It’s been a long week already, and it seems like as good a time as any to dig into something a little smaller yet just as heavy and weighty as anything else. There’s merit to putting on a more compact collection that can get inside of you, break some bones, and leave you heaving on the floor.

Alabama-based death metal horde Ectovoid are back with a three-track EP (out on 7” vinyl and cassette) “Inner Death,” their first music since a split effort in 2016 and their last full-length “Dark Abstraction,” released in 2015, and it still finds them grinding away with dark, muddy death that leaves ample bruising. The three cuts here, spread over an economical 12 minutes, are more of an appetizer before we hopefully get another full record from the band, and despite it being a smaller serving, it still will leave you filled up for the time being. The band—bassist/vocalist C.B., guitarist C.S., and drummer C.M.—haven’t lost an ounce of their intensity and violent proclivities, and this new EP will make anyone happy who cares to dine on the rotting carcass of true death metal.

“Internal Inversion” is a blast of a start, as it gets right at your throat immediately with echoed growls and an assault that comes right for you. The music sounds like crusty old death, as chaos bleeds from the cracks, and everything ends abruptly. “Archaic Memories Unearthed” smashes open with the leads blistering and growls destroying before the pace changes on a dime, with the guitars surging into the mud. The trudging continues over the body of the song, releasing cavernous power and eventually a burst of speed that thrashes to its finish. Closer “Isolation in Mind Continuum” has guitars firing up, with the music bubbling and smothering, blasting in classic death-style soloing that’ll burn your blood. The vocals strangle as the song settles into a death groove, punching away as the track fades into eerie strangeness, odd chants, and misery.

It’s been nearly a half decade since Ectovoid dropped a full-length record on our skulls, but this EP “Inner Death” is a strong tide-you-over release until they conjure a complete album. Hey, we’re not bitter, as these things take time if you’re going to do it right, so it’s nice having something in which to sink our teeth for now. This is a mangling blast that’ll hammer you before you’re even aware of it.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://helterskelterproductions.bandcamp.com/album/inner-death

For more on the label, go here: http://www.helterskelterproductions.se/

And here: https://www.bloodharvest.se/

There is a lot of black metal out there. I’ll go ahead and say it: There is too much of it and too many bands doing the same thing that it’s hard to get excited about newer artists because I’m at complete overload. But this comes with the job, and it’s great when you can put on a record and get your blood going as soon as the music strikes.

That exact thing happened the first time I put on “Malice of Antiquity,” the second full-length from Swedish black metal horrors Astrophobos, the first complete offering since their 2014 debut. OK, so this isn’t exactly a new band, but they’re one that’s working its way back into the conversation, and we were pretty fired up about their 2016 EP “Enthroned in Flesh,” so we did have some working knowledge going into this. But for real, as soon as this thing gets started, it checks every box of what we’re hoping for from a quality black metal band, from the pure savagery, to the darkened melodies, to the complete show of force they unleash. The record is a blast from start to finish, and the band—vocalist/bassist Mikael Broman and guitarists Jonas Ehlin and Martin Andersson (drums were handled by session player Giuseppe Orlando of The Foreshadowing. Former drummer Jocke Wallgren now plays with Amon Amarth)—returns to remind you they belong in the conversation when discussing some of the better black metal bands that have flown under radars.

“Fire of Catharsis” starts the record with a slash to the chest as raw growls blast and the track heads into pure black metal hell. That’s the immediate sign I was talking about earlier that this record would be a keeper. It continues from there with Broman wailing, “Mountainous leviathan is rising from the past, black miasmas slowly spread,” with the track coming to a fiery finish. “Begotten in Black” has riffs exploding as vicious growls strike, and killer melodies pave the way to the chorus. From there, the words are practically spat out, the playing rattles your brain, and the track ends suddenly. “Descending Shadows” has a strong bassline rolling in, guitars rising, and a slow-driving pace leaving welts. The growls scrape along as the horror builds, and after a brief stretch of cold, the madness strikes again, and everything fades out in blood. “Abattoir for Flesh and Faith” has riffs igniting, the vocals carving a path, and the tempo rattling cages. The verses are creaky and well crafted, while a foray into the fog arrives at another assault complete with fierce growls, melody flooding, and a grim, morbid conclusion.

