Archive for November 2020

Skeletal are a solid death metal band from Finland, playing a mix of influences in the old school style but with a modern twist, and a clear, ripping modern production. Some of the guitar work has creeping elements of melody, which is refreshing for someone like myself who stays mostly glued in the mire of brutal. Also, can we talk about that absolutely sick as fuck cover art for a moment? Mad props to whoever…

Tyler has come a long way from Goblin, that much can be said. Igor didn’t exactly blow me away, but it is a decent collection of tracks. I’ve always seen Tyler as a producer first and a vocalist second, and now that rapping as been almost completely removed from his repertoire, that opinion is even more tilted. This record is glorious, and the beats have bells on, but that’s about it.

When I was a teenager this record used to make want to go out and punch cars. Nowadays, I just like to sit and bask in the sheer audacity of the audio mindfuckery on offer. Like, this * shouldn’t * work, but it is just perfect. The way the synths and guitars just feed off each other in some bonkers loop, before you even get to the drumming and the hydra-headed vocal attack. If you…

This record is often at the top of – or at least included in – many album lists of patrician listeners from around the globe, and I can see why. What Psychic lacks in immediate urgency it makes up for in the detail. It is, after all, the little things in life which give us the most pleasure. Best enjoyed when equipped with headphones,  Darkside takes you on a mesmerising journey that defies to be…

From the opening chords I am always hooked into the perfectly orchestrated chaos of Gorguts’ world. Obscura is at first impossibly dense to comprehend,  but once you have aligned yourself to the distilled insanity that is on display here, then truly there is nothing like it. Perplexing technical death metal for the thinking gentleman or woman.

There is often a thin line between black metal and dungeon synth, but None manages to blur that line even further. Imagine the dense atmospheres of the synth worlds, but driven by drums and harsh vocals. Life is definitely damp and chilly, especially for a Welshman such as myself, at this time of the year, but None step things up a notch even more so.

Heavy, dense, multi-layered, dark and moody metal. All you could ever want, right? Ulcerate has a technical edge, as shown in the artwork and the interesting, almost jagged approach to songwriting.

Ugh! Is it thrash? Is it death? Is it thrashing death? Who cares? It’s fast, it’s ugly and it’s brutal. Elements of black metal are present but are dialled back a bit. The production is solid, and the sound not too over-compressed. A decent metal record. No more to really say.

Aiiiiiiieeeee!!!!! I fuckin’ love Impaled Nazarene. Not only are they – in my eyes – criminally underrated, but they bridge the gap between grindcore, black metal and the more tongue in cheek elements of war metal. Sure, a lot of these genres kinda feed into each other, but Latex Cult is a perfect example of attuned balance in regards to such, if I could speak so free. Plug in, my karmakeddon warriors.

Wow, this is all over the place! Oxidized Razor are fucking incredible when they are on point, but unfortunately in regards to this MCD, that is about only half of the time. Dirgy, stinking guitars and warm, pots and pans drums are led by some of the most savage, shrieked gore-style vocals ever. It just seems that the tracks here are cobbled together from a series of different sessions, some of which are definitely lacking…

Those that know me in person surely no doubt know my undying love for the worlds of the Elder Scrolls, in particular parts 2 and 3, Daggerfall and Morrowind. The creative community around these game worlds is alive and kicking today, and Tamriel Rebuilt is a 18 year old mod (yes) that still continues to add swathes of new lands and adventures into TES III: Morrowind, arguably the best open world RPG in its vanilla…

Hrmmmm. Without wanting to sound mean, this has to be one of the most stereotypical rock and or roll / metal records that I have ever heard in my entire worthless life. Every possible trope is dragged out kicking and screaming, and it almost makes metal a parody of itself. Yes, this is symptomatic of the trends at the time, but Jesus, this is awful. “Mr. Tinkertrain” is one of the nonciest things I’ve ever…

