Never make plans. I’ve said that over and over in my life, and for some stupid reason, I keep doing the exact opposite of that, and it always comes back to bite me. Middle of last week, I finally finished my top 40 for the year, which was the most difficult list I’ve done in the history of this site. I was finally feeling good, and then Adam Bartlett of Gilead Media destroyed my world, so thanks!

Actually, for real, thanks. Because he announced a final release for his label for the year, that being “Before the Glinting Spells Unvest,” the second effort from Ustalost, which is helmed by Will Skarstad, co-founder of black metal spirits Yellow Eyes. So, yes, we kind of had to rip up the top 40 sort of, but it was my pleasure to do so as this album is just astonishingly great, which is no big surprise. Ustalost’s 2016 debut “A Spoor of Vipers” was our no 6 album of the year, and this one inhabits the same universe with a little more intoxicating smoke and strange visions that have you on the line between euphoria and panic. These six tracks are a mind warp, and while I’ve been 100 percent sober for every listen in the past week (and there have been many), I’m very curious to see where some minor and wholly legal mind-altering substances take me. Fuck, this is good. I know it’s some time off because of the vinyl plant hell that’s going on, but I can’t wait to hear this thing on my turntable.

“Enough Glass Will Cast a Shadow” get things started basking in a synth cloud that feels almost as if it’s emitting the green and blue from the cover before the track tears apart. The shrieks punish as they echo in the atmosphere, the pace charges with a progressive energy, and the riffs cascade, washing you away with them. Fury is unleashed anew as the shrieks pound away, the guitars glisten, and your mind wanders into the unknown. “Stinging Stone” basks in fog as the tempo arrives under cover of night, and the vocals rip hard, joined by an inhuman clean choral section behind, taking you into the stars. The bass slinks and slithers as vicious cries jolt, and a blinding storm arrives that robs you of sight. The synth simmers as the smoke blankets the horizon, ending in sci-fi heat. “White Marble Column Air” drips in with keys and bells chiming, and then the pulsating action is under way, drilling into your mind as vicious howls envelop. It’s a strange aura that lifts into electric atmosphere, joining with panicked shrieks and synth lines swimming in the eeriness, continually blasting until it sinks into soundscape.

The title track gets moving in a hurry as tricky riffs tangle you in laces and then taunt, encircling you with a gust of chaos. Chilling choral sections cause you to shiver as the guitars confound, the bass tramples, and a delirious push ends in soot. “Spider Tongue, Memory Ester” runs eight minutes and boils in its juices, the guitars spiraling and causing the sky to hypnotize. The shrieks tear into the flesh as the bass bends time, the riffs sting, and you notice your extremities are numb. The synth activates and coats your lungs, the bass chugs, and the guitars turn more sinister, positioning its red eyes your way, building pressure, and melting into 9:08-long closer “Bright Window Closing.” That track muscles its way in with strong guitar work and flooding melodies that work alongside the vocals that carve into your skull. A disarming chorus sits behind and haunts while the pace doubles and blisters, folding in on itself. The bass rivets as the calls echo, the playing melts into space, and the final moments are bells chiming until silence devours everything.

This final entry in 2021 is a welcome one that we’d let disrupt our schedule anytime, so we embrace “Before the Glinting Spells Unvest,” an absolute gem of a record. Ustalost, over just two records, have created an atmosphere and universe that do not seem a part of this reality, yet there it is, bleeding into ours, warping our viewpoint. Leave it to Skarstad to wait until the very last minute to release one of the most engaging and powerful black metal albums of the entire year.

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

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

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

We end the year hoping that, if only possible, we could look down the line into 2022 and beyond and hope that there’s something in which we can believe. Things have been so miserable for so many, and the depression and fear has been palpable, so any sign that we have a reason to think there are good things ahead of us, or a modicum of safety, would be a godsend.

