The fact that three of the four tracks on Stage 4 of this excellent examination of aural dementia are called “Post Awareness Confusions” should tell you a lot about where this project is going. I mean, I suppose we all know where this is going, its just we don’t know how its going to be interpreted into sound. This is one of the main things which has made this entire journey so exciting yet equally…

Stormblast 2005 has to be one of the most pointless and unneccessary re-recordings ever made. I’m not too clear on the band’s intention or reasoning, and to be honest, I don’t really care. The end product is vastly inferior to the original, even with Dimmu’s more modern, lightening fast and heavily over-produced symphonic pomp. There is a magic and density that is missing still, however, in this somewhat soulless rehashing of the black metal classic.

The original Stormblast record (stolen keyboard compositions or otherwise) is a stunning work of ‘symphonic’ black metal. I write ‘symphonic’ like that becuase this doesn’t sound like metal with a fat orchestral section dumped on top, the keys and atmospherics are instead an extension of the existing tone and vibe; kinda like how Nocturnus put keyboards effortlessly into death metal. Each track is a gem, and the mix – which has its detractors I’m sure…

Rotten Sound is truly god tier grindcore. Grindcore perhaps even, for people who don’t listen to much grindcore. Cursed is super tight and ultra polished, with even the crusty d-beat passages hitting with lightening precision. A blisteringly fast performance from start to finish, with dat Entombed-core crunch, yo.

This is just so gloriously sexy. Maybe that isn’t the word you’d usually use to describe Mortician-tinged glacial pace death metal, but Undergang’s Misantropologi record is just so beautifully nasty. Somehow, through the mire of sludge the drums sparkle, the vocals croak, and the guitars crackle with fire and crispness. If I was in Coffins, I’d be keeping my eye on these guys.

I mean… where do I begin? Dusk… is probably the benchmark for measuring all Cradle albums, and whilst yes, there are some issues with the production, these aren’t anywhere near as glaring as those which plagued the follow-up record, and if anything, these gremlins add to the atmospheric whole, rather than detract from the experience at all. If I was to make one gripe about the production, its that sometimes the drums are almost totally…

The Principle Of Evil Made Flesh, is, simply put, one of my favourite albums of all time. Of course, I did not start with this as a teenager, and I got into Cradle through Bitter Suites… and Damnation And A Day, but I eventually worked my way backwards, where Principle… and Vempire became my favourite works of gothic horror. A lot of people say that The Principle Of Evil… is where Cradle Of Filth came…

More nastiness from the Welsh death metal masters. Process… had my favourite drum sound of any of the band’s records, and the nuances of Mic’s style are much more prominent, rather than just provided a lightening fast backbone for the brutality. This record contains the bangin’ set staple “Bacterial Breakdown” as well as a couple of mega-disgusting guesties from Amputated / Crepitation vocalist Mark Pearce. Closer “Gravewax” is also a total fucking gem.

Smooth, cool as all manner of fuck and with a flow to boot, Del’s 4th record is an execution in true hip hop genius. I mean, Del is surely self aware of the fact – but not rubbing it in people’s faces or boasting about some of the same old shit most rappers get caught up in is one of the best charms about this man and his glorious body of work. This was also…

Its not often I get to say this with much conviction, but this album is a bloody weird one. Bogus Blimp are strrraaange as fuck, with Cords.Wires taking you on a meandering trip through all sorts of vibes and audio collages. Its not all vignette-style aural wandering however, there does appear to be a smattering of fully-formed, more traditionally structured songs thrown in too, but for the most part, this is a bizarre journey. I…

And just like that, its like the hiatus never happened. System’s sound doesn’t really appear to have aged a day, as these two tracks showcase. “Protect The Land” harks back to the Hypnotise era, where the much more mental and crazy “Genocidal Humanoids” brings back that SOAD-grade madness that we all love so much. Here’s hoping another album follows this little release.

Unsettling and disturbing as always, SJ embark on yet another plunge into the depths of humanity’s darkness. For all the storytelling that makes you feel like you want to take a shower, Offal is actually quite a pleasant listen. The noise on offer is clearly harrowing in its origin; it feels like there is a prolonged screaming suffering mangled through the tracks, but in such a way that it is delivered almost like a purifying…

On my journey through the excellent world of the Analord series, 05 is probably the trippiest one yet. Sure, the point of this shit isn’t really to be “trippy” or “weird”, but from the opening effects on the acid bath that is “Reunion 2”, through to the laid back futuristic sprawl of “Cilonen” (and the additional bonus material), there’s just something about Analord 05 that seems to be in a whole other world.