I love a shot of pornogrind now and then, especially when it’s done well. Cuntshots session here is pretty lo fi, but all the bits are in the right places and cohesion is an art form when it comes to this junky genre. However, there’s still a soft core of my heart (lol) that enjoys such sleazy entertainment, and off the back of this EP, I will be keeping my eyes peeled for more Cuntshots…

These guys must have one of the coolest band names ever. I mean cool in relative terms to the grindcore and goregrind worlds, of course. Nevertheless, Cutterclit is a brutal lesson in the world of Czech madness, where the goregrind and death metal scenes almost seem to blur into one. European goregrind can also often be utter trash, but ‘Anal Garland’ are consistence and a great listen.

After recently checking out Demonic Possession I wanted to get my head around another one of the bands albums and Desert Northern Hell. The main immediate difference is the production, which is a little drier, for lack of a better word, although there are flourishes to the song writing which are different too. It’s cool to listen sequentially like this so you can properly feel out developments in a band’s sound. All in all, a…

The first of four “related” releases from the Miles Davis Quintet that would span over several years in the late 50s and early 60s, Cookin’… is a surprisingly sparse and laid back recording, for what it is. The ticking percussion and fumbling bass backbone take us on a journey where the lead instruments add flavour and colour to the ongoing pieces, rather than “solo” out on their own. Either way, break out that enormous garlic…

1349 are fucking relentless. I’ve made the effort recently to go back and check out some of their earlier works, after consistently being impressed by most of the records that dropped since Hellfire caught my attention in 2006, or whenever it was. Beyond The Apocalypse is much like the band’s other releases in that it is an unstoppable weapon of a black metal war machine, but it possesses its own unique coldness and atmosphere.

I picked up a 27 single from Relapse about 12 or 13 years ago, and only now have I got around to checking out a full length from the band. Honestly, it’s rather pleasant, and recorded excellently. The production is to be heavily commended, and whilst I’m not the biggest fan of this kind of thing, I really enjoyed this album.

Many thanks to local guitar smithery legend Luke for turning me onto this Bossk record. Bossk are not a name that I have come across in sometime, in fact not since the I and II records from quite some time ago. Audio Noir builds on those sprawling compositions, but offers – in my opinion – a more metallic sound, and a tracklist that is consistent and flows well.

Cancerous Womb are (were) one of the more consistent and entertaining offerings of the British death metal scene, so it was fuckin’ great to hear that they dropped a full length back in 2014. The guitar work is razor sharp are the songs are quick of wit and don’t leave you feeling sluggish and tired when listened, which a lot of death metal is guilty of, I’ll be honest with you. All in all, most…

I made a point of going back and checking this out after spending a lot of time with later-career outputs from the group earlier this year. As cliche and as badly aged the title “Babykiller” may be, the opening track to this compilation of sorts absolutely blows your head off. Wayne Knupp (RIP breh) is absolutely sick as hell on the vocals and this track just totally fucking rips your head off and takes a…

Uhhhh what? This is a pickle of a black metal record. Admittedly I am not too familiar with the works of Dødsengel, but picked up on the name as a project to check out. On the surface of it, its black metal by numbers with wailing, screeching guitars and evil, shrieked vocals. But, underneath there is this element of dissonance, where things are thrown off kilter or even brazenly played out of tune or key…

I don’t know if I’m reading more into that I should be, but my 3 month old son seems to love Tangerine Dream. He just sits there in his rocker, a pensive look on his face as the layers of meandering synthesizers unfold endlessly. It’s an expression of deep thought and subtle awe, and it isnt too far from my own as I travel through the 70s era of Tangerine Dream recordings. Rubycon is quite…

I’ve been snoozing on the happenings of British madman The Atrocity Exhibit for quite some time, so I was beyond hyped when this little fucker dropped a few years ago. Man, does this album hit hard. Seriously grindy, but with some nice metallic riffage to keep it grounded. Just look at that cover art. You know you wanna listen to this.

