CDR – ‘NOVEMBER 21ST’

Breakcore Noise synesthetic collage from the hyperactive CDR. Demonic breaks ad infinitum and eccentric hardcore bangers fused together, swirling in and out of aggression and elation like surging serotonin deficiency, catastrophic sampling mutated and cut to ribbons, stacked into a canon and blasted across inky vacuum Bass burbling into bleeding-red audial overload, stream of consciousness divides clattering break-sodden eclecticism and audacious bubbling ambience, super stepper staircases up and down like MC Escher looney tunes, expressions of old breaks Hardcore enmeshed within, everything sealed in Harsh Noise production potentialities. A whole cavalcade of weirdo, sweaty, aggy fun. I was first made aware of CDR from his Harsh Noise heavy ‘Public Sick’ release (GK#169), and he’s still cranking out noise contaminated breakcore with Ritalin devotion. A real one. Also, scope out a killer CDR longsleeve with this release and peacock your superior tastes and styles to those inferior devotees of the algorithm.

Bandcamp

BULLET CLENCHED IN TEETH – ‘STEWED, SCREWED AND TATTOOED’

Depraved War Noise Sludge from the shell shocked minds of K.S. and D.N.E., also of the irrepressible and inexplicable Tsalal and  Black Abyss. Barbarous and corpulent black sludge noise, looming sky-blackening barrages of artillery blast percussions mix mid paced war blasts and yet slower canon dirges, bass heavy drudge of grinded mangled riffs blown apart, insane battlefield distorted echo wyrd vocal incantations proclaim orders and liturgies across the line, drone infrared patterns exposed prone forms in the sweltering jungle, tracers shatter the treeline… doomed wartorn Psych(o)edelia, dread violent Sludge and Grind sturm und drang. Bloody mud in the fields of fucking death! The cassette features some excellent prison art style, demonic forms painted across riverbanks as manifestations of conflict like battlefield phantasm trading cards, vile totems of pyrrhic victory. Canned heat – Contents under pressure – front towards enemy.

War Vellum

———– — —

EFFLUENCE – ‘PSYCHOCEPHALIC SPAWNING’

The first full length offering from one-man monstroddity Effluence, a sacrificial mutating slaughter in the name of Death Metal’s boundless, fractal tomorrow. Fusion jazz ‘Free Death’ slam brutality and truculence melts down and spews cosmic space death tech metal abstraction through intense instrumentation and atypical grinding pounding percussive flagellation and battery, amid a nuclear fallout of mind-flaying absurdity. ‘Song’ structures unfurl inconceivably, guitars and bass wrench and vomit atonal chord wall collapse with skronking macro dissonance, immutably deft pinch harms and genetically warped shredder pealing prog death solos, lockjaw intense dexterous drumming veers and careens through exceptionally tight patterns impossible to discern, leading each track through vortex and vacuum with absolute disregard for form, synths, keys, sax and winds loom beneath in abstract deliquescence, appearing within the maelstrom as piques of perfect absurdism, seams bursting with moments of insanely longhaired thousand-eyed progressive tech death expulsion, super low intonated bdm vocalwall and cosmic death warcry vocal battle for host supremacy, piles of writhing blasting grinding viscera toxify and strangulate in surrealist ecstasy. Totality Star Death and horrendous unimaginable rebirth. Megametal.

Bandcamp

CTENIZIDAE – ‘HUMENICIDEG I’

Filthy necrotic Black Noise from the obscure Eerie Silence Productions, shadowrealm of projects such as Ärid, Virulent Specter, Astral Tomb of Yearning, and a few others. Groaning minimal noise loops render a Black Ambient shade, spooky crepuscular tones hover above pulsing spectral presences, daring those mortal to provoke their malignant powers! Rueful, broken dirge synth tones appear from the black mists tape and dire throbbing amplifier sounds, the sombre insanity, black mood of the mourner driven mad in hateful despair, glaring pulses and loops build and mount in sweat dripping nightmare tension and insect hate, rhythmic passages thrum and boil, tapes rolling over into the void, aggravating and haunting, eyes rolling back in the head, capillaries bursting with clotted black blood… suffocating Black Noise, bad vibes from beyond life’s domain.

Eerie Silence Productions

TOADLIQUOR – ‘BACK IN THE HOLE’

Toadliquor returns from total obscurity to unleash a colossal callous shitide of mean Sludge on the aptly titled ‘Back In the Hole’. Doling out metallic, hatefully stoned riffs like methadone cups in the predawn haze, unfurling with poisonous gain like Trouble meets Upsidedown Cross, claws caked in ketamine work delirious, defeated melody, obscure and forlorn, drugged and chugging, metronomic rhythms caustic and violent envenomed with tar black braided Bass, extreme dark vocal scrawl and debased declaration from the pit of ruin. Burdensome, pugilistic, soul destroying and enormous, a hefty toll of nasty Sludge afflicted upon a ruinous psyche unable to bear the strain, delighting in the irresistible pull of negativity. Observe the post-liminal swastika of technocratic banality so brazenly adorning the confrontational album art, the unbearable samsara of experiential abuse and toiling in the absurd, and despair. A real winner.

