“Now into their fifteenth year, German four-piece Downfall of Gaia need little introduction, particularly for longer-standing readers of this venerable blog. We didn’t cover their first two records, Epos (2010) and Suffocating in the Swarm of Cranes (2012) but since then, Downfall of Gaia has had a very good run in the hands of the normally-highly-critical Mark Z., with each of their next three albums swanning off with a coveted 4.0.” Worst downfall ever.
“The follow-up to 2019’s Drifting Towards Inevitable Death, this is the second full-length from God Disease. The band’s early work, beginning with 2014 EP, Abyss Cathedral, was very much death metal oriented. But, over the band’s three subsequent EPs and Drifting …, the trio increasingly embraced doom in its sound.” Faith infection.
“71TonMan is roughly equal to ten adult tyrannosaurus rex; seven minke whales; moving to my own favored species, two megalodons; or one Leopard 2 tank, of the type recently pledged by Poland, Germany and others to Ukraine. And this seems appropriate, as a sizeable, if ponderous, battle tank is a pretty good comparator for this doom/sludge outfit.” Weights and pleasures.
“When I shared with the slack hacks gathered in the AMG Break Room, the offensively purple artwork for ,b>Old Spirit’s Burning in Heaven, the Boss Ape piped up, “That the guy from Vanishing Kids,?” I shrugged noncommittally. I didn’t know whether it was the guy from<,b>Vanishing Kids, had never heard of Vanishing Kids and was unsure whether expression on those leathery features was a smirk or just a sign the old fella had gas again. I just wanted to revel in a group at how awful the artwork was. Denied this opportunity, I trudged back to my cubicle and started working the foot pedal that powers up AMG-issue computers to do some research.” Old spirits and missing kids.
“Portland, Oregon’s Tithe has been plying its trade since 2017. Starting out as a two-piece, with Matt Eiseman on guitars and vox, and Kevin Swartz behind the kit, the band released a self-titled EP that year. In 2018, bassist Alex Huddleston joined the fold and Tithe began work on their full-length debut, Penance. Despite dropping at the height of the pandemic, that record generated a little buzz around the band, with its fusion of death, black, grind and even hints of doom packed into its modest run time. Three years on and the trio is back with sophomore effort, Inverse Rapture.” Rise and Tithe.
“Walking the line between old school death metal and blackened speed-thrash, Atomwinter are barely fucking around. I say ‘barely’, rather than ‘not’, because there is the obligatory one-minute instrumental opener to skip on Sakrileg. The album would’ve opened far stronger had the band just ripped straight into “Ov Blood and Flesh,” which tells us immediately that these guys have listened to a lot of early Incantation and taken that as their creative starting point.” Up and Atom.
“Germany’s Obelyskkh have been knocking around for a while now, having dropped their full-length debut, Mount Nysa, in 2011. The Ultimate Grace of God is the band’s fifth album and comes five years after their last, with the intervening period seemingly beset by COVID- and cash-driven troubles that delayed it time and again.” Tardy but hardy?
“Greece. The Hellenic Republic. Land of gods and titans. Home of turquoise seas, moussaka, ouzo, and … a surprising number of death metal bands. New kid on the block, Wothrosch is looking to tap into that scene on its debut album. The three-piece out of Athens dropped two singles in 2022, both of which now appear on Odium, the band’s full-length debut.” Death in the isles.
“Sammale—not to be confused with Sammal, which I also reviewed—is the brainchild of Zannibal, the guy behind Paisaunt and the guitarist, and primary songwriter, for Marrasmieli.” Sam’s club.
“Five-piece NATT comprises a core duo of songwriters, René Misje (Kraków) and Roy Ole Førland (Malignant Eternal), who are then joined in the studio by others, including Enslaved’s Iver Sandøy behind the kit. Would the launch gig for their self-titled debut justify a visit to Norway?” Tour core.
