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from 12/02/04:  It's a royal bummer to announce that Stop It!! did not survive their first European tour and the band has called it quits. Through this rough demo track and an upcoming final song on an incredible Exotic Fever compilation we get only hints at the true loss suffered here. But in the end, bands break up all the time and people move on. Fortunately, the members of Stop It!! are already involved in excellent new things. Jeff (drummer) is singing and playing guitar in the incredible pop-punk/rock band Pink Razors, Tyler (guitar) is getting married (!!), Brendan (guitar) is playing bass in a crucial instrumental band called Castle Danger and Adam has been doing some phenomenal artwork for Stop It!! and other bands. The recent work he did on the band's re-issued demo CD/10" along with the Pink Razors tape and the Van Johnson full-length (also for Exotic Fever) are all gorgeous. Bands and other parties interested in some crazy detailed artwork, get in touch with him here: graveofthefireflies@yahoo.com The band's impressive re-mastered/re-issued demo CD/10" and the amazing Pink Razors demo tape are all available in our online store, along with some awesome leftover t-shirts from the European tour. RIP DUDES  In MUCH better news, the final 12" volume in Isis' Oceanic Remix series along with the long-awaited double-LP version of their absolutely stunning new album Panopticon are both finally available! As the rest of the series, all copies of the Oceanic Remix - Vol. IV 12" are available on clear vinyl, while there are a couple different colors of the Panopticon 2x12" in existence: 156 copies on opaque blue vinyl 212 copies on opaque orange vinyl 2073 copies on black vinyl Robotic Empire has mostly black vinyl and some of these beautiful opaque blue copies, while the band has both blue and all the opaque orange copies with them on tour (you gotta go see them destroy your town to get one), and these obviously aren't going to last long. They're on the road now with These Arms Are Snakes and also (should) have copies of all four Oceanic Remix 12"s as well. Thank you for being patient with us on these projects, it's been somewhat frustrating as vinyl manufacturing can often be, but it was definitely worth the wait. The colored vinyl is on a first come, first-serve basis so hit up our Online Store to order now! from 10/22/04:
from 10/17/04:  Ah
yes, the reasons are once again becoming clear why we slowed down
on vinyl a while back... well both of Isis' Panopticon 2x12"
and Oceanic Remix Vol. IV 12" have had some pressing problems
and will both be pushed back to a November release. Sorry folks, this
is just how it goes sometimes. We want them as badly as you do and
they'll both be worth the wait. The good news? The band is hitting
the road next month with These Arms
Are Snakes so that should be killer as well. Check out the dates
here. Otherwise, keep an eye on the
site as we'll be making an announcement here when things are ready
to roll. Please for the love of god don't email us asking about pressing
info and everything, it will all be revealed as soon as things are
finished. Not trying to be mean, we do love you're enthusiasm.  On
the other hand, CDs are easy to have manufactured (in comparison)
and thus, Pig Destroyer's Painter of Dead Girls collections
CD is available once again! Just in time too as their absolutely phenomenal
new full-length Terrifyer just dropped courtesy of Relapse,
and guess what? We've got copies of both CDs in our Online
Store for ya! Be sure to check out the tour
section too as Pig Destroyer will be playing a slew of awesome live
shows (both in the US and UK) to celebrate the release of their new
album. It seriously smokes, pick it up here!
 Red
Sparowes just finished their material for the Gregor Samsa
split and are working on artwork for the 2x12" now... so both records
should enter production sooner rather than later. We'll keep you posted
as both of these vinyl releases are going to be incredible. The CD
version of At The Soundless Dawn will hit streets February
22nd via Neurot and the band will embark on a European tour
immediately after. Dates & info will be posted soon. Torche
is about to enter Atomic Audio studios in Tampa, Florida to record
their yet-to-be-titled debut CD/LP for Robotic Empire. This is the
same studio that Floor recorded their mighty self-titled album
so you know this thing is going to be crushing. We're hoping for an
early 2005 release for this one, and be sure to check out the band
live at their upcoming shows, including the glorious "The
Fest 3" down in Gainesville, FL. They'll be playing alongside
Circle Takes The Square, Stop It!! plus many others...
and should have some beautiful brand new four-color t-shirts for ya.
Get stoked, this album is going to be incredible.  Daughters
survived their first European tour and these fools can't slow down.
A brief trek of southern and east-coast regions with The Blood
Brothers will go down in early November, so check out the tour
section for dates, info and all that jazz. Following this brief tour
the band will take a much-deserved break from the road and concentrate
on cranking out some new tunes for ya'll. They basically toured on
Canada Songs for almost two years straight, so this is us giving
a big hearty thank-you to both the band and their fans
for making this journey with us. Expect good things to come.  Congratulations
are also due to A Life Once Lost on their recent signing to
Ferret. They'll be heading back to Trax East (same place they
recorded the A Great Artist album) in January to record their
devastating new album, Hunter. This thing is going to be a
beast and should hit the streets in the spring. Until then, be sure
to check out ALOL's first two records to witness their glorious evolution.
The Open Your Mouth For The Speechless CD and The Fourth
Plague: Flies CDep, both released on Robotic Empire and currently
available in our Online
Store. That's it for now. Still consistently updating and re-stocking the Online Store so give it a whirl if you haven't already. Peace. from 09/21/04: Just a quick update to let you know that brand new MP3 tracks from the upcoming Isis and Red Sparowes 2xLPs have been posted here. Isis will be hitting the road in mid-Novemeber and should have copies of all the Oceanic Remix 12"s with them held specifically for this ocassion. Also, forgot to mention that Neurot will be releasing the CD version of Red Sparowes' At The Soundless Dawn in February. from 09/14/04: Our bands are embarking on a lot of awesome tours and have a lot of awesome news, all of which we'll get to in a minute. But first, Robotic Empire is proud to announce that we'll be working with another amazing new band in 2005:  California's Red Sparowes will be gracing Robotic Empire with two vinyl projects early next year, including their absolutely incredible debut album At The Soundless Dawn in the 2xLP format. At around the same time another limited vinyl project will be issued with Red Sparowes contributing two tracks on one side and Richmond, VA's own Gregor Samsa contributing two tracks on the other. Each band will contribute one exclusive new track and one preview/demo track (RS' being a demo of one of the album tracks, GS' being a preview from their upcoming album). For those who haven't heard about the glorious Red Sparowes yet, they are a truly monolithic instrumental group featuring some of the fine talents of Isis and Neurosis members. Fans of either/both bands as well as Godspeed You Black Emperor, Mogwai and the ilk will be very pleased with this project. We are extremely excited to be working with these folks and will post more info on the records when they are coming closer to fruition. In the meantime, it's highly recommended that you sample the magnificence that is Red Sparowes through a recently mastered track from the album here.  TORCHE has booked studio time with Atomic Audio in Tampa, FL (the same place FLOOR recorded their almighty self-titled album) and we couldn't actually be any more excited about this album. Their debut CD/LP is scheduled to drop in early 2005, but in the meantime the band will be playing a slew of awesome shows down in the Florida area, followed by a massive US tour once the album comes out. All we can really say at this point is "take warning". Speaking of recording and touring, Stop It!! have packed their bags for their first European tour from the duration of September 17th to October 27th. Once they return home, the crazy bastards are driving straight down to Gainesville, FL for this year's annual THE FEST fest, playing with the likes of... a ton of amazing bands. Following that, this winter the band will be entering Boston's mighty Godcity studios to record with the prodigious Kurt Ballou. Their next album is going to be a true beast, and this demo MP3 should wet your whistle a bit in the meantime. Everyone overseas, please give our dudes a warm welcoming... and by that, we mean please get Adam high on weed.  