Darkthrone : "It Beckons Us All"

 

Thought of as one of the forefathers of second-wave black metal, it's been a minute since they conformed to any genre, and have been digging up the graves of 80s Celtic Frost for the past few albums which have done so with varying levels of nostalgia, Nordic atmosphere, and grimness. The first track makes it evident they have taken their time to dial these sounds in while still being true to who they are as a band.  The chords ring out with an eerie melancholy, though the main guitar line holds a palm-muted tension that works in equal measure. 

They have made their love for classic metal proudly and loudly known in the past, so it's not a surprise that "Eon 3" is a blatant Mercyful Fate tribute. That is without any attempts to go up into falsetto vocals, though the song is more sung than snarled. "Black Dawn Affiliate" moves things in a more aggressive Judas Preist meets Venom direction. It works more of its energy rather than the first two songs which had more depth in their arrangements. It works but I prefer the first two songs. There is a cool riff in the middle of the song, but my rule here is "cool riffs alone does not a good song make". 

They have worked harder on the vocals this time around. You have to admire them because this is album 20 for these guys, so you have to respect the fact they are continuing to hone their craft and not just dialing it in. The guitar playing is also much more melodic on this album as well. This fact really gets the spotlight on "And in That Moment I Knew the Answer". They go back into a heavier crunch for "the Bird People Of Nordland". This is a step back into the more Celtic Frosted direction.  The riff is pretty hooky and it induces head-banging so there is not much more to ask for. They do give more and speed up to more of a thrashing tempo, though it might come close enough to black metal to satisfy those who have not been happy post-Sardonic Wrath" 

"The Heavy Hand" lumbers forward on the momentum of its meaty riff.  This mid-tempo bruiser is simple but powerful.  The last song reminds me a little of Metallica, which is a positive for the band, as Metallica are great songwriters, and for these guys to tap into those kinds of massive riffs is a testament to their growth as songwriters. At a mammoth ten-minute sprawl, things grind down into a crusty chug that brings Cathedral to mind. The riff at the end of song is supposed to feel like Mercyful Fate but it sounds more like Ratt to me, however, the vocals help balance this out. However, if Darkthrone really wants to follow the footsteps of Celtic Frost a hair metal album would be the next logical step. I will go ahead and round this up to a 9.5, and see how it sits on me, I think it pulls off what they have been going for the past few albums in the most effective manner yet. 

Deicide : "Banished By Sin"

 

13 albums into their existence and Glen Benton's wrecking machine is just as finely tuned as it was on "Once Upon the Cross".  The riffs are sharp and as catchy as something this hatefully aggressive is going to get. I was really on board for the band's first three albums, after that, it's been a mixed bag of inspiration. It feels like they are going into this re-energized. "Sever the Tongue" is a taunt attack of guitar and vocals that are masterfully accenting the raging riffage. Benton is one of the most purposeful death metal growlers in the business, and he makes every growl count.  The songwriting is blazing with the same fires of hell that ignited their first few albums. 

They get faster and more aggressive with "Faithless". It's almost too aggressive as it chugs past you. "Bury the Cross ...With Your Christ". The vocals are not as purposeful as the classic Deicide, but they work well nonetheless. 'Woke From God" is another song that moves at a blazing speed. Not the album's catchiest song, but still works more often than it does not. "Ritual Defiled" takes the thrashing hooks the band implemented in their earlier albums, and bolsters it with the better modern production values, as well as a more unrelenting attitude. The guitars who are the newest additions to the band, bring fresh blood to the proceedings. "Failures of Your Dying Lord" is another rapid-fire attack. The title track is a really strong song and shows what works best for the band in 2024. 

"A Trinity of None" falls into the hyper-aggressive mode of playing, which does not lend itself as well to the finer points of songwriting. Some fans of death metal do not care and only want their music in your face. The album's third act does rely on speed more, but there are some songs where they still bring enough nuance to the table. The last song is a great balance of this and leans more into the direction of hooky songwriting. I will give this album a 9, and see how it grows on me. It is really well produced and sounds great, but the needed aggressive tendencies are still in play. 

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Göden : "Vale of the Fallen"

 

Stephan Flam of Winter fame is back with a doomy industrial project that features Vas Kallas from Hanzel Und Gretyl. It took me listening to this album through headphones before I realized this was a woman snarling at me. The overall sound pounds in a manner not unlike Author & Punisher, though more organic in that this is not made by machines of their own creation. This is the project's second album and they have things dialed in where they want them here.  The first time we hear what sounds to me like a guitar is on "Urania". The song moves at a similar stomp to the one heard in the previous song. 

At times what is happening here reminds me of Samael. The darker and more deliberate crunch of " Black Vorte" highlights this fact. It grinds safely with already claimed as its sound. The synths are very effective at using the atmosphere to create the intent. "Death Magnus" is another weighty trudging over your eardrums. It does find its own groove. In some ways, this is sonically similar to Godflesh. A minute into "Zero" it feels like they are just droning on the one riff. 

"Manifestation IX" is more of an interlude than a song. "Requiem" is an ambient instrumental where the violin takes the spotlight. They close the album with "Majestic Symphony" which works off a burly bass line. The vocals take on more of a sing-song chant. I will give this an 8.5, it's not the most original thing I have heard, but it does occupy a space I appreciate.Drops May 17th on Svart Records. 

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Spaced : "This is All We Ever Get"

 New York has a hard-core legacy that can not be denied. However, Spaced wishes they were from Maryland. At first, this was not noticed, and I thought this was just a really well-produced old-school hardcore album. The second song and it all falls into place. These guys want to be Turnstille. I have nothing against writing catchy songs and fucking with the formula. But with a song like 'Big Picture" almost sounding like a Turnstille cover, that is where I draw the line. I am however willing to give the other songs a chance. It proves not to be as big of a problem for "Downfall" 

I am glad that Turnsstille encouraged punk bands to add more hooks and experiment a bit. But what I do not want are bands ripping their sound. "Rat Race" does have an almost nu-metal groove to it. The vocals have a purpose, the only problem I am hearing is the way the syncopation is used that drives too close to Turnstille's street. The big gang vocal chorus works well enough."'the Difference" is perhaps a little less of a Turnstile worshipper.I still hear the influence it is just not as pronounced. The breakdown groove is cool though. 

"Cosmic Groove" lives up to its name. It makes you bob your head, which works well enough for what they are going for and better than most hardcore bands are doing. The sung vocals on the last song, begin to cross back over into the front lawn of where Turnstille lives. At least just circle the block. The car is not in their driveway, but it is way too close at that moment. If Turnstill is your favorite band and you are like 16 years old, this might not matter much. They are good at what they do and the songs work when their true identity shines through so I will give this album an 8. 

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Nocturnus AD : "Unicursal"

Mike Browning from Morbid Angel returns with his other class band Nocturnus, now Nocturnus AD. I had to go back and listen to "The Key" again to see if I was just not remembering things right or if something was weirdly different. Things are weirdly different as "the Key" sounds just like I remembered it. By the song "Mesolithic" it sounds like the same band, the first couple of songs just take some getting used to as Browning is not getting any younger so his approach to things might have changed. His snarls are more spoken than not. While it helps him to narrate this HP Lovecraft-like yarn he is continuing with this album, it does create an odd cadence at times. It reminds me of Coroner to some extent. I am never sure about the drummer being the lead vocalist. 

The synths are similar to the sounds heard on "The Key" so that works for me. I know it sounds like I am pretending "Paradox" was not released. I gave "Paradox" a 9, but it's not the album they are going to be measured against. It is interesting going back to read that review, as I mentioned many of the same things I am noticing with the sound on this album The vocals really are the only glaring weak spot the rest of the music compensates for. Things are more progressive and less angular on this album. "Mission Malkuth" finds the vocal style more spoken, though this makes the lyrics stand out there is not a great deal of grit to it. The riffs are pretty awesome and balance it out like a more acrobatic version of Morbid Angel, though the album does not hold the same kind of crunchy production of a Morbid Angel album, leaving things to sound like a thrash version of Pestilence at times. 

"Yesod..." finds more of a death metal groove forming as the pace picks. Portals are a huge theme on this album. Which is fine with me, works as well as Satanic themes for me, and could be interchangeable. At times, even occult themes are thrown in with the sci-fi which is on brand for this project. The riffs really improve here. "Hod the Stellar Light" is yet another song referencing the Tree of Life, and finds Browning's drumming excelling. Though I have always thought Pete Sandoval was best for Morbid Angel. There is a more Morbid Angel-like mood at the onset of this song, though the cosmic ambiance does take over in places. The delivery of the vocals might find him spitting the lyrics out in the most awkward manner yet, but the music continues to compensate. 

"Netzah the Fire of Victory"  might slow down into a cool doomier riff, by the time we get to the song I can not shake the thought that Browning should have just stuck to drumming and gotten someone who could have growled the lyrics, which would have better served the songs. Yeah I know he has always been the vocalist for this band, but if you can't cut it, oh, well. `The instrumental outro works well enough for what it is, and that is perhaps for the best as the vocals had gotten on my nerves.  Due to the vocals, I will round this down to an 8.5, I recognize that I am picky about vocals and do not see them as a thought but my primary focus and I factored that in when taking things into consideration regarding this album, I have always felt these guys were the most underrated death metal band out of Tampa, but his delivery makes it hardly death metal this time around. The album drops May 17th thanks to Profound Lore and you can make up your own mind about it then. 

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Locusts & Honey : "Teach Me To Live That I Dread The Grave As Little As My Bed "

 Taking a break from what seems to be a death metal-heavy season and we are not even into June yet. Needed to switch it up so going for doom. This British band continues to remind me of what I love about Funeral Doom. Mournfully melodic, heavy sonically, though it slowly with depressive weight, the sound echoing out into caverns below. Not sure this song needs to be twelve minutes regardless of how slow they are playing. The vocals are a muffled mid-range rasp. The production is raw enough to give it personality, but you can still hear everything that is going on.  In fact, if cranked up this album sounds massive running into headphones.

The buzz of ambient noise the first song ended with bleeds over into the beginning of  "Confraternities of the Cord". It keeps a similar dripping speed as the previous song. It rings out with a more clanging reverb, It almost feels like the kind of atmospheric doom gazing early Jesu tapped into. "Beauty and Atrocity" is just an interlude of ambient noise, things do not get interesting until the sonic pound of "Traitor to Love". The vocals remain at a throat gasp. In some ways this song is more accessible, it moves at a deliberate and more flowing pace.   

Then just like that the album fades out on another wave of sound. It almost comes down to this being a single with two songs on it, as there are more instrumental ambient interludes than there is actual songs. I like the ideas that were being developed here, and they are capable of writing songs, think it would have been time better spent than how they cobbled this together. I will give the songs that are here an 8 Certainly a band to pay attention to, as I want to hear what they do on an actual album comprised of real songs. This album drops May24th.  

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Replicant : "Infinite Mortality"

This New Jersey band will impress many with the fact their new albums are even more brutal than past efforts. The real recognition they should receive is achieving this while still caring about writing songs rather than, using music as a weapon to beat your ear drums out with distortion. The vocals are not the most purposeful, but they even took the time in the studio to add some nuance to the guttural exclamations.  The dissonance is counterbalanced by hooky little rhythmic twists. All of this is highly effective when the album, opens but this winding and grinding formula is not as fresh on the second song. The thing about extremely heavy bands is they typically lose the shock value after the first song, after all, there is only one first time to hear it. Sure the part where it lows down to let the lower growl emerge is pretty cool but not as good as the first song. 

There are plenty of subtle guitar trickers, which is an impressive enough fact considering subtlety is not what their overall sound is about. They are not afraid to pull out break-down style riffing to break up the chaos. Midway into "Reciprocal Abandonment" they introduce an odd dissonant atmosphere, showing another side to their sonic arsenal. Bands like Ulcerate have certainly done this sort of thing before. Their drummer is decent to keep up but this is clearly a guitar player's band. "Pain Enduring" hammers with a more single-minded pulse and the vocals just sounds of anger and torment along for the ride. 

"Nekrotunnel" is pretty much just run-of-the-mill blasting death metal with the guitar tones really dialed in. "Dwelling on the Threshold" digs in and is a little more grooving. A few creepy touches here and there ice the cake. The nine-minute "Planet of Skin" closes the album. They take their time winding up into the song. Things do not really get started til two minutes in. It chugs and roars with much of the same power that can be found on this album's other songs. Effective but not bringing anything new to the table.  I give this album a 9, impressive yes, but I am not going to say it's the best death metal album I have heard this year, we are only four months into 2024, as everyone is trying to get out their best stuff in time for the world to end, but if you want a death metal album that is dissonant and heavy while still musical this is worth your time. 

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