There are 10 million heavy metal bands out there playing umpteen billion different styles of the heaviest of the arts, so it might sound a little silly to say when one of those is missing for a decade, it leaves a hole in your heart. But we’re humans, and we make emotional connections that are beyond our control, so, yes, it very much is possible to feel the weight of one band’s absence.

Canadian crushers Mares of Thrace are an unabashed favorite around here, this desolate place on the internet we inhabit, and there was question in our hearts if we’d ever get a proper follow-up to their killer 2012 record “The Pilgrimage.” Yet, here we are, in 2022, and we have that record in the form of “The Exile,” a six-track bruiser that keeps faithful to the band’s sound but also adds some new twists and textures that make this arrival that much more exciting. Vocalist/guitarist Thérèse Lanz (who also happens to be an incredibly gifted artist) remains at the helm and joining her on this leg of the mission is bassist/drummer Casey Rogers (taking the place of long-time member Stef MacKichan), and they carry on and do so with fire, precision, and emotional power. It’s almost like they never left, and this record feels like home—granted, a deranged, fully engulfed one—from the moment the first breath of music is pushed into the world. We missed this band for sure.

“Onward Ever Onward” opens confirming what no one should have doubted in that, yes, Lanz still has a bagful of snarling riffs that creep up on you and dice your flesh. Her roars bellow as the drumming splits your veins, the tempo mashes fingers, and the mud begins to thicken at your feet, making your travels incredibly hard to complete. “Dark Harbours” is cold and eerie when it starts, the moodiness thickening like a scratchy gray storm cloud before the pace tears open. Guitars carve tributaries as the shrieks pummel, anguish spilling from every crevice, riffs multiplying and mounting new assaults. The punishment increases as a fluid, exciting pace gets into your bloodstream with the song rumbling out into sound. “Offerings of Hand and Tongue” is one of the most different cuts in the band’s entire catalog, the playing feeling breezier, even sultry as Lanz sings cleanly, increasing the emotion to new levels. The playing pushes and pulls, heading into stormy waters where the harsh howls eat away at you, other times the waters subside and let newer textures take over. Later, the guttural ferocity takes over, the playing creating thoughts of battling phantoms, you with no weapons, as the struggle gets the better of your mind.

“Mortal Quarry” has some of my favorite guitar work on the entire record, its introductory riff lancing dangerously, the melodies burning your flesh. The shrieks feel like they’re digging internally for your life source, delirium rises as the vocals get nastier and the low-end trudges, then it feels like everything reverses course, as dangerously as possible, flattening your physical well-being as the drums cave in your chest. “In All Her Glory” is speedier as it strikes, taking you on a runaway mission downhill, picking up velocity and terror along the way. The vocals fire hard as the pace gets more inventive, and atmosphere allows you some breath, but you know that comfort is temporary. The vocals continue to smear ash in your mouth, and the playing eventually melts into the ground. “The Thread That Will Unravel You” ends the record with slow-driving heat, vocals blistering, and the guitars making a game of toying with you and refusing mercy. The bass thunders beneath the surface, feeling steely and cool, while Lanz fires up again and delivers howls that sound like they’re tearing apart her throat. The final moments coil and strike once more, adding insurmountable heat and punishment that will takes days, maybe weeks from which to recover mentally and physically.

Having Mares of Thrace back is one of the early-year feel-good stories, even though “The Exile” will do its best to deliver psychological scarring as the duo treats you to carnage and spacious madness. Lanz is a force the metal world absolutely needs, a performer whose fire and tenacity are front and center, making her someone whose work lives in your head permanently. She and Rogers are a formidable team, one that shows a muddier, bloodier side to this band that is more vital than ever realized.    

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

To buy the album, go here: https://linktr.ee/maresofthrace

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

None of us chose this life. We were sucked into this planet for better or worse, and we have to make do with what we have and what we’ve learned and try to make the best of it for ourselves and hopefully other people. But there’s a lot that gets tied into that, and there are things that we had nothing to do with that we have to sort through and absorb, and it’s a lot to handle considering, again, we didn’t choose this.