“The Summoning Call” starts in acoustics before a terror tale unfolds, and the band sets up a heavy, engaging atmosphere in which to pummel you as they do right up until the track fades out into mystery. “The Wolves Between the Stars” has fast, catchy riffs right away, with growls rupturing the peace, and the chaos having a European folk essence to it, even though it’s purely volcanic black metal that destroys you right up to its sudden end. “Until the Red of Dawn” also bathes in acoustics to start before the track opens up fully and swallows you whole. The chorus is crazed and manic yet also super catchy, while the final section bites back harder, with Broman envisioning “feasting upon human flesh,” before mercy finally arrives. “The Nourishing Hate” gets going with fluid riffs and Broman calling, “The coming of the night, the arbiter of all,” amid gushing melodies. That intensity continues through a battery of fire and blood before coming to a massive end. “Imperator Noctis” closes the album and arrives with quiet acoustics and whispery vocals before the track levels up with stirring guitars and exploding stars. Once again, it feels like Euro folk is in the DNA of this firebreather, as the riffs storm the gates, the drums quake, and some choral sections breathe different life into the chorus. The drama continues to build to a dangerous level, leading to a heart-rushing, smothering finish that’ll leave you in the blackness.

If you want a seriously drubbing, satisfying slab of honest black metal, you don’t have to look further than “Malice of Antiquity.” Astrophobos hopefully will turn more heads with this nine-track stomper, and each visit with the record has been a bloodbath of chaos we’ve been happy to experience. This is a crushing record that has the makings of one of this year’s breakout metal albums and should push them into forefront of a bustling black metal scene that they could put in a chokehold.

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

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

For more on the label, go here: http://www.triumviraterecords.com/

I woke up New Year’s Day morning, and I went straight to the Bandcamp app to see if there were any surprise releases that day. It all stems from when I arose Jan. 1, 2016, to find a new Krallice EP “Hyperion” had dropped suddenly, with no prior warning, so I’m trying very hard not to get fooled again.

Lo and behold, the NYC black metal experimentalists waited nine days longer than I anticipated to deliver another surprise EP, as this time the band dropped “Wolf,” a five-track, 15-minute offering that finds the band as their most compact yet when it comes to compositions, as well as at their weirdest, which is saying something. You’ll definitely recognize the band as Krallice when you tackle these songs, but they are playing with your mind here, sometimes slowing things down, at other places cutting you off at the pass just when you think the adventure is starting. They still deliver mind-bending black metal that has become their calling card, and they do that better than anyone else, but the added wrinkles add another element of mystery from the guys—bassist/vocalist Nick McMaster, guitarist/vocalist Colin Marston, guitarist Mick Barr, and drummer Lev Weinstein—as they insist on remaining cosmically unpredictable and volatile.

The title track gets things started, and at 5:26, it’s the longest song on the record. Things begin spaciously, as sounds float on clouds before barked growls rip at the skin and start the bleeding. The pace is doomier than usual and moves slowly at times before the leads light up, and the song blends into the ether. The track is strange and hypnotic before unleashing a proggy burst that goes all over before the song ends. “The Mound” crushes and thrashes right away, as the vocals are roared, and the playing is tricky as hell. The song sends spew flying, as the playing bashes and corrodes, eventually dissolving into strange noise. “.:.” is a brief 15-second crush of prog fury, almost like you’re dipping in and out of a dream, before going into instrumental cut “Church” that has the bass slinking and the guitars slurring and spreading pain. The music spirals and expands, as guitars swirl in the air, and different melodies are poured into a blender and melded into one liquid. From there, ghostly winds arrive, giving an eerie feel that eventually folds into space “Time Rendered Omni” ends the exercise with a killer riff rising and killing, the song heading to the races, and your psyche being challenged. Death growls strike and gurgle, fueling the final minute of savagery that is dragged behind once the gas pedal is struck, with everything ending abruptly.

