..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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
