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Agathocles / Nyctophobic – Split 7″ (1994)

Agathocles / Nyctophobic – Split 7″ (1994)

April 21, 2022

A live split EP which actually sounds pretty clear. The AGx stuff crawls a bit, rather than being from their selection of mincing microblasts. Quality is usually any issue that I have with splits from these Belgian legends, repeated songs aside. And that’s all OK here. The Nyctophobic side isn’t bad either. Is this an essential underground gem? Perhaps not, but it’s not bad either.

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First Days Of Humanity – Atrocities (2020)

First Days Of Humanity – Atrocities (2020)

Atrocities has to be one of, if not the best, First Days recordings. Their slushy drum machine gore is perfected here, with interesting themes and perfect shifted vocals. The vocals in of themselves are something that need to be heard to be believed. Fast, brutal, savage. That’s all I need to say here, I think.

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Faith No More – Angel Dust (1992)

Faith No More – Angel Dust (1992)

The Real Thing blew Faith No More up. Angel Dust, which followed, seemed to weird a lot of mainstream media and fans out, if what I read on the Internet is true. I can kinda see this, as Angel Dust can get quite obtuse in moments. Songs like “Jizzlobber” and “RV” are of course going to hit a bit on the nose, but fans of Patton et al will of course no doubt instead revel…

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VHS Logos – マントラ (Mantra)(2014)

VHS Logos – マントラ (Mantra)(2014)

On first impressions, VHS Logos’ legendary Mantra record fits right in alongside the other early greats of the vaporwave genre. However, give it chance to develop and you are treated to a smattering of beats and vibes in the hip hop and funk styles too. Everything is wrapped in that warm, fuzzy 90s analogue sound that we all love vaporwave so much for, and I’m sure there’s plenty of re-worked samples and songs going on…

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Undeath – Demo ’19 (2019)

Undeath – Demo ’19 (2019)

It’s really cool to look back at the beginnings of this band, who are now one of the biggest names in modern death metal. This cavernous debut is probably the most “different” sounding to all their other stuff, where they found their true style and their feet. That isn’t to say this demo is shaky, far from it in fact, its just the style of death metal on display is a little different, and the…

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Cannibal Corpse – Gallery Of Suicide (1998)

Cannibal Corpse – Gallery Of Suicide (1998)

Cannibal Corpse’s second record with Corpsegrinder on vocals certainly hits home a bit harder for me than Vile did. Not to shit on Vile at all, but I just prefer this one. The album art features a woman who has perhaps the longest torso in the entire world, and whilst its not one of the best pieces Vince Locke has ever done, it fits the sound here perfectly. Opening track “I Will Kill You” is…

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Morbid Angel – Domination (1995)

Morbid Angel – Domination (1995)

This has been my jam recently. To say that I have overlooked Morbid Angel would be a lie, but I’ve definitely been a dismisser of their “later” discography, starting with Domination. More fool me, however, as this has probably become my favourite Morbid Angel record (for the time being, at least). Domination marks Erik Rutan’s addition to the band (the producer legend, also of Hate Eternal and currently the recent incarnation of Cannibal Corpse). Domination…

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Obituary – Slowly We Rot (1989)

Obituary – Slowly We Rot (1989)

John Tardy has to have one of the most distinctive death metal vocal sounds. He reminds me of the gnolls from the Forgotten Realms computer RPG Baldur’s Gate. Your man here literally sounds like a feral beast let loose to scream over these sludgy, lurching death metal tunes. Do I love this as much as Autopsy? Probably not, but it’s still a legendary lesson (lesion?) in doing slow death metal just right. I love the…

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Abruptum – Potestates Apocalypsis (2011)

Abruptum – Potestates Apocalypsis (2011)

April 1, 2022

Abruptum’s initial legacy ended in the mid 2000s, but after a few years hiatus, the member known as “Evil” returned without founding member “IT” (Information Tech? – these fuckin’ names, man) and released new material under the Abruptum name, even though, realistically, this should have been called something else entirely. However. This is fucking great. Potestates Apocalypsis (you know its grim and evil if the name is in fuckin’ Latin) is actually really, really good….

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The Blood Divine – Mystica (1997)

The Blood Divine – Mystica (1997)

This is the second and final album from The Blood Divine, the band featuring several members of Principle-era COF, as well as Darren White from Anathema. Mystica is a refreshing journey, actually. The first album is a solid and fine lesson in 90s British doom (arguably the best doom?), but Mystica goes off in several unpredictable directions. There are a lot of rock and blues parts, and the keyboard playing is absolutely excellent in this…

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Blood / Impetigo – Split 7″ (1991)

Blood / Impetigo – Split 7″ (1991)

The Blood stuff here is great. Its raw, its nasty, and it really shows the styles that the band flirted with, bridging elements of death and grind with even black or war metal stylings. Love it. Unfortunately for me, I’ve heard the Impetigo side a thousand times because I got the Giallo / Antefatto complication CD through a trade when I was a teenager and these songs are already on there. Plus, the version of…

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Kamasi Washington – The Epic (2015)

Kamasi Washington – The Epic (2015)

I’ve approached The Epic multiple times since release and have struggled to find the words to do it justice. Therefore, I’ve decided after another recent listen through at the beginning of the year, to throw all pretense of “doing it justice” to the wolves and just commit this monster of an album to the site. Is it too overblown for me to state that The Epic is the Bitches Brew of our generation? Possibly. Bitches…

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XXX Maniak / Lymphatic Phlegm – Split CD (2005)

XXX Maniak / Lymphatic Phlegm – Split CD (2005)

I snoozed on this when it came out, and I snoozed once more when the 3XM side was re-released on 12″ vinyl. In fact, why did the vinyl re-release only include the 3XM stuff? Seems a bit shitty. Anyway, I digress. This is a pretty solid effort from 3XM, which farts hyperspeed drum machine grindcore over you in their “original” full length style – i.e. the production is decent, the vocals are weird and the…

