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taste and ye shall receive passage to the White Lodge
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SFN 'Itching' 7" EP 2010, Drugged Conscience Records

Another EP from these guys, this shit rips. When a band that already rules puts out rawer and more insane sounds, that shit slays. Their older Fouled Nest 7" was written of here long ago and this Itching release is a meaner and better version no doubt. Drums on blast eythang on blast. They added some weird samples and gritty ambiance= a thicker, dissonant SFN that shreds. "An endless blast of bong loads that will crush your cranium like a hunk of Wisconsin cheese" is what they said on the 625 label.




Agoraphobic Nosebleed + Insect Warfare split 5", 2008 Relapse

These bands need no intro as I've talked about them mad times on here but for some reason I never said this split of theirs ruled. So now I say this shit slays and thats the end of that. The ANb side flips out for three and a half minutes and IW of course grinds minds like always, now defunct but always horribly vicious. ANb kill, I'm always impressed with their punishing mutant sonics of drum machine grind with plenty of samples and hatred and generally confusing innards. Artwork by Florian Bertmer.



Lightning Swords of Death + Valdur split LP, 2008 Cult War/Bloody Mountain

Not shredding and having a name like that would be totally fucked up but fortunately that is not the case at all. Lightning Swords of Death is total heavy metal, a black death metal sound that they nail well. Their side of the split is heavier and more death metal than the Valdur side, which is wicked black metal, buzzing and frozen and equally fierce but in a very different way. LSD are from LA, Valdur from a place called 'Mammoth Lakes,' CA. I thought this split totally kicked ass and I had never heard either of these groups before, which rules. Again, the artwork slays so hard, by Farron Loathing.



Leviathan + Archerontas 'Sic Luceat Lux' split, 2009 Zyklon-B Productions

Another black metal split but this time with US wizard Leviathan, one of the most wicked acid priests of the dark stereo arts, and the Greek black metal band Archerontas. This split strait rules also. Both of these bands fit well together to make this release slay all around. Not sure if this Leviathan material is from before or after the excellent Massive Conspiracy Against All Life LP, his supposed final record. Regardless this is fantastic layered mayhem, unholy riffs and drums that steer the whole thing deep into madness. The Archerontas side is good but the Leviathan stands out as always, hypnotizing and weaving and all around wicked. This release saw all kinds of limited media, including bible like A5 formats and whatnot. And the Leviathan side has dual acoustic guitars which obviously is way metal.