SOM - The Shape of Everything (2022)

Absolutely beautiful doom-gaze. While so many of their shoegaze-infused post-metal peers still lean heavily on the drawn-out crescendos of mid-aughts post-rock, SOM keeps their songwriting concise while allowing their sound to remain proudly, passionately outsized. Like a more muscular, reinvigorated Jesu, or Deftones if they allowed their dreamiest impulses to reign. (I know there are a lot of Deftones haters out there, so please don't let that last part stop you from checking this out.) Free/name your price via the SOM bandcamp.

Track listing:

1. Moment

2. Animals

3. Center

4. Shape

5. Clocks

6. Wrong

7. Heart Attack

8. Son of Winter

Nothing can stop me now

You're right, you're right

You should also hear:

Year of the Rabbit - Year of the Rabbit (2003)

Coaltar of the Deepers - Yukari Telepath (2007)

The End - Elementary (2007)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:

The End - Transfer Trachea Reverberations from Point: False Omniscient (2001)

Years before Tesseract, Periphery, and their legions of disciples were fusing heady, math-y heaviness with dark, melodic alt metal, there was Elementary. It kinda sounds like if hardcore-Cave In and alt-Cave In made a record together. Unfortunately, fans of The End never stopped pining for the Calculating Infinity-worship of their debut EP, and they never really found a new audience to replace the old one. Thus, both of the band's excellent Relapse albums were largely either ignored or hated on, and they broke up shortly after the second one (Elementary) was released. Frowny-face.

Track listing:

1. Dangerous

2. The Never Ever Aftermath

3. Animals

4. The Moth and I

5. Throwing Stones

6. My Abyss

7. Awake?

8. A Fell Wind

9. In Distress

10. And Always...

When it seems like all you're made to do is suffer

You'll be pleased to know that miracles do occur

Also listen to:

Eryn Non Dae - Hydra Lernaïa (2009)

The Contortionist - Intrinsic (2012)

Skrew - Shadow of Doubt (1996)

US industrial metal. Heavy, razor-sharp guitars, strung-out vocals, and dark, enveloping atmospheres that land them somewhere between Filth Pig and Astro Creep: 2000, but without the commercial appeal.

Track listing:
1. She Said
2. Black Eye
3. Knotted Twigg
4. Head
5. Swallow
6. Sam I Am
7. Going Down
8. Generator
9. Dark Ride
10. Crawl

She put the gun to his head
He pulled the trigger

You'd also like:

Meathook Seed -
Embedded (1993)

Bile -
Teknowhore (1996)

White Zombie - Make Them Die Slowly (1989)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:
White Zombie - Gods on Voodoo Moon (1985) Pig Heaven (1986) Psycho Head Blowout (1986) + God of Thunder (1989)

White Zombie's second full-length, the Bill Laswell-produced Make Them Die Slowly was, as they say, a transitional record. It splits the difference between Soul-Crusher's noise-sludge trash-art and La Sexorcisto's psychedelic groove metal, landing in territory that didn't really make anyone happy -- including White Zombie, who were dissatisfied with it before it even came out. Except for a 13-year-old me, of course, who bought the cassette under the false assumption that it contained the song I'd heard on the radio, then nonetheless listened to it on repeat all summer.

Track listing:
1. Demon Speed
2. Disaster Blaster
3. Murderworld
4. Revenge
5. Acid Flesh
6. Power Hungry
7. Godslayer

Doomsday for all the beautiful people

You might also enjoy:

Fudge Tunnel -
Hate Songs in E Minor (1991)

Therapy? -
Suicide Pact - You First (1999)

Therapy? - Suicide Pact - You First (1999)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:
Therapy? - Babyteeth (1991) + Pleasure Death (1992)

To quote my last post about them: "Therapy? are at their best when they're at their noisiest and most inscrutable." This record is certainly those two things, but it's informed by the experimental quasi-pop that they'd dabbled with on their previous two records; there's a swagger under the pummeling, and vocalist Andy Cairns snarls, sneers, moans, and whispers his greatest performance on record. And when the bottom falls out on tracks like "Six Mile Water" and "God Kicks", it's goddamn devastating.

Track listing:
1. He's Not That Kind of Girl
2. Wall of Mouths
3. Jam Jar Jail
4. Hate Kill Destroy
5. Big Cave In
6. Six Mile Water
7. Little Tongues First
8. Ten Year Plan
9. God Kicks
10. Other People's Misery
11. Sister
12. [hidden track]

You were very young
When the law came to take you away
You had that stuff in your hair
Get you in trouble someday

If you're into this, try:

Cop Shoot Cop -
White Noise (1991)

Today Is the Day -
Today Is the Day (1991)

Coaltar of the Deepers - Yukari Telepath (2007)

Dreamy, pop-y shoegaze/alt rock with a weakness for crystalline, arpeggiating dance keyboards, gauzy guitar textures, and brief glimpses of "death metal." Though they give the band personality, I've always found their metal parts a bit weak, so I was pleased to hear that they'd toned down that aspect of their sound on Yukari Telepath. In fact, it's probably their most sonically cohesive record to date. It's still utterly unique (and utterly Japanese) music, with a number of chill-inducing, mind-melting moments, just with less zaniness.

Track listing:
1. Introduction of Zoei
2. Zoei
3. Wipeout (Retake)
4. Water Bird
5. Hedorian Forever
6. Aquarian Age
7. Automation Structures
8. Interlude
9. Lemurian Seed
10. AOA
11. Yukari Telepath
12. Carnival (Oumagatoki Mix)
13. Evil Line
14. Ribbon No Kishi
15. Deepless

Without hesitation into door away

Therapy? - Babyteeth (1991) + Pleasure Death (1992)

Two mini-albums of dark, experimental noise rock from this longstanding project. Although they were most prominent throughout the mid-90s, I've always felt that Therapy? are at their best when they're at their noisiest and most inscrutable, so these, their first two releases, represent some of my favorite material of theirs.

Track listing:
-Babyteeth-
1. Meat Abstract
2. Skyward
3. Punishment Kiss
4. Animal Bones
5. Loser Cop
6. Innocent X
7. Dancin' with Manson
-Pleasure Death-
1. Skinning Pit
2. Fantasy Bag
3. Shitkicker
4. Prison Breaker
5. D.L.C.
6. Potato Junkie

God kicks with both feet