That bleeds right into “Key to a Vanishing Future,” the new record from Falls of Rauros that is unlike anything you’ve heard from this band before. They took on that whole concept of having to deal with a life put on us and the history that colors what happens now and the means of accepting that and using it to make a better future for everyone. Yet there is religious and political bullshit that hold that back, a refusal to own up to why oppressed people feel the way they do, and only the ones who are willing to take on the burden and acknowledge where we’ve gone wrong are going to be true agents of change. Musically, this as diverse as Falls of Rauros ever have sounded. The band—vocalist/guitarist Aaron Charles, guitarist/vocalist/keyboard player Jordan Guerette, bassist Evan Lovely, drummer Ray Capizzo—expand far beyond black metal into deeper progressive waters and just straight-up heavy metal, and it’s a goddamn revelation. This is their best record in a collection of great ones.

“Clarity” gently opens the record, the guitars raining down like a warm spring shower, and then the scorching begins as the jaws unhinge and open. We surge into gazey flooding, punches windmill through an atmospheric gasp, and things crumble anew, the vocals stretching with the atmospheric pressure, ending abruptly. “Desert of Heart” is lush and spacey when it lands, then the bass trudges, and the vocals head into the stratosphere. Steamy and proggy, the melodic rush gets more oppressive, the synth moving with woodsy energy, and then the soloing erupts and heads for the stars, wrenching and washing before the track comes to a shimmering end. “Survival Poem” is moody and foggy, and then the power explodes, the verses raining punishment. The vocals shred as the guitars race and tangle, the pace rustles, and the leads catch fire, blazing a path into the cosmos.

“Known World Narrows” dawns with cloudy bass that spits deathrock vibes and guitars soaring, and the playing moves into more sinister waters. The shrieks mar as the pace floods, the speed becomes an even greater factor, and wild cries call off into the distance. Things get ugly as the vocals menace, keys wash onto the floor, and things come to a rushing end. “Daggers in Floodlight” melts in dark and stormy, mellotron giving off a proggy, vintage feeling that coats your cells. Things rumble as the leads glimmer, the playing goes off, and the keys return to the vibe that opened the song. Melodies rain down and flood the land, then sunburnt guitars deliver the warmth needed for total absorption. Closer “Poverty Hymn” crushes from the start, shrieks strike, and the tempo is active and surging, delivering punches. A gazey storm goes cold and sends shivers up your spine, chilling your flesh, and then the playing ignites all over, sending your brain into overdrive. Melodies flood your mind as the band gives one final chance to bask in solemn mist that leaves your face coated in a thick film of precipitation.

It’s really difficult to give a proper summary of “Key to a Vanishing Future,” one of the most inventive and exciting records in all of Fall of Rauros’ rich creations. Speaking as a non-musician, it’s exciting and heart pumping to hear this band work through progressions seamlessly and create an experience that takes you away from this earth, so I can only imagine how impressive this record actually is if I had any idea how they put it together. This is a new beast altogether, a creation from a band that already was operating on an insane level and somehow figured out how to make it more intense.  

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

To buy the album (vinyl due later this year), go here: https://gileadmedia.bandcamp.com/album/key-to-a-vanishing-future

Or here: https://store.eisenton.de/en/search?query=FALLS+OF+RAUROS

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

And here: https://www.eisenton.de/

Every year toward the end of the summer, the goddamn Renaissance Festival returns, giving everyone a chance to enjoy entertainment from ages ago when sword clashes were a regular occurrence, and bloodshed would occur on horse-galloped battlefields. It’s fun for an afternoon, but it’s also a reminder how much comfort and actual luxury surrounds us. We can have a sandwich driven to our homes in minutes!

Danish black metal dreamers Heltekvad are heavily awash in eras from centuries ago, and their Medieval brand of wickedness rushes to the forefront on their impressive debut outing “Morgenrødens Helvedesherre.” The record is an enormous amount of fun, it’s deadly, and it brings to you the essence of jousts and duels to your very headphones and or speakers. The band—vocalist/guitarist/bassist Ole Luk, guitarist/bassist Simon Skotte, drummer/backing vocalist Simon Frenning—create a pretty unique collection here. It’s not like they’re the first band to scratch that Middle Ages itch, but they do so with such enthusiasm and genuine drive that you can’t help but get lost in the dust as the band storms over seven tracks and almost 36 minutes of chaos.

