Sepsis - The Divide 7" (2022)

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Here's an illusive slab of frenetic crust punk/hardcore from the murky depths of Australia few here will be privy to but likely interested in! Drenched in reverb and grime. every corner of music is ransacked by overblown tone and bass, giving little time for reflection beyond total destruction—It sounds and feels like the halcyon days of newly-shaped hardcore, when early thrash was in its conception, but with ample energy taken from the UK crust scene of yore and what the band claims as a strong influence from the Swedish hardcore scene.

Taken from their bandcamp page: "Sepsis! A charged 4-piece crust bombardment from Naarm, Australia. Following hot off the heels from their sold out demo, they offer up 4 tracks thats are inspired by early UK crust with a strong Swedish hc backbone. For fans of Absolut Country of Sweden/ Scandinavian Jawbreaker era Anti Cimex, Hellbastard and Sacrilege. Maximum Devastation! Limited to 300 hand number copies."

Sepsis - The Divide (Bandcamp)

Succumb - XXI (2021)

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SHOM has been keeping a finger on the pulse of San Fran's Succumb since their debut record in 2017 which (like this album) saw its release made possible from the consummate and enigmatic The Flenser—which in my books, is a breath of fresh air in a saturated world of music where sterility and originality are celebrated and touted.

I digress, XXI picks up right where it's 4-year old predecessor left off: Down a serpentining pit of crust, grind and death metal with a sound that encompasses a lurching energy which simultaneously feels unique and familiar—Not much parsing needs to be done to hear a broad musical soundscape that harkens back to Converge, Gorguts, Mitochondrion, Caustic Wound, with tinges of Disfear.

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This album is going to end the year in high ranking with me… I think for all intents and purposes, this record is flawless. You've got to be bent to not get the appeal, brutish ferocity and whirling doom packed into 30+ minutes of abyssal death metal.

Succumb - XXI (bandcamp)

Sesso Violento - Mondo Perverso (2021) [EP]

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Incredibly janky and blown out punk with a black metal backbone that manages to find a good foothold in sounding catchy and bleak at the same time, despite being so stripped down and crude. Emphasis on primitive energy instead of aesthetic and pretension. Sonically it mashes these influences in a way that is less like Ash Borer and a lot more like early Raspberry Bulbs, highly recommended for fans of this ilk!

Sesso Violento - Mondo Perverso (bandcamp)

SCALP - Domestic Extremity (2020)

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Beatdown hardcore with it's hands dipping into the pots of influence in the way of metal, thrash, punk, death metal, power violence and the whole gamut of auditory assault. It's neanderthal in its DNA and over-indulgent from my perspective but it's executed well and does what it sets out to do very well. Imagine a mash between Mind Eraser, Foundation, Hoax, Primitive Blast and Harms Way. Preservation of sonic barbarity.

SCALP - Domestic Extremity (bandcamp)

Bootlicker - Bootlicker (2021)

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Bootlicker are Vancouver's contribution to the incredibly blown out and raucous federation. A frantic, albeit jangly, hodgepodge of d-beat, crust punk and hardcore thrown into the pot with a tinge of Oi! a la the Hard as Nails working class era of Close Shave. The guitar tones enter into some real nice territory on this one, down-stroked to hell and mired in a thick curtain of grease. Strong Boston Strangler presence on here with the choppiness of Arms Race and Violent Reaction.

Bootlicker - Bootlicker (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)

Couch Slut - Take a Chance on Rock n' Roll (2020)

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Couch Slut have been around for the last 6 years quietly making a lot of noise in the form of noise-rock mixed with a healthy amalgamation of influences and soundscapes running the gamut of punk, doom, sludge, hardcore and throwing in glimpses of anything else they can get their grubby mitts on – experimentation. Amidst the chaos, Couch Slut have managed to create a sound that is almost wholly unique in their delivery and I can't help but find myself reaching to hit the play button. If sonic aspects of Brainbombs, Indian, Jute Gyte, Converge and Iron Lung were distilled into a singular sound it might come out sounding like this.

Take a Chance on Rock n' Roll (bandcamp)

Fuming Mouth - The Grand Descent (2019)

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Fuming Mouth comes in swinging haymakers on their debut, The Grand Descent, and for the most part, most strikes are a critical blow in the arena of metal/crust/doom/hardcore. This is a sound you have heard before, a formula followed by many already with wistful flourishes of their own style - some much bolder than others - Fuming Mouth have landed somewhere in the middle, if not slightly on the more original side of things with The Grand Descent, and I appreciate the fervour in which this characteristic seeps through. This isn't heavy the same way Thou or Floor is heavy, it's heavy in its aggression and cadence. Think of Nails, Black Breath, Hooded Menace, Gatecreeper, etc.

Fuming Mouth - The Grand Descent (bandcamp)

Cara Neir - III / IV (2019)

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This album has quickly worked its hooks into me; Discordant jangly guitars bounce around a cavern of technical drumming, weaving out odd time signatures with prickly rhythms against a barrage of shrieky growls. The combined method is bizarre, throwing everything in the blender from post-rock and math-rock to black-metal and D-beat. Something to that effect. It as a whole is actually really difficult to nail down, and it's brazen attempts to meld everything together is confusing, but it's refreshing, and I'm enjoying the experience of listening to its entirety. Which is the whole point, right?

