Life isn’t a party for every person alive in this realm. There is pain and suffering at every corner, be it physical or mental, and for some, taking on a new day becomes a chore that isn’t always a pleasure to experience. Relief then becomes sort of an abstract idea, something that might not be attainable at all until one sheds their human shell.

“Sparagmos,” the powerful second full-length from death/doom warriors Spectral Voice, examines that issue and levels with the painful realization that lack of existence might be the only way for one to be truly free. The title of the record is a Greek term that means physically being torn apart, and that ritualistic turn is what colors these barbaric four tracks. The band—vocalist/drummer E. Wendler, guitarists M. Kolontyrsky and P. Riedl, bassist J. Barrett—is made up of three quarters of Blood Incantation, and half of Black Curse, but what we get from this band is far and away what their other projects offer. This is deeply scarring, often cosmic torture, a span of creativity that sounds mentally warped but also is stimulating and devastating in a manner that leaves you morbidly satisfied.

“Be Cadaver” begins eerily and spacey, the doom stretching into deep, mysterious darkness, settling in just as the growls begin to bubble. The tone is mesmerizing as the guitars begin to agitate, ripping out and ushering in a punishing pace with warped cries and a darkened crunch. A haze envelopes and hovers, cold waters drip slowly, and everything disappears into a space chasm. “Red Feasts Condensed Into One” blasts in, churning away, howls marring before the tempo wrenches your guts. Guitars open as the pace explodes, gutting and destroying, unleashing fiery menace. Horns signal ominous tidings, the pressure mounts, and the playing batters harder, smothering as the noise rings in your ears. Doomy trudging adds bruising power, spiraling off and into the endless universe.

“Sinew Censer” drips cleanly, making your flesh crawl before everything detonates, the ground rumbles, and the growls smear the senses. The guitars begin to slur as the ambiance gets more hypnotic, the fog thickening amid the growls engorging. Psychosis spreads as everything collides, trudging with vicious force, the howls peeling flesh from bone. Closer “Death’s Knell Rings in Eternity” opens as a muddy assault, blackness seeping and confounding, the terror devastating and fronting a flattening pace. Growls tear through guts as a glacial pace grinds your face into the dirt, pummeling and slowly adding heat, echoed cries reverberating in your mind. The vocals turn corrosive, chilling playing spirals, and bells chime, signaling the end and melting into the horizon.

“Sparagmos” is another daring step for Spectral Lore into the finality of death and the ongoing torture one can feel about existence. Yes, it’s a brutal exercise, but it also is one that causes you to immerse yourself in the beyond, and the final mercy we experience removes us from existence. This is a ferocious, chilling chapter from a band that has reconfigured death metal and doom into their own image.

For more on the band, go here: https://spectralvoice.bandcamp.com/album/necrotic-demos

For more on the label, go here: https://www.darkdescentrecords.com/shop/?s=spectral+voice&post_type=product

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

Delving into mystical realms and having adventures in lands that only exist in one’s imagination has been a tenet of heavy metal since the start. It’s one of its most admirable traits, a thing that keeps the music exciting and unpredictable because even if the music follows a pattern, the mythological journeys always seem to find ways to change.

Markov Soroka isn’t a stranger to that manner of thinking. Try on his bizarre Tchornobog project for good measure and report back to us once your nerves are calm. Well, he’s back with his spacey black metal band Aureole and third record “Alunarian Bellmaster,” the project’s first since 2016. If you’ve been along since 2014 debut “Alunar,” you know that each record treats us to stories from the realm that shares the same name as that first record, and that carries over here. Amid cloudy, spacey, nightmarish black metal comes the latest chapter that, as Soroka puts it, “When solar flares strike the Belltower at the right moment, inhabitants of Citadel Alunar can manifest a projected self.” It’s far more involved than just that sentence, and we have elements of worshipping absent gods, reckless consumption, and sacrifice that results in the belltower being relocated to a safe space away from destructive invaders. It’s a mesmerizing journey that connects the entire Aureole saga as well as music released by his other projects. It’s an all-encompassing universe.