“Organdies åbenbaring” starts with guitars circling and the sound of an unsheathed blade, howls coming at you from insane angles. The drums smash as the guitars continue to build, deranged wails get under your skin, and hypnotic riffs form a tornadic shield and drive you into a vortex. “Ærbødig er den som sejrer” opens in what sounds like a Middle Ages festival, flutes dancing, the atmosphere festive, and then the track starts to open wounds. The guitars race and surge while speedy chaos erupts, vocals tear at flesh, and everything grows in scope and pressure, ending with howls bringing a final dose of menace. “Ved sværdets klinge skal du forgå” rips in with guitars carving and the shrieks eating away at you, the guitars crashing and flooding. The playing storms even heavier, amplifying the madness, doubling down on the ferocious nature of what’s going on here, comforting flutes carrying you out.

“Eder og hæder” explodes right away, leveling with a stormfront that’s unforgiving and penetrating, rapid-fire playing digging into your brain. Guitars dice as gut-wrenching playing makes breathing a challenge, and the heat just simmers, wilting you in an atmospheric agony. “Fornægter din æt” has a gusty start that lets winds whip dangerously, the shrieks maiming even as the melodies pick you up and whisk you into battle. The tempos grow more humid, caking your face in sweat as the playing chars and leaves you in a pile of ash. “Du skæbnesvangre stund” bellows in with synth that sounds like glorious horns opening battle with the guitars lathering up with speed and power. The vocals mash as things get more volatile, the guitars leave a numbing effect, and everything ends suddenly in spastic gasps. “Døden står ved himmelens port” is the closer, and it basks in glowing synth and thick murk before the power ignites, and the playing comes rampaging. Guitars spiral as the vocals deliver punishment, hellish pain is dealt in generous doses, and everything ends with melodies flooding and a general sense of unease.

“Morgenrødens Helvedesherre” is one of the strangest black metal records you’re bound to hear this year, which we mean in a charming and disarming way. Heltekvad’s driving Medieval sound is razor sharp and full of hurricane-force melodies, and the textures, sounds, and instruments from that era add a much different attitude to a subgenre that sometimes forgets that being inventive is a favorable trait. This is an album that’s catchy, feels like it transported from the deep past, and remains invigorating and splattering the entire time.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://ffm.bio/heltekvad

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

Darkness is upon us, which is hardly a new development considering what has been transpiring across the world the better part of two years, and that’s not isolated to a plague. Existence in and of itself has become a harrowing thing to take up, and every time we seem to have a slice of positivity to devour, it gets ripped from our greedy hands.

It’s fitting that Desolate Shrine would return from five years of silence with a new record called “Fires of the Dying World,” because that’s something in which we seem to be ensconced on a never-ending cycle. The Finnish death metal power, comprised of dual vocalists RS and MT along with multi-instrumentalist LL, never had a gap this long between records, and certainly there never has been as much upheaval in a timeframe like they’ve witnessed the last half decade. This fifth album lurks in shadows, where danger is at its apex, and nothing about the future is certain. Yes, life always has been that way, but never before has it been this magnified, and the band just sinks into that, spreading out the ugliness and pain.

“Intro” starts clean with acoustics settling and a synth wave making overtures, then we’re right into “Echoes in the Halls of Vanity” that ramps up the brutality right away. The growls do their damage as the guitars take off, the drums ignite, and suddenly, everything is fully engulfed. Leads swelter as the power cuts through bone, growls and shouts unite, and humid punishment gets thicker as the track bows out. “The Dying World” has the drums pacing the demolition and the rest of the band contributing fully to the mayhem, ugly growls feeling like blood gurgling through the earth. Things turn hypnotic for a stretch, blending into hazy hell, and the growls lurch out of that with everything fully destroying the surrounding infrastructure. “The Silent God” is the longest track here, running 10:16, starting with clean playing until everything explodes, and the pace rushes and chars. Animalistic punishment leads the assault while guitars tangle, beastly growls strike, and the gore thickens as it grows. A brief respite adds some calm, reveling in mystical sounds, and then the violence hits back, smashing the senses as the track dissolves into echoes and keys.

