May 5, 2021
0:25-3:49
CRYPTS OF DESPAIR
(Lithuania)
Condemned To Life
— Vocal extremes, hurricane of death
noise and crushing beat with an underlying melancholy. A powerhouse
of an album.
5:07-9:07
ALTARAGE
(Spain)
Forja
— Sinister, meditative drone pace
builds to a cacophony, with pockets of grind and sludge and death
chugging. Runner-up up in my Best of 2016, and another
hit.
9:47-14:14
THE ARMED
(Detroit)
Average Death
— 90’s-esque indie blended to
modernity with a Converge-textural hardcore, industrial and synth,
and pop. 19 musicians include some famous ones.
14:34-19:08
DESOLATE REALM
(Finland)
Spire
— 2-piece heavy metal includes all
the good stuff, including a jamming guitar, breaks into ballads,
and a heavy dose of headbanging.
19:23-25:03
DEATHTRIPPERS
(UK)
Unity of light
— Lovely goth vocals in a richly
melodic and romantic electronic dark wave.
25:50-33:29
SPECTRAL LORE
(Greece)
Initiation Into The
Mystery
— Last year’s split with Mare
Cognitum led to this chaotic, beautiful, abstract and ethnic black
metal.
33:55-40:33
BONES OF THE EARTH
(Arkansas)
Machine Rising
— The unexpected galaxy-driven
compositions took me out of what I was listening to. Already a
unique mix of doom, proggy sludge, droning guitars, and chomping
hardcore
40:55-42:24
BONE CUTTER (San
Jose)
Sea of Broken Needs
— 2 thumbs-up to the song titles.
Short and sweet crushing grindcore and death that is unexpectedly
charming.
42:53-48:57
UNGFELL
(Switzerland)
Tyfels Antlitz (Wie e Huerä zwei
Chind empfanget)
— Just picture these dudes in
Heidi-pigtails on a Swiss countryside singing their fantasy
medieval and orchestral black metal. .
49:55-53:57
CICADA THE BURROWER
(Madison)
Where Old Crystals Grow
— Shimmering with sharp waves right
under the surface. Meandering jazz meets raw aggression. All
proceeds off this record go to the ACLU, yah!
54:40-END
PAYSAGE d’HIVER
(Switzerland)
Wärzä
— Paysage d’Hiver’s “Wanderer”
continues to explore an alien world. A shorter album than last
year’s stunner, but still a raw biting wind.