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

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FIVE BEST OF THIS WEEK

[#1] CRITICAL DEFIANCE (‘The Search Won’t Fall‘, Unspeakable Axe/Dying Victims)
[#2] BRODEQUIN (‘Harbinger of Woe‘, Season of Mist UA)
[#3] HIDEOUS DIVINITY (‘Unextinct‘, Century Media)
[#4] APPARITION (‘Disgraced Emanations…‘, Profound Lore)
[#5] DÖDSRIT (‘Nocturnal Will‘, Wolves of Hades)

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UPCOMING RELEASES

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

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F.D.A. Records have announced the latest full-length album from German death metal trio EVOKED will release this coming May 17th on CD and digitally. ‘Immoral Arts‘ features five new songs which reprise their early 90’s style of pure death metal in an authentic style, an exacting follow-up to ‘Ravenous Compulsion‘. No preview song yet, check out the artwork by Timon Kokott Art-Work and follow their label on Facebook etc.

https://www.facebook.com/FDAREC

Iron Bonehead Productions have announced May 17th as the release date for ROPE SECT‘s second full-length album. ‘Estrangement‘ will release on CD and vinyl LP formats and is suggested as a continuation of the electronic touch of ‘Proskynesis‘ and a spiritual prequel to ‘Personae Ingratae‘ in its internalized events: “[…] exploring the thought why people (would) feel estranged and seclude themselves from society and form their own sect. “It can be seen as a reflection of all the ruins we are surrounded by. The increasing reign of pessimism over optimism in a world that seems to have doomed itself as well as expressing a sense of not belonging and the connected urge to escape all this and live by your own rules in your own little world, passing all the warning signs of human kind going astray.” Of course where they go, I will follow. Check out the first single, “Revel in Disguise”:

Psychedelic doom metal band BLACK PYRAMID have returned after a decade and announced a new album for Totem Cat Records. ‘The Paths of Time Are Vast‘ will release this coming May 3^rd and maintains their touring line-up beyond 2018 This album is apparently written as a single story, as frontman Andy Beresky suggests: “This album is your golden ticket to voyage beyond the realms of birth and dead, to take the journey through the many doors of radiant reality and dark dimension, to tread the celestial pathways carved in the carcasses of the stars, and to finally taste the vastness of time and space.” There’ll be various vinyl editions, and a CD version. Sounds like Black Pyramid for sure, good memories of this band in the past and they’re still tuneful:

Dark Descent Records have announced ‘Armageddon Patronage‘ the second full-length album from Copenhagen’s black/death metal band STRYCHNOS. The album will release this coming May 17th on CD, cassette, vinyl, and digitally. Bassist/vocalist Martin Leth Andersen comments: “This release will showcase a natural continuation of what A Mother’s Curse began. The band seeks to refine and push further key elements from the debut – in ways of both aggressiveness and the more atmospheric parts. This follow-up also showcases an array of new details like alternative instrumentation, vocal variations, intros, outros, and a couple of noticeable guest appearances.” Check out the first single “Winds Warning the Final Storm”: 

Polish ritualistic/shamanic doom metal band SUNNATA have returned with their fifth studio album ‘Chasing Shadows‘ which is set for release on May 10th. Commenting on the album: “The fifth album for a band like ours is no joke. We are extremely proud on one hand, but also exhausted on the other as the creative process pushed us to the current limits. It’s the most complex and longest Sunnata record to date. Filled with nuances, genre blends and confident expansion of the band’s sound spectrum. Anyone familiar with our discography can easily tell that both change and experimentation are part of our nature, but at the same time – the constant need to push ourselves outside of the comfort zone, go beyond – is what stretches one’s limits. Maybe this is why we liked the title so much – we are chasing the uncatchable – shadows, illusions, visions and try to frame them with our musical language.” I really enjoyed where they were headed with the previous record so, stoked to hear about this direction taken:

Spanish brutal death metal band CHRIST DENIED have reached their third decade of existence and now arrive upon their third full-length album and their first with an actual drummer. ‘Christopsy‘ will release on CD and digital formats this coming May 21st and will feature drummer Fabio Grinder (ex-Internal Suffering) on drums. Check out the first single/opener “Scream Bloody Blasphemy”:

Polish modern black metal quartet BLAZE OF PERDITION are slated to return with a sixth full-length album this year and once again by way of Metal Blade Records. ‘Upharsin‘ is suggested as a darker turn than ‘The Harrowing of Hearts‘ as they dive back into the volatility of black metal. The band comments: “With Upharsin, we aimed to open the wounds of humanity as a collective. The album reflects on how humans tend to gravitate towards conflict and strife. How religions and politics as well as other aspects of our everyday life are tainted and driven by our lower instincts as we willingly refuse to learn from our own history, as we choose to ignore and neglect the shadow aspect of our psychic reality, which in turn takes us further and further in the everlasting cycle of violence. It’s probably the most realistic concept we’ve taken on, with noticeably less spiritual leanings and a much more grounded approach.” The first single, “W kwiecie rozłamu”, feels appropriately bleak:

