There are people out there—the person writing this passage may be one of them—who have a tendency to see connections between things that are unrelated. I could go on and on about the different ways this has played a role in my life and the solutions I have tried to diffuse the situation, but this is a heavy music blog, not necessarily a place for my personal therapy sessions.

Pittsburgh’s Emilio Rizzo, the mastermind behind drone/doom project Fuzznaut, chose the title “Apophenia” after hearing the word used on a true crime podcast, yet another thing here in which I heavily relate. Add that phenomenon to the pandemic, people buying into conspiracy theories and purposeful misinformation, and you have the recipe for a disaster. There certainly are threads of darkness sewn through these six songs, and how could there not be considering what we’ve all been through? But in the midst of that also is tribute to fallen heroes, namely Gared O’Donnell of the criminally underappreciated Planes Mistaken for Stars and guitar god Eddie Van Halen, adding a sad reminder that life is fragile, and we don’t always have with us the people who helped put us on our path.

The title track starts things, the drone spreading as the guitars flex, traveling through dust and developing a desert vibe. Ominous tones darken skies, but then light beams through and lessens the murk, pavement melts, and everything unfolds before zapping into space. “Parasitic Oscillation” delivers scuffed guitars and dirty quivering as steely melodies intertwine with the light. Things get sludgier and charring as agitated riffs strike, the doomy storm thickens, and the spirit then bleeds way. “What You Seek (Seeks You)” jostles as it enters, slowly unfurling into dissonance, the sounds thinning out like a rain easing up and letting sun through. Distorted leads burn and mystify, and that leads to burlier playing and noises hanging in the air before dissolving.

“Hawks Over Fifth” feels atmospheric and rough at the same time, the guitars heading into strange air as hypnosis begins to take hold. Things get dusty and grungy as the spirit of the thing floats through the air and into your vulnerable lungs. “Seconds Between a Swing and a Hit” (inspired by O’Donnell) opens with a lonesome vibe, the guitars echoing and flooding the senses. The vibe turns moody and rather sinister as your flesh chills, the playing buzzes and reverberates, and everything hurdles off into space. Closer “5184” contains a main riff that was written Oct. 6, 2020, the day Eddie Van Halen died, a fitting tribute from one guitarist to another. The playing trickles and trudges and at times makes the darkness take hold, but then gritty guitar work unlocks hidden sunshine. The playing still haunts in the midst of all of that, and the final moments mangle your psyche before finally letting go.

Rizzo creates an immersive and highly listenable collection of guitar and drone dirges on “Apophenia,” something you can put on if you need time for reflection or you just want to burn one as a long day comes to an end. Fuzznaut is a project that likely will find favor with Earth fans as well as those following local smokers The Long Hunt, and the trip you take here is numbing and slightly mind altering. This is a journey through a dry heat, but one that’ll feel oddly calming and psychologically rewarding.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://fuzznaut.bandcamp.com/album/apophenia

Dark adventures are not for everyone, but those who embark can find so many things to take away, even when the waters are choppy and dangerous. Records that are more theatrical in presentation don’t offer the quick sugary shots 3-minute songs can, but using your imagination and indulging in the music can help you take that journey and get way more than you can from a bite size.

“Black Terrain,” the second record from Forlesen, is an album that is not great fodder for making quick playlists, unless their music is going to be helping you through a five-hour dental surgery (thanks, Forlesen!). These four tracks that stretch over nearly 60 minutes require your full immersion in order to get all the nutrients packed inside, but if you commit, you’ll find yourself on that dark sojourn, visiting murky terrain but also some exciting peaks that fill your guts with excitement. The band—Ascalaphus (vocals, guitars, synth, harmonium, bass), Bezaelith (vocals, bass, guitars, synth), Petit Albert (guitars, synth, Hammond B3 organ, backing vocals), Maleus (drums)— all have experience with other forward-thinking acts including the Botanist, Lotus Thief, Maudlin of the Well, and Kayo Dot, and they pour all of their imagination, solemnity, anger, and restlessness into this incredible record. It should be noted the great Leila Abdul-Rauf provides glockenspiel and trumpet, helping these four artists flesh out songs that are their own mini cinematic adventures that will enthrall and shake your hungry psyche.

“Strega” is the 19:10 opener, a track that works through a lifetimes of emotions and experiences, feeling like a centuries-long excursion from the wounds sustained. Doom clouds as Ascalaphus’s gentle vocals tell the story of loss and longing, melting through sorrow as Bezaelith’s joins as well, the somber journey only getting darker. The tempo picks up as the guitars drive the dagger, growls sizzle beneath, and we’re back to quiet and calmer waters, with agony swimming beneath. “We are the damned, but we held each other sometimes, we are the damned, then our arms became like chains,” infect your blood, a scorching fury unloads and leaves flesh torched, and the delicate surge takes over and flows into the title track, the shortest track on here, running 8:57. Sounds hover as gloomy passages get thicker and more ominous, drums echoing as Bezaelith calls into the shadows. The storm hangs over head as static spits, and a long, dark, dreamy passage gets more immersive, continuing to bolster stormy skies threatening and eventually sliding its way into oblivion.

