Photo by Katie Hovland

If the current presidential election has proved anything, it’s that people can be dragged to the very worst in order to see to it that a person they’ll never meet and very likely doesn’t have their best interests at heart gets what he wants. Former CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien was quoted recently, lambasting her former employer for allowing what Donald Trump has injected into the public consciousness to become the norm. Racism doesn’t make people shudder. It’s everyday life.

Just by way of monitoring social media, it’s clear this campaign has normalized hatred and intolerance. People defend violence, racism, sexism, and evil just because it’s slowly dripped into our society. In fact, it might be unfair just to blame it on the Donald, as the past eight years have normalized stereotypes and hatred toward other people. Compare that to what Primo Levi wrote about in If This Is a Man, his memoir after spending time in the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II, where he observed evil becoming a regular way of life simply by the slow exposure to it over a long period of time. That work inspired the new album “Light Falls” by Wrekmeister Harmonies, and surely not by mistake, it’s the most emotionally caustic and gripping album in the group’s already stellar collection.

Core members JR Robinson (vocals, guitars) and Esther Shaw (keyboard, piano, violin, vocals) embraced the concept of changes trickling in over a long period of time for this record, as the tumult and pressure contained within is palpable. By their side are member of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Cave, and Bitchin Bajas, who make ample contributions to the soundscape. Along with the subject matters, Robinson also pushed to sonically recreate that concept with these seven songs, something he saw as akin to the day gradually turning over to night. The more heinous aspects, the ones that remind me of the Trump campaign (and that’s my take and not necessarily something the musicians broached), are there and poke back at you. As the music turns, as the words dryly fall from Robinson’s mouth, the essence of change that becomes DNA nearly causes panic, as you know it might be too late to dig under that layer of skin and extract the bug.

The “Life Falls” triptych opens the record, with “I – The Mantra” starting, fading in out of a haze into acoustic guitars and Robinson croaking, “Stay in, go out, get sick, get well, light falls.” The song goes into a trippy, psychedelic bend, with strings swelling and the cut bleeding into “II – The Light Burns Us All” that has noises scraping and swelling. The volume kicks up, and the pace sludges along, with doom hell arriving, and the track taking on a sweeping, apocalyptic essence, rumbling and troubling before dissolving into noise. “III – Light Sick” finishes the opening trio with quiet, dreamy passages, with the music taking on a lightly jazzy and atmospheric tone. The song floats along, teasing serenity, before the volume erupts, corrupting the skies, and the pace slides into grime and fog, with the agitation wailing out and driving home the dagger.

“The Gathering” has the music quivering, piano leaking, and the feeling like you’re in the middle of a desert, completely isolated. A frost suddenly arrives, but it’s temporary as the song ignites, the power pounds away, and the chaos builds before the song sizzles away. “Where Have You Been My Lovely Son?” also goes right for the heart, with lonely strings, raspy speak-singing, and the music hovering overhead. “All I want to do is hold your face in my hands again,” Robinson levels, as the song stretches and quakes the insides, leaving you gasping for breath as it flows into “Some Were Saved Some Drowned” that opens in distorted chaos. Strings flutter as shrieked yelps leave welts, with Robinson wailing, “Did you feel your life slipping away?” before hitting back with repeated calls of, “There is no god,” as every element rises up, spills over, and heads relentlessly down the hill. “My Lovely Son Reprise” ends the record as a slight callback, with strings and Robinson’s simple, lonely voice wondering, “Where have you been?”

Whether we’re talking atrocities that transformed a nation, current state of affairs and the resulting psyche, or less damaging situations, changes that take place over long periods of time often completely alter us, and many times not for the better. “Light Falls” is a sobering, bleeding example of that, and it’s Wrekmeister Harmonies at their most exposed. The music should be enough to impact your frame of mind, and the music is the fire that burns these changes into your skin.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/wrekmeisterharmonies23/

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

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

The last few years were ripe for metal bands we’d long since hoped would return finally did and brought with them new music. Grind/death maulers Carcass was a huge one, and their “Surgical Steel” record proved to be one of the best in their catalog. And then we had melodic death kings At the Gates resurface with a less-awesome album, but a scorching live show nonetheless.

Now, a few years later, we have another in Nordic wonders In the Woods…, perhaps the least likely of all of the bands mentioned to reunite and bring with them new music. Their brand new one “Pure” arrives 17 years after their last studio effort “Strange in Stereo” and finds the group wildly reimagined and with a new player in the fold. Gone are the band’s days of creaky, woodsy black metal that pieced the world on their legendary debut “HEart of the Ages.” Instead, they continue to follow prog and melodic doom pathways that won’t come as any big surprise to anyone who has been along for the ride. The most important thing is the music, and In the Woods… still have much to offer a metal world that often is too shallow when it comes to heart and creativity.