“Solariis Strike [Activation >> Alunar]” is an opening instrumental built on sounds wooshing, calming keys melting, and an immersive front that leads into “Alunarian Ghosts of Bellmaster” that revels in bells (this element is worked into every song) and thick murk. The howls swirl in the air, and an immersive pressure builds and begins to swallow you whole, mixing into the eye of the storm. Wintry howls penetrate as bells toll for darkness, percussive clashes strike, and we’re into “10,000 Bells Resonate Cosmos Untold” that continues the haunting ambiance. The playing pulses and hits a tornadic high, melodies enter the mix and change the color scheme, and the keys loom ominously overhead, disappearing into a sound halo. “Warpstorm [Invasion >> Alunar]” basks in drum echo, the sounds warping as the percussive strength begins to grow. Sounds crash as the icy, isolated power infects, the playing ricocheting as we move into “Arrival of Deathless Interlopers” that dawns in thunder cracks. A synth haze thickens and covers the land, chilling elegance becomes a major factor, and the sounds mimic a centering helicopter. Then a massive surge explodes, sizzles, and then pulls back into the coldness.

“Orbiting Among Alunarian Ruins” brings shrieks, cascading wonders of sound, and the storm crushing with inexplicable weight that easily suffocates. Moody guitars soar as the atmosphere darkens, shrieks slash, and the energy pushes toward the stars, ending everything in fantastical fashion. “Beware That Which Inhabits the Belltower” explodes with threatening guitars, sweltering noise flooding, and the melodies charring. Beastly noises rise and choke out the sun, voices swarm and emerge from a vacuum, and that bleeds into “Alunarian Surrender” where the keys drip and pool quickly. The pace sweeps as the guitars pick up power, a gazey atmosphere taking control and adding color and warmth. Shrieks reengage as the melodies flood, and an eerie calm swelters, the keys softly fading away. Closer “[UGC 2885 >> Spawn a Second Citadel Bell…]” basks in spacey ambiance and wonders, the keys cascading and glistening, the mists thickening and marring sight. A soft cloud cover pushes you into the maw of the cosmos, pushing as the sounds descend, drifting and settling into the bells that are now ringing in your head.

Aureole is Sorka’s most immersive, imaginative project, and there’s as much sonic and psychological softness as there is brutality on “Alunarian Bellmaster.” The ongoing and bizarre events in Alunar that are detailed here make for a record that’s a fascinating fantasy tale, which drinks deeply from metal’s roots as sci-fi stories create a foundation for this genre. As each chapter builds for Aureole, we learn more, and as the musical elements continue to darken and spread, our imaginations go along for that journey.

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

For more on the label, go here: http://lnk.spkr.media/bellmaster

To buy the album, go here: https://us.prophecy.de/

Metal always has lent itself to the fantastical, creating worlds and stories, sometimes retelling old tales, at other times leaning into a new universe never cracked open before. Think of Immortal’s kingdom of Blashyrkh. Sure, you get the riffs and power and blood you desire, and wrapped into that is a mythology that’s sort of a little secret metal fans can keep within their own cult.

Irish duo Hasturian Vigil—vocalist, guitarist, bassist, synth player Cxaathesz, drummer Shygthoth—bask in both worlds on their stunning debut record “Unveiling the Brac’thal,” an album that lets them create their own mythos and slather those stories all over their mystical blend of magickal black and death metal that’s as captivating as their concept. This is stuff that should resonate among all of metal’s storied generations as they ply you with riffs and incredible lead guitar work, spooky vocals, and dark adventures that creep at every corner. This album sounds like something that could have come out alongside Mercyful Fate’s heyday releases as well as the modern era in which they’re entrenched without anything seeming amiss. This is deeply committed madness, an approach that spills blood and splashes darkness all over your haunted imagination.

