Jucifer - за волгой для нас земли нет

Jucifer are an entirely unique proposition, the only married couple who travel the world in an RV for the sole purpose of redefining what you think you know about volume. To see them live is a visceral experience, you feel the music as much as hear  it.

After they returned from spreading the gospel of Amp Worship on their first tour of Russia in 2011, the first-hand experience of the country inspired the recording of an album dedicated to the people, the place, and the story of Volgograd (more commonly known as Stalingrad).

'за волгой для нас земли нет', which translates to "Beyond the Volga there is no land", is another epic historical concept album from Gazelle Amber Valentine and Edgar Livengood, the likes of which no-one but these two veterans of volume could create.

From the staggering and shrieking minute-long blast 'Дом Павлова / Pavlov's House' through to the churning and chanting drone of 'Сибирь / Siberia', Jucifer demonstrate their chameleon-like ability to cast their metal into any and every mould to stunning effect. It's this diversity that enables them to tackle such weighty thematic subjects set to the sounds at the harshest end of the musical spectrum, and to hold the listener rapt.

I mean, on paper (or screen for that matter), how appealing does a concept album about Russian history set to a mix of everything from grindcore to drone sound? Exactly. But Jucifer's skill is that they take such unwieldy ingredients and turn them into one of the most interesting albums released this year.

Read my full review over at The Sleeping Shaman...

Wolvserpent - Perigaea Antahkarana

When Boise, Idaho duo Pussygutt reinvented themselves as Wolvserpent with the release of 2010's incredible debut album Blood Seed, it was more than just a mere change of monicker; it reflected their transition from sparse, abstract dronescapes towards a more structured, malevolent sound that put them within the wide-ranging classification of metal, albeit at the outer fringes.

The blackened doom they conjured with that album held me utterly captivated, so much so that it was the very first album that ever moved me to try to put into words what I felt for its haunting, otherwordly ambiance.

Listening to it again many times after my initial review, I don't think I'll ever adequately describe the feelings it evokes, nor the nightmarish worlds it creates within my mind.

When the Perigaea demo became available late last year it coincided with a dark, isolated period in my life, and quickly became my escapist soundtrack, a creepily comforting collection that I would retreat to time and time again. The band's assertion that the demo was only "the early stages and younger concepts" that would inform the finished work, and that it would be "an entirely different manifestation of the ideas heard on the demo" made me eager to hear where they would take what was already an accomplished recording and concept.

The culmination of a two-year writing and re-writing period, with the finished album recorded with renowned producer/engineer Mell Dettmer (Sunn 0))), Boris, Earth), the release of their sophomore album Perigaea Antahkarana is upon us.

Considering that Wolvserpent is comprised of only two members, Blake Green on guitar, vocals, and keys, and Brittany McConnell on drums, percussion and violin, the way they build up the various layers in each song without them sounding cluttered or over-thought is miraculous, and their use of loops and effects pedals to produce such a wide variety of sounds is especially impressive in a live environment.

At 81 minutes this is not the sort of album you'll throw on for some easy-listening, but if you're willing to dedicate yourself to it, to submit to an awakening of your atavistic instincts, it's one of the most rewarding immersive experiences that metal on the more avant-garde end of the spectrum can offer.

Read my full review over at The Sleeping Shaman...

Tombstones - Red Skies and Dead Eyes

The jagged mountains and darkened forests of Norway may be better known for inspiring the harsh, frostbitten sounds of the second wave of Black Metal, but recently the flux of excellent bands extolling the virtues of all that is low and slow has been attracting the attention of anyone with an ear to the underground. With the release of its third album Red Skies and Dead Eyes, it’s clear that Oslo’s Tombstones are at the forefront of this movement.

From the six tracks of bleakest doom on offer within the grooves to the beautifully presented packaging, replete with stunning illustrations courtesy of Glyn Smyth, Red Skies is one of 2013′s essential purchases.

Read my full review over at Summoning Spirits...

Ephemeros - All Hail Corrosion

I'm a sucker for West Coast miserablists like Asunder, Aldebaran, Laudanum, Samothrace, and Anhedonist, so I was excited to hear of a relatively recent addition to this band of happy campers, Portland's Ephemeros.

Comprised of various gloomy luminaries from bands such as Nux Vomica, Graves At Sea, Uzala and Bastard Feast, these guys have a proven pedigree for creating harsh sounds for harsh times, and All Hail Corrosion, their debut offering, is an even more dismal sound than anything they've created before.

The title track opens with the plaintive chime of a lone guitar, before the full band come crashing in, all devastating weight and foul growl. From there it's a slow burner of a track, their guitar harmonies have that beautifully melancholic quality present in all the best funeral doom, that sound that instills an ache in your chest. When done right, as it is here, there's nothing like it.

Ephemeros offer both despondency and redemption in their sound.