“Harrowed Earth” runs 12:29 and delivers an instant burst, furious growls gnawing as bruised flesh begs for solace. “Avert not thine eyes, thou art lost, and cowardice becomes only the suicides, the path revealed, raise up a rock and murder love,” is wailed and blackens hearts, vicious shrieks penetrate, and the fires engulf and spread. There’s a respite from the vicious waves as Bezaelith calls over the tension, paying the emotional toll and soothing wounds. Things slowly melt as wild cries slash the sky, staggering riffs numb, and everything comes to a blurry end. Closer “Saturnine” runs 18:07, and the first eight minutes or so generate cosmic coldness, hovering and speaking in murmurs, exposing you to the frighteningly spacious universe. Guitars then buzz in and send shrapnel flying, the playing buzzes, and both voices combine and generate dreams before unrealized. “Time makes beasts of all its golden children, wild eyed, the ever-churning tide, as we egress through parodies of infancy, and we await being born,” makes your mind tumble and fall, hearts gush as the playing spirals, and the final call of, “Go now and let it all come…” haunts you dimensionally and reverberates as everything fades in noise.

“Black Terrain” is an exceptional experience, a record you absolutely must visit multiple times so that every rich element here can get into your brain and stimulate your imagination. Forlesen bring plenty of darkness but also the possibility of rebirth on your own terms, and these four tracks and nearly hourlong run time provide a thrilling and harrowing adventure of surging highs and crushing lows, embodying the human experience. This is a record that’s hard to fully convey in words, hard as we tried, so visit the music, make the journey yourself, and take inventory of your own transformation once the Forlesen craft lands and drops you off in the shadows of your own doorstep.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/black-terrain

Or here: https://metalodyssey.8merch.us/

For more on the label, go here: http://i-voidhanger.com/

Record and music come together in various different ways under myriad circumstances, and surely each album you experience has a story behind it. The one we have today is a tale of friendship, health struggles no one would ever want to face, and the strength it takes to make something come true that you’ve formed inside your head.

“II,” the new record from Dead Cross, is one that sounds chaotic, pummeling, and abrasive, and without knowing what went into the creation, you’d likely just think it’s a group of heavy music vets releasing their frustration and making noise. Yet, this album is a bigger deal than that. Guitarist Michael Crain was diagnosed with an advanced form of cancer in 2019, and to help cope, he gathered his powerhouse bandmates—vocalist Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle), bassist/vocalist Justin Pearson (The Locust), and drummer Dave Lombardo (ex-Slayer)—and got to work on these killer nine tracks. This was all going on while Crain was suffering from the nausea and physical demand of recovering from treatment, with that agony driving his work and the band rallying around their friend as they made music that pays homage to each of their adventures into the art they chose. That makes this beast even more powerful.

“Love Without Love” kicks off with guitars scuffing and Patton whisper singing, one of his most threatening tools. The chorus is simple but ominous, and later on, everything goes wild including Patton, who ends this with one of my favorite lines of the year: “Like Billy Joel, I’ll be moving out.” “Animal Espionage” trudges as spacey guitars lurk, and then the pace suddenly knifes with dangerous energy. The vocals numb as the guitars stretch into space, and all cylinders fire dangerously as Patton taunts, “Wish I was one of them, so I could blend. Pig champion, champion!” “Heart Reformer” blasts with punk energy and speedy vocals, warping your psyche as it makes its move. The playing swims in weirdness, slurring and staggering, manic energy pounding your congealing wounds. “Strong and Wrong” is crazed and echoey, Patton using the megaphone gimmick to make his vocals stranger and more detached. The chaos snaps as rants slash, and thrashy fire buries you under still heated ash.

“Ants and Dragons” takes off with the vocals blistering and manic energy pouring like diesel. There’s a strange, nightmarish vibe and Patton jabs, “Who is the monster in the room? Two choices: Me or you,” a question with an answer that isn’t very calming. The playing charges and smashes, squeals pierce your brain, and everything burns off in a squall. “Nightclub Canary” launches in relentless power that slashes at your mind, convulsive energy making bile charge up your throat. Things then slink into trashy alleyways before the fires are lit again, and maniacal howls deface you over the mangling finish. “Christian Missile Crisis” has Pearson taking over on vocals as the track torments and punishes. “I’m not the creep that you know, I’ve got a mental problem that you borrow, watch me paint it black and fucking take it back,” Pearson lunges as the energy combusts, safety is an option taken off the table, and a psyche wash swallows everything whole. “Reign of Error” is a 1:46 bruiser than enters, delivers snarling riffs, chugging speed, and scarring shouts, then it leaves before you know what hit you. Closer “Imposter Syndrome” has Lombardo firmly behind the wheel, his drums pacing and driving, the rest of the mind fuck forming around him. “It takes one to never know one,” Patton wails repeatedly on this track, fucking up your mental space, exposing the lies you tell yourself. This is all amid a monstrous pace that chews on your last nerves and sizzles out, dragging you behind.

“II” is a massive, satisfying, electric chapter in Dead Cross’ story, and the strength, nausea, and torture it took to create this thing is astounding, a total genuflection in front of Crain as he battled for his life making this incredible music with his friends. As mangled and tortured and animalistic as these songs are, and you will pay a mental toll, it’d so oddly heartwarming to know just how these songs came together and the pain and camaraderie stitched into each one. Dead Cross has made and surely will continue to make incredible, stimulating art, but everything that went into this, all of the human emotion and suffering, could make “II” the most impactful thing the band ever creates.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://deadcross.lnk.to/dc2

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

It’s the perfect time of year for a spooky tale, one that has you immersed in the mythology, grabbing the arm of someone next to you as your anxiety rises, exhaling as the heroes make their way through danger and live to see another day. You think about the journey for days, going over every twist and turn, examining each arc, and losing yourself in something that could rob you of your soul.

On that manner of thinking comes “Two Shadows,” the gothy, slithery, sometimes delightfully sugary debut record from Hoaxed, who piqued the interest at the folks over at metal stalwart Relapse Records. It’s a diverse roster, and this band—vocalist/guitarist Kat Keo and drummer Kim Coffel—fits comfortably as they’re not quite heavy enough to be pure metal but also punchy enough to be one of the darker, more intriguing members of that collection of bands. The record is nine tracks that flow forcefully, confidently, and melodically, an album that’s fun and foreboding, easily capable of capturing your heart and imagination as you take the dark path behind them to an experience that could leave you gasping in a puddle of cold sweat. 

The title track opens the record and sets the scene as a brief instrumental with chilling winds and strange vibes that prepares you for what’s to come. “The Call” is a killer track, the first cut you’d send to radio if it that format had any guts. Keys drip as the energy rises, and the melodic energy belts you, driving you deeper into the dark. “The shadow comes for you when you least expect it to,” Keo warns as the track delves back into its endless supply of power, rounding out with the chorus. “The Knowing” enters in the void, crawling and sprawling, making your nerve endings react. “Don’t you want to know what your future holds? Don’t you want to know your fate?” Keo posits as a menacing spirits moves through you, the band’s catchy fire overwhelming you. The track punches, spookiness enthralls, and the tension finally ends when the threat subsides. “For Love” starts with a ticking clock and the melodies driving, moving into infectious strangeness. The verses surge as the chorus knocks you backward, cold synth unfurls like a dragging mist, and everything is swallowed in echo. “Grand Illusions” splits open and gnaws on you, Keo calling, “Falling freely into eternity, never ending into the uncertainty, not yours, watch your words.” Blood rushes as gloomy presences lurk behind you, everything blasting away.

“High Seas” fittingly fills the scene with rushing waters and organs haunting, the verses pumping vaporous energy that settles in your bones. The track is catchy as fuck, rewarding your willingness to confront chaos with them, and Keo howls, “I have lived, I have died, I have learned, the fates will lie,” as the playing lands in its final resting place. “Guilty Ones” is ominous as it dawns, sneaking toward you and making you nervous for cover. The drumming clubs as your adrenaline is forced to peak, your brain trying to protect you from what hides behind the shadows. “The judgment is final, no one can show you the way, the verdict is swift, hold on to your faith,” Keo warns, mystical dynamism taking hold and fading into mystery. “Where Good Won’t Go” opens in murky waters, setting the ambiance and pulling you deep into the tunnel with it. You’re forced to feel your way through, following as the story unfolds and trying to position yourself where any sliver of light is available. The track pulls back just a bit to let somber visions pop, and then the playing submits to the gloom and drains away. Closer “Forsaken” is slurry before it picks up speed, and the vibe feels like something born in a dingy garage with ghostly beings outside. “There’s blood in the water, the terrors descend, we were all destined for violent ends,” Keo calls as the playing jars, the pressure mounts, and the story ends with you gasping from your sleep.