Everybody's touring, this is awesome! Circle Takes The Square are starting their first proper US tour since the official release of their mind-blowing debut album As The Roots Undo. Having recently recruited a second guitarist, the Circle are dominating in full effect once again. They'll be spending about five weeks covering the majority of the East Coast, Mid-West and Eastern Canadian areas. All you people out west may be cursing up a storm, but they do have plans to come your way in 2005... with ferocious new material to play as well. All of the dates and info for this Sept-Nov jaunt are in the tour section.  Daughters are also heading to Europe! Their first stab at a European Vacation has been assembled by the fine folks at Reflections Records, Conspiracy Bookings and Positive Nuisance... and should be one hell of a ride. They'll be tearing up the fatherland from mid-September through mid-October, and upon their return? You guessed it, another short tour with partners in crime The Blood Brothers. Following that weeklong trek in November, the boys will finally take a much deserved break to focus on constructing material for their next release(s). The new stuff is definitely progressive and a few new tunes will be played live on this Euro tour so keep your good ear to the ground for that glorious noise.  If you crave less European adventures from our bands and more brutal US destruction, look no further than A Life Once Lost and The Red Chord teaming up once again for a duel to the end, side by side with God Forbid and Norma Jean. Following this late Sept trip, The Red Chord will hunker down and record their Metal Blade debut album Clients while ALOL continues on the road with recent Relapse signees, the absolutely pummeling Buried Inside. We've been lucky enough to preview their upcoming album and absolutely smokes. Fans of Creation Is Crucifixion and old Isis will be stoked.  Speaking of Isis, the third volume in the Oceanic Remix series simply flew through our hands and everyone else's as well. Once again, The Garment District has the very last copies (well, will very soon) so head over to their site to pick up this glorious slab of wax before it's too late. Fear not though, as October 26th has been officialized as the street date for both the Oceanic Remix - Vol. IV 12" and the absolutely mega Panopticon 2xLP. This double-album is fucking incredible and we're barely able to contain the excitement of unleashing it to you all. Ipecac is handling the CD version of this behemoth while Trust No One will be releasing the 2xLP version over in Europe. We're pressing 2500 copies of this monster to start, and yes, there will be super duper colored vinyl available for you. Handling pre-orders for this would be an absolute nightmare (Trust No One, you are brave!) so just keep an eye on this site around late October for all of the info, or sign up to our mailing list to be the first to know about all Robotic Empire happenings. While we're at it... here's a tentative list of all scheduled Robotic Empire projects (things can and will change), arranged in a possible first-to-last release order: Robo 040 - Isis - Oceanic Remix - Vol. IV 12" (October 26th, 2004) Robo 041 - Isis - Panopticon - 2x12" (October 26th, 2004) Robo 043 - Red Sparowes - At The Soundless Dawn 2x12" (early 2005) Robo 044 - Red Sparowes / Gregor Samsa - Split 10" [?] (early 2005) Robo 045 - TBA [more info soon, this shit will rule] (early 2005) Robo 046 - Torche - Debut CD/LP (early 2005) Robo 047 - Stop It!! - full-length CD (early 2005) Robo 028 - Mannequin - full-length CD/LP (2005) Robo 036 - Hassan I Sabbah - Discography CD (2005) - email us if you have video Robo 048 - pageninetynine - document #8 CD deluxe re-issue [all 9 songs from that recording session remixed, remastered and with additional, updated artwork] (2005) Robo 049 - pageninetynine - documentary DVD (2005) - email us if you have video Robo 050 - Employer, Employee - sic[sic] CD/LP deluxe reissue (w/ bonus material) Robo 011 - The Now - s/t CDep [re-pressed, maybe with video footage] (2005) Robo 020 + 021 - Creation is Crucifixion - something awesome, not sure yet (2005) That's pretty much it for now. 2005 is obviously going to be a very busy year for us and to help fund all these awesome projects we are constantly updating and adding to our Online Store, so please check it out because with the shopping cart system we have installed it's super easy to navigate and place orders. In the coming weeks a limited silk-screened version of the House Of Low Culture - Gettin' Sentimental 2x7" we released a while back will be available for a short time, and our Online Store (and Hydra Head's) are the only places it will be available... so keep an eye on the webstore for that. Peace! from 08/17/04:  Matt
Michel from Majority Rule made up some sweet silk-screened
posters with an illustration by Chris Taylor for a recent Mannequin
/ Kylesa show and the remaining posters (and a bunch of other
rad ones) are available for sale at his awesome
website. That's it, peace! from 08/03/04:  A
tour update came in from Daughters:"still being awesome. killed a deer, hit by a cadillac, got our tires slashed, called rock stars, worst strip club ever, lost equipment, lost sleeping bag, spit on, punched by raging drunk femenist, trapped in flood, so much more........hell hounds on our trail." They're currently on the road with The Dillinger Escape Plan and Planes Mistaken For Stars, so go see them now, because at this pace they could actually explode.  The
second volume in Isis' Oceanic Remix 12" series
is now sold out, through us at least. These are flying so if you want
a copy you better hit up Lumberjack
or the Garment
District now. Volume III (with remix tracks from Thomas
Koner, Teledubgnosis and Mike Patton) will be available at the end
of the month, so keep an eye out because those are sure to go very
fast as well.And finally, for the second month in a row, Rolling Stone has reviewed a Robotic Empire release. This time around Pig Destroyer's Painter of Dead Girls was grilled, and it passed the test with flying colors. So either check out the latest issue with Lindsay Lohan on the cover, or just click here to read the review. Awesome. from 07/25/04:  Robotic
Empire is fucking stoked to announce that we will be releasing the
debut CD/LP by the brand new Floridian band Torche! With members
including the songwriting/singing/guitar "bombstring" wizardry
of the recently departed Floor and the ferociously huge drumming
of Tyranny of Shaw, Torch's debut album promises to be one
of the most interesting releases we'll ever be a part of. They are
currently hammering out the songs for said album, but the band is
already gearing up for some incredible first
shows in south Florida. We couldn't possibly be more proud to
welcome these guys to the label as "colossal" and "amazing"
are nothing short of gross understatements.And in other wild news, Circle Takes The Square has a small review in the newest issue of Rolling Stone! It's the one with Doonsbury on the cover and we're as shocked as you are. The review is kind of... weird, but its still cool so check it out. from 07/17/04:
 The
second volume in the Isis - Oceanic Remix 12" series
is now available in the new store and we're absolutely beyond excited
to announce that Robotic Empire will be doing the vinyl honors for
Isis' upcoming full-length Panopticon. This monster double-LP
is expected to drop sometime in October, colored vinyl included of
course, so we'll be sure to keep you eager vinyl freaks updated as
soon as we know more ourselves. As usual there will be no pre-orders
or anything, so keep your good eye on this site for info.Daughters, The Red Chord and A Life Once Lost are all currently on various tours so go see them! That's it for now, seriously go buy some stuff in the new store, cause it was a pain in the ass to build... but it's awesome, so go now! from 06/12/04:  Crestfallen's
final tour has sadly been cut short due to the standard van & financial
nightmare, which totally sucks, but the good news is that Robotic
Empire has the remaining unsold t-shirts that Brandon from City
of Caterpillar designed and they look absolutely wicked. This
two-color design is the hot shit and is only $9 so pick
one up now, cause we've only got a limited amount and once they're
gone... they're as gone as the band (RIP). Also, everyone is highly
advised to still go out to the shows that
Crestfallen won't be playing, because Tyranny of Shaw will
still be there and they absolutely destroy live. In
more upbeat news, Daughters is embarking on some awesome tours
over the next several months, sharing the stage in the US with righteous
dudes including Some Girls, Mare, The Blood Brothers
and The Dillinger Escape Plan. Following those insanely cool
tours, the band will be headed overseas to demolish Europe so saddle
up and be sure to keep your good ear out for their furious new material,
it rips. In the meantime, check out their debut 7" that we just got
restocked in our awesome distro...
along with some other brutal new releases (Back When) that
you're gonna love. No joke.  The
first volume in the Isis Remix 12" series is now totally
sold out, BUT there are 75 final copies en route to the Garment
District as you read this so those should come and go very fast.
