Necros Christos - Triune Impurity Rites (2007)
Necros Christos is an occult-as-fuck, German death metal band. Get acquainted and have a grim All Hallows Eve.
Ilsa - Tutti Il Colori Del Buio (2010)
Well, it’s October. You know what that means! A whole lot of metal all month. We’ll Start with Ilsa’s Tutti Il Colori Del Buio. Ilsa hails from Washington D.C. They play crusty, doom filled brand of death metal. Taking influence from bands such as Bolt Thrower, Discharge, and Winter. Some of the tracks on this album seem a bit filler, but it is a solid release none-the-less. This is a heavy, evil fucking record. Check out the tracks ‘Blood Ritual’ and ‘Blue Moon Haze’.
Acid King - Busse Woods (1999)
Do you like listening to Black Sabbath while selling weed out of your trunk at a local park? Do you enjoy teenage satanic rituals in the woods? Do you like badass riffs and motorcycles? If the answer is yes to any of these, you probably will love Acid King. Busse Woods is Acid King’s magnum opus. Lori S, the front-woman and brainchild of Acid King, chants like a female Ozzy over a heavy wall of guitar and bass rumblings. Of course, the constant thematic elements are satanism, motorcycles and weed. This album is a must for every fan of stoner/heavy music.
Zola Jesus - Valusia (2010)
Zola Jesus is a moniker used by 22-year-old Nika Danilova. Nika trained as an operatic singer while growing up in rural Wisconsin, and it shows. Valusia is Zola Jesus’ most recent EP. It consists of four tracks of ethereal, triumphant, gothy synthpop. Like all of Zola Jesus’ releases the vocals melodies are very interesting, and their deliverance gives the music quite a bit of power. Check this shit out before it totally blows up.
Buried At Sea - Migration (2003)
I am going on a road trip to Eastern Canada tomorrow. Fuck yes. Here’s my last post before leaving.
Buried At Sea were a four-piece Doom band from Chicago. They are one of the most crushing Doom bands I’ve ever heard. Migration is their first and only LP. Most of the space on this record is occupied by a rumbling, enormous wall of distortion. Buried At Sea alternates between repetitive, dirge-like build ups and even more repetitive, crushing riffs. Occasional lower, tortured sounding vocals only add more heaviness to their wall of sound. Migration is probably Buried At Sea’s best release in their brief, but impressive discography. I highly recommend this record to fans of slow, heavy music.
Khanate - Things Viral (2003)
Two posts in one night? I think I may be overcompensating. Well, whatever. Let’s continue on the unlistenable record path. No good times in here. At least not until I am in a better mood.
Khanate are a supergroup of sorts. Boasting members of Sunn O))), Burning Witch, and OLD. They play a very sparse, creepy form of doom metal riddled with feedback. Vocalist, Alan Dubin shrieks like a very angry witch being tortured, which is fitting considering Khanate’s sound. At times it almost seems as if Khanate forgets their playing, only to respond with sudden spasms of noise.
I bought Things Viral not too long after it came out at my brother’s suggestion. Man, that record made me uncomfortable. It stills does to this day. ‘Too Close Enough To Touch’ goes down in my book as one of the creepiest songs ever recorded. Check the vocals out at the 4:30 mark. HOLLLLLY SHIT!
Univers Zero - Heresie (1979)
Here’s another post that no one who reads this blog will like. Not that, that matters. I haven’t posted in months and anyone who followed this blog has probably forgotten about it. Oh well.
Univers Zero are an instrumental band hailing from Belgium. Along with British avant-garde musician, Henry Cow, Univers Zero were a part of the Rock in Opposition movement. Essentially Rock in Opposition is about making challenging music, both for the musicians and the listeners.
Heresie is Univers Zero’s second LP. It’s been called one of the darkest albums of all time. Even though I think there are more than a few that top it, it certainly has it moments. The first track, ‘La Faulx’, sounds like chamber musicians from hell going through their warm-up routine. In fact, so does most of the album. Heresie has a claustrophobic, brooding feel to it. Sometimes branching off into more Progressive parts that sound manic and almost delusional.
Nude Beach - Nude Beach (2010)
Nude Beach are a raw, rocked-out pop punk band from Brooklyn, NY. Their debut full length is brimming with sweaty, youthful energy and a ton of urgency. The songs are very well written, but also manage to sound like they don’t give a fuck. This is a perfect soundtrack to the summer. Don’t confuse them with the shoegaze band from Philadelphia. This Nude Beach is much better.
Arvo Pärt - Tabula Rasa (1977)
Arvo Pärt is an Estonian minimalist composer known for his innovation within the genre. ‘Tabula Rasa’ is Pärt’s most well known work to date. A highly emotional piece; ‘Tabula Rasa’ has an uncanny ability of conveying many feelings at once. This record can sound very different depending on the listeners mood. It can sound very hopeful, profound, or even enlightened. It can also sound tragic or naively romantic, but at the same time hopelessly self-aware. Almost like standing above a yawning chasm and feeling the need to be enveloped by the impenetrable darkness, even though you know it’ll be to your demise. The dichotomy between my listening experience’s with ‘Tabula Rasa’ confused me at first. I felt it was either one of the other. More recently I have discovered that it is all of those things. It is hopeful, it is tragic and, above all, it is beautiful.
Abandon - The Dead End (2009)
I assume that most people who read this blog will not enjoy this record, but never-the-less I will proceed. Clocking in at almost two hours, ‘The Dead End’ is a hopeless affair. Abandon is unique for a Doom band, in that a full time member of the band plays the pump organ. This manages to give ‘The Dead End’ a more melodic and very melancholy feel, but it does not distract from the record’s crushing gloom. Some tracks are driven by thick, down-tuned guitar/bass and could almost be mistaken for sludge. Others are centered more around the pump organ, sounding more like straight funeral dirges. Mixed in to all of this are the vocals of Johan Karlsson. They may remind the listener of Steve Von Till of Neurosis, but much more tortured. Karlsson sounds like he’s on the brink. An incredible amount of pain, misery, and pure anger come through. While this record is most certainly not for everyone, it is a work of art. ‘The Dead End’ is extremely consistent for such a long piece of music, giving the impression that it was written with much care and purpose. This record serves as an impressive, dramatic eulogy to Johan Karlsson, who died of an overdose in the midst of the recording. Allegedly, the drummer is now in jail and one of the guitarists became so sick of humanity that he is now a monk.
