Technical death metal, especially the brutal kind, never really lit a fire under me for some reason. Nothing against the form, it just never was one that got me excited, even if I could appreciate the prowess it took the play that brain-bending of a style. But I don’t toss it outright as I like to keep an open mind, and sometimes something just works for me.

“Requiem” is the second record from San Francisco-based crushers Ominous Ruin, and it is one that flattened me from the start. Their latest beast and first in four years certainly is creative as fuck, and never in ways where they disappear up their own assholes. It’s more about the song than the musical wizardry display. Over the course of nine mammoth tracks, the band—vocalist Crystal Rose, guitarists Alex Bacey and Joel Guernsey, bassist Mitch Yoesle, drummer Harley Blandford—generally gets in, makes a violent point, and gets out. They economically spend 40 minutes unleashing turmoil and destruction, putting you through a mental and physical meat grinder.

“Intro,” a nod to the end of their debut album “Amidst Voices That Echo in Stone,” is gentle and shimmering, keys dripping and inviting you warmly, giving no hint to the carnage ahead. That arrives on “Seeds of Entropy” that attacks right from the start, Rose’s inhuman growls peeling away, sometimes accompanied by manic shrieks (not unlike the late Trevor Strnad) while the band drills you with technical pyrotechnics and gutting heaviness. Rubbery bass wraps around your skull while the nastiness is amplified a million times before ending. “Eternal” delivers charred guitars and guttural growls, like right from the pit of the stomach, the tempo stabbing and twisting muscle, heading into a massive storm. The playing remains burly as guitars snarl and the vice tightens its grip, choking you out. “Bane of Syzygial Triality” is a brief, mystical instrumental with guitars soaring through your headspace, spilling into “Divergent Anomaly” that lands blows from the start. Growls maul as the playing gets increasingly aggressive, burrowing deep into your psyche. Deep growls and scathing guitars send flashes as a delirious, disorienting pathway robs you of your sanity and piles boulders on top of you.

“Fractal Abhorrence” dawns with synth spirals as things go calm as the bass swells, and then brutal howls tear through flesh. “It’s all a fucking joke!” Rose wails as the temperatures rise dangerously, making breathing and moving a chore. “Architect of Undoing” starts serenely before a gargantuan stomp, creative bursts sending colors flying, the growls smashing with an attacking agenda. The playing is so intense it’s almost carnival-like, tricking you into thinking this is mere playfulness when you can’t see the blade behind you. There are mystical turns as the keys play a bigger role, guitars tingle, and demonic growls spill acid on wounds. “Staring into the Abysm” has guitars flooding and the punishment welling, zany leads diverting your attention, darkened undertones rearing their head, fading, and bleeding away in clean melodies. Closer “Requiem” is vicious and fast, blinding as guitars dart, and raspy growls loosen bones from joints. The attack dizzies as the drama increases, feeling like your brains are spilling from your skull, destroying and speeding until you’re fully out of breath.

Ominous Ruin obviously are very accomplished players, and while this style isn’t one toward which I normally gravitate, “Requiem” is undeniable in its strength and chaotic energy. It’s a nine-track stormfront that locks on and refuses to let go, dragging you through neck-splitting twists and turns, leaving you gasping on the other side. This is a bruiser, one that shows musical tenacity but also a blood-pumping heart. 

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

To buy the album, go here: https://willowtip.com/bands/details/ominous-ruin.aspx

For more on the label, go here: https://willowtip.com/home.aspx

Horror and gore walk hand-in-bloody-hand with heavy metal and always have. It’s one of the main tenets of death metal, and it’s why a lot of people come to the genre. It’s not what first attracted me, but I’ve come to appreciate that aesthetic having grown up watching slasher flicks and digging further in the muck the last 30 years.

French death metal ghouls Disfuneral smear truckloads of doom into their sound as well, and on their second record “In Horror, Reborn” they slather that with plasma and guts in as smoldering a manner possible. But it’s not, like, a Cannibal Corpse thing. It’s more chilling and steeped in tradition as the band—vocalist Renaud Mann, guitarist Florian Brabant, bassist Clément Favre, drummer Yann Remy—levels with a gargantuan stomp that sticks in the earth. It’s a good time, and it steamrolls with a 75/25 mix of death and doom metal that drives hard and doesn’t relent until your face is buried in the dirt.

