Throats - Throats (2010)

A dense and brooding blend of hardcore. Throats are not happy with just that assumption. Added into their dark concoction of hardcore is crust, sludge, grind and d-beat chaos. I just know you want to download this.

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Grab if you like: Converge, Trap Them, Oathbreaker

THROAT

Grave Dig: A Blog For You All.

 (I decided to go ahead and make my own banner, since the blog is without one.)

I have real-life friends, and I have internet-friends. Sometimes these two will coincide, and on occasion they are even imaginary…right Steve? Moving on, this particular pal of mine is an internet one, his name is Mark. We met when he decided to email me telling me how incredible my blog is and how great of a person I am, basically I thought Mark was coming on to me.
Hyperbole is running rampant throughout this post, so only a fraction of what I just told you is accurate. This post really is about the blog he runs.

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Mark runs a blog that goes by the name of Grave Dig, and despite his questionable approach to the colour of 'puke green' his blog is spot on. Two reasons why I share this among the SHOM faithful (this is a new thing I have been throwing around lately, I'm not sure why.);

• Reason 1: Scour that fucker, it's concise, it's thorough, and the content is damn good. He has even interviewed guitarist G. Colson of the blackened sludge band Rituals, whom I have been digging deep into lately.

• Reason 2: It appears as though Mark is a hardworking internet metal nerd. More eyes need to be guided to the page. Give him a follow, bookmark, comment, hello, etc. Tell him I sent you, and you demand your free ham sandwich!

I look forward to stealing content off of him shortly.

CALVAIIRE - Rigorisme EP (2012)

Here is another submission I was delighted to find in my email inbox. The dudes at Throatruiner Records have already sent me a plethora of awesome shit to promote, including Bone Dance // Divider // Plebeian Grandstand and The Rodeo Idiot Engine ,which already have found their way onto this blog. These guys seem to ride under the same banners of belief as SHOM; share what is good and pump some green blood into what we enjoy. These dudes offer hard work for free in hopes  that those who like what they hear may purchase and or spread the word. 

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'CALVAIIRE is an intense and angry dark hardcore/crust band from Laval (France), with members of Birds In Row and As We Draw. Amaury Sauvé (producer/sound engineer for Birds In Row, Comity, As We Draw) recorded this first EP in one take on last January. Nothing else to offer but salutary violence.'

It's short, but it punches you in the internal auditory meatus like a motherfucker and delivers an insane amount of intensity over 9 minutes. Watch out for these Frenchmen.

 Here you will find everything you need to download or purchase the EP + shirts

Fire In The Cave - Self Titled EP (2012)

My homeboy Jared over at Orlandooom and throat behind Fire In The Cave sent me an email asking if I would share this among the SHOM faithful, that's you freeloading mongrels that I have grown very fond of.

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"We'd be honored if you'd give our self-titled debut EP a gander. Any comments or criticisms are greatly appreciated."; this is when the fruits of my labor put a smile on my face: "Ha, these talented musicians would be honored if an internet scavenger such as myself listened & shared their hardwork amongst you foul creatures".
Sometimes I enjoy doing a band write-up less than I enjoy eating wool, which is why I'm thankful that included in this email was a write-up comprised of words that perfectly sum up this 16 minute beast:

'Blistering riffs become sluggish spells of hypnosis constructed in movements. Each sonic assault surrounds every sense passing through moments of suffocating heaviness that fade into psychedelic tranquility. The band is lyrically driven by themes of environmental psychology, disgust for spiritual proselytization and the inherent beauty in the tribal instinct of mankind.'

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 I suppose I will lead by example here… offered on the bandcamp is a "pay what you can" for a 320 digital download. I put in a measly 4$, but I can assure you whatever you fork over is appreciated in a industry filled with moneyless talent. Pump some of that green blood into the belly of this machine.

Fire In The Cave

Wizard Rifle - The Organ Donor Song

Two odd fellows make up Wizard Rifle, seemingly blending frantic, chaotic, noise rock tempered with dredges of doom, swinging rock’n’roll, grimy grunge, and a heady dose of AmRep skronk… right. Think Lighting Bolt. You can tell these dudes are serious too, just look at their promo pic.

 (click to enlarge)

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With a new album coming out March 13, I feel you better have an idea what you would be getting yourself into. I'll give you a fairly tame example.

Spawn of Possession - Incurso (2012)

(click image for a more fun higher resolution)

Fucking hell, 6 years later Spawn of Possession return with an assault of their meticulously precise technical death metal. It hits hard, but as of late technical death metal just doesn't do it for me unless it's buried under countless layers of scum, cavernous lurch and swamp water murkiness. This is still a good album, and its free offerings are worthy of SHOM.

Grab if you like: Decrepit Birth, Odious Mortem, Severed Savior

INCURSO

Nuclear Assault - Game Over (1986)

Straight from the underbelly of Noo Yawk came Nuclear Assault with their take on crossover amidst other NY based bands doing the same thing (Cro-mags, S.O.D.) with a different flare. Game Over is rad! Makes you want to throw on your cut-off denim vest adorned in Anthrax, Venom, Mercyful Fate, and D.R.I. patches, go down to the local arcade, eat a pizza, crush some Double Dragon and pick on nerds. Ahh the good ol' days. This is a classic, listen up grasshopper.

Grab if you like: Anthrax, Cro-Mags, S.O.D.

Game Over Man, Game over.

Sigh - In Somniphobia (2012)

I fucking love these oddballs from Japan! In Somniphobia is what you would expect from Sigh, a nightmarish composition of avant-garde black metal with a flare for the dramatic and occult. 20 years of existence. Fucking yup, they still got it.

It has been stated by the band : "Seriously 'In Somniphobia' could be our last album". I can understand ending 20 years on a high note, but judging by this latest release, they still have a little steam left. That album art deserves a nod of praise as well, just look at it, hard and well.

Grab if you like: Le Grand Guignol, Arcturus, Kadenzza

In Somniphobia (Rapidshare, Password: GT)

Lunar Aurora - Findling

Here's the thing, I have been listening to a lot of Lunar Aurora's latest release Hoagascht, and as good as it is, in the short time I have had with this eerie offering of ambient black metal it has caused me to have to go back and listen to Andacht. More in particular the song "findling".

Why? Because this song, in my opinion (the only one that matters) is one of the greatest examples of ambient black metal we have. Comprised with one of the eeriest sounding choruses I have ever heard, interludes of boys being slashed by dull axes, loops of ambient decadence, and overall a grim sound that is fucking beautiful. Listen to it, often.

PS: I jog to this song, there is nothing better.

PPS: Fuck you.

Lunar Aurora - Hoagascht (2012)

I hope my absence has been duly noted, because I have been abroad in the great city of Montreal for the past week hanging out eating copious amounts of Poutine and smoked meat. I am minutes away from before boarding a shitty bus without the luxuries of wi-fi so I will give you guys Lunar Aurora's latest effort Hoagascht. I have yet to even listen to this yet, so I can offer you no words.

Hoagascht