Born Under Saturn - Reflecting the Beautiful Design

From: USA
Year: 2000
Genre: Grindcore, Hardcore

By the late 90’s the Connecticut hardcore scene was in a steady decline from it’s previous glory days. Many of the musicians were moving away, the fans were getting older (with younger kids getting into grunge or whatever the fuck was popular) and just not going to as many shows and clubs were closing down. In spite of all this negative happenstance, Born Under Saturn was….well….born. Influenced by bands like Rorschach, Today is the Day and Discordance Axis, they flew in the face of what 99% of the other bands in the dwindling scene were doing. As technical as the songs were, with time signatures constantly shifting from crushing breakdowns to high-speed blasts and everything in between, they never sacrificed an ounce of aggression. The riffs were all over the board as well; angular, dissonant, noisy, clean, sludgy, thrashy, grinding, at times even locking with the bass to create some truly memorable melodies. The vocals fluctuated between a cleaner hardcore yell, spoken word and a demonic scream, the vocalist was a madman (no, seriously), he stalked the stage like a possessed lunatic in search of an exorcism. The album was recorded with Kurt Ballou of Converge and mixed by Steve Austin of Today is the Day who, incidentally, was a big fan. Easily one of my favorite bands to come out of the CT scene if yer a fan of any of the previously mentioned bands you should dig this. I also included the 2 songs from their split 7" with Shora.

Clikatat Ikatowi - Orchestrated and Conducted by

From: USA
Year: 1996
Genre: Post-Hardcore

A recent post over at The Living Doorway got me thinking about the 90’s “art punk” scene in San Diego, which I always thought was a pretty pretentious name for a “genre”, but the scene produced some awesome bands, Clikatat Ikatowi being one of the best. They came a little later in the decade, formed by the guitarist of Heroin and drummer Mario Rubalcaba, who has since played with a shit ton of bands like Metroschifter, Black Heart Procession, Pinback, Hot Snakes and currently Earthless. I always loved his drumming on this album specifically, his driving, complex tom beats and general style set him apart from other drummers in the scene. The guitarist’s style was equally unique, owing as much to jazz as it did to say Drive like Jehu or his earlier work in Heroin. Noisy and discordant, half the time he wasn’t playing riffs so much as noisy abstraction. The vocals were part spoken word, part screaming, his lyrics and style just as abstract as the music. I’m not sure who came first, these guys or Swing Kids, another great band, but they obviously influenced one another and in turn influenced the much maligned screamo genre. If you let that turn you off then you’re a dumb ass, cus this album is great.

Sulaco - Build & Burn

From: USA
Year: 2011
Genre: Grindcore/Death Metal

Another one of the many, many albums I slept on last year, if you like your metal dynamic and technical, then look no further. Any fan of Erik Burke’s work with Brutal Truth and Lethargy know that this guy is a riff machine with some of the strangest ideas since Jim Jones poisoned a thousand people in Guyana. This shit is all over the place with odd time signatures, shifting tempos and complex riffs that never get so out of control that you can’t keep your head nodding. There’s a heavy chaotic noise/hardcore influence to the whole album, musically and vocally, with some emotively melodic riffs thrown in to keep the music from becoming sterile and unfeeling. I’ve heard this described as death metal and, while there are a lot of technical DM style riffs and blasting, I wouldn’t go so far as to call it death metal OR grindcore. This is another true metal hybrid. Whatever, you decide. I’m going to check out their back catalogue now cus this album is starting to grow on me like a cock fungus.
Name your price here.

Bent Sea - Noistalgia

From: Belgium
Year: 2012
Genre: Grindcore

Since I don’t usually post brand new stuff or a whole lot of grindcore, I figured I’d throw you followers a freaking bone. This is the new grind project from the drummer and vocalist of Aborted with Devin Townsend on bass. Basically old school grindcore in the tradition of Terrorizer and Repulsion with a few twists and turns that keep it sounding fresh. Definitely a blastfest that should have all you freaks slathering at the mouth.

