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Dead Bars

Dream Gig
No Idea Records (2017)

Reading that Dead Bars never meant to be a band explains a lot of things. They started as a one-off project to go on a tour rather than to share their art. It turned out to be fun and they stuck with it. After a series of 7”s, the Seattle now-band finally releases their first full-length in 2017, titled Dream … Read more

Various Artists

Botanist/Oskoreien - EP3: Green Metal/Deterministic Chaos
Avantgarde Music (2016)

I am guessing that most people are familiar with Botanist and their unique take on black metal, in terms of instrumentation and vibe. The band has released a series of great records through the years, replacing guitars with hammered dulcimer, focusing thematically on, as the name would suggest, flora. This journey has led to a peak with VI: Flora, with … Read more

Unearthly Trance

Stalking the Ghost
Relapse (2017)

To my mind Unearthly Trance was the act that truly defined the doom/sludge push of the '00s. Starting off with their debut album, Seasons of Seance, Science of Silence they displayed a claustrophobic, catastrophic drone induced version at a time where the push was towards the more fun side of doom/stoner. Through the years they kept evolving, switching from the … Read more

Emptiness

Not For Music
Season of Mist (2017)

Belgium’s Emptiness have spent much of their career eschewing traditional approaches and with Not for Music they continue to imbue their singular take on black metal with wholly impure vibrations and ever more intriguing design elements. One such decision is the inclusion of Jeordie White (Marilyn Manson’s Twiggy Ramirez) on production duties and it’s this somewhat unusual choice that gives … Read more

Bearcubs

Underwaterfall EP
All Points (2017)

25-year-old English producer and DJ Jack Ritchie, aka Bearcubs, first attracted the attention of the BBC's new music arm, BBC Introducing, after uploading some of his tracks to their website. This piqued the interest of the BBC Introducing team, and saw Ritchie's experimental electronica get praise from the likes of Annie Mac and Huw Stephens. This was followed by the … Read more

Strange Relations

Going Out EP
Tiny Engines (2016)

Admittedly, I’m a little leery of a press kit that features more band photos than songs. Then again, this is an EP, so it’s probably me yakking about something inconsequential anyway. They’re just attachments. It’s not like they sent me glossies. More is always better, right?Anyway, part of this record review might actually get to the record, which is a … Read more

All Them Witches

Sleeping Through The War
New West (2017)

All Them Witches is a rock band with a psychedelic blues tinge that reflects their southern-but-also-hip hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. Although All Them Witches can really deal in those druggy, heavy-hitting riffs that make you want to knock back a six pack in the desert, they also have a real musicianship that’s too often lacking in the dime-a-dozen bands that … Read more

Grit

Ghost estates EP
Distro-y Records (2017)

Do you ever play games where you imagine what would have happened if an artist or a band would have had other influences than they had now? For example: what if Girlschool would have listened to punk instead of New Wave of British Heavy Metal? What would their albums have sounded like? My best guess is it would have sounded … Read more

Worm Ouroboros

What Graceless Dawn
Profound Lore (2016)

Lorraine Rath and Jessica Way initiated a mystical journey with Worm Ouroboros, blurring the lines between doom metal, post-rock, neo-folk and dark ambiance, attempting to create music that is as powerful as it is otherworldly. Releasing their debut album in 2010, they were soon joined by drummer Aesop Dekker, whose first contribution came in the band's sophomore record, Come The … Read more

Burial Hex

Throne
Cold Spring (2016)

I have the feeling that Burial Hex has been around for a long time. I do not know why I get this impression, and it is true that the project of Clay Ruby has been around for about ten years now, but listening to his music it really gives me this impression of a true veteran, someone who has been … Read more

Mayhaw Hoons & the Outsiders

Lime Green
Good Cheer Records (2017)

When John Lennon went into the studio to record the vocals for "Twist and Shout" he had already taken multiple throat lozenges and even gargled some milk to combat the sore throat he was suffering from at the time. The recording, a throat-shredding, rough-edged track that sounded unlike any of the band's other songs, left Lennon's throat feeling like sandpaper … Read more

Career Suicide

Machine Response
Deranged (2017)

Sometimes I love the predictable unpredictability of punk. You hear the name Career Suicide and think a certain sound and, well, they’re right in line with that. Here on Machine Response the band mixes ‘80s hardcore, snot-punk and more in a blitz of a record. It’s aggressive and relentless, but mired in a traditional sound that merges melody and anger, … Read more

Downfall Of Gaia

Atrophy
Metal Blade (2016)

Downfall of Gaia is a prime example of the underground post-hardcore and post-crust scenes. Starting off in 2008, the band came into the prominence with their debut full-length, Epos, a record that introduced the potential of the band, the elements that would later bloom into making them what they are today. It is no coincidence that Metal Blade snatched them, … Read more

Various Artists

Selvans / Downfall of Nur - s/t Split
Avantgarde Music (2016)

Both Selvans and Downfall of Nur are prime examples of the quality of underground black metal. Both bands do not register their sound with the bitter traditional approach of the genre, and rather temper with mellower tendencies. Selvans depicted thoroughly their understanding of the folkish side of the genre in their excellent Lupercalia album, while Downfall of Nur attempts in … Read more

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