“Catacomb Dwellers” starts in a soot pile before super doomy guitars kick in, giving a vintage feel, but you know it’s about to get harrowing. The track tears open fully, crushing as howls maim, and snarling, yet catchy leads keep pushing further into the abyss, ending on a scorching note. “Tombs Vomiting the Dead” bathes in filth and tramples with reckless abandon, the growls sickening while the pace boils and gets noticeably faster. A driving force greets your ribcage while the tempo thrashes, ending in fire and ash. “Ripped From Within” is a mauler, working a little slower but with ample heaviness. Growls gurgle as the leads gain more heat, landing blows as the playing encircles and ravages you whole. “Crypt of Demented” has guitars snaking, coarse howls blistering, and the band pounding away, showing no mercy at all. The misery spreads as the pace hits the gas pedal, Mann’s wails torching as everything is charred, with only trace amounts of flesh remaining.

“Extremity in Morbidity” is gruff with muscular howls and a punk-ish drive, feeling catchy but also dangerous. Guitars scuff as the vocals bloody noses, spacious leads taking over and spilling into warped melodies. “Dark Ages Ritual” brings steamy, calculated fury, the growls drawing blood as the downtuned guitars show off swagger and sinew. The playing then bursts with life, dragging you through nightmarish tunnels and into awaiting damnation. “Blessed by Decay” is a faster one to start, throaty madness from Mann and a stomping pace feeling like they’re squashing guts. Guitars chug before blazing, scorching flesh and liquifying bone, a furious ending gust heading right into the title track. You have almost no time to breathe as the drums unload and the guitars consume whole, a hardcore vibe making its way into the mix, giving off an even tougher demeanor. Burly tones meet with doom that brings crippling humidity, coming to a ravaging end. Closer “Call From the Void” greets with the drums destroying, a fiery pace taking hold, and a storm that gains strength and slowly subsides, only to be resparked by the bass chewing through flesh. A doomy pall drags over you like an ashen blanket, the drumming gutting, and blistering wails sending their final stabs that jab away at your sanity.

Disfuneral’s doom-encrusted death sounds as vibrant and gory as ever on “In Horror, Reborn,” a record that promises horrors and delivers in spades. Each track has an urgency and ferocity that is impossible to avoid, with any of your listening sessions threatening to end with you noticeably less equipped to manage emotionally. This is a properly ferocious statement, one that demands blood and bone and does whatever it can to collect all of the tortured souls it can find.    

For more on the band, go here: https://disfuneral-fr.bandcamp.com

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

Or here: https://redefiningdarkness.8merch.com/

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

This week of nasty, horrific displays just rambles on as we now have the idea of bodies piled to the sky, the stench choking out everything under the sun. Not that we ever expected death metal to let us down easily, but when it piles on with unthinkable horrors and hellish intentions, it just feels deadlier.

Canadian beasts Prophetic Suffering deliver terrifying doses of the filthiest and most depraved death possible on “Rivalry of Thyself,” their first full-length creation. It’s dastardly, mangling, and blood infested, death metal that’s intertwined with black metal that drips with disgusting power and force, trying to turn your stomach. Over eight tracks and 25 minutes, it takes no time for the band—vocalist/guitarist D.H., guitarist T.G., bassist C.E., drummer M.M.—to bring devastation that sounds like it’s hinting toward a smothering end times. Their stew of extreme metal’s most dangerous forms make this feel like an even more harrowing experience, threatening to pile you on that corpse tower.

“Holy Death, Sacred Rot” opens already fully warped, taking its time to set up its miasmal surroundings and then digging in the knife. This is terrorizing and bludgeoning, a description that applies to every second of this thing, and hulking terror squeezes out of every corner, goring and scorching before a bizarre finish. “Foul” is a quick one filled with utter destruction and ferocious growls strangling, momentum building to a crazed, belching end. “Refuge in Libations” attacks as howls snarl, and a gutting pace easily has its way with you. Growls sicken as the playing spirals, heading up a total death assault that grinds the earth and ends in pastoral chants. “Empire of Filth” is channeled with riffs stomping, sinewy playing stretching muscle, and inhuman wails cutting off your capacity to deal mentally. The madness drives to a halt, but that’s temporary as the reignition quakes the ground, rattling loose screws in your skulls that smash against your struggling brain.

