THE TOP 10 ALBUMS OF THE MONTH should be self-explanatory, an ordered ranking of ten 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 24 longform album reviews, 26+ video reviews/features, and 13 short reviews. As much as I cover each month there is a vast number of overlooked releases that are yet worth seeking out: Keep an ear out and interact with the bands you love, most of them appreciate the attention.

II. Mystification Fanzine will continue with digital issues in September but the structure of Patreon and the frequency of releases will change so that I can be more flexible when I don’t have time to keep up with a monthly schedule. We’ve now completed the seventh cycle (year) through this site and I want to thank folks who support, read, and keep up with my stuff. I’ll post an editorial post shortly to let folks know where I’m going with it next.

III. These days my written reviews include a video component uploaded at the end of (most) every week. If you enjoy these please consider following on YouTube. We hit our initial goal of 1,000 subscribers last month, I appreciate folks who’ve stuck around while my introverted, tired ass talks about music.

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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#10
ARTIST:	SOLEMN CEREMONY
TITLE:	Chapter III
RECORD LABEL(S):	Self-Released

If you are looking for a raw and honest 80’s styled traditional doom metal record with a miserable outlook and some solid riffs this latest record from Australian musician Phil Howlett hit the right mark for my own taste. He’s pulled in some unfinished songs from his other band Lucifer’s Fall (R.I.P.) and included even more leads here making for one of his best albums yet. Definitely one for the doom metal underground and not the hipster NWOTHM types.

“Ranting on insignificance, aging and existential dread while vilifying religious control we find Adelaide, Australia-based traditional doom metal band SOLEMN CEREMONY outspoken and honest as ever on their third full-length album. Rooted deep in the grime of of mid-80’s doom metal sounds and delivered with grizzled, skull-eye’d personality as ever, ‘Chapter III‘ gives us the brunt of it as the artist hones their raw and personalized vision sure to catch the ear of the classicist underground.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#9
ARTIST:	DECEASED
TITLE:	Children of the Morgue
RECORD LABEL(S):	Hell’s Headbangers Records

Deceased have had their own style, their own gig down to a personalized and science since at least 1997 but they’ve still managed to put a different feeling, mood, or meaning behind each of their records beyond that point. For me this one shares major traits between ‘Fearless Undead Machines‘ and ‘As the Weird Travel On‘ where thrash and traditional heavy metal interests rest as the major heart of their approach. There aren’t a ton of bands who can simply be themselves and guarantee a great work with a bit of spit and polish applied but it feels like these guys can, and have, with this record. ‘Children of the Morgue‘ feels like more went into it, not only as a concept album but just generally making bigger songs with plenty more riffs and a lot to say within their narrative.

“Presenting a concept album about destined death, the process of dying, and the sometimes unjust-seeming dissolution that strikes us down along our path Arlington, Virginia-based death metal quintet DECEASED speak with authority and feeling that is once again believably evocative of the ‘old school’ of heavy metal in their own distinct way. Now arriving upon their fortieth year as a band with an eighth full-length album in-claw these long-celebrated still underrated fellowes present one of their finest efforts to date in ‘Children of the Morgue‘, a record which finds ’em sticking to what they do best in terms of thrashing up from the grave of the 80’s with elements of classic thrash metal, epic heavy metal and hardcore punk fueling this brilliantly composed but never dryly pretentious hourlong opus.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#8
ARTIST:	PHENOCRYST
TITLE:	Cremation Pyre
RECORD LABEL(S):	Blood Harvest Records

There is something to be said for a big death metal riff entrenched in molten atmosphere and this Portuguese group have a ton of them as they writhe and blast through their debut full-length album. ‘Cremation Pyre‘ is restless, cavernous but immediate in its hard struck forge of pure but ever wandering death metal and that takes us to both post-millennial and classic 90’s death metal sounds. If you are a fan of the fine line drawn between atmospheric death metal, death/doom metal and more immediate classics they’ve managed a “grower” in my case, a slow burning thought that’d improved its impact over time.

