In March’s best metal, Imperial Triumphant’s technical ecstasy continues, Rwake reinstate the magic, and Teitanblood rage their war against all.
The strong pull of the avant-garde on extreme metal is substantial in this edition, as can be seen from the presence of two excellent specimens from I, Voidhanger. Labyrinthine Heirs and the Overmold approach this in different ways. The first is plunged into Ved Buens Ende’s dissonant lineage, while the latter combines death metal with Khanate’s wretched applications. Closer to the latter, Apparitions’ insane Volcanic Reality merges the drone motifs with surprising improvisations (do check out their split with My Heart, An Inverted Flame and generally check out My Heart, An Inverted Flame).
Similarly, Point Contact connect the dots between drone and noise rock in A Fleeting Point In Terrying Beauty. It is therefore fitting to see Aidan Baker always working, falling into a drone bliss with & You Still Fall In. To top it all off, Imperial Triumphant are back with Goldstar, continuing their long ascent into the black jazz night, and Rwake break their 13-year-long rest to breathe some much-needed magik into reality. On the other hand, a more direct application of post-hardcore can be found in Ursa’s Call of the Infinite.
On the more traditional front, Corpus Offal resurrect the corpse of Cerebral Rot, while Shrine of Denial give their death metal a blackened edge. The death/doom brigade reigns supreme with Mortuaire’s melodic inclinations and Ritual Ascension’s terrifying presence. There is also Decrepisy, who balance between their death/doom self and their straight death metal past. On the other hand, Burning Palace have no problem in picking a side, opting for a modern, dissonant death implementation.
In the warring intersections between black and death, both Osgraef and Teitanblood deliver the goods, while Genocidal Rites choose an even more primal approach. In the black metal realm, Soerd awaken the Scandinavian spectre while Nortt combine it with their funeral visions. Iif all this was too much, there is always Tower’s excellent Let There Be Dark that reinstates the traditional, sharp heavy metal mode. So, dig in! – Spyros Stasis
Aidan Baker – & You Still Fall In (Gizeh)
A defining characteristic of Nadja, Canadian noisenik Aidan Baker’s drone-doom project with Leah Buckareff, is the duo’s immense sound, which expands, and expands, to permeate spaces, bodies, and minds. In this regard, Baker’s solo work almost serves as a conscious counterpoint—an experiment in stripping back his style while maintaining a significant emotional impact. & You Still Fall In, then, becomes the most extreme manifestation of this idea.
Armed with only an electric guitar, bass, voice, and subtle electronic effects, Baker guides us through eight hushed slowcore cuts, each covered in a delicate lo-fi patina. His riffs and singsong are soft to the point of vanishing, while moments of crunchier, shoegaze-adjacent fuzz only highlight the tenderness of the surrounding music.
On “Drowning Not Waving”, Baker places gentler within larger pulses as he patiently plucks his electric guitar to conjure an Om-like mantra. Elsewhere, the two versions of “Thin Film Interface” first grow a bright, all-consuming texture reminiscent of Justin Broadrick’s Jesu, if the latter played dream pop. Then, they introduce a faint undercurrent of jazzy tropicalia, gently swaying the piece toward the hazy ambient atmosphere of Loraine James’s Whatever The Weather. This is lowercase but stunning music, best enjoyed in solitude, while watching the rain patter against a misty window. – Antonio Poscic
Apparitions – Volcanic Reality (Deathbomb Arc)
Guitarist Andrew Dugas, drummer Grant Martin, and synthesist Igor Imbu’s second outing as Apparitions trades some of the studious and freewheeling aura of 2022’s Eyes Like Predatory Wealth for an increase in raw impact and spontaneity. Thus, Volcanic Reality becomes a more immediate and visceral affair that veers closer to traditional drone, doom, and sludge metal while simultaneously retaining that crucial feeling of deconstruction—of things coming apart at a molecular level—that made their debut so compelling.
