Happy Particles - Under Sleeping Waves (2011)

Country: United States
Genre: Shoegaze/Slowcore/Indie-Pop

One of my favorite 2011 albums, Under Sleeping Waves is probably the most relaxing music you'll ever hear. It's like taking a nap on a hammock of clouds. It's like resting your head on a pillow of fluff. It's like having sex with with the Snuggle Teddy Bear. Just complete and utter relaxation. They don't really do anything new or innovative but find justification in just writing some supremely catchy fucking songs. Awesome shit.

Under Sleeping Waves

Backyard Mortuary - Lore of the Occult (2012)

Country: Australia

Genre: Death Metal

Another band dead set on reviving the death metal sound of early 90's, Lore of the Occult was just kind of randomly unleashed on the interwebs in very late 2012 which unfortunately led to it not really getting the attention it deserves. Backyard Mortuary join the thriving host of Australia exteme metal heroes with one of the best DM albums released last year. With touches of doom and some of the most vicious vocals in the genre, you really can't afford to pass this u p.

SIX FEET DOWN (UNDA)

Church Whip - Psychedlic Nightmare (2013)

Country: United States
Genre: Hardcore/Black Metal

Chances are if you've heard of Church Whip during the past few months, it hasn't been for their music. After naming their tour "Raping The East", they experienced a whirlwind of controversy for apparently being offensive. I usually don't like to get into topics like this, but I for one think that's absolutely ridiculous. In this day an age it's stupid be offended by this sort of thing, especially when it comes to underground bands who generally name their tours/albums/etc... after taboo topics. Fuck all that shit though, lets talk about the music.

Made up of members from bands like Divisions, Horrid Cross, Cult Ritual, Merchandise and a few other established underground projects, Church Whip plays fierce d-beat hardcore with a taste of black metal. While this style of music has been becoming more and more prevalent these past few years, it's often hard to really differentiate or  even care about yet ANOTHER band like this, but Church Whip has a sound that is all their own, so you should really be paying attention. This is probably one of my favorite full-lengths so far this year and easily one of the best hardcore has had to offer yet. So get with it.

RAPE THE BLOGSPHERE

Sport - Colors (2012)

Country: France
Genre: Indie/Emo

When I first discovered this release, the thing I was immediately drawn to was the album cover. It's kind of like someone took a picture on Instagram and it was actually good. For some reason it made me feel like the album would have some weird, nostalgic feel to it and I can honestly say that it kind of does. The music here is bright and sparkly indie emo with a lot of the Midwestern scene influences although it never feels derivative. The two vocalists are honestly awesome, both very emotive with their own unique deliveries. It seems they draw more from traditional punk vocally but it still fits the music perfectly nonetheless. There are some truly great hooks to be found here and overall this is just an outstanding release.

Bandcamp

Solstice - Solstice (1992)

Country: United States
Genre: Death/Thrash

Probably one of the criminally overlooked bands in all of old school death metal history. The songwriting here is extremely tight (no doubt thanks to death metal guitarist wunderkind Rob Barret) and the drumming in particular is just fucking pummeling. These guys keep the pace at "BLITZKREIG" throughout most of this album's running time and it really does make you admire their dexterity as well as technical skill. Rob Barret also performs vocals on this, and unlike pretty much all the other death metal bands at that time, his delivery was more of a rasp which definitely gave Solstice an identity of their own. This is a must have!

Cleansed of Impurity

Cauteror - They Fell (1993)

Country: Netherlands
Genre: Melodic Death/Doom

Brought to you by Mories of the infamous Gnaw Your Tongues, Cauteror was an old-school death/doom band that as far as I know, only released this gem of a demo before disbanding and falling into complete obscurity. Although all doom tends is inherently melancholic, Cauteror was able to make it seem really genuine which is a large reason as to why I love this demo so much. Of course the pace is plodding, but They Fell.. absolutely refuses to become dull through the entirety of its four tracks. My favorite aspect of the demo is probably how the band was able to imbue such classic metal melodies within the songs without sacrificing the intergrity of their death metal aspects. Overall this shit is glorious, so check it the fuck out.

On Wings of Blasphemy

Anubi - Mastabos Dvelksmas (1994)

Country: Lithuania

Genre: Black Metal/Avant-garde

Label: Fuck if I know.

Really been digging this demo from Anubi lately, solely based on how weird and unique it is. For something released in '94, this sounds nothing like what was circulating in Scandinavia at the time. Really, it's kind of hard to even call this black metal. What we get here is often droning, jamming, and almost jazz-like improvisation, but all this is indubitably shrouded in lo-fi production with bits of eerie atmosphere and the odd folky melody here and there. So pick this up; even if it ends up not being your cup of tea, it definitely makes for an interesting listen. Angel out.

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