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1.
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Sermon Of Flames - I Have Seen The Light, And It Was Repulsive (9.5) (Blackened Death/Grind/Noise) This is so far the best release of the year, hands down, not really close (it has since become a lot closer). Harsh af. Technical without being overly self indulgent. Has a perfect amount of grind, where the sands of song flow are ever changing under your metaphorical feet. Not enough to be completely disorienting but where no section over stays it's welcome. Every track has it's own vibe but they all cohere into a single disturbing vision. These Irish lads are truly onto something here. |
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2.
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Ustalost - Before The Glinting Spell Unvests (9.5) (Black) Ustalost is the shit. Bassy. Spacey. Medieval. Melodic. Superb. Never superfluous. Five years removed from 2016's The Spoor Of Vipers, one of my all time favorite albums, we get the surprise drop of the follow-up. Having so much love for the debut, it took several listens of this before I could be sure of what I think of it. It equals the debut in every way for me. The production is more polished sounding while still carrying the one man band aesthetic. The guitars, bass and synths ride high in the mix with the vocals slightly below and the percussion very subdued. This showcases exactly what's special about Ustalost. The songwriting captivates me in such a way that the album seems to get better as it goes along, building on itself as it goes. Each subsequent listen has been more rewarding than the one before. So worth the five year wait. |
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3.
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Worm - Foreverglade (9.5) (Doom Death) Really great doomy, riffy stuff here. Has a great flow to it and easy to listen to. My only complaint is that the sound here doesn't really fit the theme. This doesn't sound like a swamp. The production is clear and cavernous rather than murky and claustrophobic as one might expect. This has quickly become one of my most listened and most favorite albums of the year. These Florida Men just do everything right on here. |
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4.
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Lykhaeon - Opprobrium (9) (Black/Doom) I must have been in some weird mood when I first heard this because I initially gave it a 7. Nah. This is great stuff. Excellent blend of modern black with some extreme doom. The doom comes and goes so it's definitely more of a black metal record but it's fantastic all the same. |
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5.
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Kwade Droes - Met Onoprechte Deelneming (9) (Avant-Garde Black) The Dutch seem to create some of the most consistently challenging, unique and engaging black metal around these days. This is no exception. Wouldn't be surprised if the guy from Turia and Iskandr is involved in this. Vicious yet euphoric. |
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6.
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Five The Hierophant - Through Aureate Void (9) (Drone Doom/Free Jazz) I slept on this hard through 2021. Gave it another shot for the MS awards and loved it. Mix of Neptunian Maximalism and Dark Buddha Rising is an apt description. |
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7.
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Portal - Avow (9) (Dissonant Death) Gone is the stripped down production from Ion. This is more akin to what we heard on Vexovoid in terms of production. The songwriting if you can call it that, is as abstract, demented and surreal as it's ever been. I've basically had this on repeat the whole 3 day weekend since it's been released and it's definitely grown on me. This might be Portal's best work. |
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8.
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Plebeian Grandstand - Rien Ne Suffit (9) (Black/Mathcore/Breakcore/Noise) Nothing is enough. And certainly whatever I could say about this wouldn't be enough either. Listen for yourself. |
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9.
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Krallice - Demonic Wealth (9) (Avant-Garde Black) If you'd told me at the beginning of the year that my first 9 would be Krallice, I probably would've laughed at you. Not because I didn't recognize the talent of the band but rather because they had their niche as a band doing fairly uneventful, stripped down, highly technical black metal and never showed much inclination to deviate from that path. I wasn't a fan of that approach. This is something else entirely: Ambient, synths and just an entirely different approach to songwriting. There's still highly technical Black metal involved here but it never feels over indulgent as it always did before. This is something special. |
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10.
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Diskord - Degenerations (9) (Avant-Garde Tech Death) This is like what Pyrrhon shoots for but can't quite attain. Crazy, angular, manic tech death done right. Had to be produced by Colin Marston. Absolutely top notch stuff. |
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11.
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Gosudar - Morbid Despotic Ritual (8.5) (Death) God damn banger of a death metal album by this band out of Russia. Reminds me a bit of Dead Congregation which I could use more of in my life. |
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12.
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Funeralium - Decrepit (8.5) (Blackened Funeral Doom/Death) God damn, just tear my guts out. Amongst the many acclaimed albums released today (29 October) this one reigns supreme for me. The final track is a bit anticlimactic after the prior two absolutely devastating tracks which total 55 minutes between them. A bit too light and fluffy compared to what came before. If life's got you down, give this a whirl and your depression will be emphatically confirmed. |
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13.
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Ekdikēsis - Canvas Of A New Dawn (8.5) (Dissonant Black) Insane shit out of Iceland. Great use of samples and the bass slaps hard. Wouldn't be surprised to discover that this is another project of H.V. Lyngdal of Wormlust and Ljain as this just seems too well put together to be the work of an amateur. |
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14.
