SYNCHRONY is a weekly feature focusing on relevant heavy music news, new releases, upcoming releases, as well as a week in review to help folks keep up with all of the content on Grizzly Butts. This’ll also include a list of upcoming releases and some preliminary notes on upcoming reviews or coverage. If I can’t hear it, I won’t cover it! If you have New Releases, show announcements, or important heavy music news that’ll be relevant or interesting to folks contact me at: grizzlybutts@hotmail.com

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THIS WEEK IN NEWS (5/16/20 – 5/22/20)

• Even if it has been about five years since you’ve heard the name, you’ll never forget Spanish extreme thrashers KÖRGULL THE EXTERMINATOR not only for their Voivod influenced name but for their blackened thrashing rip. Anyhow they’re back and now reunited with their original home on Xtreem Music. What for? A fifth album which they’ve titled ‘Sharpen Your Spikes‘. Its all buttoned up and ready to fire out, but you’ll have to wait until September to get the CD and LP version. More details once we’re closer to the release window. Follow the band on Facebook in the meantime: [Click/Tap HERE for more info] 

• Speaking of unforgettable, remember the album art for Chilean death metal band SOULROT‘s 2017 full-length debut? It was a beautiful thing and hey, this July 27th  Memento Mori is set to release their second full-length ‘Victims of Spiritual Warfare‘. This time around they’ve gone with a stunning black and white album art and that’ll indicate the darker, more grinding HM-2 driven thump of this second time around. The guitars are set to Nirvana 2002 huge and short dips into grindcore-esque blasts cement that first impression even more. Pure filth and I’m way into it so far! Check out the callous, soul-crushing brawl of “God Forsaken” over on YouTube: [Click/Tap HERE for more info] 

• I am beaming. Becoming a bolt of burning sulphur-sourced light at the first blast of Roman death metal quartet BEDSORE‘s new noxious noise alongside the announcement that their debut full-length ‘Hypnagogic Hallucinations‘ is ready to grace the molten shores of 20 Buck Spin this coming July 24th. Punch me to sleep so that I may live within their cursed dreaming madness. As I stated back in September 2018 when reviewing their fantastic self-titled demo tape, I’ll throw my money at anything this band does. These guys didn’t start their respective musical journeys making death metal so they bring this beauteous, avoidant sort of outsider spin to it that feels in the same family as later Morbus Chron and Ghastly among others. Couldn’t be more enthused for this record, jumping out of my skin to hear more. For now check out the first single “The Gate, Closure (Sarcoptes Obitus)” and experience its swooning riffs, soaring solos, and a pillow of rest as it ends. Up on Bandcamp to preview, pre-orders are up in June: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]

• Iron Bonehead Productions have set August 7th for the release of Australian void-reachers TEMPLE NIGHTSIDE‘s return alongside their fourth album ‘Pillars of Damnation‘. They’re hot off of their reinterpretation of ‘Condemnation’ (‘Recondemnation’) and you can tell the riffs have been flowing into their heads at an alarming rate beyond, crafting a raw and classicist black/death tirade. The first official track “Death Eucharist” is a true omen of malevolence to come. Go give it a spin over on Iron Bonehead’s SoundCloud: [Click/Tap HERE for more info] Iron BoneHead Productions · Temple Nightside – Death Eucharis

• A massively anticipated event, Italian death metal veterans VALGRIND have announced their fourth album ‘Condemnation‘ will release this July 27th through the mighty halls of Memento Mori. The album art is incredible and the first single, “Entangled in a World Below” is a true ripper in their classic thrashing death metal style with strong influence from Florida death metal classics of old as well. Riffs! I loved ‘Blackest Horizon’ back in 2018 so I’m thrilled as fuck to hear this one. Check out “Entangled in a World Below” on YouTube: [Click/Tap HERE for more info] 
• Arisen from the burnt stew of melted psyche and swirling upward with purpose of ascension, Finnish funeral death/doom duo CONVOCATION‘s return with ‘Ashes Coalesce‘, their second full-length album set for release through the venerable Everlasting Spew Records on September 3rd. Convocation features key members of Desolate Shrine and Dark Buddha Rising and man, can they write an emotionally crippling funeral doom song. “The Absence of Grief” is a nigh 14 minute crawl that is at once a choking lung full of deadly fumes and an ethereal passage towards death, lifted by gorgeous cathedral-esque keys. I loved their first album and this one sounds even bigger, love the keyboard work and how its presence in the song evolves. Also, the cover art is fuckin’ awesome! Check out the song and pre-order over on Everlasting Spew Records’ Bandcamp: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]

• Eisenwald have set July 24th as the North American release date for a retrospective compilation from brilliant and barrier-free German black metal/folk/etc. project MOSAIC titled ‘Harvest: Songs of Autumnal Landscapes and Melancholy‘. Celebrating the 15th anniversary of activity the CD collects a fair amount of early material including some very limited tape only releases. The evolution of Valkenstijn‘s approach to this project is stunning and nigh indescribable at its current space, I’d recommend grabbing his most recent LP, ‘Secret Ambrosian Fire’, as well. Pre-order and preview over on Eisenwald’s North American webstore: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]

• Three years in waiting and threatening to spill their shattered obsidian hail upon the willingly scoured, Italian liquid black flame FIDES INVERSA have announced their third album will release through W.T.C. Productions this July 22nd. Entitled ‘Historia Nocturna‘ there is no question that this is a slithering, majestic aura befitting of their legacy so far. Witness the strangulation and bursting eyes presented by the first single, “A Wanderer’s Call and Orisen” on YouTube and Bandcamp and prepare for the return: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
• Transcending Obscurity Records have announced the upcoming August 14th release of death metal shapeshifters ATRAE BILIS‘ debut full-length ‘Divinihility‘. So far they’ve put up “Ectopian” a real chugger that reminds me of ‘Gateways to Annihilation’-era Morbid Angel at its outset, but you can see they’ve got a bit of slam, dissonance, melodicism, and all manner of modern influences feeding their somewhat progressive approach to death metal. Check it out over on Bandcamp: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
• Swinging over the water and sending ripples with their screams, deathrock/post-punk pushers ROPE SECT ready their second death knell via Iron Bonehead Productions this August 12th when ‘The Great Flood‘ will take us all. “Hiraeth” will spike the jagged thread it creates, soothing and electrifying with gorgeous guitar lines and ballroom-sized crooning desolation. The hooks are so artfully crafted in this song that I’d been surprised when it faded out into a slow-blast, stunning work! The album is mastered by Damien Herring and features guest vocals/lyrics from Mat McNerny (who guests on “Hiraeth”), both of whom are already so on fire with what they’ve brought to 2020. Check out the video for “Hiraeth” on YouTube: [Click/Tap HERE for more info] 
•  Damn! Memento Mori is killing it as always, they’ve announced Chicago death metal masters CARDIAC ARREST‘s seventh full-length, ‘The Day That Death Prevailed’ will release July 27th on CD and the awesome folks over at Boris Records will put out the vinyl version on September 11th. The first preview track “Naegleric Outbreak” and they’ve gone pure Master circa ’85 for this song, a throat-ripping garage death metal thump and a solid n’ simple death metal song to crank up high. Check out “Naegleric Outbreak” over on YouTube: [Click/Tap HERE for more info] 
• Nuclear War Now! Productions have set August 15th as the long awaited return of PROSANCTUS INFERI with their third full-length ‘Hypnotic Blood Art‘ to be released on 12″ vinyl LP and cassette. ‘Noctambulous Jaws Within Sempiternal Night’ was one of my favorite records in 2013 so this one has been long-awaited and so far it sounds solid, the first preview track is the album opener “Dark Scarp of Hell” and I enjoyed the mid-paced, Varathron-esque roll of it. Check the song out on Bandcamp: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]

• Finnish death metal legends CONVULSE have been intently thinking outside the box beyond their earliest years and it bears some mention just how young they were when ‘World Without God’ released, it goes without saying they’d matured beyond it quickly. Whilst introducing their fifth full-length ‘Deathstar’, which releases on Transcending Records this October 30th, they’ve referenced their second album a classic of heavy psych rock, death n’ roll and perhaps one of my favorite Finnish death records of all time ‘Reflections’. The suggestion is that ‘Deathstar’ intends to bend the iron just as far as their underrated second album did, not necessarily sound like it but push things that far. Follow the ol’ Finns over on Facebook and stay tuned for more info as the release date approaches: [Click/Tap HERE for more info] 

• NOTABLE ALBUMS AT PRESS THIS WEEK FROM: Convocation, Mercyless, Ysengrin, Herxheim, Vspolokh, Ice War, Lord, The Riven, Impalement, Throneum, Barbaric Horde, Underer, Places Around the Sun, Mystras, Ascendency, This Will Destroy You, Re-Armed, Mosaic, The Third King, Spell, Black Falcon, Aleah, Astral Sleep, Vile Creature, Inisans, Serocs, Atrae Bilis, 666, King Gorm and several more. Look for coverage in the near future. Don’t see your album listed? Send it to me: grizzlybutts@hotmail.com

GRIZZLY BUTTS‘ WEEK IN REVIEW (5/16/20 – 5/22/20)

FEATURES:

• …From the Tomb 5/18/20: “Not seeking new landscapes, but having new eyes.”
  • This year Ten From the Tomb changes to …From the Tomb and is no longer limited to ten releases. It will post every Monday with a list of at least ten new releases coming out during that current week and a short review will be included for each one. This week I chose to cover 11 new releases from March 16th-22nd.
  • Favorites: Sodomisery, Fires in the Distance, Temnien.
• BACKLOG 5/21/20: Apocalyptic illness, synthetic freedom & magickal addiction.
  • I don’t write about video games as much as I used to, taking a 14 month break from my bi-monthly back catalog progress report allowed me to finish my Thrash ‘Til Death series last year without missing a beat. If you’ve not encountered my take on video game writing, it tends to be far more casual than music criticism as I find video game writing more interest if it is all opinion and as conversational as possible.
  • This entry includes: Reviews for Fallout 4 + DLC, Resident Evil II Remake, as well as progress reports on Nioh 2 and Magic the Gathering: Arena. I also detail a list of games that will be reviewed this year once I get back into a groove.

REVIEWS: Big releases this week from King Witch, Cauldron Black Ram, Cosmic Putrefaction, Esoctrilihum, Toronto, Feral Light, Hexenbrett, and Barren Womb. I didn’t receive Wolftooth‘s album but I’m looking forward to it and I got confused on the release date for King Witch‘s album (as well as Chronus‘ album) so those reviews will arrive next week. Reviews for Occlith, Hexenbrett, Akolyth, and Barren Womb should (likely) publish by Monday. Zatyr‘s ‘Ornament of Proposition’ EP is the one that I think people are missing out on, great heavy metal record. I’d also say check out Mountaineer‘s album ‘Bloodletting’ if you’re into post-doom metal and bit of alt-rock, wasn’t my thing but should appeal to folks who like Pallbearer‘s more accessible stuff. I’d also like to thank the bands/labels who share reviews on social media, I don’t pay much attention to stats but lately I’ve been getting a lot of love and mention from folks and I am sincerely grateful for your attention.

• Esoctrilihum – Eternity of Shaog (2020) | REVIEW
• Rottenblast – Ilusi Soliteris (2020) | REVIEW
• Wailin Storms – Rattle (2020) | REVIEW
• Evoker – Evil Torment (2020) | REVIEW
• Centinex – Death in Pieces (2020) | REVIEW
• Devangelic – Ersetu (2020) | REVIEW
• Feral Light – Life Vapor (2020) | REVIEW

RELEASED/OVERLOOKED THIS WEEK (5/16/20 – 5/22/20)

NOTE: This small sample includes overlooked releases that are either not yet reviewed or covered but nonetheless recommended. Some of these will still be featured in other coverage. An asterisk (*) indicates that a review is drafted or in preparation. A plus (+) indicates that the album has already been reviewed. Click/Tap on RECORD LABEL name for preview, stream, or store.

• FERAL LIGHT – Life Vapor [Hypnotic Dirge Records]+
• KING WITCH – Body of Light [Listenable Records]*
• HEXENBRETT – Zweite Beschwörung: Ein Kind zu töten [Dying Victims Productions]*
• CHRONUS – Idols [Listenable Records]
• TORONTO – Under Siege [Dying Victims Productions]+
• BARREN WOMB – Lizard Lounge [Loyal Blood Records]*
• ESOCTRILIHUM – Eternity of Shaog [I, Voidhanger Records]+
• COSMIC PUTREFACTION – The Horizons Towards Which Splendour Withers [I, Voidhanger Records]+
• ZATYR – Ornament of Proposition [Dying Victims Productions]*
• SODOMISERY – The Great Demise [Testimony Records]
• ARSTIDIR LIFSINS – Saga á tveim tungum II: Eigi fjoll né firðir [Ván Records]
• BAIT – Revelation of the Pure [LADLO]
• MOUNTAINEER – Bloodletting [Lifeforce Records]
• THE THIRD EYE RAPISTS – Deathtrip Transcendence / Magicians of the Holocaust [Amor Fati]
• HENRY KANE – Age of the Idiot [Transcending Obscurity Records]
• DRAPSNATT – Skelepht [Nordvis Produktion]
• FIRES IN THE DISTANCE – Echoes From Deep November [Prosthetic Records]
• TEMNEIN – Tales: Of Humanity and Greed [Self-Released]
• DEVIL WITH NO NAME – Devil With No Name [New Density]
• VESICARUM – Reign of Terror [One Eyed Toad Records]

UPCOMING RELEASES (5/23/20 – 5/31/20)

NOTE: This is not a comprehensive list, some titles are already reviewed and/or covered and some have yet to enter the final queue for consideration and processing. An asterisk (*) indicates that a review is drafted or in preparation. A plus (+) indicates that the album has already been reviewed. Click/Tap on RECORD LABEL name for preview, stream, or store.

• AKOLYTH – Akolyth [Amor Fati Productions]*
• LESSER GLOW – Nullity [Pelagic Records]
• OCTOBER FALLS – A Fall of an Epoch [Purity Through Fire]*
• XIBALBA – Anos En Infierno [Southern Lord Recordings]*
• PARALYSIS – Mob Justice [Self-Released]*
• ENEVELDE – Enevelde [Terratur Possessions]*
• KRYPTAMOK – Verisaarna [Purity Through Fire]*
• VIOLENT HAMMER – Riders of the Wasteland [Hell’s Headbangers Records]*
• BLOOD STAR – The Fear [Shadow Kingdom Records]
• ATAVISTIA – The Winter Way [Self-Released]
• MANY BLESSINGS – Emanation Body [Translation Loss Records]
• SHIVERS / NAUSEATOR – Too Gross For Most [Hell’s Headbangers Records]
• PAGAN – Rehearsal Tape ’19 [Saturnal Records]
• SHAMAN ELEPHANT – Wide Awake But Still Asleep [Karisma Records]
• ACARASH – Descend to Purity [Dark Essence Records]
• POCCOLUS – Poccolus [Inferna Profundus Records]

Did I miss something important this week? Send me an e-mail and tell me about it. It is always worthwhile to speak up for the lesser known stuff. Please remember you can donate to help keep me in front of the computer writing about metal. Thanks.