New Metal: Blacken The Globe Compilation Vol. 1

In a few months I'll be moving to Alice Springs, Australia, a small city in the center of a great desert in the middle of nowhere. So imagine my surprise when I discovered not just a thriving Australian metal scene, but a yearly metal festival in Alice Springs! Suddenly I'm looking forward to the move a heck of a lot more.

The Black Wreath, a record label / collective of local metal bands recently put on the first annual Blacken the Globe festival, drawing bands from across the continent to batter the populace senseless. Though I was stuck here in the US for the fest itself, the folks at the Black Wreath have been kind enough to put up a compilation of all bands present for free download on their website. Which is awesome, by the way.

I've listened to enough metal samplers over the years that I expected to have to sort through a lot of crap. Shockingly enough, every band on this comp is some degree of good, which makes it a mandatory download for any metal fan looking for a new fix. It skews toward the brutal, growling/screaming side, but there are some exceptions (such as the more old-school South East Desert Metal and NoKTuRNL's dance-able funk-metal). Unbroken Expanse even bring some rousing pub-rock to the table, oddly enough. Obviously with only one track to work with it's hard to get a full picture of every band present, and once I move to town, I hope to see a lot of them live for myself :)

I must give special horns-up to Alice Springs band Miazma, who have really got it going on. Technical death metal is style I dig, and Miazma plays it at a generally slower tempo than most. You wouldn't think that would work, but it's different and lets me really appreciate the quality of the music more than when Cryptopsy plays at a mile a minute. Plus, they've got nice, evil, Chuck Schuldiner style death-gurgles, which is always nice.

That's my opinion, but you should really download the comp yourself and pick your own favorite! I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Head to the Black Wreath's website and click Downloads to get the Blacken the Globe Compilation Volume 1. Throw the horns! \m/

Here's a list of the bands present on the sampler:

King Parrot
Uncreation
The Horror
Blunt Force Trauma
South East Desert Metal
Exdemission
Miazma
NoKTuRNL
Alkira
Unbroken Expanse