#BLACKENED MELO-DEATH

[onlyhurtforaminute]

DUSKMOURN-THROUGH THE DARK

[metalindex-hu]

Fémjelzés – a hét újdonságai (2022. november 21-27.)

Fémjelzés – a hét újdonságai (2022. november 21-27.) - https://metalindex.hu/2022/11/28/femjelzes-a-het-ujdonsagai-2022-november-21-27/ -

Az elmúlt egy hét gyöngyszemeit az alábbi listából lehet kiszemezgetni. November utolsó teljes hete eképpen búcsúzik az undergroundtól:

À Répit – Spirito d’autunno (black metal) Abysmal Growls of Despair – Herald of Chaos (funeral doom/drone) Adventus – Saudade (melodikus heavy/power metal) Anomaly – Somewhere Within the Pines (death metal) Archetype X – Regression (melodikus death metal/metalcore) Ashes – Gloom, Ash and Emptiness to the Horizon (black metal) Aviscerus – Visceral Depths (melodikus death/groove metal) Beyond Helvete – Anthem of Decay (black metal) Black Beast – Arctic Darkness (black metal) Black Lava – Soul Furnace (blackened death metal) Black Rain – Untamed (glam rock) Black Steam – Come to My Darkness (heavy metal) Blacnk – An Abhorrent Display of Virtue (black metal) Bloodaxe – Gales of November (nyers viking/black metal) Brutalkill – Maggot in Your Flesh (brutális death metal/grindcore) Carnal Savagery – Worm Eaten (death metal) Carnivora – Petrichor (melodikus groove/death metal) Carved – Ares (szimfonikus death metal) Chevallier Skrog – Ordum Rustica Separitis (nyers black metal) Ciggurat – Semi-Infinite (progresszív metal) Ciminero – Shadows Digging the Grave (doom metal) Circus of Fools – A Broadcast from GEN .0 (gótikus/melo-death/groove metal) Cloudburst – Yesterday Is History (heavy metal) Coilwound – Pessimistic Wreck (nyers/depresszív black metal) Conspectus – Grand Revelation (progresszív metal) Crown of Ascension – Transmission Errors (experimental black metal) Cultura Tres – Camino de brujos (sludge metal) Dark Delirium – New Era (melodikus death metal) Dark Matter – The Rectory (doom metal) Der Trauerschwan – Sanguinare Vampiris (black/doom metal) Detraktor – Full Body Stomp (thrash metal) Diabolos – La porte de l’enfer (black metal) Djevel – Naa skrider natten sort (black metal) Doominator – Nocturnal Realm (black/speed metal) Duthaig – Hiraeth (atmoszferikus black metal) Elder – Innate Passage (pszichedelikus stoner metal/rock) Emaciated by Christ – Fanisk (black metal) Estrangement – Disfigurementality (funeral doom metal) Evinity Project – Evinity Project (melodikus groove/death metal) Exsanguinate – Subservient to the Cosmic Will (black/death metal) Fall of the Idols – Contradictory Notes (doom metal) Fallen Grace – Fallen Grace (melodikus death metal) Finita – Above Chaos (gótikus metal) Förgjord – Ruumissaarna pt. 1 (black metal) Funeral Fog – 13th Moon (black metal) Godless Suns – Godless Suns (doom/stoner metal) Grim Justice – Justice in the Night (heavy metal) Grotesquerie – Composted Beyond Recognition (death metal/goregrind) Haunted Knight – Veil (melodikus black metal) Hellfire Deathcult – Al nombre de la muerte (black/death metal) Hibernus Mortis – The Monoliths of Cursed Slumber (death metal) High Command – Eclipse of the Dual Moons (thrash metal/crossover/HC/punk) High Fells – Catharsis (black metal) Illusion – Born In Technology (thrash metal) Íltuŕ – Werewolf Mark (black metal) In Sanity – For We Triumph (melodikus death metal) In the Woods… – Diversum (progresszív rock/metal) In-Conquered – The Wide Path to the Lake of Fire (blackened death metal) Infierno Austral – Sobre la gran fosa de Leviathan (black metal) Interceptor – To nie jest kraj dla młodych ludzi (crossover/hardcore/thrash metal) Iōhannēs – Jacob’s Ladder (progresszív/black metal) Ironbite – The Great Escape (heavy metal/hard rock) Iscuron – Blackest Forest Soundtracks (szimfonikus/atmoszferikus black metal) Jade – The Pacification of Death (atmoszferikus death metal) Judicator – The Majesty of Decay (power metal) Karg – Resignation (post-black metal) Katapult – Play Stupid Games, Win Stupid Prizes (melodikus death/thrash metal) Kernhell – Kernhell (heavy metal) Kryptonomicon – Infernalia (black/death metal) Leather – We Are the Chosen (heavy metal) Lordchain – Surviving the Wicked Storm (heavy metal/hard rock) Lucifericon – The Warlock of Da’ath (death metal) Lykotonon – Promethean Pathology (avantgárd black/death metal) Maceration – It Never Ends… (death metal) Mag – Pod krwawym księżycem (stoner/sludge/doom metal) Milicia – Devastación (melodikus death/groove metal) Minerva – Cielos grises (melodikus death metal) Mitralyöz – Akıl Katili (groove/thrash metal) Moeror – All That We Seem (black metal) Monolithe – Kosmodrom (melodikus death/doom metal) Morkander – Forgotten with the Ashes of Humanity (black/doom metal) Mortuorum – Triad of Total Death (death/black metal) Mycelium – Mycoticism: Disseminating the Propagules (death metal) Nazghor – Seventh Secular Crusade (black metal) Nømadus – Axis Primordial (progresszív groove/thrash metal) Numen Noctis – Sanctus Simulacrum (atmoszferikus black metal) Oceans – Hell Is Where the Heart Is (post-metal/metalcore) Ofdrykkja – After the Storm (post-black metal/neofolk) Old Grave – Alive Again (death metal) Once Awake – Once Awake (groove metal/metalcore) Onryo Over October – Take My Stars, Bury Them (atmoszf. black/doom metal) Orphique – Consécration cadavérique (black metal) Pursuit – Loose Lips (heavy metal/hard rock) Rienaus – Luciferille (black metal) RipCage – When the World Burns (heavy/thrash metal) Runamok – The Clown Brigade (heavy metal) Saasta – Crucial to None (doom/death metal) Sadistic Sacrament – Anticult Apocalypse (black metal) Savage Soul – Suffering World (death/thrash/groove metal) Sinkralkch – Dredded in Frostbite (nyers/atmoszferikus black metal) Sirrush – Molon Labe (black/death metal) Sisters of Suffocation – Eradication (death metal) Smoke Rites – Total Lung Capacity (stoner/doom metal) Spiritworld – Deathwestern (death/thrash metal/HC) Steelwings – Still Rising (heavy metal/hard rock) Stilleklang – Tränen der Vergangenheit – Part I (atmoszferikus black/post-metal) Stones of Babylon – Ishtar Gate (stoner/doom metal) Suicide Solution – In the Face of Nothing (black metal) Sword – III (heavy metal) Te Deum – Reflexia (doom/death metal) Terrörhammer – Gateways to Hades (black/speed/thrash metal) The Aphotic Strain – Palingenesis (melodikus death metal) The Cadavor Dog – Return of the Dog (thrash metal) The Temple – Of Solitude Triumphant (doom metal) The Wolves of Avalon – Y Gododdin (pogány metal) Therein – The Void Affinity (melodikus death/thrash metal) Thy Catafalque – Mezolit – Live at Fekete Zaj (Live) (avantgárd metal) Trhä – Endlhëdëhaj Qáshmëna Ëlh Vim Innivte (atmoszf. black metal/ambient) Unformulas – Post Mortem Visionary (doom/death metal) Værbitt – Svartediket (atmoszferikus black metal) Virgil – Acheron (black/death metal/deathcore) Vodoem – Seasons of Silence (experimental black metal) Void Alchemy – Traversing the Unseen Horizon (atmoszferikus black metal) Wafat – Feminism (brutális death metal) Walk in Darkness – Leaves Rolling in Time (szimfonikus/gótikus metal) Whirlwind – 1714 (heavy metal) Witchmaster – Kaźń (black/thrash metal)

[burden-in-my-hand]

|| Skeletonwitch || • The Glass House • Pomona, Ca • 05.26.18 •

[author-morgan]

Phobia ☤ Alexios

twenty-two - hekatoncheir trap

masterlist

“Be strong, saith my heart; I am a soldier; I have seen worse sights than this.”

Fate decrees two kindred souls from two different empires will find one another, and the spear shall be made whole again

THE STORM PUSHES the Adrestia off-course and it is not until midday that they find their heading once more and soon after they dock. Irene looks around the dark soil and smoke billowing from the peak of one low-lying mountain. "Where are we?" She asks, having never ventured to this part of Hellas before.  

"This is Melos," Barnabas remarks in his usual cheerful tone —nothing could dampen the old sailor’s spirits. "One of the Playgrounds of Ares." That explains the volcanoes then Irene thinks, catching a whiff of sulfur. Ikaros lands on the railing between her and Alexios.  

"We restock and rest here," Alexios announces. The storm takes its toll on his crew. Many are already asleep above and below deck from manning the oars to keep from crashing into rocks during the storm. They need to gather supplies for minor repairs, restock barrels with potable water, and rest before continuing to Lakonia. 

Irene, Iola, and Eppie take to the small agora —seeking out hearty foods capable of lasting weeks at sea. Alexios seeks a blacksmith or merchant to sell or trade the armor he’d found in a chest on the pirate’s war galley before the Aegean claimed it. The blacksmith of Melos is a grizzly fellow that stands a whole head taller than Alexios —his arms and neck thick and strong as trunks on young trees. “What can I do for you today, misthios?” He inquires. 

