Ragana - "You Take Nothing" (2017)

RAGANA "You Take Nothing"

Year: 2017

Genre: Blackened Sludge/Doom

Country: USA

Track List:

1. Spare No Man
2. To Leave
3. Winter's Light
4. Destroyer
5. Somewhere
6. You Take Nothing

Bandcamp

A female duo from Oakland, CA.
"Ragana" means "witch" in Baltic languages.
"You Take Nothing" was released by An Out Recordings.

"RAGANA has existed since autumn 2011 when Maria and Nicole met in Olympia, wa. they currently live in oakland, ca. their interests as a band include pacific northwest forests, early cat power, and the total destruction of capitalism"

Cowardice - "Without Condolence" 2016

COWARDICE - "Without Condolence"

Year: 2016
Genre: Sludge/Doom/Black
Country: USA

Track List:

1. No Sovereignty
2. The Tearing Down
3. Synthetic Edens in a Crippled Will
4. I Yield My Prayers
5. Eroding Ethos
6. Lower Tiers of Life

Bandcamp / Facebook

The debut album of this New Jersey project opens without pomp or ceremony into a harsh, grinding, distortion-heavy track called "No Sovereignty", which sets the tone for the album - grim, painful, lending a sense of hopeless emotional ache at the morbid wreck of modern society and refusing to apologise for its own bleakness. The second song, "The Tearing Down", seems to be something of a reprieve, with gentler tones, and an almost bluesy riffing, before the twilight descends again, building up into the same cascade of asphalt tones, of dying civilisations and agonising descent into a world of madness.

"Synthetic Edens in a Crippled Will" is back to a heavy blackened sludge, churning through visceral riffs, and an increased sense of desperation in the vocals and arrangements, more intensity building to a sudden drop-off into nothing. The transition to the only instrumental on the album, a surprisingly gentle guitar piece called "I Yield My Prayers", flows well, allowing a softer side of their sorrowful sound into the foreground, and contrasting the dull misery oozing from this album with a gentler, although not painless, track, more restrained than the rest of the album, but employing its relative calm to excellent effect.

"Eroding Ethos" builds slowly and mournfully, allowing a little more of the melody from "I Yield My Prayers" to weep through, but this time in the setting of their more usual sludgy style. The guitar work is intricate and rewarding, and harsh vocals, a little more sparse on this track, rend through the mix beautifully. "Lower Tiers of Life" is an enthralling finale, the longest track on the album at over twelve minutes, atmospheric and moody as it draws through rises and falls, building further with each, perfectly encapsulating the mood and feel of the album in one apocalyptic movement.

"Without Condolence" has a feeling of liveness to it, and I can imagine the intensity and pain of the tracks conveying even better in small-venue concerts - definitely a band to see, if you're in their area. Speaking of which, the guitarist of the band, Julian Cardazone, informed me that they're seeking artists with a similar sound to work on one or more splits with them, so if you enjoyed the album as much as I did, and you want to work with them, either contact the band directly through their bandcamp or Facebook (both of which I've included links to above), or email me and I'll put you in touch. Beyond that I can only reiterate that I really enjoyed the album, and I recommend you give it a listen and support the band. I think we can expect interesting things from them in future.

T.G.

Plague of Carcosa - "Ritual I" (2016)

PLAGUE OF CARCOSA "Ritual I"

Year: 2016

Genre: Drone/Doom Metal 
Country: USA

Track List:

1. Ritual I

Bandcamp

Plague of Carcosa is a solo project from Chicago. We featured his first EP here. And this is just a single live, improvisational solo recording. That you can download directly from bandcamp. 

Nest - "Spiked and abandoned" (2016)

NEST "Spiked and abandoned"

Year: 2016

Genre: Blackened Doom
Country: USA

Track List:

1. Spiked and abandoned
2. Boundless

 Bandcamp

Nest is a project from USA, that we have previously reviewed here so you can check their last EP here. This is their new material that you can listen directly form their bandcamp.

Void Forger & VVVLV - Split (2016)

VOID FORGER & VVVLV "Split"

Year: 2016

Genre: Metallic Crust / Sludge
Country: Romania

Track List:

1. Excess Collapse - Void Forger
2. Homo Economicus . VVVLV

Void Forger is a Romanian band from Bucharest playing a mix of sludge, crust and black metal formed in 2011. Its three members are originally from Bacau, Romania, but have relocated to Bucharest for studies. There they have done a few jams with different band members, the ones from 2010 leading to the ideas approached by the current band, old school down tempo harshly distorted music with hints of speed, screamed vocals and with a dark and nihilistic sound. The lyrics are inspired by cyberpunk and dystopian themes, fantasy and social issues.  In early April 2012 they released a 3-song demo, Ruined, which is free to download" (official biography)

This is a Split with VVVLV, an anarchist DIY sludge collective from Timisoara and Cluj.

