There are people all over this world who will claim religion saved them and completely changed their lives. There also are people who had the opposite experience where religion was a dagger to their heart and flesh, equipped them with years of torment and guilt, and the most unfortunate of that group also faced violence, abuse, and death. For many, their suffering is too great to overcome.

Kristina Esfandiari falls in with those who were ravaged by religion, who saw its worst face and has spent years trying to recover. Her band King Woman has been a vessel for the mental anguish she suffered growing up in a Charismatic Christian family, where speaking in tongues and exorcisms in home were regular occurrences. On top of that, Esfandiari also suffered a near-death experience as a child, as well as being constantly threated with eternity in hell, and all of this is wrapped into King Woman’s second full-length, the enrapturing and cathartic “Celestial Blues.” This nine-track record is as raw and vulnerable as anything Esfandiari has put to tape, and that’s a major statement since the thematic material and music to this date have been both infectious and gripping. Along with bandmates Peter Arensdorf (guitars/bass) and Joseph Raygoza and special guest Jackie Perez Gratz (cello), Esfandiari pours out her heart and soul, shows a defiant edge, and vows to put this hurt to rest.

The title track starts the record, quietly flowing as Esfandiari, in a chilled hush, calls, “The devil left a bruise, but God left a light on for Her wayward ones, left under a fountainhead for dead, casting out the spirit of death.” The track then bursts with life as she clings and climbs through the trauma, the music pounding away, her pain on display as the track bows out. “Morning Star” is the lead single and recounts the falls of Satan, and she makes him a more sympathetic character as she takes on his plight. “The next thing I knew I was falling fast,” Esfandiari sings, “Lightning hit my wings, heard thunder crack,” as the intensity of the song picks up, as does the pain and isolation. “Lucifer, falling from the heights,” she sings repeatedly as the emotional intensity builds, gutting you and leaving you bare. “Boghz” is a slow drip at the start as the atmosphere develops, and her trademark whispery delivery gets inside you and chills. But you know the strike is coming, and as she wails, “Hey!” the heaviness untangles, and she howls defiantly, “Here’s what I’m gonna do, get down on my hands and knees for you, you know this is a lie, shot down by the arrows above.” The playing gets heavier and more sinister, the bass thickens and strikes out, and the track burns off fumes and slips under the surface. “Golgotha” eases in with softer singing and a pace that takes time to build its steam. Esfandiari notes, “The snake eats its tail, we return again to this hell,” as the pace picks up, eventually boiling over. Later, Esfandiari’s voice turns to a vicious shriek, strings mix into the body, and the track feels heavy and somber, lamenting a pain that never ends. “Coil” is a shorter one, and it goes for the neck as the playing gets more forceful, and the vocals swelter. The path pounds and cuts as Esfandiari defiantly calls, “5 wounds to take me, 5 wounds had me dead, 5 wounds you raped me, but I resurrect,” ending with the feeling that she has survived the worst and is here for her vengeance.

“Entwined” slowly unfurls as the verses just melt in front of you, lulling you into a sense of security. Then the chorus arrives and jabs the wound as Esfandiari wails with desire, “Oh god I need you, I’ve gotta know right now, you’re mine,” making your emotions skyrocket along with hers. The intensity builds and crushes, pushing this dark, stormy ballad into your world and letting the thunder crash down around you. “Psychic Wound” starts with the guitars heating up in no time with the verses numbing, the playing buzzing in your head. “Help me, I’m so chained to you, someone tell me what to do,” she pleads, seeing paradise slip away for her perceived wrongdoings, a dagger if there ever was one. She amplifies her calls and shrieks, letting the pain penetrate as Middle Eastern-style melodies encircle, and the remainder of the track burns in the light. “Ruse” arrives with the bass boiling and giving off steam, and a slower pace inching its way closer, as the vocals initially are softer before the rage kicks in. “You promised you’d love me all your life, well guess what? Looks like I’m not gonna be your fucking wife,” Esfandiari stabs, feeling both limitless anger and deep pain at the same time, feeling the betrayal wash over. The playing keeps gaining intensity and grows more ominous, with her promising these deeds will not go unpunished. “Paradise Lost” ends the record, focusing on the John Milton text of the same name that is another focus here. It starts with a hush, opening the wounds and letting the blood flow. “I need a place I can grieve,” Esfandiari admits as the tempo keeps you at an arm’s length. The tone is reflective and painful as the story goes on, darkness unfolds, and salvation slips away, ending with the painful final words, “Thrown from our intimacy, that voice was so misleading, I need a place I can grieve, it’s just the saddest story.”