Hoaxed have an excellent, easily digested debut full-length record with “Two Shadows,” an album that feels like dark horror adventure about a town that has no home and only claims victims. The playing is energetic and infectious, and you can’t help but fall victim to these nine tracks as the terrain unfolds before you. This record will capture your imagination, make your flesh chill with their morbid storytelling, and have the hooks rolling around in your heads for weeks on end.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://store.relapse.com/hoaxed-two-shadows

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

I have embraced a practice where after my workday is done and the hours are winding down, I dabble in some legal substances to help soothe my mind and get me an extra boost leading into the next day for dealing with my anxiety. Each night, I try to pair that with some music, and it’s been a really interesting experimentation in finding out what works in that frame of mind and what doesn’t.

One absolutely perfect collection for when my mind is stretching out and relaxing is “Bluenothing,” the new mini album from Florida doom/death/black metal lurkers Worm, whose “Foreverglade” was one of the main revelations from 2021. Speaking of that album, half of what you hear here was born in the sessions for that record, while the other half demonstrates a new beast, and all of which is completely mind melting and ultimately stimulating. Long helmed by Phantom Slaughter (vocals, guitar, bass, synth), the band was boosted by the addition of guitarist Wroth Septentrion (Atramentus, VoidCeremony, Chthe-ilist, live member of Hulder), whose work takes these songs into a foggy stratosphere not previously explored by this mind-altering band. There is extra help from Nihilistic Manifesto (guitars on “Shadowside Kingdom”); Necreon (Cauterized, Funebrarum) who plays bass on “Shadowside Kingdom”; L. Dusk (drums on “Bluenothing”) and “Centuries of Ooze II”; and Charlie Koryn (Vrenth, VoidCeremony, etc.) who plays drums on “Shadowside Kingdom.” It’s a true team effort, and it’ll liquify your mind and pour it like a syrup over the ground.

The 11:33-long title track opens things, and is it ever a steamy, fiery adventure that heats up right away and oozes gothic power. Growls swell as the murk spreads, the guitars slurring and filling your mind with cosmic wonder, muddy mashing following that and making things uglier. A somber haze reaches great distances as calmer waters wash over the scorched shores, and then the pace shifts and gets edgier. Shrieks batter as the fog gets harder to traverse, guitars laser through the weather front, and that spirit swarms until it drains into the ground. “Centuries of Ooze II” is the second installment of a series that began on “Foreverglade,” and it starts amid stirring organs as the bottom drops, and doom power clutches its victim. Solemn calls work their way through the night, guitars glow and spill, and shrieks and growls penetrate the psyche, lurching and creeping. Guitars flow like lava, soaring into chilling singing that creates a massive pall from which you can’t escape. “Invoking the Dragonmoon” simmers in chilling keys and a dream state that takes hold and impacts your mind. Guitars warm and sprawl, fires crackle, and everything flows into closer “Shadowside Kingdom” that arrives in winds and acoustic guitars haunting. Clean calls echo as the playing gets more immersive, and then fiery hell explodes, shocking your system and defacing planets, the intensity spreading. Gothy clouds gather and mar vision, and a final burst tears you apart and rips the breath from your lungs.

“Bluenothing” is anything but a stop-gap release or something that doesn’t deserve as much time and attention as a proper full-length. Worm always had a strange aura to them that make your insides feel off, and they amplify that even greater on this release, especially when you fully digest the details that separate this from “Foreverglade.” Worm finally have the attention of more people and deservedly so, and this feels like their effort to further get their hooks in you and transport you to their world.

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

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

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

People fear change for any numbers of reasons, probably the largest of which is piercing a comfort zone. Many of us get caught in routines, and while that’s not necessarily a bad thing, it’s a great way to keep your wheels spinning in the mud. Breaking out of that and growing beyond your stagnation can be a little scary, but it’s the only way to realize the potential you may have for even greater things.

Speaking of which, Ruby the Hatchet aren’t ones to rest on their achievements and continue to stoke the same fire, and that is apparent with “Fear Is a Cruel Master,” their awesome new record. This is their fourth full-length and first in five years since 2017’s “Planetary Space Child,” and what’s obvious from the first listen on is how much they’ve grown as players and expanded their vision. The band—vocalist Jillian Taylor, guitarist Johnny Scarps, bassist Lake Muir, drummer/vocalist Owen Stewart, keyboardist/organist Sean Kahn Hur—still create fiery, psychedelic sounds that’ll melt your eardrums. But they are a larger, more muscular version of what they were before, adding new twists, brandishing larger weapons, and sounding as good as they ever have before. And they were pretty damn good even before “Fear Is a Cruel Master” landed in our lives.   

