Utumno - Across The Horizon (1993 EP)

Utumno - yes, taken from the LotR series - was a fairly unknown and unrecognized death metal band whom formed 1990 in Västerås, Sweden. This EP was the last of three recordings - including a 1990 demo and a 1991 single - released by the band before their breakup; presumably short after the release of Across the Horizon. I have personally always really liked this EP and in some sense, find it to be an almost definitive artifact of the more somber, sophisticated and well-thought out death metal from around that era. There is a definitely a lot of different - although more hinting - styles and approaches packed into the record, and although the band is of Swedish origin, their sound seems to blend in almost entirely to early bands of the Finnish death metal scene. Highly recommend for everyone who is even so much as remotely into death metal.

Download
Buy (2010 re-release on Dark Descent Records)

Terrorizer - World Downfall (1989 Full-length)

Terrorizer were a short-lived American grindcore band who formed around mid-eighties. Along with musical peers Repulsion, Brutal Truth, and Assück, Terrorizer were one of the innovates, whom paved the way for North American grindcore. World Downfall was the band's first and only release, until a reunion led to a new, (in my view, somewhat pointless) full-length, in 2006. Pete Sandoval, drummer of death metal band Morbid Angel, was recruited early on in Terrorizer's formation, which explains the ferociously fast tempos - that hadn't quite been done at that time - making World Downfall as intense as it was. This classic grindcore record includes many memorable tracks, most of which deal with lyrical content on social and political issues; including capitalism, war, violence, and even animal rights. Although not the first American grindcore release, World Downfall was arguably the most punishing and is the single record I would personally recommend starting with, for someone completely new to North American grindcore.

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?cwmyzskny2d (Taken from Seeeing Red blog)

Infest - Slave (1988 Full-Length)

Infest were an American hardcore punk band, (although now considered a powerviolence band), that formed sometime in the early-mid eighties. Their sound could've be described as traditional youth crew hardcore with incredible exaggeration on typical characteristics of the hardcore genre, (such as fast tempos, short song lengths, and heavy breakdowns). Quite unique for the hardcore genre, at the time, Infest could've only matched up to the also American act, Siege, whom many would say originally invented the more extreme counterpart of hardcore. The record here, Slave, was the band's first full-length record released, which since has been repressed numerous times, only on vinyl LP. Highly recommend to fans of traditional hardcore punk wanting something even more extreme in the hardcore vein.

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?0vjymvhwmzq (Taken from Toxbreed's Funhouse blog)

Nihilist - Nihilist {1987-1989} (2005 Compilation)

Nihilist was short-lived death metal band from Sweden, who formed and broke-up, all in about the course of about three years - yet, often considered to be one of the first and most important acts of the entire death metal genre. Upon the demise of Nihilist, members went on to form the now famous death metal acts, Entombed and Unleashed, whose early works would be comparable to that of the early Nihilist demos. This self-titled CD compilation includes all of the officially released Nihilist recordings, (all three demos), as well as some extra material that never made its way on to a physical release. To me and many others, Nihilist are quint essential innovators of the death metal genre, and while it's up for debate weather they 'invented' death metal or not, it's quite hard to dismiss their style contributing to and acting as a blue print of sorts, for the evolution of the genre.

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?wr5minwzjjo (Taken from Death Metal Vault blog)

Hellhammer - Satanic Rites (1983 Demo)

Hellhammer was a short-lived, but immensely influential act, who formed during the early eighties, in Switzerland. Quite possible the most important band in the extreme metal heading, Hellhammer brought a sound which combined all of what we would now consider to be black metal, death metal, doom metal, speed metal, and even hints of hardcore punk. Provided is the CD re-release version of their third classic demo tape, Satanic Rites. In tracing back the roots of black metal and death metal, one should indeed look to the works of extreme metal innovators, Hellhammer.

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?gnzbbxd9201 (Taken from Frostdomain's Inferno blog)

Intentions in Creating the Blog

Music is something I feel quite strongly towards, in that it can be a powerful form of artistic expression and feeling that surface and release compressed facets of the human psyche. It's quite unfortunate that not everybody has the means necessary to reach or access music of their choice - weather it be because of financial situations, difficult living conditions, or even tense political environments.

On this blog, you will find demos, eps, full-lengths, splits, and any other release formats in the darker musical realms of hardcore punk, crust punk, grindcore, powerviolence, death metal, black metal, and noise, with the occasional post that may not fit in to any of the above. I will give brief, non-bias descriptions on the performers, as well as the individual releases, and I will make an effort to 'label' the music posted, as accurately as possible. This blog will also consist of both pirated and personal uploads, but I will credit the blog whom pirated links are borrowed from. Also, I will try to provide a link of a cheap distro or label that carries each album posted - please try to support the artists, if you have the funds and enjoy a particular release, but of course, not everyone is able to, so choose according to your situation(s).

I hope to introduce people to some new artists and forms of music, plant another seed in the music sharing community, but most importantly, allow everyone to experience art of which can form a unique internalization of perspective.