It feels like we either live in some sort of hell or that the world is disintegrating before our eyes as swaths of leadership around the globe delve further into authoritarianism. Yeah, that’s good for the power structure that answers to no one, but if you have your head screwed on straight, it is agony waking up every day.

Polish death crushers Clairvoyance’s debut full-length “Chasm of Immurement” doesn’t address that directly, that being the crumbling state of the world. But the dread and hell and misery that’s attached? Yeah, they serve that up in abundance with devastating, doom-infested death metal that feels like it collects all its disgust to hurl back at whatever target these choose. The band—vocalist Maciej Cesarczyk, guitarist/vocalist Denis Didenko, guitarist Kacper Pawluk, bassist Vlad Levchenko, drummer Adrian Szczepański—piles pressure and madness into six tracks and 34 minutes that ravage fully and make a case for them being hailed as one of the next new death metal bands to help carry the banner.

“Eternal Blaze” opens in buried growls and then begins to trudge with force, guitars punishing as the burly attack gets under way. The fury mounts as growls corrode, speeding up as the carnage ravages in full, leaving ash behind. “Hymn of the Befouled” has guitars tangling and battering, cavernous growls reaching into your guts, spacious leads taking off from there, infusing atmosphere. Leads snarl as the drums come unglued, the band churning and smothering until a fiery end. “Fleshmachine” is a driving menace, the drums marring as the growls engorge, the guitars electrifying and dominating. The leads blaze as the drums splatter, guttural growls taking you apart as the pace rushes, and feedback burns everything to a crisp.

“Reign of Silence” is doomy as hell, growls turning things more vicious, the playing blistering and pulling you through the mud. The death strains flex harder, mauling as the growls churn, the leads attain a nuclear glow, and everything ends in a deadly downward spiral. “Blood Divine” erupts, growls gurgling, the leads intensifying the heat, mangling into a bloody assault. The band goes thrashier, the pace destroying as growls boil and the guitars add an extra bed a flames to the proceedings. Closer “Monument to Dread” enters amid violent drumming, mashing growls, and a monstrous push into daggers and cragged rocks. The bass drives as the pace mauls slower, the guitars tearing through flesh walls, sinking in their teeth. Growls maim as the drums pulverize, the last scorching wave of power eating through bone.

“Chasm of Immurement” might be Clairvoyance’s first full-length, but it lands mightily, confidently, morbidly, like a band that’s been at this longer than they have. The darkness and the physical and mental torment that helped inspire these songs are deep and entrenched, helping you get a taste of each swath of suffering. This is a devastating debut that should carve a path for this band to sit among death metal’s up and coming leaders.

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

To buy the album, go here (U.S.): https://carbonizedrecords.merchtable.com/search?q=CLAIRVOYANCE%2F

Or here (Europe): https://carbonizedrecordseu.com/

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

The blazing hot summer is a strange time for death metal for me. I absolutely listen to it the entire three-month span, but it’s a time when my head isn’t always in the right place for all new releases. This summer has been different, and maybe it’s my frame of mind, but it feels like it’s all hitting when everything feels miserable.

Swedish death squad Filth arrive with their debut album “Time to Rot,” and that’s fitting as there are a lot of elements of our world that could stand to decay forever. This is grinding, slowly dealt death that hits you right in the chest and is ideally proportioned. At six tracks and 29 minutes, the band—vocalist/drummer Per, guitarist/bassist Sebastian, guitarist Ismael—gives you just enough to fill your rotting guts and leave you wanting more. That’s incredibly welcome. I’m sure they could have tacked on another two or three tracks, but this hits harder as is. It’s smoldering and dark, and nasty, and it demands replay, which its running time makes easy to do. Repeatedly.

