If you've been on board with us since mid-2014, you'll remember I used to do a segment called Bandcamp Buried Treasure. I'd hunt down records for a "Buy It Now/Free Download" price on Bandcamp and post up a brief article about one of my finds every Friday. It was a lot of fun, but ultimately the rules of the feature became too constricting for me to consistently talk about music I only had the utmost faith in.
Now I've got a way around that. Here's how the new segment works!
- On the first of every month, this feature aims to turn you on to albums that came out this year you might have missed or didn't know about (hence the title).
- The albums are not specifically "Buy It Now/Free Download" as they were in the previous feature. Get ready to throw your money at your screen!
- Each entry will include either a full album stream or a great song off an artist's new record, depending on what's available.
- If you don't see an album you enjoy from this year on the list, let me know I should listen to it! If it's not out by today, then I purposefully didn't include it this time around. These are only albums that came out between January 1, 2015, and today's date.
Ready?
Khemmis – Absolution
Khemmis took me by surprise. The band immediately starts off Absolution with guitar tones reminiscent of typical stoner and doom metal, yet the riffs feel more like classic metal melodies erring on the side of a calmer melodic death metal tone. It's a breath of fresh air in the sea of wanna-be Sleep clones now, especially considering Khemmis has forged its own unique sound.
Mechina – Acheron
Holy hell. How has Mechina not done the soundtrack to every action video game that has ever existed? This is what I would imagine happens when you put people like Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori in a room with Aegaeon and Gojira without any clear direction of what music is supposed to come out of the session… and that is fantastic.
Jarun – Pod niebem utkanym z popiołu
Jarun had me right from the cool artwork and logo, and then decided I wasn't going anywhere with its awesome blend of folk music and black metal. I love that one never really overpowers the other. It's a great blend of two genres that have been paired together in the past, though heavy handed and rife with generic tricks. Jarun is the real deal.
Orpheus Omega – Partum Vita Mortum
Apparently Australia produces things other than hardcore and progressive metal. Orpheus Omega does melodic death metal in that classic Dark Tranquillity-type way where keyboards play a pretty prominent role in things, but it's all a game of moderation in the same vein as Jarun. I dare you to listen to this album through and not have a single melody jammed into your brainmeats.
Immortal Bird – Empress/Abscess
Immortal Bird I guess can be classified as grind-tinged metal, but that would be like calling a meal made by Gordon Ramsay "flavorful," in that you're missing all the intricacies. Immortal Bird cranks out bludgeoning, constantly-shifting grind-laden jams that have a lot of substance to them. For a debut, or any release in a career really, Empress/Abscess is crazy good.
Blacklisted – When People Grow, People Go
Myself and hardcore punk aren't exactly the best of friends. Usually it takes an artist to write a flat out astonishing record that I'm incapable of not listening to at least once a day in the car, at full volume. So you can imagine how my fellow motorists have felt about me the past few weeks whilst I cruise to work blasting the pissed off, fuzzy, fuckhammer jams that is Blacklisted.
Want more? Check out previous posts!
- 7 Albums You Probably Missed So Far In 2015: June Edition
- 6 Albums You Probably Missed So Far In 2015: May Edition
- 7 Albums You Probably Missed So Far In 2015: April Edition
- 11 Albums You Probably Missed So Far In 2015: The First Edition
Until next time!
