Noothgrush return with their first studio recording since 1998, and the disdain, the disgust… It hasn’t faded one bit. Their gruesome sludge is rooted in the real life, in the misery, hatred and despair of humanity – there are no traces of fantasy or psychedelic moments of horror movie nostalgia in this amoral cut of agonising doom. With Dino Somesse, the man who personified anguish in 90’s crust sludge golden calves Dystopia, joining the band on vocals, this is a rare ignition of the scum-ridden sludge sound which America haemorrhaged during the last decade of the millennium. Noothgrush’s side of the split opens with crawling, pained riffs punctuated with sparse percussion, and then the weight of the world comes down. Rasping vocals, disturbing samples, and songs which grab you by the throat and open your eyes to mad-made hell.
NIGHTFELL unites Portland, Oregon musicians Todd Burdette (Tragedy, Warcry, His Hero is Gone) and Tim Call (Aldebaran/Mournful Congregation). The Living Ever Mourn is the debut full-length born of this union of notable extreme music perpetrators, rending over forty minutes of purely epic metal, bridging morose heaviness with melodic destruction. Envisioned and executed in a period of grief, delirium and loss of life, the atmosphere and lyrics mirror the ensuing emptiness while simultaneously embracing the dichotomous power in the unwavering and eternal force of Death.
Southern Californias’ Nails was formed in December 2007 by Todd Jones (ex-Terror) along with the help of Taylor Young (Cremetorium), and John Gianelli. Nails is beyond brutality. Filthy, vicious and raw. Imagine a cross between the good Amrep bands of the nineties (Helmet, Hammerhead, Today is The Day, Unsane) and Cro-Mags Age of Quarrel riffage played at breakneck speeds.
Their epic battle cry: “Unsilent Death” was recorded during the cold winter of 2009 at Kurt Ballou’s (Converge, Trap Them, Disfear, Black Breath) Godcity Recording Studio. The cd version of the “Unsilent Death” album was originally released in very limited quantities by Six Feet Under records. The LP version was self released by the band on Todds’ Streetcleaner label and quickly sold through the 1000 piece pressing. Southern Lord is extremely honored to pick up the torch of this album and let it burn brightly through many more countless battles!
Swedish crustpunk horde Martyrdöd are among the newest crop of heavy, brutal, metallic crust-influenced bands to join the Southern Lord cult. In a scene overabundant with clones of the founding/front running acts of the genre, Martyrdöd manage to remain heavily unique in their filth-ridden approach. While undeniably influenced by acts like Anticimex, Bathory, and Totalitär, the band intertwines their crust roots with sinister, haunting soundscapes and unique blackened riff attacks.
“Paranoia” was recorded at the infamous Studio Fredman (At The Gates, Amon Amarth, Opeth) by Fredrik Nordström in the dead of a chilling Swedish winter! The riffs are raw and powerful, with haunting melodies colliding with a storm of raw sonic shrapnel. Both Martyrdöd guitarists are veterans of the Swedish metal scene also playing in: Skitsystem, Agrimonia, Miasmal etc.
The first 10 years of Magma were celebrated on three memorable evenings in June 1980 at the Olympia theatre in Paris. This retrospective, reuniting most of the musicians who had performed in the group, was issued as two albums, Retrospektïẁ 1 / 2 (double) and Retrospektïẁ 3 (single). Issued first, Retrospektïẁ 3 comprises 3 titles Retrovision, a long piece in the style of the album Attahk, in which the vocalists Stella Vander, Guy Khalifa and Maria Popkiewicz turn in a blazing performance over a driving rhythm section; a supercharged version of Hhai, in which the trio Lockwood / Paganotti / Widemann works miracles; and finally La Dawotsin, where, in a more muted register, the voice of Christian Vander triumphs through its mastery and profound sensibility.
Recorded, like Retrospektïẁ 3, during the soirees at Olympia in June 1980, Retrospektïẁ 1 & 2 is an absolutely fundamental album in which Theusz Hamtaahk, the first movement of the trilogy of the same name, is presented for the first time. The second and third movements, Wurdah Itah and Mekanik Destruktiw Komandoh, were of course already well known. Although played in concert since 1974, Christian Vander had waited for years before recording it for posterity as he wanted every note to be as beautiful, magical, essential and definitive as possible. It is with the same respect for his music that he releases here the most successful version of Mekanik Destruktiw Komandoh, considered outstanding on account of two incredible improvisations from Bernard Paganotti and Didier Lockwood. Klaus Blasquiz, who did not perform on Retrospektïẁ 3, is the lead vocalist on this version – and justifiably so, since he was indeed the Magma singer who first sang these two masterworks.
There’s no doubt about it, Magma have left a legacy of music that defies any of the standard and convenient classifications of rock, operating instead in a realm of their own creation. Southern Lord looks forward to being part of their ever-evolving story…
LIKE RATS feature members of Chicago power-violence legends WEEKEND NACHOS. This compact disc compiles every filthy fucking note they have ever recorded. Most importantly it features their brand new album “II”. NACHOS have spawned a different beast with LIKE RATS. The focus of the beatdown is heavily death metal influenced with generous helpings of caveman swing. Think of the old school slaughter of Celtic Frost, & Obituary with the modern ass kicking of Nails, Black Breath etc..
Riff worshiping posers need not apply.
Members of Skin Like Iron and The Hope Conspiracy proudly stand by their long time hardcore influences, with a nod to Swedish punk ala Anti-Cimex and Skitsystem.
Boasting an entirely unhinged, filthy auditory assault, Melbourne-based ragers KROMOSOM have hooked up with Southern Lord Recordings for the band’s first CD release, Live Forever.
Born in the smoldering wake of now defunct Australian crust acts Schifosi and Pisschrist, and featuring current members of Leprosy, Bloody Hammer and fellow Southern Lord mercenaries Nuclear Death Terror, KROMOSOM have kicked a massive dent into the international crust/punk/hardcore circuit working under the band doctrine: “Noisier, nastier, rawer.” Through several vinyl-only indie releases and steady waves of international touring since their 2010 inception the band caught the attention of Southern Lord who confirmed the first CD release in KROMOSOM’s discography with Live Forever.
