Doomed To Be Stoned In A Sludge Swamp

This makes me think of Fear Factory covering stoner rock songs.....

2009-11-29T02:08:00.004-07:00

"The dreaded "sophomore slump" has no place in Eyes Of Fire's vocabulary. Their second album shows no signs of that. As a matter of fact, they've made a quantum leap forward in all aspects. Their songs are harder edged, but they've also managed to keep the doomy, gloomy atsmosphere.

Eyes Of Fire utilizes two guitarists which creates a wall of sound. They also have two vocalists mixing in different styles such as death metal growls, speaking vocals and melodic singing. The melodic singing is generally solid, but there are some cringeworthy off-key moments. And just when you think you have their style pegged as doom or goth metal they delve off into prog metal territory.

This is a well-rounded and diverse album with a lot of depth and intricacy. It takes a few listens to appreciate everything that's going on."

Band Site: http://www.myspace.com/eyesoffire1
Eyes of Fire - Prisons: http://tinyurl.com/yarvdbv

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Now playing: Eyes Of Fire - Gone Forever
via FoxyTunes

Oh yes, please bring back that wonderful wonderful grooooooove.....

2009-11-29T01:56:00.004-07:00

This is just some ultimate riffage bathed in bong water and resin.....

Band Site: http://www.myspace.com/devilridingshotgun
Devil Riding Shotgun - Demo 2006: http://tinyurl.com/yemkdd9

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Now playing: Devil Riding Shotgun - So Perfect
via FoxyTunes

Oh yes, please bring back that wonderful wonderful fuzzzzzzzzzz.........

2009-11-29T01:40:00.002-07:00

All these tracks can be downloaded straight from the bands site, but this needs to be shared. I searched every combination i could think of because i couldnt believe this wasnt here yet. This is the info from their website....

"Four different people with one goal and that is to rock! Cropduster was formed in September 2004. With a strong repertoire Cropduster is on its way to world conquest. The style of the band could be described as Riff Rock. Influences include: Queens of the Stone Age, Kyuss, Masters of Reality, Unida, Soundgarden, Audioslave but also Jimi Hendrix and Black Sabbath. In other words good ol' fashionedrock with here and there some newer influences. Cropduster's songs are founded on heavy guitar riffs. The combination of melodic vocal lines and a heavy rock voice supported by 2nd and 3rd vocals create a good balance in dynamics. Great drums and a groovin' bass make the sound complete"

Band Site: http://www.cropduster.nl/
Cropduster - Demo: http://tinyurl.com/y9aqmz6

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Now playing: Cropduster - Grasshopper
via FoxyTunes

one of my favorites this year...

2009-11-27T15:30:00.003-07:00

"Speaking of the music itself is no easy task. Teitanblood's music is thick and layered with a controlled chaotic feeling. The riffs are some of the heaviest one could ever hope to hear and are well thought out. At times they contain an oozing evil slyness similar in groove to the mighty Beherit. At other times they are very harsh and abrasive and seem to be heavily influenced by the early South American death metal scene. There are so many traits that this band and this album in particular contains that Teitanblood are obviously influenced by now heavily worshiped pioneers of the underground such as Beherit, Blasphemy, and Sarcofago. The vocals seem to be tortured and loaded with an evil echo that reverberates throughout the songs so well. The lack of the all too common and heavily abused guttural pitch shifted trickery that many bands these days get caught up on is not here, instead what we have is a natural evil flowing unique vocal track that makes the utter bone crushing heaviness of the music sound all that much heavier. The drummer sounds possessed and consistently keeps the already unique sound this band has all that much more unique. The off kilter sound of some of the song structures has to be heard to be believed.

While staying true-to-form to the death metal/black metal mode of attack this band pulls of what most bands only hope to do. The effortless sound they have put together contains odd little grim blasphemous accent marks that are strewn throughout this amazing record. The maniacal solos that almost seem hastily thrown in for good measure all make sense when taken in as a highlight to the complete body of work. The early underground scene worship is there in its entirety. There are obvious nods to the great bands of old that made the underground death metal scene what is is today. Though a quick point should be made, Teitanblood seem to incorporate all the great traits of both death and black metal and it comes as a welcome breathe of fresh air because I have always felt the endless genre labeling thing has just been argued to DEATH !!! This band keeps the evil flowing from every single ounce of their being and it shows." [metal-archives.com]

check it here.

something different (but still black)

2009-11-27T14:12:00.003-07:00

Lurker of Chalice is another project of the mighty Wrest (Leviathan), yet this project tends to sound nothing like Leviathan at all. A lot more ambient mixed in with black metal and you come away with some of the most amazing atmospheres Leviathan has put together (and always, incredible black metal).

check it out here.

Cold and black........

2009-11-27T12:21:00.003-07:00

Underground black metal from Finland....

1. The Crown Of Kings 04:11
2. Of The Serpent Coiled In Human Bones 04:49
3. Scales Atop The Black Mountain 06:20
4. Shining Through Abandoned Halls 03:29
5. Lunar Secrets And Opferblut 02:56
6. Governing Sigils Of The Ritual Storm 03:59
7. Misery & Desolation 04:30
8. Blood Is The Way 10:51

(I could not find a web site for these guys).

