Coalesce
Ox
Relapse (2009)
As much as I may or may not be completely objective when attempting record reviews, I must admit that this is probably not capable of happening when it comes to Coalesce's new album, Ox. Quite literally ten years in the making, Ox is the band's first new album since 0:12: Revolution in Just Listening and the subject of much anxiety … Read more
Coalesce
Ox (EP)
Relapse (2009)
If ever the term spoiled could be used, do it now right now because that is what Coalesce is doing to its listeners with the release of their latest EP, aptly entitled Ox by the way. Following an extremely long layoff due to (of all things) breaking up, Coalesce return with a ton of new material which this EP is … Read more
Coffins
The Fleshland
Relapse (2013)
Since the release of their debut album, Mortuary in Darkness which came out in 2005, Coffins started building a cult aura around them. This was further developed with the release of their next two full-length albums, The Other Side of Blasphemy (2006) and Buried Death (2008), while on the same time their split releases, with great acts such as Otesanek, The Arm and Sword of a Bastard God, Stormcrow, Hooded … Read more
Coliseum / Young Widows
Split
Relapse (2006)
First off, the packaging on this limited release is top notch. It's a screen-printed, foil stamped, cardboard "case" that is all folded like a bit of origami (not really, but it is cool nonetheless). It is a tour CD (you might be able to get from the Auxiliary web store) that served as a teaser for the Young Widows' full-length … Read more
Death Breath
Let it Stink
Relapse (2007)
Alright, let's look at the stats: Name: Death Breath. A truly ridiculous name for a band of any genre Albums: Stinking Up the Night, Let it Stink. Are you kidding? Album Covers: Pictures of zombies, paintings of zombies. The new EP featuring a parody of The Beatles' Let it Be cover. With zombies. For real? Is Weird Al Yankovic in … Read more
Disfear
Live the Storm
Relapse (2008)
After what is quickly becoming a normative hiatus for this Swedish five-piece band, Disfear delivers their latest blast of d-beat influenced mayhem onto the masses. Live the Storm is their second full length with Tomas Lindberg, vocalist of At the Gates and an innumerable number of other heavy bands, and the first with former Entombed guitarist Uffe Cederlund, as well … Read more
Ex Eye
Ex Eye
Relapse (2017)
Colin Stetson, a fantastic saxophone player, came into prominence due to his collaboration with various indie rock bands, in the likes of Arcade Fire and Bon Iver. However, his interests lie further away from the confinements of indie rock, and into the experimental realm, where jazz, avant-garde and experimental music meet. He has been quite busy in 2017, releasing his excellent solo work, All … Read more
General Surgery
Like An Ever Flying Limb
Relapse (2012)
General Surgery has taken a ton of shit over the years. Most of it regarding the band being derivative. The band that gets thrown into every article about General Surgery? Carcass, yeah that Carcass, the British institution of brutality. One can't accuse General Surgery of not wearing their influences on their collective sleeve. So beyond that the band has managed … Read more
Genghis Tron
Board Up the House
Relapse (2008)
Genghis Tron occupies a very precarious place in the world of music. Unlike most "polarizing" bands like The Locust or Blut Aus Nord, Genghis Tron does not have a "demographic" to appeal to. And let me explain. Genghis Tron is a three-piece synth-riding experimental metal band. Or, on the other hand, you could just as easily call them a blast-beat … Read more
Graves At Sea
The Curse That Is
Relapse (2016)
During the early to mid '00s, Graves at Sea had acquired a legendary stature. Their first demo, Documents of Grief, revealed a band that had an exceptional handle on sludge, retaining the weight and extremity of the genre, combined with a sickening perspective. A single, Cirrhosis/Atavist Arise, was released the following year through Southern Lord, and the most revered release … Read more
High on Fire
Death is this Communion
Relapse (2007)
What else can you expect from High on Fire other than an album with a thick, punishing sound that just sort of rumbles on across the hour or so that it takes to listen? For a band as consistent at their craft as High on Fire, it may come as a shock that this release includes the debut of the … Read more
Horseback
Half Blood
Relapse (2012)
I remember distinctly the first time I was introduced to Horseback. It was by their 2012 album Half Blood, and I'm told that my experiences were pretty standard. For the uninitiated, your first few seconds of listening to Horseback will inevitably go something like this:"Hm. This is some pretty interesting post-rocky stuff. Oh, hold on, something's messed up with this … Read more
Indian
From All Purity
Relapse (2014)
There's a song on Indian's From All Purity titled "Directional" and given the Chicago-based band's implementation of new ideas such as fuzzed out guitars and meat cleaver sludged riffs, it'd be easy to make a joke about the group going in new directions. However, the phrase "new direction" implies a sort of willingness. From All Purity, the group's fifth full-length and second on … Read more
Inter Arma
Sky Burial
Relapse (2013)
If there is any definitive point to life, certainly it must involve leaving something behind that has a positive impact that is discernible well after you are gone. While most of us will ultimately fail to have that kind of effect, we all have the great privilege of being the affected. Inter Arma are a band that have obviously been … Read more
Inter Arma
Sulphur English
Relapse (2019)
In the early ‘10s it felt like the progressive sludge scene had produced all of its great records, and that moving forwards the genre would settle in a plateau state. But in the underground, there was one band that was still not contempt with the confinements of the genre, and they displayed that with their debut record Sundown. Inter Arma’s … Read more
Inter Arma
The Cavern
Relapse (2014)
With their sophomore album, Sky Burial, Inter Arma released one of the best metal albums of the past year. Their style of playing brought to mind the earlier days of Mastodon and Baroness, but Inter Arma was not merely borrowing ideas from the two great acts. The vibe that Sky Burial had was much darker and bleaker than any of … Read more
John Frum
A Stirring in the Noos
Relapse (2017)
Technicality in death metal is a very common treat, and it has been present within the genre since its beginnings. Through time this idea has evolved, moving from the likes of Death and Suffocation to acts like Artificial Brain and Ulcerate. John Frum is a new entry in this tradition, formed by members of some elite bands of the extreme … Read more
Locrian
Infinite Dissolution
Relapse (2015)
Locrian’s approach to metal is to disassemble the core structures, push them further away from their crude beginnings and delve into building them back up again into towering walls of sound and phases of light and dark. Infinite Dissolution is a record that shares small similarities to the genre that it’s born from, mostly in Terence Hannum’s hoarse screams and … Read more
