Photo by Paul Mauer

This isn’t a great time to deal with mental illness or stress with all that’s going on in our world, much less the volatile condition in which this country is situated. Not that there’s ever a great time for these things to surface, but it feels like life now can add even more pressure to situations, making it harder than usual to get a grip on things.

Coastlands’ new record “Death” could be a tool to help you get through some of these tumultuous times, with six dramatic, thunderous, and riveting tracks that its members crafted after going through pain, trauma, and suffering themselves. The band—guitarist/synth players Jason Sissoyev and Jordan Householder, bassist Andy Ramirez, drummer Trent McIntyre—decided to tackle death in all of its aspects from its physical manifestation to how we live our lives knowing that we only have a limited time on this planet. They melt those ideas, their own struggles, and what this all can mean to us on these songs (almost entirely instrumental except for some screams), and this is an ideal piece to have with you if you’re on your own rocky journey and need something to help soothe the mind.

“Abandoner” pours in as the drums ramp up, the guitars agitate, and the playing turns doomy and thrusting. The immersive sound soaks into your cells as fluid riffs bubble to the surface, while a thick bassline snakes through the dirt. A heavy whirring emerges as the pace heats up, the playing hammers, and the track comes to a gritty end. “Feverwind” has riffs scaling up before a dreamy haze takes over, and the moodiness peaks early. The music swims into a space cavern before the playing thrashes and leaves welts, glorious melodies spill intensity, and the final moments explode with chaos. “Red Smoke Flare” slowly emerges, trickling until the peace is shattered, and sounds rain down hard. Soothing melodies take over a drive for a spell before the playing kicks in harder, and the storming engulfs the senses again. Doomy hulking rages, even while serenity tries its best to regain an edge.

“Dead Friends” pokes through the walls as it slowly pours into the room, and a moody pace is achieved. Drums are tapped as guitars hang in a mist as a wordless call rises up and brings new fire. The playing feels like it exists with dark echoes before the drumming bursts to life, and wild screams hammer, leaving you disoriented and everything around you burning. “Lay Waste” punches through with doomy melodies and smoky playing that delivers tense moments. The fury is steady as the power bursts light up the horizons of the night sky, while the bass pounds its way through, and the drums explode with life. Guitars continue to gain steam, lapping and charging as the band pounds to the end. “Marrow” closes things out as wordless calls vibrate, the bass fires up, and the guitars lather you in a heavy haze. An emotional path heads into a wall of sound while the guitars plot a path, and then multiple colors explode. The playing continues to flood, rising dangerously to your throat, while the daring dashes bring the record to a fiery, dramatic end.

Coastlands bring an immersive, strangely intoxicating feel to their (mostly) instrumental attack, and “Death” is a very pointed collection that not only leaves you contemplating your journey on this planet but also has you reveling in the band’s power. Each twist and turn, sunrise and sunset on this record are methodically carved out, making your own time with the music quaking yet logical. There’s a lot of think about, plenty to absorb into your veins, and hopefully an open mind in which to do your exploring.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://translationloss.com/collections/vinyl/products/death

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

We seem to be obsessed with origin stories, as we get TV shows, movies, comic books, you name it about how characters and worlds we’ve come to know got their start. It’s super easy fan service, and as long as the thing isn’t butchered, it provides a glimpse into the early germs of ideas and how they came to be in their larger form.

“Primeval” isn’t exactly an origin story for UK death/grind band Venom Prison, but it’s the next best thing. This new release from the band is a re-recording of their first two EPs—January 2015’s “Defy the Tyrant” and September 2015’s “The Primal Chaos”—that may not have been accessible to their now swelling audience. This is chance to hear the songs recreated by the 2020 version of the band—vocalist Larissa Stupar, guitarists Ash Gray and Ben Thomas, bassist Mike Jefferies, and drummer Joe Bills (only Ash and Stupar appeared on both original recordings)—who surely understand their abilities and mission even better than half a decade ago. Add to that, the record ends with two brand new tracks that open a small window into where they’re headed next, which will be no surprise that we’re seeing chaos on the horizon.

“Usurper of the Throne” begins the collection and the “Defy the Tyrant” material with guitars chugging and Stupar’s roars digging deep and delivering hurt. Cool leads head into a hefty breakdown as the pace gets even more vicious, and the back end blasts out. “Life Suffer” erupts with smothering pain and death eruption as the guitars leave you dizzy and disoriented. Death growls burn as the pace delivers hard times, and then song disappears into a clip of the track “In Heaven” from “Eraserland.” “Mortal Abomination” opens into moody, dark corners before the gears begin to grind flesh, and blood-curdling howls dig in the daggers. The track then speeds up dangerously and pounds into “Path of Exile” where guitars light up and deliver some different tones. Primal savagery pushes through as the growls explode guts, a thrashy fury meets up with filthy guitars, and the track comes to a crazed finish. “Defy The Tyrant” delivers a deadly explosion as the playing dig in its teeth, and the vocals just whip by. The guitars bring swagger as the ground is destroyed before a psyche haze brings strange dreams, as the incredible heaviness ends the “Tyrant” material on a bloody note.

