White Medal - Yorkshire Steel demo [2012]

YAAAAAARKSHIRE! YAAAAAARKSHIRE! Or so we say whenever we come across a Southerner (for what it's worth, the Scottish are Southerners too). White Medal originally attracted my attention with their 2010 Agbrigg Beast demo - and although that didn't seem to be much cop at the time, it's grown on me. Still, this is a lot better. For a band that have been around just 5 years, White Medal have certainly done splits with some prominent bands - first the almighty Skullflower (back in 2010), and more recently Caïna (meh), and Slægt (I haven't heard the split itself yet, but Slægt are a solid Danish band - their S/T demo is worth a listen). As for this, well, it's raw black metal. Far from revolutionary, but what White Medal do, they do it very well. Songs are constructed with a hypnotic feeling, and this is well achieved.

128 kbps

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Re-upload: Pulling Teeth - Martyr Immortal [2007]

This is one of the best recent hardcore albums. The anger and hatred in it is obvious, and although I don't agree with all the lyrical ideas (I think vegetarianism is illogical (veganism, not so much)), it is nonetheless rousing and thoughtful. Closer to 'Scum' than 'Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables'.

Re-upload notes: Yes, there are breakdowns. No, this does not make the album shit. They are tastefully used and very effective. All of Pulling Teeth's other material is also good, except for their swansong last year, the name of which escapes me for the moment, but that was bitterly disappointing.

160 kbps

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Atomski Rat - Iluzije Stvarnosti [2012]

I haven't even heard this shit yet, but I was so excited when it popped up on the Degen Erik (excellent blog) RSS that I just had to post it. Seriously, Atomski Rat's debut EP (I think it was up here but it's still a Megaupload link - I'll sort that out in the next few days) was some seriously good noisy, crusty hardcore shit and essentially got me into the awesome Serbian music scene (also check out Dishumanity in particular). For a short while earlier in the year, it was looking like the band was never going to release more material but now they have - and it's a full-length (although I'm as of yet unsure of its actual length I'm guessing it'll be around 25-30 minutes long). The track I've heard from Youtube is very solid too, and there are some other samples on there in case my fanboyism wasn't enough to convince you. I never normally do this but I'm nicking a link from Degen Erik (dear other blogs, if you use a link at least acknowledge the source):

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Septic Grave - Beyond The... demo [1994]

Septic Grave were a little-known Swedish death metal demo act - no significant 'members of' (they have links to Prophanity and The Embraced but nobody else), and they only released this demo and the Caput Mortuum EP. It's a shame, because this demo is really good. It has a semi-Sunlight Studios sounding production, but it doesn't really fit too many of the common features of Swedeath - it doesn't have the rapid pace of any of the scene forerunners, except for the rare use of blastbeats. Admittedly, that may be due to their relatively late appearance on the scene, allowing foreign influence to more thoroughly permeate their sound, but nonetheless, this is excellent material with great songwriting. If you're fearful of demo sound quality, don't be, because this is incredibly well mixed - each instrument can be clearly heard along with all the melodies (and I don't mean that in a gay Gothenburg manner but more in a strictly musical manner).

256 kbps

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Mule Skinner - Abuse [1996]

Mule Skinner are a death/grind band from Louisiana who are not particularly famous (indeed, the only member they share with any remotely famous band is ex-vocalist Joe Caper with Righteous Pigs), but who make that sort of death/grind that just hits the spot - it's aggressive and full of blastbeats, but with enough breaks from that to give an element of variety to the album. This is their only full-length album, and before this, they had only released a demo and a single. It's excellent stuff, though, and I highly recommend it to fans of Harmony Corruption-era Napalm Death, and particularly to fans of Abuse (that's ironic)-era Wormrot, or, in fact, to any grindcore fan. Give it a pop.

VBR, v1

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Doomed - From The Crypt EP [2010]

Doomed are a Slovenian death metal band. That's the simple introduction to them. I'll continue by saying that their music is available free from Bandcamp, and that it's a mixture of the old school (particularly Morbid Angel to my ears) with a splash of new school mannerisms thrown in (don't worry, this doesn't mean Necrofaggist-wank or breakdowns). Sure, this could describe a whole bunch of bands, but what sets Doomed apart is their ability to write songs - particularly opener proper of this EP - 'Chainsaw Puzzle' - but every track is well constructed and a joy to listen to. They're changing their name to Verminate soon because (quote from their set at BoA) 'some assholes took our name', but from what I've heard of their new material, it's equally solid. Somebody should sign these guys before they start writing shit music (the three links here are just examples of what happens when death metal bands' creative juices are left to stir for too long - the reason why we want Doomed to make more music quickly!).

