When the masters and rulers of thrash metal are discussed, everyone goes to the Big Four, understandably, or to bands such as Exodus or Testament. Kreator never seems to appear early enough in those conversations, at least domestically as they never got the same level of exposure here. But they should get even more love than they do.

Their 16^th record “Krushers of the World” is about to land, and while it might not be what really breaks them in the States, it’s another solid entry from a band without a goddamn thing to prove. Consisting of vocalist/guitarist Miland “Mille” Petrozza, guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö, bassist Frédéric Leclercq, and drummer Jürgen “Ventor” Reil, the band delivers what very much sounds like a Kreator record with a few surprises attached. It’s not their heaviest or most acidic work, but it’s still a pretty good piece of business ripe for replaying. Oh, one negative is the band used AI for two of the promo videos for this record, but apparently nothing involving the artwork and music on this album. But still, ugh.

“Seven Serpents” starts and is a classic Kreator opener, even if it isn’t necessarily a total barnstormer. The leads are warmer, and the band takes its time to settle in, Petrozza howling, “Snakes in human form!” Guitars jolt as gothy chorals add ash, feeling atmospheric and blazing as they race to the finish. “Satanic Anarchy” drives with energy, and a great chorus sticks in your head and likely would stand as great call-back fodder live. Verses blister as things even out, the soloing storming and mangling, the call of, “Start the fire!” sparking adrenaline. The title track trudges and burns, a catchy chorus washing over, the thrashiness infused with oxygen. “We are by your side,” Petrozza wails as the playing chugs, creaky speaking freezes your blood, and the final moments melt into the ground. “Tränenpalast” features Britta Görtz (Hiraes/Chaos Rising) howling along with Petrozza, her shrieks feeling deadlier and bloodier. The track itself is inspired by Dario Argento’s 1977 film “Suspiria,” and they pay homage in a mix of fire and ice, the vocals driving deep into your mind, keys trickling away as the fantastical finish enraptures. “Barbarian” opens with added speed and aggression, plastering as the chorus punishes, the speed adding to the attack. The band hits as close to a breakdown as you can expect from them, the screams belting, and the leads powering a heated finish.

“Blood of Our Blood” combusts, pushing with added intensity, the playing feeling punchy and catchy as the chorus jolts. The guitars catch fire as the playing pushes more violently, Petrozza howling, “The eyes are useless when the mind is blind,” as the final shots poke oozing wounds. “Combatants” starts clean before gusting with a blast, the track feeling increasingly anthemic, making energy zap through your brain. “Fight for you life!” Petrozza demands as drums march and the last seconds turn into a total rampage. “Psychotic Imperator” smears with speed and fire, the verses blasting with torment before the choruses further rouse. “Pure! Aggression!” Petrozza belts, the playing liquifying metal and letting a chrome river flow generously. “Deathscream” lets the guitars pace and the vocals energize, the chorus punishing and leaving singed flesh. The soloing engulfs and helps smooth out the brutality, storming to a quaking conclusion. Closer “Loyal to the Grave” is a gem at the end of the record, one that could be a live staple for years. The melodic charge bubbles over and coats with steel, breezier leads electrify, and the pace keeps challenging. “Your soul and mine, they are the same,” Petrozza declares, the classic thrash attack peaking one more time before ending in glory.

Kreator still are creating thrash fire on a consistent basis on “Krushers of the World,” yet another strong record from one of the German scene’s progenitors. While not quite as ferocious as 2022’s “Hate über alles,” this album still explodes with some really strong material that could find permanent slots in their live setlist. This band has been one of thrash’s biggest powers, and their resume more than speaks for itself. So every quality new record we get from them is icing on the heaping thrash cake.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.kreator-terrorzone.de/

To buy the album, go here: https://kreator.bandcamp.com/album/krushers-of-the-world

It’s weird living in America and watching the conversations about Russia change mysteriously. Oh, not about the people who live there. They can’t help it. No, the leadership. We can detest the politics but still want its people to succeed, and that’s the sloppy way I am starting to talk about Void Monuments and their debut record.

