SECT - Plagues Upon Plagues (2024)

SECT is a band with vocalist Chris Colohan (Cursed, Burning Love, Left for Dead), Scott Crouse from Earth Crisis, and three other experienced musicians from the hardcore scene. Plagues Upon Plagues, their third album, is a nice slice of slow and sludgy metallic hardcore that would feel at home on your shelf close to Vision of Disorder, Crowbar or Brutality Will Prevail. Good stuff.

The BC page.

Unsane - Sterilize (2017)

Unsane's 8th album, Sterilize sounds like a continuation of their previous ones, and is maybe even slightly better, which means it's really good and worthy of many many listen. All the typical Unsane elements are here and used to full effects, the very strong rhythmic section with heavy bass sound, those crawling serpentine riffs, and the anguished vocals. Don't really know what to add, it's Unsane... enough said...

Power Trip - Nightmare Logic (2017)

Manifest Decimation in 2013 was a very strong first album and now its follow-up Nightmare Logic (also with Southern Lord Records), end establishing firmly Power Trip as one of the very best recent thrash metal band. The basic formula is still the same, a lot of aggressive old school thrash metal (Slayer, Exodus, Testament) and a bit of Cro-Mags style hardcore. In Nightmare Logic I also hear more groove (Pantera comes to mind more often this time) and in general a more concise and focused songwriting with a more personnal style. Exactly what is needed for a second album actually. I'm more into grind or noise than traditionnal metal these days but an album like Nightmare Logic manages to get me exited and reminds me why I get into metal in the first place. Very cool stuff!

The BC page. 

Martyrdöd - List (2016)

Martyrdöd is probably the best d-beat / crustpunk (or neo-crust, with its epic and melodic element) band around, at leats since the release of the Paranoia album (in 2012). After Elddop that left me slightly disappointed (although it's a good album actually, but I had high expectations) that are now back in full force with List (still with Southern Lord records), leaving no doubt about how strong they are. If you stay in the crust boundaries you'll have a really hard time doing a better album and I think it could compares to Paranoia. The songs are furious and vibrant with a mercilless pummeling but also lifted by some memorable riffing (with a folk / viking something in the melodies, even evoking bagpipes at times, something I'm not usually that much into but it really works on this album). Highly recommended!

The BC page.

Earth - Primitive and deadly (2014)

Primitive and deadly is Earth's eighth full lenght and is their most accessible and catchy to date. they went closer to the rock format (but we could say this is a kind of experimentating for Earth!) and even have three songs with vocals. two with Mark Lanegan, as good as he is usually, and one with Rabia Shaheen Qazi the women singing in Rose windows, and she's doing good as well. but it's not just the singing, the music is less minimalistic, with some nice melodic guitar works. the atmosphere reminds the solemnity and subtly dark one we had in Hex : or printing in the infernal method, but sounds less desolate, with a lighter feel. I think overall it's really a success, they really managed to make their sound evolves while sticking to their strong identity and offering a subtle but very enjoyable listen.

their Bandcamp

Power Trip - Manifest Decimation (2013)

I suspect the guys at Southern lord records to know a few things about metal. Anyway they did a really good job in releasing this Manifest Decimation, the first full length of Texas' Power Trip. I'd say it's easily one of the best recent records in the good ol' badass 80' metal style. Even if the guys in the band were not even born at that time, when listening to it, you have a taste of the urgency, the attitude and the genuine spontaneity of the good metal of these days. It's mostly thrash metal (think Slayer circa Hell Awaits and Reign in Blood. The riffs, the sound, and the drummer paying some cool tributes to Dave Lombardo)  but also death metal (think Bolt Thrower) and a touch of crossover hardcore (think Cro-Mags).  a really awesome and flawless record (flawless if you don't absolutely needs something really original). Just push play and soon it will grab you and make you headbang and air drum in your living room... You've been warned…

