This Toilet Tuesday (3/14/17)
Congratulations on surviving the past week! You get another Toilet Tuesday. March has been absolutely stuffed with great tunes so far, and this week is no exception. There’s far too much to cover here, but Dumpster Lung, Bert Banana, and I have picked out a couple of highlights from this big ol’ stack of metal. Hit that list below; you’re sure to find something you like this week.
Ascended Dead – Abhorrent Manifestation (Invictus/Dark Descent) [Death Metal]
Listen to “Subconscious Barbarity,” “Dawn of Armageddon”
At our poor former president’s mention of the butt-chopping he received from this album, I decided to give it a listen myself. It turns out he wasn’t exaggerating; “bestial” doesn’t even come close to describing the ferocity of their sound. “Subconscious Barbarity” is a hurricane of teeth and claws, and “Dawn of Armageddon,” while more focused, is no less vicious. Abhorrent Manifestation is pure vitriolic chaos, and it will shred those who come unprepared. 3/17/17 (Spear)
Forming the Void – Relic (Black Bow/Argonauta) [Sludge/Doom]
Listen
If you’re anything like me, you find few things as enjoyable as truly solid riffage, yet you find yourself skipping over most bands labeled with either of the words “sludge” or “stoner.” There’s simply an oversaturation of these bands, and while there may be some riffs to be had, they don’t stand out much from one another, or worse yet, just don’t keep me engaged. Fortunately, I did happen to check out Forming the Void’s newest album, and I’m very glad I did. I would describe them as psychedelic sludge, which while itself isn’t a novel combination, is pulled off extremely well here, and you might even want to throw the tag “progressive” on there to sweeten the deal. The bellowing vocals call to mind Baroness, while the instrumentation on this newest release alternates between solid, heavy riffing, (some of which may remind you of Mastodon a few albums ago), psychedelic leads and cleaner passages. They key here, however, is that it holds my interest where others would probably lose it. The leads and cleaner passages lend a lot of atmosphere, but do so without diluting the potency of the riffs. The tempo itself is just slow enough to feel sludgy, but fast enough to keep me engaged throughout, and doesn’t require me to “be in the right mood” for it. While I did familiarize myself with their first album, Skyward, I think I’ve rambled on long enough, so I’ll just say that while I very much enjoyed it, Relic seems like an a step up in nearly every way. P.S. There’s a “Kashmir” cover on here that kicks ass. 3/17/17 (Dumpster Lung)
Fell Ruin – To the Concrete Drifts (I, Voidhanger) [Prog Black/Death]
Listen to “Spy Fiction Folds in Ready Streets”
This is great. Let’s just get that out of the way, so if that doesn’t come across below, well now you know. I almost didn’t write anything on this one because I was sure someone else with better reference points for this sort of thing (progressive black metal) would, but it’s just too good to pass up. I had not heard any of the bands’ prior work before hearing the preview track for this album, “Spy Fiction Folds in Ready Streets,” but if I can get myself away from the new album long enough once it’s released, I certainly will. There’s a foundation of predominantly black (but also some death) metal intertwined seamlessly with bits of doom, with an emphasis on melody throughout. The production and mix are also superb, managing to lend the album an impressive amount of clarity for every instrument without sacrificing a sense of atmosphere or coming across too sterile in the process. Again, I suck at references, and I was going to come up with some metaphor for how this makes me feel instead, but it’s hard pinning that down exactly. I mean that in a good way, though. What’s important is it’s dark and melancholic, grimy, but not bereft of beauty in its own way, and I can’t wait to hear the rest of this album. 3/17/17 (Dumpster Lung)
Dodecahedron – Kwintessens (Season of Mist) [Weird Black Metal]
Listen
Last month, I decided I’d order the new Emptiness based off the reviews it had been getting from fellow Toileteers. So for the last month, I had been going to my mailbox, hoping to find a present from Mailmanbro. But alas, I kept coming home empty handed. This anticipation went on for several weeks (but felt like an eternity) until I got a strange email from Season of Mist. My order had been shipped. Odd, I bought that album after it came out…why are they shipping it now? Well, it turned out that I ordered the Dodecahedron with it and I had completely forgotten about it. It’s last known whereabouts was in New York on 311 day (Happy belated, posers). So I should be getting it in the mail soon. But don’t you worry, I’ve listened to the songs released…WHICH MAKES ME MORE RAGED THAT IT’S NOT IN MY FUCKING HANDS! These songs are right up my alley. Compared to say Deathspell Omega (a band tagged on their Bandcamp), they are a lot more controlled. More focused on atmosphere building like say Zhrine or Phobocosm or Nightbringer…gloomier Nightbringer. I need this album in my life. It’s only a matter of days. (reminder: new Nightbringer in April.) 3/17/17 (Bert Banana)
Aevum – Dischronia (Independent) [lolbuttz]
Listen to “The Vitruvian Condition”
Allochiria – Throes (Independent) [Sludge/Post-Metal]
Listen to “Lifespotting,” “Counting Fives”
Alunah – Solennial (Svart Records) [Doom]
Listen to “Fire of Thornborough Henge”
Angel Martyr – Black Book: Chapter One (Iron Shield Records) [Speed Metal]
Listen to “Turn On the Fire”
Anomalie – Visions (Art of Propaganda) [Black Metal]
Listen to “Vision IV: Illumination”
Assimilation – The Laws of Power (SAOL) [Death/Thrash]
Listen to “Sigil of the False God,” “Apotheosis”
Bog Wraith – Mire (Independent) [Deathcore]
BREEEEEE
Bridear – Rise (Radtone Records) [Powerish Metal]
Preview
Cauldron – Regnum-Phobos (Darkness Within) [Black Metal]
Listen to “Severe Martyrdom”
Consummation – Ritual Severance (Invictus Productions) [Black Metal]
Listen to “The Weightless Grip of Fire”
Dawn of a Dark Age – The Six Elements, Vol.5 Spirit / Mystères (Razed Soul Productions) [Experimental Black Metal]
Listen to “Il Viaggio”
Decaying Days – The Fire of a Thousand Suns (Independent) [Death/Doom]
Listen to “Waves of Neglect,” “Tempest”
Délétère – Per Aspera Ad Pestilentiam (Sepulchral Productions) [Black Metal]
Listen to “III – Horae Leprae : Cantus IV : INOPIA ET MORBO”
Demonic Resurrection – Dashavatar (Independent) [Progressive Death Metal]
Listen to somebody trying really hard to be Christopher Lee
Devastator – The Throne Belongs to Us (Kernkraftritter Records) [Death Metal]
Listen to “Unleash Your Ardent Longing”
Doomocracy – Visions & Creatures of Imagination (Steel Gallery Records) [Doom]
Listen to “Guardian Within”
Dusius – Memory of a Man (Extreme Metal Music) [Folk Metal]
Listen to “The Rage of Gods”
Entartung – Baptised into the Faith of Lust (WTC Productions) [Black Metal]
Listen to “Black Dog of God”
Enter Obscurity – Poser Terminator (Cavernous/Hellfire) [Black/Speed Metal]
Listen to “Poser Terminator”
Fange – Pourrissoir (Throatruiner/Lost Pilgrims) [Sludge/Hardcore]
Listen to “Ressac,” “Agapes”
Formis – Chaozium (Defense Records) [Death/Thrash]
Listen to “Haeresis”
Harvest Gulgaltha – Altars of Devotion (Nuclear War Now!) [Blackened Death Metal]
Listen to “Serpentine Path”
Hatefulmurder – Red Eyes (Secret Service Records) [Melodeath]
Listen to “Tear Down”
Heaven’s Scum – Beyond Human Footsteps (Independent) [Death Metal]
King of Asgard – :taudr: (Trollmusic) [Viking Metal]
Preview
Lantern – II: Morphosis (Dark Descent Records) [Death Metal]
Listen to “Black Miasma,” “Cleansing of the Air”
Locust Leaves – A Subtler Kind of Light (I, Voidhanger) [Progressive Metal]
Stream
Mahakala – The Second Fall (Supreme Music Creations) [Doom]
Listen to “Army of the Flies”
The Mighty Wraith – Outcast (Independent) [Power Metal]
Preview
Mothership – High Strangeness (Ripple Music) [Psychedelic Doom]
Listen to “Helter Skelter”
Naddred – Sluagh (Invictus Productions) [Black Metal]
Stream
Obituary – Obituary (Relapse Records) [Death Metal]
Listen to “A Lesson in Vengeance,” “Turned to Stone”
Panikk – Discarded Existence (Xtreem Music) [Thrash]
Listen to “Eyes Don’t Lie”
The Raven Age – The Darkness Will Rise (BMG) [Melodic Metal]
Listen to “Salem’s Fate,” “Promised Land”
Regulus – Quadralith (Off Yer Rocka Recordings) [Doom]
Listen to “Dominion”
Replacire – Do Not Deviate (Season of Mist) [Tech Death]
Listen
Rimthurs – Graveskrift (Ketzer Music) [Black Metal]
Saille – Gnosis (Aural Music) [Black Metal]
Stream
Savant – Serial Killers’ Tales (Independent) [Thrash]
Listen to “Suicidal Premonition”
Scythra – Human Cesspool (Independent) [Death Metal]
Listen to “Asphyxiated Cadaver,” “Submit to Slaughter”
Serpent of Eden – The False Existence (Bluespoon Records) [Black Metal]
Listen to “Under the Bleeding Moon,” “Altar of Rotting Blood”
Signum Regis – Decennium Primum (Independent) [Power Metal]
Listen to “Damnatio Ad Bestias”
Tormentor – Morbid Realization (Iron Shield Records) [Thrash]
Listen to “Kill With No Excuse”
Valhalore – Voyage into Eternity (Independent) [Folk Metal]
Listen to “Across the Frozen Ocean”
Vangough – Warpaint (Independent) [Progressive Metal]
Listen to “Knell”
Venenum – Trance of Death (Sepulchral Voice Records) [Death Metal]
Stream
Waterland – Signs of Freedom (Independent) [Power Metal]
Listen to “Can We Go Home?,” “Beyond the Light”
Wild Freedom – Set the Night on Fire (The Fish Factory) [Eyeliner Metal]
Listen to “Full of Love”
Woe – Hope Attrition (Independent) [Black Metal]
Listen
Did we forget a new release? Is there a way we could improve this list? Let us know in the comments below!
