Nightfell - The Living Ever Mourn LP

Back in 2012 I was lucky enough to catch Aldebaran play a couple of times on their European tour with Noothgrush, and also to finally witness the impassioned fury of a Tragedy show. Both bands put out incredible albums that year, in Embracing The Lightless Depths and Darker Days Ahead respectively. Extrapolating the directions each album took, with Tragedy eschewing D-beat entirely in favour of a lower, slower approach, and Aldebaran taking their already abyssal sounds to even murkier depths, it's actually not that hard to see how Nightfell came to exist.

Even so, when master of mastering Brad Boatright first mentioned a project brewing between Aldebaran's Tim Call and Tragedy's Todd Burdette, I responded with some glib comment along the lines of "Funeral d-beat, eh? I'm in!". When many months later The Living Ever Mourn was released, any preconceptions I may have had were utterly obliterated by these 8 tracks of terror.

Despite the disparity between each member's other bands, this album is neither simply slow crust punk or fast funeral doom, taking its musical cues from neither doom the genre, nor Doom the band. What it does do is channel the mournful qualities and aggressive atmosphere present in all of Burdette and Call's previous output into something wholly unique, allowing each of them to operate outside the constraints of their other bands. The result is an album that is almost deliberately difficult to classify.

Opening track 'The Last Disease' begins with chiming guitars, before being joined by some downright bombastic drumwork from Call. When they settle into step, the riff is immediately recognisable as one of Burdette's; no-one else manages to infuse that much sadness into their anger, and express it through six strings and amplification. The double-kick rhythm and UGH-ed vocals set this apart as being a far more metal proposition than his usual work, but the synth interlude that leads into 'I Am Decay' doesn't allow things to settle into one particular mould. The track features everything from frenetic drums to funereal string bends, and since it never drops down to the extended torture of doom tempos or gears up to deliver sharp jabs of punk, the overall effect is more of an incessant pummeling.

'Empty Prayers' pushes the boundaries even further out, with Burdette's layered singing (yep, singing) giving the track an elegiac choral atmosphere. The sparse acoustic guitars that enter the fray from around the halfway point are even more unexpected, though they are but a momentary respite from the overwhelming hopelessness before a gigantic fuck-off pickslide and cacophonous clatter bring everything crashing back in.

The blackened buzzsaw tone of 'The Hollowing' is another total departure, demonstrating that if nothing else there's certainly something here for everyone, no matter what your preferred strain of metal. It never feels like they're stretching themselves thin, each track has such an individual identity, yet still feels part of a cohesive whole. Y'know, the way an album should do?

The next interlude is the seemingly obligatory 'move to Portland, start playing neo-folk' moment, but it's thankfully soon brushed aside by the hulking riffage of 'Altars To Wrath'. This is the only song on the album that I could actually picture coming from the players involved, so effectively does it combine their typical styles. The track becomes increasingly Frost-ian as it goes on, perfectly demonstrating just how influential Tom G Warrior's troupe were on every single fractured facet of metal.

Closing with 'Funeral Dirge', a galloping, triumphant number that belies its title, once again the cohesion of these eight seperate parts of a whole is reinforced. When the track fades out with martial drums and howling winds, I immediately want to play through the whole thing again, there are so many stand-out moments just begging to be heard. The Living Ever Mourn is a rare beast in modern times; not merely a collection of songs, but a fully-realised album.

You can still get a copy of this slab of excellence from Parasitic Records.

Nightfell on Bandcamp | Facebook 

This review originall appeared over at Echoes & Dust...

Monarch! - Sacrifice Your Parents, Satan Wants You To 7"

France's premiere doom exports Monarch! have been on my radar for a while now, but it wasn't until their appearance at the second edition of Bristol's Temples Festival that I became a convert to their terrifying take on drone doom.

