RecaPitulation: Hermit Thrushes, Sourvein - And Lotsa Free MP3s

[Hermit Thrushes]

If Lamb of God were for some ungodly reason to lose lead guitarist Mark Morton, who might have the metal might to fill in his shoes? Perhaps Unearth’s Buz McGrath, you say? The brass ring goes to you for suggesting the musician who is stepping in for Morton on LOG’s remaining European dates, after the axe-wielding hellion went back to VA to be by the side of his companion for the birth of their first child. We’d venture to guess which names Morton might be considering, but we really don’t feel like getting our asses kicked on a Monday. …

You love MP3s. We love you. So here are some from the Sorely Trying Days, a highly listenable band - so long as you can take the word “bitch” in stride. They’re something of a post-punk/post-rock/screw-”post”-because-we’re-in-the-now collection that gives you even more reason to be excited about the early-’90s punk-rock revolution that seems to be spreading like herpes:

“Everybody’s Bitch“:

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“In Control“:

Meanwhile, Joyful Noise’s joyfully demented Hermit Thrushes - sort of a kitchen-sink-turned-upside-down affair - have some free downloads of their own. We shall present the decidedly un-tuned, distractingly weird tunes in anticipation of their tour, which just got under way on Saturday:

“Push“:

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“Snowflake Heart“:

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Sourvein have bounced onto the latest tour by Saviours - whose 2008 release, Into Abaddon, is still winning over the various membrana lodged inside our ear drums. Dates last from Sunday through August 4 in Milwaukee. …

Mission of Burma fans, pay heed: founding member Roger Miller is raring up for five gigs in the Northeast in support of Dawn of the Cycads, the still-fairly-new two-disc archival anthology by his latest outfit, Birdsongs of the Mesozoic. The shows run from Thursday in Providence through July 30 in Somerville, Massachusetts - one of the cooler parts of Beantown you could find yourself in after a night of tossing back Sam Adamses. And more relevantly, Boston is also the place Miller calls home. The band is playing exclusively with vintage gear, which takes them up a notch in our book. …

No joke: When we first clicked on AFM’s site, we really thought they were advertising “Shakira,” not “Shakra,” her equally long-haired male hard-rock equivalents. Either way, we should’ve known long ago about not just AFM but also Dark Age, the German death-metal demons who just put the quill to a contract with the label. Our fingers are crossed for their fall LP.