This Toilet Tuesday (9/29/20)
Every October, hundreds of bands conspire to crush me under the sheer girth of these new music lists. It makes sense that people want to get their stuff out this month: it’s SPOOKY time for one thing, and recency bias always helps with the approach of year-end list season. But god damn guys, please try to save something for January and February next year, please? Anyway, Hans and Karhu have picked over this mammoth list for some jams to highlight, and there’s so, so much more to check after you’ve hit those.
Cryptae – Nightmare Traversal (Sentient Ruin) [BLLRRRGGGGHHH]
Listen
Pressing play on “Oubliette,” the first preview track that was released, I was surprised to hear an actual riff instead of the obscure wall of sound that resembled death metal only insofar as it used a guitar, drums, and growls. The two tracks released since have furthered the impression that the project is now willing to incorporate enough actual songwriting to elevate them above the primitive experience that especially the first EP delivered. It’s still murky as all hell, and far from progressive, but the atmosphere feels more like a means to an end instead of an end in itself. 10/2/20 (Hans)
Viikate – Rillumarei! (Ranka Recordings) [Heavy Metal/Rautalanka]
Listen to “Varjorastaat”
‘Member when Viikate’s rautalanka and heavy metal combo steered closer to melodic doom metal than dance rock? Pepperidge Farm ‘members, and so do I. But I don’t think I mind, those days are long gone and their Motörhead and soft rock days were beginning to produce diminishing, if satisfying results. If the gods of rautalanka have been sacrificed at the altar of experimentation for the sake of broadening their sound and horizons I’m all aboard, and tbh, Varjorastaat kinda makes the legs do the thing where they move to that there other thing. 10/2/20 (Karhu)
Zöldïer Noïz – Merci (Ripping Storm Records) [Death Thrash]
Listen to “Termination Race”
You might remember Zöldier Nöiz’s sophomore from six-ish(?) years back. That thrashing combination crust punk and speed metal that always seemed to have more going under the surface noise than you could tell, and respins could only serve to strengthen your conviction. Finally, they’re back (except that it seems they dropped an EP in between that I think I missed) and while they’ve retained their overall sound, the punk influence seems to have been stepped up, especially at the faster sections, and though the production is far from squeaky clean, there’s not the mystery of not quite sure whether you hears a riff or a lead, or not. Thankfully they (being the riffs) come and go so frequently the songs don’t come off simplified, or the song, being the lone single so far. Not too much of the character disappeared with the mystery, though time’s yet to tell whether it’s refined their quality. 10/1/20 (Karhu)
جوخه مرگ – جنگ ابدی (Independent) [Black Metal]
Stream
Amiensus – Abreaction (Transcending Records) [Prog/Post-Black Metal]
Listen
Anaal Nathrakh – Endarkenment (Metal Blade) [Grindy Black Metal]
Listen to “Endarkenment”
Arcadian Temple – Arcadian Temple (Independent) [Doom]
Stream
Arroganz – Morsus (Supreme Chaos Records) [Death Metal]
Listen to “Morsus”
Ashlands – Ashlands II (Independent) [Black Metal]
Listen to “Mountain Augurs”
As the Palaces Burn – All the Evil (Independent) [Big Brain Groove Metal]
Stream
BleedSkin – Blood Reign (Independent) [Death Metal]
Preview
Bliss of Flesh – Tyrant (Listenable Records) [Death Metal]
Listen to “Renunciation” (NSFW)
Briqueville – Quelle (Pelagic Records) [Post-Metal]
Listen
Cave Grave – Cavernous Disseminations (Independent) [Death Metal]
Stream
Concrete Age – Spirituality (Independent) [Melodeath]
Listen to “Tomahawk Song”
Derelenismo Occulere – Inexorable revelación (Ancient Entity Records) [Black Metal]
Stream
Destroyers – Dziewięć kręgów zła (Putrid Cult) [Thrash]
Listen to “Zemsta Roninów”
DevilDriver – Dealing with Demons, Volume I (Napalm Records) [Death/Groove Metal]
Listen to “Keep Away From Me”
Dialogia – Nostrum (Independent) [Prog Death]
Listen
Disastrous – Disastrous (Coyote Records) [Brutal Death Metal]
Eden Is Gone – Scattering of My Malice (Mark My Words Records) [Metalcore]
Listen to “Punishment”
Elcrost – Foregone Fables (Independent) [Black Metal]
Listen to “Earthbound”
Enslaved – Utgard (Nuclear Blast) [Progressive Black Metal]
Listen
The Erkonauts – I Want It to End (Independent) [Progressive Metal]
Listen
Executive Disorder – Social Insecurity (Independent) [Thrash/Punk]
Listen to “Bring Out the Dead”
Frozen Moon – 冻结的月亮二十周年合辑︱Freezing Moon 20th Anniversary Collection (Coldwoods Prod) [Black Metal]
Gallows Hymn – The Age of Decadence (Independent) [Folk/Prog Metal]
Listen
Gorephilia – In the Eye of Nothing (Dark Descent) [Death Metal]
Listen
Harpago – Paraíso Perdido (Cianeto) [Speed Metal]
Listen
Häxenzijrkell – Die Nachtseite (Amor Fati Productions) [Black Metal]
Stream
Herald – Kurat (Besat Records) [Heavy Metal/Hard Rock]
Listen to “Kurat”
Herbstschatten – Abschaum (Boersma Records) [Black Metal]
Listen to “Der Kutscher”
Höllenabgrund – Tote Seelen (Independent) [Black Metal]
Stream
Horde of Hel – Döden nalkas (Regain Records) [Black Metal]
Listen
Iron Angel – Emerald Eyes (Mighty Music) [Power/Speed Metal]
Listen to “Sands of Time,” “Sacred Slaughter”
Isengard – Vårjevndøgn (Peaceville Records) [Black Metal]
Listen to “The Light”
Iternia – Between Good and Evil (Independent) [Power Metal]
Stream
Ivory Moon – Lunar Gateway (Volcano Records) [Power Metal]
Listen to “Here We Are”
Karpackonaut – Transmissions (Independent) [Post-Metal/Sludge]
Stream
Kropos – Worldly Depraved (Miasma Records) [Brutal Death Metal]
Listen to “Social Contraception”
Lamp of Murmuur – Heir of Ecliptical Romanticism (Independent) [Black Metal]
Listen to “The Scent of Torture, Conquering All”
Methodica – Clockworks (Independent) [Prog Metal]
Listen
Monsterworks – Malignment (Independent) [Prog/Death/Thrash]
Listen
Moon Wizard – The Night Harvest (Independent) [Doom]
Listen to “The Night Harvest”
Movarbru – Sob o Domínio do Antigo Culto (Cianeto) [Black Metal]
Listen
MyGrain – V (Reaper Entertainment) [Melodeath]
Listen to “Haunted Hearts”
Nachtblut – Vanitas (Napalm Records) [Gothic/Black Metal]
Listen to “Das Poopenhaus”
Necroccultus – Unburied Hellish Presences (Unholy Domain Records) [Death Metal]
Listen to “Horrid Plasmation”
Nemesis – Warrior Queen (Burn Records) [Candlemass]
Nightmare – Aeternam (AFM Records) [Heavy/Power Metal]
Listen to “Aeternam,” “Divine Nemesis”
Nordheim / Strof – Totes Moos (Dolomia Nera) [Black Metal]
Preview
Ohm Rune – Gargantua (Death Mountain Records) [Stoner Doom]
Listen
Oldmoon – The Osteomantic Incantation (South Horde Productions) [Death Doom]
Preview
Origin’Hell – Realm of Necromass (Independent) [Death Metal]
Listen
Orion – Mysterivm Cosmographicvm (Iron Blood and Death Corp) [Death Thrash]
Listen
Pandemic Holocaust – Human Extermination Kult (Independent) [Brutal Death Metal]
Stream
Periodeater – Worth More than Your Life (Independent) [Black Metal]
Listen
The Plague Physicians – In Arkham’s Shadow (Independent) [Doom]
Listen to “Rats in the Walls”
Rerthro – 飞鸟颂︱The Bird’s Song (Coldwoods Prod) [Black Metal]
Stream
Rezn – Chaotic Divine (Independent) [Stoner Doom]
Listen
Sammas’ Equinox – Tulikehrät (Signal Rex) [Black Metal]
Stream
Sarcoptes – Plague Hymns (Transcending Obscurity) [Black Thrash]
Listen to “The Vertigo Soul”
Satan’s Basement – Devout Malevolence (Independent) [Sludge/Death Metal]
Listen to “Wasting Time Until We Die”
Shaula – Vongh (Independent) [Blackened Death Metal]
Six Feet Under – Nightmares of the Decomposed (Metal Blade) [lolbuttz]
Listen to “Amputator,” “Zodiac”
Skyless Aeons – Drain the Sun (Independent) [Blackened Death Metal]
Listen
Synthetic – Clepsydra: Time Against Infinity (Rock of Angels Records) [Melodeath]
Listen
The Sound That Ends Creation – Memes, Dreams, and Flying Machines (Dark Trail Records) [Mathcore]
Listen
Those Who Bring the Torture – Dark Chapters (Iron Blood and Death Corp) [Death Metal]
Listen
Toadeater – Bit to ewigen daogen (Kellerassel Records) [Black Metal]
Listen to “Returning the Crown”
Trident – North (Non Serviam Records) [Black Metal]
Listen to “North”
Ultima Weapon – Spira (Independent) [FFXcore]
Stream
Until My Funerals Began – Traitor (GS Productions) [Funeral Doom]
Listen to “Fatal Audra”
Upir – Howling of the Ageless Winds: Hymns for the Black Tapestry of Night (Independent) [Black Metal]
Stream
Vanik – III (Austenitized Records) [Heavy Metal]
Listen to “The Creature”
Vardan – Dark and Desolated March (Moribund Records) [Black Metal]
Listen
Wilt/Mortals’ Path – Split (Independent) [Death Metal]
Listen to “Life?”
Did we forget a new release? Is there a way we could improve this list? Let us know in the comments!