You can download this split in both of their bandcamps: Void Forger and VVVLV.

Mur - "Heartworn" (2016)

MUR "Heartworn"

Year: 2016

Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal, Funeral Doom
Country: United States

Track List:

1. Hollow bones in the millstone
2. Cold Mountain
3. Wheel of ashen limbs
4. Migration incantation (as fog, as gold)
5. Wyeth shroud
6. Snakeskin on the lake
7. Limbless frozen monarch
8. Go beyond the sea and still bright light to the underwood (You overreach star!)

bandcamp / facebook

Mur, was created by Cameron Sather in Minnesota in 2013. The goal of this project, as he says, was to create a dichotomy between the airy, open heaviness of Avant-drone experimentalist, despondent folk, and the austere whirlwinds of atmospheric black metal.

This new album called Heartworn is a concept album based on the ancient ecological rhythms of North American animal migration and related themes. Recorded in the winter of 2015/2016 in an off-grid location in pastoral Minnesota powered with solar electricity and heated only with a wood stove. Mass waterfowl exoduses, desperate fish pawns, and the oldest, earthly symbols of snake life-cycles are among the focus of this work.

St. Bastard - "Daemon" (2015)

ST. BASTARD "Daemon"

Year: 2015

Genre: Doom/Sludge Metal

Country: USA

Track List:

1. The Light Inverted
2. Recipe For Disaster
3. Rift
4. Leaving It Worse Than You Found It

bandcamp

Seemingly apolitical one-man doom/sludge project of one of my readers in Brooklyn, NY. The author describes his intentions as "to make the heaviest music on earth but with hooks you can hum along to". Well, it's maybe not the heaviest music on Earth, but I liked it nevertheless.

Sarin Bath - s/t (2015)

SARIN BATH "Sarin Bath"

Year: 2015

Genre: Blackened Sludge Metal

Country: Canada

Track List:

1. Burned & Rotting
2. Release Outside
3. Slow Disease
4. Depthless Grave
5. Ground Bones

bandcamp

Raw, noisy sludge from my readers in Canada: "We play a stripped down noisy, primitive form of black sludge and I think it'd add nicely to blog and its fans. We'll be recording again soon. We don't play live much and when we do we generally cover ourselves in paint and make a mess. Instrumentation is a mix of bass, drums and home made pedals + vocals. Half written / half improvised".
Associated acts: IRN, ANGLES.

Bleak - s/t (2016)

BLEAK "Bleak"

Year: 2016

Genre: Doom/Sludge Metal

Country: USA

Track List:

1. The Depravity of Man
2. Hatred of the Natural
3. On a Soil Falsified
4. Pity / Thou Shalt

bandcamp

A new project of Nick Hertzberg (Almanac), with Antwonn (a member of the Philadephia hardcore band Basket) on vocals, released on Nick's label Deplorable Sounds

"This harsh, four (technically five) song debut offering from "Bleak" was actually supposed to be the FIRST recording released on Deplorable Sounds. In fact, this project, when it first started, was called "Deplorable" and then later changed to "Meat Week" and then "Bleak."

All of the songs were written on a no-name 1970s bass guitar that Nick purchased at a guitar shop in Glens Falls, NY in the early 2000s. The idea was to write simple chorded, blown out and layered bass songs while utilizing a mixture of Sunn Amps and direct-in signal chains. Drums, noise and vocal layers were then added over the course of four years.

 Although much of the lyrical content here is improvised musings, courtesy of Basket's Antwonn, the instrumentals were written during a period where a great deal of Nietzsche was being read, digested and pondered upon...hence the titles. The ultimate fate of this project is unknown...as is the lives of all of it's participants and listeners..."

Incendiariat - "Parto y Desastre" (2015)

INCENDIARIAT "Parto y Desastre"

Year: 2015

Genre: Post-Metal

Country: Colombia

Track List:

1. Camino a la disolución del cielo
2. Madre, llévatelos. Déjame en la tierra. Devuélveme mis muertos
3. Sobre partos y escapes de la fábrica

bandcamp / facebook

 Another interesting release made in South America that arrived in my mail just yesterday. Incendiariat are from Bogota, Colombia, and their music can be descibed as "post-metal" - or, more accurately, a mix of BM, sludge, post-rock and screamo. Quite experimental stuff. The lyrics are said to be about the concept of rupture interpreted in diverse forms - from going from one place to another as a refugee, to the confrontation with death in the armed conflict that has beaten Colombia for the last 50 years. Their bandcamp page has a lengthy text in Spanish that probably explains that concept better. At least one of their members has followed this blog for several years, and I think it's a quite good contribution from him.

