Death metal long ago passed by the graveyards and swamps and went interstellar and psychological, yet that hasn’t fully sunken until the past decade or so when bands such as Tomb Mold and Blood Incantation stretched the boundaries further. They weren’t the only ones, obviously, just the most recently effective, and it’s helped broaden perspectives.

Costa Rican force Astriferous arrived three years ago with an ambitious debut “Pulsations From the Black Orb,” initially revealing their colors, and they double down on “Atavistic Unraveling,” their sophomore record that continues to reach past expectations. Over six tracks and 36 minutes, the band—guitarist/vocalist Federico Gutiérrez, guitarist/vocalist Felipe Tencio, bassist/vocalist José Pablo Phillips, drummer José María Arrea—economically spreads their fury and imagination yet still manages to maintain a vicious, barbaric edge. It’s like a dream where you bleed out in space.

“Carriers of the Curse” bursts with guitars chugging, a sooty fury spreading its reach, howls clawing as the temperatures scorch. Hellish chaos destroys, shrieks frying as synth beams crash through clouds, bristling as smoke spreads, reaching into “The Floating Catacombs” that mauls right away. Howls combust as the playing dusts, the synth cooling the waters, guitars snaking into a fast, dizzying thrust. Soloing stretches as the humidity climbs, the drums mash, and the guitars collect into a hellish storm cloud. “Dissolution of Eternity” mangles and strangles, the growls engorging and blinding, the playing unloading layers of sludge. Guitars cloud as the band thrashes, growls lurching through devastation, fury racing, and the last gasps spitting exhaust.

“Proto Embryo (The Third Tribulation)” has a techy, blazing start, the power decimating as guitars strangle, the pace ignites, and the leads trample. The soloing stuns as the rhythmic pulses wrench, the growls punish, and the drumming powders skulls. “Arcane Demonomania” has the drums encircling, the speed blasting, rubbery leads grasping necks, ferocious howls exploding through walls. Guitars chew muscle as the growls lash against bone and muscle, churning to an end. “Mnemonic Phenomena” has the guitars hurtling into the cosmos, manic calls stirring psychosis, devastating as the guitars race around new angles. Drums pound as grinding hell opens around you, and then things turn into slower, doomier waters, darkening before spiraling away. Closer “Resonance Cascade” blares with synth beams, a deliberate pace shaking walls, drums kicking in as things gradually get faster. The pace shifts and wrecks, murk spreading through your bloodstream, howls retching as the gloom collects. Keys float above the chaos, guitars channel psychosis, and then everything burns into a dreamy, cosmic synth glow. 

“Atavistic Unraveling” swallows you whole with aggressive, yet immersive death metal that feels like it sweeps you into another dimension, or at least another world. This is battering, psychologically challenging fury, death that isn’t as interested in blood as it is in taking you on an adventure that will scar your psyche. There are a lot of bands doing similar things at the moment, and Astriferous are hellbent on making their trip a more violent one that leaves abrasions on your skin and mind.

For more on the band, go here: https://astriferous.bandcamp.com/

To buy the album, go here: https://www.mesacounojo.com/shop/astriferous-atavistic-unraveling-lp/

O here: https://store.pulverised.net/

For more on the label, go here: https://www.mesacounojo.com/

And here: https://www.pulverised.net/

Doing a site like this one, I get asked for recommendations of bands and or records to seek out. People hilariously think I know shit. Anyway, I usually can rattle a few off the top of my head of metal or heavy music I think might resonate with them. A few questions later, I can determine whether or not I want to freak them out.

French black metal confounders Non Serviam very likely would not be a name that comes out of my mouth, a strange thing to say about a band I’m about to praise. Calling them black metal isn’t even entirely right as they blend so many elements from other sub-genres, but it’s closest I can get. On their mind-shredding new record “La Lune Dont Mon Âme Est Pleine” (roughly translates to “The Moon That Fills My Soul”), the duo of Void and Moon gain inspiration from the tale of Diana and Actaeon, covering attraction, violence, and sorrow, the aftermath often too bloody to handle. As for this record, every track is its own beast, entirely different from what surrounds it, making each demon its own entity. It easily can terrify and send less delicate ears fleeing. The rest of us will be happy to indulge.

