thefalls - Expect Nothing

December releases sometimes run the risk of being missed completely, but this cannot be ignored. "Expect Nothing" first punishes you with dissonant sludge riffs before a brief accelerando, which gives way to all out chaos. thefalls have got themselves one helluva debut with "Break the Calm," which clocks in @ nearly an hour. 

You can nab the album via iTunes, but the band's Bandcamp doesn't seem to be in use.

FFO: Black Sheep Wall, Noriega, and Imbroglio

Secret Cutter

Secret Cutter just dropped their eponymous full-length, and it's a real banger. Their style fluctuates between obnoxiously heavy sludge groves and some brief grind passages, which makes sense, as the band features member(s) of mathcore/techgrind act, Orphan Donor (which is a great name btw). 

Favorite tracks: Mirror Mirror, Driftwood

The band's first EP also available for free via Bandcamp.

Cara Neir - Sublimation Therapy

Sometime ago I endeavored to start contributing over @ Godless Noise, but ultimately couldn't find the time to do so, nor much time for this blog (I'm sure you're starting to see a pattern here). Almost a year later I finally got around to giving Cara Neir's Sublimation Therapy a listen, my first potential submission, and it's been steadily growing on me. The Texas 2 piece seamlessly blends the nastiest grind and black metal, though there's elements of many different genres, and the drumming is absolutely batshit insane. Super clean blasts (see "You Are Missed") while still maintaining that gritty and raw production.

The band has also been fairly prolific and has a substantial back catalogue, most of which can be obtained free or for a nominal price via Bandcamp.

Armed For Apocalypse - The Road Will End

Armed For Apocalypse have recently dropped their 2nd full-length, "The Road Will End," and it's a sludgefest of epic proportions. This album is ridiculously heavy, and from the beginning of "The Starting Line Is A Tripwire," it's nonstop headbanging and catchy riffage. Tracks like "The Well" and "Built to Kill" also display some the band's best song writing to date. Also posted above is footage from the time these dudes played my old living room, performing "We Fell From the Bottom" off their debut release.