Their incredible set had me slack-jawed in wonderment, and as soon as I got back home I immediately forked over all my leftover merch funds to start catching up on their discography. The latest release they put out is this nifty wee 7", featuring covers of The Runaways and The Misfits. The white ink screened cover illustrations for each side, by super-prolific artist Nagawika, are the perfect balance of gimmkvlt and hilarious.

Monarch!'s version of 'Cherry Bomb' takes the original's driving rhythm and coy rebellion and contorts it into a malevolent sacrificial dirge, all inhuman shrieks and howling feedback. Emilie Bresson's usually abstract vocals are far more direct here, so much so that the classic chorus lines are actually recognisable, albeit terrifyingly delivered.

I haven't been able to get this version of the song out of my head for weeks now. I'm okay with that.

Their take on 'Die Die My Darling' is even more unsettling, as they reduce the original's stabbing rhythm and b-movie organ jabs down to a funereal pace, punctuated by eerie piano and Bresson's breathy whisper. She sounds as if she's serenading her victim, the layers of "Don't cry to me, oh baby" build and build over mournful guitar, her detached delivery far creepier than Danzig's psychotic snarl in the original.

The sort of track you'd put on a mixtape to a lover if you wanted them to flee the country in fear.

As an introduction to the band, this doesn't really convey what Monarch! do best, which is mostly long-form funeral/drone doom, but taken as a fun little curiosity, this is one of the coolest things I've heard this year.

You can pick up this 7" as well as other excellent Monarch! records from France-based label MusicFearSatan.

Monarch! on Facebook | Twitter | Sabbracadaver / Mer Morte / Omens on Bandcamp

Open Tomb - Dead Weight LP

And now for something completely disgusting.

Distortion drags you down into a cavernous maw of rotting meat and butcher hooks. You get caught, but it's far from catchy. Ritualistic pounding signals your imminent demise. No rhyme, no reason, no rhythm. You cower, you wait, and with each crash you flinch. You discern the cries of others, and know that you are not alone. This is no comfort. You have subjected yourself to this, and there is no turning back.

You know these sounds; you were once able to name these instruments of torture... Instruments, yes, that clangs a bell, somewhere in the doldrums of your psyche...

These frantic attempts at recollection gnaw at the fringes of your consciousness. Pieces of your sanity crumble away like the ever-quickening erosion of the planet. You are fucked. You know this now. You hear the calliphoridae swarm. They swarm for you. You welcome them, for they signal the end.

You suffer, doomed, in an open tomb.

Dead Weight is available now from Dry Cough Records for a paltry sum. Enjoy.

Open Tomb on Facebook | Bandcamp

Interview: Thou

I had the opportunity to interview my favourite band of internet motherfuckers for Echoes & Dust.
We all got to use a lot of big words while discussing politics, boundary-pushing heavy music, Aubrey Beardsley, feminism, Dungeons And Dragons, systems of class-based oppression, playing Roadburn festival, and that long-awaited Fiona Apple tribute record.

I'm extremely proud to present my interview with Thou.

(((o))): Lyrically this album marks a progression in a theme that Bryan has mentioned in interviews before; examining the class system, the oppression of the many by the few, and those willing to break free, to escape that same oppression. Heathen is the first album to offer an actual alternative perspective on a way to live life: a focus on the sensual, the personal experience, and abandoning dense population centres in favour of a return to nature.

This is obviously a little more in the way of ‘food for thought’ than your typical doom release, are you okay with the perception of Thou as… maybe not a political band per se, but one with strong opinions about the world we live in? Are discussions and meditations on these topics something you hope to inspire in your listeners?

Andy: You’d likely get five different answers if we were all to answer that question. I think of us as a political band. I mean, we have some pretty blatantly political songs even if those songs don’t represent the totality of our politics. Really, in my opinion every band is political whether they are willing to acknowledge it or not. Life is political; we’re all caught up in the problems of this world. Every choice we make affects someone else.

