north carolina metal

Obviously this isn't meant to be some sort of documentation on the North Carolina metal scene past and present, or really anything like that at all. It's just a few bands that played or do currently still play various types of metal and are from North Carolina. They all also happen to be related in the sense that one will be ex members of another, so it makes sense to me to put them all together in one post.

Starting things off is Seven Foot Spleen with their most well known release and my personal favorite, Enter Therapy.
Sludge sludge sludge. That's what you're getting here. Well, sludge, grind and some doom. But this is a heavy, sludgy listen that doesn't fuckin let up. Some tracks really stand out and a small few are pretty standard for this type of music, but still great nonetheless. 12 tracks, one is "hidden" and the longest is 12 minutes with the shortest being 59 seconds. So you should know what you're getting into if you're already a fan of this type of thing.
Download: Seven Foot Spleen-Enter Therapy



Next up is DEMONCY. If you don't know who Demoncy is then you're in for a real nice treat. If you like Black Metal, that is (and recently it seems like everyone does[or at least they "like" it]). Demoncy were originally from Sylvan, NC but he's now located in Atlanta, Georgia. But the album I'm going to post was recorded in NC and he lived here at the time. Demoncy is the project of Ixithra who is joined by others from time to time, but no one else is a concrete member like he is. The thing about this band is that it should be a lot more well known. Demoncy should be as popular as Judas Iscariot and they should have been for quite some time now, instead of just recently getting more attention. Why? Demoncy is one of the best USBM bands ever, among the pioneers of stateside minimalist Black Metal, has been around since 1989 (still going) and has released around 10 albums, not counting the numerous re-issues that have been released since the turn of the century. Plus, the music is fucking great. I mean, I'm no authority on all things Black Metal, or even all things Metal, but I'm not completely clueless either. I can tell when a band is great and hopefully you can too. If you don't download anything else from this post, at least download this Demoncy album, Within The Sylvan Realms of Frost, his seventh album and my personal favorite. If you enjoy it make sure to check out Faustian Dawn, his second album and my second favorite.

Download: Demoncy-Within The Sylvan Realms of Frost (I had to do this on one Rapidshare because Mediafire kept fucking up, oh well)

And as a bonus, here is his 2003 album, Empire of the Fallen Angel, just because I had it uploaded somewhere else an the link is still fresh. These songs are all shorter, faster and more cleanly produced. I haven't decided yet if that's a good thing.
Download: Demoncy-Empire of the Fallen Angel



I don't know much about Anu and I'm sure they (including Drathrul, a contributor to Demoncy) probably like it that way. Anu is also minimilast Black Metal but with more "ambient" parts than Demoncy. This is the sound of night, of darkness, this is Anu's 1999 4 Track Demo. These songs would be used a year later for a 7" EP. I've never heard that record but I think that they just used the same versions of the songs instead of re-recording them. So if you want a physical copy of this demo, get the EP. Well, try to get the EP I should say. I don't know how easy or difficult it would be to find a copy since it has been 9 years and it hasn't been repressed or anything.


Download: Anu-Demo '99


Last and god damn certainly not least: HOUR OF 13.
This is Traditional Doom Metal, the best kind of Doom Metal. Hour of 13 are rehashing the past but fuck it, they do it so well. It's all pretty familiar sounding if you're already into this type of music, but it's never boring. They do it so well. Recommended for fans of Saint Vitus, Pentagram, etc. What do you like to do? Smoke weed? Drink a few beers? Fuck a fat girl? Hour of 13's self titled debut will make all that and more a much better experience. Maybe you just like to chill out on a Sunday night and worship some Satan, you know, the usual. That's cool man, Hour of 13 know what that shit is all about. Let them in. You're gonna dig this shit. I love listening to this album in my car on the highway for some reason. Makes me wanna roll down the windows, grow my hair long and buy a pack of cigarettes even though I don't smoke. Enough of my bullshit though... Hour of 13 has an ex member of Seven Foot Spleen who has also been a contributor to Anu and Demoncy and the other member is ex-Upwards of Endtime and Seamount(another good Doom band). This was released recently(2008) so it should still be still available. Buy it. If you don't like this album then you're a shithead who can't groove. That's it.

Download: Hour of 13-S/T



That's all for now. Maybe I'll do a NC Metal Part II post if anyone actually likes this shit.