Ornamental Headpiece - Masks of Ash (2014)

Man, I love bands with weird names - it's actually one of the things that draws me ever deeper into the extreme metal hole. Imaginations run rampart and bands sometimes land on the craziest, oddest possible choices to represent themselves as one musical entity. 

And it doesn't get much weirder than naming your band Ornamental Headpiece. I could maybe see this name fitting a goofy, spazzed-out electronic outfit, but these guys play ass-ripping war metal infused with some good old punk tinges. And make no mistake: there is way more to this band than just their name. Their music is some of the best and most honest metal I've heard recently. They manage to masterfully go from blast-beating and all-out sonic warfare one second to some the catchiest, punkiest riffage to ever disgrace your ear drums, pretty much forcing you to pull your t-shirt over your face, run outside and scream at people like a maniac. 

Boots on the Ground is hands-down my favorite track from this 4-song release. It starts off as pure Immortal worship and, at around the 0:35 mark, the song suddenly turns into a groovy punk anthem urging you to pray to death. The filthy, lo-fi vocals are the final nail in the coffin. Or is it maybe the fact that midway through the song, the band switches gears again and does a smooth, almost ambient passage, only to go back into bulldozer-mode a few second later and lay waste to the battleground once more? These dudes know how to craft a good song. 

So if you're a fan of trippy blackened punk and enjoy people asking you in bewilderment "what the fuck are you listening to?", you should definitely blast some Ornamental Headpiece. These guys rip!

RORCAL - Világvége (2013)

Here's an album I've been meaning to write about ever since I first listened to it back in Spring, but I've somehow put it off until I forgot all about it. Luckily, a friendly email from Lost Pilgrim Records brought this Swiss band back to my attention and hopefully into yours, as well, because they're really worth it. 

Világvége stands as RORCAL's third full-length album, among a bunch of EPs and splits. The title is the Hungarian word for "apocalypse" and this is exactly what you're getting on this album: the soundtrack to the violent end of this world.  After a funeral dirge of an opener, Világvége moves on to its second track called D, which is basically 9 minutes of non-stop punishment. From the get-go, you're being beaten into submission my some rather repetitive, but absolutely crushing guitar riffs, complemented by intense drum kit abuse and some really horrifying, throatripping vocals that befit the name of the release.

After making sure you are appropriately obedient, RORCAL turn up the speed and, for the next three tracks (II, V and IV) you are being thrown into a violent blizzard of shrapnel-like riffing and explosive drumming, while the vocalist takes it up a notch and just keeps on screaming until he pukes out his lungs. These three songs are definitely one of the highlights of this album, giving you a huge dose of blackened crust punk hyper-aggression.

VII mixes things up a bit and brings in some post-rock atmospheric sensibility, softening the blows slightly, adding in some quieter moments (well, maybe "quiet" isn't really the right word here...) and giving you a chance to catch your breath. And you're going to need it, too, because you're being thrown right back into the meat grinder on the second to last track, VI. The band's black metal influence is more than apparent on this track, with its flurry of malignant riffing and blast beat drumming. The song bleeds right into VIII, the album closer, which takes a sudden turn towards black/drone territory at around the 2:40 mark and finishes things off nicely. And by that, I mean you're left a crippled mess, eager to press Play again and start the torment all over again. 

Thanks to Lost Pilgrim Records for getting in touch and thanks to RORCAL for providing me with some of the most soul-crushing music of 2013. My innards appreciate it. Check it out for yourself below and say  hi to the guys on their Facebook page.

GUEST POST: Oathbreaker - Eros|Anteros (2013)

(Today's review comes from our buddy Volo, who's a graphic artist, a drummer and a sweet bro. He turned me on to this ravenous band a few weeks ago and, even though I'm really into them, I couldn't figure out how to describe this mindblowing album. Luckily, Volo volunteered to write about Oathbreaker's latest effort, Eros|Anteros, and save me the embarrassment of laying out my stupid thoughts. Take it away!)

Hailing from Ghent, Belgium, Oathbreaker are a power house mixing black metal, Converge-ish hardcore and post metal to create a really heavy brutal sound. I first heard of them back in 2011 when Deathwish signed them. I immediately checked out their first EP and I dug it, although I can't say the same about Mælstrøm, their debut LP on Deathwish. It's not bad, but beside a couple of songs, the album is pretty generic for all the modern Converge-ish hardcore these days.

Fast forward to 2013 and Oathbreaker are back with a new LP, again Deathwish serving as a home for their music. This time around they recorded with Kurt Ballow of Converge fame, at the legendary Godcity in Salem, MA. If you're into this kind of music, you're familiar with the awesome stuff Kurt Ballou does, and Eros|Anteros is no exception: it sounds immense and ferocious.