“Odious Obsession” bristles with industrial-style noise, paving the way for filthy death, a crushing tempo, and growls that serve menace. The band hammers hard, proving to be a massive force with snarling riffs and a mighty power surge. The title track has weird echo out front, then furnace-like heat immediately greeting you, growls engorging as the guitars come to a boil. The playing rips ever harder, stampeding over unsuspecting victims, barreling into endless mud pits and charring your senses along the way. “Flesh Dress” initially delivers strange racket, and then gruff guitars begin to mash, growls choking on noxious fumes, the tempo absolutely unloading. Guitars spit fire before settling back a bit, and then the attack is mounted anew, surging to a devastating finish.

“Live in Agony Die in Pain” spills boiling lava, the guitars cutting through fiery tributaries, the growls burying all hope beneath the flames. There’s a section of hypnosis that sets the stage for doomy, sooty punishment that is doled out generously, an attack taking calculated turns, everything ending in blinding carnage. “Decrepit Womb” starts clean, hinting at some calm, but it’s devoured by doomy death and howls that smother, the savagery continuing to find new levels of pain. Monstrous chaos bleeds into the picture, growls strangling, the final moments coming at you suddenly and violently. Closer “Emaciated” has guitars encircling and then unloading, ugly growls crawling down your back, skull-dragging madness dragging cinders across your face. Guitars layer as doomy frost begins to accumulate, the power haunting and bringing a freezing finish.

“Time to Rot” is an effective, economical serving of classic death metal with a little bit of doom burned around the edges for taste, and Filth have a great launching-off point for diving deeper into the void. This is properly brutal and doesn’t overstay its welcome which, trust me, is incredibly refreshing among the sea of over-bloated records. This album gets in, crushes your will to live, and fades before you really know what hit you. 

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

To buy the album, go here: https://www.mesacounojo.com/shop/filth-time-to-rot-lp/

Or here: https://www.rottedlife.com/rotted-life-releases

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

And here: https://www.rottedlife.com/

The human experience is a miserable one for so many people, and it’s about to get more difficult and blatantly unfair. In very few other times were people this beaten down by the power structure, some ignorantly so, and there is no one coming anytime soon to change that fate. A lot of times, it’s hell.

Which brings us to Hell the band, a one-man project helmed by M.S.W. that long has travelled through a world of existential suffering. “Submersus,” the project’s fifth full-length, and first in eight years, pours more of that into five tracks that batter with doom, sludge, and pain. There aren’t a ton of new twists and turns on this record, and there doesn’t need to be. M.S.W. has a way of churning you mind, heart, and body, helping you get a tiny glance at the emotions that went into making this music. It’s always destructively heavy, musically and lyrically, and the path you take will leave you battered and torn.  

“Hevy” opens in a hail of feedback before the tempo begins pummeling, M.S.W. wailing, “What have I become?” We head directly into grime and pain, drubbing as the screams fry, the playing shifting heavier into sludge, guitars building a swelling atmosphere. Gazey fire expands its grasp as the tempo blows open, spacious chaos spreading, guitars conjuring a fog that blankets everything. “Gravis” chugs, slowly bathing in the increasing pressure. Agonizing screams ripple down your spine as the playing is dragged through madness, the fuzz accumulating, drone thickening and blocking out all light. Wordless calls float as the electricity scorches, screams burn as cleaner notes rise, mournful melodies looping into a hopeless oblivion.

“Factum” has guitars quivering and a sunburnt feel wilting and bleaching color. A lonesome aura fills your chest as guitars cry out, slowly picking up the intensity before finally bowing to solitude. “Mortem” feels swampy and thick, shrieks maiming as sounds spread deeper into the darkness. Morbid leads moan as the battering delivers a calculated attack, leads suddenly glimmer, and we’re driving into fury as feedback drowns, and cold water freezes your flesh. Closer “Bog” emerges from the shadows, developing a cosmic bend, hellish screams choking you in the void, wrenching as the bruising continues. Sounds grow more immersive and fierce, the drone returns and buzzes, and dreams are warped, bleeding into a bizarre timeline in another dimension.

