I loved Nimbifer’s demos, and everything that was good about those releases - the Sargeist-like melodies and Spectral Wound-level intensity - is dialed up to 11 on this full-length debut. The songwriting has matured to a point where it has no business being this good for a band this relatively new, and we are the better for it. My single very soft criticism for this is that, because it is actually dynamic and not just a blast-fest, it could have been about 10 minutes longer. Next time!
None of Necrot’s previous material clicked with me, but Lifeless Birth, with just the right amount of Bolt Thrower and Autopsy underpinnings, is a death metal joy and will surely finish 2024 as one of DM’s best offerings. Necrot remembers that a bit (or a lot) of speed is welcome in a sub-genre that is now overwhelmed by cavernous and ponderous death-doom releases. Most of all, the riffs are exceptional throughout and the band legitimately plays as one, always tight and agile and on point.
I truly never know what to expect from a new Nothing Is Real album, except that it will be progressive sludge metal of immense quality. Is this his most biblical album to date? It is. This one goes deep, lyrically and musically, even if it is seemingly simpler and less experimental than previous releases. And there is a message of hope here that I think everyone could benefit from, though much like in life, we have to work through the darkness - sometimes for a long time - to feel the light.
Teach me to live that I dread the grave as little as my bed
by Locusts and Honey
The endorsements below are fully on point, and while I do not really like the vast majority of doom (and funeral doom less so), few metal sub-genres are as impactful when written and performed very well. Locusts and Honey are onto something here - something enormous and possibly amazing. The available six minutes are simply wonderful.
On a minute-per-minute basis, these are just about the strongest 30 minutes in a row of death metal that I have heard this year, second overall only to Hideous Divinity’s much lengthier and maximalist bruiser. I really liked Abhorrent Rapture and this is not only more of that, but a better version of it. The production job elevates the impact of the riffs and drumming from merely bulldozing to supremely crushing. And for the first time in a long time, I detect some Bolt Thrower vibes here!
Not since Forteresse’s Thèmes Pour La Rébellion have I heard this level of energetic and passionate Québécois black metal, and while Le bannissement does not reach those heights (very little does), this is simply outstanding from start to finish, getting better as it moves along. Rivières rompues is one of the best songs in the style, and I could listen to it all day. And the lyrical concept here is ambitious and pulled off very elegantly, too. This will take you to tremolo heaven!
The sort of folk-forward black metal that we no longer get from Sig:Ar:Tyr’s more popular contemporaries still seems to be going at full strength with Sig:Ar:Tyr itself, and I am grateful for that. Viking metal done beautifully and with subtlety, without sacrificing any power - tough to do, but when done well, it is great. Ascending the Stellar Throne is a great single and I am amped to hear the full package in two months!
Wow. Or put differently, WOW! This is unmistakably a Hideous Divinity album by virtue of its technicality, brutality, and intensity, but this feels like something new altogether because for the first time in their storied discography, I am struck firstly by the songwriting dynamics and secondly by the individual character of every song. In these regards, this is about as good as Artificial Brain’s and Archspire’s last albums. Oh, and the audio mastering is stunning. Love this!
Ah, Horresque - death-black metal of quite high calibre that I overlooked for too long, it took Funeral Fog’s recommendation (not the first time I have followed one) to put the band back on my radar. The Devouring Exorbitance is as grand as the title suggests, and while the riffing and tremolo melodies are somewhat traditional DM and BM, respectively, Horresque overlays it all with some Henbane-era Cultes des Ghoules spookiness. Vocals are stand out for the style, too. Lovely!
By this point, we know that we can count on Verberis and Jamie Saint Merat to deliver the dissonant extreme metal goods. Labyrinthine Privation was an awesome preview track and the rest of The Apophatic Wilderness holds up in quality. The one rather interesting and possibly unexpected artistic choice here is that Verberis doubled down on embracing the sound of the French BM band that most influenced them. This totally works for me as I love that band and admire Verberis’ approach to the style!
That cover art is kind of impossible to not notice, and the amazing range of vocals - both from the primary as well as the guest vocalists - is a real attention-grabber here. Once you are in the front door, the mid-tempo sections hit you like steamroller-like crushers, and the subtle riffing - at all temps - is surgically precise and pretty menacing. And if I have never said it before, The Fall is an outstanding drummer. Poland keeps on giving us gems, especially in black metal!
Jesus, this one came from out of nowhere, and on top of being some really solid dissonant and chaotic BM, Black Terror Genesis is also way too good to be a name-your-price album! Sacrificial Vein are less obviously esoteric-sounding than a lot of their peers while also exuding a pretty menacing atmosphere, and if this is what we get on their debut, what the hell do they have in store for us down the line? Thanks to Yoma for again putting something awesome in my feed. Do you ever sleep?
With the two songs that are now available, it is increasingly clear that the direction shift from 2020 was not a one-off, and that this is going to cut the throats of its death metal competition in 2024. More thoughts to follow in June, but this one already feels huge!
Samael released three great albums in their career, and Passage is arguably the best of them all, both for how it creatively combined mid-tempo black metal with electronic elements and how unique it was both at its release and even at present. Nothing sounded like this in 1996, and very few albums today in this style can eclipse it. Make no mistake: though several of these songs would be pop-radio friendly if not for the harsh vocals, this is as metal and as visionary as anything from the era.
I have written about Kvist many times before via glancing references in other reviews. I cannot think of any other band that released a debut masterpiece of this magnitude and then just disappeared. Even in the rarefied air of mid-90’s Norwegian BM, this stands strong. Audible bass? Yes. Thunderous drums? Of course. Synths to legitimately rival Emperor’s? No doubt. Balancing melancholy, aggression, and soaring tremolo melodies on par with Windir? Absolutely. A unique gem? For me, always.
It is June 2022. You are at Gdańsk Shipyard, surrounded by tens of thousands of metal fans at Mystic (which was, in effect, three years’ worth of festivals in one to account for two pandemic cancellations). Some of the best DM and BM bands in the world are blowing you away day after day. And then Wiegedood take the stage, open their set with FN SCAR 16, and nearly incapacitate everyone in attendance with their sonic fury. This is their best album, finally on Bandcamp. Do the right thing.
