Bunkur - Bludgeon (2004)

Harsh, blown-out, utterly bleak Dutch drone-doom. Energy-sapping basses -- no guitars allowed (thanks Anon ) -- anguished screams, and drumming that defies the lethargic norms of the subgenre with anxious fills and sheer, pounding aggression.

"Bludgeon" is a single, hour and five minute-long song. It's like Dopesmoker, but miserable.

And I see nothing
I hear nothing
I feel nothing
My life was nothing

More like this:

Abruptum - Vi Sonus
Veris Nigrae Malitiaes (1997)

Of Darkness -
Death (2004)

Herbie Hancock - Secrets (1976)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:
Herbie Hancock - Sextant (1973)

Lay down your worries, and get funky with Herbie Hancock. Airtight grooves, plenty of synth and Rhodes, wah-wah guitar, a bit of vocals/vocoder, generally laid-back, playful, pleasantly stoned vibes -- Secrets is just about as chill as can be considered humanly possible.

Track listing:
1. Doin' It
2. People Music
3. Cantaloupe Island
4. Spider
5. Gentle Thoughts
6. Swamp Rat
7. Sansho Shima

Dolphin dance

You should also listen to:

Eddie Henderson -
Mahal (1978)

Kimiko Kasai -
Butterfly (1979)

Necrowretch - Rising from Purulence (2009)

Disgusting, lo-fi, heavy-as-shit French death metal with tinges of bestial black/death à la Profanatica.

Track listing:
1. Called from the Grave
2. Regurgitated Remains
3. Impending Morbidity
4. Repugnizer
5. Assumed Death
6. Rising from Purulence
7. Buried to Death

Maggots colony embracing

Listen to these, too:

Morbosidad -
Morbosidad (2000)

Slugathor -
Echoes from Beneath (2009)

Mortiis - The Song of a Long Forgotten Ghost (1992)

Related:
Vond - Green Eyed Demon (1998)

The first solo release from the ever-inscrutable Mortiis. A single, long, mournful, minimal keyboard symphony.

Is it killing you?

More like this:

Darkness Enshroud -
Unveiled Ghostly Shadows (1996)

Vinterriket -
Eiszwielicht / Firntann (2010)

Mastery - Barbaric Usurpation of the Hypereonic Black Metal Throne (2011)

Chaotic, lo-fi US black metal. Over two discs, Barbaric Usurpation of the Hypereonic Black Metal Throne compiles tracks from five demos, and while it's not the sheer mind-blowing cacophony that was last year's Valis (surely one of the most interesting BM records of 2015), it's a must for fans of bizarro underground black metal.

Track listing:
-Disc One-
1. Demo 5 - Intro
2. Demo 5 - I
3. Demo 5 - II
4. Demo 5 - Outro
5. Demo 4 - I
6. Demo 4 - II
7. Demo 3 - I
-Disc Two-
1. Demo 2 - I
2. Demo 1 - I
3. Demo 1 - II
4. Demo 1 - III
5. Demo 2 - II
6. Demo 2 - III

Un
Deux

More lo-fi USBM:

Wormsblood -
Mastery of Creation (2009)

Unhuman Disease -
Black Creations of Satan (2009)

Club of Rome - Große Statik (1985)

Dissonant, heady synth pieces by German composer Asmus Tietchens, aka Hematic Sunsets.

Track listing:
1. Auf Dem Bahnhof
2. Faircomp 1F
3. Medienlandschaft 5
4. P = m · b

Thee temple ov aroma

You should also hear:

Morton Sobotnik -
Silver Apples of the Moon (1967)

Derek Bailey -
Aida (1981)

Hoath - Codex II: Kether (2007)

Blown-out, cacophonous Finnish black/death metal with a brutal, at times thrash-y approach. Hoath's guitarist/bassist, Shatraug, has been and is involved with some pretty fucking elite bands, the most prominent of which include (are you ready for this?) Behexen, Drowning the Light, Horna, Nightbringer, Sargeist, and Vordr. If that alone doesn't make you want to check this out, you're prob in the wrong place.

