Written by: The Administrator
In the past, I (lovingly) equated listening to Disgustingest, Colorado's premiere brutal slamming deathgore band, to the experience of "enduring a fecal sludge aerobics class while the instructor simultaneously pummels you with cinder blocks." The short and lavatorial Purging Suppuration, released in June of 2025, was a very strong instruction to Kendrick Lemke's brand of gross-out brutality, and despite all of the seemingly negative words I used to describe it, I anxiously awaited more. Luckily, the wait was relatively short-lived. Disgustingest's second EP Coagulating Putrescence will be released February 20th via Paper Wings Records, and the morbidly curious good taste havers amongst ye can check out the single "Digital Cyst" now. Must like the debut EP, Coagulating Putrescence is as brisk as it is gross. 5 tracks, 11 minutes. I'm also pleased to announce that this sophomore Disgustingest outing may very well be more disgusting-est than the first, which, in and of itself, is quite an accomplishment. That said, it feels oddly more refined, with clear care apparent in the songwriting. It's not entirely overwhelming in its titular putrescence; a surprising variety of engaging moments abound. The occasional ambient elements are a nice touch. There's a potent head-nodding groove that permeates, and the closing track "Fragments of the Self" sheds a little of the slamming brevity in favor of some slightly longer form and--dare I say?--progressive composition. Coagulating Putrescence is a gnarly banger across the board, a prime demonstration of the efficacy of snappy and well-constructed brutality. This is exactly the kind of follow-up release I was hoping for from this project, and while brutal slamming deathgore doesn't exactly attract a sizable audience by any metric, I hope this EP turns some heads.
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Written by: The Administrator
When promo for Death Throes of a Drowning God, the new EP from Austria's GUYOÐ, hit ye olde inbox, I was suitably intrigued. The title aught my attention, the seasick churn of the artwork reinforced my suspicions, and a quick look at their back catalog had me suitably hooked before even pressing play Why, exactly? I'm a sucker for a lot of things, musically speaking, but for things that are overt oceanic--as is GUYOÐ's oeuvre--I'm the biggest sucker of all. When vacationing near the sea, I am liable to spend ever single second in the water. I'm not a great swimmer, but I can tread for days. My wife thinks that someday I won't come out, and I agree that she might be on to something there. The call of the abyss is a genuine siren's call, and I think I'd be fine, actually, living down there with the lobsters and the fishes under a reef, lungs be damned. Actual marine environs aside, I have an overt and fierce love for oceanic metal. Throw waves or a lighthouse or an octopus or a big fish eyeball on the cover and I'm diving in, no questions asked. Metal that seeks and strives to capture a mere fraction of the sea's majesty, power, and near-mythical unknowability is tantalizing. It draws me, riptide-like. I'm pleased to say that GUYOÐ have joined the amorphous pantheon of oceanic metal notables with this latest. Their dark blend of black, death, and doom metal is appropriately heavy and morose and bleak. Though the use of both ambient interludes and unpredictable songwriting, Death Throes of a Drowning God feels far more vast than its 29 minute runtime might indicate. It is just unapproachable enough to inspire the kind of curiosity that drives one to swim a little too deep. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
Admittedly, I was wary of diving into Ossuary due to the sheer number of bands with that name, and the fact that the last one I tried didn’t impress me much. Yet, a trusted source suggested actually paying attention to the one specifically from Wisconsin, U.S.A., and I’m quite glad I followed suit. Despite being around for over a decade now, it wouldn’t be until last year that the death metallers would drop a full-length record. Titled Abhorrent Worship, I can confidently say that they absolutely do worship an abhorrent sound. It’s not an overly uncommon day when one like me stumbles upon a grimy and gross death metal outfit leaning towards the doom/death spectrum, but when it hits extra hard, it feels extra exciting. Ossuary not only boasts one of the most hateful, hideous, and fucking disgusting sounds in the genre, they do it with such prowess that showcases strong instrumental mastery in the midst of the muck. All over this disc sits an even tradeoff of thick, chunky rhythms that are complimented by higher leads, moving around the fretboard achieving less than melody but more than mere vibes. Together with explosive blasts that don’t disrupt the rate of flow, we get a proverbial storm of rumbly clashes that flood the entire soundscape with an, *ahem* abhorrent swamp of musical filth. 
Written by: The Administrator
This one admittedly came down to the wire, but we still got this one in before 2026 begins so all is well. If you've missed out on my long-winded justifications for why my Favorites lists habitually run a year late, you can find an explanation here. Long story short, this year-behind approach allows releases to outlast a narrow moment in time. I enjoy the process of reflection, and I like to think a shoutout 18 months later or whatever is nice for the bands involved. So! These are 24 albums from 2024 that are, in significant hindsight, still very much my favorite albums of 2024. In terms of format, this list follows my established convention, i.e. alphabetical and unranked. Genres are primarily metal and hip hop adjacent--someday I may split the list into different genre categories for the sake of covering more releases, but today is not that day. If you are at all interested, you can check out my Favorite EPs of 2024 here, and my Favorite Album Artwork of 2024 here. The trilogy is complete. Regardless of whether or not you check out anything appearing in these lists, I hope you're inspired to revisit a favorite or two from yesteryear. To the readers: thank you for reading! It means a lot and I am very grateful that you've chosen to spend time checking out what some random internet guy thinks is cool. To the artists: thank you for making music that is cool. I have very much enjoyed listening and writing. Let's dive in, shall we? 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
This past Halloween, a Philadelphia act that’s been dropping short releases for a few years now came forth with a full-length. Bastard Cröss are an act that take the relatively safe route of blackened thrash, one tough to screw up but also tough to stand out. If the band name didn’t make its style obvious, certainly knowing that the album title is Crossripper will, however, despite seeming rather on the nose, I think there’s a little more to what’s before us. In other words, don’t shy away from what seems like just more of the same on the surface. Despite the general aesthetic of aggressive artillery baked with speed metal ingredients and harsher vocal shrieks, you also find a healthy amount of defining characteristics with Bastard Cröss. The vocals miraculously stand out well, not only for the addition of death growls and a scratchier sense, but simply with how coarse and grating they sound against the cleaner background. Musically, there isn’t a lot in terms of blasting, tremolos, or atmosphere, opting instead for a cleaner veneer of more straightforward thrash riffs that combine rhythmic strength and a comprehensive finish. Such contrasts in the music and vocals makes for a hell of a combo; this isn’t to say the riffs themselves aren’t mean, but that they’re digestible compared to the frontman’s horrendous outcries. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
It’s not often at all that I come across the “melodic black metal” tag, as the more melody oriented variants often fall into their own sub-categories around the likes of folk, thrash, etc. However, much like with its death metal counterpart, black metal utilizing this might have more to do with production, tone, and vibe more than anything. New Zealand’s Miasmata basically have been running with those characteristics since 2020. Just this year, they’d release their second record titled Subterrania, the one that was brought to my attention. As you might expect, Miasmata make their stand by mixing in a subtle blend of high and bright leads and the occasional cleaner singing into an otherwise monstrous formula. Noisy execution of blast beats and tremolos maintain a darkened window to work this into, topped with comprehensive yet hoarse shrieks that aren’t afraid to also tap into that melody. Avoiding overproduction while still casting a cleaner cloud that lets even bassy rumbles pop through enhances the experience, preventing things from getting generic. Finally, machine precision lets the harsher delivery fall into the more accessible bits without coming off awkward.
Note: this was originally published as a guest review over at Peregrinator Reviews. Check it out here!
Written by: The Administrator
When you see enough people saying that a death metal album may very well be the death metal album of the year, it is honestly pretty easy to take them at their word. Indeed, perhaps moreso than any other genre, I fundamentally believe that death metal's sheer number of high quality albums is a statistical anomaly. There are, of course, some stinkers, but surely there must exist more low and middling quality albums to balance things out. But alas. A great many death metal albums are of a remarkably high quality. And so: I find myself once more bestowing the mantle of high quality death metal album upon a high quality death metal album. Malignity by Vile Apparition is undeniably a high quality death metal album. If you enjoy high quality death metal albums, this particular example may very well sit high on your list of high quality death metal albums released this year.
In a continuing attempt to cover more music that would all-too-oft slip through the very large cracks, we slumbering scribes are making an effort to publish short(er) reviews at a greater frequency, thereby shining our very small spotlight on more cool music. Without further ado, here's a new track with some thick riffage.
Written by: The Administrator
Based solely on their moniker, what genre would you ascribe to Austria's own TarLung? Let me give you three guesses. No, wait--that's far too generous. One guess is almost certainly enough. This is very clearly a band that revels in the simple pleasures: massive doom riffs, beast-like sludge roars, and the crushing embrace of fuzz. TarLung recently signed to the venerable Argonauta Records, and to A. celebrate said signing, and B. incite a little excitement for the forthcoming Axis Mundi, they've dropped a stellar single. "Static Noise" leans heavily into heft, with an emphasis on engaging riffage and a generally oppressive presence. The track bursts out of the gate with a rousing start-stop riff that establishes itself firmly and remains an anchor throughout the track's runtime. Philipp Seiler's vocals, when they eventually kick in, are as sludgy and swampy as you might imagine--he sounds like a amphibious beast recently risen from the mire, coated in algae and hacking mud from his gills. I'm a sucker for this kind of delivery: nasty and utterly Brobdingnagian. If you are familiar with TarLung's work on 2021's excellent "Architect," I'm pleased to report that they have upped the ante in terms of intensity. And while many a promo promises that an album is the band's "heaviest to date," I'm pretty sure that's a truthful assessment in this particular case. "Static Noise" is verifiably heavy as hell. It feels massive and looming and borderline gargantuan, and that's all I've got to say about that. "Static Noise" serves as a harbinger of TarLung's Axis Mundi, which sees release via Argonauta Records on Jan. 30th, 2026. Give heed, etc. etc. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
A few years ago, the Polish blackened speed metallers Gallower caught my attention with their short EP entitled Eastern Witchcraft. While it was nothing bad, it wasn’t impressive enough for me to work backwards and look towards their first full-length, feeling somewhat underwhelming. This year, the same label brought a follow-up to both, changing my entire perception. You might say they’re back for a vengeance due to my initial reaction, considering the aptly titled Vengeance & Wrath. One should note, Gallower is still rather familiar in their style and execution, but this time around feels far more complete as an idea, with an emphasis on the metal end of things. Punkier attitudes are now traded for focused leads that don’t let go of the grit but absolutely step up their game in terms of hooks. Moreover, emphasis on witchcraft and spookiness is let up a bit, allowing room for some looks at historical and mythical tints that definitely impacted and matched the sound. Thus, there’s far less in the blackened overlays that came before, maintaining a really gruff presence, especially in the vocals, but ultimately falling out of that camp save for the occasional blast-beat frenzy. It was already faint on former releases as is, and the emphasis on a touch more melody brought things to a steadier apex. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
Five years ago, Caligari Records put out the debut EP by Pittsburgh’s death metal outfit Ritual Mass a little after their debut demo. To this day, the EP entitled Abhorred In The Eyes Of God is one of the most horrendous, disturbing, hateful, and completely void-of-life releases I’ve ever heard. It worked for its short dose of getting that unlovable feeling more than anything else, and I predicted a full-length might need a little more to it than just sheer over the top brutality and unrelenting weight meant to crush every bone in the listener into ashes. Unfortunately, I’ve been proven correct with the first album titled Cascading Misery, this time presented by 20 Buck Spin. Don’t get me wrong, as I’m pretty certain that Ritual Mass have done everything they set out to do, with not only a fitting album title but also a bleak and harrowing album sleeve. For all six of their tracks, they’ve tightened up their hateful sound into a more streamlined package, adding in clearer guitar shifts that are worth acknowledging from time to time as well. Much of this is chewing everything up and regurgitating explosive cavernous vocals a la Spectral Voice, guitar chugs that move from reverberating atmosphere to almost blackened tremolos, and pummeling walls of drum-gradients not too dissimilar to later Deicide. As great as all of this sounds, it’s void of anything that isn’t just “we want to make you uncomfortable.” |
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