THE TOP 10 ALBUMS OF THE MONTH should be self-explanatory, an ordered ranking of ten albums that’d resonated most throughout this month. If you’re new to the site, the tendency is heavy and/or surreal music. Choices are selected based on temporal immersion, personal connection, impressive style, point of view, aesthetics and with consideration for the lasting value of each selection. All choices are ultimately personal and come without consideration for populism, nepotism, cronyism, or any outside factors including perceived “relevance”. Writing about music is a passion I afford as much time as is manageable and I am grateful to have so much to choose from. Thank you.

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I. This month on MystificationZine.com most of the selections are death metal related with a few black metal and metalpunk related works included. There can be only ten here every month so don’t miss out on exceptional work from: Deceptor, Static Abyss, Totalitär, Noekk, Fejd and Rapid. Way more variety on the way in September as the year’s “biggest” releases ramp up over the next two months.

II. Consider following on YouTube.

III. As always I’d like to express my gratitude for the bands, labels and PR firms who choose to work with me. Thank you.

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In the process of delivering their own mutant-handed take on horrified ‘old school’ death metal Norwegian crew Horrifier deranged and refined their gig to the point of punching above their weight on this second album, defying expectations with a doubly wrathful (and doomed) effort. They’ve put in the work here in terms of coming up with a theme, a story to tell within the death metal medium without belaboring the subject or their riffs and a fantastic death metal record results.

“By sheer thanatophobia he is willed kill and kill again, fostering a grinning-wide obsession with murder as desperation for survival becomes predatorial obsession… a damned quest for immortality from the disturbed minds of Oslo, Norway-based death metal quartet HORRIFIER who’ve themed this maniac sophomore full-length album with their own slasher narrative. The stench of their handiwork becomes impossible to ignore as ‘Revelations of Gore‘ piles ’em high within its basement-level thrashing death and horrified bouts of doom, another class showing of late 80’s/early 90’s informed character from otherwise nowadays skulls. Tightened ancient death songcraft writ with a freer hand and given to an authentic attack finds this material up there with the better ‘old school’ inspired death metal coming out of Norway these days.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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Much as I was stoked for a direct follow-up to the brilliancy that was ‘Monuments to Absence‘ back in 2023 what Fen‘ve done here to revive and rework the approach of their full body of work is no less ambitious or admirable in its holistic take. This finds ‘Elemental Part I: Mourning Earth‘ addressing their old ways with a more virtuosic hand, a highly atmospheric and even post-black impacted record which positions their work among the best in oaken prog-black headspace today.

“Grounded within the green and grey expanse of increasingly ashen environs while taking in a wide-angled view of the slow, fiery death of all on the horizon London, England-based atmospheric black metal trio FEN invoke cinematic beauty, indelible sorrow and impending cataclysm within this eighth full-length album. Presented as the first entry in a two-part concept ‘Elemental Part One: Mourning Earth‘ intentionally seeks to marry past ambitions with their high caliber presence today wherein their signature post-black atmospheric array embraces a more active, skillful prog-black dynamism. Sure to pull fans old-and-new back in with its all-seeing balance of both thunderous and intimate aspects of their sound this first part of the conceptual duo promises a most complete self from the act here on their twentieth year of existence.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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With this third full-length album Hulder continue to expand both their personnel and the palette of their dramatic take on late second wave aesthetics and oak-built atmospheric pagan black metal. ‘Verbolgen‘ doesn’t necessarily recreate the obvious influences here in terms of virtuosic/varietal expanse or pronounced attack but rather bask in their passage between trampling force and floatier sincerity. Their curation goes quite a long way here, and they’ve not wholly redefined themselves beyond the profundity of their previous album, but overall it is hard to deny this as the band’s best work to date.