Track listing:
1. Strength and Wisdom
2. Doctrine of the Serpent Race
3. Of Science and Secrets
4. Fourth of the Magus Powers
5. Torch of the Hoath Prophet
6. Evoking the Kundalini
7. Rejoice Eternal Ecstacy
8. Thy Priest and Prophet
9. In Vision and Voice Concealed
10. The Chalice and the Flame
11. Outro

Proclamation of the crowned and conquering child

Also of interest:

Excommunion -
Superion (2002)

Thorybos - Monuments
of Doom Revealed (2012)

Tom Robinson Band - Power in the Darkness (1978)

Anthemic, anti-racist, pro-femme, pro-queer English punk. My coworker introduced me to Power in the Darkness on the day after the massacre in Orlando, and it reminded me of both the power of music to help us to make sense of our absurd, all-too-often wretchedly cruel world, and the power of good people to remain strong, loving, and celebratory in the face of hatred.

Track listing:
1. 2-4-6-8 Motorway
2. Up Against the Wall
3. Grey Cortina
4. Too Good to Be True
5. Ain't Gonna Take It
6. Long Hot Summer
7. The Winter of '79
8. Man You Never Saw
9. Better Decide Which Side You're On
10. You Gotta Survive
11. Power in the Darkness

Politics isn’t party broadcasts and general elections, it’s yer kid sister who can’t get an abortion, yer best mate getting paki-bashed, or sent down for possessing one joint of marijuana, the GLC deciding which bands we can’t see… it is everyday life for rock fans, for everyone who hasn’t got a cushy job or rich parents.
I got no illusions about the political left any more than the right, just a shrewd idea which of the two side’s gonna stomp on us first. All of us — you, me, rock ’n’ rollers, punks, longhairs, dope smokers, squatters, students, unmarried mothers, prisoners, gays, the jobless, immigrants, gipsies… to stand aside is to take sides. If music can ease even a tiny fraction of the prejudice and intolerance in this world, then it’s worth trying. I don’t call it “unnecessary overtones of violence.” I call it standing up for your rights.
And if we fail, if we all get swallowed up by big biznes before we achieve a thing, then we havta face the scorn of tomorrow’s generation. But we’re gonna have a good try. Fancy joining us?

You might also like:

The Saints -
Prehistoric Sounds (1978)

Blitz -
Second Empire Justice (1983)

Basket of Death - Suitcase of Mutilated Entrapment (2001)

Repulsive Japanese drum machine noisegrind. The kind of album whose presence in your collection might be used as evidence in a murder trial. If you think you might be into the musical equivalent of drenching yourself in whatever comes out of a Port-a-Potty that hasn't been cleaned in weeks, by all means, give this a listen.

Track listing:
1. Sacred Humiliation
2. Orgy of Ophidioculolinctus Oculolinctus Ophidiohism
3. Semen Saki for Skin Maiden
4. Human Pork Chop
5. Flower of Flesh and Blood
6. Salamander Sex and Sword Fucking
7. Vomit Puke Sex
8. Cult of Anus Torture
9. Dismembered Flesh Samurai Sword Test
10. Reverse Bukkake
11. Black Rubber Butcher Suit
12. Devil Fetus
13. Mermaid in a Manhole
14. Nose Torture, Noise Torture, Nose Violation, Noise Violation
15. Dead Body Rape
16. Tojiro Rare Fetish (Locust Blowjob)
17. Obake Kaiju Gore!
18. Dead Arm (Foot) Masturbation
19. Jigoku Demon Tentacle Sex
20. Milk Scat Enema
21. Banana Tentacle Scat Enema - Severed Mangled Molestation of Wasabi
22. Squirmfest Aka Purge

Anatomy collection

And if you want more like this, I'm sorry for whatever happened to you:

Gore Beyond Necropsy -
Noise-A-Go-Go!!! (1998) +
Go! Filth Go! (1999)

Vomitoma -
A Liquid Harvest of Putrefied
Stomach Contents (2009)

Joan Manuel Serrat - Mediterráneo (1971)

Spanish balladeer Joan Manuel Serrat's international breakthrough. Gently-picked acoustic guitars and Serrat's rich voice are at the center, with an ornate musical backdrop of, in addition to the standard pop/rock elements, sweeping strings, harpsichord, and ethereal backing vocals -- a small orchestra, essentially. For those well-versed in Serrat's corner of the musical world, this is probably akin to posting Blonde on Blonde or something, but I'm guessing that most of my readers, like me, are not.

