15. AGRICULTURE, “The Spiritual Sound” (The Flenser): It is completely impossible to hear a piece of music from LA-based black metal power Agriculture and not be moved in some way. Maybe it’s even aversion, but at least you’re reacting. They call their style ecstatic black metal, and their swarming, neck-jerking album “The Spiritual Sound” delivers that and so much more. The band—vocalist/guitarist Dan Meyer, vocalist/bassist Leah B. Levinson, guitarist Richard Chowenhill, drummer Kern Haug—sounds as channeled and confident as ever, and this 10-track, 44-minute excursion challenges you mind and body, dashing through boundaries, mixing your brain chemicals, and sometimes even leaning toward delicacy.
“My Garden” is an explosive opener, and it is all over the fucking map in the best possible way. Bass chugs before the pace incinerates, mauling as shrieks kill, and the band even leans into hardcore terrain that powders bone. The chorus is unexpectedly clean, but then a stir crazy burst re-opens, attacking until everything spirals out. “Flea” charges up, speaking murmuring over the first verse, shrieks peeling away flesh with glass. Singing lulls as the pace slows down, and then screams sit alone, in a vacuum, warping. “Bodhidharma” (which features the fucking riff of the year) centers on the founder of Zen Buddhism and his successor Huike, guitars mangling from the gate before things go instantly silent, desperate screaming ringing out in desolation. The nitro bursts out of quiet are jarring, even on subsequent listens, and the transformation from agony to peace lands firmly. Singing lulls before turning dreamy, and then electrified soloing causes your blood to boil, incredible energy surging as shrieks rip, blending into “Hallelujah.” Acoustics scrape as clean singing goes high, the call of, “My head is on fire,” reminding of Huike. There is no more human and emotionally naked experience than an Agriculture record. (Oct. 3)
For more on the band, go here: https://agriculturemusic.bandcamp.com/
To buy the album, go here: https://nowflensing.com/collections/agriculture
For more on the label, go here: https://nowflensing.com/
14. ANCIENT DEATH, “Ego Dissolution” (Profound Lore): Those unaware of death metal’s true powers, the ones who think this is just noise and vocals that are devoid of any talent, have been laughed off for a while now. Anyone still in the camp can take on “Ego Dissolution,” the debut from death ghouls Ancient Death, and once again be put to shame. This force, helmed by vocalist/guitarist Jerry Witunsky (whose presence in Atheist bleeds over here), bassist/vocalist Jasmine Alexander, guitarist Ray Brouwer, drummer Derek Moniz, spills all of their ambitions into this record, one that should stand as a starting point for one of this sub-genre’s most important contributors the next decade and beyond.
The title track opens, rumbling and trudging, the leads exploring the outer regions, preparing for launch beyond this world. “Breaking the Barriers of Hope” ignites, the speed mashing, a haze hanging over the middle of this beast, the final movement exploding with guitar work that should rewire your brain. “Breathe (Transcend Into the Glowing Streams of Forever)” features Alexander’s ethereal singing, a complement to Witunsky’s animalistic growls, the song basking in a creativity that should destroy boundaries. “Echoing Chambers With the Dismal Mind” again features Alexander plying haunting vocals to a blistering display that dislodges joints. Closer “Violet Light Decays” is strange and spiraling, stretching the psychosis and punishment to extremes that are mentally stimulating. Great fucking band, and I can’t wait to see where this goes. (April 18)
For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063961366741#
To buy the album, go here: https://ancient-death.bandcamp.com/album/ego-dissolution
13. BLUT AUS NORD, “Ethereal Horizons” (Debemur Morti): Blut Aus Nord’s music always seems to come from somewhere not of this plane or maybe even this universe, and their intergalactic ambitions never have been a secret. On their 16th record “Ethereal Horizons,” the band—vocalist/guitarist Vindsval, bassist GhÖst, drummer/keyboard player/electronics master W.D. Feld—continues to dip into the great unknown and create another adventure that can be absorbed mentally and psychologically. It’s an album that fits nicely alongside their last couple but also branches deeper into other elements, not all of them metallic in nature.
