Dutch death metallers SINISTER unveiled a new lyric video for 'Blood Soaked Domain' that comes from their upcoming album Syncretism, out on February 24th, 2017 via Massacre Records.

Sinister - Syncretism
	1. Neurophobic 2. Convulsion Of Christ 3. Blood Soaked Domain 4. Dominance By Acquisition 5. Syncretism 6. Black Slithering Mass 7. Rite Of The Blood Eagle 8. The Canonical Rights 9. Confession Before Slaughter

Welcome back to MetalBite's top 10 albums of the month! As you might expect, now that spring is here, the floodgates are open and we're back to desperately trying to give shout-outs to all the music worth listening to out there. Some seriously good shit missed the cut for the Top 10. Make sure you dig into the honorable mentions too, because a lot of the time there's very little separating them from the albums that "made the list" in terms of quality. Let's get freaky!

-Nate

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Rites Of Regress - Dust
Third Eye Temple

Norwegian/Polish band Rites Of Regress displays a very somber but also teeth-grinding heavy blackened doom metal with a heavily distorted aura surrounding it, expressed through its doomy guitar riffs, slow but commanding and banging drums, and heavily distorted harsh vocals. The songs really have that ominous vibe which dictates the forthcoming darkest hour where nothing is real but death and horror, and only true fear knows what it awaits. It's hard to summarize how I feel about this album, because on the one hand I liked it very much, but on the other hand I wished that we could have gotten a bit more out of it, with maybe just a couple more tracks that could have expanded the tracklist. However, despite all that I have just said, that doesn't mean that this album isn't great on its own, because it certainly did a very good job at presenting an attractive piece of work that should definitely be carried over to the band's future releases that could potentially offer more.
-Vlad

Pestilential Shadows - Devil's Hammer
Northern Silence

I'll admit I didn't spend as much time with this as I wanted to (I've been in more of a tech death and death/doom mood than a black metal mood lately) but this is worth a mention given how I fell in love with Revenant, the preceding album to this one. This is a bit more active and aggressive, almost feeling like a different band at times, but I get the sense that this Aussie group tries their best to never write the same album twice while still keeping the base sound they've developed over the years. They've still got a keen ear for melody and a sense of how to generate atmosphere through great riffwork as opposed to forcing ethereal synths on top of mediocrity.
-Nate

Haunt - Dreamers
Independent

Haunt yet again rides and dominates with some incredibly catchy bangers full of heaviness, melody and strength of steel, with powerful and emotional vocals by Trevor William Church which add a lot of emotion and more dimension to the music. The songs express so many personal feelings which are mixed with themes of supernatural and fantasy, while keeping constant track on rocking out with all heavy metal power and glory. Interesting thing about Haunt and how Trevor writes every new material is that it feels like each track on the album was meant to be a hit song or a heavy metal anthem, mostly due to the uplifting spirit that flows through every chorus and every riff. Haunt's overall musical simplicity truly manages to remain expressive and effective throughout the entirety of the album, while also leaving plenty of space for new ideas that have not been used before or not to a certain extent. If one could ever find anything to fault about their work, it is only because they just can't enjoy simple things and are probably looking for a needle in a haystack. I think I enjoyed Dreamers more than Golden Arm, mostly due to the fact that it has plenty of likeable stuff on here and then some, but I still think that it's not really worth comparing their albums because they are mostly staying faithful to their oldschool heavy metal songwriting formula. I feel like Haunt only wishes to expand their story by adding new chapters with every album that comes out, without leaving the fans feeling empty or unimpressed in the end, which I think deserves immense support and respect from those who swear in the name of "New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal".
-Vlad

Skeletal Remains - Fragments Of The Ageless
Century Media Records

Skeletal Remains evolved in a very interesting way. Their early material had Asphyx and early Death written all over it, and gradually fine-tuned their material to be even more hateful and aggressive. This has culminated in this, their 5th full-length album, a relentless and brutal beast that leaves no room for breath. Gone are the Death references, gone are the Dutch trademarks now there is only super heavy riffing and lots of late Vincent/early Steve Tucker era Morbid Angel worship. The guitar solos also call to these influences, and the result is a very unpleasant and uncompromising album that is heavy as fuck and relentlessly beats you down without mercy.
-Michael

Fathomless Ritual - Hymns For The Lesser Gods
Transcending Obscurity Records

Brendan Dean is turning into the weirdo Canadian version of Rogga Johansson real quick. Besides this project, which he did everything except for the artwork for (drum programming, mixing/mastering, you name it), he also has Gutvoid, Pukewraith and Fumes as current creative outlets (among a handful of others), and also had brief stints in Pronostic and Brought by Pain on bass in the early 2010s. Unlike Rogga, he's more selective and diverse with his creative outlets - although it definitely seems like his preferred go-to nowadays is old-school death metal with hints of doomy, psychedelic atmospheres.

Fathomless Ritual has a couple things that make it stand out from Dean's other work, even on cursory listens - the general vibe is noticeably more uptempo, with less deliberate crawling, and the Demilich vibes are a distinct and definitive part of this album. It's got that delicious bounce that we've come to know and love. Cryptworm and Dead and Dripping are good comparisons - it's good to see that bands taking influence from Nespithe are now common enough that there's almost a new sub-subgenre of death metal forming. It's fun, but always maintains enough obtuse weirdness to keep it from becoming too hokey.

There's not a ton of variety - Hymns For The Lesser Gods finds a niche and sticks to it for the entire duration. It will be interesting to see if there's enough ideas behind Fathomless Ritual to expand and develop further on a second album, or if Dean will just get bored and move onto another project. Regardless, it executes well, does what it needs to and if you're a fan of any of the bands I mentioned above you'll almost certainly enjoy this.
-Nate

Severoth - Шляхом Світла
Avantgarde Music

One of my favorite newer one man atmoblack projects. This one is a bit more dreamy and a bit less soul-crushing than the previous album, with the drums buried more in the mix this time around. I do prefer Vsesvit (the album that got me into the project) a bit more, but this is still a fine piece of work that's great for studying, chilling, being carried off into alternate realms etc.
-Nate

Coffin Storm - Arcana Rising
Peaceville Records

Coffin Storm does indeed provide a lot of wicked heavy and doom metal elements consisted of solid catchy riffing enriched with guitar melodies, with drums in a slower tempo and epic singing vocals by Fenriz that were often incorporated in Isengard and also a couple of Darkthrone songs in the later era, particularly The Underground Resistance. Although on first-hand it may sound a bit too familiar, with there being a strong resemblance to Darkthrone's recent works with the heavy and doom-laden style since Old Star, regardless of the fact you will manage to hear hear a lot of influences throughout the entire album, coming from bands such as Manilla Road, Pentagram, Candlemass, Witchfinder General, Saint Vitus, mid-tempo elements of Celtic Frost, Metallica and Kreator, as well as musical nods to early Paradise Lost & Cathedral. There is a strong emphasis on simplicity in the band's songwriting, but still quite dynamic with all the tempo changes and transitions between each section. All of the songs stand out in their own way thanks to the incredibly heavy riffing that is without a doubt the biggest highlight of this album. Overall, Arcana Rising is very enjoyable and very pleasant to listen to from start to finish, presenting itself as a nice and charming love letter to the 80's classics. The three Norwegian metal titans have proven successful in their mission to unite their forces and create one powerful spell that will bewitch the excited fans, and I am very glad to see Coffin Storm proving itself to be a one nasty son of a bitch.
-Vlad

Apogean - Cyberstrictive
The Artisan Era

Nice Zenith Passage style grooves, always love it when bands have some of those, and this at least has a bit more chonk than some of the more recent Artisan Era releases. Mac Smith is a monster vocalist and adds a bit of flair to anything he's a part of. I do wish this was like 10-20bpm faster a lot of the time, but it's nonetheless solid enough to get a passing grade from this tech-head.
Bonus points for these dudes being local to my home province, hopefully I can play a show with em at some point!
-Nate

Volcandra - The Way Of Ancients
Prosthetic Records

Really solid melodic black metal with hints of death metal and thrash scattered about, sort of like Skeletonwitch but with more "elegant sword'n'sorcery" instead of "thrash nerd after six beers" vibes. They've always had enough surface appeal in their riffs, that's why Prosthetic took notice, but sometimes it felt a little disjointed - like they were including every good idea that they had. The Way Of Ancients feels more like a full album, they trimmed the fat without getting any less riffy and it helps to highlight the individual talents of each member. The guitarists are tight and have a wider range of motion, and drummer Mike Hargrave and vocalist Dave Palenske are seriously underrated given what they bring to the table. They'll never dominate a song, but always do exactly what it needs to. The faster skinwork is tight and tasty, and Palenske's diction and enunciation has always been incredibly sharp, and it's only underscored more here.

