Photo by Joshua Coleman

Everyone’s journey through life is completely different from that of others, and I always find it irritating when people can’t comprehend how someone could be in a situation of struggle. Just because your life is going well or you have not faced hardships doesn’t mean the person next to you hasn’t. And it’s that other person’s right to deal with hardships and darkness or celebrate whatever triumphs that come their way.

That whole idea of people’s lives being different and being oblivious of, and even callous toward, another’s struggles sunk in while listening to “Light Will Consume Us All,” the gargantuan new record from Sacramento-based doom band CHRCH that’s about to drop like an anvil. The record’s thematic elements examine one’s journey through life, the losses and hardships we face, and the hopeful emergence into light and positivity once the hurdles are cleared. But not everyone finds that bright light. Some people’s suffering becomes too much that a positive outcome just isn’t possible. Hope can be hard to find, and staying attuned to other people who might not be on the same path as we perhaps can help another in darkness find their way out. Anyway, that’s a little heady, so let’s turn to the music (which is a follow-up to their amazing 2015 debut “Unanswered Hymns). The band—vocalist Eva Rose, guitarist/backing vocalists Chris Lemos and Karl Cordtz, bassist Ben Carthcart, and drummer Adam Jennings—craft long, enduring epics that largely are slower, more calculated in approach, but make no mistake, there are explosions here as well. Rose’s vocals are powerful and mesmerizing, an ideal mouthpiece for this band that takes you out of the darkness into the light and sometimes back again.

Opener “Infinite” is the longest song of the three, a 20:41 bruiser that takes its time setting up the ambiance. Guitars drip in, as Rose whispers over the impending doom, and things stay that way until around the 5:30 mark when the bottom drops out. Riffs rush, the drums quake, and Rose’s singing stretches over the din, eventually turning into a corroded growl. Darker melodies arrive, while Rose’s shrieks shatter any sense of calm, and the guitars begin to buzz and overwhelm. Out of that, the pace pulls back and lets the lights dim, with softer singing floating, and that solemnity taking over a nice chunk of the last half of the song. But with four minutes remaining, the hammer drops again, as Rose’s haunting singing rips over the fires, gazey guitars flood and swell, and the track comes to a burning, punishing conclusion.

“Portal” runs 14:49, and it begins in pure devastation, with understated, breathy singing, and then the heaviness delivered in heaping servings. Rose’s shrieks mix with guttural growls, as the tempo of the song goes from volcanic to gently storming, all the while, the singing complements the moods ideally. Rose unleashes some of her strongest vocals, as emotional, melodic guitars create a foaming wave, the soloing belts out fire balls, and a calm emerges, where drums roll through the dusk, bringing the song to its nighttime finish. Closer “Aether” is the shortest song but still runs a generous 9:29, and it begins mournfully, with a pall over everything. Slow-moving melodies and soulful singing push through before feral growls emerge to turn things to ash. The band slips into an extended period of pulled-back playing, making you think they’re ready to submerge, but then an assault strikes you won’t see coming. The pace speeds up in a way foreign to most doom, going for the jugular, while Rose pours even more of herself into the terrifying growls and cries. The band storms like never before, saturating and damaging the shore, creating an impenetrable cloud, and bringing the ritual to an end in a foreboding fog.

CHRCH are building one hell of a resume that continues with “Light Will Consume Us All,” one of the more immersive and captivating doom records so far this year That title is a reminder that, no matter how great or low once may be, we all end up the same way, as souls drifting off into the unknown. CHRCH have a startling grasp on what they do, and their music can devastate, infect, and intoxicate you all at the same time.

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

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

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

Apparently, there is a deluge of chaos coming our way, a storm we didn’t previously predict to be happening but that is now too dangerously close to fight back against. Weirdly, this will be a collection of eruptions that will be a godsend to anyone who dines at the sludgier end of doom metal’s comprehensive serving table.

