Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Verge - Hatemagic (2008)


Finnish black metal. Epic and genuinely eerie, in a way that makes me pretty sure that these dudes are drugs enthusiasts -- most likely hallucinogens.

Track listing:
1. The God Hates Himself More Than We All of Us Together Ever Could, But What Could Kill Him?
2. Anorexia Nervosa
3. Assimilation
4. The Bloody Fist of Soul's Death
5. Demonosophy
6. Intercourse
7. Imprisoned
8. Vision Surrounds the Snakepit
9. There Is Nothing Left

Who does feed us these visions?
Who counts the heads in a grave?


If you're enjoying this, try:
Wolfe -
Wolfe (2006)
Unhuman Disease -
Black Creations of Satan (2009)

Slobber Pup - Black Aces (2013)


Cacophonous, free improvisation-heavy fusion courtesy of a phenomenally talented four-piece that includes Trevor Dunn (of Mr. Bungle, Fantômas, Secret Chiefs 3, Tomahawk, etc.) From the jump, Black Aces explodes with a jarring intensity that, somehow, the band manages to maintain for the entirety of the album's hour and five minute runtime.

Track listing:
1. Accuser
2. Basalt
3. Black Aces
4. Suffrage
5. Taint of Satan

Bring me my desire and arrows to shoot

If you like this, listen to:
Arcana -
The Last Wave (1995)
Musica Transonic -
Musica Transonic (1995)

Monday, January 30, 2017

Nordheim - Nordheim (2007)


Previously on OPIUM HUM:
Lorn - Subconscious Metamorphosis (2013)

Italian atmospheric black metal. Endless sheets of icy tremolo picking over blastbeats and one-twos, with echoing vocals croaking out one or two syllables at a time.

Track listing:
1. Spina de Mùl
2. Eyde Nét

Enshrouded by eager fates
Between one thousand shining dawns
Like blades


You'll also wanna get into:
Infamous -
Of Solitude and Silence (2011)
Vemod -
Venter på stormene (2012)

Brujeria - Raza Odiada (1995)


The greatest fake-Mexican deathgrind album of all time.

EDIT: My flip description has stirred up some controversy in the comments section, so I'm gonna clarify. When Raza Odiada came out, they were literally trying to get people to believe that they were Mexican drug lords. As a quick Google search will tell you, the lineup for this record consisted of mostly dudes from LA (some of whom were of Mexican heritage), one dude from Tijuana, and one from the UK. So fake-Mexican might be a bit harsh, but I'm not wrong.

Track listing:
1. Raza Odiada (Pito Wilson)
2. Colas de Rata
3. Hechando Chingasos (Greñudo Locos II)
4. La Migra (Cruza la Frontera II)
5. Revolución
6. Consejos Narcos
7. Almas de Venta
8. La Ley de Plomo
9. Los Tengo Colgando (Chingo de Mecos II)
10. Sesos Humanos (Sacrificio IV)
11. Primer Mecos
12. El Patrón
13. Hermanos Menéndez
14. Radre Nuestro
15. Ritmos Satánicos

Today's empires, tomorrow's ashes

Sunday, January 29, 2017

Jessica Bailiff - Hour of the Trace (1999)


Hazy, narcotized sounds that are somewhere in the realm of dream pop, shoegaze, and slowcore. Produced by Alan Sparhawk of Low, and featuring the voice and drumming of Mimi Sparhawk (also of Low, duh) on a couple of songs. Jessica Bailiff would have been so 100% up 20-year-old me's alley, it's a real shame I didn't hear her 'til a few months back.

Track listing:
1. Crush
2. Toska
3. After Hours
4. Amnesia
5. Warren
6. How Our Perception of Distance Is Changed with Each Passing Hour
7. Across the Miles

Pull me under so I'll forget
Make me warm so I'll forget


You should also hear:
Lilys -
Eccsame the Photon Band (1994)
Duster -
Stratosphere (1998)

Saturday, January 28, 2017

Vidargängr - Vidargängr (2013)


German black/death metal with juuuust a hint of sludge. Production-wise, this shit is fucking gnarly. This is at least partially due to the bass, which is both really nasty-sounding and -- in a strange, unprecedented move for the subgenre -- clearly audible in the mix.