I'm still waiting for that moment where this hits me right in my soul and forces me to sing the praises of Volcandra to everyone I know, but that being said, they're doing everything right. It's going to come. I'll keep following this band diligently because I know they're on the verge of a true breakout - it took Artificial Brain a few albums before I finally felt like they hit that point, even though they were always very good.
-Nate

Civerous - Maze Envy
20 Buck Spin

There's been a lot of really good death/doom this year. Where Spectral Voice slow drips a cubic mile of lead until it completely crushes and disintegrates you, Civerous is much more of a "meat grinder" style of death/doom - more actively churning, can stop on a dime to go from the speedy moments into a crushing breakdown and then back again, and don't take as long to get to the point, but lead you on into listening to the full song through a series of interesting garnishes. The album title is fitting, the songs are constructed in a very maze-like manner - confounding yet cohesive and with a lot of attention to detail. Above all, they have that flavour to their riffing that's just impossibly heavy, eschewing all melodiousness during the more active moments to underscore the beauty in the clean breaks like 'Endless Symmetry' or the emotive surge in 'Labyrinth Charm'.
-Nate

Bruce Dickinson - The Mandrake Project
BMG

From the get-go, the album already starts out pretty strong with 'Afterglow Of Ragnarok' that has already served its purpose as a fine album teaser, but the following 'Many Doors To Hell' and 'Rain On The Graves' is where you truly start to feel like this album is going somewhere and you don't know where to exactly, because each of these songs has its own identity and sort of surprise factor that really makes you wonder what comes next. There is a big sense of storytelling and chapter progression as the album goes, presented in this turbulent ride to the strange and alien world created by the visionary mastermind within Bruce himself. This album has a lot of various ideas that enriched the songwriting and made it feel quite dynamic and unexpecting, bouncing back and forth with themes of mythology, occultism and personal subjects, making every song shine on its own while also transforming the album into a big turbulent rollercoaster. This joyride certainly has a lot of interesting moments that a listener can embrace with all their heart, which goes far out from what one could expect after hearing the singles 'Afterglow Of Ragnarok' and 'Rain On The Graves'. Those singles have done a pretty good job as album teasers, but they didn't exactly give away what the album sounds like because of the stylistic differences between songs, and that has often been the case of Bruce Dickinson's solo work with a lot of variety and experimenting. Overall, The Mandrake Project turned out to be a very interesting and enjoyable output that exceeded all my expectations. Looking back at the album catalog of Bruce Dickinson's solo work, I have to say that I never ended up feeling disappointed or unamused, and so comes this new album to rightfully take its place among his predecessors.
-Vlad

Gottmaschine - Kyberneth
Independent

Gottmaschine once again unloads all the cannons with commanding blackened death metal in a strong military fashion which burst into flame with rapid-fire blast beats with frequent double-bass drumming, tremolo picking riffs and harsh growling vocals that altogether form a great symphony of destruction on the battlefields. Their songwriting remains mostly similar to that of their previous self-titled debut album, however by expanding it further with a couple of these interesting inclusions they did a good job at making everything just a bit more dynamic and engaging. All the songs are very enjoyable to listen to, with each song feeling like a dangerous weapon or a call to arms that is filled with marching and stomping, altogether leaving no prisoners behind. Surprised to say, this EP does feel like a standalone expansion to their self-titled debut that sticks to the musical and thematic formula of its predecessor, showing a great deal of potential for things that may come in the future. It is very much a "Panzer Division Marduk" driven experience but in a much more contemporary direction that takes its work seriously without ridiculing and without pretentiousness. If you haven't yet heard the band Gottmaschine, I suggest that you check out their self-titled debut album and then jump straight into Kyberneth.
-Vlad

Hideous Divinity - Unextinct
Century Media Records

The speed of this album is pummeling and blistering, as you have likely come to expect from Hideous Divinity, but on Unextinct there's a wider scope and range of motion which highlights the band's growth as songwriters, all the while retaining their vicious, intense core. It's an overwhelming album with a lot of little quirks and rabbit holes that are going to take some more time for me to explore. I missed their last North American tour, these dudes need to come back very very soon!!!
-Nate

Dodsrit - Nocturnal Will
Wolves Of Hades / Argento Records

A little-known fact about my taste is that the album Imperivm by Ictus is one of my all time favorites, and one of maybe four or five albums I would be comfortable giving a perfect 10/10 score. That melodic black/death/crust sound is so uniquely riffy and invigorating, and I find myself gravitating to anything that comes anywhere close to it. Cue Dodsrit.

Their sound is more rooted in black metal, but still has that same triumphant, call-to-action feeling that makes you want to gather all the homies and start a revolution. There's an underlining of positivity that emanates through this, in a way that is antithetic to the way black meal typically presents itself, but the extremity of the music doesn't suffer for it. It's just heaviness used to achieve a different end goal, underscoring its power. Sometimes when bands go this route, the major key moments muffle the impact, but Nocturnal Will doesn't have this problem.
-Nate

Midnight - Hellish Expectations
Metal Blade Records

Without warning and without hesitation, all hell breaks loose from the very get-go as the d-beat and devilish rock 'n roll driven energy bursts out the wall with fucking speed and darkness. Midnight strikes hard from the very start as the first couple of tracks already show that this means business and that business is good, especially with the badass and hellfire fueled bangers like the third and fourth track, with such simple titles that speak out loud that Athenar's game is indeed 'Masked And Deadly' and that you are nothing but a 'Slave Of The Blade'. The simple but solid songwriting of Athenar on this album has proven to be incredibly effective from start to finish, providing tons of enjoyable moments with a lot of punk rock, heavy metal, rock and roll, black and speed metal that mercilessly sets the stage on fire. All of the songs shine with consistent energy and aggression that wastes no time for any fancy tricks or antics that bands waste their time and effort to please the audience, because Midnight keeps things straight to the point with every song banging left and right. Despite the album being just over 25 minutes long, it is simply impossible not to get immersed into it because there is just way too many fun and enjoyable stuff here that can't go unnoticed and ignored, especially if you are a one hellish rock and roll soldier that the devil himself enlisted with every right in his army. Midnight has triumphed and fulfilled everything that we've come to expect from the beast that is Hellish Expectations. Straight to the point, blasphemous, fucking speed and darkness, all the way through! There is nothing more that I can say other than the fact that Hellish Expectations is yet another worthy entry in the band's discography.
-Vlad

Brodequin - Harbinger Of Woe
Season Of Mist

This might be the best production job Brodequin's ever had. Not that the "death by snare ping" didn't have its charm, but man, when everything is properly and professionally balanced, it just highlights how nasty these brutal speedfreaks really are. New drummer Brennan Shackleford is an absolute monster, and it sounds like the Bailey brothers haven't missed a beat despite the 20-year gap between full-lengths.
-Nate

Black Absinthe - On Earth Or In Hell
Independent

I try not to plug local metal bands unless they actually turn my crank. Between playing in metal bands and booking shows myself, I come into contact with a lot of them, and most of them are swell dudes with solid tunes - but for the purposes of reviewing, I need to be a little bit pickier. There are tons of bands that are passable and don't do anything wrong, but the style just isn't something I'd go out of my way to listen to. As such, I focus my writing energy on things that objectively tickle my fancy, personal connections or not - that way, if I AM hyping something up, you can trust my word that it's actually legit.

This is definitely the case with this Toronto-based group, which is extra impressive because they inhabit a genre (modern trad metal) that I'm choosy about on the best of days even when it comes to the heavy hitters. I need some solid hooks, a little bit of bite, and the occasional dash of extreme metal sensibility so it can compete with all the uber-heavy junk that takes up most of my brainspace. That's a rare combination, but Black Absinthe checks all those boxes with aplomb.

The clean vocals delivered with grit and punch, with a solid natural timbre and great production values helping to staple them into memory. The songs don't really follow traditional structures and stray away from repeating choruses and motifs, but I still wouldn't call it prog metal because there's a spirited, punkish attitude that bleeds through each riff . It's kind of like Skull Fist got a bit heavier and thrashier. There's a dash of Maiden minus the falsettos and overt theatrics, a dash of Testament without fully plunging into being thrash. The solos have a jammy 70s vibe to them, the verses feel decidedly 80s - but On Earth Or In Hell still has enough unique twists and turns to have it keep up with modern heavy metal without sounding dated.

Seriously impressive and hella underrated - with a little more press and exposure, these guys could be touring with Spirit Adrift or something.
-Nate

Khold – Du Dømmes Til Død
Soulseller Records

In a surprising turn of events, Khold really hits the note with a strong groove in their doom-laden black metal that sets the mood straight for the entire album. Just like with the other band Tulus, Khold's music dominates primarily with groovy black 'n roll that is quite dynamic with its tempo changes and styles that vary between songs, at times getting heavier and more unsettling as the album slowly progresses. For people who say that slow can't be heavy or that these bands need to play faster if they are gonna play black metal, the fifth track 'Lædel' throws in some in your face d-beats that just add more flavor to the ominous doomy moments on the album, alongside with the atmospheric/industrial synths in the chorus that give an additional layer to the band's sound. Khold's performance has always been much more intense than that of Tulus, more oriented towards pure aggression and punchiness than catchiness and simplicity. The songwriting contains a lot of dynamic tempo changes that fluently switch between fast and slow throughout the entirety, with a lot of grooves in the riffs and drums that are even more amped up with Gard's tight harsh vocals. The highlight of this album is that you can really just sit back and enjoy the ride, where you can just get entirely immersed in the band's performance while still paying close attention as to what comes next. The stylistic consistency all throughout gives plenty of space to follow along without losing focus on the music, and as a black metal band they truly manage to keep you on edge as the tradition requires. This album has a lot of anger and frustration expressed through black metal, as well as excellence in the band's performance that gradually becomes heavier and heavier each time a new song comes up. Truly an awesome album that should not be overlooked if you are into groovy and rock and roll driven black metal.
-Vlad

METALBITE'S TOP 10 ALBUMS OF THE MONTH

10: Vorga - Beyond The Palest Star
Transcending Obscurity

One of my favorite TO exports for sure - it's hard to find black metal that toes the line between catchiness and atmosphere the way that Vorga can. They love midpaced, driving riffs, which just so happen to be my favorite as well. Striving Towards Oblivion was pretty close to a top 10 album the year that came out - it still has that je ne sais quois that keeps me coming back for the occasional go-around, so I was especially excited for the new one.