All that verbiage is a messy way of saying Thou are back, and we’re going to be getting a lot of content from the Baton Rogue-based band this year. First up is “The House Primordial,” released as a surprise earlier this week on Robotic Empire and that is a 10-track, 37-miniute piece that is one of the most corrosive and least digestible in the band’s catalog. Yes, some of the band’s muddy, driving doom is here within these cuts, but if you’re expecting anything conventional, even from Thou, you’re going to be shocked. This release, which the band describes as more of an EP in spirit, is absolutely coated in noise, so much so you can practically imagine these songs breaking into rusty shards are hitting the ground. Much of this collection is woven together, and the composition style is far different from what we’ve come to expect from Thou. That’s why this band—vocalist Bryan Funck, guitarists Andy Gibb and Matthew Thudium, bassist Mitch Wells, and drummer Josh Nee—always has been a menacing treasure to anyone who likes challenging heavy music. Each time out, they throw some different curves at you, but never as much as they do on “The House Primordial.” By the way, while this is a digital release right now, expect physical versions of this and their other 2018 material later this year.

“Wisdom” starts this grimy display with molten noise wafting, drone hanging over like a swarm of wasps, and guitars scraping and drawing sparks, pushing into “Premonition,” where Funck’s growls sound basement black metal filthy and terrifying, though the music simmers with fury. Sharp edges poke under the surface, creating a corrosive ball of hell that leads into “The Sword Without a Hilt” that lets cold guitars drizzle and cool off the surface. Noise picks up intensely like an agitated furnace, and that starts to melt the guitar work that flows dangerously into “Diaphanous Shift” and its nasty vocals and riffs quivering in doom. The track is cavernous and just about as close to “classic Thou” as you’re going to get on this EP, as growls devastate, and the guitars twist into panicked static. “Corruption and Moral” is an eerie, space fuzz-filled, electronic fit of madness over 1:23 that’ll split your mind in two.

“Psychic Dominance” emerges out of that, with burly, slow-driving riffs doing ample damage, and terrifying growls reminding of Fortress Crookedjaw at his most unhinged. The path hits the mud, as chaos smothers and burns out everything. “Prideful Dementia and Impulsive Mayhem” is a fucking noise bath, with paint practically being peeled from your walls, drone liquifying, and the instrumental cut boiling in hell. “Occulting Light” has drums striking forcefully, as noise boils, and the pace takes its lumbering time. The vocals scorch while the guitars chug and brutalize, and the massive wall of feedback finally succumbs to a haze of angelic keys. “Birthright” is bled into, as alien interference sends jolts, the drums crack veins, and a fog of chaos spreads over the scene. Toward the end, the guitars wake, and signals blast into closer “Malignant Horror” that blisters and maims. Funck’s growls spit fire as a mournful tone overwhelms, and pure anguish causes bloody scarring. The band drubs slowly, yet relentlessly, making its final charge a blunt one, and it ends in a sizzling puddle of noise.

Who knows how much Thou have in store for us this year (the “Magus” full-length is in the pipeline, as well as other EP releases), but starting that assault off with “The House Primordial” has to keep their listeners off balance. It’s not an easy listen, it does demand you expand your expectations, and it soaks you in battery acid. This definitely isn’t for everyone, but those who embrace it are bound to lather themselves in the metallic lava.

For more on the band, go here: http://noladiy.org/thou/

To buy the album, go here: https://roboticempire.bandcamp.com/album/thou-the-house-primordial

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

We can’t hope to understand everyone’s problems. We certainly can (and should) try, but we do not live in others’ skin. There are myriad struggles and problems within our modern society, so trying to have an open mind and heart toward those who live different lives than we do is paramount. Cutting off hatred at the pass also becomes something for which we need to be vigilant and active. Even if that means ridicule from people who think that’s “not metal.” Which is ridiculous.

That’s an issue that’s all over “I Live Inside a Burning House,” the monumental second record from sludgy doom machine Body Void, based in San Francisco. This five-track, 68-minute mauler and follow-up to 2016 debut “Ruins,” examines queer identity, issues with mental illness, and the chasm between material and immaterial worlds, giving you plenty of heady content in which to sink your teeth. Guitarist/vocalist Will Ryan came out as queer, non-binary a couple years ago, and the band became a heavy supporter and representative to the LQBTQI* community. Oddly, as far as we’ve come with this issue publicly (and we still have ways to go), metal’s voice hasn’t been quite as loud until pretty recently. So, having Body Void out there—the band is rounded out by bassist Parker Ryan and drummer Edward Holgerson—gives a heavier, more explosive presence to these issues. I can imagine anyone out there who identifies the same way will find much to grasp with this monster of a record, as they may see a lot of what they face spread out here. Even if you don’t, there’s a lot of absorb to give better understanding, as well as a serving of doom that will blow down your doors.

