Humankind fears death. It’s the ultimate ending. It’s terrifying. It’s final. It’s a mystery. Medical advancements and improvements in nutrition, sanitation, and cleanliness have helped people live longer and longer, but nothing can stave off what faces us all. Still, some are  hellbent to try, and now the tech industry is spewing more terrifying shit.

The plight to extend life, no matter the means and cost to others, is splashed all over “Gateway,” the new album from Montreal death metal punishers Phobocosm. Building off themes from their last record “Foreordained,” the band—vocalist/bassist E.B., guitarists S.D. and R.M., drummer J.S.G.—digs into the rot of trying to topple expiration, especially those with desires beyond living forever. Those people only have the worst of ideas in mind, and even they will fall victim to the scythe eventually. This record, by the way, was recorded alongside “Foreordained,” thus giving it similar vibe. It also notes what this signals what the band calls an end chapter for this phase of Phobocosm.

“Deathless” opens in a surge, feeling whirry and weird, disorienting as the sounds hover over ominously. Then your digits are crushed, growls smearing and scraping over a din of smoke, ugly and sooty power corroding, the intensity spiking before whirring away. “Unbound” has the drums openly destroying, beastly growls slithering beneath the carnage, molten guitars boiling over and threatening. Growls gurgle as the morbid pace sweeps you under the floor, blackness permeating your senses and making a grim exit. “Corridor I – The Affliction” is the first of a trilogy of instrumental tracks, this one basking in fog, the playing jerking you awake, blazing with humidity before quietly fading.

“Sempiternal Penance” blasts through, growls crushing, an infernal force making the temperatures unmanageable. Chaos erupts as the growls engorge, a relentless fury stabbing forward, the nasty, inhumane growls peaking and melting into “Corridor II – The Descent.” Here, guitars burn and swarm, the impending power drawing air out of your lungs, the embers slowly losing heat. “Beyond the Threshold of Flesh” has guitars simmering and growls retching, a rhyme scheme feeling somewhat bouncy even as it digs in the blade. Skies darken as the playing decimates, calculated power combusting and sending shrapnel, growls lashing as the bass coils. Oil oozes from the cracks as the tempo gets thicker and nastier, crushing as it lures an eerie silence. Closer “Corridor III – The Void” snakes as guitars light up, soot is caked into mouths, and the steam grows heavier and more suffocating.

“Gateway” is a portrait of humankind devolving into worse versions of themselves, using technology as a guide to extend life and misery at the same time. Phobocosm pay that off with a brutal, mind-fogging experience that makes these horrors happening in real time even more disgusting. The world is an ugly place, and this band isn’t ducking away from calling out all of its human-made warts.

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

To buy the album (U.S.), go here: https://www.darkdescentrecords.com/shop/?s=PHOBOCOSM&post_type=product

Or here (Europe): https://ddmsuo.eu/

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

Volatility can be a welcome element in music as long as the listener is in the right mind frame to handle the experience. That can mean a lot of different things depending on the audience, but bands and records that seem to be barely holding onto their sanity hit home for me, not that I want real people to be suffering. But a little can be good and it can make for great art.

Coffin Apartment’s third record “Lesion Plea” sounds like one of those created under duress, rapid-fire takes, and disasters that popped up along the way. That’s because that’s what actually happened and might be what makes these seven tracks so sticky to me. The band—vocalist/guitarist Johnny Brooke, bassist/synth player Taylor Lauritsen, drummer/vocalist Justin Straw—piles more heaping helpings of doom and death into their manic puzzle here, and each track lures you into the madness and refuses to release its grip until you’re satisfactorily impacted. The record is hypnotic, ghastly, gurgly, unsettling, and warped in the best possible way. It’s like the portrait of a temporary breakdown committed to tape forever.   

“Duplicitous Offering” opens with guitars hanging like a phantom, and then the drums pummel, and warped howls dig deep into your psyche. The playing gets burly and harsher, battling through sludge, the drums crashing out and making your ears bleed. “Evade the Knife” starts eerily, Alex Juarez’s sax blasting, the playing swimming in ether before the pace picks up. Guitars drip and then kick into higher gear, growls smear as the tempo races into a snarling fury, doom landing heavily in the back end before melting into cold guitars. “Nocturnal Slope” has chimes carrying over from the previous track, strange energies gathering, pained howls crawling over an elegant guitar stream. Things grow darker and uglier as the howls scar, guitars slicing and bubbling before stomping the gas pedal. The attack thickens and batters, cold notes slithering down spines and into the darkness.

