Vassafor - To The Death

By Bryan Camphire. To the Death is Vassafor's grand statement to glorify Satan and all that is evil through music. The album - the band's third studio recording - is a high watermark in uncompromising black metal being released today.

By Bryan Camphire.

To the Death is Vassafor's grand statement to glorify Satan and all that is evil through music. The album - the band's third studio recording - is a high watermark in uncompromising black metal being released today. You'd be hard pressed to find music that sounds this aggressively malignant produced by guitar, bass, drums and voice.

Vassafor achieves this apex of malevolence by a raw, loose-limbed performance that is sharp, forceful and urgent. The live sound they have captured spews forth at a rolling boil, yet still contains ample nuance beneath the surface. The riffs knock the listener into a trance-like stupor and then they just keep coming. More than half the tracks clock in at close to or well past ten minutes, altogether amounting to over an hour of extreme relentlessness.

By some sleight of hand and a lot of attention to detail, every time the listener is lulled into thinking they know what to expect, Vassafor break out with some strange secret ingredient that keeps each song in a perpetual state of transformation. To the Death unfurls itself like a powerful explosion belching flames aimed the heavens: a colossal spectacle of blasphemy.

The title track comes first, and it's a definite highlight. Three minutes of dirge at the beginning make way for some truly bizarre guitar harmonics that bludgeon the listener into submission just as the blasting begins and the tempo takes off. It's a raucous gallop from there, chock full of wild twists and turns along the way. Here's a demonic fast-picked arpeggio, there a stomach churning dive bomb, next without warning come some witchy cackling chants. Hard panned wraith-like whispers whirl across the sound field to dizzying effect. Finally, at eleven of its twelve minutes, the track climaxes in seemingly the weirdest way possible: with a bass solo. This writhing busy twisted bass passage somehow sounds like the song's very entrails are unspooling into your lap, all noxious and inky black.

Raise the volume and you begin to notice all sorts of hidden strangeness. Track three, "Eyrie" - the title of which may refer to the nest of a bird of prey - features a melting solo thirty seconds in that smears two sections together like a space-time rip. This dimensional bleed-through motif returns six and a half minutes into the song, once again smudging your perception yet sticking with you like so much shrapnel after a blast. At eight and a half minutes, monastic chants creep in low and slow in the mix and last less than ten seconds, like phantoms stealing their way through your subconsciousness. Did they ever really exit anywhere, or have they been sneaking in and out all along? Turn it up and try to find them again.

Vassafor's lead songwriter, VK, is a noteworthy sound engineer, who's worked with heaps of underground bands of the darkest caliber. This skill set and experience imbues Vassafor's sound world with its own distinct atmosphere, enveloping the listener in a bewildering shroud of hate. To the Death charts a course deep into the darkest realms of black metal, one with plenty of left turns in its gnarled twisted paths.

Khthoniik Cerviiks - Æequiizoiikum

By Bryan Camphire. The music of Khthoniik Cerviiks looms large amidst a rich and storied history of underground German bands who make uncompromising extreme metal. Æequiizoiikum, their sophomore full length released through the venerable Iron Bonehead Productions, is the fullest realization of this band's unique sound to date.

By Bryan Camphire.


The music of Khthoniik Cerviiks looms large amidst a rich and storied history of underground German bands who make uncompromising extreme metal. Æequiizoiikum, their sophomore full length released through the venerable Iron Bonehead Productions, is the fullest realization of this band's unique sound to date. Khthoniik Cerviiks is a band whose name, music and very essence is likely to cause anything but indifference. The one word that newcomers and long time fanatical supporters can likely agree upon to describe their sound is: unorthodox.

Listening to Æequiizoiikum, it's clear how well-defined the band's style has developed beyond any easy comparisons. There is a loose-limbed feeling to this set of music that separates it from cleaner overworked releases. The heat that this live sounding performance brings is palpable and inspiring with a tremendous sense of urgency. Æequiizoiikum conjures up old school blackened death metal in all its daring full frontal attack, dripping with atmosphere and menace. Among the record's most striking achievements is the fact that the band manages to create such heaviness that is both instantly recognizable and still profoundly strange.

More than ever in their seven year history, Khthoniik Cerviiks refines the interplay between the berserk and the calculated on this record. Meticulously composed intricate song structures are constantly threatening to splinter into a caterwauling spiraling abyss. Æequiizoiikum, all the songs all at once are both overwhelmingly intense and infinitely subtle.

Dystopic quasi-robotic voices welcome us to hell at the beginning and release us into nothingness at the record's end. Soaring leads in the guitar's upper registers abound throughout the set; in fact, I'm given to think that the band may even be playing in standard tuning, which is quite an unusual approach in music that's this extreme. The churning riff that begins the fifth track, "Para-Dog-Son - Demagoron", reminds me of the late-great Howls of Ebb, with whom Khthoniik Cerviiks released a split in 2017. The three bars of blistering bass solo twelve seconds into track two, "Odyssey 3000", ramp up the momentum for the onslaught that is to come. The backing vocals four minutes and twenty seconds into track three, "Æequiizoiikum - Mothraiik Rites" - howling about swallowing the truth - harken a majestic and powerful climax.

According to the band, "the album’s title means age or era of sameness. It refers to a dystopian setting that is characterized by dehumanization and individual instability as indoctrinated by a technocratic, quasi robotic, ruling class." In the midst of this barren desolate hellscape, in this era of indoctrinated sameness that we call reality, with Æequiizoiikum, Khthoniik Cerviiks offer up delicious refreshment.

Sigh - Hail Horror Hail

An Autothrall Classic. Sigh is one of the best metal bands in the world, but until this release, they were simply a very good black metal band from Japan, doing a familiar style with a cool ethnic influence. Well, this is where the levee broke, and Sigh would never be the same again.

An Autothrall Classic. Originally published here.


Sigh is one of the best metal bands in the world, but until this release, they were simply a very good black metal band from Japan, doing a familiar style with a cool ethnic influence.

Well, this is where the levee broke, and Sigh would never be the same again. And neither would I. The titular track opens with a volley of Mirai's mad snarling, and 70s influenced blues leads over a raging metal riff. You are immediately confronted with several layers of melodies, the guitars are fucking everywhere and despite this being a very evil metal album, they manage to give you that real good feeling. But it's not over, for the latter half of this opening song is full of lush, beautiful orchestration which recalls classic, romantic theater productions and then relapses into more Mirai snarls...and this is all happening to simplistic slasher/killer lyrics like this:

Beyond all morality into insanity
I plunge my knife in you again and again
Torture your corpse before it's cold
I seek to devour your life and soul

What the fuck? Right? And this is only the first song! The 2nd track "42 49" brings back some of that earlier Sigh feeling where you are reminded of Celtic Frost/Hellhammer...but wait, what is that? Psychedelic robotic vocals only a few seconds into the track? Folk guitars? What is going on here. I demand an answer.

What IS going on here is an already brilliant band has gone stratospheric in their mushroom-addled ambitions, and concocted one of the best original sounds to ever exist in the wide world of heavy metal. A style so unique it belongs up there with the Voivods of the world, the few and far between.

The rest of the album is equally engaging. The frightening, discordant orchestral doom groove of "12 Souls". The pure piano dirge of "Burial". The shimmering, epic "The Dead Sing" and electro-orchestral number "Invitation to Die". And you haven't even got to "Curse of Izanagi" which is one of their classic go-to songs.

Hail Horror Hail isn't Sigh's best album. I'd reserve that title for Imaginary Sonicscape. But Hail Horror Hail is still an extremely beautiful work of art, which belongs in the collection of any person of taste. It was truly the turning point that skyrocketed them into the upper echelon of metal genius minds.

[Note from Mort Productions: The second CD, track 10-19, contains an unreleased Hail Horror Hail track and a rough mix of the album.]

Ulthar - Providence

By Bryan Camphire. I saw Ulthar perform much of this set here in Texas last year. I knew they were good, I had their debut full length. The righteous album art drew me in, plus the fact that they were signed to the venerable death metal label, 20 Buck Spin.

By Bryan Camphire.

Artwork by Ian Miller.

I saw Ulthar perform much of this set here in Texas last year. I knew they were good, I had their debut full length. The righteous album art drew me in, plus the fact that they were signed to the venerable death metal label, 20 Buck Spin. I liked their brand of blackened Old School Death Metal. Still, their first full length did not prepare me for the ferocity of this set of songs that are now released as Providence. I was in the front row at the show hanging on every note. (Damn, I miss live shows.) After this fiery initiation rite of witnessing them spreading carnage onstage, I became obsessed. I walked up to the merch table later and bought a shirt. The bassist had on an Order of Chaos shirt, illustrating that his commitment to the old school was for real. I asked him how he plays so fast. He said, "I practice a lot."

Listening to Providence, it's clear that this band is a well-oiled death machine. The aptly titled opener, "Churn", blasts off with a take-no-prisoners approach. Dueling blacked vocals and death growls, swirling aggressive riffs and relentless drumming all race towards the finish in just over two minutes. As the shortest song on the record, it's the perfect opener to this set. Its lean gristly riffs function as a mission statement of what's to come, assuring that listeners sit up and pay attention from the jump.

Completely unexpectedly, track two, "Undying Spear", opens with an acoustic intro. At this point, the listener is led deeper into the dark thicket of horrors on display in Providence. This cut further showcases the band's ridiculous chops in a cavalcade of tangled blistering riffs. Put headphones on to relish in the detailed playing on offer, or simply play it loud to offend some neighbors held captive in quarantine.

Next comes the record's title track, and it's from this point that the band locks into its steady stride that remains more or less consistent through the end of the record. You can hear echoes of Death's 1991 masterpiece, Human in the gnarled labyrinthine structures of Providence. The record harkens back to golden times before "technical" became a dirty word when applied to death metal. Providence brings the riffs with plenty of low-end and ample urgency. Songs on offer here, like "Cudgel" and "Furnace Hibernation", are as these titles suggest blunt edged forces of restless burning fury.

In the wake of watching their live set, I remember getting an oil change later that week, reading an interview with the band on my phone. My wig was so flipped that I wanted to know more about how such a tumultuous din gets kicked up by these three men. The guitar player describes once upon a time flying from California to Pittsburgh on his birthday for the sole purpose of placing the band's demo cassette in the hands of the label boss of 20 Buck Spin, saying, "I told him it would be a real dick move NOT to put it out, after all that. ...he wrote me a couple days later, saying he wanted to do it." This anecdote recalls the lore surrounding the first Deicide record in 1989, when legend has it that Glenn Benton waltzed into offices of Roadrunner Records presenting them with the band's demo saying, "Sign us, you fucking asshole." You want OSDM bona-fides, Ulthar's got 'em. Providence represents everything the band gets right taken to an even greater extreme.

