Encyclopaedia Metallum lists the themes for French black metallers, Abyssal Vacuum as being ‘Occultism’ (promising) and ‘Caves’ (oh, right). With a slew of EP releases that are all titled with Roman numerals, their debut album has taken eight years to arrive – or VIII years to be exact. The opening track ‘Echo 43N-40E’ is a distinct enough start to the record. Male choral vocals haunt the mid-paced black metal which is punctuated by shouts and death/doom vocals to boot. This song naming convention holds a degree of mystery. All are coordinates ‘pinpointing a particular locale doubtlessly portending considerable occult energy…’ Or perhaps just a cave or two of course.

The guttural aspects of the vocals reverberate in your eardrums and those choral sections and shouts have a primitive edge about them, with the latter invoking some sense of occultists gathered in caves (of course). In all seriousness, aspects of the record do genuinely have a sense of deep underground or certainly hidden spaces where dark things are practised. The tremolos echo back from what sound like vast, almost fathomless spaces; sheer cliffs almost whose walls allow the sound to build constantly.

There’s an abundance of melodic yet mining leads alongside the riffs that cascade over solid percussive performances. These spurts of melody give a sense of light in an otherwise densely murky sounding album. Within all this atmosphere, there is still a well-structured drumming element that holds a welcome focus in the mix throughout the album. Abyssal Vacuum are a band playing music with atmosphere added as an additional layer, as opposed to a group of individuals starting with atmospheres as the dominant force in their sound and then playing some music as an afterthought. The album has an intense focus on form and composition, a fixation on sensible arrangement even. It is a mature and very enriching experience to listen to. The lavish layers that are present manage to compliment rather than smother the darker aspects of the sound. Clearly accomplished musicians over an extended format as well as over Eps, I hope the confidence of Abyssal Vacuum grows from this outing onwards.

I really loved Cryptosis debut, Bionic Swarm, it being one of my top albums of 2021. Since then, however, they seem to have dropped off my radar and I am behind on both 2023's The Silent Call EP and this, their full-length follow-up to Bionic Swarm. First impressions are that this is a much less fevered and more progressive album. The debut, despite the science fiction premise, turned in some pretty brutal riffs and blistering tempos for the most part, where this feels to be a more sophisticated affair in the main. Don't get me wrong, this still delivers some great riffing and has some breakneck pacing too, which is obvious as early as the first track proper, "Faceless Matter", but the increasing emphasis on atmospherics such as synths and jangling tremolo embellishments lends it a more expansive aura, rather than the tight, jet-fuelled blowtorch attack of the debut. With vocalist Laurens Houvast favouring a more black metal style of delivery this time around, alongside the atmospherics, it leads me to ponder whether the band were aiming for a kind of thrash metal Emperor sound, a question worthy of consideration I think.

Subsequent listens, when the atmospherics had had time to sit with me and so not stand out so much, it was more than evident that the tightly focussed core of the band's sound is still present and correct, delivering supercharged riffs and blistering drumming that drives the tracks forward at a hyperkinetic tempo. This time round, though, Cryptosis are unafraid to slow down and allow the listener time to catch up, take stock and appreciate exactly what is going on around them. Static Horizon, for example, kicks off at a fair old lick, with absolutely loads going on: a melodic and memorable main riff, a prominent bassline doing all sorts of interesting things and jangling leads, keyboards and choral effects providing a thick atmosphere. Then for the last minute the pacing slows and the keys provide a serene calm eye in which the listener can process the previous four minutes.

Assuredly this is still a technical / progressive thrash metal release, but the vocals and jangling tremolo leads give it a decidedly frosty atmosphere that more than dips its toes into black metal waters. I am undecided at the moment whether this difference in atmospherics makes this a better album than Bionic Swarm or not. Or it could be that they are equally great, just... different. Everything I loved about the debut is still here, but it has been refined by an increase in atmospherics and a slight shift in songwriting aspirations. I haven't yet decided if that has blunted its effect or enhanced it, so for now I must sit on the fence with this one, although it is still pretty good, no matter what - I'm just not sure how good.

Clearly the symphonic blackened deathcore well has not yet run dry. Just a year after Drown in Sulphur released their second album Dark Secrets of the Soul, they follow it up with a masterpiece of Vengeance! In between the releases of the two albums, the band left Scarlet Records, hence the independent release of Vengeance. Some of the most creative bands are the unsigned ones like Mechina and Shadow of Intent, so I sense great development for Drown in Sulphur in their new offering.

I checked out Dark Secrets of the Soul when it was first released, but I wasn't heavily into epic deathcore at the time apart from Lorna Shore. Drown in Sulphur really lives up to their new album's name. No emotional ballads, just ultra-heavy deathcore bangers with melody from the riffing and background orchestral synths.

"Underworld" is an ominous intro with narration. Then we have the memorable "Faithless", one of my favorite tracks in the entire album. It strikes from practically everywhere, and you'll want more of that epic deathcore action. The title track is quite vengeful, proving that The Revolution clan has more than just the melody of For the Fallen Dreams and Trivium. You can hear some soloing in "Seed of Hate" to please any metalhead, even the purists.

Next song "Silence" is another well-developed standout, striking with more of those epic melodies and a perfectly brutal breakdown. Crossing over into melodic metalcore territory is "Scarlet Rain", having more of that soloing and even some glistening clean singing. I enjoy when bands break through the deathcore boundaries to show that the genre isn't just brutal all the time. Yet another favorite! Then "Veil of Deception" starts off with some acoustic-ish guitar that's almost like Amorphis' "My Kantele" then blasts off into more of Lorna Shore's brand of epic deathcore with some slight technicality from Coroner.

Speeding things up is the incredible "Absentia", only slowing down at the end for one of the darkest breakdowns of the year. Perhaps my favorite here! Next up, "Morningstar" combines deathcore brutality with some dark melody from Insomnium and even Powerwolf. "Inferno" has another one of the most intense breakdowns to end this haunting highlight and, of course, this album.

Vengeance is one of the heaviest, most vengeful albums I've heard so far this year. I don't know if it will be surpassed by Lorna Shore upcoming album, but we'll see. Greatly recommended to all fans of deathcore, specifically fans of the epic kind!

Favorites: "Faithless", "Silence", "Scarlet Rain", "Absentia", "Inferno"

I already expressed my love for 2018's The Incubus of Karma by Mournful Congregation in my earlier review on Metal Academy, so it was with a hopeful spring in my step that I ventured into this month’s feature release. It is fair to say that my previous positive experience was instantly replicated as I started to listen to The Exuviae of Gods: Part II. This is instantly recognizable as funeral doom, of course. However, there’s a shrouded light implicit in the songs of Mournful Congregation that at first glance was unexpected the last time around and I am pleased to say is still present now. All the oppressive, crushing elements are lined up here on this macabre and morose parade. The deathly plod you would expect from a funeral doom release continues to trudge at an agonisingly slow pace towards the inevitable end. Still, I cannot shake that flicker of sharp light that Is burning at the centre of all that murk.

There is an odd sense of comfort that I take from good funeral doom, and this release has made for great bedtime listening to drag me off into the land of nod on a few occasions now. Whilst it is a little too short to truly encapsulate many of the great things that I heard in 2018’s offering, in a way that is okay as there is still a distinct sense of fulfilment from the thirty-nine minutes that the three songs run over. The harrowing and punishing repetition never become arduous or boring, indeed it seems to help tracks grow in stature as it repeats. I believe this is successful because once again Mournful Congregation display a real penchant for songwriting of the highest quality. Just as with my comment on The Incubus of Karma, The Exuviae of Gods: Part II continues to grow those strong roots of songwriting prowess. These tacks aren’t just long, they are nurtured, they are grown, cultivated into their optimal form.

The melancholic melodies of the guitar on ‘The Forbidden Abysm’ genuinely moved me to the point of welling up tears in my eyes. It is such a sudden burst of despondency that it caught my completely off-guard. There is a limitless patience to how the drums are played on this track. It would have been easy to lose them in the mix against the backdrop of the relentless wall of riffs and dense atmospheres present here, yet there is no loss of power to the work Tim Call puts in. Some of the picked string work is exquisite, with the intro to the final track 'The Paling Crest' being of note. It is this sense of pacing and build that keeps the release interesting for the whole duration. There is little in the way of criticism, other than to say it needs perhaps a little more bite to really keep things entertaining. However, once again, Mournful Congregation cement themselves as true masters of funeral doom, with a knack for songwriting that few I have experienced can touch. My only regret is not having listened to Part I.

I have always loved the early works of Carcass, with Symphonies of Sickness being my favourite, sitting as it does in a sweet spot between the grind of the debut and the more conventional death metal approach of Necroticism. However, I have never been much of a fan of Heartwork. In truth I have only heard it a couple of times and not in a while, so I am going to go into it once more with a clean slate.

Well, initial (new) impressions are that Heartwork is more brutal than I remember it being. Sure, Carcass introduced more melody into their death metal, but whereas previously that had overshadowed the album for me, it is now abundantly clear that the melodic aspect is relative and Carcass being Carcass this still has the ability to give you a damn good beating round the head, albeit in a more refined and elegant manner!

One big change on Heartwork is that vocal duties are solely performed by Jeff Walker. Although this gives the album a greater consistency of sound, I actually miss the three vocalists approach, it providing some interesting contrasts. I guess that as the songs themselves varied more here than previously the band felt the use of several different vocal styles may become a bit too much. The songwriting has obviously become a bit more refined, but guitarists Steer and Amott can still summon powerful riffs, even without the blastbeats and searing tempos of yesteryear. The soloing is one of the areas where Heartwork really grabs my attention with both guitarists absolutely nailing it and shredding the hell out of it, sounding more like Tipton and Downing or Smith and Murray than King and Hanneman. Ken Owen is on fine form behind the kit and without having to provide a constant stream of blastbeats he is allowed to exhibit a more creative approach to his timekeeping duties. That Heartwork sounds so tightly performed whilst being more open and expansive than previous Carcass releases is testament to the development of the band and their technical expertise.

In summary, I have got to admit to having been wrong about Heartwork all these years. OK, so Symphonies of Sickness still tops my list of Carcass releases, but this is an accomplished piece of work indeed and is heading towards becoming one of my favourite melodic death metal releases. That an album can still sound so damn heavy and brutal whilst also being melodic and refined is a brilliant musical trick and a fantastic indictment of all four members' musical abilities. I have rarely been happier to say "I was wrong".