Cough - ‘Sigillum Luciferi’ 2018 reissue | Forcefield RECORDS
Imagine Satan had a bender in the South, landed in Richmond, VA and never recovered. COUGH is the devil’s timeless headache. Powered by self-loathing, drugs and mortality, “Sigillum Luciferi”—originally recorded in 2007—trudges in the wake of 90s doom, but with a looming presence entirely their own. Through swelling laments, COUGH’s inaugural full-length is one of those crucial slabs of sludge that reveals a maturity you wouldn’t expect from a then two-year-old band. Hoarse vocals, charged feedback and bittersweet riffs span six songs that dwell over 57 minutes. The double LP is now reissued on blood-stained, translucent wax, courtesy of FORCEFIELD RECORDS.
MELT BANANA - ‘FETCH’ 2013 | A-ZAP Records
Imagine tripping on acid at a carnival in Tokyo as a chaperone to a class of delinquent fifth grade girls. Now imagine they’re all strapped. The thought alone is dizzying and so is the seasoned Japanese noise band’s latest album, Fetch. Sure, we welcome the inherent nausea that comes with the genre, but the trio’s departure from the dirty fuzz of Cactuses Come in Flocks has made for a synthetic, anxious sound. The album almost redeems itself in their second track—The Hive—channeling Blink 182 stuck in traffic, but it’s hectic. And if you listen closely, you can hear the AK-47 toting fifth graders getting struck by oncoming cars. The album is produced seamlessly though, which almost makes the pain worthwhile. So if you have a high tolerance for assault and PCP, play Fetch and submit yourself.
MOSS - ‘HORRIBLE NIGHTS’ 2013 | RISE ABOVE RECORDS
Moss is backtracking. Their 2009 EP, Tombs of the Blind Drugged, was arguably their last hurrah as the drone heavyweights doom fiends knew and loved. Since then, the UK three-piece has come out with one full-length—Horrible Nights—that promises and delivers nothing but predictable Sabbath worship. The riffs are dissonant as usual, but the lazy progression is circular, offering little excitement as Olly goes for Ozzy in a painfully clean attempt at melodic, vocal woe. His previously Burning Witch-inspired growls added depth to a fuzzy, static wall of sludge, which prior to 2013 was the sweet hallmark of Moss’ heaviness. But Horrible Nights is a BMX bike with training wheels—a safe crack at brutal dissonance laced with a desperate desire to belong.
BEHEMOTH - ‘THE SATANIST’ 2014 | NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS
Leukemia weakens its victims and leads some to death. Others survive the disease through bone marrow transplants and black metal. Nergal, Behemoth’s frontman, is a recent survivor and The Satanist is the Polish giant's sweet trip to hell and back. Conceived in ’91, their debut album Endless Damnation, revealed just how classically Pagan their roots were. Those roots are still apparent in The Satanist’s double bass, blast beats, and time changes, with riffs that scale a willing descent down the proverbial inferno. If Nergal said he came face to face with Lucifer, I’d believe him. The Satanist is dynamic—the natural progression a seasoned, blackened-death metal band should exhibit in 2014, spoken word and all. Their previous albums may have wavered through a clean and over-produced sound, but The Satanist embraces a dirtier, more advanced quality without compromising technique for character. To truly appreciate what has become of Behemoth, listen to The Satanist in an empty church, from a wall of Celestion speakers while sipping on whiskey as dark as them.
WINDHAND - ‘SOMA’ 2013 | RELAPSE RECORDS
They’ve done it again. Soma may only be their second full-length EP, but the Virginia-spawned fuzz masters have evolved from straight stoner doom to elegant melancholy, effortlessly. The album is heavy and methodical with a mature understanding of audible dark space. Even without drum and bass, their most restrained, foggy hymn, Evergreen, seamlessly forges a dark, full atmosphere through Dorthia’s haunting harmonies. Wind blows between tracks, but nothing about Soma is hollow. From Orchard to Boleskin the album cooks, hypnotically executed like a reoccurring dream. Their feedback is regulated, their distortion is comforting, and anguished cynicism never sounded so soothing. Windhand’s enormous presence makes it hard to take in much else, but their split with doom contemporaries, Cough, will prove just how much they’ve grown since 2008. Now bow your head and sway.