In the Woods… early days go back to the early 1990s and the dawning of the second wave of black metal. They were more of an oddity at the time, with gothy undertones, synthesizers, and female voices mixed in with the torment. They always had their heads in the clouds, seeking dreamscapes that could make the listener float off amid the sinew. Along the way, the core members have been guitarist Christian “X” Botteri, bassist Christopher “C.M.” Botteri, and drummer Anders Kobro, who all return here along with new vocalist James Fogarty (Ewigkeit, Old Forest, etc.), who also contributes guitars and keys. The result is new life for this band, whose work sounds as vital and inspired as ever.

The title track begins the record, and it’s a really good indication as to what’s ahead. It’s also a really strong kickoff song, with weird keys, elegant sheets of doom, and proggy organs spilling in, with a strong, memorable chorus poking at “a shiny future waiting,” which may stick in your head for days. “Blue Oceans Rise (Like a War)” has a synth haze rising like a morning fog before the song slips into a stoic stomp. “You are in my mind, in my soul,” Fogarty bellows, while the cut gets punchier and adds more dark textures. “Devil’s at the Door” is another strong one, beginning clean before the storm clouds arrive. Grim growls work their way into the picture, though there also are a lot of cold, chilly melodies, with Fogarty wailing, “I want to leave the world behind.” There are many tempo shifts, as well as self-reflection on past shortcomings and the door left open to forgive oneself. “The Recalcitrant Protagonist” is moody and melodic, with some of the most expressive singing on a record full of that type of thing. “All the archetypes surround me,” Fogarty imagines, as he sees his life and his darkness being played out on a stage, a place where he’s not comfortable being so vulnerable in such a state. “The Cave of Dreams” mixes doom with post-rock fog, as the track gets chunky, with the pull of psychedelic dreams prompting Fogarty to insist, “It was not real.”

“Cult of Shining Stars” unravels slowly, as the music trickles, the verses get a little more raucous, and eerie synth settles over the scene. The music cascades in sheets, while cloudy synth and punchy tempos lead the way. “Towards the Black Surreal” slips in on clean guitars that give way to an emotional release. There is a strong hint of deathrock here, as the pace plods along and Fogarty observes, “Gravity has become distance.” From there, the song bursts to life, with the music crushing souls and leaving hope in its dust. “Transmission KRS” is a lengthy instrumental, one that sounds inspired by 1970s space prog, as it spreads over 10:46, with voices calling out from a control station, and the track starting gently with acoustics and different shades. As it goes on, the energy tears through the middle of the song, with blazing soloing that bursts with emotion, keys pulsating, and your heart, surely, surging. “This Dark Dream” is rife with strong riffs and belting singing before it slips into chilling territory and long synth stretches. The crunch then returns, with Fogarty noting, “My dearest friends, they turned their back,” as organs rush in and get heavily proggy, with a dramatic finish bringing the exclamation point. Closer “Mystery of the Constellations” unloads trudging guitars, with stabbing verses and fiery soloing. The cut is sweeping and dramatic, with power metal and doom mixing together to make a thick mud, guitar work stirring, and the cut fading into the distance.

Having In the Woods… back in metal’s realms is a gift or the highest proportions, and their appearance at next year’s Maryland Deathfest will force me, happily, to make the pilgrimage south. “Pure” is a new page for the band, but one we could see coming, and it is work that stands up mightily even against their classic work. This is a fine later-year surprise that’s going to sound perfect matched up with autumn here in North America.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://www.debemur-morti.com/en/12-eshop

For more on the label, go here: http://www.debemur-morti.com/en/

Heaviness in music is a rather subjective issue, and what one person finds weighty could cause arguments with totally different people. It’s something of a mind frame, and when you hear something that has unquestioned heaviness, you know it right away.

On that wavelength, it’s hard for me to imagine anyone hearing Alison Chesley’s work under her Helen Money moniker and hear anything but abject heaviness. In case you’re not familiar with her or her work, she’s armed with just a cello that’s often wickedly electrified, and the results can be something as crushing as the scariest metal on the planet. She proves her wares yet again on her excellent new record “Become Zero,” an eight track instrumental effort that combines doom, sludge, drone, experimental styles, chamber music, you name it. It’s delicate and dripping with tar, often within the confines of the same song, and while it might not be metal by definition, it sure is heavy and foreboding as hell. The record also has more delicate moments and passages that can sweep you away, making for a great push-pull dynamic and creating some of her most compelling music.

