Bear

The Ukrainian black metal pioneers from Drudkh have revealed the title of their next full-length, which will march under the flag of "A Furrow Cut Short."

The album has been scheduled for release on the 20th of April 2015. Pre-sale will commence late February, which will also mark the revealing of the album's cover art and tracklist.

Season Of Mist comments:
"Drudkh maintains a strict policy of no interviews, no pictures, no live performance, and no statements. Yet everybody following the career and art of the band's mastermind Roman Sayenko will be aware that 'A Furrow Cut Short' cannot have been conceived without the dire situation of his Ukrainian homeland under military attack of a nuclear power playing a role in its inspiration."
 
 
 
This is awesome news. While I wasn't too impressed by Estrangement, Microcosmos and Handful of Stars to start with, I've grown to become quite the friend with these albums, especially Microcosmos. But their last full lenght, Eternal Turn of the Wheel, was a massive step up in quality and they delivered an album which was harsher and bleaker, and more similar to their first four albums, than Estrangement, Microcosmos and Handful of Stars. So I really look forward to this album. Stil have a long way to go before they're matching any their first four albums both in quality and atmosphere, though.

Here's my list of top 10 grindcore albums:
 
 
1. Blood Freak - Sleaze Merchants
Blood Freak is one of my all-time favourite bands, and this is one of the best albums ever released. The band is mainly inspired by 70's and 80's horror and exploitation films, an that is something that I always felt Maniac Neil always managed to get through the disgusting music. 36.55 minutes divided on 22 tracks of sleazy grindcore, and like their biggest musical inspiration, Impetigo, they use a lot of movie samples as intros to the songs. The band plays dirty and sleazy grindcore with lots of nods towards both death and thrash metal. I'd say that the album is pretty varied for being a grindcore album.
 
Awakening the Beast
One of the most catchy grindcore songs ever. Slow, heavy and dirty as fuck.
 
2. Impetigo - Ultimo Mondo Cannibale
Old school grindcore and one of the albums that help define the genre. Lyric-wise it's all about 70's and 80's horror films and gore, just the way I like it. This isn't the most brutal album out there, but it's one of the best and a must-have for any fans of death metal or grindcore.
 
Bloody Pit of Horror
 
3. Repulsion - Horrified
Another one of the early classics that helped define the genre. It's brutal, it's catchy and it's immense. The production is so fucking good and the songs are even better. Everything you can say about this album have already been said. Great album!
 
Black Breath
 
4. Frightmare - Midnight Murder Mania
This was Maniac Neil's band before Blood Freak, and you can hear the similarities. But this has even more death and thrash metal influence. Imagine a slasher film in musical form, that's basically what this is and with titles such as Cropsy, Thorn In Their Side (The Slumber Party Massacre), Friday the 13th, Slasher Holocaust, The Prowler, Be My Bloody Valentine, Black Christmas and Frank Zito, The Maniac it should be quite easy for any horror fan to tell that this band is all about slasher films.
 
Friday the 13th
 
5. Bolt Thrower - In Battle There Is No Law!
When we think of Bolt Thower we think of heavy, crushing and Iron Maiden-esque death metal, but at the very begining they played old school grindcore of the best kind. Crusty, sloppy, filthy and dirty.
 
In Battle There Is No Law
 
6. S.O.B. - Don't Be Swindle
One of the very first grindcore albums, and one that was released the same year as Napalm Death' Scum, and a band that Napalm Death "stole" riffs from for their second album, From Enslavement to Obliteration. That is how good this band is. Lots of hardcore and lots of thrash, but ultimately this is grindcore, and it's great.
 
Raging in Hell
 
7. Napalm Death - From Enslavement to Obliteration
Widely regarded one of the finest grindcore albums ever, and it truly is. Cold, disgusting and hateful grindcore that shouldn't need an introduction. A perfect blend of catchy punkiness and brutal grinding madness.
 
From Enslavement to Obliteration
 
 
8. Terrorizer - World Downfall
Another one of those early grindcore albums that helped define the genre and make it what it is today. And one of the things that made this standout from the rest of the grindcore bands of the time, is how well-played and well-produced the album is. Grindcore used to be pretty sloppy, but this is tight as fuck, and the production is thick and razor sharp. Massive album!
 
Fear of Napalm
 
9. Machetazo - Trono de Huesos
WHat is this you say? This is legendary spanish grindcore with no lyrics. Yeah, you read right. From 94 to 2007 the band released three albums, some EPs, splits and demos, but none which featured lyrics, just noises. A great record by a great band. Brutal, yet catchy, and the production is fantastic.
 
