I will have to open this review up by admitting that Downfall of Gaia‘s Ethic of Radical Finitude fell off my radar. It was an album that I heard a lot of people I know sing praise of, and it’s not an album I would call ‘bad’ in any way, but it fell a little flat on my ears, which I thought strange since on paper the band’s kind of sweeping post-black metal is usually very much my thing. It was familiar but didn’t do anything that set itself apart much from other bands making the same kind of music; it was missing a kind of spark of originality. It brings me the utmost pleasure to say that on their follow-up album Silhouettes of Disgust, Downfall of Gaia have very much found that spark and made an album that captivated me from the very first note.
Continue readingdownfall of gaia
Initial Descent: March 12 – 18, 2023

New week. New tunes. Even though Monday’s don’t mean all this is out and ready for consumption, it does mean you get a front row seat for a ton of preorders. So, be thankful. Or not, the choice is yours. We’ll keep plastering them here every week and you do as you will. This week’s batch features Night Goat front and center and I’m telling you now, if you’ve never caught this band live you are missing out so at least do yourself a favor and grab their new slab of death rock, thank us later. Moving on we’ve got heavy metal from Night Demon (seems like we’ve been anticipating this thing forever…just me?), post-black metal from Downfall of Gaia, and a healthy mixture of black and death metal from Úlfúð. That’s a heavy hitting top four, but there’s a ton more hiding out below so happy hunting and we’ll see you here throughout the week.
Continue readingCANTO: Dååth, Downfall Of Gaia, Ov Sulfur, and More
Oh look, it’s winter again. Wonderful.
- In more important news, Dååth is back after a 13 year hiatus! They’ve signed on with Metal Blade, and released a new single titled “No Rest No End”, which you can check out over on Bandcamp. It’s quite good! Now we just gotta wait for an album announcement…
- Also out of Metal Blade, Downfall Of Gaia unveiled their latest single, “Existence Of Awe”, a visualizer for which can be seen here. Their sixth studio album, Silhouettes Of Disgust, is set for a March 17 release.
- Out of Season of Mist, progressive black metal entity Henget revealed details surrounding its debut full-length. Beyond North Star is set for a May 18 drop, and a video for “I Am Them” can be seen here.
- With the release of Step Into The Light approaching, The Acacia Strain has lined up a few record release shows. Tickets go on sale Friday, so get those specific dates and details here. As a reminder, that album officially drops on May 12 through Rise Records.
- Closing out we have the new single and video from blackened deathcore outfit Ov Sulfur, titled “Befouler”. That track features Alex Terrible, and is taken from their debut full-length, The Burden Ov Faith. That album drops on March 24 through Century Media.
“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– cmb
CANTO: Usnea, The Acacia Strain, Sermon, and More
Don’t look now, but the Red Wings have won three straight. Oh wait, shit, wrong blog.
- PNW doom outfit Usnea have signed on with Translation Loss Records for the release of their long awaited new album. Bathed In Light will be out on May 26, and you can check out “From Soot and Pyre” over at Decibel.
- Downfall of Gaia have announced a run of shows in April over in Europe, where they’ll be joined by Implore and Deathrite. They also unveiled a drum playthrough of “Bodies as Driftwood“, if you’re into that kind of stuff.
- The Acacia Strain have set May 12 as the release date for Step Into The Light, which will be available through Rise Records. Check out the visualizer for “Fresh Bones” here.
- On March 31, melodic doom project Sermon are releasing Of Golden Verse, their sophomore effort, through Prosthetic Records. For a preview of what’s to come, give “The Distance” a listen here.
- It’s Valentine’s Day, so how about closing with some Type O Negative footage from Wacken 2007? Below is the video for “Love You To Death”. Pick up a Dead Again reissue through Nuclear Blast here.
“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– cmb
CANTO: Metallica, Sermon, Omega Infinity, and More
Coming at you a little late because today was dumb.
- Sermon are releasing their sophomore album, Of Golden Verse, on March 31st through Prosthetic Records. For an initial preview, give the visualizer for “Golden” a watch (and listen) here.
- Germany’s Downfall of Gaia are releasing a new full-length on March 17th, titled Silhouettes Of Disgust. That will be out through Metal Blade, and you can give “Bodies as Driftwood” a listen here.
- Darkthrone are releasing Goatlord: Original on February 10th through Peaceville. Goatlord, their originally planned instrumental second album, was shelved as they slid into black metal, emerging in 1996 with vocals. This release contains the original instrumental tracks, recorded in their rehearsal space. Also, the artwork absolutely rules.
- Omega Infinity, the project of Xenoyr (Ne Obliviscaris) and Tentakel P. (Todtgelichter), revealed a new track titled “To The Stars”. That’s taken from their upcoming full-length, The Anticurrent, which is out on February 24th through Season of Mist.
- Metallica dropped a new track today titled “Screaming Suicide”. Obviously that’s how we’re going to close out the day. Give the video a watch below. 72 Seasons is coming on April 14th.
“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– cmb