The dissolution of a great band obviously can be a sad thing. You grow up with a band, get used to a band, or have significant formative experiences while listening to a band, so losing them sometimes can be like parting with a best friend.

And by great band, it doesn’t have to mean Zeppelin. It can mean a band that means something to you and that, without them, part of your artistic world isn’t quite the same. Will you die? Probably not. But you’ll be upset, no doubt. That’s how a lot of people felt when SubArachnoid Space called it quits in 2010, and while they have not have been a huge band even on an underground level, for those who dug and were moved by their expansive, psychedelic works, it was a huge loss. I understand that totally, because their music always stimulated me and expanded my mind, and they always were a band that, despite how I felt about them, never seemed to capture the widespread acclaim they deserved.

No matter. Despite them not becoming a widely known and adored phenomenon like they deserved, there is some hope for some of their members. Sharing the name as the final SAS album, Eight Bells have risen from the ashes and very capably kept things moving further into space and the outer reaches of your mind that demand something more from music. Eight Bells seem more than happy to supply you with what SAS provided in their time together, but with some hugely different elements that separate this band from the group from which they kind of morphed. You’ll like it if you were into SAS, but it is nowhere near the same thing. Have I made that clear enough?

Eight Bells are comprised of former SubArachnoid Space member Melynda Jackson, former SAS drummer Chris Van Huffel, and classically trained six-string bassist Haley Westeiner, who teams with Jackson on vocals, and they provide a mighty, vital backbone to this band that is equally adventurous and riveting, providing not only something fresh to the metal world but also adding something volcanic and emotionally explosive to the rock genre in general. It could kind of use that, don’t you agree? Eight Bells are here to answer the call.

The band’s four-track, self-titled debut is out on Seventh Rule (it’ll follow later in vinyl by way of The Flenser), and I have not been able to stop listening to the album for the past month since I got the digital version of the record. There is something about it that, journey wise, I have not been able to stop taking, as I’ve been claimed by every wave of their nautical tension. As much as I enjoyed SAS and what they did together during their run, Eight Bells already have captivated me as much, if not more, than the band that preceded them. This record’s been an infectious joy to hear, and I can’t get enough of the four songs.

“Tributaries” feels a bit like an introduction to this album, one built on prog rock tendencies, experimental tones, shoegazey fire, and a thought-provoking channel that leads into the record’s highlight “Fate and Technology,” a track that gets off to an atmospheric start and trickles slowly. Then the drums pick up, their thrashier proclivities rise to the surface, only for things settle down again. We hear Westeiner’s voice for the first time, as it comes as a softer, more delicate instrument but that’s only until the song erupts volcanically, and all of the singing on the track turns to anguished wails and guttural growls (with Jackson providing some of the scary growls and shrieks). The band mashes the song unmercifully, and the bashing takes on a smashing start-stop tempo that is the most metallic stuff on this entire album.

The title cut gets off to a bouncy start, sounding a bit like a tasty Sleater Kinney-style riff that also has a little Rush stitched into it, and from there the song progresses, from airy playing to psychedelic boiling, to spirited guitar work, seemingly drawing to a close with four minutes left in its running time. But from there it transforms into something completely different, spiraling into Pink Floyd-like dark rejoicing, haunting choral calls (provided by Kris Force of Amber Asylum), and more blistering guitar work that gives the close a serious dose of oomph. Closer “Yellowed Wallpaper,” based on Charlotte Perkins Gillman, who had a story of the same name and eventually went into madness,  is trickling and exploratory for much of the song, but there also is a good bit of agitated playing, tricky riffs, aggravated drumming, and a great climactic finish that send this record from raging inferno to floating pilot light.

Eight Bells’ adventures are, as noted, mostly instrumental pieces, but they hold within them great drama and passion that cannot be questioned. When they use words, they are employed wisely and to fully enhance the stories playing out. There already was the promise of greatness before a note of music was played just based on who’s assembled here, but they go above and beyond all expectations to create a debut album that should leave a lifetime mark on your soul. That doesn’t happen every day, so make sure you don’t miss out on this explosive voyage.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://shop.seventhrule.com/

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

Let’s start the week off on the right note, with a new album from one of modern death metal’s finest, scariest, most inventive acts, Brisbane, Australia’s Portal.

Over the course of 14 years together and now four full-length albums, the band has become one of the most engaging, talked-about, feared, and wondered-about acts in all of heavy metal. You know how people are now trying to dissect Ghost, what they’re about, who is under the hoods? Portal would consider that territory as been-there, done-that, because they were the shadowy figures years ago before that band even was conceived. No offense to Ghost, but Portal created that kind of mysterious wondering.

Long ago, those who champion and celebrate Portal moved past the idea of the group’s identity and instead praised them for what actually matters: the band’s crushing, charnel, suffocating death metal that is blackened to a crisp, comparable to no other bands, and a product of one of the few truly terrifying bands in all of heavy metal. None of this feels like a cartoon ever and instead seems the product of mad men who may or may not be ready to lock you into a noose and drag you through their psychosis. You get that sense something bad really could happen in the presence of Portal, and their dabbling into Lovecraftian and truly horrific ethos is more like discipleship than retelling tales. Sure, you might laugh at what I just wrote. But if you’re not scared as fuck listening to Portal, then you’re doing it wrong. That’s fact.

