Depressive Age - First Depression

Not your typical Prog Thrash album (if such a thing exists).  These Germans got much more into melody and dynamics than their peers.  Quite good and unique.

my wage is depressive

Dog Days - Via Dolorosa

Another band in the seemingly endless ocean of Modern Hardcore mash-up.  I always expect myself to get bored with this style, but I never do.  I think it's because I love pretty much every sub-genre that these bands pull from.  Powerviolence, Metalcore, D-Beat, Death Metal, Sludge... All of which are great on their own, and just as good when puréed into an ultra-tough, roided, muscle pudding.  Dog Days (from jolly, old England) take a Metalcore soup base, add Post-Hardcore chunks, Euro Death Metal cream, jullienne'd Thrash, and drizzled with real guitar lead lustre.  Serve chilled and enjoy!

   

Pog Days

Fhoi Myore - Fhoi Myore

Raw, epic Black Metal in the old Swedish tradition (but from France).  Especially scathing vocals.  Nothing new, but still good.

the one eyed monster

Slang - Glory Outshines Doom

Slang has always been a bit of an anomaly.  They're the only ones (that I know of) that mixed 80's Japanese Hardcore with 90's New York Metallic style.  They never could quite pull off the mosh riffs, so I'm glad they've left all the "pit riffment" behind and have given us a no-frills D-Beat assault.  They're new, focused style has them sounding better than ever.  There is some Metal influence creeping in here and there, but in a much more Crusty fashion a la Filth of Mankind/Misery.  The production is decently clear, but brittle.  But hey, you can never expect too good of production with this kind of shit.

lookin' california, and feelin' minnesota

The Boston Strangler - Primitive

Some new Boston kids (Mind Eraser, No Tolerance) following in the footsteps of their ancestors (SSD, Negative Approach, Gang Green), and doing so quite well.  Olde Tyme Hardcore without any annoying new flavor.  If you're a macho jerk with a death wish, then this is for you.

dingle dangler  

Xozo - Farsight

Throw about every heavy music genre from the past twenty years into a blender, and you might end up with this.  From the metallic, to the sludgey, to the post-whatever, you'll find it displayed here.  In simpler terms, I would say it's somewhere between Neurosis, Kylesa and Trap Them.  All of this is pulled off extremely well.  The stylistic changes within don't sound abrupt or ill-fitting at all.  Highly recommended bludgeoning.  Also, sorry about the lack of posts lately, I just haven't found much stuff that's appealed to me.

I don't know what to do with this tossed salad and scrambled eggs...

Portrait - Crimen Laesae Majestatis Divinae

Portrait occupy a strange space (especially for a new band) between NWOBHM, early Power Metal, and early Black Metal.  I know that sounds confusing, but all these Swedes want to do is sound like their idols in Mercyful Fate.  They do a pretty excellent job of satisfying the 'Fate craving without sounding like an overt rip-off.  They've taken the old template, modernized it, and bumped it up a notch in intensity.  The 'Fate comparison really gets made with the vocals, which have a King Diamond-esque melodic style, but are much more like a typical metal "scream" than a proper falsetto.  The tight, nimble guitar work is the other highlight here; showcasing different influences from Maiden-style gallops, to Black Metal tremolo picking.  My only complaint is that the drumming is far too linear and metronomic.  But otherwise this is a great, accessible record that'll appeal to many a metalhead.

enough with the latin album titles

Fire & Ice - Not of This Earth

New York Hardcore by way of Richmond Virginia.  This reminds me a lot of fellow Richmond dudes Down to Nothing, but maybe slightly more metallic.  There's also a slight Rap influence to the vocals, very much akin to their influences Breakdown and Crown of Thornz.  But don't worry, they never end up sounding like Biohazard or anything, and the lyrics are anything but thuggish.  This is just super straight-forward Metalcore with killer riffs, near-perfect production, and some tongue-in-cheek humor thrown in too.

consider yourself "Rick Rolled"

No Mercy - Deathernity

In the endless ocean of mediocre Death Metal, I (so fortunately) stumbled across this monster.  Rhythmically, Deathernity is the most interesting album I've heard all year, along with Diskord's Dystopics.  These dislocated, stuttering grooves seem to be inspired by the expected world of Prog Death, the not-so-Death Metal realm of Mathcore, and all the way to the unheard-of plane of industrial and jungle.  It's true, I do detect an influence of electronic music.  Normally, that sort of thing would be grounds for me to banish a band to the recycle bin forever, but not here.  The "distant" production marries the effects with the instruments superbly.  The use of super-isolated drum sounds and solid-state  guitar amps create a uniquely "cold" atmosphere that's not at all sterile.    No Mercy have succeeded in combining extremely contrasting elements into one diverse, yet cohesive whole. 

bienvenidos a miami

Witchrist - The Grand Tormentor

Have you guys ever put salad dressing on a sandwich?  If you haven't, you're really missing out.  I just took my bland supermarket sub to the next level by serving it with a side of Caesar dipping sauce.  What's next, bleu cheese?  The possibilities are endless!

I really didn't expect to like this record.  Their debut "Beheaded Ouroboros" bored me so much that I didn't even bother to download it for free.  Knowing that bands (no matter how supremely kult) do usually mature and diversify their sound is what led me to try it out.  This is exactly the case with The Grand Tormentor.  The production has been cleaned up, the speed is more varied, and the riffs are more memorable and palatable.  Witchrist haven't evolved into Death Metal royalty just yet, but have gone beyond their stylistic indulgence and become a formidable name in the international scene.  Together with Ulcerate, Witchrist are putting 'Aotearoa on the Death Metal map.

Kickin' it Witchrist