Death touches us all. Sure, we have our own ending to consider, the inevitable final step in all of our lives that looms large over everything. We also deal with the loss of others, the memories and longing for connection with those who have entered the beyond, and even the demise of parts of our culture. We cannot avoid this, and the only way to deal is to go through it.

These were the types of themes in the minds of Pittsburgh’s Spotlights when creating their fantastic new record “Alchemy for the Dead,” their fourth album and one that delves even further into their psyches. While the band operates on the perimeter of metal, there’s enough heaviness in the music and the lyrical content to find a home among those who indulge in brutality. In fact, last summer the band—vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist Mario Quintero, bassist/vocalist Sarah Quintero, drummer/vocalist Chris Enriquez—played a support slot for Cave In and found kinship with the audience with their blend of heaviness and dreamy murkiness. These nine songs are some of the most realized and emotionally impactful of Spotlights’ run, and this is an album that hopefully opens more eyes and ears to their mesmerizing, sometimes stormy pathway through all the ways death touches our lives.

“Beyond the Broken Sky” slowly emerges, the song bubbling and floating, jostling your insides. The mood then gusts as punches land, Mario calling, “But I can’t see the stars, now I can see the stars,” as the track fades in exhaust. “The Alchemist” enters amid beats and impulses, doomy waves crashing as the singing induces shadows. Toy piano notes confound as guitars stretch, sounds crashing through transmissions that are both eerie and jolting, crashing into the ground. “Sunset Burial” liquifies as the bass drives hard, guitars and synth mixing into a ghostly force, crashing and whirring like a hallucination. “Just go spitting out the words no one needs to know, right up to the end, you’ll hide under the ground,” Mario sings, sinister and striking visions lightning up the night sky. “Algorithmic” is sinewy, basking in thick bass buzz, the singing punchier and also a little higher register. The chorus is lush but elements of this are dirtier, leaving ash and chaos, fading in an electric fog.

“False Gods” has claps and gnarly guitars chewing their way in, heavy damage being sustained even as moodier elements attempt to soothe. Tenor sax from Ben Opie (himself a musician at renowned Carnegie Mellon University) makes your mind spin, as Mario wails, “There’s no use in looking up, weak little creature made for disaster, maybe there’s something you can believe in now?” as the track blisters in gaze. “Repeat the Silence” has riffs sneaking in as hushed singing lulls, eventually opening and smearing, the aggression being amped up to dangerous levels. Keys glisten as the guitars hypnotize, yells bristling and shaking loose your nerves. “Ballad in the Mirror” is both dreamy and alarming, letting you bask in cooler waters before lightning ripples. Spacious playing feels liberating, then it mixes with thorny edges, drawing blood and leading you into the cosmos. “Crawling Toward the Light” is grungy and immersive, Mario calling, “Call the shot straight to your heart, cut the shock straight from your heart.” The chorus is rousing and crushing, sweeping with energy and emotion, bringing sludgy hammers that leave bruising before zapping into the stars. The closing title track starts with acoustics and softer singing, the strangeness swelling before your eyes. “You’re not gonna heal me,” Mario insists, “It’s too late to help me now, and you’ll never believe me, but no one hear me now.” Mellotron quivers as electric squalls send pulses, heaviness looms large, and acoustic strains return, leaving only stardust behind.

Our eventual demise can be incredibly uncomfortable, even terrifying, but its inevitability is something we cannot avoid. Spotlights steer headlong into that thinking as they examine it from every end, every twist of psychosis on “Alchemy for the Dead,” their most immersive record they’ve ever done. It’s not easy to think about or confront, but with songs like these nine, it can open our brains and hearts and try to make the darkness a little more inviting.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://www.blixtmerchandise.com/collections/ipecac-recordings

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

There’s something to be said about doing something really well for a long time and rarely making a misstep along the way. Not many people can say that about their work and lives. It’s another thing to pull this off and fly slightly under the radar, compiling an incredible resume and doing it while others get accolades for content that isn’t as powerful.

For more than three decades now, Swedish doom/death crushers Runemagick have created darkness and metallic punishment that measures up with anyone, but their name is not nearly as quick off the tongue when most folks discuss this subgenre. From their 1998 debut “The Supreme Force of Eternity” to their new, 13^th record “Beyond the Cenotaph of Mankind,” the band has compiled crusher after crusher, remaining true to their art and leaving a trail of ash behind. With “Cenotaph,” the band—vocalist/guitarist Nicklas Rudolfsson, guitarist Jonas Blom, bassist Emma Rudolfsson, drummer Daniel Moilanen—opens a tunnel into exploring personal darkness and turmoil over six tracks and 48 minutes that force you to pay the price, which you’ll only be too happy to do. It also should strengthen their case that they’re one of the best bands at this style, and it’s time to shine a brighter light on that.

“Archaic Magick (After the Red Sun)” opens the record with sounds swarming and doom swirling, growls lurching over the bloody path. The pace charges up as the gore builds, chugging heat as the guitars drill, and the playing exposes ugly mangling. The track thrashes with energy, and the pace surges and mauls, cosmic whirring making it feel like you’re leaving the earth, slowly draining into the stars. “Endless Night and Eternal End” opens in eerie chants and tornadic playing causing the room to spin, powerful riffs teaming with savage growls, thick and bubbling playing working up your spine. Gothy clubbing darkens the aura, the guitar work stokes the fires, and splattering doom coats the walls in blood. “Revocation of Spectral Paths” is haunting when it opens, flexing its muscles, driving slowly through thick tunnels and monstrous stomping causing tolls to be collected. The fury builds as the growls dig into your guts, unloading massive waves of devastation before everything disappears into the fog.

“The Storm Rode Beyond the Firmament” delivers clobbering vocals and a mysterious atmosphere that thickens and swallows you inside. Smashing and guttural, the playing warms the senses as the storming increases, causing mud to collect, the warm guitar work and trudging crumbling away. “Nocturnal Deities of Winter” drips in as strange doomy power collects, morbid growls lashing as the track slowly comes into form. The playing then unloads, weighing down and delivering bolting speed, the sweltering heat destroying your mentality. Leads glisten as your nerve endings begin to tingle, bleeding strangeness as it fades into the distance. The title track ends the record and begins cosmically, taking you on a bizarre journey before the growls set in and twists muscle. The cloud cover increases as the guitars send flares into the stratosphere, Rudolfsson wailing, “Not of this world,” as the track buries itself into the earth.

13 albums into their run and three decades plus of scathing death/doom hasn’t slowed down Runemagick, who prove their tank is pretty fucking full on “Beyond the Cenotaph of Mankind.” The power and occult visions are strong as ever, and their ability to make you feel physically and mentally raked over the coals is unwavering. This band operates in legendary territory, and their presence in the metallic world is both vital and enthralling as they hammer us yet again.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://hammerheartstore.com/collections/vendors?q=Runemagick

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

The winter months bring on the phenomenon known as seasonal depression, a mental health struggle that occurs when daylight is at its least generous, and the dark emotions have an easier time taking over our psyche. But it’s not like spring is some kind of cure-all that extinguishes the dread and sadness. Those forces remain, and it can be disheartening to realize a season change wasn’t an antidote.

That comes to mind as we settle into “Corrosion of Hearts,” the long-awaited third record from Australian depressive black metal force Austere that ends 14 years of full-length silence. While it’s a triumphant return to the metal world, it’s not like the shadows aren’t as thick and foreboding as they were before. The band—guitarist/bassist/keyboardist/vocalist Mitchell “Desolate” Keepin and drummer/keyboardist/vocalist Tim “Sorrow” Yatras—fleshed out their sound and added even more atmosphere and psychotic stress. But buried in that majesty is a dagger that opens up parts of the heart and mind that have kept you buried beneath insurmountable waves.

“Sullen” is the 11:55-long opener that takes its time to develop an aura, but it sure as hell does. Shrieks mar as the colors change before your eyes, their wrenching doom working into your psyche. Clean calls reverberate in the darkness as the atmosphere thickens, continually working into razor-sharp tumult, creaky howls mixing with great power. The singing swells as the shadows cascade, crashing down with electricity before burning off. “A Ravenous Oblivion” navigates through an oppressive fog, growls and clean singing uniting and delivering different versions of the same message. The weight continues to grow as gargantuan wails quake your insides, the pace chugging steadily, the storm continuing to threaten. The vocals wrench harder as the playing continues to soak the ground, washing you away with an attack that relentlessly saturates with gloomy tidings.  

“The Poisoned Core” has keys dripping as the darkness unfolds, the plodding pace putting the screws to you and fastening you to the ground. Synth thickens as the vicious howls dig into you, eventually working into calmer waters for a stretch before a mauling force returns. The vocals pummel, a frosty force sweeps over, and then the playing soars into the highest levels, the playing dissolving into strange energy. Closer “Pale” is the longest track here, running 13:39 and beginning in deep space, solemnity spreading into other galaxies. Wild howls whip through damp terrain, emotional caterwauling increasing, swimming through crashing waves and into jarring madness. The playing penetrates as melodic guitar work gets stickier, hypnotic melodies make your brain spin, and the dissolution happens slowly but steadily, leaving a bizarre mist behind.

“Corrosion of Hearts” is an experience as much as it is a record, and it’s something you should let wash over you and take you to wherever the music guides your brain. Austere always find a way to channel immersion and make you feel the psychological pressure and at the same time let you deal with your own psychosis. This album isn’t an easy lift, but if you allow yourself to take the trip and submit to this music, you’ll be left transformed and seeing your challenges in a different light.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://lnk.spkr.media/austere-corrosion

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

Watching a vision come into focus can be an incredibly exciting thing, that is when the direction makes sense and isn’t going to destroy the whole thing. It happens that away a lot with bands that going through metamorphosis with each album cycle as you can see the parts coming into place, and you just wonder where their ambitions eventually lead them.

As for Chrome Waves, this is a band that’s in constant motion. From the early strains of their 2012 self-titled EP to their thrilling last full-length “The Rain Will Cleanse,” their biggest sonic departure yet, the band seemed to be finding their true identity, ensuring all avenues for exploration were open to them. Now we land on record three “Earth Will Shed Its Skin,” and it’s an example of all of the elements coming together, constructing all of the parts into a greater machine that we see on these six tracks. The band—vocalist/guitarist/synth player James Benson, guitarist/synth player Jeff Wilson, bassist Zion Meagher, (Garry Naples handles drums on the recording)—finds a solid path and reveals it on this album, one that still could reshape in the future but sure seems on solid footing.

“Forward” opens like a morning into the fog, punching in as the shrieks tear into flesh, the leads soaring into a lush chorus that stands against the verses. The playing rips apart, howls crushing, the guitars rushing through the air, wooshing and disappearing into immersive colors. “Under the Weight of a Billion Souls” is spacey and glazing as it opens, pushing into darker waters where Benson’s howls eat away at you, howling, “We close our eyes and pray.” The chorus brings the album’s title into the mix, Benson calling, “The earth will shed its skin,” as the playing gets immersive, churning as the pressure builds. The playing whips into a frenzy as siren-like noises swirl, the final moments fading into a vortex. “The Long Rope” pummels with vicious howls and a crashing tempo, an increasing haze eventually marring your vision, slashing away at sanity. Howls echo as things speed up, the synth wooshes, and cosmic forces make their way deep into your psyche.

“What Desperate Looks Like” brings ominous tones and guitars dripping ice water, clean singing helping create a haunting aura. The track continues to develop and lets freezing winds into the room, dark melodies swell, and synth creates a thickening storm that soaks the ground. “The Nail” slips into a synth haze, the track churning under a western feel, the detached singing having Benson calling, “Seeking mercy in the end.” The mist grows more oppressive, synth squeals, and horns echo, the pace then gaining speed. Shrieks rain down, the playing blisters, and the final rush makes your head feel ample pressure. Closer “Broken” simmers in darkness, strings crying, harsh howls leaving bruising. Emotions build as the intensity carves away at you, the playing finding a way to take you apart limb from limb but also enchant your mind. The darkness doubles as the journey continues into mystery, the playing spindles in the shadows, and the final bursts drain into horizon.