Denver, Colorado based blackened tech-death metal band VALE OF PNATH will release their latest full-length album ‘Between The Worlds of Life and Death‘ on CD, vinyl, and digital formats this coming May 24th via Willowtip Records. The band commend on this new album: “It’s been 5 years since our last release, Accursed. The EP really was a new avenue for the band as we leaned further toward a more blackened approach stylistically. Having more of a tech death background, this EP was a way to lead our fans into the next era. Between The Worlds of Life and Death is an album that really is just a continuation of what we started with Accursed. It captures the band’s core sound, but also brings a newer and bold take on this brand of metal. We want this to be the most approachable album we have made for metal fans. We want people to put this on and be sucked in immediately, yet keep coming back for more.”

British doom metal legendry MY DYING BRIDE’s upcoming 15th album, ‘A Mortal Binding‘ should be on your radar as it will release this coming April 19th via Nuclear Blast Records. The theatric, sometimes progressive, always entertaining gothic and melodic doom/death metal band have a lot to follow-up per the impressive ‘The Ghost of Orion‘ (2019) but we can expect an album which is less pained and more relishing in its performative aspect. Says maestro Stainthorpe: “This album was much easier than The Ghost of Orion. We were coming out of cancer with my daughter. That, naturally, was always playing on my mind throughout the recording. When the album was released, the world went into lockdown. Everything went dark. We didn’t know what to do next. Of course, we released the Macabre Cabaret EP, which was recorded at the same time as The Ghost of Orion, to keep interest up. We could finally gig a bit when the world opened up again. Only then could we begin, in earnest, the songwriting for A Mortal Binding.” And as you will see the fellow is embracing his Byron-esque nature on this record, which I guarantee will entertain. Much anticipated:

Helldprod Records have announced next week, March 29th, as the release date for Brazilian speed metal quartet FLAGELADÖR‘s new album, ‘Culto aos Decibéis‘, on cassette format. They’ve described the 9 song, 25 minute album as “dirty and aggressive” but of course it is also tuneful in most respects and full of classic dark speed metal spiritus. Check out “Estigiofobia”:

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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. 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

ALTAR OF BETELGEUZE – Echoes (2024) | REVIEW

HALNY – Zawrat (2024) | REVIEW

STRESS ANGEL – Punished by Nemesis (2024) | REVIEW

SPEEDKILLER – Inferno (2024) | REVIEW

SKELETAL REMAINS – Fragments of The Ageless (2024) | REVIEW

Short Reviews | March 13th, 2024

MISOTHEIST – Vessels By Which the Devil is Made Flesh (2024) | REVIEW

MALSTEN – The Haunting of Silvåkra Mill – Rites of Passage (2024) | REVIEW

HAMFERР– Men Guðs Hond Er Sterk (2024) | REVIEW

HADIT – Metaphysical Engines Approaching the Event Horizon (2024) | REVIEW

CRITICAL DEFIANCE – The Search Won’t Fall… (2024) | REVIEW

CIVEROUS – Maze Envy (2024) | REVIEW

CHAPEL OF SAMHAIN – Black Onyx Cave (2024) | REVIEW

BRODEQUIN – Harbinger of Woe (2024) | REVIEW

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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:

CANCERVO – III [March 29th, Electric Valley Records]
CANTIQUE LÉPREUX – Le Banissement [March 29th, Eisenwald]
COFFIN STORM – Arcana Rising [March 29th, Peaceville Records]
VERBERIS – The Apophatic Wilderness [March 29th, NoEvDia]
KVADRAT – The Horrible Dissonance of Oblivion [April 4th, Nuclear Winter/Total Dissonance]
FUNERAL LEECH – The Illusion of Time [April 5th, Carbonized Records]

SHORT REVIEWS + VIDEO:

L’APPELLE DU VIDE – Metro [March 29th, Sabotage/It’s Eleven Records]
VORGA – Beyond the Palest Star [March 29th, Transcending Obscurity]
OBSIDIAN SUN – Obsidian Sun [March 29th, Edged Circle Productions]
MUTILATION BARBECUE – Amalgamations of Gore [March 29th, Maggot Stomp]
GREYHAWK – Thunderheart [April 2nd, Fighter Records]
FURZE – Caw Entrance [April 5th, Devoted Art Propaganda]

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