Reviews of metal albums released June 13 – June 19
With a couple of notable exceptions, this is a sun-drowning storm cloud of a week, with black and doom metal taking firm charge.
Avarice – Perpetual Ruin
Genre: Death/thrash metal/hardcore
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Review: This Danish bunch go for a kind of modernized, basement-brute, stomp-along version of death thrash. Meaning that it’s dominated by hardcore rhythms, and features metalcore/deathcore breakdowns (a few too many for my taste). It’s plenty shouty and chuggy, remaining hostile throughout but also showing off some classy, high-pitched thrash screams and speedy riffing. What lets them down a bit are sluggish tempos and some fairly repetitive song structures.
Belarus Beaver – Grind af den Brune Bäfver
Genre: Death metal/grindcore
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Review: This is the kind of metal comedy I can get fully behind. I think it partly takes being able to appreciate the silly side of deathgrind in general, but devoting your band concept entirely (and creatively) to the vilification of beavers is just hilarious regardless. Belarus Beaver are not, in fact, from Belarus, but from Sweden, which becomes obvious from most of the lyrics and track titles anyway. Absolutely everything is beaver themed, and most of it carries horror references, which is just spot on.
The best part of the album is that it’s not just blazing, relentless guitars, drums and incomprehensible gurgle-shrieks for 33 minutes straight. There’s some actual thematic connection between the song titles and the kind of mood they exude. You get crusty, classic death metal, blackened spookiness and doomy, tongue-in-cheek gloom, with plenty of grindy fun of varying tempos in between. What I’m missing are those spine-tingling, hair-raising highlights of brutal groove. There are some in there, but most of the songs start off more or less as good as they ever get. Still, if you crave some actually well-produced, varied deathgrind, and don’t mind dreaming about maniacally vibrating beavers for a few nights (they’re in all of the song visualizers), then by all means, dig in.
Highlights: “Bävulen” and “Under a Beaver Moon”
Destructor – Tales of Glory
Genre: Thrash/heavy metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Review: If you like the idea of combining old school, speedy thrash with NWOBHM, both in concept and execution, then this stuff is made specifically for you. Destructor bring back all the charm of that early era of heavy metal, with the cheekiness of 80s thrash, and the cool thing is that they’re doing it having been founded in 1984 and continually active since 1999.
There’s nothing groundbreaking on “Tales of Glory”, but the spirit of the album certainly lives up to the title. It feels chest-beatingly adventurous, with plenty of epic solos and shreddy riffs to boost the energy level. A bit too much of it feels polishing old ideas for my taste, but the effort to please seems genuine.
Highlight: “Fall to Your Knees”
Einherjer – Lifeblood
Genre: Folk metal/black ‘n’ roll
Subjective rating: 2.5/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Review: Apart from a temporary split-up that lasted from 2004 to 2008, Norway’s Einherjer have been going steadily since 1993, mixing black metal with rock ‘n’ roll swagger, Norse mythology themes and an epic-melodic flair. Lately they have been bleeding off some of the aggression in favor of more live-friendly, instantly recognizable, chest-beating material, and still succeeding in making it feel distinct and fairly original.
“Lifeblood” starts very much in this vein, with chant-able lyrics, rad riffing, and a tasty solo. Then it gradually settles down, becoming simpler and slower, “culminating” with the ballad-like “Dei Så Ser”, before somewhat ramping things up again just before the end. I wouldn’t mind it so much if the songwriting felt inspired and well thought out, but too many parts of it feel plain dull, with meandering rhythms and simple riffs that feel like filler. The spirit is still there, but the execution lacks heart and direction.
Gold Spire – Steps Into Shadow
Genre: Avant-garde death/doom metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Review: I feel like the whole sax-in-progressive-extreme-metal-thing got old real fast, at least for me. On this one though, it makes more sense, mostly because it’s an actual, key element to the music, and not a toss-in afterthought. It’s a relatively dark album, but feels orderly thanks to controlled drum work and mostly steady rhythms. It’s a kind of death doom that has formed a partnership with mildly experimental jazz, and at its best it works really well. Unfortunately, most of the songs feel like very close variations of the same idea, and so you’re not left with the impression of having traveled any noteworthy conceptual distance at the end.