“Accumulated Guilt” fries your brain upon entering, sax marking a path, drums echoing as crooning from Dry Wedding’s Davey Ferchow lurches through the scene. You can’t help but shake the strange pulses traveling your spine, screams striking as hypnosis is achieved, swarming through the last gasp of emotional detachment. The title track has guitars heating to a boil, growls curdling as the playing chugs, the air growing thicker and grittier. The pace strangles before moving to a slow battering, a thrashy push driving everything to the brink. “Topography of Pain” starts as a clean and strange form, and then it combusts, the vocals devouring sanity, snapping with whip-like intensity. The guitars turn a shade of black metal as harsh cries pull down walls, hurtling toward a tornadic buzzsaw that bludgeons and darkens eyes, moving into closer “Drowning in the Centuries.” The guitars lines helicopter as screams strike and tighten their grip, simmering in a gap of psyche heat. Thick waves batter with chrome as the filth multiplies, speed strikes, and vicious screams tangle with echoes, bring a modicum or mercy to your heaving mental state.

“Lesion Plea” sounds as manic and nerve-shredding as the bio information indicates, and honestly, that just makes the record even more volatile and combustible. Coffin Apartment feel as if they’re making a statement while hanging from a ledge over an unsurvivable fall, which makes the energy contained there that much sharper. This is a hell of a listen both musically and mentally, and it might be a good idea to have an a high ABV beer ready afterward so you can calm the fuck down. 

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

To buy the album, go here: https://coffinapartment.bandcamp.com/album/lesion-plea

This is a pretty grim time to be alive, though obviously it’s not the first time that has been said. But shit is volatile right now. Humanity has grown in such strange directions that it’s hard to say what we’ll even be like as a species centuries from now. If we’re still here. That’s what really should turn our stomachs and give us a reason to writhe in terror.

Croation death/doom maulers Decrepit Tomb aren’t necessarily consumed with that on their debut EP “Egregious Defilement,” but that title certainly would describe how we’re treating our surroundings and how power structures are aiming to crush. This is three tracks full of misery and suffering that the band—vocalist/bassist Vitan Bukvić, guitarists Matej Pećar and Denis Balaban, drummer/guitarist Matej Kiš—crafts and unleashes on an unsuspecting world. It’s a brutal, unforgiving display that twists flesh and muscle and makes you realize the pain and misfortune that plague so many.

The Festering Depths” starts with water dripping before chilly eeriness sets in, notes falling as the doom hammers crush. Growls lurch as the guitars have a dizzying effect, soot crowding the air as the pace rots and carves. A psyche sheen spreads as the band mauls with ferocity, howls retch with disgust, and the final drops bleed into “Beckoning of the Moss-Ridden Tomb” that snarls right away. Doom smokes as the playing drubs, growls crushing as the sweltering tones make breathing harder. The guitars get swampier and dizzier, disorientation spreading like a fog, the bass clawing nails from fingers. Closer “Fields of Flayed Skin” (don’t forget to plant yours in the spring!) stomps through dirt as a hulking pace makes way for glowing leads and a slow-driving menace that strengthens its grip. Guitars ring out as elements of sludge work through tired veins, the growls level, and vile torment becomes a heavier factor. The final moments feel like auditory torture, stretching your will to survive until everything fades into infinity.

Decrepit Altar make a mangling, devastating impression on “Egregious Defilement,” an EP that’s as physically draining as a full-length but in half the time. This death/doom concoction is deadly and suffocating, leaving no room for light either than a pin prick here and there. This is a promising offering, one that might pave the road for grislier actions and more traumatic beatings in the future, for which we will be here.

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

To buy the album (North America), go here: https://www.mesacounojo.com/shop/decrepit-altar-egregious-defilement-12/

Or here (Europe): https://ddmsuo.eu/

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

Metal has a very storied history at this point, and it’s funny to think of the people who, when I was much younger, telling me the music would never survive and it would be laughed at in the future. Of course, we know that’s nonsense, and things have only grown in leaps and bounds, and the possibilities are endless.

