Dark Trail Records

17/01/2023

04/01/2023

Massive big ups to thenoiseblog for including all 3 of DTR’s 2022 full-length releases and unending support.

Okay folks, last genre list before we head into the final posts and bid farewell to 2022 for good and you know I had to end things with mathcore :

1.) The Callous Daoboys - Celebrity Therapist :

The Callous Daoboys had already amassed a devoted following in their relatively recent existence but this new effort from them sees the band absolutely skyrocket to new heights and genuinely justifies people referring to them as the rightful heirs to the throne left empty by giants and pioneers of the sub-genre, The Dillinger Escape Plan.
Absolutely off the fu***ng walls, super creative, abrasive, surprisingly catchy and extremely refreshing.
Mathcore is in good hands for the foreseeable future.

2.) Black Matter Device - Autonomous Weapons :

F**k me, this was a close fight for the #1 spot.
Had I only listened to personal preference BMD would've won but taking things such as production, songwriting, and torch-bearing implications into account, this explosive cocktail of sassy mathgrind ended up being right behind the Daoboys's tail by very little.

3.) Sunflo'er - all these darlings and now me :

Indisputably the most emotionally packed record of this category, all these darlings and now me is a gripping mix of post-hardcore, southern rock n' roll and mathcore and boasts one of the best album closing tracks of 2022. What a treat this is.

4.) SERLING - Next Stop, Willoughby :

After their excellent last year debut EP, Serling make even bigger waves on this debut full-length, going even deeper into their Twilight Zone concept and unleashing even heavier mathy caveman riffs.
If you love your math tuned low, this one should've been on your regular rotation in 2022.
The songwriting could use some shaking things up a little but overall, this was such a fun record.

5.) Mothman - Cancer Withdrawal :

Probably the most violent, bleak and nihilistic of the bunch.
Cancer Withdrawal pulls no punches when it comes to delivering an intensely gritty experience in between mathcore and grind.

6.) The Wind In The Trees - Architect of Light :

In a similar vein as Mothman ; I wasn't too keen on the saturation-heavy production but goddamn is this album relentless.

7.) Thoughtcrimes - Altered Pasts :

You know it's gonna be good if Billy Rymer is behind the kit;
Altered Pasts is a compelling mix of mathcore and Deftones/Glassjaw influenced alternative metal with bits and pieces of electronics added in for good measure.

8.) Lower Automation - Strobe Light Shadow Play :

If Coilguns and early The Mars Volta had a baby, I feel like you'd end up with what Lower Automation have to offer sonically.
Dizzying, creative musicianship ; the vocals might not be everyone's cup of tea but even if they aren't your thing, it's definitely worth your while to try and push past.

9.) Deaf Club - Productive Disruption :

Channeling early 2000's MySpace mathcore energy with the means and maturity of more present times; Productive Disruption comes packed with attitude and super fun signature dissonant mathy guitar work.

10. The Sawtooth Grin - Good. :

Unrelenting, all over the place, progressive, zany...
All the things I would expect from a mathcore record, only reason it is ranked at #10 is because I didn't get to spend that much time with this album.
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01/01/2023

Thank you for a great 2022. Even though I’m constantly questioning why I even bother to keep doing this, I really appreciate everyone who snagged a record or some merch, especially my day 1’s. Special thanks to Black Matter Device, Mothman, THE GOD AWFUL TRUTH, Under The Pier, Sunflo'er, and Methwitch for trusting me with their art. Appreciate everyone’s patience who have pending orders: ICYMI my wife and I got married and had a baby this fall, so I’m still a little behind, but getting a bunch out everyday. Black Matter Device ended up having to be pushed into the new year, but it’s wrapping up soon, so expect updates on that and Sunflo’er soon. New roster announcement next month along with another new Basil's Kite single.

29/12/2022

Methwitch - “Indwell” galaxy variant is sold out, other variants aren’t far behind. All orders expected to ship early-July.

15 track album

27/12/2022

Recent live footage of THE GOD AWFUL TRUTH at The Post on River East in Haltom City, Texas

Shot on December 6th, 2022 at The Post on River East in Haltom City, TX.Shout out to the band for letting me film the set and share on the channel, links bel...

20/12/2022

- “all these darlings and now me” album art t-shirts are in and they look fking beautiful. Massive big ups to for being the best provider. Order now at darktrailrecords.bandcamp.com

13/12/2022

Methwitch - “Indwell” galaxy variant is sold out, only a handful of the splatter and few merges remain. Link in comments.

12/12/2022

A couple shipping updates:

is wrapping up and should be in hand before Xmas, but realistically won’t be shipping until the new year

probably not going out until February or March unfortunately at this point

is on track to ship us prior to release date, so expect pics of that in February

That’s pretty much it, everything else is shipping as expected. I appreciate everyone’s patience the last couple months: my wife and I got married in October and had our first child in November, so I’ve once again fallen about 6 six weeks behind current orders, so thank you for not breaking my balls. I should have a bunch of stuff out this week as well.

10/12/2022

Nothing like paying for “professional” PR and still getting snubbed by every single metal publication under the sun