SHORT REVIEWS Our third and final set of June 2022 releases finds us catching up with black, death, and doom metal releases of moderate note. I’ve done my best to showcase the most interesting stuff I come across while still presenting some decent variety here, but it boils down to what sticks or is worth writing about. 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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ARTIST:	VARATHRON / UNGOD
TITLE:	Apocalyptic Mysticism [7″]
LABEL(S):	Iron Bonehead Productions
RELEASE DATE:	June 24th, 2022

Varathron continue to be my personal favorite black metal band, a forever consistent go-to entity whom ensure each release has its own voice, its own sinister vessel which avoids stale or too-expected results. Of course I could, and more-or-less have, score out pages on the other projects they’ve been involved in beyond ‘Patriarchs of Evil‘ (2018) but eh, the time is exactly right for a quick stab back into the guts of their sound and this split 7″ record with German elder cult act Ungod is the exact right place to land the blade. Recorded in 2016″The Mystic Papyrous” notably makes use of keyboards/synth, various ominous sounds and some folk instrumentation to set an ominous tone before they stride into an fully reinvigorated and official version of a deep cut from the peak of their formative years. We’ve gotten a few versions of this song, likely recorded as part of the Storm Studio sessions for ‘His Majesty at the Swamp‘ in 1993, but the definitive capture of it in nascent form resides on their self-released compilation, ‘The Demo Collection‘, from earlier this year. This version of the song sets the scene, brings brilliant articulation to the bassline and the kinda Mercyful Fate-esque main riff while building the aura of the song into something bigger between keyboard and lead guitar melodies. It swings hard and kind of actually rocks in an over the top sort of way which I’d appreciated, it leaves the impression which Varathron should, magick which dents the skull.

With the exception of a split LP with Morbosidad and the revival of cursed Baxaxaxa for an excellent full-length, we’ve not heard from the fellowes in Ungod since 2016, so, for many the major draw of this split will be hearing a new song from the group. The verdict on my end is that the swaying yet volcanic hurl of their 2021 manifested “Sinister Form of Falling Stars” more than holds its own next to Varathron‘s diabolical exuberance, recalling their mayhemic attack and the sophisticated rhythms that they’d always pinned beneath the havoc. If you aren’t familiar with this classic German black metal band you’ve fucked up a bit, since they’ve been at it since the early 90’s and at the very least ‘Circle of the Seven Infernal Pacts‘ is mandatory. I’m less versed in their discography being their 90’s output and various splits but I don’t believe I’ve ever heard a bad, or even just boring piece from Ungod to date. This split was obviously curated with great sense and these two pieces fit next to each other very well, can’t expect much more from a 7″ beyond find cover art and they’ve got that locked in, too.

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Info:
ARTIST:	ENTRAILS
TITLE:	An Eternal Time of Decay
LABEL(S):	Hammerheart Records
RELEASE DATE:	June 24th, 2022

Formed at the start of the 90’s, petered out by the end of the decade and picked back up circa 2009 or so the Entrails origin story ain’t all that outta line from many other groups who’d had some potential back in the day but never caused a stir when death metal had become a national pastime for the suburbs of Sweden. There were so many HM-2 pioneer aged groups that were “back” in the early 2010’s (Interment, Sorcery, Evocation, etc.) that it’d really come down to who had the riffs and no doubt those first two huge-ass demos and the two full-lengths for F.D.A. Records all being back-to-back hit the right way. They had the Birdflesh and Skogen folks in there for the first three and though their fourth LP ‘Obliteration‘ (2015) remains one of their best records in my mind, the peak evolution of where they needed to go and the right place to hit a wall. The tank had either run dry or the line-up had completely changed beyond that knee-deep point in their Metal Blade-era stuff, three albums beyond and now with their first release on legendary Hammerheart Records, I guess I figured this would be the record to show up big for, the one to amp things back into focus and for some it may be that, but not for my taste in this classic Swedish death metal sound/style. ‘An Eternal Time of Decay‘ is even more straight forward than their previous two records, chunking away simple pieces which rely heavily on a gigantic production sound. That’ll be for better or worse depending where you land on big n’ loud buzzsaw-core. Melody ain’t quite there, sound is huge but riffs are of the plainest standard, and I dunno none of it is worth really picking at the details here since it is all serviceable, just okay stuff.