“Easy Prey (Weakness Defined)” erupts with growls corroding and a fury that is overwhelming to say the least. Burly howls do ample damage as a storm of chaos dusts up and suffocates, bells chiming and giving off the stench of Armageddon. “Gift of Decay” is a total onslaught with gross vocals, a demonic terror, and a ripping conclusion that unloads your guts before you know what hit you. The title cut blasts through like a tornado already filled to the top with shrapnel and who knows what else? The pace spatters and consumes, blazing with fully engulfed guitars and a final gust that loosens ribs. Closer “Oppressor Beheaded” is a blinding attack with engorged growls, fires rampaging, and the guitar work charring easily. The playing can be disorienting, bruising and landing blows from every angle, melting into static before taking its rightful place in hell.

Prophetic Suffering have no qualms about lathering the listen with blood and refuse on their first full-length “Rivalry of Thyself,” a record that maximizes its time by delivering punishment that wrecks psyches. Death metal wasn’t originally intended to be a place of solace or peace, and this band ensures you find none of that here. This is the first full glimpse of a band bathed in complete bloodshed aiming to bring your misery levels up to theirs, which is practically torturous.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://sentientruin.com/releases/prophetic-suffering-rivalry-of-thyself

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

Apocalyptic visions are becoming more commonplace, likely because even if we don’t have an imminent comeuppance, we seem keep getting closer every day until the end. Fun times! But the planet is suffering, our society is collapsing, and an oligarchy practically has its fingers in our collective mouths. So yeah. The end.

Namebearer’s new EP “Industries of the Fading Sun” pushes that destruction to the forefront. The title sounds like a dream of burning skies, while the foreboding cover art also makes it feel like you’re finally losing it completely. This five-track, 28-and-a-half-minutes of darkness comes to you from guitarist/bassist/vocalist Brian Tenison (this band originally was his solo project) and drummer/synth player/vocalist Brendan Hayter, both members of Obsidian Tongue. They mix black metal with some unexpected melody turns, baking synth, and a variation of vocal approaches. Yeah, it’s brutal, and its subject matter should make that clear, but it’s not wall-to-wall aggression, and the EP is better for it.

The title track opens and bludgeons right away, howls sizzling amid spoken lines that try to ice your brain wiring. Clean singing bellows as the moodiness expands, shrieks returning and slicing under the skin, harshness expanding rapidly, ending with a final hammering. “Black Vein, Atom Drum” has screams whipping at you, darkness hanging overheard as clean singing sends morose notes, haze and melody combining and clouding vision. The playing encircles as furious howls take over, the more gentler vocals haunting, everything coming to a jarring end. “Jäätyneen Järven Uumenissa” starts in an insane pace, smoking as the shrieks slash, blasting through strangeness and drama. The playing swirls tornadically, buzzing as the speaking echoes through your brain, a synth blaze illuminating the ending. “Lumivyöry” smears with aggressive vocals, swelling clean calls slipping underneath, the playing battering with force. The pathway heads into deep murk, gazey guitars letting beams crash through fog, the guitars gathering momentum and blurring, the energy bursting before keys end things in a dreamy, morbid fashion. “Crystals Distill to New Earth” is a brief instrumental outro, sitting under glimmering synth and a hypnotic force that gradually blurs away.

The apocalyptic visions locked into “Industries of the Fading Sun” are pretty spot on right now, when misery and fear are reaching an apex. Namebearer’s members do a great job merging black metal with more ethereal colors, making this something that feels devastating musically but also kind of dream-inducing. This is a project that holds a lot of promise and offers something a little different than just wall-to-wall carnage, and where their dark ambitions go from here is anyone’s guess.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://namebearer.bandcamp.com/album/industries-of-the-fading-sun

Violence is in our blood, in our soil, in our history books, and it’s something we’ve long romanticized in our music, literature, and film. Violence is something religions used to show dominance over others’ faiths, and it’s something woven into so many of our various sports leagues. We are violent people. We’ll die violent people.

Longtime doom battering ram Conan are as fitting as any band to take on the aforementioned theme, and it’s splattered all over their new album “Violence Dimension.” On this, their seventh record, they smear their bludgeoning energy over these seven (or eight depending which version you have) tracks that are weighty and hammering. The band—vocalist/guitarist Jon Davis, bassist David Ryley (formerly of goddamn Fudge Tunnel), drummer Johnny King—doesn’t change a whole lot from their previous concoctions, but they deliver everything with mauling force that never relents. This is a Cona record through and through, and it’s a motherfucker.

