Drown - Subaqueous (2020)

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Here's an album I could hardly find a flaw in even if I were to be truly vicious, truly picky and up my own ass in a tizzy of pretentious elitism. It's very well devoid of any faults as it sets out to do one thing and to do that thing very well: To create a sonic representation of what it would feel like to be crushed by the oceans weight through virtue of glacially placed funeral

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It's heavy and it's bleak despite its penchant for dipping into very thoughtful and melodic passages, but alas never quite sacrificing any of its crushing weight, a death grip of floating guitars bounce around a vast expanse of atmosphere created through plodding drums, the space between and a bellowing vocal delivery as heavy and desperate as the music itself. It's production is bang on, so thanks for that. I don't know if I've cared this much about a straight funeral doom record since Ahab's 'The Call of the Wretched Seas' and I commend its ability to simultaneously pacify and stimulate. Get into it or just flounder, punk!

Subaqueous (bandcamp)

Divide & Dissolve - TFW (2020)

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Divide & Dissolve are a two-piece – Very loud and supremely glacial doom and drone encompassed of Takiaya Reed and Sylvie Nehill of Melbourne, Australia, who met and united under the bond that they are both of indigenous background and began to create music, pounding and hypnotic, as a means to lay down the bedrock of their creative outlet, beliefs and messages. All of this is accomplished through a dense wall of sound that utilizes Takiaya guitar and saxophone drone over top the churn of Sylvie's drums, it's powerful and transporting and I'm eager to hear more than just this one song off of TFW.

I don't know where it's going, but I'm all in…

TFW (bandcamp)

Bloodshot Bill - Get Loose or Get Lost (2020)

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Montreal's legendary Bloodshot Bill strikes again and can still cut the mustard better than almost anyone else in the genre out there, the nostalgia in a bottle jukebox rockabilly croon of Bloodshot Bill is about as authentic as it gets, and his guitar is sounding so good on this one. This album just came out, but it resonates with a certain potent accuracy the sounds of 70 years ago with flourishes of modern panache within the frenzied minutia. Can't wait for the days when I can watch this man pour his sweat and heart out on some dingy bar stage in Toronto and maybe even catch a rare cover of Hasil Adkins 'No More Hotdogs'. The idea is simple, accept no substitutes and get loose or get lost!

Get Loose or Get Lost (bandcamp)

Ruin Lust - Choir of Babel (2020)

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Another 20 Buck Spin release to lay at your feet, and it's another begrimed mixture of tonal ferocity and sonic dissonance via the mode of fusing together equal parts death, doom and black metal with overlaying tinge of crust wrapped around the carapace of reverb. I hate to draw another comparison to punk or hardcore, but the overlapping sound and feel sounds like all those old metal bands that worshipped and embraced the raw and sloppier aspects of the early thrash/punk/hardcore production styles a la Slaughter, Bolt Thrower, Obituary, Carcass, Terrorizer, etc. Ruin Lust aren't really pushing any boundaries on Choir of Babel, but it is succeeding excessively in where it's meant to, it's ferocity and heft, and the right choice in production is what sets it apart from weaker links within this ilk.

Choir of Babel (bandcamp)

Skeleton - Skeleton (2020)

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The formula on this self-titled is an easy enough one to pin down, a grab bag influence of first wave black metal riffs and vocals with early thrash and hardcore passages a la Venom and Bulldozer and tempo shifts with a barebones structure of early Entombed death metal and a fraction of the meatiness that Bolt Thrower had with some of the rough around the edges punk of all those bands. I was healthily skeptical of this debut release from Austin, Texas, but the more spins I inevitably cycle through, almost out of compulsion, the more I accept its unavoidable filthy and unrefined charms. it's hard not to be a sucker for an amalgamation like this, and it's done well to boot. Dig in, creeps!

Skeleton (bandcamp)

Ars Magna Umbrae - Apotheosis (2020)

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It's a bit early on this one, as its set for release in late August and as of now there's only one song up on the bandcamp page, but Ars Magna Umbrae released an uncompromising slab of slavic sounding black metal back in 2018 called Lunar Ascension and it was mostly overshadowed and or overlooked. Polish black metal that's built up on layered dissonant riffs that wade through an icy terrain of ambient passages and a crude and cosmic atmosphere, very little to not like here. I, Voidhanger Records continues to be reliable!

Apotheosis (bandcamp)

Convocation - Ashes Coalesce (2020)

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Convocation's debut record 'Scars Across' was one of 2018's best in the arena of metal, without question, and a lot of people got that wrong last year but what can you expect a from a flock of dorks that put Sleep before Thou in the same year… Has everyone lost their goddamn skull? "But Chris" you tell me "opinions are meant to be subjective, that's what's so beautiful about them, kumbaya and Hakuna Matata, my man." and I'll simply look at you and say "No."

