*** YELLFIRE + TEETHING + A RECORDED DAWN + MOURN RECIF - live show review ***

YELLFIRE / TEETHING /

A RECORDED DAWN / MOURN RECIF

@West Community Centre in Victoria

February 15th, 2025

Live Show Review

     The band I play in (Mourn Recif) was asked to play this show a week or two before it went down as another local band couldn't continue their commitment. We hopped on and I got to see one of the best live sets of my year, as YELLFIRE fucking tore the place down. Videos and links below.

     Heads up next Mourn Recif show is April 5th, 2025 in Victoria w/Emma Goldman, Coup D'etat, and A Recorded Dawn. Very stoked on that. More info soon.

YELLFIRE

Woooo baby the headliner did the exact opposite of disappoint and absolutely ripped my face off. The dark, mathy, Botch-esque hardcore was exactly what the doctor ordered. The craziest thing about this band was finding out after the performance that they have a second guitarist who got sick and didn't make the trip! Oh my god I can't even imagine a bigger, more commanding set, but the next time they make the trek you bet your ass I'm going. They were so good I snagged a second video linked below.

(2025) YELLFIRE (live)

https://youtu.be/E2t_5y6WzAY

For fans of: Horsewhip and Kollapse

Bandcamp

extra video

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TEETHING

This band came up from SEATTLE????? and mentioned they had recordings coming out at midnight, and played a mix of genres that would make my brain melt if I tried. Very cool guitars, solid drums, groovy bass and clean vocals came together very well, and at times fucking amazing. There were two other songs in particular that I was all over but unfortunately didn't film.

(2025) TEETHING (live)

https://youtu.be/HyPBpPofw6Q

For fans of: Black Treacle and La Lune

Linktr.ee

^\/`~~~~---------------00oOo00---------------~~~~'\/^

A RECORDED DAWN

Oh my god this band wrote some new songs and they are so much darker and heavier...I am in love. I've embedded my fave below which has an absolutely sinister close omg. At this show Josh (guitar/vocals) from this band officially joined Mourn Recif so expect to see him in future videos.

(2025) A RECORDED DAWN "new song 1" (live)

https://youtu.be/mMFeAuYGb4k

For fans of: A Day In Black And White and Locktender

Bandcamp

^\/`~~~~---------------00oOo00---------------~~~~'\/^

MOURN RECIF

So I found out that if I can't see my guitar very well then I fuck up A LOT. With that out of the way, people seemed receptive, but this was def our worst show. Here's a new jam that'll sound different once we get the second guitar in there.

(2025) MOURN RECIF "North of Horsehit" (live)

https://youtu.be/i9mWeFn2XTU

For fans of: Animal Faces and The World That Summer

Instagram

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*** DEAD HOUR NOISE exclusive music video premiere ***

DEAD HOUR NOISE

"Voices"
exclusive music video premiere

For fans of: Curl Up And Die, Botch, Detach The Islands, Lavotchkin and Olam

Bandcamp

pre-orders open Friday March 7th, 2025 at 9pm PST / 11pm CST / 12am EST

via Zegema Beach Records, The Ghost Is Clear Records, and the band

     Lansing, Michigan's DEAD HOUR NOISE has been bring dark, metallic, mathy, sludgy noise for over a decade now, and are poised to strike with their new 12"LP 'Slow Burn' releasing at midnight  EST tonight, Friday February 7th, 2025 via Zegema Beach Records and The Ghost Is Clear. The pressing will be in hand and shipping in April on 250 burgundy w/orange splatter 12"s. Today I'm stoked to be premierin' this brand spankin' new music video for track four's "Voices". Check that shit out below!

(2025) DEAD HOUR NOISE "Voices" (from 'Slow Burn')

https://youtu.be/yC4t1eR73rg

      Nosferatu meets Escape From New York. That's how I'd describe this sick new music video. The song itself is pretty slow and sludgy compared to most of their material, but therein lies the draw as the drums and vocals act as a single unit to build the song to it's eventual climax that is dripping in panic chords and restrained chaos.

Tomb Tree has the last copies available of their previous full length 'Sleeping Dogs' here.

