October 17, 2008

Exclusive THOU shirt now available, plus TORCHE vinyl & more...


We're stoked to present an exclusive t-shirt from our burly southern brothers in THOU. This Viking Warlock design in appropriate grimness features almost-black ink on a slightly faded black t-shirt, so from the day you slip it on it looks like your favorite old faded shirt from years ago. It's just as comfortable too, printed on a super fine-threaded Tultex brand t-shirt. This design is "exclusive" in the sense that no other online shops have this, but the band should have it on tour with them as well!

The front has THOU's gnarly bat logo with a crucial viking underneath, and the back has pillaging imagery with the explicit mantra at the bottom: "Eat. Fight. Fuck". One of our favorite active heavy/doom/sludge bands going right now, to us THOU are legends in the making. The photo above is of the front and back of this beast. This is available now in the Robotic Empire Online Store in sizes Youth Large (XS) through Double Extra Large (XXL).


We are also pleased to announce that TORCHE's Self-Titled Reissue 12" has been pressed for a third time and is now available again after a few months of unavailability. This time around instead of applying a sticker to the bag, we had them print on the bag itself... and although the difference is subtle, it's nerdworthy enough for us to be psyched on it! Another difference with this pressing is that we opted to try the "planets" effect on one color version, albeit a little different. Small triangles of colored vinyl were inserted into the vinyl itself and the effect turned out pretty cool... and varied. A few examples can be seen in the photo above (along with a couple of our dogs). A slightly blurry but semi-hilarious closeup photo can be seen here (and at the bottom of this update). This (and literally tons of other TORCHE stuff) is available now in the Robotic Empire Online Store.


Besides that trippy triangle planet "pyramids" version, we also made four other color vinyl variations in attempts of complimenting the myriad colors in the gatefold jacket's artwork. The pressing info for this third press is as follows:

* 200 on AUTUMN (red/orange/yellow tri-blend)
* 200 on DESERT (half translucent orange / half beer)
* 200 on ELECTRIC BLUE (dark blue / light blue swirl)
* 200 on PYRAMIDS (cokebottle green with small triangle inserts)
* 200 on SALMON (opaque pink / clear swirl)

If you've read all of this so far you are probably already familiar with the behemoth that is TORCHE, but in the off chance that this is the first time you're reading about them, here is the formal description we wrote for this Self-Titled Reissue album:

Once described as "stoner pop", Miami quartet TORCHE could just as awkwardly be called "doom pop" or "thunder rock"... but what all these clumsy words boil down to is simultaneously one of the catchiest AND heaviest bands to ever grace the worlds of metal, indie and underground music in general. Sound like hyperbole? TORCHE actually has their own patented "bomb string" tuning which is literally unparalleled in heavy music (past or present) and they use it liberally on this, their self-titled debut full-length album.

Easily the heaviest record Robotic Empire had released to date, never has a "metal" album existed quite like the mind-blowing debut release from TORCHE. Hinted at by members’ former group FLOOR, truly anthemic, triumphant and absolutely massive heavy metal has never been this undeniably catchy! With gloriously sung, harmonized and soaring vocal arrangements accompanying the most monolithic riffs of modern times, TORCHE reaches to push the envelope and then engulfs it in flames. Call it "stoner pop"or "exquisite brutality"... call it whatever you want. In the end, TORCHE are still a major force to fuck with, and undeniable leaders of an incredible new style of heavy music.

This is the deluxe, fully re-mixed and re-mastered edition of TORCHE’s debut album... which has been completely reworked from the ground up due to the band’s overall dissatisfaction with the original release. This new version is a much more accurate representation of the band with an even heavier (and clearer) mix than the original, also containing an all new bonus track originally recorded during the initial tracking (but only recently receiving some absolutely epic vocal treatment). Robotic Empire is genuinely proud to re-release this incredible album... the vinyl edition having a beautifully appropriate gatefold jacket, full color printed inner sleeve and limited colored vinyl. This is also our first release with printwork directly on the bag itself! Enjoy!

The song "Mentor" from this album can be heard online here.

