The Becoming who hails from Nashville will release their debut album titled
‘Vol 1’ on September 20th via Tooth and Nail Records. The band’s dark gothic sound is drawn from artists like HIM, NIN, The Ramones, and Depeche Mode. The Becoming is also a track that comes from NIN’s The Downward Spiral. The Becoming comes to the scene with a bold attitude as they urge us to remember what gave us chills the first time we heard really great music and hint they may have perfected the blend of melody, mood and mystique. Listen to the tracks We’re Already Dead and The One To Hurt You.

Another new artist following in the same path as HIM and NIN is Dommin. The band won All Access Mag ‘Best Overall Music Video of The Year‘ and is currently recording their debut in Hollywood. Listen to the tracks Without End and Tonight.

Here are some of our favorite doom and gloom videos:

The Ramones – ‘Pet Cemetery‘ and ‘Poison Heart‘

HIM – ‘Killing Loneliness‘

NIN – ‘The Becoming‘

Lords Of The New Church – ‘Dance With Me‘

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRyIACDCc1I

The Wall Street Journal posted a column titled ‘Even Heavy-Metal Fans Complain That Today’s Music Is Too Loud!!!‘. It’s about time the loudness in modern day recordings is creating legitimate noise.

“Some fans are complaining that “Death Magnetic” has a thin, brittle sound that’s the result of the band’s attempts in the studio to make it as loud as possible”

“Metallica and the album’s producer, Rick Rubin, declined to comment. Cliff Burnstein, Metallica’s co-manager, says the complainers are a tiny minority. He says 98% of listeners are “overwhelmingly positive,” adding: “There’s something exciting about the sound of this record that people are responding to.”

Ted Jenson who mastered ‘Death Magnetic’ agrees with the fans by claiming, “Believe me, I’m not proud to be associated with this one.”

Unfortunately, many today’s music executives believe a louder record will generate more sales. “Nobody really wants to have a record that’s not as loud as everybody else’s” in an iTunes playlist, says Mr. Jensen’s business partner and a fellow engineer.

I think it’s important that we learn from this situation. Music lovers are finally aware that many albums lack dynamics caused by engineers abusing technology. “Digital technology made it possible to squeeze all of the sound into a narrow, high-volume range,” says Bob Ludwig, a veteran mastering engineer.  Hence, ending the loudness war is vital.

This Week Sales: Metallica sold another 329,000 copies of their latest CD ‘Death Magnetic’. The band finally won over their fans and critics. Read Rollings Stone’s review of Death Magnetic.

Buckcherry’s new release ‘Black Butterfly’ also landed on the Billboard’s top 10 selling 42,500. Check out the video for their track ‘Don’t Go Away‘.

When Jonas and Miley Ruled The World: Are the Jonas Brothers influencing today’s emo/electronic artists?  Listen to the track Breakout by Cash Cash and let us know what you think. Ironically, Breakout is also the title of Miley Cyrus latest album and lead off single.  Cash Cash will release a 5 song EP on October 7th via Republic Records and  is touring with Metro Station ( Front man is Miley’s half brother).

Recommended Show: Sparks The Rescue performs tonight at Arlenes Grocery (NYC). Listen to the track I Swear That She’s The One.

New Music: Photo Finish Records has signed Ireland emo act
Fighting With Wire and are giving away a free song EP. We agree with KERRANG Mag, despite the gazillions already used you can still come up with a great band name and Fighting With Wire is cool as hell. Check out the track Strengh In Numbers.

Rising Above The Masses: Ahh, our favorite. Rise Against has released the video for the track Re-Education (Through Labor). We said it before and we will say it again, Rise Against is one of the few bands that escaped the Famine that had a devasting impact on the emo/punk bands.

The Dearly Departed: Janet Jackson has left Island Def Jam after being on the label for 14 months. Jackson was dissatisfied with IDJ when her album ‘Discipline’ failed to resonate with the public. Sources claim that Jackson may be joining the concert promoter Live Nation.

Jean Bernard Lévy, the chief executive of Vivendi, remains optimistic and told the Financial Times that he is predicting strong revenue growth from Universal Music.

Vivendi is increasing music sales by striking a deal with Nokia. For instance, Nokia will charge a premium for handsets that allow consumers to download unlimited music. Universal also struck a deal with Myspace and hope to shake hands with Apple in the distant future.

Levy also said that the music industry is close to bottoming out and he remains focused in developing new business models and new sources of revenues.

“We are working with all the big names in the field of internet, in the field of telecom equipment companies, big media companies and this is a big opportunity,” says Levy. “I really believe we are at the turning point for the music industry and I didn’t say that two years ago.”

Myspace Music Shuns Indie Labels: Although Myspace Music has yet to launch, the indie labels are starting to cry. Myspace Music which is backed by the three biggest major music labels will offer downloads, ringtones, and concert tickets. Some say it will be the MTV of the internet. Indie labels are claiming that they are being shunned by the new myspace music venture. As of today, no indie music label has struck a deal with myspace and they’ve been blocked from uploading their music.

New Stream: Chicago band Rise Against seemed to escape the famine that has wiped the punk bands off the map. The band posted 2 tracks titled ‘Collapse‘ and ‘Re-Education Through The Labor‘ on their myspace that will come off the new CD ‘Appeal To Reason’.

Pink’s new single ‘So What’ flew to number 1 on the iTunes pop charts. It also shot straight to number 1 on the official Australian iTunes single downloads chart. Her new record titled ‘Funhouse’ will be released October 28th.

In an effort to revive CD sales major music labels and Scandisk will experiment with a new format for the upcoming releases by Rihanna, Ne-Yo, Robin Thicke, New Kids on the Block, Weezer, Usher, Chris Brown, Akon and Leona Lewis. The new format called ‘SlotMusic’ will contain an album, plus extras, on a compact memory card that can be played on mobile phones, PCs and some portable MP3 players. Does this marketing strategy ad value to the listening experience?