Refill #4: May

Yes, "May"

Wolf Rambatz

Jul 16, 2023

Still alive.

Highlights:

Everything I liked this month

ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Khanate - To Be Cruel (Sacred Bones)
From: New York, NY
Genre: doom / drone

Khanate returns to provide the soundtrack for anyone swinging a pickaxe at rock bottom. You know the deal: stretched-on-a-rack riffs, pained howls, lightning-strike flashes of percussion, and long stretches of near-silent void-staring that are heavier than most bands' loud bids for brutality. Of course, it has been a bit since you've heard the deal. After sitting on the sidelines for the duration of the undeniably heinous 2010s, this quartet's infamously agonizing drone doom might work even better now that we're stuck in the nuclear winter of reality imploding. Alan Dubin's hair-raising yell, which hasn't aged a bit, is certainly a good surrogate for my daily existential meltdowns, at least. But, while the times have changed, To Be Cruel is Khanate through and through, to the extent that its three songs marry the studio sonics of Clean Hands Go Foul to Khanate's listener-obliterating unpredictable crescendos.

Ascended Dead - Evenfall of the Apocalypse (20 Buck Spin)
From: San Diego, CA
Genre: death metal

Ascended Dead presents a fun what-if: What if Necrovore survived past legendary demohood? Evenfall of the Apocalypse, Ascended Dead's second full-length, even has a taste for the kind of Old Testament chaos that flowed through the original run of Angelcorpse, another band I tend to think of as a Necrovore-plus-more, black-and-death combiner. Indeed, Ascended Dead is ancient old death metal evil, when death, black, and thrash bubbled together in the same amoeba-colonized stew. That this band calls San Diego home, the ultra-pleasant land where weathermen retire, is funny. Are the Padres really this bad? Y'all are pissed! Kidding, but shout out to whatever made drummer Charles Koryn pound the hell out of his kit like the warranty is about to expire.

Bellum Mortis - The Woeful Steel (Ordo Vampyr Orientis)
From: United States
Genre: black metal

Hails, Bellum Mortis, a new black metal band from one of the best new black metal labels, Ordo Vampyr Orientis. (Yes, there are more 'BM's in that sentence than a paper penned by a prudish gastroenterologist.) Convening the talents of The Unsightly, The Unbound, The Rotten, and The Impaler, which are incidentally how I've been described by users on most dating apps, this two-song single recalls the meloblack/death pursuits of early Necrophobic if it were swathed in the purple-album-cover fog of a grim tremmer like Death Fortress.

Cadavoracity - Cadavoracity (Earsturbation Records)
From: Bekasi, West Java, Indonesia / Bangkok, Thailand
Genre: brutal death metal

In 2020, Cadavoracity, a band I've come to think of as Indonesia's Brodequin, upped its brutality with the addition of drummer Polwach Beokhaimook. The Thai multi-instrumentalist has been in these pages often for his contributions to Biomorphic Engulfment, Cystgurgle, Ecchymosis, Smallpox Aroma, Theurgy, and Urged. That list only represents 32 percent of his current active exploits. No sleep 'til slams; truly our kind of sicko. That's not to say the other Cadavoracity members are slouching. Bassist/guitarist Januaryo Hardy is also in a ton of bands and has probably mixed and mastered one of your favorite BDMers. Anyway, like Beokhaimook's Ecchymosis, when Cadavoracity is moving, it feels unstoppable. It's the Earl Campbell of gooey death metal, stiff-arming you with blasts, chugs, or squiggly anti-leads.

Cronos Compulsion - Malicious Regressions (Caligari Records)
From: Denver, CO
Genre: death metal

Like its past works and those of its relations, Cronos Compulsion's newest EP, Malicious Regression, is raw, brutish, and pure death metal, often sounding like a spiked club in the hands of a Neanderthal. But, unlike many throwbacks with dirt burns on their knuckles, Cronos Compulsion's riffs don't sound like you're paging through a history book. Check out the ending of "Sacred Butchery," which grooves with slammified intent. Also, closer "Consumed by Malignant Spirit," with its slowly patient buildups, has a bit of that Finnish-style 'is it death/doom?' gnarliness.

Garoted - Bewitchment of the Dark Ages (Lavadome Productions)
From: Kansas City, KS
Genre: death metal

"Judas Priest is the best metal band in the world," guitarist Drew Frerking said to the Daily Nebraskan in 2014, explaining what unified the members' of Garoted's diverse musical tastes. "We can all agree on that." And, if you think of Bewitchment of the Dark Ages, the band's fourth full-length, as the "Painkiller" of this type of death metal, I think that makes a lot of sense. Because, goddamn, this album tears shit up. Built upon the template laid down by Deicide's Legion, the quartet rages through classic death metal passages with an uncommon meanness and muscularity. This isn't some OSDMer going through the motions on the weekend. Garoted grimaces like it's a lifer thirsting for more adrenaline, and the only thing keeping its heart pumping is faster riffs.

Hexenschorf - Certain Rapture (Fiadh Productions / All of the Blood)
From: Cherry Hill, NJ
Genre: black metal

At the helm of Hexenschorf is Nicholas Hertzberg, a prolific explorer of extreme styles in many genres. Hertzberg hit me up a couple months back about All of the Blood, a catch-all Bandcamp for the artist's metallic experiments, and Wet Cassettes, a label that presses "weird dirty music for weird dirty people." I recommend both. If you like Plague Rage's scope of coverage, I feel pretty comfortable writing that you'll like what Hertzberg releases.

Anyway, it was nice to see Hexenschorf land on the always-reliable Fiadh Productions. Certain Rapture is raw black metal in the classic sense, pushing its levels into the red. The simplicity has a pleasing punkiness, like if The Germs survived long enough to be ensorcelled by Bathory. But, unlike some raw black metal that's only "raw" because its makers didn't want to put effort into their material, Certain Rapture is rich with solid hooks and everything is executed well. Cool stuff.

