There are people among us who can remain cool and calm in the face of absolute chaos, and I 100 percent am not one of those people. At least not in real life when situations brutally out of my control come for me, and I’m left to deal. I’m much handling discomfort in my art because I can remain in control of the situation and find something within that journey to embrace.

I got to thinking about that when taking on “Monument,” the second long player from Dutch sludge/doom power Onhou who have quite the test with which to treat you. On these four lengthy songs, the band—guitarist/vocalist Alex, bassist Henk, keyboardist/vocalist Florian, drummer Arnold—immerses you in discomfort and disturbing notes about our shared existence. But inside that torment, based heavily on the sometimes-dreamy sounds and celestial shadows, I could not help but let my mind wander beyond the torment to something else. It’s a great record to hear if you’re spending your evening pleasantly high, letting the music soak into your cells and enable you to travel far away.

“When on High” splits open with the drums leading and sludgy power rising, forceful calls soaring off into a synth glaze. Vile howls then knife in as the storm cloud combusts, and the bloody menace leans into a thickening fog. Synth spills as the tempo delivers piledrivers, muddy hell thickens the juice in your arteries, and noise scars, the final moments draining away. “Null” simmers in mud as the numbing cries remind of Conan’s barbarian doom. The synth coats faces as the playing spreads, and heavy hammers begin to drop. An increasing cold front brings heavy shivering as roars burst out of that, and savage howls make your flesh crawl and your bones ache. The pace crushes as the melodies get ghostly, mammoth destruction rears its head, and the playing drives over an icy, alien terrain.

“Below” is the longest track, running 11:55 and beginning with spacey keys that give off a sense of isolation in darkness, adding to the eerie strangeness before bursting open. Mangling growls reign as the power continues to multiply, washing into a brief calm until the claws sink in again. Leads light up as the vocals flex their muscles, howls lurch, and the synth glows like the moon over the horizon. The drubbing continues and lasts as the playing exits this earth and moves into the stars. Closer “Ruins” runs 11:03 and brings guitars ringing out and synth bleeding before the devastating cries pierce the night. The playing scrapes as the intensity becomes a greater factor, moving into galactic wonder that moves into your dreams. Shrieks punish, the playing destroys, and everything bathes in a flood of feedback.

For a record that intends to poke at the gruesome and destructive elements of our existence, “Monument” also happens to be a record that lets your mind wander among the stars and makes your thinking get richer. Onhou certainly have plenty of barbaric moments mixed in with this mind fuck of a record, and its combination of imaginative playing and scathing violence is a perfect match for anyone who wants to be devastated and challenged. This is immersive and slashing, an album that’s perfect for late-night contemplation washed in moonlight.

To buy the album, go here: https://www.facebook.com/onhouband

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

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

Hey, you’re not doing anything constructive, run into the living room and grab my stogies. Oh, and take like 17 minutes of out of your day to orient yourself with putrid, pestilence-dripping death metal and grind that’ll make your body and mind feel even worse than usual once consumption has finished. Sounds like a great way to end the month, yes?

The band in question here is Dehiscence, and their debut mini album “Colony” is the type that, if manifested into human form would be sweaty, smell awful, and live a life surrounded by filth. Pretty fucking hot, huh? Well, it’s not meant to be easily digestible, and the eight tracks found on this festering wound of an EP will eat into your guts and leave pain and pus behind. The band—guitarist/bassist/vocalist Stillbirth, lead guitarist  Gangrene, drummer Hammer Pulse, most likely not their government names—wastes no time getting knee deep in the muck, pulling you down to their level and grabbing you so forcefully into the grossness that you get some in your mouth.  

“Demented Terror” opens with deep roars and a blinding pace that sets the stage for the rest of the record. Battering and trudging guitars make their case as the growls rumble through a snarling burst of power. “Leperphiliac” is heavy and relentless, the growls flexing their muscles as everything fires away and spirals. The tempo pummels as the ash gets thicker, and you’re left no choice but hack the soot from your lungs. “Lobotomized at Birth” starts with the drums destroying and the rest of the elements following suit, coming dangerously close to your chest cavity. The playing chugs as the guitars take flight, and everything catches fire and bows to a maniacal pace. “Against Your Will” pounds away as jarring howls loosen teeth, and the guitar work lacerates and sends blood spurting. Growls rip through as the bludgeoning gains more steam, everything ending in complete chaos.