Black Stench - Self Titled.
(Thanx 2 Petya)

Deadly serious.....

2009-11-27T12:12:00.002-07:00

"Wow, I don't think there'll ever be an EP that's 13-and-a-half minutes long that kicks this much ass. ARCHGOAT are a band from Finland that is way ahead of their Black Metal counterparts in terms of songwriting. After this album, the band released a demo in 1993 before splitting up for eleven years, only to return to split our heads open in 2006 with their latest release "Whore of Bethlehem".

There isn't much to say about this album but "awesome". All of these tracks are some of the most furious examples of how excellent Black/Death metal can become. What really boggles my mind if how it took fourteen years before they released a full-length! That matters not, however, because Archgoat are very much alive and they're continuously spreading their message of destruction, hatred and blasphemy with their satanic axe-grinding and ritualistic bone-crushing drumming.

The best tracks on the album are definitely "Rise of the Black Moon" and "Jesus Spawn", two (as you can see) blasphemous-as-hell and hypnotic tracks that echo angel slaughter and virgin defilement through out. If you ever find this EP, buy it without hesitation! Excellent stuff!" (metalcrypt.com)

Band Site: http://www.archgoat.com/
Archgoat - Angelcunt (Tales of Destruction): http://tinyurl.com/yewqq5k

Eclectic black Canadians …

2009-11-27T09:21:00.005-07:00

At my home, there is no two without three, so here I am with my third and last black post for today.
There you go with some nice, varied black metal from Quebec (Canada), from the band Thesyre.
The band was founded in 1995 by musician and designer Eric Syre, who also collaborates with other extreme metal bands from Canada and Sweden (Akitsa, Hyena, etc.).
The present line-up includes Eric Syre (vocals, bass), C.A. (guitars), A.J. (lead guitars) and Zvord (Pierre Langlois, drums). Zvord is also in other bands (e.g., The Black Dahlia Murder, Decayed Remains, Frozen Shadows, etc.).
Formed back in 1995, the band incorporate elements of black metal, thrash metal, punk rock and industrial music, as well as occasional atmospheric, downtempo, doomy rhythms. The high variety of influences and melodies can be caught especially in the last release, Résistance, which is a fine slab of interesting variations over a dominant black’n’roll base.
I find this last release by Thesyre is softer, more melodic than the previous ones (e.g., album Duality, that I like a lot) but equally enjoyable.

There’s a nice review on this album from the Nocturnal Cult webzine on Eric Syre’s blog:
“With Resistance we have the fourth and most complex full length album from Quebec's Thesyre. After an electronic intro of squealing guitar feedback, a digitized voice, and a martial bass guitar the album kicks into high gear with Hymne Au Merite. A groovy black n' roll track that illustrates Thesyre's expanded arsenal, whether it be a black metal melody, an "almost Gregorian" chant, or a swirling guitar lead. Par Une Froide Nuit D'Octobre is a painting of dissonant yet somber sonic textures. A confident black metal march forms the backbone of the bass heavy Laique et Souverain. A gang chorus shouts over a thrash riff and the pulsing bass guitar never relents. With each track, a new angle, a new approach. Such is the case with the doomy, slow riffs on De Realisme et De Nihilisme Actif. The steady double bass and clean vocals support each other's transcendental misanthropy. Eric's raspy gurgle is distinctive and embodies a bleak callousness. Le Grande Noirceur is a beautiful instrumental which is a tranquil medieval melody played on clean guitars and further expresses the diversity of this album. Twisting the melody somewhat and erasing its folkish roots is Afin D'en Finir Avec Le Judgement Des Dieux, a nostalgic lean into the abyss where I can discern even some extremely subtle references to some old Stockholm styled Swedish death metal. Finally, the album's philosophical grimness culminates on the title track where a muted pounding beat and faded, digitized vocals are washed out by a rising tide of noise. On Resistance Thesyre has developed an album of totalitarian might, utilizing groove heavy black n' roll and an overall militant attitude. Resistance is Thesyre's best work to date and sees them improving upon their own individual sound to create a unique identity within an underground awash with clones. Resistance strikes a truly subversive chord.” (from www. nocturnalcult.com)

The last two albums by Thesyre are out on the German label Osmose Records.
It is worth of note that the band allows the free download of much of their releases directly from their official webpage. But please read what they write about giving them a help in continuing what they do.

Check them here

Feel the love

British and ferocious, and angry, very angry …

2009-11-27T09:18:00.004-07:00

… especially Melissa, the lady who lends her voice to Adorior’s melodies …
SpiritBeggar’s post on mighty Destroyer 666 is perfect for introducing my post on Adorior.
Adorior is an incredible five-piece black-death band from UK (Sutton). They are long-lived (started infesting the planet in 1994) although their production is not big. But it does not mean that the quality is low …
As a matter of fact, Adorior’s members are deeply involved in other finest black and death metal bands all over: guitarist Shrapnel is involved in Deströyer 666 and Razor of Occam; guitarist Black Venom is involved in the Finnish bands Flame and Urn; bassist Chris Nunravager is in Razor of Occam as well and drumme Dani Molester is in Indesinence, Grave Miasma/Goat Molestör (I posted their EP a few days ago), The One, Cruciamentum.
Former members from Adorior are now in Lvcifyre (posted a few days ago).

