/r/RABM/

Sunday, July 20, 2014

V/A - "The Blackened Dust" (2012)

V/A "The Blackened Dust"

Year: 2014
Genre: Dark Ambient, Black Metal, Blackened Crust
Country: Indonesia

Track List:
  1. WINTERNIGHT - When The Winter Cries
  2. HATELORD - Long Suicidal Dream
  3. WORLD TO BE ASHES - Ashes
  4. JENATH - Armageddon War
  5. WINTERNIGHT - Poisoned Tears
DOWNLOAD

And before I'm gone, here's one more compilation that deserves your attention. It features 4 projects from Indonesia, which all consist of pretty much the same people. Of them, Winternight (dark ambient) and World To Be Ashes (blackened crust) already were featured on my blog before.

Release notes:

"This compilation comes from an idea one among us, until we agreed to make it happen. When something sacred become commonplace, and when things are banal regarded as something special, or when the world offers something all too familiar to be the daily consumption, because the music for us is nothing more than change the form of an idea into an infinite rebellion the values of life that is now offered with no moderation, so that each of us well aware of the life that we live individually or in community. Although we basically did not have a great community, and also as proof that no matter how small communities can produce a creation if the community really wants, without having to rely on the larger community, we also want to emphasize that this is not always the kind of music identical with certain revolutionary ideas in order to escape the life torn by capitalist-consumerist system of the world today, so with any kind of construction we were still able to represent our imaginative dreams about life and its realization. So for us our little community that makes us realize that when a civilization of music here today experiencing a prolonged period of boredom, so we keep our own adventure with a desire to create something that might mean so much to us to provide us with a modest anyway. Enjoy!

All tracks recorded & mixed at Freezing Dust Room, Bandung (2009-2012).
Except vocals on “Long Suicidal Dream” and drum/vocals on “Armageddon War” recorded in a different studio"

V/A - "Crushing Intolerance vol.1" (2014)

V/A "Crushing Intolerance (vol.1)"

Year: 2014
Genre: Black Metal
Country: Earth

Track List:
  1. Corvid Canine - Pallid Lands
  2. Ancst - Seasons of Separation
  3. Anti-Freeze - Vision II
  4. Cara Neir - Cradled by Apathy
  5. Koldscov (ft. Ravenwood) - The Birthplace
  6. Schattenlicht - Niemals Vergessen
  7. Deafest - Almagre
  8. Unru - Von der Flüchtigkeit des Todes
  9. Twilight Fauna - The Old Forest Road
  10. Saus - Intro & II
  11. Smuteční Slavnost - Úsvit lidstva
  12. Crown of Asteria - First, Man of the Earth Terrestrial. Second, Man of the Sky, Celestial.
  13. Hunter-Gatherer - Hunter-Gatherer
  14. Stellar Descent - Cycles of Life (excerpt)
  15. Cuscuta - Trapped in the Beast, Tearing from Within...
  16. Wild's Reprisal - A Few Too Many
bandcamp

An anti-NSBM compilation which was announced by Chase (from Deafest) not so long ago, is finally out! It features a lot of the bands which you're already familiar with - Ancst, Schattenlicht, Deafest, Unru, Smuteční Slavnost, Hunter-Gatherer, Wild's Reprisal, and Twilight Fauna (though I can't remember if I posted anything from TF on here or not). Interesting new discoveries include Crown Of Asteria (an one-woman atmospheric BM project from Michigan) and Stellar Descent (Cascadian BM). "Almagre" by Deafest is an especially good track, one of the best on the whole compilation (which is quite lengthy, and features 16 different projects).

Black Clothes - "Lygophilia" (2014)

BLACK CLOTHES "Lygophilia"

Year: 2014
Genre: Post-Black Metal
Country: Canada

Track List:
  1. The Great Leap
  2. Memories
  3. Ocean
bandcamp / facebook

One more demo from Canada, this time from Vancouver BC. There's very little information about the project, and the demo itself is quite short (about five and a half minutes). I'm not sure if it can be classified as "cascadian black metal" in terms of sound, although it definitely was influenced by atmospheric BM and post-rock.