On “Convulsing Earth”, we hear what seem to be colossal sheets of metal grinding against one another, producing vibrations of Earth-shaking intensity. Then, the sonic monolith crumbles and breaks apart, ushering the loose, free improv-like dynamism of “With Your Veins Full of Night” and the Sunn O))) x Keiji Haino noise monster that is “Dancing on the Grave of a Son of a Bitch”.
Here and elsewhere, engineer Seth Manchester plays a vital role. He provides the trio’s music with a remarkable sense of space and tactility, qualities which become especially important during the twenty-odd minutes of closer “As the Last Lights Depart”. Here, syncopations taken straight from a free jazz album ignite huge drone swells and nebulae of shimmering synths to paint a landscape of cosmic scope. Named after a composition by György Ligeti and inspired by Witold Lutosławski and Georges Bataille, Apparitions present themselves as a unique, outsider force in drone metal, truly capable of expanding the genre. – Antonio Poscic
Burning Palace – Elegy (Violence in the Veins)
Burning Palace from Santa Rosa, California, have a unique ability to subtly introduce surprising melodicism and vibrant flair into their otherwise solidly brutal and relentless technical death metal. This approach becomes a defining characteristic of their sophomore album, Elegy.
Just as you’re headbanging to the groovy, swirling passages of tech death ferocity found in tracks like “Malignant Dogma”, you are suddenly hit by bursts of melodies that would make even the most orthodox of melodeathers blush. The earlier dissonance splits in the middle and dispels. With the music’s gnarly guts flowing out, a stream of catchy riffs and glistening leads finally breaks through. As this pattern repeats throughout the seven cuts, Elegy unfurls into a deviously fun album, amusing even in the most suffocating moments of scorchers like “Suspended In Emptiness” and “Sunken Veil”. – Antonio Poscic
Corpus Offal – Corpus Offal (20 Buck Spin)
From Cerebral Rot’s fetid corpse in fungi-like fashion, Corpus Offal rises. Following the dissolution of the old-school death metal band, vocalist/guitarist Ian Schwab and guitarist Clyde Lindstrom did not miss a beat. They quickly recruited two heavyweights, in ex-Demoncy bassist Jason Sachs and Bell Witch drummer Jesse Shreibman, to continue their guttural descent into brutality. Because Corpus Offal does not deviate from Cerebral Rot’s path, they immediately grab you with their old-school, Autopsy-inspired sound and unleash horrific moments of fatal brutality in “Spinous Forms of Mortal Abhorrence” and “Gorging Gastric Decedent”.
Yet, there is still a duality that Corpus Offal encompass. They can proceed with a martial pace, sometimes reaching for a focused, militant approach to devastation (“Ripened Psychosis”). But their discordant leads still escape, relishing the early Slayer swirling, devilish touch. It is a graphic affair, reaching pure decadence, but that is not the only pathway. The knuckle-dragging, drunken heavy groove is where the caveman self takes its rightful place, as “Essence of Dissolution” proves.
Yet, their ability to aptly switch from the mid-pace to lightning fast moments filled with blastbeats shows a certain level of ambition here. This is best illustrated in the 12-minute-long closer “Secreted Effluence (Spilling)”. If you are a Cerebral Rot fan or an old-school death metal fan, then this record will not disappoint you. – Spyros Stasis
Decrepisy – Deific Mourning (Carbonized)
Decrepisy’s debut in 2021, Emetic Communion, saw a veteran cast of death metal musicians resort to the old-school ways. Their sophomore, Deific Mourning, draws a distinction, diving into the death/doom scene. The Autopsy-ian start with “Ceremony of Unbelief” sets the tone, as the horrific progression comes together through a plethora of discordant lead work and unearthly groove. In that mode, Decrepisy pay tribute to proto-death metal days, their schizoid guitar work coming unhinged whenever it appears. At the same time, the Obituary’s heavy groove stands out, and it is combined with Incantation’s infernal musings (“Dysautonomic Terror”).