I’m posting Adorior’s last album, the ferocious Author Of Incest (2005), “one hour of rape and perversion”, bringer of deranged intensity, extreme speed and apocalyptic atmosphere rendered by means of a crystal-clear production.

Here’s a part of a really nice review on this awesome album by Milo, from Metal-Archives:
“Author of Incest” is like a black/death metal update of the thrash masterpiece. Not musically speaking, since the similarities between both albums are small, but rather in spirit. Darkness Descends brings destruction to our world, creating imagery which represents what happens when supernatural evil invades the urban landscape and imposes a cruel destiny to the inhabiting populace. “Author of Incest” album works in a similar but more effective way, invoking calamity from the underworld to destroy the human universe (just for the record, the first track is titled “Hater of Fucking Humans”). The black/death metal framework provides a lot of possibilities other than just high speed and crunchy riffs, and offers new levels of power. The whole album sounds like chaos, represented by long tracks encompassing a wide variety of styles and brusque progressions, never letting down the mind-blowing heaviness and violence.
In their effort to raise hell on earth, Adorior employs their mastery of purer black metal. Much of the guitar work relies on tremolo-picked segments that aren’t exactly melodic, at least not in the obvious way people expect. Instead, they work purely as another agent of evilness. Their integration with the death metal elements is very effective, because the styles blend well both musically and conceptually. The death metal is also fiery and enshrouded in ominousness. In fact, the guitar work is incredibly expressive and traditional in nature (not embracing the current trends of inane brutality, technique or over-the-top melody). Some might say the transitions are too blunt, but you will get used to that soon. However, I don’t believe this album will be digested in one or two listens. “Author of Incest” requires focused and repeated listens, since there’s a lot going on here and most songs are pretty long.”
“Although the black metal elements are dominant, there’s no “medieval” feel, but instead you are taken for a ride in dirty, dark streets, with evildoers lurking everywhere, waiting for the unsuspecting victim. Supernatural evil engulfs the city and an army is born, ready to kill. In other words, hell on earth. I might also add, as childish as it may sound, the use of the work “fuck” also confers an interesting “contemporary” (for the lack of a better word) feel to the music (instead of pretentious Latin gibberish). Thus, I could say “Author of Incest” isn’t about sword-wielding warriors but instead, it is about evil, brass-knuckle wearing metalheads, ready to kick some Christian ass. And that’s refreshing.”
LOL!

Check them here

Adorior - Author Of Incest (2005)

French black paint …

2009-11-27T09:16:00.004-07:00

I’m starting my Black Friday contributions, very unoriginally, with a French black metal band! I’ve variably expressed my admiration for the peculiar sounds of the extremely rich panorama of French black metal (Deathspell Omega, Peste Noire, Nehemah, etc.). There are so many excellent black metal bands there, across the Alps …
But I didn’t know this band, Euphorya, until when good old Pusher Petya pulled the rim of my black mantle and made me aware of them!

There’s not so much info about this band, but there all their music available to enjoy.
As from their myspace page, Euphorya is from Bourg-en-Bresse (Rhône-Alpes region, France). The band was started in 2005 as one-man band by M. Kekchoz, then in 2008 Rafnagurr (drums, also in Elhaz) and Zero (bass) joined the band. Initially Euphorya was playing some sort of basic deathcore, but then the sound migrated towards a more extreme style by merging black metal to death metal, hardcore and doom.
The first album in this style, Nihil, came out at the beginning of 2008, at the time of the incorporation of the live fellow musicians into a “real” band. The 2009 album “Infiniti” is called “compilation” or “best of” by the band, but it gathers the early demos and album Nihil re-recorded and remixed. It is considered as something marking the end of a period, the one-ma-band period, and the start of a new era of musical research, which should give its first fruits with the new album presently in its way of composition. The new era sees the entrance of a new member, Sin (guitar) and another member on keyboards (no name revealed yet), and of the change of the name of the band, from Euphorya to VVVV.

The band gives the opportunity of downloading their production so far on their myspace page.
I’m posting the cool “end-of-the-first-era” album Infinity. The digital verion of the album also includes a cover of Burzum’s Dunkelheit.
The link I’m using is the band’s link. In spite of the change of the name, the myspace page will remain the same.

Check them here

Euphorya – Infini (Best of) (2009)

(Thanks to Petya)

continuing from down under..

