Hooded Menace Dig The Blind Dead & Crack The Earth With Doom

I put off checking out Hooded Menace, one of Finland’s finest exports since Reverend Bizarre, but finally got off my ass and took the plunge. I heard good things about H.M. and the fact that Profound Lore released their album “Never Cross The Dead’ should have clued me in. Whatever, I’ve now been drawn to them like a maggot to a corpse. This my friends is some excellent deathly doom metal that deftly fuses a bit of old Katatonia here, a chunk of Cathedral there and a grand helping of Candlemass for good measure (sans the Messiah Marcolin vox). I’m now hooked on this CD and happy to shout it to the heavens (or is that the doomy hells).

Check out the killer kover artwork too…

Grindcore at Its Finest with Insect Warfare

Got ahold of the 2007 release “World Extermination” by now-defunct grindcore stalwarts Insect Warfare. These dudes tore a hole in the ether with their unremitting assault. This is classic in an early Napalm Death/Terrorizer style with blasts that are barely longer than a minute and a half. Though this opus last less than 20 minutes and has 20 songs, it’s a worthy Earache release that harkens back to the day of wonderful European brutality. Ouch, this hurts so good.

I think this vid is from “Tesuo The Iron Man”…

Sólstafir – Epic Icelandic Heavy Rock & Their Amazing Video “Fjara”

Jut got turned on to this amazing band. I love bands that can’t be easily classified. Just watch this incredible video and decide for yourself. I know that I’m picking up their latest CD asap.

Thy Catafalque – Mystical Dark Hungarian Metal

Decibel Magazine had a one page article about the one-man dark metal band Thy Catafalque. It definitely piqued my interest and I had to find out more so over to the Season of Mist site I went. Downloaded the free track “Rengeteg” and was blown away. There are times when I start to lose hope for new metal to kick my ass but Thy Catafalque does so in a complex and heady way. I don’t usually feel the need to go out a purchase a full CD anymore (sadly, I have gotten into Emusic….) but this one, I would gladly snap up.

http://www.season-of-mist.com/bands/search?search%5Bband%5D=Thy+Catafalque&commit=OK

Gigan: Warping Brains and Twisting the Extreme Metal Template

In 2008, I was introduced to Gigan via Emusic.com and their first full-length “Order of The False Eye”. It was a journey into the darkest and most intense realms of psychedelic brutal metal. There was a palpable buzz about Gigan and for good reason.

In 2011 Gigan once again unleashed their OTT and mind-bending extreme metal with “Quasi-Hallucinogenic Sonicscapes”.  This album is up there with likes of the fathers of avant extreme metal Voivod (if they were on acid and crack) “Nothingface” and Gorguts on their bizarre album “Obsura”. I know, this is a bold statement but then Gigan are worthy of your time even if you think I’m nuts. While this album is pretentious in the most flattering way, it’s also up there as one of my fav releases of 2011. I had to have the vinyl version with the gatefold and 180 gram blue swirl record.

Have at ‘em good extreme metal lovers!

http://willowtip.bandcamp.com/album/quasi-hallucinogenic-sonic-landscapes

Castle – Phenom Female-Fronted Doom from SF

Ván records from Germany is hot and made even hotter with one of the best new doom bands, Castle. This trio of doom magic hails from San Francisco & Canada and forges some catchy, memorable and deft metal on their latest “In Witch Order”. With the passionate and persuasive vocals of lead singer/bassist Elizabeth Blackwell this trio is one of the best that our little ‘ole country has to offer.

Take a peak at their two intriguing videos on YouTube “Total Betrayal:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIPrDRJPZFE

Descent of Man (the coolest Nostradamus metal vid ever!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wAuUx_LGS8

other Castle related links;

http://soundcloud.com/v-n-records/lost-queen

http://www.heavycastle.com/

http://www.van-records.de/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=castle&x=0&y=0

Ministry Reforms: Tea Party Quivers in their Racist Booties

I was pissed when Al and Ministry called it quits a few years ago. We need the venom that Mr. Jorgenson spits accompanied by his uncompromising electro-metal. His trilogy of Republican despising albums “Houses of the Molé”, “The Last Sucker” and “Rio Grande Blood” seemed a swell swan song for Mr. J. and his evil maniacal minions but their mission on the globe was far from over.

Sanity and hatred got the better of Al and he’s decided to put his assault team back together and unleash his new opus “Relapse” on the world. Add to this the movie “Fix” about Al and his fucked up art and uncompromising rock ‘n roll lifestyle and it looks like 2012 is they year of Ministry.

I landed on Ministry’s home page and the first song that hit me was a remake of AC/DC’s “Thuderstruck”. Perfect! What could be better than the world’s best bar being covered by the world’s most dangerous industrial maniacs. Hallelujah evil brothers and sisters, the unholy prophet has returned!

http://www.thirteenthplanet.com/ministry/

http://www.fixtheministrymovie.com/

East Anglican Atmospheric Metal – These kids know how to rock the Brit countryside

I just legally downloaded Fen’s “The Malediction Fields” after hearing their great “Epoch” recently. This quartet adeptly blends amazing, atmospheric melodies, sweeping chords and alternate metal croaking and singing. This is a band to keep an eye out for and would please ardent fans of Les Discrets, Alcest, Agalloch and Amesoeurs.

If you’re into moody, down tempo music and aren’t a black metal fan, you might also give these guys a spin. They have a shoe-gaze and Cure vibe to them as well.

http://www.myspace.com/fenband

Secrets of The Moon – New Album out soon, Their “Nyx” video is art

I first encountered SotM in Terrorizer a number of years ago but didn’t get ot check them out until I downloaded their killer album “Antithesis” from Emusic.com. They have their own atmospheric yet agressive sound and have created a style that separates the from their other Euro counterparts.

SotM are set to release their new opus “Seven Bells” soon and if their video on YouTube is anything to go by, it’s going to be stunner. The video for the song “Nyx” is stylish, artistic and creative. It looks like these dudes had a decent budget for their vid and it deserves a look-see by any of you extreme music fans.

Tak a look and tell me what you think: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdqPAoug07U

http://www.secretsofthemoon.org/

Ufomammut: Transcendental Experiential Killer Metal

If you like your music impossibly heavy and tangential, Italian band Ufomammut http://www.ufomammut.com/ are your dudes. I was first introduced to them about 10 years ago with their 2nd album “Snailking” and from the first peal of metal thunder, I was hooked.

Thankfully, Neurot Records is going to release Ufomammut’s new opus “Oro: Opus Primum” in April and a larger portion of the universe will get to experience these masters of doom.

their art lab:

http://www.malleusdelic.com/

their record label

http://www.neurotrecordings.com/artists.php