Hate Forest - Innermost (2022)

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The Unquenchable merchants of aural fury and barbarism ride into the end of the year with a late release of their trademark black metal and its sheer immensity picks up right where 'Hour of the Centaur' left off. Buoyed by the tumult of this year, and no doubt the years prior, intensity and animosity is a palpable force on 'Innermost' as torrents of icy riffs wage war with the galloping bombast of Hate Forests' typical unrelenting blast-beats and of course Romans gruff vocal belt, which atypical for the genre, lends bulk and threat behind its framework.

It's because of releases late in the year like this, that I try to hold off on cementing any type of year end list. The more spins I rack on Innermost, the more it creeps into my list… The riffs are compelling and impactful, and few out there match the primitive velocity Hate Forest conjure. The riff a minute into "Temple Of the Great Eternal Night" is a Bolt Thrower level war anthem!

As of the day of this posting, 'Innermost' is set to be released by Osmose Productions tomorrow, so I don't have a bandcamp link directly to the album, but me and everyone else without an early-listening link have been listening to it through this YouTube link the label provided.

Foreseen - Untamed Force (2022)

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Finland's Foreseen have been around for a better part of a decade, throwing their weight around in the arena of thrash and crossover, and they have never before faltered in their approach of agitated dirge. They continue the destruction on Untamed Force upping the ante with riff after riff under a production that is right on the money here—Mirky and heavy to the point of crumbling but not brittle under its own weight.

This is what crossover sounds like when you listen to English Dogs, Crumbsuckers, Whiplash, Razor, Verbal Abuse, etc.—Drawing upon the well but never sucking it dry without throwing your own thoughts and ideas into the pot. I'm into everything about this record!

Foreseen - Untamed Force (bandcamp)

Chasm Shroud - Manna From Heaven (2022)

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You peer into the void. You see nothing, but hear faint sounds in the distance emanating from the yawning maw of black space…

Manna From Heaven came out of nowhere, suddenly appearing (no demos or EP’s prior) and carrying with it some of the most intriguing black metal I’ve heard all year—It’s hard to pin down exactly, but a strange energy circulates here, like it’s been ritually charged and imbued with unknown intent.

The above statement might feel hyperbolic or even trite, but the overall sense is something palpable—An ominous portent of oblique black metal soundscapes reverberating around hypnotic dirges in a hallucinatory haze of frenetic dissonance. NAME YOUR PRICE, don't be a knucklehead!

Chasm Shroud - Manna From Heaven (bandcamp)

Ara - Gurre (2022)

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Channeling the same austerity and heft as was circling around the fjords of Norway in the 90’s black metal sound, Ara (meaning “Era” in German) ride under those same black banners—Evincing a similar raw power through a bottom of the barrel production and a flurry of icy tremolo picking.

It’s form over function and it sounds PRIMITIVE! A thousand other bands released albums in 2022 that tried to do the same thing, but few captured Gurre’s ability to do more with less. This has been flying under the banner of most from what I can tell… I think it's a great black metal album with a grimy punk tinge to it. Recommended for fans of Okkultokrati, Bone Awl, Raspberry Bulbs, etc.

Ara - Gurre (bandcamp)

Leucosis - Leucosis (2013)

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This is a record that's been put up on here before but it's high-time for a re-up since it's been buried by a swath of posts that have come after. Leucosis' self-titled output from 2013 is the bands pivotal release, in my opinion—Its heft hasn't been dulled by the years one fucking bit! It remains a force of brute and murky doom metal flanked by a raw and oppressive black metal, unpolished to the point of practically having a veneer of patina over every track.

Albums are often over-credited with being monolithic without actually having an over-bearing power or stature. Leucosis' self-titled is a towering monolith, with a running time of something like 75 minutes. It's a weighty vestige to second-wave black metal with a backbone of doom, often serpentining throughout itself with pure dirge, crawling and atmospherically devastating.

This whole album is exemplary but its shining achievements are what puts it above its contemporaries. Those being the way is was produced and mastered—raw and gritty. Moreover, the way the drums sound in particular is unlike anything I've heard before. It sounds improvisational and the timbre of the kick sounds burly and under-produced… which results into something completely unconventional. SOUNDS LIKE A HAMMER FROM HELL!

Leucosis - Leucosis (bandcamp)

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)

Sepsis - The Divide 7" (2022)

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Here's an illusive slab of frenetic crust punk/hardcore from the murky depths of Australia few here will be privy to but likely interested in! Drenched in reverb and grime. every corner of music is ransacked by overblown tone and bass, giving little time for reflection beyond total destruction—It sounds and feels like the halcyon days of newly-shaped hardcore, when early thrash was in its conception, but with ample energy taken from the UK crust scene of yore and what the band claims as a strong influence from the Swedish hardcore scene.

