Gorguts

Saevus Finis – Facilis Descensus Averno Review

Saevus Finis – Facilis Descensus Averno Review

“With a name that translates roughly to “The Savage End,” Saevus Finis aim to live up to their moniker with their equally-ominously-titled debut Facilis Descensus Averno (An Easy Descent into Hell). Exercising a particularly gnarly blend of dissonant death and black metal, this plays out in the expectedly extreme metal fashion, amelodious odes of cavernous, claustrophobic cacophony. And it’s pretty cool. In a funny coincidence, it turns out the vocalist of Saevus Finis—Mortvorvm— also provides pipes and guitars for Wells Valley, which received the TYMHM 2023 treatment from yours truly.” Black birds of a feather.

Engulf – The Dying Planet Weeps Review

Engulf – The Dying Planet Weeps Review

“New year, new sponge, same gig. What a better way to kick off 2024 than with some brutal, slightly proggy, slightly technical death metal! How serendipitous it was, then, that Engulf finally dropped their debut LP The Dying Planet Weeps upon my eager lap. Complete with very nice artwork and a remarkably rich and warm production, The Dying Planet Weeps aims to make a mockery of my scoring average as early in the year as it possibly can.” Engulfed by overratings.

Baring Teeth – The Path Narrows Review

Baring Teeth – The Path Narrows Review

“No stranger to this trendy, oddball scene of death metal dependent on heavy use of dissonant harmonies, Baring Teeth smiles crooked once again. Gracing these halls not once but twice with commendable offerings, our own Kronos revealed that “Baring Teeth’s greatest strength is their peerlessness” and the Texas trio “shuns accessibility”—these veterans scream the nature of this high-brow form of technical death metal. Alien yet organic, obtuse yet hypnotic, the contradictions and shades of humanity that this boundary-agnostic act continues to find allow enough of a footing in an amorphous sound to drive a crowd from navel-gazing to circle-pitting at will.” TEEF!

Acausal Intrusion – Panpsychism Review

Acausal Intrusion – Panpsychism Review

Acausal Intrusion verged on greatness with 2021’s Nulitas, touching the lip of the void but never quite accomplishing the swan dive into the darkness. Uncompromisingly complex, dissonant, and brutal through Nythroth’s unhinged axework, alongside more brutal elements like vocalist Cave Ritual’s subterranean growls and his tasteful pong snare, it was an album loaded with potential – uniquely accomplished through a strangely counterintuitive meditative quality.” Pardon this new Intrusion.

Widow’s Peak – Claustrophobe Review

Widow’s Peak – Claustrophobe Review

“I’m not a particularly skilled musician myself, and I won’t pretend for a second that I could play anything that Widow’s Peak does on this technical extravaganza of groovy and deathy leanings. Fitting for fret-melting of this caliber, this Canadian outfit has enlisted the engineering talents of Colin Marston (Krallice, Dysrhythmia, many technical credits).” Peak tech-freakouts.

Serpent of Old – Ensemble Under the Dark Sun Review

Serpent of Old – Ensemble Under the Dark Sun Review

“There’s something about atmospheric death metal that just gets me. Something about the deep urgency of the guitar tones, the echoing, sinister riffing, the cavernous vocals, the restless dance of the drums, and the metallic chime of the cymbals. It elevates an already hostile and confrontational musical style to a kind of arresting profundity, when done well. Seeing Ulcerate, Gorguts, and Devenial Verdict—among others—name-dropped in the promo material for Ensemble Under the Dark Sun had me yanking it out of the bin faster than you can say “disso-death.” This was no clickbait. Turkey’s Serpent of Old play the kind of dark, ferocious haunting blackened death emblematic of these bands, and their shared conceptual genre, at their most intense.” Snakes in the pain.

SARMAT – Determined to Strike Review

SARMAT – Determined to Strike Review

“They say you can never have too much of a good thing. But they’re wrong. Everything eventually becomes stale. As the age-old complaint/joke about technical death metal highlights, there is definitely such thing as too technical and complex. While it differs from person to person, everyone has a threshold beyond which music stops being enjoyable due to its dissonance, technicality, and complexity. With this preamble, I introduce New York progressive technical death metal group SARMAT, whose debut Determined to Strike is likely to approach if not leap beyond the threshold of many listeners.” Prog Depot.

Onkos – Vascular Labyrinth Review

Onkos – Vascular Labyrinth Review

“A project of San Francisco-based musician Robert Woods-LaDue and Bay-area session jazz musicians, Onkos is definitely metal, but like, what? Most akin to Barcelona flute/double bass bastards Inhumankind, Vascular Labyrinth can be best described as a chamber jazz act covering death metal.” In the veins of weirdness.