Azarashi - アザラシイズム (2008)

Band: Azarashi
Album: アザラシイズム(Azarashiizumu)
Year: 2006
Country: Japan
Genre: Post-Punk/Crust/Grunge

This all female trio from Japan really knows how to pack a punch. Alongside nearly blazing d-beats, sneakily catchy melodies singe your aural peripheries at every turn.

1. 少女椿 (Girl Camellia)
2. 白痴 (Idiocy)
3. アザラシイズム (Azarashiizumu)
4. アザラシイズム (Imagination Pregnancy)
5. 残刻 (Remaining Carving/Moment)
6. 呪怨ノ唄

Get this album.

Rites of Thy Degringolade - An Ode to Sin (2005)

Band: Rites of Thy Degringolade
Album: An Ode to Sin
Year: 2005
Country: Canada
Genre: Black/Death

Why hello there, lovely grim bros. Today I am here to present you with what I consider to be a fanfuckingtastic piece of black/death of the more chaotic variety. A style I've gotten heavily into in recent times, this would be one of my most favorite albums that I've heard of it. If you're not so familiar with the style, think Blasphemy. And if you haven't heard Blasphemy, then what good are you? Anyway, as I said before this shit is pretty damn chaotic but not to the point of where it gets lost on you. Actually, this one seems to be far more structured than previous albums(which especially makes it a great starting point) yet it still has that chaotic edge which makes it such a badass piece of metal. And, it even slows down the tempo in a few parts. Also, there's some pretty sweet leads that crop up a bit which lends some variety too. As per usual with these type of albums, the drumming is pretty high in the mix. And of course those are pretty fucking crazy too, in an extremely pleasing way without leading to tedium. Clocking in at a little under 30 min, I'd say the length is perfect for this kind of metal. So sit back, let this wonderful music fill your ears, and have the time of your life like the trve metalhead that you are.

PS: If you're left craving more cause the short length. Then definitely move backwards to their album Totality (which I shall include as a bonus because I'm nice like that)for a more chaotic and seemingly less structured affair!

An Ode to Sin
Totality

Trist, "Hin-Fort" (2007)

Band: Trist
Album: Hin-Fort
Year: 2007
Country: Germany
Genre: Ambient Black Metal, Ambient
MySpace

This is a classic ambient-black metal album by the German band Trist (NOT the better known Czech Trist). Trist is the project of Benjamin König, also known as Aran from Lunar Aurora. Quite simply put, this is one of the best albums that I have ever heard, as it entirely transcends anything in the physical or aural realm; it beings me to a place that I can't quite describe. It's not an escapist venture, necessarily, though it certainly functions that way. It's a two-disc set - the first disc contains the hour-long ambient black metal track "Hin," while the second holds another hour of pure ambient bliss. I realize it's a lot to sit through, and it will take up a good deal of your time, but I really do think that it will be worth it. I don't personally like to listen to this as background music while I do other things, but I won't tell anyone else how to listen. Trist has made a bunch of great albums, but this one is certainly Mr. König at the height of his craft.

It's a fairly large file; I apologize for the assault on your hard drives.

Mediafire

Robbed Tomb - The Fall Of Heaven's Realm (1995)

Band: Robbed Tomb
Album: The Fall Of Heaven's Realm
Year: 1995
Genre: Death/Doom Metal

I found this band a couple of weeks ago, and I'm glad I did. Robbed Tomb were a band from Belarus (a kinda weird place to find a something like this, in my opinion). They play a very nice type of Death/Doom, incorporating a lot of synth work, giving this album a very folk-ish feel to it (sometimes it reminds me of Summoning). They also use a lot of clean vocals, wich also gives this a nice melodic and melancholic atmosphere. You know, I was never any good at writing reviews, so I'll just shut up and give you the link. Enjoy!

HERE

Catharsis - Passion (1999)

Band: Catharsis
Album: Passion
Year: 1999
Genre: Hardcore / Metal

Catharsis were an anarchist hardcore band from North Carolina. Heavily influenced by Integrity and Neurosis, they created this strange monster with roaring guitars, pounding rhythms, spoken word passages, and a tormented scream. All of the elements praising and adding an apocalyptic atmosphere. Maybe not the most unique, or unique at all, but it's still some good shit.

Check it

Cold Cave- Love Comes Close (2009)

Cold Cave- Love Comes Close
2009
Synth-pop/Industrial/Darkwave

Where do I start with Cold Cave? I could start by introducing them as a synthy pop band with catchy hooks, industrial soundscapes, almost new-wavey-Tears-for-Fears-esque at times. I could mention they feature members of American Nightmare/Give Up the Ghost, Ash Pool/Prurient and Xiu Xiu! The former hardcore frontman, Wesley Eisold, teams up with noisy motherfucker Dom Fernow and a few others to make tracks of toe tapping synth catchiness. Heavy beats, distorted keys switching off between Ian Curtis-y male vocals and somber female vox.
You can't really say that Cold Cave is completely original, but then again the sound kinda fizzled out in the early 80s. They apparently rejuvenated the interest in synthpop among the hipsters.
I suck at writing reviews, just download


http://www.mediafire.com/?xmnmdqulmzw

Damnation - Rebel Souls (1996)

Most people into death metal nowadays have heard of Poland's Azarath, and if they haven't surely Inferno, Behemoth's drummer, rings a bell. Comparatively few know that, in 1996, when Azarath didn't even exist and Nergal&co were still firmly in the realm of (rather generic if you ask me) black metal, Inferno and Azarath's guitarist Bart were part of not-very-imaginatively-named Damnation. Under that ubiquitous moniker (metal-archives mentions 12 other Damnations) an album called Rebel Souls was released that year.