This bizarre unit long has been controlled by frontman/bearer of weird costumes The Curator, who has one of the most distinct voices and sickening imaginations in all of metal, and guitarist Horror Illogium, inventor of some of the strangest, yet most mind-blowing guitar work in modern history. You don’t realize how ridiculously good the guy – and the rest of the band — is until you see them recreate their potions live. Yeah, much of their sound is buried, but not because this group isn’t incredibly proficient. They’re scary good. Rounding out the lineup is guitarist Aphotic Mote, bassist Omenous Fugue, and drummer Ignis Fatuus, who always live up to the terror this band has been creating for so long.

The band’s latest transmission is “Vexovoid,” a record that is somewhat easier to listen to and digest than their previous work. Now, don’t be misled. It is in no way going to be a cinch for a newcomer to pick up this thing and get on board. But if you’ve been listening to Portal for the long haul, you’ll notice a little less interference, a thinner blanket of noise over the album, and the whole thing buried in a shallower grave. Or maybe time has just made it easier for a careful listener to dig through the millions of layers of sound. I guess it could be that.

“Kilter” bubbles up like a fog, with mucky riffs slithering over the song, a grinding motion taking over, and The Curator’s trademark hiss leading the rotting storytelling. “The Back Wards,” a song you may have already heard on some web site or another, is dark, sinister, and dizzying, feeling like a monstrous display of mechanical death. “Curtain” opens with some unusually deliberate drumming, grimy hell rising up to the surface, and a tension that feels like a bungee cord being stretched to its limit so it can fire back and lash you across the face. “Plasm” is rubbery and demonic, with some parts that remind me a lot of “Abysmill” from “Outré,” and the noise spreads to its weird finish, where the song dissolves into fear-inducing ambiance. It’s something that returns later in the record, as well.

“Awryeon” kicks off with a tasty drum beat that, of course, gets swallowed up by the band’s paranoid chaos and mechanic bulldozing. Toward the end, a melodic sequence sets into place and repeats itself over and over, driving you to the brink of insanity. It’s not tedious or beaten into the ground in any sense and instead seems to be trying to capture you via force. “Orbmorphia” has a nice bit of progressive drumming, guitars charging and pulling, piercing leads cutting open the surface, and The Curator lurching his final words of trauma and unspeakable terror. The closer “Oblotten” is a tricky, trippy instrumental that feels like it’s trying to ease you into hypnosis but actually has something far more murderous at its heart. It builds and builds and builds until it starts to fade into a collection of slowly plucked notes that seem designed to make you sleepy. Very, very sleepy. Tick tock. Tick tock.

Portal remain one of the most disturbing, mysterious bands in the world, and their unique form of death metal just grows more obtuse, yet fascinating, as time goes on. They are one of the few inventive bands remaining in their genre and all of music, and while there are millions of pretenders clogging and choking out death metal, Portal always will be here to slice of their heads and reclaim a sound they’ve made their very, horrifically, own.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/PORTALDEATH

To buy the album, go here: http://www.profoundlorerecords.com/products-page/plr-items/portal-vexovoid/

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

I don’t want to mince words today and try to make some long introduction, as usual, about today’s topic. Let me cut right to the point: If you haven’t already, you need to listen to Cloud Rat. That means right now, not after you backup your hard drive, not after you go make coffee, not after you finish that inane text message. Now.

The Michigan-based grindcore band recently put out their latest release “Moksha,” on the mighty Halo of Flies and IFB Records, and it’s already an album I’m writing down — in ink! — for a contender for album of the year. It’s explosively good and alarmingly vital, and you can’t possibly understand that magic behind this thing until you hear it for yourself. As hard as I’m going to try, I won’t be able to convey the magnitude of this 13-track release with mere words. The fury and punishment contained within these songs is unmistakable, but there also is plenty of melody, thoughtfulness and variety in their compositions, unbridled passion in their playing, and Madison, who also handles lyrics and art, is a pot boiling over vocally. You hang onto her every word, follow every line, and can’t help but get caught up her whirlwind of intensity. Not to discount the rest of the band, because they are tremendous, but Madison’s delivery and very presence is what elevates this band from very good to unstoppable.

Cloud Rat’s self-titled debut album came out in 2010, and since then they have put out a number of split releases, a couple of offerings on Grindcore Karaoke (including “Live at Vaggie Fest”), and now have responded with this volcanic document. The band also is just as weighty lyrically and philosophically as they are musically. Topics range from drugs, neglect, emotional, physical and sexual violence, poverty, racism, and sexism, and the band holds true to a vegan/vegetarian lifestyle and hopes to help inspire social change and promote tolerance and respect for others. It would seem that, in 2013, that wouldn’t still have to be a platform that needs to be ingrained in others, but I’m sure anyone who follows the news on a regular basis knows we’re nowhere near fully embracing these ideals.

Along with Madison, the band is rounded out by Rorik, who handles guitars, design and layout, as well as Adrian, who’s on drums and electronic samples. As noted, while this is grounded in grindcore, there are so many other influences at play, from punk to hardcore to shoegaze to dreamy rock, and each song carries with it great weight and builds your expectations for what follows. “Moksha” also is an album that is supremely listenable, meaning it’s easy to put this thing on and get lost in it, finding yourself greatly surprised when the thing is over. It just flies by and flows so seamlessly, you can’t help but restart when it’s done.