“La Lune dont mon âme est pleine – Part II” burns in, electro pulses frying brainwaves, howls gurgling as noise corrodes. Sound clips warp as howls spatter, the strangeness ending in acid. “Déesse morte” has a strange guitar wash and an almost chambery approach, the singing numbing as keys flutter and chime. The fog thickens as the swirling attack dizzies, calm gives may to mania, and an eruption leaves bodily gashes no salve can sooth. “Emile Henry” is about the French anarchist, and the track rains blades in a mechanical black metal storm, blistering as the hellish attack keeps growing more intense. Sounds infect and swirl as keys murmur, and the chaos spits nails again, choking and blazing as mental fry sets in deeply. “Victory To Kali” features vocals from M. Kawashima of the legendary Sigh, and it’s a battle with a monster, shrieks peeling paint off walls, mangling with crazed ferocity. The playing drives harder as the cries feel like they’re coming from a person in a boiling cauldron, a sense of calm injected suddenly.

“La Valse des enfants morts” enters amid cooling keys, and then the howls erupt, sending everything into a tizzy, mystical notes chilling, murderous screams taunting. Keys add an odd bit of humidity as clouds warp, everything slowing to a frigid end. “Everything About You” dawns, and instantly it’s vicious, clawing at eyes, the keys dancing in rain clouds, the guitars teasing before ratcheting up the tense vibes, making everything very uncomfortable, zapping into oblivion. “Actéon” opens with a clip from “Gen V,” specifically from Marie Moreau (“You’re fucked up … I’m fucked up …”) and it basks in haze as howls and whispers team up, your head feeling like it’s swimming in Vaseline. The vocals sicken as the guitars soar, ending in a buzzing flood. “Abject sacrifice” sinks into melting guitars, a female voice haunting, the weather worsening as screams erupt. The pace is blistering, voices spiraling as guitars trickle down your back, throbbing as the savagery peaks, slipping into a frosty sheath. Closer “La Lune dont mon âme est pleine – Part III” builds off the opener, chilling, a female voice soothing nerves, howls crumbling over top that, melodies obscured in filth. There is a stretch that is moody and gothy, the drums plaster as screams waylay, bleeding blackness and, all of a sudden, horns attack and instantly leave. The filth thickens as the torment mounts, dissolving into a dreamy void.

Non Serviam are tough to classify and just as difficult to feel comfort around, but that undoubtedly is the point. “La Lune Dont Mon Âme Est Pleine” covers the ideas of desire, violence, and its aftermath, and it makes for a pretty heavy statement on these times, which are eating away at us. This record and band are not for listeners who don’t desire a challenge. It’s not easy to digest, it confounds, and it poisons, with the band’s refusal to submit to any rigid standards only adding to the psychological wounds.   

For more on the band, go here: https://non-serviam.bandcamp.com/

To buy the album, go here: https://laybarerecordings.com/release/la-lune-dont-mon-ame-est-pleine-lbr074

For more on the label, go here: https://laybarerecordings.com/

It’s like a fucking hundred degrees outside in early June (OK, with humidity it feels like 95) and I’d be excited for any hint of arctic weather if only to be able to get my dog properly exercised. But we’re a long way away from that, so we’re going to have to take the mental route of imagining frosty tundra and snowstorms with no relent.

Icelandic black metal force Forsmán are going to get us about as close as we need with their ripping debut record “Brenndar Rústir & Fuðrandi Fjörur” (“Burnt Ruins and Blazing Shores,” roughly translated in English). It’s frosty and violent from beginning to end, giving very few chances to take a breath, and when you can, your lungs choke with campfire smoke. The band—bassist/vocalist V., guitarist H., guitarist/vocalist O., drummer M.—spills ferocity and emotion into these seven tracks and 40 minutes of torment. It’s an album that doesn’t fear sub-zero temps but also could thrive in the opposite environment, putting you to the test. By the way, while signed to German label Vesperian, Metal Blade will distribute their record worldwide, which is big boost for this promising young band.