2009-11-27T07:43:00.003-07:00

"What a filthy treat, a true surprise. The sad fact of the matter is, ever since the retro craze began, hardly any band has reproduced the 80s vibe convincingly, not even bands who paved the groundwork for that special sound. TRENCH HELL is different. Haling from Australia, home of SADISTIK EXEKUTION, THE WIZAR'D, MORTAL SIN, and so many others, they've done their country men proud. "Southern Cross Ripper" is an EP showcasing 80s Metal worship at its finest. Elements of the finest bands that magical decade produced are observable such as HELLHAMMER, VENOM, DESTRUCTION and BULLDOZER. Clocking out at twenty two minutes, this EP is a short one, as EPs should be. Rest assured, this band gets it." [http://www.voicesfromthedarkside.de/]

I couldn't say it better, myself. A MUST for Hellhammer fans.

check it out here.
visit them here.

Brutality.....

2009-11-27T03:24:00.002-07:00

"After an almost six-year silence the Australian antichrist Destöyer 666 strikes back with a vengeance with their new weapon ‘Defiance’. After the release of the ‘Terror Abraxas’ EP there was a deafening silence around the Destroyer camp and the rumours were that the band had buried the hatchet. But you can read more about this in our next issue in an interview with guitarist Shrapnel.

With three fantastic albums on their name (and a list of splits and 7” singles) and many live appearances the band had built up a great reputation within the underground and kept amusing us with their deadly combination of black, death and thrash metal. The strength of these Aussies was never in complex song structures or too technical playing, but in catchy riffs, wrapped in a dark atmosphere and a great eye for melodies. On this fourth long player the band fortunately continues on their traditional path and from the very first tones of ‘Weapons Of Conquest’ it is clear that the years of absence did not have any influence on the band’s sound.

The album is again filled with tasteful black/thrash with an old-school feeling, but without sounding outdated whatsoever. Traditionally the songs are provided with various tempos that prevent the music from becoming boring. In general ‘Defiance’ sound more melodic and less thrashy than it predecessor ‘Cold Steel… For An Iron Age’ and the accent lies more on and ominous atmosphere. The morbid voice of K.K. Warslut is a perfect match for that and that also goes for the blackened riffs and melodies. The clean vocals of drummer Mersus that are used here and there and not to forget, Shrapnel’s solos distinguish the band from the rest and see to a familiar sound. But whether the band is playing at high speed, mid-tempo or slow, the whole picture catches you by the throat and doesn’t let go easily. More than that the whole picture is unmistakeably pure METAL!

In conclusion; the band has again delivered a high-quality and highly addictive metal album that will definitely satisfy the fans. I can hardly wait to see the band on the stage again soon and hope that we don’t have to wait for the next album again so long. Beware: Deströyer are back! " (bounded-by-metal)

Band Site: http://www.destroyer666.net/
Destroyer 666 - Defiance: http://tinyurl.com/y8w69zz

Want to get to the front of the line real quick this morning? Crank this......

2009-11-27T03:14:00.005-07:00

"For a band who never released a full length album, Archgoat had a hell of a legacy, with the band's Angelcunt EP being the focal point for most of the well warranted attention. Being such a short EP, people were left hungry for a full length which never came… that is, until now. Re-forming in 2004 with two thirds of the original line-up, the band issued forth the Angelslaying Black Fucking Metal EP, which put them in good stead for something black metal fans had been waiting for since the early nineties – Whore of Bethlehem.

Have the band made the fatal error of rekindling the flame of a literal legend to produce a turd of an album? Certainly not. But have they released an effort to stand proudly alongside their lauded EP? Well, not quite – but they came pretty close. Whore of Bethlehem doesn't quite have the same jaw-dropping outcome that their Angelcunt EP had way back in the days of yore, but that's not to say it's anywhere near being a poor album. Opening with 'Invocation', a 'Hell Awaits' styled backwards tracked vocal introduction, the first seismic riff of 'Angel of Sodomy' comes crashing through the speakers void of all melody, subtlety and forgiveness. There's such an unwholesome vibe to the album, and at the same time, something very Finnish (and I'm thinking early Beherit and demo era Impaled Nazarene here). Lowest common denominator riffage bludgeons and crushes like a division of Panzer tanks through a war-torn city, with fuzzy guitars reminding of Fuck Me Jesus era Marduk, unintelligible vocal work spewing blasphemous diatribes, and an unusual flat-but-enjoyable drumsound all pulling together to top off this infected pulverizing mass of an album with a maggot eaten black cherry. This really is a relentless aural holocaust, and although it's not full speed ahead tempo-wise, if you listen carefully in the slower sections, you can almost hear Ritual Butcherer's jaw slowly cracking as he grits his teeth together in maximum snarl while smashing out such hateful hymns of destruction and pain.

There's no place for ambient moods when it comes to this style of metal, no flowery melodic riffs, and certainly no pretty Yngwie styled solos. All you're getting here is pure, filthy angel-slaying black metal – and it achieves everything it sets out for. So if you're on the same wavelength as the likes of Conqueror, Blasphemy, Beherit, Von and Krieg… you'll be cracking teeth along to this fucker like there's no tomorrow." (metalcrypt.com)

Band Site: http://www.archgoat.com/
Archgoat - Whore of Bethlehem: http://tinyurl.com/ycda65d

One last post before we paint it black....

