Written by:	RaduP, musclassia, nikarg, Starvynth, F3ynman
Published:	July 22, 2024

We regularly review full lengths, collaborations, sometimes even live albums. EPs and demos often get love in our Clandestine Cuts series. Heck, we even review a bunch of stuff that isn't metal. But when was the last time you saw a review of a split album? Exactly! We are here to make up for that!

Covering the splits that were released in the second half of 2021. Take a listen to some artists putting out a record together without necessarily collaborating. The annoyance of having two or three Bandcamp streams, often with just one of the sides is worth the effort.

SH/HS 2023 Part 2
SH/HS 2023 Part 1
SH/HS 2022 Part 2

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The first time I saw LLNN perform with Victor Kaas on vocals at ArcTanGent 2023, the opening track was a shock to the system; Kaas walked on stage alone to an ominous industrial backdrop and roared menacingly at the audience. As it turns out, this song is named “The Horror”, and was initially conceived as a track for John Cxnnor, the industrial project of the two brothers in LLNN, before being co-opted for the ‘main’ band. From several subsequent experiences of seeing the band, it’s turned out to be a very effective opening track; the recorded version included on this Pelagic Records split with Sugar Horse doesn’t quite hit the same way, perhaps due to the overly phlegmy vocal delivery. Nevertheless it’s still cool to hear; arguably cooler is “Sleep Paralysis Demon”, a song that starts off relatively calmly and melodically before descending into janky, crunching sludge, serving as arguably the most depraved demonstration yet of the Bristol band’s metallic inclinations.

Bandcamp: Label (full)

by musclassia

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Nebula have had a truly tragic last couple of years; Ranch Sironi, who only joined the band to replace long-time bassist Tom Davies in 2023 following the latter’s premature demise, passed away himself before his first recorded output with the band could be released. In Search Of The Cosmic Tale: Crossing The Galactic Portal, a split on Heavy Psych Sounds Records with Italian group Black Rainbows, ultimately serves as what is likely to be the only official release featuring Sironi in Nebula; given these circumstances, it feels tasteless to place too critical an eye upon this split. Nebula’s three contributions offer the exact kind of fuzzy, rocking desert action that the band’s reputation is built upon, and “Acid Drop” is a pretty fun outing, but “Eye Of The Storm” and “Ceasar XXXIV” have more of a psychedelic rock focus, and perhaps lack a bit in energy. Black Rainbows also start off with more up-tempo, driving stoner rock/metal before shifting tack later on, but in their case, the softer, more spaced-out closing song “Dogs Of War” does a significantly better job of retaining the listener’s attention.

Bandcamp: Label (full)

by musclassia

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Considering that most of Forlesen’s line-up is also in Lotus Thief, a collaborative project featuring the two bands makes plenty of sense. Both bands contribute similarly lengthy songs to this I, Voidhanger split, and Lotus Thief’s song “In Perdition” is a predictably epic and expansive journey, one that begins in quite sparse fashion before Beth Gladding’s enchanting clean singing and the band’s signature guitar leads begin to work their magic. The song occasionally flirts with more extreme sounds, particularly on the vocal front, but it always retains the band’s inherent spiritual charm and evocative sense of melody. “In Perdition” is, for me, clearly the standout song on the album, but it is intriguing to have it side-by-side with a song in “Black Is The Color” that really highlights the distinction between Gladding’s projects; Forlesen’s more ambient, patient and drum-driven sound almost floats by, occasionally ebbing and flowing with gradual introduction of distortion or guitar melody, but “Black Is The Color” is a calm ocean of a song, subtly charming without any grandstand moments.

Bandcamp: Label (full)

by musclassia

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This split release from Vancouver's Wormwitch and Atlanta's Sadistic Ritual is presenting two bands with different takes on extreme metal, but also provides a crushing and cohesive listening experience. Wormwitch take the reins first, with three tracks of furious black metal assault and unrelenting pummeling that shows some love for thrash. “Rayonnant Banners” is the standout track, with its crust punk attitude and the lead guitar providing some venomously gorgeous melodies. Sadistic Ritual’s approach is equally aggressive, albeit with a more progressive tendency. The swirling guitars, the intricate drumming, and some doses of melancholic melody manifest a refreshing and engaging form of thrash metal. Overall, both bands complement each other very well, and the transition between them feels natural. If this is your first time coming across either one or both of them, this is a great starting point.

Bandcamp: Label (full)

by nikarg

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Even though I'm pretty sure everyone of us is more interested in this for the Boris part, this can prove to be a good opportunity to give more attention to Coaltar Of The Deepers, another band that so far I've known of more than I've actually known. With three decades since their debut, and a pretty successful string of albums up until 2007, they've been mostly quiet (save for one album), so Hello There is a good opportunity to reaffirm their existence, but their weird alt rock that borders on alt metal is quite the acquired taste, and a lot of the material here from both bands feels like regurgitations and leftovers, and even with the fun concept of each band covering a song from the other, you have that very redundant and head-scratching The Cure cover, and between the two bands it's quite clear which of the two has stayed active and still hits creative peaks, and the "messy in a fun way" appeal mostly comes from their side.

Bandcamp: Coaltar Of The Deepers (full) / Boris (full)

by RaduP

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Anatomia and Eternal Rot are two bands that, despite the geographical distance, share quite a few similarities: both play doom/death, both listened to a lot (or too much?) of Autopsy in their youth, and both seem to have a pathological obsession with the pungent stench of rotting flesh. Anatomia from Japan have been in the business since 2002 and have since released four full-length albums and an almost uncountable number of split EPs. Comparisons with their compatriots from Coffins are undeniable, but over the years, they have developed their own style that cannot be reduced to the simple formula "doom/death = slow death metal“, as the deliberately interspersed elements of funeral doom give their brew a unique, dragging, and menacing atmosphere. The trio of Eternal Rot, originally from Poland but partially relocated to the UK, takes a slightly different approach, as the guitar work is rooted in OSDM and sludge alike, which gives Eternal Rot's version of doom/death with inhumanly gurgled vocals a good dose of groove at times. Mind you, it’s not the kind of groove that makes you want to dance; it’s the morbid groove you feel in your legs when you’re stuck knee-deep in a viscous mire of entrails, while a horde of hungry zombies slowly but inexorably approaches.

Bandcamp: Eternal Rot side | Label (full)

by Starvynth

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Two Finnish bands, Sepulchral Curse and Ashen Tomb, have joined forces (and names) to release a short, two-track split titled Ashen Curse. Death metal infused with blackened, doomy elements accompanies the Lovecraftian lyrics of “abhorrent incantations”, “eternal dreams”, “cruel black waters”, and a creeping creature “deep beneath the earth”. Sepulchral Curse deliver a swampy, putrid atmosphere of monstrous guttural vocals that are contrasted by eerily intertwining guitar riffs and a groovy, mid-tempo pace. This combination of old-school death metal rhythm and unnerving black metal tremolo-picked guitar-work is continued on Ashen Tomb’s eponymous track, where they start with an approach almost reminiscent of lumbering funeral doom, before also gradually transitioning into a faster-paced style. Overall, Ashen Curse is a short but sweet experience that's recommended to anyone who's in the mood for ominous, blackened doom death with unsettling riffs to complement the Lovecraftian inspirations.

Bandcamp: Label (full)

by F3ynman

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Where Heavy Psych Sounds Records has its Doom Sessions split series, Ripple Music has Turned To Stone, and with the series reaching its ninth chapter in less than a half-decade, it’s quite a prolific one. Turned To Stone Chapter 9 features Americans Ritual Earth and Italians Kazak for a 42-minute bumper offering. Ritual Earth’s swinging, bluesy sound gets the split off to a good start with “In The Wake”, particular when the cleaner guitar work takes centre stage in the second half for some tender soloing; the subsequent songs from these guys go more towards doom and stoner metal, but still with a slightly distinctive feel. Kazak get one more song than Ritual Earth to show off their wares, and the Italians offer an immediate contrast; instead of that bluesy hard rock, Kazak open with relatively muted, mellow, sedate doomy stoner rock with tasty psychedelic guitar chords. Partly due to the very hazy vocal approach, but also because of quite a muted production, Kazak’s songs still feel quite calm even when they do lurch towards an attempted heavier stoner doom sound on “Haze”.

Bandcamp: Label (full)

by musclassia

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Featuring members with stage names such as Wave Guardian of the Reverberatory, Sub-Frequency Fractal Emitter and Interstellar Time Keeper, it’s probably not a surprise to learn that Cosmic Reef Temple have a wacky side. This split is the last of 3 that the Americans had planned to release with different bands; the group that was meant to contribute the other song disbanded before completing their contribution, so instead an abandoned song from a defunct project featuring members of Cosmic Reef Temple, Death Monk, was resurrected. “Negative Gravity”, the CRT contribution to this split, was recorded in 2018, and is an 18-minute cacophony of avant-garde, quirky prog doom with a whole lot of dissonant saxophone on top. It's meandering, loose and at-times chaotic, but rarely dull. “Friar Mortis”, the long-lost song from Death Monk, was initially recorded in 2012, and while it runs for almost the exact same amount of time as “Negative Gravity”, it has a distinct approach. The track is slow, gradual in its progression, at times bordering on funeral doom or drone, but with some proggy quirks scattered amongst the wastelands.

Bandcamp: Label (full)

by musclassia

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The degree to which split releases feel like a collaboration between the participating bands can vary greatly; Throwing Bricks and Ontaard definitely conceived of Oud Zeer as a joint effort. Not only do the two Utrecht bands, who are close friends with one another, join forces on album centrepiece “Blame Pt. 1”, but they have created their own standalone songs with a joint theme in mind, one of overcoming trauma and grief. Throwing Bricks’s “A Selfish Symphony” is a stunning and evocative odyssey of sorrowful yet melodic strings-infused sludgy post-hardcore, with outbursts of pain alongside tender swells. The group also recruit Kim Hoorweg of Vulva to add some dreamy, gentle clean singing to the morose, crawling post-metal track “Abandon Me”. “Blame Pt. 1”, for large stretches, feels luscious and ethereal, but ultimately collapses into harsh noise as a prelude to Ontaard’s own release of bleak post-black metal.

Bandcamp: Label (full)

by musclassia

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Several of the more malevolent bands in the sludge scene join forces on this three-way split. Yashira impressed last year on their split with Horsewhip, and the hardcore and mathcore influences in their sound linger on the meaty, groovy, yet occasionally janky “Blindfolded In Holly”. Autolith finally released their full-length debut earlier this year, and the inclusion of “Calloused And Worn” on this split offered a good view of what was to come, with its frenetic blasting and bruising riffs contrasted with more understated post-metal meanderings. Finally, Drag Pattern round out the split with a song in the vein of those that preceded it, as “Failed Synapse” contains off-kilter, rhythmically complex riffs that exude venom and belligerence, inflicting whiplash and blunt force trauma simultaneously.

Bandcamp: Autolith (full) / Yashira (full)

by musclassia

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Blink and you’ll miss the contents of this 4-track split, with each song’s duration lingering roughly around the 2-minute mark. Unsurprisingly, all three bands have styles rooted in genres with ‘-core’ on the end; Deaf Club feature members from bands such as The Locust and Glassing, and collaborate on two songs on this split with fellow grindcore aficionados The HIRS Collective. “Biblical Loophole” is a frenetic, jagged onslaught of mathy grindcore, and this original composition is joined by a supercharged cover of Nirvana’s “Tourette’s”. Fuck Money have a punkier but also noisier approach, and the song “Rat Queen” lurches around in rampant fashion, confronting listeners with a cacophony of frantic instrumentation and ranting vocals.

Bandcamp: Label (full)

by musclassia

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It's time for a little name-dropping: this split EP was produced by Marius Prins (Throwing Bricks), mixed and mastered by Tim de Gieter (Amenra), and the cover artwork was created by Joost Vervoort (Terzij De Horde). While these bands, particularly Amenra, provide a good reference point for what Gavran's music sounds like, it would be unfair to reduce the three Dutchmen to these influences alone. Gavran's interpretation of modern post-metal is a good deal bleaker and doomier than the typical Amenra sound, although the musical roots (sludge, doom, and hardcore) are undoubtedly more than just similar. In any case, the track "Nastavi" contributed by Gavran offers a good summary of the band's work, which consists of two full-length albums and a single, and is definitely one of the absolute highlights of their career so far. There is a very direct connection between the two contributors to this split EP, as Svjetlost is the new project of Jamie Kobić, the drummer and vocalist of Gavran. With his solo project, Kobić takes the path Gavran has embarked on even further into doomier realms: the title track "Ocean Of Silence" is an almost 14-minute trip into the unknown depths of The Netherlands the netherworld, carried by Kobić's pain-filled screams and lamenting clean vocals, at times reminiscent of the most soul-crushing and bone-chilling compositions of Déhà.

by Starvynth

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Crowskin and Bad Luck Rides On Wheels, the two German bands comprising this split, are both celebrating 20-year anniversaries this year, and to commemorate the occasion, they are releasing a split that (according to its Bandcamp page) has been in development hell since 2017. Finally unleashed upon the world, Verstummt / Monocelestial Chords is a grim, turgid affair of bleak sludge in various guises. Crowskin contribute 3 songs spanning 20 minutes, which range from rowdier sludge such as on “Wolves” to the grim trudging of “Resthim”. There’s a plodding, doomy grimness to “Verstummt”, but Crowskin do also add in some slightly cleaner and melodic guitar tinges to avoid completely dragging listeners into the mire. Bad Luck Rides On Wheels add just the one song to close, but the 15 minutes of “Monocelestial Chords” feature plenty of content; the first few minutes, are surprisingly sparse and atmospheric considering what’s come before on the split, with ambient synths and muted, spacious guitar chords, but the song gradually descends into dirtier, heavier and nastier sludge to bring the whole package together.

Bandcamp: Label (full)

by musclassia

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This full-length split features substantial contributions from American black metallers Saeva and Dysthymia (USA), each of whom brings their own style to the table. Saeva introduce themselves with a slightly odd vibe on opening song “Rose”, which features melodic atmospheres and riffs, but also moments of aggression and some seriously demented vocals. “Attleboro”, a quintessential chunk of blackgaze, is more conventional and accessible, but their final song, “You”, changes things up again for a more meandering atmo-black approach. Dysthymia (USA)’s one song, “This Will Not Destroy You” runs for almost as long as Saeva’s contributions combined, and this 20-minute leviathan is a sprawling slab of atmospheric DSBM. The vocals are arguably the most noteworthy element; the primary shrieked approach is pained and bleak, but there are also some intriguing cleaner vocals woven into the song’s fabric.

Bandcamp: Label (full)

by musclassia

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Crimson Death Radiation may have been released on April 1st, but it's no joke. Here, the fittingly named Chilean band Black Ceremonial Kult deliver a track of ominous atmosphere that mixes black, death, and doom metal styles. Slow, eerie guitar-work and the patient rhythm of the drums accompany the maniacal, multi-layered wails and moans of the vocalist, crafting a dense, unsettling, yet also quite mesmerizing soundscape. Thailand's Shambles choose a similar approach, providing gloomy, fog-shrouded atmosphere that's only enhanced by the grimy production quality. The interplay of guttural growls and cleanly spoken passages is also an interesting touch. Overall, Crimson Death Radiation is meant for those listeners who have the patience to sit still, volume turned up to the max, as the thick sonic rumblings of death doom wash over them.

Bandcamp: Label (full)

by F3ynman

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There's a bit of a disparity in the amount of splits in the world and the splits that we cover here in terms of genre. Sure, a lot of it is because we're a metal site that occasionally covers punk/hardcore stuff, but there are a lot of punk/hardcore splits that never reach our ears. Here to make up for that discrepancy is the split between New Jersey's Massa Nera and California's Quiet Fear. What's immediately ironic is that the band with the latin language (in this case Italian) name is singing in English and the band with the English name is singing in a latin language (in this case Spanish). Cuatro Vientos // Cinco Soles is the kind of split that alternates tracks from each band, giving more opportunities to contrast the two bands' styles, and aside from the language sung, with Massa Nera the more emotional screamo with bigger mellow/intense contrasts, and Quiet Fear having a stronger post-hardcore touch. The split ends with a collaborative track that merges these approaches quite beautifully.

Bandcamp: Massa Nera (full) / Quiet Fear (full)

by RaduP

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On their split release Subjugation Through Cruelty, US bands Perversion and Pyromancer play a fast-paced and wickedly fun combination of blackened thrash and death metal. While the vocals on this release are primarily delivered via tough, rumbling death growls, Perversion’s song kicks off with a surprisingly high-pitched scream. However, for the rest of that song, they lock into a style that should be all too familiar for fans of Slayer and Kreator, characterized by squealing lead guitars, gnarly rhythm guitar riffs, and incessant, headbang-invoking percussion. Pyromancer’s “Hellish Visions” leans more into black metal territory, relying on dense, atmospheric guitar-work and blast-beats as a raspy voice moans of “evil spirits”. Lastly, Pyromancer’s final song switches to a more groovy, riff-centered and thrashy death metal approach to mirror Perversion’s opening song and thus conclude Subjugation Through Cruelty in a very catchy and satisfying way.

Bandcamp: Label (full)

by F3ynman

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A double dose of devastation coming to you from Portland, Abyssal Synodality is a death doom split that doesn’t skimp on either the death or the doom. The opening moments of Besotten’s first song “Anothered” does just sound like your typical by-the-book OSDM, but an unexpectedly gloomy and atmospheric side emerges later on; this doomy approach is carried over into “Subterranean Realms Of Excruciation”, before Besotten flip the script again and unleash an onslaught of sharp-edged death metal. Funerelic are more a straight death metal band, and their particular spin on OSDM sounds slightly more primal, with some harrowing dissonant solos.

Bandcamp: Besotten (full) / Funerelic (full)

by musclassia

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The OSDM split is the most standard type of split, and one you'll always find at least one example of in each of our articles. In this instance, it stands out for being two bands that have been around for a little under a decade and managed to put out one full length each, but also because both bands have a grind leaning. Well Barren more than Vomit Spell, with Vomit Spell being the more standard OSDM of the two. There's something that feels a bit sloppy in the performance and/or production of Vomit Spell's part that makes the drums and guitars not gel very well together. Barren's side is not without production issues, but the chainsaw tone on the guitars does gel well with the faster grind approach to create something more engaging.

Bandcamp: Vomit Spell side / Barren side

by RaduP

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When the moon is waning, frogs and cats unite to draw pentagrams and summon demons. At least, that’s what I assume the cover art of Rituals Of The Waning Luna is trying to tell me. This purely instrumental split brings together the ambient craftsmanship of two one-man projects that lie half a world apart: Frog Witch from Indonesia and Lysergic Suicide from Brazil. Both provide electronic synth musicianship, but the label Rat Covenant makes a distinction, describing this split as “Amphibian Swampsynth vs Magickal Blackambience”. What does that translate to? It means that Frog Witch’s approach sounds magical and dreamy, whereas Lysergic Suicide’s style is far more unsettling and haunting. Overall, Rituals Of The Waning Luna exhibits atmospheric, blackened dungeon synth-work that's simple on paper yet manages to somehow be very mesmerizing in its execution. Sometimes fast-paced, sometimes contemplative, and sometimes with quite unconventional melodies, this synth metal split is a surprisingly captivating soundtrack for nocturnal spell-casting.

Bandcamp: Label (full)

by F3ynman

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Anything we miss? What were some of your favorite splits of the year so far?