Sunn O)))- Black One

Trax

1. Sin Nanna

When one thinks of "drone doom," one is likely to think of monotone frequencies and unbearably slow, grinding guitar work. In fact, the majority of the genre is bland, tasteless, and to put it quite bluntly, boring. Sunn O))), one of the most well known drone doom acts, is none of these things. While most of their music consists of typical sludgy, almost stand-still guitar riffs, they bring dark, desolate undertones. Their album Black One stands as my favorite Sunn O))) album by far. The opening track, Sin Nanna, sets the mood, and almost acts as a warning label for the rest of the album, foreshadowing the evil, apocalyptic bliss yet to come. Sunn O))) is Greg Anderson and Stephen O' Malley, but they borrow vocalists such as Wrest (Leviathan and Lurker of Chalice) and Attila Csihar (Mayhem), both from the black metal spectrum, to perform in their songs. If one is willing to open their minds and ears to the concept of drone doom, music that may be difficult to understand for most listeners, Black One is a great starting point and will likely remain as a favorite.

 Download Here!

LAKE R▲DIO- The Weather

Trax

1. 13093

2. кулинария 

3. VCR Operation

4. Joining You

5. Martin Hannett's Ghost

6. Lynetta Putnam

7. ▼▼▼​@​†H is Fundamental

19-year-old Caden Moore states that dreams are the biggest influence for his project, the uniquely named LAKE R▲DIO. This is a very well-supported claim, as the music he makes shares the same warm, ethereal qualities of the dream state. Falling under the "witch house" umbrella, LAKE R▲DIO is very experimental, and while many experimental artists such as these are accused of following the witch house pattern, LAKE R▲DIO does a good job of distancing itself by touching on electronic and ambient music. The Weather is just one of the three LAKE R▲DIO releases, and is quite possibly my favorite of the three. 

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The Arrival of Satan- Vexing Verses

Trax:

1. Tragic Awakening

2. Phantasms of Hatred

3. For Psychiatry

4. Aborted Voices

5. Vexing Verses

6. Morbid Libido

7. Fascist Whore

8. She's Dead

9. Unworthy

The epitome of all that is suicidal black metal is wrapped up in this brilliant, morbid album. Severely overlooked by the metal community, and even by the black metal community, The Arrival of Satan is a gem, albeit an ugly, cracked gem that reflects the most sickening of human emotions. TAOS formed in the bowels of France, in 2000, creating two unreleased demos, followed by Darkness Dealer, and Vexing Verses in 2009. The band is still active, but has left us with Vexing Verses to tide us over, which is both fantastic and cruel- You will want more of it when you hear it.

The vocals are quite audible on this album, and every now and then you will get an earful of the vocalist’s (dubbed “Necropiss”)prominent French accent, which gives the vocals an edge that other frontmen in the genre generally would not have. His voice is brilliant, perfect for this style of metal, and the way he screams and wails is reminiscent of a man who has lost absolutely everything. The music consists of fast, grating guitars and standard black metal drumming, which creates an atmosphere that is both bleak and hopeless, and dark and devious.

Download here!

White Ring- <><>

Trax

1. Bye Bye

2. Chain My Crib

3. Faded

4. Roses

5. Suffocation

6. We Rot

No one was ready for witch house. Emerging in 2010, this genre was one of the weirdest to come about, and wasn't taken seriously by the music community. Being labeled things such as "post-whatever", "screwgaze," and "haunted house" (which actually, makes a lot of sense), people weren't quite sure what to make of this interesting new music. Newcomers White Ring have been making music since 2008 but are soon releasing an EP on Disaro record, which hosts many other witch house groups and artists. White Ring already has a cult following, which many loyal fans that support them by finding them at their scarce live shows. The uniquely titled <><> is breathtakingly spooky, dark and gorgeous. It stirs up emotions in me that I didn't know I had. The duo uses deep, chilling synths and echoing, haunting vocals. If you are a fan of dark electronic music, and want to listen to something new, give <><> a listen, and search for White Ring's other unreleased tracks.

Download here!

