Agiel- Dark Pantheons Again Will Reign (2002)

Agiel

Dark Pantheons Again Will Reign (2002)

Genre- Brutal Techincal Death Metal/Grindcore

Fuuuck. Man, I can't believe it took me so long to check this album out. And what a bitch it was to track down too! It was all worth it though, this one screams of outright brutality and violence right from the get go. Aggressive, gut churning songs pile on one after the other in an all out attack of beautifully mastered brutal death metal. Dark, evil chants, an absolutely explosive double bass heavy drummer and a signature punishing grinding rhythm that seems to be found over and over again. Check this one out, its a fucking monster.

Dark Pantheons Again Will Reign

Silent Death- Before The Sunrise (1993)

Silent Death

Before The Sunrise (1993)

Genre- Death Metal

So, I'm sure by this point the majority of you have already heard the freshly leaked single from Aborted, so there's no reason to repost that for the thousandth time this week. Instead, today I offer you guys some truly obscure and early doomy death metal goodness from Malaysia. These guys originally formed under the name 'Bacteria' (fuck yea) but switched to 'Silent Death' in 1987. This is their first full length, its a 40 minute slab of mid paced death metal fun. The guitars/riffs have a bouncy quality about them and the overall production is pretty crumby but suitable for the material. They get themselves into some great grooves on this album, excellent solos and tons of that old school charm. Before the Sunrise was reissued on CD in 2010 and contains 9 bonus tracks featuring all their demos. You can buy that here.

Before the Sunrise

Impurity- Unearthly Affinity (2003)

Impurity

Unearthly Affinity (2003)

Genre- Death Metal

My annual wave of cold weather fueled black metal obsession hasn't quite kicked into full gear... yet. Lately I've been dwelling, yet again, into the evil depths of obscure death metal. Florida's Impurity definitely delivers a strong outing on this 5 song EP. The low and evil vocals are extra high in the mix to haunt the listener during this assault. Honestly its a standard death metal riff party here folks, nothing you haven't heard before but it's still damn effective. The drumming is a notch or 2 above average though, and it all works to create for a very heavy sound. Fans of true brutal death metal should get this.

Unearthly Affinity

Diabolic Possession- Ripped To Pieces (1993)

Diabolic Possession

Ripped To Pieces (1993)

Genre- Death Metal

Formed in 1987, these guys hailed from Omaha, Nebraska. They played a very brutal style of straightforward death metal. This early work features a raw production, heavy, crunching riffage, face melting solos, solid drumming and vocals that vary from a mid to low range yell/growl with the occasional high shriek. This was some quality deathy goodness from a band who only went on to release one more short, 4 song EP (of which, also included this 'Ripped To Pieces' EP). Check it out if you're a fan of old, grimy, death.

Ripped To Pieces

Averse Sefira- Tetragrammatical Astygmata (2005)

Averse Sefira

Tetragrammatical Astygmata (2005)

Genre- Black Metal

This is definitely some way out there, mythical, punishing black metal from Austin, Texas. Averse Sefira mixes a fast and cold, classic style of black metal with a thrashing/death metal edge before dwelling into the more dark and droning, slower paced slabs of atmospheric chaos occasionally. The vocals stay in the mid to high range yells with some reverberating distortion effects. Certain riffs and the overall production remind me a bit of 1349 on this cd, so there's that. This is a really solid hunk of obscure black metal for ya to chew on for about an hour. Fans of 1349, older Behemoth and Myrkskog will enjoy.

Tetragrammatical Astygmata

KillWhitneyDead- Stocking Stuffher (2008)

merry fuckin christmas

-Munk

With Blood Comes Cleansing- Golgotha (2006)

With Blood Comes Cleansing

Golgotha (2006)

Genre- Deathcore

I'm not going to lie, I'm feeling mighty lazy tonight. Its been a long week at work and I really dont feel like looking through the wall for something obscure and crazy to post today. So instead, I chose to give in to the first thing that popped up on random in the ITunes. I found out about WBCC in 2006/07 after one of my old bands played a show with them down in Asbury Park. I found it to be a simplistic and very real approach to deathcore, with as much influence on the death as there was the core. They didn't play breakdowns for 25 minutes and there was a lot of quality riffage happening, the vocalist had a great range about him and the songs flowed very well. And so fucking what if they like god and angels and all that shit? If the music is decent thats all that really matters to me. Fans of Winter Solstice and On Broken Wings will appreciate this quickie of an album.