Esfandiari’s lifelong suffering and trauma has been a backbone thematically for King Woman’s first two full-length records, and “Celestial Blues” is the heaviest yet as far as expression and words are concerned. Some of these songs cut right through me just from the lyrics themselves, and the music just compounds what Esfandiari has woven into these creations. Her suffering and her defiance both are palpable and powerful, with this music hitting as hard as anything else you’ll hear this year.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://relapse.com/king-woman-celestial-blues/

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

From the time we started this site, we wanted to work in enough flexibility so that we could do what we want, meaning not being tied down to heavy metal every day of the week. I listen to a lot more music than just metal, and I’m sure many of you do as well, and that carries over to the artists who makes some of the most sinister sounds on the planet.

Leila Abdul-Rauf has made a name for herself playing for some of the gnarliest, most vicious bands in metal including Vastum and Cardinal Wyrm, as well as groups such as Hammers of Misfortune, Saros, and Amber Asylum that explored other areas both heavy and not. But on her own, she’s managed to push things even further over four solo records, her latest coming in the form of “Phantasiai,” one of her darkest works yet. This eight-track record is split into two sections comprised of four movements each, reveling in shadowy ambiance and mostly instrumental murk. In Hellenistic lore, “Phantasiai” refers to impressions made through our senses before we form actual thoughts, and the tracks here visit thematically with seduction, addition to powerful fantasies, and renewal, though Abdul-Rauf makes clear that she wants listeners to form their own stories and not necessarily rely on her own.    

“Distortions in Phantasy I: Lure” starts in an eerie aura, a ghost moving through the dark as it takes on an elegant horror score feel. Fantastical dreams and angelic calls mix as the sounds get richer and fuller before bowing out. “Distortions in Phantasy II: Consumption” has guitars hanging in the air, slightly stinging as the keys haunt, and strange feelings work their way into your blood. Horns spread their message as regal melodies emerge, and the track chills you to the bone. “Distortions in Phantasy III: Suspension” spills in from the windowpanes as voices call out, and the mind is allowed to wander into fantasy. Soft singing helps amplify the atmosphere, rushing to the sky before dissolving into silence. “Distortions in Phantasy IV: Disembodiment” chimes in and creates a strange vibe as the hums float, and the music takes on a chamber-style vibe. It feels like working through a dream as birds chirp, horns bellow, and this section bows its head.

“The I Emerges I: Rebirth” simmers in the darkness as it rears its head, and then a dark fog thickens and rolls over the land, stretching that haze. Horns thicken the drama as the freeze continues, mixing with cosmic synergy and fading into the clouds. “The I Emerges II: In and Out of Being” starts with keys chiming and chants emerging, making itself both mysterious and calm. The atmospheric pressure slowly builds and cool the flesh as colors rush into the darkness, draining the music into the unknown. “The I Emerges III: Imago and Mirror” flourishes and opens portals into fantasy realms, making your mind tingle, but in a sense of calm. Sounds woosh through the stars and sooth wounds, and then the air pushes through your hair and settles into the ground. “The I Emerges IV: Cell” closes the record and this series of songs, delivering dripping piano and soft singing as the emotions rise. The track is numbing and almost nurturing, traveling through your mind and pulling back your spiking anxiety. The track radiates through your cells, giving off energy beams and rushing into the stars.

