Alement - Alestorm

Shameless self promotion time. This is my band's first demo. Give it a listen.

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Windhand - S/T

Windhand is a relatively new doom metal band from Richmond, Virginia. I've only just recently discovered them, but they have immediately caught my attention. This self-title is their first official release, and it is truly something to behold. The general pace is slow and it grinds and chunks along with a beautiful liquid motion. Guitars are heavy and distorted, the bass is fuzzy and grindy, and the vocals smoothly and eerily flow over top of it all. There is some really cool experimental effects and aspects thrown in on top of it too. Windhand creates a feel like very few albums can, and it's real easy to lose yourself while listening to it. Standout songs are "Libusen" and "Summon the Moon". I'm really looking forward to seeing how this band evolves.

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Whirl - Distressor

This is one I've been meaning to do for a while. Whirl is a shoegaze band from San Francisco that started up around 2010. This album is their first full release and is amazing. Whirl has a wall of sound approach by using heavily distorted guitars and lots of echo and reverb. The female lead singing is eerie and flowing, acting more as an instrument than a medium for lyrics. As much as I hate to use the word, the album is very spacey, and I tended to lose myself in it quite often. The album is a beautiful piece of work and everyone should check these guys out. All the songs are awesome in their own ways, but the standout ones to me are "Leave" and the slower paced "Ghost" and "Sandy". On a side note, "Whirl" has changed their name to "Whirr" do to copyright issues.

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Burzum - Filosofem

Burzum is a Norwegian black metal project by Varg Virkernes that started in 1991. Burzum, along with Darkthrone, are perhaps some of the most influential bands in the Norwegian black metal scene. There is a lot of controversy with Varg Virkernes, which you can read about here, because it's a very long ordeal. Filosofem was Burzum's last album before he made before he went to jail in 1993, however, the album was released in1996. The album is black metal with a lot of experimentation with minimalism, repetition and ambiance. It was intentionally recorded as poorly as possible, with the guitars being played out of a stereo instead of an amp and the vocals being recorded through headphones. The guitars are fuzzy and distorted and the growling vocals are raw and noisy. Everything about this album is near perfection. The shortest song on the album is around seven minutes long, but I didn't once catch myself wanting to skip to the next song. Best songs are "Dunkelheit" and "Jesus' Tod", but every song on the album is great. If you've never heard of Burzum, you need to give this a listen. Plus "Burzum" means "Darkness" in the black language of Sauron, and that's fucking awesome. As a note, this is the German version of the album, there is no difference except the song names.

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Death Evocation - S/T

Death Evocation is a relatively new thrash band from the U.K., and they are a kick to the fucking teeth. It feels like Sacrilege gone to the next level, if that was even possible. Speedy female vocals rip over searing guitar riffs, with some destructive solos. While it is a shorter 7" at only three songs, they manage to impress the hell out of me. To my knowledge, this is Death Evocation's first release and they are definitely on my watch list for this year, and I eagerly await whatever demons they can raise on their next release. Hopefully they don't go the way of Sacrilege (looking at you "Turn Back the Trilobite"). Each song is awesome, but "Relentless" sets their whole feel for me. All I can say is listen to this, you won't be disappointed.

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Fall of Efrafa - Elil

Fall of Efrafa is a post hardcore band from the UK. They started out in 2005 and ended in 2009. This particular album is the second album in a trilogy entitled "Warren of Snares" which is based upon Richard Adams’ Watership Down. The whole idea of having the trilogy works out pretty fucking awesome, because every album continues along a story where the last album left off, and this isn't just splitting one album to make money, each segment of the trilogy can easily be it's own album. The album, Elil, is the best of the three. It's a slower paced beast, but is by no means tame. It starts you out on a slow intro and the suspense is absolutely ridiculous, and it builds up into brutal d beat sections. There manages to be so many awesome aspects to this album and having an entire LP that consists of three twenty minute songs is an impressive feat on it's own. Vocals are chanted and bellowed, and the rhythms of guitars and bass change so much, it's hard to describe in one word. This is an album you should listen to all the way through if you can manage, because just listening to a few minutes of it really isn't doing it justice considering it was made to be one full experience. Definitely worth a listen, I know you have time. This album is simply breathtaking.

Entire "Warren of Snares"

Owsla: Download

Elil: Download

Inlé: Download

Radiohead - Amnesiac

For those who do not know, Radiohead is an alternative rock band from England. They are known to be experimental and all of their albums have a different feel, so it is hard to describe them as a single sound. This particular album is more along the electronic side. Thom Yorke's vocals are clean and erie, usually singing in the higher register. Every song on this album is vastly different from the others, but the ones that stand out to me are "Knives Out" and "Pyramid Song". Radiohead is one of my favorite bands, and it was almost impossible to choose what album to put up. I plan on posting up "Hail to the Thief" within the next few weeks.

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Part 1 - Pictures of Pain

Part one is a band from Britain which may or may not have been fronted by Rudimentary Peni's Nick Blinko. The sound is very similar to Rudimentary Peni, except it leans more towards goth than Peni did. Guitars are heavily distorted with high end fuzz and the bass is prominent and lo-fi. Lyrics are chanted, and the whole album as a whole has an awesome dark feel to it. Standout songs are "Possed" and "Black Mass". The artwork is pretty damn good too.

