Botanist: "Collective: The Shape of He to Come"

Difficult to enjoy, but more than just haphazardly composed black metal

Not being familiar with the works of Botanist, you'll have to excuse me for expecting something a bit different than what Collective: The Shape of He to Come is. In a way you could easily argue that the cover for this 2017 album is indeed very fitting of the obscure, yet oddly naturalistic sounds found on the disc. Whatever it was I originally had thought this album would sound like, that notion was blown to bits and pieces.

Seer: "Vol. III & IV: Cult of the Void"

Half great, half boring, all hard to determine

Seer is one of those bands that for all intents and purposes combines countless stylings together to form something unique. And true to this, Volumes III and IV are works that manage to sound completely new and incredibly well-known at the same time through just eight songs.

Mindkult: "Lucifer's Dream"

Timeless opium tunes at the edge of the cosmos

Looking for something that takes the edge off every day life? Then let Mindkult's cyclopean riffs crush you with sludgey heaviness instead of your day job and money troubles!

Uroboros: "Misantropía & Blasfemia" / "Herejía & Exilio"

Cyclopean riffs with ultra dense payoff

Straight from Buenos Aires in Argentina comes a roar of thunder through a night as black as tar. This uproar from the underground goes by the name Uroboros, and right off the bat their debut duo of EPs make most other newcomers of the genre seem like taciturn murmurs in comparison.

Swamp Witch: "Gnosis"

The soundtrack to your worst nightmare

Every so often a band will emerge with little to no warning and simply floor you with its sonic output. One such band is Swamp Witch, with their 2011 EP Gnosis, which forcibly injects tainted acid into the veins of the listener and sends them on a journey of murkey, distorted psychedelia.

Asilo: "Comunión"

Sonic attacks on the mind

Turmoil breeds frustration and anger, which in turn breeds outlets for that frustration. South America has had a rich history dating back to the early 80s of metal bands expressing their anger through their music and lyrics, and like those legendary and trendsetting bands from the days of yore, the four-man group Asilo from Argentina presents a lyrical universe revolving around themes such as politics and the suffering it can bring, set to a soundtrack of furious and often dangerously calm mix of doom-laden drones drenched in grimy sludge.

Friendship: "I&II"

Hateful mires of liquid metal

Sentient Ruin Laboratories from Oakland, California, have never been a label to skimp on music's outcast misfits. Be it grindcore, extreme metal or noise, this indie label are true purveyors of extremity. SRL have just now compiled two EPs of absurdly crushing Japanese powerviolence into one single nuclear crucicle of raw disregard and abrasiveness with Friendship's I&II.

Aurora Purpurea: "I"

Musical poem, the brilliance of which lies in contrasts

Introducing a band about which there exists little to no information is a hard thing to do, at least from a factual stand point. Aurora Purpurea hail from Italy, and in 2008 they released their sole album, titled simply I. That is all. So let us instead let the music of Aurora Purpurea speak for itself.

Otis Reaper: "Otis Reaper"

Tempting riffs with attitude

"Sludge" has always felt like a very appropriate description as a genre. Sludge means a semi-solid residual mass, and it really captures the essence of the genre: A slowly-running residue of various elements of hardcore punk, doom metal, stoner rock and more. Tennessee sludgebangers Otis Reaper play prime-example sludge metal with all the classic elements of the genre.