Last night at a show in Columbia, SC Murder By Death announced that its new record, Red of Tooth and Claw, would be out by the end of February. And Blabbermouth has word today that the typically pop-punk home Vagrant Records will be releasing it. The band tried out several new songs last night, and they sounded like they could be some of the group’s best yet. They veered slightly away from the affected country doom of the past two records in favor of a more urgent and wiry post-punk sound, though the lyrical themes still seemed to mine grandiose territory. Long-time drummer Alex Schrodt was conspicuously missing, however. Not sure what the story is there. Both Wikipedia and the band’s official site have the new drummer’s name (Dagon Thogerson) listed, but neither offers any sort of explanation.