The most interesting releases of the week(s)!
Cogwheel was released on Sentient Ruin Laboratories. Altarage‘s last few records have veered wildly between some of the best dissonant death metal being released today and incomprehensible choices, and Cogwheel firmly refuses to pick a lane. The album kicks off with slow and churning riffs that give way to slow and churning vocals. And while Cogwheel‘s opening gives us lumps of coal in easily digestible groups of four to give the listener something to hang onto, that is the only life-line given to the listener as the vocals, guitars, and drums all provide different, steady marches of monotone until the band crashes headfirst into the end of the first verse. From there the blast beats hit, and it’s all downhill. Altarage aren’t afraid to explore. But that exploration ends up also conveying steady pulses and repeated notes, leading to more of a sense of dread than one of discovery. Fans of dissonant death metal will love Altarage, everyone else should expect quite the gut punch.
Between Sleep And Death, appropriately released on Eternal Death, consists of some excellent hellenic black metal. The intro is way too long. But once that’s out of the way, the first open track kicks off immediately with Sabbath-infused tritones before all hell breaks lose. Ceremonial Worship succeed at marrying chaos to simple riffs. Listening to Between Sleep And Death, you never get the feeling that the music has quite settled, but the half-time melodies allow the guitars to mostly rise above the fray and give the listener the best of both worlds. It helps that said riffs sound entertaining throughout the album. Style-wise, this is more of a throwback than an album pushing black metal forward, but fans of the old sounds will find a lot to love on Between Sleep And Death.
Saying that a band should get credit for trying is often damning with faint praise. And, yeah. But wow, FireFlame should get all the credit in the world for trying, especially given how well they succeed. From the opening riff, which kicks off with the cheesiest moment this side of Galneryus, to the wailing Gillan-esque vocal introduction that turns into something of an impersonation of Sabaton after throat surgery, all of the components are here for either a disaster or something glorious. And I absolutely love it. Not everything works. Some of the backing instrumentals feel a bit too standardized for what FireFlame are trying to accomplish. But dammit, there’s a part of me that just loves one arpeggiating solo leading into another apreggiating solo leading into a sing-along chorus leading into a hook designed to be moshed to. Did it have to be over an hour long? Absolutely not. No part of this had to exist. But I’m so glad that it does. Force Against The End was released on Wormholedeath.
Godslaughter was released on Everlasting Spew. For the second straight album, Nothingness have given us esoteric metal with muscles. The band never sacrifices a good riff for their odder tendencies. If you want to listen to this as a gym playlist album, there is absolutely room to do that, with chugging downturned riffs layered over aggressive blast beats and vocals that will scream at you to do the extra rep. But Nothingness have that extra unhinged dimension to them as well. This music sounds like it’s been ground a bit too hard, like genre conventions are imploding and being reformed in their hands. This only matters because of the excellent small choices made on Nothingness, including the staccato approach to the riffs, which gives the greater sound room to breathe, and the variety of drumbeats keeping things fresh.
Verbolgen was released on 20 Buck Spin. Within the realms of atmospheric black metal, Hulder do not stand still. The blistering fanfares of the past are present, but in the distance. Verbolgen is a bit slower and less immediate than its predecessors. The shift works wonders. Hulder invoke Moonsorrow alongside Dissection on their newest release. And while I do miss the jaw-dropping high moments of Verses In Oath, Verbolgen is no less memorable, and has much more room to grow. Hulder sounds more stressed on Verbolgen. But they never lose focus and continue the band’s tradition of matching jaw-dropping riffs with emotional payoffs rarely seen in black metal. Verbolgen will stay on people’s playlists for a long time.
Nāgabhūtaṃ was released on I, Voidhanger Records. Somewhat obviously. Neptunian Maximalism was originally a jazz metal band that combined drone, free jazz, and maximalist songwriting and performance tendencies that were simultaneously extravegant, bloated, and some of my favorite music of the past decade. This still describes them, I guess, but they’ve lost some of the metal edge and tightened up some of the songwriting. While I do miss the 2-hour disasters and feel that something is lost in the editing room, judging Nāgabhūtaṃ on its own merits can only lead to this record being called a success. It’s still not for everyone, I don’t want to give the impression that the band has transitioned to pop punk or something, but Neptunian Maximalism are somehow more approachable while maintaining their alien feeling. It will take a long, long time for me to fully form my thoughts on this release. In the meantime, I’ll continue to be entertained and baffled.
The days of Violence Violence are gone. All hail Tell Me Your Dream, released on Relapse Records. This album is angry, political, and urgent. The punk legends gave us an album that requires attentive listening, and that will demand that time after you’ve turned it off. Through the sparse post-punk riffs, the direct beats, the repeated choruses of frustration and confusion, Tell Me Your Dream had me thinking, “what’s next?” Not for the band, but for all of us. This isn’t comfortable music. What are your dreams? What are they missing? How can they become possible? Should they?