“Ikaath the Seven Horned” basks in strange noises, water dripping as if you’re trapped in a cold, dank basement, wild howls disrupting the night. The pace then explodes as the playing blazes, the growls hiss, and the guitars head off to the races, echoes ripping through your sanity. The tempo stampedes as the vocals cut through bone, the playing spirals, and an eerie burning empties your guts, churning to a mystical end. “Apparitions of Torment” unloads sprawling drumming, curdling growls, and a fierce pace that swallows you whole. The attack blinds and storms, the guitars speeding dangerously, blackened fury coating your lungs. A squall blows through as the soloing erupts, the hair is scorched from your flesh, and a disarming gaze mixes with doomy guitars, everything melting into space.

“Nine Bellowing Hounds” erupts with guitars chewing, fires exploding and consuming everything in its wake, the pace crushing as the howls ring in your ears. The soloing erupts as we head into a devastating hairpin turn, blazing and canceling out the brief glimmers of cooler air, threatening any sense of safety. The playing then heads into classic metallic terrain, howls cut through the night, and a synth cloud envelops the earth. Closer  “Velvet Paintings Gaze” pounds hard as the growls grip your throat, riffs race, and the sense of savagery gets more pronounced. Buckets of lighter fluid are dumped onto an already raging fire, beastly howls claw their territory, and fluid leads add light to the murk. Dark morbidity multiplies as guitars swarm, keys freeze, and finality sets in and ends your torment.

 “Unveiling the Brac’thal” has all the metal tenets a tried-and-true listener would require, and even those who have been dining in the genre’s halls for decades will leave more than satisfied. But there also is a chilling element to Hasturian Vigil that makes you wonder if this work truly is one from creators of this realm at all. This is furious, spooky, and violent, a record that spills guts but also remember to stimulate your imagination in the most twisted manner possible.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://invictusproductions.net/shop/hasturian-vigil-unveiling-the-bracthal-lp/

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

It’s certainly not everyone’s thing, but I love putting on records and being so baffled by what I’m hearing that I have to reconsider everything I thought I knew about heavy music. It’s fun to be mentally picked apart like that, experiencing devastation that makes the wiring in your brain melt and drip through your ears, making what you’re hearing warp your senses.

One flip through “Carrion Angel,” the debut EP from Cerulean, gave me that experience. It’s not like I’ve never heard death and black metal that chews away at my mental stability, but it’s never been put together quite like this before. The band—vocalist/guitarist/synth player Stephen Knapp, bassist Jared Johnson, bassist/guitarist Garret Davis, drummer Ben Wilson, (Daniela Mars add contrabass flute)—attacks with tenacity and a near-scientific prowess that adds extra ferocity to these songs. This is death and black metal that seeks to  maintain its DNA while also morphing into something alien that eats into your brain. This was released by the band last year, but it’s been picked up by I, Voidhanger for wider distribution, as well as what’s supposed to be a more challenging (!!!) EP later in 2024.

“Tower of Silence” is a strange, eerie instrumental opener that makes your blood freeze, and then it’s on to “Sky Burial” that immediately rips with death metal tenacity. Vicious howls lay waste as sinewy, rubbery madness gets you in its grasp, fiery hell spewing through every crevice. The force blisters while the bass flexes, zany, fiery melodies attack, and horns blare out, signaling Armageddon. “Carrion Angel” opens with guitars scuffing, the bass plodding, and the growls drowning in the murk. Then the thing zaps into a manic rage, storming and stabbing, the growls crushing as the guitars go off and sicken. The punishing pace then simmers in soot, the guitars find a way to soar regardless, and the slurry finish leaves your muscles feeling tested. “Gnashing of Teeth” is a complete assault as the bass clobbers, and vicious shrieks peel back your flesh, speed bursting through the gates. The attack continues as wildness is afoot, vile howls crush, and the trudging madness spills into the mouth of hell. Closer “Shroud of Locusts” enters amid a guitar fog, growls retching out of the mystery, the playing turning blinding and sudden. Blood races through your veins as a cooling agent is applied, but it can’t completely soothe the burning. Sounds sift as the howls pummel, the attack hit tornadic levels, and a furious ending sends rock and shrapnel flying full force toward your prone body.

“Carrion Angel” is a mind-bending display of technical prowess and death/black metal fury, and to think their upcoming EP is supposed to be the experimental one! I can’t even imagine. But Cerulean have our attention now with this EP that’s finally getting the widespread recognition it deserves. This isn’t music that goes down easy; this is a full-on assault to the senses, one that won’t allow for easy recovery mentally or physically.  

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

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: https://www.facebook.com/i.voidhanger.records/

There are a lot of activities you’d expect a father and his young son might do to bond and form a stronger relationship. Tossing the ball around the yard, camping, watching the game, or if you’re me, getting yelled at in the garage because your then-undiagnosed ADHD made it impossible to handle the pressure of handing the right tools to my dad. Oh, and creating a killer death metal band. Duh.

Tim Kenefic has plied his trade in Assimilator, Throne, and the tongue-in-cheek grind that is Alpha-o-MAGA (the song titles alone are worth it), but it wasn’t until one day when he was driving his son Alexander to school and playing 3 Inches of Blood in the car that they got the notion to throw down their ideas together and form Wizard Death. Tim put together the ferocious music, and Alex created tales of swords, wizardry, and all things that have made metal magical since the start (even singing on the demo). They had something, and the result was EP “I Am the Night.” Added to the lore is Tim sharing the music with his vocal teacher Kayla Dixon (Witch Mountain, Dress the Dead) who added her killer pipes to the songs in the new version that’s being released by Wise Blood. Kyle Smith added drums, and another guest provided a great solo (more on that later) to a really cool project that hopefully continues well into the future.

“I Am the Night” explodes with strong riffs and fire, Dixon’s powerful singing stretching its muscles and adding pressure. The galloping pace threatens to pull you under, rampaging and pummeling, trampling you underfoot as the intensity builds and chars. The chorus pulsates, the leads ride hard, and everything ends in a cloud of dust. “Under the Southern Cross” opens with militaristic drumming rattling, fiery guitar work melting flesh, the raspy singing driving hard into the night. Things turn ominous and doomy, and then the soloing blazes with passion, Dixon’s singing turning things up another notch, charging toward the gates. Closer “Slay the Serpents” starts with a warbling voice sending a warning, doomy heat turning on, and the singing swelling. The playing gets darker and more foreboding, smoking leads crush, and a slick, classic-style solo from Ron Wrong (also of Witch Mountain) pumps lava into the center. The pace picks up harder, the heat dumps a blanket of steam, and the final gasps swelter away.

The Kenefics sounds like they’re having a blast on “I Am the Night,” and why wouldn’t they be? This is such a cool bond for father and son here with Wizard Death, and the guests that come in to add more vitriol to the tracks enrich what already are rock-solid foundations. Hopefully we get more from Wizard Death, as it would be fun to hear this band develop as Alexander grows up. Good thing he has some pretty damn good metal role models at whom to look up.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://wizarddeath333.bandcamp.com/album/i-am-the-night

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

This week, with no real planning involved, we’re featuring a slew of shorter releases that still pack a lot of energy and enjoyment. I’ll think back on this week next time I have to write about a two-hour album. Today’s selection is unique because it features a really creative and exciting split release from two bands that are almost comprised of the same people.

We’ve written before about both Lotus Thief and Forlesen for their fuller works, but they have a new split effort that shows each beast has expanded musically and philosophically and still can leave your brain spinning in your skull over what you just heard. Lotus Thief—harsh vocalist Ascalaphus, vocalist/bassist/guitarist/synth and mandolin player Bezaelith, backing vocalist Mohrany, guitarist/synth player Petit Albert, guitarist Romthulus, percussionist Sonnungr—last haunted us with 2020’s “Oresteia,” and now they’re back with a track inspired by Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron that is a work of stories about people dealing with life during the Black Death. Fitting for music created during our most recent pandemic. As for Forlesen, it also features Ascalaphus (vocals, guitar), Bezaelith (vocals, guitar, bass), and Petit Albert (B3 organ, piano) and includes Maleus on drums, and this track is both a romantic and dark take on a traditional folk ballad that sounds perfectly reimagined in their hands. It’s also their first new music since 2020’s mesmerizing second album “Black Terrain.”  

“In Perdition” starts off breezy for a track that centers on the goddamn plague, but here we are. Lush singing and immersive melodies combine before the first heavy blows land, and then the leads take off for the sky. Shrieks gut as steamy cleansing turns your emotions inside out, hurtling through dreamy terrain and then taking a hard turn into madness. “And you, accursed as you are,” is wailed, sending chills, “You blaspheme with every waif of straw beneath your feet… and his clothes torn off.” Fiery hell spreads as the playing jolts and excites, mystical elements swell and increase the temperature, and the melodies squish. Hearty singing from Bezaelith elevates, calling, “Mine’s too great a sin, what manner of man is this? In paradise, in perdition,” as acoustics sweep everything away.

Forlesen’s “Black Is the Color” begins with drums echoing, Ascalaphus and Bezaelith uniting voices, slinking into darkness and reverie. “I love my lover and well she knows I love the ground whereon she goes, and I still I hope that day will come when she and I will be as one,” rivets your emotions, and the guitars pick up the heat. The soaring scorches as the drumming paces, the singing reaches out and grasps hearts, and the guitars envelop, sending blood through veins. “And still I hope that day will come when she and I will be as one,” Ascalaphus repeats as the keys drip, and the dramatic flourishes make your emotions peak. Sounds swell as the elements pound down, chants flourish and continue, and the drums slowly slip away, everything disappearing into the horizon.

These two bands might share a lot of members, but the work Lotus Thief and Forlesen commit to this split effort stand apart from each other, even if they have similar metallic DNA. These are two of the more imaginative bands in the experimental heavy scene, and if you’re new to either or both, this gives you a nice bite size example of what makes them so exciting. This is a fun, fantastical collection, and its clutches will dig deep into you and make your dreams turn into different colors and settings.

For more on the Lotus Thief, go here: https://www.facebook.com/LotusThief

For more on Forlesen, go here: https://www.facebook.com/Forlesen

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: https://www.facebook.com/i.voidhanger.records/

I never understand the hand wringing when a band shows growth, as if its members are supposed to regurgitate the same sounds over and over again. Sure, that might add to the comfort level of some people in their audience, and there are times when expansion muddies the waters, but who wants to see an artist painted into a corner? As long as what they’re doing is genuine, the change and expanse can be exciting.

“Regeneration” is the new record from Guhts, and its inspiration comes from that idea of change and growth, pushing oneself to find the areas that truly bring contentment and happiness. There’s a noted difference from 2021’s eye-opening debut “Blood Feather,” as this music is more involved, darker, doomier, and certainly more emotional. The band—vocalist Amber Gardner, guitarist Scott Prater, bassist Daniel Martinez, drummer Brian Clemens—now operates deeper in similar territories as bands such as Battle of Mice, A Storm of Light, and King Woman, but with their own stamp tattooed into that sound. This is a massive step forward, a record that’ll throttle you mentally and emotionally, but at its core is that acceptance of regenerating and finding exciting new life.  

“White Noise” starts with noise moaning and Gardner’s singing immediately enrapturing. Doomy and breathy, the track moves through mystery until the bottom drops, heavy and sludgy playing darkening moods. “This is far, I will own you,” Gardner calls, and even moments of softness act as harbingers for the thrust of thorns. Tornadic singing swells, the playing gets heavier and sludgier, and the ferocity peaks and leaves dried blood. “Til Death” simmers in programmed beats before laying down the hammer, Gardner’s singing floating amid a doom stream. Elegance and smokiness unite, and then the bludgeoning lands harder, the singing scars, and the power disappears in the clouds. “The Mirror” soaks in glimmering keys and warm leads as the singing slinks, Garnder calling and repeating, “Your life is not your own.” Synth sheen brightens as the playing picks up the heat, emotion pulsates, and the final moments smear pain and sorrow.

“Handless Maiden” pummels as strings agitate, and gazey ferocity spreads. “Eyes adorned, eye to eye, turn men into pigs, milk white against black sky, swallow my fist,” Gardner calls as the mud and noise collect, calculating heaviness grows, and the power dissolves into a thick fog. “Eyes Open” basks in feedback and then drudging playing, the singing swelling under red and ominous skies. Keys rain down as the singing swirls in psychosis, muddy guitars bash, every element stretches and confounds before disappearing into smoke. “Generate” opens gently with soulful singing, Garden calling, “Minds full of mazes, pressure never laid, memories bouncing back and forth in your head.” The darkness envelops as sorrow swells on the chorus, Gardner singing, “You’re never listening, I’m floating in between the spaces in the shade of light.” The guitars pick up as the vocals sting harder, the pace elevates, and the weight of everything makes its impact, bruising and finally simmering away. Closer “The Wounded Healer” has echoes chiming, deeper singing, and gazey moodiness hanging overhead. Suddenly, shrieks gut, the playing grows vicious and desperate, and a steamy haze overtakes your mind. “My heart, silence my heart,” Gardner pleads, the mood thickening and crawling through darkness, trying to numb your open wounds. “Lay down your sorrow, lay down your pride,” Gardner wails as the spirits bask in shadows, ending with a gasp of desperation.

“Regeneration” pulls at the parts of your psyche that continually try to find the path that’s most hopeful and giving, attempting to find the place you always belonged, be that physical or mental. Or both. Guhts as a band is gravitating toward their fuller form, and this record shows monumental growth and dexterity from artists that already were making pretty powerful music. This album swells with  muscle and emotion, the words cut to the bone, and the result is a group of artists moving closer to their truth and doing so in an incredibly impactful, sonically moving manner.

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

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

Or here (U.K.): https://cargorecordsdirect.co.uk/products/guhts-regeneration

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

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

When I started this site 12 years ago, I never imagined I’d still be pounding away at it nearing 50. But I’m glad I am. So many people my age don’t really keep up with things like music, and the fact I’m still able to discover bands and find new pathways means I’m adapting and showing resiliency. I’m not listening to the same old stuff, and each year I end up going in directions I never thought I’d take.

I thought about that a lot after my first listen to “The Deepening,” the first new record from Vemod in more than a decade, and each subsequent visit has only amplified that. Change, transformation, and growth are primary tenets of this record, and the band—guitarist/synth player, clean vocalist Jan Even Åsli , drummer/harsh vocalist Eskil Blix, bassist Espen Kalstad—also demonstrates that in their music. Black metal remains a base, but they go in such thought-provoking, stimulating new areas and enrich what already was a very robust recipe, into a touchstone album for a very young 2024. Every moment is captivating and immersive, and I can tell this is music that will stick with me deep into the year and beyond.

“Mot oss, en ild” opens gently, as if ensconced in a fog, the moodiness building and trickling into “Der guder dør” that is dramatic and clashing as it greets you. Howls creep in as the playing grows more adventurous, melodies swelling and warming your bones, the atmosphere suddenly wrenching. Sounds ache as the tempo pulls back and forth, the guitars picking up and jangling, clean energy bursting and unleashing a breeze. The playing gains steam as it draws to its close, bleeding into the horizon. “True North Beckons” stirs and quakes, the growls overwhelming, melodies glowing and then gushing. The howls penetrate as warm guitars glimmer, eventually mashing and causing bruising, the leads simmering and pulling into dusk. The pace moves with prog energy and an increasing cloud cover, churning and driving into the stars.