Take for example Charlie Anderson, a violinist most people in our audience would know best for his string work with Panopticon and Waldgeflüster, where he added even more atmosphere and dramatics to those projects’ sprawling black metal. I was surprised to learn of Weft, his new black metal project where he handles vocals, bass, guitar, strings, electric violin, synth, piano, and additional percussion. What, no Wurlitzer? Lazy! Joking aside, the project’s debut record “The Splintered Oar” is a goddamn revelation, an inspiring, mind swelling collection that is an incredibly bright star in black metal’s crowded sky. Accompanied by Panopticon’s Austin Lunn on drums and other guests we will discuss later, Anderson steps into a world he had a smaller, albeit crucial, part in before and made this place his own. It’s a stunning debut, one that I cannot get over no many how many visits I make.

“Leaves” opens awash in acoustics and strings, and on first listen not knowing what to expect (I never read the bio before initial spins), I figured a whole album of this would be quite stirring. Man, was I pleasantly surprised nonetheless. This one picks up, adding extra layers on top of emotions, sweeping and glazing, mournful melodies falling, piercing the night. Then, things change. “False Kingdoms” begins ominously, strings moving  and drums encircling, setting up a Western vibe, and then the blade hits your abdomen, the whole thing opening in full bore, howls crushing, black metal fury enveloping every inch of this song. Orchestral fires spread as the speed injects further madness, atmospheric crunching breaks sticks beneath heavy boots, and then things return to calm, fleeing on a murmur.

“The Hull” launches heartfully, violin scarring, the playing feeling like red streaks across an evening sky. The power storms as throaty wails flex, smashing harder as the guitars take off for the clouds, echoes swimming in the storm, acoustics landing and adding a breezy cool. Harmonized singing melds, calls of, “All that remains are empty hands,” riveting as the power combusts and a dramatic, smearing force exits. “Red Dawn” tears open, the vocals marring as clean notes drip through soot, shrieks lashing and wrenching along the way. The playing is burly and spacious, feeling like you’re entering into the dream realm before being rocked awake by raw howls and streaking strings. Calm arrives as notes stretch into eternity, reaching for far-off sections of sky. Closer “Dream of Oaks” is a stunner, basking in folkish melodies as Jordan Day’s singing reminds of a mix of Sturgill Simpson and Lawrence Peters, violin aching in the spacey echo. Andrea Morgan’s voice enters the fray and brings ghostly beauty before the power ruptures, blasts ravaging, everything spiraling into a smoldering fire and back toward dusk. Growls echo as the playing spills over, drilling heavily as the harshness multiplies, burly tones add more grit, and a breeze of choral calls and rushing water take everything home.

Anderson’s direction and artistic dreams are far loftier and volcanic than many of us had realized, and “The Splintered Oar” gives a deep look into just what he’s capable of accomplishing. Even with a team behind him helping him bring this record to life, it’s clear that it is Anderson’s blood flowing through these veins, revealing a more advanced beast than we’d met before. I didn’t know what to expect when taking this on, and it turns out it is one of more promising projects to emerge in some time, one that hopefully has a long, volatile life ahead of itself.

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

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

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

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

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

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

As I write this, it is cold and gray, rain falling and pattering against the windows, a sight a lot of people would term ugly or dreary, but I always liked it. Certainly it isn’t going to brighten people’s days like an abundance of beaming sunshine, but having time like this helps us appreciate the warmer, kinder weather and also provides a sort of hiding place to recover.

It’s the type of vision I imagined with my first and each subsequent listen to “What Remains When Hope Has Failed,” the debut full-length from English black metal force Nemorous. Rising from the fallen spirit that was Wodensthrone (of which half of its members were a part), the band—vocalist Nick Craggs, guitarists Michael Blenkarn and Rob Hindmarsh, bassist Phil Heckles, keyboard player Alexandra Durning, drummer Ian Finley—picks up with their sweeping intensity and adds even more atmospheric and earthy elements, often making you think of, yeah, a chilly, stormy day. It’s perfect for that, but it’s not a prisoner to that setting. They deliver rousing, blistering sound wrapped in ethereal beauty that helps enhance the blistering corners. It’s imaginative and inventive, fitted for a chilling journey into the forest once the trees have shed their leaves.

“The Wyrm at World’s End” opens in chilling fluidity, darkness enveloping as shrieks ripple, complemented by beastly roars, a stomping force demonstrating its strength. The playing drives harder, emotion flooding to the surface, growls boiling, and then a calm arriving and washing away the pain. “This Rotten Bough” storms through, howls menacing, destroying with an engulfing coldness, bubbling over until ghostly speaking merges into an adventurous push. The fury toughens, the wails sicken, and the spirit flourishes, torpedoing into a daring finish. “Sky Avalanche” flushes with energy, harsh growls blasting as the atmosphere increases and informs the devastation. Vocals swarm as the melodies wrench, the guitars gushing expanded colors, flowing with a pressure front that comes to a surprisingly breezy end.

“Quiescence” starts clean and serene before the heat intensifies, charging up and racing, harsh cries heaving through the night. Guitars surge, and the vibe and essence remind of vintage Agalloch, the vocals tearing through like jackals. There’s a spell of numbing serenity, mellotron adding an elegant glaze, the heaviness building and fluttering, turning comfortably warm and fading. “Bereft Part 2” is an interlude that is softer and solemn, bleeding into psychedelics and turning into a fading spirit. The closing title track starts as a dark, dreary journey, and then lightning strikes, raw howls belting, the playing taking on a seismic force, the drums sawing through bone. The leads then soar, the playing bolting over mountain tops, beastly vocals flexing muscle, the guitars creating sunbeams. The pace explodes anew, the howls scraping and choking, hurtling toward the stars as the final melodic fires crackle into the night.

“What Remains When Hope Has Failed” is a triumph of a record, one that fills you inside with full-fledged emotion and energy, finding a great landing spot as autumn peaks. Nemorous is a force that took a couple years to fully form, but it is a spirited beast that roars into existence and swallows you into another world that envelopes you in full. The road they go from here is anyone’s guess, but if it’s anything like what brought them to this debut, it’s going to be worth whatever wait we must endure.

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

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

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

The darkest time of the year is upon us as it’s colder and we’re losing light every day. Soon the depression will seep into so many people’s minds. It’s the perfect time to indulge in the darker arts, the stuff that finds your lowest and most vulnerable spots and exposes them for what they are. It’s a good thing, really. Embrace the feelings.

“Latitudes of Sorrow” is a split effort combining Italian doom power Shores of Null (vocalist Davide Straccione, guitarists Gabriele Giaccari and Raffaele, bassist Matteo Capozucca, drummer Emiliano Cantiano) and Finnish doom/death conjurers Convocation (vocalist MM, multi-instrumentalist LL), and does this five-track display ever hit your pits of darkness. It’s mournful, destructive, and harrowing, the two bands peeling back your psyche. Shores provide a bit more of a traditional approach mixed with some barbs, while Convocation dig deep into the dirt, smearing your face with soil.

The Shores of Null section dawns with “An Easy Way” that brings wrenching doom from the start, sorrowful strains that fall as the singing soars into the clouds. Punches land as the words turn into growls, the humidity pushes the temperatures, and elegant melodies rush. “I kiss my dreams goodbye,”  Straccione laments, the chorus swelling as the mood mauls into blackness. “The White Wound” has leads heating up, growls lashing, and dark singing moving into shadows. The drums then rupture as the pace thunders forward, guitars glowing as the vocals wrench hearts. The pace mauls again as the emotion grows dour, the absence of light enveloping everything. “The Year Without Summer” is dreary and liquifies, deep singing lurching, slowly fading before the guitars respond with chugs. Growls retch as the guitars burn, scalding as they melt bone, and the words convey a lack of hope, slowly pounding away as the final moments near.

Convocation starts with “Abaddon’s Shadow” that’s eerie and unsettling, growls digging under your ribs, the fog engorging, savagery snarling as noises chortle. A muddy fury takes over as the power corrodes, liquifying like lava through rivers, a gothy feel taking over and adding blackened ends. The cracks ooze oil as throaty growls pummel, a cavernous pit of sound dominates, and calm finally arrives and melts into the earth. “Empty Room” begins with guitars buzzing, organ melting, and a pummeling force before things go cold. Out of that, the guitars crush, and a slower, solemn passage moves into an attack of growls that lash, the heat being dispersed evenly. Organ smears as guitars vibrate, roars mar, and a final ripple of chaos electrifies every cell in your body.

“Latitudes of Sorrow,” this split effort pitting Shores of Null and Convocation, lands at an ideal time, when summer has indeed ended and the cold weather is seeping into our pores. These are two bands that bury you in power and punishment, making sure the toll you pay is physical and mental. It also is perfect music for the darker days, when your hope is at its bleakest and you take some solace in knowing you don’t suffer alone. 

