Vinny's Forum Replies

Norrhem’s fourth full length release has been bobbing around near the surface of my fathomless pool of new releases this year for months now. As soon as I get into it again, something else distracts me and then I go back see it marked as a “contender” on my list of new releases I am working through, and I remember to give it some more plays before I fallback into the whirlpool of new music that I cycle in nowadays. Nominating it for feature release in The North clan this month had a hidden purpose of giving its review an added dependency.

Now, I am not overly familiar with pagan black metal, however I do know a hint of Moonsorrow when I hear one and after multiple listens, I think that the reference is the nearest I can make to how I can define the sound here. The tracks for the most part have solid, driving rhythms, offset with acoustic, atmospheric passages that give time for reflection. Clearly Norrhem have a deep sense of pride in their Finnish heritage and this nationalism is strong in the sound of the music. Embracing the melodic aspects as they do on Aurinko ja teräs alongside the more choral/chanting effects makes for a good mix of foot stomping black metal that carries an almost hidden catchiness (in the sense that it takes a few listens to pick up on it – well at least I did). Unexpectedly, I find some of the tracks quite warming, despite the colder atmospheres associated in general with the music.

I did baulk at the symphonic comparisons I saw with other bands but, again, upon repeated listens I did start to increasingly notice this in the sound. Even when the band drifts a bit too far on the eerie ballad ‘Mullan marttyyrit’, they still manage to make it work well in the grander scheme of things as a (albeit slightly grandiose) intro to the title track. Despite this symphonic and pagan meleé the band can add a great selection of riffs into play also, ranging from the squally efforts on ‘Hävitetty maa’ through to the relentless chop of ‘Teräsmyrskyssä’ which is my album highlight here. Some of the keys remind me of 80’s pop whilst on other occasions they sound like chimes straight from a Burzum record.

Aurinko ja teräs has worked its way onto my rotation with an almost dogged determination. It is not my usual bag really but is hardly celebrating sub-genres that I go out of my way to avoid either. My overarching sense from multiple connections with it is that the record grows stronger as it goes on without quite reaching the imperious levels of pagan black metal that Havukruunu have achieved in recent years. It is unlikely to walk away with any massive accolades this year but it certainly deserves recognition.

4/5

I had a quick look to see if I had encountered Structure's main man, Bram Bijlhout, before and the only time our paths have crossed was Officium Triste's 2013 album, Mors Viri, which I honestly can't remember listening to and which I rated a measly two-and-a-half stars, so not an auspicious start then. However, whether my long forgotten score is an accurate reflection of Mors Viri's quality or not, one of us has changed because I honestly cannot express how utterly affecting and emotional I found Heritage to be. This may sound a bit odd considering Pim Blankenstein uses the guttural growls of extreme metal and the ponderous riffs are huge, crushing affairs, but there is also a melancholy yearning oozing out from under that crushing weight which is often accentuated by lighter instrumental moments.

Heritage actually straddles the line between death doom and funeral doom, allowing for well-executed tempo variations that ensures the generally medium-length tracks don't succumb to saminess. The riffs are melodic and memorable in the main, and really do strike an impressive balance between musical and emotional weight, providing the discerning metalhead with more than enough heaviness to satisfy their craving whilst simultaneously tugging at their heartstrings. The lead work often soars above the miasma created by the riffs, rhythm section and guttural growling like a released spirit taking its leave of the soul-crushing grind of earthbound existence, shrieving itself of its earthly cares and reaching towards its personal nirvana.

I haven't sat down with a lyric sheet, so I don't know what the philosophy behind Heritage is, but for some reason I can't help but feel uplifted and hopeful both whilst and after listening to it, as if it is saying, no matter how hard and heavy things may be, ultimately everything will be OK. This may be fanciful on my part, and yes, it is steeped in melancholy and a gruelling weight, but there is a ray of something more at the heart of the album that genuinely makes me feel good and that is something that I have found in very short supply in recent times. I am exceedingly impressed and it will take a fucking great record to beat this to my AOTY for 2025.

5/5 (and then some!!)

Do you know if there is a vinyl version available, Vinny? I have ordered the CD from Bandcamp but would love this on vinyl.

Just looked on the label website and only has CD option.  Metal Archives lists digital as only other option.

I have found myself really missing messing around with The Fallen playlist on a regular basis, so I am going back to compiling it monthly, starting with July. As main co-contributor, Vinny, if you want to post any suggestions before the end of the weekend then that is cool. Any non-clan members may make one suggestion each, again before the end of the weekend. David, if you want to contribute with any suggestions as a clan member let me know and I will spell out the deal.

So, going forward I will be compiling two playlists a month with the Fallen playlist being issued every month and the Horde and North playlists alternating. July is the turn of the North, so The Horde will be August, the North September and so on. 

Thanks folks...

