Hard as I try to come up with an interesting, compelling introductions to these pieces, sometimes it isn’t really necessary. We’re here today for death metal, arguably the most vile and punishing form of extreme music we know, something we’ve covered at length on this site and will into the foreseeable future. The bands that do it best and keep finding new ways to keep things bloody and interesting? We’re on board.

One of those is Portland (of the Oregon variety) powerhouse Witch Vomit and their explosive third full-length album “Funeral Sanctum” that adds another solid building block onto their formidable foundation. Over 10 tracks and 31 minutes, the band—vocalist/guitarist Tempter, guitarist CL, bassist JG, drummer Filth—adds more vitriol and melodic carnage, a thicker serving of disgusting madness, another level of warped terror they deliver with demonic glee. It’s their best record so far and one that should swell their audience as people discover this motherfucker.  

“Dying Embers” is a swelling intro track, the guitars layering in the building heat, spilling into “Endless Fall” that rips open, growls lurching like a slug. The guitars burn as the pace picks up and batters, tearing everything apart, the growls leading you into a melodic, encircling whirlpool that pulls you under. “Blood of Abomination” explodes, colorful leads scorching as vibrant melodies make you forget the sickening pain building in your guts. The ferocity mounts and lands heavy blows, ripping off into oblivion. “Serpentine Shadows” is thick with humidity, the growls eating away at you, the riffs annihilating and dumping buckets of blood. Things get much darker as the vocals twist throats, spreading foreboding horrors, slowly burning to a close. “Decaying Angelic Flesh” has guitars soaring, the temperatures frying, and the growls dealing devious, gnarly violence. Things speed up in a hurry as vile and furious howls strangle, mashing and leaving everything in dust.

“Black Wings of Desolation” is doomy when it dawns, dragging a curtain of pestilence as infernal growls grasp throats, spiraling and making maintaining balance an impossible venture. Leads twist and rampage as the heat brings everything to a boil, the relentless pace decimating and disappearing into a steam bath. “Dominion of a Darkened Realm” opens with the drums unloading and burying bodies, fiery speed taking hold, and the guitars spidering through and creating an impenetrable web. Tornadic pressure mounts, sprawling and collecting the sooty growls, squeezing until your eyes practically pop out. “Endarkened Spirits” is a minute-long destroyer as the band combines speed, filthy punishment, and growls digging into brains into a microburst you cannot outrun. “Abject Silence” delivers a late-record breather, an interlude with steamy guitars melting, making it feel like summer with the heat threatening lives, fittingly turning into closer “Funeral Sanctum” that spatters on command. The guitars twist muscle as the growls go for broke, the tempo racing and making your veins stressed over the sudden explosion of blood. The solo launches and spills over, the drums destroy, and everything ends in a fiery collision that bleeds guts.

“Funeral Sanctum” is death metal that cannot possibly let down any follower of the subgenre that dines on brutality and riffs that tie your intestines in knots. Witch Vomit have grown stronger with each release, and the added muscle and blood they inject into this album are both infectious and utterly sickening. You’re going to be punished thoroughly taking on this album, but isn’t that what we’re all here for in the first place?

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

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

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

It’s starting to get warmer here in most of the United States as spring is thawing the frozen grounds (they never got that cold to begin with over the winter) and adding pleasant breezes to the air. Oh, and there’s pollen. It doesn’t seem like the ideal setting for music that feels more frigid and icy, yet here we are, diving right back into the cold.

Australian black metal duo Austere— guitarist/bassist/keyboardist/vocalist Mitchell Keepin and drummer/keyboardist/vocalist Tim Yatras—actually are looking at colder temperatures soon, and that is what their excellent new record “Beneath the Threshold” feels like. After ending a 13-year hiatus with last year’s “Corrosion of Hearts,” they’ve responded right back with this six-track, 42-minute record that further stretches their brand of black metal into atmospheric gaze. It’s certainly not foreign from “Corrosion” and instead refines what they created there into something that explores a little deeper, adds more melodies, and mixes into stardust.

