100% Support – Bork’s Revenge
100100On June 5th, Bandcamp will once again waive their percentage of proceeds, so that 100% of the money goes directly to the artists. We’ll be spending the week highlighting some releases that you might want to throw money at to help the creators through these shittiest of times.
Mollusk | Mollusk
Look, there’s only enough room in any man’s life for one Mollusk-themed band. However, I’m happy to make an exception for this Cincinnati-based sludge band, who just released their debut EP last month. Traces of Remission-era Mastodon peek through throughout, but the duo of drummer Chase Shleyer and guitarist Neal Hunter constantly showcase their ability to reshuffle their influences in interesting and rewarding ways. There’s more going on here than should be possible in a release only 10 minutes long.
Necrowretch | The Ones from Hell
The Bork continues his slide into black metal fandom with the newest album by these insane Frenchmen. Produced with just the right amount of grit and echo to sound like they’re playing in the Parisian catacombs, Necrowretch perfects a cycle of buildup and explosion, leaving the listener just barely able to catch their breath between assaults. Enough thrash and death metal influences are thrown into the mix to keep the BPMs up and heads banging. If you’re into blastbeats and basic, vicious riffs, you’re missing out if you haven’t already checked out The Ones from Hell.
Patrons of the Rotting Gate | Bathed in Ash
The first new full album since PRG’s excellent The Rose Coil in 2013, Bathed in Ash is everything progressive metal should be. Unlike, say, a White Ward, PRG’s “progressive” element is less from the inclusion of outside genre elements like jazz and more from a combination of unhinged rhythms, expansive songwriting, and insane levels of musicianship. I notice a significantly increased Meshuggah influence on PRG’s sound this time out, which dovetails nicely with a reduction in overt black metal tropes. Change in sound aside, this is very much the same project as before; main man Andrew Millar has simply found new ways to reach the same heights.
Body Void | Ruins (Keeper split)
For my money, Body Void is one of the best bands currently in the metal scene. They haven’t released a dud yet, and you should really just buy their entire discography. For the sake of one pick though, their split earlier this year with Keeper was absolutely crushing. Take the advice of my review and go buy a copy of Ruins. Body Void has stated they’ll be donating the proceeds to bail funds, so all the more reason.