For more on the Shores of Null, go here: https://shoresofnull.bandcamp.com/music

For more on Convocation, go here: https://www.facebook.com/ConvocationDoom/

To buy the album, go here: https://everlastingspew.com/21-everlasting-spew-releases

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

It’s not a huge shock when death metal makes your brain swim inside your skull and your guts liquify, but usually it’s because the content is disgusting and violent in a way that might make you sick. But there are other means for achieving that effect and indulging in something that still challenges you but keeps your stomach contents intact.

Italian death metal band Stigiform is on their first record, that being “Aconite,” a six-track, 42-minute excursion into a bizarre blend of horrors that challenge your brain and might bend your nerves. The band—vocalist V, guitarist/synth player/vocalist Saprovore, bassist Aiakos, drummer Morte Rossa—is made up of members of groups such as Vertebra Atlantis, Afraid of Destiny, and Thirst Prayer, and here they push their sound to strange limits. It’s progressive and warped but never in a way that sacrifices its smoldering heart. It’ll make you think of this stuff a little differently, which is welcome.

“Adamant” starts mangling, growls buried in the miasma, tricky, yet fluid playing making your blood race. The pace massacres and sickens, speeding with dizzying melodies, spilling into a sound vortex that flows into “Scorched and Hostile” the savages from the word go. There are weird clean notes that feel like ice dripping inside your skull, creating some variation with the rubbery attack. Howls lash as the intensity spikes, the guitars buzz and slink over strange territory, and that melts into the unknown. “Obsecration” spirals as the leads confound, gnarly bass snakes through thick tributaries, and the drums thunder. The pace halts before jolting anew, the leads tease fire, and then calm arrives, keys bleeding out in strange visions.

“Hypnagogic Allure” has guitars chiming, picking up as the leads bleed, the playing jangling and feeling like screws are loose. Howls unleash hell, storming with dizzying effects, clean gazing making your head spin, screams ravaging as everything ends in calculated confusion. “Prismatic Delirium” engulfs everything, fast, punishing surges bruising, your limbs tingling from the attack, the heat settling as the bass continues to slink in darkness. Cosmic steam collects as the power combusts, the guitars speeding through strange dimensions, digging into psyches. Closer “Knell of Nethermost Withdrawal” begins with steam rising, icy keys mixing into a morbid eruption. Violent rhythms jar as the guitars rocket, the bass scars, and the heat intensifies. The fury strangles as hypnotic power chews muscle, notes spiral into time, and moodiness activates and sparks before fading.

“Aconite” is a record that might take some time to fully absorb as its bizarre world and mind-bending attack can feel oddly alien at first. Well, after multiple listens too. Maybe all of them. Strigiform’s bizarre death metal feels like you had a strange dream from which you’re not sure you’ve actually awakened. And from the unsettling visions the music pushes into your head, your concerns you’re unconscious are not as wild as you may think.

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

To buy the album (U.S.), go here: https://metalodyssey.8merch.us/

Or here (Europe): https://metalodyssey.8merch.com/

For more on the label, go here: https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/

Black metal’s rise from dungeon aesthetics and low-fi sonic attacks has been a thorn in the side of some who feel that this style of music should be as ugly and unpresentable as possible. There’s a definite allure to black metal that stays in that very rigid lane, but over time, bands figured out they could be just as deadly and affective with more ambition.

That brings us to Lamp of Murmuur, helmed by sole creator M, that started off going for the grislier, sootier pathways, but as time went on, his scale grew in scope. The project’s new and fourth full-length “The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy” continues on a similar pathway as 2023’s “Saturnian Bloodstorm,” that went for bigger sounds, cleaner production, and an approach that froze your bones in the flesh. “Dreaming Prince” doesn’t really sound like that record, but it continues the project’s shift upward. The sound remains grounded in black metal but also bathes in gothier waters and even more drama, the title track trilogy of tracks toward the end of the record hammering that home. There is no compromise in sound, no barriers M won’t leap, and, as a result, it’s a more exciting world that’s seductive and bloody.

