Clik here to view.
Guest Column
So I searched the Gunshy Assassin site and found no reference to these bands on there, so I hope I can shed some light on some great bands, records and songs.
First up is San Francisco based hydra Sutekh Hexen, who are headed up by prolific main member Kevin Gan Yuen and whose recent album Behind the Throne (Magic Bullet) is an in-depth excursion into a bleak, almost shoegaze ritual. It reminds me of some dream collab betwen Xasthur and Flying Saucer Attack or something; the occult and experimental track “I” is fit for total immersion. Bury your head in this and obliterate yourself.
Up next is Hell; I was a big fan of Elu of the Nine, an esoteric doom band associated with the cult around one of my favorite labels, Woodsmoke from Oregon. This turn into Hell has been incredibly pleasant, and by pleasant I mean totally unpleasant. Downtuned, slow and suffocating dirges bracketed and broken by passages of ashen guitars. Take a listen to the lengthy “Decedre” from their recent full length III and how they build up the choral elements behind the bleak riffage, the sparse distant samples and mournful riffs.
Last but not least I have to recommend Vaura, a band that has a ridiculous pedigree of members from Gorguts, Dysrhythmia, Blacklist, Kayo Dot and more.
Their album Selenion is a clever combination of overt metal references and elegant acoustic entries, it is technical, emotional, well-written and complex. Take a listen to either the acoustic opus and title track that rests somewhere in a Swans or Death in June vein but retains its own patina, or the more direct “Obsidian Damascene Sun” (which I directed the video for) and enjoy a record that has somehow flown beneath the radar this entire year.
POST SCRIPT: If you want to get more adventurous I recommend checking out noise mavens Skin Graft, Pharmakon, Secret Abuse and black thrash attack Vile Reign.
The post Guest Column: Three Bands You May Not Know But Should By Locrian’s Terence Hannum appeared first on Gunshy Assassin.