It baffles me when I meet someone who tells me they don’t pay attention to news or politics and just kind of live their lives without all of that stuff. Part of me is incredibly envious of being able to live in a state of oblivion when it comes to these things. The larger part of me is appalled that someone could just be completely disconnected from what is happening around them and everyone else.

Under the Mare Cognitum banner, Jacob Buczarski often has concentrated on matters of the great beyond through the solar system and the universe. But on “Solar Paroxysm,” the fifth Mare Cognitum full-length and first in five years, the focus is turned inward, meaning on issues plaguing planet earth that aren’t necessarily virus related. There is plenty of unrest, political upheaval and chicanery, as well as social matters that remain problems to overcome, even though seemingly half the people alive don’t recognize or care about these matters. As a result, this is one of the most ferocious records for this project to date as well as disruptive as this 5-track, 64-minute record throttles with very little space for you to take a breath. So, if you’re one of the people who is completely tuned in and living and dying based on what’s transpiring on this earth, the chaos will an easy thing with which to unite.

“Αntaresian” kicks off deep into a sound woosh before things tear open, and for 11:16, the energy is just relentless. Shrieks strike as stirring melodies keep your brain working, and the tempo just unloads and never quits. Atmospheric savagery and gazey fire unite as things keep stomping guts, and glorious leads light blinding fires that blaze the trail forward. “Frozen Star Divinization” runs a healthy 10:58 as riffs explode and blow things apart, while the drums pummel, and the emotion floods to the surface. Daring punishment and channeled melodies lead toward a renewal of destruction, with Buczarski’s shrieks digging into your ribs. Fury is whipped up again as shrieks and growls mix, giving savagery and brutality a new face, while the guitar work explodes, driving guttural thrills and a rush of power.

“Terra Requiem” runs 10:34, and it pulls back from the pace already achieved earlier, injecting a sense of sorrow and darkness into the mix. Shrieks and a storming pace add heaviness to the playing while a great cosmic swell immerses in alien intensity. The playing aims for the heart while forces head toward the sky, the vocals wrench, and the menace gets deadlier as everything swirls and comes to a punishing end. “Luminous Accretion” starts with the drums loosening teeth, feeling plastering and hazy, delivering punishing strikes. The playing takes on some classic metal tenets as it grows, with smoking soloing coming to life, and then Buczarski’s vocals getting even meaner. The vocals rip, the melodies hit a deluge, and a lapping lather covers you in metallic bubbles as it works into the void. Closer “Ataraxia Tunnels” is the longest track at 12:31, and it starts in space clouds that intoxicate. The vocals are vicious as the playing gets into the zone in a hurry as the drums rumble, and the leads flex their muscles. Like elsewhere on the record, the journey captures you and races through space and time as the drama increases, and a slight pause is merely a gasp before the floods return with no mercy. Your heart might be racing like mine was as we head into dizzying chaos, a hellish assault that knows no bounds, and a final rush that leaves sweat dripping from your body.

Anyone with a heart or empathy or sense easily could relate to what Buczarski is feeling and what inspired the music on “Solar Paroxysm,” one of his most intense and destructive to date under the Mare Cognitum banner. It’s been a frustrating time to be alive watching this country devolve into something out of a parody movie, only this time it’s real, and lives are at stake. This record contains all that volcanic frustration and anger, and all 64 minutes feel like a ball of rage ready to strike.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://music.extraconscious.com/music

Or here: http://i-voidhanger.com/shop/

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

And here: http://i-voidhanger.com/

It’s always exciting getting new music from a band you like and have followed for some time, and when that group makes tweaks and changes things around, it can get a little nerve wracking. But when those alterations enhance the music and add an intriguing entry into the band’s body of work, it can make that new music even more exciting.

We say that as Caïna have returned with a new record “Take Me Away From All This Death” that, if you compare it to the project’s earlier records, you’ll wonder where you made a weird turn. But if you’ve been following along lately and know a few things about sole creator Andrew Curtis-Brignell’s tastes and inspirations (he’s a pretty open book on these things on his Twitter feed), the music you’ll find on this enthralling eight-track collection will make all the sense in the world. There are only a few hidden traces of black metal here and a whole lot of gothy, dingy post-punk, synth-scuffed power, and a feeling like you’re going down the drain of a nightmare that never seems to let you wake up. It’s a record I keep going back to, and it rewards and terrifies every time I jump back into its guts.  

“Bleeding Light” has a chilling open and Curtis-Brignell’s voice sounds properly mechanical as clean calls mix with industrial heat. Strange warbling creeps as the music pounds harder, eventually melting into nighttime fog. Things then glisten in the dawn, roars explode anew, and a chilly, feverish wind causes your flesh to crawl. “Castlevanian Hunger” plinks as synth works its way in, shrieks batter, and noises scrape flesh. The formula fires up as hell is unleashed, sounds sting ears, and everything crumbles into static. “Powder Blood” brings forceful howls and a mashing pace as Curtis-Brignell coldly observes, “Life circling around the drain,” a feeling I’m sure we’ve all had in the past year. The back end of the track smears with power, repeating that hopeless mantra as everything ends in flames. “In Rivulets, In Torrents” delivers cosmic noises swimming as the synth begins attacking, and sounds hurtle through the cosmos as this instrumental cut dissolves.

The title track slips in with keys icing over and beats pounding as Curtis-Brignell digs deeply as he sings, feeling very New Wave in its approach. Guitars well up as deep sorrow swamps, building to a morbid chorus that feels like it’s operating in mystery, unsure where to grip the walls. As your disorientation increases, the chorus keeps rounding back and chewing at you, anxiety spikes, and the synth stirs before bowing out. “Oceans of Time (Hail to Robert Smith)” has frigid synth and cool beats rushing into a warming pattern that makes it easy for your head to go swimming. Gazey fires and breezy winds increase the emotion as the playing rushes through the clouds, surging into driving rains. “Low Moon Over Carpathia” begins ominously as it creeps through, making cold tributaries snake through your body as the night takes hold again, making you feel claustrophobic as the instrumental heads toward closer “Circle of Flames” where the singing bellows, and the keys dare you to open your eyes. Danger floats as the vocals get stronger and more alluring, shadowy pulsating blasts your guts, and sounds sting and swell. Guitars jar, bringing a heavy post-rock vibe, then everything is swallowed up by strange keys that coldly wakes you up from your dream.

Caïna’s path never has been a straightforward one, and that’s kept the music Curtis-Brignell creates each time out leaving you guessing where he’s going. “Take Me Away From All This Death” is a further push away from black metal and into gothy madness and post-rock frigidity, and it’s a really exciting new chapter. Who knows what state Caïna will be in next time around, but if this record is any indication, there’s absolutely no way to properly predict that journey.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://cainaband.bandcamp.com/album/take-me-away-from-all-this-death

Finding a means of escape these days is not easy for a lot of people because there is just so much suffering and misery that letting your mind wander can be a challenge. But it’s not impossible, and if you can find something in which to immerse yourself and let the anxiety take a fucking break for a second, it can be invaluable for your mental health.

This is where Colorado-based crushers Necropanther enter the mix, as their new EP “In Depths We Sleep” can be a perfect antidote for when you feel like shit. For this EP, the third one in their series of smaller releases between full-length albums, guitarist/vocalist Paul Anop dug back into some of the material he created for his Whalefalls project, centering on oceanic power and might that he presented to the rest of the band to make up this release. The other panthers of necro—guitarist Joe Johnson, bassist Marcus Corich, drummer Haakon Sjogren—recorded their parts themselves and did not work in person due to COVID issues, though you never would know that as modern technology is impressive, and these guys are just really good players who still can pack emotion and energy, even at a distance.

“The Descent” floats in slowly as synth rises and creates fog, as well as a heavy mood, then the growls begin to rumble, and the storming hangs overhead. The vocals turn shriekier as the pace pelts away before disappearing into the ether. “Benthic Storms,” the only newly written song, has a glorious and black metal-style punishment before the shrieks start raining nails into the vulnerable ground. Power and glory unite as the leads fire up, the drums hammer away, the tempo pulses your blood, and then everything fades into the distance. “Abyssal Plains” has winds whipping and the sounds of the ocean eating away as the guitars echo, and strong leads begin to navigate through choppy waters. Dark and emotional, this instrumental track then winds into the unknown, taking us deeper into the heart of the chaos and into closer “Cheers to Seth Davey” that begins morbidly before the growls start carving a path. Great leads flush while the tempo picks up considerable speed, and the band chugs hard, swishing around all your stomach contents. Guitars wash over as the melodies become overwhelming in a great way, and then everything chimes and slowly moves into the distance like the ghost of a story.

Necropanther put a lot of fun and imagination into “In Depths We Sleep,” their third EP and decidedly the most aquatic to this date. It’s an economically sized and easy-to-digest burst of thrash and death that batters and bruises you but leaves you wholly satisfied when it’s done. Not sure how much longer we’re going to be fired up about sea chanties as a society, but Necropanther have put a more violent spin on aquatic tales, and you’re going to wind up getting hurt if you get swept up into the waves.

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

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

These stories generally are here to inform you about bands and records and what went into them, what they mean, how they were created. Being supplied press releases and copious amount of information from reps and labels enable that process so we can get a deeper glimpse into who’s involved and the overall machination, but there are times when that doesn’t exactly work out.

“Ni Tsarya, Ni Boga,” the debut record from Koldovstvo, did come with a nice packet of info, but even the folks putting together the details had to admit, we don’t know much. I assume some of that shadowy presentation is by design, but we have no idea who comprises this band, where the creators are from, and what the songs are even about, as the track themselves are given mere Roman numerals as titles. What we can say is this is one of the strangest presentations of black metal we’ve ever heard. Trying to properly describe this rubbery, feverish record is almost moot, as you need to experience this thing to fully get it. It’s sure to keep some people at an arm’s length, but for those of us who connected with this enthralling record, it’s another door opened into the endless mystery of this style of music. It’s an unreal album by a band operating in the shadows. It’s pretty goddamn exciting.

“I” gets things started, and it doesn’t take long to realize you’re in a completely different world with rules foreign to you. Riffs spiral and tease as the tempo rushes and the shrieks rake your back, with pastoral clean calls arriving behind that. The melodies swirl and confound as the shrieks crush, and the atmosphere whips up a strange storm. Rage is packaged with power as the intensity builds, and then we’re into “II” where the guitars move playfully, practically teasing you to your face. Clean calls wash out of mind as rousing choral vocals add texture, making this feel damn-near spiritual as the main riff rounds back and ends the song in weirdness. “III” envelopes you in synth as the track opens and rumbles the ground, shrieks echo, and the playing drives hard. Desperate howls ignite as the pressure increases, flooding over before the track eases away.

“IV” starts with a female voice speaking before clean calls usher in a dream state, and then the guitars spike to add a penetrating haze. Adventurous leads pull you into different scenes that play in your head, the shrieks hammer your psyche, and sanity is pushed to the test before the track fades. “V” layers a guitar glaze before the shrieks strike, and a choral section adds a sense of balance. Once again, it feels like you’re entering a new layer of a dream that keeps expanding, as the drums hammer away, and numbness spreads. The vocals attack again and drag you through the night, pummeling right up to the end. “VI” ends the record with a synth blur before the grounds explode. A smattering of color arrives as the guitars cut a sharp path, leaving the melody to take center and end the track basking in strange light.

