Soundtracks for the end of the world

and missed opportunity for the James Bond franchise.

First of all thank you to those who have pledged to the page. I appreciate you. However, given these ramblings and musings aren’t on a regular basis, there are no plans in the foreseeable future to accept pledges or enable paid subscriptions for my drivel. These posts are something I churn out in spare time. I don’t want to be held down to a deadline or specific time-frame as much of this spews forth as knee-jerk reactions to what annoys or interests me. One can follow my bandcamp profile for an inkling of what will wind up in future posts.

What does the future hold? New Univers Zero ? The world truly is coming to an end and this will be the soundtrack. Legendary Belgian Rock In Opposition outfit have returned with Lueur. You don’t know who Univers Zero is yet you know Godspeed You! Black Emperor? Get that sorted. Stat. “Jack the Ripper” off 1979’s H​é​r​é​sie should do the trick. Elements of this new album continue the brooding, moody art rock damage in a minimalist fashion than much of the earlier albums. Pieces of Lueur have a feel that is almost King Crimson or ELP gone chamber music. Fitting that this is coming out the same time Sleepytime Gorilla Museum has announced a tour in 2024. Someone should book European shows with this… I’m sure Roadburn have the gears turning.

A new gem from Greek project ΣARΚ . Inumbris has an imprint of Ulcerate to the chords and hanging notes and to that heft there are underpinnings of synthetic textures, including the drums, that lend itself to the atmospheric black side of things moreso than a prog/tech field. The vocal attack and the layers of guitars also bring Gravenchalice to mind (which could be recency bias given I did pick their latest up within the past couple of weeks.)

New Vitriol track done up in video form. I don’t know what it is but this sort of hits with a sense of Bolzer triumph added to their charging Hate Eternal blasting thrust. The chord choices and guitar tones are further out there than Rutan and company, somewhere between the Cali “ouch” sound (Black Sheep Wall/Admiral Angry/Noriega) and Gigan and Ulcerate. Drums are an absolute avalanche of tumbling toms, double kicks, gravity blast snare. The dual vocals the sound of fighting dogs. If the entire album is set to 11 the way “the Flowers of Sadism” is it could be one gloriously fatiguing exercise in excessive force.

Austrian aqueous horrors abound on GUYOĐ’s Heart of Thy Abyss. Taking lyrical cues from Melville and Baudelaire the sonics are a far cry from Mastodon or Celtic Frost… well, maybe closer to Celtic Frost in terms of dark intonation but nothing like the ecclectic Into the Pandemonium. Musically this has a little bit of Ved Buens Ende with the ringing notes and oddball chords infused into Chilean death metal Inanna terror tactics. These guys have crafted busy songs that maintain focus and drive while navigating across twists and turns, ebbs and flows without placemarkers of traditional verse/chorus arrangements.

Grandiose long form epic from Gévaudan. Traditional doom mongering mixed with psychedelics and angsty vocals. Before you scoff you can’t sit through a 43 minute song, just think about it… you sit through albums that are longer. Treat Umbra as a Warning album you didn’t know about until now. The way this is arranged you would never know this is a single song. There are enough breaks in pace and tone shifts to trick you into thinking there are individual songs. What you have in as far as components at work are over arching impassioned vocals, keening riffs, sweetly sour solos, Trouble-esque harmonies and melodies aloft dragging drums and melodic bass runs. Take sorrowful Paradise Lost circa Shades of God and Icon and Crowbar Odd Fellows Rest riffs and dour atmosphere and you’ve got one for the ages with Umbra.

Norway’s Leonov strike me a little bit as Helium Horse Fly given additional textures, whether it is of the synthetic variety or extra layers of guitar. We have something blurring the lines between Anneke fronted The Gathering and Mogwai or Explosions in the Sky meeting Virus with a female crooner front and center of the mix. Two songs on display for now and album drops in its entirety on the 24th of November.

Dark Descent has long threatened a Jim Jones and the Kool-Ade Kids Trust Me… reissue and the day has come. I first picked up vinyl of Trust Me… after seeing an ad in Maximum Rock N Roll way back in 86. This and the Born Without A Face - The Unbecoming 7” were infusing metallic damage to the hardcore scene much like what CoC, Dr. Know, Carnivore and Sheer Terror were inflicting… one more enigmatic in terms of visual aesthetic and lyrical content (Born Without A Face) and the other (J2K2) with Trust Me… sounding like Celtic Frost being fronted by Tom Araya on a metal hesher outsider hardcore ride. One may even think of these Michigan maulers a more metal Virulence had Virulence dialed back the Black Flag and Bl’ast! and were indoctrinated on “Triumph of Death” and “Procreation of the Wicked” while weeding out. J2K2 brandish the Tom G. Warrior tone, heavy handed riffology and signature ride cymbal clatter and keep things short, simple and heavier than thou with a sense of humor the Swiss would never reveal until Into the Pandemonium and Cold Lake.

Another Dark Descent with Phobocosm - Montreal’s answer to Immolation and Anhedonist (curiously enough another Dark Descendant) where rabid, churning vintage Vigna riffage meet low register growls a la Dolan cross hanging notes, grinding drums, oddball solos and harmonies in a knotty arrangement. Is it just me or does the album artwork remind you of the forthcoming Pestilength? Which should remind you to check that track out, too, if you didn’t after No Clean Singing and I already told you so.

Axioma with a quick turnaround off the Sepsis full length with a new EP featuring new drummer Nick Amato. Songs here are packed with a lot of information in an an early Mastodon (Lethargy) meets Keelhaul (obviously) manner. Very energetic and pulverizing compositions that in spite of the detail never lose focus of the task at hand: demolition. These four songs are grabbing me more than the Sepsis album did last year. Is that recency bias or stronger song writing? I have to return to the full length to determine. What is also hitting differently is the guitar tone has a grit and heft reminding me of Chi-town’s Scientist.

Speaking of Scientist… Guitarist Eric Plonka has this new project, DRŌV, for all to hear on the debut EP below.

It seems Portishead’s Roseland NYC Live release has a 25th year anniversary expanded remaster. What really begs the question is why would this have the short version of “Sour Times” rather than the unhinged version that is clearly superior? You may think differently, but, once again, you are wrong. Further proof sometimes excess is best: another off the rails “Sour Times” performance from 98’s Bizarre Festival that is far and away better than the reserved Roseland version.

Poland’s Nihilosaur has been doing their thing nearing 20 years as an industrialized mech beast with Voivod, Treponem Pal, Soulstorm dna hybridized with Prong, Czar and perhaps even Grin-era Coroner sensibility in terms of compact, driving song writing. This is quasi-melodic without the post punk KJ leanings most industrial adjacent metal acts tend to have (or in case of Prong comprised of KJ members at a point in time.)

New Thunraz announced with “You and Me” … premiered at No Clean Singing, pilfered footage here. Retains the angularity, grit and deathly grime of previous releases and injects Moja Adrenalina and Neck post hc scuzz and noise.

Me, when confronted with dungeon synth and synth augmented raw black metal…. substitute Edgar Froese or Klaus Schulze in place of Jimi Hendrix…

Brazilian black metal mayhem from Vestígio coming in fast, furious coupled with dynamics. Some of the riffing is a little more tech-ed out and it recalls the current direction Anti-God Hand moved toward. Just who is behind this cacophony? None other than Caio Lemos of Kaatayra. So, with him at the helm you are guaranteed quality. This being at Slaughtersun speed, blazing riffs of Atheist/Cynic stretches and wheedle dee noodling in long form arrangements.

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