Still, where Deific Mourning makes a dent is in its sculpting of ambiance. Here, they employ synthesizers, which can be risky, but pay off for them big time. Soon enough, the opening track morphs through a dark psychedelic brew, a subtle implementation that chokes out all life and hope in moments like “Corpseless”. Decrepisy still push further, and it is in “Afterhours” that they allow a pseudo-industrial self to take over, breathing in an electronic backbone to their death/doom core.
It is an interesting twist, and even though it does not see the two sides fully come together (the track being more of an outro), it shows a promising way forward. The result could be extraordinary if they can coalesce these two worlds, the synth-driven industrial and the old-school death/doom. Still, we have an excellent release in Deific Mourning. – Spyros Stasis
Genocidal Rites – Genocidal Upheaval of Subservient Abrahamic Law (Hells Headbangers)
Barbarians at the gates! Signs of the heathen were clear through Genocidal Rites series of EPs, released between 2021 and 2023. Now, with their debut record, Genocidal Upheaval of Subservient Abrahamic Law, they have crushed through them. This is the sound of war, in all its gruesome nature. For the most part, Genocidal Rites keep things clear and simple, unleashing an unhinged barrage of old-school black/death. It is a dedication to primal chaos, vomited toward any direction, as “Severed Heads of the Spiritual Rat Kings” explodes.
Aspects of Blasphemy and Bestial Warlus prevail, as the mental solos come into view (“Order of the Most Profane”). They even unearth the genre’s latent punk intensity, the dry progression of “Death Howls From the Abyssal Sepulchres” carrying this raw, minimalistic attitude.
There are certain deviations, to add a bit of spice here. The heavy groove offers some respite from the mental progression, with the start of “Ritualistic Invocation of Blashepric Annihilation” and the apocalyptic grandeur of “IX Gods / IX Graves” standing out. In the latter, they also explore a curious hallucinatory space, the guitar leads suddenly bending and morphing into a quasi-psychedelic trope. It is an enhancement, showing that beneath the brutality and the immediacy, there is a hint of setting and planning. Overall, if you want something feral and barbaric to listen to, this should be right up your alley. – Spyros Stasis
Imperial Triumphant – Goldstar (Century Media)
Everyone’s favorite avant-garde black metallers Imperial Triumphant continue their exploration of the extended universe of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis—and, to a lesser extent, Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut and Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Salò—as superimposed on contemporary New York City’s living, breathing hellscape. While their fascination with the phantasmagorical, gold-accented vision of a dystopic, debauched megalopolis dates back to 2018’s Vile Luxury, Goldstar represents perhaps the most accomplished expression of this concept.
Counterintuitively, the album serves as both the most outré-sounding and the most direct work from guitarist/vocalist Zachary Ezrin, drummer Kenny Grohowski, and bassist Steve Blanco. While influences of NYC creative music traditions on one end and black metal on the other have been pushed to their extremes here, the flow within and between them has never felt so cohesive and elegant.
On “Eye Of Mars”, a symphonic swell punctuated by Imperial Triumphant’s now signature trumpets morphs into a bout of frankly overwhelming black metal. “Gomorrah Nouveaux” shifts between atmospheric mid-tempo passages and tumultuous low-frequency attacks. Even curios like “NEWYORKCITY” (screams courtesy of Yoshiko Ohara) and “Goldstar”—the former a scorching grindcore cut, the latter a sepia-tinted, crackling radio transmission—each play a significant role in the apocalyptic narrative unfolding throughout the album. The music is as wild, threatening, and evil-sounding as the world they see before them. Let’s revel in it, while we still can. – Antonio Poscic
Labyrinthine Heirs – Labyrinthine Heirs (I, Voidhanger)
The feverish dreams of Ved Buens Ende still capture many victims. One of the latest is the new entity Labyrinthine Heirs, whose debut, self-titled album coalesces this famed dissonant edge with a noise rock perspective. “Brick Refusers Quartered” immediately sets this tone, the rhythmic component harnessing a Helmet or the Jesus Lizard energy. It is a disorienting piece, and the inherent repetition they employ can craft an asphyxiating quality (“The Conceited Determination of Nimrod”).