On this final review of the year (um, see ya next week for one more), we try to look out into the darkness for a hint of a flare, something that indicates moving ahead won’t be full of danger and disappointment at every turn. That’s also a theme of “Distant Fires,” the new record from Heiress that pushes you mentally and physically to try to find that glimmer. If you’re tired of hearing about pandemics and political trash fires, worry not. The band—vocalist John Pettibone, guitarist Wes Reed, bassist Mat Houot, drummer Justin Martinez—obviously lives in the same world as the rest of us and have been just as impacted, but the title and direction takes on a more personal edge. It’s striving for guidance to keep oneself walking upright, trying to survive and thrive in a world that doesn’t seem to want that to happen. That’s applied to their atmospheric doom and sludge that feels both brutal and spacious, giving you room to soothe any lingering burns.

“All Ends” delivers punishment right off the bat, plowing with gritty howls and guitars carving into the earth, with the atmosphere also thickening. The vocals turn to shrieks, the playing slowly crushes, and the leads go from moody to trudging, ending everything in a pile of ash. “Collides” is a quick one that blows through you before you know what hit you, with the track’s guts just bristling. The vocals are harsh and the assault is direct, ending in a howl of echo. “Once Was” buckles into that rich ISIS-style terrain, but in their own way and with their unique personality. The gaze drips heavily, the sounds swell, and spacious destruction is dished out generously, capturing your mind. “One was as thick as blood,” Pettibone howls as the guitars soar, wounds open, and the life forces drain into something new. “Beyond Devotions” is grisly and massive, leaving welts on your flesh before opening a doorway to the mystical. The playing dizzies as the tempo picks up, grime thickens, and the fury melts chains, sending you into a flurry of shots. Things wrench anew, the guitar work crushes, and the final moments blast out.

“Quiet Tension” is anything but gentle as beastly howls explode, the riffs snarl, and the low end bludgeons, opening up your guts. Guitars scorch before a brief calm brings some soothing waters, but that’s short lived as the playing slashes, and everything burns to the ground. “Straying Eye” is lumbering heavy as the growls set the pace emotionally, and the guitar work gains humidity that makes your body wilt. The bands rumbles in place, melodies spread, and the sludge thickens, roaring with power as it fades out. “Unsettler” is cement thick with growls retching, and the playing keeps chipping away at bone. The guitars light up as the heat becomes insurmountable, with Pettibone wailing, “Where I stand, where we began,” as the ending breathes fire. “Surviving You” closes the album, bringing rustling noises and meaty riffs, with Pettibone turning in some of his most ferocious work. The melodies turn dour and darker as Pettibone blasts, “Sometimes you see right through me,” followed by guitars that rip into sinew. The track goes from massive to merciful and back, finally sending its remaining charges as Pettibone howls, “Rejection, staring back at me,” and the pain slithers down the drain.

Heiress’ might is on full display on “Distant Fires,” a record that is a huge, relentless storm hanging over your head, refusing to let you give up on your search. Trying to find signs of hope off in the distance has become a fool’s game of late, and surviving despite all of that has devolved into a game. This music pays off that hopelessness and despair as we cling to whatever we have left, hoping one day that beacon will show itself, and our tense chest muscles finally can relax.

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

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

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

So much art is so dark nowadays, a product of our time for sure, and things are only bound to get worse from here. No idea if we’re anywhere near a global apocalypse or just a mere extinction event, but the pain just keeps getting deeper, and the chances of humanity coming out of things unscathed already has been done away with.

That theme of outright destruction bleeds over into the new self-titled record from Torii, the project of multi-instrumentalist Bill Masino, who has seen this venture from its start as a duo to this seventh record where he’s now the sole member. It’s the first record in three years under this banner, and the music here is about as varied as it is anywhere else in the catalog. Black metal remains the spine, though there are elements of death metal, doom, and atmospherics as the eight tracks combine to form a spellbinding adventure that is one of the most immersive Torii albums yet.