“Wolf” currently is a digital-only release found on Krallice’s Bandcamp, though Gilead Media announced a physical version will follow. This is yet another strange turn for the band, which shouldn’t be a huge surprise as they always seem to come back with something a little different. Krallice remain one of the most creative, ambitious bands on the planet, and as long as that trait remains, we’re always bound to get something captivating with each release.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://krallice.bandcamp.com/album/wolf-ep

What better way to go into a weekend than with a bludgeoning serving of death metal served up by a fairly mysterious new band from one of the hot beds of this style of music in the United States? This isn’t really telling you a lot, I know, and once you’re done reading this, you won’t know much more about the band than what their punishing first record sounds like.

Before the arrival of Noctambulist’s debut record “Atmosphere of Desolation” arrived in my email, the only thing I or most people knew about them was the one song they had released on their own Bandcamp page. That’s about it. Hard to get too worked up about what was to come on this six-track effort, but it didn’t take long after ripping into this music to discover the Rocky Mountain area is rife with this mind-altering, devastating death metal that makes you feel like you’re being chewed by a combine while your mind wanders outer space. Released by Blood Harvest Records along with Helter Skelter Productions, this blood-soaked, artistically aggressive collection comes your way in just a couple weeks’ time, so you have opportunity to adjust yourself for another death metal band that wants to push this style even further as far as ferocity and creativity are concerned. The initialed band members—vocalist S.M., guitarist A.T., bassist R.H., drummer M.N—deliver this album with earth-quaking intensity, and each visit with the music is another round in the fighting pit as you try to keep your head above the fray.

“Dimming Lights Illuminate” is a quick opener that dwells in doomy chaos as vicious wails are unleashed, sounds hang in the air, and the madness is swallowed by the dark. “Abnegation” starts in grinding death, as the fury builds its intensity, growls gurgle, and the playing smears soot and blood. The growls get more monstrous while the playing swelters, giving off thick humidity before fading into mystery. The cut is mucky and punishing, getting tricky and making your mind work overtime, while the band even digs into some hardcore-style lashing. The growls penetrate before the song goes clean and cold, conjuring fog before ramping back up, with shrieky vocals inducing fear. The noise sizzles, the growls pummel you, and the track dissolves into a noise bath.

“Jubilant Cataclisym” has gurgling growls bubbling under the surface before savagery erupts in whole, and heavy storming begins to chew up the surface. Guitars jar while layers of filth are laid down, only to have atmosphere emerge from behind the blazes before washing out in a dark haze. “Denial of Autonomy” is an immediate burst as it lurches and crushes like a beast, with smothering chaos slicing through bone, and wild screams piercing your hearing. The track melts into calm for a stretch before cymbals crash, riffs crawl, and the track ends in a devastating blast. “Habitual Falsehood” ends the record by bleeding in and launching grisly growls as the tempo blisters the body, guitars spiral, and the drums utterly destroy. The guitars slash away, while the ground rumbles underneath you, the pace thickens dangerously, and the song loosens its stranglehold as it disappears into the night.

2018 was a banner year for great death metal, and Noctambulist are making sure that momentum kicks into the new year on the strength of “Atmosphere of Desolation.” This is a record that wastes little time putting the boots to you, and throughout the meaty six songs, you’re in for a clash from which you won’t soon recover. Yet, there’s something more, elements buried deeper in the music that go beyond mere skullduggery, and it’ll take multiple visits for you to unearth each layer buried beneath the surface.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/noctambulist303/

To buy the album, go here: https://helterskelterproductions.bandcamp.com/album/atmosphere-of-desolation

For more on the label, go here: http://www.helterskelterproductions.se/

And here: https://www.bloodharvest.se/

This isn’t a terribly easy time of the year for a site that tries to fill its pages with discussion about new music ready to hit the, um, shelves. Those shelves can be digital, you know. Anyway, it’s been tough sledding trying to find stuff these early days of January, so that took us to do some hunting for some things that were swimming underneath the surface.