If you're interested in getting a copy, this is your last chance so
keep an eye out on their
website. Otherwise, on July 13th the second volume will become
available and once again, this will be an amazing 12". Like last
time, there will be no preorders or holding copies or anything, so
please check back at this site on July 13th!Finally, unfortunately Robofest is cancelled for this year. Don't ask why, shit just sucks sometimes. Look for most scheduled bands to be on tour around that time. from 05/25/04:  The
newly remastered CD reissue of A Life Once Lost's debut album
Open Your Mouth For The Speechless is about to hit stores worldwide
on June 1st, and Lumberjack
has copies for sale now. Good dude Matt Gauck made a sick media
player to celebrate this ferocious event. Two remastered MP3s
are available in that thing so check it out here.
Want to just download said MP3s? hxcmp3.com
and/or stereokiller.com
makes it possible. Well
it looks like we jumped the gun announcing Stop It!! and Breather
Resist touring together (the idea is just too badass to not blab
about it). This is a more far-reaching thing and probably won't be
happening until an undisclosed future date/time... but when it goes
down, we'll obviously make a big stink about it. However, Stop It!!
is just about ready to leave for a short east coast/midwest tour
and you should go, because their new material absolutely smokes. Dates
available here.  Crestfallen
is also about to go on a two-week June tour
with co-conspirators Charming Bastards and Tyranny of Shaw
rocking various dates. The Bastards play some badass balls-to-the-wall
grunge/punk/noise rock and feature two of the Cfallen dudes, while
Tyranny of Shaw go for the all-out furious attack and seem to have
a genuine hatred for clothes. Seriously though, this tour is gonna
be a party and all of Robotic Empire is going along for the ride...
so come out, say hello and buy some damn stuff from the distro.
Dates/info here... this is gonna be wicked.
We'll hopefully be returning with Volume II in the Isis Remix 12" series following close behind, but mailorder will be shut down June 3rd - June 18th. The response for Volume I in said series has been absolutely amazing and this beautiful 12" is already almost sold out, so if you want a copy... order it like RIGHT NOW. Thanks! from 05/11/04:  The first of four volumes in Isis' Oceanic Remixes series is now available for mailorder. Despite a lot of work, minor and major complications included, this thing turned out incredible and we're proud to present it for your listening and visual enjoyment. 2500 copies of this 12" have been manufactured, all with two different oversized center labels and a die-cut metallic PMS colored jacket. Translation: this thing look awesome and this is an excellent way to start off the remix series. Ayal Naor of 27, The Oktopus of Dalek and James Plotkin of Phantomsmasher are the ones delivering the goods here, and their renditions of Isis' original tracks from the Oceanic album are superb. This will only be available for a short time, and we're limiting these to one-per-customer in what is most likely a futile attempt to hinder an Ebay shitstorm. Anyway, once these are gone Lumberjack will be the only other source for getting a copy (and the only way to wholesale copies), so don't be a stranger. Order now if you want to add this fine slab of wax to your collection.  Since
we're already going to be up to our eyeballs in mailorder, might as
well make this interesting. The re-mastered, re-packaged re-issue
of A Life Once Lost's debut full-length CD Open Your Mouth
For The Speechless... is now available exclusively from Robotic
Empire (or the band on tour) several weeks
prior to it's June 1st release date. This is where it all started
for this incredibly diverse Philadelphia outfit, and this reissue
finally gives some proper justice to the early incarnation of ALOL,
compete with bonus demo and live tracks from The Fourth Plague:
Flies era. Want to hear what you're in for before you order
this beast? Head over to the new ALOL site at hxcmp3.com
for two remastered MP3s from this impressive debut album.  The
Red Chord's phenomenal deluxe CD reissue for Fused Together
In Revolving Doors is also hitting stores nationwide today and
we'd like to take this time to congratulate them on their recent signing
to Metal Blade Records. It's exciting to know that these guys
will now get the widespread recognition that their rabid fans already
know they deserve, and we're proud to have helped in any way. For
those who yet to experience the exceptional wrath that is The Red
Chord, do yourself a favor and order
the reissue now, and check out two MP3
samples to satiate you in the meantime. The band will take a few days
off from working on their upcoming Clients album to hook up
with Pig Destroyer, Daughters, A Life Once Lost
and Crowpath for this year's annual Robofest
event at the end of July. More info available in the tour
section.  Speaking
of recent signings, we're extremely excited about our Canadian friends
Mare hooking up with Hydra Head Records to release their
debut demo CDep and eventually a full-length album. This band truly
is one of the heaviest and most innovative things to ever come out
of the great white north, and we are the only distro
that currently carries the self-released version of said EP. Order
it now and be hip to what is likely to become everyone's favorite
new band. We won't have these for long, so don't be too surprised
if they're not listed in the distro
any day now. Along with that, there have been many recent restocks
and additions to the distro sections
recently, including a wealth of Relapse and Willowtip
titles, amongst other fine things.  Another
fine thing you say? Circle Takes The Square has been the talk
of the town and while the whole freakin' country (and Canada) is awaiting
their upcoming continental tour this fall, the UK folks across the
sea will be excited to know that the band is heading over for nine
shows in the beginning of June with The
Murder Of Rosa Luxemburg and others. They will be heading over
with a wealth of records, CDs, shirts, buttons, stickers, etc. etc.
so get those coin purses ready. US folks will be glad to know that
we'll have the wicked new chrome vinyl stickers in our merchandise
section within a week or so, so keep an eye out for those. Until then,
the As The Roots Undo album continues to receive rave reviews
from fans and magazines alike. Get with it and get
this CD, you can thank us later.  Crestfallen
is gearing up for a debaucherous two-week east coast tour
this June with Tyranny of Shaw and Charming Bastards.
Is this the final tour? Who knows, but come out and rock like it's
the last day on earth, cause this is gonna be a crucial blast either
way! We're (hopefully) starting this party off with a bang on May
27th in Baltimore with new band Malady (former pg99
and City of Caterpillar guys) so check out the tour
section for all the gory details. Brandon Evans (also formerly of
pg99 & City of Caterpillar) cranked out an awesome t-shirt design
for this tour, so if furiously loud punk rock isn't your "thing",
then at least come out for the cool t-shirts. Kidding..... kinda.
 So
you're really just into this stuff for the cool shirts? Well, we've
got something rad for you fashionably conscious beings in the form
of one beautiful new full-color Pig Destroyer t-shirt design
with the album cover art from Painter Of Dead Girls. Not even
forgetting to get artwork-usage permission (sorry Chris!) could hold
back the existence of this glorious t-shirt, and this can be yours
one of two ways: order it now from Lumberjack,
or better yet, come out and pick one up at the band's upcoming live
shows. They don't play out much, so we're
absurdly amped that they'll be headlining three of the four Robofest
III dates this year, details of which are in the tour
section. In the meantime, we just received distro
copies of the Spanish import version of the Painter Of Dead Girls
album as a beautiful 12" record. This artwork looks absolutely
fantastic at this scale and only 1000 of these were made. Robotic
Empire is among the few places in the US that has these and we have
limited quantities, so if you want one... order
now! Mannequin
is also getting ready to put a lot of ticks on the ol' odometer with
their upcoming east-coast tour with Virginian
partners-in-crime Sail. The bands are going out for three weeks
at the beginning of June and still need a hand here and there, so
check the tour section for all the info.
Also be sure to keep an eye out for a 7-song CDep they'll have on
said tour that collects some newer and older recordings (and totally
smokes) as a preview to their upcoming CD/LP that they'll be recording
for Robotic Empire this fall. Stoked? You should be. Daughters
are also back in the saddle again, this time on various tours
with Some Girls, Mare, The Blood Brothers and
more. They just can't stop delivering the live madness, so come September
the band will be heading overseas to rock on a different shore. All
dates domestic and exported can be found in the tour
section, along with info about this year's Robofest
which they'll be gracing again with some new tunes as well.  After
witnessing each other rock Charlotte, NC thoroughly at this year's
For The Kids Fest... Stop It!! and Breather Resist
have decided to team up for some upcoming tour
dates later this summer. The new tunes from both bands totally smoke
and this is going to be a teamup for the ages. Everyone is advised
to pick up both band's albums, Stop It!!'s obviously is available
to order direct from us and BR's
new one will be found on Jade Tree Records this fall (!). Awesome.
