Axis of despair - Time and again EP (2015)

Axis of despair is a new grind band with Anders Jacobson (ex-Nasum). Their first release, The Time and again EP was released this year via Selfmadegod records. This is quality grind, more rooted int he old school than Nasum was, but with also a modern side to it (but it's more with the production than something else). 6 songs for around ten minutes of music. Not one sided grind because you'll find some variety int he different songs. short ragers, longer ones with more "melodies". good vocal lines.
 I hope we'll soon get an album from axis of despair.

The BC page.

Kuroi Jukai - st cassette (2015)

This self-titled cassette from the canadian band Kuroi Jukai (with at least an ex-Detroit) is one of the best and most aggressive powerviolence / HC release this year. In addition to some great, super fast and angry PV / HC parts, you have also some harsh noise parts. maybe having more parts with PV / HC and harsh noise at the same time (more like the seventh track), and not just one and then the other, would have been even better, but it's already hitting hard in terms of power and abrasiveness.This is a great release, a must listen if you like the most radical sonic assaults.

The BC page.

Bantoriak - Weedooism (2015)

The cover art makes it pretty clear, Bantoriak plays on the stoner  / psych side of heavy music. This is an italian band and their debut album, Weedooism, is released by Argonauta records. Their sound is a quite original mix of stoner / doom with some desert rock vibes and strong psychedelic flavours completed by oriental melodies and male and female vocals. This makes a unique trippy laid-back atmosphere, and combined with good songwriting the result is an album really enjoyable to listen to. Cool stuff!

The Bandcamp page.

Revenge - Behold.Total.Rejection (2015)

Revenge is back with their fifth full lenght album called Behold.Total.Rejection. The canadian extremists led by James Read are once again delivering their raw and brutal black / war metal. The album start furioulsy with an old school grind assault at the beginning of the first song. This grind element, in the drumming, the vocals and the simplicity of the riffing is a distinctive element of the Revenge sound in the black metal scene. Revenge often sound like a grind / punk band covering the most straight forward Marduk songs. The drumming forward in the mix stress this grind feel as well as the loose and wild playing. But the hatefull and bestial vocals makes sure you're listening to some black metal. also the songs have a normal length, and there's some lead guitar solos and a few slower paced parts. But unlike most black metal bands Revenge seems not really concerned about creating a cold / or epic or mystical atmosphere, they are all about full on aggression and sonic savagery. But the result sure does sound "evil" in a very direct and unsubtle way. With this new album they manage once again to create a level of barbaric intensity rarely matched. Powerfull stuff!

The Bandcamp page.

Stara Rzeka - Zamknęły się oczy ziemi (2015)

Stara Rzeka is a solo project of Kuba Ziołek of the polish collective Milieu L'Acéphale. Zamknęły się oczy ziemi is the second album and is intended to be the last one (which is a pity but I'm sure Kuba Ziołek will continue to bring us good music in other contexts). The album was done with the help of musicians from the Innercity ensemble (also part of Milieu L'Acéphale). Some songs were written before the first album but this one does not just sound like the other half of the first, for example there's not metal vocals any more. But the basis stays the same :  folk, drones, noise and krautrock played by acoustic and electric guitars, synth, electronic noises and beats, a bit of drumming, and only clean vocals this time. Albert Ayler, Pharoah Sanders and Moondog are cited as influences. The result is fascinating and moving music, mostly quiet and trippy but with also some moments fitting the usual song structure (riffs, singing, etc.). This is a great album, with a unique atmosphere, and I'm impatient to listen to  Kuba Ziołek next project (solo or with a band).

The Bandcamp page

Carnation - Cemetary of the insane EP (2015)

Carnation is a belgian old school death metal band. Their Cemetary of the insane EP is their first release and it's great stuff. Everything you like in old schoold death metal (both Swedish and american, but maybe more often closer to early Cannibal corpse than to Entombed) is there and done right. And they are especially good at writing "catchy" songs with a great groove (bordering hardcore groove at times but without leaving the old school DM feel) and very good vocal lines (in a "Corpsegrinder" vein). The EP ends nicely with a cool blast beat acceleration at the end of the fifth track. Simple but very effective and enjoyable OSDM.


