Bands You Should Be Hearing PT.II

Hello. Today i bring a handful of new music that i've discovered recently. I'm not going to write a whole testament on each release, just a couple words. Sorry, but I'm not feeling very inspired today. Besides, you're all here for the music, right? So let's get to it.

First is Boreas, a black metal act from Kansas City. Boreas (who took their name from the Greek God of North Wind or Winter) play this low-fi, harsh, nihilistic style of black metal. Nothing ground-breaking to be honest but when it comes to their music, I just dig the whole sound on this Demo and the tracks are really good too. The Gods are pleased.

Boreas

Kato, a blackened sludge act that blend the furious side of hardcore with the monolithic heaviness of sludge metal, are indeed a band that every fan of the genre should put their ears upon. Introducing three tracks in this Demo, the amazing instrumental "Yet His Shadow Still Looms" and two furious songs "And All Of The Rats Gather" and "Dust Of Earth". The quality is really, really good here and i can see a great future for this band as long as they keep this pace. Good.

Kato

From Portugal, another great and promising young band, Mother Abyss. The band plays this very heavy, heavy post-sludge-metal that will please all the fans from bands like Cult of Luna, Generation Of Vipers, Isis or Mouth Of The Architect. I really didn't payed much attention to this but after a really decent listen, i was blown' away by its quality. Really, really good. You can stream two tracks (no free download) or if you're willing to get a copy, head over to their Facebook.

Mother Abyss

Next, Tutti I Colori Del Buio. A fresh new act from Italy, presenting their first Demo filled with four tracks of heavy hardcore à la APMD and Trap Them. If you dig the most vicious and rabid side of hardcore, then don't sleep on this one.

TICDB

Another great band and album i was introduced to some time ago, due to one of the members of the band itself, is Curse This Ocean. Now, the name may sound that there's some kind of post-hardcore, emocore, screamo band here... but let's not judge the heart through the face. If indeed you think this way, I can assure you, you're totally wrong. Curse This Ocean simply deliver some of the best new hardcore on the scene. I mean, i love this album. The tracks are awesome, catchy, memorable as they are heavy and filled with (dark) emotions . All layered with a superb production. "Lightbringer" is one of those albums that i like to visit at least, once a week. I can tell that there's a heavy influence of bands like (and you're gonna see what I mean when you hear it) Converge and Cursed for example here. Fuck.. I would dare say that i even enjoyed this album a lot more than the latest Converge (I know i'm gonna get crucified for just saying this). Only because Curse This Ocean's "Lightbringer" is fresh and as just as good and sure deserves a whole lot more ears and eyes upon them. Trust me. A very eclectic album, with very great and different moments. Truly one of my favorite albums of the genre for 2013. Check it out, you will love it and please, get this album here.

Lightbringer

That's all for now, i could get more bands but let's leave it for another day. Enjoy these releases, support & shit. Stay tuned. †

Pornography "Promises & Virtues", "Mississippi" & "Heaven"

Pornography are a explicit experimental metal band from Nashville that fuses genres like doom and maybe some post punk that result into this very minimalist, ritualistic kind of post-doom sound. Pornography are like a contemporary version of Khanate but with some kind of dark hardcore vibe behind them, playing very slow and mixing a lot of noise into their sound. The thing is that the result here is quite interesting and quite different from what i usually run into. I ran into this a long time ago but only now, God knows why, i've decided to post it here on Forever Cursed. These two samples left me very curious and i would like to hear more from this band. Recommended for fans of Gray Ghost, Pharaoh, Khanate.

PS: Just a quick update to tell you guys that new Pornography material is already up on their Bandcamp. Two new tracks of the most dark, heavy and suffocating doom-ish post punk. And the best news is that is going to take physical shape as a clear 8" lathe cut record from Happiness Rekords. One of the freshest and innovative bands i've heard. Don't sleep on this. 

XXX

Blessings "Bittervatten"

Blessings are a three piece Sweden based dark and crust hardcore with some sludge influences featuring members coming from very different bands of the swedish scene like Scraps Of Tape, Anchor, Fä and Chester Copperpot.  With this Demo, the band introduces us a a very raw, stripped down, almost a kind of live captured sound. The tracks fall in a little different from the usual dark hardcore kind of bands, for example,  there are some tracks like "Bittervatten" that seem to fit in a more classic registration of classic northern European acts like JR Ewing or The Spectacle and then we have tracks like "Worms of the Earth" that is quite vicious and sounds pretty much like Cursed. And there are tracks like "The Shrine" that are absolutely original from the start to the end.

