GET READY FOR THE BEST ALBUM OF 2011

Winds of Plague have released the below Christmas video, which includes a too-brief sample of a new song, “Refining the Fire.” The band is scheduled to release a new album on Century next year.

It will be interesting to see how the Decibel Hall of Famers and New York Times profilees fare with new keyboardist Alana Potocnik stepping in for the departed Kristen Randall, who was, as we all know, a cornerstone of WOP’s sound and songwriting process. A little birdie tells me that this album will be a return to the band’s tr00 thugcore roots a la Decimate the Weak, and the music below would certainly seem to confirm that. But however it sounds, here’s hoping that these critics’ darlings can finally find the mass audience their reviews suggest they so richly deserve.

-AR