The Eagle Bearer places the set of armor on the anvil and walks away with three heavy pouches of drachmae. He passes through the square and pauses to listen to a richly-clothed man speaking to a small gathering. “Warriors! Heroes! Mercenaries of all types!” He shouts. “Sign up here for the Battle of One Hundred Hands. Would you like to be rich? Are you the next Champion?” The man asks before catching a glimpse of Alexios in the crowd. “You, misthios. You look like a true contender.” 

He returns to the Adrestia with a fresh glint in his eyes that reeks of mischief. Either he’s done something or is about to do something reckless. Irene passes a basket of fruit to Tyche and crosses her arms as she turns to face Alexios. "What have you done now?" She asks, immediately seeing through his innocent feint. 

"There’s a contest,” he explains, gripping onto her hands, “if I win, we will be that much closer to eliminating another cultist.”

As soon as he says it, everything clicks in place for the princess. Melos. Contest. The Battle of One Hundred Hands. "Alexios! You fool!" Irene scolds. She knows this infamous contest, where thousands have come willingly to die in pursuit of glory and riches.

"I thought you had more faith in me,” Alexios smiles, and by the gods that charming smile could almost get him out of anything. She does not doubt his skills in battle, only his ability to face a hundred warriors with nothing to lose and everything to gain. 

“And what am I supposed to tell your mother if you don’t make it?” Irene queries, crossing her arms. She doesn’t want to be the one to tell Myrrine her son died like so many others in a futile competition. He may fight like Achilles —Ares even— but even the mightiest of men can be slain by one arrow. 

The princess follows Alexios back into the agora where she finds herself staring up at an oddly familiar face. "Drakios,” Irene greets, recognizing the merchant —though now his hair and beard are greyer since the last time he had visited Athens. Her frown starts to fade. 

He steps down from the platform. Arms open and smiling. "That is not Irene of Athens is it?" Irene offers a smile and accepts the two quick kisses he places upon her cheeks in greeting. Alexios steps next to the princess, gripping onto her hand —invidious. "How is your brother?" Drakios questions. 

Zephyr enjoyed campaigning for champions in Attika —had made acquaintances with many of those who came to Melos only to die in the pursuit of riches and glory. "Dead," she replies, receiving no sympathy from the merchant. 

Flocks of fighters gather near city walls —contestants eager to spill blood. The start of the competition draws near. Drakios shifts his attention from the contestants back to Irene and the Eagle Bearer. "Join me on the wall,” he says, smile genuine though something heinous lurks in his dark stare, “you can have the best view to see this misthios carve his way to victory." The princess nods, accepting the offer with a tight smile. 

Alexios takes his place among the other competitors at the gates leading to the sulfur-dotted landscape. Irene lays her hand on his cheek, holding his warm tawny-gold gaze. “Stay safe,” she breathes. He leans toward her and plants his lips upon hers for a short, sweet kiss —something to give him comfort in his last moments if the gods decide he is not meant to see another sunset. 

Scaling the stone-steps to join Drakios in his grand booth feels like she is willingly walking into a trap. The merchant steps up to address the contenders. “We have gathered here again for the Battle of One Hundred Hands.” A pause as the participants glance around at one another. “Indeed, impressive warriors from all over the Greek world have come to test their might and skill against each other. Whether it is the sharpest sword in the Athenian army or the broadest shield Sparta can muster, all now stand alone against the many.” Spartans, Athenians, bandits, and those with no allegiance fighting to the death. 

“At our climax, the final two contenders will face off on a special battlefield, but only one will be called Champion.” Roars erupt from below. “Let the Battle of One Hundred Hands begin!” Drakios shouts. His cry is echoed by a low horn blast, making the start of the battle. 

Hours drag by —or at least to Irene it feels like hours— before the second horn blast. A quarter of those men and women already dead. “You’re making quite a name for yourself, princess,” Drakios sneers. Her blood runs cold. “I know someone who would pay a pretty price for your head. Just a head,” he laughs. Irene grips onto the splintered lance of the broken spear, but a guard stays her hand. 

“This is all a rouse, isn’t it?” The princess queries, spitting at the merchant’s feet. A third horn blast rings out —half are dead. 

He looks down disgusted. “You’re more perceptive than he is,” Drakios remarks. “We’ve hoped to lure Deimos’ sibling out for years,” he explains, grinning. “And now that Alexios is finally here he brings me a Persian princess, too.”

The guard releases his hold on her when the fourth horn sounds and two competitors approach the wall from the low-lying smoke. Irene's relief is palpable when she sees one of the survivors is Alexios. The other is a woman with a swarthy complexion, a shield of Athena strapped to her back. She is a warrior and her expression is that of cold determination to become a champion. "Who is she?" The princess asks. 