Sinding - "Fog Reach" (2014)

SINDING "Fog Reach"

Year: 2014
Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
Country: Canada

bandcamp

Release notes:

all instruments and vocals written and performed by e.v.
recorded, mixed and mastered by noah michael

aspect of wolf
aspect of bear
aspect of fawn

The demo was put out on July 7th, 2014, with the Sinding project being formalized in June 2014. Everything is written and performed by Ethan Vilu.


"I am a huge fan of the RABM movement, and absolutely consider Sinding to be an anarchist band. While the lyrics to the demo track are not explicitly anarchist in nature, the overall project is definitely an anarchist one, with ecological overtones and so on. Future Sinding material will continue in this vein, and I look forward to pursuing an anarchist/eco anarchist band to the fullest extent." - Ethan

While it's only an one-track debut demo, and the sound quality is a bit rough, I definitely enjoyed it. I was listening to it with a founding member of one of the projects which I posted here before (won't tell which one), and we both agreed that there's something to it that suggests a lot of potential. Looking forward for a full-length release.

SBTDOH - "Hatred" (2014)

SBTDOH "Hatred"

Year: 2014
Genre: Harsh Noise / Power Electronics
Country: USA

Track List:
  1. imgonnastabyouinthethroatysmf
  2. the degradation of humankindness
bandcamp

A new 2-track CD-R EP from SBTDOH which is a follow-up to "Simple Death" and features a similar kind of sound:

"hatred of being an employee or wage slave. hostile work for hostile times; limited run of 15 copies of a cdr; all handmade by sbtdoh collective"

"Isolation and discontent with the work-centric world we live in are the basis of this release by SBTDOH. HATRED is comprised of two lengthy tracks that share stylistic similarities to HNW, but break the usual monotony with bursts of dynamic noise. It's an interesting combination of styles and sounds and definitely worth checking out" (Fucked By Noise)

African / Polynesian metal & whatever-"core" (pt. IV)

This is the next post in my series about African metal, and now I'll try to give more coverage to the "-core" aspect of this scene. Let's start with Katingation, an obscure death metal/grindcore/crust trio from somewhere in the far south-east of Angola:


It's the first African band I know to incorporate the elements of crust into their music. Angola also has Before Crush from Benguela, who play a kind of melodic metalcore - but honestly it's nothing special. What's more insteresting is a phenomenon of "Kenyacore" mentioned in this interview of Last Year's Tragedy. According to it, there's a small but thriving scene of "-core" bands in Kenya. Of all the bands mentioned there, I liked Mortal Soul the most:


And do you remember me saying that Polynesian/Pacific Islander metal is one of the very few things that's even more hard to find than African metal? (apart from the obvious metal scenes of Australia and NZ, of course) Turned out there was a thriving metal scene in Tahiti (French Polynesia) during the 90's, but the only release I could find is "Scum" by Varua Ino (1997). The band name means "evil spirit" or "devil", and they were playing heavy/thrash metal with political lyrics both in English and in their native language:


Saturday, July 19, 2014

Grindsuffering - "Dogma Berhala" (2014)

GRINDSUFFERING "Dogma Berhala"

Year: 2014
Genre: Deathgrind
Country: Indonesia

soundcloud

Some more death metal/grindcore for you, this time from Indonesia. I don't have much information about this band, but they certainly are readers of my blog, and here's their newest single they sent me. A full-length album is expected to come out by the end of this year.

twitter

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Disact - "Statecrusher" (2014)

DISACT "Statecrusher"

Year: 2014
Genre: Deathgrind
Country: Russia

Track List:
  1. Intro
  2. Deadfolk Only Knows (Colt’s )
  3. Happskeytr
  4. New Hate Shape
  5. Travelling Bullet Syndrome (Desert Eagle)
  6. Weapon To Working Class (ТТ)
  7. Shadows
  8. Puppets On Leading Roles
  9. Social Skill Conduct
  10. They Can't Read But They Can Shoot
  11. W.A.T.W
  12. This Police
  13. Democracy
  14. Drop the Cop
  15. Song For Underground
  16. Freedom
  17. Demons
  18. Defend or Defeat
  19. Deeds Of State
  20. Sense Of Destruction
  21. Meat Reality
  22. Liberal Pigs
  23. Sinistrality
  24. Hopeless Angry Confused
  25. Police State (Agnostic Front cover)
  26. Freezing Moon (Mayhem cover)
DOWNLOAD

