A long time ago, we lost our connections to the outside world. Not everyone. There are many people who still appreciate and bow to nature, the ties of the modern world not becoming  everything. But you can’t argue you’ll see more people staring into phones than walking trails. And sometimes even those people are lost in screens.

Finnish black metal force Havukruunu are well aware of this, and their new record “Tavastland” draws a line to when we lost our connection with the real world and got consumed with the digital age. This record tells the tale of when the Tavastians rose up against the church in 1237 and drove the popes naked into the cold to perish. Noble cause? Sure. But what also resulted was humankind losing their ties to their homeland, and as the centuries wore on, that continued by making humans a slave to technology. The record’s savagery also is well worth noting as the band—vocalist Stefan, guitarist Henkka, bassist Sinisalo, drummer Kostajainen—unleashes some of their most channeled, punishment work so far, and every inch of this drips with malice and metallic fury.

“Kuolematon Laulunhenki” punches you right in the chest, riffs smoking and trudging, the shrieks ripping flesh from the bone. Proverbially, of course. Group calls rouse as if a war cry is going out, guitars blaze through spirited pacing, and the final moments land you face first in the dirt. “Yönsynty” starts with fires crackling and water lapping, guitars hanging in humid air as the howls rip. Melodic guitars jar as the gang singing breaks through, feeling folkish and fiery. The guitars catch and flush with color, howls stretching into a crush of emotion. “Havukruunu Ja Talvenvarjo” arrives quickly, urgently, slashing through as the screams maim, choral drama rises, and drama licks every corner. Then, it becomes a complete assault, strong leads sending bolts of electricity, blazing soloing getting so hot you have to shield your eyes. The title track has shrieks stabbing, the playing adding ridiculous amounts of pressure, group calls smearing while blood pumps through veins. The chorus again makes your adrenaline surge as the energy combusts, singing swelling to the end.

“Kuoleman Oma” dawns amid acoustics, and then the guitars chug, raw calls bruising, the guitars creating a haze that envelopes the land. Then things ignite, leads snarling through carnage, the vocals rousing, everything returning to the raging fire’s heart. “Unissakävijä” brings speedy riffs and vocals destroying, the melodies flush with folk influences that have been set ablaze. The furious guitars then go mystical before the ground opens up, the drums come unglued, and the riffs swing wildly before fading. “Kun Veri Sekoipuu Lumeen” is thrashy as fuck when it greets us, wrestling and mangling, blasts meeting up with murky melodies. Beastly growls carve as a daring pace leads into swelling keys, a psychedelic storm, and metallic glimmering that builds to a giant crescendo. Closer “De Miseriis Fennorum” runs a healthy 10:53, and it basks in heat before shrieks rip and guitars bloom, going over the top with intensity and chaos. The track has a great fiery heart, the pace jolting before the band goes on a run that hints at power metal before returning to a flurry of blades. The playing keeps pushing and pulling, letting guitars blaze and group calls activate nerve endings, but then a massive fog overtakes all, letting steam rise and the final notes sweep away.

“Tavastland” is a harrowing tale that might have its roots in the past but bleeds completely into our present, where we take our eyes off the ball far too frequently. Havukruunu deliver this in bloody, violent rage, something you can feel in every second of this record, even amid melodies that might trick you into assuming some level of comfort. This is both a history lesson and a warning, something we’re not likely to heed as we don’t seem to learn lessons very well as a populace. So, Havukruunu are here to remind us with a steaming blade to the throat.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://www.svartrecords.com/en/product/havukruunu-tavastland/13004

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

Death metal has developed into such a strange beast since it rose from the swamps and graveyards more than three decades ago. That’s been for the better, and really, the raw and brutal stuff still exists in healthy supply. You can find plenty of it. But the way it has developed new colors and shapes has made the sound more exciting and limitless.

