Late autumn and early winter are the perfect settings to spend some time gazing into the night sky. The daylight hours become as scarce as they are all year long. The cold and desolation always seem to be around you, as everything in nature goes dormant, and above our heads opens into a majestic black canvas.

That’s a reason why this is the season to indulge in black metal. It mixes perfectly with the natural aesthetics, and it just sounds great when out in the cold, at night, when the sky is your only other entertainment. Look, it’s not that weird. I take walks when it’s dark, just around the neighborhood, and the darker, more melodic the metal, the better, and I’ve recently added The Negative Bias to that rotation. Their debut record “Lamentations of the Chaos Omega” is another late-year gem on which you should not sleep. The brainchild of I.F.S. (formerly of Alastor, who handles vocals, lyrics, and concepts), he is joined on the record by (of Golden Dawn and Wallachia, who helps with instrumentation), and studio drummer Florian Musil (the live version of the band is a different version altogether), the project looks into the cosmos and tests the ideas of hatred, the limits of humankind, and what type of beasts might lie beyond this simple realm.

“The Golden Key to a Pandemonium Kingdom” lets winds woosh in before the black metal storm begins, and the drums blast a hole in the serenity. Melodies flood over and enrapture before a folkish chorus blends in, giving off an Enslaved feel, before the pace storms heavily again. From there, the waters are punishing, the words are released in a spirited manner, and we’re back headlong into the tidal wave. “Journey Into the Defleshed Paradise” starts with whispery dialog before the song tears open, the piece ruptures, and the basslines blacken eyes. Grisly growls meet up with playing that warps your mind, as things go into creaky atmospherics before cold, clean guitars arrive and wash things away. “Tormented by Endless Delusions” is devastating out front, as speed strikes and the growls are deadly. The guitars create spirals and bring even more spaciness, and later, the music gets weirder and splatters, the playing is delirious, and things end suddenly at a pit of noise.

“The Undisclosed Universe of Atrocities” begins in a clean, eerie corner, taking its time to get started and setting up an ambiance. Then the track explodes, as terse growls ramble forward, and the band thrashes away. Classic strains of black metal bleed in, as the song becomes mean and nasty, a glorious fury comes to the forefront, and the track’s blood chills in its veins. “Cryptic Echoes From Beyond Dimensions” simmer in odd noise, as a long intro is dashed with dialog, the sounds of war send a blast, and the track heads into deep agony. Deeply sung chants haunt to your core, and this weird mostly instrumental track slows to its end. Closer “And Darkness Should Be the End of Cosmic Faith” drops a bomb immediately, as the song crushes bones before acoustics suddenly head in and establish a different environment. Out of that, the song grows defiant, as the band hammers away, and the melodies lap. Singing slips underneath the murk, as strains of melodic death burst, and then noises bubble to the surface. A grisly assault returns, bringing fire and destruction, as gigantic slices are cut into the earth, and the track slips into that forever.

The Negative Bias combine old-school black metal aesthetics with a sense of atmosphere that sweeps across the ages on “Lamentations of the Chaos Omega.” Their sense of majesty and power can get inside of you and help you wonder what other great terrors could exist beyond this world. Gaze into the cold, wintry night sky long enough, and you might see them coming if they ever decide the strike.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://eshop.atmf.net/

For more on the label, go here: https://www.atmf.net/

During the two world wars the world suffered (before the third one opens next week), the music of the era was totally not fitting for the woes of battle and bloodshed. It was swinging and happy, even when we were threatening to “come over there” to kill all the people and not return until we do. We’ve come a long way when dealing with songs drenched in war.

Case in point is Fresno-based duo Malefic Levitation, a band that waves the war metal banner high and comes at you with all guns blazing. Their debut EP “The Ancient Plague” is a six-cut, 20-minute display that’s packed with bloodshed and is impossible from which to wriggle out from underneath. These tracks are packed with sooty death and black metal, with noise-marred playing and violent displays that sound as if they were recorded in a bunker. This collection is brought to you by Sentient Ruin in the U.S. (who have become a super reliable source of underground fury) and Dawnbreed Records in Europe, so this band will have its chance to infect as many people as possible. There’s nothing easy about this, as every moment is thrusting you into the heart of hell, with nothing around to offer any protection.

“Intro/Abyss” starts the record with a brief run of noise, and that heads toward “Warlord Rites,” which is vicious and unforgiving, as one might expect. The drums rattle your brains, while the growls chew muscle, and we head into hellish madness. Riffs cut through as the track slows down but opens a buzzsaw, and the track comes to a bloody end. “Savage Hunter” has guitars boiling and the tempo ripping apart, while the drumming pelts, and the riffs peel paint from the walls. Peace is utterly terminated as the band stomps in your guts. “Black Forest Worship” is speedy and relentless, while guitars churn and turn to tar, and the growls are hissed. Riffs regenerate into a new beast, while the growls suffer in the dirt, and a flurry of guitars bring things to an end. “The Back Wind” is atmospheric at first before the guitars begin grinding, and the pace gradually gains speed. The drumming destroys bones while the vocals incinerate, and the song brings pain and misery over its final minute. “Outro/Plague” is similar to the intro, a fitting bookend that bleeds in droning sound.

Malefic Levitation are going to be there for you once the first nuclear missiles fly and we watch humanity and the world torn apart by greedy, clueless assholes who won’t even live to see the glory they think they’re achieving. “The Ancient Plague” is the ideal soundtrack, as its warped, infernal ways will match the black coating in your lungs that make breathing impossible. Oddly, I just busted open a cut on my very dry hands writing this final graph, so I’m going to go smear what’s left inside of me all over my face and get ready for the worst.

For more on the bend, go here: https://www.facebook.com/Malefic-Levitation-1252515748204272/

To buy the album, go here: http://sentientruin.com/releases/malefic-levitaiton-the-ancient-plague

Or here: http://www.dawnbreed.com/nl/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=1297

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

And here: http://www.dawnbreed.com/

There are bands that I often wonder why more people don’t talk about them. We live in an era when the internet can take a band, raise them up, and weeks later they’re selling tons of shit, and backlash campaigns already have started. But others just seem to plow away with what they do best while others take forever to come around.

Can we talk about Valdur already? This California-based death and black metal band has been going nearly two decades now, and fuck all, can we finally acknowledge their raucous catalog? Their new one is “Divine Cessation,” a record that greets us in December (maybe that’s the issue, late-year releases?) and unloads some devastating stuff that deserves to be lauded. Over seven tracks, the band unloads infernal riffs, smothering vocals, and hellish destruction that never steers you wrong and always does its best to hammer the hell out of you. We’ve long loved this band (we embraced 2013’s “Raven God Amongst Us” and 2015’s “Pathetic Scum”), yet the rest of the world hasn’t caught onto this yet. Maybe this will change as these guys—vocalist JF, guitarist Vuke, bassist William, drummer Matthew—continue delivering the good and make their evil ways as alluring as ever.

“Breath of the Beast” begins in ominous darkness before giving way to destructive growls and a slow-driving misery. The pace begins to blister as the guitars spiral and grim blackness spreads. That leads us to a strange, mystical end that flows into the massive title track. There, static blends into drubbing fury, as the growls grind, and the pace is super fluid. We get a dose of calm, and then things burst into utter chaos, as riffs reign, a terrifying tone takes over, and doom horns push to the end. “The Tail” winds into madness, with filthy riffing and slow-gurgling muck, as weird noises rise and take over, and the rattling bleeds into mauling hell. The song reopens and eats away at flesh, while the growls melt into earth, and violent destruction mesmerizes until the track’s massive end.

“Seething Disgust” pushes into disgusting waters, as grimy growls and a riff tornado lights your mind on fire. The drums begin to devastate while the guitars sicken and bring vertigo, and the band clobbers the shit out you as it winds its way to the finish. “Doomed” is a strange instrumental, a song that is built on galloping misery, mystical strangeness, and chilling horror. “Plague Born of a Dying Black Star” has guitars burning tires and the track tearing open in the bloodiest form possible. Chaotic growls (Sean “Psykho” Combat handles vocals on this one) and a monstrous assault get under way, while a demonic fury takes us into speed and torment. Doom spills in at the back end, while riffs tangle, and we get a sooty black metal finish. Closer “Potent Black Orb” is the weirdest track here, in the best way. Killer riffs and an assault that presses on your chest cavity make bad things happen, and then the band dominates with riffs you cannot battle against. The song smashes bones, but then electronic blips and beats rise, giving this a strange feeling. But it’s not over. That weird electronic haze remains, but riffs break through that, draw blood, and then give way to noise.

Valdur’s massive violence is bloody and real, and “Divine Cessation” is a record on which you should not sleep. It’s not going to redefine metal or carve a new path for black metal, but it at least should make you revel in their existence as they do good for their sound. This is a crushing band that deserves your respect, and it’s about time you paid it to them.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/valdur-54163319709/

To buy the album, go here: https://bloodymountainrecords.bandcamp.com/album/divine-cessation

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

Photo by Jarkko Pietarinen

Death is a dark, foreboding thing, the greatest of most of our fears, the portal into the unknown. No one knows what happens once we close our eyes for good, be that an immersion into a new plane of existence or just eternal nothingness. It’s grim, and it’s scary as hell.

Yet, for Jess and the Ancient Ones, death can sound so freeing and joyous. Never has that been more apparent than on their third full-length effort “The Horse and Other Weird Tales,” their second-consecutive record to drop right before the end of a year. On this nine-track, 35-minute new opus, the band gloriously and lavishly celebrates death in its many forms. From seeing it as a way to enter a new realm to exploring some of the Earth’s most captivating killers, the band finds a way to use its revival-style psychedelics sound to lather your mind with thoughts of the end but also invite you to think of it as a release, a way to live again in the beyond. The band—vocalist Jess, guitarist and primary songwriter Thomas Corpse, bassist Fast Jake, drummer Jussuf, and keys/organ player Abraham—sweeps you up in their colorful world, and while most artists who revel in this subject inundate you with brutality, Jess and the Ancient Ones would rather lather you in melody and alluring darkness, hoping to bring you into the arms of the cult.

“Death is the Doors” opens the record with weird organs pulsating and the always-engaging Jess calling, “Death, please come to us.” The psyche wash heads into spirited claps and a weird doom groove as the song fades away. “Shining” sounds like total hippie stuff, in the best possible way, as Jess warns, “She burns for you.” All elements swirl, as the guitars go on a soul journey, and the calls of death intertwined with love give the song a rushing finish. “Your Exploding Heads,” from its title, seems like it would be Cannibal Corpse levels of gory. Instead, it’s insanely catchy as it runs into trippy rock, driving, burly basslines, and a simple chorus designed for lusty callbacks live. “You and Eyes” runs a little over seven minutes, and the first section is a ballad, with keys fluttering, and Jess digging deep into her heart. We’re then off into sunbursts and fog, with Jess wailing, “Have my body! Have my soul!” The song later sinks into synth sweeps and steam, as the words of British philosopher Alan Watts work their way into your brain. The back end brings a group celebration before rounding to the slower, tender parts that introduced the song.

“Radio Aquarius” is a quick instrumental interlude that resets the pace and takes us into “Return to Hallucinate” where the synth sounds like it originated in outer space, and Jess admits, “I never cared for reality, I just want to fly.” The guitars blaze and send smoke, while the massive chorus fills your bones with dark energy. “(Here Comes) the Rainbow Mouth” is a pretty weird one, as the up-tempo playing and the jagged guitars set the stage for the drama and Jess declaring, “She is the rainbow mouth!” The track trances out, while the chorus bends back again, and we’re turned to ash by the fiery end. “Minotaure” begins with snorts and a great beast stamping before delirious keyboards, buzzing bass, and melodies create a tidal wave. Jess sings of the woes of the creature as the band delivers blistering keys and a rollicking path. Closer “Anyway the Minds Flow” centers on John Lennon’s killer Mark David Chapman and his intertwining life that was wrapped up in J.D. Salinger’s “Catcher in the Rye.” Quotes about him and Chapman’s voice itself flow through this 7:57 song about the troublesome man, as the song feels like a psychedelic dream at times, with Jess howling over the madness,  organs and harpsicord mixing together, and the track feeling pained and ominous simultaneously, bringing the record to a mystifying end.

Jess and the Ancient Ones are more on the outer edges of metal, but they’ve always had a huge place in our hearts, no matter what they create. “The Horse and Other Weird Tales” is another enchanting chapter from this band that was only hand-picked by King Diamond to support his U.S. tour a few years back. This band will take you to dark corners you previously dreaded and leave you feeling renewed, revitalized, and even hungry for your worst fears to come true.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://www.svartrecords.com/shop/

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

Everyone does dumb shit. One time at the beach, I drank so many Palo Santos that I shit my pants on the sidewalk right into a fresh new pair of boxer briefs that I had to throw away in the restroom of an Italian restaurant while a really band stand-up comedian was dying alive on stage. Basically, we all have moments of which we’re not proud.

We all know about Morbid Angel’s last record, the universally reviled “Illud Divinum Insanus.” It was their version of uncontrollable liquid stool demanding it splash its way onto your new boxer briefs you totally really liked and fit you so well. But Morbid Angel are absolute death metal royalty, legends walking among us, so we can forgive one really, really bad record. We can flush that thing because these guys gave us “Altars of Madness,” “Blessed Are the Sick,” “Covenant,” and even “Heretic,” an album that we’ll get back to in a bit. These are touchstones that cannot be touched and helped build the foundation for death metal as a whole. But here we are, five years after “that which shall not be named again,” and we have a reshuffled Morbid Angel lineup and a new record “Kingdoms Disdained.” Oh, we didn’t skip J in the A-Z album naming. The J went to live album “Juvenilia,” so everyone stop whining. On this new 11-track record, we have a mix of Morbid royalty as Steve Tucker is back on vocals and bass, replacing David Vincent. He ruled on aforementioned “Heretic,” and he does here as well. Guitar wizard Trey Azagthoth remains, as he should forever, and they’re joined by new recruits Dan Vadim Von (guitars) and Scott Fuller (drums) who more than hold their own on this record that will make fucking awesome. That’s actually all you need to know.

“Piles of Little Arms” gets the record started, and it’s arguably the strongest track on here. Trudging death, grisly growls, and a stabbing pace both infuses the track with violence and gets your juices going. “D.E.A.D.” has guitars swirling and vocals crushing, and the guitar lines even get a little zany in spots. “We’ve come to wipe this planet clean!” Tucker wails as the track rips out your guts. “Garden of Disdain” lets guitars roll out of control, as the track heads right into the mud and delivers crunchy punishment. The song scrapes and steamrolls, as Tucker wails of the Sumerian gods he invokes on this record who fear they’re “dismissed and long forgotten.” “The Righteous Voice” is bloody and wild, with the growls menacing and the melodies being mashes into the dirt, as the leads blare and cut to the bone. “Architect and Iconoclast” is grim and slow driving, putting the assault into a mean, meats-and-potatoes type of approach. “I am prophecy fulfilled!” Tucker wails, once again pulling on the gods of old.

“Paradigms Warped” begins a stretch of songs that revel in a little bit of same-ness, making the second half a little slower. They’re not bad songs, but they kind of blend together. On “Warped,” a thick bassline and clubbing playing accompany Tucker, who is demanding demons be released. “The Pillars Crumbling” is smothering and grisly, as the death growls grind bones, the leads burst in, and a brief coolness precedes lava-splashed guitars. “Fear No Master” is savage, nasty, and abrasive, causing brush burns to mar the flesh and the leads going off, adding lightning to a song that shares personality with the couple that came before it. “Declaring New Law” also falls into that same tar pit, as Tucker, in the voice of the old Sumerian souls, takes on doubt anyone holds for their presence. “Erase them!” he howls, as the soloing tears toward the end. “From the Hand of Kings” changes the pace for good, as the song is fast and sudden, heavy punishment is meted out, and even a psychological edge cuts through, adding a level of weirdness. “The Fall of Idols” caps off the record with a fast, menacing gallop, as the track cuts into bone, and the harsh growls amplify the violence. The guitar work boils over as the song winds down, and everything comes to a damaging, screeching end.

Morbid Angel are back on this devastating record “Kingdoms Disdained.” It’s not an all-time classic, but it’s definitely a solid entry into their unquestionable catalog that has ruled for decades and will forever. Yeah, they fucked up. Like you’re so perfect. But this album is not just righting the ship, it’s directing that thing back toward a bloody battle in which they can have some deciding power.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://sl-music-store.net/

For more on the label, go here: http://sl-music.net/en/

Black metal is meant to be chaotic and immersed in everlasting darkness. Not that it can’t be played in different ways (clearly it already has been), but the more morbid and terrifying it is translated, the more it feels like it feeds from the roots of the music’s origins. If you feel like your soul has been devoured when it’s all over, you know it’s been done right.

There’s a mysterious force from Switzerland that has thrown a bloodied cleaver into the ring in the form of DSKNT, a one-man unit shrouded in mystery that has a devastating debut collection ready for consumption after the first crack of December. “PhSPHR Entropy” is a six-track demolition that stands as this project’s first messages to the rest of the world. This band exists under the DSKNT Industry banner, a place where a myriad of projects and music is housed under a single, terrifying roof. You can read more about that on your own, as we don’t really have time to parse it out here, so let’s concentrate on what this scary production has to offer. The music is penetrating and heavy as hell, and twisted into the DNA are bizarre bursts of noise that increase the danger and psychological scarring. It’s a record that is best taken on in a single, brutal sitting, where each inch of these songs can infect your bloodstream.

“Exhaling Dust” tears open the record as deep death growls rupture under the surface, and a sprawling, strange tempo sets up and lasts pretty much unchanged over the body of this 8:24 smasher. A dizzying fog enters and causes disorientation, while the track crushes in place, burns off all the leftover fuel, and slips into oblivion. “S.O.P.O.R.” also ignites right away, as harsh growls mix with heavy-duty thrashing that will do damage simply by coming out of your headphones. Darkness continues to unfurl like a permanent nighttime, as the pace slows a bit and lets doom sink in, and the vocals scrape the already damaged flesh. A weird soundscape spills as the drums devastate, wild cries and gurgles blend, and the song heads into a cloud of interference and madness that rolls into “Kr. Vy. Rites,” a short instrumental that opens the door to a different type of nightmare, one that comes to full fruition a few minutes later.

“Kr. Vy. Portals” is the second leg of that terror, as monstrous growls and a painfully slow-mauling pace sets up shop and begins burying bodies. The beastly menace lasts from the first to last second, as the guitars chew big, bloody holes, the assault keeps uncoiling and striking, and the whole thing disappears into space. “Resurgence of Primordial Void Aperture” has smashing chugging at the front end, a stretch that, arguably, is the heaviest portion of the record. From there, hissed growls mix with vicious terror, as the punishing pace looks to squeeze the life from your lungs. The guitars set up and dig out mounds of flesh, while the growls get uglier and deadlier, and the track dissolves into a noise bath that sizzles and shocks the senses. The title track closes the affair, a 9:32-long song that starts suddenly and turns your skull to powder. The music penetrates and brings on panic before a calm approaches, hinting to things changing. Out of that, demonic howls and sharp riffs cut through again, as the track burns out on misery-inducing growls and a tidal wave of black static.

This vicious, mysterious record contains a ton of intrigue and several sub-levels of danger. DSKNT manages to make this style of music even blacker, and “PhSPHR Entropy” contains so many layers, that there may not be a way to fully understand everything going on with these songs, even if you had years. This is a charred, warped album, one that will slice you open and fill you with infection.

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

To buy the album go here: http://sentientruin.com/releases/dsknt-phsphr-entropy

Or here: http://www.clavisecretorvm.com/grimorio/index.php

Or here (vinyl will be out next year): https://www.babylondoomcultrecords.com/shop/

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

And here: http://www.clavisecretorvm.com/

And here: https://www.babylondoomcultrecords.com/

Roadburn is one of the great annual destination festivals in all heavy music, a sentence that might be the most obvious in this site’s history. The event takes place every spring in the Netherlands, and it has become a who’s who of amazing bands that have taken their stage and delivered unforgettable performances, often released in physical form for the buying public, many who couldn’t be there.

There is no secret one of this site’s favorite bands is Salt Lake City-based doom quintet SubRosa, and really, they’re much more than just a representative of that subgenre. They’ve been making some of the most emotional, imaginative, gripping music in all of metal, and their last record “For This We Fought the Battle of Ages” was our No. 1 record of last year. Their inclusion at Roadburn makes a ton of sense, and this past year, they delivered a set that not many people outside their hometown ever have witnessed. The “SubRosa Subdued” performances find them pulling back and delivering more musically subtle versions of their work, and their seven-song set is being released on CD and digitally, with a vinyl version due out in March. If you’re a fan of the band, this is a must-hear set, a presentation of their powerful songs that, while still holding that edge, take on an entirely different personality.

Usually we go track by track on album reviews, but it seems weird in the case of a live record. Instead, let’s concentrate on what makes this thing so good, which is the dynamic quality of their playing and the delivery that makes you digest these songs in an entirely new way. Opener “Whippoorwill” is one of my favorite songs by the band, and to hear it in this environment is like getting to know it all over again. Guitarist/vocalist Rebecca Vernon calling, “I know there’s no turning back,” sounds sadder, more vulnerable under these circumstances, and when she pulls back on her singing, it makes the ambiance more reflective. “Borrowed Time Borrowed Eyes” swells with Kim Pack’s and Sarah Pendleton’s strings, and Andy Patterson’s work echoes as if off the side of cave walls, which is the same case for “Cosey Mo,” where the chorus gets weightier for the added quiet to Vernon’s desperate calls.

“Sugar Creek,” the opening track from their debut “Strega,” gets a chance to shine under the spotlight, which is great because not enough people seem to pay attention to that record. Perhaps having that included here will get people to dig back into that one. Same goes for “Mirror,” a track from their 2006 demo “The Worm Has Turned” that gets an even more folk-flourished treatment than the original, and it really shines here, especially as a sonic change of pace before the incredible “No Safe Harbor,” the album closer on “More Constant Than the Gods.” This one stands as a final chance for the band to display why they’re such a special act and why seeing them live is an absolute must, even if you’re on the fence about the band. You won’t be once you witness them in the flesh.

This record is a perfect addition to anyone’s SubRosa collection, especially considering most people hearing this will be experiencing this approach for the first time. “Subdued Live at Roadburn” not only is notable for how unique it is, but it’s also one of the best live Roadburn releases, which is saying something in that it’s a healthy catalog of great stuff. This performance is perfect for a night in, with the blinds drawn, a dark ale, and nothing for you to worry about other than emotional absorption.

For more on the band, go here: https://subrosa.cc/

To buy the album, go here: https://www.burningworldrecords.com/products/subrosa-subdued-live-at-roadburn-2017-cd

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

It seems at least once a year, some batshit weird group comes out and declares that the end of the world is near due to some mathematical formula or bastardized Bible passages. The date is declared, it passes, nothing happens, and everyone goes back to their lives. Yet, one day, humanity will come to an end, whether it’s gradually or suddenly.

Philadelphia-based black metal band Chaos Moon seem to want to hit the acceleration pedal on the whole thing, as they weave and dream of the end of humankind in their music. On the band’s fourth record “Eschaton Memoire,” they pave a path of death, foreseeing the end times in as violent a manner as possible and seeing the scorched earth as a killing field that leaves no one unscathed. The five-track, 41-minute record is violent psychologically, but there are other elements mixed into their style that make them spookier and spacier. The music gets into your bloodstream and causes you to see visions and Apocalyptic horror that, while it’s tearing the earth apart, is so fascinating you must watch everything burn to the ground. The band—Eric Baker (vocals), Alex Poole (guitars and atmosphere), Steven Blackburn (guitars and atmosphere), and Jack Blackburn (drums)—elevates what they accomplished on the excellent 2014 record “Resurrection Extract” and everything that preceded it and rips out one of the most fascinating black metal records this year.

“The Pillar, The Fall, and The Key (I)” plunges the record into dark eeriness, as the music takes hold and makes it feel like you’re gazing into a freezing midnight sky. Blackness erupts, while wild shrieks send glass flying, and the shadows get darker and more dangerous. The guitars then soar into space and toward the stars, bleeding into “The Pillar, The Fall, and The Key (II)” that sinks into unexpectedly moody playing. Crazed growls and wild shrieks mix and lead the way, while the sound continues to dash past planets, the power bristles again, and the music crushes for a final stretch before trickling away. “Of Wrath and Forbidden Wisdom” is a beast at 10:22, slowly simmering in echoes and weirdness before the cloud coverage spreads, and the storm saturates the earth. Harsh growls and mesmerizing melodies do their part to confound, while the pain builds, and the music blisters away. Melody swims and goes serene before the flood gates reopen and begin filling everything with misery. “Stench of death fills the air!” Baker growls, while the guitars immerse your being, and the song gives way to mercy.

“Eschaton Mémoire (I)” starts in a synth fog before it begins punching its way out, and Baker’s vocals start tearing holes in the surroundings. The band brings thick darkness, as the song turns raw and vicious, nodding toward the roots of black metal and tending to the chaotic fires. The track then steers into a cold fog, as keys blend into the hellish visions, and then it sails into the 13:56 second half and closer “Eschaton Mémoire (II).” Massive shrieks penetrate as the music cascades, and the band then brings a sonic stampede, which begins to speed up dangerously. The pace pummels, while the vocals wrench, and then things cool off and allow you to gather a breath. But that’s not for long, as the onslaught renews, and the storm spreads its reach. The violence remains persistent but slowly dissolves into the mud, while noise hovers, a space haze darkens your vision, and the nightmare spirals away.

Chaos Moon’s vision of the end is a harrowing, imaginative one, even if that includes all human flesh being burned to a crisp. “Eschaton Memoire” is an excellent record that provides different pathways into your mind with every visit and is as mentally stimulating as it is violent. This is a powerful document, the last great black metal record of the year.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chaos-Moon/111626415515769

To buy the album, go here (U.S./Canada): https://www.blood-music.com/store-us/

Or here (rest of the world): https://www.blood-music.com/store-eu/

For more on the label, go here: http://www.blood-music.com/

We don’t mind a challenge, and if we’re being really honest here, we don’t see a whole lot of them these days. When they arrive, the music that twists our brains into weird shapes and makes odd juices flow through our pores are very welcome as the end of the year has us in a seasonal malaise.

Maryland-based destroyers Genevieve are back with their genre-bastardizing new record “Regressionism,” which, if we’re being honest, is a silly name for this six-track beast. The band and the music are doing anything but regressing. They’re pushing their craft forward and mixing whatever elements of extreme metal they have hanging around their bloody tool bench. Black metal, doom, noise, drone all is packed into this thing, though that’s only touching the basics of what makes up this flattening album. The band—Eric Rhodes (bass VI, vocals, acoustic guitar, cello), Keith Mathias (acoustic and electric bass guitars, vocals), Mike Apicella (acoustic and electric guitars), Christian Wetmore (electric guitar), and Matt Powel (drums)—displays mind-blowing ability but doesn’t just show off their skills. The songs are dynamic and incredibly brutal, thought provoking and painfully savage, always keeping you wondering where the hell they’re going next. As strong as their 2015 debut “Escapism” is, this adds so many twists to their game, you’re better off giving in and getting swallowed alive.

“Smoke” starts off with clean playing and noises beginning to rattle, giving off a psychedelic vibe, and then clean warbling enters the fray, making things feel bizarre. Then the track is torn ass to mouth, as the words are scream-sung, crazed wails pelt behind that, and the tension mounts before whirring away. “The Judge” is a 9:27 pounder that trudges and punishes right away before shrieks and growls join the mix, and dizzying patterns start down a path from which your mental well-being cannot return. Deranged violence and delirious chaos make for a volatile team, but then things fade into calm, with elegant guitars trickling. The storm then returns, with maniacal yelps damaging, the band demolishing with desperation, and the track coming to a weird, blistering end. “Wind Chimes” then comes in, a quick instrumental built with acoustics, cellos quaking, and the track entering an echo chamber.

“No for an Answer” is dark and sinewy, with the song erupting out of the shadows. Things ignite as growls begin to chew at the nerves, the growls mix in their menace, and the pace crashes and confounds. Total insanity comes in from there, as melodic guitars spread, strangeness cracks through the surface, and odd howls of, “I have swallowed you whole,” rush to the utterly crushing end. “William Blake” is the longest track, stretching over 10:55 and making sure the sounds simmer. Grim growls head into obliteration, while a savage attack commences, and the pace leaves you breathless. Doomy melodies sink into waters before the tempo relents, and a breezy sensation is unleashed, unexpectedly cooling the skin. That leads to a nice, lengthy psychedelic passage that weaves its way back to the explosives, where the track enters an industrial haze. Voices cry behind the madness, while piercing screams and a killer charge bring the song to its end. Closer “Regression Schism” begins with cold guitars that explode with fire mere moments into the cut. The growls gurgle blood and mud as the track enters total chaos. A weird jazzy section interjects, making the surroundings feel surreal, but then a jerky section of playing punches away, and the growls explode. One final stretch of all-around trickery, massive thrashing, and horrifying screams draw this panic-inducing display to an end.

I’m several listens into “Regressionism,” and I still don’t know what to make of all of this. Genevieve keep morphing into a bigger, stranger monster, and their work here is enthralling and confounding. It’s nice to have a baffling puzzle to tackle when putting on a record, and this one will have you working overtime until your brain melts.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://grimoirerecords.bandcamp.com/album/regressionism

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

Cruciamentum

If you hail from the East Coast of Canada, or anywhere within that vicinity, the past couple weeks have brought one of the most brutal death/black metal tours of the entire year. It’s a shame that this pairing of Cruciamentum and Thantifaxath only lasted 10 dates during its shirt life span, but those who were there to witness it surely won’t forget it.

