Grey Skies Ring in Bandcamp Friday in November!

It’s the penultimate Bandcamp Friday of 2023! You know the drill: Bandcamp waives its revenue share and all the money goes directly to the artists and labels for a full 24 hours. As is tradition, here are my Top Five picks to help you find some great tunes for the month. Since we’re on the heels of Halloween and October was such a strong month for new music, I decided to focus on a handful of those releases.

First, in keeping with the spirit of Halloween, L.A. quartet Vitskär Süden give us a superbly sinister rendition of Michael Jackson’s classic “Thriller”. This came out of nowhere and filled me with joy! You need this song in your life. Give it a listen and pick up the track right here.

Second, while on the topic of cover songs, Sister Midnight is a terrific and often-overlooked band, covering all kinds of lesser-known ‘70s horror movie scores and dark tunes that go hand-in-hand with Halloween. For the Friday the 13^th in October, they did a splendid cover of Nazareth’s "Sold My Soul". Go listen to it and check out the rest of their catalogue if you’re new to them right over here.

Third, what is bound to end up on many AOTY lists come year’s end, Spain’s Angelus Apatrida unleashed their 8^th album, Aftermath, two weeks ago and it’s a thrash metal fan’s dream. You can read my praises of it here and get yourself a copy right here.

Fourth, the mighty Ripple Music released supergroup Blood Lightning’s first album two weeks ago. The band comprises members from GOZU, Sam Black Church, Worshipper, and We're All Gonna Die. These four Boston metal dudes sure know how to make an old school hard rock/heavy metal record. Their self-titled debut kicks ass and takes names and you should get it right here.

Fifth but not least, Dying Victims Productions put out another tasty speed metal album two weeks ago, that of the highly anticipated debut of Bogota, Colombia’s RECKLESS, titled Sharp Magick Steel. Fans of late ‘80s speed and heavy metal will dig it a lot. You can get it right here.

That’s it, folks! Find something to your liking and open your wallets to support those hard-working bands and labels. I’ll see you all again next month for the final Bandcamp Friday of the year and in between for some articles and musings on all kinds of stuff.