Track listing:
1. Mediterráneo
2. Aquellas Pequenas Cosas
3. La Mujer Que Yo Quiero
4. Pueblo Blanco
5. Tío Alberto
6. Qué va a ser de ti
7. Lucía
8. Vagabundear
9. Barquito de Papel
10. Vencidos

PS I love you

You might also enjoy:

Richard Harris -
A Tramp Shining (1968)

Marcos Valle -
Marcos Valle (1974)

Halo Manash - Am Kha Astrie (2008)

Related:
Dolorian - When All the Laughter Has Gone (1999)
Dolorian - Dolorian (2001)

Minimalist dark ambient/drone for late night drug abuse and void worship.

Track listing:
1. Spring Solar Semen
2. A Spiral Spine Ever-Emanating
3. The Treefaced Trunk Arises - A Pillar Through All Worlds
4. In the Deepest Womb of MAA, the Sky-Shrouded Is Born
5. At Ashen Shrines of the Seventh Sign Antlers Ascend
6. All Herald Its Shape and Shadow
7. The Dream That It Dreams - Awakened

Shrouded messengers gather

More like this:

Robert Rich -
Sunyata (1982)

Alio Die - Sit Tibi Terra
Levis / Introspective (1990)

Taurus - No/Thing (2014)

Experimental black metal from Portland, OR. A dense, cacophonous sound-world of dissonant guitar lines, ghostly howls, ritualistic clean vox, droning keyboard/organ, and disturbing samples. I know it kinda looks like hipster falseness, but you know me better than that: this is some compellingly dark shit.

Track listing:
1. No/Thing Longing, Human Impermanence
2. Lives Long for Own
3. Set Forth on the Path of the Infinite
4. Increase Aloneness
5. Recede

Fleshy prison

You'll also want to hear:

Bloody Panda -
Pheromone (2007)

Smohalla -
Résilience (2011)

Vampillia - Rule the World / Deathtiny Land (2011)

Related:
Boredoms - Super Roots 7 (1998)

Welp, here's a slice of total musical insanity just for you, courtesy of a Japanese 10-piece horde that includes the one and only Toyohito Yoshikawa of Boredoms. Positively beautiful neoclassical string and vocal arrangements bump up against, then overlap with, blackened grind/sludge/thrash. There's a certain degree of wackiness at work here, but the album, as with all of Vampillia's work (some of which, in case you're interested, is not nearly as bonkers as this) has a real, unironic emotional resonance. And don't let the long track list scare your ADD ass off, it's just over 25 minutes long.

Speaking of which: the song titles. Goddamn. I could write an essay about how great they are. From "I Sing Cheerfully Holding a Head in My Hand / Pirates of Bohemian", to "Keep Killing Them All in Tears / Death Electrical Parade", to "Huge Ambition and Indiscriminate Mass Murder / Slash Mountain" -- every one's a winner. But, gun to my head, I'm gonna go with "I Am the Only Man in the World Hence I Am a King and God / Beauty and the Beefcake."

