It’s certainly not everyone’s thing, but I love putting on records and being so baffled by what I’m hearing that I have to reconsider everything I thought I knew about heavy music. It’s fun to be mentally picked apart like that, experiencing devastation that makes the wiring in your brain melt and drip through your ears, making what you’re hearing warp your senses.

One flip through “Carrion Angel,” the debut EP from Cerulean, gave me that experience. It’s not like I’ve never heard death and black metal that chews away at my mental stability, but it’s never been put together quite like this before. The band—vocalist/guitarist/synth player Stephen Knapp, bassist Jared Johnson, bassist/guitarist Garret Davis, drummer Ben Wilson, (Daniela Mars add contrabass flute)—attacks with tenacity and a near-scientific prowess that adds extra ferocity to these songs. This is death and black metal that seeks to  maintain its DNA while also morphing into something alien that eats into your brain. This was released by the band last year, but it’s been picked up by I, Voidhanger for wider distribution, as well as what’s supposed to be a more challenging (!!!) EP later in 2024.

“Tower of Silence” is a strange, eerie instrumental opener that makes your blood freeze, and then it’s on to “Sky Burial” that immediately rips with death metal tenacity. Vicious howls lay waste as sinewy, rubbery madness gets you in its grasp, fiery hell spewing through every crevice. The force blisters while the bass flexes, zany, fiery melodies attack, and horns blare out, signaling Armageddon. “Carrion Angel” opens with guitars scuffing, the bass plodding, and the growls drowning in the murk. Then the thing zaps into a manic rage, storming and stabbing, the growls crushing as the guitars go off and sicken. The punishing pace then simmers in soot, the guitars find a way to soar regardless, and the slurry finish leaves your muscles feeling tested. “Gnashing of Teeth” is a complete assault as the bass clobbers, and vicious shrieks peel back your flesh, speed bursting through the gates. The attack continues as wildness is afoot, vile howls crush, and the trudging madness spills into the mouth of hell. Closer “Shroud of Locusts” enters amid a guitar fog, growls retching out of the mystery, the playing turning blinding and sudden. Blood races through your veins as a cooling agent is applied, but it can’t completely soothe the burning. Sounds sift as the howls pummel, the attack hit tornadic levels, and a furious ending sends rock and shrapnel flying full force toward your prone body.

“Carrion Angel” is a mind-bending display of technical prowess and death/black metal fury, and to think their upcoming EP is supposed to be the experimental one! I can’t even imagine. But Cerulean have our attention now with this EP that’s finally getting the widespread recognition it deserves. This isn’t music that goes down easy; this is a full-on assault to the senses, one that won’t allow for easy recovery mentally or physically.  

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

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://www.facebook.com/i.voidhanger.records/

There are a lot of activities you’d expect a father and his young son might do to bond and form a stronger relationship. Tossing the ball around the yard, camping, watching the game, or if you’re me, getting yelled at in the garage because your then-undiagnosed ADHD made it impossible to handle the pressure of handing the right tools to my dad. Oh, and creating a killer death metal band. Duh.

Tim Kenefic has plied his trade in Assimilator, Throne, and the tongue-in-cheek grind that is Alpha-o-MAGA (the song titles alone are worth it), but it wasn’t until one day when he was driving his son Alexander to school and playing 3 Inches of Blood in the car that they got the notion to throw down their ideas together and form Wizard Death. Tim put together the ferocious music, and Alex created tales of swords, wizardry, and all things that have made metal magical since the start (even singing on the demo). They had something, and the result was EP “I Am the Night.” Added to the lore is Tim sharing the music with his vocal teacher Kayla Dixon (Witch Mountain, Dress the Dead) who added her killer pipes to the songs in the new version that’s being released by Wise Blood. Kyle Smith added drums, and another guest provided a great solo (more on that later) to a really cool project that hopefully continues well into the future.

