Sep 272025
 


these plus one

(written by Islander)

The last time I compiled a Saturday roundup of new songs and videos was 21 days ago. No need to go into the reasons for that (because I’ve previously shared them). Needless to say (but of course I’m saying it), the volume of new musical extremity that has emerged since then has reached towering proportions.

As the days passed I continued keeping lists and open tabs, and visited many of those locations to do some listening yesterday and this morning, but it was still just a relatively small dent in that looming edifice of new sounds.

To sort of make up for being AWOL for the past three Saturdays, I’ve made this roundup a big one — a baker’s dozen of songs (and one short EP). Recency being primacy, I tended to lean toward newer things at the top of my list.

As you’ll see, I also tended to lean toward prominent and familiar names, but eventually descended deeper under ground. I also loaded almost all the videos on the front end — eight of them to start. And much of what’s coming, including the first four songs in a row, delivers the kind of high-speed intensity that gets hearts hammering. Continue reading »

Aug 242025
 


(written by Islander)

Welcome to another bloody blackened Sunday at our site. In deciding what to include today I fell into something like a fugue state, by happenstance finding one relentlessly intense song after another, and so engulfed by the experiences that I didn’t even think about trying to create some kind of musical detour before the end.

To be clear, you’re not about to get blown out by blizzards of raw black metal. All of these songs have vital melodic components, but even the melodies channel emotional intensity of differing kinds. But to be further clear, all the songs should get your hearts pumping and muscles throbbing too. (There’s also a bonus entry at the end.) Continue reading »