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The first blackened crust (or Punk Metal, or however you tag it) band from Turkey to be featured on my blog. Rötbrains were formed back in December '11 and released one 5-track demo called "Discontent" so far. Lyrically they deal with usual themes for blackened crust, such as anti-nationalism, anti-government, and anti-religion.
VALD "Boycott Your Life" Year: 2006 Genre: Crossover Thrash Metal / Crust Country: Finland
Track List:
Boycott Your Life
Min Revolt
Here In The Darkness
Fuck Fashion
No Future / Nothing
Waiting For The Angels To Cry
Revolution
Once Again
Krossad
War
Dark Clouds
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Another Scandinavian band that, I know, made an influence on a lot of RABM bands. They're often labeled as "blackened crust", but in my opinion it's rather crossover thrash/crust. "Boycott Your Life" is their one and only full-length album released on Treason Troops Records (a label that label was founded specifically for Våld's releases), before they split up in 2008.
Don't know for sure if they're from Finland or from Sweden. So far it seems like they're Finnish Swedes - but there's another band under this name from Sweden, also playing (blackened?) crust, that released only one demo in 2005 (couldn't find it anywhere, though).
MARTYRDOD "Paranoia" Year: 2012 Genre: Blackened Crust Country: Sweden
Track List:
Nog Är Nog
Överkom Er Rädsla
Klassfienden
Hör Världens Rop
Ett Hjärta Av Eld
En Tragisk Zeitgeist
Det Sker Samtidigt
Paranoia
Köttberg
Avbön
Varje Val Har Sitt Pris
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Of course I'm not going to post here each and every release from the Scandinavian (blackened) crust scene, because there are just too many awesome bands. But this band has had a great influence on the whole blackened crust & RABM scene, so I can't go past their newest album, "Paranoia". Some people think it's great, some consider it a letdown... well, listen to it and think for yourself. Right now Martyrdöd are on Southern Lord Tour 2012 in the US & Canada. See the tour dates here (you can also buy "Paranoia" CD in the "Store" section).
bandcamp
猪龍 are a new crust/d-beat/metallic hardcore band from Almaty, Kazakhstan, featuring members of Diary (neocrust) and Plastic Army (melodic hardcore). This short 3-track demo, strongly inpired by Tragedy and similar bands, was recorded live in rehearsal on March 2012. A full-length album and a 3-way split are in plans. 27.05-21.06: "Oralman Tour 2012" (Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus). In my opinion, this demo is average at best (just like their other projects, though), but they seem to be the only people playing crust in Central Asia, so I think they deserve our support.
Another band from the MOMP (Middle Oregon Metal & Punk) scene, this time playing blackened crust with some ska/reggae overtones. However, can't compare Warmonger to Let The World Die or Leper; the ska influence isn't that evident on this one-track 7'' when compared to their 2009 demo (which can be downloaded @ MOMP blog). They began in 2008 in Eugene, OR; their guitarist, James Henderson, also played with the Bad Habit Bandits, and I know for sure that he's a follower of my blog.
BRAIN FAMINE "Brain Famine EP" Year: 2011 Genre: Death/Grind/Thrash Metal Country: USA
Track List:
Die Off
Cunning Bondage
Ingest
Ignorant Dopes
Citizen Solution
N.F.O.
bandcamp
Brain Famine are a new death/thrash/grind band from Boston, whose lyrics mostly deal with typical angry-against-society shit (upcoming oil apocalypse, federal reserve, carcinogenic ingredients in food, stupidity, environmental disasters, insanity etc.). They're not sure if it alone makes them a political band, but at least one of their members reads my blog on regular basis. He also had spent ~2 years in Ukraine, so he's interested in spreading his music in that area as well. Don't know if I'd be able to go to Ukraine in the next few years, but I'll keep it in mind... Anyway, good to see another band playing good old socially charged death/thrash metal.
Japanese anarchist dark electro / industrial metal band 2 Bullet have just released a new track "Ya Basta", inspired by the recent violence in Mexico, particularly in Ciudad Juarez. This fan video for this track was made out of Mexican mockumentary "Niños Incómodos" ("Troublesome Youths"), featuring children in the roles of kidnappers, corrupt cops and drug traffickers:
MOOKERDAM "The Moon Is Bleeding" Year: 2012 Genre: Doom/Sludge Metal Country: USA
Track List:
The Moon Is Bleeding
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Don't know much about this band, but they've sent me their newest single "The Moon Is Bleeding" about a month ago, and I think it's right time to post it here, as I'm going to post a lot more doom/sludge/experimental stuff in the next few days. "The Moon Is Bleeding" is quite heavy sludge metal with some DM & BM elements.
Riding a Wind ov Knives into the Eye of a Shitstorm
(segue 2)
Bastard
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As it was promised a couple of months ago, here's a full-length album by Kata Sarka officially available for free download. There are no new tracks (except for several instrumental interludes), but if you're new to Kata Sarka, it's a perfect release to start listening to them from.
bandcamp
An EP from a now defunct self-described "Satanic Hardcore" band based out of Kitchener/Waterloo, Canada. Discovered then through Music Against Humanity blog. I've a lot more of music to post (mostly BM of all sorts, and doom/sludge), but I decided to post this one first.
NEGATIVE STANDARDS "VI-XI" Year: 2012 Genre: Blackened Crust / Sludge Country: USA
Unfortunately this band doesn't provide their releases for download, but you can stream their first full-length "VI-XI" (as well as their first 10''/tape "I-V") from bandcamp(UPD 17th of June 2012: now it's available for free, enjoy). You can also buy it from the label's webstore, if you wish. Negative Standards are based out of Oakland, and play doom/sludge with elements of black metal and epic crust. Now they're on a month-long US tour, and their bassist has asked me to post the tour dates on my blog. Well, why not?..
May 17 - Washington, DC @ Ras Hall, 4809 Georgia Ave. NW w/ Good Luck, Spoonboy, Hop Along, Sundials. May 18 - New Brunswick, NJ @ Ray Cappo's Cantina May 19 - Brooklyn, NY @ Stolen Sleeves Collective, 538 Johnson Avenue w/ Anasazi, No Sir I Won't, Sad Boys, Zatsuon. May 20 - Northhampton, MA @ VFW Florence, 18 Meadow Street w/ Warrior Kids (France), MFP. May 21 - Montreal, QC @ Death Church w/ Æsahættr, Xothugua, Sand Witch. May 22 - Portland, ME @ 442 St. John St w/ The Piper and the Salami, The Correspondences. May 23 - Boston, MA @ Whacky Kastle w/ Vaccine, VYGR, Nailed Shut. May 24 - New Haven, CT @ TBA w/ Escalators. May 25 - Philadelphia, PA @ Cloud City w/ Bacchus (Ireland), Torch Runner, Hazards, War Emblem. May 26 - Baltimore, MD @ TBA May 27 - Asheville, NC @ The Get Down! May 28 - Atlanta, GA @ Wonderroot Collective May 29 - New Orleans, LA @ Hey Cafe w/ Mauser, Post-Teens, Mystic Inane. May 30 - Houston, TX @ Vinyl Junkie w/ Napalm Raid, Sixbrewbantha. May 31 - Austin, TX @ Chaos in Tejas (TBA) June 1 - Austin, TX @ Chaos in Tejas, End of an Ear Day Show June 2 - Austin, TX @ Chaos in Tejas, Prank Records Breakfast Show w/ No Statik June 3 - Austin, TX @ Chaos in Tejas (TBA) June 4 - El Paso, TX @ The Horizon Club w/ Røsenkøpf. June 5 - Phoenix, AZ @ TBA June 6 - Los Angeles, CA @ McWorld, 5011 W. Adams Blvd. June 7 - San Francisco, CA @ TBA
VEHEMENCE "demo" Year: 2012 Genre: Blackened Crust / Dark Hardcore Country: France
Track List:
Torture Yourself
Waves Of Hate
Passion
Me Against Myself
The March Of Deadbodies
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Vehemence are a new female-fronted dark crust band from France. This demo was sent to me by their vocalist Katya Gloom with very little additional info - but you can check out their blog, if you're interested. The demo is quite good for a first release, offering a solid mix of epic crust and elements of black metal. Hope to hear more from them in the future.
