Getting Laid at Bandcamp: The Second of 2015
Welcome back to camp once again, you Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers. I’ve been sort of on a writing binge here; mainly because I have so many goddamn bands to share with you guys that I’ve dug up from the deepest and darkest depths of Bandcamp. They’re really starting to pile up in my dead corpse collection, so I figure I should write about them instead of just listening to them and being a lazy butt while I’m at home slowly poisoning myself to death with copious amounts of beer. So, without further fucking ado, let the poopy flow and be flushed in filth. Lets get nasty!
TOD HUETET UEBEL – Malicia (2015)
No doubt those of you seeking the blackest of chaos will enjoy this nasty monster. The start of this album is the calm before the storm. A tense build up at the beginning creates a suspenseful wait just before the atom bomb drops and decimates your ear holes. Ferocious blastbeats, dissonant guitars, and some of the grossest black metal shrieks/screams are jamming at full octane here. Listening to this album hurts the body and makes the inside of your stomach churn black, hateful tar. Malicia sounds like an album composed by a bunch filthy crazy people that some how had enough sanity to work together and organize their madness into a structured piece. Sure, Malicia is an ugly beast of an album – festering in the deepest depths of Satan’s bile – but it’s also a brilliantly crafted black metal album that is very much original. If you are a fan of bands like Anaal Nathrakh, Ævangelist, and even Deathspell Omega, you’ll most likely dig this nightmare.
Voidhanger – Working Class Misanthropy, (2013)
Working Class Misanthropy is one of the most played albums on my playlist right now because it simply fucking crushes hard. The band consists of the guitarist and vocalist from Infernal War and the drummer from Odraza (the second to last covered band here). The approach is pretty simple and to the point, which is one of the reasons I like them it much. It’s a fun album which worships the kvlt days of the early 80’s, very much in the vein of early Venom. It has ferocious thrashy parts mixed with old-school black metal, but the icing on the cake here are the grind and crust influences that add a blistering and filthy component to Voidhanger’s unique sound. There is no doubt that Voidhanger hate the fucking world and that this album is the weapon they use to destroy it. The production, recorded by M. (Mgła, Kriegsmaschine) of No Solace Studio, is stellar. If you like everything from thrash, black metal, punk, and grind, you’ll probably be satisfied with Voidhanger.
Servants of the Mist – Suicide Sex Pact (2013)
There are times when we all just hate something. Or all things. Sometimes we can’t explain exactly why we are so miserable and hateful towards life and the world. Maybe it’s the long and torturous days at work sitting in front of a computer monitor surrounded by people you can’t fucking stand and you have to pretend to like them all for days and days while listening to their fucking bullshit and having to respond to them all in a fake polite manner. On top of that, maybe your boss keeps nagging you and asking you to stay late or come in early almost everyday when you clearly have no say in the matter. Also, while you are at work you know your wife is fucking some other guy in your bed and you can’t do anything to stop it. So one day maybe you just can’t take the anguish any longer and you finally snap and take vengeance on all the assholes. Except… you don’t, and you realize your vengeance upon them all was a dream you woke up from and you have to painfully crawl out of your filthy booze-soaked bed and take the torture for another day. So you light a cigarette, crack open a breakfast beer, and take on life once more.
This anguish and slow mental beating is exactly what Servants of the Mist deliver with their hate-drenched, filthy sludge. If you are having the shittiest day of your life, throw this on, open a bottle of whiskey, and drink your sorrows away.
Odraza – Esperalem Tkane, (2014)
Folks, you might be listening to one of the best/original black metal bands of 2015 here. The buzz is already starting to spread online, so I am pleased to pass it on to you now. The name Odraza is polish for “disgust”, so that may give you a bit of an impression on what kind of vibe stench this band is sending off. All song lyrics/song titles are in Polish, so I can’t read them with out a translator, but I have a feeling the songs are focused on… well, here is what that band had to say:
“We talk about what’s present amongst the old, decrepit buildings, the council estates in a huge city. About the things left behind us, about the sum of all failures, and the loneliness that haunts us all. These are the things that disgust us. The lowest aspects of life and, perhaps, the most significant things around us – our own mirror reflection. We revile and oppose the courtship with the metaphysical and the unattainable.
There is no place for higher ideas, nor for soul. There’s only here and now – a filthy study of addiction and of demise in an urban environment. A characteristic, ruthless Polish black metal sound is contrasted here with several bluesy, spacious and other elements that may initially seem somewhat out of place. This makes up for an engrossing and fascinating album.”
So, this album, much like the other albums I presented, is not going to be for lifelovers.
Odraza’s ability to add many different elements to their musical style really makes for an interesting ride down a lonely and disgusting gutter of anguish. It’s sort of like black metal mixed with blues. This is very original to say the least with phenomenal musicianship, especially from drummer “Priest” who also plays drums in Voidhanger. I’m sure you’ll see these guys mentioned a lot around the internets this year.
Lotus Thief – Rervm, (2014)
Lotus Thief is a beautiful project that I found out about very recently and shared with some of you. It was loudly praised by the few that listened it so I’ll share them with the rest of yins.
This project consists of Bezaelth (vocals and all other instruments) and Otrebor (drums), who manage to create something very interesting. It’s sort of hard to pinpoint what this band is exactly, but I think that’s what makes them so exciting to me. There are definitely some strong ritualistic/occult rock moments, especially in the harmonized female vocals sections, but there’s so much more to Lotus Thief. Black metal, prog-rock, synth, shoegaze, and doom can be heard throughout. All of these elements are mashed together to in an atmospheric manner, as if the album was recorded in the most desolate of caves. There’s a mystery to this album, and I don’t think anyone really knows what it is. I feel like it means something different to each listener. As for me, like I said – I’m not sure what it is. I’m still trying to figure it out. I do know that this album is beautiful, original, and very well composed.
(Photo VIA)
