Netjajev Society System

Here's some killer Swedish punk mixed with some fucking wonky sci-fi synths/organs from Netjajev SS. Really good stuff, they'll be halfway into some weird spacey/surfy stuff before launching into some of the most catchy and intense hardcore that I've heard in a while. Internet-rumour has it that the main (only?) dude for these guys is also responsible for the excellent Syphilitic Vaginas. So check out their self-titled EP from 2007 riiiiight

HERE

The Eastern Force of Evil

An "official bootleg" I guess, I was pretty stoked to get this in a trade a few years ago. Back in the 90's Sigh played about 75% Venom covers when they played live and this album is about the same (and there's a couple of Death covers as well). Taken from from a few different shows in their native Japan, the sound quality ranges from listenable to kinda awful. Still, it's a cool document of a stripped-down Sigh playing mostly covers to half-interested audiences.
Also, check out the killer re-issue label The Crypt for deluxe extra-fancy vinyl editions of some of Sigh's albums coming later this year. Infidel Art and Ghastly Funeral Theatre have already come and gone from the label, but you might be able to track them down elsewhere.

clicky

L'appel du néant

Malveillance is a Quebecois punky, d-beat-ish black metal (one-man) band. Not too far off from stuff like Akitsa or Bone Awl. This 2006 demo opens up with seven (!) Ramones covers, then follows up with ten tracks of particularly hateful and primitive blackmetalpunk.

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Top 10 of 2009

Sorry, no download links today. Just words and pictures. I still haven't heard the new albums from YOB, The Spits, Zombi, and Peste Noire and surely I'll come across some other '09 releases in the years to come. But these things are always kinda fun to do, so what the hell:

1. Slough Feg - Ape Uprising!

Slough Feg can do no wrong.

2. Teitanblood - Seven Chalices

I was expecting something along the lines of their fellow countrymen Proclamation, but this is absolutely immense and so much better. The best booklet art of the year as well. Should've held out for the vinyl...

3. Beherit - Engram

Their first metal album in 16 years and they nailed it. Fuck the nay-sayers.

4. Villains - Lifecode of Decadence

Criminally underrated, filthy, sleazy street thrash/punk band. I enjoyed this quite a bit more than 2007's Drenched in the Poisons. Awesome drumming and the vocalist is insane, channeling Cronos, Quorthon, King Diamond, and Nocturno Culto all at roughly the same time.

5. Deströyer 666 - Defiance

Deströyer 666's weakest album is still pretty damn good. I finally got to see them live this year in Calgary and they were flawless.

6. Argus - Argus

A very well-executed debut album of classic doom metal mixed with the heavier aspects of the NWOBHM era. Lovecraft metal!

7. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone

I'm a sucker for this lady's voice. The last track is a half hour of frogs/insects/swamp sounds. Neat.

8. Katharsis - Fourth Reich

This one grows on me every time that I listen to it. Maybe not quite as good as VVorld VVithout End, but close.

9. Black Pyramid - Black Pyramid

Nothing terribly original, but nonetheless a very solid doom metal album chock full of deadly solos and grooves.

10. Immortal - All Shall Fall

Ah, good old reliable Immortal. Never putting out a bad album, only good ones of varying degrees of awesomeness. I daresay this is better than the last couple.

Honorable mentions, EPs, compilations, and re-issues (AKA most of the rest of the stuff I picked up last year):

Reverend Bizarre - Death Is Glory... Now - If I was counting compilations of old material this might be number 1. This is 2 CDs of their previously out-of-print tracks from various splits, covers from tribute albums and other rarities. Not a single track is a throwaway and it's great to have all of these crucial songs in one set.
Ignivomous - Death Transmutation - Australians playing American death metal in the vein of Immolation and Incantation very well.
Citizens Arrest - Collosus - Nice 2LP discography of this late 80's/early 90's New York hardcore band.
Weapon - Drakonian Paradigm - I wanted to like this more, but it's still pretty good.
Cobalt - Gin - See above. A good album, but not AS good as a lot of reviews would have you believe.
Fucked Up - Year of the Rat/First Born - A couple of decent tracks on this single. Picked this up when I saw them in April last year. Good show.
Maserati/Zombi - split - The Maserati tracks are cool, but Zombi is where it's at.
Bone Awl - Night's Middle - Damned good EP.
Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures - Enjoyable for a bit.
Abigail/Syphilitic Vaginas - split - The Abigail tracks are alright, but Syphilitic Vaginas are seriously fantastic. They sound like Motörhead, Japanese hardcore, and 80's black metal all at once. Great stuff.
Bleak House - Suspended Animation - Super-sweet collection of this NWOBHM band's two EPs from '80 and '82 with some well-recorded live tracks on the B-side.
Diocletian - Doom Cult - Kiwis playing some very solid Blasphemy-worship with a bit more lower-end and variation than the other thousand band playing this style.
Proclamation - Execration of Cruel Bestiality - More blatant Blasphemy-worship from these Spaniards, but still a thrillingly violent-sounding album.
Speedwolf/Hookers - split - A cool split 7" of upbeat drinkin' metal/punk.
Nirvana 2002 - Recordings 89-91 - Awesome. All of the recorded output from one of the best bands from the Swedish death metal scene.
Heaven & Hell - The Devil You Know - Dio-Sabbath still knows what's up.
Lady Gaga - The Fame Monster - Yes, I'm fucking serious. Shut up.
Children of Technology - Chaosmutant Hordes - Three Italian crusties playing apocalypse-themed speed metal/thrash/punk. This EP is the first thing that I've heard from them and it's quite good.
Abigail - Sweet Baby Metal Slut - Nothing that great, but definitely some of the best song titles of the year; "Teenage Metal Fuck", "Wild Fire Metal Bitch", "Metal Bitch Inferno", "Satanic Hell Slut", "Metal Evil Metal". Yeah!