“Thrall” begins with guitars dripping, and then things suddenly ramp up and burst with life, washing through time and jarring significant atmosphere. The melodies are sweeping and fiery while the lower end trudges through deep mud, ending in a heavy shimmer. “The Sunset of Life” unloads heat-generating leads, the shrieks barreling, dark and melodic waves crashing down and trying to pull you under. The playing storms as clean singing picks up and fills your chest, guitars eventually settling and going numb. That’s temporary, though, as a strong gust picks up, rippling your heart with emotion, cascading and enveloping everything within its grasp, bringing everything to an end with hellacious fire. “Faded Ghost” opens amid dark leads, moody singing, and a frothy storm that boils over. The singing stretches as the emotion caterwauls, driving through layers of shrieks, impenetrable energy, and a pressure that slowly subsides.

“Cold Cerecloth” charges up with riffs that chew on nerves, strong singing mixing with savage shrieks, warmth and melodic gushing pushing with the pace, the harshness carving into your mind. Infectious playing merges with shadows, igniting and creating heat that aims to melt the ice around your organs, battering and coming to a cataclysmic finish. “Words Unspoken” is a brief interlude, bringing a gothic sense and acoustics, making it feel like you’re entering a mist on the edge of a dream. Closer “Of Severance” starts ferociously, ripping and tearing, gushing with power as the shrieks aim to strangle. Great power ignites as the storming increases, a slurry mix that chills your bones and leaves icy brush burns on your extremities. The playing rains down as the intensity picks up again, bringing melodic spirals that shake your foundation, lathering before finally relenting.

Austere appear to be at a creative spurt after ending their 13-year hiatus a few years ago, and “Beneath the Threshold” continues that magic and drives it forward into an even more promising future. The thorny chaos and the lush melodies mix perfectly, creating light and darkness that live perfectly together. It’s clear this band has found new life and is brimming with ideas, and taking on this record is a mental and physical experience that will leave you exhausted yet fulfilled.  

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

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

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

A band planning to go away for a while but leaving listeners with one last record is a cool gesture. And obviously it’s also much more than that as blood and sweat goes into making new music, but it’s still great to have fresh creations to enjoy as the players go their separate ways. It’s another jolt still when that music is like nothing the band ever created before, throwing you for a serious loop.

Destroyer of Light’s new record “Degradation Years” also came with the gut punch that its members are going on indefinite hiatus, making it clear this will be the band’s final album for a long time. If there ever comes new music again. This seven-track excursion also steers significantly away from its trademark doom metal fire, veering deep into music informed by ’90s-era alternative and post-punk, though they don’t abandon their recipe totally. The band—vocalist/guitarist Steve Colca, guitarist Keegan Kjeldsen, bassist Mike Swarbrick, drummer Kelly Turner—put together a smart, compelling 40 minutes that leaves bruising behind but also makes one wonder what else these artists are capable of making.

“Cruel World” instantly signals that things are different musically, this piece about Chris Cornell instantly pushing you into cold fog, the guitars boiling as Colca’s strong, confident singing unties the knot. “And now I cry at night knowing we should die,” he calls, also kind of signaling 1990s Ozzy, bringing the track to a burning finish. “Waiting for the End” brings shimmering guitars and a moody ’80s feel, the post-punk-style vibes running down your spine. The chorus bursts and is catchy as hell, and as Colga sings, “There’s a reason why you never sleep at night,” you feel the anxiety creeping. The leads add new layers, a dark, hazy tempo lulls you into false security, and the playing disappears into the shadows. “Perception of Time” starts clean with a synth haze, parts feeling inspired by Pink Floyd’s darkest moods, especially vocally. Guitars create a fog as warmth boils, guitars bubble over, and then trudging bursting returns, reminding you these guys still carry a jagged blade.

