PYGMY LUSH - Bitter River cassette OUT NOW + big webstore update!

We've been dubbing the hell out of tapes lately, and hot on the heels of the limited LIGHT YOURSELF ON FIRE cassette comes the debut album from PYGMY LUSH many months before it's actual CD/LP "street date" (which we don't know yet cause we *still* don't have artwork even though the master has been done for months!!). Long story short, the band needed something to sell on their current tour so we knocked out a pile of tapes real fast.

This album is the culmination of every influence these fine young men have ever had, all wrapped around each other to create what essentially sounds like a seasoned band covering a solid mixtape. Sterling, Virginia's PYGMY LUSH debut with Bitter River, 16 tracks that span pretty much the entire underground/independent music spectrum... ranging from tracks that sound like THE BLACK HEART PROCESSION to BORN AGAINST to TOM WAITS to THE JESUS LIZARD to BOB DYLAN to ONE EYED GOD PROPHECY to NIRVANA to ... you get the point, right? This is an incredibly varied album but it works surprisingly well, as the five fellows of PYGMY LUSH have cut their teeth on some of Northern Virginia's most influential punk/hardcore bands of the last decade or so including PG.99, MAJORITY RULE, MALADY, CITY OF CATERPILLAR, SAIL, HISSING CHOIR and about a million more.

Bitter River is a FULL length album that literally fills the A side of this C63 tape, while the B side is essentially a 25-minute "hidden song" that only further expands upon what PYGMY LUSH is able to pull off. While this isn't exactly how we envisioned the initial release of this album, we're really fucking amped on it and couldn't be much more stoked to deliver it to you. This high-quality black cassette comes with a lyric insert, full-color cover (printed by Imprint) and is overall nicely done. So take that tape adapter out of your car stereo, dust off your ancient walkman cause this album rules and we highly recommend checking it out!

* Preview three MP3s ("Hurt Everything", "Long Pause" and "Send Bombs") from this album on PYGMY LUSH's Myspace page
* Preview one newly posted MP3 ("Big Black Hole") from this album on Robotic Empire's Myspace page
* View a massive image of the artwork here
* Order this tape through the Robotic Empire Online Store
* Better yet, go see the band live on tour RIGHT NOW:

04/26 - Pensacola, FL @ Sluggo's (2403 W Cervantes St) - w/ Haram, City Of Ships
04/27 - New Orleans, LA @ Green Project Art Space (2831 Marais St) - w/ Haram, Big Baby
04/28 - Birmingham, AL @ Cave 9 (2237 Magnolia Ave) - w/ Haram, Random Conflict
04/29 - Richmond, VA @ Nara Sushi (1309 W Main St) - w/ Haram, Tigershark
05/07 - Washington, DC @ The Warehouse Nextdoor (1021 7th Street NW) - w/ Anchors

Besides the new PYGMY LUSH and LIGHT YOURSELF ON FIRE cassettes, we also got a rad pile of new stuff and restocks for the Robotic Empire Online Store since the big update last week, including but not limited to:

