• MASSIVE REVIEWING CAPACITY • is our latest short review column focusing on stray quality releases a few times a month, or, roughly every two weeks depending on the current month’s release schedule. In an attempt to be more conversational these are easygoing and casual thoughts for the most part, 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 a record 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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Frankfurt, Germany-borne thrash metal troupe EXUMER weren’t necessarily known for originality back in the mid-to-late 80’s as a clear reaction to ‘Hell Awaits‘ and such plus it didn’t help that within their evolution a 1989 demo kinda had funk metal edge to it before they’d split in 1991. During peak thrash revivalism in the early 2000’s they were probably a bit discounted in the sense that ‘Rising From the Sea‘ (1987) held up better than a lot of the so-called second tier Teutonic thrash cadre but I don’t know that too many folks were clamoring for a big return when they’d signaled revival around 2008 or so via a demo and three album stretch which followed in the 2010’s.

Returning to their discography in preparation for ‘Death Mask Messiah‘ you could feel the guidance of Sorychta early on in that later run, at least calling back to their Bay Area inspired notions in some sense, but by 2019 it was kinda thrash by numbers. So when I read that this new album, seven years beyond the last mind you, intended a more “brutal and direct” approach it’d been enough to dig in.

The ‘Arise‘-coded main riff and curiously blackened (?) wane of the title track/opener “Death Mask Messiah” presented an interesting first impression as it was clear the Testament and/or Vio-lence adjacent diction of ‘Fire & Damnation‘ (2012) had kicked back into gear and angry stompers like “Sin Bleeder”, “Eradication” and nearby compounded this observation. Beyond a more aggressive hand applied we do get some manner of melody here, most notably the strange asides on “Allocated Savagery” and the Kreator-cum-Exodus bend through “Serpent”, but the ~42 minutes on offer here generally punch and shout by default.

There aren’t a ton of early 80’s stoked thrash metal bands around today who still read/sound like fandom rather than some old, dead idea machined of its soul and in this sense Exumer still belong. I’m still not sure what the signature of their work is but I’d definitely catch them on tour based on this material alone. Any fan of later 80’s classics will appreciate their keeping the faith without parody. Lyrics are also far and above the out of touch shit we’ve been getting from revived thrash acts of late.

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Dalarna-bound heavy rock quintet BESVÄRJELSEN reach a bliss-point within this finely crafted, most accessible to date third full-length album. Though a certain veil of gloom still hangs over their doom-rock methods ‘Till Glömskan Ad Oblivionem‘ is written to worm in ear nigh incessantly and this shouldn’t be such a surprise within their general trajectory to date. The anthemic “Accelerating Hearts” goes for it most heartily to start but it was opener “The Greatest Sin” and its heady melodic strum that’d pulled my ear all the way in. Otherwise the dynamic here floats between doomed heaviness (“Counting Flies”), estranged rockers (“Pulse”) and singer-songwriter type experimentation (“Oblivion”). Not all of it lands for my own taste, Side B is a tonal mess for my taste, but the first impression was potent enough that it’d all warranted exploration.

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Bavarian progressive rock duo NOEKK is a long-standing side project from the fellowes behind glorious Empyrium and this should be obvious enough as soon as Markus Stock‘s one of a kind hymnal vocal arrangements arrive full-bodied. ‘Vargessenes‘ is potentially more a symptom of progression than it is an outlier as the folken solemnity of ‘The White Lady‘ (2021) and the less weirding cohesion of ‘Waltzing in Obscurity‘ (2019) find sighing relief on this next step down their path. The captivating lushness of ‘Über den Sternen‘ seems to have informed the production values here, side-stepping the band’s history of distorted guitars and oddball prog-rock vaunt in favor of dark-dramatic, often sombre lilt. The first half of the album takes particular care to develop conversational exchange between acoustic guitar layered drift and the eerie tension of Stock‘s treatment of the poetry of Heinrich Heine, an ‘acid folk’ sort of treatment which reads as clever storytelling in motion.

Side A generally features some of the band’s most cohesive and uninterrupted compositions to date (re: “Sterne”) which quickly characterize the record. By the time we’ve hit the mid-point standout “Manch Bild vergessener Zeiten” acts as the parting of the reeds, a step into a sort of maypole-circling delirium which more readily speaks to their old prog-folk rock inspiration. From there the album flows more readily of its forest bound daze, picking up the pace + the keys and crashing about (“Am Fernen Horizont”) throughout the second half. The warmer and more immediate Noekk‘s presence grows here the darker, more jagged their directive making for less a celebration of verdant climes and moreso slowly awakening into an unfamiliar place which broadens in view, foreboding with each step. Their best record to date, would love to see them draw much more from this particular vein.

