Turbo Distortion - Les Flammes de l'enfer (2020)

Les Flammes de l'enfer is the second album from the French Canadian band Turbo Distortion. They play some AC / DC inspired hard rock, with vocals in French. They do it very well and the album is a really enjoyable and fun listening. Bien joué les gars !

Their website.

 

Uniform - Shame (2020)

Shame, the third album from Uniform continues in the same industrial/noise metal vein of the previous one (The Long Walk), again with live drumming, but with Mike Sharp as full time member instead of Greg Fox as session drummer. Nothing very surprising, but since they maintain a very high level of quality, staying among the few very best in the industrial metal genre, this is totally fine. Really recommended!

The BC page.

 

Lonnie Holley - National Freedom (2020)

I discovered Lonnie Holley two years ago with his previous album MITH that I really liked, and this new one called National Freedom is also excellent. It is some raw and weird blues, maybe we could say "free blues", at the same time sounding primitive and authentic but without following the strict formulas of traditional blues. Good melodies played on guitar and on piano, often with a somewhat repetitive ceremonial vibe, and the singing is very special.

The Bandcamp page.

 

Bain de sang - Sacrificed for a Load of Filth and Lies (EP 2020)

Bain de sang is a recent French grind/punk band with members from Blockheads and Department of Correction. Their new EP Sacrificed for a Load of Filth and Lies is exactly what I want from a grind/punk band, and they do it the way it should be done. Fast, powerful and straight to the point, and the good riffs doesn't harm either. So it's a band I'll follow closely (their demo a few years ago unfortunately escaped my radar but I'll try to keep track of what they'll do next!). My only complaint is that the noise track in the end isn't really good, I like better the new trend in grind/powerviolence of noise tracks than the previous trend of sludge tracks, but this time it's not really convincing. But the grind songs are excellent and that's what matters.

 

The BC page. 

 

Dephosphorus - Sublimation (2020)

Dephosphorus is a band that, at every time of its evolution, had an extra something, a great attention to details and mastery over what they do (the thundering and especially good drums parts in Sublimation is a great example of that. Riffs are very good as well, and you can recognize instantly Panos vocals), and also offering something different. While still firmly rooted in the most lethal black/death Sublimation is maybe also where they expand the most their "cosmic" atmospheres that could remind a bit Neurosis but in short songs filled with blast beats, even if sometimes the pace slows down. Every tracks bring something different, new subtleties. Sublimation is another excellent album from Dephosphorus deepening and polishing further their unique style. I also recommend their new live cassette (recorded during the Impossible Orbits tour), quality stuff.

The BC page.

 

Fange - Poigne (EP 2020)

Quickly following the release of their excellent last album Pudeur (that I reviewed HERE), Fange released an EP called Poigne. This EP digs deeper the industrial sound introduced in Pudeur (with a drum machine instead of a drummer). In Poigne Fange's sound is definitely closer to Auther & Punisher or NIN than to Entombed. Maybe not everybody will like it, but that's fine with me, especially since the result is really convincing.

The BC page.

 

 

Fret - Over Depht (2017)

 

Fret is one of Mick Harris's projects. He took part in the invention of blast beats and grindcore behind the drum kit with Napalm Death, then moved over to industrial/bass/electronic music (and kept on drumming sometimes with John Zorn's Painkiller) for which he also had been pioneer with Scorn, Quoit and Fret, we could say he was doing dubstep long before the name existed (and better!). Over Depht, released in 2017 is the latest Fret album but there's two more recent EP's both good as well. Fret is going with a 130 bpm speed but with beats that are more complex and irregular than techno usually is. We could say Fret is halfway between the slower Scorn and the more drum & bass Quoit. Anyway it is pure Mick Harris, with a dark and heavy industrial sound and smart beats.

The BC page.

 

Abyssal Ascendant - Deacons of Abhorrence (2020)

Deacons of Abhorrence is the second album from this death metal band from the East of France called Abyssal Ascendant. I liked what they did since their first EP in 2013 (the band founder is an old friend of mine, so I knew them from the start), but this new album is indubitably a step forward, with a more affirmed style and a more powerful production. The music is firmly rooted in the old school of US death metal, Morbid Angel especially comes to mind (the Gateways album more precisely), but also Nile and Cannibal Corpse. Crushing mid tempo parts alternates with faster moments combining brutality and an epic feel of ominous dark forces. On a few songs some digital synth/choirs are supposed to strengthen this epic/atmospheric side, but to be honest this is not what I prefer on the album, but at least it is cohesive with the lovecraftian concept and maybe some people will like it. The production brings a more modern touch (I'd even say the drums sounds a bit too clinical for me but maybe that's also a matter of taste). Overall Deacons of Abhorrence is a very solid album filled with memorable songs and is kind of vibrating with a communicative love for death metal that anyone into this music will relate to and enjoy. Well done and very enjoyable!

The Bandcamp page.

 

 

Merzbow, Keiji Haino, Balazs Pandi - Become the discovered, not the discoverer (2019)

Become the discovered, not the discoverer, released last year, is the second album from the trio Merzbow, Keiji Haino, Balazs Pandi. It is completely improvised music and is closer to free jazz than to the harsh noise Merzbow is known for. This time his noise is more like a soundscape in the background, while Keiji Haino is playing his guitar (but don't expect riffs or melodies) and Pandi drumming. Sometimes it is heavy, but often it is more meditative, but always with a noise element provided by the guitar and machines. Good and interesting stuff. Note that a Merzbow, Mats Gustafsson, Balasz Pandi album is to be released this month, should be interesting as well.

 The BC page.