SHORT REVIEWS Our thirty-ninth (39th) edition of Short Reviews for 2023 finds me grabbing at six notable releases from the final week of October, cut down to notable stuff. I’ve done my best to showcase the most interesting works that I come across while still presenting some decent variety here but choices boil down to what sticks, what inspires or what is worth writing about. These are more easygoing and casual than longform reviews, so relax and think for yourself — If you find something you dig go tell the band on social media and support them with a purchase! If you’d like your music reviewed, read the FAQ and send promos to: grizzlybutts@hotmail.com

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After steadily infusing various kinks within the ever-extending hose of their sound Turku, Finland-based anti-rock quartet Throat have consciously begin to insert smog and self-preservation into their oeuvre, be it clangorous ex-sludged noise rock, post-industrial nightmares, or the release of their inky gothic wings here on album number four. No doubt I was horny for the last two records they’d put out and first for the introduction and promise of ‘Bareback‘ (2018) and the subversive conveyor belt for human depravity that was ‘Smile Less‘ (2021) though we find a third-degree entrant here a couple years later with ‘We Must Leave You‘, proposed as a “break-up” record of sorts. The catch is that this frowning, existential dread-bulging bout of angst seeks to end their LTR with Earth, the lot of it. We’d heard louder hints of this style and sentiment on the last record but there was anger, passion, and machine like daggering beats to dance along to. In this case you’re instructed to hang your head and recognize that it ain’t working. Its not you, its us.

If the previous record felt hard-edged, still a bit “metal” for a noise rock band then consider this one bulldozed by the not-so subtleties of 80’s gothic rock/post-punk without losing the sharp and stabby beat-magick Throat are always up for. The smokey Gira-esque vocal and kinda ‘Ótta‘-era Sólstafir headed post-rock burst out of the first single, “Heaven Hanged”, had me convinced this would be different but a high-stepper, something fresh and in some sense it does showcase the best aspects of this latest venture. Just as quickly “The Transaction”, with its alt-rock glossed hook slapped me out of it. It turns out the whole record is notable otherwise, incorporating heavier elements of both post-industrial rock, leaning away from noise rock severity and anxiety towards the gloomy tangents of classic goth rock. Unfortunately the prominence of one piece kinda pissed the pool for me but it isn’t a huge ding.

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Nobody ever said, “Oh man, not another damn Autopsy record!” Pre-or-post hiatus this is a band who’ve always delivered on their good name and while I was kinda side-eyeing ‘Ashes, Organs, Blood and Crypts‘ for coming out right after they hit us with a second Static Abyss record, not to mention we’re pretty fresh off ‘Morbidity Triumphant‘ (2022) no doubt this record is up to par with everything they’ve released post-‘Macabre Eternal‘ (2011). When you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go and Chris Reifert & crew still have that diamond diarrhea in terms of riffs, wild-ass vocals, and a classic sound which never gets old per its fundamentals which are rooted in hardcore punk, thrash, and doom metal. There is more to it but no doubt it has all been said into eternity. For my own taste Autopsy are at their best when the mania of the vocals contrasts with the eerie doom of their venture and man, do they go there on this album in both respects, you’ll get socked by this by the end of opener “Rabid Funeral”. I’m guessing they’re writing songs with bassist Greg Wilkinson now as his playing is adding so much to this record that it feels like some sort of dormant set of possibilities and ideas’ve been unlocked.

So, why not a bigger score and a longer review? This one might’ve hit differently if the cycle-through wasn’t so blazing fast or wasn’t so nearby the pressure-cooker of the end of the release schedule. This one feels like it was in the chamber and they had to jam on it as soon as they could, possibly because they’ve been prolific otherwise and that ain’t a bad thing but it’ll take another year to process on my part. My notes are few and not all that nuanced: Production values offer more clarity between the guitar and bass guitar tones, doomed riffs are intense but the punkish movements are less interesting, and some of the leads needed more time to cook or are served a hair too raw. I’ll consider less of a “hot take” on this record before the end of the month/year.

https://peaceville.bandcamp.com/album/ashes-organs-blood-and-crypts

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Brooklyn, New York-based war metal/grind trio Gravesend return for a second full-length album with plenty more heat to its riff game, bigger grooves, and an intensity that should pull-in folks who are on a tear for stuff that has that big-buzzing Proclamation-style attack (a la Antichrist Siege Machine) but turns on a dime the way late 80’s grindcore might’ve. I’d say this record does kinda take a turn towards the bestial death/black idea more often but doesn’t lose the hardcore-set punish in the process. Less caustic than Knelt Rote but now sporting an even bigger sense of their booming production values. I get the sense that this record was meant to sound mean and it does that up front, presenting a violence that is emergent and without reason but as we get to tank-like rides a la “Streets of Destitution” their work sounds all the more purposeful in its construction, economical with sharper riffs and meaningful tracts of ’em. At ~37 minutes it is a sizable sophomore release and one that seems well-geared towards the death metal/deathgrind fan looking to cut into war metal that isn’t pure chaos, in fact the best parts of this record are technically mid-paced.

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Howling Giant is a Nashville, Tennessee-based progressive rock/stoner metal quartet who’ve almost brazenly shifted gears for the sake of exploring the sound of the moment, starting with noisy psychedelic/stoner metal kitsch and jammed-at wonderment before moving toward a sound that’d taken notes from Torche and especially Elder by 2019. The tempered 70’s progressive rock edge of Elder and their easygoing approach to modern psychedelic/stoner metal eerily recreated here on the first three or so pieces of ‘Glass Future‘ and, I guess as a huge fan of the aforementioned bands I’m not actually complaining. More is better in this case and this record is pleasant, upbeat, catchy, and has enough depth to its rhythms that it does ultimately impress. Once I’d hit “Hawk in a Hurricane” and some of the faster kicked portions of the title track I don’t know that these folks hit upon a sound I’ve never heard herein but certainly the sort of modern progressive-tinged rock I’m prone to go check out in a live setting. Not sure where they’ll push it for the sake of signature and longevity, anthemic choruses only carry this record so far, but I did have a great time with it.

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At face value Order of Nine gives the impression that they’ve considered every aspect of their presentation, a representative logo, Tolkien-tinged lore as the backdrop, a majestic black castle as the centre of a brilliant cover artwork and the carefully crafted music within reinforces that impression. The first thing that comes to mind is of course USBM’s endless romance with the melodic side of Scandinavian black metal, in this case the keyboards are hardly as important as a melodic device and the brooding riff-driven pieces within are generally mid-paced and romanticist in their swaying, mid-period Satyricon-like motions. Tales of medieval desolation, sorcery and misery all make for classicist dressings and the modern yet proficient performances suggest folks who’ve honed their craft for some time but this all comes carefully, note-for-note as if tragic poem and less as brazen warrior snarl at least in the sense that I don’t yet hear a personality beyond perfectionism and a brilliant ear for the balance of the mix/master which tempers things toward the atmospheric black metal listeners ear with largely obscured vocal enunciation and a looming keyboard fog. “Mother of Shadows” is probably the piece to pull the ear into the fray if you’re an earlier Emperor hound but the rest of the album is frankly more interesting for how much it deviates from the escalating guitar runs and keys, etc. Anyhow, for a debut this is a very impressive and finely curated feat which only just lacks some extra personality/personae to take it above and beyond being somewhat normative. What kicks the score up towards a higher recommendation is the sense that this is potentially pure pleasure listening for a certain type of fandom, myself included.

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Of course I once again find myself facing a blizzard of new releases, making some questionable choices here-and-there, and landing nearby another impressive release from Finnish pagan black metal band Nôidva which perfectly prompts the need for a longer-form review when I’ve not given myself an inch of time to cut deeper into these woods. ‘Lappish Shatanism‘ is the second full-length from these folks who I’ve assumed are lead by Caenum who is a fellow of many talents (see: Riivaus, Wömit Angel, Sacrificium Carmen et al.) who brings in members of The Watcher and Abbashaitan for this project. Now, I don’t call this band “pagan” for their themes but to suggest to the old head that these folks have riffs abounding and present a tuneful yet aggressive folken touch to their drift. The overall tone of this record is performative in the sense that it feels amidst a ritualistic celebration, less a commune with nature and more a rousing event with many shadows surrounding the pyre, and this comes with a kicking pace and a burning guitar tone which acts as the main melodic device. General fans of the melodic side of Finnish black metal will instantly appreciate the presence and blazing tone of this album and no doubt the advanced level of guitar-centric composition will catch the ear of the old pros, particular the last three songs on the album where the real magick of the listen comes from a surprisingly adept melodic hand. So far this album has been a ‘grower’ after five or so listens suggesting I’d do well to continue pursuing its lasting value.

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