What i really enjoy the most in Blessings is that this band has really a different point of view and that they are going in a different direction, dispersing themselves from  the rest of the pack. The vibe expressed through their music is really great. The songs on "Bittervatten" are really original and quite fresh. A factor that really makes me want to listen to this Demo tape over and over.

There's also a loose song on Blessings Bandcamp, entitled "Black Vestals" that is really awesome. It sounds a little bit more sludgy than the tracks featured on the "Bittervatten" Demo. Here, the vocals remind me a lot of older Neurosis and the riffs are absolutely crushing. I'm really enjoying the path the band is taking. Really hope they keep it up like this. Too bad the tape is sold out but expect new stuff soon. This band slays, another great promising and original band from Europe. Check them out below.

Bless yourself

Tsarweather "Demo"

Tsarweather are a relatively young german band introducing with their first Demo two great samples of dark, crusty, violent and extremely well-played, hardcore. Delivering two short - but powerful - rounds with the tracks "Arms" and "Quartered", Tsarweather are another great example coming out of the extreme european hardcore scene. If you're into bands like Hammers, Perth Express and Alpinist then you really must not let this band pass you by. Fast, dirty and aggressive - just the way we like it. The tracks are available at Tsarweather's Bandcamp and luckily there's also a physical copy of it, i believe, still available and i gotta tell you it looks really cool. Know more by checking their Facebook page. A great Demo by a very promising band, i really loved the sound of them. Don't sleep on this one.

arms quartered

Black Mass "Of First and Last Things"

If you're into the brutal and dark side of hardcore and you still haven't heard of U.K's Black Mass then you are clearly missing it big time...

Black Mass have been around since 2010 and have at this point released a Demo, an EP and a Split release with Host. "Of First and Last Things" is a compilation and re-recording of all their recorded material to date, plus one previously unreleased track.

Well, what can you expect from a band that states on their Facebook page that their influence is "Horror, disgust and anxiety through tonal abuse and overwhelming volume."? Ridiculous and brutal drum discharges filled with the most dirtiest of the riffs that will carve into your flesh while fierce and vicious vocals will make your bones almost shatter. Black Mass aren't fooling around. They have got to be one of the most underrated bands in the midst of this darkest faction of hardcore. These lads grab a handful of genres like hardcore, crust, death metal and grind and blend it into this furious and evil potion to which is impossible to stay indifferent.

It's impossible to hear "Of First and Last Things" without banging your head or tapping your foot to the sound of it. The minute you start hearing the first track "To The Cross", they immediately grab you by the neck and throw you around like some rag-doll. The sound is perfect. Very dirty, sludgy and crusty. That's the kind of production i love. Just ugly, in-your-face and raw. You get all the evilness you can get from bands like Trap Them, Entombed, Cursed or even one of the bands mentioned on their page that i miss a lot, The Power And The Glory, all in one, but Black Mass is not just one of those copy-cat bands that follow this genre. Their tunes are fresh and never fall into boredom, just look into tracks like the infamous "W.P.P.V.B.T.Y.B",  the Entombed worship in "Left Hand Pass" and on the unreleased track "Corporal Imprisonment", tracks that clearly have a more death metal vibe attached to it. And one of my personal favorites, "Our Father" where they begin by introducing something else than just slamming powerviolenced hardcore, instead of physical damage here we get psychological terror as well, it almost seems the kind of stuff Column of Heaven creates. And i fucking love it. I can only imagine this band live: a wall of noise, bodies flying and thrown around, sweat, blood.

Listen, these kids can really play. By doing so, they are simply one of the best acts that the UK has to offer in this field of heavy music right now. Seriously.

"Of First and Last Things" will get a physical release coming in the near future through Witchunter records. Not sure if in vinyl although it deserves it for sure. For now, the band has made it available for free download via their Bandcamp. Until then the band will be writing, recording and playing shows over the coming months. Be sure not to miss anything through their Facebook page. Show some love and support the Mass.

Blackest of the Mass

BEST OF 2012 - Part I - The Demo Series

After a long hiatus, I'm back. this time to unveil what you probably must have been fed up so far like it's usual on this time of the year... Lists, Lists and more Lists. Some seem to bet on the quantity, others on the quality making their Lists following the same "copy-paste" as the List right next door. Some say it was a bad year for metal, others say the opposite. I personally think that this year we witnessed another good crop.

So this time i thought about it a lot and since i heard a lot of awesome releases this year i decided to not go with the flow. It would be also a little bit boring for you to put here the albums that you all are already familiarized with. May all those bands forgive me but hey... you got like 20 or more specialized metal websites/blogs talking amazing stuff of your latest album just right around the corner.