“Drottinn Fyrirgefur Allt” opens in feedback before its destruction mars, storming as howls crush, guitars truck, and the general vibe releases a bloody snarl. The pressure builds as the playing gets monstrous, speeding as shrieks gut, boiling out into a fury. “Svartir Svanir” gushes as the vocals batter, the playing floods, and melodic waves crash as the swarming intensifies. Colors gush as battle horns cry, and spirited group calls get your adrenaline pumping all over again. “Andvan” is blinding, raw growls gnawing at bone, grisly melodies mounting an attack as the leads zap and sprawl. Emotions run high as the power devastates, the force cascading as the bass bends around corners, guitars ringing in your ears as everything fades. “Valdníðsla” thumps and thunders, howls scarring as the pace gets tougher, ravaging group calls taking off heads. Guitars tangle as the pace hulks ferociously, the leads spindling before fading in flames.

“Kynjamyndir” attacks with rousing drums, humid guitars, and the vocals menacing, the intensity engulfing into a mammoth force. The tempo combusts as the yells reach for the stars, a passionate burst sending rock and light rocketing, wrecking before ending suddenly. “Hræ Hins Almáttuga” rumbles, the playing pulling limbs from bodies, the vocals wrenching as the leads dive into a pit of fire. Roars dust as the guitars ramp up the pace dangerously, colors wash through progressive tones, and everything rides on a storm into closer “Barmafylltar Fjöldagrafir.” Guitars drive as the vocals slash, the temperatures blazing and jolting violently. Vocals strangle as dazzling leads send electricity down your spine, fluttering and flooding as your blood races. Growls curdle as every element gets noticeably more agitated, blasting as sounds scrape, everything ending cinematically.  

“Brenndar Rústir & Fuðrandi Fjörur” is an exciting, frosty, turbulent dose of black metal from Forsmán, a record that should reach more ears with Metal Blade behind it. They’re not reinventing the wheel or anything here, nor do they need to, but their passion and heart give them an edge over a lot of other bands playing a similar style. Listening to this feels like what it might if you were to see lava burst spontaneously from the earth’s crust where you’re likely to get burnt to a crisp, but it’s pretty exciting while it’s happening.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/forsmanband

To buy the album, go here: https://linktr.ee/vesperian#549446188

For more on the label, go here: https://www.metalblade.com/

And here: https://www.vesperian.world/

Summer is supposed to be the time when major blockbuster movies choke theaters to death, and the big blood-racing adventures rake in hundreds of millions of dollars. Stormkeep and their medieval dungeon black metal likely won’t draw millions of people to their shows, but they have enough energy packed into their music to explode worlds.

Their second full-length is “The Nocturnes of Iswylm,” another spectacular, violent, ice-packed crusher that visits the adventure world they’ve conjured on these seven tracks and 45 rousing minutes. The band members—vocalist/guitarist/drummer/keyboard player Otheyn Vermithrax, guitarist Apokteino, bassist Nebula Husk, keyboard player Lord Dahthar—hail from other noteworthy forces such as Wayfarer and Blood Incantation, but this is something entirely different. This is like these four musicians transformed into different characters, drawing upon something only they can summon.

“The Taste of Immortal Blood” dawns in synth beams before the pace tears open, shrieks marring as fantastical zaps make your blood race. The chorus is melodic and rousing, ravaging with pure electricity, creaky speaking jabbing, keys dancing over the bloody ground. The leads explode as the tempo turns more violent, the final moments gushing away. “The Black Dragons of Iswylm” crushes, mangling howls driving, keys blasting as the atmosphere grows balmy. Speed explodes and rips, the howls choking, the playing dashing to a finish. “Saccharine Subjugation” is delirious, the vocals smearing as the playing punishes, a force taking hold and aggravating the weather. Screams blister as clean calls bellow, moody guitars extend their reach, and the murk darkens, coming to a cloudy end.

“Imperious Sanguine Eroticism” basks in chilling synth, clean singing sweeping through, the gothy elements swelling, scratchy vocals bruising as sounds blur. Singing bellows as organs pump, guitars flutter, and an elegance glimmers in the sky, classical acoustics taking you home. “Echoes in the Vasts of Sequestration” is clean and surging at the start, the frostiness increasing as howls crackle and guitars hit the gas pedal. The terror and savagery multiply as the speed tangles, group chants rouse, and the vocals quake before zapping out. “Carnal Tapestries of Nailtorn Flesh” is thunderous, synth scorching, guitars racing as the punishment continues. Growls punish as the playing both fires up and freezes over, a cinematic burst glows, and the keys flush before fading. Closer “Ballad of a Fallen Star” runs 9:28, entering into the fog, the guitars igniting, a melodic storm frothing and spilling over. The excitement jolts and clean singing warps, the guitars layering with warmth, a calm arriving on the back of acoustics. Power soars again as the leads go off, the singing belts and flexes, and the synth elevates the drama, your senses flood a final time.

“The Nocturnes of Iswylm” provides plenty of adventures and a total blizzard of black metal, Stormkeep totally upping the ante from their full-length debut that was a force to behold. Whether or not you’re into the happenings of their fantasy world, you can’t avoid getting swept up by their thunderous energy that easily can capture you. This is a frigid crusher at the start of the hotter months, a strange time to land but perhaps a fitting one when the need for distraction increases every day.      

For more on the band, go here: https://stormkeep-odl.bandcamp.com/music

To buy the album, go here: https://linktr.ee/vesperian#548877761

For more on the label, go here: https://www.metalblade.com/us/

And here: https://www.vesperian.world/

There are people who die on this earth and still walk among us. No, not zombies. They live and breathe and go about their day, but inside, they’re in a nightmare from which they can’t seem to wake, and the existence they once knew is over. There is no overcoming or finding strength or catharsis. It just feels like the past is extinguished.

Connecticut-based death metal force Fires in the Distance is more introspective than most of the bands that do what they do, and their third record “Circadian Promise” is further proof of this. On these six tracks and nearly 50 minutes, the band—vocalist/guitarist Brendan Hayter, guitarist Yegor Savonin, bassist/vocalist Craig Breitsprecher, drummer Jordan Rippe—explores the concept of existential death, taking on the misery and anguish of a life torn asunder. It’s also a manner of accepting aging and the inevitability of dying, embracing darkness and bleak realities and trying to accept that in order to be alive, both physically and spiritually.

“Of Radiance and Levitation” bathes in strings, the drums opening the fray, a melodic gush as howls mar the senses. Guitars burst and chug, elevating the excitement, shimmering as clean singing bellows, the playing deep and rich with emotion, spilling into further aggression. Howls jar as the guitars slash, giving one last thrust before fading into a synth bed. “To You, Author of My Fade” has the drums rousing and the vocals crashing, the aura feeling gothy and burly at the same time, the singing glazing as a hearty fog rolls in. Growls ravage as the clean singing adds some cool air into the firestorm, the temperatures dropping as progressive-style leads energize cells. Colors rush as guitars char, growls smash, and keys glisten, sending the storm coverage into the distance. “Lightless Days of a Songless Bird” mashes as the key swell, growls gut, and ice pellets drop, mist glowing before the band wrecks shop again. Howls bustle as the guitars lather, Hayter wailing, “Why can’t I remember how I lost it all?” as melodies light brightly, burning away.

“By This Time Tomorrow” grapples you to the ground, howls crushing as breezy guitars chill, the tempo trudging with great might. Grisly vocals mix with spacey keys, an Alan Watts quote chilling as the music grows more cinematic, guitars firing up with gusto, bursting with blazing energy. “Once the Silence Takes Your Place” opens with murky keys, the playing electrifying, shadowy pressure darkening as the singing bellows, the emotion crashing through walls. Keys flutter, giving off an illuminating sci-fi feel, guitars hitting the gas pedal, lathering as screaming belts. Singing floods as the keys blind, flowing into the bitter cold. Closer “Agonal Dreaming” lumbers, howls slashing as glorious leads generate lightning, a melodic chorus making hearts race, blackening skies and increasing the horrors. Guitars crush, viciousness stabbing, a brief calming settling, synth strings generating deep textures. Guitars dart again as the vocals get uglier, the keys rain down, and a dramatic, sweeping finish drives the final nails into the ground.

“Circadian Promise” is a morose, yet ravaging record that has Fires in the Distance slathering everything inside of them into these songs. This creation permeates the darkness and the despair and transforms that into a glimmer of hope amid catastrophe. This is a record that can find you when you’re at a low point and reengage the chaos in your heart to rise up and make the most of the time you have.