“Submersus” arrives at a unique, and miserable time in human existence, and anyone already struggling existentially likely isn’t doing much better these days. M.S.W. captures that suffering in these five songs that, yes, also attach nicely to his previous work where the search for some relief from excruciating personal efforts that often end up feeling feeble and pointless. This is music for searching within oneself for the remaining drops of strength we have when the outside world aims to drain it from our lifeless bodies.  

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

To buy the album, go here: http://sentientruin.com/releases/hell-submersus

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

Death is horrifying to begin with, but having to deal with losing the ones closest to us is some of the most agonizing shit there it. I grew up dreading my parents’ deaths, and now that both events have passed, it was nothing like I thought it would be. We fear the pain and sorrow that follow, knowing how inexplicably hellish that will be.

Matt Jencik, a musician who has played with Implodes, Don Caballero, and in Slint’s live band, reflected on that and the desperation he felt to hold onto his loved ones forever, no matter what it takes. “Never Die,” his new collaboration with Madeleine Johnston of Midwife, takes its name from that experience, the desire to try to hold onto everyone forever. The two make for a formidable and effective pairing, with hushed energy, unbuffed pulses, and a heartbeat that beats from side to side. It’s a record that haunts and brings you back to vulnerable spots that might remain sore, Jencik’s desire to extend live combined with Johnston’s willingness to embrace the void.

“Delete Key” starts with murky synth and Johnston’s hushed, unmistakable voice, immersively floating beyond this world. Sounds cut through, and the feeling of nighttime loneliness takes over and sinks. “Don’t Protest (Too Much)” starts with beats and scuffed guitar, both singing (Johnston more in a whisper). The pace plods and numbs, taking on an emotional bend, the chorus basking in starlight and meting into the dark. “Flower Dragon” has guitars charging but not overwhelming, Johnson’s voice taking on a gentleness and vulnerability. The playing is hypnotic, the singing gliding as guitars drizzle, the dusk emerging and enveloping. “The Last Night” has synth unfolding and a gray hue passing, Jencik speaks as Johnston sings, and the elements continue to trade off as the reflective state builds. The pair ruminate over fading memories, layered vocals baking, synth lapping up the final drops. “Bend” feels strategically named as that’s what it feels like your brain is doing as guitars boil and drone, the singing soothing as sounds warp. The melodies sweep past stardust, swelling and picking up muted colors that wash away.

The title track has guitars chiming and dreamy singing, beats echoing as a whirry haze thickens. Sounds buzz as a simple, yet desperate refrain rains down, blending into ethereal calm. “Only Death Is Real” feels wintry, synth glistening, the singing surrounding, the chorus taking control. Guitars buzz as the sounds quiver, a reflective aura passing through detached night thoughts that finally release their grip. “Organ Delay” starts with cosmic synth, a breeze picking up and spreading pillowy playing, giving room the land. The immersion continues as your cells radiate, a magical feel working its way down your spine. “September Goths” pumps fog as the beats numb, Johnston singing and bringing with her a strange softness. Keys whir as the drums drive, taking on a more upbeat path that mixes with a bassline that twists arms. Closer “Rickety Ride” has beats clashing, guitars coating, Jencik recalling memories as slide guitar aches (he mentions Pegasus and Cricket Lounge, two well-known places in Pittsburgh, from which he originally hails) . Johnston sings as Jencik recites past events, keys bubble and turn into horror, and the power slowly faces away.

Jencik and Johnston capture darkness, pain, and desperation on “Never Die,” a collaborative effort that lets each artists’ elements come to the forefront. Jencik’s anxiety over loss combined with Johnston’s willingness to navigate such dark waters makes for an experience that can feels all kinds of different ways to various audiences. It’s a torch in the darknerss, a longing during the long night, and a way to bridge one reality to another, no matter how painful that might be in the end.    