I love the early Melvins records. They are dryer in production yet pull no punches with aggression. Its like grunge got a shot of adrenalin in the arm, only instead of making it really fast, it just made it really, really angry. Honestly, the grooves that these guys fall into is the best thing about the album. Songs are often hypnotic and repetitive, but have a similar effect to Swans and that kinda shit in…

All it takes is the opening chords of the first track to remind me how much I love this album. The guitar tone is so fuzzy and dirty its an absolute pleasure just to listen to that alone; its like a massage for your ears and your brain. With Born Too Late, Wino et al deliver a Sabbath-worshipping doom metal classic. Tales of drug addiction abound, cast out over a sludgy production and a pickled…

Bill Laswell has his fingers up in all sorts of pies. Baselines is something of a solo effort and something of a collaboration with others (as per always I suppose), but is something of a mixed bag. The vibe is a bit unusual and I wasn’t sure whether the music is intended to be chilled out or rather perplexing. There didn’t really seem to be much of a line between the two things. IDK, maybe…

I can see why people hated this when it came out. True, hate is a strong word, and expecting the unexpected should be taken somewhat on board when dealing with the legendary Miles Davis, but even the freestyle nature of these streetwise tunes seems a million miles away from the gorgeous experimental jazz that preceded it. Instead funk and groove are heaped on in piles, and whilst the tracks meander in their own way, On…

This was an interesting listen. I’m just going to throw it out there now so its out of the way: I absolutely prefer the original versions. Now I can get to the music recorded for this album without constantly harking back. There are two new ingredients here – pomp and percussion. LOL. Some of these previously dreamy compositions are now bombastic stompers, with marching drums and fuller instrumentation. Honestly though, Spirit Of Rebellion sounds absolutely…

In the early 2010s I went through a phase of collecting all the old Mortiis dungeon synth records. Due to their insane resale value, I never ended up buying most of them, and Blood And Thunder was included on that list. Its recently been repressed, so I figured at the very least I should hunt this down and give it a listen. This is the perfect entry-level release for anyone who wants to try their…

What is the perfect soundtrack for painting a skirting board I hear you all ask at once? Why of course, I answer, it is head-scraping harsh noise from Japanese Torture Comedy Hour and Muzumuzu Suru! I can’t claim to own this tape, but some kind soul has uploaded this to YouTube so I am finally able to enjoy this long-lost relic of power electronics. I can’t seem to find much info on Muzumuzu Suru, but…

You gotta laugh at Minch. It’s been years since I’ve heard them, but I’m thrown straight back into thier crazy world. I’m not sure what the intention or vibe is, but this is ridiculous and I can’t help but love it. Gore Beyond Necropsy should, of course, be called Gore Beyond Reproach. Tons of grinders crawl up the ass of this band and honestly it is so easy to see why. Brutal, lightening fast grind…

This is an absolute beauty of a hip hop album. Ever since Immortal Technique spat “just like my nigga Vast Aire from Cann Ox said, if you don’t like the smell of burning meat then get the fuck off the planet” I’ve had this group listed down to check out. In true LIW fashion of course, that ended up taking me a considerable amount of time but it was worth the wait. The beats on…

This took me by surprise. Recently decided to investigate some “proto” metal, as in, who came up alongside Sabbath in the formation of the heavy metal sound? I was recommended Blue Cheer, who sit a bit more on the bluesy end of the spectrum (hey, I guess the clue is in the name). I love the crunch and the muddy sound of the guitars. It fills me with complete joy. Something so simple yet all…

Ah yes, the original Emperor Of Dimensions Unknown! The recent Spirit Of Rebellion sessions had me going back to these stunning early Mortiis long-form compositions (Ok, Ok, its just several songs glued together, I get it!) and I even shared a few with LIW contributor Burra, who will hopefully be joining me to see Mortiis along with Mayhem in Bristol, providing this COVID situation improves drastically. Anyways, about the record. If you are even remotely…

Deterioration are fucking savage. I could have sworn that they had more of a mince thing going on in the past, but it’s been a while since I’ve spent some time with their material. The Unnatural Mind is all grind; balls out riffs and fucking mental blastbeats. I’m reminded of Insect Warfare if I could make such a comparison, especially in the vocal department. Truly, this is a fantastic grindcore album.