Golgotha

Dying Fetus- Bathe In Entrails (1993)

Dying Fetus

Bathe In Entrails (1993)

Genre- Death Metal

Some truly absurdly heavy and genre bending shit for 1993. This is Dying Fetus in their most pure and early form before all the bullshit and controversy that would follow. This demo features John Gallagher on the drums and vocals as well as guitar solos, some very impressive stuff indeed. The sound quality here is pretty damn good and the song writing is nothing but quality brutality and is way ahead of its time. If nothing else, you should check this out just for the demo version of 'Grotesque Impalement' because it fucking destroys. Whatever your current stand is on Dying Fetus, you have got to have respect for this one. This is a very strong 6 songs and the sound portrayed here is still trying to be imitated by new bands.

Drown In My Piss

Embryonic Devourment- Beheaded By Volition (2003)

Embryonic Devourment

Beheaded By Volition (2003)

Genre- Technical Death Metal/Grindcore

This violent little slab of death is the first from these heavy hitting California natives. Tons of production here folks, this is one clean death metal cd. Lots of bass driven riffs, off timing technical mayhem, a sludgy breakdown or 2 and solid drumming with alot of tight, blasting stabs. The vocal style here is dominated by a low guttural sewage gurgle with the occasional mid range burst and high shriek. I could see fans of the early Abacinate stuff getting down with this, its just a little less groovy than them but just as brutal in its own way. I think this is a sick little EP that you should take out for a spin.

Beheaded By Volition

Cattle Decapitation- Human Jerky (1999)

Cattle Decapitation

Human Jerky (1999)

Genre- Death Metal/Grindcore

One of the first goregrind bands I got really into was Cattle Decapitation. There was something very natural about their sound, especially on this album (ep?). Nothing seems forced here, its generally a very straight forward release. Simple, but always brutal and chunky. Deathy, grinding riffage, a drummer that could keep timing then stop on a dime and blast pretty well and an absolute beasting toilet box of a vocalist. Short songs here, some are a bit experimental at times and all are constantly aggressive. I can remember dwelling on the vocals of Travis Ryan for some time as a kid, pondering about how any human could possibly make these disgusting, vomitous sounds, it was just really fucking awesome to me as an impressionable young vocalist, shit it still is actually. I also found their anti-human, pro animal themes to have a very intelligent edge at times, not that I necessarily agree with them, but I've got to respect it. Say what you will about CattleD, but I think these vegetarians fuckin slay. You decide.

Are You A God?

Wehrmacht- Shark Attack (1987)

Wehrmacht

Shark Attack (1987)

Genre- Thrash

This is some aggressive shit for 1987! The blistering speeds are constant, loads vicious riffs and solos along with all of that early thrash attitude you know you love. This is unrelenting and pioneering beer fueled thrash metal from Portland Oregon that you should really get down on. I'm actually kinda bummed that I only recently heard this shit. Thrash!

Shark Attack

Beyond the Sixth Seal- A Homicide Divine (2001)

Beyond the Sixth Seal

A Homicide Divine (2001)

Genre- Melodic Death Metalcore

A very unique blend of melodic death metal and metalcore with hints at numerous other genres around as well. This one features Adam Wentworth of Premonitions of War and The Red Chord, which is cool. This is a straight blend of melo death and metalcore done very right, they even have a bit of black metal/folk influence about them at times, which is also cool. These tracks have a lot of depth and substance. You guys should give this a shot.

