thing simply shreds. They are hoping to finally journey to US soil in 2006, but in the meantime the new album, along with the debut full-length, Red on Chrome, on Willowtip and collections disc, Old Cuts and Blunt Knives, on Robotic Empire can be found in our Online Store. Click here to see all items for sale from Crowpath.
CURSIVE (photo: Hidetomo Hirayama)	Omaha's Cursive have finally emerged their long slumber to rock us once again. A member's departure and Japanese tour later, they are stronger than ever and have recorded a new track for Saddle Creek's awesome Hurricane Katrina benefit CD. We definitely encourage you to check it out here, as it is the only way to hear new Cursive material along with the two post-The Ugly Organ songs we released on the limited picture disc 10". Some copies do still remain, and you can click here to see all items for sale from Cursive.
DAUGHTERS (photo: Return To The Pit)	Providence's Daughters are still hunkered down, writing new material for their Hydra Head debut. The new songs they played at the Neurot/Robotic Empire CMJ Showcase back in September blew us all away, as the album shapes up to be a diverse (and lengthier) masterpiece. We're proud of these guys and can't wait to hear how wonderfully fucked up the finished product will be, but the Canada Songs debut is still beyond unrelenting and anyone who hasn't heard it yet is obviously living under a rock. Just in case though, click here to see all items for sale from Daughters.
ED GEIN (photo: Return To The Pit)	Syracuse's Ed Gein recently returned home from some heroic US touring and have released a pummeling and innovative first album Judas Goats and Diesel Eaters on Blackmarket Activities. It's a very different beast than the phenomenal It's A Shame... EP, but still retains the unrelenting tech/metal glory they are best known for. Some of their rarest earlier material can be found on the Mutation compilation that we released a couple years back (along with some killer other tracks from The Minor Times, Tyranny of Shaw and more), so you can click here to see all items for sale from Ed Gein.
GRAILS	Portland's Grails are getting ready for a lengthy European tour this March, and we'll have the beautiful vinyl versions of their two Neurot full-lengths, The Burden Of Hope and Redlight, just in time. These are both in production now and of course we will have some stellar colored vinyl for you upon it's release, and we plan to have them both available in our Online Store prior to the official March 28th street date. Only 1000 copies of each LP are being made and they are both shaping up to be quite amazing. Per usual, there won't be pre-orders or any copies held, but if you join the mailing list on the Online Store page, you'll be the first to know when we have them ready. Their first material from the stunning Black Tar Prophecies sessions will be included on a split LP release with Red Sparowes that we will unleash a bit after the LPs' release, and we promise the split to be worth the wait. Until then, click here to see all items for sale from Grails.
ISIS	Los Angeles' Isis continue to write for their next full-length along with working on various live-related projects. A DVD is in now the long-running works along with more releases in the live CD series. Robotic Empire still has a few tricks up our sleeves as far as limited vinyl from Isis is concerned, but we won't divulge any more until the upcoming stuff is actually in production. Until then, it seems that Lumberjack has a few remaining copies of the House of Low Culture 2x7" we released years ago, but probably not for long. Click here to pick that up from them or click here to see all items for sale from Isis.
KAYO DOT	Boston's Kayo Dot have graced us with their sophomore album, Dowsing Anemone with Copper Tongue, and the thing turned out absolutely spectacular. Five tracks spanning 60+ minutes of some of the finest, most exploratory stuff ever created under the vast realms of metal and ambiance. The CD version hits stores and distros January 10th, and is available NOW in our Online Store. The vinyl version will go into production soon, and we promise this gatefold 2xLP will be worth the wait for the collectors out there. The band is hitting the road again in January so check their Myspace page for all the dates and info. A plethora of positive press in everywhere from Revolver and Decibel to Alternative Press and Thrasher aptly follow their wave of intense live performances across a seven-week, full-US tour this past fall; but such a powerful band is hard to capture in words and we implore you to pick up this incredible new full-length to truly hear the myriad glories that are Kayo Dot. Because these tracks are so vast in both substance and length, many different MP3 samples have been posted here, here and here... and we highly encourage you to click here to see all items for sale from Kayo Dot.