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Video Nasty – Pizza Tits (2013)

Video Nasty – Pizza Tits (2013)

How is this 9 years old? The time, she flies! I used to trade a lot with the Fuck The Industry label from Japan, who at the time were putting out some of the highest quality home made releases I’d seen. It goes to show how much difference can be made by investing in a decent printer (lol) – all of FTI’s stuff looked the part, both on CDr and cassette. Video Nasty (not to…

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Voices – Frightened (2018)

Voices – Frightened (2018)

I’m not sure why Voices’ output fell off the radar in the mid 2010s, after the quickfire one-two of albums in 2013 and 2014, but I’d have to assume that it had a lot to do with Akercocke becoming a functioning entity again. In a running theme with a lot of the posts that I have made here recently, I completely missed this record around the time of its release, finally catching up with it…

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Watain – Lawless Darkness (2010)

Watain – Lawless Darkness (2010)

I’ve never really been able to get into Watain. It’s not that I don’t like a bit sneaky melody living beneath the frosted, barren landscapes of my black metal. Nor is it that I find any of their music to be boring or badly made. Lawless Darkness is a intense slab of blackened metal tomfoolery, which admittedly doesn’t quite live up to the savage evilness promised by the title and the cover art, but is…

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Young Scrolls – Dagothwave (2017)

Young Scrolls – Dagothwave (2017)

It seems almost pointless to write a blog post about a download-only single. But hey, I’ve listened to this thing a ridiculous amount of times so its probably a good idea to go ahead and commit it here to the archive of forever. This is unreasonably catchy. For someone who enjoys both vaporwave and TES III: Morrowind, this is a match made in heaven. Hey, April 1st seems a good a day as any to…

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Wheelchair Wheelchair Wheelchair Wheelchair – Tales Of Bonnie Scotland (2013)

Wheelchair Wheelchair Wheelchair Wheelchair – Tales Of Bonnie Scotland (2013)

I have a spotty relationship with Wheelchair x4. Granted, its mostly my fault, having organised a failed compilation featuring 69 bands around the time everyone was leaving MySpace en-masse and it took a year or so to get everyone’s money back. Anyway, that’s water under the bridge. I got this in 2013 along with the Elastic Death split and I really enjoyed it, despite the animosity the guys seem to have against me. Maybe its…

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Phantasmagore – Insurrection Or Submission (2021)

Phantasmagore – Insurrection Or Submission (2021)

Dense, brutal death metal is the order of the day. In the old school style of course, as I’m sure you can tell by the artwork. The resurgence of this kinda shit is still flowing freely from an unblocked sewer, and for now, I’m OK with that (no doubt saturation point will be reached at some point in the near future). Insurrection Or Submission isn’t a particularly long affair, nor, dare I say, is it…

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Cannibal Corpse – Vile (1996)

Cannibal Corpse – Vile (1996)

Vile is the first Cannibal Corpse record without Chris Barnes on vocals. Fortunately, the history of metal has been kind to us, and metalheads will surely know that this means that Vile is the first record with the now-legendary George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher. This tidbit aside, it is unfortunately difficult not to compare this to what came before, especially considering Barnes left the band on such a fucking high, with the final record being The Bleeding….

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Abigail – Sweet Baby Metal Slut (2009)

Abigail – Sweet Baby Metal Slut (2009)

Abigail has always danced at the corners of my musical peripheral vision (lol); the odd festival appearance here, the odd logo shirt there. But never had i submitted myself to their sleazy thrashing blackened metal until now. Think Nunslaughter, but throw in some more d-beat and make all the songs about “sluts” instead of goats, and you’re on the right track. Imagine if Midnight were a band full of horny teenage boys, and you’d maybe…

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Agathocles – Distrust And Abuse (1993)

Agathocles – Distrust And Abuse (1993)

Ah! Classic old school Agathocles EP right here. Guitars down-tuned to non-existence, shifted vokills and drums that are all over the place – what more could you possibly want? I love this primordial soup stuff, way back before mincecore was defined by stomps, d-beats and those riffs. Not that I hate any of that stuff, no no, but I do have a soft spot for the more grinding death metal sound to Agathocles had at…

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December Moon – Source Of Origin (1996)

December Moon – Source Of Origin (1996)

This is fucking great. I heard about this as it was mentioned in passing by Stuart Anstis; during a very long interview he mentioned that Robin (the original COF bass player) had a project called December Moon. I don’t think Stu had anything to do with this, but he led me down this path at the least. Honestly, this is awesome. It’s showing its age, in some regards, but that’s OK. The production is great,…

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Brujeria – El Patron (1994)

Brujeria – El Patron (1994)

March 24, 2022

2 sick tracks from early muddy Brujeria? What more could you possibly want? I love this band’s unique mix of hardcore, grindcore and death metal, all with their unique spin and immediately recognisable vocal. Production is a bit primitive here, but that’s absolutely fine by me.

