Justin Broadrick sure is busy this year...not only has he aired the first new Godflesh recording in over a decade, embarking on his first US tour with them since the 90's, but there's a new Jesu EP out this month as well. Everyday I Get Closer To The Light From Which I Came is classic Jesu, bleak yet uplifting, trudging towards oblivion with a slight smile on its face. Gaze at your shoes for forty minutes and contemplate the inevitable. The 5 song EP is available as a digital download for $8, and comes with an additional 4 songs recorded live in Belgium earlier this year.
A Storm of Light's connection to Neurosis is well established and while comparisons are unavoidable, Nations to Flames shows that Josh Graham is capable of carving out a musical identity of his very own. This is the heaviest and most aggressive album that ASOL has released yet. If the idea of Soundgarden jamming with Neurosis sounds good to you, then revel in Kim Thayil's presence as a collaborator on some songs. Not sure which ones; also not sure why only 3 tracks are available on ASOL's Bandcamp page, but all 11 songs are streaming here courtesy of Noisecreep. The album is available as a digital download for $7.99.
I've had a soft spot for Rosetta ever since I saw them open for Kylesa during a snowstorm back in 2011. The Anaesthete, the band's first self-released album (and fourth overall, apparently) expands on their hypnotic, post-rock influenced doomcore with a bushido inspired theme and some quiet parts that remind me a lot of Australians (and DoC faves) Nuclear Summer. Cerebral and enveloping, if slightly too long for its own good. The album is available as a "name your price" download.
Like a less droning version of Earth, Tennessee's Across Tundras inject a great deal of southern twang into their slow and heavy atmospherics. Electric Relics finds the band at the crossroads of psychedelic doom and dark country - possibly the same black crossroads that Robert Johnson was made an offer he couldn't refuse. Across Tundras make a similar offer: the album is available as a "name your price" download.
