“Little over a year later, Tomb Mold have returned with a third death metal opus, and things have changed. Planetary Clairvoyance is drastically evolved. Now in our midst is a star-spawned abomination, multi-formed and voracious. If the preceding records were a baring of teeth, then this collection is surely the war-turn for this dread conqueror worm.” Olde mold is bold.
“Once named Aetherium Mors, this two-man project since altered their moniker so as to better refine their brand of blackened extremity. The material contained within the self-titled debut is proficient and mature in its composition. But sometimes, the often overlooked simplest tenets are the most necessary in creating a truly stirring compound.” Refining darkness.
“There are few scenes that have been as instrumental in expanding metal’s horizon as Florida’s death metal explosion. Toiling towards the top of the totem has always been Nocturnus. Their debut album The Key will irrevocably remain a personal favorite and one of the genre’s canonical greats. Thanks to the incessant efforts of drummer and vocalist Mike Browning (of early Morbid Angel fame), the band has endured a tumultuous rebirth as Nocturnus AD. But can new album Paradox survive the curse of contentious re-branding and do justice to the band’s own lofty genesis?” The key to death metal’s past.
“Our very own Eldritch Elitist recently posited that death metal is at its peak when following either one of two separate paths: an unapologetic flogging or creative innovation. He’s not wrong. But there is also a third route worthy of consideration. The one unashamedly paved with the gilded bones of the genre’s revered forefathers. How do we quantify those bands who patch their material together from piecemeal legacy? It’s an easy approach to snub, but there is plenty of evidence to suggest the potential for success.” Ripping off the oldies.
“Expectations are precarious things. The older we get, the more we assume they will go unmet. This almost religiously applies to super groups. When I came across Finland’s Hedonihil, a death metal project comprised of members of Swallow the Sun, I expected great things. But when I delved into the press materials (always foolish) and saw them described as anti-poetry, I expected substantially less great things.” Angry pretense.
“I’ve always considered myself very fortunate in my taste in metal. Mostly because I’m eclectic enough that I don’t easily bore. I can while away many an hour poring over platters of traditional and retro fare. On the other hand, conceptually opaque music has always fascinated me because it represents an opportunity to learn. Slovakia’s Ceremony of Silence know a little something about the esoteric and are more than willing to share their expertise on debut Oútis.” Learning through brutality.
“It seems to me that there are really only two doors that need to be sought in the hunt for black metal of real quality. One leads to a well whose mechanism is complex and unconventional. But, with patience and a deft touch, it reveals a spring of challenging and creative potential. The other leads to a charred room whose blackened walls contain a particularly fecal Mark Z, resplendent in bullet belt and lobbing liberal handfuls of sickle cell anemia with feral abandon. Greece’s Akrotheism predominantly stand in the former, but somehow manage to channel a little of both.” Two corners, one trvth.
“Two years ago I reviewed the self-titled debut of Australia’s Illimitable Dolor, a project carved from the members of The Slow Death to illuminate the loss of their friend and band mate Gregg Williamson. It was a feast of death-doom delights with a bold sense of atmosphere to truly define the plundered depths. Now, the band have returned with Leaden Light and a mind clearly bent on expansion. But a broadening of such bereaved horizons requires mass. And sometimes too much is simply too much.” When heavy isn’t enough.
“If life really is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury and signifying nothing, then France’s Ataraxie have an unenviable inside line. Doom metal is always downtrodden, and its more extreme iterations never fail to manifest the maudlin. But the inherent ceremony and circumstance rarely coalesce into as voracious a sonic black hole as heard on Résignés. The band’s fourth album is an unnatural aperture into a single moment of crushing and immutable understanding. Although it doesn’t deviate from their discography’s trajectory, it just might perfect it.” Welcome to the end.
“‘Werian’ comes from an old Germanic word for the transformation of man into wolf. A fitting moniker, as the album’s themes detail some of the world’s most deeply rooted supernatural and religious perspectives. To this end, the collective eschews stringent genre tropes in favor of a combination of doom and a subtle element of black metal that serves to catalyze this shamanic sojourn. The quality is evident, but there remains a question of quantity.” Wer the party at?
