There’s a lot of consternation over where the human experiment is headed. We’ve taken horrible care of the planet that houses us, and our mental faculties are decaying rapidly due to our obsession with social media. Fuck, that’s only two instances of a slew of things we’re committing to ensure the end of civilization comes sooner than expected.

“Maze Envy” is the second record from LA-based death metal power Civerous, and the bio accompanying said album describes the creation as “end-of-times music” for a planet really close to the bitter end. The record is seven tracks and 42 minutes of miasmal chaos, the feeling you’re locked in a nightmare that refuses to release its grip or show any mercy. The band—vocalist Lord Foul, guitarists Daniel Salinas and Alonso Santana, bassist Drew Horton, drummer Aidan Neuner—locks you into a psychologically stimulating corner, and while you contemplate the planet dying, you also imagine yourself morphing into another plane, your soul ascending into a bizarre new reality.  

“The Azure Eye” is a quick intro cut that has sounds simmering and eerie strings, the unsettling echoes leading into “Shrouded in Crystals” that starts sooty and doomy. The growls retch over hypnotic synth clouds, the muddy trudging churning and leaving bruised flesh. The bass clobbers as shrieks strike, a battering force takes hold, and the riffs swagger, dripping out into a strange noise swarm. “Endless Symmetry” is an interlude with strange clean guitars, and then breezy and unsettling passages leak in, simmering off into “Labyrinth Charm.” The tempo is punishing and meaty, the growls crushing as monstrous striking aims to take off heads. The growls crush as the leads soar, a guttural fury taking hold and tearing out guts, and then a dream haze takes over, melodies melting into the sky.

“Levitation Tomb” starts with clean guitars dripping, and then a jolt ushers in skullduggery, the howls wailing as the keys cascade. The pace mashes and drags everything into the mud, the growls turn nauseating, and a hulking pace drags the track into total darkness. The title track begins in a disorienting storm, chugging through boiling keys, rippling charges, and guitars snarling into an enveloping haze. Hypnotic leads unfurl and go cold, strings glazing with mental iciness, the playing gushing weird dreams. The heat overloads as the howls level walls, melodies leading off into a mist. Closer “Geryon (The Plummet)” is awash in doom as the playing aches, the howls ripping and tearing into a battering tempo. The growls destroy as mind-altering melodies sink into the earth, lava lapping from cracked rock, a brief push of serenity devoured whole by madness. The playing lurches and stomps as the stirring power cascades, consumed by fiery gloom.

Our time appears to be drawing short as we scorch the planet and continue to make increasingly poorer decisions, and Civerous are only too happy to drag us there. “Maze Envy” perfectly encapsulates the madness in which we’re now ensconced, and this twisted display of death and doom metal makes the ideal soundtrack to leave behind for whoever cleans up our mess. This is a hulking, snaking display that works its way inside your mind and blackens any hope you have for the remaining days.

For more on the band, go here: https://civerous.bandcamp.com/

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

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

Who knows what lurks in the deepest regions of the ocean? There are sections where no one has or can investigate and potentially there are lifeforms no being ever has encountered before and maybe never will. It makes that more terrifying but also adds a level of intrigue to know we share an earth with things we’ll never understand.

Lhaäd is a band helmed by sole creator Lykormas, and the project’s name is an anagram of hadal, the hadopelagic zone that is the deepest region of the ocean. On their second record “Beneath,” the majesties of what lurks so far beneath the surface creeps even deeper into their murky black metal, flooding you with mystery and emotion. At the same time, these six songs that spread over 40 minutes also bask in the cosmos, a place as dark and mysterious as the ocean floor where most of us never will go.

“Beneath I” opens with waters bubbling, slowly dawning before the cavernous howls strike. The playing then explodes and gets spacious, spacey wooshes rocketing through the atmosphere, the growls carving your senses. Black metal-style melodies well, speed tears through, and the track comes to a storming close. “Beneath II” rushes through space, acidic wails punishing, the pace scarring and leaving bruising on your lungs. Guitars cut through as the inventive curves thrill, the playing getting even more penetrating, sending shockwaves through your nervous system, waves crashing and nature crawling into “Beneath III” that’s serene before stomping. Strange noises zap as the roars wrench, and relentless chaos crashing down, the guitars immersing you in the deep vastness of the waves. The mood turns wondrous and oceanic, the howls burst in your chest, and an immersive synth cloud envelopes everything and ushers in total darkness.

