Swans - We Rose From Your Bed With The Sun In Our Head (2012)

Full Length, Young God Records
February, 2012

Genre: Post-Punk/Industrial/No-Wave/Experimental
Region: USA

I don't need to sell you on this or at least I shouldn't need to. This is Swans' most recent live album from their last set of tours plus some demos of their upcoming new album The Seer. I saw them live and it blew my mind. Their live albums are legendary and this is no exception. I haven't even heard the whole thing yet, only the first half of the first cd and man is it intense, raw, bizarre; even exhausting.

This will be taken down eventually I would think. I know Gira asked nicely for people not to share this online, but I missed out on the chance to pick up the limited/special edition and this is someone elses upload so whatever. It needs to be heard, and eventually there will be a regular cd press soon for the general public — watch Young God Records for more info on that.

DOWNLOAD PT. 1 (Mediafire)
DOWNLOAD PT. 2 (Mediafire)

Temple Nightside - Prophecies of Malevolence (2011)

EP, Adverse Order Music
June 11th, 2011

Genre: Black Metal
Region: Australia

I was going to post more hardcore but I bet you're tired of it by now, so how about some murky black metal. It seems the aussies just know how to lay down good shit these days.

Prophecies of Malevolence feels like one long hazy ceremonial performance, and is surprising considering it's Temple Nightside's first release. In fact Cvlt Nation streamed this record in one long track and it really feels seamless, each of the nine tracks flow so well that as one it almost sounds like it was mean to be that way.

All the tracks here have an evil, wretched atmosphere about them with constant tremolo picked ferocity, occasionally dissonant and haunting with a few breaks in the form of quick palm mutes, gallops or chilling, echoing chords. The production makes these spellbinding instrumentals incredibly muddy, giving the record a obscure vibe especially when droning, swirling interludes are present. A violent gale of drumming whips underneath the vocals which are vile, ghostly rasps (low and high) only interrupted for brief disturbing chanting and humming monk groans. The EP ends with mesmerizing drone ambiance emitting an ancient and disturbing feeling, very cold and ominous.

A great release. It may come off as a little samey at times but this is another case of the Australians pumping out well written, ghastly metal that needs to be heard. Head over to Adverse Music and pick up a copy.

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire)

Unsacred - Where The Light Dims (2012)

Demo, Independent/Self-released
February 26th, 2012

Genre: Hardcore/Blackened Hardcore/Crust
Region: USA

Been trying to get to some requests as you can see, been neglecting the folder up until now. For those who don't like the dark hardcore — tough shit.

Unsacred bring you their first demo, a blend of Converge or Heartless styled hardcore with some more blackened and crusty influence. Six short blasts which alternate between blazing, feedback-slathered chunky tracks to a sound that takes on a more darkened aura. Blackened intense chords and low tremolo riffs with some pretty catchy grooves hidden amongst these elements — sometimes with excellent use of massive bends and pinched harmonics (the last two tracks are great examples), or sparse injections of dissonance. Where The Light Dims is a promising demo, the vocalist has a wicked rasp spitting out what I can only assume is disgust over top the clattering drums and thick, fast rhythms on the bass and guitar.

I would watch these guys as what they've developed here is quite solid. Definitely give this a listen if you enjoy hardcore with a filthy edge. Listen to it on bandcamp or Stereokiller and follow their facebook and tumbler for updates on where to pick up a copy.


DOWNLOAD (Mediafire)
DOWNLOAD (Bandcamp)

Arms of Ra - Unnamed (2012)

Full Length, Swarm of Nails
March, 2012

Genre: Sludge/Doom/Hardcore
Region: France

I've been seeing this release around a lot and was actually going to get around to putting it up here soon, but the folks over at Swarm of Nails have made contact and asked that we post it up before I could get around to it.

"Unnamed" contains six independents songs which are all linked by the same story of a man trying to deconstruct himself and disappear from society.

Abhorrent darkness is what this release exudes from every corner. Arms of Ra are fortified on all sides by pungent injections of atmospheric sludge like Amenra and Reka and dark, dissonant hardcore like Nesseria, Young And In The Way, Hexis, Oathbreaker, and Maranatha.

