Death metal always has exposed the ugliest and most horrific ideas known to humankind. But a great deal of that involves horror movie-style blood and guts and other terrifying subject matter that, while great fodder for movies and stories, isn’t reality. There are far more disgusting real-life events going on around us that cause actual human pain and suffering, which is more chilling.

Death metal crushers Castrator make gory, traditionally bloody death metal on a sonic level, but digging deeper, there are revelations about unspeakable ugliness going on in our history and modern society that are scarier than a skeleton pulling out his guts in a graveyard. On their molten second album “Coronation of the Grotesque,” they remain as guttural as ever while also shining a light on injustices, human suffering, state-sponsored brutality, and sexual predators. We also, in this country, live under a regime that has tried to protect people who commit such atrocities and waive them away as if they’re the victims. The band—vocalist Clarissa Badini, guitarist Sara Loerlein, bassist Robin Mazen, drummer Carolina Perez—brings their experience from other acts such as Derketa, Vicious Blade, Gruesome, Hypoxia, and others to channel their rage and metallic will to set fire to these evils in our world with a sharpened blade meant to maim oppressors and true evil.

“Fragments of Defiance” tears open, growls menacing, the pace slowing to a deadly lurch but remaining heavy as hell. Guitars go off as the pace combusts, mashing through vile howls and an ending haze that intoxicates. “I Am Eunuch” gushes with soaring leads, a dizzying attack, and then a charged-up bruising that teams with Badini’s vocals that utterly slay. Things get humid before guitars light up, the thrashing guts, and everything ends viciously. “Covenant of Deceit” is eerie when it dawns, and then ugliness ensues as the growls dig deep into guts, and the battering turns into a slow burn that increases the pressure. Badini’s wails get raspier before she delves back into guttural growls, and then the guitars jolt, setting off a grisly string of events. “Mortem Opeterie” is fast and nasty, growls snarling as the guitars squeeze throats, the fury spreading dangerously. The leads turn warmer before all hell breaks loose again, driving into horrors unforeseen, blasting out into hell. “Remnants of Chaos” chugs hard, the pace then racing before pulling back a bit, the vocals tearing into your psyche. Demonic shrieks peel paint off the walls while the bludgeoning turns more volatile, speeding before wrecking shop.

“Deviant Miscreant” brings frying guitars, a pace that chews muscle, and growls that smear soot in your mouth. The guitars catch fire and turn mesmerizing, letting your mind wander before chaos returns, turning toward a breathless, blinding outburst. “Psalm of Beguiled” rampages, the growls and shrieks combining to do further psychological damage, the bass clobbering with ferocity. Guitars tear open and electrify as the intensity floods, speeding its way to a demolishing finish. “Blood Bind’s Curse” erupts as guitars wage war, the growls scrape prone wounds, and the tempo gets dangerously heated, making conditions feel more dangerous than usual. The soloing absolutely blazes, a glorious stretch that melts flesh, and the band keeps the gas pedal glued to the floor from there, smoldering as the growls gnaw on your bones. “Discordant Rumination” opens with shrieks raining down, a death charge aiming for your ribs, and raw hell unleashing new forms of pain. The leads smoke as the pace turns manic, slow mucking power makes your path stickier, and everything is ground into paste. The closer is a savage cover of the Exodus classic “Metal Command” from their 1985 classic “Bonded By Blood,” one of the great thrash records ever. The band gives it a deadly, rotting makeover, keeping the power and metallic glory intact while also giving it a modern face of eternal decay.

“Coronation of the Grotesque” is the gnarliest, most vision thing Castrator has released so far, and while they delve deep into blood and guts, they also remain steadfast in their mission to expose abuse, injustice, and suffering. So, yeah, it’s noticeably uglier than their previous work, but we also continue to grow darker and more bloodthirsty as a society. This is a massive step up from a band that already was operating at a high level, and this record should be recognized for the death metal mastery it is. It completely destroys. 

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

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

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

We all see unspeakable horrors every day of the week, and that’s just what people and leaders do to one another for power. It’s perverse to think of it this way, but maybe what we all need is a good, strong dose of cosmic horrors to take our mind off the other terrors we have to see all the time. Fantasy monsters can be soothing after all.