 

Bumzur- Dat Sum Gangsta Varg

Trax

1. This is huh... Wow!

2. LOTR is lovely (NOT NSBM LOL)

3. Teh Doonckelhaitz

"Bumzur > Burzum"

"This is fucking tr00. Me approves."

"The most kvlt band ever." 

 

These are just a few of the comments found in the shoutbox of Bumzur's Last FM page. This fantastic creation, falling under the genre I like to call "internetcore," consists of taking Burzum samples and speeding them up until they sound absolutely ridiculous. Sometimes, Varg's voice will even be edited so delicately and precisely that it sounds as if he is saying something completely different. ("This is huh... Wow!") I personally find this hilarious. Even if you love Burzum, you should still see the humor in this, or you are way too gr1m and kv1t for my standards. If you thought the music was amusing, take a look at what some of Bumzur's loyal listeners have tagged it as. (giving it a genre)

"blackened black metal"

"christian gangsta rap"

"music that orcs will cry to"

"ambient geometrycore"

"progressive garage punk techno"

"vikernes inspired happy frostbitten black viking thrash pirate metal from the fiery pits of serious business"

Amazing stuff. Really.

You can download two of the three tracks here, I don't know why the third one is not downloadable.

Now, enjoy the gr1mness.

Sleigh Bells- Treats

 

Trax

1. Tell 'Em

2. Kids

3. Riot Rhythm

4. Infinity Guitars

5. Run the Heart

6. Rachel

7. Rill Rill

8. Crown on the Ground

9. Straight A's

10. A/B Machines

11. Treats

Ladies and gentleman, I proudly present... The soundtrack to my summer. The debut from the New York duo, Sleigh Bells, is one of the most fun releases this year. Derek E. Miller formerly of Poison the Well, and newcomer Alexis Krauss are a real pair, creating their own brand of noise pop. The opener, Tell 'Em, cuts straight to the chase with a dangerously loud screaming synth and drum roll. (please turn your volume down before you put this CD on) Listeners will soon realize that the chest-pounding bass drum doesn't quit until the end of the final track. The whole album is like a roller coaster ride, in the sense that you are on an exhilarating, bumpy ride, and you feel as if you are at an amusement park, this is the happy vibe the band produces. If you want to listen to Sleigh Bells at their fullest potential, listen to them in your car, or with legit speakers, because DAT BASS. My personal favorite track off of Treats is the title track, which basically sounds like Derek and Alexis hijacking a school marching band with a synth and distorted guitars. Enough talking, more listening!

Download here!

Excoriate- On Pestilent Winds

Trax

1. Voice of Damnation

2. On Pestilent Winds...

3. ...From Morbid Ruins

4. Mayhem

5. Poisoned By Darkness

6. Bestial Slaughter

7. Demons Rush

Yes, yes, and YES. If anyone can capture the raw, ferocious sound of old school death metal bands such as Asphyx and Possessed, it is Excoriate. Hailing from Germany, these talented musicians released three demos and one full length, which I am adoringly posting on my blog. This album will kick your ass again and again. The ominous howling winds in the intro, Voice of Damnation, leads perfectly into On Pestilent Winds, which remains today as my favorite death metal song of all time. The guitar work is impressive, the vocals are frantic, angry, almost out of breath at times, and the drumming is just superb. The song fades into From Morbid Ruins, which sports some rather amusing vocal work (some have argued that the vocals bring the band down, which I can understand, as at at times they can provoke a smirk). Following is a cover of Sepultura's Mayhem, which the Brazilian thrashers would be proud of. Next is the instrumental Poisoned by Darkness, and the closing tracks, Bestial Slaughter and Demons Rush, are not as impressive as the rest of the songs on the album, but  still slay just as mercilessly. It's a shame that Excoriate is split-up, because now many fans are longing for a new album that will probably never come.

Do I recommend this album to everyone? No. I recommend it to anyone fond of old school death metal, or death with thrash influences. Technical death metal fans will probably not be able to appreciate this.

Download Here!

And please, if you loved the album...

Buy it.

If there are ANY bands you should support, it is one-album wonders like Excoriate. 

They deserve the money, no? 

You can buy it here, along with other great releases from other bands.