Our Pick of the Week feature almost always highlights a record out that week or the one after that we’re really excited about and want to make an extra big deal about them.  But it’s the final week of reviews for 2022, which is hard to even fathom, so this last one is something we totally missed that was released fairly recently and that we just fucking adore.

Los Angeles doom power Faetooth released their debut full-length effort “Remnants of the Vessel” at the end of October, and while I do get the bulk of every recording released each week, I didn’t get a copy of this one. In fact, I was looking at animals and chef reactions videos on TikTok (I know! I know!) while high, and I was served up a live performance from Faetooth that blew my brain out of my skull. That led me to track down their Bandcamp where I purchased “Remnants,” and it’s been in constant rotation since. The band—guitarist/vocalist Ashla Chavez Razzano, guitarist/vocalist Ari May, bassist/vocalist Jenna Garcia, drummer Rah Kanan—calls their sound “fairy doom,” and the dreamy yet blistering edge to their music could lure you into a patch of thorns. Fans into bands such as Blackwater Holylight, High Priestess, and Jex Thoth will find a ton to like on these 10 tracks and 49 minutes that are enrapturing and have no qualms about slipping a dagger into your side.

“(i) naissance” is an intro cut that basks in strings aching, the intensity slowly rising to “Echolalia” that starts solemnly before burly crushing lands, and the bruising starts to set. “On thy knees now, we fall with what we build,” rings out, jabbing deeply and leaving a mark that never goes away. Shrieks sink in their teeth as the leads burn brightly, leaving everything charred. “La Sorcière” is ominous and builds deliberately, the anguish in the singing making its presence felt. The track delves into perceived shame and women who have been put to the test, always unjustly, and that rage and fire blazes through this song. “She Cast a Shadow” has gentle guitar tapping as the darkness enshrouds, and a dreamy haze makes your head feel light. Shrieks jar as the melodies enter your veins, slinking and dripping before brutality beckons. “The roll of the tide, this lesson of disgrace, she plunges into water, her shadow engulfs the sea,” is called as moans and screams intertwine, blasting out into mystery. “(ii) limbo” is the second of three interlude tracks, this one bringing guitars clashing, voices warbling, and feedback squall digging deep into your psyche.

“Remains” dawns with a solemn pace as the singing emits pain, and the haze spreads its wings. Jolts make your teeth rattle while the dreamy essence here feels like a fever dream, whispers landing gently. Then the guitars flood over, shrieks peel back flesh, and everything melts into the earth.  “Discarnate” blisters as harsh howls wash over you, and the sludge collects and makes your footing nearly impossible. Menace and deliberate movement combine and make the energy hostile, the words, “Your heart held a holy sentiment,” draining into your mind. “Strange Ways” starts quietly as the singing emerges and takes your hand toward damnation. “Sick outside your home, in such strange ways, invoked under the floors, the procession sways,” haunts, increasing the darkness, making the fog in front of you seem impossible to survive. “(iii) moribund” is the final interlude, balancing gliding strings and turntable-style static spitting, turning toward apocalyptic closer “Saturn Devouring His Son,” a standout track saved for the end. This is the longest track, running 9:31, and everything feels morbid as the words, “First the head and then the bod’, and half his blood spills down the jaw,” make it feel like the world is ending. Emotions swell as the playing goes from gentle to cataclysmic, the aforementioned words continuing to repeat, paying an emotional toll that could cost you your heart and mind.

“Remnants of the Vessel” is one of those records you’ll always remember the first time you hear it, and Faetooth have something incredibly special with their first full-length that should be a building block to greater things. The way the band weaves their doomy tales and colors that with metallic trauma can feel disarmingly tranquil, and their delivery packs even more of a punch, which is terrifying to realize. You’re always going to miss out on really good records during a year, because there’s just so much to consider, but I’m grateful “Remnants” came into our orbit, and there it’ll stay forever.   

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

To buy the album, go here: https://faetooth.bandcamp.com/album/remnants-of-the-vessel

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

I’m endlessly amazed by people who run RPG-related podcasts they devote to entire campaigns and others that do gaming on outlets such as Twitch where an audience can watch folks play videogames. I’m capable of neither of these things. I blame undiagnosed ADHD for my lack of attention to the plotlines of an RPG and mediocre skills playing videogames, but I still love them both.

