Live From the Depths of Hell

Happy Birthday King Diamond

Thou Shalt Suffer - Into the Woods of Belial

Thou Shalt Suffer was the pre-Emperor death metal band of Ihsahn, Ildjarn, and Samoth. This compilation contains their demo, 7" EP, and a live set, all recorded in 1991, just before the shift from death metal into black. Consequently this group gets little love from die-hard black metal nerds and is rarely held up as an example of classic old-school death metal, either. Sad, that is, because the material here is pure, soul-snuffing Lovecraftian foulness. Hints of their future direction crop up during the intro, various gothic keyboard flourishes, and, in the case of Ildjarn, the gritty, hissing sound quality. Thou Shalt Suffer eventually became an ambient/drone side project for Ihsahn before he struck out under his own name - look for the album Somnium if that sounds like your cup of tea, but be warned there is little in common with this.
I seek the path of obscurity

Sodom - In the Sign of Evil

Straddling the razorwire line between first wave black metal and the burgeoning thrash movement, this early classic finds the band exploring purer Bathory/Venom territory than the nuclear-war-themed albums they would soon release, pure occultism. As much as I like those later works, and ignoring from the fact that they would fit better within the thematic orbit of this blog, I just love this one too much not to post it. Far more primitive than the sound Sodom would come into eventually, this possesses a croaky, echoing ambiance that whispers sweet blasphemies to my dark and mutinous little heart. Plus, we get a nuclear anthem at the end, the immortal "Burst Command Til War."
I turn the cross upside down
and read Satanic Bible with fucking grown [sic]

Ahulabrum - Magonia

Strange weather outside tonight. Pressure drop, red skies, hot winds. Ominous.

West Virginia's mysterious black noise experiment Ahulabrum consists more of ghostly signals from the stars than it does of traditional earth notions of "music." Ham radio transmissions, humming telephone wires, and phantom vibrations play as much of a part as the guitar or vocals or muffled, subliminal drums. Each song is based on a real-life close encounter, and will reward the diligent researcher with shocking revelations. This is genuinely unnerving art, helping put in perspective the tiny speck of light we circle around, surrounded by oceans of unending blackness and unfathomable horror.
Psyop

Ammit - Armageddon Cobra

It's nice in a way to see that in the first week of 2011 we have received so many ill omens, so many harbingers of certain doom. You'd think that with time growing ever shorter, Chilean apocalyptic thrash gnomes Ammit would want to get to the point a bit sooner, but: first we have a disposable ambient intro. Then, eventually, the amazing song "Triple Headed Demon" (which contains its own, separate intro) concerning some sort of biblical seal opening, or something, with the immortal chorus: "Carnage! Fight! Triple Headed Demon!" Then, bafflingly, another ambient intro track, "Intro: Satan is this Real." Then, a G.G. Allin cover. Then two more ballistic Ammit originals, then an interlude, then a couple more songs, a W.A.S.P. cover, two more songs, and two outros. It's like a deck of ugly tarot cards and a stack of 3x5 English-as-a-Second-Language flash cards shuffled together and set on fire. For fans of idiot savant music like Von, The Shaggs, or Old Skull.
Birds lurking the prey
No glory for the deads

Massaker - First Attack

A charming little demo from Brazilian retro thrash unit Massaker - lots to like here. Shades of Nuclear Assault, Bathory, Sarcafago, The Accused, Septic Death maybe...
I can't determine from the burbly lyrics and vague Metallum page but I believe these young lads might be Christians as well, which would just be the icing on the comedy cake here, believe me. Even if it's not true, this is a primitive and ugly chronicle of adolescent war on society (complete with theme song), exactly as it should be. Take a look at this photo and judge not, lest ye be judged...
Massaker Attack!

Sump - Autumn Blood

Sump play frigid lo-fi black metal featuring one guy from White Medal, which ought to give you an idea what you're in for with this one, although this is even more hissy and noisy. The primitive squealings of misanthropic hillbillies running loose about the English countryside.
Beware.

Horseback - Invisible Mountain

This is the first release by North Carolina's one man ambient project Horseback to contain additional musicians and (I believe) to be released on vinyl. Breaking from his traditional guitar drone style to embrace a fuller, nastier sound, Jenks Miller herein explores unfamiliar territory with startling results. Having as much in common with Neil Young's stranger experiments such as the polarizing Dead Man soundtrack as it does with the popular ambient black metal sound, Invisible Mountain is available free as well as for purchase numerous places, but why not get it from the trusty ol' Swamp?
Here

Death SS - ...In Death of Steve Sylvester

Another no-brainer, perhaps, but I'm in the middle of a long weekend with little leisure time to ponder the imponderable, so let's just go for it. The mysterious Death SS, an EC-horror inspired metal band from the 80's, most clearly defined their worldview on this release. Not only did them band members fully realize their stage personae, dressing as a mummy, a vampire, a werewolf, etc., but also the first five songs straightforwardly address each individual character with song titles such as "Vampire" and "Werewolf." Musically, it's a bit all over the map, pulling influences from doom, death metal, thrash, early black metal, 70's shock rock (note the Alice Cooper cover) and Hammer horror soundtracks. This is great, visceral music that remains untarnished by the current abomination using the name Death SS - best to pretend that doesn't exist and just immerse yourself in the dark creaky cobwebbed atmosphere presented here.
Here, in the coffin, yes this is death!

