V/A - The Coven & Neophytes Vol 2 (Witch Hunter Records)

http://witchhunterrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-coven-neophytes-vol-2

Witch Hunter Records have been kicking around the UK underground sludge/doom scene for several years now. They dabble in a bit of metallic hardcore stuff too. This is a cross section of what they've got going on at the moment. Recognised the names of a few bands like Iron Witch, Tree Of Sores and Black Mass that I've been meaning to check out for a while.

Thisclose - s/t

Discharge. Possibly the most copied punk band of all time inspiring an entire genre called d-beat. Two monstrous nuclear stockpiles worth of bands called Dis-something. Endless 7"s with black and white sleeves and covers depicting the horrors of war.

Why?

Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?

Because a d-beat is like a banging donk to a crusty. The punks just love it.

They like to pretend the late 80s didn't happen though. Discharge have reformed and are back playing their greatest hits. Nothing from the late 80s though.

Glam metal!!

Discharge didn't just go a bit metal. They weren't full tilt over the top into hair metal territory

Grave New World was the album they all try to forget. However, a few people secretly love this album.

Unlike every other d-beat band out there Thisclose are inspired by the Grave New World era of Discharge. Metallic riffs and screeching vocals.

They do it pretty damn well too.

Serpentine Path - s/t

Well the single was bloody excellent - http://spoonfuloftar.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/serpentine-path-erebusdepravity-7.html

The whole album is even better. This is going to take several months to sink in fully but I think it's going to join Pallbearer and Krallice as the best metal albums of the year. There's a ton of stuff going on under the surface that'll take a while to reveal itself.

Straight away it sounds great. Continuing the doom-y riffs that Unearthly Trance had including the uniqueness. Fantastic grasp of structure and dynamics etc that separate them completely and utterly from the generic sludge crowd.

Doommantia Vol 1 benefit compilation

This compilation was put together to raise money to benefit Ed Barnard of Doommantia.com. He suffered a heart attack and due to huge medical bills, he is now homeless. 39 bands from all around the world have contributed over 4 hours of music. Killer artwork was donated by Coby Ellison. A $7 donation gets you these tracks but you can donate more if you have the means to do so. Lets help get Ed back on his feet and keep Doommantia alive!

Doommantia is a proper underground music blog. Full length reviews and in depth interviews. Definitely something worth supporting. Also recognise a fair few of the bands as being decent so well worth your time.

Absolutely blows my mind any time I hear about the US healthcare system. Utterly fucked.

Skullflower - IIIrd Gatekeeper

Possibly Skullflower's finest moment. From 1992 and it still holds up. Not that I heard it back then. I was listening to Guns N Roses. I did hear it in the early noughties though. Back in the days before soulseek and mediafire when someone had to tape you things.

I'll happily stamp on them rose tinted glasses though. I reckon it's much better now that people can get access to underground music.

First heard Mr Bower's stuff when I ordered a split tape his Total project did with Merzbow after a reading a review in Terrorizer. Back when Terrorizer was worth buying and wasn't just about shit euro goth-metal. Blah blah blah moan moan moan.

Anyway, Skullflower and this album. Skullflower have churned out tons of stuff and their side projects release ridiculous amounts of stuff. No way of keeping it up with it all and no point either. If you're releasing tons of CDrs a year there's diminishing returns.

Nope, you can happily live with just this album. Total far out noise rock. Endless feedback. Churning proto-Earth/Sunn stuff with a no-audience UK underground stamp on it.

Cryptopsy - None So Vile

Well, now this is a good idea - bands putting their old albums up on their own bandcamp page. All money straight to them rather than a label.

I love this album. I love it even though the singer thought it was a good idea to call himself Lord Worm.

It's death metal that rides the line between being really tech (which I like but does have it's place) and things that approach actual tunes.

No idea what Cryptopsy are up to nowadays but this is a great slice of 90s death metal.

The Royal Arch Blaspheme - II

This is as filthy, necro, satanic, ugly, thrashy and metal as fuck of a release as you could ever dream of hearing.

After polluting minds and corrupting souls with their self-titled debut album, THE ROYAL ARCH BLASPHEME return to wage war on the holy with the cryptic “II.” Once again the vision of PROFANATICA guitarist/songwriter John Gelso and KRIEG mastermind N. Imperial but now expanded into a full lineup, THE ROYAL ARCH BLASPHEME's highly anticipated "II" expands upon ideas from their original template: the primitivism is cruder, the sludge more volcanic, the blasphemy more vile, the production fuller and more devastating. What results is sickened (and sickening) miasma of black metal filth that only THE ROYAL ARCH BLASPHEME can create... bow down in obeisance.