My inferiority complex came rushing back with “The Side Quest,” a split effort combining Bay Area thrashers Dungeon Crawl and Midwestern-based traditional heavy metal crushers Throne of Iron. This collection itself is a bit of a side adventure as the bands navigate between larger proper releases (Dungeon Crawl released “Roll for Your Life” in 2021; Throne of Iron dropped “Adventure One” in 2020), and it provides newcomers to one or both a quick taste of what each brings to the massive feast table. The collection is chock full of fantastical power and metallic glory, each band delivering sounds built into the genre’s storied DNA and splashing it with their own blood and guts. This split collection is undeniably fun as fuck.

“Minions of a Dark Master” starts the Dungeon Crawl section amid a synth swirl that makes it feel like being locked into deep space as the strangeness feels its way through the mist, bathing in dramatic winds before leading into “Where the Coin Falls” that changes the pace immediately. Riffs dig in and trudge as guitarist/vocalist Codie Jones’ nasty howls send jolts down your spine, blistering with heavy fire. Gang-shouted singing colors the chorus, filth is driven hard on the verses, and wild shouts make the blood rush in the heat of battle. “Critical Failure” starts with a clip from “Mazes and Monsters,” a 1982 film starring some complete unknown named Tom Hanks, and then it’s full-on destruction mode. The vocals are spat out, the guitars are speedy and grisly, and bludgeoning thrashing makes this adventure potentially bruising. Leads flurry and search, scorching wills before disappearing in ash. Finally, “Chained to the Grave” tears open with a devastating riff, raspy howls, and a rowdy chorus that ignites with adrenaline. Melodies soar in the stratosphere as scathing cries scrape at wounds, and everything comes to a jarring end.

As for Throne of Iron, opening is “Gods of Liquid Gold” that I’m pretty sure isn’t about mac and cheese, but we can dream. The riffs stampede as Thomasson’s mighty singing soars, driving toward a fiery chorus that directs the emotion into your chest. Double kick drums pummel as the guitars spill and flood, the chorus rips back, and everything ends in a quake. “Curse of the Lightningmancer” starts already in hyperdrive as the playing gallops viciously, and the chorus once again is packed with metallic glory as guitarist/vocalist Tucker Thomasson wails, “Lightning wizard, strike you down!” The drumming reverberates through the earth as howls and shrieks strike, and the soloing brings and extra jolt of electricity that really works in the punishment. “Tricksters” is the final cut and opens in full-on classic heavy metal thunder, chugging and charring, making your heart rate increase. The playing here is storming and energetic as the soloing chars faces, and the tempo gallops with strength, feeling like an impossible force to control. As Thomasson sings of combatants doing battle in his head, amplifying the panic, the sonic force behind the words are daggers that push deep inside your heart, with everything ending with a cat purring aggressively. I mean, obviously.

“The Side Quest” is a tremendous adventure pitting two bands in Dungeons Crawl and Throne of Iron that are like minded but approach their metallic brews from different directions. Not only is this the perfect way to get a good introduction to two bands that likely are flying beneath a lot of radars, it’s an exciting collection that feels right whether its dice or a beer in your hands. Metal fans of every stripe can unite over this fucker and have a bloody good time while indulging in these sinister sounds.

For more on Dungeon Crawl, go here: https://dungeoncrawlofficial.bandcamp.com/album/the-side-quest

For more on the Throne of Iron, go here: https://www.facebook.com/throneofiron/

To buy the album, go here: https://wisebloodrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-side-quest

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

There aren’t many art forms where something disgusting and disturbing can be a good thing and a selling point. Horror movies fall into this category quite obviously because the bloodier and more nauseating the visuals and story, the better. It’s the same thing for death metal where the closer you come to puking your guts’ contents, the better chance you have to succeed.

While they’re only two EPs into their run, New Orleans bashers Congealed Putrescence have a stranglehold on creating music that is foul, morbidly offensive, and unforgivably brutal. Their latest EP is “Within the Ceaseless Murk,” a four-track, 12-minute stomach wrencher that requires little of your time but all of your damaged psyche. The band—vocalist/bassist Steven Hendricks, guitarists Ian Hennessey and Matthew Moorin, drummer Alex Babineaux—piles enough carnage and tyranny into this release to give you an appetizer of what they do so well but also leave you with a little hunger left over, the intestines-churning torment you just suffered aside.

