UNDERGANG - De Syv stadier af ford​æ​rv (EP 2023)

If you like your death metal very raw and disgusting, you're probably already familiar with Danish band  UNDERGANG, if not then I urge you to listen to them, you won't regret, for example with their latest release the De Syv stadier af ford​æ​rv EP from last year. 7 tracks mixing guttural grindgore (Carcass school) and death doom for the slower parts. 100% filthy raw groove 100% UNDERGANG. 100% recommended!

The BC page.

 

Pissed Jeans - Half Divorced (2024)

Seven years after their previous one, Pissed Jeans are back with their sixth one, Half Divorced. This time the songs are shorter, faster, more straightforward and punkier, even bordering to oi! at times. Probably won't be my favourite Pissed Jeans to be frank, but I really enjoy it anyway, and good point to them for not doing the same thing over and over. And fortunately they kept their usual noise rock guitar play, the smart, fun and acerbic lyrics and the excellent vocals going from spoken words to screaming. So, while quite different from the rest of their discography, it still definitely sounds like Pissed Jeans. Recommended!

The Bandcamp page.

Terror System - Demo 2 (2019)

No, music from Compton is not gangsta rap only, the Terror System guys are playing grindcore (or were, don't know if they're still active, I hope they are). This second demo, released in 2019, is basic but finely crafted old school grind, halfway between grindpunk and deathgrind, 100% pure grindcore. Good stuff, an album would be welcome !

the BC page.

 

The Obsessed - Gilded Sorrow (2024)

Second album after their return, the new The Obsessed album, Gilded Sorrow, is, as expected, a superb piece of traditionnal doom metal, with the unmistakable singing and riffing from the great Wino Weinrich. Maybe not totally as good as previous album, The Sacred, but this last one was so awesome...

The BC page.

 

Alkaloid - Numen (2023)

Numen, released last September, is the third album from Alkaloid, five years after the previous one. I feel they focused a bit more on the melodic and progressive side this time, but they stay firmly within the tech death scope, and still at it's very top. Awesome album once again, totally recommended.

The Bandcamp page.

 

 

STATIQBLOOM - Kain (2024)

This new STATIQBLOOM (Fade Kainer) album, called Kain, is a fine piece of dark-electro/industrial/EBM. Often heavy and hard-hitting, but not without subtleties in its sound, it will satisfy anyone into dark electro/industrial music.

The BC page.

 

Smallpox Aroma - Festering Embryos of Logical Corruption (2023)

Smallpox Aroma is a trio from Bangkok, they are active since 2006 and released many splits, EP's and the like, but Festering Embryos of Logical Corruption is their first album. It's a fine piece of grindcore, with some goregrind, but also mincecore elements and can be enjoyed by people into any of the grind different varieties.

On BC.

 

REPLICANT - Infinite Mortality (2024)

Been thinking about reviewing a Replicant album for a long time, and now that with Infinite Mortality they released a third excellent album in a row, it's due time I do it. They deliver some dissonant death metal, of a technical / mathy kind. What I like the most about Replicant is that they're really good at finding the right balance between avant-garde impredictibility and writing memorable songs with enough groove and melodies to be catchy enough as well (we're definitely not talking about "easy listening" music, though). Warmly recommended!

The BC page.

 

 

3TEETH - EndEx (2023)

EndEx is the Fourth 3TEETH album, still quite easy listening industrial metal, often closer to Marilyn Manson or even Static-X than to NIN (with some nu-metal elements) but this time it's better than what they did on Metawar. Is it less a guilty pleasure if we say 90' metal is now "old-school"? I don't know, and don't really care, I just enjoy listening to it...

Sister Fucker - God's Work (2010)

Sister Fucker were active in Oakland, CA, in the beginning of the 2010'. It's a duo with Vanessa Harris playing guitar and singing/screaming and Erin Allen playing drums. On their 2010 cassette God's Work they delivered some savage, raw and primitive punkish noise rock. I love it!

The BC page.

 

Skeletal Remains - Fragments Of The Ageless (2024)

Fragments Of The Ageless is the Fifth album from Skeletal Remains. Their old school death metal (old school but with a technical twist) has always sounded Floridian, but this time it sounds more precisely very MorbidAngelic (B, C and D albums). And since it's done so well, in great songs with excellent guitarworks, who will complain? No me!

The BC page.

 

'68 - Yes, and... (2023)

Fourth album from the duo '68, with singer guitarist Josh Scogin (ex The Chariot and Norma Jean) and drummer Nikko Yamada,Yes, and... is a nice new piece in their garage hardcore (hardcore'n'roll?) discography. Sounding likean unusual mix between At the Drive-In, The Black Keys and Nirvana. Good songs, great vocals. Recommended stuff.