“Embodying both the destructive power and slow-encroaching renewal of volcanic activity in their themes and rhythmic movement Lisbon, Portugal-based death metal quartet PHENOCRYST intend to represent the force of nature with the strongest potential to end all life on Earth on this deeply nuanced debut full-length album. Extrusive to start and fissure-bound in their creeping dread toward their ultimate destination these folks do well to present their own bursting, creeping and cavernous vision of ‘old school’ inspired atmospheric death metal on ‘Cremation Pyre‘. “

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#7
ARTIST:	DOLDREY
TITLE:	Only Death is Eternal
RECORD LABEL(S):	Pulverized Records, Iron Lung

While it’d be fair to suggest this Singapore-based band are melding metalpunk and death-thrash metal here on thier latest EP what is most striking about this album is less the sub-genre combination and rather the implementation of the riff as they’ve pressed hard into these songs making sure they are intricate, have big-ass grooves, and still manage to sound like mean death metal in the process. Hugely underrated band and a release well deserving of its spot among the best of this month.

“taring into the infinite morbidity of the abyss and rushing head-on into it Singapore-based death metalpunk quartet DOLDREY return for their latest EP, a refinement and continuation of the momentum stirred by their recent debut full-length. Rooted in classic street punk wrath but functionally a death-thrash metal beast there is both tradition and abstraction in the portal they’ve opened in recent years, giving us their most kicking and erratically charged release to date with ‘Only Death is Eternal‘.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#6
ARTIST:	SOLITARY RUIN
TITLE:	Rite of Despondency
RECORD LABEL(S):	Self-Released

It has been ages since a death-doom metal demo tape has caught me off guard and really hit me with a great song (or three) so when I cracked into ‘Rite of Despondency‘ it’d definitely been a shock to hear these folks get that classic United States death/doom metal sound so right off the bat. The big thing about this tape is its atmosphere, of course it has riffs and an imposing vocalist but the way it all hits comes down to excellently served pacing and the mind-hazing transfixion it serves. I see nothing but huge potential for where they go next and they don’t have to try that much harder, these songs already sound perfect and the songwriting is ace.

“Ceremonious yet punctilious in their craft of odes and rituals to the despairing path Portland, Oregon-based death/doom metal quartet SOLITARY RUIN introduce themselves here on this debut EP as ancients-sourced emotive font, a sullen heap upon the listener scoured down to only its most efficacious lines of mysterious esotericism and soul-rusting gloom. ‘Rite of Despondency‘ is the anxietous and wilting pulse of dissociation, a slow step through a distended graveyard of personal examination in reflection of physical pains and spiritual torments, all far more intense than the unwitting self might’ve realized.”

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#5
ARTIST:	CEMETERY FILTH
TITLE:	Senses of Detriment
RECORD LABEL(S):	Rotted Life Records

Down to a new trio line-up and focusing heavily on early progressive death metal sounds ‘Senses of Detriment‘ is a different flavor than Cemetery Filth‘s earlier stuff but no less related to ‘old school’ United States death metal as their main focal point. The inspiration taken from classic Death is most evident here but get the same 80’s death metal loving, riff-obsessed attack as before in some sense making for a new angle from the band rather than a full reset. I am a fan of how their sound had evolved prior as well as where it is now so, this one is a win-win situation for my own taste.

“Though this latest EP from Atlanta, Georgia-based death metal trio CEMETERY FILTH comes with a short list of changes made to personnel and a different approach to the mapping of its overall tempos one can still walk into their realm expecting ‘old school’ United States death metal inspired work. ‘Senses of Detriment‘ appears to lead with a differently-specific muse under the same general umbrella now focusing on the earliest shifts towards progressive tendency in death metal without losing the raw, classicist edge the band’ve become known for. “

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#4
ARTIST:	OXYGEN DESTROYER
TITLE:	Guardian of the Universe
RECORD LABEL(S):	Redefining Darkness Records

At this point we can say Seattle/Portland extreme thrashers Oxygen Destroyer are not only consistent but they’re holding fast to their underground ideals as they storm through their third LP at an unending stabbing pace. Inspired in its nerd-ass themes and choked to death by riffs ‘Guardian of the Universe‘ both iterates upon their previous work and exceeds it in terms of giving us a bully-level shred through a few hundred riffs but also finding points to stop and catch a groove or a bit classic thrash metal moment. If they can continue to hold this level of energy while remaining consistent I feel like more and more folks will quickly catch onto their slaughter.

“Created by hi-tech ancient ingenuity and awakened as protectorate of the realm by the threat of atomic warfare, the tusked testudine himself Gamera and his saga act as the subject for this third and most throttled full-length album from Seattle, Washington & Portland, Oregon-based blackened death/thrash metal quartet OXYGEN DESTROYER. High on myriad lore, rocket-legged and feeding from multi-generational reboots there is a shit-ton of back story, dramatic battles and implications of this kaiju’s origins to pull from in generating these nine songs in just under ~35 minutes as they rip through ‘Guardian of the Universe‘ in a clearest and most cutting state. “

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#3
ARTIST:	CONCRETE WINDS
TITLE:	Concrete Winds
RECORD LABEL(S):	Sepulchral Voice Records

The mutilating energy of bestial death metal, the rocket blazed movement of fully mad grindcore, and an ever escalating approach to harshened noise and socket-burning riffs all fuel this third album from Concrete Winds where they’ve found a way to continue pushing the limits of their sound and style without repeating themselves too often. I particularly love that this one manages to be a hard-fought guitar album as much as it is about battering through its entrenched sound. Some industrial infused harass and an excellent recording make for a different but no less nuts experience which can’t help but stand out in the crowd.

“The drill that Helsinki, Finland-based bestial death/grindcore duo CONCRETE WINDS press upon the skull doesn’t crack away at its violence for the sake of freeing the mind but instead attempts to destroy it, liquifying all thought on this third and defining full-length album. If you can keep up with ‘Concrete Winds‘ and follow along with their rampage, finding joy in the hand-over-fist crafted violence available here you might be exactly the sort of reckless animal they’ve channeled throughout. “

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#2
ARTIST:	GUTVOID
TITLE:	Breathing Obelisk
RECORD LABEL(S):	Blood Harvest Records

By honing in on four specific points of inspiration this Canadian death metal quartet amplify their own sonic personality, changing the conversation a bit beyond Finndeath and death/doom into even deeper-set realms. They’ve left their evolution open to morph and transmogrify in a number of directions here and proven they could do them all and within the same release. It not only gears me up for their next album but makes for great listening here, where we hear more of their progressive death metal side and an even more organic production value. Solid stuff if you’re a fan of classic death metal shaped into more complex, groove heavy visions which avoids betraying the core impact of the medium.

“In direct acknowledgement of their collective sources of inspiration Toronto, Ontario-based death metal quartet GUTVOID emphasize their own distinctive application while enriching the path forward, extrapolating their dark essence into four pieces that’ve been (stylistically) enlarged to show detail. Incorporating themes from science fiction literature and a deep pool of interest from sub-genre music this latest mLP, ‘Breathing Obelisk‘, intends to remedy the mélange effect often found in new-old school death metal today, instead insisting upon its own personally developed verve and voice.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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#1	Album of the Month
ARTIST:	VILE RITES
TITLE:	Senescence
RECORD LABEL(S):	Carbonized Records

There wasn’t a great deal of fully formed, outrageous or masterful records put out this month but with this debut LP it felt like Vile Rites stepped up and went further with the promise of their earlier work than anyone else. In some sense the highs were higher, the lows were deeper meandering (in a good way), and they’d still managed a brutal record where the balance of their work wasn’t obsessed with a perfect ratio of forms. The way that this album builds across its length only to burst with even more ideas and details as it reaches its apex was endlessly repeatable for my own taste and felt like something entirely different from what other prog-death bands are doing these days. Easily my most listened-to release of the month and an assured spot among my favorites this year.

“Embodying the eternal observer, yet unnamable forces of nature through paradoxical animatism Santa Rosa, California-based progressive death metal trio VILE RITES redirect their concern for the natural world via examination of the temporal limitations of human comprehension, now stepping beyond that which is older than perceived time into our realm of ephemeral, pernicious beings. On their debut full-length album, ‘Senescence‘, these fellowes trip the light fantastic into physical dissolution and broken psyche as their muse grasps biological wilt and the natural corrosion of time through psychedelic progressive death pummel. Tightly wound and brilliantly performed their work is both classics-minded and future-tense, expansive in statement yet centered around bristled-up brutal grooves as centerpiece, enough to perk the ears of ‘old school’ prog-death heads as well as peck at the senses of those seeking new perspectives on death delivered at an utmost standard.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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