THE TOP 20 ALBUMS OF THE MONTH should be self-explanatory, an ordered ranking of twenty albums that’d resonated most throughout this month. If you’re new to the site, the tendency is heavy and/or surreal music. Choices are selected based on temporal immersion, personal connection, impressive style, point of view, aesthetics and with consideration for the lasting value of each selection. All choices are ultimately personal and come without consideration for populism, nepotism, cronyism, or any outside factors including perceived “relevance”. Writing about music is a passion I afford as much time as is manageable and I am grateful to have so much to choose from. Thank you.

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I. This month on MystificationZine.com included 27 longform album reviews, 28+ video reviews/features (~14 more still being edited), 24 short album reviews, 1 entries into the An Exhaustive Study: Melodic Black Metal (~12 releases covered) feature, and I sent out 6 short written interviews.

II. Mystification Fanzine Issue #4 “Grotesque Contrivances” will be available digitally on April 12th for $5.00 USD here. Keep in mind subscribing to my Patreon does not entitle you to back issues, only the current monthly issue. Consider the zine still in a soft launch as we hit the reset button this year, future issues will me more or less ambitious depending on the month.

III. In 2024 written reviews will now have a video component which will post at the bottom of each review or feature at the end of each week (Thursday or Friday) If you enjoy these please consider following on YouTube. We’ve recently hit 895 (!) subscribers and I’m hoping to hit the thousand mark in 2024.

IV. As always I’d like to express my gratitude for the bands, labels and PR firms who choose to work with me. Thank you.

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#1	Album of the Month
ARTIST:	SLIMELORD
TITLE:	Chytridiomycosis Relinquished
RECORD LABEL(S):	20 Buck Spin

By all accounts Slimelord came together while the fellowes from sci-fi death/thrashers Cryptic Shift were blowing off steam, chipping at some sludgy ‘Gateways to Annihilation‘ type riffs and eventually making a few tapes from what they’d come up with. Here on their debut full-length album their work is leagues evolved beyond the expectations set, a psychedelic death-doom metal album heavy on gnarled atmospheric drift and surprisingly memorable twists and turns which rival the most idiosyncratic inventions of bands like Disembowelment. There’ve been plenty of fascinating esoteric death metal albums released already this year but this might be the most entertaining, repeatable record I’ve gotten my hands on in some time.

“West Yorkshire, England-based surrealist death/doom metal quartet SLIMELORD thrum, wail and warp through several surrealistic landscapes espousing abominations and weird truths on this imposing, nigh psychedelia stratified debut full-length album. ‘Chytridiomycosis Relinquished‘ pumps its masterful death metal ooze with finesse from a frothing, belligerent place where scrawling momentum and searching phrases slowly infest and splatter loose the senses. An atmospheric death metal album given a nigh progressive level of intrigue by riff-obsessed hand the quartet’s vision in musty blooming debut is intoxicating to say the least, a full-body enveloping high which entrances quick before slowly dissolving all that its thorn-covered branches reel in.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#2
ARTIST:	VERBERIS
TITLE:	The Apophatic Wilderness
RECORD LABEL(S):	Norma Evangelium Diaboli

The main reason I’d not been a hundred percent readied to place this third full-length album from Verberis in the number one slot was time, I’d simply not spent enough time with the record beyond the allotted review time to begin to rank it next to albums I might’ve had in my inbox for three months longer. That said, I am such a fan of this artist and have already obsessed over every detail I could glean from these three brilliantly illustrative and dramatic longform pieces. Their finest production to date, a decidedly different record from their other releases and a deeper point of focus and expression than before. The fact that I am still giving it regular spins should say it all for now.

