Being a human itself is a daily gamble, a push and pull of influences and decisions that make up just about every second between waking and sleeping. On top of that, the causes we support, the actions we pursue, and the forces with which we align never are going to satisfy everyone, and those who fight back against power structures always will be painted as some sort of troublesome venture lazily painted as evil.

Long-running doom brawlers Thou know this very well, as they are a band that never has participated in digestible art, mainstream opinion, or compromising visions. On their thunderous sixth (and that number is arguable) primary release “Umbilical,” the band—vocalist Bryan Funck, guitarists Matthew Thudium and Andy Gibbs, guitarist/vocalist KC Stafford, bassist Mitch Wells, drummer Tyler Coburn—unleashes all of their vitriol, their passion, and their fire and plasters that all over 10 tracks and 49 minutes of unforgiving power. This band always will be recognizable upon first listen, and they are here, but there are other elements plastered over this work. The sludge thickens and bubbles even more, and there are strains of their unabashed love for grunge and straight up rock intertwined into the molten madness that floods this muscular monster.

“Narcissist’s Prayer” charges up from the start, Funck’s acidic howls barreling toward you, grimy heaviness increasing the pressure. The guitars jolt as sludgy power flattens, the ground quaking as the band doubles back and buries you in smoke. “Emotional Terrorist” is thick and heavy, the vocals smearing as a bruising chorus jars your face and jaw. The playing slowly batters as the menace increases, wrenching as the playing punishes slowly, burning off. “Lonely Vigil” is calculated as the guitars lather, the heat increasing and suffocating, the vocals searching through fiery chaos. The guitars feel like a heat ray before things suddenly go cold, buzzing and finally pulverizing once more. “House of Ideas” starts with whip cracks, and then the playing bludgeons, Funck’s barked howls eating through sinew, the volume adding muscular layers. Molten and sludgy, the playing then begins to pound more slowly, and atmospheric haze tightening its grip. “I Feel Nothing When You Cry” (this track is on a 7-inch with the vinyl, but up next on CD and digitally) has a ripping pace, something energetic and colorful, a heavy brawler but something a little different for Thou. Guitars lather as the track becomes a blistering force, drilling as the melodies thicken, the vocals feeling dangerously infectious, and the elements melting away.

“Unbidden Guest” also is on the 7-inch on the vinyl version, and it is a beast, the howls crushing and smearing, the corrosion becoming a greater factor, trudging through swampy heat. The energy ramps up as the screams sizzle, rippling out into devastation. “I Return as Chained and Bound to You” opens deep in a doom pit, crunching with a calculated pace, torturous fury becoming almost too much to withstand. The playing batters as the guitars light up, and the vocals maul amid a slowly clobbering assault that melts over flesh. “The Promise” bathes in feedback, and then a weirdly melodic attack takes place, Funck’s shrieks feeling catchier even as your muscles are bent in unnatural ways. Guitars stab as the chorus washes over you, feedback lapping acid, the drums destroying as they pace the carnage, a slurry, fiery gust submitting to a squall. “Panic Stricken, I Flee” opens with a strong riff, growing heavy as fuck as it develops, filthy guitars leaving a strange taste in your mouth. The roars are gargantuan as thrashy, vicious power strikes, the destruction going for the throat, and guitars glimmering before a smoking end. Closer “Siege Perilous” burns in place, noise buckling, guitars coating with muscular grit. The playing lumbers as the riffs snarl, bringing menace and mud, Funck’s howls lacerating limbs as the track rounds into sinewy hell, corroding into a disfigured beast.

“Umbilical” is a record that stands alone in the massive Thou resume, feeling like something fresh and more fiery, a renewed spirit that grew out of trying to find what place one has in the world and how we sort the things we do from what we want to do. Maybe those are the same things, and this band always reached out to the radicals, to the forsaken, to those on the fringes trying to figure out what existence means to them. This record might take some time to make its ultimate impact. But taking repeated journeys with this firebreather should reveal more each time you approach Thou’s endlessly burning torch as you let the burn drive you to find what it is you stand for.  

