The human experiment has come a long way, and it also seems fraught with failure, bound to end our collective existence with our own hubris and pigheadedness. Every day seems to be a different experiment in trying to keep our shit together while we watch political parties wage war on the underprivileged, social media continue to be a stinking cesspool, and we watch our environment erode at the benefit of rich fucks’ bank accounts.

It’s not that “Putrid | Obsolete,” the second record from Prisoner, addresses those matters exactly, but they do focus on humanity’s seemingly imminent downfall. Their brand of industrial-tinged noise and metal feels like skulls melting from insurmountable heat, brains scrambling, and our blood washing away forever. The band—Pete Rozsa (guitars, vocals, synth, samples), Dan Finn (guitars, vocals), Justin Hast (bass, vocals), Joel Hansen (drums, synth, samples), Adam Lake (synth, samples, programming)—creates eight tracks that punish over 45 minutes, and it’ll burn a hole in your psyche. Their amalgamation of noise, death metal, hardcore, and other fiery elements make them sound dangerous and dissolving at the seams, delivering a destructive record that mirrors human behavior.

“Flesh Dirge” bathes in a noise deluge, an uncomfortable and contorting start that spits acid as the howls trudge and destroy, the savagery acting as a battering ram. Beastly roars ravage as the guitars blaze, and the barnstorming takes apart bodies limb from limb. “Pool of Disgust” speeds through as growls carve, and the assault acts as a sort-of instant death knell. The drums decimate as the playing hulks and tears down buildings, crashing into “The Horde” that has guitars swarming and the punishment exploding. The growls retch as the intensity continues to increase dangerously, smashing faces, and the blasts incinerate as things blast into “Shroud.” Guitars drip as the drums mash, the howls storming and snaking, the pace crashing into a synth swarm. The assault continues and gets thicker, isolated melodies bleeding through bleak terror, molten heaviness mangling and rampaging into oblivion.

“Leaden Tomb” boils in industrial noise, destroying with mechanical death, smothering with total hell. The playing slowly mauls as the roars scathe, brutally pounding you into oblivion. “Pathogenesis” seethes in bustling noise, tearing open and letting the blood pool, laying waste to mind and body. The storm halts momentarily, and then the noise caves in, electrical jabs pushing through and eating away at you, the playing slowly melting. The devastation continues to ramp up as the howls pierce, calculated battery bloodies faces, and the final gust loosens teeth. “Entity” enters with corrosive howls and heavy battering, hellish horrors taking over your psyche. The playing swirls and guts, the sounds enveloping you, things calming down as dialog from “Westworld” warbles, the floodgates opening again. Wild calls and concussive jolts unite as cosmic wooshes push through, slowly churning and bleeding into closer “Nanodeath.” Guitars cut and then go gazey, the roars belt, and carnage unloads, strange synth making things even more perplexing. Guitars melt and spiral, stinging as the corrosion spreads, glazing over mystical synth and noise that ends your experience at the pit of hell.

We’re at the mercy of a world and our societies that seem to have only the worst for us in mind. “Putrid | Obsolete” won’t put an end to that and also isn’t likely to salve your wounds, but it reflects the anxiety and horrors that surround us that Prisoner have put to record. This is abrasive torture, an experience that warps metal and extremity to the band’s whims and buries your face in the worst possible realities that might soon come to pass.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/prisoner804

To buy the album, go here: https://persistentvisionrecords.com/collections/prisoner

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

Yesterday, we talked about death metal that takes the well-traveled path and sticks to what has made the subgenre such a force for the past three decades. Today, we go in an entirely different direction and talk about how the sound can be warped and stretched to fit a bizarre, ambitious vision, and how that makes this art form so fluid and exciting.

English oddities Slimelord have no real use for convention, and while what they do is decidedly death metal, it’s envisioned and translated in such a way that keeps your head cocked at an angle. And that’s certainly by choice. On debut album “Chytridiomycosis Relinquished,” the band— vocalist Andrew Ashworth, guitarist/vocalist Alexander Bradley, guitarist Krystian Zamojski, bassist John Riley, drummer Ryan Sheperson—takes on fantastical elements, history, and other levels of reality and smooshes it into a death metal formula that’s anything but by the books and stands out as weird, exciting, and choked with blood and bile.

