Diskord- Dystopics (2012)

Been on a pretty big death metal binge recently, so how about some more totally rad death metal from 2012?

Norway's Diskord have a reasonably old school sound to them, but calling them an old school death metal band would do them a disservice, I believe. Rather than be a clone of whatever classic death metal band they prefer, Diskord have infused themselves with the elements of what made death metal of that era so great. What do I mean by that? I mean that there's a little big of grit, not the immaculately polished sound that's part and parcel of modern death metal. I mean that if I saw Diskord live, I would furiously bang my head rather than stare at the guitarists hands the entire set. I mean that it's interesting and even inventive, rather than treading a path so well worn it's become a ditch. It seems that being inventive in metal music (or music period) these days means combining seemingly disparate influences to create something fresh, if that's the case, than Diskord are surely among the leaders of the pack in that regard. If there was one band to compare them to, it would be Atheist, whose proclivity for the progressive they share. On occasion they ascend to Cynic-esque levels of jazz fusion and Disharmonic Orchestra oddness. But Dystopics isn't all strange chords and timing, Diskord take their time to slog through the muck with a Mental Funeral era Autopsy vibe. Autopsy and Athiest might be on opposite ends of the death metal spectrum, but there are some totally out there moments on this record that remind me more of Iceburn than any death metal band. Yeah, let that one sink in while you're downloading this and adding it to your music library...which you should start doing right now.

Try it.

Buy it.

Organ Donor- Demo (2012)

The "About" section on the Organ Donor Facebook page describes them as "Friends ripping together in the vein of Entombed, Death, Napalm Death, Atheist, Carcass..." I find that sometimes bands aren't necessarily the best at describing their sound, I can think of a few reasons for this. One is that being part of the project, they're unable to give an objective summary of their sound or draw accurate comparisons. Another is that they (falsely) believe themselves to be wholly original and refuse to acknowledge that they wear their influences on their sleeves just like everybody else. Organ Donor are obviously not one of those bands.

Organ Donor come from Richmond, VA, which is a veritable primordial soup for metal bands these days. Sometimes I wonder why I left that place. Anyway, Organ Donor will forcibly rip the organs from your body and donate them to science, because they're nice guys like that. They feature current and ex members of Battlemaster, Parasytic, Cannabis Corpse, Bastard Sapling and about a dozen other bands (and this demo was recorded by the guitarist of Windhand). You'll find that the list of bands from their Facebook page as quoted above will give you a pretty good idea of what they sound like. Though, I might add early Morbid Angel to the list. They've got all the necessary ingredients to satisfy that refined old school death metal palate of yours. Groovy riffs that beg, nay, command you to bang your head, a few ripping solos, a hammering rhythm section and one of the best vocalists and wittiest lyricists in death metal today.

Oh, and you can name your own price for it on Bandcamp, so why the hell wouldn't you get this?

Bandcamp

Year End Lists Are For Suckers! 2012 Edition

It happens every year, the dreaded year end lists sprout their ugly little heads in every corner of media. Just waiting to spark heated comments and douchebaggery by those Cheetos caked and Red Bull jacked internet phleebs. They are inescapable. Everyone clamors to let you know how cool, enlightened, or kvlt they are and just how stupid the author is for their choices and omissions. It may sound as if i'm being bitter, not so much. More empathetic than anything. On one hand I give it to the authors. "This is one of, if not the best record I've heard all year, but John Q public probably won't like it, so I wont include it on my list." Said no one ever. It's their choice not yours, get over it. On the other hand it goes to the commenters. They just want their voice to be heard too. Albeit in a rather rude and inarticulate manner. Never the less, they should most certainly have the ability to share their likes and dislikes with others. Where the fuck am I going with all this...I have no idea. I see both sides of the coin here. I'm ranting for the sake of ranting i guess. Bottom line is that I still find it fascinating and strange that matter of opinion, no matter how insignificant the topic may be, sparks such emotions.

So I have been going back and forth with the idea of doing my own top whatever for weeks now and finally decided to suck it up and write it up for you. Before I do that, I want to take a minute to mention a few of the outstanding records that won't be appearing on this list. Torche - Harmonicraft, another slam dunk by Brooke's and company. Neurosis-Honor Through Decay, as always these masters of endtyme music crush the soul. Deftones-Koi No Yokan, easily the best sounding album these lads have ever recorded.  I have omitted these fine showings simply for the fact that they dominate year end lists every time they put out a record.(rightfully so!) I felt I wanted to showcase some material that may have not received the same level accolades and deserves too. I have listed my top 15 albums of 2012 below they are not "ranked" so to speak.

