Rx Demo: January 2023
One month down
An experiment: What if I did a big recap post at the end of each month? As you can see, this one is already late. It's how I roll now. I even tried to plow through a bunch of blebs that are barely coherent in order to try and get this out before Bandcamp Day. I failed spectacularly. Whatever, here's the idea: amass many recommendations a la the year-end post in the interest of maximizing breadth and providing you a long list of solid selections to pick through. It's my tribute to the old Aquarius Records dispatches, basically. (No, I don't have PTSD after doing "Upcoming Metal Releases" for Invisible Oranges for years, why do you ask?) Don't worry, the more writery posts, such as the VaccZine and Booster, aren't going anywhere. But…do you like this? Do you want to see more of these? Let me know.
Highlights:
Everything I liked this month
ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Anachronism - Meanders (Unorthodox Emanations)
From: Lausanne, Switzerland
Genre: death metal
In its attempt to break free from the strictures of tech death, this Swiss quartet pares down the typical tech structures by applying restlessness focus. The result is Anachronism finding an emotional center within the maelstrom. Featuring Florent Duployer, one of the best death metal drummers in the biz, the band can blast with the best of them, but also comes armed with killer proggy solos and a Gorgutsian sense of adventure. More on this one real soon.
Aberrated - Twisted Forms (Lifeless Chasm Records)
From: Long Island, New York
Genre: death metal
Members of Thætas get extra unconventional on this brutal death metal throwback that would fascinate Travis Tate. Think early Suffo but Cephalic Carnage's sort of weird.
Arnaut Pavle - Transylvanian Glare (Mystískaos)
From: Finland
Genre: black metal
Named after a Serbian vampire, this one-person project from Finland melds black metal and punk in a thrashier, more precise way than most. I picked it up because I am a Mystískaos completist, and was pleasantly surprised that this is a big step up from the debut.
Conjureth - The Parasitic Chambers (Memento Mori)
From: San Diego, CA
Genre: death metal
OSDM, but not a copycat. A righteously riotous ode to death metal for those who like the style like my body looks: old, gnarled, and disgusting. Still, even though it's dusty, it does something new. Rules.
Drain of Impurity - Beneath the Maze of Infinite Equilibrium (self-released)
From: Ankara, Türkiye
Genre: brutal death metal
Batu Çetin's side slampiece zigs where the last W0RM3D-y, chonkified Cenotaph zags, speeding through a fleeter version of BDM. Goo wunderkind, the boy blaster who was promised, Nikhil Talwakar (Anal Stabwound, etc.) guests on the skins, giving the album a jazzy swing.
The Gauntlet - Dark Steel and Fire (Nihil Verum Nisi Mors / Eternal Death)
From: New Jersey
Genre: black metal / heavy metal / Stadium Bathory
New Jersey hellion Ace Meggido plays Under the Sign of the Black Mark-style black metal like a stolen superbike. It's fast, loud, and has zero regards for safety. New Jersey metal attack.
Ὁπλίτης - Ψευδομένη (self-released)
From: China
Genre: black metal
Substack hates any embed containing non-Latin letters. Listen to it here.
This Chinese solo project cuts the first surprise of the year. Traveling down the same trail blazed by Serpent Column, that being intense spasms of chaos that sound like if Slayer read the Necronomicon out loud, Ὁπλίτης steers off-road into sonic terrain I can only describe as "meditative delirium."
Inherits the Void - The Impending Fall of the Stars (Avantgarde Music)
From: Clermont-Ferrand, France
Genre: black metal
Heard you like leads. France's Inherits the Void slays the shred, combining the ensorcelled atmosphere of Sacramentum with the melo grandeur of Gates of Ishtar. Maybe even a bit of modern atmo, too.
Noisy Neighbors - Derailing the Hype Train (self-released)
From: San Antonio, TX
Genre: grind
Not the last time you'll see Shane Elwell in this list. The guitarist/vocalist's quartet rips it up in fittingly Texas grind fashion on this furious debut full-length that includes a guest spot from Trevor Strnad (RIP).
Obituary - Dying of Everything (Relapse Records)
From: Gibsonton, FL
Genre: death metal
The Floridian stalwarts improve on 2017's late-career resurgence with the appropriately titled Dying of Everything. "Be Warned" stomps its way towards all-timer territory with a roided-out Celtic Frost slomo groove.
Ominous Scriptures - Rituals of Mass Self-Ignition (Willowtip)
From: Minsk, Belarus
Genre: brutal death metal
A straight-up brutal death beatdown without any of the phlegmy splatter affectations. Hates god like it's a landlord.
Рожь - Всё (self-released)
From: Republic of Karelia, Russia
Genre: black metal / doom
Substack hates any embed comtaining non-Latin letters. Listen to it here.
Anchored by the sublimely sullen "Аминь," which maximizes the emotions evoked by old Cult of Luna, Всё is another achievement in metallic hugeness both in sound and emotion from Russia's Vladimir F. Mirroring its cover, 'Всё' is slightly starker in the black metal sense, but still has the same weight as past stunners.
Urosepsis - Exploratory Autopsy (New Standard Elite)
From: Austin, TX
Genre: brutal death metal
The Shane Elwell/Lyle Cooper team-up once again rips through riffs perpetually propelled forward by pugnacious percussion. Tech-y without the guitar teacher ponytail, played for people who like chugs.
Visceral Explosion - Malevolent Dismemberment of Entire Putrefacted Gastrointestine (Brutal Mind)
From: South Korea
Genre: brutal death metal
Brutal Mind gets on the board with this South Korean quartet that delights in wallowing within massive shuddering slams. The forceful juds are the star of the show, but Visceral Explosion can also play fast, which is not in every slammer's wheelhouse.
Vmthanaachth - Trois poèmes à la nuit (self-released)
From: Dallas, TX
Genre: avant-garde
One of the premier sound-explorers gets quieter on this three-song suite that is still absolutely fascinating. Complex and challenging as always, the ensemble still imparts a metallic weightiness.
Vulnus - Promo 2023 (New Standard Elite)
From: Athens, Greece
Genre: brutal death metal
Seven years after Vessels of Throe, the Greek quartet gets the big ol' judosaurus moving again. Recommended if you like Dying Fetus or, if "Cubicles of Incorporeal Genocide" is any indication, hate working in an office.
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
Ashen - Ritual of Ash (Bitter Loss Records)
From: Perth Australia
Genre: death metal
A recommendation from my podcast compadre, Dave. He's high on the young band's ability to let songs breathe.
Black Sky Giant - Primigenian (self-released)
From: Rosario, Argentina
Genre: psych / stoner rock
I do like me some riffs. I think the biggest obstacle is that this is a summer record and this winter has sucked ass.
Crowhammer - Vol. 1 Tales from Vertexia (self-released)
From: Dublin, Ireland
Genre: prog / stoner rock
Quite the concept: "In a far off galaxy an evil wizard has unleashed a deadly virus on the planet Vertexia. The only hope in developing a cure lies in travelling to the Wizard's home planet in order to take a sample of blood from the mythical space eagle." The 49ers spat the bit when it came to taking blood from some mythical eagles recently. Crowhammer does better.
Esoctrilihum - Funeral (self-released)
From: France
Genre: black metal
I can't get into Asthâghul's celebrated project at all. Given the speed at which these albums get released, I probably only have to wait a few months to try again if Funeral doesn't do anything for me.
Homeskin - Forgetfully Washed into Callousness (Fiadh Productions)
From: Texas
Genre: black metal
Garry Brents always makes exciting stuff. Problem: I keep running out of money before I can get this into the cart. Soon.
Imperium Dekadenz - Into Sorrow Evermore (Napalm Records)
From: Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany
Genre: black metal
I've been waiting to snag a physical copy before listening to this. I expect it's real good.
Katatonia - Sky Void of Stars (Napalm Records)
From: Stockholm, Sweden
Genre: rock / ...nu metal?
Same as Imperium Dekadenz, I'm waiting on a physical copy. Hopefully soon. What I heard of the promo was very promising.
Nothingness - Supraliminal (Everlasting Spew Records)
From: Minneapolis, MN
Genre: death metal
Death metal Gojira? Didn't land from me on the first listen. Still, grooves usually win me over.
Oblivion Throne - Voidgazer (self-released)
From: Asheville, NC
Genre: heavy metal / speed metal
Innnteresting. This trio plays heavy metal with a scuzzy speediness that pushes the right buttons. I also dig the vocals that have an NWOBHM punkiness to them.