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After inheriting a vast collection of popular Finnish melodic metal, ranging from stuff I’d grown up with to shit I’d never touch, it’d struck me that the deceased had never dug as deep as say, Mustan Kuun Lapset or gemlike Ähtäri-borne melodic death metal crew NOUMENA in the midst of their import-heavy obsession. The latter of the two bands, known for catchier lead guitar melodies and a more palatable than average dual vocal setup, arrived upon their seventh full-length album roughly a week ago. The sextet only grow more consistent with each release as ‘Maanääri‘ carries a mournful liveliness through its roaring n’ crooning dynamic, still stepping away from pure aggression outright and relishing in their more atmospheric tread for the sake of balance upheld. I don’t know if their discography is wildly original to start and their cleaner vocals only really hit once in a while for my own taste but each of Noumena‘s records land well enough as an extension of melodeath tradition. Not entirely my thing per se but a more substantive alternative to a lot of popular Finnish melodic metal interest. If nothing else the jaunty choruses of “Kuolemankello” should stick in mind.

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Belgium-based experimental electro-black metal duo BACHT’N DE VULLE MOANE return for a second album of raw black metal riffs, thumping beatcraft and bleak ambiance with ‘Verdwazing de Dwazen‘. At this point one could consider their debut (‘Klaagrituelen‘, 2023) a demo-level exploration in direct comparison as we find refinement amidst emboldened industrial (not industrial metal) infused exploration on this full-length. Though opener “Dor” is potentially more exciting as it appears “Hellegat” is potentially the best first impression here in terms of where the duo had been before and where they’ve taken it now, building a sort of Urfaust level of melt around their unique approach to techno-black. With each track the experiment only grows more deranged be it the spaced, punkish trample of “Verdwazing Der Dwazen – Min Erte Bloedt” or the (earlier) Front Line Assembly-esque throb of the first half “Het is Nooit Stil”. The later pieces on the album only grow louder, messier and to the point that I’d just as well skip the closer but the immersive and inventive value of the bulk of this album was undeniable.

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Smartly capitalizing on the momentum offered by their 2024 return ‘Evil Remains‘ North American heavy rock/doom metal duo CASTLE return for a seventh full-length album in ‘Carrie Chains‘. Though they’re no stranger to classic rock song structures and anthemic aplomb all of their efforts feel charged with the early 80’s as they kick through Side A here via standouts “3 Knocks” and “Evil Nun”. From there things get stonier, less predictable in some sense as pieces like “Truckgrinder” and “Orb Weaver” reach for intricate and idiosyncratic phrasing they’re known for. Keeping it stripped back to pure and remaining consistent throughout this record does well to steel the band’s presence on record, their most “heavy metal” record to date in most respects.

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Colima, Mexico-based death metal trio DEMONIC MANIFESTATION return for a third ‘old school’ inspired full-length nearly a decade beyond their last. With ‘Grimshrine‘ they’ve upheld their sledgehammer of primarily Scandinavian influenced and horror themed death metal simplicity, sticking to Dismember affected compositions which they’re prone to subvert here and there with heavier groove breaks (re: “Kuru: The Laughing Death March”) and a few hits of early days melodic death along the way. Imposing as the first few songs are here more they change things up the more compelling the full listen becomes especially when ducking into the blaze of “Spheres of Death” and the glowering lurch of “Phantasma” later on. Only complaint here is the drum sound but it doesn’t hurt the huge wall of guitars crushing at the forefront. Solid death metal record with a few unexpected moments.

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Wroclaw, Poland-based Ukrainian artist SEVEROTH brings their ethereal uplift to a seventh full-length album in ‘Waves‘ once again embodying the tradition of what I’d typically call “Bandcamp atmoblack” back in the early 2010’s. Where post-black/gaze temperament, gently pinging keys, and loftier streaming non-phrases combine into highly repetitious feats amidst howling declarations. Though the melodrama which guides a song like “We Are Waves” might read as twee to the unindoctrinated most of what Severoth (ex-Endless Battle) brings here is well-established fare aiming for emotional weight. I’ve no real qualms with this type of atmospheric black metal though I did feel like I’d spent half the album waiting for a standout moment or a break from the norm. Granted there are a few appreciable highs near the mid-point of “Vyriy” and some saxophone on “As Forests Dream the Dawn” but it’d been a struggle to lend my full attention to the frothy hum of it all.

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Kettering, Ohio-based solo experimental disso-black metal project VENOMOUS ECHOES deal with what seems to be childhood sexual trauma and domestic abuse (or worse) on this fourth full-length album in the space of four years. A pandemic-born idea fractalized off of various other homebrewed efforts from main operator Ben Vanweelden, theirs isn’t necessarily a work built from any particular tradition and doesn’t focus on the riff as key product but generally reflects the headier Blut Aus Nord school of impressionism. Ambitious, expressive craft is the main component of my interest here and atmospheric storytelling a nice bonus. Otherwise ‘Ŋvęŧş: Violator Of Mater‘ is the product of iteration in the sense that production values’ve steadily improved in Venomous Echoes‘ work and this time around the drum programming (via the fellow from Sleep Paralysis) operates under more reasonable, or, readable bounds and there are fewer (unintentional) elemental clashes occurring overall. Much of the experience reads as vibes, horrified ones but vibes nonetheless and the minutiae of their blasting and shredding-loose spasms becomes less impressive when revisited. The first impression was a mindbender nonetheless.

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