Bryan: Yeah, “the personal is the political” and all that. I think if anything, getting folks to be critical of themselves, the world around them, and their place in it is a core theme throughout our music. That’s a big part of why so much our output—in the content of the songs and records, or the ephemera we release for tours—can oftentimes be so contradictory (anti-civilization/-technology slogans then pro-technology, utopian revisionist daydreams in the next breath) or self-deprecating. We’re five guys who butt heads a lot of times on our own politics, so musically, we love playing with different points of view, as opposed to proselytizing a set of commandments.

I mean, I’m glad that people tend to think of us as a “smarter” or more conscientious band or whatever—but we can also be total dingdongs just like everyone else. It’s not like we’re just sitting around reading Stirner and Blavatsky and not spending just as much time laying around playing Chrono Trigger or watching Netflix.



That's just a small snippet of what turned into one of the most extensive, illuminating interviews I've ever read with the band. You can read the full article over at Echoes & Dust...

Sterilizer - Sterilizer tape

Sterilizer is the soundtrack to the dystopian present the cyberpunks warned us was coming.

Sterilizer is the sound of Tetsuo's Metal Fetishist hacking a Model 101 Terminator into pieces for scrap parts.

Sterilizer is the sound of a desolate industrial planet populated entirely by mindless drones, who have long since abandoned communication for the numbing glow of the parlor walls.

In reality, Sterilizer is the latest musical outlet for Kansas City-based artist Brandon Duncan, who has been exploring both the audio and visuals of sci-fi and horror for a while now under the banner of Expiring Sun. This latest recording marries martial programmed rhythms to jagged shards of distortion, while stripping each song of anything that might identify them as recorded by an actual human being.

Opener 'Vasectomy's hyper-distorted chugging riff blasts out of the speakers with near decapitory power, interspersed with cymbal taps that clatter and clank like spent shell casings, while the glitches, whirrs and pneumatic hisses throughout the track further highlight the industrial edge to the material. It soon becomes obvious that the songs were written with plenty of space for vocal lines, however Duncan has declined to include the vocals in the finished mix. While I'd be very interested to hear that version of the album, the lack of vocals actually serves to heighten the inhuman, mechanised nature of the tracks.

There are no great deviations from this template throughout the rest of the recording, yet each song has its own identity and standout moment, such as the riff shutting down at the tail-end of 'Depopulator', the frantic, scrambling fretwork of '[Dis]content', and the ominous yet danceable processed beats on 'Domination'.

Everything about Sterilizer, from the songs, to their titles, to the visual identity, feels like a singularly dehumanised vision perfectly realised.

In the year 2014 AD... get yourself Sterilized!

Sterilizer on Bandcamp | Tumblr 

This review initially appeared at Echoes & Dust.

Fange - Poisse tape

Fange describe themselves as a 'dirty, massive & loud sludge experience', but this is nowhere near as many adjectives to do their music justice. I'd go with 'utterly putrified gargantuan ear-destroying sludge trauma'. Nope, that still doesn't quite cover it.

Formed by members of France's psychedelic fuzz-worshippers Brain Pyramid and Huata, Fange are a far nastier proposition than either. The sound on debut EP Poisse is what you can imagine would happen if Eyehategod pawned all their gear for, well, gear, and had to borrow Entombed's pedals, and were really fucking pissed off about the whole situation.

While the music was obviously what grabbed my attention, it was the presentation of the release that demanded a purchase. With some demented artwork courtesy of guitarist Benjamin Moreau (check out more of his work here), given the space such intricate lines deserve on a VHS-style cassette box, I couldn't wait to snap one up. It took a bit of distro trawling, but I managed to snag one via Throatruiner. So fucking worth it.

The CDs are just as well presented, and still readily available, but personally I'm a tape man.

Opening with 'Grêle Molle', the massive overblown guitar tone is immediately recognisable as the band's weapon of choice, the Boss HM2, which lends their riffs the kind of snarl often heard within the slower end of the heavy spectrum. The everything-in-the-red mix makes you work to pick out discernable details, but the immediate effect is so simultaneously crushing and catchy that you'll have no problem with flipping the tape over and over to pick 'em out.

