The dreaded moment of compiling the end-of-year list is upon us, and this year has been particularly challenging. It is always an intense exercise, distilling all that an entire year has to offer into 20 picks, but it also helps to put everything in perspective. Looking back, would it be an exaggeration to call this the year that technical brutal death metal reigned supreme? While Noxis, Pyrrhon, Defeated Sanity, and Wormed made the list, it would be bad form not to throw out a special mention on Brodequin’s return after 20 years, along with Benighted and Malignancy.
How about doom/death? Early in the year, Spectral Voice set the bar, with Slimelord answering the call. The visceral side of the genre saw the likes of Civerous and Coffins rising from the abyss, casting their ominous shadow. But, it also found Tzompantli taking an off-kilter route and Mother of Graves reverting to the melodic doom/death recipe that has served them so well.
Pick a genre, and for every entry in the following list, you will find several records that were just a breath away from making it. That is just how it goes, and I hope that next year will see the competition being equally close. So, please go ahead and browse through this list; there is something for everyone here, so dig in! – Spyros
20. Dissimulator – Lower Form Resistance (20 Buck Spin)
Alongside the technical death metal rejuvenation, led by Blood Incantation, a similar process is brewing in the tech thrash/death intersection. Acts like Cryptic Shift and Vektor have produced extraordinary works, and now Dissimulator has joined the fold with their debut, Lower Form Resistance. The Montreal act goes through an absolute rollercoaster, starting in the traditional ground. The thrash quality defines most of the work, from the beginning of “Automoil & Robotoil” they apply this nostalgic sense. Yet, smeared all over are Sadus’s schizoid dreams that brilliantly explode in “Neural Hack” with frenetic energy and fiery demeanor.
From there on, Dissimulator add simple flourishes that provide incredible depth. The death metal gear is applied where necessary, leading to the explosive spams of “Hyperline Undertow”. But, it is also the traditional, from solid thrash ground to spaced-out craziness, that is performed flawlessly. It is all mirrored in the solo of “Outer Phase” as the metallic quality is soon warped into something that would make Voivod proud. Chaos constantly ensues, and Dissimulator freely move towards off-kilter ideas, be it the clean vocals of the title track or the distorted echos of “Warped”, the post-metallic applications of “Automoil & Robotoil”, or the Death a là “Cosmic Sea” detour in “Cybermorphism/Mainframe”. No matter the case, Lower Form Resistance is an ambitious work that already places Dissimulator on the current scene’s upper echelons. – Spyros Stasis
19. Kanonenfieber – Die Urkatastrophe (Century Media)
Like US duo Minenwerfer, Bamberg, Bavaria-based Kanonfieber weave ferocious and remarkably melodic black metal around World War I narratives and semiotics. That’s also where the similarities end. While Minenwerfer approach the subject with an air of militant edginess as if interpreting the script for some action-packed movie, Kanonfieber (“cannon fever”) dig into the inhuman aspects of war, highlighting its atrocities and channeling them into horrific concepts to be used as cautionary tales.
A one-person project helmed by Noise—the musician behind the bands Leiþa and Non Est Deus—Kanonfieber is often majestic and monumental, the beauty of the music standing in contrast to its gnarly themes, alternating blasting insanity with flowing sections and stomping over atmospheric grooves with galloping barrages. Clocking in at a substantial 50 minutes, the project’s sophomore album, Die Urkatastrophe, nonetheless feels tight. It builds its world and Thespian sense of drama over 12 well-paced cuts, culminating in the excellent “Waffenbrüder”, on which Heaven Shall Burn’s Maik Weichert fittingly joins Noise in chronicling the stories of friends caught together amid a death spiral. – Antonio Poscic
18. Sumac – The Healer (Thrill Jockey)
The latest entry in the free rock-infused journey for Sumac is The Healer, finding them even more determined to to squeeze out every ounce of creativity this form can provide. If you are looking for an easy-listening album, this is not it. There are no hooks to be found here. The structure is loose and ambiguous, and Sumac dig for treasure by focusing and obsessing over the textures. Here, anything is possible, with the descent to the desert abstract domain through clean guitars and the mystical scenery of “Yellow Dawn” being just one pathway. The other road leads to brutality. Sludge and hardcore erupt, with the trio taking on a downtrodden and defeated quality, only to send debris falling from the sky in “The Stone’s Turn”.