“Babylon the Whore” delivers the first of “The Primal Chaos” cuts, obliterating peace as Stupar goes off, and the tempo gets faster and meaner. A mash of hardcore and death rips at muscle as the band completely unloads, burying you in a pile of rubble. “Daemon Vulgaris” has the guitars winding up and hurling heat as Stupar wails, “What’s gone is never to be given back.” The playing twists wiring as the riffs sizzle, and the track comes to a trucking end. “Narcotic” is fast and grisly, bringing total destruction with them while Stupar’s vocals go for the throat. Soloing fires up and rubs faces in the dirt as the final moments mash the track home. “The Primal Chaos” is the final selection from this EP, and it blasts through the gates, thrashing heavily as the floors quake, and the shrieks dismantle the central nervous system. The track is beastly and ugly, melting into total chaos. “Defiant to the Will of God” is the first of the new cuts, stomping with muddy guitars and hardcore power. Death growls snarl as melody snakes into the war zone, while Stupar delivers cleaner singing before hell returns and turns things to ash. “Slayer of Holofernes” is the final cut, bringing sludgy madness that twists and mars senses. Stupar’s voice is a mix of singing and shrieking, and strong melodies cool off the lava just a bit. Power continues raining down as your insides are jolted, and the track comes to a vicious finish.

It’s great to have these early Venom Prison tracks back in circulation, and it shows those who had not been exposed to these songs before how this whole thing got started. Re-recordings tend to be mixed bags, but “Primeval” rises above that and is a really powerful package that levels foundations. Plus, the new tracks hint at the cataclysm that’s to come once Venom Prison follow up their great “Samsara” from last year, which sounds like will be a deadly affair.

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

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

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

This has been a year of overcoming incredible obstacles, and we still have a lot of time to go and plenty of strange hurdles ahead. We are dealing with worldwide illnesses, people denying they exist, political turmoil, social upheaval, and who knows what’s lying ahead in wait for us? The fight can’t let up because we’re tired or scared, otherwise we lose.

Long-running Nordic progressive black metal band Enslaved weren’t necessarily thinking of the matters above when crafting their masterful 15^th record “Utgard,” but they did have their mind on the idea of entering the land of giants and trying to conquer beasts in order to find one’s true strength. That’s not necessarily literal, though your land of giants could be something tangible, but it also can be mental or spiritual as you climb great heights to face what opposes you. They do this on a record that’s an incredibly fresh slab of ingenuity from a band that’s long twisted the concepts of heavy music and refused to be weighed down by sub-genre rules. The band—vocalist Grutle Kjellson, guitarists Ivar Bjørnson and  Arve “Ice Dale” Isdal, keyboard player/clean vocalist Håkon Vinje, drummer Iver Sandøy—also deliver more tracks with song lengths shorter than what we’ve grown used from them, resulting in leaner, sharper sound that absolutely bursts with life. Also, it should be noted this record was supposed to arrive this past spring, but due to the uncertainly surrounding COVID-19, the record now arrives first week of October.

“Fires in the Dark” starts the record with boisterous chants, feeling like an army of Vikings rowing down a river, before the track opens into murkiness and Kjellson’s unmistakable growls leading the charge. “Ancient gods told us where to go,” he cries as Vinje picks up with, “Mountains told us how to be,” existing in great symmetry as the track ends in acoustics and mist. “Jettegryta” is savage from the start, raging alongside sweeping synth while growls gargle. Proggy organs sink their way in as keys zap like cosmic lightning, while the final moments are fiery and daring. “Sequence” punches in as Vinje’s soulful singing fills chests with emotion, and the keys shimmer like a mountainside coated in ice. Once again, the vocal interplay is enthralling before breezes set in and bring some calm. The clean singing pushes through as the intensity builds again, and final jolts with Kjellson’s carving growls finish off the path. “Homebound” lands one of the record’s best, nastiest riffs that barrels its way through the center, while the singing continues to gain life, and the melodies are spellbinding. But it all comes back to that riff that road-races its way through the heart of the track, leaving exhaust behind.