'Cloches Fendues' rattles along with a ragged groove like a never-quite-healed scar, while 'Ammoniac' takes a more dynamic approach, switching tempo between a punked-up stomp and a sludgy crawl. There's no way to appropriately describe just how fucking hard these tracks hit, you really need to just hit play, stick your head between your speakers and prepare to bang it.

The sludge staples of feedback and samples that eventually become 'Suaire' give no indication of the true horror to be found in the track proper. If when things really begin to swing you're not thoroughly creeped out, then you probably had the sort of childhood that would make Francis Dolarhyde weep. After the mental-asylum-in-the-bowels-of-hell build-up to final track 'Lucifour', you'd be forgiven for fearing one last unlistenable noise assault designed to leave you truly traumatised, but the multitude of Wizard-worshipping riffs ensure Poisse ends on neck-wreckingly groovy high.

While there seems to be a new sludge band cropping up every day, very few of them possess the true spirit of the genre quite like Fange. Encrusted in filth, awash in feedback, full of hatred; this is music to seethe to.

Fange on Facebook | Bandcamp

Of Spire & Throne - Toll Of The Wound

Edinburgh's masters of misery Of Spire & Throne satisfy my craving for tectonic heaviness in a way few other bands can. Their devastating dirges have had me swaying perilously close to collapse the couple of times I've caught them live, and their latest release Toll Of The Wound captures their particularly intense strain of doom perfectly.

The disjointed martial rhythm of the opening track can scarcely prepare you for what's to come, as 'Legacy' erupts in a bludgeoning riff, soon joined by guitarist/vocalist Ali Lauder's subterranean, subhuman roar. The cumulative effect is genuinely disturbing, sending a shiver up your spine before crumbling it into dust, as the band alternate between short sharp shocks and guitar-strangling sludgier sections.

There's not a moment of relief to be found, and even the introductory percussive atmospherics of following track 'Tower Of Glass' will set you on edge, dreading what could be coming next with every cymbal tap. This sense of unease continues throughout, as the band never quite bring the track to any kind of conclusion, with Lauder and bassist Matt Davies seeming more content to meander malevolently around Graham Stewart's brilliantly restrained drumming. The looser structure of this track is no bad thing, but a comfortable listen it is not.

Sure to be one of the few releases this year truly worthy of the word crushing, this release is currently available on both CD and tape via the US-based Broken Limbs Records, with a vinyl release to follow soon. For UK folks, the band themselves have copies available via their bandcamp.

Check out my full unedited review of this release at Echoes & Dust...

Of Spire & Throne on Facebook | Bandcamp

Lizzard Wizzard - s/t tape

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Fleshpress - Tearing Skyholes

Finland's Fleshpress may take their name from a Grief song, but it's clear from the opening moments of 'Washer', the first track of their 8th release Tearing Skyholes, that this is a mere vestigial influence by this point.

During the opening minutes of this track they're more akin to mid-to-late period Earth, replete with bright, clean tones and glacial pace, but things soon take a turn for the harsher with an abrasive noise-rock rhythm and the addition of vocalist Marko's repellant bark.

The absolutely monumental closing track 'Each Eye Holes The Sky' begins with layers of corrosive guitar and pounding drums, increasingly building the tension of the track to the point where it becomes almost unbearable, the layers of guitar interweaving and overlapping before the track finally coalesces into a recognisable rhythm. Revolting, orc-like grunted vocals babble maliciously just beneath the surface, while the band seemingly abandon the momentum they spent so long building in favour of short guitar breaks with an almost western vibe.

This is another perfect example of what Fleshpress do so well on Tearing Skyholes; they establish a solid rhythmic base which they then use to veer off on wild exploratory tangents, without ever becoming convoluted or boring. Yes, there's a fair bit of fretboard fuckery, but never at the expense of interesting riffs. The track deteriorates further with each repetition until the riff is so distended and warped that it's barely recognisable from the track's beginnings, before dissipating into corrosive feedback, the equivalent of the slow death of rusting machinery.

