Countdown to Bandcamp Friday (August 2021): What's New at MAR

Guess what, Bandcamp Fridays are back! The countdown is ON for the August 2021 edition which starts this Friday at 00:00 Pacific Time, and running through for a full 24 hours from its start.

If you're unfamiliar with the concept, you may ask, what is Bandcamp Friday? It is Bandcamp's initiative to support artists and indie labels during the covid pandemic, which has hit the music industry as hard as any other. In short, Bandcamp waives its usual 10-15% revenue fee from midnight to midnight Pacific Time on these designated Fridays, and sellers get to keep 100% of revenue generated during this 24-hour period. BC has done these on the first Friday of every month since May 2020 (except January, June and July 2021) and as per the latest update, BC Fridays will continue through the rest of 2021.

If you'd rather not worry about converting from PDT to your timezone, BC has an easy timer set up for your convenience, on isitbandcampfriday.com.

Now with the infomercial out of the way, onto the fun stuff. This coming BC Friday marks biggest and most important one for MAR yet, with as many as nine pre-order campaigns, including three new campaigns launching at the onset of this BC Friday, plus lots of new music, videos and merch being revealed throughout the roster. And, a whole bunch of exisiting music and merch in stock. 

PRE-ORDERS LAUNCHING THIS BC FRIDAY:

1. ZYCH (epic progressive / power metal):

  • Debut album Dante's Inferno Part I (releasing on October 22 2021 via MAR) will be available for pre-order on digital and CD formats
  • Pre-order-exclusive merch bundles will include the CD, t-shirt, guitar pick, sticker, and a very special 12" x 12" giclee print of the album cover art
  • Free digital album pre-order with every physical pre-order
  • Free instant download of lead single and opening track "Canto I - Overture" with every digital or physical pre-order
  • Music video for "Canto I - Overture" premieres at 00:00 PDT to coincide with the onset of BC Friday
  • Direct pre-order link: zychofficial.bandcamp.com

2. ABSOLUM (heavy metal, Louisiana):

  • Debut album Grand Design (releasing September 24 2021 via MAR) will be available for pre-order on digital and CD formats
  • Pre-order-exclusive bundle will include the CD and t-shirt
  • Free digital album pre-order with every physical pre-order
  • Free instant download of title track with every digital or physical pre-order
  • Lyric / animation video for title track premieres at 00:00 PDT to coincide with the onset of BC Friday
  • Direct pre-order link: absolum.bandcamp.com

3. EALDOR BEALU (progressive stoner rock / doom metal, Boise, Idaho):

  • Sophomore album Spirit of the Lonely Places (releasing on CD for the first time on September 24 2021 via MAR) available for pre-order on CD
  • Free instant download of the entire album with every CD pre-order
  • Direct pre-order link: ealdorbealu.bandcamp.com

NEW MERCH IN STOCK THIS BC FRIDAY:

ONGOING PRE-ORDERS CONTINUING FROM JULY (band names linked to artist bandcamp URLs):

  1. THE BLUE PRISON (instrumental prog, Los Angeles): Self-titled album digipack CD, merch bundle and digital download
  2. DAWN FADES (post-metal / prog / blackened doom, Los Angeles): Ode colored vinyl LP, digipack CD, merch bundles and digital download
  3. MALISON (speed metal / neoclassical / thrash metal, San Diego): Death's Embrace colored vinyl LP, digipack CD, merch bundles and digital download
  4. SEA SLEEPER (death metal, Portland, Oregon): Nostophobia colored vinyl LP
  5. CIRCLE OF SIGHS (synth doom / avant-garde): Narci grimace purple vinyl LP
  6. VARKAN (power metal, Phoenix AZ): Self-titled album reissue deluxe digipack CD

NEW MUSIC VIDEOS PREMIERED THIS WEEK:

2021 RELEASES IN STOCK (band names linked to artist bandcamp URLs)::

  1. SOLAR HAZE (stoner metal / heavy metal, Los Angeles): The Solar Age digipack CD, shirts and digital download
  2. FERMENTOR (instrumental death metal, San Diego): Continuance digipack CD, shirts and digital download
  3. THROUGH THE OCULUS (melodic death metal / eclectic heavy metal, Southern California): Self-titled album digipack CD, shirts and digital download
  4. HATESONG (black metal / crust punk / thrash, Indiana): Chapel Rats digipack CD, merch bundle and digital download

  5. CIRCLE OF SIGHS (synth doom / avant-garde): Narci digipack CD, shirts and digital download
  6. SEA OF SNAKES (stoner rock / heavy metal, Los Angeles): World On Fire digipack CD, shirts, keychains and digital download
  7. SEA SLEEPER (death metal, Portland, Oregon): Nostophobia digipack CD, shirts and digital download

PLUS, 2019-20 RELEASES & DISTRO TITLES: Warwind, Living Darkness, Old Blood, Metal Assault Mixtapes, Hvile I Kaos + Emerson Sinclair, RoadRash, Solar Haze, Dawn Fades, Beatallica, Formula 400, Deveria, Enertia, Within The Fire, EchoSoul, Roman Singleton, Wasteland Coven & Canens Carcer

Get Stoked!!
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