Portland-based duo
The Body have long insisted that they are really a noise act, rather than a sludge or metal band. To that end, their latest album
I Have Fought Against It, But I Can’t Any Longer ditches the riffs for synths and electronic beats, skewing closer to Portishead than Eyehategod (if Portishead was fed a steady diet of Eyehategod, that is). The results are as dark and emotive as anything The Body has put out - and Chip King's screams have never sounded more anguished. [$9]
Since changing their name from Devoid, Bay Area trio
Body Void have been making waves that befit their ultra low-end rumble. At times reaching Khanate levels of listener antagonism,
I Live Inside A Burning House displays a solid understanding of dynamics, using sections of ambient noise and brief flashes of caveman hardcore to keep their minimalist sludge from getting tedious. However, with five tracks running for well over an hour, it remains a punishing affair to the end. [$5]
By calling their music "fundamentalist drone", Glasgow's
Ommadon guaranteed a friend for life in me. Over the course of two 20 minute compositions,
End Times drowns the listener with riffs as thick and dark as molasses, peppered with blackgazing tremolo riffs and ridiculously guttural vocals. Anyone mourning the absence of Black Boned Angel should join me in celebrating the existence of Ommadon. The album is available as a "name your price" download.
After a slew of well-regarded EPs and the "Black Fire" single serving as an appetizer earlier in the year,
Hundred Year Old Man patiently laid the groundwork for their first full-length.
Breaching often sounds like two different records being played simultaneously, as ambient guitars cascade over the band's heaving grooves. Their partnership with the similarly forward-thinking and experimental Gizeh Records makes sense, and the latter's embrace of heavier music is most welcome. [£5]
