Orbyssmal - Abyssom. See that title logo? Designed by Pestilength’s M. - aka Unholydesignsart. You know who wrote some lyrics for “Tephra Codex” on Basom Gryphos? That’s right, Portal’s The Curator. You get where Orbyssmal is coming from? Brisbane, Australia. Not saying Orbyssmal is definitively Portal related as the project is definitely tied to Hellnium, but, you could be on to something, Sherlock. Music on hand harkens back to the earliest Portal gibbering insect swarm from the void guitar tone, frantic as fuck blurry quasi grind drumming and vocals suffocated under distortion.
Tightening the stranglehold Greece has been coiling around the black metal scene comes new Thy Darkened Shade in the form of Liber Lvcifer II: Mahapralaya. Opening on a meditative somber note with “Luciftias” before launching into the knotty spiralling madness of “Sacrosanct Pyre” with guitar/drum/bass interplay the bastard child of Spiral Architect and Theory in Practice. Bass work throughout is absolutely stellar and the vocal display is a mix of theater - screams, invocations, vast choirs. I’m not normally one for overly busy riffing - those prog-tech fretboard gymnast variety of noodling with scales and pawning them off as riffs- but what Semjaza is doing here is damned brilliant. Almost sounds inhuman as if centipedes were gliding across the strings and creating eerie patterns of sound that are escalating in intensity.
Hailing from Quebec City, Québec one knows what they’re in for when Turpitude brings Une interprétation de la dissolution glaciale en quatre mouvements. An interpretation of icy dissolution in four movements of brittle guitar tone black metal fortified with punchy bass and uptempo drums. The back line shines here, nothing flashy with the drums but an extremely lively and driving performance joined with a busy bass work out. The guitar work is solid layered work and although the riffs aren’t particulary memorable there is a lot of character given the textures at play creating frigid atmospheres and climbing tension delirium.
Three songs deep into a new release for AETOS. Newest track, “The End of Youth” finds the Hots Springs, Arkansas one man army of doom leaning into Broadrick/JESU terrority with a smidgen of Swervedriver near the finale and weaving dark side of the moon ornamental ambient textures throughout. Great counterpoint to the late 2022 singles that go heavier, harsher but have indications of the melodic side on full display here.
From Green Bay, Wisconsin armed with classic HM2 pedal death metal sound comes Funerary Outlook. Not reinventing the wheel, but, efficiently working the Entombed/Nihilist cement mixer guitar tone together with Immolation harmonics, nasty bass clatter and militant beats and blasts and vocals that have the bulldog attack of Sindrome with layering of early Deicide. Nice, tight song writing that aims straight for the throat. Should be interesting to see where this develops as there are a couple spots - particularly the shortest track, “Mercy Curse” - where Funerary Outlook mudically branches out to infuse a progressive edge that again brings later Sindrome to mind.
From the short and (un)sweet savagery of Funerary Outlook to the Colorado sprawl of Velnias we go. Rocky Mountain Empyrean Ascendancy indeed. Black metal infused post metal with the “Rending of Dyadic Convolution.” Huge tribal beats propelling this forward with 16 horsepower meets Planes Mistaken for Stars duelling jangly guitar work, melodic and black metal vocal tradeoffs, and a punchy bass tone that really cuts during the wandering lines.
From that drift to the smash and destroy attack of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Deathcircle. From the Black Plague Circle and issuing this as a 10th anniversary ritual of raw black metal noise, Feast Upon the World of Illusions receives physical release via Goatowarex (LP), Sinister Shadow (CD) and Esfinge de la Calavera (tape). Deathcircle is a project from O. (who is involved in more than a handful of the BPC acts among others) is as aggro and unhinged as early Wolok with the hive-mind buzzing fried guitar tone, blasting speeds dominating the songcraft, thumping bass and vocals distorted beyond comprehension. Definitely has an urgency over accuracy feel that I appreciate and is a benefit to the material at hand.
Rejoice! The release of The Canyon Observer’s Figura has come. Art damage most divine. My drivel can be found on previous posts, so, no more trying to persuade anyone to check this out. Make up your own mind. I’m tired of hustling.
Another recall from an earlier post, the newest from crosta - the scab of days is here to be torn off and poked at. As expected, this works best taken in its entirety rather than songs at random. Epic in scope, working in territory familiar to most CultofNeurIsis acolytes: crushing riffs, lumbering rhythms, quiet/loud dynamics, electronic washes. One of the distinctive things at play with crosta is the use of electronic textures being in line with 70s psyche and prog acts. More Pink Floyd, Hawkwind, Tangerine Dream musicality than ancillary noise adding density.
No sooner had I published the previous missive that the Shub Niggurath spasmed and rendered another Ullequip ep.
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Man, don’t make me do some easy investigative work - though I will and I won’t reveal if instructed - but SAEVUS FINIS sure as hell sounds like members of Concealment and Wells Valley serving up another discordant death metal wrinkle in time.
for the entire Transcending Obscurity Records 2023 sampler: new tracks from a rough and tumble gauntlet of rogues. Seems as if a new Veilburner is nearer than expected.
New track from Belarusan black metal quartet Ciemra. This one on a more driving, thrashier pace than the mournful “Serpents” yet still takes atmospheric sickle strikes at melody. A lot of Paradise Lost sour solo flavor to the solos which I’m an absolute sucker for. Full album, The Tread of Darkness, on Avantgarde Music later in the year.
don’t know what i was expecting from “the canyon observer”… but nightmare jazz wasn’t it. love it.
speaking of swervedriver: my phone playlist randomly ended on a swvdvr track the other day and then jumped to a track from “future ruins” (which i didn’t have, had never heard) but i ended up playing the entire album. it’s pretty solid. gigantic hooks. so, yeah.