COVER YOUR FUCKING MOUTH IF YOU COUGH NCS PLAYLIST III (BY NEILL JAMESON)

 

(So far, Neill Jameson (Krieg, Poison Blood) has shared with us (here and here) two playlists of musical suggestions to help us get through the current plague time, and today he follows those with a third selection.)

I’ve been a little slower than I wanted to be with this third quarantine playlist, slow to the point where the country decided the virus is like black metal and moved on to grind.  Or something like that, I’m probably mixing my irritations up. But much like your desire to hug all the homies “when this is over” these playlists aren’t going away. Well, after the fourth one it will, but let’s suspend disbelief for a minute because these are TRYING TIMES and my inability to get a haircut makes it illegal for me to be in close proximity to a school. Catch-22 though, there’s no kids in there anyway.

Moving on. I think the format to this is pretty much established, especially since I see a few people biting off it, terminology and all, so let’s get into it.

 

Appalachian Noise Records

 

 

https://www.appalachiannoiserecords.com/

Appalachian Noise Records started a few years ago but has really gained more attention the last year or two for a variety of reasons: they release a lot of that raw black metal the kids are into these days, they’re the only place in the States to get Deathkvlt releases, and the owner is an asshole to his customers.  They also distribute Bestial Rape Records, the label that just did the Kommodus reissue that sold out in less time than it took me to think up the haircut joke from the first paragraph. Appalachian Noise has given a lot of really interesting projects support, like the two videos I’ve linked, and puts a lot of care into curating the label identity so that you’re aware of the quality of a release before you click on the link to listen to it, and offers fast mail order. There’s several titles up for pre-order currently that are worth looking into.

As a caveat, Appalachian Noise did release a Krieg compilation in 2015 (16? I don’t fucking remember) but don’t let that be a detriment, he releases worthwhile bands as well.

 

 

Ringare

 

 

Ringare did an album a year or two ago, pretty heavy on the In the Nightside Eclipse vibes, but just released the promo for a new EP recorded this year (and is available for pre-order through Iron Bonehead) that has a broader take on atmospheric black metal from the ‘90s. There’s still a strong taste of Emperor but also some of the lesser appreciated recordings of bands that built their initial recordings nourished by the second wave architects.  This feels like it was recorded over twenty years ago and manages to have that creepy feeling of so many demos and early records of bands that would later disavow ever being interested in black metal in the first place. Absolutely stands out in a flood of projects that are trying to recapture five years of music from over twenty years ago by having a genuine touch to it.

 

 

Lustre

 

 

https://lustre.bandcamp.com/album/the-ashes-of-light

Lustre pulls in Pornhub numbers when you look at the views on Youtube and wouldn’t have been on my radar without somehow ending up in a playlist I had on in the background. Seeing that some of their songs have half a million fucking views I’m sure I’m not introducing this project to many but the point of this was to write about things I was spending this time listening to, and Lustre has a new record, so if that’s too out of place you can skip to the next band. For the four of you who are still interested, Lustre mixes ambient soundscapes with Strid-esque black metal and manages to be a very peaceful and relaxing listening experience without being insultingly corny about it.

 

 

Lamp of Murmuur

 

https://lampofmurmuur.bandcamp.com/

I tend to stay away from bands people don’t shut the fuck up about, either because I’m such a curmudgeon that disagreeing with people’s tastes would make me feel somehow more out of touch, or that I would become obsessed with a project but be unable to obtain their physical releases without having to resort to bizarre sexual favors (I’m not as limber as I used to be), but I finally gave this one a shot because enough people (re: Danny Katz) recommended it to me that it would be stupid of me not to try it. And like anything this source has shown me, it’s very much up my alley. Very much a cocktail of Moonlight Butchery and Doomed by Howling Winds with a few other ’90s/early ’00s favorites, these recordings don’t seem like they were put to tape any earlier than twenty years ago.  Unfortunately if you’re a fan of physical media these releases generally disappear quickly but are highly worth listening to.

 

 

Fasad

 

https://fasad.bandcamp.com/

Remember Ramlord, the sort of black metal-ish crust band from New England? Fasad contains their drummer. These two preceding sentences should be enough to tell you what you need to know about this project but since I don’t really have a word count to pay attention to I’ll try to take you deeper if you haven’t already pressed “play”. Fasad play harsh and ugly crust punk, sort of like middle period Driller Killer but more caustic. If I had been paying more attention last year, their Summer Demo would have been in my year-end list. Really cool and nasty stuff.

 

 

Paths of the Eternal

 

https://pathsoftheeternal.bandcamp.com/album/house-of-vampyr

After releasing one of my favorite dungeon synth recordings of all time (the split with Mythril Spectre) the artist behind Paths (which musically is all over the fucking genre map) created Paths of the Eternal as an outlet solely for dungeon synth and since has released two cassettes (another caveat – I released one of them, you can buy it here) and has just put up an ep on his bandcamp of new material that sees him moving into more cinematic territory and, like his previous efforts in the genre, is fucking fantastic.

I’ve mentioned my discomfort with “comfy synth” as a genre elsewhere but he’s also done a recording as Forgotten Toy Chest and it might be the first recording in the genre I enjoy.

https://forgottentoychest.bandcamp.com/album/log-cabin

 

 

To end this on a more negative note: I was greatly saddened to learn about the passing of my friend Thomas Reitmayer recently. Thomas was one of the very first people to support my transition from social media complainer to an actual writer and offered me a small book on his then publishing imprint. Somehow this never happened because I’m shit with deadlines and I think he ended up incarcerated but we stayed in contact and he was always there when I needed encouragement. He eventually would do The Black Candle zine and offered me my first attempt at redemption in Europe. He leaves behind his wife and young daughter who I hope will grow up knowing how many people her father’s life touched, even those of us who never had the opportunity to sit down and share a face-to-face conversation.

As a musician or creative type or whatever the fuck you want to call me, I’ve grown very used to hearing about friends and contacts passing (like Bob Fouts earlier last month or, just while I’ve been writing this, Steve Hanford from Poison Idea) but there was something especially unfair about Thomas’ passing and I will mourn my friend for a long time to come.

 

There will be one more list like this coming, then back to my usual babbling about genre specific lists. Go pick up the new Old Tower while you’re at it, it’s possibly his finest work.