* Behead The Prophet, No Lord Shall Live - "I Am That Great And Fiery Force" 12" (K) - $14.00
* Cannabis Corpse (members of Municipal Waste) - "Blunted At Birth" CD (Forcefield) - $8.00
* Catalyst, The / Mass Movement Of The Moth - "Two Thousand And Six Six Six - GRAY COLORED VINYL" 12" (Electric Human Proj.) - $9.00
* Catalyst, The / Mass Movement Of The Moth - "Two Thousand And Six Six Six" CD (Electric Human Proj.) - $9.00
* Cattle Decapitation - "Human Jerky - Pic Disc" 12" (Accident Prone) - $10.00
* Danse Macabre - "Synkopenleben Nein Danke" CD (Electric Human Proj.) - $8.00
* Ebion / Hangmans Chair - "Split" CD (Bones Brigade) - $8.00
* Explosions In The Sky - "All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone" 2x12" (Temporary Resid...) - $16.00 * Giants - "They, The Undeserving" CD (Medical Abuse) - $10.00
* Grails - "Burning Off Impurities" CD (Temporary Resid...) - $12.00
* Great Redneck Hope, The - "Behold The Fuck Thunder" CD (Thinker Thought) - $10.00
* Great Redneck Hope, The - "Splosion!" CD (Thinker Thought) - $10.00
* Karp - "Mustaches Wild" CD (K) - $12.00
* Karp - "Self-Titled" CD (K) - $12.00
* Karp - "Suplex" CD (K) - $12.00
* Krieg - "The Black House" CD (Red Stream) - $10.00
* Loftus - "Hugs And Drugs" CD (Monarchy) - $9.00
* Loftus - "Self-Titled - CLEAR COLORED VINYL" 7" (Self Released) - $6.00
* Machetazo - "Ultratumba" CD (Living Dead Soc.) - $10.00
* Mae Shi, The / Rapider Than Horsepower - "Do Not Forget The Potential" 12" (Nar Shardaa) - $10.00
* Magrudergrind / Sylvester Staline - "Split - RED SPLATTER COLORED VINYL" 7" (Bones Brigade) - $5.00
* Mehkago NT (members of Torche, Shitstorm) - "Self-Titled" CD (To Live A Lie) - $8.00
* Meth And Goats - "Attack From Meth And Goats Mountain - GREEN/WHITE COLORED VINYL" 12" (Electric Human Proj.) - $9.00
* Meth And Goats - "Attack From Meth And Goats Mountain - LEMON/LIME COLORED VINYL" 12" (Electric Human Proj.) - $9.00
* Meth And Goats - "Attack From Meth And Goats Mountain - PINK COLORED VINYL" 12" (Electric Human Proj.) - $9.00
* Mono - "Walking Cloud And Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered And The Sun Shine" 2x12" (Temporary Resid...) - $16.00
* Mono - "You Are There" 2x12" (Temporary Resid...) - $16.00
* Morser - "Pure Scum" 12" (Vendetta) - $12.00
* Nortt - "Ligferd" CD (Red Stream) - $10.00
* Panicsville / Wether - "Split" Cassette (No Horse Shit) - $5.00
* Part Chimp - "CUP" CD (Monitor) - $12.00
* Part Chimp - "I Am Come" CD (Monitor) - $13.00
* Pygmy Lush - "Bitter River" Cassette (Robotic Empire) - $7.00
* Racebannon - "Satans Kickin Yr Dick In" 12" (Alone) - $12.00
* Raein - "Il Ny A Pas De Orchestre" 12" (React With Protest) - $12.00
* Revenge - "Victory, Intolerence, Mastery" CD (Red Stream) - $10.00
* Riddle Of Steel / Dakota Dakota (pre-Russian Circles) - "Split" 7" (Forge Again) - $5.00
* Robotic Empire - "Bears - Size: Youth Large" T-Shirt (Robotic Empire) - $15.00
* Robotic Empire - "Bears - Size: Small" T-Shirt (Robotic Empire) - $15.00
* Robotic Empire - "Bears - Size: Medium" T-Shirt (Robotic Empire) - $15.00
* Robotic Empire - "Bears - Size: Large" T-Shirt (Robotic Empire) - $15.00
* Robotic Empire - "Bears - Size: Extra Large" T-Shirt (Robotic Empire) - $15.00
* Robotic Empire - "Bears - Size: Double Extra Large" T-Shirt (Robotic Empire) - $16.00
* Russian Circles - "Enter [European Import Version] - CLEAR/BLACK COLORED VINYL" 12" (Friction) - $15.00
* Setup, The / Schematic of a Waking Life - "Split" 12" (Electric Human Proj.) - $9.00
* Snack Truck - "Terrier Of The Pale Moon" 7" (Blood of the Drash) - $5.00
* Souvenirs Young America - "Self-Titled - BLACK VINYL" 12" (E-Vinyl) - $10.00
* Souvenirs Young America - "Self-Titled - COLORED VINYL" 12" (E-Vinyl) - $12.00
* Souvenirs Young America - "September Songs" 12" (Protagonist) - $10.00
* Spectacle, The - "I, Fail" 2x12" (Scenester Cred.) - $14.00
* Sylvester Staline - "Gonna Spread Hard Drugs..." CD (Bones Brigade) - $9.00
* Ultra Dolphins / Order - "Split" 7" (Blood of the Drash) - $5.00
* Various Artists - "If It Plays..." CD (Thinker Thought) - $6.00
* Wether / Sean Connolly - "Skeletal Snowcaps" CD-R (No Horse Shit) - $6.00
* Zonetech - "Stations Of The ZZZone" Cassette (Blood of the Drash) - $6.00

Thanks ya'll, peace!

Robotic Empire - Online Store

LIGHT YOURSELF ON FIRE cassette out now +tour dates +bigass Online Store updates!