The Cancer Conspiracy - The Audio Medium

From: USA
Year: 2002
Genre: Heavy Progressive Rock

It’s a testament to the sheer amount of music I am subjected to that I somehow forgot about this masterpiece. I listened to it incessantly when it first came out. Granted a lot has happened since then, my life hasn’t exactly been a whorehouse of happiness. But thinking about the time in my life when this came out makes me happy nevertheless. It probably shouldn’t. It was a pretty fucked up time. But memories are like that. They trick you. Their distance makes you feel nostalgic even if they don’t deserve it, just because they’re gone. And Christ, it was only like 10 years ago. But it was a simpler time. Not better, just simpler. And I still did my best to inject the maximum amount of chaos into the simplicity of my life back then. But not when I was listening to this album. I remember sitting back with this on and just letting the world fall away. It’s an intense, highly cerebral instrumental journey that you won’t regret taking. And we can all do with a little less regret….can’t we? Ah shit, I'm gettin all glum now, I guess I should say something about the music huh? Its kinda King Crimson, kinda Iceburn, kinda Don Caballero. If you’ve never heard of any of those bands I don’t know what to tell you. Just listen to it ya chucklehead.
Or don’t. What do I care?

Dephosphorus - Axiom

From: Greece
Year: 2011
Genre: ASTROGRIND

This is the last time I put off listening to an album after reading rave reviews about it on blogs i typically trust. Not only because this album would have easily landed on my “best of” list….but because my brain feels neglected for having not listened to it sooner. First off, where the fuck did these dudes come from? Literally…..Greece. Metaphorically…..who the hell knows. I haven’t heard a debut album this insanely aggressive, original, well written and all around sick in a long time. What the fuck are they even playing? Grindcore? Crust Punk? Hardcore? Blackened Death Metal? Well they call it astrogrind but don’t get em wrong, there is nothing amorphous about their music. It goes for your throat from the first note to the last. It’s mainly the sound effects woven into the typically light speed execution that make the music sound like a singularity exploding into spacetime. They blend every aforementioned genre so beautifully that they have seriously created something unique. The way they transform one riff and genre into another (especially on the opening track) by playing around with chord progressions and tempo, is fucking incredible and gives each song a cohesion alot of bands can't match. The vocalist is a man possessed. From hardcore/black metal screams to death metal growls, this guy is clearly passionate about what he does. The drumming is incredibly tight and organic sounding. No drum trigger bullshit here. Did I mention these guys are only a 3 piece? 3 PIECE?!? Take the dissonant hardcore of Converge and Botch, the rabid grindcore of Pig Destroyer and the unhinged blackened metal of Anaal Nathrakh, dip them in a cauldron of rotting carcasses and then blast the resultant nightmare into a black hole. Dephosphorus are set to take over. Believe it.
Click on myspace link above to get it on vinyl. Artwork and layout is beautiful.
Hear two new tracks from upcoming full length at Bandcamp.

Ordo Obsidium - Orbis Tertius

From: USA
Year: 2011
Genre: Black Metal/Funeral Doom

Ok, after taking a breather, I’m back to post a bunch of shit nobody cares about and write “reviews” that nobody reads. In direct contrast to the holiday spirit that has been unsuccessfully shoved down my throat, I’ve decided to post some really dark depressive, although occasionally uplifting, stuff. These guys play a combination of atmospheric black metal and plodding funeral doom. I’m sure there are plenty of bands out there that play this style but I’m not aware of them, so this is pretty novel for me. Funeral Doom can get boring if the compositions aren’t dynamic and the same can be said for black metal. So it’s pretty cool to have a band do both, and do both very well. It’s obvious that these genres would work well together, both typically exude isolation and despair, but these guys do a tremendous job at expressing a wider range of emotions within both genres. From cold aggressive blasts to mournfully triumphant dirges, the music is always emotive. At times they even mix up the styles, by using tremolo picking over a slow funeral beat, for instance. Anyway, check it out, it’s a really good album and should satisfy lovers of both genres.

Best of 2011 - The Final Volume

There are a few more albums left that i think are worthy of the "best of" list, but frankly I'm burned out with all this holiday BS so below is a list of my favorite albums of 2011 that were already posted on this blog throughout the year. I'm positive there are many great albums that i missed out on so if anyone has recommendations then let me know. Bah Humbug.


