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MetalBite's Top 10 Albums of the Month - January 2022
We're back in business! This is usually the time of year that releases drop off because of consumerism and shit (statistically I'm pretty sure this is the time of year that people are buying the least amount of luxury stuff). As such, this was a thin month, but thanks to some solid contributions from MetalBite Album of the Month regulars Michael and Ben, we've got a nice list of 10 things that came out that were worth listening to, plus honorable mentions.
This is somewhat significant in that it's the one year anniversary of these lists at MetalBite, with the first top 10 I did being a way to fill a month of pandemic-induced boredom. Look at what it's turned into now! Happy birthday to us. As always, thanks for being here.
-Nate
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Druid Lord - Relics Of The Dead
Hells Headbangers
Filthy death/doom from some American veterans, with members having ties to Acheron, Massacre and Killing Addiction. If you liked the new Worm album but craved a bit more of an old-school touch, you'll be happy as a pig in shit with this.
Abyssus - Death Revival
Transcending Obscurity Records
Death/thrash that takes a very Master-esque, no-bullshit approach. The folks at good ol' Transcending Obscurity continue to pump out a consistent stream of quality releases at a rate of at least one per month, if not more.
Shadow Of Intent - Elegy
Self-released/Independent
I'm still not going to fully admit to my bass player (who is very into this band) that I'm sold on the overwhelming hype for this Halo-themed symphonic deathcore group, but I will say that they definitely have chops and vocalist Ben Duerr in particular is really fucking good.
METALBITE'S TOP 10 ALBUMS OF THE MONTH
10: Wilderun - Epigone
Century Media Records
I was very excited for this release - it's the big label debut of a band that made a huge splash with their 2019 album, Veil Of Imagination. Despite me not usually gravitating to prog metal that makes me feel like I'm in a Disney movie, that album thoroughly floored me front to back - every saccharine twist hit, more atmospheric and hook infused than anything Tuomas Holopainen could ever hope to conceive. It's my 2019 album of the year, actually.
Century Media took notice of it (as they rightfully should have) and now, Epigone is Wilderun's exposure to a bigger audience and…well, it's a step down. I was hesitant to even include this in a top 10 given I'm not totally sold on it, but I'm giving it a spot because a) it was a thin month for releases b) there's still a lot of things I like about it and c), it's as good an opportunity as any to convince people to get into Wilderun because they're a great listen regardless of your typical musical preferences.
Evan Berry's clean singing is still delightfully rich and charming, and this group of Bostonians still effortlessly draws out a rich, fairytale-like atmosphere with touches of mid-era Opeth and later Enslaved. The issue I have with this album is that it falls victim to what I'm now calling "Rivers of Nihil syndrome" - in an effort to branch out and expand the scope of their sound, songs are no longer grounded and everything feels like a transition. There's a bit too much film score grandiosity and not enough riffin', you know what I mean?
All of that being said, this is structured like a grower album, so the fact that I have to get this list in by the end of each month might be hurting where Epigone will end up on my year end lists. Veil Of Imagination was an 8/10 album on first listen and ended up as a 9.4 after a digestion period of a few months, so that could happen here, too.
-Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 7.6/10
9: Aegrus - The Carnal Temples
Osmose Productions
It might only be an EP, but the latest release from Finland's Aegrus packs an almighty punch. In fact, given the relentless jackhammer blast of its four songs, one might justifiably argue that a release of this length is the optimum way to enjoy the Aegrus experience, so exhausting might a full-length prove. Not unlike their spiritual forbears Marduk and Impaled Nazarene, the speed gauge rarely drops below irresponsibly fast, and any variety depends primarily on drum patterns that move between blast and D-beat, anything more intricate rendered unnecessary by the band's ceaseless savagery. It should be noted that this is not a criticism, and indeed, the D-beat passages, in particular, are extremely effective in establishing some semblance of groove from the blizzard of tremolo that rushes past too quickly to grasp for the majority of each track. There is no real light and shade in the realm inhabited by the sickening entity that use the Aegrus monicker, only shade and more shade, and this means that The Carnal Temples is perfectly suited for those occasions when only a cleansing blast of pure hate and disgust will do, its invigorating power dusting away the cobwebs in a way that more sophisticated metal can't quite manage. The highlight of the EP is the brilliant 'Flesh And Blood', which initially bears a passing resemblance to Mayhem's 'Pagan Fears', before it strikes out in a direction all of its own, with the kind of unexpectedly catchy palm-muted riff that seems to be a diminishing feature in a sub-genre that sometimes obsesses over atmospheric soundscapes at the expense of any metal content at all. Aegrus, however, delivers an ultra-solid slab of unashamedly metallic rage that takes no prisoners, and does everything it needs to do and a little bit more in a sadistically exciting 25 minutes.
-Benjamin
MetalBite's Rating: 7.8/10
8: Dysnerved - Man In The Middle
Self-released/Independent
Harrowing avant-garde black/death metal that has the power to awe and shock you from multiple angles. The drum performance is not mind-bogglingly-technical, but has enough going on to ground the riffs and makes them breathe, even as the tension relentlessly slithers forward. It is perhaps a Greek interpretation of the new album by Italian dissonant masters Ad Nauseam - a little more focused, a touch more consonance, and wet, yet sharp high vocals that seem to be a staple of the region.
It's rare that a debut from a new band with no real connections to established artists or history behind them gets you to pay attention, but this is different - it's very polished, not in a production sense though, it's more that this is meticulously thought out and every section and transition appears composed with delicate care. Perhaps that's why it took 10 years for this group to release any sort of recorded music.
-Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 7.8/10
7: Aethereus - Leiden
The Artisan Era
An Artisan Era release with Sam Nelson art? You know I'm all over that shit. If you're familiar with the label, this isn't going to shatter any preconceived notion - this is an expanded and elaborated version of their riff-abundant, adventurous melodic-blackened-symphonic-whatever else death metal. The Inferi parallels are not just clear, but an apparent necessity of anything on this label, and comparisons could also be made to Stortegn, as Aethereus values songwriting and pacing over showmanship and acrobatics.
That being said, Leiden has higher peaks and more spacious lows, in addition to a modern, American tinge to the verses - the melodic phrasing and tendency to use death metal-influenced chugging to occasionally ground thighs brings to mind Black Dahlia Murder more than Obscura, even though the influence from those Germans is evident in some of the ringing atmosphere and prominent bass presence. Even with the multifaceted songwriting approach, giving you more than enough material for multiple listens, the power and weight in the songwriting is immediately felt. Strong start from a label that always delivers the goods.
-Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 7.9/10
6: Ereb Altor - Vargtimman
Hammerheart Records
Ereb Altor have quietly built up a large back catalog of quality albums - Vargtimman is already the 9th album of these busy Swedes. It starts with a very epic track called 'I Have The Sky'. As always, this band breathes the spirit of Viking-era Bathory, and there's a touch of good ol' Manowar, too, making for one of the best songs the band's ever written.
However, with the following track the band didn't do themselves a favor. It is a quite unspectacular and slow track which I might have put somewhere else on this album because after listening to the opener it is like falling down into a deep hole. 'Rise Of The Destroyer' brings things back with some faster black metal vibes, with the guitars (and sometimes the vocals) being heavy enough to give you that gut feeling and make you tap your foot. The other tracks on the album are a nice cross-section of all the previously mentioned elements. The band has branched a bit beyond paying homage to traditional Bathory influences, while still giving the longtime fans enough of the Viking vibe to keep them interested. If you take a walk through some icy (or at least lonely) landscapes, you will get the right mood to find access to the album. By the way, if you want to purchase the album, try to get the limited edition because as a bonus you will get the Eldens Boning EP from 2021, too which was only digitally available until now.
-Michael
MetalBite's Rating: 8.1/10
5: Det Eviga Leendet - Reverence
Mystískaos
Another album that has intrigued me this month, even if it does not quite have the overwhelming impact of The Mist From The Mountains, is Reverence, the second album from Det Eviga Leendet (which translates in to English as The Eternal Smile). This Swedish / American black metal troupe are operating on the fascinating and ever-moving margins of the genre, and although not as avant-garde as (early) Solefald, they tap into the same sort of disquieting quality, through their combination of layers of ghostly static noise with strange and hypnotic guitars employing unconventional chord voicings and note choices. These guitars are frequently set to a grating blast, although this is far from the default setting of what is an inspiringly restless and varied album.
The overtly metal sections of each song recall the abrasive and warped riffing that characterised the Blut Aus Nord sound at the turn of the millennium, as they began to develop their sound from their more orthodox beginnings, but Det Eviga Leendet are equally as compelling when they take their foot off the throttle. They do this to great effect on the excellent 'Visage', where fragile shards of guitar are overwhelmed by the frankly terrifying shrieks of despair contributed by Mare Cognitum's Jacob Buczarski, who clearly knows a good thing when he hears it. Through the final strains of the spectacular 'Yield', which pulls the band a little closer to the kind of mournful and yearning black metal of American bands such as Panopticon, it is clear that Reverence is a difficult, but rewarding experience, which makes no concessions to the comfort of the listener across its six bleak and lengthy songs. Despite this, the quality of the band's music is such that it draws one in, like a light in the dark that mankind trudges gradually towards, only to realise that it is the fire that will incinerate us all, leaving only eternal darkness.
-Benjamin
MetalBite's Rating: 8.3/10
4: Dark Millennium - Acid River
Massacre Records
"You can clearly hear death metal influences in the arrangements (and some doom like old My Dying Bride or Paradise Lost) but I wouldn't classify the music as real death metal. It is difficult to say the style the band is playing. Maybe progressive avant-garde death doom? Whatever it is, you can find sounds that let you feel like you're on a trip visiting Alice in Wonderland…"
Full review by Michael here.
MetalBite's Rating: 8.4/10
3: Wiegedood - There's Always Blood At The End Of The Road
Century Media Records
After closing the trilogy De Doden Hebben Het Goed, I was afraid that Wiegedood would split-up, but fortunately my fears were unfounded. The first track 'FN SCAR 16', starts as you would expect a song named after an assault rifle to, and it's the heaviest and most aggressive track the Belgians ever wrote. Really hectic riffing and insane screaming make this song an uncomfortable opener that gives you high expectations for the rest of the album. And let me tell you, they never let those expectations down throughout the remainder of the album's runtime.
Their first trilogy was more dissonant, leaning more on fast structures and traditional black metal riffing paired with noise collages ("Nuages"). Continuing in this vein, there are still plenty of disturbing and sick parts to be found here. Just listen to the vocals in 'Now Will Always Be' – a truly terrifying performance. You won't find time to relax - once you think you can take a breath, Wiegedood slows the tempo and something else starts happening. It might be samples, faded shrieks, or it could just be lulling you into a false sense of security before things kick back up again. There's Always Blood At The End Of The Road is no easy listen, but a challenging beast that demands further exploration.
-Michael
MetalBite's Rating: 8.5/10
2: The Mist From The Mountains: Monumental - The Temple Of Twilight
Primitive Reaction
Monumental - The Template Of Twilight is both the debut album from a Finnish black metal band who clearly have a bright future, and the best thing I have heard so far in 2022. The Mist From The Mountains present us with the sort of streamlined, but forward-thinking, black metal that modern-day Enslaved excel at, and display a highly impressive level of song-writing for a band with no prior releases (although they can boast some history in other moderately successful bands, such as …And Oceans). Their brand of black metal is unashamedly epic and windswept, and like (Viking-era) Bathory and Primordial before them, the band are meticulous in their construction of an appropriately reverent atmosphere, but also know when to let rip with the kind of razor sharp and stately mid-tempo riff that 'Empyrean Fields,' among other tracks, boasts. The prevailing sound of the band is nominally symphonic black metal, reinforced by the kind of stirring, armour-plated Scandinavian folk melodies and rousing lead guitar figures that have made Havukruunu's recent output so thrilling, not to mention making Moonsorrow such a revered band in the pagan metal scene. There is plenty of variety as the album progresses though, and some unexpected surprises keep things interesting, and ensure that the album doesn't become too formulaic. Dashes of prog-rock organs and female vocals are sprinkled for flavour throughout the songs, and at times, the arrangements are pretty enough to evoke a similar sense of stoic sorrow to that conjured by compatriots Swallow The Sun. The Mist From The Mountains have produced a debut which is spectacularly assured, and packed full of memorable songs delivering a true emotional impact which stimulates the brain as much as it appeals to the warrior within. There is something intriguing that burns at the heart of these Finns, and on the evidence of this magnificent piece of work, there is every chance that it will soon ignite, the consuming fire eventually spreading far beyond the forests of their homeland.
-Benjamin
MetalBite's Rating: 8.5/10
1: Silhouette - Les Retranchement
Antiq Records
A new project proclaimed as a synthesis of DSBM aesthetics and angelic female cleans, this new French group taps into the same ethereal realms as the legendary Alcest. As someone who dorked out hard on their first three albums in the early 2010s (and pretty much anything else Neige was involved with), I'm thrilled - Alcest themselves have ventured into a lighter, more shoegazey direction now, which I vibe with less, and I didn't even realize how much I was craving some new music in that beautiful space where melancholic black metal and bombastic post-rock collide.
That being said, writing this off as an Alcest clone would not only be a disservice to Les Retranchement, but also terribly inaccurate. Despite the "DSBM" attributes mentioned in the promotional blurb, the only real trope of that genre you hear is the shrieked harsh vocals. The heavier riffs have modern influences, though interestingly enough they don't seem to take as much influence from the French scene - I hear more influences along the lines of Mgla and Agrypnie than anything. In addition, there's an undercurrent of melodic death/doom in the writing - the band likes to linger at a middling pace, and when the clean vocals are prominent, there's a careful marching feel reminiscent of Swallow the Sun. That is but an occasional spice, as this has far too many blastbeats to be considered a "doom" album in any respect. There's a handful of different styles being given a tip of the hat on this, and it might seem stilted and disparate if the phenomenal vocal performance didn't tie everything together.
The shrieks are evocative, like Ghost Bath with a hint more grit, but they're not even the star of the show. The clean vocals are absolutely captivating, and have a powerful cadence to them that is one of a kind. Though incredibly rich and vibrant, they have this stark, dry delivery that gives the impression they are being sung by someone who is dead. Not in a wailing banshee sort of way, it's more like an enlightened soul that had a tragic passing and wanders haunted halls, beckoning those who wander by with an irresistible siren call. They're not tormented - they're at peace with leaving their body, even happy. They are so beautiful it's fucking scary.
Silhouette obviously realized that they needed to use that voice as much as possible, but also that there needed to be a balance. Too much candy ruins a good meal, so to get around this, the band had the brilliant idea of using the visceral weight of black metal as climaxes for the stretches of delicate, lush majesty. We're one month into 2022 and I might have already stumbled on my debut album of the year.
-Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 8.7/10
Hope you find something you like in this sea of releases! Also, here's the link to December 2021's AOTM list, which links to all the previous months' articles in case you wanted to go down a new-metal-album-themed rabbit hole. See ya at the end of February!
Entered: 1/31/2022 6:39:33 PM
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MetalBite's Top 10 Albums of the Month - February 2022
Welcome back to a way-too-late edition of MetalBite's Top 10. Somehow, we got through most of COVID times without missing a beat, and then just as we're coming out of it, two of our main writers (Michael and Nate) both came down with illnesses leading up to March that delayed the release of this article by almost two weeks. We're all recovered and back at it now.
Our apologies to anyone who was eagerly looking forward to our selections of what's what in the second month of 2022, but hey, better late than never! We'll be sure to have a hefty March top 10 to make up for lost time.
-Nate
HONORABLE MENTIONS
A Pale December - Death Panacea
Avantgarde Music
This was released on Avantgarde, who typically are geared towards more atmospheric, post-rock-tinged artists, and this is an atmospheric black metal release…but only by genre tag, really. There's a lot of active, even aggressive tremolo riffing, as well as tempo shifts to create more push-and-pull as opposed to a steady crescendo in the songwriting. You'd think it would go against genre standards, but it's merged with long breaths of shimmering, ambient guitars and modern, arty melodicism. The band sounds like they're from New York, but they're from Italy, which is intriguing because they lack the flowery Italian romanticism that the power metal and atmo-black in their home region is known for. In a strange way, the unconventional yet familiar sounds of Death Panacea is a perfect fit for a label known for putting out albums on the esoteric fringes of black metal. I'm not sure exactly how much I like this yet - it still needs to hit me in the right mood, I reckon - but I can tell it's more involved and odd than the standard fare on this label.
-Nate
HammerFall – Hammer Of Dawn
Napalm Records
Okay, two things: 1) Don't judge an album by its cover and 2) let's just get out of the way that HammerFall is a "love 'em or hate 'em" kind of band. I must confess I'm mostly in the former camp: I love their first two albums, and after their last album Dominion was surprisingly strong I was curious about this follow-up here.
They've convinced me yet again, although this album perhaps lacks an infectious hymn on the level of '(We Make) Sweden Rock'. Either way, there are a lot of typical HammerFall tracks with epic melodies and soaring vocals to make these dark days a little brighter. The opener 'Brotherhood', and the mid-tempo title-track are as good as anything they've done. 'No Son Of Odin' as well, which opens with a very cool riff that could have been on a King Diamond album and...well, King Diamond has a guest appearance. But not here - on 'Venerate Me' which is another typical HammerFall banger with a catchy chorus. There are a few throwaway tracks - 'Reveries' and the last two on the album aren't too exciting. Nonetheless it still manages to be one of the stronger albums that came out in February.
-Michael
METALBITE'S TOP 10 ALBUMS OF THE MONTH
10: X.I.L. - Rip & Tear
Self-released/Independent
An intriguing debut from this Texas trio. If you look at the cover you may think it's going to be some Paranoid-esque doom metal stuff, but you would be mistaken. X.I.L. combine very charming speed/thrash metal elements like with a bunch of dirty, punky "fuck off" kind of attitude. I am easily reminded of old Metallica or Megadeth, and the late, great Lemmy even makes a short guest appearance in spirit – just listen to 'Breakneck'. In some of the deep cuts you find some much slower parts, so I guess assuming this was going to be doom wouldn't have been totally wrong.
This doesn't reinvent the wheel - it's a very nostalgic album that let you forget sins like (Re)Load, Lulu and Risk. Though the production could be a bit richer (especially the drums) it's gives the album certain flair and also, this is old school metal, so it doesn't need to be perfect.
-Michael
MetalBite's Rating: 7.5/10
9: Meslamtaea - Weemoedsklanken
Babylon Doom Cult
"Since the come-back record Niets En Niemendal (2019), the band has taken a new direction. Meslamtaea combines 2nd wave black metal with jazz-, prog-, and psychedelic vibes. This is the most experimental album the band has done so far. You can find a lot of quite unusual instruments like saxophone, flugelhorn, tongue drum and vocoder on it.
Mastermind Floris says about Weemoedsklanken: "We play a lot with atmospheres and contrasts. From straight-forward black metal to twisted rhythms, from hard sounds to tranquil ambient. We like to experiment, but the atmosphere is always on top."
-Michael
Full review/premiere here.
MetalBite's Rating: 7.5/10
8: Deathhammer - Electric Warfare
Hells Headbangers Records
If you've read anything I've written before, you'll notice I don't praise a lot of thrash. Generally, all of the best works in the genre were made in the 80s, but Deathhammer is not your typical thrash band. They managed to stay sharp and relevant through a balls-to-the-wall approach to the genre: a healthy dose of blackened tremolo, manic, high-pitched ranting with lots of squeals and shrieks, and ton of fuckin' SPEED. While true to their 80s influences in the skeletal chords and rhythmic progressions, the extra dollop of frenzy and slight modern tinge to a riff or two makes this feel different than their contemporaries. You can't listen to a song like 'Crushing The Pearly Gates' without getting that "now that's some heavy fucking metal with some god damn riffs" feeling. It just keeps on shredding.
If there's not enough nuance and substance with an approach like this, it gets boring after two or three tracks, but there's an intricacy and adeptness to Electric Warfare's riffwork. The guitarists have a subtly strong ear for melody, the midpaced breaks always have great hooks to keep you groovin', and the songwriting is always efficient and focused. Songs do a really good job of having enough going on to feel full and "professional", while still retaining some of that visceral jamming-in-a-garage quality you need to keep thrash from being sterile. The vocals contribute to that vibe a great deal, with a somewhat ragged, snarling quality to their delivery that sounds closer to modern harsh vocals (minus the squeals, which are more of an homage to the unhinged shrieks of guys like Sheepdog and Sean Killian). Some of Sergeant Salsten's vocal lines are surprisingly detailed and you could almost call them "technical" if he didn't sound like a rabid dog while he was doing them. His mix of primitive energy and surprising dexterity is a perfect microcosmic example of how the album as a whole toes that exact balance so well.
-Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 7.8/10
7: Ultra Silvam - The Sanctity Of Death
Shadow Records
The Devil himself has marked the release date of The Sanctity Of Death as a red-letter day. The Swedish trio plays brutal and rough black metal. Even with a hint of melody, they do their thing without any compromise. It's got that true black metal feeling - you can inhale the dark and coldness that this album spreads. The production is very minimalistic and rough and gives The Sanctity Of Death this very eerie and cold atmosphere a black metal album needs to be convincing.
The tracks are sheer fury with an emphasis on speed, with the title track showing some parallels to good old Dissection (only three times faster). 'Förintelsens Andeväsen Del II: Deicidala' reminds me a lot of Nifelheim and Deggial. Though chaotic and entropic upon first listen, in time you notice that the band has a certain structure behind all this madness. The musicianship is tight and (at least I) can sense cohesion and don't have the feeling that they lost control of anything they wanted to do.
-Michael
MetalBite's Rating: 8/10
6: Amorphis - Halo
Atomic Fire Records
The trilogy that began with Under The Red Cloud in 2015 is getting closed with Halo 7 years later. Many things have changed lately in this world and most of them aren't good, but fortunately we can always count on Amorphis. If there are some changes at this point in their career they are marginal and if you like their modern melodic heavy metal sound, Halo will suit you just fine.
Heavily harmonized, bombastic melodies with anthemic clean vocals are contrasted with rough death metal-tinged arrangements, strengthened by Tomi Joutsen's magnificent deep growls. Harsh vocals are used over parts I never thought would fit (like in 'On The Dark Waters'), but they work perfectly. A few tracks give hints of their early death metal past, while the songs that take a melodic and softer direction don't quite reach the "ballad" level of turn-of-the-millennium Amorphis. In general, Amorphis tended towards heavier songwriting on this album, and had more epic arrangements and symphonic sounds than the two predecessors. Growls are more frequently utilized, and producer Jens Bogren (who has worked with the band since Under The Red Cloud), did a very good job with a very modern and well-balanced production which leaves nothing unturned.
A slight point of criticism could be that the album lacks cohesion because of the sometimes jarring switch between softer and heavier songs. On the other hand you could say this gives the album a more varied and interesting touch…
-Michael
MetalBite's Rating: 8/10
5: Devoured Elysium - Void Grave
Gore House Productions
It looks like some generic brutal death metal at first glance, but I've learned over time to trust that anything coming out of Turkey is going to be stupidly thick and heavy. There's clearly a great degree of skill in the guitars, but instad of making obtuse shit that's hard to understand (and as such loses its volatility), they write riffs that are fucking fun! The grooves on this album are danceable - I have no doubt I could slap this on at a more aggressive EDM rave and no one would miss a beat. They use harmonics and little guitar tricks in a way that makes it sound like they still had fun playing them, and it helps to keep fresh what would otherwise be stale and univentive riffs. There's no way one of the main songwriters isn't a young 20-something - at the very least, there's a youthful exuberance to the songwriting, giving a certain novelty that makes the riffs pop.
Combine that proclivity for punchy structuring with a ton of raw talent, and you've got all the makings of a breakout album. The drums are immediately attention grabbing with their big, booming production job and pulverizing foot speed that drills the slams into your brain, but it's the vocals that keep me coming back. Kerem Akman has a bowl-rupturing guttural that he abuses to oblivion, and it's mixed with a beautiful, cavernous reverb that adds a decimating, all-encompassing feel. There might be a deathcore undercurrent in the riffing, but it serves the songs well, and does anyone who doesn't live in their mom's basement really care about that anymore anyways? This shit rules no matter what the hell you call it.
-Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 8.2/10
4: Saxon - Carpe Diem
Silver Lining Music
"Most of the tracks are pretty fast or in some upper mid-tempo area, full of awesome guitar solos that have me astonished that these guys still have such energy after all these years. They're not getting younger, if you know what I mean…if I didn't know that this was Saxon I would guess that this was some guys in their 30s playing a great classic heavy metal album."
Full review by Michael here.
MetalBite's Rating: 8.3/10
3: Vorga - Striving Toward Oblivion
Transcending Obscurity Records
Transcending Obscurity Records strikes again with one of my favorite albums from the label in a while. I've been out of the loop when it comes to black metal recently but this came pulling me right back in. It's a 50/50 mix of Mare Cognitum and The Spirit, crafted with assembly-line efficiency and succinct songwriting. The guitars provide a steady, repetitious bed and slowly ascend into powerful atmospheric heights similar to how Jacob Buczarski likes to do, with a full, modern sound giving things the thickness they need.
The Spirit's new album ventures into more of a progressive, melodeathy direction, which is taking me some getting used to because my favorite part about that band was their icy Dissection aping. Vorga satisfies my craving by leaning more towards the black metal element of that sound, using subtle death metal elements as an occasional spice/contrast a la Imperialist. The arrangements flow so smoothly you start to wonder if the band used lube, a hallmark of their regional brethren - jarring transitions aren't in the German metal playbook. The highlight of this for me is the track 'Disgust' which reminds me of 'The First Point Of Ares' with its blast-heavy march into the aether, keeping an incredible presence and generating atmosphere effortlessly through simple tremolo riffing. 'Fool's Paradise' is another high point with how well it integrates that classic Immortal-styled chug riff.
It's impressive how naturally "cosmic" this feels, even though it's just straight black metal - something about the steady, rigid pacing and near-unnoticeable transitions creates this futuristic, Star Wars kinda vibe, and there's a remarkable consistency to the melody and pacing. It's super tasty and there's rarely a moment where I feel the need to zone out, and even if my ADD-addled brain does anyways, something always gently pulls you back.
-Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 8.3/10
2: Allegaeon - Damnum
Metal Blade Records
Despite basically being a tech'd up version of modern American melodic death metal a la The Absence, Unearth and the like, Allegaeon have managed to create a slew of compelling albums that have even the pickiest melodeath fans (such as myself) considering them as one of the forerunners of the genre today. It helps that every musician likes to flatter my tech-death sensibilities: Greg Burgess has the tastiest solos in the business, whatever drummer they have playing with them is always tight as fuck, and Riley McShane crafts the most intricate vocal lines made by anyone who isn't named Oliver Aleron. I am a fairly big fan of this band, for sure, but they're on the downswing of their prime, with the peak being the Elements Of The Infinite/Proponent For Sentience duo. Still, anything they put out is a mandatory listen for this fella.
They integrated more clean vocals than I'm comfortable with, no matter how competently performed, which takes getting used to, especially when I crave some choppy verses. They're taking the Fallujah jump - that is, infusing Opethian proggy vibes into their formula. It's more of a natural transition for Allegaeon than it might be for other bands, though, with well-rounded, professional performances from each musician. McShane's clean vocals don't annoy me right off the hop, even though they take some getting used to.
Even while fleshing out their sound to the extent they have, though, there's still a couple of rounded and concise tracks that are among some of the best standalone singles the band has ever done. 'To Carry My Grief Through Torpor And Silence' is a fucking incredible track: the busy, driving verse, the dextrous earworm vocal line that made up the chorus, the absolutely disgusting bass/guitar solo tradeoff…easily a top 3 in terms of songs this band has written. It's hard to tell exactly where this is going to rank among their albums, but the fact that it's already good enough to challenge for a top spot in a strong back catalogue tells you all you need to know about checking out Damnum for yourself.
-Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 8.4/10
1: Immolation - Acts Of God
Nuclear Blast
It's mother fucking Immolation baby! They've never released anything shittier than a 7/10 album in their eleven full-lengths since 1991. They are consistent on a level only rivaled by Bolt Thrower and Immo's streak is even more impressive considering, but they subtly augment their sound from album to album, giving each one a distinct flavor that only ripens with age. In retrospect, Atonement was very clean and emotional, especially when time gives one the chance to reflect, but Acts Of God is furious and nasty right from the hop, with a more pointed, almost thrashy attack coming out of Steve Shalaty's blastbeats, hammering in the uniquely compelling terror of Bob Vigna's iconic riff style.
The New Yawkers were clearly listening to their first two albums a lot, as this is closer to Dawn of Possession than any of their other full-lengths. That being said, 30 years makes a shitload of difference in how Ross, Bob and co. sound - their trademark dissonance is a lot more fleshed out and seems to even be taking cues from the modern torchbearers like Ulcerate and Dead Congregation. Their ability to stay on top of what's hip in death metal and integrate trendy techniques into their signature sound is a big part of what makes Immolation continue to stand the test of time, while other former titans of the genre like Morbid Angel continue to lose momentum by the day.
-Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 8.5/10
Thank you for once again tuning into our tardy top 10 selections! Check out January's picks for last month to get caught up on the best shit in '22 so far. See you in...well, I guess just a couple weeks from now!
Entered: 3/15/2022 1:18:00 PM
2.27k
MetalBite's Top 10 Albums of the Month - March 2022
Welcome back to a (moderately more timely) edition of MetalBite's Top 10! As is promised, we've got a big ass list for you, with all three of our main writers (me, Benjamin, Michael) coming out in full force for this one. Springtime seems to be when labels and promoters start to crank up the heat and drop their big names.
Let us know what you were hoping to see that we missed!
-Nate
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Arkaik - Labyrinth Of Hungry Ghosts
The Artisan Era
Despite being a pretty crazy tech-head I have not listened to this group much (I always get them mixed up with Abiotic in my head for some reason). It's an Artisan Era release so you know it slaps, and you probably know if you'll like this or not before you've even heard a note, so why bother describing it further?
-Nate
Sanhedrin - Lights On
Metal Blade Records
The ongoing pandemic has already inspired numerous artistic endeavours since its onset in early 2020. Not too many of them have resulted in a modern take on traditional heavy metal that tackles the significant changes that have affected the planet as part of wide-ranging, but topical lyrical themes, however. Sanhedrin's third album, Lights On, does exactly this, bassist / vocalist Erica Stoltz's strident musings on the modern world taking centre stage, against a backdrop of dextrous, melodic instrumentation, which triangulates US power metal, trad metal and prog in a similar way to their spiritual kin; Argus, Hammers Of Misfortune and The Lord Weird Slough Feg. Lights On is hugely enjoyable, although not quite as vaultingly ambitious as the aforementioned defenders of the faith. The song structures are fairly conventional, the vocal melodies are a little more rudimentary, and the instrumental sections do not display the same triumphant virtuosity as some of their peers. This certainly doesn't render the songs themselves any less memorable though, and when the band unleash the kind of Visigoth-style spirited and spiky riffing that they do on the excellent 'Change Takes Forever', it is easy to get carried away in their irresistible bombast. It would be a stretch to suggest that the pandemic has been a good thing for music, but an album such as Lights On is the kind of silver lining that makes the losses recent years a tiny bit easier to bear.
-Benjamin
Dark Funeral - We Are The Apocalypse
Century Media Records
If you don't know what you're getting with this, do you even listen to metal? As it stands, Dark Funeral is arguably the single most popular black metal group out there this side of Behemoth. I can't think of any other band that just plays straight-up BM with no outside genre influences that has managed to garner a million followers on social media.
As multiple reviews by our seasoned writers indicate, this is more of the same from Lord Ahriman and co., but if you already like the band, that shouldn't be a bad thing. No sense rambling on about this when everyone is already familiar with Dark Funeral and knows what they sound like, so just listen to it if you haven't yet and want to!
-Nate
Father Befouled - Crowned In Veneficum
Everlasting Spew Records
I read a comment on a video that was something along the lines of "Father Befouled does oldschool Incantation better than modern Incantation" and on this new album, I'm inclined to agree. Only now, though - It's taken me a while to get into the atonal, anti-melodic nature of this group's riffing, I can't say I return to stuff from their back catalog much. A lot of the times it sounded like the atmosphere got away from them a bit, and they couldn't reel it back in soon enough to keep the listener interested. That doesn't happen here, for whatever reason. Maybe it's just time making this band sound more favorable in my ears, but the guitars on Crowned In Veneficum sound more grounded and I can follow where they're going, and the atmosphere feels less contrived and more like a natural byproduct of the riffs themselves.
-Nate
Deathspell Omega - The Long Defeat
Norma Evangelium Diaboli
I haven't given this the appropriate amount of time that a DsO album needs to stew before you can fully grasp what they're on to, but a cursory listen reveals some melodies that show flashes of what they were doing on Paracletus, and that's my favorite album by them. They're leaning more towards melody than entropy (with the appropriate amount of their defining dissonance still present) and I am here for it. It's a new album by motherfucking Deathspell Omega, like em or not they're one of the most important extreme metal bands of the 21st century, so shut up and listen.
PS: Dropping albums out of the blue with no promo like these guys do is the ultimate Chad move. They know you'll find them, they don't need to come to you.
-Nate
In Aphelion - Moribund
Edged Circle Productions
Necrophobic members teaming up with the drummer from newer upstarts Cryptosis to create some slick, no-frills black metal that really impressed the old guard here at MetalBite, with a lot of upbeat thrashy overtones to complement the classic black metal vibes.
Full reviews by Michael and Felix here.
-Nate
Sidious - Blackest Insurrection
Clobber Records
The UK black metal scene has come a long way in the last decade, and where once it was home to a handful of credible acts, and little more, it can now boast an enviable strength in depth, with a healthy underground producing forward-thinking extreme metal that can compete with the best that Scandinavia or the US can offer. Sidious swell the ranks further, with Blackest Insurrection, their third album, and follow-up to 2019's Temporal. Sidious's latest release is a more than solid combination of orthodox mid-tempo rolling minor key riffs, the whirring thrash chugs, and even some more atmospheric passages that recall the aforementioned Winterfylleth, or even their Cascadian cousins in the Pacific Northwest of the US. Even if Sidious have a little way to go before they reach the same level as veterans such as Marduk, Immortal, or 1349, this is the perfect album to tide over those of us bored of waiting for those bands to put out something new, and it might also attract the envious attention of the corpse-painted hordes that are still disappointed about Satyricon moving on from the Volcano era. This record is a reassuring example of contemporary black metal that sits squarely in the genre, but without chasing trends or descending too often into hackneyed riffs and melodies, and exudes the confidence of a band who know that they are only going to get better.
-Benjamin
METALBITE'S TOP 10 ALBUMS OF THE MONTH
10: Kostnatění - Oheň Hoří Tam, Kde Padl
Mystiskaos
Might have flown under the radar since it's an EP and didn't have a massive promo push, but this is a very interesting and unique slice of black metal-themed reinterpretations of Turkish folk music. The idea is very novel in theory, and is a much more restrained and cohesive affair than Hrůza Zvítězí. The discordant madness on that album seemed to forego all conventional notions of how dissonance (and tuning a guitar, for that matter) could be approached in extreme metal. There's still traces of that unsettling string warping that was all over the last album, but the melodies follow much more of a thread, and this also has a superior drumming by virtue of it being a live performance this time around. Jack Blackburn low-key has a stacked resume that includes Inferi, Enfold Darkness and Skaphe among a bunch of others, and he beefs up these three tracks real nicely, with a wide array of tight fills and and quick rapid-fire blast sections to seal any of the gaps, answering any questions anyone had about how Turkish folk would translate to dissonant black metal.
-Benjamin
MetalBite's Rating: 7.8/10
9: Hellbore - Panopticon
Self-released/Independent
The Artisan Era continued to solidify their monopoly on prog-tech-melodic wank metal with the new Arkaik album, but despite that being a fine release in its own right that earned an honorable mention, the superior listen and most obvious gut punch to come out of this subgenre in March was a little-known English project without any ties to any of the heavy hitters like TAE, Willowtip and Unique Leader.
The first band my brain immediately compares this to is Slugdge, both because of the British parallels and the approach they take to a modern extreme tech sound. There's lots of busy, prominent vocal lines mixed with acrobatic, Beyond Creation-esque lead guitars, even going into proggy clean bridges in some of the deeper cuts. All of that is contrasted with a big, booming yet muffled guitar tone that takes a dry, djenty approach similar to The Faceless or Soreption. This style is now just another one of many in the broad spectrum of metal, no longer being novel or under-saturated, but that's not a bad thing inherently. Hellbore did nothing to reinvent the style or push it forward, they just executed well within the genre's established confines, and I'd like to think that going with what you know and playing to your strengths generally gets you better results than failed experiments.
Bonus points because the drums on this are programmed and I didn't notice until I explicitly looked it up!
-Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 7.8/10
8: Godless Truth - Godless Truth
Transcending Obscurity Records
The trajectory of this band is interesting and makes for a very messy metal-archives page. They've been around since 1995 and have four full-lengths released between then and 2004, but the guitarist is their only constant and they completely overhauled their lineup some time in the mid-2010s, and the music is different enough that the similarities are only truly in name. In a sense, I consider this the band's debut, because they got a bunch of young blood to fill out the ranks, hooked up with the guy from Vomit Remnants for a logo and one of the most versatile labels for up-and-coming bands today in Transcending Obscurity to put out the album, and in most other ways fully developed and realized their sound. The fact that they chose to self-title the release tells me the band felt similarly.
The reborn Godless Truth is a fusion of oldschool and modern technical death, with shades of 90s extreme prog like Carcariass or Theory in Practice combined with mid-era Obscura, though always maintaining an edge and never fully crossing the bridge into saccharine melody and bass wanking. By straddling the two sounds, they also maintain that delicate balance tech-death needs to where it has to be fast and stimulating enough to keep up with the Archspires and Desecravitys of the world while still having enough restraint to make the music listenable. It feels like they just now are finding their sound after almost three decades of tinkering around with it, a true inspiration for any late bloomers or anyone who feels like they haven't found the right musicians to properly execute their vision. Turns out they might just be 20 years younger than you and haven't learned how to play an instrument yet.
-Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 7.9/10
7: Cryptworm - Spewing Mephitic Putridity
Me Saco Un Ojo Records / Pulverized Records
Perhaps more than any other genre, metal is an eternal tug of war between those forces that would shape the genre into new forms, splicing the raw genetic material provided by Black Sabbath, Judas Priest et al into their own sound, and those forces that seek to solidify and venerate the genre as it is. And perhaps metal needs this, perhaps the simultaneous reinforcing and breaking of existing boundaries is what keeps metal alive? All of which is a slightly roundabout way of saying that for those of us that enjoy switching between either end of the tug of war outlined above, there is an awful lot of satisfaction to be found in the discovery of new music that emulates and venerates something that we already hold dear, and that is absolutely the case with Cryptworm. The UK death metallers obviously worship at the foetid altar of early Carcass, Autopsy and any number of Scandinavian bands, and Spewing Mephitic Putridity is their take on that sound. While the wheel remains steadfastly un-reinvented here, it is the quality of the delivery which makes this album such a joy to listen to – the elastic, rolling riffs are frequently staggeringly good and amazingly memorable for a brand of death metal that generally relies on visceral thrill rather than considered compositional techniques. Overall, this is a triumphant slab of filth that is as infectious as some of the medical conditions that feature in the band's lyrics, and twice as deadly.
-Benjamin
MetalBite's Rating: 8/10
6: Aethyrick - Pilgrimage
The Sinister Flame
As far as I'm aware, this is the first time that a band has had multiple albums placed in our top 10 AOTM lists (I could count In Aphelion, but one of the write-ups was for an EP that preceded the eventual full length and it had some of the same songs).
Under the radar, Aethyrick is starting to become one of the more prolific bands in the Finnish scene, having put out four full-lengths in the last five years. That's not terribly uncommon for a black metal band, as the minimal, lo-fi aesthetics allow for less time spent in the studio and more time writing new songs, but what makes Aethyrick different is that their slew of albums released in a short time are…actually good? Like, they're listenable and don't bore you, and they don't have to resort to attention-grabbing experiments or random splicing of different sub-styles.
Pilgrimage is finely crafted black metal with no frills, which I find to be increasingly rare nowadays…it seems to get any kind of attention or hype, you have to play balls-to-the-wall jangleblack (Deathspell Omega), incorporate post-rock influence (Wolves in the Throne Room), or add an extra dollop of goth or post-punk to stand out (Lamp of Murmuur). Like their previous album Apotheosis, which I also enjoyed a fair deal, Aethyrick uses their smooth, flowing songwriting abilities to create songs that lock down your attention immediately, despite writing riffs that are essentially just more streamlined versions of October Falls verses. Maybe I just have a particular affinity for their riff style? I mean, that is the whole point of personally picking top albums of the month, after all…
-Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 8.1/10
5: Slægt - Goddess
Century Media
Dang, didn't know these fellas got picked up by the big dogs, I had fond memories of jamming their 2017 album Domus Mysterium which had a really nice mix of black metal and heavy metal influences that sat in a nice spot between catchines and extremity. Here's an excerpt from the full review of the album published earlier this month by our familiar friend Michael:
"Goddess is a challenging album that doesn't grab the listener in an instant. You need to engage yourself but it is overall a worthy pursuit. I had my difficulties with it at first but now I really like Goddess and am pretty thrilled about how the band is playing with their musical spices to create a dense and uncompromising atmosphere."
MetalBite's Rating: 8.3/10
4: Kvaen - The Great Below
Black Lion Records
"Black/speed metal" might give the impression of yet another sixth-rate Venom clone - that's what I kind of expected going in, anyway. This solo project grabs you and maintains your attention through sustaining energy while cycling through earworm riffs at a steady pace. The title track has some of the more generic, overtly 80s-influenced riffing present on the album, but fuck if it doesn't rip face way more than all these dime-a-dozen throwback acts. It's a 70/30 blend of black/speed metal respectively, which is an uncommon mixture - and judging by how effective this album is, it probably shouldn't be!
Full review by Michael here.
MetalBite's Rating: 8.3/10
3: Idol Of Fear - Trespasser
Somnolence Productions
I have become completely smitten with this band in a matter of a month after having no prior knowledge of their existence, despite them being a black metal band from my home province a mere 4 hour drive away. That's partially by design, mind you - Idol Of Fear don't perform live much, with the only evidence that they ever have graced the stage at all being an old event page from 6 or 7 years ago when they opened for Panzerfaust. That may be because Ontario isn't a region that's especially known for abstract, off-the-beaten-path black metal, but Idol Of Fear's relative obscurity may also simply be because this band is too fucking weird, and the world isn't yet ready for them.
Indeed, it's hard to find a direct comparable - while many have cited the later works of Emptiness, a Belgian black/death band that later evolved into a subtler beast with lots of post-punk influence and more focus on ambient minimalism, as a band with similar motifs, Idol Of Fear bring in their own interpretation of this unexplored realm of extreme metal. Right away, it feels different - riffs don't aggressively drive a song forward as the vocal point (as is the general standard), instead choosing to hang in this vacuous, tremolo-laden space, with the echoes and reverberations of the guitars gradually easing another layer into a song as the previously established one slips out of view.
The main aspect that keeps this eccentric outfit in its own realm is how the album is paced - it's a stark departure from the extreme metal songwriting trope of the build and release. Instead, songs circle a drain of eerie, genuinely unsettling emotions, highlighted by the drum performance and vocals. The rhythms always have a certain level of busyness to them, but never rise to the "double bass n' blasting" approach common in the genre. It kinda sounds like a doom metal drummer who always wants to do a fill, creating this stilted, stumbling base that somehow always manages to hit in the right spots to ground the performance. The vocals have a spoken-word quality to them, having less overt distortion and more breathy ranting in their delivery, in addition to being clearly enunciated. The despondent, wailing guitars combine with a haunting, carnivalesque overtone and it all creates uncomfortable emotions I didn't know music could adequately capture.
-Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 8.4/10
2: Aeviterne - The Ailing Facade
Profound Lore Records
Two ex-members of dissonant NYDM band Flourishing make up the core of this newer project, fleshed out with other folks from the already deep and competitive New York scene. I always thought they never really got their due - while Ulcerate's popularity escalated, Flourishing fizzled out, despite having their own gripping and intriguing take on the newer death metal that was coming about. The Sum of All Fossils is arguably a landmark album for the genre, and I don't hear about them much, but this should turn at least a few heads and get people talking about them again.
Aeviterne play a similar style, though natural changes come about with the new rhythm section. It's harrowing, atmosphere-focused death metal with a lot of dissonance, the unique feature being that the shrill side of the tension comes from the same places Coverge-esque post-hardcore does. It's really tasty in a way that a lot of stuff in this vein neglects in pursuit of a more technically layered, high-minded atmosphere - just listen to the way 'Denature' opens up the album. No meandering, no bullshit, just get to the riffs and riff hard. There are still more minimal sections used to draw out the atmosphere, but the focus and pacing in the songwriting is done to precision, and nothing overstays its welcome.
The vocals play a big role in why this digs its hooks into you as well - they've got a tonal, screechy underlining while simultaneously being incredibly consistent and smooth, very similar in their delivery to Horrendous or to a lesser extent At the Gates. Profound Lore has always been fond of the New Yorkers, and in lieu of a new Artificial Brain album (please put something new out soon, guys) this will scratch my itch for tastefully modern death metal while I wait.
-Nate
As the debut full-length from a cast of characters who have a background in some wildly differing bands (Artificial Brain / Fawn Limbs / Tombs) I wasn't sure what to expect from Aeviterne, other than that it was likely to be complex, challenging, and high quality. It is immediately apparent that all of the above is absolutely correct, and if anything, Aeviterne are even harder to digest than some of the members previous bands, their amorphous sound dripping through the hands of any listener foolhardy enough to try and grasp it for long enough to study closely. At its heart, Aeviterne's debut is complex and monolothic, but not exactly technical death metal, sharing elements of the kind of sound that Dead Congregation, or Immolation specialise in, without ever aping any other band too closely. There are also distinct hardcore and industrial influences gnawing at the fringes of the songs, not least in singer G.B.'s dry bark, and the clanging, metal-on-metal resonance of the pounding bass. Imagine Ulcerate sharing a rehearsal room with Integrity, while Godflesh look on, and you won't be too far away from conjuring the sort of noise that Aeviterne delight in spewing up from their collectively nauseated stomachs. As Aeviterne perhaps find a more singular voice over time, it will be fascinating to witness what could be an exciting evolution.
-Benjamin
MetalBite's Rating: 8.7/10
1: Downcross - Hexapoda Triumph
Cavum Atrum Rex
Hexapoda Triumph, Downcross's fourth album since the release of their debut in 2019, is a superb release, full of memorable moments, even without the huge contribution of the oddball invention and ingenuity that serves elevate the record to the higher echelons of 2022's black metal releases. There is an uncontrived weirdness to the Downcross sound that makes their songs compellingly unusual, without ever straying into avant-garde, or dissonant territories. The album has the same arcane quality that you find in records by similarly esoteric artists from Eastern Europe such as Root, Negura Bunget or Master's Hammer, a quality which makes it recognisably black metal, but played by musicians who are coming to the form from a completely different perspective and alternative history, producing a natural, but utterly bizarre take on the form. Happily merging NWOBHM-style riffs and thrash grooves, all criss-crossed by brittle tremolo runs utilising unfamiliar intervals and scales, the album is also an absolute haven of headbanging riffs, and perfectly balances the visceral thrill of scything black metal with less immediate, but equally important touches of magic, bringing an intrigue and mystery that will ensure that the listener keeps returning to what is a startling and enthralling album. Hexapoda Triumph shows that the underground still contains some unmined gems, and it will enrich the life of anyone who searches hard enough to uncover a real treasure.
-Benjamin
MetalBite's Rating: 9.1/10
Thank you for visiting! Check out previous lists from this year:
Entered: 4/1/2022 11:23:13 AM
2.96k
MetalBite's Top 10 Albums of the Month - April 2022
Welcome back to MetalBite's Top 10 albums of the Month. April is always a really good month for new releases. Spring is here, shows are slowly getting back to what they used to be, and love is in the air. Let's cut the shit and get right to it.
-Nate
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Terzij De Horde - In One Of These, I Am Your Enemy
Consouling Sounds
I'm writing new bass lines for the post-black band I play in, so I need to listen to more of this shit again and get back into the game, I've been too infatuated with tech-disso-prog death lately. This is cool and starting to pull me back into the groove. It's tense yet subtly delicate and evocative, but still maintains an edge like they could lash out at you in fury at any moment (and they occasionally do). Also I always appreciate when the vocals sit in a more faded spot in the mix like they are here - if all you hear is vocals, a lot of the things I like to appreciate about riffs and drum patterns get drowned out in a sea of AAAAA and EEEEEE.
-Nate
Undeath - It's Time…To Rise From The Grave
Prosthetic Records
Okay, I fucking loved Lesions Of A Different Kind, it was one of my top 10 albums of 2020, but for some reason I just…don't feel this as much? It sounds like they started writing album 2, ran out of fresh ideas halfway through… but they already had all this hype behind them and had started touring more, so they filled the gaps by ripping off early 2000s era Cannibal Corpse. It's got moments where it pulls me back in (the single 'Rise From The Grave' is undoubtedly a banger), and I like it fine when it's on, but it seems like most of my enjoyment of it is just residual effects from how much the last album slapped. I dunno, maybe it'll grow on me.
There's enough that draws me in to warrant an honorable mention, at the very least. I do hear these guys translate well to the live stage too.
-Nate
Kraanium / Existential Dissipation - Polymorphic Chamber Of Human Consumption
CDN Records
Two slam bands slamming some of the slammiest slams that ever slammed. Existential Dissipation is the newer, younger group on the block, but honestly, they show up the veterans on this one. Kraanium's drummer is insane and they crank out the big chungus riffs like they always do, but their guitar tone is a bit flat and they lack the ping of the snare that Polymorphic Chamber brings in. ExD also has a more snaking, technical edge to their stops and transitions, with the occasional air of early Defeated Sanity or Severed Savior in the clanging, slapping bass lines and the way they use quick triplet timings to grind between and transition through riffs.
Long story short: it's got the br00tals. It's also unfortunately the swansong of vocalist Bob Shaw, who passed away not long after recording the parts for this album. He's sent off with a sickeningly low, yet irresistibly smooth gore purr, with a tone that sounds like a more professional version of Torsofuck (lol) or maybe American Disgorge with a bit more wetness and less breath. We lost a good one, that's for sure.
-Nate
Sentient Horror - Rites Of Gore
Redefining Darkness Records
From Stockholm, New Jersey the deathly quartet spit forth their third full-length album. Titles like 'A Faceless Corpse', 'The Grave Is My Home' (song title of the year!!!) or 'Till Death Do Us Rot' sound quite old-school and fans of the style won't be disappointed. The Swedish influences are, of course, apparent in every track - a little bit Entombed here, some Carnage there, and don't forget the Vomitory riffs serving as the blueprint for the punishing parts. There's also some Autopsy influence on songs like 'Rites Of Gore', you know - these slightly doomy, somewhat bluesy parts. In comparison to their previous albums they aren't honing their technical chops as much, but instead focus only on that brutal Swedeath feeling. The album closer/bonus track is 'Supposed To Rot' by Entombed - it's kept very much to the original version, a really cool way to end the album. The production was done by Dan Swanö- who else? The only point of criticism is that the vocals are kept a little bit too much in the background in comparison to the instruments.
-Michael
Miseration - Black Miracles And Dark Wonders
Massacre Records
I used to be a huge Christian Alvestam fanboy - when I was in my early teens, Holographic Universe was one of my favorite albums ever (still holds up, to be honest). He not only has a super-smooth, resonant growl, but also a great natural singing voice, and he's not shy about switching up between the two frequently in songs - so much so that the strain of playing Scar Symmetry songs live made him quit. I still consider him to be one of the best clean/harsh hybrid vocalists in music today (Strid who?).
Now, when Alvestam did quit my favorite band at the time, I didn't see it as a huge blow because he had at least a half-dozen other projects he was involved with at the time, Miseration being one of the best among them. And then…he didn't really do much with those, either. Solution .45 put out a few albums, but that was always the most boring and hook-reliant of his bands anyway. The Few Against Many did nothing after their excellent and promising debut album. He had some solo project come out as well (Svavelvinter), but it was definitely a thin trickle of albums compared to the barrage of quality listening I expected based on how much different stuff this musical polymath seems to occupy his time with. Miseration was one of the few bands that seemed like they would steadily churn out a long list of great albums, but then they didn't do anything for…ten years? Jeez, has it really been that long?
This has a bit more synths and clean vocals that I came to expect out of this project - the angelic singing were more of an occasional spice, but here they stick out as a bit more prominent. The draw of Miseration was that it was more punishing and death metal-oriented than Scar Symmetry, but this teeters riiiight on that line between integrating some melody to keep it fresh and relying on hooks to carry a song at time. That being said, this doesn't skimp on the meaty riffs by any means, and some of the songs feature some of Alvie's most dextrous and detailed harsh vocal lines ever. Thi isn't my album of the year by any means, but it's a solid little slab of kinda-melodic death metal that reminded me this band existed (if you haven't heard their earlier albums, take some time to do so, they kick ass).
Vimur - Transcendental Violence
Boris Records
I've been silently following the output of these Atlantans for a little while, although admittedly they weren't much on my radar until I saw this album dropped. Vimur are the kings of really good generic black metal - it's nothing you haven't heard from other bands, but it's delivered with such efficiency and careful attention to pacing and arrangement that it never matters anyway. Their third album demonstrates how evolution and progression can arise through simple refinement of what's already there. They haven't changed their core sound, but everything about Transcendental Violence feels more refined, punchy and improved over previous full-lengths.
METALBITE'S TOP 10 ALBUMS OF THE MONTH
10: Dischordia - Triptych
Transcending Obscurity Records
More madness from T.O. in a style of janky, techy, abrasive dissodeath that the label seems well on its way to patenting these days, what with releasing new albums from bands like Diskord, Replicant, Hateful, Orphalis, and probably a couple of others that I'm forgetting. Where some of those bands might just like to linger in an unsettling space for a while, Dischordia like to make it hurt. Occasionally something resembling a coherent lead will pop up, but it's quickly buried under multiple duelling layers of guitar echoes and a haphazard drum skeleton. It's a mosaic where you appreciate the parts more for how they bleed into your head and interact with one another all the while. I'm using a lot of words to describe what is essentially just extra mathcore influence in tech-death, but there's a subterranean grime to the bass tone and low, cavernous vocals that make it feel like a slightly downtuned version of The Red Chord. Since they're probably not putting anything out ever again, this is about as good as it's gonna get - which is still quite good, mind you.
-Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 7.8/10
9: Spiteful Visions - Spiteful Visions
Self-released/Independent
This kind of thing tingles my heart and I already want to like it before it's released. Formed out of the compositions of Stuart Selter, who passed away about a year ago, Spiteful Visions is an effort by some of his former bandmates and friends to pay tribute to him and also let something he created be immortalized.
That's a noble enough cause to give this a shout-out for, but I wouldn't be putting it in this top 10 list if it didn't kick a righteous amount of ass, and that's why it's really here. The guitar licks are all sorts of tasty, with a certain Inferi-esque quality (the more melodic side, anyway) mixed with some tendencies taken from Stuart's former melodic death metal group Aetheric. Brett MacIntosh, known for being the bassist/frontman of prog-death group Aepoch, handles standalone vocal duties for this one, really letting his thick, hollow low come out, in addition to putting some extra chops into the vocal lines while keeping the appropriate amount of balance to let the riffs breathe. This is likely going to be a one-off project (considering the main songwriter is no longer with us) but either way, don't sleep on it - it's an excellent EP and a worthy tribute.
-Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 7.9/10
8: Viande - L'abime Dévore Les Âmes
Transcending Obscurity Records
Sooner or later, the head honchos behind Transcending Obscurity will realize my entire reviewing career is just a long con to meddle my way into becoming the label's official hype man. I don't care what they put out or what genre it's in, I'll eat it up like it's Cardi B's ass right in my face.
This time it's oppressive, vaguely sludgy black/death metal from France. The dismal and anti-melodic atmosphere has an air of the Canadian dissodeath scene a la Auroch and Mitochondrion, but with less fretwork and more visceral hammering on a single note. While this is professionally played and produced, it has flickers of spacious, open-sandbox type songwriting, which is where most of the sludge comparisons are coming in. It's a Portal album written by Eyehategod that overcomes the obtuse nature of the former, and leaves behind the sheer contempt for the listener that is a hallmark of the NOLA sludge vets. Though varied and willing to take its time to sit in the uncomfortable atmosphere it creates, Viande's intent is never to exhaust or bore you. Nonetheless, this is dense and might take some time to fully get into, but at the end of the day it's got a lot more you can latch onto than most of the dissodeath and sludge it's influenced by.
-Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 7.9/10
7: Analepsy - Quiescence
Miasma Records
Atrocities From Beyond is one of the better slam albums put out in the 2010s, but it was going to be interesting to see how the band's mainman Marco Martins adjusted to having a completely new lineup record the full-length with him five years later. Turns out he probably wrote all the songs to begin with, because Quiescence adds versatility and a more rounded dimension to Analepsy's signature brand of busy yet super groovy brutal death metal. They're always slamming, but with forward momentum and a lot of little groovy textures in the chugging. The new guitarists pull out some wicked leads without compromising the sheer bludgeoning force of the grooves.
-Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 8/10
6: Watain - The Agony And Ecstasy Of Watain
Nuclear Blast
Although they have sometimes been the focus for a certain amount of ire from elements of the black metal scene that consider any level of popularity or mainstream acclaim as heretical (often despite continuing to champion other such underground acts as Immortal or Venom), Watain have been one of black metal's 21st century success stories, their incendiary live shows and albums such as the classic Lawless Darkness positioning them firmly among the elite. The best moments on this album come when the band lean heavily into the florid and propulsive guitar work that cannot avoid the Dissection comparison, with 'Leper's Grace' and 'Serpentrion' significant highlights for this reason. The level of quality throughout is admirably high, with a good balance between the kind of furious lightning-speed passages that recall the Swedes' earlier albums such as Rabid Death's Curse with the more infectious and technical instrumental sections that allow the album to stand comparison with the seminal Lawless Darkness. The Agony And Ecstasy Of Watain does not quite hit the majestic heights of that record, but it is certainly the band's best for a decade, and a worthy addition to what is now an impressively strong back catalogue.
-Benjamin
After a total flop called The Wild Hunt and the more promising album Trident Wolf Eclipse Watain are back on track. The opener 'Ecstasies In The Night Infinite' is sheer black metal fury at its best. Icy riffing with exploding drums and hateful vocals make a definitive statement in the battle for the black metal throne of 2022. 'Serimosa' shows a more melodic facet of the Swedes combined with dissonant riffing that leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. That is black metal - Agony and Ecstasy go hand in hand here. Another worth mentioning track is the last one - 'Sepentrion'. This one could have also been on Lawless Darkness because of its driving riffing and more accessible composition.
The album consists of many different layers. There are three facets to the Swedish heavyweights on this album. One is the furious black metal aspect, the second is their catchy side, and the third one is the very thoughtful yet depressing side that Watain show on songs like 'Not Sun, Not Man, Not God' and 'We Remain'. The latter track is supported by amazing guest vocals from Farida Lemouchi (ex The Devil's Blood). Let's hope that Watain keep on performing this way and don't stumble back into a not so wild hunt for fame.
-Michael
MetalBite's Rating: 8.1/10
5: The Spirit - Of Clarity And Galactic Structures
Art of Propaganda
It seems like The Spirit got tired of being called a German Dissection, because their new album attempts to transition the band's sense of melody into slower-building and unconventional song structures. As a result, a lot of those rolling tremolo riffs are gone, so those of you that appreciated the more straightforward black metal tendencies of Cosmic Terror might be thrown off by this, but Of Clarity and Galactic Structures has a wider range of motion and holds your attention span longer as a result.
Their previous album was great, but it was top-heavy, with the first few tracks being outstanding and the remainder of the album struggling to hold your attention. Of Clarity And Galactic Structures spaces out the bursts of melodic energy to create something that won't hit you with the same immediacy, instead preferring a rise-and-fall over multiple tracks. For example, the song 'Repression' is a mediocre, meandering piece when listened to out of context, but when you realize that it's immediately followed by an active, riffy track in 'Celestial Fire', you can make much more sense of it. Sometimes they wander a bit too far out of the way without really coming to a conclusion, which causes a few moments on this to miss the mark, but overall this is a solid and capable follow-up from a band that I'm eagerly going to continue to follow as they grow and evolve even more.
-Nate
We are nothing in this universe, not even a grain of sand. This is the message of the third full-length album by the German duo The Spirit. But even if we are nothing, at least we get to enjoy Of Clarity And Galactic Structures.
This German group started with black metal quite similar to Dissection but this has changed with this new output. They put the focus more onto technical finesse and some tricky songwriting structures and timings, using some 7/4 or 7/8 signatures in 'Arcane Wanderer'. This may not be interesting for the normal listener but the band tried to make a push to be ambitious and make something more creative and challenging to listen to. Of course you can still find black metal on the album but there is always this progressive component that swings along with it. All the tracks are kept in the mid-tempo area, with small increases in speed and slower, gothic moments that bring to mind early Parsdise Lost.
Of Clarity And Galactic Structures is an album that wants to be explored like space and this cannot happen within one listening session. Become one with the album and enjoy the musical universe of The Spirit.
-Michael
MetalBite's Rating: 8.4/10
4: Pharmacist - Flourishing Extremities On Unspoiled Mental Grounds
Bizarre Leprous Production
Pharmacist exist in that strange space that is permitted in especially niche areas of the metal underground, whereby they take a sound that is intrinsically associated with a single band, and base their own career on this, as if they represent some kind of alternative future for the band that so inspired them. In their case, that band is Carcass, specifically the Carcass that recorded Necroticism – Descanting The Insalubrious, and in the same way that other bands have carved their own very respectable career taking Entombed, Discharge, or Celtic Frost as their lodestone, so do Pharmacist look to be capable of doing exactly the same with the UK gore-grind godfathers. And with Carcass themselves having moved (very successfully) into more melodic death metal territories with their post-reformation releases, it is hard to argue that there is not a place for a band like Pharmacist to provide their own spin on a sound that the originators left behind long before its possibilities were exhausted. All of this abstract sophistry ultimately leads us to the important question though: is it any good? Happily, the answer is that it is utterly superb, both a thrilling recreation of something very familiar, but also a compelling listen in its own right. Flourishing Extremities On Unspoiled Mental Grounds brings all of the elastic and strangely groovy grind riffing that anyone could rightly expect, combined with the pyrotechnic leads of guest six-stringer Andrew Lee. Things get really exciting though when the Japanese grinders add their own twist to recipe, and in so doing, create something intriguingly original. This suggests that Pharmacist are ready to bury the Carcass for good, standing on the precipice of transcending their origins, and flourishing as a unique death metal juggernaut in their own right. Time will tell if that turns out to be the case, but in the here and now, Flourishing Extremities… is more than good enough to keep gore maniacs happy.
-Benjamin
MetalBite's Rating: 8.4/10
3: Dawohl - Leviathan
Dolorem Records
This is a debut album, but this French group is by no means made up of novices, featuring known scene veterans Eloi Nicod and Thomas Hennequin. The former helped put one of the better tech-death albums of 2021 out with The Scalar Process, and the latter has many credits to his name over the past decade or so, the most notable of which would be Aosoth and Merrimack, with some live performances for Antaeus sprinkled in.
Normally I'd be wary of newer musicians attempting such a refined, uncompromising style, but Dawohl brings a fresh, tasty voice to the Marduk/Angelcorpse school of blastbeat-overloaded black/death metal. It takes all of 3 seconds for the presence of a song to be felt, with the nicely balanced production job (great fucking drum tones on here!) allowing the maelstrom to effortlessly glide through your eardrums. The tempo shifts (I would call them "breakdowns" but it doesn't seem fitting for a band in this style) are placed perfectly and are almost guaranteed to get your head nodding.
In a style like this, it can be hard for bands to create a distinct feeling that makes them stand out. Dawohl overcomes this hurdle by having a surprisingly discernible melodic undercurrent in their songs - though it's all couched in an overwhelming maelstrom of speed, guitar lines have a very clear path that can be followed, with occasional traces of mid-period Watain in the higher register melodies. Though everything's right in your face, the production and songwriting is very tight and streamlined, which is why I can listen to Leviathan all the way through and still feel like I have enough energy for another go. I don't always want a Concrete Winds-esque waveform brick to the face, because that can leave me feeling completely overstimulated and exhausted at times - this strikes a better balance between unhinged ferocity and tasteful song construction.
This stands out among a sea of cacophonous but indiscernible speedfreaks, but I expected no less going in - Dolorem Records has been quietly making a name for themselves by curating some of the tastiest blasturbation coming out of France right now. Nephren-Ka, Creeping Fear, Huronian and Storm Upon the Masses have all put out great stuff, and the label doesn't seem to be showing any signs of slowing down either (musically or productively). Get on them before they get too trendy and sell out of all their merch!
-Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 8.4/10
2: Abhorrent Expanse - Gateways To Resplendence
Amalgam Music / Lurker Bias
It's not often a dedicated seeker of extreme sounds comes across new music that truly sounds different from anything else currently being released, but the debut album by US quartet Abhorrent Expanse is one such example. Abhorrent Expanse are that rarest of beasts, a truly improvisational extreme metal band, and Gateways To Resplendence captures the frankly terrifying output of a group of astonishingly competent musicians, as adept at building screeds of ambient noise and drone as they are at churning out roiling, dissonant death metal riffs. Somewhere between Ephel Duath, Krallice, and Gnaw Their Tongues, Gateways To Resplendence is what Imperial Triumphant have been heading towards for a couple of albums now, but have lacked the courage to truly throw themselves into, always pulling back into something comparatively accessible at the point at which they threaten to lose the shackles altogether. That is not intended to be a criticism of the superb New York jazz-metallers, but more an indication of just how out-there Abhorrent Expanse are, heading into far-flung solar systems, while their peers are comfortable within the confines of the Milky Way. Gateways To Resplendence will not be for everyone, but those that they do connect with will likely find the connection unbreakable and endlessly rewarding.
-Benjamin
MetalBite's Rating: 9/10
1: Inanna - Void of Unending Depths
Memento Mori
To be frank, nothing in 2022 has truly blown my socks off yet. There have been a few really strong albums that I remember well and will keep coming back to, but I haven't heard an album yet that just made me sit there in awe for a few tracks, completely locked in and unable to turn it off, immediately knowing it would be an AOTY contender…well, until now anyway.
Inanna are a Chilean band that is well regarded, albeit somewhat obscure and unknown as they've been relatively inactive for a decade. Their style, while multifaceted and amorphous, is relatively easy to describe because of the distinct flavor the guitars have: it's like a more melodic Immolation, with the vocals in particular mimicking Dolan's tone and delivery. This is balanced out with wandering, progressive thrash sections, comparable to The Chasm with extra psychedelia. It's maddening and discordant, with incredible builds into wild, layered atmosphere grounded by addictive guitarwork that doesn't forget to riff. Suffering Hour is one of the few modern bands I could say this reminds me of, and even then, there's much more of a "death metal" vibe with this overall. In fact, the band adamantly rejects any subgenres to describe their music other than "death metal", full stop. This is despite the fact that their music has a layered, almost ethereal and uplifting vibe at times owing to what are almost certainly 70s prog influences. In the end, the resulting atmosphere is exactly what death metal should be: that entropic, undefinable thing Cynic, Immolation, mid-era Death and Atheist were going for, but with a facelift informed by some tricks from the modern underground.
Void of Unending Depths arrives 10 years after their stunning sophomore full-length Transfigured In A Thousand Delusions, on an up-and-coming label focused on the spirit of the oldschool that seems to operate exclusively through mailorder, in an apparent attempt to recreate the early days of buying albums online. It's a fitting means of promoting an obscure yet highly regarded group such as this - even the experience of acquiring this album has an OSDM aesthetic. With a band like this that releases albums at the pace of Funebrarum and makes you hunt for physicals of their stuff, you know whatever they do provide you is going to be nothing but absolutely top notch shit.
This third album does come with slightly more streamlined rhythms and a more vacuous, drawn-out atmosphere than the technical, riff-driven maelstrom that was the previous full-length. This may be due to the band's first-ever significant lineup change - longtime skinsman Felipe Zara apparently left the band prior to this full-length after 17 years of service. He left behind some incredible performances and tough shoes to fill. No worries! Since Inanna are better musicians than you (and also probably realized it's easier to replace a guitarist than it is a drummer), guitarist Carlos Fuentes just said "fuck it, I'll do it" and switched to drums himself, and you barely notice the difference. His performance is more than competent and serves the music incredibly well, and the band shifted from aggressive to brooding to accompany the shift in playing style, which opened the door for even denser harmonies and more powerful emotional climaxes.
Like any truly great album, there are no weak songs, each new track brings its own distinct vibe and has a different reason why it's great. Opener 'Evolutionary Inversion' has a melody and constant sense of catharsis so beautiful it nearly brings you to tears…and then the second track completely switches gears and pulverizes you with nasty, ripping tremolo and chugs straight out of the 80s with some of those Chasm vibes spliced in. 'The Key To Alpha Centauri' has a phenomenal sense of pacing and slowly adds more melody and contrasting elements to create a surreal and powerful atmosphere, and the epic closer 'Cabo De Hornos' feels half as long as it does and has a terrific middle section packed with some of the tastiest licks on the album.
I'm not going to jump the gun and call this my 2022 Album of the Year right off the bat, but if Void Of Unending Depths doesn't at least place in the top 5, that means it's going to be an unprecedentedly amazing year for music, let me put it that way. This is stunning, I don't want to listen to anything other than Inanna and I'm probably going to have this feeling for weeks, and I'm also going to desperately track down any physicals of their discography and hope they don't end up costing me hundreds of dollars. What a fucking album!
-Nate
MetalBite's Rating: 9.3/10
Thanks for stopping by! View all the past lists from this year here:
Entered: 5/2/2022 12:52:29 PM
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