EP/Split/Single Roundup of 2024, Part 2
By Mystikus Hugebeard
Are you one of many who never listen to EPs? Or splits? Or any other kind of short-form release? Itâs a tricky realm to enter, honestly. The EP, for many, represents a maligned category of pieces too short to be satisfying from bands we love. Or, in other cases, too crapshoot an endeavor for a band to step outside their bread ânâ butter to play with synths and non-metal and other things that donât involve motorbikes, swords, or battle. Worse, in modern times, an âEPâ designation on streaming services could be a collection of singles from an upcoming workâa ploy to stay on new release radars and playlists.
Thankfully, we here at AMG have a knack for finding the things you should listen to. No, sorry Cassandra,1 that does not mean that I listened to AVOWD yet. And, no random commenter #457, we did not listen to that raw black demo or post-polkacore release with one supporter on Bandcamp or that split that your friend was on or any of the other things you will suggest in the comments section below. That is your home though, so suggest away! In fact, we have the word split in the title, but all of us were too busy building our top 10s or writing reviews2 to cover the tasty Atvm / Diskord jam or the slamminâ Matriphagy / Wretched Inferno morsel or the skramzy Massa Nera / Quiet Fear pieceâwe snagged a couple splits! Though no one covered Cypheriumâs jazzy and brooding monstrous single, eitherâwhat gives? Well, in any case, we did cover the below releases, so enjoy what we have to offer. In this world where shorter form releases can be more economically viable for these underground acts that we cherish, maybe we should pay more attention throughout the yearâtwo pieces at the end just isnât enough!
And big thanks to my buddy Mystikus Hugebeard for assisting in wrangling these blurbs and carrying the massive weight of the heavy metal underground on the shelf that is his amazingly chiseled and massive shoulders. Check part 1 if you missed it. â Dolph
Underneath // It Exists Between Us â Riding on the coattails of the ambitious and punishing From the Gut of Gaia earlier this year, Pittsburgh quintet Underneath trims the fat into a lean, mean, killing machine humming on gears of deathcore, beatdown, and grind. It Exists Between Us is a distinct release from its predecessor because it leans into grind while still maintaining the actâs signature dissonance and organicity. Ferocity is the name of the game, riffs pummeling with swagger and gusto (âHabsburg Jaw,â âIt Exists Between Usâ), deathcore chugs dragging listeners to the pits (âFinishing Reconstruction,â âIt Dies Within Usâ), unhinged attacks executed through obscene tempos (âAbsurdist,â âA Gun the Size of a Buildingâ), and ominous and blessedly short bursts of noise and ambiance and samples (âDemocratic Peace Theory,â the conclusion of âFinishing Reconstructionâ). Vocals bounce between hardcore fries and death growls with reckless abandon, while the drumsâ organic and snappy tone commands the brig with ferocity. Itâs not all mindless in its experimental elements, but they sure as hell will not give up kicking your teeth in. For those who did not like Knocked Loose this year, Underneath is a pretty suitable substitute. â Dear Hollow
Synestia & Disembodied Tyrant (Collaboration) // The Poetic Edda â Look, I get that everyone and their deathcore dog have wanted to be Lorna Shore since like 2021, and some have succeeded (A Wake in Providence) and many have failed (The Sign of the Swarm, Worm Shepherd). In essence, the deathcore collaboration between Minnesota/Finland duo Synestia and Missouri-based solo project Disembodied Tyrant is Will Ramos-core, but it succeeds in being so much more than that. Classical arrangements, orchestra, choirs, and organs belie the curb-stomping punishment underneath, with breakneck tempos, shifting rhythms, adding a sense of urgency atop the slight blackened frigidity. While âDeath Empressâ and âI, the Devourerâ execute excellent symphonic deathcore in their own right, the title track rips the brutality into a whole ânother mythology, thanks to the crescendo that ends with the devastating guest appearance of Shadow of Intentâs Ben Duerr. This songwriting carries over into the punishing closer âWinter,â as startling heaviness and clever uses of tempos give it a likewise backbreaking blend of mammoth and breakneck. The Poetic Edda is deathcore that follows the trends, but itâs a better-than-usual breed indeed. â Dear Hollow