Prurient is fuckin’ great, JK Flesh is fuckin’ great. Then, of course, naturally, this split is fucking great. It’s a match made in heaven, where the more pulsing, driven body music of the Flesh meets the sheets of noisy experimentation of the ‘rient. Truly, madly, a good ‘un.

The first time I heard this I found it rather irritating. Maybe I’ve developed a penchant for samples shoe-horned and glitched into freaktastic breakcore musicals? It’s a possibility. I suppose that when life throws you a chocolate wheelchair, all you can do is get up and do a little dance, or something like that.

Haircuts For Men are one of the most consistent projects that operate in the vaporwave style. Their records are more than that though, truly. Even so, I would go on to say, that they are often more than the sum of their parts, and 必要 is of no exception.  The music here invokes heavy nostalgia, a morose longing and a sense of the unknown. I’m reminded in part of Evanescence era Scorn with the slight…

Seemingly considered one of the fusion-era Davis classics, with the group well and truly into the post-bop phase. I had to admit that I found Miles In The Sky laid back and almost restrained. The tracks are under-stated and move along subtly, but there’s always that feeling that things could become unhinged at any moment. Despite there only being four tracks, I find it difficult to pick a stand out track or even a movement…

I’d always put off listening to earlier Gorgoroth because I saw them live with Pest about a decade ago and found them to be pretty awful. Little did I realise however that the vocals on this record are done by yet another madman called Hat (yes), so I finally spun this up. Of course, I’m an idiot, and this does not disappoint. Antichrist is black metal of the savage and punishing variety. It’s not quite…

Brutal gory grindcore! Imagine, I dunno, Exhumed but on crack. Slower, groovy passages mingle with disgusting blasts and rabid vocals to provide you, the listener, with a wondrous concerto of diseased malpractice glorification.

In your poonani! My So Called Life is classic Venetian Snares, marring the frenetic mentalist approach of the early daze with the wanted or not calculated genius and finesse of the more recent experimentations released by Mr. Funk. Some quality sampling, some incredible beat programming / mashing, and some menacing electronics. A must-listen, IMO.

Cover thy ears and lock up thyne missis, for Tsjuder are in town! Possessing a devilishly metallic and surprisingly clear production, Demonic Possession is the perfect showcase of Tsjuder’s razor sharp black metal. The record is almost a lesson in making kvlt and unforgiving black metal without having to plug guitars into beehives instead of amplifiers.

The strangest thing about The Satanist is that I have listened to it a whole bunch of times but I keep forgetting that I have. Like, the whole thing blurs into one track, asides from the first, and I attribute this to listening either whilst playing games, doing house work or at the gym. Either way, The Satanist is a solid record and cemented the long-running Behemoth project as a household name in black metal….

I’ve witnessed Cardiff’s Thorun in the live environment but have not until had the pleasure of hearing studio material. Expect seismic, glacial doom in the instrumental veins of Bongripper, but coupled with the power-tinged riffs of bands more grounded in the riff rather than out there in the ether; think more trad-doom enthusiasts such as Pentagram, or even Sabbath. Chorus Of Giants reminds me in parts of the band Slabdragger, and I don’t feel that…

The Bad Seed EP was one of the final offerings from the volatile Birthday Party group. The tracks positively crackle with chaotic energy, firing this awkward, bizarre mix of punk and indie pop (yeah) up to a whole new level. There are times where it seems the whole song will fall apart, but that just seems like a part of the deal here. Worth going back to, especially for Nick Cave fans.