Kostnatení - Úpal (Willowtip Records)
From: Minneapolis, MN
Genre: black metal

Úpal is not an album experience that can be easily condensed into a blurb. I know this very well. When I wrote about it for the Black Market, I went through about 10 drafts, and I don't think I came close to explaining Úpal's essence. Part of that is because Kostnatení has created such a sprawling masterwork of a guitar-focused album. The inspired will be inspired; this will fuel the creations of the inspired for a long time. Heck, forget the guitar. Black metal drummers could do a lot worse than studying Andrew Lee's performance on this album. The struggle, then, is explaining all of that in a few words, and, while I think my one-liner explanation still fits, "Imagine if an over-caffeinated !T.O.O.H.! circa Pod vládou biče became obsessed with exploring Middle Eastern and African progressions," I really just wanted to timestamp certain riffs and write essays about them. And that's the other thing. Main-person D.L. has made an album that's so pleasurable to listen to if you've listened to a lot of metal. That's by design. "I want the heaviest parts of the album to make listeners feel the way extreme metal felt to me as a young teenager — legitimately deranged, dangerous, and sublime — before I had heard a couple thousand different metal albums and learned enough guitar and music theory to always understand what the band was doing behind the scenes," D.L. told Invisible Oranges. You can't unpack that in a blurb, but you can get close just by listening to Úpal.

Krallice - Porous Resonance Abyss (P2)
From: New York, NY
Genre: black metal

At this point, Krallice could release an album titled with my social security number, and I'd still write about it and be like, Hell yeah, support the Cave! So, yeah. Realize that I'm a mark and calibrate accordingly. Porous Resonance Abyss continues the rise of Keyboard Krallice. It's a 43-minute, four-part suite that sounds like the next chapter of the band voyaging through space. It also seems divisive. Again, I understand the 'make Mick Barr play guitar again' complaints. But, I don't know, I kind of love Porous Resonance Abyss because what other band has made this kind of journey? Like, once the dust settles and Krallice is dunzo, this part of its discography is going to be a great section to binge. Anyway, if you buy the album on Bandcamp, you get a bonus rehearsal of Krallice working through Darkthrone's "Earth's Last Picture," which begins with the classic Fenriz/Ted line, "We sail the seas, of negativity/ to banish kindness from this place." Sounds like every comment section on the internet.

Liquid Flesh - Dolores (Time to Kill Records)
From: Grenoble, France
Genre: death metal

Death metal with a rock flavor that isn't full-on death 'n' roll. That's how I hear Dolores, the third album from this French trio with members of Demenseed, Nightmare, and Epitaphe. And that's kind of the thing: Liquid Flesh experiments with death metal within the confines of death metal. Take a track like "Océan de Failles," which opens with a fun stylistic departure: noirish chugs. And yet, it is death metal. It is all death metal, cut with only the essence of other genres. Later Pungent Stench is a decent good comparison, but Liquid Flesh isn't as gross. It also isn't as sloppy as horror-obsessed death metal tends to be (I'm using the old Razorback Recordings roster as a baseline). Finally, while this album is moody, it doesn't slip into the melodrama of frillier death/doom. Dolores is death metal, death metal, and death metal. Think of the album that could've come between Clandestine and Wolverine Blues with just a touch of black metal creeping in from the shadows. But, you know, death metal.

Jeromes Dream - The Gray In Between (Iodine Recordings)
From: San Francisco, CA
Genre: screamo

By improving upon 2019's LP, a comeback album that wasn't well-received (I thought it was fine), The Gray In Between restores Jeromes Dream to its prior prominence. As one of the great screamo bands following the first wave, the original run of this Connecticut trio dealt in grindy chaos and mathy chugs connected by gales of amp feedback. Jeff Smith's screeching vocals also became a hallmark, especially if you caught the band live. If you need a history lesson, peep the Orchid split or, if you're on a smoke break, "Its More Like a Message to You" from the great Seeing Means More Than Safety. Or, heck, just jump into The Gray In Between. Although Loma Prieta guitarist Sean Leary has replaced Nick Antonopoulos, this 10-song set sounds remarkably close to the band's classic material. While some of the purposeful antagonism of youth has been sanded away by experience and replaced by a greater emphasis on connection (I'm not sure younger Jeromes Dream would've made "Pines on the Hill (With Guests)" so contemplative; not a bad thing by any means), The Gray In Between is still a loud, uncompromising, bracing listen. Keep raging, Jeromes Dream.

Nightmarer - Deformity Adrift (Total Dissonance Worship / Vendetta Records)
From: Portland, OR
Genre: death metal

Nightmarer continues to sound a step ahead of the rest of modern death metal. Deformity Adrift slaps Koloss-style chugs atop an Obscura skeleton in a way that would fit in with Zeitgeister's oeuvre. Sure, some other bands inhabit this space, but Nightmarer plays this stuff with panache while wringing a maximum amount of atmosphere out of its progressions. Example: The Simon Hawemann/Keith Merrow guitar tandem is such a fascinating team-up of corrosive chonk and technical ability. And now with Brendan Sloan (Convulsing, Altars) on bass, Nightmarer feels darker and brighter in equal measure. A month after blurbing them, I think the tech doom tracks are still the songs to become obsessed with, but the entire album is a compelling listen. Put it on, crank the volume, sit back, and lose yourself within it.

Perfumed Saturnine Angels - Saccharine Curses Exhaled in the Wind (Zegema Beach Records / Santapogue Media)
From: Dallas, TX
Genre: screamo

RIP, Brandon Nurick. I only interacted with Nurick online a little bit, but his passion and enthusiasm for music were undeniable. Saccharine Curses Exhaled in the Wind started out as a collaboration between Nurick and Garry Brents (Cara Neir, Homeskin, Gonemage, Memorrhage, Sallow Moth, and many more). I'm glad Brents finished it, tapping Dave Norman (The World That Summer, Our Future Is An Absolute Shadow) to sing. (Kosmogyr's Ivan Belcic grabs a mic on "Stigmatized.") The resulting work is a hard-charging take on modern screamo that gnashes its teeth with crusty intensity.

Petrale - Salvation Precipitates (self-released)
From: Croatia
Genre: black metal

I was previously unfamiliar with Petrale, a solo black metal band with an intriguing lyrical theme breakdown on Encyclopaedia Metallum: "Manifestations of the Devil in a rural Mediterranean Catholic area." Considering that most themes are condensed to vague umbrella terms like "hate" or "metal," seeing a sentence, and a specific one at that, is really something. And Salvation Precipitates, the band's seventh full-length over the past six years, is worth the words. Sonically, Petrale is like a bridge between '80s and '90s black metal. A ton of eightiesisms are present, especially in the rhythm section. But the guitars burn with that hanging-drone malevolence. What makes Petrale really interesting is the injection of post-punk that reminds me of the abstract tendencies of Lugubrum. I'm not into a lot of orthodox black metal in the classic mold these days, but I am very into Petrale, which is the best endorsement I can bestow upon Salvation Precipitates.