Finnish blackened death metal power Sepulchral Curse have, over the course of more than a decade, committed new strains of morbid oddity to their brand of brutality, and on their new record “Crimson Moon Evocations,” their third, they push that to bizarre new levels. It’s not so warped that it’s not going to torch someone here for carnage and bloodshed. That’s here in abundance. But the band—vocalist Kari Kankaanpää, guitarists Jaakko Riihimäki and Aleksi Luukka, bassist/vocalist Niilas Nissilä, drummer Johannes Rantala—imagines more than just pure death metal, though it’s there in spades, and instead try to inject a chilling ambiance and off kilter approach that keeps things unpredictable.

“Wildfires” opens ablaze, a total assault that challenges you mind and body as you try to hang on for dear life. The playing is thunderous as guitars lather, and even when the fury pulls back, you know you’re about to be consumed on the other side where engorging growls and blinding soloing await. “House of the Black Moon” churns, guitars mauling, feeling like you’re being drilled into the ground. Things go back and forth from catchy to brutal and back, drubbing as twin guitars align and send metallic energy. Howls mash as a slight breeze pushes through, everything ending in a colorful cacophony. “The Locust Scar” is an onslaught, growls carving into flesh, guitars warping visions and creating panic. Skullduggery pulls out of a brief respite, dark and sooty melodies clog throats, and the growls wreck, the back end slowly fading.

“Beneath the Dismal Tides” explodes, growls clawing, a beastly pace roaring and making itself seem 10 times larger than it is. This is total decimation, the thickness spewing oil and sparks, the playing spiraling fast, howls scarring faces. “Empress of the Dead” starts amid a wilting heatwave, and then the pace is unsheathed, jabbing with heated guitars, wails crushing, and darkness enveloping. Shrieks rain down fire, and the final minute completely combusts, sending shrapnel flying. “The Currents of Chaos” stomps with a purpose, the guitars gutting before leaning into more progressive waters, making blood surge. Hypnosis takes over, a creative swath of guitars changing the landscape, the playing packing sorrow even as they cut through muscle. Closer “Crimson Passages” is spacious with growls scraping, drums crushing, and the playing turning into a tornadic force. The pressure refuses to relent, guitars turning up the heat, growls curdling, and a strange tingling sensation taking over and dissolving into the atmosphere.

“Crimson Moon Evocations” is a record that might make you feel like you’re being pulled into a wormhole of strangeness, and that’s not entirely inaccurate, at least from a figurative standpoint. Sepulchral Curse’s blackened fury definitely is rooted in death metal, but it gives as much weirdness as it does brutality, which makes for a really interesting mix. This is another solid building block for a band with an already steady resume that is looking to expand this sound to whatever reaches they see fit.

For more on the band, go here: https://sepulchralcurse.bandcamp.com/album/abhorrent-dimensions

To buy the album, go here: https://www.darkdescentrecords.com/shop/?s=sepulchral+curse&post_type=product

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

We live in a really confusing, frustrating time, a period that seems to house one upheaval after another, a chaotic existence that feels like it shows no mercy and has none to give. It’s a challenge psychologically to navigate it all, and at times it feels that sort of venture is too much to handle. Where do we go when everything seems like a goddamn red flag?

Multi-national crushers Cross Bringer express as much on their thunderous second record “Healismus Aeternus,” which translates to “eternal healing,” and over the course of five tracks and 27 minutes, the band—vocalist Lina, guitarist Sanya, bassist/synth player Artemy, drummer Michael—pour all their vitriol and emotion into this creation, pummeling you with corrosion and the occasional dash of beauty mixed into their blend of metal, doom, and hardcore. They also bring plenty of outside experience from projects including Predatory Void, Reka, Hoari, and Downfall of Gaia, which they use with volcanic results on a record that doesn’t require too much of your time but still delivers the goods.