The black metal element clicks over this motif, contradicting the urban noise rock approach. Here, the dissonance of Ved Buens Ende is translated to its Virus manifestation, as the weaving melodies of “Satan’s Domain Is The Liver” conjure the trademark haunting quality. Bursts of mania are employed, with the frenetic energy of “Yaldabaoth Gored To Blindness” breaking the circular repetition.
All in all, Labyrinthine Heirs offer a cool blend, closer to the Virus sound, without making many of the over-the-top (and magnificent) pushes of a Laster or a Malconfort. In that sense, they still have some way to go until they hone their sound and identity, but there is some promise here. – Spyros Stasis
Mortuaire – Monde Vide (World Eater)
The Nouvelle-Aquitaine region has produced some exquisite specimens of extreme metal. From Year of No Light’s stargazing post-metal, Monarch’s drone abyss, all the way to the Great Old Ones and their melodic post-black metal. Mortuaire sees members of all these acts come together with a singular goal. Awaken the death/doom beast of old and revel in its stampeding destruction.
The heavy groove is front and centre, as the graphic Bolt Thrower perspective poignantly comes through with “Mauvais Présage”. But it is not Mortuaire’s singular gear. Soon, they return to the punk-ish point of origin, the feverish outbreaks lashing out tremendously, even reaching a mid-period Napalm Death awkwardness (“Tranchant”). When embodying this death metal presence, they stretch from past to future. Here they are in equal measures, Demigod and Hail of Bullets, as the closing track “Octogone de Fer” shows.
However, they also have a soft spot for the debris-falling doom/death. The second part of the closing track shows this in all majesty, while “Pyramid d’Or” implements Autopsy’s twisted vision of the Black Sabbath-ian sound. It all works together to bring a crushing yet catchy and enjoyable ride, topped with an excellent production. – Spyros Stasis
Nortt – Dødssang (Avantgarde)
Despite appearances, the work of Danish one-person project Nortt has more in common with experimental variants of ambient music than it does with black and funeral doom metal. In essence, Nortt’s compositions drape the textural qualities of black metal—weaves of tremolo-picked guitars, abstract shrieks, and tape hiss—over skeletons of sparse, glacially paced funeral doom. Like its predecessors, Dødssang is an intense effort in using these sonics to express refined desolation and existential dread.
While the album’s eight tracks are almost monolithic in how they expand and contract around the darkest emotions, lighter touches throughout their flow reveal Nortt’s compositional brilliance. On “Død mands sang”, a plaintive guitar imbues the trudging black metal riffs with an almost romantic atmosphere that’s equal parts Earth and Angelo Badalamenti. Meanwhile, the repeated cries of a synthetic violin shine a ray of timid light through the subterranean atmosphere of “Ensomhed”. This type of bleak yet beautiful and oddly satisfying music lingers in your mind, long after the album has ended. – Antonio Poscic
Osgraef – Reveries of the Arcane Eye (Amor Fati)
Veiling themselves in mystery and intrigue, Osgraef unleash a black/death barrage of epic proportions. Their debut record, Reveries of the Arcane Eye, is a relentless polemic, a war against all. While on the surface it feels like they are just unleashing chaos and mayhem, this is much more than a simple regurgitation of violence.
“Nox Lucifer, Liber Koth” shows near surgical precision, a fatal beating that follows a strict methodology. To achieve this, you need to have a certain level of technical aptitude, and Osgraef possess that in buckets, as “Mystic Lore – Ancient Summoner of Osgraef” would suggest, and the erratic, violent twists and turns of “Magick Wound (Slithering Omnipotence of Thoth)” reveal.