“Fra drømmenes bok I” is a brief interlude as isolated voices and eventually choral breezes push into the open, ghostly and strange spirits surrounding you. “Inn i lysande natt” is an instrumental piece that brings a sound hum before guitars engage and increase the temperature, the bass plodding, and a post-punk-style barrage darkening the skies. The playing feels like a warm journey, melodic waves crashing, wordless calls making your blood rush through your veins, and the guitars scarring before hurtling toward the sun. The closing title track is the longest piece at 16:14, and it’s a wonderful use of time, surging with clean singing that turns into acidic growls, spacious textures transforming into gnarly speed. The vocals grow harsh and foreboding, creaking with moodiness, gushing with dark energy, crushing with spacey atmosphere. Hazy calls pull out of a blistering dream, the bass quivers, and an imaginative passage floats in ether. A synth bed comforts, the playing merges into the heavens, and the adventure rests only in your sleep now.

Vemod return after a 12-year absence with a record so immersive and moving that “The Deepening” makes that gap in time completely worth it. These six tracks show a band in the throes of transformation but with roots still firmly attached to their origins, and it makes for an album that’s a picture in time, one that’s bound to shift yet again on record three. For those also immersed in transformation and growth, this is a record that can live alongside you on that journey, injecting your spirit with much-needed inspiration.   

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

To buy the album, go here: http://lnk.spkr.media/deepening

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

It doesn’t always happen that when you hear a band or a record, you feel like what you’re experiencing purposely is declaring war on you and your mental well-being. That probably sounds like a turn off for a lot of people who don’t like when music makes them feel uncomfortable, but we’re not always guaranteed comfort. Music that reminds you of that fact can make the adrenaline spike in an uneasy manner.

Death metal crushers Vitriol always find a way to dig into your brain and jam the buttons that make the anxiety burst. On their ferocious second record “Suffer & Become,” the band—guitarist/vocalist Kyle Rasmussen, bassist/vocalist Adam Roethlisberger, guitarist Daniel Martinez, drummer Matt Kilner—pours acid and unforgiving trauma on these creations, 10 tracks that eat away at you and turn up the audio violence to such a massive level that your mind is left racing for security. Crazy enough, the band weaves a sense of optimism into this record, which is a stark departure from 2019 debut “To Bathe from the Throat of Cowardice,” and it’s also like trying to find a needle in a bloody haystack considering how dark and scary this all sounds. But look hard, and you’ll find it.

“Shame and its Afterbirth” feels hostile and disorienting from the start, the guitars mixing your brains inside your skull, the carnage fully flattening. The guitars go off in an acid reflux, mercilessly landing savage blows, the insane assault finally relenting. “The Flowers of Sadism” melts and slashes, the vocals feeling vicious and mangling, heavy dissonance making it impossible to gain footing. The violence multiplies as the roars gut, the monstrous attack beating you into submission. “Nursing from the Mother Wound” is an outright barnburner, clobbering as the vocals maim, smearing terror from end to end. Hell engorges as the chaos dares you to stare back, slamming your face into the asphalt. “The Isolating Lie of Learning Another” is storming and warped, the howls destroying as the speed increases, marring and tearing psyches apart. The band leans more progressive before a violent spasm twists spines, the howls incinerate, and only ash remains. “Survival’s Careening Inertia” brings cold guitars and a chilling front, the guitars exploding and carving into your flesh, fiery and sizzling pressure making their presence felt. Strange synth create a noxious cloud, putting an apocalyptic touch on this instrumental piece.

