ENDTYMER is the semi-weekly recap, occasional 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, 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] PYRRHON (‘Exhaust‘, Willowtip Records)
[#2] SANCTUARIUM (‘Melted and Decomposed‘, Me Saco Un Ojo/BlackSeed)
[#3] ΤƐΛMA (‘Α​ν​θ​ρ​ω​π​ο​β​ό​ρ​ο​ς‘, Self-Released)
[#4] CASTLE (‘Evil Remains‘, Hammerheart Records)
[#5] 40 WATT SUN (‘Little Weight‘, Cappio Records)

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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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Edged Circle Productions have announced they will release the latest album from Hellenic black metal cult YOTH IRIA. ‘Blazing Inferno‘ will release this coming November 8th on all relevant formats. Lead by the Greek black metal’s early scene yogi Jim Mutilator this band both revives and rethinks the ancient ways: “YOTH IRIA is the rays of Lucifer the first, Satan the second and Devil the third sent to the earth to help and give courage to the simple people and help mother earth to survive. After YOTH IRIA came in, the earth took shape and form. Magic as a way of life and freedom without fear.” and of course this first single, “We Call Upon the Elements”, completely smokes:

On October 31st W.T.C. Productions will release the latest full-length from Norwegian blackened death metal band SHAARIMOTH‘s third album. ‘Devildom‘ will be released on CD and vinyl LP formats. Their work has long been a matter of quality rather than quantity, still focused on a unique interpretation of what is described as “technical Morbid Angel-esque death metal given unique twists in texture, ambience, and authentically occult lyrical content” and for my own taste this is already an exciting prospect. This first track revealed, “The Midnight Sentinel” already suggests a murderous record lies in wait:

Los Angeles, California-based solo melodic black/death metal project THE MOSAIC WINDOW have announced their latest full-length album ‘Hemasanctum‘ will release this coming November 15th via Willowtip Records on CD, vinyl LP, cassette, and digital formats. The guy behind the band Andrew Steven Brown comments on the album: “Hemasanctum is a concept album that explores my current thoughts on life, relationships (parent-child), and loss. While it may or may not be obvious, the album starts with a song about birth and ends with a song about death. In between are songs intentionally out of order (like the roller-coaster timeline we all experience) subtly relating to topics like self-awareness, mental health, abortion, religion, and grief.” This time around he’s brought in a human drummer Gabe Seeber (Vale of Pnath) and a few guest solos from the legend Andy LaRocque himself. While his previous release was compelling I’m curious to see how this all works together with extra support behind the release, “The Pounding of Hooves” suggests this album will be solid if not more adventurous than expected.

It looks like I am about four weeks out of the loop here but Profound Lore Records have announced they’ll release another album from COSMIC PUTREFACTION as the story of never-ending transcendence gains another chapter with ‘Emerald Fires Atop The Farewell Mountains‘ which is set for release this coming October 4th. We’re given some description of how these events follow the previous album’s: “Now that the empyrean inhabitants have fallen down for good and all the debris of physical worlds are scattered around, the main character of the tale has in-fact to walk his very last path counting only of his very last strengths to face eternal solitude and death; a path exploring both the widest astral distances imaginable and the most twisted labyrinths of the inmost self.” and of course this means we are getting more mind-melting technical death metal with a blackened death edge as the artist continues to evolve. I am just now cracking into this one but so far I’m completely stoked on it.

Persistent Vision Records have announced the October 18th as the release date for ‘Repercussions of the Self‘, the new album by “funeral sludge” metal band FÓRN. You’ll recall I was a fan of their 2018 album ‘Rites of Despair‘ but didn’t quite get to dig into it as much as I wanted, so I’m thrilled to get more time with this latest album. This album is the result of adversity since the start of the pandemic years, leaving the band in “limbo” as described by guitarist Joey Gonzalez : “I toiled away in private working on a lot of the tracks. At the time of writing the record, I was really teetering between where I wanted to take the band next. I was heavily influenced by film score composers like Cristobal Tapia De Veer and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, and artists like Massive Attack and Portishead, and of course Nine Inch Nails. I spent a lot of the pandemic making music that fell somewhere in those borders and it felt natural to try and bring those elements into Fórn.” and I think this balance between what they are known for and those new elements make good sense on this first preview song “Soul Shadow”:

Skin Graft and Overdrive Records have announced a new album from abstract rock quartet BUÑUEL will arrive this coming October 25th and will feature guest spots from Jacob Bannon (Converge), Megan Osztrosits (Couch Slut), as well as noise rock legend Duane Denison (The Jesus Lizard, Tomahawk). Described an an exorcism meant to set look the more primal instincts of the listener ‘Mansuetude‘ already sounds wild in previews, can’t wait to hear the whole deal. I don’t think folks give a shit when I talk about noise rock/art rock (based on the last five years) but I may still indulge at some point before the end of the year.

20 Buck Spin have announced they will release the latest album from Fargo, North Dakota-based death metal band MAUL this coming October 4th. ‘In the Jaws of Bereavement‘ definitely has wild-ass album art and the band have plenty of personality in a live setting so I’m interested though I wasn’t blown away by their 2023 promo tape ‘Desecration And Enchantment‘. Vocalist Garrett Alvarado writes, “The entirety of our second full-length album offering is drenched in grief and anger thematically, while the song compositions and attack of each members performance on this are the most intentional and precise we’ve ever been. Its layers from all fronts of our influences show on top of how we’ve grown as a group over the last seven years, touring relentlessly and the execution that brings. We’re extremely proud of what we’ve created and how this album is expressed. It was captured as true and raw as possible while sounding huge thanks to Adam Tucker. I also need to shout out the album cover that was encapsulated by the mighty Wyrmwalk, featuring elements of virtually every track involved in the hellscape. He absolutely knocked it out of the park with the color palette and mood of In The Jaws Of Bereavement.” and he’s right that all of these elements are pointing to something cool. Check out this song, “Spontaneous Stigmata” and see if this one might be for you:

French death/doom metal band ATARAXIE have returned with a new song from their upcoming fifth full-length album ‘Le Déclin‘. The album is releasing this coming October 25th by way of Ardua Music & Weird Truth Productions and from my point of view it is already shaping up as one of their best albums to date. Love the crumbling guitar sound on this song (“Vomisseurs de Vide”):

Belgium-based speed metal crew BÜTCHER received a lot of hype for their debut full-length album a couple of years ago but now it seems they’re reaching deeper into themselves for this follow-up, ‘On Fowl of Tyrant Wing‘. The new album will release by way of Osmose Productions this coming October 25th on all relevant formats sporting a step beyond blackened speed metal with strong melodic intent on Side A and more of a concept album set of songs for Side B where they blend black/death metal with traditional heavy metal. This is exactly as cool as it sounds and I figure I’ll have a lot more to say about this record since I didn’t say much about the last.

https://osmoseproductions.bandcamp.com/album/on-fowl-of-tyrant-wing

United States death metal band MASSACRE have announced they will be creating an ‘old school’ throwback record for their fifth studio album, ‘Necrolution‘, which is set for release on November 8th via Agonia Records. The idea for this record is pure nostalgia and I think that makes sense since the band’s resurrection should’ve always focused squarely upon their part in the creation of death metal. Vocalist Kam Lee comments: “With Necrolution, the idea was to evolve the band’s sound by devolving it. Unlike many bands in death metal that attempt to modernize and update their style and sound to emulate many of the modern contemporary death metal bands, we wanted to go back to the origin – the original sound and style. We wanted to make an album that sounds like it could have come out of the late ’80s. The entire concept was to create something that was a de-evolution of the death metal genre and go back to an early style reminiscent of the past – going back 40 years into the past to immolate the style of death metal that was predominantly influenced by thrash and heavy metal bands of the era. Lyrically, it’s still entrenched in the horror genre and influenced by HP Lovecraft stories […]” I haven’t heard the album yet so I’m not sure if that is spin or a serious focus but I am definitely curious about it.

This coming October 20th Antiq Records will release the debut full-length album from Montpellier, France-based sextet SILHOUETTE. ‘Les Dires de l’Ame‘ will continue their unique thread of post-metal-tinged black metal and their dual vocalist approach for an introspective muse upon the realm of dreams and nightmares. This one has already caught my ear in preview and seems like it’ll be worth talking about at the end of next month.

Glasgow, Scotland-based brutal death metal quartet INIQUITOUS SAVAGERY will return with a sophomore full-length album this coming November 22nd. ‘Edifice of Vicissitudes‘ will release by way of Willowtip Records on CD, vinyl and digitally. Their intent is pure brutal death metal and I couldn’t be happier as I preview the album, I love this style and they’ve definitely got riffs to back up that sound. Guitarist Joe Fleetwood comments on the album: “Edifice of Vicissitudes is the culmination of years of jamming and formulating our ideas into the most brutal and twisted Iniquitous Savagery songs we could make.” and that extreme focus shows outright with “Casualty of Diabolical Trial”:

Indianapolis, Indiana-based melodic death/doom metal band MOTHER OF GRAVES will return with a second full-length album, ‘The Periapt Of Absence‘ this coming October 18th by way of Profound Lore Records. I am stoked out of my skull for this one since I’d not received their previous LP for review and I’ve always seen the potential in their work. The band comment on this particular single: “‘Upon Burdened Hands’ is a tale of severance and longing. Perseverance in the midst of uncertainty. Being separated from the one thing tethering you to this earth, but somewhere – still connected. It is one of our more melodic and hooky songs on the record, which I love, while holding an equal amount of heaviness and grit. I think we found a really nice balance of those things here. Included before the last half of the song is a reading of The Dream by Theodore Roethke, a favorite poet of mine. His work among select others solaced me through difficult times, and I thought this one in particular was a fitting piece for this song. Sink into the melancholic romance and let it take you where it may.” a brilliantly morbid piece and a record I’m looking forward to:

South Carolina-based sludge metal band WITCHPIT have returned with a new studio album, ‘Forever Spoken‘, armed for release by way of Heavy Psych Sounds this coming November 8th on all relevant formats. Not only does this title track speak to a more classic sort of late 90’s sludge metal sound but the Dan Seagrave painting on the cover does well to catch my interest. Check out the first single/title track:

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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.

Next block of videos up next Friday 9/13.

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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:

PYRRHON – Exhaust [September 6th, Willowtip Records]
SVLFVR – Diabolic Ritual of Steel [September 13th, Gospel Below/Black Hearts]
DEMON HEAD – Through Holes Shine the Stars [September 20th, Svart Records]
UNTERVOID – Parasite [September 20th, Pagan Records]
DREAMLESS VEIL – Every Limb of the Flood [September 20th, Relapse Records]
INVOCATION – The Archaic Sanctuary (Ritual Body Postures) [September 20th, Iron Bonehead]

SHORT REVIEWS:

FIRTAN – Ethos [September 13th, AOP Records]
HAMMERFILOSOFI – SOLUS (Igne Natura Renovator Integra) [September 13th, ATMF]
IMMORTAL DEATH – Immortal Death [September 13th, Werewolf Records]
HERAKLEION – Necroverse [September 13th, Self-Released]
FINE CHINA SUPERBONE – Hunk! [September 15th, Vollmer Industries, Ratrun, etc.]
HYVER – Fonds de Terroir [September 17th, Antiq]

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