Considering I won’t be able to update website or release that goddamned paper issue anytime soon, I thought about writing a short update on the good things happening in the land of pizza, black mustache and frantic hand gesturing. I am fully concentrated on the label plus moving to a new house and really didn’t think about writing anything but there are a few really new good bands that have been infecting italian ground in recent times so here it is, a quick, Nuclearabominesque report on what I believe you should check out. This is not 1990 anymore so I will cut it very short, just google their name and you can be fan #1 before anyone else.

Sadomortuary
Sadomortuary from Mantua is the band that shook my ass in order to write this article. They play that ultra-filthy sludgy kind of Black Metal we all love so much. I particularly like the sound that reminds me of early grindcore bands like Rot, and yet the references are more diverse, like a slowed down version of Profanatica, Naked Whipper, Bestial Summoning, throw in some finnish death/doom names and so on, yet everything kept very simple and focused more on rot than actual song writing. Approved!

Vexillifer
I stumbled casually on this obscure band that recently released a demo tape on a whopping print run of 20 copies (tape I don’t own, by the way). I might not be sold 100% but there are plenty of interesting things going on on this single advance track we can hear on their (his?) bandcamp page. There are just a scattering of riffs but they all fall into place neatly. Might disappear anytime now but I think they’re worth a listen.

Thulsa Doom
Now we’re really talking, mind me. If there is a tape you should get that has been released last year (besides the Sickness demo of course), it’s this one. Thulsa Doom are fucking awesome. I am a huge fan of sword and sorcery, and hence all the Conan stuff, and even if I am not entirely convinced the pairing between pulp barbaric literature and Metal works (despite the eminent works of thrashies like Carnivore, the Endless Pain cover art or Voivod’s Korgull anthem) the songs on this records blew the fuck out of my skull. The writing is genuine 1990s Death Metal with great mid tempos that have so many references and yet none in specific. And they have great solos too. I cannot find any weak spot here, this is really amazing. Do yourself a favor and get it if Invictus still has copies.

Vomitmantik
This is a very recent band that released a demo tape just some days ago. I have seen quite a few of these minimalistic black/death metal bands since 2010 or so but somehow none of them really managed to click entirely. The rehearsal sound probably cuts off some of the density that is mandatory for the suffocating atmosphere this music relies on. And yet I am interested in checking what happens next, the troiaio these guys manage to put together is interesting. Will follow them closely.

Morticula Rex
This is a one man band from Sicily that writes some interesting slow Death Metal
(i won’t call it strictly death/doom as it lacks some of the dismal ethereality of the genre). I think this stuff works. It’s different from the gazillion death/doom clones popping up recently like warts after a weekend at the swimming pool. Have a list, it’s free these days.

Mass Campylobacter Infection Through Raw Purulent Meat
The noisegore scene in Italy is probably made up of 10 people in all and we all know each other, but when things collide the results are worth checking. This is a band that formed from the syncretism of Yakisoba, Golem of Gore and Fetus Demersus. They have killer graphics, a great logo, and lyrics about the cruelty of killing animals with a lot of blood and guts, the same blood and guts we keep on our dishes this time. From a certain perspective, Carcass were the fathers of this genre and already mentioned this topic so we’re really not straying too far from the original apple tree.