Banquete Funerario
 
10. Extreme Noise Terror - A Holocaust in Your Head
Call it brutal crust or call it grindcore, it doesn't really matter as both termsfit perfectly. Extremely intense, brutal and over the top album which should please fans of both crust and grindcore, as long as you don't mind it sloppy. The dual-vocal is one interesting aspect as well: two vocalist with highly different style handles the vocal duties, and it sounds awesome.
 
Murder
 
 
 
 
 
Follow ups:
 
11. General Surgery - Necrology
A Carcass clone that does Carcass better than Carcass themself. It's that good. It is especially the production that makes this a better listen than Carcass IMO. Most would disagree on this though.
 
Severe Catatonia in Pathology
 
12. Carcass - Symphonies of Sickness
Not as good as General Surgery, but still a fantasticl album. Very unique for its time, especially because of the leads.
 
Embryonic Necropsy and Devourment
 
13. Asesino - Corridos de Muerte
Grindcore in the vein of Machetazo I'd say, but not as good. Fantastic vocals!
 
Corrido del Asesino
 
14. Altar of Giallo - A Bloodfeast for the Dead
Mid-paced Impetigo, Autopsy and Repulsion-inspired grindcore which is more about putrid atmosphere of horror and gore, than brutality and riff-awesomenes.
 
Last Man on Earth
 
15. Gruesome Stuff Relish - Teenage Giallo Grind
Impetigo and Repulsion meet Carnage and Nihilist. Everything about this band is very classic, and I adore the lyrics. Simple and straight to the point, but the horror fan in me can't get enough of that kind of lyrics. Very cool. Good band!
 
How can I not love lyrics like these:
 
 
Jungle Rites

I don't get this. I can understand people being a bit sceptic before knowing who was gonna be the new vocalist, but as soon as it was revealed to be Floor Jansen I can't understand how people could be disappointed. By far the most talented vocalist of the three, and a vocalist who can pull off songs from both eras better than the previous vocalists themself.

Vocals are just another instrument to my ears. I listen to plenty of bands both with and without vocals. And just as with drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and whatnot, if it's done poorly it can ruin the whole song, but it doesn't necessary have to ruin it either. What's important is that it is interesting as a whole. If a song has nothing beside good vocals, good guitars, good bass, good drums OR good keyboards it won't be enough to keep me interesting. Not even close. If there's only one element in the music that's good, then it really isn't good. Ya? Ya.

Solefald - World Metal. Kosmopolis Sud
 
Solefald follow up the prog rocky Norrønasongen. Kosmopolis Nord with a "world metal" album. What is world metal? Well, I don't know. But this is an album where the foundation is black metal, and where all the topping is all kinds of different genres. Traditional music from lots of places on earth, electronica and god knows what. This is probably the most special metal album I have ever heard, and the title to the opening track descrives the song very well: World Music with Black Edges. That's what it is. All the song are different, not only from eachother, but frome verything you've ever heard, yet they manage to keep it SOlefald and they manage to keep it black at the very bottom. I've only given it one spin which isn't nearly enough to have an actualy opinion on the album. There's just way too much to chew around here. However, what I do not is that I really enjoyed the first spin and I can't wait to give it more time later on.

Honestly there's no way in hell that I could ever take this review seriously when you gave all 18 songs a perfect 10/10.... is anyone planning on writing up an objective review for this album?

I also watched Tourist Trap, and luckily it wasn't as frightening as I ought it to be. I think because of the lacking special effects due to the time period in which it was produced and the obvious puppeteering the mannequins didn't have much of an effect on me and I found this to be more or less amusing rather than scary in any sort of way. I love films with small casts, though; it gives you more of an opportunity to get the know the characters in a short amount of time and it isn't that confusing when suddenly someone new jumps in. This was a fun watch, a lot of odd mindplay, will probably allow myself to be recommended by Bear's posts more often. 

I really liked the concept that Cat and the lot made up and posted here and thought that we should have something similar for us mortals as well, but I will go with albums. I think it is a nice and easy way to discover albums released the previous month, so I think it sounds cool.
 
The concept is simple: pick 3 releases (albums, EPs, singles or compilations), write why you like the album/why people should check it out and be cool. As you hear new albums of the month feel free to quote yourself, remove one and add the newest one instead of it. At the end of the month I'll make a new thread for the previous month. That's all.
 
Rules:
Post three albums each
Add a linke to your favourite track of the album. Do NOT embed youtube videos. Just link to the best song. Not everyone have decent computers to handle all the videos.
 
 
And that is basically it. Ask if there's something you're curious about.

Okay, here it goes~
 

Napalm Death - Apex Predator - Easy Meat
 
Napalm Death are of course a legendary band, but even so, it still surprises me how much quality they can still deliver. This album packs a furious tornado of death-grind-like energy as usual, with some pretty cool new tricks here and there -- such as the amazingly sinister opening track with its blunt industrial clanging (old Swans comes to mind). Totally recommended for fans of heavy and aggressive stuff! 
 