All Hail Corrosion is available now on CD via Seventh Rule:
http://shop.seventhrule.com/collections/new-releases/products/ephemeros-all-hail-corrosion-cd

With a vinyl release available for pre-order from Parasitic Records:
http://www.parasiticrecords.bigcartel.com/product/ephemeros-all-hail-corrosion-lp

All Hail Corrosion, All Hail Ephemeros!

Read my full review at The Sleeping Shaman...

Open Tomb - Servants Of Slow tape

I don't know what's going on in New Zealand right now, whether they're all just fucking sick of Hobbits, gap year students, or whatever it is, but between Hamilton's Open Tomb and Wellington's Meth Drinker, the far side of the planet is churning out misanthropic doom with alarming regularity. Keep it comin', Kiwis!

Open Tomb have been given the discography treatment by the excellent Dry Cough Records, who are currently 3-for-3 after a similar release for Massachusetts' Plague Survivors and finally committing Ireland's On Pain Of Death to tape. The label is already building the kind of pedigree that will guarantee I'll pick up whatever they put out, so when Servants Of Slow was put up for pre-order, I forked over that week's food budget to hear it.

Oh, it wasn't expensive, I'm just poor.

Opening this little black plastic tomb is the hefty 'Despair', 15 minutes of dirge-like drudgery that will instantly begin the process of weeding out. Like a 45 played at 33... actually, more like 3.3, the notes stretch out endlessly, producing a warped distortion that'll make you wonder whether your tape is about to snap. The agonisingly downtempo doom may even make you wish for it. Not me, I can't get e-fucking-nough of this type of aural punishment.

The track marches on interminably, at one point the guitar exhibiting a Dave Chandler-esque woozy tremolo.

Actually there's your headline: "Open Tomb sound like the post-nuclear apocalypse zombified corpses of Saint Vitus".

When they eventually get around to second track 'Life Fucker', a somewhat minimalist composition even by doom standards, the narcotic narcoleptic nod of the rhythm varying ever so slightly as the track progresses, until about two-thirds of the way through when an "UGH!" urges the pace to pick up to a puke-inducing sway, as the vocals vomit out the track's title repeatedly. Beautiful.

'Monday Leviathan' is just as miserable as it's title, the insurmountable task of getting through yet another week of underwhelming existence soundtracked perfectly by colossal kickdrum and barely-there riffs. The lethargy of the guitar and bass seems to increase with every repetition of the riff until about halfway through when they summon up the energy to fire out a few more of those patented Chandler trembling tremolos.

When the track comes together into something resembling a structured song, you'll just about piss yourself with surprise. These guys probably think 'Dopesmoker' is too energetic.

After sitting in a sludge-addled stupor after Side A hisses its last, I flip it over only to be confronted with more of the same slowly eroding distortion and 10 bpm drums on 'Damned To Forgive'. Oh great, I'm glad I wasn't planning on feeling anything above abject misery today.

The next couple of tracks are from their split with Meth Drinker, which I have as yet failed to get around to hearing, which is just laziness on my part. Though not as lazy as the hazy fog of feedback that opens 'Off With His Head', before exploring the lower depths of ear-splitting sounds and atonal warblings.

The other track from the split, 'Hostile Womb', is just as great as its title suggests, all interminable fuzz and massive, splashy cymbals. The raw-throated vocal exchanges on this track are barely fucking human. Play this next time you want to convince your neighbours you're holding ten simultaneous exorcisms in your living room.

After the sonic depravity heard on those two tracks, I'm gonna get right on hearing Meth Drinker's side of that slab of filth just as soon as final track 'Blood And Flies' is over. By this point I'm running out of interesting ways to say "sloooooooooow" so just fucking listen for yourself, and don't blame me when you're driven to insanity by the tectonic tempos like the poor woman heard sobbing throughout this track.

Quite a lot of that sounded quite negative, eh? WELL THAT WAS THE FUCKING POINT.

What, you want sludge to soundtrack feelings of joy, kittens and candy floss? Then you're doing it wrong. Sludge is for the deepest depths of despair, for sheer loathing, for walking down the street barely restraining yourself from shoving someone under a bus; it should be fucking hard to listen to.

If you need a soundtrack to these feelings, then go pick up a copy of this tape from Dry Cough:

http://drycoughrecords.bigcartel.com/product/open-tomb-servants-of-slow-pre-order

Then go pester Open Tomb about flying very very far to permanently ruin your hearing in a shitty basement venue somewhere that's not NZ.

Old Skin - MÆRE

Manchester is churning out some fucking great bands at the moment, between the dark hardcore of Esoteric Youth, the putrid grind of Swinelord, the chaotic noise of Pine Barrens, the blistering blackened racket of Under The Horns and Cold Fell, and the caustic hardcore of Old Skin, I can't wait 'til my next opportunity to get down there again and check out some shows. Andrew at Dry Cough sent me a sampler of Old Skin material, and I was totally blown away by it.