For more on the band, go here: https://firesinthedistance.bandcamp.com/

To buy the album, go here: https://shop.prostheticrecords.com/collections/fires-in-the-distance

For more on the label, go here: https://prostheticrecords.com/

Patton Oswalt has a bit about not being interested in where the things he love came from, specifically speaking of the “Star Wars” films. He makes good points. Did we need to see Darth Vader as a blonde-haired boy? Boba Fett as a child? I mean, any of the Gungans? Perhaps not, though the films can help you make connections, strange as they may be.

“All Gates Open” isn’t exactly that for Blood Incantation—vocalist/guitarist Paul Riedl, guitarist Morris Kolontyrsky, fretless bassist Jeff Barrett, drummer Isaac Faulk—but it does give you a lot of hints as to why their amazing third LP “Absolute Elsewhere” turned out the way it did, as this music was composed before that record even came to be. And the four ambient, synth-rich, cosmos-fueled tracks and an hour of music act as a soundtrack for the documentary of the same name, detailing the genesis of “Elsewhere.” Weidl calls it a “yang” to “Timewave Zero,” their first fully instrumental release, and there’s a lot of logic there. It’s a different pathway into their brains fully devoid of brutality and death metal.   

“Balance” opens calmly, space passing by your window, icy keys plinking as the atmosphere grows more immersive. The dreaminess thickens accompanied by fluttering notes and breezy bolts of imagination, the fog building to an unmanageable level, thoughts spilling through the mind. Sounds ring as a new reality dawns, keys lull then zap, a rubbery strangeness forms and sweeps at the stars. “Flight” emits a sci-fi glow, rises and pumps, the song’s heart swelling, a gentle foray into New Age magic opening. Keys swirl and swim through star belts, melodies glisten, and the edges of dreams pull you back, glistening as clicks echo and drum beats rattle. The added percussion elements drive as everything takes on a lab aura, blending into celestial light, gushing and fading.

“Dawn” is the shortest track by far at 5:43, and organs rise, lighting with a 1970s prog sheen, warming up as the synth laps and simmers, blurring your sight. Deeper sounds surface and sink again, keys murmur and vibrate, and everything returns to dust. Closer “Rain” starts with keys trancing, soothing as they awaken, sounds tingling as the mists thicken. Guitars break and give off a summery vibe, and then sounds blur as the acoustics gush, everything swirling through your mind as the elements give off an engine-like moan. A synth string blends new colors, mixing light and dark, encircling as the pressure releases.

As a film soundtrack, “All Gates Open” certainly sounds like a moving and hypnotic way to view their documentary, though having not see it yet I cannot fully understand its impact there. As a collection that shows the bridge between “Timewave Zero” and “Absolute Elsewhere,” it does act as connective tissue that shows another progression for this band’s creative and artistic process. It shouldn’t shock anyone who has been on the entire journey with this band, but it also stands as evidence as to where their heads where at before they created a  modern death metal masterpiece.    

For more on the band, go here: https://bloodincantation.bandcamp.com/

To buy the album, go here: https://centurymedia.store/

Or here (Europe): https://www.cmdistro.de/

For more on the label, go here: https://www.centurymedia.com/

Matriarchal ideas and philosophies are under attack, which is hardly new from a world dominated by men in leadership (or maniacal control), who feel the need to stamp out anything they deem a threat. Which is a sign of weakness, but I guess don’t tell them. The arts is an area where femininity and the idea of a goddess thrives, which we visit today.

Downfall of Nur is helmed by sole creator Antonio Sanna, and the project’s new record … take a breath… “And the Firmament Will Burn to Quench the Pain of This Earth.” This is the long-awaited follow-up to 2015’s “Umbras de Barbagia,” and it proves more than worth the way. The record and the band itself centers on Sardinian folklore and the concept of the Mother Goddess juxtaposed with human motherhood, dealing with fertility, loss, hostility, and hope. The record centers on a human who merges his spirit with the Mother Goddess and goes on a journey to help end the constant suffering. You feel every wave and earth pulse crackle over these seven tracks and 80 minutes of thunderous drama dressed in black metal, folk, and doom fury. It asks a lot of your time but rewards in full.

“Disamistade I” opens with sounds floating, voices warbling in the wind, eerie dustiness passing as a bell chimes, crumbling into space. “Beyond The Transcendent Darkness” runs 16:40 and takes a stretch to hover and create an aura, gushing with funereal energy, wails bleeding in the background, the track bursting open fully about six minutes into the mist. Atmospheric black metal hammers, ferocity lapping at wounds, the energy blazing out of control, suddenly calming as strings glaze. The drums then blast as guitars soar, the power combusts, and the earth quakes, the madness subsiding and melting away. “Disamistade II” enters amid piano drizzling, strings chilling, and a female voice calling, folkish elements dusting, fading into the distance. “Underground Halls of the Oldest Goddess Stronghold” runs a healthy 14:40, flooding as drums pelt, guitars glowing as black metal chaos explodes, the shrieks destroying the senses. The playing is fiery and mangling, a misty cold front briefly interjecting, the guitars scorching as anguished cries grab you by the neck, absolutely decimating. The drums punish as the playing spatters blood, a speaking voice rises from the din, the devastation ending in ash.

“The Great Escape” simmers before the steam rises, a mystical reach grazing your shoulder, turning your guts to ice, sounds hypnotizing before blending into the horizon. The title track runs 14:06, punching in and guiding a warm tributary, the moodiness thickening as growls wrench, unleashing viciousness. The leads light as drums ignite, tidal waving energy lapping, shrieks sending jolts of energy down your spine, the volcanic pressure pulling back and allowing calmer winds to take hold. Strings layer as growls choke, the playing upping the ante and peaking with power, bowing in reverence to the clouds. Closer “Deliverance” is the 21:13-long closer, an immersive instrumental that expands the eerie cosmic state, synth boiling as sounds warp as if under gravity from another world. The atmosphere blackens as sounds pulse and murmur, hypnotic waves sizzling your nerve endings. The playing swims through star formations, growing stranger and more electric, the sense of dread getting more profound, the final moments blurring into the sky.

“And the Firmament Will Burn to Quench the Pain of This Earth” not only is a tribute to Sardinia and its mythological history but also a take on our relationship to Mother Earth as relevant  now as it ever has been as we carve away at the planet. Downfall of Nur put so much emotion and heart into this 80-minute creation that it is worth digesting in one sitting to let it fully capture your mind and attention. This is a stunning record that challenges but gives you so much back that it’ll be living in your head and driving your brainwaves.

For more on the band, go here: https://downfallofnur.bandcamp.com/

To buy the album, go here: https://www.sound-cave.com/

For more on the label, go here: https://avantgardemusic.com/

I have been compiling a Qobuz list of classic heavy metal songs that I love for a soundtrack for evenings of beer and trying to get a chance to settle down after a constant bombardment of shitty news. The more I’ve made my way into more modern acts to add, I’ve realized just how much Khemmis fit across all eras, as their songs blend seamlessly.

The band’s new, fifth record is a self-titled affair, and it’s a pretty damn Khemmis record if we’re being honest. Which is good, by the way. Building off what they created on “Deceiver” (that was FIVE YEARS AGO?!) and adding more thorny moments more reminiscent of their first two records, the band—vocalist/guitarist Phil Pendergast, guitarist/vocalist Ben Hutcherson, bassist David Small, drummer Zach Coleman—keeps their machine running smoothly and efficiently, creating sounds that burst with classic metal flavor, doomy clouds, and glorious power, making it something you can put on and get lost inside of while you take this journey with them.

“Invocation of the Dreamer” opens with guitars on fire, a glorious metallic blaze with Pendergast’s clean calls soaring. The chorus is a warmer, overtaking you, and the excitement takes a  moment to exhale before Pendergast urges, “Breathe onto me, pull the tether from my neck,” before the swarm fades. “Corpsebloom Garden” is punchy as hell, the singing jolting, another sticky chorus flooding your senses. Leads encircle as Hutcherson’s growls wrench, adding ugliness to the proceedings, the battle against vile creatures spilling over, guitars burning into the night. “Grief’s Reverie” is punchy and burly, balmier than what preceded it, a slower, moodier pace digging in its claws. “Written on my lips is the invocation,” Pendergast calls, growls battering, warm leads pushing before the guitars glimmer into the distance. “Beneath the Scythe” has leads twisting and the pace galloping, the verses surging before the chorus rushes. The pace electrifies and then slips into a spacey, airy section, gliding as smoke builds before blanketing everything.

