HOLY SHIT THIS IS GREAT

Check out the video for "Slander" off of the new(ish) Trash Talk EP.



While you're at it get the EP here.

Yeah, but I'm kinda diggin' it.

Step 1: Play the below video.



Step 2: Mute this video, then press play. Watch.



Step 3: Repeat.

Portal- Outre' (2007)

I feel like I've been listening to and talking about this band a lot recently, so I suppose I'll post some.

I was quite surprised when Portal blew up after their 2009 album Swarth. Prior to that they were very much a fringe band in black and death metal circles. That part I didn't find so surprising, Portal is unquestionably one of the most challenging bands to listen to that I've ever heard. So when they started popping up on some of the bigger metal websites and blogs and NPR featured a video of their performance at Maryland Deathfest (see below) I was a bit astounded. Perhaps it's the fact that they signed with Profound Lore Records, who get a lot of press. Maybe its the costumes or the disquieting live atmosphere or their commendable commitment to things Lovecraftian in all facets of the band. Or maybe it is the music, I have no idea.

I don't mean to make it sound like Portal isn't a great band, they are, they're just the antithesis of the lowest common denominator dreck that gets recycled around the web's metalsphere (see: Revocation). The guitar sounds like a swarm of bees, if the bees were the size of Labrador Retrievers. Or maybe more like the wail of some monolithic ancient beast loosed from its prison at the bottom of the sea. The wall of sound rolls over you like some sort of sick off-kilter tide, making you queasy. The vocals sound like what I imagine the exhalations of a dry-throated long deceased corpse would sound like. The drumming seems unhinged, erratic, even sloppy at times. Wait, I'm not doing this right again.

Portal is one of the most frightening bands I've ever heard. Outre' features some of the strangest and most awesome guitar playing you'll ever hear, if you can make heads or tails of it that is. Also, it's my favorite Portal album. Yeah, that's the ticket.

Portal at last.fm

This song is off their 2009 album Swarth.


This one is on the album you're about to download.


Get it here.

Ghoul- Transmission Zero (2011)

I've been patiently waiting for this album to leak so I can post the video below. Watch it.



Nice.

Anyway, Creepsylvania's finest are back with another slab of death-tinged thrash, b-horror movie schlock, axe murder, Killbot antics and surf rock. Ghoul albums are always a blast to listen to and Transmission Zero is no exception. As usual, riffs abound and they haven't lost their touch when it comes to writing anthemic sci-fi thrash odysseys. In case you aren't familiar with Ghoul, members have also spent time in Bay Area bands such as Asunder, Dystopia, Ludicra, Exhumed and Impaled. Though if you ask they'll say they have no idea what you're talking about and that they hail from a small Eastern European town whose major export is tar and primary industry is toxic waste disposal.

Ghoul on last.fm

Get it here.

Ghost cover the Beatles

My interest was piqued when I heard that Sweden's Ghost did a cover of the Beatles' "Here Comes The Sun." If you haven't heard about Ghost yet, they've become rather infamous in the metal scene. Part of it is the schtick. As you can see from the photo in the YouTube video below, the singer wears a rather elaborate antipope get up and everybody else in the band wears cowls. Part of it is the mystery surrounding the band, nobody knows who they are. I've heard plenty of theories as their identities, including Swedish death and black metal royalty. Part of it is the music. Ghost play very Blue Oyster Cult sounding traditional heavy metal with orthodox satanic lyrics. For those reasons some people hate it, some people love it. Personally I think everything about Ghost is extraordinary well done, from the aesthetics to the extremely tight, modern take on traditional metal.

Anyway, the cover of "Here Comes The Sun" is everything that a cover should be. The song being covered is recognizable, but Ghost have made it their own, transforming a relentlessly hopeful track into something moody and downtrodden. Check it out for yourself.



In case the cover made you curious, here's a link to Ghost's full length Opus Eponymous.

Hitler Reacts To The New Morbid Angel Album

Perhaps you're familiar with this internet meme, perhaps not. This is fantastic. I haven't heard the new Morbid Angel album, but if it's as big a piece of shit as the entire internet is saying it is it must be one whale of a turd.