There’s a lot of buzz and hype around this woman right now, so I was afraid of being disappointed. I can happily (is that the right word?) confirm however, that this is a dark and disturbing listen. I’m getting heavy Gnaw Their Tongues vibes off this, but the blend of dark atmospheric noise and classical music, along with multilayered vocals, it’s pretty unique. My one complaint is that the album is top heavy, and trails…

Arguably, Toxicity is the record that blew up System Of A Down. “Chop Suey” (or “Suicide” as it should be called) and the title track might be hideously overplayed, fodder to both TV music channels and the flaccid rotations at crappy rock bars, but the album as a whole is a work of bloody genius. SOAD retain the chaos present in their debut recording but bolster that with more solid song structuring, flourishes of different…

What is this? Sounds like Marilyn Manson and Big Black fucking (on steroids) whilst at an Einstürzende Neubauten show. Is that an obtuse discription? Why, yes it is! But, End Position is a dense and disorientating trip through an industrial hell. Pretty nice, if I’m honest.

I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I said that Pyroclasts blew my mind. It’s the group’s second record in a fairly short period of time, so I wasn’t expecting the world when going in to this, but Pyroclasts showcases enormous slabs of drone rituals, each one as massive and totem-like as the last. The tones are stunning; avalanches of folding sounds and gargantuan waves of distortion.

Creeping, brooding, claustrophobic. Yet, somehow beautiful, delicate and sprawling. Perdition City came earlier in the band’s discography, as they veered away from black metal to making these contemporary and what I can only describe as urban soundscapes. Glorious stuff.

The First Cumming, is (in perhaps a fairly explanatory manner) the debut record from Laaahdahn surgically precise butchers of death metal, Basement Torture Killings, featuring six tracks of gore-drenched brutality packaged in a DVD case. Weirdly, I can’t find a link to this anywhere except on Spotify, so if you’ve got an account on there, fire it up and have a stream.

I can’t decide whether the abnormality that is Class Of Nuke ‘Em High is either genius or hideously hideously bad. The plot suffers some pacing issues, for me I found it hard to stay focused during the first act (yes, even with all those nude “teens” lol) but the payoff comes towards the end. This is a Troma classic so I won’t go into the story itself, but it’s worth saying that the effects are…

Forecast today is jazzy with a sprinkling of funk, my dudes. This is perfect sitting on the train going out for the day kinda tunes. Fresh, massive dollops of inspiration are heaped on top of good vibes and enough edge of your seat moments to keep things interesting.

LOL this record is all kinds of sleazy. In parts, that comes across as pretty evil and sinister, other times just infantile. Nevertheless, the riffs are great, the production is perfectly balanced (that bass hums through the mix), making Ampeauty a nasty metal record for those who like to stroll on the sicker side of life. Happy valentines day from us here at Lines In Wax!

The Angels Of Light took the heavily textured work of late 90s Swans and moulded those sound collages into moving, gorgeous folk songs. It is of course, in reality, a slightly more complicated story than that, and there is a lot to unpack here, a lot of nuances, however there is a beauteous simplicity to the tracks that betrays the denser roots that lay beneath the sparkly surface of these melancholic hymns. I find New…

Nyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaahhhhhhhhh! Asides from the fact that M. Shadows sounds like a goddamn super villain, City Of Evil has aged fairly well. It is a slick yet clumsy monstrosity of a record, with a lot of it’s saving grace lying in the production. This could easily have been a garbled mush of bad GNR worship. The most notable performance for me though is the busybody drumming of The Rev, who was an incredible drummer, and arguably,…

This is a strange one. The movie starts off as one of the more depraved exploitation films I’ve encountered thus far; scene after scene of gratuitous nudity and horrendous violence towards women randomly peters out after half hour and the movie turns into this slow investigation / psychological piece. It is bizarre to see pretty much all of the slasher kills over and done with in one go, and honestly, it really effects the pacing…

Christian Death’s discography has been spotty; and is very hit and miss. Sex Drugs and Jesus Christ pretty much embodies that fact for me, being a meandering journey through a variety of different material, all of which being perplexingly “trademark” Christian Death, yet varying wildly between track to track. This should, in all honesty, showcase the pair’s musical chops, but some of the time, the record just completely loses its way as it jumps here…

I’m unsure if this is a bestial classic or just a total fucking mess. In fact, it’s probably the perfect avalanche of both. It conjures memories of my time listening to Blasphemy or Revenge, so I’m glad I gave this one a go. I’m a bit rusty on thee pits ov black metal outside of Norway so was fuckin’ enlightened to come across this. No gods, no production, no mastering! Ha!

