Ossuary – Abhorrent Worship Review

By Alekhines Gun

These days, it seems like people get their idea of what “cavernous” should sound like from people who read about caves in books. Incantation are supposed to be the torch bearers for the subgenre, but they have sounded more like a facsimile of the sound for decades, and even more filthy modern equivalents like Funebrarum or Vastum still manage to sound like a studio imitation of what should be a raw and organic aural depiction. Drilling through the limestone and sporting some concerningly bloody tools, Ossuary have arrived with their debut full-length Abhorrent Worship, with the promo itself promising the album will open up a cave for you, dear listener, to die in. I’m a big believer in being threatened with a good time, so grab your spelunking gear and watch out for the guano poisoning!

Ossuary have conjured up an excellent presentation of the cavernous sound. Abhorrent Worship sounds positively vile, with every riff drenched in grime and slithering sounds. The big reason for this is the disgusting bass tone offered up by Matt Jacobs. While never getting any solos or spotlight, his bass is cranked up in the mix and hits brown noise levels of depth, with a rattle that sounds like it’s rotting out the woofer on my speakers with every spin. This gives the Malignant Altar styled bounce of “Instinctual Prostration” or the vintage Autopsy waltz of “Inborn Scourge Unbound” reverb and depth, masterfully unleashing the echoing abandoned cave aesthetic. The guitars are no slouches in tone either, with Izzi Plunket summoning the spirit of the gone-before-their-time Cavurn1 in riff style while channeling demo-era Demilich filth in presentation. Whiffs of Suffering Hour treble peppers occasional moments (“Barren Lamentation”) while never giving into anything which could remotely be described as melodic, with sustained chords digging deeper into the earth’s crust in depth and sound.

And when Ossuary gets to really digging, the ground opens up to swallow you whole. “Volitional Entropy” leads in with one of the single greatest death/doom riffs I have ever heard, a massive earworm which evolves from a droning lurch into a titanic mantle-chucker as it builds and swirls. “Forsaken Offerings (To the Doomed Spirit)” channels vintage Tomb Mold into a build that collapses into a chuggathon and hellish blasts. “Barren Lamentation” acts as the grand album finale with a slow-building curtain closer of a groove, which is rendered more intense by the drumming of Nick Johnson picking up the pace as the droning repeats. Each song in Abhorrent Worship functions as a build to a climax, with at least one high-caliber riff to be found in every menacing cut.

The only downside to a tension-and-release style composition is that you have to be uniformly interesting in your transitions as much as your explosions, and it is here that Ossuary stumbles. Many chugging sections go on far too long (“Forsaken Offerings…” being the biggest offender), and not every climax impales you on the same stalagmite2. There’s a clear hierarchy of quality from song to song, and while the atmosphere is unrelenting and nothing slips underneath “good,” discernible highs and lows in the composition detract from the overall body of work. Cavernous death is inherently a limited style by its nature, and the only way to make up for that is with the writing being as uniformly well executed in composition as it is in tone. Abhorrent Worship absolutely nails the sound and aesthetic, and at their best, offer up a hellish vision of the most cavernous depths, but it doesn’t have the clear sense of gold-quality from beginning to end needed to make it stand out in an inherently monochrome genre.

Nevertheless, I have emerged from the cave covered in bat poo and blood that is disconcertingly not my own with tales of delight. Ossuary have presented an enjoyable presentation of the cavernous sound, and despite its compositional flaws, I find myself somewhat smitten. If they can make every song hit with the same pic axe sharpness while maintaining the foulness of their production, future releases will offer us bleak horrors indeed. For now, if you haven’t gone cave diving in a while, I highly recommend joining in a chorus of Abhorrent Worship for a good spiritual cleanse. Just make sure you bring extra batteries for your flashlight…

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Me Saco Un Ojo Records
Websites: Album Bandcamp | Official Instagram
Releases Worldwide: May 23rd, 2025

#2025 #30 #AbhorrentWorship #AmericanMetal #Autopsy #Cavurn #DeathMetal #Demilich #Incantation #MalignantAltar #May25 #MeSacoUnOjoRecords #Ossuary #Review #Reviews #SufferingHour #TombMold

Stuck in the Filter: February 2025’s Angry Misses

By Kenstrosity

February comes down the pipe about two or three months after February. A perfectly normal thing to experience here at AMG HQ, this Filter’s tardiness is brought to you in part by my body getting stuck in one of the tighter conduits that lines the concrete interior of this confounded bunker. My minions are elsewhere, trudging through similar environs, and report their findings to me via eldritch beast telepathy. Since I obviously don’t speak eldritch tongue, I have to use my Codex of Enspongification to decipher these antediluvian transmissions. I’m sure you can imagine, that takes no small measure of time, especially when you’re stuck in this galvanized prison of rusting sheetmetal.

Until my ungrateful minions can find me and rescue me—something I don’t expect to happen anytime soon considering I give them no workers benefits or pay of any kind—you’ll have to make do with the selections of rough-hewn and sharp, but valuable, ore provided below. OBSERVE AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Kenstrosity’s Crusty Grab

Metaphobic // Deranged Excruciations [February 28th, 2025 – Everlasting Spew Records]

When Atlantan death metal quintet Metaphobic caught my attention with the megalithic riffs opening their debut LP Deranged Excruciations, I thought the stank face it brought out of me might be permanent. Nothing new and nothing sophisticated awaits here. Just brutalizing riffs delivered in a relentless sequence of destruction. Lead guitars squeal and scrape against the swampy ground underfoot, leaving a noxious slime trail behind “Mental Deconstruction” and “Execration” that tastes of Tomb Mold, Incantation, and Demilich to varying degrees. Guttural utterances and cacophonic—but accessibly structured—riffs offer the same infernal ferocity of the olden ways. However, in a similar manner to Noxis, their application here feels modern and fresh-ish (“Execration,” “Veiled Horizons,” “Hypnosis Engram”). Not nearly as nuanced as that comparison might suggest, Metaphobic are more than satisfied to use their brutish death metal as a cudgel for blunt force trauma. Nods to death doom in long-form wanderings like “Disciples of Vengeance” and “Insatiable Abyss” provide an appreciable variation in pace, though it doesn’t always work in Metaphobic’s favor. While those songs tend to meander too long on ideas unfit to support such mass for so long, livid outbursts like “Veiled Horizons” and “Reconstituted Grey Matter” more than make up for it. In short Deranged Excruciations commands my attention enough to earn my recommendation here, and my attention going forward.

Tyme’s Missing Minutes

Caustic Phlegm // Purulent Apocalypse [February 28, 2025 – Hells Headbangers]

Caustic Phlegm is the filth project helmed solely by Chestcrush main man Evan Vasilakos, who joyously employed his HM-2 and RAT pedals to create the utter disgustingness that is Purulent Apocalypse. A far cry from the angsty, I’d-rather-see-humanity-dead blackened death metal of his main outfit, Caustic Phlegm is a throwback to the days when Carnage walked the streets of Sweden and Impetigo was melting faces and killing brain cells. Purulent Apocalypse is a platter of pestiferous riffs (“Fouled, Infected & Infested,” “Soft Bones,” “Blister Bliss”), so many it’s like sitting on a death metal toilet puking and shitting riffs ad nauseam. Evan’s drum work, replete with the occasional but very satisfying St. Anger snare tone, drives the mindless fun forward, and the 80’s zombie giallo synth work would have Lucio Fulci himself clawing out of his grave to eat your face. Vasilakos’ vocals are a fine litany of belches, squelches, and gurgles that sound like a colony of maggots cleaning the putrid flesh from a corpulent corpse. Caustic Phlegm is the foul stench of death and will have you reaching for the soap and steel wool as you try to rid yourself of the Purulent Apocalypse infection.

Vermilia // Karsikko [February 14, 2025 – Self Release]

Had the incomparable Darkher not released The Buried Storm in 2022, Vermilia‘s Ruska would have garnered my top spot that year, which put her on my radar for the first time. When I saw Vermilia‘s follow-up, Karsikko had dropped in February—sadly we didn’t receive a promo—I jumped at the chance to filter it. While Karsikko is a bit more straightforward than Ruska, it’s full of liltingly beautiful pianos (“Karsikko”) that give way to icy black metal riffs (“Kansojen Kaipuu”) and gorgeously rendered folk metal melodies (“Koti,” “Veresi”). Comparisons with Myrkur and Suldusk would be appropriate, but Vermilia continues to carve out her own space in the folk black metal scene, marrying beatific melody with beastly aggression. Performing all of the music on Karsikko, as is her one-woman calling card, renders her finished products even more impressive. The highlight has always been the voice, though, as Vermilia deftly transitions between angelic cleans (“Suruhymni”) and frosty rasps (“Vakat”), completing a circle that makes each of her releases a joy to listen to. It’s confounding that another of Vermilia‘s albums is an independent release, which might be artistically intentional or the result of bone-headed label execs. Either way, don’t miss out on Karsikko, as Vermilia shouldn’t stay unsigned for long.

