It's easy to lump bands into categories, or to assume that a band's sound can be easily predicted by a genre tag or two. In some instances, a band plays well into a particular scene and it's all good and fine. When examining the explosive and expansive blackened punk of Montreal-based Oppression, there's simply too much going on to classify in a brief term. While the increasingly online audience for black metal cassettes is more invested in easily hashtagged or aesthetically pleasing cult demos than bands doing something challenging, there should still be a sizable audience for a band who manages to captivate both the raw black metal fan in me and the side of me that was raised on the darker sounds of the 1980s.
After a potent split with New York-based black metal group Sanguine Eagle, Oppression gained serious traction in underground communities, with many looking forward to a release to follow. Now that they've had a chance to deliver upon their promise in full, it's clear that any attention garnered has been well earned. While some tracks deliver a more familiar black metal angle, like the opening title track, which literally kicks things off with a Celtic Frost-inspired "ough" before launching into a tortured sounding stompy sort of black punk, the band has more up its sleeve than just this approach (although even this alone would be good enough). On songs like "Les champs rouges" and "Moskovskaya" there's an anthemic quality in both the riffs and the singing that lends a mournful but catchy post-punk quality to the sound without breaking away or sounding forced. While many bands would be content to simply go for the throat with howling mid-paced bangers throughout, the varied approach works well and makes almost every song a standout in its own fashion.
Those seeking digital copies of this can easily download it from the group's bandcamp page (linked above in the player), while those seeking the physical experience can order cassettes directly from the label at productionshaineuses@gmail.com. This album has been a constant play over here for the duration of 2019, which is a strong endorsement considering how great this year has been for black metal. In fact, this review was initially begun in February and again in April before I finally got it together enough to ground myself and admit that it's better to just get it out than to try to write the "perfect" review for an album I love so dearly. I hope you'll all love it as much as I do.
Without even bothering to examine the state of the world (both because it's overdone and because blogging is an inherently self-absorbed thing), 2018 was one hell of a challenging year for me. To be fair, the first few months of 2019 were possibly even harder, but that's a story for the post prior to this one. I spent the year dealing with all manner of personal crises that were almost entirely manufactured by myself, from a resurgence of depression to me managing to break my laptop and spending nearly half the year without a means of maintaining this blog.
Somehow, as anybody able to read this can say, I survived. My perspective is so much clearer now, and while I missed a lot of music during the period where I was without a laptop, I also heard so many albums that I imagine I'll still love years from now. Also, despite the chaos and struggles, I had some truly wonderful times last year, both personally and musically. These small moments dot the darkness like dazzling little stars, and the promise of more moments like them in my future keeps me optimistic as I fight off physical and mental health challenges alike. In this post, I'll strive to share some of the musical aspects of my life (gotta keep some of the personal stuff personal; this isn't a diary) and perhaps I'll help you find something new that you will enjoy as much as I do. If I've missed a favorite of yours, it doesn't mean I hated it or that I forgot it, although both are certainly possibilities. Rather, it's likely that what clicks with me is as uniquely personal as what clicks with you. So feel free to gently send me suggestions, but please don't fret too much if it's just a matter of me not having heard something yet.
For starters, we're looking at concerts. I'm not going to give full reviews, because those alone could easily fill a post:
OMD @ Terminal 5
Vilkacis, Sanguine Eagle, One Thousand Birds, Sandworm, Scant @ Lucky 13.
Roadburn 2018 (highlights include Kikagaku Moyo, Mizmor, The Heads, Godflesh, Old Tower, Waste of Space Orchestra, Hieros Gamos, and Zuriaake, among many others)
Depeche Mode twice in one week for my birthday, in NYC and Boston
Godspeed You! Black Emperor @ Prospect Park (free gig).
Killing Joke @ Irving Plaza.
The Damned twice in one week because they're the Damned, in NYC and Washington D.C.
Yeah, I realize those shows are a bit light on the extreme metal content, but after spending so much of my life attending almost exclusively heavy metal shows, it makes those that aren't metal stand out just a bit more. No love lost, but it's easier to distinguish the things that are a bit different.