“Cast to Walk the Star of Sorrow” stings and unloads burly chaos, the synth haunting as the vocals corrode. Speed meets with sludge as the savagery multiplies, shrieks do their damage, and sullen guitars land before thrashy toxicity brings things to a brutal end. “My Undivided Blood” is an 8:41-long masher that slowly drips through devastation, growls pacing as the tar grows thicker. Leads light up the sky, creating a beacon amid a penetrating fog, bringing grim and gruesome tidings. Minds melt as the guitars heat up, and the final sweltering moments submit to a strange aura. “The Furnace of Hope” closes the album, starting with roars blasting through your chest and the vocals increasing the ferocity. Leads liquify as hell grows closer, fully devouring everything in its path, the growls and shrieks combining to rain razors into the shores. Things turn moody late, the playing slowly burns, and a final guttural turn leaves everything writhing in its wake.

“Fires of the Dying World” will not leave you feeling uplifted or hopeful, though you’d be foolish to enter any Desolate Shrine album and expect that experience. Obviously, the chaos and tension built within them the past five years, and this record is a bloodletting of pain and insanity, making it almost a perfect soundtrack for modern times. This is a foreboding, fiery experience that will find the worst, most hopeless tendencies within you.

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

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

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

When I was growing up, it was assumed that people who listened to heavy metal were total idiots, incapable of completing a sentence and holding down a job. I pretty much was told as much in my dumb Catholic school where they tried to make us think that feasting from the tables of Maiden and Priest were rotting our brains. Little did they know … Actually, hard stop there. Little did they know.

Metal has a rich history of basking in the glory of great literature, and the bands that have been able to take what they cull from the texts and make those spirits come to life truly are the special ones. Cirkeln, the project helmed by sole creator Våndarr, is a perfect modern example of a band that can transform what’s read on the page into a full-blown adventure musically. Influenced by the works of JRR Tolkien and Michael Moorcock, the band’s music has been glorious and rich, reminding of Bathory, Celtic Frost, and so many others that helped plant black metal’s seeds. Cirkeln’s new record “A Song to Sorrow” is upon us, and it’s a blood-rushing experience that feels like it connects Middle Ages storytelling with fire from these times, and it’s impossible not to get completely lost in this thing if you have even a modicum of imagination. It just glimmers with power and fantasy from the start, making this an early-year must-hear album that’ll have you sharpening whatever blade you have at your disposal.

“The March” begins with frosty guitars that slowly thaw, flutes sprinkle the air, and then the track blows open in full, the shrieks ripping into flesh. Euro-style melodies flood the earth, majestic synth haze thickens, and the track charges even harder, ending lavishly. “A Song to Sorrow” rampages in with great riffs and a thunderous assault, the vocals wrenching hard, a synth cloud setting up and blocking the sun. Things feel ominous as the leads scorch and the pace chews bones, with the shrieks lighting up all those wounds you’ve accumulated. “Vaults Behind Vaults” surfaces in a bed of acoustics before the pace gallops, and we’re fully engulfed in flames. The verses cause your adrenaline to surge while melodies lap over the chorus, and the energy is increasing at an alarming rate. Colors explore through the playing, and the final moments get into your system and fill you with power. “Hills of Sorcery” surges and sends energy spikes as it increases its speed. Shrieks punish as the playing generates excitement, and the guitar work later takes on a Maiden-like vibe that gives a classic metal flourish that goes down well.

“Var Blaser Vinden” enters amid a noise path and synth chilling before the tempo picks up, and the vocals begin to carve into your psyche. Speed and melody then explode as things run rampant, keys clash, and the riffs hit the gas pedal, leaving scorch marks on your flesh. “Natassja” blows apart upon arrival, the riffs encircling and bruising before a quick gasp of calm. The playing then begins to entrance, the vocals smear, and things pick up in a hurry, returning speed to the forefront. Synth pumps as regal guitars give an ancient feel to the ambiance, and then the daggers fly again as riffs rush and plaster, eventually bowing out to serenity. “Vandraren” explodes with shrieks cutting through, a warbled voice speaks as if from a dream, and the whole thing is flooded with adventure you can’t help but absorb. Clean singing changes the texture while a hearty folk feel is evident amid the electric pace, a brief comedown reaching to the other end of fury. The track then takes on a post-battle victory anthem that can only be quelled by strong beverages. “Thine Winter Realm Enthroned” is the closer, beginning with synth sounding like horns signaling war, the keys swimming through bloody streams. The melodies kick the thing into high gear, great thrashing rains down, and fiery vocals and thickening chants increase the heat. The final minutes feel like they’re here to ransack a village, the leads create smoke that’ll choke you in your place, and glorious keys end the record on a triumphant note.