Of course, with a name like that, one can safely say that Morbid Angel would rank among the leading influences without even listening to the record. And they would be right, but a clone this is not. It doesn't take long to notice that the structure is dynamic, expansive, almost epic rather than thrashy, progressive or deconstructive. Spacey keys and solos with lots of reverb punctuate the dense riffage but what really holds the album together is Inferno's drumming. While there are some slower fills and patterns, "incessant pounding" wouldn't be a very innacurate description, as just a few seconds into the first proper track he's already blasting away as he is in the very last moments of the closer, Might Returns. That's not to say the guitars, bass or vocals come lacking - everything falls well into it's place and the blend of agression and melody (there's not a lot of it, don't worry) works.

Not just that, but Rebel Souls really feels like an album, not a bunch of songs (or worse, an agglomeration of ideas). I would be hard pressed to come up with tracks or parts of them as highlights. Sure, one tends to remember the catchy choruses more because, well, they're catchy but neither them nor the ultra-fast bit of Son of Fire, not even the almost-atmospheric part of the title track would hold any value without the lead-ins. And that brings me to the only possible defect of Rebel Souls - where I see its flowing, homogeneous nature others might see monotony but I guess that depends on what you're actually looking for.
All in all, if you're looking for some Polish death metal released before 90% of it started sounding the same or for a quality slab of the genre in general, this is a safe bet. And if you like it, get the other two full lengths by Damnation, they're both a bit different but well worth it. And get Azarath.

rapidshiz

Univers Zero - Heresie [1979]

Genre: Avant-prog/RIO/zeuhl

Format/bitrate: .mp3 v0

Some of you probably already have this, but those who don't need to be exposed to it.

"La Faulx" opens with a sinister, dissonant drone that establishes the gloomy, vaguely threatening mood that runs throughout the entirety of Heresie. Through Heresie's three, mostly instrumental extended pieces ("La Faulx" incorporates sinister chanting in an apparently unknown language), which run for over fifty minutes, the then-five-piece ensemble, using a mixture of classical and rock instrumentation, explores a substantial variety of different textures and techniques running from drone to technical mayhem, but the overall atmosphere never subsides. Many critics have called this the darkest album ever recorded in any genre; while I can think of a few others that would rival it, it certainly belongs on a list of music's most sinister moments. Fans of more experimental black metal acts such as Deathspell Omega, Blut aus Nord, The Axis of Perdition, and Gnaw Their Tongues may enjoy this, and for fans of avant-garde music and progressive rock this will be essential listening. Strongly recommended.

Posted on Behalf of Cassandra-Leo

Download (Sharebee)

Vediog Svaor - In The Distance (2001)

Vediog Svaor is this one-man psychedelic/progressive/avant-garde/whatever black metal project from France. The whole project surrounds themes such as space, coldness, abstract bullshit and eldritch horrors from the 11th dimension. Actually, I’m not sure about that latter part, but there’s like a multitude of metal bands out their with a hard-on for Cthulhu and the Old Ones, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some sort of reference to Yog-Sothoth in Vediog Svaor’s “In the Distance”. I can’t really tell if there is, because I can’t understand French for the life of me, but man, I am just going to assume this album has something to do with Yog-Sothoth, the Old Ones…and like the coldness of space or something.

Even if it has nothing to do with Lovecraftian horror, it’s still probably my favourite discovery of last year. It’s considered progressive black metal but it has nothing in common with its kin. The album has this sort of retro-ish, melancholic vibe while still maintaining a very bleak yet almost mystical atmosphere. The best way I can describe it is imagine Les Legions Noire, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin all get into this wild free-for-all knife fight and kill each other in a frenzy of blood, guts and inverted crosses; then some insane Lithuanian scientist, with a degree in blowing the fuck out of everything, decides to harvest their corpses and creates some sort of gold-plated omniscient kvlt mecha-god out of their body parts; but of course it rebelled and escaped the insane scientist’s underground lair because it is a whiny bitch who doesn’t want to rule the world with a golden fist but would rather pursue his own ‘creative endeavours’. Yeah, whatever. Anyway, it meets up with Ved Buens Ende in their early days and asks if they want to jam out, but something went very wrong during the jam and it ended up consuming their souls instead.

So yeah, what I’m pretty much trying to say is Vediog Svaor is that gold-plated omniscient kvlt mecha-god…composed entirely out of musicians’ body parts, and it consumes souls and stuff.

Maybe it’s best if you just listened to the damn album.

Gorguts - ...And Then Comes Lividity (1990)

Considering how Gorguts is responsible for four of the greatest death metal records ever and how their debut, Considered Dead, is an OSDM masterpiece it shouldn't come as a surprise that their demo ...And Then Comes Lividity is outrageously awesome. What is surprising, however, is how it has been completely overlooked even by enthusiasts of the group.

While their debut had a very dense and heavy sound this demo is sharp and clear. For a late 80s/early 90s demo the sound quality is great, not perfect but it complements the tracks excellently. As for the songs themselves, holy SHIT. The early Death influence is a bit clearer (though it is still distinctively Gorguts), especially on the three tracks which weren't rerecorded for Considered Dead, but the songwriting is much more impressive. There isn't much else to say, its everything that makes pre-Obscura Gorguts one of the most noteworthy OSDM bands in its earliest and roughest stages, blowing much of what that movement produced out of the water.

herr