Panos Agoros - Dephosphorus, Blastbeat Mailmurder
LEVIATHAN “Scar Sighted”
The return of Mr Wrest in full effect. A deep and challenging opus built with so many layers and details that he breathed to it a life of its own. Note to self: need to hunt down the vinyl.
AKITSA “Grands Tyrans”
The follow-up to one of my all-time favorite records (“Au crépuscule de l'espérance”) didn’t disappoint. Akitsa still have a great flair for cold, grim soundscapes and minimal songwriting. I still find their Burzum meets Ildjarn style irresistible, and even enjoy the more juvenile heavy metal parts. Love the lyrics too.
MACABRE OMEN “Gods Of War-At War”
I was in touch with Alexandros (see also: The One) when he was still planning this record. If I remember well, back at the time he stated that his ambition was to produce the perfect crossover between Rotting Christ’s “Thy Mighty Contract” and Bathory. I couldn’t imagine that he would fulfill his promise to such an extent that he would compose and record a true masterpiece. Even though on the lyrical side of things I pass on his fixation with Alexander The Great and the other heroic feats of Ancient Greece, this is a record that I find very deep, emotional and moving. It’s also the best epic metal we’ve heard in ages. Total support!
YAUTJA “Songs Of Lament”
I must credit Thanos Mantas, my guitarist and co-conspirator at Dephosphorus, for introducing me to the sheer powerhouse that is Yautja. I find their hardcore/grind totally crushing and inspiring. I love the fact that they seem to be one of the rare contemporary bands to follow the path laid by NY visionaries Cattlepress with their legendary “Hordes To Abolish The Divine” album (like also do Flourishing and Drainland (R.I.P.)). They’re so good that made me swallow their excruciating overseas postage and order a bunch of vinyls, tapes and CD’s directly from them!
ΠΑΡΟΞΥΣΜΟΣ (PAROXYSM) “Σἠψη Γενεών”
Paroxysm are the best hardcore band in Greece right now together with Antimob. They have extremely catchy and crushing tunes, as well as enough variety going on in order not to be bored by the grinding and d-beat-ing. The mastermind behind this project, Vangelis, who drums and sings here, is one of the most talented drummers of the local scene. I’ve had the luck to play with him back at the last days of my previous band, Straighthate, circa 2007-2008. Unfortunately we never recorded together back at the time, which an extra reason that made me happy to lay down some guest vokills on track #7. The record is only available on digital format right now, but the vinyl should be out really soon. https://paroksysmos.bandcamp.com/album/--3
AWE/VACANTFIELD/END “Moerae”
An excellent and ambitious 3-way split which comes as a delicious double LP with engraving on the last side. It is an essential release for all fans of Greek black metal, featuring challenging and progressive material. Admittedly, I’m quite proud to have showcased the talent of all 3 bands at Blastbeat Mailmurder’s Monomaniac vol.2/3 and vol.4! http://moerae.bandcamp.com/album/moerae
DISPRIT “Separation”
3rd tape from Dispirit and still no regular record out! A crystalline and dungeonic trip into unfathomable depths. I’m a total fan.
HIC IACET “The Cosmic Trance into the Void”
A mysterious one man band from Spain that I personally suspect that it is somehow linked to Teitanblood. This album features some archaic yet cosmic black/death. The vinyl is beautiful.
CADAVERIC FUMES / DEMONIC OATH “Entwined in Sepulchral Darkness”
A fantastic split-LP of morbid old-school death metal garnished with some ancient deathrash grooves! Both bands hail from France.
V/A “Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number” O.S.T.
I’m a fan of good movie and video game soundtracks. I loved the music, the story and the gameplay of the original Hotline Miami. Having done some research on the inspiration behind it, I also checked some related documentaries that inspired it like the awesome “Cocaine Cowboys”. Anyway, I still haven’t been in the mood to finish the sequel. However, I have spinned dozens of times the gargantual triple wax (all three pressings of which are sold-out by now btw). From post-rock, to 80’s inspired electro-pop and neon electronica, this is a totally immersive trip.
MISCELLANEOUS
And now a couple of good things that made me enjoy 2015 musically, even though they aren’t proper record albums.
