Nothing - The Grey Subaudible (2000)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:

Nothing - The Spine Overshadowed by the Rope (2001)

Black industrial ethereal-wave. Whispered vocals and mournful synths over funereal martial rhythms and a reverberating industrial atmosphere.

Track listing:

1. To Draw the Things...

2. Working Through the Nail

3. In Command of the Constellations

4. The Precision in Drowning

5. Explosive Chain of Lethal Transmission

6. An Intimate History of Insignificance

7. ...That Come to Corpses

The surface of existence turns black

Also listen to:

Lycia - The Burning Circle and Then Dust (1996)

Dernière Volonté - Les Blessures de l'Ombre (2003)

Rumah Sakit - Rumah Sakit (2000)

This is a really great math rock/post-rock record. This band's bassist is Kenseth Thibideau, who was also in Tarentel, which is a really great post-rock band that some of you probably know. These are the facts. This is the post.

Track listing:

1. I Can't See Anything When I Close My Eyes

2. Scott & Jeremiah

3. Careful with That Fax Machine

4. Wind & Wing

5. Bring on the Cobras

6. Stomacheache Due to the Sincere Belief That the Rest of My Band Is Trying to Kill Me

This is the download link.

These are links to posts about albums that I think people who like this album would also like:

Oxes - Oxes (2000)

Purplene - Purplene (2004)

The Declining Winter - Goodbye Minnesota (2008)

Downcast post-rock dirges from sunny West Yorkshire. Room-reverb-heavy acoustic guitars chime, horns rise and fall, violas drone, melodicas wheeze, and warped vocals slide in and out of view like ghosts. I absolutely hate this time of year.

Track listing:
1. Summer Turns to Hurt
2. We Used to Read Books
3. I Don't Really Want to Be Alone
4. To Know Gospel
5. Yorkcitythree
6. Oh God C'mon
7. The World Is an Idiot
8. Last Train to Maple Grove
9. The Clock Gently Ticking in the Hall
10. Hey, Nick Heyward
11. Goodbye Minnesota

Trees sway back and forth

More wintertime classics:

Portrait of David - These Days Are Hard to Ignore (2001)

Clogs - Lantern (2006)

Disfear - Everyday Slaughter (1997)

"But DEAR SPIRIT," I hear you say, "if you're so busy, surely your pushup regimen must be suffering!" Not to worry, my caring, inquisitive reader, it's not. I'm still shupping like a madman. I've even taken to shutting my camera off and busting out a quick 50 when a classmate in a Zoom lecture asks a question about something I already understand. Today, I did pushups #200-300 to Everyday Slaughter, arguably the greatest straight-up d-beat record ever recorded.

Track listing:

1. With Each Dawn I Die

2. Anthem of Agony

3. Crimescene: Worldwide

4. A Race for Power

5. Spectre of Genocide

6. Everyday Slaughter

7. Subsistance

8. Totalitarian Control

9. Frustration

10. Aftermath

11. 101 Overkill

12. Captured by Life

13. In Fear

It's all death

More d-beat:

Disgust - Brutality of War (1993)

Framtid - Under the Ashes (2002)

Artillery - By Inheritance (1990)

A stone classic of epic thrash from a Danish metal institution. If you like old school metal at all, there's a very good chance you'll love this record, if you haven't already heard it. This school term, which is essentially my last (I have one more course to take in the spring) has been extremely demanding from the jump, so I'm breaking out the big guns. Relatedly, I really don't know how much time I'm gonna have for this blog in the coming weeks, so expect posting to be even more sporadic than usual.

Track listing:

1. 7:00 from Tashkent

2. Khomaniac

3. Beneath the Clay (R.I.P.)

4. By Inheritance

5. Bombfood

6. Don't Believe

7. Life in Bondage

8. Equal at First

9. Razamanaz [Nazareth cover]

10. Back in the Trash

Curse your name

You should also hear:

Forbidden - Forbidden Evil (1988)

Dark Angel - Time Does Not Heal (1991)

Domination Through Impurity - Essence of Brutality (2005)

Brutal tech-death from Charlotte, NC. A great balance of sharp, chuggy beatings and explosive, full-tilt drum-and-guitar clinics.

Track listing:

1. Essence of Brutality

2. Pinned to a Guardrail

3. In Rat We Trust

4. Self Destructive Malevolence

5. Terminal Gluttony

6. Bit by a Rat

7. Cleanse the Flesh

8. Wahnsinn

No remorse

No mercy

No life

Burn

Similar listening:

Liturgy - Dawn of Ash (2004)

Pighead - Rotten Body Reanimation (2012)

Tram - Heavy Black Frame (1999)

Total sad-sack slowcore from a relatively short-lived, London-based duo. Songs of heartbreak, self-doubt, anxiety, and the occasional glimmer of hope, with warm, rich instrumentation courtesy of a handful of collaborators that includes producer/unofficial third member Clive Painter and Bill Lloyd of Placebo. It's making me feel a little better about having woken up about 2 hours too early and sunrise not being for another hour.