Chesley, who has worked with bands as varied as Anthrax, Broken Social Scene, and Russian Circles, has four records under her Helen Money name, kind of sort of. Her first effort was in 2007 under her given name but called “Helen Money,” then she released “In Tune” in 2009 under the Money name. “Arriving Angels” was released in 2013 by Profound Lore, which awakened the metal audience to her work, and now comes “Become Zero” on Thrill Jockey. On this record, she once again works with Neurosis drummer Jason Roeder, Rachel Grimes, and collaborator and co-producer Will Thomas, who also provides sound effects and samples. This album is one of the deepest and most emotional of her career, having created the music following the death of her parents, which pushed her to new boundaries and caused her to dig even deeper within herself to come to terms with the end of existence.

The record starts with “Every Confidence” that opens up into mournful tones, as Chesley’s cello hovers before it electrifies and unleashes a swarm of buzzing drone. Doom swells and darkens every corner before things go clean again, sounds swell and boil, and the track fades off like a stream drying. The title track starts with a speedier round of cellos and the drums kicking in and loosening the plaster. Static jumbles, while pianos blend in, and the track blends into something tribal and spiritual. “Radiate” is the longest track at 8:50, and it starts in a cloud of drone, with waves and darkness and cold winds overwhelming. Chesley’s cello quivers quietly, as an angelic soundscape sprawls ahead and joins up with an autumnal haze. The last bit of the song is tranquil and hazy, as it disappears into a vapor. “Blood and Bone” has piano and cello scraping, feeling rustic and rainy. An elegant gaze begins to thicken, while the song slowly makes its way for the door.

“Vanished Star” has melody lines cutting in, with the winds sweeping along, before the piece hits an electrified field and gives off reverberations. Pianos bleed along as the song hits a gentle crescendo before bowing out. “Machine” opens with noise loops hypnotizing, the cello calculatingly plucked, and power pushing through. The sounds shimmer and give off energy, while a sound halo forms and surrounds your head, as the piano takes over and drips the song dry. “Leviathan” has drums erupting and circling, the cello feeling grimy and gloomy, and the melodies and ambiance slipping dangerously close to black metal territory. The pace mauls and chews, while the walls of chaos slowly dissipate into dust. Closer “Facing the Sun” feels like the great star rising over the horizon, with drone lapping and a second riff emerging behind that is a little lighter. As the chaos dies down, a single cello line flies overhead, with calmness arriving at long last and lifting the hurt into the stars.

Chesley faced circumstances many of us have or will one day when making “Become Zero,” and that humanity and emotional richness are poured into each song. She might not fit the traditional mold of what some deem heavy, but her music and inspirational content both carry more than enough weight. This is a cataclysmic, heart-wrenching record that constantly tests the heart and soul and perhaps can inspire some introspection on our own existence that is frighteningly fragile.

For more on the band, go here: http://helenmoney.com/

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

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

The state of humankind is grave and getting more troublesome. That’s obvious just from turning on a television set or going outside and interacting with others. This decline has been happening for some time now, though recently it seems to have superglued the acceleration pedal to the floor.

What can stop this downward spiral, if anything? Is this the condition in which we live? Will it keep getting worse and worse? That’s a tough question to answer right now, but it’s something Mare Cognitum explore on the expansive new record “Luminiferous Aether,” yet another challenging piece from one of black metal’s constantly interesting bands. This record, as ambitious as it is, is only a small part of an overall manner of thinking when it comes to considering the human condition. No one else in the universe is fretting what is going on with our Earth and the things we do to one another. Destruction, especially of the self, could be the only answer, but even then, will it be enough to carry on past the brush fires and pits of waste that result? This record chooses to have a sense of hope that we can rise beyond this state and that the human spirit can rise up in the end and remind us all of our interconnectedness and dependency on one another. But that’s nowhere near a certainty.

It’s no secret Mare Cognitum are a favorite here. We said as much a couple weeks back when we talked about the project’s collaborative split effort with Aureole. The band is the creation of multi-instrumentalist Jacob Buczarski and has been creating otherworldly, atmospheric black metal for the past five years. The first Mare Cognitum release arrived in the project’s year of birth 2011 with “The Sea Which Has Become Known,” and from there, Buczarski returned a year later with the eye-opening “An Extraconscious Lucidity.” A split/collaborative effort with Spectral Lore followed, and a year later, third full-length “Phobos Monolith” landed. “Luminiferous” is Mare Cognitum’s most direct and heaviest record to date, an album that unloads the power and devastates everything within its creative space. It’s a jarring journey that asks tough questions and responds with equally quaking answers.