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Final Exit / Napalmed – Split Tape (1996)

Final Exit / Napalmed – Split Tape (1996)

Wow. There’s something humbling about listening back to old noisecore stuff. There always seems to be an element of fun involved with just getting into a room, or switching on your board setup, and giving everyone’s ears hell. When I listen to raw rehearsal recordings, which is the case here with the Final Exit stuff, I feel like I’m given an unique window, a fly-on-the-wall look into a rehearsal room full of friends messing about…

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Doom The Way id Did (2011)

Doom The Way id Did (2011)

Doom The Way id Did is a community WAD pack that intends to pay homage to the original “classic” Doom mapping trio of Romero, Tom Hall and Sandy Peterson, by emulating their design philosophies and – literally – make a new Doom campaign, but the way id did. The problem I have with this is that outside of pigeonholing Romero into his now-famous, tech-base-based (lol) design criteria (you just need to look at Sigil to…

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Havohej – Dethrone The Son Of God (1993)

Havohej – Dethrone The Son Of God (1993)

March 23, 2022

I was turned onto Havohej by the Punk Rock MBA YouTube channel, of all places. I love how fucking weird some of this shit gets, but in the grand scheme of things, Dethrone The Son Of God is pretty straightforward as far as black metal goes. The vocals are fantastic, and so are the riffs and drums to be honest, and the whole thing comes together nicely and the production isn’t too abrasive. If you’ve…

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Goat Vulva – Baphometal (1991)

Goat Vulva – Baphometal (1991)

Well then. Wild card listen of the week award goes to this…. record? Honestly, it’s a stretch to even call it that. Baphometal is almost indecipherable, whatever thrashy blackened metal we should be enjoying here is buried beneath decades of grime and dust. It truly must be one of the most unlistenable and barely audible tape demos that I have ever heard. And hey, trust me when I say folks, after over 20 years in…

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Intestinal Alien Reflux – Exogenocide (2008)

Intestinal Alien Reflux – Exogenocide (2008)

Is there any type of death metal that is as bland and as boring and disinteresting as this? The answer is no. Fuck, these guys suck. Fuck them and their fucking bullshit music. Just gonna stop this here before I go off on one, but I listened to it so its on the site, thems the rules. Lowest common denominator trash, weak even for Sevared Records (and they’ve released some absolute shite over the years).

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Killing Joke – Outside The Gate (1988)

Killing Joke – Outside The Gate (1988)

This is arguably the catalyst for the initial destruction of the original run of the band in the 80s. I’ve seen it called a band unravelling, a misled attempt at a solo project, or also the work of intense vanity from certain members of the group. But how does it sound? To my knowledge, Geordie and Jaz go it alone on this effort, with a hired band of session musicians. It sounds… like a really…

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Morbid Angel – Covenant (1993)

Morbid Angel – Covenant (1993)

Covenant sees another slight shift in the Morbid Angel sound. The blistering death metal is of course still here, but the sound is warmer and the subject matter is more on-the-nose in regards to the occult. I mean, just look at that album sleeve! Altars… was echoic and cavernous, Blessed… was dry and brutal, Covenant seems like a tidy mix of both of these things actually, with some slower, sludgier elements thrown in for good…

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Burial – Untrue (2007)

Burial – Untrue (2007)

March 18, 2022

I’m not the biggest club guy, Londoner or even electronic music enthusiast (although that does grow over time, judging by the burgeoning ‘electronic’ tag here on this site), but Untrue has to be one of the greatest albums ever made, all the same. I’ve read many stories about its inception, but the general one I like the most is that Burial is trying to pay tribute to the sounds and atmospheres he grew up in….

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7 Minutes Of Nausea – Disobediant Loser (1992)

7 Minutes Of Nausea – Disobediant Loser (1992)

You gotta love 7MON. In fact, one time, their addition to the OEF 2015 line up swayed me to buy a ticket and make a solo trip from the UK to the Czech Republic. Whilst I was watching this band play their ridiculous noisecore on stage, I couldn’t shake the feeling I’d travelled 100s of miles to watch a band dick about for an hour haha Noisecore, I know, isn’t everyone’s bag. Personally, I love…

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Killing Joke – Extremities, Dirt And Various Repressed Emotions (1990)

Killing Joke – Extremities, Dirt And Various Repressed Emotions (1990)

Across the decade of the 80s, a period of the latter years saw a thawing of the Killing Joke tribal post punk sound into a more accessible, new romantic or synth pop direction. The pinnacle of this was Outside The Gate, which seemed to alienate a lot of fans. The icing on that cake was the spoken word album that followed it, and Killing Joke almost seemed like a band that no longer knew its…

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Këkht Aräkh – Pale Swordsman (2021)

Këkht Aräkh – Pale Swordsman (2021)

Wow, I can immediately see what the hype is for this record. It topped a lot of lists last year, and the artwork is quite striking. Aurally, Pale Swordsman is an exercise is raw black metal, but mixing elements of DSBM (I’m in particular drawn to the slow piano overlays that remind me of Lifelover) with more traditional, unholy trinity era Darkthrone (in regards to both the riffs and the production). It also manages to…

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Defod – The Lengthening Shadow (2021)

Defod – The Lengthening Shadow (2021)

The Lengthening Shadow is the debut full length record from North Wales black metal project Defod, which follows the EP/demo cassette the project released through the FHED record label. What was good then has now been honed to become great; it is here where the shadow does indeed lengthen – the title is very apt! The songs are lengthy, intricately woven and very well produced (especially for black metal!). I’m reminded of certain aspects of…

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Sigh – Scorn Defeat (1993)

Sigh – Scorn Defeat (1993)

I am very much late to the party here. I saw Sigh in I think 2010 at a French music festival. Before that, my only real experience with the group was seeing their albums advertised inside my copy of Principle Of Evil Made Flesh (I think they may have been on the same label as Cradle Of Filth at one point). Anyways, I wasn’t blown away by the live show (particularly how they piped a…

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Municipal Waste – Slime And Punishment (2017)

Municipal Waste – Slime And Punishment (2017)

Wow, I slept on this fucker. I thought this was a new record! D’oh! Opening track “Breath Grease” is one of my favourite MW thrashers – it bolts straight out the gate and lets you know what you are in for. If you’ve heard these guys before then you surely know whats coming here. That’s not to say this is rehashed or boring, I’m just prepping you in regards to: expect some of the best…

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The Blood Divine – Awaken (1996)

