Photo by Danieal DiDomenico

Fun. Hey, remember that stuff? We used to have that shit all the time before 2020 struck and turned our lives into the utter pit of misery. But it’s still kind of out there in places if you look really hard, and once you find it, it turns out it’s still kind of magical and powerful.

Well, I say all of that with the arrival of Skeleton’s self-titled debut record, an 11-track, 28-minute smasher that’s just a blast from wall to wall. The Austin-based band actually have based a lot of their music in bleak, scorched-earth madness that reaps the blood, but holy shit if their stew of black metal, punk, and thrash isn’t an absolute blast to hear. Yeah, it’s downright serious and skull mashing, and you’ll feel like you’ve been through a war once it’s over. But your blood will rush the entire time the band—drummer/vocalist Victor Skeleton, guitarists David Skeleton and Alex Guzman, bassist Cody Combs—has you in its clutches, sending you into a pit of black chaos.

The title track, and band theme, kicks off the album and just rushes by as raw crushing rips out of the seams and the black howls land punches. Then we’re in to “Mark of Death” that has drums rustling and strong riffs galloping heavily while the raspy growls grab you around the throat. The chorus is menacing, and the back ends send fiery jolts. “The Sword” has the drums rushing the gates as thrashy darkness throttles you while we dash into the intimidating shadows. The riffs then wrap around as the burning punishment leaves ugly scars. “T.O.A.D.” has electrifying riffs that spill the blood as things get even nastier. The playing is melodic and bustling, stomping everywhere and leaving squashed guts behind. “Ring of Fire” is not the Johnny Cash song as it’s deadlier. Riffs crunch as the growls scrape along, while a humid classic metal vibe rolls in as Victor howls about “my ring of fire, burn!” as the track blasts out.

“At War” has riffs that tear the lid off the thing while Victor vows, “I’m not afraid to die,” as the track hits a flurry of speed. The pace chugs while the playing splatters, with the drums opening up wounds toward the end. “Taste of Blood” smothers you and drives right into the heart of battle while Victor demands, “Taste the blood of victory!” The playing mashes bones as cool leads burn over top and come to a maniacal finish. “Victory” is a quick 44-second interlude that glazes over, and that leads into “A Far Away Land” that opens in the throes of adventure. The coarse vocals send shockwaves as the playing takes on a devastating punk rock vibe. “Turned to Stone” has a huge start that heads into blazing riffs and wild cries. The track burns the hair off your arms as the guitar work delivers anguish, and the noise finally erodes. “Catacombs” is the longest track of the bunch at 4:45, and it closes the record, starting with eerie guitars and chilling air. Suddenly, a blinding display roars hard, turning everything to dust with the drums punching your ribs. The power dissolves into echoes before reopening with colorful chaos and everything burning its final drops of fuel.

Skeleton’s debut is one hell of a fun burst of black metal, thrash, and punk that flies by so fast, you won’t know what the hell hit you. It’s 28 minutes of madness that get your juices flowing, blacken your eyes, and make you appreciate the punishment. This is as fitting a time as any for music that just kicks your ass and lets you have a violent good time, and Skeleton more than delivers.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/Skeleton-1425382974369527

To buy the album, go here: https://www.20buckspin.com/

For more on the label, go here: https://listen.20buckspin.com/

There’s a lot of music out there right now that’s lashing back against the greater globe of tyrannical authority, which makes a lot of sense since social uprisings of late finally seem to have woken up to what’s going on and how we’re under the wheels. But truth is, these themes always have been out there, especially in heavy music circles, so what we’re seeing is a timely resurgence.

Musician Forest Bohrer is fighting the good battle against issues such as human and environmental issues as well as the thrust of capitalism that has crushed so many, and he’s doing so with his project Adzes, whose debut full-length “No One Wants to Speak About It” is arriving on the physical plane. His music combines elements of black metal, punk, noise, doom, hardcore, and plenty of other heavy flavors, and the eight tracks that stretch over about 50 minutes might be aligned thematically, but musically it’s a different story. Bohrer smashes through boundaries as he puts together these songs, splashing in every influence at his disposal, which makes for a rich, diverse listen. That also makes this music ripe for finding wide-ranging audiences, as there really is something for most ears, but at the heart are the messages, which stand rigid and firm, refusing to waver.