2009-11-26T23:32:00.003-07:00

"The follow-up to their acclaimed 2008 debut "Curses" is both melodically brutal and uncompromising in its lyrical bit. Features the single "The Hope That House Built" with its marching Queens Of The Stone Age-style riff. The lead off track, "Arming Eritrea", sets the tone by lulling the listener into a false sense of security before exploding with a bloodthirsty roar of fuzzy bass and distorted guitar. The album's centerpiece, the synth-heavy "You Need Satan More Than He Needs You" finds the band at their savage best as keyboards bounce off hypnotic drumming and funky bass lines to create a devilish masterpiece that will captivate fans and newcomers alike."

Band Site: http://www.futureoftheleft.com/
Future of the Left - Travels With Myself and Another: http://tinyurl.com/yzcjs3b

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Now playing: Black Diamond Heavies - Nutbush City Limit
via FoxyTunes

Rip your throat out.....

2009-11-26T22:41:00.004-07:00

"Though Brannon still shrieks and gnashes his throat on The Hyenas' second LP, You Can't Pray a Lie, the band takes a decisive step toward the musical setting of the moody dirges heard on future records. "Seven Come Eleven" is a rhythmic orgy of distortion and noise, while on "Lullaby and Goodnight," Brannon even manages to calm down a bit, a path he would follow more closely on all future Hyenas albums. The Laughing Hyenas's style didn't change much on their first three releases -- they just kept improving their formula, and Life of Crime was where they reached their peak. Three years after their debut, the Laughing Hyenas had become a frighteningly tight and powerful band; Kevin Strickland's thick but agile basslines merged with Jim Kimball's skull-crushing drumming to create a rhythm section whose brute force was on a par with their musical intelligence, and Larissa Strickland's sheets of blistering guitar work built rugged melodies from sonic chaos. And John Brannon's gale-force vocals presented punk rock dementia with a blues shouter's conviction which made his finest performances a truly disturbing thing to hear. Life of Crime strikes with the impact of a freight train on its first cut, "Everything I Want," and the thing never lets up for a moment; even the album's token slow song, "Outlaw," rains down fire and brimstone on the listener, and then-unknown producer Butch Vig gets the band's firepower on tape without compromise. By the time the Laughing Hyenas went back into the studio, Jim Kimball and Kevin Strickland had left the band, and the group began following a decidedly different direction (they probably had little choice), but Life of Crime rang down the curtain on their first era with an album that proved they were the most powerful Midwest band of their time." (cduniverse.com)

Band Site: http://www.myspace.com/laughinghyenas
Laughing Hyenas - Life of Crime + You Cant Pray A Lie: http://tinyurl.com/yajp93p

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Now playing: Future of the Left - Throwing Bricks at Trains
via FoxyTunes

Some sweet retro-feeling spacey stoner trippy sounds …

2009-11-26T14:36:00.007-07:00

These guys’ album is on various blogs (and I spotted it also in Wine Women & Songs), and it fits perfectly the Swamp as well with its rich, powerful psychedelic rock sounds.
The band is Mondo Drag, from Davenport (Iowa, USA).

“From deep in the cosmos of Iowa comes a force known as Mondo Drag! With a wall of sound all their own, an arsenal of guitars, and a head full of clouds, they are on a rock n roll mission all their own. Members Johnnie Cluney, Nolan Girard, John Gamino, Dennis Hockaday, and Jake Sheley find themselves somewhere between garage, psych, space, sludge and stoner rock.
With songs of life, death, love, revenge, and the unknown, they are flying head first into the future with an anchor of reference for the past.
Channeling artists like Pink Floyd, Pentagram, Blue Cheer, even Hendrix just to skip decades for hints of Sonic Youth, Dead Meadow, and Comets on Fire. Since their start Mondo Drag has had the privilege of playing with such artists as: Sleepy Sun, Dead Meadow, Witchcraft, Black Diamond Heavies, Radio Moscow, Jennifer Gentle, The Dodos, La Otracina, Cass McCombs, Cave, Awesome Color, Monotonix, just to name a few.” (from myspace).

Blog makenoisenotmusic.blogspot.com tells a lot more about this band’s story. One of the facts is that before 2006 these guys were known as Holy Smokes, then they changed their band’s name into Mondo Drag.
Holy Spirit is the haunting debut album by this fine band, however the band spent the months of September and October of 2009 recording a new album, "New Rituals", which is due out on Alive Records in January 2010. In the meantime Holy Spirit album can be purchased as hand-printed copies on the band’s myspace page.

Check them here

Feel the love

(And Petya approves as well …)

Italian southern’death’n’thrash’n’roll …

2009-11-26T13:17:00.007-07:00

Yeah, beside wine and pizza, in Italy we also produce a beast like southern’death’n’thrash’n’roll!
This happens when some guys, like those in Carcharodon band, are “obsessed with women, beer, riffs, sharks, blues, country & old school death metal” …

The band's name is actually deriving from the Latin name for shark.

