Monday, August 31, 2015

Abudullah Ibrahim - Banyana / The Children of Africa (1976)


African folk-flavored, mostly low-key jazz for piano, bass, and drums, with just a bit of vocals and soprano sax. I'm coming down from a very short but alcohol-filled mini-tour, and this is doing me right.

Track listing:
1. Banyana - Children of Africa
2. Ishmael
3. ASR
4. The Honey Bird
5. Dream
6. Yukio-Khalifa
7. Ishmael - Alternate Take

I need to sleep, why won't you let me?

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Nortada Gelada - Inverno das Trevas (2005)


I know, I read your mind: you want more Portuguese black metal! Epic, depressive, and crypt-bound.

Track listing:
1. Intro + Legião da Vitória
2. Nevoeiro da glória imortal
3. Viriato
4. Como um lobo que uiva
5. Uma ode ao pinhal
6. Glorioso Povo Lusitano
7. Lost Wisdom
8. Inverno das Trevas

Ashes and fog cover my realm

Monday, August 24, 2015

Gasp - Drome Triler of Puzzle Zoo People (1998)


Mind-melting, experimental, psychedelic grind/powerviolence. Explosions of blast beats, breakdowns, and pissed-off sludge interspersed with thick, echoing soundscapes. I remember in high school hearing Gasp on the Reality #2 comp, then going to buy this LP only to have my friend tell me that it sucked and not to bother. What a jerk. If I had gotten stoned and listened to this when I was 17, my head probably would have exploded.

Track listing:
1. Can't Seam a Mongrel Bly
2. Silk Orbita
3. Eyes the Tentacle and Arachnid Knew
4. Remembered 29 Times
5. Floors Building Legs
6. Little Jupiter Come Home to a Great Man
7. Eating the Translucent Old Folk's Village
8. Sky Flowers Through Horse Eggs
9. Forest by the Concubined Sea
10. Auroren
11. Hungry Wer Pedal's Loaded Luggage
12. The Climbing Neuronium Ladder
13. Trippy Dead Zone
14. Renion Dusted
15. Modern Fuel Plan
16. Fluttering Gnome-Lette Suite

Planet of the apes

Maybe you'll like these, too:

Love Lost But Not Forgotten - S/T (2000)
Gaza - I Don't Care Where I Go When I Die (2006)

Friday, August 21, 2015

Vidna Obmana - The River of Appearance (1996)


Previously:
Vidna Obmana - Gathering in Frozen Beauty (1989)
Vidna Obmana - Echoing Delight (1993)
Steve Roach & Vidna Obmana - Well of Souls (1995)

Lulling, melancholic, nocturnal ambience composed mostly of gauzy synths, with some gentle percussion and ye olde rainsticks. I feel somewhat obligated to post this record, as it has been my go-to sleepytime record for the past four nights, but it's great when I'm awake, too!

Track listing:
1. The Angelic Appearance
2. Ephemeral Vision
3. A Scenic Fall
4. Night-Blooming
5. The Solitary Circle
6. Weaving Cluster
7. Streamers of Stillness
8. The Ominous Dwelling

Mindtunnels

You'll probably also like:

Michael Shrieve & David Beal - The Big Picture (1988)
Robert Rich & Steve Roach - Strata (1990)

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Immortal Hammer - V Znameni Perúnovho Kruhu (2002)


Raw Slovakian black metal. A thick, frigid fog of buzzing guitars, muddy bass, drum machine, and distorted vocals.

Track listing:
1. V znameni Perúnovho kruhu
2. Inkvizítor
3. Im dunkelem Wald
4. Zem našich predkov
5. V mene kultu
6. Temná legenda pohanských mečov
7. Tjarnaglofi
8. Tisícročný duch vojny
9. Zahalený lesnou tmou
10. Vlčia krv

There is no sunrise yet to come

If you like this, check out:

Evilwinged - Avatars of Satan (2006)
Волхв - Древо мира (2004)

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Mourn - Mourn (1995)


First and only full-length from this relatively obscure UK doom metal group. The hook here is vocalist Caroline Wilson, whose bluesy, restrained delivery creates an enticingly warm foil for the band's driving, Sabbath-y, at times butt rock-y riffage.

Track listing:
1. Awakening
2. Iron Sky
3. Children of the Circle
4. Drowning
5. Through These Eyes
6. Dreamless Sleep
7. After All
8. Forever More

Dark tendrils closing in on me

Saturday, August 15, 2015

Vetala - Demo I (2008) + Demo II (2009)



Blown-out, psychotic, Portuguese black metal. Fans of Les Légions Noires: this is relevant to your interests.