“Divide” opens the record and is the longest track here by a second. Dark guitars pour in before sludgy pounding loosens bricks, and Bohrer’s deep clean singing glazes over. Then that turns to guttural growls while the leads burn to life, and the ferocity brings thicker shadows. Roars punish as the pace clobbers, loading fuel on to the fire as the song reaches its climax. “Jesus Built My Death Squads” (obviously a nod toward Ministry from the title) has noise hanging in the air and the drumming opening up, while the pace remains calculated throughout. Guitars slosh while the growls slither, and a heavy low end brings added grime. Guitars haunt over an agitated burn while the track rings out. The title track has tricky guitars and drums blasting, erupting into a rage. Parts of this have a hardcore bend to them, as the bass recoils and strikes, and everything races hard again. The playing hammers ribs as the blazes return, bringing a churning conclusion. “415” has noise fluttering and the bass landing blows while a slow-driving hell is achieved. Into the furnace we go as shrieks crush, and a monstrous trail is carved, ending in noise-infested brutality.

“Demon-Haunted” has a feedback wave before sludgy doom races through the doors, and an animalistic pace lands blows. The ground is thick with tar as madness spreads its wings, and the guitars open up and sizzle. Raspy wails accompany the heaviness while the guitar work is like lemon juice in a wound, leaving you wincing as static spits jolts, and the track ends with a slowly increasing volume shock. “Overcome” is an instrumental piece woven together with clips about the melting Arctic and the disastrous climate situation too many have ignored for too long. The playing proves a murky, somber backing to this reality that’s teetering way too close to too late. “Loss” sits apart from the rest of the tracks as it simmers more in 90s college rock territory, which warms my heart. Clean vocals warble as synth warms the waters, and later on, guitar squall collects and sends energy shots that wrap around the lower-end vocals. The final moments charge up, with the guitars stabbing out in the end. Closer “I Won’t Last Forever” begins as warm air hangs overhead as the playing slowly mashes as guitars create heat lightning. The music maintains a punchy feel while the bass simmers and gets pretty proggy, while pace winds down and bleeds out into the ground.

Bohrer’s first full-length record under the Adzes banner achieves a lot of things from creating a diverse collection of heaviness to delivering pertinent messages that are vital and ever so timely. “No One Wants to Speak About It” also is a pretty spot-on title, though perhaps some of those messages are starting to sink into more people as we experience an astonishing awakening. Music like Adzes’ provides the perfect fuel for our torches as we try to battle back against generations of bullshit and work to achieve some personal catharsis along the way.

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

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

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

Despite how many metal fans view underground music, some of it is designed for the big screen, a place where it can take advantage of its hugeness and be able to spread its reach as far as it can go. Yeah, it’s also fun to dwell in the basement amid dripping pipes where ugliness reigns, and I love that ambiance as well. But that just doesn’t work for every band.

Fellwarden is the type of band whose music deserves to be heard in surround sound, in a fucking theater if you can, with every sonic advantage as its beck and call. Their second record “Wreathed in Mourncloud” certainly falls in that category as it is utterly massive sounding, packed with emotion, melody, and diverse sounds that up the ante from their debut “Oathbearer.” What started as a studio-only project for Fen frontman The Watcher has turned into a cinematic treasure, as he and drummer Havenless (also of Fen) travel through six massive songs in about an hour, each of which grips you from the start and doesn’t let go until that individual journey has ended. If you’re here because you’re a Fen fan, you’ll certainly feel right at home, but there’s so much more going on that it can be overwhelming. We recommend a dedicated sitting to absorb this thing with your attention undivided.

“Pathmaker” starts the record with clean guitars trickling before the song bursts, and rousing singing from the Watcher commands the scene. The rushing essence and mystical strangeness gets inside of you, letting the playing churn and fill your chest with wonder. The pace then charges while the synth provides orchestral instrumentation, and the track crumbles to its end. “Scafell’s Blight” is a gigantic gust as the track spits nails, and the shrieks bring total harshness. The pace surges forward and floods the scene with emotion before respite arrives with a serene section complete with strummed guitars and eerie whispers. Later on, the walls break down and the growls scrape anew while foggy moodiness fills the skies, the playing cascades hard, and clean calls lead the song to its finish. “A Premonition” is a transitional instrumental track to bridge to the record’s second half, and a synth haze and choral calls make it feel like a dewy morning at the castle grounds with regality at its highest point.

