Falling Down IIV

This is cool. A compilation with lots of previously unreleased tracks from a lot of known and some not-so-known artists and bands. I don't have time to adequately review all the material here, but the track listing should be enough to convince you to check it out.
EDIT: Both links now lead to the proper download.

Disc 1

1| Hopewell - This is This

2| Year of No Light & Mars Red Sky - Green Rune White Totem

3| Ocoai - Mère de la Lumière du Matin (live recording)

4| The Flying Eyes - Apollo Creed

5| Vanessa Van Basten - Got to Say

6| Dyskinesia - Tra i Ghiacci

7| Planning For Burial - Friendship

8| Aidan Baker [Nadja] - Instrumental B

9| Julie Christmas - Scalps

10| The Winchester Club - Burn it All Down (Pt.1)

Disc 2  

1| Black Sun - Syntax Error

2| Rorcal - Világvége V

3| Terra Tenebrosa - Apokatastasis

4| Monarch - Daggvrs

5| Syndrome - Now and Forever

[with special collaboration of CHVE (AmenRa) - backing vocal & Josh Graham (Neurosis, A Storm of Light) - piano and texture]

6| Ayahuasca Dark Trip - Manantial

7| Ethereal Riffian - March of Spiritu (Rise of Sheol)

8| Sendelica - Ingrid Cold (edited remix)

9| Vespero - Flight of the Lieutenant

10| Mouth of The Architect - How This will End

Buy

Ayat - Six Years of Dormant Hatred

Ministry at their rawest and heaviest mixed with black metal fury, with one of the most delightful vocalists in all of heavy music. It's been four years since this came out, can we have a new album now?

Leechfeast - Hideous Illusions

Plodding, wretched doom. Slow'n'heavy, with a vile vocal performance.

Forks of Ivory - The Isolator

I've gotten a couple of submissions recently, which is cool, but I've been doing a really bad job of that whole listening to them thing. But I will get to them!
Okay, here's one. Forks of Ivory is a two piece band that fuses droning doom, black metal, and heavy post-metal. They play each of these styles well, but in the main song here, "Sentence," they're juxtaposed in a way that's a little jarring. The other two tracks are an ambient intro and a shorter, purely sludge song. Plenty of potential on display here, if not as much fully developed ideas. Keep an eye on these guys.

Ursut -Dårarnas Paradis

Crusty Swedish d-beat. Nothing particularly new here, but done with plenty of piss and vinegar.

The Reptilian

Something a little different for you. The Reptilian are heroes of Kalamazoo's local music scene, playing tappy, mathy post-punk/rock with screamo vocals. I know, I didn't think I'd like them either. Maybe I've just got hometown-band-tinted glasses on. Anyway, their discography is free, so you might as well check them out.

The United Sons of Toil

"Precision Midwestern noise-rock delivered by populist theoreticians." Angular, heavy, and emotional rock music, longing for free world. Get their discography for free.

Full of Hell/Calm The Fire split 7"

New Full of Hell, which is really why you're here. Calm The Fire is a pretty solid hardcore band too, with a bit of a post-punk/noise rock thing going on.

Glasses - The Ills of Life

German hardcore with a tinge of rock. Blistering and energetic.

Direwolves - Me From Myself, To Banish

"Neo"crust, whatever that means. Mostly that they got a decent production job, I think. Also that they have parts/songs that are slower and more melodic. Anywhere, here you go. And the other.

Triumphant Threnody

Atmospheric English black metal. Meditative and hypnotic, not quite as ferocious as their other work. More Autumn Aurora than The Swan Road, if you will. I think I like their previous album better, but this one is still pretty good. Apologies for the kinda low quality, but someone's done a pretty good job of making sure it gets removed. So if you find/have a better version, let me know.

Cult of Luna - Somewhere Along The Highway

Everyone knows who this band is, right? This album is probably their pinnacle.

Rape Revenge

Noisy powerviolence from Calgary. They have both of their 7"s on their bandcamp. Paper Cage comes with a pdf with both the lyrics and brief explanations from (I assume) the vocalist, which is a really cool idea and something that I wish other bands would do.

Liberteer - Better To Live On Your Feet Than Die On Your Knees

Epic anarcho-grind with parts that sound like they're lifted from marches or something. The anarchist themes seem self-conscious, almost like the dude (and it is one dude) is trying to trumpet his anarchism to prove something. Or maybe he's just genuinely really into anarchy. Either way, the tunes are good and you should listen to them.

Thanks to the dude(s?) who provided the link for this.

Beast in the Field - Lucifer, Bearer of Light

Shifting from unholy ritualistic drone to the evilest riffage this side of Black Sabbath and back again. Satan.

