Shroud Eater - Thunder Noise (2011)

Grainy sludge hailing from Florida. I have been listening to this one a lot lately, I have decided you should too. Shroud Eater is 65% female, 100% crushing.

Grab if you like: Kylesa, Electric Wizard, Subrosa

Eat Shroud

Malachi - Wither To Cover The Tread (2008)

Doomy, cello-driven sludge from Wisconsin.


MALACHI

Syphilic - Behind Bars (2010)

Take a good hard look at that album cover, click the picture to enlarge it and let it sink in. Yes, yes that is a pregnant legless woman riddled with bite marks having her newborn baby skull-fucked by a corpulent fellow in a wife-beater while the rest of her baby is still inside of her, essentially fucking her at the same time. Multitasking like a champion.

I'm sure it's quite obvious already that we have us some brutal death metal in our midst. To me, it doesn't offer anything groundbreaking or refreshing, but it is littered with samples from "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia". Everything is over the top gore and brutality, here is an excerpt from song "Robalni"

When she pushes out its head slides down
Forward I thrust back into her cunt
Further out, its brain now a messy joke
Umbilical cord wrapped around its throat
Newborns head completely out of the slit
I nail its tongue to its moms clit
Cord decapitation and its mangled head taken
The rest of the remnants I shove all the way back in 

All I could think of (A Serbian Film)

It still gets a spin every now and then, I admit though, I grabbed it for the album art, not the musical prowess. Maybe you will like it...you sick fuck!

Grab if you Like: Eardelete, Repulsive Dissection, Being Killed

NEWBORN PORN!

The Great Old Ones

 

The Great Old Ones, in the Cthulhu Mythos are known to be colossal extraterrestrial beings with interminable power, worshiped by deranged humanoid cults and non-humans progeny in the Mythos.
These cosmic beings have a physical form, but not of matter that we mere humans could fathom, their forms are built around principles similar to true matter so that they appear to be material in their nature.

The Great Old Ones, are also a black metal outfit from France. Heavily inspired by H. P. Lovecraft, these Frenchmen build their sound around colossal atmosphere and highly ethereal soundscapes barring similarities to Wolves In The Throne Room. It all sounds very promising, with a debut LP on its way this upcoming fall, you can find three pre-production songs to tide you over at this location...

Grab if you like: Valdur, Altar of Plagues, Wolves In The Throne Room

The Great Old Ones

The Great Old Facebook (Support these dudes and keep up to date.)

Myrkgrav - Trollskau Skroemt Og Koelabrenning (2006)

Sometimes I know I have too much music in my collection because often times hidden gems will reveal themselves to me when I do my daily shuffle of my entire collection. This is a good way for me to stumble on an album I may not have payed enough attention to the first time around. Trollskau Skroemt Og Koelabrenning by Norway's one-man band Myrkgrav is a good example of this.

I actually do recall downloading this something like 4 years ago thinking it was pretty fucking awesome, but must of lacked in the "catchyness" side of things like it's folk metal cohorts Finntroll, Lemuria, Runic, etc. Shit, I absolutely hate when someone likes a song or band simply because they're catchy. (fuck that)

Here we have archetypal Norsk black metal firmly rooted in the Scandinavian folk elements. Vocals range from harsh and cold growls to a more somber clean vocals, all sung in the olden Norwegian dialect. I can find not a single complaint. 

Grab if you Like: Windir, Galar, Svarga

Myrkgrav

Bacchus - Bacchus (2011)

Bacchus isn't interested in becoming friends, nor do they require that they get to know you better before fucking your ear sockets like a rusty 10$ hooker. Incorporating elements of crust, doom, sludge, and hardcore to form the beast. Shifting paces allowing songs to breathe for a moment before they crawl right back into a crushingly heavy segment with a soundscape littered in reverb.
(*righteous album art bonus points awarded*)

Grab if you like: Hellhorse, From Ashes Rise, Planks

Bacchus

Bandcamp

Manegarm - The Forest Sessions (2006)

Manegarm's approach to a strictly folk album. A myriad of visuals will run through your head as rich soundscapes take hold. Goblin mosh.