For more on Matt Jencik, go here: https://mattjencik.bandcamp.com/

For more on Midwife, go here: https://heavenmetal.bandcamp.com/

To buy the album, go here: https://www.relapse.com/pages/matt-jencik-midwife-never-die

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

Bands lose members all the time, so it’s not really a massive deal when it happens. The conventional thought is you replace the musician who left and get on with things. After all, there are very few bands that maintain the exact same membership throughout the duration of their existence, so change should be second nature.

South Dakota-based death metal punishers Angerot found themselves down a drummer when Matt Johnson left the band, and going into recording their fourth album “Seofon,” they decided to defy convention. Instead of replacing Johnson, the three remaining members—vocalist/guitarist C.R. Petit, guitarist Jason Ellsworth, bassist Bill Zaugg—decided to use a different drummer for each of the seven tracks on this record. They recruited an impressive array of people behind the kit, each adding their own personality and style to the song to which they contribute, giving the album an unpredictable feel.

“Rapture Ov All That Is” kicks off and features Kevin Paradis of Aronious and formerly of Benighted, and this track takes little time getting boiling, battering rhythms, and mauling vocals lathering with devastation. Some cool leads tingle as the lumbering continues, turning uglier and squeezing blood from bone. “When Witches Dance” has Derek Roddy of Serpent’s Rise and formerly Hate Eternal, and things start atmospherically, but the drumming loosens guts, beastly growls plastering as the guitars smear. The vocals continue to scorch as the playing bends and warps, the drumming just hammering, the heat rising as everything churns out. “We Are the Serpents & the Saints” brings Dimmu Borgir’s Dariusz “Daray” Brzozowki into the fold, and things are tense right away, throaty hell and bludgeoning playing combining, a simple, but effective chorus flexing. Leads liquify as the vocals are a menacing yell, sludgy pounding choking, the pressure gurgling.

“Lying Tongues Removed” features Pierce Williams, formerly of Skeletal Remains, and he makes his presence felt as much as anyone here, channeling his violent playing as the band follows suit. Guitars light up as the growls snarl, strong leads take over, and the drumming gets a little looser, swinging as roars smash and speed blurs. “Her Song Ov Feathers & Ivory” welcomes Marco Pitruzzella of Six Feet Under and Sleep Terror, and this thigs is sinister and mean, militaristic drumming plastering, the vocals scraping flesh from bone. The nastiness combines with hazy guitars and a renewed effort at bloodying noses, the guitars soaring before burning out. “A Pact Made In Flesh & Wine” brings in Thomas Haywood of Grave Plague among many others, and the drumming splatters as fuzzier, more humid death metal results, growls choking as twin leads add pinpoints of light. Of course, the heat intensifies as everything turns into a savage beatdown, drums crushing as the guitars head deep into the skies. Closer “With No Eyes I See” has Zack Simmons of Goatwhore and Acid Bath, and the band smashes with reckless abandon, growls lurching, the guitars charging. Jolting angles jar your body as twin leads unite and glow, infernal howls incinerate your senses, and the pace decimates to the bloody finish.

“Seofon” obviously is noteworthy for Angerot’s drummer by committee approach here, but don’t let that distract from the ferocity and effectiveness of these songs. Yes, each track feels a little different based on who is behind the kit, but that’s never distracting, and the strength of the material is pretty apparent. Not sure which direction the band will go as far as finding a permanent drummer, but anyone here would suffice and make total sense. Plus, the record rips, which is the most important part.

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

To buy the album (U.S.), go here: https://redefiningdarkness.8merch.us/product/angerot-seofon-cd/

Or here (Europe): https://redefiningdarkness.8merch.com/product/angerot-seofon-cd/

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

Has there ever been a time when an escape from reality has been more welcome than it is right now? I’m sure there probably has been, but I can only comment on our current existence, and trying to find something to pull our minds out of the mental fire is something we all could find refreshing as societal temperatures rise.

Boise, Idaho, crushers Weald & Woe have you set up perfectly on their thunderous third record “Far From the Light of Heaven,” an eight-track, 37-minute opus that spills you into a devastating fantasy land. Dubbed “castle metal,” a tag that also applies to other like-minded artists such as Obsequiae or even Morke, the music on here takes you away to swords clashing, horses galloping, chainmail shredding. The band—vocalist/guitarist Jeff Young, vocalist/guitarist Brent Ruddy, bassist Zak Darbin—goes full bore, plying melodic black metal and a twinge of power to make for a rousing devastating adventure.

“This Vale of Tears” opens warmly, strong melodies flowing, shrieks raining down and aggravating fires. The pace keeps you plugged in, wild wails punishing, drums blasting before the pace shifts, and the power wrenches its last drops. “Brought to Ruin” lights up, driving with force, screams maiming as the pace stirs. “I am the whispers that guide you,” emanates softly amid the force, glorious leads riding out of that, the leads igniting and coating everything in gold. “Warchild” gallops like early Maiden, blistering as the vocals go for broke, cooling down as castle-storming riffs gain strength. The playing bursts and bleeds colors, the drums gut, and shrieks peel back flesh as the final elements deliver majestic force. “Radiant One” opens humidly, your face coated with sweat, growls and shrieks intermingling, the mighty chorus rushing at you like a breakaway stream. 

“Breaking of the Sword” has howls ripping and speed splattering, an absolute onslaught heading toward you with little room for safety. Melodic guitars rocket as the spirit of battle races through your veins, surging with fiery energy. “The Skyless World” is a little moodier to start, guitars spreading out, numbing your senses before all hell breaks loose, and raucous fire and NWOBHM-flavored strikes jar your brain. Strange speaking emerges, taking on a timeless void, and then the murk clears into blistering fireworks, molten leads washing over. “Blood Upon the Blade” has humid guitars and the growls crushing wills, unhinged cries then taking control. The rhythm is drubbing and the guitars boil dangerously, charging toward a blaring end. Closer “Stars That Guide the Slain” is elegant and mighty, screams scraping, fluid melodies making your heart race. The bass tramples, and screams ravage, a beastly burst taking you over, howls snarling as the final moments scorch.

Weald & Woe again make your juices flow with manic death metal twisted with power metal on “Far From the Light of Heaven.” Three albums in, and it’s clear this band is focused and channeled, creating sounds that could topple castle walls, liberating people from iron fists. This is glorious and energetic, the perfect music for our times when we could use a few new battle anthems.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://fiadh.bandcamp.com/album/far-from-the-light-of-heaven

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

We live in a reality of fantasy, fiction, and untruths. There is so much that confronts us in our daily lives that requires deep introspection that nothing can be lifted from the surface. It’s like living in a dream world where the rules of reality have been rewritten, and we need to try to wrap our minds around that. 

Swedish band Gaupa (which means lynx) always have been thought provoking in their sounds and words, and that bleeds over into their new mini-album “Fyr,” a five-track (4 new, one that blends two older songs in a live studio setting) offering that also resets their own reality. Down to a four piece with vocalist Emma Näslund, guitarist David Zol Rosberg, bassist Erik Jerka Sävström, drummer Jimmy Hurtig, the band hurtles into psychedelia and rupturing rhythms (that often remind me of Rage Against the Machine’s swagger) that takes control and makes your heart work overtime. Näslund has some Bjork-like qualities with her delivery and also has a commanding presence as her words also borrow from themes of Ursula K. Le Guin’s science fiction novel The Word for World Is Forest that, itself, is a harrowing, sobering adventure.