A Homicide Divine

Sorry, 2 posts in a row with no YouTube vid =/

End of All- Infanticide (2001)

End of All

Infanticide (2001)

Genre- Death Metal/Deathcore

Talk about some really rare shit, I think the original pressing of this (7inch?) was limited to something like 100 copies. Pretty cool when you're talking about a band that went on to become the mighty All Shall Perish (same basic line up here as on "Hate, Malice, Revenge" by the way). This EP/demo contains 3 raw ass "studio" tracks and 2 live songs and it's nearly impossible to track down now a days. Luckily I was an active member of mp3.com back in like 2000/01 so I've got you guys covered hahaha. This is a much more simplistic and straightforward death metal/deathcore approach than the before mentioned "Hate, Malice, Revenge" album which was definitely more sparkly and technical. This is still a fun listen for fans of really raw early deathcore/death metal, enjoy.

Infanticide

If you like this shit you should check out Catorsion

Bloodbath- Breeding Death (2000)

Bloodbath

Breeding Death (2000)

Genre- Death Metal

A homage to punishing old school death metal in the form of a Swedish death super group. This is the first release from Bloodbath featuring Mikael Akerfeldt, Anders Nystrom, Jonas Renske and Dan Swano. This 3 song assault will please the most picky of death metal purists and any newcomers alike. This, as with most of their discography, is great stuff.

Breeding Death

Chthonic- Seediq Bale (2005)

Chthonic

Seediq Bale (2005)

Genre- Melodic Blackened Death Metal

I first found out about Chthonic in 2009 when they dropped the mind blowing 'Mirror of Retribution' on the world of metal. Since then I've been slowly working my way through their entire discography and have been very pleased with the journey thus far. I'm a huge fan of originality and innovation in music, and their use of the Erhu, a traditional Taiwanese instrument stringed instrument, is just fucking incredible. The instrument sounds like a haunting female voice and it lends a very atmospheric and almost theatrical touch to the powerful and dark melo-death/black anthems that rip through this album, their fourth full length. I know the keys and female backings wont be for everyone but I promise you this band is worthy of your time. I bet the live show is sick.

Seediq Bale

Cryptic Slaughter- Stream Of Consciousness (1988)

Cryptic Slaughter

Stream of Consciousness (1988)

Genre- Thrash/Metal/Punk

Not necessarily my favorite Cryptic Slaughter album but I was in the mood all day and this was the first one I grabbed. Love the tripped out cover art on this album. The music is well, raw. A very poor production here but thats just part of its charm. Loads of driving bass grooves and slightly distorted and very angry vocals. A constant head bobber. Thrash on.

Stream of Consciousness

Epoch of Unlight- Within The Night (1995)

Epoch of Unlight

Within The Night... (1995)

Genre- Blackened Death Metal

I couldn't find much information about this album online at all. Epoch of Unlight have been playing melodic death/black metal in Tennessee since 1993, I got into them in 2005 when they released 'The Continuum Hypothesis' and somewhere along the road I picked up this very rare self released EP. Just straight forward blackened death metal here, raw sound with lots of galloping melodic riffage, bass driven grooves, blast beats and harsh black metal vocals. Its a short 4 song EP and very worth the 20 minutes.

Within the Night...

Purulent Spermcanal- We Pity We Didn't Kill You All (2000)

Purulent Spermcanal

We Pity We Didnt' Kill You All (2000)

Genre- Death Metal/ Goregrind

I'm just digging through my wall of cds today and this one caught my eye. Definitely one of my favorite, filthy Czech death/grind albums. This shit takes me back, as it was one of the first goregrind albums I had heard growing up. Lots of Impetigo worship going on, fast, super chunky riffs, chaotic drumming, gut wrenching samples and loads of grindy shrieks and gurgles in the vocal department. Its really whacked out shit, and you definitely feel more dirty after listening. I've always disliked the cover art for some reason, and its too bad because their other albums have some really awesome artwork. You should check it out.

We Pity We Didnt' Kill You All

Settle the Score- s/t (2000)

Settle the Score (2000)

Genre- Hardcore

So I've been in the mood for some hardcore shit since I woke up. I'll save another dusty NJ Bloodline or One 4 One post for a rainy day. Today I share with you a classic hardcore album from Germany circa 2000. I found out about these guys after NJ Bloodline toured with them in Europe. I even managed to score an actual copy of this EP a few years back, but this is not my upload or my link, sorry. This is pretty good stuff, very straight forward HC, think early Sworn Enemy meets Terror's better stuff. Dig?