Killjoy’s Drowsy Discovery

Noctambulist // Noctambulist II: De Droom [February 7th, 2025 – These Hands Melt]

Although I love blackgaze, I must admit that it can be challenging to find artists who stand out in the genre, whether through quality songwriting or unexpected twists. It turns out that the Dutch band Noctambulist1 offers both. Noctambulist II: De Droom is a fun and fresh blend of Deafheaven-adjacent blackgaze with a Molotov cocktail of post-punk energy. The power chord-driven guitar lines prove to be an unexpectedly compatible fuel source to propel the shimmering, gazey tremolos and blackened rasps to new heights. Many songs (particularly “Aderlater” and “Lichteter”) start with neat intro melodies that catch the listener’s attention, then build and ride that momentum throughout the remainder. A faint sense of loss—stemming from the achingly relatable theme of homeownership drifting further out of many people’s reach—pervades the record, but there is also an infectious cheerfulness. Despite their name, Noctambulist are hardly sleepwalking as they tread along a well-worn genre.

Thus Spoke’s Disregarded Diamonds

Sacred Noose // Vanishing Spires [February 2nd, 2025 – Breath Sun Bone Blood]

My experience with Irish extreme metal has been that it is all incredibly dark, twisted, and supremely, gorgeously dissonant.2 Belfast3 duo Sacred Noose make absolutely no exception to this rule. Vanishing Spires’ ruthlessly brief 31 minutes are defined by stomach-tightening twisted blackened death designed to cut to the heart of misery and fear. The lurching sensation brought about by rapid tremolo descents and sudden accelerations of ever more dissonant chords, impenetrable drums, and pitch-shifting feedback is nauseating (“Entranced by Concrete Lathe,” “True Emancipation”). The pure horror of the inhuman, high-pitched shrieks answering the already fearsome bellows is anxiety-inducing (“”Black Tempests of Promise,” “Moribund”). The near-constant buzzing of noise is oppressive (“Terminal Prologue,” “True Emancipation”); the creeping, malevolent scales unnerving. And Sacred Noose play with their victim, luring them into a trap of deceptively familiar cavern-core (“Sacred Noose”) before throwing a hood over their head and yanking them backwards into more horrifying mania; or perhaps they’ll start with the assault (“True Emancipation”). This more ‘straightforward’ edge to Sacred Noose is most akin to a faster Sparagmos, while their dominant, demonic personality I can compare most faithfully to Thantifaxath, if Thantifaxath were more death-metal-inclined. Vanishing Spires is the first time since the latter’s 2023 Hive Mind Narcosis that a record has genuinely made me feel afraid.

Crown of Madness // Memories Fragmented [February 28th, 2025 – Transcending Obscurity Records]

Life unfortunately got in the way of me giving this a proper review, but Crown of Madness deserve better than to slip by unmentioned. Memories Fragmented is the duo’s debut, but Crown of Madness is one of several projects both are already in.4. The ominous yet colourful sci-fi/fantasy cover art and spiky logo scream ‘tech-death’ and that is indeed what Crown of Madness deliver. At base, there is some damn fine technical death metal here that’s impressive and acrobatic (), but snappy, not outstaying its welcome—the entire record barely stretches beyond 35 minutes. But there is more to Memories Fragmented, and as a result, it is memorable.5 A drawl to certain refrains (), the tendency to gently sway to a slow, near-pensiveness (), the atmospheric hanging of some tremolos over a warm, dense bass (). There is depth. And it reminded me quite starkly of early Ulcerate. In this vein, the record leans towards the more meandering side of the subgenre, gripping not with hooky riffs and heart-pumping tempos, but an intricate kind of intensity. Memories Fragmented arguably goes too far in the indistinct direction, and as a result, loses immediacy. But the churning, introspective compositions presage the potential for true brilliance on future releases.

Vacuous // In His Blood [February 28th, 2025 – Relapse Records]

Full of youthful vigour, London’s Vacuous demonstrate their willing ability to evolve with their sophomore, In His Blood. While debut Dreams of Dysphoria, which I covered back in 2022, played more or less by the disso-death book, here they are already experimenting. Strange, almost post-metal atmosphere now haunts the boundaries (“Hunger,” “Public Humiliation,” “No Longer Human”), combining brilliantly with the band’s already cavernous death metal sound, and amplifying its fearsomeness. Crowning example of this is the gem Vacuous save for the record’s final act in closer “No Longer Human.” In His Blood also sees them flirt with a punkier energy that borrows more than a little bit of malice from the blackened handbook (“In His Blood,” “Flesh Parade”), backed up by d-beats, and contrasting well with their now less frequent crawls. At its most explosive, In His Blood feels downright unhinged, in the best way (“Stress Positions,” “Immersion”), but it never feels messy, and there’s potential in here for Vacuous to evolve into yet another, incredibly potent form of unique, modern hybrid extreme metal. I wish there were more than 30 minutes of this.

Dolphin Whisperer’s Bottom o’ the Barrel Boons

Pissgrave // Malignant Worthlessness [February 21st, 2025 – Profound Lore Records]

Though it may appear, at a glance, that I have gold-colored glasses for bands of rank and urological reference, I’d call it more of a chance happening that such miscreant acts have created intriguing works. And, truthfully, PISSGRAVE has leaned closer to filth first, function second with the war-leaning crackle (and brazenly offensive cover art) that relegates their lineage to corners of listening ears who need therapy with a high tolerance for guts and grime. Malignant Worthlessness, of course, is not accessible by any means, though, despite these Philly boys packing these nine ode to a failed society in a package that doesn’t cause immediate squirm. But with grooves trapped in an endless skronk and blast, and vocals shifted and layered to reflect the sound of a swarm of Daffy Ducks with a serious disdain for life, PISSGRAVE still embodies an endless swirl of unleashed aggression rendered in riffed and regurgitated form. Malignant Worthlessness lives on the dry and crispy side with most of its tones, which allows copious hits of quick delay and reverb on OUGHs and EEEEEEEUGHs to land with an extra psychedelic knocking when you least expect it. Little slows down the pain train here, with tracks like “Heaping Pile of Electrified Gore” and “Internment Orgy” taking brief detours into chunky guitar builds that feel within grasp of normalcy just before dropping back into an intensified flaying. Elsewhere, a martial urgency that reminds of Paracletus-era Deathspell Omega or the industrial-tinged pummel of Concrete Winds, stirs a twitching movement response, all while retaining a grinding death snarl and chromatic fury, leading its fused-by-hatred structures toward an explosive and fuming conclusion. Humanity has no place in the PISSGRAVE environs, and Malignant Worthlessness, in its celebration of a hostile world, does everything it can to reinforce that.

終末回路 // 終端から引き剥がす [February 20th, 2025 – Self Release]

For things that wander around the math rock world, nailing a vibe remains essential to enjoyment. It’s all too easy in this day and edge to fall into the comfortable trap of ambient tapping and comfortable posty swirls to pleasant crescendos that renders many modern acts to high brow background music (even including bands I like, to a degree, like Covet or Jizue). New Japanese act 終末回路,6 however, chooses to imbue their nimble and tricky instrumental center with the searing emotion and urgency of a noisy post-hardcore, with searing vocal inclusions adding a gravitas to passages that would otherwise threaten to flutter away in glee (“誤殖,” “知らねぇよ”). On one end, 終末回路 delivers a bright playfulness that swings with the pedal power and psychedelia of a young Tera Melos. Yet, weighted with a punk urgency and rawer Japanese assembly of tones, which give a physical clang to tight kit heads and blazing squeal to shrill loops and feedback, 終末回路 finds a constant momentum in their shorter form excursion that makes my lack of understanding of its introspective lyrics a non-issue. Packing plaintive piano melodies (“ご自由に “), speaker blowing synth cranking (“dgdf++be”), and prog-tinged guitar flutters (“知らねぇよ”) into one listening session isn’t easy, but with this debut outing of 終端から引き剥がす,7 終末回路 makes it seem as if they’ve been honing the craft for years.

Saunders’ Salacious Skeeves

Möuth // Gobal Warning [February 14th, 2025 – Self Release)

Veteran rockers The Hellacopters returned with a typically rollicking, fun album in February. Elsewhere, dropping with little fanfare, fellow Swedes and unsung power trio Möuth emerged with an intriguing debut rock platter, entitled Global Warning. Featuring more than meets the eye and flashing a dynamic rock sound, Möuth embrace both retro and modern influences, whipped into an infectious concoction of styles, ranging from Sabbathian lurches, doomy grooves, stoner vibes, and elements of psych, punk and hard rock. For the most part it works a treat, creating a welcome change of pace. Fuzzy, upbeat rockers (“Dirt,” “Appetite”) snugly reside amongst moody, psych-bending numbers (“Alike,” “Mantra”), and heavier doom-laden rock, such as powerful opener “Holy Ground,” and brooding, emotive album centerpiece, “Sheep.” Vocally, the passionate, Ozzy-esque croons hit the spot, matching up well to the band’s multi-pronged rock flavors. Compact and infectious, varied in delivery and featuring enough tasty rhythms, fuzzy melodies and rock punch to satisfy, Global Warning marks an intriguing starting point for these Swedish rockers.

