ALBUMS YOU MISSED… Is a yearly tradition of highlighting albums I did not have time to review, all of which are above average. I’d encourage folks to never be “done” with records after the release year passes, and recognize that the true fan will continue seeking the best of what is available and not only what is “current” to the greater perceived conversation. The plastic these were (likely) printed onto will take longer to decompose than you will, so, take a minute and see what escaped your periphery and what might stick. Take a deep breath, frown deeply, 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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There is a certain amount of meta-underground black metal excitement to the first impression made by this essentially anonymous United States-based black metal duo as Lucifixion have a Swiss-army knife’s worth of blades to choose from and they begin with raw, rapacious dramatism in their initial salvo of three ~7-8 minute long attacks. Wearing a blood-stained Katharsis-esque armor before they begin to lean into the dismal, post-millennial sourness of USBM I’d found this album remarkable for its wrathful energy and unfocused scrambling done early on and then somewhat throwaway as they’d reached for the 15+ minute “Iron Outer Midnyghte”, a digression that would’ve served better as the opener in terms of the full listen. Even if they’d walked it back a bit and included a chunk of filler on an already lengthy listen I was consistently left wanting to hear more, curious what they’d do next when I’d approached this record back in May. “Raw” but not pandering to naïvete, the energy is right for this debut and it seems to have been overlooked, or, at least understudied by surface level regurgitators beyond the press materials.

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Though I’m not sure it’d be fair to suggest Stavanger, Norway-based black metal band Ljå had missed an opportunity to become a killing force within the Norwegian underground in the late 2000’s, there were plenty of promising bands from that era who’d continued on to disappointing results (some are still going, even) but these folks had been greatly admired for their 2006 debut LP ‘Til avsky for livet‘. Beyond a 2012 EP one of the key members went on to focus on his own group, Djevel, and apparently this album was something like thirteen plus years in its development, finished somewhere around 2019-2020 from what I gather on social media. The original CD-r release was limited to 43 copies, obtainable only at a live show in late October. This is nicely in keeping with the old MySpace age of black metal but I am sure this release will see some serious treatment in due time; In terms of the music you can expect tuneful and hypnotic Norwegian black metal which concerns itself with the natural beauty of the country, some songs which seem to deal with World War II-era occupied Norway, and conflict in general which are all delivered with a straight forward and honest tone. It hits like a revival of a revival, a restatement of the maturation available to the form given some easier pacing and with some extra attention paid to slow-burning riffs and memorable bits that surprise, such as gang-shouted choruses (“Revheim”). I’d read this album as a complete no bullshit sort of release, and found myself enjoying the more memorable songs that kick off the album and the droning, swerving stuff that grinds in later on.

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Galician trio Marthyrium return six years beyond their debut full-length with an energized sound and their biggest vision yet having made an impressive leap beyond a somewhat conservative but high-minded starting point. Of course you’ll have noted by now that I am a huge fan of BlackSeed‘s roster but it seems that this year I missed every single one of their releases and it is too bad since ‘Through Spheres of Darkness‘ is exactly the sort of occult black metal (ah via: Svartidauði and Aosoth) which I am prone to obsess over, not to mention the associations with some of my favorite bands such as Balmog. The stream of bleak and dramatic light flooding from these words is wrathful but not always ruthless, giving these works plenty of room to ring out and burn through some death metal influenced movements as well as more atmospheric fixations. While the nicely rounded bass guitar tone and the most active, riff-driven points of the album were initially my focus I’d soon found myself happily lost in the more drifting-off, starry-eyed gloom of the second half of the album, especially “From the Ashes of a Withering World”. While I’ve heard plenty enough along these lines over the last couple decades I’d still found myself drawn back for several listens, finding Marthyrium‘s take deeply nuanced and yet aggressive as a point of greeting. It’ll have to be the sort of record I’ll appreciate even more in 2024 with a bit more attention paid.

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Had I missed one of the best atmospheric black metal albums of the year while overwhelmed with the absolute rush of releases that’d come out in late November? Yes, these sorts of oversights only feel like small mistakes until the bigger picture of the year becomes more glaring and mountainous. In fact mountainous is how I’d describe the ancient and kicking Gnostic glow of this hymnal form, which comes by way of Zürich, Switzerland-based artists Menetekel and Voidgaunt, both of whom also feature in the likewise brilliant Wyrgher but also groups like Ungfell and Dakhma. Though our rush into the first of four pieces here is felt by way of a rousing beat and soaring keyboards the choral sway and layered nature of the song’s resound soon reveals itself as the rhythms detangle in conclusion. Each of the ten minute pieces here seems to aim for primeval wonderment, presenting mythos pulled from archaic Judeo-Christian authorship in order to achieve an imaginative, grand-scaled effect. I would tangentially recommend this album to fans of Midnight Odyssey as well as earlier Aeternus not only for the hall-ringing chorales and charging speed atmospheric black metal but for their efforts to embody the ancient mind and the stories they’d dreamt up. Another well above-average release which will be best served when given due attention and time.

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If you’ve spent any quality time with Vemod‘s 2012 debut ‘Venter på stormene‘ you will recognize the vocalist (who is also in Mare, Djevel, Black Majesty) of this new conception, Syn, from his first bark and in most respects this debut LP seems to reaffirm that same spirit of old, oaken and miserable Norwegian black metal (the label references Forgotten Woods, Ulver) at its most youthful and idealistic state. Though it won’t be as folken or as raw as one might expect the ranting, run-on quality of the narration here is almost commanding as it builds in charisma over the course of the full listen, reaching a high point around ‘Gjetergang‘ before the sideways-echoed vocal effects and melodramatic heave of the riffs begin to overstate themselves. Though I didn’t find Side B held up as well as the first half for my own taste I’d appreciated the over the top expression of the vocalist and sentimental, occasionally incensed feeling of the full listen.

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Once again focusing on slow built, dramatically climbing yet forlornly melodic black metal pieces Angerberg, Austria-based quintet Asphagor offer such a confident consistency of vision that I wouldn’t begin to doubt the path taken until several pieces in, landing near “Matricide” and feeling a bit let down by the dark/gothic metal touch that a lot of bands seem to be stretching into lately. As it turns out this extravagant double LP was only just stretching open its wings as there are certainly acts and deeper-set movements held within the full listen which don’t feel entirely revealed until all is said and done. “The Great Erosion” was the cue I suppose but I wouldn’t blame the impatient listener to doubt this’d been a black metal album after all upon surface level approach. Though they aren’t the riff-crafters that Unhallowed (Deu) are, nor are they the dramatists in vision that Outlaw are there is an ‘epic’ light at the end of the tunnel here with ‘Pyrogenesis‘ and of course it is a slow burn. The payoff only just arrives with pieces like “Summoning” and “The Architect”, so, give it a patient listen if you’ve got a spare hour.

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You might recall Oculus‘ debut LP from way back in 2017 via Blood Harvest Records wherein the trio’s work had been suggested as an evolution of orthodox black metal inspirations coming from the mind of Serbian musician Kozeljnik who is best known for pagan black band The Stone among many other projects. After that album released they’d parted ways with drummer Bornyhake and added Honza Kapák who you should definitely recognize from Avenger, Maniac Butcher, and more recently Bohemyst. With this new line-up we find an entirely reborn beast in ‘Of Temples and Vultures‘, a black death fever dream lead by lead guitarist Nero‘s eerie calls to the abyss and sometimes dissonant, atmospheric yet never wholly chaotic works from these veterans. While their display is introverted, involved and cryptic, this is a much finer result than what they’d presented back in 2017 and a record which hasn’t gotten nearly enough push behind its psyche-rending wares.

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While I would generally keep the prior seven or so recommendations at an arms length this debut tape from Québécois black metal quartet Vespéral has just enough of a cold circa ’79 post-punk melancholia to its dreary drift that its intimacy and frayed-edged harass were a quick hit for my own taste. A relatively new affair featuring folks you’ll recognize from Ossuaire, Oppression, and lesser-known Conifére it is no surprise that Goatowarex quickly picked this one up for vinyl release per its estranged emotional register and willful shocks of blazing energy. Depressive, busted, and yet memorable enough to warrant many return listens this one has been stuck in my craw (per a random recommendation) since February.

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Despite the lovely wolfen landscape provided by Khaos Diktator on the cover of their debut LP Minneapolis, Minnesota-based trio Silva aren’t yet another Midwest atmoblack group, instead ‘Forgotten Sanctuary‘ reveals a bright and intensely paced-out melodic black-death metal upstart arriving upon their first serious statement. Though this debut LP gets off to a stiff-necked start per the precision of “Desolate Hordes” the congested nature of these pieces becomes part of their charm as technical tautness just as quickly gives way to swinging and shoving flows of riff. You’ll get a whiff of Dawn‘s interlocking rhythmic touch on the title track and the sense that Swedish melodic black/death metal of the 90’s is their true driver but don’t mistake this for the usual Dissection-copped feel, instead this is just as much a death metal record of a certain era as it is a melodic black metal experience overall which “Aurora View” shows us from both sides and from multiple angles. One moment you might reference late 90’s works from Hypocrite or Fatal Embrace but here the heavy/power metal influence is not so scene/trend specific, though the drum sound is cold and compressed as if it were a drum machine ,much in the same way ‘Shadowsouls Garden‘ appeared at first. Warm up the drum sound, drop the instrumental and kick out one or two more leads and this’d have been a show-stopper for my taste this year. Definitely an album/band I’ll keep pursuing to see if it continues to stick in mind.

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I’ve been wanting a reason to talk about Danish black metal solo project Geistaz’ika since 2019 when Signal Rex picked the pagan black metal (as in (earlier): Helheim, Ulver, …In the Woods) project up for physical editions of their debut ‘Trolddomssejd i skovens dybe kedel‘ (2018), wherein those issues had even hit my best of the month when released. This follow up release is no less dramatic in its expression, in fact their work is doubly so in terms of using hymnal vocals, a quite loud theremin, and ruddy acoustic guitars to create a wintry theatre of dread and majesty herein. Thankfully the wrathful vocals and intensely melodic rhythm guitar work continue to carry their point across the way, making for an even more impressive release than the last overall. The ~20 minute finale piece is one of my favorite oaken black metal pieces of the year though it really works best in context of the full listen.

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