320 kbps

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Dispair - The Progress Of Human Extinction demo [2012]

I just heard this whilst surfing the blogosphere, and I was so impressed I decided to post it here immediately. Dispair is a Finnish crust band with heavy reliance on d-beats, but the music is great - think a base of Why-era Discharge with a nice sprinkling of Anarkist Attack era Anti-Cimex. So basically the sounds of two d-beat legends combined in 2012. This sort of music is so rarely made nowadays that anyone making it is actually doing something quite original despite the style having been around 30-odd years. Dispair are going to be great in the future. Watch this space.

Bandcamp link, so variety of bitrates

Bandcamp

Profecium - Socialismo Satánico [1997]

Arguably the first RABM (Red and Anarchist black metal) album, this is as much a piece of history as a piece of music. Also one of the first Argentinian extreme metal bands, Profecium were innovators in every sense of the word. It's all in Spanish, but there isn't much ambiguity to 'Proletarios Uníos' and the like.

N.B. Sound quality sucks, but it's probably a third or fourth generation tape rip, and it's really difficult to find a better version.

Re-upload notes: Haven't listened to this one in a while, but I remember it being pretty good. Go for it. Don't let the politics put you off.

128 kbps

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Greedy Mouth - Eat//Smoke//Poop demo [2012]

So I re-uploaded the first Greedy Mouth demo for you yesterday, and hopefully it's whet your whistle for this one. I honestly couldn't pick between the two. This one's longer, although it's still a short release. Anyway, back to the music. Female-fronted powerviolence, despite being more common than most other extreme music genres, is still something of a rarity (I think Stapled Shut and Despise You might have female elements to their vocal attack but don't hold me to that, I don't look this shit up unless I'm posting something). Greedy Mouth certainly make it work well. Each of the tracks here is a little bit more focused on the musical approach rather than the samples (although the delightful samples are still very much present).

256 kbps (or whatever from Bandcamp)

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Re-upload: Greedy Mouth - Demo 2010 [2010]

I wouldn't lie to you, my faithful readers. This demo is fucking ridiculous. Powerviolence at its logical extreme - spanning 6 tracks, the six tracks of this span just 127 SECONDS, approximately half of which is made up of samples. All this culminates in a swift, sharp kick to the bollocks. Particularly fun is the longest track of the bunch; entitled 'Wax On, Wax Off', it comes in at 31 seconds. Highly recommended.

Re-upload notes: I still think this band has the potential to be one of the biggest powerviolence acts in a couple of years if they keep churning out releases of this, the Eat//Smoke//Poop demo (coming soon) and the Seitan Worshipping Power Violence EP. Keep your eyes open.

160 kbps

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Cranioclast - Koitlaransk [1989]

Now it would be ridiculous for me to claim to be an expert in the realm of industrial, but I know the odd thing. One of said things is that this is good. Cranioclast is a German industrial duo named after a piece of surgical equipment. The interesting thing about the music is its tendency to hop between ambient, industrial and noisy elements without ever going into the realm of accessibility that the likes of Skinny Puppy and Throbbing Gristle occasionally would. The music as a whole has an ethereal and vulgar beauty to it, and really, I'd recommend the album to anyone open to unconventional styles of music. If anyone knows what the album title means then it would be great if you could let me know in the comments section.

N.B. The rip is split into two sides of the LP rather than the individual tracks of the album.

320 kbps

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Enterro - Nunc Scio Tenebris Lux [2008]

Yes, I'm aware that I've been slacking more than a little with my posting schedule of late, but that should end now - I've had exams until yesterday, but now I have a glorious thirteen weeks off. Anyway, to the matter in hand. Enterro is a Brazilian black metal band - and although there is a smattering of blasting in their music, it's mostly midpaced, although I'd say that their style is such that they're equally effective at both tempos. The album is very much in the riffing style of recent Beherit, although perhaps with a little bit more speed - certainly, though, 'All In Satan' off Engram would fit very well on this album. It's not particularly original, but it is very well done, and certainly impressive for a self-released debut album. I haven't yet heard last year's follow-up, and based on the MA reviews, it's not as good, but this is an underrated album that deserves much more attention.

192 kbps

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Re-upload: Syphilitic Vaginas - Complete Studio Collection [2008]

All the craziest music seems to come from Japan, and this is no exception. Steaming black/thrash with some eccentric moments, in the vein of Abigail or the Japanese Sabbat, this is not one to miss; and they get extra marks for their name!