Shitstorm - Only in Dade (ALT MIA, Malokul Industries)
From: Miami, FL
Genre: grind

I can't believe this band is still going. Miami-style grind, baby. 27 tracks, with the longest clocking in at 55 seconds, nearly double the next longest track. This is pell-mell mayhem that focuses on the core in grindcore. Think Infest if it lived in the same trash pile as Tyranny of Shaw. The trio, which expands into a quartet for live dates, doesn't have time for anything that isn't an onslaught. Only in Dade is only wall-to-wall blasts. Anyway, for newbies who have yet to get destroyed by these Dade denizens, you probably know Rick Smith and Jonathan Nuñez from Torche. Same kind of crush, different kind of experience.

Shredded - Simex Erasure (P2)
From: Richmond, VA
Genre: death metal

Shredded's full-length debut came and went with little fanfare. Shame because this rips. Shredded's closest comparison is probably Commit Suicide, the cult Willowtip band that never got its due. Like that brutalizer, Shredded is a mean death metal blaster with powerful drumming that I think is still courtesy of Keith Abrami. (PR for this one was so scant that I'm piecing together clues from a P2 video description. Take attribution with a grain of salt from here on out.) Guitarist Pete Gallagher also cooks up a ton of neat riffs. I especially like the ones that nearly tumble into melodicism. They're beautiful in the same way someone holding a knife capturing the gleam of a full moon might be beautiful. Bottom line, if you like death metal from the early 2000s, you'll be into Shredded. Even the album art, which is bad in a great way, fondly recalls the era.

Spastic Tumor - Autopsy Exploitation (self-released)
From: Toronto, Canada
Genre: goregrind

You got to give it to them: they know how to title an album. So here we go, the "d-beat raw gore" aficionados have returned with even more grossness. The deal with Autopsy Exploitation is that every song is over five minutes, with the longest clocking in at eight. That gives the duo ample time to riff, which remains their strongest asset. Needless to say, that makes the extra-long "Symphonies for Grind-Gutting Regurgitation of a Decomposed Gastrointestinal Tract, Resulting in Vomitfied Tumorous Necropsy" the undeniable highlight because it contains more riffs, kind of like how a double order is always. Because who cares about tomorrow when you can riff today? Henry agrees.

Suffering Quota - Collide (Lower Class Kids Records / 7Degrees Records / Tartarus Records)
From: Groningen, Netherlands
Genre: grind

What if a punk band wanted to be nowadays Napalm Death? That's the one-liner for the sticker, but Suffering Quota ends up closer to early Burnt by the Sun minus John Adubato's chuggeration. Still, that's a cool place to be, and when Suffering Quota sounds extra furious, Collide is a killer.

Thunraz - Revelation (Planetary King Records)
From: Tallinn, Estonia
Genre: black metal / death metal / industrial

Shout out to Madis Jalakas for hipping me to this. Revelation, Thunraz's second album, is like if Assuck got super into then-contemporary Czech and Polish death metal. That is to say, Jalakas has Steve Heritage's throat-searing roar and gears-of-the-machine riffs. But there's a wild experimental streak running through Revelation that reminds me of Appalling Spawn, Contrastic, and Non Opus Dei, and the like. Off-kilter rhythms, bizarro chugs, and a dark brutality that feels more real and rawer. Joining Jalakas for this journey is drummer Jared Moran, which means, yes, Jalakas went to Jared. Moran's loose, natural playing is a good fit. It also makes Thunraz a solid recommendation if you're into any of the many bands that count Moran as a member, such as Filtheater or Acausal Intrusion.

Ukakuja - Ōmukade (The Centipede Abyss)
From: International
Genre: black metal / death metal / experimental

Hello, Lori Bravo. The Nuclear Death screamer pushes her already out-there vocals to the limit across these nine tracks that sound like Portal had a transporter accident and materialized inside Ruins. The rest of Ukakuja, an all-star assortment of weirdos that includes Taylor Belangor (The Idiot Flesh), Pan Inentropy (Act of Entropy), Ni Nthentropy (Zvylpwkua), and, in back-to-back blurbs, Jared Moran (many), cook up frenzied, Lovecraftian chaos. Ukakuja always feels like it's between styles in the pocket dimension sense. Be it metal, prog, psych, or noise, it's where elder horrors writhe. And Bravo gives an appropriately multi-faceted performance, growling, moaning, singing, chirping, or whatever else proves to be the creepiest vocal for the moment.

Usnea - Buried in Light (Translation Loss)
From: Portland, OR
Genre: doom / death/doom

Usnea is pissed. "'From Soot and Pyre' aims its rage at the wreckage that human life has visited upon our Earth through capitalism, climate change, resource extraction, and war," guitarist Justin Cory told Decibel about the lead single from the band's fourth full-length. "It was especially poignant to us here in the Pacific Northwest when the forests were burning all around us in 2020 and 2021 and the air was literally poisonous." It would be too easy, then, to say that Buried in Light burns with the unforeseeable fury of a forest fire. But it's hard to think of another way to describe each song's aural inferno. Whether crawling dronefully or blasting through a swirl of tones, Usnea radiates wrath. When society seems so blind to inequities, it may need a firestorm to purify. At the very least, the sonic equivalent is pretty therapeutic. Some stray cleans keep me from really loving this one, but when it hits, it hits.

Yurei - Ad Aqua (self-released)
From: Oslo, Norway
Genre: prog / post-rock

For anyone who has missed the airy, guitar-focused obscurity of later Virus, Ad Aqua will fill that hole. Not only does Yurei have the provenance — Bjeima, a member of Manimalism and Delirium Bound, additionally worked on multiple Virus releases — but it nails the vibe. Tracks like "Akrotiris Tårer," with its twisty structures that are allowed to shine thanks to the spartan production, sound like Television trying to describe an Edward Gorey drawing via riffs. And there are so many details to notice, a lot of which are hidden in plain sight (hearing?) by the coolness of the entire package. Indeed, this is a ruminative record for 'round midnight. That may lose a lot of my red-hot metallers and goo fiends, but if you like the journey, this is such a cool way to take it. Hat tip, as always, to Rennie's newsletter for bringing this to my attention.