Read my full review of this release over at Echoes And Dust...

Fleshpress on Facebook | Bandcamp

Servants Of The Mist - Suicide Sex Pact

With Suicide Sex Pact, Tampa’s Servants Of The Mist have released a half hour of devastating doom that’s just as fatal as its title.

First track 'Absence' opens with a slurred sample of creepy Christian classic ‘Jesus Loves Me‘, also recently used by dearly-departed UK doom fiends Ishmael on their track ‘Buried With Fingers Crossed’; whether it’s being sung by a children’s choir or a drunken depressive, the effect is just as chilling. Why do those weak enough to need the Christian crutch take comfort from lines like "Little ones to him belong – they are weak, but he is strong"?

I will never grasp the complicit surrender of self to a fictional character just to give people an excuse for their pathetic, weak-minded actions. That docile servitude, indoctrinated since birth as the sampled song proves, has been exploited to nefarious ends for millenia by now, and is still given free reign to continue. Baffling.

The sample draws to a close, replaced by the piercing feedback that has been a genre staple ever since a group of New Orleans miscreants first started to Hate God back in the late ’80s. Guttural growls over distortion and feedback is not a new formula by any means, but the Servants choke the life out of it regardless. What sets them apart is that they sound truly miserable, and by the time the track lumbers to an end you’ll have felt every damn ounce of their weight upon your shoulders. I think that depressive atmosphere is what attracts me to this particular strain of heavy; there’s no better soundtrack to wallowing in your bad decisions, and realising that life is a disappointment.

With this release, Servants Of The Mist may not be reinventing the wheel, but they do give it a few more screeching spins on its rusted axle. Highly recommended if you like your doom despondent, and your samples unsettling.

Read my full review of this release over at The Sleeping Shaman...

Gnaw - Horrible Chamber

New York extreme noise terrorists Gnaw feature such disparate luminaries as Khanate's Alan Dubin and acclaimed sound designer Jun Mizumachi, so when their debut recording This Face stuck sharp aural objects into everyone's ears a few years back, no-one was really too surprised at how unpleasant an experience it was. With their follow up album Horrible Chamber, released via Seventh Rule, they're back like a recurring nightmare.

Even if you think you know what to expect, nothing can prepare you for what lurks within...

Opener 'Humming' is comprised of some of the most unpleasant sounds imaginable; atonal piano, monolithic mechanical crashes, harsh industrial noise, and Alan Dubin's voice. Yes, that's the sort of company his piercing shriek deserves. His vocal style could loosely be described as the midnight rantings of an entire psychiatric ward filtered through a single acid-gargling larynx. It is not an enjoyable sound.

Even when they take things into more 'traditional' territory on 'Of Embers', there is still an abrasiveness that almost all modern heavy bands lack. Well, it's not that they lack it, it's just that Gnaw sound genuinely dangerous compared to the endless parade of staid metal bands fucking around in forests with makeup, or mistaking 'slow and unimaginative' for 'atmospheric'. When was the last time you feared for your life on a nature hike, or felt threatened by some stoner showing off how loud his Orange cabs are?

Gnaw are the sound of urban decay and the horrors wrought by humanity.

'Worm' writhes just as slimily as it's namesake, while 'Widowkeeper' is even more unsettling for the fact it is mostly whispers and noises so faint you'd swear they were audio hallucinations. Not for the first time you may question the toll this album is taking on your mental state. When almost halfway through the colossal cymbal crashes and buzz of distortion arrives, you'll be thankful just to be hearing anything you can define as 'definitely not my slowly crumbling psyche'.

The remainder of the track lurches wildly around like the heroin slaves on the 3am bus out of whatever dark city you live in. A pretty apt analogy, as just like in that scenario, you'll be drawing your knees up and cringing into your seat praying that the track doesn't notice that you're there.