“Gilded Chambers” begins with hammering drumming, guitars catching fire, and a spirited rush, harmonized singing layering. Growls punish as the guitars flex, cool bursts sending ice daggers, the singing gripping as the final moments fade. “Tomb of Roses” dawns in acoustics before the pace ignites, Pendergast wailing, “Find the courage and strength to break these chains.” A thick fog hovers as the soloing cuts out of that, melting through the chaos, the moonlit chorus bathing in a fresh glow, the leads blazing to the stars. “Carrion King” is instantly crushing, growls punching as the intensity spikes, ugliness and light continually doing battle. “Behind the shame that binds me, no one can save me from myself,” Pendergast sings, the pace trudging, growls gutting, a slow-driving assault ending in echo. Closer “Benediction Tones” is a mauler with the singing rousing, growls smearing, and the pace smoldering dangerously. The chorus squeezes emotion as the band settles into a tasty classic rock groove, the guitars whipping a frenzy before going to the cosmos.

Khemmis always find a way to deliver like they do on this new self-titled creation, which is another sturdy volume in their growing library of classic metal and doom. There’s something from every era of the band on this record, and getting more grisly vocals from Hutcherson makes this a little thornier. This is a tried-and-true Khemmis record, an album that feels electric and adventurous from beginning to end.

For more on the band, go here: https://khemmisdoom.com/

To buy the album, go here: https://khemmis.bandcamp.com/album/khemmis-2

Most bands, when you get a new record from them, are fairly easy to predict, and that’s not a negative at all. Groups spend years crafting a sound and direction, and it would be silly for some to continue taking different paths, leaving your audience scurrying. For others, there is freshness in taking new avenues, which keeps them a bleeding, breathing animal.

Big|Brave is not like most entities, and their great 10^th album “in grief or in hope” is another evolutionary step for this trio—guitarist/vocalist Robin Wattie, guitarist Mat Ball, and bassist Liam Andrews, the newcomer to the band. On these eight songs, the band takes a more liquid journey, melting into new forms, guitars taking the lead and creating abnormal soundscapes that set up visions you couldn’t before imagine. Wattie’s singing is a voice working through the webs, often delicate, sometimes piercing, always grabbing your attention. It’s a record that, if you have an open mind, can be as sticky as anything with hooks and sugar splattered all over it.

“what may be the kindest way to leave” opens with singing swelling, an electric pall spreading quickly, a steely echo scraping wounds, feedback lapping over walls. Deeper vocals ice, a sonic bubble growing, throbbing as guitars glow, words humming before fading. “a shape of shame” enters in a sound maw, Wattie’s singing poking, glazing as the spirit haunts, noise spitting and scraping. Wattie shrieks as things grow moodier, darkness gathering, noises hanging in the air as the scene fades. “the ineptitude for mutual discernment” scuffles as the singing stings, sounds swirling through what feels like a burgundy-shaded dream. The jolts soothe as the volume calms, the embers flickering off black walls, slowly going to sleep. “holding tongue” murmurs, guitars awakening, gently lulling through a sunless afternoon. Suddenly the cosmos surrounds you, echoes ricocheting inside your head, machines seemingly breathing.

The title track has the volume building slowly, the singing emerging, slowly spilling shadows as pressure builds. Guitars jolts jar as Wattie’s voice warps and slows behind her own, sounds gaining strength before subsiding. “verdure” has energy rippling, sounds blurring, and the sense that physical weight is piling on top of you. Seismic interference shakes foundations, a current spitting, tearing through the center of the earth. “skin ripper” has guitars swelling, singing numbing, the playing carrying on through the wind, hazy meandering feeling through the fog. Waves lap as Wattie’s singing lathers, the final moments sinking into the dirt. Closer “an uttering of antipathy” both glows and bruises, Wattie’s singing arriving more directly, the playing numbing deeply. “God only blames me,” Wattie repeats, later changing to, “You only blame me,” her voice quivering. Gray cloud coverage spreads wildly, the guitars spiking and tangling before cutting out.

