Kowloon Walled City "Gambling on the Richter Scale" Out Now

The Perpetual Motion Machine is proud to announce the release of the debut full length from San Francisco-based sludge/noise-rock outfit Kowloon Walled City, entitled "Gambling on the Richter Scale," which is finally OUT NOW on vinyl LP + CD.

It is available for order in the PMM store and a free download of the entire album is available here.

Working on this release has been a hell of ride so far, and I couldn't be more stoked on working with this solid bunch of hardworking, talented, patient, social networking, ever enthusiastic dudes. I'm mighty proud of the album and all the work they've put into it and I hope people check out the release. This is bound to be one of the most bad-ass heavy releases this year, at least for me, giving all the heavy metal superstars a goddamn run for their money.

I want to thank everyone who pre-ordered and helped us get this thing underway. Your support was undeniably vital to the label and the release with this crazy summer of releases. I've been working non-stop over the past week, packing and shipping orders and shirts, so if you already pre-ordered, your record/cd/shirt is in the mail. If you haven't definitely consider picking it up, you won't be disappointed.

And if you live on left of coasts, venture out to see them play some pretty rad shows over the next two months:

10/1 San Francisco, CA @ DNA Lounge w/ Kylesa, Saviours, Bison B.C.
10/8 Chico, CA @ Cafe Coda w/ Prize Country, The Makai, La Fin du Monde
10/9 Eugene, OR @ Oak St. Speakeasy w/ Last Empire, Lucika
10/10 Portland, OR @ The Know w/ Book of Belial, Elitist, Ritual Necromancy
10/23 San Francisco, CA @ Annie's Social Club w/ Madraso, Lucika
11/17 San Francisco, CA @ The Knockout w/ City Of Ships
11/18 Santa Rosa, CA @ TBA w/ Litany For The Whale

Download the entire album for free here
Order the LP+CD from the PMM Store

Kowloon Walled City LP+CD Ready to ship!

Everything for the Kowloon Walled City "Gambling on the Richter Scale" LP+CD is finished and ready to ship! I've been busy packing orders all weekend and will start shipping them out tomorrow. The preorder response for this release has been unbelievable and kind of overwhelming, so it will take me a couple days to get everything shipped out, but fear not, it will be worth the wait. So thanks so much to everyone that preordered this!

For those that haven't checked it out, I encourage you to do so. This is one of the best heavy records I've heard in quite some time and a solid, pissed off, noisy, pummeling listen from start to finish. We'll be putting up a free download of the album soon for the non-believers.

Stores and distros will be able to get copies next week from Revolver and Ebullition.

Upcoming KWC shows:
10/1 San Francisco, CA @ DNA Lounge w/ Kylesa, Saviours, Bison B.C.
10/8 Chico, CA @ Cafe Coda w/ Prize Country, The Makai, La Fin du Monde
10/9 Eugene, OR @ Oak St. Speakeasy w/ Last Empire, Lucika
10/23 San Francisco, CA @ Annie's Social Club w/ Madraso, Lucika
11/17 San Francisco, CA @ The Knockout w/ City Of Ships
11/18 Santa Rosa, CA @ TBA w/ Litany For The Whale

Order LP+CD from The Perpetual Motion Machine
Preview 2 songs on KWC's website

Kowloon Walled City LP Update

Kowloon Walled City kept themselves busy this weekend screen-printing 500 cd sleeves to be included with their upcoming LP. These will enclose the cd and will be inserted in the LP jackets.

If you haven't had a chance to pre-order the shirt package and want one, I suggest doing so now, as I will be ordering shirts in the next day or two. Everything will be shipping from the plant shortly and I hope to start shipping orders around September 21.

Pre-order the LP+CD
Pre-order the LP+CD with Shirt
Stream songs from the album

Kowloon Walled City "Gambling on the Richter Scale" LP+CD Preorders

I'm now taking preorders for the upcoming KOWLOON WALLED CITY full length LP+CD, entitled Gambling on the Richter Scale, which is due out September 29 on The Perpetual Motion Machine.