Another new release that makes me think that 2014 wouldn't be such a bad year for our scene after all. Disact were formed in 2010 in Togliatti,  and they're playing death metal/grindcore despite having "dis-" in the name. This is their second album, consisting of 24 short and brutal tracks, and 2 covers, including a cover of Mayhem's "Freezing Moon" (covering this song wasn't a very original choice, I admit).

facebook

Potlatch - "Самый страшный зверь" (2014)

POTLATCH "Самый страшный зверь"

Year: 2014
Genre: Dark Hardcore / Thrash Metal
Country: Russia

Track List:
  1. Отверженные
  2. Нищета Повседневной Жизни
  3. Последние Из Нас
  4. Если Родина Прикажет
  5. Львиное Сердце
  6. Сила Есть Право
  7. Так Закалялась Сталь
  8. Навстречу Смерти
  9. Беспомощность
  10. Дух Времени
  11. Самый Страшный Зверь
bandcamp / itunes

The cover art is based on Viktor Vasnetsov's 1889 painting "Ivan Tsarevich & the Gray Wolf", so one could expect the music on this album to be folk metal - but it isn't. In fact it is:

"...a debut heartbreaking release from Potlatch - a dark hardcore formation from St.Petersburg, a soporific melancholic capital of Russia. Album consists of 11 tragic opuses touching upon such issues as pursuing one's individuality, war, death, apocalypse, prison, violence, grief and helplessness. The members of the band issued a limited edition of CD’s by their own means. The album is for those who feel indifferent to music of such bands as Enabler, Oathbreaker, Dead in the Dirt and Tragedy. Oskar Wilde' s quote has been chosen as a slogan to this obscure record: «We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars»".

What can I say? I've never heard anything about these guys before this LP came out, but they're really good. They really have filled the void in Russian political metallic hardcore scene which appeared after Forge of Customs split up, and their LP is going to be one of the best releases of 2014 to come from the ex-USSR. Maybe this year is finally going to be not as disappointing in this regard as I initially have thought...

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Boddicker - "Crime Upheaval" (2014)

BODDICKER "Crime Upheaval"

Year: 2014
Genre: Crust/Grind/PV
Country: USA

Track List:

  1. Crime Upheaval
  2. Rise Of The Downtrodden
  3. Halo Of Bullets
  4. Bath Salt Baptism
  5. Vigilante
  6. Executive Decision
  7. The Isolationist
  8. Drygulch
  9. Social Control
  10. We Are Watching You
  11. Energy Blackmail
bandcamp

I already have posted a couple of releases from Boddicker ("False Flag" and a split w/ Kata Sarka) on my blog, and here's their newest full-length album, "Crime Upheaval". All the cassette copies are sold out by now; however, the band members want people to listen & download it as well.

Scumpulse - "By Design" (2014)

SCUMPULSE "By Design"

Year: 2014
Genre: Blackened Crust
Country: UK

Track List:
  1. La Mer
  2. Home Is Where You Hang Yourself
  3. Griefer
  4. By Design
  5. Mea Culpa
bandcamp

Scumpulse are a new blackened crust (or "necrocrust", how they call it themselves) band from Edinburgh, Scotland, started by some former members of Fifteen Dead. They haven't provided much additional info, but this kind of music is definitely welcome on my blog, and the lyrical themes are fitting too. "By Design" EP was recorded DIY at The Black Cave, Edinburgh (2014). A very good debut, be sure to check it out if you like metallic crust/hardcore.

More reviews: 1, 2, 3.

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Injustice Squad / Human Slaughter - "Silence Is Crime / Terror State" (2014)

INJUSTICE SQUAD / HUMAN SLAUGHTER "Silence Is Crime / Terror State"

Year: 2014
Genre: Crossover Thrash Metal
Country: Greece

Track List:

Injustice Squad
  1. One Shot Code
  2. Injustice Squad
  3. Fightback
  4. Timetrap
Human Slaughter
  1. Ανθρώπινη Σφαγή
  2. Enough
  3. There's No Tomorrow
bandcamp

 You probably remember the demo from Human Slaughter, a Greek crossover thrash band with political lyrics. Not so long ago Weird Face Prods. have released a 7'' split of Human Slaughter and another Greek old school thrash/HC band - Injustice Squad. I haven't heard anything from IS before, but their side of the split is certainly the best. The only downside is that's a bit too short... I understand that crossover thrash  is supposed to be short, fast and uncompromising, yet I want to hear more from IS.