The Blood Divine – Awaken (1996)

These guys are like the Audioslave of the mid 90s doom scene. When the Principle Of Evil Made Flesh lineup of Cradle Of Filth left en-mass, they teamed up with the ex-Anathema vocalist Darren White to produce what (I thought) was initially a very similar, sombre doom metal outfit. Joined by a new bass and drum section, the six piece wasted no time in dropping two albums a year apart. The first, Awaken, is an…

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Kollaps – Sibling Lovers (2017)

Kollaps – Sibling Lovers (2017)

Strong, dense industrial combining the more harrowing elements of the genre with something altogether more classic (that being the pummelling heave-ho motion and delivery of early Swans). It uses such as a backbone to create seemingly lawless noise, which is often allowed to run rampant and unstructured with abandon, but here it is pinned down like a worm on a dissection plate and we are able to peer into it. You’ll surely remember what Nietzsche…

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Cannibal Corpse – The Bleeding (1994)

Cannibal Corpse – The Bleeding (1994)

The Bleeding is the final Cannibal Corpse record with the uhh… legendary (I guess that word is still applicable despite everything lol) Chris Barnes. When I was a young’un, making my way through the brutal mires of Cannibal’s discography, I would often give up around The Bleeding, never making into the Corpsegrinder territory. I don’t really know why this was the case, because The Bleeding is just as good, if not better, than the albums…

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Uiutna / Druss – Split Tape (2013)

Uiutna / Druss – Split Tape (2013)

I saw Uiutna supporting Jarboe on one of her solo tours, I think back in 2013. I picked up this cassette because the dude’s set was really cool. Splitting here with Druss, both artists present something in the form of long-winding, experimental electronic fuckery. Not quite as out-there as say, Tangerine Dream, but allowing the same sort of droning electronica to morph and shape in its own unique, dark way. I think the Druss side…

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Gut / Gore Beyond Necropsy – Split 7″ (1994)

Gut / Gore Beyond Necropsy – Split 7″ (1994)

Gore Beyond Necropsy have this wacky edge to their tunes. I can’t really put my finger on it, but it doesn’t make it silly like, idk Sloth and stuff like that. If anything it just adds to the angular weirdness that is GBN’s early grind output. On the other side, “legendary” pornogrind outfit Gut pummel us with some dirging filth. I have a soft spot for Gut even though pornogrind is somewhat ridiculous. The sleaziness…

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Voïvod – The Wake (2018)

Voïvod – The Wake (2018)

Voïvod have a special place in my heart. They’ve slowly grown from the Lost In Space of thrash to idk, the 2001: A Space Odyssey of thrash. Ha! Is it derivative at this point to pull together a bunch of purposefully dissonant riffs and awkward tempo changes and call it sci-fi thrash? The answer is, of course, fuck no. Especially if you’re Voïvod. For me, I feel the band have been on something of a…

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Agathocles / Department Of Correction – Split 12″ (2014)

Agathocles / Department Of Correction – Split 12″ (2014)

D.O.C. can fuckin blast! Production is thick and chunky and the drums are probably triggered (legit kudos if they aren’t because they sound clear as day). Aural carnage is of course the order of the day, with several tracks of frenetic, chaotic grindcore to liven up your day. On the contrary, Agathocles offer something slow and disgusting, which is an interesting angle for these kings of mincecore. Despite the drop in production quality compared to…

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Death Grips – The Money Store (2012)

Death Grips – The Money Store (2012)

Okay, so – before I begin, how tf is this 10 years old? Damn! The time, she flies! The Money Store is the record that brought Death Grips into the mainstream, introducing the band to a new generation of music rabid fans, who no doubt lapped up the aural carnage and abrasive experimental hip hop like rabid dogs. I find a lot of the later Death Grips records get a little too obtuse, but here…

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Drugs Of Faith – Drugs Of Faith (2006)

Drugs Of Faith – Drugs Of Faith (2006)

One of my favourite elements of Agoraphobic Nosebleed is Richard Johnson’s vocal contributions. Why then, has it taken me so long to check out Drugs Of Faith? The only answer – and this is a recurring solution – is that I am an idiot. Anyways, I picked up the 12″ of the band’s debut and off we go, spinning that grind on the platter! It’s grindcore alright (would you expect anything else?) but there is…

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θoʊθ – Ruins of Gubla (2021)

θoʊθ – Ruins of Gubla (2021)

You’d think the market was already saturated when it comes to ancient Egyptian themed death metal? However this interestingly named project show us that there is room for more than one leviathan obsessed with said subject matter. Ruins Of Gubla is a dusty, down-tuned tape demo style approach to gloriously muddy death doom. The riffs are absolutely huge and are of course the centrepiece of this 4 track work. Imagine if Disembowelment and Nile had…

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Offermose – Stilhedens Tårn (2020)

Offermose – Stilhedens Tårn (2020)

Another excellent band/project I have had the pleasure of recently unearthing, Offermose offer the most (lol) stunning mixture of Tangerine Dream style Berlin School synth meandering, punctuated with vibes and call backs to the dungeon synth movement of the 90s, with shimmering, moving passages and spooky, almost black metal style vocals. Stilhedens Tårn presents a cold and morose atmosphere, but one that is peaceful and beautiful in its own way. One in which you can…

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MindSpring Memories – Gateway 2000 (2019)

MindSpring Memories – Gateway 2000 (2019)

March 11, 2022

Very old school, early-days style vaporwave, but which didn’t come out until 2019. It’s nice to see folk still making good shit in this vein and not have it become derivative or what have you. That being said, Gateway 2000 is intensely treacle-like in its pace and runtime, and I find myself nodding off or drifting away, even in the middle of the day whilst working from home and drinking black coffee. Unsure if that…

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Blasphemy – Fallen Angel Of Doom…. (1990)