Bitchagram is the somewhat uninspired debut of the groovy goregrind project 666 Shades Of Shit. If bludgeoning chunks of metallic sludgey grind is your thing then by all means carry on and tuck in. Otherwise, I’d probably give this one a miss, or go for the follow up record.

There is an unique charm to the first System record. It is much rougher around the edges than the later offerings, and the vocals employ more shrieks and growls, akin more to metal than the unique brand of rock SOAD would go on to produce. You can almost smell the air and tell which year this was recorded in; the way alternative music was going around then… well let’s just say this record is symptomatic…

I’ll be honest with you, it was the cover art that drew me in here. It reminded me somewhat of the blasphemous inkings of Akercocke drummer David, and it was enough to draw me into Archgoat’s heretical and enormously noisy world. Heavenly Vulva (LOL) is not as abrasive as say, Blasphemy or Beherit, but it is a 15 minute uncompromisingly brutal attack in the style of black metal. It isn’t particularly “grimm” or even “khold”,…

I’ve forgotten how much I love Bowel Rot (what a sentence) or even just the varied works of one Bobby Maggard in general. Gonorrhoea Infection is a gory, super mushy downtuned romp that is effortlessly disgusting and very highly recommended grinding noise. Please disregard the absolutely horrendous cover art, which does this noise no justice.

I love Big Black, but for some reason I never have them in my rotation all that often. A colleague at my previous job swore down that Atomizer was their best album, and I had to admit that I had never heard it, so out I went and got stuck in. I just love those abrasive, hollow walls of guitar noise. It shouldn’t work but it does when you mount layer and layer and layer…

I think if there is one album in the world that I could describe as being “just lovely”, then Air’s Moon Safari would be it. I’m probably being a pleb here, but it invokes feelings in such a way that it makes electronic music sound new, fresh and exciting. I get a heavy “we can go anywhere” vibe off this, for all its 90s cliches.

The Beginning Of All Things To End is a compilation album that puts Mudvayne’s first EP from 1997 alongside some crappy “Dig” remixes and the full 17 minute version of “LD.50”, which is the trippy electronic shit that appears on the album of the same name (y’know, that shit in between songs that has sped up Terrence McKenna samples?). The only thing of any worth here is the OG Kill, I Oughtta tracks. They don’t…

More Aphex Twin is always a welcome. Collapse is a compact EP featuring several fresh new cuts of ticking, bleeping, blopping electronic goodness, blown along with wispy, dreamy synths. I’ve recently got myself some Tin T2 IEMs and this kind of music just absolutely melts my head on that kind of stereo stage. Glorious.

The Arena is a mid 70s exploitation shit show featuring the excellent Pam Greer. The main girls are pretty decent (or at least funny) actors but the supporting cast are appalling. The plot makes literally no sense and the ending is absolute trash but there is something endearing about this awful movie. It has zero redeeming features but there is something about which has put a smile on my face, regardless. I think that probably…

Where does porn end and exploitation film begin? Sometimes the line is blurry, or hard to define. In the case of Behind The Green Door, the line is pretty clear cut. Starring the same lass that was in Cronenberg’s Rabid, Green Door tells the story of a girl who is kidnapped and taken to an elite sex club, where she is fucked in all manner of ways from (and to) Sunday. Apparently, this did so…

This record brings back memories of Red Sun fest in Cardiff, fuck – 5 years ago! These guys played around the same time as Grand Collapse and I mega enjoyed their combination of punky crust and darker elements. Arrest Days captures the band’s energy and vibe effortlessly. It’s not a long record by any stretch, but it’s fucking great. I don’t think these guys have done all that much else, which is a shame. Arrest…