“Twilight-set summons from medieval minds incurs the revolt of the ancients as Washington state based black metal duo HULDER tap into the anger of the burning land they walk on this exceptional third full-length album. Though the band’s greater pool of inspiration yet finds its locus in mid-90’s Norwegian styled craft ‘Verbolgen‘ uses a specific primal idyll, a path less travelled by most, in achieving its stoically shot sojourn through folken melodicism, damaging flurries of hooves, and a vitriolic pagan sermon cast. The result is far less fragmented in tone than prior, accentuating the ‘epic’ solemnity and proud stride of their work unto a particularly fine listening experience front to back.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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On their debut full-length album Finnish death metal band Azatoth breathe rotten fumes into the old-meets-new metadeath today by honing in on the thrill of deathgrind, the Eldritch wander of old Finndeath and classic USDM on a few fronts. It makes for a pretty seamless death metal experience which is far divorced from the replication of old standards in the immediate post-millennium death metal reality and potentially too tasteful in its approach to fall into the trendier scumming of today. However you parse it ‘Carnal Lust of Blasphemy‘ is a raucous punisher, a brain sloshing attack of a record which bodes well in general. If you were a fan of Protrusion‘s album you’ll likely appreciate these folks’ own take as well.

“Prophesizing the coming of unspeakable horrors, incanting the damnation of all skinbound souls unto piles of fetid mush and delighting in the putrid landscape that remains Helsinki, Finland-based death metal quartet AZATOTH detail a realm ingested by its own madness on this well-deformed debut full-length album. Rooted as if a polyp in the kosm of old death’s throat but weaponized by moderne metatextural guts the rank pummel through ‘Carnal Lust of Blasphemy‘ speaks to minds tormented, made restless by the possibilities of Eldritch death and hammer-horrified cruelty abounding. Though this might turn to moldy mush in most hands there is a kinetic alchemical interaction facilitated within the band’s efforts which holds its total solution out of homogeny at all times, making for a solid old-meets-new death metal event sure to yank at the minds of ‘old school’ obsessives and broader canon entrenched souls alike.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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In the past it would’ve been enough to suggest that Maryland-based crew Ninth Realm were a harder-edged take on post-Power Trip crossover/thrash but with this second album they’ve kind of outclassed many suggested peers with work which transcends that foundation in two directions: Black/death metal and traditional heavy metal, a prospect which works out brilliantly in practice. If you’re a fan of Black Breath or Iron Age there’ll be enough to catch your ear here but they’ve gone above and beyond in terms of writing kinda ear catching or straight catchier thrashers that cut quick and build dark fantasy realm in the process.

“Crawling over corpses in the dark with blades-in-mouth the liers in wait behind Maryland-based crossover death/thrash metal quintet NINTH REALM strike unholy iron on this well-stylized sophomore full-length album. Caught between post-millennium era metalpunk girding and auld extreme metal grime ‘Damnation’s Veil‘ manages to multiply the group’s personage without sapping the broad ouevre they’ve developed over the last several years. The end result is a punishing wheel-turn between thrashing stomp, black/death tinged whirring and a strong heavy metal entrenched core.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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Without exiting the overall sensation of late 80’s/early 90’s ‘old school’ progressive death/technical thrash metal that’d birthed ’em Italian fusionists Miscreance mature into busied experimental intricacy and broader expressive intimacy on this well-honed second LP. You’re getting something closer to labelmates Horrendous to start, you’ll hear that from the moment the opener pops off, but the action on this record quickly becomes their own as it ramps and pools within its esoteric narrative where shocks of later Death, Atheist, and earlier Sadist all contribute to the manic tension and experimentation of it all.

