The end of the year is approaching, and October is stacked with heavyweight works. The return of Kevin Martin under the Bug moniker is a highlight, and listening to The Machine next to Master Boot Record’s Hardwarez reveals the influence of the legendary artist on the scene today. On the fringes with noise rock, the Eugene Robinsion-fronted noise rock supergroup Buñuel makes an ecstatic return, with the sophomore record from Human Impact standing as a more than worthy companion.
The off-kilter side of extreme metal sees two giants return, with both Blood Incantation and Oranssi Pazuzu unleashing excellent works. On a similar forward-thinking space, Doedsmaghird fuel their identity with the glory days of Dødheimsgard to re-capture the same magic. On the traditional front, the black/death assault from Black Curse stands out with its ferocity. The old-school death metal resurrection carries on with Undeath’s More Insane, orthodox black metal lives on through Death Like Mass, doom/death prevails with Mother of Graves, and good old traditional doom is delivered by Capilla Ardiente. That and much more, so dig in! – Spyros Stasis
Black Curse – Burning In Celestial Poison (Sepulchral Voice)
Endless Wound (2020) came entirely out of the blue. Featuring members of acclaimed acts in Blood Incantation, Spectral Voice, Primitive Man, and Khemmis, Black Curse unleashed a devastating work of black/death. And from the cyclonic start to Burning In Celestial Poison, they are looking to repeat the experience. This is a record of carnage and mayhem, a polemic declaration that takes no prisoners, as unhinged and immediate as ever. The brilliant mesh of “Ruinous Paths…” with its harsh cymbal hits and erratic guitar progression, reveals everything you need to know about war metal. It is an infernal affair, an offering from the darkest depths that settles through the demonic growls of “Trodden Flesh”, relishing in its ecstatic sense of triumph.
The foundation of the recipe has not changed, Black Curse still channel the animosity that defined seminal acts like Katharsis and Teitanblood. But, they also approach black/death not solely with a ravaging end goal but also through technical intelligence, which makes them akin to Diocletian. As in the past, they also descend to slower modes, their short ambient passages offering glimpses of the abyss. As the record unfolds, this hellish aesthetic verges on the death/doom style, which is finally completed through the Swallowed-esque towering moments of “Flowers of Gethsemane”.
It is an uncanny level of ambition that drives them, and it also echoes through the long-form compositions. Usually, you would expect short bursts of chaos and mayhem from a black/death act. However, Black Curse stretch their compositions usually over the ten-minute mark, and they still retain the same level of brutality and immediacy. It is a highlight of the black/death style for this year. And maybe beyond. – Spyros Stasis
Blood Incantation – Absolute Elsewhere (Century Media)
The way was paved with the kosmische Musik of Timewave Zero, and Absolute Elsewhere now coalesces the old-school death metal spirit with the krautrock aspirations. Many acts tap into the 1990s death metal spirit, but Blood Incantation reach a deeper level. Their music does not only embrace Morbid Angel’s brutality and Death’s forward-thinking mindset. It also shines a light on some of the genre’s unsung heroes, the technical precision of Demilich, and the strangeness of Timeghoul. While progressive rock concepts have defined much of death metal’s history, Blood Incantation can still present novelties in their seminal works, Starspawn and Hidden History of the Human Race.
Absolute Elsewhere dives into the off-kilter. On one hand, the progressive inclinations are deeply embedded in Blood Incantation’s death metal. It can be felt through the progression’s crispness and the gleaming melodic inclination of the guitar parts. It awakens a grandeur that transcends the Demilich-informed brutality of “The Stargate [Tablet III]”, as acoustic guitars masterfully enhance the emotion. It also occurs through the clean vocal delivery of “The Message [Tablet II]”, where the Eloy lineage is passed through the psychotropic meat grinder.
The latter is the key point because Blood Incantation establish soon that the driving element, next to their death metal, is not so much progressive rock but psychedelia. The sudden breaks from the Morbid Angel template in “The Stargate [Tablet I]” sees them unearth a minimal representation where clean guitars take over, and the vibe is strangely reminiscent of Blind Idiot God’s opus Before Ever After. These motifs persevere, at times seeing Blood Incantation applying just synthesizers (“The Stargate [Tablet II]” courtesy of the great Thorsten Quaeschning) or tribal percussion and clean vocals (“The Message [Tablet III]”).
Here, they are formless, easily adapting to the needs of the composition, at times relinquishing the rock form and diving into minimalism and then re-emerging like a furious version of Amon Düül or Faust. It is all a natural evolution that has been coming since Starspawn and Blood Incantation have reached their finest form. – Spyros Stasis
The Bug – Machine (Relapse)
Anyone acquainted with the music of Kevin Richard Martin will be well aware that many of his electronic productions share a kindred soul with the gnarliest forms of metal, expressed both through his work as The Bug and various collaborations, chief among them Techno Animal with Justin Broadrick, who himself operates within the confines of both extreme metal (Godflesh, Jesu) and grueling electronics (JK Flesh).