“Intro/A Burning House” gets us started with synth stabs, the doom waves unfurling, and an atmospheric touch that spills into 18:18-long “Haunted” that rings out and takes its time setting up a blistering setting. Ryan’s harsh shrieks, one of the strongest elements of the band’s sound, begins making its mark, as the track delivers slow anguish and morbidity. “The pain is a sign of the world inside,” Ryan wails, as feedback sparks and spits, and the suffering becomes almost too much to take. The track calms for a spell before things ignite, the pace picks up steam, and everything falls into utter chaos. “Trauma Creature” is a 16:17 mammoth that is calculated and massive. Feedback and feral calls mix, while the doom quivers and makes the room shake. Ryan’s strangled cries lay waste, as the pace simmers and sends off steam. Suddenly, we gain speed, as the song takes on a hardcore-like vibe, as Ryan’s tortured screams spray blood. Guitars cascade as souls are crushed, while this all builds to a cathartic finish that ends in devastation.

“Phantom Limb” is one of the “shorter” songs at 8:55, and we start with riffs blistering and nasty vocals. Gritty guitars make their way through the soot, while the savage destruction takes its toll on everything. The guitars moan in agony, while mournful, fiery expressions scorch, and the playing keeps spilling its guts. “My voice will carry you!” Ryan cries, as the drums explode with power, and the whole things fades into the embers. Closer “Given” is the longest cut, a 21:30 challenger that lightly chugs at first before noise and Ryan’s tumultuous shrieks enter the fray. The playing is ultra-slow, as it smears itself over everything, with the drums bashing, and the song bathing in hell. Start-stop riffing lands punches, while the band goes thrashy while rolling in grime. The vocals scrape, and Ryan’s shrieks send reverberations, though some clean calls also make their way into the chemistry. As the song reaches its back end, the pace changes, the band mashes violently, and the noise bleeds away, leaving a heavy red trail behind it.

Body Void’s music is powerful both musically and philosophically, and “I Live Inside a Burning House” is an eye-opening and ear-destroying release that’s one of the better records to rip out of doom’s circles this year. The album is sudden, punishing, even terrifying, and it likely will take a few visits to truly grasp everything. Luckily, it’s such a devastating effort, you won’t mind returning over and over again.

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

To buy the album (U.S.), go here: http://crownandthroneltd.bigcartel.com/

Or here (UK): http://www.drycoughrecords.com/

Or here (CD): https://seeingredrecords.bandcamp.com/album/body-void-i-live-inside-a-burning-house

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

And here: http://www.drycoughrecords.com/products

And here: http://seeingredrecords.com/

The rapid expansion of death metal’s fields has meant that the original nastiness and morbidity have been diluted over time. That’s to be expected with artists adding their own touches to the sub-genre, and many of those groups have veered away from the bloodshed to explore other territories.

Yet, New Mexico-based death trio Superstition are not interested in planetary exploration, societal politics, or anything of that ilk. They’re here for evil, intensity, and violence, just like so many of the early pioneers looked to spread. Their demo effort “Surging Throng of Evil’s Might” is their first burst from hell’s gates, and it so impressed 20 Buck Spin that they’re releasing the music to a much wider audience. If we’ve learned anything from 20 Buck Spin over the years, it’s they know what they’re talking about, so if you want to simply take their word and indulge in this fiery five-track effort, you won’t be disappointed. If you need more than that, then you’re about to encounter primal, raw death metal that’s inherently evil and will put a bad feeling in your blood. The band—vocalist/guitarist LS (also of Predatory Light), guitarist/bassist/keyboard player K.M., and drummer D.M.—poke at the same wounds created by bands such as Morbid Angel, Possessed, and Sadistic Intent, and each drip of this thing feels outwardly hostile and dangerous.

