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Lycus

Chasms
Relapse (2016)

Extreme doom/death is not an easy sound to get right. Despite the fact that most bands in the genre will just play slow and release heavy riffs, that is not enough to get someone's attention. There must something deeper in the band's sound in order to give you that feeling of desolation and despair. Lycus is a band that knows … Read more

Ali Muhareb

Existentially Wasted
Making New Enemies label (2016)

The concept of being “existentially wasted” seems somewhat appropriate in the context of increasingly confused (and confusing) modern society. It's a concept that could easily have been born out of something like The Matrix, a process of being burnt out on being. Modern humans are often simply swamped with information, much of which seems utterly useless in the bigger scheme … Read more

The Hussy

Galore
Southpaw (2015)

Why have children when I can just listen to my music and watch the bands change and grow instead? First they learned to stumble, then to walk, and finally to slow dance. Er, I dunno. This metaphor fell apart before it even hit the page.What didn’t fall apart are Wisconsin duo The Hussy, a guitar and drum two-piece that falls … Read more

Baroness

Purple
Abraxan Hymns (2015)

Through their career, Baroness has spawned a series of excellent works. From their early Mastodon-ian EPs to the evolution of their own unique sound with Red Album and Blue Record and the adventurous routes that led to the release of their most ambitious work Yellow & Green, the band has remained a constant force in heavy music. A horrendous accident … Read more

Oakeater

Aquarius
Sige (2015)

Oakeater is a Chicago outfit formed in the mid '00s. I must admit I was not familiar with their work before I saw that the band would be releasing their newest album, Aquarius. However, a listen of their cassette, Intrusion, got me interested so I started digging. Apart from a few standalone releases on cassette format, as well as their … Read more

200 Words Or Less

See Through Dresses

End of Days EP
Tiny Engines (2015)

See Through Dresses' sound is lathered in squealing, wailing guitars that melt and sway in the sludge of the rawest depths of grunge. The frazzled cocoon that is "Everyman" is laced with the threat "Wait 'til father gets home" delivered in a neutral tone while the guitars frantically crash through the song. There's a constant juxtaposition between the vocals and … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Wall Of Water

Promo 2015
Independent (2015)

The deliciously gloomy album art on Wall of Water's two-track Promo 2015 features what seems to be a long-abandoned roller coaster rotting away in the elements, an image that seems to jive with the downbeat but arresting style of music played by band members Cullen Toner (multi-instrumentalist and vocalist) and Shawn Eldridge (drummer). Keyboard adds to the occasionally almost theatrical … Read more

David Bowie

★ (Blackstar)
ISO Records / Columbia (2016)

David Bowie has always stood outside the lines. In the last decade or so, every album release came as a surprise of sorts: no media circus or worldwide promo tour. Each release showed Bowie slipping into his older years with something more stable stylistically. Here on his 69th birthday we get his 25th album, Blackstar. In an almost complete lack … Read more

Corrections House

Know How To Carry A Whip
Neurot Recordings (2015)

It was just a couple of years back when Corrections House were putting out their debut album, Last City Zero. Comprised of veterans in extreme and experimental music, including Scott Kelly, Bruce Lamont, Sanford Parker and Mike IX Williams, the band ventures forth into the realm of electro-industrial, encompassing elements of metal and noise in the way to reaching their … Read more

Tymon Dogg

Made Of Light
Thin Man Music (2015)

Sometimes you follow a musician for years, only to learn something that should have stood out at the start. Today’s lesson is Tymon Dogg, related subject: Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros and The Clash. Apparently Dogg has played frequently with The Mescaleros and been a songwriting partner to Strummer, even appearing on The Clash’s “Lose My Skin” (Sandanista!).With many namedrops, … Read more

Julien Baker

Sprained Ankle
6131 (2015)

Similar to how people said, “Alright, I guess we’re done with the novel now” after James Joyce’s Ulysses, I thought, “Alright, I guess we’re done with the singer-songwriter genre now” after Sun Kil Moon’s Benji, with its overwhelmingly detailed accounts of second cousins’ deaths and watching The Song Remains the Same. When I took a class on Ulysses (God, why … Read more

Sun Worship

Elder Giants
Translation Loss (2015)

Back in early 2014 Elder Giants dropped like a bomb in the midst of the black metal scene. The German outfit had previously released a couple of splits (with Earth Chaos and Unru) as well as an EP and a demo, but their debut album found them on a whole different level. Their work managed to encompass different aspects of … Read more

Pas Musique

Inside the Spectrum
Alrealon Musique (2015)

Forming in Brooklyn in 1995 as a collective based around abstract sound, Pas Musique translates to “Not Music” in French, a fact which gives some indication of what the adventurous listener is in store for on limited 2015 release Inside the Spectrum. That being said, much of what is contained in the wild, ten-track album is actually quite musical, though … Read more

Loud Boyz

Tough Love, Hard Feelings
Cricket Cemetery (2015)

Before I get started I’m going to dish out a rare complement. Loud Boyz have a good, fitting name. Even the record title, Tough Love, Hard Feelings is apt of their sound: rough, distant, yet with a clear emotional connection. Sure, the record cover is…let’s say odd, and I kind of hate the whole “z” in place of “s” thing, … Read more

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