The title track has a dark, mournful start before growls rush, and the playing lands haymakers. That violence eventually leads way to some calmer waters and hearty singing you practically can sink your teeth into. That keeps spilling into devastation as the growls wail away, and the drums crumble the earth. Synth sheets coat faces while the vocals trade off from vile shrieks and airy singing. “An Elder Reckoning” runs a healthy 11:42 and has a massive start with slow mauling and smothering growls. Clean singing swells on the chorus, while a tidal wave of riffs arrives, and then things speed up suddenly. Shrieks pummel through this burst before synth rolls in and delivers a second downpour, and the track trudges over prone bodies. Heartfelt singing and giant crescendo signal the end and cause your heart to pump heavily while everything disappears into mist. “Upon Stone” is the 12:38 closer, and it lets piano drip as the ambiance slowly develops, while clean calls bellow. The track then rips itself apart as the guitar work carves a path, and the growls leave heavy wounds. The playing glimmers as dark tidings are near, and the path continues to build massive new worlds. Things halt as pianos emerge again, and emotional singing pumps, leading to the final section of the song, where a deep gaze unfurls. That fires up and drives stakes, bursting into violent and salty waves, ending the record on a delirious high.

Everything on Fellwarden’s second record is bigger, more emotional, and doing whatever is in its power to reach into the majesty of the stars. “Wreathed in Mourncloud” sounds like something that would scratch at sadness and misery, and there certainly is darkness here, but the bulk of this record just makes your blood surge through your veins. This in a huge, great-sounding record that captures the beauty and glory of the band’s surroundings translated into music.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://store.eisenton.de/en/

For more on the label, go here: https://www.eisenton.de/

Photo by Anima Nocturna

The recent heatwave that has clobbered us the first week of summer looks finally to be subsiding after a round of thrashing storms have rocked us and finally seem to be hinting at cooler weather. It’s hardly the worst problem we’ve had in 2020; it probably ranks somewhere near 5 millionth. But the actual wrath of nature weighing down provides relief but also reminds of a power and majesty we can’t battle.

Taking on “Ligeia” the third full-length from mind-warping progressive metal machine Eye of Nix is almost like standing in the eye of the storm, trying to figure out which way you’ll be forced. Named after one of the sirens in Greek mythology that lured sailors to their demise, the record has its moments of dark seduction that pull you into devastating waves that leave you up to your chin and sinking fast. The band visits subject matter such as obsession, addiction, and illusion, and that colors an adventure that runs the gamut of emotion and sounds as the band opens up its borders deeper than ever before. Out front is vocalist/guitarist Joy Von Spain, whose voice is a powerhouse, going from guttural growls and shrieks to atmospheric operatics, often within the same line. She’s joined by guitarist Nicholas Martinez, bassist Zach Wise, sound designer Masaaki Masao, and drummer Luke LaPlante on a record that drives their sound into the deepest, darkest waters, where no one can see or find you.

“Concealing Waters” starts the record with calming trickles as Von Spain’s singing spills into progressive winds. Her vocals sweep before corroding into shrieks as the propulsive pace blends into gothy seas of ink, and then calm mixes in while cold winds close the doors. “Pursued” unloads hammers right away as Von Spain growls menacingly before ripping into fierce shrieks. The guitars churn while Von Spain hits operatic register as the low end mauls hard, the pace mashes, and the track ends in ashes. “Tempest” begins in black metal elegance while the synth stretches and the music smashes. Von Spain’s powerful voices reaches into the stratosphere as a murky gaze covers the ground, the singing fills the senses, and the final moments quake. “Stranded” opens in an acoustic wash as the singing reaches higher before whispers chill. Then the middle rips open and guts are exposed, while Von Spain delivers feral growls, and the music is situated in nasty savagery. The elements crash down to the earth, pounding away while the basslines cut their way right to your heart.

“Keres” is a blinding blast that destroys you before you know what hit you. The drums disrupt, a doomy pall crunches bones, and finally noise rises and drags this instrumental piece into the underworld. The title track follows and opens in a New Wave-style adventure into darkness, as Von Spain’s singing goes breezier and atmospheric. The singing floods before growls chew at your rib cage while terror bubbles underneath it. That leads to fog collecting and thickening before dissolving into static. “Adrift” ushers in melting guitars while waves crash down, and its reaches its tempo slowly. Vocals float into synth waves while coldness takes hold, and that leads into the mystical. The playing ebbs and flows, and it feels like a sea breeze coating your face with a late-afternoon coolness. “Stone & Fury” closes the record, and it’s the longest track, running 9:12. Clean guitars greet you before the punches are thrown, and Von Spain reaches into the stars. That leads to a brief run of serenity, as Von Spain calls out before her cries turn desperate as the pace boils. There’s a burst on the other side as growls lurch, and the pace bleeds and fires dangerously. That intensity never loses its fire as it piledrives into the final moments burning away.

Eye of Nix are one of the most distinctive bands in heavy music, and they’ve been doing interesting, thought-provoking things that peak on “Ligeia.” Von Spain’s astonishing voice remains the center point of this group’s riveting music, and the band surrounds her siren with music that feels like you’re being swallowed into a heavy storm that threatens your well-being. This band continues to grow and excel in ways that make their future almost as exciting as their devastating present state.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://prophecy.lnk.to/eye-of-nix-ligeia

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

There are certain expectations that go along with various terms when it comes to heavy metal. Frost-bitten black metal should bring an idea to your heads right away. What about castle-raiding epic metal? Swamp-soaked death metal? These all bring preconceptions to metal fans’ heads no doubt, as there are things you likely anticipate when tackling music of that ilk.

Same goes for Finnish doom, a style that is driven by content created by artists from an entire country. You probably have visions in your head of glacially paced darkness that grinds away at your psyche. Probably name dropping Thergothon, Skepticism, Unholy, and plenty of others. So, that seems like it stacks the deck against Convocation, a band that has been doing their thing for seven years and brings together members from groups such as Dark Buddha Rising, Waste of Space Orchestra, and Desolate Shrine, and that’s just between its two participants—vocalist MN and multi-instrumentalist LL. Their second record “Ashes Coalesce” is here, and damnit if they don’t hold up the banner for their country’s contribution to doom in a destructive manner.

“Martyrise” opens the record and runs a stealthy 12:22, starting with mystical powers before the doom hammers drop. MN’s growls churn amid a hypnotic pace that melts into a psychedelic shelf, where keys add heavy cloud layers. The growls turn into torturous shrieks as the tempo stretches in echoes, and swirling playing leads the way to misery. Shrieks wrench, strings storm, and the track washes out. “The Absence of Grief” is sorrowful and heavy as it spreads its wings and darkens the grounds below over its 13:38. Atmospheric crushing leads to an even more funereal pace as it gushes into hell, while the low end destroys. Clean vocals swarm behind the mix, warbling and crawling as the music haunts. As things split open again, the guts fill the floor, organs swell, and the track trudges back into the mud.

“Misery Form” drips into a dreary haze as it starts, while shrieks wrench and do ample amounts of damage. The calls boil as the pace scrapes along violently, while the brutal slow power continues to add pressure. Thrashy mauling leads into the picture as clean calls bellow behind, and then shrieks return and grasp your throat. Blood flows while angelic calls send chills, putting you through the ringer of punishment. “Portal Closed” is the final piece, and it slowly unravels while organs drain and send off steam, while the borders turn to liquid. Synth fully unfurls its majesty as the night swallows the track whole, and clean guitars trickle. The phantoms slowly dissipate as the music rolls into mystery, and this album’s overwhelming chapter finally closes.

Finnish doom comes with expectations, which is probably unfair to the band continuing its legacy, but Convocation deliver in spades on “Ashes Coalesce,” which is one hell of an undertaking. Their second record also is an economically served bundle at 45 minutes, so you can jump into the darkness and finally escape before it becomes too much. This is a tremendous piece of funeral doom that’ll pull you under and force you to see the darkness in everything.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://sentientruin.com/releases/convocation-ashes-coalesce

Or here: https://everlastingspew.com/search?controller=search&orderby=position&orderway=desc&search_query=CONVOCATIONASHESCOALESCE&submit_search=

Or here: https://www.dawnbreed.com/nl/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=1945

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

And here: https://everlastingspew.com/

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

Photo by Samuel Thomas Claeys

This is an ideal time for us to find some strength within ourselves, a boost upward to help us getting our foundations built underneath us so we can move forward. That struggle is not the same for all of us, and many people face battles a lot of us cannot even imagine, but having something to remind to find the positives of our trials and come out stronger on the other side is the perfect medicine right now.

There’s no way Inexorum planned things like this (how many times have we said something similar about a lot of other music the past few weeks?), but the arrival of their second record “Moonlit Navigation” comes when we need it the most. Darkness has enveloped us, as has evil, dishonesty, and disillusionment, but giving up and throwing in the towel only means those forces win. On this record, Carl Skildum (guitars, vocals) and his musical partner Matthew Kirkwold (bass and backing vocals) strive to find positivity that can come at the end of or in the midst of one’s struggles. Despite their music coming from the origins of death and black metal in the 1990s, they don’t steer toward dark outcomes. Instead, the band hopes that listeners can take the words and music and use it to help overcome their battles—both internal and external—and emerge a little stronger. In fact, it’s impossible to take on their eight tracks and not be filled to the brim with that sentiment.

“Ouroboric State” gets things off to a rousing start as the drums come to life, and the riffs start cutting down their path. Right away you get a sense of what’s to come, that being huge riffs and vocals that wrench at you, as the leads blast through, and a sense of delirium strikes. Later on, clean calls sit behind Skildum’s harsh cries, and the track comes to a burning end. The title track has a glorious dawn before coming to full life as the pace pummels and Skildum howls, “Night, my sanctuary.” The playing rumbles as the feelings about basking in the night’s glow shines down on you, clean singing punches behind the chaos, and the track trails off into darkness, where it’s most at home. “Dream and Memory” is a massive deluge out front, with punishing roars and a mass of energy creating a great force. The drums decimate bones as a charge jolts your chest, making your blood rush, before the tempo calms and melds into the fog. “Chains of Loss” gushes open but it also holds with it the sense of mourning woven into the fabric.  The growls slash and the leads carve their path, and at its heart, you can feel a sadness permeating, one that strikes deeper in the times we’re in. The guitars dig in, and colors burst, while the song comes to a searing end.

“Signal Fires” lands punches as everything lights up, while the playing destroys everything in sight. The growls have an added conviction as they jar your ribcage, while the drumming once again rocks your insides. The chorus is powerful as hell, while the back ends trudges before becoming breezy, and all the elements blend into dusk. “The Breaking Point” rips open and mashes right away, bringing savage intent but also a mystical edge that emerges as the song develops. Guitars call out in a steam bath, coating your face with humidity, before the playing catches fire again, with clean calls echoing behind the snarls. Things begin to pull back from there as smoke rises and envelops the place, while Sarah Roddy’s ghostly wails lure you into mystery. “Wild Magic” is a brief instrumental piece that sits beneath the deep clouds, making it feel like a cool summer afternoon before a heatwave, and then it’s on to closer “In Desperate Times” that inflicts damage with a rage of riffs. Melodic growls and razor-sharp guitars work their magic as Skildum laments “when all is lost and nothing’s left to save.” That isn’t a sign of submission as the battle continues, and a blistering chorus does its best to get you going. The leads glimmer as Skildum howls, “Only we can save ourselves,” while the guitars well up, and the track ends on a tidal wave of emotion.

In just a few years, Inexorum have become a well-oiled machine that bring the finest points of atmospheric, melodic death and black metal that first popped through the soil in the mid-1990s, but in a way that adds modern flourishes and their own vocabulary to the mix. “Moonlit Navigation” is a tremendous record, one that pays off every bit of promise that was hinted at on “Lore of the Lakes” in a gigantic way. It’s a time when all of us could use a boost and reminder that strength within ourselves remains one of our best tools, and this music helps hammer that home over and over again.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://gileadmedia.net/collections/pre-orders

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

Photo by Lauren Lamp

Things being as they are, it’s been really hard to get truly lost in art when there are so many other things going on to eat away at one’s time and instigate bouts of psychosis. That’s started to change for me a little bit as I’ve basically been forced to find ways to cope and to let my mind branch beyond whatever devastating and/or aggravating event is going on at the moment.

I guess it should not have really surprised me that “Stygian Bough Volume 1,” the first collaboration between doom duo Bell Witch and dark folk force Aerial Ruin would be one of the pieces of music that actually made me stop what I was doing and absorb every drop. We already knew the magic these two forces could conjure together, evidenced by their work together on portions of Bell Witch’s last full-length “Mirror Reaper.” But what Bell Witch’s Dylan Desmond and Jesse Schreibman created with Aerial Ruin’s Erik Moggridge there was a mere precursor to these five tracks that stretch over 64 mind-tingling minutes on this document. Having Moggridge a part of the entire proceedings, adding his guitar work and haunting singing, perfectly complements Bell Witch’s slow-bleeding style of doom and creates something that feels like it was always meant to be. It’s even better than I expected when scratching the record’s surface.

“The Bastard Wind” is the opener, a 19:09-long epic that runs the gamut of emotion. Acoustics wash in as Moggridge’s singing floats in and feels like a dark folk tributary as the track descends to the earth, and piano drips delicately. The pall is sorrowful and thick as the lead lines cut through and paves the way for the soloing quivering, setting your heart ticking as Schreibman’s growls unload and powder bones. The growls trade off with the clean singing as doom blasts and caves in walls, the leads twist, and the vocals fold into a funereal presence. Feedback flows as melodies gush and pour into final darkness. “Heaven Torn Low I (the passage)” is a healthy 12:55 with acoustics leading and solemn singing from Moggridge noting, “Heaven torn low and thrown in the fire,” repeatedly. Guitars flicker as the noise shakes, and the thick waves of synth send cosmic vibes and liquify your mind before fading into silence. Quiet notes echo and bleed back in while lush singing both soothes and entrances as Moggridge calls, “I  wouldn’t know your name unless you were the blackest of souls,” as the ceremony melds into the second part.

“Heaven Torn Low II (the toll)” brings volume back into play as it picks up where the first section left off, as the doom is delivered slowly but ominously. Clean singing rushes as the track moves into crushing darkness that bleeds pain, bringing mauling that forces you to lower your head. The trio continues the crunch as keys pour, the leads pierce, and the song blends into the void. “Prelude” is a beefier instrumental cut designed to set the stage for the final movement as winds and acoustics lead the way, organs glow, and gentle playing mixes into a fog as the volume builds to 19:21-long closer “The Unbodied Air” that drops heaviness right from the start. Clean singing and a rising prog front emerge before the melodies scream out, growls churn, and lasers penetrate borders. Mean shrieks pummel and loosen bricks, mashing its way toward dark buzzing and the more folkish elements taking hold again. The playing shakes at its core before the earth ruptures again, singing reaches out and envelops the heaving emotion, and immersive melodies burn their path to ash as organs squall before the music bows out.

Bell Witch and Aerial Ruin already proved their merit mixing their worlds together, but noting can quite prepare you for what they unfurl on “Stygian Bough Volume 1.” The playing and the expressions get inside your body and carve their way toward the darkest, most vulnerable sections of your being and leave them forever changed. This is a union that deserves more journeys—and the album title seems to hint this isn’t over—excursions with scopes we cannot even imagine right now.

For more on Bell Witch, go here: https://www.facebook.com/BellWitchDoom/

For more on Aerial Ruin, go here: https://www.facebook.com/aerialruin/

To buy the album, go here: https://profoundlorerecords.merchtable.com/?

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

Photo by Caroline Harrison

If your entire body is riddled with anxiety right now, and you’re having a hard time getting through the day without having to sit down and take deep breaths to avoid freaking out, definitely know that you’re not alone. It feels like 2020 has been a relentless assault of one bad thing after another, and it seems that way because that’s exactly what it has been.

If you’re interested in a record that sounds like 2020 feels, NYC death dealers Pyrrhon have something for you with their fourth album “Abscess Time,” a collection that’s going to be really hard to top from a manic explosion standpoint. Simply tagging the band as a death metal group is a gigantic limitation as they pour in elements of noise, free jazz, and hardcore, and so many other sounds that create this insane display that comes for you from the start. And this music was put together before the current COVID situation! Yet, they observe the crumbling American experience from race relations (no way they realized just how timely this would be), continuing gentrification, climate issues, the tyrannical government, and other matters that have done their worst on most out our psyches. The band—vocalist Doug Moore, guitarist Dylan DiLella, bassist/vocalist Erik Malave, drummer Steve Schwegler—spreads this fury and madness over 12 songs and just about an hour that absolutely tangles you and reminds you of the harsh reality that’s right outside your door. Also, Caroline Harrison adds her immense artistic talents to a cover that might make you feel corroded and disgusting inside. Nice touch.

The title track gets started with guitars boiling and Moore’s cries already digging under your fingernails. The noise builds as the guitars have a strange Southern vibe while voices crackle, and digital corrosive floods as things come to a warped windmill of a finish. “Down at Liberty Ashes” starts and ends with a clip from “Taxi Driver” and in between is engorged death and incomprehensible chaos. The shrieks catch fire as they work amid the tumult, and odd shifts give way to rubbery playing and a scraping abrasion. “Teuchnikskreis” is a quick burst that lasts just over a minute as it grinds and splatters, serving of a horrific bite of hell. “The Lean Years” stabs wildly as the guitars slurp and the vocals are unhinged. Sinewy leads cut deep to the bone as the atmosphere is rich for a panic attack, bursting thunderously as the vocals pick you apart. Guitars then sting as Moore eats at your psyche before the track ends in sweat and tears. “Another Day in Paradise” starts with a clip from “Network” before things get off to a guttural lurch. The guitars are unleashed and bring violent zaniness while the vocals contort dangerously. Harsh shrieks split lips as the pace stabs away as things shapeshift into undiscovered terrain. The guitars sweep, the shrieks rain down, and the track finally melts into hell. “The Cost of Living” lets slurry guitars sprawl as gurgling growls menace and a warped trail boils. A dizzying assault is launched as the guitar work staggers, and your central nervous system trucks hard. Gross growls well up as the soloing drunkenly brawls, and things speed up and come to a mauling end.

“Overwinding” is another fast one that runs under two minutes and delivers wacky playing and a general mind fuck that wrestles you into the mud. “Human Capital” brings sludgy guitars and a weird journey that eventually goes off. Guitars try to leave you in the dust as it challenges your psyche before it turns unexpectedly straightforward (well, for them) before ending in snarls. “Cornered Animal” punches wildly as crazed howls let loose, and the guitars jab you in the chest. The track turns thrashy and edgier as Moore’s words seethe coming from his mouth, and the playing slices to the spine. “Solastalgia” is a bizarre instrumental that is a like walking into total darkness, knowing the knife is coming, and still being surprised when it opens you up. “State of Nature” lets guitars loose while the vocals burn with acid, and the bassline wraps its tentacles around your neck. The playing changes up with no warning, teasing your mind as noise glazes and the band smashes into you with reckless abandon. “Rat King Lifecycle” brings this madness to an end by letting strange noises encircle and roars crush. Crazed shrieks melt the earth while the playing breathes fire and burns off your facial hair. Strange chants entrance as horrifying shouts work on injured nerves, bending the edges, dicing flesh, and ending as things shift into space.

Nothing in Pyrrhon’s world ever can be described as conventional, as they bring the challenge with every release and make you wonder what the hell you just witnessed. If anything, “Abscess Time” ups the ante in every way conceivable, bending this band well past death metal’s boundaries into something that is entirely their own thing. This record is manic, anxious, charmingly irritating, bludgeoning, and a completely different monster than any you’re encountered. It crushes each and every time.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://www.willowtip.com/bands/details/pyrrhon.aspx

For more on the label, go here: https://www.willowtip.com/home.aspx

Photo by Ian Mann

Aliens exist. I have absolutely zero evidence to back that up except for logic and realizing the universe is a massive place, and we cannot be the only people or beings here. Oh man, imagine if we really are all alone? What a cataclysmically disappointing and frustrating reality that would be. We’re really the best the universe can do?

Anyway, there are aliens, and some of them may inhabit mind-bending death metal machine VoidCeremony and their aggressively named debut record “Entropic Reflections Continuum: Dimensional Unravel.” While this is the band’s first full-length, they have been developing this machine since 2013, and they have three EPs to their name before this initial full platter. Death metal has been moving beyond this terrain for quite some time now, and VoidCeremony do their best to travel further into the universe than anyone before them with these six tracks that feel like they keep changing forms as they develop. That’s what keeps things interesting and scientifically baffling as the band—guitarist/vocalist Garrett Johnson, guitarist Jon Reider, fretless bassist Damon Good (of Mournful Congregation, who did duties for this album), and drummer Charlie Koryn—drills into as wormhole and drive into psychosis for a little more than 32 minutes.

“Desiccated Whispers” tears a hole right into this thing, letting prog-infested waters flow and Johnson’s lurching growls take hold. Good’s rubbery basslines slink as they do through this entire beast, while the rest of the music plays its bag of tricks as well. The track stomps its way through the rubble before ending abruptly. “Sacrosanct Delusions” smashes its way in and smears while the bass remains puzzling as hell. The guitars sprawl and tangle you up while creative weirdness flows. Fluid leads work with the contorted bass as the drums spill bones and take the track to its end. “Empty, Grand Majesty (Cyclical Descent of Causality)” runs a healthy 8:56, and it unleashes bizarre tidings and guitars rushing through alien wastelands. The playing slinks through mystery as the music slips and burns before there’s an eruption. The growls hammer as the pace ramps up, driving into an aggressive assault before running into yet another concussive jar as the track spirals out into hell.

“Binded to Unusual Existence” is an instrumental piece that starts with a hypnotic bend and the room spinning a million different directions. Leads cut through and increase the violence while it feels like the playing is twisting at your guts. Things then get exploratory as the guitar work swims through complicated channels before coming to a spirited finish. “Abandoned Reality” has guitars scraping and working their way into a strange miasma as the clobbering mashes your digits in a door. The track is both trudging and atmospheric while it keeps adding new haymakers to its arsenal, chewing your muscles into submission. “Solemn Reflections of the Void” closes the record with cataclysmic jolts and the bass continuing to be a hard beast to pin down as you grapple with your balance. The playing coils and strikes, sending sharp bits of metal flying, combining the vicious with the insane. That works into a path that challenges your brainwaves, reveling in cosmic majesty as the track shifts away.

