SHORT REVIEWS Our third of a potential four part set of May 2022 releases finds us catching up with end of the month death metal glut, reaching for a few black metal outliers, and some impressive and/or notable psychedelic rock groups. I’ve done my best to grab ahold of the most interesting stuff I come across while still presenting some decent variety here, but it boils down to what sticks and never feels arbitrary. If you find something you dig in the lot of ’em, go tell the band on social media and support them with a purchase. The arts require your support and/or own contributions. If you’d like your music reviewed send promos to: grizzlybutts@hotmail.com

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Info:
ARTIST:	BLACK VOID
TITLE:	Antithesis
LABEL(S):	Nuclear Blast
RELEASE DATE:	May 27th, 2022

Though their visual introduction is that of a tastefully curated moderne black/thrash metal band this tuneful Norwegian black n’ roll/metalpunk trio is actually an antipode or, contrasting alter-ego of equally modern yet fundamentally divergent heavy rock band White Void (see: ‘Anti‘, 2021) which also features Lars Are Nedland (Borknagar, Solefald) and drummer Tobias Øymo Solbakk (In Vain) with guitarist Jostein Thomassen (Borknagar, Source of Tide) featured as the third part of the trio in this instance. Though their sound is not so easily parsed into categorical niche it would be fair to say that fans of Kvelertak will appreciate the fast-paced hardcore punk influenced rhythms and swinging, catchy songwriting as a take on a sort of black n’ roll style which also reeks of ingrained love for progressive rock and arena sized aggro-metal. Nedland‘s vocal range is well deployed here in particular, a notable personae on any release which only becomes bigger as they reach for radio-ready stompers like “Tenebrism of Life”. The conflict between White Void and Black Void is philosophical in intent as each group seems to react to the other while also quite clearly being created by a complimentary hand, there is a sort of ‘meta’ level statement there which speaks to existential thought and directly reacting to Nietzsche’s Beyond Good and Evil as far as I’ve gathered. Beyond this, ‘Antithesis‘ is an accessible fusion of heavy rock, extreme metalpunk and progressive metal ideas which manages some solid energy and lucid thoughts throughout.

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Info:
ARTIST:	ANALEPSY
TITLE:	Quiescence [Vinyl]
LABEL(S):	Agonia Records
RELEASE DATE:	May 27th, 2022

Portuguese quartet Analepsy have done a fine job of getting noticed within the crowded-ass slamming brutal death metal niche without rocking the boat, their sound remaining palatable to brutal death die-hards while updating to the standards of production and technique that tic the ears of nowadays fandom. They might not be pushing too hard at the extremity of the craft but their sound is fantastic, or, at least substantial in its exploration of Putrid Pile and Devourment level slug-bumpin’ chugs and absolutely mean riffs which aren’t overtly gimmicky or goofin’ “fun” in their bouncing about. Not a tech-death focused band but precise on all counts, not a deathcore band but well-versed in breakdown trampoline bouncecraft, not a traditionalist circle but certainly well informed on the greater roots of brutal death — from my point of view Analepsy know exactly where they want to stand in the scenery and this makes for a solid yet somewhat unexcitable full listen, they’re just not prone to fuck up or fuck around at all. Their gig hits a ‘best of all worlds’ sound and makes for a sort of crowd pleasing personae of rad-enough style rather than the eh, “extra” insanity one expects from the edgelord, pushing-the-limits arena they’re dominating right now. ‘Quiescence‘ does ultimately win me over with consistency, the feature of new vocalist/guitarist Calin Paraschiv (Necrovile) is unsurprisingly great for their imposing presence and a dominant performance from new drummer Léo Luyckx (Brutal Sphincter) ensures that this all feels like a meaningful step forward to their everyman’s brutal slamming death sound.

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Info:
ARTIST:	WOORMS
TITLE:	Fatalismo
LABEL(S):	SuperNova Records
RELEASE DATE:	May 13th, 2022

After being dodged with their first two releases despite this being my kind of noise-rockin’ sludge drugged masochism I’d assumed that Woorms weren’t going to be the band for me ’til ‘Fatalismo‘ hit me via Steve Austin‘s recently invigorated SuperNova imprint. Catching up with the Baton Rouge, Louisiana trio’s discography finds ’em somewhere between the early 2000’s Relapse sludge rush, a bit of -(16)-‘s aching bones, the earlier experimental doom of Melvins, and a hit or two from Unsane‘s pipe and this third record is decidedly a step into the atmospheric, psychedelic textures of noise/sludge rock with a certain defeatist, listlessness feeling the weight of the times vibe. I hate to pick up on boring cliché internet reviewer turd observations but the layers man, the layers make all of the difference in one-upping their past works with a bigger and more frayed-nervous, kinda doomed-out, smoked and over it feeling (“Quiet as Isaac”) that reads as more personality than usual for ’em, almost Buzz*ven-esque in their broken but growling spiritus and certainly aided by the producer, engineer and renderer roles being headed by Austin himself. They’re not an arena rock band or a prog-metal group but one that understands the intimacy and insanity of sludge-adjacent music is where its at and this allows a sort of half-serious conversation to form with the fourth wall (“This is Nothing Short of Character Assassination”, “And Heck Followed With Him”) occasionally hitting upon their Bible belt pokin’ sense of humor and a mix of nonsensical vaulting and sharper cuts here and there. As their most polished yet personality rich release to date this’d be the one to grab if you’re not familiar with the band yet.

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Info:
ARTIST:	CHURCH OF DISGUST
TITLE:	Weakest is the Flesh
LABEL(S):	Hell’s Headbangers Records
RELEASE DATE:	May 27th, 2022

San Marcos, Texas-based ‘old school’ death metal quartet Church of Disgust represent an elite ear for United States death metal standards set between 1988-1992 while looking past the ex-thrasher spectrum of the craft for the most part, landing somewhere between Midwest death metal’s doomed yet brutal Autopsy-meets-Celtic Frost heaviness and the hacksawed and bloody side of punk-inflected death metal nearby. With this third album they’ve excelled at hitting their death/doom metal leans harder, making for an imposing, well-rounded and authentic death metal sound which has a bit of a ‘Covenant‘ sheen to its movements (“Seemingly Unnatural Infestations”) but still has their early 90’s Napalm Death-tuned crunch and Gorefest-entangled riffcraft. Their production values persist with an ancient mids-scooped and distanced sort of clobber, something like Corpus Rottus before being remastered or nearby, and this sort of relegates the appeal here to ‘old school’ heads almost exclusively since they’re not a trendy thuggin’ group trying to tie hardcore into a “brand” or aping Mortician riffs. Though they don’t really stand out at face value the songs naturally sell this album for my taste with “Humiliated Realms” and “That Which Dwells in the Gloom” being the biggest highlights.

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Info:
ARTIST:	DARKENED
TITLE:	The Black Winter
LABEL(S):	Edged Circle Productions
RELEASE DATE:	May 27th, 2022

Though it’d helped that they’ve got a few ‘old school’ Swedish and British death metal greats in their ranks Darkened created a stir with their debut full-length ‘Kingdom of Decay‘ for its successful barrage of tank-heavy yet melodic death metal, landing somewhere in between later Dismember, Hail of Bullets, and Grave. On this follow-up here just two years later they’ve picked up exactly where they left off, emphasizing the barrel-chested roar of their sound while infusing most every piece here with a notable melodic directive, including more involved lead guitar pathways, and emphasizing their sort of mid-paced sweet spot for showcasing steadily revealed riffs. The ‘…For Victory‘-but-melodeath fusion of “Terminal Lucidity” is probably the most stunning point of the full listen for my taste and the somewhat dry “Swallowed by the World” is the least vital point. They’ve improved upon or maintained precedence for quality here on this second album, very much a follow-up with a checklist of details in mind, and as such it lands strong but also very similar to the previous album at face value. This is enhanced by the album art being almost too similar to ‘Kingdom of Decay‘, I’d initially thought this was a reissue/deluxe edition at a glance. Solid album, didn’t have a ton of new things to say about their gig but still very much a fan.

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Info:
ARTIST:	MALIGNANT AURA
TITLE:	Abysmal Misfortune is Draped Upon Me
LABEL(S):	Bitter Loss Records
RELEASE DATE:	May 27th, 2022

Though I’m not entirely sure who has put in the work here for this debut full-length from Australian death/doom metal band Malignant Aura the suggestion is that Brendan Auld (Descent, Snorlax) had a hand in engineering it with Arthur Rizk taking care of the final render, making for a raw yet huge sound dominated by a hefty guitar tone and nigh suffocating presence. Slow-dirging guitar progressions aimed at a loose yet incorrigibly doomed attack eventually begin to aim for churn rather than gloom as the album burns on, its sort of quasi HM-2 tone presenting well over the course of their run. The balance between the loud and tense tone of their performances and the very steady, ‘can’t be fucked, mate’ pacing of the guitar work makes for a veritable cyclone of raw nerves as they slowly ease through each riff, exactly as painful as extreme doom metal should very well be. “There is Blackness in the Water” is arguably the point where Malignant Aura felt at their most uniquely set, reaching for a bit of dissonant funeral doom-esque dreariness (see: Convocation) after a rousing percussive opening rush kicks off the nearly twelve minute punisher of a piece. The only note I could give after several listens is that I’d like to hear the atmosphere built beyond the guitar tone’s dominant force, I hear some of it coming through but it’d all land a lot heavier without the bulldozer motor running full blast.

Info:
ARTIST:	SHED THE SKIN
TITLE:	Thaumogenesis
LABEL(S):	Hell’s Headbangers Records
RELEASE DATE:	May 27th, 2022

Since I’d reviewed the last two Shed the Skin records in full I was sure I could pass on this one considering they’d largely polished up their approach to melodic yet brutal death metal cohesion between their third (‘We of Scorn‘, 2018) and fourth (‘The Forbidden Arts‘, 2020) albums, a marriage of melodic ‘Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrious‘ tact, Swedish death metal weave, and Midwest death-thrashing ideals that Ash Thomas (Faithxtractor, Crucified Mortals) has long excelled at orchestrating with members of Ringworm, Incantation and Perdition Sect. It won’t be a huge change felt up front if you’ve no ear for the details of production or a foggy memory but the two Dan Swanö-mixed albums prior had a compressed quality to them which is relieved on ‘Thaumogenesis‘ and this’d changed the tone of the recording drastically from my point of ear. They’ve otherwise gone for their signature elemental concoction this time with different emphasis of those vital points, hitting on their doom and hardcore jogging influences (“Hounds of Orrea”, “Invincible in Iron”) more often while getting the pure death metal aspect untangled of its Scandinavian death brambles a bit, loosening up their riffing for a bit more groove.

In terms of highlights “Ingress-Thaumogenesis” is the piece to impress from the get-go and some great motivation for the full listen each time I’d picked it up, “Quenched From Kapala” is the most ‘my speed’ per expectations, a sort of Ohio melodeath-thrasher, and “Snow Forest Sacrifice” creeps and grinds in a particularly brutal late-album cut which I’d found notable. I like that we’re getting more types of songs from Shed the Skin, they’re expanding rather than contracting into a rut and considering the full listen a bit more by breaking up the action in worthy ways. This is their most distinct showcase thus far and no doubt tweaking their render has made all the different in opening up their greater pool of influences to wider-spread expression.

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Info:
ARTIST:	KRAUSE
TITLE:	The Art of Fatigue
LABEL(S):	Venerate Industries
RELEASE DATE:	May 20th, 2022

Athens, Greece-based sludged-out noise rock quartet have completely nailed it for my own taste with this third full-length album, a caustic yet still feeling it fusion of the angriest Am Rep gunk, early Helmet, and the anxious gnarl of Unsane that finds a way to be noxiously set without being obnoxious in tone per the best of the early 90’s noise rock ambivalence. Compressed and in infuriated reaction to pandemia, financial collapse and brimming with anti-capitalist fuming ‘The Art of Fatigue‘ certainly hits its goal of presenting the fed-up attitude of the classics yet manages an immediately relevant font of frustration for many folks. I’m admittedly most here for their sound, it just hits everything I like about metallic noise rock heaviness and big, weirding grooves and they’ve nailed the drum sound without plainly imitating the Albini-sized snare or percussive bass guitar tone most would expect from any nostalgia aimed at the sub-genre. Though I felt like they needed a break from the vocal distortion after a few runs I’d still kept on burning through this record over and over, particularly enjoying the few turns they’d taken with “Ceremonial Aspects of Everyday Bloodbaths” and the rhythmic peaks of “Talentless But Connected”. Didn’t make enough time to go in-depth with this one but it will no doubt be set among the best of the month.

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Info:
ARTIST:	SACRIFIZER
TITLE:	Le Diamant de Lucifer
LABEL(S):	Osmose Productions
RELEASE DATE:	May 27th, 2022

As signified by the exceptional cover art from Italian artist Velio Josto, Sacrifizer are a throwback ‘evil’ speed metal band from eastern France in the style of Vulture, Deathhammer, and Bütcher in the sense that they’ve got a blackened undertone to their style that often rants into deeper snarled vocals, blasted infernal drumming and whatnot ultimately snapping back into violent ‘new old’ school speed metal attack the majority of the time. Although it is a familiar wound and the usual knife to draw blood with their ritual of speed is no less exciting in motion, all of ‘Le Diamant de Lucifer‘ smokes hard as a cloven hoof tramples. Speed metal offering pure mayhem to the point of kitsch is exactly the sort of reality I want to support and indulge in so, for my own taste there wasn’t a moment where I’d had to question that Sacrifizer are a serious throat-ripping heavy metal band on this fine debut. Exactly the sort of uncomplicated nuke I’d needed mid-month and I’d say a general uptick in quality lead guitar work + riffcraft beyond ‘La mort triomphante‘ (2019) EP. Best riffs: “Leather Agents”, “Possessor”,

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Info:
ARTIST:	BESVÄRJELSEN
TITLE:	Atlas
LABEL(S):	Magnetic Eye Records
RELEASE DATE:	May 27th, 2022

Though I’d intended to fit this excellent second full-length from Stockholm, Sweden-based stoner metal/heavy psychedelic rock quintet Besvärjelsen into my regular weekly review cycle, having reviewed their previous two releases with favorable comments abounding, it didn’t work into my schedule this time around. Don’t let that indicate any sort of lapse in praise, though, as these Dozer, Oak and Greenleaf alumni continue to give a warm, welcoming desert rocked and non-pandering update to the occult doom rock paradigm with ‘Atlas‘. Already brilliantly featured vocalist Lea Amling Alazam shines here more than ever as the band update their songcraft with a bit more existential dread (“Clouds”), heavier fuzz (“House of Burning Light”), and great emphasis on varietal rhythms that expand within slightly more direct compositions which land closer to 4-5 minutes rather than 5-7 compared to ‘Vallmo‘ (2018). If you’d enjoyed the sombre feeling of the ‘Frost‘ (2019) EP and wanted it expanded upon they’ve done so here, building a bit more doomed and gloomed-over moodiness into their rhythms. There is a lot to love about ‘Atlas‘, the gist of it being a righteous evolution of their sound which speaks to a professional yet earnest development of their original style. Standout songs: “Digerliden”, “Obscured by Darkness”, “Acheron”.

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Info:
ARTIST:	IN TWILIGHT’S EMBRACE
TITLE:	Lifeblood
LABEL(S):	Malignant Voices
RELEASE DATE:	May 13th, 2022

I wasn’t sure what to think of this West-central Polish (Poznań) based modern black metal quintet when researching their discography up front since they’d apparently started out playing some version of melodeath/metalcore in the early-to-mid 2000’s and eventually moved towards a generic modern melodic death metal sound but… since their fourth album (‘Vanitas‘, 2017) they play something like melodic black metal influenced by Mgła and perhaps Blaze of Perdition (a member is featured here, though) with some eh, gothic death/doom or ‘dark metal’ moments here and there. Well, sure, no foul in evolving over time since their releases have been pretty solid since and it seems they’ve improved in finding a certain dark, somewhat original voice beyond that fourth record. ‘Lawa‘ (2018) is perhaps their moment of snapping into new form and now this sixth album, ‘Lifeblood‘, is the one to receive a bigger ‘epic’ treatment for those foundational ideals and identifiers.

Their exploration of death now steps beyond death worship towards asceticism, setting suffering as the vehicle for humanity’s delusional grasping at divinity, my interpretation anyhow. The vessel for these ideas is a somewhat progressive, confidently striding form of black metal which has a slight rock affect to its undulating melodic craft, it may seem like an odd comparison but consider the previously mentioned bands with a bit of the distraught but empowered side of ‘De ödeslösa‘-era Thyrfing in the more tensile points of their cadence. There is much more than references to glean from the full listen and your results may vary in this regard but I’d generally found this to be a very mature, consistently enthralling black metal album with a unique sense of traditional rock structures acting as accessible abstractions from the dead-serious forms they were creating (“Iskry”, “Smoke and Mirrors”). Surreal in a not-so usual way, but also a very easily approached and involved black metal album.

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Info:
ARTIST:	POPIÓŁ
TITLE:	Szeptun
LABEL(S):	Pagan Records
RELEASE DATE:	May 27th, 2022

Popiół was essentially borne from the unfinished business of a certain era of Polish pagan/black metal act Thy Worshiper, wherein their first album (‘Zabobony‘, 2019) had apparently expanded upon melodies and pieces written back in 1998 when the original line-up had split, only to reform in different configure in the mid-2000’s. That won’t mean much to you unless you are in tune with the avant-garde side of Polish black metal or Slavic paganistic black/folk metal in general but, the lineage of these acts tends towards ambitiously divergent black metal-centric craft. ‘Szeptun‘ is very much in the tradition of earlier Thy Worshiper by design but that should not suggest that it was pulled from the past or seeks to revive old wounds, instead this second pandemia-spawned record from the band is hauntingly avant-garde and more than likely one of the more unique records you’ll pick up this month. Consider a bit of the enthusiasm of early Negură Bunget, the blurring thoughts of Lugubrum, and the forward-thinking mentalism of Polish black metal today and ‘Szeptun‘ materializes in well-seasoned craftsman’s hands as prose in revelation of inner demons, the illness of the psyche exposed rather than buried. The vocals are perhaps the most notable aspect of the full listen up front, being quite bold and uniquely stated between choral builds and harsh rasped fare, yet it is the timbre of the recordings, particularly the bass guitar tones and various psychedelic effects that swarm songs like “Degenerat”, that’d had me coming back to this album for repeated listening. Standout songs: “Jaki piękny plan”, “Degenerat”, “Zły”, and “Dziki pęd”.

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