“A fractionation event in three movements of dissociation and negation in view of catastrophic ruination New Zealand/Germany-based quartet VERBERIS seeks what wisdom lies below after grasping for the luminance of the noumenon above. ‘The Apophatic Wilderness‘ is a refinement as much as it is a new axis to bend their surrealistic forms against as if iron, a black/death metal experience made no less punishing for its modulation toward sombre and sleekened streaming consciousness. With great emphasis on atmospheric narration amidst its greater slow-burning, psyche draining scramble down the cliffs of the realm of the dead this masterful album manages a diabolical, Faustian level of taxation which rewards the patient and attentive mind’s engagement with a highest-yet standard applied.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#3
ARTIST:	MISOTHEIST
TITLE:	Vessels by Which the Devil is Made Flesh
RECORD LABEL(S):	Terratur Possessions

Composed in a manner which is similarly longform and built by a singular mind as #2 this third full-length from Misotheist further develops the matured atmospheric values and tension wrought longform pieces of their previous LP, this time taking on more unexpected rhythms which yet feel naturally achieved, organic in their atmospheric upheaval. Though I found myself fawning over this record to start I haven’t been returning to it as much as ‘For the Glory of the Redeemer‘, and despite the obsession waning this is a notable black metal release for the year and a reasonable evolution of their personalized style.

“Laconic as a point of personage as their growing voice gains skull-swimming reverberance Trondheim, Norway-based black metal band Misotheist remain tight-lipped and shadow set in their third full cycle, reaching for the minimum amount of petition to enforce their growing throng of litanies. Another potent triangulation of scenery encased in layers of obfuscation and cryptic purpose ‘Vessels by Which the Devil is Made Flesh‘ continues to craft hypnotic orthodoxy which leaves the mind starving for further elaboration, driving the participant into a frenzied devotion to understanding ’til the layers available to each work begins to hum loose in slow reveal. An exacting companion to their previous LP, this’ll have to be considered parity of experience and increased expressive depth at once in continuing the impactful mete of revelation managed thus far.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#4
ARTIST:	EARLY MOODS
TITLE:	A Sinner’s Past
RECORD LABEL(S):	RidingEasy Records

Traditional doom metal/heavy rock quintet Early Moods take on a despairing mid-80’s feeling tonality which curses and creeps its way through the possession available to this catchiest yet, most clearly characterized sophomore full-length. I’d loved the oaken stride and general variety available to their debut LP but this one is all the more dire and I suppose heavier to the point that I’d had it on frequent rotation throughout the entire month. They’re still a pretty new group but with each record they only become more bold and as a result more essential.

“Driven to new despairing lows per the haunting spiritual dilemma described, the dire circumstances of our horrified protagonists in Los Angeles, California-based traditional doom metal quintet EARLY MOODS amounts to a bug eyed page-turner, a tornado’d dance through hymns of blood, ritual possession and all manner of shadowy terrors summoned as they present their sophomore full-length album. Soaring, garage-thundered and oozing from deeply wounding dread ‘A Sinner’s Past‘ makes real a swaggering glazed-eye’d sense of self that’d been hypothetical on the young band’s debut with true doom metal pusher. Trampling their way through eight songs in ~ten minutes shy of an hour these folks wear their new found experience to float and pound their way through this superior vision of late 70’s formed and early 80’s debuted trad-doom metal.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#5
ARTIST:	BRODEQUIN
TITLE:	Harbinger of Woe
RECORD LABEL(S):	Season of Mist

This fixture of the far-out extremes of brutal death metal in the early 2000’s returns with a far more polished but still logical continuation of where they’d left off around 2004. This Mark III version of Brodequin once again features an incredible drummer to help carry a ruthless album which cuts through this quick and crushing record in just over a half hour. Hitting these songs as straight forward as possible and holding fast to their brutal legacy is all any longtime fan could ask for giving us a reprisal on the level of Devourment‘s return a few years ago.

“As we find Knoxville, Tennessee-based brutal death metal trio BRODEQUIN returning most officially now twenty years removed from their last full-length album their work is no less obsessed with the past-and-primitive implements of torture and execution over the course of history. Punishing yet brief vignettes offer scene-setting immediacy, a hammer in the hand of the sadist, as this fourth full-length album from the trio ‘Harbinger of Woe‘ raises a hand of intimidation to all passersby as they’d detail the horrifying creativity available to punishers and executioners throughout history. A chance to reframe their own legacy of battery and belligerence this fourth revolution recontextualizes the work of these folks from belligerent underground maulers to still principled participants in exploring the extreme outer limits of brutal death metal.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#6
ARTIST:	SEPULCHRAL WHORE
TITLE:	The Return From a Sepulchral Rest
RECORD LABEL(S):	Excarnation Records

This long active Brazilian death metal band impress with their out-of-the-blue debut LP which manages a well-rounded showing of well above-average pacing, plenty of killer riffs, a few big hits of death/doom and surprisingly great integration of keyboards for effect. Above all else they entertain with their sound rather than blandly intellectualizing their way through the motions, shredding out wrathful songs which can mourn with the best of ’em.

“In the trenches for nearly a decade and finally ready to escalate their assault in graven theater northeastern Brazilian death metal quintet SEPULCHRAL WHORE arrive upon their debut full-length statement entirely weathered, prepared for all situations with a well-wrought personae and full-fleshed aptitude(s) worthy of the rarely met standards of ‘old school’ death metal. Carrying its own haunting presence in tow ‘The Return From a Sepulchral Rest‘ makes good on the band’s ancient promise of necrotic death metal with this kicking, thrashing-yet-brutal blaze of breakneck riffing pummel and headstone perched gloom. Easily one of the best surprises underground classicist death metal has crossed the threshold with so far this year.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#7
ARTIST:	SKELETAL REMAINS
TITLE:	Fragments of the Ageless
RECORD LABEL(S):	Century Media Records

It took a while for this ‘old school’ worshipping death metal band to grind up their notoriety, tour game, and crew to get to the top-tier level they are performing at now and as a longtime fan I couldn’t be happier with the fact that they’ve never faltered even when changing things up and only continue to find places to improve, side-quests to take and impress with album over album. ‘Fragments of the Ageless‘ smokes and their brutal lean on this record should impress anyone looking for more Hate Eternal and Cannibal Corpse in their gig.

“Cannibalistic cosmic horror, damning solitude, brutal otherworldly possession and amped-up sonic brutality introduce us to the core examination of emotional and physical extremes suffered throughout the altogether mayhemic vision behind ‘Fragments of the Ageless‘, the fifth and potentially newly defining album from Whittier, California-based death metal band Skeletal Remains. Another infusion of fresh blood, years of larger than life touring, and persistent venture into unreal exaggerations of ancient realms have done well to pull the steadfast vision of the band further out of their relentless early 90’s ‘old school’ death metal mindset toward the darker recesses of late decade pre-millennium extremity. Now knee deep in their entirely consistent discography and yet unfaltering in their representation of classics-minded canon these folks continue to tap into the real thing managing authentic craft, violence and venom striking well above the bar for nostalgia-built death metal crews.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#8
ARTIST:	MOLTEN
TITLE:	Malicide
RECORD LABEL(S):	Transylvanian Recordings

I’d been so impressed with the first LP from Molten and its treatment of thrashing death metal with a clear scope on traditional heavy metal that there was no doubt I’d be up for ‘Malicide‘ but had no clue they’d double down on their own traits this much. In manifesting this sophomore LP they’ve differentiated their approach to the point that you’ll find no reasonable comparison to draw as their energetic, violent and atmosphere approach only ever builds the conversation on Molten. Otherwise it is an entertaining at times unpredictable thrasher that held my attention for countless listens.

“Steely in stature yet ablaze in motion San Francisco, California-based death-thrashing heavy metal quintet MOLTEN return to their crusade with a biggest yet, heavier-than-thou, even more nuanced and psychotically charged sophomore full-length album. Balancing the weighty mania of Bay Area classic-thrashing death metal, the pensive dredging of progressive metal, and the charge of traditional heavy metal in hand ‘Malicide‘ is first and foremost an energetic blitz of a record which leads with high-brained finesse in tandem with a maniac lashed-out fervor. Dunking several skulls worth of brains into this stew so that it all makes sense, these fellowes thrive within harried energy and eclectic vision but win the metal brain over within the meticulously sorted details of their craft.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#9
ARTIST:	HIDEOUS DIVINITY
TITLE:	Unextinct
RECORD LABEL(S):	Century Media

The one regret I have this past month was not doing a thorough review of this latest Hideous Divinity album wherein the themes, the drumming, and the increasingly dark fluidic space occupied by their guitar work stretch beyond the realm of brutal tech-death and continue to find their own mastery. While it’d be fair to suggest their work has eased off the brutality with each successive release they’ve always found ways to re-shade that density in with thrilling ideas and an always dark soul applied.

