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!