“I Am the Night” explodes with strong riffs and fire, Dixon’s powerful singing stretching its muscles and adding pressure. The galloping pace threatens to pull you under, rampaging and pummeling, trampling you underfoot as the intensity builds and chars. The chorus pulsates, the leads ride hard, and everything ends in a cloud of dust. “Under the Southern Cross” opens with militaristic drumming rattling, fiery guitar work melting flesh, the raspy singing driving hard into the night. Things turn ominous and doomy, and then the soloing blazes with passion, Dixon’s singing turning things up another notch, charging toward the gates. Closer “Slay the Serpents” starts with a warbling voice sending a warning, doomy heat turning on, and the singing swelling. The playing gets darker and more foreboding, smoking leads crush, and a slick, classic-style solo from Ron Wrong (also of Witch Mountain) pumps lava into the center. The pace picks up harder, the heat dumps a blanket of steam, and the final gasps swelter away.

The Kenefics sounds like they’re having a blast on “I Am the Night,” and why wouldn’t they be? This is such a cool bond for father and son here with Wizard Death, and the guests that come in to add more vitriol to the tracks enrich what already are rock-solid foundations. Hopefully we get more from Wizard Death, as it would be fun to hear this band develop as Alexander grows up. Good thing he has some pretty damn good metal role models at whom to look up.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://wizarddeath333.bandcamp.com/album/i-am-the-night

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

This week, with no real planning involved, we’re featuring a slew of shorter releases that still pack a lot of energy and enjoyment. I’ll think back on this week next time I have to write about a two-hour album. Today’s selection is unique because it features a really creative and exciting split release from two bands that are almost comprised of the same people.

We’ve written before about both Lotus Thief and Forlesen for their fuller works, but they have a new split effort that shows each beast has expanded musically and philosophically and still can leave your brain spinning in your skull over what you just heard. Lotus Thief—harsh vocalist Ascalaphus, vocalist/bassist/guitarist/synth and mandolin player Bezaelith, backing vocalist Mohrany, guitarist/synth player Petit Albert, guitarist Romthulus, percussionist Sonnungr—last haunted us with 2020’s “Oresteia,” and now they’re back with a track inspired by Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron that is a work of stories about people dealing with life during the Black Death. Fitting for music created during our most recent pandemic. As for Forlesen, it also features Ascalaphus (vocals, guitar), Bezaelith (vocals, guitar, bass), and Petit Albert (B3 organ, piano) and includes Maleus on drums, and this track is both a romantic and dark take on a traditional folk ballad that sounds perfectly reimagined in their hands. It’s also their first new music since 2020’s mesmerizing second album “Black Terrain.”  

“In Perdition” starts off breezy for a track that centers on the goddamn plague, but here we are. Lush singing and immersive melodies combine before the first heavy blows land, and then the leads take off for the sky. Shrieks gut as steamy cleansing turns your emotions inside out, hurtling through dreamy terrain and then taking a hard turn into madness. “And you, accursed as you are,” is wailed, sending chills, “You blaspheme with every waif of straw beneath your feet… and his clothes torn off.” Fiery hell spreads as the playing jolts and excites, mystical elements swell and increase the temperature, and the melodies squish. Hearty singing from Bezaelith elevates, calling, “Mine’s too great a sin, what manner of man is this? In paradise, in perdition,” as acoustics sweep everything away.

Forlesen’s “Black Is the Color” begins with drums echoing, Ascalaphus and Bezaelith uniting voices, slinking into darkness and reverie. “I love my lover and well she knows I love the ground whereon she goes, and I still I hope that day will come when she and I will be as one,” rivets your emotions, and the guitars pick up the heat. The soaring scorches as the drumming paces, the singing reaches out and grasps hearts, and the guitars envelop, sending blood through veins. “And still I hope that day will come when she and I will be as one,” Ascalaphus repeats as the keys drip, and the dramatic flourishes make your emotions peak. Sounds swell as the elements pound down, chants flourish and continue, and the drums slowly slip away, everything disappearing into the horizon.

These two bands might share a lot of members, but the work Lotus Thief and Forlesen commit to this split effort stand apart from each other, even if they have similar metallic DNA. These are two of the more imaginative bands in the experimental heavy scene, and if you’re new to either or both, this gives you a nice bite size example of what makes them so exciting. This is a fun, fantastical collection, and its clutches will dig deep into you and make your dreams turn into different colors and settings.