Although this sampler only contains 3 minutes of music, its so packed with ideas, devastatingly delivered, its enough to have you spinning it ten times in a row. Old Skin recall a lot of the current crop of grind-inflected hardcore thats been making waves from across the pond for the past few years, and if you've been digging the filthy fury of Trap Them and the endless bands borrowing liberally from that template, you'll fucking love this.

Eschewing the done-to-death 'HM-2 + D-beat' formula and delivering pure, refined abrasive anger at whiplash-inducing tempo, Old Skin breath life into a sound you may have heard before, but played with a level of conviction that's refreshing.

As soon as they have more material recorded, I'll be first in line to have my ears assaulted.

There's not much info going about the band in terms of online presence, so I guess you'll just have to pay extra close attention to Manchester's currently excellent hardcore scene, and go see these guys (and all the other aforementioned bands) live the next chance you get.

Full Of Hell - Rudiments Of Mutilation

That Full Of Hell dabble in noise recordings on the side isn't exactly a secret, but the fact that they open their new album Rudiments Of Mutilation with such a challenging opening track as 'Dichotomy' serves to show just how seamlessly they are able to weave their penchant for abrasive noise into their just as confrontational hardcore.

The piercing feedback that screeches out of the speakers is a sharper, more painful proposition than the sub-sludge of many of the current crop of hardcore bands thieving from the monuments of His Hero Is Gone, and it serves to set Full Of Hell apart from the rest. The raw fury heard in Dylan Walker's wretched vocals is not forced or faked, it's the sound of true intensity.

This album is not something you listen to so much as suffer through, and I suspect that was the intention behind it. Throughout the course of Rudiments of Mutilation the many stylistic, atmospheric and momentum shifts will confront and eradicate your expectations, as well as serve to confirm that there is no band out there creating an erratic racket quite like Full Of Hell.

Stream this album over at the A389 Recordings bandcamp, buy it if ya dig it, and go see them live the first chance you get. Total acid-spitting fury. Numb Your Mind.

Read my full review at The Sleeping Shaman...

Coltsblood - Beyond The Lake Of Madness demo tape

I was lucky enough to catch Liverpool's Coltsblood live a few weeks ago, and was utterly blown away by their crushingly miserable strain of doom. Their demo was available for just three pieces of gold, so in lieu of continuing my alcohol intake, I decided to reward them for intoxicating my mind with maddening heaviness instead. Worth every filthy penny.

The lo-fi hiss that permeates the cyclical, hypnotic riff that opens 'Abyss Of Aching Insanity' gives you a good idea of what Coltsblood do; creeping, crawling doom with all the malevolence of black metal. Lovely.

When the vocals kick in... wait, 'kick in' sounds a little too energetic for how the vocals arrive... okay, I've got it: when the vocals are wrenched, howling and clawing from their prison within the cassette, the guttural, anguished quality of the voice, combined with the clatter of drums and distortion make it sound like powerviolence played at a hundredth of the intended speed.

The intensity of the delivery is something I can attest to, having witnessed the raw rumbling fury that bassist/vocalist John manages to strangle out of both his throat and the neck of his bass.

The loose structure of the track allows for plenty of space; for squalls of feedback from guitarist Jem to stab out at you from the speakers inbetween the torture she inflicts on her strings, for the cacophonous battery of the rhythm to sound like drummer Steve should be convicted of cruelty towards his kit. It also allows for a bit of elasticity, so when the wail of the guitar solo escapes the tape around the halfway mark, it feels interminable, like they could go on abusing your ears with this black noise forever, were it not for the time constraints of physical media.

The endless excruciation reflects the title of the track, truly feeling like an endless abyss of audio terror designed to destroy your mind. So really fucking good, basically.

The flipside of this little black horror is a catchy little ditty entitled 'Beneath Black Skies', which announces itself with a crash. At first it seems like just more of the same, but it coalesces into an almost catchy track.

Well, relatively catchy.

Another of Jem's expansive, skulldrilling guitar tangents threatens to further warp the mind, but thankfully the full band lock into an actual rhythm again, and about a minute later there's a section I remember hazily headbanging to at the gig.

As I recall, it's a misleading couple of bars, because soon they're back to stretching out the time between notes with more feedback. I'd like them to stick to it when they lock into these great rhythms, by abandoning traditional song structures it tends to feel a little unfocused, too 'jammy', to really hold my attention.

I hate typing stuff that sounds negative, but sometimes I just yearn for a band to realise when they're on to a good thing, and just fuckin' riff on it, y'know? But the rest of the track passes by sans-riff, so I guess I'll hold out hope for their next recording.