The first side of the record begins with some easy, smeary noise on “Inkblot,” but then a riff blows up, Madison goes off, and a total fury sweeps over you, completely capturing you. It’s a go-for-the-guts assault both musically and lyrically, and it’s just the beginning. “Aroma” has a nice sludgy finish, with chugging, churning riffs, and a total impact to your chest, robbing you of breath. “Corner Space” has an airy, atmospheric start before it blows into a death metal/thrash groove. “Olympia” goes back into grind demolition, and “Widowmaker” is mean, and menacing, drowning out in a haze of bizarre noise. “Infinity Chasm” is the first curveball with pulled back, gazey music, clean vocals (Madison’s voice proves quite pretty, and she sounds a bit like Sharon Van Etten), but when you think the calm is here, it’s back to break-neck intensity and killer, metallic insanity as the track finishes.

The second side starts with “Inimitable Sea,” a song that remains heavy and aggressive, but it also adds new textures to the mix, including some guitar work that sounds a little black metal. It’s a really neat piece that shows their musical interests are all over. “Daunting Daughters” peels a bit into pure hardcore territory, with Madison howling passionately, dealing with the tumult facing her, and there’s no denying the pain behind the song. “Casse” is positively crushing and also sort of muddy, and that leads us to the second head-jerker of the record, their cover of Neil Young’s “The Needle and the Damage Done.” Generally I’m disinterested in cover songs because most of them have nothing to add to the original composition, but this one’s different. The band gives the song a different personality, a different perspective, and they take the track from delicately, painfully gorgeous, to self-destructively desperate. It’s a fucked up, incredible version of the song. “Vigil” fires one last thorny salvo, with Madison howling, “We should not exist!” and it’s onto the ambient, dreamy, piano-dripping title track that lets the record fade out on a perfect dark note.

Whatever you need to do to get Cloud Rat in your ears, do it now. The band’s web site address is listed below, and you can hear whatever of their releases interests you, including the one we described above. But also, don’t be a cheap ass. Try to grab “Moksha” while you can, since it’s in limited supply. Cloud Rat play with purpose and panic, and they’re easily one of the most exciting new bands in the world.

For more on the band, go here: http://cloudrat.blogspot.com/

To buy the album, go here: http://www.halooffliesrecords.com/releases/current-releases/

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

I try to take suggestions from friends pretty seriously, if I trust that person’s tastes, and so when I recently was prodded on Facebook by someone to dive head first into a band’s new record, I knew I had to take heed. I won’t name the person (I try not to be a name dropper), but we certainly will get into the band at the heart of the matter, that being Vex.

I knew I had the Vex album in my inbox, so it being a Friday night and there being beer at my disposal, it seemed like as good a time as any to download the promo for “Memorious,” the band’s second album for excellently named Horror Pain Gore Death Productions, and their follow-up to 2010 debut “Thanatopsis.” I listened to the band’s debut when it came out, and I have it on my computer, but what happens often times when you’re a writer and have hundreds of promos at your disposal is things get lost in the mix. It happens all the time. It probably seems like a great luxury to have so much new music at your disposal, and it is, but it also is nearly impossible to keep track of all of it, resulting in a band such as Vex flying under my radar.

But having a chance to revisit the band anew, I approached Vex with great curiosity and a peaked interest after reading through the band’s bio materials. The Texas-based band plays an amalgamation of death metal, prog, and thrash, and while that doesn’t seem like any new stew or anything, I’m not sure many other bands pull off such a grandiose sound as well as these guys do. Basically, the recommendation I was given to seek out Vex I pass onto all of you, especially for fans of bands such as Cormorant, early Iron Maiden, Primordial, early-era Amon Amarth and groups of that ilk. The songwriting is super sharp, the band’s playing is incredibly advanced, and their storytelling should keep you tuned in from beginning to end. Also, if you’re turned off by the prog-death tag, don’t be. It’s not loopy and dorky at all. There simply is a level of playing that delves into that territory, but it never comes off as pretentious and only is sprinkled in here and there when the drama needs an added boost.

The band is comprised of vocalist Joe Jackson (not the guy with the keyboards), guitarists Michael Day and Ciaran McCloskey, bassist William Edgar, and drummer Eoghan McCloskey, and Vex formed way back in 1998, and issued their initial demo “Overview” a year later. They put out an EP in 2002, another demo in 2005, and eventually worked on a split with thrashers Divine Eve in 2010, before Vex’s debut album “Thanatopsis” landed. In a way, they’re just now gaining their stride and coming into their own, despite their years together, and “Memorious” is hands down their best work yet.

“Terra Soar,” the opening track on the record, gives you a pretty good indication as to what’s ahead: growly singing, lots of melodic guitar, a body-mashing combo of death and thrash metal, and a glorious, epic feel all around. I know the term melodic death metal is scary, and I get why, but think of Vex as more of a death metal band that has a knack for melody. “Carve My Eyes” has a watery, trickling open before it launches into classic Maiden-style guitar work and more punishing vocals from Jackson. “Astride a Grave” is the first of three instrumentals on the record, and it’s designed to take you into “No Such Thing,” a shaking, speedy, lurching song that contains some of the ugliest moments on the album. There are prog-fueled lead guitar work, heaviness that’s a little understated but still pretty meaty, and an epic quality due to the nature of the song, not its length. It is incredibly impressive. “Spectral Nature” has some cleaner tones, vocals that have a goth ring to them, and eventually an unexpected explosion where things round back to death metal and carnage.