Orbyssmal - Abyssom (self-released)
From: Brisbane, Australia
Genre: death metal
There are, like, 800 Orbyssmal releases in my wishlist and I can never remember to put them in the cart. This new one sounds like old Portal with just a touch of war metal barbarity.
Primitive Rage - Enemies Left to Crush (self-released)
From: Springfield, MO
Genre: grind
Beatdown plus grind. Quite a guitar tone.
S.N.A.K.E.S. - Amphibious//Omnivorous (self-released)
From: Portland, OR
Genre: grind
It's like Hummingbird of Death but Kill the Client? Promising.
Starcave Nebula // Trhä - Split (self-released)
From: Victoria, Canada / Parts Unknown
Genre: black metal
I adore Starcave Nebula, and Trhä has been super interesting as of late. The only reason this hasn't hit my collection yet is that I'm waiting for payday. Should slay!
Trǫlláss - All Trolls Are Bastards (Syrup Moose Records)
From: Los Angeles, CA
Genre: black metal
What I sampled from this LA solo project had an intriguing shreddiness.
Tumulation - Savage Blood Domain (self-released)
From: San Diego, California
Genre: death/doom
Basically Conjureth in a different configuration. I'll be honest: I haven't listened to this because the art gives off that seven-finger AI uncanniness.
Twilight Force - At the Heart of Wintervale (Nuclear Blast)
From: Falun/Borlänge, Sweden
Genre: power metal
Folks seem stoked about this Swedish sextet's symphonic adventures. I haven't had an opportunity to listen yet.
On the Horizon:
Stuff that was announced this month
Act of Impalement - Infernal Ordinance (Caligari Records)
From: Nashville, TN
Genre: death metal
As the saying goes, if it ain't broke. Classic Autopsy sure ain't broke, as this doomy death trio proves.
Bodyfarm - Ultimate Abomination (Edged Circle Productions)
From: Amersfoort, Netherlands
Genre: death metal
These Dutch death metallers dole out some of that good ol', straight-up Euro death metal. Somewhere between Bolt Thrower and Dismember.
Cystgurgle - Exquisite Macerated Tissue Slippage and Full-Body Degloving Under Extreme Circumstances of Accelerated Putrefaction (self-released)
From: Bangkok, Thailand
Genre: goregrind
Master pingsmith Polwach Beokhaimook, credited here as "Goredick," pukes out some LDOH by way of BDM bile with fellow festerer Niose. If you need a job description to drive this grossness home, a Dr. Saari, I presume, is credited as supplying "postmortem scripts/pathological reports."
Depraved Murder - Unethical Terrestrial Collapse (Comatose Music)
From: Pare, Indonesia
Genre: brutal death metal
One of the most solid top-to-bottom brutal death metal albums I've heard in a bit. The Indonesian duo churns through riffs with a Suffocation solidness combined with a Disgorgean depravity. Also, damn, the drums.
Devangelic - Xul (Willowtip)
From: Rome, Italy
Genre: brutal death metal
The Italian quartet follows up the great Ersetu with an even leaner and more muscular take on Sumerian-inspired death metal that sounds like Nile summoning Deeds of Flesh in a Hittite dung incantation.
Djunah - Femina Furens (self-released)
From: Chicago, IL
Genre: noise rock / post-metal
If "harrowing" is going to be the new descriptor most commonly applied to noise rock, Djunah does right by it. The duo do the noisy stuff with a post-metal heft, but the emotions really add weight.
Foetal Fluids to Expurgate - Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome (Coyote Records)
From: Italy
Genre: goregrind
LDOH-style filth. If you know, you know, and if you know, you know why we're going to die alone.
Häxanu - Totenpass (Amor Fati Productions)
From: US
Genre: black metal
The busy Alex Poole (Chaos Moon, Skáphe, Entheogen, etc.) dips his toe back into the second wave of black metal with the second Häxanu album. The highlight is the near-15-minute "Thriambus - Threnoidia" that nails the hypnotic hanging-drone trems and windswept triumphantness.
Hiverlucide - Satan Death Whale (Fiadh Productions / Non Serviam)
From: France
Genre: ambient / noise / drone
What a cool album. Takes me back to the near-metal exploits of Namanax, doing a noisy drone that will terrify those who think they're true.
Megaton Sword - Might & Power (Dying Victims Records)
From: Winterthur, Switzerland
Genre: heavy metal
Everything about this quintet's second album is catchy, from the big riffs to the big vocals. However, the band shines because it excels at the small stuff, too.