Pay Homage and Worship!
 

Thawed Out -s/t LP

Do you like later Black Flag when they bunged in some deranged solos and slowed down? You bloody well should. My War Side Two is clearly better than First Four Years.

Thawed Out aren't quite into MWS2 territory just yet. There's some Void and United Mutation going on in there as well. For modern bands think Mob Rules and some of that Katorga Works Records stuff.

You can buy the LP from Shogun Records. They've been putting some stuff like Nasa Space Universe so you know they've got taste.

Slightly awkwardly to download the whole LP you have to go to two different place. The link above has Side A of the LP with 4 new songs. Side 2 is the Thawed Out demo which can be downloaded here - http://eatabookrecords.bandcamp.com/album/thawed-out-demo-cassette

Sinking Suns - demo

Nice little slice of noise rock.

The excellent folk over at Shiny Grey Monotone mentioned Killdozer, Steel Pole Bath Tub, Scratch Acid, Tar, Crucifucks, Big'N, Sicbay and Distorted Pony in their review.

I bet you didn't manage to get half way through reading that list of bands before pressing play.

Only given it one listen through so far but it's going to get a lot more plays. This is a rare gem of a demo. Oh, and it's a million miles away from your generic local band Shellac/Jesus Lizard rip-off.

Serpentine Path - Erebus/Depravity 7"

Essentially this is Unearthly Trance reborn. Someone from Ramasses/Electric Wizard is involved as well.

Stupidly Unearthly Trance kind of passed me by at the time. I was under the impression they were just an identikit doom band. Cursing myself for not finding out sooner that they were in fact pretty damn unique with a bunch of other influences.

This seems to carry on quite well from Unearthly Trance. Doom that crawls along at a snail's pace but unusual in structure.

$2 for a 7" worth of music is also very reasonable.

Losing The Battle - Live At The 1in12

Quick post before I do some more reviews later in the week. Here's something from my new bandcamp page of old UK DIY demos and things. It's an old band of mine called Losing The Battle (or Motley Crudos or Monkey Tennis). In our heads it was like a cross between Botch and His Hero Is Gone. Members have played in a bunch of other bands like Gruel, My Name Is Satan, Orrin De Forest, Doom, Jobbykrust, Health Hazard, The Devils, Servo. More than can be mentioned really. We played some gigs over a couple of years and it was fun (especially The Bacon Factory in London). This was a live set recorded at the 1in12 in Bradford. It was recorded via the studio so you can actually hear what's going on.

Battle Of Wolf 359 - demo

Just started to upload a load of old UK DIY demos onto a bandcamp. Here's Battle Of Wolf 359 who have recently called it a day. Lazy description is 'screamo' but that term doesn't mean too much anymore. Well, it means lots of different things to lots of different people so it's useless as a description. If you like stuff like Systral and Shikari then you'll be more than happy listening to this.

Inquisition - Ominous Doctrines Of The Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm

Everything about this release rules! The artwork rules, the riffs rule, the titles rule, and, my favourite of all, the vocals utterly rule! This is Thrash/Black Metal supremacy right here. This was probably my favourite metal release of last year so go listen. Also check out the other great stuff Hells Headbangers have on their Bandcamp as it's dripping with leather-clad thrash-metal goodness.

INQUISITION, possessors of one of the most distinctive black metal sounds around, returns after a ominious, three-year slumber in the stygian depths with their highly anticipated fifth album, "Ominous Doctrines of the Perpetual Mystical Macrososm." Revolving, as always, around the core duo of vocalist/guitarist Dagon and drummer Incubus, INQUISITION create fog-thick, utterly mesmerizing blackness with only two instruments and voice. "Ominous Doctrines of the Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm," amongst a discography already lined with classics, evokes blackest magick and esoteric mysticism, inducing trance-like states in even the sturdiest constitution - hail the "Ominous Doctrines of the Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm"! Recommended for worshippers of INQUISITION, because no one else sounds like INQUISITION.

Godstopper - What Matters

No, not Godstomper. Godstopper. And no, it's not grindcore. It's....it's....it's....I dunno. It's not a 'genre' band. It's fucking awesome that's for sure.

A friend described them as a cross between Today Is The Day and Weezer. It's in that weird world of Harvey Milk and Mare and Torche where doom meets pop. However, Godstopper are slightly more on the sick and twisted side of the riffage and also quite super tuneful. Oh yeah, chuck in some Melvins as well.

It totally works as well. And I can't get my head around how the horrible riffs turn into poppy melodies without the slightest kind of obvious jarring.