Repairing my Kenwood KA-501 integrated amplifier - A few years ago I got into the trip of starting a vintage hi-fi collection. The best piece of the gear I bought/scavenged so far is this amplifier. Made in Japan in 1979, it doesn’t even have a CD input as it was made before the CD era! As soon as I plugged it in, a love affair has started. It cranked a mellow, organic, extremely warm sound… Unfortunately my heart was broken shortly after when the left channel started to intermittently refuse to play. This made me learn the lesson to be more careful when buying vintage equipment, as the sellers are often unscrupulous and don’t do the required maintenance that they should before putting such old beauties to sale. After a few unsuccessful repair attempts with a contact cleaner spray, I’ve found a local store in Athens which specializes in putting back to shape old hi-fi gear made in Japan. They delivered what they promised and now it sounds better than before, making me rediscover my collection and the sound of music in general (sic). My advice to all of you who (plan to ) collect old hi-fi gear, is to locate such a repair specialist near your era and ask for his council before investing in new gear.
Realizing that Fenriz from Dark Throne is the best DJ in the world - Being a Dark Throne fan (of corpse!), I knew for a few years that Fenriz had these radio shows cum DJ sets going on but I never got into to the process of actually listening to them. I did so a couple of months ago and was astonished by two facts:
1. He actually plays exclusively vinyl!
2. He’s just as good in playing metal than rock’n’roll, deep house or chill-out music!
My favorite pieces so far are the two below.
O.O.O.O.O. (Out Of Our Own Orientation) - This is all about obscure underground metal, mostly of the Teutonic blackthrash conviction. I discovered some fine bands here like Funereal Presence (US).
YACHT IN THE ACT - “What happens when an eclectic dj makes a dj mix with YACHT ROCK in mind?”. When I first discovered this one I played 2 or 3 times per day, especially when waking up and later, while driving to work. Such a mood booster! It features some very uplifting and relaxing sounds that span from psychedelic rock to house, pop and disco, from YES to the B-52’s! https://soundcloud.com/heavytassen
David Bailey : Cages, Gas Chamber, NJR
2015
Frank Rosaly - Live at Dreamland
Touring to support his "Malo" release on Utech, Frank sent eveyone's brains packin' with possibly the most psychedelic set of music I have ever witnessed. To say this was "solo percussion" would be laughable. Somehow staying endlessly rhythmic yet constantly unfurling, the drumset was frozen, stretched, and Q'd into Andean Pan pipes and leafy fronds. 50 minutes later I sat there exhausted and aroused, trying to make sense of how a person could play an instrument like this.
Dave Rawlings Machine - Live at Babeville
Dave and Gil are making some of the finest music on the planet. Their work has meant very much to me for some time and yet nothing could have prepared me for this night. The immense, almost unreal power generated from five acoustic instruments and the human voice charged the entire church venue, sending 300+ folks from pin-drop silence into near hysterical roaring with the strum of a chord. In DRM, Dave is at the helm turning the duo's songs of solemn hurt into celebration and joy and communion. Singing, Shouting, Crying.
Steve Baczkowski - Live in Buffalo, various venues
A wellspring of talent. Steve's constantly innovative sets and collaborations have blessed the city of Buffalo for years. Closer examination sees a delicate and remarkable refinement of specific techniques/approaches, but any item; vegetable, animal, mineral, or otherwise can be made to shriek, howl, and swoon in his hands.
Black Iron Prison - Live at Coalition
Just so mean. Boiling it all down to whats needed. Two overlapping layers of two men, thrusting forward. Hopefully this music is playing in my headphones if I am ever involved in a fistfight on the street.
Gas Chamber - Feb West Coast tour
British Columbia, Iron Lung's only show of the year, Solutions, Touring with Terveet Kadet, Justin Kern, Betsy & Basia's Bed & Burrito, Leatherfist's Vocals, Jon & Dionne lunch and Orange tree, and the true honor of having WT Nelson join us on electronics for the San Jose gig.
Jon Mueller - A Magnetic Center CS on Rhythmplex
Continuing a stride of incredible releases, A Magnetic Center sees the focus shift from percussion to voice. This openness imbues Jon's calls and chants with the imperceptibility he often applies to vibrating skins and sizzled metal. A consuming listen, something you could fall into until percussive shifts snap you back. Elizabeth Claire Prophet's copy of trogoautoegocrat?