Name your price on bandcamp. Enjoy, or don't.

Cara Neir - III / IV (bandcamp)

Erdve - Vaitojimas (2018)

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Lithuania's main export definitely isn't metal - It's probably something more ambiguous and niche, like silk worm tea - nor is it hardcore for that matter, or sludge, crust, and anything else tonally devastating. Erdve are the exception to my wholly ignorant musing; Vaitojimas isn't something that is reinventing the wheel, but it sure as shit doesn't sound like a copycat to anything else, and that counts for something in a era of; heard that before, sounds good, let's replicate that. This album weaves and gestates elements from many pots; Crust, sludge, punk, hardcore, doom, post-metal, etc, etc.

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I'm in the arduous, mind-numbing process of distilling my favourite albums from 2018 right now, and the list will be something around 30 albums, and I've listened to a disgusting amount of metal (among everything else) this year, so I'm revisiting and sifting through a lot right now. And so far, Erdve are definitely somewhere up there.

Erdve - Vaitojimas (bandcamp)

Cult Leader - A Patient Man (2018)

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Cult Leader have released something completely foul in way of A Patient Man; A stand out album in an ocean of louder and angrier than thou records released this year, punching way above its weight class with 50 minutes of untamed, mammalian minded sludge with its cruddy mitts in the vats of doom, grind, death, Crust, D-Beat and sadism. Cult Leader being formed from the husk of Gaza  carry the same overwhelming heft and dizzying structure and tone that Gaza were known and revered for. A Patient Man is crude in its blunt force attack, swinging back and forth from down-tempo glacial riffs and war drum like fodder to moments of frenetic, barbaric sounding crust, but that’s not to say its entirety is mammalian pound fit for Troglodytes hitting the barbells, nay, A Patient Man is intelligent and melodic when it needs to be and does well to counterweight and accent those extremely long bouts of ferocity through moments of plodding drone like doom and foaming atmosphere.

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I’ve said enough, A Patient Man is what most heavy albums aspire to be, and for this reason among others, don’t be surprised to see this album on many high-nosed, chin to the sky year end lists of 2018 from creeps like me.

Cult Leader - A Patient Man (bandcamp)

Bleach Birth - Hatching Inside The Womb (2018)

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Bleach Birth have released their second full-length and it's some incredibly feral and filthy punk rife with feedback, grime, and scummy snotty vocal delivery… Think a mix of The Daily Void, Soupcans, Helta Skelta and The Functional Blackouts with flourishes of forward thinking song structures that push passed inebriated simplicity. I'm very much into everything about this… and this has me thinking, when are Strange Attractor going to finally release another LP? Frig. Fans of the aforementioned will find joy here, and if not, your ears are not working correctly.

Bleach Birth - Hatching Inside The Womb (bandcamp)

Dark Times - Give (2014)

Really good female-fronted punk from Oslo, Norway. I am not going to dip into the well of platitudes with this one because my hangover requires hydration but I will say this; Dark Times aren't your run of the mill, stripped down punk band… Stripped down yes, but they have a sound to call their own and an eclectic delivery to their sound that frees them from the clutches of "heard this before". It was produced by Pål Bredrup, who also produced Okkultokrati and Haust with that same basement grime charm I've been into lately. This album will fit in with your crusty lifestyle.

Bandcamp (buy)
Zippyshare (listen)

Torch Runner - Endless Nothing (2014)

A month has passed since my last post, but I'm dusting off the keyboard and getting back to this virtual pit I call Severed Heads Open Minds, which is, at times, a formidable commitment to be consistent with, but I'm trying dudes! * My hat is off to all the blogs that are far more consistent than this one *

A bevy of new releases have fallen onto my lap and into my ears recently, most of those worth dusting off the keyboard for, and as such, I will do just that… First up, Southern Lord's Torch Runner follow up their debut album 'Committed To The Ground' with 'Endless Nothing', a savage offering of filthy downbeat punk/hardcore infused grind distilled into 23 minutes of a supremely pissed-off and raucous audial assault.

I won't be posting a download link to this album as the flack I will inevitably receive is heavy, but the links are out there if you can't afford to buy the album with money.

Endless Nothing (bandcamp)

Wöes // Wölvefröst Split (2014)

Hmm shit… How do I start one of these things again? This split is heavy, you should listen to it.
Nah, that won't do.

Yeah dudes, I know, it's been a really long time since I've updated anything at all, and frankly my fingertip muscles are rusty, which is a major bummer because my inbox has never been more full of new and exciting shit to post up on here for your sorry ass eyes. I wish I had a really sweet excuse as to why I have been so removed from SHOM, like I was kidnapped by a pack of wolves, dragged into the Taiga forest to learn and hunt with the wolf-pack and howl at the moon all while the opening riff to Wolfchant's "A Pagan Storm" appropriately played in the background, but no man the boring truth is due to a broken "e" on my keyboard. I wouldn't lie to you, the "e" letter key on my keyboard stopped working and I just couldn't be asked to fix it right away. Do you know how many letters have the fucking letter "e" in them? Basically every goddamn shit sucking letter in the English language!