For more on the Lotus Thief, go here: https://www.facebook.com/LotusThief

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

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://www.facebook.com/i.voidhanger.records/

I never understand the hand wringing when a band shows growth, as if its members are supposed to regurgitate the same sounds over and over again. Sure, that might add to the comfort level of some people in their audience, and there are times when expansion muddies the waters, but who wants to see an artist painted into a corner? As long as what they’re doing is genuine, the change and expanse can be exciting.

“Regeneration” is the new record from Guhts, and its inspiration comes from that idea of change and growth, pushing oneself to find the areas that truly bring contentment and happiness. There’s a noted difference from 2021’s eye-opening debut “Blood Feather,” as this music is more involved, darker, doomier, and certainly more emotional. The band—vocalist Amber Gardner, guitarist Scott Prater, bassist Daniel Martinez, drummer Brian Clemens—now operates deeper in similar territories as bands such as Battle of Mice, A Storm of Light, and King Woman, but with their own stamp tattooed into that sound. This is a massive step forward, a record that’ll throttle you mentally and emotionally, but at its core is that acceptance of regenerating and finding exciting new life.  

“White Noise” starts with noise moaning and Gardner’s singing immediately enrapturing. Doomy and breathy, the track moves through mystery until the bottom drops, heavy and sludgy playing darkening moods. “This is far, I will own you,” Gardner calls, and even moments of softness act as harbingers for the thrust of thorns. Tornadic singing swells, the playing gets heavier and sludgier, and the ferocity peaks and leaves dried blood. “Til Death” simmers in programmed beats before laying down the hammer, Gardner’s singing floating amid a doom stream. Elegance and smokiness unite, and then the bludgeoning lands harder, the singing scars, and the power disappears in the clouds. “The Mirror” soaks in glimmering keys and warm leads as the singing slinks, Garnder calling and repeating, “Your life is not your own.” Synth sheen brightens as the playing picks up the heat, emotion pulsates, and the final moments smear pain and sorrow.

“Handless Maiden” pummels as strings agitate, and gazey ferocity spreads. “Eyes adorned, eye to eye, turn men into pigs, milk white against black sky, swallow my fist,” Gardner calls as the mud and noise collect, calculating heaviness grows, and the power dissolves into a thick fog. “Eyes Open” basks in feedback and then drudging playing, the singing swelling under red and ominous skies. Keys rain down as the singing swirls in psychosis, muddy guitars bash, every element stretches and confounds before disappearing into smoke. “Generate” opens gently with soulful singing, Garden calling, “Minds full of mazes, pressure never laid, memories bouncing back and forth in your head.” The darkness envelops as sorrow swells on the chorus, Gardner singing, “You’re never listening, I’m floating in between the spaces in the shade of light.” The guitars pick up as the vocals sting harder, the pace elevates, and the weight of everything makes its impact, bruising and finally simmering away. Closer “The Wounded Healer” has echoes chiming, deeper singing, and gazey moodiness hanging overhead. Suddenly, shrieks gut, the playing grows vicious and desperate, and a steamy haze overtakes your mind. “My heart, silence my heart,” Gardner pleads, the mood thickening and crawling through darkness, trying to numb your open wounds. “Lay down your sorrow, lay down your pride,” Gardner wails as the spirits bask in shadows, ending with a gasp of desperation.

“Regeneration” pulls at the parts of your psyche that continually try to find the path that’s most hopeful and giving, attempting to find the place you always belonged, be that physical or mental. Or both. Guhts as a band is gravitating toward their fuller form, and this record shows monumental growth and dexterity from artists that already were making pretty powerful music. This album swells with  muscle and emotion, the words cut to the bone, and the result is a group of artists moving closer to their truth and doing so in an incredibly impactful, sonically moving manner.

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

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

Or here (U.K.): https://cargorecordsdirect.co.uk/products/guhts-regeneration

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

And here: https://www.newheavysounds.com/

When I started this site 12 years ago, I never imagined I’d still be pounding away at it nearing 50. But I’m glad I am. So many people my age don’t really keep up with things like music, and the fact I’m still able to discover bands and find new pathways means I’m adapting and showing resiliency. I’m not listening to the same old stuff, and each year I end up going in directions I never thought I’d take.

I thought about that a lot after my first listen to “The Deepening,” the first new record from Vemod in more than a decade, and each subsequent visit has only amplified that. Change, transformation, and growth are primary tenets of this record, and the band—guitarist/synth player, clean vocalist Jan Even Åsli , drummer/harsh vocalist Eskil Blix, bassist Espen Kalstad—also demonstrates that in their music. Black metal remains a base, but they go in such thought-provoking, stimulating new areas and enrich what already was a very robust recipe, into a touchstone album for a very young 2024. Every moment is captivating and immersive, and I can tell this is music that will stick with me deep into the year and beyond.

“Mot oss, en ild” opens gently, as if ensconced in a fog, the moodiness building and trickling into “Der guder dør” that is dramatic and clashing as it greets you. Howls creep in as the playing grows more adventurous, melodies swelling and warming your bones, the atmosphere suddenly wrenching. Sounds ache as the tempo pulls back and forth, the guitars picking up and jangling, clean energy bursting and unleashing a breeze. The playing gains steam as it draws to its close, bleeding into the horizon. “True North Beckons” stirs and quakes, the growls overwhelming, melodies glowing and then gushing. The howls penetrate as warm guitars glimmer, eventually mashing and causing bruising, the leads simmering and pulling into dusk. The pace moves with prog energy and an increasing cloud cover, churning and driving into the stars.

“Fra drømmenes bok I” is a brief interlude as isolated voices and eventually choral breezes push into the open, ghostly and strange spirits surrounding you. “Inn i lysande natt” is an instrumental piece that brings a sound hum before guitars engage and increase the temperature, the bass plodding, and a post-punk-style barrage darkening the skies. The playing feels like a warm journey, melodic waves crashing, wordless calls making your blood rush through your veins, and the guitars scarring before hurtling toward the sun. The closing title track is the longest piece at 16:14, and it’s a wonderful use of time, surging with clean singing that turns into acidic growls, spacious textures transforming into gnarly speed. The vocals grow harsh and foreboding, creaking with moodiness, gushing with dark energy, crushing with spacey atmosphere. Hazy calls pull out of a blistering dream, the bass quivers, and an imaginative passage floats in ether. A synth bed comforts, the playing merges into the heavens, and the adventure rests only in your sleep now.

Vemod return after a 12-year absence with a record so immersive and moving that “The Deepening” makes that gap in time completely worth it. These six tracks show a band in the throes of transformation but with roots still firmly attached to their origins, and it makes for an album that’s a picture in time, one that’s bound to shift yet again on record three. For those also immersed in transformation and growth, this is a record that can live alongside you on that journey, injecting your spirit with much-needed inspiration.   

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

To buy the album, go here: http://lnk.spkr.media/deepening

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

It doesn’t always happen that when you hear a band or a record, you feel like what you’re experiencing purposely is declaring war on you and your mental well-being. That probably sounds like a turn off for a lot of people who don’t like when music makes them feel uncomfortable, but we’re not always guaranteed comfort. Music that reminds you of that fact can make the adrenaline spike in an uneasy manner.

Death metal crushers Vitriol always find a way to dig into your brain and jam the buttons that make the anxiety burst. On their ferocious second record “Suffer & Become,” the band—guitarist/vocalist Kyle Rasmussen, bassist/vocalist Adam Roethlisberger, guitarist Daniel Martinez, drummer Matt Kilner—pours acid and unforgiving trauma on these creations, 10 tracks that eat away at you and turn up the audio violence to such a massive level that your mind is left racing for security. Crazy enough, the band weaves a sense of optimism into this record, which is a stark departure from 2019 debut “To Bathe from the Throat of Cowardice,” and it’s also like trying to find a needle in a bloody haystack considering how dark and scary this all sounds. But look hard, and you’ll find it.

