Emerging from one of the last places on Earth one would expect to encounter a death metal band, the one-man act BLOODRUST is really the alter ego of Richard Keenahan and hails from Stanley, the capital city of the Falkland Islands which is that island group (also known as Las Maldivas) off the southern tip of Argentina. Obviously bored in a limited location where the population of the entire island chain is less than 4000 inhabitants, Keenahan has channeled his tedium into a veritable style of old school thrash / death metal that evokes early Slayer, early Metallica and nascent death metal acts like Morbid Angel.

Keenahan handles the duties as vocalist, guitarist, bassist and drum programming. So far three albums have seen the light of day with this debut BURNING OF AEONS emerging in 2020. With a total of seven tracks, this album packs a ferocious punch and at a shorter playing time of just under 34 minutes doesn’t wear out its welcome. BLOODRUST could definitely be considered one of the many retro extreme metal bands having mined the past in the 80s extreme metal scene by incorporating elements of not only thrash and death metal but also features some speed metal tricks and chugging twin guitar attacks of the NWOBHM scene.

Stylistically BLOODRUST is far from original but at the same time doesn’t quite sound like any particular act from the past. The trick of this artist is to incorporate key elements of various artists and tease them out in a completely new methodology. In the process certain tracks exhibit a Moribid Angel rampage, an Amon Amarth sense of melodic death metal touches (including the gruff vocal style), a sense of NWOBM guitar soloing and even an Autospy sort of filthy veneer. The fascination between the 80s era where thrash metal was morphing into death metal is apparent with clear references to Slayer and Sepultura. Despite the drums seemingly being programmed, the percussion on this is excellent as are all other instrument duties.

Overall this is a compelling musical statement that if released 40 years ago or so would rank up there with any of the classics but even its 21st century timeline only relegates it to an excellent listening experience but lost in the sea of equally talented bands that have nailed the classic retro sounds of the nascent years of extreme metal. Personally i find this to be a near perfect execution of this mishmash style of retro extreme metal. Keenahan has clearly mastered the art of mimicry and has executed his vision with a passion and zeal absent from many a retro band these days. This is a very satisfying album and the fact it emerged from a land down under literally unknown for anything on the world’s musical stage makes it even more interesting.

More known for its status as having released one of the most expensive collectible records of the rock music era, DARK was a psychedelic rock band that was a bit late to the prog party by the time it delivered its debut ROUND THE EDGES in 1972 but nevertheless garnered praise for its innovative use of fuzz guitar that went beyond the usual one-trick pony wankery of the late 60s and used it in clever ways in its compositional fortitude. Formed in 1968 Northampton, DARK by guitarist Steve Giles who met guitarist Martin Weaver, drummer Clive Thorneycroft and bassist Ronald Johnson at their local school and set off to imitate American West Coast jam bands.

During its initial run from 1968-1973, DARK released only this one LP with a total release number of 64 copies recorded at S.I.S. Studios as a private release, many of which were given to friends and family thus making the album one of the rarest British releases of all time. Original copies have commanded hefty prices upward of £25,000 depending on the version and in 2016 was declared the 17th most valuable record of all time by New Musical Express (NME), a British music, film, gaming, and culture website. Although the original pressing has garnered a huge reputation with collectors of all things original vinyl, the album itself has been re-released several times and recently in 2022 with four distinct album covers (as well as numerous variations) including remastered versions.

Collectibility aside ROUND THE EDGES sounds more like an album that would have emerged in the late 1968, early 1969 timeline and to my ears sounds like that these tracks were written, performed and possibly recorded before 1970 and not released until the band saved enough money to do a proper release. For 1972 this jamming psychedelic rock is hopelessly outdated as it sounds more like Quicksilver Messenger Service than anything the year 1972 offered when progressive rock was at his peak of creative complexity. The original album features six tracks, three on each vinyl record side with the longest, "Live For Today" extending past the 8-minute mark. Compared to bands like Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead, DARK really doesn't sound like any other band i can think of as its a strange mix of jam band, hard acid rock and early proto-prog moments.