“Earth Will Shed Its Skin” is and isn’t a departure from “The Rain Will Cleanse” as it maintains a lot of the foggy and mysterious chemistry of that record but also digs back into the band’s black metal past. There’s so much interesting ground mined here, and it feels like Chrome Waves are finding themselves even more in their music, becoming something sharper and more dangerous. Wherever this journey is taking the band, going along with them is going to be tumultuous and cloaked in darkness.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://www.m-theoryaudio.com/store

For more on the label, go here: https://www.m-theoryaudio.com/

Taking vengeance upon someone typically means that person wronged you, hurt you mentally or physically, stole from you, or committed some other deed that did damage. Responding in kind to that person is to ensure they never do that again. It also can be done to punish someone who stood by and let it happen, making them guilty by association.

That bloody act is the centerpiece of “Violent Creed of Vengeance,” the second record from metallic force Smoulder, making this their deadliest hour. Over these seven tracks, the band—vocalist Sarah Ann, guitarists S. Vincent and Collin Wolf, bassist Adam Blake, drummer Kevin Hester—used their razor-sharp speed and power metal to drive their means of payback. Ann directed her rage toward rapists and abusers, as well as the support system that enables this behavior, and she imagines violence unspeakable and the desire to entirely extinguish these evil forces. This is done by entrenching these warnings within fantastical storytelling and an era where the blade is a primary weapon, promising those who try to force their power on others will meet their final day in agony.  

The title track kicks in with riffs charging and Ann’s soaring singing, as she goes a register higher than she did on much of Smoulder’s debut “Times of Obscene Evil and Wild Daring.” The band is in total command, telling dark and fantastical tales, the fluid assault taking you to task and injecting energy into every ounce of this track. “The Talisman and the Blade” is speedy and jarring, the vocals pounding away, the energy palpable. “To fathom the witches riddle, power is nothing if given to you, let the forces of furies unite for justice, for light, and life,” Ann wails over the chorus as the guitars charge up and ignite the power, the drums pounding, and the bass slicing a thick path. “Midnight in the Mirror World” enters amid spiraling riffs and churning playing, the singing soaring, ominous “oh oh” calls darkening the skies. The song then takes on an even more epic feel, mashing boundaries, the fires blazing and disappearing into mystic steam.

“Path of Witchery” explodes with jarring riffs and a stomping pace, the chorus once again shining brightly as one of the most alluring parts of the track. Punches land as the leads take on more fury, the soloing giving off blinding flashes, the singing feeling immersive and sinewy, everything sweeping through to a dramatic end. “Victims of Fate” runs 7:41, driving a knife through your chest, taking off with plodding strength. “Chosen for the greatest task, where the future will meet the past, I’ll soon forget all that I saw amongst swirling visions beyond chaos and law,” Ann howls, getting inside your blood and changing your chemical makeup. Glorious and humid, the track keeps building, the story evolves, and Ann calls out (in reference to the center city in Michael Moorcock’s multiverse), “Tanelorn, I wish for release, Tanelorn, will I find you in?” as the power drives into the sky and fades away. “Spellforger” hits the gas pedal right away showing great fire, the vocals blistering as Ann gets an even higher level. The playing is relentless as the storming rages, ending in a vicious surge. Closer “Dragonslayer’s Doom” runs 9:51 and lights up before hitting a tempered pace, getting more molten as things progress. The pace chugs as the guitars go off on a journey, Ann standing with blade in hand as she adds more muscle. The second half continues to expand the journey, the singing bellows, and guitars scar as everything ramps up for a titanic finish that ends in the jaws of fantasy.

Smoulder’s legend continues to build on “Violent Creed of Vengeance,” a record that both complements and stands alone from their powerful debut album. The fact that these songs both tell new legends and also put the knife to the throat of oppressors and abusers is both exciting and righteous, making for an album that accomplishes so many things. This is a band that cannot be denied, and their second album is one that drives home the fact that they’re ascending to a throne no one can prevent them from taking.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://www.cruzdelsurmusic.com/store/

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

The bulk of music we cover here tends to bask in negativity and chaos, the feeling the world is a hellscape and danger is around every corner prevailing. But it doesn’t all have to be that way, and it’s refreshing when bands come along with a different viewpoint. Just because the music is heavy doesn’t mean the pressure has to be, so being able to feel something brighter can be a serious boost.

