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Initial Descent: October 16 – 22, 2022

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How do you NOT use this pic for the header?

Fearless Editor Josh™ is on a much needed vacation from the 9C offices cooking up some lovely shrimp dishes with his family, so I’m taking the reins for this week’s Initial Descent to let you heathens know what’s the what in new music being released this week. And right off the bat we got Matt Harvey and the gang from Exhumed serving up their new platter just in time for, uh…monsters and pirate cosplay, I guess? Who knows, the album kicks ass. Elsewhere we got a pair of post-rock hammers falling with both God Alone and Lost in Kiev, the re-emergence of SubRosa in their new guise of The Otolith and finally, since you know you’re curious, rising like a one-eyed yellow and black phoenix it’s Stryper. Because I don’t know if we’ve ever mentioned Stryper on this site, and I admit I dig the single.

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Initial Descent: September 29 – October 5, 2019

JoshLeave a comment

Exhumed
Exhumed – photo courtesy of Jehn W.A.

Fall is officially upon us and October will begin tomorrow. Who’s excited? ME. And you, of course. No surprise there and no surprise either that many of you are still reeling from the new Opeth album that dropped last week. Well, guess what? We’ve got another list of new stuff for you to get lost in and argue over. All killer, no filler. GO…

Exhumed kick off the witching season with their ninth album and it’s a freaking beast with punishing body blows and feral fangs that rip and tear. Seriously, it’s been quite some time since they’ve sounded this vicious so go and do that, pronto. Another thing to add to the “do now” list is the eighth effort from Insomnium, just when you think a band couldn’t get any better, they do, and they did. Likewise for Ripper’s newest 20 minutes of mind melting thrash – anyone remember how devastating Experiment of Existence was? This one multiplies it many times over. Last up top is Obsidian Tongue’s first utterance in six years and it’s their most affecting and astounding work of black/atmospheric/post/gaze metal to date. Knowing their discography, I’m even shocked I just wrote that, just trust me here. So really, these top slots are all can’t miss albums and start yet another STRONG week. But, there’s so much more and it’s a smorgasbord of gory delights. Continue reading →

Initial Descent: September 15 – 21, 2019

JoshLeave a comment

Exhorder
Exhorder

It’s fully warranted, at this point, to have the fall and Halloween stuff out in stores but I’m already seeing the xmas stuff out in full force. Seriously. I mean look, I get it, santa is a heck of a money maker but pump the brakes on everything except Halloween, just for now. Thanks. Anyway, we’ve got yet another great list of new metal this week so let’s dig in…

Exhorder return with a KILLER slab of melodic thrash and it’s so freaking good after 27 years of silence, it’s aggressive and in your face – welcome back! Cult of Luna push the limits of post metal on their seventh full length, Engulf offer up another EP of wicked good extreme death metal plus a guest spot from a certain member of Vitriol doesn’t hurt (mile wide grin for me), and Monolord slow it down a bit as well as trim a hair or two off their fuzz to make their Relapse Records debut a doom outing to remember. TONS more await…go do the thing.  Continue reading →

Initial Descent: July 7 – 13, 2019

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False
False

Sure hope your 4th didn’t consist of off-time fireworks, as in until 1 or 2am for the entire damn weekend. If so, I have a roll of razor wire with your name on it but you’ll have to share with tons of folks surrounding me – no worries, I’ve got many rolls to go around. For those of you who didn’t have the day off or don’t celebrate, I’m sure it was just another Thursday. Anyway, new metal time and it’s another stacked week so here we go…

False turn in a blistering and all encompassing performance on their second full length of long form black metal and in case you missed it: False rule. Torche may be the AC/DC of party-fuzz-sludge but their fifth full length finds them back in fightin’ strength and rockin’ like it’s 2012 all over again (do some diggin’). If you’re still reeling from the battle of the Batushka’s consider this week’s offering as yet another hot bomb of epic, dark, and spiritual black metal to keep the irons of war hot. Last up top, but not least in this list, is the wonderful chainsaw buzz of Swedeath on Burial Remains’ killer debut.

The. Hits. Just. Keep. Coming. Continue reading →

Initial Descent: June 18 – 24, 2017

JoshLeave a comment

Tyrannosorceress
Tyrannosorceress – photo courtesy of Kathleen Kennedy

Another week, another dollar…er…another day, another dollar. Yea whatever, you get the idea, another week has slipped by us and here we are on the best day of the week with tons of new metal to soundtrack whatever it is you’ll be doing. Tyrannosorceress kicks us off in style with their black metal debut Shattering Light’s Creation, never mind the name just dig in…pronto. Next up is Ex Eye from the experimental, jazzy and seemingly otherworldly supergroup of sorts, Ex Eye, and if you happen to be in the market for something different this is the one to fit that bill. Moving along, everyone’s favorite industrial/noise/black metal group american return with their second full length Violate and Control and put quite simply — it’s a pulsating beast of an album. Filling out the opening slots is France’s Skelethal with their classically inspired yet crushingly heavy death metal debut Of the Depths… So there you have it with the top slots, keep diving for so much more that could have easily been at the top of this list. But, we can only fit so many you know? Anyway, until next week… Continue reading →