*** PODCAST #177 Sophie Woodhouse ***

    I few years back I was de-screamo'd by none other than Dustin from Glassing. In that side-journey  I recently stumbled across SOPHIE WOODHOUSE and was immediately transported to my happy place. I reached out in early February about doing a podcast and got a quick response, which honestly I wasn't expecting but am super grateful for. If you like your singer/songwriter stuff reverbed-up, precious, doll-like, and with hints of Nirvana, then you've come to the right place, as fans of Nicole Dollanganger and Mercy Necromancy will love it. Some things we touched upon: thrift store guitars, acoustic by necessity, music by feel - not knowledge, mine shaft or bedroom?, 2025 show guarantee!!!, hating 80s music, Kurt Vonnegut faves, Sophie Woodhouse comparisons, what's coming up in 2025, etc. Bands played in this podcast: The Cure, Mazzi Star, Mercy Necromancy, Nada Surf, Otis Redding, and Smush. Listen to podcast #177 which is available to stream and/or download for free via this link.

SOPHIE WOODHOUSE
Bandcamp

1 Deteriorating Larynx's

OTIS REDDING "[Sittin' On] the Dock of the Bay" (Sophie)

NADA SURF "Beautiful Beat" (Dave)

2 Dripping in Reverb

THE CURE "In Your House" (Sophie)

SMUSH "Sexy to Someone (Clairo cover)" (Dave) [official video]

3 Double Dork

MAZZI STAR "Be My Angel" (Sophie)

MERCY NECROMANCY "Cruel" (Dave)

~Dave

____________________________________________________________________

PODCAST #177 linked here

_____________________________________________________________________

*** PODCAST #176 Chris Gregory (Belted Sweater, Gayt, etc.) ***

    When Christopher Patrick Gregory emailed me about releasing the self-titled BELTED SWEATER album I was skeptical. Then I heard the songs and I was beyond sold. The quirky, dancey, groovy, screamy, queer-positive glam skramz was something new I hadn't heard and didn't know I needed so desperately. I can't recommend that album enough (linked here). It was a no brainer to bring him on the podcast...and now here we are! A few things discussed: Playing in Belted Sweater/Littlest Viking/Gayt/Wizzrobe, changing screamo life patterns, skate punk revisitations, being a drum whore, playing Star Wars the card game incorrectly, denied getting into Canada, Belted Sweater writing process, an angry gay protest album, covered in fecal matter, fuck Trump, "glam skramz" is hard to say, thoughts on Billy Corgan, a warrior queer person fighting against the forces that be, etc. Bands played in this podcast: Heaven Through Violence, Lo-Fi-Fnk, Neggy Gemmy, Sleeping People, Spare Change, and Venus Twins. Listen to podcast #176 which is available to stream and/or download for free via this link.

Buy tapes from Softseed Music here

BELTED SWEATER
Bandcamp

LITTLEST VIKING
Bandcamp

1 Nurturing the Nerd In Us

SLEEPING PEOPLE "Blue Fly Green Fly" (Christopher)

VENUS TWINS "Stitching" (Dave)

2 Incubation

SPARE CHANGE "Change" (Christopher)

HEAVEN THROUGH VIOLENCE "A World For Us to Love You In" (Dave)

3 If I Could Sing Like Bjork, I Would

LO-FI-FNK "City" (Christopher)

NEGGY GEMMY "California" (Dave)

~Dave

____________________________________________________________________

PODCAST #176 linked here

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ATHOUSANDANGELSANDSEVEN

Band: ATHOUSANDANGELSANDSEVEN
For fans of: Malevich, Crestfallen, Cult Leader, Rotting In Dirt, Gaza, Casket Dealer, and Closet Witch.
Genres: Punk / Hardcore / Metal / Metalcore / Metallic Hardcore / Mathcore / Screamo / Skramz / Grindcore / Doom / Sludge

Related artists: Endless, Nameless, Birdhouse View, maintainer., Fainting Dreams, .sugar., Fatalist, Bodybox, Homesick, Shield Maiden, Graveview, and Noctambulist

Country: Denver, Colorado U.S.A.
Years Active: 2023-present

Label(s): Zegema Beach Records

     In late 2024 I got a message from Elle. I knew her from Endless, Nameless and was stoked to hear the new project was more raw and screamy - but nothing could have prepared me for the four songs I was about to disintegrated by. And just as I suspected when I agreed to release their debut, self-titled EP, ATHOUSANDANGELSANDSEVEN is making some fucking waves and have immediately carved out a niche for themselves in...uhhhhhh, less than a month. Okay so this is gonna be a pretty long review for just a four-track EP...but I'd argue this isn't long enough. Commence paragraphs.