VoidCeremony’s warped ways flourish on “Entropic Reflections Continuum: Dimensional Unravel,” their senses-defying first full-length record. For a band to sound this strange and channeled on their first record is a testament to the time and effort they put into this thing, as it feels like an extended stay on a plane far off in the cosmos. This is an exciting first step for this band, and where things take them in the future is anyone’s guess.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://www.20buckspin.com/

For more on the label, go here: https://www.facebook.com/20buckspin

Photo by Danika Zandboer

If there’s one positive result about the tragic and horrifying events of the past month it’s that people suddenly give a shit again. A lot of people had all along, but it feels like others are awakening, finding their pilot light within them raging, and pouring themselves into causes they perhaps didn’t pay much as much mind as they should have in the past. The passion is palpable.

The heart of “Glory, Glory! Apathy Took Helm!” the amazing third record from Hamilton, Ontario-based doom duo Vile Creature, rips the lid off indifference that may have bogged one down in the past. The duo of Vic (drums, vocals) and KW (guitars, vocals, drums percussion) stood to fight back against the tendency to slip into apathetic behavior and the feeling of uselessness and used the music to break out of that pattern and hammer forward. The darkness remains in these songs, but there also are sounds that go beyond that and match the lyrical ideas that hope is possible, even in what seems like a permanently broken world. On top of that, this is the band’s most realized music to date as they explode beyond their boundaries—they always were flexible before—and rocket into the stratosphere.

“Harbinger of Nothing” opens the record in the midst of a crushing storm as doom lands, and burly riffs flex their muscles. The track then settles into a mid-tempo bashing that hints at calm but quivers on its edges as Vic wails, “Tell me who I am, if you’re all knowing, the arbiter of moral purity,” as the vicious calls combine with noise before the pace eases, and the whispers of, “Tell me who I am,” crawl under flesh as the track enters choppy waters. The playing eventually buzzes back in as both Vic and KW combine their voices as one monstrous force, unloading devastation until chimes takes it out. “When the Path Is Unclear” has guitars awakening as things slip into a trippy vibe, and melodies drip into space buzz. Vic speaks the words, “The champions of your past conquered nothing, and neither will you,” as things punch open even harder, and the vocals turn to outright savagery. Dual vocals crush again as the guitars melt into psychedelic lava, and the drums turn your skull into paste. “No longer plagued by the grinding of your spirit, all you have doubted, your future clouded, you cannot act with conviction when the path is unclear,” lashes into you as the finality lands final blows before fading away.

“You Who Has Never Slept” starts a second half that is unlike anything else in Vile Creature’s catalog, not that the first part was conventional. The drums rumble while the vocals crush, as the clutches of indifference are destroyed as emotions boil over. “Bow and open yourself to what is to come, for I have lost my youth and joy,” Vic belts, while the track breathes fire yet does so with an entirely different atmosphere. The track trudges as guitars burn off, while the band hits a strange groove as the spoken lines, “We will not stand for this, we will not be bystanders, we will not stand idly by,” let things boil over and come to a fiery end. “Glory! Glory!” features Laurel Minnes’ vocals (she also was on “A Pessimistic Doomsayer”) with her band and choir Miniscule, and they make this track feel like the world is beginning again, like drops of sky are falling. The guitar work twangs in spots as the singing floats, later churning and letting off smoke while organs (courtesy of Bismuth’s Tanya Byrne) join in, and we’re off to the devastating finale “Apathy Took Helm!” that should send chills down your spine the entire run time. Guitars merge into an eruption, leading to dual vocals twisting spines and the choral parts painting majesty over the whole piece. Vic’s vicious shrieks rain down as they also mutilate behind the kit, thickening the doom waters with blood. Angelic hell rises to the surface and seems to quell the fires before everything kicks back in again as the cries of, “When we are dead and elsewhere, when we are dead,” rattles and wrenches before the track finally rests in the dust.

Vile Creature have been building an impressive body of work for just six years now, and “Glory, Glory! Apathy Took the Helm!” elevates them on a musical and creative level that should enthrall anyone who’s been following them along the way. We’re not quite halfway through the year, but this is one of the finest, most imaginative records we’ve heard so far in 2020, a year of absolute hell where there hasn’t been much to enjoy. Luckily, apathy has not been an issue for many of us with so much to fight for right now, and this record can serve as a reminder to harness those emotions and burn the energies until they run out.

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

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

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