CalyxWorksLast weekend an old friend said some of the sweetest words a person can hear:
“What should I be listening to? I’m in a rut!”
Gonna make a thread of my recommendations to a complete metal noob. 😍
Starting off with a live album from local stoner/doom heroes Holy Grove. I can’t even remember who we saw them open for a few years back, but they absolutely blew us away.
https://holygrove.bandcamp.com/album/live-from-the-world-famous-kenton-club
Live From The World Famous Kenton Club, by Holy Grove
5 track album
This collaboration between Emma Ruth Rundle and(sludge? doom? post-metal?) band THOU was the talk of a corner of the metal world a couple years ago. A couple of these tracks have a PJ Harvey vibe…
May Our Chambers Be Full, by Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou
7 track album
An “instant classic” black metal record from a Native American kid back east. And a terrific headphones record. #blackbraid
(I realized that I never asked him what his tolerance for “Cookie Monster vocals” is, so we’ll see)
Blackbraid I, by Blackbraid
6 track album
Flawless OSDM from Oakland… #Necrot
LOVE this rekkid.
Blood Offerings, by Necrot
8 track album
So long as we’re listening to the devil’s music, this one is absolutely /chef’s kiss/. Ripping speed metal from Portland, so damn good and catchy as hell. Don’t listen if you hate fun! #Bewitcher
https://bewitcher.bandcamp.com/album/under-the-witching-cross
Under the Witching Cross, by Bewitcher
8 track album
American black metal day.
A whole separate branch of this genre has taken root here – it’s more atmospheric, leavened with American folk roots, and almost always grounded in a kind of nature worship.
This is perhaps my favorite flavor of metal, and this particular record is an acknowledged classic. Went to a #Panopticon show last summer, and it was something of a spiritual experience. 🖤
Autumn Eternal, by Panopticon
8 track album
OK, continuing the “sending my friend metal recommendations“ thread
#Allfather are lefty, hardcore-inflected metal best described by their official slogan: “fucking riffs, mate!” Love this band – I’ve interacted with some of the members on Twitter, and on top of kicking ass, they just seem cool as hell. 🖤
https://allfather1.bandcamp.com/album/and-all-will-be-desolation
And All Will Be Desolation, by Allfather
7 track album
#BodyVoid – another band made up of awesome people. Incredibly heavy sludge/noise/doom. I believe there’s a Bay Area connection with this one, and I’m kicking myself that I missed a rare tour date in Portland early this year.
https://bodyvoid.bandcamp.com/album/bury-me-beneath-this-rotting-earth-3
Bury Me Beneath This Rotting Earth, by Body Void
4 track album
Throwing these guys from British Columbia in because – as one reviewer described it – this record sounds like it’s made people who are in love with metal, mixing a bunch of different styles and sounding like they’re having a blast doing it. #Wormwitch
https://wormwitch.bandcamp.com/album/heaven-that-dwells-within
Heaven That Dwells Within, by Wormwitch
10 track album
OK, one more today, then back to work:
Maybe my favorite death metal band of recent times, #TombMold are hardcore kids who met at a metal show and decided to form a band! My personal ideal of #deathmetal sounds like the monsters from “where the wild things are” stomping around and bellowing, and that is 100% what’s happening here. 🖤
Manor Of Infinite Forms, by Tomb Mold
7 track album
My friend is someone I would call a connoisseur of “weird music”.
What’s the weirdest metal (in a good way) that you can think of?
scs | scnr@CalyxWorks Maybe give Iwrestledabearonce a try? Especially “Ulrich Firelord: Breaker of Mountains”, “Alaskan Flounder Basket” and “Corey Feldman Holocaust”.
Syluban