Southern Lord

WEEPING SORES – ‘FALSE CONFESSION’

Gloriously magisterial Death Doom from NY trio Weeping Sores. Theirs is a chasmic and funereal yet architecturally astonishing sound, a crushed velvet pall of biblically accurate angelic Doom Death Metal. Intricate riffs compounded and roused with Violin suites adorn the bier, stately percussion hammers a funerous drudge deep into the earth with eyes cast upwards in stargazing wonder, vocal a commanding melancholy bellow of extra low death exhalation. Moody and heavy, rousingly gloweringly pensive, graceful and despairing. The earliest (and best) works of the Peaceville three are good touchstones here, as is dISEMBOWELMENT’s forlorn masterpiece ‘Trancendence into the Peripheral’, but Weeping Sores also commands a majestic presence all their own, uniquely poised between beams of piercing light and swathes of vacuous, crushing darkness. Hyperion Death Doom.

Bandcamp

I,Voidhanger Records

NUCLEAR SPRING DISCOGRAPHY

The complete discography of overlooked US snots Nuclear Spring, released on cassette by Doomtown. Members of this band played in and went on to join CREEM, Ajax, La Misma, NOMOS and others, their pedigree sound capturing a perfect nexus of influence between very early Punk Rock and US Hardcore that makes for irresistibly simple songcraft and burly, hard edged fury. Single note Guitar lines scramble for consonance, crusher chords minimalist and brimming with slashing power, Bass and Drums interlock and rock in march stepping, melodious haste, each mostly mid-paced song covered in dude croons, wails and yowls from one male/one female voice, both possessed of sophomoric rage and youthful enthusiasm. Virulently catchy, loud and vituperative, burning with life and incensed at unequal social outcome, and informed by scenes like UK82 and even a little streak of Oi, Nuclear Spring is positively ion charged with Punk Rock power. Rips beginning to end.

Doomtown Records

GROSS LOAD – ‘EXPOSED TO FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE’

A fat gelatinous wad of gore soaked Death/Gore/Grindcore from drum machinegunner Gross Load. Delirious with mongo-grooves and surging soupy gore riffs gushing bubbling liquid ichor, shockingly fluid and dynamic, sinew bound to the steaming drum machine beneath, hammering banging and slamming with rictus tight programmed blasts and tupa-tupa mince/thrash beat breakdowns, unwieldy and clattering, slathered with ultra brutal hamsandwich deth vocal. Deadly and megafast, groovy and girthy. ‘Exposed To Forbidden Knowledge’ reminds me of ANb’s ‘The Glue That Binds Us’ 7″, those tracks featuring a deathly flavour to the riffing and with that absurd and bizarre mondo vocal, an atmosphere of antisocial insanity and insalubrity that Gross Load shovels out here in sloppy, chuggy, gooey bucketfuls. Killer shit! I’ll be investigating their full length offerings next.

Bandcamp

DOPE PURPLE & BERSERK – ‘THIS IS THE HARSH TRIP FOR NEW PSYCHE’

A portentous cosmic collision between Dope Purple’s spaced out throwback Psychedelic Rock and Beserk’s fulminate alien Harsh Noise, released by the mercurial WV Sorcerer Productions label. Dope Purple ramps, stages and launches 5 tracks of motorik, tumbling Psychedelic Rock, crystalline brittle Guitars and longwinding louche Bass lines summit and plummet both gently and desperately, glistening with delay and reverb, beats treading a dusty caravan path of fulsome, feeling groove, echo-drenched dude vocal appears like the aural Sherpa up the mountain of the omnistoned. Bersek looms without like awesome cumulus cloud formation, allowing for Dope Purple’s spacious interplay and sonic oxygenations, gathering momentum and power before ejaculating his roiling, combustible Harsh Noise asunder, exploding in star destroying Guitar solo mimicry cascade of brutally loud audial magma, smothering the florid instrumentation beneath and sealing it’s essence within like the petrified humans of Pompeii. When Berserk truly lets rip to maul and malign Dope Purple’s intense, generative psychedelia their collaborative power is orgasmically revealed, rupturing the prone instrumentations at their seams and bursting their sweet juices and potent fluids all over the innerspace. This is an addictively harsh tapestry of delirious voluminous psychedelia. Heads & Hearts only.

WV Sorcerer Productions 巫唱片

CALCINATED – ‘MORGUE SERENITY’

Calcinated is a pathological Goregrind/Deathgrind project from Mexico, featuring members of a host of reprehensible Goregrind and Gorenoise bands including Putrefuck, Septic Autopsy and the reprehensibly disgusting Fetal Deformity to name just three.  Anatomical old school as fuck Goregrind pungent with the influence of very old death metal and early grindcore, replete with razor sharp metallic guitar elements and rife with ping snare and raw 00’s production, a diabolical combination of goregrind symptoms resultant in a truly cadaverous and memorable record. Rhythms veer from mid paced punk gore stomp to very fast and detailed deathgrinding blasting abandon, bizarre breakdowns and deathly double bass grooves abound, with complex lithe riffing besmirched by noisy production, howling pitch-shifted bleghs and creepy retching Carcass worshipping vocal, and flesh ripping sonorous lead guitars, littered with overwrought sampling (as dogma demands). Calcinated is at least a severed head above the competition here. Wretched!