Absolutely shrouded in mystery, we can’t really fill in much as far as motivation and the conceptual ideas that went into “Ni Tsarya, Ni Boga,” one of the strangest albums of any sub-genre you’re bound to hear this year. But that oddness is by no means gimmicky; it’s simply the introduction into a plane of existence you didn’t know existed before. Whoever (whatever?) Koldovstvo happen to be is of no real relevance. Their music is so intoxicating and refreshingly different you can’t help but get lost in their infectious spirit and creativity.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://music.extraconscious.com/album/ni-tsarya-ni-boga

Or here: https://www.babylondoomcultrecords.com/product/koldovstvo-ni-tsarya-ni-boga-lp/

Or here: https://www.folkvangrrecords.com/products/695711-koldovstvo

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

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

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

I’m sitting here after a particularly stressful day of work where nothing appeared to want to go right, and formulas decided to do their own shit, and I threw my mouse across the goddamn room because there’s only so much stress a person can take before your skull implodes. It’s at these times I want the earth to open up and unleash fire and blood so I can have an excuse not to go back to what I was doing.

Fittingly, “Vazio,” the debut record from Portuguese doom/death powers Sepulcros, was at my disposal, and the music on this six-track beast sounds like what it might if the world combusted, and we were left to try to pick up the choking pieces. This is a supremely heavy record, one that makes you think it’s going to go the funeral doom route at times only to bludgeon you with devastation and speed that sound like they’re coming for your life. The band—vocalist SB, guitarists NZ and RT, bassist AH, and drummer JS—come up for air now and again and infuse atmosphere into the room, but never get comfortable. Know that a bloody, mugging detonation is right around the corner, and there is no room to run and hide.

“Involucro Oco” is an eerie introductory piece that opens the lid and lets the clouds gather, rolling into the title track that unloads thick gloom and wrenching vocals. Morbid ugliness and savage punishment create a formidable team as the walls cave in, and heat rises from the cracks. Cavernous hell and increasing heat make the atmosphere volatile while darkness is smothered, and muscular sinew drags itself to its grave. “Marcha Funebre” shakes the ground as the pace hulks along, with welling growls making your anxiety spike. Then the hammers are unloaded, bringing with them thunderous hell and a funereal reality that makes your insides shake. The pace then rumbles all over, feeling like the earth is coming apart, while the hellish chaos spills further, vaulting the pressure and melting into a relentless sound bath.

“Magno Caos” unveils dark morbidity that slowly steeples its fingers as the playing trudges, and the growls dig into your chest cavity. The pace slurs and the growls boil, feeling like the weight of the universe is upon you, letting lava collect before it explodes from the creases. The drums devastate as the growls blacken eyes, with sounds gurgling as they collect and flood the finish line. “Hecatombe” bleeds somber, haunting guitars as the thing cracks open, and emotional turmoil rushes the surface. Shrieks explode as the cranial pressure builds, spitting ugly fury and thunderous madness, mixing violence and somber emotion into a single pot. The sadness returns and thickens in your veins, making the world quake, a megaton of intensity ruptures, and everything folds into corrosion. “Humana Vacuidade” is an instrumental outro that feels like ghouls lurking in the basement while strange vibes get into your blood and claim your consciousness.

“Vazio” is a record I already was excited to tear into simply based on their promise of vintage doom/death and the comparisons to bands such as disembowelment, Atramentus, and Esoteric, which had me on board immediately. Actually taking on Sepulcros’ debut was something I didn’t expect, even with the anticipation I felt going in, which made for a stunning payoff. This is a record that feels like it’s knifing through the earth’s crust, on its way to permanently change you physically and mentally.

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

To buy the album (U.S.), go here: https://transcendingobscurity.aisamerch.com/

Or here (International): https://transcendingobscurity.aisamerch.de/shop-en_1

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

People can’t get together right now, and that’s caused a lot of stress and pressure to be added to everyone’s lives, especially those who live alone. Even the smaller, “safer” gatherings that people are able to pull off still don’t feel right because you know things aren’t normal, and reality still has a dark pall cast over everything.

That hasn’t stopped people from trying to gather and collaborate when they can, and a great example of that is “A Cold Sweat of Quiet Dread,” an album that has the combined forces of progressive doom/black metal-emblazoned Myopic and sludge unit At the Graves creating together. These six tracks have both bands—Myopic features guitarist/vocalist Sean Simmons, bassist/vocalist Nick Leonard, and drummer Michael Brown, while At the Graves is the property of sole creator Ben Price—mashing their worlds together as they started writing in 2019 and recorded everything last summer. The album itself is a nice representation of what each side does so well, melding seamlessly into each other’s creative spaces and transforming their visions into something pulverizing and challenging.  