“Heliacal Rising” begins cleanly, letting noises slowly filter into the mix and take on weight. The whole thing floats along, seemingly content to meander to its destination when all hell breaks loose. Monstrous growls erupt behind mournful guitars, as a gaze spreads over everything, and the riffs charge up and burn. Passionate howls blister, while a coldness arrives, with emotion and murk combining and drifting into the air. “The First Point of Aries” detonates right away, as if with the intent to burn a million souls. Fierce growls and powerful melodies unite, as the thunderous assault rips forward, with the pace shifting again and again. As the song winds down, so does the fury, with dramatic color gushing and the night sky gulping it whole. “Constellation Hipparchia” begins with strong melodic guitars creating waves, with the track coming to life and galloping heavily. The scathing vocals follow the tempo nicely, and with each valley, the song returns with a new gasp of steam. “Witnessing the crucifixion of the self, leaves nothing to be sought on these worlds,” Buczarski howls, as the track keeps opening new volcanic pockets that fill the void with chaos and burn everything to ash.

“Occultated Temporal Dimensions” begins in a sound swarm before pure black metal chaos is unleashed. The song is blinding and furious, with wild cries smashing and cavernous growls joining them in crippling the senses. Much of the track is raw and noisy, with waves of violence reddening the terrain, and the only answer to everything is total decimation. “Pathways/bittered with/sinew from/dead stars!” Buczarski screams, with the song barreling to some unknown, but certainly catastrophic, ending. Closer “Aether Wind” blasts open, with guitars taking control and the vocals scathing. The song is fast and punishing, as the guitars keep things compelling, and the bulk of the track feels like a relentless onslaught. Melodies sweep in and carry you into the air, with shrieks mixing with deep growls and the fury rushing out, rousing you from this tornadic sound dream.

Mare Cognitum already were a fascinating, challenging band before “Luminiferous Aether,” but with this fourth album, the ante is upped even further. It’s an angry, fierce record that bathes in darkness and forces the listener to face ultimate destruction face to face. Even if hope is in our midst and there are ways to push through the madness, this record reminds that fire and death await if we can’t get our collective act together and realize we’re all in this united, good or bad.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://i-voidhanger.com/shop/

For more on the label, go here: http://i-voidhanger.com/

As death and black metals progress, so do the thinking behind them. While a good, rough bludgeoning of power for its sake still works most of the time, intellectual and spiritual elements also have taken hold and pushed the boundaries beyond the physical plane.

So it is with a band such as Nox Formulae, whose music is more a pathway for something greater than themselves, that we find ourselves in this terrain again. The band considers its debut “The Hidden Paths to Black Ecstasy” more of a book of black magic than a traditional record, and even their platform for their sounds is, and I quote them, “an emanation of the well of N.O.X, the darkest aspect of the Draconian /Typhonian Principle which applies to the mystical Black Magical Formula of XONOX.” If you’d like, head off for an extensive Google search to even begin to fully grasp their mission as part of a sect of Luciferian fanaticism, the goal of which is to bring the Ruler of Atlantis into the human subconscious. That might seem like a lot to absorb and take on if you’re not already well versed in their spiritual thinking, but the music on this record sure will bring you where you need to be.

The band itself is very much a mystery. They list five members—Monkshood 333, Nightshade, and Kurgasiaz all on vocals, Wolfsbane 1.1 on guitars, and Mezkal on drums—but beyond that, we can’t find out much about their histories or other works, if they have any at all. But no matter, this Greek band’s terrifying, mystifying music seeks to push the listener to explore their sub-consciousness and seek answers from entities beyond the physical. Just listening to the music also is acceptable, and in doing so, you might find yourself pushed past your means anyway.

“NOXON” starts the record with strange winds and a creaky dampness that lifts the lid on the record and sets the stage for “The Shadow Smoke,” which charges right out of the blackness. Eerie overtones and scraping growls head into swirling soundscapes and portions that seem hell bent on altering your mind. Disorienting madness continues to rise, with the sounds sucked into a horrific vortex. “Nahemoth Death Plane” has doomy guitars, sounds hovering, and the tempo eventually pushed into higher gear. The vocals again chew away at your brain, while melodies cascade, chants rain down, and the song ends in a scary bit of hypnosis. “Voudon Lwa Legba” obliterates at the start, bringing chaos and fire before shifting into a prog-fueled sequence that shifts and sweeps. Savagery is right around the bend as jagged guitars, warbled speaking, and otherworldly chants bring the song to its end.

“Dark Brother,” the first song ever created by Nox Formulae, has bubbling riffs, strange chanted vocals, and a tempo that speeds up suddenly, leading to unleashing of crazed growls and shrieks. Everything suddenly is pushed into insanity, as the song finally hits calm and melts away. “Yezidic NOX Formula” has guitars smeared, the vocals feeling like they’re straight out of a nightmare, and a panic-inducing rumbling that pushes its way into your cell structure. “O.D. Dominion” is something much different, as psyche-smeared guitars unfold, and the whole thing feels like it’s inducing a trance. Just as you’re about to submit, the terror returns, and the music tried to tear the flesh from your bones. “Hidden Clan” deals crunch and strangeness right away, and things don’t deviate very much. The place lights up and pounds away, while wild howls ignite, grimness is all around, and the chants echo in the air, feeling like they’re spinning all around you. Closer “XONOX” is the ideal bookend, finishing the record with more winds, tribal drumming, and the music disappearing into the night.

Nox Formulae have a mission far beyond what we can understand on an Earthly level, and “The Hidden Paths to Black Ecstasy” certainly is one of the strangest albums of this year. Whether you seek to push your mind to the places the band explores is up to you, and if you choose to do so, this music provides a raucous channel for doing so. Either way, Nox Formulae provide ritualistic concoctions that go well past normal black metal boundaries, something that’s always welcome.

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

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

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

Mixing the fury of death metal with more spiritual and intellectual themes is not totally a foreign concept. It’s been done before, though it’s kind of a rarity in these parts. But that doesn’t mean you can’t expect to mix utter brutality with themes that demand more from your brain, and when done right, it can be a stimulating version of this extreme art form.

We turn toward French mystery Aum for more on this idea, as the music and themes on their debut “Om Ah Hum Vajra Guru Padma Siddhi Hum,” which is basically a Buddhist chant that roughly translates to “I invoke you, Vajra Guru, Padmasambhava, by your blessing may you grant us ordinary and supreme realization,” pushes spiritual boundaries. Digging into the mysteries and rituals of Buddhism is at the center here, and I don’t claim to have enough knowledge of this terrain to explain any further, but it doesn’t take much time with the music to fall under its power. The record itself is a journey to understand the experience of life through death on both physical and astral planes, and while the content may go over some heads, the basic understanding can be had. On the crudest level, it’s spacious, blackened death metal that stretches you mind and body, and when this nameless, faceless entity is done with you, you’re bound to be exhausted with all that you’ve just encountered.

“Moksha” begins the record, ripping away at your senses with clubbing madness and guttural growls. The track feels like it’s doling out violence, but then we head into chant-like throat warbling that seems to indicate another agenda. Doom slips into the room as banshee wails are unleashed, the tempo grinds and chugs, and another round of chants brings the song to an end. “Patisandhi” is gritty and lurching, with growls bubbling to the surface and the guitars boiling and giving off heat. The tempo switches back and forth between aggressive and calm, with the final moments dressed in bells ringing and whispered words. “Dattatreya” leads off with a strong, burly riff, moving into creaking growls and, eventually, the song tearing open. From there, the sound is pure demolition, with the music splattering and more monstrous growls surfacing. “Dukkha” also starts with chants before the brutality kicks in. Grim growls meet up with a mind-altering pace that mixes in with the heavy sludge. The leads burn while the tempo grinds, and toward the end, murky, weird synth rolls in as the whole thing slows down and bleeds away.

“Brahmastra” is a wrecker right away, hammering and unleashing infernal growls that are nasty and smashing. The soloing goes off as the beastly assault leads to another eruption of power and chants that would chill your brain cells. “Hemvati” lets the chants spill over as riffs swirl in the air, speed arrives, and the growls seem like they’re spat out. The song jerks to an abrupt halt, making you think it has ended prematurely, but then it flows back in, lets the blackness unfurl, and slithers away hypnotically. Closer “Vipashyana” begins with Sabbath-style doom sinew before opening up into the track’s main chambers, where ugly riffs and charred sentiments await. The growls get deeper and muddier, while the track hulks along slowly, the drums crush everything, and eerie soundscape bring the record to its end.

You’re going to feel physically and mentally challenged at the end of “Om Ah Hum Vajra Guru Padma Siddhi Hum,” but that’s a good thing. Aum keep you invested and working throughout these seven songs, and their ultimate destination should be a place of higher understanding both for them and you. If you just want to immerse yourself in cavernous death metal, that’s also acceptable. But those who push beyond that ultimately are going to be the ones who gain the most from this record.

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

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

It’s crazy how much people will fight about metal over the Internet. People or bands aren’t true or cult enough, they don’t take things seriously enough (or take it too seriously), and/or they either should be or should not be a part of the circle. Hey, guys, what happened to metal being a release?

