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Little Albert – Swamp King

17/2/2020

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blues / doom
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There are music genres that hardly go together at first glance because of the stereotypes in one’s head. Blues and grunge are a good example – the mental image of angry young men screaming their hearts and lungs out into the Pacific Northwestern air in the early 90s doesn’t overlap with the (mostly) African American blues player from Chicago who already performs for 40 years or more. At second glance there is a deeper connection than expected as both genres share a “love” for the broken characters, the inner struggles, the anger, the despair of trying to “find a way out of” or “an access to” relationships. Schematically, there are some similarities too, because of the structure of regular grunge songs often following blues blueprints. 

One bigger difference is usually the sound-scape, for the distortion, that makes an integral part of a lot of grunge songs, doesn’t really work well with blues songs. This discrepancy is now bridged by Alberto Piccolo who normally serves as the guitarist for Italian doomy post-metallers Messa whose last regular album “Feast of Water” received lots of appraisal. Under the moniker Little Albert, he will release “Swamp King”, his version of blues which still is two feet deep in Piccolo’s regular doom-mud. Although the structures are clearly bluesy, the tuning, the reverb and the sound of Piccolo’s guitar form the connection to grunge, and we often see Tad, Jerry or Stone lurking around the corner trying to see how the Italian does it. All of this makes for a kind of doom that one does not encounter too often: great guitar motifs like the beginning of “Outside Woman Blues” turn into good rockers; slow building blues bits add up to slo-mo blues which, of course, is very similar to the arrangement of doom songs (just listen to the slightly punkish “Mary Claire”); the reverb of blues solos is elongated then turning into doom, noticeable in “Bridge of Sighs”. 

With a little bit experimentation and the incorporation of some unique instruments (like the unusual saxophone which makes Messa so unique) the next record will be an absolute smasher to get parties going; “Swamp King” is more like the record you put on shortly after 3 or 4 am, when the party is over but there are still the music fanatics who don’t want to go home, who still need to talk, who could use a new fix. And a good fix it is!


Thorsten

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The Ivory Elephant - Stoneface

30/9/2019

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blues / psychedelic rock
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Stoneface is an album released in the end of July, by Australian blues rock group The Ivory Elephant. A very intriguing album, with dispersive and highly diluted guitar lines, that fly over the extensive sensibilities of its vaguely digressive harmonies, the work displays an overtly dense and horizontal placidity, while at the same time the imperiously somber dynamic strength of its cohesive sound gracefully externalizes in the tissue of its imponderable and vast serenity the ostensibly lucid vividness of its circumspect nature. So, while the transparent elements of its astounding energy fluctuates above the abrasive restlessness of its own atmosphere, the general musicality of the group conceives a versatile style, whose sound transpires vitality and authenticity. 

Forty-seven minutes long, the record has ten tracks: 1) Storm; 2) Maybe I'm Evil; 3) Wars; 4) Roll On; 5) Jazzhead pt I; 6) Low Expectation; 7) Stoneface Jamboree; 8) Stoneface; 9) Hard Case; 10) Jazzhead pt II; with solid and amazingly authorial guitar lines, that conceives a sonorous paradise where the soul can rest indefinitely in a sweet cosmogony of surrealist expansive splendor, the music of The Ivory Elephant revitalizes the best elements of modern blues rock, and gives them a more dynamic and introspective outlook, sometimes disrupting the harmonies into an almost minimalist rapturous contrivance.

Despite the lethargy that the melodies can inspire — as a consequence of its stylish features that conceives the superiority of supreme calmness —, the sound displayed in Stoneface is marvelously original, tremendously elegant and exceedingly sensible. The band not only manages to successfully create a discreet, but concomitantly extraordinary work of art, it also becomes necessary to expose the gracefully organic temperance of its dilated and effusive sonorous stability.

While the sound of the band can appear to be a little homogeneous at times, The Ivory Elephant manages to successfully make each track to be a glorious surprise, since each of them has an identity of its own, while at the same time the band is coherent and keeps loyal to its marvelously beautiful and sagaciously unique style. Despite the fact that the entire album is wonderfully good, splendid tracks like the epic Stoneface — almost eight minutes long — and the more retro styled Hard Case deserves to be highlighted. A virtuous and proficient work of art that reveals the formidable potential of a very promising band, Stoneface can certainly be qualified as a majestic album. Undoubtedly, blues rock enthusiasts are gonna celebrate this spectacular achievement, whose expressively genuine musical patterns anticipates further developments for the genre. 


​Wagner

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Andrew Rothschild - Transitions

3/7/2018

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alternative / dreampop / folk / blues
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Transitions is an album by American musician Andrew Rothschild, released on June 22. Almost sixty five minutes long, the record has fourteen tracks: Nu, Get Up, Acceptance, Growth, Routine, Suwanee, Roots, Devil Behind Your Smile, Memories, Home, Fall, Crimson, Natural and Encore. Working dedicatedly in the development of a genre he defines as bluestronica – which is the combination of blues music’s graceful intricacies with electronic music devices – Rothschild is a primordially intuitive, sagacious and innovative musician, that has no fear diving deeply on underground and genuine methodical experimentalism. With melodies that works vividly fantastic and exponentially fragmented sonorous intonations within a wider melodic diagram, Transitions can be described initially as a calm, serene and relaxing album, although rapidly becomes much more than that. The horizon of a new musical sensibility that integrates into the apparent simplicity of its content projects the expansion of a rational, sensational and lucid authorial work, that filters on the antagonism of its paradoxical tenacity the beautiful and elevating disposition of a vivacious style of music, that impresses for its formidable level of creativity, flexibility and audacity. Transitions is a majestic masterpiece, and this becomes evident already on the first few songs of the album.   

