Khmer – Larga Sombra

Khmer is a four piece band from Madrid, Spain. Their first full length album ”Larga Sombra” will see release on the 11th of August. Eight tracks will be included in this release. The band’s music is a more than excting blend of hardcore, crust punk and black metal. The first thing that made a huge impression on me is the album’s clean production. ”Larga Sombra” to me sounds immensely heavy and  i also dare to say imposing. Forgive me for i don’t speak any spanish. It begins with ”Larga Sombra”. It is a truly awesome song and one of my favourites from this album. ”Perdiste El Filo” is the album’s second song and so far all i can say is that i’m liking what i’m listening to. ”Corriendo Tras El Fuego” works like a bridge that takes us to the other parts of this album. ”El Ardor De La Crueldad” is one of my favourite songs from ”Larga Sombra”. Here you’ll find some really nice riffs. ”A Este Lado De La Luna” is cold as life. Hands down it’s a beast of a song. ”Soledad” stands out for its pitch dark atmosphere and really nice black metal riffs. Nevertheless ”Para Ver El Mundo Arder” was like a big slap in the face. I didn’t expect to find an Amenra-type song there but there’s no doubt in my mind that this is an excellent song and a great outro for this record. Khmer’s first full length album is one of the best albums i’ve listened to in months. It sounds fresh and inspired. In my opinion they have raised the bar really high on themselves. From us it’s a 9 out of 10. The album comes out in August. Here’s a link where you can have a first taste.

Post Pulse – Halls of the Damned

Post Pulse is a four piece, death metal band from Helsinki, Finland. Their debut album ”Halls of The Damned’ was released on May 26 through Inverse records. Nine tracks are included in this release. The band’s music combines death metal and groove metal. These guys here do not attempt to reinvent the wheel but through this album they deliver nine good written songs filled with nice riffs and cool death metal growls. Brutal yet melodic, this album will give you nine good reasons to bang your head really hard. I singled out many nice songs like ”When The Snakes Are Dead”, ”Final Goodbye” and ”Halls Of The Damned”. To be honest with you though the song i liked the most is ”Let It Burn”. Pay extra attention to this song. Especially if you’re an At The Gates fan. Overall i’d like to say that i enjoyed this album thus i’d like to recommend it. Post Pulse’s debut album needs to be heard loud. Here’s a link where you can also listen to ”Halls of The Damned”.

Welk – Sein

Welk is a five piece band from Germany. Their new album ”Sein” is comprised of six tracks and it actually comes out today. It is really good so i thought we should say some words about it. The band’s music is a more than exciting combination of black metal, neo crust and hardcore. So the band introduces themselves to us through this darkened music of theirs. It begins with ”Urne”. This is definitely a really nice track with some stone cold riffs. ”Sonne” is the album’s second track and it doesn’t deviate at all from the tune that was set by the album’s first song. Atmospheric yet brutal, this song is already haunting my perosnal playlist. And then came ”Statue”, namely the album’s third song and a song that balances perfectly between black metal and hardcore. Surely a song you must listen to. I liked ”Ruhe” a lot. I loved how this unwordly atmosphere is being unveiled throughout this song. Last but not least we find ”Schlaf”. This is one of my favourite songs from ”Sein”. In my opinion it works as an excellent outro for this album. ”Sein” is another gem unearthed from the underground. I liked this album a lot so i’d like to recommend it. They made a fan out of me and i’m sure the same will happen with you. Definitely recommended for fans of Oathbreaker, Downfall of Gaia and Abest. Here’s a link where you can also listen to ”Sein”.

Thoughts Of Ionesco – Skar Cymbals

I think that someone had recommended me this band before in the past. I’m not entirely sure though. Today we’re going to talk a bit about Thoughts of Ionesco and their new ep ”Skar Cymbals”. Thoughts of Ionesco is a post hardcore band from Detroit. As i’ve been informed they’ve been defunct for many years now. Their new ep ”Skar Cymbals” will be released on June 23 through Corpse Flower Records. Four new tracks will be included in this release. This ep gave me the impression that these guys were perhaps longing for a return. Here you’ll definitely find  uncompromising, music with a strong, jazzy vibe. ”Skar Cymbals” stands out for its heavy and genuinely experimental tune and that is what makes it so appealing to me. Each song is like a trip through surrealistic or dadaistic landscapes. Personally all i had to do was to simply get carried away by the frenzy that runs through their songs. I loved all four songs of them but the fourth one, namely ”Scar Symbols”, is simply epic. You need to listen to this one. I’d like to say that the band has gained another fan (i’m simply referring to myself) and may i say that this was one glorious return. Here’s a link where you can also listen to ”Scar Cymbals”.

