Mannveira - Vítahringur (2021)

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Iceland has earned an automatic grace with me—If I see an album under the canopy of black/death metal being put out from the windswept nation I will always direct some time and energy into listening to that thing, and you should too… They've earned it. The list of quality albums coming from that tiny island has got to be the highest per capita out of anywhere else?

I digress, musically Vítahringur is a melting pot of all those Icelandic sounds but with more poise. I see Mannveira slapped with a black metal tag everywhere, but not only is that lazy, it's not accurate. Without dipping into the overly formulaic and trite discussion of genres (and their sub-genres) its worth it (especially in this case) to acknowledge the myriad of nuance. 

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Its foundations are built mostly upon the Icelandic black metal sound of whirring and hypnotic guitar chords much like Naðra, Sinmara, Svartidauði and Misþyrming (etc.) albeit with a little more focus on the space around the chords and creating atmosphere through something more of a doom tinged approach of canyon like mid-tempo, which often features lofty guitars akin to post-metal more so than black metal. A standout difference to me is in the vocal mix, which favours a much bulkier sound than its counterparts, barely if ever dipping into anything of a shrill like scream that's become omnipotent in Icelandic black metal. Before I get to verbose I'll just say that Mannveira have achieved something dense and great here, as always, worth your time and energy!

Mannveira - Vítahringur (bandcamp)

Cirith Ungol - Half Past Human (2021) [EP]

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Cirith Ungol are very much part of the old guard of metal, having been around for over four decades albeit with a few minor pauses and lapses in activity they returned in 2020 with Forever Black, planting their flag in the ground with some exemplary old-school doom laden heavy metal with tinges plucked from the crossover scenes of back then.

Just recently they released another crop of tunes under the same umbrella of doom/heavy metal and though I winced at the thought of it biting the big one but it never let me down at all, much like Forever Black… Sounds like the good old halcyon days of the genre. Half Past Human is just a fun listen through, and if you don't think so then you're probably taking things too seriously, maaaan.

Cirith Ungol - Half Past Human (bandcamp)

Midwife - Luminol (2021)

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The Flenser has been an incredibly reliable merchant in the world of sonic satisfaction for a long time now and I don't think any of that is going to change moving forward—Music begrimed in reverb and a penchant to delve into strange territory will always have a home here.

And with that Midwife, both begrimed in reverb and strange in its own right. Madeline Johnston commits her dissonance through a musical cloth which has been woven through threads of magnificently bleak guitar tones that often give way into something beautiful and dark with the help of a thick atmosphere of reverb, feedback and warm ambiance. Often serene and calm but with an omniscient feeling of dread and malaise. I don't think its through way of self-deprecation or a fatalistic outlook that Madeline chooses her austere landscape but through way of her own self-critique and disenchanted mindset when it comes to life's many riddles and follies. For fans of Sister Grotto, Planning for Burial, Lightning Bug, Drowse and Whirr.

Midwife - Luminol (bandcamp)

Antediluvian - The Divine Punishment (2021)

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If you have been following this blog for a while now you'll know that I am fully in favour for all the qualities that Antediluvian are bringing to the death/black metal sound (which has seen itself run into the ground in the last 10 years)—Those aforementioned sound traits are the primitive whirlwind of tones and energy that gets baked into its crumbling atmosphere which bears the feeling that it is suffocating within itself. Feral and crude.

The way the drums are mixed in (and played) is what really sets its sound apart from its ilk—with the floor toms being tuned quite deep and played at a slowed down plod they evoke that same ritualistic or hypnotic quality that bands like Irkallian Oracle or Mitochondrion tap into. Not to say that Antediluvian's soundscape has the consistency of molasses, it very often moves towards the driving chaotic and bestial sound indicative to the style but even then it still retains that prevalent esoteric soundscape. The vocals are some of the best in the genre in my opinion, mixed perfectly and offering an onerous range that should send chills down your fucking spine, especially when those vicious guitars churn through the way they do in their dirge.

The Divine Punishment isn't out until September and as of posting this there is only the one track to sink your teeth into, but hell if you're anything like me, you'll have enough to whet your thirst. Nuclear War Now! Productions rarely gets anything wrong.

