Nocturnal Damnation - Desecration, Crucifixion, Perversion (2012)

Genre: Blackened Death Metal
Country: South Korea

Hailing from Seoul Nocturnal Damnation brand themselves as "Nuclear War Metal", in my humble opinion this pretty much sums them up.  What we have on offer here is six songs of no holds barred blackened death that is the sound of a seemingly impending nuclear annihilation, maybe influenced by the chaos and paranoia brought by their despot ran neighbor to the north.  This tape is raw, dirty and bestial as fuck and feels like having an h bomb dropped on your face.

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Kacica - Kacica (2006)

Genre: Dream Pop, Post Rock
Country: Japan

I think the biggest appeal for this band would be the fact that their vocalist sounds a lot like Bjork. Like the vocalist here goes for the long sprawling kind of vocals as if she's moving her body slowly to the music which I think perfectly goes well with the vibes this album. The instrumentation isn't too dramatic or complex; rather they're just simple to match the relaxed and dazed nature of dream pop. The combination of the Bjork-esque vocals and the relaxed nature of the instruments brings a very entrancing nature to just vibe with. Nothing to really think too hard about.

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Wolvefrost - Barbarian Hellstorm (2013)

Genre: Blackened Crust
Country: United States

Awesome blackened crust from this one man project hailing from Seattle, good blackened caustic madness.

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Harakiri For The Sky - Harakiri For The Sky (2012)

Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
Country: Austria

Harakiri For The Sky pretty much rides the whole black metal/shoegaze/post rock trend that occurred in recent years but they do a much better job at it than others by actually having substance in their music rather than sacrificing good songwriting and engaging melodies for beauty. In truth, they aren't all that special or original but when you consider how much good comes from this genre, you can say this is definitely worth a listen.

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Entrapment - Lamentations Of the Flesh (2014)

Genre: Death Metal
Country: Netherlands

Dutch Entombed worshiping death metal lunatics Entrapment return with the follow up to 2012's awesome ...the obscurity within, modern old school death metal that adds another awesome release to the revival of the last few years.

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Arizmenda - Without Circumference Nor Centre (2011)

Genre: Black Metal
Country: United States

With the imminent release of Arizmenda' third full length i've been listening to their two previous albums in preparation, although this second full length didn't quite live up to the high standards set by the first (but really what could!?) it is still a brilliant and damn fine black metal release in it's own right.  Maligned by some because of it's bass heavy and at time washy sound and loved by others in equal measure for the same reasons, this version we have here is the pro tape version that was released by dismal cursings.  The difference that hits you when you first listen to it compared to the original release is the clarity of it all, the sound has been cleaned up a touch (not detrimentally) and has in turn breathed new life into what was already and amazing release.  Subtle hints of tortured melodies peak through the darkness of the abyss while the true nature of the compositions and arrangements become more apparent, all of this leads to a new found appreciation of an album that already had been held in such high regard.

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Dommedagssalme - Terra (2012)

Country: United Kingdom
Genre:"Astral Black Metal"

I feel the need to address the cover art first- yes, it is ridiculous and terrible, but don't let that stop you from listening to this. This highly melodic and repetitious black metal meant to lull you into hypnotic states. Like Darkspace, the album steers away from the cold plains of usual black metal fare and transports you into the cold vacuum of space. The celestial atmosphere generally takes precedence over the guitars and drums, but it all kind of melds together into this beautiful white noise.

ASStral black metal

Love Sex Machine - Love Sex Machine (2012)

Genre: Sludge Metal
Country: France

Love Sex Machine never hold anything back when it comes to their music. Extremely thick and distorted guitar riffs played between mostly a crushing slow pace and a unrelentingly heavy pace. The vocals are definitely worth a mention because they sound so pissed off it works with the dirty and heavy sound they're going for. These guys love to play loud and proud and it works for them. Not many leads to be found here though, just heavy in-your-face chugging loud enough to break your ears. They're also on Throatruiner records who always put out some great stuff.

Name-Your-Price on Bandcamp

Procession - Your Turn To Feel (2012)

Genre: Shoegaze
Country: United States

Procession is a side project from vocalist/guitarist Britty Drake from Pity Sex. It's not too far from Dark World-era Pity Sex sound-wise. All it really lacks is the strong emo influences. Procession seems to work based on making gritty and lo-fi sounds sound like comforting and soft with jangly guitar lines and a mix between clean and distorted guitar chords rather searching for emotional climaxes like Pity Sex. Nothing too different for the genre, but it's definitely executed well. I guess if you wanted Britty to sing more in Dark World she would've sounded like this.

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Carved Cross / Sump - Split (2013)

Genre: Raw Black Metal
Country: Australia / England

A great split release here between two awesome bands, Carved Cross open proceedings with two songs of hypnotic no-fi black metal that is as raw as it is trance inducing.  On the flip side, Sump seem to be inspired by Carved Cross' lo-fi aesthetic and opt for an even rawer than usual production style.  Churning out 4 punky black metal stomps that deliver their own charm yet somehow keeping the feel of the split cohesive.  Maybe a bit too raw for some, but if lo-fi/raw black metal is your thing you need to get this in your life.

