BEFORE CHRIST

I played guitar in this band for a few years. We didn't last long. The singer and I hated each other's guts. Loads of petty bullshit back and forth all day long. Boring!!! One of our arguments was about whether the above figure is brandishing a penis or a tail... Which do you see? I'm glad we did this band, but I'm also glad it's over. These songs are from a split 7" with a Brooklyn based doom duo called Skull. I'll put their shit up at some point. I'd like to think that B.C. sounded like a developmentally disabled Hellhamer. In reality I'm sure we were far less interesting than that. Anyway, here's where you can get it for free!

AURA NOIR - DREAMS LIKE DESERTS

Aura Noir is Norway's bad-ass answer to 80's thrash metal. Their first release from '94 came at a time when thrash had become extremely uncool. Against trends, Dreams Like Deserts, delivers 6 fiercely structured, blackened assaults of incredible speed and agility. Side winding riffs, admonishing vocals and an avalanche of drumming catapulted these butchers to the top of the norwegian pile. They've remained there for nineteen + years, rendering corpse meat into primordial sludge. The production on DLD is more typical 90's BM than the band's subsequent releases (not a bad thing). These files are taken from the 2012 remaster. I stuck with the original cover since I'm not including the bonus tracks and I dig their original logo. DLD!

RASPBERRY BULBS - LIVE AT 285 KENT

Raspberry Bulbs, the Ildjarn-esque side project of He Who Crushes Teeth (drummer for Bone Awl) plays head bobbing, garagy punk wrapped in a black metal skin. Live, RB's basement four-track aesthetic is served by faithful and discerning players. Among the lineup is Nick Forté of Rorschach and Radio to Saturn. I wasn't present at this show. It was recorded informally by my friend Janusz (thanks). The sound quality is pretty decent. The vocals are a bit quiet compared to their official releases. Regardless, the band sounds great here. Hopefully these guys will record together soon. Until then... Live bursts!

INQUISITION - OMINOUS DOCTRINES OF THE PERPETUAL MYSTICAL MACROCOSM

Though I love their early pursuits, the vision that Inquisition has cultivated over the course of their twenty five year career has grown absolutely astounding. Ominous Doctrines Of The Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm is the eighth full length release in their discography. It's easily among the best sounding of their recordings and some of their best song writing as well. Dagon and Incubus have expanded on their brand of grinding black metal to achieve a level of sophistication and sheer perfection that few can boast. Eternally unaffected by the limitations of a two piece line up, they offer yet another slab rife with all the aggressive energy and melodic abrasion we've come to expect. Dagon's voice is completely mesmerizing this time around; even transcendent. These songs numb your digits, tear your spine from it's ornamental blob and warp you to an inner space that dwarfs the known universe. If you only bought one BM record in 2010, this should have been it. Ominous!

MORTUARY DRAPE - ALL THE WITCHES DANCE

Peel back the drape to reveal one of the coolest BM bands to ever walk the earth. These necro obsessed weirdos take their perverse brand of pageantry to the extreme. Imagine an updated Merciful Fate complete with shiny hooded robes and a buxom, guttural apache on vocals. All The Witches Dance twists a wide range of high and low metal arts into a confounding and furious whirlwind. Even with familiarity, there's a persistent and illusive surprise element to this record. As you fall prey to the wild chants of these axe wielding muppets, one senses infinitely more sinister forces galloping in from the outer realms. The ground becomes liquid. You're drawn down with inexplicable speed. Horrific trumpets announce a soul crushing pain of loss. At last you rest, a mere silhouette at the gates of hell. Necomania!

PESUDOGOD - DEATHWOMB CATECHESIS

Satanic black death from russia, Pseudogod stands out among a slew of bands working in a similar vain. Less veiled than Titanblood and as large as the likes of Black Witchery, Revenge or Conqueror. Deathwomb Catechesis delivers 8 raw, rhythmically diverse and aggressively crafted rituals to blacken the sun and boil the seas. The vocals hover like a sphincter in the skies of hell, vomiting the entrails of the damned, into the mouths of the damned. Why anyone would choose to manifest such a ravaged and hopeless reality is beyond even me. All I know is that it draws me back again and again; deeper and deeper into the odorous din of the great pit. Monkey ballz!

NEGATIVE PLANE - STAINED GLASS REVELATIONS

This band's sophomore effort was one of the strangest and most celebrated american BM records to come out in 2010. Lots of intricate, proggy interludes filed among truly aggressive blasts of soul wrenching evil. These dudes deliver their message with absolute conviction. I think some of the members live in different cities. Anyway, they don't play live that often. They're playing a bunch of shows with Vomitor in Dec. I strongly suggest you catch them! Streaming!

SALÖ - MANGIA MERDA E MORTE! CASSETTE

Cool crusty BM (had to say it) from Brooklyn. In the vain of Leviathan or Odz Manouk, but with an added dose of restrained thrash. These songs burn with an atmosphere that feels intensely drugged. Live, Salö offers an eerily aggressive avalanche with a singer who’s aura reaches far beyond the confines of any room. Pick up a copy if you still can. Hell-stank!