Infame - "No hay Quien nos Salve" (2015)

INFAME "No Hay Quien Nos Salve"

Year: 2015

Genre: Sludge/Doom Metal

Country: Chile

Track List:

1. Violadores con Sotana
2. No hay Quien los Salve
3. Infame
4. Angustia y Frustración
5. Cementerio Palphytvm
6. Llenos de Nada
7. Oscuras Remembranzas
8. Sangre

bandcamp / facebook

Looks like Escvro isn't going to be the last band to be posted here by me, because just today I received another album from a South American band which certainly deserves to be on here. Infame are a trio from Antofagasta, Chile, who are playing heavy doom/sludge metal. At least one of their members reads my blog for years and supports the anti-fascist attitude. Their lyrics are mostly about the "frustrations caused by this unfair society led by a few pigs", with some black humour as well. This album isn't available for download or digital purchase at this movement, but you can stream it off bandcamp.

Late Night Venture - "Tychonians" (2015)

LATE NIGHT VENTURE "Tychonians"

Year: 2015

Genre: Post-Metal

Country: Denmark

Track List:

1. Stjerneborg
2. Nebula
3. Moon shone on white rock
4. Halo orbit
5. Revenge Motif
6. Praha

download promo / bandcamp / soundcloud

For a start, here's a new album from a band that's not expliticly political and is relatively far from black metal, but they're my readers and their producer has worked with such Danish acts as Solbrud and Halshug. Very good post-metal, or psych/doom how the band members themselves call it:

Voice Eater - "Nihil" (2015)

Voice Eater - "Nihil"

Year: 2015
Genre: Black Metal, Doom/Sludge, Noisecore
Country: USA

Track List:

1. Luz Negra
2. Weight
3. Defeater
4. Vida Mierda
5. Orphan Breed
6. Weakling
7. Duele
8. Catharsis

bandcamp

Voice Eater from Arizona starts their first song, Luz Negra with according to me, excessively annoying ambience and follows that up with very poor recording that makes their music a headache to listen to. The same can be said of their second track, though their third track, Defeater was a lot more enjoyable despite the poor quality with it's more distinguishable screaming and enjoyable power chords. Their fourth track, Vida Mierda was of less quality than Defeater but slightly enjoyable. I really think their fifth track, Orphan Breed would've been a huge artistic success if it had been recorded with better equipment and/or under better circumstances. The same can be somewhat said of their sixth track, Weakling. Their seventh track, Duele shows amazing clarity initially despite minimal feedback on the song's recording. Their last and longest track Catharsis sounds like another potential minor success of a song from the album that was hampered by poor quality recording. It's finale sounds brilliant and somehow shines through the poor recording. A complete summary of the album would be that it was too poorly recorded to give a fair and accurate review, but I'll give it one and a half stars for effort. * */**.

Rookscare - "Unusable Signals" (2015)

Rookscare - "Unusable Signals"

Year: 2015
Genre: Anarcho-punk, Crust Doom, Industrial Metal
Country: United States

Track List:

1. Binary Blackhole
2. Children of the Wilted Flowers
3. Mother, Could Heaven Melt?
4. Herd Mentality
5. Shadow of Vandalia

bandcamp

The album begins with their first track, Binary Blackhole that begins with power chords and dark robot ambience. Later on, there is dark anarcho-punk screaming akin to a slower, lower and better recorded version of Amebix's vocals. Their second track, Children of the Wilted Flowers begins with slow power chords and doesn't build up to vocals until about after one minute and fifty seconds in. The song ends with appropriate dark monk ambience. Their third track, Mother, Could Heaven Melt begins with power chords, moderately slow drumming and news recordings declaring "everything has been done in this state for the corporate good".

There are other recordings as well on the track that are played over the news recordings as the power chords and drumming continues. Their fourth track, Herd Mentality begins with very slow drumming and dark ambience. The vocals of the band's members sound a bit rough, but the music carries the song through with it's power chords really striking a note in my heart at about 5:25. The lyrics "Herd mentality is abandonment" help carry the song through as well.

Shadow of Vandalia begins with pipes akin to presumably an indigenous culture and leads to power chords and slow drumming. The recording begins to decline more after the slight decline of track two. The chorus of the second band member does give a unique energy to the track that makes it much more desirable about four minutes and forty-five seconds in. Their last track is quite pleasant throughout afterwards. Over all, I give it three stars ***.