Blasphemy – Fallen Angel Of Doom…. (1990)

I love this shit. I can’t believe I’ve not already written about it. Some things just slip through the cracks I guess. Anyways. This predates the 2nd wave of black metal, but is considered a classic and a grounding for the bestial / war metal movements. I guess as it predates the 2nd wave, the influences these guys were taking in surely must have been a mix of death metal and shit like Venom. There’s…

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Abortion Breath – No C.H.U.D.s No Masters (2021)

Abortion Breath – No C.H.U.D.s No Masters (2021)

Well then. This is certainly on the fringes of the bizarre. Not your typical noisecore, the uhh, lovely-named Abortion Breath instead employs electronic elements in their noise. I knew this before hand, thanks to Choppin’ Headz zine, and I expected some sort of Gorgonized Dorks approach to pummelling your senses, but this is totally, completely different. Pulsing, headache inducing electronic beats are used as “songs”, often accompanied by short bursts of anguished vocal barks. File…

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Doom II: Pirate Doom (2012/2013)

Doom II: Pirate Doom (2012/2013)

Pirate Doom has to be one of the most ridiculous yet ambitious custom Doom WADs that I have played. It comes across more of a total conversion than a level set, with a complete overhaul of the entire game to feature pirate-based landscapes and levelling, weapons and most hilariously, demons. Fighting the swashbuckling hordes genuinely had me in stitches at points, especially when a new monster was introduced. Some of the new game mechanics are…

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VHS Dreams – North Point Mall (2014)

VHS Dreams – North Point Mall (2014)

Considered a classic of the vaporwave genre, I was surprised to find the original version of this “album” is only 19 minutes long. North Point Mall falls under the initial, original arm of vaporwave, where 80s classics are warped and moulded into reimagined versions of themselves. North Point Mall, I believe, is from one of the Grand Theft Auto video games, which is a perfect vibe for this kinda shit that’s going on here. There’s…

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Mike & Rich – Expert Knob Twiddlers (1996)

Mike & Rich – Expert Knob Twiddlers (1996)

Ah, more lovely electronic weirdness, just what the doctor ordered. I love this thing. It’s a strange mixed bag of vibes, with some being pleasant and others being a bit more disturbing, which is par for the course considering who is involved. The production is an absolute marvel to listen to however and the sound leaps out best whilst listening on headphones. It’s a bit strange, but it’s worth sticking with, consumed as a whole…

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1349 – Revelations Of The Black Flame (2009)

1349 – Revelations Of The Black Flame (2009)

Revelations Of The Black Flame is an unusual entry into the 1349 discography. The band are no strangers to atmosphere and eeriness, as this often permeates their blasting, unstoppable black metal. However, the usual carnage takes a back seat here. Granted, its still here, just in less quantities. When it rips, it rips hard, but for the most part, this album is filled with unusual sonic atmospheres and haunting, cavernous ambience. The sonics crawl more…

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Duke Ellington & John Coltrane – Duke Ellington & John Coltrane (1963)

Duke Ellington & John Coltrane – Duke Ellington & John Coltrane (1963)

This is just simply fantastic. Two of jazz’s greatest musicians, from two different eras even, converging on one record, with a cohort of additional excellent players, of course. The first and last tracks are probably the prime examples of how Coltrane’s sax and Ellington’s piano play off each other so brilliantly. The drumming here is also particularly of note. Great album. Need to get it on 12″, I think.

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Grabesmond – Mordenheim (1997)

Grabesmond – Mordenheim (1997)

Gorgeously spooky, amazing, fantastically composed old school dungeon synth from 1997. Coming across like a mix between the instrumentals you’d get on early Cradle Of Filth records and something altogether more Age Of Empires II, Mordenheim is a stunning journey through synthesised orchestration. I find it wholly bizarre that this (and the following Grabesmond record) were never released on cassette. This stuff belongs on an analogue format. Brilliant.

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Iron Maiden – Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son (1988)

Iron Maiden – Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son (1988)

As my Iron Maiden journey continues for the first time, Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son has quickly cemented itself as a contender for favourite album, alongside of course the legendary Powerslave. There’s just something about the vibe, the feel, the general pace here that’s a bit different than what came before. I can’t really verbalise what it is exactly, but it’s a little bit special. Like lightening in a bottle, as they say. Production…

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Funeral Rape – A Chainsaw To The Cunt (2004)

Funeral Rape – A Chainsaw To The Cunt (2004)

Do I really need to explain what’s going on with an album title and sleeve art like this? For a band with such a terrible name, Funeral Rape have a fantastic logo. A Chainsaw To The Cunt wins no awards for originality but you can’t deny the band are not wearing their colours honestly here. Brutal death metal with gore/porn grind tinges is what the doctor ordered. You’ll either love it or hate it.

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Waco Jesus – Mayhem Doctrine (2013)

Waco Jesus – Mayhem Doctrine (2013)

You can always count on Waco Jesus to produce solid slabs of brutal, bludgeoning death metal. Mayhem Doctrine also probably has the best attempt at the sado-sexual artwork the band always strives to attain; there is always some sort of nude woman on their record sleeves and this picture works quite well. It’s understated, unlike some of the others. Seriously though, whilst maybe they will not win any awards for originality, they make up for…

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Rapoon – To West And Blue (2013)

Rapoon – To West And Blue (2013)

Spooky, dark yet somewhat blissful and meandering ambient tunes are the order of the day. To say they don’t really go anywhere would possibly be a low blow – this is ambient music after all – but I can’t get rid of the nagging feeling that I’m listening to a boatload of build-up and then not much else. This is despite the mixed bag of different vibes and textures that Rapoon throws at us. However,…

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Regurgitate – Deviant (2003)

Regurgitate – Deviant (2003)