This year i've decided to invest on releases that i really loved and that are as good as the albums featured on the majority of the Lists seen out there on the web. Call them underrated if you feel so. I have compiled what, for me, are the best releases that are worthy of your attention (and support) that also came out in this wretched year of 2012. So i've decided to begin with many bands also begin with: the demo. There are of course, dozens, hundreds of other demos left to discover, but let's give time to time. 

Until then...

So without further notice, these are my 10 favorite demos of 2012.

# 10 #

Oyarsa "Oyarsa"

As described from Sol Y Nieve: "Tales of astral decay and bliss. The procession of a doomed race. Ouroboral riffs through hazy paths of space and time." Chicago's Oyarsa make their debut with this awesome demo filled with, as described by the band itself, cosmic doom. Expect some really heavy doom metal layered with some really harsh vocals. Can't wait to hear more from this band. Loved it.

# 9 #

Skygge "Heksekunst"

Norway's Skygge simply deliver some of the most nefarious black metal around. What else could we expect from a black metal band hailing from Norway? One of the most principal lairs, of the trve grim and frostbitten. That's precisely what you can expect with this demo. Cold, grim, ugly black metal where every riff is fired with shards of ice. Skygge have, in the meantime, released their full-length entitled "Knokkelkraft". If you enjoyed this demo I'm pretty sure you will love the album.

# 8 #

Monomakh "MMXII"

Two words: "Death Metal" and "Australia". In nowadays these two words will immediately hook up any extreme death metal fan. Monomakh are no exception. With this demo, the band present us the most twisted, vile, primitive and chaotic death metal around. Besides the most dark and obscure side of death metal, they also blend some black metal into their sound giving it a more hallucinatory facet. I was extremely glad to know that Monomakh's tape was made possible and released thru Rising Beast Recordings, after i posted them here on Forever Cursed. A big thanks to Roach from RBR!

# 7 #

Torture Chain "Time is But a Doorway to the Incinerator"

Some say this is the best material released by Torture Chain to date. And i must agree. This demo is compost by only one track that gives title to the demo itself. Killer riffs, killer voice and killer solos swirl thru the 23 minutes that this track lasts. A very enthusiastic and ambitious voyage lead with success by Torture Chain.

# 6 #

 

Sodb "Don Seantalamh a Chuid Fein"

From Ireland arrives another great gem. Featuring members from the Irish underground scene, Sodb is a raw black metal band introducing with their first demo, "Don Seantalamh a Chuid Fein", four tracks of some hypnotic and incisive black metal. It isn't very common to get a raw black metal act as this coming from Ireland, but with this demo, Sodb really made some notable work. 

# 5 #

Déliquescence "Antinomisme"

A very interesting demo this one brought by Québec's mysterious act, Déliquescence.
Three tracks of the best occult and ritualistic black metal coming out from that corner of the world. Déliquescence can really create a dark and mystical atmosphere in which we blindly dive in full darkness. "Antinomisme" is all about the atmosphere. An amazing and very interesting piece.

# 4 #

Laster "Wijsgeer & Narreman"

Laster are a black metal band founded and located in Utrecht, the Netherlands. "Wijsgeer & Narreman" is a conceptual work presenting us three tracks inspired by Goethe's tragic play, "Faust".  The quality of this demo is really, really good. Featuring an outstanding drum work, some cascadian-like sounding guitars and a very haunting voice, Laster unleash three great tracks filled with real raw emotions, no tricks, no gimmicks, just true to themselves and to the listener. A terrific piece of work.

# 3 #

Hallow "Hallow"

Another gem brought to light this year was Oregon's doomsters Hallow with their first demo. Introducing two themes of the most heavy, slow, mournful doom. I'm a sucker for this kind of sound and this demo really fulfills my hunger for this kind of doom. I look forward to hear more from this band in the future, until then... doom on!

# 2 #

Muknal "Muknal"

From the Crepusculo Negro collective, a claustrophobic and haunting piece orchestrated by Muknal. One of the most vile demos i've heard this year. If you look at the demo's artwork while listening to this demo, you'll find that it really fits in Muknal's sound. Surreal death metal coming from the most unknown depths of the Earth. Brilliant.

# 1 #

Tardigrada "Widrstand"

This is by far, the best thing i heard in the demo field this year. I really lost the count of how many times this demo tape played here at the Haxan's den. Tardigrada's demo "Widrstand" is amazing in all of its details. Amazing atmospheric black metal that craves really deep into the listener. A demo that still will be heard many years from now. Absolutely a must for any fan of this genre.

Enjoy!!

Bands You Should Be Hearing Pt.I

..or at least, Heard Of.

Ok, after the avalanche of requests i got from a few months back, i filtered some (sorry to the others and please don't send me psych/stoner/grunge stuff, seriously) and decided to create this mega post with some of the coolest bands, or at least i think they're worthy of attention, that crashed into my mailbox.


