Best of 2018: Leftovers Edition

I know our original list was pretty comprehensive, but we’re not finished yet. Here is some more good shit from 2018 that you may have missed, some of which we forgot entirely. Additionally, some of these aren’t necessarily mathcore*, just some good music we liked that came out last year, OK? Alright then.

*we here at Mathcore Index like to keep it eclectic, so brace yourself if you’re expecting absolutely no crossover.

Read the full list after the jump.

ZOICC – “Vol. 1 The Book of Herman”

ZOICC’s lineup splintered briefly into ZOICCULT earlier in the year (since then becoming Cruel World Collective), and in the shuffle we totally forgot about these exceptional 4 tracks of mathcore in the vein of The Number Twelve Looks Like You and The Dillinger Escape Plan.

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1832102853/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/

Bandit – “Warsaw”

Pennyslvania’s Bandit managed to squeeze this one at this last second, and it’s 6 short tracks of filthy grind and hardcore that would make Pig Destroyer blush, and you can blast through in less 5 minutes, so there’s really no excuse to not listen to this.

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1435580374/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/

Blind Girls – “Residue”

Australia’s Blind Girls brings 11 tracks of hard-hitting, chaotic screamo with a bit of technical flair.

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3252995392/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/

Inertia – “Teratoma”

Buffalo’s Inertia deliver a perplexingly eclectic blend of technical and progressive metal with disparate math rock passages.

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1808624435/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/

Azusa – “Heavy Yoke”

Members of Extol and The Dillinger Escape Plan come together for 11 tracks of solid progressive metal.

Sleepsculptor – “Untimening”

Another Pennsylvania act we forgot, Sleepsculptor’s debut EP is 5 tracks of heavy and chaotic metalcore, with frantic, sometimes shrieking dual vocals (a personal highlight for me) and savage breakdowns.

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1944784806/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/

Gouge Away – “Burnt Sugar”

Whoops. This was a totally obvious one if you follow Deathwish Inc’s output. A really fun post-hardcore album that for me recalls early At the Drive-In, Drive Like Jehu, The Jesus Lizard, and (apparently) The Pixies.

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3939341057/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/

c0mputer – “Consequences of Mass Production Under the Entertainment Regime”

Anoth
er “whoopsie.” Legit even own this one on Bandcamp and still somehow missed it. Sassy lo-fi mathcore from Florida.

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2855846619/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/

PinioL – “Bran Coucou”

Another album I literally own and totally forgot to mention. If you like weird, the members of Ni and PoiL have got you.

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1470202692/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/

Malevich / Iron Gag split

Would you believe me if I said I forgot 3 things that are actually in my Bandcamp collection? Members of Georgia’s LadyBird reform for something even MORE dark and sinister on their split with Iron Gag.

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=547885825/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/

Kodos – self-titled

Sassy screamo injected mathcore / false-grind in the vein of Gas Up Yr Hearse and SeeYouSpaceCowboy.

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3501491950/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/

PlasticBag FaceMask – “How to Kill a Dead Franchise”

PlasticBag FaceMask have impressively stepped up their game in the past few years.

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3599730750/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/

IKEA Mutilation Manual – “Construction of Compulsive Chagrin”

…speaking of weird, Belgium’s IKEA Mutilation Manual’s music is a strange and oddly assembled as the name would imply, but ultimately an enjoyable and eclectic listen of mathcore, prog, and bizarre samples.

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1393975312/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/

Shaving the Wearwolf – “One Way Ticket to Dick City”

Just another bizarre, sassy mathcore band, nothing to see here. I fucking dare you not to laugh at that album title.

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3643114250/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/

Anna Sage – “Downward Motion”

France’s Anna Sage deliver 6 tracks of metallic hardcore in the vein of Cult Leader, Converge, and Scarlet.

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1387415234/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/

Comess – “Botched and Flailed”

Absolutely disgusting and dark. Comess were another band facing lineup difficulties this year, but they managed to deliver a great album, showing once again that Colorado knows how to brutal.

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=503548872/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/

Bave – “The Gosh of Hellfire”

Solid instrumental math rock out of Detroit.

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=847387948/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/

Sloth & Turtle – self-titled

Caught this band with Standards, and was very impressed with their performance. Dreamy, chill math rock with lots of pedal work and 2 handed tapping.

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2525967287/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/

Northwoods – “Wastelands”

Ital
y’s Northwoods bring 6 tracks of solid metallic hardcore in the vein of Converge.

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=621713643/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/

No Right – “Unjustified”

Had to give some love to local Bay Area hardcore. Excellent debut from this young band, and a energetic live show as well.

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=409217350/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/

156/Silence – “Undercover Scum”

Produced by at Bricktop Recordings, which churns out some of the heaviest shit out there.

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=4013650155/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/

The Arusha Accord – “Juracan”

Not a terribly impressive comeback, considering the 8 year gap, but still worth a spin.

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1148773651/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/

Pig Destroyer – “Head Cage”

Speaking of Piggy D, this is definitely not their best work, but it’s still better than a ton of other metal and grind releases this year.

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2131497285/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/

Zeta – “Magia Infinita”

A fun album that will most likely please fans of The Mars Volta, At the Drive-In, and any associated Bixler-Zavala / Rodríguez-López projects.

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2142329764/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/

The Nietzsche – “Finals”

This didn’t make my original cut, but seeing as how it’s the band’s *final* EP, we decided to include it in this roundup.

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3201457302/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/

Street Sects – “The Kicking Mule”

This didn’t hit me the right way the first time, but the more I listen the more I began to like it. I enjoyed this for the same reasons as The Armed’s new record, with its electro-metal / cybergrind sound a la Genghis Tron and Cutting Pink With Knives mixed with Blood Brothers and..idk, no wave? Shit is wild.

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=4004452437/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/

Nightmarer – “Cacophony of Terror”

Members of War From a Harlots Mouth, The Ocean, and Success Will Write Apocalypse Across the Sky bring 10 tracks of dissonant, heavy, and technical death metal.

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=303558271/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/

Pound – self-titled

Instrumental tech metal / mathcore on Silent Pendulum (Dead Empires, The Number Twelve Looks Like You).

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=775464081/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/transparent=true/

So that’s it. Did we forget anything else outstanding? Let us know: mathcoreindex@gmail.com

(We don’t cover much death metal, but if you’re interested in that, the big dawg Trevor Strnad of The Black Dahlia Murder’s list over at Metal Injection covers just about everything worthwhile)