In addition, BOOK OF BLACK EARTH will support crust pioneers Amebix in Los Angeles tomorrow night (Jan. 22). Please note that the show has been moved from the Regent Theater to the Echoplex (www.attheecho.com), and that doors now open at 5 p.m. (BOOK OF BLACK EARTH plays at 7:30 p.m.)

A new track from Horoskopus, “The Death Of The Sun,” was recently added to the band’s MySpace page, www.myspace.com/bookofblackearth. Horoskopus, the band’s Prosthetic debut, is available on both CD and limited-edition gatefold double vinyl.

BOOK OF BLACK EARTH on tour with Cattle Decapitation (except where noted):

1/21 Jensen Mainstage – Santa Barbara, CA

1/22 Echoplex – Los Angeles, CA (w/ Amebix)

1/23 924 Gilman St – Berkeley, CA

1/24 Thee Parkside – San Francisco, CA

1/25 Knitting Factory – Hollywood, CA

1/26 The Sets – Tempe, AZ

1/27 Launchpad – Albuquerque, NM

1/28 Chic’s – El Paso, TX

1/29 Red 7 – Austin, TX

1/30 White Rabbit – San Antonio, TX

1/31 Java Jazz – Houston, TX

2/1 High Ground – Metarie, LA

2/2 American Legion Post – Pensacola, FL

2/3 Fuel Coffeehouse – Jacksonville, FL

2/4 Back Booth – Orlando, FL

2/5 Orpheum – Tampa, FL

2/6 Masquerade – Atlanta, GA

2/7 Engine Room – Tallahassee, FL

2/8 Cave 9 – Birmingham, AL

2/9 The Village – Little Rock, AR

2/10 The Lounge on Elm – Dallas, TX

2/11 Gator’s – Farmington, NM

2/12 The Rock – Tucson, AZ

2/13 Jumping Turtle – San Marcos, CA

Featuring members of Skarp, Iamthethorn, and Teen Cthulu, Book of Black Earth are much like label mates Withered, in that they are deeply rooted in Stockholm styled death metal, but where Withered have heavy black metal, and post rock injections, BoBE are a pure death metal act with maybe a hint of crusty sludge and pure old school heavy metal a la Lair of The Minotaur. The end result is easily one of the better examples of an American band plying old school death metal ever to grace these ears.

No clicky, triggered drums, or processed vocals, or clinical sound; just a primal, cavernous rumble, replete with old school synth intros, towering grooves and restrained, tasteful blast beats laced with rough, fierce vocals. As much as I’d like to breakdown each track, the fact is, each of the eleven tracks, including intro “2160” are simply kickass numbers that revel in crusty, throwback riffs and lumbering, ominous builds and grimy slow downs. That being said, the longer more developed tracks like “Horoskripture”, “Cult of Dagon”, “Funeral of Peace” (which would have been right at home on Folie Circulaire), “The Darkest Age” and epic closing duo of “From Heaven” and doomy 9 minute “Christ Pantheon”, are sheer, lurch and blast filled bliss. Not that shorter rumblers like “Death of the Sun”, “Total Control”, “The Great Year” and “God of War” aren’t pure asskickery-they are. Throw in a perfectly gritty and primal Chris Common (Mouth of The Architect, These Arms Are Snakes) production and Horoskopus is an album that every metal head should hear and old scholl metal heads will love.

If you think American death metal is simply become blast filled, overproduced, core based, forced brutality and banality and you enjoyed releases from Hail of Bullets, Grave, Unleashed and Withered in 2008, do yourself a favor and pick this gem of an album up.

“We are all very excited to work with Prosthetic Records and the people behind it, we feel like this is a good step for us as a band and a good home,” drummer Joe Axler says. “BoBE is currently finishing writing for our Prosthetic debut which will be titled ‘Horoskopus,‘ and entering The Red Room Studios in Seattle this week to start tracking with producer / engineer Chris Common (Mouth of the Architect, These Arms Are Snakes). This is by far our most technical, heavy and challenging set of songs to date. It’s definitely pushing the envelope for us, which we stand behind, and will make this record the most brutal one we have written.”

“Horoskopus is a concept album about the hidden astrological elements of the Christian church,” vocalist / guitarist T.J. Cowgill adds. “From its origins as a state sponsored religion in the fourth century to the present day, it has been guided by astrological concepts conceived centuries before Jesus Christ was mythologized as the ‘Sun’ of God.”

To preview previous material from Book of Black Earth, including the latest songs from The Feast, visit the band’s MySpace page here.