Grab if you like: Ulver, Tenhi, October Falls

The Forest Session

Sear Bliss - Glory and Perdition (2004)

This is what a pack of ravenous wolves riding Harley's into a class F5 tornado would sound like...with a trumpet, trombone and baritone horn thrown in for good measure. Black metal entrenched in cold atmosphere with puncturing brass instruments, the result? Evil sounding black metal with a rather juxtaposed sound of glory and unbounded enthusiasm.

Aye, look at this enthusiastic bunch:

If you are a fan of this, make sure you grab Oblomov's Might Cosmic Dances here.

Grab if you like: Oblomov, Cor Scorpii, Bornholm


Glory and Perdition

Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys pt. 2 (1988)

The best Helloween has to offer, fuck it, one of the best power metal has to offer, Keeper of the Seven Keys, pt. II! The original line-up with Michael Kiske on vocals and Kai Hansen on guitar, but it's Michael Weikath's song writing and prowess of melody that shines through and makes this album as a whole Helloween's best album. The positivity and creativity of the bad had reached its pinnacle, and soon after, Michael Kiske had departed and drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg had commit suicide by jumping in front of a subway train. Fuck.

The song Keeper of the Seven Keys ranks as one of my favorite songs and encompasses everything that is and should be POWER METAL.

Grab if you Like: Gamma Ray, Edguy, Lost Horizon

Happy Helloween

Bone Dance // Divider // Plebeian Grandstand - Three-way Split (2011)

 

This was emailed to me directly by the label/promoter of Throatruiner Records and asked to put on this blog. Of course, I will only willingly do this if I myself stand fully behind what I am hearing. Severed Heads Open Minds will never be used as a selfless plug for labels or promoters, but I do intend to get music that I support and enjoy out there to you internet scavengers. In hopes you folks will enjoy and support it. It all goes around. (That's the second time I felt the need to reiterate that)

Now, about the music. I lied, first I am going to talk about that album cover. Holy fuck, I like it. My elitist graphic design self wholeheartedly approves. (bravo)

Now about the music, for real this time. In it's entirety, I enjoy every song on this split and I can sit hear yammering away about why...but let's face it, you're already tired of reading a wall of text and you are now just looking for some brutal shit to shove in your ear holes.

(@Throatruiner Records, I love hard copy's. Feel free to drop me Demo's, splits, LP's EP's and whatever the fuck else rad you have! I'll gladly give my address...no anthrax please...unless it's the band)

Grab if you Like: Cursed, Gaza, KEN Mode

Sp lit (Mediafire)

Bandcamp (Further descriptions+ info on this page)

Metallica

Metallica, some hate them. This is fine and I'm not going to get all bent out of shape over it. Simply put, you are missing out on four great fucking albums that have had a heavy impact on a lot of the music you enjoy today. It would be heinous to miss out due to a misconception.

(click images for download if you for some reason don't already have these.)

Metallica - Kill 'Em All (1983)

Metallica - Ride The Lightning (1984)

Metallica - Master of Puppets (1986)

Metallica - ...And Justice For All (1988)

 

Sorry Lars, this is a new age. People download, get over it.

Wodensthrone - Loss (2009)

 

A whole week since my last post, that shit happens though. I have been pre-occupied with the business of life to pay much attention to the virtual world. I miss you though, dearly.

With my return I give you guys Loss by Wodensthrone. This cold beast spans for well over an hour of some incredibly bleak, cold and atmospheric black metal. The presence of folk/pagan metal is ever present as well. This really is an enthralling listen, something about the sound is purely profound and beautiful in a dreary sort of way.

Grab if you like: Winterfylleth, Askival, Dragobrath

loss