“Weaponized Loss” is sinewy at first and then acts as a battering ram, tangling and dragging everything in its reach to hell. Demonic growls and speedy guitars create a terrifying team, and the pace trudges and draws blood, ending in abject heaviness. “Flood of Predation” is an immediate assault, the growls retching as sounds glaze, spitting fire. The drums pummel as the soot collects, crushing to an instant finish. “Locked in Thine Frothing Wisdom” unleashes delirious leads, guttural growls, and ridiculous heaviness that leaves you gasping. The shrieks menace as the guitars act like a flamethrower, incinerating everything unfortunate to be in their path. “I Am Every Enemy” batters with raspy howls and maniacal force, the playing charging with ill intent, hellish fire licking limbs. The drums turn up the destruction as an acidic pace splashes and leaves disfigurement. Closer “He Will Fight Savagely” is an instant burst of power, blinding and gutting, turning rivers into blood. The shrieks peel away at flesh as a cacophonous racket shreds minds, a synth fog compromises vision, and a dramatic finish drowns in noise.

There’s nothing easygoing about Vitriol as every second of “Suffer & Become” demands every ounce of your being, the idea of mercy the very last thing on anyone’s mind. These 10 tracks are exercises in torment, and while there may be tiny rays of hope hidden in the din, they don’t easily make themselves evident. This is a menacing, devastation collection, a record that’ll stick with you log after it’s over because of the deep-rooted bruising left behind.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://centurymedia.store/

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

As a kid, I commonly had nightmares about alien beings arriving on earth, peering through my windows at night as they study or make plans for something more sinister. It didn’t help I’d sneak UFO documentaries and movies based on aliens, almost as if my fears were keeping my imagination alive and focused on things that chilled my blood.

Canadian thrash/death trio Dissimulator appear to have visions of the same kind, as their bashing and cosmic debut “Lower Form Resistance” feels like touching the face of something not of this planet. The band member themselves—vocalist/guitarist Claude Leduc, bassist Antoine Daigneault, drummer Philippe Boucher—have plied their trade in other mind-tangling beasts including Chthe’ilist, Atramentus, Beyond Creation, and Incandescence, but what they do on this album is from a different world altogether. It’s a mauler of a record, one that pulsates with rubbery weirdness and madness that claims your imagination and injects it with sinister power.

“Neural Hack” begins properly thrashy, the bass stomping as speedy riffs take over, meaty howls sending seismic jolts down your spine. The playing intensifies, feeling beastly and moody, ending with zany ferocity. “Warped” is fast and trudging, the guitars feeling wiry, the vocals mashing with monstrous power. The tempo slows a bit but remains impossibly heavy, mauling and adding a strange alien effect that becomes a theme on this record, blistering until ending abruptly. “Outer Phase” brings flexible riffs and a tricky tempo, the growls corroding as the guitars spiral into the earth. The vibe feels strange, energies arriving from deep in the cosmos, the growls crushing as the leads zap. The playing goes soaring into the stars, warping and adding fiery emotion, ending with mechanical heat.

“Automoil & Robotoil” opens with the drums pacing, the playing chugging, and more extraterrestrial weirdness over the singing. The leads glow as clean warbling chills bones, crushing and smashing, the bass recoiling, charging and ripping to completion.   “Cybermorphism/Mainframe” is clean and hazy at first, icy drips pelting off metal, the playing slowly heating as things get more menacing. Punishing thrashiness becomes more intense, weird cosmic winds blow stardust into your eyes, and then the power reengages, the guitars igniting. Disarming auras spin in the air, blistering through mangling thrashing, beating your bones into dust. “Hyperline Underflow” unloads fiery guitars, crushing growls, and the leads exploding across the sky. A blistering breakdown causes bruising, the guitars glow and chug, and the final moments bask in starlight. The closing title track erupts with guitars and progressive grit, not unlike countrymates Voivod. The playing is fantastical and furious, zapping and trudging, clean singing scorching flesh, fluid wonders taking off and jolting your imagination to accept possibilities never considered before.

Dissimulator might be revisiting the cosmic thrash that was born four decades ago, but they do so in such an imaginative and fresh manner that it puts a new edge and sharpness onto the sound, making it their own. “Lower Form Resistance” also is an album that sounds great first time around, but as you revisit, new alien pockets reveal themselves and pull you in alternative directions. This is a satisfyingly crunchy debut from a band whose adventures into the deepest parts of the universe is just starting.

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

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

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