Chaos Inception // Vengeance Evangel [February 21st, 2025 – Lavadome Productions]

Emerging from a deep slumber in the depths of the underground, Alabama’s long dormant death metal crew Chaos Inception returned with their first album since 2012’s The Abrogation. Third album Vengeance Evangel went under the radar, festering unclaimed in the promo sump. After the fact, the album’s crushing, controlled chaos smacked me upside the skull with a violent modern interpretation of the classic Floridian death metal sound, with the musty hues of Tucker-era Morbid Angel most prevalent. This is blast-riddled, relentless stuff, played expertly by the trio of Matt Barnes (guitars), Gray White (vocals) and session drummer Kevin Paradis (ex-Benighted). Incredibly dense, atmospheric, and blazingly fast, Vengeance Evangel is a brutal, knotty, technical hammering, punctuated by sick, wildly inventive soloing. While not traditionally catchy, Vengeance Evangel is the kind of intense, layered death metal album that gets under the skin, grafting a deeper impression across repeated listens. The insane tempo shifts, jigsaw arrangements, and wickedly deranged axework delivers big time. From the violent, intricate throes of opener “Artillery of Humwawa,” and disturbed soundscapes of “La Niebla en el Cementerio Etrusco,” through to the brutish grooves of ‘Thymos Beast,” and exotic, tech death shards of “Empire of Prevarication,” Vengeance Evangel does not neatly fit into any one subgenre category but ticks many boxes to cast a wide appeal to death fans of varied equations.

Steel Druhm’s Viscous Biscuits

Ereb Altor // Hälsingemörker [ February 7th, 2025 – Hammerheart Records]

Steel loves his epic metal. I was raised on the stirring odes to swordsmanship and ungovernable back hair from Manowar and Cirth Ungol, and in time, I took a place at the great table in Wotan’s Golden Halls to appreciate the Viking metal exploits of Bathory and later adherents like Falkenbach and Moonsorrow. Sweden’s Ereb Altor got in the game late with their epic By Honour debut in 2008, boasting a very Bathory-esque sound and emotional tapestry that felt larger-than-life and stirred the loins to begird themselves. 10th album Hälsingemörker is a glorious return to those halls of heroes and bravery. This is the large-scale songcraft first heard on Bathory albums like Hammerheart and Twilight of the Gods, and it’s most welcome to these ape ears. Cuts like “Valkyrian Fate” are exactly the kind of sweeping, epic numbers the band’s excelled at over the years. It takes the core sound of Viking era Bathory and builds outward to craft bombastic and heroic compositions that feel HUUUGE. It’s the kind of metal song that embiggens the soul and makes you want to take on a marauding horde by your lonesome and usurp all their battle booty. On “Hälsingemörker,” you get a fat dose of Moonsorrow worship, and elsewhere, Primordial is strongly referenced to very good effect. Hälsingemörker is easily the best Ereb Altor album in a while and the most in line with their beloved early sound. Strap on the sword and get after it!

#AmericanMetal #Arboreal #Benighted #BlackMetal #BlackSabbath #Blackgaze #BreathSunBoneBlood #Carnage #CausticPhlegm #ChaosInception #Chestcrush #ConcreteWinds #Coscradh #Covet #CrownOfMadness #Darkher #Deafheaven #DeathDoom #DeathMetal #DeathspellOmega #Demilich #DerangedExcruciations #DissonantDeathMetal #DustAge #EmbodimentOfDeath #ErebAltor #EverlastingSpewRecords #FolkMetal #GlobalWarning #Hälsingemörker #HellsHeadbangers #Impetigo #InHisBlood #Incantation #IrishMetal #JapaneseMetal #jizue #Karsikko #LavadomeProductions #MalignantWorthlessness #MathRock #MelodicBlackMetal #MemoriesFragmented #Metaphobic #MorbidAngel #Möuth #Myserion #Noctambulist #NoctambulistIIDeDroom #Noxis #OzzyOsbourne #Pissgrave #PostMetal #postPunk #ProfoundLoreRecords #PurulentApocalypse #RelapseRecords #Rock #SacredNoose #SelfRelease #SelfReleased #SermonOfFlames #Sparagmos #SwedishMetal #TechnicalDeathMetal #TerZiele #TeraMelos #Thantifaxath #TheHelicopters #TheseHandsMelt #TombMold #TranscendingObscurityRecords #UKMetal #Ulcerate #Vacuous #VanishingSpires #VengeanceEvangel #Vermilia #VultureSVengeance #終末回路 #終端から引き剥がす

All eyes are on this one for #ThursDeath:

#AncientDeath: Ego Dissolution

https://album.link/i/1791728778

#DeathMetal #SimpleAsThat

FFO #BloodIncantation #ReekingAura #TombMold

For this week's #ProgTuesday by @DXMacGuffin:

#ImperialTriumphant: Goldstar

https://album.link/i/1783607072

#AvantGardeMetal #Weird

FFO #BloodIncantation #TombMold #Ulcerate

Short and sweet. #ThursDeath #TombMold https://tombmold.bandcamp.com/album/cerulean-salvation

Grave Infestation – Carnage Gathers Review

By Steel Druhm

With so much classic heavy metal clogging up my review queue lately, I’ve been neglecting the baser caveman side of my reptilian brain. Canada’s Grave Infestation are back to fix that with their sophomore platter, Carnage Gathers. When they last slimed my doorstep in 2022 with the gruesome Autopsy and early Death worship on Persecution of the Living, they left a mucilaginous impression on my thick skull. Their grizzled and nasty take on old school death was exactly the kind of filth I love to wallow in. Not much has changed on Carnage Gathers, which is another putrid scuzzbucket full of grotesque sounds, primitive riffs, and an IQ below that of rudimentary tool users. It revels in the early days of the genre while fetishizing the lo-fi sound of Hellhammer. It’s all about ear abuse and carnal debasement, and I refuse to be threatened by a good time in the rot pit. Prepare to embrace the sump.

This is not a varied and complex work of art. It’s a tug of war between extremities as the band tries to crush your chestal cavity with ghastly doom segments and then shake your brain stem with bursts of speed and punky d-beats. The whiplash is intended to induce nausea, and it often does. Opener “Living Inhumation” has the bona fides to have appeared on Death’s Leprosy or Autopsy’s Severed Survival and fit right in like a bowel leech. It’s scabby, poo-encrusted offal of a high caliber loaded with jangled, discordant riffs and abysmal vocals. The guitar tone is absolute sewage, and everything is dank and reeking. The only downside is the length. At nearly 6 minutes, it overextends its welcome by the end. This is an unfortunately common trend here, with multiple songs of good construction outliving their trust funds of attention. I love many things about “Ritualized Autopsy,” especially the slimy riffs that ooze everywhere and make you feel unclean. I also appreciate its relentless, unstoppable assault. At points, the guitar work even reminds me of Destruction’s immortal debut EP, Sentence of Death, which is a very good thing. But it too plods on too long, losing some of its visceral impact.

Every track has things going on that I love. Grave Infestation have that sound I’m hopelessly drawn to, and the way they layer nerve-flaying fretboard abuse, bone-breaking grooves, stupid chuggs, and atmospheric noodling gets me every time. Lay some vomitous vocals and pounding drums over that shit and Steel comes to your yard for the gutshake. However, the band doesn’t know when enough is enough, and quality cuts with righteous moments like “Black Widow” and “Drenched in Blood” refuse to stop when they should. There are some absolute ball breaking though, like primal closer “Murder Spree” which just fucks up your shit with insane, panic-inducing riffs that won’t leave you alone. It’s like they took the best moments from Possessed’s timeless classic Seven Churches and sutured them roughly to early Autopsy demos. What more could you want? At 39:56 minutes, Carnage Gathers doesn’t feel too long, though certain tracks do. The production is perfectly mucky and raw, and the guitar sound is exactly the kind of abrasive my rusty metal heart wants.

I’m a big fan of the guitar work from Graham Christofferson and “BC.” It’s their horrific string mutilation that makes the material throb, and they have a knack for skin-removing riffs and twisted flourishes. They create the soundtrack to a madman’s nightmare while paying homage to classic early death albums we all know and love. At times, their riffs sound like those on Bathory’s The Return, which makes me unreasonably giddy. Graham Christofferson’s vocals are a match made in Hell – horrid, repulsive, and full of gut-busting throat exertions. He reminds me of Chris Reifert (Autopsy) at times and, at others, Jeff Beccera (Possessed), but he’s always disgusting. The entire band is solid, but the lack of editing is a nagging defect.

I desperately wanted to give Carnage Gathers a higher rating because I dig so much of what Grave Infestation does. They play exactly the kind of death metal I love, and their commitment to appalling excess speaks to my crude ape brain. If they trimmed the blubber off the best cuts, this would rise in the ranking considerably. As it stands, Carnage Gathers is a quality death metal album sure to please the sick and deranged. It could have been MOAR though!

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Invictus Productions
Websites: graveinfestation.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/graveinfestation | instagram.com/graveinfestation
Releases Worldwide: February 28th, 2025

Kenstrosity

Formed from members of Canadian antifascist crust/sludge metal outfit Ahna and known death filthifiers Ceremonial Bloodbath, Grave Infestation helped pull me out of a skull pit intent on suffocating me under a mountain of bullshit and dumped me right back into a different skull pit entirely—this one teeming with rot and cadaveric bouquets. I suppose I should be thankful, as this is the kind of thing that fills my pores with what some might consider the scent of WICTORY. So, without further ado, I dive deeper into the corpse pile that is Grave Infestation’s sophomore record, Carnage Gathers.

