ENDTYMER is the semi-weekly recap, blogspace, and new release round-up column. It hits at the end of (most) 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, might contain 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

---

FIVE BEST OF THIS (LAST) WEEK

[#1] SLIMELORD (‘Chytridiomycosis Relinquished‘, 20 Buck Spin)
[#2] EARLY MOODS (‘A Sinner’s Past‘, RidingEasy Records)
[#3] MERRIMACK (‘Of Grace and Gravity‘, Season of Mist)
[#4] SKELETAL REMAINS (‘Fragments of the Ageless‘, Century Media)
[#5] GREY SKIES FALLEN (‘Molded by Broken Hands‘, Profound Lore)

---

UPCOMING RELEASES

Catch up with the latest new release announcements for albums I am most likely to cover here.

---

With the song and music video for “Hefenfelth” Northumbrian monastic doom metal band ARÐ introduce their much anticipated sophomore full-length album. ‘Untouched by Fire‘ is set to be released this coming April 26th. Arð conductore Mark Deeks (Winterfylleth) comments: “The location of what is now thought to have been Heavenfield is nowadays a fairly unassuming, remote field. If you visit at night, it feels like you can ‘hear’ every sound for miles around. If this really was the location to which Oswald returned in order to claim the Kingdom of Northumbria, the field was witness to some truly significant sights and sounds in terms of the history of both the region and England as a whole. Musically this was the beast that I wrestled with the most and over many months. Yet when it all came together, it felt deeply satisfying.” As you’ve noticed the historic focus of the band’s lyrics are once again reprised to tell the tale of the land where they walk and from the sound of this sound everything has gotten a shade deeper, the production, the nuance of theme, and the temperament of the performances. Their debut was brilliant a couple years back so, this remains one of my most anticipate records of the year.

Amor Fati Productions has announced April 30th as the release date for German black metal band DAUÞUZ‘ fifth full-length album. ‘Uranium‘ will release on CD and vinyl LP formats while band will be self-releasing the cassette tape version in tandem. I don’t know the full story/lore of the band’s themes but a history of work and the danger of early scientific discovery feed into the theme of rare earth minerals an such. Either way I’d regretted not reviewing their last two records so I will be cracking into this one for the sake of catching up. Check out the first preview track “Wüst die Heimat”:

Imposing yet fluid in the whipping of its many-bladed motion Australian black/death metal project TENEBRIFIC comes by way of Adam Martin (Golgothan Remains, Sarcophagum) and Cris Bassan (Decrepid) and features folks from Sumeru, Repugnant Inebriation, Blast Bunker. These fellowes are all known for above-average extreme stuff and this form of blackened death metal is appropriately dark, serious in its cold atmosphere. We can approach their first demo/EP thing ‘Labyrinth of Anguish‘ with confidence as they self-release it this coming April 8th.

Ever-adaptive death metal trio NECROT will return after four years of trialed existence to release their much anticipated third full-length, ‘Lifeless Birth‘. The album will release by way of Tankcrimes this coming April 12th. Pandemic tour interruptions, injuries, surgeries, and such kept them from cranking out an immediate follow up to ‘Mortal‘ but from what I’ve heard so far this new record is well worth the wait.

Danish black/doom metal duo OFFERNAT have suggested they’re ready to explored new territory on their upcoming second LP, ‘Where Nothing Grows‘, which is set to be released through Indisciplinarian this coming March 29th as a double LP. Drawing from doom, sludge, and black metal in search of their own convergence the band suggest their focus on this sophomore LP was songcraft, keeping it unpredictable but memorable at once. Loved the album artwork, and liked the previous album, enough that I’ll give this one a shot:

Four years later NYC-based death/doom metal band FUNERAL LEECH return with their sophomore full-length album ‘The Illusion Of Time‘ which is set for release this coming April 5th via Carbonized Records. Drummer/vocalist L. comments on the album’s bad trip: “The Illusion Of Time, as a whole is a journey into self-realization and acceptance, but not a very positive one. I took the writings and self-teachings from Death Meditation and went a step further. This is a natural progression, ‘death is a new beginning’ was just that, a beginning. The Illusion Of Time is about how time stops at nothing. The album contains five concentrated, and almost obsessive writings on time and its inevitable effect on us. We often think it is infinite, when in fact it couldn’t be further than the case. Every clock alarm, every watch tick… one second closer to our end. And what happens after that? Time keeps moving. Forever. The Illusion Of Time is deeply personal and deals with a number of great losses I’ve experienced, and how time is a reminder that life goes on, doesn’t care, will never stop, even after we are long gone. It’ll just begin again for someone else.” I’d enjoyed their debut quite a bit so, much like the new Necrot album this feels like they’ve taken time to realize some new and impressive potential with life experience in tow.

U.K. sludge metal trio IRON MONKEY have returned as of 2023 and now announce they will release their new full-length, ‘Spleen & Goad‘, on April 5th through Relapse Records. These folks have been around in some form since 1994 and this new lineup features founding member J. Rushby and session spots from D. Berry and ex-Widows drummer Z. Big. I am always up for a real-ass 90’s sludge metal record and from what I’ve heard these folks still get it.

‘Daudswiärk‘ marks itself as the tenth studio album from German atmospheric/folken black metal band HORN as they celebrate their twentieth year of existence. They’ve called this album a “temporal retreat from the experimental, folk-influenced sounds of the preceding album” and it should be interesting to contrast this sound with the well-liked ‘Verzet‘. ‘Daudswiärk‘ will release on vinyl and digipack in May 3rd 2024 as a collaboration between the ever independent Horn and Northern Silence Productions. Produced by M. Stock (Empyrium, The Vision Bleak) at the renowned “Studio E2” this album does well to clarify and feature the rhythm section as one of the pagan black metal band’s strengths. The band comments on the first single: “Braud” is a slow-paced, bass-heavy hymn revolving around the topic of bread and hunger. It tells the story of a fictional creature, sucking the essence out of the land and bringing all activity and creativity on it to a halt. I opted to write this one in Norwegian as it offered the optimal rhythmic structure.” Looking forward to this one since the last several LPs from the band have been inspired and high quality:

Prosthetic Records have announced United States based progressive metal band EXIST will return this coming Spring with their fourth album, ‘Hijacking the Zeitgeist‘ for an April 12th release date. Their directive continues to involve technical showpieces and atmospheric experimentation, suggesting a “more concise concise approach to songwriting” this time around. Enjoyed this first preview song so I’m curious to spend time with the full album:

Bergen-based extreme post-doom metal band BISMARCK have released the first single, “Sky Father”, from their upcoming full-length album ‘Vourukasha‘. Dark Essence Records will release this third LP from the band on May 3rd this year. Expect an “uncompromising mix of sludgy riffs and psychedelic nuances, inspired by a wide array of genres and styles. The end result is an amp-melting form of stoner doom combined with atmospheric post-rock, with hints of Middle Eastern folk music and the Norwegian black metal they grew up.” This description caught my eye and the album thus far delivers on this idea in preview:

Sentient Ruin have announced Portland, Oregon-based abyssal black/death crew DIABOLIC OATH will soon return with ‘Oracular Hexations‘ a sophomore full-length promising more of their curse-marked fretless guitar/bass warp. The album will release on vinyl LP, CD, cassette tape and digitally this coming April 5th. I am expecting nothing short of havoc from these folks.

---

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. Please subscribe, share, and leave a comment, etc. if you feel like it.

NOTE: Right-click and “Open in New Tab/Window” to view on YouTube or try youtube.com/@terraasymmetry

HOUWITSER – Sentinel Beast (2024) | REVIEW

MIDNIGHT– Hellish Expectations (2024) | REVIEW

EARLY MOODS – A Sinner’s Past (2024) | REVIEW

GREY SKIES FALLEN – Molded by Broken Hands (2024) | REVIEW

SLIMELORD – Chytridiomycosis Relinquished (2024) | REVIEW

MOLTEN – Malicide (2024) | REVIEW

Short Reviews | March 6th, 2024

The Top 20 Albums of February | 2024

---

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:

SKELETAL REMAINS – Fragments of The Ageless [March 8th, Century Media Records]
CHAPEL OF SAMHAIN – Black Onyx Cave [March 18th, Nuclear Winter Records]
CRITICAL DEFIANCE – The Search Won’t Fall… [March 22nd, Unspeakable Axe/Dying Victims]
HAMFERÐ – Men Guðs Hond Er Sterk [March 22nd, Metal Blade Records]
ALTAR OF BETELGEUZE – Echoes [March 22nd, Wise Blood Records]
CIVEROUS – Maze Envy [March 22nd, 20 Buck Spin]

SHORT REVIEWS + VIDEO:

Short Reviews will be weekly this March, every Wednesday. Next entry: 3/06/24 (Mar. 6th)

SVOID – Neptunian [March 9th, Sun & Moon Records]
HIDEOUS DIVINITY – Unextinct [March 22nd, Century Media]
UDÅD – Udåd [March 15th, Peaceville Records]
DIONYSIAQUE – Diogonos [March 15th, I, Voidhanger Records]
WOUNDS – Ruin [March 15th, Everlasting Spew Records]
THOMAS GREENWOOD AND THE TALISMANS – Ateş [March 15th, Subsound Records]

---