Antediluvian / Temple Nightside - Cogitating Vacuous (split 7")

Antediluvian are a black/death metal band from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Temple Nightside are an atmospheric black metal band from somewhere in Australia. Both are fantastic bands, and when I heard they did a split together, I couldn't believe it! Unfortunately it's a very short release, clocking in at 11 minutes with both bands doing one track each. Nonetheless both tracks are great, and it's a great little 7". I can't believe you're still reading this, GO LISTEN ALREADY

ARTIST: ANTEDILUVIAN/TEMPLE NIGHTSIDE

ALBUM: COGITATING VACUOUS (SPLIT 7")

GENRE: BLACK/DEATH METAL

MEDIAFIRE

Black Jesus - Black Jesus Saves [Demo]

Black Jesus is an Australian death/thrash metal band, influenced heavily by 80s rock n' roll and cult 80s death metal (think Autopsy, etc.). Although I would predominately file it under 'death metal, there's LOTS of elements of crust in here as well (most audible on tracks like Dead In Their Tracks). Released on Trench Hell's The Coffin Slave record label and recently released on vinyl by Hells Headbangers -- both of which are good signs.

 Anyways, it's a nice, catchy slice of aussie metal, and if you're a fan of HHR stuff/Trench Hell, you'll certainly like this. While this MLP isn't anything ground breaking, it's still really good, and I'm looking forward to future releases by these guys!

ARTIST: BLACK JESUS

ALBUM: BLACK JESUS SAVES DEMO

GENRE: DEATHRASH

MEDIAFIRE

Gospel of the Horns - The Satanist's Dream (Demo 1994)

The Satanist's Dream is the very first release by Aussie black/thrashers Gospel of the Horns. guess the original label that put this band out completely stabbed the band in the back by releasing a a shoddy product, completely with a picture of an entirely different band on the label. I'm not sure if the band even received any money for it, as the band has asked fans not to buy that particular edition of the demo. Fortunately for metalheads, Kneel Before the Master's Throne records gave it the "diehard" vinyl treatment in 2009. I believe they're sold out of the release, but you might be able to snag it in a trade or get it on ebay or some shit if you /really/ want it.

But moving on! This demo is some great Celtic Frost/Hellhammer worship. It sounds great for a demo, and while it doesn't give you that much of an idea of the band's sound to come, it's nonetheless a ton of fun to listen to. Even though it's a very "simple" sounding album in terms of composition, it's well-played and apparent that the musicians are all proficient at their various instruments. This demo showcases the black metal side of the band more than later releases, and comes highly recommended from myself. A great demo from a great band. Enjoy!

ARTIST: GOSPEL OF THE HORNS

ALBUM: THE SATANIST'S DREAM (DEMO 1994)

GENRE: BLACK/THRASH METAL

SATAN

Grenade - The Howling Damned

Grenade were a black/thrash metal band from Sydney, NSW, Australia. They never got as far as a lot other bands in the Australian scene, but they're still well regarded among those who remember them. Probably the most forgettable part of their material is the vocals to be honest -- they're not bad, but they tend to fade into the guitars (which, luckily for them, are really good!) If you enjoy black/thrash metal, you'll definitely like this album. However, if you're not already, this probably won't be the album to make or break the bank. It certainly SOUNDS like Aussie black/thrash, and I wouldn't go as far to say that Grenade are mediocre -- just don't expect anything particularly groundbreaking here.

The Howling Damned is not actually a full-length, but a compilation of all their previous material. Some of the members have gone on to perform in the black/thrash project Innsmouth, whom I'm sure I will post about here soon, because they're also fantastic!

ARTIST: GRENADE

ALBUM: THE HOWLING DAMNED

GENRE: BLACK/THRASH METAL

MEDIAFIRE

Gospel of the Horns - Realm of the Damned

Gospel of the Horns are one of the best black/thrash bands, ever. Hailing from Australia, they've been putting out amazing metal since the release of their 1994 demo, The Satanist's Dream. They produced two full-length albums before disbanding around 2008-2009 (though they've recently gotten back together): A Call to Arms and Realm of the Damned. They're both magnificient albums, but I've always found RotD to be the stronger album.

Everything about it just works. The production, the riffs, the musicianship....it's just a great metal album, and probably one of the strongest albums to come out the Australian metal scene -- which is saying A LOT, when you factor how strong the black/thrash/death scene is down there. If you're a fan of any of the Australian metal bands -- Destroyer 666, Sadistik Exekution, Vomitor etc. and you haven't heard this album yet, GET ON THAT SHIT!!!