“Away from the Sun” is a woodsy interlude piece that bleeds into the volcanic “Wasteland (How Long Ago…)”, seemingly inspired by the T.S. Elliot poem, as the track is complete with a sample of lines pulled directly from that piece. It’s a pretty dark section of the album, and it also happens to be one of the heaviest musically. “Solace In Sleep” is another interlude, setting a haunted stage for what follows, namely “Those Days Are Gone,” a vicious number that’s like a best-of containing all that Vex do well. The guitars are majestic when need be, gut-wrenching at other times, and Jackson emits both his furious growl and clean croon, proving how flexible a frontman he is. Closer “A Drinking Song” is a bit of an oddball at the end of this thing, with a tempo that doesn’t really lend itself to wild antics, and a personality that doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of the album. It’s a good cut; it’s just weird next to the rest of the song.

The Vex recommendation paid off big time as, ever since I downloaded the promo that fateful, brew-filled Friday night, I’ve visited with it regularly. I love how it plays with different styles but never stays with one exclusively, the sense of adventure, and how the music is both well played and emotionally connected. This an impressive records from a band that, from this point forward, is going to remain in my stream of consciousness.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/vexhomepage

To buy the album go here: http://hpgd.comoj.com/store/hpgd057.html

For more on the label, go here: http://hpgd.comoj.com/indexmain.html

http://hpgd.comoj.com/indexmain.html

It’s hard enough to tell a compelling story or convey emotion properly using words. It’s altogether different to try to do the same things without using language and still remain exciting and thoughtful, keeping an audience interested and tuned in until you reach the end of your tale.

That’s one of the reasons instrumental bands fascinate me — though often they frustrate me — because you have a group of musicians trying to put together a package of music to make your heart race simply on how they communicate instrumentally. Yes, I know the classic composers did the same thing, and there are orchestras everywhere that sweep up listeners and take them on massive journeys, so the concept isn’t new or anything. But I always find it a little extra special in the metal medium when a band can do that same thing without horrifying growls, terrifying shrieks, or dramatic bellows and still keep me tuned in and following on the edge of my seat as if I was hearing a great mythological tale.

This leads me to introducing you to Sannhet, the latest product of an ever-bustling and creative Brooklyn metal scene that’s done a hell of a lot to change the face of underground American heavy metal the last few years. It also gives us a chance to talk about the new label Sacrament Music, a venture by the St. Vitus Bar in the same borough that has been one of the premiere places to experience heavy music in all of New York City. Sannhet is one of the locals that have played St. Vitus since their formation a few years ago, and now the new label is throwing their support behind the group in an even more meaningful way, by making sure the group’s incredible music finds its way into more hearts and more ears, and if this first release by Sacrament is any indication of their future, it’s going to be a hell of a place to follow.

Same can be said for Sannhet, as their debut album “Known Flood” is an astonishing piece of work, an almost entirely instrumental record that is volcanic, experimental, stunningly well played, smart, and punishing. The trio of guitarist John Refano, bassist AJ Annunziata, and drummer Christopher Todd worked with Colin Marston on their initial record, and that seems like a really good choice. The band sometimes sounds a lot like Marston’s band Krallice with their cosmic metal and black metal experimentation, but that’s only part of the time. But no matter what they’re doing, they keep you guessing and engaged through nine songs.

“Absecon Isle” opens the album, and it’s one of those that should bring to mind Krallice, as noted, and is a whirlwind of blackness, dizzying guitar work, and surging emotion that starts things on the perfect note. “Safe Passage” is spacey, the drums pound with viciousness, and as it draws to a close it gets chunky and then eerie and chant-filled. “Invisible Wounds” continues the chants and then melts into a sludgy doom riff, picking up momentum and fury as it builds, with forceful blast beats. It then dissolves in a bed of synth drone and ambiance, with noise rising up that blows right into “Endless Walls,” that has weird things going on and people shouting in the background, and its heaviness is obvious but also a little understated.

“Moral” begins with a radio dial shifting around, and then it erupts into gloomy, doomy transmissions and a fully cathartic musical display. “Slow Ruin” has more pulverizing drumming from Todd, the track on which he really gets to stand out and be a star, though piercing guitar lines come in and slice the sucker in half, letting more ambiance float out like a cloud. That paves the way for “Haunches,” which begins in a foggy dream state but then turns into a mind-numbing black metal display very much in the same vein as Ash Borer. It’s also the one song with vocals, albeit buried infernal cries. “Still Breathing” has a clean intro like a classic metal song, then a loops plays of a man speaking about doing time, and when it seems like it’s all going to stay on the level, the drama cascades, and the band responds with one of their punchiest sections on the record. Closer “Flatlines” is full of hums and pulsations, letting you drift into nothingness as the record fades away.

Sannhet’s debut is an exciting one, and they’re one of those special bands that tell great stories without words, with only their instrumental prowess to forge the path. I’m also curious to see if the band changes at all from this point and adds more sounds and drama into what they do. If they don’t, there’s enough in their arsenal already to keep them interesting for a long time. As for Sacrament, if their future projects are as good as this one, that’ll be a label to watch.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/sannhet

To buy the album, go here: http://sacramentmusic.com/products/sannhet-known-flood

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

There are people who cannot survive without their smartphones, their tablets, the Internet, cable TV, and a bunch of things that do not exactly guarantee survival and merely help one pass the time. It might help us fight off boredom or do useful research, but we’re not going to die without any of those things. We may want to die without them, but they hardly keep us safe.