Well this was just glorious. Eery yet hilarious from the outset, what this lacks in Cronenberg’s infamous body horror FX it makes up for with hilarious attitude and plot. A sexually promiscuous young woman and a scientist of sorts have brought an unstoppable parasite to a housing complex. Weird shit, and almost surrealist in some ways, I’m sure there’s a bigger message here that maybe I am missing. Nevertheless, there’s enough nipples showing through tops…

Painkiller is not a million miles away from the early Naked City stuff, if not a little more streamlined – if that is even the right word! Guts Of A Virgin, as you may be able to guess by the title, is a much more brutal affair. The controversy surrounding the album’s censorship aside, this is a disturbing and batshit insane mishmash where the lines between jazz and grindcore are completely blurred.

Forensix is probably my favourite Desecration record. There is just something about the pace and vibe that makes it stand out amongst the other records. There’s a ton of killer tracks here, most of which were live staples of the band’s performances for many years to come. The bass pops and clanks, the riffs are razor sharp and the vocals rabid, and the drums… well, Mikey is an animal, what can I say. Aim! Fire!…

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, that’s some interesting singing there, Varg. Fallen was the first record I heard when Burzum returned. He released a bunch of records in a fairly quick succession, to little or no fanfare, so I was rather taken aback with this record and also Belus and that one compilation of re-recorded oldies. I feel like a lot of people wouldn’t even sneeze at this later stuff. Some of the magic of the earlier stuff is…

Often regarded as a classic of the doom metal genre, on Trouble / Psalm 9 the band take a more traditional rock and or roll approach, encompassing heavy – how should I say – Sabbathisms and elements of drowsy blues to their rocking sound. It’s not as heavy as Vitus or the aforementioned Sabbath, but it’s still a staple in the beginnings of doom.

Having finally watching this uhhh… “movie” I can see why it remains unrated. Ilsa is essentially a porno, with dump trucks of full frontal female nudity, and even more horrendous torture and “snuff porn” in the way of nubile young beauties being put through a series of increasingly disgusting medical “trials”. It’s a tough watch, even for a seasoned gore or sexploitation nerd, but it’s definitely one for the history books. In my opinion it’s…

I’m unsure of what to really make of this one. It seems to pre-date all the awful cyber grind of the 2000s, instead being a product of the 90s where hip hop and nu metal douchebaggery bled into the extreme music worlds. That being said, Cybergore has some decent riffs, and some interesting variations on the theme of techno shit mixed with metal. This sounds like a soundtrack to a long lost 90s shoot ‘em…

Animosity provided no great step forward from the material presented on World Of Lies, although I will say that the riffing is slightly less mournfully melodic as its predecessor and the programmed drumming is a little less chunky. It is however, as a whole, more refined and to the point. To some, it may just feel like another album being dropped, but to me it doesn’t fuck around, and is entirely savage as fuck. It…

I’ve probably heard this CD a hundred times, but for the purpose of (finally) committing it to this site I gave it another run through, and boy does it sound absolutely magical. Perhaps I’ve grown up a bit, but I can feel so much more going on here. These sweeping, all-encompassing drones simply have to be heard to be believed. 

I think I’ve listened to this album about 15 times with the purpose of doing a review for it, but it always falls apart and I don’t really know why. However this time I absolutely made myself power through, in order to finally commit this one to the site. It’s been on the to do list for 5 years for fucks sakes. I think I know what my issue is. There is absolutely nothing wrong…

Someone needs to tell the director of this movie the importance of pacing. The 100 minutes or so of this film were some of the longest of my life. The plot is absolutely nonsensical, with the most asinine twists imaginable. Its a good thing really that you want the insufferable cast to all fucking die. That aside, Slave Of The Cannibal God is the usual concoction of cannibalism, tits and staged animal slaughter that comes…

There is only so much that can be said about Cemetery Rapist, and I think I probably covered it all in my review of his Plundering… record back in 2015. You’ll cowards want some phresh slices of mad-ass porno-tinged slamz yo? Then, truly, fine and esteemed gentlemen, look no further, the Rapist has you covered. Trademark vocals skitter across four tracks of tinny programmed drums, and thicker-than-bong-grease riffage. Drill full, and ascend!

