Google has been very active lately in shutting down Blogspot hosted MP3 blogs, particularly those with download links to new releases. Unfortunately (sort of…) one of the latest casualties was the European blog metalhcalbums.blogspot.com. Although it trafficked in posting plenty of new releases, which I’m definitely not defending, it had easily one of the largest collections of out of print and obscure hardcore releases from around the world, many of which have still not found a legal home at any digital music store. No doubt, these hard to find releases will continue to be available somewhere, somehow, because there’s still a demand for them (and we all know that music nerds run the world) but I hope that maybe Google’s efforts here, along with the people working behind the scenes to shut down illicit MP3 blogs, put into motion more efforts to legally make these old releases available.

The lovable, teddy-bear cuddlin’ chaps at Eulogy Records have assembled their latest free download sampler. The compilation features brand new songs from DONNYBROOK, STAND UNITED, THE TIRED AND TRUE, HATE YOUR GUTS and ENDER, as well as material from 12 other recent Eulogy titles. You can grab your copy here, and check out the full track listing after the jump.

From the inbox:

Divebomb Records has partnered up with Century Media Records to reissue one of the most overlooked crossover albums ever, CRO-MAGS’ Alpha Omega. Since the original release of Alpha Omega in 1992 its creative origins have been long argued amongst the band members, and with so many turbulent rumors floating about it’s no wonder this record has neither been properly understood nor – even worse – acknowledged by many CRO-MAGS fans. We, at Divebomb Records, remain unconcerned with the drama as we feel the music created during this time in the CRO-MAGS’ career is some of the band’s best. Sure such a statement could be debated for years, but the bottom line is that Alpha Omega is, in our opinion, some of the finest crossover metallic hardcore NYC has ever produced, period.

We won’t bore you with typical descriptions because the legacy of the CRO-MAGS certainly speaks for itself. We’re confident this album warrants a rightful place in your collection – regardless of whose side of the fence you reside on – and we hope to finally bring this much-treasured classic back into the favorable light it has always deserved!

- Divebomb releases are CD only and limited to 1000 copies. The reissue has been remastered by Jamie King and will also include a bonus music video and revamped liner notes. In general, Divebomb is up to some incredible stuff and the reissues they have put together are of outstanding quality.

New Jersey/Philly area pop-punk BRIGHT AND EARLY have their new EP Louder Than Words streaming on their Bandcamp page. These guys are a pretty cool trip, with a sound that strikes me as a twisted take on MIDTOWN being influenced by FALL OUT BOY, with clever lyrics to boot. John Naclerio produced and recorded the songs, adding a professional edge to it all.

Lancaster, PA melodic metal band THIS OR THE APOCALYPSE have added a brand new song to their MySpace page titled “Subverse.” The track is from the band’s forthcoming Good Fight/Lifeforce full-length Haunt What’s Left, which hits stores on June 22nd. This is the third new track to get previewed by the band, following “Lamnidae,” and “Charmer.” Haunt is the follow-up to the band’s 2008 Lifeforce debut, Monuments.

From the inbox:

GHOST ROBOT NINJA BEAR, the newest vehicle for NAKATOMI PLAZA front man Oscar Albis Rodriguez, is back with a second single crammed with post-hardcore excellence. Featuring the songs “Staring At The Clocks” and “Carousel,” the latest release is now available as a free / pay-what-you-like download via Bandcamp.

Fans still bemoaning the demise of Nakatomi Plaza can get in on the same kind of guitar pyrotechnics displayed on the so-good-it-hurts albums Unsettled and Ghosts. Rodriguez is back and he is rocking skulls.

Recorded and mixed by Ali Hassan ( Bouncing Souls, The Loved Ones ), with help from Geoff Kraly (bass), drummer Christopher Enriquez ( ex-On The Might Of Princes / Gracer ), as well as Rodriguez’s Ludlow Lions band mate, Brendan Coon ( vocals on “Carousel” ), the two songs perfectly complement Ghost Robot Ninja Bear’s debut single, “One Pedal To Another” b​/​w “Blood, The Tango,” which was released earlier this year in March.

- I look forward to their metal concept record, DEATH GHOST ROBOT NINJA BEAR…

Short version: The American Slang replaces The ’59 Sound. Every single song begs to end up on Rock Band, or playing on the radio, were any still not owned by Clear Channel. It could also be titled the Alex Rosamilla Compendium Of Instantly Memorable Riffs. We’ll get to that later. Like all of their discs, [...]

The allure of the major label is still a big deal if you’re a marketable band. And most bands I imagine still think they are a marketable band. And if you play pop-punk music, and have sold several hundred thousands records on a highly respectable indie label, then yea, you are definitely a marketable band. Such appears to be the case with Maryland darlings ALL TIME LOW, who according to the site TCDC, have signed with Interscope Records. Good for them, but hey – maybe something different can happen this time around. As the labels and their (big box) retail partners have reluctantly admitted, CD prices could be a lot cheaper (and still profitable). Major labels are already familiar with offering heavily discounted digital downloads for a short period of time, and labels for awhile did experiment with $5.99 Best Buy and Target exclusives, but what about a $3.99 full-length CD? What about those pesky royalty issues, you say? (OK – no one actually says that but us legal nerds and industry types). Fuck ‘em, work out a way around them. Contract boilerplate isn’t actually carved into Commandment tables. Or better yet, ditch the typical release model altogether and do it BOUNCING SOULS style – one new single per month on iTunes. ALL TIME LOW can write some seriously catchy songs – many of them in fact. And if if they can’t sustain that for an entire year, songwriters can fill the gap and let the band’s performance talents take over. JUST DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT. The major label music industry is so boring. It’s so repetitive. The major label grinder consistently kills off all of the romanticism that surrounds a band’s rise from humble beginnings, to indie success, to bland corporate commodity speak.  And ALL TIME LOW has all the makings of being another new cog in a machine that stopped working almost 10 years ago.

- Did I just write a 300 word rant involving ALL TIME LOW? Dang… time for bed for this old man…