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Sarcofagus - Envoy of Death Savage - Hyperactive No Future, No Past - Finnish Speed & Thrash Metal Explosion 1986-1992

These Belgians did an album in 2018 called Blood Oath that I really loved. Played the shit out of it. I missed that they'd put out a follow-up in 2021 until I heard this new one a couple of months ago. Still love the debut, but neither of the two subsequent releases do anything at all for me. Booooooring. I hate when this happens, but it happens all the time, which I why I have no band loyalty. In my world you're only as good as your last album or two. And two shitty albums in a row means you're effectively dead to me. Rituals of the Dead Hand - Blood Oath, black/doom 2018 Belgium Those 3 bands sound totally different to me, so I'm not sure which vein you'd be referring to there JT. That one Iron Monkey album (Our Problem) is so badass though, might have to hit that one later. Should probably see if they have any others that are any good.

Brutal Truth - Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses, 1992 Brutal Truth - Need to Control, 1994

That is some write up and endorsement. I am soon to be taking a 17 hour flight to Perth and it sounds like this will get me most of the way there.

But why's Miles doing a tribute to the 1910's heavyweight champ? Of course you do 🙄 I hear brutal I click. It has its moments I guess, but overall there's no catchiness, no groove. I'm only 5 minutes in though, maybe it'll get better. I really like the album cover though.

Oof. Well I guess we won't have to wonder why these Nashvillians' career never went anywhere. Only maybe JT could possibly love something like this because they're good ole southern boys like him. NP: Necroracle - Arcane Impious Sorceries, black/death Spain. This is more my speed.

They look like dweebs but I don't really mind this. I can absolutely hear the Iron Monkey influence in here. Simple chunky riffs generally work for me, although these might be too simple. But it's only one song. I see they have an EP and a full length out, they're probably not gonna be my find of the month, but maybe I'll try one of them later after dinner. Swamp Coffin - Welcome to Rot FFS you can't expect us to just pass up low hanging fruit like this Doc. (or a low hanging organ 🍆) But this one hangs so low it might be a bit beneath even me, so maybe I'll leave the more obvious jokes to the Orca.

Bonded By Blood - Feed the Beast

Ok. Ok. Bought sight unseen/ sound unheard off bandcamp because I'm going to have to download it for the plane. I have The Seer and like a lot of it. But as @Thatguy says... They go on a bit. Sometimes I wonder if this stuff is really for people that smoke a pipe and wear a cravat, but I like to be involved and not miss out on a cool soundscape. I had that Neurosis + Jarboe in my wishlist but never made it to a purchase, which is weird because I'd typically get anything with the neurosis name on it. Although, apparently not Scott Kelly anymore.

Ironically, no, I should fix that! I was a pretty big Neurosis fan first in the aughts and had no idea who Jarboe was but kept reading about Swans as influence and finally dipped my toes in 2012 with Seer. I like to say that years of listening drone metal prepared me as a listener to The Seer. By the time I finally went into their back discog and figured out who Jarboe was, that N/J collab was so far in my review, I never listened to it.

Very true! And another great choice with the legendary Death. Not a single bad album in their discography, which was cut way too short with Chuck's untimely death.

Death Angel - Act III

Bathory - Nordland I

Now just to be clear, I didn't say it was the best thing I've ever heard in my life, just that there is nothing I've heard that sounds like this album. Swans were O.G. influencers.

Yeah I wasn't quite on board with Psychosis but Inflikted was a good album. NP: Death - Scream Bloody Gore

Fantastic choice, my friend! An album I revisit frequently. Heavy, aggressive, and fierce - the Cavalera way!

Cavalera Conspiracy - Inflikted

COLLAPSED / ADRESTIA - Antitheism

Belushi Speed Ball - Face Schmelted In Nine Minutes Or Less

I haven't heard anything else quite like it either. It's been years since I put myself through it. The voice recordings are really unsettling. I remember reading somewhere that they combed through a lot of secondhand tapes from pawn shops and so forth, but I don't actually know the backstory for those. As far as the later stuff goes... kudos to them, and I like it. I really got into the immersive soundscape of To Be Kind. But none of it is as compelling to me as the pre-breakup material. Maybe that's just because I listened to it so much when I was younger. Maybe part of it is also what Jarboe added. I don't get into her solo stuff, but she brought so much depth and weirdness to the band.

Swans/Soundtracks for the Bind (1996)-It's been said by many, that in a career of making weird albums, this is the weirdest album Swans ever made. love it or hate it-and fans fall on both sides of the fence (I am on the love side) there is nothing like this album. The album that was the final straw breaking the Swans for 14 years. They reformed in 2010'ish and they came to more general notoriety in 2012 with their massive trilogy beginning with The Seer in 2012 which garnered a great deal of praise in all music internet sites that cover left of field experimental music, which is when I discovered them. 2012 was when I got into headfi and hifi gear, put together a proper listening system and started following the machinations beyond metal. At any rate, Soundtracks for the Blind (2 discs, 4 LPs) and 26 tracks is a herculean listen at over 2 hours. It's long been a favorite for fans of experimental rock music. Some would say it's been eclipsed post 2010 in terms of what Gira strove to achieve-some kind of transcendental music that pulls from many genres. It's an album that requires patience, there is over indulgence and bloat to be sure, but I find the entire experience utterly compelling. The roots to Soundtracks predates 1996 some 10 years to the beginning of the Swans existence and is as you might guess, conceived to be the soundtrack to movie that never existed. There's quite a bit ambient music and overall vibe of ambient drone on this album, but also explosive music and field recordings, and creepy, voyeuristic voice tracks. I believe Gira and Jarboe both recorded people in their lives with mental and physical health problems to create a sense of watching a film designed to give the listener a feeling of discomfort. The album is unsettling and beautiful. Much credit has to go to Jarboe, Gira's long time collaborator who has one of the most elastic, powerful, beautiful and at times brutal female voices in experimental music. In fact, the entire album has a combined effect of surrealist experience-reminiscent of a bizarre David Lynch movie and other worldly experience beyond the capacity to explain in words. The voice overs create a sense of watching a haunting documentary of some corner of the underbelly of twisted human existence-ne'er do wells living sordid, utterly depressing lives-something that draws me in, repels me but I just can't take my eyes off the screen--- or perhaps, turning to look at the multi car accident on the other side of the highway-traffic backed up for miles, emergency vehicles, cars burning, bodies on stretchers....and you just can't restrain yourself from slowing down to look at the carnage. There is nothing that I've heard that sounds like this album.

Afterbirth - In But Not Of (2023) Slimelord - Chytridiomycosis Relinquished (2024)

No issue, no need to defend. I'm surprised that you love it. Knowing how demanding and analytical you are in your listening, it seems incongruous to me. I feel like if you heard the musical equivalent of something this derivative and poorly executed, you'd have a scathing review ready to go before the end of the first song. I do think there's a very broad spectrum of "good art", and something doesn't need to be technically impressive to be impactful and meaningful, and being a good illustration is outside of both of those considerations. But even with that in mind I think this cover art sucks. It flaunts a lack of effort. So many other images in the genre are just way cooler and better done. I don't really put a lot of stock in cover art either way but this makes me a bit less likely to want to listen to the music. So yeah, I'm a little surprised to see your high standards for music juxtaposed with genuine enjoyment of this piece. But I'm also not telling you what to enjoy... if this works for you, then great. You are the target audience. Love wins.

Set I saw Saturday night was only from the first 3 albums. Might have to pick those up. Another show tonight. Goth night with the girls. First local show I've ever managed to get the wife to. Twin Tribes - Pendulum Urban Heat - Wellness