Coltsblood are one of the finest new bands I've had the pleasure of seeing play, and hearing in their formative stage. I'm really excited to see where they'll take their disgusting concoction of tar-black sludge, and you should be too. Ignore this band at your peril.

The tapes are sold out now so sucks for you if you didn't get one. Don't cry, you can still listen to the demo over at the Coltsblood bandcamp and pick up one of their awesome t-shirts while you're there.

Also, just announced at the time of writing is that Ulthar Records will be releasing a remastered version of this demo on vinyl. So get that, and go watch them play mountain-crumblingly heavy riffs live next chance you get!

The Sounds Of The Great Grey North

Over the past couple of years there's been a great resurgence in the underground music scene in Scotland. And don't give me this "it's always been there man, you just have to know where to look" pish because I've been looking, for fucking years, and I doubt there are many that'd argue with me that this is the healthiest the scene has been for a long time.

Heavy bands, of all genres, from all over the country, have never been so plentiful, and with this years' inaugural North Of The Wall featuring a 100% Scottish line-up, and the continued draw of Les-Fest, it seems that there are plenty of people out there who recognise how great a time it is for the Scottish underground.

Anyway, the idea of this ongoing blog post was to collate as many of these fucking brilliant bands in one place, and give people a resource if they're looking to check out Aberdeen's grindcore scene, or see if there are any stoner rock fuckups from Glasgow they'd like to listen to with bong in hand, or where the nastiest, most malignant black metal from Edinburgh can be heard. Hopefully this will provide a starting point. Here we fuckin' go:

Atragon

[ http://www.atragon.co.uk/ | https://www.facebook.com/AtragonDoom | http://atragon.bandcamp.com/ ]
Wizard-worshipping doom metal from Edinburgh. Formed in the cold, harsh winter of 2012 over a common disdain for mankind, Atragon worship at the altar of the riff. They desire only to bring about your doom through the powers of distortion, tube amplification & heathen ritual. Volume I available from Witch Hunter Records. See them live on just about every heavy music bill in Scotland.

Of Spire & Throne

[ http://www.ofspireandthrone.com/ | Of Spire & Throne on Facebook | http://ofspireandthrone.bandcamp.com/ ]
Edinburgh's Of Spire & Throne specialise in expansive blackened sludge, which is right up my street. Their latest release 'Vagary' is 21 minutes of torturous, mournful noise that will ruin your day. Go succumb to the misery over at their bandcamp.

Ommadon 

[ http://ommadon.blogspot.co.uk/ | Ommadon on Facebook | http://ommadon.bandcamp.com/ ]
Crushing doom with the impact of tectonic plates colliding. Two-headed dronebeast who record most of their output in isolation up in the Highlands.
All recordings (I-IV) available free through their bandcamp, as well as being collected into a discography tape available through Tartarus Records/Witches On Fire later this year, with new album V coming sometime in 2013.

Headless Kross

[ http://headlesskross.bandcamp.com/ | https://www.facebook.com/headlesskross ]

Psychedelic doom three-piece from Glasgow. Spacey, drawn-out stoner excursions with surprisingly harsh vocals. Recently released a split with Lazarus Blackstar on Head Of Crom which is well worth checking out. Stream it over at their bandcamp.

Sunsmasher

[ Sunsmasher on Facebook | http://sunsmasher.bandcamp.com/ ]

East Glasgow miserablists. Capable of producing a foul racket ranging from sludge to all out noise. One of my favourite local bands of recent times, they don't play anywhere near enough for my liking. Apparently recording new material this year, thank fuck, as I've been playing their Mammothian/Loud/Cult demo regularly for over 2 years now, and I'm fiending for new stuff. Gies a fix, eh guys?

Bacchus Baracus

[ http://bacchusbaracus.com/ | https://www.facebook.com/bacchusbaracus | New album streaming at Bandcamp ]
Glasgow's finest purveyors of whiskey-soaked barroom brawl anthems. Drummer/vocalist Qball manages to channel the hard-hitting groove of Clutch stickman JP Gaster as well as the erudite rasp of Neil Fallon. Catch them live and imbibe as many drinks as you can. New album available through Wasted State Records.

The Cosmic Dead

[ http://thecosmicdead.blogspot.co.uk/ | https://www.facebook.com/thecosmicdead | http://thecosmicdead.bandcamp.com/ ]
All-out psychedelic warfare from Glasgow's most prolific band. In just a couple of years these guys have cemented themselves as one of the greatest exponents of Hawkwind/Amon Düül II worship, even securing a slot at this years Roadburn. If you dig long-form trips around the outer reaches of space, or if you just ingest a lot of substances and would like the ideal musical accompaniment, check out one of their squazillion releases right now.