For more on the band, go here: https://www.instagram.com/thou_band/

To buy the album, go here: https://www.sacredbonesrecords.com/collections/frontpage/products/sbr342-thou-umbilical

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

It’s been eight long years since we last heard from Jersey-based doom crushers Cowardice, at least as far as full-length records are concerned. Yes, they’ve had some split releases and an EP, but their upcoming new album “Atavist” is an absolute monster of a piece of work, a double album hammering with 11 tracks over 84 minutes and split into two different parts. It’s an experience, and it’s mighty, and today we have a taste of it.

“Clairvoyance Anxiety” greets you into the second part of the record, and it’s a 10:26 battering ram. Crushing growls and a drubbing pace leave bruising all around, feeling otherworldly and vile. This is a beast that clenches and never relents until the time has run its course. Numbing, with gutting wails, and scorching leads that make the last third of the song smoke, this will give you a pretty good idea of what’s in store for you on “Atavist.” If you like slowly melting, sludgy doom served in longer form, then you’ll have a feast on which to engorge, you hungry weirdo. Song is below, and beneath that are links where you need to go to grab this fucker.

Oh. And we’ll have a full write-up on “Atavist” next week.

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

To buy the album, go here:  https://cowardicedoom.bandcamp.com/album/atavist

Or here (US): https://riffmerchant.bandcamp.com/album/atavist

Or here (UK): https://www.burningworldrecords.com/collections/burning-world-records/products/cowardice-atavist-2lp-green-with-red-vinyl-pre-order

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

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

I’ve never been in a mixed martial arts fight, and thank fuck for that, but I’ve seen plenty of them, and I’m constantly baffled at how people live through some of those things. I’ve hit my head off countless things before, which always sucks, but I can’t imagine wanting to be anywhere near a trained fighter who can kick my brain into submission.

Taking on a record from Umbra Vitae often feels like being locked in the octagon as blow after vicious blow come flying at your head and body. Their malicious second full-length “Light of Death” is another dose of toxic death metal mixed with strains of hardcore, and over these 11 tracks and nearly 46 minutes, the band—vocalist Jacob Bannon, guitarists/vocalists Sean Martin and Mike Mckenzie, bassist/guitarist/vocalist Greg Weeks, drummer Jon Rice—turns the screws and makes the heat get to insurmountable levels. Not to mention this band that combines members of Converge, Tsjuder, the Red Chord, and others lay down a savage beating, one you only can hope to survive in one piece.

“Leave of Absence” starts with dissonant horns as guitars begin to char, the pace blistering as Bannon’s unmistakable howl leaves bruises. Speed is a factor as it mixes with hardcore-style stomps, ripping as guitars let lava flow, and the strings strike out. “Belief Is Obsolete” has riffs boiling, punchy and jarring playing lashing away, eventually trudging as the stiff wails draw blood. “Clear Cutter” is quaking and ravaging, the vocals killing, the playing splattering as wildness and muscular dexterity combine for a whipping. “Anti-Spirit Machine” brawls as Bannon’s raspy voice lacerates, swelling with hardcore brutality, steadily driving as the soloing spits fire. Guitars cut through even deeper as the thrashy goodness peaks, the repeat wails of, “Anti-spirit!” sounding like a rallying cry. “Reality in Retrograde” is fast and ferocious, the drums devastating, a machine-like efficiency accelerating the pain and the suddenness at which is strikes. “Past Tense” unloads with nasty howls, guitars traversing the scenery, a trickier display that spits nails and screws, coming to a blistering end. “Velvet Black” opens with clean singing, Bannon’s deep croon searching, the playing burning as it comes slower but just as heavy, hypnotic sounds dissolving and going silent. Bells chime as the pace roars back, the leads melt faces, and the final sounds of feedback ringing decimate your eardrums.