“Beneath IV” super charges right away, fantastical playing creating a dream state, drilling through bizarre warbling that eats into your brain. Wrenching melodies and hypnotic pressure meet up with beastly growls, the guitars eventually disappearing into a sound bath. “Beneath V” brings thundering riffs, a disorienting pace, and howls piercing the serenity. Speaking creeps and scrapes, eventually combusting and sending intergalactic shrapnel flying, hammering with precision. The growls destroy as the pace hits a fever pitch, bringing everything to a breath-taking ending. Closer “Beneath VI” has guitars awakening and strangeness hovering overhead, unsettling noises sweltering as the vocals rumble and retch. The leads glaze as the lower end trudges, roars pelting as storming power takes control. Chanted howls encircle as everything fades, the bones slipping into the deepest part of a hungry ocean.

In a strange way, Lhaäd make the vast ocean more expansive and terrifying at the same time on “Beneath.” It’s a sonic world in which it’s easy to get lost, the playing and the mysteries creating a sort of mini universe found in the darkest, most unreachable regions of the seas. We may never know what lurks there, but taking on this band’s music helps charge your imagination and adds an extra level to this riveting album.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://shop.amor-fati-productions.de/en/

Or here: https://www.facebook.com/extraconsciousrecords

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

And here: https://entropicrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/beneath

It’s the Beer Video yet again, and we both accidentally picked unconventional beverages. Hel W-f has an interesting oak-aged extra special rye from Modist Brewing Company with cool can art that goes perfectly with International Women’s Day. Brian has an oatmeal brown with apple cinnamon tea from Hitchhiker Brewing that has some unexpected results. Shirt reveal, discussion, cats are mentioned but not present. Anyway.

Convention is heavy music is fine, and if every band went off the rails and did crazy shit, it would be really difficult to stomach. Luckily, that’s not the world in which we’re ensconced, so we do have more bands expressing extreme sounds in more interesting manners, be that sound-wise or with their aesthetic. Different is good as long as it’s genuine.

Which leads us to deathgrind ghouls Brat and their stunning debut record “Social Grace,” a 10-track, 21-minute offering that goes fucking hard. The band’s self-assigned “bimbocore” and “Barbiegrind” titles are amusing on the surface but deadly serious, and the band—vocalist Liz Selfish, guitarist Brenner Moate, bassist Ian Hennessey, drummer Dustin Eagan—makes that very apparent early on. Metal folks are weird and tied to aforementioned convention, so there’s bound to be eye rolling by those who fear a challenge. That would be a massive error. And fuck those people. This is a record full of morbid visions, disgust for the ruling class, and a deep serving of inclusion, and I love every second of that and this record.

“Ego Death” tears open, Selfish wailing, “Self-destruct, remove me from myself,” as the playing drives hard, mangling and testing, bruising as it blows by in no time. “Hesitation Wound” is another barnstormer, delivering metallic, yet sludgy riffs, raspy howls, and a trudging tempo that feels like it’s here to take off your head. “Slow Heat” brings burning playing, bass flexing, and the howls decimating, Selfish blasting, “Tempted of grandeur, tempted of fate, without salvation, hell salivates.” Strong riffs punish as the punchy, thrashing tempo loosens teeth and leave them in piles on the ground. “Truncheon” blasts through as the vocals gargle glass, and the guitars scorch and leave the earth torched. Everything turns thrashier, crushing and stomping through mud, ending in a pile of nuclear waste. “Human Offense” raises the temperature, and then things turn moody and crushing, the bass trampling, things finding a way to get even more intense. Selfish howls, “Imperfect son born of hate, a false existence etched in slate, the heart of man like bitter earth, spoiled whole, what are we worth,” raising the stakes as the track pummels thoroughly.

“Rope Drag” starts sludgy and confrontational, the guitars churning, Selfish scowling, “No foe to best, without place to rest, grip on life, stalling.” The tempo boils as the guitars race, brutality settles, and everything fades into feedback. “Blood Diamond” is punchy as hell as the drums crush bones, group shouts agitate, and Selfish’s properly abrasive howls carve flesh off your bones. Muddy and fiery, the stakes are raised quickly before a violent, abrupt end. “Snifter” bruises right away as the riffs ignite, and the vocals echo in your eardrums. “No hurt, no pain, no desire,” Selfish howls, “to feign I am released,” as the steam rises, and guttural chugs twist your guts, the guitars blistering and charring flesh. “Sugar Bastard” brings dominating riffs and a weighty hardcore feel that immediately turns up the violence. A breakdown melts bone, and then a swaggering assault paints with attitude and heat, leaving behind deep wounds. The closing title track brings encircling guitars and even a dose of doom as the cloud cover thickens overhead. “With no glory we staked our claim, an earth that hates us, we are to blame,” Selfish levels, dripping with truth, as the bass trudges, and the molten force burns you into rock formation.