Våndarr has an incredible gift for taking the inspiration he gets from his readings and applying it perfectly to his classic black metal, on display in generous portions on “A Song to Sorrow.” This is a record you want to hear if you need a mood adjustment for the better or something to kick you into gear in a positive way. We’ve been a big fan of Cirkeln ever since their debut, and this album pays off all the anticipation we had once we finally got a chance to dig into this glorious record.

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

To buy the album or for more on the label, go here: https://truecultrecords.bandcamp.com/

Putting together numerous major forces into one place and expecting them not only to get along but generate something apart from their own creations is hardly a given. Egos can get involved, power struggles would seem natural, and the result is not guaranteed to be something that transcends no matter how great the parts might be.

All of that said, Absent in Body succeeds mightily in these circumstances, and their debut record “Plague God” is a revelation, a piece of work that feels like it arrived from another planet or at least a parallel universe. Culling members of Neurosis, Amenra, and Sepultura seems like a weird dream collaboration, and it’s actually very much that. Amenra members guitarist Mathieu J. Vandekerckhove and vocalist/bassist Colin H. Van Eeckhout joined with Neurosis guitarist/vocalist Scott Kelly and Sepultura legend and drummer Igor Cavalera to create such a wild grouping, and their five-track debut is a doomy, deathy, industrial fever dream that’s brutal and inventive. It’s a true triumph of achieving a shared vision bigger than its members and very different from what most of them do for a living. It’s a fantastic record that weighs on your psyche and refuses to let you have peace.

“Rise From Ruins” brings a heavy noise haze and drums echoing, the parts slowly melting into each other. Once the guts are torn out, it’s a psychological battle as growls and shrieks struggle for control, and the playing turns beastly and mauling. Darkness gets thicker and hangs overhead with the sounds rushing out into midnight confusion. “In Spite of Spite” opens mechanical hell as the growls push and the playing toys with your emotions, teasing you. Fiery sludge and weird vibes are strange partners, eerie speaking sends chills down your spine, and the bass slithers along, building up an oil slick. “Seek solace in silence where I live and you will now forever hide,” is a chilling threat, and that violent intent eventually dissolves into unexpected calm.

“Sarin” floats in like a fog before the power barrels and then the vocals crush with mammoth force. Sounds implode as the growls roar, the elements fold into themselves like a world coming apart, and a vicious circle swallows you, consuming your bones that have turned to dust. “The Acres, the Ache” is a slowly developing storm with tribal drumming mesmerizing, and spacey swooshes make it feel like you’re among the stars. Dreamy torment then turns nasty as the vocals destroy, and the universe keeps surrounding you, the guitars dripping like frozen droplets of blood. Clean vocals emerge, and a serenity that feels unhinged takes hold as it swims in echo before the band devours you one final time. Closer “The Half Rising Man” is a calculated path that feels cosmic, and the drone and synth vibrate and make your body shake. A burly path burns as the playing hulks, and an industrial glaze is smeared, accelerating the haunting spirits. Devastation begins to take control, synth jabs your ribs, and an alien transmission mixes with the carnage, ending with a sudden gasp.

Absent in Body is greater than the sum of its admittedly stellar parts as “Plague God” stands as an alien spirit that exists far and away from any of these creators’ other projects. This record is abrupt and immersive, something that can be violent one moment and have you travelling light years from the Earth in the next. Here’s hoping this band has legs because it feels like these four are just tapping into something that is worth much further exploration.

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

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

For more on the label, go here: https://store.relapse.com/b/absent-in-body

Death metal can be gruesome grounds in which to situate yourself. I know, I’m really breaking some ground here. It’s definitely not for the weak of heart, and I imagine people who are not used to heavier sounds probably think this style of music has risen from hell to infect humankind. And who’s to say they’re wrong? Let me see your evidence!