“Twenty-Twenty Vision” is a savage attack, storming and rattling, ripping through a fiery thrash assault. The vocals circle and split lips, the blazing terror driving to a fiery finish. “Algorithm of Fear” blasts with abrasive madness, howls mashing even as lighter tones take their turn. Then the assault is mounted anew, the vocals choking on smoke, churning and thrashing, hitting the gas pedal and approaching violent waves. “Empty Vessel” has leads fluttering and howls ravaging, at times feeling atmospheric, at others hinting that the world is burning to the ground. “Cause & Effect” starts with acoustics, and then the shrieks explode, the leads showing their teeth and threatening to sink into muscle. From there, the steam rises, vicious shouts mix in with the humidity, and everything burns off into exhaust. “Deep End” is relentless, striking with a passion, gutting with terrifying growls that thirst for carnage, defacing in a pit of ashen thrash. “Nature vs. Nurture” is steely, yet bludgeoning, the vocals trading off and leaving blisters, the playing feeling rubbery but also brutal. Riffs light up as the pace manages to go even harder, smoldering as the soloing erupts and torches everything on front of it. “Fatal Flaw” is blinding, vocals crushing, guitars mounting a burning attack. The drums blister as the shouts open veins, the start/stop viciousness disappearing into a sea of skronking sax. The closing title track lathers with brutality, dizzying and crunching, the guitars slaying with metallic madness. The playing clouds the senses as blow after blow aim to take you down, Bannon wailing, “There’s no escape!” as the cacophony disappears into horns, finishing the ouroboros effect from the opener.

“Light of Death” is a whirlwind display for Umbra Vitae, a devastating collection that gives you almost no time to breath, no chance to take cover because the chaos is coming for you. This is a great step up for this band, who didn’t really need to level up but did anyway, and this is a punishing, channeled affair that’ll take your head off. This is a storm you won’t mind riding to the end because, although there are neck-jerking twists and turns and blistering winds, conquering these 15 tracks will fill your bloodied body with fiery glory.

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

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

Or here (Europe): https://deathwishinc.eu/collections/umbra-vitae

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

Evolution is a thing that has a strange relationship with humanity. There are those who do not believe in it, no matter what scientific evidence you put in front of them, and those who embrace it for what it is. You can just look back in history and see how we’ve all changed and advanced, or on our own lives to see how different we are as humans compared to how we were when we were younger.

Insect Ark, a project long helmed by Dana Schechter, is the perfect example of the evolutionary theory just by witnessing their fourth full-length “Raw Blood Singing.” The most obvious change is the presence of Schechter’s vocals for the first time, adding an alluring element to the band’s music that fits seamlessly. But beyond that, the songs are more full-bodied and active, not that the band’s previous work wasn’t, but this is just a marked step up in texture and character. Schechter, who also handles bass, lap steel guitar, synthesizers, and piano, is joined by new drummer Tim Wyskida (Khanate, Blind Idiot God) as well as guests Ville Leppilahti (Oranssi Pazuzu) and Colin Marston (Krallice, who also mixed the album) to create this new vision that lurks in different corners and shadows.

“Birth of a Black Diamond” is a quick, cosmic opener that warbles and floats amid the clouds, washing into “The Frozen Lake” where doomy, noisy strains send jolts down the spine. Schechter’s singing enters, adding an interesting, smoky element to the band’s music, the ominous melodies mixing in with slide guitars, the fog thickening. Dreary darkness is coated with mist, sounds echoing and drubbing, blurring out into time. “Youth Body Swayed” angles into immersive keys, aching singing, and melodies drizzling, the shadows thickening around everything. Distorted calls mix with guitars that bathe in ash, eeriness and moodiness making for a thicker atmosphere. “Cleaven Hearted” enters amid playing swirling, strummed guitars echoing, a nightmarish void spreading over the body of the track. Griminess gathers as keys trickle to the ground, guitars tracing patterns in the air, the playing shimmering and slowly fading.

