Oakland punk supergroup KICKER, who feature within its ranks members of Filth, Dystopia and Neurosis with infamous veteran road dog, Pete the Roadie, on vocals, will kick off a short rash of North American live assaults this week. Set to inaugurate on September 20th at Brooklyn’s Burning Fest, KICKER will hammer their way through Philadelphia, Richmond, Washington DC, Pittsburgh, Toronto and Montreal before coming full-circle with a second stop in Brooklyn on September 27th. The trek marks the band’s first time on East Coast soil. KICKER will be joined by the UK’s Hard Skin on select dates.  

Magic Bullet Records has locked a killer, two-band split 7″ for October release, marking the debuts of two fairly new names to the scene — Richmond, Virginia’s BLEACH EVERYTHING and Los Angeles, California’s VORS — both of which include some very not new names to the scene. Confused? Allow us to delve… after this break!  

Sumthing Else Music Works, the premier record label dedicated to licensing and distributing video game soundtracks, is proud to present Borderlands®: The Pre-Sequel™ Soundtrack featuring the original music score from the newest entry in the critically acclaimed Borderlands franchise. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel Soundtrack will be available digitally on iTunes, Amazon.com, Sumthing.com and all major music streaming sites on September 30, followed by a 2-disc CD album on October 14.    

Prepare for the biggest Spider-Man event of all-time as every Spider-Man from every universe unites to stop a threat that could spell extinction for their kind! Today, Marvel is proud to present your first look at EDGE OF SPIDER-VERSE #5 – the final chapter in the blockbuster 5-issue mini-series showcasing different Spider-Men (and women) of the Spider-Verse! Eisner Award-winning writer Gerard Way (Umbrella Academy) makes his Marvel debut alongside rising star artist Jake Wyatt for a Spider-Man tale unlike any other!  

Following recent news of the upcoming XV DVD, documenting fifteen years of incredible psychedelic doom from Italian trio, UFOMAMMUT, a clip of the ninety-minute documentary on the band, their equipment, friends which consumes just one part of the DVD has been posted. The exposé includes several minutes of interrogations with all three of the members and some brief live footage sampled from XV, and is viewable now at THIS LOCATION.  

The breakout comic book characters of the year are taking over the covers of your favorite Marvel titles this November! That’s right True Believer, ROCKET RACCOON & GROOT VARIANTS are coming, featuring some of the best and brightest talents in the industry! Not only will you get to see so many great artists putting their own spin on Rocket & Groot, but 20 of your favorite Marvel comics will feature these one-of-a-kind variants depicting some of the most classic of covers!  

Dutch death/thrash metal veterans THANATOS will release their brand new studio album, Global Purification, on November 17th in Europe and November 18th in North America (digital only) via Century Media Records. With Stephan Gebédi’s (guitar, vocals) and Paul Baayens’ (guitars) duties with their other bands – HAIL OF BULLETS and ASPHYX – it has become a bit quiet around Netherland’s longest running extreme metal band. But 2014 marks THANATOS’ 30th anniversary and their return to full power.  

Kingdom of Worms, the highly anticipated new album from German Death Metal juggernaut DESERTED FEAR, will be released October 24 through FDA Rekotz. The vinyl LP version will be released on November 21.  

FDA Rekotz will unleash Tod & Teufel from German Death Metal Horde ARROGANZ on November 11. The group’s third album is death metal that is catchy and classic, brutal and contemporary Death Metal all rolled up into one mammoth package of sheer audio bliss. Listeners can expect a harrowing descent into ARROGANZ‘s morbid underworld!  

Austin, TX Blackened Death Metallers WHORE OF BETHLEHEM released Upon Judas’ Throne earlier this year and the flames continue their blasphemous dance.  

If you aren’t familiar with Image’s Hack/Slash, do yourself a favor and get familiar asap. Tim Seeley’s original series is a surprisingly smart horror comic and an absolute gem of a read. Up there with the likes of Spawn, Dark Horse’s B.P.R.D and IDW’s 30 Days of Night, Hack/Slash is exactly what you think it is and thankfully a hell of a lot more than that too. What I’m saying is that this is a title known for being everything you think it is: gory, action packed, shocking, as well as supremely smart and emotional. Now, what we have here is a new ongoing, not written but overseen by Seeley. Does Son of Samhain stand up? Or does it fall short of delivering on the promise that title makes?  

In light of the recent success and critical acclaim received for their second full-length album, Woodfall, MUSK OX has announced the release of the official Woodfall guitar book.