Here, once again, is a collection of recent musical discoveries in a blackened vein that I’ve been enjoying — and I hope you’ll enjoy them, too. As is often the case, I’ve filtered what I’ve found to provide a diverse playlist, and I’ve found so much that I’ve divided this Shades of Black installment into two parts. Part Two will arrive tomorrow. Or possibly the day after (I’m going to a late show tonight, and that tends to play havoc with the morning after.)

I’ve had to make some compromises in this two-part post. In some cases, I’m featuring full-album or full-EP streams despite the fact that in some cases I haven’t had a chance to listen carefully to every song. Ideally, I would wait and do that and then write a thorough review. But I’m able to write so few reviews while doing everything else I need to do for the site that it’s safer to feature the music this way rather than risk omitting it altogether. I’m just facing reality.

So here we go… and don’t expect this is all going to sound the same. Continue reading »