One band among a slew that are trying to keep death metal inhospitable are Detroit beasts Jesus Wept who have lashed back with their second EP “Psychedelic Degeneracy,” their first new music in five years. While their resume isn’t swollen by any means, the band—vocalist C. Colaianni, guitarist R. Versace, bassist/vocalist N. Barnes, drummer C. McCoy—has made the best of what they’re offered the world, and these four new songs serve as a reminder their tools are sharp and ready to slice. On top of that, the songs are a blast as they rush by you, taking a page from classic death metal’s blood-soaked cookbook and using it to violently good use.

“Surgical Punishment Symmetry” slowly dawns with a sample of a surgeon explaining a particularly gruesome procedure involving the spine, and then the pace opens and chugs in place, pushing brutality. Shrieks and growls mix as mystical playing slips in a creates hypnosis, and then we’re back to viciousness, with the track coming to a punishing end. “Dispossession” clobbers as the punchy verses draw blood, and the vocals crush with Colaianni vowing, “There is no escape!” Things get spacious for a moment before the violence returns, taking on a putrid Carcass-style essence, and a gust of speed leaves everything in its noxious fumes. The title cut bursts with crunchy verses and smashing pain as the vocals get particularly nasty. Strange notes drip in and make waters murky, and out of an atmospheric pocket comes a lightning-sharp solo that keeps things aggressive until it all ends abruptly. “God Fetish” closes the EP with stirring riffs and a whipping tempo with the vocals going for strangulation. The guitars swagger and charge, things gets thrashier, and the growls spit venom, ending the track pouring salt into your festering wounds.

Jesus Wept’s death metal is bloody, gruesome, and unforgiving, but it’s also a lot of fun to experience, which “Psychedelic Degeneracy” proves repeatedly. This second EP only strengthens their name and power source, and the threat of a full-length is something that’s both exciting to think about and may be harrowing to witness. This band is building a solid foundation, and more killers like these four cuts only can swell their reputation.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://jesusfuckingwept.bandcamp.com/album/psychedelic-degeneracy

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

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but the world has been in a state of turmoil unprecedented in most of our lifespans, and the toll is has taken on us mentally and physically is impossible to measure. We’re going to be climbing out of this shit for years, maybe decades, if we ever do, but we need to be careful not to drown in the sorrows and damage our futures.

That theme is all over “Leaving This World, Leaving It All Behind,” the great second record from Seattle progressive black metal sojourners Izthmi who have suffered along with the rest of us. That’s not just counting a global pandemic but also social and political unrest here and around the world, and the battle for true justice that doesn’t put less advantaged and minorities under fire. There’s plenty of hurt to go around, but we also have a future ahead of us that the lessons we learned can help pace, and there are many reasons to proceed with hope that we can live in a better world. The band—vocalist/modular synth player Jakob Keizer, guitarist/pianist Autumn Day, guitarist/vocalist Brett Tomsett, bassist/pianist Gabe Kangas, drummer/vocalist Nolan Head—use their aggressive playing and spacious creativity to birth an experience that not only is an impressive record but also a journey a listener can take mentally while weighing where one belongs in the world.  

“Ever Beneath His Gaze (He Will Drown the World in His Tears)” introduces this adventure with static and noise, whispers swirling through the air, draining into 10:53-long “The Shadows of Our Disillusionment.” Guitars arrive fully engulfed and the vocals shred as a mix of guttural growls and piercing shrieks. The progressive swell is a heavy one, ripping into spacious terrain, the guitars spiraling and rushing with power, eventually letting cleaner tones into the mix. The track slowly picks up momentum, banshee cries get into your bloodstream, and the final moments lightly blend into the earth. “To Know” is built with murky keys and drums striking, increasing the levels of discomfort as we move into 10:08 “The Laughable Semblance of Freedom” that is calm when it dawns. The tempo then pummels and burns, snarling and threatening, an ambitious journey engaged in full. Portions are moody and cloudy, but the blades always slice back through the air, savagery spills, and a heavy gasp of air pushes into the room, jarring melody. The track soars from there, bringing massive highs and numbing playing, ending with a final burst.

