This Toilet Tuesday (7/26/16)
You wake up in a cold sweat, a barely stifled scream at your lips. You feel manically in the bed around you; empty. Nothing is there, but you swear you’ve been feeling a presence there. It happened the first time months ago, but it’s been coming more and more frequently. Trying to shake the feeling of being watched, you walk out to the kitchen and splash some water on your face. Your instincts tell you to run, but your rational side knows there’s nothing there. And you agree with it; now that you’ve had a few minutes awake, the terror has passed. You return to bed relieved and turn out the lights.
But something feels wrong. The weight of the mattress underneath you doesn’t feel quite right, almost like there’s something… Shaking, you reach towards the other side of the bed and feel a warm and slimy body. A whimper escapes your lips as a high-pitched coo leaves its, not unlike the call of a loon. You turn on your side to look at it, morbid curiosity overtaking your terror. Its solid white eyes glow in the darkness, revealing a wide grin of long, broken teeth that grows wider as you stare into its face. The sickly mottled yellow skin of its spindly body seems to be oozing pus in several places. You groan in horror as it reaches out an unnaturally long arm and places its hand behind your head, but to your surprise, it pulls you closer gently and presses your face to its chest. Moments later, you hear it snoring, having fallen asleep with you in its embrace.
Love the horrors in the dark and they shall love you in return. This is Toilet Tuesday.
Shataan – Weigh of the Wolf (Iron Bonehead Productions) [Black Metal]
Listen to “Eulogy”
For his debut LP, California’s Shataan has joined forces with two of the most prominent members of the Black Twilight Circle, the prolific Volahn on bass, and Murdunbad (Arizmenda) on drums, to take the listener on a dense and often chaotic journey through lush Meso-American flavoured soundscapes. There’s far too much diversity on this album for me to sum it up in a single paragraph, but if you enjoy the unique twist Crepusculo Negro artists offer to black metal, you’ll undoubtedly find something here that resonates with you. Prog-slanted song structures, twangy riffs, upbeat percussion, distinctive melodies, heartfelt vocals, flutes, all sorts of intriguing ideas are here. Weigh of the Wolf is out through Iron Bonehead Productions on Friday. 7/29/16 (Lacertilian)
Lux Divina – Nox Microcosmica (A Compendium of Rare and Introspective Pepes Songs) (Darkwoods) [Black Metal]
Listen to “Green Turns to Black”
Do you like trees? Do you like poop? Then this new Lux Divina album, a record that could generally be classified as trees’n’poop black metal, will be right up your alley. The riffs and blasts are nothing you haven’t heard, but the surprisingly soulful clean vocals may be. They seem a bit off at first, but soon enough they prove their quality and lend extra strength to the proceedings. If you’ve ever found yourself pining for the forest, you know what you must do. FFO: Panopticon, Woods of Ypres, Sorrow Plagues 7/26/16 (W.)
Ringworm – Snake Church (Relapse Records) [Thrashy Hardcore]
Listen
Listen, I’m not going to pretend I know shit about hardcore. I don’t own any mesh shorts or flat-brimmed hats, I only lift three days a week, and I still have all my teeth. What I do know is that Ringworm makes me want to punch stuff. It’s crunchy and nasty, but suffused with some surprisingly sleek leads for that extra shot of adrenaline. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go collect the tattered remains of my living room. Thanks, Ringworm. 7/29/16 (Spear)
Abominant – Napalm Reign (Deathgasm Records) [Death Metal]
Listen to “The Watchers,” “When Evil Rears Its Head”
Aktaion – The Parade of Nature (Independent) [Melodeath]
Listen
A.M.S.G. – Hostis Universi Generis (Profound Lore Records) [Black Metal]
Stream
Avenger of Blood – On Slaying Grounds (Time’s End Records) [Death Thrash]
Beansidhe – Mónt (Via Nocturna) [Black Metal]
Stream
Carnal Tomb – Rotten Remains (Memento Mori Records) [Death Metal]
Listen to “Undead Dread,” “Beneath the Coffins”
Dark Avenger – The Beloved Bones: Hell (Shinigami Records) [Power Metal]
Preview
Deny The Cross – Alpha Ghoul (Tankcrimes) [Grindcore]
Listen
Ekhymosis – Paz con cadenas (Codiscos) [Thrash, allegedly]
Listen to “Despertar”
Exiled on Earth – Forces of Denial (Punishment 18 Records) [Prog Thrash]
Preview
Feign – Atlas (Into the Night Records) [Atmospheric Black Metal]
Listen to “…A Visitor,” “Lunarity”
Gandalf’s Owl – Winterfell (Club Inferno) [Dark Ambient]
Listen to “Winterfell”
Ghoul – Dungeon Bastards (Tankcrimes) [Death Thrash]
Listen to “Bringer of War,” “Shred the Dead,” “Ghoulunatics”
Impure Consecration – Succumb to Impurity Fire (Blood Harvest Records) [Blackened Death Metal]
Stream
Infinite Density – Recollapse of the Universe (Independent) [Tech Death]
Listen to “Infinite Rebirth,” “Multidimensional Unity,” “The Culminate Zone”
Kambrium – The Elders’ Realm (NoiseArt Records) [Melodeath]
Listen to “Shattered Illusions”
Luzbel – El tiempo de ódio (Independent) [Heavy Metal]
Listen to “Mienten”
Morgue – Sense of Fear (Independent) [Death Metal]
Outright Resistance – Me Vs. I (Independent) [Groove Metal/core]
Listen to “Prove Them Wrong,” “Gee, Dysphoria”
Problem of Pain – Burn What My Hands Wrought (Blood and Ink Records) [Hardcore]
Listen to “Forge,” “Burn”
Pÿlon – A Lament (Quam Libet/Roxx) [Doom]
Listen to “Cosmic Lizard”
Quinta Essentia – Initiates of the Great Work (Deathgasm Records) [Black Metal]
Listen to “Master of Masters”
Schwarzer Engel – Imperium II: Titania [Symphonic Metal]
Listen to “Titania”
Spirit Division – No Rapture (Independent) [Doom]
Listen to “When the Sun Explodes”
Timor et Tremor – For Cold Shades (Trollzorn Records) [Black Metal]
A Tortured Soul – On This Evil Night (Pure Steel Records) [Heavy Metal]
Wombbath/Departed Souls – Embracing the Cold… (split- Raw Skull Recordz) [Death Metal]
Listen to “Embrace Death” (Wombbath)
Windzor – Accept the Folklore of Guardian’s Flame (Independent) [Power Metal, probably]
Preview
Did we forget a new release? Is there a way we could improve this list? Let us know in the comments below!