“in grief or in hope” is a record that basks in colorless landscapes and stark skies, which is a strange way to praise a really inventive album. Big|Brave never come back in the same form, and while this may be their most approachable record, that still will be an at-arms-length situation to many. But not everyone needs to be invited inside to scan the scars and songs that continue to morph into different things, but those allowed in are bound to chang psychologically and existentially.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.bigbrave.ca/

To buy the album, go here: https://www.thrilljockey.com/products/in-grief-or-in-hope

For more on the label, go here: https://www.thrilljockey.com/

It’s close to summer here on the East Coast of the U.S. (and elsewhere…), and the days of stomping through graveyards is about to reach its apex, with Halloween and the autumn  months the peak. Who doesn’t have a story about drinking or doing other substances where the dead lie, having strange experiences, and wondering what reality is?

D.C.’s Goetia arrive with their debut full-length “Mortuary Cult,” 10 tracks of smothering, guttural death metal inspired by stories from their own sojourns through cemeteries in their own stomping grounds. It’s a morbid, dark experience that drags you over gravel and roots, leaving you bruised and bloodied as you struggle to stay in one piece. The band—vocalist/bassist Matt Scott, guitarist Demir Soyer, drummer Nadia Tydings-Lynch—brings merciless destruction that haunts deeply and completely assaults your sense, the bodies buried beneath the dirt thirsting for your flesh and blood.

“At Eternity’s Gate” is a quick intro piece with swirling sounds and drums echoing, blurring into “Lanterns of the Dead” that tears open from the start. Growls ravage as the vicious pace batters flesh, scorching leads doing further damage. Leads boil before the soloing sprawls, thrashing hard as the drums pelt, and the final blast leaves dust behind. “Posthumous Execution” is a quick assault that’s doesn’t even reach two minutes but does its best to abuse you. Demonic howls and destructive speed team up to lay down a massive beating, soloing blinding before everything is gone in a flash. The title track lands punches, using a mangling tempo to create a feral atmosphere, snarling vocals going for blood. The machine-gun pace makes your cortisol race, violent trudging grinding you in the gears, clubbing as the exhaust stretches into “Corpse Candle” that enters amid a scuffing pace. Doomy tiding create a pall, the vocals scorching as the guitars increase the heat, a brawling dose of energy rampaging. The playing utterly destroys as the leads scream, and a thrashy attack smears ashes into mouths.

“Earth Inferno” is balmy and then explodes, guitars firing up, becoming a molten force that flows toward you. The soloing bubbles before the pace races again, plastering with devastating force, leaving cinders in your teeth. “Bestial Tomb” is muddy and then storming, shrieks rippling as if spitting nails and Slayer-like leads cutting through bone. A monstrous fury rocks the earth, quaking the ground, the sounds of birds and animals raising their voices as if warning something is afoot. “Excarnation” attacks, dragging you through an oil slick, combusting as the power grinds with heavy gears. The playing rips hard as everything ramps up, the tempo flattening, the soloing exploding, getting even more insane and bleeding into “Tortures in Time” that has guitars firing and electrifying, growls hammering as the playing tears open ribcages, stomping guts and choking with dust. Howls blast as vicious pathways carve into the ground, leaving everything in ashes. Closer “Eternal Samhain” delivers a doomy blow, the leads stretching and mashing, a battering ram-style force driving air from your lungs. The pace then goes off, howls slashing and rupturing, the guitars ringing in your ears, shaking your balance before burning away.

“Mortuary Cult” is a haunting, yet destructive record that aims to take off heads and put more bodies in the cemetery that inspired them. Goetia bring hideous intensity and muscular fury to their death metal, making for more of a bruising experience. This record is perfect now for midnight missions or even in the colder, spookier months when your boots can crunch death leaves in the graveyard.

For more on the band, go here: http://instagram.com/goetia_death_cult

To buy the album (U.S.), go here: https://carbonizedrecords.merchtable.com/?

Or here (Europe): https://carbonizedrecords.bandcamp.com/album/mortuary-cult

Or here (International): https://carbonizedrecordseu.com/

For more on the label, go here: https://carbonizedrecords.bandcamp.com/