10 Best Free Bandcamp Downloads #10: Witch Ripper, Aidan Baker, Frankie Tillo, arm’s length, Gunner

Posted in MP3s with tags , , , , , , , , , on 04/09/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Sorry we’ve neglected you by letting too much time elapse between our last rundown of free music on Bandcamp and this new installment. We’ll make it up to you, we promise. Wait, why are we apologizing? And why are we making promises? Do you really exist? And, for that matter, do we? Probably not. But let’s pretend we do and have some fun. Here’s a whole bunch of handpicked music that you can smash and grab without breaking any laws.

(Note: If you’re financially capable of supporting any of these artists and/or labels, please consider doing so.)

1. Witch Ripper – _

No, you’re not inebriated – hell, maybe you are, but either way, you’re seeing the name of Witch Ripper’s first release as the band intended: a simple underscore. Released in November 2012, it’s fitting to revisit the EP now because the Seattle heavy-rock band’s newest album, Through the Hourglass, comes out tomorrow via Magnetic Eye Records.

2. arm’s length – “loathe” (early demo)

Are we absolutely certain that arm’s length is the best emo band that Ontario has ever produced? No, but we’ll leave it up to you to prove us wrong. (And that involves listening to this demo.) Whatever the case, the lovable lads are about to play a month’s worth of gigs across North America with support from The Callous Daoboys. Just when you thought every clever tour name had been used, these guys came up with a good one: “There’s a Whole World ….” The website for arm’s length lists all the dates.

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On Tyranny: Silver Jews and Lambchop Collaborator William Tyler Takes a Fierce Stand Against Fascism

Posted in Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny, Videos with tags , , , , , , , , on 04/08/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

“The real deal” is a phrase that gets bandied about often – excessively and sloppily so when it comes to singer/songwriters. But listen to Nashville musician William Tyler say five words, and you’ll immediately identify his Achilles’ heel: bullshit. Tyler has no reason to bloviate when he’s spent so much of his decorated career recording and touring with a litany of other sacrilegiously overlooked yet irrefutably talented musicians of the indie-folk, Americana and cosmic country varities. Tyler had membership in Silver Jews and Lambchop, made a record five years ago with Marissa Anderson, and counts Bonnie “Prince” Billy as one of his multitudinous collaborators.

Over the course of his three-decade career, the immediately disarming and infectiously kind Tyler’s list of credits runs longer than one featured at the end of a Sergio Leone film. And yet occasions in which Tyler overtly tackles topical issues or shares his beliefs about politics and the like are rare. Which is why The Bad Penny took note of Tyler’s participation in a recent compilation co-produced by indie filmmaker Rick Alverson called Passages: Artists in Solidarity with Immigrants, Refugees, and Asylum Seekers. A description accompanying the Western Vinyl release stated: “Passages is both an acknowledgement of work in progress and an invitation to do more. Our representatives need to see us. Our families need to hear from us. Our neighbors and local organizations on the front lines of this crisis are ready for us to join them.”

Curious to learn more about the collection and its participants, we reached out to some of the contributors. One of them curiously rebuffed our invitation to participate in On Tyranny, saying “I really don’t feel like any of my troubles are the real burden of this moment.” But as the days, weeks, months and years in the still-nascent fascist regime taking hold of this country are proving, none of us will be untouched by the shock, awe, pain and lament that is growing like a cancer inside our collective civic body.

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A Place to Bury Strangers’ ‘Rare and Deadly’: Two Cent Review

Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags on 04/09/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

It’s futile to source the origins of each song contained on Rare and Deadly, a collection of songs by A Place to Bury Strangers. Some are demos, some are B-sides, and others are incomplete tunes and sketches of songs that were never realized. What’s more important is that Rare and Deadly—unlike haphazardly assembled comps that are often released to fulfill an artist’s contractual obligation—captures the spirit of A Place to Bury Strangers in a way that is ingenious as the band itself. Read my full review on Treble.

Witch Ripper’s ‘Through the Hourglass’: Two Cent Review

Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags , on 04/07/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Witch Ripper’s kindred spirits – Mastodon, High on Fire and Baroness, to name a few – have done quite well for themselves thanks in part to keeping their creative juices flowing at practically all times. But by taking a slow-cooker approach instead, Seattle’s Witch Ripper have deftly avoided pitfalls like getting overexposed or even overplayed, and they’ve instead siphoned that time into developing a coherent and well-considered sound. Look no further than their new album, Through the Hourglass, which comes out Friday via Magnetic Eye Records. Read my full review via Veil of Sound.