With an energetic, irreplaceable and synergic punctuating premise that wonders throughout the ambivalence of its own passionate sonorous dissidence, the eloquence, the profoundness, the vitality, the consistence and the originality of Andrew Rothschild’s music is beyond ordinary categorizations. With a polyvalent degree of artistry that combines different elements from several apparently disparate genres, the artist deliberates gracefully over the harmonies of its own musical emancipation, creating a totally different and surprisingly original sensorial treasure of sonorous possibilities.  

Generally departing from the educated elegance of lounge music, the sound of Andrew Rothschild incorporates elements of folk, trip hop, world fusion and electronica – amongst other genres –, in such a personal way, that you can almost say he invented his own peculiar style of music. Fearlessly innovating and bravely intense, the sensibility, the versatility and the authenticity present on this album will make you feel your life as a projected conscious dream.

The sixth track – Suwanee, possibly my favorite – is simply a wonderful journey throughout a different form of sensibility. In fact, each and every song on this album is a monumental flavor for the soul, a sentimental gift of nature exposed over a silent universe that echoes endlessly inside the most fundamental principles of a sincere conscience. But, strictly speaking, no words or written evaluation could do justice to this marvelously aggrandizing and excellent state of the art work. You just have to listen by yourself. You will be thrilled, be sure about that. 


Wagner

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The Moonshine Brand - On The Waves Of Time

3/7/2018

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psychedelic / blues / rock
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On The Waves Of Time is an album released on June 22, by German Psychedelic rock group The Moonshine Brand. Forty four minutes long, the record has eight tracks: Menace To Society, Free Your Mind, Humble Queen, Surfing Through Space, Delusion, Acquainted Blues, Wasted With You (No Time For The Blues) and Daughter Of The Moon. A typical work done within the basic premises of the genre, On The Waves Of Time is a moderately good work. While you can’t expect anything sensational or especially relevant, it’s impossible to deny the astounding and sincere qualities the album amazingly displays, in a genuine atmosphere of positive and deliberately restrained acid rock vibe, and the intelligent, impressive disposition of melodies, adequately positioned at the epicenter of a harmonious layer of direct and immaculate devotion to the genre.

With a sagacious level of originality, that accurately displays a flexible sensibility and a gracious level of creativity, despite its overwhelming simplicity, On The Waves Of Time is a lucid and gracefully designed work of art, that lives by the precious honesty – and the inherent limitations – of the genre. With mostly calm and serene melodies, the songs generally delivers on the ostensibly gracious and unforgettable demise of its rhythmic dissolutions the sagacity and the resignation of its renegade, but wonderfully pure style. 

While you can’t expect anything too authentic or rapturous, undoubtedly, On The Waves Of Time is a very satisfactory record. As a matter of fact, if you maintain your expectations on the right level, you can have quite a good time listening to it. The work do represent with major competence the genre, and The Moonshine Brand vibrantly displays a decent degree of originality, despite some restrictions, and the tremendous – and quite natural – amount of influence they absorbed from their predecessors. 

For avid enthusiasts of the genre, On The Waves Of Time can be quite enjoyable.  If you are passionate for the genre, this certainly helps. The album definitely has strong merits – in fact, more merits than deficiencies –, although the uniformity and the excessive calmness of the melodies do produce a tiresome sense of monotony after a while, that can be quite hard to deal with. Nevertheless, the record is very good, although I think that in the proper place or situation – like a party or if you’re preparing to go to a party, or in a car driving randomly accompanied by friends listening out loud in a Saturday night – the work does a lot better than listening to it all alone by yourself.  


Wagner

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Brieviews 44

30/5/2018

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An Evening With Knives - Serrated

post-metal / doom / alternative rock
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"Dutch three-piece band jumps on post-metal bandwagon", that would be the most negative way to describe this album by An Evening With Knives. But that would also be a bit lazy. I mean, everything Tool and Amenra inspired is popular these days and thus many musicians give it a shot. In this case, the result is an interesting set of songs, slow, doomy, fuzzy, somewhat psychedelic and bloody intense. I'm sure that fans of the aforementioned bands will appreciate these guys, even though I think they yet have to reach their best possible sound. An interesting future might lay ahead for them.

Autger - God Kissing Carrion​

dark jazz / ambient / experimental / trip hop
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Russian one man act Autger returns with a new full-length, a personal story based on Dante's 'Inferno'. With a captivating mix of dark jazz, trip hop and what feels like ritual dark ambient, this album is something quite unique within the dark jazz world. The music here seems to come from a completely different dimension, even though that old "sax player under a bridge" atmosphere is still present. My advice? I urge everyone who is into strange, unusual and mostly electronic music to give this a shot. I bet you have never heard anything like this before. This definitely nudges the bizarre, and that's a good thing.
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Lamirāl - This EP Has No Name And It's Alright

hardcore
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Right, time for extremities, courtesy of Belgian hardcore combo Lamirāl. On this EP, they catapult six heavy rocking hardcore tunes to your face, stuffed with broken glass, needles, sulphuric acid and bile. The overall tempo is suffocating, the riffs feel like sounds from behind the gates of hell and if that vocalist stands in front of you, you have exactly six seconds left to live. So if you want your miserable life crushed by the sheer intensity of music, this EP is an absolute must have. This is about as intense as a concrete boot to the teeth...