Ajuna-Death in The Shape of Winter 

Dodecahedron-S/T

Stoneburner-Sickness Will Pass

Irata-Vultures

Hell-III

Death Grips-No Love Deep Web

False/Barghest-Split

Royal Thunder-CVI

Deathspell Omega-Drought

Blut Aus Nord- Liber II

Planks-Funeral Mouth

Kowloon Walled City-Container Ships

Chelsea Wolfe-Apokalypsis

No Sir-Holy Land

Cursive-I Am Gemini

Hell- III (2012)

I spent a bunch of time doing a write up for this record, but then I realized that not only did I not like what I had written, but I was doing III a disservice. III is the closing chapter of the Hell trilogy. This is one of the best bands on the planet right now and their evolution over the course of their three full lengths is something to behold. Get it.

Try it.

Buy it:

Hell on bandcamp.

The cassette is already sold out. Vinyl is coming soon from Pesanta.

Dacast - Dedale (2012)

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This Gift Is A Curse - I The Guiltbearer

Having completely shit the bed last month due to the phenomena know as retail hell, posting new music for this sight has become a priority. And since it's December, consider them little electronic presents for your ear holes. 

First up is the Swedish outfit This Gift Is A Curse (see what I did there). I've wanted to post these guys for awhile, but for one reason or another they fell through the cracks. Unleashing an amalgam of  noise that could best be described as Botch and Knut hangin' with some Norwegian church burners, This Gift Is A Curse is no joke. Bitter, intense, oppressive, and impossibly heavy is the name of the game here. Their interplay between straight up blackened hardcore rage and their more Swans/Godflesh-y moments is really pretty stellar. While all bludgeoning, it's that shift that makes all the dynamics and mood on I The Guiltbearer so compelling. I can see this band making some serious waves on this side of the Atlantic. Get familiar. Do it.

Try It

Buy It:

Physical

Death Grips - NO LOVE DEEP WEB (2012)

  Death Grips is a bit of a turn for this site, but for those of you who know me, it's right in my wheel house of weird. I was turned on to this crew earlier this year through a review of a live show in which references to Dalek and Oxbow were thrown around. Color me intrigued. Add to that Hella's Zach Hill's involvment, yes please! The Money Store was my first listen and I was not disappointed. Glitchy, claustrophobic, incredibly raw, and beyond confrontational, Death Grips create not so much a piece of music as they do a manifesto at 120-160bpm. With Stefan "MC Ride" Burrnett's delivery, it's easy to see the comparisons to Oxbow's Eugene Robinson and hip hop luminary Saul Williams. Simply unhinged, unencumbered, and potentially dangerous.

  So needless to say, I was more than stoked when the band themselves leaked their new album NO  LOVE DEEP WEB. "Claiming" that their label, Epic..yeah they're signed to Epic Records, pushed back the release to an undisclosed date, the crew reacted. Blasting it all over the interwebs, posting full streams on youtube and multiple file sharing site, Death Grips made sure everyone knew that zero fucks are given! Whether you choose to believe that this was a defiant act or a well orchestrated campaign to build up their fan base, (Epic has made no statement regarding leak nor have they tried to take down any of their posts) it worked.  Having listened to this album several times now, I can say with the utmost certainty, NO LOVE DEEP WEB is no easy listen. It is just as raw, abrasive, and challenging as their previous work. The "recorded in a bedroom" aesthetic makes this knife fight of an album sound almost intimate at the same time. I also love how this band, to me, are like the hip hop equivalent of  a black metal band. No concern for the outside world or any particular trend, bucking conformity to capture the purest form of their very specific world view. They are wholly not concerned with what any one thinks.   

While I encourage all to experience Death Grips, I don't expect everybody to like this immediately. Admittedly, with each of their releases, it's taken me a few spins to really get into. But once you find yourself in their head space, you'll find it difficult to leave.

Try

No physical copies yet, but go here to buy other Death Grips stuff!

