• IN BRIEF… • This latest short review column focuses on releases will arrive a few times a month, or, roughly every two weeks covering new releases depending on the current month’s release schedule. In an attempt to be more conversational these are more easygoing and casual than longform reviews, so relax and think for yourself as I attempt to find something, anything to say about multitudes of new releases relevant to my interests. — 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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Aarhus, Denmark-based quintet SUNKEN have been entirely consistent in the expansion of their longform tracts of beauteous and melancholic atmospheric black metal over the course of three albums. This third release ‘Lykke‘ doesn’t shake things up too dramatically beyond increasingly lush production values apropos of their style which is heavily directed by its mood-stoking lead driven shaping and thickly resonant array of rhythm guitar tones. When the pace does slow the most interesting points of action tend to rush in to fill any available space and in this sense some of the Wolves in the Throne Room-isms available go through the motions while declarative existential shouting and frothy lo-fi acoustic interludes speak to taste in post-black metal’s ongoing evolution. Some natural adjacency to Afsky should cue fans into this record’s broader appeal but here I’d suggest some of the more brazen, broken depressive black metal muse escapes the dark metal melodicism typically associated with that style, instead choosing howling dread and mind-numbing levels of dramatic reverb as gilding. If we are to receive this record as a crossing of wonderment and disgust in ecstatic conjoinment then I’d say “Glaedesfaerd” achieves this with brilliant subtlety yet “Naar Livet Gaar Paa Haeld” is the bigger, most complete moment among these four pieces. Otherwise I’m not sure they’ve done anything so outrageous or profound here that it’ll leave a dent in mind beyond the moment.

You might recall Portland, Oregon-based duo BREATH turned heads back in 2021 with their fairly minimalist and meditative take on spiritual mantra-driven doom with ‘Primeval Transmissions‘ and now they’ve returned with a second LP, ‘Brahman‘, a freshly multi-dimensional rendering of their original idea. Expanding into a quartet which now includes Rob Wrong of Witch Mountain on guitars/production duties as well as keyboards from Lauren Hatch allows these songs to exist in broader rippling envision, more moving parts and more ambitious movements ensure their work is less a sermon and more a performance from a troupe. The rhythm section is yet the growling core of each piece with a ruddy, distortion tipped bass guitar tone and pocket tight drumming acting as the generator while bluesy wah-juiced wailing (“Awen”) and 70’s cum 90’s borne fuzz (“Monastery of the Seven Sages”) make a solid case for guitar work warming and psyching out their already surreal jammed feel. It’d make sense to once again point to the stark fixation of OM and the wandering far-east hand of Zaum for comparative description in the psychedelic/spiritual doom arena but I think that’d still discount the paradigm shift that additional atmospheric gilding, more space allowed the spoken-sung vocals, and contributions from Wrong all bring to the table here. They’ve done a fine job of refining their own uniquely intimate voice while also expanding the possibilities both on record and in a live setting.

Chivalric, medieval, “epic”, etc. black metal sub-genre notation doesn’t always form from a clear scenic event so much as a certain je ne sais quoi provided by French black metal’s greater compositional reach and, no, the first Peste Noire album wasn’t the locus of this so much as a benchmark for many acts. I don’t know if that is a primary influence for this United States/Norwegian duo HERALDIC BLAZE but I would figure the flow and arrange of this record is somewhat related to the blueprint ‘La sanie des siècles…’ provided to so many in the mid-to-late 2000’s. I would make a case for pagan metal style in general per folken elements (see: “The Slaying of Ophis”, “Hearken the Peals of May”, etc.) which’re largely relegated to flute delivered melodies provided by bassist/vocalist Argent Pale while the dungeon synth adjacent intro/interludium provided (“Dawn of the Luminary”, “The Last Procession of a Golden King”) reinforce a rousing, anthemic high fantasy bracing for their work. The effect is inspired enough, ‘Monument of Will‘ finds its own intimately stated chivalric grace through iteration on a single idea, and in this sense the band makes good on the promise of their raw demo tape with a complete arc of a debut LP. It is a perfectly fine black metal record with a familiar melodic voice and not-so cleaned up production values which help to retain some much needed scathe in their work, the only real criticism here I can provide is that I believe these songs might’ve benefitted from editing out some of the more cloying galloped-out moments that detract from the serious yet warmed defiance of their trod.

Intending to provide folkloric muse upon the nature of greed and the societal decay resultant Copenhagen, Denmark-based atmospheric black metal quartet ORM return for a fourth full-length album in ‘Guld‘. Coming off of their brilliantly ambitious double LP ‘Intet • Altet‘ back in 2022 this is a leaner, meaner version of the band less concerned with ‘epic’ 20+ minute opus and instead pieces which to me recall the late 90’s era of bands like Enslaved (re: ‘Eld‘, ‘Blodhemn‘) where aggressive death-metallic grooves and otherwise dramatic movements feel tangentially related to Quorthonian storytelling. On the shorter ~6-8 minute pieces this acts as congestion where cutting and stabbed-out riffs restrict their typically broad flowing movement. Side B‘s “Udskammet” smooths this out best in terms of what soars and what plummets as these folks are obviously most comfortable with plenty of elbow room to develop their own melodic ideation. While I’ve found these folks generally have excellent taste/curation of thier records artwork, production values, and general style I’m not sure this one ever landed upon a point of highly repeatable connectivity on my end.

Though Milan, Italy-based musician Gabriele Gramaglia (Cosmic Putrefaction, Crepuscular Sound Studio et al.) is probably best known for his ventures into technical death metal and progressive metal in general his latest project aims for a more feral, immediate connection with extreme metal. Conceived and readied earlier this year LUGUBRIOUS GARMENT naturally reflects an interest in shared traits/voicing of rapid-fire blackened death metal, deathgrind and black/thrash metal where appreciation for the havoc of Black Curse and Ascended Dead blurs into grinding, often technical bursts of riff. If there is one holistically charged song to represent the band here it is probably “Emanations of Impure Deities” which initially sounds like it was inspired by the kinetic sparking dodge of ‘Aura Noire‘, or perhaps Side A of Absu‘s ‘Abzu‘ thanks to the wailing that occurs @ 1:40 minutes in, before pathing out harder rolling death metal malice in its second half.

Of the three songs included each have their own path to burn through, emphasizing one channel of the artist’s vision while rallying the whole idea as they flesh out. You’ll get more grinding n’ weirding push on “Of Vengeful Intransigence” to start and snarling shotgunned hammering on the sublimely violent estrangement of “Eternal Scars and Imperative Backfires”. Defacement drummer Claudio Invidia particularly impresses on the latter where he provides a perilously cracked spine within the cave of growling and gnashing mania that ensues. There is some spectacularly dark energy happening within this release, an easy-flowing violence which is appreciable even within the least committal glance of the ear and I believe that is at least somewhere nearby the intent. Could he have stripped it back a bit more considering this is a demo? Probably, but what counts most to me here is that the riffs (read: ideas) flow quick and their attack is resoundingly wrathful.

Helsinki, Finland-based trio DET aim for an uncanny form of sinister 80’s-extreme metal infused speed metal on this debut full-length album. Formed between members of Excuse, Ranger and Asphodelus back in 2022 the result of their efforts resembles earliest attempts at black and/or death metal from Venom flavored heavy/speed metal bands given to echoic vocals and blasted-at movement not far from the Sarcófago-lead realm sans the high-speed wreckage. Fans of early ‘evil’ speed metal will generally get a kick out of all that these folks have packed into this thirteen song debut but I’d felt they needed to pick a lane between the sort of generic buzzing stuff and the songs which experiment with blasts and any sort of energetic demand beyond downstroked two riff numbers. The pairing of “Impaler” and “Sinister” (see also: “Possessor”) acts as the diabolic height of the full listen for my own taste but as we reach Side B their whole deal kinda leans back and hits like an early Destruction record. Not a bad result either way but I’d felt like they’d have done well to cut at least four or five of these pieces to make room for points of bigger impact.

Longview, Texas based group TRIBAL GAZE have left behind their ‘old school’ death metal aesthetic for the sake of a metallic hardcore sound informed by brutal death metal per their breakdown heavy pursuit on this second full-length album. Taking a few worthy swipes at slamming brutal death metal and crossing further into death metal for a couple of pieces doesn’t impress me as a longtime death metal fan but I can appreciate ‘Inveighing Brilliance‘ leaning so heavily into moshable hardcore. They’re a lot better at it and it has allowed enough space to insert some experimental, eerie sounds into their work. While we find more of these pandemic era popularized bands fully proofing hardcore records on their switch to bigger labels I have to say I’m surprised few have anywhere surprising to go with it and while this is a great sounding record with a cold-assed vibe, it is just alright stuff. I’d rather go hang with an old Xibalba record or whatever but I still enjoyed myself on the run through. Great album art, though.

From the outset of my experience with this latest EP release from Austin, Texas-based melodic death metal trio ADUANTEN there’d been this uncanny sensation that they were having a conversation just outside of clear earshot, something already in process as opener “Cerulean Dream” hit. There’d been neither big melodic hook nor outright melodic statement sent to greet the ear beyond the atmospheric float of its building loft, leaving a sort of murmuring effect upon introduction. ‘Apocryphal Verse‘ maintains that level of subtlety throughout its four song run but with “The Weakening Sovereign” the band create a sweetly cast melodic death take on machinery directly related to what Rotting Christ were doing circa 1999 with ‘A Dead Poem‘ while also carrying with some lessons learned from Obsequiae sans that specific type of lead guitar interest. If you are a fan of the gothic and/or oaken side of late 90’s melodic death and the points where it collides with Cascadian folken dramatism you should appreciate these folks’ work outright, particularly the effectively downtrodden atmosphere and heavily layered but not-so weighed down approach to sound design. They’ve nailed the mood and sound of a certain era but without carrying in some manner of peril into the equation via the riff a la ‘Evanescent, Everfading‘.

Returning for a fifth full-length album which promises to be even more punishing than the last Linz, Austria-based deathgrind quartet DISTASTE once again pull from crust punk, blackened death metal and a wide array of 2000’s era grindcore for their sound. While their previous album sported a chunking HM-2 bossed up guitar tone they’ve layered in more of a brutal death metal inspired render while retaining their metalpunk aspect and the result is a very well representative experience in ‘Agoniepositur‘. Otherwise expect ~1-2 minute songs which spark up some technical gilding and plenty of hard-whipped furor as they blast through. I particularly appreciate the throttle pushing aspect of songs like “Kaligula 2.0” and how this very slightly edges into something like Nile-era death metal on a few other pieces. The thrashing, moshable attack of “Gottes Geschenk an die Menschheit” is probably my favorite piece here but I still appreciate what I’d call neocrust inspired songs like “Endzweck Geschroepf”. Solid album from a consistent band.

Phoenix, Arizona-based psychedelic stoner/sludge doom metal quintet DAYTRIPPER return beyond their 2024 released debut LP for an EP which showcases the addition of a second vocalist (who also contributes synthesizer work) as well as a new drummer. This directly addresses the lack of vocal directive found on ‘Book I: The Trip‘ beyond the occasional roaring narrative, warming their work into something more actively stated but no less forlorn. If you are a fan of the earlier Acid Witch records with the fellow from Hooded Menace on vocals you’ll probably appreciate the stoney but bleak extreme doom feeling of this record which goes a bit harder into death metal appropriate vocals than before, pairing that with eerie clean vocals on a couple of these songs (the title track b/w “A New Leaf” esp.) ultimately works without too much of a clash. I’d particularly enjoyed the keyboard/synth solo that’d ended “A New Leaf” but lost the plot bit within the stretch of “Hubris” toward the end. I’d enjoyed this new sound for the contrast provided though I’m interested to see what type of harmony is possible from this new alignment.

Gothenburg, Sweden-based quintet HOSTILIA appear earnest in their pursuit of heavy metal music squarely inspired by the classic thrash metal of the 80’s as they pull from the stadium worthy melodicism of peak Bay Area thrash (re: Testament) alongside the more underground scratch of the riff found in European realms beyond. With black album era Hetfield inspired vocals and sharp production values I’m reminded of Japan’s Outcast to start (“Bone Collector” esp.) yet we find more of a speed metal influence jetting throughout the full spin of ‘Face the Fire‘ where standout single “P.T.D.” almost sounds like it were pulled from a long-lost Finnish thrash group a la Airdash or simply something more Megadeth minded. While it is fun to consider references and such per this type of music I think I was more impressed by the band’s ability to pivot into different song types and melodic shapes without losing sight for the general strictures of late 80’s thrash metal production values. It doesn’t always amount to anything unheard of and with seven ~5-6 minute songs landing in a row some fatigue should set in for all but the most dedicated thrash listener who appreciates a tunneling focus but the end result does feel authentic and repeatable.

After running the command to /END_Gridlink.exe we find the folks responsible for that group folding into BARREN PATH who appear to step away from the hi-tech nature of their previous band while aiming for a more roots-readied but frantic as shit grindcore album which. Grabbing folks from Shock Withdrawal and everyone who played on ‘Coronet Juniper‘ (besides vocalist Jon Chang) the directive of the ~13.5 minute scratch through these twelve songs is all violence in one ear and some semblance of order and even melody as they clobber and skronk through. You’re going to have to crank the album, stick it on repeat and eat the headache to glean the sublime feats on offer here, mere seconds of psychotic guitar runs or elastically snapped melodic runs which’re bitten and scratched by wrathful dual vocal styles and the machine gun hands of Bryan Fajardo (Cognizant, et al.). Best songs here for my own taste are probably “The Insufferable Weight”, “Lunar Tear” and “No Geneva”.

Returning seven years beyond their previous LP and now sporting a trio line-up featuring Aort, Ilya R.G. and current My Dying Bride drummer Storm British death metal band BINAH return with an album which centers its themes around the holistic process of illness, death and the lasting impact of grief. In seeking to convey the journey through lasting fixation ‘Ónkos‘ is split into two pieces which stretch across the entirety of either side of the album at around ~21 minutes each. Side A‘s “Mount Morphine” is a slow climb where death-doomed mounding and growling HM-2 boosted guitar tones bite at the otherwise bewildered and searching tone of the greater song. Side B‘s “The After Evermath” has more of a Bolt Thrower-type barrel to its charge, wheeling through aggressive and melodic movements in their conveyance of inner tumult beyond tragedy.

There is a numbness, a dissociative trait which carries through the full listen which to me reads like a series of running thoughts, a numbed reaction despite a still-boiling state of mind. This was somewhat unexpected from the band considering their first two LPs were fairly straight forward but I’d appreciated that change as it allowed for an experience which is evocative of both the toil of illness and the unavoidable traction of grief beyond. Otherwise there is a generally satisfying surrealism to how these songs develop which is always right on the edge of either breaking into death/doom lunging or ripping death metal yet neither field is fully indulged, creating a sort of tension which is more than entertaining.

https://osmoseproductions.bandcamp.com/album/nkos

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