“Advection” opens with the drums rupturing muscles and sludgy death becoming a major factor, the growls crushing your bones. Guitars swelter and deliver a southern swagger, pummeling and destroying, spiraling out in menace. “Gelid Fathomless Suffering” brings twisted riffs and drums leaving blood splashing on pavement, the shrieks peeling paint from the walls. Guitars fire up anew as the bass brings rubbery dexterity, and then fire erupts, the playing hitting dangerous levels of intensity before finally giving way to solace. “Suffocating Brain” punishes right away with the guitars generating oppressive heat, and the growls gnawing into your nervous system. The playing steams and gives off attitude, flooding over and creating molten thrashing that drives everything into the earth. Closer “Burning Off” arrives with warping riffs and vile howls as the playing tramples everything in its path. A thick bassline acts like a steel spinal cord, the soloing melts, the burly thrashing slams home the final nails.

You need a little less than 12 minutes to take on “Within the Ceaseless Murk,” but doing so will be a total test of your strength as Congealed Putrescence throw a lot at you in just four songs. Pain and suffering combine with death and torment to make a formidable unit capable of destroying psyches, and just one trip will leave you with bruising both physical and mental. I can only imagine the damage they’ll do with a proper full-length.   

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

To buy the album, go here: https://caligarirecords.storenvy.com/products/36256753-congealed-putrescence-within-the-ceaseless-murk-cal-195

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

Growing up in the 1980s, two things were burned into our brains: Marijuana was a gateway drug that would either kill you or have you hopelessly addicted to heroin and cocaine imminently, and that Russia and the United States were bitter enemies that would potentially slaughter each other and end the world in nuclear holocaust. Metal…

Obviously the U.S. and Russia still are openly hostile when it comes to government relations, but the people who live in those countries do not hate each other. Why would we? Oh, and marijuana is the deadliest drug on earth. That’s just science. But today, we have a split from Russian force Gosudar and American crushers Malignant Altar proving we can all come to an understanding under the banners of doom and death metal. This five-track collection brings these forces from across the planet together and delivers a forceful display as destructive as any warhead and warps you from the inside out. Gosudar are a little grimier and delve deep in the doomier waters whereas Malignant Altar serve death metal as scathing and menacing as they come. It’s a perfect match.      

Gosudar opens with “Mortified Transformation” that instantly jams you into a murky haze before doom and death sprawl, and the growls aim to gut you alive. The playing trudges while the leads scorch, making way for muddy, clubbing fury and the vocals slithering through viscous waters. Animalistic howls sever nerves as the tempo slows but remains heavy, and everything is crushed totally and completely as the air is forced from your lungs. “Domination of Irreality” fades in and begins mashing, the growls pummeling as the earth moves beneath everything. Filth piles up as the stress multiplies, the drums crush, and the vocals wretch before the playing explodes. Chaos erupts while the guitars drill into rock, growls maul, and everything ends in blackened brutality.

Malignant Altar starts with “Malfeasance (Inexorable Enmity)” that explodes in a death metal assault, the riffs entangling as the growls explode and spatter. Your sanity is mangled as the leads catch fire, and doom horns signal the fear you’ve held deep inside coming to pass as molten terror flexes its muscles. Atmospheric strangeness lands as the guitars fire away, drilling everything into the heart of the blaze.   “The Awakening of the Majestic Darkness” is their take of the Imprecation track from the 1993 EP “Sigil of Baphomet.” It’s vile and molten, evil and in the midst of slaughter, a devastating version of a track that had a major impact on the band and underground death metal, as punishing a tribute possible.

Over these hostile 28 minutes, Gosudar and Malignant Altar prove bands from entirely different worlds can speak the same language when it comes to death and doom filth. There’s nary a moment to breathe, and over these four tracks, your mind will suffer mental wounds you can’t easily soothe. This split drips with ill intent, bathing in nothing but blood and guts.

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

For more on Malignant Altar, go here: https://malignantaltar.bandcamp.com/

To buy the album, go here: https://www.mesacounojo.com/shop/gosudar-malignant-altar-split-12/

Or here: https://www.rottedlife.com/all-products

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

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

I don’t know how many bands were formed from kids kicking and striking each other, but we know that number isn’t zero. This isn’t as bad or as objectionable as it might sound on the surface as we’re not here to encourage youth violence. In this case, we’re talking about kids learning Tae Kwon Do, and how one particular class led us to Ready for Death.

