EMIL'S DEEP UNDERGROUND RECOS (part X) Thrash Metal ... and beyond ... Edition! Thrash metal without a message is just bogus. Whereas some bands are recording and releasing the same tiresome and meaningless music just for the sake of their bank accounts, the thrashers of the underground continue to deliver music that tell the tale, carrying out the social, political and environmental messages for which the genre was well known and appreciated by legions of fans worldwide. For

Recommended Underground Titles - Part III In this new edition of N.W.O.U.H.M. Recommended Underground Titles I've made the decision to keep the number of titles at five: four full-lengths and one EP. In an effort to further exemplify heavy metal's current state-of-affairs, I choose five titles distinctively different from one another, crossing over boundaries, but still maintaining heavy metal as the common denominator. Please support the bands. Turn it up! 4 BAJO ZERO Abomin

DEMO & EP Recos - part I As I was putting together a new chapter of New Wave Of Underground Heavy Metal recommended titles, I've decided to set aside these five demo and EP releases, for this first edition of "N.W.O.U.H.M. Demo & EP Recos". For three of the bands these releases represent their audio debut on a record. Long gone are the days of poorly recorded demo tapes - all of the following material was professionally studio recorded and showcases the trajectory each of the

EMIL'S DEEP UNDERGROUND RECOS (part IX) New(er) Trends in Metal ... Edition Music is a highly subjective matter. Rock/metal throughout its evolution have generated a myriad of styles, many times crossing over its own sub-genres and even outside its genres. Throughout the years, some styles made impact more than others, traditional forms made returns, scenes went niche, others created divide between the genre's enthusiasts. Reaching a higher point of diversity, today's rock/me

EMIL'S DEEP UNDERGROUND RECOS (part VIII) Death Metal Edition A couple of weeks have gone by since the last published chapter from the world of underground metal recommendations. Lately I found myself focusing almost exclusively on the albums that have heavy metal at their common core, findings published as part of the new(er) column, New Wave Of Underground Heavy Metal. Well, that is about to change! In this eighth edition of Straight Outta Catacombs, exclusively dedicated t

Recommended Underground Titles - Part II "If heavy metal bands ruled the world, we'd be a lot better off." Bruce Dickinson Heavy metal, in its purest of forms, was rather dimmed out in the most recent years, by the amount of releases from its more extreme and darker relatives. Fortunately, power metal has proudly carried the torch in the meantime. Furthermore, the last couple of years saw an increase in quality releases from newcomers and veterans alike, fact that lead me to

Recommended Underground Titles - Part I "Heavy metal is always going to be there. At its core, it's all about a primitive connection we all need to keep in our lives." Rob Halford Well known permutations in heavy metal occurred at every evolution step of the genre. As the timeline moved up, the influences became less traditional: newer acts finding influences not only from other metal styles, but also from outside the rock universe. Perhaps not an entirely new trend, but cert

EMIL'S DEEP UNDERGROUND RECOS (part VII) Thrash Metal Edition Here we are ... completing the Straight Outta Catacombs most current trifecta, here we have the Thrash Metal Edition. Well represented by underground bands from across the globe, thrash metal is once again ready to conquer the world, in this (2nd) edition exclusively dedicated to the genre. (The 1st thrash metal edition - here.) Except for a couple of reissues, the rest of the material is very recent. Are we gonna

EMIL'S DEEP UNDERGROUND RECOS (part VI) As I was gathering information on all releases scouted on Bandcamp in the last two to three months, I've realized that the number of albums, or EPs, rightfully available for recommendations, was far greater than in the recent past. There were so many quality underground releases, across the genres, that a singular article, representing only ten titles wasn't gonna cut it! Not only there was enough quality for a standard edition of Strai

EMIL'S DEEP UNDERGROUND RECOS (part V) HARD'n'HEAVY Edition Well, well, well ... what do you know ... a HARD'n'HEAVY edition of Straight Outta Catacombs! Unfortunately, nowadays the softer side of metal and hard rock doesn't seem to be very underground popular, for lack of a better word. In fact, after I started researching Bandcamp for new and excited bands and releases that fitted the style, it became rather evident. So after digging, no, scratch that, excavating for a whil

EMIL'S DEEP UNDERGROUND RECOS (part IV) All releases on this edition of Straight Outta Catacombs, saw the dim light of the winter days at the end of 2018 and beginning of 2019. Most were overlooked and some might require an eclectic taste. The underground metal scene was flooded with new releases last year. A huge chunk of material that came out was oriented towards the darkest realms of black metal, with loads of other offerings that were blackened, to various extents. The p

EMIL'S DEEP UNDERGROUND RECOS (part III) Thrash Metal Edition For no particular reason, thrash metal releases seems to have taken a slight dive in the most recent couple of years. Not that the thirst for great thrash releases has diminished. We saw less quality release in thrash than in any other genre of metal. The global metal community received well the latest albums from the sacred monsters of thrash and the few newcomers. But was that enough? Well, we're about to find ou

EMIL’S DEEP UNDERGROUND RECOS (part II) Back in the 80s, the only possibility for a band to release an album was to get signed by a record label or, (rarely) form their own label (and pray to find proper distribution). Rudimentarily recorded self-released demo tapes would find their way into the tape trading circles. Fast-forward to present. In 2018, the year (so far) at the peak of the underground metal revival, if I may, quality acts are able to find deserved recognit

EMIL’S DEEP UNDERGROUND RECOS (part I) As if you actually needed more music recommendations this year. As I’ve mentioned in the past, 2018 is the best year for rock and metal new releases, in the last 25 years. Even with that abundance of new music you’ve got to listen to recently, I felt that this ten most recent – deep underground, mostly overlooked releases deserve further attention. Enjoy the music! ALTERSELF “Frost” 9/24/2018 Athens, Greece Outstanding death/thrash