Death metal is a known quantity. We all know it when we hear it, and can describe it without much conflict or confusion. Such is the case for Grave Infestation. Carnage Gathers represents death metal at its most rank, channeling equal parts Asphyx and Incantation, with a membrane of slick Autopsy sleaze surrounding its diseased skin. It’s a combination that works wonders for those who search tirelessly for the nastiest of the nasty, and in that respect, Grave Infestation don’t disappoint. Buzzing and boisterous riffs abound, slammed into the earth below by the crushing heft of doom-laden chugs and yanked back upright by a relentless barrage of squealing solos. Cheering on these deadly antics, a vomitous wretch, brutally projected from afar, echoes its sickening cry across Carnage Gathers’ necrotic scenery. Drawing the line just shy of the caverns from whence Tomb Mold’s early work spawned, Carnage Gathers boasts a sound that exudes old school death at its prime.

Of course, that means that I’m drawn to Carnage Gathers almost by instinct, an animal magnetism against which mental fortitude and willpower crumbles at the slightest breeze. Choice cuts “Inuman Remains,” “Black Widow,” and “Drenched in Blood” take full advantage of my weakness here. Bridging the gap between Incantation’s sheer heft with the vicious onslaught of Autopsy’s violent ways, these songs juggle riffs and grooves engaging enough to motivate the necks of even the staunchest death dissident. “Black Widow,” in particular, marks Grave Infestation’s high water mark, boasting a punky d-beat swagger in conjunction with screeching dive bombs that make an instant memory. Songs like these show that Grave Infestation not only understand the kind of songwriting that made death metal an international underground phenomenon but also identify and implement subtle ways to invigorate that well-worn, comfortable style for a modern audience.

However, Carnage Gathers demonstrates understanding and implementation inconsistently. Pulling from many of its doomier segments, Grave Infestation’s writing outside of their ravenous tears and mid-paced stomps leaves a lot on the table. “Ritualized Autopsy,” “The Anthropophagus,” and “Murder Spree,” among a couple others, routinely inject slower passages characterized by generic chugs and repetitive solos, thereby undermining Carnage Gathers’ strongest material with filler. Considering several tracks reach past five minutes with the inclusion of these insubstantial sections of languid doom death, it seems a clear weak point in Grave Infestation’s repertoire. The undeniable fact that their ripping, death-focused outbursts regularly demolish everything in their path each time they rear their ugly heads only further illuminates the flat, featureless nature of their doom-laden dalliances.

As I surface from the Carnage that Gathers to breathe deep of stale, putrid air, I rest easy knowing that despite its flaws, Carnage Gathers isn’t half bad. Its best moments are a ten-ton anvil of repugnant fun, and the doomed detours that fail to resonate in any meaningful way also don’t derail the experience entirely. Instead, these flawed moments serve as an opportunity for growth. Grave Infestation are still young and have a ton of potential. It wouldn’t take much for them to further refine and empower their sound, launching the quality of their output into higher echelons. For the moment, though, Carnage Gathers is a simple, fun platter of filth, and that’s fine with me.

Rating: Mixed

#25 #2025 #30 #Ahna #Asphyx #Autopsy #CanadianMetal #CarnageGathers #CeremonialBloodbath #Death #DeathDoom #DeathMetal #DoomMetal #Feb25 #GraveInfestation #Hellhammer #Incantation #InvictusProductions #Leprosy #Obituary #PersecutionOfTheLiving #Possessed #Review #Reviews #ScreamBloodyGore #TombMold

Genau die richtige Zeit für Tomb Mold

https://song.link/y/ODbVdcW8NIg

#nowplaying #tombmold #canada #deathmetal

Phrenelith – Ashen Womb Review

By Alekhines Gun

In the early 2010’s, the world saw an explosion of the New-School-Old-School Revival of death metal. Spearheaded by outfits like Tomb Mold, Gatecreeper, Hyperdontia, and Undergang—to name but a few—this wave of bands represented taking the crust, filth, and savagery of your favorite genre founding fathers and launching them forth with wrath into of the modern era. Standing shoulder to shoulder near the front of this pack was Phrenelith, a Danish group whose debut Desolate Landscape made them scene darlings almost overnight. Unfortunately, sophomore release Chimaera opted for an increase in muck and atmospheric decor at the cost of some of their first album’s power, and was received somewhat divisively. Now, some four years later, Ashen Womb is prepared to drop like an anvil on their unsuspecting fanbase. Will they continue to dive into the murky wells, or has this womb been gestating a return to glorious, bone-powdering violence?

As it turns out, Phrenelith have opted for option C. The approach of Ashen Womb, in both music and sound, pitches for a merging of the melancholy of Chimaera with Desolate Landscape’s cement-shattering methodology to songwriting. The production sidesteps both previous releases, at once managing to be muddy in its tone with leads vibrant enough to cut through the mire. Making his LP debut, drummer Andreas Nordgreen quickly etches his identity into the band, flowing between creative drum fills from measure to measure, giving repeated refrains in “Chrysopoeia” and “Astral Larvae” an engaging quality. Much like the artwork adorning the cover, the more melodic tones are buried but bright, even as bassist Jakob plays in tandem with guitar leads rather than chords, laying riffcraft to savage the crust below. The atypically warm DR lets everything shine in this paradoxical sonic quagmire, creating the suffocating character Chimaera opted for without sacrificing the clarity of barbarity at work.

Older fans will be stoked to hear the return to immediate violence in the compositions. Lead single “Stagnated Blood” toys with a repeated riff at alternating octaves, stringing together hooks and character into a ruthless scorched earth assault. “A Husk Wrung Dry” rocks an infected 7/4 riff replete with whammy abuse and staccato-laced chords which slide from bouncy to bludgeoning. Guitarists David and Simon Daniel toy with bends, modulation, and sustained tapping sections recalling the more crystalline moments of Innumerable Forms, with Simon’s vocals a belligerent, reverb-soaked guttural soup. The vocals in particular are masterfully placed—both within the mix and the music—lyrical arrangement flawlessly adding titanic force to ruthless riffing while knowing when to be silent and let the music speak for itself.

Nonetheless, the specter of Chimaera looms betwixt the heavier moments, filling the negative spaces with gloom and somberness. Title track “Ashen Womb” and “Nebulae” end on repeated, haunting melodies, drawn out to a protracted conclusion. “Sphageion” serves as one of the better interludes I’ve heard, with tension-building distortion and Andreas breaking into a free-form drum solo which would go over swell in a live setting. Even the instrumental opener “Noemata” manages to carve an identity as a curtain-lifter rather than a pointless buildup, rendering Ashen Womb a journey rather than a mere collection of tracks. True, the atmospherics are sometimes heavy-handed; there’s no need to bookend songs with a cumulative couple minutes of Paysage d’Hiver-esque wind and sounds, and a minute could be trimmed off of both emotive fade-outs. Despite this, the mastery of seamless transitioning, rather than sandwiching of the disparaging elements gives Ashen Womb its own flavor in the Phrenelith landscape.

Few bands can manage to make each album its own time capsule of sound and style, but Ashen Womb accomplishes that and more, cementing Phrenelith as a band with chapters. Some may cling to the idea that Desolate Landscape is a collection of better songs, but Ashen Womb is a better album; a journey with highs, lows, and tension-building. By managing to merge the melodicism and mood with the brutality, rather than sacrificing one for the other, these Danes have continued to evolve their sound in an admirable direction. Who can say where the fourth release will take us? One thing’s for sure: it won’t be what any of us expect, other than a commitment to high quality, lethal weapons grade, unadulterated death.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Dark Descent Records
Websites: https://darkdescentrecords.bandcamp.com/album/ashen-womb | https://www.facebook.com/phrenelith/
Releases Worldwide: February 7, 2025

#2025 #35 #AshenWomb #DanishMetal #DarkDescentRecords #DeathMetal #Feb25 #Gatecreeper #Hyperdontia #InnumerableForms #PaysageDHiver #Phrenelith #Review #Reviews #TombMold #Undergang

Festergore – Constellation of Endless Blight Review

By Kenstrosity

The old school death metal revival burgeons as profusely as ever. Countless buzzsaws, endless riff salads, and innumerable gravelly roars populate the landscape of the genre, with only the occasional differentiation to be found in the gene pool. Yet, we metalheads at large eat it right up. From aesthetics all the way down to engineering, albums released under the OSDM umbrella use and abuse a long-standing formula way past its expiration date, and still bangers abound. This, interestingly, makes the field an especially challenging one in which to excel. Staten Island’s newest old-school death quintet, Festergore, place their first bid in the pot with their debut Constellation of Endless Blight. Is endless blight fatal enough?

If you’ve heard anything from Cannibal Corpse, Rotpit, earlier Tomb Mold, or the more energetic side of Incantation, you know exactly how Festergore sounds. Chunky riffs, big grooving rhythms and beats, and vomiting vocals litter the record with a total disrespect for their surroundings. This is the way it should be. That’s the way it is. Constellation of Endless Blight houses no surprises nor twists, no novelties nor nuance. Meat and potatoes is the only item on the menu, and for what it’s worth, everything is prepared by the book with unflappable consistency.

Reliability is a virtue, and Festergore’s debut record is nothing if not reliable as far as sound and execution are concerned. Top bangers “Ironborn,” “SMA,” and “What Once Was Proud” excel in their delivery of properly crafted death, yet each take their own course to that satisfying result. “Ironborn” dabbles in the doom-tinged Incantationanigans of olde, but supplements them with a punkier Master personality to give the whole extra oomph. “SMA” is just pure Cannibal Corpse filth, boasting excellent riffcraft and an infinitely repeatable lyrical phrase, “DIE, DIE, DIE WITH YOUR EYES OPEN.” Closer “What Once Was Proud” possesses the same kind of grooving swagger as Tomb Mold’s material usually does, though simplified for maximum headbangability. In all these examples and others, the greatest rewards come from living and listening in the moment, as there is absolutely nothing that can stop this runaway train of killer riffs sourced from the tried and the true.