Track listing:
1. One Day, I Thought the World Should Be Mine / Welcome to Deathtiny Land
2. Made My Mind to Dominate the World with No Doubt and Fresh Feeling / Misery Mouse the House
3. Day of Departure, Be a Devil Has No Mercy and Just Move Forward / Deathtiny Land Railroad
4. Wonderfully, My Whole Luck Is My Side. / Alice in Murderland
5. Feel My Almightiness and Press On Toward the Goal / Powder White and Seven Chemicals
6. Identify Myself as a King and God Whatever People Say / Goofy's Acid House
7. Well, Have Time to Play Around for Fun / Donald's Buzz
8. I Sing Cheerfully Holding a Head in My Hand / Pirates of Bohemian
9. A Deceptive Attack. This Is the Real Thrill. / Lady and the Tracker
10. An One-on-One Battle. This Is the Real Thrill. / Machet Popins
11. Torture Someone to Death / Alarming
12. Extermination. Do Anything. / Robberhood
13. Switch and Bomb / Melody Tinborn
14. Death of Heart / Pinoccio's Sentimental Journey
15. Rebirth of Heart / It's a Small Cruel World
16. What's Done Is Done. Cannot Admit It. / Vulgarity Bear Playhouse
17. Keep Killing Them All in Tears / Death Electrical Parade
18. I'm Completely Lost Here Now / Peabrain Pan's Flight
19. Huge Ambition and Indiscriminate Mass Murder / Slash Mountain
20. Extermination2. Do Anything. / Big Murder Mountain
21. Use Dirty Truck, Biological Weapon. / The Libidinous King
22. H-Bomb. The Goal Is Almost There. / Tinber Hell
23. I Am the Only Man in the World Hence I Am a King and God. / Beauty and the Beefcake
24. This Is Totally Empty Feeling / Goodbye to Deathtiny Land

Only God could judge him

Other stuff that'll scratch the same itch:

Vverevvolf Grevh -
Zombie Aesthetics (2008)

Igorrr -
Hallelujah (2012)

Baltak - Macedonian Darkness and Evil (1995)

Vicious Australian black metal. Ripping riffage + reverb-drenched lupine howls + a well-programmed drum machine = BM perfection. How in the hell did Baltak make an album that slays this hard in 19fucking95 without it becoming a known classic?? Is it because they're from Australia but they rep Macedonia super hard, and that confuses people? Or maybe it's because most people don't like drum machines as much as I do.

Track listing:
1. Светот умира (Македонците се ворат)
2. Умирам сега
3. Со умрените одам
4. Ме закопва
5. Вампир
6. Одам долу со ними
7. Светот плачи за мене
8. Македонците се тепат
9. Ме колат

Scent of blood

You'll also wanna hear:

Svartsyn -
... His Majesty (2000)

Battle Dagorath -
Eternal Throne (2008)

Supersister - Present from Nancy (1970)

Supreme, guitar-free Dutch prog. Off-kilter time signatures, lots of piano, flute, and fuzzy Hammond organ. It's mostly instrumental, but when the vocals eventually come in on "Memories Are New", they're surprisingly subtle and airy. I say "surprisingly" because the first time I heard this record, the herky-jerky music had me expecting some kinda over-the-top, quirky vocal stylings, and I was quite pleasantly surprised to hear some nice, Colin Blunstone-y singing instead.

Track listing:
1. Introductions
2. Present from Nancy
3. Memories Are New
4. 11-8
5. Dreaming Wheelwhile
6. Corporation Combo Boys
7. Mexico
8. Metamorphosis
9. Eight Miles High
10. Dona Nobis Pacem

No tree will grow on too high a mountain

You should also check out:

Alcatraz -
Vampire State Building (1971)

Prosper -
Broken Door (1975)

Chaos Echœs - Tone of Things to Come (2012)

French doom/death. Largely, but not entirely, instrumental, with unsettlingly disjointed song structures and an unmistakably French (read: dissonant, atmospheric, self-serious) feel.

Track listing:
1. R I S E
2. Interzone I
3. The Innermost Depths of Knowledge
4. Interzone II
5. Black Mantra
6. Weather the Storm

Soul ruiner

Also check out:

Altars -
Paramnesia (2013)

Symptom -
Caverns of Katabasis (2014)

Vangelis - The Dragon (1978)

The Dragon is a very different beast from the retro-futuristic synth opuses for which Vangelis is best known. The title track is all droning, trance-like psych with pounding, raga-like percussion, fuzzed-out guitars, glimmering sitar, lush strings, and a distinct lack of synthesizer; the rest of the tracks continue in a similar fashion.

Track listing:
1. The Dragon
2. Stuffed Aubergine
3. Stuffed Tomato

No air can come between them

Listen to these, too:

Sergius Golowin -
Lord Krishna von Goloka (1973)

Kemialliset Ystävät -
Kellari Juniversumi (2002)