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Grave Pleasures

Dreamcrash
Metal Blade (2015)

Back in 2010, Beastmilk were on the rise with the release of their demo White Stains On Black Tape. The band from Finland, with an impressive line-up featuring Kvohst (Hexvessel, ex-Code and ex-Dodheimsgard), Valtteri Arino, Linnea Olsson (ex-The Oath), Johan “Goatspeed” Snell and Paile, was putting together a disturbing vision of apocalyptic post-punk. The result of this concept was the … Read more

The Necks

Vertigo
Northern Spy (2015)

The Necks is an experimental jazz band from Australia, which has been outputting record after record since their inception back in the '80s. Following the release of their previous full-length, Open, this trio of excellent musicians embarked on a journey towards their next release, Vertigo. Where Open features a more minimalistic mindset, Vertigo is a cinematic piece placed against a … Read more

Panda Kid

I Saw My Soul Leaving
Lollipop Records / FDH Records / Already Dead Tapes (2015)

Gloriously unpolished and perhaps one of the outright loudest and gnarliest records I've heard all year, 2015's I Saw My Soul Leaving is a sort of greatest hits album released to commemorate the first US tour by Italian garage rocker Panda Kid (a.k.a. Alberto Manfrin). This album combines two new tracks with eight from the artist's back catalog in a … Read more

The Blind Shake

Fly Right EP
Slovenly (2015)

The Blind Shake have honed their sound over the years, always identifiable yet always moving it forward and with a keen difference between records. It’s pretty impressive considering they write 2-3 minute stomp-garage tracks with a big emphasis on beat and hook—a style where repetition and sameness run rampant.Where Fly Right stands out is its variation from that tradition. The … Read more

Chuck Cirino

Not of This Earth Original Soundtrack
Terror Vision Records (2015)

Though composer Chuck Cirino is not a name that most movie fans – even those who like B-movies – would instantly recognize, there's a decent chance cult film aficionados have heard some of his work. First breaking into movie soundtrack work on 1980's Gypsy Angels, a film best known for featuring a then-unknown Vanna White in various states of undress, … Read more

John Carpenter

Lost Themes
Sacred Bones (2015)

Having produced the energetic low-budget action picture Assault on Precinct 13 in 1976 prior to laying the foundations of the modern slasher movie with 1978's Halloween, film director John Carpenter positioned himself as a master of frightening and just plain exhilarating cinema with the early '80s trio of The Fog, Escape from New York, and The Thing. 1983's Christine (based … Read more

Zombi

Shape Shift
Relapse (2015)

Since their founding almost a decade and a half ago, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania duo Zombi (made up of bassist Steve Moore and drummer A.E. Paterra, both of whom contribute synthesizer sound) have positioned themselves among the best contemporary groups inspired by the world of vintage horror soundtracks. Following a string of releases from 2002 through 2011 that found the band utilizing … Read more

Robin Finck and the Wordclock

NOCT Original Soundtrack
Laced Records (2015)

A studio and touring musician with Nine Inch Nails since the mid '90s and part of the whole Chinese Democracy saga for Guns 'n' Roses, guitarist Robin Finck has clearly learned a few tricks from NiN mastermind Trent Reznor over the years. Capable of working in almost any field he became involved in, Reznor went beyond his NiN recordings to … Read more

Claudio Simonetti's Goblin

Profondo Rosso/Deep Red Original Soundtrack
Rustblade Label (2015)

Though there are plenty of composers who've made a name for themselves by crafting the soundtracks to horror films, Italian progressive rock group Goblin stands as one of the few legitimate bands known more or less exclusively for their work in this field. A revolving door-type project built around guitarist Massimo Morante, keyboardist Claudio Simonetti, and bassist Fabio Pignatelli, Goblin's … Read more

Mater Suspiria Vision

Antropophagus
Phantasma Disques (2015)

More than five years after the first wave of so-called witch house artists popped up, caused a commotion in the independent music scene, and then soon faded into the ether, Mater Suspiria Vision remains one of the few still actively releasing material. Much of the appeal of witch house came from the fact that the musicians making the material were … Read more

Lycia

A Line That Connects
Handmade Birds (2015)

Lycia was a band that always seemed to me like they were flying a bit under the radar. With a career spanning for almost thirty years now, the act from Arizona released a series of excellent full-length albums, with A Day In The Stark Corner and Cold particularly standing out. What is more, their presence in the scene was constant … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Pestilent Endeavors

Adult Onset Death
Backwoods Butcher (2015)

This is a cool tape sent in by Mr. Food Fortunata, the fine gentleman behind the always enjoyable and reliable Saginaw, MI-based publication Ear of Corn fanzine. A lot of these tracks—and there are a whopping 21 of them, although mostly very short—remind me of early Mudhoney, something for which I am never disappointed. Some of the odder-sounding stuff on … Read more

Kowloon Walled City

Grievances
Neurot Recordings (2015)

Named after one of the most dense places in the history of the planet, Kowloon Walled City have been undergoing a transformative process. The band's origin lies within the sludge domain, with the release of Gambling On The Richter Scale revealing the heavy, filled with dirt foundation of the band. Through their debut album there is a sense of demolition … Read more

Menace Beach

Super Transporterreum
Memphis Industries (2015)

After dropping their debut album Ratworld earlier this year, Leeds-based Menace Beach have wasted no time in producing an energetic but decidedly more focused follow-up. The five songs on the Super Transporterreum EP exist most obviously in the grunge spectrum, imagining what a less depressive and moody Nirvana would have sounded like. What immediately struck me about the EP was … Read more

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