Another week in Hellworld, another Bandcamp fundraiser.

In case you were unaware, Bandcamp is running another one of their “we waive our cut” benefits, this time sending their share to the NAACP. It’s a good gesture in light of, ya know, the weeks and weeks of nonstop protests, nationwide, all trying to get more eyes on the perpetual cycle of police violence against black people in America. If you’ve got some spare change left over after donating to the bail fund, housing initiative, or abolitionist campaign of your choice (and bookmarked them for later, since this isn’t just a one-time Black Lives Matter spirit week), maybe relax and check out what black musicians have been doing in heavy music the last few months. The talent pool is huge and merits serious exploration, but just to get started, here’s a few bands I’ve been spinning a lot recently:

Primitive Man: Dedicated doomers may already be familiar with the brain-pulping heaviness that is Primitive Man. The churning, despondent guitars seem to be ripping themselves apart, swarmed on all sides by uncurtailed feedback and echoing hum, and the vocals are no less spiteful and ragged. Both are provided by bandleader Ethan Lee McCarthy, who also keeps busy with noisy side projects Vermin Womb and Many Blessings. They literally released a new single yesterday, out of the void, so get it while it’s hot.

Creeping Death: The guys in Creeping Death must be huge Mountain Goats fans, because they seem hellbent on being “the best ever death metal band out of Denton”. When they’re not hitting the road with fellow chugaholics like Power Trip and Fuming Mouth, they’re living in my car stereo and costing me hundreds of dollars in repairs to my suspension. Kudos to guitarist Trey Pemberton for consistently fucking up my ride and my neck with sinister breakdowns aplenty.

Neckbeard Deathcamp: NBDC is a very ALL-CAPS kind of band, both in sound and in humor. While their preposterously cathartic Twitter feed has definitely overshadowed their actual musical output at this point, they are still putting out razor sharp black metal (or bestial war metal or whatever the shit) when they definitely could have just called it a night and taken up more self-serious fare. For now, it seems, Shitpostnacht continues unabated.

Fucked And Bound: An excellent accompaniment to being stabbed in a bathtub. All the signifiers of quality hardcore are here: clipped vocals, d-beat drums, surging, frayed guitar, and muscly bass punching up through all of it, courtesy of bassist Rah Davis. Fucked And Bound aren’t fixing something that ain’t broke, though I’m pretty sure they’ll break something that is fixed if it gives them the wrong look. Especially if it’s near to closing time, you’re the last client at the bar, and you just have to order a fucking mojito.

Witch Mountain: This cult doom outfit from Portland has been on a roll putting out dark, groovy tunes over the last decade, and even a change in singer doesn’t seem to have thrown them off. The new hire, one Kayla Dixon (ex-Dress The Dead), starts her tenure with a dynamic performance on the band’s self-titled record, hopping ably between bluesy moans and feral snarls, almost like some sort of… mountain witch?

End It: If you, like me, have a bottomless craving for pissed-off crossover thrash, I prescribe both EPs by Baltimore’s End It, two neat shots of torn-shirt-broken-nose punk. Riffs so raw and bloody they’d fail a restaurant inspection, tied together by nasally, no-shit diatribes from frontman Akil Godsey make these guys one to watch if you’re on the East Coast, whenever we get around to having actual-ass live shows again. Fingers crossed for a long player sometime soon.