Bro, like, bruh, you’ll never like, be one of us, bro. Bruh. LOL for all the quality memes that this hideously bad album title spawned, one must look past the elitist attitude and the penchant for performing powerviolence in leather jackets (totes veegs bro), and see that beneath the layers of masculine posturing and internet ridicule, Nails’ third offering is actually a vicious assault on the senses. Heavy, dirty drums and Entombed-core riffage is the…

Even for a movie in the giallo style, Deep Red (or Profundo Rosso) has a fairly unusual plot. That aside, the production seems stark and eerily sparse, the exact opposite of say, Susperia (except for maybe that bit where the dog goes for the guy’s throat in that wide open city square). Honestly, Profundo Rosso is the detective story of your nightmares, with only the twists and turns your dreamworld can conjure up. The pacing…

Well isn’t this just awful? Hahaha – I mean, I expected it to be, truly I did, but off the back of how terrible yet entertaining They Live was, I fell into this with my expectations set far too high. If there were any illusions of Roddy Piper being able to act, Hell Comes To Frogtown will shatter those illusions forever. Giant lizards in fantastically entertaining makeup, and the odd bare breasted machine gun toting…

The prices that this thing fetches on sites such as Discogs absolutely boggles the mind, but I suppose if anything, it shows the influence that Negative Approach had on hardcore punk. NA have always kinda simmered beneath the surface, being that awesome band that always kinda stayed underground, if I can say something so stupid. Anyway, the self-titled EP is a part of punk history now, and is a savage little beast. Well worth a…

Wow. This has to be the absolute low point thus far in my Sabbath journey. Surely it cannot get any worse than this? I mean, for a large portion of their (read: Iommi’s career) the band have peddled awful rock and or roll with that inescapable 80s feel. Surprisingly this varies in flavour and in quality from album to album, with Seventh Star being the absolute lowest point utter dogshit rock bottom that is nothing…

Jesus Christ this is absolutely savage. I mean, don’t get me wrong, Mayhem can go hard, this is an established fact, but on Chimera the band expand upon the festering viciousness present on Wolf’s Lair Abyss and dial that up into a full length. All the usual elements are here, being the razor sharp and dexterous riffing, and the insanely fast drummer of Hellhammer, but on this Maniac-fronted offering, the band hold back on the…

WOMAN! I hope you are ready for Danzig’s dark and evil moooosak to pour all over you? Wolves, wine, satan, leather and enormous belt buckles are the order of the day here. But, in all seriousness, this is a genuinely enjoyable romp through Danzig’s unique charge of rock and or roll. Listen loud, and enjoy.

Mayhem have been on something of a streak in recent years, with consistent and quality releases being dropped. Daemon is of no exception, and whilst it doesn’t exactly extend leaps and bounds away from the work presented on Esoteric Warfare, it does present a growth and maturity which is easily noticeable and a pleasure to identify in the songwriting process. I mean, Mayhem are now the gold standard of intricate yet deadly metal. Hellhammer, for…

Quite possibly the perfect record to sit in an old city centre pub with, drinking strong ale and watching the revellers go about their business. Truly I suppose, Tom Waits’ music is probably more suited to smashing back an Old Fashioned in a dusty, smoky hole of a piano bar, but I’ll work with what I’ve got here in little ol’ Wales. Whilst not as macabre or as experimental as later offerings, records like Swordfishtrombones…

Retro gaming is an absolute gold mine for decent tunes, and the original Streets Of Rage soundtrack is a fucking banger, and probably one of the best places to start. It’s basically everything you could ever want from music in this style; it captures a time and a place, yet is also quite futuristic and exciting. Top stuff. The OST finally got the treatment it deserves with an official release in 2015, making Yuzo Koshiro…

In regards to the title of this record: what more could you possibly want? TFD are clusterfuck made flesh. Their super dense, almost impenetrable, jazzy grindcore is an acquired taste, but one that is not easily replicated. Zen… is bolstered by a series of acoustic reworkings of TFD classics, my favourite being “Kill The Jocks And Eat Their Brains”. Top stuff.

