Monarch!

Throne Records is accepting pre-orders for the new Monarch, Mer Morte now. "Mer Morte is their most ghostly and hypnotical release to date, comprised of one 35 minutes long track (divided in two parts). Essential minimalistic and atmospheric Sludge here."

only 666 copies will be pressed, so get yours while they last.

Throne records

Gate Is Dope & Kayoma-Sdyeane

quickpost, two cd-r's from japan.

gate is dope is a 50 minute slab of mammoth riffs and droning ambience. i would have hoped for some groove among the doom and gloom, but overall a decent effort.

kayoma-sdyane are a bit more straight forward, and follow the teachings of sunn o))) . short bursts of sunn-like droning riffs mixed with almost bluesy basslines.

Gate Is Dope - Question

(2008, Self Released)
dl
buy


Kayoma-Sdyeane - The Living Dead And The Dying Man CDR
(2008, Self Released)
dl
buy, 2

Mythical Beast

Mythical Beast - Scales [2008, Language of Stone]






first full length for Mythical Beast was released on Language of Stone, a sub-label of Drag City. they've built up some rep (at least with me) with solid split releases with both Pocahaunted & Cloudland Canyon. largely psych that at times even flirts with being stoner rock but can also swing into a trancelike rhythmic mellowness (River Blindness is a good example). the thing that really sets Mythical Beast apart is the powerful voice of singer Corinne Sweeney. she sort of reminds me at times of BellRays singer Lisa Kekaula, probably because the soulfulness that underlies her singing. a very solid debut full length that really doesn't have a weak song on it.

dl
Buy

sorry for the lack of updates recently, i've been tied to some real life shit. i'll try to update more frequently.

anyway here's one of my favourite splits this year. aguirre are from france and the mighty hongo from spain. i guess aguirre took their name from the herzog movie, and there's a long sample from the said movie in the first song, jagtejev69 (at least i think so, my german is a bit rusty and i've never actually seen the movie). they play apocalyptic sludge doom, somewhat remiscent of newer neurosis.

the hongo side is a little faster, not too much though. their sound is a sweet mix of epic crust and sludge. the vocalist takes a bit of time to get used to, personally i love his style but many think he sounds too constipated. then again you'd think a bloodthirsty mummy wailing death from his tomb would be, and i think he might be one. anyway all around good stuff and i hope to hear more of aguirre.

Aguirre / Hongo Split
(2008, Abitbol & Exutoire)

dl
buy

The Angelic Process

i just read (a few months late i guess) that K. Angylus passed away last summer. Weighing Souls With Sand, the last Angelic Process album has become one of my all time favourite albums, and the two old albums are very good as well. there's not that many people making original, heavy and touching music these days and his passing is a huge loss. here's Weighing Souls With Sand from 2007 released on Profound Lore. i urge everyone to get the old albums as well.

rest in peace.

The Angelic Process - Weighing Souls With Sand
(2007, Profound Lore)

download:
part 1
part 2

buy

Emergency Room Comp

Emergency Room Vol. 1 [Nominal Records]

download





i'm generally not a huge fan of comps, they tend to be uneven or unfocused. i usually have to sit through filler to get to the handful of songs i really like. this is definitely not the case with Emergency Room. this is the second release by Nominal Records out of Vancouver Canada. i can say that after only a handful of releases (a couple i'm also posting) that i'll be eagerly awaiting anything else that they put out. the basis for this comp is DIY punk with a creamy noise rock center. the majority of these bands are fronted by female singers which i love. i'm not going to go through this band by band or song by song, but i will say that the first time i heard Instinct by the Mutators my jaw dropped. the one misstep on this album is the closer by Sick Buildings and not even because it's a bad song. it strays more to the straight noise side of things and just doesn't seem to fit the overall sound of the album.

SIDE A:
1. DEFEKTORS-Burning Light
2. DEFEKTORS-Kick First One
3. PETROLEUM BY-PRODUCTS-Rat Face
4. PETROLEUM BY-PRODUCTS-Grossest Thing
5. VAPID-Sex Stain
6. VAPID-Die
7. WHITE LUNG-Therapy

SIDE B:
1. MUTATORS-Instinct
2. MUTATORS-VvV
3. TWIN CRYSTALS-Trinity
4. TWIN CRYSTALS-Safety
5. NU SENSAE-Graceland
6. NU SENSAE-Don't Panic
7. NU SENSAE-Peter Tripp
8. SICK BUILDINGS-The Commuter

i'm throwing in some other short samplers of some of the bands that participated (gull skull also posted Nu Sensae earlier).


Mutators/Shearing Pinx Split 12" [Ugly Pop]

download
buy






White Lung - Magazines 7" [Deranged]

download
buy





Defektors - Secret Trials/Doomsday Girl 7" [Nominal]

download
buy





Vapid - Do The Earthquake 7" [Nominal]

download
buy

Against Nature

Against Nature is a side project of a kind of the legendary doom band Salvation. formed in 2004, they've released 16 albums in the past four years.

yeah.

their sound is pretty unique, dreamy prog-doom that almost sound like it was recorded under water. very calm and relaxing. i've only listened to about 6 of their albums so far, and i've loved every single one. it's impossible to select a favourite, but since I have to choose one here's Appease from 2005.

dl

and if this band wasn't awesome enough, you can download their full discography, lossless, from their site here.

doom or be doomed!