“Through Veins of Shared Blood” burns open with propulsive playing as things pummel, and the growls push the earth. Moody shrieks then rain down as the playing gets unhinged and even a little proggy, the vocals pierce your sides, and the drums unload as things stir shut. “Gold Sinews” pounds as clean warbling crawls, the doom thickens, and the sun begins to fall. Growls rip in as the fury floods and the playing gets daring and fiery, with the bassline pushing the aggression. Guitars glisten as cleaner vocals wash in, the playing turns slurry and crushing as wild cries mix with devastation over the final moments. “Reeling Between” slowly spills in and establishes a mood while the vocals are violent, and noise calls, melting what’s in front of it. Things turn dreamier, letting your mind float with it, as strange vibes sink in their fingers to smear doomy grime. Shrieks peel back flesh, and the atmosphere becomes volatile, ending everything in a cloud of smoke.

“Oppressive Ruminations” starts bathing in noise as catchy riffs fire up, the shrieks deface, and a tricky pace mixes with rubbery bass lines. Spiraling chaos starts to pull bricks from structures as the vocals smear, and the center is bludgeoned viciously. “Stray Parasite” drips open amid dreamier sequences before things chug as they move toward outer space. The roars then crack open and arrive as strange melodies and energies mix while the intensity begins to build. Bizarre emotions and knifing vocals jab while the playing starts numbing brains, and the back end burns out of time. “Resonating Loss” ends the record, moving slowly as the bass slurs, and then the playing begins to push even harder. Clean vocals and vicious growls smother while a progressive assault and death metal-style skullduggery mash together, making it feel like it’s smothering you. The fires are stoked as the vocals blast rock formations, bringing the album to a rousing finish.

The union that brings together Myopic and At the Graves is a seamless one, as the two bands mix with precision, feeling like they’re creating a greater whole on “A Cold Sweat of Quiet Dread” rather than struggling to maintain their own identities. This is a collection that gets even more immersive the more you visit and get used to the unique terrain these two forces have created. Not sure if this is a one off or something that has legs in the future, but this release is one that begs for a follow up just to see where they can go next.   

For more on Myopic, go here: http://www.facebook.com/MyopicBand

For more on At the Graves, go here: https://www.facebook.com/AtTheGravesBand

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

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

At some point in time, people forgot to have fun with heavy metal. Yeah, there’s a lot of really serious stuff out there and material that’s worth having heated discussions about, but really, if you’re obsessing over details and not enjoying yourself, then what are you really doing? It’s nice every now and again when a band comes along and reminds you not to lose your mind and just get your ass kicked.

South Carolina’s Demiser are just that band, and their debut “Through the Gate Eternal” wastes no time knocking you backward and mocking your wounds as you writhe at their feet. Their raucous black thrash is a blast to behold from moment one, and there is a heaping dose of ridiculousness that makes it feel like when metal was born many decades ago, and heathenism and chaos were served generously. Make no mistake though: This band plays it seriously when it comes to their music as the playing is dark, vicious, and channeled, and the folks involved—vocalist Demiser the Demiser, guitarists Gravepisser and Phallomancer, bassist Defiler, drummer Infestor, which likely are not their birth names—rip you apart with whiskey, blood, and fire, leaving you gasping for fresh air.

“Through the Gate Eternal” rips the bandage off right away, delivering a thrashing attack complete with a rumbling assault, ferocious vocals, and a crushing chorus that keeps coming back for more. Speed and hell unite during the final moments, tearing into “Offering” that delivers cool riffs and a massive attack. The verses destroy and are mean as hell as everything trudges hard, drawing blood it smears in victims’ mouths. “Deathstrike” charges up and punishes, bringing speed and chaos, with a weird cackle jabbing at the end of the first chorus. The soloing explodes, feeling fast and fluid, with the guitars continuing to blaze a path to the end. “Raw Fucking Vomit” is one of the year’s great song titles, and it brings a massive riff and drums looking to crush bones as the roars explode. Bloody intensity and clobbering power create an ideal team, smoking with hostility and ill intent that gets iced down a bit with instrumental “Song of Byleth” and its classic-style acoustic guitars and crackling fires.

