The Wolves of Avalon album, Boudicca’s Last Stand will
finally see the light on Monday
And until then, all releases in my Bandcamp store are £1
or less – so head there now for a bargain or two : http://sixsixsixmusic.bandcamp.com/
The Wolves album will be in the Bandcamp store a day
earlier than planned, as I’m not around on Monday to upload it, so it’s
available from Sunday. You can also buy it via Amazon and iTunes and if you
want a cd copy, email Godreah Records who are doing the physical release,
contact them at: godreah@ntlworld.com
Plug over with, time for some music
On my constant quest for new music, the one genre that is
really lacking in quality, is Thrash. Be it shit production or bad song-writing
(or a combination of both), I’ve discovered a lot of crap the past few months.
So thank you very much Nexus One for
brightening up my search.
And while I like the music, I’m not keen on the band name
as it’s the same name as a mobile phone and I think that’ll hamper the band
when someone wants to search for them online
Band name issues aside, Pure Hate is bloody good debut
release. With crunchy riffs and a throaty vocal style, 15 Minutes of Shame
(which presumably is about the vile culture the UK has now of wanting to be
famous for doing fuck all) reminded me of Machine Head, way back around the
time of Burn My Eyes.
And that’s where Nexus One dwell. On the catchy side of
Thrash, but with plenty of bite. With the gang shout style vocals on Two Face,
I’m also reminded (a bit) of the more metallic side of Biohazard. Another band
who rose to prominence 20 odd years ago.
So I guess what I’m saying is that if you’re a fan of 90s
Thrash, you’ll love this EP.
And I’d also say that Nexus One are one of the most promising
UK bands I’ve heard in quite a while.
Play them a visit here: http://www.reverbnation.com/nexusone
Bloodstrike
are from Colorado and are made up of seasoned musicians from the area,
including female growler Holly Wedel. And musically, this is straight down the
line, no frills, bullshit free, good old honest Death Metal.
Please excuse this very old joke, but this is the musical
equivalent of the one were 2 bulls are on a hill and the young one says “let’s
run down into the valley and fuck one of those cows”. And the old bull replies,
“no, let’s walk down slowly and fuck all of the cows”.
There’s no need to be flash and to show off here.
Experience counts when it comes to delivering quality, hence my crappy old
joke. Who need to be the heaviest or the fastest? When you produce good music,
you just know it.
If these three tracks are a taster of what’s to come,
then their debut album will slay.
There was a horrible phase a few years ago when every
band under the sun would go and record their debut album almost as soon as they
formed. Speaking as someone who experienced the demo tape in all its glory (I
even had a demo tape distro in the 90s) it’s nice to see the demo making a
comeback.
Here we have a two track affair from Danish Black Metal
band Serpents Lair. I was expecting
the usual formula of moody and slightly grim, but this is quite a nasty piece
of music. It’s a barrage of fury, topped with majestic guitars and blasting
drums.
There are only 2 tracks available, but they do clock in
at just under 15 minutes, so there’s plenty to digest on what is a mightily
impressive debut
You can buy this from the bands Bandcamp page, or look
out for a cassette version that’s been released both in Europe and the USA
Kvlthammer are
a Blackened Punk band from Indianapolis. My initial reaction was that their
songs sound like an extension of the Punk songs Slayer covered on Undisputed
Attitude, maybe with a couple of references to Celtic Frost thrown in for good
measure as well.
This is controlled hatred that I imagine explodes like
crazy when the band play live. The grooves kept my head nodding along
throughout and the occasional pumped fist was also raised. And it’s always a
good sign that a band can make you do that whilst sat at your computer desk
with a good chance of someone walking past and catching you in the act and
wondering what the fuck is going on.
So many bands sound like Slayer, mainly ripping off
Raining Blood, so it’s kinda cool to hear some Slayer references that help
create something completely different, even if Nate Olp does sound very much
like Tom Araya at times.
Best track for me is Terrify Ecstasy, where the band
sound completely original and the song is as catchy as hell, with the opener
salvo of Pathless coming a close second.
It was only after playing this that I did a bit of
research on the band and found that the members all have a ton of experience in
other bands, such as Lair of the Minatour, Skeletonwitch and Coffinworm. That
might explain why this is so damn good
Dead Hills are
an Australian one man band. And as with every other musical singular entity of
this kind, Black Metal is their weapon of choice.
Now, before I tell you how amazing this is, unbelievably
you can get a single album and a double album, for free via the Dead Hills
Bandcamp shop.
Now, I’m not sure why Weaver, the band behind Dead Hills
is so generous, but be thankful that he is, as this is a must have collection
of music. Wonderfully atmospheric, satisfyingly majestic, the list of
superlatives could go on all day.
It’s epic Black Metal that runs through a number of
styles and creates a multitude of textures to constantly alter the journey the
music takes you on.
For digital, visit Bandcamp: http://thedeadhills.bandcamp.com/
And for a cassette version, head on over to
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/dead.hills
And as Germany won the World Cup last weekend, let’s
finish with a German band
Giving us an infectious dose of Speed Metal are Blizzen.
They remind me a bit of Tokyo Blade and other NWOBHM bands, including a hint of
early Maiden, but with high pitched vocals.
All good fun and a nice way to end this weeks update
You can visit the band here: https://www.facebook.com/BlizzenOfficial
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