“Desolation Hypnosis” opens with sounds rising, ominous vibes infecting, and then a burst, Lina’s shrieks piercing as bendy, rubbery playing warps your mind. Ghostly speaking wafts through the din as warped, yet melodic bursts explode, throaty howls crush, and everything ends in strangeness. “Metamorphosis” sits and crashes, wild dashes opening wounds, the playing turning both numbing and disorienting as Lina’s cries dig under the flesh. Guitars drip and hover as the heat builds gradually, the playing stinging with force, ramping up before cooling off again, sounds settling and blurring. “Structural Imbalance” rips, the howls strangling, fiery hell exploding as the playing drubs and melts. The pace begins a dangerous spiral, screams crushing before a cleansing coolness arrives, feeling both dreamy and mauling, ending in a murky field of synth.

“The Vessel” is an immediate assault, guitars dive bombing and doing ample damage, the ferocity blazing to a degree that it’s hard to face the building intensity. The tempo then drives violently, vile howls striking, humid and dizzying warmth toying with your mind, dissolving into a laser bath of keys. Closer “Perpetual Servantship” starts with guitars ringing and then attacking, a grisly dash pushing toward rippling screams and the attack slicing through muscle. The vocals turn raw, heated guitars increasing your body temperature, a complete onslaught aiming to cleanse by fire, reverberating into icy terrain. Static builds a weird lather as the sounds blare through the darkness, fading into oblivion.

It’s nearly impossible for some to navigate a volatile existence that continually forces us deeper into our minds, trying to come to terms with reality vs what our fearful minds feed us. “Healismus Aeternus” pushes through that strange disconnectedness, barrelling toward the point where we must come to some sort of mental understanding of where we stand in order to move forward in a healthy manner. Cross Bringer’s metallic fire is a means to facing and trying to conquer that battle, something that will grow more and more important as our world is at a tipping point.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://silentpendulumrecords.com/products/cross-bringer-healismus-aeternus-lp

Or here: https://consouling.be/release/healismus-aeternus

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

And here: https://consouling.be/

It’s as good a time as any to try to fully disconnect from the world mentally. There is too much going on, way too much of it heartbreaking and infuriating. Doom scrolling is reaching levels of mental melt that frankly is terrifying. Trying to tune out the noise and get back in touch with ourselves might not be the easiest thing to pull off, but it’s worth a try.

Just when we need them most, Wrekmeister Harmonies return with “Flowers in the Spring,” the title alone signaling hope and rebirth from a natural perspective that could perhaps soothe some of our wounds. The long-running duo of JR Robinson and Esther Shaw shows obvious restraint on this four-track record. It’s immersive from front to back, calling you into a warming bath of isolation and reflection, letting the lapping melodies, dream-state drone, and luminescent gloom take over your imagination. It’s not heavy musically in the classic state, but taking on these songs shows their weight, their perspective, and it’s excellent listening after a long period of sustaining far too much negativity from your surrounding environment. For that, this music is crucial.

The title track opens and brings revolving sounds and cosmic weirdness, guitars scraping as the light bursts. Keys blur and continue to rotate, the drone stretching over fields of fever dream, sounds frying as the keys turn, a clouded vision rising and then falling mercifully. “Fuck the Pigs” doesn’t delve into rage, despite the title, but it’s mood is dark and foreboding, even as waves of calm wash over you. Slight ticks sit under the waves of illumination while the cloud coverage adds dark gray, the gentle repetition of sounds encircling, creating a halo effect. The haze continues to build as sounds drip, guitars liquify and form a tributary, and all of that slowly fades into time.

“A Shepherd Stares into the Sun” is the longest piece at 20:51, and it brings brighter smears, synth beams, and a sense of hope into the void. Melodies glow underneath a storm-promising sky, corrosion leaking out of corners, a synth blanket bringing a sense of warmth, swimming through sonic waves. The playing turns mesmerizing and dreamy, electric waves and synth lines uniting, guitar squalls scorching and cauterizing. Closer “Flowers Variation” brings a deep-sea feel combined with alien disconnect, feeling like you’re moving deeper into the blackness. As you scrape the bottom of the sea, keys vibrate as everything grows colder and more remote, sounds swallowed by the crust.