Gray Dog - The Deal

acoustic blues
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Now I need something to calm down and relax a bit. This five track EP by Belarus/Poland duo Gray Dog. Their music is a mix of blues and southern rock, brought to you in a minimal, acoustic setting. The result is an interesting late night bonfire soundtrack, best to be consumed with a cold beer. By the way, the fact that this is acoustic music doesn't mean that it lacks power. 'Why Did You Fuck Me And Leave?", for example is a damn heavy tune. Fans of everything between Muddy Waters, Johnny Cash and Pearl Jam can easily appreciate this. My favorite? 'The Pray Of Hangover'.
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Paulie Jan - Yukio (A Brief Sonic Evocation)

dark ambient / noise
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Composed as a tribute to Japanese writer Y. Mishima, 'Yukio (A Brief Sonic Evocation)' by French act Paulie Jan is a gloomy, haunting and often remorseless dark ambient release. These are deep sonic introspections, arranged by eerie soundscapes, deep but slow beats and a fearsome atmosphere. At first, I found it hard to get into this music but gradually the whole thing grew on me like only the best dark ambient anthems actually do. Now I can't get enough of these noisy skincrawlers. My favorite remains opener 'Kimitake' with title track 'Yukio' being a brilliant second. Recommended stuff!!!

Lachrymose - The Unseen

doom / occult metal
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Hailing from Greece, Lachrymose delivers an occult driven version of female fronted melodic doom metal. With influences from bands like Moonspell, Paradise Lost and Avatarium, these Greeks dwell in a dark and almost operatic region of the doom metal scene. Besides, 'This Sickness' rocks like hell and is a definite fan favorite. In all, this might best be compared to a heavy metal version of Inkubus Sukkubus or a female fronted version of Lacrimosa perhaps. All I know is that this is pretty interesting, mainly because it isn't overwhelmed with bombastic symphonic elements. This is raw gothic doom!
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Disowning - Battle of Neverness

death metal
Xenocorp
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I don't often pick out death metal albums to review so when I do something special must be going on. On this EP by French combo Disowning I'm extremely impressed by the old school sound and the by the vocals. I hear elements from some of my favorite bands from back in the day, including Suffocation, Dying Fetus and Carcass, but mostly I hear those awesome growls over a punishing array of drums and riffs. Opener and title track 'Battle Of Neverness is a massive kick in the cojones and my personal favorite 'Inner Emptiness' doubles the torment. So, old school death metallers, I think you need this.

Gravecoven - Coughing Blood

black metal / doom / death metal
Gods Ov War
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Some more vicious torment comes from Californian duo Gravecoven and their aptly titled EP 'Coughing Blood'. On this EP you will find four eerie and fearsome blackened death/doom metal tracks, mostly coming at high speeds and with a gruesome atmosphere. Personally, I would categorize this under black metal, especially the chaotic, occult driven version. I mean, with songs like 'Furious Fires' and 'The Ecstasy Of Hatred' leading the way, the path is one of total annihilation and utter destruction. So yeah, this is a massive, chaotic and punishing EP that deserves a place in every extreme collection.
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Vandal Moon - Wild Insane 

post punk / synth pop
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Also hailing from California but residing in a whole different musical universe is synthpop duo Vandal Moon. If you love acts like The Human League, Modern English or the synth pop escapades by The Cure, you have to check out this album. Eighties synths, romantic themes and a new wave breathing guitar, everything you love about the gloomy eighties dancefloors is here. My personal favorite is 'Computer Love' but I'm sure that every old goth, new waver and synthpop adept can easily add this album to his collection. This truly is as close as it gets and comes highly recommended for blackdressers

Sense Fracture - In My Escape I look For A Weapon

breakcore / industrial
Haunter Records
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Still completely electronic but from a copletely different level comes this little gem. Haunter Records co- founder, DJ, producer and writer Francesco Birsa Alessandri delivers a mindblowing EP in which "unpredictability" is a keyword. With harsh electronic beats, uncategorizable noises and eerie samples Sense Fracture creates a unique sonic universe, inspired by dark ambient, industrial, noise and breakcore. The five tracks on this 12" are relentless, harsh and abrasive. They remind me of something between Author & Punisher and Bong-Ra. Recommended? Only if you get stand musical insanity.
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Richard James Simpson - Sweet Birds Of Youth

alternative rock / blues
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... or dare we call them the bitter-sweet birds of youth? On his debut album, a compilation of older and more recent work, American guitarist and singer Richard James Simpson collaborates with friends (Joey Burns, Dustin Boyer and Theo Welch). He kicks the listener back in time to their wonder years, where one day you feel like an adult in a child's body and the other day things are vice versa. The variety in musical styles reflects this unsteady period; the majority of the songs has a stingy bluesrock feel but there's also a fantastic shoegaze track, some haunting dark ambient, some post-neofolk, experimentality in the 
style of Tool and quite a bit of grunge - vocals that remind of Cobain included. So go buy this one if you appreciate something that refuses to fit into one box.

