Bear

Ghetto Ghouls got two new tracks out for the holidays, this time based on two slasher flicks. Garbage Day, based on the infamous Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 and Edge of the Axe, based on the movie with the same title. Enjoy.

Absolutely, but I expect this to be either the only or one of just two fairly straight-forward tracks. Will be disappointed if they don't continue the trend with epics, which they have gradually become better at with each release.

New Vektor track. It's alright, but surprisingly straight-forward and easy on the ear. Not bad tho. Love the cover art.

Why did you expect it to suck?

Watched Der Pass/Pagan Peak last weekend and, thought it was bloody fantastic. It is based on Broen with a dead body found on the border between two countries, and in this case it's the Austrian-German border. This is a crime series, but it is as much rooted in classic folk horror as anything else, and that's what made the series for me. The folk horror elements are playing a huge part, and that's just too awesome. Highly recommended!

Volcanic War - Total War Holocaust https://nuclearwarnowproductions.bandcamp.com/album/total-war-holocaust Yasuyuki Suzuki of Abigail fame has started a new band, and this sees him go back all the way to his black metal roots. Think old Abigail, Bestial Summoning etc. Sounds to notch!

To be quite honest I haven't heard a lot of j-rock/vk albums released in this decade. But I'll give it a shot anyway. Kagrra - Hyakki Kenran Grieva - Oni to Kage Yeah, I guess that is my top jrock/vk albums of the decade. I do however have a huge list of non-jrock/vk albums that I absolutely love: Sigh - Scenes from Hell Sigh - In Somniphobia Sigh - Graveward Sigh - Heir to Despair Sabbat - Sabbatrinity Evil - Rites of Evil Abigail - The Final Damnation Fastkill - Bestial Thrashing Bulldozer Tiger Junkies - Green Tea or Die Framtid ‎– Defeat Of Civilization Angus Dei - Ad Portas Serpentium Birth Ritual - Turn Up the Evil Parasite - Zankyo And that would make it 15 altogether. Mainly albums, with the exception of Angus Dei and Tiger Junkies which are both EPs, and Tiger Junkies is just half Japanese as the other member if American. But that's fine, just because it's too god damned good.

Aside from gathering his old bandmates Grave Violator and Chris Witchhunter to re-record the surprisingly awesome The Final Sign of Evil, kicking out Markus Freiwald and Bernemann and replacing them with Frank Blackfire (Sodom 87-89) and Tormentor/Husky is by far the best choices Tom Angelripper and Sodom has done in the past 20 years. It's probably their best album since Code Red (with the exception of The Final Sign of Evil of course!!!). It's heavier, thrashier, grittier and way more focused than everything since then. The tracks are much closer to 80's thrash, than that of the gothenburg-inspired and groove-ladden mamojambo they've done in the previous 20 years. The productions feels a bit off, maybe a bit too modern, but the overall sound here is closer to Agent Orange and Persecution Mania, than that of Sodom, In War and Pieces, Epitome of Torture and Decision Day. It's just thrashier and rougher. Surprise of the year? Well, shouldn't be after all these EPs and singles have showedcased some promise, but I am still greatly surprised. Good to have Sodom back.

Cool! Sounds pretty good, and both choices are excellent. Your own stuff sounds very good too. Well done, sir(?).

Evil - Possessed by Evil https://nuclearwarnowproductions.bandcamp.com/album/possessed-by-evil The Japanese black metallers in Evil released one of the very best albums of 2017, and judging from the new track Reaper this ain't gonna be no worse. Think fellow Japanese black metallers Sabbat and Abigail, as well as a hint of old Slayer, Bathory and Mercyful Fate. Glorious stuff! Stjärnfält - Ascension https://stjarnfalt.bandcamp.com/album/ascension This album is truly magnificent. Sugarcoated ambient/atmospheric black metal. Think Lustre meats Mesarthim. Fantastic album!

Full EP is out.

You can't see the phenomenon behind a label that either picked up or just released demos, EPs and albums early, early in the career of bands like Pungent Stench, Disharmonic Orchestra, Atrocity, Incubus, Abomination, Master, Toxic Shock, Benediction, Messiah, Dismember, Speckmann Project, Meshuggah, Revenant, Suffocation, Death Strike, Winter, Mortification, Monstrosity, Sinister, Hypocrisy, Gorefest, Amorphis, Disembowelment, General Surgery, Kataklysm, Macabre, Incantation, Convulse, Horde, Therion, The Abyss, Dissection, In Flames, HammerFall, Dimmu Borgir just to mantion a few. And again, these weren't HUGE bands at the moment Nuclear Blast picked 'em up, far from it. A lot of them were still rather unknown demo bands, and Nuclear Blast helped release their first EPs/albums. A lot of these bands became huge BECAUSE of Nuclear Blast, not the other way around. Nuclear Blast is a massive label because they did more or less everything right since they started back in the last 80's, and for the next 10 years or so they would go on to be HUGE for underground extreme metal and really deserve the status they have today. Around 98 they started picking up a lot of different bands too, becoming equally important for the heavy and power metal scene too. Nuclear Blast still release plenty good music too, tbh. Loads and loads of good releases every single year. Don't get the hate towards 'em at all, despite all the shit they have released, and continue to release, but that goes for most labels.

Haven't liked a single Anaal Nathrakh since Eschaton, and this did nothing to change that. But on a positive note, this EP is released this friday: Four tracks of angry yet catchy-as-hell thrashmetalpunk in honor of four brilliant action flicks from the 90's. Remember to check it out as soon as you get up on friday, cuz it's gonna be worth it. No cap!

Yeah, the prices are quite often a huge problem in purchasing stuff like this. Which is a shameparty, because I would love to own some more cult films and stuff. I do own a have few Japanese splatter movies too tho, come to think of it. Meatball Machine andI Meatball Machine Koduko, Robogeisha, Mutant Girls Squad and a few more.