Ramlord - Split Releases (2011/2012)

I love it when I stumble on to shit like this! A drunken night rummaging through the interwebs looking for something to jam on led me to this little lovely. This right here is prime, grade-a, cellar dwelling fuzzed fucked filth. This sublime cluster fuck of blackend crust doom punk and closet production comes courtesy of New Hampshire trio Ramlord. First off, sweet fucking name fellas! Secondly, sweet fucking riffs! Their din is reminiscent of acts like From Ashes Rise, Tragedy/His Hero Is Gone (especially in the vocal department), Disrupt, Perth Express, Noothgrush and even some Buzzov*en. My first listen was in the form of there new split with Dallas Texas' Cara Neir. A single 10 minute track of sheer disgust and brute force. Starting off with a dire two minute plus doomed out death march, Affliction of Clairvoyance erupts in a ferocious d-beat maelstrom just to bring it back to a crawl. Then amping it up again into a torrential black metal inspired crescendo . It's pretty awesome. Then came the four song 7 minute piss in the eye of their split with Condensed Flesh. Released last year, this side of Ramlord sees them deliver the the good in no frills all thrills fashion. It's crusty as fuck and straight to the point. It too is pretty awesome. The only fault that I can find with these recording lies within Affliction. While I love the grime the production (or lack there of) provides, the drum sound on this track bothers me at times. I gotta say that the snare sounds like it was recorded at the bottom of a well. Oh well. See what I did there.. Even with that one minor criticism, Ramlord are one hell of a band. I will be watching these guys closely. 

Bandcamp

Both of the cassette only splits are sold out, here's hoping for some vinyl releases soon!

Godspeed You! Black Emperor- ALLELUJAH! DON'T BEND! ASCEND! (2012)

The internet went fucking bananas this week when it found out Godspeed You! Black Emperor was selling their first new record in a decade at their Boston show and Constellation confirmed it's existence by opening up pre-orders. I too was among those going bananas on the interhole. Godspeed You! Black Emperor is one of my favorite bands of all time and in the top five bands I've ever seen live. I couldn't fucking wait to hear this record. Luckily we live an an age of instant gratification and I didn't have to wait long. A mere hour after I found out this record existed, a vinyl rip was making its way around the web. In my excitement I almost posted it before even hearing it, but decided to give it a few listens to try and digest it a bit first so I wasn't tossing something up on the blog that I hadn't vetted. In retrospect I'm an idiot for even entertaining the thought that GY!BE might release something less than stellar.

ALLELUJAH! DON'T BEND! ASCEND! features two songs, each of which runs just under 20 minutes and two drones of 6 and 8 minutes respectively. To be honest (and I'm sure this isn't a totally unpopular opinion) GY!BE's drones have never done much for me and these two are no exception. I don't mind some of the field recordings and other things they have done in the past while transitioning into and out of movements, but the standalone drone tracks are somewhat tedious. I get that they're there for atmospheric purposes, but drone has never floated my boat. The two actual songs however? If my ears could ejaculate, they would be doing so right now. Godspeed's approach to songwriting has not changed in the past decade, they still opt for the mood setting -> crescendo -> climax -> diminuendo and/or seemingly random part format. I may be jumping the gun here, but "Mladic" might be one of my new favorite Godspeed songs. After the usual formalities, the song builds into a guitar and drum driven section that reminds me quite a bit of Burning Off Impurities era Grails in it's Sabbath meets the Middle East vibe. It eventually moves into what is quite possibly my favorite section on the record, a classic Efrim weepy guitar line segues into a big swells of shoegazy guitar that will having you rocking back and forth in your chair until the bottom simply drops out. "We Drift Like Worried Fire" is another winner. A pensive opening section builds meticulously under blooms of fuzzy guitar, falls by the wayside and is replaced by volleys of tremolo picking. The song also features what is undeniably the most "poppy" movement in Godspeed You! Black Emperors' history, albeit rather brief. 

This album is a complete and very welcome surprise. One of my top records of 2012. Welcome back you magnificent bastards. Now, if you could give the guys in Fugazi a call and get them do a new record this could be the best year for new music ever.  

Try it.

Buy it:
Pre-order (LP)
Digital Pre-order in the iTunes Store

Column Of Heaven - Mission From God (2012)

Column Of Heaven's intent is clear. Violence. Comprised of member of the defunct The Endless Blockade, C.O.H picks up right were the latter left off. An unhinged power violence assault, unfettered by any need for extraneous song structures. It's just ball out. Mission From God is the musical equivalent of a deadly weapon. Razor sharp in execution and hits as hard as blunt force trauma. And while all the bash and stab is happening,C.O.H. keep their listeners even more disorientated and unsettled with the addition of noise and electronics. It's a familiar element that Endless used to great but much more sparing effect. This 17 minute, 11 track slab of vitriol is not to be missed. Like this album, I'm keeping this review short and sweet. The end.