“The Change” gets things started on a high and enthusiastic note, the band digging in deep, Taylor’s vocals completely in command. “I never wanted to change, so I just stayed the same,” Taylor calls over the chorus, a lash against stagnation as the band surrounds that with guitars galloping and the pace enveloping you. “Deceiver” is punchy with great energy, the verses driving hard, and the choruses paying off the energy. The soloing peels back your eyelids while dual guitars do a great job mounting an offensive before a lower-key and psychedelic heatwave brings things to an end. “Primitive Man” is a stomper with fiery energy, Taylor jabbing sarcastically, “Your ideas are not your own, he’s had them all somehow.” The guitars have a muscular Sabbath vibe, the organs swell and add to the humidity, and the final blows land with great precision. “1,000 Years” is a smoky ballad, opening with mournful guitars that water your eyes. The playing is moody and dark, and when Taylor howls, “And hell freezes over,” you feel it in the guts. Shadowy guitars bleed, Taylor wails, “I’m 1,000 years older,” and all elements duel, pulling your heart in a million directions.

“Soothsayer” begins with the bass plodding, warm sax giving off a nighttime vibe, and the leads searing. The chorus is simple but effective, the energy swells later, and the guitar work blazes, leaving behind a trail of ash. “Thruster” rumbles with psychedelic energy, the playing swaggering and showing off oceans of attitude. “Oh no, I hear them coming, tearing our lives to the ground, oh lord, they’ve got you running, but I don’t have time for that now,” Taylor scoffs, the guitars taking off and adding heavy bluesy energy. As the track goes on, Taylor calls, “Oooh, thruster!” which gets into your blood, the organs multiply their presence, and the guitars twist your nerves into a pretzel. “Last Saga” soaks in slower tempos and heavy emotion, Stewart taking the first verse, showing pipes that deserve more opportunity to counter Taylor’s power. They trade verses, each bringing their unique personalities as the sweltering playing amplifies, everything fires up, and the embers grow hotter and more intimidating, finally melting into the dark. Closer “Amor Gravis” jabs with electric riffs and a pulsating tempo that reeks of Deep Purple and Uriah Heap (they cover “Easy Living” in their live set). “Looking back, I never knew the truth, looking back, I never knew you,” Taylor calls as doom and blazing combine. The soloing takes off and chars, making your adrenaline rush, Taylor returns to the chorus that spirals out, and the final moment dissolve into you mind, leaving mystical vibes behind.

Ruby the Hatchet show amazing growth on “Fear Is a Cruel Master,” proving they don’t fear change and that strengthening their abilities makes them a bigger, better band. Having had a chance to see them in the flesh a couple months ago, they are turning into an incredible force, one that already showed great promise on their previous records and are paying that off big time on this awesome album. We have lived through turmoil, tumult, and terror, it has not gotten the best of us, and Ruby the Hatchet prove that testing oneself in the worst of times can help us come out stronger than we ever imagined.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://lnk.spkr.media/ruby-the-hatchet-fear

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

Considering the pressure in which most of us live and the pressure cooker that is societal strife, it only makes sense to have something in which to get lost when it all seems to be too much. And sometimes that escape hatch is filled with blood, innards, and various other horrors that lets us slip into terrifying madness that can help us smile through the perversity.

For the past 32 years, Exhumed have compiled an impressive resume of gore-soaked death metal and grindcore, some of the most disgusting and foul materials we have on record. We now have “To the Dead,” the band’s ninth album, ready to drop, and it’s another devastating, rowdy affair that grinds your flesh and bones in an unforgiving manner. The band—guitarist/vocalist Matt Harvey, bassist/vocalist Ross Sewage, guitarist Sebastian Phillips, drummer Mike Hamilton—worked with an expanded group of Exhumed past and present, bringing back Mike Beams, Leon del Muerte, Matt Widener, and Bud Burke into the writing group to celebrate what everyone has accomplished the past three decades. This is 40 minutes of carnage that is bloody and fun, helping you forget your misery while you drown in guts.

“Putrescine and Cadaverine” completely unloads, setting the tone for the record and delivering blinding violence. The growl/shriek dynamic that Harvey and Sewage use to pit the madness against each other torments and devastates, thrashy hell is unleashed, and the dueling soloing makes your brain ache.  “Drained of Color” mashes and unloads, the growl engorging, the shrieks testing your psyche. “Bled dry of vim and vigor, drained of color, coursing like a viscous river, ghastly pallor,” is howled over the chorus, a deadly push-pull between both voices as relentless power continues to dent skulls, ending with a smoking pile of ash. “Carbonized” launches and goes right for your neck with smeared howls and a thunderous pace as speed absolutely kills. A huge metallic gust blows you back as the soloing blares, blood spatters, and the violent promises made on this beast finally pay off. “Rank and Defiled” brings challenging death that mangle bodies, dual vocals choking the life out of you, the chorus rumbling over twisted flesh as Harvey and Sewage tag team howl, “Rank and defiled, out of your skull with our vitreous bile, rank and defiled, a danse macabre circling round a turnstile.” “Lurid, Shocking, and Vile” trucks, grinds, and mauls, opening up vicious combustion that puts you as maximum risk. Guitars go off as the tempo strangles, crazed howls kill, and the ends comes speedily and shockingly.