Rectal Purulence

Bandcamp

THANATOPSIS – ‘DEFLESHED IN EXCREMENTS’

Thanatopsis’ 2010 demo/EP ‘Defleshed In Excrements’, an all-too-short gorging of ecstatically, hideously decayed Goregrind excellence. I first became aware of this international project reading through A. Ringdahl/Hyperemesis’s interview on the now deceased Braindead Zine, and seeking out their excellent split together. Properly putrefied and shambolic, caste of dread deadly Death and Grind riffing and brief blasting noisy song structure, clotted rictus drumming ridden with filth and stench, vocal of the decomposed roars and wretches with agonising pitch shifted putrefaction, each odious sound captured in obscure, gutterbloated 4 track-sounding tape. Exceptionally raw, filthy, punk as fuck Goregrind from corporeal degeneration and morbid biological disgust.  Aside from their massively overlooked full-length ‘Stages Of Decomposition’, this is my favourite Thanatopsis material. Exhume and consume, ghouls.

No Physical Productions

SIMIAN STEEL – ‘MISSING FUCKING LINK’

International ape unit Simian Steel’s first full length, a torment of mean-as-shit Sludge featuring members of Fistula and OG IxM guitarist (and current Bass player in their re-animated ranks) Steve Watson. A pitch black evocation of tar-thick criminal Sludge and Doom caste in cigarette smoke and diesel fumes. Groove-soaked, imposingly syrupy alcoholic riffs of forlorn self-loathing locked into metronomic, battering, pendulous rhythms, heavy handed and thunderous, adorned with extremely Morrow-summoning vocal exhortations, depressions and ululation, the work of under-evolved gruff bastards in thrall to the Iron masters. Caustic, thuggish and cruel.  A direct comparison to another band is about as lazy as it gets, but c’mon, they’re called Simian Steel for fuck’s sake. They’re dancing around an enormous Iron Monkey effigy like the inbred tribes of Kong on skull island! And theirs is a brute, foul worship, their Sludge idol made utterly fucking ugly in their creator’s fearsome image – hideously aggressive, hormonally enraged, teeth bared and feral! A feast of mean-spirits for the terminally unemployable. For my money, a far more appealing proposition than Iron Monkey’s comeback full length.

Black Mold Records

STCLVR – ‘POST SELF ABANDONMENT’

Unkind Power Electronics, Noise EBM and nightmarish Darkwave perverted and decontextualized by some horny masked puck,  a foul, rogue fulminate of scalding alkaline electronics, accurately named by it’s author ‘harsh industrial bedroom pop’. Classic wobbly-signal power electronics vocal fluctuation spits slathered over (curb)stomping darkwave arrangements, pulsating grinding Bass surges and funky thumping kicks, synthesizers purge and ooze pure menace, glowering tyrannical production booms and blats like a motherfucker. Danceable and decimating in equal awful measure. Kitsch, cute and criminal, like being beaten to death by a super sexy leather demon of indeterminate gender. Greasy, perverse and aggressive , dense and autoerotic, ‘Post Self Abandonment’ represents an apotheosis of design in STCLVR’s sound, equally sensual and bared-teeth furious, a cornucopia of fuming paradoxes. Fucking exceptional.

Phage Tapes

Crucial Blast

Bandcamp

TJOLGTJAR – ‘VRUGUUN’

Tjolgtjar’s final record ‘Vruguun’ is a drugged and rockin’ descent into Psychedelic Black Metal hades, and a perfect summation of what makes Tjolgtjar so special. An amazing amalgam of influences making for a formidably unique redneck Black Metal record, drunk on potent ‘shine. King Diamond and Speed Metal, Kiss and WASP, raw Darkthrone and Burzum style Black Metal, Country, Bluegrass and Southern (gothic) Rock,13th Floor Elevators and Roky Erikson, Ted Nugent and Charles Manson, little nods to Post Punk, all manner of psychedelia, Goblin, Synths and Organs, raw and reedy Black Metal Guitars with killer riffing, rasping evil vocal mixed with impassioned singing and Metal wails, wailin’ solos over hard rocking anthems, psilocybin-laced Black Rock and Metal of a completely unique formula. Satanic and Occult, raw and obscure. Some tracks adhere to a more traditional Black Metal composition, others hew closer to 70’s Hard Rock or ancient spellbound Heavy Metal, and others still combine these elements into an incredibly heady listening experience. Slight differences or emphases in production across these 24 tracks amount to a very home-made, underground sound, very high concept and low fidelity. Vruguun is an absolute delight of non traditional Black Metal Magick, deftly handling dirt-rune experimentalism and drunk as fukk anthem bangin’ across it’s running time. Crucial.

Illinoisan Thunder

Super Sargasso

Bandcamp

VOMIR AND LEGION OF ANDROMEDA – ‘HARSH METAL WALL’

Collaborative CD release from post Metal barbarians Legion of Andromeda and the high lord wallmaster Vomir, a co-release between At War With False Noise, Decimation Sociale and Turgid Animal Italian Division. Total obstinate truculence made audial in incorrigable torpor. Each unit presents a track each of their own material, which is exclusive to the CD release, and contributes to 4 collaborative tracks, each just a hair over 18 minutes in length, which are available to stream and download. Noise Metal singularity, the brutalist monocrush doom-mongering of LOA’s unremitting cyclone 1 dimensional Industrial Death barrage beat anvil strike pattern and repeat roaring vocal invocation, alloyed in heresy with Vomir’s non-entity static wall noise perma-surge, exacting and entirely non-negotiable. Repetitious punishment, warping volume endurance, zealous flagellation meted out by faceless, indifferent inquisitors. Each project’s individual contributions sit comfortably within their respective discographies in a qualitative sense, with LOA’s ‘Hatebeat’ providing a particularly cruel, brusque, lengthy dismantling experience, but the collaborative tracks here truly strike a hammerblow to the collective artistic ego and objective prejudice, non-art annihilation stretched across timeless minimalist millennia, metronomicon Noise Metal from beyond myopia. A cudgel of perfect repetitious obstinance.