That's it for now... go ahead and bury us in mailorder... we love it, and have lots of bills to pay for all these 12"s and CDs and everything. So seriously, order this awesome shit already! Peace! from 04/07/04:  The
Red Chord's fantastic debut album Fused Together In Revolving
Doors is now available once again! This deluxe CD reissue now
comes with two bonus demo tracks on the CD along with enhanced video
footage, a full audio live set and more. Both the band and Robotic
Empire have these in stock now,
so be sure to check this out on the band's current tour
with Six Feet Under and The Black Dahlia Murder, or
grab it at your favorite record store on May 11th. For the unfortunate
latecomers to this absolutely amazing genre-blurring band, do yourself
a favor and check out some MP3s
to find out what the fanatical madness is all about. Everyone else,
watch the brand new trailer for the Dreaming In Dog Years video
on the band's website.
Shit is brutal.  Robofest
III is now being finalized and this year is shaping up
to be the best yet! Four days, four different cities, five incredible
bands. Pig Destroyer, Daughters, A Life Once Lost,
The Red Chord and Crowpath will be devastating the east
coast from July 29th through August 1st. For everyone on the west
coast or overseas cursing the lucky easterners, we've got a film crew
lined up to capture the chaos for a future DVD release. Anyone and
everyone is encouraged to come out to these events because this shit
is gonna be legendary. All the details can and will be found here.That's all for now, except for the awesome distro updates including phenomenal new releases from Mare, The Blinding Light, Hot Cross and more. Orders away... from 03/26/04: Tour was a blast, and mailorder is up and running again with many new additions and removals in the distro sections, so be sure to check that all out. Robotic Empire is now an official business, so the lovely residents of Virginina have to add 4.5% sales tax to each order now. Sorry, but Uncle Sam still has a tight, dying grip. from 03/01/04: It would be an understatement to call these last couple of months the most hectic this label has ever seen, and although life can be brutal sometimes, things really couldn't be going much better overall. Keeping it crazy, let's get right into it:  A
Life Once Lost is gearing up for epic amounts of touring and to
help our boys out we're excited to announce that a reissue of their
old debut Open Your Mouth For The Speechless CD will be released
on June 1st, and available sometime in May direct from the band. This
is where it all started for these pioneers of technical metallic hardcore,
and to make it even sicker we're adding some stellar bonus live and
demo tracks from the Fourth Plague era. Artwork will be handled
by the talented Adam Wentworth (The Red Chord, The Black Dahlia Murder,
etc) and powerful re-mastering duties will be rocked by the almighty
Scott Hull (Pig Destroyer, Nile, etc.). Tour dates found here. It
seems like the entire world is freaking out over the debut full-length
CD from Circle Takes The Square, and to be cocky about it,
we told you so! In all seriousness though, the response for As
The Roots Undo has been overwhelming and these
reviews are ample proof that this is one of the most interesting
and innovative records we have been privileged to be a part of. Been
living under a rock? Check out sample MP3s here.
Also look for the newest issue of AP (with a bunch of naked
NOFXers on the cover) for a cool short feature on the band (plus mention
of Pig Destroyer as one of the 25 most important bands in metal!)
Be sure to keep an eye on our distro in the coming weeks too, as we'll
have copies of the glorious 12" version of this masterful debut very
soon.  Creation
is Crucifixion is unfortunately still on hiatus, but sooner (rather
than later) this Antenna Builder + Radio Bronka 12" + CD combo
will happen, and it'll be worth the wait. In the meantime, keep an
eye out for CIC drummer Mike Laughlin ripping the skins in Cattle
Decapitation and as always, the Hactivist / Carbon Defense League
site. Crestfallen
are sobering up enough (sike) to come together for a two-week East
Coast tour early this July. Highlights include the almighty Friendlyfest
up in Connecticut (with Majority Rule, Pig Destroyer, Mannequin and
tons of other gnarly bands) plus over a week of southern shows with
the increasingly-impressive Tyranny of Shaw. Dates and more
info will be posted soon in the tour section,
but in the meantime definitely check out the new ToS CDep in the distro,
it's simply pummeling.  Our
Swedish co-conspirators Crowpath are gearing up to take this
country by storm, as they'll be touring the states in August with
Canadian tech-metal maniacs Ion Dissonance. The band has just
announced their signing to Pittsburgh-based metal label Willowtip,
who will release their debut full-length Red On Chrome on April
20th. Be sure to check out new MP3s over at willowtip.com
(including two tracks from our mighty Old Cuts And Blunt Knives
collections CD), and while you're at it do yourself a favor and
download those Arsis tracks, that band is amazing. Or, if you're
impatient we just loaded up on the majority of Willowtip's back catalog
in our distro so check that shit
out, now!  Daughters
are leaving for another insane tour this
week, this time with ex-Arab on Radar rockers the Chinese Stars
and a string of dates with The Locust/ GUTG/Unbroken hardcore supergroup
Some Girls. This behemoth of a tour is East-to-West-Coast-and-back
in less than three weeks... so crazy that we just couldn't stay away.
So look for Robotic Empire on the road with these maniacs and buy
stuff from our quality distro. Before
coming out to harass us, read this high-larious interview
Lex recently did. Also, you lovely Europeans will be happy to know
that the quality label Reflections will be releasing Canada
Songs continent-wide on March 9th, and as a thank you for being
so patient we've thrown on the four tracks from their debut 7". We're
nice like that.  For
all of you rabid Isis fans, you'll be glad to know that the
first in the series of Oceanic Remix 12"s will be unleashed
on May 11th, with the others closely following. This first of four
12"s has three magnificent remixed/reinterpreted tracks from Ayal
Naor (27), the Oktopus (Dalek) and James Plotkin (Phantomsmasher,
Khante). Limited to only 2500 copies and gloriously packaged, these
are undoubtedly going to go quickly. Unfortunately it'd be nothing
short of a nightmare to deal with pre-orders or hold copies of these
12"s, so please just keep an eye on this site and Lumberjack's website
come early May. Thank you.  Mannequin
is back in action after taking some time off to write for their upcoming
full-length CD/LP that's tentatively due out this winter. We don't
want to give away any secrets just yet, but this thing is gonna be
mega! In the intermission they will be releasing two split 7"s very
soon, one with fellow Virginians Sail on yrscreamingyouth,
and another with Seattle's mighty Akimbo on Cosmonaut.
The band has undergone a slight instrument swap and will deliver ungodly
amounts of new rock to eager young ears throughout the next few months
on various US tours, including Midwest /
Eastern dates with Yaphet Koto. In
kinda-related, pageninetynine are... still broken up. But the
good news is that we're *almost* finished collecting videos for the
pg.99 DVD and will undergo the screening and editing processes over
the coming months. Patience is important because we want to do this
band justice... and right now it's all shaping up to be incredible.
Footage spanning the band's entire existence + most or all of the
final show(s) are planned to be included on this monster of a DVD.
More info as it slowly comes.  The
Red Chord are gearing up for a massive US tour
with metal heavyweights Six Feet Under, including stints from
The Black Dahlia Murder, Bury Your Dead and Misery
Signals. To celebrate the occasion and the two-year anniversary
of the release of Fused Together In Revolving Doors, we are
extremely excited to announce that an enhanced reissue of this masterful
debut CD should be available just in time for the tour. Bonus video
footage along with unreleased demos and live tracks will be added
to this already amazing album, accompanied with a brand new sampler
CD chock full of the absolute best in today's metal and hardcore.