“Undertaking the Overkilled” attacks with the growls and shrieks rambling downhill, crumbling the earth as the guitars singe flesh. The playing flexes its muscles, destroying everything on front of it with a mission of chaos and blood that ends in disorientation. “Necrotica” is animalistic, devastating, and simmering in agony, eventually leaving into vintage thrash territory. “Necrotica, abased by your rancid juice, cleansed in your mephitic sluice,” is … gross, but we expect and demand that here, and then the guitars take control and rampage into your skeletal structure, eventually slowing and melting away. “No Headstone Unturned” blasts and launches a sickening pace that shakes you until piss runs down your leg. Menacing dual vocals rupture, fluid soloing makes the sweat on your face glisten, and a deathly surge late lands blows that leave bruises and pooled blood. “Defecated” is a molten, crunching assault that gets things moving in a hurry, the chorus effective and agonizing in its simplicity. Growls lurch as the soloing blinds with intensity, a strange atmospheric surge cocks heads, and everything comes to a vicious end. Closer “Disgusted” stabs its way in, completely decimating its victims, punishing with relentless madness. “Disgusted! Engulfed in the unclean! Disgusted! Inundated by thoughts obscene,” rips over the chorus as a thrashy shift compromises your balance, morbid soloing comes unglued, and the record ends in a relentless, unforgiving assault.

It’s perfect we have a new platter from Exhumed as Halloween nears and we are bathing in visions of blood, slashing, and decapitation. “To the Dead” is destructive, often morbidly humorous, and a vicious death metal attack that sticks to your bones, at least the ones not broken and dripping marrow. If there’s ever a world where Exhumed’s insanity is unwelcome and not consumed hungrily, I’d officially like to opt out of that.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://store.relapse.com/exhumed-to-the-dead

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

Black metal, the most prolific of the dark arts, has given us a lot of content, and as that has accumulated to alarming degrees, its impact has taken a bit of a hit. Because there is just so much to take in, and it’s impossible to hear it all, I fear there is a lot of great content out there few people ever will have the chance to absorb. We need to grab onto that stuff while we can.

So, today we visit with UK black metal force Abduction, long the brainchild of vocalist/multi-instrumentalist A|V, that presents us with a devastating fourth record “Black Blood.” By the way, fun fact: Billy Jack Haynes once played a short-lived character Black Blood in WCW that pales in comparison to this beast of a project. I mentioned black metal being flooded with bands and music in a roundabout way, and that’s because it’s often hard to find the true gems, and Abduction certainly is one of those. This record is a miasmal adventure that at times can lure in any earnest fan of the sub-genre but also intrigue those who want to drive straight into a nightmare that is impossible to navigate. That adds even more excitement to what A|V (he has assembled a live version of the band you see pictured, but I could not find a reliable lineup) is trying to accomplish. It’s immersive and exciting, something that scratches an itch that didn’t seem easily reached.

“Kernos Crown” opens the record and slowly catches fire, bubbling up as full force arrives and brings a full black metal explosion. Vicious howls storm as the guitars spiral, a strong surge making its presence felt and shaking you to your core. The vocals murmur as the pace swings back, blazing colors fill the sky, and the final burst of electricity fries your wiring. “Dismantling the Corpse of Demeter” starts with keys echoing and dissonance filling your senses, the growls slithering through thickening storms that grow more ominous. Dizzying darkness pounds away, the howls rupture your guts, and a final burst of speed makes your blood rush before everything succumbs to the fog. “Plutonian Gate” is the longest track on the record, running 11 minutes and starting in a pit of strangeness, clean calls and atmospheric guitars teaming up. The guitars slide as A|V howls, “No journey without fire,” smearing disorienting dreams with raw reality. Calm lets you catch your breath, but then the playing blasts again, strange warbles stagger, and a final ripple of punishment brings this epic to a stunning end.