Track listing:
1. Suche Für Nichts
2. Gottesdank
3. Der Silberne Sarg
4. Mistück
5. Im Kreis
6. Tanz der Verdammten
7. Alles Ist Grau [Chaos Z cover] [bonus]

The outcasts are running now through desert of broken lies and flesh

You might also like:
Thorybos -Monuments
of Doom Revealed
(2012)
Black Vice - Rituals of the
Anti-Cosmic Doctrine
(2016)

William Onyeabor - Crashes in Love (1977)


Afro-funk legend William Onyeabor's perfect debut. Call-and-response vocals, rich horn-section melodies, and killer solos from every instrument in the band's arsenal, all as buoyant, percussion-heavy grooves stay locked in a mesmerizing state of rhythmic nirvana. If everyone in the world listened to Onyeabor at least once a week, we'd achieve world peace within a couple of months.

Track listing:
1. Something You'll Never Forget
2. Ride On Baby
3. Crashes in Love
4. Heaven and Hell
5. Jungle Gods

I don't know why
You make me get crazy


To keep riding these vibes, try:
Mulatu Astatke -
Mulatu of Ethiopia (1972)
King Sunny Ade & His
African Beats - Aura (1984)

Friday, January 27, 2017

Aureole - Alunar (2014)


US solo black metal. Hypnotic, sorrowful, and slow, with a darkly rich, oppressively dense, keyboard-heavy atmosphere. Pretty sure that Alunar, like everything else this guy does, tells a fantastical, sci-fi-kinda story, but I have no fucking idea what it is. Free/name your price at bandcamp.

Track listing:
1. I: Citadel Alunar
2. II: The Voice of Nebular Flame
3. III: The Senility of the Hourglass
4. IV: Crusade of NGC 5128
5. V: Alunar, Decrepit...

Worlds of ice stretched thin across the skull

If you're into this, check out:
Astral Silence -
Astral Journey (2010)
Alrakis -
Alpha Eri (2011)

Rhys Chatham - Factor X (1983)


Hypnotic, instrumental art rock monoliths by NYC composer Rhys Chatham. A shimmering wall of guitars -- or brass, in one instance -- grounded by propulsive, post-punk-y drumming. Yes, kinda like Glenn Branca. How the fuck did I just hear about this guy?

Track listing:
1. For Brass
2. Guitar Ring
3. The Out of Tune Guitar, No. 2
4. Cadenza

New York's alright if you like saxophones

More along these lines:
Univers Zero -
Ceux du Dehors (1981)
Bill Horist -
Soylent Radio (1997)

Thursday, January 26, 2017

Vasant Rai - Spring Flowers (1976)


Related:
Collin Walcott - Cloud Dance (1976)

Lovely instrumental pieces by Indian musician Vasant Rai. A vibrant aural tapestry of tabla, sitar, violin, guitar, oboe, French horn, fretless bass, and others, with Rai's sarod at the center.

Track listing:
1. Smile Goddess Sarasvati
2, Distant Village
3. Spring Wind
4. Guitarist from Unjha
5. Saptak
6. Leaving Home
7. Midnight Meditation

Sunlight dance

You'll probably also enjoy:
Kay Gardner -
A Rainbow Path (1984)
Robert Rich & Lisa Moskow -
Yearning (1985)

Ricardo Donoso - Deterrence (2010)


Otherworldly drone from Brazilian-American composer Ricardo Donoso. Play this really loud the next time you're disintegrating.

Track listing:
1. Simulate Charity
2. War of Attrition
3. Prisoner's Dilemma
4. Axiom of Choice
5. Mutual Assured Destruction

Sweet scent of decay

More for fans of low-frequency rumbling:
Nathan Youngblood -
Asunder (2009)
Halo Manash -
Am Kha Astrie (2008)

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Nidhoggr - Ravens Over the Road of Kings (1994)


Finnish lo-fi black metal. Nidhoggr probably could have played an important role in the development of the depressive black metal subgenre, but sadly, the project's creator, Nadrach, committed suicide after releasing just this one demo. 13 minutes of cold, blackened misery.

Note: The tracks in the linked file aren't divided correctly; the first track contains the first two songs, and the second and third tracks are actually just "Jätä Minut Korpeille..." split midway through. Plays seamlessly, regardless.

