The Aquabats new EP "Radio Down"

While working on their fifth studio album, The Aquabats have announced they will give us a sample of their latest tracks. They'll take the form of a 3-song EP titled Radio Down that you can get starting November 9th.

The band has said the new single, "Radio Down," is a "funny direction into dance music" and it features...get ready...Biz Markie. You can stream the whole track on MySpace. The other two tracks are written and produced by Warren Fitzgerald of the Vandals. Sick!

We can expect the full length out in January 2011.

Radio Down is now available for pre-order via iTunes on Fearless Records.

As with any new release, here are the tour dates:
(with Reel Big Fish, Suburban Legends and Koo Koo Kanga Roo)

Nov 9 - Salt Lake City, UT - In The Venue
Nov 10 - Denver, CO - Odgen Theatre
Nov 12 - Kansas City, MO - Beaumont Club
Nov 13 - Omaha, NE - Sokol Auditorium
Nov 14 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
Nov 15 - Chicago, IL - House Of Blues
Nov 16 - Cleveland OH - House Of Blues
Nov 17 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza
Nov 18 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom
Nov 19 - Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live!
Nov 20 - Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts
Nov 21 - Boson, MA - House Of Blues
Nov 22 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club

Mastodon + Jonah Hex EP

This excites us. Because we like comics, we like movies, and we like metal. If you wondered why the music in the Jonah Hex trailer was so badass, it's because it was written by Mastodon...

In light of the release of latest DC comic book movie Jonah Hex yesterday, Mastodon have announced they will release a 6-song EP of the movie scores- despite the struggling process the band endured while working on the project. The album will be released on June 29th.

Here's a snippet of how the band approached writing the music for the film:

For their first venture into the realm of film, Mastodon would record the tracks spontaneously while viewing the movie footage, proving to be a daring and daunting way of creating music together over a short period of time. The resulting sessions yielded incredibly exciting results produced in a completely different way than they normally would approach writing and recording for a Mastodon album.

Just for kicks and to hear how the guys approached the movie, check out the trailer: