The 1980s comprised a rich period for German hard rock and heavy metal, perhaps the most prosperous time for that nation’s extreme music scene. From rock to thrash metal to death to pure heavy metal, it seemed great music was pouring from that country’s borders.

Of course you had Accept, who are alive, well, and productive today on Nuclear Blast; Helloween, the power metal warriors who put out some of the sub-genre’s best music during that decade; Warlock, a pure metal machine that cranked out defiant anthems charged by singer Doro Pesch; and heavier bands such as Kreator, Sodom, Steeler, and Destruction that helped set forth the thrash movement and even influenced other bands to get into death metal. And this really is just scratching the surface of the phenomenon. Germany was on fire.

Another band that emerged during that timeframe also is still around, still making relevant records, and still sounding healthy. Paradox, whose new record “Tales of the Weird,” started to make noise in the middle of the 1980s and eventually were signed to highly influential Roadracer Records for their debut album “Product of Imagination.” Their sophomore 1989 album “Heresy” also was released by Roadracer, and then we wouldn’t hear from the band again until the turn of the century, when they signed to their current label home AFM and released their third platter “Collision Course.” The only member of the band that returned 13 years later was singer/guitarist Charly Steinhauer, the only original member remaining these days.

“Tales of the Weird,” the follow-up to 2009’s “Riot Squad,” boasts a revamped lineup from the one that recorded that album. Steinhauer and bassist Olly Keller are the only holdovers, and joining them are new guitarist Christian Münzner (Obscura, Spawn of Possession) and new drummer Daniel Buld, who do a fine job contributing to this record. Funny, the one thing I always found to be a bit of a drawback for Paradox is Steinhauer’s vocals. He’s not a bad singer by any means, so it’s not that. He always sounded like a guy more fit for a classic rock-style band, yet here he was fronting a thrash-flavored power metal band. Even further, his vocals sound kind of dated in 20013. That likely is just my tastes coming out here, and I’m sure plenty of listeners never had that issue before, so take that for what it’s worth.

The record blasts open with its nine-minute title track, a song that shows the band’s dexterity, hunger, and ability to show as much as fire as they did in the early days of the group’s existence. The song is nice and thrashy, the long guitar sections are poetic and flow nicely, and the track contains Steinhauer’s best vocals on the whole disc. “Day of Judgment” is a bit of a letdown, as the intensity is not as great (though they do land a few punches), but aggressive “Brutalized” gets things back on the right track with a display that does its best to make good for the song title. “Fragile Alliance” is a decent song that goes more the traditional rock path, and thematically it’s not difficult to figure out what it’s all about. “Escalation” is one of the faster songs on the record, and the guitar work leans toward classical terrain from time to time. Fans of ‘80s Euro power metal should dig this one.

“Brainwashed” is another long one, running 7:33, and it’s melodic and gritty, almost like Foreigner with a metal makeover. There also are some tastefully proggy sections, especially with the guitar work, and this is one of the strongest compositions on the album. “Slashdead” is a little silly and kind of forced-violent, but in all, it’s a decent track that’s pretty damn bruising. “Zeitgeist” is an acoustic-led instrumental interlude that leads into “Downward Spiral,” which is a pretty strange song. It sounds like they’re decrying people who haven’t learned from history’s atrocities, but lyrically it’s a little clumsy. Musically, it’s just fine. Closer “A Light in the Black” brings back the prog rock in a huge way and stays there, which is a curious cut to use as the finish. But that’s not a bad thing, and the song does rock here and there, but it lasts a little too long at 7:16.

It’s cool to hear Paradox sounding as lively and focused as they are, and they certainly aren’t trying to mail this in and rely on their audience to hold them up. Perhaps part of that is they still feel they have something to prove since their name isn’t one of the first that come from people’s mouths when discussing German metal. Despite a few rough edges, they do a good job proving their have a lot of gas in the tank and likely will fire up the people who have followed them nearly three decades now.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.paradox-bangers.de/

To buy the album, go here: http://shop.afm-records.de/

For more on the label, go here: http://www.afm-records.de/

The world didn’t end Dec. 21, 2012. I know. You’re shocked. John Cusack went and made that shitty movie for nothing. Luckily my wife got to spend her entire birthday alive and well since the alleged Mayan prophecy did not come to pass.

Yet, I don’t know. Maybe in some ways the world has been ending for some time now. I endured 3.5 hours of CBS-driven, skull-mashing promotions for their incredibly awful yet bafflingly popular programming while watching a really bad playoff game Sunday (where a man who allegedly took part in a murder was glorified every posible chance the broadcast team got), and that included ads for the People’s Choice Awards and the fucking Grammy’s. If we need any more evidence that the creative apocalypse of pop culture is at hand, then I shudder to think what would convince the masses. Restaurants run ads with these overblown new dishes that might as well come with as lifetime supply of insulin. Yet people feast. We can’t, and also refuse, to figure out how to protect school children who are just trying to learn how to do some math or spell some words. The world’s not ending, you say?

So, OK, maybe the globe didn’t melt 12-21-12, but our path is carved. Get ready for shit to just get worse. In anticipation of the world coming to a glorious, fiery end, Cultus Sabbati prepared a soundtrack “Asgardsreia” that they released on what many thought would be that fateful day. But even though we’re still walking and drawing breath, don’t think for a second this still isn’t the perfect score to the end of all times. I feel like the world is about to explode just about every day, so this record offers an endless supply of emotional fodder to soothe my anxiety and anger so that if I do see continents hurled into space, at least I won’t have to endure some asshole with an overflowing shopping cart in the 8 items or fewer line. Fuck that guy.

The mysterious trio behind this band, who claim hell as their home, aren’t exactly forthright with their identities or anything like that, and they don’t owe that to anyone. This is one of those perfect examples where the shroud of mystery adds to the thick blackness of their doomy, scary, black noise, because if they were to sneak up on you to drag you into the night, you wouldn’t know to fear your attackers. We brought you their last effort “The Hagiography of Baba Yaga” last year when it was released by Land of Decay, and if what you read here sounds interesting, then good news for you: You can download the album for free. Link will be at the bottom.

The nine-track album really is like one sprawling epic, with each song feeding into the next, and what follows builds on what came before them. “Come Ancient Riders” opens this piece with winds whipping, birds cawing, and a tribal woods feel trickling through the song. That flows into “Dark God of the Hunt,” a black drone piece with buzzing riffs, whispers, and other chilling parts, which sets the stage for “Black Hounds of Annwn,” full of tribal pounding, penetrating noises, and inhuman screeches, drawing a huge contrast to what the concept of mythological Annwn is supposed to be. It’ll make you shiver in your guts. “Sluagh’s Sorrowful Wrath,” the album’s first epic at 11:22, is drenched with noisy guitars, demonic howls, piercing wooshes, and frightening warbling.

“Ride of Asgard” lets the guard down a bit, with some acoustic guitars, weary keys, and echoes, and that leads into the album’s second epic track “Those Who Don’t Go Alive Go When Dead,” a song that begins gently and atmospherically but eventually comes on like a fever nightmare. Feedback hisses and spits, melody is buried under the horror, and a psychologically damaging statement is draped over you like a webby, dusty blanket. “Woden’s Fury” is more like an interlude that opens the doors to the final two tracks on this cataclysmic demonstration. “The Wake of the Passing Storm” stomps, with dripping piano notes, strange retching, shrieks that are buried under the cacophony, and fury and fear smeared everywhere. Closer “Wreckage of the Dawn” babbles gently at the start, and calm sweeps across the land. The birds return, drone and noise erupt, everything pulsates, and the destruction erodes into ash, as you can imagine all creation being swept away.

So yeah, we’re still here, but we won’t be forever. There already are things about society and the way people are that make me want me wonder if the sun isn’t ready to set on us. So perhaps in some way Armageddon already is here, unfurling ever so slowly. That’s why having this album will be a nice companion, because as I watch it all burn away, at least I’ll have Cultus Sabbati’s music to soothe the holes rotting into my psyche.

For more on the band, go here: http://cultussabbati.org/

To download the album, go here: http://www.mediafire.com/?76luw5mgfmeaokx

So, it would appear nothing normal or run of the mill comes out of Iceland, at least musically. From groups such as Sigur Ros, Mum, Amiina, and the Sugarcubes (who, of course, introduced to us Bjork, another totally out-there performer), the music from that country has been pretty weird, but also very captivating.

As far as metal is concerned, we’ve had a fair share of bands come from that land, including Skalmold, Solstafir, and Beneath, though none have really become huge players in the metal world, at least as far as things are concerned here in America. But a relatively new band that hails from Reykjavik perhaps can elevate the land’s metal scene a little more with folks who aren’t totally tied with the deep underground, and their debut is landing in our hands by way of Candlelight’s Cult Series.

Kontinuum aren’t exactly tried-and-true metal, and a lot of times, their sound reaches into gothic rock and post-metal as much as anything. Yeah, they have their heavy, crushing moments on “Earth Blood Magic,” but they’re way more spaced out than what you get from most metal bands, and interspersed is riveting, colorful music that’s full of emotion and darkness. As far as this latest run of releases from the Cult Series, this album has the best chance at acceptance from listeners beyond metal’s gates, though the more adventurous, dream-embracing extreme music fan will find a lot to like as well, and when these guys turn on the power, they’re incredibly moving.

When they do go full metal, it’s more of the Viking-inspired style of black metal, which is understandable, but it isn’t expected or paint by numbers at all. It’s enthralling, and it reminds me a lot of old Enslaved. The band is comprised of guitarist/vocalist Birgir Thorgeirsson, guitarists Thorlakur Thor Gudmundsson and Ingi Þor Palsson, bassist Engilbert Hauksson, and drummer Kristjan B. Heiðarsson, and on their first record they already sound like a tight accomplished unit, which seems to bode well for their future. In fact, of all the bands in this version of the Cult Series, I’m most interested in this group’s future because I really am curious to hear what they sound like on their second record once they get more experience under their belts. Gloomy sky is the limit.

“Endgame” opens the record with a driving post-metal feel, a dramatic, gradually building instrumental statement, and what sounds like the untrustworthy, apocalyptic words of a preacher gone awry. That takes us into “Steinrunninn Skogur,” one of the songs that is sung in their native tongue, and it’s a spacious atmospheric slab of rock that’s pretty invigorating. There are cleaner vocals that are dark and brooding, and the song ends with spirited chants that sound like they were committed in the heart of the woods. “Moonshine” goes heavier into goth rock territory, seemingly indicating they are paying homage to The Cure, Depeche Mode, and Sisters of Mercy, but they turn up the aggression later in the song with shrieks and terror breaking out. “Stranger Air” brings things back down a bit with more of a rock-centered song that’s uptempo and melodic. Then things change.

“Lightbearer” is heavy, prog-fueled, and surging, with the most forceful vocals yet and a real sense of melodic aggression. This is where the band most sounds like Enslaved and some of the second wave of Nordic black metal bands, and it shows the sharp teeth they possess. “City” is in the same vein, with absolutely crushing drums and a continued reliance on heaviness, but they also let some air in the room and use more clean vocals. It’s a nice mix of the hard and soft. “Lys Milda Ljos” also slips back into traditional rock terrain, following what sounds like a long walk in the snow, and it’s a nice breather before leading into “Red,” one of the most impressive song on the album. A female vocalist handles the bulk of the song, rendering a rich, hearty performance, asking, “Can you fall in love with me before I die like you?” But as the song transforms, Thorgeirsson comes back in and joins her, and the two carry the tale to its conclusion. Closer “I Gljufradal” is practically a ballad, with piano acting as a lead in, the vocals remaining soft and tender, strings sweeping in to give it a baroque feel, and the track giving the record a breath-taking conclusion.

Weirdly, Kontinuum is the least cult of all of the releases in this series so far, but they’re perhaps the most promising. They blend in sounds from all different areas, so they’re not steadfastly metal, but their more extreme tendencies work wonderfully and have more color than most. I really like what Kontinuum did on their debut record, and I’m excited to hear what they dream up next.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.facebook.com/kontinuumice

To buy the album, go here: http://www.candlelightrecordsusa.com/store/

For more on the label, go here: http://www.candlelightrecordsusa.com/

Anonymity is something that’s basically absent from the music world. Like, I don’t listen to even a second of modern pop music because I find it that dreadful, yet I know way too much shit about some of the, uh, artists because everything about their lives is exposed. Too much info out there.

Metal is not immune to the overload. Like, last week we all found out Dave Mustaine is pissed at Men’s Wearhouse. Why do I need to know about this? Why can’t I live the rest of my life without that information? So it’s nice when a band comes along that eschews all the media attention, all the whoring out of useless and mundane details, and simply decides to reveal nothing about themselves. I can see where that approach also could be met with skepticism because what if the band’s art just isn’t that good and they don’t wish to plaster their names on it? I can see that being a reason, so it comes down to digesting the band’s work and deciding for yourself.

We first came to know of the band Nine Covens last year when they released their debut “…On the Coming of Darkness,” though we didn’t learn much about the forces behind the group other than them taking their name from the English witch/magician George Pickingill. Apparently the group was comprised of noteworthy musicians from the UK extreme metal scene, but none chose to reveal their identities. So, if that was true and these figures really are well-regarded musicians, their choice was an interesting one. After hearing their debut, it was clear they weren’t hiding because of their creative output. It was solid, dark, yet melodic black metal that might not wow the underground kvlt enthusiasts, but sure was good enough for someone like me. It was a nice debut, one that I never imagined would get follow-up treatment quite so soon. Yet here we have “On the Dawning of Light,” the band’s second album and an entry in Candlelight Records’ cult series.

Like their debut, the band still isn’t saying who they are. Has there been turnover in their ranks? Did they add any guests? Who knows? We don’t even know who was in the group in the first place, so forget all of that. As for the music, it’s still melodic, wrenching, adventurous, and even approachable. It has elements of Nachtmystium, Craft, and even a band like Wodensthrone, though this band’s songs are not nearly as long and sweeping. Nine Covens keep their explosive output in check with their longest track just topping seven minutes and most of their songs landing somewhere between four and five minutes. Nicely done because they never overstay their welcome. This also is an album that the more time I spend with it, the more I like. There is an epicness and a passion that is catchy, and while they’re not exactly reinventing the wheel, they’re playing their music with gumption and grit.

The record opens with “Origin of Light,” a melodic and sinister number is full of churning guitar work and throaty shrieks. “As Fire Consumes” has a stirring lead line and also some punk rock attitude. It’s crunchy and punchy, yet it’s also sort of accessible. I know that black metal isn’t supposed to be, but I think that’s archaic thinking. “At the Ocean’s Strand” has more punk fury but also a sludgy, cataclysmic feel. The vocals are delivered with more of a growl, and some of the guitar work reminds me of Immortal. “The Mist of Death” has a mystical beginning, as the song takes some time to set the stage, but then it grows harsh, forceful, and atmospheric.

“The Fog of Deceit” has some of the best, most memorable guitar work on the entire record, and the lead line very well may get stuck in your head like it has in mine. The drumming is a little different on this one as well, getting a little jazzy in spots, and the song overall is perhaps their most riveting work to date. “To Quench a Raging” explodes out of the gate, with deeper, growlier vocals, a renewed dedication to speed, and throat-mangling shrieking that sounds both agitated and evil. “White Star Exception,” the album’s longest track, is an instrumental that’s contemplative, cosmic, and whirring, and it’s the track that makes me think of Nachtmystium’s two “Black Meddle” releases. “Over the Ocean’s Way” also is spacious but has its moments of thorny intent and outright violence. Closer “A Burning Ember” sounds frosty and wind chilled, which always goes over nice in the winter months, and it’s a crushing ending to a really interesting record of modern black metal.

Nine Covens have opened their campaign with two impressive records that breathed some life into the black metal scene. Their new one indicates they have a ton of gas in the tank and vitriol to burn, so that’s a good thing. We may never know who is behind this band, but as long as they keep making records like this, who really cares who they are?

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

To buy the album, go here: http://www.candlelightrecordsusa.com/store/

For more on the label, go here: http://www.candlelightrecordsusa.com/

For all the millions of bands out there now trying to ply their trade at metal, or whatever genre they’re trying to impact, there are just too many that stay a particular course and don’t deviate from expectations. I end up labeling most of those bands as boring. Then there are those who push things and try to experiment, and while it doesn’t always work in their favor, I tend to have a little more compassion for those bands because at least they’re not trying to stay confined to a box.

I thought about that when tackling the third album from Swiss post-metal beasts Zatokrev. Just looking at the title of the opus — “The Bat, the Wheel and the Long Road to Nowhere” — is enough to make you wonder what it’s all about, and then there’s their music, that falls somewhere around the lands dominated by Cult of Luna, The Ocean, and ISIS. Sure, there are a lot of bands doing that very thing, but these guys seem to have a knack for the sound and pull it off quite capably.

This record, by the way, is another in Candlelight’s ongoing “cult series,” where they put a spotlight on bands that have been doing things on the underground, perhaps haven’t gotten the right exposure before, and have some interesting aspects to their music. The three bands in this new series all are quite different from each other (we’ll bring you the other two records next week), which makes this one of the more intriguing installments of the series to date.

Zatokrev do fall into some traps, however, when it comes to knowing when to say when. The band — guitarist/vocalist Frederyk Rotter, guitarist Julien Duseyau, bassist/backing vocalist Lucas Low, drummer Frederic Hug — has a knack for noodling. And noodling and noodling. An editor is really what they need to take their game to the next level, and they have all the tools to do so. But at 76 minutes and nine songs, it gets to be a little much. Don’t get me wrong. They’re really good players, and never is the record irritating, which musicians with a tendency to drone tend to be. They have good ideas, and they execute them OK, they just don’t know when to put a cap on things. It’s the biggest complaint I have about this record that really could have been a stand-out release if it was about 25 minutes shorter.

“Goddam Lights” opens the record, and at 9:23, it sticks around for a while. There’s a good bit of sludge and post-metal wandering going on, and the vocals are screamy and abrasive as they convey a sense of independence away from a source of pain. “9” perhaps is named that because it’s nearly that many minutes long, as it’s one that would work far better at half that time. It’s a sludgy cut that meanders a little too much, and some of the instrumental sections where not a heck of a lot is going on could stand to melt away a bit. “Rodeo With Snakes” is the shortest song on the whole set, and it has an American rock feel, along with barked vocals and a grimy finish. It’s then onto “Medium,” a song that’s nearly 11 minutes long and has a decent amount of melody and some muddy, mangled thrashing. But there’s also an attempt to set an ambient atmosphere that never really takes and feels more like walking in place.

“The Wheel” recovers and goes in more of a mid-tempo pace, and while it pushes 10 minutes, it manages to stay pretty interesting over the duration of its running time. The dual “Feel the Fire” cuts, combined, last more than 12 minutes, but to the band’s credit they manage to make each half fresh. The first part again examines more rock and roll-style terrain, while the second part is more muscle-bound and rough, with some adventurous riffing. The final two cuts on the album – “The Bat” and “Angels of Cross” – take up 20 minutes combined, and what’s become a theme, they’d both be far better chopped in half. “The Bat” has some lurching sludge that sounds pretty good, but it just goes on too long, while “Angels” has some promising ideas and real moments of inspiration, but it just feels like it’s never going to end and doesn’t have a terribly inspired finish. It isn’t bad; it just doesn’t inspire much emotion.

I happen to be a listener who likes and has patience for really long songs, and many of my favorite records of the past couple years have been chock full of epics. But sometimes there’s no justification for tracks to be as long as they are, a trap in which Zatokrev fall too often. There’s promise here, they can play, they have some good ideas, they just need someone to help edit them. A good producer could do wonders for this band, who might be a great album away from opening a lot of eyes and ears.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.zatokrev.com/

To buy the album, go here: http://www.candlelightrecordsusa.com/store

For more on the label, go here: http://www.candlelightrecordsusa.com/

It’s never easy to get going again at the start of a new year, especially when it comes to writing about music. There’s not much to be had, to be honest, and a lot of what’s out there right now is hit and miss stuff that seems positioned for burial. But not all of it is, and over the next week and a half, we’re going to look at some of the year’s initial offerings that just might interest you if you’re itching to get moving with 2013 metal.

Today we visit with Nordic project Wallachia, long a solo project of Lars Stavdal (who you may also know from Eternal Dementia), who surrounds himself with a team of musicians to help him realize his ambitious vision. And he has a lot on his mind, and a ton to accomplish, as one could ascertain from listening to Wallachia’s music. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what this is, though there are plenty of metallic elements that are obvious from even a cursory listen. You have some symphonic black metal, some Euro-style folk, and some melodic death metal not dissimilar to the early days of In Flames, but none of that sums up this band and their third album “Shunya.” It’s better to take those initial touch points and investigate on your own.

The very reliable Debemur Morti Productions is responsible for releasing this record, and if you’re in Europe, you may already have your mitts on this disc. As for we Americans, we’re just now getting to experience “Shunya,” and it’s been an eye opener. That’s mostly because you can’t allow yourself to take your eye off the ball even for a moment, because before you know it, things shift violently into another direction. One could say sometimes the music seems to lack focus in exchange for keeping things surprising, and I wouldn’t argue, but that doesn’t derail the record by any means. It’s still perfectly interesting and refuses to rest on its laurels, but it is sometimes a little difficult to keep track of everything going on.

Stavdal handles the guitars and vocals on “Shunya,” and he’s joined by a capable cast of musicians who breathe life into his compositions. Opener “Dual Nothingness” begins with a melodic blast, folding in death, black metal, walls of synth, and some folk flourishes, giving a newcomer to the band a good idea of the journey ahead. “In Excelsis Ego” has blasts and more waves of synth, and this is where they sound the most influenced by the early Scandinavian death metal bands. “Ksatriya” has a goth rock feel to it, eventually more folk colors, and some creaky clean vocals as Stavdal lets sorrow and loss wash over him, recalling “when my heart turned into a burial ground.” “Enlightened By Deception” rips the record back open again, but there also is more clean singing on this song mixed in with the shrieking.

“Hypotheist” is an example of one of the songs where there’s a hell of a lot going on, and sometimes it robs the song of personality. There are keys, then some string sections, vocals that come off like chants, then a rush at the finish. It feels like parts of three songs mooshed together in 6:20. “Nostalgia Among the Ruins of Common Sense” brings folk back into the picture and leans on this style most heavily of all the songs. “Harbinger of Vaccumanity” is a clever title, no doubt, but again, there’s just so much going on that it’s hard to get comfortable with any parts of the song, It’s not bad. It’s just really involved. “Emotional Ground Zero” brings things back around again, with nice bits of crunch, Euro-style melodies, growling here and there, and a renewed sense of purpose on this closing epic.

Wallachia certainly is an interesting project, and you definitely will not be bored listening to “Shunya.” There’s no time to rest. It would be nice if the songs were a little more focused and to the point, but that might just be my tastes. There certainly are bits for fans of black metal and death metal, a few tastes for prog fans, and certainly enough to please the sun-baked Wacken crowd. If you fall into any of those categories, Wallachia might have some value for you.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://www.amazon.com/Shunya-Wallachia/dp/B009GWHSF8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1357179338&sr=8-2&keywords=wallachia

For more on the band, go here: http://www.debemur-morti.com/

Anytime you run a list of anything, there will be those omissions that aren’t included for one reason or another. We had that issue with some records we raved about during the year that, for a reason perfectly logical to us, didn’t make the list of the top 40 metal records of 2012. The key word there is “metal,” and that’s one of the things that prevented a few albums from making the list.

There are a few records that I saw on other people’s and outlets’ metal lists that weren’t included on the Meat Mead Metal list simply because we didn’t deem the album truly metal and therefore did not list them. That doesn’t mean these bands and records weren’t some of our favorites of the year, we just didn’t feel comfortable categorizing them as metal records. So in our first entry of the new year, I want to mention these records because they are excellent pieces of work that remain in constant rotation.