The title track is an instrumental bridge with synth poking through and a booming voice speaking over, like the intro to an apocalyptic video game, and then it’s on to “Urjotun,” where it picks up the pace with keys stabbing and a tempo that’s damn near danceable. The singing comes from deep within Vinje’s chest as the growls wash in behind it, and the heaviness smashes boundaries. Later on, the singing feels properly detached, as if coming from a dream, while the flurry of keys causes dizziness you can’t shake. “Flight of Thought and Memory” charges up and delivers hammers, though melody finds its way into the ugliness as usual, while notes seem to float in the air. The playing suddenly gusts and delivers fierce punishment while Kjellson’s growls tear into flesh, causing your body to burn before a coolness settles in, swimming through the chaos to treat wounds and change the weather. “Storms of Utgard” begins with heavy rains, fittingly, while the band balances heaviness with atmospherics, building the drama along with your blood pressure. The track pokes away while singing fills the air, and guitars soar before crashing to the shore. “Distant Seasons” ends the record and is a slower, softer track that situates more in dreamy prog rock than metal. Vinje takes center here as the track works to numb you over ans salve the wounds you suffered up to this point as the band creates an immersive haze and finally finishes with reflective tones that send you on your way.

Over 15 records and nearly three decades, Enslaved have carved their name into legend already, yet they continue to produce standard-stretching music like we hear on “Utgard.” Perhaps the delay in this music finding us was for the better, as these tracks will sound ideal as the leaves change color and colder airs greet us, reminding of the winter ahead. This band is one of the greats of the genre for good reason, and this record is yet another heaping, astonishing reason why.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://media.nuclearblast.de/shoplanding/2020/Enslaved/utgard.html

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

Photo by Gianluca Grasselli

Being a metal site that’s also a pro wrestling site, we reserve the right to change what we’re doing every now and again just because it’s a fun things to do. But mostly because something comes along that doesn’t necessarily fall into the heavy music category but 1. should have some interest among the readership and 2. just deserves to be discussed.

We arrive at that today with “All Thoughts Fly,” the new album from Anna Von Hausswolff, though something that might take you off guard if you’re already a devoted fan of her work. While past records could have fallen into eerie doom rock territory, this one is entirely different as it contains only one element: a Swedish replica of the Arp Schnitger pipe organ that’s located in Germany. Her voice is not present (though it certainly is in spirit with her playing), and the variety of sounds she manages through a single, albeit massive, instrument is utterly flooring. Von Hausswolff says she was inspired by the Gardens of Bomarzo, also known as Sacro Bosco, or “sacred grove,” a park commissioned by Pierre Francisco Orsini in memory of and in great mourning for his late wife Guilia Farnese. The cover of the record contains a depiction of the Orcus mouth in the park, and the music here revels in pain, love, and loss that come through in waves on these seven tracks.

“Theatre of Nature” begins the record like a ghost floating above a dusty old room long abandoned before the organs pump and bleat out a melody line that repeats while the atmosphere rises further into the clouds. Coldness emerges and brings a deep frost while keys pump blood through your head, leaving you buzzing toward “Dolore Di Orsini” and its ominous, yet pastoral tones. The song emerges slowly but steadily as the organs feel like they’re calling out like a bagpipe, scraping into mournful terrain, stunning and leaving you breathless. “Sacro Bosco” arrives in gentle winds as the keys ring out and bring a claustrophobic vibe that could have you clutching the walls. Sounds reverberate and mess with your balance while sounds swelter and mar the senses, buzzing and shaking nearly uncontrollably.

“Persefone” has melodies aching and a sorrowful pall cast upon the room, feeling like a dirge. The air sizzles with emotion as elements gradually amass, drone rains down with great penetration, and everything is sucked out into a cloud. “Entering” begins with what sounds like a film slipping and thrashing off its reel as organs swell the atmosphere with dread, feeling like the sound is coming in from a great fog. That drips thick mist on your face, coating you as you move toward the title track, at 12:23 the longest track by far. The playing flutters and mesmerizes, chiming in your ears and dizzying, numbing with an angelic haze. The tones then switch, signaling an icy haze that drops, building power and strength. The organ’s presence grows larger and larger, seemingly blotting out the sun before exploding, leaving only pieces of itself behind. “Outside the Gate (For Bruna)” closes the album, feeling like a funereal message being sent to planes beyond. The organ mimics strings and then a wooshing that sounds like airplane propellers overhead, rising in volume before settling down and sinking into the earth.

Von Hausswolff’s artistry and compassion always have bled through heavily in her music, and I can’t say I wasn’t a little hesitant approaching “All Thoughts Fly” at first. But it took just a few listens for the music to sink into my bloodstream and her inspiration to become apparent to mind, body, and spirit. This is music that’ll quake you, even if it’s not dishing out decibels, and anyone who opens their mind to what’s lurking here will take a journey straight to the center of the heart that will leave you devastated.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://southernlord.com/band/anna-von-hausswolff/

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

Photo by Josh Shields

In this time of trying to find a distraction that isn’t something damaging to one’s psyche or physical well-being, we can look to nature as well as anything that moves our spirit in the right direction. Having the windows open with a cool early autumn breeze moving into my workspace, it makes for the right mental phase where it can line up with music and permanently imprint that on my brain for years to come.

I have that experience all the time with records that have strayed with me—what was the season when we first came into contact?—and I have a feeling I may have that same relationship with “Abreaction,” the third full-length from black metal chameleons Amiensus. This music struck me really hard right in the chest a couple weeks ago when listening during work, and it happened to be one of those late-summer cool days that hinted at what lies ahead. This is their first full-length since 2015’s “Ascension,” and the band—vocalist/guitarist James Benson, guitarist/keyboard player/vocalist Alec Rozsa, guitarist Kelsey Roe, bassist Todd Farnham, drummer Chris Piette—continue to expand their palette, adding elements of forestal folk and progressive metal into their amalgamation that can be downright arresting if it hits you at the right time.

“Beneath the Waves” opens with clean strumming and Benson’s singing stretching out, with harsh cries hitting over the chorus. “What do you know? What do you feel?” is growled with menace as the drums crush, and then dreamy thunder strikes. Benson sings the same growled lines cleanly, but the shrieks return before the track bows out. “Divinity” has acoustics blending in before the track opens up with a clean singing/shrieking mix and moodier playing that sets the tone. The track eventually bursts with thoughtful chaos as the pace rumbles, the vocals swell, and the track ends in rustic energy. “To the Edge of Life” tears open with shrieks raining down, the keys aching, and the track heading into colder waters that soothe. Gazey playing builds up a lather as harsh cries strike with calls of, “Scrutinize! What did you find?” as things fire up before the gushing spills into gentle acoustics.  “A Convocation of Spirits” rises up with strong singing erupting, shrieks following, with Benson wailing, “Can you still hear me from the other side?” That causes drama to stir as violent tendencies emerge, tearing tendons, but then clean singing returns, acoustics push into the mix, and everything washes away.

“Euphorica” begins with heavy pounding as the riffs flex their muscles, and the shrieks aim to tear down walls. There is smooth singing over the chorus before murk takes over, clean trickling merges with heaviness, and waters rush hard to the shore. “Drowned” blasts in with drums crushing, guitars rinsing you with blood, and the shrieks smash boundaries. Hypnosis nears as the growls stir, while wrenching hell is administered later, while Benson’s singing adds other color streams that wash into the sea. “Cold Viscera” has a trudging pace out front while the growls land blows, and the atmosphere becomes more turbulent. The playing jerks around corners as the guitars charge up, sinister growls create bruising, and a storming fury takes the track to its end. “All That Is Unknown” awakens to growls and shrieks bustling and melodies rushing, making the playing feel dramatic and grim at the same time. The playing cascades as it captures you and takes you on a journey, crashing through calm as it blasts away. “Iconoclasm” has a bit of an Enslaved edge to it, bringing synthy punch and penetrating growls to the foggy atmosphere. Keys plink through like ice daggers as the rage builds musically, spreading great dark wings before disappearing into the night. There’s an acoustic, instrumental take on “A Convocation of Spirits” that ends the record, letting your blood pressure come back to earth.

Amiensus’ cerebral mix of black metal, progressive metal, and folk continues to do wonders on “Abreaction,” their first full-length record in five years. Benson said the record feels truer to what the band sounds like live as they’ve learned to work and play together more efficiently, and you can hear that in these exciting, full-bodied songs. This is a record that hopefully puts the band’s name on more people’s tongues, especially those who can appreciate an ambitious group that can unleash storms right from the center of their hearts.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://transcendingrecords.com/products/amiensus-abreaction-pre-order-only

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

We’ve been trashing 2020 for the absolute shit that it’s been pretty much wall to wall (and it! Isn’t! Over! Yet!), but let’s be honest: It hasn’t been all bad. I just found out they’re building a Popeye’s like a block away, Schitt’s Creek won all the Emmy awards, and death metal still is really good, with so many bands contributing vital, bloody documents.

