The Sanguinary Impetus, released in 2020, was another impressive foray into all things bottom-heavy and brutal and that path continues with this sucker.  Mainman Lille Gruber on drums returns with his stable of Jacob Schmidt on bass and Josh Welshman on vocals.  They welcome in new guitarist Vaughn Stoffey, to the fold, and the band is now ½ German and the other members are from the United States.  Unsure how that will work out touring-wise.

Suffice it to say the band rips into “Amputationsdrang”, a pretty short song and I love the opening aggressive gallop which then gives way to monster blasting from Lille.  Tight, as usual, and the bottom-heaviness of the guitars remain unchanged even with the new guitarist.  That is also attributed to the fact that Lille knows guitar and plays it as well as being the primary guitarist on their last album.  The man knows how to write death metal, but meaningful death metal.  Lots of brutal gutturals and rippin’ blast beats with Jacob’s prominent and impressive bass guitar skills always on full display.

“The Odour of Sanctity” is next on the list and has more technical madness happening with some monster stop-and-start riffing and excellent drum patterns.  The rhythm section truly shines on this song with the signature Defeated Sanity brutality stamped all over this.  There is quite a monster groove at the end of the song.  This moment is excruciatingly heavy and the band will get the crowd moving quickly with this song.

Interspersed along the way are a few longer songs with “Condemned to Vascular Famine” being the longest at six minutes.  Starting with technical jazz-infused drums and bass guitar plucking this intro gives way to monster blasting and super heavy guitars with killer gutturals.  The slow-down groove at the 1.27 moment is hopping!!  It has a NYDM groove style to it.  Truly heavy.  The blast beats return with the amazing bass plucking over the blasts – very impressive and excellent drum patterns in the middle of the song, as the technical and stop-and-start moments have a bit of polyrhythm to them.  The instrumentation on display is some of the best the band has ever done.  The crazy blast beats return with the song ending on an atmospheric note, reminding me of something off Testimony of the Ancients from Pestilence.

“Heredity Violated” ends the album as it starts off mid-paced and it is pretty damn brutal.  More technical wizardry and creative guitar moments before the blast beats tear into you.  There are some slow-down groove moments and lots of tempo shifts with this ending song, tying up the album in a nice brutal bow for all of us.

Chronicles of Lunacy is a well-produced album being able to capture the Defeated Sanity bottom-heavy tone without it sounding like a mess.  I have heard similar style bands unable to achieve good mixes and the albums sounding like a sludge pile of crap, never the case with Defeated Sanity.  The band knows their style of brutal technical death metal to a T and chalk Chronicles of Lunacy to another bone-breaking release from veterans of the brutal scene.

10 songs in 46 minutes “The Truth” erupts in those Sepultura/ Soulfly beats, mentioned above.  Gruff vocals, mixed with melodic spoken word moments, and immediately the catchiness is on high display.  The polyrhythms are exceptional as are the use of bongos, alongside the drum moments.  This mid-paced groove heavy song is scorching.  The atmospheric moments towards the end, are excellent before the song kicks back into that groove heavy beat.

“Not Getting in Line” starts with a fast thrash beat, before slowing into a groove moment, then quick little blast beats, then slow down and back and forth until the thrash beat comes back in.  Some excellent guitar work and the isolated vocal lines at the 1.15 part before the harsher vocals come in with the song title yelled out, is a thing of beauty.  This song has pinch harmonics and a super cool guitar solo, towards the end.  The band has a variety of tempo changes, however they return to the main riffs/vocal lines multiple times during the song and throughout the album making this a very memorable album.

“Walk With Us” has a very old-school Fear Factory sound to it, think the Obsolete album.  Extraordinary catchy vocal tones and choruses run throughout this song, from the gruff to the actual singing and spoken word moments erupting in a 360 degree experience.  The 2.40 moment with the excellent spoken vocal moments, then right into the heavy groove with the multitude of sounds and tribal instrumentation is breathtaking, as it is heavy.

“Home” really brings in the West African influence, and this has a strong Sepultura Roots flair to it.  Heavy groove with beatdown riffs and pinch harmonics.  About halfway through the song, the tribal moments take center stage with the beautiful vocals.  This moment is excellent and of course the band gets back into the heavy moments with all the band chipping in with the vocals.

“Asrafo” is a relentless display of Meshuggah djent style polyrhythms and thrash moments ready to split your head open.  This song is chaotic and never loses its catchiness.  The song even takes pauses to bring in those tribal musical and vocal moments.  Excellent drum work and nods to early Soulfly are highly evident in this song, with a ton of originality to boot.

Dzikkuh is a highly ambitious and forward-thinking metal album from Arka’n Asrafokor.  I am mesmerized by how catchy this album is, as it is brutal and beautiful at the same time.  The variety of vocals, tones, instruments, tribal sounds/beats, and atmospheric moments all gel perfectly together.  This will definitely make my year-end list.  If you are looking for something pretty darn original, heavy and tribal, that is beyond catchy, you must check out Arka’n Asrafokor immediately.  Brilliant album!!

“Cathedral Reaper” is next and opens with a blistering riff that reminds of a mix of groups like Dark Funeral, Immortal, Abigor, and at times Blut Aus Nord. After around the two-and-a-half-minute mark, you get one of the heaviest parts of the album so far. “Silencer” is one of my favorite tracks and has one of the coolest intros of any of the tracks on the record. There is no shortage of atmosphere or technical proficiency across the board.

“Nephilim” opens with a nice acoustic guitar passage before things pick up and other instruments join. There is a lot to like, and I enjoy their mix of heaviness, melody, and dissonance.“North of Hell” is one of the most avant-garde-sounding songs on The Blaze of Abaddon. This is one of the most locked-in albums for a USBM band as I have heard in a long time.

“The Consequence” finishes up this incredibly impressive release. The overall diligence in song construction across the board makes this one of the best albums of the year so far. I think this release will do very well for these guys and I would anticipate wonderful things to come their way. If you are looking for an excellent United States Black Metal band with an original approach, then this it to a tee. Absolute evil.

You have to hand it to the lone remaining founding member/ drummer Dave Astor; he is certainly persistent and keeps shuffling lineups and releasing albums on multiple labels, even with all the above he’s seemingly settled on a somewhat stable lineup for a few albums now (Obie Flet on vocals, Dan Richardson in Guitars, Ricky Jackson on bass.

And now on Agonia Records, and while the label and lineups change, the quality of Pathology’s sneakily melodic brutal death metal/slam is as consistent as ever, as Unholy Descent sees the band continue to deliver the goods.

A number of staff have covered the band’s releases since 2011’s Awaken to the Suffering, to 2021’s The Everlasting Plague. Myself included with 2019’s Reborn to Kill. And when I dug through all the reviews, one thing stood out; there wasn’t a bad review in the bunch, although 2017s Self Titled effort was considered below par for the band’s output.

Well, album number 12 certainly stays the course as it is another fine pathology album, arguably one of the top ones in their career.

