The neglected, forgotten children; that’s what this post is about. Full-lengths albums are the proud first-born, strutting about with muscular arms and a beautiful face. But EPs? Spotty and malnourished. Splits? Siamese twins preventing the other from fully developing. Singles? A crooked arm sticking out of its mother. Demos? Malformed afterbirth. I’m an advocate for equality and its high time that we recognize those which were impaired from the womb. Please give generously. – El Cuervo
Panopticon // Rune’s Heart – Transporting its listener from the comfort of their home to the fear, anger, and resilience of the parent of a child with an acute heart condition, “Rune’s Heart” is an emotionally and physically exhausting experience. Adopting the raw but dynamic, folk-infused black metal to which we have become accustomed by Panopticon, this single 18-minute track features some of the most intense music of the year and some of the best material in Austin Lunn’s quality discography. Though released as one half of a split with Nechochwen, this release deserves mention and merit on its own account. – El Cuervo
FM-84 // Maverick – Subtitled Atlas B Sides (a reference to the retrowave classic, Atlas) Maverick features one original track (the titular “Maverick”), and early versions of “Running in the Night” (“Fade”), “Atlas” and “Breathe.” Though it’s interesting to hear them, there’s a reason why these versions were developed, so it’s really “Maverick” which is the focal point here. Fortunately, it’s more than worth the price of admission on its own. Written following the release of Atlas, it would have been one of that album’s strongest tracks such as its lush expansiveness and joyous lead synth melody. The guitar accompaniment which shifts into a solo towards the conclusion is the icing on this lavish cake of synthwave. It’s a tasty morsel to sate my appetite for FM-84’s long overdue next album. – El Cuervo
Evoker // Evil Torment – You can’t escape where you’re from. Australian trio Evoker calls themselves death metal, yet I can’t help but hear a strong influence from their continent’s belligerent brand of blackened thrash. “Old Evil” and “Sacrilicious Lust” snarl and attack like vicious Nocturnal Graves tunes, which isn’t surprising given Graves’ Jarro Raphael handled production duties here. Meanwhile “Shackled to the Grave” and “From the Depths” show the group’s songwriting prowess is far beyond what you might expect given this is their debut EP. In all Evil Torment is feral and infectious. It establishes Evoker as a band to watch and is one of the best extreme metal EPs in recent memory. – Mark Z
Alustrium // Insurmountable – Insurmountable is Alustrium’s first release in five years, and half a decade after A Tunnel to Eden cemented them into the prog-death canon, the band is still a powerhouse. Combining an ear for hooks with a shrewd sense of composition, the band never fails to deliver songs that are both memorable and unpredictable. From the Character-era Dark Tranquillity riffs that open “Fated to Despair” to the defiant climax of “Insurmountable,” there’s not a moment wasted, and Jerry Martin’s articulate roars still deliver some of the most grounded and humanistic lyrics in death metal. While I would have love to hear a bit more of the Floydian experimentation of “Insurmountable” in the other three tracks, Insurmountable nonetheless delivers a powerful and succinct assurance that Alustrium are still kicking, and with any luck will deliver another LP soon. – Kronos
Skyryder // Vol. 2 – If you don’t like Skyryder, you don’t like metal. Fast and guitar-driven, stuffed with unforgettable hooks, huge solos, and earnest, unpolished vocals that exude raw talent are the hallmarks of their sophomore EP Vol. 2. I won’t bother naming bands Skyryder sounds like, but this is a mix of old speed metal, NWOBHM, and NWOTHM which accentuates the best parts of each. There are five songs here, and the least of them is merely great. Which specific song is the worst among five bona fide metal anthems? Don’t know, but it’s certainly not “Virtual Humanity” or “Take the Night,” my two frontrunners for Song o’ the Year. I can’t imagine anyone who loves old metal not being moved by what Skyryder has accomplished here. As far as music goes, this is the closest we’re getting to perfection in 2020. – Diabolus in Muzaka
