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MetalBite's Top 10 Albums of the Month - April 2021
It's back - bigger, better, and with more writers!
Because I wanted to make these monthly top 10 lists as comprehensive as possible for everyone fiending all things heavy, and to give some attention to some styles of metal I tend to ignore, I recruited some faithful MetalBite scribes to give me some thoughts on more music that came out in April - and they caught onto some really cool stuff that I missed myself.
That also means that way more than 10 albums were covered, so for the first time since these lists started, we're including some…
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Corr Mhona - Abhainn
Satanath Records
This album has been a slow-burn success for me, but repeated listening has revealed an enchanting piece of work, which blends elements of Irish folk, doom and death metal into a captivating, mournful sound that is reminiscent of a more riff-based Agalloch, or an alternative take on the kind of propulsive, bittersweet melodic death metal that Insomnium specialise in these days. The band switch effortlessly between growled and clean vocals, but it is the latter that really stand-out, picking out delicate and plaintive melodies, and weaving soaring harmonies to contrast spectacularly with the furious, serrated guitars. An additional layer of romantic mystery is provided by the exclusively Irish lyrics, and the poetic quality of this language compliments the majesty of the musical soundtrack perfectly. The tracks are generally on the epic side, which contributes to the album's status as a 'grower', but it is ultimately difficult not to be drawn in by a release that offers immersive atmospherics, but not at the expense of ripping metallic fury. ~Benjamin
Nordgeist - Frostwinter
Kunsthall Produktionen
Frostwinter has the same frigid, bleak, monotone atmosphere, but with more of a long-form elegance to the pacing and a cleaner, almost bombastic feel to it, like there's small cracks of light peering through the turbulent winter storm. The actual guitar lines sound like they're coming from a very similar place, sitting at a midpoint between the rawer, Paysage d-Hiver side of things and the more grandiose melodic stylings of Mare Cognitum and early Midnight Odyssey. The drums are an unrelenting blizzard of cymbal and snare that feels programmed, yet subdues itself in the mix enough to add to the atmosphere.
In a way, it feels like it arrives at a similar endpoint as Black Cascade-era Wolves in the Throne Room, haunting keyboard overtones and crescendo riff swells and everything. This is far from an album that grips you immediately or leaves you humming choruses, but leave it on in the background and go do something else for a few minutes and feel how you suddenly find yourself captivated by a simple yet haunting tremolo melody under hale, shrill growls. ~Nate
Cannibal Corpse - Violence Unimagined
Metal Blade Records
It's a new Cannibal Corpse album.
What else to write here about the band? If anyone thought that Violence Unimagined was going to change anything musically or lyrically, they 1.) do not listen to Cannibal Corpse and 2.) are profoundly mistaken.
If you listen closely, you can recognize the guitar playing of new addition Erik Rutan (Hate Eternal, Morbid Angel, Ripping Corpse), but the technical finesse, the typical Cannibal Corpse trademarks like tempo changes, breaks and everything else,are right where they should be. Cannibal Corpse relentlessly pummel their way through 11 songs, every single one absolutely worth listening to. Violence Unimagined adds to their recent run of very strong albums, everyone who likes A Skeletal Domain and Red Before Black can easily grab this one. ~Michael
Cathartic Demise - In Absence
Self-released/Independent
While I'll admit thrash is my blind spot when it comes to metal subgenres, I was completely taken aback by the intricate musicianship, sprawling, epic songs, and crisp, tight sound and songwriting displayed by these young progressive thrashers on their debut full-length album. The main issue with the genre for me is that it's really difficult for bands to keep it fresh while still remaining within thrash's boundaries, but that's something that never crosses my mind throughout any of these tracks. If you like the modern fusion of Skeletonwitch mixed with the crisp, technical delivery of Heathen, you'll absolutely love this album. ~Nate
Universally Estranged - Reared Up In Spectral Predation
Blood Harvest