Asfixia

Self Titled 7'' ( Stonehenge / Angry / FFYM)

spain is a real goldmine of awesome crust bands. here's asfixia, female fronted anarcho-crust/grind from the basque. their main theme seems to be anti religion. also the vocalist wails like she's on fire. good stuff.

myspace
dl

Monarch!

Dead Men Tell
No Tales [2007, Crucial Blast]






french doom drone band Monarch! are one of my favorites over the last few years. this is a reissue on crucial blast of 2 previous albums, Speak Of The Sea & Die Tonight. if you want grim, this is about as grim as it gets. if you like your doom at the tempo of glaciers forming, this is for you. they make Khanate seem like thrash. songs clock in at around 20 minutes on average filled with droning doom-laden guitar chords that last for days accompanied by heavy bass with cymbals crashing all around.


led by singer Emile (left), she may be slight in stature, but you won't find a harsher growl around. vocals are certainly not the main focus here though as songs will generally drone on for long periods with them absent.






Buy

dl part 1
dl part 2

Sonic Flower

Heavy Sonic & Flower Groove (Leaf Hound)

side project of japanese serial killer stoners church of misery. aggressive, but laid back 70's influenced classic rock with tons of blues leads tinged with doom. far out!

buy
dl

Black Sun

Hour Of The Wolf (Maximum Volume)

hateful doom/sludge from glasgow. an extremely dark and claustrophobic post swans and khanate brew of slow, crushing riffs, noise abstractions and seething demons. mixed & mastered by james plotkin (khanate/kknull/khlyst) with additional mixing by billy anderson (swans/melvins/neurosis).

myspace
dl

The Believers

Brontoursaurus [2005, Apostasy]






Lost Tracks (aka: Forgotten Tracks) [2006, Blueberry Honey]





was reminded of this by a request from someone elsewhere. these guys are reminiscent of the noisier output of Magik Markers (if you're looking for something like Boss, this isn't it) and can totally hold their own with them in my opinion. features members of SON OF EARTH, SHACKAMAXON, DUCK, IDEA FIRE COMPANY, & SAPAT. raw as hell. unfortunately, as far as i know they haven't put anything out since 2006.

"...The Believers like their rock raw, simple and stoopid- and so do I! Camping out around overloaded guitar riffs, distorted vocals, and pounding drums, these Sleestaks-in-satin provide the perfect soundtrack to a summer headcold..." - Chris Miller, review in Thaumaturgy blog

myspace
buy either

Brontoursaurus: download

Lost Tracks: download

Quttinirpaaq

Dragged Through The Streets [2008, Blackest Rainbow]








Quttinirpaaq [2008, Faunasabbatha]






i like that the "band" seems to be named after a national park at the northern most tip of canada which is basically a frozen wasteland. it fits the music. doomy, sludgey instrumental goodness from this one-man wrecking crew from texas named Matt Turner. monster slow-mo riffs slathered in feedback and noise, broken up with periods of heavy drones and eerie ambient passages. two great releases on two great labels. one for Blackest Rainbow and one for Faunasabbatha.

Dragged Through The Streets:
Buy
Download

Quttinirpaaq:
Buy
Download

myspace

Thanks

first off i just want to say thanks to anyone who took the time to look at our page. second, and most important, i want to thank the bands and people that made these albums possible, and also the people out there who may have shared these albums with us. if you find something that you like, try to find some way to support the artists. buy an album, buy a shirt, see a show, whatever.

crust & noise

våld - boycott your life (treason troops)

melodic crust with some elements of grind and death from finland. too bad they only released this full lenght. cold, fast & hostile. the lead singer is now in loinen, an excellent blackened sludge band.

dl

agrimonia - agrimonia (self released)

demo from a newish swedish band, contains members of Martyrdöd, Acursed, Dödsdömd and Atomvinter. blackened doom with hints of amebix style crust. five anthems for the armageddon.

buy
dl

monno - error (conspiracy)

swiss band based in berlin. sludgey noise rock created by laptop and bass, loud pounding drums and shrieked out vocals. uncompromising, stubborn and ruthless.

buy
dl

music

here's what we're about

salome - self titled (vendetta records)

evil sludge/doom with the best female vocalist working in metal. she was on pig destroyers terrifier and will be on an upcoming agoraphobic nosebleed 7''. one of the highlights of the year.

buy in europe or in the us
dl

acid eater - dirty 7'' ep (hello from the gutter)

side project of japanese noise guru masonna. acid drenched garage punk freak out.

dl



black pyramid - black pyramid 7'' (electric earth)

best sabbath worship this year.

myspace
dl



kowloon walled city - turk street (worldclock records)

AmRep style noise rock meets stoner sludge.

buy
dl




morne - demo (self released)

features members of filth of mankind, disrupt, grief, state control etc. for fans of amebix, discharge, neurosis, doom...

buy
dl




nü sensae - 1-sided 12'' (isolated now waves)

fucked up noise punk in the vein of shearing pinx, mutators, night wounds, pissed jeans etc.

buy
dl



gnaw their tongues - for all slaves a song of false hope (burning world)

black, gloomy, creepy dark ambient. miasmic horror drones straight from hell. good stuff.

buy us euro
dl part 1, part 2


stay tuned