SIBERIAN HELL SOUNDS // CONVULSING - Split LP (2017)

This split LP will melt your brain.

I've been a huge fan of Siberian Hell Sounds since their inception in 2013. I feel like they are cosmically connected to this blog as their debut EP was one of the first things I posted here and it seems they release something amazing every year for me to talk about. It's also worth mentioning that they are super cool dudes as well. That being said, it's fitting that they, along with Convulsing, close out this shit & garbage filled year with a 2 track LP that sounds like it is ushering in the dawn of the apocalypse. Siberian Hell Sounds have been evolving and mutating over the years into what you hear now on Side A. I can't say it better than the Art As Catharsis label did:

"The Breath Of The Beast marks the moment when Siberian Hell Sounds transcended the sum of its parts, and emerged as a hypnotically heavy drone machine - more a cataclysmic force majeure than music. Siberian Hell Sounds draw influence from clandestine corners of extreme music while never adhering to the tropes of any particular subgenre."

Convulsing's Side B is just as haunting and damaging, made all the more impressive by the fact that this is a band consisting solely of one Brendan Sloan of Dumbsaint. I am forever jealous of people that are able to put all of this together by themselves, and the oppressive atmosphere he is able to create here is mind boggling. Here are some more words that describe this madness far better than I could:

"Convulsing’s Engraved On Bleached Bone exists as a bridge between two selves: between despondency and turmoil of the past, and the uncertainty of the present. It is a knife at the throat of a now-defeated enemy. A bloodied howl of contempt."

"Cathartic excess" is a brilliant way to describe this release and it's two, 20-minute tracks. Do yourself a favor and find a dark room, turn this all the way up. Lie down. Try not to cry. Cry a lot. Because you deserve it.

Purchase Vinyl & Shirts from Art As Catharsis
Siberian Hell Sounds on Bandcamp
Siberian Hell Sounds on Facebook
Convulsing on Bandcamp
Convulsing on Facebook
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INSECT - I Ett Bottenlöst Mörker (2017)

DOWNLOAD THIS IMMEDIATELY BECAUSE IT'S FUCKING GREAT

Killer Blackened/Crust/Punk/Metal from Stockholm, Sweden

Insect on Bandcamp

Insect on Facebook

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ANTIKLESIS - Self Titled (2017)

Highly energetic and spastic emoviolence, hardcore and black metal DIY from Buenos Aires, Argentina

Antiklesis on Bandcamp

Antiklesis on Facebook

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DÖDSRIT - Self Titled (2017)

Dödsrit is a 1-man Atmospheric Black Metal/Crust project created by Christoffer Öster from Totem Skin

Bloodsoaked Records on Bandcamp

Dödsrit on Facebook

Purchase Vinyl

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MUNT - Cage (2017)

Black grind from the depths of Melbourne, Australia

MUNT on Bandcamp

MUNT on Facebook

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MURDER STROKE - Self Titled (2017)

Fast, heavy, and brutal Deathgrind 2-piece from Portland, Oregon

Murder Stroke on Bandcamp

Murder Stroke on Facebook

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ACTA DE TORMENTO - Black Sails (2017)

Some Punk/Death Metal from this Moscow, Russia band who have been around since 2006

Acta de Tormento on Bandcamp

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RATFEAST -Demotape (2017)

3 Metalheads from Bielefeld, Germany trying to play Crust

Ratfeast on Bandcamp

Ratfeast on Facebook

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ADAM'S BEST OF 2017

Hey gang, I feel like a total piece of human garbage for not properly posting anything in ages, so I felt the absolute least I could do was to copy Jerm and give you my list of favorites from this year. I really appreciated Chris' almost daily posts this year, keeping the site relevant once again. And I love how active the chat has been lately, with special thanks going out to the chat MVP, GodsColdHands, who has some magic ability to literally fill any request, seemingly. But anyway, thanks again to everyone for visiting, I promise I will try to post more in 2018. 

Here's my list of Top 10 (and more) releases (in alphabetical order)...        *♫*

ALL PIGS MUST DIE - Hostage Animal (October) ♫

BELLE HAVEN - You, Me and Everything In Between (June) ♫

CORRUPT MORAL ALTAR - Eunoia (August) ♫

DARK HABITS - Cave Paintings (May) ♫

END IT - Self Titled (June) ♫

GEIST - Disrepair (September) ♫

MORAL VOID - Deprive (August) ♫

SECT - No Cure For Death (November) ♫

SUNLIGHT'S BANE - The Blackest Volume (February) ♫

WVRM - Can You Hear The Wind Howl (September) ♫

Honorable mentions...