“The Second Renaissance” begins with morbid riffs and burly growls that crush before synth folds in, and acoustic guitars add a rustic feel. Strings reach as the center is ripped out all over again, the vocals deface, and everything comes to a pummeling finish. “Synthetic Dust” pounds way as the bass coils and strikes, and the darkness collects, bringing with it stunning power that leaves you reeling. Then the pace comes unglued, the playing chugs massively, and the leads burn and also cut you deeply, making you feel every damaged nerve. The playing fades to dark for a moment before it rises again, delivering gloomy tidings that pull you under for good. “Persephone” is a quick instrumental cut that feels murky and foggy, increasing the dark moods as “Eurydice” arrives and basks in strangeness. A dreary force makes its way toward you, simmering heavily in burly death, trucking slowly but solidly into churning guitars and an unexpected glimmering. Things get confounding and freezing, chilling you in your place.

“Grey Expanse” sinks into heaviness with a punishing aura and a way of making you feel even more uncomfortable. The guitars are engulfed in flames as we tear through a mystical aura that pumps out fog, the voices echo, and the punches land even harder. A bit of a psychedelic strip emerges, and massive hell is delivered, mashing your bones, drowning you in eerie chaos as everything disappears into a space haze. “Void” centers in murky immersion and a sense of hypnosis, increasing the shadows and returning to the stars, paving the way for “Inertia” that enters amid strange melodies and warm guitars that soon enter rocky waters. The playing mangles as the growls roar, gutting you and bringing violence that eats away at your body and mind. “Torii” is the closer, starting with guitars dripping and a bizarre mist increasing, setting up an ambiance that turns into a beast. About four minutes in, the growls arrive, and a mid-tempo hulking makes its way toward you, slashing away and eventually making toward the heavens. Guitars dissolve into warmth as mournful strains bleed, the playing descends into psychological testing, and stardust drops, covering you in mystery.

Torii’s new, self-titled record is one of the most confident and varied in the band’s run, a really strong collection that takes you on a journey beyond this plane and into something else. Each track here builds on that drama, making this a true interconnected experience and not something from which you can just cherry pick tracks and expect to find meaning. This is a late-year gem, an example of black metal that can take chances, eschew rules, and achieve something altogether their own.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/Torii-1453589898219218

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

It’s not been a super easy year for me to stay busy for so many reasons that it would take multiple posts to explain. Tragedy has taken its toll on me, and I’ve delved deeper into comfort and further from exploration than any point in my life. But that’s this year. Others have stayed plenty busy and have found our new reality as a way to be productive and keep grinding away.

That’s a cute way of me getting ready to say OK, Myrdød, we get it.  You had a lot of energy to release, and that came in the form of three goddamn full-length records and four EPs in 2021 alone! All joking aside, that’s really impressive, and their latest “The Mourning Hollow” isn’t arriving until this final month, but shit, what an impact it makes on first listen and subsequent visits. I’m as jaded as anyone who has to sift through 900 black metal albums every year, because they’re not all worth your time. But this duo—vocalist Fractal Creature, multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Søppelskaler—swarms you with chaos and immersive visions, making you feel like you’ve entered a new plane of existence while you’re being ravaged at the stake. It’s a good time.

“Orb Weaver” dawns in cosmic noise as the guitars come to life, and the voices sit beneath the carnage. Demonic shrieks mix with strange synth, things feel woozy and weird, and a gravelly finish pushes cinders into your wounds. “Ritualized Cave Birth” just unloads as the vocals smear, and the playing trudges heavily, turning into a vicious assault. Gargantuan hell is unleashed as the vocals corrode and the thrashing picks up speed, jolting you and icing your brain with strange effects. Industrial-style crushing taxes your muscles, a blackened fury stretches, and the final moments are absorbed by a storm. “Drom” begins with strange gears turning before things gets ugly, and the growls get underneath your skin. The guitars launch an attack with the basslines following behind in a storm, stomping and dragging through soot. Maddening riffs ignite, scrambling your brains, and then the playing chugs forward, blasting out with violent precision.

