A week utterly dominated by death metal in all shapes and sizes – star grasping tech fiends and crypt dwelling abominations, the gloomy, the artsy, the weird and the classic. Take your pick.
Abrams – In The Dark
Genre: Stoner/progressive metal/rock
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
A soulful, semi-heavy album with some really quite beautiful melody lines and stirring riff sections. It might appeal more to fans on the outside of the metal camp, as the energy level and feeling of heft largely stays outside that realm.
An Abstract Illusion – Woe
Genre: Progressive death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4/5
Before you get into this, you have to be aware – this is an album that invites you to really set aside some time. Never mind its 1 hour runtime, this is full of prolonged, atmospheric sections of serene melody. It’s not a doomy drone though, but clean and melancholy low-key stuff with a few prog bells and whistles and a Scandinavian folk character to it. Some of them are outright gorgeous, and makes the aggressive sections – of which there are plenty – hit all the harder. Perhaps not for impatient listeners, this is a solid record for lovers of extreme atmospheric and prog metal. Try “In the Heavens Above, You Will Become a Monster” and “Slaves”.
Allen/Olzon – Army Of Dreamers
Genre: Symphonic/power metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
While obviously boasting some impressive vocal talent that really compliment each other quite well and melodies that soar ever so high, there’s a profound lack of energy due to low-tempo rhythms and the instrumental section generally taking a noticeable back seat to the vocals.
Bloodbath – Survival Of The Sickest
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5
Prepare for some putrid old-school death metal with the delivery of a mass artillery strike. It’s rhythmic, groovy and so, so heavy – pouring it on with thundering drums and squealing guitar solos. At appropriate intervals they slow things down a little and grind out sinister crypt death, before returning to all out zombie apocalypse. While not the highlights of the albums, these slower songs provide essential variety, and the two opening tracks are so damn powerful they keep the adrenaline pumping far beyond their runtime. Two other highlights would be “Born Infernal” and “Affliction of Extinction”.
Bones – Sombre Opulence
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Some dusty, murky death metal emanating from the mausoleum. It’s dark and threatening, mid tempo and a bit mutes, with a few instrumental flourishes. It’s raw and focused, albeit a bit clunky. in its transitions.
Crippled Black Phoenix – Banefyre
Genre: Progressive rock/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5
A slow and spellbinding immersion into waters of dream-like revelations. Each song is a different layer which can feel very different from the previous one, even as the band’s distinct musical qualities shine through at any time. They avoid having the prolonged melodies feel like stretched-out droning by regularly adding nuances, building to – or decelerating from – swells of intensity, without ever (apart from on the bonus track) crossing into markedly heavy territory. Even so, this is absolutely a bit of an undertaking at well over 1,5 hours of runtime. If that doesn’t sound discouraging, then dive into “Bonefire” and “Blackout77”
Electric Callboy – Tekkno
Genre: Gothic metal/hardcore
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
A very insistent mix of energetic techno and catchy, industrial metalcore to explode in your face like a colored powder bomb. The party energy brought on by the electronica side undermines any attempt at musical integrity that comes with some of the heavier songs, but I suspect that matters very little to the intended audience.
Fallujah – Empyrean
Genre: Technical/progressive death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5
Effortlessly blending face-melting technicality and exploratory, spacey melodies – Empyrean is an impressive show of force. Ever restless, there is little room to breathe even in the slower sections, as the rhythm constantly skips and leaps, keeping you as the listener on your toes. As is often the case with extreme prog metal, some of the listener’s satisfaction is lost in the turbulence of the instrumental performances. That is, unless these performances on their own is what elicits this satisfaction from you.
Greber – Fright Without
Genre: Experimental hardcore
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
This utterly relentless, slightly unhinged hardcore offering has some seriously heavy riffs, served up to a rhythm like titanic machinery falling apart.
Holy Fawn – Dimensional Bleed
Genre: Atmospheric black metal/shoegaze
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5
A mostly contemplative, even meditative, shuffle under comforting darkness. Ethereal vocals usher you along, luring you into the occasional swell of black metal outcry. If you’re here for the atmosphere, there’s plenty of it. If you’re after said black metal, you might be disappointed at the scarcity.
I AM – Eternal Steel
Genre: Groove/death metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
A mostly mid- to slow-paced, snarly death groove album with a few classic heavy metal influences that shine through with varying clarity. They do let themselves get bogged down to a grindy tempo a bit too often, not really befitting their spicy tone and image.
Inhuman Depravity – The Experimendead
Genre: Brutal death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Ferocious, ill-tempered and moving at breakneck speed, this is punishing death metal that delivers its brutality more by the means of axe chops than sledgehammer blows. Constantly on the attack, it comes up short on big, memorable breakdowns, but certainly delivers on precision and punch.
KMFDM – Hyëna
Genre: Industrial metal/hard rock
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Bold, catchy and electronic, this is adventurous industrial hard rock that likes to detour into a host of different genres, like disco, desert rock and reggea.
Mo’ynoq – A Place For Ash
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5
This is black metal that is atmospheric and expansive at its core – painting vast, misty landscapes in black and white, only to constantly distract from it with prolonged wails and incessant blast beats. There are many solid details, which remain hidden beneath a few too many layers.
Ozzy Osbourne – Patient Number 9
Genre: Heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
After his flirt with more mainstream, poppy genres on 2020’s Ordinary Man, Ozzy is back in more familiar territory. A veneer of darkness is allowed to permeate, and even though it makes for few surprises, it’s familiar in the best of ways. Collaborating with old partners and new partners in crime alike, I’d say it’s definitely the pairing with Tony Iommi that has produced the album’s top highlights.
Parkway Drive – Darker Still
Genre: Hard rock/metalcore
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Shedding their metalcore past like the clothes of yesteryear, Parkway Drive has now firmly entered the hard-rock-meets-heavy, nu-metal-ish realm of such super size bands as Five Finger Death Punch and Disturbed. It’s big, energetic, quite aggressive, but also offers little in terms of distinct flavor.
Pentagram (TUR) – Makina Elektrika
Genre: Folk metal
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5
While offering a flavorful mix of catchy heavy metal, prog and middle-eastern folk, the performances and compositions are fairly uneven and lacking a clear direction.
Perversion – Dies Irae
Genre: Thrash metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5
Beneath the fairly flat, low-fi production is a spinning saw-toothed wheel of shreds and kicks. While it does spin a bit too evenly across large portions of the songs, there are also quite a few moments of standout feats and levity.
Revocation – Netherheaven
Genre: Technical/melodic death metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5
When you a hear tech death as focused and purposeful as this, it’s a bit of a revelation. I’m tempted to call it a death metal orchestra at work, in that every instrument appears to have been assigned very specific tasks and then meticulously conducted upon performing these. Taking the lead from the laser focus of high tempo thrash, then upping the aggression ten-fold and chasing the grooviest highs of melodeath, Netherhaven offers up a near endless buffet of jaw dropping instrumental feats and memorable little facets along the way. Check out ”Nihilistic Violence” and ”Re-Crucified”.
Slugcrust – Ecocide
Genre: Grindcore/sludge
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Furious and crusty, this little piece of nasty certainly dishes out the venom, but feels a bit static in that is never seems to move in any particular direction.
Stray From The Path – Euthanasia
Genre: Hardcore/rap metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Channeling a good bit of Rage Against the Machine-energy and upping the aggression considerably, you know what you’re in for here. But there’s more – a good bit of groove, some metalcore melody, mathcore dissonance and a pinch of industrial synthetic madness. All in all a very good, stomping time that dares to kick outside its comfort zone. Jump into “III” and “The Salt In Your Spit”.
Trauma – Awakening
Genre: Thrash/heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5
Here’s some thrash with a slightly more light-hearted side, in the form of high pitched vocals and melodic guitar sections. Even so, it’s the pure thrash sections that work best – the rest is a bit lacking in both originality and finish.
Until I Wake – Inside My Head
Genre: Pop/metalcore
Subjective rating: 1/5
Objective rating: 2.5/5
An aggressive shell of electronica-aided slam riffs and hissing growls barely covering a body of pure boyband sensibilities.
Valborg – Der Alte
Genre: Industrial/experimental death/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 4/5
Trying to pin down this band’s style can prove quite challenging. Slow march of the damned. Madman’s laboratory. A religious congregation for machines. The mental images conjured up while listening to Der Alte are disjointed but also consistent in their off-putting nature. At it’s core this is aggressive, industrial doom metal, with a good bit of grindcore’s utter disregard for listener comfort thrown in. But while it refuses to adhere to conventions, it also doesn’t feel random – there’s a clear method to the madness – a kind of dystopian battle chant and social commentary all in one. The album cover is sublime though.
Warforged – The Grove | Sundial
Genre: Progressive death metal/deathcore
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5
An album that swings rapidly from demonic-insect-swarm-in-a-bottle frantic to hymn-to-the-great-forest serene. It’s not something you pay half attention to. While some of the transitions can feel a little jarring, the way the band has mastered both sides and succeeded in joining them in a distinct way makes this a fresh and engaging listen. Don’t expect to be leaning back all chilled out though, cause this can be quite intense – bringing in the ferocity of tech death and brutality of deathcore to the party.
Wayward Dawn – All-Consuming Void
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Some low-fi, straight-to-the-point death metal with some nice crunch and threatening tone. They lean into some wicked grooves every now and then, and not quite enough for my taste, as it leaves you craving more. And while it brings some decent crypt vibes, the production does kill a bit of the punch. But all in all it’s a pretty good time.
As always, if you think I’m completely off on an observation, unfairly dissed your favorite band or need to give an album another shot, do feel free to express yourself in the comments section below.
The Metal Dispatch 