Chicago-based sludge/doom instrumental trio Plague of Carcosa long have found inspiration in Cthulhu and other Lovecraftian lore, and to do that with mostly no vocals is a tall order for a lesser band. Yet, they capture the essence in drubbing fashion, and on their second full-length “In the Dreamless Deep,” the band—guitarists A. Scott Grant, guitarist/bassist Eric Zann, drummer Alexander Adams—drops a planet’s worth of weight into these six songs that maul over 44 minutes. It lures you into the center of madness, stretches you to your limit, and leaves bruising over your psyche. It’s a fucking beast.

“Intangible Monument” hammers open, feedback swelling, the stomping rhythm meeting up with punishing riffs that chug and blister. Sooty, nasty sludge oozes out of crevices, guitars burn, and the bass plots destruction, sounds squeezing before disappearing. “Over Innsmouth” is melodic and mournful when it dawns, then it turns quickly to skull bashing, the leads glimmering amid a pit of destruction. An emotional swell makes nerve endings quiver as the playing absolutely cooks, bringing with it psychedelic heat and sounds frying your brain wiring. A lumbering force makes the earth quake as melodies swell, and cosmic zaps disappear into the clouds. “Sepulchre of the Dead Gods” flows gently before the power lurches, turning into a full doom fury, the filth caking your veins. The low end gets grittier and more muscular, the drums leave bruising, and everything burns in acid.

“Twilight, Respite” is a quick instrumental with bubbling energy, gently flowing  as guitars simmer, and static eats away at the edges. “Awakened Sentinel” is the longest track, running 15:01 and working instantly into psyche guitars and a lathering dose of sludge that you can chew. Guitars build as everything takes on a feel like you’re underwater, ears full of liquid, the pace picking up as you battle disorientation. Calmer waves lap as the bones churns, the playing glimmering like sun splash over the sea. Then the pace bends minds, a deep hypnosis takes hold, and a long stretch of mesmerizing power pulls you under. Closer  “The Elder Things” has guitars zapping and sounds blending, mammoth mauling completely crushing your equilibrium. Caveman-style hulking sends even more raw energy down your spine as the pace bludgeons, an incredible riff arrives and spikes your senses, and the final moments are utter demolition, burying power in a watery grave.

“In the Dreamless Deep” is more gut-wrenching, imaginative doom from Plague of Carcosa, a band that’s committed itself to the Cthulhu legend and making those tales feel larger and even more horrific. This is a hefty serving of menace and might, a record in which it’s easy to get lost, especially if you’re caught in your own beast-infested imagination. This is a massive offering, one that’ll fill you to the top with horrors, magic, and murk.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://plagueofcarcosa.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-dreamless-deep

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

Humanity is at a pretty low level, at least in my lifetime, and there are myriad problems plaguing us right now that should be laid right at our collective feet. The planet is in trauma, authoritarianism is on the rise, and social media has become a pox on humanity instead of an incredible tool for advancement. We are not great stewards.

Death metal superpower Grand Cadaver are paying close attention to this and giving their fiery reaction on their new EP “The Rot Beneath.” Chaos, death, destruction, and injustice are flooding the planet, and as time goes on, political leaders are doing their worst to try to seize power and never relinquish it. The band—vocalist Mikael Stanne, guitarists Stefan Lagergren and Alex Stjernfeldt, bassist Christian Jansson, drummer Daniel Liljekvist—contains members of heavyweights such as Dark Tranquillity, the Halo Effect, and Katatonia (well, a former member), and though they have an EP and two full-lengths on their resume, this is their most intense, agitated release so far, and the lyrical content surely puts the extra bits of venom into the mix.

“Blood-Red Banner” starts fairly viciously, a fury builds through mangling howls and wrenching playing, keeping their level of vitriol noticeably higher than they achieve with their other bands (which is not a slight, by the way). Guitars spiral as the pace slows, bass chugs through smoke, and everything comes to a sooty end. The title track is the highlight, guitars charging up, the vocals ripping at flesh, punishment wrapping around a massive, melodic chorus. “What are we if not the cause of the problem?” Stanne wails righteously, seeing the decay in our ways of life, melody piling up as he laments, “We’ve got to fight ourselves.” “Endless Dead” is fuzzy and frenzied, a raucous, yet simple chorus landing blows, the power leaving blisters. Stanne’s howls get throatier as the playing turns molten, the rhythm section guts, and the final blazes burn off. Closer “Darkened Apathy” is shadowy at first and then speeds up, flattening as guitars spill over, the emotion getting to a boiling point. “We’re a perfect storm of moral decay,” Stanne blasts as guitars sting, screams smother, and the devastation turns to numbing waves.