The three wild guys from Carcharodon, Booge Spencer (guitar and vocals), Zack Norris (drums) and Pixo Antenna (growls and bass), are from the sea-town of Alassio (mmm, those local excellent triple chocolate cookies …).

They have been doing quite a lot of live activity, releasing a serie of demos and EPs between 2003 and 2008, when they released their debut full length, Macho Metal. Also, the debut album came right after a successful tour in Europe and USA.
They got some good reviews on various webzines (e.g., metalzone.it) and an interview on the Texan music portal www. themetalden.com during their US tour.
As one can expect, their sound is raw and powerful, as they rework hard rock in terms of death metal but with a southern, laid back attitude … So, apart from "women and groove", Entombed and Motorhead can be easily traced as influences and sources of inspiration for the granitic, massive sounds of these jolly guys.
About the CD cover art, it's great and in perfect line with what these guys like to play. However, well, it's guaranteed that some of my gay friends may also like it as well …

Check them here

Carcharodon – Macho Metal (2008)

Monsters ….

2009-11-26T13:15:00.004-07:00

I mean “divine, awesome monsters” …
Again, I was not able to trace this album on the Swamp but it seems strange to me that it’s not here. Well, I try and post it.
Sadly extinct Karp band is well known to the swampers. They created some awesome albums of an explosive blend of sludge metal, stoner rock and noise rock with a strong hardcore attitute. Released in 2001, Action Chemistry (1995-1998) is a posthumous collection of all Karp’s singles and tracks from compilations.
I like this collection a lot also because you get the contrasting souls of Karp, with some latests tracks side by side with old tracks, where Karp were really, really raw.
As one reviewer on the web wrote, Action Chemistry provides no less than one full hour of straight Karp!

Check them here

Karp - Action Chemistry (1993-98)

Punk attitude with metal vocals.....

2009-11-26T00:43:00.003-07:00

"They had obvious influences (most notably the Birthday Party and Fun House-era Stooges), but the Laughing Hyenas were a fierce, sulfuric blast of fresh noise that galvanized the Michigan punk scene with this 1987 debut. Merry-Go-Round is a brawling, bloodied lip of a record, delivering twice the cathartic buzz that vocalist John Brannon's former group, Negative Approach could muster, and even then at half the speed. The Laughing Hyenas perfected their attack over the course of the next two releases, reaching a climax with the brutal masterpiece Life of Crime, but Merry-Go-Round sets the template with deceptively simple voodoo blues and a rhythmic complexity that's rarely acknowledged. Kevin Strickland's sinister bass riffs are in lock-step with Jim Kimball's tribal thud, and together they form one of rock's great rhythm sections, laying the framework for Larissa Strickland's jagged, strangled guitar and Brannon's raging, throat-ripping bellow. The Laughing Hyenas dealt primarily with pain, both sonically and lyrically, examining the pain of love, lust, guilt, and death. Even if Brannon wasn't yet at his lyrical peak (much of the imagery seems drawn from gangster movies), he was already penning some striking lines, particularly the introductory confession that he's "been a sinner all my life/But that you already know," aiming to "stain the walls with love." Other numbers find him repeating stanzas from previous songs or just filling space, but the lyrics to "Hell's Kitchen" are priceless rock & roll-scat nonsense at its best ("Popeye the sailor man/He lives in my frying pan/I turn up the gas/Burn off his ass/Popeye the sailor man"). "Gabriel" is the centerpiece, a dark celestial vision distinguished by a funereal trumpet hook that most successfully conjures the spirits the Hyenas were after. The compact disc release of the original EP comes augmented with some nice extras, most notably "Soul Kiss," previously available only on the cassette version of Merry-Go-Round. Also welcome is the frenzied, aggressive "Candy," from the B-side of the "Here We Go Again" single. Recorded live in Germany, "Dedications to the One I Love" is proof of the hypnotic intensity the Hyenas were capable of in person, plus Brannon's confused, deadpan banter with the audience ("I can't even think") gives a taste of the damaged charisma they radiated on-stage. The remaining tracks date from the waning days of the original lineup, recorded with guitarist P.W. Long (who was soon to poach the rhythm section for Mule); "Don't Bouge My High" is funnier than probably intended, and the band's contribution to a 1992 Alice Cooper tribute single for Sub Pop ("Public Animal #9"), is a game try from genuine fans, but will only sound good to someone who can't compare it to the prototype." (cduniverse.com)

Band Site: http://www.myspace.com/laughinghyenas
Laughing Hyenas - Merry Go Round: http://tinyurl.com/yg6kse7

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Now playing: Laughing Hyenas - Hell's Kitchen
via FoxyTunes

Punkish sneer......

2009-11-26T00:16:00.003-07:00

These guys remind me of Blood Brothers and Refused mixed together.....

"Of course, anyone who has been paying attention to the band's progress will be champing at the bit for this release, and they'll be pleased to know it doesn't put a foot wrong from the opening track onwards. Curses is fantastic; its songs are tight, brutal, diverse, intelligent, sardonic and imaginative; usually, they’re all of these things at once. It is easily one of the year's best releases, knocking the competition into a cocked hat.