 Robotic
Empire is extremely excited to be teaming up with long-runners Metal
Blade and new-faces Black Market Activities to bring one
amazing new sampler CD of epic proportions. Roughly 25 tracks of new,
old, exclusive, hard to find, live and demo tracks from today's finest,
including: Agoraphobic Nosebleed, A Life Once Lost, As I Lay Dying,
Backstabbers Inc, The Black Dahlia Murder, Cannibal Corpse, Circle
Takes The Square, Crowpath, Daughters, Ed Gein, Employer Employee,
Found Dead Hanging, From A Second Story Window, Lamb of God, Opeth,
Pig Destroyer, Premonitions of War, Psyopus, The Red Chord, Six Feet
Under, Unearth and more! This is going to be an incredible sampler
that we plan on packing in as a FREE second disc with many of our
new CD pressings, along with the fine new releases BMA has coming
up. These will be available well advance of this year's annual Robofest, which is shaping up to be far bigger and better than anything we've done before. Details will be announced soon.  Stop
It!! are about to get back on the road with an East Coast tour,
concluding in the great state of Virginia at this year's Macrock
Festival in early April. Other Robotic Empire bands scheduled
to play this year are Circle Takes The Square and The Red Chord, with
our pals VCR rockin this party too. There's a crucial Richmond-based
article on Stop It!! here,
and for those who haven't yet braved the rock of Self Made Maps,
we've recently obtained the new full-color covered version of the
12" and it looks beast! Available now in the distro.
 The
various bands from the Mutation CD comp all seem to be doing
well. The Abandoned Hearts Club will have their powerful debut
EP reissued by Init as a CDep/7" very soon, with new artwork
from Daughters' artsman Jeremy Wabiszczewicz. Beyond that they'll
have a new track on Hydra Head's upcoming 2xCD comp and hopefully
other big things to come. No clue as to what's going on with Garuda,
but everyone is highly advised to seek out their debut CDep as it's
incredible. Ed Gein have recently overcome a tragic tour theft
incident to triumphantly secure a deal with Blackmarket Activities.
This band is on the rise, so be sure to hear what all the stink is
about by checking out their ferocious eight-track CDep in our distro.
Enkephalin will soon have their split CD with Phoneix Bodies
available as a split 12" on Slave Union, should be sick. The
Minor Times are busy preparing for a full-length album and actively
touring, so be sure to see these guys if they come through your town
because they are beyond intense in the live setting. Sea of Thousand
is about to release their debut 3-song CDep/7" on Die Die Diemond
and is currently working on writing a full-length. We'll have the
EP in our distro as soon as it's available. And finally, Tyranny
of Shaw are simply getting better and better. These guys definitely
have a load of potential and it's made blatantly obvious on their
amazing new 4-song CDep that we currently have available in the distro.
Watch out for them on tour with Crestfallen
this June.  We're
also really excited to announce the start of a new Robotic Empire
sub-label called Turnstile that was recently founded by The
Now/Get Fucked/Neil Perry/Welcome The Plague
Year guitarist and good friend Chris Smith. Starting off with
a bang will be a debut EP from Philly's Trouble Every Day,
followed by the highly-anticipated Welcome The Plague Year
full-length CD and the long overdue discography CD by the criminally
unknown pioneering metal/hardcore act Canephora. This Virginian
quintet may seem unfamiliar to you, but that's only because you know
better the bands they went on to form or join: The Dillinger Escape
Plan, Converge and The Now to name a few. More updates
on these releases and this fine new label to come soon. 
Finally, the distro has been heavily
updated again with tons of fine new/restock CDs from the likes of
City of Caterpillar, Ed Gein, The End, From
A Second Story Window, Medic, Tyranny of Shaw, Ultra
Dolphins, most of the Willowtip back-catalog and much more. Mailorder
will be shut down for most of March while we tour
with Daughters, but please still support these awesome bands and our
ever-hyping record label. Peace!from 01/06/02:  In the end, the amount of delays holding it back only made it that much better, and today we're beyond proud to announce that Circle Takes The Square's debut full-length CD "As The Roots Undo" is now available worldwide! This is easily the most visually stunning release we've released, if not also one of the most sonically intriguing and captivating CDs ever recorded.  This
all may sound a bit egocentric, but the truth is that Circle Takes
The Square has taken the punk, hardcore, grind, indie and screamo
genres... seamlessly melded them together and then expanded beyond
them in ways previously unimagined by their peers. Confusing time
signatures are complimented by equally effective rock parts. Grinding
double-bass blasts are contrasted by haunting atmospheric melodies.
Dominating and passionate male and female screams are intertwined
by monk-like chants, desperate whispers and beautiful harmonies. And
in the end, these things can't even begin to describe the complexities
and emotions that exist on this recording. It's all held together
in a die-cut 8-panel digipak that perfectly windows the detailed work
that went into this album, and we are honored to deliver it to you.
If you haven't yet heard the glories that are this band, MP3
samples are available now, and a brand new media
player has just been launched with audio, video, photos, lyrics
and more. So check out the media
player (courtesy of the righteously cool Brian
Stegall) or if you trust our much-deserved hype, please go ahead
and order this masterpiece now.
 And
it wasn't enough that this one amazing debut full-length is available
now, because we also now have the CD debut from Sweden's best-kept
secret Crowpath. "Old Cuts and Blunt Knives" is an 11-track
collection CD containing all of Crowpath's released material, including
two exclusive masters of advance tracks from their upcoming "Red
on Chrome" full-length, all digitally re-mastered by the sultan
of sound, Scott Hull. The amount of ferocity contained on this disc
is unnerving, and it actually needs to be heard to be believed. Absolutely
raging in all aspects, this is technical metal at it's finest. Towering
triumphant riffs are buried alive by stylish and pummeling double-bass
driven drums, wild intricate bass lines and some of the most demonic-sounding
vocals ever captured on tape. It's actually scary to listen to at
times and with any luck these psychos will be whispered in the same
hushed breaths as Mastodon, Botch and His Hero is Gone. To hear the
insanity for yourself, MP3
samples are currently available or if you already know that you
want to be floored by this masterful debut CD, go ahead and order
it now. This won't be available elsewhere until January 27th, so be
the first kid on your block to be crushed by the Crowpath CD by ordering
it from us now. You can thank us later.  Adding
icing to an already evil cake, Pig Destroyer's collections
CD "Painter of Dead Girls" is also available now! This 17-track
disc contains re-mastered and re-brutalized renditions of the two
PxDx recordings that we'd previously released in the form as hard-to-find
split CDs with Benumb and Gnob... with some extras thrown in for good
measure. It actually all sounds and looks worlds better, and it's
still almost impossible to believe that these sounds were created
by a trio! Vocals, drums and a guitar are all that these maniacs need
to be the world's lead existing grindcore outfit. Speed, ability and
sheer intensity are otherwise unmatched and because this also won't
be available elsewhere until January 27th, your only way to be pummeled
by this amazing collections disc is to order
it from us now. Check out the sample
MP3s to hear what we're raving about.    We
like to keep things hectic so the distro
has been updated again with tons of new and restocked CDs from the
scene's most exciting up-and-comers. Highlights include Blackmarket
Activities latest metalcore monstrosity, From a Second Story Window's
debut CD, Richmond's own VCR returns with their demo re-mastered
and re-released as an official CDep, Superstitions of the Sky's
second album, and much more. Be sure to head on over to the distro
to check this stuff out. And with that, consider Robotic Empire officially
entombed in mailorder. Thank you, goodnight. from 11/26/03:  First
and foremost, the new CDs! Come January 6th, Circle Takes The Square's
amazing debut full-length CD "As The Roots Undo" will be available
far and wide throughout stores, distros, Europe (via Nova
Recordings), etc. On January 27th, both Crowpath's mind-blowing
debut CD "Old Cuts And Blunt Knives" and a ferocious Pig
Destroyer reissue CD "Painter Of Dead Girls" will be widely
available as well. That being said, at the beginning of January we
will have ALL THREE available for mailorder! We aren't taking pre-orders,
that would be a nightmare, so just check the website during the first
week of January for all of the info. This is going to be an amazing
month!  We're
actually trying to bury ourselves alive in mailorder, so we are happy
to announce that we are now the only mailorder hookup to order Daughters
t-shirts. We just got a shitload of these bad boys in and they're
awesome: black ink on white t-shirts, the total opposite of what a
normal "band t-shirt" is. We've got tons of different sizes too, including
a youth large longsleeve, so head on over to the merch
section for more information.  In
even more mailorder news, we just did a big trade with lords of metal,
Relapse Records. Because we traded our stuff for theirs, we're
able to keep the prices on their stuff really low. All of their CDs
that we're carrying are $8 or less so definitely peruse the two distro
sections for all of your heavy metal needs. Brand new Relapse titles
as well as some older classics are available, along with pageninetynine's
entire CD catalog.  We're
currently running a special in the distro
where you can pick up any THREE pg.99 CDs for only $20. We're
not offering any substitutes or anything, but this applies to our
document #8 release as well so if you've already got all but two
of their CDs, you can always get the package combo and turn an un-enlightened
friend onto this amazing band. We also recently unearthed an old box
of Hot Cross 11" x 17" posters for that 10" we released years
ago, so those are now available in the merch
section.  And
finally, we just got a non-literal TON of these awesome 2xCD samplers
from our drunken Australian partners in crime, Building Records.