Filth Is Eternal’s ‘Impossible World’: Two Cent Review

Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags on 04/07/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Vibrant, dexterous, and unrelentingly compelling, Seattle hardcore-punks Filth Is Eternal demonstrate on their newest album, Impossible World, that they’ve matured into a band adept at writing songs just two minutes in length. Read my full review courtesy of FLOOD.

Ponte Del Diavolo Take Stock of Their Crackerjack Catalog, Album by Album

Posted in Discographies, Exclusives with tags , on 04/07/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Aren’t yet acquainted with doomy troupe Ponte del Diavolo, which also incorporates black metal and post-punk into a distinct witches’ brew they’ve dubbed “blackened post-punk hell”? For shame! The quintet – which hails from Turin, Italy – have already made their mark since forming in 2020, thanks to two long-players and three EPs. And their growth spurt shows no signs of letting up, either.

Ponte del Diavolo cranked out their latest LP, De Venom Natura, in February through the esteemed Season of Mist. The effort – which features “Every Tongue Has Its Thorns,” “Lunga vita alla necrosi,” “Spirit, Blood, Poison, Ferment!” and even a cover of Bauhaus'”In the Flat Field” among its seven songs is continuing to win over metalheads drawn to bands that break just about every metal convention.

Featuring vocalist Erba del Diavolo, bassists Khrura Abro and Kratom, guitarist Nerium and drummer Segale Cornuta, the wildly adventurous De Venom Natura captures the band going where few metal musicians have dared go before. In the band’s own words, they say LP number two is “an alchemical meditation on the poisons of nature – seductive, transformative and deadly.”

As with any band that lives to explore uncharted territory, we hit up Ponte del Diavolo to find out how their development as a band led to the audaciously ambitious record of theirs that just dropped. In a Bad Penny exclusive, the quintet graciously broke down each of their releases with descriptions that elucidate how they became the band that they are today.

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On Tyranny: Russian Alt-Metal Musician Urges U.S. Artists to Resist America From Turning Into Her Fascist Homeland

Posted in Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny, Videos with tags , , , , , , on 04/06/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

As if any of us needed any more convincing that Authoritarian America is increasingly resembling Russia, thanks in part to Donald Trump modeling himself after his hero Vladimir Putin, this latest installment of The Bad Penny‘s ongoing series On Tyranny will demonstrate how chillingly similar life in the two countries has become. And for this we have a musician named n0 trixx to thank: The Russian artist is unwavering in her conviction that those who call themselves artists must be uncompromising, courageous beyond dispute and speaking truth to power.

At a time when more American musicians are finally speaking out about the full-scale assault on democracy that Trump and his band of sycophants and sociopaths effectively began launching a decade ago, artists in the U.S. still have much, much more to learn. If there’s an upshot to the pillorying of musicians here, it’s that they have learned, are learning or soon will learn that making art is not simply an exercise in entertainment: It’s a critical activity that ensures the circulatory system of democracy is in good shape.

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Doppelgängers: Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme and The Pale Man From Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’

Posted in Doppelgängers, Features with tags , on 04/06/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Who’d win in a bar fight?

José González’s ‘Against the Dying of the Light’: Two Cent Review

Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags , on 04/06/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

With his fifth album, Swedish songwriter José González considers his deepest of existential queries while maintaining the effervescent, seductive sound that’s the strongest through line in his career. Read my full review courtesy of FLOOD.

On Tyranny: Hip-Hop MC TINO Says of His New Trans-Rights Song: ‘[They] Just Want to Be Loved Too’

Posted in Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny, Videos with tags , , , , , , , , , on 04/05/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

No Kings 3, which took place last week and drew an estimated 8 to 9 million participants – exceeding the turnouts of the first two protests – provided more wind in the sails of the pro-democracy movement that is barreling toward a critical juncture at the November midterm elections.

Red-hot MC TINO – who hails from Dayton, Ohio – didn’t make it to the protest. But since the early 2010s, the hip-hop high-achiever has kept his mind trained on educating and galvanizing his audience with socially conscious messages while ensuring his lips are trained on spitting transcendent rhymes.

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