The formula is as solidly consistent as the last 9-10 efforts; traditional US brutal death metal/slam, but with just a little melody here and there, and now with some new, minimal orchestration as well ( intro, “Cult of the Black Triangle”)

From “Cult of the Black Triangle” to “A World Turned to Ashes”, Unholy Descent is a Pathology album. Nothing more nothing less. The slams slam (i.e. “Psychotronic Abominations”, “Archon”, “Malevolent Parasite’), the blasts blast (i.e. “Diabolical Treachery”), and the little harmonies (leads, etc) here and there keep things interesting (i.e. “Hermatic Gateways”, “Whispers of the Djinn”, “Diabolical Treachery”, “Demons in the Aether”, “Apostles of Fire”,”A World Turned to Ashes”) and not just a mere Devourment clone, like many of their peers.

Zach Ohren’s (another consistency for a few albums now) recording is perfect- heavy and clear and a perfectly rendered delivery system for Pathology’s expertly crafted 12th studio album.

The UK’s 2-man Ahamkara (vocalist Steve Black and Michael Blenkarn of Wodensthrone on all other instruments and programming) has all of the hallmarks of a terrific atmospheric black metal experience: long, rangy compositions (the shortest is 10 minutes); indecipherable shrieks; percussion so relentless that it’s evolved past rhythm, and cresting swells of malevolent and majestic melody. It’s also unfortunately got some mix and rhythm problems that distract as often as they gel, but we’ll get to that.

Opener “Midwinter’s Hymn” is simply glorious, with a central melody that’s more triumphant than black and furious. Play this for anyone who’s unaccustomed to the scrawling riffs, the Wrest-like shrieking vocals, and frantic drums, and you’re likely to get a quizzical reaction, but there’s no denying how cinematic and powerful this is. Once the song slows down to its stately midsection, the beauty becomes more apparent. It’s also worth noting that Ahamkara achieves this emotion without dipping into post-metal or shoegaze, lately the go-to in black metal whenever you want to add more swoon to your tune.

The synths come to the forefront on the somber follow-up, “On the Shores of Defeat,” creating a mood that recalls the late 90s Finnish band Throes of Dawn (a gem; look ‘em up). I also hear the bass a lot more on this track, wandering up and down its own simple melody below the rushing drums and plaintive guitars. Despite the blasts, it’s a slower and more depressive track than the opener, but still a strong composition with a lot of variety in its almost 13-minute running length. The minimal midsection, with its lapping waves, shimmering chords, swelling synths, and Summoning-like bass line, is a memorable moment.

“Lamentation of a Wraith” brings in a few new elements and techniques as well, like a fragile tremolo riding high above the thunder in the first minutes, and a plinky-plunky synth sound that comes in a bit later to add some fantasy whimsy. The central melody on this track is not as strong as its predecessors’ though; it’s more stretched out and languid, and when other elements like the synths or tremolo don’t rise up, the abrasive vocals have to fill up most of the space from minute to minute. The midsection is more successful, as the drumming slows down to make room for the bass once again, and the composition feels more cohesive as a result. Same with the final minutes, when a stronger tremolo guitar comes in to take control from the wall-of-noise approach.

Final track “To Invoke the Stars Themselves” creates a long break in the action with a 2-minute ambient intro, but then dives into a intense torrent that’s darker and more determined than the other tracks. As with the previous track, the main melody suffers from a lack of definition and clarity, but I love the atmospheric midsection (starting to see a pattern here?), as its bass melody and synths combine to create a mood you’d expect from Pink Floyd. That also gives way to a gorgeous third section, with a much stronger melody that rolls along for awhile at a gentle pace before cresting to a speedy and stunning closer.

Impressive as it is as a whole, The Embers of the Stars is not without its problems. There’s just so much going on during the faster moments of each track that the elements can pull away from each other. The mix is the biggest culprit, as it varies the presence of different elements at different times. Maybe that was done intentionally based on the needs of each passage, but I found it distracting. Given all of the chaos in the faster sections, I prefer when the melodic elements – the guitars, bass, and synths – are pushed up, and the vocals and percussion recede. When the drums ride high in the mix, it’s easier to notice when they move too quickly for the wall-of-sound guitars. The percussion is generally on point and in sync, but when it’s slightly off, you get a disjointed and uneven effect.

Any black metal album with 10+ minute compositions is also not going to be the sort of thing you just toss on to blare around the house – it will quickly become background noise – so I wonder what Ahamkara could accomplish with slightly shorter songs. Around 6 to 7 minutes rather than 10-12. Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk comes to mind. Keep the rangy atmospheric midsections, but craft even stronger melodies in each, on the level of “Midwinter’s Hymn,” which I think is still the standout here.

I’ve returned to this album many times over the year, and although I’ve become accustomed to some of its quirks, the occasional looseness does keep it from being an absolute knock-out like last year’s Phobos Monolith. Still, if you are a fan of any of the aforementioned bands (all fantastic company), then The Embers of the Stars is well-worth your time and focused attention.

I normally politely pass on 2014 releases at this point, but the press release he sent got my attention; A host of guest musicians helped create this album from Karl Sanders of Nile and Christopher Malmstrom of Darkane providing some solos to Kevin Tally (Suffocation , Misery Index, Dying Fetus, etc.) performing the drums as well as a plethora of guest orchestrators, soloists and vocalists (including Fleshgod Apocalypse‘s Paulo Rossi). I immediately get a vibe of Kalisia, a French supergroup with an equally large number of guests who released one of 2009’s most stunning albums, and a future classic – Cybion.

Lo and behold, my instincts were correct as further correspondence with Alrumaidheen reveals that Kalisia‘s vocalist /guitarist Brett Caldas-Lima actually mastered this release (as well as Katatonia‘s Jens Bogren mixing). And thus the circle is complete, and when you press play on Garden of Dystopia, the Kalisia vibe springs to life, albeit with an expected Middle Eastern gloss.

So does this army of guests make the album worthwhile? Well sort of. While certainly the Kalisia comparison is apt as Divine Disorder play an almost identical form of big, excellently produced and rendered, ambitious, concept themed melodic death metal with oodles of synths and progressive leanings, it leaves a little to be desired in the songwriting department, though still a very competent and enjoyable release that drips confidence and skill.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvcwhLQn2t4

11 songs, 1 hour and all of them rife with big brash keyboards, choirs and tons of shifting, solo filled riffs and dueling clean (from many a guest) and growled vocals. Other than one interlude, every song is chock full of chunky, soaring melodeath riffs and ambitious structures, but there is little that stays with you. Other than maybe the more brutal “The Puppeteer” and “Children of Menace”, the album is largely empty calories; fulfilling, tasty and certainly enjoyable, but lacks those certain riffs, moments or songs that elevate the album into much more memorable pastures.

Certainly Alrumaidheen and co know their way around the instruments and have the ambition in their songwriting to make Divine Disorder something special in future, but there just isn’t that song here or there to reel you in and blow you away. Cinematic, choral opener “Pandoras Codex”, “The Arcanist”, “The Serpent”, Arabic “Animus” and 9 minute closer “Rusted Libra” all display a deft grasp of solid melodic death metal steeped in progressive and symphonic elements, but just lack those hooks to make it special. Also, other than the aforementioned closer, the concept never seems rooted in the music where you feel the story’s emotional peaks and valleys.

That all being said, the band’s desire, ambition and skill all point towards something special in the future (some of the albums songs are 2-4 years old). They are really close to becoming a truly brilliant band with or without the guest musicians and I’m looking forward to hearing more from this tantalizing project in the future.

Of course, an amalgamation of goth, death, and doom metal is nothing new, but there are a few things that make this group’s take on it exceptional. First off, there are the vocals of Chris G, which alternate between an articulate yet vicious growl and a deep, tuneful croon that actually reminds me of the bass-baritone vocals of Brad Roberts of Canadian alt rock act, Crash Test Dummies. Then, there’s the huge Type O Negative influence. Now, plenty of bands have been inspired by those goth metal innovators, but I’ve never heard the darkest side of their sound so powerfully embodied as it is here. The lush keyboards, huge guitar slides and bends, heavy basslines, and massive, memorable choruses throughout the four tracks immediately take me back to the best moments of October Rust. The only things missing are the fuzzed-out guitar sound and Peter Steele’s voice, but there’s no recreating that, and this isn’t all about cloning Type O anyway. Elements of melodic death and doom are equally as prominent. I hesitate to use the word “progressive,” but the way these sounds are folded together is more layered and complex than you usually hear in this genre, as the band unpredictably shifts between styles throughout unconventional song structures filled with deft guitar work and detailed percussion. At times, tracks like “August Price” and “Nibelheim” are even downright thrashy.

The only criticism that I can come up with is that the production could afford to be a little fuller, but that could be tweaked for a CD and/or vinyl pressing (the EP is digital-only at the moment). A label needs to snatch these guys up and make that happen. I also hope a full-length isn’t too far away. The genre is in need of a band like this.

“Aetas De Morior” begins the album on the perfect note. No filler intro track here. Just pure intensity from the get go. It’s reminiscent of Behemoth and Fallujah in the sense that it is very hefty and distorted with some melodic guitars in the background but it has an incredible pace. It slows things down slightly towards the end but that’s just a tease for it gets heavy again. “Invisible Eye” has some more of that melodic background guitar that adds an element of spacey atmosphere but it’s really quiet. This track keeps up that pace from the “Aetas De Morior” but a little more on the “core” side.

“Corridors” has some delicious low end vocals that really showcase the range that Aaron has with the microphone. Almost Cattle Decapitation-like with the sound that is created. It’s as if he is literally puking while vocalizing. It’s not a constant though because he mainly has a mid range bark that carries with it an air of death metal dissonance. They are showcased very well in each song but “Dissent” is probably the best example of where he can go with both. It starts out with some beautiful lows that are accented gracefully by the sparse guitar and tom heavy drum beat. It then breaks into some Man Must Die-esque death metal speed that is perfectly stated with a guitar tone that seems to get more distorted and dirty the further the track progresses. There’s a slight breakdown of sorts in the middle section that also has a groove to it that really helps diversify this album.

At times there’s some guitar playing to reminds me of Council of the Fallen. A few parts here and there of solo-ish type stuff that sounded somewhat familiar. That band is one of my favourites so I can’t hate on that at all. A nice instrumental piece, “Ancestry”, breaks the album up a little bit. All drums that have a tribal-ish vibe about them that is all ear candy. There’s some deep guttural chanting stuff that is barely audible too. I can’t tell if it’s a didgeridoo though. “Coil” follows the instrumental with a mid range guitar tone and pace that recalls A Life Once Lost before they got super simplistic and  slightly after their really tech stuff. “Hypnoguise” has that same tone but it’s heavier for sure. It’s very rhythmic too. Almost groovy but there really isn’t an emphasis on that aspect. It almost seems to happy naturally.

The album ends with the trio of “The Lurid”, “Altar of Ire”, and “Obsequia”. “The Lurid” is propelled by a drum heavy attack with the same dirty guitar tone from previous tracks. I hear traces of Decrepit Birth in the schizophrenic speed at which some of these songs play out and this track is prime example of that. “Altar of Ire” seems to carry the most groove of the songs displayed on this album. A very tom heavy back end with some great guitar interplay definitely will keep many necks sore in a live setting. If any song could be construed as a “single” or standout track, this one would certainly fit that bill. Very memorable in delivery and catchy as fuck. “Obsequia” is pure death. Very fast, brutal, and maniacal drums; the drums on this album are insane and this song really showcases that.

Hadal Maw are a great addition to the an already abundant Australian metal scene. This album came out last year so I can’t say it’ll be on any year end lists this year but it certainly belongs on last year’s lists. A very competent and effective death metal album that will please many ears.

The new iteration of Falloch delves far more into pure post rock than grey/black or folk pastures of your, even though strain is Celtic/Scottish thematic and lyrical elements are scattered around the release. What we have now is a band much more entrenched in the sounds more akin to Sigur Ros, Sólstafir newer Alcest and to these ears, the likes of Day Without Dawn/Biclops and even Burst and later Cave In.  But the thing is, I’m really enjoying it. Its perfect winter music and a nice break from the usual growling, misogyny that death metal offers.

Falloch were never really a full on metal band on the debut anyways, utilizing amicable all clean croon, and new singer Tony Dunn has a similar, airy, clean, almost pop voice, and while it has a certain Irish charm, he lacks real range, depth and emotion, but it still works in the framework of the sprawling, jangly riffs and misty, loch and rolling hill scape imbuing atmospherics.

The songs are all rangy 5- 12 minute affairs laden with acoustics and shimmering patient builds and ebbs, strumming riffs and soaring singing. There’s no crumbling peaks or slightly blacker blasts. This is pure, sonic introspection, perfect for late night headphone listening to lull you to sleep. The guitars and production in general is lush and has a nice, warm density, so songs like “Brahan”,”I Shall Build Mountains” or album centerpiece, closer “Sanctuary” carry a little weight, but roll like mists off the highlands rather than rumble with thunderous heft. But for the most part it’s melodramatic, but stirring hymnal patience like “For Uir” (and its gorgeously fitting video above), “For Life” or sumptuous, Celtic tinged opener “Torradh” .

This Island, Our Funeral is a relaxing, gorgeous album. Though I’m sure it will ruffle the feather of ‘real’ metal fans, it’s deserving the ear of the more discerning, open minded metal fan that appreciates passionate art as well as blast beats or screeching.