Track listing:
-Demo I-
1. The Coming
2. Desecrate God's Kingdom
3. Detrevni Tsirhc
4. Destroy
5. Guided by the Hand of Satan
6. Raping Holy Flesh
7. Outro
-Demo II-
1. Suffering for Darkness - Part I
2. Persecution, Humiliation, and Ruin
3. Suffering for Darkness - Part II

Miseries, famines, and deaths

You'll probably also like:

Belketre
Brenoritvrezorkre

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Harvest - Forgotten Vampyres of the Melancholic Night (2013)


Related:
Drowning the Light - Oceans of Eternity (2011)

Elusive, kult Australian black metal. That ghostly, crypt-born sound of which I'm so fond that borders on DBM, but lands in more mysterious, psychotic, possibly drug-fueled -- check the oddly lovely, keyboard-driven "Void in Life... But Avoiding Death" -- territory.

Track listing:
1. Through the Castle Gates...
2. Forgotten Vampyres of the Melancholic Night
3. Bleeding the Noble
4. The Secret Lost at Sea
5. Pack Rat Ritual
6. Pyramids of the Sun, Crypts of the Moon
7. Nocturnal Murderer
8. Black Seance
9. Forest Wanderer
10. Ancient Dawn
11. Void in Life... But Avoiding Death
12. An Old and Mysterious Evil

Temples of sin

More like this:
Famulus ab Satanas -
Sacred Assembly Beneath Unholy Secrecy (2006)
Onirik -
Songs for the Apocalipse (2005)

Saturday, August 8, 2015

Orodruin - ... The Fire That Welled There (2001)


Strange, Tolkien-based black metal with doom overtones. Drum machines, cheesy keyboards, gravelly vocals, rudimentary riffs, no bass. If you have a thing for lo-fi, ritualistic black metal, "Drink from the Dark Forest Stream" is gonna make you say, "Heeeeey, this my jaaam."

Track listing:
1. Intro - Balrog
2. A Wind from the East...
3. The Song of Parting
4. Smeagol
5. Drink from the Dark Forest Stream
6. Outro

Old forest

Friday, August 7, 2015

Suffering Mind - At War with Mankind (2009)


Prepare your anus for 23 minutes of 100% relentlessly punishing Polish deathgrind. Free via Dropout Records' bandcamp.

Track listing:
1. Bękarty Ludzkości
2. Ekonomiczny Szczyt Bezczelności
3. Wirus
4. Eksterioryzacja Anihilacji
5. 1984 Teraz
6. Kłamstwo
7. Humanitarne Manipulacje
8. Konsumpcyjny Raj
9. Uderz
10. Za Murem Ksenofobii
11. Dead Part of Cause
12. Zwierzęcy Holocaust
13. Turpistyczna Symbioza
14. Ostateczny Pogrzeb

What you think of as pain is only a shadow

Flying Saucer Attack - Further (1995)


Previously:
Flying Saucer Attack - Flying Saucer Attack (1993)

Haunting, lo-fi, shoegaze-infused psych folk. The hanging clouds of feedback and murmured vocals of FSA's past records remain intact, while drums are largely stripped away, and acoustic guitar becomes central to virtually every song.

Track listing:
1. Rainstorm Blues
2. In the Light of Time
3. Come and Close My Eyes
4. For Silence
5. Still Point
6. Here I Am
7. To the Shore
8. She Is the Daylight

Forever

If you like this, try:

Steven R. Smith - Owl (2008)
Ben Reynolds - Earth and Space Magics (2005)

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Aska - Kryp (2011)


Lo-fi Swedish black metal. Simple but powerful riffs, minimalistic drums, and sparse vocals make for a darkly mesmerizing 28 minutes.

Track listing:
1. Satans eld
2. Dimma
3. Flicklik
4. Till Dem

C9H13N

You might also like:

Sortsind - Sår (1999)
Sapthuran - ... In Hatred (2005)

Walls - Coracle (2011)


Bright, driving electronic with a backdrop of hazy euphoria -- those of you who liked Tycho's Dive, listen for "Heat Haze"-- and a subtly diverse stylistic range.

Track listing:
1. Into Our Midst
2. Heat Haze
3. Sunporch
4. Il Tedesco
5. Vacant
6. Raw Umber Twilight
7. Ecstatic Truth
8. Drunken Galleon

Coastal

You'll probably also like:

Eleven Tigers - Clouds Are Mountains (2010)
Tycho - Dive (2011)

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Endless Blizzard - Remember Your Death (2008)


Frostbitten black metal from sunny California. An effective mix of simple tremolo-picked melodies and brutality, with some shredding solos, keyboard interludes, and a good deal of doom. I've made a few 'intro to black metal' mixes for friends, and one of them ended with "Glorious Opiate Dream", so that's gotta count for something.

Track listing:
1. Winter's Early Breath
2. Arcane Dimension
3. Telepathic Rites
4. Luciferian Crown
5. Cultivated by Darkness
6. Under the Tranhelm
7. Deathlust Conqueror
8. Glorious Opiate Dream
9. Buried Still Breathing / Remember Your Death

Nameless regions are near
Dead architects awaken
Build my mysterious craft
From worlds between spheres

Musica Transonic - Musica Transonic (1995)


Fiery, improvisational, instrumental Japanese psych rock. Musica Transonica is jazz-like in approach -- long, free-form jams broken up periodically by melodic themes -- and, at times, in sound. The band is at full tilt for the entire duration of the record, and blown-out, in-the-red production amps up the unremitting intensity.