Thanks Sonny, I can offer:

Rothadás - "Vértükör" (from "Töviskert... a kísértés örök érzete... Lidércharang", 2025)

Daevar - "Mirrors" (from "Sub Rosa", 2025)

Secret Cutter - "Spleen" (from "III ", 2025)

Mares of Thrace - "The Fifth Stage: Depression" (from "The Loss", 2025)

Ex-Officium Triste guitarist, Bram Bijlhout raids his old band for assistance as he drafts in Pim Blankenstein to deliver vocals on his debut full length under his solo outfit, Structure. Not being familiar with Officium Triste at all, I cannot say how much similarity there is here between the two acts. Plus, I do not think it would be best use of the review either, especially given the obvious quality of Heritage. As a standalone, atmospheric doom/death metal act, Structure is a strong offering. How we got here is not necessarily as important as enjoying what we have got here. Heritage is a fine debut album, one that sounds like it has been put together by established artists with a strong ear for immersive compositions that the listener can absorb as opposed to just listen to.

In attempting to put some of the above into coherent reference to parts of the album, one’s attention is immediately drawn to the rich melodies of the guitar that soar alongside the intense weight of the riffs that you would expect to hear on any doom death release. Adopting an almost funeral doom depth at times, the guitars go for the very depths of the sound at times, yet they also create big sounding, almost rock-esque riffs on other occasions. ‘What We Have Lost’ showcases this perfectly. Unafraid to take off into more mid-paced territory, this track develops into much more than standard doom death fare would normally permit. This early, promising trend continues across all of Heritage I am pleased to report, resulting in a very fulfilling experience. Whilst it most certainly is doom death at its core, this is a record that holds no trepidation for expansive compositions.

Clearly well-produced, the sound on the album is big, surrounding the listener in all the glorious tropes of the instrumentation present here. Those keyboards are elevating and elegant, adding distinct majesty to the darkness, uniting with the melancholy of the guitar perfectly. Both elements do really work well in tandem with one another, the guitar comes out with the upper hand still though, maintaining prevalence throughout much of the album. As a reference point, I am reminded often of Shape of Despair when listening to Heritage, such are the acute levels of melancholy and the sense of the sheer distance that is created in the atmospherics. At times I would go further and say there’s a bit of Bell Witch present here also. The dramatic opening to album closer ‘Until the Last gasp’ lives up to this comparison for sure.

If I were being super-critical, I would be asking for a little more from the drums, which do sound a little timid at times. Just the slightest of an increase in space in the mix would have afforded them a greater presence. Whilst this measure of component parts does allow for the focus on the guitars and vocals, it does diminish some of the power behind tracks such as ‘The Sadness of Everyday Life’. There is almost too much of a distance between them and the rest of proceedings. It is a minor compliant however on an album that is a consistent, intriguing and above all else immersive experience end-to-end.

4.5/5

Welcome David

Hvile I Kaos - Lower Order Manifestations (2025)

The cello is my favourite classical instrument.  Capable of creating such slow, haunitng and melancholic sounds as well urgent and oppressive timbres as well, I find a versatile and always pleasing instrument.  Hvile I Kaos deploy the cello alongside guitar, frame drum and bass to create 'dark chamber music'. This has been on a few nights as I have laid in bed with the lights out ready to get into a peaceful slumber.  Full of mystique and dark terrors, the descripton from the Bandcamp page sums it up perfectly:

"This collection of recorded workings is a series of invocations to eight Lower Order Spirits, as steps leading to the sacrificial altar of Moloch, the King of Fire. This is done in accordance with the practice of Sinister Magick known as Vedantic Nihilism, as outlined in the grimoire "Codex Aversum" by Caine Del Sol.

The forces presented by these workings are those of collapse, madness, death, and decay. They have served and will continue to serve those ends to devastating effect, in real life, in real time.

You have been warned."

4/5

Still maintaing my list of releases for The North this year.  Top Ten looks like:

1. Gràb - Kremess

2. Grima - Nightside

3. The Great Old Ones - Kadath

4. Warmoon Lord - Sacrosanct Demonopathy

5. Void of Hope - Proof of Existence

6. Cryptosis - Celestial Death (increasingly an outlier)

7. Drudkh - Shadowplay

8. Serpentes - Desert Psalms

9. Blood Abscission - I I

10. Svartsyn - Vortex of the Destroyer

Full Top 20 here https://metal.academy/lists/single/310

Quite the milestone.  Metal Academy continues to a great resource, especially in my discovery of new music this year.  Thanks Ben.

Probably on your radar already but the new Sargeist album just dropped "Flame Within Flame" if you could add please Ben?

Frustratingly, it now appears that only side A of the album is available on YouTube.  I have tried Bandcamp and some other platforms but have been unable to locate it.  Let me know if anyone else has any joy.

It appears that these guys must be especially trve, because the album is only available as a 12" along with a 7" vinyl in its complete form, so it is going to be very hard to hear a full version, at least for now anyway.

Yes, I have switched to another Finnish band I have been spinning a bit this year.  Included them on my track listing for The North next month as it happens.

Frustratingly, it now appears that only side A of the album is available on YouTube.  I have tried Bandcamp and some other platforms but have been unable to locate it.  Let me know if anyone else has any joy.