Vespertine is another classic in the original run of stunning Björk albums, and a welcome return to form after the miss that was Selmasongs (unsure if that counts as canon, being a soundtrack album). Vespertine is looser, much more abstract and flowing than Homogenic that came before it, and I suppose you could say that initially it suffers, lacking direction, however this formula turns out to really work well for Björk, and many of the…

I’ve been putting off this listen for as long as I remember. Thanks go then to one of my fellow night shift colleagues for pumping this out through the communal sound bar. I’ve never sat down and listened to Radiohead before, so it was an eye (ear?) opening experience to hear what all the fuss is about. Is it for me? I’m not sure, but this is a solid and at time morose album that…

Lucio Fulci’s swansong in the director’s seat, in which he bizarrely plays himself as he goes mad, unable to tell what is reality anymore after donkeys years of directing gore and exploitation. To top off his deteriorating mental state, people are starting to die gruesome deaths, and Fulci begins to suspect that he is the killer. Despite this awesome plot summary (and the fact that the BBFC wouldn’t rate it), this actually is a pretty…

Upon its release, Antichrist quickly became one of my favourite releases by the band. It retained the experimental, proggy edge of the previous record – which featured much more lighter songwriting and meandering exploration – and mashed that head on with brutal old school death metal. Akercocke have always had a death metal element to their sinister sound, of course, but the style here is totally different; you’ve got d-beats, more grooves, and more sludgy…

I’ve often heard of this film referred to as the “forgotten slasher”, where people imply that it fell into obscurity, when similar film such as Halloween or Friday The 13th went on to be powerhouses of cinema. Unfortunately, this effort can not be put in the same ballpark as the others mentioned here. Think of this as a combination of Scream and a Friday The 13th sequel. Throw in a bunch of medical mumbo jumbo,…

Chunk on chunk on chunk! Take Bolt Thrower and run it through the gamut of modern metal production and you’ll wind up with a sound that isn’t a bazillion miles from this. At first, it comes across as massively uninspiring, but maybe its the old school metalhead in me, because this was a grower.

Ah, my brain, she melts! I’ve always found Molting a strange name for a project. Like, it sounds more horrible than it actually is (lol). That aside, this full length release on the netlabel Torn Flesh is a true exercise in harsh noise. Aurally punishing, but that’s why we’re all here, right? 

The Dad from Home Alone (haha) leads a cast of Misfits through this entertaining but incredibly low budget mush. Nuclear waste is being dumped in the sewers of New York (honestly, that would explain a lot IRL) and the CHUDs have come to wreak havoc. Hilarious spots for me were noticing bit parts played by Commissioner Burrell and The Greek from HBO’s The Wire. 

What a mixed bag of craziness. Think classic / occult rock vibes meets prog weirdness. Refreshing, but definitely a bit meandering in places.

Oooh she’s a nasty one! This is fucking class, fair play. I was expecting some half arsed slam at worst, but fuck this is great! It’s more in the brutal death metal ballpark, but with grindcore-style song lengths and structures. Think asinine sampling, insane tracks and a fuckin’ mad time all round. Purulent Jacuzzi, I am ready to enter you! 

The Low End Theory is a classic hip hop record. Just listening to the beats on this thing is an absolute pleasure. The rhymes from everyone involved are sharp and precise, and remind me of the days when hip hop wasn’t all about excess and debauchery (granted, there’s a lot of modern MCs who don’t rap this way, but you know what I mean). A stunning exercise, from start to finish.