Abdul-Rauf has been responsible for some of the heaviest, most deranged sounds in the heavy music world, but her solo work has let her absorb the pain and reimagine it in these soundscapes that feel like they’re here to be a sort of companion for your own darkness. “Phantasiai” is one of Abdul-Rauf’s richest solo offerings yet, a collection that aligns with your senses and perhaps helps you get what’s flowing through you. This is a collection that’s ideal for quiet reflection as you examine your scars and damage and try to find a way to soothe yourself in a meaningful way.   

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

To buy the album (CD), go here: https://www.cycliclaw.com/music/leila-abdul-rauf-phantasiai-cdlp-170th-cycle

Or here (vinyl, due in September): https://cloisterrecordingsus.bigcartel.com/product/pre-order-leila-a-b-d-u-l-rauf-phantasiai-lp-crus-85-cycliclaw

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

And here: https://www.facebook.com/cloisterrecordings.us

People not in the know of heavy metal sometimes chuckle at death metal. It’s kind of a joke to some people who think it’s just Neanderthal shit and strange vocals, but there is so much more to it than that. Easy jokes by dummies aside, there are so many different forms death metal takes now, and there are countless ways in which this music can be played and consumed. It’s hardly caveman shit.

Finnish death squad Galvanizer prove that generously on their new record “Prying Sight of Imperception,” a collection that has brains, brawn, and psychosis as this album is difficult to deduce and hard to decipher fully. The 10 tracks packed into this vicious, perplexing display play tricks with your mind and attempt to make you rethink what you thought was a section of safety you had carved out in your mind. While it’s vile, twisted, and violent, the music on this record also can get into your cell structure and expand your mind as the band— Vocalist/bassist Vili Mäkinen, guitarist/backing vocalist Aleksi Vähämäki, drummer Nico Niemikko—keeps intact some of the tenets we expect but also expands beyond that to something stirring and fun.

“The Sanguine Legacy” is a quick, strange intro cut with weird, warbled voices, and then we’re into “Servants of the Scourge” that rushes out with fluid death and a plastering pace. Growls rustle as cool leads burn brightly, leading to the pace cooling down but remaining just as heavy. Guitars keep crushing, the band applies the pressure, and we’re on to “The Inexorable” that rips things apart as it dawns. Stirring speed and mauling playing unite and instantly put you in danger as the growls corrode and eat through flesh. The tempo gets even gnarlier as the band lands heavy blows before an abrupt end. “Blaze From Within” is a quick one, a tick below two minutes, and it wastes no time speeding heavily and unloading crushing growls. The playing gets thrashy and mean as the vocal spit nails, later shrieks carve, and the track blasts out as fast as it arrived. “Chthonic Profanation” starts with strange noises lurking before things blow up, and mucky death pulls you beneath the surface. The playing rampages savagely as the vocals rip out at a ridiculous clip, the drums and riffs kill, and everything lathers before all the elements disappear into the sky.

“Ground Above” chugs and charges, the growls and shrieks mix and do their damage, and the aura gets even more terrifying as the crunch gets more pronounced. The vocals carve their path as the guitars multiply the fury, and everything ends in outright violence. “Dia De Muertos” explodes with rage as the track gets impossibly fast, smashing faces and defacing psyches along the way. Shrieks peel flesh as the playing tramples whatever is in front of it, leaving everything in a pile of rubble. “The Ever-Crescent” delivers heavy blows as the band opens a massive assault that scrambles brains as blackness oozes from the riffs. Great leads flourish as the melody jolts, then everything is ground into dust. “Grotesque Devotion” starts with a drum massacre that leads to wrenching growls and playing that batters the senses. Thick bass blackens eyes as the track seems to find a new level of hell, shrieks mar, and the track ends in a pile of muck. “Of Flesh Unknown” closes this beast as riffs boil, and the tempo is absolutely smoking. The leads swelter as the playing gets unhinged, thundering hard before strange synth envelopes before the guitars angle strangely. There’s an atmospheric charge that adds air to the classic metal fire that erupts, and then the track seemingly fades into time.