Here we go Sonny:

Häxkapell - "Metamorfos" (from "Om jordens blod och urgravens grepp", 2025)

Regnum Noricum - "Aminata Muscaria" (from "Lost Legacy", 2025)

Void of Hope - "The Hollow Hymn" (from "Proof of Existence", 2025)

Norrhem - "Teräsmyrskyssä" (from "Aurinko ja teräs", 2025)

June 2025

1. Warbringer – “The Sword and the Cross” (from “Wrath and Ruin”, 2025) [Submitted by Shadowdoom]

2. Anthrax – “Now It’s Dark” (from “State pf Euphoria, 1988) [Submitted by Sonny]

3. Metallica – “No Remorse” (from “Kill ‘Em All”, 1983) [Submitted by Sonny]

4. Skeletonwitch – “Sacrifice for the Slaughtergod” (from “Beyond the Permafrost”, 2007) [Submitted by Saxy)

5. Sacred Reich – “Crimes Against Humanity” (from “The American Way”, 1990) [Submitted by Sonny]

6. Confess, George Kollias – “Slaughterhouse” (from “Destination Addiction”, 2025) [Submitted by Vinny]

7. Machine Head – “Atomic Revelations” (from “Atonement”, 2025) [Submitted by Vinny]

8. Grave Digger – “The Rich the Poor the Dying” (from “Bone Collector”, 2025)

9. Artillery – “Death Is an Illusion” (from “My Blood”, 2010 [Submitted by Sonny]

10. Parkcrest – “Dwelling of the Moonlights”, 2019) [Submitted by Sonny]

11. Vektor – “Tetrastructural Minds” (from “Outer Isolation”, 2011) [Submitted by Sonny]

12. Venus – “Sons of Grus” (from “Obscured Until Observed”, 2023)

13. Smiqra – “I Am the Broken Generation” (from “Rɡyaɡ̇dźé!”, 2025)

14. Antichrist – “Death Rays” (from “Forbidden World”, 211) [Submitted by Sonny]

15. Whipstriker – “Heartrippers” (from “Cry of Extinction”,2025) [Submitted by Vinny]

16. Black Mass – “A.S.H.E.S.” (from “Feast at the Forbidden Tree”, 201)

17. Satan’s Wrath – “At the Strike of Twelve” (from “Die Evil”, 2015)

18. All Hell – “Suffer for Me” (from “All Hail the Night”, 2023)

19. Frightful – “Into the Phantom Hearts” (from “What Lies Ahead”, 2025) [Submitted by Vinny]

20. Oxygen Destroyer – “Awaking the Malevolent Destroyer of Heavens and Earth”, 2024)

21. Extorted – “Deception” (from “Cognitive Dissonance”, 2024)

22. Combust, Terror – “Paid with Pain” (from “Belly of the Beast”, 2025) [Submitted by Vinny]

23. Doomsday – “Holy Justice” (from “Never Known Peace”, 2025) [Submitted by Vinny]

24. Stress Test – “Suffer” (from “Stress Test”, 2025) [Submitted by Vinny]

25. New World Man – “Murderworld Pt. 2 (Murder Is What's on My Mind)” (from “Peeling Through the Skin”, 2025) [Submitted by Vinny]

26. Crimson Storm – “Outrageous” (from “Livin' on the Bad Side”, 2025)

27. Refore – “Illusion of Existence” (from “Illusion of Existence”, 2024)

28. Korrosive – “In the Name of Destruction” (from “Katastrophic Creation”,2024)

I am so sorry to hear this Sonny.  I hope she continues to make a solid recovery.

Finally got round to a review of this:

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.

4.5/5

Mysterivm Xarxes - 'In Resonance with the Carnalized Manifestations' (2025)

In Resonance with the Carnalized Manifestations has been on my review list for what feels like months now. I mean, yes it was released way back in January and we are now well into May, but it feels like I have been toying with it for longer than the last nearly half a year. As I just start to remember why I usually find keeping up with the slew of new releases each year such a challenge, here I am finally committing my thoughts to review. With Austria not being my usual go to country for black metal, to find such a raw and intense experience that instantly recalls the jarring horror of Leviathan is a real treat. Indeed, first track proper, ‘Bound and Condemmed in the Chamber of Your Insignificance’ is as harsh and unforgiving as the track title suggests. It is clear from the off that if you are looking for some catchy, black ‘n roll style bm, you are in the wrong hole.

The crude melodicism of the dashing tremolos, which are generated by the guitarist just dashing their hand up and down the fretboard it seems, does bring an unexpected sense of underlying depth when you take time to listen critically. In fact, the more I listen to this EP the more it has grown. The EP format does not make this a smash ‘n grab bm release either, Homvnkvlvs does everything on Mysterivm Xarxes releases and his marauding style of black metal more than hints at thought and structure beneath the ghastlier aesthetic that he presents in his music. The melody is primitive to an almost pagan extent at times, but the fact is that the tracks are in a continued state of flux. The pacing and tempos change with a degree of regularity, keeping you guessing as to where tracks might be going next. By the time we get to the middle of third track ‘At the Threshold of Purification’ we are almost straying into a progressive build for a few bars before we descend back into raging black metal fury again.

Therefore, despite being only a little over thirty-one-minutes in duration, the EP feels very fulfilling. It is like everything that is wanting to be said is expelled in an enormously entertaining manner. The ambient sections work just as well as the more aggressive parts when they are given the floor. Keying up the final act of the release, instrumental number ‘Dawn of Inner Renewal’ does just enough with its gentle ambience to settle our nerves for one last foray into the rampant black metal of ‘Shards of Lasting Rememberance’. This last track comes charging out of the blocks like a possessed animal. That fearsomely strummed tremolo drives the track forward with unrelenting fury, all making for a satisfying end to fine release overall.

4/5

Hi Ben, could you please add:

Abyssal Vacuum from France

Dausa from Lithuania

Drape from USA

Hound of Zeus from Germany

Lurid from USA (Chicago)

Varlok from USA

Veneraxiom from USA

Vultur from Italy

Latest release from Warmoon Lord - 'Sacrosanct Demonopathy'

I have listened a couple of times to this but have not managed to gather enough thoughts to justify a review and this is clearly a special record for Sonny and so I would only want to comment in a review after sufficient listens (which is unlikely to be this month).  Also, I did move away from this NWOBHM, trad metal, heavy metal sound a few years back and it is far away from my regular listening patterns nowadays.

The above has happened to me today in my The Fallen 2025 list only it also appears to have duplicated my review of the affected album (Morast 'Fentanyl') as well. 

EDIT - I just deleted one of the reviews and it solved this issue.

Mizmor & Hell - 'Alluvion' (2025)

As with anything involving two of the biggest names in doom metal, Alluvion was destined to succeed from the off. With main Hell man, Matthew Scott Williams deciding to collaborate with Mizmor supremo (and live drummer for Hell), Liam Neighbors on a full-length album, 2025 just got a lot more interesting. Both are established artists in their own right of course and so anything they collude on is bound to be monstrous, right? Well, the simple answer is yes, yes, it is. Alluvion is an absolute triumph of a release. It achieves that rarified atmosphere of being vast and expansive without ever becoming boring or taxing to listen to. Indeed, the only struggle I have when listening to it is to not immediately play it again on loop.

The atmosphere on Alluvion is nothing short of humongous. It is repressive in that it takes all your attention to truly admire its oppressive density. The whole experience is devoid of leniency in that it simply does not let up once for nearly forty-minutes. The boldness of artists who can produce such domineering sounds and not think to give any respite at all is a joy to behold in a world of mass produced, easily accessible and safe music. This album is just the soundtrack to your worst, unending nightmares by comparison. It relies on no pillars of technicality or musical fanfare. Repetition and (largely) slow grinding riffs are the order of the day here. Inflections of atmospheric chaos litter the record (those shrieking voices at the end of ‘Vision II’) along with black metal fury (‘Pandemonium’s Throat’) flooding in to really spice things up.

These bursts of variety give an impression of a morose record, its ill-tempered nature seemingly impatient with itself even at times. Yet perversely, in the main, it continues to pick agonisingly slowly at a festering scab that barely conceals an infected, gaping wound. Building is the wrong word to describe how tracks come together; they lumber into existence. Drenched in reverb and with a somehow beastly psychedelic edge to some of the guitar riffs, Alluvion continues to develop its hideous soundscape without respite. My only criticism is the drums seem too far away in the mix, they sound like they are treading water at times, notwithstanding they have a wall of noise to compete with most of the time. When they do bob their head above the crashing waves of misery there is a deftness in their delivery that probably could have been allowed to shine a little more in the mix.

It is still a minor quibble in an otherwise sensational auditory experience. As an aside, I am unsure if the it was the intention but it looks to me as if the album cover is trying to recreate the painting ‘Sadak in Search of the Waters of Oblivion’ by John Martin.

4.5/5

Machine Head - 'Unatoned' (2025)

Here we are again. Another Machine Head album, another handful of tracks to unpick, another round of discerning if Robb has settled on any direction this time around. By now notorious for injecting virulent amounts of nu-metal, alt metal and even rap metal into their music, any new record from MH certainly gets greeted with the guard somewhat up. My absolute horror at the shitshow that was Catharsis from seven years ago was probably the peak of my derision with Flynn’s continued dilution of their core groove metal sound. Sitting here in 2025, I felt kind of desensitised to anything that Unatoned could throw at me, and so listening to the usual plethora of styles being blended across a lengthy twelve tracks did have me once again rolling my eyes in frustration that the skip button was out of reach.

The main frustration I have had with latter day output from MH is that when they stick to straight forward groove metal, MH are simply one of the best groove metal acts around. Tracks like ‘Atomic Revelations’ and ‘Unbound’ more than prove this. These tracks are clear examples of MH at the pinnacle of their powers. Think of recent releases by Exhorder and you are in the right ballpark for these two tracks. Unfortunately, there is very little of any comparable quality beyond these on the rest of the album. Heavily front loaded, Unatoned fades badly from around the mid-point of the record. Whilst it may not actually tank altogether, it clearly suffers from filler after the passable ballad ‘Not Long for This World’.

I can stomach the strive to write catchy tunes (‘Outsiders’) and I can even tolerate the chiming electronics that accompany some tracks (even though I have heard Bad Omens, Sleep Token and Architects do them much better). However, there is still the problem of the album lacking much in the way of identity, or much in the way of direction. Even though it has started to sound more cohesive with repeated listens, Unatoned lacks any assured purpose overall. There are some great riffs and leads present across the record, however they are too disparate in distribution and for me should have had far more consistent focus across the album. I will say though that this record is probably the best record MH have done since Unto the Locust and it proves there is more than enough life in the old dog yet. They just need to settle on a pathway.

3.5/5

Update:

1. Katatonia - Fall of Hearts

2. Deftones - White Pony

3. Deftones - Diamond Eyes

4. Faith No More - The Real Thing

5. Faith No More - Angel Dust

6. Jane's Addiction - Ritual de lo Habitual (least metal release on here, sue me)

7. Alice in Chains - Dirt

8. Soundgarden - Louder Than Love

9. Bodycount - Bloodlust

10. Sleep Token - Take Me Back to Eden

Recent life events have seen me now enjoying the Fall of Hearts a lot more.  It is the album that has accompanied me through my recent marriage break-up, so this is perhaps to be expected.  Rediscovering Diamond Eyes this weekend has seen that catapulted into my top ten.  Sleep Token's 2023 album has slowly worked its way into the tenth spot, it has definitley grown with repeated listens.

Deicide - "Trifixion" (from "Legion", 1992)

This got me pining for the album so blasting Legion right now.

Hey, Vinny. The Phrenelith track is on the current Horde playlist, so do you want to choose something else? Another track from the same album is fine.

S'ok to drop that one thanks.

Vinny, Karl, please have your submissions in for June's Horde playlist by 15th May. Thanks in advance.

Here you go Sonny:

Suffocation - "Seraphim Enslavement" (from "Hymns From the Apochrypha", 2023)

Nile - "I Whisper in the Ear of the Dead" (from "In Their Darkened Shrines", 2002)

Phrenelith - "Stagnated Blood" (from "Ashen Womb", 2025)

Asinhell- "Inner Sancticide" (from "Impii Hora", 2023)

Vacuous - "Stress Positions" (from "In His Blood", 2025)

Obscureviolence - "Refuting the Flesh" (from "Refuting the Flesh", 2025)

Cancer - "Enter the Gates" (from "Inverted World", 2025)

Caustic Wound - "Blood Battery" (from "Grinding Mechanism of Torment", 2025)

Wombbath - "Malevolent" (from "Beyond the Abyss", 2025)

Hi Ben, can the new one from Conan be added please?  Violence Dimension.

Thanks Sonny

Thanks Andi

Thanks Saxy

Svartsyn - "Vortex of The Destroyer" (2025)

Hands down one of the best black metal releases of 2025 for me so far.  I hit it off with this one from the very first time I heard it.  Review in pipeline.

We are just under a month away from the submissions deadline for the next The Pit playlist which will drop in June.  Happy to take one suggestion from non-clan members if anyone wishes to participate.

It is baffling to me that despite the obvious dearth of decent material in the last 35 years Metallica are still the planet's biggest metal band. I am glad I got to see them live in the 80s when they were at their best and not this pale parody of a thrash metal act because, as the great Bill Shankly meant to say, "if Metallica were playing at the bottom of my garden I would shut the curtains, put on my headphones and listen to Master of Puppets".

This made me laugh out loud.

Decrepisy "Deific Mouring (2025)

I am starting to amass a fandom for Daniel Butler. After finding Acephalix many moons ago and subsequently Vastum a couple of years later, I know have stumbled across Decrepisy (which I am unsure is even an actual term). In a year that has so far floated my death doom boat very little in the first quarter of 2025, I was instantly full of hope when I heard Daniel Butler and Kyle House from Acephalix were involved in Decrepisy. Deific Mourning I am pleased to say, certainly lives up to the expectations that I have of these artists, and the bands numbers being bolstered by current Morbid Angel live drummer (as well as Funebraum and Ascended Blood sticksman of course), Charles Koryn and Jonathan Quintana on guitars (of Ritual Necromancy and Coffin Rot fame), all works out well for their sophomore release.

Deific Mourning sounds like a beast in the throes of uncontrollable grief for it’s fallen lord. It is like an acid bath of sorrow. The density of the sound is like a mournful millstone around your neck, the cavernous vocals grunting and gurning their dismal and gloomy emotions until they surround you. All the while the guitars chug away in a punishing and laborious drudgery, as if consigned to riff away for an eternity of mourning. The leads when they come, are just as melancholic, sharpening the pain as they seep into tracks. These leads are my only element of criticism on the record though, as despite them having impact, they feel placed rather than planned sometimes. Whilst they by no means ruin any of the tracks, they do have a sense of them being an afterthought on more than one occasion.

Koryn’s drumming is well-balanced throughout the record, coming to the fore especially well on the stripped back ‘Spiritual Decay 1/4 Dead’. It sounds like a professional performance from him. Indeed, the only element that feels a bit lost in the mix is the bass. Kyle handles bass alongside his guitar duties, and so perhaps this explains why the four strings have little presence overall (not that you miss them by any means). The multi-talented Leila Abdul-Rauf (Vastum, Cardinal Wyrm), guests on the record, dropping some menacing synths and additional vocals into the fray.

Album highlight for me is the brooding album closer ‘Afterhours’. I suspect Leila is heavily involved on this one with its looming dark ambience and abyssal echoes. It plays like some agonising cabaret in places, yet as some shamanic ritual in others. It is unexpected at the end of an album that to this point has been so clearly rooted in death doom, but it works brilliantly. The distortion applied to the guitars gives a b-movie aesthetic to the proceedings as the threat builds up and up during the track. Decrepisy may have passed me by with their first record, but I am so glad I did not miss this one. Off to blast me some Acephalix and Vastum for the rest of the bank holiday.

4.5/5

Metallica - 72 Seasons (2023)

Metallica - Hardwired...to Self-Destruct (2016)

Two for the price of one!!

Over the last two or three days I have been filling in the gaps in my Metallica discography knowledge and relistening to the rest for a track-rating project. In an attempt to make the venture more palatable I decided to work backwards. That way, at least I would still have the good stuff to look forward to. Anyway, I had never sat down with the last two albums, in fact I hadn't listened to anything after the complete shitshow that was St. Anger, so I went into Hardwired and 72 Seasons completely blind. In truth, neither was as awful as I had feared and both were certainly an improvement over the band's previously mentioned career nadir. Don't get me wrong, neither do they come close to rivalling their 80s output, but then again what does? There are actually some pretty decent tracks here, both the title tracks, "Lux Aeterna" from the later album and "Dream No More" and "Confusion" from Hardwired are solid efforts.

No, the insurmountable problem for me with both these albums, which was also an issue with 2008's "supposed" return to form, Death Magnetic, is the self-indulgence exhibited by the band. They have always been a band that lean towards lengthier tracks, Master of Puppets itself has three eight-minute-plus tracks, but on these two albums the musical ideas presented in no way justify the interminible runtimes. In fact Metallica now come off as little more than a heavy metal jam band and a parody of their former greatness. The ideas here in no way justify well over two-and-a-half hours of your valuable listening time. Hardwired could easily lose three tracks from the back end, in fact lose the whole second disc except "Confusion" whilst 72 Seasons would be much better if it ended at "Crown of Barbed Wire". Then remove a chorus from each of the remaining tracks and the jobs a good' un as we say round here.

Oh and someone please tell Hetfield to stop singing - his voice is shot and is at times fairly painful to listen to. Add the compression and loudness wars fallout on top of these issues and we have a couple of (very long) albums of material that is subpar for the band that gave us Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets and, if truth be told, for many lesser lights too. Metallica peers such as Testament and even Exodus have released much better albums in the same time span. Listening to both of these is like one of those sad old men with a pony tail and convertible sports car trying to recapture his long-lost youth and just coming off like some kind of weird tosser. It makes me sad rather than angry.

A generous 3/5 for each for old-times sake.

I just reread my review of 72 Seasons and can see that we are on the same page here.  Not heard (and probably won't be bothering to) Hardwired... as I think the final quote from my review sums it up for me:

'Metallica in 2023 are indecisive, isolated in their own version of reality and completely unrecognisable as the force of music they so quickly became some forty years ago. For once the hype is correct and I have seemingly missed nothing during the last thirty years.'

Hello Ben, could you please add:

Misanthropic Darkwoods from Ecuador

I have done a couple of listens through to this and although I get the talent and the direction, it just doesn’t work for me.  For a start, the songs are too long and have far too much to say over their duration.  As a result they feel like a collection of ideas moulded (although not forcibly so) into whole songs.  I find myself losing interest pretty quickly to be honest and then I get snapped back into the room by a more beautiful or interesting moment.  I even tried the bedtime black metal trick, where I sit in bed with headphones on and listen to something in the dark, yet this still didn’t keep me present with the album.

I like my folk music now and again (in fact, increasingly so of late) but I almost just want this to be all folk or all black metal really.  As I say, clearly a talent, but not one that is resonating with me.

2/5

An indicator on how old I am geting today in the Anniversary section.  White Zombie's 'Astro-Creep: 2000 - Songs of Love, Destruction and Other Synthetic Delusions of the Electric Head' is thirty-five years old.  I can remember having this on either cassette or CD back when I was thirteen.  'Creature of the Wheel' and 'More Human Than Human' are the only two songs I can recall now but I think it was probably a case of I had bought the album cold and didn't really like it all that much but just played it anyway due to my limited selection back then.  The days before digital music could be harsh on a penniless teenager.  Although I so often hark for those days of less choice and more reliance on hand me downs or loans.

Drudkh - 'Shadow Play' (2025)

Drudkh tailed off for me not long after Microcosmos. A Handful of Stars was a poor follow up to 2009’s triumph of a release and I progressively lost interest in the band. In writing this review, I looked back at some of my ratings for what has come after 2010 and found that on the few I had rated, I had little if any memory of what they sounded like (ratings on relevant releases have therefore been deleted from MA). Whereas I would have once looked forward to a Drudkh album, I found news of Shadow Play arriving landing with a less than muted applause. For me it almost feels like Drudkh have said everything I wanted to hear on their first few records. Those first four albums were the band’s golden run in my book and although they most certainly do have albums outside of that window of releases that I enjoy, I sensed that Shadow Play was not going to see me reaching for the higher end of the scoring range.

My fears were confounded by the frankly boring album opener ‘Scattering the Ashes’, a seven-minute plus track that is frankly one of the dullest pieces of music the Ukranians have ever written. I get the sound of the footfalls in the snow are of someone carrying an urn, however the track itself goes nowhere in between the footfalls that bookend the instrumental. Not a positive start then. Hold on though, both ‘April’ and ‘The Exile’ immediately get me interested in the album again with their driving rhythms and charging pace. The riffs seem to wrap effortlessly around one another, seemingly at home regardless of the tempo being deployed at the time. The rich melody that Drudkh are famous for is certainly still at the forefront of their music. The sound of the guitar alongside Roman’s grim vocals are familiar and welcome sounds. There’s a jangle to a Drudkh tremolo that sometimes sounds like a 60’s psychedelic rock jam. As we get onto the halfway point of the album, things are looking up.

I would go as far as to say that the previous two tracks are a couple of the best songs Drudkh have pulled together in a long time. Solid and memorable, urgent and pressing, as well as sounding like they are performed with passion and guile. ‘Fallen Blossom’ introduces a more aggressive sound, not dissimilar to the overall sound of album The Swan Road. Whilst the melody is still obvious, there is a harsher, colder edge to it on here. Even when the track seems to settle down into a rhythm, it still feels oppositional. The keys do little to soothe this abrasive edge, seeming to support its threat and intent with menacing atmospheres. The track builds into a tumultuous mass of tremolos and percussion, never taking its foot off the gas for the final third of the song. A more melodic opening greets us on ‘The Eve’, even if we are still seeing no signs of the pace letting up in the first instance. At this point I did start to wonder if some variety was missing here, but just as the demons started to have me doubting Drudkh, there’s a swell of accessible, more leniently paced melodies that is cleverly given space to breath and develop before becoming consumed again in the more raging torrents of the track. There is great use of pacing here, even though I missed this on my first few listens, it seems so obvious as I listen through on my review write-up.

Album closer, ‘The Thirst’ sounds like there may be some folk instruments at play in the raging mix that starts the track. I cannot see anything listed other than guitars and keyboards, so it may just be clever use of the keys, but I hear some light droning warbling in the background that seems to be a different pitch to the tremolo that I would normally attribute such sound too. In the end though, Shadow Play is not an album that needs much in the way of expansion. It says what it needs to say very well without much in the way of thrills being needed. It is one of the most consistent Drudkh albums that I have heard in a while and it really is only let down by that lifeless opening track which thankfully soon becomes a distant memory as the real quality of the album soon starts to take over.

4.5/5

Ben, can you add the new Fluisteraars release please?

'De kronieken van het verdwenen kasteel - III - Grunsfoort'

Whilst listening to Year of the Cobra, I found myself debating how difficult it must be to be in a two-piece drum and bass doom combo. I mean there must be a lot of pressure on the bassist to start with. How much do you yield to the temptation to play it like a rhythm guitar, or perhaps go the opposite way and use the bass to create dense atmospheres like Bell Witch? On YotC, Amy manages a bit of both. She carves out some bone-jangling riffs for sure, yet she also gives us enough bottom end to thicken up proceedings nicely on the tamer sections, when the beefier riffs are on the back burner. You can sense the same dilemna with the drums of course. Do they take precedence over the bass or simply play along in support of the four strings? Again, like his wife, Johanes finds a good balance here. As unremarkable as his performance maybe, the presence he brings cannot be underestimated.

Of course, Amy also has responsibility for the vocals. Her dreamy, stoner/psychedelic style works in great contrast to her heavier bass work. The vocal performance on album closer 'Prayer' stands out in particular with its very personal and sentimental traits making for a deeply heartfelt display. It is not often a doom track manages to invoke emotion in me, but I genuinely fought back tears when listening to that song. As the album highlight for me, it is a shame that such beauty is quite isolated here.

With some sense of inevitability perhaps, YotC suffers to a degree of a lack of variation. Tracks such as 'Alone' lose me completely, and no matter how many times I play the record, I cannot tell you how 'Sleep' sounds. Stronger tracks like opener '...Full Sails', 'War Drop' and 'Daemonium' are sufficient to rescue the record from the lower end of the scoring spectrum. Like I said at the top of this review, tough gig this two-piece doom set up and unfortunately it shows here.

3.5/5

Work in progress really Sonny.  The highest rated occupy the top two slots with the majority of the other rated and reviewed ones in order.  For example, I feel The Great Old Ones is going to place high but I simply have not gotten around to it yet in terms of enough critical listening time.  I will limit it to no more than 20 in the list otherwise it just becomes a list of some black metal albums i listened to this year.

I'll keep an eye on it Vinny because I haven't been engaging with new releases as much this year as I do normally and so it will be nice to see the best quality new black metal easily. TGOO's "Kadath" is my album of the year so far, but then again I have only listened properly to three!!

As you can see from my list, Gràb is the find of the year so far with that Grima record a close second.  I am trying to do simiar for The Fallen - both are based off new releases that Ben adds here but The North one has a couple of discoveries from elsewhere.

I shall be even more interested in your Fallen list, Vinny!

List is public for The Fallen now Sonny.

Work in progress really Sonny.  The highest rated occupy the top two slots with the majority of the other rated and reviewed ones in order.  For example, I feel The Great Old Ones is going to place high but I simply have not gotten around to it yet in terms of enough critical listening time.  I will limit it to no more than 20 in the list otherwise it just becomes a list of some black metal albums i listened to this year.

I'll keep an eye on it Vinny because I haven't been engaging with new releases as much this year as I do normally and so it will be nice to see the best quality new black metal easily. TGOO's "Kadath" is my album of the year so far, but then again I have only listened properly to three!!

As you can see from my list, Gràb is the find of the year so far with that Grima record a close second.  I am trying to do simiar for The Fallen - both are based off new releases that Ben adds here but The North one has a couple of discoveries from elsewhere.

Work in progress really Sonny.  The highest rated occupy the top two slots with the majority of the other rated and reviewed ones in order.  For example, I feel The Great Old Ones is going to place high but I simply have not gotten around to it yet in terms of enough critical listening time.  I will limit it to no more than 20 in the list otherwise it just becomes a list of some black metal albums i listened to this year.

For once, I am across most of the new releases in black metal this year.  Even managing to keep a running list in the Lists section for anyone interested.

https://metal.academy/lists/single/310

Andi, can you add me on the roster for The North too please?

Hi Ben, please can you add:

Frosthymn (Russia)

Latest release from Ene "The Ruined Temple" (EP)

Latest release from Kêres "Skryer of the Lighthouse"

Uhka - "Yön tälle puolen"

Xificurk (Poland)

They/Live - "Nature & Structure" (2025)

Synthy, poppy, electronic goodness right here.  Perfect soundtrack to ease me into the working day.  Was a fan of their previous effort "Ablation" but this is a step up.

For May 25 please Sonny:

Onirophagus - "Landsickness" (from "Revelations from the Void", 2025)

Kowloon Walled City - "Sleep Debt" (from "Gambling on the Richter Scale", 2009)

Black Bile - "L'Oratoire" (from "L'Oratoire", 2023)

Pentagram - "Walk The Sociopath" (from "Lightning in a Bottle", 2025)

Year of the Cobra - "Full Sails" (from "Year of the Cobra", 2025)

Morast - "On Pyre" (from "Fentanyl", 2025)

Cradle of Filth - "When Misery Was A Stranger" (from "The Screaming of the Valkyries", 2025)

16 - "Blood Atonement Blues" (from "Guides for the Misguided", 2025)

Wren "Black Rain Falls" (2025)

Wren is one of the most unmetal sounding band names that could be picked really. One step up from Sparrow or Dunnock I suppose but still leans heavily on the lame side of the bird world. Whilst it may not be the most threatening name in the world metal, Wren does fit the atmospheric sludge of this London four piece as they explore a vast and dense landscape across their third album, Black Rain Falls. Foraging through punishingly slow riffs, flitting between ethereal density and atmospheric ecosystems and nesting in the rafters of the solid structures of the seven tracks on offer.

Describing themselves as a ‘blackened noise band’ (at least according to the Spotify bio anyway) could not be further from the truth, as there is no noisy element to this record. The agonising pace of album highlight, ‘Toil in the Undergrowth’ is testimony to how captivating atmospheric sludge is. By the time the first riff lands we are three minutes into the track. Those hoarse and tormented vocals heralding the arrival of the track proper perfectly as that riff crashes in behind them. This album is full of Neurosis and Isis influences, and as a result had me hooked from the off. Songs feel like they are expanding even though there is little in the way of variation to suggest this is naturally the case. Any progression is deliberate and measured, feeling organic and unforced.

Tracks often end feeling like very little has happened in the way of change once the established format has been engineered, but still, I get sense of total satisfaction from the majority of what is on offer here. The interlude in the middle of the record feels a bit out of place though, even though it does in some ways introduce the dense, bassy opening of ‘Metric of Grief' nicely. Album closer ‘Scorched Hinds’ is one of the more obvious Neurosis sounding tracks, with its shifts and swells accompanied by chiming guitar notes that remind me of Kowloon Walled City. There is a lot to like in the simplicity of Black Rain Falls and it stands out as one of my happier new finds in The Fallen clan of late.

Thanks all.