Sturmpercht

Most of the Neofolk/Martial/whatever that I've encountered has been pretty hit-or-miss, but this shit (Sturpercht's Geister im Waldgebirg) is definitely a big hit. These Austrians call their music "Alpine Folk" and it's perfect for a cold night. There's some rousing, catchy hymns and some mellow wistful ballads and they all make you want to drink mead. There's a solid hour plus of music here for you to enjoy, but track down a physical copy if you can, as they self-release most of their stuff.

here

Mocking the Philanthropist

Grand Belial's Key are probably my favourite American black metal band. Now, because all of their album covers are defaced Bible storybook pictures and they hail from Virginia you might think that they play some kind of redneck retardo sloppy basement-recorded black metal (not that there's anything wrong with that in and of itself...). But make no mistake, these guys churn out some ballsy, melodic, groovy stuff. There's some seriously godly (ungodly?) riffs here that any fan of Heavy Metal could appreciate. Definitely have their own sound and have never just aped what their contemporaries were doing overseas. Here's their debut full-length from '97.

yoink

Grotesque

Here's some spooooky classic Swedish death metal for Halloween. In the Embrace of Evil compiles Grotesque's Incantation EP from 1990 and some earlier demo tracks. There's elements of early black and thrash metal present rather than the straight-up chunky riffing of their countrymen (there's some of that too). Tomas Lindburg went on to front At the Gates, but this is more primal, potent stuff.

bleeargh

Slice of Doom

Dig that tribute to Blue Cheer in the cover art. One of my favs, Finland's Reverend Bizarre played (they split a year or two ago) Doom Metal in the style of the slow n' low heavyweights of the 80's without sounding like an insincere "retro" cash-in. Fantastic vocals, solos, and RIFFS goddammit. This is the re-release of their demo with bonus tracks from the couple of different versions of the original release, and it starts out with a killer cover of the theme song from Doctor Who. I mean, c'mon.
And if anyone out there is thinking of starting a Rev Biz collection, Svart Records has just started to release super-sexy vinyl editions of their main releases starting with Harbinger of Metal. Mine should be here within the week.

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A Fallen Unicorn

Fuck yeah, unicorns! Here's a cool little EP from Greece's Nocternity with tracks that were recorded at the same time as 2003's Onyx. I cant help be reminded of Graveland with their medieval armour and the way they use synthesizers to add atmosphere rather than over-the-top pomposity. The riffs, overall, sound more like the nordic black metal bands rather than the typical "Greek black metal sound". There's a fantastically successful cover of Bjork's "Pagan Poetry" to close out the EP proper. This is the 05' reissue with the tracks from the splits with Akitsa and Kawir as bonus tracks.

clicky

Take as Needed for Pain

Keeping with the "music that I like to listen to in warm weather" theme of the last few posts, here's a sludge classic from Eyehategod (before the warm weather is replaced by 6 or 7 months of cold). This shit's bleak, maaaan. Powerfully heavy, Sabbath-worshipping, pill popping, bottle-smashing doom-sludge. BUT, there's enough head-nodding grooviness to keep you from slitting your wrists and the nihilistic lyrics are actually pretty interesting.

"enjoy"

Vulcano

Ah summertime, the perfect time for 80's Brazilian death thrash. Bloody Vengeance is the first album by one of the first South American bands to play this kind of music. Chaotic and ugly, but still classy, Possessed and Venom are good reference points. Whenever I look at the back of the CD I read the first track "Dominios of Death" as "Dominos of Death". That is all.

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Jalamanta

I went to the beach today for the first time in ages and I listened to this on the way up. It's Brant Bjork's (former drummer for Fu Manchu, Kyuss and others) first solo album of laid-back desert rock from waaaaay back in 1999. "Let's Get Chinese Eyes" indeed. Maybe later.

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The Archives of Rotten Blues

Greenmachine's last album before breaking up has next to no blues on it, besides maybe a couple of solos that have a blues-rock feel to them. They play doomy sludge with a hardcore punky gallop. The vocals are hoarse, somewhat guteral, and delivered with a very Japanese accent. They got lumped in with "stoner rock" because of their first couple of album's being released on the Man's Ruin label (and probably due to them naming themselves after a Kyuss song), but there's a broader appeal to people into punk/hardcore and thrash metal. Whatever, it's catchy and it's good driving music. Enjoy.

linky

Brocas Helm

Here's something a little more upbeat and a little less grim than my last couple of posts. Brocas Helm have been around since the early 80's but this is only their third full-length album, released in 2004. They put out a couple of records in the mid-80's then only a small handful of demo tapes and singles until this album. Most of the material from those rare, barely-heard releases were re-recorded for this album, which they released themselves. And it's all fucking AWESOME. The two 80's records are solid slabs of classic metal, but this is definitely my favorite of theirs. They've always had a frantic punky vibe and they don't take themselves quite as seriously as some of the other bands playing "epic" metal. Here's a sampling of the lyrics from "Drink and Drive";

"I drink and drive,
drink and drive,
got mothers against me,
but I'm still alive!"

And when "Skullfucker" comes on in the car, I just gotta yell along with the chorus. I'll let you hear that one for yourself. Reccommended for fans of Slough Feg, Thin Lizzy, Manilla Road, ect., as well as any male human with testicles intact.

Skullfuckerrrrrrrrrrrr!

The Devil and the Whore

You'd think that Satan wouldn't have to pay for sex. Here's the first full-length album from Megiddo, one of Canada's best black metal bands. Happy Canada Day, by the way. This shit is killer. Sounds like early Bathory together with all sorts of 80's metal/black metal goodness. Enjoy with a beer.

linky