“Lightless at the Grand Conjunction” enters amid mesmerizing guitars and desperate howls, the gushing atmosphere becoming an even bigger factor as the playing takes a turn for the strange. Slurry and drunken melodies stagger with blurry vision, and then spacious playing explodes, daring fury catches fire, and the final gasps spread among the stars. “A Psylacybic Death” leans in and lets the ambiance develop before burly power caves in chests, and suddenly we’re in full mauling mode. Weird moans poke as the playing gets more involved, rapsy sung howls sting, and a final push sends a rush of blood barreling toward your brain. Closer “In Exaltation of the Supreme Being” unloads with crushing black metal and chanted clean vocals that feel ghostly and strange. It’s not long before the darkness swallows everything, the cloud cover increases and chills the earth, and the guitars scuffle as wild shrieks devastate. A slow calm takes hold as the smoke dissipates, piano drips, and the last gasp of horror disappears into the earth’s crust.

Abduction find a masterful way to play games with your psyche on “Black Blood,” a record that can be disorienting one second, bludgeoning your psyche with power the next. Black metal clearly has been overserved to us as listeners, but sometimes bands like this one figure out ways to make it interesting, mysterious, and even scary. This is a record that is not easy to predict, and even on subsequent listens, the avenues you take seem to angle you in directions you still can’t anticipate.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/abduction616/

To buy the album, go here: https://abduction.lnk.to/BlackBloodPR

For more on the label, go here: https://www.candlelightrecords.co.uk/

It’s that time again where I associate gloomy, deadly music with the haunting and spooky times we’re about to have, and if that’s too cliched now, you’ll just have to live with it. I’m stressed out, and these openings don’t just write themselves. It also happens to be really accurate with today’s subject matter, so if darker tidings are your thing, get ready to indulge.

Oh, and if you happen to worship at the altar of the early Peaceville catalog, you’ll probably want to dig right into “Voices from a Fathomless Realm,” the debut full-length from Cavernous Gate. Vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Sebastian “S.K.” Körkemeier helms the project, and you likely know him from Helrunar. Here he delves deeply into the doom/death metal combo that frosted so many hearts when it came to prominence three decades ago. It’s rich territory from which to mine, and Körkemeier does an excellent job capturing that same vibe but also adding plenty of his own personal touches. He’s also joined at times by vocalist Jenny Kalbitz, who adds her own shadowy fingerprints to this nine-track, hourlong adventure that is sure to turn your blood to oil. 

“That Night… (Intro)” has clean calls and chants, drums opening, keys chiming, and overall eeriness that works into your bones and meets up with “Old Graves Stir” that instantly throws gothy punches. Pastoral calls pave the way for growls entering and shaking cobwebs, the grime thickening even as cleaner singing enters the fray and melds with icy melodies. The fog increases as the playing trudges, the intensity picks up, and then it’s back into the shadows as elegant guitars fade out. “Through the Morass” lets guitars heat up as darker singing enters, the power stomping through mud puddles, the humidity rising. It feels like cold rain is washing over you as the music flexes its muscles, mystical drama arrives, and the playing unloads, leads soaring as the murk settles over all things. “Conjuration” starts as organs send chills, the ambiance setting up slowly and trickling over rock and ice. Growls gut as acoustics mix in and add mystery to the pummeling, speak-singing hangs in the air, and then ugliness reigns again. A synth wall stands firm, mucky riffs collect, and the final words disappear into the night.

“A World in Shade” begins with epic synth and growls going for your guts, haziness emerging and trying to claim your soul. The pace chugs as the guitar stretch their wings and soar, and then a menacing spirit attempts to take you. Choral sections wash over, strings ache, and doom horns sound their last. “Watcher of the Vast” is a quick interlude built with drums echoing, strange beings lurking, and spacey keys bringing cosmic coldness, heading into “The Artefact” the emerges amid fiery guitars. The pace is more aggressive and menacing, synth horns beckon, and then the fires set aggravate to scorch faces, growls bubbling through the cracks. The intensity finally begins to settle as Körkemeier whispers, “Now I wander between worlds,” as the dream comes to an end. “The Turning Veil” dawns with thick keys and flutes, the wondrous melody growing more present. Guitars burn as gothy doom lurks, clean calls spread, and the emotions cloud the skies, delivering soulful bloodletting. From there, the power slowly loosens its grips, Körkemeier and Kalbitz both call out, and the final embers sink into the dirt. “Skeleton Path (Outro)” ends the record with synth glow and wordless calls, reaching deep inside your body to claim a piece of your heart.

With thick moon beams pounding down, the chill in the air making your body shiver, Cavernous Gate bring an ideal musical complement to that experience as “Voices from a Fathomless Realm” lurks in your mind. Any sucker for ’90s death and doom is served generously here as this hour is a heavy, penetrating experience that drains you of your light. But it also helps you understand and align with darkness that may have made you feel shaky before but now seems more like welcome terrain.   