“The Fires of Seduction” is an intro befitting a great drama, the opening credits score, built on magical synth and immersive melodies, sweeping into “Forest of Hallucinations” that opens with guitars that begin filling in the colors. Then the pace ravages, keys raining down, zany riffs confusing and fueling, howls crumbling as fantastical elements explode. The pace gets speedier and catchier, storming as the keys shimmer, howls wrench, and jolts of electricity power dreams. “Hategate (The Dream-Master’s Realm)” blisters, trudging with gurgling howls and a trampling tempo, spiraling into psychosis. The playing gets more ferocious as a flutter of keys spits ice daggers, clean singing washes over, and ashen guitars fall into madness. “Reincarnation of a Witch” has riffs enveloping as the playing feels thrashy, beastly howls ripple, and a massive chorus stomps. “Fallen, come back to me!” M wails as the leads grow warmer, melting ice into streams, the guitars stabbing with a fiery attack that merges into instrumental “Angelic Vortex.” Synth clouds emerge as the guitars liquify, the gaze thickening and morphing, glowing as it fades into the darkness.

“The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy Part I – Moondance” has a massive open, keys bubbling as the playing is melodic and weird, howls lashing out as a gothy dash darkens. Clean singing bellows as the guitars catch fire, growing stronger and more adventurous, growls gurling on the tail end of a loopy pace. Synth storms as the theatrical notes pummel, lashing into “The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy Part II – Twilight Orgasm” that drips as the melodies glaze. Guitars pick up as the tempo pulses, deep, clean singing reaching into the guts for power, cold and steely guitars feeling like exposed steel on flesh. The playing sweeps, leaving minds dangling as everything spills into “The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy Part III – The Fall” that swims in fluid guitars and snarling growls. Tornadic forces emerge, spirited howls sending chills, playful keys dancing over pits of lava, the singing bellowing as the drums march in step. Sweltering chaos returns as the soloing bursts and dominates, fire-breathing spirits engulfing with colorful energies, everything coming to a scorching end. Closer “A Brute Angel’s Sorrow” is rustic and mournful, acoustics and synth wrapping around the clean singing, shadows growing more foreboding. The vocals continue to power as hazy, blurring notes fall, drowning out tormented visions.

Lamp of Murmuur’s transformation from raw, wintry suffocation to melodic dramatics and towering metallic expression has been pretty breathtaking, and M’s work on “The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy” is a high point for this project. This is ambitious stuff, music that feels cinematic even as the blood is rising knee high, and while it may leave some people behind in the dank basements, it’s clear the focus of this band is to create grandiose music with liberating ideas. This is a massive step forward for a band that already started making big strides last album, and who’s to say how far M will push the limit on future creations and what chaos he will unleash into the world?

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

To buy the album, go here: https://www.wolvesofhades.com/collections/vinyl-wolves-of-hades-vinyl

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

We have covered grief and sorrow ad nauseum on this page, and considering it’s coming up on the season of my own losses, those memories and scars start to become more prominent. Working through them and finding an outlet for those feelings isn’t always easy, and those who have been through the same torment know how helpless it can feel at times.

“Ash Souvenir” is a collaborative album combining black metal power Ragana (Maria and Noel, who both handle vocals and all instrumentation, often switching roles) and drone artist Drowse (Kyle Bate). The piece originally was developed as a commission piece for Roadburn in 2024, and now we have a recorded version that is wrenching emotionally. It’s a dark, reflective, often explosive dive into the pain and torment that comes with helping suffering loved ones and mourning those who have left this plane. That shared experience among the three artists inform these four tracks that sprawl and emote, lash out, and seek healing, putting those emotions right in front of you for absorption and potentially as a connecting point.

“In Eternal Woods Pts. 1-3” is an immersive 13:45-long opener, and track that lets everything breathe from the clean guitars to the rustic edges to the easy-flowing strings that create a fog. Voices warble behind a wall of sound before guitars cut through, and shrieks finally jostle about six minutes in, peeling paint from walls. The pace jolts as the cries grow more desperate, gazey leads bask in energy pockets as feedback wails, battering before softer singing soothes wounds. The emotion gusts again as acoustics rise, rain falls, and the coldness soaks into your bones.