Try It

Buy It:

Physical

Planks - Funeral Mouth (2012)

I had an incredibly difficult time trying to figure out how to express my thoughts on Planks. After giving Funeral Mouth (their third and most recent offering) a couple of spins, I was sure that this record was something special. The only problem is how do I describe a band like this and do them justice. Well, I'm just gonna go for it. Planks' sound, on the surface, is steeped in familiar territory. The post-metal/post-whatever tag immediately jumps out, but there's so much more. Hailing from Germany, Planks have been refining their assault on listeners for a while now. Rooted in D-beat hardcore initially, Funeral Mouth finds them incorporating a more sinister aesthetic in to their already somber songcraft, which ain't a bad thing. Their Facebook page states " if Darkthrone jammed together with Isis covering Cure songs". That's not a bad description, but not all encompassing or fair to the band. First off, unlike Isis, Planks knows how to write a riff. Secondly, they do not over stay their welcome with any one particular part. Everything sounds exactly as long as it should be. Thirdly, Darkthrone, while they have my utmost respect, cant touch these guys! I have no complaints about the Cure comparison. There is, overall, a real sense of urgency and threat in this music as well as beauty. And just when you think you got 'em pegged, the crusty comes roaring back, over a strait up black metal part no less. I cant find anything that confirms it, but I swear that's Dwid from Integrity singing on "Weak and Shapeless". All of this together make for a truly awesome listening experience. What makes Planks stand apart is, they have managed to take the familiar and craft it in to something wholly original. Year end contender here. 

Try It

Buy It

Physical

Eagle Twin- The Feather Tipped The Serpent's Scale (2012)

Many years ago Rob introduced me to a band out of Salt Lake City, Utah called Iceburn. Iceburn (later known as the Iceburn Collective) began as a hardcore band with progressive rock, metallic, jazz and even some classical elements. Iceburn's music constantly evolved throughout their career. Much of their later output had more in common with Ornette Coleman than it did with their Revelation Records peers. Iceburn went through approximately a billion lineup changes, but the driving force and sole constant member was guitarist/vocalist Gentry Densley. You may also be familiar with that name from Ascend, Densley's doom project with Greg Anderson. In 2007 Densley founded Eagle Twin with drummer Tyler Smith. Eagle Twin flew under my radar until last year when I finally heard The Unkindness of Crows. It's a fine album, but holy shitballs, The Feather Tipped The Serpent's Scale is like a Gatling gun turning those unkind crows into chunks of carrion and blood mist. Densley's tone is pretty much unrivaled in doom metal these days. His riffs and the grooves he creates with Smith could go toe-to-to with Sleep, Goatsnake and Yob at their absolute best. I will say I've never been big on this style of vocals in doom, but everything else is so goddamn righteous I'm more than willing to give them a pass. Strong contender for album of the year.

Try it.

Buy it:
LP/CD (Southern Lord)
Digital (Amazon)

Serpentine Path - S/T (2012)

Defying all of Pat's expectations, I have returned! To the two people who actually read this blog regularly, you have my most sincere apologies. It seems I was stricken with a severe case of apathecrastination. I nearly lost the battle folks. As the mountain of releases piled higher, my resolve sunk even lower. Alas I was able to break free from my self imposed exile and string enough words together to form somewhat coherent sentences. So on with the show. 

I've been a fan of Ryan Lipynsky for quite some time. Having had the pleasure of working at Tower records for a considerable amount of time, I was inundated with with promos regularly. Unearthly Trance was one that slid across my desk and it floored me. Ever since I've followed Mr. Lipynsky's career closely. He doesn't make bad records. From Unearthly's off kilter doom to The Howling Wind's maniacal black metal, and Pollution's experimental take on hardcore, Ryan has proven himself a indispensable part of the extreme music community. Following the demise of Unearthly Trance earlier this year, we were all left wondering if there would be another to fill the void. Well we have an answer. Serpentine Path. Not only is all of Unearthly Trance in it, but so is Tim Bagshaw, founding member of Electric Wizard and Ramesses! Update: Stephen Flam of Winter has now been added as their second guitarist! That's a whole lot of awesome. Serpentine Path deliver the goods. This is straight-a-head death doom at its max. Tim Bagshaw's monolithic riffs repeat in hypnotic fashion creating their own gravitational field while Ryan's vocals drag you to the depths of the abyss, crushing song after crushing song. This is an all meat and potatoes release, nothing wasted on frilly little garnishes, just the fucking heavy thank you. Listen loud. Listen now.