FANGE - Pourrissoir (March) ♫

GOD MOTHER - Vilseledd (October) ♫

LEECHED - Nothing Will Grow From The Rotten Ground (October) ♫

NECRODANCER - Void (October) ♫

RITUAL BLADE - Hidden Pain (October) & Hollow Gods (March) ♫

JERM'S BEST OF 2017

Well it's that time again. I tried to come up with a "20 best of" like last year but honestly there was so much good shit released this year that trying to carve that list down to just 20 was impossible. So i'm doing it a bit different. The first list is my top 10. these are ones there was no doubt about. then a second list of albums that were all really good and it was just too hard to rank them. anyway, on to the list...

1. DEAD CROSS "DEAD CROSS"

its extremely rare that an album surrounded by this much hype lives up to it. dead cross far exceeded that hype as far as I'm concerned.

2. MORAL VOID "DEPRIVE"

id started to give up hope that this was ever coming out. well worth the wait though.

3. EXPANDER "ENDLESS COMPUTER"

"timezapped neuropunks". no idea what that means. but ill go with it.

4. GRINNING DEATHS HEAD "BLOOD WAR"

earlier demos and albums were good, but this....well damn...

5. WAILIN STORMS "SICK CITY"

comparisons can be made. all are inaccurate.

6. PLAGUES "THE GREAT DARK DEVOTION"

1st full length from these guys. I expect great things.

7. CONVERGE "THE DUSK IN US"

youd think that a band 25 years into their career would be out of surprises. converge says youre wrong.

8. ZAO "PYRRHIC VICTORY"

I think its perfectly clear now that the hiatus did wonders for zao. the last couple years have seen them drop their best material since the self titled album.

9. EMPTINESS "NOT FOR MUSIC"

pretty much all resemblance to black/death metal is gone at this point. emptiness are better for it.

10. WORMWITCH "STRIKE MORTAL SOIL"

I was really excited to see these guys get picked up by prosthetic records. their debut did not disappoint.

CALLIGRAM "ASKESIS"

NECROT "BLOOD OFFERINGS"

CRYSTAL FAIRY "CRYSTAL FAIRY"

HERESIARCH "DEATH ORDINANCE"

CELESTE "INFIDELE(S)"

ACEPHALIX "DECREATION"

ALTARAGE "ENDINGHINT"

SUNLIGHT'S BANE "THE BLACKEST VOLUME"

ALL HELL "THE GRAVE ALCHEMIST"

SCHAMMASCH "THE MALDOROR CHANTS:HERMAPHRODITE"

DAWN RAY'D "THE UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY"

DANZIG "BLACK LADEN CROWN"

MELVINS "A WALK WITH LOVE AND DEATH"

REBEL WIZARD "TRIUMPH OF GLOOM"

FULL OF HELL "TRUMPETING ECSTACY"

'68 "TWO PARTS VIPER"

MUTOID MAN "WAR MOANS"

PRONG "ZERO DAYS"

OVERKILL "THE GRINDING WHEEL"

POWER TRIP "NIGHTMARE LOGIC"

SECT "NO CURE FOR DEATH"

AKATHARSIA "NO GENERATION WITHOUT CORRUPTION"

RIVER BLACK "RIVER BLACK"

GODFLESH "POST SELF"

ME AND THAT MAN "SONGS OF LOVE AND DEATH"

EARTHLING "SPINNING IN THE VOID"

WILDSPEAKER "SPREADING ADDER"

HEXIS "TANDO ASHANTI/XII"

UNEARTHLY TRANCE "STALKING THE GHOST"

CORRUPT MORAL ALTAR "EUNOIA"

MEMORIAM "FOR THE FALLEN"

MARK LANEGAN "GARGOYLE"

ALL OUT WAR "GIVE US EXTINCTION"

ALL PIGS MUST DIE "HOSTAGE ANIMAL"

INTEGRITY "HOWLING, FOR THE NIGHTMARE SHALL CONSUME"

LANTERN "II-MORPHOSIS"

HAVUKRUUNU "KELLE SURUT SOI"

DRAUGSOL "Volaða Land"

ACRIMONIOUS "ELEVEN DRAGONS"

ALMYRKVI "UMBRA"

KHMER "LARGA SOMBRA"

MEATWOUND "LARGO"

GRAVE PLEASURES "MOTHERBLOOD"

like I said, no real order to that secondary list. just a lot of albums that had a significant impact on me this year. probably forgot some but what the hell. thanks again to all readers that show up here and to adam for keeping it alive.