Photo by Marton Bodnar

We soon are entering into the darkest part of the year here in the United States, when nature will decay, the daylight will grow scarce, and warmth will retreat for a couple seasons. That also tends to be a time when people’s personal darkness comes back to roost, robbing one of happiness and hope when the lack of daylight and warmth chew away at psyches.

There always has been a thick dark sheen draped over the music made by UK-based band Crippled Black Phoenix, a band that isn’t really in the realm of heavy metal but certainly can spill over into that terrain. Their dramatic, emotional brand of music combines many sound elements including art rock, psychedelics, doom, and prog, yet you can’t really affix a definite label to them. On top of their sound, their songs often are packed with intimacy and personal experiences, as well as reactions to the world going on around them, and all of that comes back in spades on their excellent new record “Great Escape.” The formal follow-up to 2016’s incredible “Bronze” again finds the band unloading sharp epics, biting rock, and dreamy transmissions that could make your blood pump and your tear ducts swell in the same song. Long helmed by multi-instrumentalist Justin Greaves (who played in the past with Iron Monkey and Electric Wizard), he and the rest of the band—Ben Wilsker (drums), Daniel Änghede (vocals, guitar), Jonas Stålhammar (guitar), Tom Greenway (bass), Mark Furnevall (synthesizers, Hammond, backing vocals), Helen Stanley (grand piano, synthesizer, backing vocals, trumpet), and Belinda Kordic (vocals, percussion)—pack these 11 songs with humanity and dark tidings, with each listen more infectious than the one before it.

“You Brought It Upon Yourselves” is a compelling introductory piece built on synthscapes and clips from British philosopher Alan Watts, as well as a piece from the 1972 film “Silent Running.” As the words start to swirl together and repeat, so do their messages on individuality, staying outside the norm, and the fear of a homogenized world. Then “To You I Give” launches, a 9:21-long burst of power that pays homage to love and devotion, even in the midst of chaos. “We’ll make it right, hope we’ll still be here tomorrow,” Änghede calls, while the song continues to build on each element, turning it into a dashing light. The song turns inside out later, with guitars charging, the flood waters rising, and a sweltering end. “Uncivil War Pt. 1” is a proggy, cosmic instrumental led by zapping keys and eeriness before it shifts off into the stars. “Madman” brings some swagger to the record, as the grittier vocals and cold, alien synth back up Änghede’s warning of, “You think I’m fire? Get ready to burn.” “Times, They Are a Raging” follows, an 11:57 piece that begins with piano dripping and solemn melodies, as Änghede tries to hit a unifying note with, “We all bleed just the same, you know.” That transitions into darker, more ominous guitars, as the pace is torn open, soloing is unleashed, and a whirlwind of emotions caterwauls. The intensity keeps flowing until it’s pulled back, only to have quiet accordion lead it from the room.

“Rain Black, Reign Heavy” has guitars rumbling, tensions rising, with Kordic pointing, “How many times do I have to die?” Horns arrive as the song bursts like a storm cloud, with the singing swelling, and the song bleeding out on delicate piano. “Slow Motion Breakdown” opens with church bells, icy synth, and guitars that take on a 1980s feel. Soloing takes off and soars through the skies, as damage is done, and the track fades out in the damaged strains of amusement park melodies. “Nebulas” has a guitar part that reminds me of the Edge when he was still hungry in, like, 1981. It drives the song as Kordic takes lead, calling, “I’m sorry, so sorry,” over the chorus. There is a gust of New Wave bravado, as steely guitars join up and find their way into the murk. “Las Diabolicas” is the shortest non-instrumental track of the set, situating itself in alien terrain, as the vocals sound transmitted from space. “The walls are closing in on you tonight,” Änghede observes, adding a sense of danger to what’s a pretty damn strong song. The record ends on the two-part “Great Escape,” the first a 7:36-long piece that’s the quieter, more psychedelic of the pair. “Don’t wait for me,”  Änghede warns, while tranquil guitars try to soothe, horns slip under a fog before gloriously rising later, and then we’re into the 13:03-long second part that starts with guitar and attitude. The sun blazes over the song’s horizon, feeling like a classic Pink Floyd song that goes to squeeze your heart with its hugeness, and then synth settles in and we’re back to calm. Softer singing and weeping guitars take over before the band sends you on an excursion over the final minutes where layers are placed over steaming layers, the track gushes with emotion, and eventually it slips away and dissolves into the night.