On Gambling on the Richter Scale, their first full-length, San Francisco's KOWLOON WALLED CITY add a touch of finesse to the grinding pummel introduced on last year’s Turk Street EP, which drew comparisons to Neurosis, The Melvins and other low-end explorers, from the ‘90s AmRep roster to the current crop of sludgecore contenders. Their eight song full length was recorded in April-May 2009 by guitarist Scott Evans and mastered by Greg Thompson.

Limited to 500 copies, the LP is available in two color variations, clear (limited to 300) and black/silver mix (limited to 200). All copies come packaged in heavy, full color jackets and include a CD version, packaged in a separate silkscreened sleeve.

As with the last couple PMM preorders, I'm doing a run of limited edition shirts to accompany preorders. The shirt design, which features an image of earthquake thrust planes will come with white ink printed on charcoal grey, ultra-comfy cotton Next Level shirts (comparable to American Apparel shirts). I've also got a few copies of their Turk Street 10" EP in the store, so make sure to grab one if you don't have it (you can download it for free here). Preorders will begin shipping in late September.

Preorder Kowloon Walled City LP+CD here
Preorder Kowloon Walled City LP+CD and Shirt here
Stream 2 songs from the album here

The Catalyst Album Stream & Kowloon Walled City LP Preview

ScenePointBlank.com have been kind enough to host an exclusive full album stream of The Catalyst's new LP/CD, "Swallow Your Teeth" which came out yesterday. They are also offering a giveaway contest with the chance to win copies of PMM's three new vinyl releases.

Stream The Catalyst's "Swallow Your Teeth" here
Enter giveaway contest here
Order here



Also, some other good news! San Francisco's Kowloon Walled City have finished artwork and mastering for their upcoming beast of an album, "Gambling On The Richter Scale," which is due out September 29th on The Perpetual Motion Machine. They have just posted a streaming audio player with two tracks from the upcoming LP+CD on their website.

Stream 2 tracks from "Gambling On The Richter Scale" here

Ancient Sky LPs and The Catalyst LPs are here!

The vinyl for THE CATALYST "Swallow Your Teeth" LP and ANCIENT SKY "s/t LP has arrived from the plant and boy did they turned out amazing! If you pre-ordered, your order will be shipping out in the next couple days. If not, please do your self a favor and head over to the PMM Online Store to grab some copies. I've still got copies of all of the color variations and a few t-shirt packages still available for order, though they won't last long. Both of these will be in stores this coming Monday, August 3rd and are available from the bands on their tours this month (see dates to the right).

And here's the pressing details again:

The Catalyst "Swallow Your Teeth" LP:
300 Bloody Mary Red / Black Mix
300 Grimace Purple
400 Black
Comes packaged in a full color jacket with full color printed inner sleeve.

Ancient Sky "s/t" LP:
300 White
300 Clear/Pink Mix
400 Black
Comes packages in a full color jacket with b&w printed inner sleeve.

Order now from The Perpetual Motion Machine
Stream Ancient Sky's album for free here

The Catalyst "Swallow Your Teeth" LP/CD & Ancient Sky "s/t" LP Out August 3rd, Now Available for Preorder

THE CATALYST "Swallow Your Teeth" LP/CD/SHIRTS Now Available for Preorder

After nearly seven years and numerous mind-bending demos, eps and splits, and a litany of tours criss-crossing the United States and Europe, Richmond, Virginia’s best kept secret THE CATALYST offer up their first full length album, "Swallow Your Teeth", a noisy, mathy, spacey, heavy, feedback-soaked behemoth of sonic destruction. Still channeling a wide range of hardcore, punk, grunge, noise rock, and sludge influences and not afraid to show their love for NIRVANA, FUGAZI, SONIC YOUTH, THE JESUS LIZARD, BORN AGAINST and most of the AMPHETAMINE REPTILE back catalog, "Swallow Your Teeth" displays the band’s creative prowess and power fully matured and realized.

Swallow Your Teeth was recorded and mixed in May 2009 by Steve Roche (Off Minor) and mastered by Carl Saff (Young Widows). Painter and friend Raymond Klecker, who did the artwork for the band’s Marianas Trench EP, created cover artwork for the album.

