Full Album Stream: Howl: Bloodlines – new album

HOWL, generally referred to as Providence, Rhode Island riff manglers who get at times accused of “forging a nervous truce between the worlds of progressive sludgecore and metalcore” (more here), have their new album, ‘Bloodlines’, streamed in full here (Relapse Records' SoundCloud) as well as here (MetalSucks) and below. The band's sophomore full-length offering (in some circles described as “second full-length of molten metal filth”) was recorded at Planet Z studio in Hadley, Massachusetts, produced by Chris “Zeuss” Harris and offers beautiful artwork by Ryan Begley. ‘Bloodlines’ is due in Germany and Benelux tomorrow, April 26th, 2013, in the rest of Europe on April 29th, and in North America on April 30th through Relapse Records. Get your very own copy of this lead-footed audio menace here (Relapse Records store) or via Amazon:

“[Commented the band:] ‘Bloodlines’ is HOWL 2.0, HOWL on steroids - the bigger, heavier album. We took our signature sound and pushed it to the next level. This is a metal record influenced by doom, rather than vice versa. There’s more aggression, more extremes, it’s harder-hitting. Zeuss really helped us capture the sound we wanted, the way we truly sound. ‘Bloodlines’ is huge, brutal, monstrous:

HOWL was formed in 2006 in Providence, Rhode Island by vocalist & guitarist Vincent Hausman, guitarist Andrea Black, bassist Robert Icaza, and drummer Timmy St. Amour. They self-released an eponymous EP in 2008 which Relapse Records re-issued a year later:

After a fair amount of touring with the likes of KYLESA and TORCHE, HOWL recorded ‘Full Of Hell’ album which, issued in 2010, they dedicated to “all who were made to feel out of place, to those who were made to feel guilty about doing what they wanted, and to those who others called fags, weirdos, and losers”. AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia, who describes HOWL's music as “sludge with benefits”, noted:

“HOWL draw the bulk of their musical cues from the classic Southern sludgecore sound, but this 2010 debut sees that sound transformed into a much more agile, dynamic, and feral beast by the time its been dragged, roaring and clawing, across the Mason-Dixon line and beyond… HOWL can certainly challenge in this space, if not come away victorious.” [Read the rest of the review here:]

HOWL features: Vincent Hausman – guitar and vocals, Josh Durocher-Jones – guitar, Robert Icaza – bass and vocals and Timmy St. Amour - drums