“Spellbound Tree” has the riffs charging and forming a united front as the melodies rampage, pushing into a blinding terror. Once again, your sanity is tested, the pace blackens, and a synth fog rises, swallowing everything whole. “Elders Cave” blows in with snarling riffs and a lightning pace, smashing away as a ghostly aura forms in front of your eyes. The bulk of the track absolutely batters as the savage vocals crush your soul, and a blanket of synth enshrouds you, making the room spin out of control. You enter into what feels like a fever dream before the pace speeds up, the drums blast with power, and the track bleeds away. “Diabolical Ancient Blessing” closes the record by instantly exploding with the growls decimating and the speed threatening your safety. The riffs lather as hell spills onto the earth’s surface, the pressure increases, and the last shot buries you for good.

Myrdød’s black metal is a heavy stormfront that catapults toward you and spits shrapnel into your exposed face. It’s nasty. But there is a lot of melody and mystery in “The Mourning Hollow,” an excellent display of chaos from what’s becoming a rather prolific band if 2021 is any indication. Black metal needs more imaginative bands to keep the sub-genre moving and vital, and this duo and record are just what it needs to stay savage.

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

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

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

As a pro football fan, specifically of the Steelers of Pittsburgh who represent the city in which I live, it always sounds dumb to say T.J. Watt had a good game. Of course, he did. As long as he was breathing, I’m sure he was a problem for the other team. It’s just as strange to say death metal had a great 2021 because yeah, that sub-genre has been on fire the past few years. This is not surprising.

The slate of newer death metal bands who have shown up and made a stellar effort has been refreshing, and that continues on this last week for reviews of the year for this site. Portugal’s Phenocryst are delivering their debut EP “Explosions,” and it’s such a satisfying listen that I’m already in line for the full-length. The band—guitarists/vocalists D.S. and N., bassist V. M., drummer P. Tosher—only formed this devastating union at the beginning of our diseased year 2020, but they’ve already rounded into a strong force that’s cutting their teeth but also capable of packing their goods with explosives that’ll leave you wounded and gasping on the floor. Figuratively.

“Fumarole Emanations” starts with guitars awakening and the growls scorching, hammering with infernal power. The track is absolutely monstrous as it increases the darkness, getting vicious before the track boils, growls hiss, and the attack ends in smoke. “Phreatic Explosions” clobbers as it fires up, mashing and unloading, putting on maximum pressure. The guitars tangle as things get foreboding, pummeling the earth and unleashing demonic howls, playing that melts rock, and heavy swarming before the track bows out. “Pyroclastic Flows” is torn apart by horrifying riffs and the thick basslines trudging as the pace is just shredded. Mean growls and a pace that bruises leave psychological wounds while the track blisters with death, bubbling with inhuman growls as the track fades. “Craters” thrashes with guttural growls and even some atmosphere that brings alleviation from the heat. Adventurous guitar work swarms while feral punishment is unleashed, the playing blasts slowly but heavily, and the final moments are trampled. “Igneous Fluids” is an instrumental outro that slithers along and crackles, leaking chemicals and infection, depositing the final drops of your brain.

Phenocryst’s brand of death metal may still be forming, but what they reveal on “Explosions” indicates a bright, albeit brutal future. They have a strong grasp on what they’re trying to do, and these songs form five vicious examples of what they’re capable of achieving. This feels like a dull blade being driven into your guts, pushing past every vital stretch, leaving you writhing in pain.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://shop.bloodharvest.se/

For more on the label, go here: https://www.bloodharvest.se/

For some reason, it’s monster week here at the site, a good month and some change after Halloween, but we live in an actual nightmare, so why should we stop the bloodshed? It only seems fitting to end this week with another dose of horror, albeit this kind also packs a lot of fun and great callbacks to classic films, so I guess we can feel good amid a pit of senseless violence.