Vocalist Artie Thomas and guitarist Dallas Thomas both had their kindergarten-aged kids in the same class, and later on, the two got to know of each other’s background as Thomas did vocals in Indecision, Millhouse, and Concrete Cross, while Thomas played with Pelican, Asschapel, and Swan King. That birthed Ready for Death and their self-titled debut record that’s a raucous, smashing collection of 10 tracks that dabble in death metal, hardcore, punk, and thrash spread over an economical 22 minutes. The band—rounded out by guitarist Dan Binaei (Racetraitor, Haggathorn), bassist/backing vocalist Luca Cimarusti (Annihilus), and drummer Shawn “The Beast” Brewer (Haggathorn)—wasted no time whipping this frenzy together, with the lyrics based on a sci-fi dystopia where two cosmic forces battle for the bones of a nuclear-ravaged earth. It’s a fast, furious great time that spills blood and crushes bones.

“Vaporized” is an opening blast that crushes you fast and effectively, mangling with relentless power and sooty madness that churns inside your belly. “Blackmasker” brings spiraling guitars and mangling howls, defacing your mental well-being and bringing a boiling pace that amplifies the humidity. The chorus is simple but effective, blackness spreads its wings, and everything ends in filth. “Chamber of Disease” rips by, thrashing and stomping, aiming to gut you alive with sharp riffs and ugly power that makes everything feel awful inside. “Cyborg Priest” is fun as fuck as strange howls meet up with black metal-style melodies and storming terror that has its way with you. Things gets daring and stabbing, the leads blaze, and the rowdy gang shouts of, “Cyborg priest!” are impossible to remove from your brain. “Synthezoid Warrior” flattens with devastating riffs and drums destroy, and infectious energy shoots through your veins. Deliberate thrashing changes the pace a bit, the playing twists muscles, and the final blows leave you gasping.

“Savior Sinner” is speedy with wild shrieks and a storming assault, pushing and bruising with no sign of mercy. “Church of the Nuclear Bomb” trudges as rapid-fire howls devastate, and darkness is abound, the simple, effective chorus feeling like the earth is imploding and swallowing you into that gaping maw. “Wasteland of Peace” is dark and sooty, a change of pace that leans more on increasing the threatening shadows than destroying your spine. Not that the track holds back at all as it scorches and scars, rubbing your face in the bloody mud puddles. “Worldwide Blackout” packs a punk edge and wastes no time kicking up dust, the leads adding strange new colors. Harsh howls drive in the daggers, the playing pounds, and the final moments burn off into a vapor cloud. Closer “Microchip Mutilation” is the epic of the bunch at 3:34, and it immediately plasters, adding some hardcore toughness and mauling chaos that wastes no time spilling over. “I rip myself apart,” White howls as deadly thrashing sinks in its teeth, and brain-voiding heat ends worlds.

Leave it to little kids kicking and punching to spawn an exciting and devastating new band, but that’s what we have with Ready for Death and their monstrous debut offering. These tracks are fast and effective, stripped of excess, and go straight for your neck with no concerns for your health. This is a promising project, one that has sharp teeth, misleading hooks, and plenty of aggressive blows to leave you prone on the ground, aimlessly trying to defend yourself.  

To buy the album, go here: https://www.facebook.com/readyfordeathband/

To buy the album, go here: https://translationloss.com/products/ready-for-death

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

Music is often described as cinematic and, while I didn’t do a search for the word on this site because I didn’t feel like it, I’ve definitely used the descriptor for plenty of bands and records. But most often that’s just because it’s a useful term to use to describe something that takes you out of your reality and into something dramatic and picturesque.

Sometimes artists intend that effect such as The Atomic Bomb Audition, whose run the past nearly two decades has been loaded with the intent to create something that should accompany a story on a movie screen. That was their focus when the band got going in 2004, but in 2022, a decade after their last release, they’re back with “Future Mirror,” a record that keeps their big vision intact but also packs that in with enough emotion and hooks to capture any heavy music fan. The band—guitarist/vocalist Alee Karim, bassist/vocalist Jason Hoopes, drummer/multi-instrumentalist Brian Gleeson, and The Norman Conquest, responsible for synthesizers, wurlitzer, Hammond B3, ARP 2600, farfisa, ARP Solina, Prophet 5, Eurorack modular, vocals—dug in and created something that makes your heart race but also maintains their storytelling tendencies. This record could charm listeners who embrace rock, metal, prog, you name it, and there’s so much richness baked in, it’s impossible to come away unaffected.

“Render” opens in a doomy soup, thick and bubbling, hearty singing getting deep into your bones. The guitars flood and amplify the emotion, spirited drubbing gets your juices flowing, and the keys blip, driving this thing deep into the cosmos. “Night Vision” could be the breakout of this collection, the bass driving hard, the guitars absolutely glimmering. The hidden gem here is the chorus, an energetic burst as you’re hit with the call, “It’s so dark but I know you can’t see me,” a refrain that will stick in your brain. There’s an undeniable late-era Rush vibe that fills with energy, and this whole thing is a blast of adrenaline.  “WNGTIROTSCHDB” is a brief interlude with Twisted Sister’s “I Wanna Rock” dreamily buried deep within it, creating a strange aura that hangs around for a while. “Dream Flood” quivers in place, the bass reverberating, the keys giving off a psyche sheen. The sludge collects as the synth mesmerizes, a gritty chorus spits cinders, and the guitars slice through and add to the doom cloudiness.

“Golden States, Pt. 1” arrives amid guitars buzzing and the keys haunting, giving off an uneasy apocalyptic feel, as if there was a comfortable version of that. Militaristic drumming paces as the synth turns in alien frigidity, the power jolts, and everything turns breezy and fades off. “…Spells” is a strange interlude that contains children singing a song about witches and Halloween, moving through your mind and making reality seem unattainable. “Haunted Houses” follows, naturally, the longest track here at 9:56. Guitars drip as the playing slowly spreads, drone firing up and blackening, your imagination running wild. Doomy mauling begins the bruising as the vocals swelter with the wailing of, “You don’t know what you can’t see,” a sentiment that’s repeated throughout. The guitars scuff as a psychedelic edge cuts, an admission of, “I’m still afraid of ghosts,” strikes, and the playing amplifies your lingering fears. Closer “More Light” runs 8:36 and brings haunting guitars and gentler singing, the power gradually becoming a bigger factor. “Nothing changes what’s been done, there’s no way back to the past,” resonates as the words circulate in your head, the energy feeling not unlike Cave In’s spacier moments. Finally, the power bristles, emotions race to the surface, and the blood eventually runs dry.

It’s really difficult to put a finger on what “Future Mirror” feels like, as it’s all over the map in a really good, creative way. The Atomic Bomb Audition have made what’s likely their most approachable material to date, but they did so by leaving in the intricacy and challenges, making sure they expand your mind along the way. This is a record that certainly lives outside of metal’s terrain but will find favor within that world. It’s capable of so much more than boundaries offer, and it excels because of its ingenuity and heart.

To buy the album, go here: https://www.facebook.com/theatomicbombaudition

To buy the album, go here: https://theatomicbombaudition.bandcamp.com/album/future-mirror

There are people among us who can remain cool and calm in the face of absolute chaos, and I 100 percent am not one of those people. At least not in real life when situations brutally out of my control come for me, and I’m left to deal. I’m much handling discomfort in my art because I can remain in control of the situation and find something within that journey to embrace.

I got to thinking about that when taking on “Monument,” the second long player from Dutch sludge/doom power Onhou who have quite the test with which to treat you. On these four lengthy songs, the band—guitarist/vocalist Alex, bassist Henk, keyboardist/vocalist Florian, drummer Arnold—immerses you in discomfort and disturbing notes about our shared existence. But inside that torment, based heavily on the sometimes-dreamy sounds and celestial shadows, I could not help but let my mind wander beyond the torment to something else. It’s a great record to hear if you’re spending your evening pleasantly high, letting the music soak into your cells and enable you to travel far away.