Unfortunately, that adherence to influence renders Constellation of Endless Blight predictable and derivative. By the time “The View from Halfway Down” passes by, the initial thrill of great riffs and infectious rhythms starts fading out of focus. In its place, the persistent vague impression that I’ve heard every note of this record before. “Surrender to Madness” and “Cryogenic Display,” for example, lose a lot of their charm simply by mimicking the charm of at least two of the aforementioned reference points at a time. While stitching together an amalgam of techniques perfected by great bands is a respectable way to enter a crowded field, I crave something more creative that Constellation of Endless Blight simply can’t deliver. Furthermore, the inclusion of not one, but two fluffy instrumental interludes on a thirty-three-minute record just feels cheap. It’s not enough to totally ruin the experience—after all, four minutes of disposable waste product will never be enough to taint a full twenty-nine minutes of ripping tuneage in my house—but it is enough to mildly annoy me until the next track beats my battered face against another curb.

Constellation of Endless Blight is more than a competent execution of a well-worn style of death. It is also, on the other hand, built almost entirely out of other band’s building blocks. I don’t mean to imply that Festergore have committed plagiarism of any sort. They haven’t. But the lack of creativity I can detect out of this seven-song (I am subtracting those interludes) lineup disappointed me in the end. Constellation of Endless Blight offers a lot of bang for the buck if the buyer is already a fan of the style. I definitely fit into that demographic. However, as a work of art, it lacks a distinct identity to help it stand out from an undoubtedly overpopulated crowd.

Rating: Mixed
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Personal Records
Websites: festergore.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/profile.php
Releases Worldwide: November 29th, 2024

#25 #2024 #AmericanMetal #CannibalCorpse #ConstellationOfEndlessBlight #DeathMetal #Festergore #Incantation #Master #Nov24 #OSDM #PersonalRecords #Review #Reviews #Rotpit #TombMold

When Pink Floyd meets Death Metal:

#BloodIncantation: The Stargate

The whole:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6N4rLtjPzH0
- https://redirect.invidious.io/watch?v=6N4rLtjPzH0

The three parts:
- https://song.link/t3pt4s7wwgrrv
- https://song.link/cjm3kcrq3rnwq
- https://song.link/smtd2t58r7g62

#ProgressiveDeathMetal #TechnicalDeathMetal

FFO #Horrendous #SpectralVoice #TombMold

#OwlClub

For @HailsandAles' #BlackMetalMonday:

#Hellbutcher: The Sword of Wrath

https://song.link/8pr3rhcd8gvqc

#BlackenedThrashMetal #ThrashenedBlackMetal

FFO #Avmakt #SpectralWound #TombMold

For #ThursDeath:

#Ulcerate: To Flow Through Ashen Hearts

https://song.link/mstdgfmnsvwtq

#BrutalDeathMetal #ProgressiveDeathMetal #TechnicalDeathMetal

FFO #Cosmitorium #Pestifer #TombMold

The whole album quickly grew on me and if I'd assemble an AOTY list, this would be top tier

#TombMold came to #Chicago last Friday night and crushed it! Check out the band playing one of their new songs, Fate's Tangled Thread:

More videos of Tomb Mold and the other bands from that night are available on my YouTube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9D0DsjGAoU

#TheEnduringSpirit #metal #deathmetal #metalmusic #metalshow #metalconcert #livemusic #concert #timbowmanmedia

The last one for #ThursDeath for this week is #FromTheVaults:

#SwallowTheSun: With You Came The Whole Of The World's Tears

https://song.link/2swzcthnb5v4v

#MelodicDoom

FFO #MotherOfGraves #TombMold #TreesOfEternity

Let's start filling the playlist of @Kitty's #MittwochMetalMix, so they'll have something to listen to early in the morning:

Blood Incantation: Obliquity of the Eclectic

https://song.link/i/1702049457

FFO #Horrendous #SpectralVoice #TombMold

And for the opposite end of the spectrum, #SilentSunday:

Blood Incantation: Luminescent Bridge

https://song.link/t5pm5pqzf0mkt

FFO (😈) #SpectralVoice #TombMold #Undeath

Apparition – Dismal Emanations from a Tranquil State Review

By Steel Druhm

As I get older and hopefully wiser, I find myself wanting life to become simpler and less cluttered. When it comes to my death metal, I want more caveman idiocy with a greater emphasis on scuzz, murk, and swamp. Based on these sage guiding principles, Apparition’s sophomore opus Dismal Emanations from a Tranquil State seemed a safe flyer for me to grab out of the promo sewer. Hailing from the City of Angels, their sound is anything but heavenly, ripe as it is with the ghastly cavern creeping of Incantation and early Tomb Mold. However, like recent Tomb Mold, these cave cretins also aspire to proggy soundscapes, and over the 38 minutes of Dismal Emanations, they attempt to weld these disparate sides of their personality into something cohesive and effective. Lord knows a wedding of expansive and refined musical adventurism to brutish OSDM thuggery is a tough one to make work and domestic bliss with such a mismatched couple is often a pipe dream. Can Apparition find that sweet spot? How much marriage counseling will it take? Should they hold off on merging their finances? All important questions awaiting answers.

I’ll say this about Apparition: when they get things right, I really enjoy what they do. Opener “Asphycreation” leans hard into their love of Incantation, with crushing, nerve-flaying riffs struggling to stay above the copious murk their sound generates. It’s almost like a lost cut from Onward to Golgotha and they had me eating out of their filth-encrusted hand by the first minute. The first hint of their proggy bent doesn’t arrive until the solo at the 2-minute mark and it’s a very modest, Death-centric little interlude before they return to crushing skulls. As the song shambles on, ponderous doom segments and eerie keys arrive to increase the oppressive atmosphere and everything is in proper balance. This is the kind of stuff I can digest for hours and I hungered for more. More is delivered on “Imminent Expanse of Silence and Not (or Not)” with more Incantation-isms and riffs that sometimes recall the fretboard fury of The Chasm. That’s a can’t-miss pairing and for a while, nothing misses. However, over the nearly 7 minutes that follow, solid ideas and crushing grooves start to give way to proggy flair that sometimes feels superfluous and faffy, especially the final minute which feels like dead space. It’s still good overall, but it has extra padding that could be worked off with better self-editing.

Album centerpiece, “Paradoxysm” is an 8-minute plodyssey that winks at genre forefathers like Immolation along the way and even includes Peaceville Three-style gothy keys to punctuate the grim doom segments. But things become overly monotonous and by the sixth minute, it feels like the song has run out of steam despite interesting odes to Death’s later era scattered throughout. “Inner Altitudes, Light Transference” is a strange interlude that starts like something from ambient artist Lustmord’s infamous Stalker album before veering into odd, jazzy wonking that reminds me of Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew.1 Nearly 8-minute closer “Circulacate” is quite lively with a cool Voivod vibe snaking in and out, but it suffers from the same over-indulgence as “Paradodysm,” with good ideas stuck alongside lesser ones. By the end of the album’s journey, it feels like Apparition have a ton of potential, but need to focus their writing further to fully achieve the optimal blend of brains and brutality.

The players here are very talented. Miles McIntosh and Andrew Jay Solis (ex-Cormorant) are highly inventive guitarists and they generate an impressive collection of flesh-rending riffs and crushingly massive grooves while also proving capable of soaring, stimulating solos and oddly jangled harmonies. Taylor Young (ex-Nails) holds his own on bass and Andrew Morgan impresses with nimble kit-work while delivering appropriately disgusting sub-basement gurgles. The band is skilled at weaving dark, ominous atmospheres and moving from brutality to lighter fare and back again. Their only real flaw is in their writing, which needs to be tightened up and scaled back.

I’m not always the biggest champion of proggy excess in death metal, but I enjoy much of what Apparition do here. They don’t go as far over the ledge as Tomb Mold did on their recent outing, and gloriously caveman-esque pummeling awaits around nearly every corner. If they can smooth things out and excise the unsightly bloat, they could do great damage to ears and hearts. Good and almost very good, this is well worth a loud spin. This is a band to watch out for.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Profound Lore
Website: apparitiondeath.bandcamp.com
Releases Worldwide: March 22nd, 2024

#2024 #30 #AmericanMetal #Apparition #Death #DeathMetal #DismalEmanationsFromATranquilState #Incantation #Mar24 #ProfoundLoreRecordings #ProgressiveDeathMetal #Review #Reviews #TheChasm #TombMold

Slimelord – Chytridiomycosis Relinquished Review

By Thus Spoke

Everything about Chytridiomycosis Relinquished is like an acid trip. The name is not only a fun one to pronounce, it refers to a fungal infection affecting amphibians with a mortality rate of up to 100%, a key player in the decline of species worldwide.1 Then you look at the art, courtesy of Brad Moore, and the dial moves another hundred notches into hallucinatory madness. But it’s when you hit ‘play’ on opener “The Beckoning Bell” that the fun really begins. Those of you familiar with Slimelord’s prior EPs have a reference point in gross, grimy death-doom, but Chytridiomycosis Relinquished moves things in a still more weird and wonky direction, playing fast and loose with song structures, melody, and your own lucidity.