 

Carpenter Brut - EP III
 
Catchy and totally retro "synthwave"? I can dig it! This EP feels a little bit darker than your usual brand of nostalgic synth acts, conjuring up images of desolate wastelands, mutants, zombies and whatnot. It's also full of non-stop coolness and has a very nice variety of tracks, leaning a bit towards the up-tempo side. Perfect to listen to in itself or as background music to some action-packed game even.
 
 

Vlasta Popić - Kvadrat
 
I've only very recently come across this Croatian group but they immediately won me over! A fun blend of jittery punk, noise-rock distortions and occasional poppy hooks that make it all the more memorable. There's nothing more to say really, only that you have to try it out, now.

I really liked the concept that Cat and the lot made up and posted here and thought that we should have something similar for us mortals as well, but I will go with albums. I think it is a nice and easy way to discover albums released the previous month, so I think it sounds cool.
 
The concept is simple: pick 3 releases (albums, EPs, singles or compilations), write why you like the album/why people should check it out and be cool. As you hear new albums of the month feel free to quote yourself, remove one and add the newest one instead of it. At the end of the month I'll make a new thread for the previous month. That's all.
 
Rules:
Post three albums each
Add a linke to your favourite track of the album. Do NOT embed youtube videos. Just link to the best song. Not everyone have decent computers to handle all the videos.
 
 
And that is basically it. Ask if there's something you're curious about.

Alucarda - Raw Howls
 
Alucarda plays fuzzy, filthy doom metal punk in the vein of Satan's Satyrs with lyrics about biker and exploitation films, horror and the occult. Just my cup of coffee. The riffing are sleazy, the vocals are buried behind tons of smoke and the production filthy. These danish motherfuckers nails everything with this album and it is nothing short of perfect. 10/10
 
To get an impression of what the band sounds like, follow The Filthy Few
Check the full album here: http://caligarirecords.bandcamp.com/album/raw-howls
 
 

Tarot - The Warrior's Spell
 
Tarot plays mystic heavy rock in the vein of Uriah Heep and Rainbow with a touch of Pagan Altar. This is a compilation of Tarot's 3 EPs released in 2014, as well as two new songs. Beautiful and powerful heavy rock with tons of mysticism. Music-wise the band isn't very original, but it doesn't sound like a carboncopy of anything either. Got lots of character, as well as charm and quality. And it feels good to have all three EPs gathered on one release. 9,5/10
 
To get an impression of what the band sounds like, go to the Twilight Fortress
Check the full album here: http://heavychainsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-warriors-spell
 

Spectral Voice - Necrotic Doom
 
Dark, putrid and lurking death/doom with plenty of Rippikoulu and Eternal Darkness influences. Great, disgusting atmoshere, superb, raw production and awesome riffs. The band's third demo and by far their best one. Very, very promising band. 9/10
 
To get an impression of what the band sounds like, get close and feel the Rotting Auras

Nah, fuck that shit. We go for everything no matter where they from. A mod should move it to the general section or whatever if he/she feels it belongs there.

Alucarda - Raw Howls
 
Alucarda plays fuzzy, filthy doom metal punk in the vein of Satan's Satyrs with lyrics about biker and exploitation films, horror and the occult. Just my cup of coffee. The riffing are sleazy, the vocals are buried behind tons of smoke and the production filthy. These danish motherfuckers nails everything with this album and it is nothing short of perfect. 10/10
 
To get an impression of what the band sounds like, follow The Filthy Few
Check the full album here: http://caligarirecords.bandcamp.com/album/raw-howls
 
 

Tarot - The Warrior's Spell
 
Tarot plays mystic heavy rock in the vein of Uriah Heep and Rainbow with a touch of Pagan Altar. This is a compilation of Tarot's 3 EPs released in 2014, as well as two new songs. Beautiful and powerful heavy rock with tons of mysticism. Music-wise the band isn't very original, but it doesn't sound like a carboncopy of anything either. Got lots of character, as well as charm and quality. And it feels good to have all three EPs gathered on one release. 9,5/10
 
To get an impression of what the band sounds like, go to the Twilight Fortress
Check the full album here: http://heavychainsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-warriors-spell
 

Spectral Voice - Necrotic Doom
 
Dark, putrid and lurking death/doom with plenty of Rippikoulu and Eternal Darkness influences. Great, disgusting atmoshere, superb, raw production and awesome riffs. The band's third demo and by far their best one. Very, very promising band. 9/10
 
To get an impression of what the band sounds like, get close and feel the Rotting Auras

Nah, fuck that shit. We go for everything no matter where they from. A mod should move it to the general section or whatever if he/she feels it belongs there.