“The Beckoning Bell” starts with the guitars gassing up, growls hissing, and the bass trampling, setting up the perfect storm. The leads lather and take off as the playing sinks deep into sludge, battering as the growls hiss and the heat increases before everything sweeps off into space. “Gut-Brain Axis” enters amid thick humidity, and then the guitars explode, trippy heat making breathing more difficult, your head swimming deep in the murk. Growls crumble as the psychedelic pressure squeezes temples, echoes bouncing off the walls, haunting sounds coming back and reverberating. Chunky mashing strikes, howls lurch, and the final waves are blistering and ugly. “Splayed Mudscape” boils as the pace slurs, beastly punishment coming for your head, the dizzying pace making the room spin. The playing picks up and bubbles anew, adding intense disorientation as the leads ache, exiting into a glowing haze.

“Batrachomorpha Resurrections Chamber” slowly dawns as moody melodies spread, and the growls slither while the guitars slide into a haze. The tempo pulls and warps, the guitars catch fire, and a thickening fog settles over, dissolving into acid. “The Hissing Moor” is disarming and foreboding, horns calling out, the guitars digging in and intensifying a zany pace. Howls crush as the battering sparks frenetic jolts, melting into savage weirdness, slipping into a swarm of sound. “Tidal Slaughtermarsh” is a total assault, the growls wrenching as the playing makes it feel like you’re losing mental control. The energy soaks in madness, playing games with your mind, the leads blasting and loosening bones. The smoke tramples as the chugging pulls you under, jetting off into the night. Instrumental closer “Heroic Demise” is steamy and doomy, the heat penetrating as the bass encircles you like prey. The guitars char and glimmer, punching as the drums blast, the playing blisters, and everything fades deep into the universe.

“Chytridiomycosis Relinquished” is a bizarre dose of death metal that twists your brain wiring and leaves you bodily and mentally devastated. Slimelord is the latest in a crop of bands pushing death metal into stranger corners, making this sub-genre more exciting and unpredictable. This dark, doomy, deranged debut is a blast to experience and is something exciting to revisit regularly as it offers something a little different each time.

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

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

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

There’s something valuable about reliability in that you have a good idea of that you’re going to get when you crack open a band’s new record. Yeah, bands that go by the motions can come by this quality in ways where their music has diminishing returns. But artists with fire in their veins, ones that fucking want it, use reliability in a way to continue hammering the bloody path they’re on with precision.

Since their infernal birth in 2011, Skeletal Remains have been pumping out tried-and-true death metal that pays homage to the roots but belongs in the here and now. Their savage fifth album “Fragments of the Ageless” is upon us, and it’s a nine-track, 43-minute destroyer that drinks deeply from their well of violently played death metal that doesn’t have a lot of surprises but really doesn’t need them. The band—vocalist/guitarist Chris Monroy, guitarist Mike De La O, bassist Brian Rush, drummer Pierce Williams—smashes on all cylinders, dragging you through the thorns and over cragged rocks that slice up your flesh and leave a trail of your blood behind.

“Relentless Appetite” opens blistering with the growls crushing, the playing punishing as it turns the screws. The soloing goes off as everything glimmers alongside it, volcanic ash choking your lungs, with everything coming to a devastating end. “Cybernetic Harvest” crunches and decimates, the leads tangle, and the ash piles up to the sun. The battering force moves forward, the howls damaging nerve endings, the meaty pace opening wounds and pouring blood. “To Conquer the Devout” blazes with blistering growls, savagery and speed combining to make the pressure impossible to handle. The fires rage as the bass thickens and powers the engine, the drums gut, and dual guitars unite to spread deathly glory, scorching to the end. “Forever in Sufferance” has a tricky open that gets your brain wiring smoking, growls smash, and a tornadic tear goes right for the throat. The bass trudges as the mean and gruff howls leave bruising, the playing accelerates suddenly, and the ferocity tears its way through your ribcage.

“Verminous Embodiment” stomps through the mud as the growls menace, monstrous shrieks rushing in later to make everything uglier. Leads squeal as the muddiness increases, nasty and relentless playing robbing your lungs of breath. “Ceremony of Impiety” is an instrumental piece built with mystical synth and keys raining down, giving off a fantasy realm feel before we move into “Void of Despair” that immediately takes off your head. Leads tangle as the pace batters hard, the growls tormenting with animalistic fury. Strange noises ruminate as the guitars open up and crush with iron jaws, increasing the vicious assault that ends in shrapnel. “Unmerciful” is the longest track here at 7:10, and the guitars churn as raspy howls punish your muscles. Parts of the journey are mucky and scathing, the guitars exploring space, the darkness growing thicker. The menace then reignites as the tempo drills into the ground, the soloing boils over, and a thrashy attack follows, sweeping everything underneath its massive shadow. Closer “…Evocation (The Rebirth)” brings eeriness that meets up with guitars breathing fire, the bass buzzing, and things going onto colder terrain. A sci-fi edge continues the strangeness as deadly mashing stretches muscle, guitars lather, and the final blade sinks into the earth.

Skeletal Remains continue to build on their solid death metal foundation with “Fragments of the Ageless,” a record that should continue to add to their audience that wants dependability and brutality in the same package. This band keeps sharpening their tools and cranking out ferocity that can be put up against any of their peers. As long as they stay on this path, Skeletal Remains are bound to continue as one of the most trustworthy and devastating death metal bands in the entire category.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://centurymedia.store/collections/skeletal-remains

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

Hopefully we’re not breaking news to you here, but at some point, the world is going to come to an end. For humanity, we might be closer than what’s comfortable. But there’s no escaping this planet is temporary, and even if the sun’s eventual death might be 5 billion years away or so, things are going to end, and the earth will be a permanent graveyard.

New York doom instrumental power Clouds Taste Satanic have been on a torrid creative pace over the past decade, almost like they’re trying to squeeze in as much devastation as possible before the end times. On their ninth album “79 A.E.” the band—guitarists Steve Scavuzzo and Brian Bauhs, bassist Rob Halstead, drummer Greg Acampora—creates a soundtrack for Armageddon in the form of a two-track, 43-minute opus that takes you on a journey into the ultimate destruction, visiting fire pits, quaking earth, and even the  depths of space along the way. It’s a smoking, psyche-fueled experience, one that you can use to imagine how things will conclude in cataclysmic order, events that luckily only exist in your own head. At least for now.

“Collision” opens, the longest of the two tracks by 10 seconds at 21:48, and it’s swirly and mesmerizing at the start, start/stop mashing colliding with your senses, the leads glowing, and the playing bubbling over. Doomy chaos spreads as a strange haze lands, darkening the scene, scanning space before it detonates and is engulfed in flames. Thick bass trudges as the guitars continue to add the heat and also disappear into fog, floating through a rustic weirdness, the sludge thickening as the melodies drive harder. Grimy and mean, the playing moves into warmth, heartfelt expression that makes your blood race, a Floyd-ish psychedelic openness flooding over, blasting off into the stars.

The record ends with “Reclamation” that’s dingy at first, echoes spreading and making your head spin. The playing bleeds and swells, the leads scorching, lathering with intensity that grows thicker. The pace gets tougher and also samples more stardust, battering as the guitars go on a wah-fueled assault, torching flesh before fading into calmer waters. The pressure pulls back a bit as the weirdness increases, mind-bending and psychedelic bleeding making the path get stickier, mesmerizing dreams slipping through your mind. Just then, the temperature rises, bluesy leads draw blood, and everything blazes as hard as ever before, heading toward the heart of the sun.

We all might be too panicked to put on music once Armageddon strikes, but if for some reason you have a clear state of mind, visiting “79 A.E.” for what would be a final time wouldn’t be a bad way to go. Clouds Taste Satanic add cosmic dreaming and hellfire storming for good measure on this record, making sure you feel the burn as you take the journey. This is a riveting, exciting record that makes you feel way better about humanity’s destruction than you may care to admit.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://majesticmountainrecords.bigcartel.com/

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

Every now and again, we feature bands and music that are not intrinsically tied to heavy metal but might have appeal with listeners of more extreme forms of music. I highly doubt most people who read this site and listen to metal never veer out of their lanes and enjoy other types of music. Anyone who actually does that should try some other things.

We’ve been big fans of Philly throwback rock band Sheer Mag for several years now, and they have enough guitar firepower and punch to appeal to a metal fan. Their third record “Playing Favorites” has arrived, and it shows a different shade to the band—vocalist Tina Halladay, guitarist/drummer Kyle Seely, guitarist Matt Palmer, bassist Hart Seely. Noticeable is the infusion of more melody and textures as well as Halladay doing more singing than wailing, which shows how talented she really is. While they may have evened out some rougher edges, they still pack energy, charismatic vocals, and even some glam punk fury that was splashed all over their first two albums.

The title track opens the record and instantly gives you a heavy dose of what has changed, namely the smoother, poppier nature of their songs. But they haven’t lost their edge, which you can hear as ’70s-style guitars wash over, Halladay’s singing is breezier and confident, and the whole thing feels like the promise of warm weather ahead. “Eat It and Beat It” reignites the riffs, group calls rousing, Halladay singing, “Enjoy your last meal, I hope you worked up an appetite,” as the attitude flows freely. Glammy fire rages as a haze sets in, hand drumming rouses, and everything ends in a cloud of smoke. “All Lined Up” brings a sunburst of guitars, easy and balmy, something that’ll sound even better when the summer returns. The singing glows as the pace swelters, and cool group singing gets into your bloodstream. “Don’t Come Lookin’” starts with acoustics before the electricity gives Allman vibes, the moody guitars lightening spirits, The playing is catchy and fun, the guitars burning, Halladay wailing, “Don’t come looking now that I’ve been unbound.” “I Gotta Go” is slinky and surfy, the guitars teasing, Halladay singing, “By the time you wake up, I’ll be back in your arms, you won’t miss a thing, no.” The playing is both fuzzy and poppy, giving off a tasty classic rock feel that goes down easy.

“Moonstruck” opens with pedal steel and echoed singing, the chorus giving off a 1980s sheen, the guitars splashing sunshine and delving into hazier terrain, once again hinting at warmer days ahead. “Mechanical Garden” features guest Mdou Moctar, and the guitars openly snake, feeling downright sleazy at times, which makes it all the more fun. There is an orchestral gasp, and then the guitars spiral, slinking as your head swims in a psychedelic, cosmic cloud, scorching every step of the way. “Golden Hour” is warm and feels like spring is in the air, again going back to the 1970s vintage, the guitars glowing as the keys add an extra layer of glaze. “Light of the golden hour,” Halladay calls, “my goodbye, I hold your picture as tears come streaming from my eyes, streaming down,” the pain and longing evident. “Tea on the Kettle” is a shorter cut, but strong nonetheless, a Southern rock feel creating the backbone, Halladay singing, “Of all I have to share, I love the way you give to me when there’s nothing to spare.” It’s a bit of a different look for the band, and they make it work with their skill and charisma. “Paper Time” lets the drums drive and the riffs smoke, a simple chorus acting as a rousing backbone, the guitars jarring your spine. The soloing blazes and scorches your flesh, shaking you to your foundation. Closer “When You Get Back” brings slurry guitars and a dusty feel, the playing flowing easily, the harmonized singing raising hair on your flesh. “When you get back I’ll be so full of joy, but now I’m sad and blue, so come back, I need you,” Halladay calls, putting a hopeful end on a record that should transform their profile.

There’s sure to be some people disappointed that Sheer Mag isn’t coming at you fully on fire like on their past records, but this clearly is a band that is sonically maturing and unafraid to push whatever buttons make them move. “Playing Favorites” is a step in a different direction for the band, and it shows they’re capable of more than straight-on bombast and can add different colors and textures to what they do. I’m curious to see how the record is received and if their audience expands, and the music is certain to grow on you the more times you take this adventure along with them.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://thirdmanrecords.com/products/playing-favorites

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

It’s a strange wonder when a band gets darker, uglier, and more sinister right before our eyes and ears. A lot of time, the years and experience take off the edge because things get easier and the band members grow and mature, removing some of the fire from their bellies. It’s an altogether different thing when the opposite happens, and the passage of time acts as a spiritual rot in order for the soul to warp.

Saturnalia Temple have been plying their dark arts for nearly two decades now and four albums, the latest being “Paradigm Call,” which marks another sonic shift for this Swedish trio. They’ve been moving in this direction for some time now, and we see the fiery madness come into better focus on these eight tracks that feel like they’re here to batter you into calculated submission. The band—vocalist/guitarist Tommie Eriksson, bassist Gottfrid Åhman, drummer Pelle Åhman (the latter two formerly played with In Solitude)—pulls you into the shadows, showing a more threatening attitude you can’t hope to shake any time soon.

“Drakon” is a morbid, doom-infested instrumental opener, a dark and numbing piece that sets the stage for what’s to come, most directly “Revel in Dissidence.” A pall hangs over as Eriksson’s gravelly howl pierces the flesh, the playing slowly battering as it enters a murk. The pace trudges as the leads envelope, beastly howls rattle cages, and the tempo changes suddenly before the guitars smoke heavily and disappear into psychedelic heat. The title track starts mashing, howls lurching, the playing bruising bones. The riffs continually repeat as the vocals creak, echoes washing down, the guitars glimmering through a smokescreen. A long instrumental section takes the song home, choking with fog and burying in oblivion. “Among the Ruins” enters in a gnarly stomp, the vocals pouring acid, the punishing pace putting you to the test. Psyche-washed guitars fill your head with madness before the pace batters all over again, snaking as the vocals choke you into blackness, the playing slowly fading behind you.

“Black Smoke” has muscular bass lines pushing, the muck puts your muscles to the test, and the growls snarl, gurgling and jolting your skeletal structure. The guitars erupt as the intensity builds, Eriksson howling, “Everything is burning!” over the smothering chorus, static spitting and buzzing on its way down. “Ascending the Pale” is burly and smeary, the growls snarling as the mud continues to accumulate. The guitars lather as the leads beam, ugly mauling pulverizing bones, the howls stretching as tar bubbles, the pressure mounting before fading. “Empty Chalice” instantly throws punches, vile howls sickening as the doom might thickens. The playing is a meaty stomp as the assault keeps up its momentum, bashing away before fading into the distance. Instrumental closer “Kaivalya” buzzes in your brain before it begins to do bodily harm, the psychedelic storm swelling. The leads heat up as hypnotic fuzz mars your brain, sparking a fiery assault before fading into a molten fury.

“Paradigm Call” is a record that might take a few visits to truly set in, but Saturnalia Temple’s fiery, hypnotic approach to their music makes that effort something worth doing. These songs are drubbing and at times ugly, pushing your psychedelic boundaries and testing your mettle for what your brain can handle. If it doesn’t stick at first, keep trying; this is a different Saturnalia Temple with a renewed fire, and it won’t take long for you to burn deeply alongside them.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://shop-listenable.net/en/149_saturnalia-temple

For more on the label, go here: https://www.listenable.eu/

There’s a good reason why fantasy books and movies are so popular, in that they provide a means to escape our normal lives and dive deep into another world where the events don’t have long-lasting implications on our real lives. Like, fuck, we have a potentially terrifying election coming up this year, and I’ll need every distraction possible in order to keep my head straight as fire rains.

Louisville-based black metal band Volcandra know this very well, and during their run they have plied their thunderous music with fantasy elements designed to both destroy your senses and give you some time to get out of the real world. Early heavy metal always has had its sword in magical and mythical adventures, and the band—vocalist Dave Palenske, guitarists River Jordan and Jamie DeMar, bassist Andrew Casciato, drummer Mike Hargrave—goes in full bore on their second record “The Way of Ancients,” electrifying their music and your experience, which always helps after you’ve consumed the fucking news.

“Birth of the Nephalem” slowly dawns from the darkness before a melodic assault gets under way, the growls gutting as the playing gets uglier. A fiery solo begins to gut as the riffs sprawl, the power scrapes, and the growls crush mercilessly. “Fouled Sanctity” is bruising as the vocals punish, the playing splattering as the blood flows. Leads twist as the pace shifts, trudging as things get more evil sounding, slashing and drawing lava from the earth.   “Nemesis Confession” starts with icy keys, and then the detonation strikes, black metal fury tangling, the tempo driving slowly but steadily. The playing tangles before things gets faster and deadlier, the power destroys, and the shrieks do damage, leaving you lying in ash. “Maiden of Anguish” delivers a guitar blur before the hammers strike, the growls mar, and the leads tingle. Gazey melodies pull you under and make blood surge, devastating and leaving behind destruction.