“Posthumous Incantation” is the Russian band’s debut album, and it has all the hallmarks of traditional death one might come to expect. It’s heavy, devious, dark, and hits all the right buttons. The band—vocalist/guitarist K. Svart, guitarist P. Doom, bassist Ivan, drummer Bestial Barlog (potentially not his given name)—makes a good case for themselves on these eight tracks and 36 minutes, keeping up the intensity and the bloodshed. There is potential for them to expand what they’re doing and inject more of themselves into the music, so there’s time to branch out as they grow.

“Intro” opens dramatically, winds whipping, synth pulsing as screams lash and organs fade into “Epitome of Fear.” There, guitars fire as the band thrashes away, throaty howls bursting as fires char. Drums rampage while the growls coat the pain, the leads taking off and fading into the night. “Devilish Prophecies” is doomy and barbaric, pummeling with evil intent, beastly howls sending listeners into a vortex of madness. Darkness and filth unite, menacing tones send jolts down your spine, and chilling organs exit with strangeness. “Decapitate the Saints” blasts open, the guitars adding to the heat, the brutality multiplying dangerously as the leads carve paths into flesh. The spatter accumulates as throaty wails peel flesh, and the guitars mount a final attack that ends in fire.

“Ascent to the Crucifixion” dawns in deathly fog, guitars vibrating as doom flows through veins, sweeping into impenetrable gloom. Growls smear as the pace pounds harder, soloing goes off and spits fire, and the screams melt and jostle into carnage. “Invocation” rings out in the air before bringing down the hammer, the guitars knifing their way into your psyche, infernal pressure taking you apart. Drums rupture and blister as the stream builds and rolls, liquifying guts before allowing an ounce of mercy. “The Sign of Blasphemy” has riffs firing and blasting, the pace hulking along, making muscles ache. The guitars stun as the growls maul, spacious melodies adding air to the suffocating aura, exploring to an abrupt end. Closer “Father of Sin” starts in clean, eerie strangeness, and then brutality arrives, growls squeezing arteries. Sludgy elements make this even heavier, the speed pulverizing, howls engorging, the final moments scorched into eternity.

Void Monuments waste little time establishing their entry into hell with “Posthumous Incantation,” a strong first record that leaves the band with some room to develop. This is misery and punishment from front to back, a record that should leave you flattened. They could stand to add a little more of their own personality and musical DNA into future releases, but as a first shot, this is really solid stuff and should leave ample bruising.   

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

To buy the album, go here: https://shop.bloodharvest.se/product-category/blood-harvest-records/preorders/

For more on the label, go here: https://www.bloodharvest.se/

Starting off the year in as sickening a manner possible, let’s welcome back Alabama-based death crushers Ectovoid, who return with “In Unreality’s Coffin,” their first full-length in nine years. It’s a weird mouthful of a title, isn’t it?

Anyway, “Coffin” is their third record, 2012’s “Fractured in the Tireless Abyss” coming first in 2012, followed by “Dark Abstraction” in 2015 (just reissued last year by Boris Records). The band—vocalist/guitarist C.B., guitarist/backing vocalist S.S. (C.S. played on the record), bassist R.S., drummer C.M.—digs into the deeper annals of horrifying, grotesque death metal, clawing as hard at the guts as they do the psyche. It’s brutal and done in a way that will make people who have been around since the beginning feel comfortable.

“Dissonance Corporeum” starts with guitars spilling and the pace charging, growls stirring as the punishment turns rubbery and brutal. Guitars mash as the leads go off and create smoke, the power chewing through bone, ramping up the speed. “Collapsing Spiritual Nebula” sprawls as the growls choke, the pace snarling as the heat increases. The carnage blasts open, leads fluttering, the guitars blazing with intensity, growls mangling before bashing out. “Intrusive Illusions (Echoes From a Distant Plane)” is a bruising storyteller that will warp your senses, fast, punchy strains pushing into your chest cavity, guitars swimming in pools of muck. Acid spirals as the howls bury bodies, guitars conducting trial by fire. “Formless Seeking Form” chugs, a howl/shriek combo suffocating, muddy terrain stomped as brain wiring burns. The gears head into slow-driving fury before speeding up again, trudging and choking on flesh.