Settle the Score

Resurrecting Judas- Vast Realms Of Chaos Incarnate (2011)

Resurrecting Judas

Vast Realms Of Chaos Incarnate (2011)

Genre- Technical Deathcore

This is a young tech deathy band out of California. Insane speed, tons of solid technical riffage done Cryptopsy style, and some audible bass, hurrah. My one complaint is the mid range core-ish influence in the vocals that becomes very repetitive and searing after a few songs. Maybe its just me, maybe its just in the mix, who knows. Either way, I have a feeling that these guys may just become one of the genre's elite forces.

This is definitely one worth checking out for yourselves.

Vast Realms Of Chaos Incarnate

Homicide- Total Decay (2007)

Homicide

Total Decay (2007)

Genre- Grindcore/Death Metal

Contact Them!

So this showed up in my inbox yesterday, these guys are from Santa Catarina Brazil and they play a very straight forward style of grinding death metal. These short and very aggressive blasts have been recorded since 2007 but were never properly released. They sure wont win any awards for the most original band name, artwork or album title, but Homicide delivers a solid dose of chaotic deathgrinding madness that is worth checking out.

Total Decay

Nebulous- Into Infinite Spectrums (2011)

Nebulous

Into Infinite Spectrums (2011)

Genre- Technical Death Metal

This EP has been kicking my ass all day. Relentless, speed induced song structures that never quit and enough lightning fast guitar work to keep your head spinning. I'm definitely digging the space theme thats running through a lot of these new bands too. Check this one out then show them some love at their Bandcamp page, they deserve it.

Into Infinite Spectrums

Oscillator- Experiment XIII (2011)

Oscillator

Experiment XIII

Genre- Technical Deathcore

Thick and grimy technical deathcore smothered with loads of noodling guitar wizardy, robots, bree brees, chaotic breakdowns and abstract experimental tendencies. A solid listen, creative, spacey and thought inducing for sure. This is one to definitely check out for fans of deathcore with some real substance.

Experiment XIII

December Aeternalis- I Slept With Glass In My Mouth (2002)

December Aeternalis

I Slept With Glass In My Mouth (2002)

Genre- Chaotic Death Metalcore

I finally tracked down a real copy of this extremely rare gem, I also paid more for this MCD than I normally would but oh well, I'm a happy guy. These 2 songs were recorded shortly after the 'Embrace the Angel' sessions and was released on Red Dawn Records. December AE is probably one of my favorite bands of all time, and I'm happy to be sharing this rarity with you guys. If anyone knows how to score a physical or mp3 copy of their rare 2007 EP 'The Grafton Avenue Project' please let me know! Oh and no YouTube link this time, sorry.

I Slept With Glass In My Mouth

Hemdale- Rad Jackson (2002)

Hemdale

Rad Jackson Compilation (2002)

Genre- Death Grind

Some of my favorite gore flavored death grind. Ohio's Hemdale were around from '94 to '97 and only released a handful of splits and demos. They got screwed around with by a few record labels and finally in 2002 Relapse Records issued this classic compilation. This is a must for any fan of the death/grind genre. This is non stop gory fun.

Rad Jackson

Nocturnal Breed- Aggressor (1997)

Nocturnal Breed

Aggressor (1997)

Genre- Blackened Thrash

Norwegian blackened thrash metal? Yes please. This is really awesome stuff, a very dark and purely neck breaking black/thrash fusion album. You should also know that these guys are still creating some really crushing music! Their last album to date was 2007's 'Fields of Rot' and it kicked my ass for sure. Oh, and they use strippers in their live shows. Excellent.

Aggressor

Dissonance In Design- Neurotransmitting An Epiphany (2011)

Dissonance In Design

Neurotransmitting An Epiphany (2011)

Genre- Progressive Technical Death Metalcore

Check Them Out On Facebook

Shit. These kids are an all out 3 man wrecking crew. Excellent songwriting and execution. Constant but fluid genre hopping throughout the entire album with influences ranging from melodic tech death done Decrepit Birth style to straight metalcore with some serious thrash worship. Its really pretty awesome stuff. My only minor complaint is the production/mix, other than that since you've ended up at this blog, I highly recommend you check this one out.