“Death’s Fuming Passage” starts off with a weird gust of synth before the riffs fire up, and feral growls start leaving welts. The pace stomps, as the old-style, filthy death feel is everywhere, and the riffs continue to pile on top of each other. As the end nears, the pace speeds up, and the soloing spirals out into the night. “-” is a quick instrumental with strange keyboard circles and odd interference, spilling right into “Outer Mutation,” where the guitars charge, and a doomy cloud forms over everything. The growls are raw, and the pace mashes, as speed again plays a factor, and we’re off to guttural hell. The guitars shred hard, the growls gurgle, and the track echoes away.

The title cut has eerie organs lacing your sanity, as an extended introduction sprawls and sends chills, and then everything is blown to bits. The tempo stomps guts while the guitar assault surges, and speedy stabs work to bring more blood to the surface. The track later barrels out of control, leaving you dizzy, punished, and disoriented. “Grave Portals” is the final assault, and it wastes no time bringing you to the slaughter, with riffs blistering and the growls leaving corrosion. Riffs rain down like a heavy storm, with the keys giving off a haunted vibe that spills the pain of a million souls, and everything disappears into the fog, leaving its sadistic spree behind.

Superstition’s reign of terror has just begun, and if “Surging Throng of Evil’s Might” is any indication, these guys are about to set fire to the underground death metal fields. These are five savage blasts to your psyche that are enthralling, spooky, and devastating. This is death metal that simmers in blood and shredded bone, and it won’t go down easily if you need your stuff polished and pristine.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://www.20buckspin.com/products/superstition-surging-throng-of-evils-might-mlp

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

Photo by Margaret Lord

While trying to prepare for this summer’s Migration Fest in my lovely hometown of Pittsburgh, it made me realize just how much has taken place in metal in the past four years since my last sojourn to a previous incarnation of that event. Metal has come such a long way in that period, and the underground scene is about as active as you can imagine, as it feels like there are killer shows locally all the time.

Another callback to that summer of 2014, which feels like 100 years ago, is it was the last time we heard from Wolvhammer on the strength of their third full-length “Clawing Into Black Sun.” That long break caused a lot of things to grow up and around where Wolvhammer initially set their foundation, yet they sound vital and refreshed on their killer new album “The Monuments of Ash and Bone,” their first release for Blood Music, a label that’s become a major force in those same past few years. The lineup has changed some, but their ferocity certainly hasn’t. Along with their blunt force black metal assault that remains as volatile as ever, the band also leans into different shades and tempos, and there are some truly different angles the guys take on these seven songs. It has the band—vocalist Adam Clemans (Skeletonwitch), guitarist/synth player Jeff Wilson (Abigail Williams), guitarist/bassist John Porada (Negative Mantra), bassist Andrew Garrity, and drummer Garry Naples (Novembers Doom)—spouting deadly new blood and keeps their teeth as sharp as they’ve ever been.

“Eternal Rotting Misery” starts in a synth haze before the ground erupts, and Clemans’ devastating growls make their way to the front. Fiery chugging and a punishing pace set the song into gear, while searing black metal melodies melt the surface. The track picks up an even faster clip toward the end, with the song coming to a swirling, nasty finish. “Call Me Death” demolishes right away, with growls bubbling under the surface, and the riffs bringing ominous tones. The soloing is volcanic, and Clemans’ dark singing enters the fray, adding different textures to this mauler. Things remain murky, as the song heads out on a cosmic synth cloud. “Law of the Rope” is a monster, as tar-thick riffs and nasty growls pummel, and a brief halt in the action paves the way for a series of piledrivers. The band hits a thrashy groove while the soloing bursts, and the song decimates your mind and soul.

“Bathed in Moonblood and Wolflight” is charging and dizzying out of the gates, with an animalistic pace that brings danger, and the screams scraping at the earth. Burly basslines pop in and bruise eyeballs, while the riffs cut through the muscle and stomp in your guts. “The Failure King” is one of the catchier songs on here, with muddy riffs adding grit. “I have become the failure king!” Clemans howls, as the band hammers away, and the guitars enter tornado alley. All the madness gets sucked up into the starts, and that leads into “Dead Rat Rotting Raven” that begins with a hovering noise storm. The track kicks in and feels punk driven and full of attitude, as Clemans wails, “Fuck your insignificant life!” The riffs speed up from there and blast toward the abrupt finish. Closer “Solar Eclipsed” is the biggest curveball, as it’s a slower-paced 8:22-long wanderer that’s one of the most interesting things in their catalog. Again, Clemans sings, digging deep into his guts, while he’s surrounded by shadowy playing, foreboding keys, and the feeling that all is being washed away by black waters. Power does charge here and there, as growls and driving guitars incite violence, but all of it ends in a splash of synth and strings, letting you down on a somber note.

