• SHRT REVWS • This condensed version of short(er) reviews focuses on releases arriving in the last week of October (mostly the 25th) and first week of November (the 1st) covering bestial death metal, black ambient/drone, stoner rock, speed metal, psychedelic rock/garage rock, metallic hardcore/death metal, psychedelic doom metal, melodic death metal. // In an attempt to be more conversational these are more easygoing and casual than longform reviews, so relax and think for yourself. — If you find something you dig go tell the band on social media and support them with a purchase! If you’d like your music reviewed, read the FAQ and send promos to: grizzlybutts@hotmail.com

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One of the most anticipated bestial/war metal adjacent death metal releases of 2024 ‘Burning in Celestial Poison‘ is a pretty natural extension of what Denver, Colorado-area quartet BLACK CURSE had brought back on their 2020-released debut LP but also an exaggeration and extension of that approach into sprawling events. Said exaggerations come much in a style vaguely comparable to early Katharsis, arguably even closer to today’s most raw reapers a la Thanatomass and especially Black Fucking Cancer, groups who lean toward bestial death metal extremes with a longform hand. The main point of interest for this band centers around some level of cavernous death metal traditions also factoring into their sound and there was some grey area between grindcore and bestial black/death patternation that’d made their debut interesting. This time around something is noticeably different but not obviate, I’m not sure how much structural change has occurred here beyond the exit of Morris Kolontyrsky (of Blood Incantation, now Steve Peacock is his replacement) but this album was recorded as a trio and treads an alternate path, loosening their approach in some sense and becoming incredibly densely stated in others. Pockets of ballistic energy punctuate each of these four main pieces while “…to Babylon” has a sort of interstitial black metal feeling to its composition. The full listen offers a high standard, a fine example of this sub-genre niche and how exciting it can still be when pressed out to the limits of ~10-11 minute songs. The only thing missing here for my own taste is the abrupt density of ‘Endless Wound‘, a slightly less compacted experience scrubbed and stretched into something different but not unrelated. It is a good bout of change change but not necessarily a series of decisions which make for greater distinction.

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While I believe getting a decent grasp of this album’s modus will take a certain type of listener Polish experimental black metal/post-metal and sometimes drone enthusiasts THAW have managed an intense sensorially drive guide for this particular experience. Surreal yet wholly organic in its feeling ‘Falling Backwards‘ employs a live-in-studio level recording for its tonal authenticity as we get all parts moving in their uniquely set unison. While the core conceit is some manner of experimentation between darker extreme metal and atmospheric sludge loft the tone set here is anxious as it is psychedelic, easing into throbbing synth and jangling guitar sounds before the especially rich treatment given to the drums and electronics elevate into heavy distress. All events flow together and most rise to brilliant rhythmic highs as their central purpose though there are seemingly improvised and planned bursts of engagement here which stun every time with “In the Laughter and the Stride” being a prime example. The use of a lighter vocoder (I think) on the vocals which crop up here and there for peaking emphasis are unreal in the way that Cynic‘s were at their most effects-drenched yet the tail offered by the effects on the vocals here feel like they’ve their own mile-long resonances when given close attention. A brilliant album overall even if a bit short for my own taste and an improvement over their sleepier previous LP.

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Karlsruhe, Germany-based thrash metal quartet SPITFIRE return for a third full-length just couple of years after their second and as we ride straight into the self-titled opener for ‘Trinity‘ it is clear the melodic basis for their sound takes much of its basal effect from Bay Area thrash metal phrasing both in terms of the vocals and rhythm guitar work. There is a simpler neothrash gallop to their riffs at times, usually during verses, which is scratchy and unpleasant but the band’s approach is mid-paced and tightly wound to the point that it remains kinetically charged and tuneful in a familiar way. I’m a big fan of ‘Oppressing the Masses‘-era Vio-lence and you’ll definitely get a bit of that cadence here and there but when things swing even more melodically charged (see: “Downfall of Existence”) we step out of the late 80’s spectrum towards something a bit more Euro power-thrash in its inspiration. The balance is pretty interesting in terms of a subtle variation on old traditions with a classic voice engaging in simpler melodic ideas, never stepping out of the classic tradition and in full avoidance of extremes. It does read a bit plain in its grooves leaving very little impact beyond a steady ride, though, as we hit songs like “Pointless Ways” and their songwriting begins to feel a bit flavorless and one-note regardless of the general above-average quality of the work involved. We do eventually get a bit of double-bass drumming, some interesting bass guitar runs and such but I’d found this album felt particularly “safe” and steady in its craft.

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Though they’ve ultimately released each half of their vision into one hourlong double LP Kalispell, Montana-based heavy psychedelic rock troupe WIZZERD have opted to release two halves of their vision this year as separate events. The first was ‘Kronia‘ back in late June: A heavy psych tinted garage rocking record comprised of bumping short and tight songs that’re all impact and no dawdling about, leaving that first part at just ~23 minutes total. Don’t skip that first part, it is high energy and surprisingly full of bopping-ass catchy songs. Now we’ve got the other half of their gig with the psychedelic rock/jammed spectrum of things in ‘Saturnalia‘, a complete tonal shift apart from ‘Kronia‘ and a doubly long record overall. Bits of 90’s alternative rock guitar and such seep into their gig here but the main event centers around opener “Snoozer” and the intoxicating jam of “Loops” to start before the rest of the record showcases a broader chase for the song and a variety of frankly pointless, unrelated interludes. If we were to trim the fat on each of these two halves I believe they’d have managed a pretty memorable if not kinda all over the place rootsy heavy rock LP at around ~45 minutes but as is this one’ll be an adventure intent on giving us the full trip. If you can hang with the clunkers at the end and some of the bloat on this part there is a decent record to pull from the successes of both ‘Kronia‘ and ‘Saturnalia‘.

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Leipzig, Germany-based psychedelic/space rock trio ACID ROOSTER put out one of my favorite instrumental records of 2020 with ‘Irrlichter‘ thanks to its krautrock inspired dirging rhythms and bluesy wandering basslines and here a few years later we’re getting an evolution of that sound beyond a couple of jam-focused records and ‘Flowers & Dead Souls‘ (2023) which I’d missed at the time. It’d be fair to say their breakthrough in the interim was actually that previous record and here it feels like we’ve gone from mono-world to full stereo vision thanks to the warmth of vintage synth layers and brighter production values gelling together their headier flow. The roughened qualities of their sound now give way to depth which is lush, sometimes darker than expected but always presented with a sense of movement which is obsessive in its stroke but shamanic in its otherworldly effect. Still, some of their weirder magick is missing (“Confidence of Ignorance” is a bit rote for my taste) even if this is a far more advanced vision than I’d expected up front.

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I’ve probably made this remark before but the kinda Earth Crisis-lookin’ logo from Danish metallic hardcore band LIFESICK reminds me of sitting down with a copy of Guitar World in 1995 and reading their description of ‘Destroy the Machines‘ in a short reviews sidebar as “death metal Manowar“. Of course it was a dumbass quip but it expressed the alienation on either side that often occurs when a hardcore foundation meets up with unpredictable interpretations of popular metal influences. For this band’s latest LP, their first for Metal Blade and fourth overall, sure we’re getting that crunchy Boss HM-2 amped guitar tone lording its mush over their taut and distempered late 90’s metallic hardcore sound. This should naturally give the impression of death metallic inspiration but if you can pick up on the early Victory Records and Sheer Terror-esque feeling rhythmic skeleton of ‘Loved by None, Hated by All‘ this is a hardcore record through and through. Otherwise there is a messy early metalcore madness to this album’s attitude, a harshened kind of sound which is (to me) specific to the late 90’s but still vaguely likened to groups like Xibalba just as well, a good example of a death metal guitar tone doing good work for a hardcore band. These folks are way, way better at hitting the old standard of 90’s hardcore/metalcore emergence compared to a lot of truly mid death metal bands copping that style of late.

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The ride into ‘The Last Odyssey‘, the sophomore full-length album from Oldenburg, Germany-based heavy psychedelic rock quartet DEAF LIZARD, kinda gives the impression we’re in for some manner of doomed slump at some point but thier whole gig has a boogie to it that is specific to the stoner rock/metal realm as they carry on. “City of Life” is a fine example of how they rock and right after “Independent Terror” showcases their ability to hit that classic 90’s stoner metal standard without going groove metal with it. The most compelling depths this album has to offer beyond the trotting momentum of it all is probably the headier jam of “Ape’s Odyssey” and how they’ve balanced that long psych build with some of their shouted-along signature. This leaves “The Veil” feeling slightly redundant, mostly filler, beyond that point as a closing number and the whole of the album seems too hastily composed but there is some compelling enough energy to this album that I see the potential in their work. The songs don’t really catch, though, and this one never grew legs for me.

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Originally formed in San José, Costa Rica in 2008 but now based out of Berlin, Germany there’d been no public recordings from symphonic melodic death metal trio CARVED MEMORIES released ’til 2017 with a self-titled EP (‘Carved Memories‘, 2017) that’d frankly been a kind of mediocre industry standard event for my own taste. Though I don’t believe better production values and a bit of extra time for development has remedied their romancing of the modern melodic metal zeitgeist with particularly substantive riffcraft ‘The Moirai‘ does well to double down on its loud showmanship as they bring orchestral flourishes deeper into their sound. The drums are always hitting hard as possible, the vocals are always layered up, the guitars are forever chased by the orchestral movements and to the point that these things clash in resonance without making clear statements. There are some solid points of clarity which recall the best of late 90’s melodic death/symphonic shred a la “Raven” though the gears of their apparatus feel loosely threaded when all is set in motion and firing off at once. While all of this meets a certain modern standard to be sure the only real failing of this record from my point of view is its lack of compelling melodic interest built for all of the bluster here none of it manages to stick. There are some cool textures, interesting harmonic ideas clashing around on ‘The Moirai‘ and I think they’d be onto something remarkable if it’d all find a melodic directive and/or production values that were dynamic rather than all-in across the board.

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