“Irradiated Self” brings storming leads and cavernous wails, driving and menacing as the darkness strangles. The pace turns everything to dust, brawling through a blinding fury that threatens safety. The title track blisters as the growls gurgle, guitars thrust, and the devastation turns to decay. The leads erupt and twist necks, ripping as the soloing explores, hitting the gas pedal before disintegrating. “Erroneous Birth” is savage, the vocals smearing with ill intent, the pace gaining speed as the drums smother. Guitars spill over as the growls mangle morbidly, leading to the fire following the fuel path into total annihilation. “It Is Without Shape…” bleeds in darker guitars, airier melodies, and a melodic gust that sprawls. Gothy tones add to the ashen shadows as the instrumental piece bubbles to its end. Closer “In Anguished Levitation” splatters right away, the growls battering, mucky death metal clogging veins. Humidity rises as the guitars surge and growls pummel, ending everything harshly and cloaked in blood.

It may be nine years since Ectovoid delivered a full-length effort, but they haven’t lost an ounce of their violent tendencies and ability to sicken, which “In Unreality’s Coffin” proves. They open a new year with a smoldering, devastating effort that reminds us ugliness is all around, and that inherently lives in their music. This is pure death with a modern filter that still speaks to the foulest of realities imaginable.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://everlastingspew.com/21-everlasting-spew-releases