Very much the baby of Steve Giles who provides vocals and guitar as well as sitting in as producer, the description as the album being a vehicle to display angsty fuzzy hard rock soloing is fairly accurate. The vocals are fairly awful with a limited range and lower the enjoyability factor for my ears however the musical performances are satisfying with stellar instrumental interplay that finds a very talented drummer tearing it up behind a stellar fuzzed out heavy psych experience offered by the guitars and bass. The album itself offered extensive gatefold sleeves in full color, handwritten notes and an overall ambitious presentation seemingly more fussed over than the music itself. Although the band is primarily known for this one album, it has released numerous archival albums as well as reforming in 2011.

This is no nonsense heavy psych without any true prog bells and whistles. A few time signature deviations from time to time but basically this music takes you back to the late 60s and the band would've been perfect as an opening act for The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Vanilla Fudge, Blue Cheer or Iron Butterfly. This band is surely only still relevant today due to its collectibility status but there is a world of difference between investors in previous goods and those who simply want to hear innovative music. There is no doubt that this is a decent record that is by no means as bad as some make it out to be but likewise there is really nothing on this album that truly stands out as original other than the fact that fuzz guitar was extended in its role which is significant but doesn't change the overall feel of the album. Certainly one for the history book and a decent spin but as a music lover hardly qualifies to shell out massive amounts of cash. A nice anomaly for 1972 but nothing more than a good side note.

Some thirty years into its existence, BLUT AUS NORD which stared as Vlad in 1993 has lost none of its unique charm in the world of experimental metal with its unique brand of psychedelic electronica merging seamlessly with atmospheric black metal. While starting out in the second wave black metal scene, Vindsval and his cronies have continued to ratchet up the BLUT AUS NORD experience by consistently pushing in the envelope in developing horrific soundscapes that are suitable for as soundtracks for some interdimensional hellish setting.

Following a now already established pattern of cranking out a trilogy of overarching themes, the DISHARMONIUM set that began with last year’s “Undreamable Abysses” becomes even more blood curdling with its followup NAHAB, a word that means “love” in the Arabic language but brings no warm and fuzzies to mind as it pummels with black metal brutality in tandem with suffocating atmospheric anxiety. Fueled with dissonant guitar workouts and cyclical post-rock inspired patterns of repetition, NAHAB takes things laid down on previous albums and turns up the dial a few notches.

This is one of those albums that matches the album cover art perfectly as it truly feels like an astral disaster in the making, one where you are literally paralyzed in fear as nefarious multi-dimensional entities suck out your very life force like one of those bogeys in the Harry Potter movies. Once again BLUT AUS NORD owes its terror tactics to the inspiring artistic world of H.P. Lovecraft and like the dreaded Cthulhu of Lovecraftian legend, unleashes its tentacles to ensnare its prey into a metaphysical battle for your very soul.

The secret to BLUT AUS NORD’s success is that the band never strays too far from an overall theme and the unique sound that gelled all the way back with “Memoria Vetusta I: Father’s Of The Icy Age.” Just like the subtle ratcheting up of tension that graces each and every release, these guys know how to keep the basics of what came before and change it up just enough to offer a new perspective of a true and tried vision. Through this process BLUT AUS NORD has become somewhat of a legend in what i would first and foremost refer to as horror metal, a type of psychological mind fuck metal that transcends the pigeonholed terms such as black metal, progressive metal or atmospheric black metal.

In my opinion, DISHARMONIUM - NAHAB has pretty much perfected the BLUT AUS NORD experience by maintaining its dedication to the second wave black metal wrath accompanied by knotty avant-prog styled time signature changes and experimentalism. Add to that the perfect atmospheric black ambience that does the cosmic dance with its metal counterpart. Take for example the track “The Black Vortex” where the incessant hornet sounding buzzsaw guitars, the frenetic jazzy drumming, the suffocating atmospherics and the overall doom and gloom despair Lovecrafted into an eternal source of sonic bleakness and you can’t help but be blown away.

