ONE:Knelt Rote – Alterity
Normally, when reviewing or describing any album you can use a simplifying approach to distill the main identifying pointers of the album and break them down and then reorganize them neatly in a summarizing fashion the reader can understand, so that they know a) what the damn thing is, and b) if the reviewer thinks the album is good or not. Talking about a Knelt Rote album in simple words is a near impossible task, both because nothing about it is simple or condensable in a way that does it justice, and also due to its craziness and near-implausible traits, it yanks on so many of your emotional strings that it leads you to lose focus on your primarily rational summarized writing goal. That said, their new album Alterity is an utter monster, and while one can rest assured that we’re talking about grindcore here – the most liminal strains of grindcore, however – on the other hand, so many other aspects of this band and its music seem to stretch beyond grasp and get lost behind a puzzling and ungraspable horizon, so some context is essential to help understand the beast we’re dealing with here.
TWO: INFERNAL COIL Within A World Forgotten
Infernal Coil arrive swinging right out of the gate with the opening tracks ‘Wounds Never Close’ and ‘Continuum Cruciatus’. The haunting feedback layered in behind the chaotic drumming creates an uncomfortably eerie atmosphere. Connally’s vocals are a stark reminder that there are absolutely such things as monsters. It’s a devastating start to an extremely accessible album for death/extreme fans.
THREE: Cult of Extinction Black Nuclear Magick Attack
German one-man bestial war metal abomination CULT OF EXTINCTION have created a pestilent and apocalyptically fucking DECIMATING debut release like none other. Black Nuclear Magick Attack is hideous error of creation spawned from a place of utter wretchedness and spite. It is the sound of one man going over the edge, vomiting out all the hatred accumulated in his life in the span of thirteen godless, malefic, and fucking crippling minutes, in which the sole laws of sanity and decency seem to have been mocked, humiliated, and annihilated beyond repair. In their debut EP this human aberration seems to have taken the savagery and mindless violence of bands like Revenge, Nuclearhammer, Necroholocaust to a new implausible extreme.
FOUR: Malthusian Across Deaths
This release byMalthusian, their first full-length, is an unrelenting pummel of despair and darkness. I don’t know what neighborhood these guys come from in Ireland, but I have to say I hope it’s a lot brighter than the music they’ve given us. Otherwise, I might fear for their sanity.
FIVE: Vessel of Iniquity s/t
Ungodly fuck. What the fuck is this? What have VESSEL OF INIQUITY created? A gaping hole leading straight to oblivion carved into flesh of reality… This is sonic destruction of otherworldly form. A broken and disfigured chasm of unimaginable aural torment… Press play on the player below and listen for your selves…
SIX: Dagger Lust Siege Bondage Adverse to the Godhead
The album begins with “Augury”, a short, industrial power violence assault. The drummer is flat out here, at tempos most commonly found in the world of Grindcore. Laying a truly pummelling foundation. The bass is cavernous and murky, further hidden behind the cloak of white noise artillery from SVN. This track has no dynamics. Just all out savagery. The twin vocal attack fades out into wretches and sewer grunts. The over-riding layers of throbbing noise melt seamlessly into the next track.
SEVEN: Serum Dreg Lustful Vengeance
At just 22 minutes long, Serum Dreg‘s debut album, Lustful Vengeance is an intense experience that has violated me since the first time I listened to it a few weeks back. But I keep going back for more. I can’t help it. The album has such an organic feel to it. It’s loose and raunchy, dark and dreary, and it’s jam packed full of attitude.
EIGHT: Hissing Permanent Destitution
Hissing hail from Seattle Washington and create a frenzied concoction of noise, death, and black metal. Permanent Destitution is the bands first full length, debuting on Profound Lore records. I have to admit that coming into this review I was quite intimidated. Hissing have an extremely complex sound, one of which should not be encountered by someone new into extreme music. I don’t mean to sound pompous, or one of those stuck up metal dickheads but this is an album that is going to make sense to those who really appreciate the minute details in extreme music. All I ask is that if you want to experience this album you MUST put a damn good pair of headphones on, and be ready to submit yourself to an anxiety drenched ride into the bowels of insanity.
NINE: Temple Desecration – Whirlwinds of Fathomless Chaos
Total destruction! Total chaos! Total mayhem! Total darkness! Total unholy fucking awesomeness!
TEN: Psyche Een pathologie van de geneesheer
From the very rough dutch translation the title reads something like Pathology from the Physician or Physician’s Pathology. Furthur translating Psyche’s songs titles reveals a litany of similar themed words such as “Insane,” “Bestial,” “Mercury (?)” and “Cranial.” I am not here to hack my way through Dutch translations rather put into context the debut full length from Psyche, a one metal black metal act that seems to use a variety of different projects for various voices.
Words via TAPE WYRM
ELEVEN: Valdrin Two Carrion Talismans
Anyone who appreciates some RAGING BLACK DEATH is going to fiend for the new release from VALDRIN.
TWELVE: Dearth – Of Martyrdom and Polluted Faith
A wild sonic WHIRLWIND OF BLACK DEATH that never lets up!
THIRTEEN: NECRORACLE MMXVIII
As I’m writing this, sunshine is streaming through my window, but what’s pouring into my eardrums is a black sludge of pure hatred!