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

40. CONAN, “Violence Dimension” (Heavy Psych Sounds

39. LIGHTLESS, “A foreseen loss” (Fading Light Studio)

38. LADY BEAST, “The Inner Alchemist” (Dying Victims)

37. ZEICRYDEUS, “Le grande hérésie” (Productions TSO)

36. RETURNING, “Numinous” (Bindrune Recordings)

35. GAAHLS WYRD, “Braiding the Stories” (Season of Mist)

34. RITUAL MASS, “Cascading Misery” (20 Buck Spin)

33. CHRISTIAN MISTRESS, “Children of the Earth” (Cruz del Sur)

32. KAYO DOT, “Every Rock, Every Half-Truth Under Reason” (Prophecy Productions)

31. CORONER, “Dissonance Theory” (Century Media)

30. STARER, “Ancient Monuments and Modern Sadness” (Fiadh/Snow Wolf)

29. MORKE, “To Carry On” (True Cult)

28. WRYMOON, “Wyrmoon II” (Fiadh)

27. GRAYCEON, “Then the Darkness” (Translation Loss)

26. PELICAN, “Flickering Resonance” (Run for Cover)

25. HOODED MENACE, “Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration” (Season of Mist):

24. WITHERER, “Shadow Without a Horizon” (Hypaethral)

23. CASTRATOR, “Coronation of the Grotesque” (Dark Descent)

22. CASTLE RAT, “The Bestiary” (King Volume/Blues Funeral)

21. HELL, “Submersus” (Sentient Ruin)

20. TOWER, Let There Be Dark” (Cruz del Sur)

19. OROMET, “The Sinking Isle” (Hypaethal)

18. WEALD + WOE, “Far From the Light of Heaven” (Fiadh)

17. PHOBOCOSM, “Gateway” (Dark Descent)

16. MESSA, “The Spin” (Metal Blade)

15. AGRICULTURE, “The Spiritual Sound” (The Flenser)

14. ANCIENT DEATH, “Ego Dissolution” (Profound Lore)

13. BLUT AUS NORD, “Ethereal Horizons” (Debemur Morti)

12. CLAIRVOYANCE, “Chasm of Immurement” (Carbonized)

11. RANAGA/DROWSE, “Ash Souvenir” (The Flenser)

10. LUST HAG, “Irrevocably Drubbed” (Fiadh)

9. MARES OF THRACE, “The Loss” (Artoffact)

8. RWAKE, “The Return of Magik” (Relapse)

7. TERZIJ DE HORDE, “Our Breath Is Not Ours Alone” (Church Road/Fiadh/Tartarus)

6. DER WEG EINER FREIHEIT, “Innern” (Season of Mist)

5. WEFT, “The Splintered Oar” (Bindrune Recordings)

4. TRIBUNAL, “In Penitence and Ruin” (20 Buck Spin)

3. FAETOOTH, “Labyrinthine” (The Flenser)

2. HEDONIST, “Scapulimancy” (Southern Lord)

1. YELLOW EYES, “Confusion Gate” (Gilead Media)

I’m starting to really hate surprises considering we wake up to so many bad ones each day. Yet, a few weeks before its Halloween release date, I found an unexpected one in my inbox, one that instantly made me pine for the day and get everything out of the way so I could absorb this album properly: in total seclusion. It was the new Yellow Eyes record, and from the moment I heard it, I knew it would be my record of the year.

“Confusion Gate” is a mesmerizing opus from black metal force Yellow Eyes. To say the album is moving, monstrous, breathtaking, and completely from this band’s artistic DNA would almost go without saying. But there’s more depth, different sounds, and a reinvigorated machine—vocalist/guitarist Will Skarstad, guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Sam Skarstad, bassist Alex DeMaria, drummer Michael Rekevics. Inspired heavily by their 2023 release “Master’s Murmur,” this record takes that spirit and electrifies it, making it a full on beast of the woods, stalking and opening strange doorways to realms not before considered. It’s a stunning display, and I still stop listening to it. It put it on in my car and almost instantly think I should give something else some time. Nah, I adore this, the second-to-last in Gilead Media’s storied history, by the way.

“Brush the Frozen Horse” opens with familiar chimes and the gentle arms of nature before everything erupts, keys blaring and guitars bending you into corners. Howls snarl as the steam rises, the guitars taking on a higher tone that noticeably ramps up, the tempo spiraling and crushing, disorienting as the leads soar. Speed strikes as the pace combusts, blasting into a synth scape that melds with the fog. “The Thought of Death” starts with airy sax you would expect from an adult contemporary song, but it’s a misdirect as riffs explode out of that, and the vocals maul. Emotional waves crash down as guitars sparkle and melt, and a strong, violent push jolts every bone. “I Fear the Master’s Murmur” opens with acoustics ringing out and voices swirling, and then everything goes off, fierce growls pounding the way, beastly sentiments making the pressure even more intense. The playing splatters into strange melodies, the guitar lines tingling your spine, confusion overwhelming as you try to find your balance. “The Scent of Black Mud” starts in mesmerizing form. The drums punish as the vocals strengthen their grip, wrenching as the playing plasters and undoes some brain wiring. The leads turn to icy tributaries, and then the spirit rampages forward, wrecking as everything scatters, impulses continuing to fire until the notes fade. This is a record that will live with me in perpetuity along with a bunch of other non-stop classics that made me who I am. A timeless release. (Oct. 31)

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

To buy the album, go here: https://gileadmedia.net/collections/gilead-media-releases

For more on the label, go here: https://gileadmedia.net/

Any time you can put on a death metal record and instantly think it’s a declaration of war, that’s an experience you don’t forget. The power coming at you with a ferocity that explodes from deep in the guts can make your blood boil and motivate you want to pick up arms yourself to fight the good fight.

Canadian death metal horde Hedonist land in death metal’s pantheon with “Scapulimancy,” their flesh-pounding first record that could have slid into place in the early 1990s and been right at home. This record is a destroyer, 10 tracks of raw, feral death metal that can stare down any force in its path and never blink. The band—vocalist/bassist AJ, guitarists JP and AA, drummer CB—wastes no time unleashing hell and pouring it in generous amounts as they scorch flesh and dump napalm in alarming portions.