Inherits The Void – The Silent Abscission
Genre: Melodic black metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Review: I’m increasingly associating France with quality melodic black metal these days, and this latest release by Inherits the Void certainly helps that process along. This is their fourth full-length since forming in 2020, and this diligent release schedule seems to have allowed them to both mature and tastefully diversify their sound in record time.
On “The Silent Abscission” they strike an optimal balance between sharp cold and rumbling force, allowing the songs to feel both monumental and vicious at the same time. There’s a more-than-decent amount of melodic scope, with a sprinkle of synth and sax for added flavor, and they use all this to successfully expand upon the more traditional blast-beats-and-corpse-paint aggression that most of the tracks are grounded in. It’s not quite what I’d call unique just yet, but give them a couple of years and I’m sure they’ll keep making strides.
Highlight: “Wrath of the Endless Sea”
Loneshore – Nothing Left To Deconstruct
Genre: Melodic/progressive doom/death metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Review: Looking for an album to sink into and settle down with for a bit? What’s that? You don’t want to fall asleep to it? It also needs to keep you engaged? Well, I can’t make any promises, but in theory this sophomore album by Brazilian melodic death doomers Loneshore ticks all these boxes. This is a smooth, elegantly layered kind of sound that flows steadily and builds from gentle trickles into roaring rapids.
If you’re looking for straight melodic death doom, you may be in for some disappointment, as the aggression wanes and burns off for extended sections, testing the patience of any listener primarily looking for force and/or intricate instrumentation. All of it sounds gorgeous, but there are a few unnecessarily repeating patterns, and some of the cleaner sections do stretch on for quite some time. Still, it doesn’t feel overindulgent. More like willing to let the concept spread its wings to their full extent.
Highlight: “Parhelion”
Lumen Ad Mortem – A Grave Ascent
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3/5
Review: Australia isn’t typically a country I’d associate with frigid, snarly black metal, but what does that matter as long as it’s good? Lumen Ad Mortem have plenty of icicle-stabbing aggression in store, but tend towards an epic, solemn-melodic variant of the classic sound. I probably wouldn’t bat an eye if you’d have told me that this came out of Scandinavia. A bit too much of it feels like it’s following closely in the footsteps of long-established names, and some of the songs feel unnecessarily stretched out in the name of grandeur. But they really nail the tone and scope.
Mork – Monolitt
Genre: Black metal
Subjective rating: 4.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5
Review: Mork are back to once again prove that you can keep straight riff-and-tremolo black metal interesting if you just put your mind to it. This time around they drop even the minutest shred of pretentiousness, and, like an old skin, shed the layer of muted, misty low-fi-ness that has stuck to their latest albums for that “authentic” feel. “Monolitt” is crisp as glacial water, and immediately lashes out with riffs like wicked claws. Paired with proper chugging power and an appropriate amount of low-end rumble, the result is a ferocious, ultra-direct sound that’s purpose built to go on the attack, and carrying enough weight behind it to do some lasting damage.
Each track has a different feel to it, leaning into moderately contrasting elements of dissonance, gloom, melody or groove. There’s doom, black ‘n’ roll, a bit of thrash and heavy metal and a few proggy rhythm acrobatics, but these are all consigned to the nuances of the album’s overall flavor. They manage a great balance between epic, folk-tinged scope and energetic urgency, with little to no room for atmosphere or any sort of fluff. Those who enjoyed the vastness of 2023’s “Dypet” and/or the slightly experimental nature of 2024’s “Syv”, might find this a bit too straightforward and lacking the customary murkiness. But for me this is very close to the perfect blend of well-defined, raw hostility, awesome instrumental control, and subtly creative and mature songwriting that has the music explore and strike from a multitude of different angles along the same, unified trajectory of black metal excellence.
Highlights: “Torden” and “Ferdamann”
Saidan – Fangdriller: Scars Beneath Memory’s Wrist
Genre: Black/gothic metal
Subjective rating: 3.5/5
Objective rating: 4/5
Review: If this week’s Mork release is too traditional for you, then might I highly recommend this oddball stuff out of Nashville, Tennessee. They are basically the answer to what happens when you build a black metal project around the melodic style of peppy-adventurous, Japanese anime theme songs, but insist on keeping it melancholy and gothic. The result carries that classic emo sad-romantic character (both sonically and visually), and if that sounds like ear poison to you, you might as well skip this entirely.
For the more curious and/or adventurous, there’s some seriously solid songwriting in store, with excellent performances to go with it. The sound is icy cold, like half-frozen purple ink, and the soaring-on-broken-wings melody is countered by some truly ferocious aggression. For me, the whole horror theme feels pretty superfluous, and the contrasts in tone are a little jarring, but then I’m not really into the kind of culture and image that they’re pulling inspiration from. If you’re a fan of theatrical, tragic black metal in general, then you shouldn’t hesitate to dive into this.
Highlights: “Stained Glass Sin // Fang Driller” and “Ethereal Blood”
Lindsay Schoolcraft – Harrowing
Genre: Gothic/alternative metal
Subjective rating: 3/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Review: A short, moody and satisfyingly melodic, modern goth-alternative album from Canadian solo artist Lindsay Schoolcraft. It periodically hits with chugging force, builds to symphonic heights, and is effortlessly carried by a powerful vocal performance. It feels fresher than a lot of its peers that fail to break out of the pattern of repeating early 2000s greatness, and although the melodies don’t all feel quite as original, they are all very tonally consistent.
The variation on the album is quite good, and at 25 min 22 sec, it certainly doesn’t overstay its welcome. I’m missing that certain something for this particular sound to truly stand out, but it’s also much better than run-of-the-mill.
Highlight: “I Wait for You to Fall”
Scordatura – Led Into Oblivion
Genre: Death metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 3.5/5
Review: These Scots are serving up a full portion of classic-brutal death metal for the first time in six years, and from the level of ferocity let loose on here, it sounds like it it was high time to relieve some pressure. While the coarse vocals and ripping guitar tone draw from the morbid greatness of old, the level of technicality has a much more modern and moderately progressive feel to it. It’s not overdone, but certainly elevates what might otherwise have felt a little stale.
Parts of the album have a certain grindcore impatience to them, and the general energy level and precision have no problem keeping up. Some of the rhythm transitions can feel a little rushed and overly restless, and allowing for a few more sections of controlled, savage groove would likely have made this an even more satisfying listen. That aside, it’s very obvious that this is a band that refuses to settle for “good enough”, as each song explores a slightly different approach, be it in terms of tone, tempo or rhythmic variation. It’s all crushingly heavy, regardless.
Highlight: “Oppressed / Repressed”
Warning – Rituals Of Shame
Genre: Doom metal
Subjective rating: 4/5
Objective rating: 4.5/5
Review: This album has that certain feeling of inevitability, like its coming was long foretold, whispered in shadowy circles, and now, 20 years after Warning’s last release, its time has come. If you’ve been anticipating the return of these doom metal greats with baited breath, then I’m joyous to announce that it’s very likely everything you were hoping for. And if this is your first time with the band, I actually think it’s the perfect introduction.
Rituals of Shame is deeply sad, funeral-slow and not exactly what you would called varied in terms of nether tone, tempo or intensity. It’s led by a truly outstanding, achingly soulful vocal performance, somewhere between Eddie Vedder and REM’s Michael Stipe. What it does so well is communicate sorrow, regret, longing and other dark emotions without it feeling completely miserable (looking at you, My Dying Bride). It’s music that you want to stay with even though it hurts, because you get the feeling of being understood, of being guided by a steady hand, and that it will, in fact, pass. It’s a near-perfect representative of its subgenre, and the only noteworthy issue I had with it was a slight sense of stagnation towards the end. Which might honestly just be me lacking the required patience at the time.
Highlights: “Stations” and “Rituals of Shame”
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, why not pop a comment down below?
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