Always at least a day late. But never a dollar short.
1. Cloak‘s “Nigredo – Initium”
2. Green Lung‘s “Ozymandias”
Always at least a day late. But never a dollar short.
1. Cloak‘s “Nigredo – Initium”
2. Green Lung‘s “Ozymandias”
Welcome back to The Bad Penny Passport, in which we check in with musicians around the world to pick their brain about what they consider to be the best bands in their homeland. Today we land in Norway, one of the most potent oases of extreme metal on the globe, so it couldn’t be more fitting that we’re letting death-metal luminaries Horrifier do the honors.
The band is still in the proverbial cradle, having only plopped out of Norway’s womb four years ago. Weaned on Autopsy, Entombed, Repulsion and other death-metal deacons, Horrifier proved their loyalty to old-school death metal with their 2022 demo, Howl From the Grave; and first full-length, the following year’s Horrid Resurrection.
Horrifier then showed that they’re the real deal with the follow-up Revelations of Gore, which came out in August on Mexico-based Personal Records. Not to be overlooked as metalheads begin piecing together their year-end top 10 lists, the record is a panoply of putridity. The band comes into its own this time around, with a delivery that alternates between lumbering bludgeons and speedy assaults. Fans of Asphyx should take note of Horrifier too (a piece of trivia for metal nerds: one of the band selections featured on the ensuing list is Deathhammer, no doubt named after the Asphyx album and song of the same name).
Continue reading“We’ve blown up? That’s news to me!” Porcelain guitarist/vocalist Steve Pike professes in a recent video chat, although it’s hard to discern where his comments and on the sarcasm meter. Along with the Austin post-hardcore band’s drummer Eli Deitz, they check in to talk about their surprise success, Porcelain’s just-released Today’s Minor Victories, and talk with loose lips about the Smashing Pumpkins and Young Widows. Read a substantial portion of my interview with Pike and Deitz via FLOOD.
“I had to do a hard reset and decide if I wanted to build this project back up again. I’m really happy I did.”
-Corpse Dust
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Industrial/EBM/darkwave artist Corpse Dust is currently spreading his music around the country with Chicago psych-doom quartet REZN and Toronto post-hardcore unit lowheaven. Tonight, the three amigos descend on the Shrine Social Club in Boise, with roughly 10 shows left.
All three acts have had banner years, with Corpse Dust continuing to ride a wave of momentum after the strong reception of his LP, Suffer, in March. We hit up the artist from Asheville, North Carolina, who generously provided some insights into the album and tour, how Hurricane Helene – which happened roughly a year ago – affected his project, and how he much he enjoys introducing his music to new audiences.
Continue reading“When I was young, I was broke and moving around a lot, discovered drugs and alcohol at an early age and went hard down that rabbit hole – but I’ve always had hope and inspiration,” musician/publicist/renaissance man Curran Reynolds opens up in a rare interview about his life.
“I’ve experienced some very dark times and some challenges for sure,” he continues. “But one thread that’s carried me through my whole life [is] knowing the joy of creation, working on projects and creating something out of nothing. That’s always been in me.”
Continue readingThis is a special year for instrumental post-rock behemoths Caspian. Not only does it mark 20 years since the recording of the Massachusetts band’s debut, The Four Trees, but today sees the release of a new album (released on Wax Bodega) that they named after themselves. More than five years in the making, the sixth album by Caspian – featuring Philip Jamieson (guitar and synth), Calvin Joss (guitar), Jonny Ashburn (guitar), Jani Zubkovs (bass) and Justin Forrest (drums) – marks the longest stretch between studio releases in the band’s career.
Here’s a taste from Caspian’s new release:
The Bad Penny recently touched base to pick the brains of Caspian – born and bred in Beverly, Massachusetts – on what they consider to be the top 10 bands hailing from their home state. (The band member that vouched for each act is listed in parenthesis.) Conspicuously absent from the list is Converge, but we’ll let that slide since they ranked Mission of Burma above Aerosmith.
(For their own part, Caspian came in at #5 on The Bad Penny‘s recently crafted list of best instrumental bands.)
Continue reading