Neurotransmitting An Epiphany

(thanks to Josh @ DuckCore)

Necroblaspheme- Destination: Nulle Part (2008)

Necroblaspheme

Destination: Nulle Part (2008)

Genre- Death Metal/Blackened

A very cool, original sound from France. Influences of death, black and core with subtle hints at some folky bits throughout. Definitely some experimental stuff I was turned on to by my dude Shitty at Vomit Sounds. Love the cover art concept as well. Check it.

Destination: Nulle Part

Exit 13- Green Is Good! (1990)

Exit 13

Green Is Good

Genre- Grind/Other

Some heavy, out there shit from Cali circa 1990. Fast and aggressive, grinding blast parts resurrect slower paced spirals of stoned, out of body, mud riffs constantly throughout the entire album. Did I say stoned? Ok good. Its all extremely experimental stuff, when they want to rip your face off, they do. When they decide to play a pretty part, they succeed in that as well. When they want to put the 'Wonder Dog' or 'Jeopardy' theme song in a song, shit, even that works for them. Different vocal effects appear on and off during the entire album and no 2 songs sound even remotely alike. Exit-13 touches on a ton of styles and does them all pretty well, worth a listen for any experimental/grind fan. Respect.

Green Is Good

Rudimentary Peni- Death Church (1983)

Rudimentary Peni

Death Church (1983)

Genre- Death Rock/Punk/Black Metal?

Rudimentary Peni is a British scum punk/ "death rock" band formed in 1980. Death Church is their first full length album contains a very dark atmosphere and defiant themes both musically and lyrically. Call me crazy but I almost hear some pre-black metal vibes going on here. I dunno its pretty damn evil and it's my blog so I'll post what I want ;) Check it out.

Death Church

Abysmal Gates- Divine Deception (2004)

Abysmal Gates

Divine Deception (2004)

Genre- Blackened Death Metal

This is a cool one. A dark, ominous sound with a grimy production and some symphonic/keys bullshit thrown in for good measure. I know its hard for any metal band from New Jersey to not throw at least a little hint of 'core' influence into their sound and Abysmal Gates are no exception, no matter how evil and epic they pretend to be. The EP is littered with lots of strange audio samples too which is neat. Also, I'm pretty sure these guys have ties to Abazagorath, which is tight, this here is definitely a winded, dusty and obscure piece of slightly melodic blackened death metal. Enjoy.

Divine Deception

Warbringer- War Without End (2008)

Warbringer

War Without End (2008)

Genre- Thrash

So over the last few days I've found myself listening not to hours of dirty, old school death and black metal but to albums lost in my collection that I haven't given much love to, see yesterday's post about Christian Muezner's technical, progressive genius. I'm still kicking myself for not listening to that album when it came out back in April. Anyway, it somehow brings me to Cali's Warbringer and their debut 'War Without End'. It was a solid thrash album with decent grooves, riffs and vocals, nothing above and beyond but not nearly as bad as the Toxik Society cd I tried listening to yesterday. My biggest complaint is the lack of audible bass guitar which is, in my opinion, the backbone to any great thrash band, none the less fans of the genre will get down on this one for sure, and to Warbringer's defense, their 2011 release 'Worlds Torn Asunder' was much better.

War Without End

Christian Muenzner- Timewarp (2011)

Christian Muenzner

Timewarp (2011)

Genre- Instrumental Progressive Metal

This is some impressive shit right here. Epic, wonderfully constructed and flowing songs that transport the listener through many distant realms and wormholes via guitar wizardry and blastbeats. Think Obscura/Necrophagist meets Dream Theater and Children of Bodom, load up your bong and enjoy this journey into outer space through Christian Muenzner's eyes.

Timewarp

In The Midst Of Lions- Shadows (2011)

In The Midst Of Lions

Shadows (2011)

Genre- Technical Deathcore

This was a fun listen, these guys seem to have more substance than your average deathcore band. Lots of thick breakdowns here! Matched with progressive, hypnotic guitar solos and loads of tough guy sounding bullshit, nothing earth shattering but I'm liking it.