Feeling a strong pull toward the mystical, Osgraef further augment their work with strange subliminal elements. They range from the straightforward to the extravagant. The ambient interludes and intros/outros are expected, and enhanced by the burning darkness, they radiate a grand presence. Similarly, the black metal connection feels natural. It can be a straightforward rocking tone à la early Armaggeda, to give a break from the Teitanblood stampede, where venomous melodies roam (“Morbid Wretch – Reveries of the Arcane Eye”).
However, it can also open the pathway to a hallucinatory realm, where the psychedelic twist pulls you toward the great unknown. It should be an out-of-place component that does not fit the picture. But, somehow, Osgraef pull it off, turning the slithering riffs to an epic presence (“Flesh Insignia”). It is the loss of the self amid battle, the mind affected and caving under the pressure (“Sekhem Apep – Vampyre’s Enscription”). And it is the addition that pushes Reveries of the Arcane Eye from a good black/death release to a great one. – Spyros Stasis
The Overmold – The Overmold (I, Voidhanger)
The first (and hopefully not last) encounter between guitarist Mick Barr and drummer Tim Wyskida offers a nimble, almost meditative perspective on drone metal constructed using free improvisation methods. Although the combination of styles might seem unlikely, the results are stellar. The music is neither as technically dizzying as the black and progressive metal of Barr’s other bands (cue Krallice and Orthrelm) nor oppressively dense as the drone-doom of Wyskida’s Khanate, yet it retains recognizable elements from both.
The Overmold shifts between fluttering, understated drones and brief moments of sharpened intensity, which Barr uses to stretch out his insistent, repetitive riffs. This simultaneously exploratory and pointed style is especially effective on the half-hour-long title track, whose metallic landscape is haunted by spectral riffs and ghostly vocals that drift across Wyskida’s skittering, fleeting percussive touches.
There is no typical three-act structure nor denouement here, as the piece instead undulates between moods. In comparison to the monumental architecture of the album’s centerpiece, the remaining three cuts are briefer and lighter, with “Song of the Beyonders” even featuring some lovely vocal melodies (courtesy of Judith Berkson) and “Buildings of Skin” unleashing a post-rock crescendo. These tracks serve as a welcome respite to the preceding sonic and emotional heaviness and provide a satisfying conclusion to a remarkable debut. – Antonio Poscic
Point Contact – A Fleeting Point in Terrifying Beauty (WW Records)
Where both Apparitions and the Overmold—discussed elsewhere in this column—approach drone metal from the angle of freely improvised music, producer and composer Jo Wills digs out imposing, doomy heaviness from the remnants of experimental electronic music and post-rock. Revolving clusters of drum hits, guitar riffs, electronics, and occasional found sounds pile on top of each other until their coalesced structure collapses, beginning to resemble a forceful beat. Emerging crescendos dissolve into clouds of scintillating ambient and ethereal, Björk-esque vocal textures.
Dynamic sections showcase Wills and his collaborators at their most powerful, building up until they overflow, morphing into a dense mass of dark ambient and harsh noise. The music maintains a sense of anxious tension, drifting through labyrinths of sinister drones and euphoric climaxes that erupt unexpectedly. The album’s press release rightly namechecks the likes of Ben Frost, Neu!, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, but A Fleeting Point in Terrifying Beauty serves a reconfiguration and reimagining of all these influences rather than a direct continuation. – Antonio Poscic
Ritual Ascension – Profanation of the Adamic Covenant (Sentient Ruin)
Aberration’s Refracture is a black/death highlight for 2024, so when the news broke that three out of the four members of Aberration are embarking on a death/doom journey as Ritual Ascension, my excitement could not be contained! Sure enough, their debut record Profanation of the Adamic Covenant is a torturous descent to an ungodly abyss, signalled immediately through “Womb Exegesis” and its ritualistic introduction. Glacial pacing leads the way as Ritual Ascension proceed toward doom’s amorphous depths. In these moments, they inhibit the abstracted quality of the genre, as sparse drum hits and venomous guitars create a vast chasm of nothingness.