Truth be told, I was at the gym last week between sets, scrolling through new metal releases on my Bandcamp app when I came across “Earth and Space,” a stunning split effort combining Russian atmospheric black metal band Moondweller with Hungarian black metal entity Hænesy. I decided to give it a go, dropped a few bucks for the music, and holy hell, was I ever happy I did that. Here I found four tracks, two by each band (I knew of neither before this), that are packed with power, emotion, and unquestionable melody, but smeared into a primitive black metal delivery that made the songs feel raw, yet energetic. There is precious little available about each band online, which also is kind of refreshing. It’s like falling into a universe you didn’t expect to visit, yet here you are, forced to find your way around. Hænesy formed in 2017 and have a demo from that year and last year’s full-length debut “Katruzsa,” that I have since visited and love. Moondweller’s history only can be tracked to last year, delivering their debut full-length “The Search” almost 12 months ago.

Hænesy’s portion begins with “Eternal Rest” that has a clean introduction that soars through atmospheric gaze before the thunder strikes. Right away, you can feel the emotion in the song as well as in the guttural screams, as the track gushes and then crashes into an ethereal fog, with a synth haze rising out of that. The song then bursts anew, with a speedier tempo, cries piercing the sky, and riffs taking over, leading the track on a daring, punchy collision before bleeding out into serenity. “An Onthology of Void” wraps their section as it spills open, blistering your senses before bringing on a penetrating chill. The track has gothic undertones, with wrenching wails and guitars firing up and cutting through its center. Growls build with intensity while the music hammers your mind, the vocals later reveal anguish, and the song flows out into calm.

Moondweller arrive with “World Entwined,” where they usher in dark menace countered by lush and atmospheric guitars. Sounds crash while melodies rain down, and cavernous growls jar you into the current. The pace later toughens as guitars chug away, and a spoken section slides underneath stormy synth before the track revamps with life. There’s a hugeness to the sound, which finally crests and washes away in waves. “Unknown Signals” is their finale, and right away the feel is heavier, as drums pound away, the vocals splatter, and a stormfront hangs overhead. Guitars swelter while the drums devastate, punching holes in any sense of calm, eventually working into slow-driving trudging. All along the way, the band’s playing leaves welts and bruising as they up the ante over the final moments before the chaos gives way and rests finally in a bed of plinking keys.

Now is a great time to go exploring for new music and bands that haven’t come to you yet, which is what led me to Moondweller and Hænesy. “Earth and Space” is an excellent, ridiculously affordable split putting together two bands with like-minded approaches but who translate their art much differently. This music is ideal for late-night sky-gazing, enjoying a dark ale during self-introspection, or simply for indulging in black metal that’s hungry to go beyond modern expectations.

For more on Moondweller, go here: https://www.facebook.com/Moondweller.Official

For more on Hænesy, go here: https://www.facebook.com/haenesy/

To buy the album, go here: https://blackmourningproductions.bandcamp.com/album/h-nesy-moondweller-earth-and-space

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

Holy hell, YOU try to go on Spotify and put together a Best of December list. Not easy. OK, so there are bands I could not put on this list that put out awesome music in December. Looking at you Zealotry, Dødsferd, and Serpent Column. I tried! Oh, and Horehound’s record came out one day before December, but their album didn’t hit Spotify until December, so I included them here because their new one is great. And “The Kind” will kill you. Also, we didn’t get the promo for the Jarboe album, but she’s amazing, so here’s song from it. Anyway, enjoy this one.

This year’s already off to a weird start. “Mean” Gene Okerlund died. If that wasn’t a big enough kick to the nether regions, the first week of 2019 has been challenging mentally and physically, and the shit we thought we buried in the center of 2018’s corpse have risen again, only more putrid. I need a swift shot to the jaw to get things moving in the right direction, otherwise I’m sleeping this one off.

Luckily, that stiff punch may actually have arrived late last year in the form of Great Falls’ latest LP “A Sense of Rest.” OK, I know it sounds strange that I’m calling a record titled “A Sense of Rest” as one to act as a boost but hear me out. These veteran post-hardcore noise purveyors aren’t exactly lulling you to sleep with these muscular eight new tracks and, if anything, they’re here knocking on your back door to ensure you’re not resting peacefully and instead are on your feet doing something about your shit. We’re getting to this a little late because almost all of December is devoted to a year recap, so new music kind of fell by the wayside for a bit. But we were well aware of Great Falls and always had plans to get to this one, so here we are. The band—guitarist/vocalist Demian Johnson, bassist Shane Mehling, and drummer Phil Petrocelli—plied their trades with notable other bands such as Undertow, Playing Enemy, Kiss It Goodbye, and Jesu, and released their first album “Accidents Grotesque” in 2013, followed by “The Fever Shed” in 2015. Now on “A Sense of Rest,” they continue to up the ante on their frustration and aggravation, giving you, the listener, a partner with whom to have a bloodletting.