Nhung Nguyen – Oblivion

ambient / experimental
Pany Rosas Discos
And we finish this edition of brieviews with a one-track EP by experimentalist Nhung Nguyen. In this twelve minutes lasting track, Nhung Nguyen explores everything from ambient soundscapes and loops over field recordings and found objects to weird electronics and noise. Needless to say then perhaps, but this composition is a complex and mesmerizing sonic journey. Don't expect sweet and comforting ambient, much like the real world, this track is full of grittiness and strange elements. So, this comes highly recommended but only for seasoned ambient experimentalists. 
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Spiral Skies - Blues for a Dying Planet

23/5/2018

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blues / stoner rock
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Blues for a Dying Planet is an album by Swedish blues rock/ stoner rock group Spiral Skies, released on May 18. A little more than thirty-eight minutes long, the record has nine tracks: Black Hole Waltz, Awakening, Dark side of the Cross, The Wizard's Ball, Danse Macabre, Labyrinth of the Mind, Shattered Hopes, Left Is Right And Right Is Left Behind and The Prisoner. An extremely powerful and impressive album, with amazingly catchy and sensitive melodies – exceedingly reminiscent of more traditional rock’n’roll –, the style of Spiral Skies is simple and clean, but energetic, creative, dense and highly original. Certainly, a masterful artistry that intelligently combines in a lucid panorama a wide understanding of peculiar sonorous perceptions, Blues for a Dying Planet sounds an instant classic from the very first moments, with its genuine and marvelous style, that feels as excruciatingly explosive as well as moderately restrained at the same time. 

With strident guitar lines that summarizes with perfection the accordance of its melodic rites, the album generally follows a very simple musical line, but with such an artistic grandiosity, that instantly surprises the listener. With constrained, but at the same time expansive harmonies, that obeys the sensible insinuations of its own creative impositions, Blues for a Dying Planet sounds like a universal symphony of innocent amazement, that softly revolves itself directly from the heart of the listener, at the onset of its own gracious illusive paradigms.

With a captivating beauty that invites the listener to comprehend the nature of its placid and provocative, but sincere motivations, the album certainly distinguishes itself by the simple, but profound elegance of its formidably dilapidated sonorous shape, that is abundantly charming, but without displaying any excesses, and gracefully sophisticated, but without renouncing the ventures of a refined simplicity, which makes this work a reasonable candidate for masterpiece of the year.  

Amazingly simple and pure, but creatively inspiring and fulfilling, Blues for a Dying Planet is a sagacious and vivacious work, that is ready to enchant absolutely all enthusiasts of the genre, whenever and wherever this formidably consecrated album is heard. 


Wagner

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Brieviews 43

21/5/2018

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White Hills & Der Blutharsch And The Infinite Church Of The Leading Hand - Desire

krautrock / psychedelic 
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White Hills
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Here is an interesting cooperation to kick off this edition of Brieviews. Two interesting psychedelic music acts got together for a jam session and created this immersive summer meditation, a five track trip towards the gloomy site of the psychedelic sixties. I like the level of variation that this cooperation has generated. There is blues, shoegaze and - naturally - a big dose of psychedelic krautrock, all combined into songs that make every post-goth and neo-hippy happy. My favorite is 'Desire' but I'm sure that all of these tunes will end up in my day-to-day playlist. I suggest you do the same.

Der Blutharsch And The Infinite Church Of The Leading Hand & Derniere Volonté

psychedelic rock / krautrock / neo folk
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Derniere Volonte
Or how about this collaboration. Once upon a time, these two acts were genre-colleagues but gradually their sounds moved away from one-another. However, together they have recently released something pleasantly surprising. On this EP, they come up with four lo-fi songs, once again borrowing elements from krautrock, shoegaze and vintage electronica. This stuff immediately brought a big smile to my face, not because it's joyous music but because I am listening to pure and authentic jamming fun. '​L`Arc En Ciel' even flirts with synthpop, absolute brilliance. Recommended? Utterly!
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Pink Cocoon - Alienation

doom / blues
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We're not done psyching-out yet, we're just gonna add some doom blues to the mix, courtesy of Canadian trio Pink Cocoon. On the cover you can see a man worshiping an amp and that should tell you everything you need to know about this demo. The EP contains six songs, all hypnotic examples of heavy psychedelic music, complete with mind altering guitar solos, feedback, groovy riffs and trance inducing drum work. Pink Cocoon will get you levitating on massively immersive doom blues, there is absolutely no doubt about that. Fuck, I love this. This is going on repeat for a while and I'll do the rest later...

JK Flesh – Wasplike

techno
Inner Surface
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There's no denying that Justin K Broadrick has had a massive influence on the world of music. Napalm Death, Godflesh, Jesu... They're classics in their respective genres. And then there was also Techno Animal and JK Flesh, Broadrick's dancefloor invitations. Well, with this 'Wasplike' EP, he no longer invites you, he drags you by the neck and lets the distorted beats punish you to extacy. This four track EP is a wild techno adventure, fueled with noise and drones but mostly pumping harsh and abrasive, especially in 'Mindprison'. So you have been warned, this thing will get you shaking your lazy ass...
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Moloch - The Other Side

electronic / darkwave
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Do you ever wonder what the next retro craze will be? We've had stoner rock revivals, psychedelic revivals, even new beat seems to be coming back. But as far as I'm concerned the next big craze is eighties horror soundtracks like this EP from Polish electronic act Moloch. Imagine the Knight Rider theme taking a dark turn and you'll get close to what this act delivers. Personally, I can 't get enough of this. If you are a sucker for eighties synths or old school EBM, you will absolutely adore this, I promise you. I also urge you to check out 'The Vatican Cellars', which brings you more of the same awesomeness. I'm a fan now...

Burning House - Tracer​

shoegaze
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This EP by British shoegazers Burning House is either an application for or a tribute to the legendary 4AD label. Just look at that cover and tell me it doesn't remind you of Dead Can Dance or Cocteau Twins? Musically, this brings everything that you used to love about shoegaze and dreampop into today's alternative rock scene. In four fantastic and intense tracks, this trio delivers pure reverb galore, complete with the high-octane drums and introvert vocals. The Jesus and Mary Chain often comes to mind and so does A Place To Bury Strangers. So yeah, this comes highly recommended...
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Eye of the Destroyer - Violent By Design

death metal
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To be released in the beginning of June, this two-track single by New Jersey death metal act Eye Of The Destroyer is the follow up to their full-length 'Starved and Hanging', released earlier this year. What I like about this EP is that it's not about speed. The two tracks here are slow. However, what they lack in tempo, they definitely make up in brutality. Although short, only three minutes long each, these monstrosities will undoubtedly get you headbanging and making weird hand gestures towards the sky. My personal favorite is the title track but rest assured, both these tunes will fuck you up hard...

