Gigan - The Order of The False Eye

I'm a Godzilla nerd and I also love psychedelic music. I'm also a huge Death Metal fan and when the three are brought together, I get a huge chub. Gigan blends mind-melting riffs with psychedelic undertones in a way that truly mimics the effect of a bad acid trip while stuck in a black hole. Containing a member of Hate Eternal; this band promises not to dissapoint. This album rips open with a blistering riff and doesn't let up. Dropping the tension just long enough to delve into a few soundscapes and sonic exploration but slamming into hyperdrive soon after. The album closes with a lengthy psych piece that promises to suffocate and smother with its hectic skyscrapers of noise. This band needs WAAAAY more attention; purchase their stuff at the link below.

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Reka

Reka is an awesome russian screamo band that combines elements of post rock and sludge into their music to make a acidic concotion of Red Sparowes-esque instrumental passages while tapping into the ferocity of older Isis. The throat-shredding vocals twirl through ephemeral guitars while the rhythm section maintains a heavy atmosphere and driving beats. While they're relatively unknown and fairly new they deserve a lot of attention; this is one young band that needs all the exposure they can get.

Live Recording

Studio Recording

Their Last.fm page

Celeste - Discography

A fantastic french band that produces a fierce mixture of black metal, screamo and sludge. Think if Orchid listened to Neurosis and Wolves in The Throne Room for months on end and you've got the jist of it. Fierce vocals lead the attack while amble guitar lines pummel you in an assault of concentrated riffage leading in and out of droning passages that make the next onslaught that much more violent. The drums and bass build on the churning foundation and bring this musical maelstrom together with solid composition and rhythm. Great band.

Misanthrope(s)

Nihiliste(s)

Pessimiste(s)

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Frontier Ruckus - The Orion Songbook/Way Upstate and the Crippled Summer, pt. 1

Frontier Ruckus is an amazing folk band that sings about the area I live in; good ol' Lake Orion. The Orion Songbook is a haunting journey through the odd forested suburbs of Detroit and the many areas that have become monuments through my childhood. Throughout the record the air of despair and loneliness is heavy; a feeling anyone who lives here is well acquainted with. It's knives are tipped with the cruel cold of the Michigan winter, the somberness of the quiet Autumns, the child-like wonder of the spring and the joyous sway of the Summer treeline. This is an unforgettable release and a must own for any Michigander or fan of folk.

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Infester - To the Depths... In Degradation

Great album, hard to really sum up for me so I'll let someone else do the talking.
"Infester’s To the Depths... In Degradation is the band’s sole full length, and leaves one wondering whether this could actually be something found on Satan’s playlist. To get my facts straight, I contacted the Great Lord of the Depths on whether he approved of Infester, of the album, and his thoughts regarding it. He replied shortly after, with a somewhat interesting analysis of the album itself.

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Dear rasputin,

It seems that a lot of metal bands have taken my name and what I stand for as inspiration for their music, and frankly I’m sick of it. The last fifteen years have seen countless pussy-arse metal bands putting on make-up and thinking I give a flying fuck about their shitty, watered down tunes, and I’m extremely saddened by the lack of tr00 believers who use their music in an authentic ritualistic worship of all that is evil. Fifteen years ago, I was approached by the members of Infester, who asked me whether they could use my crib as a recording studio. They seemed like pretty nice guys, the sort of guys you could hang out with and have some pizza, so I said sure. This was how To the Depths... In Degradation came into being, and I feel safe to proclaim it as the tome of blasphemy and nun-sodomy in the mortal world, the soundtrack to the hellfire from whence it was recorded.

The first thing to note about the album is how thick and dense a sound it has, much in line with the death metal scene apparent in the US at the time. In actual fact, this dense feel was a result of all the recording equipment being saturated in lamb’s blood. We made sure that the instruments themselves were treated similarly, to give that awesome ‘we’re going to burn churches and rape women’ sound. To be very honest, the guys from Infester just weren’t up to my standards in instrumental talent, so I had to give them a few pointers, as well as doing a few rituals behind their backs. Drummer Dario was basically possessed by my mate Baal for the entirety of the recording, which explains his almost inhuman performance; likewise, the simple effect of playing while being burned alive definitely had an impact on the playing of the other two members, and really gave the album that blaspheming sound so many bands try and fail to attain.

