This past year was a huge one for music with so many bands releasing new material it was hard to keep up, even for us here at Ghost Cult. So many legacy bands, modern classic acts, and up and comers dropped new music this year, some may wish they had waited until 2017 to drop it like it’s hot. Without further ado, here are our picks for the new tunes you need in your life in 2017. Continue reading
Brooklyn trio Mortals garnered much-deserved attention with the visceral Sludge of last year’s second full-length Cursed to See the Future (Relapse Records), and hot on its heels comes the dark horror of their single-track contribution to this ‘split’ with Philly nasties Repellers (Broken Limbs). Led in by the sound of a rabid werewolf coming in for the kill and terrifying the shit out of the listener, ’10 Years of Filth’ is nevertheless a cleaner sound than one would imagine, but that and the quickened, Occult Doom-style pace still fails to lift the omen of the terrifying vocal scour.
There’s a melodic, NWOBHM sound to the riff at times, yet, when the defiling power of Caryn Havlik’s drums kicks in at the two-third mark, the resonance is electrifying. With leadwork and closing riffs possessing elements of Blackened Punk, this is a pulverising yet complex and occasionally emotional rollercoaster which further enhances the ladies’ collective reputation.
Every aspect of the Low End seems present in the sound of Crusty trio Repellers: from the morose, ‘spaghetti western’ feel of the intro to opener ‘Descend’, through the rampaging Stoner-Death intensity of its riff and rhythms, to the downright filthy croak which is as evil as it gets and the most hoarse rasp you’ll hear this side of hell’s frozen wastes. At times the speed of ‘Descend’ clean rips by, the band right on the edge of keeping time, the scything riff and pounding drums of the coda vicious and seething. A sinister opening to ‘From Jericho to Ai’ sees a terrifying, ponderous pace given a fulminating power by flashing, savage breaks and the expiring roars of the track’s second half. The initial melancholy of ‘False Solace’, rising to the band’s more familiar Blackened Thrash crush, closes an intriguing, mauling set with a paradoxical twist of emotion.
An interesting tussle then, full of twists and turns. Overall the spoils must go to Mortals, but their lesser-known partners offer up plenty of atmospheric brutality and many talking points.
7.0/10
PAUL QUINN
Skeletonwitch, Goatwhore and Mortals will play the following European/UK Tour this spring:
Apr 03: Inferno Fest – Oslo, NO
Apr 04: Kulturakademin – Motala, SWW
Apr 06: Pumpehuset – Copenhagen, DEN
Apr 07: Hafenklang – Hamburg, GER
Apr 08: Bastard Club – Osnabruck, GER
Apr 10: Roadburn Festival – Tilburg, NET
Apr 11: Sound Control – Manchester, UK
Apr 12: Voodoo Lounge – Dublin, IRE
Apr 13: Ivory Blacks – Glasgow, UK
Apr 14: The Oobleck – Birmingham, UK
Apr 15: Corporation – Sheffield, UK
Apr 16: Underworld – London, UK
Apr 17: Magasin 4 – Brussels, BEL
Apr 18: Underground – Koln, GER
Apr 19: Covent Garden – Paris, FRA
Apr 20: La Nef – Angouleme, FRA
Apr 21: Sala Lemon – Madrid, SPA
Apr 22: Sala Razz 3 – Barcelona, SPA
Apr 23: MJC O Totem – Lyon, FRA
Apr 24: Dynamo/ Werk 21 – Zurich, SWI
Apr 25: Lo Fi – Milan, ITA
Apr 26: Traffic Live – Rome, ITA
Apr 27: p.m.k. – Innsbruck, AUT
Apr 28: Backstage – Munchen, GER
Apr 29: Conne Island – Leipzig, GER
Apr 30: Magnet – Berlin, GER
May 01: Arena – Wien, AUT
May 02: Exit-us – Prague, CZE