“I Bleed With the Wind” lets feedback gnaw on your bones and penetrate your senses, staying only a short minute before we’re into “It’s As If It Were” that’s a full-bore attack drilling right into your chest. The guitars race as the vocals leave abrasions, lurching through fiery madness as the speed increases dangerously. The shrieks assault your mind, the drums mash, and even a quick breath of calm is not enough the salve your wounds before mercy is delivered. “Leaving This World” is the final instrumental piece, and it’s clean and solemn, flowing gently through breezes that whip into closer “Leaving It All Behind” that’s active and crushing when it comes to life. Shrieks maim as the guitars melt metal, the underneath rumbles your guts, and electricity enters your cell structure as things pull back a bit. Some clean vocals change the temperature momentarily and then the barriers crack, the playing devastates concrete boundaries, and the last dose of devastation gives way to gentler flourishes, ending the track in a pool of its own chaos.

Izthmi have a way of making very involved and meticulous music incredibly fun and engaging, helping you anticipate every peak and valley woven into their structure. “Leaving This World, Leaving It All Behind” is a record about all of us for both good and bad reasons, but what we faced and where we’re going is unavoidable, which this music reminds us. This is a record that bursts with energy and emotion and will make you examine and visit all your scars for your own good, even when the waves are rocky.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://www.satanikroyaltyrecords.com/categories/albums

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

We discuss heavy music here every day, almost entirely in the metal spectrum, and one of the things that makes doing this so worthwhile is the depth to which bands have pushed their sounds, no matter their chosen path. I sound like a broken record, but the artists who keep testing things, continue challenging expectations tend to be the ones that stick closest to us as time expires.

Italian doom force Messa fall into that category of bands who are flexing what it means to be heavy, and their last record “Feast for Water” was an explosive awakening for us as it comes to basking in their power. They’ve now responded with their third record “Close,” one that continues the smoky doom to which they’re devoted but also pushes into Middle Eastern and Mediterranean melodies and auras that add an intoxicating element into their music. The band—vocalist Sara, guitarist Alberto, guitarist/bassist Mark Sade, drummer Mistyr—increases its magic over 10 tracks and 65 minutes of power, with no song sounding remotely like any other. It’s a record you want to put on and let transform you as you work through each track, taking on an imaginative, smoldering experience that leaves you inebriated.

“Suspended” begins with Fender Rhodes keys quivering and Sara’s amazing, alluring voice stretching, infecting you. Elegant power unfurls, the pace pumps, and sounds echo, eventually melting into jazzy guitars. Sara’s voice calls out again, and the playing ends in a pit of grace. “Dark Horse” is faster and more propulsive as it begins, and then things settle into a groove, working into your blood. “I only see with my eyes closed,” Sara’s voice soars as the guitars bubble and pick up, and a simple gasp she gives off sends chills down your spine. Things gets sludgier and muddier, sounds hover, and chimes send one final chilling gust. “Orphalese” opens with wind woods and a hovering essence, the psychedelics increasing. The vocals are higher and haunting, the playing gives off Middle Eastern-style melodies that add great texture, and things move like a fog. Horns bellow as the playing gets even more hypnotic, and the melodies burst with life, ending the track in fire. “Rubedo” delivers punchy guitars and cooling melodies, and the vocals brush up against your side, feeling bluesy in a tasteful way. The vocals take off as the playing explodes, a charring solo absolutely takes charge, and the vocals tear back into flesh, leaving you flustered. “Hollow” is a quick instrumental with classic acoustic picking and a mystical essence, letting you fully exhale. At least momentarily.

“Pilgrim” runs 9:26 and starts with mystical strings and vocals floating on the wind. Things flow gently before the track breaks open, sending jolts of electricity. The singing is deep and soulful, and the guitars drip, pushing lightning into your veins, going burly and melodic. The calls get steamier, echoes float through time, and a few final fuzzy blasts leave you permanently affected. “0-2” is the longest cut, running 10:30 and starting like something out of a fever dream. Flutes scrape the air as softer vocals tangle with the trancey playing, and Sara sings about the ominous place named in the title. Guitars give off bluesy smoke, shuffling and numbing, a saxophone tearing in and lighting everything ablaze. Those flames lap and maul, guitars trample, and everything ends suddenly. “If You Want Her to Be Taken” slides in and moans, the psychedelic energy overflowing. The vocals turn seductive as the guitars cut into muscle, and the trudging multiplies. Sara’s vocals reach for the stratosphere again, and the crunch from the guitars leave you both bruised and soothed. “Leffotrak” is a total shocker, a mauling bruiser that lives for just 44 seconds and completely bludgeons you with speed, violence, and ugly vocals that shred your sanity. It kind of doesn’t fit. But it’s so weirdly out of place, it’s perfect. “Serving Him” is the closer, a blistering, sultry track that slowly unloads and delivers a plodding stomp, Sara’s vocals floating through the carnage. The tempo plays games, teasing and scorching, haunting all the way. “He really wants you, too,” Sara calls, something that returns throughout the final half of the song, and it feels like the sun is blazing, letting warm water trickle though a buildup of ice.