Ocean of Grief - Pale Existence (Personal Records)
From: Athens, Greece
Genre: death/doom
Melo in the Swallow the Sun sense, this Greek sextet buttresses its gothier inclinations with legit big riffs.
Pääkallo - Pääkallo (Svart Records)
From: Finland
Genre: rock
Occult rock that has a delightful jangle to it. Less Bryds, more a ghost rattling its chains.
Palace of Worms - Cabal (Acephale Winter Productions)
From: Oakland, CA
Genre: death/doom?
Who knows what to expect with Palace of Worms? Going by the liner notes, Cabal is rife with guests that might further diversify the experimental death/doom.
Smallpox Aroma - Festering Embryos of Logical Corruption (Inhuman Assault Productions)
From: Bangkok, Thailand
Genre: grind
It's Goredick, again. Here the turbo blaster plays throwback grind with members from Laughing Skull. For those who like it old with plenty of the punk packed in.
Sortilège - Apocalypso (Verycords)
From: Paris, France
Genre: heavy metal
Who can untangle the drama surrounding the classic Parisian heavy metal band? This version of the band, featuring singer Christian "Zouille" Augustin, is still doing the damn thing, though, turning in one of the early surprises of the year with the highly catchy Apocalypso.
Soulmass - Let Us Pray (self-released)
From: Florida
Genre: death/doom
Ah-hah, you must be the new hunter. These big riff enthusiasts' third album is an ode to Bloodborne. Previous EP, Eidolon, had an Akerfeldtian aura.
Thin - Dust (self-released)
From: New York, NY
Genre: grind / mathcore
Following up 2020's Dawn is, appropriately, Dusk. The NY trio's first single, "Fond When I Think About It," has a bygone skramziness to it that will sit right with anyone who loaded up on Magic Bullet releases back in the day.
Transgressive - Extreme Transgression (self-released)
From: Arizona
Genre: thrash
After three well-received releases, this intense thrasher in the vein of Sacred Reich readies its first full-length. Per the band, "All proceeds will go to Trans Lifeline."
Xysma - No Place Like Alone (Svart Records)
From: Turku, Finland
Genre: rock
Former grinders return after a 25-year layoff and expand upon the garage rock they last left us with by stocking up on the space-age synths. The quintet's new style sounds like Love-era Cult fell in love with kosmische musik and the same psych that obsessed CSSO.
Bandcamp Hauls:
Stuff I bought that doesn't fit into the above sections
Álvaro Pérez/Colin Fisher/Álvaro Domene/Mike Pride - Tituba (Iluso Records)
From: Toronto / New York / Madrid
Genre: jazz
Titled "after an enslaved indigenous woman who was one of the first to be accused of witchcraft during the Salem trials of 1692," this jazz quartet is a real brain-buster. Opener "Brilliant Obscurity" has Álvaro Pérez and Colin Fisher trading sax lines while creative guitar-exploder Álvaro Domene lurks in the shadows and then rains down tons of alien timbres. Drummer Mike Pride stars, adding eyebrow-raising accents to every rhythm.
Cold Dew - Yuyu 欲欲 (WV Sorcerer Productions 巫唱片)
From: Taiwan
Genre: psych
Substack hates any embed comtaining non-Latin letters. Listen to it here.
Partly inspired by "the interpretation of Chinese and Taiwanese songs in the 1970s and 1980s," Cold Dew doles on the fuzz and reverb that grows gorgeously into shoegaze-y swells. Really love Lin Zhe-An and Wu Zheng-Jun's guitars.
Decrepit Cadaver - Revelations (Unmatched Brutality Records)
From: Iquique, Chile
Genre: brutal death metal
Chaos reigns on Revelations, these Chilean blasters' fourth full-length. Still, underneath the tumult, there's a catchiness that will please death metal fans and the moistest goo geeks.
Deerhoof - Miracle-Level (Joyful Noise Recordings)
From: San Francisco, CA
Genre: rock
I mean, it's Deerhoof. For almost 30 years, this band has matched quirky melodies with quirky rhythms and created some of the catchiest songs in rock. (For instance, "My Lovely Cat!" is like U.S. Maple got asked to cover the Flamin' Groovies before a beautiful Dino Jr. bridge kicks in.) The first two singles sound like classic Deerhoof in all senses.
