Dodecahedron - S/T (2012)

 Dodecahedron are a Dutch collective that seem rather intent on dethroning France as the epicenter of  forward thinking avant black metal. This slab of bad acid trip apocalyptic reckoning is as clear a mission statement as I've heard in quite a while. Many in the black metal community would consider what Dodecahedron, Deathspell, and Blut do as part of the "third wave" of black metal. Forgoing most of what would be considered "orthodox" in favor of a sound that in my opinion is far more complex and often far more frightening, these "third wavers" are pushing their genre to some pretty awesome places. Whether they're delivering riff after vicious riff or descending in to the deepest reaches of the human Psyche, Dodecahedron play with absolute conviction and force. They have arrived and everyone should take notice. Thoroughly impressed... early contender for my year end list.

Try it.

Buy it:
Physical
Digital

Masakari- The Prophet Feeds (2010)

Cleveland, Ohio in the house! When I think of Cleveland and hardcore, I think of two things: H100s and 9 Shocks Terror. Masakari...don't sound like either of those bands. They are however, big fans of His Hero Is Gone and Tragedy (who happen to be two of my favorite bands of all time) and it's pretty obvious when you listen to their music. Dark, crusty, D-beaty goodness and like HHIG, Masakari are as adept at playing at grindcore speeds as they are at sludge pacing. Don't really think I really need to say much more than that. Highly recommended.

Masakari recently made their entire discography free on bandcamp. If you're smart you'll grab the rest of it when you head over there to download this album and if you're not a dick you'll throw them a few bones. Make sure to check out the cover they did of the entire Fight Back Ep by Discharge. It fucking rules!

Get it here.

 Buy the LP (Tankcrimes).

Code Orange Kids - Cycles (2011)

When I was eighteen I had no idea what my musical voice was or even how to execute it with any kind of maturity and professionalism. That's obviously not a problem for Code Orange Kids. Fresh out of High School, these guys and gal write and play songs as if they've been doing it forever. Even though it appears seasoned, Cycles still has a very youthful pulse to it. This is definitely not a rehash of the old and tired. It's simple... this E.P. kills. It is violent and filthy, affirming and destructive. Combining Converge and Cursed-esque tones, D-beat feel, and a Spazz/Torche attention span, Code Orange Kids craft an onslaught of hardcore that's pretty "top of the food chain". It's pretty easy to understand this band's relatively meteoric rise through the underground ranks. Look out for their split 7" with Full of Hell coming out on Topshelf Records soon and their full length coming out in the near future through Deathwish Inc. Yep...Jacob already snatched 'em up. That should tell you something.

Try it

Buy it:
Physical: from them on tour, seek them out!
Digital

H.B.B.R.

Ah, the early 90's...

Vinyl Fetish: When Hell Comes Home Split 7" Series Vol. 1 Thou/Kowloon Walled City

Pretty stoked about this. I wasn't interested in enough of the records in this series to order a subscription, so I was worried about having to wait for the ones I did want to pop up on eBay/Discogs and shell out a ton of cash for them. Fortunately, Hell Comes Home has decided to to sell them individually. This split features Kowloon Walled City covering "July" by Low and the almighty Thou doing a cover of "4th of July" by Soundgarden. Rob and I have been jamming on the Thou cover non-stop for about a month now, it's so good. Haven't had a chance to listen to the KWC cover yet, but this one is worth it for Thou alone.

Get it here.

Ignivomous - Contragenesis (2012)

Ignivomous' debut full length Death Transmutation was one of my favorites of 2009, so when they announced they were gestating a new one to be delivered this year, I was pretty excited. And deliver they did, this thing goddamn rules. I'm not big on the term old school death metal since it generally implies a simple rehashing of what's come before without really adding anything of merit and that's what the overwhelming majority of OSDM bands seem to be comfortable doing, so perhaps I'll call what Ignivomous does "traditional" death metal. If I had to compare Ignivomous to another band, it would be Incantation. If you know me (or Rob), you know that if someone across the room happens to mention Incantion our heads turn so fast that whiplash ensues. So having your band compared to Incantation is like getting the mother of all gold stars on your homework assignment in our book. Heavy as hell, tons of tremolo, Immolation-esque side-winding riffs and great vocals, this thing's a beast. Already on my best of 2012 list.

Try it.

Buy it:

Not available yet, but when pre-orders are announced I'll definitely be making a post about it.

Smohalla- Resilience (2011)

Help me out here folks, I'm still trying to wrap my head around this one. Normally I'm not one for the overly dramatic or super orchestral, but this thing, this collection of noise has drawn me in to its web and won't let me go. I know very little about this fine addition to the French black metal pantheon, except that they write incredibly interesting songs and their name comes from the Shahaptian Indian tribe. Loosely translated the name means dreamer or preacher. Imagine if you will Opeth and Alcest gang banging Mr. Bungle while Deathspell Omega and Trent Reznor spank it in the corner with Davide Tiso providing refreshments. Sounds horrible doesn't it? Well believe it or not, it isn't. It's awesome! Yeah there are definitely some over the top moments of cheesy synth, but the rest of it more than makes up for it. I find it somewhat humorous that a few years ago I couldn't imagine France as a leader in any musical genre. Now they're home to, in my opinion, the best black metal out there right now. Enjoy.

    


Try it

Buy it:
Physical