Thursday, December 30, 2010

Belong - October Language


A fuzzy, blissed-out, drug-induced nirvana. Warm, enveloping noise washing over distorted melodies. Music that can be felt, that talks, that means nothing as well as everything. Forget about all you've ever known and let it flow through your veins, take over your body and make your mind float away to another place.

Download

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Luciation - Infernalistic Flames Of Luciftias

One of my favourite releases from the "raw black metal" sub-genre. Harsh, uncomprimising black filth from Denmark. All of their releases are quality but this album really stands out for me.

Download

Clair Obscur - Play

Cult french coldwave, very bleak atmosphere. The Pilgrim's Progress in particular is a favourite track of mine.

Download
Last.fm

Monday, December 27, 2010

Mercyful Fate - Don't Break the Oath

Continuing on the theme - one of the greatest metal albums of all time. Bow down and worship.

Download

Brats - 1980

As promised, here is the one and only Brats LP which is further removed from the Mercyful Fate metal sound and is more NWOBHM/hard rock mixed with some punk. This was before King Diamond joined the band.

Download

Brats - 18th January 1981 (bootleg)

Brats were a Danish punk/metal band that later became one of the greatest metal bands ever in Mercyful Fate. If you don't know who Mercyful Fate are, they basically created the black metal image and hence I often refer to them as a proto-black metal band along with stuff like Sarcofago and early Sodom, even though the music is basically thrash metal. You can recognize almost all of the songs on this as Mercyful Fate songs, albeit with some differing lyrics (it can be weird at first hearing the tune of Curse of the Pharaohs to completely different lyrics). King Diamond's unique vocals are also instantly recognizable. Compared with their 1980 LP (which I will post too), this is much more metal and might as well be a MF record. Indeed, most of these songs can also be found on Mercyful Fate reissues as bonus tracks.

Download

Subconscious Evil

Raw black noise from Japan. Some of the most evil shit I've ever heard.

Hail Satan

Benchmark - S/T 7"



Chaotic 90s emo/screamo. Somewhere between Orchid and Portraits of Past.

Download

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Matsudo


For those of you who feel like a bit of a tonic for all the harsh noise & blackened doom Mikk has been posting, may I suggest Matsudo. Swedish psych/doom, this is perfect to listen to on a sunny arvo with beer & spliff in hand.

For fans of: Dead Meadow, Sleep, Grey Daturas, etc.

With Amplifiers Zions Nothingness Eventually Rises
Myspace

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Hooded Menace & Coffins - Split 7"

Two killer bands on one split 7". Both Hooded Menace and Coffins play dark and heavy death/doom metal.

Download

Monday, December 20, 2010

DAžD


Here is DAžD from Serbia, who play an interesting mix of doom, black metal and crust punk. The riffs are groovy, the vocals are a bit "out-there" (they list GISM as one of their influences), and the lyrics are supposed to be about anarchism and the occult, although I can't understand a word they are saying.

Download
Myspace

Friday, December 17, 2010

Jude (POL) - Combat Exhaustion


Now this is the shit. Polish band that plays harsh, punishing, straight-for-the-throat industrial akin to early Swans and Godflesh. I'm telling you, this album rivals even that stuff in terms of pure animalistic brutality.

Taken from their website:
"polish industrial music and multimedia project. using noise music video graphics and technology as a weapon. treating industrial as a culture and attitude. punk in roots. industrial by vocation."

Perfect.

Website
Download

Промышленная Архитектура (Industrial Architecture) - Любовь и Технология (Love & Technology)


I'm not sure exactly what this is. Experimental/post-punk/industrial/??? but its really good. Keep in mind this was recorded in fucking 1988 in Russia. The guy killed himself the following year.


Download
Last.fm

Tom Waits compilation


Here I've made a compilation of some of my favourite Tom Waits songs. I'm not as much a fan of his experimental stuff (although I still do enjoy it) as I am of his more heartfelt bluesy stuff. Enjoy.

Tracklist:
1. Hold On
2. I Hope That I Don't Fall In Love With You
3. Who Are You
4. Little Rain (For Clyde)
5. In the Neighborhood
6. Time
7. Christmas Card From a Hooker In Minneapolis
8. Martha
9. Fish & Bird
10. Jersey Girl
11. Bottom of the World
12. Bad Liver and a Broken Heart
13. San Diego Serenade
14. Innocent When You Dream (Bar Room)

Download

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Янка Дягилева - aнгедония


Янка Дягилева was a Russian poet and singer who was found dead in a river on the 17th of May 1991, where it was alleged that she took her own life due to depression. During her life, she suffered from alcoholism, as well as being an artist whos music was not looked upon favourably by her own government - in fact, I think her first album was banned in Russia (and maybe others? I'm not sure). In this context, I can't help but appreciate her music even more.

She gets grouped with Russian punk due to her work with some prominent players within that scene, however it is actually really unique and folky singer/songwriter type stuff. Some tracks do have a somewhat harder edge to them and I'm guessing a lot of the lyrics are of a political/prtotest nature, which would contribute to the punk tag as well. The second track in particular is an instant favourite for me.

Download
Last.fm

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Sedativ - 2002-2003



Some more great stuff from Russia. I'm going to try to post all of the good Russian stuff I find on here as a lot of it is hard to track down (especially if you don't know Russian).

In a way, this reminds me a lot of the whole ambient/post-rock/post-punk black metal type stuff that has been getting popular for a while, except I like this more. There is no black metal here, but the general bleakness brings it to mind for me. Its creator; Roman Sidorov, describes it as "psychedelic suicidal post-punk", which should give a good indication on what it sounds like. Apparently there was only one copy of this album, which was found after Roman's suicide in September 2003. Beautiful album, highly recommended.

Download
Last.fm

Coil - A Guide for Beginners: The Silver Voice

One of the greatest bands of all time. "A Guide for Beginners: The Silver Voice" is a reissue of a Russian 2-CD compilation which contained this as well as "A Guide for Finishers - A Hair of Gold". The Russian word for "finisher" means both suicide and cumming. This CD contains some of my favourite Coil tracks, including "Ostia (The Death of Pasolini)" and "Batwings (A Liminal Hymn)", which was played at John Balance's funeral service. Coil is music as abstract art.

Download
Last.fm

Театр Яда - Намордник Нарцисса

Lately I've been finding and listening to some Russian music. Театр Яда are one of my most interesting discoveries so far. This album is experimental, strongly leaning towards industrial and darkwave. Its also quite weird and mysterious, probably even moreso because of the band's origin and the fact that I can't find anything at all written about them that isn't in Russian.

Download
Last.fm

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Misery's Omen


This gem of an EP features members from Mournful Congregation, Stargazer and Cauldron Black Ram. This is their best material I think - their LP from 2008 is also good but doesn't compare to this. By far one of my favourite Australian metal releases ever. Comparable to the deranged early work of Bethlehem. Brilliant.

Download
Myspace

Christian Mistress - Agony and Opium


Really cool new traditional metal, get into it.

Download
Buy

Anima Morte - Face the Sea of Darkness


Swedish prog rock, similar to the mighty Goblin. "Face the Sea of Darkness is the first CD issued on American label Dead Beat Media, a sublabel of Razorback Records, focused on metal releases, inspired by horror and 70s."

Download
Myspace