Teitanblood - Purging Tongues (2011)

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This is just a friendly reminder that this EP is still out there in the ether, and if you're not privy to it you're missing out on some seriously heinous death metal; brittle to the bone, bestial to the core and downright barbaric in its sonic assault.

This still might be my favourite thing Teitanblood has ever released, as a whole, a 15-minute slab of nefarious death/black metal with a strong foothold on a sound that is bigger that the sum of it's parts; It's just downright feral in sound and unequivocally dense and heavy, especially from 04:45 - 06:15 into the song, that's insane. All while paranoid sermons weave in and out in Spanish like its been sampled out of some raw Spanish horror flick. I'm not sure why, but it just really floats my boat.

Here is that translated excerpt over at Anvil of Doom. Read on my wayward sons.

Teitanblood - Purging Tongues (bandcamp)

Cara Neir - III / IV (2019)

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This album has quickly worked its hooks into me; Discordant jangly guitars bounce around a cavern of technical drumming, weaving out odd time signatures with prickly rhythms against a barrage of shrieky growls. The combined method is bizarre, throwing everything in the blender from post-rock and math-rock to black-metal and D-beat. Something to that effect. It as a whole is actually really difficult to nail down, and it's brazen attempts to meld everything together is confusing, but it's refreshing, and I'm enjoying the experience of listening to its entirety. Which is the whole point, right?

Name your price on bandcamp. Enjoy, or don't.

Cara Neir - III / IV (bandcamp)

Sinmara - Hvísi Stjarnanna (2019)

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Icelandic metal has garnered the attention and reverence of many, predominantly in the underground bestial arenas–most likely, I would imagine, due to the intellectually impetuous execution of the sound and the brazen Icelandic ethos when it comes to writing music (I've had my ear to the ground with Icelandic music since my visit in 2010 and have attended multiple Iceland Airwaves festival since) and their unmatched ability to amalgamate between sounds and influences in a way that remains true to its purist form while pushing boundaries in a way that fails to be contrived.

Let's quickly pay heed to all of Iceland's impressive successes within the last few years;

Sinmara, Svartidauði, Misþyrming, Kaleikr, Wormlust, Ljáin, Carpe Noctem, Naðra, Zhrine, Mannveira, Örmagna, Almyrkvi, Auðn, Skáphe (partially)

Notable company for a windswept country of only 300, 000.

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Sinmara's latest Hvísi Stjarnanna is proving to be another Icelandic release worth paying attention to this year. As I write this I have only listened though it's entirety once so far, and I'm liking everything I hear… Though I questioned if I would prefer a slightly murkier production (a la maybe Misþyrming) for this ilk but It's quite in line with their previous releases which proved to be on the money. I digress, nit-picking aside, Hvísi Stjarnanna is a formidable beast in the realm of forward-thinking black metal among the upper echelon of Icelandic metal.

Hvísi Stjarnanna features whirring guitars that pirouette through a curtain of dissonant riffs that often bloom into these bright flourishes which lend a melodic atmosphere amidst the bludgeoning backdrop of drums and fills–I like the use of the cymbals to bolster rhythm beyond the skins, something that metal cut from this cloth underutilizes in my opinion… The vocals are what you'd expect, but that's not to undersell them, it's well met and mixed in in a way that doesn't overbear and snuff out the brooding atmosphere that dips and swells throughout.

I found myself notably impressed with the bridge at 04:07 on the track 'Crimson Stars', is there a whiff of Bel'akor like melody to be heard? Maybe. Probably not, but I find myself impressed to find it on here nonetheless.

I will be posting more new Icelandic metal in the days to follow. Enjoy it, or don't.

Sinmara - Hvísi Stjarnanna (bandcamp)

Death Fortress - Reign of the Unending (2018)

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Death Fortress were heinously late to the end of the year release bukake party in 2018 putting out Reign of the Unending December 26, 2018 but I still squeezed them into my top 30 year-end list because Death Fortress sounds like a stadium of troglodyte brutes scrapping over mating rites to a gurgling harem of virgins.

it's a dense wall of churning bass and guitars, both dizzying and ferocious, weaving in and out of cannon-fire like drumming in an arena where the orator is a gargantuan ancient beast, snarling proclamations of cosmic war and  misrule. J. Aversario's vocal belch is what drives the sound beyond its predecessors (in terms of heft) and what makes it almost a grinding chore to get through its entirety… and yes, I do mean that as a good thing.

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I have yet to buy this album on bandcamp, but as per usual with Fallen Empire Records, this album is set to a 'name your price' option which is more than generous considering labels have to pay for; Production/mastering, studio, artwork/layout, pressing/distibution, website, on top of other miscellaneous costs… 'name your price' download is essentially free if you input $0, but at the very least input a $1 to show a modicum of appreciation for the DIY, and then take it further and browse through the rest of the venerable Fallen Empire catalog and buy those as well. Give what you can, and you'll be richly rewarded by Belial. I'm going to be buying this album as soon as I post this (among others).

Death Fortress - Reign of the Unending (bandcamp)