Wrekmeister Harmonies sound as intimately moved and as consumed by mysterious shadows as ever, and their minimalist approach to this record makes for an adventure that can be equally serene as foreboding. “Flowers in the Spring” is incredibly immersive stuff, music that you can use for meditation, mentally unfolding your traumas, and delicately looking toward the future, as volatile as that is. This band continues to innovate and evolve even when pulling back the reins as much as they do here, and it’s a listening experience that will soak you thoroughly.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://thrilljockey.com/products/flowers-in-the-spring

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

We live in perilous times, but if you look back over the past four decades, this hardly is the first time it seemed like our very existence was at stake. The original waves of thrash bands in the early 1980s had their own version of Republican bullshit to endure, and they also didn’t have a suitable opposition leader to dethrone Reagan, thus the fires of this brand of music came firing out of the canon, fully ablaze.

Long-time thrash legends Hirax have endured the ages very well, coming out of California in the early ’80s and establishing themselves as one of the tried-and-true leaders. Yes, they didn’t gain the acclaim of a Metallica or Anthrax or Slayer, but here they are, still turning out quality thrash that sounds as fresh now as the style did in its origin. Still at the helm is lifer Katon W. De Pena, as unmistakable a voice as you’ll ever hear, and he and his band are cooking on “Faster Than Death,” their first new full-length in 11 years. De Pena is joined by a new lineup on this record in guitarist/bassist Neil Metcalf and drummer Danny Walker, and they lay waste over nine tracks and just 22 minutes, every second of it channeled, politically and socially charged, and bound to kick your ass.

“Drill into the Brain” starts with, you guessed it, the sound of a drill, and this opener rushes by with reckless abandon, opening the thrash gates like only Hirax can, getting in and out in a little more than a minute. “Armageddon” is speedy as hell, De Pena’s classic vocals toggling the line between wild howls and power-style sirens. The bass acts as a steely spine as the guitars launch into overdrive, ripping to a molten end. “Drowned Bodies” blasts the doors in, the bass thickening along with the metallic crunch, guitars taking off and dashing. The chugging blasts harder as rock is dislodged from earth, De Pena declaring, “Rather die than live like a slave.” The title track erupts, De Pena howling, “Your time has come, make way for the gods of war,” as speedy, trudging madness consumes everything whole. 

“Psychiatric Ward” is another quick blast, dashing and bludgeoning, the vocals spat like hot nails, the riffs gaining more energy and slicing back at bone. “Relentless” tears open, the drums stampeding, the cries of, “Warfare! Iron fist!” breaking down doors. De Pena lambastes the greedy politicians and makes a very on-the-nose accusation of, “The corporations are filthy rich,” which sadly won’t end anytime soon. “Revenant” has guitars floating before the temperatures skyrocket, yowled vocals landing hard across the chest. The playing mashes and trucks, a classic thrash feel having its way, the pace causing blood to race to your face. “Warlord’s Command” is a re-recording of a track from the band’s 1985 debut album “Raging Violence,” and it gets a punishing remake while maintaining the spirit of the original. Closer “Worlds End” torches, De Pena howling, “Survive or die!” over the molten chorus. Guitars lather as the tempo destroys, the bass mauls, and everything comes to a raucous end, smoldering in ash.

Hirax remain as vital and punishing as ever more than four decades into their run, and “Faster Than Death” lives alongside the rest of their catalog quite capably. This is classic thrash in the best sense, raging with political anger, societal upheaval, and a sense that heavy metal is alive and well in a form we haven’t seen capably reinvented like death or black metal. This is a powerhouse of a record, one that will add some deadly gems to their already thunderous live shows.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://armageddonlabel.bandcamp.com/album/faster-than-death

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

Black metal has grown and flourished in many ways, and that hasn’t left everyone happy. I’ve always been one who’s fine with a sound’s evolution as long as it doesn’t stray into something unidentifiable, and there’s plenty out there to please most. Yet, there’s something about the basement aesthetics of the one-man black metal project that still gets me, a primitive state we don’t hear that often these days.