“Shadows Breathe First” starts rather gently, serenely almost, and it takes a few moments before the storm situates itself, the familiar detached snarls echoing in the background of a star system. Clean singing wafts, reminding a bit of Robert Smith, while the power zaps through with illuminated edges, the playing growing progressive, growls gurgling before the energy swoops away. “Seclusion” is dark and cold at the outset, a spellbinding display pulling you to the center of the vortex. “The Fall Opens the Sky” explodes with melodic gust, stomping through wiry guitars and elegant, angelic keys that dash constellations across the night canopy. The playing takes on a fantasy vibe, the guitars blasting new holes into reality, the whole animal gushing new blood, drums smashing as all the elements crash to the ground. Closer “The End Becomes Grace” runs 12:23 and instantly stirs, shrieks attacking, the playing dissolving into weird, rubbery noises that lend a deeper alien feel. How do they keep fucking doing this?! (Nov. 28)
For more on the band, go here: https://blutausnord.bandcamp.com/
To buy the album (North America), go here: https://debemurmorti.aisamerch.com/
Or here (Europe): https://www.debemur-morti.com/en/
For more on the label, go here: https://www.debemur-morti.com/en/
12. CLAIRVOYANCE, “Chasm of Immurement” (Carbonized): Polish death crushers Clairvoyance’s debut full-length “Chasm of Immurement” doesn’t address the crumbling state of the world, but the dread and hell and misery that’s attached? Yeah, they serve that up in abundance with devastating, doom-infested death metal that feels like it collects all its disgust to hurl back at whatever target it choose. The band—vocalist Maciej Cesarczyk, guitarist/vocalist Denis Didenko, guitarist Kacper Pawluk, bassist Vlad Levchenko, drummer Adrian Szczepański—piles pressure and madness into six tracks and 34 minutes that ravage fully and make a case for them being hailed as one of the next new death metal bands to help carry the banner.
“Eternal Blaze” opens in buried growls and then begins to trudge with force, guitars punishing as the burly attack gets under way. The fury mounts as growls corrode, speeding up as the carnage ravages in full, leaving ash behind. “Hymn of the Befouled” has guitars tangling and battering, cavernous growls reaching into your guts, spacious leads taking off from there, infusing atmosphere. “Reign of Silence” is doomy as hell, growls turning things more vicious, the playing blistering and pulling you through the mud. Closer “Monument to Dread” enters amid violent drumming, mashing growls, and a monstrous push into daggers and cragged rocks. The bass drives as the pace mauls slower, the guitars tearing through flesh walls, sinking in their teeth. (July 18)
For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/clairvoyancedeathmetal
To buy the album, go here (U.S.): https://carbonizedrecords.merchtable.com/search?q=CLAIRVOYANCE%2F
Or here (Europe): https://carbonizedrecordseu.com/
For more on the label, go here: https://carbonizedrecords.bandcamp.com/
11. RANAGA/DROWSE, “Ash Souvenir” (The Flenser): “Ash Souvenir” is a collaborative album combining black metal power Ragana (Maria and Noel, who both handle vocals and all instrumentation, often switching roles) and drone artist Drowse (Kyle Bate). The piece originally was developed as a commission piece for Roadburn in 2024, and now we have a recorded version that is wrenching emotionally. It’s a dark, reflective, often explosive dive into the pain and torment that comes with helping suffering loved ones and mourning those who have left this plane.
“In Eternal Woods Pts. 1-3” is an immersive 13:45-long opener, a track that lets everything breathe from the clean guitars to the rustic edges to the easy-flowing strings that create a fog. Voices warble behind a wall of sound before guitars cut through, and shrieks finally jostle about six minutes in, peeling paint from walls. The pace jolts as the cries grow more desperate, gazey leads bask in energy pockets as feedback wails, battering before softer singing soothes wounds. “After Image” is chilly too, Bate’s vocals taking over, the only time he is on lead on the record. The playing and words lead you through the misty forests as the verses bring calm, the choruses delivering the tumult. The title track closes the record, images of the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens permeate as everything is coated in soot. Guitars are delicate as the soft singing pays the homage, the repeat calls of, “There is nothing to lose,” imprinting on your heart. This is an emotional wrecker. (Nov. 14)
For more on the Ragana, go here: https://ragana.bandcamp.com/
For more on Drowse, go here: https://drowse.bandcamp.com/
To buy the album, go here: https://nowflensing.com/collections/ragana
For more on the label, go here: https://nowflensing.com/
Meat Mead Metal 