[assumes Jim Nantz voice] Hello, friends. It’s time, again, for a tradition unlike any other. The time of year when our beloved Arch Demon takes a well-earned vacation and the guy who only covers outdated-sounding pop music and bad album covers decides to actually pull some weight for once. [resumes normal Dan voice] You fuckers have me on these Initial Descent posts for the next couple of weeks, so brace yourselves, cause it’s gonna be… uh… something.

But enough about that. Let’s jump into the music, which — oh hey! — we actually have quite a bit of this week. We start off with the return of the mighty GODFLESH, back after almost six years with the new full-length, Purge. And hey! What’s that? A new album from… Scar Symmetry? Holy hell. A full nine years — this here blog’s entire lifespan — after releasing the first part of their multi-album saga, The Singularity, the Swedes are finally back with a follow-up, Phase II: Xenotaph. If you’re digging into a proggier vein, there’s also Fates Warning frontman Ray Alder, who’s dropping his second solo album, simply titled II. And finally — for this intro blurb, anyway — we’ve got Torture Rack! The Portland-based death crew are back with album number three, Primeval Onslaught, and friends… if you happen to look at yourself this week and think “you know, I’m not nearly filthy enough,” this thing’ll help you get there. There’s a whole bunch more coming out this week, though, so hop on in, take a look, and see if anything catches your eye!

Continue reading →