Clanking, barking mad death metal for the entire family. I remember constantly seeing this record sleeve at a local HMV whilst growing up. I never really got into death metal until I was like 17 or older so I often wonder how different the trajectory of my musical fandom would have gone if I’d bought this when I was 13 or something. They, quite simply, in boomer talk, just don’t make death metal records like…

I’ve always found that Mudvayne were an underrated band. I can’t speak of what they became, but LD.50 was bristling with promises, and underpinned by a technical ability that left most nu metal bands significantly wanting. There is something altogether more Tool poking out through the stupid make up and early 2000s tropes. I could listen to that bass and drum combo all day. “Dig”, “Death Blooms”, “Nothing to Gein” are all incredible tracks and…

I came to this world with nothing, and I leave with nothing but love. Everything Is Borrowed is a wildcard in The Streets’ canon, and absolutely one of my absolute favourites of theirs. The street-level rapped antics of the everyday pulse of the city is swapped in lieu of introspective philosophical musings and lyrics that are almost riddles. The scope of the sound is opened tenfold; gone are the banging garage beats, in are full…

I watched this around the same time as Sweet Sugar and therefore muddle them up in my head quite a lot. Honestly, it hard to tell which one is more morally wrong but this sleazefest, whilst a bit slow-paced, is very enjoyable. I mean, as far as the ‘women in prison’ subgenre of exploitation film goes, I genuinely don’t know what more one could expect from a movie of this kind. Arguably, Big Bird Cage…

Jesus Christ on a cross, this is a long boi. I mean, I’ve heard much longer albums than the 80 minutes or so going on here, but when the record is built up of djent 7 minuters showcasing little to no variation, peppered only by seemingly mandatory instrumental breaks, then holy fuck it feels like I’ve taken a whole ice age to listen to this thing. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, depending on how…

White Light, despite being heavily appreciated by the Swans fan community, took a long time to unfold for me. It wasn’t until I got the vinyl version (paid out the nose for it, but it has since been remastered) that I could truly appreciate the songs as they unfold. Now the remaster is also on Spotify, so I’ve been able to spend some more time with these tracks. Honestly, its like listening to a different…

Darkthrone’s trio of early albums are legendary the world over for their contribution to the second era of black metal music. Transylvanian Hunger has always admittedly been my favourite, but A Blaze In The Northern Sky has its charms. Denser in sound that it’s follow up, I find that Blaze meanders somewhat, wandering lost through the frozen crags of a hellish wilderness.

Well, this was just lovely. Imagine something like a game soundtrack come alive. Reminded me a bit of Carpenter Brut, if only more driven and less sparkly. The Perturbator wasn’t high on my list of listens, but I’m glad I gave this a go.

Considering the weight that both of these names bring in the noise, industrial and power electronics world, this collaboration record is unfortunately a bit of a mixed bag. The noise is brooding and atmospheric, with the odd ear piercing flourish. Genesis’ “vocals” however, massively take me out of the whole thing. I get it, it’s noise. It’s not uncommon to have vocals distorted. But when the pace is so slow and deliberate, as with most…

It’s hollow, menacing, ethereal and brutal. Yes, of course, it’s early Swans. I often hear of Jarboe’s presence in Swans described as a “thawing” of their sound. Sometimes that doesn’t really sit right with me, considering how punishing the records continued to be up until, and maybe even including, Children Of God. Jarboe’s presence perhaps, is a “thawing” of the jagged edges which were present on Filth or Cop; the band are simply choosing a…

This had absolutely everything you could want from a low budget slasher flick, but still managed to be completely awful. That aside, the laugh factor was surprisingly high and the gore FX attempts were admirable. I’m not sure if the actors here are just “friends” of the director, even most porn stars act better than the girls playing the strippers in this movie. I’m gonna say avoid this one. 

Possessing and dry and crisp production, Swamped In Gore allows Broken Hope’s floor-shaking low end to come through in all its glory. If you love sludgy, down tuned to fuck brutal death metal, then look no further. Bright yet melancholic passages act as breaks from the heaviness, and offer welcome respites on the journey that is Swamped In Gore. 

Cheeky cheeky! Beer themed thrash metal is hardly a rare thing, but Wehrmacht’s Biērmächt gives Municipal Waste a lot to answer for. The similarities are uncanny in places. I’d say the same for some elements of Pete Steele’s Carnivore. But hey, I’m just here for the tunes, which are great. Cheers!

