Article By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker ‡ Edited By: Leanne Ridgeway
The Riot’s Revelation series on Riff Relevant is pulling a “return to its roots” roundabout, as I get back to the original premise of these segments: to turn readers on to some cool music, bands, releases, and stuff of similar ilk.
Not just that, but in the case of releases or albums, ones made even better by their being FREE for you to obtain, like the subject of today’s episode. Relapse Records has long been the source and home to many a remarkable band, amazing album, sponsor of a cool event (remember the Contamination Fests of the past?), and more. One of the aspects of the label that I personally enjoy is their willingness to provide music from a variety of genres and stylistic influences, never limiting themselves to one particular type of music.
Thus, what we have here is an ideal example of Relapse’s refusal to be providers of a singular, pigeonholed musicality. Forget that! Just in time to both wrap up the year 2018, as well as symbolically serve like a Christmas gift that requires a mock “unwrapping”, if you will, we receive the arrival of the ‘Relapse Sampler 2018‘!
This unholy compilation offering contains 33 songs from 33 different bands, ones ranging from death metal, black metal, doom, sludge, and grindcore to hard rock, electronic, synth, industrial, darkwave, experimental, and beyond. There is truly something for everyone on this collection, be they lovers of myriad types of doom a la Windhand, YOB, Satan’s Satyrs, or sludge-like Monolord or Unearthly Trance, to thrash like Iron Reagan, Pig Destroyer, and Cripple Bastards. Maybe death metal is their thing? If so, bands like Gruesome, Full Of Hell, and Skinless have tracks included here.
You can get your metal on right here, right now, with the stream of the Relapse Sampler 2018 we have streaming here or you can go to Bandcamp [HERE] where it is also streaming and available as an NYP (Name Your Price) download.
