Southern Lord

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    Ulver & Sunn O))) – Terrestrials (2014)

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    Delivering a monumental collaboration between Ulver and Sunn O))), two of the most pioneering bands when it comes to creating their own sound; today we have “Terrestrials”. In this three-song, 35-minute album, the bands merge their styles together creating a very dense an atmospheric performance that is extremely engaging and sonically orgasmic.

    Kicking off with the highly atmospheric “Let There Be Light”, we can hear the assortment of Ulver aural experiments work perfectly with some Drone elements of Sunn O))). The track slowly unravels 11 minutes of atmospheric tension filled with very minimalistic elements such as sparse trumpets and a great build up that seems to take momentum as the track progresses.

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    Wolves in the Throne Room – BBC Session 2011 Anno Domini (2013)

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    With the band currently in hibernation mode, Southern Lord gives us a very special vinyl release of Wolves in the Throne Room’s “BBC Session 2011 Anno Domini” recordings. Featuring two tracks of the band’s “Celestial Lineage” release, this release has enough fuel to keep hardcore fans of the band (and Cascadian Black Metal) going for a few months. With their uncompromising and very unique sound, WITTR delivers over 20 minutes of atmospheric brilliance in this LP.

    Kicking off with “Prayer of Transformation”, the first side of this release presents an astounding rendition of such a powerful track. Filled with brilliant melodic passages and a great climax, this was one of the best songs on “Celestial Lineage” and they nailed it perfectly in this release. Following with “Thuja Magus Imperium”, the band’s bleak landscapes ooze out of this release immediately with this chilling version of the track. Once again, every single nuisance is perfectly captured in this rendition of the track, showing WITTR’s flawless musical execution.

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    Martyrdöd – Paranoia (2012)

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    Delivering a wall of crusty guitars and a very decadent (but effective) mixture of Punk and D-beat with Death and Black Metal influences, today we have Sweden’s Martyrdöd and their full-length release “Paranoia”. While we usually don’t like this type of music, Martyrdöd does a great job in making it engaging, brutal, and well sounding, enough for us to be fully immersed in the 11 tracks presented in this release.

    Opening with some sick riffs, “Nog Är Nog” fully delivers the unexpected: a five minute song (not 2 minutes like other bands) with excellent melodic elements as well as the traditional crusty sound and punkish edge of these kinds of releases. The band’s focus on the catchiness of the riffing is excellent perfectly contrasting the more aggressive sections. With a more Black Metal influences tracks like “Överkom Er Rädsla” and “Hör Världens Rop” feel like a punkish version of Immortal with some of Satyricon’s edge from the 90’s. These two songs are the perfect example of why Martyrdöd is beyond your typical one-dimensional crust band and can delivers in many different fronts while maintaining their identity.

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    Earth – Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II (2012)

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    As a perfect continuation/extension of their acclaimed (and excellent) “Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I”, Earth is releasing the second part of this masterpiece in 2012. The new album titled “Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II”, keeps the very hypnotic sound of the first one and extends it for over 45 minutes more.

    With a very whimsical approach to music, Earth continues to break the molds and produces five tracks of brilliant atmospheric quality that almost nobody else can pull off. The minimalist nature of the band’s compositions will have you at the edge of your seat waiting for what is next and you will react to it. Moving away from the Drone/Doom Metal the band used to execute, this record feels like a right of passage into a more mature and different age for Earth.

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    Black Cobra – Invernal (2011)

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    As hard-hitting as a bag of bricks, today we have Black Cobra’s fourth full-length release “Invernal”. Following the same devastating path as in “Chronomega”, the band delivers 40 minutes of relentless riffing and crushing drumming all packaged in eight well balanced tracks. Not reinventing the wheel or anything, Black Cobra excels at what they do and do not try anything pretentious a very effective approach due to their own sound and power.

    Getting right down to business, “Avalanche” delivers punishing riffs and well paced drums. The band’s power is made known since the first track and never goes too soft or two slow, like most Sludge/Doom bands these days. Jason’s vocals are very fitting of the music and deliver the band’s message in a powerful way. But his guitar skills are what make this release quite interesting to the ear.

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    Wolves in the Throne Room – Celestial Lineage (2011)

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    USBM favorite tree hugger band has returned with yet another stylish release that is set to put everybody else to shame (in the USBM scene) and elevate the status of Wolves in the Throne Room (WITTR) even more. We have always been fans of bands that pushed the envelope and WITTR is exactly what they have been doing release after release since their birth back in 2003.

    Always characterized by their pummeling rawness, the band nicely incorporates atmospheric elements into their sound to create amazing songs that are never truly what meets the ‘ears’ in the initial listens of their albums. While most bands focus on who can be the rawest and most punishing bands, WITTR achieves this by building onto their sound beautiful landscapes that are unrivaled by virtually any other band playing similar music.

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    Earth – Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1 (2011)

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    Since their 2005 return with “HEX: Or Printing in the Infernal Method”, Earth has been morphing into a shapeless entity that transfers emotions through magical musical compositions. With “The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull” the band dabbled into some Jazzy realms with some hints of Americana and psychedelic elements. But with “Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1”, the band pushes the envelope once more with a darker side to things then in their previous releases.

    “Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1” is an album that features 5 tracks of sheer brilliance, the mood, the space, the tones, everything sounds just right and creates a very dark and depressive atmosphere. With the use of the cello, the band further elevates their sonic exploration into very dark territories that will fill you up with emotions and free you from your everyday worries, allowing you to fully experience the 60 minutes of music the band has laid down on this release.

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    Masakari – The Prophet Feeds (2010)

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    Hailing from Cleveland, Ohio, today we get a very impressive full-length from Masakari, a very powerful Crust/Hardcore band that will surely storm the scene by surprise. Since Southern Lord has started to expand its band roster with ‘different’ bands, they have manage to uncover some very impressive bands in all kinds of different genres.

    Masakari, the latest addition to Southern Lord, plays a style of Crust that we can completely identify with and truly enjoy. The band starts off very aggressively with the first track and sets the tone to a very powerful release that relies more on crushing riffing, blistering drumming, and aggressive southing, this album never gets dull or draws like the majority of Crust/Hardcore releases these days.

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    Twilight – Monument To Time End (2010)

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    Being revived back in 2009 by Black Judd (Nachtmystium) and Wrest (Leviathan, Krieg) we have Twilight, no relation to the gay vampire fest currently destroying America’s youth. The band featured members of several American Black Metal bands, and now it includes Sanford Parker (Minsk), Stavros Giannopolous (The Atlas Moth) and Aaron Turner (ISIS), making it a true ‘all-star band’.

    As the main characteristic of all the musicians in Twilight, we have that all of them have created music that is both fresh and different in the American Metal scene. The unison of such minds comes to life with “Monument To Time End” in a very interesting way, making Black Metal take a whole new dimension.

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    Black Breath – Heavy Breathing (2010)

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    Relatively unknown Black Breath is ready to storm the scene with their very aggressive release “Heavy Breathing”. The band combines Trash, Death, and Crust-punk in a very random way, producing a very powerful sound that will grab you by the throat since track one.

    For a relatively young band, Black Breath does a great job in having a perfect Crossover sound that only a few bands can pull off. All songs feature great intensity and relentless riffing, showing their Trash meddle. “Heavy Breathing” is a very solid first effort from a band that shows great potential for the future.

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