As described by themselves on their Facebook page, Wolves Carry My Name are a five-piece Sludge band from Siegen/Germany. Born in late 2011, this profane cult intends to set the world's decline to music by arranging furious, heart bending and manifold sound-scapes somewhere amongbrokenness, abomination and anger. The headstrong sound combines heavy Sludge/Stoner riffing with Ambient/Post-Rock elements, a slight Psychedelic/Blues touch and both desperate and hate driven vocals. Now, at a first glance, don't let the cover of this EP fool you, there's nothing about crusty and blackened hardcore here. 

The first impression i got, and truth be said, these guys aren't reinventing the wheel here. With this release, we get a heavy dose of massive post metal with some stoner and post rock influences that will certainly please fans of bands as Tephra, Trenches, Isis or even Iron Monkey, for example. The "southern/stoner/rock/whatever" parts really bother me a bit since this formula has been more than used by bands of the genre along the years, but hey.. this is just me (please stop sending me stoner/psychedelic/fuzz/southern rock!). I'm more into the atmospheric stuff. Music for me must create atmosphere, create images in my mind either they maybe real or surreal. In overall, the production of "Amongst Ruins And Ashes" is excellent, the tracks are really solid, all factors for you to hear this release. Preview it/grab it below.

BC | DL

One good surprise and a name to keep in mind are Sun Of Nothing, an experimental metal band from Athens, Greece. This band grabs influences from several styles from sludge, doom, post-punk, post-rock to black metal. All entangled in a experimental and psychedelic web of sound called "The Guilt Of Feeling Alive". There are some good quality bands coming out of Greece lately, besides the reputation for quality black metal, other bands have been emerging from there, right now i can think of Dephosphorus and Mass Culture for example. The most interesting point here is that, with all of their influences, Sun Of Nothing, have managed to create a unique sound of their own, making this release one of the most interesting ones that has ever dropped into my mailbox. Serious.

As "The Guilt Of Feeling Alive" begins, we are immediately mesmerized with the opening track "Sink", whose notes wander through repetitive rhythms, always creating that feeling of expectation that something is really before us but at the same time seems to constantly escape. In the following tracks, our ears are assaulted by anguished cries that constantly haunts the tracks. "Catharsis", "Drowned Out", "Unreached Soul" and the abysmal closing "Hearthealer" are constant jumps into the unknown where we never know what to expect next. With five tracks only, "The Guilt Of Feeling Alive" lasts over 42 minutes and i guarantee you that every single minute, or second, is really worth it. Try it for yourself.
Preview it on the band's Bandcamp, just follow the link below. Follow their steps here.

BC

Here is a split release many of you may know by now, but i really could not pass this one by too. A split between Dallas progressive post black metallers Cara Neir and New Hampshire's blackened stenchcore Ramlord. Beginning with Ramlord, to be honest, i'm still not into this band. I got to know them through their demo "Stench of Fallacy" and their sound really didn't hit me, maybe because due to the quality of the recording sound, i don't know. To me it's just another average band playing this hybrid style of crust/black metal. Nothing new here. Sorry Ramlord. Now Cara Neir i got to know them since the very interesting "Stagnant Perceptions" from last year. I know these guys got to pull some really cool reviews and good critics about this debut album. In this split you can expect the same kind of tracks as heard on "Stagnant Perceptions" although the sound production here is a lot better. Introducing a more cohesive and accurate sound. Cara Neir continues their legacy of this post black metal layered with some post rock/screamo influences as heard on "Family Dirge", but there's also room for some more, i dare say, death metal influences (as heard on "Wilted Blue"). Cara Neir absorbs a lot of influences making impossible for us to almost catalog them (in what fucking playlist on my iTunes, am i going to put these guys in???).

For those who love to collect tapes, i believe the split tape is still available on Broken Limbs Recordings, besides this one, they got a hand full of great releases there, check them out. Meanwhile check the Split on the link below. Download link courtesy of the band.

BC | DL

Still on Cara Neir...

wait...

Is this the same Cara Neir i've just talked about?

Yes they are. Now this was quite a surprise.

Taking a turn of 360º, from black metal to pure powerviolenced grindcore, here is the latest Cara Neir's EP: "Sublimation Therapy" EP. A blazing storm of 17 short bursts of the most ravenous grindcore i've heard in a few months, in a total of 22 and a half minutes. Interesting twist here. As expected, in terms of sound production, Cara Neir have done it again, thanks to Mr. Garry Brents. At first i was feeling a little distrustful about this but the more i hear it, the more i actually enjoy it. Clean and razor sharp riffs are fired shattering blast beats destroy everything around. Fans of bands like Graf Orlock, Defeatist or even Dephosphorus, please... put your ears and hands on this one. A must for contemporary grind fans. 