But what if you were dropped in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but your human survival skills to keep you safe, and no electronic technology to help you? What would you do? There are people who practice bushcraft, long-term survival skills used in a natural environment that often employ things such as hunting, tracking, fishing, and working with tools to maintain one’s existence. That’s kind of a sloppy explanation, but it’s basically a way for people to survive long-term in the wilderness or in nature or in an environment where all the comforts of home are not available. Not everyone is cut out for it or would be excited to do this, but those who do probably aren’t scared by too many things.

Vancouver hardcore crushers Baptists named their debut album “Bushcraft,” and I’m not sure if there’s a reason why. If they feel they need to have a little something extra, something deadlier to keep them moving through a scene that’s becoming clogged up with a ton of bands, more power to them. Survival of the fucking fittest. It’s also gotten to be quite an effort to stand out on Southern Lord’s label anymore since they’re flushed with so many hardcore, D-beat friendly, crusty bands that I’m wondering if they remember doom metal anymore. Not to be critical. They’re signing who moves them, and to do anything else would not be genuine, so this is what the Lord is right now. Baptists are another band dotting the suddenly flooding roster.

So Baptists must be wily and different in order to make people notice them and to stand out, and they prove to have some neat tricks on “Bushcraft.” Their music is a little messier and mathier than many other hardcore bands, and if they had wound up on, say, Deathwish Inc., they would have been properly placed as well. Kurt Ballou of Converge, produced the record, naturally, and all of his sonic fingerprints are here, and Baptists sound like they really benefitted from having him behind the boards for their debut. If you’re down with bands such as Cursed, Trap Them, and, of course, Converge, you’re bound to find something to like on this record. You know where this is all going.

“Betterment” is the opener and is tied together by steely doom guitar lines, shouty vocals, and strong drumming, and from there you can tell these guys have a different frame of mind than most other hardcore bands. “Think Tank Breed” opens with feedback wail much like Ballou’s noise with his band, and there are chugging riffs and vocals that reek of hardcore punk. “Bullets” is loud and throaty, with menacing growls that bubble up and a slick bluesy guitar riff that pokes a bit at Black Sabbath. “In Droves” is driving and intense, and “Still Melt” is slurry and smeary, with a hint at black metal and vocals that sound inspired by Henry Rollins. “Mortar Head” is speedy, monstrous, and even spacey and weird, which is a nice touch and should be used a little bit more.

“Crutching Trails” blends math into the picture, has some really weird compositions, and the vocals are traditionally hardcore-based. The title track explodes, has tricky guitar, and reveals some of the most spirited vocals on the record. It’s a really awesome song, the best one that’s on this record. “Soiled Roots” is slurry and damaged, with more of the Converge influence sliding back into play, while “Russian Spirits” is fast and explosive, and closer “Abandon” has talky yelling, molten punishment, and a final salvo that ends the record on a pretty good note.

I didn’t mean to insinuate Baptists ape Converge because I mention them so much here. It’s sort of a natural thing working with Ballou and with some of their creative ideas that they would draw those comparisons, but they’re not outright mimicking anyone. As noted, Baptists and many other new bands need to have something different to say and something interesting to add or they’ll just get caught up in a glut of other like-minded bands. Baptists have sounds and sparks that make them exciting and enthralling, and more of the weirdness and cosmic noises would be most welcome. “Bushcraft” is a good record, one of the more curious things Southern Lord have released since beginning their campaign to expose underground hardcore. I’m curious to see how this band shape shifts in the future and what their next record sounds like, and if it doesn’t have new twists and turns not heard here, I’ll be really surprised. I’m guessing it’ll be an even greater exploration into the dark.

For more on the band, go here: http://xdrownyoursorrowsx.blogspot.ca/

To buy the album, go here: http://www.southernlord.com/store.php

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

A more recent version of Slough Feg

There are plenty of classic heavy metal bands that everyone knows about. Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Slayer, Morbid Angel, what have you. They’re out there, they shaped the genre and its many offshoots, and they’re often considered some of the most influential and important bands of all time. Just go to a metal show in any sub-genre, and there’s a good chance you’ll see a T-shirt from one of these bands in the crowd.

Then there are those bands that, for some reason, fly under the radar. Their excellency cannot be denied, and though they may not have spawned the same amount of followers and fame as have the big names, they have giant pockets of rabid devotees who swear by them, and for good reason. For instance, why didn’t Manilla Road capture more hearts in their prime? They had amazing chops, wrote great songs, and seemed to land in a timeframe perfectly suited for them. You could say the same for Pentagram, a band many people revere, though perhaps chalking up the personal demons that battled Bobby Liebling for years can be explained for why they aren’t bigger.

Another of those bands is The Lord Weird Slough Feg, who originated in Central Pennsylvania before moving to San Francisco and took their bizarre moniker from a British comic book series “Slaine.” The band is now known simply as Slough Feg, and they released their excellent “The Animal Spirits” in 2010 on Profound Lore, but their history goes back pretty far. And sadly, it seems most modern metal fans aren’t terribly aware of them, at least here in the States, and that is a shame. They combine classic heavy metal, folk tendencies, and exemplary songwriting and playing into their style, and Mike Scalzi’s unique, personality-rich vocals hammer their tales home and make them one of the most interesting, compelling bands of their time and one nobody seemed to know about.