It is a lead into a majestic form, but it is a bitter affair as the second half of the opening track appears. Amidst the grandeur there is a downtrodden and defeated quality, as sluggish guitars move patiently on top of the blasting drumkit (“Consummation Rites”), hitting a decadent peak in an attempt to reach the heavens, only to sharply descent to the cold earth below (“Kolob (At the Throne of Elohim)”).
Still, Ritual Ascension aptly move from deep doom minimalism to altered death metal states. In this mode, they harness parts of the Aussie death metal scene, whether Temple Nightside’s ghoulish presence or Portal’s obtuse mentality. Listen to their outbreaks in “Cursed Adamic Tongues”, where they lash out in fury but do not tread over to the dissonant madness of the great act.
Profanation of the Adamic Covenant does what outstanding extreme doom/death records do. They do not zero in on being slow, and repetitive, rendering the experience an exercise in patience. No, they construct soundscapes, allowing them to flourish and develop the necessary imagery for the listener. You know, like being in a sensory deprivation chamber. – Spyros Stasis
Rwake – The Return of Magik (Relapse)
The Rest has ended, and the magik has returned. Rwake rose to prominence during the early 2000s progressive sludge stampede, but there was always something unique about them. Their psychedelic inclinations were stronger, moving beyond the early Baroness and Kylesa investigations. So, it is most welcoming to see them back at it now, weaving their beautiful clean melodies in the start of “You Swore We’d Always Be Together”.
As was the case in the past, their subtle psychedelic trip could always take a darker turn. The sunlit scenery transforms to a feverish daydream in the title track, a blackened quality taking over with dissonance and venom. It does not need to be subtle, and “In After Reverse” sees the same discordant self taking a grand perspective.
Rwake’s unique characteristics are back. The Southern element, although not overpowering, is still present. “With Stardust Flowers” and “Distant Constellations and the Psychedelic Incarceration” do not shy away from that influence, the acoustic guitars awakening the region’s folk lineage. It naturally ties in with progressive inclinations, and Rwake here are masterful. They can combine psychedelia and sludge with a poignant technical aptitude, without being overwhelming or coming across as showing off. Instead, they distill the essence of progressive rock in solid structures and precision playing.
Similarly, they hone the Black Sabbath-ian applications, turning its inherent slithering riffs into winged serpents that fly away into the distant cosmos. The Return of Magik is as advertised. It brings back Rwake’s otherworldly daydream essence and makes you wonder how you lived without it for the past 13 years. – Spyros Stasis
Shrine of Denial – I, Moloch (Transcending Obscurity)
As the world darkens day by day, including the political situation in Shrine of Denial’s native Turkey, it makes sense to seek a perverted sense of comfort in increasingly oppressive and brutal metal. With their debut I, Moloch, the Ankara-based group deliver the perfect brand of depraved intensity, creating a slab of blackened death metal that is as filthy and sullen as the souls of the worst demons roaming the Earth.
Then, they pepper their music with moments of doom, grandeur, and Middle Eastern melodies, as if mocking us by showing glimpses of false hope where there is none. While the latter elements position Shrine of Denial in a realm typically dominated by Nile and Melechesh, their vision veers from these scene stalwarts, taking the Egyptian and Mesopotamian influences in a wholly unhinged direction, as manifested in the fierce track “Headless Idol”. – Antonio Poscic
Soerd – Kledrikojast (Signal Rex)
A nearly three-decade distance is insufficient to stop Estonia’s Soerd from channeling black metal’s glory days. The otherworldly introduction gives way, and it is “Igavikke Jäädes” with its traditional riffing that takes over. Soerd keep a fine balance here, with equal parts despair and defiance seeping through. It is not always the same story, opting for a fiercer perspective (“Peied Ja Lumihall”) or investigating the multifaceted epic sense of the genre.
Because it is in the epic lineage that Soerd thrive. There is a strong Ulver connection to be found here, highlighted through the graphic imagery produced through the riffs. Including acoustic guitars further exposes this continuity, and of course, the clean vocals complete the picture. In that mode, they make the process more immersive, shining alongside the wolfish screams (“Kolumatsuri”) or providing a deeply pensive tonality (“Peied Ja Lumihall”).
