Ramleh - Circular time (2015)

After a few years hiatus Ramleh are back with this double album called Circular time. Double and really excellent. Their noise / power electronics / industrial origins are still felt, but they still largely follow in their more recent noise rock vein (with drums and guitars) and they bring also a big dose of spacey psychedelia with really trippy lead guitar parts. there's also something kraut with the rythms (Godflesh meets Can and Jimmy Hendrix?). And theres some few vocals in the most "rock" parts (maybe somewhere between The Melvins, Hawkwind and Pornography era The Cure?), and those parts are good as well. They sound like no other and their music is powerfull and mesmerising. Since I discovered Circular time I listen to it on a daily basis. strong and addictive stuff, really. try it!

The Bandcamp page.

Slow season - Slow season (2015)

Slow season is a very enjoyable album, and the band is a really good rocking band. To be honest the only originality they have is... to worship a band that is not Black sabbath, but is Led Zeppelin. But their are incredibly good at writing and playing songs in a Led Zeppelin vein, so why not? The other good point is that so do not duplicate only the hard rock side of Led Zeppelin but the whole diversity of the band, with its blues influenced and folk elements (harmonica included) and also the rock'n'roll songs. So maybe this self titled album, reissued in 2015 reminds most the third Led Zeppelin album (III) . In 2015 also they released their second album called Mountains, which is also really good, in the same zeppelinian vein, just maybe a bit heavier, with less folk elements. If you're into Led zeppelin go for it. If you're not into Lep Zeppelin... well, go see the doctor, hopeless case...

The Bandcamp page

Spektr - The art to disappear (2016)

Spektr is another french entity (a duo more precisely) that is pushing the boundaries of black metal. Their new album, The art to disappear, still largely instrumental, but not completely like their previous (excellent!) album Cypher was. But anyway since they're not into "pop" song format (like black metal often is!) this doesn't really matters. The guitars reminds Mayhem at it's most industrial / experimental (the kind of melodies and the sound of Grand declaration of war especially). There are noise / industrial elements bringing a cold, bleak and noisy feel,  and also some heaviness with dub beats (here when I write "dub" think Scorn). There's also a little jazzy touch with some drums patterns, but fewer jazz element than in Cyper. The atmosphere and the aggressive blast beats parts makes this a black metal album, but with a lot of room for experimenting and noise / industrial sounds. It has a different feel than Cypher (it's more brutal and industrial), but still is very Spektr and excellent. We already have a strong challenger for most interesting and best black metal album for 2016.

The Bandcamp page

Abhorrent decimation - Miasmic mutation (2015)

This flashy blue cover art would let you think this is some death metal of a more modern kind than usually reviewed on Blasting days. Yes it is, but don't start running, this is not deathcore nor slam. Miasmic mutation is the first album from Abhorrent decimation, a young band from London. And for a first album this is an impressive one. Modern death metal, with a powerfull and clean production, but still really related to old school death metal. Brutal but not too much, they still write "songs" in a death metal way. it's quite technical but not too much and never for the sake of it. It has some good atmospheres, melodies and leads but never falls into the atrocious pits of "melodic death metal". And above all they show some good songwriting skills, very effective, crafting good, memorable and enjoyable songs. I usually don't listen to modern death metal, but this album was good enough to "catch" me. Good stuff.

The BC page.

Appalachian terror unit - We don't need them (2015)

This new Appalachian terror unit, called We dont need them is one of the best crust / HC album released in 2015. Often more aggressive than most crust bands (and they are really good when in full relentless hardcore mode), they also know how to craft some memorable slower parts with post-apocalyptic atmospheres. The album is five short songs plus a thirteen minutes one. No, not a more atmospheric and lazy song to add a few minutes more to the album. What we get from this sixth song is a another aggressive song, but with a more complex structure allowing for a more epic feel built as the song develops. In my opinion too many crust albums sounds too predictable and often gets boring, but not this one. Not that it's really going in a different direction, but it's just done better. Good stuff.

The BC page.

Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O - High on New Heaven, Live in New Haven (2015)

Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O is one of the most jaw dropping live band you can hear, like an endless flow of wild concentrated energy. The japanese  band led by Kawabata Makoto mix in their very own and powerfull way heavy rock / garage with psychedelic rock, and their high energy or spacey riffs and basslines, trippy or noisy keys parts, hard hitting and free drumming, japanese singing and choirs will take you far away and drive you crazy. This live in New Haven will give you a good idea of their larger than life live awesomeness, featuring some of their recent songs as well as older ones. Heavy and psychedelic rock at it's most radical and best. Enjoy!

The BC page of the album

The AMT website

Agoraphobic nosebleed - Arc (2016)

Arc is the new Agoraphobic Nosebleed release, but don't expect some grindcore here. This EP is the first of a serie of four, each one focusing in the favourite style of one members of ANB. This one is the Kat Katz one. And this is sludge. Eyehategod, Black sabbath, Melvins and Crowbar are thanked for inspiration for this record and you can definitely hear it. On the record Kat is doing all the singing, all the rest is done by Scott Hull (guitars and programming). It does not sound like ANB, the drums are programmed but never sounded less digital on a ANB record. Is the music good? yes it is, three long songs filled with good riffing and some good heavy destructive groove. On this first sludge release they are easily better than most sludge bands. I just regret that there's no hardcore acceleration in their sludge (so in a way it's more doom with screamed vocals than really sludge), for a band usually playing grindcore this is a bit upsetting, but maybe that's exactly why they didn't wanted to do it... going slow and heavy all the way.

The BC page.