Crisper than a freshly deep fried corpse! If you like your misogyny dressed up in hardcore-tinged death metal, then look no further than Abusing Dismembered Beauties, a poor effort at an album title, even in this disgusting world of slam death metal. Despite my sarcasm, I must say this is brutal as fuck. The sound is fresh, and as I’ve already mentioned, crisp as fook. The sampling is a bit tacky (par for the course…

The first Selected Ambient Works record was the album that introduced Aphex Twin to the wider world. If you’ve not heard it, it’s not a collection of ambient tracks per se, but more of a collection of chilled musical electronic workings. There are plenty of beats and “actual songs” here, unlike Vol. 2 which went more full on into the introspective, meandering ambient soundscapes. Here, Aphex Twin takes the sound perfected on his EPs and…

Ignoring Lost Corridors’ segmentation into tracks, one finds that it works better as one whole piece. Echoic, dense, reverb-heavy atmospheric scores are the order of the day. The name Lost Corridors is very apt; I feel like I’ve wandered into a crack in the earth’s surface and am descending into the pits of Agartha.

Necro Deathmort are an incredibly underrated band. Music Of Bleak Origin is – I think – the band’s own origin, and they have come leaps and bounds since then. The records since this one float away in a dreamy yet claustrophobic hell of electronic and industrial music, but this debut album has more in common with Godflesh than it does to say, something like Scorn. There is an electronic backbone to this nightmarish journey, but…

Ahh, Too Large For Digestive Capacity lives up to its name by almost being just that; an undigestible mess of different sessions and chunks from around the Tumour world. Presented in seemingly no particular order at all, this “full length” captures songs recorded between 2001 and 2005, with zero cohesion or visible plan. There’s even a 10 minute or so live session thrown in, but more studio tracks follow it before the record finishes. Yes,…

Dreamy, otherworldly pop, which for all its ethereal atmosphere, is a touch devoid of originality. Once one track is done, I feel like I’ve scoped the vibe for the entire album. Every track is delivered with the same pace; that same valiumed-up-to-my-eyeballs vocal delivery, regardless of who is behind the mic. That being said there are some solid tunes here, including a great version of “Shadow” (in the online version) and the various iterations of…

Well isn’t this just awful. I was reading about Halford’s 90s musical excursions when I discovered he’d collaborated with John 5 on an industrial project. ‘What was all this then?’ I thought innocently to myself, but it was not long before the shitty, studded metal dildo that is 90s industrial fucked me once again. Like, this is not industrial music. The tag is used far too loosely. You can’t just get some heavy snare sounds,…

I’ve been digging this album since I caught Witch at one of the two Roadburns I went to (can’t remember if it’s 2011 or the 2012 off the top of my head). I love their blend of stoner rock, it really works quite well. The guitars are crackling like fire over lazy, swaggering rock, and the vocals are energised and sultry.

The first Tangerine Dream full length is a fairly short affair and set the presidence for what the band would expand on in the coming albums over the early 70s. Don’t get me wrong, Electronic Meditation is great (how cool is that album name?) but there are much better examples of the band’s stunning synthesizer explorations that can be found in the same time period.

Coursing along on the pulse of the explosion of electronic and dance music in the 90s, Daft Punk introduce the wider world to their slick, sexy, and dare I say French approach to composing dance music. You hipster fucks can give this any ridiculous genre name you can care to pull out of your collective arses, but yes – this is dance music.

Megadeth’s first record is full of vitriol, hate and boundless energy. Its quite sad that Mustaine’s entire career has been a case of trying to one-up Metallica, but off the mark with Killing Is My Business…, it certainly shows that there are far worse motivations than this kind of thing. The album is fast and fairly heavy. I can’t get my head around the Megadeth “version” of “The Four Horsemen” but that’s a small price…

Say what you want about Korn but the early records are dismal affairs of grubby downtuned heaviness and generally unsavoury vocal topics. The self titled is a dark journey in itself, but Life Is Peachy sounds heavier, more drab and scruffy, and generally is a very nasty record from start to finish. The nu metal stylings may not have aged well, but the creepy, messed up vibe of this thing lives on even today. This…