Galvanizer deliver channeled, devastating death metal that spirals into your psyche and refuses to let you feel normalcy ever again. “Prying Sight of Imperception” might be Finnish death metal, but it’s an animal that shares some of their homeland’s metallic tenets yet also lives on a different plane, something a little different than what you might expect. Or, put more simply, Galvanizer delivers death metal that’s mangling and dangerous, art that exists to deliver trauma and never fails in its mission.  

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

To buy the album, go here: https://www.mesacounojo.com/shop/galvanizer-prying-sight-of-imperception-lp/

Or here: https://everlastingspew.com/34-galvanizer

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

And here: https://everlastingspew.com/

There’s a thinking that metal revels in negativity, which is something that absolutely is not true as a whole. There is plenty in the genre that can make your blood rush and change your mind frame for the better, and it’s been this way from the start. But there is darkness in other corners as well as danger, and if you wander into some place unfriendly, it can be the end of you.

OK, that’s a little much, granted, but I implore you to tackle “Malefic Obliteration,” the debut EP from misery-inducing black metal force Disimperium and tell me you don’t feel an extra anxiety boost, another level of trauma that you didn’t need. This is vicious and blackening, which should go without saying considering the sub-genre, but you need to take this warning seriously, because these three tracks absolutely deface and promise uncompromising power. The band brings together members of Ascended Dead and Misrule, and the playing here crushes wills and tests psyches in order to figure out who can survive such an onslaught.

The title track heats up and crushes right off the bat as the growls mangle, and the playing turns into a pulverizing force. Things turn seedy and horrific as the guitars boil and sizzle, spilling guts right into “Fuming Nexus” where the drums plaster you. The track is ungodly violent and heavy, making it feel like the oxygen has been sucked from the room, and you’re writhing for air. The playing goes off as it feels like bricks are being torn from buildings, the leads squeal, and the track ends in numbing misery. “Infernal Machine” ends the record, and right away it’s a slaughter as the growls hammer, and it feels like you’re in the midst of a non-stop beating. Hell erupts as the weight and chaos get more immersive as the earth beneath you seemingly implodes. Pressure mounts, hell bubbles through cracks in the earth, and noise rises and suffocates.

Chaos and negativity are two things you are promised by Disimperium on “Malefic Obliteration,” one of the most fittingly titled collections of music perhaps ever. This feels like a devoured-earth policy come to maim and deliver nothing but broken bones and salt in your wounds, leaving you burning out of control. This is merely a 12-minute EP, yet it carries with it the weight of the world and the promise of physical and psychological violence.  

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

To buy the album, go here: http://sentientruin.com/releases/disimperium-malefic-obliteration

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

Humans aren’t exactly the greatest stewards of the earth, nor are some of them particularly skilled at being responsible individuals, instead deciding to fall prostrate in front of idiotic politicians whose lies are so flimsy, it’s impossible to think of how anyone could fall for this shit. What amazing fodder we’d be for the old gods, what marks for doing absolutely no reading or research we’ve become.

That’s not necessarily the focus of the excellent “Forked Tongues,” the third record from Craven Idol, but it falls in line as they examine the silliness humanity has become. Instead, they use their thunderous blackened thrash to warn against the lure of false idols and the foolishness of following supposed deities who have no other concern for anything other than their own conquests. Further, the record acts as a sequel of sorts to the battle between Ancient Greek gods Typhon and Zeus, with Typhon returning to exact revenge after he served time in a burial spot beneath Mount Aetna. Those titanic battles are painted in fire and blood by the band—vocalist/guitarist Sadistik Vrath, guitarist Obscenitor, bassist Suspiral, drummer Heretic Blades—as they rage through seven tracks and 41 minutes of cataclysmic power that makes it feel like the earth is splitting in two.