We supported these guys on their U.K. tour in 2015 (Christ, the time… she flies) which turned me on to their unique blend of death metal or even djent-style riffs and of course, blasting grindcore. In Narcosis is a perfect example of their frenetic sound, coupled with excellent sampling and a solid production job. You’d never guess there was no bass player. Good stuff!

Let me write to you about The Deuce. It has finished its compact run of three seasons in as many years and I can now commit it to the site (TV shows need to have completed their run to warrant inclusion on LIW – Ed). Everything about The Deuce has bells on. It starts as a 1970s period piece, where downtown New York is painstakingly recreated on the dime of big budget backers HBO. The…

Steal This Album trundled out shortly after Toxicity, and I guess a lot of people at the time incorrectly thought it was a collection of tracks and leftovers rather than a solid canonical release in its own right. My mate left a battered copy of this at my house one day and it became my most listened to SOAD record. It doesn’t take itself as seriously as Toxicity and is full of all sorts of…

And just like that, it’s like the last 8 years never happened. Mr. Harris low key returned in 2019 with the Scorn project, something that has been consistently solid for a while now. Feather brings more of that paranoid soundscape / slo mo beatwork that we all love so much. Keep your eyes peeled for the LIW post for the new full album following this EP/single. Glad to have Scorn back, mate! 

This could probably be a contender for underwhelming listen of the year. How I have constantly put this off, year after year. Unfortunately, Parallel Lines lacks any sort of impact for me. It is fairly soulless, flat and devoid of any real substance. I have a lot of respect for Debbie Harry, but this is shit.

Every Halloween its become something of a tradition for this to go on the TV. The titular character holds little charm or comedy value for myself, but I have grown to appreciate the crazy world that Tim Burton has built for this movie. The wacky, gothic, almost laughable approach to a story about death is strangely heartwarming, despite being generally very weird. Throw in Winona Ryder in her prime, and you’ve got yourself a deal….

The cool class of rhythm, blues and I suppose Latin American style percussion meets the pomp and bombast of more traditional classical movements. Moondog has always been an interesting project by a very interesting man, and this self titled offering is a testament to that fact. Highly enjoyable.

There really is nothing better for angsty super sludge than a dose of classic Neurosis. Times Of Grace is a clunky, unforgiving beast, but within the chaos is a smooth core of juicy riffs and distraught vocal performances. A classic, no doubt.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Blob. For something I thought was going to pure tacky nonsense throughout (don’t get me wrong, there was plenty of this too), the SFX and violence were a lot more intense than I expected. The acting was pretty appalling but the space creature looks pretty insane and the majority of its kills are fairly terrifying. Throw in some 80s-to-the-max vibes, and you’ve got a winner.

On Agoraphobic Nosebleed’s earlier work (I can’t remember which release specifically, but some of the noise pieces on Honky Reduction spring to mind) there are a few tracks which hit so hard sonically, that whenever the term ‘power electronics’ is used, I instantly think of them. G.R. by Deathpile immediately hits me with that same sonic collapse, that incredible rumble and those hectic vocals. It is far too similar to NOT have been a massive…

I can’t believe it’s been 9 years since Scorn released Refuse: Start Fires. As someone who never thought I would hear new Scorn material, with it being one of my favourite low key projects ever, I absolutely shit the bed when I found out the project had returned last year. I’ll admit, this doesn’t really push the boat forward, instead wallowing in the mire of its own claustrophobic density, but yeah, I don’t fucking care…

There is something relaxing about the incredible weight of Sunn’s music. The Grimmrobe Demos is the band’s first release, where they brought their Earth worshipping drone to the masses.  There is even a track titled “Dylan Carlson”, which is loosely based on an early Earth recording. Recorded live, there’s not much in the way of the variation or experimentation which permeates the band’s later drones, this is pure, grimm as fukk drone music. <a href=”http://sunn.bandcamp.com/album/the-grimmrobe-demos”>The…

I don’t know if God is Good (maybe if God is truly yourself?) but Om’s magical, hypnotising music truly is… good? Fuck that, it is outstanding. For all the experimental or religious music out there, there really is nothing else like Om in this world, and God is Good is as good (lol) a place as any to start with their discography.

