Written by Kep Amiensus – Reclamation: Part 1 > Progressive black metal > Minnesota, US > Releasing April 26 > M-Theory Audio When you think about black metal, there are probably certain adjectives that spring immediately to mind. Cold, for example, or maybe something like “icy” if you’re feeling frisky. Furious. Animalistic. Angry, or maybe anguished? Evil, I guess (sorry, I might be rolling my eyes a little bit). Unrelenting. Raw, maybe, depending on what sort of black metal most quickly comes to mind. “DIY” is one I think of also, since so many of the black metal ..read more

Written by Kirk One Eyed Ancestor — Binate > Atmospheric industrial doom > British Columbia, Canada > Released March 29 > Syrup Moose Records Do you ever stop and think about how much the world changed as a result of COVID?  It had been 102 years—almost to the day—since the last global pandemic, and it changed the way almost every human being conducted their lives on a day-to-day basis.  Gone were a great many of the comforts and luxuries many of us had grown accustomed to, and yet it also created an opportunity for people to find new interests, new hobbies, and dis ..read more

Written by Kep Mære –  …and the Universe Keeps Silent > Dissonant death metal > Germany > Releasing April 19 > Transcending Obscurity Records German dissonant death outfit Mære prefer their existence and their music alike be shrouded in the thick shadows of darkness and mystery. Their 2020 debut EP I—which I joked was the second-best EP named I off all time behind Meshuggah’s—dropped with support from Lavadome Productions but little fanfare, the project’s Bandcamp listing no member names or production credits. The song titles were themed but ..read more

Written by Westin Hekseblad – Kaer Morhen > Melodic black metal > Michigan/Massachusetts, US > Releasing April 19 > Hypnotic Dirge Records “Punk is dead” is a common refrain that’s so ingrained in music that it’s become memetic. It’s gone from earnest to rejected to ironic to post-ironic and all the way back again, constantly igniting debate about what the phrase and the genre itself even mean. Although no such phrase exists for black metal, a similar sentiment has lurked within the culture for decades, ready to decry the death of the “trve kvlt” and incite arguments about wh ..read more

Written by Kep Atræ Bilis – Aumicide > Technical death metal > British Columbia, CA > Releasing April 19 > 20 Buck Spin Vancouver four-piece Atræ Bilis burst onto the scene in the back half of 2020, right when we all were locked in our houses trying not to get sick. And, like many other folks, working from home with a lot of the rest of my life on pause, I was pouring myself into new metal releases on a weekly basis. I latched onto Divinihility and its 22 minutes of crispity crunchy tech like a goddamn leech, naming it the second-best EP of 2020 ..read more

Written by Kirk Castle Rat — Into the Realm > Doom/trad metal > Brooklyn, NY > Releasing April 12 > King Volume Records Somewhere deep in the heart of Brooklyn stands a lonely hill, lost and forgotten to the annals of time.  At the top of this hill and surrounded by a nigh-impenetrable forest and fog so thick you could lose your hand is a castle, its walls eternally wet and covered with moss.  Though the walls seem on the brink of collapse and the floors look as though they could give way at any second, it remains as sturdy now as it was the day it was built, a testa ..read more

Written by Kep Replicant – Infinite Mortality > Dissonant death metal > New Jersey, US > Releasing April 12 > Transcending Obscurity Records I listen to a lot of metal. I listen to it a lot. So much so that I’m pretty sure my wife has accepted it as part of the permanent background to her life. Rare is the band, though, that can make enough of impression to jump out amongst the sea of heavy shit I listen to and make her say, unprompted, “I like this,” and then, later, again unprompted, “I really, really like this.” The Kep’s Wife Stamp of “Damn That’s Good” list is ..read more

Written by Kep Cave Moth – In Memory Eternal > Grindcore/black/screamo > East coast, US > Releasing March 29 > Independent/self-release After the first time I listened to In Memory Eternal, I took two or three days before listening to it again. In that two or three days, I asked myself “Should I review this?” on more than one occasion, because In Memory Eternal sounded very little like the Cave Moth I thought I knew. I eventually decided that yeah, I should, and finally gave it a second listen with ears as wide open as possible. It was (and ..read more

Written by Kirk Cell Press — Cages > Grindcore/noise rock/sludge metal > Quebec, Canada > Released March 8 > The Ghost is Clear Records/Ancient Temple Recordings/No List Records (Scene opens) (You are in a dimly-lit dive bar as you fumble your way into the men’s room, the hinges squeaking loudly in spite of the band blasting away on stage. As your eyes adjust to the change in lighting, you see a guy snorting something off the sink before catching your reflection in the mirror and spinning around to face you, a weird grin on his face.) HIM: Hey, man! This your first time comin ..read more

Written by Westin, Ellis, Kep, and Kirk Well friends, February is over and March has arrived. The neverending trudge of time carries on heedless of our protests and priorities. Each day brings us yet another step closer to the end of another month, the end of another year, and the end of our human existence. Onward we march; onward we toil. But February also brought us some killer metal and metal-adjacent shit, so let’s talk about that instead! As per usual, quick links to our reviews of February releases: Spectral Voice – Sparagmos Amiture – Mother Engine Stellar Remains – Wastelands Commande ..read more