Crippled Black Phoenix manage to weave so many different styles of music, and songs that hammer your heart and soul, and they do so with no pretension and with their own blood on display for you to see. “Great Escape” is a record that should act as a perfect companion for anyone out there struggling with their own darkness are who just find it hard to wake up in the morning and face an increasingly volatile world. Crippled Black Phoenix always manage to take those words and feelings you can’t convey and turn them into ideal statements on the human condition.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/CBP444/

To buy the album (North America), go here: https://shopusa.season-of-mist.com//

Or here (International): https://shop.season-of-mist.com/

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

There’s this notion, and there is something to it, that bands in their later years do not make their best music. A lot of times, it seems like these artists are doing it just so they have justification to tour, and when these new songs wash over the audience, people sit on their hands, because the content just doesn’t match their classic stuff.

That’s not always the case, by the way, with older bands. Rush’s last (and maybe final) record “Clockwork Angels” was an incredible piece of work that they recreated live. Judas Priest just put out “Firepower” this year, and it’s their best stuff since the early 1990s. Following that lead comes Voivod with their incredible new album “The Wake,” which, by the way, will kick your ass all over the place. This band has been going since 1981, and they have made some of the most interesting, dexterous metal of any band ever. And here we are, 37 years after they formed, and they’re still making music that’s challenging, fun, and totally awash in sci-fi madness. Their latest is a sort of concept record, and this eight-track, 56-minute album twists, turns, and blasts you through the cosmos with prog-fueled thrash that sounds as good now as it ever has. In fact, much of this new record, their 14^th, visits many eras of their discography, with some of the material even teasing the days of “Dimension Hatross,” “Killing Technology,” and “Nothingface.” All of this is with a lineup that keeps half its classic formation and half comprised of new blood with veterans vocalist Snake and drummer Away joined by guitarist Chewy (on board since 2008 following Piggy’s passing) and bassist Rocky (he joined in 2014.)

“Obsolete Beings” starts the record with strange noises, guitars chugging, and prog-fueled verses that are fun and full of life. Fluid soloing from Chewy causes things to get spacey, before Snake howls, “There you are, no one will ever know!” The main body of the song fades out into strangeness that douses you in dizziness before making way for “The End of Dormancy” and its killer riffs. The track is slurry and melodic, as Rocky’s stellar basslines act as a spine, while the track gets grimy and full of danger. “Too late to retreat!” Snake warns, as the song bends into a strange sequence that reminds of the tones of their “Astronomy Domine” cover. Snake seemingly relives an alien probe, trying to figure out what all these machines are for before realizing, “I am the only one who survives.” “Orb Confusion” has guitars stabbing and the track taking on an older Voivod vibe. Snake is awash in paranoia as he asks, “Now, where should I go? What should I do? How to escape?” as the music swims and slithers, pushing toward a strange, creaky outro. “Iconspiracy” fades in from the stars, gaining speed and chewing up muscle in its gears. The vocals are spat out, while synth envelops, and a baroque-style aura is achieved. The guitars tangle your guts, delivering classic chops and prog oddity before the song comes to a fiery end.

“Spherical Perspective” simmers in a space haze before it comes to life and pushes the boundaries of sanity. Guitars spiral and confound, as Snake pokes, “Are you scared?” before a miasma of soloing washes in, and then calm arrives. As the pace lessens, the guitars chime closed, and the drums roll away. “Event Horizon” has shifty riffs and really is a bizarre song. “This goes way beyond expectations,” Snake calls, which also is a pretty good summary of this record, before a jazzy solo sprawls. Synth fog gets thicker, obscuring your vision as the song bleeds away. “Always Moving” charges hard out of the gates, as weird noises mix in, and the vocals sound like they’re swimming in the air. The song plays with its tempo, pumping blood in some corners, going serene at other times, and ending everything with a good clobbering. The record ends with 12:24-long epic “Sonic Mycelium,” the perfect way to bring this album to an end. It fact, it’s a track, that reprises a lot of what you’ve heard previously—lyrics from other songs, melodies that are warped versions of what preceded this, as mutated forms come back to haunt, and it’s a presentation that acts sort of a reliving of everything you heard before it. There are weird and dreamy melodies intertwined, numbing playing, and the whole thing ending in a bed of eerie strings that sweep the record closed.

All hails to Voivod, one of heavy metal’s weirdest and greatest bands, one that still makes incredible and relevant sounds today. “The Wake” is one of those examples where you should not write off older artists, because some of them still have gas in the tank, crazy ideas in their brain. This is an awesome piece of work that, really, is as good as just about anything else in their awesome catalog.

For more on the band, go here: http://voivod.net/

To buy the album, go here: http://www.cmdistro.com/

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

Love is one of the greatest forces on earth, as it moves people to do extraordinary things perhaps previously thought impossible. At the same time, it also can lead to jealousy, violence, death, and destruction, as that incredible quality sometimes can have a negative effect and create monsters out of people normally not inclined to terrible behavior.