“Lion’s Thorn” starts in mesmerizing fashion, bagpipes courtesy of Adrian Dal Cero forming a fog, hushed singing hovering over everything. The playing builds to a burly fuzz, bubbling over before reaching a calm, pipes welling,  Näslund calling, “I’ve been told we’re all sinners, and that’s how you’d like us to stay.” The playing gets punchier and more fiery, waves lapping, bagpipes trailing. “Heavy Lord” has guitars chugging, the singing powering, a ’90s feel permeating the atmosphere. The singing swelters, going whispery in spots, and the riffs glisten as the tempo adds pressure, an ominous and catchy dash capturing you. “Ten of Twelve” has guitars running and snarling, the singing echoing as a strong chorus lands with force. “I move in slow motion,” Näslund calls, guitars snaking through dark waters, smoke rising, the notes blazing. “Elastic Sleep” pounds away, the singing gazing, rubbery, jangling guitars sending electricity through your veins. The playing heads into a dreamscape as sounds hang in the air, trudging energy pushes bones into mud, the edges leaving blisters. The battering continues, turning rock into ash, sounds slowly fading away. The last track is pulled from an EP recorded at 2023 Monkeymoon Studios, a combined piece with “Sömnen” from 2022’s “Myrid” and “Febersvan” from their 2018 self-titled debut. It gives you an immersive example of how they reinterpret their music live and sinks you into the center of it all.

Gaupa drag you into your subconscious state and allow you to contemplate dreams and realities on “Fyr,” an effectively realized smaller release that has the power of a full collection. The muscular flexibility and doses of doom metal are melded nicely, feeling like an effective attack. This also serves as a great stop gap to what’s coming next, which we heavily anticipate.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://us.merhq.net/us/Artists/gaupa/

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

We are humans, and as a result, we are going to suffer at some point in our lives. OK, at many points. For some of us, at most points. It’s something we cannot avoid, and to try to do so is pointless because it will get us, even when we least expect it. Hey, not the most uplifting way to start this, but the truth is the truth. 

Italian black metal power Noise Trail Immersion are on that same pathway on “Tutta la Morte in un Solo Punto,” their fifth record overall. The title translates to “all death in one point,” itself a rather dour sentiment, but there remains some potential for light to poke through if we’re bold enough to take on this misery. The band—vocalist Fabio Rapetti, guitarists Daniele Vergine and Nebil Jabnoun, bassist Lorenzo Sirotto, drummer Simone Crivello—twists the dark arts to their will, creating music that is punishing but also wildly intelligent, never letting you in on the answers before they are revealed, and even then they sometimes keep things in the shadows. It’s a record that took me a few visits to embrace, and now that it’s sunk in, each listen has given me something different.

“Divampa L’Ignoto” opens with a crazed burst, mind-bending playing immediately eating into your brain wiring, barks and shrieks blurring your vision. The vocals get throatier as the atmosphere grows more horrific, guitars sting, and the heat from the fires hang overheard. “Spire di Sangue” has growls rumbling and a bruising, hulking pace, growing more disorienting as things move along. Guitars stab into a burgeoning humidity, yells toughen, and the thick air is enough to make you lose consciousness. “Arde e Respira” explodes, wiry playing twisting muscles, brutal howls powering as the guitars add to your fraying mental state. The tempo mauls as screams shred flesh, lumbering and crushing, blasting away and leaving cinders. “Lo Spettacolo” is fierce and furious, shrieks and growls mixing, weirdness spreading and playing with your mental faculties. Hypnotic melodies infect while steam builds, and the guitar work leaves you’ve stymied and ravaged.

“Sogno a sé Stante” burns with guitars blazing before going clean, sitting in reflective pools that let your brain float in temporary serenity. Screams then wrench as the drums encircle, sounds bludgeoning, strangeness destroying senses. “Culla e Bara” has guitars attacking and barked vocals landing hard, a slow-burning, yet jarring path getting rowdier and hotter, screams rippling down spines. The pace then gets more immersive, pulling you under black waves that fully envelop. “Finzione” has growls choking, a mesmerizing pace that smears blood, and a slowly engorging thrust that tests your strength. The vocals get throatier as the burly attack continues to multiply, giving off uncomfortable heat. “Precipizio Consapevole” is hypnotic to start, the guitars melting into metallic streams, the screams mangling with full force. The thrashiness trucks as melodies turn inside out, completely infecting before double-kick drums rattle your skull. The closing title track immediately tangles your limbs as growls retch, and a vicious thrust turns warmer and mystifying. Drums erupt as the guitars scorch flesh, echoes and sounds interfere, and then the track unloads for a final burst, sending speed and trickery to administer one last beating. 