Aspaarn return with their fourth record “Oblations in Atrocity,” and it feels like it swirls in the early 1990s, when the point was to use instruments and tools that were lo-fi, to the early 2000s when strong playing under the canopy of chaos was more widely embraced. Here, sole creator Solaris Lupus builds upon his already ash-caked discography with these six tracks that feel like lost phantoms crying out in a damned night. Yet, if you listen closely through the glaze, you can hear the melodies, the carnage, the mental anguish that informs these songs. At the same time, the creator is reimagining ancient European culture where multiple deities informed life as well as lashing back at modern scourges such as totalitarianism, bigotry, repression and other ills that continue to haunt and destroy us.

“The Order of Fear” opens in a thick haze of eeriness, the washed-out black metal attack feeling like it originates from the beginning of the subgenre. The drums maul while the cries are buried beneath the noise, grim hissing and tornadic guitars doing battle, chaos caked to walls, the furnace opening and dragging you inside. “Memories in Suffering” clubs instantly as the guitars fire up, raw cries rippling as the guitars crawl into the darkness, encircling as the drums hammer. The pace races harder, digging in as the morbidity thickens, crushing with gravitational force, the howls smearing as the chaos finally subsides. “Silence of the Gods” brings warped guitars tangling, and then everything speeds up as cavernous sounds absorb your sense of self. The pace drives and drubs, sooty melodies taking hold, carving pathways as the pressure builds and explodes.

“Duty in Hecatomb” brings humidity and lapping guitars, growls retching as the pace strangles, monstrous gasps activating your nervous system. Guitars flood and stagger as hypnosis takes hold, the playing turning cold and bowing to echoes, the sooty finish spitting infernal sludge. “Boundless Hunger” hammers with urgency, staggering through disorienting passages, working into a heated, yet jerky section that shakes up your insides. Growls lash as the pace shreds, crazed and molten punishment aligning, guitars jangling to a dusty grave. Closer “All Reaching Misery” is the longest track, running a healthy 9:38 and lighting up with guitars raging and howls twisting guts. The playing warps as the drums open wounds, strange synth haunting as a gothy pathway is stomped with madness. Things continue to disorient even as the hammers drop with force, the guitars expanding and charging, the vocals taking full command one last time, and the final notes dissolving into an inky synth bath.

Aspaarn’s journey into maniacal delusion and unquestionable darkness feels like a nightmare that refuses to release its grip on “Oblations in Atrocity.” This record harkens back to the basement black metal record from two and three decades ago, as that terrifying nostalgia hits blackened brains and tortured hearts that have suffered immeasurable damage over that time. This record is a sort of wormhole back underneath the blanket of sonic damage, one that acknowledges our own wounds along with the creator’s and turns them into an altar at which we can burn these woes and spread the ashes into our mouths. 

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

To buy the album, go here: https://aspaarn.bandcamp.com/album/oblations-in-atrocity

Are you exhausted yet? It’s still February? I don’t know how practical it is to think of the next four years and imagine a way to escape relatively unscathed mentally. We’re full bore into the most obvious coup ever, and the normal ugliness has reared its head with these people. It’s easy for me to be drained as a mere spectator. So many people already have and will suffer unnecessarily just based on hatred toward different from them.

On “Ruby Red,” the 10^th album from long-running neoclassical/folk band Amber Asylum, the evil surrounding us gets put under the microscope. This is musically and thematically one of their darkest records ever, and they ideally soundtrack the era in which we’re forced. Over seven tracks and 40 minutes, the band—Kris Force (viola, violin, synth, vocals), Jackie Perez–Gratz (cello, vocals), Fern Lee Alberts (bass), Becky Hawk (percussion, vocals)—focuses on societal upheaval, war, human rights, and the constant threat to women’s freedom and power. It’s frustrating to keep seeing the same fascist bullshit happen again and again, and while the music here is gorgeous and haunting, the pain and the anger can be felt radiating through every second of this mesmerizing record.