Perhaps the relative anonymity of this band can be taken care of due to a re-release of their earlier work, when they maintained “The Lord Weird” in their moniker and recorded for Dragonheart Records. Starting with their second album “Twilight of the Idols” and stretching to their fourth release “Traveller,” Metal Blade has a box set perfect for those who have tried to get their hands on these records for years (me!) and for those who aren’t terribly familiar with this brilliant group but love classic heavy metal. These make for adventurous listening and a nice reminder for how epic and emotional heavy metal truly can be when it’s done right. If you love Maiden, Judas Priest, Jethro Tull, or bands of that ilk, you need to get your hands on this collection.

“Twilight of the Idols” was released in 1998 at a time when horribly down-tuned, hair-brained nu-metal was dominating the world. These guys were as far away from that as you could be, finding inspiration in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and it’s cool to go back and hear how raw they were at the time. Scalzi’s voice had not quite matured yet, so he’s a little raspy and challenged when the high notes come, but the record showed the promise ahead and was quite glorious musically. From the bagpipes-rich opener “Funeral March,” to the incredible gallop of “Highlander,” to the Pirate folk treatment of “Brave Connor Mac” (also a “Highlander” reference, naturally) to rustic metallic of “The Wickerman” onto the band’s own title track, it’s raucous explosion that’s  a barroom blast to hear and showed furious potential to what was ahead for the band.

That promise would pay off huge two years later with “Down Among the Deadmen,” where the band finally hit on all cylinders and sounded like a total machine. This also was the album that brought the great John Cobbett aboard (you know him as the leader of Hammers of Misfortune, another favorite of this site) and continued to establish the band as one of classic metal’s great revivalists. The 13 songs should cause an adrenaline surge for those who love classic metal sounds and tales, and if opener “Sky Chariots” doesn’t knock you on your ass, then you’re hopeless. Add to that other killer cuts such as “Warriors Dawn,” an amazingly well-sung song that sounds a lot like modern Iron Maiden mixed with Irish folk; the blistering trio of attached songs “Heavy Metal Monk,” “Fergus Mac Roich,” and “Cauldron of Blood,” and the fairytale-on-fire nature of “Traders and Gunboats” that all boast some of the band’s best material of their entire run. It’s such a great record that, had it been released in 1985 when this sound was far more accepted, this would be known as an all-time classic. Eh, it is anyway, even if people don’t realize it yet.

“Traveller” followed in 2003, and it also capitalized on the band’s rousing musicianship as well as their knack for telling great stories. The album is based on the 1977 sci-fi role-playing game of the same name, and those familiar with said game surely will get a huge kick of how this thing progresses. I, for one, am not well-versed in the game, but it didn’t prevent me from enjoying the hell out of this album. They hit so many high notes on this record that it’s impossible to name them all, but some of the ones that come to mind first are the fiery opening, interconnected trio of “The Spinward Marches,” “High Passage/Low Passage,” and “Asteroid Belts”; the NWOBHM-flavored “Professor’s Theme”; the Southern rock + Queen-like harmonies of “Vargr Theme/Confrontation”; all the way to stunning closer “Addendum Galactus.” From this record, the band would move into Cruz del Sur, where they’d stay until 2009’s “Ape Uprising!”

The Lord Weird Slough Feg are one of the greatest hidden treasures in the heavy metal world, and luckily Metal Blade are bringing their brilliant early work into clearer focus. This is one of the truest, most adventurous heavy metal bands of the last 15 years, and no one sounds quite like them. These are must-have albums if you’re walking around calling yourself a heavy metal fan, and these treasures never have been easier to attain.

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

To buy the set, go here: http://www.indiemerchstore.com/item/17803/

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

It’s become a theme here and most other places that embrace true, ugly death metal, in that the sub-genre is packed with way too many slickly produced, Hot Topic-pushed, mundane, garbage bands calling themselves death metal when, in reality, nothing about them rots except their reputations. But the real stuff is out there, and one must just find it.

Luckily, Century Media is making your quest a little easier. OK, yes, I know that they also have championed some of the fakey death stuff that’s blotted national tours and probably brought in a lot of money to keep the label going as strong as it is. Whether you or I like it, that’s economics, especially in an era when record sales aren’t exactly at an all-time high. So to CM’s credit, they also brought in a nice new crop of true death metal bands lately, including Sonne Adam and Morbis Chron, maintained ties with great artists such as Asphyx and Grave, and have a stellar history of bringing you some of the best metal there is to offer from groups including Bloodbath, Celtic Frost, Immolation, Tiamat, Emperor, and so many more.

So in the spirit of keeping their death reputation strong, they also recently inked French trio Necrowretch, a true throwback-style death-and-doom-laced band that only had a few smaller releases–two EPs, two demos– to their name before they got signed. Small resume aside, whoever went out and pursued this band and got their debut full-length “Putrid Death Sorcery” under the CM banner really did his or her homework. This is a great sounding, worm-infested, true death metal band that brings back the haunted spirit of the sub-genre and easily could help revive what this style of music was about when it started and is desperately trying to get back to again. Oh, by the way, Vlad points out in the group’s bio that the band doesn’t give a shit about following idols or trying to revive a sound. They’re playing what they feel, so the old-school tag just comes naturally. It’s not contrived.

Necrowretch are comprised of Vlad, who handles vocals and guitars, and Amphycion, who plays bass. There also is quite skillful drumming on their debut performed in studio by Morkk, though live the kit will be inhabited by Desecrator. The record is retching (fitting, eh?) and horror-filled, and at times when I’m not thinking about classic death metal with these guys, my mind wanders to Finnish beasts Hooded Menace and their tapestries of horror. Either way, you’re in perfectly good, albeit calloused and wart-filled, hands with Necrowretch if you like your metal ugly and scuffed up. Also, if you like skillful playing and classic metal chops, you’ll also have plenty to love about these guys, because they’re really skillful at what they do and obviously have the spirit and energy to get across their message effectively and violently. It’s one hell of a great listen.