Tasty tasty chunky death metal from one of my favourites of the genre. Bowels Of Repugnance stands apart from other Broken Hope records in that the tracks seem snappier and shorter, but otherwise it’s more of the same great low end deathly mechanics that we have all grown to love and enjoy. Gather around your family and love ones, put on the fire, and enjoy this timeless classic.

On a rabbit hole tangent I was reading up about the hollow earth theory online when I came across this Miles Davis album named after the subterranean kingdom. Recorded live in Japan, Agharta is a slow, meandering record that is reminiscent of sound tracks of films from the 70s and of rock bands jamming more than anything altogether more jazzy. This is Miles Davis’ group of course, so there is always that element, but this…

I played this through a couple of times a while back and I’ve honestly struggled to think of the words that could best describe this aneurysm of experimental free form jazz. I mean, I guess it’s jazz? I don’t even know anymore. This is one of those truly experimental records; obscene even that it has you scratching your head but morbidly curious enough that you can’t stop listening.

How can something so chilled also be so thought provoking? Slightly off topic, but I get similar vibes off this as I did when I first heard Shpongle, only this particular record would best be served in an armchair with a cigar, rather than in a field high on mushrooms. Stunning compositions, all of which I heavily enjoyed. I can find no fault with this at all.

Heavy! Cripple Bastards are a household name for anyone into grindcore, and Nero In Metastasi cements them as a true juggernaut of the genre. Nero’s polished ferocity coupled with longer, more progressive tracks reminds of some of Nasum’s output. If I had one complaint, it would be that the record master is far far too over-compressed, but this is nothing you can’t get your head around after the first few blasts.

Consisting of two of the band’s earliest releases and one or two rare numbers tacked on the end, Deep Dreams Of Hell is a semi-official (?) romp through the misty beginnings of Aura Noir. The production is consistent and not too horrible, allowing the atmosphere to build and encompass you fully.

The ridiculousness continues with Scream 3, which is more meta and bizarre than ever before. I can see why they originally decided to leave it there after rounding out the trilogy (something a lot of horror franchises could do with), as the plot – by this point – has gotten very ridiculous. That being said, this is a very entertaining movie, and hands down beats the 2nd instalment of the series.

I’m not sure what tempted me to dig this one out, but I had legitimately forgotten how golden a gem this is. It kinda bridges the gap between melodic death metal and Arch Enemy’s later more mainstream efforts, but its easy to be mired in genre-isms when it comes to metal. Simply put, Anthems Of Rebellion is a straight up, solid metal record. Every member of the band amply pulls their weight. Its not the…

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to hear John Zorn completely spazz out on a church organ? No, me neither, but now thanks to an ongoing series of recordings, we – the unsuspecting public – have been given the opportunity. The Hermetic Organ Vol. 6 – For Edgar Allan Poe (I don’t give a bloody fuck who it is for, mate!) is a little bit up its own arse, but sometimes the…

A discussion at work about the greats of thrash metal led me to streaming this Kreator stormer. I’ve seen the cover for Coma Of Souls many times but had never actually checked out the record until now. Noticeably more progressive than the glorious Pleasure To Kill era, but doesn’t lay off with the savagery either. Kreator’s solos are just to die for. A pleasure to… listen haha

When I saw the prog asf cover art I geared myself up for a meandering journey through various mental states and experimental genres of jazz, perhaps at the same time. However, The Comet Is Coming play in a much more refined and chilled out vibe than I expected. Spacey, vivid and glorious in so many ways.

Broke this out for Halloween and to be honest I have absolutely no fucking clue what I watched. Jack Nicholson is the devil, right? Is that the plot? Fuck knows. Anyway, the lead trio of wonderful ladies are absolutely fit as fuck, which got me through, but I highly doubt I would ever watch this again. It’s kinda like Hocus Pocus but for adults, and without any plot.

