Tethered To A Dying Animal - Impermanent

Tethered to a dying animal is a Doom/Sludge/Noise band from San Antonio US, although i shouldn't really say "band", because all musical matter is generated in one guy's mind and so is all of the instrumentation and vocals.

This ep is really well produced and written. The brutally low Guitar sound reminds me of Bongripper while the overall sound leans more towards bands like Old Man Gloom or even Khanate but more dynamically and directly performed. The clean vocals introduce a Post-Metal harmony that traces back to bands like Amen Ra and here and there you can hear hints of Death-Metal guitar techniques.

Despite the wide variety of sound colors applied, the ep does feel like one entity, an entity that is impressing to say the least (even the dark ambient outro sounds promising). I'm really looking forward to see (or preferably 'hear' ) what this guy has in store for us in the future.


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Bandcamp

Des Cendres a La Cave - Ambient Compilation

Des Cendres A La Cave is a French blog focusing on Ambient and Dark electronic artists in the vein of Lustmord, Gnaw Their Tongues and Late Amon Tobin. Recently they have released a compilation of all their recent posts.

It's a really interesting array of artists, all propagating very gloomy/industrial soundscapes that lift the listener into a dark state of bliss.

Des Cendres A La Cave is a blog worth following (even if you can't understand the french commentary)


Des Cendres a la cave

Heavy Planet - Stoner Compilation

Heavy Planet can be considered as one of the main catalysts for new emerging Stoner bands to gain acknowledgement by a broader public, together with countless other Stoner blogs and forums they form the ever so valuable internet-related network of the Stoner Genre.

In the first of January they released this enormous compilation featuring numerous new up and coming Stoner bands, you can download it for free on Bandcamp.

HeavyPlanet.net

Brutality Will Prevail - Scatter the Ashes

Brutality Will Prevail are a Sludge/Hardcore band from Wales. They combine old school sludge metal riffing (Acid Bath, Buzzoven, eyehategod, ... ) with a more hardcore orientated appeal.

They released their latest album 'Scatter the Ashes' in August 2012.

The hardcore vocals, the technically advanced riffing and the wide range of different genres that are touched upon in this album contribute to a very modern take on Sludge metal and a very interesting album to listen to in general.

• Band: Brutality Will Prevail
• Album: Scatter The Ashes
• Genre: Hardcore/Sludge
• Origin: Wales, UK
• Similar Artists: High On Fire, Acid Bath, Down.

Bandcamp

Windhand

Lately there have been a lot of new Stoner/Doom bands appearing out of thin air, all handling pretty much the same overall stoner esthetic, and it's getting quite hard for these bands to push themselves into the ever growing scene.

Windhand is an exception, they manage to craft very melodic soundsculptures that are very accessible, even for non-doomers, i like to label them as the 'Truckfighters of Doom', because of the fact that both bands find themselves in a sort of limbo between the underground and a certain accessibility towards a more mainstream approach.

• Band: Windhand
• Origin: Rchmond, Virginia, US
• Genre: Stoner/Doom
• Similar Artists: Acid King, Late Electric Wizard, Goatsnake, Sons of Otis.

Bandcamp
Download

Dunk! Festival Zottegem

Just recently discovered this promising festival in Zottegem (Belgium) when i was browsing for Maserati's new Tour Dates.

Besides Maserati they have presented a quite interesting line-up with bands like:
Drums are for Parades, Black Heart Rebellion, Stephen O'Malley (Burning Witch, Sunn(0)), ... ) and a lot of bands that i have yet to discover.

Dunkfestival.be

Corrupted & Dot(.) (Japanese Doom)

It's not a sinecure for Japanese doom bands to push their music into the western doom community, and the few bands that to (Boris, Church of Misery, ... ) have managed to do so by extensive and tiring touring campaigns.

That's why i'm dedicating this post to two japanese doom bands that i admire and enjoy listening to.


