The Asteroid Bullet Belt

Digging your own grave XIV: Not-so-fatal 4-way.  Splits are a weird format to cover. For one, their length can range anywhere from being bite-sized EPs to full-bodied albums. Furthermore, they don’t exactly cohere a lot, besides the bands present usually having a common genre between them . And last, but certainly not least, you rarely get a clear view of each artist’s vision through however many tracks they are allotted during the split’s runtime. Nevertheless, their purpose as a means of connecting for artists and music discovery for listeners cannot be understated, especially if appropriate care is placed in who’s collaborating with whom. While I’ve only covered one split of theirs thus far (and listened to the rest in the interim), Μνήμα has proven to be quite prudent in choosing who they’re sharing space with, at the very least ensuring that the release makes sense on a sonic level. This particular 4-way split is no different on that front, although it has to be said that the ...

Digging your own grave XII:  A splash of colour. We might’ve hit a bit of a speed bump with the Spider God split, but  I had faith that sooner or later Μνήμα would get back to indulging us with quality material again, all by their lonesome. Following the escapade with Spider God, our unknown mastermind decided to revisit the Gathering Sorcery… series of EPs and produce its second instalment, one that I was quite curious about, seeing as I retroactively visited the first part, and this time around I’d be going in completely blind as to what is to come. Turns out that not only is it a case of the sequel improving on the original, it’s also my favourite of the band’s short-form releases thus far. While low recording fidelity is a recurring motif in Μνήμα’s work, this is the one time I found myself truly invested in the sonic aesthetics presented, instead of being repulsed or indifferent towards them. From the moment “III” begins, it’s evident that everything is far more brittle ...

Digging through the sky, hoping to find God. 2023 was an exceptionally industrious year for Full of Hell, one that saw them collaborate with bands across a variety of genres, some closer to their own than others. From the (unfortunately middling) split with powerviolence chameleons Gasp, to the harrowing shoegaze-cum-sludge collaboration When No Birds Sang with Nothing,the Maryland quintet never kept their love of non-metallic music a secret, but that year saw them put their hands in more pies than they usually do, in lieu of there not being a proper full-length to dig into. Among that year’s partnerships was also the one with the black-hole-dense trio that is Primitive Man, who also happen to draw from a similarly noisy well, although their guitar riffs lay on the opposite side of the tempo spectrum, instead opting for crushingly misanthropic trudges through sludge. In short, although there are common points between the two, they never struck me as the types of bands that would cross...

Who's gonna cast a miracle on this? (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on March 20th 2024)  2023 was a very productive year for Full of Hell. The deathgrind/noise outfit has always been very active when it came to collaborating with other artists across a multitude of genres, but last year was a particularly interesting one, with the quartet working with bands like Primitive Man, Nothing, and in the case of the other half of this release, Gasp. Truth be told, I was wholly unacquainted with the latter group before listening to this split, and like any self-respecting music fan I decided to visit some of their past work in order to gain a new perspective on this particular project. On the whole, Full of Hell and Gasp operate with a surprisingly unified vision for a split, a format commonly known for somewhat disparate and inconsistent sounds. Both artists emphasise ambience drenched in feedback and noise, Gasp in particular lacing their two songs with some ...

Albums I like a lot: Part VII (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on September 24th 2021) When it comes to black metal, it’s almost guaranteed that one has heard about the controversies surrounding the 2nd wave before hearing any of the actual music. Varg in particular has been a standout in that regard, for a litany of crimes and beliefs that have been discussed at length already and to bring them up again would only serve as a way for me to pad this review’s word count. That being said, the man’s musical contributions and influence as Burzum cannot be understated. His first four albums served as my introduction to black metal, and played a crucial role in shaping my taste when it comes to the genre. Hvis Lyset Tar Oss in particular is a release that has stuck with me ever since I first listened to it 4 years ago, and has withstood the test of time. This album, like many others coming from the Norwegian scene, diversified the archetypal black metal sound and...

Sigma Male Grindset. (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on July 1st, 2021)  Caged Bastard has always been a fascinating project ever since I discovered it with 2019’s Artificially Alive EP. Muhammad Oun’s peculiar mix of metal and non-metal genres really made an impression on me, seeing as I haven’t quite found something that scratches the same itch outside of the man’s own work. 2021’s Strive EP is the band’s first release in 2 years, which is notable due to the fact that Muhammad had been releasing quite a bit of material ever since the project’s inception in 2018. Thankfully, the wait between this and 2019’s Scour… definitely wasn’t for naught, seeing as we’ve received another quality project. The EP is comprised of the eponymous track, a sprawling 25 minute long behemoth that undoubtedly warrants its length. It ebbs and flows through many different sections, alternating from ambient noise and feedback to sludgy bass driven riffs and furious tremolo r...