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Ripper - Into Oblivion

Ripper is a d-beat rock'n'roll band from Portland, Oregon. They recently were in Philly and put on one hell of a show. This album is their first 12" I believe, and was put out in 2011. The best way to describe them is a hardcore d-beat band injected with Motorhead. The singing is more towards the motorhead side, with heavy distorted bass, and some blistering guitar solos. This album is sick, and I await the next one in high anticipation. Best songs on the album are "Razor's Edge" and "Hellnation".

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Martyrdöd - S/T

This is my favorite Martyrdöd album by far and definitely on my top albums of all time. Blistering crust with black metal elements make this album an absolutely ridiculous listen. Vocals are high, guitars are noisy with tons of dissonant and dark progressions. The whole album bursts with energy and power. If you like crust, metal, or anything in between, this is an album you have to listen to. Every song on the album is solid, but "Tyst Minut" stands out the most and really defines their sound. I've been waiting for a North American tour for far too long.

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Clan Of Xymox - S/T

Clan of Xymox is a goth band from the Netherlands that started around 1980. They still play today, but their older stuff is by far the best. They use heavy synth and some pretty cool basslines with gloomy singing. Clan of Xymox was one of the first bands to create the gloomy goth sound and they did it well. Standouts are "A Day" and "7th Time" This is goth at some of it's finest, and even if you think you hate goth, you should download this and let your eardrums be caressed by the lovely gloom that is Clan of Xymox.

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Documentary: Oi Polloi - Global Dissent

Oi Polloi is one of the those bands that will remain forever awesome to me. They are huge advocates of animal right, alternative energy, and anti-fascism, among a lot of other politically charged topics and they fight for them as well. In this 1994 documentary, it more follows Oi Polloi's activism. The band is touched upon, but the documentary is primary what Oi Polloi does when they aren't playing. This is a really cool documentary and is worth watching if you have the time.

Dotfuckingcom - S/T

Dotfuckingcom is a noisy hardcore band from South Carolina that had their only release in '98. Dotfuckingcom features both Kevin and Lyz from Antischism, and you can definitely hear it. They are fast, noisy, and loud. The tracks flow smoothly with eachother and all in all, this is just good hardcore noise. The bass is high and scratchy, guitars are distorted and mesh well together and the vocals are loud and belted, with some melodic additions added on. Antischism is one of my favorite bands, and if you liked them, you'll like Dotfuckingcom. This album is dark, fast, and heavy. This may be their only release, but it is a damn good one. Standout tracks are "Hesitation" and "Olympia Wash-n-Dry".

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Black Panda - Tanque de 98 Octanos

Black Panda is a rock n' roll d-beat band from Spain who've been ripping it up for a while. Along the same lines as Auktion, they use fast distorted guitars with searing rock n' roll solos and progressions. Dual vocals are both high and low, screamed and growled, so there's a decent amount of variety. Spain has some great bands to hear, and Black Panda is definitely one of them. Best songs on the album are "Redneck Zombie" and "Sin Titulo" Interestingly enough, their demo sounds completely different from their later albums (such as this one) with a much heavier and crustier feeling. I'll be posting it sometime in the future, so enjoy Spanish rock n' roll madness!

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Arctic Flowers / Spectres Split 7"

This is a short one but a good one. This is a two song split by Arctic Flowers and Spectres, both of which I loved the second I heard them. Arctic Flowers is an anarcho post-punk band from the mystical lands of Portland, Oregon. They use clean prominent bass lines coupled with dissonant guitars and singing female vocals. They feel like old UK anarcho with a new kick in it, and they definitely can separate themselves from the myriad of anarcho bands out there. On the opposite side, you have Spectres, a post-punk band through and through from Virginia. Spectres uses a grabbing mix of guitars, bass, and synth. Vocals are shouted and flow well throughout the song. Both bands boast strong anarcho lyrics and it's worth keeping an ear out for both.

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Rakkaus - Jokainen Päivä on Taistelua

Rakkaus is a hardcore punk band from Finland. They started playing in 2003 and continue play today. The name "Rakkaus" means love in Finnish and all of their songs are in Finnish as well. They are fast d-beat punk, with a lot of hardcore elements thrown in as well. Female singing is belted and guitars and bass are strong. I would say something about the nature of the lyrics, but I understand no Finnish. Unfortunately, the North American label (Barrage of Salt) website has been down for quite some time, so I'm finding it difficult to buy any of their music. Standout tracks on this album are "Testamentti" and "Syvaa Unta".

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Hellshock - Only the Dead Know the End of War

Hellshock is a d-beat stenchcore band from Portland, Oregon. They've been around for a good while, and this album is one of my favorites in particular. This album starts out heavy as fuck, and ends the same way. The levels are this album are also virtually perfect. The bass is just loud enough and deep enough, and doesn't need heavy distortion to feel powerful as fuck. Vocals are low and growled, and as expected, Hellshock delivers brutal fucking melodies along with heavy and fast progressions. I have seen this band live twice, and both times have been thoroughly impressed. If you're into stenchcore or heavy as fuck d-beat at all, check this band out. Best tracks in my opinion are "Your World" and "Olympus".

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