Alexandre Navarro - Imaginations

ambient / downtempo / post rock
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An interesting and original EP by French guitarist/soundscapist Alexandre Navarro, 'Imagination' brings me some much welcome chill-out tunes. I think this guy has been listening to Plaid and Boards Of Canada a lot, something I can only applaud, obviously. On these five tracks, I hear something similar; downtempo electronic music, calm and soothing but not too goody-goody. The level of variation is perfect, aided of course by a range of sounds and instruments. This really is nice stuff, stuff that makes me curious about future musical escapades by mister Navarro...
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Valyria - Into the Dying of Time

death metal / power metal
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Back to the heavies, this time with Canadian power death metalers Valyria and their latest EP. What to expect? Well, imagine the blend of everything in the history of melodic death metal since Children Of Bodom, Evergrey and Nevermore. The EP opens with an intro which leads way for a massive array of flashing guitars, pounding drums and a combination of power metal vocals and death growls. I guess it's needless to say that the bombast and energy blasts from the speakers and that the whole thing is a mesmerizing whirlpool of extreme metal galore. If you like your metal bombasic as fuck, you need this...

Anthony - Get Over U

americana / alternative rock / indie
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On a somewhat calmer side of the musical spectrum we find Anthony, of Ceremony fame, and his four track EP 'Get Over U'. This might be one of the poppiest, cheesiest and most bittersweet things I have ever reviewed for this website. The songs here are lo-fi indie tunes about love and heartache, inspired by acoustic rock and post-punk. Somehow the Lemonheads and Blind Melon come to mind but also flashes of Pixies, Beatles and the entire jangling-guitar scene in England. Closer 'I Hope I Never See You Face' is my personal favorite here, and certainly a message towards some people...
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Eyes on the Machine - Eyes on the Machine

stoner metal
Polderrecords
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Et voila, another Belgian band enters the already immense stoner rock scene. Eyes On the Machine is a band from Aalter, inspired by the likes of Tool, Mastodon and "Mike Patton's Crazy Bands". The stuff on this EP sure is crazy. It's also quite unpredictable but for the most part, this rocks the fuzz out of your underpants. With groovy riffs, a drummer that possibly wants to strangle you and a vocalist who swallowed a hydrogen bomb, Eyes On The Machine make stoner blues metal sexy again. There will be a lot of ass shaking and headbanging going on in Belgium this summer and I can' be happier about it...

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Brieviews 40

5/4/2018

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we have some cool shirts, check 'm out and support Merchants Of Air

Objector - Social Intolerance

thrash metal
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We kick off this edition of Brieviews with some ruthless Belgian thrash metal, courtesy of Objector. With this eight track EP, these guys pay homage to the glory days of the genre, and mostly to bands like Slayer, Kreator, Exodus and Destruction. After a brief intro, 'Life Denied' starts the merciless pummeling at an excruciating tempo and it doesn't stop until 'Vengeance (Will Be Mine)' fades away. For fans of old school thrash, this EP definitely is a must-have, you can't get closer to that overwhelming sound without blatantly copying your heroes. Objector is a welcome, fresh and raging name in the thrash scene, no doubt about that.

Chief Roberts - The Hopeless

stoner metal / sludge
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This Belgian riffing-tsunami is not over yet because here is Antwerp combo Chief Roberts and their face punching EP 'The Hopeless'. On this EP, the band showcases a punishing mix of hardcore, sludge metal and stoner rock, coming at you with the intensity of a raging horde of rhinos. And if that's not enough, they also throw in some extreme influences to completely beat you down. I would recommend this EP to all sludge fans out there but I'm not it will be safe for them to listen to it. I mean, this is one of the most aggressive and violent sludge releases I have heard in a while. Bloody awesome one too.
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RRRags - RRRags

psychedelic rock / stoner / blues
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Ron Van Herpen, Rob Zim and Rob Martin had themselves a little jamsession in September 2017. They had so much fun playing together that decided to form a brand new band and RRRags was born. This power trio comes up with good old fashioned stoner blues, laced with psychedelic rock and a joyous jam-atmosphere. Fans of everything between Hawkwind and Grand Funk Railroad will undoubtedly love this six tracks. You can hardly go more old-school than blues crackers like 'Rag Machine' or psych-rockers like 'On With The Journey'. This is definitely something to look out for, especially live performances.

Hellstorm Of Flaming Nothingness - Sattva

drone / ambient
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Time for a resting point with the first full-length of Belgian minimal drone engineer Hellstorm Of Flaming Nothingness. With Sattva, HOFN processed a rough year into seven deep droning meditations. As usual, the approach is minimal and dark, giving the whole thing an extremely introvert atmosphere. Yet, it also sounds otherworldly and comes with a sense of angst and hopelessness. So no, this is not a pleasurable album to listen to but it is a emotional one, one to listen to while you reflect on your life choices, your past actions and your future opportunities. There is light at the end of the tunnel but the tunnel is dark and insecure. 
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Forte Ruin - Rebuilding the Machinery

death metal / symphonic metal
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Right, back to severe headbanging, this time with the return of Finnish melodic death metal sextet Forte Ruin. Their new EP shows a band that has evolved and grown since their 2015 effort, much to my delight. The influences from Dimmu Borgir, Children Of Bodom and Fear Factory are still there but now Forte Ruin has found their niche in the fierce but melodic corners of the metal scene. The result is a violent five track album, loaded with cutting edge riffing, atmospheric synths, intense screams and melodic clean vocals. This EP is a whirlwind of modern day metal, one every fan of the genre should check out.