Power Trip on BC

All Pigs Must Die - Nothing Violates this Nature (2013)

Mentioning Entombed? OK, that's done. APMD clearly owes a lot to the Swedish masters, and especially for its more trashy and punkier elements than on the traditional old school death metal side. So mentioning Black Breath then? OK, that's done as well…
That being said their new album Nothing Violates this Nature is their best recording yet, with a more powerful sound and more dynamic songs than on God is War I'd say. And anyway people listening to this kind of stuff aren't especially looking for some sonic revolution. We're more looking for some good ol' relentless beatings and heavy dirty riffing. And APMD delivers that with all the power needed. The fast songs make you do "air drumming", the mid tempo songs makes you head bang. So mission accomplished.

Their Myspace.

Seven sisters of sleep

Seven sisters of sleep comes form Orange County, California and have been taking the sludge scene by storm in the last couple of years. They released a first self titled album with Southern lord in 2010, a split  with Children of god last year on A389 recordings, and now a self titled 7' also on A389. Three really inspired and crushing records. The recipe is classical sludge but with some more brutality added (even death metal elements like blastbeat parts here and there). Every song is well crafted with cool riffs and rythmic parts bringing a lot of groove with the heaviness and brutality.

Clearly one of the best recent sludge bands!

withness it on the SSOS A389 BC page

Seven sisters of sleep.com

Burning love-Rotten thing to say

like hardcore? like hard rock? then chances are you'll like Burning love, a band playing a cool mix of the two. Their singer is Chris Colohan (ex-Cursed, Left for dead, The swarm), and Rotten thing to say is their second full lenght record released recently by Southern lord (recorded by Kurt Ballou, mastered by Allan Douches). But it's not the typical "darkened hardcore" band that are flooding us these days, Burning love is way more on the rock'n'roll side of hardcore. A great record filled with cool riffs and solos, cool vocals, and fuelled with all the energy hardcore and hard rock can bring.

highly recommended!

Burning love blog

Martyrdöd-Paranoia

Rarely a crust record is as powerful and epic as is the new Martyrdöd called Paranoia and released by Southern lord. It's far better than the average metallic crust, more variety due to a really good songwriting, a sound that really put forward the sharp riffing, cool vocals in swedish, well, really well crafted and well played songs...with this record Martyrdöd easily keep his status as one of the best crust bands.

you can listen to the title track on Cvltnation, HERE

Acephalix - Deathless Master (2012)

Last year, Acephalix (from the Bay Area) released Interminable night, a cool exercise in thrashing and old school death metal with a cool groove, a bit in an Entombed vein. Be ready for their forthcoming record Deathless Master, planned to be released by Southern lord records in April 10th. Judging by the track called "on wings" which you can listen to Here on Cvltnation it's gonna be a good following to Interminable Night!

And this is the Acephalix official page.

Black breath

With Heavy breathing in 2010 Black breath released a very cool punk meets old school death metal record (un peu à la Entombed). 

In march 27th, their new record, Sentenced to life will be out on Southern lord records and judging by  "mother abyss", one of its song that you can lisen to here, it's also gonna be a pretty cool, frenetic and adrenaline fuelled record! 

addition : I listened to Sentenced to life and can confirm that YES it is a bloody cool, frenetic adrenaline fuelled record!! better than Heavy breathing maybe, faster and with a more punkish attitude I would say, a really really cool record!!

Dead in the dirt

With Fear, from Southern lord records, Dead in the dirt realeased one of the best metal/hardcore album for 2011. Mixing violent hardcore parts with dark sludgy parts, the records stand above many others from the "blackened crust" scene. Sounds a bit like a more punk/crust/core version of the band Gaza.

Cet album était pour moi une des bonnes découvertes de 2011, Fear est un disque bien furieux, sombre et poisseux à souhait. Bien intense!

 if you want to get an idea of what they did before Fear you can check the bandcamp page for the Vold EP released in 2010, which is also really good.