Messa already demonstrated some pretty special powers on their first two records, hinting at something great and overwhelming that we finally have on “Close,” easily their most impressive creation on an already impressive resume. Each of these 65 minutes gets inside of you and lives in your mind, acting as an intoxicating agent you’ll hungrily absorb. Messa is a special band that has fully arrived on this record, and when we’re thinking back to the most important musical moments of 2022, it will be criminal to do that without heavily praising “Close.”

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

To buy the album, go here: https://svartrecords.com/product/messa-close-album/

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

More than a decade ago, I was on a road trip when our group was encountered by one of the most vicious thunderstorms I ever witnessed in my life. We had to retreat to a nearby restaurant where we watched helplessly as the power was cut off, and the large metal poles holding the lights in the parking lot practically bent in half. It felt like a force greater than we are was out for blood.

That story rushed back into my brain when taking on “Dreams of Fragmentation,” the first record from Oakland, Calif., progressive black metal band Cailleach Calling. The band is named after the Cailleach, a figure from Gaelic mythology who is at the heart of storms and thunder but also provides a delicate, caring hand to nature and animals in the winter. That summer day, she was at our throats! The band’s members—vocalist Chelsea Murphy, guitarist/bassist/synth player Tony Thomas, drummer Yurii Kononov—inhabit other bands such as Dawn of Ouroboros and Botanist, and here they bring a mixture of black metal that is both volatile and atmospherically beautiful, feeling like the heart and aftermath of a wailing storm.

“Phosphenic Array” starts at a torrid pace, shrieks wrapping over top, progressive hell unfurling over its entire reach. Synth glaze settles as the anguish increases, growls dig deeper into the skin, and an atmospheric rush aligns with a hypnotic fury that keeps the storm increasing. The pace pushes fluid energy, eating away at you before the playing zaps into synth bubbles. “Bound By Neon” enters in murk, keys simmering, the shrieks drilling into the mind. Whispery speaking runs into a chilling nighttime vibe, spacing out and then ripping back smothering. Cosmic swirls stain the sky as the leads char, desperate wails reach into chest cavities, and everything dissolves into the distance.

“Cascading Waves” is the longest track, running 15:07, and it eases in on the wind, slowly developing a thickening ambiance, the synth whipping a cloud cover as Murphy’s voice adds an element of hypnosis. The playing gets moodier and poetic, and the singing adds a dose of beauty and elegance, barreling into the mists when things suddenly come unglued. Black metal terror explodes from the seams, rampaging recklessly, meeting up with fiery shrieks and utter brutality. Keys wash into the background as chaos sharpens its blades, rippling out into a sound breeze. “Mercurial Inversion” ends the record with wrenching hell, keys drizzling, and the leads soaring into the stars. The playing is punishing and spacious, the vocals shred, and some clean notes slip nearly undetected into the power. Your senses are battered as the final stretch jabs at psychedelic heat, dissolving in your skin.

“Dreams of Fragmentation” is properly named as the record feels like it’s jolting the electricity in your brain that fires up your storytelling elements, but in a sense that isn’t exactly linear. Cailleach Calling’s debut gets inside your body and infects, but not entirely in a dangerous way. It becomes part of your psyche, it molds you, and it makes your imagination an even more powerful tool as you bow to the majesty and power of nature.

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

To buy the album (U.S.), go here: https://debemurmorti.aisamerch.com/

Or here (Europe): https://www.debemur-morti.com/en/12-eshop

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