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

To buy the album, go here: http://lnk.spkr.media/cavernous-gate-voices

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

Art is subjective, and its impact on us is unique to the individual and the way our brains absorb it. That’s why people have favorite songs and bands and albums and labels because what those entities do happen to work better on our psyches than some others. It always feels weird to me as a writer who is to remain objective to have favorites, but I’m human and I love music that makes me feel something.

One of the most important bands to me the last decade is SubRosa, whose content swept over me emotionally, musically, and philosophically and became a constant go-to when I needed something, anything to feel a pulse. A trip with four closer friends to see them in NYC several years ago stands out as one of the best weekends of my life. The band’s dissolution in 2019 was gutting, and though they promised other projects, the emptiness was deep and real. However, three years later we get “Folium Lumina,” the debut record from The Otolith that formed from SubRosa’s ashes. Four fifths of that band—violinist/lead vocalist Sarah Pendleton, violinist/vocalist Kim Cordray, drummer/percussionist Andy Patterson, and guitarist/vocalist Levi Hanna (he was in SubRosa from 2014-2017)—form the core of the Otolith along with bassist/vocalist Matt Brotherton, and they continue to operate in that atmospheric doom headspace that gets a little dirtier and sometimes more psychedelic on an excellent six-track debut that takes on a new life with every listen. If you’re skeptical, don’t be. It’s not a SubRosa record, nor should it be since it’s a whole new being. But there’s enough of that factor to reconnect the canals to your heart and so much more that goes beyond any hopes and expectations that you know you’re dealing with a new animal entirely. An exciting one that sends you on a different path to your dreams.

“Sing No Coda” opens the record elegantly and urgently, birds cawing as the strings rise, the branches slowly budding. Pendleton’s vocals are compelling and sweltering, the power gusts as every element comes to life, breathing a familiar but new energy. Everything swoons and then jars, the cello eases into the room and then things get thicker as the storming comes down harder now, your adrenaline working to keep you safe and alive. Burly power connects, the doomy waters rise, and wordless calls echo off into the distance. “Andromeda’s Wing” feels instantly psychedelic but then the charges bend and break, sludge collects in veins, and vicious howls drive daggers into the earth. Later on, the singing returns and aches, and everything melds together and sparks a Celtic spirit, prodding and fluttering. Higher vocals bring a new dynamic, and then things land even harder, the wild shrieks penetrate your mind, and the final surges jet off into the sun. “Ekpyrotic” brings taunting guitars and impossibly dark clouds as the strings connect in a tornadic gust, and throaty howls deliver seismic strikes. The playing unloads as the doomy spirits haunt in unison, thrusting through your organs, bringing dramatic swelling that pushes your heart. A fog collects and loosens, the playing begins to hulk again, and everything merges into one whole, dissolving into time.

“Hubris” eases into the picture as if from a vision, slowly melting as the vocals float in air, bringing energy that feels foreign but not unwelcome. The mood continues on that path until the ground ruptures, the blood flows, and the breathtaking display in front of your eyes and worming into your ears transforms you. Storming howls decimate, the playing waylays, and the earth beneath you ripples, fading into the edges of a dream. “Bone Dust” dawns with sounds rumbling, the hint of something profound on the horizon, and that promise later is kept. The band takes time to build the ambiance, feeling crackles and jolts going through your body, heartfelt vocals working on your emotions and making you breathe deeply. The playing continues to darken and seems to be setting the stage for something, that being the Charlie Chaplin anti-fascist speech from the 1940 movie “The Great Dictator,” a scene that this world needs now more than ever. Or at least since the time it initially was delivered. The music builds with the delivery, starting softer and more vulnerable and then roaing into a firestorm, Chaplin’s words spitting from his mouth, with his final call to, “Unite!” echoing off into the world to be absorbed. “Dispirit” closes the album with a quiver, the guitars chiming, the strings icing wounds, the singing making your heart pulsate. Momentum swells and crests, the howls decimate mountains, and the fires rage and give off thick smoke that waters your eyes. Keys drip, cold weather gasps its first, and static spits, ending this first adventure with noise fuzz and birds returning to repeat their messages.

SubRosa’s existence and spirit was wholly unique and incredibly special, and it’s unfair to expect the Otolith to be able to duplicate that. But they do, yet they also create their own DNA with “Folium Lumina” as they strike out on their own journey that’s connected to their past but also driving joyously and ominously into a new future. This record is an incredible start, a document that feels different with every listen as it develops its own identity. The Otolith scratch an impossible itch we didn’t think was reachable, yet here they are, uniting with us again in a fresh and exciting way.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://www.bluesfuneral.com/#https://www.bluesfuneral.com/search?q=josiah+we+lay+on+cold+stone

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