Something I noticed in 2018 was that it was truly the year of the split release, for me at least. So many great artists released things that were easily as good as any proper LP. Whether it's the two separate Turia splits, the Asimov-themed La Torture des Tenebres & microcosmys jam, or any of the others listed among this small batch of splits, reissues, EPs, and demos, these were some of the most interesting things that came my way during the calendar year. If anything, the inherent brevity of these shorter releases should make them easier for you to check out. Also, that Book of Sand EP is a strong contender for album of the year, so at the very least you should listen to that.
Now here's the part most of you came for. Albums that ruled. I've chosen a handful that I really enjoyed. Twenty album limit here means that there were some truly enjoyable albums that got left off. Doesn't mean they're bad, it just means I had to be firm with myself or else this could've easily tripled in size and made itself a bit bloated and harder to parse. This is a representation of the diversity of great music released in 2018. Everything from truly raw black metal to art rock with healthy doses of a few other things. Am I still heavily rooted in guitar music? Of course. Still, I'm trying to branch out more with time. Hope that one or two of these really click with you. In alphabetical order so as not to give the illusion that I'm capable of prioritizing (although if pressed, I'd likely list that Daughters album as AOTY). I'm listing these as embedded bandcamp links where possible so you can just click and enjoy.
Voices- Frightened (can't find it on bandcamp or as a stream on YouTube so this is a spotify link, sorry)
Whether you've been on board for the past six years or even just six weeks, you probably know that Black Metal & Brews loves music and hates deadlines. We're already two months into 2018 and the internet's already full of rhetoric surrounding albums that are surely going to be impossible to top this year. I've done it before myself and I've been wrong more often than I've been right. Point being, this list is arriving right on time or my own schedule: long after anybody cares to read it but exactly when I find it within myself to share it. I've got forty albums that ruled in some way that I'll be linking alphabetically and ten that are the real premiums, which will be in their own little grouping. I hope I can shine some light on something you haven't heard, or at least I'll validate your superiority by leaving off the things that mattered most to you (although I'm always up for a recommendation if you've got one).
I spent most of 2017 in a sort of "time out" on extreme metal and this list reflects it. Much of it was because 95% of my listening was done via speakers in a workplace environment that wouldn't tolerate loud sounds (I get it) and it had an impact on the selections I made. I'm about to make a career change that will allow me to listen to music in privacy, so expect more of a return to form with my selections in 2018. There's a lot to listen to, so grab a nice drink or bookmark this page to casually visit at your own pace. If something looks unfamiliar, all the more reason to check it out. Enjoy!
Black Cilice- Banished from Time
Black Cilice was covered on Pitchfork a few years ago with the release of Mysteries. For many, this means the band is no longer relevant. For me, it means that serious underground talent need not put on a front or change to suit a perceived timid audience. Black Cilice continues to produce some of the most ripping black metal out there and they're even doing the occasional live gig now. That may be why this is just a bit more easily examined than its predecessors, although it still contains all of the dangerous spirit that the project has long embodied. Fingers firmly crossed that we'll all get to witness the spectacle one day. Cathode Ray Eyes- How We Lost the 21st Century
I discovered Cathode Ray Eyes by accident shortly after the release of How We Lost the 21st Century and this unreal fusion of garage rock, psych and post-punk (with a little bit of a lot of other good stuff) has been a constant listen ever since. 2017 was, for me, the year where garage rock and psych stuff really clicked (hence the Snapped Ankles album up above and the Oh Sees album below) and this was probably the first new release to really hammer it home for me. The newness of this sound means I lack a bit of the vocabulary necessary to explain how the fuzz and reverb all come together to tickle my ears in just the right way, but I'll be damned if this doesn't run circles around a lot of bands out there who are merely treading water.
Fleurety- The White Death
True masters of black metal weirdness have returned! Along with Ved Buens Ende and Arcturus, Fleurety were instrumental in luring me out from my Danny Elfman and John Zorn obsessions and towards the darker side of zany when I was still a teenager. After a collection of odds and ends, I didn't really expect the band to lunge forth with something as cohesive and jarring as The White Death, but I now can't imagine my year really feeling the same without it. No gimmicks or goofs here, just a truly progressive take on black metal without any of the negative context that "prog" and its offshoots may hold for some of us. No limitations of genre can be thrown at this, yet it embodies so much of the freedom and excitement that define black metal to me without losing its precision.