FOTL's calling card is music that buries pop appeal into a mix of ear-shredding punk and avant-garde rock squall. Sure, the savage percussion and the mudslide riff of 'The Lord Hates A Coward' might make the hearts of lesser beings burst, but after a couple of listens it's impossible to dig the refrain “Violence solves everything / violence, she solves everything” out of the back of your brain. Similarly, 'Suddenly A Folk Song' finds one of the catchiest choruses Falco's belted out in his entire career riding atop dentist-drill keyboards and a gurgling lawnmower bass.

Curses does contain some stylistic hangovers from both Jarcrew and Mclusky – the latter's influence is the most immediately obvious. Many of the songs are built from the bass up and Falco's lyrical approach sounds more like a series of wry non-sequiturs than a heartfelt dissertation on the condition of mankind (although it could be both – who knows?). But even these noticeable aspects sound somehow more evolved in the hands of FOTL. This is due, in no small part, to the individual musicianship of Falco, Egglestone and Mathias: all gouge out their own separate territories in the mix. There's not one song on Curses where any band member seems relegated to a supporting role. This is an album where you admire the craftsmanship as much as the songwriting. It also doesn't hurt that, after just over a year of playing together, the trio are drum-taut in their delivery.

The best thing about FOTL - and by extension, Curses - is that you can check all of this muso clever-clever baggage at the door: it doesn’t matter. The overriding appeal of this album is that it_ rocks. Hard. A sing-along campfire chant is the bait in _'adeadenemyalwayssmellsgood', and then the rhythm section kicks into the mix like a bucking bronco. One of the album's very best moments is the superb 'Small Bones Small Bodies'; after chanting over stomping drums and bass, Falco lets loose with a jagged, spider-like guitar break ahead of the track turning into a boiling, churning thunderhead.

If there's one complaint to be made it’s that the album’s all over too quickly. But even though Curses blasts by in under 40 minutes it leaves a lasting impression. What's even more impressive is how Falco, Egglestone and Mathias manage to eclipse the efforts of their previous bands. Curses cuts a bloody swathe through your cranium, leaving you reeling and gasping for more. The battle cries have been practiced, the troops are focussed and playtime is well and truly fucking over. Here's to the future." (drownedinsound.com)

Band Site: http://www.futureoftheleft.com/
Future Of The Left - Curses: http://tinyurl.com/yc72wcq

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Now playing: Anal Blasphemy - Blasphemous Arts of Satan '07
via FoxyTunes

DeathDoomGrindSludge

2009-11-25T15:28:00.004-07:00

My internet access has been sparing at best lately, hopefully that changes soon. My apologies for the lack of posts lately. Anyways, looked all over for this at the Swamp, but maybe I missed it. If I did, let me know, and I will get something else up pronto. I assume most of you know this band...if you don't its pretty much like if Sabbath had played death metal and grindcore, and added in a healthy dose of some gnarly hardcore punk. Although on this album, they are much more death than anything. Check it out.

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Check them out HERE

Pre-order HERE

Swedish sparks …

2009-11-25T07:42:00.006-07:00

It seems strange to me that this album is not on the Swamp. I couldn’t trace it down, so I try and post it.
Organic Songs Volume One (2004), the debut album by the super-groovy Swedish stoner band Electric Earth.

Just a brief, old review from Stonerrock.com:
“From Sweden, land of gorgeous blond women (Mari says: and gorgeous blond men as well … yum yum!) and stoner rock comes Electric Earth, another mutation of the Kyuss-Dozer gene.

Based on the opener, the anthemic “Platonic,” it’d be easy to say Electric Earth have their place in the ever crowded genre. It’s got the pre-requisite catchy chorus, thick guitar crunch, and no frills-no bullshit rock aesthetic. But from there it doesn’t quite gel for me. I’m not sure what it is – maybe it’s that some of the songs seem torn between adding some hair metal flair or Hellacopters garage punk rock, and in the end settle for not quite enough of either.
It’s not a total loss, though. “D.W.B.” has a heavy crunch and shows the same promise as “Platonic,” and “Manic Hate” has some cool drumming. Throw in a cover of “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” and most people looking for classic stoner rock should find something to like in Organic Songs Volume One.”

Finished.

Get it.

Check the band here

Electric Earth - Organic Songs Volume One (2004)

Stenchcore from hell …

2009-11-25T06:53:00.005-07:00

If you dig bands like Amebix, Discharge, Misery, Axegrinder, Crucifix as well as Motorhead, well, you’ll love Hellshock as well!
Hellshock dudes (Grizzle – vocals, D-wreck – bass, Brian Hopper – guitar, Ripper – guitar and Keet – drums) are from Portland, Oregon. They have been producing excellent stenchcore/hardcore-crust drenched with thrash metal since 2000, and recently they released this new album, They Wait For You Still.