Skeletal are a solid death metal band from Finland, playing a mix of influences in the old school style but with a modern twist, and a clear, ripping modern production. Some of the guitar work has creeping elements of melody, which is refreshing for someone like myself who stays mostly glued in the mire of brutal. Also, can we talk about that absolutely sick as fuck cover art for a moment? Mad props to whoever…

Tyler has come a long way from Goblin, that much can be said. Igor didn’t exactly blow me away, but it is a decent collection of tracks. I’ve always seen Tyler as a producer first and a vocalist second, and now that rapping as been almost completely removed from his repertoire, that opinion is even more tilted. This record is glorious, and the beats have bells on, but that’s about it.

When I was a teenager this record used to make want to go out and punch cars. Nowadays, I just like to sit and bask in the sheer audacity of the audio mindfuckery on offer. Like, this * shouldn’t * work, but it is just perfect. The way the synths and guitars just feed off each other in some bonkers loop, before you even get to the drumming and the hydra-headed vocal attack. If you…

This record is often at the top of – or at least included in – many album lists of patrician listeners from around the globe, and I can see why. What Psychic lacks in immediate urgency it makes up for in the detail. It is, after all, the little things in life which give us the most pleasure. Best enjoyed when equipped with headphones,  Darkside takes you on a mesmerising journey that defies to be…

From the opening chords I am always hooked into the perfectly orchestrated chaos of Gorguts’ world. Obscura is at first impossibly dense to comprehend,  but once you have aligned yourself to the distilled insanity that is on display here, then truly there is nothing like it. Perplexing technical death metal for the thinking gentleman or woman.

There is often a thin line between black metal and dungeon synth, but None manages to blur that line even further. Imagine the dense atmospheres of the synth worlds, but driven by drums and harsh vocals. Life is definitely damp and chilly, especially for a Welshman such as myself, at this time of the year, but None step things up a notch even more so.

Heavy, dense, multi-layered, dark and moody metal. All you could ever want, right? Ulcerate has a technical edge, as shown in the artwork and the interesting, almost jagged approach to songwriting.

Ugh! Is it thrash? Is it death? Is it thrashing death? Who cares? It’s fast, it’s ugly and it’s brutal. Elements of black metal are present but are dialled back a bit. The production is solid, and the sound not too over-compressed. A decent metal record. No more to really say.

Aiiiiiiieeeee!!!!! I fuckin’ love Impaled Nazarene. Not only are they – in my eyes – criminally underrated, but they bridge the gap between grindcore, black metal and the more tongue in cheek elements of war metal. Sure, a lot of these genres kinda feed into each other, but Latex Cult is a perfect example of attuned balance in regards to such, if I could speak so free. Plug in, my karmakeddon warriors.

Wow, this is all over the place! Oxidized Razor are fucking incredible when they are on point, but unfortunately in regards to this MCD, that is about only half of the time. Dirgy, stinking guitars and warm, pots and pans drums are led by some of the most savage, shrieked gore-style vocals ever. It just seems that the tracks here are cobbled together from a series of different sessions, some of which are definitely lacking…

Those that know me in person surely no doubt know my undying love for the worlds of the Elder Scrolls, in particular parts 2 and 3, Daggerfall and Morrowind. The creative community around these game worlds is alive and kicking today, and Tamriel Rebuilt is a 18 year old mod (yes) that still continues to add swathes of new lands and adventures into TES III: Morrowind, arguably the best open world RPG in its vanilla…

Hrmmmm. Without wanting to sound mean, this has to be one of the most stereotypical rock and or roll / metal records that I have ever heard in my entire worthless life. Every possible trope is dragged out kicking and screaming, and it almost makes metal a parody of itself. Yes, this is symptomatic of the trends at the time, but Jesus, this is awful. “Mr. Tinkertrain” is one of the nonciest things I’ve ever…

I love a shot of pornogrind now and then, especially when it’s done well. Cuntshots session here is pretty lo fi, but all the bits are in the right places and cohesion is an art form when it comes to this junky genre. However, there’s still a soft core of my heart (lol) that enjoys such sleazy entertainment, and off the back of this EP, I will be keeping my eyes peeled for more Cuntshots…

These guys must have one of the coolest band names ever. I mean cool in relative terms to the grindcore and goregrind worlds, of course. Nevertheless, Cutterclit is a brutal lesson in the world of Czech madness, where the goregrind and death metal scenes almost seem to blur into one. European goregrind can also often be utter trash, but ‘Anal Garland’ are consistence and a great listen.