“Failure” opens with cold leads and the bass driving, Colca’s voice coming at you with both a low and high stream as he harmonizes with himself. Doomy chugging arrives before things turn mystical, the heat exploding out of that, fiery playing increasing the temperature. “I live with regret,” Colca calls as the track slowly spirals down, the guitars sliding deep into the dirt. “Man With No Name” feels more reflective as the guitars drip, the singing drives, and a dark, foreboding sense begins creeping slowly. The singing gets doomier, the guitars bursting and scathing, bleeding directly into “Blind Faith” that begins faster and gnarlier. Melodic singing and gutting guitars team up, Colca wails, “Fight the terror you create, follow rules and do as they say,” as the track thrashes away. Closer “Where I Cannot Follow” is solemn as it starts, the singing rising, guitars blazing as the doom bricks drop. The tempo begins to chew into muscle, the fiery soloing soaring, sorrowful melodies mixing like streaks of blood in water, ending in ash and flames.

Destroyer of Light’s final salvo (at least for now) is their most unexpected album yet as “Degradation Years” shows you an entirely different side of the band musically. There remains some fiery doom for which they’re best known, but these new wrinkles show they’re capable of a lot more, which we get to experience in generous servings. If we don’t hear from the band for a while, or ever again, they left us with a thought-provoking, musically diverse collection that is exciting, dark, and powerful, something that will stick in your mind well into the future.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://destroyeroflight.bandcamp.com/album/degradation-years

Hurtling through cosmic hell, your brain is trying to make sense of what’s in front of you, what you’re seeing, what you’re sensing. If you’re really experiencing those things. What the hell is happening as you absorb the menacing music that’s coursing through your veins, that your brain is processing, is that you’re travelling elsewhere, suddenly thrust into a terrifying experience you never saw coming.

“Oracular Hexations,” the new record from Diabolic Oath, is a  goddamn hallucination pressed into a record. This second record from this three-headed beast—Ominous Void, Chthonic Conqueror, and The Temple, whose roles are not made apparent other than all three contribute the terrifying vocals—is a deep dive into metallic psychosis, an experience that’s here to stand not only as mere songs but as a psychological experience designed to remove you from this realm. The record feels like a purposely formless being taking shape, and every time it returns, it resembles something completely different. Each time you hear it, the experience changes, robbing you of any chance to feel secure in your journey because every turn is violent and unpredictable.

“Rusted Madness Tethering Misbegotten Haruspices” bludgeons right away, total death mauling everything in its wake, growls retching as it rolls through filth. Guitars unload before a brief halt, and then the drums burst, harsh calls coming in shrieks and growls, swirling menace disappearing into hell. “Serpent Coils Suffocating the Mortal Wound” is tricky when it opens, making the room spin violently, strangling howls foaming at the mouth. The intense fury coats strange calls, riffs that liquify, and growls that aim for the throat. A manic pace punishes as panic ensues, disappearing into a poisonous aura.  “Winged Ouroboros Mutating Unto Gold” trudges through shrieks that rain down, and a spindly, twisting assault that makes breathing mostly impossible. Guitars unwind as the pressure warps, the howls are buried under ash, and crazed playing unloads, sickening as the final moments leave you nauseous.

“Fragmented Hymns from the Globulous Cruciger” spirals through a nasty pace, stomping through mud and blood, the howls scorching as the playing slashes flesh. The guitars tangle and mystify, feeling rubbery and slurring, slathering saliva onto festering wounds. “Gathering Hordes from the Outer Worlds” wooshes on poisonous winds before guitars begin to chug, battering and clobbering, moving toward sickening growls. Guitars swell as the bone-crushing fury multiplies, slicing through flesh and bone, creating a psychologically damaging atmosphere that fucks with your mind. Infernal scorching turns into mesmerizing heat, punishing and ripping before disappearing into a disarming aura dressed with mournful organs. Closer “Oracular Hexations Leeching” attacks right away, the guitars menacing and sinking in teeth, the growls gurling as the playing ransacks with hypnotic horror. Growls incinerate before growing maniacal while the drums blister, and devious terrors make you wonder if safety is even possible. Drums menace and splatter as a synth hazer drops, chaos disappearing into a cosmic void.

“Oracular Hexations” is intended as a series of spells acting as a collection that is meant to mesmerize and cause you to see things that aren’t there. It’s not that Diabolic Oath hasn’t created tracks you can pull out and listen to individually, but this is a record that operates ideally as a whole so you can absorb the entire experience. This is a creation that will challenge you physically, push you mentally, and make you absorb portions of darkness you’d never been able to digest before.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://sentientruin.com/releases/diabolic-oath-oracular-hexations

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

Navigating through one’s personal darkness certainly is not an easy thing to manage, much less try to quell so normal activities each day can go on as usual. There are people suffering from any number of afflictions that they keep on the inside, that many people in their lives never see or understand, and trying to get through that can be utter and complete hell.

Livgone can be described as atmospheric dark rock bordering on doom, and their debut record “Almost There” recounts the trials and tribulations of battling anorexia nervosa and the physical and psychological manifestations that come with dealing with that disorder. The darkness, hopelessness, and weakness that goes with such a struggle is woven into the music, and the band—vocalist Elise Aranguren, Emil Svensson, Michal Kielbasa—transform that into a world of wondrous sonic exploration that tries to tunnel its way into a means of finally finding oneself.

“Walk to Derealization” is a fantastical intro and opener, serene and dreamy sounds mixing together, heading into “Silverstone” where guitars drop gold dust, and the tempo starts pounding. Aranguren’s singing soars and digs in, feeling jarring and powerful, gushing into the shadows. The playing bursts as the singing sweeps, Aranguren continually calling, “Which part of you?” “Hypoesthesia” is the longest track, running 10:29 and unfurling cold and fog, the singing stretching toward the sky. A gazey flow increases, soft singing ringing in the air, Aranguren’s enrapturing voice making everything feel increasingly hypnotic. That’s when things take a strange turn toward the cosmos, sifting past the stars, going into reaches unexplored, hovering life a spacecraft until the end.

“Watching Them Feel” jars with sharp guitars and Aranguren calling into the sky, the leads shimmering out of time. The keys sheen as the singing surges, exploding with power as strings pulse, the energies rise, and the sound burns off into the distance. “Dance So I Can” runs 7:25, and organs swell, the power jolting and tingling, the pressure coming on and warping the senses. Weird, almost circus-like synth layers, making the room spin, and then the guitars add a jolt of electricity, strings gliding playfully. The singing cascades as the keys drip, dissolving into the earth. “J’y Suis Presque” lands with acidic guitars and gazey fire gushing, Aranguren’s hushed words in French as if she’s whispering it in your ear. A storm cloud hangs overhead, dark and ominous, causing chills to spark shivering, sounds rushing into the atmosphere. Closer “There” swells as strange ambiance fills your head, noises zap, and you’re immersed in a dream world. Drips of sound shake and pierce your imagination, slowly disappearing into the frost.

The darkness and disillusion are thick and apparent on “Almost There,” events and emotions that have become far too common for so many of us. Livgone capture the struggle with one’s emotions and inner turmoil and make that despair something one can address with cosmic sounds and the chance to try to heal. This record manages to stand alone musically and philosophically in the heavy music world, and while it’s a product of pain and torment, it’s also a beacon hope in the relentless fog.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://www.svartrecords.com/en/product/livgone-almost-there/12037

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

There’s so much music out there, especially in the death metal quadrant, that having a reliable place to find something to crush your head musically is a gift in and of itself. Not that searching and finding new bands and sounds isn’t an exciting venture, but knowing what you’re going to get, and that it’s going to nail the sweet spot, is just as satisfying.

Japanese death metal power Coffins have been delivering the goods for nearly 30 years now, and on their sixth record “Sinister Oath,” you’re served another heaping helping of the good stuff. Over nine tracks and 43 minutes, the band—vocalist Tokita, guitarist Uchino, bassist Atake, drummer Hikida—lays waste bodily and mentally, layering muddy and doomy death into a boiling cauldron that is black and gooey, yet strangely alluring. It’s a similar battering ram this band has used over the years, and it’s just as well oiled and mangling as ever. Reliability in the form of audio violence.

“B.T.C.D.” is a savage instrumental opener built with sinister riffs, drums scalding, and a filthy underbelly, spilling into “Spontaneous Rot” that’s both slow driving and frothing at the mouth. Ugly growls sicken bellies as the playing batters, twisting into grime and torment, the leads blazing as the punishment rots and leaves only decay behind. “Forced Disorder” is ugly when it dawns, and then speed becomes a factor, clobbering and dragging you into grimy hell, everything curdling in your tummy. The soloing takes off and bubbles, infernal tidings greet you, the playing grinds your face into an ash pile. The title track sinks into thick doom clouds, the playing driving at a deliberate pace, the chugging and growling feeling insurmountable. Total destruction explodes as a fast-paced fury comes unglued, the playing lathering and landing gut punches. “Chain” opens with drums powering, brutal slashing opening fresh wounds, and a crushing force consuming all. Leads stretch as a strange, spacey voice gets into your mind, and everything thrashes unforgivingly.

“Everlasting Spiral” scrapes flesh off skulls, pummeling through thick sludge, the leads glimmering as the track thrashes away and even leads into bluesy simmering. The tempo begins to torture slowly, barreling into doom, blasting bones and blood before the growls finally barrel in about seven minutes into the carnage. Fiery punishment scalds as growls retch, and the battering claims another victim. “Things Infestation” blisters as ferocity spews forth as if from a furnace, the growls stinging, the drums digging into cranial cavities. Psychedelic leads fire up, erupting and hulking, trudging to the bitter end. “Headless Monarch” blasts and pulverizes, mashing as the growls lacerate. The clobbering playing slows deliberately as the torture is meted out in calculated fashion, the death storm swirling and eating through flesh. Closer “Domains of Black Miasma” pounds away, the soot spreads liberally, the growls retch as if bringing up buckets of stomach acid. Fiery playing melts faces as the guitars turn humid, stretching through relentless steam, landing devastating blows until fading into hell.

Coffins remain a relentless force for doom-emblazoned death metal on “Sinister Oath,” another solid slab of devious darkness and devastating power. Six records and nearly three decades of service have made Coffins one of the most respected and revered bands in all of death metal, and their impressive resume just got a little more unstoppable. There aren’t a lot of surprises, but there doesn’t need to be with carnage this satisfying.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://www.relapse.com/pages/coffins-sinister-oath

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

There are enough bad things that happen in life that can cut us off from feeling any sense of positivity. Pain and disillusionment are everywhere, and there have been stretches the past few years that have made the seemingly simple act of just surviving seem like an insurmountable task. Surviving is the key, but getting there can be torturous.

“Celestial Shine” is the first record from Waidelotte, a band combining members of other notable beasts including White Ward, Soen, and Naoni Orchestra. This nine-track record is a conceptual piece of sorts about a central character that suffers from a disheartening life journey that has brought chaos and pain. This journey hurtles through despair, death, and rebirth, navigating through darkness that can scar one’s psyche. The band’s core—vocalist Andrii Pechatkin, guitarist Mykhailo Bogaichuk, bassist Oleksii “Zlatoyar” Kobel—plies progressive black metal with Ukrainian folk music, and they are joined by a slew of pivotal guests including Cody Lee Ford (guitars), Nata Hrytsenko (ethnic vocals), Sofiya Ruban (ethnic vocals), Olena Pavlovska (ethnic vocals), Igor Roshenets (vocals), Anna Buziian (vocals), Serhiy Vasyliuk (spoken word), Gordiy Starukh (hurdy-gurdy), Vlad Vakolyuk (bandura), Ivan Hnativ (tsymbaly), and composer Solar Kollapse.