This seriously badass sampler is two CDs full of our bands, Level
Plane bands, Lovitt bands and some crucial unknown-to-us-US-folk
Australian bands, including crowd-favorites Love Like Electrocution.
Please be so kind as to check this double CD out in the distro...
it's only 7 bucks! Coming next to the distro: the killer new Tyranny
of Shaw CDep. Preview a gnarly MP3
of what you're in store for.  We
plan on launching a new site in the new year, but it probably won't
be quick so this is just a fair warning. In the meantime, a new message
board has been launched for all of your shit-talking pleasures.
It only takes a minute to register (it really is easy) so check that
out here. Until the new year,
have a fun and safe holiday... but do try to enjoy some eggnog. from 11/26/03:  Under
different circumstances we probably wouldn't be going out of our way
to promote an issue of Terrorizer with Stampin' Ground featured on
the cover, but we're making an exception: this month's issue of
Terrorizer (#114) spotlights four Robotic Empire bands
in it! There's news on Pig Destroyer's upcoming album and "new
faces" features on Crestfallen, Daughters and The
Red Chord. So head on over to Barns & Noble to check that
shit out.from 11/18/03:   Quick
update: we got a bunch of killer new buttons from A Life Once Lost,
Crestfallen, Pig Destroyer and Stop It!! Two
for a buck, check out the merch section.
We also have some tight new stuff in the distro from As The Sun
Sets, Daughters, The Minor Times, etc... so check
that out here.from 11/05/03:  Robotic
Empire is proud to welcome our first European band to the label lineup!
Sweden's mighty metallic warriors CROWPATH will be gracing
US soil with an 11-track collections CD overflowing with their most
extreme technically-inclined metal. The collections disc will be available
in early 2004, comprising of tracks from their previous vinyl and
compilations efforts, with exclusive preliminary-mastered versions
of two tracks from their upcoming Red On Chrome album, to be
released on a yet-to-be-announced label sometime in 2004. For those
unfortunate souls who haven't been pummeled by the all-encompassing
chaos that is known as Crowpath, do yourself a favor and download
some sample
MP3s this very moment.  For
all of you Pig Destroyer fans who've been wondering how to
get ahold of the Benumb and/or Gnob splits' material,
good news: Robotic Empire will be releasing a "splits" collection
CD in early 2004 in the US and Howling Bull will be releasing
it in Japan just in time for their Japanese tour
with Napalm Death, A.C. and Nasum. The CD will
feature all material completely remastered and new artwork by the
skilled hands of Chris Taylor (pg99, Crestfallen, etc.).
An unmastered preview MP3 from this CD can be found here.
 Circle
Takes The Square's debut full-length CD As The Roots Undo
has seen many delays but it finally looks like this masterful album
will see the light of day on January 6th, 2004. The artwork and packaging
for this is shaping up to be absolutely incredible, it's definitely
going to be a bank breaker. It's all worth it though, because this
is one hell of a first album and we couldn't be more excited to finally
get this thing into your hands. Also, the band has just launched a
new
website and if you haven't yet, be sure to check out the preview
MP3s to get a glimpse of what you're in store for.  Daughters
are still tearing up the country with Give Up The Ghost and
will be joining A Life Once Lost, The Red Chord and
many more at this year's New Jersey Metal and Hardcore Festival.
This will be one of The Red Chord's last shows for a while as they
will be taking time off to finish working on the material for their
next record. In other TRC news, drummer Mike Justain has joined hardcore
demons Unearth and will hopefully throw in some insane blasting
and inhuman fills on their upcoming Metal Blade debut.  Stop
It!! have just safely returned home from their US tour and it
went great. They're starting to work on new material now as well,
and should be back on US roads early next year followed by a European
tour mid-year. Until then, be sure to check out their debut CD/LP
Self Made Maps, as it's receiving nothing but positive
reviews! Also, a new video clip from a show in New Orleans is
available in the video section and more
should be coming soon.  Finally,
everyone should check out the brand new Virginian band VCR.
Upcoming shows with the Circle are likely, so keep an eye on the tour
section. They're not your typical rock band, but they're punk
as hell in spirit and it'll be hard for you to listen to them and
not want to dance. Their demo CD is available in our distro
now, and a tight MP3 is also available here.
from 10/13/03:  Who said we weren't doing vinyl anymore? Robotic Empire is honored and excited to announce that we will be releasing a series of limited 12"s from the almighty ISIS in 2004. The undetermined amount of 12"s will contain tracks from the Oceanic record remixed by the best and brightest in today's underground music scenes, including the following newcomers and veterans: J. K. Broadrick, 27, Dalek, Christian Fennesz, Thomas Koner, kid606, Buzz Osborne, DJ Speedranch, Mike Patton, James Plotkin, Venetian Snares, Tim Hecker and perhaps one or two more by the time all is said and done. Pre-orders are not being accepted at this time, but expect more information on this incredible remix project in the near future. Until then, a righteous interview with the band can be found here.  We're
also extremely excited to announce that Creation is Crucifixion's
tracks for the ill-fated split releases will finally see the light
of day soon in the form of a single 12". Because of the numerous delays
and overall debacle that this project was, this 12" will most likely
include a bonus CD of CIC's "Radio Bronka" session from Spain. Recent
movement from the Hactivist camp as well, more information can be
found here.
 Crestfallen's
triumphant new CDep has been receiving rave reviews left and right,
please read
the proof of what our hype is living up to. We've also received
copies of the crucial Spanish import version of the EP. The fine folks
at A Date With Elvis did an excellent job transforming the
CDep into an absolutely killer 7" and we currently have copies of
this hot slab of vinyl in our rapidly-expanding distro
section. Also available now: the latest version of their debut full-length
12" with hand-made covers.  This
is obviously the update of 12"s, as we have received the beautiful
vinyl version of Daughters' Canada Songs and they're
available in the distro now! Colored
vinyl kids, so act fast. The reviews are pouring in and the overall
verdict is that in spite of it's short length in the literal sense,
Daughters still manage to cram a full-lengths worth of material and
then some into their ferocious debut album. Read said reviews here.
Our boys are still out on the road with Give Up The Ghost (who's
new CD can also be found in the distro)
so be sure to check out the updated tour dates
to see when this excellent tour is coming through your town. After
some initial and horrid van problems, Stop It!! are back on
the road as the frenzied delivery of their urgent rock cannot be suppressed.
Their debut album Self Made Maps has been receiving some excellent
critical acclaim as well, and reviews can be found here.
We still have some copies of the silk-screened version of the 12"
on Perpetual Motion Machine in the distro
and when those run out it's back to the standard (yet still awesome)
full-color jackets, so pick up the first press while you still can.
A recent and in-depth interview with the band can also be found here.
 The
Red Chord recently returned home from their fist European tour
and they'll be getting back to some US shows soon, including the upcoming
New Jersey Metal and Hardcore Festival with such heavyweight
acts as Superjoint Ritual, Danzig, Nile, Dimmu Borgir, Morbid Angel
and many more. More info on the fest can be found here
and a recent interview with the band can be found here.