I really liked the concept that Cat and the lot made up and posted here and thought that we should have something similar for us mortals as well, but I will go with albums. I think it is a nice and easy way to discover albums released the previous month, so I think it sounds cool.
 
The concept is simple: pick 3 releases (albums, EPs, singles or compilations), write why you like the album/why people should check it out and be cool. As you hear new albums of the month feel free to quote yourself, remove one and add the newest one instead of it. At the end of the month I'll make a new thread for the previous month. That's all.
 
Rules:
Post three albums each
Add a linke to your favourite track of the album. Do NOT embed youtube videos. Just link to the best song. Not everyone have decent computers to handle all the videos.
 
 
And that is basically it. Ask if there's something you're curious about.

This is a very cool concept. Would've been eve cooler if it was a best albums/EPs, but still a cool concept. Will check out all the songs in OP later this week.

This is a very cool concept. Would've been eve cooler if it was a best albums/EPs, but still a cool concept. Will check out all the songs in OP later this week.

This is a very cool concept. Would've been eve cooler if it was a best albums/EPs, but still a cool concept. Will check out all the songs in OP later this week.

Been rediscovering some albums the past days. Bands and albums that I really, really enjoy, but rarely listen to.
 

Lääz Rockit - Know Your Enemy
 
Power/thrash metal in the vein of old Metal Church. The band took their name from the masterpiece that is The Enforcer, and the name suits them. They're that badass. The riffs are badass to the bone, the vocals are great and sounds like a mix of Blitz (Overkill) and Wayne (Metal Church) and the production is superb. Cool as fuck.
 
Funt fact: I discovered this band through grindcore band Frightmare who covered their brilliant thrasher Leatherface on one of their album. Heh.
 

 
 

Toxik - World Circus
 
Technical speed/thrash which just destroys. This album is full of great riffs, amazing drumming and fantastic, high-pitched vocals. The vocals aren't everybody's cup of tea, but if you can handle high-ptched singing you probably won't mind. The album was very original for its time and it really stepped out of the thrash/speed metal scene and broke the "rules". No one did anything like this at the time, and despite the band not becoming very big, the album proved to be a massive influence on the thrash/speed metal scene back then.
 
 

 
 
 
 
To be continued...

Ninja Assassin - Had a rewatch of this last ngiht and I'm still entertained by it. Üverviolent martial arts flick with some great violence, lots of blood and coolness. The plot is lackluster, there's way too much CGI-blood and shit, but other than that it works fine. Not a masterpiece, but good anyway. Rain does very well considering he had no martial arts training before he went to work with this film. Very impressive.
 
And it has Sho Kosugi for fucks sake. That's awesome!
 

Ghoulgotha - The Deathmass Cloak
 
Decided to heck this album out. Death/doom + AMAZING cover art + Elektrokutioner (Encoffination, Scaremaker, Tombstones, etc.) + great logo looks amazing on paper, but god this was disappointing. Such a mess. There's just way too much going on within each song. It's like all three members have written enough riffs for five albums each and neither wanted to leave their riffs out, so they just mashed all the 16541643 riffs into 11 songs. It's a huge mess. A huge fucking mess, and I turned off after 3 songs or so. Shame, because the production is good (drums sounds a bit off, but not bothering), the leads sounds good and there's plenty of good riffs. But it's such as mess. I wish it was good because I'd love to have that cover on a fine vinyl release.
 
I'll give it a few more listens later, but I don't have any high hopes for this album.

Then it's the band I am thinking about. Good stuff, but the fucking german, man. I see german as a great language for black metal, and for Rammstein, but outside that I am not really a huge fan. Not too annoying or anything, though. But I'd like it better if it was in English or something.
 
 
 

 
Not as good as the first song they posted off the album, but I am really looking forward to this album. Should be great.

Highly influenced by Moonsorrow for sure, yeah. And concerning the language, even if it's a matter of taste, I actually enjoy Finsterforst music. I don't like German and I consider that there are a lot of bands which music would sound better if it was sung in another language. But it doesn't bother me at all with Finsterforst, actually the language gives a little more to their music imo.

^ I am going to watch that one, despite my irrational fear of animated dolls and mannequins. I need to overcome it somehow.

Finsterforst is that old scool Moonsorrow-clone band, right? Heard some of their earlier stuff and was impressed, even though it wasn't quite as good as the band they look up to aka Moonsorow. My main "problem" with the band though, beside them not being nearly as good as Moonsorrow, is that they sang in german. I don't have anything against german, but it isn't really the kind of language that suits this type music the best. The language just sounds way too agressive IMO.