“The Hands” is dark and foreboding, Schechter calling, “We will never be free.” The emotional thickness picks up as spacey synth moves through the atmosphere, slide guitars calling with mysterious intent, fading into the stars. “Psychological Jackal” scrapes as the guitars cloud the senses, the singing plodding as nighttime takes a greater hold. A deep Western vibe comes alive, making it feel like walking the outskirts of the desert at night, the guitars chugging and squalling, sounds dripping psychological warmth. The playing buzzes and sweeps from there, settling into echoes. “Inverted Whirlpool” is an instrumental that spins, humid guitars thickening the air, dreamlike melodies making you see mysterious visions. The smoke builds, only letting thin lasers cut through, cosmic heat continuing to generate as synth turns into alien textures. Closer “Ascension” spits static into dark folds, the sounds rolling through the clouds, the murk threatening. An angelic haze spreads its reach, bristling and sinking, bleeding into world beyond.

“Raw Blood Singing” shows Insect Ark in a form we’ve never seen them in before, and it has more to do with there being vocals included now. The playing and the themes are richer and more developed than ever before, and it feels like a different beast walking the earth on this album. This is a rebirth for a band that already was operating on a high level, and where they go from here is anyone’s guess as their metamorphosis seems to be just beginning.

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

To buy the album (North America), 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/

“Mental wounds not healing,” is one of the most recognizable lyrics in the history of heavy metal, and one of its most powerful. So many of us can relate to this line, feel it in our cores, and struggle with that reality every day that living becomes surviving, and trying to find solace or enjoyment can be a fruitless effort. It’s a darkness that refuses to leave.

Over the course of a decade and a half, Pallbearer have been at the forefront of melodic, melancholic doom metal, releasing four records that have changed the shape of the sound and helped this style explode. Their fifth record “Mind Burns Alive” certainly has most of the tenets of the band’s previous albums, but there is a lot more going on here. The songs are even more immersive, the emotion deeper in a way that addresses the aforementioned mental struggles these songs share as a theme, and even delve into progressive waters deeper than ever before. The band—vocalist/guitarist/synth player Brett Campbell, guitarist/vocalist Devin Holt, bassist/synth player/vocalist Joseph D. Rowland, drummer Mark Lierly—sounds passionate and earnest as they unfurl these six gems, entering into the minefield that is mental illness and the struggle to make it through the day.

“Where the Light Fades” opens with guitars circling and gentle singing, the sounds so hushed you might be tempted to turn up the volume. Don’t, as it’s by design and plays into the soft/loud dynamic. “Maybe we could fly, but we never learned to grow our wings,” Campbell calls mournfully, synth zapping through as the pace picks up. Guitars heat as things turn moodier and darker, the emotion burning away. The title track opens burlier, doomier, with leads lathering and the singing adding texture. “My mind has been ignited, I can feel it burning down,” Campbell sings, a feeling quite familiar to any anxiety sufferers. Softer sounds float and immerse, sullen leads pulling into thornier territory, a gaze washing over and dissolving into the earth. “Signals” brings slow, softer playing, the emotion bursting over the chorus, the fog ever thickening. “Searching for a way to survive the weight of your life,” Campbell levels, dark, sorrowful melodies flooding and overwhelming.

 “Endless Place” runs 10:38, and it starts in acoustics before the playing pounds harder, Campbell noting, “So, here I am, lost in a maze.” Spacious leads surround, and then the temperatures drop, pushing deeper into a cavern as the singing soars, and a smooth sax enters, adding steamy spaciness to the atmosphere. The breeziness rouses as the playing begins to pound harder, adding glimmering notes that drive to the finish. “Daybreak” seems to embody its title at first, dawning majestically, gradually, the singing soothing before the power kicks in. Then, the heaviness settles, the leads growing and basking in deep sunshine, energy coursing through your veins before the jolts subside briefly, new bursts meeting you on the other side. “With Disease” is the 10:35-long closer, beginning with guitars trickling before punches land, leads adding heat, and the singing spreading its wings. Fiery soloing unloads as the pressure increases, coarse blasting makes your muscles ache, and that all melts into a gloomy gaze. The playing blasts back and trudges, the power hitting a crescendo before mixing into starlight.