It's been said before, but as true as it was in the past, this next
year is shaping up to be incredible for us. We've got a lot of awesome
projects planned and in order to fund this crazy stuff we're in the
process of expanding our distro to
include more rockin' titles. A whole slew of new metal, grind, screamo,
hardcore, indie and everything-in-between CDs have been added to the
expanding distro section, so please
check out these new and old titles for some killer new music and aiding
a good cause: helping us release more killer new music!from 09/14/03:  the
mutation CD compilation is totally complete and ready for mailorder
now! the stores won't have this fierce collection of audibly-mauling
tunes for another couple of weeks so if you can't wait to be rocked
by this diverse offering of the best and brightest up-and-coming heavy
metal/ math-core/ techmetal/ screamy/ grindwhatever bands... order
your copy now through our ever-evolving mailorder.
garuda, the minor times, the abandoned hearts club,
enkephalin, sea of thousand, tyranny of shaw
and ed gein... all names that if you're not familiar with already,
you soon will be. so be the first kid on your block to experience
the mutating brutality of modern heavy music. garuda
is currently on the road supporting this CD, and ed gein will
be heading out next. be sure to check out our updated tour
section for new dates from them, stop it!!, daughters,
a life once lost, hissing choir (new ex-pg99/crestfallen/pig
destroyer band), mannequin, tyranny of shaw, the minor
times and more.  speaking
of shows and such, the first leg of the daughters US/canadian
tour went great and it was so much fun that robotic empire will be
joining the band again on their current tour
with give up the ghost come mid-october. email gets a little
backed up but no worries, mailorder is still fairly on-point as long
as you list alternatives and have even a mild amount of patience.
we'll be expanding the robo distro
considerably over the next few weeks so keep an eye out for tons of
great new (and older) records. for now, we've got some choice new
CDs from the likes of welcome the plague year, hot cross,
etc... stop
it!! is now embarking on their first US tour since the release
of their debut self made maps CD/LP. rave reviews for this,
crestfallen and daughters are pouring in now... so what
are you waiting for? read them! american
folks, be sure to check out stop it!! live in your town this
and next month. updated tour dates are now
available. in
some unfortunate yet long-overdue news, the two split records creation
is crucifixion had planned on robotic empire are now both canceled.
however there is still something good coming out of this, as their
songs recorded for these two records will still see the light of day
in some form or another, likely coupled with several all-new songs
for a more substantial release tentatively entitled antenna builder.
that's all the CIC info we'll probably have for a while, but as soon
as we know more, you'll know more. and as for the pig destroyer
and pg99 material, pig destroyer's songs will be used
on their next relapse full-length and the pg99 song will be
found somewhere on their upcoming DVD documentary.  this
pg99 DVD is shaping up to be a huge project and we NEED anyone
and everyone who has pg99 footage, old and new, to get
in touch ASAP as we'll be starting to assemble this thing soon.
all videos are wanted, older footage especially, and if you have any
master tapes that's even better (but not required). anyone who contributes
footage (that we don't already have a copy of) will receive a free
copy of the DVD when it's finished so if that isn't incentive to be
apart of one of the most important releases we've been involved in,
i don't know what is. for more info on this project direct from the
band, be sure to check out the update on their own website.
 and
finally, in more post-pg99 news, newborn band hissing choir
will be playing their debut shows this month
so get ready for something unexpected and different. mannequin
also has a bunch of shows coming up and will
be demoing material for their full-length CD/LP in the coming months.
besides these endeavors, the taylor brothers have recently founded
their own record label, yr screaming youth. their first release
will be a mighty split 7" between mannequin and new rockers
the madams! more info on that as it comes.from 08/13/03:  after the most insane manufacturing delays (varying from lost UPS shipments to our main man quitting at the pressing plant) we're proud to announce that "canada songs", the debut CD from daughters is finally available. this thing turned out absolutely incredible and was definitely worth the wait. ten tracks of an ultra-brutal, grind-influenced screaming cacophony are contained within this beautifully laid out CD that is now available directly from us through our mail order, or via the band themselves on their current and upcoming tours. to celebrate it's release, the band and label are now embarking on a three-week tour of the north/east US and canada.  before
coming out to see the band devastate you live, be sure to check out
our brand new "canada songs" media
player where you can listen to the entire album, view some brutal
live photos and a brand new video clip from last month's robofest...
(much respect to brian stegall for hooking this up)  while
the label is on the road, all operations will continue as normal (for
the most part). email may be a bit slower than normal, but all mail
order will continue to be filled quickly as we know that you eager
maniacs want these new releases. when ordering distro
items, definitely list alternatives because we're taking a lot of
CDs on the road with us and supplies will vary.  for
european orders, the crestfallen and stop it!! CDs are
now available through nova
recordings and much of our back catalog will be there next week
as well. the daughters euro-release has been delayed for the time
being, but people in australia can obtain it from building
records in just a matter of weeks (along with a killer new double-CD
sampler that contains tracks from almost all of our releases). vinyl
fanatics, we'll have copies of the 12" version of daughters' "canada
songs" sometime next month. for
everyone who's wondering about the mutation CD compilation,
it's at the pressing plant now and will be available everywhere on
september 23rd, and if all goes well garuda should have copies
on their upcoming US tour as well. check out exclusive new mp3s from
the comp by the
minor times and tyranny
of shaw, or check garuda's tour dates.
 circle
takes the square return home from their summer tour this week.
for those who caught them live, you may have been lucky enough to
pick up the tour edition of their debut full-length CD, "as the
roots undo". the real final version of it with some insanely
intense artwork will be available towards the end of the summer. more
info on that to come, but trust us, it'll be worth the wait. and
finally, things are shaping up for stop it!!'s upcoming US tour, but
they do need some help in the northwest part of the country. if you're
in oregon, washington, idaho, etc. please contact the band at pleasestopit@aol.com
if you're down to help out. oh yeah, and the beautiful 12" vinyl
version of the "self made maps" full-length is now available
in the distro.from 08/01/03: 
although their "official" release date isn't until august
12th, the crestfallen and stop it!! CDs are now available
for mailorder! both turned out fantastic and we couldn't be more pumped
about them. for those unfamiliar with either band, they couldn't really
be much more different. crestfallen delivers killer fist-raising thrash
and punk influenced hardcore... less metallic and more rockin, with
plenty of melodic and epic tendencies. stop it!! play some sincerly
harsh and abrasive post-hardcore-ish indie-influenced rock... but
not without their fair share of stoned-out elements. both are fairly
different releases for us, but you know we wouldn't be a part of them
if they weren't absolutely crucial, and we've got mp3s to prove it.
so head over to the audio section to
rock it internerd style before you rock it for real. click here for
ordering info. (and for our european
friends, these should both be available VERY soon through the fine
folks at nova
recordings)
 
 and the fun doesn't stop there, as we've added a whole heap of awesome CDs to the robo distro. can't wait for the damn daughters CD to be finished? neither can we), but until then you can check out what they were up to a couple years ago with both of as the sun sets full length CDs. other highlights include all of blackmarket activities releases, the label founded by the red chord members and their new CDs are definitly fitted for fans of said band. great stuff. more info on all these CDs and much more in the distro section.  we've
also gotten in two different awesome double-sided 13" x 19"
full color posters for daughters/stop it!! and mannequin/circle
takes the square. these things are just beautiful but are so big
that we had to get new mailers, so each one costs $1 and comes folded.
check out the merch section for more
info and bigger graphics. in
other merch news, for everyone out there who missed getting the final
pg.99 shirt designs at their last shows, lumberjack has been
kind enough to print up some new t-shirts for us, including the mannequin
"yr screaming youth" shirt as well, each now available in
all sizes. check out the pg.99 shirts here
and the mannequin shirt here.
