Cruciamentum "Engulfed in Desolation" EP

Now this has been floating around for some weeks, my excuses but only now i finally managed to find time to put this up. This is a mandatory release that must be featured here on FxC.

England's Cruciamentum are by far one of the most important bands to emerge from that infectious time tunnel of 90s death metal. Regardless of whether you are more interested in the elder Swedish and Finnish tones being wrought by acts like Miasmal, or the direct Incantation lineage to the sounds of Disma, Vasaeleth and so forth, there is something here for you. Ominous, guttural vocals of the Incantation school, which, while not exactly original, are effectively menacing as they alternate between echoed, sparser passages and a more percussive, hostile meter. The drums here are also quite versed and flexible, with a lot of thundering warlike fills and steadier rhythms that feel as if they were built of the mud, blood and brick that confine corpses to the band's lyrical catacombs. Cruciamentum simply devastates. If you're really in for some honest and real Death Metal then don't sleep on this. You can get this awesome EP here or here. Recommended!

listen | return to flesh

Puteraeon "The Esoteric Order"

Back to the vile...

Puteraeon is a Swedish death metal band whose members grew up listening to that music in the late 80s and early 90s and have completely embraced not only the sound, but also the ghoulish, corpse-littered lyrical focus. This debut album, "The Esoteric Order", consists of re-recorded songs from Puteraeon’s three previously self-released demos: two from 2008′s "Fascination For Mutilation", four from 2008′s "The Requiem", and five from 2009′s "The Extraordinary Work of Herbert West", plus two new songs, “Storms Over Devil’s Reef” and “Coma”. Most of the songs were inspired by the stories of HP Lovecraft (especially “Shadow Over Innsmouth” and “Herbert West – Reanimator”); others take zombies or the infamous Elizabeth Bathory as their lyrical subjects. The music and the subject matter of the songs suit each other. Regardless of the tempo, which varies, the songs just sound evil to the core. You listen, and it’s not hard at all to imagine the demented dead crawling from the earth, the crackle of arcing electricity in a re-animator’s lab, the slavering lurch of famished zombies who just can’t wait to sink their teeth into living human flesh. C'mon.. just look at that artwork. What do you call it when a death metal band is so in tune with this style of righteous music that they sound like they recorded the shit in 1991 and buried the tape in a time capsule, to be opened 20 years later? I call it soul. You can buy this here.

listen | order of the evil ones

Anne "Dream Punx"

Here is a good revelation from last year. Portland's shoegazers Anne, who have released their debut album "Dream Punx" thru A389 Recording which houses names as Seven Sisters Of Sleep, Pulling Teeth, Weekend Nachos. It's good to see that this label had the courage to welcome a true shoegaze band (hold your horses... it's real shoegaze, not hardcoregaze or something like that) besides hardcore genres. These guys must have been closed in their rooms for months, just listening to The Cure's "Disintegration" and My Bloody Valentine's "Loveless". I like shoegaze, good shoegaze. And i must admit that Anne pulled it off really well. It's a very pleasant album to listen to, it just makes me wanna hear it over and over. Anne creates excellently somber, moody, slow-paced atmospheres that totally hit the spot. There's certainly a swirling "dreaminess" to the whole vibe, so I definitely get that aspect of it. Just expect a nice, chilled out ambiance, great songwriting… it's really, really good is the point I'm trying to make here. There have been a surprising number of incredibly solid bands exploring this style as of late, and I'm all for it. So if you're a big fan of this genre, or just a regular listener i suggest you give a try on this. Highly Recommended. Buy here.

listen | dried flowers on the window

The Soft Moon "Total Decay" EP

Released last year, "Total Decay" EP is another freaking collection of cold, weird and hypnotic post punk tracks. "Total Decay" solidifies that The Soft Moon is on its own path, not to be compared. Just listen, hold the shadow of his hand on this journey into the darkness, as he whispers directions through the obstacles, to the light. Buy it here.

listen | dwell in the shadows

True Widow "True Widow"

It was Winter, 2009...  i left home early in the morning to go to work, jumped into a cold and foggy day, as the first notes of "AKA" started to sound on my iPod.. i fell in love. When i discovered this band, back then, i could never imagine that i would be so hooked on them until today. I've talked about them here on FxC before (here) about their new EP that came out last year and their wonderful second full-length "As High As The Highest Heavens And From The Center To The Circumference Of The Earth", another of my 2011's favorites. Here's a little bit more about the story about this awesome band:

As Dan Phillips' previous band Slowride (moderately well known in punk and "emo" circles for their pummeling onslaught and lyrical wit) dissolved, the songwriter was slowly taking a different turn. He moved away from his native Texas to Massachusetts to be trained in the old ways of woodworking and for a while there was a question of if he would ever craft another tune. While the cold and solitude certainly had their effect they allowed him to reflect and turn inwards to build something new. Songs started to emerge, but they were not what was expected. The songs that would become the first True Widow material were extremely personal, heavy, melodic, and surprisingly not at breakneck speeds. They left room for the notes and melodies to breathe as the depth of the lyrics slowly seeped in over time. After a year or two Phillips returned to Dallas, Texas where True Widow first formed. The band which now also consists of co-vocalist and bassist Nicole Estill and drummer Timothy Starks were aiming to do something entirely different from their peers. What you have before you is the outcome of their work and their first album outing. It's something that may be hard to define and not all together familiar, but ultimately rewarding for those who take the journey alongside the haunting and morphine drip vocals.

Truly a remarkable band with an unique sound and extraordinary ability in song-writing. Love them to death. You can buy this here.

listen | gazed

This Will Destroy You "Tunnel Blanket"

"Tunnel Blanket" delivers the epic-in-scope soundscapes that followers of its makers’ previous recordings are accustomed to, but presents them in new lights – where once the sun shone down bright upon immediate tropes and traits, now their work is better suited to distant starlight, casting changeable shadows across vistas of inspired, ambitious amplification. This is not an album to pick through in search of bold hooks and instant melodies. It is an ever-shifting, always moving work, which seems to evolve before the listener – spidery guitar lines feeling their way forth like vines scrambling up trunks in time-lapse photography. An amazing and unique album is what i think. These guys have picked post rock and added some dreamy ambient layers to it and the result is this superb piece of sound. The opening track "Little Smoke" and the track "Communal Blood", are just mind-blowing. They start as calm sea, like a mirror, and then just turn into a fuckin' tsunami of sound in slow motion. Another favorite of mine from last year. Buy it here, in vinyl, cassette or CD. Highly Recommended!

listen | blanket of sounds

Braveyoung "We Are Lonely Animals"

Do you remember the band Giant? That played that sludgy post metal in the likes of Mouth Of The Architect? And even released a nice album called "Song" some years ago? Well, Giant has changed its skin.. they are now known as Braveyoung, and like their name, their sound changed drastically too. But it's still intense i can assure you that. North Carolina’s Braveyoung are a post instrumental rock band and this is their first full length entitled "We Are Lonely Animals". The band now offers some hypnotic and introspective instrumental tracks that will immerse you into some cold, foggy and lonely landscapes. This was one of my favorite Non Metal Albums of 2011. Absolutely recommended for fans of Explosions In The Sky, This Will Destroy You, Mono, etc. Buy it here.

listen | narrow lights in the distance

Cemeteries "Speaking Horrors"

Now here is something out of hand from what i usually post here on FxC. Only by holding a name like this, Cemeteries, they sure deserve some highlight here. Don't you agree? Not always i'm in the mood for some metal. Cemeteries is a dream pop/shoegaze band from Buffalo formed by one man only, Kyle J. Reigle, who writes and records music under the name Cemeteries. "Speaking Horrors" is a sonic book compost of 10 ghost related tales. The sound of it reminds me a bit of Pygmy Lush, even the voice is, at some point, familiar. "Speaking Horrors" introduces lush soundscapes filled with dreamy vocals, reverb, and poppy guitar and piano riffs. A mix of folk, shoegaze, and electronic music Cemeteries is nothing if not pleasant to listen to. As the track "Watch the Skies or Walking Home On October 31st" starts, i get surrounded by a dream world of sound, surrounded by bedsheet ghosts. Lock up the doors and windows and turn the lights out.

listen | we only come out at night

Pale Chalice "Afflicting the Dichotomy of Trepid Creation"

Hailing from San Francisco, comes this enigmatic and promising Black Metal act, Pale Chalice, making their debut with the EP "Afflicting the Dichotomy of Trepid Creation". It's 28-minutes of expertly executed and well written black bile performed with more conviction than one-hundred "standard black metal bands". One of the new and most interesting Black Metal bands coming from the other side of the ocean. Buy it from the good ol' pals from the Flenser here. 

listen | from the foggy shores

Psychic Limb "Queens"

Well, here we are, new year & stuff... I wanted the first post of 2012 to be something new, so.. fuck it, to hell with that! I got 363 days left to post music. So, to begin with, and still suffering from the "hangover" of 2011, i'll throw some (good) leftovers.

"Queens" is the debut album from NY ferocious hardcore band Psychic Limb, who throws twelve tracks of unhinged vitriolic violence. Psychic Limb's menacing debut LP "Queens" raises the bar for lightning-fast speed and ferocity, drawing influence from punk and grindcore to create a molotov cocktail of blasting hardcore fury. Buy it here. Probably one of the best underrated albums of 2011...

listen | psycho queen