Seeing this is an Easter Miracle without the Zombie Jesus Crawl here on South Street, allow yourself to become Complete. Get down with Christ.
Not down with Christianity but looking for something else spiritual? Maybe dive into the latest from Senyawa
Yeah, yeah, yeah… so much of this you already know. And, you know, I don’t care. Go elsewhere. For that, why not try these on for size:
Everything Went Black, The Metal Dad and his fiendish five podcast, No Clean Singing, Stereogum: The Black Market, The Devil’s Mouth, Aversionline, Invisible Oranges, Horror Wolf 666, Into the Necrosphere, Sol Nox Podcast, The Book of Very Very Bad Things, Plague Rages, Thrown to the Abyss Podcast, Freedom Has No Bounds, Machine Music, Dreams of Consciousness, Doktor Dismemberment’s Midnight Murderplex and Crucial Blast’s Warhead…. most of these sites update more frequently than I.
Because they care? I do not know.
Terror Cell remain “angry and unhappy” in Richmond, Virginia. Hear the roar under a tumble of drums, feedback and eventual launch into hyperspace. Sludge and noise and despairing screams.
Remaining in Virginia with technical ecstasy and Two from That Which Sleeps. A pair of Buzzard members with False Sacrament’s guitarist bringing a whirlwind of instrumental sonic excess. Voivod, King Crimson, Dysrhythmia are touchpoints.
You may remember the song Malconfort off DsO’s Paracletus, well, this UK act takes pleasure in being disorienting and off kilter in a VBE/Virus derived style. Pair this up with Code for maximum sea sickness.
Speaking of Code… the Neurotransmissions demo has been brought to physical life (vinyl) via Amor Fati and a cassette in the future from A Fine Day to Die. Digital via the band. The OG lineup in 02, newly remixed and remastered. And be sure to revisit the current lineup with their one/two combo from late last year. Which, I’m sure I mentioned in a previous post, but, given you really can’t search these things I could be lying.
Australian battering ram Endless Loss with its brand of death metal excess in a year we’ve been treated to a number of quality cavernous evils.
From Los Angeles slithers Apparition wrapped in Vama Marga robes.
Minnesota’s cabal Aberration may be the sum greater than its parts.
Remaining in the land Land of 10,000 Lakes once under the rule of a little purple Artist formerly known as Prince, Sacrificial Vein unleash the great nullifier on Black Terror Genesis.
Releasing in full this week is the malevolent force from Desolate Depths known as Kvadrat. 43 minutes of dissonant metal.
New MÆRE track ups the total to three stab wounds puncturing the Shroud of the Steeve Hurdle Sonic Cloth. These guys, much like their label Transcending Obscurity, are on a mission this year heralding queasy, sea-sick aggro dissotech.
From Belarus emits Leprous Vortex Sun in a sonic assault of cataclysmic proportions. This could be an album of the year contender. And, no, I never did post my favorites of 2023… will that even come, do you even care? Just listen to this militaristic, driven juggernaut of Piggy, Hurdle unchords and have your face melt off.
Early in March Iarmhairt was charged with GBH when this demo dropped. Perps include members of Sacred Noose and Unyielding Love on a blackened bender.
Soma Plume released In the Black Water late 3rd quarter of 2023, but for some odd reason didn’t hit the bandcamp platform until this year. Monolith Amebix synth damage, post punk bass, slow motion dual guitar work, female vocals taking cues from KJG, Julie Christmas school of quiet/loud dynamics with more focus on sustained melodic paces where she absolutely rules. Come to think of it, this would pair up quite nicely with Battle of Mice as they occupy similar territory in terms of attack and attention to atmosphere. Need a more contemporary comparison? Guhts. There I wrote it. I think Soma Plume is moodier whereas Guhts pushes harder yet both are terrific and command attention.
May have to call it early… Verberis for album of the year. This is stuff of the apocalypse. Gibbering mad vocals, droning, hanging chords, jazzed up drums in long form missives to the Apophatic Wilderness. Getting heavy Kenose vibes gone further into twilight and submerged in oceans.
Oh, and where would we be without a mention of a Polish act? Czernina with their brand of “experimental chaotic black metal” augmented with feral vocals of utmost maniacal abandon.
Awesome list as always! Have you listened to Crippling Alcoholism and I just missed it?