The metal world might be a more heavily populated, diverse world since Wolvhammer last stalked listeners, but “The Monuments of Bone and Ash” is this quintet firing back and reminding they remain a force with which to contend. The songs hit hard, expose you to morbid darkness, and even leave you swimming in dank, gothy waters. Now that these guys are reanimated, their reign of power is bound to leave trails of blood wherever they go.

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

To buy the album (U.S./Canada), go here: https://www.blood-music.com/store-us/

Or here (rest of the world): https://www.blood-music.com/store-eu/

For more on the label, go here: http://www.blood-music.com/

There’s not a lot of surprise packed into the annual 4/20 high holiday. People are going to smoke a lot of pot. Social media is going to be bombarded with pot leaves and various imagery from that culture. People are probably going to drop out of life and watch “Pineapple Express” and other movies of that ilk as they zone away. But, weirdly, last Friday did come with a colossal surprise.

Granted, word leaked a day early that April 20 would bring with it—finally!—“The Sciences,” a new full-length record from marijuana enthusiasts Sleep, the three-headed beast best known for their massive single-track epic “Dopesmoker,” the last complete effort from the band since 2003. And considering “Dopesmoker” was a reworking of 1998’s “Jerusalem,” it had been even longer since we got a fresh new full-length from this legendary band. Luckily, “The Sciences” is well worth the wait, a pummeling six-track, 53-minute serving of stoner-style doom metal that is packed to the top with riffs. Another surprise is that the band is now on Third Man Records, Jack White’s label that has an eclectic roster, with this being one of their rare forays into metal. So, that’s pretty weird. But everything about this record fits perfectly, from the bizarre, cosmic adventures into pot immersion, to the fiery guitar work, to the total demolition you’ll experience. These guys—vocalist/bassist Al Cisneros (also of OM), guitarist Matt Pike (High on Fire), and drummer Jason Roeder (Neurosis)—deliver over and over on a record that’s destructively heavy but also a shitload of fun.

The title track opens the proceedings, a piece that acts as the first of an instrumental bookend. It lets feedback swirl, guitars jab and begin aggravation, and it puts your mind among the stars before that big, bubbling bong hit rips you from that scene and right into “Marijuanat’s Theme.” Burly riffs and Cisneros’ purposely monotone singing drive you into the song, giving you an instant and prolonged intergalactic high. Smoking soloing releases psychedelic fire, while the back end of the track pummels before ending abruptly. “Sonic Titan” is a 12:26 brawler that opens with a killer riff before pulling back the pace and delivering the pounding in a calculated manner. The track continues to build monoliths to the sky before tearing them down again, as the lead guitars scorch, and the beefy basslines buzz in your ears. “Look onto Zion, though it can’t be seen,” Cisneros wails. “Man on the moon cannot help me see.” What does that mean? Who the fuck knows? What we can say is the music blisters, sending fire-breathing guitar work into the heavens and back and leaving you a pummeled mess.

“Antarcticans Thawed” is the longest cut at 14:23, and immediately a haze situates itself over everything. The riffs hypnotize, while the grimy singing scrapes tracks across the frozen tundra. The track is slowly beastly, with the guitars feeling druggy and woozy, but also heavy as hell. In the track’s final quarter, Pike just explodes to life, as his guitar work raises your hairs and mows down what’s in its path. That intensity eventually dissipates into a slow burn, where the drumming taps way, a fog blanket emerges, and the song bleeds out in noise. “Giza Butler” is, obviously, complete homage to Black Sabbath, the original weedians, and is named after their legendary bassist Geezer Butler. The track is packed with Sabbath references, from signaling the Iommic Pentecost to heralding the Sabbath Day. There are goddamn “Dune” references, as well as the greatest lyric of this year to date: “The pterodactyl flies again.” The track itself starts slowly and ominously, adding layers of intensity, and eventually we are at full Sabbath worship, as riffs clobber the senses in full tribute to metal’s godfathers. The record ends with “The Botanist,” the back part of the instrumental bookend that simmers in brighter lights, some somber moments, and eventually blinding green glory as the song ends in a smoky cloud.