“The Accelerationist” kicks off the record with tricky, punchy playing before Johnson’s harsh yelps come into the picture. The track bludgeons you, slicing through bone, as screams land behind the wall of punishment, halting briefly before static-filled drums bring us back in. Everything spills back in, with jerky playing, wild howls, and a spiral out into madness. “Not-for-Sale Bodies” opens clean before sludgy mashing is upon us, and wild shouts uncoil and push into battle. The track hits hard, slowing its pace to ensure maximum force per blow, before things are torn apart by a noise pit, boiling and scraping flesh before finishing out. “Kettle Logic” starts faster, with drums killing and speedy riffs barreling into your chest. The vocals are unhinged, as you’re smothered beneath the song’s weight, while chaos is afoot, and the track comes to a mangling end. “We Speak in Lowercase” is the longest track, running 14:30 and starting with alien soundscapes before the track fully blossoms. “With my head straight, let’s start again!” Johnson calls, as the track builds toward choppier waters and a doomier presence. Noise spirals, the riffs kick up, and Johnson cries, “Go on, say it! Apologize!” That takes us into a cataclysmic fury, dropping heaviness that continues until the track bleeds into silence.

“Thousands Every Hour” has noise aggravating, rising into squalls, and then the body of the song kicking in and bloodying lips. “Let’s talk this through!” Johnson pleads, while shrieks and pummeling sounds surround you and deliver damage, bringing the track to a bloody end. “Baldessari Height” has dark, wooly riffs that crawl in the dark, while Johnson’s vocals blow holes in walls, and then the track trickles with colder waters. This goes into slowly delivered hell, as the song chunks away, vocals screech, and everything soaks in a horrifying noise bath. “I Go to Glory” delivers kicks to the jaw, thrashing wildly before pulling back and letting the guitar work pulsate. The intensity then picks back up, and Johnson howls, “Run!” giving off steam and flowing right into closer “Scratched Off the Canvas” and its slurry front end. The pace is numbing as noise unfurls, the bass trudges, and Johnson belts, “Wake up! It doesn’t matter to me!” The song corrodes, gushing and shedding metal shards, as melodies dizzy before the song spins out in a hypnotic wave.

If you’re not too aware of Great Falls yet but dig bands such as Buildings or Kowloon Walled City, definitely try “A Sense of Rest” on for size. These are meaty, punishing diatribes that don’t relent on the audio violence and will make you feel all purple and sore when it’s all over. This isn’t music for someone who wants to relax, despite its title. This is for confronting demons head on and making them submit to your unrelenting will.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Great-Falls/110748382297574

To buy the album, go here: https://corpseflowerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/great-falls-a-sense-of-rest

Or here: https://deathwishinc.eu/collections/throatruiner-records

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

And here: https://throatruinerrecords.com

I often wonder where the darkness and shadows come from when hearing doom metal. I imagine the answer is limitless, as artists pull from so many dank corners when creating their art. Often times, the answer is that it’s culled from personal chaos or the disorder they see in the world, but other times, it’s from something quite different.

Dana Helmuth, long of Maryland doom pounders Blood Raven, got to work in his new project Yatra while living a fairly primitive life, at least as most people would consider it. Moving into a cottage in the woods with no plumbing amenities and relegated to using outhouses and outdoor showers, Helmuth was able to find solace in the peace and lack of technological intrusion and come up with the eight tracks for the band’s debut album “Death Ritual” in about a month’s time. Joined by a rhythm section of bassist Maria Geisbert and drummer Mike Tull, the band started to push into a psychological, smoke-filled excursion (the band’s name is taken from the word used to symbolize a journey that Helmuth learned while motorcycling through Nepal and the Himalayas), and from first moment to last, you’ll feel like you’re journeying through strange clouds with them, mind altered no doubt. As for their sound, imagine a gnarlier, more prehistoric version of Sleep, and you’ll be headed down the right path, one you should take for sure.

