Staggering in enormity and density, the return of Wells Valley draws nigh. Hypnotic cyclical riffing, gargantuan bass, slow pile driving drums, feedback squalls, magma scorched vocals. As informed by classic prog rock as they are disso-tech and post metal this creepy crawl across ruined, sprawling, burning wastelands nods to things as far removed as Pink Floyd, Breach, Gorguts to King Crimson, Caspar Brotzmann Massaker and Blut Aus Nord. I’ve been fortunate to hear Achamoth in its entirety and can attest “Intercession and Invocation” is the band at its most minimalist, straight forward and merely hints at what sounds and horrors are to envelop and consume a listener. Lavadome Productions has this monstrosity slated for September 29. And, in addition to the latest song allow me to refresh your memory with an older video or two or three.
It appears Bjeima wasn’t content to allow Yurei- Ad Aqua take all the Ved Buens Ende / Virus / Manimalism informed jazz metal accolades that he had to unfetter Alfa Obscura from its chains. Last heard from in 2011 on Plutonian Shores, Sisyfos Speil is the latest iteration of alien thought amplified as sound. What Bjeima does with Alfa Obscura is more raw and unkempt than Yurei and it works it’s mystical charm in buzzing backward guitar noise, blower bass and almost rehearsal quality drum tone - seriously, the cymbals sound like trash can lids. It all works perfectly and adds character sounding almost as if it were an unearthed artifact from 1993. Vocals aren’t as theatrical as VBE and come across more as spoken word incantations. Is this as good as Yurei? Well it all depends on what mood one is in for polished gleam or spit shine.
Similar thought patterns to Wells Valley with a meld of post and dissonant metal are a pair of new Bolt Gun releases. Mid July saw the initial salvo in the form of the Warren EP which happens to be inspired by author Brian Evenson’s post apocalyptic novella of the same name. Next on the docket is “The Sacred Deer” from their forthcoming The Tower full length and proves to be similarly unhinged while experimenting with structure, form and instrumentation.
Whalesong implore you to “listen loud and feel the sound.” Taking a stark Swans meets Bad Seeds aesthetic on Leaving a Dream it could heard as the perfect companion piece to Black Openings from Anatomy of Habit earlier this year. To say I prefer either album over this year’s Swans the Beggar is an understatement. As piano, chimes, dulcimer and brass instrumentation come into play during certain songs the soundscape begins to take on atmospherics of Beyond Dawn - Pity Love and David Bowie’s 1.Outside. Much of the vocal delivery is nearly spoken word in a way that certain Monumentum - In Absentia Christi or Celtic Frost - Into the Pandemonium tracks function. To further comparison to Swans, Monumentum and Celtic Frost there are male/female vocal trade offs. Most of the female vocals are more “musical” and sung than the male counterpart. When they are combined it recalls Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio. Not all of the material plays as expansively or expressively as these moody minimalist chamber pieces and Whalesong can downshift (or upshift given your perspective) from being subtlely, insidiously destructive to more conventional fare and fully dive into their Celtic Frost/Monumentum tool box to unleash staggeringly heavy craftwork such as they do on “Ascend!” and “Struggle” or they can push more abstract and contemporary classical a la Vienna Aktionist Hermann Nitsch.
By now everyone has been made aware of the impending new Body Void release, so, I’m gonna use this opportunity to bring attention to similar sludge mass ritual damage. After perusing the “Flesh Market” know that “Nothing Can be Good” in New Jersey.
Coward Kill Coward is NJ death drone sludge power electronic mash up that is megaton dose of Primitive Man is the Bastard Noise. You got it? Good. Well, Nothing Can Be Good.
Should “Low IQ riffs” be your forte allow Portland, Oregon’s Asphalt oblige. If you’re familiar with old Cali hardcore act Virulence, you know, the band that became Fu Manchu, well, take the If This Isn’t a Dream guitar tone, pitch shift it down further than Triptykon, add gutturals, go off to battle with Primitive Man.
The Human Worth label has been on a bludgeoning mission this year. Torpor continues the trend and builds upon their foundation of post lumbering drudge work sounding more gargantuan and caustic than before. LLNN black hole reality altering slow motion crush. No flesh shall be spared.
Of course, couldn’t pass up following Torpor’s Abscission with Blood Abscission. This is a melodic black metal blast from an entity of unkown location. Off to the races and not often looking back but screeching ever forward toward oblivion. Has more than a hint of Dawn Slaughtersun in its throttling long form black metal bent with melodicism and vocal delivery given to future throat cancer via Woewarden.
From Provo, Utah comes Moray The Natural World. Ambitious in scope having elements of blackened Americana of Wayfarer and ilk working in tandem with melodic black metal recalling Dissection and disciples. Favorite thing with this album is its twisting and turning compositions that are not locked into conventional structure. It is all encompassing journey through peaks and valleys of the Uinta and Wasatch Mountain ranges.
Debut full length from Lithuanian cabal Cunabula. This outfit plys its trade in post metallurgy combining off time groove of Tool-ing Meshuggah-nics world wide with slatherings of black metal, progressive rock, 90s alternative whether it be shoegaze or Projekt Records mope works. Vocalist Godumi has a similar growling register to The Corona Lantern’s Daniela Dahlien Neumanová and in places when she does melodic runs it can recall Dalila Kayros (SYK, Combat Astronomy) or Obscure Sphinx’s Zofia "Wielebna" Fraś. Come to think of it, Cunabula shares sonic dna with some of the bands mentioned here - again, owing to those elastic steel girder grooves. And given that does it really need mention the musicianship here is high calibre? Many spots for the individual players to shine be it nimble bass lines, soulful solos, or tremendous drumming. Most importantly, Cunabula write engaging songs that are crafted as voyages across different terrain and climates. Nothing is static, all is moving. If you’re like me, pining for the new Proghma-C this should tide you over.
please support: 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 and Doktor Dismemberment’s Midnight Murderplex…. most of these sites update daily and weekly, most likely more frequently than what I do here.
For comparison and contrast purposes we present to the jury Aberration covering Beherit’s “Salomon’s Gate.”
Collaboration effort from Tisza Kara & Sütő Gábor culminates in Abyss. Typically Tisza Kara (solo project of Tøth Jøzsef) works instrumentals that are post metal of a blackened death variety. On Abyss, while the sonic aesthetic isn’t a far cry from what has previously been in play across many efforts, joined by his Bipolar Disorder and Degragore vocalist Sütő Gábor adds gutturals and whispers to the depths.
Appears Urfaust is drawing the curtain after 20 years of unease and wobbly black metal derangement. Van Records present Untergang. Coming out of the gate like a seasick Yob and deploying depth charges before running aground on R'lyeh and encountering cosmic terror and combating chaos with unhinged berserker cries over medieval madrigals then sauntering into a bunker to take psychedlics and trance out to post punk bass lines. It is quite the bad trip. Enjoy your journey.
I hadn’t even thought about Public Image Ltd in a long while until the recent Voivod release having the cover of “Home.” Then, something this morning pops up regarding a new PiL album that released on Friday. Of course, the cosmos being what it is the first song I hear (only 6 months late) is “Hawaii.” What a crusher given circumstances.