Tracklisting:
1. I Hate The Future (3:36)
2. Lars Ulrich's 1986 Funeral (2:18)
3. Assholier Than Thou (2:31)
4. Incidental Music (2:02)
5. Small Town Big Mouth (2:13)
6. Werewolves of Washington (6:40)
7. Japanese Maple (2:37)
8. Sterling is a Hole (2:41)
9. 42012 (4:40)
10. Too Big To Fail (3:19)
11. A Goodbye From The Catalyst, You Dog (5:33)

The CD/LP will be in stores August 3rd, but is now available for preorder. The LP comes packaged in a full color jacket with a full color inner sleeve and is available for order on three colorways:

300 Grimace Purple
300 Bloody Mary Red / Black Mix
400 Black

A t-shirt is being created exclusively for the preorder, with white ink printed on black Gildan Ultra Cotton shirts. Artwork for the shirt was created by upstart Richmond artist Eliza Childress.

This is a preorder, so they won't be shipped until the records/cds return from the plant in late July. If ordering other items, please note that everything will be shipped together when the records/cds are here. This is a split release with Sons of Vesta Records in Italy, so if you life in Europe please order from them.

PRE-ORDER NOW from The Perpetual Motion Machine
Preview tracks from the album on the band's myspace page



ANCIENT SKY "s/t" LP/SHIRTS Now Available for Preorder!

This is the first official release for Brooklyn-based, Virginia-natives ANCIENT SKY. Consisting of two pairs of close childhood friends with intertwining musical pasts, the group features current and former members of DARKEST HOUR, CITY OF CATERPILLAR, MAJORITY RULE, GHASTLY CITY SLEEP, VERSE EN COMA and YOU ARE THE DRUM, though they tread very different waters with ANCIENT SKY.

Largely influenced by classic psychedelic rock, the band isn't afraid to visit bizarre and far-out worlds with unique sounds and structures that walk the line between fierce and subtle, and occasionally flirt with epic-ness, making for an interesting mix of heavy, hypnotic rock with plenty of hooks and Americana subtleties. This 7-song collection of songs was laid to tape at Brooklyn's Seaside Lounge Studios in March 2009 with producer/engineer Mike Kutchman at the helm and was mastered by Paul Gold at Salt Mastering.

Tracklisting:
1. Guilt Is Universal (6:35)
2. Another Woman (6:43)
3. Full Light (6:40)
4. Away Not Home (5:24)
5. True Patron (4:07)
6. Temporary Resident (5:11)
7. Sink Back (5:43)

The record comes packaged in a full color jacket with a printed inner sleeve and full color labels with artwork by Garek Druss. There are 3 colorways available for order:

300 White
300 Clear w/ Pink Haze
400 Black

A special t-shirt is being created exclusively for the pre-order with artwork from the album cover, created by Garek Druss. These will come with brown ink printed on grey Gildan Ultra Cotton shirts.

This is a preorder, so they won't be shipped until the records return from the plant in late July. If ordering other items, please note that everything will be shipped together when the records are here. This is a split release with Sons of Vesta Records in Italy, so if you life in Europe please order from them.

PRE-ORDER NOW from The Perpetual Motion Machine
Preview tracks from the album on the band's myspace page

Thanks for reading.
-Paul / The Perpetual Motion Machine

Litany For The Whale 12"s are here!

The LITANY FOR THE WHALE "Dolores" 12" (PMM025) is finished and preorders started shipping this week. The vinyl came out amazing, with copies on white vinyl, coke bottle blue w/ black haze, and translucent red w/ black haze and the jackets/inserts turned out great too. Thanks to everyone that preordered! These are still available for order in the PMM Store and will be in stores/distros starting on Monday, July 13.

The band is now streaming a second track from the record on their myspace page and have posted preliminary routing for their October/November US tour, which includes a stop at Gainesville, FL's THE FEST 8. Don't miss these dudes!

Order now from THE PERPETUAL MOTION MACHINE

LITANY FOR THE WHALE Dolores 12" Available for Preorder!

I am proud and excited to say that LITANY FOR THE WHALE's Dolores 12" EP is now up in the PMM Store for preorder!

For a limited time, The Perpetual Motion Machine and MolSook are offering a special package deal during preorder season of Litany for the Whale's Dolores. The record comes out on July 13th, but if you order from either of us before then, you can get the white vinyl, along with both exclusive label colors for $30. After the record is out, the Red w/Black Haze will only be available seperately from PMM, as will be the Coke Bottle Blue w/ Black Haze from MolSook. Orders will begin shipping in early July.