After recently checking out Demonic Possession I wanted to get my head around another one of the bands albums and Desert Northern Hell. The main immediate difference is the production, which is a little drier, for lack of a better word, although there are flourishes to the song writing which are different too. It’s cool to listen sequentially like this so you can properly feel out developments in a band’s sound. All in all, a…

The first of four “related” releases from the Miles Davis Quintet that would span over several years in the late 50s and early 60s, Cookin’… is a surprisingly sparse and laid back recording, for what it is. The ticking percussion and fumbling bass backbone take us on a journey where the lead instruments add flavour and colour to the ongoing pieces, rather than “solo” out on their own. Either way, break out that enormous garlic…

1349 are fucking relentless. I’ve made the effort recently to go back and check out some of their earlier works, after consistently being impressed by most of the records that dropped since Hellfire caught my attention in 2006, or whenever it was. Beyond The Apocalypse is much like the band’s other releases in that it is an unstoppable weapon of a black metal war machine, but it possesses its own unique coldness and atmosphere.

I picked up a 27 single from Relapse about 12 or 13 years ago, and only now have I got around to checking out a full length from the band. Honestly, it’s rather pleasant, and recorded excellently. The production is to be heavily commended, and whilst I’m not the biggest fan of this kind of thing, I really enjoyed this album.

Many thanks to local guitar smithery legend Luke for turning me onto this Bossk record. Bossk are not a name that I have come across in sometime, in fact not since the I and II records from quite some time ago. Audio Noir builds on those sprawling compositions, but offers – in my opinion – a more metallic sound, and a tracklist that is consistent and flows well.

Cancerous Womb are (were) one of the more consistent and entertaining offerings of the British death metal scene, so it was fuckin’ great to hear that they dropped a full length back in 2014. The guitar work is razor sharp are the songs are quick of wit and don’t leave you feeling sluggish and tired when listened, which a lot of death metal is guilty of, I’ll be honest with you. All in all, most…

I made a point of going back and checking this out after spending a lot of time with later-career outputs from the group earlier this year. As cliche and as badly aged the title “Babykiller” may be, the opening track to this compilation of sorts absolutely blows your head off. Wayne Knupp (RIP breh) is absolutely sick as hell on the vocals and this track just totally fucking rips your head off and takes a…

Uhhhh what? This is a pickle of a black metal record. Admittedly I am not too familiar with the works of Dødsengel, but picked up on the name as a project to check out. On the surface of it, its black metal by numbers with wailing, screeching guitars and evil, shrieked vocals. But, underneath there is this element of dissonance, where things are thrown off kilter or even brazenly played out of tune or key…

I don’t know if I’m reading more into that I should be, but my 3 month old son seems to love Tangerine Dream. He just sits there in his rocker, a pensive look on his face as the layers of meandering synthesizers unfold endlessly. It’s an expression of deep thought and subtle awe, and it isnt too far from my own as I travel through the 70s era of Tangerine Dream recordings. Rubycon is quite…

I’ve been snoozing on the happenings of British madman The Atrocity Exhibit for quite some time, so I was beyond hyped when this little fucker dropped a few years ago. Man, does this album hit hard. Seriously grindy, but with some nice metallic riffage to keep it grounded. Just look at that cover art. You know you wanna listen to this.