“Animal Abuse” is gutting as animalistic howls go for the throat, raspy howls raining down and adding to the misery. The intensity hits an even higher gear as the thrashing multiplies, deathly misery spreads, and everything burns off into the dirt. “Begging” smashes right off the bat as the growls deal ample punishment, and the playing drubs unforgivably. The guitars tangle and blind as furious growls flatten, pushing the air from your lungs. “Rust Wound” charges up and mashing bones while the guitars entangle you in violence. A furious menace flashes its blades as the splattering sends blood and flesh flying, the guitars leaving scathing wounds. Closer “Divergent” is over before you know it, serving speed and battering power, the riffs gaining power, and the howls tearing out your guts.

This is a record where you won’t feel good at all once it’s over, and I’m pretty sure that is Dehiscence’s entire agenda. “Colony” feels disease-infested from the start, and things only get more ominous and destructive as these eight songs play out fully. This initial offering from this three-headed beast is a warning of what’s to come, namely disgusting grind and death that’ll gnaw off your face.   

To buy the album, go here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083799499044

To buy the album or for more on the label, go here: https://www.chaos-records.com/

Every band has a style and a sound on which you pretty much can rely, strange wrinkles aside. You know you’re getting top-flight metal from Iron Maiden. You can guarantee Panopticon will deliver woodsy black metal with a side of bluegrass. You can be assured Metallica will serve thrash metal with some strange diversions into the “Load” era. Amon Amarth? Melody and Vikings.

When it comes to Hammers of Misfortune, the anticipation isn’t so easy. Sure, you’re in for riffs, top-notch vocals, be it clear or harsh, and a hefty serving of dramatics. But you never can fully anticipate how it’s going to hit you. Well, on their seventh album “Overtaker,” the guessing game gets deliciously out of control as they present their most aggressive record to date, but one that still pulls in their cavalcade of progressive tricks. The album, not initially intended as a Hammers record but that became one when some of its family of players returned to the fold, is part heyday thrash and part ’70s prog, and it is fucking glorious. The main band contains Jamie Myers on vocals; John Cobbett on guitars, bass, mellotron, and solina; Blake Anderson on drums, piano, and timpani; and Sigrid Sheie on Hammond B3 and backing vocals. Other than Anderson, the other three all date back to “The Locust Years,” with Cobbett its longtime mastermind. Joining them are former member Mike Scalzi (The Lord Weird Slough Feg) on vocals; Frank Chin (Crypt Sermon, Daeva) on bass; Tom Draper (Spirit Adrift, Pounder) as guest guitar soloist; Steve Blanco (Imperial Triumphant) on synth solos; and Brooks Wilson (Crypt Sermon) on backing vocals. That a massive team to pull off a killer record that’ll take off your head but also dazzle you with power. Try to listen to this and not feel instant happiness.  

The title track opens and immediately rips as Myers’ singing powers, and sinister guitar work eats away, adding a heaping dose of darkness. Murky synth blends in as the melodies blind, and Myers’ voice utterly snarls as the playing pummels and echoes away. “Dark Brennius” simmers in vintage keys as Scalzi’s familiar and unmistakable voice howls, the band thrashing heartily. The playing is intense and sometimes gleefully zany, dramatic twists and turns adding electricity and character, the guitars going off and catching fire as everything comes to a haunting end. “Vipers Cross” begins with keys rushing and the guitars getting the blood flowing, Myers howling and jarring your heart. Organs sprawl and increase the progginess, and then things go cosmic, the playing zipping through time and space, bleeding infectious strangeness. “Don’t Follow the Lights” is a brawler, bleeding out of icy keys into full-on thrash, Myers warning, “They’re not what they seem!” over the chorus, discouraging your trust in the light. The energy glistens and feels wonderfully ambitious, Myers’ voice calls into the distance, and the playing rushes hard before burning off its energy. “Ghost Hearts” has keys heating up and the leads boiling and blistering, Myers flexing her power and increasing your heart rate. Vicious, scathing bursts go for your throat, guitars lap and lather, the bass chugs, and bruising is left behind.