On their debut EP, this four-piece exploit a gruffer take on heavy music, surrounding it with wailing feedback, darkened ambiance, and harmonious melodies. The end result is a chaotic and complex mix of hardcore, punk and metal elements, soaked with devastating levels of distortion, bass, and layered vocals. Their 23+ minute, 7-song EP was recorded at Prairie Sun Studios in Cotati, CA by Eric Leavell, with mastering handled by Carl Saff at Saff Mastering in Chicago, IL. Pressed on white vinyl with limited variations on coke bottle clear w/ black haze from MolSook and translucent red w/ black haze from The Perpetual Motion Machine. The record will come packaged in heavy, black and white jackets with beautiful artwork created by Chris Taylor (Pg99, Pygmy Lush).

To order from The Perpetual Motion Machine, CLICK HERE.
Preview a song from the EP on the band's myspace page

Also, look for LFTW on their West Coast tour with Brooklyn's ¡APESHIT! starting this weekend!

June, 19 - Oakland, CA @ The Yellow Room w/ Dark Castle, Spires
June, 20 -Richmond, CA @ Burnt Ramen w/ John Cota, Calculator, Mystery Dope
June, 21 -Santa Rosa, CA @ Ol’ Dick’s House, 870 Third St. w/ Apeshit
June, 22-Chico, CA @ Under Western Eyes
June, 23-Portland, OR @ The Know w/ The Erns
June, 24 -Portland, OR @ The Neve Campbell w/ Kidcrash, Shat
June, 25 -Olympia, WA @ 1001 State Ave. w/ TBA
June, 26 -Seattle, WA @ Shebang House w/ Degania
June, 27- Bainbridge, WA @ Backyard Show

SOUVENIR'S YOUNG AMERICA & CITY OF SHIPS 12" Repressed

I just finished repressing the excellent SOUVENIR'S YOUNG AMERICA / CITY OF SHIPS 12", which was issued early last year for a tour that the bands did together, but it has since sold out. With all the touring that City Of Ships are doing it made sense to keep this amazing record in print (and do it right this time, as it was a little rushed the first time around).

In my opinion, these are two of the more interesting underground bands running the gamut of post-hardcore, metal and experimental heavy music these days. SOUVENIR'S YOUNG AMERICA show a lot of growth since their Crucial Blast-released album An Ocean Without Water with two new dark instrumentals that meld heavy, doom-inspired soundscapes with a slow, western dirge. Florida natives and occasional Richmond residents, CITY OF SHIPS follow up their criminally under appreciated debut ep Live Free Or Don't with two more songs of effects-soaked, crunching, squealing, mathy, heavy rock.

This second pressing is limited to 175 copies, all on colored translucent marble vinyl; all are a bit different and unique from one another, though they've been lumped into three color ways. Packaged in two-color silkscreened covers with metallic gold ink and black ink on dark grey stock, inserts, free digital download card, a sealed poly bag and sticker on the front. Cover artwork by French artist, Arnaud Lounaeu.

Pressing information:
39 copies on translucent Dark Red marble
60 copies on translucent Black/Brown marble
76 copies on translucent Amber marble

ORDER NOW IN THE PMM STORE

For those in Europe, you can pick this up from CITY OF SHIPS, on tour from June 17 -August 2, sharing dates with Rosetta and Braveyoung. See dates on their Myspace page.

Update & sample tracks from upcoming releases!

A quick update on the upcoming summer releases...

The LITANY FOR THE WHALE Dolores 12" test presses have been approved by the band and those should be back from the plant in a few weeks, with an official release date set for July 13. Look for preordering information on here next week with mailorder-only vinyl colors, package deals, and some other goodies! For those on the west coast, make sure to check out LFTW on tour June 19-27 with Brooklyn's APESHIT (see dates to the right).

THE CATALYST and ANCIENT SKY full lengths are being sent off for production this week and both should be back from the plant at the end of July just in time for the bands to hit the road in late July and August. Both releases are scheduled for an August 3rd release date.

KOWLOON WALLED CITY have finished mixing their LP, entitled "Gambling On The Richter Scale" and are in the mastering stages. We're hoping to send that off for pressing in a few weeks, with a late August or early September release date.