The only problem with a band releasing a stellar, addictive album is that they have to follow it up with one as equally stellar and addictive. Thing is, Beyond The Palest Star is more of a slow burn - it's only by the third or fourth listen that I've started to appreciate it more. The songs take a bit longer to develop, and Vorga plays more with the space they create by doing that, making for a more immersive, entrancing sound - but it forces you to pay attention to it. They've always had the modern cosmic theme, and I find this release digs into that a bit more fully - to put it one way, it sounds more like the album cover looks this time around. Whether you like that more than the previous album is mostly up to personal preference, but either way, it sounds like Vorag have settled into their own niche of riffy space black metal, developing a sound that is all their own.
-Nate

MetalBite's Rating: 8.3/10

9: Verwoed - The Mother
Wolves Of Hades /Argento

Verwoed, like many of the best contemporary black metal acts, hail from The Netherlands, whose combination of relaxed liberal democracy and drug decriminalisation has strangely produced a seemingly endless production line of weird and extreme music. The Mother is the band's fourth official release, and second full-length, and offers the listener a powerful and immersive experience, a little heavier on atmosphere than riffs, but compelling in its post-industrial darkness. The insistent melodies that layer themselves, brick by brick, upon the propulsive foundations of droning minor chords have the same kind of hypnotic effect that Akhlys achieve, and the mesmeric nature of their music, most obvious on the superb title track pulls us closer than we might like to the eldritch abyss that confronts us unbidden. As the record progresses, 'The Child' provides a richer harmonic palate, expanding the bands horizons into almost Opethian territories, and this approach finds an excellent accommodation with the chunky Funeral Mist-like riffs that run through the excellent 'The Madman's Dance'. The variety found on the record might be confusing to some listeners, as Verwoed alternate between oppressive dissonance and progressive majesty, but for this one, at least, The Mother is a benevolent parent indeed.
-Benjamin

MetalBite's Rating: 8.3/10 (for now)

8: Messiah - Christus Hypercubus
High Roller Records

This surprised me a bit - I like Messiah, but this is killer. The songwriting is much tighter and catchier than their last album Mont Fracmont and in my opinion this is one of the best albums in their career.
'Once Upon A Time…Nothing' is one of the fastest songs they've ever written and it's a real brutal death-thrash bastard with super aggressive vocals. With the Slayer vibes, this is probably one of the best songs they've done since Rotten Perish. 'Soul Observatory' is pure thrash with the only death metal influence being in the vocals. The riffing is simple but very effective and this is one of the catchiest tracks with some atmospheric twists and turns. There is an acoustic part that suddenly drops the thrash, providing a great contrasting effect. Last but not least 'Venus Baroness I' and 'Venus Baroness II' are some really groovy closers. Rousing melodies with great hooks, they mix up some heavy thrash and death elements to a galloping tempo and so these two tracks feel much shorter than their 11 minute runtime - a hallmark of a great album. Lots of great tracks to explore here – check out Christus Hypercubus and you won't be disappointed!
-Michael

MetalBite's Rating: 8.3/10

7: Carrion Vael - Cannibals Anonymous
Unique Leader

I'll try to be as objective as possible in my assessment of this - forgive me for the self-indulgent masturbation that is to follow, but Carrion Vael will forever have a special place in my heart - I was literally their vocalist for four days. Right before their Canadian tour with Aepoch (who are all good friends of mine), their main guy Travis had some health concerns and had to bow out of the tour less than a week before it would begin, and as such I was presented with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I learned the lyrics to six songs in four days (it helped that I was a big fan of Abhorrent Obsessions, since the entire set was off that album) and played some of the coolest shows I've ever played in my life with some of the sickest musicians I've ever shared a stage with. One of those shows was a double set (with my own band opening the show) in a sold out room of 200+ people. I hope that isn't my musical peak, but it wouldn't be so bad if it was because holy fuck that was some next level shit.

Anyways, enough with the personal anecdote. Wonderful dudes, phenomenal musicians, it's near impossible for me to not have a bit of bias when I listen to this but I'll try my best.

As you might imagine, I was excited to see the homies were droppin some of that brand new sauce. On previous albums, they could be considered something of a Black Dahlia Murder worship band with a few more notes, but as time goes on they've added a great deal more nuance and identity to their music - it was starting to develop on Abhorrent Obsessions, and it's evolving even more on Cannibals Anonymous. I particularly notice a bit of a blackened edge coming out more on this record - 'Augusta's Dead' has a chorus riff that brings it to mind, and the garnishes of clean vocals and synths - more prevalent and blended into the fabric this time around - only accent that vibe. I don't think Cradle of Filth was an influence because this sounds nothing like them, but the atmosphere that comes out of it has some parallels, if that makes sense.

Travis has augmented his vocal delivery accordingly - he still has the fast, choppy lines that I loved from the previous record (I have a huge soft spot for fast vocalists in general), but they're a bit more spaced out and there's a lot more emphasis on his highs, only adding to the blackened edge. While this doesn't have the same immediate appeal that Abhorrent Obsessions does, I do find that the more I listen to this, the more I hear the Carrion Vael I know and love - just more mature, fleshed out and multifaceted.
-Nate

MetalBite's Rating: 8.4/10

6: Necrophobic - In The Twilight Grey
Century Media Records

Necrophobic have diversified even more on their tenth album. They've always had their fair share of melody since Darkside but on In The Twilight Grey there's a lot more traditional heavy metal influences. The skeleton is still death/black metal, but the innards of the guitarwork are calling to the 80s. The limited edition of this album even has a W.A.S.P. cover.

Although it is hard to name standout tracks because it's all so good, my personal faves are 'Clavis Inferni' (which is a typical Necrophobic song), 'Shadow Of The Darkest Night' because of its gloomy atmosphere and guitar work and 'Stormcrow' with a super epic part in it. If you like the aforementioned Darkside, this will be an easy one to get into.
-Michael

MetalBite's Rating: 8.5/10

5: Early Moods - A Sinner's Past
RidingEasy Records

Rarely do I take a chance to check out newer metal bands, especially that of the doom metal branch, however my friend Zmaj from Pustoš recently recommended checking out the US band Early Moods. Once I finally decided to give it a listen, I was not remotely ready to face what awaits me. From the get-go, the shadows slowly arise as the somber mood is set with the oldschool doom metal output that Early Moods incorporates. Their songs consist of traditional elements that include heavy catchy riffs, mid-tempo drums and melodic singing vocals that are like preachings of a true doomsayer or a crazed madman. Aside from the standard riff ideas and doom metal song templates, there are a handful of exceptional moments on this album that provide a nice element of surprise to the music, going from superb melodic guitar work to the harsh and almost black metal-like vocals on the second track 'Blood Offerings'. Throughout the entire album, you will hear a lot of musical influences coming from various genre-defining bands such as 70's Black Sabbath, Pentagram, Witchfinder General and Saint Vitus, along with many significant others that played a crucial role in the development of doom metal. The driving force of the music isn't just the solid riff work, but it's also the strong suspenseful atmosphere created through the music, very much like in a 70's horror movie where something frightening is about to happen and you are just not ready to face it. As the album progresses from one track to another, you truly feel like this is just moving one step closer towards an apocalyptic event with each song, as the riffs get heavier and the tone of the album gradually darker. Even though doom metal is considered to be less dynamic than other metal subgenres, Early Moods surpasses that limit with the strong use of dynamic arrangements where songs consist of smooth transitions between every section, all the while building up the anticipation of the current song, as well as the next one. This is perhaps the biggest highlight, as I was quite often left on the edge of my seat wondering what may come next and I was not disappointed. The best example I could give you regarding these build-ups is the third self-titled track 'A Sinner's Past' which has a slow section that prepares you for the heavy and catchy galloping finale of the song. Their songs are certainly packed with heavy doomy riffs, but the inclusion of melodies, bluesy guitar solos and clean guitar sections, really make the songs feel rich and powerful. Each time a new song comes up, I always think to myself that there is no way that it's going to get heavier, but yet it always manages to outsmart me once it comes to play. This album turned out to be such a big and pleasant surprise that surpassed all my expectations and simply left me without words. A Sinner's Past is an exemplary album which proves that doom metal albums can still be catchy, heavy, and incredibly imaginative at the same time. It's simple yet effective, slow yet heavy, but most importantly, dark and foreboding throughout its entirety. I consider this album as a spiritual grandchild of Black Sabbath's Vol 4. that rocks out in all its glory, and you should definitely check it out. Big thanks to my friend Zmaj for recommending this album, because it was indeed worth it!
-Vlad

MetalBite's Rating: 8.5/10

4: Givre - Le Cloitre
Eisenwald

I don't always include albums in this column that autoplay when I'm listening to albums on YouTube - it's very infrequent that something catches my attention like this did. Leave it to the fertile QCBM scene to impress me time and time again.

This is simultaneously delicate and beautiful, harrowing and despondent, and even a little bit groovy at times. It cycles through a wide range of modern black metal textures, but songs are not a haphazard mishmash of ideas, they're full of direction and purpose. The lyrical topic is really cool - it seems we've reached that point where Catholicism is metal now? To quote their bandcamp -

"the lyrics are taken from the hagiographies of six saint women and explores freely their relation to god through suffering, from the symbolic poetry of Hildegard Von Bingen (1098-1179) to the disturbing and factual depictions of Marthe Robin (1902-1981)".

I suppose it's still about pain and suffering, but through a very unique lens. Granted, I can't understand what they're saying, but the music is lined with a certain poetic mystique that feels guided by the lyrical content. In other words - this is true fuckin' black metal. It has that rich fantasy and aura of boundless expression that reminds me why I fell in love with the genre in the first place.

How the hell does this band have less than 1,000 followers on each of their socials? This is astounding, and might be my favourite black metal album of the year so far.
-Nate

MetalBite's Rating: 8.5/10

3: Wounds - Ruin
Everlasting Spew Records

Oh me oh my these riffs are tasty. Bits of Zenith Passage and Spawn of Possession line the fabric of this guitarwork, and even though there's a high level of skill and intricacy, the band works in tandem to make sure the songs are easy to remember and gives you enough tasty licks to keep coming back. 'Doom Incarnate' and 'In The Maw Of The Beast' is the catchiest one-two punch I've heard in tech death since Datalysium. Arkaik and Soreption are good comparisons to make, because Wounds' riffs also sound easy to play but any guitarist will tell you otherwise.

