Whores- Ruiner (2012)

Huzzah! First release of 2012 to be posted on the blog. I'm in the middle of listening to this for the first time so I don't really have a long-winded description for you. Whores play Melvins and 90's Am-Rep inspired sludge. It's pretty gnarly.

*Edit* Shit. There's a little glitch in the 4th song. I'll post a new link when I find a copy that isn't corrupted, thus far I have only been able to find it one place.  



Get it here (direct link).

Fleshpress- No Return & Rebuild/Crumble (2010) METAL ALERT

These are my two favorite EPs from last year. For those of you unfamiliar with Fleshpress, their drummer is Mikko Aspa, the lead singer of the almighty Deathspell Omega. Despite having a member of the best black metal band on the planet, there are only flashes of said genre throughout Fleshpress' music. Most of what Fleshpress plays falls under the heading of doom. What type of doom? I don't really know anymore. A few years ago I would have called Fleshpress a sludge band, but their 2007 album Pillars was a lumbering beast of a drone album. Now they seem to have embraced the genre as a whole, taking elements from every sub-genre of doom. On No Return and Rebuild/Crumble you'll hear elongated drone sections, Eyehategod-esqe sludge (including the faster, punkish parts EHG was also known for), bluesy Bongzilla style stoner doom riffs, psychedelic guitar leads and yes, a wee bit o' black metal. Open your ears and hearts to hate.

Fleshpress on last.fm



Get it here.

Gems: Dead End Life Crawling Through Shit And Blood Soul Burning, Spiral Filter Forcing You Down To Black Pyramid, Rebuild.

New Thou Material

Thou has posted tracks from some of their upcoming releases to their site. There are a lot of bands who, even when I'm looking forward to a new album, there's the worry that it's going to be a disappointment or the knowledge that the band in all likelihood won't ever be able to top a previous album of theirs. Thou is not one of those bands. Which is all the more astounding due to the fact that they're so ridiculously prolific. Anyway, if Summit didn't do it for you and you miss the bludgeon you to death Thou of old, then these EPs are for you.

To The Chaos Wizard Youth EP
Big City EP (Split w/ Cower)
The Archer & The Owle EP

Wizard Smoke- The Speed of Smoke (2011) METAL ALERT

Really digging this, could make the top of 2011 list. Wizard Smoke is a stoner doom band (though you could probably guess based on the name and album title. Wizard Smoke was also an Ol' Scratch song title...) from Atlanta. Much of what they play is based on the NeurIsis handbook, what some people have been calling "atmospheric sludge" (which I always thought sounded silly) or "progressive sludge". There's also some worship at the Sabbathian altar and some Bongzilla-esque heavy blues to be heard on The Speed of Smoke. Overall excellent, sludgy, weedy, doom with some keyboards to add a bit of a psychedelic element to the sound. On first listen I wasn't so sure about the vocals. Not the vocals themselves, they're of the screechy, throat-shredding variety that I so adore, but they way they're recorded. They have that somewhat hollow, echoing sound that you hear a lot on black metal albums. However, after a few listens I started to enjoy them and now I think they're totally awesome with the sound that Wizard Smoke cultivates. Use your earballs.

Wizard Smoke on last.fm



Get it here. Wizard Smoke lets you download this for free! 

Gems: Dead Wood, Butcher, Panama II, Witches Brew

Indian- Guiltless (2011) METAL ALERT

I was pretty happy when I saw that Indian signed to Relapse last year. Having followed them pretty closely for a number of years, I didn't think they quite got the recognition they deserved. Hopefully being on Relapse will change that. Chicago's Indian have made a name for themselves playing a mix of slow, bludgeoning doom, sprinkled with sludgier mid-paced riffs and scathing vocals that would be equally at home on a black metal record. Guiltless features more of the same, though the band seems to have allowed the black metal influence to show up in more than the vocals. This is particularly true of "The Fate Before Fate." On the first listen, the acoustic track "Supplicants" seemed a bit out of place, but after repeated listenings it's a nice, albeit sinister respite from the pummeling that is the rest of the album. Produced by Buried at Sea mastermind Sanford Parker, this thing sounds absolutely huge. Also, the Scott Fricke artwork is awesome as usual, I'm surprised more bands haven't gone to him for their album art. Another early contender for the best of 2011.

Indian on last.fm

Get it here.

Gems: No Grace, The Fate Before Fate, Guilty, The End of Truth.