Voe

[ https://www.facebook.com/voedoom | http://voedoom.bandcamp.com/ ]
The crushing isolation of travailing an endless barren landscape, set to a soundtrack of expansive, reverberating dronedoom. They only have one track on their bandcamp at the moment, but if they continue down the same bleak path, they'll be ones to watch out for if you like a heavy dose of misery in your doom.

Holy Mountain

[ http://www.holymountainband.co.uk/ | https://www.facebook.com/HolyMountainBand |
I first saw these guys back when they were a duo that sounded like a feral lager-soaked High On Fire, though haven't managed to catch them live again since. I oughtta remedy that, as their latest release 'Earth Measures' (available through Chemikal Underground) is an absolute belter. If you don't believe me, either listen to it, or read this fucking hilarious review of it then listen to it.

Bisongrass

[ https://www.facebook.com/Bisongrassmetal | http://www.reverbnation.com/BISONGRASS ]
I just missed out on Bisongrass' last show around my parts, so I guess I'll just foam at the mouth until the next time they come back down from Aberdeen. Anyway, they play solid as fuck stoner rock

No Island

[ https://www.facebook.com/noislandhc | http://nofuckingisland.bandcamp.com/ ]
I caught these guys when they opened for hardcore legends Negative Approach, and was suitable impressed with their intensity. I like my hardcore on the genuinely angry side with a wee bit of the old powerviolence thrown in, so these guys were right up my alley (at night, filled with big cunts that want to kick your head in). Get their EP Let Glasgow Perish off bandcamp and go about punching things.

Hush

[ https://www.facebook.com/hushofficial | http://hushofficial.bandcamp.com/ ]
Did any of you go see Black Breath when they first played Glasgow? Naw ye fuckin' didnae, because me and the guys who play in Hush were the only cunts there. Considering they played to an almost empty room, they let rip with the full force of their set, delivering an intense set of angular hardcore in the vein of Cursed, Converge et al. Go give their Night Music release a listen over at their bandcamp.

Filthpact

[ http://www.filthpact.com/ | https://www.facebook.com/Filthpact | http://filthpact.bigcartel.com/ ]
Crusty grind from Aberdeen. Haven't had the chance to see them play live yet, but I really dig their recent split (available through excellent Scottish noise/doom label At War With False Noise) with fellow grind bastards Sufferinfuck. Who I'll blather about now.

Sufferinfuck

[ http://sufferinfuck.blogspot.co.uk/ | http://www.reverbnation.com/sufferinfuck ]
Grindcore from West Lothian, these guys are fast as absolute fuck. Perhaps unsurprising for grindcore, I know, but there's a ferocity missing from so much modern grind that Sufferinfuck have in filthy spades, they eschew clinical precision in favour of just all out anger and aggression. Lovely stuff. Get their 'In Boredom' release for fuck all here.

Clocked Out

[ http://clockedout.tumblr.com/ | http://clockedout.bandcamp.com/ ]
Glasgow fastcore kings who have the most hyperactive frontman in the city. You really need to see this band live to get an idea of how manic their live show gets. They recently brought out a three-track 7" so go get that.

Skeleton Gong

[ http://www.skeletongong.com/ | https://www.facebook.com/skeletongong | http://skeletongong.bandcamp.com/ ]
Skeleton Gong are fuckin' weirdos. I recently caught them live for the first time, and was met with an intimidating amount of amplification, a double drumkit setup, and a bunch of wild-eyed guys rocking a variety of interesting headgear choices; dreadlocks, cowboy hats, baldys, all cross-sections of mad bastards are represented in the Gong. They also fucking rule, their thick syrupy sludge hitting somewhere between Weedeater and Kylesa, with a more cosmic angle. However you want to try and describe it yourself, gie it a go and download their album 'Eskimo Wizards & The Louisiana Swamp Priests' for free from their bandcamp.

Wheelchair Wheelchair Wheelchair Wheelchair

[ Wheelchair x4 on Facebook | http://wheelchairwheelchairwheelchairwheelchair.bandcamp.com/ ]
More mad bastards, with an almost impossible to google name, Wheelchairx4 specialise in fastcore/powerviolence. I'm sure I've seen them live at some point but I'll be damned if I can remember where, when or who they played with. They've got an album, 'Contraception', up for free download over at bandcamp.

Dune

[ https://www.facebook.com/DuneEdinburgh ]

This relatively new Edinburgh band may not have any releases to their name as yet, but their space-themed sludge offerings have managed to snag them a support slot to EyeHateGod. I'm excited as hell to finally get to see them live, and you should be too. Get down to the EHG gig and support your local sludge band!
Also, buy a t-shirt off them because I drew it for 'em. SHAMLESS PLUG.

Isak

[ https://www.facebook.com/isakisloud | http://isakisloud.bandcamp.com/ ]
Homme-worshipping stoner grooves from the sun-kissed sandy wasteland of Dundee.