It seems this band is in no danger of running out of steam and one that only grows better and bolder with each release. Far ahead of the competition, BLUT AUS NORD pretty had a decade’s run of albums ahead of the pack but even some three decades later still exudes a sense of mastery and mastery absent from many old timers who have rested on their laurels rather than climbing the Jacob’s ladder of inspiration. This latest offering from these French underground superstars of the extreme metal world blows away anything they’ve done in a long time. The perfect marriage of second wave black metal laid down on “Ultima Thulée” married with the atmospheric perfection of the “Memoria Vestusta” releases but adds the chaotic mind fuckery of “MoRT. In short, experimental black metal perfection.

OCCULTONOMY is an odd little musical creation that emerged from Galesburg, IL. Basically the duo of Jammin' Jon Anderson (drums, vocals) and Dr. Nathalie (guitar, vocals), together they released this one DEMO EP simply called DEMO in 2015. Despite this DEMO featuring eight tracks it only barely passes the 7-minute mark.

The music here is basically typical thrashcore which is an offshoot of hardcore punk characterized by fast tempos, super short time lengths and the use of D-beat punk drumming that often add a few blastbeats along with thrashy guitar riffs. Unusual for a hardcore punk band, OCCULTONOMY tackles esoteric subject matter but the funny vocals are so unintelligible that the lyrics could be about Barbie dolls as far as i know!

This is somewhat interesting. The vocals are nothing like what you’d expect from a hardcore punk or thrashcore bands. They’re rather high pitched more like a Japanese indie pop band if anything. The music whizzes by quicker than you can imagine but the musicianship is competent and even the production is decent.

Also this has to be one of my favorite demo album covers ever! Bigfoot riding on the back of the Loch Ness Monster? Absolutely hilarious! Nothing essential about this but nothing horrible either. While it may seem this would be nowhere to be found to check out, surprisingly there is a whole Bandcamp page for this mere 7-minute demo but that’s due to the fact there is a label called Reality Is A Cult Records which features obscure anomalies such as OCCULTONOMY.

It’s amazing how much material PORCUPINE TREE releases outside of its studio albums. So much that i really don’t want to keep up with it all but something inspired me to check out this newest archival release of bonus tracks from the “In Absentia” and “Deadwing” sessions and that is because that is my absolute favorite period of PORCUPINE TREE! With the rather cryptic title of IA / DW / XT, this four track EP features two tracks that only appeared on the “In Absentia” Deluxe Edition and two tracks from the “Deadwing” Deluxe Edition.

Those Deluxe Editions were only released on CD. Both of those feature an unthinkable amount of bonus material ranging from new tracks to demos, live recordings and everything but the kitchen sink. I never thought much of those but i do love me some bonus tracks that didn’t make it to the actual albums and that’s what you get here. This EP has only been released on vinyl but easily heard on YouTube. The four song EP only lasts about 21 minutes but this is another winner of an EP!

“Drown With Me” and “Chloroform” are from the “In Absentia” sessions and really fit in perfectly with the album with the same ambient space prog meets hard rock and occasional heavier metal. Both these tracks feature vocals and Steven Wilson has never sounded better. “Revenant” and “Mother And Child Divided” are from the “Deadwing” sessions and are entirely instrumental. They tackle the usual PORCUPINE TREE magic but melodic ambient post-rock sounding intros slowly ratcheting up the tension to rock and then heavier rock with the expected crescendoes displaying an excellent uses of psychedelic space rock ceding into more direct heavy prog rock heft.

For only four songs this one has already become quite expensive due to the fact it was limited to only 800 copies on vinyl. I’ll pass as i’m sure one day an entire album of just bonus material will emerge which collectively will constitute an amazing PORCUPINE TREE album in its own right. These four songs are every bit as essential as anything on the “In Absentia” or “Deadwing” albums however those albums are masterpieces in their own right for not only the songs they contain but in how they connect together.

While this EP lacks that cohesiveness when taken as excellent individual tracks unavailable to the vast majority of fans who weren’t willing to shell out big bucks for deluxe editions, this isn’t a bad way to go. It’s also worth mentioning that this record was cleared using an ultrasonic cleaning system and recorded to be run through software that reduces audio defects. The production is crystal clear perfect as always and is a great bit of bonus material that shows the PT in its prime.