Blut Aus Nord - 777-Sect(s)
Industrialized Psychedelic Black Metal
LIYL - Deathspell Omega, Godflesh, Darkspace

Tombs - Path of Totality
Blackened Sludgy Noisecore Post-Metal
LIYL - Neurosis, YOB, ISIS

Absu - Abzu
Blackened Thrash
LIYL - Melechesh, Order of Ennead, Necros Christos

Drugs of Faith - Corroded
Rock and Roll Grindcore
LIYL - Despise You, Nails, Agoraphobic Nosebleed

Brutal Truth - Endtime
Experimental Grindcore
LIYL - Pig Destroyer, Napalm Death, Nasum

YOB - Atma
Sludgy Doom
LIYL - Electric Wizard, Kongh, Cough

Exhumed - All Guts, No Glory
Gore Obsessed Grinding Death Metal
LIYL - Carcass, Haemorrhage, Gorgasm

Origin - Entity
Technical Brutal Death Metal
LIYL - Necrophagist, Obscura, Hate Eternal

Obscura - Omnivium
Progressive Technical Death Metal
LIYL - Pestilence, Atheist, Origin

Gridlink - Orphan
Best Grindcore Album of the Year
LIYL - Discordance Axis, Hayaino Daisuki, Noisear

Ulcerate - Destroyers of All
Abstract Post-Death Metal
LIYL - Gigan, Flourishing, Portal

Petrychor - Effigies and Epitaphs
Atmospheric Folky Black Metal
LIYL - Panopticon, Wolves in the Throne Room. Ash Borer

Best of 2011 - Volume 20 - Earth - Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1

From: USA
Year: 2011
Genre: Drone

Unfortunately, Dylan Carlson will forever be remembered as the guy that bought Kurt Cobain the shotgun he used to blow his brains out. I say unfortunately because a) who wants to be remembered for that? and b) as guitarist for Earth, he was a major pioneer in the development of Drone Doom, quite possibly even creating the genre himself. Earths’ first album, Earth 2, is one of the most influential albums in the history of the genre, influencing bands such as Boris, Khanate, Eagle Twin, Burning Witch and Moss. Sunn O))) basically started as an Earth tribute band, their name being an obvious nod to Earth. Though still drone doom in nature due to the use of minimalism, repetition and slow tempos, their music today bears little resemblance to early recordings. Since the album “Hex” Earth have been moving towards a textured, earthy Americana sound with influences ranging from jazz to British folk-rock to the desert soundscapes of Ennio Morricone. On this album they’ve added cello, which adds another dimension of darkness and warmth to the music. It’s like listening to the soundtrack from a western in which the hero sells his soul to the devil.
Buy it here.

Best of 2011 - Volume 19 - Krallice - Diotima

From: USA
Year: 2011
Genre: Black Metal

Every time an American band pushes the boundaries of black metal or doesn’t wear corpse paint or doesn’t endorse Satanism (and I’m sorry, but Satanism is just fucking silly anyway and 98% of the time I feel like its just bullshit posturing), or produces an album that doesn’t sound like it was recorded in their living room, they are labeled as hipster. Granted, many bands are sprouting up that are less than genuine with their intentions. But does that mean that every black metal band in America that doesn’t rehash the same tired aesthetic is hipster? And the bottom line is, American BM is way more innovative than anything coming out of Norway or even Sweden anyway, and at the forefront of such innovation, is Krallice.
On their 3rd album they have continued in their quest to push black metal as far as it will go before transforming it into something else entirely. The compositions are as intricate and epic as ever, trying to unwind them can keep you busy for days. This is not music for the casual listener, it takes multiple listens to even understand what they are doing half the time. Although the serpentine noodling of the guitars is still in full force, it’s a bit more restrained on this album, they interlock and follow each other much more than before. Litany of Regrets is full of this technique and is the closest example to traditional black metal on the album. Overall the album feels less claustrophobic than previous releases as well, there are many slower parts, the title track and Telluric Rings (easily their most accessible song) in particular, that allow the music to breathe a bit more. With breathtaking beauty and mind numbing intensity they’ve proven that you don’t have to follow every formula to create epic black metal. So call it hipster if you want. It’s always easier to write something off and dismiss it than it is to understand it anyway.
Buy it here.