20. WITCHING “Incendium” (Translation Loss): “Incendium,” the thunderous second record from Philly’s Witching, is one that sheds the harmful ways of the past and tries to fight for a better future. The title is a Latin term for fire, heat, and passion, and the music and the words penned by vocalist Jacqui Powell look back on a life that was on the path to mental and physical self-destruction and aims to set that past ablaze in an effort to carve a brighter, healthier future. There’s a noticeable uptick in black metal tendencies on this album, but their penchant for doom certainly is front and present, Powell sounding like an even greater and stronger force than before.
“Last You, Fell From Divinity” drips in cleanly, teasing tranquility, before the center point explodes, shrieks raining down and tearing limbs from bodies. The playing is storming and vile, the pace twisting and contorting, delivering black metal-style energy that seeks to maim. The title track dawns amid a great riff, snarling shrieks, and aggression that takes you to the ground. “The inside out, I can feel this beckoning me, do what you want,” Powell wails as the guitars crush, getting fiery and brutal. “Prowling Oblivion” begins serenely, letting prettier sounds and patterns have their turn, but it’s temporary. The guitars heat up, and we’re face to face with the storm, the melodies blackening and warping, making your adventure even bumpier. Closer “So Young, So Useless” rampages with smoke and a channeled chaos, the savagery stabbing hard, black metal ore coating and consuming bodies. It’s a record that can help align listeners who have had the same struggles and want to fight for positive changes. (Oct. 27)
For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/witchingband
To buy the album, go here: https://translationloss.com/collections/witching-incendium
For more on the label, go here: https://translationloss.com/
19. MUTOID MAN, “Mutants” (Sargent House): Mutoid Man, the frenetic metallic trio that’s spent the last decade indulging in sugary and bombastic riffs and pure firepower, might not supercharge as well as a coffee for some people but “Mutants” sure gave us a boost. How could it not? The band is so infectious and fiery, so exuberantly metal, how could you not have a good time? Here, the band—featuring Cave In’s Stephen Brodsky and Converge drummer Ben Koller—launches 10 new tracks that blaze, defy gravity, and make your muscles shake, but in a way that’ll make you feel alive.
“Call of the Void” opens with the guitars just smoking, which is hardly a surprise with Mutoid Man or anything involving Brodsky. The pace is frantic and gutting, the bass thickens and create a steel beam of a spinal cord, and the underneath gets nasty, blasting through and coming to a zany end. “Frozen Hearts” pulls back just a bit, but there’s still massive amounts of intensity. “Graveyard Love” is pleasingly creepy, longing for the one who puts you in the ground. The bass is sinewy, there is a mystical edge to the guitars, and Brodsky pokes, “Everyone can see she fucking buried me.” “Siphon” begins with an insane Tom and Jerry chase-style riff, making the room spin with ludicrous energy. Shrieks menace as the leads zap, and grim turns are carried on the shoulders of great melodies. “Setting Son” ends the album with a cooling agent before the guitars scorch your full face. There’s also a bluesy edge to this thing, the smog allowed to rise, the seriousness taking over from a record that spits at monsters. (July 28)
For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/mutoidman/
To buy the album, go here: https://mutoidman.bandcamp.com/album/mutants
18. RAGANA, “Desolation’s Flower” (The Flenser): Art has been fast to respond to the rise of fascism and the plight of marginalized people who are just trying to fucking live, and metallic duo Ragana has not been shy on fighting back against injustice through their music. Their latest is “Desolation’s Flower,” and it’s an emotional, heartbreaking, infuriated, and empathetic record that’s thunderous both musically and philosophically. The band’s members Maria (she/her) and Coley (they/them) have a unique approach to the band as they trade off instruments and vocals, with neither having a concrete role. If you’re not already enraged and inspired to fight, this album should push you over the line.
The title track opens the record in dark dreariness, a doomy crawl striking as Coley’s shrieks wrench, the drumming coming unglued. Burly, wild howls drive you back, Coley wailing, “Holy are their names who found desolation’s flower, unending holy bloom that cannot be denied, we hold eternity, they cannot make us die.” “Woe” brings a doomy buzz, Maria’s reflective calls digging into you as she sings, “I am a mountain, with winds that blow colder and colder.” “DTA” is the heart stopper and brings quieter guitars and singing that aims to pierce your heart, Maria calling, “I am a mystery, even to myself, I look in the mirror, see someone else.” The power lathers, and suddenly mixed in, you hear sounds of rioting in Oakland. “Death to America and everything you’ve done, I can’t feel anything, I am numb,” Maria repeats, each time feeling more resolute in her declaration. This is a beautiful, storming, heartfelt record that is impossible to shake, as these songs will live in your brain, their messages informing every move you make as you navigate an unforgiving world. (Oct. 27)
For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/raganaband/
To buy the album, go here: https://nowflensing.com/collections/ragana
For more on the label, go here: https://nowflensing.com/
17. KEN MODE, “Void” (Artoffact): Canadian metallic noise veterans KEN mode have been dealing with the results and effects of the pandemic over the course of their interconnected last two records, and we get the second serving of that with “Void.” A companion piece to last year’s stunning “Null,” this eight-track bruiser isn’t a retread of that album at all. It’s very different sonically and personality wise, and its songs are the result of the sadness and disappointment that resulted from dealing with the height of the worldwide struggle against disease.
“The Shrike” opens and slowly builds, but before you know it, the intensity has spiked. “There’s no escape from our mistakes,” vocalist/guitarist Jesse Matthewson seethes, the steam rising and aggravating wounds, a muddy haze suddenly developing, hanging over as the drumming mashes its body into the dirt. “These Wires” is an incredible piece, a 7:54 slow burner that’s the most different thing on either of their most recent two records. The guitars are moody, keys dripping, and Jesse speak singing, unloading the burden. His refrain of, “Why would anything feel right again?” is a sentiment that weighs down hard. “I Cannot” is sinewy and wastes no time doling out punishment, the shrieks blasting away, guitars catching fire and amplifying the heaviness. “Not Today, Old Friend” brings the record to an end by toying with your emotions, speak singing jabbing, the darkness thickening as Kathryn Kerr’s sax wafts like a ghoul. (Sept. 22)
For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/kenmode
To buy the album, go here: https://kenmode.bandcamp.com/album/void
For more on the label, go here: https://artoffact.com/
16. TOMB MOLD, “The Enduring Spirit” (20 Buck Spin): Ever since their formation in 2015, Tomb Mold operated on a different level than most other death metal bands, proving to be a storming force in the studio and in the live setting, where they absolutely destroy. Their unbelievable latest record “The Enduring Spirit” landed in our grasp as an overnight surprise, and it’s undoubtedly the best thing they’ve ever released. Which is saying something since they have a resume that cannot be fucked with. The band adds softer parts, jazzier sequences, and dreamy transmissions that enhance the carnage. It makes their music more flexible and unpredictable, more exciting, and something that takes death metal to a new level of understanding.
“The Perfect Memory (Phantasm of Aura)” starts with the drums ripping off with power, the riffs stomping in their own right, everything spiraling and snapping alien-like. Raw growls tear in as the leads get more fluid, tricky melodies washing over everything. “Will of Whispers” is the first real sign of changes, and it’s exhilarating hearing this band take these chances. Gentler and cleaner guitars add a breeze, giving off Dream Unending vibes (guitarist Derrick Vella’s other band), and then things turn grisly. “Fate’s Tangled Thread” has a pulverizing and pleasingly perplexing start, letting the hammers fly as the growls retch, and the battering tones do a number on your senses. There’s a strange sci-fi vibe that infects your blood, then the guitars fire on all cylinders, churning through fires and horror vibes, blasting to an imaginative end. Closer “The Enduring Spirit of Calamity” runs 11:36, easily the longest Tomb Mold song to date, and it has a brainy, burly sense of adventure that scratches and claws its way into your brain. It’s a tired cliche, but this is next-level shit, the type of record that cements this band’s legend and makes them one of the standard bearers of death metal in 2023 and beyond. (Sept. 15)
For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/tombmold
To buy the album, go here: https://www.20buckspin.com/tombmold
For more on the label, go here: https://www.20buckspin.com/
Meat Mead Metal 