     "77 Years of Immeasurable Pain" lurches rabidly toward the jugular in a violent and chaotic assault only to lead quickly into a behemoth of a breakdown just 20 seconds in. The song then blows around like wild tornado, destroying houses and generally fucking shit up. This jam includes one breath of clarity and beauty via the eerie clean singing that sprinkles itself over the latter half of the song. I also must mention the absolute mastery that is the attack of the bees section at 1:39 which transitions beautifully into another prodigious beating complete with snarling, venomous vocals.

     Things are a bit more scary and less chaotic when "I can't understand how you never thought it would get to this point" gets started, with an almost doomy/sludgy build ala Malevich before the shrieking vocals careen the train off the tracks. Things get hella interesting around 1:10 with a very uncomfortable and discordant riff that leads to a crushing mid-section. The song flies off course again afterward and goes full head-fuckery mode with echoing vocals and instrumental nuances that are as unsettling as they are awesome.

     My personal favourite track was released almost a month before the full EP on Zegema Beach's Zampler #24 and those two things are definitely connected. "We Suffer (the Same Fate)" goes SO FUCKING HARD. It opens with an audio clip discussing the fragile nature of our hearts and love before absolutely eviscerating the listener with a section that sounds like a 20-ton pendulum swinging back and forth uncontrollably...and it's decked-out in razor-sharp blades. The death pendulum finally lands at 1:20, completely severing the part of the brain that stops one from entering the pit and throws you in frothing at the mouth. The simple palm mutes, rolling drums, and cacophonic screams of "just one more shove!" combine to make a truly deadly...dare I say...chorus? as the song quickly circles back around to shove you back into the pit right after you nearly collapsed from exhaustion. Then my friends, then comes the ultimate riff. This ridiculousness starts revving up at 2:10 with some quick back-and-forths between the guitars before everything collides at 2:19, detonating in a cataclysmic explosion that ruins me to this day. Fucking hell, what a track.

     Closer and obviously the fourth straight banger is "Clipped Wings", which while having the shortest runtime is also the jam that harnessed the absolute badass music video created by members of the band. The video is very "Sober"-esque (by Tool) with nightmarish and crude animation that could be put in any horror flick, while the song mirrors those gloomy and oppressive themes using an onslaught of maniacal shrieking, incredibly precise drumming, booming bass, and dark guitar wizardry. I love the ending of the song which is just an automated robot reciting the letters in the band's name over and over again.

     So yeah, that's probably my EP of the year, and top 3 at the very least. 7"s coming in the summer, and a podcast with the entire band coming the first week of March. New material? You betcha. Oh and they're playing ZBR Fest 2025 muhahahahaha. The year of ATHOUSANDANGELSANDSEVEN!!!

________________________________________

DISCOGRAPHY

2025 - athousandangelsandseven cassette/7"EP (stream/donate/download here)

________________________________________

(2025) ATHOUSANDANGELSANDSEVEN - "Clipped Wings" (from 'athousandangelsandseven') official music video

https://youtu.be/iI_0_hQ6Ak0

(2025) ATHOUSANDANGELSANDSEVEN - "We Suffer (the Same Fate)" (from 'athousandangelsandseven')

https://youtu.be/gNFG_Au6OIA

(2025) ATHOUSANDANGELSANDSEVEN - "77 Years of Immeasurable Pain" (from 'athousandangelsandseven')

https://youtu.be/vObQDUIGw6I

________________________________________

ATHOUSANDANGELSANDSEVEN additional links

Video review of "Clipped Wings" from HMHD (start at 1:30:47)

https://youtu.be/mMnlbWn4h84?si=oUeElbpqR93tj_2s&t=5447

________________________________________

*** BELTED SWEATER song premiere ***

BELTED SWEATER

"More Rack Toms (than people in the audience)"
exclusive song premiere

For fans of: Depeche Mode, New Order and Joy Division (if those bands screamed)

Bandcamp

orders open upon the February 21st release via the band, Softseed Music, and Self Versed Records