“After Image” is chilly too, Bate’s vocals taking over, the only time he is on lead on the record. The playing and words lead you through the misty forests as the verses bring calm, the choruses delivering the tumult. Shrieks gut as the drums spill over, pressure mounts, and mournful singing fades and spills into “In Eternal Woods Pt. 4,” an instrumental piece. Accordion tingles as dark, funereal sentiment forebodes, keys melt, and the buzzing makes your mind surge. “Ash Souvenir” closes the record, images of the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens permeate as everything is coated in soot. Guitars are delicate as the soft singing pays the homage, the repeat calls of, “There is nothing to lose,” imprinting on your heart. Cymbals shatter as guitars kick in with power, blood gushing as shrieks rampage down mountains. Melodies lull as the wrenching hurt remains, burning forever into darkness.

The pain, grief, and blackness that went into creating “Ash Souvenir” is apparent on every ounce of this album, and these three creators let you feel every twist of that on these four tracks. Ragana and Drowse make a ton of sense together from a musical standpoint, but their union feels even stronger when you experience this record and take on the torment. It’s beautiful, haunting, challenging, and volcanic at the same time, a snapshot captured of a stressful time that resulted in great, moving art.

For more on the Ragana, go here: https://ragana.bandcamp.com/

For more on Drowse, go here: https://drowse.bandcamp.com/

To buy the album, go here: https://nowflensing.com/collections/ragana

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

For some reason, I spend a lot of weeknights lying in bed, obviously high, watching videos about planets in our solar system and indulging in the details of these bizarre places that no one inhabits. Sometimes that takes me to galaxies beyond our own, learning about planets that none of us ever will visit and could be the home to who knows what. 

When I hear Voidceremony, who are releasing their third album “Abditum,” I hear sounds that feel like they would be fitting accompanying these weird journeys I take into the stars. Their progressively minded death metal is alien and formless, like something that floated into our world from elsewhere, trying to shape hearts and minds. The band—guitarist/vocalist Wandering Mind (aka Garrett Johnson), guitarist The Archonoclast (Jayson McGehee), drummer Dylan Marks (Atheist-live), and their dual-headed bass beast of The Great Righteous Destroyer (Damon Good of Mournful Congregation, Stargazer, Cauldron Black Ram) and The Absent Deity (Ben Ricci)—can wow you with their finesse and creativity that they meld with their dark art, but they do so in a compact, abbreviated manner as compared to most in this sub-genre. In just under 30 minutes, your brain is tangled and your limbs are destroyed, leaving you wondering what strange force has overtaken you. 

“Intro – Inevitable Entropy” opens mystically, injecting a fantasy element, synth and strings combining and moving toward “Veracious Duality” the immediately pummels. The playing is tricky and immersive, guitars snarling and dizzying, roars punishing as soot smears your vision. The playing grows more propulsive, the rubbery bass jarring, a progressive assault reaching across and pulling you into the fray, ending on a frantic note. “Seventh Ephemeral Aura” has riffs trampling, vocals retching, and the tempo racing forward with energy. The playing trudges and crunches as the soloing spills over into a new dimension, feeling alien and strange. The bass vibrates the earth as leads sprawl, and everything comes to an adventurous end. “Dissolution” is a quick instrumental built with humidity, jazzy guitars, and a path that seems to meander into time.

“Despair of Temporal Existence” is a brief, yet brutal beast, a death attack that delivers ferocious growls, bass trampling, and a deeper foray into abject ugliness. “Failure of Ancient Wisdoms” has the guitars confounding, fiery leads taking control, and the band digging in its collective claws, crushing with doses of speed. Atmosphere is infused as the band hits a start/stop lurch, and then fluid leads emerge and pull everything into oblivion. “Silence Which Ceases All Minds” is violent, instantly mashing with conviction, the leads lathering while exploring the outer edges of the universe. The playing electrifies more forcefully, punishing as the leads go off, and a channeled rage ends this riveting instrumental. “Gnosis of Ambivalence” blisters, dealing in speed and tenacity, growls carving into the ground, a tempered pace taking over before detonating. The guitar work blazes as the pace jolts, howls snarl, and a battering ram crashes into your chest. Closer “Outro – Elegy of Finality” brings an elegant, whirring finish to this record, bringing jangling keys and a frosty ambiance that rests deep in the cosmos.

Voidceremony manage to combine the ideas, insane ability, and creativity most bands of this ilk would stretch over 70 minutes into a compact journey that’s over in a little less than 30 minutes on “Abditum.” This is a real mind-melter, but it’s one that won’t leave you sifting through a million twists and turns to get to the point, fun as that may be. This is progressive death in digestible chunks that are just as satisfying and don’t leave behind bloat.

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

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

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