This Toilet Tuesday (12/16/14)
As the year draws to a close, one tends to look back on the things they’ve done; their triumphs and defeats, the friends they’ve made or left behind, the lessons they’ve learned. In the music world, we’ve all been agonizing over our best- and worst-ovs, re-listening to those gems others may have passed over or that you may have forgotten about. To all of this, I give a hearty “fuck that!” It’s still 2014 and there’s still new music to be had! Though December’s release schedule resembles those last few sputtering splurts of a bad case of food poisoning (you know the kind, where your bowels are desperately trying to squeeze out anything solid but succeeding only in tearing themselves apart), a few good releases keep popping up. Happy listening!
Belliciste – Sceadugenga (CD release- Todestrieb Records) [Black Metal]
As odd as it sounds, it takes a discerning ear to dial in the sound needed for a raw, nasty recording. That’s not to say there’s only one way to do it, but there is a massive cringe factor when bands rocket past “rough around the edges” and end up in “lolbuttz.” Sceadugenga, the unpronounceable debut full length from black metal project Belliciste, dials in plenty of raw edge and punkish energy without sacrificing listenability. The reverb-drenched shrieks, thick guitar tone, and DIY drum sound blend excellently for a raw, honest black metal aesthetic. The “decomposed punk” descriptor given by the solo artist is fulfilled without question, as the two sample tracks contain plenty of nasty attitude in the riffs and a gritty, aggressive drumming style. His Facebook page only has 89 likes as of writing this and the album is at name-your-price on Bandcamp, so this is your perfect opportunity to get a kvlt kard up your sleeve. (Stockhausen)
Consecration – Ephemerality (UKEM Records) [Death/Doom]
As a dead composer who likes the occasional change of pace in his doom, Consecration is just the band for me. Obviously we have the slowly churning, crushing riffage you would expect from a band with a doom descriptor, but these guys know when to pick it up every now and then for some OSDM fury. There’s a monstrous sound the to album that’s topped off with some seriously gut-wrenching vocals, the kind that make you want to grab a stranger by the shoulders and just scream “DEATH METAAAAAAAL!!!” into his poor, poser face. You can pick up a digital copy or physical copy through the Bandcamp page, so get out your vest and pick this one up. (Stockhausen)
Incursed – Elderslied (Independent) [Folk Metal]
Since I’m still coming to grips with the idea that I’m not going to hear Time II at any point in my lifetime (II), I’ve been looking for a band to fill that epic folk metal hole in my heart. Based on the preview of Elderslied, I’m hopefuly that Incursed will be the band to do just that. I enjoyed their EP from earlier this year, Beer Bloodbath, and the new album sounds like it will be a bigger version of that. In any case, they’re a more-than-solid folk metal band that deserve your attention. (Spear)
Dargonomel – In Abyssum Diaboli (NitroAtmosfericum) [Death Metal]
I initially checked out Dargonomel because that name is silly and sounds like a demon from Warcraft 3. What I found though was some delicious riffing and straightforward brutality. At first glance, this doesn’t appear to be the most unique death metal song you’ll ever hear, but there’s something interesting and intriguing that latches onto your brain during the “chorus” sequence. I can’t tell if that’s a synth in the background or just a very clever sequence of keys, but it reminds me of the “Reign Carrion” era of Vader (there’s that name again). This is good, straightforward DM with enough frills to keep you hooked. I dig. FFO: Vader, Horrendous, Hate Eternal. (W.)
Prognathe – Revelation Flesh (Peccata Mundi Records) [Sludge]
Well, this is horrifying. And a little silly. Prognathe meld sludge, grind, black metal, and death metal into an abrasive, hideous blend that alternates from rampaging like a troll on a crack-bender to plodding along like a menacing, unstoppable juggernaut under a hail of gunfire. The vocals remind me a bit of The Sun Through a Telescope at times. They’re a bit off-putting at first, but stick with it to see what this band is doing. FFO: TSTaT, The Amenta, Ulcerate, that movie The Descent. (W.)
Abhoth – Abhoth (Satanath/Darknagar/Grotesques Sound) [Death Metal]
Stream
Barathrum – Jetblack Warmetal (Saturnal Records) [Black Metal]
Listen to “Warmetal”
Cult of the Horns/Goatvermin – Cult of the Horns/Goatvermin (Satanath Records) [Black Metal]
Listen
Ethir Anduin – I Magen Av Svart Kaos (Satanath Records) [Black Metal]
Preview
Evadne – Dethroned of Light (Independent) [Death Metal]
Preview
Fortress Under Siege – Phoenix Rising (Steel Gallery Records) [Power Prog]
Listen to “Phoenix Rising”
Graveyard – Depressive Soul (Independent) [lolbuttz]
Listen to “Crush the Rats”
Hetroertzen – Ain Soph Aur (Lamech Records) [Black Metal]
Listen to “Blood Royale”
Himera – Conscientia (Sublimity Records) [Industrial]
Listen to “Agonia”
Ithdabquth Qliphoth – The Method of Science, the Aim of Religion (Thou Shalt Kill!) [Black Metal]
Listen
Lost Graveyard – Funeral Holocaust (Hammer of Damnation) [Black Metal]
Stream
Malchus – Dom Zły (Soundmass Records) [Melodeath]
Listen to “Dom Zły”
Merciless Disaster – Speed Metal Revenge (Midnight Sorcery) [Thrash]
Listen to “Mayhem & Speed”
Morbosidad – Tortura (Nuclear War Now!) [Blackened Death]
Nameless Crime – Stone the Fool (Revalve Records) [Progressive Metal]
Listen to “Crumbling”
Obscyria – Nefarious Sanctuary (Go Fuck Yourself) [Black Thrash]
Listen to “Deranged Minds”
Oktor – Another Dimension of Pain (Solitude Productions) [Funeral Doom]
Listen to “Conscious Somatoform Paradise”
Outrun the Sunlight – Terrapin (Independent) [Djent/Ambient]
Stream, kinda
Pineal – Smiling Cult (digital release- Horror Pain Gore Death) [Stoner/Doom]
Stream
Pogost – Messiah (Cold Breath of Silence) [Black Metal]
Listen to “Charmed by the Chant of Abyss”
Pukat Harimau – S.U.S.P.I.C.I.O.U.S. (Endless Torture Records) [Grindcore]
Preview
Sabhankra – Seers Memoir (HAARBN Productions) [Melodeath]
Preview
Self-Inflicted Violence – The Sanctimonious Hypocrites of Reality (Art of Propaganda) [Depressive Black Metal]
Listen to “Noumenon”
ShadowIcon – Smoke and Mirrors (Independent) [Power Metal]
Listen to “If I Was the One”
Shardana – No Cadena, No Presoni, No Spada, No Lei (Independent) [Thrash]
Preview
Svartsyn – Nightmarish Sleep (Carnal Records) [Black Metal]
Listen to “Nightmarish Sleep”
Vulturine – Tentáculos da Aberração (Nyarlathotep Records) [Black Metal]
Preview
Warnnihilation – The Real Black Plague (Independent) [D-Beat/Crust]
Stream
Zaria – Po poti življenja (Independent) [Folk Metal]
Listen to “Divja jaga”
Zero Down – No Limit to the Evil (Minotauro Records) [Heavy Metal]
Preview
Did we forget a new release? Is there a way we could improve this list? Let us know in the comments below!
(Photos VIA, VIA, VIA, VIA, and VIA)