Track listing:

1. Nothing Left to Say

2. Expectations

3. Too Scared to Sleep

4. Like Clockwork

5. Home

6. I've Been Here Once Before

7. High Ground

8. When It's All Over

9. Reason Why

10. You Can Go Now (If You Want)

Who's gonna catch me the way you used to?

If you like this, listen to:

The Paradise Motel - Left Over Life to Kill (1996)

Her Space Holiday - The Astronauts Are Sleeping Vol. 1 (1999)

Bishop of Hexen - Archives of an Enchanted Philosophy (1997)

Beautifully Israeli symphonic black metal. Sounds like the guitarists might have forgot to set their alarm on mix-down day, as the mix is all drums, keyboards, and extremely goblin-like, reverb-drenched vocals, with guitars and bass taking on almost a more textural role. However, this makes for a mesmerizing atmosphere that, under the correct circumstances -- nighttime, candles lit, stupid loud volumes -- can be truly transportive. Not to oversell it, but I'm making this post because last night, I decided that I really need to finish making my all-time top 100 black metal albums list, and Archives of an Enchanted Philosophy is in contention.

Track listing:

1. Crossing the Borders Between Light & Darkness

2. The Surreal Touch Between Steel & Flesh

3. Lure My Spelled Emotions

4. Wading Through the Sensuous Journeys

5. When a Witch Becomes a Pale Bride

6. Diaries of Primeval Tragedies

7. To Begin the Quest Towards the Noble Dark Cause

8. The Fascinating Installment of Triumph

Into our lungs we will inhale this night

More contenders in the same vein:

Diabolical Masquerade - Ravendusk in My Heart (1996) 

Vordven - Towards the Frozen Stream (1997)

Necrophorus - Drifting in Motion (2000)

Related:

raison d'être - Residuality (1993)

Glacial dark ambient for the dead of winter, courtesy of Peter Andersson, best known for his work as raison d'être. Droning synths and icy SFX.

Track listing:

1. Lost Land - Part 1

2. Ice Shifting

3. Frost

4. Partial Melt

5. Lost Land - Part 2

6. Drifting

They've all gone

More arctic ambience:

Vidna Obmana - Gathering in Frozen Beauty (1989)

Amir Baghiri & Mathias Grassow - True North (1998)

The Swimming Pool Q's - The Swimming Pool Q's (1984)

Sweet, bright jangle pop/alternative from a great band that never quite broke through. My dad loves this band, and earlier today he sent me links to a pair of songs from this record, without caption or comment. He underwent pretty major surgery last month and is still recovering, both physically and emotionally. Neither of us have ever been good at staying in touch with people we care about, but a mutual love for music keeps us in regular contact. Tomorrow I'm gonna send him this Ben Watt video -- he kinda hates Pink Floyd so David Gilmour's presence might initially be off-putting, but the song is very much up his alley. Really wish I could just give him a hug, but listening to the same songs will have to do for now.

Track listing:

1. The Bells Ring

2. Pull Back My Spring

3. Purple Rivers

4. The Knave

5. Some New Highway

6. Just Property

7. Silver Slippers

8. She's Bringing Down the Poison

9. Celestion

10. Sacrificial Altar

A basket full of flowers flowing over the rim

Incandescence in a high school gym

And every single street corner

Will remind me of him

Other stuff my dad got me into:

Jane Siberry - The Walking (1987)

Steve Tibbetts - The Fall of Us All (1994)

Mandy Morton - Sea of Storms (1980)

English folk rock given to prog-ish, synth-y flourishes anchored by a melancholic, fantastical core. A great record that tends to get overshadowed by its also-great predecessor, Magic Lady. "Twisted Sage" makes my Halloween playlist every year. Is "city witch" still a thing? City witches would love this.

Track listing:

1. Maybe One Day

2. After the Storm

3. Black Nights

4. Compline Anthem

5. Victoria by the Window

6. Ghost of Christmas Past

7. Twisted Sage

8. Wake Up the Morning

9. Silas the Silent

10. Land of the Dead

11. Warriors Grave

12. The Sculptor

When I speak, you say I lie

So death come to you all

If you like this, listen to:

Jennifer Warnes - Jennifer (1972)

Anonymous - Inside the Shadow (1977)