Track listing:
1. From the Forest Came the Wanderer
2. Thou Shalt Burn at Our Stakes
3. Jätä Minut Korpeille...

Sacrificial bloodshed

Rundagor -
Stronghold of Ruin (1996)
Oath -
Light of the Black Dawn
(2013)
+ Antichrist Reign (2014)

Michael Rother - Flammende Herzen (1977)


Related:
Can - Soon Over Babaluma (1974)

Michael Rother (of Neu!)'s heavenly first solo record. Chiming guitars, gauzy synths, and motorik beats aplenty. One of the greatest, most beautiful krautrock records in existence. I've been meaning to post something by Rother for a while now, and now given the passing of the great Jaki Liebezeit, who played drums on Rother's early albums, I pretty much have to.

Track listing:
1. Flammende Herzen
2. Zyklodrom
3. Karussell
4. Feuerland
5. Zeni

Cruising through clouds

You should also listen to:
Dreamworld -
On Flight to the Light (1980)
White Rainbow -
Sky Drips Drifts (2007)

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Winter - Into Darkness (1990)


God-tier, crust-encased NYC death/doom. Sounds like Obituary covering Amebix. Great music for those days when your country turns its back on the outside world, works to erode the rights of its own citizens, and plows ahead towards the destruction of the very land on which it rests.

Track listing:
1. Oppression Freedom / Oppression (Reprise)
2. Servants of the Warsmen
3. Goden
4. Power and Might
5. Destiny
6. Eternal Frost
7. Into Darkness

Rising conqueror

More like this:
Fleshcrawl -
Descend into the Absurd (1992)
Mindrot -
Dawning (1995)

Life Uniform - Life Uniform (2016)


Totally sweet, catchy garage punk from Philly. The bassist, Joe, is one of my best friends in the world -- we've been friends for almost 20 years -- and I can't tell you what a relief it was when I finally heard this, and discovered that I genuinely love it. Free/name your price via bandcamp.

Track listing:
1. Got the Drop on You
2. Beach Metal
3. Montana Bill
4. News on the Radio
5. Dead Boyfriend
6. My Education
7. Determinist

The knife, man
What'd you do that for?


If you like this, listen to:
Royal Headache -
Royal Headache (2011)
Mind Spiders -
Meltdown (2012)

Monday, January 23, 2017

Funeral Ghoul - Vomit on My Coffin (2015)


Previously on OPIUM HUM:
Funeral Ghoul - Ancient Darkness (2015)

More nauseating raw black metal from Hungarian solo act Funeral Ghoul. Best when listened to while on drugs and on the verge of passing out. I'm currently unable to upload (or download, for that matter) anything due to shitty internet service, so we're just gonna have to make do with free bandcamp stuff 'til I sort it out.

Track listing:
1. I, the Goatcorpse
2. Dogmatic Church of Blood
3. Day of Sadness
4. I Hate This Human's World
5. Vomit on My Coffin

Paranormal blood oath

Further listening:
Striborg -
Mysterious Semblance (2004)
Xerbittert -
Black Fog (2010)

Friday, January 20, 2017

Cress - Monuments (1997)


UK anarchopunk. Drum machines, keyboards, samples, and sharp, machine-like guitars give Monuments a cool, dark, almost industrial atmosphere. Def some Crass influence at work here -- they even sample some of the samples from Christ the Album -- but musically, they're a very different beast. The end times are upon us.

Track listing:
1. Earth
2. Prisons
3. TV Screen
4. Progress
5. Fear
6. Monuments
7. Beasts
8. One
9. DIY
10. Sirens
11. Machines
12. Illusions
13. Safe

Fear surrounds us on all sides

If you like this, listen to:
Misery -
Next Time (1995)
Counterblast -
Balance of Pain (1996)

Thursday, January 19, 2017

Order of the Vulture - Christ Killer (2004)


Related:
L'Acephale - Malfeasance (2009)

First 7" of gnarly-as-fuck raw blackened d-beat from one of my all-time favorite Portland bands. In these troubled times, fighting back means keeping track of what's important: worshipping Satan, slamming dope, decimating the system, and committing suicide.

Track listing:
1. Christ Killer
2. Incantation
3. Relentless Drone
4. Der Krieg

Murder the shit god

You might also like:
The Shitlickers -
The Shitlickers (1982)
Ambulance -
The End of Our Time (2004)