“Descending” opens with sorrowful acoustics and birds chirping, an intro cut that spills into “The Era of Stagnant Gods” that explodes open with wild prog fuel. Shrieks rampage as the playing punishes, ethnic folk instrumentation setting in another layer. The hammering intensity returns as the power rains down, clean calls swirl, and cosmos swallows everything. “Todestrieb” is chunky and heavy, shrieks menacing as thrashy madness sinks in its teeth. The playing fades into rustic strings, setting a brief sense of calm before the shrieks mar anew, and the thorns dig into flesh, ending in numbing majesty. “Opulent Mirage” unloads and stirs, the shrieks ripping as the singing swells, filling your chest. The playing easily fills the senses, and then acoustics rise, layering over speaking and dreamy enchantment before the chaos jars, scorching amid choral calls that ice bones.

“The Mortality Archway” delivers great riffs, blistering growls that retch, and an intensity that spikes and then pulls back suddenly. Strings echo and intensify, shrieks return and dizzy, and the chugging thickens, barreling its way into “Ascending” a brief instrumental with acoustics, native instruments, and synth beams that cool. “Lightkeeper” brings jabbing riffs and rubbery bass, the shrieks and howls tearing at flesh and making the ground buckle. Calm washes over as choral voices mix into the fray, adding a sense of beauty and delicacy before everything ramps up all over again, shrieks contributing bruising and slashing might. “Celestial Shrine” enters amid echoed strings, and then sinister riffs dig in, progressive-minded leads taking the reins. The storming pace is compelling, moodiness thickens, and the playing finally tapers off into mist. Closer “Dissolving” is ominous, sounds hovering, a chilling ambiance sinking into bloodstreams created by Sound Kollapse. Chimes reverberate as static builds, a synth haze moving overhead, the dream slowly fading away.

“Celestial Shrine” recounts a very relatable, human experience, one that eventually finds us all at some point in our lives. The music Waidelotte commit to this record brims with chaos but also with boisterous spirit, one that revels in the theme of rebirth. This is an exciting, riveting adventure that grows more revealing with each experience.

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

To buy the album (U.S.), go here: https://debemurmorti.aisamerch.com/

Or here (Europe): https://www.debemur-morti.com/en/12-eshop

For more on the label, go here: https://www.debemur-morti.com/en/

Metal is perhaps the only style of music where age is celebrated. Sure, you do have older musicians touring and drawing crowds late into life, but none have artists making vibrant, relevant music that resonates with their audiences. There’s no age limit to metal, and as the first crop of the pioneers get into their golden years, they prove they still have plenty to contribute to the scene.

Death metal veterans Suffer fit into that category, and while they might not be of Judas Priest age yet, they’ve been around and helped shape this sound into what it is. The band has been at it for more than three decades now, but they only have two full-length records to their name, the latest being the monstrous “Grand Canvas of the Aesthete.” They might not have the back catalog of a Carcass or Autopsy, but they sure as hell helped shape the sound, and this latest album, initially thought as a swan song, seems to have breathed new life back into the band—vocalist/guitarist C.R. Petit, and guitarists Daron Petit and Justin Aeschliman form the core, while bassist Jason Ellsworth and drummer Rene Gerbrandij round out the lineup for this record. It’s brutal, gory, and exploding with horrors and demons.

The opening title track is an eerie and strange burst, voices swirling as the playing thickens, creaky growls digging under fingernails. Muddy leads turns into a frenzy of guitars, punishing and trudging, the shrieks raining down, mauling to a slurry finish. “Ashened Frolic; the Exquisite Promenade” waylays with death, the growls crushing as leads tease, feeling sinewy and massively heavy. The guitars spread and sprawl as things get fluid and fiery, trudging through vile growls and splattering playing that feel like a battering ram. “Plentiful • Copious • Bountiful” dawns with melodic rage, violent growls loosening bone, the assault swaggering with violence and attitude. Snarls crawl through filth while the playing gets streamier, the blood choking and gurgling, the leads scorching and leaving burnt flesh behind. “Inhalent Caustic Foray” bruises immediately and things get ugly and massive, the growls savaging amid a cloud of dual leads. Howls curdle as the guitars heat up, trampling with reckless abandon, blazing to a smoking finish.