“Unholy Sacrifices” hits like an airstrike as the leads pound, and black metal-style melodies open rib cages. The vocals are teeming with rage as the pace offers pure hostility, and weird warbling plays games with you as the leads blaze out. “Hook and Torment” has crunchy guitar work and strong vocals boiling over as the playing brings a vintage metal vibe that eats into your heart. The soloing slices veins as blood thrashes everywhere, the vocals rip, and the ending smashes digits. “Demiser the Demiser,” I guess named after their vocalist, with the guitars opening up the assault. “I am demiser!” Demiser wails as the soloing rampages, and everything comes to a huge, destructive finish. “Warfuck Demonlust,” also one of the great song titles of the year, closes the record by brawling its way in, with Demiser the Demiser insisting he will, in fact, keep his warfuck demonlust. The guitars splatter as the soloing slices through guts, bringing everything to an alcoholic, violent, barbaric end.

Demiser aren’t trying to deliver cerebral passages, they aren’t here to be your intellectual superiors, and style points don’t seem to be a thing they’re after. Instead, on “Through the Gate Eternal,” the band aims to sever your head from your neck, rub your face in the filth, and make you pay the ultimate price. This is war-torn thrash that’ll leave you bruised, battered, and ragingly hungover the next day.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://borisrecords.bandcamp.com/album/through-the-gate-eternal

For more on the label, go here: https://boris-records.com/

As I write this, it’s a balmy 57 degrees here on the final day of February, and I’m even thinking of opening the windows for a bit to release a nice breeze. That makes for not the best of situations for writing about a black metal album that’s buried in a deep freeze, with skin cells turning black and the warmth your body offers slowly dripping out.

“Fleecian Winter Majesty” is the first release from duo Kaskaskia, a three-track effort that encapsulates your body in frigid black metal that demands you find cover or else. What we get here is raw, scraping black metal with a heavy dose of dungeon-style synth that ices the fuck out of whatever part of your brain IDs with that temperature and ambiance. It is strange with the weather finally letting up and making it less necessary to layer that we’re here talking this album, but luckily my first listen was when there was 9 inches of snow on the ground and it was cold as hell. Anyway, the band—vocalist Tony Hicks, multi-instrumentalist Damián Jadësh Yyven—drive you into the center of a frozen tundra as the winds whips, your cheeks and lips leak with blood, and you battle against the ice and snow, knowing that even amid this torture, it provides a surge of energy that’ll serve you well.

“Winter Tresses” begins with hammering and synth storming as the shrieks rampage. Wintry hell spreads it wings as mesmerizing chaos freezes your cells, the playing wreaks havoc, and freezing majesty reaches in as things snarl. The shrieks crush as the icy keys increase, rushing its way toward “The Throne Awaits” that starts with cleaner calls beckoning the frost. Guitars rush as the emotion picks up, with the forceful vocals blistering amid trickling melodies. That leads into a stampede where madness floods and destroys any sense of serenity, with the synth unfolding into time. “The Brunette” closes the album with a synth wall and plinking notes as a strange aura unfolds and takes over the environment. Guts suddenly are torn out as the keys fog the glass before getting breezy and volcanic. The intensity rises and as the melodies clash with it, the playing utterly destroys, and the power gushes into and is swallowed by a synth fog that shrouds everything in darkness.

Kaskaskia’s debut is arriving at a time when winter is breathing its last over much of the United States, but hearing these three tracks on “Fleecian Winter Majesty” is enough to make you feel the chill all over again. These first few bursts are enough to make their future worth salivating over, and the emotional fury that is all over this EP just pummels you in the chest. It’s easy to be really excited to see what else Kaskaskia have up their sleeves, but for now, this is enough to keep you in an existential deep freeze.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://pacificthrenodies.bandcamp.com/album/fleecian-winter-majesty

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