Unnamed is dedicated to thick chunky grooves and bouts of cacophonous writhing twangs (sometime briefly straying into post-metal territory), bolstered by the mangled yells of the vocalist and a rough and gritty bass roar. It often creeps but shows faster sections when the hardcore influence penetrates. Bleak melodic passages trudge through the muddy chaos on occasion further pressing into you a feeling of helpless gloom and malice. The final track is the longest and has a far more traditional doom metal feeling to it as it stomps angrily, having dropped much of the angularity in favor of a somewhat early Thou-ish tone. It's a nice deviation to end the album on

Brooding and heavy. Recommend for those who like some core with their sludge. Unnamed can be heard in full on Swarm of Nails' bandcamp and is available at the Swarm of Nails online shop so pick it up if you like what they do.

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire)
DOWNLOAD (Bandcamp)

Vilipend - Plague Bearer (2010)

EP, No List Records
May 8th, 2010

Genre: Metalcore/Hardcore
Region: Canada

A short while ago I posted Vilipend's demo up as it was a pleasant discovery. Well Christopher, a gentleman and the vocalist of Vilipend, has kindly asked that I bring this high velocity shred of angularity to your attention and I have no problem doing so because it's a fine release indeed.

Within Plague Bearer are three angular tracks that are sure to delight any fan of surging hatred in aural form, building on their already strong demo and live record. The title track starts slowly with crushing blows of dissonance and the bleak utterances from Chris; spitting resentment. A slick bass line emerges, the drums pick up we hit a fast and scratchy patch, then chaos furiously bounding with drums rolling on. Into another bass riff before a set of dark and melodic sustained notes carry you to the descending end.

Magnificent Desolation is a beast opening with a seriously explosive and gratifying set of discordant bendy grooves, increasing with intensity before breaking through to a slower variation; bouncy and jagged as the percussion slows slightly. Ugly seething anger bleeds though, and frenetic stop-starty scratches coupled with sustained riffs scrape your ears. A calmer section emerges before returning to the opening groove and final twisted passage.

The final track, Dulling Silver, is the longest on the EP. A steady drum beat escalates and eventually the coarse bass surfaces when at 1:27 the guitars slide in — noisy and dissonant maintained fuzz builds at a crawl before the vocals emerge. Creeping notes mount carefully to a brief but awesome riff, returning to the previous uproar, and then straight to controlled chaos when suddenly that wicked riff returns and lingers satisfyingly as the bass creeps underneath. A final push of disorder is made when the track ends with a cycling delay.

More love for Canadian hardcore right here and this is recommended for sure. This may be short but it hits hard, is acute and well crafted — jagged and pissed which is the kind of hardcore I love. Hopefully this gives a glimpse into what they're working toward on their upcoming full length which will surely be huge. Give Vilipend some love by picking this up digitally on their bandcamp page or grabbing a physical copy in 7". Follow them on facebook too since they're planning a few shows soon and I'll definitely be going.

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire)
DOWNLOAD (Yousendit)

Weregoat - Unholy Exaltation of Fullmoon Perversity (2011)

EP, Parasitic Records
November 30th, 2011

Genre: Black/Death Metal
Region: USA

Ready for some filthy bestial blackened death metal? Weregoat's EP is exactly what you want from the genre.

Themed around lycanthropy and satanic rituals Unholy Exaltation of Fullmoon Perversity is fantastically ugly, sullen and feral. Right from the opening of cathedral organs and the piercing wail of the lead guitar you know it's going to be a disturbing whirlwind of ancient chaos, unending in it's brutal assault. The riffs are simple but well crafted, slogging into you with uninterrupted malice while occasional penetrating screeches and solos rear their heads amongst the frantic pinging drums and animalistic vocals; a hideous growl laced in reverb.

The attack is straight forward and unrelenting, almost always a frenetic pace with a few slower, cataclysmic grooves to break up the chaotic battery (Invoke the Black Oblivion for example) with most tracks opening or ending in some frightening noises and samples.

It's unfortunate I missed this one last year but in case you guys did as well here it is. Torturous and rotten, a well executed piece of blackened death metal. Pick this rotten release up in vinyl form at Parasitic Records or on cd over at Dark Descent Records.

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire)

Wildernessking - The Writing of Gods in the Sand (2012)

Full Length, Antithetic Records
January 23rd, 2012

Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
Region: South Africa

Can't say that much "cascadian" themed black metal has flowed out of South Africa but Wildernessking have adapted that style with a few differences from their North American counterparts. The occasional long brooding riffs are there, winding from furious speeds to slower, warm melodic passages that linger and a great venomous vocal style from the bassist splitting through the atmosphere. However this record is much more complex. The album soars triumphantly with more progressive instrumentals, not necessarily resting on mournful or cold aesthetics but looking towards cosmic themes and breaking through the trappings of the genre.