“Foeman’s Flesh” opens with chugging guitars and a bruising pace, Davis’ unmistakable howl stretching out over eons. The playing scorches while a rechanneled path pummels you, barbarian-like blows blasting air from lungs, Davis howling, “Time will kill!” as the drubbing heaviness smears, scorches, and spirals out. “Desolation Hexx” is burly as expected, Davis wailing, “I want nothing but death,” as guitars jab and the playing mangles. More punches find their mark as the playing speeds up, adding to the rumbling, stomping hard as feedback fries. “Total Bicep” is the song title of the year, and it flattens, howls strangling as a clobbering force makes its way across the earth. Guitar smoke chokes, melting in psyche chaos, lathering as noise spits back, guitars bubbling over the surface, and every note slowly fading away. The title track prods as guitars rise, slowly forming around fuzzy carnage, going calm, strangely, before heading further into the darkness. Guitars burst as the bass slithers, a trucking dose of animosity festering as Davis barks forcefully, everything coming to a meaty, sinewy end.

“Frozen Edges of the Wound” blasts with Davis declaring, “The age of violence is here!” as the playing lays utter waste. “No defeat, no remorse,” Davis levels as a hulking, smashing attack takes over, pulverizing to a finish. “Warpsword” is an atypically short one, clocking in at just 45 seconds and completely going for broke. Noise, guitars, and vicious howls combine for a track that stomps your guts into the ground without mercy. “Ocean of Boiling Skin” runs 10:03 and leads in with the guitars teasing, the pace flattening, and Davis’ wails bruising ribs. Riffs lap at the tempo beats you down, folding into weird cosmic winds, washing into eeriness as the drums explore the stratosphere. The punishment returns before too long, powdering skulls, soaring through the air, and spilling into a calculated thrashing that takes no prisoners. “Vortexxion” is a bonus track on some versions of the album, and it’s a total drone flood, filling the senses with slow, lumbering trauma, the overlapping into a black void, a cosmically menacing piece that dominates for 12 minutes.

“Violence Dimension” is a perfect title for the era in which we’re locked, one that’s only going to get bloodier and more indefensible as time goes on. Conan’s might is at its apex here as they ravage over nearly an hour with the hulking doom that has become their calling card and that they do better than anyone else. This record is heavy both in volume and weight, a not-so-subtle reminder we are living in an age of bloodshed that might warp us as people forever.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://www.heavypsychsounds.com/shop.htm#HPS341

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

Apocalyptic visions are something that might not be just be for science fiction novels anymore. How shocked would you be tomorrow if you saw fire breathing across the sky, the entire earth burning, and total annihilation at hand? OK, look, you’d be a little shocked, but when you got your grip, you’d realize this isn’t that surprising.

I thought about that on my numerous visits with “Reign Destroyer,” the debut EP from Samiarus, a black and death metal machine that feels like it’s ushering in the end. On this punishingly heavy seven-track effort, the band—vocalist M.A., guitarists J.L. and S.R., bassist G.D., drummer J.M.—unleashes complete battery, feeling like a grinding machine moving toward you as an act of war. The music would be fitting playing in your mind as the sky melts onto the earth and planet is scorched for good. By the way, while a new band, its members bring experience from extreme acts such as Doomsday, Atrament, Slaughteruin and Abstracter, themselves rather devastating forces.

“Praesagium (Intro)” starts with noise enclosing, strange synth, and voices swirling in a miasma, leading into “New Iron Age” that starts with drums obliterating and a mauling pace swallowing you whole. Animalistic howls and a bulldozing grind unite and quake the ground, infernal heat making breathing unmanageable. Guitars go off as burly hell is achieved, smearing gaping mouths in soot. “Torment’s Spear” crushes outright, the playing drilling heavily, thick guitars landing in burning sheets. Growls choke as the force lays waste, amplifying pressure before mercy finally comes. “Eradicating Wind” bathes in feedback as a bludgeoning power front barrels in, menacing fury defacing, the leads charring as the growls punish. The band then completely destroys, ashes accumulating, the guitars blackening the sun. “Throne Devoured” has riffs firing, howls warping, and the tempo bruising. It feels like being locked in an unforgiving storm with nowhere to reach for help, shrapnel and debris turning into killing tools. “Crushed by Inferior” carves in with cagey guitars, a suffocating assault, and a maniacal pace that leaves prone bodies flattened. The snarling vocals devastate as utter brutality stomps toward you, melting out with utter carnage. “Exitium (Outro)” is a blaze of horrific noise, a nightmarish level that makes your brain feel like it’s under extreme duress, your mind crashing into total darkness.