“Seeded by celestial cataclysm and evolved in meta-psychic union the collective primordial will of a long lost precursor race now grasps the collective minds of Venice, Italy-based progressive death metal quartet MISCREANCE into bizarre agglomerative hallucination for this sophomore full-length album. On their voyage to unearth a history lost to time ‘Reminiscence‘ retains the hard-snapping ‘old school’ progressive death/technical thrash core of their sound while leaning heavier into the former, achieving a familiar sound within densely structured, ranting movement. Between the retro-futuristic sci-fi meditation at hand and the old-meets-new fusion of their work the band do a fine job of extending their original thought beyond classicism unto distinction without losing the plot.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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Moscow-based crew Gosudar give us a substantive three-song sojourn through unreal synth, technical brutality and wrathful ancient death on this latest self-released EP. Self-recorded, raw and yet enormous in the bleak and screaming tunnel created ‘Egocidal Maze Descent‘ speaks to a band who’re channeling something pretty damned unique on the path forward. Will be wild to see what they do on a second LP as I feel like their experimental/abstract side is just as cool as the pure and punishing death metal they’ve always excelled at.

>> FULL STREAM <<

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There’d been more than an inkling provided on Unholy Redeemer‘s first demo tape that they’d be an ancient death metal incensed bulldozer going forth but with this debut EP they’ve managed this huge, doomed atmospheric feat which already sounds polished enough, readied up for an album. Multi-national projects rarely gel anywhere near as well as these works on ‘Journey Beyond Death‘ and to the point that you get a bit of each musician’s signature in the work without reaching a point of incoherence or unrelated spasming, the total effect is far above average.

“A skull-churning surge of obsidian blood follows the conflagration of flesh as multi-national death metal quartet UNHOLY REDEEMER brave the eyeless void, voyaging beyond quietus throughout this all-pro debut EP. Through a series of nightmarish, lumbering and aflame death metal pieces ‘Journey Beyond Death‘ demonstrates their union’s utmost standards for morbid presence and oppressive atmospheric drape, taking all cues from the best of ancient death metal. Their work here offers a grand leap in cohesive, coherent vision within this substantive and pretty well doomed EP but more importantly transports the death-addled brain to a rare immersive state.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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Russian bestial death trio Thanatomass are among the better crews in this style not only for the sake of their riff-packed attack but the thrashing, psychotic quality of it which never chooses the punkish, grinding mania of the spectrum over tightly constructed mayhemic slashing. Otherwise their style is exceptionally represented here within this ~20 minute EP where each song builds upon the last in terms of feral, echoic accost and diabolic rhythmus. They’ve altered their production values beyond their more recent LP but otherwise these folks have stayed true to the raw, murderous echoes of primal death they’ve always taken on.

“Raining down rotten, venom clotted blood from their noxious altar of defiance on sight the abyss-hounding hailfire of Moscow, Russia-based black/death metal trio THANATOMASS appears as hideous and violent necromantic sorcery on this latest EP release. Manifested as a three part primal howl from below ‘The Rabid Dead‘ rings in mind as a steeling example of their bestial and thrashing service to the riff continuing to produce elite, shockingly deranged aggression without succumbing to low-brained rhythmic mush. The extent of their work lands as an appreciably putrid strike, a brief but substantial stretch through some of the band’s best material to date.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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It took Chilean death tyrants Atomic Aggressor about thirty years to release their debut LP so there’ll be no complaints that this even more intense, harder-edged second album took around a decade to surface. These folks are still inextricable from the original death metal movement both in style, attitude and modus and despite having taken on more polished production values they lose none of that true ‘old school’ 80’s death metal appeal. ‘The Occult Forces‘ is a wall-to-wall barrage of riffcraft and snarling rhythmic turns, a feat which reintroduces the band anew but is yet steeped in auld Eldritch horrors and ancient possession.

“Out of the aeons and into the alienating abysm of yet unplumbed utter-dark this sophomore full-length album from Santiago, Chile-based death metal legendry ATOMIC AGGRESSOR details personal possession and mass hypnosis alike upon their much anticipated return. Armed with disquieting antiquity and ripping psyche from flesh with every riff ‘The Occult Forces‘ presents as an airtight barrage, cut after cut applied with the sublime force of undead ‘old school’ death-thrashing style. Though it’ll feel like they’d never left the conversation outright this second LP does well enforce the quartet’s enduring cause throughout, pushing into tighter precision and darker aggression worthy of the ancient ones.“

>> FULL REVIEW <<

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