If you summarized the thematic content of every song written since the beginning of time, there’s a good chance love would be the top motivator for creating such art, and probably hands down. Toss Sumac into that pot, as their ambitious, hulking new record “Love in Shadow” examines what it means to deal with that very basic need to love and be loved. These aren’t romantic jams or feats of sexual conquest, which should come as no surprise considering the players involved—guitarist/vocalist Aaron Turner (ISIS, Old man Gloom, Mamiffer), bassist Brian Cool (Russian Circles), and drummer Nick Yacyshyn (Baptists). Instead, they put their focus examining the beautiful and corrupting powers of love, which can make a person a tender, understanding being or push them toward jealousy, perversion, obsession, and more. Add to this, Sumac never have sounded this free. This is the hardest Sumac record to date to classify of their three full-lengths, as they melt away any expected ideas of song structure and melody and instead go into areas of free-form playing, where they let their fire-breathing spirits go where they must.

This four-track, 66-minute beast gets started with “The Task,” a 21:32 pounder that feels like a few different songs stitched together. The track rollicks and delivers power as it opens up and bleeds, with proggy sections confounding, and Turner’s lion’s roar vocals concussing you. The track charges, bolts, and rattles over the new few minutes, eventually going clean, seemingly fading out, before a folkish transition settles into the mix. As the heaviness returns, the track begins to sludge, as ominous tones darken the skies, noise coils in the corner, and the drums deliver fury. The pace gets a little strange, while the basslines sneak up on you, and the song slowly meanders into another pocket of calm. The music eases into space, as static pours, organs awaken, and growls devastate while the song fades away. “Attis’ Blade” runs a healthy 15:45, and it starts with guitars clanging, howled words, and everything bleeding into a psychedelic headspace. Guitars and noise zap, as clean playing returns, and the path burns out of control. Cosmic chaos erupts, while Turner’s wails turn bloody, and a sludgy pocket swallows the track, allowing things simmer and steam, letting the price Attis was forced to pay sink in.

“Arcing Silver” is the shortest track, though it still runs 12:02. Thick bass gets the cut gushing, while guitars slice in, and the howls thicken the punishment. Jerky riffs leave bruising, as the band starts to thrash away violently, and the tempo gets tornadic and dizzying. A sound bath lets everything stew in its juices before the song speeds up, wild cries are delivered, and the track is pummeled closed. “Ecstasy of Unbecoming” ends the record, a 16:50-long mammoth that is calm and tranquil at first, as the drums slowly tap, and the noise is awakened. Static begins to spread, and the band starts to chug away about four minutes in, landing calculated blows. Hellish growls and tricky playing emerge, and things drown for a moment before smashing through the surface of the water. The track keeps building new components organically, as if they’re feeling the space and each other’s playing as they add new layers. An instant buzz washes in before the song is torn to shreds, with the pace spiraling, a bludgeoning crushing the earth, and the song ending abruptly, sucking all the air from your lungs.

Sumac’s desire to destroy boundaries combined with putting out content that puts your mind and emotions to the test is all over “Love Iin Shadow,” easily the band’s most challenging work to date. Not only do they make you consider the meaning of love to your own life, they do it in such a way that it tangles up your brain when trying to listen. Of course, that’s the sign of a well worthy group of artists that’ll never be satisfied with the run of the mill.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://thrilljockey.com/products/love-in-shadow

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

Travelling at dusk, when the horizons mix purples and orange and the sun is swallowed whole is an experience that’s always haunted me. It’s the perfect time to explore very personal, haunting music, because it feels like the art enters your veins like an IV drip, intoxicating you as you gaze at the night’s first stars.

That scene has run over and over in my head with each trip to Emma Ruth Rundle’s stunning new record “On Dark Horses,” her fourth solo album overall. There’s something about the music in these eight songs that drape you in darkness, romance, loss, confusion, and strength, and yes all of those things can work together. I’ve always found Rundle’s music enrapturing, and that’s a major reason we’ve always examined her music on this, what’s normally an underground metal site. Yes, there are edgy, bloody moments of her music, but much of what is here is haunting and delicate, a step in a different direction from her amazing last album “Marked for Death.” Some things have changed in Rundle’s life, including her relationship with Evan Patterson of Jaye Jayle and Young Widows, who lends his baritone voice to the album in spots, giving the music a different edge. Related to that, Rundle also embraces horses on the album (see the cover) and their strength and ability to run and sprawl great lengths, though many remain tethered somewhere and not truly free. These elements paint different colors over the music, some of that contributing to this record sounding so great at night.

“Fever Dreams” starts the album with Rundle singing immediately, sinking right in, as she recalls, “A life spent uneasy, in pieces, always in pieces here.” Guitars spill in as lighter tones are worked in before guitars spread their wings as Rundle calls, “Release me from fever dreams.” “Control” has a late-afternoon sunburnt feel, with an excellent chorus that’ll replay in your head. Elsewhere, Rundle urges, “It’s only the devil you know, it’s only the spirit you taste,” as guitars unleash gaze before burning out. “Darkhorse” is a showstopper, as dark clouds move in, and the verses pushing toward the night’s edge. “It’s the dark horse you give legs to, no one else can ride,” Rundle wails over the chorus, her voice splitting with emotion. The tempo of the song even has a dark pattering, as if horses are working their way toward you either to rescue you or drag you away. Excellent song. “Races” is awash in Americana vibes, as Rundle pushes, “I’ll take the wheel, but it’s the hunger that drives.” The track feels like being on a quiet train, rumbling and sending smoke into the lonely night sky.

“Dead Set Eyes” has drums driving, slurry guitars, and a harsher chorus that leaves a burning in your throat. Guitars burst and gaze later, as a dreamy darkness settles over the land and spends the evening. “Light Song” has guitars quivering, as the melody lines are burlier, and Rundle sings, “I outlive the day, I outrun the night.” Later on, Patterson’s voice joins hers, as his words slip underneath, while guitars moan, and a ghostly ambiance is tangible. Guitars power up toward the end of the song as noise gathers and fades away. “Apathy on the Indiana Border” is quiet and reflective, as Rundle observes, “I cannot go anywhere without you just following.” The track feels like an old spirit returning to old stomping grounds, as the guitars light a pathway before the visions disappear. Closer “You Don’t Have to Cry” comforts a grieving friend, and its slower, more delicate pace is that warm embrace of sorrow. “Now, you will sing to them,” Rundle urges, while spacey guitars layer hurt and hope, and the song offers a final hand to soothe a broken heart.

Rundle continues to slightly reinvent her sound each time out, staying true to her base but never repeating herself once. “On Dark Horses” is another excellent chapter of her ambitious career, and these songs eventually will work their way into your heart each time you listen. Fittingly on “Races,” Rundle declares over the chorus, “It’s my time to shine.” It definitely is that, and this record is one that should draw more disciples to her temple.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://www.hellomerch.com/collections/emma-ruth-rundle

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

Surely in the past when a friend asks what a particular band they never heard of sounds like, you’ve gone the easy route of saying, “I can’t really describe it. You just have to hear it.” I’m not really allowed to do that. Actually, yes, I am. It’s my site. There’s no boss. But I try not to be that effortless, so here we go, trying to explain another record from Bosse-de-Nage.

The Bay Area-based black metal band has one of the strangest styles and personalities of anyone in the sub-genre. You should not be thinking corpse paint and skeletons and devils. Instead, imagine psychological trauma, mental torture you enact on yourself over and over because you have no sense of control, and thinking of demons long since exorcized who have come back to feast again. The band’s fifth album “Further Still” might as well describe their approach to their art, as each release they’ve built on their warped foundation and kept twisting it against its will until life’s blood was further wrung from its quivering body. The band also has operated under a guise of secrecy, only using single initials as names, though two of its members (vocalist Bryan Manning and drummer Harry Cantwell) have revealed their identities, while the others (guitarist M and bassist D) remain somewhat obscured. All that matters, though, is the band’s sprawling, unorthodox delivery, as well as Manning’s deranged diatribes and twisted stories delivered from a dank dungeon long before the advent of the treatment of mental illness. I don’t say that in jest to sufferers; as one myself, Manning’s vocals always have given a deep sense of dread and anxiety that can be tasted.

“The Trench” starts off with melodic riffs, deranged howls, and a pace that’s continually stirring. The vocals reach around corners and spread themselves heavily over everything, while later on, Manning wails, “Once I’m too old to perform even these simple functions my only value will be of the nutritive sort,” as the track takes on proggy storms and bleeds raw emotion. “Down Here” has thick bass prowling, while Manning starts off, “I am old and filthy. My body is rotten. The disfiguration of my physique is so advanced that my appearance is practically unimaginable,” which is nightmarish. Melodic riffs twist with stern strikes, as the tortured wails take this song barreling downhill into doom. “Vestiges” has guitars racing, shouts and growls tangling for control, and any sense of sanity slowly boiling away. The terrifying tale eventually calms a bit, letting post-rock style melodies in for added color before the song gains speed again. From there, the ride rolls and clobbers, the pain builds, and we’re out in a warm rumble. “A Faraway Place” has a fiery vocals tradeoff at the start, reminding, oddly, of Converge, as the guitars surge and tangle. Manning’s prose is howled forcefully over the flow, as the drums attack, guitars charge and compel, and then everything goes ice cold before the sounds bleed out into a furnace. “Sword Swallower” is a fast explosion that has the guitars cutting through, with Manning howling about the main character shoving the sword down his throat, only to have it protrude from his backside, which the performer displays to the audience. It’s fucked up.

“My Shroud” starts with clean guitars, as noise hums dangerously, and the track slowly bleeds toward its breaking apart. About two minutes into it, the madness arrives, with Manning barking, “I was born dressed in a shroud, and I have been wearing it ever since. I will die wearing it.” The track speeds up and into a heavy storm, with the pace jerking back and forth before it flies downhill and charges closed. “Dolorous Interlude” is built on synth waves, strings sighing, and noises scraping, feeling mournful and hopeless as it bleeds out. “Listless” is disorienting right away, as the vocals battle with the melody lines, and guitars slice their veins and spill crimson. There are blind yells behind the wall of horror, with all of the parts tangling like orphan cords, and the track pushing into the void. “Crux” interjects indie rock energy into the quotient, something for which Bosse-de-Nage is known, and then things get devastating, as the growls cry pain, and melodies rain down. Sorrow and fury meet, as the drums crush rock and send it catapulting to earth, as everything comes to a dramatic, terrifying end.

Bosse-de-Nage’s journey more than a decade into their existence remains disturbing and emotionally punishing, with “Further Still” delivering a new, potent dose of black metal strangeness. They’ve managed to both carve out a sound and change their DNA with each record, making their sound familiar yet also alien. They’re not a band to be sampled lightly, though if you’re new to their bizarre display, you really are better off holding off all words and taking the trip yourself.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://nowflensing.com/

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

Not sure what’s up here on the East Coast, but it’s hot as hell. It’s like mid-July heatwave/humidity trauma that is relentless and offers very little comfort, unless you can duck out into some air conditioning. It feels like an all-out assault, one that makes it hard to breathe, walk, live, you name it.

It is fitting, then, that the first full-length from Infernal Coil is getting ready to land, though by the time it does next week, things should be more seasonal. But after spending plenty of time with “Within a World Forgotten” the past two weeks, the band’s brand of ultra-violent death metal matched the near-infernal temperatures around us.  The Boise, Idaho, death trio only has been around for four years now, but over their first two EPs and this devastating first record, the band—guitarist/vocalist Blake Connally (also of Dead in the Dirt), guitarist Glum, and drummer Blight—proved a commitment to filth, madness, and bloody intensity. On this seven-track, 36-minute record, they hold listeners faces to the blaze, delivering a smashing that never quits over the course of this fire-breathing display.

The record tears apart with a pair of quick tracks, both utterly devastating. “Wounds Never Close” begins as a death grind assault, as hellish chaos spreads everywhere, Connally’s horrifying growls aim to melt your flesh, and the track crushes you without mercy in under two minutes. “Continuum Crusiatus” stretches just over two minutes and is blinding and sudden, with the growls eating away at your insides. The guitars hammers as we enter into volcanic chaos, a violent explosion that damages you before you have a chance to react. “Crusher of the Seed” has mind-splitting drums barreling your way, as ugly growls and a bludgeoning attack seek vengeance. The growls are spun to death by a beastly assault, ending in a pile of ash in hell. “49 Seeds” is the longest track, clocking in at 9:41 of total mindfuck. Grinding madness mix with strange melodies and furious death, though while the assault is unraveling, doom horns spread into the scene, signaling the end is near. The drums begin a heinous slaughter, as wild shrieks peel paint, and then, the assault subsides, cosmic noises spread, and strange knocks arrive, as the track spends its final minutes floating like a ghost bringing pestilence.

“Reflection of Waldeinsamkeit” boils over dangerously with the drums mauling and the band thrashing you to the point of decimation, which feels like the opposite of what its title seems to indicate. It’s trudging and volatile and not even close to anything soothing. “Bodies Set in Ashen Death” has noise swelling before doomy death spills over, letting the temperature rise before the lid pops. There are bouts of dizzying weirdness woven in before a flood of complete terror strikes. Guitars cut through the guts, while a fiery ending heads right into 7:59-long closer “In Silent Vengeance” that hangs over like a poisonous cloud. Deranged voices encircle you before the track swallows you whole. The attack goes in and out of glazy tunnels of noise, disorienting right before the blades strike again. When they do, the track splatters all over again, spraying blood and body parts, pounding heavily and with rage, until the whole thing dissolves into the dust.