Samiarus bring utter annihilation on “Reign Destroyer,” an EP that, despite its shorter run time, makes you feel like you’ve been in a goddamn fight. The fiery, hellish approach to black and death metal is unforgiving, a display that feels like it purposely is here to add insult to injury. This is a monster, a sign of the black storms coming for us when they put together a full-length and a glimpse into a deadly machine that’s just getting started.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://sentientruin.com/releases/samiarus-reign-destroyer

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

A decade ago feels like an entirely different life and reality. I don’t need to recount all of the madness that has spread about the earth, and so many of us have suffered great losses and watched numerous tragedies. I remember driving to Wisconsin in 2014 for Gilead Media Fest, and I’m glad that person doesn’t know the hell ahead.

UK black metal power Ahamkara know the personal suffering and pain all too well. The band last issued a record in 2014, the fascinating “The Embers of the Stars.” A year later, vocalist Steve Black died, and guitarist Michael Blenkarn understandably put the band on the shelf. Slowly, through connecting with his wife/synth player Alexandra Blenkarn-Durning and friend and drummer Austin Lunn (Panopiticon), Ahamkara came back to life, and they’re back with their second album “The Harrow of the Lost,” a four-track, 43-minute excursion into examining grief, dealing with a volatile world, and withstanding darkness. The spirit is the same but understandably a bit different, Blenkarn taking over for Black on vocals.

“The Circle of Remembrance” starts with the guitars trickling before the power bursts, glorious melodies flooding, Blenkarn’s inhumane shrieks scarring. The playing batters as the leads gain warmth as they explore mentally, the emotive gasps making your lungs pump oxygen. The color rushes into clean passages, the temps slowly rising, exploding once more as the howls ripple and fade. “Our Scars Shall Abide in the Thaw” begins elegantly, the playing feeling folkish and adventurous, the energy exploding as the shrieks scour during a tornadic blast. The drums blast as melodies torpedo, screams buckling as the guitars come to fuller life, things suddenly halting as water flows. The breath is a brief one as the playing crests, synth waves bathe with psyche energy, everything ending in a perfect state for meditation.

“Channelling Grief” is punchy as it starts, guitars swimming amid the murk, a progressive feel taking over and adding more waves of creativity. The shrieks seethe and scorch, wrenching melodies making muscles feel worn for wear, a speedy and electric environment pushing into desperation. The bass chugs as the guitars race, the vocals strangling, the pressure rising again and unleashing a fury that’s amplified by the drums ravaging over a spirited end. “Ordeal of Ascension” closes the record, pummeling right away as Blenkarn’s screams destroy, the melodies charging as an emotional caterwaul overwhelms. Prog energy returns as the howls menace, guitars cascade, and a hazy cloud cover darkens the ground. The playing whips into a final frenzy, riveting with immersive glory, the synth coating with chill, the winds whipping and freezing over.

Ahamkara’s return from the darkness is a welcome one, and while their absence might have been lengthy, they haven’t lost an ounce of their strength. It’s a much different world than it was 11 years ago when they arrived with their debut, including massive tumult and heartbreak in Blenkarn’s life. “The Harrow of the Lost” is a triumphant return, one that weaves through the darkness and murk, the vibrancy of atmospheric black metal, and into our blackened hearts to find the places where we hurt equally.

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

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

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

What better time to bask in darkness, to snuff out the daylight and exist in the shadows where our sorrows exist and where some of us actually find a semblance of solace not having to face reality for a while? At the same time, having music that also can beckon and even soothe our wounds can be a game changer, knowing we’re not alone in the abyss.

The return of Vancouver’s orchestral doom power Tribunal is a fitting one, even at the gates of spring and new life. Their excellent second record “In Penitence and Ruin” is a tour-de-force, an example of a promising band blooming into full beast and exploding from every seam with gothic majesty. This time around, Tribunal are a full unit with original members Soren Mourne (vocals, bass, cello) and Etienne Flinn (vocals, guitar) joined by guitarist Jessica Yang, keyboard player Dallas Alice, and drummer Julia Geaman to form a mightier fist. This record is a concept piece that follows a guilty human who cannot escape the wrong they’ve done and must psychologically weigh the realities of punishment. The music is heavy, doomy, arresting, and gorgeous, a piece that grows more infectious with each listen. My vinyl copy arrived today, and it hasn’t left the turntable in my office all day. I imagine that won’t change for a while.