     Christopher is the single creative mind behind the BELTED SWEATER project. Residing in Los Angeles, he plays in a buncha bands but this is his baby. On paper...it's weird. Synth-driven post-punk with poppy elements and screaming...or as I have taken to condensing it down to - glam skramz. When I was sent this album asking if I wanted to release it and although I was hesitant to delving, once I did I fell headfirst and loved every fucking minute of it. I said yes so freakin' fast once I got about halfway through the album, as I was (and still am) smitten. You can jam "Cherry Grove" on the BELTED SWEATER bandcamp, and I'm premiering "More Rack Toms (than people in the audience)" below. As you'll hear, the newer material opts (rightfully so) for the inclusion of extra instrumentation and the additional guitar layers really give the songs a lusher and fuller sound. Goddamn this song kinda reminds me of watching Top Gun...holy shit! The full release sees the light of day on Friday, February 21st.

(2025) BELTED SWEATER "More Rack Toms (than people in the audience)" (from 'Belted Sweater')

https://youtu.be/aXQFEU35TBg

*** PODCAST #175 Ely Morgan (Die Princess Die, Scuba Cop) ***

    DIE PRINCESS DIE's debut self-titled album was an absolute palate cleanser and ridiculously influential album for me. It's truly insane that 20 years after I first got that 12" I was able to both release the band's discography on cassette and do this podcast with bassist Ely Morgan. Yet another massive bucket list tick. A few things discussed: oops I bought the wrong record, Iron Maiden and Weird Al, getting licensed for Bikini Kill and Elliot Smith docs, sending to labels 2000 vs. 2025, tiny hands, number 1 drummer draft choice, face-sliced by a cymbal, buckets of stress, early Ebullition talk, passion as addiction, Andre at Operation X-Ray, 20 years of obsession, old men and cds, how did this band not get big?, etc. Bands played in this podcast: ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Angel Hair, Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead, and The Mark Inside. Listen to podcast #175 which is available to stream and/or download for free via this link.

Buy discography tapes from ZBR here

DIE PRINCESS DIE

https://youtu.be/tNv9S5WrUm0
Bandcamp

SCUBA COP

https://youtu.be/p7uaCG5uh7U
Bandcamp

1 They Knew What Was Up Before Anyone Knew What Was Up

ANGEL HAIR "Blood Believe" (Ely)

2 The Shows Were Bonkers

DRIVEYOURPLOWOVERTHEBONESOFTHEDEAD "glimmer fate" (Dave)

3 Scuba Talk

...AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD "Mark David Chapman" (Ely)

THE MARK INSIDE "Buzzing (demo version)" (Dave)

~Dave

____________________________________________________________________

PODCAST #175 linked here

_____________________________________________________________________

ADDITIONAL LINKS

CUT LIPS RECORDINGS

DIE PRINCESS DIE omsb review

MONDRARY

Band: MONDRARY
For fans of: Mouthing, Nuvolascura, Blind Girls, Febuary, Welcome The Plague Year, Clay Birds, and Shoganai.
Genres: Punk / Hardcore / Post-Hardcore / Metallic Hardcore / Emo / Screamo / Skramz / Emo-violence

Related artists: ?.
Country: Baltimore, Maryland U.S.A.
Years Active: 2024-present

Label(s): Self Released

     I only heard MONDRARY at the tail-end of 2024 despite their debut six-track EP '...and the trees fell quiet' coming out in April. Don't worry I certainly made it for my lateness by jamming the shit out of it during November and December. Their chaotic/screamy and sometimes post-hardcore/singy combo is a welcome curveball from the typical screamo tropes. Sure they've still got annihilating screams, frantic freakouts, and angular instrumentals, but the constant question of "is this crazy bit going to lead into a quiet bit?" tends to leave me near the edge of my literal and figurative seat.

     Tracks one to three are combine for just five-and-a-half minutes of material but holy smokes is a lot compacted down into that little time cube. Opener "Pins" is 59 seconds of eerie, gorgeous instrumentals that lead into "Needles" which dices up the opener in no time, relying on jarring rhythms and lotsa screaming until that first emo/post-rock break at the 40-second mark, with the back-half of the song dipping back into anger and violence. Title track "...and the trees fell quiet" is another banger with two sneaky soft bits wrapped around the first inclusion of dual vocals. Things really get nuts on the backend of this release, as track four's "Bleed Me Dry, Sapphire!" puts the vocals at the forefront with a catchy, sassy, and wicked intro while the final moments of the song have the screaming coming apart at the seems in the most volatile fashion imaginable. "Paraffin" is another song that goes for jugular and is vintage screamo using dark and ominous tones...fuckin' love it. Closer "Animus" is arguably the most put-together song on the album, with many shifts and excellent transitions that create a seamless piece of work, with my favourite section being introductory build once the vocals chime in and the throat-shredding conclusion.