Afgrund - The Age of Dumb

Pure Scandinavian grindcore.

Requests

Hey, so I added a box on the right side of the page for requests for albums that I'm having a bitch of a time finding for whatever reason. It will likely be updated and changed fairly frequently. If you have access to any of the shit I put there, let me know.

Livstid - Livstid

Crusty Norwegian d-beat, with a cleaner, slightly more metallic sound than many other bands in the genre.

And a stream.

Spine - Subhuman EP

Oh yeah, here's that release that every other blog with an even remotely similar musical orientation to this one has already posted. If for some reason you don't have it yet, get it, it's good

Thou / Leech - We Pass Like Night From Land to Land

Split LP. Thou delivers up some of the epic, crushing sludge-doom that they do so well. Leech has a single long track falling roughly in the confines of Cascadian BM, similar to Ash Borer, Fell Voices, and the like, with what is likely the bassiest sounding bass in all of black metal.

777

Have listened to this yet, maybe I'll write a review later. Dunno about you, but I'm excited about this one.

I also really like the album art.

Abnormality - Contaminating the Hive Mind

Once in a while a death metal album comes along that rustles my jimmies in just the right way. Contaminating the Hive Mind is one of those albums. Brutal and technical and all that, with (and this is key) fairly memorable songs and riffs to boot. If you give a shit about one death metal album this year, well, it should probably be Denoument, but this come in a close second or third.

Limp Wrist - Complete Discography

As they themselves said, they put the 'core back in queercore. Ripping hardcore punk. This includes everything except their '09 one-sided LP, I believe.

The New Vietnam

Oh, oh yes.

Ufomammut - Snailking

Okay okay, here's a break from the hardcore and punk genres. Monstrously huge doom/stoner metal from Italy. They've taken a turn for the more ambient and experimental on their more recent recordings, but this one here is absolutely eardrum-levelingly heavy.

Look Back and Laugh - Look Back and Laugh

Comparisons to Siege and Dropdead. Delightfully mean and nasty.

Wasteland - Wasteland 7"

Moar 7"s for you. This one's pretty melodic, but that doesn't mean that they won't still rip your throat out. And at 4 tracks in 12 minutes, this one's pretty much an epic by punk rock standards.

Sectarian Violence - Sectarian Violence 7"

International hardcore supergroup (lol). Members from Coke Bust (US), Never Again (UK), and Stay Hungry (Sweden) playing old school hardcore. What's not to like?

No Master - EP

Raw and furious d-beat. They sound a lot like Discharge, with some variations thrown in, like the end of 'Noose' and 'Enslaved.' It's not like you listen to hardcore punk and d-beat for the innovation anyway.

Ackley Kid - Ackley Kid

This band is from where I live. They're pretty good. Raw, thrashy old school American punk. This is their first full length. It sounds like (and probably was) recorded in someone's basement. Not that that's a bad thing, of course.

Benümb - Withering Strands of Hope

Not a lot to say here, Benümb play(ed) fast, pissed off grindcore. This is by no means an essential release, but still a worthwhile one. If you like grind, you'll like this. If you don't like grind, you won't like this. Simple as that.

Beatriz Carnicero - No Reces

MY FIRST SUBMISSION. I am so proud. Beatriz Carnicero is a fastcore/powerviolence band with some serious old school vibes. This is their first release. They appear to subscribe to the philosophy of "PLAY FAST OR DON'T." Get No Reces here or here.

Forgiven Ghosts

I was going to post that new Krallice, but then I listened to it and it turns out Krallice still sucks. So instead I'm going to throw up some dark, depressing folk by that Neurosis fellow. You won't get any blast beats or crazy technical playing here, but you will get some heartfelt music with some goddamn soul, man.

Eagles and feathers and serpents

I feel like this is the album that got my last blog banned, so keep it on the DL, if you know what I'm sayin. This link still works for some reason, get it while you can.

Islands - Islands

Not the Canadian indie pop band, but the Australian post/sludge band. Their description of themselves is pretty spot on: "Islands is a 5-piece band based in Sydney playing dense, repetitive and intricate music that is atmospheric and airy yet extremely heavy at times." Another pay what you want download. Clouds Mistaken For Smoke is the coolest song I've heard in this genre in a while, just saying.

YOUWRETCH - Sympathy of Wolves

Their debut full length. Crusty, dark hardcore with post-rock and sludge stuff going on, with a pinch of black metal thrown in for good measure. Album is name your price, throw them a few bucks.

Ash Borer - Cold of Ages

Grimmer, darker, and doomier than their previous effort. Still playing epic, atmospheric USBM.