Olivia Block - Aberration of Light CS on NNA
I have always marveled at the pacing and arrangements Olivia applies to her work, and this is no exception. Acoustic and electronic sounds move together as one with a grace rarely heard. Complete immersion music. Block is one of the greatest composers working right now, her ability to establish moods and conjure images through the structuring of her pieces is practically peerless.
TRTRKMMR - Avec La Souillure Nous Entrons Au Re`gne De La Terreur LP on Iron Lung
"The intent is to tighten and more fully charge the recordings. Not only layers upon layers of sound, but layers upon layers of concepts and references which both inform and inflate the sounds. Such will allow for a richer, deeper exploration of the unorthodoxies of misery and the mysteries of defilement within." -TRTRKMMR 2012
I can truly say nothing about this. To fully hear this record is to be fully alone. The vast sound-world single-handedly crafted in a house in Harambee is unlike anything else. Bernard Parmegiani, in corpsepaint, sneaking into the GRM at night under a full moon? It and All wandering around Roden Crater? Jani Christou conducting the 150 murderous passions? Not even close. The staggering craft and brilliance involved with this record's creation will be lost on most, but discoveries and awe await those willing to let their defenses down and submit. All music shall be henceforth designated as "before or after" Avec La Souillure Nous Entrons Au Re`gne De La Terreur. A masterpiece.
Mauro Cordoba - Maruta
Putridity - Ignominious Atonement
https://willowtip.bandcamp.com/album/ignominious-atonement
Lxs Jugadxs - Demo2015
https://lxsjugadxs.bandcamp.com/album/lxsjugadxs-demo2015
Dendritic Arbour - Romantic Love
https://dendriticarbors.bandcamp.com/album/romantic-love
Yautja - Songs of Lament + split 7" w/ fórn
https://yautja.bandcamp.com/album/songs-of-lament
Dephosphorus/Haapoja - Collaboration
https://nervealtar.bandcamp.com/album/collaboration-lp
Amygdala - Epiphany
https://imperialmindengineering.bandcamp.com/album/epiphany
Psudoku - Planaterisk Psudoku
https://nervealtar.bandcamp.com/album/plantetarisk-sudoku
Pissgrave - Suicide Euphoria
https://profoundlorerecords.bandcamp.com/album/suicide-euphoria
Blurring - Blurring
https://blurring.bandcamp.com/album/blurring
Aosoth-IV: Arrow In Heart
https://agoniarecords.bandcamp.com/album/iv-arrow-in-heart
Ad Nauseam - Nihil Quam Vacuitas Ordinatum Est
https://lavadome.bandcamp.com/album/nihil-quam-vacuitas-ordinatum-est
Best pizza slice:
Pizzería Güerrin - suck it NY
10 sets that stuck out to me in 2015:
1 Sedem Minut Strachu @ El Puente - Last night of the Disrotted Japan show was in Yokohama with many sick bands. However, SMS delievered the perfect 7 minute noisecore set. Broken bass guitar, guys in potato sack masks, blast beats, tangled up microphone wires and several people tangled up on the floor writhing around. One of the coolest sets I have seen in years.
2 SOB @ Obscene Extreme - I have been lucky enough to see this band 3 times in 13 months, twice in Japan and once in The Czech Republic. For anyone that had doubts, I shake my head at you. Raging fastcore done right by these legends, and full of fucking energy. Their set at OEF had the crowd eating out of their hand. Oh..and "Vicious World" is still one of the greatest songs ever written.
3 Lycanthrophy @ Napalm Fest - Fort Wayne Indiana was the home for this summer's Napalm Fest. Lycanthrophy played on the floor and schooled everyone with their brand of stop/go style of Czech grind/US powerviolence. One of my favorite current grind bands today. Awe inspiring.
4 Unholy Grave @ Obscene Extreme My first time attending OEF in the Czech Repulic. I have seen UG a few times, but this time was the best. Huge sound, flawless set list and sloppy stage dives by yours truly. Incredible set, and incredible weekend at one of the coolest fests I have ever been to.
5 Test @ MouseTrap - My favorite 2 piece live band. This band has a chemistry that is unmatched by anyone else. Black metal thrash grind hardcore? Yes..but it's also so much more than that. The new face of Brazil for a new generation.