Cancerous Womb

[ https://www.facebook.com/cancerouswomb | http://cancerouswomb.bandcamp.com/ ]
Edinburgh's Cancerous Womb play repugnant grind-inflected death metal. They're currently in the process of recording their debut full-length, but until that sees the light of day check out their Fritzl-tastic 'Austrian Basement' Ep on bandcamp.

Cerebral Bore

[ https://www.facebook.com/cerebralboreofficial | http://www.reverbnation.com/cerebralbore ]

Perhaps best known for featuring youtube brutal vocal sensation Simone "Som" Pluijmers, who has now left the band, Glasgow's masters of brutality Cerebral Bore are signed to Earache records and have toured all over the world. Lucky cunts.

Skullwizard

[ Skullwizard on Facebook ]

I'm not sure how much of a full-time proposition Skullwizard are, but when I saw them live recently, they scared the shite out of me. Whoever their vocalist is, she went from wind-whistling shrieks that just about split my skull to dancing around to Journey's 'More Than A Feeling' mere minutes after their set had finished. A truly terrifying proposition.

Jackal-Headed Guard Of The Dead

[ https://www.facebook.com/jackalheadedguardofthedead | http://jackalheadedguardofthedead.bandcamp.com/ ]
Their own bio says it best: 'And there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth, for the earth had spat forth a most vile group of scum; borne loose with steely eyes and ravenous bellies. Their foul purpose is that most unnameable of horrors, the dark art in which even the most sinister backstreet necromancer in Cairo would not dare utter...doom metal. We are a doom band, who also like Lovecraft, weed, and films so raw they'll skullfuck your brain and leave you with a twitch. Enjoy, you cunts.'

Tommy Concrete And The Werewolves

[ https://www.facebook.com/TommyConcreteAndTheWerewolves | http://tommyconcrete.blogspot.co.uk/ ]

Lords of Bastard

[ https://www.facebook.com/lordsareloud | http://lordsofbastard.bandcamp.com/ ]
Self-styled psychedelic megariff dickheads from Edinburgh, the Lords Of Bastard play tightly-wound stoner weirdness that brings to mind Big Business or something equally as odd. Their drummer is tight as fuck. In depth review, eh? Give their latest album 'Cuddles' a blast and see for yourself, I can't do everything for you!

Co-Exist

[ https://www.facebook.com/Coexistgrind | http://coexistgrind.bandcamp.com/ ]
I've seen Co-Exist live but I'm fucked if I can remember who it was with. I remember being impressed by them anyway. This is another of Qball's bands, and couldn't sound more different from Bacchus Baracus, seeing as Co-Exist specialise in furious bursts of grind/death metal. Stream their newest EP 'Skelf' over at their bandcamp.

Horrors That You've Seen

[ https://www.facebook.com/horrorsthatyouveseen | http://htyshc.bandcamp.com/ ]
I first checked these guys out because their vocalist has the same name as a guy I went to school with. Wisnae him though. In their own words:
'Hardcore band from Edinburgh that play more Sludge and Doom than we do hardcore. Hardcore for fans of longer songs and slower riffs. Hardcore to get high to.'
Go get their latest recording 'Smokin, Skatin, Satan' off bandcamp because it's good.

Set Astray

[ https://www.facebook.com/setastraycrew | https://soundcloud.com/s-e-t-a-s-t-r-a-y ]
Hardcore created by angry young men from Stirling. Check them out if you like the NYHC sound and punching folk in the face. New EP available from Glasgow-based label Thanks For Nothing, you can grab a free download here.

Man Must Die

[ https://www.facebook.com/ManMustDie | http://manmustdie.bandcamp.com/ ]
Man Must Die hail from Glasgow and play crushing tech death that sounds like getting your head stuck in a concrete mixer filled with nails and broken glass. So, y'know, pretty good. They're currently recording a new album, and judging by the in-the-studio videos they're posting, it's gonna be fucking awesome when it's done.

Fifteen Dead

[ https://www.facebook.com/fifteendead | http://fifteendead.bandcamp.com/ ]
Fifteen Dead are from all over the shop, but get together to create a raging blackened crust racket reminiscent of Martyrdöd, Skitsystem and the rest of them manky Scando d-beat lot. The whole blackened crust thing is getting pretty big these days, and Fifteen Dead are defnitely in the upper echelons of that scene. Their stuff is available for pay-what-you-want download over at their bandcamp. I highly recommend you go chuck 'em a few pennies in exchange for their stuff.

Ablach

[ https://myspace.com/ablach ]

Ablach might be the only gaelic grindcore band in existence, but if I'm wrong and thereare more out there, please correct me as soon as fuckin' possible because Ablach are incredible. Hailing from Aberdeen, and taking their name from the gaelic for 'Mangled Corpse', they play fast, furious crusty grind with many not-so-subtle nods to their forefathers, both historical and musical.
You can get their album Aon from Moshpit Tragedy and Dha from Grindcore Karaoke. Those recordings feature covers of grind originators Napalm Death, Extreme Noise Terror, Terrorizer and Phobia strewn throughout the band's original material that has a mainly historical subject matter.