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Mefitis - Offscourings (8.5) (Death) This is in sound and spirit a successor of the trend of death metal in the vein of Horrendous, Morbus Chron, Chapel of Disease and Venenum. Perhaps less overtly progressive than any of those at their most progressive. Rather a prominent focus on clean riffs and an old school vibe that blends the spirit of black, death and thrash in their infancy. It helps that this thing rips without any context as well. |
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15.
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Antediluvian - The Divine Punishment (8.5) (Blackened Death) The production on this is so much better than I remember their old stuff having. This is top notch evil shit. My only complaint is the track White Throne is like 6 minutes of some distorted voice talking about the number 666 being about the sun or some bullshit. Stellar release other than that superfluous shit. |
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16.
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K.F.R - Shayṭān 2.0 (8.5) (Raw Black/Dark Ambient) This project has a deep and prolific discography. A brief exploration finds that prior albums are almost exclusively raw black metal. On this one dark ambient is thrown into the mix and the project is much better for it. Has a similar vibe to mid-era Leviathan. |
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17.
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Decline Of The I - Johannes (8.5) (Post-Black) Before even laying ears on this: Strike 1 - Genre tag is Post-Black. Strike 2 - Wasn't impressed by the previous efforts I heard by this band. I was prepared to not give this much of a shot. Fortunately it wowed me right off the bat. This is a damn fine album. Mature, engaging, aggressive. |
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18.
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Fawn Limbs - Darwin Falls (8.5) (Experimental Mathcore) Take excellent, proficient mathcore and add in western-tinged spoken word, post-rock, Slint-esque apocalyptic interludes and this is something utterly unique. |
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19.
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Vertebra Atlantis - Lustral Purge In Cerulean Bliss (8.5) (Blackened Death) A youtube commenter wrote that this sounds like a mix of The Great Old Ones and Ulcerate. I approve. |
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20.
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Between The Buried And Me - Colors II (8) (Progressive Metalcore) I can tell after a few listens that this is prime "grower" material. This was also the case for me with the original Colors back in 2007/2008. Unfortunately, the album isn't currently on Bandcamp which is my streaming platform of choice. I'm relegated to listening to this broken up track by track on YouTube complete with stupid ass ads all over the place. Get this up on Bandcamp, guys! |
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21.
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Choir - Songs For A Tarnished World (8) (Blackened Death Doom) Really superb stuff out of Singapore. |
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22.
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Carcass - Torn Arteries (8) (Death) Carcass sounds as good as ever. |
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23.
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Mesarthim - Vacuum Solution (8) (Black Synth) This is the first thing I've heard by Mesarthim that I've actually fully enjoyed. This is much more 80s style synth heavy and dynamic than I remember their other stuff being. |
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24.
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The Devouring Void - Hypnagogic Hallucinations (8) (Black) Heavy, often melodic, mid to slow paced black metal which tastefully employs many DsO tropes. This reminds me in a lot of ways of The Great Old Ones. Black metal about proper madness is where it's at. Come, let's descend into the void. |
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25.
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Labor Intvs - Sunken Crucible (8) (Black/Death/Doom) Ritualistic black metal with death metal heaviness and often doom metal speed. Debut album out of Finland. Long sections of repetition interspersed with bouts of chaotic black metal. Really fantastic stuff discovered courtesy of Odium Nostrum YouTube channel. The album really finds its stride at the 3rd track. Track 1 is a too monotonous and track 2 is shameless DsO aping. |
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26.
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So Hideous - None But A Pure Heart Can Sing (8) (Avant-Garde Post-Black) Jazzy, symphonic, majestic. If this is the next evolution of Post-Black metal, I'm on board. |
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27.
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Sepulcros - Vazio (8) (Funeral Doom/Death) 3 of the 4 main tracks on this album have been streaming for over a month before this thing was released. I was really hoping I had only heard half the album but unfortunately, the first and last tracks are an intro and outro. This is very short for an album of its style at 37 minutes. The sound here is mostly excellent atmospheric funeral doom with short passages of black/death metal in each track. This is great stuff, just wish it was longer. |
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28.
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The Temple (NZL) - The Temple (8) (Tech Death/Doom) Ulcerate playing death doom. |
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29.
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Burial Choir - The Eucharist Of Martyrs (8) (Melodic Funeral Doom) This is a project of Mikko Lehto of October Falls fame. He brings his magnificent sense of melody to the Funeral doom genre with great results. |
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30.
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Qrixkuor - Poison Palinopsia (8) (Death) I wouldn't call this progressive though the track lengths may disagree. It's not really Avant-Garde either. This is more like what Chaos Ech-s might have sounded like if they played cavernous death metal. This has a stream of consciousness, almost improvisational feel to it. The production with mastering done by Greg Chandler really elevates this to the next level. |
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31.
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Acausal Intrusion - Nulitas (8) (Black/Death) This is dissonant, often cacophonous stuff in the vein of Portal. Certainly not as dense as Portal often is. The tone of the snare drum can be a bit annoying, almost sounding like a cowbell at times. Other than that I find very little fault here. |
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32.
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Dakhma - Blessings Of Amurdad (8) (Blackened Death) Zoroaster would be proud. |
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33.
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Fluisteraars - Gegrepen Door De Geest Der Zielsontluiking (8) (Melodic Black) Fluisteraars do this type of black metal better than anyone. |
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34.
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Iskandr - Vergezicht (8) (Black) The Dutch are at it again. This is part melodic, part avant garde but doesn't fit neatly into either category. A highly addictive listening experience. |
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35.
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Tumba De Carne - Decatexis // Perpetuo Altar (8) (Blackened Death) Severely dirty vile stuff from Argentina. |
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36.
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Noctambulist - The Barren Form (8) (Atmospheric Tech Death) Mentions of Ulcerate seem apt on a superficial level but in truth this sounds very little like our New Zealander heroes. Less focus on mechanical precision and more on atmosphere while still be being unrelentingly technical. |
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37.
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Suffer Yourself - Rip Tide (8) (Funeral Doom) Entirely too short at just over 30 minutes. A proper Funeral Doom album needs to be right around the hour mark in my opinion. Could definitely go for another 20 minute track on this baby. |
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38.
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Decrepisy - Emetic Communion (8) (Death) Terrific death metal out of Portland, Oregon. This is shaping up to be one of the best years for death metal since probably 2013. |
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39.
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Wesenwille - II: A Material God (8) (Urban Post Black) Excellent modern sounding urban Black metal in the vein of Odraza and Shining but with less unique flair. The sound compliments the subject matter well. |
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40.
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Borgne - Temps Morts (8) (Industrial Black) This thing just drips with hatred. I need that in my life from time to time. Probably more than most, it seems. Excellent electronic heavy, abrasive spiteful stuff. I remember really disliking their last album so will have to give that another shot. A bit on the long side at 73 minutes but there's enough variation here to justify it. |
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41.
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Crystal Coffin - The Starway Eternal (8) (Progressive Black) Excellent Sci-Fi themed progressive black metal out of Canada. |
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42.
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Thy Catafalque - Vadak (8) (Avant-Garde) Nobody can ever accuse this project of not being unique. I've found their releases to be hit and miss, more miss than hit since I first heard them in around 2011. This one hits the mark for sure. Didn't give it much of a chance on first listen but this is really intricate, nuanced stuff with plenty of unique charm. |
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43.
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Ars Magna Umbrae - Throne Between Worlds (8) (Black) Progressive-ish modern black metal. DsO influence stands out as always but this is the most "mature" album yet from this project. |
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44.
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Apparition (USA) - Feel (8) (Death Doom) Extremely solid stuff with just enough character to make it worth returning to multiple times. |
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45.
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Saille - V (8) (Black/Death) Structurally this isn't much different from your typical dime a dozen black/death metal album. However, as is generally the case, the production, vigorous performance and a certain je ne sais quoi make the difference here. Labelled symphonic black here, these Spaniards have gone full black/death here and have foregone any symphonic tendencies that may have been present on other albums. |
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46.
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Divide And Dissolve - Gas Lit (8) (Drone Doom) I took one look at the song titles and the band photo and fully expected to have a laugh at this. Figured it would sound like some horrible art project from a womens studies class. Perhaps it is but I'll be damned if it isn't damn fine Drone Doom. |
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47.
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Wormwood - Arkivet (8) (Melodic Black) I didn't particularly want to like this album. The whole weepy environmentalist aesthetic is not my vibe. However I found that when I was only half paying attention to this I was jamming out. It's just so well put together and catchy. |
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48.
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Dvne - Etemen Ænka (8) (Progressive Sludge) This is in the process of growing on me. Album seems to get better as it goes on. |
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49.
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Aureole - Alunarian Bellmaw (7.5) (Ambient Black) Was really disappointed with Markov's latest offering from his project Drown, so didn't know what to expect from this. It seems he's found his footing with this project. Excellent electronic/ambient washed cosmic black metal. Really great stuff to just calm the nerves. |
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50.
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Vessel Of Iniquity - The Doorway (7.5) (Black/Drone/Noise) Easily the best thing I've heard from this project. Worthy of multiple listens. The shift toward drone on this album is interesting as everything I recall hearing from the project previously was basically drum machine + noise amounting to a headache. |