“Roman technical death metal quartet Hideous Divinity posit the burning wheel of existence as they raise lingering questions on the subject of futility and free will on this densely stated yet dramatic fifth full-length album. ‘Unextinct‘ continues the slow tempering process which has been in effect since 2014’s ‘Cobra Verde‘ wherein the brutality of their early days has given way to far more creative exploration of tempo and technique beyond hammered-at blasting. This is not all that far from the evolution of Ulcerate albeit different considering these folks primary influences appear to have been pulled from the prime era of bands like Nile and Hate Eternal as an early offshoot of Hour of Penance. While some have suggested blackened dissonance is a big part of this evolution their work is yet savagely brutal despite what I’d call a thinking man’s approach to the hammer applied. Much more to unpack here, of course, but the gist of it is that Hideous Divinity have pushed forward with their ever evolving sound and hit a wild hot spot of inspiration with ‘Unextinct‘.“

>> SHORT REVIEW <<

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#10
ARTIST:	CANTIQUE LÉPREUX
TITLE:	Le Bannissement
RECORD LABEL(S):	Eisenwald

Cantique Lépreux return with what is arguably their most connective narrative illustration to date in this steadfast yet ultimately transformative melodious black metal album, an experience which is harsh in theme and beauteous in its render. Though touting production values might appear to miss the point in description of a black metal album in this case it helps to emphasize the craft available to an album like ‘Le Bannissement‘ where we find a sophistication of forms which are put forth with vitality and feeling that any fan of Quebec’s black metal legacy will find lasting, steeling in its greater presentation.

“Québec-based atmospheric melodic black metal quartet Cantique Lépreux present a sojourn from banishment to self-built independence out in the wilds of this deeply introspective third full-length album. ‘Le Bannissement‘ is intended as a glorification, an example of resolve found within the freeing solitude of nature amplified by an auld sensation of grandeur limited to the striations of the past wherein ancient music and eternal naturalism offer a certain spiritual fortitude explored and embodied within these seven songs. One should be able to palpate the ache of self-actualization, freeing thoughts without resignation amidst difficult trials of survival, transmitted within these rushing and trampling strides of melodic black metal as they are exaggerated into deeply sophisticated musing.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#11
ARTIST:	STRESS ANGEL
TITLE:	Punished by Nemesis
RECORD LABEL(S):	Dying Victims Productions

While the sub-genre discussion might take over the conversation in terms of description being ultra-specific to start, a band like Stress Angel naturally appeals for the sake of their craft being music made for the riff-obsessed by design. While their debut ‘Bursting Church‘ was a sort of 80’s black n’ death thrasher delivering whipping blasphemy this album finds a groove, expands their repertoire in terms of pace, and generally better produces its venture leading to a more thoughtfully applied use of their talents and a step forth with the overall personae of their gig.

“Serving nine mortal wounds in deserved retribution of clerical hubris Brooklyn, New York-based blackened death/thrash metal duo STRESS ANGEL return for an advanced course in riff-obsessed extreme thrashing diabolic retribution per this sophomore full-length album. All crosses inverted and merits doubled these folks have donned more serious gear, cut harder riffs, and generally given a well-considered boon beyond their quickly shredded out debut album ensuring that ‘Punished by Nemesis‘ is a best-yet representative vision beyond the explosive ancient fire they’d arrived with a handful of years ago. An obvious essential for 80’s extreme and sinister thrash-brained folks up front and a fortifying statement toward the band’s growing infamy otherwise.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#12
ARTIST:	CRITICAL DEFIANCE
TITLE:	The Search Won’t Fall…
RECORD LABEL(S):	Dying Victims Productions, Unspeakable Axe