There are no holds barred on “Social Grace,” Brat’s destructive debut record, and from their blazed-earth message about social and political matters as well as their devastating sound, this band is likely to make a massive mark in 2024. Sure, some might dismiss this band over their “Barbiegrind” label and splash of pink over a clearly festering wound, but not taking them deadly seriously would be a massive error. This is a scorching, violent record, one that will leave unsuspecting fools gasping on the ground afterward.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/brat504

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

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

Some things are just meant to be no matter how much hardship is involved, no matter the struggles that must be overcome to get over the finish line. We’ve all seen hard times the last few years, and even as we return to a sense of normalcy, it’s still fresh in most people’s minds just how hard we had to work to get things done and out into the world.

Florida-based hardcore band Gouge Away almost didn’t make it back. There was music that started and then was shelved, and then they went on hiatus when the pandemic happened, making it very possible we’d never see their third record. Luckily, the band—vocalist Christina Michelle, guitarists Mick Ford and Dylan Downey, bassist Tyler Forsythe, drummer Thomas Cantwell—pulled those new songs off the shelf, got back to writing and performing, and now we have “Deep Sage,” an album that still has plenty of their fiery DNA but also adds more texture into their sounds. These 11 songs spread over 35 minutes have poppy and murky moments, and a lot of this could find audiences beyond heavy music fans and into new terrain altogether. If they do, it’s well deserved.

“Stuck in a Dream” charges up right away, Michelle’s raspy singing leaving brush burns, the heat turning dangerous in a hurry. The chorus rips while some zany playing adds an element of fun, burning off into exhaust. “Maybe Blue” is catchy and melodic, the guitars bubbling over, punching and tangling into a haze. The singing sends jolts while getting screamier over the chorus, and the final moments pack a ’90s-style rock punch that’s powerful and effective. “Idealized” sends electricity as the singing is strong but a little softer at first, breathing fire as the story develops. The playing swings back and jars as Michelle calls, “No apology means no apology,” as the track stomps blood into the ground. The title track opens with guitars charging the gates, yelled singing and screams uniting, and the melodies gushing brightly. Noisy and punchy, the track lays waste, leaning into noise, Michelle’s vocals leaving bruising and scarring. “A Welcome Change” eases in, Michelle’s singing flowing generously, sounds ringing as the guitars buzz. The bass trudges as warmth and reflection rise, slipping into an indie rock vibe that exposes new texture.

“Overwatering” is fluid with confrontational vocals, shrieks ripping as hand claps make your blood rush. The playing gets creative and tricky as Michelle howls over the chaos, disorienting before it fades. “No Release” speeds in with a hardcore tenacity, blazing as Michelle howls, “Can’t control it, it’s in my blood!” The forceful storming continues as howls trample, and the final blasts slam the door shut. “The Sharpening” unloads with jostling riffs and a burst of speed, Michelle’s shrieks blazing past your eardrums. The pace keeps adding fuel to the fire, the screams rampaging and the pace strengthening the grip that’s around your neck. “Spaced Out” is cold water to the face, Michelle demanding, “I need space!” The playing is colorful and confrontational, a quick microburst that doesn’t last long but leaves plenty of damage behind. “Newtau” is warmer with Michelle’s singing feeling more delicate to match the mood. Of course, that doesn’t last as the pace picks up, the bass playing blackens eyes, and everything begins to disintegrate as the howls begin to maul. The guitars glimmer as the pace softens, simmering and fading away. Closer “Dallas” is moody and glistening, the singing glazing as the guitars make the hairs on your arm stand. There’s a bit of a Speedy Ortiz flavor to what’s going on here, the tempo playing with your emotions, the guitars feeling poppy and fuzzy, wordless calls fading into noise.

“Deep Sage” refused to fall and continued to live deep in the shadows until these songs were ready to see the light of day. Luckily, perseverance won out in the end, and Gouge Away sound like a unit with renewed purpose and vigor, ready to put all of themselves into their music again. This album defies definitive genre tags as it really contains so many elements, that you can’t affix a name. What matters is how good and honest and catchy this record is, and it finally will get to live the full life it richly deserved.

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

To buy the album (U.S.), go here: https://deathwishinc.com/collections/gouge-away

Or here (Europe): https://deathwishinc.eu/collections/gouge-away?sort_by=created-descending

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

It’s not exactly a stretch to suggest death and black metal already are bizarre art forms on the surface, especially for the uninitiated. But for those of us who have been listening to these styles of music for decades, it’s hard to find things that warp our senses and raise our eyebrows because we’ve heard it all before. Being surprised happens less frequently, but when it does, it really sticks in the back of your brain.

