Rewind: Refresher crash course

Even at its worst it will all be better than Exorcist: Believer.

Much of what follows, as the title implies, harken back to previous posts. So, a lot of a brevity kills aesthetic to my ramblings.

Back in a January post I made mention of Saevus Finis and made speculations as to who, what, where, why, when, and how… I received confirmation on my queries back then; and, if you check the credits on the Transcending Obscurity page for the album you can figure it out on your own. You are, as the song goes, programmed to receive….

Tar Pond has a rich history for its short time on the scene. Initially a project comprised of Celtic Frost and Coroner luminaries, the current line up retains Markus Edelmann (aka Marquis Marky formerly of Coroner). The other member some may know is vocalist Thomas Ott for his artwork or as lead singer with The Playboys. Funny thing is I have been following his instagram page for a while before the hammer hit my anvil of a head to realize, this is the same guy behind the microphone of Tar Pond. Enough of my stupidity. What started with Martin Ain, Markus, Tommy T Baron and A.C. Kupper somewhere in a Zurich dungeon has continued with this 5 piece that carries the weight of Monotheist into a Jim Morrison fronted Black Sabbath, Alice in Chains gloom and doom revue. All atmosphere and creep factor. Would be perfect on tour with Oxbow.

Psicosfera Summa Negativa proves what a difference a vocalist makes. An absolute bestial performance on display here. Musically this feels more adventurous than the instrumental releases from the Argentinians. Everyone has upped their game and the arrangements benefit. Typically for instrumental music in metal adjacent fields I need spectacular drumming performances to hold my interest for the long haul. Not to say Psicosfera are at a lack of great drumming - Facundo Brinville is a beast among men - but Beta and AlphA kept everything very focused and reined in across the board. Summa Negativa grants for more exploration throughout… allowing their imagination to run amok while the vocalist provides the lead. Just so happens an unreliable narrator steers the vessel into a typhoon of Ulcerate(d), Gorguts-ian, Deathspell Omega riffs, rhythmic shifts and chaos.

After the unnerving noise intro ceases and the drums kick in, you are firmly entrenched within the lair of Jared Moran, his tones so distinct there is no denying his involvement with Cloud of Flies. In fact this sounds like Moran’s Yzordderrex given an injection of grind. Rough and tumble grinding death sludge with a recording that sounds and feels like a basement live performance capture. Raw, jagged, blown out from distortion, while guttural bellows rumble under riffs screeching with feedback and wobbly tuning.

Another dose of Moran… this time Boiled Tongue on a split with Kageneko. Kageneko is a newer project from Mike Stitches (Standing On a Floor of Bodies / Thousandswilldie) Both are practitioners of caustic grind. Short, sharp stabbing assaults. Kageneko previewing 2 doses under 37 seconds of bass, programmed drums, noise and ferocious vocals. Completely overdriven and harsh. Boiled Tongue has 2 songs under 2 minutes and designed with conventional structure.

Why not a trifecta of Jared Moran? The Acausal Instrusion duo with punked up black metal wreckage in one of their altered forms: ERUSOPXECINOMEDDETAEPERHGUORHTSERISEDNAMUHLLAFONOITACIDARECITAMETSYS.

As it stands, Sprain - The Lamb as Effigy… is probably going to vie for album of the year for this pig iron headed fool. Indulge yet again and prove yourself to be a masochist by taking in the entire album performance (and one new song) from 3 different videographers… one filmed almost as maniacally as the set on hand and the others shot with the cool detachment of a patient voyeur. Of course, no sooner had Flenser did a new pressing of this monster, Sprain decide to call it quits.

Is this the New Zealand Cliffs Notes version of Sprain’s The Lamb As Effigy? Or is Half Empty Glasshouse Mods Carve the Pig… Thought Industry using 12 tone serial compositional technique? Why not both? Brilliant. Turns out this project is credited to Charlie Jijari from Fronteeria.

After the monolith Orion EP dropped in August She The Throne double down with full length Nuntis on Trepanation Records in November. Ghostly reverberations in darkened tunnels and hallways, melodic washes, glitchy music boxes, scrap metal percussion, assorted phantom voice captures assembled in drifts, drones, driving mechanical beats. Female voices employed here run the gamut of textures and tones reminiscent of the gravel of Marianne Faithful, KatieJane Garside and Alison Shaw’s childish register, and the shrieking terror of Diamanda Galas. First song on display is “CLONUS” which is an oscillating horrorscape recalling Transitional or abandoned language Dalek sound design fed more low end, dissonances, skittering noise.

Through the Spheres of Darkness is the latest assault from Galician trio Marthyrium. An exercise in black metal occult ritual. Eerie dissonances, race horse paces, cavernous vocals, strong song arrangements and symbolist artwork to match.

new Corrupted you ask? Yes, says I. Lounge music for the damned and possessed. Taking A Page of Madness slow procession into hell with stops in purgatory, limbo and smoky heaven with Teresa 11.

A duo of eps from Dauðaró. Iceland funeral doom. 2/3 of a planned trilogy… and, as you can surmise given the span of time from last post to this, yes, I originally planned for only Part 1. You lucky suckers get Parts 1 & 2 of majestic doom cavern crawl. Personally I feel Part 2 to be the stronger of the movements as there are moments carrying weight akin to Celtic Frost or Triptykon when those Tom G Warrior projects bring in the classical pomp and bombast.

Násvelgr is another Icelandic psychedelic death doom entity. This brings a hybrid sound of Esoteric and Wormlust. Honestly, though neither sound truly alike, I wouldn’t be shocked if this were an offshoot of Dauðaró. Blame it on the timing of releases. Blame it on location.

Holy Spirit… holy Esoteric meets Thergothon. Slow motion funeral doom that has a slight mechanized feel to the drumming without sounding a Godflesh or PHOBOS alarm. I get the feeling that if this were sped up the riffing would resemble death metal proper.

And here one wonders how does KENmode top Null… Well, Void may just be the answer. Has Kathryn Kerr become the not so secret weapon in the arsenal? If these last two full lengths haven’t made you a believer you need your head examined. To me this feels more varied in attack and having more nuance to the song writing. As dark as Null is, Void without being as abrasive or massively heavy adds mournful melancholia to the equation and dives a little bit deeper in the psyche. Not exactly a deeper depression as some songs actually feel uplifting. Take “We’re Small Enough” and see the light at the end of the tunnel, not complete complete, ahem, Void. The sci-fi/prog analog synth lines and jazzed up drumming in “He Was a Good Man, He Was a Taxpayer” are other moments of respite from the gloom and doom. Follow up and finish with “Not Today, Old Friend” and there is a heavy dread pall, but, it isn’t in a fashion you would expect but somewhere Beyond Dawn. Nine albums deep and KENmode continue to perfect their craft of AmRep-ed, Homestead no wave propulsive sturm und drang.

Ok, here I go again…Objects Without Pain is the best Great Falls yet. Great Falls have not only their strongest album to date but a stellar EP from earlier this year. Not only that, there’s an art book with an exclusive track and a split release with Radiation Blackbody. All told an output proving Great Falls provide the definitive uneasy listening soundtrack to a historically miserable 2023 in terms of world events. A knock down drag out depression fest and cathartic release just shy of going fully nuclear (or the full Adjani.) Unhinged guitars, bombastic rhythmic tether, primal scream vocals. Voivod Playing Enemy with Zenigeva is all you need to know. But, you should’ve already listened, learned and knew.

Last year Worn Mantle made their presence known. This year they mark their territory digging a Hole. For me their debut was top 10. This long form exorcism braids art rock damage of Caspar Brötzmann Massaker, noise of Hijokaidan and aggrodissotech of Gorguts together as a devouring wall of sound. Hole proves Worn Mantle fully committed to audio derangement and beating against convention.

While on the subject of favorite albums of the year… never forget Miserere Luminis - Ordalie.

Ireland’s Sacred Noose Renounce The Flesh in 3 measures of cavernous death and blackened noise ritual. What a bunch of savages. If they were from Scotland you’d consider them an offshoot of the Sawney Beane. As it stands they are primitive pummel and grind and roiling miasma of gnawing sound threatening sanity.

Gravenchalice return in 2023 with Messiah. Opening with strains of John Carpenter analog synth before the 3 guitar attack and mechanized gears begin to turn. Black metal given weight of death metal guitar. This project is always at its best when the three guitarists are cross cutting, layering, and offsetting the main riffs. Messiah works that magic wonderfully creating dizzying and seasick moments somewhere between Blut Aus Nord, Immolation, Crowbar, Old and New Testaments and Necronomicon.

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