Finnish Band Grave Pleasures Bring The Classic Deathrock Sound To The Modern Day. The Funeral Party 7in

Finnish band Grave Pleasures bring the classic deathrock sound to the modern day. The Funeral Party 7in is from 2016, and its so much fun to listen to. Macabre echoes of the 80s, these 2 songs are simultaneously rocking and somber, and I've been listening to them a lot this past month.

My favorite is the first track, Deadenders, which maintains a dark yet upbeat tempo and overall sounds exactly like the 7in title: a funeral party. Wailing vocals elicit apocalyptic imagery while blending exceptionally with the guitar melody to pull you along for the ride. The second track, Cold War Funeral, is a slower dirge, the rainy morning after the party in the cemetery. I strongly recommend checking them out if you are a fan of the genre, or just dark music in general.

Also, if you're familiar with the band Beastmilk, this is the project that rose from those ashes.

Hey, my blog's a year old!

They grow up so fast....

-Black Vice- Austin, Texas based black metal.

Photo by blogger. 2017

Black Vice

Black Vice / Haunter, by Black Vice

3 track album

Instant Exorcism

Curse Mackey

Austin, Texas based industrial mastermind Curse Mackey released his debut solo album in 2019, and its an infectious gothic masterpiece of apocalyptic darkwave. Like a mix between the finest Tim Skold output and the catchiest songwriting of Depeche Mode, this album pulls you into a grimy industrial gloom haunted by the ghosts of an apathetic cityscape. My favorite track is "O' Blasphemy", but everything on here is incredibly catchy, and the flow from one song to the next makes the whole album experience a treat. I spent a good portion of the year spinning it repeatedly and adding quite a few songs to some of my regular playlists.

Curse Mackey has spent years working with bands such as My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult, playing live keyboards for Killing Joke, and even filling in for Peter Murphy at a stop on Murphy's recent tour with fellow ex-Bauhaus member David J. His credentials are exemplary, so it is exciting to see his solo material released, and he delivers on all expectations. Furthermore, if you have the opportunity to see him live, I strongly encourage going, his performance is fantastic, and really brings the tracks to life in a primal, energetic manner.

The album can be purchased from Curse Mackey's Bandcamp page, or from the musician himself when you go see him live because you definitely should.

Oakland, California grimey black metal band Dispirit released this album last year, and played a superb Red River Family Fest III set.

Black metal with the slime of death metal, their sound sucks you in like a bog. But that riff in Besotted by Feral Whims, right after the soft intro, it's utterly fantastic, rythmic and mesmerizing. These fellows are quite skilled, and absolutely worth seeing live if you have the opportunity.

Bandcamp Daily

Artists and Labels Offering Donations, Special Merch, and More Today

Including those donating to organizations fighting for racial justice and change.

Bandcamp are returning all revenue directly to bands and labels for today's sales (June 5th 2020), and numerous musicians and labels are using the opportunity to offer discounts, specials, and raise donations for various causes.

Naturally there's several punk labels and bands, but also several heavy metal labels, from Apocalyptic Witchcraft to Dark Descent. I've put all the heavy metal labels and bands I recognize from the list in the tags, but you might recognize a band name I don't.

Invictus Productions in particular are donating to a wildlife preserve in Ireland, and the aforementioned Dark Descent to a homeless youth outreach program. For several of the labels you will need to check what their discount code is and make sure you apply it! Some are automatically slashing digital prices, but will also discount physical merch as well if you use a code.

Please note though, due to the revenue return, even if a band isn't offering a discount, today your money is fully supporting them! Meanwhile several labels are also using this as reason to give more revenue than usual to bands for sales. Plenty of reason to support the musicians you like, all of whom have taken a financial blow this year.

I also know this list is not comprehensive, so you might do some more digging and see if your favorite band or label are doing any discounts. I've included some in the tags that I received messages from announcing discounts/ specials/ donations that I didn't see on here. Note that Non Serviam have an ongoing 1€ digital album sale.

I don't see this UK black metal band shared around as much as they should be. Traditional black metal full of venomous rage, if you enjoy the classic black metal sound these fellows are worth checking out. They're raw and unapologetic, rabid and fiery.

Agents of Satan is a 7in you can pick up via Apocalyptic Witchcraft Recordings, and I believe the label might have their full-length available as well, The Great Mortality. A new album should also be on the way soon, so keep your eyes peeled!