Finally, I just finished repressing the SOUVENIR'S YOUNG AMERICA & CITY OF SHIPS Split 12", released last year in a limited edition of 300. The second pressing is limited to 200 with three variations of colored vinyl, silkscreened covers, and download cards. I'll be putting these up for sale in the PMM store next week or you can pick it up from COS on their massive 10-week world tour which is currently underway (see dates on their myspace).

Head over the the PMM Myspace page below to stream some tracks from these upcoming summer releases!

http://www.myspace.com/theperpetualmotionmachine

Litany For The Whale "Dolores" EP coming soon!

I'm unbelievably excited to announce that The Perpetual Motion Machine will be teaming up with Molsook Records to release the debut 12" EP from Santa Rosa, CA’s LITANY FOR THE WHALE. On their explosive debut release, Dolores, this four-piece exploit a gruffer take on heavy music, surrounding it with wailing feedback, darkened ambiance, and harmonious melodies. The end result is a chaotic and complex mix of hardcore, punk and metal elements, soaked with devastating levels of distortion, bass, and layered vocals.

Though relatively new, LFTW have more than proven themselves over the past year, logging several tours independently and alongside Pygmy Lush, Tideland, and Ghastly City Sleep. The band will hit the road again this summer, sharing west coast tours alongside iApeshit! and others, with plans for a full US tour in early fall 2009.

Their 23+ minute, 7-song EP was recorded at Prairie Sun Studios in Cotati, CA by Eric Leavell, with mastering handled by Carl Saff at Saff Mastering in Chicago, IL.

Currently in production for an early summer release, "Dolores" will be pressed on white vinyl with limited color variations for mailorder on coke bottle clear w/ black haze from MolSook and translucent red w/ black haze from The Perpetual Motion Machine. The record will come packaged in heavy, black and white jackets with beautiful artwork created by Chris Taylor (Pg99, Pygmy Lush). A CD version is expected later in the summer on Boston, MA's Teenage Disco Bloodbath Records.

Ordering information will be posted in the coming weeks. In the meantime, check out a song from the 12" on LFTW's myspace page below.

http://www.myspace.com/litanyforthewhale
http://www.theperpetualmotionmachine.com
http://www.molsookrecords.net

KWC in the press

Kowloon Walled City have been gaining quite a bit of attention in the blogosphere lately. Here's a nice mention from earlier this week in San Francisco's East Bay Express, who have listed them as one of ten Bay Area bands to watch out for this summer:

It only took a three-song demo to get the online metal community gushing about Kowloon Walled City, and a couple more songs on its 2008 Turk Street EP to get the likes of Guitar World, Thrasher Magazine, and the San Francisco Chronicle to follow suit, and for Noise Pop to handpick them as the only heavy Bay Area band to play this year's festival. Yes, they're that good. Channeling the theme of urban decay, Kowloon Walled City (named after the Chinese enclave in British Hong Kong that became known for its squalid, anarchic conditions) balances mid-tempo, two-note sludge awesomeness with heady hardcore influences like Unsane and Cavity. Scott Evans' vocal-chord-ripped screaming nicely complements the drop-tuned guitar and fuzz-bass concrete wall, but the band's sound isn't so harsh or dirty as to confine them to a crusty scene. Expect a debut full-length later this summer, and world domination shortly thereafter. (K.R.)

See some other nice recent KWC write-ups at:
MetalSucks.net
NoiseCreep.com

Kowloon Walled City are currently in the studio, wrapping up their full length for release on PMM later this summer. Check out the PMM Online Store to order their debut Turk Street 10" EP.

The Catalyst announce details about upcoming full length

The Catalyst have just announced some details on their upcoming full length, the long-awaited follow-up to last year's "Marianas Trench + 9" collection CD, for release on LP/CD on The Perpetual Motion Machine (US) and Sons of Vesta (Europe) later this summer.