Infernal Coil are a menacing, relentless band, and “Within a Forgotten World” is one of the more smothering debuts we’re heard in some time. Each track here goes for the throat, seeking blood and muscle, and they succeed with each strike. This is an album that’s terrifying on the surface and when you dig deeper into the songs, once you’re there, there’s no chance of turning back.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://profoundlorerecords.merchtable.com/

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

You know those times when people tell you not to look up a certain thing in your search engine of choice because you’ll be horrified by what you see? And then you do it anyway? And then you see the thing you should not have looked up, and you can’t sleep for an entire week because the images were too horrifying? Yeah. Maybe don’t look up hyperdontia.

That is unless it’s the death metal band Hyperdontia, who are about to deliver their blistering debut record “Nexus of Teeth.” So, if you’re unaware, hyperdontia is a condition where people grow extra teeth, sometimes in horrifying fashion, and seeing images are said situation online is, uh, disturbing. But let’s focus on the band instead, whose members stretch from Turkey to Denmark and contains members of notable other groups including Burial Invocation, Phrenelith, Undergang, Taphos, Sulphurous, and a shit ton more. The band came together by chance, as its members organically met, discussed their musical interests, and realized that, together, they could come up with a devastating death metal force. They were right. Its members—vocalist DM, guitarists MG and M, bassist MC, and drummer PMDT—sound channeled and ferocious, as if they always were meant to be, and these eight tracks spread over a vile 34 minutes are here to kill.

“Purging Through Flesh” starts the record with a death rumble before the brutal assault arrives, and the guitars chug hard. Ugly growls stir, while the guitars create a menace of terror, with the track coming to a disorienting finish. “Of Spire and Thorn” has guitars churning and burning, while misery spills like a thick mudslide, and the growls are pained and nasty. Speed arrives with a growl that blasts out of a throat of blood, while the ugliness continues to build. The leads catch fire toward the end and race to devour everything in front of it. “Teeth and Nails” erupt right away, with a clobbering pace and guitars that chew through muscle. Soloing spirals as a punishing sequence arrives and powders bones, bringing with it a charging end. “Aura of Flies” is punchy and clobbering as the pace hammers recklessly ahead before changing on a dime and turning into a different beast. The song gets thrashy, with the soloing cutting through the center like a hot sword, ending in massive pain.

“Majesty” has calculated riffs and pulverizing tones, while infernal growls rip you apart and send the parts flying. The track gets thrashy and dangerous, though it teases atmosphere for a moment before ending in a bludgeoning. “Euphoric Evisceration” is chunky and deadly with beastly growls striking and the track melting into a spacey vortex. More wild screams are emitted before the track dissolves into lava and flows threateningly ahead. “Escaping the Mortal Embodiment” has guitars twisting and mauling, before a proggy section emerges and makes things strange and exhilarating. The back-end smashes apart everything in its wake, leaving only rubble behind. Closer “Existence Denied” has guitars folding and transforming while the track turns into a massive assault. Bloody growls are smeared, while the song bursts with color, weird basslines confound, and the track bleeds away into oblivion.

Hyperdontia’s very creation may have been by chance, but it sure seems like their existence was carved into death metal’s rotting carcass long ago. “Nexus of Teeth” is a tremendous, punishing debut album that’s even better than the sum of its impressive parts. This is another violent entry into 2018’s death metal contributions that are bordering on obscene.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://www.darkdescentrecords.com/store/

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

Conan (Photo by Matt Negus)

There you are, face to face with a behemoth with no mercy, with saliva dripping from his rotting mouth, blood marking his battle club that’s even larger than you are. You have a switch, and somehow, you’re supposed to make this some kind of fight. Guess what? You’re not going to win, this doesn’t have a miraculous finish, and it never could because the beast always prevails.

This is what it’s like taking on a new record from UK doom battalion Conan, who are back with more artillery on their fourth platter “Existential Void Guardian.” Over the past half-decade or so, this band has been one of the top delivery machines of clubbing, caveman-like doom metal. It comes slow, calculated, and bludgeoning, and no one who stands in their way survives. If you catch them live, it’s an even bigger task, as they blow out your goddamn hearing by barely even thinking about it. They plug in, and it’s doom for your eardrums. This new effort is a tight and tidy seven-track, 35-minute effort (expanded versions come with four killer live cuts) of blood-caked new Conan fodder, and anyone who has been along for this ride joyously since their 2012 debut full-length “Monnos,” you won’t be asking off anytime soon. Guitarist/vocalist Jon Davis, bassist Chris Fielding, and new drummer Johnny King (Dread Sovereign, Malthusian) sound as sharp and channeled as ever, sometimes even speeding things up, and once you’re done with this thing, you should be emotionally and physically spent.

