ENDTYMER is the inevitable weekly “music news blog” series I’ve been working to avoid for some time. It hits at the end of every week with the intent of covering notable new releases, sharing news of new releases, and musing over various personal listening habits. It is largely informal, has opinions, etc. so chill out a bit. I do my best to cover as much of everything I receive in some form regardless of genre or representation, don’t hesitate to send anything and everything my way: grizzlybutts@hotmail.com

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FIVE BEST OF THE WEEK

This week featured another exceptional line-up across the board which was hard to order since each record I’ll mention here was top-notch. We start with the return from [#1] TOMB MOLD with the matured, introspective progressive death metal nuke ‘The Enduring Spirit‘. [#2] BLOOD OATH‘s much anticipated debut ‘Lost in an Eternal Silence‘ was likewise impressive for its refined but ‘old school’ prog-death/thrash attack, don’t overlook it. Otherwise we’ve finally got something original and exciting out of deeper underground death metal with [#3] TIDELESS‘ second LP ‘Eye of Water‘ which finds an admixture of shoegaze, post-rock and atmospheric death/doom metal, exceptional work. Of course we hit up California for another unique death metal album and a bit of a surprise return for the demo-only legends [#4] FABRICANT‘s debut LP ‘Drudge to the Thicket‘ arrives crammed to the hilt with ideas, fleet footed movement and high-brained tech death mastery of its own domain. And finally I was hesitant to give this band another chance after the disappointing ‘Sol Corrupto‘ but [#5] ALTARAGE have impressed with their latest LP, ‘Worst Case Scenario‘ as their groovier take on Portal-esque black/death scraping continues to reach for the abstract and self-destructive side of thought.

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2 LATE 2 PRAY

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“NEWS”

Heavy metal legendry CIRITH UNGOL have announced their sixth full-length album. ‘Dark Parade‘ will release this coming October 20th by way of Metal Blade Records. After the success of their last record the Ventura, California-based quintet were inspired and went right into songwriting sessions, interrupted only by the pandemic in terms of getting back at it. The first single from the album, “Velocity (S.E.P.)”, is also the opener guitarist Jimmy Barraza commends about the song “While talking with [vocalist] Tim [Baker] and Rob about what kind of song was needed, a decision was made to stop doing the galloping chugs, as done many times on previous albums, and start doing down-picking chugs while keeping some sort of tie to the CIRITH UNGOL sound. Straying toward a Sabbath or Priest vibe is not far off and happens subconsciously.” Vocalist Tim Baker comments on the meaning of the song: “It’s about what happens when we sell that which we hold dear. Our soul — if such a thing exists — our dignity, pride, and whatever else we have that will help seal the deal in an endless pursuit of money, power, glory and dominion over others.”

Another legendary force in heavy/doom metal THE OBSESSED have announced a February 16th, 2024 release date for their fifth studio full-length, ‘Gilded Sorrow‘ by way of Ripple Music. They’ve expanded to a quartet since the last album, adding Jason Taylor on guitar and they’ve noted that they’re aiming “more aggressive, straightforward and downright mean“. The maestro himself Wino comments on Jason and the album: “Adding Jason Taylor as second guitarist was one of the best decisions I’ve made because he’s a virtuoso guitar player and I must say he contributed quite a bit of good stuff to this record. I think it’s the heaviest thing I’ve ever done. Heavy in a sense as not just sludge heavy, but well-rounded. And it sounds fantastic. Everything I do with Frank Marchand gets better and better. He knows what the fuck he’s doing.” So far we’ve got the album art and pre-orders, the first singles will likely hit down the road.

https://ripplemusic.bigcartel.com/products?utf8=%E2%9C%93&search=gilded

Get ready for one of the better doom metal records of the year this coming October 6th when Poland’s doom metal quartet DOPELORD release their fifth studio album ‘Songs for Satan‘ by way of Blues Funeral Recordings. The second single and video is out “The Chosen One” and this song is rad:

Wolves of Hades and Argento Records have announced November 3rd as the release date for NAHASHEOL‘s debut album, ‘Serpens Abyssi‘, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape. From what I’ve gathered their sound is inspired by occult and esoteric philosophy and spiritual magickry. Interesting band and nice album cover if it isn’t AI.

Profound Lore Records have recently announced ‘Ruiner‘, the latest LP from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based black metal band KRIEG. The album will release on October 13th. This’ll be the first album from the band in about a decade so, if you’re not familiar they’re a notable name in terms of USBM in the late 90’s and 2000’s. First single is “No Gardens Grow Here”:

French/Finnish black metal project ASET have released a music video for “A Light In Disguise”, a track taken from their upcoming debut LP, ‘Astral Rape‘, which is due for release on September 22nd this year by way of Les Acteurs de l’Ombre Productions. The group notable includes members of Seth and Oranssi Pazuzu. Check out the video here:

CARDINALS FOLLY have announced their latest album ‘Live by the Sword‘ will release this coming October 27th 2023 via Soulseller Records. The first single from the album “Luciferian” and of course finds the band delivering their trademark sound with a big personality, representing their own name within Finnish doom metal:

Classic underground USBM band DEMONCY have revealed the title track (“Diabolica Blasphemiae”) from their forthcoming new mLP, ‘Diabolica Blasphemiae‘, which releases later this year through Hell’s Headbangers. One of the earlier pure black metal bands in the US by way of vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Ixithra if you are a black metal fan you should at the very least know the ‘Joined in Darkness‘ tape. The current line-up of the band includes VJS (Nightbringer, Sargeist) on guitar and Vorthrus (Cerebral Rot, Crurifragium) on drums. I wasn’t impressed by the vocals here but not a bad song to kick things off.