The BC page.

 

FANGE - Perdition (2024)

With Perdition, the new FANGE album, they seem to have compleated their mutation toward a sound at the same time more industrial and more polished and melodic. And whereas I really like their industrial shift, I'm not always conviced by the melodic evolution. Strangely Fange isn't really dirty anymore and sometimes they're going too much to my taste in a kind of Paradise Lost direction. I hope next album will be more abrasive. That been said the quality of their music and songwriting remains and Perdition is an excellent album anyway.

The Bandcamp page.

 

Zopp - Dominion (2023)

Dominion has been released last year, but if you and/or your dad listened to prog rock classics like Yes or King Crimson, you will definitely feel at home listening to it. But it's not just 70' prog worship with vintage synth and a bit of sax, there are also more modern influences, and it also often reminds me of Porcupine Tree. It's the second album from Zopp (which is Ryan W Stevenson doing nearly everything, plus Andrea Moneta playing the drums and a few guest doing some vocals, sax, flute, etc.) and its main evolution from the first one is that it's not only instrumental any more. Recommended for anyone into prog rock, but also as a good way to discover it.

The Bandcamp page.

 

Sonic Poison - Grinded Leftovers (EP 2024)

This Grinded Leftovers EP is another piece fine in Sonic Poison faultless discography. They play Repulsion style grind, but manage to do so without sounding redundant or "retro". This time they also experimented a bit with some noise parts, nothing very significant, but why not? The feel of primitive death/grind with as much impact as a grind band of today. Recommended! 

The BC page.

Hyperdontia - Deranged (EP 2023)

Deranged is the latest release from Hyperdontia, four tracks of excellent and nicely old-school death metal, with a primitive feel reminding a bit the early works of Cannibal Corpse. Good stuff.

The BC page.

 

 

HORSKH - BODY (2024)

BODY, the third album of HORSKH (from Besançon, East of France) confirms they are among the new industrial bands that matters. They build on old school industrial music from the nineties, with a touch of EBM, but also incorporates newer sounds like dubstep, nu metal, trap metal, resulting in a music somewhere between NIN, 3Teeth and Ghostmane. But I'd say they mostly distinguish from other bands with their strong songwriting skills, their ability to write songs at the same time catchy but also avoiding sounding as standardized as a big part of industrial metal often is.

The BC page.

 

Shannon Rowley - The King Departs (2022)

You can always count on Svart Records for delivering something unusual, and of quality. The first album from Shannon Rowley, released in 2022 and called The King Departs could be described as an unusual take on dark americana, but it's also rocking, there's a haunted intensity and epicness that evokes heavy metal (there's a Hallowed Be Thy Name something in the first track, Says The Dead Sailor). I suppose Son House covering Birthday Party and Iron Maiden would have produced a similar vibe.  Yes, it's that good. 

The BC page.

 

Eye Flys - Eye Flys (2024)

This self-titled album is the second one from Eye Flys (they also released two EP's), and like the first one it's a great piece of sludge / noise rock full of abrasive groove reminding what we like in bands like Eyehategod or Unsane. The opening song Trepanation Summer should be an underground "hit". Addictive stuff.

The BC page.

 

Serpent Corpse - Blood Sabbath (2023)

Blood Sabbath, released last summer, is the excellent first album by Serpent Corpse, from Montréal. Death metal that is firmly old school, and on its more slow and heavy side, somewhere between Bolt Thrower and death-doom. Good enough to be also enjoyed outside the old-school aficionados circles. Recommended!

 

The BC page.

 

Endless Swarm - Manifested Forms (2023)

Manifested Forms, released last year by To Live a Lie, is another fine piece of powerviolence/fastcore/grind from the Scottish Endless Swarm. It's All killer, no filler, and maybe their best album yet. Recommended!

The BC page.

 

Kill The Thrill - Autophagie (2024)

If Kill The Thrill first appear on Blasting Days, it's just because their previous album was before my blog existed (Tellurique was in 2005, Blasting Days started in 2012). Kill The Thrill is among my favourite French band. They can loosely be classified as industrial rock/metal, but on the more atmospheric side of industrial, closer to bands like Jesu, The Young Gods, Einstürzende Neubauten, or Swans than to Minsitry. And their new album Autophagie is maybe their less heavy one. I think I preferred Tellurique, but I also really enjoy the new one as well. The singing, now nearly entirely in French is again excellent.

The Bandcamp page.