How can Swans follow up on “the trilogy”? The increasingly transcendent musical journeys that the full band put out before folding in 2017 are on that pedestal for me, up on high with the musical greats of all time. It is perhaps a bit easy then, to be underwhelmed with Leaving Meaning on first impressions. The lush, dense soundscape formula is very similar, although the tracks here are much less demanding, sonically at least (is…

Well, I snoozed on the release of this, only discovering it recently. My first main thought, in retrospect, is that it contains lesser experimental passages than The Epic, although the records are similar in terms of scope and length. Heaven And Earth invokes more repetition, to the point where I found that some tracks went on perhaps just a little too long, but this is of course just my opinion. The freeform freakout elements that…

Joy Division are of course absolutely legendary at this point, but I for one had never really given them that much though (which is weird, because I love New Order), Unknown Pleasures then, really lives up to its name for me. Glorious stuff. Very sad in hindsight, knowing the frame of mind in which Ian Curtis and co wrote the songs, but heavily enjoyable. My only regret is waiting so long to give it a…

A bizarre offering from the “Korn of grindcore”. I see where they are coming from, what with the ultra downtuned guitars, but the weird melodic passages and longer-running tracks are a long way from resembling anything grind-related. Not bad, but not grind.

Well then… a decent film, with a stunning lead (how beautiful was Marilyn Chambers? Cool to see her here, I didn’t realise it was the same lass that was in that Green Door porno) but suffering with horrendous pacing issues. I enjoyed the story but was honestly bored for the majority of the film. A shame, considering the effects are pretty cool, and also considering the director’s reputation. I feel like the concept was all…

Enjoyable if you’ve got brutality on the brain, but my main criticisms which I feel need airing is that this production is very dry and awkward, and it can feel like the songs are lurching along at a snail pace even when the tracks are blasting away. That, and the vocals are mixed incredibly low. Sorry to level my criticisms in such a short review, but they are pretty big drawbacks.

I’ll start by saying the only downside I could find with this record is that MF Doom barely rises up to spit, compared to Czarface. Otherwise, the beats are on point, the idea was on point, and the whole record is on point. A seriously solid hip hop record, which I heavily enjoyed.

Of all the bands in the world to release a Christmas album, what with songs about ol’ Mr. Christ a’plenty, I would not have thought it would be Bad Religion. I’m not sure if this is some sort of joke or if the band legitimately wanted to do a Christmas record before their drummer fucked off to join Avenged Sevenfold (why in the fuck, right?), but here it is, in all its mind-bending reality. Honestly,…

As hollow as the production on this record is, it kinda works with the simple vibe that Ramones music gives off. I’m no mega fan, just slowly working my way through some of the most well known records in history. Glad I hit this one along the way. 

So this was my first experience with the films of Luis Bunuel. I love the imagery so excuse the flurry of different covers that I’ve provided alongside this post. I remember a few years ago a local cinema showing this for one night only, and I didn’t go because I didn’t want to be seen as the perv who went on his own to see this kinda thing. Boy, do I regret that decision. Belle…

Dark brooding 80s electronica with a refreshing and unique melodic edge. A little out of my usual comfort zone, definitely, but I enjoyed the vibes here. I think I’ll give it a few more play throughs. 

I was inspired to look up the swinging sounds of Duke Ellington due to his (fictional) appearances in the Big Mouth TV series. Anatomy Of A Murder is kinda an OST to a movie of the same name, where bluesy swing and big band jazz is the order of the day. For me, this is an example of jazz in its purest sense; incredibly moods and musicianship all round. I really want to check out…

Mr. Patton, how we love you; constantly tight-roping the minute cerebral space that is occupied between the lands of genius and madness. Solitude… offers yet another window into the mind of the creator, with lush orchestral flourishes and gorgeous instrumental tracks. I am not familiar as such by the book or film associated with this music, but I love it all of the same.

There’s prog… and then there’s Return To Forever. Boy, is Romantic Warrior a trip. Insane keyboard work, and bass lines that will melt your head. The drums are weirdly distorted, but its easy to live with and does not detract from this instrumental work of genius. Jazzy as fuck. I will be looking for more of this band!