This Toilet Tuesday (2/6/18)
Oh shit, is it Tuesday again already? This tightly coiled pile of new releases sitting on my front steps certainly says as much; fortunately, Hans and Karhu are around to help clean it up. And while we’ve each picked out a couple noteworthy releases, this week actually has a pretty strong showing overall. Dig into that list and pick out some juicy bits; you’re sure to find something you like down there.
Pissed Regardless – Feed the Birds (Creator-Destructor Records) [Thrash]
Listen
Not sure if this is what people refer to as “pizza thrash;” I’d call it something like “troglodyte thrash.” Rolls right off the tongue. It’s incredibly straightforward with almost zero flourishes in terms of technicality or songwriting, opting instead for primal aggression. They don’t seem to be taking themselves too seriously, but nonetheless, it’s not all fun and beers – they sound genuinely… uh… pissed. I like that. 2/9/18 (Hans)
Mendacium – Decimating Titans (Redefining Darkness Records) [Black Metal]
Listen
Right off the bat, it’s clear this is some pretty no-frills stuff. Blast beats and fast riffing almost all the way through. They’re neither going for the raw sound nor pushing it into dissonant or brainy territory. Some variation in the vocals now and then helps to keep it interesting, and I find the near-constant speed very satisfying. Definitely good for anyone pining for the kind of shredding that guys like Marduk and 1349 championed for a while. 2/4/18 (Hans)
Paara – Riitti (ViciSolum Productions) [Black Metal]
Listen to “Suon sydän”
A few years ago, out of nowhere, a band called Paara released an album of four songs, and roughly thirty minutes of melodic black metal. Their lyrics inspired by folklore – and fittingly their melodies permeated by the same folk influence. I’ve worn that record out several times since, and only now do their answer the call. Only this time the songs are longer and darker. Natalie Koskinen is now a full-time third vocalist, and not a mere guest, making their songs even more vivid – though I am not convinced the decision to tone down their harsh vocals was purely a good choice. Additionally, the first song seems like several songs forcibly tacked together to make an “epic”, which seems odd given the bands penchant for penning more expansive songs – but at least the rest delivers with the best of them. 2/9/18 (Karhu)
Grafjammer – Schalm & Schabauw (Independent) [Black Metal]
Listen to “Nedernekro”
Grafjammer calls their music necrorock, but what it actually is, is black metal. A very rocking strain of black metal for sure but all the same. Everything from croaked vocals through tremolo riffs to frolicking rhythms is in place, but – rather unusually for the genre – everything is coated in fun. Catchy, memorable beyond it’s limits and short duration make Schalm & Schabauw one helluva party record. They should have called themselves Graf-Jammer instead. No, wait… 2/10/18 (Karhu)
Crypt Rot/Cringe – Nocturnal Deterioration | Memento Mori (split- Redefining Darkness) [Death Metal/Thrash]
Listen to “Serpentine Atonement” (Crypt Rot), “Searing Sin” (Cringe)
Sweet mother of splits, this one is going to be a beast. Crypt Rot are as filthy as their name suggests; “Serpentine Atonement” is seven and a half minutes of scorching death metal riffing and ravaging screams punctuated by chaotic shredding. There’s a little vocal surprise in there too that blew me away when it hit- it’s jarring, but it works. Cringe veer more into thrash territory with “Searing Sin,” which could easily hang with the pioneers of the genre. It’s decidedly more clean-cut, but no less unhinged. Don’t come into this one unprepared. 2/9/18 (Spear)
Frozen Crown – The Fallen King (Scarlet Records) [Power Metal]
Listen to “The Shieldmaiden,” “Kings”
It’s been some time since a power metal album has really grabbed me, but something about Frozen Crown is really doing it for me, and I don’t really know what it is. Maybe it’s how they mix harsh vocals with soaring cleans without sounding contrived, or maybe it’s how the melodies don’t follow the paths you expect. Whatever it is they’re doing, they do it very well, and I can’t wait for this one to hit. 2/9/18 (Spear)
Ænimus – The Final Warning (Independent) [Power/Thrash]
Listen to “The Final Warning”
Anialator – Rise to Supremacy (Xtreem Music) [Thrash]
Listen to “Embrace the Chaos”
The Atlas Moth – Coma Noir (Prosthetic Records) [Sludge]
Listen
Atomwinter – Catacombs (Trollzorn Records) [Death Metal]
Listen to “Necromancer”
Coram Lethe – In Absence (Buil2Kill Records) [Death Metal]
Crepitation/Splattered/Gorevent/Stillbirth – Worldwide Slamicide (split= Amputated Vein/Rising Nemesis) [Slam]
Stream
Crescent – The Order of Amenti (Listenable Records) [Blackened Death Metal]
Listen to “Beyond the Path of Amenti”
Crucifyre – Post Vulcanic Black (Pulverised Records) [Deathy Heavy Metal]
Listen to “Post Vulcanic Black”
Defenestration – Gutter Perdition (Xenokorp) [Death Metal]
Listen to “Blinding Sublimation”
Empyrean Eclipse – Perdition (Independent) [Death Metal]
Listen
Erdve – Vaitojimas (Season of Mist) [Death Metal/Hardcore]
Listen to “Vaitojimas”, “Prievarta”
Fuel Eater – Soberian Kinship (Independent) [Stoner Metal]
Listen to “Apathetic Whistle”
Golgothan Remains – Perverse Offerings to the Void (Independent) [Dissonant Death Metal]
Listen
Grimner – Vanadrottning (Despotz Records) [Folk Metal]
Listen to “Fafnersbane”
Horroraiser – Impatenaris (Narcoleptica/More Hate) [Death Metal]
Stream
King Witch – Under the Mountain (Listenable Records) [Doom]
Listen to “Beneath the Waves”
Mortuus Umbra – Omnipraesent (Goathorned Productions) [Dissonant Black Metal]
Listen to “Void II- Burning Fire of Ecstasy”
Old Tower – Stellary Wisdom (Profound Lore) [Dungeon Synth]
No preview as of yet
Order to Ruin – Return to Ceyrior VII (Independent) [Melodeath]
Listen to “Dating Lucifer,” “Alone with my Knife”
Primal Cult – Perennial Fire (Independent) [Black Metal]
Listen to “The Chthonic Uprising”
Rotting Christ – The Call (Peaceville Records) [Black Metal]
Rumahoy – The Triumph of Piracy (Napalm Records) [Pirate Metal]
Listen to “AHOY!” “Forest Party”
Siechtum – …durch die Augen einer gequälten Seele (Narbentage Produktionen) [Black Metal]
Preview
Therion – Beloved Antichrist (Nuclear Blast Records) [Operatic Heavy Metal]
Listen to “Temple of New Jerusalem”
The Ugly – Thanatology (ViciSolum Productions) [Black Metal]
Listen to “King of Death”
Unreal Overflows – Latent (Great Dane Records) [Progressive Death Metal]
Stream
Vanguard X Mortem – Amberosia (Noir Carrousel) [Weird Symphonic Metal]
Listen to “Amberosia”
Visigoth – Conqueror’s Oath (Metal Blade Records) [Heavy Metal]
Listen to “Warrior Queen,” “Outlive Them All,” “Steel and Silver”
Review
Did we forget a new release? Is there a way we could improve this list? Let us know in the comments below!
(Images VIA, VIA, VIA, VIA, VIA, VIA)