“Shame and its Afterbirth” feels hostile and disorienting from the start, the guitars mixing your brains inside your skull, the carnage fully flattening. The guitars go off in an acid reflux, mercilessly landing savage blows, the insane assault finally relenting. “The Flowers of Sadism” melts and slashes, the vocals feeling vicious and mangling, heavy dissonance making it impossible to gain footing. The violence multiplies as the roars gut, the monstrous attack beating you into submission. “Nursing from the Mother Wound” is an outright barnburner, clobbering as the vocals maim, smearing terror from end to end. Hell engorges as the chaos dares you to stare back, slamming your face into the asphalt. “The Isolating Lie of Learning Another” is storming and warped, the howls destroying as the speed increases, marring and tearing psyches apart. The band leans more progressive before a violent spasm twists spines, the howls incinerate, and only ash remains. “Survival’s Careening Inertia” brings cold guitars and a chilling front, the guitars exploding and carving into your flesh, fiery and sizzling pressure making their presence felt. Strange synth create a noxious cloud, putting an apocalyptic touch on this instrumental piece.

“Weaponized Loss” is sinewy at first and then acts as a battering ram, tangling and dragging everything in its reach to hell. Demonic growls and speedy guitars create a terrifying team, and the pace trudges and draws blood, ending in abject heaviness. “Flood of Predation” is an immediate assault, the growls retching as sounds glaze, spitting fire. The drums pummel as the soot collects, crushing to an instant finish. “Locked in Thine Frothing Wisdom” unleashes delirious leads, guttural growls, and ridiculous heaviness that leaves you gasping. The shrieks menace as the guitars act like a flamethrower, incinerating everything unfortunate to be in their path. “I Am Every Enemy” batters with raspy howls and maniacal force, the playing charging with ill intent, hellish fire licking limbs. The drums turn up the destruction as an acidic pace splashes and leaves disfigurement. Closer “He Will Fight Savagely” is an instant burst of power, blinding and gutting, turning rivers into blood. The shrieks peel away at flesh as a cacophonous racket shreds minds, a synth fog compromises vision, and a dramatic finish drowns in noise.

There’s nothing easygoing about Vitriol as every second of “Suffer & Become” demands every ounce of your being, the idea of mercy the very last thing on anyone’s mind. These 10 tracks are exercises in torment, and while there may be tiny rays of hope hidden in the din, they don’t easily make themselves evident. This is a menacing, devastation collection, a record that’ll stick with you log after it’s over because of the deep-rooted bruising left behind.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://centurymedia.store/

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

As a kid, I commonly had nightmares about alien beings arriving on earth, peering through my windows at night as they study or make plans for something more sinister. It didn’t help I’d sneak UFO documentaries and movies based on aliens, almost as if my fears were keeping my imagination alive and focused on things that chilled my blood.

Canadian thrash/death trio Dissimulator appear to have visions of the same kind, as their bashing and cosmic debut “Lower Form Resistance” feels like touching the face of something not of this planet. The band member themselves—vocalist/guitarist Claude Leduc, bassist Antoine Daigneault, drummer Philippe Boucher—have plied their trade in other mind-tangling beasts including Chthe’ilist, Atramentus, Beyond Creation, and Incandescence, but what they do on this album is from a different world altogether. It’s a mauler of a record, one that pulsates with rubbery weirdness and madness that claims your imagination and injects it with sinister power.

“Neural Hack” begins properly thrashy, the bass stomping as speedy riffs take over, meaty howls sending seismic jolts down your spine. The playing intensifies, feeling beastly and moody, ending with zany ferocity. “Warped” is fast and trudging, the guitars feeling wiry, the vocals mashing with monstrous power. The tempo slows a bit but remains impossibly heavy, mauling and adding a strange alien effect that becomes a theme on this record, blistering until ending abruptly. “Outer Phase” brings flexible riffs and a tricky tempo, the growls corroding as the guitars spiral into the earth. The vibe feels strange, energies arriving from deep in the cosmos, the growls crushing as the leads zap. The playing goes soaring into the stars, warping and adding fiery emotion, ending with mechanical heat.

