Ærekær - Avindskjold (2019)

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I can't recall if I have already posted about these guys back when they released their first full-length back in 2018—Blowing right passed the process of writing and recording a demo or EP this Danish duo launched themselves into the sonic stratosphere via a full-length album rife with atmosphere and tonality through a musical cloth woven from early 90's black metal and soundscapes that traverse the entire range within dungeon synth.

Ærekær's sound is the perfect amalgamation between something that sounds both abrasive and pleasant—An abstruse combination of compelling synth arrangements that feel entangled in some other realm backed up against a barrage of caustic and raw black metal.

This is one of those instances where words feel like they fall flat… I can throw a slew of adjectives into this paragraph but it feels like it doesn't matter. Simply put, if you're a fan of densely atmospheric, ambient black metal there isn't a single reason I can conceive why you wouldn't like this. Listen through!

Ærekær - Avindskjold (bandcamp)

Chaotian - Effigies of Obsolescence (2022)

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Denmark’s murky death metal scene has been fertile ground for a death metal sound that I would say is uniquely its own—Purveyors of an atypical cavernous and oblique output with festering guitar chords and drums from hell!

It’s not that these things aren’t being done elsewhere, it’s just that Denmark is on its own level with its own ethos—Similar to New Zealand, Canada, Iceland, etc. Always dynamic and unhinged in a way that is both feral in energy and in production. Listen back to what Phrenelith, Taphos, Sulphurous, Tardus Mortem, Undergang, Septage have done in the last while (hell, listen to Ascendency’s latest EP) and you’ll see what I mean.

I digress, Chaotian's debut album is out in June and it sounds like it’s going to be a putrid pile of nebulous death metal as we’ve come to expect out of Denmark’s quiet, but venerable scene. Take notice and support!

Chaotian -  Effigies of Obsolescence (bandcamp)

Septage - Septisk Eradikasyon (2021)

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One close look at the cover of this album and you would be outta your skull to think this will be anything less than a putrid and rotting slab of death metal with a predilection for blood, fascia, tendon and offal… Only a muppet wouldn't admit the garishness an album like this imposes on the listener but sometimes in the creases of our being we are more fossil hominid than we are homo sapiens. My taste for death metal is mostly in another direction, but it's been a while since I have gone down the rabbit-hole of gore inspired Death Metal, moreover it's an appropriate follow-up to the Taphos post a few days ago as 1/3 of Septage shares a member with Taphos. 

Septage - Septisk Eradikasyon (bandcamp)

Taphos - Blood Plethora (2021) [EP]

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I've posted about Denmark's Taphos before, particularly when their debut album was high up in my Top Albums of 2018 list… and I have kept both ears on them ever since, eager for the next thing. I guess I'll have to settle for this 2-track 7" they released a bit ago featuring some admirably terrible cover art? It looks like something conjured up out of 1994 Microsoft Paint. The quality of death metal more than makes up for the dismal album art though, Taphos are somehow still flying under the radar which is equally about others' desire to seek things out as it is bad taste. Take a listen, and pay attention!

Taphos - Blood Plethora (bandcamp)

LLNN - Unmaker (2021)

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Danish post-hardcore and sludge outfit, LLNN, are trying to get back to what they accomplished on one of the better releases in 2018 (among good company) with their new full-length, Unmaker. LLNN draw from a wide well of musical influences, pulling from their ambient soundscapes that serve to maintain an atmosphere, almost lulling and mollifying the listener before an inevitable wave of crushing metallic hardcore (with a prominently post-hardcore angle) and sludge berate the ear canals. It's forward thinking, but not wholly unique, but it's a welcomed breath of fresh air in a overcrowded palette of other bands trying to do the same thing and falling short. We only have two songs to go by now, until it releases in September, but I remain optimistic. 

LLNN - Unmaker (bandcamp)

Deiquisitor - Humanoid EP (2021)

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Denmark's Deiquisitor dropped a 25 minute EP on us this year and it's a steep descent into the meat grinder abyss of pummelling death metal. Focused on the chunkier side of death metal, there's always a purveying, simplistic brutality to their sound—nothing particularly cacophonous, but meaty with a lot of weight behind its hooks and any semblance of space is squeezed out with Deiquisitor's deliberate assault.

Deiquisitor - Humanoid (bandcamp)