Bonesaw

[ http://scottishdeath.blogspot.co.uk/ | Bonesaw on Facebook | http://bonesaw.bandcamp.com/ ]
Why did no-one tell me about this band sooner? I mean, a quick trawl back through the archives of my blog will reveal I'm a total sucker for ugly primitive death/doom, and these guys deliver it in spades full of putrid gravedirt. Their facebook saws 'think Autopsy on a budget' and I'd say that's about right. Anyway, these decrepit bastards come from up Aberdeen way, so I think I'll be venturing up for a wee bit of death metal tourism next time they play. Fuckin' Bonesaw man... lovely stuff.

Easy Bake Oven

[ https://www.facebook.com/Easybakeovenofficial | http://easybakeovenofficial.bandcamp.com/ ]
Easy Bake Oven are a self-described 'Blackened Stoner/Doom' band from Glasgow. I caught them as local support at the Bison b.c./Black Cobra gig a few weeks back and was pretty fucking impressed with their disgusting sludge. Their EP 'Stoner Wisdom' is available for fuck-all over at bandcamp, so what are you waiting for? Get it!

Dog Tired

[ https://www.facebook.com/dogtiredmetal | http://www.reverbnation.com/dogtired ]
Dog Tired are four-piece groove metal from Edinburgh. Think Pantera/Machine Head/Lamb Of God, with a sort of mid-90s Corrosion Of Conformity swagger. Check out their new album 'Titan', available on itunes/spotify.

Roll On Three

[ https://www.facebook.com/RollOnThree | http://rollonthree.bandcamp.com/ ]
Edinburgh bluesy stoners Roll On Three sound like Houdini-era Melvins with guest vocals by Phil Anselmo. At least that's the first impression I get listening to the recordings they have upon their bandcamp, though you should go download it for yourself and tell me I'm talking shite.
In fact, I'll tell myself; the Melvins weirdness is only present in opening track 'My Lost Way', the rest is a bastard hybrid of Down/Superjoint Ritual. So good, basically.

Zillah

[ https://www.facebook.com/zillahnoise | http://zillah.bandcamp.com/ | http://zillah.bigcartel.com/ ]
I first got into Zillah because their old guitarist Andrew Yates was proprietor/meat wizard at my favourite Glasgow food emporium Where The Monkey Sleeps. He's since left both Zillah and the Monkey, and now crafts towers of flesh in the kitchen of Nice N Sleazy. Go sink your teeth into the fucking best burgers in Scotland.
Anyway, enough of the food pimping, Zillah play scorching technical death-tinged metalcore, reminiscent of bands like Burnt By The Sun, which is a very good thing. All of their releases are available for free over at bandcamp, and I recommend their 'Substitute For A Catastrophe' album wholeheartedly. Get into it!

War Charge

[ https://www.facebook.com/warcharge | http://warcharge.bandcamp.com/ ]
Edinburgh's War Charge play pissed off hardcore. You can stream their latest recording 'New World Justice' over at their bandcamp, and order it from Purgatory Records if it tickles your angry bone.

Prelude To The Hunt

[ https://www.facebook.com/preludetothehunt | http://preludetothehunt.bandcamp.com/ ]
Prelude To The Hunt play some of the foulest racket I've heard come out of Aberdeen since the accent. They recently released a split with Manchester's Esoteric Youth on Church Of Fuck, and deserve to be making as many waves as their Manc counterparts. Said split features a blistering cover of Cursed's 'Reparations', if that gives you a idea where they're coming from. I fucking love Cursed, so PTTH get an automatic thumbs up from me.

Dirtdrinker

[ https://www.facebook.com/DIRTDRINKER | http://dirtdrinker.bandcamp.com/ ]
Dirtdrinker are fucking disgusting. Coming across like a twistier Unsane with spazzy discordance ramped up to the max, this Aberdeen two-piece create the sort of noise that burrows their way nto your cranial cavity with their writhing, sludgey earworms. Absolutely horrible. I love them.

The Colour Pink Is Gay

[ https://www.facebook.com/thecolourpinkisgay | http://thecolourpinkisgay.bandcamp.com/ ]
Guaranteed to anger the PC brigade with a name like that, Glasgow-based tech metal motherfuckers TCPiG are a total heidfuck. I don't know how people can listen to this band without wanting to put a screwdriver into their ear canal just to make it stop. If the sound of Japanese cartoon themesongs played by mental patients through warfare grade amplification is your thing, these guys might be your thing. Remember the wonderfully absurd Take A Worm For A Walk Week? Aye, like that maybe.