“Automoil & Robotoil” opens with the drums pacing, the playing chugging, and more extraterrestrial weirdness over the singing. The leads glow as clean warbling chills bones, crushing and smashing, the bass recoiling, charging and ripping to completion.   “Cybermorphism/Mainframe” is clean and hazy at first, icy drips pelting off metal, the playing slowly heating as things get more menacing. Punishing thrashiness becomes more intense, weird cosmic winds blow stardust into your eyes, and then the power reengages, the guitars igniting. Disarming auras spin in the air, blistering through mangling thrashing, beating your bones into dust. “Hyperline Underflow” unloads fiery guitars, crushing growls, and the leads exploding across the sky. A blistering breakdown causes bruising, the guitars glow and chug, and the final moments bask in starlight. The closing title track erupts with guitars and progressive grit, not unlike countrymates Voivod. The playing is fantastical and furious, zapping and trudging, clean singing scorching flesh, fluid wonders taking off and jolting your imagination to accept possibilities never considered before.

Dissimulator might be revisiting the cosmic thrash that was born four decades ago, but they do so in such an imaginative and fresh manner that it puts a new edge and sharpness onto the sound, making it their own. “Lower Form Resistance” also is an album that sounds great first time around, but as you revisit, new alien pockets reveal themselves and pull you in alternative directions. This is a satisfyingly crunchy debut from a band whose adventures into the deepest parts of the universe is just starting.

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

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

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

No one ever guaranteed life was going to be easy, and it sure as hell isn’t smooth sailing a lot of the time. There is so much unrest, so much hatred and chaos, that going from day to day can be a struggle. Add to that the presence of social media that only seems to compound the misery, and we’re basically living in a 24-hour-a-day pressure cooker, no relief in sight.

Nordic death thrashers Sovereign have arrived with their stellar first full-length effort “Altered Realities,” and the chaos we are forced to experience every day is woven into these punishing seven tracks. The band has a freshness and ferocity that pumps new blood into this style of music that is time tested and well-traveled, putting a fresh coat of paint on a reliable machine. This record hums with frustration and violence, and the band—vocalist/bassist Simen Roher Grong, guitarists Tommy Jacobsen and Vidar Fineidet, drummer Cato Syversrud—explodes with energy on a record that revisits the mental wounds sustained by so many on an album that could be a sort of cathartic bloodletting.

“Altered Reality” gets the record off to a fantastical start, synth enveloping, the pace then beginning to drive hard, looking to crush skulls. The synth glows as the guitars drizzle, a strange aura being achieved before a chugging force takes over. Speed becomes a factor as the guitars take off, blazing and ending in a tunnel of echo. “Futile Dreams” ravages, the vocals ripping, the power thrashing viciously. Fluid guitars send strange breezes, and then fast, ravaging playing burns through open fields, increasing the heat and tension, the leads firing up and driving deep into the earth. “Nebular Waves” crushes as throaty howls send shockwaves, and the guitars slam the gas pedal and push things into overdrive. Chugging and mashing meet up with a ferocious heatwave, blazing its path as Grong’s wild howls rise. The guitars blind as the leads go off, relentlessly stomping guts.

“Counter Tech” is unhinged, raspy growls eating into bone, the brutality rumbling mercilessly as the guitars lather. The tempo slows but the intensity and the heaviness do not, guitars leave your brain tingling, and the fiery carnage tears into an end that engulfs you in flames. “The Enigma of Intelligence” brings dripping, bubbling leads before the speed increases, and devastation tears open the earth’s crust. The pace blasts with force as dual leads combine and add regality to these horrors, snaping bones before the playing leads into cosmic wooshing and trudging chaos. “Synthetic Life” stomps guts, the gnarly playing tearing open ribcages, battering everything in its path. The leads scorch as the playing sprawls, leading to a fresh onslaught, the attack splattering and mangling to the very end. Closer “Absence of Unity” runs 10:16, the longest track here, and cosmic awe spreads over the universe, blasting with nastiness and ravaging force. The leads boil as acidic howls eat into flesh, slaughtering and knifing its way forward, a brief respite of strangeness icing flesh. Shrieks bloody lips as a synth cloud thickens and hovers, the playing slowly trudging, a mystical edge turning your mind and melting into time.