Postcode - Dandelion Radio Session II

alternative rock
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To celebrate their tenth birthday, Isle Of Man residents Postcode revised some of their older songs and turn them into a sweet live registration. On this five track EP you can find nice alternative rock tunes, inspired by acts like The Pixies, The Breeders and PJ Harvey. This definitely will bring a smile to the faces of nineties rockers. You can feel the joy of playing these songs live. My personal is the lingering 'Hope Makes the Stars Shine Brighter' but I'm quite positive that all of these tunes regularly appear in my alternative rock list from now on. I suggest you do the same and check out this highly enjoyable band.
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Hypnodial - Aether Alcoves

ambient
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Hailing from Palma De Mallorca, Hypnodial seems to be influence by everything ambient and downtempo related, from Brian Eno over The Orb to the harshness of Cold Meat Industry. Those influences reflect of this album too, even though the whole thing comes in a minimal and gloomy approach. With twelve tracks, ranging from gentle ambient tunes to downtempo electronics, this album is well varied and thus an excellent companion for daily listening. My favorite is the dubby ambient tune 'Old Café' but I'm damn sure that every ambient aficionado will easily appreciate this stuff.

Dead Neanderthals - Life

drone / noise / ambient
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It looks like an eighties punk inspired thrash metal album but it comes from Dutch heavy jazz combo Dead Neanderthals and it sounds like a massive drone experiment. These guys never cease to amaze us. This time, the Dutch primitives decided to leave the drums and the sax at home. So what are left with? A thirty six minutes lasting psychedelic drone track, hypnotic, immersive and as minimal as Maggie De Block's sexlife. So yeah, it's a surprising Dead Neanderthals release but definitely one to add to your ever expanding drone-scape collection. I'm already curious about what they'll come up with next. Hip hop?
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Hiemis - Nachtstücke

dark ambient
GH Records
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If you're into deep, dark drones and eerie soundscapes, this album by Hiemis is right up your alley. The music has plenty of similarities with your favorite dark ambient acts, such as Raison D'Etre, Desiderii Marginis, In Slaughter Natives, Lustmord and Inade, to name a few. These are gloomy instrumental tales of ghosts, demons, dreams, visions and nightmares, both minimal and overwhelming at times. 'Die Jesuiterkirche in G' is my personal favorite but every fan of old Cold Meat Industry releases will undoubtedly appreciate these nocturnal soundscapes, no doubt about that. So check it out if you're one of those eternal dark souls...

Setaoc Mass - Solid Void

techno
SK Eleven
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Every once in a while an electronic dance music release appears on our pages, and that solely means that I like it. I surely like this one, driving on heavy, hypnotic and repetitive beats and percussion while array of industrial inspired sounds continuously slap you in the face. Of course this is stuff for the nighttime dance floors, where artists like Marco Bailey love to roam but I'm sure that tracks like 'Light Falls' and 'Eurhythmic' will often blast through my speakers from now on. If you are not weary of some old school techno beats, you might as well check this one out, play it loud and get that party started. Why wouldn't you?
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Meka Nism - The War Inside

symphonic metal / death metal
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What would happen when you lock Arch Enemy and Lacuna Coil in the same room and force them to record an album? Well, you'd probably get something like Florida residents Meka Nism. Supported by skilled musicians, Ms. Meka delivers an impressive array of clean vocals, grunts and screams, sometimes melodic sometimes simply smashing your face against the wall. Behind her, the musicians deliver a solid truckload of modern day death metal riffs and licks, topping everything off with methodical drums. Stuff like this can easily set the big stages at metal festivals on fire, and maybe also blow the roof off your living room.

Severin - Safe Following Distance​

electronic / experimental / breakcore
Petrol 80
This odd and unusual electronic dance music album will be revealed on April 20 but I can already tell you that it will be worthwhile. Somehow, Severin manages to throw heaps of dance tunes into the blender and come out with something exciting and unique. In a way, this stuff can build a bridge between house, techno, breakbeats and breakcore. This results in four in-your-face experimental electronic tracks which you can either try to dance to or go insane by. I guess the choice is yours. I mean, even Autechre doesn't often go this wild and bizarre. So obviously, this little thing comes highly recommended.
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Serge
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Uranius Blues - Maus Tempos, Bons Tempos

14/1/2018

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blues
CD Baby
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Uranius Blues, a high energy band!!! It’s the least that can be said of this group, both in this first LP,  as in their "old" self-titled EP and especially in their live performances!!! This is a road band, a stage band, that does not get scared if the P.A. fails, if there is any problem on stage, if the amplifier stop to function... they just go there and destroy!!! Do you have any doubt about it? So just watch the video at the end of this review (taken from their live 2012 DVD) and see that they're explosive!!! (with the forgiveness of this infamous joke).