Saturday, July 12, 2014

AHAFAS - "Ad Astra" (2014)

AHAFAS "Ad Astra"

Year: 2014
Genre: Harsh Noise Wall
Country: USA

Track List:
  1. Severity
  2. Balance
  3. Mercy
bandcamp

Another HNW project from Portland, OR, strongly recommended if you liked "Simple Death" by SBTDOH:

"...I feel the most effective form of anarchy is personal freedom. Individualism and isolationism, though not entirely by choice, mostly due to a disconnection with most of society, whether "counter-culture" or "mainstream". This outlet is a direct response to the world, it's terror and confusion, all the lost souls grasping for a meaning they will under understand or know. The track titles represent the pillars of the tree of life, the word AHAFAS or a hundred and fifty and six, the number of BABALON and KAOS, currents and metaphysical concepts that connect us. I feel that magick is am important tool of self empowerment/freedom/anarchy, specifically "chaos" magick (though I don't like to adhere/identify to any particular ideology, even "chaos" dogma is just as confining as any other) due to it's anarchic nature and focus on DIY methodology, direct action on a personal level, i.e. internally, through consciousness shift, and externally through action and example. Perhaps that could be seen as a 'cop out' but I really don't see the point in devoting time and energy into standoffs between two polarized opposites, where each clash will drive either force further and more violently apart. I reject 'their' (establishment, hateful, selfish ignorant, warmongering, elitists, seekers of 'power' and control) magnetism which renders their influence over me, and those around me, non-existent.

Usually, I try not to inundate others with my 'beliefs' unprovoked, but in this case it is directly connected with my creative expression and ideology, as it is a reflection to my anarchic/humanist nature.

Way too much info?

It's a ritual entropy, in the form of harsh noise/wall. I'd like to share it with anyone who'll listen..."


P.S. There's a couple more projects that could be of interest for the fans of noise. First, "Shadows... And The Things You Fear" - a DIY ambient/noise release whose author haven't provided much info about himself (judging from his name, he might be from the former Yugoslavia - but that's all I could guess). Second, "Come in My Friend, The Ritual is About to Begin" - a new release from Jud Winter, whom you may know for his project Goths On Drugs. It's quite strange stuff, and I absolutely can't guarantee if you'll like it. The author himself calls it "avant-garde black metal/psychedelic noise/industrial".

Saturday, July 5, 2014

Ancient Emblem - "Throne With No God" (2014)

ANCIENT EMBLEM "Throne With No God"

Year: 2014
Genre: Blackened Crust/Hardcore
Country: Spain

Track List:
  1. Crow will tell
  2. My unique law
  3. Stolen symbols
  4. Old Tree
  5. Path
  6. Over my equals
  7. Stone circle
  8. Ancient Emblem
bandcamp

Really good blackened crust/HC release from the Basque Country. The band is coming from the Basque DIY scene, the members are involved in other crust, punk and hardcore projects, and definitely share the ethic associated with DIY hardcore community. Their lyrics are mostly about animal/earth liberation and human selfishness. "Throne With No God" is their first LP, which is going to be released in 525 copies pretty soon. More info can be found on their bandcamp page.

AVE - "Control" (2014)

AVE "Control"

Year: 2014
Genre: Blackened Crust/Sludge
Country: Mexico

Track List:
  1. Lejos del declive
  2. GOD$
  3. Chemtrails
DOWNLOAD

AVE (from a Spanish word meaning "Bird") are a Mexican band which recently released their 1st official recording titled "Control" (same meaning in Spanish and English), consisting of 3 long tracks. Their lyrics are mostly about the decadence of the human being and civilization. Their guitarist/vocalist has asked me to post it ASAP, but the MEGA link provided by him doesn't work for me. However, you can try your luck, or simply listen to the whole album on their bandcamp page.

bandcamp / facebook