What made the night perfect – apart from spotless organisation courtesy of Group Therapy – was the fact that all of the bands gave the audience something to look forward to in the new year – from fully announced Calla’s ‘Navigator’ due in Spring via Rumour Cubes working titles and album recording well under way, to Flies Are Spies’ yet unnamed tracks. – by Magda Wrzeszcz

Dark, atmospheric death; a soundtrack to accompany the winds of famine and plague. – By Daniel Chavez

Gary Jackson talks to Wil Castel of French rock band Duck Explosion about exploding plastic ducks and other things.

Tonight, Wolf People are playing the closing show in ATP’s series of gigs at Netil House, Hackney. They follow the likes of Shellac, Comets On Fire and The Icarus Line in a none too shabby celebration of alternative music. It was a privilege listening to the Bedfordians tonight; let’s hope they aren’t away from these Isles for too long. By Ross Pike

This album is, like the striking artwork, a demented scrawl on some posh wallpaper, deeper and more arresting than it seems at first glance. By Owen Coggins

It’s the breathtaking feeling of an adrenaline rush combined with electro-organic soundscapes warning you of an approaching apocalypse. By Stephen Lee Clarke

One of the most accessible thrash albums of the year. – By Justin Petrick

Earlier this month Dutch atmospheric post-metal sludgers SiMÓN released their second album The Inner Traveller. Gilbert Potts asked the band some questions to find out more.

Subzar invites you to travel within your dreams and hopes through their sweet and perfectly crafted acoustic music. – By Edgärd Reyes

‘Halls In Hospitals’ is a frequently impressive debut from a band who can surely establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the UK post-rock scene. By Gareth O’Malley

An interesting mix of styles, combining southern rock riffs, obtuse time signatures and clean bellowed vocals to a deeply satisfying affect. – By Andrew Rawlinson

Sander van den Driesche went to The Arches in Glasgow to see the Texan slowcore of True Widow supporting indie rockers Kurt Vile and the Violators.

The chamber post-rock of Slumber, Savage Beasts is a beautiful blend of music and poetry. By Daniela Patrizi

This isn’t really a Christmas album for the masses. Indeed, a lot of it is plain scary, but then that is why we love psych so much and if you want something a bit different this year from Santa then this is the place to come. By Martyn Coppack

Amor is a vertigo of sounds that traps you and keeps you alive and kicking with songs that changes tempos, rhythms, and dynamics quickly. By Daniela Patrizi

In a world that’s increasingly reverent of “singles”, even when that word becomes more useless in describing how music is distributed and consumed, an album that rewards the listener for taking in the work as a whole stands out. – By Luke Henley

A thrillingly uncomfortable listening experience that only extreme metal can provide which leaves a sense of satisfaction for reaching the end in one hit. – By Andrew Rawlinson

Black Death Horizon, the highly-anticipated follow-up to 2009’s Nekropsalms, is just dripping with raw, demonic riffs and horrific atmosphere. Wimps need not apply, because the hordes of hell will merely devour them without mercy. – By John McLaughlin

Unwave are a band to keep an eye on if they can reach their full potential. By Andrew Rawlinson

Grayson Hale asked Ben Koller of Converge and All Pigs Must Die some questions about his latest project Mutoid Man, which also involves Stephen Brodsky of Cave In.

“ridiculously sublime, sublimely ridiculous” – Owen Coggins on Acid Mothers Temple’s finest hour…