Yet another badass compilation, the Homeless Benefit comp EP is an amazing and aggro glimpse at the end of the nineties-- excellent intentions and voraciously violent music. Read the band list below to understand why I had to post this even though The Pope did the honors years ago, then go to his blog while you listen and read his dressing-down of Jeanxseberg's naive lyrics.
So maybe we won't be leaving Canada alone just yet. I got bitten by the summer bug since the last post and thus the delay; but in the meantime I secured a cheap copy of the Wisigoth/Jobbykrust split LP which I'm happy to share with you today. Wisigoth continue with their raw and ugly doom/crust/metal, and Jobbykrust compile some early demo material for 12 tracks of charged-up political hardcore done right. Both bands are so distinct, yet the pairing seems just perfect and both match each other in intensity and sincerity, making the 47 minutes of music seem all too short. Get more Jobbykrust music and info here, here, and here, and get the Wisigoth 7" here.
Same-Sex Dictator continue to document the escalation of the long-going interplanetary war the rest of us have been blind to as our attentions are affixed on expensive little bleeping toys and glowing screens. "From Beneath You It Devours" is the band's insanely brilliant first (hopefully not last) full length, which to untrained ears may sound not unlike both Yeti records mixed together at different intervals and at incorrect speeds. Further examination will find that these very original compositions are the score of a bipolar inner space opera, interpreting the role of a heretofore undiscovered, subterranean guerrilla force and their role in said conflict. Taken at face value or analyzed for subliminal content, these eight tracks are consistently and simultaneously engrossing, crushing, and ultimately not quite like anything else out there. I recommend this LP to anyone whose dendrites have remained reasonably intact even after all the deadening exposure to the aforementioned distraction instruments. Below I have provided the entire record for download, but I don't expect it to remain there long; there are forces out there beyond my control. Plus, I really want you to buy a copy (see links below).
The vast majority of doom metal bores me, but every so often a band of this ilk, with slow grace, will "bore" into me in another way-- under the skin and right to the psyche. Asunder did this with their beautiful 1x1/2 LP, "A Clarion Call." They succeed for me because they structure their compositions like intricately wrought narratives and use heaviness as only one facet of what are ultimately fairly complex songs. More importantly, tracks like "Twilight Amaranthine" are just chilling and beautiful to hear, all the way up to the fourteenth minute(!). It's been a while since I've posted a long, slow one, but "TA" should more than make up for lost time.
Lost is either a doomy crust metal band from Poland with ex-members of Homomilitia, or civilization's last hope impaled on a rusty barb somewhere on an undiscovered tract of tundra. The word bleak doesn't even cut it. If you find yourself in too perky a mood... seriously, check this band out. Then if you like, listen to their musical legacy scratching its way through the distorted hell of bands like Insuiciety and Token Tantrum. Perhaps you'll also enjoy their 7" which hopefully you can still get here. For now, get these 9 originals and a 13 cover below.
Daymare is another case of a band that died tragically young, with so much going for it. They are so my kind of hardcore, it's just ridiculous-- gloomy, both fast and slow, heavy, passionate, crusty, intelligent. Sadly, I think these five tracks are the only proof they existed, but if you know of any other releases, you've got to let me know! I posted this 7" way back in the beginning, so the 320 treatment is long overdue; file this in the same category as Ballast, Schifosi, Protess...
The final EP for today comes from the Seattle masters of gloom: Wormwood. Many genres claim these guys: doom, hardcore, black metal, goth... you decide. This EP is Wormwood's debut on vinyl, containing the two tracks, "Circus," and "Seven." If you're familiar with their album "Requiescat," then you know what to expect: guitarless, plodding bass mayhem with angry vocals and eerie organ-style keyboards. It's as if Man is the Bastard and/or Seized were asked to compose the soundrack to a Vincent Price movie, and it turned out good. All descriptions will end up sounding goofy, so if you're curious, just give the band a try. Perhaps it's needless to say, but Wormwood is no longer; their two full lengths are fairly easy to find and are highly recommended.