“Execution Wheel” absolutely obliterates the senses when it dawns, AJ’s howls strangling with a killer’s might, an element that is one of the band’s most arresting. Death ravages as the guitars spill into beastly tones, and everything barrels forward to reckless abandon. “Heresy” is blinding, growls decimating, sounding nearly inhuman, the guitars standing up as a battering force with no mercy. “Parasitic Realm” starts with trickier guitars that mesmerize before scorching earth, deadly growls grasping throats. There’s a total Bolt Thrower worship spot that absolutely destroys, and that pushes into explosive and gutting tension that cuts open bellies. “Engines of War” unloads guitars burning, growls slithering, and primitive pounding caving in rib cages. The playing jars loose as melodies wash over, snaking through and injecting venom before fading to dark. “Cremator” spews chugging bass and a thrashy attack that sends dust flying. The growls maim, the leads navigate through the chaos, and the end gurgles and spits out poison. Closer “Hidden Corpse” is mashing, aggravating flames and delivering abject heaviness. The pace is vicious as hell, riffs immersing themselves into liquified steel and coming out a new machine. A motherfucker of a great death metal album, and our new favorite band in this always morphing sub-genre. (Aug. 1)

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

To buy the album, go here: https://southernlord.com/store/hedonist-scapulimancy-pre-order/

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

There are those bands that once you indulge in their music, the way your brain processes that particular art form changes a little bit. Somehow, my TikTok algorithm led me a few years ago to Faetooth, a Los Angeles-based doom power that creates heavy, yet enchanting songs, stuff that crawls into your imagination and helps you see new colors. I hear things differently since introduced to them.

“Labyrinthine” is the band’s second record and first for The Flenser, and it’s a 10-track, 55-minute excursion that picks up where 2002’s “Remnants of the Vessel” (our No. 6 album that year) leaves off and then goes into new terrain. Thematically, the band—bassist/vocalist Jenna Garcia, guitarist/vocalist Ari May, drummer Rah Kanan—takes on inner turmoil, personal wounds, and loss, among others, with their heaviness intertwining breath-takingly with softer tones and psychedelic flourishes. This album is one that may take a few visits to truly set in, which was the case for their debut, but it’s easy to instantly be spellbound by the music.

“Iron Gate” bathes in feedback, solemnity and clean singing bubbling, and then the power punches in, adding to the thicker haze. The singing lures while the growls scrape passages beneath, and then voices harmonize. Hypnosis mixes as the energy burns off into the horizon. “Death of Day” has the bass sliding and the guitars trudging, dreamy singing icing over wounds. “White Noise” is muddy at first before cleaner guitars and tingling singing activate emotions, then screams belt, letting lava gust before the temps drop again. “October” is ceremonial and chilly before guitars blaze and churn, a strong chorus pumping blood from a pierced heart. Guitars buzz as the pain permeates the senses, the power surges, and the cosmos swallows everything whole. “Mater Dolorosa” digs in, the singing feeling like a dreamscape, the playing buckling while swimming through tar. Closer “Meet Your Maker” is the longest track at 8:28, and it dissolves into blood, the singing mesmerizing before the fires blast, sweeping with strange speaking and increasingly harrowing shadows. “Labyrinthine” is Faetooth at their most vulnerable, at least to this point, and their ethereal brand of doom remains the type that works best when absorbed in dark silence, with only you and the music there to connect. (Sept. 5)

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

To buy the album, go here: https://nowflensing.com/collections/faetooth

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

What better time to bask in darkness, to snuff out the daylight and exist in the shadows where our sorrows exist and where some of us actually find a semblance of solace not having to face reality for a while? At the same time, having music that also can beckon and even soothe our wounds can be a game changer, knowing we’re not alone in the abyss.

The return of Vancouver’s orchestral doom power Tribunalwas a fitting one, even at the gates of spring and new life when it was unleashed. Their excellent second record “In Penitence and Ruin” is a tour-de-force, an example of a promising band blooming into full beast and exploding from every seam with gothic majesty. This time around, Tribunal are a full unit with original members Soren Mourne (vocals, bass, cello) and Etienne Flinn (vocals, guitar) joined by guitarist Jessica Yang, keyboard player Dallas Alice, and drummer Julia Geaman to form a mightier fist. This record is a concept piece that follows a guilty human who cannot escape the wrong they’ve done and must psychologically weigh the realities of punishment.