Check out my favorite metal albums of the year on RateYourMusic.

People Like ‘Em:

Stuff I'm on the fence about, mostly because I haven’t listened to it enough, but is still worth sharing

Couple changes to this section:

I'm going to make more of an effort to listen to these albums so I can provide actual details instead of being like, "Aw shucks, guess I didn't get to this one, lol.”
I'm going to punt some of the May releases to June because I’m tired of this newsletter sitting in my drafts.

Black Viper - Volcanic Lightning (Edged Circle Productions)
From: Oslo, Norway
Genre: speed metal

Since Black Viper's excellent 2018 Hellions of Fire, the Norwegian speedster has slimmed down to a trio, losing guitarist Arild Myren Torp (Abhorration, Nekromantheon, Obliteration) and bassist Christoffer Bråthen (Avmakt, Black Magic, Condor, many others). Shame. That's a lot of firepower. And, as a lifelong Condor mark, I liked that this band had Unstoppable Power DNA. Filling the vacancies are longtime Black Viper drummer Cato Stormoen (Deathhammer), who adds guitars to his duties, and newbie Marcus Bøe, who takes over on bass. Consisting of only one non-instrumental original, I don't think there's enough of a sample size present on Volcanic Lightning to judge whether these transactions are good or bad. However, the six-minute title track is a serviceable slice of speed metal, like if Running Wild sold the boat and bought a motorcycle after hearing Savage Grace.

Blindfolded and Led to the Woods - Rejecting Obliteration (Prosthetic Records)
From: Christchurch, New Zealand
Genre: death metal

Look, even for death metal, the name sucks. Death metal has a band name bar lower than a buried landfill containing Six Feet Under CDs, and Blindfolded and Led to the Woods doesn't clear it. (It's a holdover from its early deathcore days, which I point out as the deathcore sleight it is intended to be.) The outfit now sits much closer to tech-y, brainy brawlers like Disentomb or fellow New Zealanders Ulcerate, that being bands blessed with a jaw-dropping technical ability used to further a strain of omnicore-ish modern death metal. However, unlike the output of either of those bands, Rejecting Obliteration, Blindfolded and Led to the Woods's fourth full-length, is also kind of post-hardcore? It makes more sense when you hear the middle of opener "Monolith," a stretch that's like if Misery Signals wanted to impress Psycroptic.

Botanist - VIII: Selenotrope (Prophecy Productions)
From: San Francisco, CA
Genre: black metal

Botanist is a band I appreciate more than I enjoy. Otrebor's hammered dulcimer? One of the coolest things in metal, especially considering his artistry on the instrument easily elevates Botanist beyond simply being blogcore. But the music never really did it for me. What I've heard of VIII: Selenotrope suggests this isn't the album that will turn me around, either. It's good for what it is, and I like that the oft-whispered vocals dip into Dornenreich territory, but I find the stateliness of much of the material to be too bright for my tastes.

Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean - Obsession Destruction (Redscroll Records)
From: Springfield, MA
Genre: doom / sludge

Blogging in the 2000s made me incredibly picky about sludge. Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean reminds me of Grief if that band were a little easier to listen to and wore its heart on its sleeve more. Me being picky: Not into it. For what it's worth, I think Obsession Destruction, Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean's second full-length, implements its ideas more successfully than the band's past material. But, in the same way Thou doesn't do much for me, this collective doesn't, either. Needs to be grittier. Needs to be heavier. Needs to be...more. But hey, to each their own. This may be more than enough.

Concilium - Sky Bvrial (Sentient Ruin Laboratories)
From: Portugal
Genre: black metal / death metal

Sentient Ruin has a type. While the Oakland, CA-based label has built a rich roster that encompasses many styles, from the horrifying goo of Miscarriage to post-industrial mechanized mayhem of 8 Hour Animal to the heavy metal mysticism of Shadows, Sentient Ruin's go-to is a band that falls somewhere between black metal and death metal, typically one that prioritizes heaving riffs and an apocalyptic atmosphere that's like if someone handed a vengeful god a flamethrower. That's pretty much what you get with this trio, whose members have links to many bands in the Portuguese underground. (The most notable might be Irae, but keep in mind that I should never be asked to be the arbiter of notability.) These days, Sky Bvrial isn't my thing, but Sentient Ruin knows what it likes, and those who like Sentient Ruin will like this.

Dead Chasm - Sublimis Ignotum Omni (FDA Records)
From: Italy
Genre: death metal

Dead Chasm is at its best when it blasts. In that respect, the sturdy Italian spud counting members from Psychotomy, Fuoco Fatuo, and Perfidious is in the Diabolical Conquest-era Incantation zone. I wouldn't call Dead Chasm an Inclonetation, though. No, while its energy is derived from the contrast of blasts and slowdowns, both elements give this band greater sonic dimension than most murky cave dwellers that have xeroxed Incantation for inspiration. But, to be clear, the thrill is hearing the band dropping the hammer and getting speedy. Blast makes best.

Endless Mutation - Demo II (self-released)
From: Charlestown, RI
Genre: death metal

On drums and guitar: Meat. On guitar, bass, and vocals: Bones. Is it goo? It is not. It's "old school death metal" that reminds me of early Morbus Chron, i.e., a twisted variant on the primordial stuff back when it was still rife with thrash riffs. In my opinion, the best part of this demo is when "Casket Vision" gets chunkier and barfier, but I would say that.

Esoctrilihum - Astraal Constellations of the Majickal Zodiac (I, Voidhanger Records)
From: France
Genre: black metal

Asthâghul's ultra-prolific black metal project drops the most Esoctrilihum release yet: a triple album. Yep, that's two hours and 10 minutes of Esoctrilihum. Nope, no thanks. I've liked some of Asthâghul's occult-obsessed onslaughts before, mostly in short stretches, but it has never clicked on an album level. I'm not spending two hours to see if it clicks now. That's like getting married to determine if you're ready to date. Also, the "Majickal Zodiac"? C'mon. Choosing that title to adorn a triple album doesn't challenge my theory that astrology is sports for narcissists.