Opener, “The Harvest” isn’t short on fury, but the gravitas is missing.  Where Guiller’s stuttering, “kick you in ass” riff breaks happen midway through the song I should be lit up like a roman candle on the beaches of Normandy.  It sucks to admit it, but I’m not.  The ingredients are here though…a throaty, carnivorous lead vocal element, head-banging thrash riffs, Lane throwing everything out from the double-kick to the blasts and a few gang shout-a-longs meant to spice up the chorus.  So, what in the name of malevolent creation is my ears’ problem then?  Ugh, first up the recording is flatter than a pancake, and just south of thinner than a piece of paper on the fast shit especially.  Vocally, it sounds great but the guitars never gain any weight where they need them most.  Whenever the speed kicks up and they try to nail a frenetic mosh, forget it!  For some reason I also remember the drum production being better than this on the last album as well.  Here it has more click than Fred Astaire’s favorite shoes.  “Pip, pap, pup, pip, pap, pup,” is about the only thing that sticks with me.  Nothing is anchoring the sound from bouncing all over the place, thusly hurting all of the good stuff Nervochaos could have going on as a result.

The kicker is (as we all know) albums are often recorded with a uniform sense in mind, so you know this is going to be trouble throughout the entire album.  There’s a difference between low fidelity and a weightless digital recording; one has charm and the other doesn’t.  “For Passion Not Fashion” is sludgier, and fucks with ascending/descending fretboard runs that bring in a little black metal coldness.  It’s a decent jam in the writing department, yet the production is so polished and pedestrian that I know I won’t be coming back for holiday seconds.  A solo could have dashed it up with some flavor, though it seems no one felt like taking a risk.  Onward and upwards, so, “The Devil’s Work” actually distills the speed down into a magmatic crumble that isn’t afraid to let its gut show.  The needed girth comes through here, and the riff is downright punishing especially whenever they drop things further into the nether of begotten doom heaves with sparse, slimebag chords, oppressive drumming and vomiting growls all sounding off.  Quiller rips a sweet solo that’s more melodic than it has any right to be in a song of this nature.  Even Felipe’s low-end gets a little bit of screen time here.  Yeah, more stuff like this please!  It almost feels like they are playing with a thicker production deck on this beast.

“Betrayed” jumps the nearest runaway train and goes right back to the band’s smash n’ bash with a drum sound that reckons of a nonsensical digital kit my band used once on a demo recording ‘cause the drummer was too fuckin’ lazy to bring his kit.  We were a doom band and it made us sound like Ministry.  I mean no disrespect to Eduardo, but the aesthetics of the skins aren’t pleasing on this at all.  The solo in this one is pretty nasty, so there is that.  The mid-tempo returns on “From Below and Not Above,” which I’m digging a lot more.  It’s no secret I can get down with Jungle Rot’s doom-ier material such as Dead and Buried.  This is filthy sludge wrapped up in a DM package.  It’s odd they can display such thickness on the slow jams when the fast stuff is so brittle.  If they made a full-album of music in this vein they’d probably have a fan.

The rest of the album blows through like a hurricane though never leaves anything in its wake except for a handful of savory moments.  “Blood Ritual” would be mostly a ho-hummer if not for the cool bass-break that lends it much needed identity.  “Rotten Moralismo,” “Shadows of Destruction,” “What is Dead May Never Die” and “The Legacy is Pain” are so similar I couldn’t tell them apart with a program.  An Olympus topping, sewer-smooched groove elevates “Ghost of the Past” above standard fare, although I can’t help recommending you fast-forward directly to the groove in question at 1:27.  Closer, “Lightless” is sheared from sloth hide and is another album standout.  Slow is the way to go for Nervochaos, obviously.

It pains me to be critical of Nervochaos because I’ve always wanted to flip a switch over these guys.  Their hearts are obviously in the right place, and once they cull the manic energy they really have a knack for MONSTER riffage.  So, it’s not like there aren’t any great ideas on The Art of Vengeance.  There are…just not enough.  Whoever recorded and mixed this should also stay away from the soundboard from here on out.  Scrap 60% of this album, keep the other 40 and you’ve definitely got something to work with.

Apparently, despite being around since 2001 this is only the second album from Austria’s Misanthropic Might,( they released their debut Misanthropic War over a decade ago) who shares members with death metal act Parental Advisory. But it’s a pretty damn good effort of Dark Funeral ish wall of noise, razor sharp, slightly melodic black metal furor, that also has some early Cradle of Filth riffs and high pitched screams, just minus the Gothic bullshit.

Don’t let the COF comparison fool you, it’s only in the shrieks, a few deep bellows and fierce blasts, as the DF reference is pretty dominating, I actually thought third track “Doomsday” was  cover song from Secrets of the Black Arts being a dead ringer for the albums opening track ( which of course could be wholly intentional). And the album is littered with many frosty, tremolo picked icy blasts that will make you shiver, making for a pretty under that radar release that fans of the style should check out.

Along with the aforementioned “Doomsday”, the likes of “Fallen Kingdom”, delivered with perfect control and pacing amid the vitriol, and utterly blistering, personal favorite, “Human Scum”, which even hints at a sort of Zyklon like, mechanical death metal intensity, the album , even at 46 minutes, is a force to be reckoned with. And while the 8 songs are pretty long for this style, it never loses steam and shows just enough variety (i.e some melodic leads in closer “Becoming the Misanthrope”, some movie samples) to hold your interest, and be a black metal band I will be keeping an eye on, assuming they don’t wait another 10 years.

It’s basic,and at times sloppy, but its rollicking as fuck with so many foot tapping head bobbing moments of thrashy, blackened, d beat, punky but downtuned and gravel throat-ed catchi-ness and sheer memorability that it will stay wormed in your brain for a while. The formula is simple and often repetitive, but effective as deep, gruff growls and sneers over lay simply drums and  catchy blasts and chugs canters. There’s nothing remotely game changing or world beating, this is just good ol fashioned riffs and more riffs.

The Portuguese spoken lyrics and pacing in some of the songs lend a little Brujeria vibe (think the band’s second more groove based album, Raza Odiada)  as heard on the above title track or “Sacramanto Maldito”, and the World Downfall riffage / guitar tone arises more than once with grindy punky sneer as heard on opener “Culto Hermetico”, “Anjos Captivos”, “Born Again Antichrist”, “Litergio de Excrementos”. But  simply look to “Ourobouros, Constrictoria” , “Inferno Abysmal” or “Um Dia em Texas (Paralisis Permanente)” to get a real feel for the albums tone and delivery and I dare you not to tap your feet. And in a year loaded with tech death and virtuosity, its actually kind of nice to return to a simpler, dumbed down raucous, fun sound such as this.

Before the outro the band close the album with a killer track that slows things down to a huge lurch and almost stoner groove for “Caronte” , a fitting end to the album that provided my a lot of entertainment, even being a limited edition LP, thank goodness for bandcamp and such.

Global Purification is the sixth long player from Thanatos and it’s punishing.  Album opens with the title track that deathly thrashes along until Yuri rips into a punishing blast beat later on in the song.  Stephan’s vocals have that killer deathly snarl to them and he sounds incredibly pissed off on this release, which only enhances his vocal performance.  The guitars are razor sharp on this album too.  “Queen of Gore” is a personal favorite of mine, with an outstanding rhythm section and a super brutal blasting section on this track.

“World Jihad” is also another highlight.  Devoid of any blasts, the tune rips from start to finish with its upbeat death/thrash pace throughout the track.  I picked up the limited edition version, of the cd, which contains the extra song, “Dawn of the Dead”, a new and improved version, which originally appeared on their debut 1990 album, Emerging from the Netherworlds.  This retake on the original classic song is vicious.  The mix from Dan Swanö is great.  The guitars really breathe on this release and the drums sound fantastic, I just love the snare sound, especially during the blast beats.  Stephan’s vocals are excellent too.  The bass guitar sound, I felt, could have been a little more audible, that is a minor complaint.

If you have loved the past work from Thanatos then Global Purification needs to be in your collection.  It’s a monstrous display of brutal death thrash metal that was one of the finest releases for 2014.  Buy or your Blood will be Spilled!!

The Last Walk is made up of the titular composition which runs for over 25 minutes and is a hybrid of both traditional, gothic and funeral doom with industrial pistons compressing the song into a thick, gooey paste.  If you stuffed Godflesh, Skepticism, Warning and Morgion into a sack you might end up with Owl.  A withered trunk of synth drone and bark-stripped, melody guitars are occasionally offset thanks to some bass-y plunges that go straight to the bottom of the well and break off the bucket.  From the very first note I felt any positivity I had left in my system from the day drained out by a sucking, vampiric bite.

It takes nearly 5 leisurely minutes for Kolf to drop a burly, molten-doom riff into the mix, accompanied with his funeral pyre, goth-y baritone.  The delivery has a little more rise and higher-register expressiveness to it than say Peter Steele’s school of low n’ slow, but it’s still coming from the swamp of the soul.  An additional chord change is added to the main riff and things really get to digging into a juicy progression that sounds like Morgion on their way to the grave in a wooden casket.  Percussion-wise, this death in slow motion affair barely has a pulse except for a brief marching snare segment which crests the vibe back into a psychedelic, demon-haunted nether.  The vocals eventually plunge into a death-y, gothic rasp in a few instances, yet nothing I would call an outright, straight from the toes growl/gurgle associated with the funeral doom genre…it’s kind of there but it kind of isn’t at the same time.  An autumnal, vocal mantra of “Get born, get ready to die,” begins as sung and ends on a scream, yielding perhaps the strongest lyrical moment on the EP.

Everything is golden till about the 10:30 mark, the verbal grittiness and riff variety getting a little too tender for its own good, and the trippy death-rock instrumentation losing its direction for a nihil drone that doesn’t equate to too much.  Christian does bring back another mighty riff bent with some Sabbath/Candlemass might and his delightfully wrathful, screaming vocal vengeance that adds a few extra kilograms to the tune’s mass density, returning the attack to an altar with some semblance of destination again, which is quickly desecrated for a finish that’s too heavy on the Swedish melody and painfully lacking forceful, climactic guitar muscle.  Don’t get me wrong, 13:30 till 18:00 is fuckin’ perfect, though I can’t help but feel that this section should have been substituted for the endpoint.  To be honest, the second half’s five o’ clock shadow could have received a beneficial beard trim and the song would have been just as hairy and manly as it needed to be without all of the extras.  The space-y parts have their place, but they really just bog the song down when the riffs and other arrangements are this good.  Owl did enough psyching out in the build-up to sort of nullify its further implantation.  That’s but the opinion of one asshole though, and your mileage may vary.

Shave about 10 minutes off The Last Walk and I wouldn’t have any complaints.  This deranged duo certainly forges the appropriate primitive tools to make their special brand of 3 chord dirge stick.  Whenever the riffs are taking hold, coupled with the vocals there’s a helluva of an impact.  Like I said, they remind me of a really barren version of Morgion circa the Solinari masterpiece whenever they’re in that mode.  The introspective stuff is a nice addition, but I think it saps the energy out of the recording beyond the opening and drag Christian’s larynx down a bit as well.  Kolf’s vocals are good too.  They mostly never take it too sad, and whenever he whips into a glass shard cut caterwaul the mark is hit.  As it stands, this is an above average release that leaves me curious about their past works and their inherent potential on future outings.  It’s close, but I’m afraid this doesn’t quite have me reaching for the cigar box just yet.

I’m reminded a little of local Missouri act Tyranny Enthroned, in the bands overall sound; a commanding, authoritative mix of riffs and bellows with some blackened shrieks and gritty lurches thrown in. It all comes together to make for an impressive debut that makes for a nice low profile release many of your should check out and enjoy.The production has that big burly tone, though I wish the drums had a little more oomph to complement James VanDenBerg’s bellows.

The no nonsense 33 minutes opens with a solid Morbid Angel-ish groove to start the title track, and the band never looks back, delivering 10 tracks in compact, effective 3-4 minute bursts of rumbling razor sharp fury. There’s no real peaks or valleys, and certainly nothing to bring the “HOLY FUCK”, but just a consistent, head bobbing, grimace inducing competence that satisfying any black or death metal urges.

Big muscular lurches like the”The Crowning Moment” or “Storm of Plague” collide with the aforementioned Goatwhore reference  not only in the southern tinged “Christ Crusher” but also  blackened groove thrash of “Nocturnal” “Castle of Meth” and arguable standout “Leviathan’s Crown” which mixes both. Closer “Conjuring Your Death” ends the album with a high energy blast of blackened death fury, going out with a bang rather than a winding down whimper, highlighting the energy these unsigned guys bring to the table. Blast Head records- you reading this?

In 2013 , I reviewed the second album ..The Dissection of Christ, from these Kansas City death metalers, it was a solid hodge-podge of death metal styles that showed some promise if a lack of direction and tonal focus. The only consistent thing was that the band really disliked the holy trinity.

Featuring some truly bizarre yet grotesquely wonderful artwork that shows the albums lyrical themes and style, the album is a vast improvement of ..The Dissection of Christ, as the band seemed to found a nice balance between burly goregrind and some whiddly melodies that give the album a little more character and style amid the deep bellows and twisting brutality. The backbone is an obvious Cannibal Corpse/Broken Hope sound and imagery, but the lead work of Nick Yeates, elevates the whole thing to something a little more. The last album did have a few moments of melody but it was a bit of a mish mash, but here, its used and rendered with much more confidence.

Now don’t get me wrong, this is by no means a game changer of classic album, but it is very good. The album is riddled with the cliched samples of women suffering, horror quotes etc (including the above reference quote from Eastbound and Down in the album’s opening track) , and that’s  OK if you are into that sort of thing, but amid the genre typical gore and misogyny, the band put together some memorable tunes and moments. Case and point towards the end of second track “Autopsy of a Cunt”, there’s a pretty cool sweep and groove, that you normally don’t hear in this style. A few other flourishes such as “Digested Genitals”, the oddly introspective mid sections of  “Sulfuric Semen Skank Dunk Tank” and “Inserted Vaginal Castration Device” and the penultimate title track are sprinkled around the album, making your ears perk up amid the carnage.

Of course the majority of the album is rife more standard, effective gurgling, blasting brutality that has much more focus and chops. The likes of opener “I Can’t Believe She Got in the Van with Me”, “Skinned and Sodomized”, “55 Gallon Crypt” deliver ample, cleanly produced gore grind savagery, that’s par for the course, and I’m intrigued how these guys continue to develop.

Satanic Warmaster has always been something of a cult phenomenon in underground black metal.   They have  maintained and groomed a devoted fan base, to some derision and head scratching among those who never quite got what the hype was all about.  The band never struck me as terrible, with some good songs, but never all that good either.  Band leader Werwolf may have made a smart marketing ploy in this recording choice though.  There is a level of nuance on this record I hadn’t gotten from listening to the bands older material. When going back to revisit those albums after being shocked by their updated sound, I noticed more details that were overlooked previously.  While this record is a standalone statement, the accessibility also acts like a key to unlock some of the dingy melodies lurking in the murk of their earlier recordings.

“Fimbulwinter’s Spell” opens the record up in the standard early 90’s black metal fashion you would expect.  Not bad, pretty good, but nothing that particularly stands out and catches the ear too strongly.  After a few minutes though, follow up “Funeral Wolves” though grabs you with a sickeningly catchy bridge full of midpaced hooks and a touch of keyboards to mix into the tried and true blasting and tremolo formula.  “When Thunders Hail” starts off really promising, and is one of the most well writing songs on the record, but hits what could be a divisive bump in the chorus.  The vocals change from the typical black metal rasp into grunted homage to wolves, and a lorn palace…  and it comes off as pure cheese.  But it’s a sincere cheese.  It kind of makes you chuckle, but you kind of like it, or tolerate it, because by Satan, those are the things we sometimes put up with in black metal.

“Nun-Gaer-Faun” is the real highlight of the album and wraps all the bands strengths up in one track.  Starting off with a slow meandering melody that captures the essence of the early 90’s perfectly, it gives way to a section of black metal two step before an epic two chord exercise in musical tension and release.   It’s surprisingly made it into what has been one of my most played and favorite black metal tracks of the year.

Overall this is a solid release.  That being the case black metal purists find satisfaction with in this record as long as they aren’t going in with great expectations.  Like grandma’s meatloaf, or your favorite burger joint, it gives you what you know, but does it well enough, and with just enough individual character, that you keep going back again and again even if it’s not doing anything all that different from anything anyone else is doing or has done before.

It starts off with “Thrvst”, which is no doubt the most intense on the record; every single riff on it is simply incredible, striking a perfect balance between frenetic blasting and desolate sludge dirges. Granted, there are a few sections on the album (the latter half of “Endless Craving”, for example) that lean more towards the mechanical arrangements of Abigor, but the writhing, ever-shifting time signatures of “Lowlifer” and scalding tremolos of “Aimless Roaming” are tell-tale signs of guitarist Simon’s influences. Along the way, Lowgazers hits a couple of snags – “Relief of Troth” is two minutes of ambience, which didn’t really seem necessary, and it doesn’t help that it’s followed by the rather aimless “Svn in Your Head”, which is the sludgiest song on the record, but the lack of balance makes for a rather dull result – but the last two tracks easily make up for it, rounding out the album with yet more vicious black metal riffing.

What separates Plebeian Grandstand from Deathspell Omega is that they possess an undiluted fury that the latter, constantly caught up in their pseudo-intellectual ramblings on religion, never quite got to unleash. A lot of it is thanks to the blistering howls of Adrian, which are a far better fit for this type of music than Mikko Aspa ever was. (I’ve never liked the guy’s piggish grunt, so it’s refreshing to hear someone else over this kind of music.) Together with the intricately crafted drum patterns of Ivo – reminiscent of Jamie Saint Merat of Ulcerate due to the velocity at which they are played – and the claustrophobic, crushing production, not a single of ounce of animosity is wasted on this record.

All in all, Lowgazers is a far cry from the band’s equally aggressive but less refined hardcore beginnings. “Paracletus 2.0” might be a crude description, but it’s not an inaccurate one. It’s funny because Plebeian Grandstand are anything but orthodox black metal, so if you’re like me and enjoy Paracletus despite thinking that most orthodox is at best derivative (and at worst absolute garbage), then do yourself a favour and give Lowgazers a listen.

Plying a sound that’s somewhere between Eluveitie and Svartsot, Vanir play a style of bagpipes and whistle layered, well produced, chunky, melodic death metal with a mix of gruff and raspy vocals. Like early Eluveitie,  the main criticism seems to be that its simply rather forgetful music with a bagbpipe warbling over it. The riffs themselves simply don’t evoke any sort of heathen, viking blood lust or pillaging emotion. Sure the pipes of token folk band female member Sara Oddershede are well done and amply folky, but still even a but lifeless, but the flat riffs just don’t do anything for me. Just listen to opener “Fall of the Eagle” which should bean album opening throttler, is just meh. Even the attempted somber ballad “I valkyriernes skød”, even with its moody bagpipes just wanders and plods with no real impact.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0MBQs4VCnE

Which is a shame as I’m typically all over this kind of stuff and I really wanted to like this more as  occasionally the band deliver some solid Amon Amarth sounding march or chug such as “Written In Blood”, “The Flames of Lindisfarne” or  the more urgent “Overlord”, but nothing truly rousing or memorable and as a result, the whole album is just kind of there rather than an album that makes me want to put on my chain mail cod piece and viking helm and chase pigeons in the park with a broad sword.

Mighty Music is usually pretty reliable, but with recent and a really weird recent slew of pretty bad hard rock and power metal releases ( Saint Rebel, 23 Acez, Estate, Malrun, Sea Ruinside) the label needs to step it up and return to its more chunky Euro death metal sound- maybe reunited Czech veterans Pandemia and their upcoming 2015 effort will help.

Now, I’ve been into this miserable music since My Dying Bride was considered avant garde and Thergothon was called black doom, yet I still can’t tell you exactly where the line gets drawn between death/doom and funeral doom. But, I’d say Mesmur falls into the latter category. That often means songs that overstay their welcome and albums that outlast my patience. Fortunately Mesmur avoids funeral doom’s pitfalls…most of the time.

By funeral doom standards, Mesmur‘s runtime of 53 minutes makes it like a grindcore album. So, now you can have that The Lord of the Rings trilogy marathon and still enjoy some funeral doom in the same day instead of one or the other. However, with a total of just 5 tracks, you still get some fairly lengthy songs, which works better for some than others.

The first thing you’ll notice with opener, “Deprivation” is that this is very much a modern recording built upon everything that has developed in the genre over the past two decades; there’s no old school pandering here. Keyboard and subtle electronic elements permeate, but don’t overwhelm as the powerful, harrowing vocals of Chris G from Aussie death/doomsters Orphans of Dusk (who also released some great music this year) lead the way through the darkness. The production is clean, but satisfyingly thick and meaty. Indesinence and Evoken immediately come to mind. “Lapse” then starts with an ominous rumble reminiscent of Celtic Frost at their slowest or Winter at their fastest. After a brief ambient break, the track turns into an exercise in building tension, like the sounds of a beast rising from the abyss. Unfortunately, we never get to see the beast (funeral doom pitfall #1: buildup with no release). Instead we get the album’s most funereal track, “Abnegate.” Your mileage my vary, but its repetitive plodding lasted about 3 times too long for me (funeral doom pitfall #2: a song to nowhere). Thankfully it’s followed up by the album’s strongest track, “Descend,” which shifts between different movements and is awash in some of their most haunting synth work. The tone for the majority of the album is more menacing than melancholic. That gets reversed on closer “Osmosis.” Its final moments are especially heartrending. It’s a great way to end the album, but after hearing that they have this in them, it makes me wish they used it more.

Despite its minor shortcomings, Mesmur echoes loudly through the darkest corridors of doom and shows a lot of promise from this new band. If 2014 felt as light on the slow and heavy for you as it has for me, this could be just what you need.

Taking the bouncy, speedy, power metal shreddage that comes close to Dragonforce or Children of Bodom adding a synth drenched, folk viking backbone and Rider’s deep growls and rasps, makes for an epic mix that rivals Ensiferum or Turisas and country mates Blackguard but with even more accessibility and catchiness. Of course, that might turn some folks off, especially the mention of Dragonforce, but there’s no denying this is some fun stuff.

I defy you not to get caught up in the likes of “A Gathering of Kings” or ‘Maidens Call” and end up like the Asian guy in this State Farm commercial from a few years ago, and wailing along in your car. Guitarists Ryan Hofing and Greg Rounding (who adds some well done soaring clean vocals) deliver oodles and oodles of solos and galloping melodies that will simply get you amped like “Rise to Power” and “Heroes among Us” or “Braving the Storm”. And if you need a bit of respite,  from the almost continual double bass salvo, try the superb  closer “Moonlite skies and Bloody Tides” which adds a little more pacing towards the end of the the almost draining 10 minute gallop.

Yeah, it’s super cheesy and some of the tracks are a bit too similar (latter tracks “Freedom And Salvation” and “Dawn of Vengeance” being a particularly guilty parties) but never quite as over indulgent as Dragonforce, and the gruffer vocals keep things respectably heavy. And as a result Crimson Shadows look poised to become Canada’s premier folk metal act and take the scene by storm.

Those wanting catchy or memorable riffs should look elsewhere. Morbid Dimensions is a miasma of muculent, viscous riffs, throaty barks and strains of demented atmospherics. Look no further than 7-minute opener “Cosmic Mausoleum” which takes a few minutes to get going after some crawling, oozing bars that really set the mood and could have come from Autopsy‘s Retribution for the Dead EP.

And that’s pretty well the template for the next 53 minutes as the next 8 lengthy (6-8 minutes) tracks ooze and tumble through a plethora of punky, but chaotic muddy blast beats, sickly lurches and fiendish ambiance. You won’t have a song to single out or hum along to, but rather an open festering wound to pick at. The throbbing jangly bass acts like tendons underneath the purposely mangled guitar tone, and the whole thing, as fleshy as it is, is caked in an almost cosmic, alien goo, awaiting for some foul tentacled creature to emerge from the viscera.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXds2-fi78o

Singling out tracks amid the filth is hard, but the likes of “Dopplegangers”, “Miasmal Sabbath” and the title track seem to have bored into my cavities more than the others, like a nematode burrowing under my skin. But certainly the slower psychedelic seep of “Tribulation Shackles” or “Vestiges” deliver some creepy crawly, skin scratching moments as well. Then there’s some direct, furious Autopsy-ish sloppy-ness on “Funeral Procession” and “Ancient Tongue”. And the end result is a pretty darn impressive album that’s a nice break from all of the super-clean tech death or shoegazey black metal I’ve been listening to and added some nasty to the end of 2014.

Whereas White Empress reaches much further away from COFs instantly recognizable sound, you’d be forgiven for thinking Devilment was simply COF cutting room floor left overs. And not simply due to Filth’s distinct vocals (and imagery) , but even with a more industrial,groove based,  simplified, and dare I say commercial gloss, the tracks simply sound like COFs more tame and mid paced left overs, complete with female vocals, voiced by keyboardist Lauren Francis and not Sara Jezebel Diva. And to be honest- if some of these songs popped up on random shuffle on my ipod, I would easily assume a random COF song was playing, but again more due to Filth’s vocal presence ( and recent COF producer Scott Atkins, delivering a familiar guitar tone and overall sound).

The thing is, while some of it is utterly forgetful,  (i.e  opener “Summer Arteries”, “The Girl From Mystery Island”, bonus “Psycho Babble”, closer “Bloodlust, Rust & Empire”), some of it is actually pretty good, again dependent on your tolerance for Filth’s voice and cadence, and simpler thrashy, sometimes almost Rammstein-y riffs littered with programming and synths.”Even your Blood Group Rejects Me” has a hearty , enjoyable solid stomp, and ‘”The Stake in My Heart”,  “Living With the Fungus”  and the title track could have come from any of COFs early/ mid 00s , more thrash based releases, simply stripped of vampyric eroticism. And tits.

“Mother Kali”, offers an alluring Arabian chug, while “Staring at the Werewolf Corps” offers a haunting intro before a pretty catchy chug saunters into earshot. “Sanity Hits a Perfect Zero” is a pretty solid track also, with a stern groove and crunch. The slower, moodier crunch of”Laudanum Skull” is one of the albums better tracks and for you children of the 80s there is actually a pretty cool little cover of Midnight’s Oil’s “Beds are Burning” and even Bam Margera’s presence can’t ruin such a classic tune.

So while it would be easy to hate on Devilment and Dani Filth, the fact is the album is actually OK, and I  hope that one thing hold true; Filth has got these more commercial song writing leanings out of his system and the next Cradle of Filth album, with an almost all new line up, will be energized and return to form after the dreadfully forgetful, yawn inducing The Manticore and Other Horrors, (this coming from a die hard COF fan).

Unlike last year- there was no clear cut album of the year for me. Of the top 10 below, any one of them could have been my number 1 album on any given day, and the other 15 could have been in my top 10.  Tech death and progressive black metal seemed to rule the year (Stargazer, a band that mixed both, flirted with my list late) with dashes of the old school thrown in, but once again 2014 showed that metal is still and quality AND quantity, and shows no signs of letting up.

Dark Descent Records crushed 2014 as they did 2013 with the releases listed below but also the fine likes of Swallowed, Sempiternal Dusk, Thantifaxath, Unaussprechlichen Kulten, Phobocosm and Lie In Ruins, and already look to crush in 2015 with early releases from Invisible Force, Desolate Shrine and Ghoulgotha.

Another label, and one I’ve previously been down on for being too samey, Unique Leader Records, absolutely dominated the tech death landscape with a high-profile Fallujah release, but added other quality releases from Internal Bleeding, Near Death Condition, Inanimate Existence, Beneath, Rings of Saturn, Ohmnihility and Alterbeast, as well as my album of the year from Soreption. Season of Mist (Nightbringer‘s Ego Dominus Tuus was on and off my list all damn year) and Bindrune also chimed in with a solid year.

Spectral Lore, Falls of Rauros, Ordinance, Panopticon, Oubliette and Mare Cognitum added some much needed crystalline introspection and atmosphere to the year, while promising newcomers Black Crown Initiate rubbed shoulders with my list regular stalwarts like Bloodbath, Alestorm, Equilibrium and Jaldaboath.

Some big names were missing as the likes of Primordial and Anaal Nathrakh seemed to tread water, while fresh, young relatively new, hungry acts like Sons of Aurelius, Archspire and Inferi commanded my attention, despite lacking big name appeal and recognition critically.

The Elite 10:

1. Soreption – Engineering the Void. (Unique Leader Records). Something about this record just clicked with me- the Meshuggah on steroids stammering, the orchestral injections, the guitar tone. All were just perfect.
2. Vallenfyre – Splinters. (Peaceville). Arguably the dirtiest and heaviest guitar tone of the year, and better song writing and vocals than the mighty Bloodbath. Those Paradise Lost guys had a good year.
3. Ne Obliviscaris – Citadel. (Season of Mist). My first introduction to this supremely talented Aussie metal band that melded tech death, violins and melodic death metal into one brilliant progressive kaleidoscope.
4. Spectral Lore -III (I. Voidhanger Records). Arguably one of the best one man black metal bands in the world now, Ayloss followed up Sentinel with an even more gorgeously layered, evocative and complex slab of mesmerizing riffs. I cant wait to see what he does next.
5. Horrendous – Ecdysis. (Dark Descent Records). Erupting from the cocoon of stale old school Swedish death metal, Horrendous injected some creativity and experimentation into a tried a true sound resulting in a truly special, dare I say classic album.
6. Archspire – The Lucid Collective. (Season of Mist). Even with all the great tech death in 2014, even from bigger names, Canadian youngsters Archspire rose up and ripped my face off with searing complexity, but actually made it memorable.
7. Sons of Aurelius – Under A Western Sun. (Self Released). Vocalist Riley McShane might get more attention for growling in Inanimate Existence, but his clean performance here is simply stunning, adding to the sumptuous shreddage. How a label didn’t pick this up blows my mind.
8. Artificial Brain – Labyrinth Constellation. (Profound Lore Records.) A potential game changer in death metal, Artificial Brain not only melded cosmic grinding brutality with atonal tech complexity and ethereal black metal, they got name dropped on Prime Time TV on NBC’s Elementary.
9. Ordinance – Relinquished. (Ahdistuksen Aihio Productions). 3 songs, 20 minutes each and each delivering utterly captivating black metal
10. Bloodbath – Grand Morbid Funeral. (Peaceville). Jorgen Sandstrom next, please?

The rest of 2104’s awesomeness:

Any of these releases could have ended up on my top ten on any given day, and many were before the final list. These are all too good to even be honorable mentions, so they are 11-25 in no particular order.

Panopticon – Roads to the North (Bindrune). A more direct but still American folk laced black metal story of Austin Lunn’s move to Minnesota. The strings that start “Chase the Grain” give me goosebumps every time.
Disentomb – Misery (New Standard Elite). Late entry of brutal yet technical swirling Australian savagery. Why are these guys not on Dark Descent?
Corpsessed – Abyssal Threshholds (Dark Descent Records). Monstrous and suffocating, Corpsessed remain the best Incantation clone there is.
Fallujah – The Flesh Prevails (Unique Leader Records)Was a top 10 release when it came out,but simply got bumped. Lavish, mature and complex with some beautiful atmospheres, Fallujah might be the future of modern technical metal.
Inferi – The Path of Apotheosis. (The Artisan Era). Shredding technical and epic, but overlooked early in due to early year release and a ton of bigger name tech death.
Jaldaboath – The Further Adventures of…(D.T.M Productions). Monty Python and Black Adder-ish humor mixed with metal and some of my childhood TV show themes? Brilliant. And “Roland the Farter” is still one of my new favorite songs. Ever..
Equilibrium – Erdentempel (Nuclear Blast). Down right epic and bombastic backed folk/viking metal at its finest. I’m interested to see how Ensiferum and Finsterforst answer.
Black Crown Initiate – The Wreckage of Stars. (Eone Entertainment). One of metal’s most promising young American newcomers. I’m interested to see how they develop their progressive death metal even further and keep it metal.
Alestorm – Sunset on the Golden Age. (Napalm Records). The Pirate metal stalwarts 4th album reeked of closure and impending changes. I hope not.
Falls of Rauros – Believe in No Coming Shore (Bindrune). Gorgeous, atmospheric, folky, grey metal. A vast improvement from the last album. Out Agalloch-d, Agalloch. “Ancestors of Smoke ” is simply one of the most mesmerizing songs of the year.
Oubliette – Apparitions (The Artisan Era). Insomium meets black emtal? yes please. Good year for Mike Low, also of Inferi no?
Lvcifyre – Svn Eater (Dark Descent Records). More superb, cavernous, crumbling chaos from Dark Descent. IS there no end?
Annihilated – XIII Steps to Ruination. . (Unique Leader) Got kind of snowed under all of UL’s other releases, but this is my second favorite kind of death metal- big, beefy and commanding.
Mare Cognitum.Phobos Monolith ( I, Void Hanger Records). No coincidence this US one man act shares a label with Spectral Lore, he is the American equivalent and rapidly rising.
Schammasch – Contradiction. (Prosthetic Records) 2 CDs, 90 minutes of under promoted, big, black, droning, ambitions metal that made me forget the already forgetful Triptykon album.

Other Stuff:

Best Vinyl LP: Martelo Negro – Equinocio Espectral LP. (Hellprod)
Best Reissues: Deathevocation – The Chalice of Ages (Xtreem Music). How did I miss this the first time around? , Dyscarnate – – And so it Came to Pass. (Century Media Records) How did everyone else miss this the first time around?
Best Reunion: At the Gates – At War With Reality. Absolutely Worth the wait. (Century Media Records).Godflesh – A World Lit By Fire. (Avalanche Recordings). How did this not get more attention?
Biggest Surprise- Job for a Cowboy – Sun Eater (Metal Blade Records). The second best album named Sun Eater and a masterful, career defining tech death shift for former spongebob core pig squealers.
Surprising Omissions- Pallbearer, Primordial, Anaal Nathrakh, Misery Index, Origin, Agalloch. Not that any of these were bad, but clearly the old guard has been supplanted.
Biggest let downs- Behemoth, Darkest hour, Triptykon.
Best Labels -Unique leader and Dark Descent
The heaviest Thing I heard in 2014: Black Tongue – Falsifier/Redux. May literally be too heavy for a CD release.
Coolest New Discoveries – Tengger Cavalry, Valknacht,
Guilty Pleasure: Affiance: Blackout.

Come 2015, we’ll most likely throw you with some of our favorite 2014 releases and a bunch of other 2014 things that we didn’t get out in time.

We have high hopes for 2015’s heavy metal offerings.

None the less. Enjoy whatever it is that you’re celebrating or not-celebrating and see you in 2015!