Italian force Hadit fall into the category of bands that eschews the typical and leans heavily into the unconventional. Just look at the title of this record—“Metaphysical Engines Approaching the Event Horizon.” Right away it feels like you’re confronting something harsh and brain bending, and if that’s an alluring idea for you, then you’ll melt your brain taking on this record. Over eight tracks and 48 minutes, the band—vocalist/guitarist Xn, bassist/synth player/guitarist/backing vocalist G.G., drummer Fulgŭrātŏr—takes it to you physically and psychologically, twisting death and black metal to express their bizarre mythologies, keeping you guessing at every turn. In fact, repeat listens reveal twists and turns you may have missed the previous excursions, and that’s one of the things that makes this album so enthralling. It feels like a new journey every time.

“Becoming the Light Eternally Driving on the Photon Sphere” opens with drums echoing and spacious dreaming, coating the vicious growls in combustible elements. The playing blisters as the speed ratchets up, the drums carve pathways in the earth, and the punishing pace zaps and crunches bone to power. “Interstellar Medium’s Rhapsody” brings grim and beastly growls that mix into sludgy punishment that buries you in echo. A synth glaze rises and enchants as the band crushes wills, wailing away until the air is sucked out of the room. “Three Ways of Death After Gravitational Collapse” mangles as the screams scar, retching as the guitars churn, clean singing adding a different level of depth to their power. Tingling and blistering, you’re piledriven into the mud as the growls engorge, and sinewy leads lap with intensity. The singing freezes, the pace mauls, and fires consume whatever’s left. “Screaming From the Throat of a Reversed Light Being” starts with numbing guitars and growls that eat through flesh, lurching through the filth, the bass slinking just as brutality rages anew. Keys echo as the blood thickens, bells chime and cause you to lose balance, and a heavy fog envelopes and disappears into mystery.

“Find Your Death, Cosmic Wreckage” is utter demolition as it enters, the growls welling and erupting into a monstrous chasm, the bass buzzing as mystical keys begin to establish a hypnotic tone. The band pummels as the drumming lays waste, stripping away flesh as the inhuman howls land before an abrupt end. “Blood and Gods Know Where Weakness Is” combusts, trucking over prone bodies, the growls trampling as the playing turns smothering in a hurry. The guitars squeal as the playing hammers, spreading ferocity and sending chills down your spine, bleeding into the ground. “The Eternals’ Dream Out of Time and Frames” opens with guitars glimmering and punches thrown generously, laying in the numbing blows. The playing is warped and heated, blazing with ill intent, the darkness swelling as the leads pulsate and dig into your psyche, leaving you shaking uncontrollably. Closer “Del Tramonto Sul Nulla, Dove Fuoco Diventa Cielo” dawns with guitars blurring and drubbing, menacing darkness spreading as doom bells toll. The tension carves and teases, causing the earth to quake beneath you. Things continue to get more ominous, the growls eat into your nervous system, and the fires smear, causing flesh to peel from your body, hypnotic power finally giving itself up to a wall of noise.

“Metaphysical Engines Approaching the Event Horizon” certainly is a strange record, one that bends death and black metal into bizarre shapes, making these styles seem like something alien. That’s been something Hadit practiced in their decade as a unit, and it seems like their exploration efforts are just getting started. More records like this one will keep these sounds fresh and expanding, making the potential for what’s possible nearly astronomical.  

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

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/

With all of the negativity and awful news that seemingly surround our everyday lives, it’s sometimes hard to remember there are good things woven into all of the shit. It’s not always easy finding the bright side or even some hidden gems when things seem to be at their bleakest, but seeking those things can soothe a lot of woes.

OK, that’s maybe a little much, but we can find things to make us happy while we dread the future. Like the new two-track EP from the reunited Pelican that’s their first new music in five years. Yes, I know Pelican never went away, but it hasn’t operated under its original lineup since 2012, that being guitarists Trevor Shelley de Brauw and Laurent Schroeder-Lebec (who has returned to the fold), bassist Bryan Herweg, and drummer Larry Herweg. Yet that configuration returns here, and they also have a full record in their future that also gives us reason to be excited. These two tracks from this session provides but a small sip, but it’s a flavorful, exciting one that feels like slipping back into a familiar place, excited to see these surroundings once again.

“Adrift” stars with guitars slurring, the leads bathing in light as the bass begins to chug. Melodies glimmer as the playing goes from soaring to meatier, pummeling as the tempo sinks into your blood, settling in the atmosphere, basking in the clouds. In fact, the waning moments of the record kind of remind me of the cover art. “Tending the Embers” is the final track, trudging as the guitars slide, the playing tangling and then burning brightly. Guitars thicken as the melodies slink, the energy pulsating as the skies grow darker and more foreboding. Light finally sheds as the leads get your blood racing, the other elements flow and sting, and everything swells into the ground before coming to a rumbling end.