Canadian death-and-roll crushers VHS are here to splash your holiday fun with endless plasma on their killer fifth full-length record “I Heard They Suck … Blood,” an 11-track mauler that bathes in the fantastic misery of films such as “Lost Boys,” “Near Dark,” “Martin,” and others. Packed with some special guests from notable bands (more on them later), VHS delve right into the vampire horror genre like they’re as thirsty for life-saving juices as the characters they send up on these cuts. The band—vocalist/guitarist Mike Hochins, bassist Curtis Mill, drummer Andy Middaugh—serves up these homages in a disgusting stew comprised of death metal, thrash, grind, punk, and plenty of other heavy elements, pushing you on a breathless surge that can only end in pain and terror that you’ll actually enjoy.

“Vampiric Hemoglobin Suckers” is a strange, blood-smearing intro cut complete with dialog from “Lost Boys,” and then we’re into “Fake Blood and Push-Up Bras” the features guest vocals from Black Dahlia Murder’s Trevor Strnad, which is only right. The track absolutely bludgeons, and strong riffs flex their muscles, adding to your misery. The leads go off as thrashy fun is achieved, and we’re then on to “The Frog Brothers” that also is another “Lost Boys” reference and knifes through with jolting growls and vicious mashing. The leads swelter and saxophone explodes, which makes total and complete sense and made me howl with laughter. Guts are diced from there, and the track ends with a wrenching pace. “Undead Casanova” has punchy riffs and back-and-forth vocals that rupture your flesh, the chorus getting beneath your skin. The playing is catchy as hell as it assaults you, synth blazes, and a “Fright Night” clip takes the track to its end. “Horror of Dracula” also features Strnad and starts with a Krusty the Clown clip (he kinda sorta utters the album title) before catchy riffs begin to chug. The dual vocals create a perfect, violent push and pull while the thrashing gets even meatier, bringing a hammer to your skull.

“A Town Called Purgatory” brings Southern-friend guitar work, maybe not the most expected thing from a Canadian band, and the bluesy stomp makes your insides ache. Death continues to open its jaws for consumption as the vocals mangle, the speed ignites, and everything winds up in dust. “Immortality Comes With a Price” features Dave Ingram from Benediction, and things gets moving after a clip from “Near Dark,” which means your body is compromised by the brutality. The vocals bubble as the track feels like it gurgles blood, ending with terrifying precision. “Martin, Martin” is based on George Romero’s 1976 vampire film named … “Martin.” It’s also fun as fuck as the playing is muddy, and Hochins wails, “Why do you drink blood?” as the band surrounds him with enough grime and filth as one can handle. “I’m Sorry Abby” features a clip from “Let Me In” and brings growls that curdle blood, and the guitar work amplifies the drama. Strange melodies make your brain ache as the playing has a strange Euro feel to it before ripping into your throat and leaving you gasping. “Getting the Gang Back Together” begins with a sample from “Monster Squad” before the riffs work into your mind, and the charging tempo makes it tough to catch your breath. The chorus scrapes, and there are stretches where punk bravado makes the track even tastier, ending with an awesome and forceful rush. “Black Mass” is the instrumental closer that contains clips from “Dracula A.D. 1972” and it’s a way to reset your blood pressure as the guitar glaze, hand drumming calms, and the dark vibe lets you rest. In peace.

VHS’s bloody, campy death metal is both violently perverse but also an absolute blast as “I Heard They Suck … Blood” can be a sure-fire record that gets annual visits each Halloween. But that isn’t to suggest it’s gimmicky and only works in that forum, because that would be selling this band and record way too short. This is a blood-and-guts death metal record that devastates but never takes itself too seriously, which is the same attitude displayed by the films they worship on this album.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://vhshorror.bandcamp.com/album/i-heard-they-suck-blood

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

Metal has its wells that it commonly dips into, and that’s fine because there are certain things that just work well eternally for the genre. Do a lyrical content search on Metal Archives for Greek mythology, and you will find a treasure trove of bands that have dabbled in the topic from every style from every place on the planet. Metal never will abandon Greek tales as inspirational fodder, rightfully so.