“Secrets” is an opening instrumental piece, strings scraping over dour tension, shadows sweeping the agony of the ages underfoot. The playing picks up and further enraptures, blood surging as strings flex, emotions blare, and the final moments mix into the mirage. The title track has bass slinking and the singing fluttering, plodding as foreboding images spark your brain. The playing quivers as drums echo, bathing in total darkness, sweltering once more before burning off. “Demagogue” has dread setting the stage as the strings respond in kind, the singing hovering over mournful passages. The playing sinks in its teeth and rows over waves into quieter terrain, lapping and coating with numbing effect. “The Morrigan,” named after the Celtic goddess of war, death, and fate, streaks into sight, the layers thickening, cloud cover growing impenetrable. The melodies get tougher and more menacing, energy swirling with drama, slipping behind visions that dash blood at the end of this instrumental. 

“Azure” dawns in a strange electric haze, threatening drone chaos as the cello pushes off, the singing swelling and radiating in echo. The haunting haze thickens as the bass picks up and adds ominous tones, the strings ache, and feral cries ring out, feedback dining on flesh left over on bone. “Weaver” feels like a dream state at first, doomy melodies washing over long festering wounds, wordless calls pulling with might for a semblance of control. The playing blends deeper with the impending doom, drizzling dank colors before disappearing into oblivion. Closer “A Call on the Wind” has the singing hovering, ghostly strains lingering, the bass plodding through a surreal reality. Sounds clash as the strings layer, the drums drive harder, and the singing reverberates, sending tingles through your nervous system. The energy flutters as anxiety spikes, pushing loud, pulsing drums into your heart before fading away.

“Ruby Red” finds us in one of our most perilous times, and the plight of our world that already was a thorny road looks to be getting blood soaked all over again. It’s frustrating and infuriating, and while Amber Asylum deliver the fitting amount of despair, they also provide pinholes of hope that light can shine through. We all face harrowing times, some more deeply than others, and music like this stands as both defiance and potential optimism for a world in turmoil.

For more on the band, go here: https://amber-asylum.bandcamp.com/

To buy the album, go here: https://us.spkr.media/us/Artists/Amber-Asylum/

For more on the label, go here: https://en.prophecy.de/

It’s natural for trends to bleed into music as subgenres grow, warp, and reformulate, changing a sound largely based on events that preceded more recently. It’s made for some really inventive music, but it also can be just as refreshing when it seems no time has passed at all, and the music you’re experiencing feels like it thrives in no progress.

That’s admittedly a kind of shitty way to talk about death metal crushers Cryptual, but it’s a total positive when I say their style of music feels like it missed every evolution since the early 1990s. That’s by design as the band—vocalist Paul Ellis, guitarists Tony Capodilupo and Brad O’Malley, bassist Jimmy Palmer, drummer Kevin Stenseth—formed because a bunch of Milwaukee dudes wanted to get together to play classic death metal, and on their debut full-length “Convulsing Above the Ground,” they serve up a smoking serving of the good stuff. Over seven tracks and 25 minutes, Cryptual send up a sharp, perfectly portioned beating that gets in, does ample damage, and leaves blood and bone behind.

“A Painful Grace” opens in complete demolition, growls buried beneath the carnage, trudging with power. The guitars blaze with fury, the pace stomping and destroying, the heat consuming everything whole. “Muted Liturgy” delivers infernal smashing, howls ripping, and a monstrous fury having its way. The leads char as a melodic sweep takes hold, speed and ferocity combining to become a major factor, total decimation driving to an abrupt end. “Never Born Again” crunches and chugs, vicious leads going off and tangling around your neck like a cord. The playing then goes off, bubbling like a molten stream, the growls curdling as the band thrashes harder, scorching to the end. “Rotten Inside” has leads swinging and the growls mangling, setting into a throttling pace that mashes. Growls batter as the speed becomes a greater force, the guitars stinging as the playing grows brutally catchy, burning into ash.