Track listing:
1. Αλκιμιψα Υπτιγητ
2. Μοχκερ Μαδδεν
3. Χονφορμανχε Ποτηερ
4. Χονφορμιστ Σαδνεσσ
5. Αυγυβριουσ
6. Σερσατιλε Χορρυπτ
7. Σασσαλ Σαγ
8. Οπαθυσ Λολλ
9. Υνρεχονστρυχτεδ
10. Γρασπ Βεσμιρχη
11. Υνσεεν
12. Φανγλε Ουτ

Unreconstructed

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Mons Veneris - ... To Rape the Nazarene (2006) + Abismo a Céu Aberto (2006)



Two tapes of deranged, kvlt-as-fvck Portuguese black metal. Ghoulish vocals echoing over a barely comprehensible, reverb-laden wall of muffled drums and dissonant guitars.

Track listing:
-... To Rape the Nazarene-
1. Eternal Darkness
2. Christian Holocaust
3. Blasphemous Sexual Torture
4. My Weakly Decaying Soul
5. Human Slaughter
6. Antichrist
7. Dies Irae
-Abismo a Céu Aberto-
1. Abismo a Céu Aberto
2. Morte II

The flesh withers beyond logical recognition
The stench of a dirty cave transforms
By becoming the most luxurious castle


More esoteric, lo-fi black metal:

Azaxul - And Heaven Is Crying Tears of Fire (2000)
Drohtnung - Drohtnung (2012)

Gangsta Pat - Deadly Verses (1995)


Deadly-ass Memphis gangsta rap. Highlights include the rapid-fire title track, and "Tha OJ Murder Story", in which Pat claims responsibility for the murder of Nicole Simpson.

Track listing:
1. Deadly Verses (feat. Tha Villain)
2. I Wanna Smoke (feat. Psycho)
3. The Projects
4. Smoke with the Devil
5. Tear the Club Up
6. Pat Is Back
7. Tha O.J. Murder Story (feat. Psycho)
8. Killa (Part 2)
9. Mo Murder
10. Heaven or Hell

I wanna get fucked up

More like this:

Eightball & MJG - Comin' Out Hard (1993)
Kingpin Skinny Pimp - King of da Playaz Ball (1996)

Monday, August 3, 2015

Onirik - Songs for the Apocalipse (2005)


First LP from this solo Portuguese black metal entity. Sickly, warped riffs, varied tempos (mostly slow/midtempo), choked rasps, and a few mournful clean vocals. The moderately blown-out, recorded-in-a-sunken-crypt sound is goddamn perfect.

I'm choosing to read the misspelled album title as an homage to the similarly mispelled Transilvanian Hunger, and not as an indication that a fucking black metal band doesn't know how to spell "apocalypse".

Track listing:
1. Feeding the Empire of Hatred
2. Feasting Upon the Dying Heavens
3. Ridding the Thunders of Vengeance
4. The Shadows Claim for the Earth
5. The Forest
6. Blood
7. I Fell Deep Into a Dream
8. Dreams of War

I watched them perish in pain

More like this:

Beatrik - Journey Through the End of Life (2002)
Drowning the Light - Oceans of Eternity (2011)

Jorge Reyes - Ek-Tunkul (1983)


Debut LP from Mexican ambient composer Jorge Reyes. An evocative combination of synthesizer and organic instrumentation, along with field recordings and the occasional vocal.

Track listing:
1. Agua Quemada
2. Sazilakab
3. Nadie Supo de Donde Venia...
4. Ek-Tunkul
5. La Casa Obscura
6. En el Fondo del Barranco... (Pt. 1)
7. En el Fondo del Barranco... (Pt. 2)
8. Corazon de Venado

Suspended memories

If you like this, try:

Peter Kater & R. Carlos Nakai - Migration (1992)
Collin Walcott - Cloud Dance (1976)

Sunday, August 2, 2015

Despond - Supreme Funeral Oration (2003)


Supreme Funeral Oration is the first and last studio album recorded by this French solo project. Six songs, the shortest of which is 9 minutes, of draining, hypnotic doom/death with funeral doom tendencies.

Track listing:
1. Rains
2. Once in the Hole
3. Serenity in Darkness
4. Stellar Ways to the Everliving
5. Grief
6. Moonlight Suicide

Eternity shines in the dark

You might also wanna try:

The Slow Death -
II (2012)
While Heaven Wept -
Sorrow of the Angels (1997)

Chokebore - Motionless (1994)


Noisy, grungy, negative guitar rock. Do I have to tell you that Am Rep put it out?

Track listing:
1. Shine
2. Never
3. Van McCoy
4. Spear
5. Motionless
6. 2nd Song
7. Nguyan
8. Coat
9. So Sour
10. Sãdãvia
11. 60,000 Lbs.
12. Hit Me
13. Line Crush
14. Cleaner

Why are you constantly bleeding?

If you like this, try:
Girls Against Boys - Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby (1993)
Tad - God's Balls (1989)