 and
speaking of mannequin, badjon.com was clever enough to already post
some great live videos from both mannequin and crestfallen's recent
show down in sunny south carolina. click
here for more info on both (but be forewarned, these videos are
mega big). also, if anyone has any crestfallen photos or videos or
anything, the band would love to see them. email!from 07/13:03:  hella
thanks to everyone to came out to this year's robofest... it
was a lot of fun and we hope to keep this going as a yearly tradition
now. infinite thanks are due to bob, r5 and all of the bands for making
this happen. once again, philly proved that it knows how to rock!the crestfallen & stop it!! CDs should be available for mailorder very soon, so keep an eye out on the site for all of the details. . . from 07/09/03:  it's about time for this year's second annual ROBOFEST and we've got all of the details ready. so if you're at all near the philly vicinity, come out and rock with us!! *THIS* Friday, July 11th - 7:00pm @ The First Unitarian Church (22nd and Chestnut) in Philadelphia, PA - $8 / All Ages / Tickets On Sale at Spaceboy and at r5productions.com - ROBOFEST TWO with : - THE NOW - mp3s - DAUGHTERS - mp3s - THE MINOR TIMES - mp3s - MANNEQUIN - mp3 - CRESTFALLEN - mp3s - CIRCLE TAKES SQUARE - mp3s things will start promptly, so be sure to be there on time! this is going to be a blast, so please come out early and support all of the bands. need directions? hit up mapquest. have questions? email any of us: bob, sean, andy from 06/29/03: it should be no surprise that releasing 5 CDs at once is a lot of work, and as a result we've slacked on some departments (email, mailorder)... but everything is solid now and we've gotten back into the swing of things after a couple of very chaotic months. all of the new releases are coming along beautifully, but unfortunately it's likely that some will be delayed again by a couple of weeks. we'll just go ahead and stop saying "available ____" because it could change, but look for all of these new releases very soon. we'll be making a huge stink about it when they come out, so fret not. here's the current news for everybody, in alphabetical order for a change:  a
life once lost is currently on tour rocking some pre-support for
their upcoming full-length CD "a great artist" on deathwish.
they have gotten so brutal live that it's kind of hard to believe
& we totally encourage you to check them out when they come through
your town. tour dates can be found here,
and a mp3 from their new album can be heard at their
mp3.com page.  circle
takes the square's debut full-length CD entitled "as the roots
undo" is 100% recorded and it turned out incredible. we feel it is
in your best interest to head over to circle's
mp3.com page to check out a brand new mp3 track from this release.
the artwork is being finished up now and it looks fantastic. the band
is about to embark on a 6-week tour across the majority of the continental
US with fellow bros mannequin, so please check out the existing
tour dates and give them your love. unfortunately
we won't have the "real" edition of their CD available for the start
of their tour, so be on the lookout for a tour edition to tide ya
over. and for all you vinyl fanatics, our good buds hyperrealist
will be releasing the 12" version of this monster, and they just revamped
their website with some rad mp3s, videos of pg.99, circle, kylesa,
etc… so definitely check it out over at www.hyperealist.com
 crestfallen's
"self-titled" CDep is totally finished and we're just waiting to get
everything from the plants. fierce is an understatement, and a new
track over at their
mp3.com page is undeniable proof. be on the lookout for their
live spectacle at select dates on the circle takes the square/mannequin
tour, kicking off their stint at this year's second
annual robofest in philly. this show is shaping up to be
incredible with a slew of kickass bands all in one great town, so
check out all of the info at the r5
productions website. daughters
daughters daughters! your new favorite band is gearing up to embark
on a FOUR month tour in support of the upcoming "canada songs" full-length
CD. rumors are spreading that this "full-length" is only 11 minutes
long, and let us be the first to say that these rumors are entirely
TRUE. how can we call this a full-length you ask? when this much chaos
and intensity is packed into many under-one-minute songs, 11 minutes
feels like an epileptic eternity... and if you don't believe us, head
over to daughters'
mp3.com page to check out two brand new mp3s from this full-length
CD. also, our bearded partner-in-crime, the electric human project
will be handling the 12" duties for this ferocious debut and our down-under
friends building records will be releasing the CD over in australia!
and (appropriately so), we'll be joining the band on the canadian
portion of said immense tour, so all of our friends up north will
finally get a chance to check out the ever-expanding robo
distro first hand. 
speaking of which, in our long absence from web-presence we've added
a bunch of awesome new titles to the robo
distro. we've finally gotten more 7"s from daughters, the
reissue of as the sun sets' debut "each individual voice" CD,
premonitions of war's brutal assault on the senses in their
"the true face of panic" CD + a bunch of other rad stuff, including
pageninetynine's "collections" CD which contains all of their
vinyl, rare and demo tracks. head over to the distro
section to check this stuff out.  while
on the subject of pg.99, it may be belated but we still want
to extend an endless amount of thank-yous to everyone who helped make
their last few shows an amazing experience. i've never been to a punk
show as overwhelming as the very last show and it was beyond incredible
to say the very least, especially considering the potential for total
chaos and how respecting everyone was to the promoters, the space,
etc. words cannot accurately describe how amazing this experience
was... and once mannequin returns home from their summer tour we're
going to lock ourselves in the taylor's basement and sift through
ALL of the pg.99 videos from over the years for this upcoming DVD
project we're doing. so if you've got videos of any pg99 show, especially
older footage, PLEASE get
in touch if you haven't already.  "self
made maps", the debut full-length CD from richmond's own stop it!!
is totally finished and we're just waiting for it to all come in.
this full-length turned out just awesome and there will soon be a
hand-screened 12" vinyl version from the good people of the perpetual
motion machine, and we'll have them available as well when they're
finished. until then, be sure to check out two brand new tracks from
the album at their
mp3.com page. also, the band is now gearing up for a long US/canadian
tour that will kick off in mid-september, so if you want to book them
in your town please write the
band directly. the
red chord are currently on tour with
the black dahlia murder, premonitions of war and deadwater
drowning. deadwater drowning & found dead hanging are
two brutal new bands that are on blackmarket activities, a
new label founded by several TRC members, and are definitely recommended
to fans of the red chord and other extreme heavy music. check out
their
new site for more info. the red chord's tour will conclude july
4th-6th at this year's annual hellfest in syracuse, NY. daughters
will be there as well with tons of brand new robotic empire sampler
CDs, so be sure to check it out.  the
2nd robotic empire sampler CD contains new tracks from the
likes of daughters, crestfallen, circle takes the square, stop it,
mannequin, etc. as well as old favorites from pig destroyer, the red
chord, the now as well as some hot extras. these are available from
us directly for $2 so if you want to sample these new releases without
overspending your hard-earned bucks, this is the way to do it. click
here for ordering info. transistor
transistor are still on their immense north american tour with
light the fuse and run, & once that is over they will be
headed over to europe together to further the traveling rock extravaganza.
we just got some awesome new bumper stickers in from transistor, so
definitely check those out over in the merch
section. tour dates for the bands can be found here.
with all of this touring going on and coming up, we are going to need some help promoting the shows in the form of putting up posters, handing out samplers, etc. to everyone that's applied to the robotic army street team, apologies for the long delays in getting back to you. we received an overwhelming amount of applications and are still sifting through them all now... we will write back everyone who applied very soon. thank you for your patience. in fact, thank you all for your patience in a very busy time for us. this summer is an active one for us and we're really excited about everything that's going on. the end of the year is looking to be a bit slower, so let's rock now while it's fucking hot! from 05/16/03:  first
and foremost, we are really excited to announce the addition of two
more releases to this summer's already insane lineup: the debut full-lengths
from richmond, VA's stop it!! and savannah,
GA's circle takes the square! both bands
are finishing up their recording & mastering now, so we now have five
(!!) new CDs coming out on tuesday, july 15th:  we
couldn't be more excited about the new additions to the lineup and
if you're not familiar with these bands already, take warning because
these new releases are fairly different from the other stuff we've
released… in a very good way. if you'd like to check out the bands'
older material to get a rough idea of what we've got in store for
ya, head over to these various mp3 sites to check them out: crestfallen
- daughters
- circle
takes the square - stop
it!! - the
abandoned hearts club - ed
gein - enkephalin
- the
minor times - sea
of thousand - tyranny
of shaw. we'll be posting new mp3s from all of these releases
soon, but for everyone who can't or doesn't like to download music
we plan on having a new robotic empire sampler CD available
at roughly the same time with tracks from all of the new bands and
much more.  we
plan on having all of these new releases available at this year's
2nd annual robofest in philly. the date and lineup are now
totally confirmed, here's the info: friday, july 11th, 2003 @ the
first unitarian church in philadelphia, PA (2125 chestnut street
[22nd and chestnut]) - $7 - all ages - w/ the now, daughters,
mannequin, the minor times, circle takes the square
and crestfallen. more info can be found on the r5
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