There are some people who haven’t forgotten the power and infectious energy that metal can bring. One of those people is Chris Black, and he’s done that with his band High Spirits, as true an essence of this style of music as there is. Long before people were trading insults on Facebook, there were bands that worshipped the riff and didn’t focus all of their energy on making their music so serious. They took the music creation very seriously, but lyrically, things could be spreads out over fantasy elements, strengthening oneself, or even the power of the night. Black’s never forgotten that with High Spirits, and you can hear that in abundance on the band’s killer new record “Motivator.” Is that ever a fitting title as well, because after hearing this, you’re bound to be driven to leave the house and just go do something, anything, to make a difference. It’s pure metal through and through.

Black’s name has become well known within metal, and for good reason. He was the brains behind Nachtmystium’s best work, and his other band Dawnbringer also burns the fires for traditional metal, albeit in a different way than what he does with High Spirits. That’s not to mention his work elsewhere with band such as Pharaoh, Superchrist, and a few others. When the band expands to the live stage, Black is joined by guitarists Scott Hoffman and Mike Bushur, bassist Bob Scott, and drummer Ian Sugierski in order to bring these songs to the place where they were born to be heard.

The record opens with “Up and Overture,” a quick intro piece that leads into the burst of “Flying High,” as energetic a song as you probably will find anywhere. The riffs charge, and the whole thing is fairly simplistic but really fun. “Close your eyes and let your spirit rise,” Black urges, with the music hammering home his message. This is catchy and filled with hooks, and that blows into “This Is the Night,” another one that drives full bore into your chest. “We are the future,” Black wails, “There is no turning back!” The soloing is scorching and powerful, and this feels like a dose of 1980s glory jammed right into your heart. “Reach for the Sky” has power-packed guitars, a giant harmonized chorus, and Black packing his anthem with get-off-your-ass motivation, howling, “Go for the fortunes, whatever they are.” “Do You Wanna Be Famous?” sounds cheeseball from its title, but fuck it, like everything else on here, it’s coated in metal magic. This cut feels like something out of a decades-past slasher flick, something that would burst from the stereo of the main protagonist’s car.

“Haunted By Love” has a simple, driving drum beat, riffs unfurling, and Black on and on about a muse he relentlessly seeks with, “Like a ghost in the night, I’m haunted by a love that will never die.” “Down the Endless Road” is a prefect song for this record and this band, with one’s dusty travels taking the center view, a classic on-the-road storyteller that’s woven into metal’s fabric. This feels like a long-lost Headbangers Ball staple in the best possible way. “Take Me Home” blasts out of the gates, with all juices flowing, and another huge blast of power. Imagery of flying through the sky on another journey gets the blood going, while massive soloing brings the sense of heavy lightning to the track. Closer “Thank You” is about what you think it’s about. This is an overflowing brew tribute to the people who helped this band be what they are, with Black insisting, “You are the power, you know, that drives us down the road.” It’s the perfect finish to a record that’s energy is undeniable.

It’s fine to let shit go and shelf the animosity for five minutes to remember the glory of heavy metal that was born when the first seeds pushed through the Earth. High Spirits pay homage to that time and put their own stamp on it with “Motivator.” This is music to play in the car with the windows down, your adrenaline flowing, and you believing there is still magic in the nighttime. This music will help you go out and grab that.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://www.hrrshop.de/

For more on the label, go here: https://www.hrrecords.de/

Metal, as a genre, is in really good shape and is in no danger of going anywhere anytime soon. There are a shit ton of bands, plenty of good records every year, and while there aren’t giant mainstream success stories past a few bands (most of which aren’t any good, quite frankly), everything is totally fine.

A lot of metal’s success and interest factor has to do with bands branching out and taking sounds to new places, people’s incessant bitching aside. Imagine if, as great as the band is, we never moved past Black Sabbath. Would there even be a genre? So it’s with bands and artists willing to take chances that heavy sounds will make it into the future, and a project such as Crowhurst should be one that helps it branch generations. That might sound hyperbolic to say that, but there’s a lot of truth to it as well. Jay Gambit is one of the artists who centers a lot of his music in the heaviest, darkest sections of extreme music, and his work with Crowhurst has produced some of the most interesting sounds in the underground the past several years. Under this banner, Gambit has released a ton of music, much of it based on noise, but with the release of “I” last year, things changed a lot. He delved even further toward black metal, though that was mixed with a lot of sounds in which he immersed himself the years before.

Now comes Crowhurst’s latest album “II,” one that takes the project to newer heights and brings to Gambit new collaborators to strengthen the music even more. Alongside Gambit on this record are Andy Curtis-Brignell, of the mighty Caïna, on bass, guitars, drums, and programming, and Matron Thron of the creepy Ævangelist, who handles guitar work. Laurence Taylor, also of Caïna, appears as a guest, adding his vocals to the track “Fractured Lung.” The work here is some of the deepest, darkest, and most impactful of Crowhurst’s diverse run, and while it’s hard to pick the best work from the project’s insanely deep catalog, this definitely is toward the top.