“Outside Our Minds” thrashes heavily as the keys add an adventurous texture, Myers’ singing driving the emotion. A psychedelic wash adds numbing energy, the guitars scorch, and the keys sprawl, the splintering power dealing heavy blows. “The Raven’s Bell” slashes away as the guitars swirl, and the tempo jabs through your mid-section. The playing shuffles as organs lather with psychedelic sheen, shrieks rip, and the pace picks up and destroys, dealing monstrous, thrashy punishment. “Orbweaver” is rousing and exciting, Myers’ vocals increasing your adrenaline levels before calm arrives. That settles the waters a bit and adds dreamy gazing. But it’s temporary as the shrieks send chills down your spine, the playing dashes and excites, and fluid energy ravages you completely. “Overthrower” serves aggressive riffs and Scalzi returning on vocals, the playing threatening and forcing wounds to fester. The pace is delirious in spots, and at times the keys enter to change the temperature and add haziness, but the energy underneath is undeniable, carrying you into the middle of the battle. Closer “Aggressive Perfection” unloads with mauling thrash and the keys coating like a syrup, the howls hissing as the pace picks up and murders the gas pedal. Maniacal howls echo in the night, the leads explode and give off thick smoke, while the frosty bass freezes your cells. Darkness sprawls as the fury multiplies, the thrashing encircling and drilling into the earth’s molten core.

There isn’t a twist or turn that scares Hammers of Misfortune, and while “Overtaker” is their most unexpected release in their vast catalog, it’s also not really a surprise to anyone who has been following along. This vile mix of aggressive thrash and dramatic prog rock energy suits this band perfectly and is an ideal statement for the chaotic times in which we are entrenched. This record is a joy to behold, a destructive reunion of forces that belong together, and a statement that heavy metal has no rulebook, and anyone who adhere to regulations will be consumed by the Hammers’ relentless fire.

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

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

This is the time of the year that the dreaded seasonal disorder starts to rear its ugly head with winter nearly on our doorsteps. It gets dark earlier, and the sunshine so many of us vitally need for our mental health is in short supply. It’s very real, and I’ve seen it in my own life manifest itself and drive misery and hopelessness deep into one’s psyche.

If you seek a musical accompaniment to that phenomenon or just need a dark friend with which to share the experience, “Mysterium II” is as good as anything else you might find. The second release this year from long-running Dutch death-doom vets Celestial Season packs that morbid and dismal punch you might be seeking. Over six tracks that serve generous portions of heavy shadows, the band—vocalist Stefan Ruiters, guitarists Olly Smit and Pim van Zanen, bassist Lucas van Slegtenhorst, violinist Jiska Ter Bals, cellist Elianne Anemaat, drummer Jason Köhnen—dig deeply into themselves to lather this record with thunderous highs and gut-wrenching lows, an ideal piece of music for this time of the year. It also speaks to the band’s ambition that this second in a trilogy of albums arrives a mere seven months after “Mysterium I” dropped in April, and this also is their third record since returning to action two years ago after a two-decade layoff. If they’re making up for lost time, they are doing it as prolifically and powerfully as humanly possible.

“The Divine Duty of Servants” begins under doomy, cloudy skies as the growls slither, and the atmosphere grows more ominous as it develops. The tempo lurches as the mystery builds, the playing launches cement blocks, and the growls crush as the horizon darkens as the fog swallows everything whole. “Tomorrow Mourning” enters amid quivering strings and menacing growls as the playing keeps pounding harder, and heavy sorrow encompasses everything, slipping into bleary guitars and the feeling that the edge of the night is permanent. The leads take on a David Gilmour weepiness, the pace wrenches and squeezes the breath from your lungs, and voices warble as the strings scar and leave blood streaks behind. “Our Nocturnal Love” is an instrumental piece built on teary piano, strings lathering, and heavy emotion pushing the moon over the sky, knifing open an entrance for a storm.

“In April Darkness” dawns with beaming guitars and whirring strings as the growls begin to gut. The guitars then get even more foreboding as morbidity spreads its wings, layers are built on top of each other as the emotions get more intense, and the melodies lap onto the glass-covered shore. “The Sun the Moon and the Truth” opens with guitars drizzling and a slow, somber ambiance becoming an early factor. An angelic haze mixes with fiery playing, rupturing as the heavy growls knife ribcages, and the strings sweep in order to amplify the sadness. The playing crushes slowly, the darkness flourishes, and the final moments drive the dagger deeper. Closer “Pictures of Endless Beauty – Copper Sunset” practically melts in streams from ice, the vocals slithering with the emerging strings. Clouds get thicker and grayer, and tormented melodies add pressure to your heart, the guitars flowing painfully and sorrowfully. A somber glaze bleeds over top, the playing continues to flow with force, and the final embers leave the intimidating horizon devoid of light.

Celestial Season haven’t let a moment slip by them, adding “Mysterium II” to the first volume released earlier this year and giving us another gloomy chapter to end this dying year. The melancholic and thorny approach to this record makes for fitting late-autumn listening when the light expires early, and seasonal disorders begin tapping on our tired shoulders. This is dark, beautiful, and sinister, a record that lives alongside your pain and fears and makes them less intimidating to address.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://www.burningworldrecords.com/collections/burning-world-records

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

As the alleged “greatest country on the earth,” the United States and the people in power sure do a shit job making its people feel safe and secure. Well, unless you’re white and straight and Christian. You’re fine, and I know you’ve been pining for some persecution status, but that’s ridiculous. Gay and trans people have been victimized for real, and the hatred that’s brewing feels like it’s not decreasing.

It’s an ideal time for a record such as “I Am Awake and My Body Is on Fire,” the new record from Ocean of Ghosts, a project long helmed by sole member FC (also of Bury Them and Keep Quiet). On this five-track firestorm of emotion, FC addresses and delves deeply into the anger and frustration of presenting and living life as a transgender person in America, a hellscape that has a major political party trying to write legislation to silence and end these people. FC sees her existence in a country that doesn’t want her to exist and feels the pain and frustration, but she’s taking this moment to live who she truly is and fully embrace her identity. The title of this piece hammers that point home, and the music is an absolute force, something that hopefully can be cathartic and a battle axe for other people living with same experience. Also, a portion of all sales will be donated to TransHealth, an independent and comprehensive healthcare center that supports and empowers trans and gender-diverse individuals and families. You can find their site here: https://transhealth.org/

“Dysphoria/Revenge” is the 12:39-long opener, and it’s an adventure, beginning with murky, foggy transmissions, feeling through the darkness and burning with somber energy. The mystery builds and beckons, then FC’s shrieks rage across worlds, crushing as the playing slowly pulls you into the void, adding soot and anger that you practically can taste. The clouds and torment collect as gut-wrenching darkness implodes, taking you with it, the guitars drone and add layers of cement-thick doom, and the final strains spiral into the enshrouded beyond. “Glorious Wrath” opens with desperate calls and a doomy pall, the guitars cutting through along with FC’s monstrous howls. The pace swells as melodic cries lurk in the background behind the gristle, off-kilter leads make the room spin, and heavy hypnosis has its way with your psyche pushing toward a burly finish.

“Trauma” brings mauling riffs and crushing shrieks, the power flattening the ground it treads, clean calls swishing behind it all. Throaty howls send jolts through the system as the riffs get hotter and encircle, spacious playing offers an infusion or air, and muddy trudging trails out into the cosmos. “Nothing” starts with warbling, disorienting voices, then vicious howls land blows, the riffs warping as a sinister groove is achieved. A gust of strangeness makes any sense of comfort short lived, the guitars rip into flesh, and strange singing haunts and leaves your body cold. Closer “Disgust” heaves static and moves deliberately, the playing getting increasingly heavier, the doomy power gutting. Growls scrape as the playing lurches along, making you pay the price, and then things slip into mysterious terrain that tears into your brain. The guitars engulf, the fires are further agitated, and noises hover overhead, ending everything on an uncomfortable note.

I cannot imagine the torment and hatred that face people like FC who are just trying to live as their genuine selves and still find anger and lack of compassion from so many people in modern society. “I Am Awake and My Body Is on Fire” is a title that tells you a lot from first glance, and then delving deeper into this latest Ocean of Ghosts release reveals the true fury and longing built into these songs. It’s fucking ridiculous people such as FC have to live based on other people’s hate, but until that time comes when this isn’t the case, these types of records and projects will be here to live in defiance and lash back against oppressors.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://fiadh.bandcamp.com/album/i-am-awake-and-my-body-is-on-fire

Or here: https://vitadetestabilisrecords.bandcamp.com/album/i-am-awake-and-my-body-is-on-fire

Or here: https://realmandritual.bandcamp.com/album/i-am-awake-and-my-body-is-on-fire

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

And here: https://vitadetestabilis.com/

And here: https://www.facebook.com/realmandritual/

Two things that solidified my love all of things metallic were heaviness and storytelling, both of which hooked me into the style of music I write about multiple times per week. Thrash metal was the first thing that drove me into more aggressive sounds, yet the adventures spun by Iron Maiden, Dio, Queensrÿche and bands of that ilk locked in the fantastical elements. Unbreakable bond solidified.