We lied, another Robotic Empire Online Store update! Actually our web developer got strep throat and it's time we unleashed another update while our crunk new Online Store is being finished up. And guess what... a new release too! This one is a limited cassette from Florida's LIGHT YOURSELF ON FIRE... shit is beast! Here's what we wrote about the CDep version (released by Kiss Of Death):

LIGHT YOURSELF ON FIRE is a fine example of Florida's consistent tendency for innovative heavy music. Years prior to the world of "metalcore" (or even the very word), the members of LYOF paid their dudes in OMEGA MAN and REVERSAL OF MAN, merging elements of raging metal with a strong foundation in hardcore punk. Not crossover thrash exactly, but also unlike any of the "metal" or "hardcore" bands at the time. These bands lived amongst the underappreciated innovators of what would eventually become a very popular and widespread sound.

Years later the same people that helped expand our own tastes of metal and hardcore have regrouped in LIGHT YOURSELF ON FIRE, an absolutely pummeling quartet that we couldn't be much happier to work with. The fusion of heavy guitar work with a fierce rhythm section (including a healthy amount of double-bass) and gruff n' burly vocals all make for a truly interesting listen. This is the type of band that really show their years of hard work in the underground, and it's not surprising you hear similar styles in popular groups going today (ie, CONVERGE, LAMB OF GOD, MASTODON, etc.) And that's not to say that these bands were influenced directly by the brutal dudes of LIGHT YOURSELF ON FIRE, but undoubtedly a whole new generation of musicians has indirectly taken from their groundwork. This is a great history lesson revisited, and we're stoked to present it to you. Check out some MP3s from this crucial debut:

* "Rickshaw"
* "Flux Capacitor"
* "9:30am" and "Rickshaw" (Myspace link)

Also, here's some "bullet points" if the killer music isn't already enough:

* Members of crucial old bands REVERSAL OF MAN, OMEGA MAN, SCROG
* Artwork by Steak Mountain (you know, dude who did the bulk of the artwork for COMBATWOUNDEDVETERAN, REVERSAL OF MAN, etc)
* Limited to 100 total copies

We made a total of 100 copies of this tape: 20 went to the band for their April tour (see dates below) and 80 will be available through mailorder. 46 copies got a glow-in-the-dark stencil treatment for the cassette itself, and the other 54 got red, tan (or both) spraypaint stencil treatment. The band's copies all are glow-in-the-dark, and the first 26 people who order will also get this version. Both look sweet, just one glows and one doesn't. Same brutal tunes on both sides of this C30 tape, and if the band is coming through your town definitely go check them out and grab a copy directly:

4/21/07 - New York, NY @ ABC No Rio (3pm matinee) - w/ Conversions, Terminal State
4/21/07 - Long Island, NY @ Smithtown Masonic Temple - Benefit for J. Robbins
4/22/07 - Worchester, MA @ The Ship Room
4/23/07 - New York, NY @ Lit Lounge - w/ Total Fucking Destruction (record release show), Bloody Panda, Dead Unicorn
4/24/07 - Richmond, VA @ The Bonezone - w/ Hentai Lacerator, Parasytic
4/25/07 - Columbia, SC @ Art Garage
4/26/07 - Asheville, NC @ Static Age - w/ Descolada
4/27/07 - Athens, GA @ Tasty World
4/28/07 - Chattanooga, TN @ JJ's Bohemia
4/29/07 - Atlanta, GA @ The Drunken Unocorn - w/ Me And Him Call It Us

That pretty well sums it up for LIGHT YOURSELF ON FIRE, go see them on tour! We also got a shitload of other awesome stuff in stock in the Robotic Empire Online Store this past week or two:

NEW STUFF:
* Aidan Baker - "Broken And Remade" CD (Volubilis) - $8.00
* Antigama / Drugs Of Faith - "Split" 3" miniCD (Selfmadegod) - $7.00
* Archeopteryx - "Ten Years Of Friendship" 10" (Discos Huelga) - $10.00
* Bone Awl - "Meaningless Leaning Mess" 12" (Nuclear War Now) - $15.00
* Breather Resist - "Split Sessions" CDep (Nova) - $8.00
* Call Me Lightning - "Soft Skeletons - CLEAR COLORED VINYL" 12" (Forge Again) - $10.00
* Carlisle - "This Means Everything To Me" CD (IFB) - $10.00
* Circle - "Earthworm" CDep (No Quarter) - $7.00
* Circle - "Forest" CD (No Quarter) - $12.00
* Coptic Light - "Self-Titled" CD (No Quarter) - $12.00
* Cult Of Daath - "Slit Throats And Ritual Nights" 2x12" (Nuclear War Now) - $21.00
* Cult Of Luna - "Somewhere Along The Highway" CD (Earache) - $9.00
* Death Yell - "Morbid Rites" 2x12" (Nuclear War Now) - $21.00
* Ghostlimb - "Self-Titled" CDep (Commodity Fetish) - $7.00
* Goatlord - "Reflections Of The Solstice" 12" (Nuclear War Now) - $14.00
* Goatlord - "Reflections Of The Solstice" CD (Nuclear War Now) - $8.00
* Goatlord - "The Last Sodomy Of Mary" 12" (Nuclear War Now) - $17.00
* Goatlord - "The Last Sodomy Of Mary" CD (Nuclear War Now) - $8.00
* Godflesh - "Self-Titled" CD (Earache) - $9.00
* Godflesh - "Love And Hate In Dub" CD (Earache) - $9.00
* Godflesh - "Pure" CD (Earache) - $9.00
* Godflesh - "Selfless / Merciless" 2xCD (Earache) - $10.00
* Godflesh - "Slateman / Cold World" CD (Earache) - $9.00
* Godflesh - "Slavestate" CD (Earache) - $9.00
* Godflesh - "Songs Of Love And Hate" CD (Earache) - $9.00
* Godflesh - "Us And Them" CD (Earache) - $9.00
* Holy Ghost - "Self-Titled" 12" (A389) - $10.00
* I Object - "Teaching Revenge" 12" (Alternative Tentacles) - $9.00
* I Object - "Teaching Revenge" CD (Alternative Tentacles) - $9.00
* Kaospilot - "Self-Titled" 7" (Nova) - $5.00
* Light Yourself On Fire - "Self-Titled" Cassette (Robotic Empire) - $6.00
* Loma Prieta - "Matrimony - WHITE COLORED VINYL" 7" (Discos Huelga) - $5.00
* Loma Prieta - "Our LP Is Your EP - COLORED VINYL" 12" (Discos Huelga) - $10.00
* Minsk - "The Ritual Fires Of Abandonment - COLORED VINYL" 2x12" (Gilead Media) - $18.00
* Municipal Waste - "Hazardous Mutation (re-issue)" CD/DVD (Earache) - $12.00
* Napalm Death / Coalesce - "In Tongues We Speak" CDep (Earache) - $7.00
* Napalm Death - "Breed To Breathe" CDep (Earache) - $7.00
* Napalm Death - "Death By Manipulation" CD (Earache) - $9.00
* Napalm Death - "Diatribes" CD (Earache) - $9.00
* Napalm Death - "Fear, Emptiness, Despair" CD (Earache) - $9.00
* Napalm Death - "From Enslavement To Obliteration" CD (Earache) - $9.00
* Napalm Death - "Harmony Corruption" CD (Earache) - $9.00
* Napalm Death - "Inside The Torn Apart" CD (Earache) - $9.00
* Napalm Death - "Scum" CD (Earache) - $9.00
* Napalm Death - "The DVD" DVD (Earache) - $12.00
* Napalm Death - "Utopia Banished" CD (Earache) - $9.00
* Napalm Death - "Words From The Exit Wound" CD (Earache) - $9.00
* New Flesh, The / Clancy 6 - "Split" 7" (Heart Break Beat) - $5.00
* New Flesh, The / Robert Inhuman - "Split" 7" (Heart Break Beat) - $5.00
* New Flesh, The - "Self-Titled" 7" (Heart Break Beat) - $5.00
* New Flesh, The - "Vessel" CD (Heart Break Beat) - $8.00
* Occams Razor - "Invisible - CLEAR COLORED VINYL" 7" (Discos Huelga) - $5.00
* Pest - "Self-Titled" 12" (Nuclear War Now) - $11.00
* Pulling Teeth - "Vicious Skin" 10" (A389) - $8.00
* Saddest Landscape, The - "Discography" 2xCD (Slave Union) - $12.00
* Third Memory, The - "Et De Cela Rien Ne Ressort" 12" (Ive Come For Your...) - $10.00
* This Song Is A Mess / Barr - "Split" 7" (Oedipus) - $5.00
* Tigershark - "Limited Tour" Cassette (Perpetual Motion) - $6.00
* Total Shutdown / XBXRX - "Split" 2x5" (Rock Is Hell) - $14.00
* Total Holocaust - "Hell On Earth" 12" (Nuclear War Now) - $12.00
* Unearthly Trance - "In the Red / Live in Belgium" Cassette (Heart Break Beat) - $8.00
* Unfortunaut - "Of Here And Now" CD (Feast Of The Unicorn) - $8.00
* Unholy Grave / Plague Rages - "Split" CD (GNA) - $9.00
* Various Artists - "Retro Is Poison [4 Way Split]" 12" (Punks Before Profits) - $9.00
* Witchfinder General - "Live 83" 2x12" (Nuclear War Now) - $25.00
* Yellow Swans and Moth Drakula - "They Do Not Always Remember" CD (Oedipus) - $9.00
* Zach Hill and Mick Barr - "Volume 2" 12" (Rock Is Hell) - $18.00