“Prosper on the Path” starts the record, and it’s a ripper, as their brand of doom mauls you with reckless abandon, Davis’ trademark wailed roar launches, and we’re head-first toward the killing machine. The track kicks up the pace later, as the vocals intensify, with gang shouts splattering all over the song’s end. It’s a motherfucker. “Eye to Eye to Eye” revels in static before the burly riffs kick in, and meaty roars get blood surging. “Bow before the altar!” Davis commands, while the guitars swirl and sicken. The tempo is faster in spots than your typical Conan jam, with the back end bringing hammering fury and spurts of mud. “Paincantation” is the most unexpected Conan songs ever, as it’s a 54-second explosion of grind and death terror, with pure chaos and vicious growls making up its body. “Amidst the Infinite” melts slowly, though it drives hard. Davis wails about “the dying king we all adore,” as warmer tones arrive,  the leads bleed over the top, and noise buries the cut forever.

“Volt Thrower” is aggressive, as one might expect from the title alone, and the pace is punchier and crunchier than usual. The riffs swelter as the band digs in and aggressively wrestles you to the ground, with Davis’ final declaration of, “All hail, volt thrower!” the last thing you hear before expiring. “Vexxagon” starts with Davis wondering, “Is this the end of days?” before the band settles into a track that soaks in their classic sound. It’s sludgy and ugly, with guitars chugging and drawing blood, and Davis’ wails mixing with Fielding’s death growls that actually take over at one point. A cosmic whir smears the battle, as the track hammers over the final minutes. Closer “Eternal Slant Legend” starts with drums kicking in, the bass buzzing, and the song locking into place. This one also delves into outer space but mostly stays there, giving the song a heavy fuzz treatment. The band shoves into weighty, crushing terrain, though there are spacious melodies, atmosphere, and eventually a dissolution into static.

Conan’s force in the doom metal world is unquestioned, and “Existential Void Guardian” is another mammoth release from a band that has yet to leave us lacking in violent chaos. This massive trio knows how to get their battle plans ready, mobilize their force, and come at you with blades whipping. There’s a reason Conan are revered the way they are, and albums like this are all the evidence you need as to why.

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

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

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

It’s alarming how much our society in America has changed in the past few years. And mostly not in a good way. The bullshit quotient is an alarmingly high level, and there is so much noise out there that it’s nearly impossible to concentrate or even calm down for a second because everything is burning.

Here to drop a tanker full of fuel on the fire come grind masters Pig Destroyer and their long-awaited sixth record “Head Cage,” an album that comes six years after their last release “Book Burner” and thrusts them into a volatile world that practically matches their sonic vitriol. It’s actually a relief to have this band back in our grasp now, during these times, though this record isn’t some sort of reaction to that necessarily. Well, parts are. It’s just that their jackhammering sound feels about as right as ever, as they continue to expand their grind base toward thrash, death, and noise, something they hinted at last time around but really nail on this 12-track, 33-minute beast. The band—vocalist/lyricist JR Hayes, guitarist Scott Hull, bassist/vocalist John Jarvis, noise/sample master Blake Harrison, and drummer Adam Jarvis—sound more at home as their borders expand, and while it took me a few stabs to fully get this record, it’s become one that has really resonated. Plus, it just full-on bulldozes.

“The Tunnel Under the Track” is a quick intro cut that sets old-timey music with warnings about the dangerous noises you’re about to hear, like something right out of “Fallout,” and then we’re into “Dark Train” and its storming assault. It’s total grind ferocity, which will make long-time fans happy, and then it’s into “Army of Cops,” featuring vocals from “The Grindfather” Richard Johnson of Agoraphobic Nosebleed. This is a pointed, molten assault lyrically, digging partially back into issues that inspired the band’s name in the first place. “Tell me, where does it stop? This tower of law, this army of cops?” Johnson wails before delivering the dagger of, “Why would god create something so weak unless he wanted us to suffer?” “Circle River” has electro-charged guitars chewing away, as the pace chugs and batters, the vocals shred, and everything drowns out in noise. “The Torture Fields” is a healthy burst of grind terror, with the delivery a blinding fury, and the band thrashing away, leaving no bones unbroken. “Terminal Itch” is a fucking jackhammer, with the vocals spat out (Agoraphobic Nosebleed’s Kat Katz wails away on this one), riffs swirling, and you getting entangled in the gears and wholly crushed.