From the time I came to know of them, thrashers High Command checked off all the boxes, delivering a sound that feels transported from the ’80s heyday but with their own edge and a world they created that is the center point for their music. Their second record “Eclipse of the Dual Moons” is a massive late-year treasure, an eight-track, 48-minute excursion into the world of Secartha (the concept is similar to Immortal’s Blashyrkh) and the events and chaos abound in that place. The band—vocalist Kevin Fitzgerald, guitarists Ryan McArdle and Mike Bonetti, bassist Chris Berg, drummer Ryan Pitz—deliver mashing goodness, staying true to the roots of the subgenre but adding their own mark to their formula. I’ve loved everything this band has put out to date, and this record is another massive high point.

The title track gets things starting, rampaging in and opening a wild pace. This is thrash. The real shit. You can just feel it in your bones. “The sky will collapse into madness, the rift will emerge beneath the eclipse of the dual frost moons,” Fitzgerald howls as gut punches land, the guitars catch fire, and everything ends as viciously as possible. “Immortal Savagery” chugs in as menacing vocals slice, and a calculated drive amplifies the menace. The playing speeds up and warps your brain, the chorus punishes, and wild howls belt as things naturally bleed into “Imposing Hammers of Cold Sorcery” that smashes right away. Guitars dice as the throaty howls bring you to your knees, the leads spiraling before the guitars detonate. Speed takes off as the devastation increases, the howls getting meatier, the playing more aggressive, and the spoken calls to the warriors of Secartha chilling you to the bone as the battle plans are set. “Omniscient Flail of Infamy” fades in, feeling like an homage to Metallica’s old tricks, and then a letter from Veeanithzar is read as the world crumbles. The storm lands and makes its presence felt, vicious power leads, and everything ignites, fighters crushing enemies in front of them and making the violence worth the effort.

“Fortified By Bloodshed” has organs blazing and the band pumping your blood with vintage thrashing, dark forces uniting and carrying the energy into war. “Strengthened by violence, fortified by the souls of those that died, summoned from death to kill again,” Fitzgerald wails as the intensity somehow increases, twin guitar lines glimmer, and the final howls send you for a loop. “Chamber of Agony” begins with acoustic strains as the darkness spreads, wallowing in misery before explosions leave you gutted. Dark, cloudy synth creates strange visions, the playing snakes and spirals, and muscular howls bruise as everything comes to a vicious end. “Siege Warfare” speeds and stomps with horror, shrieks killing, and a simple chorus of, “Siege warfare!” make for something shouted back energetically live. Soloing explores and lights up the sky, the playing goes for broke, and muscles are put to the test before finally relenting. Closer “Spires of Secartha” is the longest track, running 11:59 and slowly dawning. Another frosty dialog sets the scene as the playing gets aggressive and punishing, storming and ripping through the mounting assault. Defiance is thick as Fitzgerald vows the spires will not fall and will remain standing long past their enemies draw breath, calling, “Time to die, you will crumble beneath my wrath.” The pace is hammering and relentless, and then victory bells begin to chime, acoustic passages rise, and somber strings add an element of finality, bringing on an elegant finish that glimmers in the atmosphere.

High Command’s second full serving of tales from Secartha is a rousing, excellent serving of thrash and storytelling, something the masters always do so well. “Eclipse of the Dual Moons” is an apocalyptic, violent, and righteous tale that’ll challenge you physically and mentally, stretching you to your limit. It’s not easy to find great thrash records that understand the spirit of the style and also leave the artist’s fingerprints, but High Command do that here with great precision and power, weaving a fantasy world of their making into which you’re easily pulled in for the fight.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://southernlord.com/store/high-command-eclipse-of-the-dual-moons/

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

There has been so much going on the past few years from a pandemic to contentious elections to cultural wars that put those defending the rights of the oppressed vs forces that aim to keep them buried. One of those alone would be enough to fuel a volatile adventure, and while we’re all tied into this shared chaos, we’re all on our own trajectory on whatever path we have chosen.