I love the early Melvins records. They are dryer in production yet pull no punches with aggression. Its like grunge got a shot of adrenalin in the arm, only instead of making it really fast, it just made it really, really angry. Honestly, the grooves that these guys fall into is the best thing about the album. Songs are often hypnotic and repetitive, but have a similar effect to Swans and that kinda shit in…

All it takes is the opening chords of the first track to remind me how much I love this album. The guitar tone is so fuzzy and dirty its an absolute pleasure just to listen to that alone; its like a massage for your ears and your brain. With Born Too Late, Wino et al deliver a Sabbath-worshipping doom metal classic. Tales of drug addiction abound, cast out over a sludgy production and a pickled…

Bill Laswell has his fingers up in all sorts of pies. Baselines is something of a solo effort and something of a collaboration with others (as per always I suppose), but is something of a mixed bag. The vibe is a bit unusual and I wasn’t sure whether the music is intended to be chilled out or rather perplexing. There didn’t really seem to be much of a line between the two things. IDK, maybe…

I can see why people hated this when it came out. True, hate is a strong word, and expecting the unexpected should be taken somewhat on board when dealing with the legendary Miles Davis, but even the freestyle nature of these streetwise tunes seems a million miles away from the gorgeous experimental jazz that preceded it. Instead funk and groove are heaped on in piles, and whilst the tracks meander in their own way, On…

This was an interesting listen. I’m just going to throw it out there now so its out of the way: I absolutely prefer the original versions. Now I can get to the music recorded for this album without constantly harking back. There are two new ingredients here – pomp and percussion. LOL. Some of these previously dreamy compositions are now bombastic stompers, with marching drums and fuller instrumentation. Honestly though, Spirit Of Rebellion sounds absolutely…

In the early 2010s I went through a phase of collecting all the old Mortiis dungeon synth records. Due to their insane resale value, I never ended up buying most of them, and Blood And Thunder was included on that list. Its recently been repressed, so I figured at the very least I should hunt this down and give it a listen. This is the perfect entry-level release for anyone who wants to try their…

What is the perfect soundtrack for painting a skirting board I hear you all ask at once? Why of course, I answer, it is head-scraping harsh noise from Japanese Torture Comedy Hour and Muzumuzu Suru! I can’t claim to own this tape, but some kind soul has uploaded this to YouTube so I am finally able to enjoy this long-lost relic of power electronics. I can’t seem to find much info on Muzumuzu Suru, but…

You gotta laugh at Minch. It’s been years since I’ve heard them, but I’m thrown straight back into thier crazy world. I’m not sure what the intention or vibe is, but this is ridiculous and I can’t help but love it. Gore Beyond Necropsy should, of course, be called Gore Beyond Reproach. Tons of grinders crawl up the ass of this band and honestly it is so easy to see why. Brutal, lightening fast grind…

This is an absolute beauty of a hip hop album. Ever since Immortal Technique spat “just like my nigga Vast Aire from Cann Ox said, if you don’t like the smell of burning meat then get the fuck off the planet” I’ve had this group listed down to check out. In true LIW fashion of course, that ended up taking me a considerable amount of time but it was worth the wait. The beats on…

This took me by surprise. Recently decided to investigate some “proto” metal, as in, who came up alongside Sabbath in the formation of the heavy metal sound? I was recommended Blue Cheer, who sit a bit more on the bluesy end of the spectrum (hey, I guess the clue is in the name). I love the crunch and the muddy sound of the guitars. It fills me with complete joy. Something so simple yet all…

Ah yes, the original Emperor Of Dimensions Unknown! The recent Spirit Of Rebellion sessions had me going back to these stunning early Mortiis long-form compositions (Ok, Ok, its just several songs glued together, I get it!) and I even shared a few with LIW contributor Burra, who will hopefully be joining me to see Mortiis along with Mayhem in Bristol, providing this COVID situation improves drastically. Anyways, about the record. If you are even remotely…

Deterioration are fucking savage. I could have sworn that they had more of a mince thing going on in the past, but it’s been a while since I’ve spent some time with their material. The Unnatural Mind is all grind; balls out riffs and fucking mental blastbeats. I’m reminded of Insect Warfare if I could make such a comparison, especially in the vocal department. Truly, this is a fantastic grindcore album.

Prurient is fuckin’ great, JK Flesh is fuckin’ great. Then, of course, naturally, this split is fucking great. It’s a match made in heaven, where the more pulsing, driven body music of the Flesh meets the sheets of noisy experimentation of the ‘rient. Truly, madly, a good ‘un.

The first time I heard this I found it rather irritating. Maybe I’ve developed a penchant for samples shoe-horned and glitched into freaktastic breakcore musicals? It’s a possibility. I suppose that when life throws you a chocolate wheelchair, all you can do is get up and do a little dance, or something like that.

