I know you missed me yesterday. Or, was it the new metals? Ah yes, the new metals; that you did indeed miss, more than me. Anywho, as usual, we’re overflowing with good picks so let’s get to it… back in 2017 Finland’s Väki put out a blistering EP of fierce yet cold black metal and with this week’s debut full length they up the ante in almost every aspect—expect utter chaos. The Czech Republic’s Oči Vlka offer up a scathing demo that defies any sort of easy categorization and it’s out on Caligari so you know it’s quality, Battalions continue their sludgy ass-kicking trajectory, and Mystras form of black metal is as fascinating as one might expect coming from Ayloss who you may know from Spectral Lore. So, several winners already and many, many more to follow. Enjoy.
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Väki – Kuolleen Maan Omaksi (Redefining Darkness / Saturnal) – black metal
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Oči Vlka – Demo (Caligari) – black / death
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Battalions – Pure Humber Sludge (APF) – sludge
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Mystras – Castles Conquered and Reclaimed (I, Voidhanger) – black metal
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Also on tap:
Ascendency – Birth of an Eternal Empire (Iron Bonehead) – black / death
Battle Dagorath – Abyss (Avantgarde Music) – cosmic black metal
Caedes Cruenta – Ερείπια Ψυχών (Helter Skelter / Regain) – black metal
Carthagods – The Monster In Me (FDA) – heavy metal
Conan / Deadsmoke – Doom Sessions Vol. 1 (Heavy Psych Sounds) – doom
Daggers – Neon Noir Erotica, Vinyl Release (Throatruiner) – noise / punk
Dark Sarah – Grim (Napalm) – cinematic metal
Deathnoisefrequency – Horrid Dirge, EP (Independent) – metal
Eisenkult – …gedenken wir der Fisnternis (Purity Through Fire) – black metal
EMBR – 1823 (New Heavy Sounds) – doom / grunge / gothic
Entry – Detriment (Southern Lord) – hardcore punk
Eremit – Desert of Ghouls (Transcending Obscurity) – atmospheric sludge / doom
Figures – Operating In Unsafe Mode (Independent) – modern metal
God – IV – Revelation (Independent) – prog metal
Herxheim – Incised Arrival (I, Voidhanger) – black / doom
Inisans / Sepulchral Frost – Death Fire Darkness (Helter Skelter / Regain) – death metal
Khthoniik Cerviiks – Æequilizoiikum (Iron Bonehead) – black / death
Kruelty – Immortal Nightmare (Creator-Destructor) – hardcore
Maggot Heart – Mercy Machine (Rapid Eye) – metal
Might – S/T (Exile On Mainstream) – blackgaze / doom
Nekus – Death Nova Upon the Barren Forest (Blood Harvest) – death metal
On Hollow Ground – Blood Is Blood (Independent) – metalcore
Phobeter – When Life Falls Silent (Black Jasper) – extreme
Riket – Ofärder (Vicisolum) – metal
Rumahoy – Time II: Party (Napalm) – pirate metal
Scolopendra – Those of the Catacombs (Nuclear War Now! Productions) – death metal
Serene Dark – Enantiodromia (Independent) – black / death
Snøgg – Ritual of the Sun (Independent) – black / ambient
The Funeral Orchestra – Negative Evocation Rites (Nuclear War Now! Productions) – doom
The Lightbringer – From the Void to Existence (Independent) – atmospheric black metal
TOOMS – The Orb Offers Massive Signals (Cursed Monk) – prog-sludge
U.D.O. and the Musikkorps der Bundeswehr – We Are One (AFM) – metal
Wilderun – Veil of Imagination, Re-release (Century Media) – melodic death metal
Ysengrin – Initiatio (I, Voidhanger) – dark metal
– Josh
Nine Circles 