Direct Threat - Direct Threat (2021)

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There was a decent crop of angry and demented hardcore that was released in 2021 (omitted from my best of list mostly due to the amount of good metal albums floating around last year and the length in which these albums ride under—10-15 minutes) and this self-titled (demo?) is among them. 10 minutes of righteously pissed off hardcore with a sound that is just as much raw punk. Chomp down on this!

Direct Threat - Direct Threat (bandcamp)

Vorpal Sword - Omens (2021) [Demo]

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My comrade and crony for all things reverb soaked Dream pop/Shoegaze has released another gem of uncompromisingly raw black metal under the prolific umbrella of his label, Rising Beast—And not unlike everything else he puts out, it's right on the fucking money!

Omens musical landscape is one with sparse foliage or places of refuge amidst the expanding sprawl of heavily blown out black metal, that is in personality and ethos, equal parts raw and musing—But it's terrain isn't totally devoid of life, not at all, peppered throughout the hanging guitars and thick fog of noise are delicate ambient passages (created by the Korg Monotron?) which offer a brief respite from the proverbial sonic deluge. It's all very intentional and cohesive. Now without being pedantic, the love Horus has for dream/noise pop and shoegaze are on full display here, with absolute tact and grace. 

If you're unfamiliar with Vorpal Sword, check it out. And while you're at it, check out everything else under the banner of Rising Beast and toss in a few bucks into whatever strikes you down—Do your part in keeping the underground lit!

Vorpal Sword - Omens (bandcamp)

Lure - Morbid Funeral (2020)

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This was just unearthed on Halloween and I don't think it's too early to call this one of my favourite purely black metal records of the year. Lure consists only of Pierre Perichaud, an accomplished illustrator and tattoo artist within France and evidently knows his way around writing frigid forward-thinking black metal. I know this is technically supposed to be a demo and all, but this is 45-minutes of some of the best black metal you'll hear all year. I want to say the last time I enjoyed a purely black metal release this much was when Akitsa released 'Credo' in 2018… or maybe I'm just being obstuse.

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This is exactly what I'm looking for in black metal today, which might lend itself to the fact that I'm pretty tired with most things passing under the banner of black metal these days. I don't think myself some jaded purist who is stuck in the past of a genre spinning its wheels, it's just that when it comes to something as down-trodden as black metal or death metal I want to hear something straddling the line of paying homage to the intended essence of the genre while simultaneously finding new ground. Lure's 'Morbid Funeral' does exactly that for me with absolute poise. The production is spot on, murky enough to still sound good but it's sure as shit cold, raw and feral sounding. The vocals are another really strong point of what make this record so great, shrill and dismal as they battle through a wall of churning guitar riffs and drum fodder… It feels lame and trite to dig into the details of vocal-work, but really, just listen to the range of emotions being summoned by Pierre here, it sends shivers down your fucking spine.

Only 250 copies of these were pressed and sold out pretty quickly and I'm seriously bummed I missed out on this limited run. If you snagged one, lucky you. If you snagged one and want to trade though, let me know. This album is 'Name your Price' on bandcamp right now, you'd be out of your skull not to shill out a few bucks to support an often thankless gig. Dig in!

Morbid Funeral (bandcamp) 

Coltsblood - Beyond The Lake of Madness demo (2013)

Crushingly sluggish doom that drags on between two lo-fi tracks rife with feedback, crunchy tones and a vocal delivery that strikes me as unique to the particular genre, sometimes sounding more like powerviolence played at half speed inside a distant hollow. Unfortunately I can't get my hands on the demo, cassettes are sold out and I haven't a download link… So it goes, though if any member of Coltsblood stumbles upon this, get in touch, I'd like to give this a proper review.

If the band wishes it, I'll provide a download link for you scoundrels!

Coltsblood (bandcamp)

UNRU - Demo MMXIII

I've been digging into UNRU's demo quite a bit since I got my mucky hands on it - My first thought was 'This shit is the shit!', my second thought was 'I'll definitely offer this up to the SHOM scum'… unfortunately my third thought must've been 'First I'll eat a full bag of Doritos watch No Country For Old Men and put off posting this for a couple weeks'. Now if you were smart, you would be following Forever Cursed (which is infinitely better than my blog anyway), and you could have had this sucker a week ago among a bunch of other releases I think are really good but never got around to posting.

Amidst the furious pummeling of curdled d-beat and raw black metal Demo MMXIII is caked in a glorious crust with plenty of bell rides, ambient interludes, buried howls, cave stench and some radical riffs that at times remind me of Yellow Eyes.

(Below you will find descriptive words intended to entice you into listening and supporting this fucking stellar demo up for 'name your price' on Bandcamp.)

Godzilla, rampart, lobotomy, morass, guano, barbarity, minotaur, C.H.U.D., feral,

MMXIII (Bandcamp download)

Gethsemane - S/T (2013)

Raw black metal from The Netherlands, I mean really raw, may as well be the sushi of black metal. 99.7% of the world's population would deem this noise and they wouldn't be too far off… A swirling chasm of blasting drums, floating guitars and anguished howls that just barely pierce through the ensuing maelstrom.

At times it reminds me of GGUW's 'Gegen Gravitation und Willensfreiheit', if not for it's archaic nature then for its untamed plod. Unequivocally not the same, as Gethsemane boasts a much more minimal stance to GGUW's antediluvian dynamism. I won't/can't praise this like I would GGUW (I fucking love that EP), but this demo is certainly worth your time.

Gethsemane (Zippyshare)

Ladybird - Demo 2012

Just in case you were having a good day I give you Ladybird's 2012 demo, which will reach into your heart and shit down your soul with its heavier than a dump-truck full of dead baby's doooooom.
Why of course it's reefer encrusted, it seems as though getting high and doom metal are the best of friends.

Drenched in reverb with riffs that groove and thunder lazily through a chasm of molasses paced drone … a big 'fuck you' to a polished aesthetic proudly adorns each track! It's beautiful, like the inside of a toilet bowl at your local Wal-Mart. It's sloppy because it wants to be, it's unrefined because fuck you, and it shits on everything because it can.

Download (name your price, even if it's $00.00 asshole)

Insane - Endless Execution

Fucking dude, this sounds like Gorilla Biscuits and Nuclear Assault from the good ol' 80's. They have been backed by Fenriz, which is the underground musical equivalent to winning the lottery. These dudes better take that momentum boost and bring us a fucking LP soon!

I'm going to contact the band to see if they are willing to give me a link of the demo to post up on here for you fine mongrels to enjoy. Of course they will…