Haircuts For Men are one of the most consistent projects that operate in the vaporwave style. Their records are more than that though, truly. Even so, I would go on to say, that they are often more than the sum of their parts, and 必要 is of no exception.  The music here invokes heavy nostalgia, a morose longing and a sense of the unknown. I’m reminded in part of Evanescence era Scorn with the slight…

Seemingly considered one of the fusion-era Davis classics, with the group well and truly into the post-bop phase. I had to admit that I found Miles In The Sky laid back and almost restrained. The tracks are under-stated and move along subtly, but there’s always that feeling that things could become unhinged at any moment. Despite there only being four tracks, I find it difficult to pick a stand out track or even a movement…

I’d always put off listening to earlier Gorgoroth because I saw them live with Pest about a decade ago and found them to be pretty awful. Little did I realise however that the vocals on this record are done by yet another madman called Hat (yes), so I finally spun this up. Of course, I’m an idiot, and this does not disappoint. Antichrist is black metal of the savage and punishing variety. It’s not quite…

Brutal gory grindcore! Imagine, I dunno, Exhumed but on crack. Slower, groovy passages mingle with disgusting blasts and rabid vocals to provide you, the listener, with a wondrous concerto of diseased malpractice glorification.

In your poonani! My So Called Life is classic Venetian Snares, marring the frenetic mentalist approach of the early daze with the wanted or not calculated genius and finesse of the more recent experimentations released by Mr. Funk. Some quality sampling, some incredible beat programming / mashing, and some menacing electronics. A must-listen, IMO.

Cover thy ears and lock up thyne missis, for Tsjuder are in town! Possessing a devilishly metallic and surprisingly clear production, Demonic Possession is the perfect showcase of Tsjuder’s razor sharp black metal. The record is almost a lesson in making kvlt and unforgiving black metal without having to plug guitars into beehives instead of amplifiers.

The strangest thing about The Satanist is that I have listened to it a whole bunch of times but I keep forgetting that I have. Like, the whole thing blurs into one track, asides from the first, and I attribute this to listening either whilst playing games, doing house work or at the gym. Either way, The Satanist is a solid record and cemented the long-running Behemoth project as a household name in black metal….

I’ve witnessed Cardiff’s Thorun in the live environment but have not until had the pleasure of hearing studio material. Expect seismic, glacial doom in the instrumental veins of Bongripper, but coupled with the power-tinged riffs of bands more grounded in the riff rather than out there in the ether; think more trad-doom enthusiasts such as Pentagram, or even Sabbath. Chorus Of Giants reminds me in parts of the band Slabdragger, and I don’t feel that…

The Bad Seed EP was one of the final offerings from the volatile Birthday Party group. The tracks positively crackle with chaotic energy, firing this awkward, bizarre mix of punk and indie pop (yeah) up to a whole new level. There are times where it seems the whole song will fall apart, but that just seems like a part of the deal here. Worth going back to, especially for Nick Cave fans.

This is sick as fuck. Dr. Octagon’s (Kool Keith) self titled record from 1996 is a lesson in how to produce sublime hip hop beats, and then provide a stunning flow to go with it. Comparisons with MF Doom are perhaps too easy, but it’s easy to see where MF took a lot of inspiration from. Some of the lyrics about being a gynacologyst are a bit clumsy and haven’t aged too well, but all…

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t initially underwhelmed by Swans’ 90s output, especially coming in as a fan of the sonic destruction that was Filth, Cop, Greed etc. – Omniscience however, the live album I believe for the Love Of Life album, showcases those rigid and dark folk songs in the stretched out sprawling live incarnations one would expect from Swans. Even the morose electronic-laden and acoustic guitar driven rock melodies that the…

I’ve never properly taken the time to sit and listen to Dream Theater before so decided it would probably best to start right at the beginning. I understand that a different vocalist is at work here, but honestly, When Dream And Day Unite is pretty much as I expected it to be, discounting a roughness around the edges. This has 80s to the max vibes; snippets of hair metal breach through, and that snare is…

Hey Frankenstein! You want some metal infused horrorpunk? What do you mean “no”? Haha I played the absolute death out of this record when I was a teenager. Admittedly, I only really bought it because it had Joey from Slipknot on guitars, but it opened up the world of horrorpunk for me. An obsession with the Misfits developed in the years coming which would allow me to snake into the punk genre too – so…