Permafrost - "Transitory" (2015)

PERMAFROST "Transitory"

Year: 2015

Genre: Atmospheric Black/Doom Metal

Country: USA

Track List:

1. Oak
2. Collapse
3. Nausea

bandcamp

Permafrost (not to be confused with several other BM bands under the same name) are a 3-piece black/doom metal band from Alexandria, Virginia. They have no apprarent connection to RABM but decided to share their debut full-length CD with me anyway, and I must say it's quite good. Actually it was released in January, but I forgot to post it back then :( The album is called "Transitory" and consists of 3 long tracks. The mastering was done by Nikita Kamprad of Der Weg Einer Freiheit, another very good atmospheric BM band which shares at least some of our anti-NSBM sentiment. A bit more detailed review of "Transitory" can be found here.

Wyatt E. - "Mount Sinai / Aswan" (2015)

WYATT E. "Mount Sinai / Aswan"

Year: 2015

Genre: Instrumental Doom Metal, Post-Metal

Country: Belgium

Track List:

1. Mount Sinai
2. Aswan

DOWNLOAD

Wyatt E. are a new metal band from Liege, Belgium, featuring members of Deuil. This EP is a concept release influenced by Middle Eastern culture and the lost civilizations, and it's going to be the first one in a set of 6 tapes to be released soon. You can read a quite detailed review of it here, if you wish. In comparison to other bands posted on here under the "oriental metal" tag, Wyatt E. are somewhat unique, because I haven't posted any doom/post-metal band of this kind before.

facebook / bandcamp

General Grievous - "Oppression" (2015)

GENERAL GRIEVOUS "Oppression"

Year: 2015

Genre: Sludge Metal

Country: Russia

Track List:

1. Опрессия
2. Дрожь
3. Повседневность
4. Грешное Ремесло
5. Инцест

DOWNLOAD

And finally for today, another band which didn't provide me with much info about themselves (expect they started playing slow sludge metal together in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, 3 years ago), but their music is good. Haven't heard such powerful sludge metal from anywhere in former USSR for a long time. According to the band, my blog means a lot for them, and it's the only blog they'd like to be on.

facebook / bandcamp

Hellships - "Doom Organs" (2015)

HELLSHIPS "Doom Organs"

Year: 2015

Genre: Psychedelic Doom Metal (with Cascadian BM overtones)

Country: USA

Track List:

1. Nihil Desperandum
2. In The Name Of Stability
3. End Realism
4. A History Of Collapse
5. Electric Pilgrimage
6. Regifting Cigarettes

bandcamp

Line-up:

Robin Flowers: Guitar
Alex Freilich: Drums, Bass, Synthesizer, Piano, Vocals
Neal Jensen: Guitar, Organ, Vocals


There still is a lot of releases arriving into my mailbox every week, but a lot of them either have nothing to do with the topic of my blog, or simply lack the information needed to post them. This one, though, is really interesting, and comes from a band what was featured on my blog before.

Hellships, founded in 2009, are from Olymplia, WA. Their music is a kind of mostly instrumental noisy psychedelic doom metal, heavily influenced by the Cascadian black metal scene. Although their music and imagery isn't explicitly political, they're all anarchists. Additionally, one of their members also plays in With The End In Mind, if I'm not mistaken.

Nest - S/T (2015)

NEST "Nest"

Year:  2015

Genre:  Blackened Doom

Country: USA

Track List:

1. The Inexplicable Conclusion of Life
2. Wretched World
3. The Earth is a Nest
4. The Womb is Barren in a Feral Light
5. To Carry a Burning Body

Nest is a new project from Lexington, KY in the United States.  The lyrics are clearing anti-civilization and misanthropic, making it a good fit here.  The five tracks are decent black metal sounding music, but at a doomy pace.  Overall, this is pretty solid for a debut EP.  Head over to their Bandcamp to check it out for yourself.  Nest is also available to download free there.

Bandcamp

Hreinn - s/t (2015)

HREINN "Hreinn"

Year: 2015

Genre: Blackened Doom Metal

Country: USA

Track List:

1. Unnamed
2. Older Than Old
3. Plague Of Witches Seeps Through
4. Searching For An Exit

DOWNLOAD

"Anti-racist, anti-fascist doom band from Portland, Oregon, USA", as per the info from An Out Recordings. The cassette isn't officialy out yet, but nevertheless it's available for download as one long track.

An Out Recordings is a label started 8 or 9 years ago in Australia (if I'm not mistaken) by Anna, nowadays a member of Hreinn. All the bands on An Out Recordings were extensively screened for their politics and general vibe. According to Anna's words, "when I started this there were zero anarchist black metal labels, especially in Australia, and there were absolutely zero non-white ladies doing it". During its existence, An Out Recordings managed to gather an impressive collection of bands - anarchist black metal, doom/drone, noise, etc. Of course I'm going to check out all of them sooner or later, but not right now. I have a lot of demos to review beside that, but I think I'd leave them to other editors of this blog. Either way, stay tuned!

An Out Recordings
Hreinn