ENDTYMER is the inevitable weekly “recap/new release round-up” series. It hits at the end of (most) every week with the intent of covering notable new releases, sharing news of new releases, and musing over various personal listening habits. It is largely informal, might contain opinions, etc. so chill out a bit. I do my best to cover as much of everything I receive in some form regardless of genre or representation, don’t hesitate to send anything and everything my way: grizzlybutts@hotmail.com

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FIVE BEST OF THE WEEK

This last week was scant yet potent enough between [#1] FURIA‘s foundry with their sixth album (‘Huta Luna‘, Pagan Records) and the equally aggressive melee of [#2] SLIDHR‘s (‘White Hart!‘, Debemur Morti). If you’re not all that into black metal try out the psychedelic doom metal haunt of [#3] AIWASS‘ incredible sophomore LP ‘The Falling‘. If you like the whole doom metal thing but prefer it death-bound [#4] SERAPHIC ENTOMBMENT‘s debut LP (‘Sickness Particles Gleam‘, Everlasting Spew Records) has a strange yet at times original touch upon death/doom metal. Otherwise I was fixated on [#5] SULPHUR AEON‘s increasingly ‘epic’ and at times somewhat gothic take on melodic black/death metal this time around (‘Seven Crowns and Seven Seals‘, Ván Records) most of today.

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NEW RELEASES

Catch up with the latest new release announcements here. I’ve changed this format to focus on key announcements from releases I am more likely to cover. It will then be followed by detailed list of notable upcoming new releases and songs from already announced releases with links to streams/videos of songs and singles beyond. If there are less than six notable new release announcements on any given week, I will skip this section.

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Four years after the release of the first chapter, MIDNIGHT ODYSSEY return with ‘Biolume Part 3: A Fullmoon Madness‘ an ambitious triple LP once again from I, Voidhanger Records to be released this coming November 24th. This chapter will close the circle of the “Biolume” trilogy with one enormous record which collects the nuance explored in the prior chapters, cosmic black metal to epic symphonic doom and darkwave synths. You’ll recall the second chapter was high on my favorites list for 2021 so I’m stoked to return to this deep and immersive world. Also, one of the best album artworks of the year.

Helter Skelter Productions have announced December 15th as the release date for Italian traditional doom metal trio WARCOE‘s second full-length album. ‘A Place for Demons‘ will release on CD and vinyl LP and they’ve already put up three songs you can preview now. Granted if you already knew their first album it’ll take a quick glimpse of this second record to buy this one. Love the Pentagram-assed groove of opener “A Place For Demons”:

Transcending Obscurity Records have another stellarly black/thrash metal release from IMPERIALIST coming down the pipeline this December 15th. After two full-lengths they’ve suggested they are rethinking their sound, leaning harder into their thrash metal roots and the catchier nods of black metal for this new EP, ‘Quantum‘. This is mean to be a sort of pre-amble to their upcoming 2024 full length. These songs remind me of ‘Damned in Black‘ personally and that is a great thing. Gear up with two tracks over on Bandcamp:

Neurot Recordings have announced the recent signing and debut LP release per Bay Area post-hardcore quartet EX EVERYTHING. This impressive crew features folks from Kowloon Walled City, Early Graves, Mercy Ties et al., and they play the exact sort of frustrated post-hardcore I’m into with the edge of noise punk and the D.C. stuff likely in mind. Their debut album, ‘Slow Change Will Pull Us Apart‘, hits this coming November 10th.

Canadian bestial death metal band CEREMONIAL BLOODBATH have announced the upcoming release of the band’s second full-length album. ‘Genesis of Malignant Entropy‘ will be released November 17th on LP, CD, MC and digitally by way of Sentient Ruin. The album “sees the Canadian horde once again draw its primeval life-force from the iconic legend of bands like Blasphemy, Bestial Warlust and Proclamation, but reworking it across a broader, more enigmatic canvas laced with a consciousness-obliterating amount of dissociatives and hallucinogens.” War metal and drugs, I mean, I’d just assumed…

Onism Productions have announced ‘Igitur‘ an ambitious new album from avant-garde black metal project SEA MOSQUITO. The album will be released this coming November 3rd digitally, on cassette, CD and limited box set including art print and book. The album is accompanied by a short story related to its themes complete with original art and illustrations.

Portland death metal trio THANAMAGUS have announced they will unleash their debut EP, ‘Lie In Wait‘, on October 27th by way of Carbonized Records in the US and Seed Of Doom Records in Europe. The trio is comprised of Jonatan Quintana (Decrepisy), Nick Alosio, and Charlie Koryn (Ascended Dead) who’ve chosen to focus on a thrashing classic death metal sound with a morbid atmospheric bent to it as you’ll hear in this first single:

No Remorse Records have announced the debut full-length album of Cyprus & Greece based heavy metal band MARCH TO DIE will arrive under their banner this year. ‘Tears Of The Gorgon‘ will release this November 24th. With a lineup featuring folks from Mirror, Friends Of Hell and others we can easily give support up front for this traditional heavy metal crew with a strong epic heavy metal feeling with some 80’s power metal edge in there too. Check out the lyric video for the track “Stand And Be Counted”:

Norwegian dark metal band AETERNUS have shared the first single and music video from their upcoming ninth studio album ‘Philosopher‘ which is set to be released on November 17th via Agonia Records. Great to hear this band returned again and making dark, grotesque pieces like “Existentialist Hunter”:

Influential Norwegian act ULVER have announced their classic 1993 promo-tape ‘Vargnatt‘ will be reissued on vinyl and CD by way of Peaceville Records. This often overlooked pre-amble to their classic trilogy (‘Bergtatt‘, ‘Kveldssanger‘, and ‘Nattens Madrigal‘) had all the of the designs of said albums in the works and seemingly by a stroke of genius and luck. Having stared at this old ghost for decades, Kristoffer “Garm” Rygg explains: “This is the first thing ever recorded as Ulver. Wikipedia says it’s our second demo, but it’s our first and only one. Stovner, Oslo, 1993, two–three days, wham, bam, thank you mam, with very little or no experience. We were kids, 17–19 years old, testing the waters. Vocals and some strange musical choices aside, I have to say I’m way less ashamed of this now than I probably was in the nineties, and I have to smile at the fact that this recording is still a thing 30 years on. It fills me with joy (and some sadness) to listen back to the crazy whims and things we had going on, preserved relatively pristinely. Peaceville, prime purveyor of many of our favourite records back then, is doing a stellar job reissuing some of these old underground tapes. So, after a few limited editions, “why the hell not”, right?“

Vargnatt Oxblood 140G Vinyl LP

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SONGS TO CHECK OUT

CRONIES ‘L1V3 S1CK0 L0V3 F3ST‘ LP (Reptilian Records, October 20th) / New York City, New York. Noise/post-hardcore.

CARDINALS FOLLY ‘Live By The Sword‘ LP (Soulseller Records, October 27th) / Helsinki, Finland. Doom metal.

WHITE TUNDRA ‘White Tundra‘ LP (All Good Clean Fun Records, October 27th) / Trondheim, Norway. Stoner/sludge metal.

LUCID SINS ‘Dancing in the Dark‘ (Totem Cat Records, October 27th) / Glasgow, Scotland. Occult psychedelic rock.

PÉNITENCE ONIRIQUE ‘Nature Morte’ (Les Acteurs de L’Ombre, November 3rd) / Chartres, France. Atmospheric black metal.

GAMA BOMB ‘Bats‘ LP (Prosthetic Records, November 10th) / Dublin, Ireland. Melodic thrash metal.

ÆOLIAN ‘Echoes of the Future‘ (Black Lion Records, November 24th) / Mallorca, Spain. Melodic death/black metal.

DAY JOB ‘The Augur‘ LP (Hex Records, November 24th) / Birmingham, Alabama. Noise rock, metallic hardcore.

APHELIUM AETERNUM ‘Dark Interstellar Mysteries‘ LP (Dominance in Darkness Records, December 1st) / Bavaria, Germany. Symphonic black metal.

KRYPTOXIK MORTALITY ‘Interdimensional Calamitous Extirpation‘ LP (Comatose Music, December 8th) / Seattle, Washington. Slamming brutal death metal.

SLOW ‘Ab​î​mes I‘ LP (Code666 Records/Aural Music, December 8th) / Belgium. Funeral doom metal.

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THIS WEEK’S VIDEOS / REVIEWS

Catch up with the latest YouTube video review/features and written reviews here. New videos post each week for the most part. You can click on the link provided to read the review/article, each review has the related video embedded in the original post as well. Videos are fairly casual and meant to accompany the written review with some extra context and generalized notes. The written review and the video review are complimentary -not- interchangeable. Subscribe, share, leave a comment, etc. if you feel like it.

NOTE: Right-click and “Open in New Tab/Window” to view on YouTube or try youtube.com/@terraasymmetry

THIRD STORM – The Locust Mantra (2023) | REVIEW

BARBARIAN SWORDS – Anti-Dogma Megaforce (2023) | REVIEW

SÜHNOPFER – Nous Sommes d’Hier (2023) | REVIEW

AIWASS – The Falling (2023) | REVIEW

FURIA – Huta Luna (2023) | REVIEW

DEATHCHANT – Thrones (2023) | REVIEW

VOIDESCENT – Dust and Embers (2023) | REVIEW

Short Reviews | October 11th, 2023

COMING UP NEXT WEEK:

Here is a tentative list of what is coming up next week in terms of reviews. The following records have been listened to extensively, a preliminary review has been drafted (or completed), and I’ve locked them in for coverage. In terms of the “Short Written Reviews + Video” column, these are more tentative, some of them may be cut if I do not have enough time to get around to everything. These choices are subject to change as the final drafts evolve and other releases might potentially take priority:

LONGFORM REVIEWS + VIDEO:

VERTEBRA ATLANTIS – A Dialogue With the Eeriest Sublime [October 20th, I, Voidhanger Records]
HIPPIE DEATH CULT – Helichrysum [October 20th, Heavy Psych Sounds]
MALOKARPATAN – Vertumnus Caesar [October 27th, Invictus/The Ajna Offensive]
PSICOSFERA – Summa Negativa [October 27th, Lavadome Productions]
CEMETERY URN – Suffer the Fallen [October 27th, Hell’s Headbangers]
ECOCIDE – Metamorphosis [October 23rd, Memento Mori]

SHORT REVIEWS + VIDEO:

RECKLESS – Sharp Magik Steel [October 20th, Dying Victims Productions]
GAME OVER – Hellframes [October 20th, Scarlet Records]
WAR CURSE – Confession [October 20th, Metal Blade Records]
ABIGAIL / NEKROFILTH – Fuck in Hell’s Evil Bitches [October 20th, Hell’s Headbangers]
OMISSION – Disciples of Ravens Vengeance [October 24th, Xtreem Music]
MORTAJAS – Mortajas II [October 18th, Sun and Moon Records]

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