Cauldron Black Ram - Slaver

By Bryan Camphire.. If you don't already know, Cauldron Black Ram are living death metal legends from Oz. This band has been making uncompromising original death metal since 1996. Slaver, their new release for the venerable label, 20 Buck Spin, takes their sound to new heights.

By Bryan Camphire.

Artwork by Misanthropic-Art.

If you don't already know, Cauldron Black Ram are living death metal legends from Oz. This band has been making uncompromising original death metal since 1996. Slaver, their new release for the venerable label, 20 Buck Spin, takes their sound to new heights. This band cooks more flavor into a single riff than most bands eke into entire albums. Theirs is the sound of a power trio taken to its fullest extreme.

Never a band to blast beat their way from start to finish, each composition on Slaver is packed with ever-changing rhythms and feels. This is what sets Cauldron Black Ram apart from other acts in extreme metal. In a single track, they're liable to thrash it up at a gallop, only to slow things to a lurch, then lock into an OSDM style mid-paced stomp. Slaver continuously leaves the listener wanting more of each tasty riff only to outdo itself in intensity with what comes next.

The band's know-how comes from experience. The members' other active projects - Mournful Congregation and StarGazer to name just two of many - are legends in their own rights. Both of those bands have also been making high-test death metal since the mid-90s. What is so interesting about Cauldron Black Ram is that theirs is a sound that is always re-inventing itself. Unlike nearly any other death metal act comprised of elder statesman who've been making music for the past quarter century, Cauldron Black Ram's material keeps getting more and more fresh with each new release. To date, Slaver is their masterpiece. The fat is trimmed. The menace is visceral. 

Favorite moments on this record include but are not limited to the following examples. The second riff in the second song, titled, "Smoke Pours From The Orifices From The Crematory Idol" (If ever there was a song title that conjures the ambiance of the music within, this is it): the disjointed drumming tramples forth like a violent stampede. Another blood curdling detail occurs and recurs in track four, "Graves Awaiting Corpses" (Another fittingly evocative title): The corroded arpeggiated guitar chord that creeps out of the rests during the verse and claws at you with its rusted hook. Memorable moments such as these abound across the entire wretched run-time of Slaver. The seasick rhythms, the gurgling tar-pit low end and the craggy guitars all punctuate the rough edges of this jagged, fearsome music.

This music originates in a scorched section of the Earth. Australia is home to some of the most extreme metal being made in this day and age. The unholy trinity of Portal, Impetuous Ritual and Grave Upheaval, in addition to StarGazer, Mournful Congregation, Temple Nightside, Consummation have all together significantly raised the quality standard of what extreme metal can be. Up to now, Cauldron Black Ram was perhaps the least well known of this pack, lurking in the shadows & toiling away with evil patience. Slaver stands to mark their name on the map indelibly, for all those who dare to venture to death metal's darkest depths. The fact that the vinyl of the first pressing of Slaver already sold out on release day shows that people are taking due notice of this massive record.

We Miss Live Music So Much (A Roundup)

The mass cancellations of metal shows, tours, and festivals due to the Covid-19 pandemic has made me think about what live music means to me. Obviously the bands are hit much harder by this than those of us in the audience - it affects their livelihood directly - but I know I'm not alone in missing that live magic. And THE PIT.

The mass cancellations of metal shows, tours, and festivals due to the Covid-19 pandemic has made me think about what live music means to me. Obviously the bands are hit much harder by this than those of us in the audience - it affects their livelihood directly - but I know I'm not alone in missing that live magic. And THE PIT. This week on Metal Bandcamp will be my small tribute to live music, beginning with this roundup of three recent live releases.

Artwork by Cameron Hinojosa.

This Khemmis EP, Doomed Heavy Metal, is only half-live. There's a newly recorded song, two studio rarities, and three live tracks, one from each of their albums. It takes a confident band to cover a Dio song, but here Khemmis takes their shot with "Rainbow in the Dark." They make it work as a "Khemmis song" without tweaking the original overmuch.

But we're really here for the live tracks. Of particular note is "The Bereaved," the best song from Khemmis's debut album Absolution and always a live favorite. Here's a Shitty Video™ from their set at Maryland Deathfest 2018. It's short and the sound quality is terrible, but the jubilant audience wohooo's when the song kicks in probably tell you better than all my words what it is we're missing.

The Inter Arma live EP takes me to a venue in Copenhagen last year. On record, Inter Arma have passages that sound great, beautiful even. Live, they're an entirely gnarly beast. Even the epic instrumental "The Long Road Home" (which was a bold choice for opener of the set) becomes a part of churning maelstrom of nonstop metal, anchored by the incredible propulsive drumming of T.J. Childers. After the last song of the Copenhagen set, there were a few seconds of stunned silence before somebody said, only slightly slurred, "Could you please play one more, if you don't mind... please?" And they did.

Note that all proceeds from the EP will go to Direct Relief, an organization that provides PPE to healthcare workers in regions affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.

I never saw Porcupine Tree live - they went into hiatus before I started going to shows again in earnest. In March, the band launched a Bandcamp page with a cache of live recordings, making up for what I missed out on. Some of them are pretty rare, like the surprisingly good recording of their first ever live performance in 1993. My favorite is the immaculate Köln 4th Dec 2007 (TV broadcast). It's a nice collection of songs, including a particularly good performance of the 17-minute "Anesthetize" and a beautiful version of "Dark Matter." I guess I am a sucker for songs with that kind of epic build up.