“Mind Burns Alive,” to me anyway, is a grower. It didn’t have the instant impact previous Pallbearer records have had, but as I spent more time with it, its power, messages, and music fully enraptured, making it one of the most interesting and personal of their records so far. Perhaps some of that comes from my own mental suffering and ability to relate, and as the playing continues to reveal itself, it turns into a portrait I more closely understood, one that makes for a companion to rely on in times of darkness.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://pallbearer.bfan.link/mind-burns-alive

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

It’s easy to fall into an endless cavern of despair and pain, and it’s just as simple to be overtaken by all of the negativity and sorrow as both can be overwhelming forces that can devour you whole. But it’s not impossible to overcome that, and fighting back from the pit of hopelessness is a sign of strength and perseverance one should embrace.

Glyph is a one-man black metal force helmed by vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Keeper of the Glyph, and the project’s excellent new record “Odes of Wailing, Hymns of Mourning” tells you a lot upfront about what the music contains. But like we said in the opening, even amidst so much darkness and sadness, triumph still can be present by trying to fight back against the chaos. Without knowing what informed the album, the music gives clear access to all of those areas, the dark and the light, and the melodies and driving emotions contained within the record easily can set one’s heart and mind ablaze. Yes, the mental heaviness has weight, but so does the surging power that can help you rise above the madness and live to fight another day. And another one beyond that in perpetuity.

“Of the Caverns” opens with sounds gushing, shrieks hammering away as the tornadic gust keeps gaining steam. The playing blisters as other colors blend into the mix, howls echoing as if in a cavern, effusive melodies picking up and spiraling into oblivion. “Man Has Succumbed to Madness” brings churning guitars, vicious howls, and a tempo that batters, rushing hard around folds and bends. The leads tangle as the cries bury you under rubble, everything encircling in an unforgiving storm. “All Anger and Hatred Manifesting” is humid to start, hypnosis stretching its pull, the screams crushing, a brief halt leading to all elements bleeding out and back in and fully mesmerizing. Nerve endings tingle as the center point tears opens again, savage cries reverberate as the bass pulses, and murk swallows everything whole. “Descending the Loam” is numbing as it starts, and then it begins to unload, riffs entrancing as the chaos blasts, trudging through a mauling gaze. Everything blisters before a frozen gaze hovers, the freezing ambiance pulling over steady cries and a snaking aura that jabs away.

“A Most Unwholesome Interaction” serves up frothy melodies and crushing growls, the blood feeling like it is retreating from your extremities. Shrieks ripple as the bass playing quakes the earth, a gush of infectious power getting into your bloodstream, battering at the same time until the lights go out. “The Unfortunate Gentleman in Question” opens as icy black metal, guitars jabbing as the howls cause brush burns, the slippery bass work icing mental wounds. The playing cascades as the leads strike and coat veins with salt, leading into heavy riffs that usher in a crushing end. “To Lose What We Have Learned” starts with ominous leads, the frost again becoming a factor, the vocals lashing at flesh as the tempo crushes. Speed injects more energy as an entrancing presence looms, melodic leads hurtling into the sky. Closer “Between Ghost and Gloom” arrives with sorrowful riffs and an eruption that spits rock through the air, mauling and glimmering. The glow gets more penetrating as a new eruption spews lava, emotional waves blazing toward your heart, the fires raging one more time before abruptly fading.

It’s impossible to experience “Odes of Wailing, Hymns of Mourning” and not feel it in every cell of your being, as Glyph has been a project into which all of its creator’s blood and guts are spilled generously. The pain and triumph both are there and palpable, and once the music comes to an end, you’ll feel like you’ve gone through a full emotional journey. This is a record that takes hold of you and pulls you along all of the twists and turns physically and psychologically, leaving you more calloused for the better.

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

To buy the album (vinyl), go here: https://shapeofstormsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/glyph-odes-of-wailing-hymns-of-mourning

Or here (CD): https://fiadh.bandcamp.com/

Or here (cassette): https://weregnomerecords.bandcamp.com/album/odes-of-wailing-hymns-of-mourning

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

And here: https://www.facebook.com/fiadhproductions

And here: https://weregnomerecords.bandcamp.com/

We live in dark times with a very real threat that things only are going to get worse. So much of that can be dropped into the laps of humanity as people fall deeper into a chasm of misinformation, baseless conspiracies, political carnage, and societal bloodletting that preys on the marginalized and the less fortunate.