Genital Shame - Gathering My Wits (The Garrote)
From: Pittsburgh, PA
Genre: black metal

Gathering My Wits' sense of freedom, in that it's not moored to a specific template, something particularly endemic within the general atmo black1 side of metal, is dope. "Gay Bar Bleach" is DSBM if it were commandeered by Julia. The rest of the EP travels down similarly unexpected terrain. The highlight for me is "Enoch Dress," which is like Jute Gyte navigating '90s Integrity. I don't know if any of my comparisons are actual influences, but the fact that Genital Shame gets me anywhere near 'em is pretty cool. Looking forward to listening to this one more.

Gonemage - Astral Corridors (self-released)
From: Dallas, TX
Genre: black metal / chiptune

While the forthcoming Memorrhage [which is out now, sorry this took so long - Ed.] is deservedly getting a lot of buzz, the always-busy Garry Brents released another Gonemage album in the meantime. Astral Corridors applies chiptune to metal in a way that so thoroughly Eurosteps my expectations. "Dream Surfing in the Astral Corridors" goes hard because of the bloops, not despite them.

Immortal - War Against All (Nuclear Blast)
From: Bergen, Norway
Genre: black metal

Against all odds, everything came together on 2018's Northern Chaos Gods. Demonaz, fresh off a lengthy DL stint, sounded refreshed. Horgh, in typical blasting fashion, horgh'd out. Peter Tägtgren crafted the ideal late-Immortal production, providing the stinging blizzard blasts with an avalanche-esque rumbling low end. That album ripped. War Against All doesn't rip. It sounds perfunctory. It sounds like homework. Hell, now that Demonaz is engaged in a legal battle on two different fronts over the rights to the band name, I can't rule out that War Against All is a legal gambit akin to whatever Warren Beatty is doing to maintain control of Dick Tracy's corpse. The best tracks, such as "Thunders of Darkness" and "No Sun," sound like Northern Chaos Gods B-sides. Again, those are the highlights. You're mostly stuck with plodding snoozers like "Wargod," which highlight precisely what doesn't work with this iteration of Immortal. Kevin Kvåle's drumming is a pale approximation of Horgh's horsepower. Ice Dale's production is more prog presets than ravishing grimness. Demonaz's scream is strangely brittle, like an icicle in spring. If this is your first brush with Immortal, War Against All is fine. Welcome to black metal. If you've ever set foot in the kingdom of Blashyrkh before, you will only be underwhelmed. (Also, how many times are we going to close an album with something like "Blashyrkh My Throne"? It has all of the drama of a basketball game ending with free throws.) As much as I bemoan solo Abbath's pirate Kiss abominations, at least those have a pulse and a point of view that is looking somewhat forward. War Against All is just a worse version of the last one. The fact that this is the album where Immortal almost stumbled into a trifecta is regrettable. Yes, people seem to like it, but don't say I didn't warn you.

Kalmah - Kalmah (Ranka Kustannus)
From: Pudasjärvi, Finland
Genre: melodeath

The last time I listened to a new Kalmah album for any length of time was The Black Waltz. That's not a knock on these long-running melodeathers with a dash of powah, but I think it's important to note that I have zero idea if this self-titled release is a change of pace or more of the same. With that out of the way, Kalmah's ninth album sounds like a more modern take on the band's early run. Like, I don't think I missed much between this and The Black Waltz. Not a put down! Considering melodeath's desire to divebomb into the depths of heinousness, I mean that as a compliment. Good if you're in the mood for it.

Left to Starve - Vapaj za mogućim (Rope or Guillotine)
From: Karlovac, Croatia
Genre: doom / sludge

I want to like this so bad. Vapaj za mogućim has an intriguing concept. "Following the success of their latest release," the Bandcamp liner notes state, referring to Left to Starve's acclaimed 2019 LP, Nikada se nisam bojao zmija, "Left to Starve recorded a new album in 2021, which reflects the band's habitualness/daily grind within the transitional postsocialist context of Croatia which can be described as an Achilles paradox, where the supposed enhancement of everyday life always escapes the footsteps of transition." Into it. However, while heavy as hell, these riffs don't feel like they're going anywhere. Sure, that's might make for a good thematic analog for the drudgery of a cycle you can't break out of, but something about the unrelenting trudge doesn't click for me. Whenever I encounter one of these bands that takes a heavy-first approach, I think of the great Toadliquor. That band could do painful doom ensludgenment like no one's business. But what set it apart were memorable moments of cathartic crescendos. You know, tension derived from pushes and pulls, and other good byproducts of solid songwriting? Vapaj za mogućim is a leaden stride to nowhere. (Granted, it might’ve fared better if it wasn't released the same month as a Khanate comeback.) Again, that too-heavy-to-move inertness might be the point. And I have a feeling this would come alive in a live setting where a listener can be bathed in deafening distortion. But I have a hard time recommending this over the similar-sounding Hell.

Mass Culture - Barren Point (self-released)
From: Αθήνα, Greece
Genre: post-metal / sludge

While Mass Culture didn't wow me like Ypres or Remote Viewing, Barren Point is more interesting than I would've expected from the genre tags alone. Hello, post-metal. This album, the band's second, doesn't break free from the expected post-metalisms: Yes, Isis makes up much of Mass Culture's sound. But the more core-based moments leading into hypnotic churns are easy on the ears. That is to say, Mass Culture makes the right moves. It's entirely possible that I'm just hitting the nostalgia zone with post-metal, desperate to hear the music of my youth as I hurtle toward the grave. Or, uh, Mass Culture is good. Let me know?

Metal Church - Congregation of Annihilation (Rat Pak Records)
From: Aberdeen, WA
Genre: thrash / heavy metal

The first Metal Church album after Mike Howe's passing riffs a pretty good riff. Marc Lopes, who has been singing on the last few Ross the Boss albums, takes the mic for this thrashy, powered-up set of heavy metal. While I'd love to be hearing Howe, Lopes does well, giving his lungs a workout on songs like "All That We Destroy." Sole remaining OG Kurdt Vanderhoof writes a banger of a hook in that one, showcasing his flexibility as a songsmith.

The Ocean - Holocene (Pelagic Records)
From: Berlin, Germany
Genre: post-metal

I tapped out on The Ocean ages ago because I was so burned out on post-metal. Holocene is the first offering from this collective that I have listened to in years. It's...not bad, but I recognize this is extremely not my thing. A Chris Cornell-type fronting Leprous is the vibe I get, which is probably a hell of a sell for someone. Anyway, if the vocals don't do anything for you, there's an instrumental version available. Either way, I found that the material made for a good background listen but didn't offer me much when I tried to dig into it. Really, for this stuff to click for me, it requires a detailed breakdown done by someone with a more expansive musical vocabulary than my own. (Admittedly, that's a low bar. If you can find C on a keyboard without trying five keys first, you're there.) So what am I missing?