Toss another one on the pile as Finnish beasts Gorephilia have returned with their deadly third record “In the Eye of Nothing,” an album that’ll make any honest fan of the sub-genre downright giddy with bloodlust. Over seven tracks and about 43 minutes, the band digs deep into the morbid stuff and pulls out a record that is vile, brutal, weird, and just a blast to take on from front to back. The band—guitarist/vocalist Jukka Aho (he takes the helm from former singer Nemesis, who passed in 2018), guitarist Pauli Gurko, bassist Tami Luukkonen, drummer Kauko Kuusisalo—definitely do their homeland’s rich death metal history proud with this album, and each meaty chunk they tear off and throw at you lands with weight and precision, leaving nothing but bruises and a hammered psyche.

“Walls of Weeping Eyes” opens the record by tearing through guts and hammering away with great power, while the riffs smear plasma. A mucky chorus adds more crunch before the playing hits a downward spiral, melody bursts from the seams, and the track ends in slow-driving menace. “Perpetual Procession” has riffs churning right away before the playing shifts, and the growls gurgle with disgusting energy. The track turns thrashy and deadly with a guttural chorus that mashes digits before a searing solo. The playing continues to clobber as the growls crush while the song burns to ash. “Ouroboran Labyrinth” begins with a classic-style death riff as the tempo trucks, and the growls are worked into layers. The guitars splinter off before the gas pedal is jammed through the floor, while the guitars light up and blind, and jolting blasts end the track with bruised ribs. “Devotion Upon the Worm” punches its way in as the music slowly wrenches, the growls crawl in filth, and the atmosphere begins to boil off. There’s a ghoulish feel to the ambiance as it chews into your psyche, strange clouds hover, and mournful guitars flood and let darkness cover the land.

“Consensus” is a quick interlude that has guitars that stymie, bass protruding, and strangeness swimming toward “Simplicity of Decay” that tears through flesh and muscle and brings primal devastation. The riffs cause dizziness while the drums decimate, and then the bass liquifies rock before some eerie slide guitar brings chills to your system. The track begins to chug anew as the soloing floods over, and the track ends on a note of sudden morbid mysticism. “Not for the Weak” makes your head spin with tricky riffs and the leads immersed in madness, feeling bizarre but also violent. The soloing sprawls as it tunnels its way into the earth, overwhelming and making you question reality as it rips its way into “Death Dream,” a final interlude piece. The playing numbs your brain wrinkles as warm leads change the temperature zone, making its way to final cut “Ark of the Undecipherable” where guitars meet you with venomous stings. The band outright mauls as the guitars melt faces, and the playing stomps bodies, entering murky streams as the growls flatten your midsection. The playing erupts with dangerous energy as soloing sweeps through, the pace trudges, and the ending is buried in mud.

Gorephilia’s brand of death metal is fierce and creative, making you feel like you accidentally took something mind altering, and you’re trying to figure out how to hang on. “In the Eye of Nothing” has an awesome Finnish edge that’s pretty apparent once you first take it on, and it digs right into the filth and madness and makes you feel rightfully disoriented. This is ideally served death metal hitting at the right time when horror is in the air, and blood is ripe to be shed.

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

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

Or here: https://www.mesacounojo.com/shop/gorephilia-in-the-eye-of-nothing-lp/

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

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

One would think in 2020, the worst year ever, we’d be far enough along as human beings not to lie incessantly to each other, make up shit that’s not real, and treat other people like objects and/or props for our amusement, but here we are, repeating the same old patterns because people don’t change. The internet is a hellish wasteland, and it’s not like people behave all that well in certain social situations.

One trip through “When I Die, Will It Get Better?” the new record from UK force Svalbard, is a jarring reminder that many members of humankind still have a long way to go before they’re considered decent. And so many of them probably don’t care. From harassing women to threatening LGBTQIA+ members to holding onto racist tenets to refusing to acknowledge the everyday struggles people have with mental illness and addiction, we’re still fighting so many of the same problems, and the open belching maw that is the internet has only emboldened people who’d be too afraid to act this way fading real opposition. Svalbard have been more than willing to stand on the front line of these battles as the band—vocalist/guitarist Serena Cherry, vocalist/guitarist Liam Phelan, drummer Mark Lilley (bassist Alex Hefferman played on the record but has since left the band)—unleash eight songs that address these territories, where they lash back against those who make people feel this way and stand in defiance of these creatures to the bitter end.