“Concrete Beast” has riffs swaggering, Kat lighting everything on fire with her savage wails, and the pace playing games with your mind. Later on, raw shouts and a thrashing assault brings the song to its end. “The Adventures of Jason and JR” is sung partially by band friend Jason Hodges and contains a narrative that is absolutely ridiculous, which is why it’s fun. I guess we don’t often call Pig Destroyer songs fun. Anyway, this one is (Hayes terms it his stoner comedy), but it’s also a death stomp the entire time, with the track ending in blistering chaos. Then we’re back to the blackness with “Mt. Skull,” a furious, speedy cut that has Hayes looking back on the place he grew up and realizing everyone is gone. “Everyone on Mt. Skull is dead, everyone I love,” Hayes cries as the song breathes its last. “Trap Door Man” blasts by in no time, with the band unloading chaos, as raspy howls and mangling playing shred up muscles and veins. “The Last Song” gets back to groove and sludge, as thick bass lines, spacey noise (Full of Hell’s Dylan Walker guests here), and junkyard barks comprise this bruiser that deals a sweltering dose of violence. Closer “House of Snakes” is the longest track, clocking in at 7:08, and its guitar bleed in reminds of the opening strains of Metallica’s “Blackened.” Voice samples strike as the song takes on a humid, swampy feel, with Hayes’ cries piercing any sense of calm. The track has a few pace changes that continue to give the song a new face while, later on, the band steers forcefully into hardcore-style terrain, outright crushing you, pushing every last drop of breath from your lungs. The assault continues to deliver as a stinging noise bed rises up and sweeps the song to its grave.

Pig Destroyer were made for these times, and “Head Cage” smothers fully and provides no chance at clean air or submission. It’s a beating that lasts until every fragment of its target is obliterated, making for a really satisfying, yet bruising experience. This is a heavy, uncompromising record that might take some time to sink in, but once it does, you’re finished.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://store.relapse.com/

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

In the midst of a long drive over the weekend, I was treated to these billboards from some kind of Christian sect basically taking a shit on things most sane people have come to accept and respect (such as science!), along with some batshit phone number to call. One of them def insinuates evolution is a lie (fuck you, science!), which always makes me laugh.

Evolving is a purely natural phenomenon, and all of us are a part of it in one way or another. Some people change in their way of societal or political thought. Some find their career aspects shape shift as they gain more experience. Some people go from asshole to open-minded thinker. The opposite also happens, but that’s more de-evolution. Some of the more interesting bands in the world also evolve, and one that has done that dramatically is Infera Bruo. The Boston-based band that includes members of other notable acts such as Trap Them, Cul de Sac, and Pillory has returned with a thunderous, daring third full-length record “Cerement,” their first for Prosthetic Records after releasing their last album “In Conjuration” on Bindrune Recordings. We loved that one. This one also is a crusher. Their black metal has changed a lot and taken on more progressive and spacey elements, something that matches the personalities of these songs quite well. The band—Galen (guitars, lead vocals), Neutrino (bass, vocals), Germanicus (synth and effects), and Ardroth (drums, vocals)—has progressed nicely the past few years, and this record is bound to be one that takes some time to fully settle but also will shake psyches.

“Poison Waters” is a quick intro cut with eerie strangeness, winds picking up, and dusty acoustics, leading into “Shroud Enigma” and its massive melodies and driving guitars. The vocals are shrieky, while a proggy collection of clouds gathers, and psychedelic noises cut in and bring death. We then are sucked into the stars, as the vocals pierce, the tempo remains fired up, and we’re off to a blistering end. “Effigy of Reason” is a quick instrumental built on strange, spacey wooshes, acoustics, and a solar storm that begins to warm your face. “End Notes” kicks off with guitars charging, as the pace is enthralling, and the shrieks arrive to bloody lips. Clean singing emerges to add a different element before harsh wails return and rain down, the riffs get speedy and urgent, and synth and guitars burst, leading to a furious ending.

“The Lunar Pass” opens in a bath of proggy keys, as riffs begin to churn, and the pace tears apart sanity. Harsh growls and droning fire combine, as clean singing returns along with strange sci-fi keys that should chill your flesh. Guitars meander through stardust, while the storm kicks up again for one last explosion before all fades into the night. “Draped in Sky” has a calculated starts that slowly does damage, as spindly guitars work their way into the scene, and the growls begin to engorge. The track gets creaky but spacious, while clean singing brings in cooler breezes, and the song goes from fluid wonder into prog-infused hell. Weird noises spread, the guitars charge hard, and the track twists and slices to its finish. “Scorne” has guitars jarring before a huge black metal surge arrives and covers the earth in molten lava. Savage growls erupt as the band drives dangerously to the brink, stomping and clobbering until only ash is left. Closer “Temporial” is an instrumental closer that feels similar in sense to the other tracks like this that came before it, almost as if it’s closing the book on that triptych with strange sounds, acoustic washes, and calming, buzzing passages that feel from an alien world.

Infera Bruo not only should have their profile raised with Prosthetic behind them but also should find a hungrier audience of open-minded listeners with the thunderstorm that is “Cerement.” It’s the portrait of a band growing and evolving, embracing every new aspect along the way. The cosmic wonders and atmospheric drama woven into this record makes the album equally fascinating and devastating.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://store.prostheticrecords.com/

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