While “Putrid Death Sorcery” is not a concept record, the songs do involve a character known as the necrowretch, or priest of doom, going around and infecting, not saving, souls. Actually, we get right to that on nasty, guttural opener “Ripping Souls Out of Sinners,” where the damned face what they have coming to them and the nasty riffs and growls set the stage for what follows. “Purifying Torment” has tortured vocals, a flurry of lead lines, and some piercing noise to hammer-smash home the point. “Goat-Headed” is a speed demon, with a thrashy, blinding pace, throaty vocals, and heavy and thunderous death sequences. The title cut is more calculated and creepy, but it has its fiery, gory moments as well. “Impious Plague in Catacombs” begins with creaking and monstrous yelps for help before a cascade of ugly doom and death bleeds out, including some truly scintillating leads and soloing.

“Spewed From Hell” should be fairly self-explanatory from its title, and it mostly is as menacing as you’d think. The vocals sound yacked up, the screams are menacing, and the drumming is outright brutal. “Defiled of Sacrality” has doomy leads and really strong guitar work that pays homage to thrash and death, and it’s one of the tracks that really shows how talented these guys are as musicians. “The Anthropomancer” has a flurried opening and dips into some classic metal terrain, then into a killer thrash metal storm. “Soiled Into a Crypt,” aside from being an awesome song title, is fast, blistering, and takes no prisoners, while “Necrollections” has dizzying, swirling melodies and a tricky composition that makes you feel trapped in a vortex. Closer “Repugnizer” closes the record with more bone-crushing drumming, mind-blowing speed, and a monstrous classic death display that ends everything on a proper, blood-soaked note.

Thumbs up to Century Media for plucking Necrowretch from the underground graveyard and giving them the wide release they deserve for “Putrid Death Sorcery.” Hopefully they give this album a nice push. As for Necrowretch, they’re another example of a new death metal band that has its sights toward devastation and horror and not getting glossy photos into magazines. They are another band reviving what true death metal is about, and their debut is providing plenty of grisly fun to get us through these winter months.

For more on the band, go here: http://necrowretch.net/

To buy the album, go here: http://www.cmdistro.com/Item/Necrowretch_-_Putrid_Death_Sorcery_-PRE-ORDER-/44365

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

This is one of those refreshing days writing stuff here at Meat Mead Metal. Refreshing because I get to dig into something different, out of the ordinary, challenging, and weird. Don’t get me wrong, I love writing about copious amounts of new metal records because it’s what I do and what excites me. But it can get mundane. Today is not one of those days.

When Profound Lore announced the release of “Arriving Angels,” the new album from Helen Money, the stage name of cellist and composer Alison Chesley, one of the more unique musicians of this day and age, it both was surprising and totally logical. She was a member of Verbow in the 1990s along with Jason Narducy, was a member of Poi Dog Pondering for a while, worked with Bob Mould, and added her work as a contributor to bands such as Anthrax, Broken Social Scene, MONO, Russian Circles, Plaguebringer, and many others. She was one hell of a hired gun when it came to cello work, but her most fascinating creations came along with her Helen Money project, which highlighted her aggressive, amplified, fucked up string work that was scarier and more riveting than what a lot of people dream up with multiple guitars.

“Arriving Angels” is the third album from Chesley’s Helen Money, and she’s joined by drummer Jason Roeder (Neurosis, Sleep) on what’s already one of the most unique records in January, but one that’s likely still going to hold that distinction when we’re putting up Christmas trees in December (or October, if you’re an asshole). If you’re new to Chesley’s work, then chances are you never heard anyone use the cello in quite this way before. You’re going to think you’re listening to a damn suffocating and dark doom metal record created by a roomful of people working to dump as much fog and chaos as possible from walls of amps. But you’ll be wrong. All of the fire and brimstone on here is Chesley and her cello, sometimes played classically, sometimes offering comfort, but often distorted and mangled like a never-ending nightmare.

There are many moods and atmospheres created on this eight-cut record (recorded and mixed by Steve Albini), and the music here can be absorbed in a number of different settings, from meditation, to studying, to confronting and battling your demons, to simply watching nature outside your window. This mix of classical, ambient, drone, and doom may not, on the surface, seem like something we’d traditionally call metal, but again, I invite the more closed minded out there to expand your thinking. This record very well could be your gateway to stretching out your boundaries and discovering new and exciting things.

Opener “Rift” doesn’t grab you and yank you to the floor. It seeps into the room like a ghost, makes some initial sounds so you know something might be there, before it rises up and takes you. The doomy melodies, dark, chunky playing, and ominous tones make for a provoking, chilling open. “Upsetter” has sweltering, strong work and piercing sounds, and a strange melody loops behind everything else, making this feel like the score to a real-life horror story. Not a slasher film or the likes, but something where a human being melts down from the inside and faces himself or herself as a villain. “Beautiful Friends” is mournful and baroque, with distortion and drone pouring in and filling the room to your knees, and percussion kicking in, adding more drama to the story. “Radio Recorders” opens with a panic of echoes, sort of like an old Voivod song, and despite the muck and grime of the track, there’s a gorgeous light that breaks through the clouds and chaos, offering a glimmer of hope.