As with May You Be Held, Sumac continue to harmonize the free rock influence on their sound, reaching a new peak. The utter chaos of Keiji Haino offers some mania and frenetic energy, but this unpredictable nature is further tempered by the insightful take of Casper Brotmzann’s Massaker. It is a process of introspection, of knowing thyself, which elevates the krautrock aspirations of “Yellow Dawn” and the cyclical nature of “New Rites”. I keep saying this with every new Sumac album, but it feels like this is their best. I guess until the next one comes out… – Spyros Stasis
17. Noxis – Violence Inherent in the System (Rotted Life)
With their debut full-length, Ohio’s Noxis position themselves within a curious nook of death metal, flanked by brutal, slamming technicality on one side and contemporary takes on old-school visions of the genre on the other. Bits of Cryptopsy, Cannibal Corpse, Demilich, Incantation, Immolation, and even Afterbirth worm their way into Throughout Violence Inherent in the System, but that the result is so compelling and invigorated is primarily a testament to the skills of the group rather than their influences.
For every “Skulllcrushing Defilement” and “Torpid Consumption” that brutally blasts through its runtime without ever looking back there is a “Tense and Forlorn” or “Replicant Prominence” that slows things down a notch or two. The latter type of cuts often locks into a groove and allows the quartet to show off just how good they are at writing simultaneously gnarly and catchy death metal hooks, while clanking bass digs and jazzy (!) riffs slither around magnificent snare-and-cymbal accents reminiscent of Kevin Talley’s work with Dying Fetus on Destroy The Opposition. Easily the best metal debut of the year. – Antonio Poscic
16. Slimelord – Chytridiomycosis Relinquished (20 Buck Spin)
To oversimplify things, Slimelord is to Cryptic Shift what Spectral Voice is to Blood Incantation. All kidding aside, members of the tech death/thrash stalwarts started tinkering in the death/doom sphere around 2019, and they are now releasing their debut record, Chytridiomycosis Relinquished. Enamored with the atmosphere and vitality of the early days of Autopsy, Slimelord descend to the primal depths with “The Beckoning Bell”. The slow pace is coupled with the schizoid lead work, at times drifting towards the infernal, a recipe reminiscent of the likes of Immolation and Incantation with “The Hissing Moor”.”
Not forgetting their technical aptitude, Slimelord offer a tour de force of brutality and precision reveling in the teachings of Demilich and Timeghoul while incorporating the classic Death methodology through modern-day applications. Yet, this is a record baptized in the mythos of acts like dISEMBOWELMENT, combining the slow with the unpredictable. This contradiction between the erratic and the grand further devolves towards a psychedelic leaning, turning into an all-compassing, asphyxiating quality projected through a Sabbath-ian lens. The striking part of Chytridiomycosis Relinquished is that Slimelord achieve a balance between their tech, extreme metal background, and their death/doom affection. Here, they do not favor one over the other, but they force the two together. And the result is stunning. – Spyros Stasis
15. Haunted Plasma – I (Svart)
Haunted Plasma’s debut, I, sounds exactly as you’d expect: a project that comprises members of kosmische black metallers Oranssi Pazuzu (Juho Vanhanen), experimental dark electronic rock trio K-X-P (Timo Kaukolampi) and avant rock mavericks Circle (Tomi Leppänen) to sound, yet is simultaneously unlike anything else out there. Take the opening “Reverse Engineer”, for example. Emerging from a sci-fi primordial soup of modulating, pulsing synths, the piece soon embarks on a black metal trip across the cosmos before its melodic riffs force it to land on a planet trapped in an eternal synth-pop party.
Elsewhere, “Machines Like Us” is drenched in 1980s neon as it gallops towards art and post-rock territories, evoking at turns Radiohead and Godspeed! You Black Emperor. “Spectral Embrace” sounds like a later-day Cynic cut from an alternate universe—complete with vocodered vocals. “Haunted Plasma” is a bumpy, analog-digital noise-tinged progressive rock ride reminiscent of the exploratory journeys of Kavus Torabi’s Utopia Strong. The potential of this outfit seems limitless, as if we’ve only begun exploring their world. – Antonio Poscic
14. Balwezo Westijiz – Tower of Famine (Profound Lore)
In the early 2010s, the ever-prolific Swaradauþuz and Lik of Bekëth Nexëhmü quietly dwelt in the dark ambient space with Balwezo Westijiz. Crawling through minimal progressions in 2011’s Urkraftens Mystik and adorning dark sceneries in Spiritual Dödsdyrkan, the duo unceremoniously let the project drift into obscurity. Now, they resurrect Balwezo Westijiz and re-focus their purpose to stand solidly in the black metal realm. Indeed, Tower of Famine takes on much of the grimness that has defined Bekëth Nexëhmü, as the faster pace of “Flesh in the Funeral Pyre”, the complete explosion of “Calling From the Ashes”, and the disorienting effect of “Drown in Bleak Blood” suggest.
However, Balwezo Westijiz were founded in dark ambient tradition, which adds an interesting twist. The alignment with the atmospheric is deeper, defined by a hypnotic essence that pulses throughout. The lead work masterfully unfolds to create this hallucinatory effect as “Calling From the Ashes” appears. It also adds this strange, funeral sense to the proceedings. It is a doom-laden characteristic that defines “The Foul Carcass of God”, the sorrowful progression of “Endless Black Nightmares”, projecting a world where the Peaceville Three decided to dedicate themselves to black metal instead of doom/death.
The adhesive element here is the brilliant guitar work, which allows Balwezo Westijiz to traverse vast distances between modes. Majestic aspirations are erected, traditional metallic influences are contorted, and a deep venom is applied. It is a masterful offering from Balwezo Westijiz, and even though it carries underground’s heretical torch, it is a surprisingly approachable listen. – Spyros Stasis
13. Fir – De Stilte Van God (Tour De Garde)
Another project of the mysterious and elusive the Spectre (Old Tower, Blood Tyrant) Fir rise from the dark dungeons of the Dutch black metal scene with a work submerged in past glories. For their debut record, De Stilte Van God, the year is always 1993; the skies are gray, and the rain is pouring down. The artwork further calibrates this descent to the past, and when the monotonous riffing of the Scandinavian black metal scene pours through, it comes as no surprise. This is grim work that evokes both the polemic lineage of Bathory (“Morgenster”) and the sorrowful undertones of Burzum.
Fir’s black metal alone has a great deal of atmosphere and world-building. However, they also tap into foreign territories, diving into the ambient realm. The opener, “Zelfschisma”, first introduces this idea with the keyboards adding a hallucinatory tone. But, it is also emitted from the clean guitars with both “Laatste Licht” and “Morgenster”, perfectly swapping the gray skies and vast forests for starry nights and icy winds. This is where Fir differentiate themselves, moving away from the black metal pioneers of atmospheric music and leaning toward the nightmarish visions of their sister project, Old Tower. It is a fundamental aspect of De Stilte Van God and fully glorifies Fir’s underground spirit. Oh, and it also delivers one of the strongest black metal works of the year. – Spyros Stasis
12. Pyrrhon – Exhaust (Willowtip)
Pyrrhon, the wildly adventurous and experimental Brooklyn, New York-based death metal quartet have reinvented themselves again. Armed with their signature, hair-rising sense of impending chaos and progressions that threaten to fall apart, Exhaust sees them shape their dissonance into a more pointed and concrete spear.
Here, they veer farther off the beaten path of death metal and into territories of noise rock, post-hardcore, and even free jazz—with which they have toyed for years but never quite so directly. In fact, although familiar metallic genre tropes are present across the ten tracks, their arrangements feel utterly alien, like Big Black trying to play death metal and grindcore simultaneously.
Nervous syncopations, droning riffs, and mathcore tropes can be found scattered across the album. Idiosyncratic when observed by themselves, they become twice as uncanny when heard in sequence: slamming, brutal progressive death metal, and textured noise making way for spikes of emo and drone. All of it is accompanied by quirky lyrics that eschew typical metal themes and instead deal, often in a very pissed-off manner, with mundane things like traffic in New York. Recommended for those wanting to put their brains through a blender. – Antonio Poscic
11. Mefitis – The Skorian / The Greyleer (Profound Lore)
With their 2019 debut record, Emberdawn, Mefitis not only released a stellar work of extreme metal but one whose overarching nature nearly defied categorization. Returning with their third full-length, the California duo featuring Fabricant member Jake Dawson (aka Pendath) continues to walk this line. The kickoff for The Skorian/The Greyleer is reminiscent of Scandinavia’s early melodic death metal scene, the twisted Iron Maiden-esque melodies coalescing in “Vire’s Arc” and unleashing a Dawn-like fury in “Watcher Over His Own”. Further experimentations ensue, at times the progression twisting to Morgoth-level instability (“The Untwined One”) or Nocturnus-esque grandiosity (“..And The Mason Wept”).
Mefitis’s understanding of this multidimensional space of extreme metal is uncanny. The black metal applications are subtle, and there is an ease with which Mefitis interact with this sound, crafting an atmospheric scenery with quasi-symphonic aspirations that even reminisce the early Emperor spirit. Clean vocals join, enhancing the experience and naturally leading toward gothic-esque applications. “In Halfsight, the Dustplanes” sees Mefitis embrace a doom, mid-era Peaceville Three manifestation where moving melodies thrive.
They further embrace this motif with “In Gloom’s Gorge” and “The Greyleer” as they open up to an early-day Sentenced type of sinister darkness. Mefitis covers such a vast territory, and they do so with astounding depth and grace. The result is not only a record that while having many familiar treats almost defies pigeonholing, but one that has tremendous flow and momentum. – Spyros Stasis