Heavy means different things to different people! For me, it can heal and destroy all at the same time, a quality that I find beautiful. I also believe that there are many different ways that this kind of music can be created, which means there are so many different roads that can be travelled on a person’s journey to planet HEAVY. One label that has been a guiding light for me when it comes to finding some of my new favorite bands is BREATHE PLASTIC. Not only has this cassette-focused audio cathedral released some of the raddest bands since it started, they have done it with class. The aesthetic of BREATHE PLASTIC is perfect; from the way their site is built, down to the packaging of their tapes. BREATHE PLASTIC breathes quality, which is why CVLT Nation is honored to present this label feature…It’s not about the money with this label, it’s about the music, the bands and the fans…Let’s keep it heavy as we BREATHE PLASTIC.
1. CULT OF OCCULT: Hic Est Domus Diaboli
Unholy fuck, this tape is just too fucking good! These doom warlords know how to create ugly, monolithic doom in their demented likeness. With every riff, CULT OF OCCULT takes the listener closer to HELL. Not many Hic Est Domus Diaboli tapes are left, so do what any feedback junkie would – score your fix, like, NOW!
2. MUSCLE and MARROW: The Human Cry
Last year, I wrote these words to describe Muscle and Marrow and they still ring true!
“Haunting, Transcendental, Heavy, Magical, Heavy and Healing are some of the words that come to my mind while I listen to the new tape by Portland’s Muscle and Marrow entitled The Human Cry. Over the course of 9 enchanting songs and 39 minutes of slow moving audio drama, this band paints a beautiful portrait of despair. Kira Clark and Keith McGraw’s tunes will take your mind to a land where the wind whispers the outcome of your nightmares. Musically, this band is ultra heavy, but it’s not in the normal sense it’s more mental than physical.
3. HE WHOSE OX IS GORED: Op Amps II // Nightshade
So epic, So honest, So ethereal, So dynamic…HE WHOSE OX IS GORED is a special band that needs to be heard by all. They prove that there are so many different ways to express oneself when it come to creating heavy music!
4. APPOLLONIA: Blank Solstice
I’m not going to lie and say that I’m not a fan of real indie music. APPOLLONIA’s tape Blank Solstice shows the world that emotional music does not have to be weakviolence. APPOLLONIA knows how to make the kind of songs that remind what it’s like to be above the clouds!
5. Martyn Jackson: HOME
AMAZING!!!!!! How many times did this tape get played when it arrived at the CVLT Nation HQ? Too many to count…This record is loved by our whole family and is perfect at any time of the day or night…I can not say enough how we love Martyn Jackson in our home!
6. DESTROY JUDAS: Wake
Wake is one of the most underrated record to come out in the last decade! DESTROY JUDAS are a band that has not received the attention they deserved. All you have to do is see them live and you will say to yourself, why have I not heard of them? Listen to Wake, and you will feel the same way. When I saw that BREATHE PLASTIC released this record on tape, I knew the person behind this label had great taste, and my respect for him was instant!
7. PLAGUE MASK: The Frailty Of Human Existence
The Frailty Of Human Existence by PLAGUE MASK is a perfect, spaced-out sludge adventure, so get with the program ASAP!
8. BLACK MARE: Field of the Host
Field of the Host by BLACK MARE is a record that is a giver of life itself. Every moment of this sonic journey is unreal…All you will want to do is let Sera Timms’ mythic voice take you away to a place where clouds are your spaceships! Again, Field of the Host is a record that has become apart of our lives and will remain that way for infinity!!!
9. SUFFERING QUOTA: S/T
Grind for the Mind… SUFFERING QUOTA self-titled tape KILLS SHIT…Nuff said!
