I probably sound like an annoying asshole by now since I’ve said this so many times, but for all the saturation in the metal world, it’s hard to find places, bands, and labels that consistently keep me excited. It’s a lot to ask, I admit, because I listen to a ton of stuff every week in order to make this site go, and having that much music in my ears is bound to result in fewer things sticking in my cranium. Therefore, I complain.

But as noted previously, there still remain a few labels that, when I get their promos and e-mails, I’m still excited to dig right in immediately. Profound Lore, Gilead Media, and the Flenser come to mind immediately, and anything that lands in my inbox or my physical mailbox from any of those outlets get moved to the front of the pipeline, the rest of what I have be damned. Newcomer imprint Broken Limbs Recordings quickly is moving its way up my list as an outlet for thought-provoking, exciting metal and extreme music that keeps me hungry for more.

My first experience with Broken Limbs came via the captivating new Vattnet Viskar EP, a stunning, self-titled collection of atmospheric, woodsy black metal that remains in heavy rotation weeks after hearing it for the first time. Recently, a bunch of new things from the label landed in my lap (uh, in a digital sense), and I’ve already taken time to peruse and dissect most of it. That said, I don’t want to recap all of them here because that would be a lot to do in not that much space, so we’ll tackle two of the releases. The rest will get its time in the weeks to come, believe me. I also thought it would be fun to look at two records that are very much different from each other, giving you an idea of the open-mindedness of the folks at Broken Limbs. That’s always a great sign that we’re in for some unexpected adventures in the years to come.

First up are French black metal titans Fhoi Myore, a band that’s doing a lot of good, especially when it comes to enhancing their homeland’s notoriety for producing some of the most bizarre, artistically limitless extreme metal going. The band only has been in existence for four years but in that time, they’ve managed to punch out a few demos, a full-length effort in March, and now their eight-track EP “The Northern Cold,” that Broken Limbs has brought your way. Basically, if you’re still into the second wave of Nordic black metal bands and also like music that makes you want to encounter the occasional ferocity of nature (rain pours in the background of this thing a nice chunk of the time), you’ll probably really like what you hear here.

Fhoi Myore, who appear to have plucked their name from the seven misshapen giants from “The Chronicles of Corum,” look pretty beastly themselves, from the few photos I’ve seen of the band. That matches nicely the primitive, animalistic nature of some of their songs, especially the desperate, shriek-filled vocals. There seems to be a real connection to nature and one’s essence, or at least that how it feels from listening to their music. I don’t have a lyric sheet, so I can only go on what I perceive. There also is a delicious amount of melody underneath these savage servings, from “Orage,” a gorgeously violent epic that twists and turns quite a bit but never loses its way; “Souvenirs,” a song that is fast and intricate for the most part and eventually lets a flush of air into the room at the end; “Miist,” a song that, if you remove the drape of black ugliness, has a catchy, almost approachable spine; and “Forest of Doom,” a track that seems awash in pain. There also is a cover of Ancalagon’s “The Walkyries” and an acoustic version of “Songes Funestes,” the closing cut on their self-titled long-player.

“The Northern Cold” is passionate, well-played, and nicely put together, as it is raw enough but it lets each dash of color come through without being muted by basement filth. Those still dining on the bones of black metal’s early days will find a veritable feast here.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.facebook.com/fhoimyorehttp://www.facebook.com/fhoimyore

To get the EP in digital, go here: http://brokenlimbsrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/the-northern-cold-ep

To get a limited-edition cassette version of the EP, go here: http://brokenlimbsrecordings.bigcartel.com/product/fhoi-myore-the-northern-cold-ep

All the way on the other side of the room lurks Wholy Failure, a project from Patrick A. Hasson of bands such as Black Chalice, Field of Spears, Avulse, and Auspicium. But unlike the man’s other work, what he does on “Avalon and Everything After” leans more toward ambiance, deathrock, and mopey doom. It’s noisy, often disruptive, and it might make your face jerk now and again, but stick with it. This music will reveal itself to you slowly as you revisit, and while you might not wish to look directly at the scarring, you’ll be intrigued by how such damage came to be.

There are many bands to which Wholy Failure compare. The closest would be the psychologically damaged Wreck and Reference, but there also are hints of bands as diverse as Alaric, Katatonia, Paradise Lost and Christian Death. The effort also nicely is separated into two halves that work well as a whole but also make a lot of sense digested as a Side A and Side B. The first half is a bit dreamier and even poppy in spots. No, not shit bubblegum mainstream, but more like how old New Wave could make you nod along and feel like garbage all at the same time. “Signal Loss” has Hasson sounding a bit like Nick Cave in his delivery; opener “Pissing Match” is confrontational with some guitar weirdness; and “Cold Slow Rain” is a minimalist instrumental that is fittingly named. The second half opens with an emotional, raw, guitar-and-vocals-only “Under Avalon and Embracing Judas” that is incredibly effective; “What Slow Death Awaits By the Sea?” consists of wooshing ambiance and humming drone, and it leads to our killer conclusion, a title cut that sounds like it’s on the brink of death, with Hasson kicking out the catchiest, dankest suicide mission I’ve heard in a long time. It’s also sticky as fuck. Try to stop listening to it on repeat. I couldn’t help myself.

