Into the Slipstream: The Internet's Undiscovered Talent

With the popularity of platforms like Bandcamp and Soundcloud it's now literally easier than ever to throw your artistic talents out into the wolfish world of picky consumers and bask in the due adulation (or sulk in the corner if you suck or something and everybody calls you names). Combing through these sites opens up whole worlds of creativity previously inaccessible from your home a decade ago and, you know what, some of them definitely aren't getting the celebration that they deserve for putting themselves out there in the world. It's not easy wading through the creating process in the hopes of releasing something you can be truly proud of, but I bet a few worthy souls deserve more listens than they get.

The goal of this little piece is to take a look at some random albums released onto the big bad World Wide Web and see if any of these tracks I've never heard of can convince me to get interested. No pretense or prior knowledge required, just loading the page and pressing play.

Our first topic centers around misanthropy, isolationism and a look inward to your most private emotions... and also corpse paint and church burnings and stuff, I guess.

Bandcamp Foray #1: Black Metal

I've picked six different choices from the "black metal" tag on Bandcamp and looked around the two different categories available: best-selling and new arrivals. This list here has the top result from each category, the last result from each category and something random I picked out to cover as much ground from my foray as I possibly can without overdoing it.

1. Hymns for the Wrecklusive by Chinese Opium Den

Uhhhhhh, so I know I gave the online music making community a lot of credit just now, but it's definitely way easier to find weird ventures into music that you just can't understand. For instance: this is an acoustic black metal album, and I have no idea why anybody would do something like that the way this guy here did. Short songs, relatively standard guitar work, this sounds like a personal demo meant for private ears. What's extra weird is that there's a disclaimer at the bottom of the page warning potential listeners about the dangers of opium, which isn't very black metal at all really. This was the most recent black metal album released on the site, which only proves how unpredictable the waves of content can be.

Listen to Chinese Opium Den.

2. Aftur till Ginnungagapas by Naudiz

I picked this one because I had no idea what the cover was supposed to be until I realized that it was sideways. This is very standard in terms of black metal, tight musicians and lots of chords and drawn out riffs. Deathspell Omega this is not. The production isn't too clean but it isn't very atmospheric to me, just gets the foot tappin'. Nothing too crazy, but if you're craving some Bathory and you're sick of Bathory this is right up your alley.

Listen to Naudiz.

3. The Call Of The Sea by Postmortem

This is from a Russian label called More Hate Productions and something about this site gives me the willies from the get-go like they're trying to convince me how MEEEEEETAAAAAAAL they are, which I'm not a big fan of when it comes to black metal. The more that a band or label tries to convince me how harsh or edgy they are it always seems like were headed for bonehead territory. Appearances aside, this is some pretty darn good blackened death metal. The guitar work is adventurous and interesting, song structures are varied and there are a few bombastic interludes that keep the album from growing monotonous. These folks seem like they took their favorite parts of death, black and thrash metal and stuck 'em in a big black cauldron, and God bless 'em for it.

Listen to Postmortem.

4. Mareridt by Myrkur

So this is what the black metal dudes are digging on right now. It's always nice to see folks that aren't men rocking a predominantly male genre too (which I'm aware is most metal in general). This album only had the one track to it but let me tell you, it really is something else. The one track available is a mix of spacy, atmospheric guitar and lush, folk-styled vocals that alternate with some growls, plus an acoustic interlude for good measure. Some people might call this "post-black metal" but I'm not going to do that.

Listen to Myrkur.

5. Pareidolia by Lock Howl

A couple fellers have been listening to this, not toooooo many but folks are definitely giving it a try. Despite the stock album cover, this is surprisingly really good. It's a weird mix of black metal and dark post-punk, like Bauhaus, with Mercyful Fate riffs and Type O Negative vocals. It's a combination that surprisingly works out wonderfully, its just gothic enough to lend a misty atmosphere to the music without going full-on Misfits/Halloween cartoony. Recommended to all, including non-metal fans.

Listen to Lock Howl.

6. Ghostlands: Wounds From A Bleeding Earth by Wormwood

More like folky death metal than black metal, this doesn't stand out too much to me. Kind of generic, plods along with some heavy riffs. Nothing very grabbing here but I can't say that there's anything wrong with it. The riffs are nice but every time there's a guitar lead I never get the feeling like it's taking me anywhere.

Listen to Wormwood.

Although I was expecting a lot more lo-fi black metal acts to take up the spectrum, specifically one-man-act misanthropes who record whole albums in their bedrooms a la Xasthur, I wouldn't call this batch here disappointing.