“Venomous Rites” gets started by smashing away with the guitars charging and Vrath’s vocals going for the jugular. The playing speeds and wrecks guts while the chorus is simple but really effective. Soloing blares as the body of the song pummels, ending its violence in a pit of silence. “The Wrath of Typhon” stirs dangerously before unloading on you, simmering in thrashy nastiness. The furious onslaught continues as the vocals continue to add intensity, the leads splatter, and we end in ashen black glory. “Iron Age of Devastation” fires up with tangling guitars and scorching speed, feeling like your guts are being stomped mercilessly. Shrieks explode as Vrath wails, “Desecration! Annihilation!” as the track is buried in hell. “Even the Demons…” creaks and jolts before kicking into high gear, rupturing as the intensity soars. The leads bathe in fire as Vrath insists, “Even the gods kneel,” as melodic power comes to life, blasting through walls as the chorus jars one last time.

The title track has a great, energetic start, bringing a blast of juice that has a rusty razor punk feel built into the recipe. The playing hangs in the air threateningly before blistering rage surfaces, and the chugging leaves you devastated. Meaty grunts and thrashy chaos unite as mangling screams jar loose your screws. “Deify the Stormgod” runs a healthy 9:23, the longest track on the record, and it sits in thunderclaps before taking off on a melodic journey. The body of this thing ravages hard as drums come in to support the battle front as voices calls out desperately into echoes. The speed explodes and scrambles brains, howls echo, and the smashing playing steamrolls and tears right into “The Gods Have Left Us for Dead,” the 9:06-long closer. Things are torn apart as the guitars gallop heavily, and great melody runs headlong into murk. The playing splatters and leaves muscle and guts behind, and the vocals hammer you like never before. The leads swell and rush hard, an amazing wave of power quakes, and the track slips into the heavens where the great gods continue their self-centered battles.

Craven Idol’s journey into the war of the gods explodes on “Forked Tongues,” easily the strongest of their three releases, which is really saying something considering this band’s stellar resume. On here, the thrash is heavy as ever, and the black metal leanings are even more sinister, aiming to draw blood with every blow. This record is savage and uncompromising, a statement that this band is as hungry and bloodthirsty as ever, with everything in front of them seen as a target.

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

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

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

The bulk of what you read on this site is generated from people clubbing my inbox to death with promos, which I actually really appreciate despite the tone of this sentence. I need to manage that better. But now and again, we see something we are intent to track down because it’s something we really want to hear, so we’ll harvest whatever music we can.

One of those albums is “Loss of Light,” the debut from Boise, Idaho-based crunchers Ghorot, who pledge to worship at the altars of sludge, doom, stoner, and black metal, and they definitely achieve that goal on this punishing five-track, 40-minute record. I was initially interested due to the involvement of guitarist/vocalist Chad Remains, who previously plied his trade in criminally underappreciated Uzala, and his partners here in Carson Russell (bass/guitar/vocals) and Brandon Walker (drums/vocals) help helm a power trio that is unstoppable. This is a sooty, blackened, psychotic good time as the band hammers you with great darkness, crushing riffs, and vicious vocals that batter you completely. It’s a really great record, one I have been visiting over and over.   

“Harbinger” starts the record by heating up with an absolutely killer riff that snakes around you, swaggering as the growls begin to pummel. The playing begins to twist steel as a doomy cloud thickens and threatens, and a savage burst launches fireballs into the sky as the finish simmers in soot. “Charioteer of Fire” lets steam rise as an extended introduction allows the band set the stage, which is burning out of control. Riffs stomp as the melody enraptures you as the howls emerge, scraping off strips of flesh as we delve into heavy psychedelic waters. Hypnotic jolts shake your foundation as the soloing bathes in lava, churning hard, emerging out of a strange fever dream and ashing away.