While this kinship tilts their debut Kledrikojast toward the introspective, they explore a different gear. Bathory’s influence imbues a sense of purpose and drive, with the opening track fiercely stepping in that direction on its second half. The additional percussion augments the experience, and the overall demeanour reaches a heroic peak (“Muldunute Mana”).
The excellent use of keyboards adds the final touch, increasing the depth of the storytelling and providing a hallucinatory shortcut through the earthy black metal spirit. It is a promising first step, and if Soerd can further differentiate from their influences and hone their sound, then they will have found their place. – Spyros Stasis
Teitanblood – From the Visceral Abyss (NoEvDia)
Sometimes, there is a method to the madness. Teitanblood’s black/death has always been brutal and direct, but that did not mean that it was simple. It had an intrinsic design that might not follow a comprehensible pattern, but a design nevertheless. This remains the case with their fourth full-length, From the Visceral Abyss, where the black/death onslaught erupts through a Celtic Frost on speed approach. The ragged riffs take form and are thrown to the meatgrinder, yet the attitude and presence survive. In many cases, this is a process of annihilation, in which they leave behind the norms and descend to a brutal assault that leaves nothing standing (“And Darkness Was All”).
However, where Teitanblood excel is in being economical. Nothing here is wasted; every crazed, schizoid solo has its function and purpose, every illogical drum pattern serves a more significant role. Nothing is for show; everything is of substance. Listen to the cymbal work in the final part of “Sepulchral Carrion God” and you will experience a level of detail that verges on the neurotic. This is a work that is built layer upon layer. As a result, it oozes with a depth that can extend to the atmospherics, something that “From The Hypogeum” extensively implements.
It is a mystical procedure through alien landscapes that are incomprehensible to our primate mind. The evocative themes of the title track evoke this concept, as does the substantial closer “Tomb Corpse Haruspex”. It constructs this obsidian monolith, an imposing and unearthly structure that fills you with dread at its mere presence. The poisonous psychedelic melodies take over, and the effects add grandeur to end this feverish experience on a high note. Teitanblood continue to deliver their dark, damned work. And we would not have it any other way. – Spyros Stasis
Tower – Let There Be Dark (Cruz Del Sur)
Let There Be Dark sees the New York outfit Tower once more revisiting various strains of 1980s heavy metal and hard rock, while crucially maintaining the gusto and vigor of their previous releases. As it turns out, there are still ways of fusing traditional metal tropes into fresh-sounding new music.
Led by the impressive range of vocalist Sarabeth Linden—who here often reaches for a Messiah Marcolin-esque lower grunt rather than King Diamond’s falsetto—the songs on the group’s third LP flow between punk-inflected NWOBHM scorchers (“Under the Chapel”), driven thrash (“Let There Be Dark”), poignant doom balladry (“And I Cry”), and the sort of classic hard rock that could serve as a neat soundtrack for an episode of Supernatural (“Don’t You Say”).
The work of bands like Nite, whose new record Cult of the Serpent Sun also comes highly recommended, and Tower serves as a reminder that retro influences do not always equate to hackneyed music. – Antonio Poscic
Ursa – Call of the Infinite (Independent)
Belgian group Ursa—not to be confused with the (disbanded?) Cali doomers of the same name—play a refreshingly energetic and progressive take on post-metal mixed with flourishes of metalcore, slamming groove, and the odd trace of sludge. While you’ll have heard way too many groups toying with a similar amalgam of styles, to the point of irreversible sonic fatigue, there is a sense of ardor on Call of the Infinite that makes the album a stimulating listen.
This is especially true when the quintet fully embrace the affecting, soul-baring melodicism of post-hardcore/emo heroes like Hopesfall. Although some of the songs on the album could previously be heard as instrumental singles, the added vocals elevate them significantly on this convincing, strong debut. – Antonio Poscic