“Hour of the Dragon” kicks off the record as it bleeds into a psychedelic haze before riffs kick in a deliver swagger. Helmuth’s vocals bark and sound, fittingly, as primitive as their surroundings, while the soloing chars, giving off a stoner vibe. The final moments are druggy and ugly before heading off into the darkness. “Black Moon” follows, as it has an eerie beginning before riffs slither and deliver a bluesy punch. Fuzzy doom emerges amid gruff singing that scrapes raw skin, situated in a fog before soloing bubbles to the surface, taking on Matt Pike-style muscle. Growls crawl back in before the song heads out in a blues-filled vapor. “Sacred Flower” kicks off with a simmering bong hit before the riffs burst, the vocals rip off faster, and the track makes you feel high AF, which is likely the intent. The track slams harder as it goes, with the leads rising, Helmuth wailing, “Rise up higher!” and the track dissolving into dust. “Snakes in the Temple” emerges slowly, with the vocals rolling in, and the vibe giving off a nasty feel. Soloing injects pain, as psyche blazes are set, torching a trail in front of it. Geisbert’s bass entrances, while the chorus returns, and everything comes to a volcanic end.

“Smoke Is Rising” is trippy as hell, with Helmuth’s voice coming off in yelps, later declaring, “Kingdoms, they fall into the sea.” The riffs slowly batter, while fuzzy guitar work forms clouds around your brain, paving the way for the growls to come in and clobber you, leading toward a slow descent to hell. “Four Directions” simmers in sitar drone before riffs begin to crunch, grimy vox are smeared over the chorus, and the guitars light up and surge, causing you to shield your eyes as you’re led toward the exit. “Mighty Arrows” sets up camp deliberately, as burly riffs flex their arms, and Helmuth barks, “Strike down the serpents!” Soloing gives off noxious fumes, crushing bodies slowly in its wake, adding layers of murk, with the track coming to a stomping end. “Sailing On” ends the record with agitating riffs and savage growls storming the gates. An acidic tempo swells, as the song drubs slowly, with the swagger pushing back into the picture. The leads catch fire anew, bringing the track to a filthy finish.

Yatra’s journey is just beginning with “Death Ritual,” and these first steps are spellbinding and spacious, a means to helping you reach out from a psychedelic watch into something entirely different. There will be comfort for those in the stoner doom realms as to what they’ll find here, but even if that’s not your thing primarily, you’ll likely be lulled in by the riffs and the filth. This is a promising first burst for this band that, while just offering their debut, feel like they come at you with ages of wisdom to impart.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://grimoirerecords.bandcamp.com/album/death-ritual

For more on the label, go here: http://www.grimoirerecords.com/

We’ll get back to regular programming tomorrow with our first Pick of the Week of 2019. But for now, here is 2018’s Top 40 in list form. In case you’re new here, you also can read in-depth stories on the top 5, as well as a more comprehensive look at numbers 6-40 below. You’re welcome.

40. WINDHAND, “Eternal Return” (Relapse)

39. PIG DESTROYER, “Head Cage” (Relapse)

38. RUNEMAGICK, “Evoked From Abyssal Sleep” (Aftermath/Parasitic)

37. SLAVES BC, “Lo, and I Am Burning” (Fear and the Void Recordings)

36. WITCH MOUNTAIN, self-titled (Svart)

35. KHEMMIS, “Desolation” (20 Buck Spin)

34. HISSING, “Permanent Destitution” (Profound Lore)

33. SVALBARD, “It’s Hard to Have Hope” (Holy Roar/Translation Loss)

32. ICARUS WITCH, “Goodbye Cruel World” (Cleopatra)

31. ÆVANGELIST, “Matricide in the Temple of Omega” (I, Voidhanger)

30. PORTAL, “Ion” (Profound Lore)

29. INSECT ARK, “Marrow Hymns” (Profound Lore)

28. AGRIMONIA, “Awaken” (Southern Lord)

27. MARSH DWELLER, “Wanderer” (Eihwaz Recordings)

26. GLACIAL TOMB, self-titled (Gilead Media)

25. UN, “Sentiment” (Black Bow/Translation Loss)

24. WAYFARER, “World’s Blood” (Profound Lore)

23. HOREHOUND, “Holocene” (Doom Stew)

22. FÓRN, “Rites of Despair” (Gilead Media)

21. DEVOURING STAR, “The Arteries of Heresy” (Dark Descent/Terratur Possessions)

20. CLOSET WITCH, self-titled (Halo of Flies/Sass Bologna/Circus of the Macabre/Don’t Care/React With Protest)

19. ULTHAR, “Cosmovore” (20 Buck Spin)

18. BODY VOID, “I Live Inside a Burning House” (Crown and Throne Ltd./Dry Cough/Seeing Red)

17.AILS, self-titled (The Flenser)

16. TO END IT ALL, “Scourge of Woman” (Scry Recordings)

15. SLEEP, “The Sciences” (Third Man)

14. CHAPEL OF DISEASE, “…And as We Have Seen the Storm, We Have Embraced the Eye” (Van)

13. YOB, “Our Raw Heart” (Relapse)

12. BURIAL INVOCATION, “Abiogenesis” (Dark Descent)

11. TOMB MOLD, “Manor of Infinite Forms” (20 Buck Spin)

10. MESSA, “Feast for Water” (Aural Music)

9. PANOPTICON, “The Scars of Man on the Once Nameless Wilderness Pt. 1 and 2” (Bindrune Recordings)

8. CHRCH, “Light Will Consume Us All” (Neurot Recordings)

7. EVOKEN, “Hypnagogia” (Profound Lore)

6. VILE CREATURE, “Cast of Static and Smoke” (Halo of Flies/Dry Cough)

5. KHôRADA, “Salt” (Prophecy Productions)

4. DEADBIRD, ‘III: The Forest Within the Tree’ (20 Buck Spin)

3. INEXORUM, “Lore of the Lakes” (Gilead Media)

2. THOU, “Magus” (Sacred Bones)

1. MOURNFUL CONGREGATION, ‘The Incubus of Karma’ (20 Buck Spin/Osmose Productions)

It is fitting that, here we are at the very end of 2018, and we are holding a mental funeral for the year. That’s also apropos because we are naming our No. 1 record of the year today, and it is Australian funeral doom legends Mournful Congregation’s masterful, elegant “The Incubus of Karma,” an album that arrested our souls when it landed March 23.

Mournful Congregation have been a favorite here for years and years, but this album is their supreme work. It’s devastating, scary, psychologically scarring, and cosmically bizarre. Their set at Migration Fest was one where you just had to stand and stare in wonder as these, and other, songs played out. I definitely was a little drunk when they played, second-to-last set of the fest, and I remember just gazing and taking in my first experience seeing these guys live. But we’re talking this album, and it’s a doom record for the generation. If you think that sounds hyperbolic and haven’t really immersed yourself in it yet, please change that. I’ve heavily sunk myself in the band’s other four albums, all of them top notch, but this is their finest hour (well, hour and 20 minutes). From “Whispering Spiritscapes,” the first non-instrumental cut on the album, to “The Rubaiyat,” to epic closer “A Picture of the Devouring Gloom Devouring the Spheres of Being,” everything comes together expertly. Guitarist/vocalist Damon Good was generous enough to answer questions we had about the record, its creation, their time touring in America, and what they have on the horizon. All respect and hails to Mournful Congregation and “The Incubus of Karma,” our favorite record of 2018.

MEAT MEAD METAL: We are naming “The Incubus of Karma” our top record of the year. The band’s albums appearing here seems to be something that’s a regular thing with our site and your band. How do you feel about the record now that it’s been out in the world for some time?

DAMON GOOD: I’ve slowly come ’round to acknowledging the strengths of the record, as opposed to focusing only on the weaknesses. The positive reception from fans and reviewers has definitely helped my confidence. So, thank you. But I must admit at first, I was a bit apprehensive as to the strength of the album, probably due to spending too much time mixing it, etc. But in hindsight, I think it is a strong fifth album for us, and we could not have done any better at the time.