“Incarnadine” starts with elegant strings and Mourne’s calling, “I am drowning in tides of guilt,” before Flinn’s shrieks join and bloody faces. The singing and harsh wails intertwine here, as they do often throughout this record, and gothy fury is unleashed, the playing spreading and grows more dramatic, and massive emotion welling as the tides recedes. “A Wound Unhealing” starts similarly, Mourne’s voice gripping you fully before the guttural vocals set in, a spellbinding display that arrests you heart and mind. “Heal these wounds that time forgot,” Mourne pleads, the guitars electrifying their surroundings. “The Penitent” slowly forms, Mourne’s singing awakening as she reaches for the stars, guitars meandering into an ashen aura, growls settling sharply. Leads heat up and melt, Mourne demanding, “Bite my hand and curse my name,” as everything burns off. Closer “Between the Sea and Stars” has drums awakening, strings and keys glimmering, Mourne calling, “The distance cannot make this right,” a sentiment you feel in your bones. You could say that about the whole record, actually. (April 18)

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

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

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

In the final months of the year, I tend to harp on not letting the records from December vanish into the background because they likely are not going to be included in a lot of year-end lists. We’re lucky not to have a print deadline or anyone to whom we answer so that those records can end up getting the praise they deserve, if warranted.

Bindrune dropped Weft’s amazing debut “The Splintered Oar,” a couple weeks ago, and its power is such that it landed here at 5. This project is helmed by Charlie Anderson, a violinist most people in our audience would know best for his string work with Panopticon and Waldgeflüster, where he adds even more atmosphere and dramatics to those bands’ sprawling black metal. On this record he handles vocals, bass, guitar, strings, electric violin, synth, piano, and additional percussion. The album is a goddamn revelation, an inspiring, mind-swelling collection that is an incredibly bright star in black metal’s crowded sky. Accompanied by Panopticon’s Austin Lunn on drums and other guests, Anderson steps into a world in which previously he only had a smaller, albeit crucial, part.

“Leaves” opens awash in acoustics and strings, and on first listen not knowing what to expect, I figured a whole album of this would be quite stirring. Man, was I pleasantly surprised nonetheless. This one picks up, adding extra layers on top of emotions, sweeping and glazing, mournful melodies falling, piercing the night. Then, things change. “False Kingdoms” begins ominously, strings moving  and drums encircling, setting up a Western vibe. Then the blade hits your abdomen, the whole thing opening in full bore, howls crushing, black metal fury enveloping every inch of this song. “The Hull” launches heartfully, violin scarring, the playing feeling like red streaks across an evening sky. The power storms as throaty wails flex, smashing harder as the guitars take off for the clouds, echoes swim in the storm, and acoustics land and add a breezy cool. Closer “Dream of Oaks” is a stunner, basking in folkish melodies as Jordan Day’s singing reminds of a mix of Sturgill Simpson and Lawrence Peters, violin aching in the spacey echo. Andrea Morgan’s voice enters the fray and brings ghostly beauty before the power ruptures, blasts ravaging, everything spiraling into a smoldering fire and back toward dusk. (Dec. 19)

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

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

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

10. LUST HAG, “Irrevocably Drubbed” (Fiadh): Eleanor Harper, the sole force behind black metal force Lust Hag, uses her second full-length “Irrevocably Drubbed” to lash back against an increasingly hostile society toward LGBTQIA+ folks. A trans woman herself, Harper has witnessed and absorbed the hatred and oppression lobbied by what we call a president and the entire right wing, and even a lot of spineless Democrats have shied away from supporting people just trying to live as who they are. Harper uses this record as a means to express the torment of having to contend with political and societal forces aiming to hurt trans people and trying to contend with the hopelessness that has to permeate that thinking.