Like Inter Arma, the drumming on these songs is a joy to hear. Take for example the way Gavin Harrison's cymbals start playing double time during the solo in "Dark Matter." He can change the rhythmic feel of a song like no other, and he knows when to add something interesting to the song and when to step back and let it breathe. It's a high quality live recording, you can hear every little fill he does.

Should Porcupine Tree ever tour again I will definitely try to catch them. But for now I am happy that these recordings has found a home on Bandcamp.

Wake - Devouring Ruin

By Matt Hinch. Wake's previous album, Misery Rites, should have garnered the attention of anyone who hadn't been paying attention already. It was a potent blend of black metal and grinding madness. Anyone who thought new album, Devouring Ruin was going to follow the same formula would be wrong.

By Matt Hinch.

Artwork by Alexandre Goulet.

Wake's previous album, Misery Rites, should have garnered the attention of anyone who hadn't been paying attention already. It was a potent blend of black metal and grinding madness. Anyone who thought new album, Devouring Ruin was going to follow the same formula would be wrong. Sure, those key elements are present and accounted for but they've further honed their melodic touches and technicality and shifted in a more deathly direction.

Opener “Dissolve and Release” opens the listener's ears with a fairly melodic section but the hammer has to drop, right? It does with the force of a Prairie blizzard leading into “Kana Tevoro (Kania! Kania!)”. Technicality and off-kilter riffing compete with blasting drums and chest-caving vocals. As claustrophobic as it sounds the solos are quite expansive while still grounded in darkness.

Elsewhere we find demons unleashed. Fast, angry, and destructive. Vocals breaks and a slower pace rub elbows with more impact riffing. The back and forth between annihilation and lamentation feels more like reality than some bands one-vector approach. “Mouth of Abolition” features devastating deathgrind sewn together with prog touches and melody. The vocals, however, give no quarter amid the pummeling, yet there's enough emotion throughout to pull something out of you.

“Torchbearer” sees an atmosphere of doom devolve into noisy paranoia. A slow chug drags the listener through swamps of death before it rockets into black metal fury. There's really a lot more than just that as this track tops 10 minutes! Not too typical for grind! I don't think anyone has accused Wake of being typical.

“In the Lair of the Rat Kings” balances their signature grinding madness with some flourish. It's a banger though; total annihilation with some real heavy movement. It leads right into the penultimate track, “Monuments to Impiety”. More rage, more speed, more angularity, more heavy-handed groove.

Other than its runtime of over seven minutes closer “The Procession” brings together all the elements present in the previous nine tracks (save the two “noisy/arty” interludes). It encapsulates all the deathly weight, speed changes and bulging muscularity Devouring Ruin is built upon. It even feels like a conclusion (to the album). It has a climactic feel like it's rising, freed from the ground it so mercilessly pounds.

Wake are seriously making a name for themselves. Not only in the grind scene but as one of Canada's best extreme acts. With Devouring Ruin they are elevating an already top shelf game. This is a band not content to sit on their laurels and remain in a comfortable zone. They're pushing themselves and genre conventions and we are all the beneficiaries.

Riff Spreader Best of January

[Riff Spreader is back with his best discoveries from January. As usual the agenda is: No fash trash. Just righteous riffs]. There’s a new Nachtlieder track called “Avgrunden” and I’m starting to wonder if Dagny Susanne was built in a black metal lab somewhere. If you imagined perfect black metal riffs I don’t think you could get much closer than this song. ["Avgrunden" is a single from the EP Views from the North vol. I, due late February].

[Riff Spreader is back with his best discoveries from January. As usual the agenda is: No fash trash. Just righteous riffs.]


There’s a new Nachtlieder track called “Avgrunden” and I’m starting to wonder if Dagny Susanne was built in a black metal lab somewhere. If you imagined perfect black metal riffs I don’t think you could get much closer than this song. ["Avgrunden" is a single from the Views from the North vol. I EP, due late February].

Artwork by Karmazid.

Hey, there's new shit from Garroted out - a split with Calcemia, who I have never heard but will shortly. Garroted rules, if you didn't know. [So does Calcemia].

Artwork by Lordigan Pedro Sana.

The new Wormhole album has arrived. Slammy tech death with hardcore influence. These guys were a lot of fun live, and I've been waiting for this one for a while. Good times. Actually a lot of the hardcore influence is gone on this release. This is much more proggy/tech than their debut.

Artwork by CT Nelson.

There's a new Sutrah track streaming on Bandcamp and it's very, very good. I almost wet myself at the 2 minute mark. If this track is any indication, the new album is going to be even better than the debut, which is insane. [And the pre-order for the Aletheia EP is only $4].

Knelt Rote - Alterity

By Bryan Camphire. The title Alterity refers to the state of being other or different; otherness. It's a fitting and poignant title for this forth record by Knelt Rote, a three-piece American band whose work avoids easy categorization.

By Bryan Camphire.


The title Alterity refers to the state of being other or different; otherness. It's a fitting and poignant title for this forth record by Knelt Rote, a three-piece American band whose work avoids easy categorization. The band's sound has dramatically evolved over the years, and this release feels like a sticky concentrated black resin of their musical ideals. Alterity contains a sound that is potent and dangerous, its lean concoction of harsh textures and precise playing is both uncompromising and eye-opening.

The first track is "Lachesis", the title of which refers to the allotter of human destiny, one of the three Fates of Greek mythology. In under three minutes, Knelt Rote adopt a take no prisoners approach to unspooling their brand of blackened death grind. The tune is chock full of minor key melodies put forth at breakneck tempos over blistering dominant drums. If the record continued on at this pace, it would be great, albeit not altogether dissimilar to music you may have heard before in the realms of high caliber death grind. What makes this release stand out is how the music's rusty screws come lose as performance begins careening off the rails, as though nearly buckling under the force of its own ferocity. By the time we get to the third cut, "Rumination", the guitars have opened up, playing more spaced out rhythms and using the higher registers to cut through the murk.

A succinct set, Alterity tallies up at seven songs, clocking in at twenty-one minutes. Surprises continue through to the end, like the fact that the first guitar solo happens at the beginning of the fifth track, "Othering". The solo is already complete twenty seconds in, no more time was needed for this putrefaction to make its way from the music's yawning maw. The sixth song, "Salience", offers mid-tempo sections that give you just enough time to check yourself for bruises and make sure you haven't lost a tooth before the music sets off at its greased lightning clip once again. "Black Triptych", the record's last offering, presents another twenty second guitar solo about a minute in that pierces through the song like a cigarette burn on a handcuffed arm.

On Alterity, Knelt Rote's creative élan comes from its melding of torturous messy textures and sharp focused execution. Still, it is worth noting that for all the brute heaviness on display, absent from this album is any imagery of brainless skulls or even any overtly direct references to death, as is common in these realms of aural assault. Knelt Rote is an atypical group and they are not going to hit you over the head with this. They have other methods to bring forth their hostile onslaught.

Emptiness - Oblivion

An Autothrall Classic. Guilty to Exist had already proven an adequate foundation for this Belgian experimental death metal squad's immense and immersive permutations on the genre, but what it lacked was a truly distinct riffing ability, the means to draw the listener back beyond its elemental, atmospheric outreach.

An Autothrall Classic. Originally published here.

Artwork by Olve from Emptiness.

Guilty to Exist had already proven an adequate foundation for this Belgian experimental death metal squad's immense and immersive permutations on the genre, but what it lacked was a truly distinct riffing ability, the means to draw the listener back beyond its elemental, atmospheric outreach. Oblivion addresses these issues and more, with an incredibly rich production that was easily one of the best of 2007, in death or any other metal, and a slew of full bodied guitar work that more than apologizes from the shortcomings of its elder sibling. But behind this, Emptiness remain loyal to their grim, engrossing aesthetic, only tightening the duration and number of tracks they will require to cave in the listener's cranium while having he/she drooling for more.

No time is spared in parading the three years of evolution this band has undergone; "Truth of Trinity" comes out with all cylinders firing off into the void, a brief wash of noise and samples exploding into a well of complex riffs that constantly lay scourge to the mind, produced with as much discord as a technical black metal record, a mix of the band's guttural and higher pitched rasping vocals, and a tendency to continue quickening until the deeper, thrashing segments of the track that are bathed in pale, clinical lighting. "Summon" goes beyond even this, with one of the most superb arrangements on the entire record, an unforgettable stream of melodic wildfire and intense bass playing that stands out well on its own below the descending dementia of the guitars during the jazzy, atmospheric break at 1:00. This is followed by a great, twisting mute riff before 1:30 which dominates its own lead accompaniment, and the tracks wailing climax imprints deep into the memory.

Merely half a second later, the frenzy of "Feeding Force" continues the compulsive brilliance, a roiling mesh of brilliant grind/thrash, deep battering grooves and sporadic bursts of arching melody that once again pass unto legend. Essentially, you are given no chance to rest your bones before the next ass kicking, the rising hostility of "Crushing Ignorance" which completely rocks your kneecaps off again, sprawling you upon the asylum floor. "Forgotten" offers a glint of melodic despair, once again hinting at black metal through its morose hysterics, later adapting a gliding, pensive death metal structure which feels like parasailing across a dense, black sun. Also of note would be the chaotic crusher "Beyond the Rites", the thrash and bounce of "Guilty to Exist" (named for the debut album), and the sleek, memorable grooves that inaugurate "Exhausted Forms". "Slave" and "L.E.A.D." are likewise worth hearing, but they are the least of the band's compositions here, so it's just as well that they arrive so late in the duration.

Oblivion sees Emptiness reaching their true potential, and it's easily one of the best Belgian albums of its class. It may lack an engrossing industrial sequence as the one which closed the debut (though there are a pair of title track segues that fit this bill), and yet it compensates with so much good riffing that you'll very quickly lose count. Dark, concise, and compelling, there really are not many other albums out there like it, and it's set up some huge expectations for anything the band could possibly produce in the future. My initial reaction to this album was one of disturbed enticement, but through only a few shorts years it has grown into a tense rapture. Well worth whatever you would need to spend on it.

[Note that in January Oblivion and all other albums on the Agonia Records Bandcamp are available for $3.90]

Glass Shrine - Lapidary

By Hera Vidal. Lapidary is a term used to refer to the craft of cutting gems or polishing jewelry. It can also mean the conciseness or the precision of an object. Considering how Glass Shrine has chosen this term to title their album, it should come as no surprise that the album should be concise in nature and should reflect the various layers of a cut jewel.

By Hera Vidal.

Artwork by D.L. from Glass Shrines.

Lapidary is a term used to refer to the craft of cutting gems or polishing jewelry. It can also mean the conciseness or the precision of an object. Considering how Glass Shrine has chosen this term to title their album, it should come as no surprise that the album should be concise in nature and should reflect the various layers of a cut jewel.

Lapidary doesn’t begin with your traditional flavor of black metal. It starts off with what sounds like bird noises and synthesizers in the background. Apparently, this is an album that doesn’t want to overwhelm you at first; rather, it wants to slowly wade you in the atmosphere of the music so you can soak it in. Another thing that one may notice is the backing melody. While your typical black metal elements exist—the blast beats, the tremolo riffs, the harsh vocals—there are also other interesting tonalities that make the album seem more vibrant that what I have listened to thus far. There are some screamo and metalcore influences that are weaved into the music, giving this album more of a punk/hardcore feel. It makes the album sound lively, which is not the point of most black metal.

Now, let’s focus a bit on the singing. Throughout the album, you can hear what sounds like throat-singing and chanting, which adds layers to the harsh vocals and to the music. It’s completely unexpected, but when it comes out, it’s welcoming to the ears. There are also instances of clean vocals, which sound like the kind of vocals that wouldn’t be out of place in surfer rock or, more conveniently, on a Ved Buens Ende album. They are avant-garde, but not the avant-garde that borders on nightmare fuel. I actually enjoy the vocals, not harrowing and warm as they are.

In short, Lapidary is an album that is warm and fuzzy, and sounds like a good time. This album masterfully blends black metal with surfer rock, metalcore, and screamo, giving it a layer of liveliness that black metal seems to lack. It makes it shine and stand out more than anything else. This album shows us that black metal can be fun, and doesn’t need to fall into any aesthetic if it doesn’t feel like it.

From The Metal Archives Vol. 10 - Black Lion Records

[Welcome to another special edition of From The Metal Archives. This one is meant to showcase that January is name-your-price month on Black Lion Records' Bandcamp page. Here's three epic black metal (somewhat of a Black Lion specialty) releases for you to check out.

By the reviewers from The Metal Archives.

[Welcome to another special edition of From The Metal Archives. This one is meant to showcase that January is name-your-price month on Black Lion Records' Bandcamp page. Here's three epic black metal (somewhat of a Black Lion specialty) releases for you to check out. There's more good stuff over there (also in other genres) and nearly all of it is available as name-of-price downloads.]

Artwork by Alex Tartsus.

[The Metal Archives reviewer Lord_Lexy said]

In 2013 the four instrumentalists of Bal-Sagoth reunited under the name Kull, got reinforced by new vocalist Tarkan Alp and recorded their first, promising demos. There was definitely potential in these new tracks, but it was clear that Alp needed to mature as a singer. And of course Kull needed a label to release its début. Black Lion Records stepped forward.

And this brings us to Exile itself. The musical pedigree is very clear, though the sound has evolved into something more raw than what we heard on The Chthonic Chronicles and with a bigger emphasis on the black metal elements of the music. Alp clearly grew as a singer and can now showcase his own vocal sound.

[read Lord_Lexy's full review here]

[The Metal Archives reviewer Paganbasque said]

The single “Orin Kozh” was a first taste of the (finally) upcoming debut entitled Hanter Savet. The band has decided to play homage to its roots writing the lyrics for the debut in Breton, the ancient language of Brittany. This album opener was the perfect presentation of the album and a confirmation that the core sound of Vindland was still there. The track has the traditional combination of fast tremolo riffs and an excellent taste for the melodies. Anyway, my expectations were absolutely fulfilled with the next single and second track of the album, “Treuswelus”. This song broght back the up beating and incredibly beautiful melodies influenced by Valfar´s unique style. It’s impossible not to headbang with this track which is epic beyond words.

[read Paganbasque's full review here]

Artwork by Simon Bossert.

[The Metal Archives reviewer Edmund Sackbauer said]

The greatest aspect of the album is how the harmonies of the lead guitars and the symphonic samples have been woven into the whole picture and how they work as contrast to the aggressive riff attacks. The band members have a fantastic talent for creating haunting and beautiful melodies that feel melancholic and depressive but also offer a glimmer of hope at the same time. They have worked with the interaction of musky moments and lighter pieces and have melted all those elements into one great piece of sinister and eerie art.

[read Edmund Sackbauer's full review here]

Big riffs. Big smiles. The Riff Spreader Best of 2019

[Riff Spreader is a Twitter account run by a friend of Metal Bandcamp (he wrote a few reviews for us years ago). Riff Spreader is "Music recs for the discerning metalhead. No fash trash. Just righteous riffs", which is a purpose we can get behind.

[Riff Spreader is a Twitter account run by a friend of Metal Bandcamp (he wrote a few reviews for us years ago). Riff Spreader is "Music recs for the discerning metalhead. No fash trash. Just righteous riffs", which is a purpose we can get behind. Here's his massive best of 2019 list, look for more Riff Spreader related posts in the future.]

Artwork by Sludgework

2019 was the year of “Caveman Shit,” 20 Buck Spin finally realizing its potential as the best death metal label on the planet, discovering a bunch of artists you loved dearly are Nazis, Mariusz Lewandowski, cosmic death metal, Déhà, and – perhaps most importantly – Riff Spreader.

We made it, y’all. With a whole fucking ass load of incredible music. I tried to make this a small curated list, but 2019 was a year of so many great albums, it almost made it impossible for anything to stand out and break away from the pack. Ignore the rankings and LET'S GO!


50. Hagetisse - De Reis Van Vernielde Zielen
Low key Mories' best black metal endeavor.

49. Misertus - Coil
3 albums in 4 months, but this was my fave. Another prolific force in blackgaze.

48. Green Lung - Woodland Rites
This was the best stoner album of the year, hands down. So much groove. So ear-wormy.

47. Tomb Mold - Planetary Clairvoyance
Listened again and this is probably too low on my list. Tons of killer riffs. I just liked Manor of Infinite Forms way more.

46. Acathexis - Acathexis
Technically released at the end of December 2018, but this is too good not to recognize. Incredible black metal from Déhà and Jacob Buczarski (Mare Cognitum).

45. Haunter - Sacramental Death Qualia
Nobody did weirdo blackened death metal better in 2019. I haven't spinned this one as much as I wanted to, so I suspect this ranking will only go up.

44. Nekroí Theoí - Dead Gods
As a former Evangelical Christian, I relate so hard to JJ Polachek's spiritual journey. It also doesn't hurt that his gutturals bend space/time and the band fucking destroys.

43. Musmahhu - Reign of the Odious
An overlooked death metal gem in the over-crowded sweaty throngs of OSDM bands crawling out of their swampy caves this year. Technically a 2017 release re-issued in December 2018, but I'm counting it. I make the rules.

42. Renounced - Beauty Is A Destructive Angel
My little Poison The Well loving heart couldn't believe what it was hearing. A potent distillation of everything I loved about late 90s/early 00s melodic hardcore/metalcore.

41. Blut Aus Nord - Hallucinogen
Blut Aus Nord is good at everything they do. Full stop.

40. Kaatayra - Nascido Sob o Signo Incivilizatório
Antifascist, atmospheric black metal from Brazil that deftly sidesteps the pit falls of this increasingly dull sub genre. This one never gets boring.

39. Déhà - Cruel Words
Déhà had quite a productive year, but nothing else of his made my head swim like this one. Perhaps that's why he used his namesake and not another pseudonym. A breathtaking combo of funeral doom, DSBM, and ambience.

38. Nucleus - Entity
I've been slow to warm up to Nucleus, but the mind-bending cosmic riffs driving Entity beyond the stratosphere cannot be denied for long. I came around quickly, speakers blasting.

37. Vale of Pnath - Accursed
It's a testament to their immense talent that they were able to convincingly make a hard turn from the pure tech death of their first 2 albums and steer directly into the waters of black metal without losing who they are.

36. Dawn Ray'd - Behold Sedition Plainsong
The darlings of antifascist black metal, and for good reason. They're not the best in the game, but no one is more inspirational to the movement.

35. Marsh Dweller - Wanderer
Quite a surprising change in direction - from melodic death metal to a daring post-metal opus. The craftsmanship on display from the monster riffs to the atmospheric passages to even the guitar tone is evident.

34. Creeping Death - Wretched Illusions
This was the crossover album of the year. No one else except maybe Witch Vomit was able to lift my spirits and get my head banging after a shitty day at work. Big riffs. Big smiles.

Speaking of Witch Vomit...

33. Witch Vomit - Buried Deep In A Bottomless Grave
The award for most fun death metal album of 2019 goes to Witch Vomit. It's nothing new, but it doesn't need to be if you're able to do the old with this much charisma.

32. Zealotry - At The Nexus of All Stillborn Worlds
It took me a long time to "get" this album, but it kept drawing me back with each listen and became part of my routine listening habit without me even realizing it. It's alive.

31. Have A Nice Life - Sea of Worry
Dan Barrett is a genius. I have intensely loved every piece of music he's ever touched. I haven't spent a lot of time with Sea of Worry, but each spin reveals more and more to love.

30. Wishfield - Wishfield
The album starts out as post-black metal and then suddenly evolves into a heavy alt-rock/shoegaze concoction. There's a lot of aggression and beauty to be found here. A truly unique album that I've come back to a lot.

29. Falls of Rauros - Patterns In Mythology
Falls of Rauros just know how to do the damn thing. They get better with each release, though it's hard to imagine topping the atmospheric black metal perfection of Patterns in Mythology.

28. Mystagogue - And The Darkness Was Cast Out Into The Wilderness
Featuring members of Laster and Gnaw Their Tongues, Mystagogue creates visceral, aggressive black metal wrapped in the sheen of blackgaze. A rapturously hammering experience.

27. Beastwars - IV
It is an injustice that Beastwars has not blown up by now. Meaty, sludgy stoner doom that rivals any of the bigger bands today hawking that sound. But alas, they are only headlining in my car.

26. Wounds of Recollection - You Were A Garden of Empyrean Light
I've been following Wounds of Recollection for a few years, but never expected this. Conjuring early Deafheaven but with a songwriting maturity not found in those releases, this is top shelf blackgaze.

25. Ghostwriter - Burial Grounds
This album is so beautiful. It reminds me of the first time I heard Mazzy Star or "Heaven or Las Vegas" by Cocteau Twins. Plus the artwork is stunning.

24. Caїna - Gentle Illness
An album so personal it feels like trespassing at times. Gentle Illness is a post black metal journey through mental anguishes as diverse as the instruments, noises, and soundscapes that bring them to life.

23. Smoulder - Times of Obscene Evil and Wild Daring
Trad/epic doom that crawled into my brain and lodged itself there like a parasite on horseback. I played the hell out of this album in the shower for some reason.

22. Epectase - Astres
Astres initially presents itself as a jaunty 2nd wave black metal album, but then things get very interesting. Sure, it's black metal. But it's also 70's prog rock. And it fucking works.

21. Hath - Of Rot and Ruin
Another stellar death metal release in the vein of Where Owls Know My Name and Esoteric Malacology, and very much on the same level as those two juggernauts. I'm very much enjoying this trend in tech death.

20. Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze - Offerings of Flesh and Gold
Antifascist, anticapitalist black metal that means fucking business. Relentlessly driving black metal riffs and blast beats that wash away into dark ambient passages. Let this one soak.

19. Organectomy - Existential Disconnect
A masterclass in slamming brutal death metal. This one came out in June and it's still in almost daily rotation. Most of the slam I get into fizzles after a couple of weeks. This one has staying power.

18. None - Damp Chill of Life
There was a noticeable lack of DSBM in my diet this year. Blackgaze sort of took over everything. But None makes the case for quality over quantity. Even if I only listened to one DSBM album all year, this was enough.

17. Vukari - Aevum
Imagine how high this album would be on my list if it wasn't so uneven. Even with its flaws, it remains one of my favorite black metal albums of 2019. When it's on, it's fucking ON.

16. Storm of Sedition - Howl of Dynamite
Crusty anarchist black metal that stomps on the gas and does not let up. This shit gives me life and makes me feel invincible. Anarchy and total fucking destruction!

15. Horror God - Cursed Seeds
No other tech death album in 2019 bent my brain quite like this one. There are so many good things going on here it demands spin after spin after spin, and you will happily oblige.

14. Spirit Adrift - Divided by Darkness
After Curse of Conception, I was slightly disappointed by what I believed to be a sophomore slump for Spirit Adrift. Turns out I was hilariously wrong. Seeing the band play this live was a religious experience.

13. Iapetus - The Body Cosmic
This will surely go down in history as a progressive death metal classic, if only within the small circle of the fortunate few who have discovered and loved them so far. Spread the good news, ye faithful.

12. Superstition - The Anatomy of Unholy Transformation
I think it's perhaps the most underappreciated release among a slew of incredible releases from 20 Buck Spin this year. I love these goddamn riffs.

11. Devourment - Obscene Majesty
These pioneers of brutal death metal have not lost a single step in their 20 years of existence. I hope detailed notes are being taken by the younguns in the back.

10. Fit For An Autopsy - The Sea of Tragic Beasts
If you're surprised that a deathcore album is in my top 10, it's because you haven't listened to this one. But I have. Over and over and over and over again. It's powerful, thrilling, and massive.

9. Violet Cold - Kosmik
Violet Cold just keeps getting better and soaring higher. I feel like I've been strapped to a rocket every time I hit play on this album.

8. Cloud Rat - Kosmik
Cloud Rat are grindcore heroes in that even people who don't like grindcore love Cloud Rat. Pollinator is their best effort yet, and that's saying a whole fucking lot. Just stellar in every way.

7. Cosmic Putrefaction - At The Threshold of the Greatest Chasm
Pure cosmic brutality from an artist who mainly traffics in atmosphere yielded probably the most eerie death metal album of the year. No other death metal I heard this year felt like this.

6. Venom Prison - Samsara
Venom Prison has been honing their craft for 4 years, growing more potent with each release until they finally blew the doors off with Samsara. Pummeling, relentless, dense, hostile, and 100% unfuckwithable death metal.

5. Trespasser - Чому не вийшло?
This is, hands down, the best anarchist black metal - pure black metal - I've ever heard. A new bar has been set for this burgeoning sub genre - one that must be cleared by all comers if the genre hopes to thrive.

4. Blood Incantation - Hidden History of the Human Race
This would've been number 1 if there was more there there. Still, Blood Incantation is one of the great hopes for the future of death metal, and the hype is warranted.

3. Funereal Presence - Achatius
Funereal Presence crafts metal - not just black metal, even if that is the dominant genre expressed here - teeming with creativity and bold songwriting. It's impossible to distill into a tweet. It must be experienced.

2. Vastum - Orificial Purge
Vastum is on another plane right now. Their brutally dark death/doom is at once familiar and horrifyingly strange. Their influence is widely heard but impossible to imitate because the essence of the music is inextricably entwined with its singularly-minded creators. No one else is doing this because no one else CAN do this.

1. Sadness - I Want To Be There

Sadness is impossibly prolific. If you stop keeping up with his Bandcamp page for more than a couple of months you'll likely find you've missed 2 full length albums. Most artists who release music at this speed suffer from a common malady - an inability to edit. The patently false notion that everything they create deserves to be shared with an audience.

Sadness, however, does not fall into that category. Everything this motherfucker puts out is worth listening to, and the majority of it is as good or better than most post-black/DSBM on Bandcamp. With this in mind, imagine how good one of those releases would have to be to rise so far above its stellar companions as to merit a number one ranking on a 50 album list.

These songs ooze an aesthetic quality that starts the listener out on a frighteningly high plane. The songwriting does the rest. The compositions swell and heave their way upward to dizzying heights, take a moment to acknowledge the view, and then launch into an almost disorienting and exhausting crescendo that completely wrings every ounce of beauty and pain out of a song that a mere mortal can bear.

It's good, is what I'm trying to say.

And that's the end! Phew! I hope you discover something here that you love. And, as always, please support the artists.