Olde Throne & Paisaunt (Split) // Cearwylm & Misneachd â This split sees New Zealandâs Olde Throne team up with their former bandmate, Zannibal (also ex-Marrasmieli), in his guise as Paisaunt, to deliver a tantalizing sliver of raw, medieval black metal, with heavy folk influences. Paisaunt occupies the first half of the split, majoring in stripped-back, very lo-fi battery. He shifts between something that could easily be an early demo for Spectral Lore-side project Mystras (âCearwylmâ), screaming, screeching, yet eerily melodic, black metal, like Ancient Mastery played through a 90s games console (âKillicrankie,â a cover from Olde Throneâs very good In the Land of Ghosts), and something completely different. The something completely different is the highlight of the whole split: âBjørgvinâ sees all percussion ditched, leaving only picked guitars, mountains of distortion and croaking vocals to create something truly haunting and curiously beautiful. On their half, Olde Throne carry on from where they left off on In the Land of Ghosts, delivering folk-infused, harsh fare, with Harrison McKenzieâs razor-wire shrieks leading the charge. Their frenzied cover of Paisauntâs âNigh is Time,â amps up the folk instruments to great effect, while percussion-free folk ditty âCausantĂn mac Ăeda,â ditches all vocals save for sparse female cleans that add an ethereal note to it. â Carcharodon
Daxma // There Will Come Tomorrow â Daxmaâs Ruins upon Ruins, which was my first ever TYMHM here,3 was a starkly beautiful slab of post-doom and, since discovering it, Iâve been a bit of a Daxma fanboi. There Will Come Tomorrow is probably closer in tone to Ruins, than their last LP, Unmarked Boxes. Almost entirely instrumental, there is so much space on There Will Come Tomorrow, that it feels like youâre wandering across a vast desert beneath the stars. Itâs not empty though, Jessica T.âs violin laps around you like the wind, while Isaac R. and Forrest H.âs guitars rise and swell like towering dunes. The drumming (Thomas I.) fades in and out, only shifting out of first gear occasionally, like on âWings to Andromeda,â the back end of which raises the tempo and intensity as if a sandstorm is blowing in. The only vocals are the harmonized cleans (Isaac and Jessica) in the background of âTower of Silence,â which, with the keys, give the closer an air of resigned finality. This stands at odds with the rest of the EP, which gives off a faint sense of hope and light, set against brooding skies. â Carcharodon
New Money // Dinero Nuevo â Groove is in the eye of the beholder, as the saying goes, and New Money has arrested my booty-shakin gaze with their debut EP, Dinero Nuevo. But despite their moniker of inexperience, both Christian Bonnesen (LLNN) and Niclas Sauffaus (Elitest) have grown from their underground grindcore Piss Vortex roots to reunite again in New Money, an amalgamation of furious Danish hardcore colliding with Meshuggah-toned noise rock groove. The steady lockstep of syncopating kick and fuzzed-out bass stomps maintains a pace through these seventeen minutes as if all eight tracks were one long, twanged-out head-bobber. In its perpetual stew of slinky shuffles and amp-shaking breakdowns, New Money finds standout moments in extra bass-loaded pit-churners (âNithing Pole (OlĂŠ OlĂŠ),â âPerformancerâ), Pronged assaults on sanity (âPerpetual Stew,â âHamlebâ), and a fitting Doug Moore (Pyrrhon, Weeping Sores) guest spot that waves heavy the modern KEN mode flag. Iâm not a bettinâ man, but Iâd venture to say New Money is on the verge of wrecking necks with a grand scheme on a horizon rapidly approaching. Listen thrice and then some. It pays. â Dolphin Whisperer