BC

Sabrewulf are a hardcore band from El Paso, Texas, they have a new EP out, basically made out of songs that originally were supposed to be on the demo released in November. Sabrewulf presents us a very muscled hardcore stuffed with some sludge or even some dark hardcore influences but always staying true to their hardcore roots. Following the same line of the demo "Prophecy", in "The Condemned" they present us three tracks that begin with some dark and haunting environmental intro setting the tone for the what's next, a furious discharge of some serious hate-fueled hardcore. Taking a look at the EP's artwork, and as i hear this "The Condemned" EP, it reminds me of some wicked character coming out of the twisted universe of Silent Hill. This band really bets on fabricating heavy and dense atmospheres making them really work along the tracks. So if you are into the heaviest and darker faction of hardcore i totally recommend this one to you. Download link below, generously given by the band.

BC | DL

Taste The Void, a fresh progressive/post-metal/post-hardcore band hailing from Nantes, France. As many bands coming from this country, right now i can think of a big part of the Throatruiner catalog (Calvaiire, Cowards, Comity, etc) or even Swarm of Nails (Arms of Ra, Nesseria, AsWeDraw, etc), Taste The Void easily fit in the same family tree of these bands. Produced by Amaury Sauvé (As We Draw, Birds In Row, Comity) the band presents us four tracks in "Sun's heat", opening with the ambitious "Monolith" where the band immediately throws the listener to the ground with this mechanism designed for them, consisting of slow but powerful riffs and drum beats. Music-wise it does not escape much from what we know coming from those countries, but in certain way it reminds me also that Nordic sound of bands like the legendary Breach or even Cult Of Luna due to the more atmospheric sections drawn here by the band. A very decent record that leaves the listener craving more. Buy it now for merely €0.40 ($0.52) or feel free to contribute with some more. If you want the album for free you can just use Google, which is something you do rather well right?

BC

Another promising new act, this time from the UK. Trudger are a fairly new progressive sludge metal band presenting, through their Bandcamp, three tracks of some serious heavyweight progressive sludge. Sound-wise, Trudger's sound fits in the same bag as bands like Collider, Old Man Gloom, Monolith or Moloken. Distilling large chunks of sludge that turns out to be well cut by the post-metal machine. Nevertheless although the amount here is small, we should not fail to watch this recording with extreme caution, because something great is coming on the horizon for this band. Pay attention to this. Stream or download the tracks, just follow the link below... you know the drill.

BC

Column of Heaven "Mission From God"

Picking up right where Endless Blockade left off, Column of Heaven released the more-than-impressive "Ecstatically Embracing All That We Habitually Suppress" demo in 2011, and has now returned with their highly anticipated debut 12”. While Endless Blockade hinted and flirted with the mix of noise/experimental music with power violence, this 12” sees those ideas taken to their endpoint, fully incorporating noise, dynamic samples, extra instrumentation, and experimental soundscapes into a metal-tinged power violence framework. Blasts of harsh noise and brutal hardcore mix with quieter, creepier atmospherics to make for an engaging and powerful listen from start to finish. This record fits nicely in line with the current crop of bands taking power violence in exciting new directions (Gas Chamber, Iron Lung, Hatred Surge, Suffering Luna, etc).

I've been into this release by Column Of Heaven since i knew it was out, and have been into it since then. Can't stop listening to it. The whole atmosphere is brutal. Whether you get blasts of powerviolence grind with cutting death metal riffs layered with blasts of harsh noise and really disturbing samples. What this band accomplishes here, to me, is something really and very exalted. It's not just killer riffs and insane drumming, it's beyond that.

"Mission From God" is a conceptual album influenced by “The Yorkshire Ripper”, from 1969 until his arrest in 1981, Peter William Sutcliffe attacked and murdered women in Yorkshire, England. Sutcliffe claimed God had told him to murder the women as he heard God's voice in his head. God sent him on a mission. The most brutal facts were yet to come and with them the consequences that would stretch throughout the years in that community.

The overwhelming majority of his victims were caught in the suffocating poverty that defined much of Yorkshire at the time. Many were involved in the sex trade. All were eventually united by Sutcliffe’s clear and extreme hatred of women which erupted as he bludgeoned, stabbed and beat his victims.