Decimation Sociale Releases

Bandcamp

EFFLUENCE / BLOWTORCH SPLIT

Sick outsider Gore/Death split from the now-ceased Sickening Shit operation, peddlers of only the most intensely hostile Gore, recently resurfaced renamed as Slaughtered Records like a corpse full of putrid gas in an industrial refuse marsh. Effluence plays a brand of extra-choppy free death brutality nearly unmatched in it’s sclerotic insanity, nauseating and alienating permablasting death, a brick wall of Brutal Death Metal torment with atypical percussion elements, violent freeform ‘riff’ structures boiling and seizing, putrid superlow vocal, a free-flowing improvisational language undecipherable even to the most blast-hardened intellects. Blowtorch operates in a similar field but with half of the artistry and twice the narcotics, self harming outsider art Gorenoise Brutal Death drooling with incorrigible aggression and psychosis. Irrepressible vocal lunacies, demented half riffs grind and scour, rictus blast drums, low tech ‘production’ with the overwhelming whiff of occupational therapy set deep in the seams. Lo-fi as Avant Garde.

Effluence Bandcamp

Blowtorch youtube

HEAVY SENTENCE – ‘WARRIORS OF MADNESS’

Helion Heavy Metal 7″ from England’s Heavy Sentence, co-released by Dying Victims Productions and Hackney’s own Crypt of the Wizard. 3 tracks of persecution, mayhem and hellraising, NWOBHM worship with a streak of 1st wave gloaming Black Metal spite, crusty leather and executioner’s axe. Guitars slash and chug with heaving bollocks and swagger, conjuring darkly uplifting melodies and mellifluent mean-as-fukk leads across road dog storming drunken rhythm section, smashing and battering, awesome vocal full of booze and hate, ablaze with molten boogie licks and retrogressive Hard Rock trappings. Uproarious, despoiling Heavy Metal to drink, fight and fuck to. Knife wielding hooligans, beer drinking graveyard lurkers, road warrior freaks and bastard knights, rejoice! Slash the pose, disregard the plastic retro shit and get stuck in. Heavy Sentence is the real fucken deal.

Dying Victims Productions

Bandcamp

VICTIMS PANEL – ‘SHOW THEM’

Jay Tichy of SIDETRACKED infamy conjures a torrid steely stomp of Black Punk Metal, deeply indebted to Bone Awl and Ildjarn’s bastard lineage but with a myopic locus of influence within Hardcore – searing bleached white Black Metal scaffolded by very reductive stiff stomper beats, slashes of fuzzed, crumpled Guitars form ugly, brooding angles across the eyes, bellowed brooding vocal exhalations atop. Vicious and wicked. Like a foul bilious conjuration of influence between Negative FX, Tinner and Sump. I do feel that the devotional brevity for which Jay is known in his various projects is a little misplayed here, some of these ideas might work slightly better or land harder with a bit more room to breathe, but no matter. This is still a total starching.

Damien Records

MARTÍN ESCALANTE / TETÉ LEGUÍA / WEASEL WALTER – ‘KATYUSHA’

3 long tracks of multi-directional improvisational malfeasance to the destroy the illusion, reality shaking expressions of exuberance, power and lunacy. Totalitarian, maximalist torrent of free improvisation, an explosively intense expression of Free Jazz, a wordless primal scream dialed to 11 and vibrating with humming radioactive power. Delicacy and intonation wither like prone digits in a subzero torrent. Weasel pummels and plummets down the stairs in bursts of terminal velocity, crashing through the firmament with fearsome idiot energy and incredibly dexterous, choppy runs full of off-kilter hyper blast beats and endless rolling double bass. Leguía applies a tormenting, synapse poisoning saxophone performance best experienced behind bulletproof glass, each singing, stinging, screaming volley forced into life, choked and strangled, threatening to destroy your precious inner ear, and Escalante conjures a bass performance of the unfathomable, an iron curtain falling in plumes and rotten ruffles, coiling and piling beneath and amidst the insane percussion. Quieter moments serve to wane the friction and crank up the foul ambiance of these three demons at work(&play). A maelstrom of hyperkinetic aplomb and sweat-soaked interactive fervor, challenging and socially challenged. If you enjoy Painkiller era Zorn, Sissy Spacek or Peter Brötzmann, seek no further. Entirely essential, fun as fuck.

ugEXPLODE

ENTREATIES TO THE HEADS 2023

Being as I’m lucky enough to fraternise on the internet with an estimably mucky peerage, each individual cultist possessing esoteric tastes and obscure interests, I thought I would ask a few of these heads and freaks to cast their eyes and ears back across 2023 and list their favourite releases. No rules or caveats were applied.

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TOM – TxOxTxHxFxIxCxI / I CRAWLED / NERVE CREMATION

Tolerances Of The Human Face In Crash Impacts

I Crawled

Nerve Cremation

@Spirate_flow

My favourite album this year by a mile was the new Khanate, but I thought instead I’d talk about some lesser known releases and hopefully give them some deserved attention!

