Happy Friday, all! Tonight, I'll be attending a listening party for a new album from a Minneapolis local band and hopefully watching a scary movie or two. And listening to more music, of course! Below we've got some punk rock, noise rock, post metal, doom, and black metal - a real grab bag this week. And since it's October, I've got another horror movie recommendation for you as well. Into the pit!

What a nice surprise to wake up to a new Deafheaven EP! At Work in the Fields of the Bomb is a three-song release with two epic heavy tracks sandwiched around a shorter mood piece. The opening and closing tracks are very, very heavy, and also feature some interesting atmospheric work. Deafheaven rules. 

The new album by Desolat is fast-paced punk that's angry and cheeky. It's a very political album that tackles issues of fascism and big tech, among others. I had a great conversation with Desolat's singer Albert Satani a couple weeks ago, which you can read here. 

Here's a somewhat soft recommendation for the self-titled album by Steak. At times, it leans a little too close into standard alternative rock for me. But at its best, it reminds me of fellow Londoners Elephant Tree, who are a criminally underappreciated band. 

Here's one that I missed from last week that's definitely worth your time: Terminal With Benefits is the second album from London's Ritual Error. This one could easily fit into the post-hardcore or noise rock bucket - it's loud, fuzzy, and emotive. Great stuff.

The Cthonia EP is a four-track instrumental release from London's Silvam. It definitely has the flavor of a demo, which makes sense as the band's writeup states that the EP's purpose is for the band to experiment and discover their sound, which as of now is fuzzy post metal. It's a promising start for a young band. I'm also giving it some attention because I happened to meet guitar player Antoine at Fire in the Mountains, and he is a very nice young dude!

Here's a new two-song EP from Minneapolis' onlytime, to break the kings of earth like pots fresh from the fires of the kiln. I came across this on Reddit, where the band dropped Isis and Blood Incantation as influences. I also hear some Tool, especially on the first track. I really like this a lot and I'm looking forward to hearing more from this local crew!

Here's another good one for spooky season: Demons Left to Roam by Witchthroat Serpent is occult doom awash in creepy vibes. Slow, Sabbathian riffs with clean vocals and a cobweb layer of fuzz over the whole thing, this record will make you feel like you're slowly walking through a chilly old castle with a flickering candelabra in your hands. 

This track is positively moldy by the standards of this column - it came out way back in August. But this fuzzy psych rock track for New Zealand's Earth Tongue is a fuzzy, upbeat jam, and we don't do enough of those so it makes the cut. 

Here we have the third single from the upcoming Genital Shame album. "Gòrecki Plan" is a black metal song at its core, but has a strangely upbeat vibe at times. Fun and interesting stuff, to be sure. 

Let's chill out a bit before ending on another banger. Virga are folk-inflected shoegaze from Kansas, and they have a very nice two-song EP out this morning. It's nice, Enjoy!

Cult of Luna are back with another new track off their upcoming album. "The Rift" has more of a post hardcore vibe than I normally associate with the band. I'm digging the diversity of sounds from the new album so far. 

Mike Flanagan is one of the biggest names in horror now. His new Carrie series is streaming now on Amazon, and Clayface is coming to theaters later this month. He's made multiple smash hit horror shows for Netflix, and been one of the most successful adaptors of Stephen King's material. And yet, his first feature film Absentia remains relatively obscure. It's certainly a low-budget affair, but nevertheless worth your time. He's been a relentlessly creative writer/director from the start, and I guarantee you that you won't guess the twist of the movie from the trailer above.

Have a great weekend, everyone.