There’s no doubt we live in harrowing times, and the events we’ve witnessed and somehow overcome have helped shape us and our survival instincts. Sovereign’s violent mix of thrash and death on “Altered Realities” perfectly encapsulates the struggles both mentally and physically, and journeying through these tracks provides a neck-jerking adventure through the pain and sorrow we’ve all faced. We’ll never be immune to societal unrest and the events that have ravaged us, but pulling through is key, and these tracks have the tenacity and devastation to act as a long-standing act of defiance.

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

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

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

One of the great mysteries of our collective existences is what, if anything, lies beyond this plane. We all will face our demise, as it’s a guarantee we can’t bargain or argue our way out of, so the idea of going somewhere after we expire here on Earth is something of a comfort. Even the idea of living forever is unsettling, because it’s so hard to imagine existence stretching out and never ceasing for a second.

“Clandestine Transcendence” is the new long player from Lord Dying, their fourth overall and most musically diverse to date. On this 12-track, nearly hourlong excursion, the band—vocalist/guitarist Erik Olson, guitarist Chris Evans, bassist/vocalist Alyssa Maucere, drummer Kevin Swartz—tells of a fictional character The Dreamer, an immortal being who no longer wants the gift or curse of eternal life. The character is granted his wish, and this album explores the experiences he confronts beyond the wall of death. The band still packs their trademark sludgy punch, and there are some impossibly heavy moments on this record. But they stretch beyond that, adding exoanded melodic texture, some cleaner singing, and a more diverse set of tools that open up a world of possibilities.   

“The Universe Is Weeping” begins with guitars trickling and the haze picking up, and then the pace begins moving, Olson’s howls cutting through the smoke. The intensity continues until a washed-out end with Maucere repeating, “We know we’ve lost our way now.” “I AM NOTHING, I AM EVERYTHING” bludgeons from the get-go, leads dive bomb, and the trudging continues and mixes with soaring leads. Gritty howls push with the mauling tempo, adding sharp teeth and grit that ends in black metal-style dramatics. “Unto Becoming” is the first track that shows their foray into new territories, Olson’s singing sometimes sounding gothy, the pace taking on more of a rock feel. But it’s not without its crumbling and devastation, shrieks peeling as Olson calls, “We are the keepers beyond the light,” as everything crashes to the ground. “Final Push Into the Sun” blisters and mauls, raining fire from the heavens, the shrieks battering along with bellowing singing. Mystical weirdness and a synth cloud envelop, guitars lather, and a psychedelic edge takes over your mind. “Dancing on the Emptiness” is the longest track here, running 8:06 and getting off to a tempered start. The singing scars as dark guitars jangle, hypnotic winds picking up, playing growing more forceful. Atmospheric jolts mix with moody guitar work, and suddenly we’re deep into nighttime vibes, feeling like we’re travelling well past midnight as Olson calls, “We all fall apart.” “Facing the Incomprehensible” begins with ominous tones, shrieks punishing, a vicious pace leaving welts on your body. Doom waters grow darker, the playing batters bodies, and the guitar work heads toward the sun, tearing out hearts along the way.

“A Brief Return to Physical Form” is a quick, strange interlude with acoustics washing over rocks, disarming haziness spreading, and everything bleeding into “A Bond Broken by Death” that’s progressively fueled and bursts with life. Guitars zap as the singing digs deep, making for one of the more approachable tracks on the record, blending into rustic atmosphere. Later, metallic jolts leave burns, melodic fire licks steel, and the propulsive energy disappears into the sky. “Break in the Clouds (In the Darkness of Our Minds)” starts acoustically, Olson singing, “The Dreamer awakes at the gates of dawn, he waits for the sun, but the sun never comes.” The playing eventually lands heavy punches, battering with molten howls that trade off with dreamy singing, the leads lathering before a warped ending. “Soul Metamorphosis” opens with tricky guitars and fiery howls, melting into psyche madness, raw growls opening wounds. The playing floods and overwhelms, shrieks dice flesh, and the thrashing power delivers a vicious end. “Swimming in the Absence” makes your flesh tingle as deeper singing settles into your cells, the reflective pace also finding ways to be jostling. Spirited calls rise to the surface, sorrowful, yet heavy melodies dominate, and the final moments slowly dissolve into closer “The Endless Road Home” that’s blunt and harsh. Olson’s howls remind of Mike Patton in this sequence, and the playing is fluid and forceful, the vocals spitting as immersive guitars pull you under the surface. The melodies rush as Olson and Maucere merge voices, the pace burning and sizzling, giving the final visions a sense of finality for a journey ended.