As in the rest of their production, their killer sounds alternate between fast and slow - conjuring up many a mood, atmosphere and feeling. Metallic riffage is the order of the day, together with big rhythmic bass, fierce guttural vocals and pounding drumming.
The band’s monicker sort of fuses Hellbastard and “shell shock”, and fits their music properly as it promises “hellish images of war-torn wastelands, skies blackened by toxic fumes and smoke, filth-ridden trenches, and omnipresent death.”
Hellshock guys are presently performing in a long tour in Europe.

Check their movements here

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Lost in stormy woods …

2009-11-25T06:14:00.008-07:00

Wood IV: The Green Album is the charming, new effort by a very peculiar black metal band, Woods of Ypres, from Toronto, Canada.

Actually it is not proper to tag this band solely as black metal, or depressive black metal, because they possess a unique style. They are in the vein of black metal, but they also play doomy downtempo music or even Danzig-style dark’n’roll, etc., and they are quite melodic. Also, in their being black metal, they are weird as they couple black metal sounds and rhythms with dominant clean and rather warm, deep David Gold’s vocals which have absolutely nothing to do with typical, fierce, scary black metal witchery screams.
The new album well exceeds the length of one hour and offers their weird, varied, rich flow of music as quite long tracks (over 7 minutes) alternating with shorter ones.
Like the previous albums, also this one is numbered with Roman types, another own feature of the band.

Here is a nice review on this particular, charming album and on this fine band:
“Change is often a very delicate thing in the universe of heavy metal. Change too much? Shouts of “sell outs” and “I liked their old material better” drown out the discussion on a band’s forward progression. Don’t change enough? Criticism of writing the same old, formulaic music album after album. However, some groups seem to evolve album after album, continually fine tuning, and often radically altering their sound to become not just bands, but in every sense of the term, musical artists.
No strangers to change, the nomadic Woods of Ypres have once again, redefined their sound with their fourth independent release IV – The Green Album. Initially a pure black metal band, mastermind David Gold and company (a variety of different musicians have come and gone through the years) have mixed elements of doom to their blackened sound with their second and third albums, and have continued the trend with their most focused and doom-laden effort to date. Armed with a full lineup for the first time since their debut demo, 2002’s Against the Seasons, Gold, joined by Bryan Belleau (guitar), formerly of Gates of Winter, and brothers Evan (drums) and Shane Madden (bass) from Philadelphia’s The Green Evening Requiem have put together a whopping 80 minute emotional journey of one’s self-reconstruction.
Opener “Shards of Love” sets the tone of the album, both musically and thematically – acoustic guitars with an accompanying oboe quickly give way to Gold’s layered heavy vocals and chugging guitars, beginning the story of a man’s destruction. The new sound of Woods branded doom continues on, taking a quick break with the latter half of “Dirty Window of Opportunity”, which segues into one of the most rocking riffs on the album, underneath one of Belleau’s massive lead solos.
“Wet Leather” is the catchy sing-along song of the set, which is followed by a change of pace in the album. “Suicide Cargo Load” and “Halves & Quarters” – a couple tracks heavily inspired by Crowbar – are somewhat of a departure from the rest of the songs, but still seems to fit, given its place in the story. Contrasting heavily is “You Are Here With Me”, composed of classical guitar by Nathanaël Larochette (Musk Ox) and a haunting vocal performance. “Don’t Open The Wounds” gradually flows from a slow Type O Negative feel up to a fierce metal blast, only to be outdone by “Natural Technologies” with riffs straight out of the early days of death metal. It is by far the fiercest moment on a Woods album to date. “Mirror Reflection” continues the intensity, only to be followed by the calming “The Long Life in the Limbo Union”, and “Move On! (The Woman Will Always Leave the Man)”, the ominous finale.
While there will be many comparisons to the band’s second album, both in style, and album flow (this album needs to be listened to front to back to get the full effect), W4 is a giant leap for the Woods camp. Production is the best we’ve seen so far, song-writing continues to grow and David Gold’s vocal performance is easily his strongest to date. The shifts in mood, and style are constant throughout the album, yet it flows from the opening acoustic notes to the final scream. Gold’s lyrics are unmistakably original (although sometimes playfully awkward) and heavily influenced by his recent journeys, including his time spent in Korea.
Between locations, members, and full on style shifts, Woods of Ypres has never been afraid of change, and in fact, openly embrace it. The continued evolution continues to push their music to uncharted areas, making each album, and each track therein, its own original journey. While I had high expectations for the album, W4 seems to have surpassed them, and is destined to be one of my top albums of 2009.” (review from www.hellbound.ca)

Check them here

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(Thanks to the Venikov Drug Cartel a.k.a. Petya)

Finnish bong sludge …

2009-11-25T06:12:00.005-07:00

Named after the plastic explosive, Semtex is a promising, four-piece sludge band from Finland (Helsinki-Vantaa). Their sound is sludgy but it’s full of groove as well. They obviously bow down towards the riff mastery of Sleep, Bongzilla and Goatsnake, but they are not shy in adopting more mellow, stoned out and spacey vibes either. They recently released an EP in limited edition, Pot Secret.
Definitely a band to keep an eye out for …

Check them here

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(Thanks to Petya)