Regurgitate fandom often seems split into two camps; that of the old, grimy, demo-tape quality goregrind, and that of the well-produced, Relapse-backed, d-beat and buzzsaw guitars goregrind. Personally, I prefer the former, but I will of course never turn my nose up to any record that bears the mark of Regurgitate. Deviant is a 2003 full length effort from the band, where – as mentioned above – the band’s dusty demo-tape d-beat reaches new heights…

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Venom – Welcome To Hell (1981)

Venom – Welcome To Hell (1981)

I just listened to this album for the first time in a long while. It had absolutely blown me away how heavy it is for something that came out in 1981. I always harp on about how incredibly heavy Swans’ Filth was for 1983, and although these two things are completely different, Venom’s intense dirty heaviness is a marvel for 1981. Talk about being ahead of the times! I recently had a conversation with an…

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Burial – Street Halo (2011)

Burial – Street Halo (2011)

One that’s been on the to-do list for a fucking decade, would you believe? Anyways, I missed the 12″ release of this but have heard it many times over the last ten years. Street Halo (the song, as well as the EP in general) is super danceable for Burial, but still retains that dark, urban sprawl. The music conjures mental images of street lights, rain on the bus window, clandestine clubs, and walls covered in…

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世界は80年代に終了しました – ムーンライズ (2019)

世界は80年代に終了しました – ムーンライズ (2019)

Intense, blocky old-style vaporwave is the order of the day, although there is an extra sense of mystery to this project. I’m starting to wonder when bad 80s music slowed down and warped beyond recognition will start to get old for me? But hey, whilst the neon sun shines, right!? I have absolutely no idea what the name of this project is, but I love the vibes, and I love the production, which is fairly…

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White Chamber – Pale Tears (2017)

White Chamber – Pale Tears (2017)

I stumbled onto Kim Larson’s White Chamber after hearing her contribution to Offermose’s Stilhedens Tårn record (the first track, I believe). As with many times before, Discogs led me down the garden path, where I found this little EP resting next to a (digital) pond. Similar to Offermose, White Chamber is initially coming across like a mix of a foundational base of Berlin School, coupled with the spooky, folky electronics of earlier Death In June…

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Tumour – Disposer (2008)

Tumour – Disposer (2008)

Disposer was the start of my torrid love affair with the putrid project that is Tumour. I got a slab of about 20 of these through a trade with Bringer Of Gore back in the day (I’d put out a grindcore compilation on 7″), and I had them sitting around for a while because my distro’ing game was not particularly strong. Any band that crams 20+ songs onto a 7″ EP is worth checking out…

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Robert Turman – Flux (1981)

Robert Turman – Flux (1981)

Flux is a sublime journey through laid back and mesmerizing lo-fi electronic soundscapes. Robert Turman is an expert at conjuring moods from minimal and subtle sound design. Flux is not a hundred miles away from Selected Ambient Works Vol. 1, an album that is often praised as one of the greatest electronic works of all time. However, to compare the two to give some idea of the sound here, Flux lurks more in the shadows,…

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Tunkio / Tolerance- Split Tape (2018)

Tunkio / Tolerance- Split Tape (2018)

Amazing split cassette featuring two of my favourite goregrind discoveries of the last year or so. Tolerance pummel you with beats that are almost danceable, if they weren’t buried underneath a layer of grime, mirky guitars and shifted vokills. Tunkio is more into the “ping snare” school of gore, with looser production and a lighter sound than the suffocation of Tolerance, but is still a lethally fast bout of grinding menace. Tidy darts!

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Black Sabbath – Tyr (1990)

Black Sabbath – Tyr (1990)

March 6, 2022

Tyr seems to ranked high amongst the Tony Martin era Sabbath records. Personally, it’s one of my least favourites, coming along like a second-rate Headless Cross, if I could be so bold. The later Martin stuff, although much more critically reviled, seems heavier and more in the spirit of Sabbath than something like this. It doesn’t help here that it sounds dated and out of touch, even for its release date. This is a fault…

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Darken Wood – V (2019)

Darken Wood – V (2019)

I’ve started a bit randomly here, coming in at number 5 of (so far) 6 dungeon synth records by the beautiful Darken Wood. Honestly, the first thing that springs to mind several minutes after letting V unfold is memories of exploring both the Imperial lands of Cyrodiil in TES IV: Oblivion and traversing the wilderness in TES II: Daggerfall. That’s what I love about good dungeon synth, is the ability for it to take you…

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Anal Penetration – …The Lost Shits (2005)

Anal Penetration – …The Lost Shits (2005)

Once I was lost, now I am found! Some shit from Anal Penetration (what a sentence) that was apparently lost, is now presented to us through the interpretive medium of pornogrind. I love grind and all of its ridiculous subgenres, but pornogrind is where I am most thin on the ground, thanks mostly to the legions of tupa tupa dickheads with songs about rape and fisting and so on. I’m not saying Anal Penetration, especially…

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Killing Joke – Brighter Than A Thousand Suns (1986)

Killing Joke – Brighter Than A Thousand Suns (1986)

What I would define (if possible) as Killing Joke’s “poppy” period is probably my least favourite era. That being said, Night Time is a banging album, but Brighter Than A Thousand Suns continues in this vein, but with less urgency and with more sprinklings of New Romantic style pomp. That’s not to say the songs aren’t sprawling or lush or anything like that, but elementally, things just come together differently, and therefore hit differently, especially…

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H A Z E – Internet Explorer (2019)

H A Z E – Internet Explorer (2019)

H A Z E uses the vaporwave feel and aesthetic as ground work for building excellent and chilled out electronic offerings. However, like many modern entries into the genre, calling Internet Explorer simply vaporwave does the record a disservice. There are many forms of electronic meandering present here, and I’m reminded a lot of the more spacey and ambient stuff Mick Harris did in the 90s with Scorn, specifically here in the tracks “Connected” and…