PISSSHITTER // Human Toilet Garbage Piss â Just about every day the crowded halls of Bandcamp new releases brings forth untold potential for nuggets of enjoyment. At the same time, the pipeline finds clog in the warped bolus of meme-addled, sub-demo quality bedroom trash. However, at this intersection of flowing sound and crumpled talent, certain expressions, particularly those of the lower-brow kind like goregrind and slam, can find a smooth enough contraction to pass to those who need it. And, last January when Human Toilet Garbage Piss emerged, I needed it. This January again, I need it. After the extended push of list season, every writer needs to decompress in some way. For me, the constant toilet-sloshing gurgle, the incessant chromatic chuggery, and the programmed peristaltic rhythms that adorn the fifteen-minute filth that PISSSHITTER has chewed and churned brings an untold level of thought-free joy. And particularly in a short release, thatâs all anyone really needs. Sometimes you piss, sometimes you shit.4 â Dolphin Whisperer
Velothian // Path of the Incarnate â Epic black metal can be a difficult thing to pull off, but that hasnât stopped Velothian from debuting with one of the coolest pieces of epic black metal Iâve heard in a long while, Path of the Incarnate. Itâs mid-tempo, highly accessible black metal with big chords, big melodies, and a shockingly pleasant, clean mix that breathes life into the layers of Velothianâs atmosphere. Just shy of 30 minutes spread across five songs, the Morrowind-inspired Path of the Incarnate explores an impossibly wide array of moods and tones, from the solemn determination of âOutlanderâ to the lonesome riffs and mournful wails of the lead guitars of âThe Mire.â The slower pace, solid riffs, and focus on atmosphere both highlights and strengthens the musicâs moodiness, and the brief moments of blistering aggression land all the stronger for their infrequence. This is a genuine musical journey that envelops and becomes you; the atmospheric layers and expansive melodies may speak of far-off mountains and slumbering gods, but the intimacy within the riffs of songs like âOutlander,â âEye of Night,â and âNomadicâ grounds the music in a very tactile wayâan epic journey this may be, but one that respects the ground you must tread to arrive at journeyâs end. Fine by me, but Dagoth-Ur better have some sick loot. â Mystikus Hugebeard
Sedimentum // Derrière les Portes dâune Arcane Transcendante â With a third logo and sporting artwork looking like it was pulled from a forgotten â90s Finnish death release, Sedimentum announce another subtle change in sound. Derrière les Portes dâune Arcane Transcendante replaces the anvil-heaving crush of their debut with a much slimier, grease-coated presentation. Drenched in vintage-sounding synths, the mood of âVilĂŠnieâ channels a ghastly, creeping abomination crawling out of your speakers, leaving ectoplasm and filth wherever its tendrils touch. But fret not, Sedimentum still know how to bring the pain, with monstrous chugging sections in âLe labyrinthe sempiternelâ and âInhumation cĂŠleste (Au carillon mordorĂŠ)â invoking the Incantation and worshiping at the Malignant Altar without sacrificing an ounce of the sinister atmosphere. Some might miss the teeth-to-powder assault of previous releases, but if Derrière les Portes dâune Arcane Transcendante is a signal for the future of Sedimentum, we might be in for a grotesque horror indeed. â Alekhines Gun
#2024 #BlackMetal #BlackenedFolkMetal #BlogPost #BrutalDeathMetal #CearwylmMisneachd #Daxma #DeathMetal #Deathcore #DerrièreLesPortesDUneArcaneTranscendante #DineroNuevo #DisembodiedTyrant #DoomMetal #epicBlackMetal #Goregrind #Hardcore #HumanToiletGarbagePiss #ItExistsBetweenUs #Mathcore #NewMoney #OldThrone #Paisaunt #PathOfTheIncarnate #PISSSHITTER #PostMetal #Sedimentum #Slam #SymphonicDeathcore #Synestia #ThePoeticEdda #ThereWillComeTomorrow #ThingsYouMightHaveMissed #ThingsYouMightHaveMissed2024 #Underneath #Velothian