“When on High” splits open with the drums leading and sludgy power rising, forceful calls soaring off into a synth glaze. Vile howls then knife in as the storm cloud combusts, and the bloody menace leans into a thickening fog. Synth spills as the tempo delivers piledrivers, muddy hell thickens the juice in your arteries, and noise scars, the final moments draining away. “Null” simmers in mud as the numbing cries remind of Conan’s barbarian doom. The synth coats faces as the playing spreads, and heavy hammers begin to drop. An increasing cold front brings heavy shivering as roars burst out of that, and savage howls make your flesh crawl and your bones ache. The pace crushes as the melodies get ghostly, mammoth destruction rears its head, and the playing drives over an icy, alien terrain.

“Below” is the longest track, running 11:55 and beginning with spacey keys that give off a sense of isolation in darkness, adding to the eerie strangeness before bursting open. Mangling growls reign as the power continues to multiply, washing into a brief calm until the claws sink in again. Leads light up as the vocals flex their muscles, howls lurch, and the synth glows like the moon over the horizon. The drubbing continues and lasts as the playing exits this earth and moves into the stars. Closer “Ruins” runs 11:03 and brings guitars ringing out and synth bleeding before the devastating cries pierce the night. The playing scrapes as the intensity becomes a greater factor, moving into galactic wonder that moves into your dreams. Shrieks punish, the playing destroys, and everything bathes in a flood of feedback.

For a record that intends to poke at the gruesome and destructive elements of our existence, “Monument” also happens to be a record that lets your mind wander among the stars and makes your thinking get richer. Onhou certainly have plenty of barbaric moments mixed in with this mind fuck of a record, and its combination of imaginative playing and scathing violence is a perfect match for anyone who wants to be devastated and challenged. This is immersive and slashing, an album that’s perfect for late-night contemplation washed in moonlight.

To buy the album, go here: https://www.facebook.com/onhouband

To buy the album, go here: https://onhou.bandcamp.com/album/monument

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

Hey, you’re not doing anything constructive, run into the living room and grab my stogies. Oh, and take like 17 minutes of out of your day to orient yourself with putrid, pestilence-dripping death metal and grind that’ll make your body and mind feel even worse than usual once consumption has finished. Sounds like a great way to end the month, yes?

The band in question here is Dehiscence, and their debut mini album “Colony” is the type that, if manifested into human form would be sweaty, smell awful, and live a life surrounded by filth. Pretty fucking hot, huh? Well, it’s not meant to be easily digestible, and the eight tracks found on this festering wound of an EP will eat into your guts and leave pain and pus behind. The band—guitarist/bassist/vocalist Stillbirth, lead guitarist  Gangrene, drummer Hammer Pulse, most likely not their government names—wastes no time getting knee deep in the muck, pulling you down to their level and grabbing you so forcefully into the grossness that you get some in your mouth.  

“Demented Terror” opens with deep roars and a blinding pace that sets the stage for the rest of the record. Battering and trudging guitars make their case as the growls rumble through a snarling burst of power. “Leperphiliac” is heavy and relentless, the growls flexing their muscles as everything fires away and spirals. The tempo pummels as the ash gets thicker, and you’re left no choice but hack the soot from your lungs. “Lobotomized at Birth” starts with the drums destroying and the rest of the elements following suit, coming dangerously close to your chest cavity. The playing chugs as the guitars take flight, and everything catches fire and bows to a maniacal pace. “Against Your Will” pounds away as jarring howls loosen teeth, and the guitar work lacerates and sends blood spurting. Growls rip through as the bludgeoning gains more steam, everything ending in complete chaos.

“Animal Abuse” is gutting as animalistic howls go for the throat, raspy howls raining down and adding to the misery. The intensity hits an even higher gear as the thrashing multiplies, deathly misery spreads, and everything burns off into the dirt. “Begging” smashes right off the bat as the growls deal ample punishment, and the playing drubs unforgivably. The guitars tangle and blind as furious growls flatten, pushing the air from your lungs. “Rust Wound” charges up and mashing bones while the guitars entangle you in violence. A furious menace flashes its blades as the splattering sends blood and flesh flying, the guitars leaving scathing wounds. Closer “Divergent” is over before you know it, serving speed and battering power, the riffs gaining power, and the howls tearing out your guts.

This is a record where you won’t feel good at all once it’s over, and I’m pretty sure that is Dehiscence’s entire agenda. “Colony” feels disease-infested from the start, and things only get more ominous and destructive as these eight songs play out fully. This initial offering from this three-headed beast is a warning of what’s to come, namely disgusting grind and death that’ll gnaw off your face.   

To buy the album, go here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083799499044

To buy the album or for more on the label, go here: https://www.chaos-records.com/

Every band has a style and a sound on which you pretty much can rely, strange wrinkles aside. You know you’re getting top-flight metal from Iron Maiden. You can guarantee Panopticon will deliver woodsy black metal with a side of bluegrass. You can be assured Metallica will serve thrash metal with some strange diversions into the “Load” era. Amon Amarth? Melody and Vikings.

When it comes to Hammers of Misfortune, the anticipation isn’t so easy. Sure, you’re in for riffs, top-notch vocals, be it clear or harsh, and a hefty serving of dramatics. But you never can fully anticipate how it’s going to hit you. Well, on their seventh album “Overtaker,” the guessing game gets deliciously out of control as they present their most aggressive record to date, but one that still pulls in their cavalcade of progressive tricks. The album, not initially intended as a Hammers record but that became one when some of its family of players returned to the fold, is part heyday thrash and part ’70s prog, and it is fucking glorious. The main band contains Jamie Myers on vocals; John Cobbett on guitars, bass, mellotron, and solina; Blake Anderson on drums, piano, and timpani; and Sigrid Sheie on Hammond B3 and backing vocals. Other than Anderson, the other three all date back to “The Locust Years,” with Cobbett its longtime mastermind. Joining them are former member Mike Scalzi (The Lord Weird Slough Feg) on vocals; Frank Chin (Crypt Sermon, Daeva) on bass; Tom Draper (Spirit Adrift, Pounder) as guest guitar soloist; Steve Blanco (Imperial Triumphant) on synth solos; and Brooks Wilson (Crypt Sermon) on backing vocals. That a massive team to pull off a killer record that’ll take off your head but also dazzle you with power. Try to listen to this and not feel instant happiness.  

The title track opens and immediately rips as Myers’ singing powers, and sinister guitar work eats away, adding a heaping dose of darkness. Murky synth blends in as the melodies blind, and Myers’ voice utterly snarls as the playing pummels and echoes away. “Dark Brennius” simmers in vintage keys as Scalzi’s familiar and unmistakable voice howls, the band thrashing heartily. The playing is intense and sometimes gleefully zany, dramatic twists and turns adding electricity and character, the guitars going off and catching fire as everything comes to a haunting end. “Vipers Cross” begins with keys rushing and the guitars getting the blood flowing, Myers howling and jarring your heart. Organs sprawl and increase the progginess, and then things go cosmic, the playing zipping through time and space, bleeding infectious strangeness. “Don’t Follow the Lights” is a brawler, bleeding out of icy keys into full-on thrash, Myers warning, “They’re not what they seem!” over the chorus, discouraging your trust in the light. The energy glistens and feels wonderfully ambitious, Myers’ voice calls into the distance, and the playing rushes hard before burning off its energy. “Ghost Hearts” has keys heating up and the leads boiling and blistering, Myers flexing her power and increasing your heart rate. Vicious, scathing bursts go for your throat, guitars lap and lather, the bass chugs, and bruising is left behind.

“Outside Our Minds” thrashes heavily as the keys add an adventurous texture, Myers’ singing driving the emotion. A psychedelic wash adds numbing energy, the guitars scorch, and the keys sprawl, the splintering power dealing heavy blows. “The Raven’s Bell” slashes away as the guitars swirl, and the tempo jabs through your mid-section. The playing shuffles as organs lather with psychedelic sheen, shrieks rip, and the pace picks up and destroys, dealing monstrous, thrashy punishment. “Orbweaver” is rousing and exciting, Myers’ vocals increasing your adrenaline levels before calm arrives. That settles the waters a bit and adds dreamy gazing. But it’s temporary as the shrieks send chills down your spine, the playing dashes and excites, and fluid energy ravages you completely. “Overthrower” serves aggressive riffs and Scalzi returning on vocals, the playing threatening and forcing wounds to fester. The pace is delirious in spots, and at times the keys enter to change the temperature and add haziness, but the energy underneath is undeniable, carrying you into the middle of the battle. Closer “Aggressive Perfection” unloads with mauling thrash and the keys coating like a syrup, the howls hissing as the pace picks up and murders the gas pedal. Maniacal howls echo in the night, the leads explode and give off thick smoke, while the frosty bass freezes your cells. Darkness sprawls as the fury multiplies, the thrashing encircling and drilling into the earth’s molten core.