"Roxana,” Drakios tells her, "a fearsome combatant. Had it not been for your dear misthios, she would have been the day's victor." There’s something akin to bitter disappointment lacing the words. Irene’s gaze hardens as she watches the merchant rise and spread his arms. "Come!” He calls. “We shall finish the battle in the shadow of the volcano in the east.”

IRENE LEAPS FORWARD, one hand clamping over a mouth, her knife plunging into a back, slicing between ribs, puncturing a lung. The guard in her grasp stiffens and hisses. She wrenches the spear free and stabs again, and again. The other Cultist guard is turning, sword already half out of its scabbard, his mouth open, drawing breath to yell. His effort is in vain. A sword crunches into his neck, cutting deep, blood spurting. Irene looks down at the two corpses. 

"Guards!" Drakios shouts. Alexios looks around the ruins of the temple on Typhon's Crown but finds they are still alone. No one has answered the man’s call. "Guards!" He shouts again, panic seeping into his voice. Irene appears behind the battle's organizer instead of his men, wiping their blood from her spear on a torn swath of fabric from one of the corpses. 

"They're dead," she announces coming to stand next to the Eagle Bearer, "now tell us what you know." Drakios refuses and settles for drawing the sword hidden beneath his robes, advancing with a flurry of slashes. Alexios deflects the blows to the side, creating an opening for Irene to strike. She does —the edge of her kopis bites into the merchant’s thigh and sends him to one knee. Alexios deals the killing blow, a tight slash across Drakios’ neck, despite his empty pleas for mercy. Good riddance the princess thinks, staring down at the corpse as blood seeps into the blackened earth. 

Alexios looks down at the fallen warrior, Roxana. She'd fought valiantly and honorably for such an unjust end. He staggers back, groans then falls to his knees. "All these people died just for the Cult to find me.” His voice cracks —though he had not killed the ones who came before, it feels as though their blood is on his hands regardless. 

Irene kneels in front of him, resting her forehead against his. Her hand slips down the front of his cuirass and comes away coated in blood. “You’re hurt,” she breathes. 

He doesn’t protest the statement. "I'll be fine until we get back to the ship,” he says, pushing himself back up onto his feet. 

Alexios doubles over before they can reach the Adrestia. This must have been the gods' will —to remind him he is not a true demigod. Irene slips her arm beneath his. "You'll be fine, huh?" She asks. His laugh is breathless as he drapes his arm over her shoulders. She can admonish him later, for now, they need to get back to the ship.

"Set a course to Sparta, Barnabas," Irene says as she helps the Eagle Bearer onto the Adrestia. The crew isn't sure what to think when they notice their commander limping and covered in his own blood —up until now he’s always been untouchable. Barnabas spurs the crew into motion from their gawking —lines are unmoored and cargo secured.    

They collapse inside the small pavilion at the stern of the trireme. Irene undoes the pin holding the scarf over his shoulders in place and busies herself with the hooks and ties of his cuirass. Alexios shrugs off the breastplate and leans back against the bench. She undoes the shoulder buttons of his chiton and the stained linen pools low around his waist. 

He spares a glance at the wound running from his hip to navel. It still weeps red and though it doesn't seem to be very deep —it's long. "See?" He groans. "Not that bad." The princess ignores his poor attempt at humor as she sorts through her provisions. Alexios watches in a daze as she grinds several dried flowers and herbs into a thin paste with rose oil in a shallow dish. 

Irene moves closer to him and touches his cheek —hiding the unstoppered skin of strong wine behind her back. He looks at her from beneath hooded eyes and smiles against her lips when she kisses him. She gives him the brief reprieve before dumping the white vintage over the bloody gash. Alexios throws his head back and curses. "Maláka!" He glares at the princess, breathing labored until the burning and stinging start to fade.  

"Sorry," Irene mutters, patting his side dry with a bundle of linen. "It needed to be cleansed." He doesn't say anything, only nods and leans back again, letting her continue her practiced ministrations. After she finishes applying the medicinal paste, Alexios reaches for his chiton but Irene stays his hand. "No," she says, shaking her head, "leave it uncovered." His brows furrow. "You nor I know for certain if what did that was laced with poison. I can catch any signs quicker without it being covered," the princess explains. Poison was a finicky thing —some took days or years to work, others could kill a man in a trice. 

Alexios raises his brow. "If you wanted me naked, all you had to do is ask,” he replies in the smuggest tone he can manage. 

Irene rolls her eyes and kisses his sweaty forehead. The gods both blessed and cursed her by bringing Alexios into her life. "Get some rest,” she whispers, shifting toward the entrance of the tent knowing Barnabas and Herodotus would be concerned. He grips onto her wrist before she can rise and draws the princess into his uninjured side, arms wrapping around her middle. Alexios isn’t ready to let her go —besides, the sweet scent of her hair and the steady, rhythmic beat of her heart help him sleep. 

Alexios jerks awake in the night —panting with sweat beading on his brow. He’d dreamt of his family and the night on Taygetos that’d changed everything. He shifts, finding Irene is still lying next to him —her hand slipping down his chest until he settles back down. Alexios lays his hand atop hers and marvels at how delicate it feels beneath his. 

He can’t help smiling at her sleeping form, admiring the curve of her lips, the way her eyelashes hit her cheeks —how serene she looks. His fingers card through her hair, cautious not to wake her, and he strokes over her collarbone to her shoulder and down her arm with his knuckles. She truly is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, he thinks, and he struggles to fathom that he’s the one allowed to lay beside her, delighting in her existence every night.

[@wallsarecrumbling; if you want to be tagged in any of my stories just send a message or an ask!]

[ziltoidgoeshome]

IT’S HERE.

My blackened melodic death metal project, Marek, is official streaming our first single, “Isolation.” Taken from our forthcoming EP, Sorrow Lands, “Isolation” summarizes what Marek is all about.

You can download the song for free here while also liking our band page on Facebook. Tell a friend!

[patricksilvrrozartistry]

Current Music Obsessions: October 17 - 31, 2018

Time to break out another long list! I've been purging my watch later playlist and doing a good job at it. But we're not gonna ramble on with that stuff, we're gonna ramble on about music. Starting out with the honorable mentions.

Mono - After You Comes the Flood Clouds - Forever and a Day Holy Shire - The Legendary Shepherds of the Forest Onsetcold - Los Angeles The Monster Inside - Numb Sylvaine - L'Appel Du Vide Mother Feather - Snakebite Haken - Puzzle Box Marina and the Diamonds - Froot Nego do Borel - Me Solta feat. DJ Rennan da Penha Amaranthe - Countdown Aliases - What's Left For Us? Winter in Eden - With Intent Lucrecia - Femto Solborn - Crestfallen Once - Distorted Smiles feat. Shir-Ran Yinon (violin) Alina Lesnik - Dark Waltz (Hayley Westenra cover) Empyrean Throne - Chaosborne Marcela Bovio - Scientist Elyose - La Veuve Noire Victorius - Razorblade Raptor Tasters - Please Destroy This World Arkentype - Ashes and Dirt

And now for the plenty main obsessions.

1. Arcane Roots - Before Me

This is such an interesting way to open an album. This is such an ambient track and reminds me of something by Sigur Ros for some reason. It's so beautiful and peaceful. I'm definitely am gonna listen to this album.

2. Nibiru - The Sorrow's Song

Spaceuntravel. The vibe of this song is what got me hooked on it. It has some metalcore vibes to it, but it's definitely more on the prog side in my opinion. The singer's voice is so raw and intense and compliments the instrumentals really well.

3. Persona - Invidia

This was one of the songs that really stood out to me on Metamorphosis. I'm also glad they chose to turn one of the songs in which their singer did some screams, because her screams are very impressive. The instrumentals on this track are so epic and chaotic. So much yes.

4. Beyond the Black - Scream for Me

The choirs. Those are what truly sold me on this track. Well, they're not like typical choir bits, but they're still choir-like. Anyways, this track is my second favorite off the album. It's so fun and packs so much energy.

5. We are the Catalyst - Predators

This is their latest single and I absolutely love it. I am obsessed with the singer's headdress in the video. It has a bit of a djenty vibe to it which I love, but it still holds true to their sound which sets them apart from other alternative metal bands.

6. Sound Storm - To the Stars

This is their newest song and features two new singers, one of which is Chiara Tricarico who was originally part of Temperance and was with Teodasia for a short time. I'm so glad to hear she's back to taking the lead in a band again, and this is such a great track to welcome her back to. She fucking killed it. And their new male singer, Andrea, is also a great fit and can unleash some monstrous growls. Definitely check this track out.

7. Once - The Sins of Saints

Holy tits. This is my favorite off After Earth. The album is absolutely amazing and I love how whimsical it is, but this track stands out so much. It's so dramatic and powerful. The choirs are everything. You also get a great feel for Alina's range here. I wish someone would post the lyrics online somewhere, because I need to do a vocal cover of this and soon.

8. Synlakross - Dark Seed

This is such a fun track from these guys. They're a female fronted melo-death metal band that I've known about for a while now. Their front woman has such a great voice and her growls and screams are absolutely insane. You can hear that insanity so well on this track.

9. Serenity in Murder - Infact Bellum

Found this track after rummaging through my abandoned first YouTube channel I had YEARS ago. They're a female fronted blackened symphonic death metal band from Japan that I'm happy to report that don't follow the typical mainstream J-metal formula and sound. The sound of this track is really fresh and is so great. I'm definitely am gonna check out more from them. But it is sad that their monstrous front woman has parted ways with them very recently.

10. Involvers - Ghost

Surprisingly enough, this is the last Spaceuntravel find this session. Anyways, this indie rock track has a post rock vibe to it that I adore. It's very ambient and such a great chill song. A super lovely track.

11. In Element - The Innocence

Randomly found these guys on YouTube one day and I really dig the singer's cleans. Their a melo-death metal band and I think I'll check more out from them in the future. This song has a bit of a prog vibe to it and is pretty atmospheric at times, which is really refreshing since it can be difficult to find melo-death tracks that don't sound like every other melo-death track out there.

12. Elyose - De Tout Là-haut

Reconnexion is a great album, and this song is the one that stood out the most to me. The electronic elements in the chorus are so cool and the vocalizing in the choruses are absolutely beautiful. It's such a wonderful track from such an epic band. I still can't get over that their tiny woman of a singer can pack such a powerful voice.

13. Amaranthe - 365

This quickly became an obsession for me. It's such a catchy track and instantly became a favorite off of Helix for me. It's such a fun track to just jam out to and to drive to. Hell, I think Helix in general is a great driving album. But this track just packs the perfect amount of energy for an Amaranthe single.

14. The Hardkiss - 00:00

This is the first song that I know I've heard off their new album and I absolutely adore it. You get such a great feel for Yulia's range on this track. It's so beautiful and just helps to further solidify these guys as my third favorite band of all time. I can't wait to finally get around to listening to the new album, because I just know it's gonna have many more amazing tracks like this one on it.

And that is it! There are probably gonna be more long lists next month, so prepare. But hey, longer lists mean more great music to check out and jam out to!

[thisaintascenereviews]

Album Review by Bradley Christenen Amorphis – Tales From The Thousand Lakes Record Label: Relapse Release Date: July 12 1994

There are many different sub-sub-genres of death metal out there, such as blackened death metal, melodic death metal, technical death metal, progressive death metal, death-doom, as well as a handful of others, but there are two main types of death metal that I’ve noticed, and all of these styles of death metal can fall into one of these types. Some bands even fall into both, depending on the song / album in question, but you have death metal bands are very cut and dry with their sound and presentation. These are what I call the “meat and potatoes” bands, because they have a sound that’s very reliable, old school, and something a lot of people have hear before, but it’s good. Whenever you have it, you’ll enjoy it, and that’s what a lot of a death metal is. These are bands that non-metalhehads would think of when they think of death metal, such as Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, Deicide, or Obituary, just to name a few bands. There’s nothing wrong with them, but they’re very basic and straightforward with how they sound. They don’t take themselves too seriously, and if you’re looking for a very brutal, energetic, and heavy sound that you can headbang and mosh to, you’ll love these bands. You already do, most likely, but you know what I mean. The other kind of death metal that I’ve noticed is a bit more “intelligent,” for the lack of a better word, but it’s not that bands like Cannibal Corpse are stupid in comparison. These bands that have a bit more of a unique flavor to their sound, and they’ll give you some variety. These are mainly the other subsets of death metal, such as tech-death, melo-death, prog-death, and stuff like that. These are styles of death metal that make you think. I call it “thinking man’s death metal,” because it’s not quite as primal, dirty, gritty, or brutal as your meat and potatoes kind of stuff, but it’s still good, nonetheless. It’s just a bit more experimental, expansive, and unique.

These bands can have their primal and brutal moments, don’t get me wrong, but they’re more than your cut and dry death metal that first existed in the late 80s and early 90s, at least before every other sub-sub-genre of death metal came to fruition. Bands like At The Gates, Cryptopsy, In Flames, Dark Tranquility, Decrepit Birth, Gojira, Death (especially their last few albums; their first few albums are great, and influential beyond belief, but they weren’t as technical or progressive as their later albums), and Nile are good examples of these types of bands. Hell, even Necrophagist, one of the purveyors of tech-death, is more of a “thinking man’s death metal band,” just because of how technical they are, but they’re still awfully brutal and intense, so people that just want intense and brutal stuff can enjoy them just fine. You can admire the technical skill without needing to look that much into it, because you know it sounds killer. This type of death metal can be hit or miss for me. There are bands in this vein that I really love, because they do something more with death metal (some of my favorite death metal bands are ones that I just listed, honestly), but there are others that just don’t do a lot for me, and it could be for many reasons. I’ve talked about a couple of death-doom bands, especially Hooded Menace, and how their latest LP didn’t do a whole ton for me, just because of how much they put emphasis onto the doom metal aspect of their sound. It was cool, and definitely interesting, but I wanted more death metal. I got some of it, don’t get me wrong, but it was a bit too meandering for my tastes. As much as I like my death metal to be unique, I still want there to be some energy and brutality in it. That’s why I enjoy bands like Nile, Arsis, Necrophagist, and a lot of tech-death. Even a lot of melo-death bands I really like, such as The Black Dahlia Murder, At The Gates, and Dark Tranquility, because they still have a brutal and energetic sound along with something more to offer.

There are some bands that I can’t quite get into, because there’s not enough energy or accessibility for me to want to come back to the album(s). That’s how I feel about the second album from Finnish death metal band Amorphis. This band has been on my radar for a long time, because I’ve seen stuff from them. Their name isn’t one that I’m too familiar with, but it’s one that I’ve heard. I thought I’d look into them a bit, and I found 1994’s Tales From The Thousand Lakes. Apparently, this is one of their best albums, as well as a very influential album of 90s death metal. The copy that I got also comes with a bonus EP, 1995’s Black Winter Day, but I wanted to hear this, because this album combined a couple more styles of metal into their sound, such as progressive metal and doom metal, so I wanted to hear how this band would work with a few very different styles of metal in their sound. I hate to say this, but this is one of those albums that I respect more than I like it. I don’t really hate it, or anything close to that, but Tales From The Thousand Lakes is a cool album on paper, but for me, personally, it doesn’t do a lot for me. Maybe it’s because it comes with that EP, so it makes the album feel a bit more padded. The album itself is only 40 minutes, but the EP makes it about 54. This thing is really unique, though, so I have to give it some credit. I have to give it a lot of credit, actually, because a part of me wants to say that this album might have contributed to the creation of death-doom, as well as prog-death. There are elements of those styles there, but that’s the thing. This album feels so jarring, disjointed, and confusing, it’s really strange. There’s a lot happening in this album, and it’s just too much for me to really get into. I like this record, especially at its core, because it’s got such a unique style to it, but it’s not one that I feel as though has a high replay value to it. I don’t want to listen to this all the time, let alone more than a few times. I’d recommend this to people that like prog-metal, doom metal, or death metal, because you might be able to get into a new style of metal, but it’s a very messy album that I respect way more than I like.

[gbhbl]

Album Review: Unflesh - Inhumation (Self Released)

There’s a new name on the melo-death scene. Say it loudly and proudly. Unflesh have released something that makes them impossible to ignore.

New Hampshire-based blackened melodic death metallers Unflesh will release their second full-length album, Inhumation on April 2nd 2021. Unflesh vocalist/guitarist Ryan Beevers comments: Inhumation delves into the concept of desensitization and losing one’s soul or losing one’s humanity so to speak. The title itself is used in a metaphorical sense, as the actual definition of the word…

[dustedmagazine]

Agrimonia—Awaken (Southern Lord)

Photo by Anders Bergstedt

Awaken by Agrimonia

Listening to “Astray,” the second track on Agrimonia’s Awaken, is a sort of survey of modern metal modes: from the blackened passages during the first two verses; to the sludgy bridge; to the post-metal middle section; to the surging final minute, which evokes crust’s earnest severity. A lesser song, or an exercise in cynical genre-hopping, might prompt a joke about the song’s title—“a band astray,” or some such cleverness. But Agrimonia is notably assured in its integration of elements, musical and compositional. The band has a sound, and that sound elevates Awaken beyond the caviling about metal sub-genres, into other categories. Like “enlivening.” Even “affirming.”

The confidence suffusing their sound shouldn’t surprise. The musicians in Agrimonia have amassed years of experience participating in Gothenburg’s fecund metal scene. Three band members play in the long-running death metal act Miasmal. Guitarist Pontus also gigs with the crust band Martyrdöd. Bass player Martin Larson provides rhythm for the crusty punk legends Skitsystem, and switches to guitar when he plays with even more storied melo-death band At the Gates.  

That’s a lot to process and fuse. But two things grant the record its consistency. Christina Blom’s voice is a terrific asset, a deep, throaty cry, which she modulates from a gristly shout to a howl to solemn imprecation. Its intensity never feels stale or inflected with sham threat. It’s the sound of suffering refusing silence. The other quality unifying the record builds out of Blom’s tones, but it’s harder to identify and describe. “Authenticity” comes close. There’s no flirting with the superficial nihilism that can cheapen metal, or with the absurdity of “brutal” extremity.  

There are extremes on Awaken. The guitars crunch and lunge with thick, muscular vigor; the emergence of the central riffs of “Foreshadowed” has near-concussive force. And the band favors expansion over concision: five of the album’s six songs exceed eight minutes, and three are over 11 minutes long. They’re exhausting experiences, but none of the songs is invested in gratuitous difficulty or wankery. The minutes are earned.

The band’s ethos could be summed in a lyric passage. “Withering” is the album’s longest and most methodically downcast track, from its funereal touches of synth, to its glacially massive signature riff. As the track repeatedly climbs that riff to climax, Blom heaves her voice through the lines, “Live through hate / Love through hate / Over and over again.” True to the words, she sings them repeatedly. The performance is consuming, indomitable. Agrimonia mobilizes metal’s sonic violence and agony, and transforms them into something spirited. That’s appropriate for a band named after a genus of northern plant life, the essence of which is a folk remedy for healing wounds and work-beaten feet. This music is an invitation to push up through the shit and live.

Jonathan Shaw

[onlyhurtforaminute]

SODOMISERY-REAPER’S KEY

[metalindex-hu]

In Aphelion – Moribund

In Aphelion – Moribund - https://metalindex.hu/2022/03/08/in-aphelion-moribund-2/ -

Amikor a svéd death metálról esik szó viszonylag kevesen szokták megemlíteni a Necrophobic-ot. Pedig egy szemtelenül konzisztens bandáról van szó akik minden albumukkal hoztak egy bizonyos minőséget, igazi mellényúlás nélkül. Nem mellesleg egy innovatív csoportosulásról van szó, ugyanis az elsők között voltak kik a 90-es évek elején házasították a black és a death metalt. Márpedig ha belegondolunk, hogy ebben az időszakban szinte esködt ellenségeik voltak egymásnak akkor nem kis dologról beszélünk. A két gitáros Sebastian Ramstedt és Johan Bergebäck úgy döntöttek 2020-ban, hogy indítanak a Necrophobic mellett egy különvállalkozást In Aphelion néven. A zsáner azonban maradt, a fekete lepelbe öltöztetett halálfém ugyanis a DNS-ükben van. Maguk mellé vették a Cryptosis névre hallgató tech thrash-t játszó brigád dobosát Marco Prij-t. Egy demo és egy EP után idén megjelenik a Moribund címre hallgató debütáló albumuk.

Majd egy óráig adagolják a fülünkbe a gonoszságokkal teli riffeket, melódiákat és bizony szólók is előfordulnak szép számmal. Sokat időzhettek Göteborgban ugyanis meglepően sok benne a dallamosság és a kicsit érzelmesebbnek ható lelassulások. A Draugr erre egy nagyon jó példa, különösen az utolsó pár perce. Tipikus melo-death-nek azért nem mondanám, a tekeréseké és a riffeké marad a főszerep viszont sokszor szeretnek játszani a fogósabb, melodikus témákkal. Maga a lemez keverése jó lett, mindent tisztán hallani. Számomra talán a legnagyobb meglepetés a szólók voltak, ugyanis igencsak jól sikerültek. Voltaképp tradicionális heavy metál stílusban fogantak, érződik rajtuk, hogy nem csak önkielégítés végett lettek bedobva a számokba. Mindig egy jól megfontolt helyen sikerült elhelyezni és kifejezetten emlékezetesek. Vokál fronton a blackes károgás mellett tették le a voksukat, nincs vele sok gond azonban kicsit sablonos, nem emiatt fogunk rá emlékezni.

Külön említést érdemel a Luciferian Age nevű szerzemény, bőven a legfülbemászóbb tétel az egész lemezen. Középtempóval dolgozik végig, a refrént az szinte egyszerre lehet mondani Sebastian-nal. Fogósságban egyedül talán csak a Requiem veheti fel vele a versenyt.Nem azt mondom, hogy ez a legizgalmasabb dal a lemezen de, hogy erre fogunk a leginkább emlékezni az szinte biztos. Az eddig említett számokat egyébként meg lehet hallgatni az In Aphelion tavaly megjelent EP-jén is, ezeket a dalokat ugyanis átmentették a nagylemezre is.

Témák gyanánt előszeretettel hozzák elő a már jól bejáratott témákat, a sötétségről, sátán bátyánkról és egyéb velejéig gonosz turpisságokról szól itt is a fáma. Személy szerint az 58 perces játékidőt egy kicsit soknak éreztem. Példának okáért This Night Seems Endless nekem tipikus töltelék nóta, létezésére az az egyetlen ok, hogy a He Who Saw The Abyss egy igazi orkánnak tűnjön utána. A címadó Moribund is külön említést érdemel, igazán vaddisznó módjára engedik szabadjára jobbnál jobb tekeréseket, riffeket. A már említett Luciferian Age-hez hasonlóan itt is együtt károghatjuk a szám címét.

Ezen kívül nem tudnék plusz negatívumot felhozni a Morbund-dal kapcsolatban. Kiválóan el lehet vele tölteni az időnket, akik kedvelik az anyabanda Necrophobic reszeléseit azoknak szinte garantált a szórakozás. Véleményem szerint a melo-death fanok is sok szeretni valót találhatnak maguknak az In Aphelion személyében. A velejéig gonosz blackened death rajongók se fordítsák el a fejüket ha meglátják valahol a cd-t ami március 11-én fog napvilágot látni. Remélem folytatódni fog ennek az úgymond hobbi projektnek a története. Ha egy csöppet tömörebbre veszik a mondanivalót és szelektálnak a dalok között akkor egy igazán orrvérzősre sikerülhet a következő album.

[burden-in-my-hand]

|| Skeletonwitch || • The Glass House • Pomona, Ca • 05.26.18 •

[onlyhurtforaminute]

THRONE-HERESY OF THE HIGHEST ORDER

[onlyhurtforaminute]

DUSKMOURN-FORGED BY FIRE AND STONER

[onlyhurtforaminute]

HUMAN ABYSS-MOR CARDO

[onlyhurtforaminute]

SUNDEAD-UNWATERED