The mix of abject suffering and eventual catharsis makes  “Tutta la Morte in un Solo Punto” both a purposely confusing listen as well as one that should inject strange new life into your cells. Noise Trail Immersion do not set you off on a simplistic brutal journey, as their scope and capabilities would be wasted in such a scenario, so get ready to have your mind challenged. This is a record that might take some time to settle in, but once it does, its effects and the adventure you take cannot be shaken easily, if at all.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://metalodyssey.8merch.us/

Or here: https://metalodyssey.8merch.com/product/noise-trail-immersion-tutta-la-morte-in-un-solo-punto-cd-pre-order/

For more on the label, go here: https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/

Imagine doing something aggressive and violent, quitting one day, and then picking up that activity again 30 years later. What are the chances you will be anywhere near where you were in your prime years? Not very likely, but music is kind of a different sort of physical. Most bands aren’t fucking Deadguy.

Three full decades after releasing their debut (and until recently only) full-length record “Fixation on a Co-Worker,” they have returned to doing what they do best with “Near-Death Travel Services,” an absolute beast of an album that is worth the lengthy wait. It’s seriously as savage as how they sounded in the ’90s before their dissolution, as the band—vocalist Tim Singer, guitarists Chris “Crispy” Corvino and Keith Huckins, bassist Jimmy Baglino, drummer Dave Rosenberg—delivers absolute punishment. The acerbic wit remains intact, only with these guys having three decades of real-world life experience and parenthood under their belts, giving their rage a different focus. It’s a triumph of an album, and it beats your ass from front to back with the power of a band half their age.

“Kill Fee” tears open, Singer howling, “We are the freaks, and we dare to believe there’s a place for us in this world.” Like 10 seconds in, and we’re already flattened. The playing chugs and smashes with a ferocity they apparently never lost, smoking and battering to the end. “Barn Burner” changes things up a bit, but it’s still nasty, thrashing as Singer commands, “I don’t hate you, I just feel better when you’re not around.” The verses blaze by, giving off humidity and steam, Singer later jabbing, “I’ve been thinking that I’ve been drinking too much of my own Kool Aid,” as noise scrapes out. “New Best Friend” has the drums driving, the guitars encircling, battering with a blinding force. Yelled vocals bruise as metallic riffs cut through steel, adding pressure to a mangling finish. “Cheap Trick” attacks, the verses mauling, a breakdown swelling and feeling like you’re about to be trampled alive. “Are we sober? Are we clean? Are we just stuck?” Singer posits as the final moments leave their marks. “The Forever People” is throaty and fast, Singer’s rants smashing with the chaos, the playing going uncorked. “We’re selling tickets to the end of time,” Singer wails, tongue deep in cheek, as the wrenching power goes to work, hammering artificial barriers. 

“War With Strangers” has the bass trucking, riffs rupturing, and a more slow-driving pace pushing your face into the dirt. Again, Singer is the unhinged narrator, yelling, “But this is not my war, feels like we’re being manipulated.” Guitars take off, injecting more ferocity into the mix, swaggering and powering off. “Knife Sharpener” waylays, howls smashing, guitars tangling, and a violent pace destroying as the thing goes by in a flash. “The Alarmist” has guitars strangling, Singer charging, “Don’t want to be this again, that’s my own blood I’ve been hiding, that’s my own blood that I’m denying.” The pace halts as guitars tease, eventually attacking again and sending everything spiraling and burning away into dust. “The Long Search for Perfect Timing” starts ominously, dark riffs crawling, a dizzying display that plays games with your psyche. The vocals hammer as the leads drip and snarl, choking you with the fumes from a tire fire. “All Stick & No Carrot” wastes little time getting going, the vocals pasting, sounds smearing and adding a level of purposeful confusion. “Do you think there’s a winner? Do you think it’s you?” Singer questions, the playing tangling and melting away. Closer “Wax Princess” is fast and sudden, Singer howling, “They build you a cage and they call it a kingdom, they step on your neck and call it freedom.” The pace blackens and contorts, wrestling you to the ground, punishing as a detached computer voice blurs its reality with ours, bleeding out, back in, and into the void forever.