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Dinner Party – Dinner Party (2020)

Dinner Party – Dinner Party (2020)

This is a short yet rewarding release from Terrace Martin and a revolving door of collaborators. It’s warm, comfortable yet snazzy music that is summed up perfectly in its name. I’m reminded how Miles Davis’ Doo Bop tried to mix jazz with the emerging and extremely popular hip hop styles of the early 90s. Whilst that might not have gone to plan, here such a thing is achieved to a dazzling effect. Kamasi Washington crops…

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Eyeliner – Buy Now (2015)

Eyeliner – Buy Now (2015)

This has to be one of my favourite vaporwave / future funk releases. I’ve always shyed away from using the term future funk but I think it certainly applies here more than vaporwave. Specifically, I think, because there seems to be zero repurposing of existing artist’s work; Buy Now appears to be entirely original compositions that are absolutely gorgeous in capturing that late 80s / early 90s synthesizer sound. There is also a prominent funky…

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DJ Bailey – Intelligent Drum And Bass (1996)

DJ Bailey – Intelligent Drum And Bass (1996)

This is a fantastic collection of tunes from the 90s, which YouTube insisted on forcing down my gullet. Honestly, this thing has been in my recommended for what seems like a year or so. Now that I’ve heard it, I want to go out and get a copy of the actual cassette. This is some chilled out shit. It doesn’t quite fall into “house” territory, but the drum and bass beats are more a laid…

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Snoop Dogg – Malice N Wonderland (2009)

Snoop Dogg – Malice N Wonderland (2009)

Well then….. lol. I got this from a charity shop I think in 2013 or at the latest 2014. I used to work part time collecting dead peoples clothes that charity shops couldn’t sell. They’d sell the clothes to my company by weight, so the money would still be going to good causes, and we’d collect the clothes in high volumes and take them back to HQ to be pulped and turned into fuck-knows-what. This…

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Vomi Noir – Les Myasmes De La Deliquescence (2019)

Vomi Noir – Les Myasmes De La Deliquescence (2019)

Vomi Noir are quickly becoming one of my favourite goregrind acts. Colour me surprised then, when I found myself listening to their debut full length with a furrowed brow. To call Vomi Noir “polished” in the same way that Nasum or Pig Destroyer is polished, would be a complete lie. However, this record comes with a much more shinier punch than I ever could have imagined it to. Is that a bad thing? Can I…

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Kamasi Washington – Harmony Of Difference (2017)

Kamasi Washington – Harmony Of Difference (2017)

Harmony Of Difference, at “only” 30 minutes, is of course, never going to reach the sprawling, gargantuan payoffs of The Epic or Heaven And Earth, but its still an enjoyable slab of meandering, busy jazz that’s up there with the all-time greats. 13 of the 30 minutes are taken up by closer “The Truth”, which ramps up the saxophonic carnage (yep) to batshit levels of warbling goodness. That sentence does the rest of the ensemble…

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The Day Everything Became Nothing – Brutal (2008)

The Day Everything Became Nothing – Brutal (2008)

There are few bands that create goregrind as cut and dry as The Day Everything Became Nothing. Its almost a sick, twisted opposite to what the genre usually contains – that being splattering, sloppy, gloopy music which admittedly has a blasting, precise backbone, but often gives the impression of total sonic sickness and chaos. On Brutal however, the band expand on their razor-sharp sound, bludgeoning you to death with perfect and rigid slabs of dense…

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Infest – Infest (1991)

Infest – Infest (1991)

What can I say about Infest? At this point the band is beyond legendary in both the hardcore punk and grindcore / powerviolence circles. As much as I love the band (live they kill it) I’d never actually heard this self titled 7″. Shame on me, because its fucking incredible. This thing is the pinnacle of hardcore / powerviolence. The sound, the mix, the anger. Shit! Absolutely incredible record. Well worth checking out as its…

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Gets Worse / Endless Swarm – Split 7″ (2018)

Gets Worse / Endless Swarm – Split 7″ (2018)

I don’t know what I can say about Gets Worse that I haven’t said before. They are, easily, one of the best powerviolence groups out there right now. More of that fine metallic carnage is lined up for us here, alongside Endless Swarm’s more unrelenting grind savagery. Truly, a fantastic split EP.

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Genesis – Invisible Touch (1986)

Genesis – Invisible Touch (1986)

I’ve never listened to Genesis before. Of course, their shit is all over the radio, but never to the point have I sat down and enjoyed one of their albums. I also can’t help but feel like Patrick Bateman listening to this shit. Anyways, it’s a very poppy, very synthesizer-heavy roundup of songs from Genesis. There’s some absolute bangers, and then there’s some tracks that just kinda blur on by with nothing to say for…

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Etienne Daho – Pop Satori (1986)

Etienne Daho – Pop Satori (1986)

Since September 2019 I’ve had a private Telegram channel in which I keep track of everything that I listen to. Once I’ve done a piece on LIW for that particular release, I delete the entry from the Telegram channel. Etienne Daho’s Pop Satori has been on that list since September 2019 lol. In fact, I remember listening to it, headphones on whilst lying on the sofa, my girlfriend not long pregnant with our son. She’d…

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Sepultura – The Mediator Between The Head And Hands Must Be The Heart (2013)

Sepultura – The Mediator Between The Head And Hands Must Be The Heart (2013)

February 1, 2022

This later-career effort from Sepultura is a decent, well-rounded release of metallic goodness. It is, admittedly, my first experience with such, outside of a cursory listen to A-Lex several years ago, and I have to admit I thoroughly enjoyed it. I love how, despite how drastically different this record sounds to the Sepultura of old, that there is still tribal drumming cropping up now and then. Great stuff.