Sleep’s return to releasing new music is a blaze of infectious power with “The Sciences,” a record that powerfully checks every box one would hope from this band. Get ready for plenty of strange marijuana references and the feeling that you’re ensconced in the middle of a battle in space. There’s a reason this band is held in such high regard—and not just because they’re perpetually high—as they deliver music that leaves you with bruises despite all the magic your brain experienced for the previous hour.

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

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

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

The fact that we focus on heavy music is super not necessary to point out. That said, not everything we touch feels like it can shake the earth to its very core, sending us all hurtling toward outer space and instant death. But we do have the chance to tackle something incredible devastating now and again, and today we’re going to expose you to something that’s aiming rip your goddamn house down.

Scottish duo Ommadon has been crushing chest cavities for the past decade, and over the course of their previous five full-lengths, the band has proved its penchant toward making music designed to turn rock into lava. They do that thing again on their massive sixth record “End Times,” an aptly named record that sounds like all life coming to an end all at once. The band—Ewan Mackenzie (drums, keyboards, noise) and David Tobin (guitars, noise)—creates a two-track effort that feels like it’s signaling nuclear holocaust. OK, it’s sort of two tracks. It’s one movement broken up over two sides of vinyl, but it’s designed to be heard and absorbed as a single piece. This album quakes massively, and as punishing as their back catalog is, this is something even more massive. It takes some time to adjust to this environment, as there is a level of sameness that can be drubbing. But make no mistake. They’re building a foundation set to scorch and punish, and this album is one that’ll smash your bones. Oh, this thing is out on like 91 labels, so we’ll give you all those links at the end.

The A side begins with drone spitting, guitars chugging, and the lead line charging and bleeding. It’s a long set-up phase, definitely on purpose, as they let the noise drag out and the storm ambiance collect above your head as you’re drubbed violently. At about the seven-minute mark, the pace changes, and the drums start splitting fingertips. The band unloads with devastating, smothering playing delivered in a slow, agonizing fashion, with guttural growls piercing the surface about 14 minutes into the cut. The tempo turns even more funereal, coming off as solemn but dangerous, tearing monstrously slowly before fading out the 20-minute first half.

The B side has static flooding and the pace picking up where it left off. Leads light up, sending strange beams of power, and the heavy pounding continues and adds more bruising. The band smashes you about the head and torso, with primal screams erupting at about the 15-minute mark of this 22:52-long mastodon. The band grinds your face into the gravel, as you might find yourself slowly, darkly nodding along to this track, almost expecting pallbearers to arrive to take you to your final resting place. Feral growls sound utterly inhuman, while the band scrapes at the floor of hell to come up with filth and charred body ash. The track begins its long, nightmarish fade, as a smokescreen collects blinding your sight, and the chaos finally bleeds out.

Ommadon’s might and gravity are apparent as ever, as they unleash inhumane amounts of pain on “End Times.” As this band continues to grow and develop their mission, their music continually gets darker and more abysmal with every step. Of course, we’re talking the end of all things, so why wouldn’t Ommadon make this track as deadly and foreboding as possible?

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

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

Or here: http://www.atwarwithfalsenoise.com/releases.html

Or here: http://medusacrushrecs.storenvy.com/

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

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

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

And here: https://www.facebook.com/medusacrushrecordings

One of my favorite complaints from people who can’t tackle difficult music is when they ask, “Where’s the hook?” Like there’s only one way to play music. Fact is, there are many different approaches, and just because one style of music doesn’t resonate with you, that doesn’t mean it’s wrong. However, if you’re beholden to the verse-chorus-hook structure, today might not be your way.

Death. Void. Terror. is an unconventional name for as pretty bizarre band. There is no origin story. There is no lineup that I’ve been able to find. There is no adherence to song structure or that necessary hook so many people demand for some reason. Instead, their debut “To the Great Monolith I” practically begs you to want to get the fuck off the ride. This album immerses itself in negativity and pushes you, the listener, as far out of its circle as possible. This two-track album strives for an organic, non-rehearsed approach to their music, and they want this thing to feel ritualistic. Spending your time with this album definitely will challenge your thought processes and patience. But those who stay around are rewarded with a bludgeoning performance that is unsettling and pulverizing.