LA-based destroyers Swampbeast have returned with a bloodthirsty new record “Offering of Chaos, Lamenting in the Blood of Man” that contains easily some of their most destructive music to date. This 10-track, 39-minute album zeroes in on the chaos that’s enveloped this world and the pathway within us to try to avoid the worst of it, and the band’s music is more than up to the task of exposing this all. It’s easy to get caught up in the audio violence committed by Swampbeast—drummer/vocalist Marecov Mena, guitarist/vocalist/keyboardist Mike Royal, guitarist Josey Aguilar, bassist Eric Cruz—and taking on this brawler will leave you bruised mentally and physically.

“Transmutations of Human Flesh” just rips open, a total black metal-style front, savage and entering into dizzying madness. Ferocious howls make the ground quake, lathering through ominous darkness, driving to a fiery end. “The One Below” scorches, a crushing pace adding to the accumulating force, the heat melting through devastating howls. The playing chars and defaces, causing blood to flow as we head into “Valley of Defilement” that blasts with tricky guitars. Infernal power mashes faces as everything is turned to dust before demonically reforming. Rubbery, slashing playing peaks, the growls decimating, the speed and carnage pushing to a stabbing end. “Brand of Heresy” trudges, a decimating presence threatening safety, the leads firing up and slaughtering the senses. The bass thickens as things get more muscular, added black metal influences bleeding in, a sludgy finish bringing down the hammer. “Bestial Sanctuary” is dizzying as the leads glimmer, the beastly roars caving in chests, crazed leads playing tricks with your sanity. Guitars heat up as the growls chew on nerves, frying flesh to a crisp.

“Impetuous Black Pyre” feels calculated, driving menacingly as the growls punish, and the guitars spiral into oblivion. Fiery punishment explodes as rubbery guitar work confounds, bringing everything to a dizzying, ashen finish. “Nuckelavee” is nearly as hideous as its namesake as crazed riffs take off, and a panic-inducing tempo takes over, making adrenaline surge. Monstrous bruising is administered, the howls crushing as the playing tramples everything in its path, leaving a total wreck behind. “Deathscourged Blade of Consecration” is ferocious, the vocals feeling like a firestorm, the playing tangling brain wiring as the guitars chug away. Total destruction spreads like a merciless storm, the pace slowing and suffocating, churning into instrumental cut “Incantations of the Tarnished” that bathes in noise. Guitars liquify as the bass plods, melting into the earth to set the stage for closing track “Fate Relinquished.” The playing attacks immediately, hellish playing feeling like an inferno, bludgeoning and turning guts inside out. The guitars chill for a stretch, but then the heat rises, and the force methodically builds to a crescendo, blazing and making balance impossible, bleeding into time.

“Offering of Chaos, Lamenting in the Blood of Man” is a hammering display of black metal-inspired death, a real step up for Swampbeast, who already had a solid resume before this. Every inch of this feels harrowing and bloody, a record that feels like it warns of the darkness ahead, something so many of us can feel in our guts. This record will damage your psyche but perhaps prepare you to handle some of the darkest years of our lives if they come to pass.  

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

To buy the album, go here: https://translationloss.com/collections/swampbeast-1/products/offering-of-chaos-lamenting-in-the-blood-of-man-lp

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

There are a lot of heavy, devasting bands in our midst, so much so that sometimes the glut of music can lose its overall impact. That’s why you have to ensure there are artists whose intent is clear and that the violent force is as obvious as the moon in a clear night sky. This is ferocity and terror that’s fully imagined, making the pretenders fall by the wayside.

We have not heard from Canadian horde Adversarial in nearly a decade, but their silence has ended with their volcanic third record “Solitude With the Eternal” that is landing like a planet-altering asteroid into our laps. This eight-track, nearly 32-minute beast makes clear this band is one of those whose mission cannot be questioned, and they aren’t here to sell T-shirts. They’re here to batter you limb from limb which the band—vocalist/guitarist C.S., bassist M.M., drummer E.K.—does supremely effectively, forcing you to face every lashing twist and turn, every cavern of fear and pain. Death and black fucking metal.