That’s a similar thought pattern Elder was on when creating their dynamic sixth record “Innate Passage,” another fiery, contemplative slab of progressive power that should unite listeners of myriad extreme sounds be it rock or metal. This band— vocalist/guitarist/keyboard player Nicholas DiSalvo, guitarist/keyboardist Michael Risberg, bassist Jack Donovan, drummer Georg Edert—always has created music that provokes thought and impacts philosophically and psychologically, but their position in history enabled them to expand even further on this record. This album that stretches over five tracks and 54 minutes leans less on heaviness (though it’s still served generously) and aims for more atmosphere and immersion, drawing you deep within its core and stimulating your senses.

“Catastasis” enters like waking from a foggy dream as you work to reorient your senses, then the sounds begin to flood, and the synth gaze explodes. DiSalvo’s smooth but powerful singing is a familiar strain, and the band keeps building the intensity, taking time to set an ambiance but always promising the next burst. The leads fire up as harmonized singing stings, the energy surges, and the massive atmosphere ruptures and ends in a display of cosmic keys. “Endless Return” dawns with keys shimmering and DiSalvo powering over top with his voice, the leads bubbling and rousing around him. Blood rushes as the melodies thicken, the playing pulsating before going cold for a moment, returning with infectious, adventurous playing, the mellotron filling your head with vintage richness. Lush playing calls, the energy becomes a factor again, and proggy thunder strikes and leaves bruising behind.

“Coalescence” trickles in and maintains a fluid pace, exciting and continually awakening new ideas. Keys blanket as the singing joins about four minutes in once we’re fully engulfed, and everything keeps digging harder. The ground rumbles as the warmth from the guitars thaw your limbs, and sun-splashed vibes gives off a burnt, summery edge. The keys pick up as the singing thickens and soars, and the playing dazzles before slowly fading. “Merged In Dreams – Ne Plus Ultra” is the longest track at 14:44, and it comes to life, blending with swirling keys, the intensity galloping and sending up dust. A powerful and progressive breakdown follows, melting ice and breezing through as the guitars pick up and charge, making your heart pump before heading into space lab synth. That eases your mind before the playing jars again, the playing picks up the intensity, and the spirits heads into the cosmos. Closer “The Purpose” remains among the stars before the guitars blaze, and a deliberate pace keeps you engaged and drubbed. DiSalvo’s voice lands hard and powers and emotional chorus, and from there, the pressure gets thicker, and then the playing liquifies. Keys melt and chill the night, your mind wanders along with them into worlds unexplored, and delicate waters flow, taking you gently into the unknown.

Elder’s power is undeniable, and while “Innate Passage” isn’t their heaviest record to date, it’s one of their dreamiest and most immersive. And make no mistake, there is plenty of power behind these tracks, and no one here has gone soft by any means. This is a stream-of-consciousness-style display that fills your head with dreams, takes you on an enthralling journey, and returns you to reality, you wondering how nearly an hour has gone by so quickly.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://beholdtheelder.bandcamp.com/album/innate-passage

Or here: https://www.stickman-records.com/shop/elder-innate-passage/

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

And here: https://www.stickman-records.com/

Permanence is not a gift that the heavy metal world has enjoyed very often. It’s a volatile art form, performing it can be a mental and physical challenge, and losing the forces that helped create the music in the first place is as natural and expected as anything. Even the greatest powers in metal have gone through changes, and where they take their work is anyone’s guess once new people are in control.

Long-running Nordic force In the Woods… have had their fair share of revolving door chaos, which is going to happen to any band that managed to stick around for three decades. Their latest full-length “Diversum” is a product of further disruption in their ranks with only one member still here from their “Heart of the Ages” days, though that hasn’t stopped them from continuing to create thought-provoking, stimulating material. On this album, their sixth, the band—new vocalist Bernt Fjellestad, guitarist Bernt Sørensen, guitarist/keyboard player Kåre André Sletteberg, bassist/keyboard player Nils Olav Drivdal, drummer Anders Kobro (he’s the one who was on “Heart”), session keyboard player Alf Erik Sørensen—breathes amazing new life. Fjellestad is a godsend as their new frontman, a voice that takes them into new territories that the band explores with creative lust. It took me a few listens to fully adjust to this new version of In the Woods…, and now that I have, I am fully immersed, have completely bought in, and I hope this is just the beginning of an exciting new era.

