Bandcamp Picks - Cloud Rat, Moloch, Crevasse, Hexis, Sigil, Syndrømes

It's been a few years since their last full-length Qlipoth, and DoC faves Cloud Rat have returned with two split releases. Their grinding hardcore is as fast and chaotic as it's ever been, but they also take the time to dabble in shoegaze ("Amber Flush" on the LP) and off key wailing ("Fish in a Pool" on the 7 inch).  As for their dance partners: Nottingham's Moloch provide the doomy Yang to Cloud Rat's speedy Yin, submitting 18 minutes of feedback-drenched sludge (like there's any other kind). Crevasse, meanwhile, could be Cloud Rat's Continental analogues, sharing both a fondness for Converge and a female vocalist intent on blowing her vocal chords out.  [Cloud Rat/Moloch: $7; Cloud Rat/Crevasse is available as a "name your price" download; physical copies of both are available through Halo of Flies Records.]

Copenhagen's Hexis took DIY to new heights earlier this year, touring South East Asia on their own and even bringing their own lighting backdrop with them. On their second album Tando Ashanti, they ignore most of hardcore's self-imposed restrictions, creating a hellacious racket with discordant guitar noise and floorshaking double bass drumming. Leave it to the Scandinavians to capture the heart of sonic darkness. [€7]



Death metal and hardcore have been crossing streams since their earliest incarnations - so it's not surprising that Austin's Sigil would stake a claim to both worlds. Kingdom of the Grave combines bare knuckle hardcore with the thrashy efficiency of early death metal, and isn't above enlisting a string section along the way. This is where bullet belts and tote bags find common ground. [$7]



Counting Joe Yanick of Masakari and Carl Auge of His Hero is Gone in its ranks, there's no doubting Syndrømes have this dark crust thing down. Unsurprisingly, their debut EP strongly resembles His Hero is Gone with its growling vocals, moody interludes, and fast bouts of barely controlled chaos. 4 songs is not nearly enough; hopefully there's more of this in the works. The EP is available as a "name your price" download.

Bandcamp Picks - Wode, Palace of Worms, Rorcal, Sulphur

If UKBM has a reputation for silly costumes and twee affectations, it's well-deserved; but Manchester's Wode gleefully defy expectations. The 6 tracks on their self-titled debut deliver frozen melodies at blistering speeds, and are never less than utterly heavy. No frilly shirts here. The album is available as a "name your price" download.


Oakland's Palace of Worms make black metal that is green, and, it has to be said, uniquely American. The Ladder casts several shades of Agalloch in its assimilation of neo-folk, prog, and indie influences, never quite going where you'd expect. "Cascadian" in all but location. [$7]


At what point does fast become slow? Swiss band Rorcal take black metal riffs and stretch them out to sludge tempos. A concept album based on the Greek Tragedy Antigone (with titles named after the main player, in Cyrillic even), CREON's six songs will test your attention span as they punish your speakers/earbuds. "Tragic" in the oldest, truest sense of the word. The album is available as a "name your price" download.

"Technical blackened death metal" is how Bergen's Sulphur describe themselves, but for all their razor sharp riffing and flawless musicianship, to these ears they fall more in line with Norway's proud tradition of progressive black metal. In particular, Omens of Doom shares many facets with Enslaved - though without the soaring tenor or spacey keyboards, and with a focus on pure speed. Maybe "progressive technical deathened black metal" is too long a descriptor? [€10]

Bandcamp Picks - Primitive Man/Northless, Atrament, Totem Skin, Cease

Primitive Man continue on their quest to release the grimiest, most misanthropic sludge imaginable on a new split. "Empty Husk" is 15 minutes of caveman chords and feedback; the sound of every migraine you've ever had joining forces. Milwaukee's Northless contribute three sludge tracks of their own that bring back fond memories of nights spent at CBGBs seeing bands like Cattlepress and Anodyne make the barriers between metal and hardcore porous and irrelevant. [$7]


Oakland's Atrament takes crust into a place so dark it verges on black. Their full-length debut Eternal Downfall isn't content to just conjure up some crushing d-beat a la Skitsystem, but pushes forward into grind and church-burning riffs; not to mention the bestial vocals of Mattia Alagna, which make most recent death metal bands sound puny by comparison. Heavier than every crust band that's followed in Tragedy's wake. [$5]



Intentionally or not, Swedish five-piece Totem Skin provide as complete a picture of what it means to be a "hardcore" band in this decade as you're going to get. Weltschmerz is a bouillabaisse of power violence fury, screamo melody and post-hardcore discordance, along with plenty of rousing class HC moments. The digital version is available as a "name your price" download; in addition, my new friends at Halo of Flies are handling the vinyl release.


Joining the likes of Nails and Trap Them, Fresno's Cease bond surly hardcore with a gnarly Swedish death metal edge. Their latest EP Unfold has 3 originals and an Entombed cover, all showing the band's commitment to steamroller riffs and swathes of feedback. How long before Southern Lord snaps them up? [$4]