Shadows - Out for Blood (Sentient Ruin Laboratories)
From: Santiago, Chile
Genre: heavy metal

No shade to Shadows, but I didn't log enough listens to have an opinion about Out for Blood. What I heard sounded good. I'm sure this duo is sick of the comparison, but its full-length debut reminds me of Unto Others' heavy metal/goth hybrid. What sets it apart is that Shadows has more of a snarling street-level strut instead of being a morose empath for sad, lonely dragons or whatever. There's also a smidgen of black metal bite here and there. I wouldn't be surprised if this was an EOY contender for many outlets.

I owe you blurbs for Morkera, Olkoth, Óreiða, Phlebotomized, Sacred Outcry, Savage Grace, Seeping Protoplasm, Serotonin Leakage, Thanatomass, Thulcandra, Trespass, Tygers of Pan Tang, Victory Over the Sun, and Yakuza. All of those will go next edition.

How’d I Miss This?:

Stuff that I missed

Jenovavirus - Demo #1 (Dissonant Tapes)
From: Onojo, Japan
Genre: brutal death metal

Years ago, I wrote a piece about metal reissues. The frame was Jenovavirus's mythical 2006 demo that was only available as a stupidly expensive CD-R via the Discogs reseller market and an appropriately bad-sounding upload on YouTube. Now, I know what you're thinking. However, unlike many "lost," "legendary" death metal demos, this Japanese slammer's music lived up to its mysteriousness, slathering on the weirdness atop bizarro chugs. I mean, just listen to those vocals. It was a strange, wild ride, and I lamented that no label seemed interested in repressing it.

Well, lo and behold, Jenovavirus's work has finally been uploaded to Bandcamp. It's worth your time, which, as a friend said, is an incredible thing to say about a release with a song titled "Sex Eyes Baby." But even that clunker of a title can't diminish the rippage. Nope, it's undeniable: Demo #1 delivers.

Bandcamp Hauls:

Stuff I bought that doesn't fit into the above sections

*Album art photos by Justin Smith and Kosmorama*

Anadol - Hatıralar (Pingipung)
From: Berlin, Germany
Genre: synth pop

Before Anadol's Gözen Atila explored the musique concrète cosmos on 2022's Felicita, the Berlin-based Turkish musician worked within the realm of synth pop. Sort of. Atila's 2018's breakout Uzun Havalar is synth pop in the sense that there are synths and it's catchy, and, if you want to go there, it's somewhat inspired by popular music forms such as Turkish tavern music, but it also had an outsider, proggish mindset. At the time, the liner notes compared the project "Bruce Haack and The Space Lady," which made sense, but Uzun Havalar felt so singular, a transmission from the avant-garde from an artist with their own voice. I still recommend it to people who want an invigorating shot of something new.

Hatıralar, recorded in 2012, is closer to synth pop. The younger Atila, who studied music in an academic capacity, was trying to break free from the strictures of "serious music." Synth pop proved to be a suitable conduit. Naturally, as Anadol was just beginning to plot its musical path, Hatıralar isn't quite as fleshed out as Uzun Havalar. But its simplicity is appealing. Played on "mini organs manufactured during the 70s and 80s," these songs, which have been freshened up by Atila for this re-release, are a glimpse at an artist just starting to creatively terraform their world.

Ayami Suzuki - Passages (Lontano Series)
From: Tokyo, Japan
Genre: ambient

If you've spent time perusing this section before, you're probably familiar with Lontano Series, the label releasing ambient, new age, and modern classical at bargain prices. Passages is classic Lontano. Suzuki is an expert at ethereal washes of tones, especially the pretty "Mugenkaidan," which does cool things with voice and reverb. Per the artist, "Passages is a journey through a transformative process that leads to a place where memories are gathered."

Aya Metwalli and Calamita - Al Saher (Zehra)
From: Lebanon
Genre: prog

Even though I can preview nearly anything ever recorded with just a few clicks, I still buy stuff blind all the time. Case in point, this description from the German label Zehra was too good to pass up: "CALAMITA = KARKHANA members TONY ELIEH, SHARIF SEHNAOUI and Lebanese drummer MALEK RIZKALLAH join forces with the Egyptian singer AYA METWALLI - the result is the improbable meeting between free jazz / improv, punk rock & Oum Kalthoum!" Sold! And after many listens, I can say that most of that Zehra's appraisal is more or less correct. Metwalli's impassioned vocals bend and quiver like heat haze in an Umm Kalthum kind of way. The rest of Al Saher reminds me of experimental sound explorers like early Can, delighting in making a racket driven forward by strong rhythms.

The Cabs - First Incident (Zankyo Record)
From: Saitama, Japan
Genre: math rock

The Cabs, back again. I'm slowly making my way through the math rocker's discography. First Incident, translated sometimes as "The First Action," is the band's first mini album from 2011. (I covered the other one, Kaiki Suru Kokyu, in a previous newsletter.) Like all good how-do-you-dos, it bursts with live-wire energy, giving the band's twinkle shred a punkier edge. Think Midwest emo if it spent all summer touring with Saetia.

Daryl Johns - "Gabriel" (Mac’s Record Label)
From: Los Angeles, CA
Genre: jazz rock

One of my favorite songs of the year. Daryl Johns is probably best known as a bassist who has gigged with Mac DeMarco and Vijay Iyer, among others. "Gabriel" is Johns' first release on DeMarco's label, and it's a beautiful slice of jazzy shred that sparkles like refracted sunlight on a pond. Imagine if early Pat Metheny signed with Windham Hill. What I love is how Johns keeps cycling through variations, like he's searching for the perfect riff. The other Johns appearance from this year is similarly intriguing: Pedro Martins's "Polos" with pianist Chris Fishman. We'll probably get to that album in a future newsletter.

