Fistula - Northern Aggression

'Northern Aggression'
Fistula
2012

Genre: Sludge metal, Doom, Crustcore
For fans of: Eyehategod, Grief, Corrupted, Dystopia

Blending the misanthropic crust tinges of Dystopia and the narcotic fueled nihilism of Eyehategod, Fistula's brand of purulent sludge is drawn out and painful - just the way it should be. The band go between slooooooow sludge/doom and fast hardcore passages complete with harsh, hateful vocals and riffs-a-plenty. If His Hero Is Gone wasn't metallic enough for you, or if you're feeling particularly hopeless and angry today,  give this EP a go.

The Fang

Burned Up, Bled Dry - Cloned Slaves...For Slaves

'Cloned Slaves...For Slaves'

Burned Up, Bled Dry

1998

'Criminally underrated'

From what I can tell, Burned Up, Bled Dry were (and still are) a widely overlooked band. These guys cranked out some awesome powerviolence, that was definitely influenced by neocrust/crust (think His Hero Is Gone's faster moments). There's a perfect balance of pure hardcore energy and grindcore fury, with just enough melody seeping in to keep things interesting (see Count On Yourself).

Broken Heart, Broken Mind

Swinelord - I Feel Fucked

'I Feel Fucked'
Swinelord
2011

'Heavy as fuck'

Swinelord are an English band, and as you can probably tell by the title of this release, are not what you'd call 'high brow'.
Rather, Swinelord deal in crushingly heavy crustcore, with nods to d-beat and doom metal. With guttural vocals and some very meaty breakdowns thrown in for good measure, this should appeal fans of metal and hardcore alike.

Welcome To You're Doom
Bandcamp

KAOS SS - LIFE-ILL

'LIFE-ILL'

KAOS SS

2012

'Brutal, heavy crustcore'

NO I'M NOT SHouting, this band just has a thing for capital letters evidently.

LIFE-ILL is KAOS SS's debut ep, and while the Norwegian band clearly wears its Scandinavian crust/hardcore influences on its sleeves, they keep things fresh by adding in a few nods to extreme metal (deep guttural vocals and massive sounding down tuned guitars). This is five tracks of heavy fucking punk, and you'd be wise not to pass this one up.

I Am Mandrill!