The first track “(——–)” runs a brutal 24:16 and begins with a storm of feedback and noise, as washed-out cries attempt their attack, and desolate sorrow swallows your soul. The terrifying screams sound like they emanate from a killer’s secret basement, as sounds flood the senses, and the chaos washes over everything. At one point, your head is allowed to be flooded in madness, as swirling devastation strikes, and the death rattle begins. The track is sucked into a void and torn out of the other end, as the riffs bubble and burn. The song swings into sleepy black metal similar to Xasthur where you’re blistered by the playing, and then crazed howls and cackles arrive while panic erupts again. The tempo begins battering all over again, leaving you shaking and bleeding, left to fade in an echo chamber.

“(—-)” is a generous 16:46, as noise quivers and aches, and the screams blister your psyche. You might find your eyes growing heavy as the band lulls you into hypnosis, but then vicious growls and utter strangeness jar you back, and a new numbing assault begins. The track is caught in a cyclone of noise, making the room and the world spin around you to the point of nausea, and then the thing bursts all over again, opening wounds that had just congealed. The track gets grimy and filthy, as the penetrating horror spills like plasma, and soon it’s apparent you’ll be shown no mercy. Noises rise and threaten, the tidal wave eventually recedes, and we’re left bathing in a death cloud of voices crying out in agony.

Death. Void. Terror. likely won’t pop up on any huge metal festivals or underground tour packages, but that’s totally by design. “To the Great Monolith I” is more like music that exists to see how many people it can scare way, so that it can embrace and sicken those who stick around for the full beating. Those people likely are as depraved as the creators here, so you probably belong together in a twisted, blood-soaked hellscape.

To buy the album, go here: shop.ironbonehead.de

For more on the label, go here: http://www.ironbonehead.de/

There has been a ton of sophistication and advancements in the playing of heavy metal. Sub-genres have spawned their own mini-sub-genres, there are sounds and methods the originators of the style never could have comprehended, and most of this has led people to fight about what’s genuine and what should be tossed from metal’s circles.

All of that is super fun and has helped metal grow, but raw, no-nonsense expressions still have a place within the sound’s mighty halls, and Norwegian thrashers Aura Noir are ensuring the roots and the original fires never are forgotten. For the past 25 years, this band has delivered violent, menacing records that get right to the point, and on “Aura Noire,” the group’s sixth album, they unload nine songs in just under 33 minutes that don’t fuck around and go right for the throat. They’ve always dwelled in the same bloody waters that once nourished Venom, Celtic Frost, Voivod, and Nifelheim, and that hasn’t changed at all on this splattering record. But just because the band hasn’t really changed their formula much doesn’t mean this is as lot of the same old stuff. The band—bassist/vocalist Aggressor, guitarist Blasphemer, and drummer/vocalist Apollyon—maintains their brash, jagged edges, and these songs sound as vital and punishing as anything in their stellar catalog.

“Dark Lung of the Storm” begins raw as a scraped knee with a chugging tempo and riffs spiraling. The vocals burst and are coated with soot, as Aggressor howls, “The hillsides are in flames!” as he stares down the ghosts of war. The track comes to a fast, fiery end, barreling into “Grave Dweller” that crushes and has an odd feel to it. The playing is rupturing and punishing, while the band races into full speed, taking everything down with them to the blasting finish. “Hell’s Lost Chambers” pulls back the pace just a bit, but it’s still heavy as hell. Virulent cries and a clobbering base lead the way, then the song nearly fades, save for a single guitar relighting the blaze. The track reopens, regains its assault stance, and punches out your lights. “The Obscuration” is fast as hell from the start, with riffs firing away, the vocals spat speedily, and complete chaos devouring everything. The track flies by, leaving you a heaping mess.

