Articles : Five Fantastic Free Local Releases You Should Have; Part V
It has been something like two years since we last posted one of these articles, so I won’t bother linking to the old ones considering the links are probably outdated (although you can search for them if you wish). But with so many excellent Australian releases coming out recently, it’s time for another.
If you enjoy what you hear, make sure to donate a few bucks to the bands, they deserve it.
Lo! – The Tongueless
Sydney’s un-searchable Lo! released one of the finest selections of sludgy metal/hardcore this country has seen with their previous full length Monstrorum Historia. With a new vocalist, they’ve hit new heights. It may only be four tracks and a nudge over fifteen minutes long, but what this hints at for their new full length is very exciting. Plus the video for “Orca” is super cool.
Shellfin – Cities Without Names
Cities Without Names has pretty much everything you could want from a stoner rock band. The Brisbane band have a knack for groovy riffs and catchy vocals, but it’s the extra variety in this album that makes it work so well; blissed-out moments, spoken word, clap-alongs and 1.5 covers.
Rebel Wizard – Miserable Mythical Creatures
A 2-for-1 bonus right here. Rebel Wizard is a one-man band, the one-man being the guy behind industrial/noise project Nekrasov, but in this case it’s noisy NWOBHM meets thrash meets black metal. Pretty much a killer mash of classic metal. He has released two EPs a month apart, with two more on the way.
Regresser – .2
.2 is a totally different beast than it’s predecessor .1, and probably not what any of their fans were expecting. The first from the Newcastle band was mosh-worthy hardcore but not without it’s more emotional & moody moments. This new EP sees them focus on those latter aspects, with two relaxing slow builders that have a total length longer than the six tracks on the first EP. They nail it.
départe – Demo MMXIV
Tassie’s départe are filling a much needed void in the Australian metal scene; the whole noisy, dissonant, black/death metal meets post-metal thing ala Ulcerate, Deathspell Omega, Dodecahedron, etc. It’s intense, otherworldly, and totally engrossing. These guys scored a European tour with Wormed and Ulcerate before a single release, that’s how good they are.