Slimelord employ a twisty, sticky kind of death metal, fusing the hallucinogenic swampiness of Worm or Tomb Mold, with the colder more surgical brutality of acts like Replicant or Asystole. Whether it drags itself along like a primordial monster or comes at you with flailing, slimy limbs at breakneck speed, Chytridiomycosis Relinquished is consistently bonkers and brutal. Only closing instrumental “Heroic Demise” is somewhat straightforward, with a tuneful, chilled-out melody of harmonized guitars, until its final section anyway. But did I mention the geese (“The Beckoning Bell”)? The frogs (“Gut-Brain Axis”)? The viscerally clear bubbling of goodness-knows-what (“Splayed Mudscape”)? These field samples are almost distracting, but in the end, they aren’t, instead adding still more flair and flavour to the vibrantly-coloured concoction. In fact, my favorite part of the whole album might be that atmospheric pause in “Gut-Brain Axis” when a chorus of frogs “ribbet” their way across the echo before a tremolo climbs its way upwards.

These little additions aside, the most striking characteristic of the music is its elasticity. Compositions are strikingly dynamic, flowing gymnastically from breathy, stalking death-doom (“The Hissing Moor”) into chaotic cavernous assaults (“The Beckoning Bell,” “Tidal Slaughtermarsh”), to shrill, spine-tingling guitar wailing (“Gut-Brain Axis,” “The Hissing Moor”) in the blink of an eye. Liquid fretless bass meanders up and down very audibly, drawling in your ears around the clanging guitar chords and deep rumbling growls (especially on “Splayed Mudscape,” “Batrachomorpha Resurrections Chamber,” and “Tidal Slaughtermarsh”). This bass omnipresence makes the whole experience feel kind of warm and hazy, which makes for a smooth, even pleasant listening experience on the more melodic end (“Gut-Brain Axis,” “Heroic Demise”), whilst providing an excellent backdrop of stomach-knotting lows for the piercing, sharp-edged highs of dissonant, angular guitar riffing (“The Beckoning Bell,” “Splayed Mudscape”). We obviously can’t talk about the dynamism of this thing without mentioning the rabid work going on behind the kit too, tumbling down in cascades (“The Hissing Moor”), spilling out into backflipping rolls (“Batrachomorpha…”) and slamming in rhythmic solidarity with stabbing riffs (“Splayed Mudscape”).

The loose, slightly unhinged nature of things threatens to overwhelm. This is why, to my ears at least, “Gut-Brain Axis” stands out so powerfully. Opening with a sinister refrain that bubbles up into a squealing, fluttering guitar solo, it manages to pack in all the mad dissonance, the erraticism of shifting tempos, and atmospheric oddities (see my above comment about the frogs) whilst remaining compelling through its continued, subtly mournful theme. “Heroic Demise” goes all-in on the palatable melodicism, but feels too safe and bland beside its companions, while on the other hand, tracks such as “Tidal Slaughtermarsh” feel too tangled and clamorous. In sections, these latter two, and all songs proper on the album, do strike that fragile and brilliant balance between confrontational discordance and wild beauty, but perseverance can be required to wring it out.

Chytridiomycosis Relinquished is, however bizarre it might sound, quite a subtle record. Perplexing at first glance, it gets better on every listen, as more little intricacies reveal themselves. In a world where bands can no longer sell their sound on simply “being brutal” if they want to stand out, I will always have time for those who bend and stretch the boundaries of what we call death metal. Slimelord, as one such band, have my support, and they should have yours too if your death metal cup of tea tends to be one made with mushrooms, rather than your average breakfast blend. Get some Chytridiomycosis in your system and enjoy the ride.

Rating: Very Good
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps
Label: 20 Buck Spin
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: March 8th, 2024

#20BuckSpin #2024 #35 #Asystole #BritishMetal #ChytridiomycosisRelinquished #DeathMetal #DissonantDeathMetal #ExperimentalDeathMetal #Mar24 #Replicant #Review #Reviews #Slimelord #TombMold #Worm

Iron Front – Hooked Review

By Doom_et_Al

If 2023 was the year of death metal, it was also the year that we witnessed a disturbance in the Death Metal Force. If you listened closely enough (or perused the staff Listurnalia lists), you would have witnessed a subtle yet epic battle between death metal that stimulated the brain and death metal that stimulated the gut; death metal that looked forward to the stars and death metal that looked backwards toward the classic days. Or to put it more simply, the groove vs. the tech. Yes, there’s overlap, but most death metal pulled one way or the other – lurching forward into complex modernity (Afterbirth, Wormhole, Horrendous, Tomb Mold, Outer Heaven) or taking a resolute step back to the simpler, olde days (Rotpit, Serpent Corpse, Autopsy). To see the split, very few writers included bands from both groups in their top 10. Of the death metal lads: Ferox, Saunders and the Sponge all hewed modern, the ape and Holdeneye went olde. It’s hard to say which group will dominate in 2024, but one thing’s for sure: if all that new-fangled nonsense was not for you, Iron Front have arrived with a no-frills call-back to brutal death metal and slam of olde. Should the olde guard take notice?

Iron Front are a young band fresh outta the savage wasteland of California. Their sound is a straightforward mix of hardcore, slam and brutal death, with an emphasis on the groove, not on noodly technicality. Their aim, from the outset, is to crush, not dazzle. Their debut, 2022’s Left Out to Rot, was as unpretentious as it was fun: a brutal little appetizer that promised more. That “more” is Hooked, and straightaway the cover will tell you everything you need to know. Hooked is purported to be what Iron Front do best: 22 minutes of brutal take downs, weird voice overs, and crushing riffs. But in its adherence to what has come before, the album fails to develop itself, and feels stuck in a bygone era.

Hooked is at its best on tracks like opener, “Dissolved in Resin,” where the chug is hefty, the drums have a satisfying “pong,” and the riff thicker than a bowl of oatmeal. But “Dissolved in Resin” highlights a problem that crops up repeatedly over the course of the album: it doesn’t know where to go. After the chunkiness, the band slows things down, waiting to deliver the coup de grace… which never comes. We just meander back to where we started. As a result, it feels longer than its 3-minute run time. This happens with most of the songs on the album: fun riff, caveman performances, but no satisfying conclusion and much meandering. It seems weird to say it, but this 22 minute collection is bloated.

The album also feels weirdly dated. There are references to Family Guy, Mortal Kombat, FNAF, and some farts (?), which are more cringey than anything else. Slam is not a cerebral exercise, and I’m not here to intellectualize it, but if you’re gonna sample and meme, surely there’s more inspiring material out there? The production also sounds like something out of the early 2000s, with nowhere near enough heft to carry the songs, and the dynamic range and subtlety of your grandpappy singing in the shower. It carries neither the grime of, say, Rotpit, nor the clarity of Tomb Mold. It may be unfair to compare these kids to those bands, but I’m just not sure what they’re trying to do with the production here. Maybe they weren’t sure, either, and that’s the problem.

Overall, Hooked is an occasionally fun, if generally uninspired, collection of brutal slam and death metal. Iron Front have the chops for riffs and brutality, but they have yet to develop the ability to flesh those out into compelling tracks. When you combine that with its dated, blunted tone and weak production, you can’t help but feel let down. This first foray into the past is sadly a let down.

Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 3 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Creator-Destructor Records
Website: ironfront.bandcamp.com
Releases Worldwide: January 12th, 2024

#20 #2024 #Afterbirth #AmericanMetal #Autopsy #CreatorDestructorRecords #IronFront #Jan24 #OuterHeaven #Review #Reviews #Rotpit #SerpentCorpse #TombMold #Wormhole

El Cuervo’s and GardensTale’s Top Ten(ish) of 2023

By El Cuervo

El Cuervo

This list represents business as usual in Casa Cuervo. Four albums by bands that have previously hit my Album o’ the Year list. Four albums more-or-less fall into my preferred progressive death metal sub-genre. And one 80s-worshiping retrowave release. Only the very top and very bottom of my list feature acts outside my bailiwick.

You might think this would result in a year that I rate highly for musical releases. Sadly the opposite is true. I found it surprisingly easy to narrow down my list and surprisingly difficult to pick a real number one—both because there too few outstanding options to choose from. It says a lot that I reviewed two of my top three albums but I ‘only’ awarded these a 4.0. I admire all that’s been achieved by the entrants here but I can’t help but feel a little disappointed as we reach the end of 2023. Granted, my 2022 list was topped by two records that would be multi-year winners so the comparison was rough.

And yet, hope springs eternal. While it’s unlikely that 2024 will boast a list fitting so comfortably in my wheelhouse, I remain optimistic for a year full of new musical discoveries. Between now and then, enjoy the holiday season!

#10. Grails // Anches en Maat – Anches en Maat was my favorite music of the year to disconnect from reality and lose myself in a weird and wonderful world. There’s little left from the comparatively direct instrumental rock of early Grails, but their cinematic spectacle makes their recent music all the more intriguing. This one can loosely be bundled into post-rock but its range of influences, from blues to electronica to ambient to TV soundtracks, establishes a sound you won’t hear anywhere else. High-octane, minute-to-minute, and bursting with energy it isn’t. But what you will find is something endlessly evocative and endlessly repeatable in its lilting, laid-back spirit. I’m not a big post-rock nerd but I find everything released by Grails utterly engrossing.

#9. Svalbard // The Weight of the Mask – Svalbard have become more expressive and more creative as their career has progressed. While still firmly rooted in post-hardcore, The Weight of the Mask toys with musical boundaries more than ever. It features more of everything that has previously been a part of the Svalbard sound; from post-metal to post-rock to black metal. But it’s not the musical compositions that make these Brits so good. The emotive weight of their music makes each listen a passion-fuelled journey and I find myself returning for the feels it invokes above anything else. I’m not sure if I like Weight of the Mask more than When I Die, Will I Get Better? But, for those on the fence, it’s at least as good.

#8. Lunar Chamber // Shambhallic Vibrations – Few records from 2023 seemed as custom-built for this Cuervo as Shambhallic Vibrations by Lunar Chamber. Progressive? Check. Death metal? Check. Short run-time? Check. Incredible dynamism? Check. Buddhism?1 Check. Shambhallic Vibrations forges a new path through progressive death metal, leaning heavily on contemplative synths, impressive technicality, and doomy passages, all of which counter-balance the pace and ferocity of its core deathly style. Though shockingly varied for a release just running for 30 minutes, the release is unfailingly cohesive. From the breathy interludes to the brutal blasting, Lunar Chamber harmonizes their sounds into a satisfying whole. It isn’t a prerequisite for progressive albums to run for an hour or more. Shambhallic Vibrations does so much more with so much less.

#7. fromjoy // fromjoy – If you want to hear the coolest thing released in 2023, look no further than the self-titled EP by Houston’s fromjoy. It bottles insanity; conjures madness; flips the musical table. They do this with a fusion of various types of -core (grind, math, break) but streak this with winding, vaporwave synths. If this sounds like an unholy aberration, it is. But this aberration delights and energizes in equal measure. I’ve extracted more joy this year from these 26 minutes than full albums over twice that length. Almost every one of these ten tracks has a unique quirk; from wretched grind to stomping breakdowns to dancing trip-hop to smooth saxophones. fromjoy is a testament to pure creative energy and doing a lot with a little.

#6. Ulthar // Anthronomicon – Though it forms one side of a coin completed by its sister album Helionomicon, it was Anthronomicon that impressed me most of the concurrent release by pan-US collective Ulthar. What strikes me most are the compelling contradictions that Ulthar creates. Anthronomicon’s music is crushingly heavy yet repeatably memorable, while the instrumentation is oppressively other-worldly yet somehow human-performed. Blackened death metal cannot count itself among metal’s most penetrable sub-genres, but something about these warped arrangements hooks me. Ulthar might make strange, atmospheric music but Anthronomicon’s laser focus on outstanding riffs leaves a release I haven’t stopped spinning in nearly a year. It’s one of 2023’s most challenging but most rewarding listens.

#5. Tomb Mold // The Enduring Spirit – Why, after a run of critically acclaimed old-school death metal albums, is The Enduring Spirit the first Tomb Mold record to touch my AotY list? In short, because its music is far more inventive now. Switching out a cavernous aesthetic and unrelenting pace for tidier production and grandiose solos, The Enduring Spirit scratches that prog-death itch better than any other release from 2023. Though Tomb Mold has always been smarter-than-you-first-realize, this record represents a significant leap forward and feels like the next era of the band. Above all, it harmonizes Tomb Mold’s savage roots with newer, cerebral tendencies. While the immaculate transitions go some way to achieving this, the spacious soundstage and perfect instrumental tones ensure the release hangs together to my great satisfaction.

#4. Shadowrunner // Ocean of Time – Rebirth and Oblivion – For the first time, the Ocean of Time duo made me want to dislike a Shadowrunner release. Making the listener buy the same four songs twice in order to access the unique eight ruffled my feathers. But the music here is just so damn captivating that I can’t help but love the two sides nonetheless. Rebirth is as effortless and enchanting as any retrowave act from the last decade, while Oblivion is pure nostalgia bait. Warm synths, driving rhythms, smooth saxophones, and pleasant vocals; all are present and correct. Shameless pleasure and rose-tinted spectacles compel me to consistently choose something synthy for my AotY list and Shadowrunner made the best synth music of 2023. Do not sleep on one of the best acts in the scene.

#3. Sylosis // A Sign of Things to Come – I couldn’t be happier at my rediscovery of Sylosis since 2020’s Cycle of Suffering, and A Sign of Things to Come returns to deliver the goods once again. Despite the flack I took for describing Sylosis as how modern thrash should sound, I stand by that comment. 1986 already exists so go fucking listen to that again if you like. What this album will give you instead is music that fuses thrashy, melodic, technical, and hardcore influences into 10 super-charged tunes. They will fill you with rage, then re-energize you to exorcize that rage. For raw riff-craft, no other record was the match of this one. A sign of more things to come in the future? I fucking hope so.

#2. Sermon // Of Golden Verse – Only one other record this year feels as complete as Of Golden Verse. It is a consummate album, expressing its music and thoughts in the exact amount of time it requires. Despite its poignance and emotive qualities, it feels incredibly precise; a work created by masters of their trade. Even with 4 tracks approaching or exceeding 7 minutes, there’s nary a wasted second. That’s a tough feat indeed in the world of prog, and Sermon exemplifies all that is great in the genre. Their undulating songwriting style results in music that ebbs from steely, tense atmospheres and flows to passionate, cathartic explosions. Dramatic, sure; maybe even melodramatic. But exciting and varied as Sermon dabbles in progressive, alternative, and doom metal. Of Golden Verse represents a huge step forward from their debut.

#1. Hasard // Malivore – Though Malivore wasn’t a clear winner, its complete singularity pushes it above everything else in 2023. Hasard paints stark, abstract images in shades of black; it’s an impenetrable, challenging release, obscuring its immense qualities behind oppressive heaviness and bewildering arrangements. Through the record’s black metal crust hides an accomplished orchestral core that’s just as disturbing—in some ways, more so—as its metal aspects. Purposefully deconstructing the screeching guitars, arhythmic drumming, ominous synths, and erratic counter-melodies delivers the year’s most thought-provoking music. Passively wallowing delivers the year’s most thought-crushing music. While it may not be the most enjoyable record of the year, it is certainly the most striking. No other 2023 record affected me like Malivore.

Honorable Mentions

• Myrkur // Spine – Spine is just as sonically varied—arguably inconsistent—as any Myrkur release2 but this time it’s all high quality. From the poppy chorus on “Like Humans,” to the blast beats on “Valkyriernes Sang,” to the gentle folk on “Menneskebarn,” I’m emotionally invested throughout.
• Ahab // The Coral Tombs – Ahab is an indomitable force of doom metal, and The Coral Tombs didn’t miss a step after eight years away. Judicious variety and grand arrangements ensure that this is the best doom of 2023.
• Ne Obliviscaris // Exul – Balancing poignant string sections with crunchy death and black metal, NeO remains a stellar progressive metal band. Exul proves that even a NeO producing their weakest album is better than most others.

Songs o’ the Year

1. Godthrymm – “As Titans”
2. fromjoy – “Helios” / “Icarus”
3. In Flames – “Meet Your Maker”
4. Theocracy – “Return to Dust”
5. Hasard – “Hypnocentrisme”
6. Sermon – “Golden”
7. Angus McSix – “Master of the Universe”
8. Saturnus – “The Calling”
9. Sylosis – “Poison for the Lost”
10. ADMO – “Always”

GardensTale

In previous years, I wrote at least one paragraph about how the year went for me. But for the last 3 years, those have been pretty depressing, so I’m just going to skip that. Let’s talk about the good stuff instead. It’s strange to think that black metal is one of the last genres I seriously got into, around 5 years ago or so. Beforehand, I always thought all black metal was akin to lo-fi second-wave shit that sounds like someone sucked up a marble with the vacuum cleaner. Years before, Belgian unknowns Axamenta3 laid some groundwork to prove my misconception wrong, and Mistur hammered it home. Now the conversion is complete, thanks to a year that’s been absolutely stuffed with quality black metal. I could have made a very respectable list of only black metal records, HMs included. But I still like other genres, too, so it was inevitable a couple of other-minded rascals snuck in for color. At least Doom_et_Al won’t hate my list as much as usual. Probably.

I gotta add though, whilst I’ve heard a lot of praise for this year in metal, I still feel like I am missing a true winner. The order of my top 6 or so feels entirely arbitrary, and I’m not sure an extra month of listening would bring the necessary clarity. I’ve had plenty to love (my shortlist reached 10 albums by March or so, partially thanks to an unusually strong January) but the only albums I have been truly ecstatic about are discoveries that were released before the pandemic and barely metal-adjacent4 But so it goes! Every year is so different, in both life and music. I already had a sneak peek of a likely lister for next year, so I know we’ll be off to a good start in that regard.

I must thank my colleagues and editors for putting up with my slacking ass.5 You are a good bunch and half the reason I’m still pouring my heart and soul into this site. The other half is the free promos. And what’s an end-of-year projectile vomit of thank yous and love yous without addressing the readers? If you’re still here and didn’t just skip through to the list, you have my thanks. If you did skip to the list, you still have my thanks, you just won’t know about it. Even those of you who just check the winners and move on. You are still part of the weird and lovely conglomeration of readers we’ve developed, so thank you as well. And I must give a shout-out to the Discord folks. Though I don’t pop in too often, you’ve made it a lovely and welcoming server, and uncommonly well-behaved! Now, who’s ready for the other half of the worst takes in AMG?