GAS- Narkopop
2017 was the year I first became acquainted with Wolfgang Voigt's long-running project GAS, which released its first album in over sixteen years. Narkopop is pure atmosphere, fusing elements of minimalist techno and ambient with a sensibility more akin to modern classical composition than dancefloor jams. The lush photographs of the forest make perfect sense with this album, which feels far more organic and intuitive than many of its companions in the electronic music world. Ambient music is often a salve for sleep or "background music" yet Narkopop remains intriguing and oddly alluring even at its sparsest moments.
Human Leather- Lazy Karaoke
I saw a lot of rhetoric in 2017 likening Ulver's newest to Depeche Mode, but if anybody wore the crown of 80's pop perfection, it was newcomers Human Leather. The innocence of youth and the pain of loss and betrayal shine through in equal parts on this emotionally rich LP in a way that few bands have managed since "Shake the Disease" was released before the members of Human Leather were even born. I've spent a lot of time talking about this album publicly and in my conversations with friends and the impact still remains. "Ugly Sister" is still the most heartbreaking song I've heard in ages and the entire flow of this album leaves me aching and enthralled. As with any good pop music, this is memorable just as much for its sadness as it is for the hooks.
Integrity- Howling, for the Nightmare Shall Consume
This came out of nowhere. I've long been on the fence with Integrity, whose music always holds the right energy but hasn't always connected with me on any deeper level. Perhaps I was finally ready, because Howling, for the Nightmare Shall Consume kicked me in the teeth right out of the gate and hasn't lost an ounce of its vitality over the last several months. These are some of the most downright feral songs in extreme music to come out in 2017 and are more memorable than things of such intensity usually are. Integrity doesn't just have hooks, it has fucking teeth.
(Thee) Oh Sees- Orc
Songs with nods to fantastical beasts, dungeons, and swordplay are all familiar turf for fans of black metal, so to find a band like Oh Sees (recently shorn of their "Thee") playing with such notions in a new genre felt like comfort in a strange new land. I fell deeply in love with Orc on my first listen and have only grown fonder of it (and the band's massive existing catalog) ever since. These songs range from spastic, explosive garage rock to quirky, funky punk and even the massive sprawling space doom of "Drowned Beast" (video above). Fans of the band may find my take on this perhaps a bit weak, but I'm still so blinded by its brilliance that I can't quite place all the elements that make it so enjoyable.
Oxbow- Thin Black Duke
Oxbow's been threatening to release Thin Black Duke since shortly after 2007's Narcotic Story. Few albums are worth such a wait, but thankfully Oxbow didn't give us a Chinese Democracy, they gave us an album of such quality that most bands never release anything like it in their career. Oxbow's already touched that mark a few times, and this offering of noisy rock is alternately cinematic and angular, keeping the listener alert and always attentive. I had the good fortune of catching Oxbow live twice supporting this and these songs are vicious on their own onstage, yet somehow even more haunting on wax. We don't deserve this, but we're all so lucky it exists.
Ulver- The Assassination of Julius Caesar
Ulver is, aside from long-running classics Coil and The Cure, my favorite band. They aren't on my list as a matter of mere favoritism. They're my favorite because they can switch gears and directions a seemingly limitless number of times and remain honest and compelling. The Assassination of Julius Caesar brought together so many beautiful paths the band has walked in such a cohesive way that the end result was simultaneously familiar and entirely new. To call this "pop" would be slightly inaccurate, yet the infectious melodies and singalong sensibility elevate these songs to the highest echelon of rock music happening right now. This is timelessness captured in a moment.
Yellow Eyes- Immersion Trench Reverie
Brooklyn black metallers Yellow Eyes have fully hit their stride. On Sick With Bloom, the band fully realized its best strengths. With Immersion Trench Reverie, they highlighted them and played to them while making the most of their potent rhythm section's capacities. I've been gushing over these guys since 2012 and I feel as though I've run out of good ways to describe what they do. It's simply exhilarating to hear such nimble and evocative guitar work, and Will's voice has never been more tortured sounding than on these songs. My favorite song changes almost daily, but that's only indicative of how unified and forceful this album is. If you want to hear how rawness and potency can be retained in intricate, complex black metal, there is no other band on earth I could recommend as highly.