The Bandcamp page.

Die choking - III (2015)

III is the third release but first album (still under 15min) from Die choking (a trio from Philadelphia with an ex Total fucking destruction and one guy from Cop problem).  What they play is grindcore but more technical and complex than the usual grind with elements reminding death metal and chaotic hardcore. Without being really groundbreaking they manage to find their own way in grind and it is a punishing one! good stuff!

The BC page.

Corrections house - Know how to carry a whip (2015)

Corrections house is what we could call a "supergroup" with Mike IX Williams, Scott Kelly, Sanford Parker, and Bruce Lamont. Their first album (Last city zero) was far better than most "supergroup" album, but with this second one they also prove that the project was not just a one shot and also offer something sounding more cohesive (maybe some would miss the diversity of the first album). You'll find the same elements on Know how to carry a whip, but with a different dosage. This second album is more industrial, really based on Sanford Parker beats and noisescapes, with just one acoustic part, the song in the middle of the album. But the diversity of the vocals, Mike Williams spoken words and screams and Scott Kelly vocals, the saxophone parts done by Bruce Lamont ensure the album escapes monotony and is offering a unique musical mix. It's more industrial but also more direct (but still with quite a lot of subtleties) and aggressive. I don't know which album i prefer but I know I like being able now to listen to two Corrections house albums that display different sides of the band, or a different mix / dosage of composing elements. With this new album they are without a doubt confirming their excellency.

The Bandcamp page.

Howls of Ebb - The marrow veil MLP (2015)

This album (or MLP or EP) is as completely nightmarish as its cover. The marrow veil is Howls of Ebb first release after their excellent first album last year (Vigils of the 3rd eye, also on I, Voidhanger records). Their death metal gets here maybe even more unconventional than on the album. The length of the two songs, 19 and 12 minutes, plus a short interlude between the two, makes more evident the complete lack of the traditional song structure in the composing. This is really loose, sounding almost" free" death metal. The metal parts are mostly mid tempo with dissonant riffing, weird leads and ritualistic drum pounding, and they are interwoven with slow ambient minimalistic noisy  / drone guitar and percussion parts. This is really successful in creating a special and bizarre atmosphere with a dark and chaotic feel. Overall it could be described like somewhere between Khtoniik cerviiks and Chaos echoes. If you are tired of the often too "standardized" nature of metal (even "extreme" metal, often following song after song the pop / rock song structure that you can hear all day long on the radio), then this is a really recommended listen. Strong stuff!

The bandcamp page.

The Body & Krieg (2015)

This is a new collaborative album from The Body, this time with Krieg (Neill Jameson). Should we consider it "another" collaborative release with The Body, well technically it is but I'd rather say this is an especially good one. Not that one of those have been disappointing, but I think this one is really good by their own very high standards. Yes, The Body managed once again to impress me, with another terrific sonic display of intensity and creativity. And the Krieg's guy confirm that his musical range is wider than (quality) black metal and the collaboration result in something more than a mix of The Body and black metal. In fact there is little trace of something specifically black metal on this album, except maybe Neill Jameson vocal contribution (and even that is not completely standard black metal vocals). But it sure is an especially aggressive and cathartic "sonic incarnation" of The Body that results from the collaboration. The overall sound is very industrial, with even some techno beats, and creepy keyboards parts. It sounds like a vicious and surprising mix of sludge, technoise, dark ambient, horror soundtrack. The global atmosphere evokes The Swans, Godflesh or Scorn, but of course it's the unique personnality of The Body that dominates. This atmosphere is very strong but maybe what's even more imrpessive is the quality of the songwriting, each song having it's distinct feel, and some songs really standing out as among the best and more memorable The Body ever did. After The tears of job Ep (read my review HERE), the collaboration with Vampillia read my review HERE), and this one, this is a great year for The Body, and this new collaboration is maybe its peak.