MMM: At six tracks and 80 minutes, the album might seem daunting on the outside, but once you experience the music, it feels half that long. It can’t be easy to keep such long songs interesting, so how does the band always seem to do it?

DG: In writing this type of music, it is important that it has a constant flow of aural stimulation. We analyze every section of music constantly throughout the writing and recording process to make sure something interesting is going on and that each section is as strong as possible at all times. Our song structures are such that they rarely repeat. Rather they flow from riff to riff with little regard for choruses and verses or any “standard” structure. However, in doing this, it is important that the structures have the right ebb and flow, the right dynamics, and build up to something rather than meander endlessly. I do find that our music has a tendency to time-dilate. Playing it live especially. It’s an interesting phenomenon.

MMM: “Whispering Spiritscapes” is such a spellbinding song and the ideal first full track after intro cut “The Indwelling Ascent.” What’s going on during this song, and what’s behind the chilling spoken lines at the track’s end?

DG: In the beginning of the song, we wanted a more traditional approach, ala traditional British Doom/ Death melodies, with some crafty three-guitar interplay. In the middle we explore some more obscure sections with some disharmonic dissonance, and toward the end some more progressive mid-paced stuff. This song is definitely the most dynamic on the album, therefore a good opener, I think. Lyrically, it is more akin to an inward psychedelic or meditative journey than anything else. The sermon at the end seemed to encapsulate the dissolution of the ego quite well, often experienced in such journeys. A preparatory warning, perhaps, of what is to come when the ego dissolves.

MMM: “The Rubaiyat” is an interesting topic for the track of the same name. Is this song based on FitzGerald’s work? Omar Khayyam’s poetry? Why did you select this for inspiration?

DG: Yes, FitzGerald’s translation of the Rubaiyat was the inspiration. I came across it in my grandmother’s book collection (I think it was quite a popular tome in the early 1900s). It seemed interesting and obscure to me, both in title and text. I also came across Yogananda’s commentary on The Rubaiyat, which revealed a much deeper meaning to it all. So, it seemed befitting and worthy of basing a song around. Once again, it documents the journey of self-realization, the dissolution of the ego and the discovery of the true nature of reality.

MMM: “A Picture of the Devouring Gloom Devouring the Spheres of Being” is such a crushing ending to the record, the longest track at 22 minutes and one that’s swelling with emotion. What is it about that one the band decided this is fitting to close the book on “Karma”?

DG: We simply could not see this track fitting as perfectly anywhere else on the album. Plus, it has the perfect end section for the record. This is a special song for us in that the intro and outro, plus some other sections were written by Ben Petch, who I formed the band with and who had not written music for Mournful in probably two decades. So, it hearkens back to the earlier days of the band in my opinion, when myself and Petch were brainstorming together. And there is more of that to come since he is now a full-time member of the band once again.

MMM: Mournful Congregation obviously were a huge part of Migration Fest this past summer. Talk about your experiences during that festival. You don’t often get to the East Coast, so what was that like for you guys?

DG: I guess it just feels very welcoming and supportive, both having a label like 20 Buck Spin, who will provide an avenue like this for us to perform at, and the receptivity of the fans who came to the fest. Overall, we have felt very welcomed in the US over the last few years both on the West Coast and East Coast. Pittsburgh was a very nice city to visit, and a Fest like Migration has a very nice feeling of community among metalheads, with the perfect variety of bands and fans.

MMM: What can we expect going forward in 2019 from the band? Are more shows planned? Is it too soon to think about new music?

DG: Musically, we have a lot of material written for the next album. In fact, too much. We are in the process of culling it down and crafting it into the best possible follow-up to “The Incubus…” This could take some time. We need time for it to organically manifest and concepts to form and present themselves. Having some strong new material under our belts, there is no need to rush things at this point. As far as live performances go, we have no plans and no offers for 2019. So perhaps something will arise or perhaps nothing.

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

To buy the album (North America), go here: https://www.20buckspin.com/search?type=product&q=karma

Or here (Europe): http://www.osmoseproductions.com/index.cfm

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

And here: http://www.osmoseproductions.com/