Before we got the recording process under way, I made sure to look over some of the composition the guys had brought with them, and it was lucky I did, because the album could have easily ended up a pretty lame piece of music. The subtle incorporation of doom into the band’s death metal aesthetic was rather poor, to say the least, and seeing as I’m pretty much the guy to go to when you’re dealing with the Armageddon, I made a few minor changes to the structure of the album. As a result, the doom sections basically sound like the earth opening up and swallowing the world whole, the way they should sound.

Almost every aspect of the album was greatly influenced by being recorded in Hell; I tried to get the guys to base everything on the frequency to which I torture people. The drumming reflects a million nuns being gutted and racked, the guitars sound like my pitchfork stabbing people in the face and Jason’s vocals were modeled on an a cappella band we have down here, The No Throats. I thought it would be funny to tear out their throats and then make them sing, but they definitely served more than their original purpose by helping Jason really sound like he was being killed or something. Of course, once the album had been fully recorded, the typical packaging and marketing had to be done; every copy was dosed in various quantities of lamb’s blood and each came with your very own nun’s liver, for both rituals and aesthetic pleasure. I was very pleased with the mindset the guys had; they were willing to sacrifice everything, including their souls, to make the single most sacrilegious album ever. It did work, and they’re still here working on their eternal debt to me for helping them; why do you think they never released any other material? Haha just kidding, no but seriously. They’re dead.

Kind regards,

Satan

P.S. Your review better make people listen to this album, or else. Haha just kidding, no but seriously. I'll kill you.

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Needless to say, I was very surprised that Satan actually replied, and in my excitement I decided to simply submit the letter as my review. I don’t think anyone needs any more proof regarding how fucking evil this album is. Do yourself a favour, and listen to it real quick, I’m afraid he was being serious in his postscript."




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Omega Massif - Geisterstadt

Omega Massif produce a heavy hitting brand of instrumental doom/sludge that reminds me of a very angry Pelican. The guitars create immense atmosphere and then rip right into heavy riffage that has made me headbang in public on numerous occasions. These dudes know what they're doing and they manage to avoid all the cliches that "Post Metal" has going for it at the moment. Geisterstadt is a great piece of work and I recommend you pick this up from them; these dudes DESERVE the money.

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MYSPACE

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Red Sparowes

Red Sparowes are a band that I feel are extremely underrated in their line of work. Post Rock was once a genre accredited for inventive musicians and now it's become a near parody of itself where every band just seeks to imitate GY!BE, EITS, TWDY and Mono (So many acronyms). Though a few bands continue to persist and create a nice blend of the good ol' stuff with refreshing elements. The Red Sparowes have that quality in spades; not only do they incorporate a pedal steel guitar (a favorite instrument of mine) but they also have a healthy dose of prog rock here and there. As if that wasn't awesome enough, the band was founded by members of Isis and Neurosis! Bryant Clifford Meyer (Isis), Josh Graham (Neurosis) and Jeff Caxide (Isis). Though Caxide and Graham are no longer members, the band still keeps going. To celebrate the sheer amount of distilled awesome, I've included the band's two full length albums with this post. Please buy them, as they're a great piece for any record collection.


At The Soundless Dawn


Every Red Heart Shines Towards The Red Sun



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Alcest - Écailles de Lune

The minute you see the artwork to this record, you may fall in love like I did. Not only does it finely accent the listening experience in store for you, it also lends the type of imagery that floats through your head as this dream-like piece of music envelopes you in its Ambien-esque grasp. This band has quickly climbed up my list ever since I picked up their first full-length. Combining two of my favorite genres (Black Metal and Shoegaze) into one potent mix of pure emotion. Their new release doesn't disappoint, adding a little bit more Black Metal to the mix this time around. Soulful vocals ease their way through a silky-soft wall of guitar with Joy Division-esque bass in tow. For anyone who's a fan of old Shoegaze/New Wave then this is definitely a release you should have in your collection. Well worth the cash if you have it, this truly beautiful record will spend quite some time at the top of your playlist.

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