“Clandestine Transcendence” stretches far beyond this plane of existence in impressive and expansive fashion, making for Lord Dying’s most comprehensive record to date. Those who demand their early days of all sludge might need to adjust, but open-minded listeners are in for one hell of an adventure with the Dreamer and this band that obviously is capable of so much more. I need to spend more time with this record for full immersion and understanding, but luckily that’s an excursion I’ll be happy to take to a realm I hope to not visit for a little while longer.   

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

To buy the album, go here: https://mnrkheavy.com/collections/lord-dying

Or here (Europe): https://mnrkheavy.eu/collections/lord-dying

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

For all the excitement people had over the dawning of a new year—and I hated 2023, so I see the point—we’re also that much closer to living in a system of fascism, especially here in the United States. Like, this year could very well signal the end of freedom and security for a lot of marginalized people and could strip back our voting rights. Paranoia? Hardly. Just look around you.

That also plays out on a global level, and “Depths,” the second record from black metal force Abhoria, acts as an anthology of tales about people living under crushing circumstances, their reactions to these things acting as pivotal life moments. The L.A.-based black metal band—vocalist Ben Pitts, guitarists Trevor Portz and Theo Romeo, bassist Igor Panasewicz, drummer JS—is aware of what’s happening around us, the suffering many people endure, and the power structures that let it happen. It’s not a concept record as each song tells a different story, but the struggles are woven together, making a devastating scene where people fight for their well-being, each tale not necessarily ending happily.

“Emergence” is a brief, menacing first cut with the guitars emerging from smoke, growls strangling, and terrors raining, leading into “The Inexorable Earth” that immediately punishes with speed and chaos. Shrieks go for the kill as melodic black metal bursts from the seams, sweeping into fire and death. Speed picks up as vicious playing lays waste, destroying to the end. “The Well” storms, the howls destroy psyches, and things suddenly come unglued, making your safety anything but assured. The path turns progressive as the leads soar, melodies crash down, and everything is consumed by fire. “Within Our Dominion” is sweeping and fast, a stunning force that turns into acidic growls and sludgy power. Shrieks rain down as melodies color the horizon, racing as power engorges, plastering with chaos that peaks and then powers out. “They Hunt at Night” attacks with the leads rushing, growls crushing, and the overall force leaning into your sanity. The playing drills hard, creating a stunning storm, melodies rushing as the thick bassline leaves ample bruising.

“Devour” snakes ominously, the growls tempering as a lurching pace makes your footing unsteady. Leads tangle as the shrieks strike, vicious mashing landing blows to your chest, surging until slowly fading away. “The Foundling” torches as shrieks dig into flesh, melodies gets thick and nasty, and black metal majesty spreads its wings. The playing then glimmers before the leads regain force and swelter, the growls energize, and the final jolts rip air from your lungs. “Ghosts in the Smoke” brings a fiery assault as the shrieks peel back flesh, and spiraling leads leave the room spinning dangerously. The soloing opens and stuns, fiery shrieks spread devastation, and the tornadic melodies leave carnage behind. Closer  “Winter’s Embrace” blasts in with strong leads, fiery vocals, and the attack drilling and smoking. The pressure mounts as the band heads into the eye of the storm, the shrieks loosen rocks, and the torrential downpour leaves you scrambling for high ground.

“Depths” reveals a hellish world where the most harrowing possibilities come true, and each track reveals a new nightmare that once seemed inconceivable. Abhoria’s approach injects drama and terror into their melodic black metal, adding nightmarish melodies and visions of a world permanently fractured. These scenarios aren’t so far-fetched, and depending what path this world decides to follow, we could find ourselves dealing with these situations sooner than we fear.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://shop.prostheticrecords.com/products/abhoria-depths

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