THE BOMBS OF ENDURING FREEDOM "Megaton" Year: 2012 Genre: Industrial Country: UK
Track List:
Corporate Son of God
Bin Laden Is Dead
WW3 (you have been warned)
Predator Drone (Hellfire Edit)
No Secret Is Revealed
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TBOEF is a brainchild of James Fogarty aka Mr.For, a former member of a relatively well-known experimental black metal band The Meads Of Asphodel, and a current member of Old Forest (black metal) and Jaldaboath (black/folk metal). He also had an experimental electronic/dark metal project called Ewigkeit, started in 1994 and discontinued in 2006. Unfortunately, I haven't checked out any of Ewigkeit's albums yet, but I definitely will, as the mix of genres (progressive/industrial/black metal) seems to be very promising.
Out of all Mr.Fog's projects, TBOEF seems to be the most relevant to my blog (as pointed out by Mr.Fog himself - yes, he does know about RABM!). Yes, the music on this EP is mostly electronic and generally far from metal, but fans of Ministry, KMFDM, Pitchshifter and other 90s' industrial rock probably won't be disappointed. As for the ideology, it's critical of US imperialism and global capitalism. Of course, all releases from TBOEF are officially available for free download. If you're unsure whether to download this EP or not, then you can watch this video first:
After many years of activity, this blog is now put on hold since the majority of contributors have a lot of other important stuff going on in their lives. New music submissions should go to /r/RABM/ (note that the mods of /r/RABM/ don't have anything to do with this blog).
Most of the uploads here are band sanctioned. Anyway, if you for some reason don't want to see your music here, contact us using rabm (AT) gmx (DOT) com, and we'll consider taking it down.
Bottom note: there's probably a lot of broken English on this blog, since English isn't the first language for many of the contributors.
FAQ
Q.: Which kinds of music are featured on this blog?
A.: - (primarily) RABM or Red & Anarchist Black Metal: all kinds of black metal-related music charged with radical leftist (anarchist, libertarian socialist, eco-anarchist, etc.) political views. Some of the bands featured here may be not openly political, but all of them are RABM-friendly;
- blackened crust/hardcore/punk (only if it's openly RABM-friendly, or if it's just very good music; we have no intention to collect here all the blackened punk in existence);
- other kinds of political (anarchist, socialist, etc.) metal - death, thrash, post-metal, etc.;
- dark ambient, neofolk, industrial, dark electro, etc. - but only if it has some RABM-friendly ideology;
- regular punk/hardcore/crust, post-rock, conscious hip-hop, etc. - but only as a rare exception (so if you want to send us a demo in one of these genres, you're probably in the wrong place).
Q.: What are some RABM/blackened crust bands to start listening from?
A.: Here's an old compilation which I (B.K.) made in late 2009. Doesn't include a lot of good RABM bands that I didn't know of back then, but still recommended if you're new to RABM:
Q.: How can I support a particular RABM band with my money?
A.: Most bands nowadays have a bandcamp page, where you can but their stuff online (usually for an arbitrary price). It's the most convinient way to support the band. If your favourite band don't have a bandcamp or bigcartel page, try to find out in which distro you can find their albums/merch. Of course, go to concerts if you have such opportunity.
Q.: How can I offer my financial support to this blog, or the RABM movement in general?
A.: Unfortunately right we don't have an opportunity to accept donations, but we hope we'll be able to set it up soon.
Q.: What is the connection between black metal and hardcore/punk/crust?