After much debate, the band has settled on calling it "SWALLOW YOUR TEETH." Artwork will be done by Raymond Klecker, who did the cover for the "Marianas Trench" ep. The band will be recording May 8th-15th with Steve Roche (Off Minor) at Permanent Hearing Damage in Philadelphia. Probable tracklisting is as follows:

1) i hate the future
2) lars ulrich's 1986 funeral (it should have been you)
3) small town, big mouth
4) assholier than thou
5) werewolves of washington
6) japanese maple
7) sterling is a hole
8) ___________
9) too big to fail
10) four twenty twelve
11) a goodbye kiss from the catalyst, you dog

Additionally, the band has started booking a US tour for this summer from 7/23 - 8/21. They'll be going as far west as Austin, TX. To help book a show, please get in touch with the band.

Look for more details soon here and on their myspace at:
http://www.myspace.com/thecatalyst

Ancient Sky to release album on The Perpetual Motion Machine & Sons of Vesta

I'm honored and proud to welcome Ancient Sky to the Perpetual Motion Machine family. This relatively new Brooklyn-based band features members of Majority Rule, Ghastly City Sleep, Darkest Hour, Verse En Coma, and You Are The Drum, among others.

The band just completed recording their debut seven song full length at the Seaside Lounge Studio in Brooklyn and are handing it off to Paul Gold (Fucked Up, Animal Collective) for mastering. Describing the band, friend and engineer Mike Kutchmen says "Largely influenced by classic psychedelic rock, the band isn't afraid to visit bizarre and far-out worlds with unique sounds and structures that walk the line between fierce and subtle, and occasionally flirt with epic-ness. Guitarist/vocalist Brian Markham's words are unapologetic, introspective and honest, adding an earthly icing to their spacey cake."

Ancient Sky's self-titled full length is set to be released on LP and CD this summer on The Perpetual Motion Machine in the US and on Sons of Vesta Records in Europe. The band will be touring the US in August with select shows around NY throughout the summer. Additional details and sample tracks to follow soon.

In the meantime, preview some tracks from the band's demo on their myspace page:
http://myspace.com/ancientskyband

Kowloon Walled City to release full length on The Perpetual Motion Machine

On the heels of last year's well-received Turk Street 10"/CDEP, San Francisco's Kowloon Walled City will begin recording a full-length this week, for release on The Perpetual Motion Machine this summer.

Turk Street's downtuned, post-hardcore sludge garnered positive reviews in magazines like Thrasher and Terrorizer, along with plenty of blogosphere hype. For this follow-up, as of yet unnamed, the group will once again set up shop in their rehearsal space in San Francisco for a few weeks of recording. Ever the archivists, they'll be blogging the process at their website inthewalledcity.com. Expect a street date late this summer.

In the meantime, do yourself a favor and check out KWC's five song debut Turk Street, available for free download and purchase at:

http://inthewalledcity.com
http://myspace.com/kowloonwalledcity

The Catalyst reviewed in Skyscraper

The Catalyst got a nice review of their "Marianas Trench+9" CD in the newest issue of Skyscraper, issue # 30:

The first song on the Marianas Trench EP, initially released back in 2007, is entitled “This Bike is a Gravity Bong,” a phrase which some readers may recognize from the Richmond, Virginia, band’s red-and-black stickers that have been plastered on so many amps and bikes around the country. A few weeks ago when I slept on their couch, I noticed that the gravity bong in their living room, which is utilized at any hour of the day by various members of the household, has that same sticker on it only it says “This Gravity Bong Is a Gravity Bong.” And in a way, that sums up The Catalyst’s sound. Although much heavier at times than a lot of what people think of as stoner rock, they still follow in the footsteps of pothead rockers such as Pantera and the Melvins. In addition, two of the songs seem to take cue from Fugazi, with Joe Lally-style bass lines and spazzy guitars which then turn into heavy riffs of power cords. Live, the band sports two drummers and a powerfully loud wall of sound. I would definitely recommend The Catalyst to anyone into the heavier, grungier, stonier side of music. For this remastered CD edition, songs from a pair of out-of-print splits have been compiled with the originally four-song Marianas Trench 12-inch EP, making this disc a pretty succinct introduction to this hard rockin’ punk band. (John Vogel)

New Blog & Online Store

Long time with no updates. No worries. There's a lot going on with Perpetual Motion Machine and several projects in the works.

I've decided to switch over to a blog format for news and more frequent updates on the label and bands. I've also built a new web store. Check it out for a bunch of deals on older releases and some sweet new distro items.

Check in later this week for updates on new bands and upcoming releases for this summer!