     This was definitely a slept on release but they'll likely make more waves as I've heard some of the band's new material and it is fantastic. Expect that summer/fall 2025!

________________________________________

DISCOGRAPHY

2024 - ...and the trees fell quiet digital EP (stream/donate/download here)

________________________________________

(2024) MONDRARY - "Bleed Me Dry, Sapphire" (from '...and the trees fell quiet')

https://youtu.be/6G8FOhOQYeE

(2024) MONDRARY - "Paraffin" (from '...and the trees fell quiet')

https://youtu.be/0KIl7U7HzRg

(2024) MONDRARY - "Animus" (from '...and the trees fell quiet')

https://youtu.be/ZUyR1OO2dA4

________________________________________

*** PODCAST #174 Best of 2024 (Dave Cullen) ***

    It's that time. That time that the Daves discuss 2024. The good (music), the bad (hairlines), and the totally irrelevant (Norman's guitar education). Some things we rambled on about: the Sponge Bob octave, touring Japan with Oaktails, Norman gets the guitar bug, losing hair, breakdown of the year, pirate screamo, mathcore space battles, the cusp of not enough, post-hardcore boy from 2003, train station vs. Driveyourplowoverthebonesofthedead, Telos tears, Gxllium! being held hostage by a guitar, art ineligibility, etc. Bands played in this podcast: Our Future Is An Absolute Shadow, Shoganai, Sinema, and Smush. Listen to podcast #174 which is available to stream and/or download for free via this link.

CROWNING
Bandcamp

1 Norman's Top 10 EPs + Splits

SHOGANAI "Carving" (Norman)

2 Cullen's First 10

SINEMA "Don't Just Stand There" (Cullen)

3 Norman's Top 10 LPs

SMUSH "Goodnight Moon" (Norman)

4 Cullen's Second 10

OUR FUTURE IS AN ABSOLUTE SHADOW "Mimitwo" (Cullen)

5 Additional Shoutouts

~no music

~Dave

____________________________________________________________________

PODCAST #174 linked here

_____________________________________________________________________

ADDITIONAL LINKS

Best of 2023

Best of 2022

Best of 2021

CAMELIA

Band: CAMELIA
For fans of: Øjne, Dagerman, Radura, Alas, La Quiete, Raein, Keratin, Suis La Lune, Återstod, Via Fondo, Crossed, and Shizune.
Genres: Punk / Post-Rock / Post-Hardcore / Emo / Twinkly Emo / Screamo / Skramz

Related artists: ?.
Country: Lombardy ITALY
Years Active: 2024-present

Label(s): Self Released / Self Versed Records

      CAMELIA's 'insieme.' was sent to me a few months prior to it's release in January of 2025 and I was instantly hooked. They had a single jam available back in 2023 titled "favole" which gives a decent tease as what's to come, especially instrumentally, but I def dig the recent screamier vocals and would recommend visiting this track after the LP.

     On the aforementioned 'insieme.' album, these five Italians jump between twinkly emo and heavier screamo and everything in-between. The introductory track incredibly titled "Intro" does a great job of lulling the listener into a gorgeous, uphill jam that doesn't fall into that frequent pitfall of being boring and useless. "Fine" goes for jugular immediately but slows itself right before the kill and injects some twinkly screamo without the cheese and pretentiousness. The screaming immediately caught my attention as being thick but high enough in register to fit the Italian style, and really holds its own amidst a flurry of eloquent and impressive instrumentals. "Cancrena" really hits like some of Raein's heavier/older material but with a breakdown or two and I'm all fucking for it. Despite sharing a name "Pensieri I" and "Pensieri II" are quite different, with the former being short and split into a slow/singy first half and pretty wild/screamy second half, while the latter is more of an epic build that rivals Alas, Via Fondo, and Suis La Lune. The miniscule intro to "Specchio" is specchtacular, and everything afterward is nothing short of fantastic, with multiple screamers and a post-hardcore lacquer over that sexy Italian screamo. "Radici" boasts more singing and gang vocals which culminate at 2:33 when the instrumentals kick back in...probably a sing-along live jam. Closer "Casa" clocks in at the band's longest (4:18) and most mature of all the songs, as the flow and restraint shown really helps showcase the harder hitting moments after the 2:30 mark when shit gets wild. Wooooo what a ride.