“Clickbait” opens in moodiness as darkness spreads, and then the whole thing explodes as Cherry’s voice smashes over the verses, leading into the venomous, “We are used as fodder to generate comments, because the presence of a woman is apparently reactive, fuck off!” An amazing surge follows, as if the sentiment is growing into a beast looking to maul, as she declares, “One day, when I’m represented, I will have control,” as the track hammers home. “Throw Your Heart Away” is intense from the start with harsh growls and the pace speeding up, leading to the drums leaving everything in the dust. “I am lost on the outskirts of your life, just feel the pain in the name of love, just fill the soil in the grave of love,” Cherry calls painfully as guitars lather and emit humidity before trickling cold for a bit ahead of the next explosion. She grits her teeth and sees the inevitable, wailing, “Trapped in a computer game, I just keep dying and continuing again,” a sentiment so on the head, it hurts. “Listen to Someone” is one of the most important tracks here lyrically, as it conveys the hurt and confusion of mental illness coupled with people who just won’t absorb their words. Cherry’s vocals are softer out front as she sings, “Don’t tell me it’s OK to not be OK then wince at everything I say, don’t act like a confidant if you’re just going to get impatient,” before the fog bursts. The pace kicks up as frustration mounts while the band backs with proper cathartic thunder as Cherry blasts, “If I could fix it like a broken limb, I would, if I could stop these thoughts and start again, I would, I would leap at the chance,” which are words that we all should take to heart and treat anyone with mental issues with the compassion they deserve.

“Silent Restraint” quakes the ground as Cherry’s voice blasts holes in the earth, and Phelan joins in with his melodic, powerful singing, as both trade back and forth. “I’m sick of feeling like a burden, I’m sick of having no control,” she cries, again in the clutches of mental duress, while the guitar work adds reds and oranges to the horizon, and the song burns away. “What Was She Wearing,” is another track that, lyrically, we need to use to educate people on matters of sexual abuse and what actually leads to it. Guitars glaze over a shoegazey approach, putting an edge of beauty on an ugly subject matter. But that calm doesn’t last long, because there is justified rage beneath the surface that cuts through as Cherry calls, “Showing flesh, showing flesh does not remove dignity, showing flesh, showing flesh, does not invalidate me,” as the storm grows and threatens. “This is the vessel I exist in, it is not a sin, my body is not a sin!” Cherry declares forcefully as the track comes to a massive end. “The Currency of Beauty” pours open as Cherry immediately stabs into the scene, calling, “I am not your trophy, I am more than my body,” while the track gears up and crushes everything in front of it. There is a brief respite from the chaos, but that turns back into a boiling cauldron as the track rages with life, and Cherry blasts, “Stop fucking rating us, stop fucking hating us, this isn’t a pageant, and it isn’t a compliment.” “Pearlescent” closes the album with cleaner tones, softer singing, and a numbing sense flowing over you, though there are cataclysms that eventually melt again. Gazey power explodes, pacing the back end of the song where Cherry dutifully insists, “For you I would die, for you I will live,” as the track leaves its blood and tears in a trail behind.

Svalbard already have made a huge dent in the heavy music scene with their incredibly infectious displays of metal and post-hardcore, and “When I Die, Will It Get Better?” is a record that not only sounds incredible, but it also stands as a must-read from a lyrical standpoint. From mental illness, to how women are treated in society (still!), to how we judge based on looks (still!), there is so much here that should be exposed to people as a whole for a sobering re-education effort designed to change matters like these. This is a vital band with a crucial message at a time when gaslighting is at its apex, and spreading new messages that reverses the abuse, torture, and hatred never has been needed more.

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

To buy the album (US), go here: https://translationloss.com/collections/pre-orders

Or here (UK): https://churchroadrecords.limitedrun.com/categories/pre-order

Or here (Japan): http://store.tokyojupiterrecords.com/#_=_

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

And here: https://churchroadrecords.limitedrun.com/

And here: https://tokyojupiterrecords.com/

Vatican Shadow by Sven Marquardt, 2017

There’s this notion that America in infallible, is just, and is always the force of liberty. If you live here like I do, it’s what you’re taught in schools. It’s pounded into your head, and when enemies of this country lash out, we’re told they hate our freedom, and that America will prevail. Never mind that there are plenty of reasons for parts of this world to despise us, and it’s been that way pretty much from day 1.

So-called patriots will say that sentiment such as that can only come from someone who hates America, which is complete head-in-the-sand bullshit. If you love the place you live, you need to see it for its good and bad, for that’s the only way to address the shortcomings. Dominick Fernow, who you also know from Prurient and Hospital Productions, isn’t one of the people to turn a blind eye to what people see as America’s heinous qualities. Armed with his Vatican Shadow project’s new record “Persian Pillars of the Gasoline Era,” he uses subject matter such as the U.S. overthrow of Iran in 1953, the violence and politics leading up to the Gulf War, and other similar matters to influence and inspire his music, which feels like a strange soundscape pushing you through the hottest terrain on earth. This is an instrumental record, so Fernow doesn’t lambaste you with harsh, critical words. Instead, the music swims over you and creates a dream state in which the arguable largest superpower in the world isn’t the knight in shining armor you’ve been taught and might actually be more of the great Satan than many here believe. Again, criticism is healthy; it doesn’t make you a traitor.

“Predawn Coup D’etat (Schwarzkopf Duffle Bags of Rials)” starts with Fernow creating a dramatic soundscape with precise beats and a sweeping synths gust going into a full sizzle. The music feels like it’s pushing into your brain, penetrating and playing with the wiring before the trash washes out. “Rehearsing for the Attack” has cold synth arriving as it feels like a blue-hued dream swell has taken over, soothing with a haze and beats that bounce off the walls. A mist hangs over as the beats stab out of nowhere while a whirring daze mesmerizes and cuts out. “Uncontrollable Oasis (Real Life Spy Mystery Ends With Scientist Hanged in Iran)” feels like organs bleeding into the atmosphere, opening up a portal into the mind. Beats echo as reality feels like it lifts off the ground and rushes into the sky.

“Taxi Journey Through the Teeming Slums of Tehran” starts as a fluttering storm before an onslaught of clicks and hisses arrives like a swarm, building as it rattles away and loosens screws. Murky synth rolls through the darkness as the melodies swim, and the track disappears into mystery. “Moving Secret Money” runs 10:10, and it begins with elegant keys and a bassline that has a dark wave vibe and acts as the track’s spine. Parts of this come off like something early-era Faith No More might conjure as coolness and anxiety both increase while the pressure gets heavier, and the track eventually dissolves into a mist. “Ayatollah Ferocity (The Refinery at Abadan)” is the 11:58-long closer that starts with a glimmering sheen as the beats pick up and start to storm. There’s a sense of being detached from reality mentally as machine-like penetration wears you down, and the clouds envelope and push. The final minutes are dizzying as melodies create a center and stir, and the track bows out under pressure.

Fernow has an interesting focus for “Persian Pillars of the Gasoline Era,” one that’ll rattle the cages of those who have that bizarre “America’s always right” agenda. The atmosphere he creates with these songs, that Justin Broadrick’s production certainly enhances, makes it feel sonically stimulating and even something you might use to achieve Zen even amid all of the chaos that’s a part of the story. This is an immersive and intoxicating record, and it hopefully will have you poring back through history to get a better understanding of why we’re not exactly universally embraced as a country.

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

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

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

There are so many things in this world, just based on this year alone, that could cause one to struggle with demons and be tormented by deep-seeded issues lying under the surface. But for others, there are things that have been causing personal darkness long before this dreaded year 2020 ever struck, and they just might still exist once this has passed the rest of us.

Addiction is one of those horrible forces, and MSW, mastermind of Hell and Cloud, has faced that for more than a decade now as he and his family have dealt with his brother’s own battle. That fight is a centerpiece of MSW’s first record under his own moniker, the powerful and gut-wrenching “Obliviosus.” Here, over four tracks, MSW unleashes his sadness, frustrations, and hurt in a way unlike before, though musically you can hear some tenets of each project in the DNA. He’s joined by guests in a few spots—Carli McNutt and Jess Carroll vocally and Gina Eygenhuysen on violin—to help flesh out this document and add even more emotion and tumult to what’s going on in these songs. It’s heavy, powerful, and gripping, conveying not only the suffering MSW and his family have felt but even some of the chaos surrounding us every day. This record will crush you. The music has been available digitally since July, but the physical copy is set to be out soon, hence why we’re bringing it to you now.

“O Brother” starts with guitars clashing and doom falling as sorrowful guitars bleed into the night. McNutt’s vocals immediately haunt as she calls out before the ground breaks, and MSW’s shrieks penetrate. The tempo chugs hard as McNutt’s singing swirls in air, while the playing begins to punish hard. “I will never forgive you,” MSW calls painfully while an angelic haze drops, and guitars rain down like ice daggers. “Funus” is an instrumental bridge that immerses itself in darkness and piano drips like a cold rain, and the strings scrape in and later flood into full body. The emotional pall is heavy and makes your chest heave with pain and grief.

“Humanity” pokes open with shadow-rich guitars and strings adding a heavy glaze while the drums begin to crush, and guitars blaze. “With four angels it took my hand and yet behold, then you came along, this poison, head severed with blackened blood,” MSW calls cleanly before a huge gust strikes, and the vocals turn into a roar. “Look, our children, they’re dying with their hands held high,” he wails, digging into the pain as the leads churn in lava, and noises disappear into a flow of noise. The title track ends the record and starts with guitars agitating before a doomy storm laps shores, and the leads light up the sky. Strings flood as wordless calls connect, while the music feels like it’s floating along on a clean tide. About 10 minutes into this 19:40-long cut, MSW’s first shrieks tear open as the bass clobbers and the guitars rush. A gazey caterwaul brings added pressure, pounding away as it gusts, as MSW jolts, “Our family destroyed, dragging your fists through the open void, where are you, my brother?” Massive waves of devastation get swallowed by a noise gust, and suddenly it feels like the world is toppling before the music approaches the void and rumbles to the end.