For those of us who missed out, the occasion at least has some positives in the form of new music from both destructive entities. Cruciamentum hit back with a two-track, 7” release that’ll only be pressed once and in limited numbers, though it will live in infamy in digital form forever. As for Cruciamentum, they have a four-cut EP for you that’s generously packed, has some bizarre new twists for the band, and should be more than enough to satiate appetites until they return with a full-length. It’s a nice year-end bounty from two of the darkest, most promising bands in the underground whose reach should extend far into the future. You know. If we have one.

Let’s start with UK death warriors Cruciamentum, who have these two cuts that’ll rip your head off. “Paradise Envenomed” contains the crushing title track that is the first fruit of the new lineup (guitarist/vocalist D.L., bassist D.R., drummer J.F, and new guitarist/vocalist R.B., who has done time in Axis of Perdition, Wodensthrone, and Winterfylleth) as well as a cover of an Absu track on which they apply their own bloody varnish. It’s the first new music we’ve gotten from the band since their excellent 2015 debut record “Charnel Passages” and proof positive that they remain as deadly and unforgiving as ever before. Another perk is both the physical and digital versions are reasonably priced, so putting out your hard-earned money won’t set you back.

The title track gets things going, as right away we’re in the midst of stirring death metal and barked howls that dissolve into manic growls. The pace grinds away, taking flesh and bone with it, while the tempo gets uglier and faster, as it becomes impossible to avoid the flying debris. The vocals become animalistic and dangerous, while the band pounds away relentlessly, and strong soloing sets fires. Doom bells strike, sending a wave of panic, while the guitars pick up and rampage toward the end. “Descent to Acheron (Evolving Into the Progression of Woe)” is a cover of the 1993 Absu classic from their “Barathrum V.I.T.R.I.O.L.” record, and the band gives it proper dark. There is a strange treatment, as the vocals get some echo to compound the strangeness, the fury is properly evil, and the guitars wail away, dropping you right off at the funeral bells that draw this to a close. Nice job staying faithful to the song but putting their own deranged fingerprints on it.

For more on Cruciamentum, go here: https://www.facebook.com/cruciamentum/

To buy the album, go here (digital): https://cruciamentum.bandcamp.com/album/paradise-envenomed

Or here (U.S.): https://profoundlorerecords.merchtable.com/

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

Thantifaxath (Photo by Nathan Mills)

Toronto-based black metal shrouds Thantifaxath are dramatically developing into one of the most unpredictable bands in all extreme metal, and “Void Masquerading as Matter” only cements that line of thinking. The band has been releasing music the past six years, with the high point being 2014 full-length debut “Sacred White Noise,” and experiencing the group live is like giving over your body and mind to be obliterated. On this record, the band—its three members choose not to reveal their identities, and they have practically no social presence on which to speak—add spooky orchestral waves and chilling choirs to their already dense black metal, and the result is something that feels like it reaches into the spiritual world to further haunt your existence. The CD and digital version of this record will be out Nov. 24, but a vinyl take is something that remains in the future.

“Ocean of Screaming Spheres” kicks off this nearly 36-minute effort with dissonant guitar sprawl that works its way toward stabbing riffs and grim shrieks that blast into the night. The track goes into a tunnel of noise, met with aching pianos on the other end, and then things light back up, hulk toward the surface, and enter a strange tempo. Crazed shouts meet with guitar swirls as the song fades away. “Self-Devouring Womb” is somber and moody for the first minute before tearing out its own guts and moving into a tornadic terror. The chaos melts into chilling noise, allowing a violin to enter and scratch out the horror afoot, and the music begins to feel like the plane of existence following death. There is a long stretch of classically minded playing that swims to the end of the song and into the hands of “Cursed Numbers,” where the strings cry before messy death meets up with it. The track chugs and confounds, leaving you gasping for answers, while the guitars mix into a heavy low-end drone that eats away at the heart. The guitars encircle like a swarm, while the playing further disorients, and the track rumbles away. The closing title track is the strangest song in the band’s catalog, a piece built almost entirely with an angelic chorus whose ambiance goes from sorrowful and serene to increasingly manic and bloodied. Screams are woven into the penetrating singing, making you see that terrifying visions behind the beauty, and that unsettling scene remains until it mercifully fades into the void.

If you’re one of the people still recovering from this awesome tour, I’m pretty jealous over here. But having new music from each band, even if in limited form, fills that gap any of us have from having to miss out on their brief sojourn. These are two bands whose journeys we will be following with great interest, and I’m pretty sure we are not the only ones.

To buy the album, go here (digital): https://darkdescentrecords.bandcamp.com/

Or here: http://www.darkdescentrecords.com/store/

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