     Someone needs to press this to vinyl, it's an album of the year contender for sure.

________________________________________

DISCOGRAPHY

2023 - favole single (stream/buy here)

2025 - insieme. cassetteLP (stream/buy here)

________________________________________

(2025) CAMELIA - "Cancrena" (from 'insieme.')

https://youtu.be/ZHGZV5s2nW0

(2025) CAMELIA - "Specchio" (from 'insieme.')

https://youtu.be/briUGBLF5-Y

(2025) CAMELIA - "Pensieri I" (from 'insieme.')

https://youtu.be/7kDQETG1Gb8

(2023) CAMELIA - "favole" (from 'favole')

https://youtu.be/yKnE6s4c5K8

________________________________________

*** PODCAST #173 Johnny Whitney (The Blood Brothers) ***

    This is a life moment. A time when my musical past comes full circle and smashes head-on into my current existence. It's a fuckin' trip, man. I caught up with Johnny Whitney of THE BLOOD BROTHERS arguably one of the most influential vocalists of my lifetime a week and a half after his reunion tour. Still reeling from the outreach from fans all over the U.S and an additional family vacation drive, he took some time out of his schedule to sit down with me for an hour and half. Lotsa gushing. Fuckin' lots. A few things we touched on: 80-minute sets, crying for days, false chord engagement, peaking in your 40s, vocal mantras, feeling vs. thinking about music, tactical inaccuracies coming off as charming flourishes, tour band shoutouts, Blood Brothers' connection to ZBR, inducing vomiting and birthing at shows, touring with Orchid, a short history of Vade, gettin' pissed about Pink Tarantulas, fun vs. not fun music videos, songs The Blood Brothers couldn't recreate live, everyone wants to be The Locust, best Nintendo game, the most dad gifts, etc. Bands played in this podcast: Botch, Gxllium!, The Locust, The Murder City Devils, and Transistor Transistor. Listen to podcast #173 which is available to stream and/or download for free via this link.

THE BLOOD BROTHERS
Bandcamp

1 Vocals as a Baseball Mitt

BOTCH "God vs. Science" (Johnny)

TRANSISTOR TRANSISTOR "Sweet William" (Dave)

2 7th Grade Vade (a band of children)

THE MURDER CITY DEVILS "Boom Swagger Boom" (Johnny)

3 The Future

THE LOCUST "Moth Eaten Deer Head" (Johnny) [official music video]

GXLLIUM! "Axel Peart" (Dave)

~Dave

____________________________________________________________________

PODCAST #173 linked here

_____________________________________________________________________

The Blood Brothers OMSB Review

*** BRAININAVAT exclusive song premiere ***

BRAININAVAT

"devouring"
exclusive song premiere

For fans of: Daniel Striped Tiger, Llewelyn, Bravo Fucking Bravo, Wolves and Lowmeninyellowcoats

Bandcamp (coming soon)

releases February 7th, 2025 on Tomb Tree

      BRAININAVAT is a new band from Ohio featuring at least one ex-member of Lowmeninyellowcoats (who readers of this blog are likely familiar with and missing hard), but shifts much more toward angular noise rock than technical screamo. Other notable bands the members have been in are CityCop, Griphook, Vita Bassa, Backtalk, Glass Bones and Quitr, and today I'm premiering their first single "devouring" from their self-titled EP releasing Friday Feb. 7th on Tomb Tree via 50 cassettes.

The band had the following to say about the track:

This was the first track written with Cody, our drummer, and you can hear that energy. At this point we weren’t sure if this was going to be more mathy/noodly, more thoughtful, or visceral, but it ended up being all of that. This track set the tone on the way we write songs, physically and emotionally. 