This blues band began in the southern Brazil, more precisely in a region called "Vale do Rio dos Sinos". Their line-up consists of Uraneo Laureano (vocals and tenor saxophone), Tiago D'Andrea (piano, Hammond and Rhodes), Rafael Salib (electric guitar, acoustic guitar and backing vocals), Samuel Moraes Bolacel (electric and fretless double bass) and Paulo Barros (drums and percussion). The album 'Maus Tempos, Bons Tempos' (Bad Times, Good Times, in english) was recorded and mixed in São Leopoldo City (BR-RS) by Roberto Coutinho & Chico Pereira, and mastered in Chicago (US-IL) by Blaise Barton. It’s worth to mention that this work was financed by the Cultural Fund of São Leopoldo's City Hall and counted with special guests: Gonzalo Araya (harmonica), Dejeane Arruée (trombone) and Bruno Nascimento (trumpet).

This album has several influences: boogie, country, funk, rockabilly, New Orleans jazz, Mississippi blues, Chicago blues, rock and even samba/rumba!!! And the lyrics... They are in portuguese!!! FINALMENTE TIVEMOS NOSSA VINGANÇA!!! Yes, you will have to put this in google translator to understand what i said, just as many brazilians do with songs in english... MUAHAHAHAHA!!! Furthermore, this album still has its own accent, both in its music and in its lyrics. Already in the first track the word "guria" is used, and this is a very regional term from the state of Rio Grande do Sul to denominate a woman. And then you are probably asking yourself: But this is blues, is funk, is rock, its blues rock sung in a strange language??? Ahhhhhhh... this question reminds me of a rather peculiar story!!!

One time, Rafael Salib (the guitarist) told me that when he lived in the United States, he was able to see a lot of blues shows and the bands played things that were not considered blues outside the US, such as Purple Rain - yes, that Prince music - and when he asked why they played it, they simply replied, "Oh, but there's a lot of blues in that song!". At these little seconds, we have some kind of enlightement, and we perceive that blues is like jazz and any other music style... There’s not a “right” accent, there’s not a “correct” way to play, because each musical style isn't just a "kind of language", it's a way of life, it's an Aura! And this guys have the Blues' Aura!!! They REALLY have it!!!


Oh, they are planning to release this album on 12' vinyl, so follow them on Facebook and stay tuned to not miss this first class train...


Glauber


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Brieviews 32

7/12/2017

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Usually, the Brieviews are Serge's work. Since the beginning of the series, Serge has been writing all these little reviews alone (except for one by Eline and a 'Paul Grindings').  Yet, things change and we're happy to announce a cooperative edition of Brieviews. Wagner sent in five and the other ones are written by Serge. I'll leave it up to you to guess who wrote which review. I hope we can see many more of these coming up soon. I guess I will since I only recently told the other writers that they could write brieviews as well.

The Human Race Is Filth - Human Exposed

grindcore / crust
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York, Pennsylvania duo The Human Race Is Filth debut with a butchering blend of grindcore and crust punk. Although THRIF is new, bandmembers Paul & Kasey have been playing together in Bittered, Mans Plague and Police State. Now, as a duo the seem more relentless and destructive than ever. With thick, doomed-out riffs and pummeling drums, the duo brutally assaults the establishment, our current "leaders" and the state of our world as it is. So no, this is not a jolly, goody-goody album, this is a severe kick in your nutsack and a bloody intense debut. Recommended? Obvious-fucking-ly!

Professor Electric - Gleam of Murder

psychedelic rock / blues / stoner
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On to Las Vegas, Nevada, where we find Professor Electric and his one-man fuzz rock machine. Blues, psychedelic rock, stoner rock are being blended with a gloomy eighties industrial feel. Acts like Om, The Residents and Bain Wolfkind come to mind, along with today's heavy psych rock scene and even Rob Zombie. And this is just one man, imagine Professor Electric forming a band and hitting the road. With groovy blues rockers like 'The Evil Poon Saloon' and 'Gleam Of Murder', psychedelic jams like 'Sexual Tyrannosaurus' or doomed out stoner tunes like 'Melting From The Morphine', this album is simply awesome.

Seas of Years - Three Horizons Away

post rock
bandcamp
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An effervescing idiosyncrasy of starving, but calm and levitating melodies swears to an infinite ocean of time a formidable conflagration of creative harmonious contingencies. The sound is beyond exceptional, and everything that revolves around your ears bears the scope of an infinite storm of peaceful eternity.

​With precise and overly diluted, but poetic guitar lines, ​Three Horizons Away is an imaginative and surreal glorious panorama of exponential beauty. Despite its brevity, the sonorous sincerity expanded through the brave, but serene vastness of splendorous rhythms redirects the soul through a journey of ascendant and pure reality. The continual universe promulgated by its linear and constant propulsion of peripheral sounds exhibits the greatness of it’s fantastic, but discreet style, as a different pattern of sensibility.  


Diary Of My Misanthropy - Leviathan 

post rock
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A full, energizing and pure post rock work, with profoundly melancholic, but genuinely organic sonorous vicissitudes, upon which formidable and lucid guitar lines comprehend the painful vicinities of incisive and latent harmonies, that revolves around a mysteriously ancient, but poetic silence. A monumental transformation of conscience reveals itself at the grandiloquent axis of serene melodies, that not only impress by the brutal honesty and sincerity of its audacious beauty, but also by the infallible ordination of its salutary sonorous manifestation, that opens an omniscient pattern of authentic intuitive creative algorithms over the impatience of its notes. With a striking, but overwhelming simplicity, the sensitive calmness of this work is a delightful experience, that makes this brief, but majestic masterpiece a glorious necessity for all enthusiasts of the genre. Leviathan is definitely a precious and marvelous state of the art work, highly recommended.  