Grand Cadaver aim right at the heart of the problems on “The Rot Beneath,” a quick, deadly EP that makes a sobering realization that humankind is the source of our problems, and an internal battle might be the only thing that saves us. The frustration and disillusion bleed through perfectly on these songs, and it hopefully can act as a wake-up call for some before it’s too late. That’s not likely to happen, but you can’t say that Grand Cadaver didn’t warn us in the most forceful manner possible. 

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

To buy the album, go here: https://grandcadaver.bandcamp.com/album/the-rot-beneath

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

There’s a strange phenomenon in parts of our society that eschews taking care of one’s mental health and talking to an expert who can help with healing. There are people living with trauma and other mental wounds that make everyday life difficult or downright torturous to endure. The struggle can be crippling.

“Hollow Fangs,” the first full-length release from black metal force Oskoreien in nine years, is a very personal one steeped in survival in the wake of trauma and the moves one must make in order to take better control. Long a project helmed by Jay Valena (vocals, guitars, drum programming, bass, synthesizer), this five-track, nearly 40-minute opus instantly captures you in its fiery, immersive spirit, a record that addresses serious depths of human darkness but also tries to find a light at the end of the tunnel that can come from observing and understanding the pain. On this record, Valena is joined by guitarist Rashid Nadjib (formerly of Wovoka) and bassist Matthew Durkee to round out a record that should feel like a storming experience for any listener but especially for those also dealing with trauma and its monstrous aftermath. 

“Prismatic Reason” gushes open, melody grasping you in its claws, raw growls leaving you scuffed and bleeding. “The grand and the mundane, the sacred, the profane delusions, emphatic confusions prismatic,” Valena howls as vicious guitars lather, and some pretty great riffs activate your bloodstream. Things turn vibrant and adventurous, the leads soar, and everything comes to a jarring end. “Bernalillo Sunrise” ramps up and ravages from the start, raspy wails leaving welts, the pace splattering as the beast storms. The pressure pulls back a bit as more atmospherics gush, and gazey fusion turns into a drubbing pace that leaves you breathless. “Psychotischism” starts warmly before churning, the howls scarring as drums crash and the tempo growing more convulsive. Growls dig deeper, even hissing at points, as Valena wails, “Heartless invective can’t you hear yourself? Or is the chaos of your cognition too great a burden to bear?” The playing growls as delirious guitars melt, the haze making the air thicker.

“Fragments” has guitars scuffling and tingling, washing over as bones are mashed by the force, mesmerizing floods of sounds soothing your psyche. Just then, the guitars get more active, the smothering growing to an alarming peak, Valena howling, “Harboring the knowledge deep within your psyche of the hollow fucking void at the center of your soul,” which is as troubling a statement as any. Clouds then roll in and block out the light, feedback torching prone nerve endings. Closer “To Kiss the Viper’s Fang” speeds into sight, destroying as guitars snake and toy, rupturing with an emotional flood. “Behold: betrayal, mockery, succubus, treachery. Beware: deception, cowardice, desolation, vampirism, desolation, misery,” Valena warns, staticy melody working into dusty corners, the energy then bursting back to life. Guitars ignite and melt rock, leads swim through silver waters, guts are spilled, and cataclysmic emotion leaves a pile of smoldering ash.

Being put to the test physically and mentally never is a pleasurable challenge, and coming out the other side stronger and more able to cope isn’t a guarantee. Oskoreien capture that and its myriad trials and tribulations volcanically and humanly on “Hollow Fangs,” a record that has huge impact even if you don’t indulge in the messages contained within. For those who can relate to this path, it’s acknowledgment, catharsis, and iron sharpening iron in a record not bound to lose its grip on your any time soon.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://oskoreien.bandcamp.com/album/hollow-fangs

Things are so bleak and seemingly hopeless that you kind of have to laugh at it sometimes. What a shit pile. What goddamn parasites we have as our leaders. What a sickening society those bottom feeders have developed. If you can’t make a joke about it or be morbidly sarcastic, then it’s just horrors through and through. That can’t be good for you.

Irish death metal power Malthusian stared into the same dark abyss as we have, and they’ve used that disgust to conjure “The Summoning Bell,” a goddamn great record in a time of endless tumult. Draped over this record is death metal that feels warped and stretched into psychosis, and while the content here is pitch black, there also is dark humor wrapped into this, something you might miss if you don’t have the words. The band—guitarist/vocalist MB, guitarist TMK, bassist FB, drummer JK—builds on their already molten foundation they set on their 2018 debut “Across Deaths” and ensures that everything they create is encased in concrete and is ready to handle any oncoming attack.