The title track opens, and it wastes no time spreading carnage, stabbing and vile as guitars storm and Harper’s vocals feel like they washed in acid first. Synth whirs to give a disorienting base, and the virulent pace continues to ravage without mercy. The pace grinds as it takes on soot, the drums damage, and the synth feels wondrous amid the ferocity. “Rancid Manipulations” has the guitars carving and the keys creating a noxious cloud, vicious howls digging deep into your muscle structure. “Feed the Mother Monolith” brings guitars stomping before their intensity rises and falls, growls clutch, and it feels like ashes are being inhaled into your lungs. The pace thickens and things get stormier and speedier, flattening and wrenching before thrashing away. “Humiliation Ritual” is the 8:40-long closer, and it blasts immediately, going for broke as screams ripple, and transcendent melodies leave the windows fogged. The playing then becomes a battering ram, hulking through a haze, trudging as senses are smashed. (May 9)

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

To buy the album, go here: https://eleanorharper.bandcamp.com/album/irrevocably-drubbed

Or here: https://fiadh.bandcamp.com/album/irrevocably-drubbed

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

9. MARES OF THRACE, “The Loss” (Artoffact): Canadian metal duo Mares of Thrace face the scourge and tumult of grief head on with “The Loss,” their nine-track, 50-minute opus that tackles the process of death and its aftermath as we try to cope. Vocalist/guitarist Thérèse Lanz and drummer Casey Rodgers follow up 2022’s “The Exile” with this piece that is unlike anything they’ve released in the past. Yes, their abject heaviness, sludgy power, and Lanz’s angular, knifing guitar riffs are all in place, but they branch out musically and emotionally on this charring collection. Along the way, Lanz’s words pierce the heart, even amid drowning anger, as anyone who has had to bury a loved one or is on that tortuous path, will recognize.

“Anticipatory Grief” tears the lid off this thing, an urgent, black metal-smashed attack that feels like one finally coming to a breaking point. Lanz’s unmistakable riffs wrench around the fury as she levels, “I can’t bear to send another friend off to another journey in the soil.” From there, it’s a battle to survive the trauma, and then we’re off to “The First Stage: Shock” that chugs and brawls right away. Lanz’s vocals are more a hardcore-style shout, the playing stomping and bruising, singing quivering amid the carnage. “The Third Stage: Anger” is less of an assault than expected from this phase, but it’s heavy as hell, and it’s blunt. Burly, muscular riffs thrash as Lanz howls, “I looked into your eyes the day you died, and I didn’t feel nothing.” “The Fifth Stage: Depression” runs 9:19, the longest track on here, and it begins moody and drizzling, piano notes dropping, Lanz speak-singing as the momentum picks up. Guitars get heated as the heaviness swells, smothering you completely under its weight, the screams piercing flesh before the pace grows colder. It’s sobering and titanically destructive at the same time. (May 16)

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

To buy the album, go here: https://artoffact.com/releases/the-loss/

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

8. RWAKE, “The Return of Magik” (Relapse): Rwake had been gone a long time. It’s been 14 years since “Rest” roused our metallic souls, and if you put that album on today, it sounds as fresh and vital as the day it was born. The Arkansas-based band, that’s as much a close-knit family as they are a musical outfit, finally returned on sixth record “The Return of Magick,” a brute force dashed with psychedelic colors and an unbreakable bond with the cosmos and nature. This six-track, 54-minute excursion has the band sounding as full of life as ever before, and perhaps that break helped this group—vocalists C.T. and Brittany (also on keys), guitarists Austin and John, bassist Reid, and drummer Jeff.

“You Swore We’d Always Be Together” opens ominously with clean guitars flowing, accordion landing softly, and then the thing rips, growls and shrieks sounding wonderfully scorched, pedal steel adding a syrupy emotional heft, warm leads battling with the sludge. Screams penetrate again, guitars trucking as the playing spills, everything subsiding in an electric haze. The title track wastes no time, trucking with furious cries, the intensity hammering as the guitars wrap like a cord, compromising your blood flow, C.T delivering spoken messages, “To all the witches in the woods, and to the goblins that understood, there is a spirit that walks among us, and it is living proof.” “Distant Constellations and the Psychedelic Incarceration” is the longest track here at 13:56, the opening narrated by Jim “Dandy” Mangrum of the great Black Oak Arkansas. “In After Reverse” warps before it guts, animalistic howls digging in their heels, doomy vibes rippling through the earth. A much welcome and needed return. (Mach 14)