MAGRUDERGRIND	DC's Magrudergrind have had an insanely busy year with a plethora of splits, tours and a new compilation CD geniusly entitled Sixty-Two Trax of Thrash. It is a hellacious and appropriate prelude to the absolutely relentless split CD/LP release on Robotic Empire with Miami's brothers-in-grind Shitstorm. Both formats of this blistering split will drop everywhere on March 14th, but in the meantime we've posted 4 preview MP3s here to tease those grind-loving nerves. It's only small percentage of the brutality contained within this 24-track, 22-minute blasterpiece, with stunning/sickening new artwork from Baroness' almighty John Baizley. We really couldn't be happier with how this thing has shaped up and can't wait to unleash it upon the world! In the meantime, click here to see all items for sale from Magrudergrind.
THE MINOR TIMES	Philly's The Minor Times are hard at work on their first album for Prosthetic, recently acquiring a new guitarist and re-releasing Making Enemies on the label. Rare, early version of a few highlight tracks on said album can be found on our Mutation compilation alongside Ed Gein, Tyranny of Shaw and more. Click here to see all items for sale from The Minor Times.
PAGENINETYNINE + PYGMY LUSH & VERSE EN COMA (photo: Jeff Kane)	Sterling's PG.99 may be dead and gone as a band, but it doesn't mean their intense and passionate music won't live on. Our deluxe reissue of their Document #8 opus on both CD and LP formats saw the light this year to the open ears of fans both old and new. Arguably the finest 27 minutes of their much heralded existence are contained within this album (all meticulously re-mixed and re-mastered) and we're beyond proud to have it available again, as we've always felt that this is quite a pinnacle release for both the band and label. Both formats can be found now in our Online Store. The long-awaited and long-delayed DVD project has ground to a temporary halt as both the band members and label are focusing more on our current projects. We want this to be done right, and plan for it's eventual existence, but we won't hang you on a thread: it won't be done for a while. That being said, members' new bands, including Pygmy Lush and Verse En Coma, will have busy years in 2006 and we are extremely excited to help present their creations (amongst others...). Expectations will prove useless as both bands incorporate a wide variety of the music spectrum's foundations, with an exciting blend of variety and innovation... but we prefer to let the recordings speak for themselves once we have something to let you hear. Until then, click here to see all items for sale from Pageninetynine.
PINK RAZORS (photo: Chris Lacroix)	Richmond's Pink Razors are hitting the ground running this year with the January 10th release of their awesome debut album Waiting To Wash Up and a US tour right off the bat. The CD version is available now in our Online Store and the vinyl will enter production soon, with some preview MP3s available here and here. This release could be considered a departure of what the label typically releases, but we wouldn't take a stab at a pop-punk record if it wasn't really, really good stuff. This shit is immeasurably catchy, not too whiney or sappy, and has some intense and incredible songwriting and lyrics. It really is just a bad ass punk record, but because the songs get stuck so firmly in your head, we've got to stick with that dangerous "pop punk" tag for it. Don't be fooled though, this debut albums contains blisteringly fast stuff and should appeal to most fans of the label. Click here to see all items for sale from Pink Razors.
THE RED CHORD (photo: Return To The Pit)	Boston's The Red Chord upped the ante this year for their already insane tour history. Already gearing up for more traveling in 2006, this past year brought them around the globe with the likes of Agnostic Front, A Life Once Lost, Between The Buried and Me, Bury Your Dead, Converge, Darkest Hour, Hatebreed, Municipal Waste, Ringworm, and many more. They released their blistering sophomore album Clients on Metal Blade, saw the departure of longtime guitarist Kevin Rampelberg, filmed multiple videos, and still managed to pummel fans coast to coast and across the seas. Their debut album Fused Together In Revolving Doors on Robotic Empire remains as one of our most popular releases to date, and we encourage you to click here to see all items for sale from The Red Chord.
RED SPAROWES (photo: Return To The Pit)	Los Angeles' Red Sparowes are hard at work on the followup to their tremendous debut album At The Soundless Dawn, and have plans for a European tour this February. Only a couple hundred copies of the beautiful gatefold vinyl version of At The Soundless Dawn now remain, and we encourage you to pick it up now if you haven't already, as the split LP we released with Red Sparowes and Gregor Samsa sold out in a matter of days. Josh from Red Sparowes and Julie from Made Out of Babies also have an awesome new project going called Battle of Mice, and we like them a lot; you can check them out here. We are obviously quite excited to bring you the upcoming Red Sparowes / Grails split LP early in 2006, but until then you can click here to see all items for sale from Red Sparowes.
