We’re past the “saxophone = avant-garde” phase of thinking, so if you’re wondering whether that’s why we put Hostile Architecture here, you can rest assured that there is deeper thinking behind it. There’s the saxophone, the violin, the piano, and the dulcimer, all of which enjoy reasonable currency in various forms of extreme metal these days (minus the dulcimer, which is still pretty unique), but what really sets Ashenspire apart is the constantly intensifying stress levels of their unstable compositions. The many layers of instruments crescendo fluidly beneath Alasdair Dunn’s frantic screeds, echoing his desperation with discomfiting snarls of noise and emphasizing his angry conclusions with swells of post-metal force. Lyrically and musically (and politically), Ashenspire sound like a blackened version of folk punk (here meaning Pat The Bunny, not Dropkick Murphys), often manifesting as a hardcore-with-violin version of Primordial-adjacent black metal. That description holds up pretty well throughout, but Hostile Architecture is not an album to be dismissed too early – partly because its creativity never runs dry, and partly because the world hasn’t gotten the point yet.

Bandcamp / YouTube (full album)

›› Full review...

Bríi albums evidently have a half-life of one year. 2020’s Entre Tudo Que É Visto E Oculto contained four songs; 2021’s Sem Propósito contained two (“A” and “B”); 2022’s Corpos Transparentes contains just one eponymous track. Presumably 2023 will be blessed with a short EP, but that’s to anticipate later. Corpos Transparentes here is Bríi’s third straight nomination in this category, thanks to another extremely varied amalgamation of sounds that shouldn’t work together as well as they do – and all to the same ebb and flow of persistent blastbeats and empty ambience, no less. This album more than any other Bríi release verges on the equally unique sounds of Kaatayra, whose acoustic black metal lends its distinctive Brazilian flavor to the techno-heavy black metal characteristic of this project. Between this and Kaatayra and Vauruvã and Bakt (and who knows what else we don’t know about), Caio Lemos is consistently proving himself to be one of the most forward-thinking artists in the heavy music sphere these days.

Bandcamp

›› Full review...

You like blackened doom metal? You like hard trance music? Then you are going to love Decadanse. Somewhere in between doom, industrial, and electronic, Déhà manages to combine these disparate elements into a soul-gutting whole; the perfect music for that final dance of death before taking your own life. Two epic 20-minute compositions sit side by side, and they will take you through sonic territories doomed, depraved, and ecstatic. Sometimes erupting into pure electronica, and sometimes into a ritual chant of death, Decadanse has got both your industrial and avant-garde needs covered.

Bandcamp

›› Full review...

Here is an album that defies description or explanation; it simply has to be heard to be believed. Chaotic blackened death metal meets jazz fusion meets psychedelic ambience meets sheer industrial noise meets… Imperial Triumphant farts in the general direction of all possible conventions, and has created an album that is an utter deconstruction of music itself. Spirit Of Ecstasy is an exercise in anti-music. It sounds like nothing you have ever heard before, it is entirely unpredictable, it is expertly performed, and most of all, it is truly avant-garde.

YouTube (single)

›› Full review...

The last time we heard Katharos XIII on Palindrome, their seductive quasi-ambient dark jazz was being unceremoniously interrupted by outbursts of metal; this time around, the pieces of the puzzle fit more naturally together, and the picture they create is a beauty to behold. Improvements in songcraft and production values allow the increased prominence of the doomy blackened metal side of Katharos XIII to positively complement the inherent jazziness of that sound, which ranges from moody lounge material all the way to frantic saxophone soloing. The meshing of these seemingly disparate styles culminates in something evocatively moody, atmospheric, and exquisite; of Fulmineos’s many, many projects, Katharos XIII may well be the standout one right now, thanks to Chthonian Transmissions.

Bandcamp

›› Full review...

As unorthodox in its delivery as it is, Korpelarörelsen’s debut album is difficult to understand without some knowledge of its concept, and for that we’ll direct you to our full review: there’s a whole (true) story here, and a grotesque one at that, worthy of the chilling cello ambience and spoken growls that usher you into the beginning of a lengthy and profane ritual. When Är Du Av Den Rätta Tron? reaches its metal phase, it adopts the Bethlehem technique of gorging itself on all kinds of broadly disturbing metallic subgenres. At times, it tears through incredible bursts of evil thrash marred by the demonic theatricality of first-wave black metal, a Mercyful Fate-meets-Slayer meld; elsewhere, it perverts the melodic riff sense of Iron Maiden into a crawling terror of chaotic noise; then sometimes it’s a moribund but threatening breed of funeral doom that takes with it all the vitriol of its earlier moods. As it tapers off into terrifying soundscapes and erupts again into dramatically orchestrated black metal, Är Du Av Den Rätta Tron? is at all times uncomfortable to listen to, even as you can appreciate the musical skill that has gone into its making.

Bandcamp

›› Full review...

We're kinda cheating here since Mamaleek already shed most of the metal skin they had, but beasts as they are, there's still so much dormant heaviness in their music. Aside from the heavy riffing and the gruff vocals that plant at least one of this beast's feet in metal territories, Diner Coffee uses dark jazz to create otherworldly and ominous atmospheres, and as much as describing something as "Lynchian" could be eye-rolling, there's very little music out there that can hit that absurdly otherworldly tone, but Diner Coffee can. Much more than just being surreal, Diner Coffee is very anxiety-inducing, with its dark jazz atmospheres, the muffled production, the noise rock injections, the blues melodies, and the way it still manages to flow organically within its dreamlike atmosphere.

Bandcamp / YouTube (full album)

›› Full review...

Most bands’ first-ever song isn’t 55 minutes long; however, Ode And Elegy are the furthest thing imaginable from ‘most bands’. Born from the ashes of The Pax Cecila, one of the few acts previously to try and fuse chamber music with heavier genres, Ode And Elegy (an ensemble of musicians helmed by Kent Fairman Wilson) have successfully attempted a staggering fusion of solemn chamber music with crushing post-metal, trusting in listeners’ patience by utilizing the widest of dynamic contrasts, verging on silence at times before unleashing sonic fury reminiscent at different times of screamo bands, Amenra and SubRosa. Ode And Elegy is a record truly unafraid to dispense with musical boundaries and trust in a unique musical vision, and the results are remarkable.

Bandcamp

›› Full review...

The deadliest circus is back in town and the decadence that is pouring out of Douce Fange shall take no prisoners. The all-too-French mob that is Pensées Nocturnes has worked hard to achieve an exquisite balance between the most unhinged black metal and the hilarious, Dadaist sounds from jazz, blues, and swing. This is without a doubt one of the richest-sounding albums of the year as the complex compositions are met with passionate and professional instrumentation. One good look at the gorgeous yet putrid artwork is enough to paint a vivid image of what types of horrors and pleasures Douce Fange deals with. Buy the ticket, take the ride, and embrace the jolly madness!

Bandcamp

›› Full review...

Shiki is an unusually vibrant album for Sigh: it has a full, well-rounded sound in which the performance of each instrument is exalted, in contrast to the band’s usual focus on a bizarre gestalt. Thank producer Lasse Lammert for the clarity and polish, and thank guest guitarist/bassist Frederic Leclercq (Kreator, DragonForce) and drummer Mike Heller (Fear Factory) for the enormous stocks of technical flair. As always, thank Mirai Kawashima for everything sounding macabre and manic as all jigoku, no matter how melodic the power metal leads are or how jaw-dropping the drum fills are. Even by Sigh standards, Shiki is unexpected – and the way that it’s unexpected might be a little more conventional than the band’s norm in terms of its accessibility and musicianship, but if you know anything about Sigh, you’ll know that no stylistic shift can truly pull them away from the horror movie scores and ugly Venom riffs that form their core.

Bandcamp

›› Full review...