This is sick as fuck. Dr. Octagon’s (Kool Keith) self titled record from 1996 is a lesson in how to produce sublime hip hop beats, and then provide a stunning flow to go with it. Comparisons with MF Doom are perhaps too easy, but it’s easy to see where MF took a lot of inspiration from. Some of the lyrics about being a gynacologyst are a bit clumsy and haven’t aged too well, but all…

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t initially underwhelmed by Swans’ 90s output, especially coming in as a fan of the sonic destruction that was Filth, Cop, Greed etc. – Omniscience however, the live album I believe for the Love Of Life album, showcases those rigid and dark folk songs in the stretched out sprawling live incarnations one would expect from Swans. Even the morose electronic-laden and acoustic guitar driven rock melodies that the…

I’ve never properly taken the time to sit and listen to Dream Theater before so decided it would probably best to start right at the beginning. I understand that a different vocalist is at work here, but honestly, When Dream And Day Unite is pretty much as I expected it to be, discounting a roughness around the edges. This has 80s to the max vibes; snippets of hair metal breach through, and that snare is…

Hey Frankenstein! You want some metal infused horrorpunk? What do you mean “no”? Haha I played the absolute death out of this record when I was a teenager. Admittedly, I only really bought it because it had Joey from Slipknot on guitars, but it opened up the world of horrorpunk for me. An obsession with the Misfits developed in the years coming which would allow me to snake into the punk genre too – so…

Can you believe this has been the longest gap between Napalm records? It doesn’t feel that long since Apex Predator dropped. I guess that means that I’m getting old as fuck. Either way, here she blows, coming in from the horizon like a steamboat with a deceased crew and smashing head on into the dock with “Fuck the Factoid”, before pulling out all the usual tricks (and I’m sorry, but that same goddamn Russ Russell…

Greed Killing – as a single – is probably the lowest point in Napalm’s career, if I had to pick one. The band were pursuing an industrial or “groove metal” (says the press) direction at the time, but Greed Killing is a shameful commercial grab that is hideously out of place even with the album it’s from, let alone the band’s output in general.

Now this is how you do a Napalm Death record. Order Of The Leech is fucking ferocious, and was a phenomenal return to form after a patch of slower albums. Following on from Enemy Of The Music Business, Order… keeps the pace up, with flesh-ripping metallic grindcore carnage. Literally that’s all I can say. This started a trend in how Napalm records would appear and even sound. Favourite track: “Narcoleptic”.

The original Napalm Death Peel Sessions have to be some of the most brutal sounds put to tape. I cannot fathom the sheer energy, speed and ferocity that is going down on this recording. It is the polar opposite to Swans’ Public Castration Is A Good Idea, but on the same chart in regards to pushing the extremities of music. Truly essential noise. (This review covers the first two Peel Sessions released in 1988 and…

Too Experienced is a chilled out journey through some tight, head-nodding variety of reggae. I’ll be honest, I’m more well versed in the spaced out, dubby strains of the genre, so this is a refreshing change. And what great tunes there are, from the bigger hits to the lesser known entries. Either way, a solid record.

I hate it when shit like this happens to bands. I guess something similar happened with Gorgoroth, where several instances of the band existed (also with Von if I recall). I tried to give this a fair go, but CKY without Deron Miller is not something I think I can get my head around. Sure, there are plenty of bands that can shed vocalists and reinvent themselves in the process, but personally I think Deron…

A beautiful, morose journey through ambient, acoustic folk tunes. The guitars sparkle with life and the vocals, whilst admittedly I cannot understand, are gruff and powerful. I feel as though I am being transported to a distant land.

Having being slightly disappointed by Miles’ early 90s attempts at bridging into a more electronic music / hiphop direction (hey, just imagine what that could have done for popular music), I was a little anxious going in to this. As much as I would trust Bill Laswell with any band (except maybe Swans hahaha) I was indeed skeptical. But of course, my worries were quickly put to rest. What we have here is a gorgeous…