On the aptly named Machine, he ventures even farther in this direction, distilling the booming, harrowing essence of drone, doom, and sludge and pouring it into the form of infinitely reverberating noise and industrial-tinged techno. Comprising a selection of tracks previously released as a series of EPs on his Pressure label, the album encapsulates the sort of vicious, subterranean heaviness that aims to expunge breath from lungs and soul from body with each beat, while tormenting eardrums with rusty, decrepit textures.
Machine is a sonically and psychologically punishing yet utterly irresistible concoction, whether built from slo-mo, super scuzzy detonations like “Sickness (Slowly Dying)”, immersed in the eerie, static-riddled dub of “Hypnotised (Fucked Up)”, or drifting along the acidic, tornado siren evoking maelstrom that is “Bodied (Send For The Hearse)”. While available in an abridged, 12-track, 50-minute version, I strongly recommend Machines I-IV, which collects all 21 cuts from the series. We deserve all the delicious suffering we can get. – Antonio Poscic
Buñuel – Mansuetude (SKiN GRAFT / Overdrive)
“The words on the page maybe, very possibly, were not just words on a page but were instead drawn from a wellspring of dark,” writes Eugene S. Robinson on the topic of his lyrics in a recent newsletter. He’s recollecting a conversation with a colleague from Buñuel, guitarist Xabier Iriondo, who pondered the truthfulness of the sometimes too-crazy-to-be-true confessions found in Robinson’s poetry.
Ever the compelling storyteller, like in his now ex-band Oxbow, Robinson is at the center of Buñuel. And in contrast to the performative nature of most metal and rock—all music, really—there are no fantasies or posturing in his stories. Robinson’s lines are lived in and raw to a fault, delivered with frightening sincerity in all their depraved glory.
Although bassist Andrea Lombardini, drummer Francesco Valente, and Iriondo’s momentous avant-rock textures and cadences might appear as if meant to play second fiddle, they are as crucial to Buñuel’s unshackled, demented sound as Robinson is. Along with a number of guests that pop up across the album—including Couch Slut’s Megan Osztrosits and the Jesus Lizard’s Duane Denison—they prop up his Thespian delivery with a rumbling but controlled entropy, stretching the music in wild directions, from Killing Joke-esque post-punk burns (“Who Missed Me”) to doomish sludge (“Pimp”) and screechy ambient dissonance (“A Room in Berlin”). – Antonio Poscic
Capilla Ardiente – Where Gods Live and Men Die (High Roller)
July saw the mighty return of Scald, with Felipe Plaza Kutzbach on vocals, and it made me wonder when we would get a new Procession or Capilla Ardiente record. My prayers have been answered, and Capilla Ardiente return with their third full-length, Where Gods Live and Men Die. The same larger-than-life approach of Bravery, Truth and the Endless Darkness, and The Siege defines the new work. The long-form tracks, the crushing riffs, the powerful vocal delivery, and the coupling of doom with traditional heavy metal, following the Solstice-ian playbook, are all here.
Capilla Ardiente take a direct, no-bullshit approach derived from the canonically heavy metal influence. The sharp start to “Envenomed” and the 1980s trope of “The Hands of Fate Around My Neck” make this clear. Even their melodic lines come with a bitter edge (“As I Lie on the Summit”) in an NWOBHM manner. With the musicianship at a high, they unleash exquisite lead parts and, at times, dwell in more intricate constructions in “Now Here. Nowhere” (without going into any sort of Confessor territory). While it is this love and connection with the heavy metal core, there are times when the full Black Sabbath-ian self is revealed at its most disgusting (“The Hands of Fate Around My Neck”). It’s another exemplary release from a band that lives in the upper echelons of today’s doom scene. – Spyros Stasis
Death Like Mass – The Lord of Flies (Terratur Possessions)
Three EPs and the time has finally come for Death Like Mass to unleash their debut full-length, The Lord of Flies. The Polish act features heavyweights from the black metal scene who have appeared in stellar acts like Lvcifyre and Cultes Des Ghoules. It is, therefore, no surprise to see Death Like Mass take a traditionalist approach. To that end, they evoke much of Necromantia’s malice and their inverted heavy metal ideal. The galloping start to “Czwarta Bestia Z Góry Horeb” sees this sinister transformation, while the staccato rhythms of “Holy Traitor” and the fury of “The Killing of Abel” solidify this position.
Still, they adorn their black metal with further orthodox leanings. Invocations and choirs craft an oppressive ambiance (“Pan Niechcianych Grobów”), while the ritualistic grandeur arrives with a bitter sense (“Of Mercy and Bloodlust”). Keyboards further enhance the proceedings in “Krocz Ze Mną, Ojcze”, but the brutal force still lies beneath. The raw black metal self awakens in “Wygnaciec”, relishing some of the proto-days of the genre with its punk-ish fervor and Antaeus-ian ferocity. A step beyond is “Sorcery Unbridled”, probably the most brutal offering of The Lord of Flies that reaches Norsecore levels of aggression with its unstoppable blastbeats and discordant riffs. It is exactly the debut that we have been expecting from Death Like Mass. – Spyros Stasis
Destruktor – Indomitable (Hells Headbangers)
One of the originators of the Aussie black/death, Destruktor’s sparser output has made their name less recognizable. Founded (as Aphasia) in the mid-1990s, much like Deströyer 666 and Gospel of the Horns, they only made their proper introduction with their 2009 full-length debut, Nailed. Long periods of silence would ensue, with Opprobrium coming out six years later, in 2015, and finally, the trifecta is complete (after a nine-year wait) with Indomitable.
The key quality of Destruktor is while they stand firmly on the black/death scene, they never fully commit to a particular sound or trope. The barbaric introduction of “Speaking With the Dead” sets this tone, their amalgamation combining black, death, and thrash but never adhering to a particular style. There are times when the immediacy and discordance moves them closer to thrash (“Beyond the Bleakness”), where the caustic riffing (“Holy Orgy”) takes over, or the progression becomes unhinged (“Reap What You Sow”). But, then they dive into the polemic intersection of black/death infects them with a bloodlust (“Writhe In Pain”), one that persists and augments as the tempo is slowed down (“Indomitable”).
This overarching philosophy is encapsulated in the record’s highlight, “The Path to Lucifer”, which traverses all the various modes, from the proto-black/death to the thrash roots and war themes. Neatly packaged in a sense of nihilism and decadence, highlighted through track titles like “Better Off Aborted”, Indomitable is a strong return to form. – Spyros Stasis
Devenial Verdict – Blessing of Despair (Transcending Obscurity)
While they’ve been around for almost two decades, the interesting part of Devenial Verdict’s story begins with 2022’s debut full-length Ash Blind. Previously appearing as a fairly traditional death metal group with a penchant for brutality – check out their 2014 Corpus EP – the Finnish outfit have since transitioned into a more diffuse and dissonant sound, pulverizing death metal’s elements into atoms before building them up again.
Following in the steps of the aforementioned debut, Blessing of Despair sees Devenial Verdict elegantly flow between unrestrained brutality (“I Have Become the Sun”), slamming breaks (“Garden of Eyes”), and doom-like, towering moments of melodicism (“Moon-Starved”). The result is viciously compelling, largely thanks to the unorthodox paths they take in their songwriting and the affinity they demonstrate for building massive grooves and riffs that swallow everything around them. – Antonio Poscic
Doedsmaghird – Omniverse Consciousness (Peaceville)
Count my lucky stars! Last year, we were blessed with Dødheimsgard’s latest work, Black Medium Current, and just as I was bracing myself for another eight-year span of silence, they struck again. Well, not exactly, but close enough in any case. Doedsmaghird is the project of Dødheimsgard mainman Vicotnik and fellow Dødheimsgard guitarist Camille Giradeau. The goal? To create a new record inspired by the band’s late 1990s era, when Satanic Art and 666 International were tearing extradimensional holes in the fabric of reality.
Indeed, the start with “Heart of Hell” brings in many memories of times past. The abrasive riffs are disfiguring, the industrial machinations are embraced, and the background offers fragments of a devilish melody. Where Doedsmaghird succeed is harnessing the schizoid nature of Satanic Art, pointing at multiple times to the grandeur of “Symptom”. “Sparker Inn Apne Dorer” and “Min Tid Er Omme” carry this angst, a sense of ecstatic elevation that becomes more alarming with “Then, to Darkness Return” and “Death of Time”.
That component goes further from the 1990s Dødheimsgard, taking cues from Supervillain Outcast and Code’s Nouveau Gloaming. On the other hand, while the industrial and electronic components are still revered and at times reach levels of brilliance (“Adrift to Collapse”), they do not awaken the same strangeness as in 666 International. The final interesting twist is that there is a more pronounced Arcturian aspect here, lending both atmospheric dimensions (“Sparker Inn Apne Dorer”) and lead work and keyboard methodology (“Endless Distance”). In conclusion, rehashing the magic of that era is a tall task, and while Doedsmaghird don’t fully succeed, they get very close, and that is enough. – Spyros Stasis
Escuela Grind – Dreams on Algorithms (MNRK Heavy)
Considering the state of social media these days, especially the flaming dumpster fire that Twitter turned into, it was only a question of time before a grindcore album devoted entirely to the targeted algorithms sneakily influencing individual and collective behavior would appear. And who better to do it than Escuela Grind, a group with all the radical empathy, social sensibility, and sonic arsenal you could wish for?
Thematically, Dreams On Algorithms can be both surprisingly subtle and explicitly on-the-nose, depending on which approach the subject at hand calls for. Musically, it has one gear and one gear only: utter ferocity. Grinding closer to death metal than any of their previous works, the ten cuts weave between skull-crushing grooves delivered at haphazard speeds, stuttering start-stop segments guaranteed to cause whiplash, and single-minded, powerviolence-cum-death metal blitzes. Short and tight, the album is a blast from start to finish, while “Planned Obsolescence” and its unusually bouncy, Reggaeton-esque rhythm deserve a special shout-out. – Antonio Poscic