“Self-Inflicted” trudges and injects heavy violence musically, the path feeling muddy and jagged, functioning like a battering ram opening up holes in the earth. A ferocious force rips from its center, the guitars adding more heat to an already steamy pile, ending in vile chaos. “The Walls Melt” has leads that scorch flesh, the power bleeding and blasting, the playing battering completely. The temperatures spike as the soloing takes control and lathers with madness, a fast, jarring attack coming at the end that buries you in dust. Closer “Thrall” attacks, monstrous force blowing through walls, melodic, yet flattening playing aiming to take down buildings. An ungodly blast detonates, twisting through volcanic madness, guitars taking over and rampaging to the end.

There’s no need for a fluffy ending here or some kind of philosophical meanderings because Cryptual ravage with old school-informed death metal that will utterly torch you with melody. “Convulsing Above the Ground” is slim and trim from a timing standpoint but utterly hellacious as a full package, a record that will make your blood pump and your body ache. This is a motherfucker of an album, one that should get Cryptual a lot more attention and adulation after they skewer you alive.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://www.ironfortressrecords.com/collections/all-iron-fortress-products

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

Being fucking old, I remember when heavy guitar rock ruled many stations on the radio. Oh, we used to listen to the radio a lot. We didn’t have streaming services, so when we wanted to hear our favorite jams, we either had to shell out money for the record or wait to hear it on the radio.

Scorpion Child is as throwback to the era, and yeah, this is also said in their bio, but it made me think of that immediately before I ever read the press materials. That means I’m right. The Austin-based band operates on the outer edges of metal, though four decades ago they’d be lumped right in, and on their third album “I Saw the End as It Passed Right Through Me” they get you charged up early and often. Over eight tracks and 37 minutes, the band—vocalist Aryn Jonathan Black, guitarists Asa Allen Savage and Adrian Arostone, bassist Garth Condit, drummer Ryan Henderson—drives forcefully, bringing heavy rock that practically is designed for the heat, though it sounds pretty good here in the winter.

“Be the Snake” is a rousing opener with guitar generating heat and hand drumming encircling before things come to life. The riffs lead as the simple, but sticky chorus dominates, soloing bubbling out of that, sending blood pressures skyrocketing. “Actress” starts mystically and then gets burly, the singing pushing as the bass drives. The melodies hit overdrive as the guitars swim and storm, flowing into energetic tidal waves, Black repeating, “Such a lonely life,” as the final sparks wash out. “Outliers” brings glimmering guitars, making things feel mildly psychedelic before the power ignites. Things get heavier and punchier, the calls of, “Long way, it’s a long way,” rushing your brain. The soloing ramps up and scorches, ripping anew before heading into “See the Shine” that’s grittier with the vocals following suit. The pace is more mid-tempo than what precedes it, and there are darker, echo-rich corners that haunt. Guitars then smoke and charge, gaining momentum as the vocals pick up the steam again, landing bigger body blows as your lights fade.

“The Starker” starts with drums encircling, guitars gliding, and the bass flexing as the temperature slowly rises. The intensity picks up and carries over into reverbed guitars, giving off a slight Rush feel, the clouds gathering and increasing shadows. “Wired Corpse” opens with the vocals driving, Black’s voice getting raspier and reminding a bit of Billy Squier. Group commands of, “Shut up!” send jolts as the soloing catches fire and coats with smoke, with Black declaring, “I’m high and still alive!” “Godskin” pulls back musically but not emotionally, as Black stabs, “You let us die, it’s a genocide.” Guitars swell as the calculated pace pushes into icy ambiance, everything else bursting at the seams with twin leads obscuring vision. Closer “Hanging Sun” starts with winds blowing, acoustics entering, the singing scraping as a softer, rustic edge develops. Clean guitars glow as crows caw, and a weird exhaust pushes through and ends with crackling fires.