Dorotheo - Nada Escrito (Half Shell Records)
From: Tapatío, Mexico
Genre: psych rock

Dorotheo's sublime Como Es was one of my favorite albums of 2021. Here, I'll prove it:

This is a long, indulgent windup to write that Dorotheo is doing some magical shit on its LP debut, Como Es. I can't convincingly describe the psych-y, proggy Tapatío duo's qualities, but, man, have I delighted in them. For example, it's hard to explain, but if you live in a place where you're frequently pummeled by wind, you already know how "Alba Rosa," Como Es's opener, feels. The six-minute mind-expander has a windswept-ness to it. Benjamín Zárate's guitars and synths are like a steady breeze with occasional gusts. Otto Malgesto's drumming jazzily pokes and prods the riffs along, utilizing a loping shuffle that's the aural equivalent of a tumbleweed rolling across the sand. Real neat.

Look at that: back when I was a good writer. Anyway, Nada Escrito fills out the duo with new players: Cyn Estevez (voice, synths, flute, clarinet), Anton Cerda (bass, vocals), Efraín Valadez (synths), and Vicco (guitars). Interestingly, even with more cooks in the kitchen, Dorotheo sounds more stripped down and wide open now. If Como Es is a windy desert during the day, Nada Escrito is a quiet desert at night. I don't think I'm going to beat NPR's comparison as "a band with the hauntological cool of Broadcast and Stereolab," so I'll defer to Lars Gotrich on this one. But I'll mention there's also a patient psychedelia present, such on the incredible "Intención," that Dorotheo loves to sift through like sand flowing between fingers. Once again, real neat.

Egari and Paata Chakaberia - In Qvevri Veritas (FANCYMUSIC)
From: Russia, I think?
Genre: folk

Bassist Paata Chakaberia takes up the chonguri and joins Egari for this set of Georgian instrumental music recorded for the documentary In Qvevri Veritas. Of course this is on FANCYMUSIC. And, yeah, this is a great morning album to help you gently shake the cobwebs out of your noggin.

Fievel is Glauque - Flaming Swords (MATH Interactive)
From: New York City, NY / Brussels, Belgium
Genre: pop / jazz / prog

So, I'm a little late on Fievel is Glauque. If I knew about it, Flaming Swords, the duo plus ensemble's 2022 release, would've made the year-end list. But that's what makes music fun, right? You can never hear it all, although that never seems to stop me from trying.

The core of Fievel is Glauque is keyboardist Zach Phillips and singer Ma Clément. An interview with Tone Glow called the band "prog-pop," and I see no reason to argue. Flaming Swords adds a multitude of players on guitar, bass, sax, drums, and pedal steel. With that kitchen-sink-style ensemble, the band's spirit reminds me of Octopus-era Gentle Giant, but the music is closer to heady jazz-rock condensed down to glistening pearls. Besides the four-minute closer, the longest song clocks in at 2:31. These short running times are more than enough. With its tricky chords and rhythms, the sub-two-minute "Save the Phenomenon" does so much with its running time, especially as the pedal steel swells in a way that makes me swoon.

Ivan Grebenshikov - The Endless Winter (FANCYMUSIC)
From: Russia
Genre: jazz

The best stuff on this release from pianist Ivan Grebenshikov is the opening four-song suite. "Frozen Sun" takes the melancholic, hyper-melodic side of Scandi jazz and filters it through something that feels very Russian. "However, the general concept remains," Grebenshikov writes in the liner notes, "a combination of a 'cold' rhythm section and an expressive saxophone, which symbolizes the frozen or dead sun inside the seemingly endless Russian winter."

Justina Jaruševičiūtė - Silhouettes (Piano and Coffee Records)
From: Berlin, Germany
Genre: modern classical

In an essay for Cassandra Voices, composer Justina Jaruševičiūtė wrote, "But, one thing has always been clear to me: silence is the best music." Jaruševičiūtė's Silhouettes, an album of songs composed for string quartets, is pretty good music, too, examining the sometimes contradictory emotions that envelop us during quiet moments. "There is a reason why the album starts with a piece named Wolf Hour and ends with Sunrise," Jaruševičiūtė is quoted as saying in the liner notes. "The hour of the wolf is that time of the night in which people wake up without any particular reason and can't fall back asleep. Last year, this happened to me numerous times, which allowed me to think about a lot of musical ideas while I waited on the sun to rise. To me, these ten compositions are like some kind of shadows, silhouettes of these sleepless nights."

Jute Gyte - Eclose (self-released)
From: United States
Genre: electronic

If Jute Gyte releases it, I'm buying it. Eclose isn't the microtonal black metal for which the project has become known, but a fascinating dive into "rhythmic electronic music." The closest point of comparison is probably Autechre if it were into black metal and dark ambient. That said, every track has its own vibe. "Bucchero" reminds me of the looping noise of Namanax. "Patinir" has shades of Aphex Twin's SAW II. "Diobsud" could've appeared on an old Clicks & Cuts compilation. Overall, I think this release pairs very well with the new Rrose. Sure, Eclose isn't for everyone, but for any adventurous listener who gravitates toward electronic music, this is worth their time.

Lanayah - I'm Picking Lights in a Field... (Drongo Tapes)
From: Santa Barbara, CA
Genre: screamo / post-hardcore

Lanayah has been tagged as "fairly unclassifiable blackened screamo." I don't know if that's entirely true. I think I can categorize a lot of the band's stylistic shifts. But I get the point. Once you make it to "Nameless Fluttering," which might as well be a deep cut from Swirlies, you know this won't be your typical screamo record. Are there influences? Yeah. Some of this stuff sounds like The Appleseed Cast got into City of Caterpillar. (Goddamn, how old am I?) What's neat, though, is how connective the tissue is between Lanayah's wildest swings. Anyone looking for a soup-to-nuts album instead of a song-by-song experience should give this a spin.

Mindvac - Mindvac (self-released)
From: Charlotte, NC
Genre: post-hardcore / metalcore

This post is a PSA for all of my 2000s post-hardcore heads: Haste's 2003 forgotten gem, The Mercury Lift, finally has a successor. It doesn't come from anyone in Haste…that I know of, at least. Instead, it's by Mindvac, a new trio from Charlotte. Using the typically impenetrable vernacular of this newsletter, here's my pitch: This band likes to use riffs to map out journeys. (Riff trips? Is that something?) Mindvac, its debut EP, plops a proggy brain into searing post-hardcore.

"I was looking for an outlet to write more technical music, but made sure to balance the intricate parts with a catchy groove or with a heavy caveman riff or a pretty chord progression," vocalist/shredder Syd Little said to New Noise Magazine. "I basically wanted to have all the contrasting stuff I think makes music cool in one song as seamlessly as we were able to, and that's what we try to in Mindvac."