“The Fetching Cranley Gardens” is scary when it opens, feeling haunting as the track revisits gruesome murders from the late ’70 and early ’80s. Hulking terror pays the proper amount of fright, striking with ugly vocals, the leads going off and spiraling into the cosmos. Shrieks tell of the terror, the playing is pummeling and morbid, coming to a brutal end. “Carnal Flesh Parade” blasts with strangling growls, crushingly heavy riffs, and raspy fire. Leads swim in guts as things get fierce and bloodier, throaty howls carving bone, the playing leaving a blur behind. “Pernicious Precarious Mess” opens with the bass plodding, guitars piercing, and a thick humidity coating everything with a thick blanket of unease. The rot sets in as teeth sink into bone, the ferocity boiling over, violence stomping on prone bodies. The stench of decomposition rises and gags, dual leads leaving ash in their wake. Closer “Human Primal Cuts” drubs and scars, the leads simmering as the body of the song bludgeons. Meaty howls destroy as gargantuan pressure mounts, the howls ripping limb from limb, the jerky pace blasting to the end.

“Grand Canvas of the Aesthete” might have started as a potential end point, but Suffer dump so much malicious vision and devastating gore that it would be a shame to leave this much fuel in the tank. This is death metal from its disgusting veins, the roots long since given way to rot, yet this band still finds inspiration in that cesspool. This also is a really fun record, especially for those of us who basked in death metal’s stench for so long, giving another reason to be excited by this punishing style.

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

To buy the album (U.S.), go here: https://suffersd.bandcamp.com/album/grand-canvas-of-the-aesthete?label=2557202525&tab=music

Or here (International): https://wisebloodrecords.8merch.com/

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

There are records that come along every now and again that fill your entire body with something indescribable. It’s something that takes you over and lives inside of you, your brain and heart making a connection to art and practically allowing it to become a part of your DNA. When those moments strike, you know you’ve discovered something that will stick with you for years to come.

“Nocturnal Will” is the fourth record from Swedish crushers Dödsrit, and as good as their music was before, this collection takes them into a new place altogether. This six-track effort explodes with life even in its bleakest moments, and for a record that ends with the line, “Will death still bring me relief, even when it’s by my own hand?” it leaves you feeling surprisingly energized. Sure, there is plenty of darkness and morose feelings on this record, but the band—vocalist/guitarist Christoffer Oster, guitarist/vocalist Georgios Maxoris, bassist Jelle Soolsma, drummer Brendan Duffy—manages to also make this a power source for those downtrodden along with them, mourning what we’ve lost, trying to find a way to blaze a path into the future.

“Irjala” rips open with hyper-melodic riffs, rushing as shrieks crush, Oster howling, “Dangling on a knife’s blade, blinded by hope, dreams disappearing down a pitch black hole.” The storms gush as energetic shrieks rain down, the playing getting your blood racing through your veins, eventually going cold before coming out molten on the other side. The howls destroy as the playing hammers, flooding with guitars as the emotions multiply, glimmering to a finish. “Nocturnal Fire” also dawns with amazing riffs, the playing splattering as the howls pierce, the pace igniting and taking on a bit of a hardcore edge. Screams punish as a cascade of pillowy guitars lather, the energy exploding with catchiness, fanning the open flames. The pace laps and lathers, beaming and burning, the final few minutes a fiery stretch of instrumental drama. “Ember and Ash” is a quick instrumental piece that’s calm and built on rustic acoustics, settling into the fog.