“The Coward’s Way” starts dreamy before taking on an Enslaved-style edge, Fjellestad immediately flexing his pipes, which are formidable. “Redemption, exemption, it’s just a blade away,” Fjellestad wails over the very effective chorus as the playing soars, and the seeds embed themselves into your bloodstream. “Moments” brings heat with scorching leads and a mix of elegant singing and guttural howls. The vibe is catchy as hell as things gets muddier and heavier, strange speaking sends chills, and the chorus is another tidal wave that mows you down. “We Sinful Converge” is driven hard, angling toward gothic melody, the singing sowing the darkness. The chorus once again is massive, something the band knocks out of the park on this record. Thorny growls strike, the playing gets into strange fog, and the power jolts, the chorus coming back for one more ride. “The Malevolent God” is heavy and murky, though Fjellestad goes lush at first, balancing the terror. Guitars burn as the growls wrench, the playing goes off, and everything ends in a pocket of mystery.

“A Wonderful Crisis” spills in, Fjellestad’s voice taking off, reminding of Geoff Tate’s deeper singing back when he was at his apex. It’s hardly a surprise that the chorus crushes, the power flow is contagious and fills your guts with energy, and the emotion is thick and real, floating in darker waters as it washes away. “Humanity” bubbles to life with clean calls and the playing burning in place. Growls enter the mix as the band tilts toward elegance, allowing the sheen to envelope you before they reveal the thorns, navigating endless obscurity and trudging through your mind. “Master of None” is dark and cold, Fjellestad flexing his voice but also knowing when to remain subdued. The sweeping chorus pulls you under, howls rip at you and peel back flesh, and the guitars take over, elevating the temperature before slipping away. Closer “Your Dark” brings cool water and deep singing, diving into mid-tempo doom and absolutely selling the torment. Calm waters rush, though the power is there, growls carving into rib cages. The pace gets fiery and more aggressive, the chorus reaches back one final time, and the whole thing finds a gap in the clouds and sinks in forever.

In the Woods… are not strangers to upheaval within their ranks, and it would have been easy for “Diversum” to instantly wash out if the chemistry wasn’t right. But it is. It really, really is, and some tweaks to their sound and the emergence of Fjellestad on vocals were expert moves, making this one of the biggest pleasant surprises of the year. I’ve been with the band through every one of their eras, and the one “Diversum” kicks off has me very excited for the future of this long-standing power.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://soulsellerrecords.aisamerch.com/

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

When I was a kid, I had a strange habit of going outside at night and scaring the shit out of myself. We lived near thick woods and did not live on a heavily traveled street, so I always imagined the strange beings that could lurk and pull me away to some horrible fate. I am in therapy, by the way, in case you’re wondering. But there was a rush in that fear that I can’t quite place.

Weirdly, that aura returned for me when taking on “Parasit,” the debut offering from Arkæon, a strange Danish black metal force that claims a spiritual connection with other bands including Tongues, Muspellzheimr, Ærkenbrand, NVLVS, and Gespenst. This is distressing, relentless, and bizarre black metal that brings back that sense of unease I had as a kid as I waited in vain for whatever alien being was going to abduct me in pitch blackness. The band—bassist/vocalist Antonius, guitarist Zarnak, drummer/vocalist Nohr—plays games with your psyche and takes aim at humankind, itself a parasite that eats away at the world in which it lives, doing damage that very few feel an ounce of regret for causing. The worst thing that ever happened to the earth was us, and it’ll find a way to choke out our lights in the end.

“Skagerrak” starts with chilling power before the playing starts to leave blisters early, storming and scrambling brain signals. Disorientation spreads as things get stranger, then the growls crush, and the bass slithers through dirt, flaming the savagery and flowing into “Smertens Vilje” that immediately grabs a chokehold and confounds with its stirring guitar work. It feels like a star destroyer soaring overhead, feeling cold and destructive, frantic bursts stabbing out of corners into the dark. The playing is jerking and ferocious, melodies dart into your face, and the growls lurch, bowing to a torrid of noises.

The title track brings tangling guitars and rubbery melodies that make this slice of death complicated and nasty. Prog-fueled energy bombards as vile howls enter the fray and multiply the panic, zany power charges strike, and a storming flow smears to the finish. “Forbrænde” dabbles in weird noises and humid terror, twisting chunks of flesh and increasing the intensity as psychedelic torment hovers. A monstrous path is cut as the guitars swelter, and terrifying growls penetrate minds. The playing fries circuits, ripping out nerves with a crazed tempo that burns off in the universe. Closer “Evig Trods” runs 10:26 and fires up into a rampage, shrieks scarring, and psychic torture twisting the knobs. The playing is dizzying and gargantuan, splitting your skull down the center, the vocals snarling as piano drips and echoes. Throttling, beastly energy takes its toll as hell opens up and swallows you whole.