 

Cruciamentum - Obsidian Refractions (2023)

In this second album, Obsidian Refractions, Cruciamentum's songs are longer and slower, maybe not death-doom all the way, but in an old school death-metal vein reminding bands like Immolation and Incantation. Their style is evolving a bit, but quality remains and they confirms they are among the new death metal bands we'll want to follow. I especially like the guitar work in this album, very nice.

The BC page.

 

All Them Witches - Baker's Dozen (2023)

When reviewed All Them Witches first album twelve years ago (already on Blasting Days, yes!), I wrote that they were : "A promising new band that could craft a very good magic if they find how to add more of their own voodoo to their already good music". Well, I'm happy to say the promise has been kept, and they did a good job in finding their own voodoo and make it flourish. Their sixth album Baker's Dozen is proving it once again, with enjoyable doses of their usual garage/heavy blues rock sound, but we also get to hear them at their most psychedelic in some songs, and at their most traditional blues in some others. At the same time deep-rooted in American music traditions and experimenting. Good stuff! I hope I'll review them again in another twelve years!

Their website.

 

Parasitic - Disfiguring Symmetry (2023)

Parasitic, from San Diego, isn't a new band, but their EP Disfiguring Symmetry is their longer release so far, which is a pity because their brutal US death metal is good, technical, but in an old school vein reminding Cannibal Corpse and Suffocation. Good stuff, time to do an album, guys!

The Bandcamp page.

 

frett - notwo (2023)

notwo is the second album from frett, still released by ant-zen records, still with a synth-wave and death industrial basis, but this time with more EBM, more melodies and tracks more structured like songs, giving it an industrial rock feel. Quality stuff in any case.

The BC page.

 

GAG REFLEX - Psychosis (2019)

As far as I know Psychosis is the only release of GAG REFLEX (from Leeds, UK) which is a pity since it's an excellent piece of powerviolence / hardcore. Short, but intense as should be. Recommended!

The BC page.

 

Wormhole - Almost Human (2023)

Listened a lot to their previous album, The Weakest Among Us, and am definitely not disappointed by Wormhole new album Almost Human, and am also listening to it a lot. It's a brutal confirmation that they are one of the best modern death metal bands right now. They excel at being both brutal and technical, with heavy slam parts as well as more melodic / prog parts. I'm usually more into old school death metal, but when modern/new school death is as finely done as this, I succumb to it with pleasure.

 

The BC page.

My favourite grindcore from 2023

Well, the title says it all... find below the list, in alphabetical order, of my favourite grindcore albums from last year. Click on it to go to my review.

Chepang - Swatta

FesterDecay - Reality Rotten To The Core

Gridlink - Coronet Juniper

OrganDealer - The Weight of Being

 Sea of Shit - Sea of Shit

 Shitstorm - Only in Dade

SonicPoison - Eruption

Boris & Uniform - Bright New Disease (2023)

Bright New Disease is a collaborative album from Uniform (industrial metal) and Boris (from metal to drone/doom to psych rock and many things in between). It's more abrasive than Boris and more melodic than Uniform, no big surprise so far, but overall the pace is faster than what I expected. And it works fine. I really enjoy the album, and it turns out it's more than just an average mix of both bands. One of the good musical surprises of last year. Recommended!

The BC page.

 

Realize - Two Human Minutes (2023)

On their third album, called Two Human Minutes, Realize are still mostly doing Godflesh worship, but they sure know how to do it well. And maybe they're introducing a bit more beats that are a bit different, either with a trap/hip-hop or more EBM feel. Godflesh fans will steel feel definitely at home though. Unless you're not looking for originality, this is good stuff.

The BC page.

 

Deathgrave - It's Only Midnight (2023)

Second album from Californians Deathgrave. It's Only Midnight keeps the old school death and grind elements but this time they focused more on their slower death-doom side (note that their guitarist plays bass in Autopsy, and used to play in Graves at sea), and the hardcore meets heavy and slow riffing also gives it a somewhat Black Flag feel at times. Keeps being good in any case.

The BC page.

 

Goat - Oh Death (2022)

Goat might not be the greatest band of all time, but they definitely are a strange and intriguing beast. The music of this Swedish band is mixing heavy rock psychedelia with elements of afrobeat, folk, free jazz and whatnot. And each of their albums have a different twist. They release "Medicine" in 2023, one of their more traditional psych/folk album, a good album, nicely trippy, but more classical than the rest of their discography. That's why I prefer reviewing the previous album Oh Death, my favourite Goat album. Oh Death could be described as their "Voodoo bayou funk rock" album, an addictive mix of Black Sabbath, Jefferson Airplane, Dr John and The Meters. Shorter song, more rocking, funky and nervous than their usually more progressive stuff, but with a dark and mystic feel. Highly recommended!

The Bandcamp page.