“Woven Furnace” delivers bubbling guitars as the pace pummels, and the vocals mash hellish growls and muscular shrieks into one ugly package. Punishing chants are unleashed and get your blood moving, ushering in violent thrashing, power that leaves bruising, and a snarling assault that drowns out in noise.   “Dead Gods” basks in slicing guitars and vocals that stoke the flames, bringing a plodding and pounding tempo to their accumulating pile of bodies. Growls echo in your head as your psyche is sliced open, the guitars spread their black wings, and a heavy shadow covers all, charging and stabbing out. “In Endless Grief” is your closer, a 12:26-long crusher that slips in and out of darkening mood as the vocals dice into your mind. The guitars melt rock as a heavy haze situates above you, letting noise accumulate and damage, with anguish running amok. The playing gets burlier, smoke fills the room as the soloing attracts heat lightning, and the final moments flatten and leave you in the dirt.

Ghorot’s full-length debut “Loss of Light” is about four years in the making, and it’s a barnstormer, an album I was really looking forward to hearing. My expectations were high going in, and they all not only were met but surpassed, as this is a band who I’m really excited to hear develop over the years. This thing will burrow into your psyche, set up shop, and wreck you, leaving your entire mind overwhelmed.  

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

To buy the album (digital, vinyl), go here: https://ghorot.bandcamp.com/album/loss-of-light

Or here (CD): https://www.inverse.fi/shop/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=940&osCsid=0d2ee1eec5a9a69bfbbfce61546aa55b

For more on the label, go here: https://www.inverse.fi/

Misery and black metal tend to go hand in hand as that style of music isn’t exactly here as a pick-me-up if you’re looking for some sort of flowery messaging. It’s ugly, sometimes too much so, though it’s also an ideal location for one to unleash the worst of their souls, the most fitting realm to let go of the forces that darken the artists’ lives, which we get to see and hear in their music.

Kryptan actually came to life in the worst possible time, when a global pandemic was spreading across the globe, sickening and killing millions. Yet, for the three members responsible for this band and their killer four-track debut EP, it was rich breeding ground for creating art that celebrated the ugliest elements of civilization. The three artists here—vocalist Alexander Högbom, guitarist/bassist/synth player Mattias Norrman, drummer Samuel Karlstrand—bring experience with bands such as October Tide, Katatonia, and Wretched Fate, and what they commit to tape here is devious, startlingly melodic, and a dagger to the heart of hope, leaving any chance at calm bleeding on the side of the road.

“A Giant Leap for Whoredom” opens and brings glorious black metal fire and ferocious shrieks as the low end gets burly and thick. Melody charges as the vocals go from guttural growls to banshee wails as the tempo punishes, and the storming has a gothy finish. “Bedårande barn” begins deep in the murk, blowing through and landing punches, pumping with a thick, foggy terror. Vicious growls carve away as the playing spirals and drills into the ground, delivering a menacing force. The leads sweep as guts churn, a synth gaze cools faces, and the drama thickens before fading away. “Blessed Be the Glue” has a melodic gust and powerful drumming as the fury increases, making their intensity nearly tangible. Black metal power bursts, the synth creates a fog, and we rip back in, with everything spilling out into echo. “Burn The Priest” closes the album, unleashing encircling riffs and shrieks that massacre, as the simple but violent chorus delivers bruising. The guitars wrap their tentacles as a fiery gust nearly knocks you over, and symphonic power blows the doors down. The playing stirs, another volcanic chorus rouses, and we end with the final blows blasting our rib cages.

This is a promising first glimpse at Kryptan, who bring some interesting twists to traditional black metal and infuse it with the sub-genre’s bloodthirst. This band brings a wealth of experience to what they do from their other projects and united to create something more sinister than what they all do elsewhere. Everything here hints at a volcanic future as they carve more bloody pathways into black metal’s rotting, blackened heart.  

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

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/

It’s a weird time of the year to retreat into darkness, bone-chilling cold, and uncompromising misery, but here we are, basking in it anyway. Actually, just because it’s summer and it’s warm doesn’t mean that pain and agony retreat for a few months. That shit tends to fester, boil beneath the surface, and eat right into your wiring at the worst possible time.

