v/a - Vinland vs. Finland

The clear winner for me is Vinland, but it's all pretty good. Bone Awl's part is what anyone has come expect of them with their raw black metal goodness. Hammer was surprisingly good. Volkurah created some good rifs, but Vordr. No. That was pretty bad. The vocals, Oh god, the vocals. They sounded horrible, and some of the isntrumentation sounded like there was a cat scratching on a scratching post in the background. Luckily, it wasn't bad enough to ruin the whole split, but especially during "Sabbath of Ruin" my ears were not happy when I was listening to it. So, this is a great compilation... if you just skip Vordr's part.

Disembarkation - Rancorous Observision (2000)

For those of you who wanted Cynic to have balls, look no further. The jazzy, mid-tempo riffage of Focus is preserved here, sans any (at the much less) further progressive tendencies or vocoder bullshit, and while not every song is as inspired as the opener "Aushwitz", it's still a damn fine listen.

This flew under the table when it was first released, and still hasn't managed to surface above more interesting buried gems like Nespithe or the Timeghoul demos, but I see no reason for this to go entirely unnoticed, especially when Decrepit Birth's latest has been recieving so much praise.

Rapidshite

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

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

Kralizec - Origin

Quirky key-heavy melodically-inclined sometimes-technical death metal with the odd nod to folk metal ala Ensiferum, Brutal Death, and oldschool Gothenburg bands. They also have some of the most blatantly programmed drums I think I've ever heard.

If some of the clean vocal sections sound oddly familiar to you, it's likely because they were contributed by Patrick Loisel (now the frontman of Augury) who also played lead guitar and keys on this album.

This album is ridiculously hard to come by on the interwebs, so I hope you like it.
Get it here.

Deranged (Can)

Artist - Deranged (Can)
Year of Release - 1988, 1989
Genre - Thrash Metal






Little known about this band, These guys played a style of Thrash Metal which only a few bands did, Yes, there are traces reminiscent to one of my favourite Metal bands of all time, Morbid Saint, Do i need to say anything else ? Get this.

Place of Torment

Premonitory Nightmare

NoMeansNo - Why Do They Call Me Mr. Happy? (1993)

One of the reasons I am proud to be living in Canada. Put bluntly, you can't like punk if you don't like this band. This album happens to be my favourite, but don't hesitate to track down the equally amazing 'Wrong.'

Mediafire

Armoros - Pieces (1988)

Genre - Thrash Metal
Review - This album is relentless, fast and headbangable, just the way thrash is meant to be played. If you dont give a fuck about "Oh! Thrash! It must be boring and repititive" attitude, then this album will rule your playlists for a long long time. If Sodom, Demolition Hammer, Destruction and Morbid Saint are your kind of thrash, then it will just be another jewel in the crown. It has some of the coolest solos you would ever hear in thrash and surprisingly well produced for a self-released material. The drumming and riffing combine well together and vocals are reminiscent of Exodus. Supporting the flawless musicianship of the band, there is thick, heavy bass riffing in the background (Imagine Sadus!!).

The highlight of the album obviously is the song "Autopsy (Dementia)". The demo version of the song is fuckin' 7 minutes long!!!! (and believe me it requires fuckin' balls of metal to write a 7 minute long thrash song that doesnt lose the intensity even for one single second). That song is like Canada's answer to Morbid Saint's Assassin (may be its not as brutal or devastating as that song, But it will still leave you gasping for your breath). Too bad the song has been curtailed to just 5 minutes on this album.

I have added the 7 minute demo version of the above mentioned song along with the album.

-EyehateDoG
Megaupload

Mitochondrion - Archaeaeon (2008)

Contained within the meager frame of this 70 minute long album is a barrage of sound, fury and calculated aural abomination which puts the previous efforts of many bands to great shame. Twin vocal attacks bludgeon and pierce as a wall of dissonance and percussion paint landscapes of torment and decimation. Fleeting acoustic passages create contrast and offer slight respite from the wailing, atonal opuses, and indeed on first listen this album seems almost entirely and incomprehensibly chaotic, drawing equally from Canadian War Metal and the unique, horrific soundscapes of Portal, but after prolonged exposure patterns begin to appear, not just within the songs themselves but their progression throughout the album. The first several tracks are whiplash assaults of sonic violence, offering little breathing room for melody or tonality. "The Eternal Contempt of Man" marks a shift in Mitochondrion's attack, slowing down to assail the listener with truly twisted riffs which harken to the likes of Ved Buens Ende or Enslaved, and by the time "Oath in Defiance" rattles its dying breath, a near total transformation has occurred. "Wraithlike" relies less upon the constant cacophony of the earlier tracks, and more upon the build and release of epic, melodic crescendos. Still other tracks showcase such influences as doom metal and harsh noise, to one extent or another.

Despite this staggering sum of influences, Mitochondrion manage to create one of the most cohesive listens in recent memory, stringing together riffs, songs and styles as expertly as French innovators Magma did when creating the genre of Zeuhl. My only hope from this point onward is that more begin to pay attention to this and other bands, not content with perpetuating the same tepid sound until no one remains who is willing to pay attention. Without innovation or progression, the essence of art is dead. I for one hope this to mark a new beginning, rather than be a tragic swansong, falsely prophesying what could have been.

320
FLAC

Weapon (Can) - Drakonian Paradigm (2009)

Be prepared to have your mind blown; Weapon has delivered perhaps one of the greatest albums of the year with Drakonian Paradigm, an odd mix of Rotting Christ, Hellhammer and The Chasm. Mid-paced, riff heavy black metal would be the best way to describe it, but there are also elements of death metal, and quite a few melodic flourishes throughout, giving each song a memorable place on the album and the album itself a personality of its own to stand out above the waves of metal releases that have been coming this year. Highly recommended.

Mediafire

Cephalectomy - Eclipsing the Dawn (2004)

This awesome death/grind band from Nova Scotia, Canada, has put out perhaps the funnest album in the world, Eclipsing the Dawn, which could most easily be summed up as a mixture of the craziness of !T.O.O.H.! and the epicness of Lykathea Aflame, but simply putting it that way would do the band a massive disservice.

The album's forty minute runtime is split into eight songs, all of which are written in a more or less linear fashion, much like Deathspell Omega or more recently Ulcerate. But where those bands used that technique to create unnerving soundscapes, Cephalectomy uses it to cram as many jaw-droppingly awesome riffs into every song as humanly possible, and are unafraid of shifting gears before the listener really has time to readjust to what was just being played a few seconds earlier. It takes a few listens to really absorb, but it's well worth the effort in the end.

Mediafire

Neil Young - Dead Man O.S.T. (1995)

This is some cataclysmic, post apocalyptic shit. Forget what you thought you knew about Neil Young, his work for the soundtrack of Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man is an excellent dystopian soundscape. Droning electric guitar interspersed with dialog from the movie.

The soundtrack is still great out of context, but I'm going to put up the movie for your enjoyment as well. It's a great surrealistic western.



Neil Young - Dead Man OST (1995)

Dead Man (1995)[torrent]