“For those who missed my tongue-bathing in 2021, Mānbryne is an enigmatic black metal band from Poland consisting of members from a bunch of groups, most notably Blaze of Perdition. The musical template is straightforward black metal, but the execution of their debut set it apart. Most impressive was the balance between old and new. The fresh songwriting of Renz combined with the experienced hands behind the other instruments to give us the best of both worlds.” No man is a bryneland.
“Rorcal’s approach to auditory darkness is nonetheless unmistakable, post-hardcore and post-metal coursing through every vein. Dissonant and ominous, tar-thick slogs of drone/sludge contrast mightily with raw wounds of blackened shreds with impeccable balance.” Silent but deadly.
“I’ve talked at length about my distaste for overly progressive music, and no genre draws my ire for incorporating unnecessary fluff more than death metal. I’d even go a step further and say that I really don’t enjoy much “beauty” or “fun” in my death metal at all; just give me the raw, stinking sewage and keep your melodic and atmospheric death metals. Of course, this is all just personal preference, but I can’t stand when bands like Blood Incantation, Tomb Mold, or even the mighty Death add so much experimentation that the songs cease to exist as songs, becoming instead exercises for demonstrating technical ability and/or progressive sensibility.” Ugly down to the death bone.
“Since snatching my AotY crown in 2020 with their awesome Diagrams of Consciousness, Finland tech-death juggernauts Omnivortex have been hard at work on follow up Circulate. Needless to say, I’ve been at the edge of my seat. Remembering the indelible hooks and brutal heft of their explosive debut, I have no idea what Omnivortex need to do in order to top it.” Spinning on, spinning up.
“I have fond memories of Ashbringer’s third record, Absolution. Now, in part, this could be put down to the fact that I wrote the review while sipping an ice cold beer by the river in the picturesque city of Hội An, Vietnam. It could also be because Absolution got me my first Record o’ the Month back in June 2019, a victory that I naturally ascribe entirely to myself, rather than to the fact that Ashbringer wrote a great, progressive black metal record.” Ash fanciers.
“The existence of Sylosis roughly tracks my own experience with non-mainstream metal, running from 2008’s Conclusion of an Age to 2020’s Cycle of Suffering. The band lost me somewhere in the middle as I was diving into the more extreme sub-genres of metal’s sewer, despite my favorable comments on 2015’s Dormant Heart, no doubt induced by a bout of regional favoritism given that they hail from the same bit of the UK as yours truly. Cycle of Suffering represented a roaring return, comfortably my favorite of their albums and comfortably my second favorite album from 2020. Sylosis are one of Britain’s most exciting and energetic bands but how can A Sign of Things to Come hope to match their prior incredible success?” Modern problems.
A stealth Tomb Mold release that caught us off guard requires a double fisted countermeasure. Prepare for twice the number of moldy opinions about The Enduring Spirit.
“Have you ever heard Gridlink’s 2014 opus Longhena? If you haven’t, then you wouldn’t quite understand why your local anime pfp’d grind addict can be found twitching about shouting the pleasures of that modern grind classic, especially in anticipation of this new chapter in the New Jersey grind outfit’s story.” Not the final fantasy!
“The Great Demise combined Dissection black, Hypocrisy death, and Amon Amarth melodeath to deliver a rollercoaster of intricacies, riff changes, builds, and atmospheres. At times, it worked. At times, it didn’t. As a whole, The Great Demise was missing the fluidity to pull everything together. Now they’re back with a Covid-inspired follow-up whose theme concerns mental health. This concept alone instills high-charged emotion into the album. But how Sodomisery delivers it completely floored me.” Sodom misers!
Alright, you sodden louts, ready thine ears because this here album will need to enter forthwith. We usually save that sort of statement for the second paragraph, using the first to build tension with a nice gentle lead-up, but if you want one of those, tough shit. This is your lead-up. Gapen your hearing holes and get ready to absorb one of the flat-out coolest albums of the year, coming from the Stockholm underground to deliver a baseball bat, wrapped in barbed wire and dipped in ayahuasca, straight to the trachea. VAK has arrived.” VAK Daddy.