#ish. Xoth // Exogalactic – Xoth is back and thus back in my list, because Xoth remains every bit the cool as hell bunch of motherfuckers it’s always been. It’s a little bit more technical and a little bit less memorable compared to its predecessor, missing a “Mountain Machines” level riff, but I still have a really hard time sitting still in my chair when Exogalactic is playing. Too much bouncy fun and sick solos!

#10. Fires in the Distance // Air Not Meant for Us – I listened to an absolute ton of melodic death metal in my early metal years. I still have a soft spot for the genre, but it also needs to do something different to stand out for me these days. Fires in the Distance fully meets that criterium. The stern, strident tone, doom-adjacent pacing, and tasteful piano make Air an album of aching beauty. I’m reminded in part of Eternal Tears of Sorrow, but far more mature and with great emotional depth. The only reason it didn’t place higher is that it doesn’t keep me coming back somehow, and these lists are nothing if not places to go with my gut.

#9. Leiþa // Reue – Speaking of my gut, Reue was the first full-blown punch it received this year. It amuses me when people claim that all black metal screams sound the same because though the lyrics are as incomprehensible as ever, I feel every ounce of the bottomless pain and despair Noise conjures here. But on top of the throat-ripping gurgles of depression are some very sophisticated melodies and good use of dynamics between quiet passages and all-out raging desperation. Most one-man bands struggle to make one worthwhile project, meanwhile, this guy has Leiþa, Non Est Deus, and Kanonenfieber on his resume. I’d call it unfair if I didn’t love it so much.

#8. Megaton Sword // Might & Power – Traditional metal doesn’t often show up on my year-end list. Maybe Megaton Sword wouldn’t have either, although I do love me a batch of idiosyncratic vocals. But a medical situation in the family made the first half of the year an especially stressful affair, and Might & Power with its simple sense of fun was my main musical comfort in that time. But there’s more to it than that. So many strong melodies with few frills. So many fist-pumping horseback-riding sword-raising shield-carrying moments of triumph and awe. And all tied together by that uncommon voice, acerbically spraying dark heroism over the battlefield. The worst of the family situation is well behind us, but Might & Power still won’t leave my regular rotation.

#7. Carnosus // Visions of Infinihility – Is it unfair to say Xoth got out-Xoth’ed this year? It’s the obvious point of comparison, between the many-faceted vocals, high technical ability, tongue-in-cheek insanity, twisting multi-part riffs, and snaking bass. But if Xoth is the oblique unknowable architecture of cosmic horror, Carnosus is the fleshy depravity of body horror. It theatrically revels in its filth and cackles as the audience turns green around the cheeks. Most of the death metal highlights this year have been of the cavernous or slamarific variety, neither of which does much for me, but Carnosus has been an absolute delight that’s kept up my good cheers.

#6. Walg // III – The vast majority of my music recommendations originate here, but once in a blue moon, my partner will send me a link to something that popped up in her random music feeds and I just get blown away. That’s how I found this independent duo from Groningen, the Netherlands, who, without any black metal experience, started shitting out annual albums in the middle of the pandemic and manage to outdo most of their peers in the process. III is a furious album, with blast beats and histrionic screeching out the wazoo, but is tempered by a bevy of great melodic riffs and the occasional gothic chant. Because the lyrics are in Dutch, which really is not a good language for this kind of horrific imagery, there’s something endearing to the band as well. The combination makes for a very interesting, dark yet catchy experience and one I can well recommend.

#5. Wayfarer // American Gothic – Wayfarer was always one of those bands I kept hearing about and kept not hearing. No particular reason, either; I resolved to listen to them several times and it just didn’t happen. Then I finally heard them, by seeing them live at Roadburn. It was definitely a highlight of the festival, aside from an interlude that was far too long and not nearly interesting enough. Thankfully, American Gothic is more balanced, a perfectly tuned album that calls forth the man in black stalking the prairie on horseback. It’s an album redolent in atmosphere without forgoing a good hook, one that can carry tension on a single banjo string. In short, it has lived up to the hype and then some.

#4. Sermon // Of Golden Verse – Pure prog metal often gets a reputation for being wussy and weenie. Sermon does it differently. What attracts me to this album the most is the sense of threat. Sermon looms a great dark ominous wall that swallows the background and casts everything in shade. For an album to hold its breath even while beating you down takes some exquisite songwriting, and Of Golden Verse is jam-packed with it. Closer “Departure” really opens the floodgates, too, for a satisfying and bombastic finale.

#3. VAK // The Islands – I called The Islands one of the flat-out coolest albums of the year and I stand by it. If anything, my appreciation for VAK’s latest has only grown since then. When you’ve listened to a million albums, the ones that really stand out and stick with you are the ones with the strongest personality. If you’d send me an unlabeled song that didn’t make the cut on The Islands I would recognize it as VAK immediately, guaranteed. While so much sludge tries and fails to get under my skin with a hammer, VAK succeeds by taking a shortcut as it pries off my fingernails with a rusty screwdriver. It’s deliciously uncomfortable and I love it.

#2. The Circle // Of Awakening – This was surely the most heinous underrating of the year. The opener alone should earn the band its 4.0, a perfectly tuned piece of proggy black/death. One thing that strikes me is how good The Circle is at finding the right dosages. Every time it feels like one thing has run its course, something replaces or enhances it, from the versatile vocals to the use of symphonics and from blast beats to breathing room. I’ve revisited this one a lot since the summer, and for a while, I thought it was gonna top my list…

#1. Night Crowned // Tales – …until Night Crowned bum-rushed the stage. Whereas many of my listening habits this year have been decidedly un-brutal, in the metal sphere I have found myself drawn to the combination of melodic and intense music, particularly in the second half of the year. Tales is an exemplary album in this regard. The intense blasting and no-holds-barred shrieking always hold a melodic thread that makes it more than a wall of noise, whether it be from extra vocal layers, subtly interweaved symphonics, or a goddamn hurdy-gurdy that works way better than it should. The track where the latter features most prominently, “She Comes at Night,” is what drew me in, but every track has its own face; its deviations make it stand out from the others, like the clean vocals on melodic mid-pacer “Loviatar” or the Dimmu influence on the grandiose closer “Old Tales.” While I would not rank it as highly as the winners of previous years, you owe it to yourself to grab Tales if you haven’t already.

Honorable Mentions

• Aetherian // At Storm’s Edge – Contrary to my point with VAK, this album doesn’t do much particularly new but it’s the embodiment of Finnish style epic melodeath done really, really well.
• Somnuri // Desiderium – Who knew Mastodon-style sludge could be improved with grunge?
• Mutoid Man // Mutants – Wild, reckless fun with more depth than a first glance betrays.
• Genus Ordinis Dei // The Beginning – Narrative albums aren’t easy, but Genus Ordinis Dei has that shit in the bag. Easy to listen to, easy to love, and feels like a complete, well-rounded movie in the guise of an epic metal album.
• Laster // Andermans Mijne – It’s deeply strange and gets at all the bits of my brain that have been gathering dust for years, but I can’t deny its continuous pull.

Disappointment o’ the Year

This is the first paragraph I’m writing this year because it’s the easiest. I always used to like Soen. With Lotus, I even loved them. Imperial was a clear step-down, branching out in the wrong directions, but it was still enjoyable in its own right, just not approaching list material. They put on some good live shows this year, too. But Memorial goes off the deep end like Thelma & Louise. The remaining semblances of progressive rock and metal are gone, replaced by refried alternative rock. Even Joel Ekelöf sounds downright bad, his buttery smooth croon awkwardly squished into a grungy mold that doesn’t suit him. It’s like the band members collectively decided to challenge themselves by trying to make an album without doing any of the things they’re actually good at. The experiment failed, boys.

Song o’ the Year

Last year I discovered Norwegian artsy prog rock outfit Major Parkinson and fell deeply in love with their quirky, bombastic, gloomy aesthetic and thoughtful, varied songwriting. Not long into this year, I found out that enigmatic vocalist Jon Ivar Kollbotn had suffered a massive heart attack in the middle of a concert in October. Though he managed to finish the set, he flatlined backstage. By some miracle, police officers happened to be just outside the building and they managed to restart Kollbotn’s ticker. When he was sufficiently recovered, the band re-wrote and recorded an old live track named “Take the Prescription” to commemorate his survival. The result is as addictive as prescription drugs, an upbeat and offbeat artful piece of prog-pop with an infectious whistled tune, beautiful smooth bass usage, and the band’s signature dark undertone. Kollbotn sounds as coarse and moody as ever, and new permanent member Peri Winkle offers an outside perspective to the frontman’s near-death experience. And even if the track hadn’t been one of the sweetest things I’ve heard this year, it’d still be my favorite track of 2023. If only because he was still around to record it.

#2023 #Aetherian #Ahab #BlogPosts #Carnosus #ElCuervoSAndGardensTaleSTopTenIshOf2023 #FiresInTheDistance #fromjoy #GenusOrdinisDei #Grails #Hasard #Laster #Leitha #Lists #Listurnalia #LunarChamber #MegatonSword #MutoidMan #Myrkur #NeObliviscaris #NightCrowned #Sermon #Shadowrunner #Soen #Somnuri #Svalbard #Sylosis #TheCircle #TombMold #Ulthar #VAK #Walg #Wayfarer #Xoth