Ossadogva - Iä Ancient One

Speaking of Hastur (get it?), it's no secret that your host takes an unhealthy bizarre relish in obscuritan sub-sub-genres, and this doomish one-man black metal hybrid beast from the one-shoggoth town of Kremenchug, Ukraine, virtually defines "depressive Lovecraftian ritual black/doom." This is their first release, a three song demo championing the three amigos of the apocalypse - Cthulhu, you-know-who, and Yog-Sothoth (on the excellently ESL titled and wildly disorienting "Gates to the Yog-Sothoth.") They are apparently quite fervid little cultist, eschewing "alcohol, drugs, tobacco and similar stimulators; do not watch TV, listen to radio, read newspapers, use mobile phones and do not give concerts and autographs." One may read a delightfully babelfished interview with them here, ending with a choice refrain:
IA Ancient One! Да пожрет Azagthoth ваше сознание!

Whiskey Ritual - Black N Roll

Self-explanatory

Kvelertak - Westcoast Holocaust

In light of their recent self-titled full length release I feel comfortable pushing this three year old demo out of the nest and into the void. Kvelertak (Norwegian for "Stranglehold") play what can loosely defined as black metal, but they have as much in common with AC/DC, Kylesa, Tight Bros From Way Back When, and Turbonegro as they do with Darkthrone or Satyricon. The new album is astounding but the demos possess a lo-fi hiss that adds immeasurable charm and character to these distinctive, cowbell-heavy songs. The majority of this is sung in Norwegian but the meaning and message behind these songs remains universal:
Mjød

Blood Cult - We Who Walk Behind The Rows

Greetings, loathesome Swamp scum! Hillbilly black metal/southern rock yokels Blood Cult ought to make your night a little more evil! I'm aware that this sounds like a strange combination, and I'll admit that their album from this year, "We Are the Cult of the Plains," is stronger than this 2005 full length, but this is truly some strange fruit ripe for fermenting. The perfect soundtrack to a raging bonfire, a bottle of rotgut, and possibly shooting yourself in the foot with a shotgun.
Pow!

Bone Awl 6.11.2009 Now That's Class - Cleveland Ohio

Apologies, sweet sprouts, but my brain is crippled by a brutal and merciless hangover. Here's some Bone Awl, weirdly the only one left after the great hard drive crash.
Stab everything.

Wastelander - Wardrive

Wastelander have been making waves in the metal circuit for some time now, based on their distinct black/thrash/crust hybrid and the strength of this reverb-drenched album. Lyrically, they deal with that old Swamp favorite, the bleak Post-Apocalyptic future surely awaiting us all. If you liked that Bloodhammer album posted yesterday, chances are you will be charmed by this as well. Surprisingly diverse and strong songwriting separate this from the mutant hordes, and who among could resist that cover?
Don't forget your bullet belt.

Brown Jenkins - Angel Eyes

The first full-length album by Swamp favorites Brown Jenkins allows me to draw this streak of doom albums to a nasty, buzzing close. Suffocating atmosphere and the strangled heartbeat that pulses beneath the floorboards of this recording create unrest and unease in all who behold its splendid foulness.
Malign wisdom like a sword through planets.

Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine - Rampton

Taking advantage quickly of what seems to be a tenuous connexion to the ether, and continuing our theme, here is all-star doom supergroup ToLRtD (what an acronym!) and their sole release, the happiness-crushing Rampton. Three maddenlingly lengthy tracks of unending, gleeful negativity. Members of Cathedral, Napalm Death, Khanate, Sunn O))), Iron Monkey, and Electric Wizard.
A sure-fire party killer.

If I am not heard from tomorrow I am still battling the demons inside my computing machine and Doom Week (only brought into focus in retrospect after what must have been a sour streak of days) must continue even more slowly than it has been. Keep your tentacles crossed.

Paranormal Ichthyology

Behold, foul ones!
Ignore that gibberish posted previously here, I have returned to the land of the lucid. Dagon, represented here, plays a wonderfully icky black/death/doom hybrid that virtually personifies the Fish Metal realms of the Swamp: Unintelligible rasping and howling, long stretches of ringing quarter notes, mood swings as unpredictable as the sea itself, pirates, sharks, pretentious three-part suites...
What's not to loathe?

Smohalla - Nova Persei

Mysterious levitating black metal seemingly of the intentionally inscrutable school, but recorded clearly enough so that it is not just a mad spiral of sound. These songs and the instruments playing them are separate and distinct - whether or not this is a desirable effect depends upon the tenderness of one's ears. Your humble host is not too jaded to enjoy lo-fi squall or pompous hubris, and this contains veins of both. My limited French helps none in translating these distant howls, but the subject matter is maddeningly apparent.
Aux Premières Eternités

Bohren and Der Club of Gore - Black Earth

The last chapters of Revelations retold through Twin Peaks styled jazz, played at a tempo comparable to an ancient elephant's last staggering footsteps towards its communal graveyard. Certainly not intended for listening on the porch while sipping fruity drinks, at least until the black ashes begin to drift down into them.
Angels sing your requiem.