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White Medal - Yorkshire Heathen Black Metal (2012)

Genre: Black Metal
Country: England

George Proctor is a name synonymous with the burgeoning underground black metal scene in England, being part of or even the sole member (as is the case here) of a myriad of projects that range in musical styles.  White Medal is one of mr Proctors solo projects and is also one of his best, this compilation release sees the Agbrigg beast & Alone As Owt demos compiled together along with the song "Northumbrian Tyrants" as well as two previously unreleased songs (that apparently came from the alone as owt sessions).  15 Songs of raw punk driven black metal that demands attention, a perfect starting place for anyone new to the band.

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M. Sage - No Same River Twice (2014)

Genre: Ambient / Field Recordings
Country: United States

M. Sage has a special knack of twisting simplistic beauty into something fragile and haunting. With No Same River Twice he continues down the vein of his other releases from this year, uniting distant guitar pluckings with drones and field recordings. The music retains a fairly basic formula (excluding the track 'Stumbling Blocks, where he gets a bit eccentric on a drum kit), however Sage manages to manipulate these sounds to create a distinctive somber atmosphere which I haven't found on many other releases from the big '14. Perfect for a rainy Sunday morning or a 2 AM identity crisis.

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Saor - Aura (2014)

Country: Scotland
Genre: Atmospheric/Folk Black Metal

It's been awhile since something so overtly symphonic has struck a chord with me, but Saor's second album Aura does just that. Steeped in Celtic inspired atmosphere, the melodies here are bombastic, triumphant and definitely summon the images of war and battle in your mind's eye. The vocals are more of hoarse, throaty shout than usual black metal fare, but they work wonderfully, and help further separate Saor from other folk inspired metal bands. Also, Austin Lunn of Panopticon performs on drums, so I don't even need to tell you that they fucking rule. Like I said, I don't usually go for this type of black metal anymore, but this is freaking awesome, and should not be passed up. Fucking recommended.

Get me some Haggus

Manon Meurt - Manon Meurt (2014)

Genre: Shoegaze, Dream Pop
Country: Czech Republic

This is incredibly standard for shoegaze in terms of sound and songwriting but the same can be said for a lot of album in the entire genre so it would be unfair to write it off as so. Manon Meurt basically sound like Slowdive that try to emphasize on building a wall of sound instead of creating the floating feeling that Slowdive emulates in Souvlaki. Don't write this off as a rip-off but rather appreciate the fact that Manon Meurt mimic this style well and sort of make it their own.

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Destruction Unit - Deep Trip (2013)

Genre: Noise Rock, Psychedelic Rock
Country: United States

I don't think I've ever heard of a more fitting band name and album cover. This album builds a huge wall of sound capable of shattering ears and breaking faces using thick distortion and adding dizzying psychedelic effects. It's a lot more than just loud noise though; lots of tight drum playing and guitar riffs can be found all over the album. Good for anyone wanting loud noisy rock music.

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Cagedgrave - Gutless (2014)

Genre: Hardcore/Power Violence
Country: Australia

Cagedgrave are a power violence influenced hardcore band from Australia currently causing a stir in the underground with their initial first demo last year and now this their debut ep.  Sounding very much like Nails for the most part, fans of them couldn't go far wrong in checking this out.  10 short, sharp, primal bursts of speed and aggression that mug you in a darkened alleyway and leave your bloodied confused mess of a self to comprehend what the fuck just happened.  The entire 6 and a bit minute flurry (as well as their other releases) are available for name your price download on their bandcamp page.

Bandcamp (name your price)

Warsore - Violent Swing Discography (2012)

Genre: Grindcore
Country: Austalia

Australia's anarcho grind lunatics Warsore blazed a violent trail for a number of years before finally calling it a day.  This is essentially a collection of pretty much everything they ever did, 110 tracks in 101 minutes of pure pissed off and unrelenting rage.  No frills, no gimmicks, no posturing, just good angry in your face grind.

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Woes - Valley Of Desolation (2013)

Genre: Black Metal / Crust Punk
Country: England

Woes hail from Bradford, England and came to us last year with this their first demo.  Just under 20 minutes of raw hate filled crust punk influenced black metal which at times segues into slow trudging doom sections that carry a feeling of violent menace.  Awesome stuff for anyone who likes punk influenced black metal.

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Aethyrvorous - Aethyrvorous (2009)

Genre: Death Metal
Country: Australia

It's quite a shame that these guys only put out one demo before disbanding because they showed a lot of promise here. The atmosphere created here is incredibly dark and crushing created by the guttural vocals and the dark and evil tone that the guitars create. It's a short demo but what's contained in here is worth your time.

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Cara Neir - The Overwatch (2014)

Genre: Black Metal/Hardcore/Screamo
Country: United States

Cara Neir are easily one of my favorite bands of the past few years. Watching them develop their style has been a joy, not only because they are consistently amazing, but also unpredictable. Stagnant Perceptions was black metal with a screamo twist. Portals To A Better, Dead World was screamo with a black metal twist. Sublimation Therapy explored hardcore and all of its variants, and their splits usually fall into the "post-black metal" category, featuring some heavy shoegaze influences. The Overwatch combines the black metal/screamo style of their full-lengths with the brevity and pure aggression of Sublimation Therapy. It's gr1m and hxc all at once; the cohesion between the different styles is as fluid as always. Definitely not something to sleep on.

Portals to Sublimation Therapy