Songs like "Speak Friend" are packed with cool things, and each new cool thing builds on what came before. At a base level, some of these songs remind me of the great Dischord bands: Jawbox, Fugazi, and the friends they made along the way. But maybe it's just my salad days speaking here, but Mindvac seems inspired by the better post-hardcore/metalcore and adjacent screamers lighting up the scene at the end of the '90s and the start of the second millennium. Haste, Scatter the Ashes, Planes Mistaken for Stars, Jairus, Taken, This Day Forward, and the like. Do those names mean anything to you? If they do, here's a new one to remember.

Morimoto Naoki - Tender (Lotano Series)
From: Japan
Genre: ambient

Per the artist's bio, Morimoto Naoki "is a Japanese electronica, toytronica, ambient composer." I wasn't previously aware of "toytronica." Look, we're all learning here. Tender, though, is closer to the ambient ideal laid out by Music for Airports. Tones of various duration fade in and out, filling the space and buoying emotions. Where it differs is that Naoki often adds sprinkles of acoustic guitars that pitter and patter like raindrops before a storm rolls in. I don't want to say Tender is cozy, mostly because I abhor the Cozy Industrial Complex, but the album is undeniably chill in a cleansing way.

Naked Flames - Miracle in Transit (Dismiss Yourself)
From: California
Genre: electronic

Naked Flames' big innovation is transforming lofi house and techno into hifi house and techno. Miracle in Transit has the contours of all of the new music that sounds like it was ripped off of dusty Sega Genesis and SNES cartridges. But these songs are huge. It's sparkling layers all the way down. With the rolling basslines and scintillating bleeps and burbles, Naked Flames' work sometimes reminds me of Soichi Terada, albeit a version that is a little more manic and dayglo. There's also some early '90s rave stuff that evokes prime sound-surrounders Orbital, just with the BPMs racing harder than a heart on four espressos.

Orion - Scandinavian Funk I & II (Abstract Facts)
From: Helsinki, Finland
Genre: techno

Those poor souls familiar with the YLFL archives know I'm a frequent Abstract Facts customer, picking up whatever the label offers. Scandinavian Funk isn't quite what it says on the tin. I mean, this isn't Doris. But Orion gets fairly funky on these techno workouts.

Saufknast - EP I (Flennen)
From: Hamburg / Kiel, Germany
Genre: punk / hardcore

Here's how I tried to convince a friend to start a band with me: Let's just rip off Minor Threat riffs and play them with a street rock scuzziness. That offer remained on the table until Saufknast cornered the market. Although it's over far too fast, Saufknast's debut EP is like The Heartbreakers kept it rolling long enough to become hardcore and tapped Germany's answer to Alice Bag to yell her throat raw.

U SCO - Catchin' Heat (self-released)
From: Portland, OR
Genre: post-rock / prog / noise rock

I just wrote about U SCO in the column. After every column, there's one band that people message me about, and it was U SCO's day in the sun that run. (If you want to read a more comprehensive blurb because I'm running on fumes and trying to unclog this writer's block by forcing myself to finish this stupid newsletter, check out my write-up in Stereogum.) Anyway, the attention was nice to see. I remember writing about U SCO's debut, Nest, in my short-lived punk column. (To prove how long ago that was, it ran alongside a review of the last Jezebel Spirit album, a band that broke up over a decade ago.) I wouldn't have expected U SCO's version of noisy post-rock/This Heat prog to endure this long. But hey, just listen to how glorious this album is. The guitars are still screaming, the bass is still thumping, the drums are still crashing. I'm glad we're both still kicking.

Xiao - Burn (Quarantined)
From: Stockholm, Sweden
Genre: hardcore / powerviolence

Gotta love it when hardcore records kick off with a march punctuated by the singer screaming the band's name: "XIAO!" Burn cross-pollinates Swedish hardcore with raging powerviolence. It's as if Victims and Spazz tried to play sets simultaneously. The crucial factor is Emelie Johannesson's voice, which is just the right amount of pissed. And by that, I mean Johannesson is really, really pissed. Heck of a gym record. Tell the bros to hand you the aux cord. I dare them.

Follow me on Bandcamp @wrambatz.

Shameless Self-Promotion And Logrolling:

Because I need money and haven't figured out a way to eat Bandcamps yet

The Black Market: "Molly Daisy Scarpine Is A Screamer"

I had a blast talking to Molly Daisy Scarpine about Hyper Psychic and video game voice acting. Blurbs for Krallice, Nightmarer, Kostnatění, and Khanate. A quickie dive into the new Memorrhage in the bonus. And, as always, Wyatt knocks his selections out of the park.

Heavy Business Podcast

I forgot when these ran, so I'm just going to plug them both here. I was on to talk about interviewing and how to pitch. This gets a little in-the-weeds, but there's good stuff for people trying to figure out the business aspect of underground metal. I also can't say enough about the podcast Aliyah and Curtis have put together. It's easily one of the best industry podcasts going.

News & Notes:

I have returned from my accidental hiatus that I told no one about. How I roll. Updates on future posts: June will be dropping soonish. I also have a mid-season report that's taking shape.
Meanwhile, Mind Munchers, a section I debuted last edition, is taking a permanent hiatus. One of the blurbs intended for this month has metastasized into a longer essay. Because I'm cursed to be this way, I need to do more reporting on it.
The half-finished VaccZine I hinted at last month remains half-finished.
I opened a Letterboxd account to keep the writing skills sharp while I deal with this current onset of burnout. What can I say? The writing hasn't been up to my standards. Whatever. If you want to read my even stupider thoughts about movies, go there.

Got a question? Email us! plagueragespod at gmail

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Of course, I'm trying to avoid using the "atmospheric black metal" catch-all both because of MacKaye's Law (a substyle's name is ineffective if it already describes the style from which it splintered off. In this case, all black metal is atmospheric) and that the "atmospheric" umbrella now stretches over so many disparate sounds that the descriptor means nothing. And besides, Genital Shame doesn't have much in common with the post-Sunbather set, that being Envy for people way too into typography, aside from a sort of punkiness, but that probably has more to do with the general lofi construction than an actual allegiance to "punk," itself a means-nothing tag that also stands in for a nebulous ethos. Anyway! Forget I wrote all of that!

Plague Rages