6 CabbageHeads - Their set at MouseTrap in Chicago was one of the most glorious 15 minute sets I saw in 2015. Blown the fuck out noisy Japanese inspired hardcore done right. Really hope they write an LP sometime soon.
7 Gas Chamber - Sick/Tired played with them twice on their last tour. Blasting, jazzy hardcore with a nod towards MITB, I was left speechless watching these guys play together. Every one of these guys is great at their instruments and are a total joy to watch thrashing their gear.
8 Pharaoh - Played with these guys in a basement in New Jersey over the summer. Blown away by their performance and by their last LP on A389. Reminds me of a crazy mix of Dystopia and Fudge Tunnel if that makes sense. Excited to see what this band comes out with next!
9 Morpheus Descends @ Reggies - Disrotted opened for this band in Chicago, and I was blown away by how heavy this band sounded live. Perfect blend of blasting death metal and those old school east coast slam chugs I am a fool for.
10 Yacopsae @ St Vitus - Celebrated my 30th birthday in NYC, surrounded by friends and seeing one of my favorite fast bands ever. Sloppy at times, but perfect in every way. I was grinning for the entire set.
Robert Komen - Sea of Shit, Diseased Audio
Black Iron Prison – Demo 2015 CS
Vocalist and drummer from Endless Blockade doing a drums & vocals industrial-esque project…count me in. This demo was excellent and I can’t wait to see what they crank out next.
SU19B – The World Doomed to Violence LP
This LP blew me away. I expected it to be good as I have always loved Su19b’s Corrupted/Crossed Out mash-up sound (that’s my shitty way of explaining the band to anyone), but it was REALLY good, probably my favorite thing that came out this year now that I think of it (probably because it just got released and is the freshest in my mind). Rather than explain why, just go listen to it. Japanese doom/sludge/blast from people who have been in the game for a long long time.
Disrotted material from splits with Su19b (split CD) and Anarchus (split 7”)
I lumped these two releases together because I already mentioned the Su19b LP above (this material is equally devastating) and because anything Disrotted puts out I am typically going to like. Sloooooooow death-doom from Chicago with a slew of homies involved. These boys make me so proud.
Holy Money – Zygote 7”
More slow-sludge-powerviolence stuff; guess I am turning into an old fart because I find myself gravitating to the slower stuff these days it seems. This EP is like if you took all the slower parts of Hatred Surge (it has members of HS) and added a noise rock-ish guitar influence and some nasty sounding vocals, kind of an MITB vibe overall on this one in terms of a visceral feel, like if MITB had a guitar player in the mix…there are also noise interludes with vocals a la Bastard Noise so yeah. Kind of a lazy description I know, but I did like this record and was actually looking forward to it for a while after hearing the demo last year…it did not disappoint.
Healer 7” EP
My favorite 7” that came out this year for sure, and probably the thing I listened to most (digitally, on an ipod in my van, like a poser). Scathing hardcore done with that timeless Buffalo flavor. A band I knew nothing about previously, with no hype, but happened to release a killer debut ep…came to learn that the band is comprised of ex-Running For Cover, They Live, and Inerds members…makes sense as to why I was immediately hooked. Highly recommended to anyone and everyone who likes fast hardcore/pv type stuff.
Mellow Harsher material from Served Cold EP and split with Internal Rot
The Midwest’s best grindcore trio finally dropped their long-awaited ep and split with Internal Rot after a huge lull in between their demo and now. Mellow Harsher material was recorded all in the same session and is a perfect representation of their sound…now if only someone would release a banter only live 12” then you would be able to fully understand the anomaly that is Mellow Harsher.
Suppression - Rats in the Control Room CS
30 songs in six and a half minutes, total noise-grind insanity with an old school Suppression feel. This tape truly warmed my heart. Wasn't a fan of a lot of their recent material that came out over the past few years but this one rocked my socks off I am really glad they can still put out material like this now. Remember the Cripple Bastards split? Yeah that thing ruled...so does this.
Meth Drinker/Leechfeast split 12"
I will listen to, and love, anything Meth Drinker puts out. I have never been disappointed by anything this New Zealand sludge band has ever released. I can’t remember the Leechfeast side at the moment because who buys splits for both sides? That’s a joke, I think.