Despite the recent resurgence of old school death metal, Reared Up in Spectral Predation manages to cover a lot of ground that hasn't been beaten to death yet in that realm. The key is mixing the jagged, squealing guitars with a thrashy backbone that bands like Mithras and Wormed might forget when they draw from similar influences. Lacking a lot of the straight-up speed a drummer like Pete Sandoval can provide, though, they instead choose to lumber in obtuse directions, like Autopsy with a more dead-eyed and serious delivery. This has all those old-school metal nerd influences journalists and critics love to pick at, but never tries too hard to be high art - no need to worry, this still has more than enough raw savagery to sink your teeth into. ~Nate
Body Void - Bury Me Beneath This Rotting Earth
Prosthetic Records
The kind of crawling, death/doom that US duo Body Void slowly unravel across the course of four lengthy tracks on their third album is prone, in less dextrous hands, to lose a listener's interest as the droning repetition threatens to become monotonous. For every Burning Witch or Primitive Man, there are legions of imitators trying and failing to plumb the depths of human despair in the way that they intend to. Body Void walk the fine line with aplomb, however, creating a truly impressive level of sonic violence courtesy of an astonishingly viscous, feedback-laden guitar sound, and the anguished vocals of the asbestos-throated Willow Ryan. Each track contains just enough variation on the extreme doom sound to suggest that Body Void are capable of carving out their own niche in a crowded genre, inflecting their leaden riffing with subtle hints of death metal and electronic noise, all of which keep their festering sound compelling throughout. At its nihilistic best, the album conjures nightmarish visions of what Gnaw Their Tongues might deliver, were they to construct their horrific soundscapes with purely conventional metal instrumentation, and for a new band to bear comparisons with such hellish luminaries is impressive. In the best possible way, this album sounds like the slow eradication of humanity by an inescapable lava flow, and by the time you get to the end of this hour of harrowing noise, you too will be begging for the sweet embrace of death's cold hands. ~Benjamin
Helslave - From the Sulphur Depths
Pulverized Records
Crunchy HM-2 Swedish death metal...from Italy! Helslave have a hearty low end that brings to mind Centinex and Demonical, with a crunch to the guitars that pays the appropriate amount of tribute to early Dismember, especially when things lean to the melodic side. The faster, riff-heavy songs like "Unholy Graves" and "Desecration" are furious and fist-pumping and will keep your head nodding for close to the entire duration, and the slower groove songs like "Last Nail in the Coffin" are guaranteed to get stuck in your head, like it or not.
Allegedly Helslave was more of a melodic death metal styled act before this album - I probably could have guessed that based on the efficient, rounded songwriting with all the frills and fat trimmed off, and how these songs are memorable in a way that's comparable to pop songs on the radio - every now and then I'll just start humming an isolated riff out of nowhere, and it'll take me a couple of minutes before I realize where it came from. A lot of Whoracle-era In Flames is basically just pop music in death metal's clothing (no disrespect, I love that album), and Helslave essentially takes that concept and adds a beefy low end and some extra sandpaper. If you dig the Swedeath style you'll be surprised by how much mileage you get out of this, as at least half of these tracks have a section that's gonna make you put them on constant repeat for a few days. ~Nate
That almost could have been a top 10 on its own in a month like January, which just tells you how stacked this month is. Now, for what you've been waiting for…
METALBITE'S TOP 10 ALBUMS OF THE MONTH
10: Unflesh - Inhumation
Self-released/Independent
Whether it's the acrobatic bass-heavy verse in 'Holocaust of Stars', the unusually catchy atonality of 'Inhumation', which evolves into flourishes of beautiful little licks guaranteed to induce air guitaring, or the hook-laden progression of 'Vast Forest of Impaled Cadavers', which throws punchy yet abundantly melodic guitar leads at you one by one, the memorable moments are aplenty. And despite the abundance of skill clearly present in each member of this power trio, the songs never push themselves harder than is required and are more apt to rely on the natural allure of their riffing, with garnishes of the occasional blackened motif on songs such as 'Amongst Horrors Must I Dwell' that evoke auditory images of bands like Inferi and Demon King.