Psych War – Demo 2023

Combining d-beat ferocity with early stenchcore heft, these guys have almost reached crust perfection on their first demo! Track 3 Is an actual masterpiece and sounds like Sacrelige playing Jag Panzer

https://psych-war.bandcamp.com/album/demo-23

Eremit – Wearer of Innumerable Forms

Otherworldly heaviness on the 3rd album from this underrated “mythological” sludge/drone trio. The low end on this thing is unreal, despite their lack of a bassist! The album’s 2 hour runtime (made up by just 3 tracks) might be daunting for some but I could listen to this all day.

https://fuckingkillrecords.bandcamp.com/album/eremit-wearer-of-numerous-forms…

Pale World – Unrequited

Blistering harsh noise from one of the best ones doing it in my local scene. Not a whole lot more to say other than to turn this one up and make sure to catch him live If you get the chance

https://paleworld.bandcamp.com/album/unrequited…

Gom Jabbar – Demo

Stumbled on this nasty piece of work on RYM one day – Raw Death/Doom with an industrial edge that sounds like it was recorded in a cave full of malfunctioning mining equipment

https://gomjabbardeath.bandcamp.com/album/demo

Spastic Tumor – Autopsy Exploitation

Is it even grind anymore If the songs are up to 8 minutes long and consist entirely of mid-paced d-beat caveman stomping? I’m not sure I care if it sounds this good!

https://grandvomitproductions.bandcamp.com/album/autopsy-exploitation…

Gotthammer – Godslaying Sonic Barbarism

It’s war metal. You love it or you hate it, as always.

https://gotthammer.bandcamp.com/album/godslaying-sonic-barbarism…

Distraxi – Bars Made of Skin

Another up and coming UK noise/power electronics artist I was lucky enough to catch live this year; Distraxi has released a number of albums this year of which is Bars… is the nastiest sounding so is obviously my favourite! Powerful stuff!

https://distraxi.bandcamp.com/album/bars-made-of-skin

Peine Kapital – Peine Kapital

You like filth? You like feedback? You like a bass tone that sounds like a chainsaw? You like riffs that sound like Grief by way of Public Castration is a Good Idea? Forget about any weak-ass racist black metal nonsense, sludge is where the French are really killing it at the moment, and Peine Kapital are the meanest example so far!

https://peinekapital.bandcamp.com/album/peine-kapital

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ACB – CAÏNA / CROOKED LIGHT

Caïna

Crooked Light

@cainalikehyena

Anohni and the Johnsons – My Back Was a Bridge for you to Cross

At once liberationist and funereal, a dualist manifesto for our broken age.

Ellen Zweig – Fiction of the Physical*

Essential reissue of some of the most beautiful electronics and spoken word work ever made

John Coltrane Eric Dolphy* – Evenings at the Village Gate

Whilst Coltrane remains sublimely Coltrane and delivers a career best Favourite Things here, it’s Dolphy who emerges the star of these previously lost recordings. Mandatory.

Matthew Halsall – An Ever Changing View

Halsall turns in perhaps his most delicate and optimistic sounding record yet. Like giving your soul a lovely big bubble bath.

Alabaster DePlume – Come with Fierce Grace

It’s really a testament to just how extraordinary last year’s GOLD album was that this LP of what essentially amounts to offcuts and jams from those sessions ends up being one of the best albums of the year and never sounds anything less than its own mercurial beast.

Pharoah Sanders – Pharaoh +Harvest Time Live*

This box set taken as a whole ends up less as a reissue of a single (fantastic) album and more a deep dive into the Harvest Time composition, here given 3 completely different and equally gorgeous workouts. Get the physical version for some awesome paper extras.

Khanate – To Be Cruel

Whilst the Khanate experience remains similar to jumping head first into a Saw trap, it’s the instrumental and compositional subtleties that really stand out.

Lil Yachty – Let’s Start Here

LY leaps from mumbly soundcloudcore to blossoming modern psychedelia in perhaps *the* metamorphosis of the decade so far

Sketch185 – He Left Nothing for the Swim Back

Caustic and emotional doom-hop, bangs like a freezer door in your face

Brandee Younger – Brand New Life

Continues to cement Younger’s position as the 21st century Dorothy Ashby. Lively and lovely.

*=Reissue

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BRANDO – MARION BARRY / OSCILLATION OVERTHRUSTER / GONZO KARAOKE DROOG

Marion Barry

Oscillation Overthruster

@xenodistortion

Music from the cartoon One Piece – Mostly orchestra jams & funny pirate songs. Good shit.

Fight It Out – “Skinhead Grind” – Sick power violence posing as beatdown hardcore. Usually it’s the other way around.

Filmmaker – “Achromatik” – Sexy chompy nuclear-synth dance music to kill vampires & video punx to.

Degloved/Oozing Meat – split tape – deafening repetitive toilet noises empowering your brain to sentient beef jerky.

Sordo/Shitbrains – Split 7″ – Best SoCal PV/GRIND has to offer on one platter. Blown out, grosser & faster. Sizzler.

Transient & Bastard Noise / Completed Exposition & Blackphone 666 – 7″ – Lots of people on one small record. It works though.

Sprain – “The Lamb As Effigy” lp – Polymorphic mindfucking indydoom liquifying your jellybean cortex into total submission. I dare you.