Music wise, they stepped it up a notch. Beside the general heaviness and perfect production, the songs have a certain catchiness to them. The guitars are really loud and the drums are simply punishing, while some riffs have that crustcore feel to them, you know that ultra melodic and pinchy guitar riffs that Ekkaia had? Maybe it's just me, but they remind me of Ekkaia. Also the black metal elements that were really shy on Mælstrøm now just seem to flourish. There are a lot of black-ish guitar riffs in the vein of Altar of Plagues and I just love the blast beats that compliment those riffs. The post metal elements also seem to bloom more here: the album opener is a really atmospheric piece that acts like a buildup to the destruction of No Rest for the Weary , kind of similar to the whole crescendo in  post metal songs.

As far as vocals go, I just gotta say that Caro Tanghe did an awesome job. I really liked her clean vocals on the ending track of Mælstrøm, and I really wished I could hear more of that. Seems like my wishes came true: on some songs the rough screamed vocals are counterbalanced by the clean sweet vocals, which create a really eerie atmosphere.

All in all this is a great release, that really took me by surprise. It's a really huge step forward from their debut LP. Mælstrøm lacked a lot of elements that kept it from being a really good record, but Eros|Anteros fills all those gaps, making this one of the best records I've heard this year so far.

If you dig this band and this record, be sure to pick one up while they last at Deathwish Inc. and don't forget to catch them on tour this summer with the excellent Birds in Row.

Church Whip - Psychedelic Nightmare (2013)

EY KIDS, WASSUP? 

Wanna hear some music that sounds as if Raoul Duke and Dr Gonzo made plans for a drug-fueled trip to Las Vegas but instead got kidnapped half-way there, put inside a basement, got tortured for several months, set loose and started a psychotic blackened crust punk band? Then Church Whip is the band you need to hear. They've gotten into some shit recently because they called their tour Rape the East and some people actually thought they wanted to rape women during their tour, but who cares about what stupid people think? This is great music and you must listen to it. Check dem bitchin' guitar solos.

Cloud Rat - Moksha (2013)

More ruthless blackened grinding chaos, this time from Michigan grindfreaks Cloud Rat. This EP is some seriously messed up shit. The vocals on this thing could scrape the rust off of your old grandpa's bicycle and the riffing is like a crowbar to the face. A must-listen for this year.

On an unrelated note, I've recently watched Martyrs and kinda felt like throwing up a little :(

Blessings - Bittervatten (2012)

Next up, we have a 30 minute tape from Swedish punkers Blessings. Definitely not for the faint of heart, Bittervatten brings forth some harsh, doom-laden, blackened crust punk songs chock-full of insane amounts of noise, gang vocals, tremolo-picked riffs and enough horrific atmosphere to make you want to crawl under your bed and hope nothing bad will happen to you. I'd hate to be trapped inside a house, like in Funny Games or The Strangers, with this thing blasting out of every available speaker.

Get spooked on bandcamp.

Sloth Herder - Abandon Pop Sensibility (2012)

Slowly trying to sludge through all the kickass submissions we've been receiving lately. I'll do one per day until we're done.

First up, we have Sloth Herder's latest EP, titled Abandon Pop Sensibility. Cool band name aside, these guys play a pretty standard brand of crusty blackened grindcore with plenty of dissonant riffs, tempo changes and barked vocals that sound as if Batman had gotten pissed off at Gotham City and started his own band, with Joker on bass, Clayface on drums and Catwoman on guitar. And Mr. Freeze in charge of artworks.

Check it out on bandcamp and buy it for how many bucks you feel like giving.

Livia Sura - S/T (2011)

Here's a record I'm loving the fuck out of recently, Livia Sura's first self-titled material. The band hails from Timișoara, Romania and its members are heavily involved in the Romanian underground scene, each of them playing in other kickass bands like The Bad Days Will End and Pavilionul 32.

This demo features four songs of unrelentless, pissed-off blackened crust punk excellence much in the vein of All Pigs Must Die or Nails. The lyrics are sung in Romanian - it's great to see a band disregard English for a change and sing in its native language - and deal with social and political issues, corporate and governmental distrust, misanthropy and a general feeling of disgust with the diseased society we find ourselves living in. My favorite songs are Poraimos (a Romani word which is used to describe the genocide inflicted upon gypsies by the Nazis during the Second World War), which uses actual accounts of survivors to spin its tale of dread and suffering, and Generații de mizantropi, a short burst of vitriolic rage directed towards ignorant and prejudiced people, who are the cancer of our society. The entire demo is rock solid, though, and it makes me wanna destroy my possessions every time I play it. The abrasive guitar riffs are complemented perfectly by the distorted, rumbling bass lines and the heavy drumming, while vocalist Raul is spitting venom with every harsh scream, sounding like he's about to go off into a fit of coughing any second.

Livia Sura are offering this material free of charge, so head on over to their Bandcamp page and get it, then give them a like and some kind words on their Facebook page. They deserve it.