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Graveyard – Innocence & Decadence (2015)

Graveyard – Innocence & Decadence (2015)

I’ve never been the biggest fan of Graveyard, but I have friends who adore them. So when this dropped, I added it to my To Do list, and I typical Lines In Wax fashion, it’s taken me 6 years to get around to giving it a proper listen and commit it to the virtual collection. I’m getting better, and as I get older my ducks are more and more in a line but there’s still…

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Kate Bush – Hounds Of Love (1985)

Kate Bush – Hounds Of Love (1985)

This one has been on the list for a while. Always been a fan of Kate’s unusual voice and the kinda spiritual instrumentation used, even at the peak of 80s synthesizers. Hounds Of Love really shows off Kate’s intense and mesmerising vocal performances, and there are some very interesting twists in the song writing. Lovely stuff.

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Rammstein – Untitled (2019)

Rammstein – Untitled (2019)

Rammstein’s most recent, self-titled (untitled?0 outing was a streamlined affair of elements taken from several of the more recent releases, but seemingly with that trademark perverted sleaze taken out. Unsure if Lindemann is getting his kinky demons exorcised in his solo project, but Rammstein seems a little sterile. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, it’s just that the music now has to speak for itself, with the dumbed down gimmick.

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Miles Davis – Big Fun (1974)

Miles Davis – Big Fun (1974)

January 28, 2022

Big Fun is one of my favourite Miles Davis records. It comes smack in the middle of the 70s experimentation period, and has all the hallmarks of that era. Does it really “go” anywhere? Perhaps not. Big Fun is full of the more meandering moments that you’d get on Bitches Brew, only without the unique haunting vibes that record possesses. This is a straight up set of experimental jazz suites, and I love everything about…

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Killing Joke – Killing Joke (2003)

Killing Joke – Killing Joke (2003)

Is there a comeback album as perfect as this? How many bands go away and then return better than ever before? The 2003 self-titled release from Killing Joke was also the first experience most people of my generation had with the band, too. Personally, I was never really that into it, I loved “Asteroid” and had heard “Loose Cannon” but I was 14 at the time so was neck deep in other types of music….

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Motörhead – Iron Fist (1982)

Motörhead – Iron Fist (1982)

Iron Fist is the first meh experience I’ve encountered whilst working my way chronologically through the Motörhead discography. I suppose whatever the band dropped would have to be diamond hard to top Ace Of Spades or Bomber, but Iron Fist is more than just a record paling in comparison, its just flat out not very good. It just seems tired. Its everything about Motörhead that stopped me from listening to Motörhead. The production is rubbish,…

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Doom II: Speed Of Doom (2010)

Doom II: Speed Of Doom (2010)

Speed Of Doom is an incredibly well made set of maps for Doom II. Honestly, the fact that these began as a speed mapping exercise (hence the name), truly boggles the mind in terms of the level quality. But there is one problem. This is far, far too hard for me. I’m one of those cats that plays on UV because it’s “the” way to experience everything Doom has to throw at you, but Jesus…

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Black Sabbath – Master Of Reality (1971)

Black Sabbath – Master Of Reality (1971)

I’m unsure how the fuck I’ve managed to avoid writing about this album for the entire existence of this website. Especially considering I worked my way through the entire Sabbath discography last year during lockdown. So I broke out my Dad’s copy on 12″ vinyl, and spun it again (any excuse) for the purposes of writing this post. This has to be peak Ozzy era. Three fucking albums in 18 months (this being the third)…

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Dwarves – Come Clean (2000)

Dwarves – Come Clean (2000)

Come Clean is probably the poppiest Dwarves album. I attribute this to the direction the band took through the 90s, but they eventually came full circle (perhaps not to the original sound, but to the speedy, cheeky punk of old). Come Clean even has some industrial metal influences, (see the verses of “Over You” with its looped riffs and stomping programmed percussion). Its also a pretty short record, all in all. A tidy entry into…

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Funeral Rape – Sexperiment (2006)

Funeral Rape – Sexperiment (2006)

This is a dirgy, horrible mess. Of course, I mean that in the best possible way. Fuck if I can remember where I got this thing from, but I had it on my iPod “back in the day”. It must have come from some forum or something. Anyways, mirky, pornogrind meets brutal death metal is the order of the day. The name of the band is pretty awful, but the logo is really cool. The…

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Hogslayer – Defacer (2015)

Hogslayer – Defacer (2015)

Hogslayer were big news at one point, at least in the Welsh underground scene. I remember catching their headline set at Red Sun Festival 2015 and being blown away at how many people were in the room. I’d never seen Cardiff’s Moon Club so full (RIP, to the upstairs part at least!). I’ve had this album on my review list since it’s release. I’ve never made it past the first couple of tracks. I’ve always…

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Nightwish – Once (2003)

Nightwish – Once (2003)

I can’t remember why I bought this as a kid. I’ve never liked this kind of thing. Maybe I thought Tarja was hot? I honestly can’t remember. This is an epic album, however. The usual, expected bombast of earlier Nightwish is present (before the poppy stuff took center stage), and there is a savage heaviness underpinning proceedings. Tracks like “Planet Hell”, or “Romanticide” keep the record grounded, whilst meandering suites such as “Creek Mary’s Blood”…

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Pink Floyd – The Dark Side Of The Moon (1973)

Pink Floyd – The Dark Side Of The Moon (1973)

January 27, 2022

I recently spent a bit more time with this album (it’s been years) and it reminded me of just how special it is. Its easy to think of this as overrated, especially in comparison to some other gems in the Pink Floyd catalogue, but personally, I think this thing deserves all the hype it gets. Is it a disjointed fucking mess with seemingly no direction or purpose? Seems like it. Does it matter? Not really….

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