Can you believe this has been the longest gap between Napalm records? It doesn’t feel that long since Apex Predator dropped. I guess that means that I’m getting old as fuck. Either way, here she blows, coming in from the horizon like a steamboat with a deceased crew and smashing head on into the dock with “Fuck the Factoid”, before pulling out all the usual tricks (and I’m sorry, but that same goddamn Russ Russell…

Greed Killing – as a single – is probably the lowest point in Napalm’s career, if I had to pick one. The band were pursuing an industrial or “groove metal” (says the press) direction at the time, but Greed Killing is a shameful commercial grab that is hideously out of place even with the album it’s from, let alone the band’s output in general.

Now this is how you do a Napalm Death record. Order Of The Leech is fucking ferocious, and was a phenomenal return to form after a patch of slower albums. Following on from Enemy Of The Music Business, Order… keeps the pace up, with flesh-ripping metallic grindcore carnage. Literally that’s all I can say. This started a trend in how Napalm records would appear and even sound. Favourite track: “Narcoleptic”.

The original Napalm Death Peel Sessions have to be some of the most brutal sounds put to tape. I cannot fathom the sheer energy, speed and ferocity that is going down on this recording. It is the polar opposite to Swans’ Public Castration Is A Good Idea, but on the same chart in regards to pushing the extremities of music. Truly essential noise. (This review covers the first two Peel Sessions released in 1988 and…

Too Experienced is a chilled out journey through some tight, head-nodding variety of reggae. I’ll be honest, I’m more well versed in the spaced out, dubby strains of the genre, so this is a refreshing change. And what great tunes there are, from the bigger hits to the lesser known entries. Either way, a solid record.

I hate it when shit like this happens to bands. I guess something similar happened with Gorgoroth, where several instances of the band existed (also with Von if I recall). I tried to give this a fair go, but CKY without Deron Miller is not something I think I can get my head around. Sure, there are plenty of bands that can shed vocalists and reinvent themselves in the process, but personally I think Deron…

A beautiful, morose journey through ambient, acoustic folk tunes. The guitars sparkle with life and the vocals, whilst admittedly I cannot understand, are gruff and powerful. I feel as though I am being transported to a distant land.

Having being slightly disappointed by Miles’ early 90s attempts at bridging into a more electronic music / hiphop direction (hey, just imagine what that could have done for popular music), I was a little anxious going in to this. As much as I would trust Bill Laswell with any band (except maybe Swans hahaha) I was indeed skeptical. But of course, my worries were quickly put to rest. What we have here is a gorgeous…

Did someone say proto-thrash? You can literally smell the BO when listening to this record. I conjure images of a band of spotty teenagers or twentysomethings playing Flying Vs and wearing cut off shirts; performing before a crowd of greasy-haired, denim jacket wearing beer drinkers bumping into each other in time to the music. Metal is a beautiful thing, isn’t it? A lot of the “bigger” bands either seem to come out blazing; defining their…

I don’t what it is about my relationship with Friday The 13th, but my patience for this series is much lower than others. 3 carries on pretty much where 2 left off, but I cannot bring myself to even care what happens. Jason recovers from his wounds and the bloodbath continues. All in all, bias aside, Friday The 13th Part 3 is a fairly average slasher, and I won’t be rushing out to enjoy the…

Cool, calm, relaxing vapor. Ah, its the musical equivalent of valium. †Nematophy has been in my online playlist for about a year, and I must have played it through now a number of times. Its time to delete it and let some other stuff shine instead, so here I am committing it to the site and filing it away. †Nematophy is another fantastic Windows 96 album, further cementing this project as one of my favourites…

You wouldn’t think it would be easy to top Loss, but Wodensthrone seem to do it with little to no effort. Curse seems like a natural progression; the meandering, thoughtful, blackened metal going further down the rabbit hole, further down the path less trodden. Glorious.

Old Star marks a nice, subtle progression for Darkthrone’s sound. We meander back to the longer songs of old, and are treated to a morose, almost melodic set of black metal riffs. The production is also noticeably cleaner than some of the recent punk metal stuff. All in all, Old Star is a decent entry into the Darkthrone discography, of which there have been many peaks and troughs.