Wholy Failure is a mesmerizing, chilling project that both is and isn’t easy to digest. Musically, it’s unstoppable and powerful, but lyrically and emotionally, it’s open and exposed to the elements, letting the aroma of death choke your nostrils and fill your chest.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wholy-Failure/203597062995864

To get the album, go here: http://brokenlimbsrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/avalon-and-everything-after

For more on the label, go here: http://brokenlimbsrecordings.com/

For their Big Cartel site, go here: http://brokenlimbsrecordings.bigcartel.com/

It’s always nice seeing a person you haven’t seen in a while. Unless you hate that person. Then it kind of sucks, especially if that person doesn’t know of your distaste and tries to engage you in conversation. Uncomfortable. But back to people you don’t hate, it’s nice crossing paths isn’t it? Unless they hate you, and you have no idea. Maybe to be safe, don’t talk to anyone you haven’t seen in a long time just in case you hate the person or the person secretly hates you. We’ll all be much safer under that plan.

OK, for argument’s sake, let’s pretend the person you encounter for the first time in a while is someone you do not hate and/or who does not despise you. After spending some time with the person and playing catch-up, isn’t it odd that changes we find in the lady or fellow? Time does that. We shape and shift, develop or regress, become different forms of what we once were. Our experiences, mutating likes and dislikes, and simple life events change us, and it would be silly to run into the same person every few years and expect the exact same experience. Unless that person is Angus Young.

What I’m on about is Torche and their new album “Harmonicraft.” On the surface, it’s Torche. It’s pretty hard not to recognize them when you first hear their peppy metal, as they have sort of carved out a sound that’s all their own. And partially the Foo Fighters’. But mostly theirs. Plus, the Foo Fighters have bored the shit out of me for years, while Torche never do that. I’m getting a call from the Grammy Awards, who are very upset I just said that about an annually nominated band. Sorry, old white guys. But Torche. I like that they’re familiar, and their third record is that very much. It instantly made me happy because I like Torche — vocalist/guitarist Steve Brooks, guitarist Andrew Elstner, bassist Jonathan Nunez, drummer Rick Smith — and their sound, and unlike most bands I write about, they make me smile in a fun way. They’re a good time. I saw them live, and I was so glad I was drunk when I did because it made them even more amazing. I’m loose-spending when I’m drinking, and when they were done, I traded a bunch of money for T-shirts. I soberly stand by that decision.

But something I noticed on “Harmonicraft” are the changes that have taken place between their 2008 full-length “Meanderthal,” one of my favorite albums of the last decade, and this new one. I’d even say there are some differences from their 2010 stop-gap EP “Songs for Singles.” Dude, so much has been altered since their 2005 self-titled review that, if you haven’t kept up with the band, you’ll need something of a history lesson. So go and listen to everything you missed and come back. We won’t wait, but we won’t delete the rest of the text. That’s how the Internet works sometimes.

Many point to the departure of guitarist Juan Montoya as a major reason behind Torche’s current persona, but I wonder about that assertion. First, Montoya went on to form MonstrO, a band with a really generic singer. Montoya didn’t exactly become a guitar god there, nor did he whip out anything resembling “look what those Torche bastards will miss” type of riffs and melodies. I don’t even remember anything from the MonstrO record, so impression totally not registered. Second, Torche have been moving toward poppier, more accessible rock and metal for some time now, so these gradual changes in their musical personalities should not be all that surprising. Like I’ve already heard that next Baroness album is pretty much devoid of metal. Totally not surprised. They’ve been headed that way for a while. Can’t wait to hear it, by the way.

So yeah, if you’re expecting doomy, sludgy Torche on “Harmonicraft,” you won’t find what you anticipate. If you demand that sound from the band, you’ll be disappointed. But if you like what the band did in their lighter moments on “Meanderthal” and “Songs,” there’s no reason to think you won’t like this record. Lack of true, decibolic metal aside, these songs are pretty catchy. It still sounds like Torche, albeit a more refined, more polished version. This should surprise and offend no one. Career path, kids. Learn how to follow one.

One thing Torche has not abandoned is their ability to stuff a bunch of songs in the front and back end of their albums that all seem to gel together and topple into each other. That may be a negative for some, as some of the stuff does tend to blur together, but I like how seamlessly these songs are interconnected and that I can just get caught up in the energy of it all. “Letting Go,” “Kicking,” and punk-flavored “Walk It Off” have basically the same attitude and semblance or order, and before you know it, you’re knee deep into the record. On the other side, heavy “Skin Moth,” the killer instrumental title track and … drum roll for the greatest song title of the year so far … “Kiss Me Dudely” also work in tandem and bring you almost to the album’s conclusion. Worked into the closing package are a couple of pace-changers, notably the dreamy gaze of “Solitary Traveler,” one of the more unique songs in their canon, and the doom-encrusted, noise-simmering closer “Looking On,” where you finally get that metal fix you’ve been whining about.

Sprinkled throughout the record are a few songs that let you check out some of the cool stuff they picked up since you last saw Torche. “Reverse Inverted” has a tasty little Southern rock groove that slithers beneath everything; “Snakes Are Charmed” lets the guys kick out some sugary guitar goodness and licks that would sound cool over the opening screen of a colorful, seizure-inducing videogame; “Roaming” is the band as their pop-metal best, busting out a song that could go out to your rock radio stations and slip into the playlist without anyone having a stroke over it. Torche deserve that slot.

So yeah, Torche aren’t the same band you knew a few years ago. They changed some stuff, they got a little slicker, the buffed up some edges, and they got tighter as a unit. If you wanted to cuff them and make them stay the same people, then you’re a horrible person who belongs in an internment camp. I’m not even joking. “Harmonicraft” is a blast, and it’s great to hear the guys in such high spirits. Now, if we can just have less of a wait between albums, or am I being an asshole?

For more on the band, go here: http://www.torchemusic.com/

To buy “Harmonicraft,” go here: https://store.volcoment.com/

For more on the label, go here: http://www.volcoment.com/