“Demoniac Flow” also shows off its space and classic-style guitar work, as the melodies twist and turn, and misery-inducing growls lead a trail of carved flesh and shattered bones. “Shades Ablaze” have the riffs chewing the earth beneath it, raspy growls adding salt to your wounds, and the pace later trudging over tar pits. The band goes off an attack that should leave you dizzy and bewildered before things end suddenly. “Mordant Wind” might as well have originated in 1985, as it sounds fresh from a dusty tape deck, with its raucous, yet simple chorus designed to shout back, and the sci-fi-splashed guitar work. The vocals are delivered like a message yelled right in your face, while some tremendous, old-style soloing caves in your chest, and the track comes to a massive end. “Cold Bone Grasp” hits the gas pedal all over, with the guitars splattering everywhere, violent crunching promising further bodily harm, and Aggressor wailing the title repeatedly as the song burns and leaves ash. The closing “Outro” is a last burst, with a thrashy riff intertwining with strange, mesmerizing melodies that slither to a sticky, sore end.

From their “Black Thrash Attack” debut through the entire run, Aura Noir have made black thrash and hellish noise that maintain a vintage edge and a bloody smear. “Aura Noire” is another dangerous adventure with a band that always delivers the goods and does again on this 33-minute mauler. Metal can keep pushing its boundaries, but we need bands such as Aura Noir to remind that the roots remain bloody good as well.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://shop.indierecordings.no/collections/preorders

For more on the label, go here: www.indierecordings.no

Photo by Holly Carlson

There are those artists that need no introduction. If you don’t know them—and I mean this in the least shitty way possible—you need to educate yourself. Metal and heavy music has its share of unquestionable, world-toppling influential artists, and Dylan Carlson is one of those.

If you’ve never heard his drone-doom-Americana band Earth, stop what you’re doing and listen to their entire discography. Seriously, this story will still be there until the Russians fuck up the Internet. He’s a god in flesh to many people, and his work has spawned a ton of disciples that follow his every movement. A mere 50 years into his life, after being a major guiding force for artists including Kurt Cobain and Sunn 0))), Carlson finally is offering up his first solo work under his own name in the form of “Conquistador,” a record that really won’t be a stranger to anyone who drinks from the heavy pool of Earth’s second half that’s immersed in Americana and the American west. This record is an imaginary Western, Carlson says, about a conquistador and his servant as they travel from former Mexican territories (now U.S. states) and the adventures they have. And damn it if you don’t get sucked right in. On top of that, Carlson collaborated here with one of our favorite artists Emma Ruth Rundle (literally wearing one of her T-shirts as I write this), as well as his wife Holly Carlson (who adorns the cover), and it turns into an essential block in the artist’s steady foundation, a record only he could create.

Fittingly, the 13:31-long title track begins the record, and in very un-Earth-like fashion, this is the only epic of the bunch. But this is a different world and experience for Carlson, even though we’re immersed instantly into a Western-style haze that loops and repeats for the duration of its run time. It’s a nice drunken feel the song gives off, as Rundle’s slide guitar splashes echoing ambiance, and the body of the track is moody and steely. Understated melodies mix in during the last quarter, as electric pulses rise, tensions build, and the track spirals off into the orange-purple sky. “When the Horses Were Shorn of Their Hooves” chugs harder at first, with the guitars coming in harsher, and the leads charging its way forward. Melodies bubble over while the guitar work gains steam, and all of that dissipates and bleeds into the reddish soil.

“And Then the Crows Descended” has strange acoustics scraping, sharp noises carving into your psyche, and piercing sounds that give way to a fluttery gasp of chimes. “Scorpions in Their Mouths” is the heaviest track, unloading with a thick drone cloud of static, killer steely riffs, and a pace that keeps rolling through the shadows and into the deep dusk. The lead lines get metallic but also glimmering, and that results in a dizzying trip that slips back into the penetrating drone that started the song. “Reaching for the Gulf” ends our tale with a dreamy pace, as the late afternoon’s transition into evening is complete, and drowsy, sunburned guitars draw in the heat. The song has a mid-summer, after-dark finality to it, as the melodies sleep, guitars snake and slither in the dark, and the whole thing ends in stimulating chimes and sizzling noise.

Carlson’s work is a gift to all who ever encountered his music, and “Conquistador” is another strong entry into an unquestionable resume of amazing creations. The music easily can get you lost in his narrative, as you imagine your own adventures or just take up with the characters here. Carlson is a legend for a good reason. He makes music that is authentic and emotional, and as long as we have him around, we’re going to bask in his incredible light.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://www.hellomerch.com/products/dylan-carlson-conquistador-12-vinyl

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