Radiation Blackbody – Maximum Entropy and the Nearly Black Object 7”
Prog-violence instrumental weirdness from NYC chock full of tactical precision and intermittent blasting. They really honed their sound to perfection with this 7” after a having two LPs under their belt thus far. 4 concise bass and drum tracks that will melt your stupid brain...specifically the one riff in “Sliced Open from the Inside”, you’ll know it when you hear it. This might be the best bass riff I have heard all year; it is so damn catchy and the song as a whole makes you feel like you are stuck in some dizzying state of mental purgatory. I never wanted it to end, but then it did.
Vile Intent – Machine into Flesh LP (on a tape)
Venturing into full-length territory with a band of this ilk is a risky maneuver if you are trying to not bore the pants off of people. A lot of powerviolence bands try to pull it off but fall short of hitting the mark in terms of keeping things unique/interesting enough for an LPs worth of material. Not VI though, they hit the fucking mark and hit it hard...having released two of their eps a few years back I can honestly say this is their strongest effort to date. Jay from VI mailed me a tape version of this but keep an eye peeled for the LP any day now…pressing plant issues have plagued this record's release but when it officially drops prepare for a monster. I would also like to add that Brant’s vocals sound more vicious than ever and are probably my favorite part of this record, but everyone definitely stepped it up as a whole on this release.
Honorable Mentions:
PILLAGE 7”
Old-man Chicago Hardcore super group follow up their amazing demo from last year (or two years ago, I can’t remember) with an 7” EP. These songs fucking rule but the recording is pretty muddy sounding when compared to the demo (isn’t supposed to be the other way around?). I don’t know what happened on this one but I still think the material is good, hence the honorable mention.
Sacridose/Triac split 7”
I just plain didn’t listen to this one enough to formulate an opinion of it, but I do very much enjoy both bands on their own so I assume this split is a heavy hitter. I will get around to it eventually….
Clotting – Malignant Nation CS
Putting this in the honorable mentions because I released it and feel like a turd putting it in the actual "top ten" or whatever...anyway, why would I release something if I didn’t like it enough to pour some hard earned bucks into? Pulsating and rhythmic harsh noise/PE from the happiest place on earth…Chicago.
Rob LaChance - Wake
Dendritic Arbour - Romantic Love
Blurring - S/T
Altarage - MMXV Demo
PMMA - Serotonin Syndrome
Aevangelist - Enthrall to Void of Bliss
Leviathan - Scar Sighted
Yautja - Songs of Lament
Krallice - Ygg Huur
Dendritic Arbour - Romantic Love
WASP Reissues, The Replacements "Twin Tone Years" Reissue
Mason - Reeking Cross, BlowerAltarage - MMXV Demo
PMMA - Serotonin Syndrome
Aevangelist - Enthrall to Void of Bliss
Leviathan - Scar Sighted
Yautja - Songs of Lament
Krallice - Ygg Huur
Dendritic Arbour - Romantic Love
WASP Reissues, The Replacements "Twin Tone Years" Reissue
Violent Noise Attack "Complete Deafness 88/89" Compilation (FOAD)
I was absolutely fucking floored to see Italy's FOAD Records were releasing a VNA discography - until I remembered these were the same maniacs who released a fuckin' TUMOR boxset, too. Understandably obscure 90's noisegrind done perfectly, this hasn't been far from my turntable since it arrived in the mail. Gnarly as fuck!
Hydra Vein "Rather Death Than False of Faith" (The Crypt/Dark Descent)
I just about shot rainbows outta my peehole when I saw that this obscure UK thrash classic was getting a proper reissue. One of the handful of U.K. thrash albums that've really stuck with me through the years (with cover art that'd make SOCKEYE envious), this still sounds killer today. Or maybe I'm just really, really old. Yeah, that's probably it.
Psudoku "Plantetarisk Sudoku" (Nerve Altar)
Eleven goddamn months later and my beer-addled brain is STILL trying to fully assimilate this slab of forward-thinking, fearlessly inventive grindcore. The perfect antidote to sterile, overly-polished Relapse mallgrind!
Perdition Temple "The Tempter's Victorious" (Hell's Headbangers)
I don't think I've enjoyed a pure death metal album quite this much since TEITANBLOOD's "Seven Chalices." Crushing.