Despite having been a huge fan of Critical Defiance‘s debut LP I’ve found each of their releases beyond that point have hit like a nuke and faded in mind quickly and primarily because their first album was compositionally focused on ~5-6 minute thrash metal pieces whereas the others have been less centered, aiming to infuse the bursting at the seams influences from metalpunk, black metal, and such which manifest in different ways. While most of ‘The Search Won’t Fall…‘ is class-act thrash metal there are quicker throwaway pieces which comprise the middle of the experience, leaving a void of interest outside of the opener and endpoint for my own tastes. This take will continue to change over time but as much as I wanted this album to stick, it hasn’t called back to me very much beyond the review phase.

“Vision-questing for their own unique tessellation in the realm of classic thrash metal mentalism Villa Alemana, Chile-based quintet CRITICAL DEFIANCE aim to bottle the essence and the voice they’ve cultivated over the last decade plus as they sum their experiences on this third full-length album. In bringing together past-and-present vision ‘The Search Won’t Fall…‘ doesn’t necessarily ease on the ripping speed and traditional thrash wares of their first two releases but instead cuts deeper into tuneful craft nearly as much as they splay into a broad variety of tones and textures. In realizing the unreal Escher-esque tapestry of what thrash metal can be today they’ve yet managed an album which serves tradition just as well as it does their own purposes of divining the self, making for a proper soul-searching stretch into their own skin.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#13
ARTIST:	GREY SKIES FALLEN
TITLE:	Molded by Broken Hands
RECORD LABEL(S):	Profound Lore Records

These folks have always had something extra to bring to the melodic death/doom metal pulpit though we find some notable focus on vocal technique, tuneful results, and general presentation across Grey Skies Fallen‘s last three albums which amounts to the memorable, emotionally driven course of ‘Molded by Broken Hands‘. You know where a band like this comes from when you hear ’em and I think what’d stuck with me more than anything else is this sense of grief in process and a point of resolve reached which isn’t wholly nihilistic or overly dwelling in misery. Otherwise I’ve felt the more traditional doom/heavy metal they work into their sound the better the result, even moreso when their song lengths are a bit shorter and to the point.

“Stymied by mass hypnosis, disunification and various epidemics of violence there is yet resolve in the current state of mind New York-based melodic death/doom metal quartet Grey Skies Fallen conveys on this sixth full-length album and for the sake of them having prophesied and parsed the oncoming panicked clotting of the hive for decades on end. Whatever deserved doom arrives upon the population there is meaningful resolve just as well as there is earned fragility in the muse serving ‘Molded By Broken Hands‘, the latest step taken on their long trudged ascension into view. Conducting gloom from sympathetic pulpit their work continues its exploration of auld romanticist doom of the early 90’s anew, still breathing deeply of traditional heavy metal on an ‘epic’ scale all the while reaching for the prog-metal singed extremes extant in their work beyond late 90’s/early 2000’s introductions.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#14
ARTIST:	FATHOMLESS RITUAL
TITLE:	Hymns for the Lesser Gods
RECORD LABEL(S):	Transcending Obscurity Records

While the initial reaction of “Hey this sounds like Demilich. Rad.” is entirely fair this debut from Fathomless Ritual serves an experience which finds its point of focus and hammers upon it with zeal, leaning into the weirding guttural creep olden tech-death and bringing their own notes on sound design, groove, and finding a modern variation in singular vision. ‘Hymns for the Lesser Gods‘ has a compelling enough tunnel vision in effect to keep me entertained riff-by-riff but it also promises more, headspace to expand and wield this underground oeuvre in potentially new and curious ways in the future.