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Finland's Convocation released Ashes Coalesce a few days ago through Everlasting Spew Records and it stands firmly as another staunch example of how to craft a song that feels heavier than a dead dog and how to adeptly maneuver around lengthy tracks without becoming frivolous and tedious through use of some impressive range. I'm purposely trying not to delve too deep into this as far as praise (or critiques) go as I have only listened fully through the one time, but through the merit of how good 'Scars Across' I am putting this one out into the ether. I will say this: In comparison to 'Scarss Across", the way in which 'Ashes Coalesce' was produced, in particular the prominence of the vocals in the mix and the omission of weight behind the kick drum in favour of clarity is something that might be too lofty for its own good, with an album cover matching in grandiosity. OF course this is more a matter of personal preference but…Gut instinct, I prefer the more primitive aspects of the former. See, I can be critical too.

How about Drown though? Holy shit.

Ashes Coalesce (bandcamp) 

Murderer - I Did It All For You (2018)

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This sucker is a couple of years old but I only just stumbled onto it the other day by complete accident and I'm floored by it. This is one of those records that sound ahead of its time, which is likely a hyperbolic statement, but this is why I write on this blog and not you, because I get to say whatever I want, and you get to roll your eyes or whatever it is you do – If that sentence had its own chapter, it would be titled "Attitude dude."

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A seedy New York three-piece fronted by Hank Wood of Hank Wood & The Hammerheads and the festering energy they are known for is obvious on 'I Did It All For You', an atmosphere conquered by fuzzy guitar tones and grooves that pack force like a kicking mule. It's super jangly and weird, and features four-different takes on the same track called 'Perfect' which I should hate, but I really couldn't and I really don't. This album succeeds at everything it's been doing and if you don't like it, well that's just like, your opinion, man. Keep cool.

I Did It All For You (bandcamp)

Sunset Images - Centro de la Ciudad [single] (2020)

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I've talked about these guys a while back on here, and I still find myself returning to Obscure Daze for a listen though pretty often due to the potency of its sound – Which to be sure is completely mired in noise and shoegaze psychedelia, but still manages to capture a lot of beautiful sounding passages throughout the ensuing chaos, which as a juxtaposition in sound, works very, very well.

I check on these guys from time to time to see if anything new has been put out but unfortunately there hasn't been anything other than two songs in the last three years… This tune came out this year though and if it's a teaser for anything new to come, I'm all ears. Get some reverb into ya!

Centro de la Ciudad (bandcamp)

Mountain Witch - Extinct Cults (2020)

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It's hard not to call any band that sounds like Mountain Witch a Black Sabbath worship band, since any band worth their salt probably worships Sabbath anyway, especially when their sound is dripping with that THC soaked doom and tonal psychedelia that Black Sabbath very well created… so I'll resist the urge to do so. Mountain Witch are pure Black Sabbath worship. Fuck.

I'd be remiss to call it there, there's more to Mountain Witch than just another copy-cat band that only wants to play heavy and riff out in a sea of retro doom with flourishes of heavy metal, they do well to explore some refreshing territory with light synth use and the drums sound meaty and varied (no gated snare!) which if done poorly weigh a band like this down to the point that no amount of tight riffing can make up for. Thematically I'm all in too, lyrically dabbling in the esoteric and the occult and a healthy presence in the foothills of campy Horror that you'd expect out of this ilk. Even though I do them from time to time, I dread trying to contrive comparisons, but let's just call this a loose mix of Hour of 13, Captain Beyond, Blood Ceremony, Ghost (early) and Purple Hill Witch.

Extinct Cults (bandcamp)

Failure Ritual - Apathy (2015)

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Everything that has been put out under the umbrella of Failure Ritual has been great, hypnotizing and plodding ambient black metal that utilizes space and repetition to drive the listener into a state of hypnosis or induced psychosis. It's drone is long and consistent and sounds like a sonic form of mania through a winding channel of muffled screams against a wall of dense mollifying guitars as war drums beat in the distance. It's hefty and haunting but somehow manages to be catchy in its rhythmic way, and it often feels as though you have turned the same corner over and over with only the faintest difference to set it apart.

And to add even more layers to its already enigmatic presence, It's mostly unknown as to who is behind Failure Ritual, but I have read speculations that it might be Adam Kalmbach of Jute Gyte. I have nothing in common with somebody who can't get behind this, as the Swedish people say, PURE FUCKING ARMAGEDDON!

Apathy (bandcamp)

God's Bastard - Last Standing Village (2020)

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I try to keep my ears planted to the ground when it comes to anything released by I, Voidhanger Records if not for how consistent they are with really good releases for the consistency in pushing the barriers of metal and chewing up new soils in sound and forward-thinking song structure. God's Bastard is such a release. Comprised of two members, one of which is prolific in the sonic arena, being a member of Krallice, Coral Cross (very good), Woe, Anicon and a handful of other bands whose sound have never entered it into my atmosphere.

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Say what you will about anyone who tinkers with puritan black metal, when experimentation falls into the right hands it can be a breath of fresh air in a stale environment of a genre that sometimes takes itself too seriously… and let's call a spade a spade here, sometimes purist black metal is also bad. ThisGod's Bastard is charged and found guilty of tinkering, but at least there are a lot of good things happening here on Last Village Standing and I"m going to keep listening to it on the merits that Coral Cross is really good and Krallice and Woe have done a lot of good things as well.

Last Village Standing (bandcamp)