And that's precisely what i "see" as i hear "Mission From God". Thousands of images run through my head in a flash of seconds... the face of the victims, the clippings of the murders news taken from the newspapers at the time, Sutcliffe, the blood. Never an album made me feel like "Mission From God" did. Besides all of this conceptual background, the sound is perfect. We get these cutting death-metal riffs that reminds me older Napalm Death material and also the smashing brutality of Slaughter Strike, layered with harsh noises whose duty is to enhance this sonic experience to pierce deeper into our subconscious, while our brain is constantly hammered with brutal powerviolenced/grind drum beats.

But why would they write about a serial killer? Well, there are member(s) of this band that experienced life in the time and place of Sutcliffe’s activity. This work is intended to help purge oneself of the poison and unease that comes from growing up in Sutcliffe’s shadow, and to remind oneself of how that environment is inexorably part of our being. In a society that is absolutely saturated in violence, much of it directed towards women by men, it is easy to be unaffected by the truly horrific nature of Sutcliffe’s crimes. Years have passed since then, but the reality is that women violently lost their lives. Some survived attacks by Sutcliffe only to pass their remaining years tormented by trauma, fear and depression. Family members of victims took their own lives. The bureaucratic and police reaction was a disgusting farce: Sutcliffe was interviewed by police nine times and was ultimately caught only by complete accident. And this is curious, because in one of the tracks you can hear an interview with Sutcliffe where he states how he once failed to commit suicide, apparently his car got stuck in some rocks. How could a man, that deceived the police, failed on something like that? The police and powers that be simply didn’t care that someone was murdering poor women. It’s a reprehensible reality that sadly continues today all over the world. It’s a cold, terrible place and will likely always be so.

What is the Mission of God? To heal or to kill? There will be always wolves among the lambs of God. A mandatory album based on true experiences. Highly Recommended.

To feel this experience as a whole i also strongly recommend you to also get the "Soldiers Field" EP featured on the Survivalist Deathcult Bandcamp. Both releases are on "name your price" mode, so feel free to support if you want. For the real collectors, you can buy "Mission From God" on vinyl here. Thanks to Survivalist Deathcult for sharing this awesome and unique album and also the whole concept behind it, from where i took some of the paragraphs above.

wolves among lambs

Depravation "I​:​PRAEDICTVM"

Depravation are a metallic hardcore band from Germany and they have just released their first Demo entitled "I​:​PRAEDICTVM". Introducing two bestial tracks of the most furious metallic hardcore and an instrumental track, "Praedictvm", which is served almost as an outro. Back on the first two tracks, the opening track, "Wrath", really makes justice to it's name. What starts with some killer black metal riffs soon morphs into this metallic hardcore beast that reminds me allot like acts from the past like Morning Again, Disembodied, Arkangel, that breed of bands... what turns out to be a good thing, at least for me. Seeing that, intentionally or not, Depravation are reviving this kind of sound into nowadays, is really good. It brings out that nostalgia from the past when i used to hear a lot of bands like the ones i've just quoted. So far so good. "Ruins Of Mankind" another moshing track where the band spills all their hate upon mankind, filled with some killer riffage and some poisonous vocal work. After all of this hate essay, the Demo is closed with is just an ambient/atmospheric track where we get some sort of a celestial peace lying above the ashes caused by all of that war on the first two tracks. A good Demo that really deserved some more tracks. Let us wait and see what the band will come up with in the near future. Released and limited to 50 copies, the Demo tape (25 white / 25 black ; each with different covers; handnumbered with human blood) is being released in CD (with a very cool packaging) you can be proud to own by buying it here. Check the Demo here and for more infos, livedates and stuff visit their facebook page. Shred!

all out for war

Torchrunner "Committed To The Ground"

Can you hear it? The sound of the Apocalypse?

Fucking Torchrunner... bringing one of the most devastating albums of the year. "Committed To The Ground" is the band new full length that will fuck up everyone and everything. Really. Everytime i hear this album i'm automatically possessed with an unexplainable urge to destroy and spread anarchy.

Delivering 12 tracks in about 22 minutes, you won't even realize what hit you. Bringing an incendiary blend of grind, crust, hardcore Torchrunner's formula to chaos is on "Committed To The Ground" is absolutely devastating. Following these guys since day one, i knew that they were on to something and what they accomplished here is really impressive.

Grab some Converge and some Trap Them and then add some Napalm Death, blend it well... after that, double the dose. You won't get one second of rest after getting on this one, even the slow, sludgiest tracks like "Canon Cast", "Committed to the Ground" or "The Holy Are The Broken", that invoke the ghost of my deceased and beloved Cursed, will crush you deep into the ground in the middle of this whole this frenzy wave of destruction that is "Committed To The Ground". I'm more than excited about this album, it quickly became one of my favorites for the year and we will see it on very "Best Of 2012" lists for sure, i know that it will be in mine... without a shadow of doubt. Fucking Torcherunner... All i see on this is chaos, screams, pure fucking destruction, with this release these guys are way ahead of the rest of the pack. Along with YAITW, Torchrunner have got to be one of the most powerful bands in the dark/crust/hardcore/whatever-you -wanna-call-it scene.