Progressive metal power Dawn of Ouroboros spent their half decade together pushing their art into regions not always heavily explored, and that continues on their alluring second record “Velvet Incandescence.” Seeking a place to find solace in the darkness and a place to call home (be it a physical location or a mental one), the album thematically exposes these ideas and acts as a brighter star illuminating their musical universe dressed in black and death metal leanings. The band—vocalist Chelsea Murphy (also of Cailleach Calling), guitarist/synth player Tony Thomas (also of Cailleach Calling and Botanist), guitarist/pianist Ian Baker (Red Rot), bassist David Scanlon (Deliria), drummer Ron Bertrand (Botanist, Red Rot)—brings together ample experience from other forward-thinking groups, but they go above and beyond with this imaginative and devastating project. Each of these 46 minutes is gripping, thought-provoking, and pummeling, giving your mind and body a workout.

“Healing Grounds” begins delicately, dreamy singing flowing over you, the playing slowly developing. Then things open up, the shrieks pierce eardrums, and the emotion spirals into chaos. The playing goes from wild and ripping to oddly calm, sludgy attacking jabs, and leads sweep as things disappear into the cosmos. “Testudines” is an energetic burst, Murphy shrieking, “Plague the mind like fungus sporing and spreading, through guarded gates of a protected mind.” The hammering makes your flesh bruise as savagery connects, and even the breezier moments feel volatile and about to burst. The prog energy swells as the playing thunders through, and the unhinged howls have seismic impact. “Iron Whispers” is chilled and devastating as it starts, building a strong atmosphere as the vocals unhinge their jaws and swallow you whole. The song gets more soulful, hitting guttural lows and atmospheric highs, Murphy singing, “Free your spirit to explore these grounds, absorbing wisdom of ancestor past Interlocked hands, with strength we take our stance.” “Levitating Pacifics” starts clean and hazy, synth creating a wall, the metallic burst going through your guts. A melodic gush liquifies as Murphy calls out, speaking and then singing, punchy jolts crunching bones and pulling teeth.

“Rise from Disillusion” rips open with ferocious madness, vicious playing beginning to twist your muscles into unnatural angles. The shrieks mash as a black metal-style assault unloads, the singing rising and increasing the passion, fiery hell unleashed that melts your pain away. “Castigation” is murky, Murphy speaking, calling out, “Warmth radiates, energizing, filling heart to limbs, a crescent upon face, stretching upwards and expelling tears like memories, rain from lush colored eyes.” Then the floor drops as raw howls and gnarly power unite and shred, every element mangling and suffocating. Manic shrieks rain down, the melody swells, and the final moments find some solace also marked with tribulation. “Cephalopodic Void” opens with strange chants, the track taking on a New Age feel in which your brain swims. Spacious leads swallow whole as the growls pick at wounds, the playing angles into space, and immersive echoes write the final lines. Closer “Velvet Moon” dawns in shimmering keys and then charred chaos, emotions rushing along with the simmering guitar lines. “A gift from the velvet one, simmer down into a puddle of one-sided consciousness, ice covered numbers of time pleading to stay, to wake the past again, to be home with you,” Murphy gushes as you find your heart pumping a little more forcefully. The playing turns lush and effusive, group singing makes your spirit rise, and a cloud cover adds a level of comfort as you find your way home again.

Whether we admit it or not, we all seek a place where the dark forces of the world can’t get to us and we have a safe place where our hearts and minds can heal from trauma. “Velvet Incandescence” is a way for Dawn of Ouroboros to both provide that to listeners and achieve it for themselves, making it a little easier to manage our own struggles. The fact the music is a progressive dream, jolts bolts loose from iron, and creates an adventure not easily achieved is just as heavy, and it makes for an album that could hit you differently each time you hear it depending on where your mind fixates.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://shop.prostheticrecords.com/products/dawn-of-ouroboros-velvet-incandescence

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