One of the latest to jump deep into that pool is Danish death metal crushers Phrenelith on their gargantuan second record “Chimaera,” a mighty and savage display that’s a marked step up from their 2017 “Desolate Escape” debut. Nothing wrong with that record as it remains a steady first building block for the band, but they find some different magic on these seven tracks that run over 31 minutes. It’s economical in length and packed with power, with the band—guitarist/vocalist Simon David Larsen, guitarist/vocalist David Torturdød, bassist Jakob, drummer Pawel Tunkiewiecz—channeling the great tales that inspired this record to amp up their already formidable game to create something that signals their standing as one of modern death’s more ferocious bands.

“Awakening Titans” dawns cleanly and elegantly before the first punches are thrown, and then we’re into the mouth of hell with infernal growls laying waste. The tempo is beastly as it trudges with a fury with the leads drawing blood, horrific pain being administered, and growls gurgling before the track trickles away. “Chimaerian Offspring – Part I” ignites with steely riffs and guttural growls as madness swirls above your head. Things get dizzying as the band lays waste, though some melody snakes its way in, and you are left suffocating as chaos envelopes you. “Phlegethon” is an instrumental track that burns hard as the slow-driving playing eats into your guts, and the guitars spiral, making you grasp for the walls. A cold, eerie freeze begins to take hold before things come unglued again, the guitars create confusion, and we’re out in a strange vortex that makes you wonder where you are.

“Gorgonhead” stomps hard as the growls menace and the playing eats away at your nerve endings. The track then comes apart as death engorges, and the playing churns dangerously, sending you into a tailspin mentally that’s tough to topple. “Kykytos” is runs by quickly, hammering you before you know what’s happening, riding on a wave of swelling riffs. The vocals are charnel and the growls menace, and the melodies encircle you and threaten your sanity, giving you relentless blistering. “Χίμαιρα” is an instrumental piece with acoustics ringing out, drizzling clouding, and strange fogs clouding your vision, leading into closer “Chimaerian Offspring – Part II.” Guitars get going and flatten you while the growls eat away at steel, and then we’re off to the races. Guitars twist and turn as the band smashes hard, digging its claws into the earth, firing away at you. The drums maul as the playing flattens, ell is unleashed, and all elements disappear into the abyss.

Phrenelith show a ton of growth on “Chimaera,” but that doesn’t mean they’ve smoothed their sharp edges or pulled back on their frightening power. Instead, the band improved markedly from a death metal band with a ton of promise top one that seems violently sure of themselves, ready to eat away at your sanity. This is a really strong statement from this Danish band that is ending the year with a cataclysmic explosion we could feel well into 2022.  

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

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

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

It’s going to be Christmas kind of soon, and sure, that’s all fine, but the better holiday happens at the end of October when terror is in your veins. I spend that entire month delving into my admittedly pedestrian horror movie collection, but I absolutely love going through my favorite films from that genre and grossing myself out.

Texas-bred death metal killers Malignant Altar feast from the 1980s horror table, and that’s where I’m coming from as well having cut my teeth on the movies of that era growing up. The band’s destructive debut record “Realms of Exquisite Morbidity” is one of those that, yeah, should please you blood-and-guts death metal fans, but if you have a penchant for the gross and puss-filled, then this album is going to bring you back to the days where Halloween is in the air. The band—vocalist Wilson Prevette, guitarists Josh Bokemeyer and Beau Beasley, bassist Mat Aleman, drummer Dobber Beverly—pours their absolute worst intentions into these six tracks and 34 minutes that will outright crush you.