 Don't listen to this, it will fuck up your life. I believe it will be released on vinyl (with a digital code) soon. Stay sharp here.  Highly Recommended!

head of the goat

Whorls "Demo"

Perishing from the same malady that affects their fellow country mates, Hexis and other-newly acts like Ajuna (from whom i already talked about here) are Whorls. Whorls started as a "non-serious" sideproject to Putrifier by the two guitarists Emil and Mads in late 2011. But as Putrifier was dissolved in the beginning of 2012, Whorls became a full band. All five members, with the same approach to the music. 

Hailing from Denmark, Whorls are a new band that is now starting to take its first steps on the post-black-chaotic-sludge-metal scene. These guys drink from a lot of different influences, but the most obvious are the influences from Celeste, The Secret or even Altar of Plagues. The band presents itself, for now, with only two themes: "Irreversible" a spiral of an authentic blackness that it is ingrained to the bone and lashes some serious blackened riffs with its powerful core with some hints of a more progressive sludge so characteristic in bands like Celeste, but at the same time it possesses, on the second half of the track, some massive yet sharp sections reminding me a bit of the riffs living in the "777" saga from Blut Aus Nord. It's almost inevitable talking about Whorls without mentioning these two bands, Celeste and Hexis. First, Celeste, who were practically the precursors of this kind of sound, this plethora of flesh melting blackened sludge that erodes deeply into to our bones. Second, Hexis, being countrymen of this band, with whom they have already shared stage with, such mental image of this joint venture is completely devastating in my mind, just thinking that if there was someone who came out of that show in one piece and lived to tell about it, and for being a copy, well i don't like to use the word "copy" i think it's not fair to use it on Hexis, because they took that "Celeste sound" and give it their unique and innovative sound, but what i'm trying to say here is that Whorls also share that sonority. In the second track, "Sitgma" we are immediately dragged in that chaotic wave of sound, which through repetitive riffs, crushes us completely. It is a very short range track but at the same time it is devastating. The tracks presented by Whorls are dark and very dense, so dense that they become almost suffocating and rarely leave us a little breathing room. Whorls are another brilliant sample of what Northern Europe has to offer and judging by the quality of this sample, i look forward to hear much more from this young band. The Demo will be out soon through Bookhouse Records. Meanwhile you can stream and listen to the tracks on the Whorls Bandcamp. Keep an eye on this one.

listen | broken statues

Nisroch "Demo" & "Split"

Nisroch are a blackened hardcore band from Jacksonville, they have released so far a Demo and a Split and man... i really hope for a full-length soon. The music of Nisroch is solid and very cohesive, giving you really little few time to breathe, in fact, the only time you have is to engulf just a little bit of air before being sucked in again to the depths of these dark and murky waters. The quality of these tracks are in pair with other well-known acts like Heartless, Full Of Hell, Hexis, Brutality Will Prevail, Young And In The Way and many more. If you enjoyed these guys Demo wait until you hear the tracks from the split with the band Crooked Look. Nisroch definitely are in another league, they are on the right path, destroying and burning everything around them.. i just hope they make enough smoke for someone to spot it and give them some spotlight and recognition. Because with a quality like this, they really deserve it. Check them out below and see what i mean. Follow the band here.

Listen | Demo-lition

listen | split in half

Esoteric Youth "Demo"

Esoteric Youth are a relatively young band coming from the UK and this is their first Demo, delivering 5 tracks of misanthropy, depression, bleakness and the Armageddon, as they say on their blog. Although I'm getting a little bit, let's say, fed up of this blackened-crust-hardcore genre i pretty enjoyed the Demo from these lads. The Demo begins with "Waldensamkeit", a really good instrumental intro i just wished it was longer, only because i'm a sucker for long and epic tracks. The tracks "Canis Pullus" and "Illunga" simply dump all of that contained anger we all know in this genre, "Litost " is another interesting track, it has more variation of tempos and it sounds more obscure than the previous ones, it finishes of with "Hive Collapse", a real kick in the face that features this annoying droning noise layered beneath culminating into stormy sounds. I truly predict some really dark skies if this young band continues on. Of course there are some rough angles to polish but that vanishes off with practice and time. I truly enjoyed the more slow and experimental tempos explored by the band, i think if they dig in deeper then we will have a fucking awesome band. Keep it up! A big thanks to those music junkies from Music As Heroin for this find.