Antediluvian - The Divine Punishment (bandcamp)

Big Brave - Vital (2021)

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This monolithic slab of drone came out a mini aeon ago and for some reason I have been sleeping on its dedicated post. It was never not going to be posted here. I have listened to this record a lot… It's a hefty listen, permeated throughout is Big Brave's signature lofty guitar chords buzzing around in a trance like state as reverb and feedback collide into each other creating waves of mollifying noise modus operandi. If you're at all familiar with Big Brave, which you should be, then you know what to expect in Robin's inspired vocal croon—Incantation like, ritualistic and poignant with a whole heap of heft and energy behind it. Still on Southern Lord after all these years too, I like it.

Big Brave - Vital (2021)

Bootlicker - Bootlicker (2021)

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Bootlicker are Vancouver's contribution to the incredibly blown out and raucous federation. A frantic, albeit jangly, hodgepodge of d-beat, crust punk and hardcore thrown into the pot with a tinge of Oi! a la the Hard as Nails working class era of Close Shave. The guitar tones enter into some real nice territory on this one, down-stroked to hell and mired in a thick curtain of grease. Strong Boston Strangler presence on here with the choppiness of Arms Race and Violent Reaction.

Bootlicker - Bootlicker (bandcamp)

Lykhaeon - Opprobrium (2021)

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Opprobrium has come as a pleasant surprise to me, this being my first listen through of Switzerland's Lykhaeon, despite being familiar with the duo's other gigs (namely Arkhaaik and Ungfell) I wasn't privy to this release until very recently when I noticed the unmistakable album art of Elijah Tamu stamped on here as a promising omen.

The total sum of this album is a cascading force of equal parts bestial death metal and black metal, with much serpentining throughout between shifting tempos and bubbling atmospheres which traverse an array of barbaric soundscapes that sometimes land directly on the festering underbelly of some hellish pit. With aplomb Lykhaeon are able to circumnavigate their way through these monolithic tracks without succumbing to the "heard that before" like boredom that comes from a lesser mix. Fans of Bestia Arcana, Vassafor, Temple Nightside and Mitochondrion will enjoy everything on Opprobrium with great zeal.

Lykhaeon - Opprobrium (bandcamp)

HIDE - Interior Terror (2021)

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HIDE are a noise based duo from Chicago that are carving their way into the fray with a reeking blend of hypnotic electronic wrapped in a thick wall of pulsating noise which serves to unearth sounds that make the listener feel supremely uncomfortable. Much like how The Body use driving bass and drums to evoke discomfort, HIDE take it in a multitude of different directions that range from the fetid industrial dirge of early Pansonic to the post-punk noise of the perfectly executed Daughters record from 2018. This won't be for everyone, this won't even be for most, but a small amount of you masochistic sycophants will somehow for some reason derive a sick pleasure in the sounds from Interior Terror. I'll listen to anything coming out of the Dais Records library, I guess.

HIDE - Interior Terror (bandcamp)

Fyrnask - VII: Kenoma (2021)

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Fyrnask is a band that was turned on to me back in 2013 following their smouldering release 'Eldir Nótt', which much like this new offering, was uncompromisingly good. Fyrnask are something of an anomaly these days in the sense that they are able to blend the floating lurch found within ambient soundscapes with the cavernous heft found within doom metal and then transmute that sound into a break neck gallop found in second wave black metal and then further pair that with other nuances and flourishes found within the ranks of the genre wheel… All without succumbing to that infectious defect of gussying up the sound to be more palatable to the masses. Fuck all of that.

You won't find any such placating here on VII: Kenoma, instead Fyrnask use their raw energy as a means to build upon layers of atmosphere, which takes on many shapes throughout the dips and swells of each sizeable track ranging from cacophonous and feral to thought-provoking and poignant. Imagine mixing equal parts early Ash Borer with Misþyrming and Altar of Plagues, and then interspersing flecks of Morne and Bölzer.

This comes highly recommended!

Fyrnask - VII:Kenoma (bandcamp)