Laughter – Demo 1 & 2 5″ lathe – Big burly stop n’ go grindburger with mustard & blast beats. Angry dumper. Worth the wait.

DFL – “My Crazy Life” reissue LP – First punk band I ever saw. Legendary LA HC + Bonus Live set.

BLARGHSTRAD – “STOP! START! ART! HOT! LIVE! NOISE!” – Noisegrind bedroom bullshit by a seasoned pro. I love this.

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UCCHY – NAPALM DEATH IS DEAD / cunts / AVA / AMON DUUL III / SHIT-EYE CASSETTES

Napalm Death Is Dead

cunts

AVA

Amon Düül III

Shit-Eye Cassettes

@FrozenPanty

not only 2023 releases, but I listened them a lot in this year.

Konflict – Subjugation I & II (CD)

– Blacken Grind Terrorist from Sri Lanka. Best brend of Grindcore / Black Metal / Harsh Noise.

Dread / Xtreme Obsession – split (LP)

– Reissue of early 90’s Underground Metal demo from Singapore. Harsh Black Metal KILLS!!

V.A. – Spews Rot and Destroys Civility : A Finnish Noisecore Compendium (LP)

– Finland = Noisecore, Yes, Finland is nirvana of noisecore. compiled by Great Noisecore zine Garbage Fountain, you can know recently Finland noisecore scene w/this.

Craniorachischisis – s/t (CD)

-Gore Noise from Estonia,solo project of drummer guy from infamous war black metal Goat Smegma. Totally disgusting noise storm,GREAT!!

Sadoghoul / Negación – Negative Black Noise (cass)

-Both Goatvulva / Beherit worshipping Deathcore Metal teaming up!! Full of Negative Black Noise as title says!

ENDON – Boy Meets Girl (CD)

-God Gave Rock’n’Roll,new masterpiece of 21st century. After releasing, I listened this title repeatedly!!

Epiploenterocele Pusliquid Wormchunk – Copremetophiliac Obsession With Cesspool Eruption

-Thailand Gore Noise master, Cystgurgle. this project is their leader Gore Dick’s another project. This band kills fake asshole who call himself Gore Noise.

ゆれつずける(Yuretsuzukeru) – 雑音将軍 (General Noise) (cass)

-this tape released about 10 years ago, maybe only few people have this title,but really GREAT noisecore stuff!!

W.B.I. – Storm From The Baltic Sea~Early Massacres 1987-1991 (LP+CD)

-No Comment Needed!!

AVA – AAAVAVAVAAA (8cmCD)

-my band,total stupid!! I continue this style.

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MICHAEL VAN GORE – ANATOMY OF THE HEADS

@AoftheH

The Best Albums of the Year 2023

According to Michael van Gore (Glorious Leader of Anatomy of the Heads)

Attention shoppers,

in the vast expanse of my music-saturated existence, 2023 emerged as a rather uneventful blip on my auditory radar. Naturally, amidst my divine pursuits, I perused a smidgen of music—mostly snippets that dribbled through the chatter of social media ‘mutuals,’ and of course, the unpolished gems of Bandcamp and YouTube, disdainfully avoiding cesspools mainstream outlets. So, behold, the meager compilation of my ‘Albums of the Year,’ curated with the precision of a bored deity unimpressed by this year’s musical offerings.

No 1:

Nigel – Exotica Vol. 4

https://nigelfrantz.bandcamp.com/album/exotica-vol-4

This album, titled as a nod to its prestigious predecessors, endeavors to be a torchbearer of the awe-inspiring exotica trilogy that made waves in 1950s America, establishing the very foundations of the Exotica musical genre. What sets this record apart is its daring attempt to deconstruct the exotica sound to its core elements, presenting a raw and unembellished sonic landscape that still manages to evoke the enigmatic and haunting essence synonymous with this style of music.

Within its succinct yet powerful delivery, this album encapsulates the very spirit that courses through the veins of numerous exotica classics. It’s a concise masterpiece, a fleeting glimpse into a world teeming with mystique and adventure. It beckons you to explore the uncharted territories of your imagination, perhaps prompting you to embark on a mental escapade, raiding lost temples and conjuring ancient mysteries within the confines of your daydreams. For me, amidst the humdrum of musical releases this year, this album stands tall as a personal zenith—a tantalizing invitation to immerse oneself in the evocative allure of exotica’s hidden realms.

No.2

Athena Ignoramus – Antipathy

https://athena-ignoramus.bandcamp.com/album/antipathy

This album is all about noisy, bass-driven goth slow jams that you would find playing in a dingy 80s underground lair. What sets this record apart from the countless attempts at invoking this music? Firstly, its brevity; it knows precisely when to bid adieu, sparing the listener from a tedious marathon. The haunting, nursery rhyme-like vocals, buried deep within the sonic layers, beckon exploration and whisper of occult imagery akin to ancient incantations, reminiscent of dark passages found in any black metal opus. And finally, there is the allure of its raw production—a charming, homely quality that evokes memories of a charming demo that captured lightning in a bottle somewhere in the backstreets of your hometown. It proudly wears its darkness, brooding like a tempestuous sky, reminiscent of Japan’s Gallhammer but without the distortion and black metal pretense.

