Angel Rat recalls
outer space is just a martini away
Gonna ease into damage. Pogavranjen probably best sum their latest up as their “First and last - but never the less, extremely poor attempt at radio friendly pop music by Pogavranjen.” Again, anyone who follows the starkweather facebook page knows I’ve been repping this band forever. Hell, late last year their Zvjerski Pokreti ep was written up here, and, honestly, if I weren’t a lazy shlub-niggurath and written a 2022 ep/demo wrap up it would’ve taken the top Stan Lee no-prize. Of late Pogavranjen are more angular VBE/Virus in attack. Almost free form sinuous backline matched with jagged as hell Piggy chords and crazed vocals. This “pop music by Pogavranjen” version can be heard in a similar vein as VBE on a bender with late period Beyond Dawn or Angel Rat by way of Outer Space is Just a Martini Away with vocals having a boozy Mike Patton feel so much I imagine he would think he phoned this one in himself while tripping on acid. One wonders if this were to hit the Ipecac head honcho would he have signed, sealed and delivered this? Here it is, baby… Ciao!
A Hollow Full of Hope from The River occupies a space similar to The God Machine’s One Last Laugh in a Lonely Place of Dying. Spare, spacious, melancholic, emotionally driven. Not necessarily heavy or dark as said album from 1994 but nonetheless bearing a similar sonic palette - even moments in album opener “Fading” have familiar tones and sounds that are spot on “In Bad Dreams.”
While on the subject of The God Machine Mercylane happens to have Austin Lynn Austin as its driving force. Mercylane is a distinctly different beast, some tracks an alt country indie rock feel having a bright, uplifting Wovenhand/16 horsepower build underneath the hood. Other tracks mix world instruments to an alt country rock sound. EP closer, and title track, is nearest to The God Machine in feel with the strings, spaciousness, orchestration and percussion. It’s big, it’s grand and, hopefully, an indication of what’s to come next. Prior to this ep, Mercylane has released singles “One Day” and “Wade Into Love.”
Ok, now we’re plunging to megadeath. When I read the titles to Meluniblis Kill the Kuffar I can only think of Fearless Iranians From Hell; however, musically this is closer to old school Master/Deathstrike gone war metal with the slightest touch of Demilich croaking vocals.
First salvo off forthcoming 夢遊病者 (Sleepwalker) album coming from Sentient Ruin Laboratories. Lap steel, blower bass, whispered chants, delicate acoustics and staggering drums overtaken by feral metal and return to a Morricone spaghetti western score in the tundra and cycling around to Scorpions and Maiden themed solos by way of GISM and reprising Ry Cooder’s Southern Comfort swamp blues with punctuations of reed instruments and mouth harp. Absolute brilliant adventure in sound and sonic texture within some of the most grounded song writing thus far from the enigmatic globe trotting cabal. More audio/visual information on the release via Last Rites.
Dooming things down tremendously with SABOT. A barbaric order having crushing tones like Admiral Angry or Black Sheep Wall and vocals that hover between Antti Boman and Ross Dolan. When things pick up from a crawl they aren’t much faster than Crowbar and when they do pick up it is only for short distances since these tones are so ridiculously heavy it is obviously fatiguing so much that electronic washes and feedback must take over for these guys to regain composure and get down to riffing.
Need for speed? Not getting it with Sektarism Ritualistic, slow motion pain of improvised doom and drone. Works perfectly as soundcape design likened to Cold Meat Industry acts crossed with Neptunian Maximalism; but, Sektarism has been crafting this sort of organic, ritual music for over a decade.
Turkish quintet Serpent of Old thread familiar elements of various death metal styles (death doom, blackened death, straight up dm, whatever permutation available) to devastating ends. Never resting in on place for too long there are traces of Ulcerate, Immolation, Zhrine, Dead Congregation, Question, earlier Svart Crown, Sepultura. Fantastic musicianship across the board, strong arrangements that don’t lock into rigid verse-chorus structure. These guys utilize dual guitar work expertly in instances as a foil off each other, other times dialed in with precision, all of it enhanced with strong, clear production. The backline is something to behold. The bass work is killer down to different tones and playing that can get venturesome when opportunities arise. The drumming has a feel similar to Nero Di Marte’s Giulio Galati or a less abstract Jamie Saint Merat/Ulcerate. Vocals are rock steady anchored somewhat like left hand path LG Petrov or Nicke Andersson on Clandestine.
One good turn deserves another… Deathmoor was suggested to me by Ilias from No Clean Singing by way of frequent influencer Miloš almost two weeks ago. This one is an absolute gem and I’m inclined to agree this will wind up somewhere in album of the year contention. Chalk it up to the “drunk drums” of Noersyl Skept, the loopy Sadist riffs and Suicide’s vocals. This has a decidedly Ved Buens Ende written in waters feel in spots, so, again, me being a mark for the sound and style Deathmoor will have this sucker wrapped around their fingers. Odd ball chords and drunk drumming… sold! Reportedly these songs were improvised during a 2013 recording session and it wasn’t until 2020 that the vocals were put into place. Timeless piece of music that is created at turns trance inducing, propulsive, full of spite, mournful, unhinged and focused for the kill.
Hummus Records and Rorcal have raised the black flag in announcement of Silence arriving September 29. Since 06 these guys have established themselves as a precision sonic bludgeon. What started as a Breach in the CultofNeurIsis has become more hostile and crushing with orbits converging toward blackened spheres the likes of Celeste, Hexis and Plebeian Grandstand.
Raging in a similar hell as Hexis or Great Falls comes Satón. Mexican export of explosive blackened Am Rep lock grooves. What begun with more melodic hardcore and metal bent is twisting around itself into a gnarled, ugly mess. As Carrie White would say, “It’s beautiful.”
The announcement of Objects Without Pain did come with several warnings over Great Falls instagram. What I didn’t expect was pairing up with Neurot Recordings. Congratulations to the trio for this. In the early morning of July 11, 2023 the gauntlet was thrown… more like an anvil from the sky. Just how does one top Funny What Survives from February? Tune in September 15 for the full release. Until then, “Trap Feeding” is available for all. Demian Johnston and Shane Mehling continue their Voivod on steroids sturm and drang aided and abetted by Nickolis Parks behind the skins. This incarnation proves to be absolutely volatile and destructive beyond compare.
Khthoniik Cerviiks celebrating a decade with a rehearsal track… Voivod meets Venom in a haze of psychotropiiks.
Anti-God Hand with a full length on the docket for late August. First preview track has multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Will Ballantyne joined by whirling dervish drummer Greg Fox and locked in an almost Atheist meets Cynic gone black metal ride. A little black gaze interlude interrupts the tapping cyclical riffing that opens “Barge of Light” and the song drifts into melodic climes while the most acidic vocals this side of Woewarden continue to offset the soothing mood.
Two albums from Odz Manouk last week? Really? You gotta do that… Drop two albums. It’s an embarrassment of riches. Dissonant black metal coming from Long Beach, California with an Armenian folk lore obsession. I’ve yet to really sit down and absorb these a la John Carpenter’s The Thing.
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Following up on what I’ve stacked before… new Somniate is live and streaming. If my math is correct, this falls just shy of 33 minutes. If you know your Meshuggah Catch 33 rule you know what that means. If you don’t, well, you don’t. You’re 18 years behind the curve. Know this, Somniate - We Have Proved Death.