“Midwestern Night’s Dream” allows you something of a downhome breather, as Chesley delicately plucks her cello, and the song maintains a simple, quiet aura. The title track then lets the noise rip you apart again, with a breath-taking build, windswept passages, fucked up riffs, and a boiling pot that, just when you think it’s going to burn you, it settles back down. Then it rises back up again just as violently. “Shrapnel” has some more traditional cello playing, deliberate, calculated drumming, and a cool pace that gets you ready for the finisher “Runout,” where melodies bend like rubber, eerie echoes allow your mind to wander through the song, drums kick in to keep your lungs blowing, and eventually cool piano drops tap like an easy rainfall.

This record isn’t going to strike everyone the same, and I’m sure some listeners will be too confused or bewildered to accept it. But “Arriving Angels,” as far as I’m concerned, is an intoxicating, fascinating listen that proves not only is Chesley a disarming force in the metal and extreme music world, but is one of the most inventive and creative in all of music. This is a landmark release for Helen Money and should get her the recognition she deserves not only for what she’s contributed in the past but mostly for what she’s still offering us today. She’s a killer.

For more on Helen Money, go here: http://helenmoney.com/

To buy the album, go here: http://www.profoundlorerecords.com/products-page/plr-items/helen-money-arriving-angels/

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

We’ve covered/complained about certain sub-genres of metal swelling up to the point of gruesomeness and having to search extra hard to find the good bands because there are so effing many of them. We kind of said that last week when discussing grindcore and the millions of bands doing that these days.

It’s getting close to the point of adding occult rock and metal bands into the saturation category, because every time you turn your head these days, new ones are popping up. There have been some exceptionally good ones such as JexThoth/Totem, Jess and the Ancient Ones, and The Devil’s Blood, who just announced their dissolution, and some that haven’t been all that wonderful. Needless to say, you didn’t read about any of those bands on this site because we try to champion the good stuff and shove mediocrity to the side.

Bloody Hammers is the latest addition to the occult rock category, and perhaps their name is a little misleading. Before I heard a note of music and read a word of their bio, I assumed we were talking heavy, death-oriented, muddy madness, something that could please your need for violence and fury. But this band is anything but that. They’re more of a rock band than a metal outfit, and while they have some bluesy, gooey riffs similar to classic Black Sabbath, they don’t really exude heaviness. And that’s OK. There still is going to be plenty of crossover appeal for listeners who are more metal-entrenched but like bands with a knack for darkness, and Bloody Hammers deliver on that end of it. There are traits of classic horror, stories from the coven, and chilling evil that should do the trick, and on top of that, this band writes some really strong songs.

Going back to assuming, I initially thought Bloody Hammers could hail from somewhere in Europe, but instead they call Charlotte, N.C., home. So that was a weird, unexpected discovery, but again, it’s why you should not assume. Their self-titled debut is finally available physically now, via Dutch label Soulseller. The group is a four-piece with weird, yet fitting stage names, with Anders Manga (OK, that might be his real name) on bass and vocals, Zoltan handling guitars, Devallia on organs and keys, and Curse on drums. They just formed in 2012, so they’ve gotten a lot done in a short amount of time. Despite their very short existence, they already play with a polish and cohesion many bands far more experienced fail to muster.

The record establishes its identity quickly, with the buzzing guitar lines that are a trademark, and a catchy melody and chorus that makes opener “Witches of Endor” perfect for sucking you into the album. “Fear No Evil,” that begins with haunting organs, quickly kicks things into high gear, revealing a really enthralling dark rock song with ritualistic imagery. It’s this type of thing, helping the listener create an image in his/her mind of the ceremonies and horrors going on, at which that they prove quite effective. “The Last Legion of Sorrow” has slinky, fuzzed-out guitar work that reminds me a bit of Clutch and some ominous words such as, “The vengeful blade is coming down.” “Say Goodbye to the Sun” keeps thing mid-tempo and captivating, appealing to the vampire quotient and poking, “How’s it feel to know you’re going to live forever?” It’s a curse, not a blessing. “The Witching Hour” is calculated and effective, a nice bridge to the record’s second half.

“Black Magic” hits on a bluesy guitar groove that’s very vintage Sabbath and would be an excellent set-opener live. It would get your juices flowing in a hurry. “Trisect” is grinding and a bit sludgy, proving their metal chops are not to be questioned, and eventually the song thrashes out and leaves you devastated. It’s one of my favorite cuts on here. “Beyond the Door” hints at danger lurking where you cannot see, and after a somewhat mystical opening, it rocks out pretty good, serving up a nice start-stop approach to its chorus. “Souls on Fire” opens with a 1950s doo wop-style guitar line that sounds like it’s going to be a haunting torch bearer, but instead it gets grungy and abrasive, leaving behind any ideas that it was going to soothe. Closer “Don’t Breathe a Word” is a dark ballad with clean guitars that remind me of when 1980s thrash bands tried to do slower songs, and it’s a really great way to end the album on a high note.

Bloody Hammers may be new to the game, but they certainly have the ability to become one of the finer bands in the occult sub-category. They’re strong songwriters, the vocals can appeal to many audiences, and their material is just foreboding enough to keep a metalhead happy. This is a band to watch, one that seems primed to not only make an impact with metal listeners but maybe with those who wish mainstream rock was better and a little more dangerous.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://www.soulsellerrecords.com/index.php?choice=mailorder

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