Besides these two new Robo-related releases, we've received some killer new items and restocks to our Online Store over the last couple of weeks... here's the latest:

NEW ITEMS: (for week of 10/17/08)
* Attitude Problem - Self-Titled 12" (Forcefield) - $9.99
* Dead Child - Self-Titled - WHITE COLORED VINYL 12" (Hawthorne Street) - $10.99
* Dolcim - Demo CD-R (React With Protest) - $11.99
* Mills Of God - Call Of The Eastern Moon - 180 GRAM VINYL 12" (Modus Operandi) - $19.50
* Mills Of God - Call Of The Eastern Moon CD (Modus Operandi) - $16.50
* North - Ruins - CLEAR COLORED VINYL 12"+CD (Cavity) - $12.99
* Thou - Viking Warlock - DOUBLE EXTRA LARGE T-Shirt (Robotic Empire) $14.99
* Thou - Viking Warlock - EXTRA LARGE T-Shirt (Robotic Empire) $14.99
* Thou - Viking Warlock - LARGE T-Shirt (Robotic Empire) $14.99
* Thou - Viking Warlock - MEDIUM T-Shirt (Robotic Empire) $14.99
* Thou - Viking Warlock - SMALL T-Shirt (Robotic Empire) $14.99
* Thou - Viking Warlock - YOUTH LARGE T-Shirt (Robotic Empire) $14.99
* Torche - Self-Titled Reissue - AUTUMN COLORED VINYL 12" (Robotic Empire) - $14.99
* Torche - Self-Titled Reissue - DESERT COLORED VINYL 12" (Robotic Empire) - $14.99
* Torche - Self-Titled Reissue - ELECTRIC BLUE COLORED VINYL 12" (Robotic Empire) - $14.99
* Torche - Self-Titled Reissue - PYRAMIDS COLORED VINYL 12" (Robotic Empire) - $14.99
* Torche - Self-Titled Reissue - SALMON COLORED VINYL 12" (Robotic Empire) - $14.99

RESTOCKS: (for week of 10/17/08)
* Bosch's With You - Dreams That Come A Thing Part II As If - RED BLACK HAZE COLORED VINYL 12" (KNVBI) - $11.99
* Cannabis Corpse - Tube of the Resinated CD (Forcefield) - $9.99
* City Of Ships - Live Free Or Don't CD (Forcefield) - $5.49
* Giants - Old Stories CD (Cavity) - $9.99
* Thou / Black September - Split 7'' (KNVBI) - $4.99
* Tides - From Silence 12" (Modus Operandi) - $15.99
* Triac - In The Blue Room 7''+CD (Forcefield) - $9.99
* Year Of No Light - Nord 2x12'' (Cavity) - $13.99

And we had an abnormally crushing/doomy/brutal update last week as well, which we feel is worth mentioning again:

NEW ADDITIONS: (for week of 10/10/08)
* A Fine Boat That Coffin - The Second Nail 12" (Asymmetrie) - $16.99
* Baroness - First & Second CD (Hyperrealist) - $11.99
* Black Shape of Nexus - Microbarome - RED ORANGE COLORED VINYL 2x12" (Adagio830) - $15.99
* Corrupted - Paso Inferior 12" (Insolito) - $17.99
* Gods & Queens - untitled - PURPLE COLORED VINYL 12"+CD (Robotic Empire) - $14.99
* Jesu - Conqueror 2x12" (Conspiracy) - $19.99
* Mouth of the Architect / Kenoma - Split - BLUE COLORED VINYL 12" (Gilead Media) - $12.99
* Mouth of the Architect / Kenoma - Split - PURPLE COLORED VINYL 12" (Gilead Media) - $12.99
* Nadja - Radiance Of Shadows 2x12" (Conspiracy) - $19.99
* Nadja - Touched 2x12" (Conspiracy) - $19.99
* Nadja - Truth Becomes Death 2x12" (Conspiracy) - $19.99
* Rocky Votolato - A Brief History - PURPLE COLORED VINYL 10" (Gilead Media) - $12.99
* Rocky Votolato - A Brief History - YELLOW COLORED VINYL 10" (Gilead Media) - $12.99
* Suis La Lune - Quiet, Pull the Strings! - WHITE COLORED VINYL 12" (Asymmetrie) - $16.99
* Thou - The Retaliation of the Immutable Force Of Nature - RED COLORED VINYL 12" (Gilead Media) - $10.99

RESTOCKS: (for week of 10/10/08)
* Salome - Self-Titled CD (Vendetta) - $14.99
* Thou - Peasant CD (Autopsy Kitchen) - $10.99
* Thou - Tyrant CD (Gilead Media) - $10.99
* Who Calls So Loud - Self-Titled 2x10" - COLORED VINYL - $14.99

That pretty well sums it up for this week, please hit up the Robotic Empire Online Store to check out this gnarly stuff! Peace!

p.s. here it is, your moment of zen...

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