“Isolation” is an instrumental opener awash in eeriness and strange auras, giving off a bit of a fantasy feel, but in an apocalyptic sense. Then we’re toward “Red, Waiting” that delivers instant fury, beastly playing driving your face into the earth, growls corroding alongside gutting power. Guitars stir as the pits of lava bubble, crumbling as roars send punches under your ribs, doomy fires spreading. The last moments are torn apart, folding on each other before disappearing into the earth. “Between Dens and Ruins” unloads, guitars storming as the roars mash, a relentless attack laying waste to your body and mind. Vile howls tear into sanity as the universe feels like it’s being torn apart, everything zapping into endlessness. The title track pours more doom thunder, the growls aching as the density multiplies, soot building up in your lungs. The leads destroy as hellish pressure causes dizzying conditions, monstrous howls buckle your knees, and a spiraling fury ends in a pool of horrors.

“The Onset of the Death of Man” is a quick instrumental, a chance to regain your footing as guitars trace in the dark, and the fog builds to troubling levels. “Eroded Into Superstition” attacks right away, the growls smothering, clubbing with viciousness and guitars that lather before going mystical. The pace reignites as the growls strangle, wild yells fold into psychosis, and the finish swallows you into hell. “Amongst the Swarms of Vermin” is a mammoth at 15:31, and it’s dark, trudging, and heated coming out of the gates, thrashing as guitars choke, and the shrieks rain fire. Meaty chaos arrives as guitars jar and melt, the pace then grinding a little slower but just as oppressively. Growls corrode as the guitars continue to fray, bruising as the tempo feels a little off kilter, increasing your body temperature. Guitars dart as growls mangle and choke, delivering a final gasp of infernal chaos that blackens eyes. Closer “In Chaos, Exult” is a strange one, a mostly instrumental piece (you can hear detached cries in the mix) that forms like an alien being, surrounding your mind with blackness. The back end feels like a fever dream, disturbing visions clouding your mind, keys layering and making your comfort levels plummet, slowly melting into time.

Malthusian’s death metal feels like it takes over every cell in your body, weighing down on you, making breathing a chore. “The Summoning Bell” is quite the force to behold as it’s a record that pours generous amounts of darkness and embodies the harshest elements of death metal when inspired by ashes. This is as heavy as it comes, and if you let it consume you fully, it’ll take forever to dig yourself out of your own grave.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://www.relapse.com/pages/malthusian-the-summoning-bell

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

Couple of weekends ago, I was having a beer that wasn’t quite doing it for me. My fridge isn’t normally decked out with beers as I only chill a few each weekend  because portion size even counts when you’re drinking. So, I went back to see if I had anything else cold, and all I had was an 8-ounce Belgian. Fuck, if it wasn’t exactly right.

Same could be said for Crypt Sermon’s new EP “Saturnian Appendices,” a four-track affair that still clocks in at nearly a half hour. The band—vocalist Brooks Wilson, guitarists Steve Jansson and Frank Chin, bassist/backing vocalist Matthew Knox, synth player Tanner Anderson, drummer Enrique Sagarnaga—had some material left over from the sessions that produced their excellent third album “The Stygian Rose,” and that is presented here as three new songs and a very intriguing cover of a black metal classic. Anyone subscriber to the Decibel flexi series has heard two of these cuts already, and for everyone else, this is fresh new material that hits just right. The serving size doesn’t matter; the quality does.

“Only Ash and Dust” fittingly has a fantasy vibe, the track trickling in before bursting in full. The playing is driving and dark, the chorus soars, guitars charge up as the pace blisters, “oh-oh” calls power, and a galvanizing spirit brings everything to a raucous end. “A Fool to Believe” is powerful, classic-style riffs taking off, the playing chugging and bruising bones. Guitars burn as the pace fires up harder, the chorus making blood jet through veins, Wilson’s tortured wails taking you down as he calls, “We’re here alone.” “Lachrymose” has keys dripping and the riffs blazing, gothy moments bubbling to the surface on the chorus, and even some deeper singing reaching into the guts. The tempo storms as soloing cuts laser-like into metal, and as Wilson howls, “There’s no tomorrow, so I spit on hallowed ground,” you can feel the energy and power in your bones. We end with a very different take on the Mayhem classic “De Mysteriis Doom Sathanas,” one that takes the drama into a slower, more shadowy realm. Wilson’s bellows work into the cracks, the playing sometimes feels liturgical, pacing the ritual, and the performance both pays homage to the creators and ends with something more sinister.