“Seven Tombs” start mystically, clean guitars drizzling before the carnage arrives. The playing is fast and brutal, a noticeable increase in intensity, group shouts rousing and making the ground quake, forceful blasts crushing to the end. “The Blackened Temple” blisters and zaps, tornadic terror making its presence felt, destroying with a fervor that’s impressive to behold. The pace trudges before the soloing melts, delivering melodies laced in thorns, ending in brutality. “Not Even Death” has stinging, bruising guitars that eventually work into a lather, and then the growls darken the scene, curdling your stomach. Acoustics wash in to add some cooler air to the heatwave, the playing explores the skies, and delicate guitars return to wash away the pain. Closer “The Way of Ancients” starts cleanly and proggy, and then the pace picks up and storms, melodic leads firing and increasing the sense of adventure. That fades into a cold front where the guitars murmur, and rustic storms pick up before the explosion rips out walls. The playing continues to rampage as everything fades into delicate shades, slowly fading into mystical clouds.

Having an escape from reality, especially the one in which we’re ensconced, always is something we can embrace, and Volcandra continually answer the bell when it comes to giving us something into which we can disappear. “The Way of Ancients” is another chapter that takes on a fantasy adventure into a melodic black metal storm that actually feels fun to experience. This is a great record for when you want to hear something devastating and don’t want to walk away sullen and depressed. This one does the opposite!

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

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

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

When thinking about monsters, it’s easy for your mind to go to some fictional creature that may or may not be living under our beds or in our closets. Instead, there are real forces among us every day who we perceive as beasts. Sometimes it’s a very easy accusation to make with evidence to back it up, while others are open to interpretation depending on your own thoughts and viewpoints.

Los Angeles-based doom power Stygian Crown tackle that very idea on their great second record “Funeral for a King,” a nine-track, 44-minute offering of traditional doom that goes heavier than most of the bands in their corner of the world. The band—vocalist Melissa Pinion, guitarists Nelson Miranda and Andy Hicks, bassist Eric Bryan, drummer Rhett Davis—tackles the idea of monsters among us, those from history, and others from mythology and gives a chance for these beings to be viewed in different ways. Musically, there are tenets of death metal laced into the band’s deep cauldron of doom, and Pinion’s singing and lyrical content create a backbone for this record, one that hopefully puts their name into more people’s brains.

The title track opens, and it’s a rousing instrumental cut, muddy and chugging, ideally setting the stage for what’s to come, burning off into “Bushido.” The track centers in Hiroo Onoda, a Japanese solider unaware WWII had ended. The track makes your heart pump, Pinion’s commanding singing making things move as she calls, “I’m ready to die fighting for my kind, I’m the last alive, honor be my guide.” The soloing keeps ramping up the temperature, bringing things to a blistering end. “Scourge of the Seven Hills” is cold and sludgy, the singing soaring, doom bells ringing and pulsating. The leads are balmy and warm, and Pinion’s singing bellows, with everything ending in a steam bath. “Let Thy Snares Be Planted” is a gothy, shadowy interlude, strings glazing, the orchestral winds whipping through your hair. “The Bargain” drags a pall, strings riveting, the driving force taking over and pushing through your chest. “I’ll grant you the key to rise from this cell, your life for my power, you’ve bargained well,” Pinion calls as the mauling takes hold. The guitars go off as things get muddier, the playing bruises, and Pinion wails, “ Wash away your shame, time’s running short, cast the blame on me.”

“Where the Candle Always Burns” opens with smearing riffs, more aggression, and raspier singing. The chugging gets heavier and weightier, and then the soloing cuts through, a blade through bone, the playing tangling as Pinion calls, “Life, force, cut, short, pray for endless sleep.” “Blood Red Eyes” enters as keys drip, strings blare, and the pace is a little slower and ramps up the emotion. The playing is cold and murky, a beam of elegance just burning through the cloud cover, the singing feeling huskier and powerful. As the song goes on, the sadness and pain multiplies, everything coming to a gloomy end. “Beauty and Terror” is bruising from the start, the singing pushing harder, the playing getting burlier as the temperature spikes. “Best me and you shall win the throne,” Pinion declares, “I’m the deliverer, sword of the titans, here at the gates you die alone,” as smoking doom obscures the senses. The guitars soar as the playing plasters, the charge reignites, and the final moments fade into dust. Closer “Strait of Messina” feels properly Sabbathy, the power flexing its muscles, Pinion wailing, “I fight for my father, creator of the tides.” Everything here feels epic and dramatic, the guitars rip through, and the vibe feels misty and fantastical. The guitars then get to dueling, all sides pulling and creating tension, giving off a Maiden-like vibe as Pinion declares, “Your crew none the wiser as evil draws nigh, six snapping heads descend from the sky.” Chilling end to a scorching record.

Stygian Crown’s examination of monsters and how perspectives can impact how they’re perceived is an interesting one that’s made even more impactful by these nine incredible songs. Taking “Funeral for a King” on its music alone means you’re in for a beastly serving of doom that’s equal parts traditional and sharp in a modern sense, a collection that’s easy to revisit to fully absorb. This is a massive, mighty display from a band that’s in full command of their sound and message, and they’re a force with which to be reckoned.  

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

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

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

Nature is basically undefeated. Sure, not everyone who faces a massive natural disaster such as a hurricane or a tornado or a flood dies, but no one scores any points against it. There constantly are forces beyond our control that can do us in at any moment, and there’s nothing we can do other than try to survive and pick up the pieces.

Long-running black metal force Borknagar always have held nature in high regard, but maybe never more so than they do on their great 13^th record “Fall.” Here, the band—vocalist/bassist ICS Vortex, clean vocalist/keyboardist Lars A. Nedland, guitarists Øystein G. Brun and Jostein Thomassen, drummer/percussionist Bjørn Dugstad Rønnow—not only pays tribute but acknowledges the struggle many face when trying to measure up to a force larger than us all. “Fall” also is a season of change and decay, another sign that we are temporary, and one day we, too, will fall to a beast we cannot overcome.

“Summits” wooshes open, the guitars dripping as a wild gust swallows everything. Shrieks crush over the verses, and then the soaring clean singing injects progressive energy, bringing surging, exciting power. Things go cosmic as moody guitars take off, slipping into a dreamy aura. “Nordic Anthem” is rousing and, well, anthemic, spirited singing punching, the rustic elements giving off folk pride. “We bow our heads to nothing but our past,
our breath is cold, we know our history will last,” Nedland calls, great fire spitting, making your heart race as everything bleeds away. “Afar” opens with warm guitars before things begin to chug, the keys surge, and glorious melodies lather with energy. Shrieks strike as they strengthen their grip, prog-style keys blazing and making your blood race, the drums plastering. A giant gust comes out of that, picking you up on a wave, landing you with force on the ground. “Moon” begins charging, keys drizzling, the singing pumping as every element comes to life. The leads melt before the soloing takes over, muscular singing stinging the senses, disappearing into a stormfront.

“Stars Ablaze” has a clean open with rushing singing and airy synth, making a pillowy landing for when the roars arrive. Singing sweeps as the shrieks rip, the guitars bring more heat, and out of an immersive sequence comes ravenous thunder, the strong guitar work dissolving into the sky. “Unraveling” starts with keys bursting, the pace pulled back a bit, and then shrieks exploding with energy. The dual vocals mix and add to the accumulating drama, then the shrieks go demonic, bringing the track to a daring and emotional end.
“The Wild Lingers” enters amid humid guitars, singing spilling, and the steam thickening and rising. The chorus quakes the earth as symphonic glory spreads, the singing bellows, and a fantastical sweep captures minds. Closer “Northward” is balmy at first, but it isn’t long until molten rock flows, fiery howls rattle cages, and a fiery assault pulls into the lead. The shrieks rain down before the playing grows colder and reflective, the singing soothes, and the chorus crushes, everything ending in a synth haze.

