Gimme Radio Program Director, Brian Turner, delivers the top 5 jaw-dropping tracks on Gimme Radio.
RANDY HOLDEN – Fruit and Icebergs
In 1969 guitarist Randy Holden came off a stint with promo-metal gods Blue Cheer and may have successfully invented the doom genre with 'Population II,' which has seen semi-legit/bootleg type issues through the year (my first copy was a dodgy, hiss-soaked CD). With an imposing cover depicting his first performance standing flanked on stage by 16 giant Sunn amps, Holden and drummer/keyboardist Chris Lockheed created a massive, heavy document now getting proper April vinyl reissue on the Riding Easy label.
ENBULULUGUGAL – Charred Remains
While this may have not been music familiar to most metalheads, the passing this month of Dustin Jeffries is a terrible sad event for fans who have followed him and almost two decades of a dizzying number of releases. Enbululugugal's blown out, blackened noise tore through metal's core to create a sheer, raw brainblister of uncategorizable insanity, despite some chuckleworthy titles ("Lardmongers For Curlyton", "Frostfucked Black Metal Goatsodomy"), the dedication to form-disruption and outsider-DIY-aesthethic was far from a novelty. Thankfully the spotify page will keep you immersed for years. RIP Dustin.
KVAEN – Funeral Pyre
A one-man project of Swedish musician Jakob Björnfot, Kvaen sidesteps the nostalgia associated with classic-sounding black metal projects and creates rich, colorful soundscapes, given extra life for some spirited live drummer guests. Blizzardy blasts are colored with keyboard flourishes and distinct melodies determined to lead the way out of the bleakness. The full length release hit February 28th on Black Lion.
SARDONIC SMILE – Der Zorn Gottes
Can always count on Gimme's Battleflutes and Sideways Skulls show to induce at least one spittake per episode, and hearing this band blast its way through a nagging melody finally revealing itself to be a completely fucked cover of Ween's Queen/Bowie-sounding epic "Don't Get 2 Close 2 My Fantasy" was no exception last week.
Dug in deeper to discover this blackened gem as well from the past year. North Carolina's outsider metal scene has some new overlords.
ABYSMAL DAWN – The Path of the Totalitarian
A preview of 'Phylogenesis', the first full length since 2014 from these LA death-heads, reveals their work aesthetic to be disciplined and varied through that long lapse of time. Brutal regurgitation of not only death metal classic moves but weird hybrids of tech/industrial and other germs of metal's fringes seep in to the mix, staged in a grandiose setting of crisp production with no lack of heaviness. The LP happens April 17th on Season Of Mist.
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