Bolt Thrower - In Battle There Is No Law [LP] (1988)

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Imagine a bulldozer driving through a horde of Orcs and Trolls, killing everything in it's path, while simultaneously making ears bleed. This is the sound of Bolt Thrower's first full length. Bolt Thrower is from the U.K. and plays early Bolt Thrower-worship. \m/ This album fucking decimates. Released in 1988, this album is still more brutal than a lot of "Death Metal" albums out today. Take note posers, this is how it's done.


more pics after the break.

El-Ahrairah - Tribute to Bathory [MC] (2011)

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Recorded as promo for a Bathory set we played at a local cover show a few weeks ago; ended up selling most of them online before we could distribute to anyone locally.

3 tracks of raw Bathory worship, so put on that patch vest and nod slowly. Contemplatively, even. Just make sure that girl over by the bar sees your kvlt Moonblood patch.

Musta Kappeli - Saatanassa Ulvoneet [MLP] (2008)

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Uh oh, that Molestor is up to his old antics again.

What I've heard of Anal Blasphemy I wasn't too fond of; but, it's kay, this outlet for his "sigh Finland is soooo boring" productivity is focused more on wolves and satan than on penises and ejaculation.

This album is dark and sharp; mid-pace black metal made brutal and inevitable.  The chugging battlewagon only halted by some out-of-place keyboards that are trying to tie in with the "black chapel" theme of the band but falling short.  A name means alot in a band, it sums up the desired atmosphere or hopefully helps to illuminate it.  So, maybe I'm missing something when I listen to this and think more of a Nattens Madrigal-esque "wolf in man" rather than a satanic chapel churning out demonic hymnes fore his glorious rebirthe.  Also, the clean vocals are pretty sweet.

Sigh - The Curse of Izanagi [EP] (2010)

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<rant> I'll be honest; I hate how my love for Sigh is becoming more and more of a guilty pleasure as the band gets consumed with their Lacuna Coil-like marketing strategies.  Mirai makes a name for himself and his band (perhaps in lowercase italics, but still a name) keeps evolving it over a period of 20 years, then apparently gives it all up and yields control and front(wo)man-ship over to the Jessica Rabbit meets Beetlejuice of Black Metal.  Nice career move, Shadowking.  </rant>

And that's half of what is so great about this EP; it represents a different side of modern Sigh.  The reimagining of The Curse of Izanagi is even more brutal and hateful than the original (which all curses should be).  Definite highlight of the release.  Unfortunately they seemed to rush the production of the EP and threw filler tracks onto it.  I mean, the covers of Spiritual and Countess Bathory are great, except this marks the third time that the latter has been on a Sigh release. Excessive? You decide.

Drowning the Light - The Fading Rays of the Sun [MLP] (2009)

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I know, right? Another one of these. Fading Rays of the Sun was released immediately after Blood of the Ancients and it shows; this release echoes it's predecessor perfectly, which might be a problem if Blood of the Ancients was bland or mediocre, but lucky for ya'll it kills perfectly.  I don't mean that in like the "man, this Stormcrow record kills" way; fortunately for you this is the sound of death. Death, dying, and rotting.  Majestic keys might make the descent bittersweet while Azgorh's vocals and beautifully shrieky leads drag you down to the depths.  There really is no other atmosphere to compare this chapter of DTL's catalog to, all I know is that I can't wait for Land of the Dead Sun to arrive at my doorstep.

Skaven / Stormcrow - Split [EP] (2008)

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This is one heavy slab of wax. Skaven, being the insanely crushing war-crust, Bolt Thrower and Amebix worshipping powerhouse that they were, bring to the table one absolutely pummeling previously unreleased (at least to my knowledge) track of pure chaos and despair. The soundtrack to the wasteland. Members of this band were also in the all-mighty Lachrymose and Asunder. I still have yet to be able to get my hands on a copy of either their 7" or the split with Dystopia, but alas, this will have to do. Stormcrow solidify their place among the likes of other California crusty doom legends and show that crust can still be interesting in the wake of Appalachian Terror Unit and Tragedy. Coming straight off of one of my top 5 crust records of all time, the Sanctum split LP, this 7" shows no sign of them slowing down in their quest to decimate and destroy all life. But looks can be deceiving and in 2010, Stormcrow called it quits. Such a bummer that they are now defunct, leaving us only with a handful of splits and one full length. Still, their legacy will forever remain as the crust war gods of the mid-to-late 2000's of California. \m/


more pics after the break.

Syphilitic Vaginas / Nunslaughter - Under Satan's Command / Satanic Masturbation [EP] (2009)

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Another killer Syphilitic Vageenz post to add to the growing list on this blog. You know the drill by now, SV plays killer G.I.S.M. worshipping crust as fuck existence blackened speed metal bitch. Nunslaughter actually surprised me with this release. I had never given them the time of day before purchasing this 7", partly in fact due to the Satanic Threat 7" and also in part to them having a release schedule that competes with that of Agathocles and Abigail. But, nonetheless, I was missing out all this time. Nunslaughter is fukkin' killer, bro. For real. It's just a rowdy, raunchy, butt-fukkin' good time. Grab some beer in one hand, some tits in the other, and distort 'til deafness! Keep on it!


more pics after the break.

Locrian / Harpoon - Split [EP] (2009)

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Locrian is a two piece band from Chicago, Illinois. I saw them play at Heavy Focus III last year and they blew me away. It was simply guitar, vocals, and synths layered with harsh noise. They stood out to me so much because they so easily mixed all the best elements of doom, black metal, and noise. Killer shit. On this release, they team up with the drummer of Velnias to create a killer 5 minute, 20 second long black metal track. Keeping with the theme of the blog, their contribution to this split is raw and atmospheric. Tortured vocals and fuzzy guitars make this very familiar, but with enough variations to keep it interesting and original. The packaging is also totally sweet. The 7" comes in a nice, stamped cardstock foldout cover. Killer release. Oh yeah...and then there's this other band, Harpoon. Why...seriously. Why.


more pics after the break.