I can't say a ton about this even though it's probably been my most listened to album of the month - the riffs are just really fucking good, this is exactly what I want to hear in my tech-death, and if you know me you know i'm on that shit like a kid on ice cream. It's perfect bread and butter listening for me - when I don't know what to put on, I go with this.
-Nate

MetalBite's Rating: 8.6/10

2: Devastatiӧn - Rise Of The Dead
Empire Records

Devastatiӧn's Rise Of The Dead, the band's third album, is basic, primitive and totally unoriginal. It's also the most fun I've had this month, as eleven tracks of riotous black-thrash fly by, a dark blur of leather, studs, and bullet belts. The Belgians are taking things a tiny bit more seriously this time round, judging by an album title that, as generic as it is, shows a modicum of maturity not present on the release of 2015's Pussy Juice Blues (this writer feels slightly unclean just typing that), but thankfully their music remains a sloppy mix of Abigail, Merciless, early Destruction and pretty much no low end whatsoever. It would be easy to dismiss Devastatiӧn as pointless throwbacks, were it not for the fact that hitting the optimum point between first-wave black metal and thrash requires a surprising precision of calibration, and on this point at least, Devastatiӧn's collective IQ is somewhere between Hawking and Einstein. Virtually every track, the savage 'Necronomicon' being a prime example, is built around a thrilling speed-metal riff, with a judicious use of tremolo passages and NWOBHM inflections seamlessly merging into an exhilarating blast of adrenaline. Although snatches of keyboard add sinister atmosphere, and a dash of early Enslaved to the mix, there is little in the way of sophistication to be found here. Instead, Devastatiӧn plough through 40 minutes of mayhem with total conviction and true belief in the might of heavy metal, standing triumphant amid the ruins of good taste.
-Benjamin

MetalBite's Rating: 8.6/10

1: Devastator - Conjurers Of Cruelty
Listenable Records

Devastator's Conjurers Of Cruelty is simply put an uncompromising and merciless black/thrash attack with headbanging heavy tremolo riffs with some black rock and roll here and there, dynamic drumming that incorporates standard thrash metal beats and walk breaking double-bass drumming, along with some sick harsh singing vocals. Instances of some punk rock energy are evident on the third track 'Black Witchery', combined with the predominant black-thrashing that is the centerfold of this album. This album really does not take a break from ultra headbanging moments, as it really starts ripping on 'Walpurgisnacht' with d-beat drumming and riffing that's ripping it all the way through like hot knife through steel, while also throwing in some amazing guitar solos. Beside the established musical formula, they also found some space to use a bit of eerie atmospheric black metal with open string chords, evident on 'Deathspell Defloration', which on the first half breaks away from the overall album template by incorporating a slower tempo, until it decides to kick the chair and go back into action on the other half of the song. Other great banger tunes on this album that will really get your blood boiling and quench your bloodthirst is the eight track 'Bestial Rites', 'Sharpen The Blade', 'Rabid Morbid Death' and 'Ritual Abuse (Evil Never Dies)' which has some amazing acoustic guitar parts in a very flamenco-like fashion. The songwriting on this album is quite dynamic, pushing the black/thrash metal performance beyond its limits and making every second count, down to every last riff that leaves no prisoners breathing. During my listening, I often felt that this album is like a love child of Watain and Aura Noir in terms of the overall execution and the atmosphere, or perhaps a perfect combination of album such as "Lawless Darkness", "Envoy of Lucifer", "With Primeval Force", "Power from Hell" and "Black Thrash Attack", with some icing on the cake and cherry on the top to spice things up even more. As a friend of mine would say out loud from his guts "METAL PIZDA TI MATERINA", this is exactly how I would sum up this album as a whole. From the moment I pressed play, I knew there was no turning back and it instantly hit me with the title track, headbanging like a bloody maniac hungry for some speed and fucking darkness. This was one of my most highly anticipated albums that I couldn't wait to give it a listen, and I am so glad that I did. While I was listening to this album, I often felt like I was taken back in time when I first heard other black/thrash metal masterpieces like Nifelheim's self-titled debut, Aura Noir's "Black Thrash Attack", Ketzer's "Satan's Boundaries Unchained' and Desaster's "Tyrants Of The Netherworld", and I would definitely say Conjurers Of Cruelty deserves to share a spot with those aforementioned albums. Devastator made one beast of an album that will be very difficult to top by any other album within the same subgenre, especially since this one went all in by saying "give them hell" and so they did. I always said that in the black/thrash metal movement, there is simply no space for pretentiousness and hipster mentality in this kind of subgenre, because it is all about pure aggression, hate and destruction. Be sure to check out Conjurers Of Cruelty, this album is an "all killer no filler", and just a superb work of extreme metal art.
-Vlad

MetalBite's Rating: 8.8/10

Thank you as always for stopping by. No, I didn't intentionally put Devastation and Devastator next to each other as the top two albums of the month, but it's pretty funny that it turned out that way.

Check out past lists from this year here:

February 2024

January 2024

And, of course, Follow MetalBite on Facebook, Spotify and Instagram so you can be there right when the next Top 10 list drops!

Wednesday afternoon, cold and raining. Normally it would be a warm tea in one hand and the TV remote or a book in the other and until spring we wait. Not this time. If such classy bands as ATHEIST and CRYPTOPSY are haunting your area, you don't stay home, just get your a** up and go to the concert! 

Hungarians - MONASTERY started the whole thing. I won't write too much about them because I saw them in August of last year as the opening act for I am Morbid. They didn't knock me down then, it was the same this time. I won't say they're a bad band, but there are plenty of mediocre ones around here.

ALMOST DEAD - I haven't seen these guys before, and since the previous album was quite good, my curiosity was aroused. They did not disappoint live. Solid, energetic thrash/groove. The singer was so full of energy that he didn't have enough space on the stage, so he often ventured into the audience - showman.

The crowd was getting thicker with every minute of waiting for the old technicians - ATHEIST. I was a bit afraid of this concert, because only Kelly Shaefer came from the old line-up, and they released their last, and not the best, album 14 years ago. I wasn't sure what such broken music would sound like live. It sounded amazing, and the power of youth absolutely blew everyone gathered around the stage. Real madness on and in front of the stage. The set lasting over an hour was not enough. The audience forced the return of Kelly and company. It was one of my better concerts, and Canadians were still to play.

I don't need to remind anyone of the CRYPTOPSY class, because it's another walking history of death metal. Their musical quality was confirmed by the last album As Gomorrah Burns. The Canadian death machine was well oiled that evening. What a different kind of death metal poured out of the speakers. It is a pure emanation of aggression and brutality. Despite some fatigue among the fans, no one was going to rest. The pit was spinning, and my phone which had to replace my Lumix this time was a proof of its power. It survived, but despite the protection, the cracks on the screen will remain for the rest of its life.

Half dead, but very satisfied, I returned home.

Arek

CRYPTOPSY

ATHEIST

ALMOST DEAD

MONASTERY

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Part IV

Things are going badly in the Polish state. Nonsense! Unless when it comes to politics, because musically things are going great, and let's hope it'll continue. There are a lot of new emerging bands that not only play on a high technical level but they often have something to say and very often they step on the heels of the best and proven bands. And since veterans don't want to give up, we have a very good and healthy situation in which everyone wants to come out best. For the listener this is the perfect situation. For the reviewer too, because there is nothing better than to review material that is a pleasure to listen to. It was like that this time too and from the whole pile of materials that I went through, I chose these dozen items or so for you. So I invite you to find out what interesting things have happened in the national hell in recent months…

Levi

EXTINKT - Trinity Redux - Ossuary Records

The second album of this trio composed of former or current members of Terrordome, Rites Of Daath, Psychopath is just over half an hour of music that can be described as a mix of old-school thrash and speed metal. Anyway, just one look at the cover and we immediately associate it with you know who's "Persecution Mania". Although musically, Extinkt's music moves in a much broader range. There is room here not only for Teutonic thrash, but also playing from the Thames and overseas. Quite a nice mix of several musical genres with a predominance of thrash driving. For me, the best ones are the 2-minute stompers in which Extinct doesn't fuck around, but songs such as the over 6-minute 'Fed With Disease' also swings nicely and gives you a moment of respite. It's a nice one to listen to.

CONCATENATION - Existence Full of Promises - Independent

This is the second album of this band from Płock, in which battle proven guys that played in groups such as The Thorn, Leshy, Parh or Baalberith play. And this experience can be heard very clearly, because Existence Full Of Promises is not your ordinary death metal which only cares about being faster, harder, etc. Of course it is very hard and brutal, but everything is played with great thought. The disc is full of interesting ideas and unconventional solutions (this wonderful saxophone in 'Forlorn', which closes the album – sweetness to my ears!!!). And I don't mean that there are also a lot of thrash and psychedelia elements here (I think they really like VoiVod),and non-obvious tricks. I very much like the sick atmosphere of the album, the way everything is swirling and boiling in its own juice. An additional plus for the great and colorful vocals which surprised even an old pro like me at times (like e.g. chants in 'Your Doom'). Of course, I realize that by recording such an album, Concatenation condemned itself to commercial death, because this type of playing is not very popular in the country on the Vistula River, but I hope I'm wrong, because they definitely deserve big applause!

VARNHEIM - Aura - Independent

We stay in Płock. Moreover, Varnheim is closely related to Concatenation, despite the fact that it moves in completely different areas of metal. And the second thing that both of these bands have in common is that neither of them takes the easy way. Because Varnheim on their second album also doesn't play simple and obvious black metal. Great emphasis is placed on the compositions and, above all, the atmosphere of these songs, which seem to form one, well-thought-out whole. Well, I don't think it's necessary to be somehow closely oriented to the intention of the authors of Aura to guess that it is a concept album. It's really nice to listen to it and, most importantly, their black metal, although quite diverse in its form, is really addictive and can keep you interested throughout its duration, and this is not so obvious. In slower and more trance-like moments, you can also hear doom metal inspirations, but in general I recommend this material to those who love playing in the style of the Finnish Unholy or our Mgła.

TORTURED CORPSE - Rites Of Putridity And Death - Independent

The debut material of the quartet from Silesia brings us 6 songs described by the band itself as Obscure Old School Death Metal Terror. Well, I have to agree with this statement. I would also add here that it is a rather raw type of death metal, more in the vein of NunSlaughter, Cianide, and sometimes old material from Cannibal Corpse, Bolt Thrower or Rottrevore. There are no technical wizardry, super fast drum parts or other virtuosity here. 'Midnight Carnage' reminds me of Napalm Death from the times of "Harmony Corruption" or "Utopia Banished", but these are just loose associations. Of course, the production of this EP could be better and juicier, but I understand that it is also a nod to the 80s and 90s.

SOULCARRION - Soulcarrion - Godz Ov War Productions

A year after its debut, the capital's SoulCarrion came out with a 4-song EP. This time, they chose Młody (Stillborn, Embrional, Squash Bowels and tons of others) as their partner in crime, who is one of the best professionals in our country. Thanks to this move, this material breathes even more evil and attacks our hearing organs in a more natural way. SoulCarrion moves in the atmosphere of unholy satanic death metal and I think that fans of Immolation, Incantation, or our native and late Damnation will find something for themselves here. I think that, next to Dira Mortis, they are currently one of the most promising bands on our scene, of course when it comes to such hellish playing.

MORDHELL - Satanic Wombs - Fallen Temple

This is the fourth album of this Poznań crew of murderers and sonic deviants. Intro and 4 original songs of raw and sleazy black metal only for the most ardent and maniacal followers of this type of music. In addition, Mordhell serves us covers: Bathory, DarkThrone and Burzum, and I think this is a perfect complement to this original part, because these bands are certainly among the main inspirations of the quartet from Wielkopolska. Besides, it seems to me that it is enough to look at the album cover to determine who this album is addressed to.

NONSANTO - Human Condition - Independent (digital)/ NIC Rec. (CD)

The new EP from the Wrocław crew from Nonsanto brings us a 7-song storm, which can best be described as a mixture of grindcore/power violence and punk, although there are also some strictly metal elements. And although after listening to the intro I thought that the whole thing would be in the style of Bolt Thrower. And then there was an ambush and the guys started riding such a firecracker that it almost knocked me out of my slippers! I think they would be a great support for Antigama, and they would also find a common language with bands like Straight Hate or Hostia.

HORDA - Form - Independent

And I must admit that this band is developing beautifully. They have been around for over 5 years, but the path they have taken since the beginning arouses my great admiration. Horda from Tarnow is made up of young, but extremely talented musicians. Besides, I had the opportunity and pleasure to play with Deimos for a while in Kult Mogił, so I personally saw how talented and hard-working he was. And after several years of searching, they release Form, an album that is by all means mature and well-thought-out, but on the other hand extremely brutal and extreme in its musical message. This type of black metal cannot be played by just anyone, on the contrary, it must be someone who not only has skills, but also musical imagination. And in the case of the five inhabitants of Tarnów, this has practically no limits. They can go into serious depths of black extreme, then they can take the listener to more atmospheric and spiritual regions, and after a while, they can return to crazy and even schizophrenic rides. And most importantly, Horda does not resort to any mega-sophisticated means of destruction, but does it in a standard, thoroughly metal way, for which I am grateful, because I am increasingly fed up with these pseudo-artistic and over-intellectualized new-fangled creations.

CONFESSION - Coloured By The Red Flames Of Fire - Independent

The duo Confession from Mysłowice released their debut album in 2022, and it contains just over half an hour of black metal. Black metal that is not very sophisticated, original or that could cause any stir nowadays. Because the basis and main inspiration for Confession is generally speaking the work of Satyr and his Satyricon. And these are from different periods of activity. I'm not saying it's bad, because it's quite nice to listen to. But my point is that there is no element of surprise on this album or anything that would make you curse under your mustache: oh fuck. That is missing. Besides, it's fine and I believe that in the future they will go in some more interesting, crazy direction.

LAS TRUMIEN - Głód Zabijania - Piranha Music

Perhaps I should write about this band in the general review section, because they have been playing for a while, have several releases under their belt, and, above all, they are made up of battle-beaten players. However, I think that the music of Las Trumien is very underground, with a dark and evil message, so I don't think the guys will be offended by it. And what does their second full length bring us? Well, definitely a development of the formula known from previous releases. Certainly progress in every respect - both in terms of the sound, which is full and juicy, just like a good stoner album should be. There is power. Moreover, the compositions are certainly better, individual numbers are more memorable, and Wojtek's vocals - with each release of each of his bands, it is getting better, stronger, meatier. At times, like in the opening number of the album 'Zwierzyna' or 'Wiosna W Miami' Las Trumien picks up the pace a bit and we have a really cool ride, similar in atmosphere to hard core, which will get even the not very lively audience going at concerts. It's nice that all these heavy riffs are no longer influenced by Down, Crowbar, but contain a little more looseness and something more homely. It's a nice album and although I'm not normally a die hard fan of this type of music, I don't regret a single minute spent on this album.

ENTERCHRIST - We are Just Getting Started - Independent

I'm not going to lie to you or anything - I'm not a fan of grindcore, but Radziu and Wojtek have a gift that allows them to convince me to like them, or rather, their work. Another creation of these gentlemen known from, among others: HIV, Death Crusade or Nuclear Holocaust and another dose of old-school bashing, without any stiffness, completely relaxed and with a bang. 21 numbers in 22 minutes – is it possible? Yes it is. But if they would toss the fuck out the vocals run through the harmonizer, it would be great. A short album so a short review. Amen.

MORRATH - Centuries Of Blindness - Metal Is The Law Prod.

Do you remember Prowler from Leszno? Well, they're now called Morrath and they've just released their debut album. An album that can really be enjoyed and which, when compared to many renowned Western productions from the world of death metal, comes out really unscathed. Both in terms of compositions, the band's technique, and the sound, which is brutal, juicy and at the same time clear. Half an hour of really high-level death metal should satisfy every maniac.

CHIMERA - Gloria Mortis - Independent

Sources say that Chimera comes from Warsaw and the album in question is their second release. And after listening to the whole thing, which lasts less than three quarters of an hour, the first thing that catches your ears is that Dissection and their monumental "Reinkaos" made a huge impression on them. And it would be really nice to listen to their melodic heavy/black metal, if it weren't for the fact that the production of Gloria Mortis is at an average level. In addition, the tapping drum kick is terribly irritating, and sometimes, despite the really cool ideas and melodies played by the band, it can throw the band off track (nomen omen). I know these are small details, but they are very important and I think Chimera should pay attention to this in the future. Because musically it's really good and it flows nicely throughout the entire album.

OHYDA - Psalmy Śmierci - Wolfspell Rec.

Ohyda is not far from Mordhell... no, this is not a new proverb, but in fact Ohyda is personally related to the latter band, but not only that, because their music is equally raw, dirty and disgusting. 6 new numbers intended only for orthodox black metal fans and lovers of the talent of Diabolizer and his crazy company.

Thanks for checking this one out. Find more bands and metal in the previous editions of South Of Heaven.
Part I - https://metalbite.com/news/18915/south-of-heaven
Part II - https://metalbite.com/news/18942/south-of-heaven
Part III - https://metalbite.com/news/18987/south-of-heaven

Saturday - such a lovely day to drive across the A40 which is one of Germany's busiest highways. Fortunately I left my home quite early to arrive just in time to see German shooting stars Thron as the first band at that festival. With their latest album Dust they offered some really cool, highly melodic and catchy black metal Dissection-style. So I was curious to see and hear if they can keep the high quality from their studio-albums on stage. And what can I say – yes, they do. Kicking off with 'Dying In The Mud' which is also the opener on Dust, they fully convinced me (and the audience) to their craft. The whole performance was full of energy and the sound was great. You could easily recognize every song they played and the guys focused mainly on material from Dust but they also referred to its predecessor Pilgrim with three songs. This was some good stuff to start the metal afternoon (although I don't exactly know why the guys had to open the gig because in my opinion they had earned a later slot).

Setlist: Dying In The Mud / The Tyranny Of I / To Dust / Nothingness / The Golden Calf / The Prophet / Return / Epitome / The Reverence

Now it was time for some slaughter. Belgian speed-black maniacs Slaughter Messiah entered the stage and took no prisoners. After a sinister intro they attacked with their first strike 'Slaughter Messiah' which is one of their earliest songs back from the demo tape from 2011. Great and really psycho. The vocal performance of Lord Sabathan (who really is a metal maniac with all the old-school heavy metal patches on his battle vest) is really unearthly and it is fun to see him screaming and yelling his lungs out. Obviously they had a very good day that Saturday and showed that to the crowd. I personally liked that they didn't focus too much on their full-length album Cursed To The Pyre from 2020 (a new EP is coming later this year!) but also on some older stuff from their EPs and a new track ('Exorcized To None'). Hopefully the guys will come around soon again to do some more live slaughter.

Setlist: Intro / Slaughter Messiah / From The Tomb… / Pouring Chaos / Descending To Black Fire / Black Speed Terror / Bells Of Damnation / The Hammer Of Ghouls / Crypt Of The Undead / Exorcized To None

Shame on me, I never had heard anything about Norwegian doom-deathers Abyssic before, even though they are currently signed to Osmose and already released three regular studio albums. So I actually didn't know what to expect but what the Norwegians did that early evening was really fantastic. First of all the wardrobe of the guys and the lady looked really great (dress award together with Nargaroth), especially drummer Tjodalv (yeah, you're right, that's the ex-drummer from Dimmu Borgir or Old Man's Child) had a very special disguise for the first songs (interesting fact: they only played songs from their debut A Winter's Tale and the third album Brought Forth In Iniquity). And second, the music was some kind of both, relaxing and stirring. Abyssic were spreading a very special atmosphere with the contrast between dark growls, very heavy guitars and the contrabass vocalist Memnoch was playing here and there. If I had to describe their style of music, I would say that if Theatre Of Tragedy would have chosen the dark and non-kitschy way back on their first album, it might have turned out like them, combined with some more doomy influences like Aeternus. This was a remarkable gig and with that they have at least one more fan now.

Setlist: Funeral Elegy / Cold As Winter Storm / Chronicle Of The Dead / Sombre Dreams / Mirror Of Sorrow / Djevelens Lys

Now it was another debut time. Germans Imperium Dekadenz played with their new line-up for the first time. Their new guitarist Ursus debuted as well as C. as their new drummer so that Vespasian fully switched to bass activities. Starting with 'Bis Ich Bin' from their 2019 album When We Are Forgotten they had an easy game with the audience. They got really strong support from the sold-out Resonanzwerk and had a lot of fun on the stage which they also gave back to the audience. Songs they played were from almost every album, only Meadows Of Nostalgia wasn't regarded in the set-list. If you didn't know that they guys were playing the first time on stage together, you really wouldn't have noticed that. Their gig was flawless and the music came over really great. I hadn't expected so much power from them, thumbs up for Imperium Dekadenz!

Setlist: Bis Ich Bin / Aue Der Nostalgie / Aurora / Transcendence / Awakened Beyond Dreams / Memories…A Raging River / The Night Whispers To The Wise / Schwarze Wälder

The female metal fans (especially) in the first row were highly expecting Psychonaut 4. A lot of them cheered for them when they entered the stage and a lot of songs were sung along by them, too. Their casual mixture of black metal and kind of depressive rock was quite entertaining and came over not as half as depressive and average as on CD and way much better than Shining did on their latest albums. This was a furious show with vocalist Graf who kneeled, screamed, and jumped into the photo pit to shake hands with the fans. This was a show which was over way too soon because of its intensity.

Setlist: Parasite / We Will Never Find The Cure / Moldy / Too Late To Call An Ambulance / Tbilisian Tragedy / Beware The Silence / Lethargic Dialogue / Forest / My Sweet Decadence

Last but not least it was Nargaroth's turn. This band is highly controversial if they are trve or not and this essential problem in the black metal scene couldn't be solved that evening either. But what you could see was a band that had a lot of joy on the stage and who didn't take themselves too seriously. Vocalist Ash made some jokes about his age (guess he has seen Lethal Weapon too often) and that his spikes are way too heavy but this really made the gig very likable and entertaining. Apart from this show, they kicked ass pretty much and convinced me to check their stuff once again. Actually, I don't know if this all was true or just some kind of show, but I liked it. And so did at least 95% of the audience, too. This was a fantastic old-school black metal gig with nothing to complain about. And since I am making compliments now I would also like to compliment the entire Redback Promotion crew who delivered a fantastic festival with great bands and an unforgettable evening once more.

Setlist: Amarok – Zorn des Lammes / Abschiedsbrief des Prometheus/ The Day Burzum Killed Mayhem/ Black And Blasphemic Death Metal / Conjunction Underneath The Alpha Wheel / Black Metal Is Krieg / Karmakeddon Warrior (Imapled Nazarene Cover)

Greetings to all you MetalBite legion! Another edition of Digging Through Past is up and ready to be enjoyed. Even more old goodies that you may be interested in or missed out on were looked at again, all information updated with useful links and properly written reviews. We hope you'll enjoy this one too and discover new music, new bands and more headbanging goodies. Thank you so much for the support. Check out previous edition of Digging Through Past here, and if there is anything we can improve on just write us at info@metalbite.com. Cheers!

Sauron - Wilderness (2020) - Demented Omen Of Masochism - Vladimir

Morta Skuld - Through The Eyes Of Death (2011) - Relapse Records - Chris Pratl

Amorphis - Privilege Of Evil (1993) - Relapse Records - Stellarium

Amorphis - The Karelian Isthmus (1992) - Relapse Records - Stellarium

Inculter - Morbid Origin (2023) - Edged Circle Productions - Felix

Kalmah - 12 Gauge (2010) - Spinefarm Records - Maverick

Still Remains - Of Love And Lunacy (2005) - Roadrunner Records - Maverick

Infinity - Enter Thy Labyrinth Of Hell (2005) - Total Holocaust Records - Felix

Infinity - Non De Hac Terra (2012) - New Era Productions - Felix

Bulldozer - Heretic (2021) - Independent - Greg

Bulldozer - Unexpected Fate (2009) - Scarlet Records - Greg

Underoath - Ø (Disambiguation) (2010) - Solid State Records - Maverick

Devil You Know - The Beauty Of Destruction (2014) - Nuclear Blast - Maverick

Tetragon - Chapter II (2017) - Independent - Greg

Judas Iscariot - Thy Dying Light (1996) - Moribund Records - Frost

Unfortunately Finnish black metal legends Urn due to unforeseen circumstances were not able to perform but with Dutch tech-thrashers Cryptosis the promoter found a very adequate replacement very quickly. So I headed towards Oberhausen that Friday evening and first attended the gig of Swiss-based Impure Wilhelmina. To be honest, I don't know why they found a place in this setting because they didn't really match with their post-metal stuff. At least some guys in the audience liked their very ambient-orientated music which was much too calm for me.

After that Cryptosis entered the stage. When I saw them the last time a year ago in Dortmund, they had some really impressive screens on their stage where everything was displayed with some video stuff. Now in the small Helvete, they had to focus on some more basic things like a very futuristic microphone stand. But the small stage didn't matter since the guys did a very solid and flawless job and presented one song from their latest EP The Silent Call as well as songs from their "debut" Bionic Swarm (which wasn't a real debut because they just changed their name from Distillator). Their newer stuff is much heavier than many songs from Bionic Swarm, as I stated in my review, they go more into black metal with their riffing here and there so I am curious what the new album which hopefully will be released later this year will bring. With 'Death Technology' they brought my favorite song by them which is a really fantastic tech-thrasher with a fantastic rhythm and also the crowd got pretty wild there.

Setlist: Decypher / Death Technology / Prospect Of Immortality / Transcendence / Conjuring The Egoist / Mindscape / Silent Call / Flux Divergence

Now it was time for legendary Desaster to show if they can still kick ass after being alive for 36 years now. I remember when I saw them back in 1995 with Mayhemic Truth and Occult (who are now better-known as Legion Of The Damned) when they had just released their first two demos. Back then the guys around Infernal were already super likable and now in 2024 they still are. Still being really down-to-earth and keeping contact with the fans you never have the feeling that they have such a huge status in the scene. Of course the fans went nuts right from the beginning and it was really hard not to be captivated by Desaster. The song choice was really deluxe and I guess nobody had any reason to complain. From their second demo up to a really interesting new song ('Towards Oblivion') which sounded a lot like older stuff they delivered almost two hours of black thrash.  Vocalist Sataniac did a very vivid performance, including the fans who were able to chant into the microphone in some of the songs and Infernal posed with his guitar like there would be no tomorrow. As cherry topping they did 'Speak English Or Die' by S.O.D. as closer. What a fantastic evening where the guys have proven once again that they still aren't too old and still have a lot of plans to accomplish.

Setlist: Learn To Love The Void / Devil´s Sword / Nekropolis Karthago / Phantom Funeral / Damnatio Ad Bestias / Towards Oblivion / Satans Soldiers Syndicate / Sacrilege / Churches Without Saints / Hellbangers / Teutonic Steel / In A Winter Battle / Countess Bathory / Divine Blasphemies / Metalized Blood / Speak English Or Die

What a great set-up for this evening. With Vomit Division, Zwielicht, and Whiskey Ritual the audience had the pleasure to see three exclusive gigs on the Master's Call and Power From Hell tour because they were only playing in Oberhausen.

The location was already crowded when the Germans from Vomit Division started to perform their dirty black n'roll stuff. Right from the start there was a very cool party atmosphere with some guys banging in the front and celebrating the band. The performance was really cool and I was right by the stage to see and hear their music. Focusing on their first EP from 2019 and the still actual album Hell In A Bottle from 2020 (what about a follow-up, guys?) they spread the alcoholic-drenched spirit of Venom very well.

Setlist: Vomit Division / Caffeine & Anger / Dig Up Her Bones / Napalm Spirits / Villains / Vomit On The Throne Of God / Cunts & Cocaine / Hunger Of Ghouls / Panzerabwehr Rock n'Roll

After that, the party mood was over some fragrance sticks and skulls were placed on the stage. This meant some more serious stuff. Zwielicht. They had quite a home match today because the guys originated from the Ruhr Area and so they got a lot of support from the audience. Also, it was a very special gig for them because they also had their album release gig for their second album The Aphotic Gloom that very evening. Their music is old-school black metal with a lot of Scandinavian vibes (and four super long songs) back from the glorious 90s and the performance was really great. I sometimes had the feeling of being warped back into those days when Marduk, Immortal, and co. just released their breakthrough albums "Those Of The Unlight" and "Pure Holocaust" and I attended them for the first time as a teenager. This was a great gig, and I can only recommend the band to every black metal maniac!

Setlist: Stench Of Rotten Deities / Fallen Abbey / Babalon / Twilight Temple

Now it was time for the British guys from Master's Call who in my opinion were the newcomers in 2023. At least in my household their debut album A Journey For The Damned had a very huge impact and so I was curious to see how they fare live. Kicking off with 'All Hope In Fire' they offered a very cool performance and acted very much with the audience. Apart from the well-known songs from their debut, they also played all three songs from their first EP Morbid Black Trinity, namely 'My Eyes Are The Night', 'From Once Beneath The Cursed' and 'The Spire Cranes'. I must say that I didn't notice any quality difference between the songs so maybe the guys should consider re-releasing their EP so that more people might get their early stuff too (although a lot of the songs from the debut full-length are pretty old, too). Closing their show with a furious GG Allin cover where the crowd was able to do some chanting into the microphone. It was a real pleasure to see them live and I hope they will have many more opportunities to tour. And that cover song was a small appetizer for what was to come after that gig.

Setlist: All Hope In Fire / My Eyes Are The Night / The Serpent's Rise / From Once Beneath The Cursed / Into The Abyss Once More / Damnation's Black Winds / Blood On The Altar / The Spire Cranes / Bite It You Scum (GG Allin cover)

Just a small appetizer because what Italian-based Whiskey Ritual was doing on stage was not of this world and I was pretty happy to have moved into a corner back of the hall. It wasn't because of the acting of the band which was also very cool but the fans did a real demolition during the gig. Throwing bottles, spilling beer, moshing – everything happened there and after the show, the floor was completely wet and sticky. But that's just a side note. Whiskey Ritual were super cool with their sunglasses and their Venom-Motörhead-Discharge-attitude and the show was very much fun. I had to laugh plenty of times when vocalist Dorian Bones talked to the audience ("We're Whiskey Ritual: pasta, pizza, and cocaina!"). And when they called the fans to enter the stage to perform the last song together with them, you can imagine what happened. This was an unforgettable gig with some good friendly violent fun!

Setlist: Black Metal Ultras / Knockout / Eye For An Eye / Trve Escort / Satanic Commando / Blue Lights / Let It Roll / Blow With The Devil / 666 Problems / Violence And Scars

When Power From Hell appeared, many people unfortunately left the club already. The guys from Brazil (with a live guitarist from Dortmund, Germany  – the metal world is pretty small) did a real black metal inferno with some real furious stage action. Candelabras illuminated the stage and the guys did some hateful songs from almost all of their albums, if I am not totally wrong. Although their last album didn't grab me too much I have to confess that their live performance and music came over very aggressive and catchy. This is great black metal, dirty and grim. So I will give the guys another try on my CD player.

Setlist: Swallowed By Darkness / Torture Garden / Suicide Metal / Lucy's Curse / Caligula / Elizabeth Needs Blood / Mother Of Abominations / Obscure Creation / Nocturnal Desire / Prostitute Of Satan / Silence / Primordial Impurity / Lust…Sacrilege & Blood / Into The Sabbath / Power From Hell / Satan My Master / The True Metal

Greetings to all you MetalBite legion! Another edition of Digging Through Past is up and ready to be enjoyed. Even more old goodies that you may be interested in or missed out on were looked at again, all information updated with useful links and properly written reviews. We hope you'll enjoy this one too and discover new music, new bands and more headbanging goodies. Thank you so much for the support. Check out previous edition of Digging Through Past here, and if there is anything we can improve on just write us at info@metalbite.com. Cheers!

Iron Curtain - Jaguar Spirit (2013) - Heavy Forces Records - Felix

Dauþuz - Vom Schwarzen Schmied - Bergkgesænge (2022) - Amor Fati Productions - Felix

Dauþuz - Monvmentvm (2019) - Naturmacht Productions - Nathan

Inquisition - Bloodshed Across The Empyrean Altar Beyond The Celestial Zenith (2016) - Season Of Mist - Felix

Denomination - They Burn As One (2022) - Independent - Vladimir

Brimstone Gate - Return From The Brimstone Portal (2023) - A.D.G. Records - Vladimir

Морок - In The Dungeons Of Mind (2016) - Werewolf Promotion - Felix

Sodality - Benediction, Part 1 (2023) - Norma Evangelium Diaboli - Levi

Compulsive - The Voiceless Death Symphony (2023) - A.D.G. Records - Vladimir

Cry Of The Nile - The Voiceless Death Symphony (2023) - A.D.G. Records - Vladimir

Abdicate - Transcend Through Sacrifice (2011) - Sevared Records - Carl

Imprecation - Theurgia Goetia Summa (1995) - Relapse Records - Carl

Miasmatic Necrosis - Apex Profane (2020) - Goatgrind Records - Carl

Bezwering - Aan De Wormen Overgeleverd (2020) - Ván Records - Felix

Sumerian Tombs - Sumerian Tombs (2022) - Ván Records - Felix

Welcome back to MetalBite's Top 10 Albums of the Month!
February was comparatively a lighter month, but there were still a handful of landmark albums by some of the bigger names in the "mainstream underground". Like always, though, we've got a handpicked list of the goods. Let's cut the shit and get to it because the end of March is already around the corner!

-Nate

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Kolac - Kolac
Pest Records

After 10 years, the Serbian black metal band Kolac returns with their third self-titled album Kolac with plenty of awesome, catchy and blasphemous bangers filled with raw energy and aggression. The songs on the new album have a lot of heavy and thrash metal influences mixed in with black metal, while also switching their lyrical themes from blasphemy to the dark ages and various methods of medieval torture. It's got everything that I expected to get from their new album and then some, which in my eyes is a very solid work of black metal that surpasses its predecessors and strikes harder than ever before.
-Vlad

Atoll - Inhuman Implants
Unique Leader

Didn't this band just put out an album? Yep, just checked - this came out only six months after its predecessor, which was also an honorable mention. That's impressive on its own, and it's equally as impressive that this Phoenix, AZ -based group continues to sculpt their identity of pummeling, slammy brutal death metal. There's no drastic overhauls in their sound, but the refinement of what's already there is noticeable. The slams sound even thicker, the rare traces of melody even more confounding and intricate, and the squealing vocals even more beastly and viscous. There's a jovial bounce that permeates through, and titles like 'Gay For God' and 'Missionary Opposition' hint at a tongue-in-cheek vibe that's common in the genre. Atoll is quickly rising up the ranks of brutal death metal workhorses and it's about time you take notice!
-Nate

Night Slasher - Night Slasher
Sliptrick Records

Lithuanian black/thrash/speed metal band Night Slasher released their self-titled debut album that just slashes all the way through and completely annihilates every dead man walking. It's got a very strong post-apocalyptic feel to it that is certainly amped up with the band's intense and heavy performance, with such skull-crushing bangers that are like jackhammers and bulldozers. As I've said before, if you are into bands like Midnight and Hellripper, you really need to check this one out because it is one bad motherfucker from the Baltic region.
-Vlad

METALBITE'S TOP 10 ALBUMS OF THE MONTH

10: Chapel Of Disease - Echoes Of Light
Pathologically Explicit Recordings

Huh, well this is definitely different. On the one hand, it's nice to see Chapel Of Disease is back, as their distinct brand of vaguely proggy death/thrash was sorely missed, but on the other hand you can barely consider this the same band. The tendencies they had are still kind of there, but only in occasional whispers, and the majority of this has been replaced with occult rock in the vein of The Devil's Blood and Year of the Goat - although the snarling harsh vocals are still there. It makes me wonder if this is partially why the band split up in the first place - perhaps the band was tired of their old approach and wanted to try a new direction, or maybe a couple of the guys were undecided at first and then came around in time.

They do sound at home in the new approach, and there is a certain cathartic satisfaction in this music - perhaps this is what they wanted to be all along, and never felt fully comfortable in their own skin until now.
-Nate

MetalBite's Rating: 8/10

9: Spectral Voice - Sparagmos
Dark Descent

More of a "slow burn" kind of release, but if death/doom is your thing this will undoubtedly be high up the AOTY list. One thing I've always appreciated about Paul Riedl's projects, whether or not I completely vibe with them, is the attention to detail. Every single aspect of them, whether it's the presentation and aesthetic (apparently the album cover for this is a photo of a model painstakingly crafted through an incredibly obfuscating and complex process), carefully tailored influences (I hear a lot of Evoken, Esoteric and Disembowelment on this in particular) or even just the way the songs slowly unfold into more immersing and cathartic riffwork as the album drags on.

Eroded Corridors Of Unbeing was an incredible album, and though it much more immediately stuck to me than Sparagmos, this is an album that you process in layers over a period of months. If you're a fan of death/doom, you've probably already checked this out - but you should probably familiarize yourself regardless so you can have the inside scoop before it inevitably ends up on everyone's year-end list.
-Nate

MetalBite's Rating: 8/10 (for now)

8: Sentry - Sentry
High Roller

If you are unaware of the importance and impact of Manilla Road on heavy metal, it almost goes without saying that an extraordinary world of epic and esoteric work awaits your discovery, and this writer would suggest that you peruse at least some of their discography, before returning to find out whether Sentry are suitable bearers of the eternal flame lit by Mark Shelton so many years ago. Sentry are three quarters of the final line-up of that legendary band, a band which sadly died with its founder on his untimely passing in 2018, and they take the epic-doom and thrash-adjacent chugging of Manilla Road's later output as their basis, albeit with a slightly more modern sheen burnishing the production, together with more conventional vocals than Shelton's off the wall shriek. With tracks such as the insistent 'The Haunting', Sentry will comfortably fit into the current traditional metal scene, somewhere between Candlemass and Doomsword, and it is easy to imagine them occupying the early evening slot at the kind of German and Greek festivals that drop their headliner budgets in the direction of The Atlantean Codex and Grave Digger (old school set). Sentry are at their most compelling when they stretch out a little, the seven minute 'Valkyries (Raise The Hammers)' being a prime example – the main riff displays the pounding qualities of Black Album-era Metallica, but as the track progresses through a more sophisticated instrumental section which adds classic metal guitar harmonies, it is clear pleasing to hear Sentry push their capabilities a little harder. Finishing with an almost too faithful Candlemass cover, this self-titled effort is both a strong start for Sentry, and an affectionate tribute to a band that continue to burn in the hearts of metal fans the world over.
-Benjamin

MetalBite's Rating: 8.1/10

7: Farsot - Life Promised Death
Lupus Lounge

One of the longer-running acts of the Prophecy Productions sub-label, this has a very gradually revealing character. The transitions are smooth, the motifs are repetitive, and the atmosphere is fed to you via a slow breadcrumb trail that barely feels like it exists, but then halfway through you realize you've been locked in for several minutes. The drumming on this is great - a steady stream of rolling double kick and snare placement that feels like it's taking more from rock beats than it is metal (not unlike mid-era, pre-Dekker Agalloch), and it seals you into the riffs easily. There's a lingering discordance to the melodies, never fully diving into the post-black pool but also remaining firmly entrenched in a modern ethos. It's not reinventing the wheel, but it's exploring a very specific tenet of black metal in a thorough and well-composed manner.

Aaand of course this band is German. I've said it before and I'll say it again - most consistent regional scene in extreme metal. Anything I hear out of there, whether a fully established band, a smaller up-and-comer, or something in between - has something about it worth listening to.
-Nate

Life Promised Death is the German black-metallers first album in seven years, and befitting the band's professed grunge influences, it is a bleak listen. With the exception of a few passages, Farsot eschew the out-and-out velocity of some of their peers, favouring a mid-paced churn that recalls a less black 'n' roll Volcano-era Satyricon, with shades of Krallice creeping in at the edges. If the promise of a black metal album indebted to the Seattle scene seems a little gauche, fear not, this record sounds nothing like Nevermind. Farsot have, however, ingested the misery and harmonic structures of grunge, and are able to effectively integrate the downbeat melodicisme of that era into their more extreme sound without replicating the sonics wholesale. The most obvious touchpoints are the Alice In Chains EPs, Jar Of Flies and Sap, and the excellent 'Buoyant Flames' makes good use of finger-picked acoustics and the kind of ghostly harmonies that Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell made such a signature of that band's sound. With Life Promised Death, Farsot reward the listener with a singular, and intriguing take on black metal, which should appeal to those that have come under the spell of the more recent Shining albums, and it is a deft achievement indeed to create something so coherent from a combination of sounds that in the hands of many simply wouldn't work.
-Benjamin

MetalBite's Rating: 8.4/10

6: Eternal Storm - A Giant Bound To Fall
Transcending Obscurity

Anything that gives me Insomnium vibes is bound to hook me - the amount of hours I spent listening to their albums on walks as a moody and depressed teenager was a foundational experience in my musical development. Eternal Storm packs plenty of those somber yet oh so delicious melodies into this album, while also writing songs with an expansive range of motion not unlike Swallow the Sun. Be'lakor is a good comparison too, as there's a good mix of active, riffy sections and drawn out ambiance.

It's rare that you find a band so capable of packing entrancing and accessible moments in without resorting to ham-fisted poppiness, or one that has such careful attention to detail couched in a grandiose sense of scope. Eternal Storm has both in spades, with tons of memorable moments woven throughout the over-an-hour runtime. That length is usually a deterrent, but in this case it serves as a selling point. There's even more tasty riffs to consume!
-Nate

MetalBite's Rating: 8.5/10

5: Hulder - Verses In Oath
20 Buck Spin

For whatever reason, it took me until this album to dive into Hulder, despite them getting a lot of praise from a lot of different sources, but Verses In Oath hit me straight to the dome. It's rare that black metal can genuinely evoke the spirit of the 90s while still being a viable and interesting listen in its own right, and this checks both those boxes with aplomb. The feral, tonal rasps have a naturally appealing quality and are immediately recognizable, the washed-out keyboards and synths sound mystical and divine (reminiscent of Blut Aus Nord's debut album), and the songs have a natural groove supplemented by one of the best session dudes in the biz right now (Charlie Koryn). The title track gets stuck in my head as soon as I think about it - love the vocal rhythms on that one in particular.

This is an album (and a band) that understands exactly what classic black metal needs to be effective in 2024, reminding me of Nachtlich - more in spirit than style, as they're far more stripped down and raw, while Hulder is elegant and fantastical in the early Satyricon/Emperor sort of vein, with a slight undercurrent of grit.
-Nate

MetalBite's Rating: 8.7/10

4: Borknagar - Fall
Century Media Records

These Norwegian superstars never slow down, as is evidenced by both Vlad and Michael's glowing reviews of their twelfth album. Do I really need to recommend Borknagar to you? You're browsing an underground metal site, if you haven't heard of them yet I don't really know what to tell you.
-Nate

MetalBite's Rating: 9/10

3: Iron Curtain - Savage Dawn
Dying Victims Productions

Speed metal is a thing of the past?! Speed metal is dinosaur rock?! Real speed metal is not around in the 21st century?! BULLSHIT! Spanish band Iron Curtain made a triumphant return with their fifth album Savage Dawn, that is in my opinion the best living proof that speaks in high volumes "SPEED METAL IS NOT DEAD!" Coming from someone who grew up listening to classic and influential bands such as Tank, Raven, Accept, Anvil, Razor, Whiplash, Slayer, Running Wild, Iron Maiden, Grave Digger, Exciter and Destructor among others, Savage Dawn possesses everything that revives the magic of oldschool 80's metal with all the heart and soul put into their music which resulted in a majestic output that breaks all the chains and crushes the skull of those who oppose. So many songs shine with elements of heavy, thrash and speed metal that it is just so unreal, especially when a modern-day band actually managed to create something so effective and outstanding that it gives me the chills. After listening to this album on repeat, I started feeling like I was 15 again and that I never lost all that enthusiasm which made me the man who I am today. Iron Curtain is back heavier than ever, hungrier than ever, and Savage Dawn is their new weapon of ultimate destruction!
-Vlad

MetalBite's Rating: 9/10

2: Job For A Cowboy - Moon Healer
Metal Blade Records

Ten years to let the prog-death angle marinate was exactly what Job For A Cowboy needed to make the masterpiece everyone wished Sun Eater was. Perhaps the band just needed to take a break from the Big Boy Tour Circuit and breathe for a bit, maybe the more expansive, multifaceted approach is something that should be handled by more "mature" individuals, but whatever it was, it was the recipe they needed to write their best album yet. Though a groundbreaking band that enjoyed an overwhelming, rapid explosion in popularity in the MySpace era for basically single-handedly creating deathcore, you always got the sense that even by their first full-length album the band wanted to move away from the very sound they helped get huge.

Sun Eater was the moment they finally took the bold step into the music they wanted to create for themselves, but it came with a fair share of flaws - the guitars were too muffled, the vocals were way too loud (a recurring problem throughout their early career) and overall it felt like though the potential was there, it just didn't quite hit the mark. Moon Healer takes all of those qualities and goes "yep, we get it, here's the album you were looking for". It almost feels like a long con to get more people to buy into the prog approach.

The bass lines were still nasty on that one, and here they're even better. Navene Koperweis is hands down the best drummer JFAC has ever had - not to say the previous guys weren't skilled, but something about the way Koperweis plays just fits, especially with the more progressive leanings of their later direction. Instead of songs trying and bunch of things and going nowhere, he supplements them with tasteful fills and just the right amount of off-beat snare placement and speedy blastwork that underscore all of the ideas the way they were meant to. This guy is making a name for himself, and adds to an impressive resume that includes Entheos and Animosity. Each song is full with tasty little moments and a more even balance between the instruments - and lo and behold, Jonny Davy is actually mixed well and not dominating the fuck out of everything! They always mixed him like a deathcore vocalist - which, I mean, fair, he has an immediately recognizable voice and set the template for the mix of low growls and accent highs that most modern vocalists in the style employ, but now that he's actually a little bit more sifted in, everything can flow and breathe so much better - and Alan Glassman actually gets some time to be showcased, after years of being perennially underrated.

In summation, this is hands down Job For A Cowboy's best album and after years of somehow being simultaneously overrated and underrated, they've finally come into their own and are getting the proper recognition they deserve - not for accidentally inventing deathcore, but by establishing themselves as one of the finest veteran death metal bands making the rounds.
-Nate

MetalBite's Rating: 9/10

1: Necrowretch - Swords Of Dajjal
Season Of Mist

Swords Of Dajjal was an album that I accidentally came across and UNHOLY SHIT, I was not ready for what awaits me. By far one of the most intense and extreme albums in the black/death metal branch that can be described by one of their songs, TOTAL OBLITERATION! Swords Of Dajjal delivers with every track until the very last one, without ever catching a break or dropping its balls, just constantly bashing the non-believers in the face like a very merciless and violent beast that is. This album is a great example that showcases what extreme metal should be like and you will see for yourselves that there is plenty to be found here. What really got me hooked about this album is the fact that despite its consistent style and songwriting, it actually manages to get even heavier as it progresses from one track to another, and it's absolutely magnificent. Fans of bands such as Trivax, Xalpen and Necrophobic to name a few, should definitely check out this insane son of a bitch that is Swords Of Dajjal.
-Vlad

MetalBite's Rating: 9.5/10

Thanks as always for stopping by. Be sure to check out January's list so you can stay on top of 2024 releases while it's still manageable. Spring tends to be when the floodgates open!

January 2024

And, of course, Follow MetalBite on Facebook, Spotify and Instagram so you can be there right when the next Top 10 list drops!

Can you stay home when your favorite band performs in your area and it's your birthday? I couldn't sit that one out and crossed the threshold of the Moto Pub, and the recordings you will see below are proof of this massacre.

The first one to go was Białystok's INFERIAL. Some time ago you could read a review of their debut promo-demo Eternal Descent on our pages, and now we present a short video report from their concert. Locals and others who came to the Moto Pub crowded in front of the stage from the first sounds of guitars and stayed there until the very end. It wasn't enough for them to play the entire material. Only after the encore could they leave the stage. This was probably the best proof that fans liked their version of death/thrash metal.

After a quick reload of ammunition and stage equipment, SACROFUCK stormed the stage with their grinding death metal. After the well-received Święta Krew I was curious about their stage blasphemy. They didn't sound very clear until the sound system was properly adjusted, but later it was quite good. A quick music brought a quick end.

Another change of instrumentation and the Chełmsko/Lubelski quartet - STRAIGHT HATE - took the stage. I had already seen several of their stage abominations and I remember them all well, so I was ready to start the next one. An interesting feature of this performance was Kamil's replacement with Piotrek from Deivos. Although I can't say anything bad about Piotr's playing, I missed Kamil on stage, so I wish him a speedy recovery. Thank you, Kuba, for inadvertently giving me such a great injection of grindcore energy, and great respect for Wizun, his drum artistry adds magic to this grinding miasma.

Arek

STRAIGHT HATE

SACROFUCK

INFERIAL

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