“Cold Sweat” enters to an electronic flood and doom guitars droning, with the drums rattling to an uncomfortable level, and a sound haze rising and wafting toward “Take This Pain Away.” There, foggy guitar work meets up with dark, sorrowful melodies that strike at the gut, making it seem like you’ll never escape the torment. Melodies snake their way through, as Gambit howls, “Don’t wait for me!” as he later dissolves into heaving cries. Dizzying, muddy streams surface, and they run until they reach their destination. “The End” sits on a strong, murky riff, with warbled, detached singing bleeding all over the place, and wild screams poking their way through as the song progresses. As the track goes on, it gets uglier and heavier, with psyche-stained guitars gushing, the mood chewing at your psyche, and Gambit vowing, “I’m not coming home,” as the song bleeds away with him.

“No Saviors” immediately drags you into an industrial wasteland, with guitars bending, the singing quivering, and a sense of Atriarch-like morbidity in the air. The singing turns to anguished screams later, as the music itself gets grittier, with warped melodies, a storm of riffs, and the whole thing ending in corrosion. “Fractured Lung” is unhinged from the start, with screams aiming to puncture lungs, and more strange singing designed to slash at your equilibrium. Crushing doom melodies arrive later, as the scathing vocals and eviscerating beats create a cool, strange finish. Closing epic “Dried Blood of Old Earth” runs 13:28, and it slips into a strange simmer and intergalactic exploration, with noise hanging in the air ready to sting at any moment. Guitars begin to stab into the metallic cloud, creating something that turns into a dreamy sequence that lets your brain be mesmerized. As the band moves into the closing minutes, the noises begin to boil and give off steam, sounds zap in the air around you, and everything blends into a hypnotic fog that slowly makes its way into the reaches of outer space.

Folks such as Gambit always will be out there to make sure metal keeps growing and evolving, and because of that, heavy sounds will continue to be made well into the future. “II” is a really strong record that gets under your skin and forces you to experience every ounce of tumult. It’s some of Gambit’s best work ever under this project, and he and his collaborators have crafted a record that will stick with you and haunt you well past the time the needle lifts at the end of the record.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://dullestrecords.bandcamp.com/album/ii

For more on the label, go here: https://brokenlimbsrecordings.net/

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

Nearing the end of the week, it’s getting exhausting taking on all of the stuff we have going on. Getting to the point seems like a really good idea, and the new EP from Swedish black metal horse Astrophobos does exactly that.

Following up their great 2014 debut album “Remnants of Forgotten Horrors,” they lace into these four tracks on “Enthroned in Flesh” with reckless abandon, sharpened teeth exposed, and them looking to set the battlefield for permanent massacre. What they do isn’t terribly flashy, though it’s very well played, and they don’t piss around noodling and stretching songs well past where they should go. This is lean and mean, heavy and dangerous, and really great sounding black metal. There aren’t new rules written for the genre or anything, and it’s not going to pull black metal into a new direction, but there’s no reason Astrophobos need to do that. Instead, the band—vocalist/bassist Mikael Broman, guitarists Jonas Ehlin and Martin Andersson (session drummer Fredrik Widigs from Marduk handled duties on the recording)—keeps things bloody and raw, following similar paths as bands such as Dissection and the earlier years of Watain.

The title track tears the lid off this thing, with riffs spiraling and monstrous growls pounding you. The pace absolutely crushes, though a nice dose of melody is intertwined, as Broman howls, “A world that falls to plunder, and death will come alive.” It’s a fairly quick cut, but one that does ample damage while it hangs around. “Tabula Rasa” has guitars cutting through and creakier growls, leading into a speedy, thrashy arrangement that gets the juices flowing. Humid guitars eventually set in and make breathing a little thicker, while Broman wails, “Burn all life to cinder dust,” as the track bleeds out in a wave of feedback. “Blood Libation” gets off to a thunderous start, with the riffs charging and Broman’s words practically being barked. It bends into added crunchy thrash terrain, while the leads burn brightly enough to make you shield your eyes, and the crushing assault keeps hammering at you right up until the abrupt end. Closer “The Cadaver Monarch” runs 8:21, and it’s the one that earns the Watain comparisons, as they push out a horrifying storyteller that reeks of bloodshed and flesh. As the song goes on, the pace kicks into high gear, with the words flying out of Broman’s mouth in menacing style and the playing clubbing. Melodies again are a fixture, mixing themselves into the chaos, while the growls sometimes take on a talky tone, likely to hammer home to plot that much better. Then, a final wave of guitars melts everything in front of it, sending a poisonous tributary of filth to poison whatever waters it contacts.