Deadguy’s return is long overdue, and “Near-Death Travel Services” not only is a breath of fresh air in the middle of a hellacious 2025, but it also offers a metallic fist forward. Yes, these guys are returning to more bad societal and political times like they faced during their initial run, and while their perspectives as people may have changed, the enemy really hasn’t. This a fucking bulldozer of a record, an album that not only declares Deadguy has returned but torches every fiber of your being from first second to the last. 

For more on the band, go here: https://deadguy666.bandcamp.com/

To buy the album, go here: https://www.relapse.com/pages/deadguy-near-death-travel-services

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

Death chases and haunts us from the time we are made aware of its presence until the day it finally gets us, and it is the product of too many levels of anxiety to even count. It’s the dark phantom a step behind us in case we make a fatal mistake or our bodies give out. It can’t be escaped, and it can’t be denied.

Polish black metal duo Thanatorean (vocalist E, multi-instrumentalist KM) dive deeply into that fear and madness on their debut full-length “Ekstasis of Subterranean Currents,” a nine-track journey into the mysterious void. The band drapes majesty and darkness over nearly 38 minutes of chaos that feels like it is pulling you into the unknowable mystery of our demises and what may lie after, if anything at all. It’s a chilling experience that eats away at you, just like your own nightmares pulling you into the caverns of death. 

“The Descent” starts with sounds boiling and rippling, and then everything opens into ominous black metal, the sooty screams buried in the dirt, the leads going off and electrifying. The mood gets cavernous as power hangs like a storm cloud, stomping off into oblivion. “With Tongues of the Underworld” detonates with relentless energy and wild howls, melodic charges jolting your spine, smoke rising and choking. The pace charges into charred terrain, the growls pummel, and everything ends in dire fury. “Thrice-Hexed” has the vocals punishing, guitars sweltering, the ghoulish force in full command. The sounds slowly melt into a mind-altering syrup, singing bellowing before an infernal push, guitars tangling and vibrating. “Tranquil Trueness of End” opens with charging guitars, growls mashing, and the humidity rising, making breathing difficult. Haunting speaking echoes as they turn into menacing howls, the guitars mystifying and generating steam.

“De Profundis” is doomy and cloudy, blasts suddenly ripping through its midsection, the guitars creating a hallucinatory fog. That weirdness spills into a sudden eruption, dashing as the final fires gasp. “To Abyss Sacrosanct” dawns with bass layering, smashing as deeper growls lurch, clean warbling turning into a nightmarish void. Guitars glimmer and trick your mind, the pace hammering once more before disappearing. “In Reverent Throes” attacks, sooty growls slinking, the force penetrating your cells and changing their structure. The heat encircles, led by the guitars generating a force, the riffs the only thing surviving the icy end. “Bound Beneath and Beyond” brings a steady tempo, guitars defacing, blending into a bizarre chasm that melts your inhibitions. The force becomes overwhelming, stretching and repeating, the sweat coating your face. The closing title track pulls you into the center of hypnosis, the guitars bleeding colors, howls erupting and mangling your mental faculties. Growls retch as a spindly pace unloads like a savage weather front, ferocity spinning off into hell.

“Ekstasis of Subterranean Currents” is an unsettling experience both musically and thematically as we are forced to stare death in the eyes and accept our fates. The playing is immersive and chilling, and they capture the anxiety and terror surrounding the very idea of our demise. This is a black tunnel with no end, music here to defy comfort and head directly into the void.

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

To buy the album, go here (U.S.): https://metalodyssey.8merch.us/

Or here (Europe): https://metalodyssey.8merch.com/

For more on the label, go here: https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/