There isn’t a twist or turn that scares Hammers of Misfortune, and while “Overtaker” is their most unexpected release in their vast catalog, it’s also not really a surprise to anyone who has been following along. This vile mix of aggressive thrash and dramatic prog rock energy suits this band perfectly and is an ideal statement for the chaotic times in which we are entrenched. This record is a joy to behold, a destructive reunion of forces that belong together, and a statement that heavy metal has no rulebook, and anyone who adhere to regulations will be consumed by the Hammers’ relentless fire.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://hammersofmisfortune.bandcamp.com/album/overtaker

This is the time of the year that the dreaded seasonal disorder starts to rear its ugly head with winter nearly on our doorsteps. It gets dark earlier, and the sunshine so many of us vitally need for our mental health is in short supply. It’s very real, and I’ve seen it in my own life manifest itself and drive misery and hopelessness deep into one’s psyche.

If you seek a musical accompaniment to that phenomenon or just need a dark friend with which to share the experience, “Mysterium II” is as good as anything else you might find. The second release this year from long-running Dutch death-doom vets Celestial Season packs that morbid and dismal punch you might be seeking. Over six tracks that serve generous portions of heavy shadows, the band—vocalist Stefan Ruiters, guitarists Olly Smit and Pim van Zanen, bassist Lucas van Slegtenhorst, violinist Jiska Ter Bals, cellist Elianne Anemaat, drummer Jason Köhnen—dig deeply into themselves to lather this record with thunderous highs and gut-wrenching lows, an ideal piece of music for this time of the year. It also speaks to the band’s ambition that this second in a trilogy of albums arrives a mere seven months after “Mysterium I” dropped in April, and this also is their third record since returning to action two years ago after a two-decade layoff. If they’re making up for lost time, they are doing it as prolifically and powerfully as humanly possible.

“The Divine Duty of Servants” begins under doomy, cloudy skies as the growls slither, and the atmosphere grows more ominous as it develops. The tempo lurches as the mystery builds, the playing launches cement blocks, and the growls crush as the horizon darkens as the fog swallows everything whole. “Tomorrow Mourning” enters amid quivering strings and menacing growls as the playing keeps pounding harder, and heavy sorrow encompasses everything, slipping into bleary guitars and the feeling that the edge of the night is permanent. The leads take on a David Gilmour weepiness, the pace wrenches and squeezes the breath from your lungs, and voices warble as the strings scar and leave blood streaks behind. “Our Nocturnal Love” is an instrumental piece built on teary piano, strings lathering, and heavy emotion pushing the moon over the sky, knifing open an entrance for a storm.

“In April Darkness” dawns with beaming guitars and whirring strings as the growls begin to gut. The guitars then get even more foreboding as morbidity spreads its wings, layers are built on top of each other as the emotions get more intense, and the melodies lap onto the glass-covered shore. “The Sun the Moon and the Truth” opens with guitars drizzling and a slow, somber ambiance becoming an early factor. An angelic haze mixes with fiery playing, rupturing as the heavy growls knife ribcages, and the strings sweep in order to amplify the sadness. The playing crushes slowly, the darkness flourishes, and the final moments drive the dagger deeper. Closer “Pictures of Endless Beauty – Copper Sunset” practically melts in streams from ice, the vocals slithering with the emerging strings. Clouds get thicker and grayer, and tormented melodies add pressure to your heart, the guitars flowing painfully and sorrowfully. A somber glaze bleeds over top, the playing continues to flow with force, and the final embers leave the intimidating horizon devoid of light.

Celestial Season haven’t let a moment slip by them, adding “Mysterium II” to the first volume released earlier this year and giving us another gloomy chapter to end this dying year. The melancholic and thorny approach to this record makes for fitting late-autumn listening when the light expires early, and seasonal disorders begin tapping on our tired shoulders. This is dark, beautiful, and sinister, a record that lives alongside your pain and fears and makes them less intimidating to address.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://www.burningworldrecords.com/collections/burning-world-records

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