Re-upload notes: The reason why uploads are coming fairly slowly at the moment is that I think my laptop's still slightly fucked and I'm in the middle of exam season.

128 kbps

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Mortification - Scrolls Of The Megilloth [1992]

I may be a mysterious enigma, but my reasons for uploading this now are actually fairly straightforward. One, it's a fantastic album. Two, the new EP of theirs popped up in an RSS feed of mine, which prompted me to post this (I've been intending to for quite a while). Mortification are an Australian thrashy death metal band who are mostly talked about for their Christian lyrical themes, but don't be dissuaded, the music is not in the slightest bit gimmicky. Indeed, this is one of the hookiest old school death metal albums you'll hear for a long time - and no, I'm not talking Slaughter Of The Soul hooks, I'm talking vicious, fast-paced hooks. Hooks designed to tear through human flesh.

320 kbps

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The Cumshots - A Life Less Necessary [2009]

Download this now for your own sake! This is music at its best. Rock combined with metal with gallons of emotion poured in. Catchy, interesting, complex, amazing. I can't stress how amazing this album is. Hailing from Norway you'd think with their comic name The Cumshots' music would be the same but this is not the case, it is full of profound music. If you like any rock or metal you have to listen to this, no excuse.

220+ kbps VBR

Re-upload notes: Uploaded due to request but I really do encourage everyone to download, and then buy, this brilliant rock album.


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The Swanky's - The Very Best Of Hero [1985]

Yes, that apostrophe irritates me as much as it does you. But I'm willing to overlook it just this once, as this is pretty much the defining album of Japanese hardcore punk. As that won't mean much to many of my readers, imagine if S.O.B. had released Don't Be Swindle in the early to mid 80s - this essentially sounds like that (with a few differences, obviously). Don't worry, it's also the case that this sounds far more different to Never Mind The Bollocks than the cover would suggest. In reality, this is proto-grind, with the emphasis on the 'proto'; for much of the album this is closer to standard punk than grind or powerviolence, but when The Swanky's (ugh) let rip, for instance on 'Damaging Noise', one can certainly hear a few of those sounds in the mix.

320 kbps

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Re-upload: Manilla Road - Crystal Logic [1983]

Manilla Road are a perpetually underrated speed/power metal band, with elements of thrash. Throughout their 14 album career, they have not released a bad one, however, this is their best. And their lyric 'I'm lost in necropolis' will always sound to me like 'I'm lost in the gravalax'.

Re-upload notes: I was just listening to this today and it struck me how good it was, and how I should therefore re-upload it. This is essential.

128 kbps

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František Xaver Dušek - Symphony In G Major, Altner G2

N.B. This post is tagged with the year of his death as I cannot find any information about when exactly the symphony was written. František Xaver Dušek was a Czech composer, who despite writing his music mainly in the Baroque era, mainly wrote in a Classical style, something which is clear to see (well, hear) here. That's not to say that he didn't take influence from the bourgeoning canon of his contemporaries; one can also clearly hear the kind of jangly stringed instruments that wouldn't be a surprise in a Vivaldi composition. However, the main influence was a Classical one, and this led to the work here, which is surprisingly bombastic for a pre-Romantic work. It's also rather short - at only 20-something minutes long it should be rather appealing to those who can't stomach 40+ minutes of classical at once (and I know you're not alone if you fit this description). An underrated and excellent composer.

192 kbps

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Dead Head - Dream Deceiver [1993]

Dead Head are one of the bands who the thrash world just seemed to overlook a little. Whilst the likes of Thanatos get far more praise than their work's due, Dead Head here created a classic death/thrash album and rarely get mentioned. The great thing about this album is that they're not afraid to vary the speed a little; and the variations work. Take, for instance, the song 'I Or The Needle'. A slow burner of the type that not many will be used to in the thrash, but it also happens to be one of the best songs on the album. Of course, there's also hyper-aggressive deathrash in abundance, and the delightful balance here between the two extremes makes the album extremely satisfying.

320 kbps

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Re-upload: Ария (Aria) - Герой Асфальта (Hero Of Asphalt) [1987]

I found out about this in the first place when a friend got me a tape of it on a holiday in Estonia. Back then, I was more into Devildriver than Death, and so promptly dismissed it as boring dad-rock. I dug it out of a box earlier this year, and no longer having a tape player, decided to download it. And what a good album it is. Full of heroic vocals, Maiden-esque guitar duelling and catchy choruses (although they're sung in Russian, so I don't know what they're about).

N.B. The song titles on the files are English translations of the Russian originals.

320 kbps

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