Man Against Mankind - Lift Off

post rock
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A brief, but poetic immersion towards a recrudescing world of ethereal conflagration, Lift Off ably leads the listener towards a more introspective and interior version of himself. A calm, serene and minimalistic quasi-operatic work that derives the essence of its intrinsic value through the vastness of its sincere and genuine sonorous evaluation, this EP by Man Against Mankind is a rude, but decisive filtration of translucent harmonies eager to revolve around the undermining capacities of reality, determined to descend over a spirit of pure sensibility. With seriously experimental overtones, the audacity of the musician’s style is an experience that reflects the authentic rapture of his creative spirit. With plausible sonorous features that expand the antagonistic principles of its abundant qualities without renouncing the splendor of a glamorous simplicity, Man Against Mankind deserves to be comprehensively inserted in a more singular musical category, given the fact that its aura of original sensibility is  highlighted by the fantasy of harmonies impossible to forget. 


Infernus Presence - Ice​-​Cold Souls 

black metal
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An interesting EP, with a full atmospheric layer of enormous grandiosity, the hazardous and afflictive anxiety that comes out from the imperial harmonies of this grotesquely delightful sound replicates with precision the endemic agony and the intense features that characterize the genre, and its sinister overtones. With a somber expectation that announces  an imminent conflagration of unraveling proportions, the melodies that strikes the tissue of infinite possibilities simply reaches a level of splendor that eagerly evolves to a planetary dissension. Perfect as the soundtrack of a really macabre movie, Ice-Cold Souls drives at the core of its majestic opportunities the real lancinating devices exceedingly genuine to the genre. Undoubtedly, it’s a marvelous example of how graceful, dense, subtle and evasive the tempestuous sonorous tissue of atmospheric black metal should be.       


Cisza - If it is True What the Prophets Write 

black metal / death metal
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A majestic and very powerful metal work, with traditional elements brilliantly inserted at the core of the songs, If it is True What the Prophets Write is an elemental journey through the most sincere qualities of an intriguing style, that seems somewhat crossover.

​Despite some moments of more generic harmonies, the group displays an intelligent and passionate singular style, that interestingly revives at the heart of its vibrant molecules an amalgamated version of metal. The human virulence of death metal intertwines the efficiency of its brutal coalescence with the furious fastness of black metal, in a sidereal conflagration of melodies, that exhibits fatally hostile harmonies, also abundant in sensible thrash metal intensities. Definitely a memorable work, If it is True What the Prophets Write is a curious and refreshing EP, that deserves to be highlighted at the center of the underground scene. 


Yin Waster - Staying Awake, Out On The Rocks

indie / psychedelic / alternative
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Somehow I always enjoy these lo-fi bedroom recordings. They showcase a sense of melancholy and solitude and, especially in this case, they showcase the joy of playing music on your own. Yin Waster is Griffin Mang who plays and records sweet, introvert and somewhat psychedelic pop, folk and rock tunes in his bedroom. I think bands like Radiohead have been influencing most of these songs and 'Open 24 Hours' somehow reminds me of Coldplay but in a more honest, introvert way. My favorite is the untitled closer, a song that harbors both joy and melancholy but in a very minimal way. This is nice...

Aleksi Susi - 83 EP

electronic / downtempo 
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Speaking about something being introvert and nice, here is the new EP by Finnish synth-composer/singer-songwriter Aleksi Susi (Alexanred, A:S:Örchestra, 2 Wolves, Scent of Flesh...). The songs on this EP are electronic downtempo folk songs, a bit gloomy but not completely covered in darkness. Yet, I found it hard to compare this music to other artists. I still do. I mean, Diary Of Dreams comes to mind, but without the gothic overtone. There also seem to be references from the electronic scene of the eighties. My favorites are the two first tracks, especially 'The World Has Changed'. Unusual but nice.

Marginal - Total Destruction

crust / grindcore
bandcamp
Transcending Obscurity
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Fucking shitfuck, did I just become a crust/grindcore fan or what? I mean, I wanted to add this album to Brieviews because quite usually these albums are rather one-sided and there is just not much to write about them. I also wanted to promote these guys because they're from Antwerp. But when I started to play 'Barbarians', I was in shock. Here was a perfect industrial sounding crust punk tune blasting through my speakers. Fast, delirious, harsh and intense, just what we need. So I continued listening. 'The Violent Way' is another of my favorites. These guys have just turned crust and grindcore in one of the most immersive pieces of extreme music I've ever heard.

I mean. I know some of these guys. I often see them at gigs but I have never talked to anyone of them and now they present me with one of the most impressive albums in Antwerp (and the world, or as we say "the parking lot") today.  Fuck yeah this comes highly recommended. 


Fuck On The Beach / Terlarang - Split

grindcore
Whooaaarg
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While Marginal came up with impressive and immersive grindcore, this split is definitely  something else. Fuck On The Beach from Japan and their colleagues Terlarang from Malaysia deliver a bunch of ill-natured, incomprehensible and deranged grindcore and powerviolence songs to make your eardrums implode. This is utter chaos, raging tempos, collapsed lungs, ​unintelligible screams and sheer noise. It seems to go on forever, which for a grindcore fan is absolute heaven. So yeah, I would recommend this split album to fans of the extreme but don't come complaining to me if you go insane, ok?

Dirge - Alma | Baltica 

post metal / drone
Division Records
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French veterans Dirge come up with a massively atmospheric album, based mostly on soundscapes and haunting instrumental passages. Furthermore, I can clearly hear a bunch of industrial influences, especially in the slow but repetitive rhythms. While this one will undoubtedly please fans of drone doom and post metal, I also urge fans of old school "Cold Meat" dark ambient to check this out. This album builds a perfect bridge between these genres. For drone aficionados like me, this is a late but certain end-year list candidate, dark, intense and atmospheric. In other words: perfect.

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