I cannot imagine the torment that led to MSW creating the four tracks that make up “Obliviosus,” the first record MSW released under his name. These songs are centered in a chaos and hell that seems insurmountable, and the emotion, rage, and sadness that are ever present in every track never try to hide or pretend they aren’t there. MSW’s creative fire is much different here than what we hear from his other projects, and the fact that this one is so personal makes it like nothing he ever released before.

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

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

Or here: https://loweryourhead.bandcamp.com/album/obliviosus

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

It can’t be easy to achieve death metal supremacy, what with there being like 11,000 bands out there doing it right now, and a good bit of them are pretty goddamn good. But there are bands that find their way to cut through the high weeds and dominate the swamp by just creating great art and using talent and tenacity to stand in the upper echelon of creators.

Hailing from California, where living hell literally is spreading its way across, Skeletal Remains have been blasting out top-notch death metal for several years now, and their latest record “The Entombment of Chaos” is one of their deadliest servings yet. Their first release exclusively for Century Media (the label co-released 2018’s “Devouring Mortality” along with Dark Descent), the band delivers an absolute mammoth of a record that should excite any death metal fan on any level. And this is the real thing here, as it’s brutal as hell, features mind-bending musicianship, and isn’t looking to smooth any of the jagged edges, that Skeletal Remains use to slice up your psyche. Over 11 tracks (10 if you have the vinyl version, which sounds great, BTW) and 48 minutes, the band—vocalist/guitarist Chris Monroy, guitarist Mike De La O, bassist Noah Young, and drummer Charlie Koryn (Pierce Williams has since taken over drum duties)—essentially is a mostly retooled machine that sounds deadly as ever and delivers a record that’ll burn your soul beyond recognition.

“Chasm (Intro)” is a weird, trippy first cut that opens the crypt door and lets you into the record’s hellish hall, which begins in full on “Illusive Divinity” that rips open and crushes throats. Harsh wails mar, and a raucous fury delivers a beating while the drums are hammered, and soloing tears through bone. A manic pace and deadly roars combine with fluid leads to end the track. “Congregation of Flesh” mashes and pulls away at muscle while vile growls and searing leads scorch flesh. Tricky guitars add to the assault while brains are scrambled, and the track chugs away. “Synthetic Impulse” clobbers as blinding savagery begins to spark violence. The band thrashes and delivers staggering power while leads twist bones, and the attack fires up again and blasts through the gates. “Tombs of Chaos” explodes, bringing churning chaos and vicious hell over the verses. The chorus opens up the atmosphere a bit before the hammers are dropped massively as the leads jolt, and the vocals feel like they blast from Monroy’s throat. Guitars layer and add creativity to the brutality while the track fades into maniacal coolness.

“Enshrined in Agony” is an instrumental piece with classic-style guitar work and jarring trickery, as the haunting feeling at the back end of it blends into “Dissectasy” that absolutely erupts with blood and guts. The vocals are nasty as hell as the gnarly pace grinds flesh into the ground, and the guitars ignite with fluid power. From there, the attack is just relentless before the track comes to a monstrous end. “Torturous Ways to Obliteration” crunches bones as the vocals wrench flesh as the pace trudges through mud. Animalistic wails cut into the psyche as wild soloing tests wills, and the track comes to a manic finish. “Eternal Hatred” bleeds into the scene as a slow-driving assault begins as Monroy howls, “Above all, I will remain!” Hellish blazing roasts flesh, mashing away as Monroy commands, “Bow down and pray before me.” “Unfurling the Casket” is the closer on the vinyl edition and stomps bodies into paste after the guitars emerge from the horizon. It feels like strange symbols are being carved into your chest as the leads smother and even glimmer before guttural madness returns, and the band brings the assault to a horrifying end. “Stench of Paradise Burning” is the closer on the other editions, a cover of the Disincarnate track that first emerged in 1993, which they give rightfully destructive treatment.

The death metal world is completely swamped with bands, many of them doing premium stuff, and Skeletal Remains have been one of the leading destroyers for a few years now. That continues on masterful “The Entombment of Chaos,” a record that just rips your guts out and refuses to relent during the entire run. As far as tried-and-true death metal that has its heart in the early ’90s but maintains a deadly modern edge, you aren’t going to find anyone doing it better than Skeletal Remains.

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

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

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