“Incarnadine” starts with elegant strings and Mourne’s calling, “I am drowning in tides of guilt,” before Flinn’s shrieks join and bloody faces. The singing and harsh wails intertwine here, as they do often throughout this record, and gothy fury is unleashed, the playing spreading and grows more dramatic, and massive emotion welling as the playing fades. “A Wound Unhealing” starts similarly, Mourne’s voice gripping you fully before the guttural vocals set in, a spellbinding display that arrests you heart and mind. “Heal these wounds that time forgot,” Mourne pleads, the guitars electrifying their surroundings, and mournful playing mounts fierce defiance, the strings thickening and slipping into the darkness. “Angel of Mercy” pounds as the growls corrode, the strings elevate the tension, and colors manifest as the hammers strike. The atmosphere thickens as the singing grips and the growls curdle, heading off into a sweetening mist. “The Sword of the Slain” starts with Flinn’s voice sending bruising waves as Mourne smooths the pathway, guitars swim, and the tempo picks up. The doomy waters pound the shore, growls snarling as the temperatures rise, immersive tributaries leading you to a breath-robbing finish. “Ruin” is a brief, chamber-rich instrumental built with solemn strings and keys, the perfect breather at the halfway point.

“The Penitent” slowly forms, Mourne’s singing awakening as she reaches for the stars, guitars meandering into an ashen aura, growls settling sharply. Leads heat up and melt, Mourne demanding, “Bite my hand and curse my name,” as everything burns off. “Armoured in Shadow” has guitars beaming, the dual vocals pushing and pulling through the cold, Mourne calling, “I will never trust again, I will never heal,” a sentiment that returns throughout. Growls lather as the daylight retreats, ending everything in grim fashion. “…And The Thorn-Choked Flowers Grow” starts with growls gutting, a vicious darkness enveloping, and Morne following up and adding a sense of gothic beauty to the sorrow. The vocals duel from here, a morose, yet melodic pathway beaten out in front of you, ashes burnt into each step. Closer “Between the Sea and Stars” has drums awakening, strings and keys glimmering, Mourne calling, “The distance cannot make this right,” a sentiment you feel in your bones. Howls scar as the guitars are submerged in tears, a flushing feel working into tornadic visions, strings aching as they gently fade.

“In Penitence and Ruin” is Tribunal at their fullest force, at least so far, and it’s bound to be their breakthrough record based on its power and depth. Having a full lineup surely gives the music more depth and personality, and its heaviness and arresting beauty makes these songs hit even harder, the record staying with you long after it ends. This is a grander scale and vision for Tribunal, and this record is likely to cement them into a spot as one of doom’s most promising newer voices that you cannot ignore.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://www.20buckspin.com/tribunal

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

There are no hard and fast rules that a style of music must evolve or else. In fact, there are no actual rules, which makes it so weird that so many have been established, even if unofficially. So, black metal didn’t need to change and it would have been just fine. But the fact that it did makes it that much more likely to survive into whatever future we have left.

European conglomerate Silver Knife, hitting us back with album two, a self-titled affair, is one of those bands that decided that working past the implicit boundaries is where their passion truly lies. Yes, they maintain a black metal structure and always have. But the amount of melody and effusive passion they build into the music takes it away from merely brutal and sends it into endless dreamscapes. OK, so they’re not the first to do that. But the way the band—its mysterious members go by D., H., M., N., and P., and their duties are not known—expresses their chaos can fill you with energy and vigor, and the way the world is headed, we all can use something to get us going again. 

“Silver” gushes open, energetic and melodic, a force the band somehow manages to maintain pretty much through the entire record. Shrieks soar as the pace begins to slow a bit, letting the waters rise and threaten to break, which they do with ample force. The playing cascades as wrenching fury combusts, the guitars lathering to a raucous end. “Restless Blight” opens with drums ripping, fluid guitars splintering, shrieks rampaging through a fiery burst. Chaos echoes as new textures are added to the mix, a rushing and gazey attack that lets the growls choke and the tempo spike. “Techne” slips in with the bass curling, shrieks spitting nails, and strange speaking pulling you into a frigid gasp. The thrashing chugs as shrill screams peel back flesh, melodic fire breathing dangerously, and the carnage spilling into a sudden dream state that chills wounds before fading away.