Jess and the Ancient Ones are housed perfectly under the Svart Records umbrella, for their throwback occult doom rock is one of that label’s specialties. Sure, there’s some NWOBHM to this Finnish group’s formula as well, but really, they’re a rock band, and a damn fine one. Their singer Jess has some of the best pipes going, and she belts out her words with passion, drive, and conviction. Their music likely is best digested in a smoke-filled room with a few choice libations, and surely in that environment you can get lost in it all. There are so many great tracks on here, from opener “Prayer for Death and Fire” to dusty “Ghost Riders” to 12-minute epic centerpiece “Sulfur Giants,” one of my favorite songs of the year, that your jaws will be tired at the end from everything here in which you sunk your teeth. Great band, excellent approach, and a singer for the ages. How can you top that formula?

For more on the band, go here: http://www.jessandtheancientones.com/

To buy the album, go here: http://www.svartrecords.com/shoppe/releases/1019-jess-and-the-ancient-ones-lp.html

Morbidity is a tenet of metal, and Denton, Texas, duo Pinkish Black contain that in their synth-driven, gloomy music, but also in their name, that was inspired by the appearance of the suicide scene of former member Tommy Atkins. Kind of gives that old Mayhem demo cover a run for its money in the uncomfortable department. The band’s music is gothy, a little doomy, even kind of poppy. The songs are swirling and a little scary from a psychological standpoint, but they’re always memorable. The band’s music likely could appeal to people of all kinds of musical interests, from metal to goth to early New Wave, and their stabbing, penetrating approach will stick with you long after the music has finished. I have such a hard time describing this band to people, which is a good thing. You just need to hear them, but you better make sure you’re stable enough to handle them. Also, in a surprising move, the band signed with Century Media late in the year. Weird place for them. But hey, nice forward thinking by CM. Just don’t put them on a tour with Butcher Babies or some shit like that.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://www.handmadebirds.com/store/

A band that always manages to capture my imagination and dreams is Worm Ouroboros, a trio based in the Bay Area of California who released their incredible second record “Come the Thaw” in 2012. Their dream-scape music is hard to classify, and while they record for decidedly metal Profound Lore, their music is anything but. Lorraine Rath (Amber Asylum, The Gault), Jessica Way (Barren Harvest, World Eater), and Aesop Decker (Agalloch, Ludicra) all have very metallic roots as well, but here they churn out murky rock, folk, and otherworldly sounds to make for one of the more mesmerizing bands going today. The vocals are gorgeous and, at times, angelic, the guitars are melodic but do charge up now and again to stoke the fires, and the drumming is paced just right and adds the right bits of mood to these six songs. Certainly there is crossover appeal to a metal audience, but this band could branch out into a bunch of different directions to find followers. I’ve been on board with this band from the first time I heard them, and this record convinced me I won’t be leaving the bandwagon anytime soon.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Worm-Ouroboros/250016544916

To buy the album, go here: http://www.profoundlorerecords.com/products-page/plr-items/

To buy the vinyl, go here: http://store.theflenser.com/

The year’s most surprising and welcomed return came via Montreal instrumental titans Godspeed You! Black Emperor, a band that put into place today’s massive collection of cinematic outfits who expertly build emotion and catharsis into their puzzles. The release of “Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!” their first piece of new music in a decade, was announced abruptly in September and suddenly saw the light of day a few weeks later. Walking out of local Soundcat Records with a vinyl copy of the record the week it came out felt surreal, like some sort of dream, and going home and listening to the piece over and over made for one of my happiest musical memories of the year. The record is comprised of music they’ve had written for some time, and even have played in their live set, but no matter. It’s an earth-shattering, blood-surging, heart-crushing collection that belongs quite comfortably alongside their landmark music they created  10-15 years ago. This record is a great triumph and a gift that keeps on giving to us longtime GY!BE fans.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.brainwashed.com/godspeed/

To buy the album, go here: http://cstrecords.com/store/categories/GODSPEED-YOU!-BLACK-EMPEROR/%27Allelujah!-Don%27t-Bend!-Ascend!/