Lyrically this song is about dealing with the weight of a loved one’s death, the feeling of walking into a room and feeling like a freak because all you can think about is a ghost. The song ends with me trying to find meaning in this because we must go on. This is what every song on this record is about—trying to make friends with our ghosts and forgiving oneself for letting them down.

(2025) BRAININAVAT "devouring" (from 'braininavat')

https://youtu.be/6Oyq9007ogs

     Clocking in at 2:02, the EP's third track "devouring" wastes no time letting you know that slow and relaxed are not how this band generally operates. After nearly a minute of lightning, the band slows it down a tad and injects some nice start'n'stops before reverting back to breakneck speed. The grooves are very noticeable amidst the chaos and the bass is primarily to thank for that, although each instrument is great at holding their own. The yelled/screamed vocals rule and I certainly appreciate the inclusion of dual vocals for which I am always a sucker. Even if they suck. Which is not the case here. At all. Badass.

OSCURA CULTO

Band: OSCURA CULTO
For fans of: Akimbo, Belladone, Die Abete, Moxiebeat, Tigershark, Minerva Superduty, Black Love, and Nous Etions.
Genres: Punk / Rock / Hardcore / Post-Hardcore / Post-Metal / Metal / Screamo / Noise / Black Metal / Thrash / Doom / Sludge

Related artists: ?.
Country: Madrid SPAIN
Years Active: 2020-present

Label(s): Self Released / Catábasis Records / Dingleberry Records / Pifia Records / Navalla / Hombre Montaña / Noizeland Records / Fresh Outbreak

      OSCURA CULTO are a duo play post-hardcore/screamo/rock, capturing a sound not easily comparable. I think the best I can do is label them the European Akimbo which is a hella compliment. Kinda sludgy, sorta doomy, occasionally upbeat and sometimes downright black metal, this band follows no clear trajectory.

     The band's 2021 debut EP 'Ascension' begins their discography with an excellent first jab. The production is crisp and the songs bare much resemblance to their later work although perhaps a bit more in-your-face and less introspective, and there's more of a punk vibe at times than post-hardcore. The opener is great for letting you know what's coming and the EP peaks on second track "Cave" which is an exceptionally driving song with equal dosing of dark hardcore atmosphere and playful rock/metal riffs complete with excellent screamed/yelled vocals.

     The duo's sophomore release is titled 'Invocación' and it follows a theme with the song titles: "The Moon", "The Shed", "The Party", "The Ritual", and "The Mask". Track for track I'd argue that this is the band's strongest release to date with "The Moon", "The Shed", and "The Mask" being my faves. "The Moon" opens the EP and shows the improvements in guitar which still drive like crazy, but also include excellent melodic nuances and riffs that are much grander in scale. "The Shed" is based around a very pleasing but brooding guitar section and closer "The Mask" centers around a swirling/danceable riff that teeters between beauty and chaos.

     2024's 'Ceniza' is the EP that got me interested in the band, as this feels like a continuation of their sound with subtle refinements. "Súplica" has a section just before the halfway point that I swear sounds like a cover of a Gorilla Biscuits song and injects some nice clean vocals near the end. It's closer "Sanación" that takes the cake for me, with perhaps an additional vocalist that lays down as of the one-minute mark, as the last half sounds like Crossed with the screams coming in searing hot. (I checked, it's definitely Miguel from Crossed)

     This band was a pretty random find but I def dig the sound and will be on the lookout for their next release, hopefully an LP!

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DISCOGRAPHY

2021 - Ascension EP (stream/donate/download here)

2022 - Invocaci​ó​n EP (stream/donate/download here)

2024 - Ceniza 10"EP (stream/buy here) [buy 10" from Zegema Beach Records]

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(2024) OSCURA CULTO - "Sanación" (from 'Ceniza')

https://youtu.be/wfRHxTqbpNE

(2022) OSCURA CULTO - "The Shed" (from 'Invocaci​ó​n')

https://youtu.be/xd9lOtuBq-s

(2022) OSCURA CULTO - "The Mask" (from 'Invocaci​ó​n')

https://youtu.be/x4V7SLmo0jg

(2021) OSCURA CULTO - "Cave" (from 'Ascension')

https://youtu.be/ndzZIinOruU

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ADDITIONAL LINKS

"The Moon" official music video

https://youtu.be/JVQqY4j2JZ0

'Ascension' full EP official music video

https://youtu.be/v73-ak8og_Y

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