“Transfiguration” is driving and catchy, a riff storm that brings a spirited spike, going full bore into a cooling atmospheric front. The barometric pressure continues to swell as the playing hammers even harder, washing over everything like a rising tide, a furious jolt carrying to the end. “Reticent Paroxysm” plasters, howls pushing, trampling over everything with abandon, an effusive stretch making your adrenaline spike. Screams gut as the playing gets mightier and more intense, washing away with bones. Closer “Triumph in Tragedy” runs 12:48 and fires up right away, throaty howls sinking in their teeth, a thunderous approach making it impossible to keep your balance as you withstand the attack. Guitars scuff as an immersive, calming section spreads out, working through pockets of darkness before a catastrophic gust. Screams batter as the melodies get more forceful, the emotional tumult blazes, and everything comes to a final rest in a fog halo.

Silver Knife’s second LP aptly is self-titled, because it feels like the band’s personality truly shines through on these six songs. This very much feels like it properly embodies the band and its mission, and as we navigate incredibly turbulent times, this record can serve as a sort of wick lighter, something to get underneath you and carry you over the madness. It’s impossible to absorb this record and not have it infect every cell, giving you something to soothe your own darkness as seek a safe place to land.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://shop.amor-fati-productions.de/en/

Or here (North America): https://entropicrecordings.bandcamp.com/

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

Many of us are fixated with the end, whatever that may be, for humankind. It’s not terribly far-fetched to think we might be living in the final generations of humans as people actively work against the environment and tip the scales of equality to a point that will become unlivable for people in an increasingly hostile society. Maybe the end won’t be so bad.

Lhaäd is a project helmed by Lykormas that, also, appears to be at its end. With the arrival of third full-length “Beyond,” the trilogy that began with 2021’s “Below” and continued into last year’s “Beneath,” could be over, according to its creator. Or at least for the foreseeable future. So, it’s not surprising that this potentially final record lets loose all the heaviness and spaciousness, pounding with energy and precision, delving into a mysterious future that provides no answers, and at this point, no security either. Lykormas maintains the project’s deep ties to the depths of the ocean, and it feels like you’re miles under the surface, mingling with horrifying creatures one cannot imagine.

“I” begins with water bubbling, as if you’re already deeply submerged, and then the guitars surface, erupting and daring you to alter your attention. Roars wrench as the leads torpedo, rich melodies growing stronger and steadier. Shrieks shred as a spiraling, diving tempo flexes, the spirit again sinking beneath the dark depths. “II” is ominous, howls carving pathways, the charring melodies feeling like a storm is brewing overhead, melodies flooding as hypnosis takes over. Savage wails erupt as the speed becomes a greater factor, desperation overcoming the senses as the force tightens its grip, dissolving into weird sound pulses. “III” is a force from the start, synth beams cutting through the rage, driving as it builds to a towering wall of ice. Speaking slips through the clouds as strange melodies overwhelm, the colors darting to the surface, and everything comes to a battering end. 

“IV” comes crashing down, the growls engorging, only to be following by sharp shrieks and melodic guitars tidal waving. Sounds collect as the noise gusts, gurgling sounds feeling like they’re taking on water, signals ricocheting deep beneath the surface, looking for signs of life. “V” has guitars rupturing, crushing as the playing pounds away, speaking creaking as the signals return and echo off inanimate objects. Howls trudge as the force ravages, black metal-style darkness pouring like barrels of ink into the sea, twisting as it thrashes away. Closer “VI” races hard, majestic power stretching as howls crush and punish, the energy leading to an explosion of strange vives. Whispers spread and are joined by speaking, guitars explode as the growls grasp for flesh, and a tingling ambiance surrounds. It’s total disorientation from here, howls smearing, fires crackling, and everything escaping under the waves as the call of, “There’s nothing beyond this world but fire,” fading soberly.

If “Beyond” truly is the end of Lhaäd, it’s a fitting ending not only to this project’s journey but for this trilogy that has enthralled us the last half decade. This last installment ties together nicely with the two records that preceded it but also leaves a rather bleak assessment of future if the final line of the record is to be believed. It’s been a harrowing, immersive journey with Lhaäd, and if the band never rises again, we have these pieces in which to bask until we also end up in whatever world awaits us from here.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://shop.amor-fati-productions.de/en/

Or here (North America): https://entropicrecordings.bandcamp.com/

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