Scordatura

[ https://www.facebook.com/Scordaturaofficial | http://scordatura.bandcamp.com/ ]
Scordatura play modern tech-y death metal. These Glasgow deviants will be supporting Fleshgod Apocalypse on their UK tour, so get down to Ivory Blacks in October and support your local brutalists. Until then, shred your fuckin' face off listening to their new album 'Torment Of The Weak'.

Exile The Traitor

[ https://www.facebook.com/ExileTheTraitor | http://exilethetraitor.bandcamp.com/ ]
Glasgow's Exile The Traitor play Swedeath-influenced metal that folk who dig Carcass' 'Heartwork' and At The Gates will be right into. They don't have much available for streaming at the moment, but what they do have is solid as fuck. Check them out on bandcamp.

Bleed From Within

[ https://www.facebook.com/bleedfromwithinband ]

These guys are from my hometown and are probably one of the best-known bands on this list. Who'da thunk a band from Hamilton of all shiteholes would get signed to Century Media and tour the world? If I'd known that, I would joined a band and gotten outta there fuckin' years ago. Ah well. Fair play to the Bleed From Within lads for doing so well. Musically they play tight, technical death-y metalcore, so give 'em a listen if that's yer bag!

Agonised Deformity

[ https://www.facebook.com/AgonisedDeformity | http://agoniseddeformity.bandcamp.com/ ]
These guys are from Carluke/Wishaw, two of the biggest shiteholes on the planet. I've seen Eastern European retirement homes with more life in them than those places. So it's only appropriate that Agonised Deformity play brutal, eardrum-obliterating, slam-worthy death metal, that ought to liven ol' Pishy Wishy up a bit! Stream their racket over at their bandcamp and mosh yer way down Wishy 'high street'.

Acatalepsy

[ https://www.facebook.com/AcatalepsyDeathMetal | http://acatalepsy.bandcamp.com/ ]
Edinburgh's Acatalepsy play proggy, weird death metal with occasional pretty intricate bits. So like Opeth, but not really. Their erratic staccato chugging takes a bit to wrap your head around if you're a braindead plodding sludge maniac like me, but they're definitely worth a listen. Do so at the usual place. You'd think bandcamp was fucking paying me to promote them, eh? I can only dream.

Maelstrom

[ http://www.maelstrom-metal.com/ | Maelstrom on Facebook | http://maelstromofficial.bandcamp.com/ ]
Remember Akercocke? The black metal band who played sweaty, Satan-conjuring shows decked out in the finery of Savile Row? Maelstrom sure do, adopting a similar aesthetic for their own gigs.
Scotland's metal gentlemen's blackened death has some symphonic elements, but don't let that put you off, they're not naff and overblown like so many bands who attempt a bit of keyboard noodling.

Coffinsplitter

There's pretty much nothing available online to prove these guys even exist. Pretty sure members of Clocked Out are involved, I've definitely seen them play a show together anyway. They were good. Get it together ya cunts.

Eagletomb

[ https://www.facebook.com/Eagletomb | stream 'Illiad' at Soundcloud ]
Edinburgh's Eagletomb play hypnotic doom. I'm pretty excited to get to see them play in a couple of weeks. Not much more to say than that, check them out if you like Sleep. Because who doesn't like Sleep?

Party Cannon

[ https://www.facebook.com/PartyCannonUK | http://partycannon.bandcamp.com/ ]
'Party Slam' from Dunfermline that basically sounds like the sort of thing you'd dance to at Obscene Extreme if you'd ingested the wrong cocktail of substances that day. Blastbeats and vodka and vocals that sound like hangover farts all in one band, how can you resist!?

Throne O Diablo

[ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Throne-o-Diablo/239517394648 | https://myspace.com/throneodiablo ]
Another band I saw supporting Black Breath a couple of years ago that I haven't really followed too closely, despite them being absolutely hilarious live. Are they meant to be? I don't know, but between the double-necked guitar and generally bizarre stage presence, I was laughing my arse off at them. But then I was also very very drunk.

Barshasketh

[ http://www.barshasketh.com/ | https://www.facebook.com/Barshasketh | http://barshasketh.bandcamp.com/ ]
Okay technically these guys hail from New Zealand, but seeing as they are currently based out of Edinburgh, they get included. Barshasketh play wintry black metal, so they should feel right at home up here in the Northern Hemisphere. Yes, I know NZ gets winter too, but I couldn't think of anything cleverer to say. Check them out if you like it frostbitten.

Achren

[ http://www.achren.com/ | https://www.facebook.com/achrenmetal | http://www.reverbnation.com/achren ]
Scotland's Achren produce a crushingly heavy and uncompromising brand of metal. Raw, razor sharp riffs; death metal growls; black metal screams and dark, brutally driving melody combine to create a unique and commandeering sound which has gained the name ‘Blood Metal.’