Anyway, I have a lot of catching up to do, and I will do just that with this mega bestial, dragged through the shitter, crusty black metal split from Wöes & Wölvefröst. Both bands bring a blistering paced handful of songs to the split. all of them raw, cloaked in noise, and unrelenting, encompassing a simplified punk-like aesthetic to the structure, but still very much black metal with the crust turned way up.

haha check out that opening riff to the Wöes song "Tyrant King", sloppier than a baby eating mashed potatoes, but it is great, because we are stone cold rebels. My favorite track on the split is by Wöes and it is called "Martyr With A Serpents Tongue".  Here is that track;

Full album streaming over at Cvlt Nation!
Preorder it here at Orc Tusk!

Dephosphorus - Ravenous Solemnity (2014)

I don't know about you guys, but I fucking hate flip-flops, skateboarding in the wind, fluctuating weather patterns, weak handshakes, the aftertaste of coffee, people who don't find rape humorous, people that don't listen to Wormrot, timid sneezing, and the parents of those Mormon kids that go door to door on their spare time, fuck all those things and many other things… Fuck those as well.

I like the new Dephosphorus album "Ravenous Solemnity", though. I've seen this album slapped with every genre tag under the sun, black metal, hardcore, crust, sludge, noise, punk, deathened doom, and astrogrind? To hell with all of that. Most importantly, Dephosphorus sound like nobody else, the instrumentation is super tight and dynamic, and it will bang your goddamn skull. Those vocals make me happy.

I'm not sure this album is receiving the laurels and appreciation it deserves from other high-horsed interweb bloggers and "critics", and I'm too lazy to check, but if anyone knew anything, that someone would have this album, and listen to it, and like it, a lot.

It has been out for a few months, so if you don't have it, follow these words down and grab it. Update;  I was asked to take the link down right away, so put your email in the comments if you want it. Sharing tunes among friends can't be illegal.

Dephosphorus (Bandcamp)

Culture Kids - Self Titled (2012)

Fast and catchy punk with doses of crust, surf, hardcore and a little something of its own. These San Franciscan punks haven't reinvented the wheel, but they do still hone in on a sound that is fresh and full of the snobby grit I like in my punk. Imagine a mix of Funerot, Hot Snakes, Hoax and earlier Ceremony. Nobody is really talking about these guys which is a shame, if you have the means, spread the good word.

Culture Kids S/T

Cape of Bats - Olcott Rites (2013)

Black metal and punk at its most raw have always dipped into qualities that are synonymous with one another; filthy productions, ramen noodle like budget recordings and a certain predilection for hating shit fiercely.

Cape of Bats have been busy these passed few years popping out short releases of relentlessly ugly black metal and punk, which they kindly give us for free or a "name your price" option. Power to them. Some of the riffs on these albums are too good, take the first song 'Stygian Depths" for example, 0:27 in is like a punkier Morbid Insulter (If you haven't yet picked up "Anti-Christ Blasphemies click the goddamn link) riff played a little slower, it's kind of charming in a B-horror movie kinda way.

Cape of Bats

Seven Sisters of Sleep - Opium Morals (2013)

The only reason this wasn't posted on SHOM before now was only due to an uncharacteristic lack of personal time and slightly less motivation to do so, because Opium Morals is the tits, the cats meow, the beggars hand, the all seeing eye, and so on and so on…

Simply put, if you do not own this record digitally/physically/spiritually you are fucking the dog, as you are without some of the best sludge metal released in 2013. I would be naive to pigeonhole Opium Morals as sludge metal and sludge only, because clearly demonstrated are influences of doom, crust, and I'll go as far as saying some D-beat as well. Heavier than a fuel tanker truck filled with bison sperm, more immense than a mountain top housing blue whales, more garage rock fuzz and bile than Keith Richards' bong and at least 1000x better than listening to new Ensiferum (Unsung Heroes of epic generic suckiness).

• I'm going to continue posting albums from 2013 you may have missed if you were too busy watching Breaking Bad and or being useless in other shitty ways you know how to be •

I'm pretty into whatever A389 Recordings does, speaking of which, where do I get my grubby mits on the Like Rats self-titled?

Seven Sisters of Sleep Bandcamp (buy)

Seven Sisters of Sleep - Opium Morals (try)

Indian - From All Purity (2014)

Indian, from Chicago, Illinois, play an insanely robust and caustic blend of doom and sludge with the crumbling filth of crust thrown into the bubbling cauldron. This wall of noise is brought forth by swirling guitar and bass tones that are heavier than a dead dog, drums that pound and plod like a fucking migraine only to be occasionally pierced by crude and tortured vocals. Vocal duties are shared between the two guitarists, and they sound like hyenas… Hyenas that are actually wolverines… Wolverines that are rabid and starving, and possibly (probably) sexually frustrated. Pissed.

Indian on Bandcamp
From All Purity (try)