Photo by Stephanie Hagemen0

Adhering to a formula or recipe is a fail-safe way not to totally eff something up and/or ruin it completely. Following the instructions and ingredients to the letter might seem like a non-adventurous way to do things, but it also means something that shouldn’t be in your concoction—ketchup in a chocolate cake mix—remains out of the way.

You can say Dallas trio True Widow have perfected their slow-gaze recipe the past few years and have followed it nearly to a fault. The band’s records and music essentially can be anticipated pretty closely, and any steering from the path is done carefully and with plenty of forward thinking and precision. That might sound like a boring way to make rock music, and for some it is, but it works for True Widow. Their fourth record “Avvolgere” treads a similar path as their last album, 2013’s “Circumambulation,” but it does so in a tried-and-true, steady manner where you get the exact fix for need from the band. Granted, True Widow have tested and experimented with what they do, and the period that followed 2011’s “As High as the Highest Heavens and From the Center to the Circumference of the Earth” is where they seem to have perfected their formula. If anything, this new album tightens up those reigns, and the band sounds damn good doing it.

Having done their thing for almost the past decade, True Widow also have carved out a nice following and one of those special slots where they’d sound perfectly sharing a stage with bands from any number of styles—shoegaze, doom, post-rock, you name it. The group—guitarist/vocalist D.H. Phillips, bassist/vocalist Nicole Estill, drummer Timothy “Slim” Starks—are a well-oiled machine over these 10 tracks, keeping the pace rumbling and every now and again shooting out of their comfort zone for some added color. They may not be wildly experimental on “Avvolgere,” but they deliver strong, consistent sounds in a way only they can, numbing your overworked brain in the process.

“Back Shredder” kicks off everything, with noise swimming in the air, riffs chugging, and Phillips taking the lead. The track buzzes along, with the guitars lighting up later, and a strong charge taking you to the end. “Theurgist” has a steely riff and the bassline sliding under the thunder. The track has some thick ’90s-style fuzz, with Phillips posing, “I’ll never know just why you’ve come to me,” as the tempo pushes nicely and gets the blood moving. “F.W.T.S:L.T.M.” is another of the band’s oddly titled songs we’ve come to love. The drums move steadily, with a dreamy, humid pace, as Phillips pokes, “They said I’d never come around, but I bet I come around tonight.” The pace is calculated and simmering, with the song coming to chilled-out end. “The Trapper & the Trapped” has slurry guitars, with Phillips and Estill sharing the vocals. It’s sort of a call-and-response style, with him handling more of the chorus, and all along, the rhythm pelts and the guitars bristle. “O.O.T.P.V” is a cool one, with Phillips quipping, “Sooner or later, I’m gonna get tired,” and later on the chorus he levels, “I try to run away, but I can’t seem to run.” It’s a catchy song, and the chorus will glue itself to your brain.”

“Entheogen” has guitars waking up and pushing the tide, with Phillips speak singing, almost like Tom Petty at his sneeriest. The tempo and feelings are dark and foreboding here, bringing in a different atmosphere to the proceedings. “To All That He Elong” is a bit of a curveball, led by acoustic guitars and Estill cutting through with her singing. As the song goes along, the drums echo and the guitars squeak away. “Sante” is a great cut, one of the best in the band’s history, and again Estill leads the charge. The chorus really hammers hard, feeling a bit like an old Pixies song, with her challenging, “Take me away, take me right now.” “Grey Erasure” lets riffs rise and the drums punch some holes. “Something’s out to get me,” Phillips warns, as the track reflects his paranoia and fear with murky guitars and a crumbling finish. Closer “What Finds Me” is a strong final statement, with Estill sifting through changing emotions and the evolution of what moves her, noting, “As the years go by, I will change my mind.” This is a great last burst, with Estill and Phillips harmonizing and then everything dissolving into cosmic dust.

You always have a pretty good idea what to expect with a True Widow record, and that’s not a bad thing at all. “Avvolgere” is well played, cuts right through you, and should leave your head buzzing as you take on these 10 songs. As long as True Widow keep treading this path, they’ll be a reliable, bruising band always willing to give you a dose of the good stuff only they can make this well.

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

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

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

A lot of the music I listen to for review here goes through my ears while at work. It’s a nice way to experience the music in a less critical setting since I have bigger matters at hand. But now and again I’ll get to something that scrambles my brain and jumbles my psyche so thoroughly, I either have to give up the other thing I’m doing or stop playing the music entirely.

Honestly, I’ve never had that issue with Dysrhythmia’s music before. But that was before their seventh (seventh?!) full-length “The Veil of Control” arrived to blow that all to hell. Before, I could process their music and their insane, encircling compositions and use them to push me forward. They would become a sort of motivator, for better or worse, and always worked really well to get my brain moving to tackle larger things. But the perplexing, blistering six songs on this record put me on the brink of paranoia. What was my mind doing to me? Why was I so distracted by this music that I had to submit to it blindly and push everything else to the side? It felt like the band was into something different on this record, settling into an area that sits just a bit apart from the rest of their catalog. Oh, and it’s also fucking amazing. I probably should have put that out there sooner.

This progressively brutal and confounding trio is comprised of guitarist Kevin Hufnagel (he sticks to a 12-string for this entire record, so imagine the insanity), bassist Colin Marston, and drummer Jeff Eber, and for nearly two decades now, they’ve been blowing minds and making brain connections catch fire and melt. Their music certainly should appeal to those who feast on the virtuoso realms in extreme music and metal (I mean, it’s no accident two-thirds of this band are in Gorguts), but it’s not limited to that audience. The band creates compelling, spiraling melodies, strange sci-fi-style adventures, and songs you have to hear to believe because they can’t really be described. Though I’m going to try like hell to do that below.

The album starts with the title track, and it engulfs the senses right away. Drums erupt as the song takes on a spooky nighttime feel. Prog chilliness sets in, while the soloing sizzles, the pace speeds up and then returns to its normal path, and then frosty thrashing breaks out. The final moments actually have a modern Rush feel to them, which is a nice touch. “Internal_Eternal” has the melodies doing laps around you, with strange, disorienting rhythms, and the guitars swimming through the thick basslines. The track suddenly veers toward space, as everything dissolves into liquid, leaving you on the brink of hypnosis. “Black Memory” rumbles, with the compositions splashing all over, and a zany, nasty fury setting in. The music is fiery and bubbling, with shit going all over the place, and the track eventually finding calm after a series of calculated charges.

“Selective Abstraction” punches and jerks as it begins, with the bass clobbering and a mystical feel spreading over everything. The pace begins to chew up the scene, with sinewy striking, changeups that twist up your guts, and an ending that will leave you wondering what the hell happened. “Severed and Whole” spills right in, with the music flowing like a stream of liquefied steel and the melodies soaking the ground. As the track goes on, it gets weirder and meaner, with the band taking you on a journey with whiplash-inducing turns, the bassline bloodying lips, and the song coming to a charring finish. Closer “When Whens End” is the longest cut at 8:30, and the basslines travel through before clean and distorted guitars join up and wreak havoc. The song trudges hard, hitting on abrasive pockets, but later it slips into dreaminess. But that doesn’t last as the back end of the playing toughens up, the song mashes your senses, and the track ends in a stupefying cloud of dust.

Dysrhythmia will contort and confound for as long as they’re a band, and “The Veil of Control” proves they’re nowhere near exhausting their mania. They’ve managed to push their creativity to new levels of insanity, and if you’re like me, you might find it demands all of your time and energy when it’s unfurling in front of you.

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

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

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

Photo by Jaclyn Woollard

Summer and metal are two things that always worked hand in hand for me. Possibly that’s because summer is when I really discovered metal, or at least realized how much I love it. As time has gone on, I’ve associated classic metal bands, and those trying their best to keep up the power in the modern era, with the long, hot days of summer.

It’s really a shame that summer is nearly over here in the States, because one of the year’s best classic-minded metal records is being launched by way of Sumerlands, the new band that aligns a group of well-traveled, experienced veterans for the heaviest of causes. Everything about their self-titled debut record is situated in the sounds of 30 years ago, but never in a way that seems gimmicky. The power and glory are real, and if you sit with the music and let it enter your bloodstream you’ll find yourself being whisked away to a place, even if only in the mind, where you cannot be defeated.

Out front for Sumerlands is Phil Swanson, who is best known for his work with Hour of 13, another bands that fought for the survival of metal’s roots. He is in amazing voice here and has some of the most recognizable pipes in underground metal. Along with Swanson are guitarist/synth player Arthur Rizk (also a noted producer for bands such as Power Trip, Inquisition, and Pissgrave), guitarist John Powers, bassist Justin de Torre (Magic Circle, Innumerable Forms), and drummer Brad Raub (War Hungry). The band’s music harkens back to Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and Cirith Ungol, and they’re best absorbed over a summer evening, with plenty of beverages, and you just wanting to be one with the night.

“Seal” rips open the record with some meaty riffs, great, Halford-style singing, and molten soloing that belts out and scorches. The traditional feel is all over the place, with the band galloping from start to finish. “The Guardian” is a killer, and it would have been right at home right at the midnight hour on Headbangers Ball. This one has an Ozzy/Dio vibe to it, with fantastical elements, and Swanson howling, “I’ll never be forsaken, you’ll always be there by my side.” Later, the singing hits a higher pitch, with the guitars meeting up and driving this one into the moonlight. “Timelash” has a nice dose of crunch but also some brainy progginess. The vocals are pulled back some, with Swanson lashing, “We’re all losers in this game of fools,” with the synth fog spread over, bringing darkness. “Blind” has riffs chewing the thing open, with Swanson wondering, “How far can one fall?” with his singing having an extra twinge of shadow to it. The guitars rip out and create havoc, with the end coming abruptly.

“Sumerlands Haunted Forever” begins with clean guitars trickling like a stream before the thing chugs open. Warm soloing is layered like a glaze, seeming like something that could perfectly soundtrack the sunset, while Swanson offers, “All I ever wanted was some peace for you,” as keys blend in and the tempo punches holes. “Spiral Infinite” hits the gas pedal, with the vocals cutting, the sounds echoing, and Swanson declaring, “Time and space go on!” “Lost My Mind” has strong guitar work, a charged-up feel, and the words dripping with anguish. About the idea of losing one’s mental capacity temporarily, Swanson pokes, “So what if it happens one more time?” as the wall of chaos around him starts coming down on you. The closing title track (band track?) is a cool instrumental that wraps up the record nicely. Noise haze and sound zaps meet, accompanied by a swim through the cosmos, slurry guitars, and a weird, hypnotic vibe that ends in footsteps, possibly signaling the arrival in the Sumerlands.

Sumerlands’ debut may be a bit mistimed—though they’ll sound just as great in the autumn—but what are you going to do? Their first album is an excellent slab of classic metal that’ll get your blood pumping and your fists clenching. They serve the majesty of metal quite well, and with music this good, they should be devoted to the cause well into the future.

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

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

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

Photo by Hemali Zaveri

There any number of things that inspire heavy metal records from societal conditions to personal struggles to anger over religious matters. There also have been many cases where other works of art have led to some of the finest metal on record, and it’s easy to see why something one sees or reads could slip into the pores and influence the creative process.

For two records now, Bay Area metal band Lotus Thief has traveled back in time via various texts, and that has led to two unique, stunning opuses, the latest being “Gramarye.” The title itself deals with occult learning primarily through magic, and that title fits perfectly for these five tracks that visit such legendary works as Homer’s Odyssey, the Merseberg Incantations (magic spells written in Old High German), and the ancient Egyptian funerary passage The Book of the Dead, and even Aleister Crowley’s The Book of Lies. The works that inspired these songs stretch back nearly 2,000 years and led to these stimulating, dramatic tracks that all stretch nearly 10 minutes and keep your lungs pumping. It’s a bit of a departure from their Titus Lucretius Carus-molded debut “Rervm” in that it’s more ambitious and pushes their magic all the way to the stars.

The band is driven by multi-instrumentalist/vocalist/composer Bezaelith (who also recently lent her haunting vocals to Palace of Worms’ great “The Ladder” from earlier this year). On this record, she is joined by drummer Otrebor (Botanist) and Iva Toric on synth and vocals, though Bezaelith expects to announce new lineup soon. What they do here under the Lotus Thief banner is entirely different musically and philosophically. Their last record fell more under the space rock banner, so huge and smashing you could imagine it played in large halls. The music on “Gramarye” remains situated in the cosmos, but the music is blends in more atmospheric black metal and doom, a dramatic, riveting collection of music that has the band making great leaps and bounds ahead, proving just how dexterous they really are.

“The Book of the Dead” opens the record as if you’re beginning an adventure through space, as sounds woosh and then the song opens up. The hearty, soulful singing pushes the song, while the pace begins to rip. A nice influx of melodies brings in a cascade of colors. The song reaches a softer pocket, with vocals that sound angelic and delicate, bringing a light breeze. Then we’re back to convulsions, as creaky whispers and a rising tide send the song on its way. “Circe” lets keys simmer, with sci-fi blips poking away, and the ambiance taking you into a strange nighttime sensation out of the mid 1980s. The tempo begins to chug, while the singing hovers in the air, mixing into brainy synth and later a tougher stretch of playing. The guitars reach out and pull a thick blanket over everything, evoking gasping emotions and later trickling blood over piano keys. “The Book of Lies” has a mystical start, with chimes echoing, psychedelic keys lapping over the surface, and doomy riffs bringing the storms. The vocals get harsh for a stretch, adding a sense of grit and balancing the powerful singing that dominates the track. Guitars take to the air but also provide some crunch, with more growls landing and a prog-fueled dream shifting into the clouds.

“Idisi” provokes as it rides out of the gates, while glorious melodies pour forth, and the main riff bubbles. Psyche fires begin to blaze anew, before serenity heaves a gasp, guitars are plucked, and Bezaelith’s voice unleashes its might. Later, the riffs tighten up, while the melodies spread, shifting into space before a push toward the cosmos through rousing wordless singing. Closer “Salem” lets the bass roam, proving beast-like, while a synth gaze drops, and the track takes on more of the space rock vibe of their first album. The song takes on a gazey post-punk feel for a while, but later, the singing bursts and grabs your attention, and every element reverberates. Winds of sound dash through and join up with the chaos, with the sound spiraling in the air, and everything coming to a dramatic, abrupt end.

This spacious, magical record is one that’ll leave you seeing stars and perhaps perusing those ancient texts that inspired Lotus Thief and these great five songs. “Gramarye” is a confident step forward for the band, the further evolution of their sound, one that’s fluent and ever expanding. This record is an adventurous joy to take on, and even after multiple listens, there remain corners to explore and layers of meaning to peel back and devour.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://en.prophecy.de/pre-order-bundles/

For more on the label, go here: http://en.prophecy.de/

Photo by Katie Hovland

If the current presidential election has proved anything, it’s that people can be dragged to the very worst in order to see to it that a person they’ll never meet and very likely doesn’t have their best interests at heart gets what he wants. Former CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien was quoted recently, lambasting her former employer for allowing what Donald Trump has injected into the public consciousness to become the norm. Racism doesn’t make people shudder. It’s everyday life.

Just by way of monitoring social media, it’s clear this campaign has normalized hatred and intolerance. People defend violence, racism, sexism, and evil just because it’s slowly dripped into our society. In fact, it might be unfair just to blame it on the Donald, as the past eight years have normalized stereotypes and hatred toward other people. Compare that to what Primo Levi wrote about in If This Is a Man, his memoir after spending time in the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II, where he observed evil becoming a regular way of life simply by the slow exposure to it over a long period of time. That work inspired the new album “Light Falls” by Wrekmeister Harmonies, and surely not by mistake, it’s the most emotionally caustic and gripping album in the group’s already stellar collection.

Core members JR Robinson (vocals, guitars) and Esther Shaw (keyboard, piano, violin, vocals) embraced the concept of changes trickling in over a long period of time for this record, as the tumult and pressure contained within is palpable. By their side are member of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Cave, and Bitchin Bajas, who make ample contributions to the soundscape. Along with the subject matters, Robinson also pushed to sonically recreate that concept with these seven songs, something he saw as akin to the day gradually turning over to night. The more heinous aspects, the ones that remind me of the Trump campaign (and that’s my take and not necessarily something the musicians broached), are there and poke back at you. As the music turns, as the words dryly fall from Robinson’s mouth, the essence of change that becomes DNA nearly causes panic, as you know it might be too late to dig under that layer of skin and extract the bug.

The “Life Falls” triptych opens the record, with “I – The Mantra” starting, fading in out of a haze into acoustic guitars and Robinson croaking, “Stay in, go out, get sick, get well, light falls.” The song goes into a trippy, psychedelic bend, with strings swelling and the cut bleeding into “II – The Light Burns Us All” that has noises scraping and swelling. The volume kicks up, and the pace sludges along, with doom hell arriving, and the track taking on a sweeping, apocalyptic essence, rumbling and troubling before dissolving into noise. “III – Light Sick” finishes the opening trio with quiet, dreamy passages, with the music taking on a lightly jazzy and atmospheric tone. The song floats along, teasing serenity, before the volume erupts, corrupting the skies, and the pace slides into grime and fog, with the agitation wailing out and driving home the dagger.

“The Gathering” has the music quivering, piano leaking, and the feeling like you’re in the middle of a desert, completely isolated. A frost suddenly arrives, but it’s temporary as the song ignites, the power pounds away, and the chaos builds before the song sizzles away. “Where Have You Been My Lovely Son?” also goes right for the heart, with lonely strings, raspy speak-singing, and the music hovering overhead. “All I want to do is hold your face in my hands again,” Robinson levels, as the song stretches and quakes the insides, leaving you gasping for breath as it flows into “Some Were Saved Some Drowned” that opens in distorted chaos. Strings flutter as shrieked yelps leave welts, with Robinson wailing, “Did you feel your life slipping away?” before hitting back with repeated calls of, “There is no god,” as every element rises up, spills over, and heads relentlessly down the hill. “My Lovely Son Reprise” ends the record as a slight callback, with strings and Robinson’s simple, lonely voice wondering, “Where have you been?”

Whether we’re talking atrocities that transformed a nation, current state of affairs and the resulting psyche, or less damaging situations, changes that take place over long periods of time often completely alter us, and many times not for the better. “Light Falls” is a sobering, bleeding example of that, and it’s Wrekmeister Harmonies at their most exposed. The music should be enough to impact your frame of mind, and the music is the fire that burns these changes into your skin.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/wrekmeisterharmonies23/

To buy the album, go here: http://thrilljockey.com/products

For more on the label, go here: http://thrilljockey.com/index

The last few years were ripe for metal bands we’d long since hoped would return finally did and brought with them new music. Grind/death maulers Carcass was a huge one, and their “Surgical Steel” record proved to be one of the best in their catalog. And then we had melodic death kings At the Gates resurface with a less-awesome album, but a scorching live show nonetheless.

Now, a few years later, we have another in Nordic wonders In the Woods…, perhaps the least likely of all of the bands mentioned to reunite and bring with them new music. Their brand new one “Pure” arrives 17 years after their last studio effort “Strange in Stereo” and finds the group wildly reimagined and with a new player in the fold. Gone are the band’s days of creaky, woodsy black metal that pieced the world on their legendary debut “HEart of the Ages.” Instead, they continue to follow prog and melodic doom pathways that won’t come as any big surprise to anyone who has been along for the ride. The most important thing is the music, and In the Woods… still have much to offer a metal world that often is too shallow when it comes to heart and creativity.

In the Woods… early days go back to the early 1990s and the dawning of the second wave of black metal. They were more of an oddity at the time, with gothy undertones, synthesizers, and female voices mixed in with the torment. They always had their heads in the clouds, seeking dreamscapes that could make the listener float off amid the sinew. Along the way, the core members have been guitarist Christian “X” Botteri, bassist Christopher “C.M.” Botteri, and drummer Anders Kobro, who all return here along with new vocalist James Fogarty (Ewigkeit, Old Forest, etc.), who also contributes guitars and keys. The result is new life for this band, whose work sounds as vital and inspired as ever.

The title track begins the record, and it’s a really good indication as to what’s ahead. It’s also a really strong kickoff song, with weird keys, elegant sheets of doom, and proggy organs spilling in, with a strong, memorable chorus poking at “a shiny future waiting,” which may stick in your head for days. “Blue Oceans Rise (Like a War)” has a synth haze rising like a morning fog before the song slips into a stoic stomp. “You are in my mind, in my soul,” Fogarty bellows, while the cut gets punchier and adds more dark textures. “Devil’s at the Door” is another strong one, beginning clean before the storm clouds arrive. Grim growls work their way into the picture, though there also are a lot of cold, chilly melodies, with Fogarty wailing, “I want to leave the world behind.” There are many tempo shifts, as well as self-reflection on past shortcomings and the door left open to forgive oneself. “The Recalcitrant Protagonist” is moody and melodic, with some of the most expressive singing on a record full of that type of thing. “All the archetypes surround me,” Fogarty imagines, as he sees his life and his darkness being played out on a stage, a place where he’s not comfortable being so vulnerable in such a state. “The Cave of Dreams” mixes doom with post-rock fog, as the track gets chunky, with the pull of psychedelic dreams prompting Fogarty to insist, “It was not real.”

“Cult of Shining Stars” unravels slowly, as the music trickles, the verses get a little more raucous, and eerie synth settles over the scene. The music cascades in sheets, while cloudy synth and punchy tempos lead the way. “Towards the Black Surreal” slips in on clean guitars that give way to an emotional release. There is a strong hint of deathrock here, as the pace plods along and Fogarty observes, “Gravity has become distance.” From there, the song bursts to life, with the music crushing souls and leaving hope in its dust. “Transmission KRS” is a lengthy instrumental, one that sounds inspired by 1970s space prog, as it spreads over 10:46, with voices calling out from a control station, and the track starting gently with acoustics and different shades. As it goes on, the energy tears through the middle of the song, with blazing soloing that bursts with emotion, keys pulsating, and your heart, surely, surging. “This Dark Dream” is rife with strong riffs and belting singing before it slips into chilling territory and long synth stretches. The crunch then returns, with Fogarty noting, “My dearest friends, they turned their back,” as organs rush in and get heavily proggy, with a dramatic finish bringing the exclamation point. Closer “Mystery of the Constellations” unloads trudging guitars, with stabbing verses and fiery soloing. The cut is sweeping and dramatic, with power metal and doom mixing together to make a thick mud, guitar work stirring, and the cut fading into the distance.

Having In the Woods… back in metal’s realms is a gift or the highest proportions, and their appearance at next year’s Maryland Deathfest will force me, happily, to make the pilgrimage south. “Pure” is a new page for the band, but one we could see coming, and it is work that stands up mightily even against their classic work. This is a fine later-year surprise that’s going to sound perfect matched up with autumn here in North America.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://www.debemur-morti.com/en/12-eshop

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

Heaviness in music is a rather subjective issue, and what one person finds weighty could cause arguments with totally different people. It’s something of a mind frame, and when you hear something that has unquestioned heaviness, you know it right away.

On that wavelength, it’s hard for me to imagine anyone hearing Alison Chesley’s work under her Helen Money moniker and hear anything but abject heaviness. In case you’re not familiar with her or her work, she’s armed with just a cello that’s often wickedly electrified, and the results can be something as crushing as the scariest metal on the planet. She proves her wares yet again on her excellent new record “Become Zero,” an eight track instrumental effort that combines doom, sludge, drone, experimental styles, chamber music, you name it. It’s delicate and dripping with tar, often within the confines of the same song, and while it might not be metal by definition, it sure is heavy and foreboding as hell. The record also has more delicate moments and passages that can sweep you away, making for a great push-pull dynamic and creating some of her most compelling music.

Chesley, who has worked with bands as varied as Anthrax, Broken Social Scene, and Russian Circles, has four records under her Helen Money name, kind of sort of. Her first effort was in 2007 under her given name but called “Helen Money,” then she released “In Tune” in 2009 under the Money name. “Arriving Angels” was released in 2013 by Profound Lore, which awakened the metal audience to her work, and now comes “Become Zero” on Thrill Jockey. On this record, she once again works with Neurosis drummer Jason Roeder, Rachel Grimes, and collaborator and co-producer Will Thomas, who also provides sound effects and samples. This album is one of the deepest and most emotional of her career, having created the music following the death of her parents, which pushed her to new boundaries and caused her to dig even deeper within herself to come to terms with the end of existence.

The record starts with “Every Confidence” that opens up into mournful tones, as Chesley’s cello hovers before it electrifies and unleashes a swarm of buzzing drone. Doom swells and darkens every corner before things go clean again, sounds swell and boil, and the track fades off like a stream drying. The title track starts with a speedier round of cellos and the drums kicking in and loosening the plaster. Static jumbles, while pianos blend in, and the track blends into something tribal and spiritual. “Radiate” is the longest track at 8:50, and it starts in a cloud of drone, with waves and darkness and cold winds overwhelming. Chesley’s cello quivers quietly, as an angelic soundscape sprawls ahead and joins up with an autumnal haze. The last bit of the song is tranquil and hazy, as it disappears into a vapor. “Blood and Bone” has piano and cello scraping, feeling rustic and rainy. An elegant gaze begins to thicken, while the song slowly makes its way for the door.

“Vanished Star” has melody lines cutting in, with the winds sweeping along, before the piece hits an electrified field and gives off reverberations. Pianos bleed along as the song hits a gentle crescendo before bowing out. “Machine” opens with noise loops hypnotizing, the cello calculatingly plucked, and power pushing through. The sounds shimmer and give off energy, while a sound halo forms and surrounds your head, as the piano takes over and drips the song dry. “Leviathan” has drums erupting and circling, the cello feeling grimy and gloomy, and the melodies and ambiance slipping dangerously close to black metal territory. The pace mauls and chews, while the walls of chaos slowly dissipate into dust. Closer “Facing the Sun” feels like the great star rising over the horizon, with drone lapping and a second riff emerging behind that is a little lighter. As the chaos dies down, a single cello line flies overhead, with calmness arriving at long last and lifting the hurt into the stars.

Chesley faced circumstances many of us have or will one day when making “Become Zero,” and that humanity and emotional richness are poured into each song. She might not fit the traditional mold of what some deem heavy, but her music and inspirational content both carry more than enough weight. This is a cataclysmic, heart-wrenching record that constantly tests the heart and soul and perhaps can inspire some introspection on our own existence that is frighteningly fragile.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://thrilljockey.com/products

For more on the label, go here: http://thrilljockey.com/index

The state of humankind is grave and getting more troublesome. That’s obvious just from turning on a television set or going outside and interacting with others. This decline has been happening for some time now, though recently it seems to have superglued the acceleration pedal to the floor.

What can stop this downward spiral, if anything? Is this the condition in which we live? Will it keep getting worse and worse? That’s a tough question to answer right now, but it’s something Mare Cognitum explore on the expansive new record “Luminiferous Aether,” yet another challenging piece from one of black metal’s constantly interesting bands. This record, as ambitious as it is, is only a small part of an overall manner of thinking when it comes to considering the human condition. No one else in the universe is fretting what is going on with our Earth and the things we do to one another. Destruction, especially of the self, could be the only answer, but even then, will it be enough to carry on past the brush fires and pits of waste that result? This record chooses to have a sense of hope that we can rise beyond this state and that the human spirit can rise up in the end and remind us all of our interconnectedness and dependency on one another. But that’s nowhere near a certainty.

It’s no secret Mare Cognitum are a favorite here. We said as much a couple weeks back when we talked about the project’s collaborative split effort with Aureole. The band is the creation of multi-instrumentalist Jacob Buczarski and has been creating otherworldly, atmospheric black metal for the past five years. The first Mare Cognitum release arrived in the project’s year of birth 2011 with “The Sea Which Has Become Known,” and from there, Buczarski returned a year later with the eye-opening “An Extraconscious Lucidity.” A split/collaborative effort with Spectral Lore followed, and a year later, third full-length “Phobos Monolith” landed. “Luminiferous” is Mare Cognitum’s most direct and heaviest record to date, an album that unloads the power and devastates everything within its creative space. It’s a jarring journey that asks tough questions and responds with equally quaking answers.

“Heliacal Rising” begins cleanly, letting noises slowly filter into the mix and take on weight. The whole thing floats along, seemingly content to meander to its destination when all hell breaks loose. Monstrous growls erupt behind mournful guitars, as a gaze spreads over everything, and the riffs charge up and burn. Passionate howls blister, while a coldness arrives, with emotion and murk combining and drifting into the air. “The First Point of Aries” detonates right away, as if with the intent to burn a million souls. Fierce growls and powerful melodies unite, as the thunderous assault rips forward, with the pace shifting again and again. As the song winds down, so does the fury, with dramatic color gushing and the night sky gulping it whole. “Constellation Hipparchia” begins with strong melodic guitars creating waves, with the track coming to life and galloping heavily. The scathing vocals follow the tempo nicely, and with each valley, the song returns with a new gasp of steam. “Witnessing the crucifixion of the self, leaves nothing to be sought on these worlds,” Buczarski howls, as the track keeps opening new volcanic pockets that fill the void with chaos and burn everything to ash.

“Occultated Temporal Dimensions” begins in a sound swarm before pure black metal chaos is unleashed. The song is blinding and furious, with wild cries smashing and cavernous growls joining them in crippling the senses. Much of the track is raw and noisy, with waves of violence reddening the terrain, and the only answer to everything is total decimation. “Pathways/bittered with/sinew from/dead stars!” Buczarski screams, with the song barreling to some unknown, but certainly catastrophic, ending. Closer “Aether Wind” blasts open, with guitars taking control and the vocals scathing. The song is fast and punishing, as the guitars keep things compelling, and the bulk of the track feels like a relentless onslaught. Melodies sweep in and carry you into the air, with shrieks mixing with deep growls and the fury rushing out, rousing you from this tornadic sound dream.

Mare Cognitum already were a fascinating, challenging band before “Luminiferous Aether,” but with this fourth album, the ante is upped even further. It’s an angry, fierce record that bathes in darkness and forces the listener to face ultimate destruction face to face. Even if hope is in our midst and there are ways to push through the madness, this record reminds that fire and death await if we can’t get our collective act together and realize we’re all in this united, good or bad.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://i-voidhanger.com/shop/

For more on the label, go here: http://i-voidhanger.com/

As death and black metals progress, so do the thinking behind them. While a good, rough bludgeoning of power for its sake still works most of the time, intellectual and spiritual elements also have taken hold and pushed the boundaries beyond the physical plane.

So it is with a band such as Nox Formulae, whose music is more a pathway for something greater than themselves, that we find ourselves in this terrain again. The band considers its debut “The Hidden Paths to Black Ecstasy” more of a book of black magic than a traditional record, and even their platform for their sounds is, and I quote them, “an emanation of the well of N.O.X, the darkest aspect of the Draconian /Typhonian Principle which applies to the mystical Black Magical Formula of XONOX.” If you’d like, head off for an extensive Google search to even begin to fully grasp their mission as part of a sect of Luciferian fanaticism, the goal of which is to bring the Ruler of Atlantis into the human subconscious. That might seem like a lot to absorb and take on if you’re not already well versed in their spiritual thinking, but the music on this record sure will bring you where you need to be.

The band itself is very much a mystery. They list five members—Monkshood 333, Nightshade, and Kurgasiaz all on vocals, Wolfsbane 1.1 on guitars, and Mezkal on drums—but beyond that, we can’t find out much about their histories or other works, if they have any at all. But no matter, this Greek band’s terrifying, mystifying music seeks to push the listener to explore their sub-consciousness and seek answers from entities beyond the physical. Just listening to the music also is acceptable, and in doing so, you might find yourself pushed past your means anyway.

“NOXON” starts the record with strange winds and a creaky dampness that lifts the lid on the record and sets the stage for “The Shadow Smoke,” which charges right out of the blackness. Eerie overtones and scraping growls head into swirling soundscapes and portions that seem hell bent on altering your mind. Disorienting madness continues to rise, with the sounds sucked into a horrific vortex. “Nahemoth Death Plane” has doomy guitars, sounds hovering, and the tempo eventually pushed into higher gear. The vocals again chew away at your brain, while melodies cascade, chants rain down, and the song ends in a scary bit of hypnosis. “Voudon Lwa Legba” obliterates at the start, bringing chaos and fire before shifting into a prog-fueled sequence that shifts and sweeps. Savagery is right around the bend as jagged guitars, warbled speaking, and otherworldly chants bring the song to its end.

“Dark Brother,” the first song ever created by Nox Formulae, has bubbling riffs, strange chanted vocals, and a tempo that speeds up suddenly, leading to unleashing of crazed growls and shrieks. Everything suddenly is pushed into insanity, as the song finally hits calm and melts away. “Yezidic NOX Formula” has guitars smeared, the vocals feeling like they’re straight out of a nightmare, and a panic-inducing rumbling that pushes its way into your cell structure. “O.D. Dominion” is something much different, as psyche-smeared guitars unfold, and the whole thing feels like it’s inducing a trance. Just as you’re about to submit, the terror returns, and the music tried to tear the flesh from your bones. “Hidden Clan” deals crunch and strangeness right away, and things don’t deviate very much. The place lights up and pounds away, while wild howls ignite, grimness is all around, and the chants echo in the air, feeling like they’re spinning all around you. Closer “XONOX” is the ideal bookend, finishing the record with more winds, tribal drumming, and the music disappearing into the night.

Nox Formulae have a mission far beyond what we can understand on an Earthly level, and “The Hidden Paths to Black Ecstasy” certainly is one of the strangest albums of this year. Whether you seek to push your mind to the places the band explores is up to you, and if you choose to do so, this music provides a raucous channel for doing so. Either way, Nox Formulae provide ritualistic concoctions that go well past normal black metal boundaries, something that’s always welcome.

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

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

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

Mixing the fury of death metal with more spiritual and intellectual themes is not totally a foreign concept. It’s been done before, though it’s kind of a rarity in these parts. But that doesn’t mean you can’t expect to mix utter brutality with themes that demand more from your brain, and when done right, it can be a stimulating version of this extreme art form.

We turn toward French mystery Aum for more on this idea, as the music and themes on their debut “Om Ah Hum Vajra Guru Padma Siddhi Hum,” which is basically a Buddhist chant that roughly translates to “I invoke you, Vajra Guru, Padmasambhava, by your blessing may you grant us ordinary and supreme realization,” pushes spiritual boundaries. Digging into the mysteries and rituals of Buddhism is at the center here, and I don’t claim to have enough knowledge of this terrain to explain any further, but it doesn’t take much time with the music to fall under its power. The record itself is a journey to understand the experience of life through death on both physical and astral planes, and while the content may go over some heads, the basic understanding can be had. On the crudest level, it’s spacious, blackened death metal that stretches you mind and body, and when this nameless, faceless entity is done with you, you’re bound to be exhausted with all that you’ve just encountered.

“Moksha” begins the record, ripping away at your senses with clubbing madness and guttural growls. The track feels like it’s doling out violence, but then we head into chant-like throat warbling that seems to indicate another agenda. Doom slips into the room as banshee wails are unleashed, the tempo grinds and chugs, and another round of chants brings the song to an end. “Patisandhi” is gritty and lurching, with growls bubbling to the surface and the guitars boiling and giving off heat. The tempo switches back and forth between aggressive and calm, with the final moments dressed in bells ringing and whispered words. “Dattatreya” leads off with a strong, burly riff, moving into creaking growls and, eventually, the song tearing open. From there, the sound is pure demolition, with the music splattering and more monstrous growls surfacing. “Dukkha” also starts with chants before the brutality kicks in. Grim growls meet up with a mind-altering pace that mixes in with the heavy sludge. The leads burn while the tempo grinds, and toward the end, murky, weird synth rolls in as the whole thing slows down and bleeds away.

“Brahmastra” is a wrecker right away, hammering and unleashing infernal growls that are nasty and smashing. The soloing goes off as the beastly assault leads to another eruption of power and chants that would chill your brain cells. “Hemvati” lets the chants spill over as riffs swirl in the air, speed arrives, and the growls seem like they’re spat out. The song jerks to an abrupt halt, making you think it has ended prematurely, but then it flows back in, lets the blackness unfurl, and slithers away hypnotically. Closer “Vipashyana” begins with Sabbath-style doom sinew before opening up into the track’s main chambers, where ugly riffs and charred sentiments await. The growls get deeper and muddier, while the track hulks along slowly, the drums crush everything, and eerie soundscape bring the record to its end.

You’re going to feel physically and mentally challenged at the end of “Om Ah Hum Vajra Guru Padma Siddhi Hum,” but that’s a good thing. Aum keep you invested and working throughout these seven songs, and their ultimate destination should be a place of higher understanding both for them and you. If you just want to immerse yourself in cavernous death metal, that’s also acceptable. But those who push beyond that ultimately are going to be the ones who gain the most from this record.

To buy the album, go here: http://shop.ironbonehead.de/en/

For more on the label, go here: http://www.ironbonehead.de/