Gospel of the Horns were defunct for a while, but they've recently reunited to play gigs and release some new music -- their new EP, Ceremonial Conjuration, came out in June on Invictus Productions.

ARTIST: GOSPEL OF THE HORNS

ALBUM: REALM OF THE DAMNED

GENRE: BLACK/THRASH METAL

MEDIAFIRE

Nocturnal Graves/Hell Spirit - The Grave Spirit Sessions (split LP)

 Put out by NWN! productions in 2010, this split LP features some great black/thrash material from Aussie metal masters Nocturnal Graves and the obscure Hell Spirit from Finland. The Nocturnal Graves side, while having some great material on it, feels a bit all over the place -- the first track sounds more stereotypically "death metal," the Bathory-worship track after it sounds like pre-Relapse Toxic Holocaust (keeping in mind that J. was at one point a live Toxic Holocaust member). This would be the last Nocturnal Graves release before J. decided to call it quits and move onto greater things, and the inconsistency of the material for this split now seems like a clear warning sign of what was to come.

In contrast, the Hell Spirit side is much more consistent -- and because of that, comes off as the stronger side of the LP. I don't know much about Hell Spirit other than they're a Finnish black/thrash act who've released two demos besides this split. Nothing since then, and this split came out in 2010, so not sure what to make of them.

Bottom line being, while it's a bit of an odd split, it's still really good and worth listening to!

ARTIST: NOCTURNAL GRAVES and HELL SPIRIT

ALBUM: THE GRAVE SPIRIT SESSIONS

GENRE: BESTIAL BLACK/THRASH METAL

MEDIAFIRE

Vomitor - Bleeding the Priest + Devil's Poison

Similar to Martire, Vomitor are an Australian black/death metal band that formed in the late 1990s. Their first full-length, Bleeding the Priest is highly regarded as a dirty, raw black/death LP that makes a perfect addition to the already phenomenal aussie metal scene. They became less active over the years until the the release of an awesome live 10", Cry From the Underground on Hells Headbangers records. Their long-awaited sophmore album, Devil's Poison was released shortly after and does not disappoint.

I will admit that it took me a couple of listens to really get into this album, largely in part because it has a unique "raw" sound to it that takes a bit of getting used to. But if you're into making your ears bleed, I promise you'll love this. I thought that today would be a good day to introduce this band to the blog, as they've just entered the studio to record their third album, "The Escalation."

ARTIST: VOMITOR

GENRE: BLACK/DEATH METAL

BLEEDING THE PRIEST

DEVIL'S POISON

 

 

WARSORE Partial discography

Warsore are an Australian grindcore band that formed in 1995. They're considered the 'brother band' of Disgorge because they share some band members. They're highly regarded in the grindcore community, and with good reason. Despite having production that rivals even the most obscure basement black metal projects and "limited" musical talent, this band will fucking crush you. If you're looking for technical proficiency, you're not going to find it here...but fuck it, who cares?

I'd ultimately like to post their entire discography, but for now these are the only three releases I have on my computer. Brutal Reprisal was released in 2003 on Psychotherapy Records. Terrorismo Musical is a split with Unholy Grave, an awesome grindcore band hailing from Japan. Re-Opened Wound is compilation of some live/rehearsal stuff and demos.

ARTIST: WARSORE

GENRE: GRINDCORE

BRUTAL REPRISAL

TERRORISMO MUSICAL (split with UNHOLY GRAVE)

RE-OPENED WOUND

Martire - Legions of the Brutal Apocalypse

Back when I was in high school, I was SUPER into Australian black/thrash/death metal. Destroyer 666, Trench Hell, Atomizer, Vomitor, Nocturnal Graves...you name it, and I probably loved it. And Martire were no exception. I listened to their 1991 EP on vinyl again and again when I was in high school. I couldn't wait for their full-length to come out (and considering that these guys have been around since 1988, it's been a LONG fucking time). Finally, it's here! And while it's not the /best/ thing to come out of Australia, it's certainly not a dissapointment. Similar to Vomitor, these guys play a perfect combination of black, death and thrash metal in the raw-as-fuck aussie tradition. If you haven't heard them yet, give this a listen!

ARTIST: MARTIRE

ALBUM: LEGIONS OF THE BRUTAL APOCALYPSE

GENRE: BLACK/DEATH/THRASH METAL

MEDIAFIRE