Sightless Pit - Lockstep Bloodwar (2023)

Lockstep Bloodwar is the second album from Sightless Pit, a band with Lee Buford (The Body) and Dylan Walker (Full of Hell), but this time without Kristin Hayter (Lingua Ignota). The vocals are now done by many guest vocalists. The whole thing is rooted in industrial / noise / illbient, but there's a lot of diversity, and it goes from more ambient to very aggressive through trip-hop to trap to power electronics and vocals going from singing to rapping to growls. Often surprising and interesting. But I'd say would have been more memorable as an album with more cohesiveness. You often feel like you're listening to a mixtape, more than to an album. But why not. I'll keep following what they'll do next.

The BC page.

Bob Vylan - Bob Vylan presents The Price of Life (2022)

Bob Vylan presents The Price of Life is the first album from English duo Bob Vylan, UK Hip-hop with guitars, with some trap metal, some grime, some ragga, elements reminding The Prodigy, or maybe The Beastie Boys as well. A bit like City Morgue / ZillahKami, but more grime and less grim, and very UK. Cool stuff!

The BC page.

Backxwash - I LIE HERE BURIED WITH MY RINGS AND MY DRESSES (2021)

On I LIE HERE BURIED WITH MY RINGS AND MY DRESSES (a good album, but I hate this all caps thing!) there are a few screams and a bit of trap, but this is more classic horrorcore with noise elements than trap metal. But any way you describe it, what matters is that it's excellent dark underground hip/hop from Backxwash, modern sounding but rooted in the old school. 

The BC page.

 

Ho99o9 - Skin (2022)

Skin is another wild ride of an album from trap/punk/nu-metal duo Ho99o9 (who teamed on this album with Travis Barker on drums and production. Are also featured Saul Williams, Corey Taylor and Bun-B). Like their first one (United States of Horror)Skin is a very fun and enjoyable album and confirms that they are among the very best "trap metal" bands.

Their website.

City Morgue - Vol. 3 : Bottom of the Barrel (2021)

Maybe City Morgue are not really trap metal, but they definitely have plenty of heavy guitars in their songs (from grunge to neo-metal). With Vol. 3 : Bottom of the Barrel the duo (SosMula & ZillaKami) is back with an album that is maybe not as good as ZillaKami "Dog Boy" or as their "Vol.2", but better than the disappointing "Toxic Boogaloo". They keep on establishing as one of the best and more entertaining trap band.

City Morgue official website.

 

ZillaKami - Dog Boy (2021)

Intended to review a City Morgue album for a while, but the last album of the trap duo Toxic Boogaloo was a bit disappointing (was ok but not as good as As Good As  Dead) and it seems a new City Morgue album is gonna drop soon (called Bottom of the Barrel). So for now I'm reviewing the solo album of one og the City Morgue member, ZillaKami, the most versatile vocalist of the two and he also seems to be the most creative element of the duo, rapping, singing and producing. His first album Dogboy is an excellent exercise in trap metal, with tracks going from aggressive to depressive, the first ones with riffs the could reminds Slipknot (the quick intro featuring Corey Taylor is not here by chance) and the others with riffs more in a Deftone and grunge vein and with more melodic vocals. This rap/metal mix have sometimes produced atrocious results but KillaKami is really good to make it work and Dogboy will probably stay as one of the best trap/hip-hop album of the year. Recommended stuff.

Botanist / Thief - EP0 Cicatrix / Diamond Brush (split 2021)

 

EP0 Cicatrix / Diamond Brush is a strange split with two strange musical entities, what they have in common is that both are mostly one-man projects, and also that the one doing Thief have been a live musician for Botanist. But both are really different. Botanist is floral themed black metal with only drums, vocals, and hammered dulcimer, unique and excellent, while Thief is more electronic music oriented with elements of synthwave, bits of trap metal and hip-hop, and choirs and spoken words that could remind Zeal and Ardor. For the first time with live drums and guitars in this split. A mix a bit disturbing at first but don't run, the result is actually very good.

Recommended!

The Bandcamp page

 

Ho99o9 - United States of Horror (2017)

After a good mixtape in 2015 Dead Bodies in the Lake, in which Ho99o9 were already adding rock/metal elements (drumming, guitars) to their trap, they released their still only album United States of Horror in 2017, an industrial punk trap mutant that is in my opinion one of the few good "trap metal" album. Ugly and wild, and I like it!

King Yosef - Guilty (EP 2018)

I discovered King Yosef with his collaboration with Youth Code (that I will soon review). He's producing hip-hop/trap music (and is also in a hardcore metal band) but, even if there's a trap element in this EP (called Guilty and released in 2018), I'd say it actually has most of the time a pure sound from the nineties, reminds the beginnings of Korn and Slipknot, "old-school nu-metal" if I dare say, even also a bit of Prodigy (the jungle/big beat loops). Kind of stuff I was listening too before moving on to death/black/grind. Maybe because of that I enjoy this EP. Like everything nu-metal related it's bordering "bad taste" but he's doing it right. Let's say it's a good "guilty pleasure". 

The BC page.

 

Sadistik - Delirium (EP 2020)

Sadistik is an underground MC with a unusual style, usually with very atmospheric and melancholic productions, and with a good, often quite fast, flow and smarter than usual lyrics. His new EP Delirium, while grounded in his usual sound has a more horrorcore and trap flavour that suits him well and produce an excellent result. We could say Delirium evokes a kind of mix of Sole and $uicideboy$ while staying completely Sadistik.
Addictive stuff.

The Bandcamp page.