Intoxicated // Walled – I found out about Intoxicated the way people used to — by looking at what shirts their favorite bands are wearing. When I watched Obituary playing Slowly We Rot in full via livestream, guitarist Ken Andrews was wearing an Intoxicated shirt so I checked them out post-haste. Walled did not disappoint. If Obituary decided to be a thrash metal band instead of, well, Obituary, they might have sounded like Intoxicated. Walled takes influence from the streetwise thrash of Bob Reid era Razor, and the vocals follow in those footsteps instead of John Tardy’s. If you want riffs, Intoxicated has ‘em by the boatload. Walled is also strikingly fun, but not in the obnoxious neon pizza way. Instead, it’s energetic, catchy, and has the confidence and everyman charm of Obituary. – Diabolus in Muzaka
Atræ Bilis // Divinihility – I dare you to spin “Sulphur Curtain” and not require one of those fancy braces that encircle your hip, mid-chest, and neck area with a cumbersome metal cage afterward. Go ahead, I’ll wait. I would have paid literal cash to see this EP be a full-length instead, as it would certainly have landed on my Top 10, but alas, I must settle for replaying “Phantom Veins Trumpet” seven times in a row and pretend this monster exceeds the traditional thirty-minute mark. Or maybe I’ll hit replay on “Ectopian” and revel in that sweet Riff o’ the Year-worthy main theme. Plus, just look at that artwork! Keep a close eye on Atræ Bilis, my friends. The next time you see them, expect great fucking death metal like this. – TheKenWord
Moonworshipper // 13 Fullmoon Nights of Loneliness – Now technically (and by technically, I mean, really), this was a 2019 release but, in light of what Dear Hollow got away with recently, and encouraged by our resident tech-mage Sentynel, I am going to plug it anyway. French oddity, Moonworshipper, play a brand of off-kilter, avant-garde black metal, incorporating elements of atmospheric doom, post-metal, and even jazz and trip-hop, with a mix of incredibly harsh, screamed male vocals and soaring female cleans. Playing out over a single 24-minute track, 13 Fullmoon Nights of Loneliness, is, as far as I can establish, Moonworshipper’s debut. It is also one of those rarities that pretty much defies classification but it certainly draws on influences like Manes and Ulver. This is truly a haunting, swirling pool of emotions and musical styles in which to lose yourself, perhaps even for a whole 13 Fullmoon Nights. – Carcharodon
Almyrkvi / The Ruins of Beverast // Split – You wouldn’t think that German blackened doom and Icelandic dissonant black metal would gel, but here we are. This formidable split opens with Almyrkvi’s dread-inducing “Asomatous Grove” and all-out assault “Managarmr,” enacting undeniably Icelandic style: impenetrably dissonant shreds through pitch-black sheets of obsidian and doom-bringing guttural vocals. The album’s centerpiece, The Ruins of Beverast’s “The Grand Nebula Pulse,” is arguably one of the strongest tracks released in von Meilenwald’s discography, fusing the earthen ritualism of Exuvia with the scorching blackened flavor of Unlock the Shrine or Rain Upon the Impure. It seems that TRoB’s closer “Hunters” sums up this split (that feels like a cohesive album) nicely with an unmistakeable hugeness, balanced out by tasteful dissonance and blackened precision. – Dear Hollow
Rejoice! The Light Has Come // Untitled EP – I fought Cherd like hell to do a write-up of Rejoice! The Light Has Come. This untitled debut is a stunning display of the use of dissonance as atmosphere. While undeniably blackened, R!TLHC seems to channel the great Gorguts at their most terrifying in a uniquely eerie interpretation of pitch-black atmosphere of Deathspell Omega or Esoctrilihum. A bite-sized 15-minute, two-track, and an intro affair with nearly liturgical and blasphemous flavors, it avoids the straight-up ballasts of Imperial Triumphant or Thantifaxath in favor of patient buildups, Ulcerate-esque rhythmic complexity, and huge riffs as climax. It may not be the perfect release but it’s one of the most tantalizing and evocative listens I’ve heard in a hot minute. Be on the lookout, because Rejoice! The Light Has Come — and it’s bringing hell with it. – Dear Hollow
Apparition // Granular Transformation – If you’re of a mind to summon some nasty, crawling death metal, then California’s Apparition deserve your attention. Capricious old school riffs and slicing transitions are the order of the day. If you’ve ever wondered what Morbid Angel by way of Finland would sound like, then Granular Transformation is the answer. The only real downside is the record’s brevity. Only two songs comprise the release, but they’re so full of occult filth that it’s hard to care. Here’s hoping a full-length is on the horizon. Until then, close your eyes and conjure riffs that sing for Elder Things. You won’t regret it. – Ferrous Bueller