Even an appetizer from Crypt Sermon is worth stopping what you’re doing and indulging in full, as “Saturnian Appendices” fully delivers. While it may be a stop gap between records, the material here thrives and continues to add to the band’s legend, feeling fuller than many other full-lengths from other artists. This is a strong display that is well worth your time, even if it doesn’t demand as much of it as usual.

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

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

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

Metal and heavy music have enough bands that stick to their formulas and never stray too far from what helped make them. There’s a lot of sense in that as it can help build an audience that always comes back for more. But the ones that challenge all of that and constantly shred expectations are a little more interesting.

Canadian trio Völur have been making long-form doom dressed in violin and many other different sounds for more than a decade now, and their latest creation “Breathless Spirit” teams them with producer and sound designer CARES (James Beardmore) on another sweeping drama. On this record, Völur—Laura C. Bates (violin, electric violin, viola, cymbals, vocals), Lucas Gadke (electric bass, double bass, harmonium, keyboards, tanbur, clarinet, bass clarinet, vocals), Justin Ruppel (drums, percussion)—inform their folk-dusted doom with an Icelandic tale from the 13^th century called The Saga of Grettir the Strong about an outlaw hunted to the edges of the world. Over six tracks (some versions have eight), the band spills into inspiration culled over the centuries and turned into a metallic adventure that keeps taking twists and turns.

“Hearth” opens with string aching and rain following, the playing breezing as it feels moody and gentle. Cymbals crash as the playing swells, static builds tension, and things finally subside in the same precipitation. “Windbourne Sorcery I” feels folkish, its Persian and Kurdish elements coming to the front, a dusty path beaten as wordless chants permeate. Electric violin activates as deep Western vibes arrive, even if not intended, and wild wails break the peace, stirring and squeezing into “Windbourne Sorcery II.” There, the violin carves as softer singing chills flesh, working into echoes and calm as woodwinds bask in the sun before things are electrified again. Strings mourn as shrieks gnaw, the playing spiraling and paying off the anguish. The title track blurs as growls sink in their teeth, bruising with doomy playing, the chaos forming a mound of ash. The playing suddenly feels drawn into a cyclone, the playing mauling anew, jazzy keys making nerve endings activate. Gadke’s deep singing bellows before he’s joined by Bates, and they take the reins for the next stretch before the tension breaks, the violin scars minds, and everything blends into the horizon.

“On Drangey” rings out, calming strings putting your mind at ease, a mesmerizing atmosphere multiplying and making it feel like you’re in a dream state. The haze thickens as sounds quiver, melting into a fantasy land. “Death in Solitude” feels frigid, cold wind whipping, things taking a doomy turn into blackness. Growls hulk as a castle vibe is achieved, the melodies feeling sinister and trancey, and then the heat becomes a bigger factor. Howls menace as a death-like push gets harrowing and dramatic, chorals feeling angelic before the final combustion. Some versions have two bonus tracks, the first of which is “Glamr” that whirs and sparks hypnosis, haunting speaking intoxicating, distorted playing pulling at your mind. The mauling fury surfaces and spews like lava through cracks, smearing and eventually dissipating. “Flutterby Numbers” has the violin tracing memories, a classical feel permeating as if it was three centuries ago, the pressure mounting and eventually settling, slipping into mystery.

Völur’s creativity remains astonishing as they pull elements from throughout the ages from all parts of the world and melt that into their dramatic doom cauldron. “Breathless Spirit” is another interesting turn in another direction, a record that fills your imagination with possibilities and new colors you perhaps didn’t expect to encounter. Each Völur release is an adventure and cannot be properly anticipated sonically, which makes each time they return another unpredictable sonic gift.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://blackthroneproductions.com/en-us/products/volur-cares-diehard-edition-bundle

For more on the label, go here: https://blackthroneproductions.com/en-us

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

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

“Execution Wheel” absolutely obliterates the senses when it dawns, AJ’s howls strangling with a killer’s might, an element that is one of the band’s most arresting. Death ravages as the guitars spill into beastly tones, and everything barrels forward the reckless abandon. “Heresy” is blinding, growls decimating, sounding nearly inhuman, the guitars standing up as a battering force with no mercy. The leads explode as the pace chugs, a hypnotic gaze conjures might, and everything burns into a cloud of dust. “Barbarian” is sickening and ferocious, trudging over bone and blood, growls sinking teeth deep into veins. The leads boil over as melody makes the path more hypnotic, the final moments breathing fire. “Abominated Void” is doomy as hell, the growls frying in the sun, the gutting power rising to the surface and blackening eyes. Guitars hang as the heat spreads, the bass chugs with deadly force, and everything bleeds away. “Parasitic Realm” starts with trickier guitars that mesmerize before the earth is scorched, deadly growls grasping throats. There’s a total Bolt Thrower worship spot that absolutely destroys, and that pushes into explosive and gutting tension that cuts open bellies.