Amor Fati Productions have announced October 31st as the release date for CHAÎNES‘ debut album, ‘Les Litanies des Chaînes‘, on vinyl LP format. A black metal project from prolific artist Déhà, this idea formed just this year with influences coming from the French-speaking scenes (Belgium, France, Quebec, Switzerland). The first preview track is “Que ta Lumière me serve de Fin”:

Danish death metal band TEMPLE OF SCORN announced their full-length debut ‘Funeral Altar Epiphanies‘ will release November 24th this year by way of Transcending Obscurity Records. The band is comprised of members from Baest, Dawn of Demise, Exmortem, Invocator and this means they’re old pros who come with a classic touch to their work. They’ve got a couple of songs up on Bandcamp already:

Monumental Rex have revealed the song “Queda” from the upcoming LACRAU album ‘Axioma‘ which is set to release on September 22nd, on CD digipack. ‘Axioma‘ is a concept album that combines depressive, black and doom metal elements to tell a story inspired by Scandinavian rituals of senicide. The lyrical narrative (in Portuguese) describes the ritual from different angles: the realization of the burden, the journey to the cliff, the induced feelings and the acceptance of the fate. Check out the song on Bandcamp:

Chilean doom metal band MORTAJAS have announced their second album ‘Mortajas II‘ will be released by way of Sun and Moon Records on October 18th this year. Their lineup includes members of King Heavy, Mourners Lament and Mar de Grises though they stick to a traditional epic doom metal style in general. Eclectic thanks to a few guests and entirely sun in Spanish this is a gem of a band and I’m looking forward to this record. Check out the first single “Miedo y Dolor”:

Neurot Recordings have announced October 13th as the release date for ‘Let Them Eat Fake‘, the debut album from FALSE FED a “dark punk” act formed by vocalist Jeff Janiak (Discharge, Broken Bones), guitarist Stig C. Miller (Amebix, Zygote), bassist JP Parsons, and drummer Roy Mayorga (Nausea, Soulfly). This band provided some manner of catharsis for these folks during the las three years of pandemia, a feeling which pervades the senses when listening to the album. The album was recorded by the band, mixed by Roy Mayorga, and mastered by Jack Control at Enormous Door. Interesting mix of post-punk, esoteric hooks, and heavier riffs. Check out the video for “Echoes Of Compromise”:

F.D.A. Records have announced they will release the fifth full-length album from Spanish old school Death Metal band DECAPITATED CHRIST who’ve readied ‘Glorious Tyrannizing of Human Rats‘ as their “strongest, catchiest and most brutal work to date.” The album will release on October 6th this year. The album sounds great and you can see why thanks to Moontower Studios‘ mix and mastering from Dan Swanö.

Manchester, U.K. stoner blues rock group RITUAL KING have announced the release of their sophomore full-length ‘The Infinite Mirror‘ this November 13th from Ripple Music. Great album and great first single with “Landmass”:

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THIS WEEK’S VIDEOS / REVIEWS

Catch up with the latest YouTube video review/features and written reviews here. New videos post each week for the most part. You can click on the link provided to read the review/article, each review has the related video embedded in the original post as well. Videos are fairly casual and meant to accompany the written review with some extra context and generalized notes. The written review and the video review are complimentary -not- interchangeable. Subscribe, share, leave a comment, etc. if you feel like it.

TOMB MOLD – The Enduring Spirit (2023) | REVIEW

Short Reviews | September 13th, 2023

FULANNO – Ruido Infernal (2023) | REVIEW

FABRICANT – Drudge to the Thicket (2023) | REVIEW

BLOOD OATH – Lost in an Eternal Silence (2023) | REVIEW

TIDELESS – Eye of Water (2023) | REVIEW

CRYPTOPSY – As Gomorrah Burns (2023) | REVIEW

FOSSILIZATION – Leprous Daylight (2023) | REVIEW

Short Reviews | September 6th, 2023

UADA – Crepuscule Natura (2023) | REVIEW

SLOMATICS – Strontium Fields (2023) | REVIEW

EXCARNATED ENTITY – Mass Grave Horizon (2023) | REVIEW

TERMINALIST – The Crisis as Condition (2023) | REVIEW

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COMING UP NEXT WEEK:

Here is a tentative list of what is coming up next week in terms of reviews. The following records have been listened to extensively, a preliminary review has been drafted (or completed), and I’ve locked them in for coverage. In terms of the “Short Written Reviews + Video” column, these are more tentative, some of them may be cut if I do not have enough time to get around to everything. These choices are subject to change as the final drafts evolve and other releases might potentially take priority:

LONGFORM REVIEWS + VIDEO:

FARSCAPE – Purged and Forgotten [September 22nd, Dying Victims Productions]
ASET – Astral Rape [September 22nd, Les Acteurs De L’Ombre]
REBAELLIUN – Under the Sign of Rebellion [September 22nd, Agonia Records]
ROCKY’S PRIDE AND JOY – All the Colours of Darkness [September 29th, Electric Valley]
PRIMORDIAL – How it Ends [September 29th, Metal Blade Records]
DISGUISED MALIGNANCE – Entering the Gateways [September 29th, Prosthetic Records]

SHORT REVIEWS + VIDEO:

Instead of multiple Short Reviews columns for the month of September I will have a different feature every week. Next week won’t feature an extra column and will instead be spent working on Mystification as well as some video game related writing.

• Week IV: Noise Rock Pt. I (2023), noise rock, post-hardcore, art rock and experimental works fitting in this realm are included. Everything I’ve missed and liked this year. The second part will publish in early December.
• Week V: 20 Best of September ‘23

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