First up is Corrupted

Corrupted are a very obscure Doom metal band. In their almost twenty years of existence they have made it their band policy to reject all interviews and professional band photography.

You could describe them as an even more ruthless version of Burning Witch but also handling a much broader sound-palette, with acoustic interludes and long noise-ridden slabs of doom.

Really amazing band.


Metallum
Official Site

Next up is dot(.)

dot's just one of those bands that managed to get it just right sound wise: a melting guitar sound that embraces the ampeg-spat low-end to create one massive wall of destruction, (think Dopethrone).

They're a bit repetitive but never tiring.


Metallum
Official Site

Iron Sword & Maeth

2 fresh new Stoner-Doom bands, you can download their EP's from their respective bandcamp site.

Iron Sword is just your everyday Stoner-Doom band, alternating between Slow decomposing riffs and fast-paced sabbathy-style-riffing.

• Band: Iron Sword
• Origin: Burlington, us
• Genre: Stoner-Doom / Sludge-Metal
• Similar artists: Weedeater, Church of misery, Orange Goblin, Bongripper

Iron Sword Bandcamp

Maeth is bit more complicated, you could label them as psychedelic-sludge (if you're also considering everything in between). They excel when playing the more metal-orientated riffs, but the various short psychedelic interludes prove entertaining to say the least.

• Band: Maeth
• Origin: St Paul, Mn, Us
• Psychedelic-Sludge
• Similar artists: Tank 86, Pelican, Kylesa

Maeth Bandcamp

JK Flesh, Posthuman

JK Flesh is another one of Justin K Broadrick's (Godflesh, Final, Jesu, ... ) electronic-industrial projects. you could say that all of his solo work leans a bit toward Godflesh in terms of sound, but i must say that in this one he really found the golden ratio between a grinding metal sound and thundering/clashing electronic beats.

• Artist: JK Flesh
• Origin: Birmingham, England
• Genre: Industrial, Electronica, Dub
• Similar Artists: Scorn, Dälek, Tackhead

Pallbearer

Pallbearer is the doom-metal band that generated the most amount of buzz in 2012.
Their debut album 'Sorrow and Extinction' truly defines a distinguished new doom-sound,
both melodic and melancholic but also very intense and accompanied by dense riffing.

What i also like about Pallbearer is that they manage to create these dramatic song structures without bearing resemblance to any post-metal band out there, really impressive. (although they do sound a bit like 40 Watt Sun).

The only thing holding me back at first were the vocals, they were a bit to operatic for my taste but eventually you start to appreciate the overall atmosphere it creates together with all the other elements that make this band what it is.

fourth song off the album:

• Band: Pallbearer
• Origin: Arkansas, us
• genre: Doom-metal
• Similar Artists: 40 Watt Sun

Metallum
Bandcamp

Zatokrev

New Day, New band:

Zatokrev's new album further defines them as yet another Post-Sludge Metal band,
similar in riffage to bands like Neurosis or Isis but with a different general sound.

The entire album is pretty derivative, but this song is surely noteworthy:

• Band: Zatokrev
• Origin: Switserland
• Genre: Post/Sludge Metal
• Similar Artists: Koloss, A Storm Of Light, Maudlin

Metallum
Official Site

Ieperfest 2013 Belgium

Ieperfest 2013 (Belgium) Presenting: AmenRa, Alkerdeel, Celeste, The Black Heart Rebellion, ...

Amazing line-up,



Link to site

Alkerdeel, Morinde

First post,

i Sincerely hope it won't be the last,

I won't be putting much effort into making this first -and again: hopefully not last- post.

just hope someone enjoys it.



probably my #1 contender for best album of 2012, Alkerdeel, Morinde:
this is the third song off the album:

• band: Alkerdeel
• Origin: Belgium
• Genre: Black/Doom Metal
• In the same vein: Burning Witch/Beherit/ForgottenWoods/Corrupted

Official Site
Metallum
Myspace