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

To buy the album, go here: https://www.relapse.com/collections/rwake-the-return-of-magik

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

7. TERZIJ DE HORDE, “Our Breath Is Not Ours Alone” (Church Road/Fiadh/Tartarus): Dutch black metal firepower Terzij de Horde are living the same oligarch-powered reality as you and I, and on their thunderous “Our Breath Is Not Ours Alone” (a line drawn from German sociologist Hartmut Rosa), they break through the barriers trying to hold us back. The band—vocalist Joost Vervoort, guitarists Demian Snel and Jelle Agema, bassist Johan van Hattum, drummer Richard Japenga—is on fire from the start, blending black metal and even some hardcore strains, pouring their emotion and determination all over these seven tracks that burst with energy.

“Each Breath Is a Flame” sets the tone early, blazing out of nowhere as guitars fire up and simmer, feedback chokes, and righteous wails blend into “Raise Them Towards the Sun” that is raucous and punishing. Wails scar as black metal-style melodies let lava flow, a snarling force slashing into the side of the earth. Leads blaze and then glaze, bursting open at the seams, channeling a beastly attack that rampages to the end. “The All-Consuming Work of the Soul’s Foreclosing” has strings glazing and howls wrenching, melodic smoke darkening the air, the drums blistering and leaving marks. The pace picks up the speed as the howls destroy, everything coming to a blinding finish. “Justice Is Not Enough to Leave the House of Modernity” starts reflective before the emotion spurts,  Vervoort calling, “We must leave this house!” “Discarding All Adornments” brings boiling guitars and a hefty pace, steaming and flattering, the guitars spiraling into oblivion. The pace calms as Amelia Baker of Cinder Well speaks over the fog, the pace then engulfing and spewing a volcano’s worth of ash. (Oct. 10)

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

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

Or here (Europe): https://www.deathwishinc.eu/collections/church-road

Or here: https://fiadh.bandcamp.com/

Or here: https://shop.tartarusrecords.com/product/terzij-de-horde-our-breath-is-not-ours-alone/

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

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

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

6. DER WEG EINER FREIHEIT, “Innern” (Season of Mist): There’s little to quell our worries outside our doors, so perhaps turning inward to address that chaos and pain can begin to help a little bit. German black metal power Der Weg Einer Freiheit focus on those matters on their incredible “Innern,” which is German for “inward.” Here, the band—vocalist/guitarist Nikita Kamprad, guitarist Nicolas Rausch, bassist Alan Noruspur, drummer Tobias Schuler—turns their gears toward taking on what’s going on inside, trying to quiet the madness and finding reflection and renewal.

“Marter” is the 9:24-long opener and begins in a haze before ramping up, the drums bustling, howls tearing as a melodic fury engulfs everything. We then go from atmospheric right to the acidic belly of the beast, the pace shifting as guitars surge, the emotion calming for a brief respite as doom gusts into the picture. “Eos” is a real centerpiece gem, a song that starts off feeling progressive and wondrous, a hulking riff moving in and making the song its own, sticking in your brain. Vocals buzz as the playing mangles, beastly blistering leaving festering wounds, melodies swirling as clean singing arrives, increasing the drama and fading in calculated manner. “Fragment” wooshes in and brings more delicate strains, cleaner singing swirling in the surrounding air, the fires eventually erupting and aiming to consume. “Forlorn” has plucked guitars sting before eeriness spreads generously, clean singing bringing a pillowy nature, softer bass plodding as things feel oddly New Wave to a degree. Guitars then scuff as shrieks hammer, colorful playing heads into a pit of moodiness, and the calls of, “Please don’t let me go,” add to the introspection. (Sept. 12)

For more on the band, go here: https://derwegeinerfreiheit.de/

To buy the album (U.S.), go here: https://shopusa.season-of-mist.com/list/der-weg-einer-freiheit-innern

Or here (international): https://shop.season-of-mist.com/list/der-weg-einer-freiheit-innern

For more on the label, go here: https://www.season-of-mist.com/