Try It

Buy It

Physical

Vinyl Fetish: Whirr / Anne - Split 2x7" Pre-order

Run For Cover Records just opened up pre-orders for a split release between two of the finer shoegazey bands in the States right now, both of whom are coming off strong full-length debuts. Each band does two brand new tracks. Limited to 500 total copies on 2x7" with a gatefold jacket and an etched d-side, 200 on white/black a-side/b-side split and 300 on white/black 2/3 split (not entirely what 2/3 split means, I guess it's not a half/half deal like a usual two color split?). Do it up.

Pre-order it here.

Vinyl Fetish: Barghest/False- Split and Mutilation Rites- Empyrean Pre-orders

Gilead Media just opened up pre-orders for two releases involving three of the finest black metal bands the United States has to offer, all three of whom went completely sickhouse on our asses at Gilead Media Fest. See our post about it here.

First up is Empyrean by Mutilation Rites. As I said when I posted their I Am Legion EP a few months ago, I'm fairly confident that Mutilation Rites is the best black metal band in the United States currently. Empyrean fits right in with the Devoid and I Am Legion EPs released earlier this year by Forcefield Records and Gilead Media. This might be the first time that any band has ever had multiple releases make my end of year list. These dudes are on a fucking roll. Pressed on 180gm black vinyl in a Stoughton tip-on jacket.

Next is the Bargest/False split. I've somehow managed to avoid hearing this despite the fact that it's been up on Bandcamp for a few weeks now. Gonna have to fix that ASAP. However, I'm entirely sure both bands will knock it out of the fucking park. This is the first release for each band since their respectively self-titled vinyl debuts of last year, both of which were issued on Gilead Media. 800 copies pressed on 180gm black vinyl in a nice thick jacket and a poster.

Get 'em both here

Also, there are some pretty boss new shirt designs for each band

White Lung- Sorry (2012)

Well, after a highly productive (for us) month of June, we're on our way to our least productive month since we started this thing. We're officially bad at this again! It's gonna be alright though, because White Lung are about to rock your goddamn socks off, regardless of whether you're wearing shoes or not.

Hailing from the home of the one and only Narduwar (that would be Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) White Lung play a noisy, rollicking brand of punk rock quite unlike anything I've heard in a long time, or possibly ever. They're far from your average 4-chord punk rock band. Guitarist Kenneth McCorkell's hand scurries around the fretboard like a chipmunk seeking refuge from a hawk circling overhead. Sorry is executed at the breakneck pace of Morris era Black Flag. Guitar-wise, think Greg Ginn and his signature dissonant guitar squelches...on speed, with flourishes of melodious jangly indie rock played far too fast for wimpy indie kids to enjoy. White Lung's rhythm section could easily fill in for Hot Snakes should the masters of chugging garage punk find themselves in a bind and while I certainly wouldn't call White Lung d-beat, the drumming rarely breaks from the Discharge mold. Sounds pretty boss, right? It is.

White Lung should appeal to fans of Bikini Kill and the Riot Grrrl scene, frantic surf-punk a la Night Birds and perhaps to more adventurous fans of the Screaming Females. Sorry will undoubtedly make an appearance on my end of 2012 list.

Try it.

Buy it:

Vinyl

Digital

Vinyl Fetish: Converge/Napalm Death- Split 7" Pre-order

Haven't done one of these in a while! A year or so removed from their split with Dropdead, Converge teams up with another bunch of old dudes band with a long, storied history, Napalm Death. I will say I wasn't quite as keen on Napalm Death's most recent effort as many, but I'll be picking this up regardless because a) it's Converge b) Converge do a fucking ENTOMBED cover (Wolverine Blues) with guest vocals from Tompa Lindberg and c) the Deathwish exclusive vinyl looks fucking sweet. I wish Converge had chosen to do something off of Left Hand Path, since doing a straightforward death metal song would have been more outside their wheelhouse, but I'm excited regardless. Available from Kingsroad on yellow and pink vinyl and from Deathwish on randomly colored swirly "vinyl bong" vinyl, which is a pretty boss manufacturing technique used by Gotta Groove Records. No pressing info is available at this time.

