{"id":35470,"date":"2015-09-15T11:00:26","date_gmt":"2015-09-15T16:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.toiletovhell.com\/?p=35470"},"modified":"2015-09-14T17:11:47","modified_gmt":"2015-09-14T22:11:47","slug":"phyllomedusa-released-6-albums-over-the-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/phyllomedusa-released-6-albums-over-the-weekend\/","title":{"rendered":"Phyllomedusa Released 6 Albums over the Weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"fb-root\"><\/div>\n<p>You&#8217;re going to be hopping mad over these amphibious new albums.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><strong>Phyllomedusa<\/strong> is currently one of the most intriguing gimmick-bands in the heavy music world (I won&#8217;t say metal here because not everything croaked out by this project can be considered metal). Helmed by a lone biologist\/amphibian aficionado\/freak under the moniker Big Frog, Phyllomedusa is an experiment\u00a0in sonic extremity, gurgling forth a steady stream of slimy sounds ranging from gorenoise to ambient incantations. What initially drew me to Phyllomedusa, though, was a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nocleansinging.com\/2014\/03\/23\/phyllomedusa-puddle-dependency\/#more-73116\" target=\"_blank\">No Clean Singing post<\/a> about the impossibly guttural slams on <em>Puddle Dependency<\/em>.\u00a0Since reading that post last year, I&#8217;ve been following Big Frog&#8217;s prolific activity, occasionally downloading something when an interesting lily pad would surface from the muck. Since its inception in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amphibianworship.com\/search?updated-max=2014-10-01T01:24:00-07:00&amp;max-results=30\" target=\"_blank\">2007<\/a>, Phyllomedusa has spawned\u00a0at least 137 little malicious tadpoles\u00a0on his <a href=\"https:\/\/phyllomedusa.bandcamp.com\/music\" target=\"_blank\">Bandcamp<\/a> page. If that fact alone isn&#8217;t enough to warrant your intrigue, you should be aware that at least a number of those splits, EPs, and full-lengths are genuinely good or at least absurdly heavy.<\/p>\n<p>So, it was with some interest that on Sunday, September 13, I received SIX emails from Bandcamp about new Phyllomedusa releases. Do they all rule? Follow along below with me to find out!<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Lewaf\u00a0<\/em>(September 13, 2015)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/f1.bcbits.com\/img\/a1056449457_16.jpg?resize=700%2C700&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"700\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">This one is just three tracks of harsh noise. I feel like I&#8217;m being violently drowned in a swamp deep in the Everglades. Sorry, Ed, I can&#8217;t hang with this.<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"400\" height=\"100\" src=\"http:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/v=2\/album=3234261855\/size=venti\/bgcol=0D0D0D\/linkcol=42BB56\/\" style=\"position:relative;display:block;width:400px;height:100px;\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">_____________________________<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>The Battle of Everless<\/em> (September 13, 2015)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/f1.bcbits.com\/img\/a3451764797_16.jpg?resize=700%2C700&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"700\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">More harsh noise.\u00a0This one gives me the distinct feeling that there are eyes everywhere. An uncomfortable experience all around.<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"400\" height=\"100\" src=\"http:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/v=2\/album=1637027610\/size=venti\/bgcol=0D0D0D\/linkcol=42BB56\/\" style=\"position:relative;display:block;width:400px;height:100px;\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">_____________________________<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>The Vecsh\u00a0<\/em>(September 13, 2015)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/f1.bcbits.com\/img\/a2285137841_16.jpg?resize=700%2C700&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"700\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">This is nearly an hour of harsh noise. There is nothing natural about this, and it&#8217;s about as pleasant as being choked by creeper vines while submerged in a noxious bog at a depth so deep that no light can penetrate the black void. Paranoia growing.<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"400\" height=\"100\" src=\"http:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/v=2\/album=2502088335\/size=venti\/bgcol=0D0D0D\/linkcol=42BB56\/\" style=\"position:relative;display:block;width:400px;height:100px;\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">_____________________________<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>The Gurrem Gthoe<\/em> (September 13, 2015)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/f1.bcbits.com\/img\/a1851631398_16.jpg?resize=700%2C700&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"700\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Finally, some solid footing in this marsh.\u00a0<em>The Gurrem Gthoe<\/em> is the first of these six releases to have any sort of metallic trappings, and for this, I am eternally grateful. The first ten minutes or so of this one long song consist of one\u00a0calm, perhaps even meditative, ambient drone. Things quickly become sinister though as the song abruptly transitions into a sludgy recursive\u00a0mess of malevolent croaks and malignant noise. This track reminds me of the\u00a0<em>Mass and Volume<\/em> release from\u00a0<strong>Pig Destroyer<\/strong> if Pig Destroyer had licked a Bufo alvarius and written a psychoactive chant of hatred while sitting on a raft in the middle of a fetid, stagnant lake. This is menacing and vile and evil, but at least it can be considered music. Oddly, I can&#8217;t shake the feeling of webbed feet drawing nearer.<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"400\" height=\"100\" src=\"http:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/v=2\/album=3554433310\/size=venti\/bgcol=0D0D0D\/linkcol=42BB56\/\" style=\"position:relative;display:block;width:400px;height:100px;\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">_____________________________<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>The Phortect\/Blood Leaves<\/em> (June 3, 2013)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/f1.bcbits.com\/img\/a3241253504_16.jpg?resize=700%2C700&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"700\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Despite the date listed on the Bandcamp page, the email I received definitely said that this album (another single long song) was just released, so I don&#8217;t know. Perhaps some devilish amphibian sorcery is afoot. The music here definitely feels like that. If you were to take the most fuzzed out moments of\u00a0<strong>Wold<\/strong> or\u00a0<strong>Sleep<\/strong> and coat them with the thickest, most putrid pond scum you could find, you&#8217;d get closer to approximating the sound on\u00a0<em>The Phortect\/Blood Leaves<\/em>. This is droning noise with black metal-esque shrieks that was obviously made by someone with a deep, heartfelt hatred of humanity. My skin feels clammy, almost sticky, after subjecting myself to this. I think there&#8217;s something caught in my throat.<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"400\" height=\"100\" src=\"http:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/v=2\/album=3615438056\/size=venti\/bgcol=0D0D0D\/linkcol=42BB56\/\" style=\"position:relative;display:block;width:400px;height:100px;\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">_____________________________<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>The Gurrem<\/em> (July 11th, 2013)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/f1.bcbits.com\/img\/a3384240795_16.jpg?resize=700%2C700&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"700\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Let me die here, lulled into the gentle caress of decay by the sweet, sylvan songs of the animal kingdom. I have succumbed to the call of the swamp. My body joins the dead things floating in the water, baptized in filth. My skin turns to algae as the slow and precise slams of the vengeful amphibians tear me limb from limb with methodical drum strikes. My thoughts become the omnipresent bellow and drone of the Ranidae. My blood becomes the stagnant water. The cycle is complete. All is green.<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"400\" height=\"100\" src=\"http:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/v=2\/album=3382810080\/size=venti\/bgcol=0D0D0D\/linkcol=42BB56\/\" style=\"position:relative;display:block;width:400px;height:100px;\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">(Photos\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/phyllomedusa.bandcamp.com\/music\" target=\"_blank\">VIA<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You&#8217;re going to be hopping mad over these amphibious new albums.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":35474,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[39,103],"tags":[5140,141,152,1918],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/phyllo2.jpg?fit=700%2C350&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35470"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35470\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}