It might be a mere two songs, but it’s a hint of what’s ahead for Pelican, and it reunites their original lineup for the first time in more than a decade. This “Adrift / Tending the Embers” EP is a promising glimpse of their forthcoming next album, a snack-size portion of new music that gives hope for what’s ahead and energizes us in the present. It’s a new dawn for Pelican, and I’m excited to hear what this reformed version of the band has in store for us.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://pelican.bandcamp.com/album/adrift-tending-the-embers

Hi, and welcome to It’s the Beer Video, a little piece my friend Helen and I have been doing for a little while now. It’s pretty simple: We try a beer we’ve never had before and react to what we’re tasting. We both are into metal, so we normally wear a different shirt each week and talk about bands we like. It’s super not edited or produced, but we have fun, and we hope you do too.

Everyone is on a personal journey for which we don’t know an end date nor do we know the trials and tribulations we’ll face along the way. For me, the last handful of years have been tumultuous and wrought with sadness and loss, life events that I long dreaded that happened all in a very short time frame. Yet, out of that, there are positives, and they are milestones once must face once tackling existence.

“Requiem for Eirênê” is the third record from funeral doom-based Isenordal, and the album tells of a similar journey they detail over five tracks and 55 minutes of power. The band—vocalist/guitarist Kerry Hall, viola player/vocalist Eva Vonne, guitarist Gordon Greenwood, keyboardist/vocalist Lieu Wolfe, bassist/cellist/flautist/string player Jeff King, drummer/vocalist Brian Spenser—truly spreads their collective wings on this record, creating an excursion through love, loss, grief, surrender, and finally a spiritual climax that is told through some of Isenordal’s heaviest moments yet and also some of their most delicate. It took me several sojourns with this music just to get to the point where I feel I can write about it, and I’m sure it’ll take many more for the push to be complete. I also connected emotionally just from having experienced some of what the band details here, and it’s been sort of a catharsis for me that continues to this second.

“A Moment Approached Eternity” is the 15:08-long opener, the lengthiest track here that basks in organs and sorrow, the howls landing as all the voices mix together, storming with multiple personalities telling the tale. The playing turns dramatic and driving, slipping into the cold, the whispers haunting and the strings carving pathways, stinging and chilling. The pace picks up again, and shrieks storm, the strings whipping up momentum, and the keys glazing as guttural force takes over. Wolfe and Vonne’s voices coat with freezing intensity, the guitars catch fire, and everything ends in ash. “Await Me, Ultima Thule” opens with rousing group singing and playing that makes your blood rush. “Carry me away,” they urge, the emotional force picking up the momentum, the shrieks crunching bones, icy melodies causing your flesh to quiver and ache. “You must find your way by starlight,” Wolfe calls as the playing storms heavily, and viciousness suddenly dawns. The playing blisters, the shrieks cave in skulls, and everything comes to a spellbinding end.

The title track is an instrumental piece that acts as a logical center point to the record, piano drips, delicate singing thaws, and everything flows gently and solemnly, the strings amplifying the ache, the keys flowing into “Epiphanies of Abhorrence and Futility.” Organs bubble to the surface, and then growls strike, the strings weaving thick stripes of doom into the mix. The screaming and singing mix as the playing batters slowly, and the strings glisten, the fire churning in everyone’s bellies. Singing pushes as the doom power drops and infects, the howls crush, and sonic violence comes and takes you down. Drama cascades as the singing chills, ending in a cataclysmic cloud. Closer “Saturnine Apotheosis” brings charring guitars, and it makes your foundation rattle, everyone singing and rousing your energies. Strings cloud as the melodies grow properly dreary, the drama thickens, and the fog grows to be insurmountable, the growls crumbling as the singing glows. Strings rivet until the ground quakes, the playing rushes forward, and the singing fills your chest with emotion. The guitars and strings glow, and the final words and melodies thicken before fading into the wind.

Insenordal’s power is growing before our eyes and ears, and “Requiem for Eirênê” demonstrates both their musical prowess and their creative fires grow dramatically. This record truly is a spiritual journey, as they note themselves, and every emotion and high and low one experiences along the way bursts from the seams, making this record feel utterly and perfectly human. This is a ferocious journey, one that demands repeat listens in order to absorb everything going on with this record and all of the messages this gifted band conveys here. Every trip back opens new doors and tributaries that rush to your senses and fill them with wonder.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://us.spkr.media/us/Artists/Isenordal/

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