Written by: Blackie Skulless
In 2018, the Italian act Thulsa Doom caught my attention with the EP Realms Of Hatred, but for the longest time, I got no follow up. Last year, it slipped past my radar, because the debut full-length entitled A Fate Worse Than Death delivered exactly what I look for in the death metal genre. While this is a bit of a continuation of what was offered up before, the execution here is splendid. Nothing really reinvents the wheel, but comprehension and strong riffage take the throne. For the most part, this is reflective of the old school Florida sound, using chunky but concise playing patterns, held up with an extra boost from the bass. It’s hard to not notice the refined nature in the production, letting go of the raw insides that the previous effort gave, but I see this as an improvement, and nothing is too over the top. The constant weaving of blasting drum avalanches between harder kicks and bright solos create a steady contrast. Matter of fact, the drum and bass combos play a noticeable enough role here to share the spotlight with everything else.
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Written by: Blackie Skulless
Despite having been around for over twenty years, Negative Plane are an act that only reached my radar at the beginning of this year. Being on their third album, these New York metallers dropped The Pact… last year, and somehow I didn’t get my hands on it until a few friends recommended them early this year; boy am I ever glad they did! Their brand of black metal is my absolute favorite way to carry out the genre, touching on the first wave vibes that use a lot of traditional and thrash metal influence under a coarse, wretched, and Satanic scope. If only it were easy enough to describe it as that and end it there. As a matter of fact, their biggest selling point is the amount of layers and intricacy used, being displayed in seven long tracks that collectively touch the hour runtime. Yet, it’s riff after riff making an impression and sticking nicely. The harsh and noisy atmospheric platter makes the sharp leads and hateful vocals sound even more appetizing. You get a nice diverse selection of blistering, Venom-esque passages that use speed and rigidness, slow and doom-cladded breaks of bass frenzy to rake in a Celtic Frost image, and then straight up heavy metal clarity in the form of melodic guitars that feel like an ode to Saxon. One can’t be present without the other two looming in the background 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
Ever since The Affair Of The Poisons dropped in 2020, I’ve been saying Hellripper are due for an alteration in sound, as the black/thrash genre can run stale fairly quickly if action isn’t taken. Boy, did they ever deliver! Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags came in clutch, completely blowing away anything they'd done prior to this album. This isn’t to say that McBain’s brand was never good, it was great; but this was exactly what the latest recipe called for! First, it’s important to address the fact that the foundation isn’t lost at all. Longtime fans should still find the appeal; “Goat Vomit Nightmare” makes this quite obvious. However, now the blackened element is laid on in a fashion far more in line with the traditional tropes of the black metal genre. When it isn’t running in that vein, more melodic leads are clearer than they’ve ever been. Speed metal still exists, but it is no longer the backbone needed to carry the entire album. Instead, it’s a nice feature along with these other notable traits. 
Written by: Blackie Skulless
Following a short career consisting of two demos and a full-length that have all gotten solid praise from me, Conjureth are back with a second full-length. While not changing too much, there’s enough here to get whiffs of exploration that feel just a little scared to move that direction. The Parasitic Chambers certainly maintains everything that made the band’s coarse, yet simple and furious nature stick the first time. As such a style can run dry quickly, it’s good that there are some signs of other ideas. For starters, the focus on advanced rhythms and lead guitars is propped up a bit. Album one may have had a little bit of this, but it was hardly the focus. On The Parasitic Chambers, drastic swings from more traditional playing to intense, panic-stricken breaks take precedence. What’s really maintained is the louder atmosphere, which admittedly makes some of this harder to realize unless you’re playing on an incredible sound system. The outro of “Dimensional Ascendency” is the first spot that this nuance becomes quite clear, particularly with the small solo. 
Written by: Continuous Thunder
As a self-proclaimed aficionado of slow metal here in the Village, I find sludge metal to be one of the more intriguing sub-genres. While it’s often described as a combination of doom metal and hardcore punk, the application of those influences can vary widely from artist to artist. Naturally, this leads to a diverse pool of artists that can be described as sludge. How else would you end up with bands like Melvins and Isis under the same umbrella? I’m not usually one to stress over the minutiae of hyper-specific sub-genres and when it comes to sludge, I tend to trust my ears and I know it when I hear it. All that being said, They Grieve bring some heavy sludge. 
Written by: The Administrator
Given that this particular scribe's familiarity with (the reputedly well-acclaimed) Bloodborne verges on nonexistent, the thematic content lurking behind Soulmass' stellar Let Us Pray has zero impact on my experience. That's certainly not a bad thing–the music speaks for itself without the implicit weight of a fan's expectations when it comes to faithful lore. And damn, does the music ever speak to me. This album has been in consistent rotation ever since I received the promo, effectively holding my January and February listening habits in a fiercely tight and omnipresent stranglehold. One dreams of such albums at the top of the year. 
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. 
Written by: Continuous Thunder
What do early 20th-century serial killers, the Spanish Inquisition, and John Milton’s Paradise Lost have in common? Well, a few things, but in this particular instance, they partially inspire the first full-length album from Manchester, New Hampshire’s Dust Prophet, One Last Look Upon The Sky. Of course, these are all very dark and heavy subjects, but I can assure you that the band brings the musical heft to do them justice. Indeed, a weighty and apocalyptic atmosphere permeates the entire album, from the ethereal and mysterious intro track, “A Storm of Time & Space Part 1,” to the crushing resolution of “Bury Me Before Noon.” And the essential ingredients, the waves that carry you from shore to shore on this journey, are the almighty riffs! Dust Prophet provides fuzz-laden, head-nodding vibes contrasted nicely with quieter, haunting passages. This dynamic range is exemplified on tracks like “When the Axe Falls” and “Bury Me Before Noon.” Furthermore, ambient touches and other clever arrangements by bassist and keyboardist Sarah Wappler truly elevate the compositions and set them apart. The appropriately titled “Song 4” is especially rewarding, with new layers and complexities revealing themselves through multiple listens. 
Written by: The Administrator
The esteemable Heron are a perpetually underrated gem, and a band that continues to make its mark on our ink-splattered populace. Back in the primordial days of ye olde Sleeping Village, we briefly reviewed their (very good) A Low Winter's Sun, and in the early days of the pandemic, the excellent Time Immemorial received the Volt Thrower treatment and stamp of approval. It's my continuing assumption that everything Heron does is inherently high quality, and this latest album, Empires of Ash, may very well be their strongest and most consistent album to date. If you have enjoyed their back catalog, you'll inevitably find a lot to love with this latest. If Heron are a yet-unknown entity in your rolodex of sludgy post-metal bands, this album makes for a fantastic entry point.  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! |
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