In other moments their spin on the more traditional elements championed by the genre is refreshing — one thing that helps here is that unlike a lot of their peers they manage to keep every track under 10 minutes long, showing off the ability to edit themselves while managing to have the album feeling huge, atmospheric. While I do love me some 20 minute epics without a doubt (and often prefer them) it's nice to see that, like Obolus for instance, Wildernessking manage to break from this and still provide just as much passionate writing.

Every instrument is clear too. Not only do the guitars have a wonderful biting tone, the bass pushes past everything rather than being relegated under everything else and the drumming (which is a more notable aspect here) is dynamic, tight, powerful; capable of blasting as well as more subtle, gentle touches. The feeling that something grand is being constructed before you in each song is immediately felt.

This is some great black metal I think you guys should check out. It's hard to believe this is their first record. If you want a cd copy you can get one from the Antithetic Records store, or you can listen to the record on bandcamp; and if you want to contribute to the upcoming vinyl press then go to the fundraising page and pay what you want. I would suggest doing so.

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire)

Narrows - Painted (2012)

Full Length, Deathwish Inc.
February 28th, 2012

Genre: Metalcore/Hardcore
Region: USA/UK

"New Distances" was a great first release from Narrows and being composed of the talented members from Botch, Unbroken, These Arms Are Snakes, Tropics, etc. there's no question as to why. I've been waiting for their next release eagerly and now Painted has appeared. Despite the off-putting cover art the music within is outstanding, a worthy sequel.

Potent and thick rhythms on bass and guitar heaped with twang, dissonance and feedback draped with infuriated, hoarse yells make each track high energy — most last to about the 2-3 minute mark and manage to stay dynamic. One track ("Greenland") is a behemoth 8 minute powerhouse injected with 3 minutes of cycling noise/feedback, bare drums and violent roars, only to collapse into slower (but still loud) chunky procession with a lot of reverb on the lead; not unlike "Gypsy Kids" on New Distances. The writing is as solid as ever, nothing runs too long and the production is sharp. There are some seriously addictive grooves that demand the volume be cranked to let that bass growl shake the foundations, especially on that last track.

Much thanks to The Elementary Revolt for getting on top of this one first. Highly recommended, don't judge from the cover guys. Narrows set out another win in the hardcore arena with Painted. You can pick this up soon from Deathwish Inc. as well as their other releases.


-link removed on request-

Skagos - Anarchic (2012)

Full Length, Self-released
June 21st, 2012

Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
Region: Canada

The frozen earth lays still, dead but ever dreaming…
Dreams spurred by the morrowind, chilled by snows of yesteryear.

The follow-up to the soul crushingly beautiful, visceral masterpiece "Ást" has long been in the wind — presumed dead (by me at least). A bit of news this morning from the hard working guys at Hammer Smashed Sound and The Flenser reveals however that the members of Skagos have decided to put the first side of this lurking work of genius up on bandcamp for streaming. The plan is to raise money to get Anarchic pressed in physical form for a true release date and I for one desperately want this to happen. All they're asking is a mere $2.50 to download Side A: a 23 minute hypnotic raw journey through the mist shrouded dark undergrowth of the cascadian wilderness, delivering a huge dose of sorrow and longing. This is easily worth the measly amount charged and it's only the first side which has me greatly anticipating what is locked away in Side B.

If you haven't heard Ást yet, go listen to it (and download it for free). It's a highly praised yet little known gem which doesn't disappoint. I highly recommend all readers who enjoy it to support these guys so we can get this glorious album to finally see the light of day. They are committed to releasing this themselves which means what you donate will go straight towards just that, and if you honestly can't afford it the guys even suggest just ripping it from the stream. I believe however that once you listen to this sample you'd be fooling yourself if you said it wasn't worth the money.

SUPPORT/LISTEN (Bandcamp)

Undergang - Til Døden Os Skiller (2012)

Full Length, Xtreem Music
February 1st, 2012

Genre: Death Metal
Region: Denmark

It's the new Undergang, building on a previous demo and it fucking demolishes all in it's path. Raw, uncompromising, heavy, ugly, violent, hacking it's way through your brain — you couldn't ask for a more mighty display.

I shouldn't have to say much here in order for a death metal fan to snap this up without question. I will thank JGD again, as well as Haxan of Forever Cursed and JT over at Coffinpslams for getting it out there for me to pass along. I recommend picking this crusty stack of old school greatness over at Xtreem Music ASAP.

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire)