…YOU MISSED • As part of our yearly recap the …You Missed series attempts to collect interesting releases I’d otherwise missed, didn’t cover, or didn’t appreciate until later. This is -NOT- a best of, but a collection of interesting curios worth mentioning as we reflect upon the year. // 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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For many black metal fans the viability of any (non-contra) cultural contribution from the sub-genre centers around its treatment of both history and mythology, a natural generational result beyond 70’s progressive/heavy rock’s contributions to storytelling and the first wave… and I point this out for the sake of bands like Cologne, Germany-based quartet SUMERIAN TOMBS who offer their own fantastical “epic vampyric” narrative within the context of Sumerian mythos, where second wave black metal inspired fare regales all with the summon of ancient evil. While the superficial hordes’ve compared these folks’ efforts to basically anything with similar themes ‘Age of Eternal Night‘ does not reflect the actual music or storytelling of bands like Melechesh but rather has more in common with moderne melodic black metal and its adjacency to post-black atmospheric exaggerations, this is not an Immortal or Enslaved record in its unfurl but should carry brough appeal in that direction. I’d found so much of this effort focused on grandeur, its blustering yet delicately strung waves of despondent-yet-majestic movement that only just a few songs found any practical impact (re: “Age of Eternal Night”, “Epitaph in Blood”, “Edimmu Rising”) while others trailed on for ~6-8 minutes of cinematic sprawl and revenant gloom. The greater effect is immersive to no end but when it comes to pecking their work down to the last riff it’d proven more of a theatric experience than the rhythmic force I’d been anticipating after their previous LP.

Dissonant psychedelia and the mood-swinging cadre of early prog-black provides the backdrop for Ljubljana, Slovenia-based quintet KAMRA‘s second major take on experimental black metal realms, a much anticipated release beyond 2022’s ‘Cerebral Alchemy‘. This band contains most folks involved with one of the best death metal bands around, Siderean, alongside vocalist N.K. and naturally their knack for what I’d describe as “organic surrealism” in the context of extreme metal carries over into the black metal realm here and with a healthy dose of multifarious dissonance. In fact ‘Unending Confluence‘ features some of the more diverse examples of dissonance in black metal you’ll hear all year as they sidestep the repetitious techniques we’re used to hearing at this point and create wild coloration, an expansion of bounds as much as an extension of Norwegian and Icelandic breakthroughs. “Of Pillars, Walls and Mutilation” is probably the song to crack this thought wide open but the full breadth of earlier piece “Cavernal Rebirth of Ends” cues us into the darker deluge served in the second half of the album. These folks’ve achieved an uncanny balancing act between spaced surrealistic drift and their dramatic, at-times challenging hand to the point that this second LP feels like a portal to another world rather than a perennial update.

Zürich, Switzerland-based troupe LYKHAEON were initially a quartet from 2013-2015 and in that space of time they’d produced their debut LP, ‘Tanz de Entleibten‘, at a pivotal point in the Jünger Tumilon (previously Helvetic Underground Committee) timeline in terms of creative output though an early-days venture with regard to mixing/mastering. This is the general pitch for their remixed, remastered and partially re-arranged version of said debut ‘Tanz der Entleibten MMXXV‘ which not only celebrates the tenth anniversary of the record but juices it up to their current standards. Most of us discovered this project via ‘Opprobrium‘ (2021) so it is interesting to hear both the primal beginnings of that meditation alongside souped-up production values, a treatment which yet preserves the dissonant, experimental and feral atmospheric hurl of their work circa 2015. While I figure I could delve into what makes this unpredictive, varietally scorched and oft harried work special I’d almost rather offer a blanket endorsement for literally everything these folks create as a collective, all is crafted and curated with a serious hand and some manner of meaning (esoteric or otherwise) which enriches the mind when examined by a keen eye and ear. Check out Arkhaaik and Arrows, too.

French pagan black metal band BELENOS was important to me in the early 2000’s as their first two albums, particularly ‘Spicilège‘, were my introduction to French black metal beyond Seth‘s debut and an incomplete digital copy of ‘Inquisitors of Satan‘. What’d struck me back then and to some degree now on this ninth full-length album ‘Egor‘ is a combination of dark, thickly realized black metal rhythmic force and more earthen ‘epic’ and folken device as most folks might recall reflect my interest in early Aeternus (Norway) where death, doom and such helped to shape their verve. For this latest album his work is no less intense, no less resolutely black metal in its nightside fuming flow, but (like ‘Kornog‘ before it) much of this album is spent flexing along the expanse created between dirging riffs and choral transitional features. The sound here is appreciably cavernous in depicting the nightsky, upward-shot in regaling the warmth of space, and achieves something “new” to my ears in ouevre as we approach “Sterenn du (black star)”. Despite the blurry album cover suggesting a less engaged vision all of the magick that’d drawn me to this band over two decades ago still applies and still continues to evolve in steady waltz.

Toruń, Poland-based duo BLACK WITCHCRAFT are a newer conception from folks involved in Occultum and related bands since the early 2000’s, a psychotic release in the tradition of raw and unhinged black metal. Their work has two key features in terms of aneurysm worthy vocals and rhythm guitar work which feels straight from the rehearsal room… no gilding or obsessive needling for the perfect take and as a result the whole of ‘Stare Into the Blackest Depths of Hell‘ feels ripped right from the performers font of frustration and hatred. There is an insane momentum to these acts which feels inherently violent, simple yet impactful with a classic sort of groove underpinning most songs (re: “Gospel of the Gallows”) and this translates well within points of high-whipping speed as well as slower, slugged movements which I think fans of classic raw black metal will appreciate. Over the years I’ve learned not to suggest black metal bands are authentic in their pursuit, having been proven wrong, but these folks speak to the core reactivity of the sub-genre within this work. Favorite song here is probably “Ultimate Devotion”.

My experience with French black metal act CELESTIA has been one of grotesque romanticism, works which are defined by retched-aloud and bemoaning vocals beside a post-LLN pathos, a defiance of performative values which hasn’t persisted without evolution since the mid-90’s. Often described as “gothic” and raw over the course of (now) five albums their creations on this latest post-reformation release resemble haunting apparition in surprising clarity. When I suggest clarity I do not mean to solely discuss production values, these pieces aren’t so polished that they reflect light, but rather streams of thought which form into repeatable shapes which rise-and-fall within their dramatic readings. The dreariness of their work is best exemplified between a pair of tracks mid-album (“Departure” and “La Parfum de la Nuit”) which gallop, glower and purge in a way that still represents their body of work with sense.

Defying the hard-cut shapes of obsessive technique in favor of long-arc’d threads of slow-burning fume Nijmegen, Netherlands-based atmospheric black metal duo PURITAN BONE offer an experience of patiently scarring strum via their debut full-length album ‘Ecstasy on the Frontier of Blood‘. There are feral voices and even some folken ebb to these longer, droning pieces but in general the ear will swap between carefully climbing strands of distant riffcraft and treading water in the dark. A more recent concoct from T. (Furia, Nusquama) and Lethargor of Nacior Udun these songs reflect both the evolution of scenery and their own inner-channeled exploration where repetitious and easily pouring atmospheric black metal find a flow-state and wisely choose to ride the waves ’til sated. Though I’d found this release maddening in its slow-waltzing, surprisingly un-gilded forms to start it’d eventually grow on me within a disconnected state of mind. It isn’t the type of album one’d get hyped out their skull for but rather one that slowly peels away the impatient mind’s defenses and (in my case) captivates.

Built upon meditations on the manipulation of shadows and light this fifth full-length album from Kaunas, Lithuania-based black metal band LUCTUS essentially cultivates and thusly transforms the impact of their previous LP (‘Užribis‘, 2020) into a colder, harsher yet more technique rich exploration. There is a modern black/death metal modus deployed here, production which explodes with rich bass drum impact and a cold, concrete slabbed effect when it pulverizing motion and this keeps ‘Tamsošviesa‘ from employing any too-sentimental thoughts within its fiery blur, resembling Polish black/death in terms of both sharpened production, precision and multi-layered vocal delivery. Mid-paced sections, backgrounded yet empyreal keys and a few quick-turning rhythms (“Gydančios žaizdos”) help to create interplay which reads as both congestive and expansive dilation. With that said most of this album resorts to pummeling for its impact and as such presses along rather than develop familiarity.

Though his efforts in brilliant heavy psych/doom band Dunbarrow are probably best known Haugesund, Norway-based artist S.B.E.‘s solo work in Nemesis and now BANEFUL TONGUE have focused on obscure forms of black metal with the former carrying a dissonant, erratic cause and the latter breaching black/death metal inspired by groups like Black Curse, Howls of Ebb and Teitanblood. ‘Baneful Tongue‘ is essentially built upon an exploration of black metal riffcraft, pulling various rants from a specific pocket and then elaborating upon their distinction with typically unique feats of his rhythm section. You’ll get what I mean when “Mind of Torment” (see also: “Bells of Falsehood”) begins to weave in its almost Virus-esque worming swagger, a jogging black metal roll which wriggles and agitates as it hurls downward. Although not every song here feels so unified in its directional accost most persist within blast-paced and wrathful bent that keeps the ear trailing along via a snapping rhythm guitar tone and the occasional thrum of the bass out of line. This is the sort of album that gains in value with familiarity in the sense that its violent energy and bruiser pace eventually numb into mind and the nuance available to each track, through respite or sea-change, becomes its repeatable knack. Production values are particularly good here, raw but infernally present where I’d particularly appreciated the space given the bass guitar within slower, meandering movements (“Divine Dissonance”).

Reykjavík, Iceland-based quintet NEXION carry some of the same visual taste and sonic sensibilities as the aforementioned Luctus but these folks bring dramatic lushness, hymnal melodic black metal exaggerations to their sound rather than rapt, technical aggression or any tangible death metal features. Though their production values are a shade too polished for my own taste there is a high standard achieved here for the general black/death metal audience and the result is impactful, palpably frothing with aggression because of this general loudness applied. For a sophomore full-length album ‘Sundrung‘ is snarling but unhurried, flows but doesn’t always seamlessly connect one thought to the next, yet the overall tone of the experience is all too uniform. Though I appreciate this type of work it doesn’t quite reach the high benchmark left by albums like ‘Revelations of the Red Sword‘, nor does it achieve either melodic or riff-centric appeal and ends up a loud but middling trance.

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