That kept spreading through my brain as I visited Cessation’s self-titled debut demo, a single-track mauler that brings ashen funeral-style doom into the forefront and does whatever it can to black out your hopes. Comprised of two members of death/doom beasts Mordom—vocalist/drummer/guitarist Nathan Gonzalez and guitarist/bassist Max Hoffman—combine to put you through the ringer for 20 minutes, pounding you over and over with plodding intensity as they unleash their darkness for all to see and experience. It’s a harrowing journey through the darkest of humanity.

“Abyss of Desolation” is the lone cut, a 20:12-long bruiser that starts with a gloomy charge and doomy chugs as the growls boil, and suddenly we’re trudging really hard. The playing goes off the rails as the drums rattle, and we’re headfirst into murky doldrums, firing up and blasting away, bringing caustic charges. The playing fades temporarily before being reborn into a harrowing, shadow-rich terrain, letting guitars drip into ice chips. Drums echo before the band starts landing heavy blows again as the bass coils and strikes, and the guitars add some unexpected warmth. The haze increases as the misery laps, the playing burns out, and we exit into thick, ominous clouds.

This is a particularly bleak portrait of doom as Cessation unloads on your fraying nerves and crumbling psyche with this self-titled demo that’s merely a hint of what’s to come. That’s a mosrbid possibility as this single track already is daunting and chilling, easily making you try to make copious lists of places where you can find safety. As this thing progresses, that list shortens before disappearing completely, as this force cannot be overcome or overwhelmed.

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

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

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

I detest making long-term plans because almost 100 percent of the time, things are going to go wrong, nothing will go right, and I’ll be left upset and swearing. That’s just the cost of living, as nothing ever goes according to what you hope, so you’re left to pick up the scraps of your plans and try to regain any semblance of accomplishing your goals.

Madeline Johnston made the ill-advised decision to try to make 2020 a productive one on the road, playing her songs that she culls under the “heaven metal” moniker. I don’t have to tell you how that one went. With tour plans scrapped due to the pandemic, she instead focused on creating a third full-length under her Midwife moniker, the imminently arriving “Luminol.” As expected, the music here doesn’t really register as “feel good,” though her art never has as she has explored loss and inner torment rather thoroughly. This time around, Johnston focuses on incarceration, loss of control, self-harm, and truth seeking, among other topics, and the music always cuts a tributary into your mind. The compositions have added levels of texture that help set it apart from her memorial-based “Forever” album released last year, and the heaviness comes in the emotional and psychological toll paid during these six tracks.  

“God Is A Cop” begins with solemn keys and Johnston’s hushed vocals as she ominously calls, “I can’t kill the evil thought, I can’t turn it off.” Cool keys rumble as guitars beam, bringing heat as she continues to sing those words, with notes ringing out and her left alone in the dark. “Enemy” greets you with guitar buzz and an uneasy haze as Johnston delivers words that might hit some close to home with, “My body wants to kill me, my body is an army, my body is out to get me.” The track feels like a mid-90s college rock dose of numbness as she continues to explore those words, repeating and searching, coming back to slowly wind down the track and lie it in a hypnotic buzz. “2020” has guitars churning, the feeling like you’re ensconced in a dream as Johnston continually calls, “And it feels like heaven is so far away,” the refrain from The Offspring’s hit “Gone Away.” Considering the title and what we’ve all been through, the dreamy calls bore into you, reminding you of how goddamn far we still are from safety.