When the sparse guitar introduces 'This Horrible Chamber', the fact it has something approaching tuneful quality is suspicious. Gnaw are lulling you into a final false sense of security, so you have time to brace yourself for whatever lurks within the chamber. The sense of unease builds and builds until it's almost unbearable. You'll beg before the end, to be put out of your misery, however, over the 12-minute running time, it feels like that misery is destined to be interminable. Howls and moans, dissonant creaks, ghostly echoes, feral feedback, all expelled with the intensity of grindcore, but far more punishing than that genre could ever hope to be.

Horrible Chamber is an experience I have no desire to repeat any time soon. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't.

Stalk these maniacs on Facebook, and visit Seventh Rule to pick up a copy of the album.

This review originally appeared at Echoes And Dust, head over there to read the full unedited version...

Noothgrush / Coffins split LP

This review originally appeared on Echoes And Dust.

When I caught both Noothgrush and Coffins at the inaugural Heavy Days In Doom Town fest in Copenhagen last year, I almost couldn't believe what I was witnessing. Given that Oakland's Noothgrush had been split up for more than a decade, and that Tokyo's Coffins were from, well, Tokyo, I felt especially lucky just to have gotten the chance to see each of them. I never thought it would happen. That both bands completely decimated the crowd with their respective sets was tantamount to their sheer crushing weight; the power of the riff is constrained by neither time nor distance.

When I got talking to Noothgrush guitarist Russ Kent a few days later before their show in Hamburg, he mentioned that Uchino from Coffins had suggested the idea of both bands embarking on a Japanese tour together.

That was 18 months ago, and only now are both that tour and the resultant split record happening. I guess taking things agonisingly slow isn't something that only applies to their music.

Noothgrush don't fuck around on their side, their first track 'Humandemic' immediately capturing the sound of Sabbath's Paranoid record, with Russ' SG-through-a-Laney tone complimenting Chiyo Nukaga's trademark gigantic cymbal crashes perfectly. So well do they emulate the doomed vibe of their musical forefathers, that when Dino Sommese (you know, of Dystopia, Asunder, Ghoul, every other fucking band) spews his bile-scorched vocals over everything, it almost seems like a shame to pollute the pure '70s atmosphere. That is until you remember that this is the return of Noothgrush, one of the most disgusting, and disgusted, sludge bands to have been dragged into existence in the '90s. They were just as angry about the era they were living in then, and Dino's hateful howl reminds you that rage has not dimmed one iota; this is miserable music for miserable times.

Their second contribution to the record is a re-recording of their classic track 'Jundland Wastes', which has been floating around in various recorded forms ever since their 1995 Kashyyyk demo. The quality of this recording, even the clarity of the sample playing throughout the intro, is sure to cement this as the definitive version. The mid-track lull allows Gary Niederhoff's malevolently crawling bass to detach from the main riff for a couple of bars, before everything coalesces again and the band drag themselves through the eponymous wastes towards the end of the track. Never mind Tusken Raiders; Noothgrush are the scariest thing to ever inhabit the deserts of Tattooine.

They close out their side with the 9-minute 'Thoth', a tribute to beloved Bay Area DJ Cy Thoth, who passed away this year. Beginning with looped samples of Thoth himself before Chiyo's drums herald the arrival of a monstrous riff, it's classic Noothgrush, even down to Russ' full-fretboard pickscrapes.

The track meanders madly, with further samples of Cy Thoth thrown in throughout, Dino's absolutely ferocious vocals providing sharp contrast to his spoken word psychedelic ramblings.

When the track, and Noothgrush's side, ends with a recording of a laughing Thoth warning everyone to "watch out for cannibal attacks! Everyone is suspect!", it's clear even to those unaware of his work that he was a true original who will be much missed by his community. Thankfully, the heavy music community can welcome one of it's own true originals back to the fold.