SHITSTORM	Miami's Shitstorm, formed by half of the almighty Torche (plus one scathing vocalist brother), got solid touring under their belts and recorded and released some awesome limited stuff in 2005. Starting of 2006 with a bang, the Magrudergrind/Shitstorm split CD/LP will hit the stores and distros on March 14th and both bands should be playing regional record release parties to do it up right. Until said event(s) go down though, we've posted 4 preview tracks from this split here. Once the ferocious split is available, you should click here to see all items for sale from Shitstorm.
STOP IT!! (photo: Chris Lacroix)	Richmond's Stop It!! actually played a reunion / "last" show this past October to benefit the Hurricane Katrina victims, and the response was overwhelming to say the least. The band extends a major thank-you to everyone who came, contributed, and to all the artists who played alongside them. You can also now hear one of the last tracks they recorded (during what originally intended as demo sessions for the sophomore album) on Exotic Fever's HIPS compilation CD, available now in our Online Store. It's a damn shame that they disbanded at their creative peak, but it's also possible that we haven't quite heard the last from Stop It!!... You can click here to see all items for sale from Stop It!!
TORCHE	Miami's Torche had an amazing first full year as a band, releasing their critically acclaimed Self Titled debut CD/LP and touring their asses off in support of it with the varied likes of Daughters, Doomriders, Coliseum, Kylesa, Municipal Waste, etc. Hailed from the pages of Spin, Decibel, Revolver and more as the heaviest thing to be heard in years, we're beyond excited about the future of this band with some incredible tours already unfolding for 2006... but we'll keep the suspense built for the time being as we don't want to jinx anything just yet. However, we are happy to inform you that the band has already written and recorded half of their sophomore album and will continue to write the rest of it this winter, with more touring planned for the spring. There is no stopping this monstrosity of a band, but in the sickening chance you haven't experienced their glory yet, you are obliged to click here to see all items for sale from Torche.
ULTRA DOLPHINS (photo: Scary)	Richmond/Philly/NY's Ultra Dolphins are one of the newest additions to the Robotic Empire family, even though we've been in cohorts with these three fine gents for many years now. Watching their evolution has been inspiring, and we're proud to announce that their collections CD, Why Are You Laugh, is now available directly from us in our Online Store. This intense six-song collection from older EP's material won't be available in stores and distros until March 14th, but we did a rush job on this jam for the band to have a CD available on their current tour of Europe with Richmond's Wow, Owls! We pity those who haven't heard this incredible, spastic "post hardcore" / "math rock" trio, so we've posted a MP3 sample from this collections disc both here and here to wet your whistle. The band will release their debut album with us later on in 2006, but in waiting you can click here to see all items for sale from Ultra Dolphins.
ROBOTIC EMPIRE	The label as a whole has experienced a lot of changes this past year and we're extremely excited about where we're headed. A lot of incredible music has come out, with plenty more constantly on the horizon... and we owe all of you a massive thank you for helping us do this. It wouldn't be possible without the press folk, mail order customers, or the people picking up stuff from our bands at shows or in stores; and while the media of music is constantly evolving and changing, we plan to move right along with it. Music, both independent and major, is being downloaded free of charge fairly widespread now, and while there are pay operations like iTunes going, a lot of people just use Soulseek, Bittorrent or whatever to get stuff for free. As a small record label, this can be frustrating and damaging, but it's just the way it goes. The new saying "you can't download t-shirts" is ringing true for us too, and as a result we'll be continuing to add more and more non-CD or LP merchandise to our Online Store. Some pretty killer artwork is being displayed on our new t-shirts, and it's hard not to be excited about all of this as well. So whether you download, buy, borrow or steal your music, we're still encouraging you to click here for all the shirts for sale from Robotic Empire. Thanks again for another fantastic year, and stay with us in 2006... it's gonna be a good one!
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