Things You Might Have Missed 2023

Dear Hollow’s Prava Kollektiv Collection [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

By Dear Hollow on January 8, 2024 in Black Metal, Things You Might Have Missed 2023, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, 43 comments

Is releasing 5 records at the same time a good idea? Well, when you’re not a band, but rather a “kollektiv”, no one tells you what to do! Dear Hollow is here to fill you in on what you probably missed.

Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze – The Fractal Ouroboros [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

By Dear Hollow on January 7, 2024 in Things You Might Have Missed 2023, 31 comments

“Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze manages to create a mammoth hour-and-fifteen length that takes its precious time before crushing your soul with calculated second-wave intensity. The swell and lull of its atmosphere has its time and place, thus lending The Fractal Ouroboros its immense but supremely organic feel, each track moving fluidly among its influences and giving each track a unique identity to fuse into the tapestry of the album’s pitch-black palette and atmosphere.” Bull in a delicate shop.

Fvnerals – Let the Earth be Silent [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

By Thus Spoke on January 5, 2024 in Things You Might Have Missed 2023, Post-Metal, 13 comments

“While many within the genre drift towards the floaty, gazey, and even anodyne, my favorite kind of post-metal is the dark kind. Post-metal that uses resonant ambience, deep atmosphere, and echoing vocals to create a powerful, weighty sense of foreboding. So it was that back in February, Fvnerals, whose path and mine had not yet crossed, made me sit up and notice them. It seems that in the past, Fvnerals played it a little softer, and safer, with a mellower bent. But this time they’ve plumbed the depths of horror and melancholy.” Dread post ambient.

The Howling Void – Into Darkness Ever More Profound [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

By Itchymenace on January 5, 2024 in Things You Might Have Missed 2023, Doom Metal, Funeral Doom, Melodic Metal, 27 comments

“The Howling Void is a one-man project from San Antonio Texas. Into Darkness Ever More Profound is their seventh album and first in four years. I haven’t delved deeply into the rest of the catalog, but the prevailing sound is atmospheric funeral doom. There are flirtations with more folksy elements and instrumentation, but the vibe is always slow and introspective.” Rage against the Void.

Victory Over the Sun – Dance You Monster to My Soft Song! [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

By Dear Hollow on January 3, 2024 in Things You Might Have Missed 2023, 29 comments

“Victory Over the Sun is a project of the Portland-based multi-instrumentalist Vivian Tylińska who, along with Jute Gyte’s Adam Kalmbach and Kostnatění’s D.L., represents the diversity and power of the unorthodox take of microtonal black metal. You’ll find Tylińska is more inspired by Liturgy than Darkthrone, touches upon Kayo Dot more than Mayhem, actualizing a more triumphant and avant-garde take on black metal – although her more blackened passages are nothing short of vicious.” Wictory in black.

Kalmah – Kalmah [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

By Maddog on January 3, 2024 in Things You Might Have Missed 2023, Death Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 39 comments

“I’ve seen surprisingly little hype about Kalmah’s self-titled album. It hasn’t popped up on mainstream end-of-year lists. Alongside bands like Children of Bodom, Kalmah held the reins of Finnish melodic death metal in the early 2000s. Blending blistering melodic riffs with prominent synths, Kalmah defined their sound twenty years ago and has reveled in it ever since. Emerging five years after Palo, Kalmah’s self-titled shows them doing what they do best.” Kalmah down!

World’s End Girlfriend – Resistance & The Blessing [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

By Dolphin Whisperer on January 3, 2024 in Things You Might Have Missed 2023, Electronic, Noise, 51 comments

“For those unfamiliar, World’s End Girlfriend has been producing a unique brand of cinematic music rooted in classical composition, post-rock sound palette, glitchy and warped electronics since 2000’s debut Ending Story—very much a stepping stone on this long and forlorn path. Though there’s plenty to enjoy in this Japanese one-man exploration, it was 2007’s Hurtbreak Wonderland that first took my breath away and signaled a string of increasingly wide-viewed, somberly-toned albums that cemented me as a WEG die-hard.” End Times and significant others.

Krigsgrav – Fires in the Fall [Things You Might Have Missed Missed 2023]

By Doom_et_Al on December 24, 2023 in Things You Might Have Missed 2023, Black Metal, 41 comments

“Sometimes, first time’s a charm. Sometimes, third time. And sometimes, perseverance is rewarded and it’s the seventh. Such is the case with Dallas, Texas-based band, Krigsgrav. Operating quietly in the shadows since 2004, Krigsgrav have been producing atmospheric black metal that has, over time, become more deathly, more potent, more melodic. Now, with Fires in the Fall, they add a sprinkle of doom, and suddenly, everything clicks into place.” Fires of inspiration.

Massen – Gentle Brutality [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

By Kenstrosity on December 24, 2023 in Things You Might Have Missed 2023, Black Metal, Death Metal, Grind, Hardcore, Melodic Black Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 43 comments

“If you know me—and most of you should by now—you know that I love bands who fearlessly combine multiple genres into one pot. I want to be blown away by their exploratory vigor, dismissing all pretense of genre loyalty with gusto. Give me something that challenges my advanced ability to categorize and compartmentalize, and you are likely to garner an instant fan. Enter Massen, a Belarusian/German Frankenstein monster who unleashed one of the best records of the year, Gentle Brutality.” Polite hooligans.

Kruelty – Untopia [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

By Saunders on December 23, 2023 in Things You Might Have Missed 2023, Death Metal, Hardcore, 13 comments

“Trawling through a stack of overlooked gems from 2023, I stumbled across the impressive sophomore album from Japan’s Kruelty. In another bumper year for death metal enthusiasts, Kruelty channel classic Swedeath vibes from yesteryear, done Japanese style, armed with a healthy hardcore and doom kick. The Tokyo quartet formed in 2017, recording a lengthy string of short-form releases before arriving at their 2019 debut LP, A Dying Truth. Now with a solid number of years under their belt as a unit, Kruelty unleashed a power-packed second LP way back in March 2023. And if you happened to miss it initially, as I did, I am here to rectify the oversight and introduce you to the formidable slab of solid school death, entitled Untopia.” Plunder in the East.