“Utmed Gyllbergens” is an instrumental that launches with glorious leads and the playing layering and lapping, delivering infectious energy. The heartfelt playing gets inside of you, the dual leads glowing, disappearing into an acoustic dash. “As Death Comes Reaping” blasts out of guitars dawning and hanging, atmospheric energy cascading. “Written by my sorrows, carved into my flesh, tales of lost battles, this eulogy to the end,” Oster barks as the pace pulsates, melodies acting like a tidal wave that covers you whole. Later, the guitars take on a classic power metal vibe for a stretch, igniting fires and gushing with enthusiasm, finally landing with a powerful wallop. Closer “Celestial Will” hammers with riffs, shrieks raining down as a melodic fury takes hold. Blood surges as the vocals jab, Oster leveling with, “As long as my wounds bleed, as long as my heart grieves, as long as I live this tragedy, time won’t heal anything.” That’s a punch in the gut. Guitars light up as the pace ignites, speedy riffs toppling, the fluid and colorful pace consuming everything, the final moments acting like a blast to your ribcage.

“Nocturnal Will” is a record that makes you feel every last drop, its hurricane of riffs and emotional vocals creating something that wells up inside of you. Dödsrit always have worn their emotions on the outside of them, but this record is something even bigger, a storming force that takes over your psyche. Even amid the pain, turmoil, and grief expressed on this record that stretches through the ages, there’s such an powerful undercurrent that makes you feel alive and injects you with a force that carries you on its back.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://wolvesofhades.myshopify.com/collections/dodsrit

Or here (U.S.): https://shapeofstormsrecords.bandcamp.com/merch

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

Darkness always has lived in the rotting heart of death metal, which should be as obvious a sentiment as anything we’ve ever said on this site. It’s a sickening, destructive medium very much on purpose, and it exists to express the most sinister and maniacal ideas humanity is capable of producing. It’s why it’s so alluring and devastating.

Aberration deliver a debut record “Refracture” that exists solely in the thick shadows, lurking and waiting to strike. Over five tracks and 42 brutal minutes, the band—guitarist/vocalist JH, bassist/vocalist DH, guitarist AW, drummer EC—practically weaponizes the idea of suffocating one with darkness, smothering the very idea that positivity and light ever can exist again. This unit brings together members of other heavy crushers such as Void Rot, Suffering Hour, Annihilation Cult, and others to create death metal even deadlier, making this record heavy both musically and mentally.

“Antithesis” fires up and smears, the blistering death chaos spreading generously, the roars compounding with volcanic leads. The guitars sprawl and destroy as a tornadic pace eats its way across land, disorienting as sounds bathe and bubble, the growls retching. A weird aura takes hold as everything comes unglued, the playing leaving extremities tingling, guitars gutting as everything disappears into dissonant hell. “Wresting Vibrations” enters amid tangling guitars, blistering and carving into flesh, a psyche fury frying brain cells. Weirdness surrounds as growls belch, a disorienting aura spreading as the playing leaves you dizzy. Howls crumble as the terror is sucked into a black hole, strange, spacey noises float, and a strangling racket blackens eyes.

“Interstitial Enmity” pounds away, punishing and landing insane blows, a warped sense causing feverish dreams as growls usher in menace. The playing makes your brain feel like it’s melting in your skull as guitars spit heat, trudging and pummeling, blazing off in a storm. “Blighted” slams in with tricky riffs, a pounding tempo, and howls echoing, the battering ram doing ample physical and mental damage. The guitars trick as the hypnosis gets to dangerous levels, disappearing into a bizarre haze. The closing title track slips into a slurry pace, the playing coming unhinged, lurching and trudging into maniacal forces. The growls engorge, destroying as animalistic blasts shred flesh, devastating as riffs race and make your adrenaline spike. Punishing guitars lacerate, the cloud coverage gets ominously thick, and the final jolts and fluid humidity blast into the heart of the cosmos.

“Refracture” is dense and wholly dark, a record that feels intimidating and frightening, making its absorption something of a physical and mental challenge. And it’s worth it to go through the chaos as Aberration make the best of their time and grind your well-being into a convulsing pile of dust. This is music designed to get inside your psyche and drive nails into your mental faculties, and they’re shockingly effective at accomplishing that.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://sentientruin.com/releases/aberration-refracture

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