Things You Might Have Missed 2018

Sargeist – Unbound [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

Sargeist – Unbound [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

“Like many of you, I respect the hardworking artists of the underground. Guys with main bands, side-projects, and loads of guest appearances. Black metal, in particular, is a genre full of artists like this. Shatraug is one. To the casual Finnish black metal fan, Shatraug is the guitarist for the mighty Horna. To others, he’s the man behind Gandr, Mortualia, and Necroslut, as well as guitarist for Hoath and Doedsvangr. And that only scratches the surface. The other band you might know Shatraug from is Sargeist. And their newest release, Unbound, might be their best to date.” A man of 50 shades.

Infernal Coil – Within a World Forgotten [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

Infernal Coil – Within a World Forgotten [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

“I have not seen the sun for ten days except through a haze of ash. A fire the size of Chicago has been burning for as long upwind of me. Every day I am breathing as dust the lives it destroyed. The fire will not reach me, but it will not stop burning soon. There has never been a fire like this one before. I can do nothing about it even though I fueled a tiny part of it every day of my life. I cannot stop the next fire. I cannot know when or where the next horrible thing will happen. But this has happened, this will happen, and this will get worse. Amid my guilt and powerlessness, I seek art that reflects life. Nothing could better match the ash entering my lungs than Infernal Coil’s Within a World Forgotten.” Music for days of fire.

Wolf King – Loyal to the Soil [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

Wolf King – Loyal to the Soil [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

Wolf King’s impressive debut LP Loyal to the Soil dropped back in April and marked the young Californian band as an act to watch. Vitriolic blackened hardcore sits at the core of Wolf King’s sound, with sludgy beat-downs and whiffs of grind fleshing out their confident and aggressive formula. Although by no means a pair of peas in a pod, there’re certainly some aesthetic and tonal similarities with Germany’s Mantar, with Wolf King arguably having the upper hand when comparing their 2018 releases.” Wolf King can do anything.

Coheed and Cambria – Vaxis – Act I: The Unheavenly Creatures [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

Coheed and Cambria – Vaxis – Act I: The Unheavenly Creatures [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

“What were you expecting, a metal review? Too bad. Coheed time. Back in 2005, the New York boys of Coheed and Cambria were immensely influential in my formative years as a rabid consumer of music. Though only a metal band in the loosest sense of the genre, the band’s emotionally explosive and instrumentally nuanced brand of progressive alt-rock undoubtedly laid the foundation for my formal induction into metal fandom only a year later. For better or for worse, they also ignited my critical spirit; the waning quality of C&C’s post-Good Apollo Vol. I output forced me to examine music with an unbiased ear, and helped turn me into the cynical shithead you see before you today.” Alien inwasion.

Solstice – White Horse Hill [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

Solstice – White Horse Hill [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

“I love to hear music from bands that faded away decades ago, only to come back with renewed fury. Satan, anyone? Sorcerer? The list goes on, and now we can add Solstice to it. Stylistically similar to Sorcerer and Khemmis, these venerable Brits put out a couple of albums in the 1990s before disappearing from the scene, only to reappear in 2013 with a comeback EP, Death’s Crown Is Victory. Immaculately recorded and arranged, the four songs presented were top-notch epic doom. And now, five years after that—and a full twenty after their last full-length—Solstice present us with White Horse Hill, and it is glorious.” Won’t you ride their White Horse?

Jo Quail – Exsolve [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

Jo Quail – Exsolve [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

“I love the cello. I don’t think there are any other instruments which offer the tonal range and gorgeous timbre a cello can. I also think it’s criminally underused in heavy music. Apocalyptica demonstrate it can sound metal as hell, yet otherwise it’s mostly limited to a few cameo appearances. This brings me to Jo Quail, experimental cellist, loop pedal wizard, and versatile session musician. Her own back catalog is largely a post-rock/modern classical blend, and after a year in which she’s supported acts like Myrkur, Amenra, Boris, and Winterfylleth, their influence clearly shows on her new record. With her sound evolving towards post-metal and atmospheric black metal, her new album is an interesting development.” Cello, my friends.

Henry Derek Elis – The Devil is My Friend [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

Henry Derek Elis – The Devil is My Friend [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

“We don’t get many promos for dark Southern Gothic Americana, but The Devil is My Friend by Henry Derek Elis definitely qualifies as such. Over the years Mr. Elis has performed on various side projects with members of The Swans and Megadeth, as well as fronting his own thrash band called Act of Defiance. This is a very different kind of music however, mixing old timey southern music with modern interpretations thereof like the recent works of Tom Waits and Clutch. Add an ominous metallic sheen and a penchant for dark subject matter, and you wind up with something quite intriguing and entertaining.” Way South of Heaven.

Slægt – The Wheel [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

Slægt – The Wheel [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

“When I was a pimply-faced, mullet-headed teenager-cat, I loved watching bands I followed grow and develop their trademark sounds over time and across albums. I did so with equal parts glee and trepidation. On one hand, it’s cool to see bands take their collective influences and morph them into something completely their own. On the other hand, some morphed themselves into a rather comfortable box to grow complacent inside of, settling into a familiar niche that, while successful, doesn’t allow much wiggle room for progression without alienating their fanbase. Case in point: while Denmark’s Slægt.” Evolution is tricky biness.

Hinayana – Order Divine [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

Hinayana – Order Divine [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

“I struggle to find a more nebulous concept in metal than an acceptable amount of influence. Where does worship end and rip-off begin? Does a sublime copycat deserve more praise than pretty good experimentation? Hinayana’s Order Divine is one of the best-executed melodeath records I’ve heard this year. Insomniumaniacs might assert that it is the least original.” Insom, losesom.