“Colorado” delivers beats cracking and guitar work that reminds of Mazzy Star’s smooth darkness as Johnston’s voice floats amid the murk as cosmic keys boil in a cauldron. It feels like a psyche daydream that bounces through fog as she cries out, “How much more death can one person take,” before insisting, “No, I’m not OK.” Moody guitars settle in as the melodies lap, and everything echoes into the night. “Promise Ring” has keys melting generously as the vocals settle in, rolling into the ashes. “Love will break your heart forever,” Johnston sings as simple keys create a fault line, and other elements emerge and mix into the DNA, punching and dissolving into noise. “Christina’s World” closes the album as key emerge, and hushed singing touches your nerves gently. “Show me the way,” Johnston continually pleads as the guitars awaken and send jolts, the music simmers in mystical clouds, and everything blends into the horizon.

Johnston’s metal is more sonically delicate but still cuts to the bone, as her minimalist lyrics are like heavily sharpened daggers that knife through your ribcage. “Luminol” is an entrancing listen, making it feel like you’re in the midst of a fog dream, trying desperately to find answers to what ails you. Hopefully 2021 and 2022 can be grounds for Johnston to take her arresting music to the people, overwhelming a hushed room with songs that can crush your soul.  

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/Midwife-1544620965823272/

To buy the album, go here: https://nowflensing.com/collections/flenser-releases

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

It’s easy to get overwhelmed with information, especially when you’re running a site that’s centered on newly released albums, of which there are way too many to ever tackle alone. You should see my inbox. It’s a fucking abomination. Now and again, I get the total opposite of that when I get releases that contain minimal information, and trying to scrub for more is nearly impossible.

That’s not a bad thing at all, as one actually can concentrate on the music and not fuss over details, which I got to do with Arcane Marrow and their enthralling debut “The Elders Present to Me.” While the band is active on social media, there is a shroud of secrecy as to their identities, and all we know is that the union is comprised of members of Primeval Well and Vile Haint. Their raw but melodic form of black metal hails from their cave dwellings, and they mix in some different styles that certainly hints at their interests beyond their sub-genre’s boundaries. That makes for a refreshing listen because it’s full of surprises you don’t see coming, yet it fits quite well, adding a little extra to their storm of power.

“Nocturnal Neanderthal Mysticism” opens amid noise and anguished howls with a melodic surge on top of that. Shrieks rip through as great riffs steamroll as things speed up, and the playing gets even more massive. That spirals into savage vocals and a vicious burst that charges up and heads into “Glacial Tears Flood the Primeval Plains” that delivers icy riffs and raw, wrenching power. The shrieks carve into you as the playing swims through the murk, racing and splattering, storming heavily before a clean sheen brings a dose of calm. “Before the First Notions of God” runs 9:07 and ruptures veins as the guitars take on a classic southern rock-style assault, rollicking as it flattens you. The shrieks tear holes into the cosmos and drive chills down your spine before we’re into a jumbling journey that makes the earth and sky seemingly change places. Pained shrieks rain, the melodies drive dangerously, and everything just unloads, ending things on frenetic terms.

The title track is flush with heartful playing and piercing shrieks, tidal waving onto your shores with massive intensity. Riffs run roughshod as the playing wrecks shop, splattering with sinister guitars that rush through a thick cold front. “The Dismal Woods Receive Me” is the longest track, running 9:25 and bursting to life with a rampaging intensity that lights fires. Shrieks peel back flesh as the black mastery builds, stomping with emotional power, and that causes the waters to darken as the playing just keeps getting more ferocious, leaving you a heaving mess. “An Enveloping Black Harmony” is the closer, and it wastes no time raining down blows and overwhelming you with snaking melodies. The playing sometimes takes on a rock n roll feel, adding a blast of approachability into the mix. Melodies bustle while an indie rock feel lights up and bolts, with the shrieks coming in to maim. Nasty guitars continue to deliver while the blinding rampage sheds blood right to the finish.

While there is little we know about Arcane Marrow on a personal level, the passion and maniacal energy they smash into “The Elders Present to Me” is stuff of magical legend. The band certainly is black metal at its core, but the boundaries they push and the extra elements they work into their DNA help them rise above and capture something special. This is a really mesmerizing, challenging record that will take a few visits to really wrap your head around all of the chaos plastered into this crusher.  

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

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

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