Weekly Threats MEGA Post: Recommended New Releases For March 2018

Portal - ION

There are a few albums that came out in January that we didn’t get a chance to cover in our last megapost, but these two were so good that we can’t let them go un-mentioned.  Australian experimental death metal band Portal has been one of the best live shows I’ve seen! Technical, dissonant and unrelenting their latest ION continues in the excellence of their previous outings, with cleaner production that trades off some of the suffocation for articulation.

Mammoth Grinder - Cosmic Crypt

January’s other release is punk/death metal trio Mammoth Grinder’s 5 year return Cosmic Crypt!  Frontman Chris Ulsh has reformed the band with Iron Reagan members Mark Bronzino on guitar and Ryan Parrish (also formerly of Darkest Hour) on drums.  Despite the lineup change and dropping from the quartet lineup of Underworlds, you can find more of the crust punk/d-beat extreme metal mashup that you have known to love from Mammoth Grinder.

Phonte - No News Is Good News

This album reminds me how important Little Brother was to my generation.  The North Carolina Hip Hop trio grew up on the same 90s Golden Era backpack rap but managed to make music that was faithful to it without being dated carbon copies.  They were from the South but weren’t too crunk, and they incorporated singing without being too soft.  At the risk of sounding old, they made music that sounded grown.  Phonte’s solo outing is no exception, having the Grammy-Nominated MC/singer tackle topics such as aging, health concerns, death and married life.

Drowse - Cold Air

Several years ago Kyle Bates of Portland OR's Drowse was prescribed antipsychotic drugs after a severe mental breakdown.  After some time his paranoia and suicidal thoughts began to resurface, so he then turned to Klonopin and alcohol after years of being unmedicated.  It was during this that he wrote and recorded Cold Air Drowse’s 2nd album.  The result was an experimental, ambient haze drenched in noise and reverb that found a perfect home at The Flenser.

Apathy  - The Widow's Son
Connecticut MC Apathy has been a fixture in the underground hip-hop scene for over two decades, emerging as a member of The Demigodz alongside Celph Titled, Ryu, Esoteric, Motive, & Blacastan.  The punchline heavy rapper delivers 14 tracks with themes inspired by his dedication to Freemasonry.  The album features production by DJ Premier, Pete Rock, and Buckwild, as well as guest appearances from Pharoahe Monch, Locksmith AG, M.O.P. and more.

MURS - A Strange Journey Into The Unimaginable
West Coast G MURS has been on the scene releasing solo efforts and collaborative albums since 1997.  He has worked with labels such as Rhymesayers, Duck Down, DEF JUX and EMI and is perhaps most well known for his collabs with Atmosphere and producer 9th Wonder.  His latest for Strange Music is a very personal affair, discussing topics such as his divorce, depression and his son being stillborn.  It is produced by Michael “Seven” Summers.


PRhyme  - PRhyme 2
PRhyme is a duo that could have easily been many hardcore Hip Hop heads’ dream collaboration “what ifs.” If Detroit MC Royce da 5’9” didn’t finesse a few tracks with legendary producer DJ Premier into a full-blown album it would’ve remained mere speculation instead of reality.  Their second record sounds much more cohesive than their debut, having them evolve from a dope MC rapping over dope beats into an incredible group that’s beginning to find their combined sound.

Mournful Congregation - The Incubus of Karma
Australian masters of funeral doom Mournful Congregation has returned after 6 years to release The Incubus of Karma on 20 Buck Spin.  The band has been in existence for 25 years so it’s safe to say that this album will not fail to deliver.  Heavy, slow riffs, 15 minute+ song lengths and expressive, progressive solos makes for a perfect extreme doom album from pioneers of the genre.

Bishop Nehru - Elevators: Act I & II
Bishop Nehru dropped his highly-anticipated album, Elevators: Act I & II.  The release is produced entirely by Kaytranada and MF DOOM (whom Bishop released an album with as NehruvianDoom in 2014) and is divided into two parts.  The NY MC/producer describes his latest as “Grammy Rap” and his attempt at a Hip Hop version of the Beach Boy’s “Pet Sounds.”

Memoriam - The Silent Vigil
Bolt Thrower is arguably one of the greatest Death Metal bands to have ever existed.  So when the defunct band’s vocalist Karl Willetts and former drummer Andy Whale teamed up with two former members of the great death metal band Benediction it’s an event that definitely deserves notice.  This supergroup’s second album The Silent Vigil is out now on Nuclear Blast Records.


GosT - Possessor
Slightly more Satanic, slightly more metal and still 100% synthesizer!  This new GosT album brings us more of the dark, dancey goodness we have come to enjoy from the leather-clad, skull-faced persona.  The character of GosT is Baalberith, a prince of hell who has been there since the revolt in heaven and the rise from hell.  The enigmatic synthwave producer hails from the Bible Belt and got his start in hardcore/metal bands which explains the heavier side to his JUSTICE meets John Carpenter style.


Sons of Kemet - Your Queen Is A Reptile
British jazz quartet Sons of Kemet brings their African-Caribbean influenced jazz to legendary label Impulse Records, home to the band’s (and many other’s) personal heroes John Coltrane, Alice Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders.  The affair is an infectious, stripped down/down to earth polyrhythmic journey.  Sons of Kemet consists of Frontman/saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings with Theon Cross on tuba, and both Tom Skinner and Eddie Hick on drums.

DOOM & Czarface - Czarface Meets Metal Face!
I almost didn’t want to listen to this.  If we were going to have a new MF DOOM album with any Wu-Tang member I wanted it to be the long awaited, long anticipated DOOMSTARKS record with Ghostface Killah.  No offense but we’ve been waiting for DOOMSTARKS almost as long as we’ve been waiting for Jay Electronica to put out his debut.  But who are we kidding, it’s new DOOM music AND Inspectah Deck, we can’t pass that up!  Here we have DOOM collaborating with the trio of Czarface, which also includes 7L & Esoteric (a supergroup who’s persona likely owes a lot to DOOM.)


Eagle Twin - The Thundering Heard
Salt Lake City sludge duo has finally released their third full-length album “The Thundering Heard” on Southern Lord Records.  Six years is a long time to wait between releases (yet it seems to be a theme with some of this month's other releases.)  The record is 4 tracks and 45 minutes of tectonic, tuvan throat singing influenced, bluesy doom and draws upon folklore and the current events of the world.


Jean Grae & Quelle Chris - Everything's Fine
In a world full of Cardi B, Nicki Minaj and Young MA we must not forget the lyrical Jean Grae who’s been holding down the underground for a minute.  Make no mistake though, these comparisons are not merely a lumping of female MCs, but a celebration of the renaissance of dope female rappers that have been popping up of late (shout out to Remy Ma, Ruby Ibarra and Rapsody too.)  Jean Grae gives us her latest effort with fellow rapper and finance Quelle Chris, a concept album that also features comedians Hannibal Buress, John Hodgman, Michael Che, Ashok Kondabolu, and Nick Offerman.

Napalm Death - Coded Smears and More Uncommon Slurs 
Though this is not a new release, any output from legendary grindfathers Napalm Death is cause for celebration! Coded Smears and More Uncommon Slurs is a two-disc compilation album with over 90 minutes of rarities and exclusives from 2004-2016.  The 31 tracks spans over a decade of grindcore excellence from pioneers of the genre.