“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.
“A project of Sebastian Montesi of Auroch, Egregore, and Mitochrondrion, Atemporal offers death/black insanity with Thorn Genesis. Featuring homage to the blasphemous Scandinavian greats, twisted Lovecraftian apathy, and blazing death heft in equal and lethal doses, expect dissonance and intensity at every blind turn.” Atemporal parking only.
“New York certainly produces some tasty, technical, twisted music. Home to glittering Artificial Brain, soundscape-warping Pyrrhon, and jazzy Imperial Triumphant, among others. Asystole follow in the footsteps of this pedigree in both origin and sound with hyper-dissonant death metal that grabs some of the harsher elements of black metal and grind along the way.” Taste the Pig Apple.
“Nulitas was one of the most promising debuts of 2021, its otherworldly atmosphere and outrageous replay value adding up to a lurching and lumbering beast with spines of searing dissonance cutting through the thick slogs of slimy riffs. While this soundscape is certainly not uncommon among the melody-hating hordes of masochists and self-flagellants, Acausal Intrusion injected a meditative quality that contrasted lethally with its hell-scraping gutturals and slam-esque pong snare. As such, upon its announcement, followup Seeping Evocation is easily one of my most anticipated releases of the year.” Seeping expectations.
“The tactics for this campaign are tried and true. These songs explore the horror of warfare from the perspective of a foot soldier who’s grist for the mill, or a relative back home who lost a loved one and gained nothing of consequence in return. Thematically, this platter lives closer to 1914 than it does Sabaton.” Dead horses and live warfare.
“Even for I, Voidhanger, Clarity Came with a Cool Summer’s Breeze is a hallucinogenic odyssey of unreal proportions. In its wild ways of whimsy, I catch whiffs of everything ranging from Ved Buens Ende, Blut Aus Nord, Vulture Industries, and even The Beatles. With an expansive stylistic gamut to manage, it’s bewildering that Tyrone not only concocted a compelling compound with it, but also condensed it into a tight and twisted thirty-seven minutes.” Shrooms with a view.
“Consisting of Italian vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Andrea Bruzzone and company, Bekor Qilish offers its debut Throes of Death from the Dreamed Nihilism. While it toes the line between full-length and EP at twenty-eight minutes, it manages to embody really fun “Voidhanger-core” to a tee.” Avant-guardians.
“Knocking about since 2008, Finland’s Serpent Ascending is the solo handiwork of Slugathor bassist Jarno Nurmi, formerly of Desecresy and Nerlich also. It wasn’t until 2016 that Nurmi released this project’s full-length debut, Aṇaṅku. A slab of blackened death metal in the vein of Desecresy and with more than a little Cruciamentum in the mix, Aṇaṅku packed a decent punch into its pleasingly trim 30-minute run. Another six years slithered by before the reptile resumed its climb to the surface, appearing now for second full-length outing Hyperborean Folklore.” Snakes on a fjord.
“There are, of course, other styles of metal practiced here, but few Minnesota bands outside of black metal have enjoyed the critical acclaim that acts like False or Obsequiae or Minnesota-by-way-of-Kentucky transplant Panopticon have. Those who have been watching the local scene closely will tell you that Feral Light have turned some heads over the last few years around Minneapolis, not to mention abroad. Enough so, apparently, that their fourth full-length has secured the attentions of heavyweight Italian avant-black label I, Voidhanger.” Minnesota wild.
“Mixing styles ranging from black metal and doom, through post-metal and into trip-hop and noise, one certainly can’t deny Kreationist’s experimental bent. As the record’s heavier sections move between something approaching pummelling second wave black metal and a more symphonic, Cradle of Filth-like sound.” Coma of sounds.
