A you’ve all noticed we’ve been on a bit of a hiatus today, but now it’s Friday night and the large part of my exams are over, so I’ll just throw down some of the music I’m digging at the moment. Nothing special, just some bands to keep you busy.

First up is a song by Enslaved, which seems to be a band of contradiction to me. I’m not very familiar with them, but I was really attracted to this song called Ethica Odini, an 8-minute long hybrid of Black Metal and Progressive Rock. It’s really a fabulous piece of music, but when I look at the list of album reviews at the Metal Encyclopedia, I actually find people who are angry with Enslaved for putting out this album Axioma Ethica Odini. I really like it though, because the balance between Black Metal and edgy Prog Rock is just perfect.

So you write five songs that you name Bodhi Zephyr, Jean-Luc Picard, John Jameson, K’nuckles and Walter White and you stick ‘em all on an EP that you title Captains. I find that pretty original.

Why? I have no clue, I guess that’s why it’s original. At first I thought all of them were going to be captains, but that shit flies only for Jean-Luc Picard and K’nuckles. You can pull it wider and say all of them are TV / movie / comic characters, but even then I’m left with Bodhi Zephyr. Who / what the fuck is that? Well, the cool thing is that the music on Captains works about in the same way: it makes you think you see patterns and then proves you wrong about them.

I can’t really find anything about Into the Storm, except that they’re four dudes out of Seattle and that they released Captains as a sophomore to their 2010 album Amidst a Sea of Chaos, which I haven’t heard, by the way. I’ve heard plenty of Captains though, and it’s hot shit.

Some genres are just asking for a review, especially self-proclaimed “epic blackened Stoner Thrash” Metallers Hazzard’s Cure with their eponymous début album. It’s a fairly grand claim from the quartet, and one I felt I had to explore, especially given the interesting album cover. Those in the scene should recognize some familiar previous bands (Owl and Walken, for example), but the music itself sounds completely fresh and original from the deserts of… San Francisco?!

Psilocybin starts off with no fuss, some fuzzy groove kicks in with Hardcore screams possessing just a tinge of Old-school Black Metal, even if the music at this point is devoid of that influence. Hazzard’s Cure have clearly cut their teeth on the live circuit; the drums from Baechle are varied, yet tight and controlled, with twin guitarists Buckley and Corona bringing out riffs and leads all over the place. The band also excel at shifting tempo and section with ease, moving into a crusty-Punk-esque part before slowing down for a surreal soundscape of bottles smashing and vomiting, a sign of a true ‘bar-Metal’ band. Bassist Bergman gets his own limelight on the follow-up instrumental track, Meet Me at the Mountain, complete with harshly sung “whoas” which sound like they’re on one serious trip, finishing off with a relaxed late-Mastodonian guitar solo to segue into the next grooving track.

UK Doom Metallers Conan have just uploaded a video of them performing a new song of their upcoming album, at the Buffalo Bar, Cardiff. The name Hawk as Weapon, already sounds cool to me, and the live recording sounds promising. I’ve always wondered what these guys would sound like live, and all I can say is that they sound louder and heavier than in the studio. Which is a good thing.

Then who are Conan? We wrote about them little over a month ago, and we were all quite positive. I wrote about their latest record Horseback Battle Hammer

their music feels like you’ve just had a massive blow with a war hammer, and now you lie on the ground, which is wet from the rain, while you can’t feel anything.

As I promised you all, we have some Doom Metal to digest, and today’s subject is Conan. The first time I ever ‘did’ a Doom Metal band was with Subterranean Disposition, a project I really liked for its diversity. Apart from this however, I’ve had no experience with the legendary DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM Metal, which makes it all the more interesting.

However, Conan is completely different from the stuff Subterranean Disposition makes. The guys claim to be “as heavy as interplanetary thunder amplified through the roaring black hole anus of Azathoth.” which is quite a claim. I’ve listened to their EP some time, and I must say, these guys are heavy. Heavier than anything I’ve hear before. However, before you make the jump, make sure you’re connected to some good speakers.

It may be cheating a little to include Black Thai in our Rockin’ Out series, but their style of Stoner/Doom Metal is the “boiling point” for me. The level at which Hard Rock begins to bubble with something heavier.

Black Thai formed in 2009 in the Boston area and have released an EP in 2010 and a split earlier this year. Our focus today will be on the 2010 EP Blood From on High. To give due credit, this post by GroverXIII at TNOTB brought these guys to my attention. Since then I’ve listened to this EP several times and it rocks the fuck out.

After yesterday’s serving of catchy, clean, cheesy Melodeath, you might be craving for something a bit more raw and brain mashing. We’ve got just the thing! It’s called Howl and it goes through marrow and bone.

I have no fuckin’ clue how I first came across this band anymore. Probably it was carried in by the fuckin’ wind or something. No matter. The band’s production of mildly raw Sludgy Stoner tunes with hints of heroic battle and swirls of darkness is pleasing. Very.

The Rhode Island, US based band first saw the light in 2007 and has been working hard. After a self-titled EP in 2008, 2010 gave birth to their first full-length, titled Full of Hell. For one, it features one of the coolest album covers I’ve seen in times, hence why I’ve added it to the post. Flame vomiting skull with a bunch of eyeballs. Fuckin’ sweet!

After only two tracks yesterday, we’re back with a full pack today. You’re being forcefed stuff from Russia, the US and the UK today, so put a napkin in your collar and open up!

Russia’s contribution today is called Arcanum Sanctum, playing a good piece of Metalcore. Howl joins in with some “Bong-rippin Labyrinth Metal” and finally we’ve got five Architects doing popular Metalcore. Take your pick and munch away!