Another set of short recommendations for you today. A little "doom n' roll," some sludgey hardcore, and a bit of noise rock. All great stuff for you to dig into over the weekend. What do you need my words for anyways? Just press play!
Skandal is a Leeds, UK band that describes their sound as "doom n' roll." The most obvious frame of reference is Motorhead, but I can hear a number of other influences from various genres from stoner rock to groove. There's even a very interesting Middle Eastern-sounding interlude on this EP, which is called Year of the Cicada. The band lists other bands of interest including Black Sabbath, High on Fire and Rotting Christ. That's a pretty broad mix. Energetic sound, catchy riffs, good stuff. Find them on Facebook and at their website.
What an EP! This sludge/hardcore quartet is the real deal. It is no surprise to me that the band recorded their previous LP with Matt Bayles (Botch). Take the that band and knead generously with the Lion's Daughter and you end up with Anion. Each of these 4 songs is tight as a drum without a single note of filler. Intensely aggressive drums and deathy hardcore vocals meet mathy guitar grooves. Hooks range from rumbling, bass-driven trudges to high-pitched dissonance a la Converge. More excellent options for fans of Wolf King and Left Behind. Just 4 CAD for this one, Name Your Own Price for the 2013 LP.
Adolyne is an extreme noise/hardcore act out of Saskatoon, Canada. I chose a short review here mainly because I just can't find the words to accurately explain these guys. The music isn't particularly complicated or unusual; it's just hard to nail down. Songs run the gamut of styles from more straight-forward fair like "(A Recurring Zero)" to moody, introspectives complimented with strings as on "Automatic Writing." The band walks a nice line between being dissonant and catchy, combining recognizable guitar hooks with squealing feedback and fierce screaming. I suppose the best way to describe of Ash / of Shit / of Shame is to say that it feels like an old recording from the early days of mathcore.