Late last month, the legendary Swans, who for over 30 years have contained, ignited and detonated the full spectrum of human agony, announced the follow-up to 2012's nuclear meltdown of a record, The Seer. The band's newest two-hour obelisk, To Be Kind, drops May 13th and includes contributions from Annie Clark (St. Vincent) and Al Spx (Cold Specks), among others. Frontman/dustbowl psychopath Michael Gira described the record as "more vocal-oriented," which is good news for those of us who could use a break from the aural bludgeoning that makes Swans' discography arguably the most terrifying, infernal canon never to be enjoyed by anyone's parents.

Swans have also announced a massive tour, whose first chunk of dates is available courtesy of Pitchfork.

While we wait and ready our industrial-grade earplugs in hopes of more details and a possible single, watch Gira et al rapidly lose touch with reality at last year's Pitchfork Music Festival.