“Beware the Howling Darkness on Thine Left Shoulder” opens suddenly in the midst of animalistic hell, molten chaos pouring over prone bodies as vicious howls bruise flesh. Bone-rattling playing pushes on as the growls seethe, and the slaughtering tempo increases the ugliness. “Hatred Kiln of Vengeance” numbs before the drums explode and plaster, growls bubbling as the hellish nightmare gets into your brain. The playing races faster as the growls fry your brain wiring, the aggression multiplying as the final strains succumb to echoes. “Witness to the Eternal Light” mangles as the drums pummel and the growls put you to the test. The leads catch fire as the growls bury you in burning coals, the leads tingling and causing your blood to rush as everything blasts out. “Death Is an Advisor in the Woods of the Devil” is mesmerizing as it starts, but it’s not long until the pace tears open, and the drumming hits so hard it opens flesh. The playing gets creakier as the pressure plays tricks on your mind, boiling in hell and causing breathing to suffer.

“Crushed Into the Kingdom of Darkness” is eerie, unfurling like a fog, beasty snarls crawling down your spine. The aura is icy and ugly, the tempo picking up, and along with it, the heat. Growls pound away as the guitars conjure black magic, obscuring everything in noxious smoke. “Merging Within the Destroyer” starts with drums fully engulfing, guitars going off as the growls peel flesh from bone. A blazing front is lit that consumes everything, guitars torching and teasing, spiraling as the violence sends blood spatter. “Fanes at the Engur” is another that greets you with the drums in full devourment, bones rattling as growls retch, a massive assault barreling full speed down a hill. The drums pulverize anew, guitars warping, the heat causing your concentration to go haywire. “Endless Maze of Blackest Dominion” closes the record and does so in totally mauling fashion, the growls boiling as the pulverizing tempo does its best to increase the levels of torture. The playing races while the guitars border on zany, every element fully engulfing as the final blasts split skulls.

“Solitude With the Eternal” is a record you cannot just approach half-heartedly, as it will take you under in no time and grind you in its gears. This is vile and violent death metal, the type Adversarial make so daunting and dangerous that it feels like every ounce of this music is entering your bloodstream to sicken you. This is a beast threatening to drag you to the darkest regions of your mind and run your face in your own fears.

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

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

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

You don’t really know this until you’re deep inside of it, but grief and emotional torment take a physical toll on your body. There is pain beyond what you feel in your heart and mind that can manifest itself in your body, making you feel like your were battered and bruised by a cage fighter. Grief and loss can overwhelm you in ways you cannot possibly imagine until those factors become a part of your life.

Denver’s BleakHeart have spent two records grappling with the misery that accompanies loss, the latest being “Silver Pulse,” an album that has powers beyond its doom-rich, entrancing music. Following up their 2020 debut “Dream Griever,” the band—vocalist/keyboardist/bassist Kelly Schilling (also of the great Dreadnought), guitarists JP Damron and Mark Chronister, vocalist/synth player Kiki GaNun, drummer Joshua Quinones, though Garrett B Jones handles drums in the live setting—spills all of their emotion and vulnerability into these six tracks. They lay bare the physical effects one withstands throughout life with handling grief, and they also push into how pain affects those who are on the other end, dealing with an illness and trying to find the strength to survive. Understanding these things and working to absorb the impact may key to fighting through and living alongside torment.

“All Hearts Desire” starts doomy as hell, keys shimmering, singing floating through the storm. The playing delves into the fog and gets dreamier, the synth swimming through shadowy waters, Schilling calling, “I feel their eyes watching,” as the moments dissolve. “Sinking Sea” starts with guitar thickening mists, the singing soothing as the emotion caterwauls, strings adding a frothing gaze. Reflective melodies ripple as things tighten up, the sounds swell, and the singing swirls before fading. “Where I’m Disease” begins with a capella calls, keys quivering as the guitars echo, delicate singing sending chills down your spine. The playing swirls as the guitars bristle, a nighttime vibe making your flesh cool to the touch, the keys chiming to a chilling finish.