It's good to have you back, Noothgrush.

I'll admit it, compared to new Noothgrush material, anything else was going to pale in comparison, but thankfully they share this split with one of my favourite bands of recent years. Given that Coffins have actually covered Noothgrush in the past, on their excellent tribute EP Sewage Sludgecore Treatment, they know exactly how much grime they need to apply to their already putrid death-doom. The first track of their side, 'Drown In Revelation', is able to match the other side for both filth and fury.

Slowly fading in, the ominous approach of the drums soon joined by prowling bass, while the feedback builds and builds, until with an "UGH!" they launch into one of those deadly riffs that Uchino seems to have an endless supply of in his arsenal. Given that this is something like their eighth release in just the last couple of years, they manage to maintain a ridiculously high quality level with all their recordings, with their recent full-length The Fleshland already being one of my favourite releases this year. Around two-thirds of the way through the track, the band kick things up a gear into full-on death-doom mode, the lurching, stuttering riff backed up with punishing double-kick drums, before slowing everything down to a doomed crawl. When they return to that monstrous main riff again, if you're not in full-on headbanging-and-invisible-oranges mode, there's something wrong with you.

'The Wretched Path' continues in that same vile vein, with the influence of Celtic Frost clearly heard in the faster passages of this track. I never though I'd say this, but this track near enough fucking bounces along at points, it's so uptempo. However, don't mistake that for upbeat, I'm sure that whatever Uchino is growling here, the words themselves are foul enough to offset any remotely 'good time' vibe.

I may be biased as I have been eagerly awaiting the release of this record ever since I learned that it might one day become even a possibility, but the half hour of misanthropic sludge and deadly doom on offer across both sides of this LP confirm that it's one of the heaviest releases to be unleashed this year. Ignore at your peril, and prepare to abandon all hope.

You can stream, and buy both digital and vinyl versions of this split via Southern Lord.

IRN - S/T tape

Self-proclaimed 'sewer doom' Toronto three-piece IRN have spewed forth one of the most disturbing and disjointed releases you're likely to hear this year. Taking their cue from their filthy forefathers in bands such as Grief, Dystopia and Corrupted, they meld these influences to create a bile-fuelled slab of uneasy listening that is unflinching in its aural assault.

The downright intimidating opener 'Adrift Between Burned Out Villages' is an almost 18 minute exercise in separating the wheat from the chaff; if you can survive this track, you can survive anything. Not content to stick to any traditional formula or structure, the track becomes a relentless trawl through every dark recess of heavy music, spanning everything from eerie atonal passages, chiming notes of post-rock prettiness, the clatter and clang of experimental noise, scrambled squeal of guitar torture and even the injection of some almost jazz-like percussive elements and rhythms, all the while maintaining a distinct undercurrent of menace.
Like I say, formulaic they are not.

If you fancy surrendering your mind to the twisted, decrepit sounds found within this album, pick up a tape from Breathe Plastic as soon as you dare.

Read my full review of this tape over at Echoes And Dust...

Black Tusk / Fight Amp / Dune - Ivory Blacks, Glasgow

It's been a few weeks since I've had the funds to attend a gig, and there's been a bit of a drought of good shows of late, so when I heard Black Tusk were coming to town there was no fucking way I was gonna miss them.

It's been a couple of years since I last saw them play the same venue with Howl to a largely uninterested and static crowd, but having seen them inspire chaos in the jam-packed smallest room at Roadburn last year, and inspire my own drunken chaos when I saw them a few months later in Prague, I hoped that Glasgow's rowdy stoner contingent would give those shows a run for their money.

While it was a bit livelier than last time, the crowd still didn't seem to wake up until the last few songs of the night, apart from those old dicks that insist on push-moshing at every show you see them at. Gie it a rest guys, eh?

