Written by: Maddie
Dissonant death metal, a tradition that while anchoring its roots as far back as the mighty Gorguts and their seminal Obscura, has really been summoned as a force within the broader death metal scene within recent years. Disso-death may be my favorite interpretation of the extreme metal branch, a style that can be felt from recent aberrations bestowed upon us by acts such as Convulsing, and Ad Nauseum. It is a sound while circling around death metal conventions, lures you into a suffocating and hostile atmosphere through oblique songcraft and harrowing production. It presents a certain technicality, but not a virtuosity meant to entice a listener onto a singular instrumentalists’ shred capabilities, but instead utilized to smother the listener into a bewildering decay. On their debut effort Harrowing, US-based Mithridatum offer up a formidable entry into the dissonant death metal catalogue. Featuring members of The Faceless and Abhorrent, the band’s proclivities towards technicality can easily be understood. The three-piece, through five compositions of cavernous rot, allow this album to envelop and fester, patiently allowing their tracks to develop with care.
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A celebration and examination of two albums, intertwined somehow in time and space, that also happen to be some of the finest music on the planet.
Written by: Chuck
Gentle waves embrace a rocky landscape. An ominous wash of colored sounds accented by gentle intermittent piano strokes. A feeling of intrigue and subtle panic. FIRE. The ground shakes and the landscape transforms into anticipatory grandeur. Something important this way comes. This is "The Behemoth That Lies Asleep." A familiar melody. A latin feel. Dynamic rhythmic movement across a soft fretboard. A moment to think. A moment to feel. Full throated restatement of the melodic progression arrives as a complete arrangement, quickly progressing into blast-beat driven black-ish riffs backed by fretless bass. Despite the already impressive technical display, the instrumentation is last on the mind. This is a moment to think. This is a moment to feel. This is "Introspection I."
Written by: The Administrator
Each year, I inevitably spend a whole lot o' time with EPs. Is this due to my bafflingly short attention span? Yes. Is it also because EPs often feel like the perfect vehicle for a band to flaunt their strengths in a concise and well-trimmed manner? Also yes. Listening to a well-constructed EP is perhaps my favorite way to spend time with music, and so here I am, an eclectic collection of favorites gripped in outstretched grubby fingers. But first, some housekeeping! There are, assuming I counted correctly, 30 entries. I was planning on 20, but have no real interest in trimming a list of untrimmable favorites. In that spirit, hopefully you find something here that worms its way into your favorites as well. This list is not sorted by genre despite featuring a lot of different genres. I apologize for the whiplash, but sorting feels antithetical to the overall notion that listening habits should not be confined for the sake of convenient lists. And lastly, this is utterly unranked--if something appears here, please know that it comes highly, highly recommended! Anyways. Let's get into it.  Greetings, dear reader. It is once again listmas 'round these humble halls. Time, then, to look back the music that has defined our collective year. The non-exhaustive AOTY smorgasbord hath begun.
My personal EP and album lists shall follow in (less-than) good time, but before we get to that, the community speaks. This list is a collaborative effort, with ten distinct music writers, musicians, and fans lending a few words. Hopefully the variety of perspectives results in a list containing at least one or two releases that speak to you! This, of course, is far from exhaustive--indeed, every single one of ye could undoubtedly highlight a vast number of deserving albums not appearing here. A massive thank you is in order to everyone who contributed words and energy to this lil' project. As always, we couldn't have done it without ye! Please check out the writer's respective projects and links. This list constitutes the first five entries, with another five to follow. Read on! 
Written by: The Administrator
We slumbering townsfolk seldom find consensus when it comes to the world of music appreciation and unsolicited commentary, but we do enjoy some common ground from time to time. One such instance of is the inevitable positive reaction upon the release of new music from Pittsburgh's Úzkost. They've been dropping a string of consistently excellent and hard-hitting tunes over the past few years, with a clear plan to continue releasing singles across the coming year. Self-described as "blackened and doomed death metal," this crew demonstrates a real knack for relentlessly disorienting (albeit engaging) songwriting. I absolutely loved the standalone "Mt'hr" released a month ago for its unique ability to balance undiluted and unhinged rage alongside highly memorable hooks. Needless to say, the announcement of another track following on the heels of "Mt'hr" was cause for much celebration 'round these parts. Enter "Arise: Assemble! Conjoin Your Flame!" 
Written by: The Administrator
Let's get the obvious out of the way. If you're reading a review for a band called, erm, Chestcrush, and haven't yet mentally and physically prepared to have your sternum mercilessly shattered and ground down into the finest of bonemeal, you might want to swiftly backpedal into calmer waters. Two parts of this three-track monstrosity are perhaps the most belligerent and violent manifestations of the Chestcrush approach to date, which is saying something if you are familiar with their prior work. Indeed, Apechtheia is as crushingly malevolent as 2021’s stellar Vdelygmia. The aggression displayed is frankly pretty stunning. However, on this latest, the stakes feel grander and the violence at play feels more calculated, more sinister. The tracks are certainly longer, trading the comfort of familiar song structure for more expansive odysseys through grinding blackened death and, perhaps more uncomfortable, a viciously introspective brand of nihilism. Apechtheia is progressive in the sense that it truly feels like a deliberate progression beyond that which came before. It feels like a genuine maturation. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
Since the band’s black metal inception, Worm have slowly moved away from that raw and punishing sound towards something far more layered, swiftly becoming a doom/death icon. Last year’s Foreverglade (review here!) saw a complete realization of this, cleaning up all of the loose ends that Gloomlord beheld. The early black metal influence certainly still peaked its head, but each subsequent record would see it become more and more of a background technique. This isn’t to say that it wasn’t present, just less obvious. And then Bluenothing happened. One year following the album that really sent them to a broader scope, Worm dropped an EP that takes the influence they mastered and brings forth more atmosphere and reflects more on the black metal. Fear not, as this is still packed with the bleak and empty voids of cleaner doom wails crossed with rhythms holding the force of a hydraulic press. But there’s a higher presence of keys to coincide with the higher guitar wails, and contrast the harsher death metal bottom. 
Written by: The Administrator
No doubt about it: Through Mists' rampant release schedule has reached a new rate of impressive. Indeed, our eagle-eyed readers will note that our latest track premiere, published a few weeks back, was...also a Through Mists release, the slumber-obliterating "Awaken the Sleeping Village." This newest album, Mindless Automations, offers a conceptual tragic narrative with the trademark progressive inclinations and sharp bite we've only come to expect. The story follows a worse-for-wear protagonist who, after having been driven from his flock, consistently endures vicious attacks. As a lover of A. creative concept albums, B. kickass underground music, and C. bird violence, this album certainly grabbed my attention. I hope it similarly grabs you. Without further ado, then: check out Mindless Automations in full below! It is officially available now, so if you like what you hear, check it out and grab yerself a copy. As always, we'll meet ye on the other side to discuss (and, of course, wipe up the blood. 
Written by: The Administrator
We make a deliberate attempt to keep things from getting too stagnant 'round these parts. However, every once in a while, we slumbering scribes are hit with something utterly outside the confines of expectation: take today's premiere as a prime example. Through Mists' "Awaken the Sleeping Village" is a track that heavily features our moniker, and, beyond that, was inspired by a prompt we randomly tweeted. This is new. This is unexpected. Most importantly, this is cool as hell. I'm honored to be running this premiere here today. The prompt in question? On July 3rd, I cast the following into the void: "Death metal song where the solo starts a third of the way through and then just keeps fuckin' going until the song ends." Through Mists immediately responded "Challenge accepted." And here we are, challenge met with great aplomb. Check out "Awaken The Sleeping Village Below, and, as always, we'll meet ye on the other side! 
Written by: The Administrator
Here in the ivory tower of our dusty scriptorium, we slumbering scribes often get caught up in our own machinations and obsessions. The other residents of Ye Olde Sleeping Village find us aloof, at times, and in the interest of furthering their musical opinions, a little intervention is rightfully required. Take this morning, for instance, when the guy who rubs cow brains on cow skin shouldered his way through our door and demanded that we leave the highfalutin horseshit behind and set our quills to a death metal review for once. I, for one, am not prepared to argue with anyone drenched in cow brains, let alone a burly tanner, so here we are, presenting a death metal review. Extensive intro aside, let's get bloody, shall we? |
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