Shadows

God Forbid- Out Of Misery (1998)

God Forbid

Out Of Misery (1998)

Genre- Metalcore/Death Metal

God Forbid's debut and by far their most experimental release. Every song takes on a new style and a life of its own within this classic EP. Even the live songs are sick, this was one of the few EP/Live releases I was able to listen to repeatedly as a kid. The live portion of this one mostly features songs from their follow up 'Reject The Sickness' and a Sepultura cover. This is some brutal shit from a now defunct NJ scene. Very essential stuff.

Out Of Misery

(Rapidshare... "Save File To Your Computer")

Derketa- Premature Burial (1990)

Derketa

Premature Burial (1990)

Genre- Death/Doom Metal

Hey guys, sorry the posting has been slow but work has been brutal and I've been working on a little bit of music myself. Anyway, here is a pretty sick find I'd like to share with ya, this all female doom squad formed in 1988 and released this 2 song in '90. Pretty heavy stuff, kinda like Mythic but not as deathy. Worth a listen if you're in the mood for some slow and punishing old school shit.

Premature Burial

Gorerotted- Only Tools And Corpses (2003)

Gorerotted

Only Tools And Corpses (2003)

Genre- Death Metal/Grindcore

A violent death grind experience! This is a very fun listen, brutal bouncing riffs and drumming, clever audio samples and dueling vocals. The vocals make this album shine in my opinion, the combination of low, rotten, guttural death vocals and audible, grindy, higher ranged with an English accent screams is fucking perfect and it really made these guys stand out from the rest of the deathgrind crowd. They've since changed their name to 'The Rotten' and have lost their signature grinding edge, if somehow you haven't heard this yet you should really consider clicking that link...

Only Tools And Corpses

Vesania- God The Lux (2005)

Vesania

God The Lux (2005)

Genre- Symphonic Black Metal/Death Metal

Dark symphonic blackened death metal from Poland, featuring Orion of Behemoth on guitar and lead vocals. I first found about these guys when I was on vacation way back in 2006 when I happened to see them perform in Denmark with Cryptopsy and Visceral Bleeding.This is a great full length for black metal fans, especially those fond of Behemoth.

God The Lux

Fleshgod Apocalypse- Mafia (2010)

Fleshgod Apocalypse

Mafia (2010)

Genre- Technical Melodic Death Metal

These Italians are the real deal. Fast techy riffs, aggressive vocals and lots of experimentation. Their most recent outing "Agony" is by far one of the best albums of 2011, be sure to check out my 'albums of the year' post in a few weeks to see if it lands at the top spot... Until then, make sure to check out last years beast of an EP, Mafia.

Mafia

Parabstruse- And I, The Cape Of (2007)

Parabstruse

Demo (2007)

Genre- Atmospheric Black Metal/Experimental

And I, The Cape Of (2007)

Genre- Post Black Metal/Rock/Instrumental

So there was a pretty awesome, one-man, technical death grind 'band' by the name of Semen Across Lips. After a while Garry, the sole member, decided to switch styles completely and go for a more abstract, black metal influenced sound. It started out as a pretty straight forward experimental black metal/space project after (and even slightly before...) he changed names. The demos are some very haunting and atmospheric stuff with a post rock/psychedelic edge and hints of melodic death metal. His second demo was a 10 minute instrumental epic 'And I, The Cape Of' and it couldn't sound more different. Fans of Pelican should really get down on that one. These are definitely 2 cool demos to check out. Enjoy.