dread kennedys

Mean Man's Dream "Demo"

Another of my recent Bandcamp discoveries. Mean Man's Dream, are a relatively new band from Massachusetts. Their demo tape is shaped by the furious delivery of intelligent lyrics fueled by political, social, and personal issue. The lyrical content is grounded by hard-hitting drums, and bass/guitar rhythms that shift from slowly melodic to intoxicatingly sludgy riffs that are balanced by faster parts. This tape is a dynamic contribution to hardcore as we know it. Good stuff here. Limited to 100 black tapes, you can pre-order it here. 

listen & download

Tempest "Solace" EP

Fuck yes! Tempest are back with some brand new tracks, and amazing ones! "Solace" EP, delivers two great songs, simply called "Solace I" and "Solace II". "Passages" was one of the best releases i heard back in 2010 and it's awesome to see that the band has not softened, instead they deliver two bursts of energetic dark hardcore tracks that, i hope, are the thrust for their new full length... hopefully this year. Support these guys and their Distro (who kindly put this one up for free) by buying something here.

listen & download

Fvck Mountain "EP"

Another promising act coming from Australia. From Brisbane arrives Fvck Mountain, a young band playing this blend of Hardcore, Crust and Powerviolence. This is i believe, their first EP out and judging by the quality of the songs, the result is beyond average. You can tell this band has made their "homework" correctly and the conjugation of all of their influences culminates in a very good result. The production of this EP is great, it has that kind of sound that might bring to your mind bands like Full Of Hell, Baptists or other bands that fit in that catalogue. In general it's pretty cohesive. These boys still have a long road ahead, but in my opinion, for starters, they have achieved something here that is really great. If songs like "Second Chances", "Disconnect" or "Gifts" don't make you move, then you must be already dead. Check them out and stalk them here.

listen & download

The Hunt "The Hunt" LP

The Hunt are a Hardcore/Crust/D-Beat band from Perth, Australia. They're said to be influenced by such bands as Tragedy, Fall Of Efrafa and Buried Inside. This is an "alternate"/earlier mix of their debut LP, made available for free download by their former guitarist (the final version would be re-mastered, with many of his guitar parts removed). The album is presented here as two gapless tracks, symbolizing the two sides of a vinyl LP. It is designed to be listened to as such, with the songs fading in to one and other to create a cohesive full-album experience. I've already posted the band's Demo here on FxC, but this LP sounds a hundred times much better, i had to split each side into separated files, so be sure to grab both. This heavy crust that The Hunt play is really awesome. It will be available soon on vinyl, although i can't tell you when it will come out or how you may get it, when i found out, i will drop a line in the comments of this post. Fans of the heavier and corrosive side of crust, like Masakari, Fall of Efrafa or Black Ships must give this a listen. Excellent material here. The hunt is on.. Recommended.

bark at the moon

Calvaiire "Rigorisme"

Another goodie i received the other day on my mailbox was Calvaiire's brand new "Rigorisme". Another great band coming out of the Throatruiner Records cartel, Calvaiire delivers in 4 powerful tracks, a good dose of this chaotic and dissonant fueled hardcore. The vocals bring to my mind "When Forever Comes Crashing" era Converge, the sound is very focused on the drums and the bass, they create a sound that, when played at a high volume, could easily create some cracks on the walls. And the guitars have that "euro-chaotic-hardcore" style we are already used to hear, clearly from the French Hardcore School. The whole set is pretty wicked and heavy. So be sure to not miss this one out. Throatruiner Records started from scratch and nowadays is one of the best labels of the genre, here in Europe. They give a lot of free stuff, and the quality of the bands is superb. So be sure to help these guys by buying some stuff here.

listen | the ordeal

Rise And Fall "Faith"

Finally the 4th full length of the awesome belgian hardcore band Rise And Fall. These guys are one of my favorite Hardcore bands ever, i probably have more T-shirts from these guys than i have underwear. I just dig a lot that whole dark imagery universe around them. Many wannabe Hardcore bands have tried to copy Rise And Fall's sound over and over, but with no success, these guys have a really unique and heavy sound. Pure Punkmetal. The new album "Faith", sadly for me, isn't no "Into Oblivion", it follows more the sound of 2009's "Our Circle Is Vicious". But i can assure you that it's heavy. The last track on this album, "Faith / Fate", is just the cherry on the top of the cake, it's epic. If you're a fan of the genre, be sure to grab a copy of it at Deathwish Store or in a live show close to you. Will be having the pleasure of seeing these boys live next month, must not forget my earplugs. Recommended.

listen | faith and devotion

The Hunt "The Hunt" Demo

Destroy or be destroyed.

listen | i saw the Devil last night