A.: It's a well-established fact that the connection between black metal and punk scenes existed since the early days of BM (think Venom, early Bathory, early Mayhem and early Sodom on one side, and Amebix, Discharge and Axegrinder on another). Recently this mix of BM and hardcore punk got a new life in the form of blackened crust (thanks to Black Kronstadt / Iskra in first place). And don't forget about Cascadian black metal bands with their radical environmentalist ideology, often to the extent of radical eco-anarchism or "pro-nature/anti-humanity" ideas.
Q.: What's your main ideology?
A.: This blog is generally written from a position of anarchism without adjectives; however, the RABM scene is very diverse ideologically. Let us end on this, as this blog isn't quite a right place for purely political debates; if you want to learn or argue about anarchism/other ideologies, there's a lot of specialized FAQs/blogs/forums for you.
Q.: Isn't black metal supposed to be apolitical?
A.: Supposed by whom? I personally don't think so, but if you think that political awareness should have no place in "true" black metal, you can feel free to call the bands featured on here "blackened punk" or whatever you want. It should be noted, though, that a lot of these bands doesn't openly talk about politics in their lyrics, exactly because they think it wouldn't be suitable for black metal. - B.K.
Q.: Isn't RABM just an "answer" to NSBM?
A.: While RABM is definitely against NSBM and any other kind of far-right crap in metal scene, it's most emphatically a self-sufficient movement and not any kind of "answer to NSBM". Similarly, while RABM is 100% pro liberation from any kinds of religious tyranny, it isn't a movement against any particular religion (Christianity, Islam, or any other).
Q.: What's your opinion on Satanism?
A.: The so-called "Hollywood Satanism", which is often found in black metal, is, in our opinion, nothing more than inverted Christianity, so we aren't big on it. Many of us are simply atheists, pagans of all kinds, gnostics, etc. We also don't share the notion that only genuine theistic Satanists / Devil-worshippers can play "real" black metal (this would exclude such bands as Venom, Bathory, Immortal, Summoning, and many many others). Additionally, the very term "Satanism" is quite vague, and can't be narrowed down to LaVeyan Satanism (which is heavily disliked by many black metallers), or whatever else. LaVey had some good points, but in general his philosophy can be described just as "Ayn Rand with some occult tinge".
Q.: What about misanthropy and nihilism?
A.: To put it in short: we don't hate everyone and everything (and we don't think there's anyone who truly does). We just hate these traits of humanity which make true anarchist society most likely infeasible in the foreseeable future.
Q.: Collectivism or individualism?
A.: There actually is no "hard" contradiction between these two terms. Individualism is simply an outlook emphasizes the moral worth of the individual and its right not to be oppressed by the state or some social group. It doesn't contradict at all with standing up for your rights along with a group of like-minded individuals. It also worth noting that the early black metal scene didn't promote individualism that much (see "black metal circles").
Q.: Who coined the term "RABM"?
A.: Hard to say, but there's an apparent similarity to RASH ("Red & Anarchist Skinheads"). Here's the very first mention of "RABM" we could find (August 2005). The term was popularized by our last.fm group (and later - by this blog) since 2009.
Q.: Do you know the ideology of the band X? It isn't obvious if they're NSBM or not...
A.: Sorry, we don't know, do your own research. It's often hard to say anything certain about a band's views, if the members themselves aren't open about it. We also don't advice using various "lists of nazi bands" etc. as a reference, as most of them are full of bullshit. Similarly, forum posts or blog comments (especially anonymous ones) generally aren't a reliable source for anything. In one particular case, we had an anonymous comment claiming that the members of Timebomb are now playing in a fascist band called SPQR. Later it turned out that it were members of a completely other Italian band with a similar name (Timebombs). Hopefully that'd be a good example of how important fact-checking is.
Q.: I've seen some of the albums posted here in the same distro with some albums by right-leaning bands...
A.: Unfortunately it's often the case with distros and labels that distribute stuff regardless of its political affiliation. Even Austin Lunn of Panopticon complained about Pagan Flames (the label which released his "Collapse" and "Social Disservices" LPs) having NSBM in their distro, so things like these are just unavoidable.
Q.: Some bands on this blog have Burzum on their list on influences. Isn't Varg Vikernes a nazi?