Intensive Care and The Body - Was I good Enough? (2025)

Two major forces in the industrial/noise metal scene, Intensive Care (Andrew Nolan) and The Body are used to releasing collaborative albums, so this one, called Was I good Enough? was bound to happen. The result isn't really surprising either. The good thing is that the quality is as high as expected. I just regret it lacks maybe a dose of craziness/unpredictability to make it really stand out among both band discographies. That been said, they've done another excellent album and I enjoy listening to it, as will anyone into dark industrial sounds.

 

The Body BC page. 

Intensive Care/Andrew Nolan BC page. 

 

Iron Lung - Adapting // Crawling (2025)

Maybe younger readers only know Iron Lung through the (always excellent) releases of their record label, but with Adapting // Crawling the bass/drums duo from Seattle is releasing a new album (previous one was twelve years ago!). And once again they deliver some great powerviolence, with bleak bits of sludge and noise. If you don't know Iron Lung, the band, it's time to discover it.

 

The BC page. 

 

Stimulant - Sub-Normal (2025)

Five years after their previous release, the guitar / drums duo Stimulant (formed by ex-Water Torture) is back with a new album called Sub-Normal. And it was worth the wait, once again they deliver some high quality and high impact powerviolence / noise. Good stuff! 

 

The BC page. 

 

Trauma Bond - Summer Ends. Some Are Long Gone (2025)

This new Trauma Bond release is less powerviolence/noisegrind and more hardcore/noise. Pace is overall slower, but quality isn't lower. Summer Ends. Some Are Long Gone have a different mood, but it's still excellent stuff, and still with the diversity and unpredictability that makes them more interesting than most extreme bands. 

 

The BC page. 

 

Ramleh - Hyper Vigilance (2025)

Hyper Vigilance, the new Ramleh album keeps the psychedelic noise rock formula of the two previous albums, but is also enriching it with new elements and more diversity overall. The main new thing is the use in several songs of acoustic guitars, bringing a somewhat neofolk feel at times, with also more vocals, and on the other hand there are some harsher industrial/noise moments, making it maybe the most interesting of recent Ramleh albums. In any case, it's another awesome addition to their fantastic discography. One of my favourite album for this first half of the year. Totally recommended!

 

The BC page. 

 

Merzbow - Hatonal (2025)

I don't review harsh noise very often, not because I don't like it, but because it's difficult to write about it. Trying to describe it seems a bit pointless. Noise is something you have to feel... What to say about this one? Merzbow aka Masami Akita is among the pioneers and great masters of noise, maybe even people not into it have seen or heard his name mentioned, maybe listened to one of his collaborative albums with rock/metal artists. On Hatonal he's doing his stuff, noise with just enough variations to keep you listening and enjoying it. Might be a patience test for most people, a pleasure for some, and in any case, an interesting listening experience.

 

The BC page

 

Full of Hell & Andrew Nolan - Scraping The Divine (2024)

Full of Hell is one of the best blackened hardcore bands and released several excellent collaborative albums in the past, Andrew Nolan never failed to make his music, whether more hardcore/metal or industrial, interesting at least, most of the time brilliant. Saying I had big expectations for this Scraping The Divine collaborative album would be an understatement. Does it live up to it? No, it EXCEEDS it! Yes, sir! Ranging from ferocious noisegrind to more atmospheric industrial metal (the track with JK BRoderick isn't the only moment of the album evoking Godflesh), it is a truly awesome album. Warmly recommended!

The BC page.

 

The Body - The Crying Out of Things (2024)

The Body have been sucessfully experimenting in collaborations with many artists, but it's also good to have them back with a new album on their own (their ninth). The Crying Out of Things sounds a bit like a return to the basics of their  industrial / noise with drums, guitars, screams and electronics sound. But like always they also introduces something new, and I'd say here it would be the use of background synths, bringing at times discreet melodies and at times an additional layer or colour to the overall atmosphere of the song. But no worry, it is enriching their sound, but without making it losing its raw and noisy feel. 25 years after their beginning, The Body keeps on evolving and delivering albums as good as ever. Thank you guys! Keep going!

The BC page.

 

Holy Grinder - 10 Desecrations (2024)

I discovered this one, 10 Desecrations by Holy Grinder, thanks to Cephalochromoscope (one of the best blog about grindcore around).  Excellent album of bass/drum noisegrind, noise refering to the raw and sludgy bass sound but also to the use of power electronics / harsh noise elements. Could have been monotonous and boring, but it's diverse and exciting (at least if you're brave enough to stand a noisegrind assault). things like a good instrumental track with sax, reminding a bit Brainbombs helps making the album interesting and standing out. Good stuff.

The BC page.