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ARTIST:	PAGANIZER
TITLE:	Beyond the Macabre
LABEL(S):	Transcending Obscurity Records
RELEASE DATE:	June 24th, 2022

The twelfth full-length from southern Swedish death metal quartet Paganizer continues along the steady road they’d built for themselves around ‘World Lobotomy‘ (2013), that’d more-or-less been when the main songwriter stopped experimenting with various death metal influences across the board in this band and started working within countless other side projects of various tribute/style, leaving this group as the major funnel for his own version of Swedish death metal which, to be fair, isn’t the usual clunky Entombed/Dismember worship. ‘Beyond the Macabre‘ might be an average musical statement in terms of its exploration of the semi-melodic side of the sub-genre but it is nonetheless clear that this is the band that R.J. (Massacre, Revolting, et al.) puts the most thought and care into developing year-over-year, especially if we consider the sheer volume of records he has released in the last five years alone. The only thing that’d stood out to me this time around is that he has hit upon some Desultory-esque upturns here and there (“You Are What You Devour”) which add to the rare lean into early 90’s melodic death metal we find sparingly in Paganizer‘s discography. Not a bad album by any standard but the usual expected stuff from these guys.

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Info:
ARTIST:	EXOCRINE
TITLE:	The Hybrid Suns
LABEL(S):	Unique Leader Records
RELEASE DATE:	June 17th, 2022

Definitely fucked up and was late to the party in terms of wanting to do a longer form review of this one and not having the time. Exocrine are a progressive/technical death metal quartet out of Bordeaux, France whom should appeal to folks who’d taken my recommendation of Inanimate Existence and Soreption earlier this month but, of course this band features far, far more “progressive” output and a slight verge on the progressive deathcore post-The Faceless kind of gig a la The Zenith Passage. Though I’d written about their 2018 LP (‘Molten Giant‘) I’d completely missed out on their follow-up (‘Maelstrom‘) in 2020 so, for whatever reason when ‘The Hybrid Suns‘ landed in my lap I’d skated around it. Anyhow you’ll find Exocrine are brilliant architects of the ambitious and aggressive side of modern progressive death metal but they typically don’t manage more than a hook or two per song and those breakout musical moments tend to repeat a few too many times, such as the chorales of “Dying Light”. They’ve packed a shit-ton into these ~35 minutes to the point that it feels like a 45 minute record, in this sense you won’t walk away from this experience unphased by it even if it doesn’t end up landing more than a few memorable synth/keyboard hooks along the way. Even still I’d found myself coming back to this one despite having found it somewhat average outside of its pacing/performances, so, there is something there that’ll likely take time to pull from the experience.

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Info:
ARTIST:	AXIOMA
TITLE:	Sepsis
LABEL(S):	Translation Loss Records
RELEASE DATE:	June 24st, 2022

Cleveland, Ohio extreme post-metal quartet Axioma are pushing it here on their second full-length, leaning into deeper dissonant and blackened extremes without losing the nihilistic, distraught misery of modern atmospheric extreme metal influenced sludge constituency. Instead of relying on crescendo rock bones for their attack these folks take the tribalistic sheen of early post-metal acts and compress their larger movements into edgier post-hardcore driven progressions making for a sound which is emotionally turbulent and achieved in fairly simple yet expressive bursts which soon grow into rants (“God Extraction”, “A New Dark Age”) or scale all the way up to doom-tinged mountainous events (“The Tower”). Though I’d initially preferred the more blackened, aggressive pieces on ‘Sepsis‘ I’d found myself most engaged with their most brooding Cult of Luna-esque moments, wanting more of what “Emptiness of Anguish” and “Contortions of Passage” were doing in terms of the rhythm section. Will continue to mull over this one.

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Info:
ARTIST:	KHOLD
TITLE:	Svartsyn
LABEL(S):	Soulseller Records
RELEASE DATE:	June 24th, 2022

After nine years essentially producing a thrashing yet mid-paced and ‘rock’ centered form of black metal which was their own unique vision of Norwegian black metal Tulus disbanded circa 2000 and members immediately formed Khold in its image. It was kind of a bummer at that point because it always felt like ‘Rebel Extravaganza‘ from Satyricon had essentially taken that whole gig and kinda ganked it, becoming known for it when there weren’t exactly a million bands that sounded like that at the time. But eh, what do I know. Despite the popularity of Khold being steady on larger labels for some time in the early 2000’s they would hit the pause button (briefly) in 2006 before Tulus reformed, drummer Sarke‘s somewhat similar band would crop up, and each group has been active and fairly prolific since. If you know what any one of these bands sounds like then you’ve got a clear implication of what ‘Svartsyn‘, the first album from Khold in the last eight years, sounds like as well.

These days Tulus haven’t changed drastically with a strong as ever bass guitar presence and fewer directly served rock beats driving the ship whereas Khold lean into their abrasive, groove-heavy and yep catchier side, in doing the quartet stick to what always stood out about ’em. Pacing continues to be a strong suit of the main songwriter’s efforts alongside the differentiation available to most pieces, which allows for the greater ride of this ~40 minute mid-paced black metal album to weave a variety of textural presentations with a largely similar in cadence vocal presence tying it all together. On one hand I could say that it is nothing we haven’t heard from the band before but after eight years that isn’t such a let-down considering they’ve held true to the core identity of the band and managed to continue to differentiate it from related projects. Not their catchiest or most energetic album but still a fine example of what Khold do best.

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Info:
ARTIST:	MISGIVINGS
TITLE:	Misgivings
LABEL(S):	Dolorem Records
RELEASE DATE:	June 24th, 2022

Borne out of north-central France in 1991 Misgivings are a true hidden gem of the French death metal underground having released four demos you’ve likely not heard of unless uniquely engaged with thier country’s thrashing death metal underbelly. Their style was traditional yet ambitious upon formation and became more violent and precise once their line-up stabilized around 2000. ‘Misgivings‘ makes good on the promise of their two post-1999 demo tapes with an Angelcorpse and eh, Ripping Corpse-esque attack, the sort of death metal that’d arisen from extreme thrash metal pushed to a caustic limit. If you were big on the new Perdition Temple release this month then you -need- this record as well since it compliments that ethos and style quite well, though of course the riffing comes from a different place wherein guitarist Stef takes things in a sort of death-thrash direction by default. Angularly presented, cunning in its high-speed attack and presenting prime blasphemy at every turn this is exactly my kind of nostrils flaring death metal aggression. That said, I don’t have much to really say about it beyond it being an absolute blast to rip through every time I’ve picked it up.

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Info:
ARTIST:	ORNAMENTOS DEL MIEDO
TITLE:	Yo, No Soy Yo
LABEL(S):	Negre PlanY, Vertebrae, Nekromantra
RELEASE DATE:	June 24th, 2022

Ornamentos del Miedo (Ornaments of Fear) is a solo atmospheric doom metal band from Spanish musician Angel whom is best known as a guitarist for Mass Burial and a key member of Graveyard of Souls. The mood here taps us into the crestfallen ethereal, immediately evocative of a great hollow expanse which is majestic in view yet sorrowful, painful in its greater journey through the self and (as the title implies) the draining existential questioning all must face at one point or another. Although I was aware through the project’s previous two works via Solitude Productions those now feel a bit formative compared to the very personal ~70 minute self-dissolution which occurs on ‘Yo, No Soy Yo‘ and the funeral doom (but not) level of disastrous, eerie collapse its entails. While this release is worthy of a placement on my Best of the Month list I didn’t end up having a full review’s worth of things to say about it beyond appreciating the incredible keyboard work, the loosely knotted rhythm guitar runs, and the inevitably overflowing emotional weight of its immerse. Should spark interest spread between everything from ‘Dance of December Souls‘ to Midnight Odyssey even if it their sound is not necessarily black or death metal.

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Info:
ARTIST:	ENPHIN
TITLE:	End Cut
LABEL(S):	Pelagic Records
RELEASE DATE:	June 24th, 2022

Ah, eureka! Verstimmung!? *insert deeply frowning emote w/glasses + goatee* These starry-eyed psychedelic eleckro-humpin’ Finnish changelings and their admirably boldest ego-death yet come as a bright spot of obsidian glinting in the black mood of June, defiant of today’s bunk-ass brand eagerness and satiating their collective post-apocalyptic cyborg heart with a nom indicatif of “enfin“, a choice of mot which indicates a sort of breath of relief that something has ended. Consider ‘End Cut‘ their moment to light a proverbial cigarette and boost the most daring bits of ‘Osiris Hayden‘ (2019) and its dregs-mauling expansion of repertoire, amping their industrial synth/darkwave complexes to a once more unique state… the core processor’s motivation landing its progression somewhere between miserable, ecstatic, and ascended. Without the implied journey being clear and immersive I don’t think I’d have made it through all ~50 minutes of ‘End Cut‘ and its electro-emergency groove thumpin’ dread rock, it ends up being exactly that stimulating, just heady enough to keep pushing through to the final point of resolve. Most keen gear: “Protocosmic”, “Moth”, “Communion”.

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Info:
ARTIST:	ARTHUR BROWN
TITLE:	Long Long Road
LABEL(S):	Prophecy Productions, Magnetic Eye Records
RELEASE DATE:	June 24th, 2022

A roots-stoking event from the God of Hellfire himself and longtime compatriot Rick Patten, this latest full-length album from English progressive/psychedelic rock legend Arthur Brown reminds (or, more likely educates) us of where he’d built up his name as a vocalist and notable performer in the late 60’s via his groups popular first incarnation The Crazy World of Arthur Brown (featuring one of my personal idols Vincent Crane of Atomic Rooster) and their still celebrated hit “Fire”. Though this isn’t a retrospective work or a tug at nostalgia by intent, ‘Long Long Road‘ does certainly have the late 60’s/early 70’s blues-to-rock translated swagger and ‘shroomed heavy rock swerve of his best remembered era through about 1971. The fellowe has certainly been active in the last however many years with various releases but this is arguably the first to receive a serious push out the door as we celebrate the artist’s 80’s birthday with its on the dot. “Gas Tanks” takes us to the exact right spot, the soul of the artist beaming and “I Like Games” gives us the apropos wink and a nudge but the bustling revelation of “Going Down” and the liftoff/landing of “Once I Had Illusions” parts I and II offer the heavy, spaced distraction ‘Long Long Road‘ needed to spark more than nostalgia on my part. The lyrics spill a special sorta guts on those two parts that I’d found myself combing back to over and over. Still plenty of magick in the fellowe, just make sure you pick up ‘Galactic Zoo Dossier‘ and ‘The Crazy World of Arthur Brown‘ before you know what hit you with this one.

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Info:
ARTIST:	HELLFIRE DEATHCULT
TITLE:	Al Nombre de la Muerte
LABEL(S):	Helter Skelter/Regain Records
RELEASE DATE:	June 30th, 2022

Back in 2018 I’d written in to Deathrune to try and score a copy of the then upcoming Crucifier record and the response was “Sure, here are some.” minus the one I was aiming for… but the silver lining was that among the records I’d gotten was Sarinvomit‘s nuclear LP from that year alongside ‘Black Death Terroristic Onslaught‘, the second full-length from Chicago, Illinois-based war machine Hellfire Deathcult whom have readied their third LP and first with new drummer Hammer ov Death (Absconder, ex-Leproso) tapping the tanks. I’m all about bestial death metal, war metal, and blackened death metal permutations which lean into the chaotic and grinding of the senses unto nuclear threats but you’ve got to have riffs and a fantastic drummer with plenty of rhythmic nooses to knot if I’m going to listen to fuck all for more than 15 minutes, these guys absolutely have the right stuff in that sense. The way this guy snaps at his snare gives ‘Al Nombre de la Muerte‘ a completely murderous affect, giving the album an intensely textural pulse worth repeating. Their hardest punched-at pieces (“Devoted to the Order ov the Black Light”) and their slower abyss churners (“Divinities Damnation”) showcase a band pushing for more than the standard high energetic harassment, and it is rare that this type of band actually manages imposing music worth repeating rather than a compelling take on chaotic blazing about.

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Info:
ARTIST:	ENCHANTMENT
TITLE:	Cold Soul Embrace
LABEL(S):	Transcending Records, Cosmic Key Embrace
RELEASE DATE:	June 24th, 2022

Long dormant yet still beyond capable romanticist death/doom metal quartet Enchantment have finally slapped us across our doubting mouths with this elegant, if not a bit tight-lipped kiss of a second full-length. If you’re not a dipshit and got heavy into melodic death/doom beyond the basic early 90’s entries from the “Peaceville three” deal you know there was much, much more to that particular movement to say and do beyond 1993, in fact the real potential of that perceived sound hadn’t reached critical mass ’til about 2001 but, anyhow these Blackpoolers were among very few who’d shown up beyond ‘Towards the Sinister‘ and ‘Lost Paradise‘ who’d never had a too-pronounced awkward phase, shopping an impressive demo tape (‘A Tear For Young Eloquence‘, 1993) ’til the then already on fire Century Media picked them up. ‘Dance the Marble Naked‘ (1994) is the ideal argument for the gem in hindsight, the thing that could not be, since today you’ll likely not have it rubbing nips with the exceptionally popular ‘Wildhoney‘ as you approach it like the rest of us did back then. At that time it’d been ‘Go head-on gothic right then and there, or go home‘ for this sort of band and there was no indication that these guys were ready to chuck their progressive-edged death metal soul since they’d shuttered within a year of its release. Also, the album art/layout sucked something fierce on that record.

Have they changed drastically since splitting up in 1995? Nah, but the guitar arrangements do stretch out into a few unexpected tangents once in a while amidst the general preservationist’s continuance of what they’d accomplished back in the early 90’s. The romanticist melodic death/doom metal dance is one of emotionally driven, imprecise musicianship and often somewhat janky rhythmic movement which tightens up for its big moment. The ‘amateur yet ambitious’ wonderment of the niche is the first thing a lot of nostalgic folks erase from their revisitation of the old ways, thinking they’re professionalizing naïve development. Perfectionism is where we lose the soul of classic death/doom (see: On Thorns I Lay) and in this sense Enchantment retain their quirks, their still belligerent death metal beast clashing with the beauteous and dark poetic vision, which is so well alive here on ‘Cold Soul Embrace‘.

Have you ever told someone to just be themselves, and they’d visibly crumpled under the thought? Not these guys. — The authenticity, within the context of previous work and the applicable niche, they’ve managed is something us eldering doom saps will recognize and appreciate right away. That’d be the most honest major appeal of jumping back into their ‘more Poe than Lovecraft‘ form of death/doom metal which remains well balanced between heavier roared aggression and dread whispering gloomcraft. I appreciate how Enchantment‘ve sensibly revived their sound rather than trying to mash it into an off-color modern standard, or, the sort of out of touch shit we’re used to getting from bands with such gaping gaps in between records. They’re clearly hip to who they are and where they want to take it, so, this makes a huge difference for the ultimate brilliance that ‘Cold Soul Embrace‘ presents.

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