“Channeling Impure Apparitions” chimes in and sets a mystical scene before engulfing you in flames. Deathly hell begins to stomp the earth as brutality has its way with your senses, guitar haze gets thicker, and the track comes to a beastly end. “Usurping the Pantheon Crown” opens in a nasty fury with vicious growls and scathing power, with the drums crumbling buildings. The playing gets even more ferocious as your brains are scrambled, a strange mist gusts and batters your brains, and the track ends amid slow mauling and disgusting fury. “Belial Rebirth (Metempsychosis)” serves up beastly howls and the drums splattering as the band hits on all cylinders. Shrieks erupt as the playing punishes you dearly, mixing ugliness with a humid haze that wilts flesh and gutting violence. The guitars light up, melodies sear into flesh, and the track ends in unforgiving pain.

“Realms of Exquisite Morbidity” is an instrumental interlude that has sounds wafting and a strange aura surrounding you, testing your limits before showing you into “Ceremonial Decapitator” that outright smothers from the start. The riffs slice as the growls explode with gargantuan power, erupting and destroying the ground beneath you. Speed explodes as the bass flexes its muscles and bruises, the guitars heat up dangerously, and the final moments encase you in ice. “Rite of Krasue” is your finisher, dawning with the drums killing everything in sight, the bass mauling, and doom bells chiming, warning of your imminent demise. Slow-burning death gnaws at bone, the power renders you powerless, and the playing threatens your survival as you’re left on the scrap heap.

The disgust and bloody horror at your feet when taking on “Realms of Exquisite Morbidity” is thick and apparent mere seconds into Malignant Altar’s debut full-length offering. It’s impossible to avoid or work around, and you are at the band’s mercy as they bludgeon you with their sinewy brand of death metal. This late-year addition to death metal’s stellar 2021 wipes another layer of blood and filth on top of an accumulating body count that should disgust anyone with any sense of decency.

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

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

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

The ocean is an intimidating place, and I once lost a goddamn tooth at the might of its waves. I love to see the ocean and spend time there, and it’s an amazing place to go and lose yourself and recharge. But actually going into the depths of the water and taking your chances against one of the most intense forces on this planet is terrifying to me, and I know I stand absolutely no chance against it.

Lhaäd also have great respect for and fear of those great bodies of water, and it comes out in their incredible debut record “Below,” a black metal album that will take you somewhere you don’t expect. Even though I was fully aware the record was centered on the ocean, I also kept getting a galactic vibe from these six tracks. Sole creator Lykormas (a Belgian musician who also plays in Rituals of the Dead Hand, Entartung, and countless others) develops a world that is dark and adventurous, and even though death is around every corner based on the power of the water, you can’t help but take the plunge even though there’s no guarantee you survive.

“Below I” opens with guitars dripping before the pace fires up, the growls brawling you to the ground. A melodic flood accompanies a blistering charge, the vocals corrode, and the drums smash, with a frenzied charge rumbling to the end. “Below II” delivers scathing riffs and shrieks that blister with strange cosmic noises interjecting and becoming a presence over the body of the album. The pace mashes while the playing ventures even further into the massive deep, the leads extend their reach, and a sense of dreaminess is punctured by everything ramping up again and ending in devastation. “Below III” churns amid stardust as the track is shredded with throaty wails damaging your mid-section. The guitars keep daring, the tempo adds more might, and murky synth creates cloud coverage, simmering in a haze before melting.

“Below IV” is punishing when it bursts open as the riffs ravage and the vocals snarl. Speedy playing heads into a storm cloud of strangeness, eerie gusts test your sanity, and then the track re-opens, with the synth doubling down. The playing spits madness as monstrous growls and meaty riffs tangle and combust. “Below V” has riffs sailing and drums crunching as alien chemicals bubble to the surface. The synth glistens as the drums clobber, and the madness turns mind-altering as the thrashing guts, and things end in odd emotions and crashing waves. “Below VI” is the closer, mangling at the start and heading into awesome riffs that get your blood racing. Growls gurgle as the drums rattle, a deep-oceanic aura is achieved, and wild cries reverberate, driving you into wildness. The leads pick up as does the intensity, and the track is swallowed whole by the great deep waters.

