Showing posts with label Canada. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Canada. Show all posts

[2011] irr. app. (ext.) / Nurse With Wound - 4 Orphans


After Angry Electric Finger 3, 4 Orphans is the new collaboration between these two bizarre figures of the sound collage/dark ambient scene, although it's somewhat of an irr. app. (ext.) album mostly, considering it's based around old Nurse With Wound arrangements, along with the weirdest things the former could come up with in order to spice up the surreal vibe of the album. As usual, artwork by Matt Waldron.

Buy it directly from irr. app. (ext.)'s Bandcamp here.

[2010] Haggatha - Haggatha


Second release (and first LP) of this new Canadian act, formed by members of Goatsblood and linked to 3 Inches of Blood, delivering a furious slab of sludge not too unlike Thou, Deathcrawl and Moloch, particularly the former (which can be heard in the crust-influenced vocals). In rare occasions I hear solid debuts like this one, which carries some of the past influence with Goatsblood and gives it a slower tempo, enhancing the heaviness.

Download it here: [320][V0]


Buy it directly from Blind Date Records here.

[2011] Blood Ceremony - Living With The Ancients


3 years after their amazing self-titled album, Blood Ceremoony's sound has definitely matured and dwelved into heavier territories. Their Jethro Tull-influenced style brought by Alia O'Brien's amazing flute now is toned down a bit to allow the heavy doom metal riffing to fully shine, while her vocals display more personality and range than they used to, specially in Night of Augury, in which the occult, 70's psychedelic vibe is accentuated at great extents. The real highlight of the album is, however, Daughter of The Sun, in which guitars, synths and flute go into a psychedelic wormhole, the perfect closure for this release, that could be considered well ahead their self-titled.

Download it here: [320][V0]


Buy it directly from All That Is Heavy here.

[2010] Antediluvian - Watcher's Reign


Sometimes it happens that a band in particular doesn't impress you at a first listen and you put it away, ignoring most of what it had to offer among the disagreeable parts. Lack of ear training, and even too much experience listening to music does that.
That's kind of what happened with me and this band at first, it disgusted me in a way that I had to put it off at the second song or something like that, which would seem rather strange considering I've listened to plenty of death and black metal in the past. But the thing is that this band is indeed disgusting, just not the way it seemed at a first listen; I gave it another try, focusing on the instrumentation and the way the vocals were delivered, and I heard something really interesting, the raw primal impetus, the living nightmare of the vocal delivery, and the merciless guitarwork, it was all there and I didn't notice it because of the way it all was presented, a single slab of furious prehistoric ramblings.
Direct nods could be made to a band like Portal, but the vocals are dirtier than The Curator's, and it's not hazy like in Outre, but rather disjointed, yet distinguishable enough to be told apart. Reminds me more of a local band from my country called Verminous, which had a similar delivery back in the 2000s, and it made the same impression on me, being completely clueless towards this genre back then.

Definitely a keeper, and worthy of several listens, when its real value gets truly unearthed.

Download it here: [V2][V0]


Buy it directly from Invictus Productions here.

[1997] Shallow North Dakota - This Apparatus Must Be Earthed


Another canadian noise-rock/sludge band, sadly disbanded at the moment. This is their second LP out of three released in their whole career, and in my opinion their best; it's interesting to note that the vocalist is also the drummer, which is not as common in this genre as it would be desired. Great material overall, reminds me sometimes of more recent bands like Kowloon Walled City and KEN mode (which is to be expected of the latter considering they belong to the same country scene).

Download it here: [320][V0]


Buy it directly from Sonic Unyon Records here.

[2007] Hide Your Daughters - The Teen Girl's Guide To Social Success


Same band members of Electro Quarterstaff and KEN mode, it combines the technicality and unpredictability of the former and the noisy heaviness of the latter and gives it a melodic take on noisy sludge. Only LP so far though (and somewhat short, 37min), but it definitely deserves some attention, considering how unlike any other I've heard is, within the genre. Give it a try!

Download it here: [V2][V0]


Buy it directly from Arctodus Records here.

[2008] KEN mode - Mennonite

In the brand of sludge I've enjoyed the most lately (noise-rock/sludge, bands like Kowloon Walled City and Shallow North Dakota), KEN mode has delivered 3 solid albums in the course of 5 years, Mennonite being the latest (Venerable would be the 4th, to be released in 2011) and best effort so far. The songs are heavy, with hints of math-rock here and there, from musicians well familiarized with the genres and capable of delivering excellent music.

Download it here: [256][V0]


Buy it directly from Arctodus Records here.

[2006] Electro Quarterstaff - Gretzky


With members of KEN mode and Hide Your Daughters, Electro Quarterstaff is an instrumental technical death metal band a bit unlike most I've heard. Sort of sharing the same overall vibe of the aforementioned bands, this trio takes the extreme technicality and speed of bands like Gorguts and Behold... The Arctopus to create almost abstract songs constantly exploring moods and motifs through the whole album. Signed to the same label where Fleshgod Apocalypse, Ulcerate and Fate of Icarus are (Willowtip), this is sure a promising band that will leave a lot of fans of the genre satisfied.

Download it here: [V0]


Currently out of stock on Willowtip.