SMALL MERCIES

ABYSS/BESNA Split CD WOLFMOND Germany’s Abyss and Slovakia’s Besna offer different takes on BM. Although drawing on Swedish scene-inspired melody and post-rock respectively, neither band manage to deliver something truly personal. OLIVIER BADIN OOZE Shivers ROBUSTFELLOW PRODUCTIONS Highly atmospheric and dripping with dynamic exploration, the second EP from Ukraine’s multi-genre instrumentalists is sure to turn heads. Forlorn violin melodies saunter forth from four tracks that offer a rare and mesmerising treat. LUKE MILNE RESERVING DIRTNAPS Another Disaster WAR Four tracks in less than 12 minutes of mosh-heavy, testosterone-pumped, old-school hardcore in the Agnostic Front/Madball vein from Memphis. It’s not nuanced, subtle or forwardthinking in any way, but it is undeniably effective. STEPHEN HILL HAD MLP ME SACO UN OJO The cavernous death metal bellows of Incantation and the imperial dissonance of Immolation belch out from the sulphuric crypt HAD (Danish for ‘hate’) dwell in on their untitled MLP.…