It's hard enough to pull off 6+ minute numbers in the tech-death genre, and Unflesh did it three times on Inhumation; all those songs feel half as long as they are. With the distinct, legible rasp of Beevers and songs that toe a line between melody and technicality with aplomb, Inhumation is simultaneously mindboggling and infectious in that very specific way that elevates an album from good to great – from an occasional stop in the journey to a staple in the listening rotation. ~Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 8/10 (full review here)
9: Obsolete - Animate // Isolate
Unspeakable Axe Records
Having issued Ripper's sensational Experiment Of Existence in 2016, one of the best thrash albums in recent memory, the excellent Unspeakable Axe Records continue to demonstrate their unerring eye for quality with the release of Obsolete's thrilling debut Animate // Isolate. Obsolete achieves an almost perfect balance between mind-boggling technical proficiency, and taut, memorable song-writing, which ensures that every track is an exhilarating succession of unforgettable riffs and jaw-dropping technicality. Most pleasingly, despite the intricacy of the band's compositions, Obsolete maintain a feral intensity throughout, which ensures that their music never approaches the kind of sterile exhibition of athleticism that tech-metal can fall prey to, and instead the band's ability to delight with unexpected harmonies and snaking, complex riffing is enhanced by the multiplicity of options available to them at any given point. It has been some time since a technical thrash album got its hooks into me so deeply in such a short space of time, and it will be fascinating to see just how far Obsolete can take this. ~Benjamin
MetalBite's Rating: 8.1/10
8: Throne - Pestilent Dawn
Redefining Darkness Records
Throne exemplifies a type of sound I have been searching for, and have only discovered in occasional bursts. It's deathcore...without the 'core'. There's still a stripped-down, raw anger to this that hearkens to punk-oriented roots and a blunt lack of nuance in the breakdowns.
Nonetheless, when you pick apart the influences in the riffing and song structuring, there's nothing else you can say it sounds like other than the furious maelstroms of bands like Hate Eternal, Azarath, Marduk and Angelcorpse. The key difference is that the delivery is less "mystical incantations" and more "hammers to your skull". Pestilent Dawn has a very ominous atmosphere that creeps around the edges while the band is grinding you into a pulp. ~Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 8.1/10 (Full review here)
7: Nekromantheon - The Visions of Trismegistos
Indie Recordings
Inculter and Aura Noir are cool bands, yes? Well, check out the new release by Nekromantheon! "The Visions of Trismegistos" is a very strong album after 9 years of absence. This is for those of you who like thrash old-school and without any experiments. This Norwegian group knows how to skillfully mix old Slayer, Destruction and Death Angel influences with their very own entertaining and aggressive style. The melody is technically superb and you will be surprised again and again by breaks and tempo changes. The album is a wonderfully nostalgic trip back to the 80s, when thrash was still mangy and didn't give a damn about trends. Next album please - just not in the 2030s! ~Michael
MetalBite's Rating: 8.3/10 (Full review here)
6: Wheel - Preserved in Time
Cruz Del Sur Music
A doom metal album I can listen to front to back without having my attention drift off is rare. Wheel have caught my attention here with absolutely masterful songwriting that toes a fine line of keeping you thoroughly intrigued while never doing more than it needs to. The vocals are distinct, with a tone that doesn't hook you right away, but thanks to careful attention to detail and some gripping, emotive melodies you'll find yourself humming the choruses after you hear them once. This is classic Candlemass/Solitude Aeternus styled epic doom fused with modern Pallbearer-esque sensibilities and is the most rounded and efficient album in Wheel's discography. If this doesn't get more people talking about this German group the same way we talk about Khemmis and Spirit Adrift, I don't know what will. ~Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 8.5/10 (Full review here)
5: Crypts of Despair - All Light Swallowed
Transcending Obscurity Records
April brings us a final unpleasant death metal trip to the depths of Lithuanian cave landscapes, where mold, rot and outlandish monstrosities await the listener. Crypts of Despair present an absolutely morbid OSDM album: cool breaks, insane guitar leads, lots of blast beats and two insane singers make the album a real hell trip. When the band then switches to doomy realms, it makes you shiver with its truly oppressive and hopeless atmosphere. If you like your death metal raw and unpolished like Krypts, Disma etc. and can also do well without keyboards and superfluous things like good mood, this is the right album for you. ~Michael
MetalBite's Rating: 8.6/10 (Full review here)
4: Bewitcher - Cursed be thy Kingdom
Century Media
On this album, Bewitcher develops from an insider tip to a well-known metal institution. After a casual country-like intro, it goes off and doesn't stop. The band has changed their sound slightly compared to the already good predecessor Under the Witching Cross. Classic heavy metal influences à la Judas Priest come out clearly, but the band skillfully combines them with speed and black metal. You can clearly tell that the guys are having fun with this, and right away it puts you directly in the groove. As a crowning conclusion Bewitcher covers "Sign of the Wolf" by Pentagram, one of my absolute favorite songs by the band - frock out, open beer, party time!!! ~Michael
MetalBite's Rating: 8.7/10
3: Spectral Wound - A Diabolic Thirst
Profound Lore Records
For a minute there, it looked like there wasn't going to be a lot of black metal on this list, but like always, when Profound Lore puts out something new, it doesn't matter what it is, you shut up and listen. This is a Quebecois project with the brevity and immediacy of Sargeist-type finnblack, with a triumphant, uplifting edge accompanying a raw black metal framework. Right away, the piercing guitar tone with an ear for hooks grabs you by the collar while a noisy but tight drum performance drills into you. Even though this is a black metal band that you could say leans to the more primitive side of things, it immerses you right away and leaves you wanting it over and over again like a drug fix. This has that over-the-top seriousness to its imagery that would seem corny if it wasn't so damn badass.
It's hard to find a lot more to say about this, because it doesn't really do anything that you haven't heard before, it's just so damn good at it that soon enough you'll be singing the praises of this release too, just like myself (and everyone else on the internet, it seems). ~Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 8.7/10
2: Endseeker - Mount Carcass
Metal Blade Records
The new Endseeker is flawless Swedish death metal...this time made in Hamburg, Germany. HM-2 fans should not miss Mount Carcass. The band was always a bit under the radar until now, but that will change with Metal Blade releasing the new album. Brilliant melodies, cool riffs, catchy songs that had convinced me on the first listen - all this reminds me quite a bit of old Dismember. The songs groove and make quite a good mood, even if the lyrics don't really fit. When the band drops the tempo a bit, it remains heavy and aggressive.
With some of the newer HM-2 bands I always have the impression that things seem a bit artificial, especially when the band in question has already put out several albums (this is Endseeker's third full length). On Mount Carcass, it's the other way around. I wish the new Lik sounded like this - it would find its way into my CD player much more often. ~Michael
MetalBite's Rating: 9/10
1: Stone Healer - Conquistador
Self-released/Independent
I am not kidding when I say every single track on this is going to blow your mind in one way or another. If you can name a subgenre of rock or metal, chances are there's something sprinkled in Conquistador that will remind you of it. Unlike most albums in this genre-blending style, though, it retains enough structure and hookiness in its songwriting to give you something to draw you back in and doesn't ever use complexity at the expense of memorability - it feels like Dave Kaminsky lets his fingers go wherever his heart guides them and maps out the direction by repeating and returning to motifs. Combined with the drumming that follows the riffs like they came out of the same brain, it's an album that I promise will defy your expectations even after all the hype I've given to it so far. Conquistador is simply spectacular and one of the best albums you'll hear all year. ~Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 9.1/10 (Full review here)
Thanks a ton to Michael and Benjamin for helping out with this one. Since I'm not really a big thrash guy, for example, it was nice that both of those dudes were able to cover my blind spots. The Albums of the Month list continues to grow.
To catch up on everything from this year, check out the lists for January, February and March. More importantly, buy stuff from the bands you like so that they can continue to make unreal music like this. Keep the metal flowing!
Entered: 4/26/2021 10:34:45 AM
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MetalBite's Top 10 Albums of the Month - June 2021
Welcome back to MetalBite's top 10, we've managed to keep this thing going for half a year now!
In a month where album releases typically start to pick up more, there wasn't a ton of mind-boggling stuff that came out (compared to May, anyways, and July looks to be stacked as well), but June was solid and consistent. Very little separated the "honorable mentions" from the later albums that placed in the top 10 on this one. Not a lot of stratospherically good releases, but definitely a ton of stuff that deserves an extra listen.
As is becoming standard for these lists, we've got Benjamin unearthing some hidden gems mostly from the realms of black and doom metal, Michael giving attention to the big-name veterans that can still bring it, and I've pieced it all together with whatever the hell I thought was good and scrambled the list to shit with my own personal biases. Woohoo!
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Alustrium - A Monument to Silence
Unique Leader Records
This seems to be the next band up in the line of "technical riff buffet" groups that periodically get fellated on all the death metal groups I frequent on social media. They've a decade and two full albums worth of experience behind them, yet only now, after lurking in the shadows as a cult favorite for a while, are they making their label debut.
The slow, careful approach to notoriety seems to have worked in their favor, as A Monument to Silence gives vibes of Stortregn's newest album with the careful tact in the composition and seamless blending of a multitude of adjacent tech sounds. I hear Inferi and Psycroptic styled riffing, Fallujah's rhythmic feel, and Allegaeon's professional composition and structuring all working together. A Monument to Silence knows its audience like its route home from work, fine-tuning every note and idea to appeal to someone who spends 30% of their monthly budget on Artisan Era splatter vinyl.
This isn't the best tech-death to come out this year - the aforementioned Stortregn consistently had a lot more pop and “wow” factor throughout (not to mention less deathcore influence), and Archspire's new full length set to come out later this year will almost certainly blow both albums out of the water. Still, there's a lot to like about this if you dabble in noodles and sweeps. It's on a similar level to the Scalar Process full-length - not totally my thing, but I can objectively appreciate its quality and you should probably check it out because my taste is garbage anyways.
-Nate
Nephren-Ka - From Agony to Transcendence
Dolorem Records
Uncompromising, violent brutal death metal that has a certain technical efficiency to it, with lyrical themes based off of science fiction classic Dune by Frank Herbert which is a nice change of pace for those of you that care about that kind of stuff.
Had the pleasure of doing a track premiere for this album, so read that for more info if you care...or just listen to the track below if you don't.
-Nate
Code - Flyblown Prince
Dark Essence Records
Despite Venom coining the name of the genre with their seminal 1982 album of the same name, the UK black metal scene has rarely been among the world's most prolific. What it has lacked in quantity, however, it has frequently made up for in quality, with bands such as Anaal Nathrakh and Winterfylleth consistently putting out high calibre material over a long period of time. Perhaps due to geographical isolation, perhaps due to innate contrarianism, there is also a tendency for UK bands to operate at the more avant-garde end of the spectrum, with the likes of Meads Of Asphodel and Axis Of Perdition both taking what can be a sonically conservative genre into unusual places, rather than slavishly imitating their Scandinavian peers. Code fit neatly into this lineage. Although connected to the stranger elements of the second-wave, via their prior associations with Dodheimsgard and Ulver, they have succeeded in forging a sound very much of their own; strongly rooted in black metal, but expanding into more progressive realms across their back catalogue.
Flyblown Prince marks the band's return to a more extreme sound, having explored post-rock textures on their previous album Mut, although it feels less a self-conscious return to the roots, and more indicative of a desire to apply what the band have learned from their nomadic wanderings to the metallic core that has always remained at the dark heart of what they do. Across the album as a whole, Code treat the listener to plenty of variety, but many of Flyblown Prince's best moments come when the band lock into the kind of twisted, off-kilter black metal of the title track. This particular song opens the album, and sets the tone with a knowingly disjointed sound, coupling grating, dissonant chord voicings and nauseating harmonies with more conventional mid-paced chugging riffs in a way that recalls latter-day Mayhem and Marduk. At times, Flyblown Prince is a little too polite and restrained, and this prevents it from quite attaining the heights that it strives for, but that is not say there are not plenty of high points - the elegiac gothic melodicism of 'From The Next Room' is spellbinding, and the magnificent eleven-minute closer, 'The Mad White Hair', proves just how good Code can be when they get everything right, leaving the listener with the deep imprint of a strong album that will only grow in stature with each listen.
-Benjamin
Desaster - Churches Without Saints
Metal Blade Records
The ninth studio album of the Koblenz black thrashers doesn't reinvent anything, but if you're a fan already, you weren't expecting that and won't be disappointed. As usual, the quartet around Infernal Kuschke never stops thrashing through 46 minutes of playing time, although in-depth listens will reveal some small changes. The sound is a bit dirtier, no longer as polished as it was on previous albums. In addition, the band revisits their roots and lets some classic metal influences flow into their songs. With these tweaks, Churches without Saints becomes more of a grower, but it gets better with every listen. 'Exile is Imminent' and 'Endless Awakening' should carry away every fan of the first hour and also the other songs know how to convince.
-Michael
METALBITE'S TOP 10 ALBUMS OF THE MONTH
10: Lord Mortvm - Diabolical Omen Of Hell
Unsigned/Independent
With its striking red sleeve, Lord Mortvm's debut album Diabolical Omen Of Hell raises hopes of an atavistic, Satanic experience, even before a single note is played. Unmercifully, once the lengthy film sample has concluded, we are confronted with a delightfully primitive slice of blackened doom. The star of the show is the disgustingly thick and full guitar tone, pregnant with malevolence, the sonic equivalent of lava gradually snaking its way down a mountain enshrouded by impenetrable mist, which is almost enough to start heads nodding, even before the insidiously catchy nature of the riffs themselves are revealed. First-track 'Altar Obscene' is imbued with a stately, ritualistic feel which brings to mind Iron Monkey covering something from Beherit's Drawing Down The Moon, and although the remainder of the album displays Lord Mortvm's ability to add serious swing and groove to their infernal mix, there is an occult, unsettling vibe that remains throughout, separating the Norwegians from approaching the more hackneyed end of stoner-metal.
Where that sub-genre revels in the chilled-out hippie vibes of the billowing marijuana cloud, Lord Mortvm are the paranoid flipside of the drug experience, stepping through the doors of perception to find that what lies on the other side is not Gaia, but instead Dante's most psychedelic imaginings. They are Altamont to Bongzilla's Woodstock, the idealist's peaceful protest crushed by the violent punishment of the state's most brutal purveyors of rough justice. The most obvious touchpoint is Electric Wizard, and there are undoubtedly several similarities between the two bands, not least the surrendering of any pretence at development and progression at the altar of hypnotic repetition, and vocalist (and indeed sole member) Lord Mortvm's sardonic rasp, which sounds like a black metal take on Jus Osborn's baleful wail. There is something more despairing about Lord Mortvm's approach though, as if they are determined to reveal through their art the true depravity and irredeemable nature of mankind. If Electric Wizard hate you, Lord Mortvm hate everybody. Diabolical Omen Of Hell is a wonderfully filthy introduction to a band who will hopefully continue to plumb the depths as they devolve.
-Benjamin
MetalBite's Rating: 7.8/10
9: Siderean - Lost On Void's Horizon
Edged Circle Productions
Cerebral, slightly dissonant Slovenian prog death that has hints of thrash and avant-garde interspersed in. Originally existing for 10 years as Teleport, they've decided to rebrand for their debut full length. It's more eerie than it is aggressive, with the foggy production giving the foreground elements less immediate force. The upside of this, however, is it allows the Ved Buens Ende-styled bass and vaguely Voivod-esque weirdness to subtly integrate into some intricate and intriguing riffwork. I'm not entirely sure what the vibe is supposed to be here, but what I do know is that Siderean is able to create music that makes me feel something - even moreso than worthy contemporaries such as Horrendous and Cryptic Shift.
-Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 7.8/10
8: Cathexis - Untethered Abyss
Willowtip Records
Had the pleasure of premiering a song off this album earlier this month, and no, I didn't take a bribe to write that - I really do like Untethered Abyss a lot, so I'm giving it some extra love here. There's not a lot I can say that I didn't already write there, but what I will reiterate is that this is for sure a grower type of album. The first listen, it won't sound like much, but by maybe the second or third spin you'll realize something is Actually Going On. Once you've given yourself some time to get familiar with the melodies, it's all gravy from there and everything is full of surprises.
PS: Man, if only I got paid to write this stuff...in case anyone was curious I am 100% unethical and will absolutely take your money if you'd like me to say your band is cool. You can even have the top spot if you want, I'm cheap and easy.
-Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 7.9/10
7: Fear Factory - Aggression Continuum
Nuclear Blast
Let's leave all the monkey business aside and concentrate on what really matters with Fear Factory - the music. It's really strong! Even if the vocals of Burton C. Bell were already recorded in 2017 and the instrumental parts were added later, it all sounds fresh and cohesive. The opener 'Recode' brings the hammers and the album stays convincing in the later songs. The band creates an oppressive atmosphere that feels like the Terminator himself is standing right in front of your door. Burton's vocals bring back memories of blissful Demanufacture times, the riffs, drums and synthesizers go out and leave nothing on the table - should Aggression Continuum be the swan song of the band, this is a worthy (musical) farewell.
-Michael
MetalBite's Rating: 8/10
6: Thy Catafalque - Vadak
Season of Mist
Everyone's favorite Hungarian weirdo is back, with another album of genre-defying, perplexingly entrancing avant-garde metal that rows in the same free, untethered plains (with a melodic touch) that bands like Sigh and Arcturus operate in. Tangentially related to extreme metal by a trail of breadcrumbs, at this point it's a refined formula, being their tenth full-length and third album in four years in an oddly prolific spurt.
This is a good album for those of you that really liked the vibe of Imaginary Soniscape: lots of vibrant, psychedelic brass instruments and synthesizers up front, jazzy, maybe even flamenco-inspired rhythms incorporated into a prog rock structure, and a ton of other twists that would take way too many obfuscating words to describe. Whatever it is, it's all good, with a host of guest musicians adding their own enhancements to the wonderful world of Tamás Kátai.
-Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 8/10
5: Eye of Purgatory - The Lighthouse
Transcending Obscurity Records
Rogga Johansson has a lot of projects, and I'll be the first to say that some of them leave you feeling like a bit more time could have been spent refining and expanding upon the ideas. I was slightly more compelled to listen to this based on the seal of approval from Transcending Obscurity, who (as I have mentioned multiple times in these top 10s) have a keen ear for quality across a surprisingly wide range of metal genres. It was enough to get me to listen to the title track once out of curiosity, and that was all it took.
It wasn't immediate - a passing glance suggested no major differences, it's still Swedish death metal with predictable chorus-focused song structures, but then the main riff from 'The Lighthouse' was stuck in my head for like a week. I could not get this thing out of my head. I thought it was just a fluke, and then I listened a bit further and then the main riff from 'Carved in a Stone Bleeding' got stuck in my head for another week.
The Lighthouse hooks like it's broke, starving and at a party full of billionaires. Holy sweet shit this is catchy. Turns out all Rogga needed to make a memorable album was inserting insanely infectious melodic death melodies that staple themselves to your brain. He manages to pull it off on at least three or four songs for sure, and the ones that aren't ridiculously hooky are solidified by the prolific mastermind's consistent riffing.
-Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 8.3/10
4: Sxuperion - Auscultating Astral Monuments
Bloody Mountain Records
Sxuperion is a one-man journey into the void that grows inside your heart. Each song is a short yet monolithic shrine to the great Nothing, with torrential drums and vicious, meditative riffing the only human reference point for the endlessly uncaring entropy that is the great beyond. There's nothing of true enjoyment here, but you'll manage a great deal of self exploration once you see what lurks beneath the Blasphemy-tinged surface. I'd like to stop now and just link the album, because the more words you use to describe Sxuperion, the less they make sense. Get in.
-Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 8.3/10
3: Winter Eternal - Land Of Darkness
Hells Headbangers
If Code have provided this month's most enticing progressive black metal album, Winter Eternal offer a timely reminder of the virtues of the orthodox second-wave sound, making virtually no concessions to the development of the genre since 1995, instead providing a compelling lesson in the value of playing to one's strengths, as well as offering something of a salute to the golden age of black metal. Indeed, so much time has now passed since the genre's inception, that a solid orthodox album that totally eschews shoegaze, churning dissonance, or layers of electronic glitches is in some respects refreshing, and at least offers an alternative to the well-worn classics that so many of us return to so often in order to bask in the nostalgic glow of simpler and less-commodified times. It's no surprise to see that Land Of Darkness is released on Hell's Headbangers, for so long a bulwark against the adulteration of a perfection already achieved, and Winter Eternal fit perfectly into their storied roster.
The band hail from Greece, and although it is possible to identify elements of the classic Hellenic sound that has seeped, perhaps unconsciously, into their attack, Land Of Darkness more frequently bears the hallmarks of Swedish and Finnish black metal, generally favoring the melodic feel of folky melodies transplanted to intense tremolo riffs, as opposed to the more frostbitten feel of the Norwegian school. Much more Dawn than Darkthrone, Sacramentum rather than Satyricon, the numerous classic metal flourishes that are used to connect one riff or section to another are reminiscent of the way in which Dissection brought the harmonic sense of melodic death metal to bear on their relentlessly catchy black metal. Winter Eternal are, unsurprisingly, not quite in the elite class of Jon Nodtveidt's anti-cosmic crew, but on stand-out tracks such as 'The Elusive Wings Of Death' they evoke similar emotions of majesty and might, and get close enough to the essence of their forebears, while adding enough creative touches of their own (the sorrowful strings on 'Crown Of Stars', for example), to escape the notion that they are simply a high-fidelity facsimile of a time now past. With Land Of Darkness, Winter Eternal might just be this year's Havukruunu, reinforcing once more the possibilities that still lie in strident melodic black metal, and keeping the flame burning strong into the long, dark night.
-Benjamin
MetalBite's Rating: 8.4/10
2: Darkthrone - Eternal Hails
Peaceville Records
The 19th (!) studio album of Fenriz and Nocturno Culto sounds like I expected it to sound - namely, completely different from the other albums. As always, Eternal Hails brings some changes. I notice the somewhat weak production, but I assume that this was intended. The five tracks here are very different and interesting, but often have a more dragging pace. The main influences that have found their way onto the album this time are more of a heavy/doom metal style: Black Sabbath, Manilla Road, some Celtic Frost. In 'Wake of the Awakened' I also hear a bit of their own death metal past when I listen to the gloomy keyboard passage.
Darkthrone doesn't return to their glory days with Eternal Hails, but it's also nowhere near as disappointing as the "Metalpunk era" albums. Those who liked Arctic Thunder and Old Star will not be disappointed here. A solid album that is not suitable for casual listening.
-Michael
MetalBite's Rating: 8.5/10
1: Passeisme - Eminence
Antiq
French back metal...from Russia? A handful of artists have adopted this more recent quirk of taking the language and aesthetics from another culture in a benevolent appropriation of sorts - the Finnish KYPCK and Canadian Цар Стангра did it with Russia themselves, US-based Kostnatění does it with Czech, and, well, I guess Eastern Europeans got sick of other bands ripping off the quirks of their homeland's music, and it looks like they chose to counter in the form of exuberant, quasi-medieval black metal.
Eminence has a certain archaic nature to its flow, sharing many common traits with folk metal but somehow arriving at a different endpoint, sort of like how Forefather insists on calling themselves "Medieval metal". Its sound is fresh specifically because it is able to take melodies that feel familiar and re-work them into invigorating modern blackened textures, and the new context gives a completely different angle to appreciate everything from. It hits you right away and always feels like it's got another joyous trick up its sleeve to reveal to you. June was overall a month with a lot of decent to very good albums but very little that rose above the crop, and this was one of the few surprises out of nowhere that has a certain fresh allure to it I'll be coming back to for months, if not years.
-Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 8.6/10
And that's half a year of Top 10s in the books! If you missed out on all the earlier editions of this and want to catch up, here's the earlier ones archived for your reading and/or listening pleasure. Remember, you can never bite off more metal than you can chew!
Entered: 6/26/2021 9:57:25 AM
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