Corpsegrinder – S/T (2022)

Mr. George Fisher — most famous to denizens of the internet as an aficionado of cuddly stuffed animals (see here, here, here, here, and here for just a few examples) — has apparently decided to try his hand at death metal vocals.

While I’m not completely sure what prompted this new hobby (although I’m curious whether it might have resulted from a coincidental similarity in appearance to Dethklok vocalist Nathan Explosion from the hit Adult Swim show Metalocalypse, particularly when Mr. Fisher is depicted in cartoon format, as evidenced in the cover artwork shown below), for whatever reason he has assembled himself a brand-new band he calls Corpsegrinder which will release its self-titled debut album one week from today!

 

CorpsegrinderCorpsegrinder (Perseverance Music Group, 25 February 2022)

 

Continue reading

Michel Anoia – Plethora (2016), Nervures (2021)

Upon the release of Plethora in 2016 — their first full-length and second release altogether — Lyonese band Michel Anoia claimed it would “leave serious marks all over your body, including some brain damage, with their unforgiving brutal power and all-around freaky nature.” Five short years later they released their second and final full-length Nervures. Today we’re going to listen to both. Might want to buckle up for this one.

 

Michel AnoiaPlethora (12 February 2016)

 

Michel AnoiaNervures (17 September 2021)

 

Continue reading

healthyliving – until/below; Esses – Bloodletting for the Lonely (2021)

Here we have two more noteworthy releases from last year. The first, a two-track single, debut release of a collaborative trio from Scotland and Germany; the other an album by a veteran deathrock quintet from the San Francisco Bay Area.

 

healthylivinguntil/below (self-released, 25 June 2021)

 

EssesBloodletting for the Lonely (Bat-Cave Productions / Atakra Records, 06 August 2021)

 

Continue reading

Ølten – Mode (2015), Ambiance (2018)

Hello there! So yesterday as I was writing about the upcoming Norna record, I was struck by a certain name sounding familiar.

The drummer and one guitarist also work together in Swiss trio Ølten, and I quickly realized that band’s first and second full-length releases had already been on my to-do list of stuff I’ve especially enjoyed and intended to write about.

The first of these will soon be approaching its seventh birthday, while the other came out a little over three years ago, so it seems well a bit overdue for us to revisit these, don’t you think?

 

ØltenMode (Hummus Records, 06 April 2015)

 

ØltenAmbiance (Hummus Records, 02 November 2018)

 

Continue reading

Norna – Star Is Way Way Is Eye; Abraham – Debris de Mondes Perdus (2022)

Good day, readers. Here to start off the week properly I’ve got a pair of albums that live somewhere in the vicinity of post-hardcore, both by Swiss bands (well, one of them is more of a Swiss-Swedish hybrid), and both of which are coming out very soon. Get ready!

 

NornaStar Is Way Way Is Eye (Vinter Records, 18 February 2022)

 

AbrahamDébris de Mondes Perdus (Pelagic Records, 25 February 2022)

 

Continue reading

Wang Wen – Sweet Home, Go! (2016); Invisible City (2018); 100,000 Whys (2021)

Closing out the week, and continuing to work my way through some more of last year’s releases — today I think we’ll explore some Chinese music. Specifically, the music of one particular band from the city of Dalian, which is located at the northern end of the Yellow Sea, just across the bay from North Korea.

I’ll be sharing their three most recent albums with you this afternoon. But it may be worth noting that this group has been active and productive for more than two decades now — and the material we’re covering will actually be their ninth, tenth, and eleventh albums! So if you like what you’re hearing, please feel free to continue digging into it on your own.

 

Wang WenSweet Home, Go! (Pelagic Records / Space Circle, 19 October 2016)

 

Wang WenInvisible City (Pelagic Records / Space Circle, 25 September 2018)

 

Wang Wen100,000 Whys (Pelagic Records / Space Circle, 24 September 2021)

 

Continue reading

Yagow – S/T (2017), The Mess (2021)

Good afternoon! Here’s another highlight from last year, as I continue to work through getting caught up on stuff we missed talking about here: the latest release by this band from Saarland, Germany — located on the Saar river and right near the border with France. And while we’re on the subject, I’ll throw in their debut from four years earlier, for no additional charge!

 

YagowYagow (Crazysane Records, 16 June 2017)

 

YagowThe Mess (Crazysane Records, 18 June 2021)

 

Continue reading

Krvvla – M, N (2017); Ø, E (2018); T (2019); X (2022)

Last Friday — Bandcamp Friday — I got a notification that this Belarusian band, whom I have been following for quite some time, had just released a brand-new album: their first full-length after a long series of EPs. Realizing that this was now the band’s sixth entry into my music library, it feels long overdue that I should write something about them here, to share the tidings with all you lovely people reading this. And so here we are.

So just to be clear, YES, you are reading the title of this post correctly. Although each of their names are just one letter long, YES that’s a total of six different releases (spanning four and a half years), and YES we’ll be covering all of them today.

So absolutely no time for any bullshit, let’s dive right in!

 

KrvvlaM (self-released, 11 August 2017)

 

KrvvlaN (self-released, 11 August 2017)

 

KrvvlaØ (self-released, 09 February 2018)

 

KrvvlaE (self-released, 01 August 2018)

 

KrvvlaT (self-released, 05 July 2019)

 

KrvvlaX (digital self-released / physical Brucia Records, 04 February 2022)

 

Continue reading

AAC Anniversary Sale || Trespasser – Suffer Together, Suffer Alone (2017); Turtle Skull – Monoliths (2020)

Australian label Art As Catharsis are celebrating their 10th anniversary — a span during which they have had “more than 150 releases, covering doom, hardcore, prog, post-rock, jazz, experimental pop, noise, ambient music, art folk and beyond.”

As a special thank-you to their loyal followers, the label is currently (now through the 18th of February) offering 20% discounts on all purchases through Bandcamp using code aac10years at checkout!

And to offer you a little bit of guidance wading through such an extensive catalog, I’ve hand-selected two of the label’s numerous releases to share with you today.

 

TrespasserSuffer Alone, Suffer Together (Art As Catharsis, 16 November 2017)

 

Turtle SkullMonoliths (Art As Catharsis / Kozmik Artifactz, 28 August 2020)

 

Continue reading

High Fighter – Champain (2019), Live at WDR Rockpalast (2021)

Hey, how’s everyone feeling on this delightful February afternoon? Continuing to work my way through some of last year’s (or earlier) releases I didn’t get a chance to write about last year (or earlier)…

Hamburg-based High Fighter has been around for quite a few years now — some of you may recall that I had written about their 2014 debut EP and 2016 debut LP here; now let’s check out their second full-length and first-ever live album!

 

High FighterChampain (Argonauta Records, 26 July 2019)

 

High FighterLive at WDR Rockpalast (Argonauta Records, 26 November 2021)

 

Continue reading