No. 3

Night Feeder – Within the Heart of the Deceased

https://owlripperrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/on055-the-withering-heart-of-the-deceased

Remember Abruptum, the ’90s black metal-inspired noise ensemble with an evil nameless dwarf? Enter Night Feeder, proudly carrying the torch of that abstract black metal noise weirdness into the contemporary scene. But, hold the nostalgia—this isn’t a mere throwback. This album transcends the trappings of a time capsule. Despite the discordant nature of the music, there is an attempt at a structured symphony in the chaos, where the cacophony seems to hint at actual musical compositions. Unpredictable yet strangely familiar, it’s a sonic journey adorned with intermittent riffs and sporadic drum patterns that miraculously knit the whole piece together.

In every crescendo and discordant harmony, Night Feeder nails the vibe, channeling an atmospheric prowess that lures you into its haunting embrace. It’s not just a mood piece; it’s a masterpiece—a standout gem in the realm of 2023’s sonic landscapes, outshining the myriad clones attempting to emulate the essence of Abruptum. This album, in its twisted elegance, masters the art of invoking moods better than most, proving to be a dark symphony you simply can’t ignore.

No. 4

Sugaar Pan – Hug A Tree And Burn the Forest

https://sugaarpan.bandcamp.com/album/hug-a-tree-and-burn-the-forest-lp

Hear me out on this one! This record is basically the krautrock opera that accompanies the whimsical spectacle of garden gnomes frolicking in your very own backyard. As such, this album struts along a tightrope, gracefully balancing between the sleek, Italian Cinema-esque mondo vibes and the trippy, psychedelic reverberations of post-rock hippie jams. It’s a delicate equilibrium, masterfully maintained without swaying too far into either realm. The magic lies in its ability to harmonize these contrasting moods seamlessly, creating a unique auditory experience that transcends genre trappings. At the heart of this feat lies the sprawling and detailed instrumentation. This isn’t just about tunes; it’s a musical odyssey where every instrument plays a vital role through building up timbres and textures, supporting the intricate tapestry of sounds that define this record. It’s the glue that holds together this kaleidoscopic fusion and makes it worth listening to.

No. 5

Mike Cooper – Black Flamingo

https://room40.bandcamp.com/album/black-flamingo

This record catered to my avant-garde cravings in ways that had me utterly delighted. Picture free jazz improvisations that pulsate with a unique essence, revolving around the mesmerizing echoes of a telecaster, as though plucked from the heart of a surf rock epic. It’s akin to experiencing an exotica-infused island rendition of a Dereck Bailey album. The allure here lies in the fusion of styles—a medley of improvised free jazz imbued with the reverberating tones that find a comfortable home on any late-night tiki luau. It’s an eclectic concoction that treads the line between familiarity and uncharted territory, offering a delightful twist to often dry and self-important avant-garde soundscapes. Sure, the record might teeter on the brink of being a tad lengthy for easy consumption, demanding a bit more dedication from the listener. However, for those willing to invest the time, the rewards are nothing short of fittingly gratifying.

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DAWID – PURGIST / HARSHNOISE.ORG

Purgist

harshnoise.org

@harshnoiseorg

My 2023 top list is:

1. Appropriate Savagery – Only Autumn Returns

2. Tim Hecker – No Highs

3. Apologist – Everything Feels Brighter

4. Matriarchy Roots – The Merge

5. Vasculae – Spectrum Art

6. Ybalferran – Karadi

And that’s it.

.

TYLER HAMMER – HALLUCINATION REALIZED / LEAKING HEAD / KINGS OF PUNK PODCAST

Hallucination Realized

Leaking Head

Kings Of Punk Podcast

@Tyler_Hammer_

Here are ten releases I really enjoyed, spanning a few different genres and vibes. 2023 had a lot of incredible music, and I could have easily 30 more, but I need to limit myself in order to get something done. 

Sea of Shit – S/T

Sea of Shit defined an era of underground music for me when I was younger, encapsulating the bleak reality of the 21st century within the frameworks of “punk music” unlike any of their peers. The familiar elements of their previous releases are here but honed to their ultimate form. The guitars and bass coagulate with the drums into a dense mass of sound, overlain with anguished wails and frigid synthesizers to create a miserable din impenetrable only to a select few. Dirges that drag like claws in your back are coupled with volatile blasts that are over faster than a slit throat. As the world seems to crumble around us, this album is the realization that the four walls that keep us safe aren’t as sturdy as we once thought.

Favorite Songs: Dormancy, Thirst for Power, Half-Life

Prurient/Genocide Organ – Carte Blanche

Carte Blanche is a disparate look at the world, where death lurks in every corner, and flesh is common currency. I wouldn’t expect anything less coming from a collaboration between two veterans of the noise scene. Throughout the 8 tracks presented there is a bit of everything I love about the extreme industrial genres. Cold synths buzz and hum, creating an air of anxiety throughout the album. Harsher textures are featured but are used in a way to enhance the dreadful atmosphere rather than blanket over it. Most intriguing to me are the vocals, ranging from commanding shouts to hyper effected mutterings, changing from track to track to embody the feel of each song. There is no solace in this album, just a reminder of how wicked this world is. 