First on the bill were Edinburgh's Dune. Having previously seen them supporting no less than Eyehategod, I was looking forward to their complex but catchy progressive sludge. For such a recently formed band, they bang through their set with a confidence even many seasoned road dogs lack, guitarist Victor's fleet-fingered solos intertwining with the relentless rhythm laid down by the rest of the band.

With vocal duties split between everyone but drummer Dudley, set highlights like 'When Planets Die' and the tri-vocal attack of 'Red Giant' have a variety lacking in so much modern sludge, and in a live setting you don't know who to keep your eye on, but Dudley's unbridled enthusiasm for hitting things really hard is a lot of fun to watch.

With their forthcoming album Progenitor due out in a matter of weeks, Dune are ones to watch. Keep your eyes to the stars. Or just Edinburgh.

Unfortunately that gives fellow locals Aye-Aye a hard act to follow, and their set of languid stoner grooves fails to keep the momentum going. It's through no fault of their own, they're just up against some of the most energetic, adrenaline-fuelled bands going today. Though they did come "all the way from Madagascar" to play, complete with bringing along some eerily accurate jungle sounds and some extra bongo work courtesy of Q-Ball from Bacchus Baracus / Co-Exist / Every Other Bloody Band In Scotland, and I'm definitely looking forward to checking them out on a bill where they're not quite so conspicuous.

Someone put them on with Skeleton Gong and Isak and I'm there!

Philadelphia/New Jersey's Fight Amp ramp the energy level back up with a set of tightly-wound, noise-tinged hardcore, tracks like the frenetic 'Lungs' from their debut Hungry For Nothing and 'Bad Listener' from their second record, sitting alongside cuts from their latest album, Birth Control. Before seeing them play I wasn't too familiar with them, but their aggressive, abrasive twisting of various Karp-isms has got me trawling their discography. Lovely stuff.

I've already mentioned the frenzy-whipping capabilities of Savannah's Black Tusk, but it bears repeating; if you've never seen this band live, you're fucking up. As much as I like their recorded stuff, I never get the urge to just throw on some Taste The Sin at home, because I'd fear for my furniture if I got too into it. The live setting is where this band really proves their worth, tracks like 'Bring Me Darkness' and 'The Ride' demonstrating the band's sheer unabashed love of playing, as well as just how goddamn tight they are. Guitarist Andrew and bassist Jonathan throw their guitars (and themselves) around with reckless abandon, while drummer James cements his reputation as one of the hardest hitters I've ever seen play, and none of them ever miss a beat. Mental.

For my first foray back into gig-going that'll continue with fellow Savannah... Savannans... Savannah-ites...? Anyway, I'm seeing Baroness in a couple of weeks, so don't sleep Glasgow, get out to the gig, and make it worthwhile for touring bands to venture north of the border!

All photos by Steff Vogeler.

Uzala - Tales Of Blood & Fire

Tales Of Blood & Fire, the sophomore album by Boise/Portland doom-mongers Uzala is a very different beast from their self-titled debut.

As well as a change of line-up, with bassist Nick Phit departing to focus on the reunited Graves At Sea, and drummer Chuck Watkins leaving Graves At Sea to focus on Uzala, the band simply sounds far more confident having been road-tested on a couple of US tours.

Opening track 'Seven Veils' exhibits this growth immediately, the growing growl of distortion enveloping the listener, as clean guitar wavers and winds its way through the fuzz. When guitarist/vocalist Darcy Nutt's voice arrives, its with a new-found command, the strength of her hypnotic croon putting Uzala far ahead of the pack in the increasingly crowded 'female-fronted occult doom' genre. 

Final track 'Tenement Of The Lost' is a concise distillation of all the elements that make Tales Of Blood & Fire so compelling; haunting vocals over fuzzed-out riffs and hard-hitting percussion. What more could you ask for from one of the best doom albums released this year?

Tales Of Blood & Fire will be released as a deluxe vinyl package available through King of the Monsters 

As well as a limited edition cassette version available from Gypsy Blood Records

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

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...

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...

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.

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.’