Triac/Sacridose (split 7") (Nerve Altar)
I think I stared at the amazing packaging for a solid ten minutes before I even bothered taking the vinyl out. Needless to say, wasn't disappointed when I did. SACRIDOSE are the greatest thing outta Florida since bath salt-inspired cannibalism, and Kevin, Jake and Chad continue to escalate TRIAC's raw-as-fuck grind crusade. Love it.
Satan "Atom By Atom" (Listenable)
I stupidly blew my chance to see these guys in Baltimore last year and tried to comfort myself by assuming that 2013's "Life Sentence" HAD to be a fluke. Well, I'm a complete fucking moron, because "Atom By Atom" proves otherwise. I have no fucking clue how a NWOBHM band somehow manages to sound this vital in 2015. (Neither does MAIDEN, RAVEN or VENOM, for that matter.)
Autopsy "Skull Grinder" (Peaceville)
This EP isn't hitting me quite as hard as last year's "Tourniquets, Hacksaws...," but still, fuck it, it's 2015 and despite the fact that every member of AUTOPSY is old enough to be someone's creepy-ass grandpa, they're still killin' it.
Soil of Ignorance "Dealing with the Remains" EP (Grindfather)
These Canadian grinders have been at it for awhile now, and keep upping their game. Raw, blistering, and a worthy follow-up to their split with ARCHAGATHUS from last year. Way too fucking good to remain obscure, so check 'em out now before they end up putting out records for Scion or some bullshit!
Film: "The Editor" (Astron 6)
Since I haven't actually heard ten 'new' records in 2015 (hence all of the reissues), I'm gonna have to resort to talking movies. "The Editor" is a fun, entertainingly gruesome homage to 70's giallo and Argento's long-past glory days, and second only to "We Are Still Here" for my favorite horror throwback of 2015. Fellow horror dorks should check this out (along with Astron 6's "The Taint" and "Father's Day," too.)
TV: With Bob & David
This made my 2015 so impossibly happy. A new incarnation of Mr. Show, and still genuinely hilarious, nostalgia be damned.Thiago Nascimento - D.E.R., Cospe Fogo Gravações
2015, 10 things I love about you
Enforcer "From Beyond" LP
Is no better than the previous albums more captivated me throughout the year, sometimes it gets a little corny but it's a fun record
Mad Max: Fury Road
Best movie of the year, awesome
Sem Hastro "Promo 2015"
Hardcore Rock'n'Roll raw, D.C. meeting with guy from São Paulo
Gravesite
In the category "best band we play together". From Italy, we played with them in Belgium, punks playing Death Metal, big surprise!
ROT "Nowhere" 7"
Best release 2015
Test "Espécies" CD
Fully Anti-propaganda, deconstructed songs, 60% grindcore.
Beasts of No Nation
The most dramatic film of 2015
Night Birds "Mutiny at Muscle Beach"
Music to listen to in the rush hours.
Futuro "Hábitos Ruins"
<3
Otomanos - Split TEST / D.E.R.
The idea and write the disc is original 2013 but the official launch was now in 2015 we made tours, concerts and a disc in this format, a battery and two bands playing different music, a really cool experience
Aaron Nichols - Nerve Altar
01 Pleasure Leftists - Woods of Heaven (Deranged)
02 Sect Pig - Self Reversed (Nuclear War Now)
03 Genocide Pact - Forged on Domination (A389)
04 Revenge - Behold.Total.Rejection (Season of Mist)
05 Disrotted - s/t LP (Diseased Audio)
06 L.O.T.I.O.N. - Digital Control And Man's Obsolescence (Toxic State)
07 TRTRKMMR - Avec La Souillure Nous Entrons Au Règne De La Terreur (Iron Lung)
08 Gas Chamber - Stained Hand (SPHC)
09 Bizarre Uproar - Amputaatio (Urashima)
10 G-ANX - Flashbacks reissue (Threat From The Past)
Bonus: Intensive Care - Pay Pig CS Not sure if this is actually out yet but this has been in regular rotation. Nolan's first project since disbanding Column of Heaven earlier this year. Bass and drum destruction. Outstanding work.
Joshua Scott - Radiation Blackbody
Ten of my favorite releases/ events in 2015. A fun game is to match each item on the list to its description below.
