Sumerian Records is extremely proud to announce the re-signing of their flagship artist, Los Angeles based progressive death metal titans THE FACELESS, who are close to completing the writing process for their much anticipated third full-length release. The group will enter guitarist's Michael Keene's studio in March to begin tracking the new effort and they will be documenting the entire process via a series of webisodes, so keep an eye out for the debut episode this March at www.facebook.com/thefaceless.

THE FACELESS are scheduled to headline the Sumerian showcase at SXSW at Emo's Annex on March 16th with Veil of Maya, Animals As Leaders and Upon A Burning Body rounding out the bill. If you are in the Austin, TX area this is one show that's not to be missed. The band will also perform a number of dates with Animals As Leaders around this showcase, so see below for the entire schedule.

Sumerian Records Creator Ash Avildsen states: "Of every signing in the history of Sumerian Records, I feel the re-signing of THE FACELESS is the most symbolic and monumental of all. Back in 2006 when I stopped touring, I was living in a one bedroom Venice Beach apartment as an aspiring but struggling DIY booking agent trying to pay the bills. With a dream of having a record label built upon the spirit of family and perseverance and comprised of a heavy, cutting edge roster, I set out to find the perfect first band. I could not have chosen a better group than THE FACELESS to begin the story of Sumerian Records. With no office or staff, just sheer determination and a vision, we shook hands and decided let's show the business what the little guys can do together with all the odds against us.

“Both as a huge fan and a true friend, I have watched the members of THE FACELESS go from being an unsigned, struggling local LA band to a critically acclaimed, internationally renowned, touring force that have been chosen to travel the planet w/Meshuggah, Lamb of God, Cannibal Corpse, In Flames, Between The Buried And Me, Necrophagist, The Black Dahlia Murder, Cynic and more. One of the greatest joys of my job is to be able to help incredibly talented musicians build and grow a career. THE FACELESS have undoubtedly become an influential, timeless, progressive metal act that continues to evolve before the world's eyes. Now with their songwriting at an all time high and their forward thinking approach to music showing no signs of slowing down, I believe 2011 will be the biggest year THE FACELESS has ever seen and I am very grateful to be a part of it."

Keene further comments: “After five years and two successful albums we've decided to sign on with the sphinx-obsessed, record-pedaling Sumerian Records for some more! We've worked together from the start of both of our respective careers and have grown together the whole way. That brings me to the question, if it ain’t broke, why fix it? There is no doubt that Sumerian has been there for us time and time again when we've needed them and they continue to grow and expand as a label every day. I'm very confident in their work for us and am proud to not only call everyone at Sumerian our business partners, but also our great friends.

“This next record is going to be the most musical and progressive record we've made. Since recording Planetary Duality, the goals of THE FACELESS have changed a bit. You can still expect a fast, technical and blistering record, but I personally am less focused on a musical aesthetic and more on musicality and making an expressive, unique, moody and expansive record. Speed picking, flying double bass and skin melting guitar solos are certainly still in order. However, you can also expect more clean vocals with big harmonies, some unique instrumentation, dark moody passages, interesting keyboards, synth guitars, vocoder and sequenced segments. It's going to be the most focused and depressive FACELESS record to date.

“I'll also be filming as much of the recording process on my FlipCam and posting frequent webisodes along the way. I'm really excited to show our fans a glimpse into the daily life of THE FACELESS, the recording process and my little world at Keene Machine Studios. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do.”