“Let Go” starts with the keys dropping, lasers moving through mystical air, meandering purposely as the proper aura is achieved. Strings haunt as the song slinks, the icy terrain melting, consumed by heaviness and shadows. “Weeping Willow” is a more direct song, one that drives to its point, the guitars adding muscle as singing surges, scraping stardust. Keys glimmer as the guitars pick up the pace, the singing pushing back harder, the heavy strain spilling blood that runs into the rivers. Closer “Falling Softly” is the longest track, running 8:14 and opening in entrancing vibes, tranquility numbing your mind. The playing basks in darkness, hypnosis sinking in even deeper, sounds enveloping you, darkening as the notes hit harder. Clouds carry emotional tumult, twisting your bruised nerve endings, dissolving into the cosmos.

The pain and mental toll one pays when losing someone or facing down a disease can devastate, and that’s a toll one pays for life. BleakHeart’s elegant doom and heartfelt energy on “Silver Pulse” make that lesson hit hard, but it also offers an opening for healing and finding new strength that exist within the callouses of sadness. It’s not the heaviest record you’ll hear sonically, but it might be emotionally as it has its way with you and leaves you bruised and but hopeful you’ll survive the hard times.   

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

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

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

We live in precarious times, and on top of that, we have political strife that is dragging us to new lows and a disassociation with society as we disappear further into our phones and other devices designed to keep us tuned into a never-ending doom scroll. It’s hard to battle back from that once the hooks are in us, and things such as corporate greed and our disintegrating planet become background noise instead front burner issues.

Portland doom duo Semuta are living in that same reality, watching our power as humans erode away as we’re continually done in by government misdeeds and the further devastation of the most vulnerable members of society. It’s hard to feel hopeful because it doesn’t appear the downward spiral is anywhere near stopping, and the band—vocalist/guitarist/bassist Benjamin Caragol and drummer Ben Stoller—adds weight to those issues with their harrowing, yet melodic creations. The five tracks on their debut album “Glacial Erratic” mix a nice blend of doom and post-metal into a cauldron of power that can capture your imagination and hopefully pull more people back into the center of the fight.

“Toeing the Line” opens by spreading an immersive doom pall, the guitars bursting as clean singing adds color to the proceedings. In fact, Caragol’s singing reminds me a bit of Pallbearer’s Brett Campbell, which is a good thing. The playing is then crushing and even rubbery, churning through spacious terrain, the singing soothing as the waves engulf and hammer to an emotional end. “A Distant Light” jolts with guitars, progressive strains mixing in, the singing floating above the clouds. The melodies glow and usher in a psychedelic calm, the visceral pounding chewing away, the speed picking up and crushing as the scars slowly burn into flesh.

The title track is serene at first before the playing batters, softer singing wafting, trudging as the melodies leave tingles. The ground quakes as the tension builds, the guitars lighting up the sky, prog-fueled ambition driving harder, the leads glistening amid cosmic synth. “Selective Memory” has keys glazing, the singing easing in, jostling as the burliness thickens, blows landing hard. There’s an atmospheric gush that gets more pronounced, Caragol calling, “Trying to figure out which of those is really me,” an existential crisis moment that’s palpable, the doom might bleeding into closer “Wounds at the Stem” that immediately soars into space. Guitars echo as the playing slowly pounds flesh, twisting sinew and bending around corners, the singing pushing back as the playing darkens. Calming waters flow as wordless calls pulsate, heavy doom crushing to a echoing end.

It’s hard to imagine things get better anytime soon as far as our societal fracture and governments exercising their will on people, which Semuta highlight so forcefully on “Glacial Erratic.” This is melodic and thought-provoking music, even as it shines a light on some of the worst segments of our society. Change can’t happen if we’re constantly distracted by phones and other trinkets, and as long as the malaise continues, so will the weight of the boot standing on our necks.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://semutamusic.bandcamp.com/album/glacial-erratic