Godhunter – Codex Narco

Godhunter is a doom metal band from the United States. Their new album ”Codex Narco” was released on May 19 through Battleground Records and Baby Tooth Records. Let us waste no more time. Let’s press play. Seven tracks are included in this release. ”A Dread of Some Strange Impending Doom” sets the tone here. Yes, this album is seriously heavy. It continues with ”Like Glass Under Black Fingernails” which is a beautiful track. Immensely heavy yet full of emotions this track definitely does the job. It’s one of my favourites from this album and i would like to urge all of you to give it a listen. I also want to add that i loved their vocals. ”Cocaine Witches & Lysergic Dreams” is another great track from this album and all i can say so far is that i can’t wait to listen to the reast of the songs. ”Walking With A Ghost” brought me back to late 90’s when bands like Paradise Lost and Lake of Tears were the shit. Or perhaps i’m totally wrong about this. Just give it a listen. It’s a really nice song. Last but not least we find ”Distant Fading Screams of a Dead World”. I think it works as a perfect outro for this album. Overall i’d like to say that this is a really good album. It’s a concept album of esoteric, layered music. In my opinion it is also one of this month’s best albums. Here’s a link where you can also listen to ”Codex Narco”.

He Whose Ox Is Gored – Paralyzer

He Whose Ox Is Gored will release their brand new “Paralyzer” seven-inch via Chain Letter Collective and the band’s own label Void Assault Records. Captured by renowned producer Jack Endino (Soundgarden, Nirvana, L7, High On Fire, Zeke etc.) at Avast! Recording Studio (Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Earth, Supersuckers etc.), “Paralyzer” was recorded as part of a Converse Rubber Tracks session and includes two previously released tracks — “Buried Twice” and “Void Assault” from the band’s critically-lauded Rumors EP — remixed by their cohorts in Seattle’s Newaxeyes. ”Paralyzer” is an awesome track. It is really heavy and atmospheric and the more i’m listening to this song the more i’m liking it. ”Buried Twice” is one of my favourite songs by He Whose Ox Is Gored. In my opinion Newaxeyes did a great job remixing this song. I like their version of this song a lot. ”Void Assault” to me here sounds completely deconstructed. It’s as if they removed all the parts of this song and reconstructed them in a way of their own. It sure sounds interesting, i’ll give you that, but it doesn’t match at all the excellent job that has been done in ”Buried Twice”. ”Paralyzer” 7” comes out in June 16. In the mean time check out this link.

Interview with Thomas from Kollapse

Hi guys! How have you been? What news from Aalborg?
Thomas: Aalborg is a blackhole.

Please introduce us to your band. When was the band formed?
Thomas: That depends on what you want to know? We formed roughly 5 years ago. We started out as a threepiece, with Troels being the lone guitar player. We all had previous bands. Frederik attended a few live shows and later joined us as a percussionist for a couple of shows. He then joined as a permanent guitar player later. We recorded the Fathertrack for a 7” with him and things started to pick up at that point. We are all passionate music fans and this interest branched out into wanting to record and release music for ourselves. This band is somewhat different from what everyone has done before. Kollapse exists for us.We have no great aspirations or commercial interest. kollapse is greater than the sum of its parts and we would not sound like we did, had any member been replaced. This is us.

What inspires you the most?
Thomas: I can only answer for myself, but for kollapse I hardly get inspired by music at this point. Life feels so intense sometimes, and I get inspired by all the feelings of shortcomings, loathing, alienation and stress of everyday life. If I do find inspiration outside of my own state of being, it mostly comes from art and literature. States of mind that I feel connected to on some more or less abstract or intuitive level. In general the one thing that inspire sme most in my life is being a father.

Can you tell us about you rmain influences?
Thomas: As in musical influences? I listen to a million things but as far as kollapsegoes I am influenced by bands that feel to me, like they mean, what they do: Breach, midperiod Neurosis, Weakling, Amrepera, Today is the Day, Union of Uranus. Emo, hardcore, metal, indie…whatever.

How would you define your sound?
Thomas: I wouldn’t want to, because we spend an insane amount of time clawing at our songs, making sure that they end up feeling like kollapse songs – it is pretty tiring but we have to do it. I really dislike hyperbolic catchphraseytripe so: “heavy and emotional” is how I would describe it.

This May you released your debut album ‘’Angst’’. How did the recording sessions go?
Thomas: They went great, we had a reall ygood time with Jacob Bredahl who is a funny, honest and loveable dude. He is really into martial arts and hardcore – which helped me immensely during the few hours we didn’t work in the studio. We recorded the entire album in roughly two days, which is insane.

Is there a concept behind this album you’d like to discuss?
Thomas: The album title and lyrics tells it all I think.

What are you listening to these days?
Thomas: a lot of Danish bands for some reason: Orm, Slægt, Nyt Liv and other stuff like Yellow Eyes, Ash Borer, The Weeknd, Oxbow, City Keys, Ultha and so on. I listen to and buy a lot of records.

Do you have any live shows planned for this year?
Thomas: Yes, we are playing a lot of shows this year, including Copenhagen, Norway, Sweden and Germany. Check our bandcamp for more info.

What does the future hold for Kollapse?
Thomas: probably writing a lot of music oncetouring for this album is done. I’d like kollapse to branch out into other forms of art, but we will see. I paint and write and Peter our drummer is a photographer so maybe something will manifest, we never know when it comes to kollapse though – we might implode next week.