Scorpion Child definitely feel like a band landing many years past when this style of music was popular, but oddly that makes them kind of refreshing in this era. “I Saw the End as It Passed Right Through Me” cuts could end up on your local classic rock station and fit right in, though it would stand out for being a little heavier than the rest of their playlist. This is a fun, fiery record that pays no mind to trends or expectations and just fucking goes for it.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://scorpionchild.bandcamp.com/album/i-saw-the-end-as-it-passed-right-through-me

Not every heavy metal record greets you with blood-surging excitement, ready to bathe you in the glory of an art form that misunderstood by so many. That’s OK, by the way. Some albums and bands serve up misery, or death, or total blackness, sometimes a combination of all of those. Still, it’s nice when one kicks you in the ass with ferocity and fervor.

Long-running Viking metal band Ereb Altor is one that never pulls back on the melodic tidal wave while still maintaining a thorny exterior. On their great 10^th record “Hälsingemörke,” the Swedes add to their lore with seven tracks of molten gusts that mix power, classic metal, death and black metal to their hammer-wielding attack. Longtime listeners know this is nothing new, but they tighten their assault and leave their edges as razor sharp as ever as the band—vocalist/guitarist Mats, guitarist/vocalist Ragnar, bassist/vocalist Björn, drummer Tord—unleashes something that could bring together followers of Iron Maiden and Bathory alike. On top of that, they just keep getting better and more nuanced.

“Valkyrian Fate” charges out of the gates with mighty melodies and powerful singing, the calls of, “In times of fire, in times of war,” ricocheting off the inside of your skull. Warm leads lap as vicious shrieks enter, laying waste even as other colors surround, a blast of energetic fire taking you to the finish. The title track opens with clean leads that meld with ferocity, the vocals coming in their native tongue. The playing is sweltering as the melodies surge, gushing through mighty singing and a sweltering chorus, the energy sending seismic waves that drive to a massive crescendo. “Ättestupan” charges and chugs, mystical synth wafting to create a fantastical element, immersive playing thickening the moodiness. Darkness swells and the playing pummels, an enthralling force pushing back hard as the song comes to a spirited end.

“Vi Är Mörkret” starts clean before it bursts, strong singing and scathing howling uniting, guitars lathering and daring. Shouts rouse as fiery madness sprawls, the pace stampeding as the singing soars, the drums gut, and everything fades into the cold. “Träldom” has guitars burning and gruff vocals, blunt force mixing with melodic gusts to increase the impact. The power charges as clean singing smokes, speed taking on greater importance, energetic thrashing making heart rates spike before a blazing ending. “The Waves, the Sky and the Pyre” starts with vocal chants and then heads straight into a murky haze, slowly dripping as the playing drives a dagger, the bass chugging muscularly. Group calls rouse as shots land through thick mist, the tempo blasting through a frosty ambiance. Closer “The Last Step” aims to end the record with blinding glory as the singing glows, following mashing howls that inject thorniness. Melodies cascade before settling into a synth cloud, setting a dream-inducing state that eventually breaks with guitars splitting through with intensity. The gates of Valhalla are stormed as the flowing guitars mount a final surge, bringing the record to a heartfelt and fire-lapped ending.

It’s impossible to experience an Ereb Altor record and not come away with your adrenaline spiking in the least problematic way possible. As usual with their work, “Hälsingemörke” is an escape, but one that’ll thrill you from beginning to end as their brand of Viking metal transports you to the ancient forests and battles that live in your mind. This is another stunner from a band whose catalog is full of them and shows no sign of the fires in their hearts extinguishing.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://erebaltor.lnk.to/halsingemorker

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