 

The Body & Dis Fig - Orchards of A Futile Heaven (2024)

Yes, Orchards of A Futile Heaven is another collaborative album from The Body, this time with DJ and vocalist from Berlin Dis Fig (Felicia Chen). As expected, it's good, and it's especially recommended to people that like The Body music but are put off by their monotonous shrieking vocals. Here Dis Fig is doing most of the vocal, and she's did a great job, a lot more melodic and diverse, but also visceral and intense, fitting well the abrasive, dark and industrial sound produced by the trio. Among the most successful collaborative albums with The Body.

The BC page

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Alleged Witches - Work After Machinery (2021)

Work After Machinery by Alleged Witches is an interesting and finely crafted dark ambient/noise/industrial album. I especially like the nice ritualistic voodoo tribal merged with a dark futuristic sound atmosphere of the album. Good stuff.

The BC page.

 

Sea of Shit - Sea of Shit (2023)

Awesome come back from Sea of Shit. On this self-titled album, released with Nerve Altar, they mix powerviolence with sludge and noise in the best possible way. Grabbing you by the guts and not letting go. And you will ask for more.

The BC page.

 

 

Godflesh - PURGE (2023)

PURGE is the new Godflesh album, six years after Post-Self. It's like a good condensed of the whole Godflesh discography, with the core elements laid since Streetcleaner, to the more ambient parts we had in Post-Self (and reminding Jesu), but with also the coming back of more jungle/hop-hop elements we had in Us and Them (and other JK Broadrick projects like Techno Animal). It will please all the Godflesh followers and is also a good one to discover the band, featuring all Godflesh has to offer. Another strong addition to the Godflesh work and no doubt the main industrial metal release at least for this spring/summer.

The Bandcamp page.

 

8 Hour Animal - Kill Your Boss (2023)

On Kill Your Boss, second album from one-man project 8 Hour Animal, again released by Sentient Ruin Laboratories, the music gets more industrial metal and EBM, and less power electronics. In any case, it confirms that 8 Hour Animal is a nice addition to the harsher side of the industrial scene.

The BC page.

 

SAN LEO - Mantracore (2020)

Discovered SAN LEO at a gig where they opened for Unsane. I've been impressed and really enjoyed their set. The music of the Italian duo (one is drumming, the other playing guitar and electronics) could be described as psych/kraut/noise or as they dub themselves "mantra-core" and "trance noise". This album called Mantracore is also live, not as good as seeing them live for real, but good enough to let you feel the energy they radiate. Sometimes more melodic, sometimes more raw and noisy, always strongly trippy. Good stuff!

The BC page.

 

Blastro - From the Beginning to the End (2013)

Relentless blast beats over a wall of noise : doesn't it sounds like the perfect recipe for sonic happiness? To me it does, and that's exactly what you'll get from Blastro, a Japanese trio with an ex C.C.C.C and an ex G.I.S.M. From the Beginning to the End has been recorded live and released ten years ago. 

And you need it. 

Dead Neanderthals - Click (2022)

Click is the fourth albumin a raw as a drums/synth duo for Dead Neanderthals. Seems Otto Kokke is not inspired by his sax any more these days, at least with DN. But that's OK since they keep on releasing good albums. Click is a long and hypnotic piece of kraut/noise/drone with a dark/disturbing feel (their previous album Metal with its drums/synth atmospheric black metal was interesting as well). Good stuff as usual from Dead Neanderthals. 

The BC page.

Sightless Pit - Lockstep Bloodwar (2023)

Lockstep Bloodwar is the second album from Sightless Pit, a band with Lee Buford (The Body) and Dylan Walker (Full of Hell), but this time without Kristin Hayter (Lingua Ignota). The vocals are now done by many guest vocalists. The whole thing is rooted in industrial / noise / illbient, but there's a lot of diversity, and it goes from more ambient to very aggressive through trip-hop to trap to power electronics and vocals going from singing to rapping to growls. Often surprising and interesting. But I'd say would have been more memorable as an album with more cohesiveness. You often feel like you're listening to a mixtape, more than to an album. But why not. I'll keep following what they'll do next.

The BC page.

Suzuki Junzo / Tetuzi Akiyama - Evaporation of Holy Water (2022)

Suzuki Junzo / Tetuzi Akiyama are two guitarists, prominent members of the Japanese psych rock music scene. On Evaporation of Holy Water (released by Utech Records) they join forces for a dual psych/noise guitar radical attack. Guitars, guitars, guitars, and that's all. But it's a lot! A powerful trip.   

The Bandcamp page.

 

Faust - Punkt. (2022)

Punkt. has been released last year, but have been recorded fifty years ago. It was meant to follow the four album of the first era of krautrock pioneer's Faust. It's a nice reminder of why this band is so special, a good testimony of how they were noise before nearly everyone and in a way no-wave before punk even existed. And good at venturing into free jazz territory as well. Excellent album from a band like no others.

The Bandcamp page.