It’s pretty hard to argue against humanity being an utter scourge to this planet, and Arkæon hammer home this point on “Parasit.” This is a record that spans the globes of black metal and also works as a psychological dagger to your senses, leaving a massive wound that eats at you. This debut is a harsh, violent message to those of us poisoning this place that our time isn’t long, and at any point, we can be wiped away, the earth left to heal from our crimes.

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

To buy the album (U.S.), go here: https://metalodyssey.8merch.us/

Or here (Europe): https://metalodyssey.8merch.com/

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

I miss being surprised. We have an insane amount of music available to us, what with the internet and all, and that can take away from the novelty of finding incredible bands that hit buttons we didn’t know we had. As an old, I remember when there wasn’t a flood of bands and music at our disposal, and finding something that’s truly a challenge doesn’t happen all the time. But it still happens.

Digging into “Boreal Despair,” the debut record from mysterious entity SkyThala, led to one of those discoveries that keeps you believing in ingenuity and finding something different. I don’t have a reliable lineup, but I found one that credits vocalist/guitarist Ryan Clackner (Arcane Morrow, Vile Haint, Primeval Well), keyboardist Edward Longo (Primeval Well), and drummer Sean Meyers (Beneath the Red Dawn), most of those bands existing on the Moonlight Cypress Archetype label, one that’s taken me over and made me a major fan. Just like the bands that exist there and on I, Voidhanger, this project’s label home, expect the unexpected. There is death metal at the core, but it branches well beyond that (Stravinsky is dropped as an influence) and proves the deadliest of the dark arts still can be bent to your will.

“Eternal Nuclear Dawn” is the 10-minute opener and is musically immersive as it starts before insane shrieks rattle the cages, ripping open and consuming everything in front of it. The playing gets proggy and daring, halting momentarily for keys to twist in the atmosphere, the pace engulfing and completely disorienting. Synth haunts as the violence increases, the howls lurch, and doom bursts through the gates, crushing to its merciful end. “Variegated Stances of Self Mockery” is the second-longest track, running 9:49 and spilling into eerie coldness that freezes before the playing spits lava. Savagery throttles as gothy winds blow, shrieks mar, and synth trumpets triumphantly, extending a blanket of fog. Sorrowful playing melts out of that, wiry pulsing works through your bones, and an atmospheric black metal push crushes and fades. “Boreal Phrenological Despair” teases before it fully explodes and confounds, the storming feeling oppressive and unmanageable. The shrieks strangle as delirious guitars tangle your brains, running into a strange and mangling force. Organs blare as the haunting truly gets under way, growls snarl, and a frantic pace jabs and blasts into dust.

“Rotted Wooden Castles” emerges from the murk, the riffs jerking and slithering, clouds enveloping and bringing on a massive chill. Shrieks ripple as the synth strikes, the leads glimmer, and everything goes on a strong run, rushing and wrenching. Howls slash the senses, a spastic burst bruises, and the menace finally bleeds away. “At Dawn They Walk” starts with synth pumps and mind-warping playing, the vocals crushing your will to live. The tempo gets delirious as organs rustle and send chills down your spine, and the guitar work even hints at jazzy elegance mixed with blood. The pressure mounts and chews at your synapses, storming and delivering vicious final blows. Closer “Yielding Quivers of Revolution” gets off to an unhinged start, surging through hell, chaotic winds whipping and eating into bones. The pace is relentless and dangerous, running into synth clouds and hanging in the air, blistering your swelling flesh. Acoustics arrive and add gentle haze, spirits waft through, and the final notes bend into time.

SkyThala push death metal into surprising, even sophisticated areas even while your brain is being utterly shredded. “Boreal Despair” is a record that needs time to sink in and multiple visits to fully grasp, and even then, the human brain can only stretch so far. This is a surprising, refreshing band and album from artists that have been making strange sounds deep in the underground for some time and are now ready to pierce the surface and infect everyone else.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086637551901

To buy the album (U.S.), go here: https://metalodyssey.8merch.us/

Or here (Europe): https://metalodyssey.8merch.com/

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