RESTOCKS:
* An Albatross - "Freedom Summer Live [gray cover] - COLORED VINYL" 12" (Kitty Play) - $15.00
* An Albatross - "Freedom Summer Live [red cover] - RED COLORED VINYL" 12" (Kitty Play) - $15.00
* An Albatross - "Freedom Summer Live [multi-color cover] - COLORED VINYL" 12" (Kitty Play) - $15.00
* At The Gates - "Slaughter Of The Soul" CD (Earache) - $10.00
* Catheter - "Dimension 303" CD (Selfmadegod) - $9.00
* Cattle Decapitation / Caninus - "Split - BROWN COLORED VINYL" 7" (War Torn) - $5.00
* Cattle Decapitation / Caninus - "Split - RED COLORED VINYL" 7" (War Torn) - $5.00
* Cult of Luna - "The Beyond" CD (Earache) - $9.00
* Cult of Luna - "Salvation" CD (Earache) - $9.00
* Cult of Luna - "Self-Titled" CD (Earache) - $9.00
* Cult of Luna - "Somewhere Along The Highway - COLORED VINYL" 2x12" (Earache) - $22.00
* Des Ark - "Loose Lips Sink Ships" 12" (Bakery Outlet) - $9.00
* Dillinger Escape Plan, The - "Self-Titled" CD (Earache) - $9.00
* Earth - "Legacy of Dissolution" CD (No Quarter) - $12.00
* Earth - "Sunn Amps and Smashed Guitars" CD (No Quarter) - $12.00
* End of a Year - "Sincerely - COLORED VINYL" 12" (Slave Union) - $10.00
* Examination Of The... - "We Are The Architects Of Desire" CD (Forge Again) - $10.00
* Funeral Diner - "The Wicked" CDep (Alone) - $7.00
* Godflesh - "In All Languages" 2xCD (Earache) - $12.00
* Godflesh - "Streetcleaner" CD (Earache) - $9.00
* I Object - "First Two Years" CD (Town Clock) - $9.00
* Iron Monkey - "Our Problem" CD (Earache) - $9.00
* Knit Witch - "Witchycraft" Cassette (Fuckittapes) - $7.00
* Love Like Electrocution - "Self-Titled" 1-SIDED 12" (Slave Union) - $8.00
* Majority Rule - "Emergency Numbers" CD (Magic Bullet) - $9.00
* Mouth of The Architect - "The Ties That Blind - COLORED VINYL" 2x12" (Gilead Media) - $18.00
* Municipal Waste - "Hazardous Mutation" CD (Earache) - $10.00
* Nachtmystium - "Instinct: Decay - CLEAR COLORED VINYL" 12" (Profound Lore) - $12.00
* Nachtmystium - "Instinct: Decay - GREEN COLORED VINYL" 12" (Profound Lore) - $12.00
* Napalm Death - "Noise For Musics Sake" 2xCD (Earache) - $10.00
* Orphaned Land - "Mabood - CLEAR COLORED VINYL" 2x12" (Profound Lore) - $14.00
* Pageninetynine - "Document 7" 12" (Magic Bullet) - $10.00
* Pink Razors - "First Degree" 7" (Rorschach) - $5.00
* Sail - "Self-Titled" Cassette (Fuckittapes) - $7.00
* Sleep - "Holy Mountain" CD (Earache) - $9.00
* Temper Temper - "Self-Titled - YELLOW COLORED VINYL" 12" (Forge Again) - $9.00 [price change]
* This Ship Will Sink - "You Are Precisely My Cup Of Tea" CDep (Magic Bullet) - $8.00
* You and I - "Discography" CD (Alone) - $10.00

Hopefully this is the last update until the new store launches... we'll see. Until then, please keep us busy by visiting the Robotic Empire Online Store. Thank you!!