While so much of “Below” feels like it’s operating in the stars above you, the truth is Lhaäd’s mind and inspiration is in the deepest bodies of water on Earth, a place that can humble you. The record is exciting and dynamic, an adventure in which to get lost and push your way through the unknown. Standing up against a force against which you are no match is terrifying and intimidating, yet this music will sweep you up and let you admire that unstoppable beast before it consumes you.

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

To buy the album (North America), go here: https://music.extraconscious.com/album/below

Or here (Europe): https://www.babylondoomcultrecords.com/?s=pre-order&post_type=product

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

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

I’m not in any way vampiric, except for the occasional bloodbath for the skin to prevent aging, but my preference for is for hours when the sun disappears for the day, and the darkness spreads across my section of the Earth. There’s nothing wrong with the daytime, and that’s honestly the easiest time to take walks, but I feel most secure in the darkness, maybe because it’s harder to see me.

Eating from the diseased fruit tree that is the early 1990s black metal scene, Dutch crushers Doodswens (their name translates to “death wish”) unleash their debut full-length offering “Lichtvrees” onto the world. The title means “fear of light,” and perhaps that’s one of the reasons this record resonated with me so much. Sort of like a subconscious guide, this eight-track, 36-minute offering drips with panic and destruction, but it’s not entirely behooved to the sounds of three decades ago because they have their own bloody DNA to smear into the mix. The band—vocalist/guitarist Fraukje van Burg, drummer and Inge van der Zon—released a demo and a split before their first full record, and they deliver fury, mystery, and a lashing back at the daytime hours, the enemy of these menacing spirits.

“In Mijn Bloed” buzzes as it opens before the shrieks rip in, and the playing totally devastates, leaving your skeleton shaking. A melodic gust matches the intensity of the track, the shrieks reign, and blistering violence melts away, into the very strange “Onplaatsbaren.” This is more or less an interlude built on street sounds and a man endlessly ranting and in apparent pain, which is pretty uncomfortable to hear by design, paving the way toward “Zwarte Staar” that starts with boots crunching and a clean, reflective opening. The track takes its time cinching in its claws, but once it does, the assault is fully under way with you no match to stop it. Grisly buzzing and vocals that scrape the mind make a formidable unit as the guitars jangle later, and suddenly we’re submerged in cold waters. The vocals pelt hard, the pace hammers, and the track ends in bloodshed. “Eindzicht” brings sweltering noise and a static storm, moving through riffs and complicated melody that eats away at you. Darkness wells as the pain increases, the guitars grind and serve up misery, and the darkness spreads, plummeting the temperature. The shrieks then awaken as the playing enters a blinding gaze, slipping into psychosis.

“IJsheiligen” starts by chilling your flesh as a female voice speaks, feeling detached and horrifying. Black melodies rise and the shrieks destroy, opening veins and spilling into “Het Zwartewaterland” that’s dreamy and weird at first but then completely comes unglued. The playing rumbles viciously, lathering in total blackness as the drums decimate, and the playing feels like a drug entering your system and permanently altering your reality. The title track dawns with riffs blasting through and the shrieks pounding away, leaving you very little room for safety. The playing blends into warping chaos, and if you feel like the room is spinning and you need something to steady yourself, you’re not alone. That continues as the track numbs your mind, slipping into brief outro cut “Lichtvrees II” that sits amid quiet guitars, chirping, and speaking that fades with the horizon.

Doodswens may have designs on reviving what made the sound of ’90s black metal so penetrating, and they certainly achieve that on “Lichtvrees,” but it goes so much further than that. The psychological edge, the claws that split your mind cannot be underestimated, as those elements can leave you gutted and shaking. There’s a lot more going on here than mere black metal heyday revival, and if you sell this record short based on that, you will walk away from his record shrouded in nightmares.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://svartrecords.com/product/doodswens-lichtvrees-album/?goal=0_4a25200f14-d3eb44e50a-98321619&mc_cid=d3eb44e50a&mc_eid=a10b82c416

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