Astrophobos sound vicious and alive on “Enthroned in Flesh,” a release that’s certainly tiding us over until they smash our fingers again with record two. This is raw, yet melodic black metal that never pretends to be anything it isn’t and always sounds like it’s crushing the Earth’s crust. Anyone looking for something tried and true that chokes black metal exhaust certainly will find a lot of like on these four smashers.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.astrophobos.com/

To buy the album, go here: http://www.triumviraterecords.com/releases.html

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

Photo by James Rexroad

Versatility is an interesting aspect in music, especially in metal and heavy music. When you stretch too far beyond yourself, it can lose people. Witness Opeth. But when that dexterity pushes you beyond your borders into exciting new terrain, that ability to change at a moment’s notice can be a big advantage.

Seattle-based band Helms Alee use their versatility to an insane level, never more obvious than on their great fourth record “Stillicide,” that could be the one that breaks them through to a wider audience. It’s the most accessible album in the band’s run, and that shouldn’t be taken as a negative. I know among heavy music that people get pissed when bands stretch their sound past extreme borders, but Helms Alee have had the ability to do this all along. They’re a raucous, fun band, and now they’re delving past sludge and grime and getting into terrain normally trampled in the early 1990s, when the term “alternative rock” actually meant something and pushed back against the norm. Helms Alee have that Pixies/Breeders thing going on, but they mix it with the Jesus Lizard intensity that smears insanity with artistic vision. This is a record that might be easier to listen to, but that doesn’t mean their sound has been stripped of attitude. They still can bash your face in, and they do that often on this record.

The band hinted heading in this direction on their super last album “Sleepwalking Sailors,” where they pulled their sound a little past what they established on their first two records “Night Terror” and “Weatherhead” (both released by the late, great Hydra Head). The band—guitarist/vocalist Ben Verellen, bassist/vocalist Dana James, drummer/vocalist Hozoji Margullis—sound supremely confident and smooth on “Stillicide,” a well-oiled machine that’s really coming into its own. They remain that oddball band that can tour with punk, hardcore, or metal bands (they’re currently out with Melvins), and they might even be able to go beyond that with this record.

“More Weight” is a quick introductory cut that has pianos scrambling and finding their way to “Untoxicated,” a crunchy dose of sludge that has singing leading the way and giving off a burlier Breeders feel. Warm psychedelic guitars enter toward the end and punch away to the finish. “Tit to Toe” charges up with an off-kilter riff, a really strong chorus, and dark moodiness that sends you on your way to “Meats and Milks,” which is fuzzed up and hazy at the start. Noirish guitars feed into the post-punk vibe, while the band members’ voices blend together nicely. Heaviness kicks a dent in your head, with Verellen wailing away, stirring soloing flooding, and a heartfelt burst of melody making the finish shine. The title cut is heavy as fuck in its opening minutes, with a thick bassline cutting down the middle. It later goes dreamy, with trippy playing adding a heavy glaze, and massive howling ravaging up to the song’s abrupt end. “Galloping Mind Fuk” is just that, with guitars churning, the vocals giving off heat, and an out-of-nowhere section where James and Margullis practically rap with fire and attitude. The song chews and smears, with the track ground up in grit.

“Creeping You Company” is slower and cleaner, something that could be a breakout hit for them, as Verellen handles the bulk of the singing. The track is cool and airy, something that would sound great at night, as you drive with the windows open and drink in the shadows. “Dream Long” lets guitars moan before they erupt. The vocals are washed out and weird, with yowled outbursts bruising and chunky mud smothering you. “Bullygoat” isn’t quite as mean as its title indicates, but it’s a really strong one. The guitars are jerky in spots, and the singing comes from all over, with harsh shouts at the tail end, and the song bleeding away. “Andromenous” lets drums kick in, with dreamy singing, jangling strangeness that coats your brain, and stimulating melodies. The bass starts to gnaw, while the song gains intensity and power, and the level of aggravation heightens. Closer “Worth Your Wild” spirals and stymies, with everyone’s singing colliding into each other’s and then mixing together. The tempo soars, as the track picks up heaviness, and the guitars begin to spit fire. The band hits on a loop, going back and making the room spin, while everything hits a crushing crescendo and a noise wave strikes and then fades away.

Helms Alee are kind of hard to describe for the uninitiated, so it’s always better to just put on the music and let their energy and power show the way. “Stillicide” is a raucous, fun record, one that has the band stretching their limbs further than they ever have before, resulting in 11 impactful, often atmosphere-rich tracks. This is a much different band than the one we got to know on their debut, and their next record might have them changing their spots yet again.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://www.hellomerch.com/collections/helms-alee

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