“With hot-to-the-touch momentum achieved and bloated innards in hand the shambling but stabbed quick gait of Toronto, Canada-based death metal project Fathomless Ritual prepares the necessary gears, the freshly juicing gore, and wads of primitive skull-gel for this first fiery summoning. What builds across the scraped-up path trodden by ‘Hymns for the Lesser Gods‘ is a multi-scenic depiction of shocking encounters wherein the formation of grotesque abominations and deplorable worship of underling-level horrors provides primal and putrid portals to sharp-angled riffs and guttural outbursts. Arcane yet technically sound methods for awkwardly shaped and groove-built statements give birth to a rhythmic cavern-bound surrealism herein, an approachable yet finely sorted exploration of unreal ancient death metal sounds in a not-so commonly extrapolated tradition.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#15
ARTIST:	COFFIN STORM
TITLE:	Arcana Rising
RECORD LABEL(S):	Peaceville Records

We’ve got members of Darkthrone, Inferno, and Aura Noir making a late 80’s doom metal record out of mid-paced thrash metal riffs and weirdo vocals, of course it smokes and should have some wild appeal to folks who are obsessed with classic thrash and doom metal alike. Though this project has a “once in a blue moon” side-gig feeling to it already that doesn’t stop me from loving the authentic late 80’s possessed heavy metal feeling of this record. Check it out of you love Dream Death, Mercyful Fate, and Isengard‘s doom/epic heavy metal side (see: ‘Vårjevndøgn‘).

“Mysteries from the conjoined spiritus of wilding 80’s heavy metal abundancies are revealed and worshipped in glowing hindsight as Kolbotn, Norway-based thrashing heavy/doom metal trio Coffin Storm muse upon personal origin and classicist craftsmanship as inspiration for this morbid and outrageous debut full-length album. A meld of stylized tics and various evil heavy metal tributaries rather than a juxtaposition of solidified formae, the style of ‘Arcana Rising‘ makes for an curious initial point of conversation yet it is how they’d craft authentic mannerism and memorable action from those old fonts which generates great value. This idiosyncratic and dare I say genuinely ‘underground’ feeling heavy metal record proves itself in knowing chunks of horror, magick and malice as if a tome levitated from forgotten archives and expertly restored.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#16
ARTIST:	HAMFERÐ
TITLE:	Men Guðs Hond Er Sterk
RECORD LABEL(S):	Metal Blade Records

After a certain number of years the distance from a unique entity such as Hamferð most often calls for a re-evaluation of their work and in their case the quality over quantity modus has thus far produced music which appears to operate with great integrity, particularly as they strive to create parity between the reality of performance and what ends up on tape. What’d stuck with me after having spend countless hours with ‘Men Guðs Hond Er Sterk‘ was less the theme of the record and more the well considered choices made in displaying the mastery gained over the last several years wherein we can still identify their work as a modern version of melodic death/doom metal but also one which continues to strive for an outrageous standard of performance (with feeling attached.)

“The ghosts of the past, apparitions and how they linger as heroes and horrors in cultural mindset serves as the main preface for Tórshavn, Faroe Islands-based melodic death/doom metal sextet HAMFERРto indirectly examine perspective and how the fortitude of survivorship can still see a miracle in the deep-black and never-ending waves of tragedian erosion offered by life against the odds. ‘Men Guðs Hond Er Sterk‘ presents the melodramatic horror of it all to start, visions of the drowned dead found sloshing at the back of their eyes, but ultimately twists this into a well-rounded, organische and appropriately mournful treatment of melodic doom crafted as their greater funeral-at-sea realizes its most distinct work to date.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#17
ARTIST:	HADIT
TITLE:	Metaphysical Engines Approaching the Event Horizon
RECORD LABEL(S):	I, Voidhanger Records

What a difference a bit of bass and some synth makes, eh. While I’d appreciated the psychedelic bestial warp of Hadit‘s debut LP this follow-up is more lucid, more solid in its rhythmic diction, and even more exploratory in its progressive death metal etched lines. In some ways they are still very much a musician’s type of band per the feral yet high-brained finger work on display this album’d felt special enough in its experiential values to stick with me well beyond the review process. Definitely one to return to and give due time, it isn’t as demanding a spin as it might appear up front.