Nature is a force that cannot be conquered, and we are at its mercy if we want to simply survive. Borknagar’s breathtaking progressive black metal addresses that truth with great power and heart on “Fall,” a record that respects its subject matter and pays off the strength that is holds. This is a great-sounding album, another step into a similar sonic territory as “True North” but that holds its own unique qualities, making it music that’s bound to stick in minds through every passing season.

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

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

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

Being a big fan of regional mythology, it’s always exciting when a band comes around that dresses their music in the tales of their homeland. It’s both continuing one of metal’s great tenets to put these stories to music and also gives dorks like me a reason to retreat to the internet to learn things I ordinarily would not have had I not encountered said band.

Scottish duo Hand of Kalliach fall deeply into that category, and their new record “Corryvreckan” sends you headlong into their country’s folk tales, namely the legend of the Cailleach. She lives at the bottom of a whirlpool that gives us our album title, and depending on who tells you the tale, it either can be a positive story or one of great horrors. That dichotomy aligns with the members’—husband/wife vocalist/guitarist/drummer John, and vocalist/bassist Sophie—vocal stylings. Sophie has the more delicate melodic voice, while John shrieks and growls with devastating effects. They also weave melodic death metal in a similar vein as Amon Amarth where things are brutal, but there’s so much infectious fire cooked into the songs, you can’t help but get swept away by this album.

“Three Seas” opens with waves crashing and Sophie’s angelic vocals coating with mystery, synths pumping, the drama about to break. The track erupts, and John’s howls crush, the pace getting melodic but more muscular. Howls whip as the waters splash, everything dissolving into a folkish pocket. “Fell Reigns” is fiery and rustic, trudging and mauling with ferocity, the dreamy singing/bloody growling playing dueling roles. The playing sweeps and makes blood surge, a swell of power crawling and then sprinting, lathering with energy that jolts your adrenaline to spike. “Dìoghaltas” instantly lays waste, Sophie’s singing floating in the clouds, the relentless chaos rippling down spines. Once again, both voices mix and bring brutality and beauty, the music then plinking as the mists rise, fading into the cold. “Cirein-cròin” is beastly and heavy, destroying amid massive blows, trudging as the synth glistens brightly. Howls land punches, melodic calls rampage through the woods, keys drizzling on a hazy end.

“Deathless” piles up the riffs, plastering as the roars crush with force, and then the singing infects, making it feel like you’re ensconced in a fantasy. Yet, the sonic ugliness takes precedence, pushing into your ribs like a blade, the deathly assault ending in dust. “The Hubris of Prince Bhreacan” basks in humidity, Sophie’s singing rising above the heat, and then the growls sinking in their teeth. Sophie’s vocals reach a register higher as the lava begins to flow, the drama suddenly thickens, and folkish melodies usher in a calming ending. “Unbroken You Remain” is sludgier, the howls blasting, the singing glistening as the energy begins to swell. The track sounds like a battle anthem, riveting forces into the chaos, the anthemic chorus driving the attack, soaring off into adventurous waters. “The Cauldron” enters in glowing synth before the playing explodes, meaty death metal pounding away, even as Sophie’s singing soothes some of those wounds. The duo hits everything head on, bringing storming ferocity, jarring punishment, and an abrupt end to a short, satisfying track. Closer “Of Twilight and the Pyre” opens with plucked strings and Sophie’s singing haunting, a misty and numbing pace setting out what seems like it’ll be a fantastical journey. And it is, but it also has plenty of thorns and daggers. The playing blasts and wrenches, crushing with sickening fashion, the sounds washing through as the howls strengthen their grip. Strings glaze as the growls destroy, and then we slip back into chilling waters, the singing numbing, slipping out into echoes.

Hand of Kalliach’s mix of death metal and Gaelic folk on “Corryvreckan” might not be unique in concept, but their execution of this sound is what makes them more interesting and devastating. The mythology mixed into the record adds even more adventure to the pulsating waves, and even besides all of that, it’s an exciting collection that explodes with power from front to back. This can take your mind out of whatever doldrums in which it’s entrenched and give you a reason to get lost in metal’s power all over again.

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

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

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