Vanhelgd - Temple of Phobos (2016)

Sweden is better at making repulsive death metal than they are meatballs and sub-standard furniture. All we know is there is something in Sweden's water supply that causes the country to churn out a smörgåsbord of good old school death metal and elite hockey defensemen.

Vanhelgd opted for a deceptively clean cut to the throat to sever the head from the shoulders rather than hack at the stump with complete savagery like you'd expect from brutalists Revenge or Swallowed, instead we have low-gimmickry death metal with a seriously thick layer of filth. But not entirely minimalist; The song Den Klentrogenes Klagan has a horn section tooting underneath a layer of buzz-sawing riffs. 

•  †  •

Temple of Phobos (bandcamp)

Mizmor - Yodh (2016)

Set to release on Gilead media 08/12/16, Mizmor's Yodh.

Yuppies - Yuppies (2013)

I've been sitting on this album for quite some time, hoarding it all to myself, listening to it frequently and silently applauding myself even more frequently. Noisy and brooding atmospheric punk that sounds like it was floor recorded in a dark and dingy basement. Sometimes sounding something like spoken word against erratic instrumentation, the combination works really well. I'm not going to dissect it, these guys nailed this debut album and everyone needs to listen to it and agree with what I say. Hail, all thee fucking Yuppies!

'Big toms, sharp sheets of metal. A dimly lit open room, noise and ruckus together again, as the members unite, to percuss the air. Now, the empty streets, they march in unison, clutching their weapons, destruction for, destruction safe, they do not neeeeeeeed. They speed off through the dark…

Alright, alright. We're going for a ride, whether you like it or not, grab your things collect your thoughts, we're going for a ride alright, alright.'



Yuppies

Hammers of Misfortune - Dead Revolution (2016)

Hammer of Misfortune's Dead Revolution was unleashed on planet earth yesterday and as expected, it's riff soup. I'm trying to find something I don't like about it, just so I can remain 'transparent' and 'like, true to the people maaan' but I don't think there is anything on here that is egregious or susceptible to the charms of my infinite hatred. It's really good.

The production might be perfect; soaring ethereal guitar tones that ride greasy choppers on astral planes, beautifully symmetric vocal layering that range from sonic avenues like an acid trip highway to volcanic quarrels amongst ancient gods with vocal-chords made from honey, silk, butter and appropriately (for good measure) a gravel pit. The keyboards groove effortlessly between a drug addled Ray Manzarek like psychedelia to the frisson fueled synth romp from 16-bit video games, and those drums have a perfect sound all while avoiding all the typical drum tropes you'd expect from a progressive NWOBHM album albeit the song 'Flying Alone' exposes a missed opportunity for a sweet cow-bell ride.

Listen to it fully on bandcamp or maybe buy it, $7 USD isn't too shabby. I'll see about sharing a link to the album on the CBOX there for us poor knaves, or maybe someone can beat me to it… I seemed to have resolved the issues it was having before.

Dead Revolution

Sun Worship - Pale Dawn (2016)

Dearest Droogies,

Ever since Lars sent me a very righteous picture disc vinyl of the Surpass Eclipse EP in the mail I knew my allegiance would forever align with whatever these dudes put out, even if it was bad… especially if it was bad. Sun Worship have never been bad and they never will be bad, which means Pale Dawn is good. This is simple mathematics.

A departure from their ambient tinged black metal of yore and more thee straight to the throat blistering black metal rife with galloping drum fills, strong like ox and fast like cobra riffing and distant vocal shrills that split the hairs on your shoulders.

Sun Worship, thank you.

with admiration and respect, your friend

Chieftain and High Warlord of Severed Heads Open Minds, Chris D'Alessandro



Sun Worship - Pale Dawn (bandcamp)

Cape of Bats - For The Ruin of Souls EP (2016)

It sounds filthy, like fecal matter splashing around in the piss broth of a pigeon stoop. It's not good but it is quick and sleazy… like a one-night stand with your friends grandmother.

Muck - Full Performance on KEXP at AIrwaves 2013 (video)

We've all been hearing about Iceland's most recent success story of how a viking nation with a drinking problem gave the Euro cup and every soccer nation a new chant/salute to steal.

But let's not forget about Muck, everything these youngsters do is good and we should be paying attention.

No Sir - The Future Is Bright (2013)

No Sir is the bastard child of a few punk/hardcore bands making noise out of the California bay area, most notably Sabertooth Zombie which I said in a post back in 2011 "they are the musical equivalent to beef jerky purchased at a late night gas station in Milwaukee." and sure I'll stand by that.

What matters most here is that The Future Is Bright is a hard-hitting cut of hardcore with a punk upbringing and twinges of thrash in there with every element in place.

Support the lower echelon slugs, the album is 'name your price' so put in a few bucks or $0 for a free download if you're ramen broke. Get into it!

The Future Is Bright on Bandcamp (name your price)