“Varese, Italy-based death metal trio HADIT return for a sophomore full-length album which seemingly breaches some point of acceptance of this impossible scale as they scour the universe for some manner of vision and purpose. ‘Metaphysical Engines Approaching the Event Horizon‘ is complex yet held within a persistent flow-state as a result, an album which builds upon the wrathful attack of is predecessor by creating uninterrupted channels of groove and inward-seeking exploration which may very well necessitate a prog-death caveat to the overall transformation found within. The end result is an album which bursts with its own mercurial boil, a tangential yet swimmingly realized adventure with several redeeming points of exploration worth branching off into.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#18
ARTIST:	HALNY
TITLE:	Zawrat
RECORD LABEL(S):	Via Nocturna

There is something to be said for putting on a random “modern” black metal record without any pretense or expectations and finding a decent songwriter/composer beneath the skin of stylized work. That’d been the case when I gave ‘Zawrat‘ a cursory listen and instantly identified there’d been something special about this one. Though you could point to everything from Mgla, Furia, Plaga, and others for similar approach in different aspects that doesn’t dilute the quality of experience here on this strong, streamlined debut. Perhaps it does stray further from the traditions of black metal one might expect but in this experimental and melodious realm that isn’t such an issue.

“The pressurized atmosphere and electromagnetic skies presented by Opole, Poland-borne black metal quartet HALNY are an omen of oncoming mass-mania and a celebration of the supra-natural forces of nature abounding. Their debut full-length album ‘Zawrat‘ appears as an embrace of what is out of the realm of human control with great admiration for awe-inspiring surroundings and the sometimes unseen connection between habitant and habitat.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#19
ARTIST:	APPARITION
TITLE:	Disgraced Emanations from a Tranquil State
RECORD LABEL(S):	Profound Lore Records

On one hand this second Apparition record is more original, takes bigger artistic risks than most death metal bands, and on the other hand it almost appears on a whim with an improvised and unfinished feeling to some of its compositions. Applied to a live setting I know that this would be a weird-ass but rousing good time but on record it took some time to acclimate and identify what’d been lasting mark and passing fusion. I’ve found myself returning to this one to try and press it through my own algorithms, juice some logic out of it, and still it remains challenging yet redeeming at an excellent ratio.

“Embracing emergent and ungainly movement from within a harrowing tunnel of traditional traits Los Angeles, California-based death metal quartet APPARITION return as an altogether meditated-upon entity, a more original configuration who begin to grow their claws and horns here on this sophomore full-length album. ‘Disgraced Emanations From a Tranquil State‘ continues to toy with the rare atmospheric dynamism of certain 90’s death metal built planes of interest and amidst an evolution away from high-level riff salad toward stylized craft which also includes jammed and/or seemingly improvised movements in short and long form as an additional point of interest. This helps pull the band’s work out of the usual ‘new old school’ death metal junk drawer and elevates it within still mounting distinction.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#20
ARTIST:	PELICAN
TITLE:	Adrift/Tending the Embers
RECORD LABEL(S):	Self-Released

There were probably fifteen more releases I wanted to include here on the Top 20 and by virtue of keeping track of my listening habits I’d recognized this returning duo of songs from Pelican as one of my most listened to habits of the month. I’ve long been a fan of these guys and appreciated their evolution over time but this feels like a new skin, something closer to the core of their intent where the tuneful finesse of each song bodes well in praeludium to a new full-length.

“A two song single in preamble to an upcoming LP which speaks readily to what’d been hinted at on ‘Nighttime Stories‘ as PELICAN find a different sort of post-hardcore swing. The sub-genre tag on the ID3 fields for these songs expertly suggests “post-emo stoner deathgaze” and I’m not sure I could sum it better, though it is clear early 90’s post-hardcore and late 80’s Midwest hardcore still provide some foundation for both tone and their interwoven musing despite the stoney heavy rock and Sanford Parker stoked hi-fi “post-metal” sound served. If this is the stuff they’re tossing up first, as infectious and multi-faceted every moment of both pieces is, I can’t imagine what their next reveal has in store. One of my most listened releases this month by far.“

>> SHORT REVIEW <<

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