Arckanum- Gava Fran Trulen (video)

Arckanum

Gava Fran Trulen (video)

Genre- Black Metal

Energy is low, once again the negative effect of working retail during the holidays. I manage a massive liquor store and with Thanksgiving today, it is now officially go time. I'm feeling mighty thrashed right now and this video was one of the few things I knew would brighten my day. It is not a great video, in fact its kinda humorous how bad it is, unintentionally I'm sure. Anyway, I don't know why, but I love it and Arckanum plain fucking rules, watching Shamaatae take a hike through some some Swedish forest with his bad ass staff is pretty awesome man. The top comment on the YouTube clip is classic "I like the part when he's in the woods and says 'Arrgh!' ". That about sums up the whole damn thing! Enjoy this vid and wish me luck in battle against the hordes of equally stressed and rabid consumers, and just think... only a month 'til xmas... joy =/

Shattered Realm- All Will Suffer (2001)

Shattered Realm

All Will Suffer (2001)

Genre- Hardcore/Death Metal

One of NJ's most punishing acts of all time. This here was the best incarnation of Shattered Realm featuring Chris Realm on the vocal duties. True, street raised hardcore with a thick death metal accent. Punishing breakdowns and memorable riffs. Man, these guys were a fucking wrecking crew live. This is absolutely essential to fans of early 'deathcore'.

All Will Suffer

Fuck.. YouTube won't let me embed this killer live video

Perpetual Doom- Sorrow's End (1995)

Perpetual Doom

Sorrow's End (1995)

Genre- Death Metal/Metalcore

Perpetual Doom was a death metal band from Massachusetts, they released one demo in '95 and this is it. What's cool here is that it features Phil Labonte, who would go on to work with Shadows Fall and ultimately All That Remains, and also a guy named Steve Gonsalves, who would go on to become one of TV's "Ghost Hunters". And whats even cooler than all that, you ask? This demo really doesnt suck... enjoy.

Sorrow's End

Sworn- The Alleviation (2007)

Sworn

The Alleviation (2007)

Genre- Melodic Black Metal

I cant believe its taken me this long to share such an amazing album! This is the crushing debut from Norway's best kept secret, Sworn. Driving riffs dominate this album for me and there's lots of em, they mix it up between cold, aggressive black metal and hints of super pretty, melodic folk very well. This really is a must listen.

The Alleviation

Morpheus- Adipocere (1991)

Morpheus

Adipocere (1991)

Genre- Death Metal

Bad ass New York death metal from the early 90's. Fans of early Suffocation should hear the similarities and will really get down with this fuzzy toned, high energy, neck thrashing death bath. Morpheus changed their name to Morpheus Descends in '92 and released 2 full lengths. Take 15 minutes and enjoy this dirty old school shit.

Adipocere

Naglfar- Vittra (1995)

Naglfar

Vittra (1995)

Genre- Melodic Black Metal

The frozen debut full length from Sweden's Naglfar. Miles of haunting riffs that will stay with you long after the spin, punishing drums and chilling vocals. Vittra is probably the most 'black' album from the Nag and it's definitely my favorite of their discography.

Vittra

Candiria- Surrealistic Madness (1996)

Candiria

Surrealistic Madness (1996)

Genre- Hardcore/Death Metal/Jazz/Noise

One of the most talented, overlooked and underrated bands in the entire history of the metal scene. These guys dont even have a Metal Archives page, to say that Candiria is not metal is fucking ridiculous.. Anyway, they bring a unique, raw, attitude filled assault with every breath. Blink and you'll miss parts of their genius, for these guys move at 100 mph. Every album (and song...) is different and special in its own way mixing passages of death metal, hardcore, noise, tribal, acid jam, jazz and rap. I find this to be one of their more brutal releases and I will do my damnedest to share my entire collection of Candiria at some point. Enjoy.

Surrealistic Madness

Tamut Amen- Demo (2011)

Tamut Amen (2011)

Soundcloud

Facebook

This short gem of an EP landed in my inbox tonight. Tamut Amen hail from Israel and bring an aggressive, blasting style of blackened grindcore to the listener. Hints of old school hardcore lay beneath thick bass driven death metal grooves, punishing stomp parts, dark black metal gates and bursts of grinding insanity all of which join to form very solid EP.

Tamut Amen

Nocturnus- The Key (1990)

Nocturnus

The Key (1990)

Genre- Thrash/Death Metal

Wow, some really technical, spaced out, acid shit from the early Floridian death scene. Totally digging on the cybernetic/seizure anime thing on the cover too. This album delivers and you should really check it out, its pretty epic... man.

The Key