The title track has riffs that spiral, a melodic haze that tricks the senses, and sooty growls that feel delivered from the gut. The playing tears open as the growls choke, the guitars sprawl and smother, and the final moments create utter decimation. “Engines of War” unloads guitars burning, growls slithering, and primitive pounding caving in rib cages. The playing jars loose as melodies wash over, snaking through and injecting venom before fading to dark. “Cremator” spews chugging bass and a thrashy attack that sends dust flying. The growls maim, the leads navigate through the chaos, and the end gurgles and spits out poison. “Profanation” is fast and ugly from the start, throaty howls totally commanding, infernal fury making the temperature rise dangerously. The pace blisters and tortures, taking on a bit of a D-beat feel before finally choking you out. Closer “Hidden Corpse” is mashing, aggravating flames and delivering abject heaviness. The pace is vicious as hell, riffs immersing themselves into liquified steel and coming out a new machine, shrieks stabbing, and the end sinking into molten pools.

Hedonist’s brand of classic death metal is violent for sure, always challenging, twisting into a chasm that should make your brain and body ache afterward. “Scapulimancy” is a raucous, ravaging debut record that you might find yourself indulging in over and over again as I did. This might take a few visits to really sink in, but when it does, it’s fucking over for you, and Hedonist will be your new master.

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

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

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

People are easy targets when it comes to the darkness we force on other people. We’re not always the most honorable beings inhabiting this earth, and that fact long has poisoned politics and religion and, as a result, the population in general. It’s a sickness we never seem to be able to overcome, and we’re largely to blame.

Prog metal force Moths are fully aware of this, and on their new record “Septem,” they use their prowess and impressive range of sounds to look at something that’s long plagued humans. This seven-track album is based on the seven deadly sins, with each track taking the name of one of them, and it’s a whirlwind of an experience. The band—vocalist Mariel Viruet, guitarists Jonathan Miranda and Omar González, bassist Weslie Negrón, drummer Daniel Figueroa—could fit in regions outside of metal, and they aren’t here for brutality front to back and are flush with melody. But the barbs are there, and if you’re not paying attention, they’ll snag you. Like these dreaded sins. 

“Sloth” is the opening instrumental, acoustic and folkish, the guitars taking on a bluesy swagger, washing through to “Envy” where things get a little grittier. Drums slink as Viruet’s smoky singing sets the pace, the playing picking up and heading into progressive waters, the guitars feeling properly spacey. The pace numbs before penetrating beneath the surface, the vocals commanding, and everything coming to a raucous end. “Greed” opens with growls snarling and the pace mashing, the singing returning to make blood flow harder, bruising heat doing its damage. Fuzzy, burly melodies thicken as the howls wrench, the cosmic void deepens, and the final moments make nerve endings tingle.

“Pride” has synth waves swimming, screams pushing into madness, and the richness getting thicker and more reflective. The band swings back to prog fire again, feeling like they’re channeling Rush in the early 1980s, the keys blasting and all elements building to a huge crescendo. “Lust” has the bass chugging and keys whirring, howls showing steely resolve as the drumming bustles. The singing soars as the guitars snake though pools of silver, disappearing into glimmering keys. “Gluttony” starts with tricky guitars and growls scraping flesh, the singing settling in and growing more intense, harsh growls exploding from the corners. The guitars race and trample as speed becomes a factor as they dash by colonies of stars. Closer “Wrath” brings menacing wails, darkness that grows into your cells, and sweltering melodies that increase the temperature. Things get dirtier and faster, Viruet’s singing bellowing, the pressure building, rampaging as the drums smash through the final gates.

Moths not only continue to expand their sound on “Septem,” but they also dig deeper into humanity’s darkest inhibitions and behaviors that are a part of all of us. This is a hard band to categorize, as they fit into so many different areas but never completely. That likely means they can’t be pigeonholed somewhere, and it might be hard for them to find a natural place to exist, but it also means their possibilities are limitless. Their next record could sound like anything, and that’s pretty exciting.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://mothspr.bandcamp.com/album/septem