DEFSET - Cycles (self-released)
From: London, UK
Genre: deep house / dubstep
There's a heaviness permeating Cycles, even when the dubby wooshes of tones sound so blissed out. Per the artist:
Cycles was written after a long period of sadness following my mothers death. During which I struggled to create anything. I'm not a religious person but when you lose someone you don't know how to live without, you are forced to think about what and who we are, where we go and eventually come to accept that we are all just part of an unstoppable and beautiful cycle that keeps on turning, it's only our tiny part which comes to an end. We go back to dust, but our energy keeps on swirling. It's a bit serious and existential.
Elijah McLaughlin Ensemble - III (self-released)
From: Chicago, IL
Genre: Americana
Elijah McLaughlin Ensemble's II quickly became an all-timer for me because its approach to improvisation via folk and American primitivism was as fresh as it was timeless. Newest single "Headwaters" continues down that path, showcasing the ensemble's engaging approach to textures.
Genevieve Artadi - Forever Forever (Brainfeeder)
From: Los Angeles, CA
Genre: pop
Part of a vibrant LA scene that's jazzy and avant-garde without obscuring its pure pop sensibilities, Genevieve Artadi cut a winner in 2020 with Dizzy Strange Summer. "Visionary," the first single from Forever Forever, sounds like it'll dive deeper, maximalizing the two-drummer thwump while maintaining a hazy dreaminess.
Grim Beazley - Big World (Constellation Tatsu)
From: Australia
Genre: ambient / techno
As close as any new artist is going to get to making me feel the things I felt hearing Orbital's "Halcyon On and On" for the first time. Grim Beazley's music shimmers hypnotically with immersive tones and big beats.
Groeth - Unavailable Accessing (self-released)
From: Queens, NY
Genre: noise
Colin Marston, operating here under his Indricothere moniker, sends his ARP 2600m hurtling into the same disquieting, dark places as Lustmord. While this is noisier, it's still swathed in that invigorating bleakness. A must for sound lovers.
Rozi Plain - Prize (Memphis Industries)
From: Bristol, UK
Genre: folk / pop
2019's What a Boost is a favorite, exuding a gentle warmth and rhythmic innovativeness. That it closed with a Sun Ra cover made all the sense in the world. Prize is even better, adding even more layers that I can lose myself within.
Takashi Kokubo & Andrea Esperti - Music For a Cosmic Garden (WRWTFWW Records)
From: Japan / Switzerland
Genre: ambient
Substack hates this embed, too. Listen to it here.
Takashi Kokubo, "an environmental musician," joins forces with Andrea Esperit, a trombonist, for this eclectic and exceedingly experimental set of songs. Each "cosmic escape" unfurls like a short story. Worth pairing with Mountain Coast, another project that does ambient with brass instruments.
yadayn - Light Leaks (for Sarah) (self-released)
From: Brussels, Belgium
Genre: minimalism
Read the liner notes, please.
Follow me on Bandcamp @wrambatz.
Shameless Self-Promotion And Logrolling:
Because I haven't figured out a way to eat Bandcamps yet
Ancient Enemy - Winter '23 Demo (self-released)
Dave, my aforementioned partner in pod, released a new two-song demo with the live version of his band, Ancient Enemy. This one has a straight-to-tape scuzziness to it, like if Incredible Hog pioneered thrash and black metal.
The Black Market: "How Imperium Dekadenz Elbowed Their Way To The Top Of Black Metal"
The Black Market is back. Amazingly, we turn 10 next month. Kicking off our tin anniversary is Wyatt's great profile on Imperium Dekadenz. I chip in blurbs for a bunch of the bands.
Heavy Business: "305 - Lessons From Recent Successful PR Campaigns"
Had a blast dropping in on the newly renamed Heavy Business podcast to talk shop with Aliyah and Curtis about PR campaigns. We also dedicated some time to Bandcamp strategies. The end of this pod is hilarious as Curtis, once again, stumps me with a mainstream metal band that everyone has heard except yours truly.
Back for its second season, the Nu Metal Agenda has already recorded with an incredible array of guests. For the first pod, though, it's just the crew talking about their favorite nu metal bands. You can find a transcript of my Sevendust spiel over here.
OK. That's it. Is this…helpful? Want another one? Lemme know. Hoping to be more active around these parts as soon as I get over this long-term illness. Have a good one!
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