 

Deathwish 

Kings Road 

Deathspell Omega - Drought (2012)

The Proposition is one of the best modern westerns ever made. Not only was it written by, but also features an amazing score by none other than Nick Cave. Why is this important to this post you ask? Salowe Visions. Dark and foreboding, reverb tinged twang convey a sense of longing and deep isolation before building into an ultimately triumphant crescendo, much like the first two acts of The Proposition.  And then came violence. Fiery Serpents. Blasting forth with such brutality, I can feel its sweat and rage bearing down on me, as if the song itself had been riding with Guy Pearce through the Australian Outback. Again, why is this important? With in these two songs Deathspell Omega have captured a cinematic vision so potent that it encapsulated an entire movie in my head in a mere eight minutes. There are still four other tracks on this E.P. Their ability to so completely evolve a piece of music is a true testament to their mastery. You as the listener are right there along for the journey they are unraveling in three to four minute vignettes. Some bands can’t do that in twenty! Drought is by far the most concise of  Deathsell Omega's Recorded output. There are still unbridled amounts of ballistic, incomprehensibly executed riffs on this behemoth, so don't you worry! Scorpions & Drought right through to the last chord on The Crackled Book Of Life, are just as strong, if not stronger, than the first two tracks. Drought is yet another epic masterpiece of forward thinking, awe inspiring, and most importantly, terrifying black metal.    

*I know it may come as a surprise to most of you that I'd post about Deathspell Omega. Having only name checked them in 40-60% of the entries on this site, I felt that they needed more exposure than what we were already giving them! So thank you for bearing with me on this one folks.

Try it

Buy it:
CD
Vinyl

Stoneburner- Sickness Will Pass (2012)

Migration by Buried At Sea is my favorite doom record of all time, regardless of subgenre. That might seem like an odd choice to many, but I've never heard an album as unrelenting and suffocatingly heavy. I'd go so far as to call it the heaviest album of all time (and those of you who know me know that I tend to do so without the slightest provocation). Growing up a punk kid who loved powerviolence I didn't know people made music that slow and heavy or that I could possibly enjoy it so much. I remember staring agape at the car stereo after hearing that titanic crash at the beginning of Migration for the first time. The closest analogy I can come up with is when, suddenly, a gigantic chunk of glacier breaks off and slams into the ocean with a roar. Since Buried At Sea is no longer with us, I always keep my ear to their grave, anxiously listening for bands down there nibbling at their sodden corpse. At times Batillus reaches Buried At Sea levels of trudging hugeness, but they've got their own sound and are on their own path that only on occasion winds its way through that corner of the graveyard. For the past few years I've been keeping an eye on Portland's Stoneburner who feature guitarist Jason Depew formerly of...you guessed it...Buried At Sea. Thus, I've been eagerly awaiting the release of Sickness Will Pass for a number of months now.

Does it deliver? Boy, does it ever. Don't think that, based on the above, Stoneburner is a Buried At Sea clone. Far from it (though I could get down with that, I like plenty of Discharge clones). Like Migration, Sickness Will Pass starts out with a thunder clap and immediately hits some of the same lows (and I mean that in the best way possible). This album is vicious. If Eyehategod is a PCPed-out first timer stabbing wildly and making a mess of things, Stoneburner are a seasoned vet, knifing you methodically while staring you in the eyes with a completely flattened affect. But as I said, this isn't Migration Pt. 2. Soneburner has plenty of tricks up their sleeves in the form of bluesy southern sludge riffs, Yob-esque pedal driven bits, guitar solos, up tempo sections and double bass.

This album is tremendous and in addition to capturing a spot amongst my favorites of the year it's made me completely reevaluate some of the notions I had about Buried At Sea. Being the most visible member and the member whose other projects I was most familiar with, I had always attributed much of Buried At Sea's sound to Sanford Parker. Sickness Will Pass changes all that. The tones, the riffs and the malevolence I now see were the work of one Jason Depew and he's back with another absolutely killer piece of doom history.

Try it.

Buy it.
Physical (CD)
Digital

No vinyl yet, but I will certainly be making a post about it when it becomes available.

Vinyl Fetish: Whirr (Whirl)- Distressor EP

Not sure how I missed that this reissue was happening. The original pressing of this Whirr EP (they were known as Whirl at the time) was fraught with issues. I know that a number of people who ordered it from the UK based label it was released on never received their records. I opted not to order it from them based on that fact, so I've been semi-actively looking for a copy at a reasonable price on Discogs for a year now. I go to the Discogs homepage today and voila! a reissue. Comes with all new artwork and two bonus demo tracks. 595 copies pressed, 325 on clear with splatter (ugh, I know, splatter vinyl is fucking lame) and 270 on green/white swirl, which is supposedly exclusive to the Graveface Record Club (also lame). Oh well, at least I'll be able to own one of my favorite EPs in recent memory on vinyl at last

 

Graveface Records