Fange - Privation (2023)

Privation is another excellent album from Fange, keeping on developing their new industrial direction, this time with a slightly melodic feel, in a somewhat doomy post-punk vein, with melodies reminding Paradise Lost or maybe Hangman's Chair. Still with bits of NIN / Author and Punisher, and the Godfleshian beat. But my favourite moments in the album are when Morbid Angel style riffs (from Domination to Gateways) crawls in. memorable also is the singing in French that works really fine. Heavily recommended!

The BC page.

 

 

New Age Doom & Lee "Scratch" Perry - Lee "Scratch" Perry's Guide to the Universe (2021)

This collaboration is Lee "Scratch" Perry last album and testify that he experimented till the very end. New Age Doom is a (somewhat) "free drone rock" band (built around the core of Eric J. Breitenbach and Greg Valou) that had previously released two interesting albums. This time they were joined not only by Lee Perry but also by Donny MacCaslin, a leading figure of the new generation of forward-thinking sax players, Dahm Majuri Cipolla of MONO on drums and gong, and a few others. The result, Lee "Scratch" Perry's Guide to the Universe, is a nice piece of droning and psychedelic fusion jazz / dub mix. Recommended!

The Bandcamp page.

 

The Arson Project - God Bless (2023)

God Bless is the second album for Swedish band The Arson Project. They keep on delivering ferocious and powerful metallic hardcore with grind elements for added craziness and sonic destruction. Good stuff.

The BC page.

 

Aelk Minsur - Ground Redux (2023)

I don't know much about American producer Aelk Minsur, but I like his subtle dark ambient / industrial tech / rhythmic noise music, on display in his latest album Gound Redux. Good stuff.

The BC page.

 

Systemik Viølence - Negative Mangel Attitude (2023)

Great to have Systemik Viølence back! They deliver their second album, Negative Mangel Attitude, after five years of discographic silence, and they're sharp as ever! Raw and fast D-beat with elements of speed/thrash metal, and they make the best of this cool mix. Think Discharge, Venom, Midnight and Impaled Nazarene. Excellent stuff!

The BC page.

 

 

Oxbow - Loves Holiday (2023) & Oxbow & Peter Brötzmann - An Eternal Reminder Of Not Today (live at Moers) 2023

So there's not only one new good Oxbow album, but two. While the previous album, Thin Blak Duke, left no impression on me, I really enjoy Loves Holiday. But even better is their live collaboration with free jazz colossus Peter Brötzmann, called An Eternal Reminder Of Not Today, Oxbow's noise rock and the powerful yet lyrical free jazz of Peter Brötzmann turns out to be an excellent match and the album produced is excellent. Will be a memorable step in both discography. Recommended!

 

Love's Holiday on BC

  

An Eternal Reminder Of Not Today on BC

King Yosef - An Underlying Hum (2023)

Discovered King Yosef with his excellent collaboration with Youth Code. The rest of his discography is cool as well. On An Underlying Hum the most rap metal elements (rapped vocals of guests, turntablism) of his music are gone, and it's now a mix of industrial metal, nu-metal and modern hardcore (think Uniform, Deftones, Will Haven and Code Orange). Maybe I preferred his older stuff, actually. But I also enjoy An Underlying Hum. Of course, purists better abstain (but they're probably not reading this in the first palce anyway...).

The BC page.