1. Jason Schulmerich - Lovocaust
2. Chaos Echoes - Transient (Nuclear War Now!)
3. Disrotted - LP (Diseased Audio)
4. Isterismo - Live at New York's Alright
5. Solutions - Life of Joy (Iron Lung)
6. Sect Pig - Self Reversed (Nuclear War Now!)
7. Rose McDowall - Cut with the Cake Knife (Sacred Bones)
8. Weekend of RBB shows including Keelhaul, Nyodene D, and Gas Chamber
9. Triac/ Sacridose - split 7" (Nerve Altar)
10. Fuckmorgue - Dead, I will Not be Forgotten (Mass Deadening)
1. A fatal jerkoff on the moon
2. For every bottle of Coke there were fifty people with a bottle of wine and many more with LSD, amphetamines, and downs pulsing through their veins.
3. Death is just a lot of rotten, putrid, rotting, stinking flesh and only the bones and the teeth are left when it's over and all you can do with them is put them in a museum or in an anthropology class.
4. As sparse as the sky, sparser by far than country sky -- where you might see three stars in a night. Long silences where you think it's over and there's 50 minutes left. Once in a great while it suddenly gets shrill like a steam whistle -- that's nice. Good acoustic not-much, like an emptier version of jazz minimalism. A very satisfying zero, actually.
5. While certain tightass critics labeled this a gimmick or worse, it not only made sonic sense but as an overlay of instrumental textures seemed quite comparable to what Jasper Johns was doing with overlaid canvases.
6. I won't dance -- Don't ask me.
7. It's nothing. It doesn't, the ocean does not have as good a time with the rocks, I'm telling you. Have you seen it? It just goes and beats against it and goes back. I'm talking about communication between the sand and the sea. The communication between the sand and the sea is much more special than the communication between the ocean and the rocks -- it is! The rocks just are immovable, they're not pliable. To have pliable sand is a great gift.
8. Music encountered during the miasma of childhood, of MY weary childhood, which I find I can retrieve/ recycle without (somehow) the cloying taint of that cheezy Gestalt.
9. "I can beat anyone up. And I can walk and talk too." -- Terry "Hulk Hogan" Bollea
10. Abandon all hope -- the show is over.
Sean Walsh - Skullshitter
Music I loved from 2015:
Bjork - Vulnicura: My all time favorite artist continues to push. No one balances the importance of human expression with the exploratory tools of new technology quite like Bjork. Vulnicura sees Bjork better balance her unfuckwithable musical prowess with songwriting. I also saw her live March 18th at the King's Theater in Brooklyn.
FKA Twigs - M3LL155X: Interesting EP that see's the production value step up, leaving behind the unbelievable emptiness from LP1. While this works for the EP as a whole, (which also turns up the noise and general discomfort, both in production and song writing), I am left curiously wondering what LP2 will bring.
Worse - Demo: No one is left from Pollution at this point and that's probably a good thing. The best NYC Hardcore Band of all time's legacy was upheld well with Shoxx and from Shoxx we have Worse. This demo sounds like a new band exploring new ideas. Seeing them live brought the noise out more fully.
Krallice - Ygg Huur: Lev told me this record was totally different and that everyone was going to hate it. By totally different it sounds like Krallice is now officially more of a death metal band than a black metal band. And that rules.
Prurient - Frozen Niagara Falls: Cohesive album that blends just about everything Prurient does well. Personal, inspired and powerful.
Archgoat - The Apocalyptic Triumphator: No one plays drums with the feel that Sinisterror has. His blasts are truly special. And Archgoat writes incredible songs too.
Disrotted - Disrotted: Death Doom stretched to it's limits. All the riffs, all the pain, all the feeling, spread out forever.
Music not from 2015 but which took up most of my listening:
Keith Jarrett Trio - Always Let Me Go - Live in Japan 2002
The Bronx - The Bronx II
Motorhead - Overkill
Unearthly Trance / Wooden Wand - Manson 7" (recently digitally released)
Dead Kennedys - Plastic Surgery Disasters
Modest Mouse - The Moon & Antartica
Painkiller - Execution Ground
John Zorn - Spillane
Favorite Podcast: The Duncan Trussell Family Hour (especially the episode with Aubrey Marcus)
Live Shows: Bjork, John Zorn's Electric Masada, Disrotted, Worse, Revenge, Trenchgrinder and Vastum, who were the best live show of the year. Probably a really good record too but I don't have it yet.
Personal achievement - playing live music at The Stone. Thank you again Nick Didkovsky.
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