Favorite songs: True Son, Pro-Serial Killer

Pulsatile Tinnitus – The Finer Art of Heartwork

Everyone has their creature comforts that they use to escape from the neverending buzz of society. For me in 2023 it took on the form of ambient music, and The Finer Art of Heartwork became my go to whenever I needed to clear my head. And while ambient is an apt descriptor for this album, the forms it takes offers something deeper than your typical Spotify playlist. There is a gradient in the progression of the album, moving from ethereal to coarse, with a few detours along the way. A song like figure in ceramics might be a bit rough around the edges at first but you quickly become submerged in the experience. Guitars, fielding recordings, and even drums pop in from song to song, never letting the listener become too comfortable. This is an album you can turn on in the background but also one you can hone in on and that depth keeps me listening over and over. 

Favorite Songs: fragment of a seaweed, itch, figure in ceramic

Illiterates – No Experts 

Proclaiming themselves the “dumbest band in hardcore”, Illiterates have a lot of competition for that title. However they might be geniuses when it comes to the art of hardcore, because No Experts is near perfect in its execution. The songs are fast and aggressive but still manage to be catchy. But where Illiterates stands above their peers is vocalist Lawson, whose prose about shithead coworkers, dusty oldheads, and living for the moment is flowing with charm and character. These boys are taking aim, let’s just hope you don’t end up in their sights. 

Favorite Songs: Chip Away, Weather Capital, Tricks of the Trade

Thantifaxath – Hive Mind Narcrosis

Thantifaxath do not seem interested in offering any sort of traditional satisfaction to their audience, instead doing their best to deprive and harm them. Melodies unravel and shift in ways that seem alien. Tempos will rise and fall at times, like walking on uneven floors in pitch black. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by a sense of dread listening to this record even after multiple listens. The fact Thantifaxath are able to accomplish this without resorting to ‘wall of noise’ production is a testament to their intent as a band. While I’d prefer not to wait another 9 years for a new full length, if it’s what it takes to ferment ill gladly wait. 

Favorite songs: Surgical Utopian Love, Sub Lilith Tunnels, Mind of the Sun

Poison Ruin – Harvest 

The last few years has me feeling more attuned to medieaval peasentry than someone living in the golden era of American exceptionalism. Dodging plagues, embroiled in political turmoil, and doing my best to scrape by has me thinking the end times are nigh. Harvest by Poison Ruin feels like a light at the end of the tunnel, a hope in the grim times we live in. This album continues the formula of post-punk, oi, dungeon synth and garage punk and crafted some of their best songs. The production is more lo-fi than previously, an interesting choice considering the label that put this out. Put the dense and foglike production combined with the morose synth interludes adds heavily to the atmosphere the band is crafting. This is the soundtrack we need in these dire times. 

Nithing – Agonal Hymns

Living up to its name, Agonal Hymns is a painful listen. As if brutal death metal wasn’t already unapproachable, Nithing takes it to a new level that is unlike anything I’ve heard from the genre. You have the standards of inhuman drumming and vocals paired with chaotic riffs, but threaded throughout are psychotic leads and various effects that could only be described as alien. These flourishes elevates the album to a new realm of insanity taking on an almost psychedelic effect. It’s impressive how much Matt Kilner, the sole member of the project, is willing to subjugate the listeners to. The final track might be my favorite, ending the album on one final note of psychopaths. 

Favorite Songs: Lustral Cognitive Erosion, Of Those Immortal, Longing for Decease

Wet Specimens – Over Pale Bodies

It’s a shame horror punk refers to a genre of middle aged men doing their best undead Elvis impression, because Wet Specimens live up to the name. Equal parts hardcore punk, death rock, and post punk, Over Pale Bodies explores a wide berth of influences, none ever being more overpowering than another. Pained howls, saturated guitars, and a driving rhythm section send the listener on a frightening journey. The production is the secret ingredient here, as it’s dark atmosphere envelops the listener while still maintaining a level of clarity. This album feels underappreciated now but it’s ability to fit into so many different pegs gives me hope that the punk scene will raise it up to the pedestal it belongs on. 

Favorite Songs: Bed of Nails, Cursed Ethic, Phobias

Narcan – Six Track Demo

I have a near Pavlovian response to reading that a band sounds like Crossed Out. It’s a formula that never seems to get old for me. With 6 songs Narcan delivers that classic sound straight into my veins with no filler. Angry strained vocals belted over blasts and breakdowns with raw as fuck production. The solo on Shell is a nice touch, something I can’t recall hearing much before when it comes to this style of power violence. Bands like this always seem to have the lifespans of a butterfly, so let’s hope they drop a couple more songs before they expire. 

Favorite Songs: All of them, it’s like 4 minutes long.

Bogside Sniper Squadron – Demo 2023

 The first playthrough of this demo hit me like a car bomb, firing off every neuron in my brain. Here we have death metal that embraces a Pro-IRA stance and uses melodic scales that often appear in Irish music, creating a unique mix that I’ve never heard in the underground extreme before. 

Boisterous riffs play over frantic drums with some of the best guitar leads and harmonies I’ve heard in the last 5 years. The demo quality production works great for this, it feels like a tape you could have found in 1994. Every song on hear feels like a rallying cry, and the British should be lucky this wasn’t passed out during The Troubles. 

Favorite Songs: Corporal Executions, M82

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Thank you one and all for your contributions, I love you all. Please excuse my terrible formatting and linking, I’ve only been doing this for 10 fucking years.

I’m hoping to announce a few new contributors to GonzoK soon, fingers crossed.

Here’s to 2024! / Jordan F.T.