Upcoming Metal: Week of August 17th
Vindicator
Whispers of Death
Releases August 22nd Independently
Genre: Thrash Metal
On their fifth album, Vindicator continue the same sonic barrage the band brought from their debut album There Will Be Blood. Album opener “Whispers of Death...Anxiety's Grip” creatures that crossover thrash combo of driving, fast-paced guitars with an earworm-level gang vocal chorus. I love the bass ringing on the opening of “Thirst For Violence”. Creating that dark, ominous groove before hitting the pedal to the metal in speed and intensity. “Exhaustion” and “Novocain” are an excellent one-two punch in back to back thrashy goodness. Fans of Warbringer & Havok, along with Midnight, will dig the band’s modern-day tribute to the classic 80’s thrash metal scene, mixed with the modern crossover thrash sound of today.
SCORE: 5 / 5
Benefactor Decease
Abnormal Attachments
Releases August 21st on Xtreem Music
Genre: Thrash Metal
Ten years after their debut album Anatomy of An Angel, Greece’s Benefactor Decease deliver a more technical thrash sound with hints of classic 80’s thrash, mixed in with a death metal undertone and musical composition. “Imprisonment Atrocities” has a creative and complex opening riff, with a drum section that flies over the kit, while also keeping in-the-pocket throughout. Panos "Cut-throat" Toufexidis’ vocals have so much visceral phlegm to it in the delivery, making songs like “Acid Stalker” and “Abnormal Attachments” add more stank to the song’s pissed-off attitude. Unfortunately, the production does hurt the album a bit, with the guitars and drums being louder than Toufexidis on some parts. Almost taking away the power and anger his vocals bring to the track. Though a strong follow-up album, better production I think would have helped get the album a perfect score. For me, definitely a step-up from the debut and worth checking out if you like some technical/proggy thrash metal like Sadus and Dark Angel.
SCORE: 4 / 5
Innumerable Forms
Pain Effulgence
Releases August 22nd on Profound Lore Records
Genre: Death/Doom Metal
From the opening bass thuds of “Impulse”, the band just delivers an unrelenting fury of cavernous vocals, driving and aggressive guitars and cannon-esque drum hits. The band is just a behemoth of riffs throughout the album’s thirty-five minute runtime. “Indignation” has one hell of an opening drum strike, with hanging guitar strums adding that otherworldly, Lovecraftian aura to the band’s sound. As Justin DeTore’s unholy, reverb-soaked vocals just add that blasphemic presence to match the song’s bleak and hopeless descension. My personal favorite track was “Dissonant Drift”. Checking off all those boxes that I love in doomy death metal that bands like Immolation and Portal deliver. I recommend this album with a good pair of headphones with a lot of bass on it and letting Innumerable Forms bring the heaviness of doom, sludge and death metal onto you that they perfectly deliver with Pain Effulgence.
SCORE: 5 / 5
Monoliyth
He Who Kills
Releases Aug 22th Independently
Genre: Death Metal
”Rise of The Annihilated” kicks off with a kick to the groin. Hitting the listener right out the gate with heavy as all hell drumming and a palm-muted fury of chugs and tremolo. Andrew Parkinson is just a disgusting vocalist. So much vocal gymnastics on the album, from phlegm-heavy screeches to deep, almost unintelligible gutturals. Songs like “Sanity Unraveled”, “The Killing Floor” and “Exised Unborn” teeter on the line between brutal and technical death metal and the band knows how to tow that line. Brutal as all heavy, heavy musically and just a juggernaut of an album with almost no moments of skipping, this might be a hidden gem and a band to keep an eye on. Do check out if you want that brutality in your death metal from acts like Brodequin, Suffocation and Dying Fetus.
SCORE: 5 / 5
Corridoré
Abandon
Releases August 22nd on Hypaethral Records
Genre: Black/Post-Metal
From the opening moments of “We Vanish To Nothing”, we get a musical landscape of the unknown and anxiety inducing of not knowing if we’ll come out from it alive. Eric Andraska has a great, yelling/wailing vocal cry similar to Scott Kelly of Neurosis and fits the motif of the song and its eight-plus minute runtime. Another standout track is “The Great Demise”, with drummer Nick Bartley making his presence front-and-center. Leading the charge as the band empowers the drumming and leading a headbob-inducing drum/riff combo. For me though, the album has some decent songs, but overall isn’t a complete package. There were moments in “Lying in Splendor” I loved with the creativity in vocal choices and soundscapes, but the other songs were missing something that song had, but I couldn’t put my finger on what it was it needed. Post-metal fans will dig the album for it’s beautiful orchestration of soundscapes and slow, doom-heavy intensity that makes the genre such an audio journey to enjoy. Check out if you are a fan of acts like Cult of Luna, The Ocean Collective and An Autumn For Crippled Children.
SCORE: 3.5 / 5
Amenspear
All My Gods are Dying
Releases August 22nd Independently
Genre: Black Metal
Amenspear captures that gritty, demo-production style of the heart of second wave black metal with All My Gods are Dying. The album’s title track truly creates this ethereal atmosphere, while also adding that dirty guitar tone that Steve Vathis captures perfectly. Almost giving the album a feel of being from the peak of the genre at it’s time compared to being released today. The fourteen-plus “To Feed The Spirit” is a truly heavy piece. Dabbling in atmospheric black metal, with tinges of DSBM at the same time. I LOVED “Our Lady of Sorrows”. Truly capturing that dark, trippy and further dive down the rabbit hole of hopelessness I adore from acts like Leviathan. A strong second record and worth checking out if you want to see how far into the unknown you want to go in escaping reality and understanding how dark the human mind can take you into.
SCORE: 5 / 5
Visitant
Rubidium
Releases August 23rd on Exitus Stratagem Records
Genre: Melodic Black/Death Metal
Florida’s Visitant start out with a banger with the album’s opener “Unworldly”. Chelsea Marrow is just unhinged in her vocal performance on the song and throughout the album as a whole. Her clean vocals are haunting on the opening of “Briars”, before the band just brings the disgust with chugging heaviness and black metal riffs. Drummer Anthony Lusk-Simone delivers some beautiful companion piano on the song as well, in-between blast beats and double bass on this song. From the shrieking vocals and Immortal-like guitars on the album’s title track, to the almost folk/renaissance style closer “Moon Bathe”, the band delivers a complex and beautiful marriage of black and death metal. A strong debut from this US act and someone that I would be dying to hear their follow-up.
SCORE: 5 / 5
Desaster
Kill All Idols
Releases August 22nd on Metal Blade Records
Genre: Black/Thrash Metal
For almost 40 years, Desaster have been pillaging and destroying across the world with their thrash-infused black metal and not stopping until they are dead. On their tenth album, Kill All Idols continues the band’s onslaught and leaves no prisoners behind. Songs like “Great Repulsive Force” capture that second & first wave/melodic black metal attributes, while also adding atmosphere and depth in the instrumentation. With songs like “Kill The Idol” and “Fathomless Victory” having moments of almost classic heavy metal that acts like Uada incorporate into their sound. If you want your black metal to be like the roots of the genre like Venom or Bathory, than this release will light your fire and deliver that rough, aggressive and abrasive sound that makes black metal the unholy titan that it is.
SCORE: 4 / 5
