“After hearing the first few seconds of “Survive in Obscurity,” I knew I wanted to review Enveloping Absurdity. Infectious death metal riffs, raw energy, palpable fuzz – the song had everything I could ask for. Enveloping Absurdity is a debut, but Phobophilic has an EP and a split with Sedimentum under its belt, getting picked up by Prosthetic in the process. These Fargo natives play death metal that is as gruesome as Fargo but much less distinctive, preferring to dwell in the darker corners of old-school death metal.” Death from the cold.
Maddog
Auriferous Flame – The Great Mist Within Review
“Before listening to The Great Mist Within, I thought I knew a thing or two about Ayloss, the prolific mastermind of Spectral Lore and Mystras. Ever since Spectral Lore’s III swept me off my feet in 2014, I’ve been an avid follower of his work. Ayloss has described his new project Auriferous Flame as a 90s black metal act, a “continuation of many of the ideas and music styles in Mystras” minus the folk influences. This description made me suspect that The Great Mist Within would be digestible but unimaginative,” Mist predictions.
Mimorium – The Route of Haeresis Review
“The Route of Haeresis gave me a rare opportunity to nab a band that earned praise from the mighty Grier. The angrier doc gushed about Mimorium’s second release Blood of Qayin in 2020, comparing it favorably with Dissection’s classics. Mimorium is back with another album of energetic melodic black metal that tries to scratch the same itch as the iciest Swedish bands of the mid-90s. Many have tried this, and few have succeeded.” Theft in the autopsy suite.
Reeking Aura – Blood and Bonemeal Review
As a hippie vegan with a houseplant obsession, I know all too much about blood and bone meal. If you’ve ever bought organic fertilizer, it likely contained these horrifying but nutrient-rich byproducts of slaughterhouses. While much less objectionable, Reeking Aura’s debut Blood and Bonemeal is no less vile than its namesake. Boasting band members from Grey Skies Fallen, Artificial Brain, and Buckshot Facelift, Blood and Bonemeal harks back to the halcyon days of Autopsy and Asphyx, dishing out grimy death metal riffs across the tempo spectrum.” What’s that smell?
In Slumber – While We Sleep Review
“While We Sleep’s cover art is creepy but striking. Even in its edited monochromatic form, this 1890s painting piqued my interest. Looking at the shadowy whispering figure with billowing hair and the wide-eyed woman, shrouded in darkness but with her face glowing, I expected While We Sleep to sound evocative and mysterious. This was largely wrong. Austria’s In Slumber plays “direct melodic death metal” (their words, not mine), the least mysterious of genres.” Blue clues.
Yatra – Born into Chaos Review
“Some bands insist on pushing envelopes, demanding listeners’ attention by challenging genre norms and breaking new ground. Yatra is not one of those bands. These Maryland natives had a prolific first few years, releasing a stoner doom debut in 2019 and following it up with two sludgy riff-fests in 2020. Their last album All Is Lost earned praise from our very own GardensTale, establishing Yatra as a lean mean sludge machine without reinventing any wheels. Its follow-up Born into Chaos promises a shift in sound, from the band’s stoner origins to no-frills death metal. As an avowed death metal lover, I couldn’t help but be intrigued.” Yatra, Yatra, Yatra…
Heaving Earth – Darkness of God Review
“While I usually avoid harming animals, I had to chase a certain Abbathian cat up a tree to get my hands on this promo. My feline colleague gushed about Czechia’s Heaving Earth in 2015, calling Denouncing the Holy Throne a shamelessly uncreative but satisfying slab of vintage death metal. The band is back with its third record Darkness of God, but the seven intervening years have seen its sound evolve. Much like the latest Golgothan Remains, Heaving Earth’s newest offering adorns old-school death metal with speckles of dissonance and malice, and influences from across the death metal universe.” Darkness before divinity.
Serpentent – Mother of Light Review
“If all you want is raw riffs, skull-crushing rhythms, or dissonant aggression, you’ve come to the wrong place. Serpentent’s debut full-length Mother of Light flirts casually with distorted guitars and heavier percussion, but there’s no metal to be found here. The brainchild of Seattle multi-instrumentalist Anne K. O’Neill, Serpentent plays minimalist dark folk music built around O’Neill’s emotive vocals and acoustic guitars. Spring 2022 has set a high bar for folky non-metal around these parts, with Urferd releasing an intricate slab of Nordic folk and Darkher continuing to set the standard for introspective doom. Mother of Light doesn’t quite reach those lofty heights, but it’s a pleasant surprise in a crowded genre.” Snake charming.
Haunter – Discarnate Ails Review
“I first heard of San Antonio’s Haunter during my brief stint in the Discord server. The discordant blackened death of 2019’s Sacramental Death Qualia caught my ears immediately. It struck the difficult balance of exploring tortuous harmonies and building an unsettling atmosphere while keeping me rapt. Dissonance tends to alienate me more often than it attracts me, but Haunter occupies a thin middle ground of bands like Ulcerate and Sunless that inject a digestible dose of dissonance while still supplying compelling melodies to latch onto.” Haunting the Alamo.
Pyreship – Light Is a Barrier Review
“Post-metal and stoner rock both struggle to escape the shadows of their forebears. Nothing gets me off like a well-developed soundscape, but countless bands claim to be the next Neurosis or Kyuss while bringing nothing to the table but fuzzy minimalism. This Melvin can attest firsthand that the Melvins already exist, and imitating them is a losing battle. So I approached the sophomore release from Houston’s sludgy post-metallers Pyreship with high hopes and a raised eyebrow.” Riding posts.