Taken from their bandcamp page: "Sepsis! A charged 4-piece crust bombardment from Naarm, Australia. Following hot off the heels from their sold out demo, they offer up 4 tracks thats are inspired by early UK crust with a strong Swedish hc backbone. For fans of Absolut Country of Sweden/ Scandinavian Jawbreaker era Anti Cimex, Hellbastard and Sacrilege. Maximum Devastation! Limited to 300 hand number copies."

Sepsis - The Divide (Bandcamp)

Interview W/ Negativa (Hässlig, Délirant)

I reached out to D.B. during the tail-end of the pandemic to see if he had any interest in chewing the fat with me about the many projects he's been involved in—Negativa had just put out a new record and it quickly became something I overplayed, which spawned a relatively short discussion as you see it below! D.B. doesn't miss, so check out all of his releases through Negativa, Délirant and Hässlig as well as an ear to the ground with his label Bile Noire… And it goes without saying, if you're not staying up to date with what Mystískaos and Dissociative Visions are releasing, you're just fucking the dog, as far as I'm concerned.

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SHOM: First of all, it’s gotta be said that I have thoroughly enjoyed every release you’ve put out thus far under your many banners—Whether it’s through Délirant, Negativa or Hässlig. How is it you manage to put consistent energy into three different bands?

DB: Thank you and glad you enjoyed them.

I think spontaneity / improvisation play a big role in there. My guitar skills are VERY basic and I know nothing of music theory, so when I pick my guitar there is no other plan than playing and recording some "random" riffs. 

I'm sure if I told myself "let's compose some music (specifically) for Negativa instead of simply playing whatever comes naturally, I would have a hard time doing it.

SHOM: A whirring, almost hallucinatory tone seems to penetrate most, if not all of your songs. Is this something that is intentionally done or is it more of a tertiary side-effect when pursuing the type of raw and abrasive sound you have?

DB: It was intentionally done in Délirant as the first thing I did for the album was getting a kind of psychedelic and cavernous sound. Basically, it was inspired by its own production, which worked very nice since I managed to finish the entire thing in 4-5 days.

For the rest of my recordings, I'd say its a non-intentional side-effect.

SHOM: Which one word would you use to describe your general sound?

DB: Negativity? (ha!)

SHOM: If Negativity is the word you’d use to describe your sound, could you say the outcome could be used for positivity? In other words, if negativity was poured into it as a form of creative catharsis, do you believe the listener can use that same energy for their own catharsis?

DB: Well it could be… Only unintentionally though, because you can't "induce a catharsis" with music onto someone else (intentionally), I think—That's something that varies from listener to listener, and only they can feel it... Which is why music is (or should be) made for oneself and not for others.

SHOM: How do you tackle the design/layout for all your releases?

DB: I actually work as layout designer so that part is among the easy ones, specially for my releases which tend to be pretty minimal on purpose. If you want to check out some of my work: @visionsnoires on IG.

SHOM: Negativa already has a staunch black metal album release in 2022, any plans to release a record this year between either Hässlig or Délirant?

DB: Honestly, it's been close to a year since I picked up an instrument for the last time, so it’s hard to say…

There is a second Délirant album already recorded since the last 2 or 3 years, it's just missing vocals... Demotivation and the lack of mental health have made me procrastinate with it forever and I have no idea when that will be finished. Hässlig EP will come out on vinyl soon but no new recordings so far.

SHOM: Is this due to musical burn-out or other outward forces in your life?

DB: A mix of things. Musical burn-out, unhealthy habits, massive lack of motivation and mental health (as I said earlier), as well as myself not doing anything to help it and medication doing the opposite of its job. Being tired of everything in general.

SHOM: Mystískaos and Dissociative Visions are labels that I try to follow pretty closely. How’s it been working within these esteemed parent labels? Would you say you share common goals/aesthetics?

DB: It was all very smooth from the beginning. I sent them a promo for the Délirant album (which was originally an EP under a different name) with no expectations at all. Surprisingly they replied a few days later saying they were interested and we started discussing different ideas like making it a full length by adding another track (a 4th one) and finding a more appropriate name for the project, artwork, etc.

Later on I started talking regularly with the head of MSK / Dissociative Visions, doing some visual work for the label(s) and sharing my music with them. We share similar views, ideas and musical taste at least, and considering they have released everything I've done after Délirant, I guess they like it.

SHOM: Which artwork have you done (excluding your own bands) for Mystiskaos/Dissociative Visions? 

DB: Oh, I haven't done artwork for them. Mostly flyers, some trippy videos for promotion, the Dissociative Visions logo, as well as both MSK and DV websites (which are pretty minimal in design, so not too much to see there).

SHOM: Obviously the Mystiskaos/Dissociative label is heavy with an Icelandic Black Metal approach, would you say your Negativa stuff is directly influenced by this sound or just a slight reflection of it with a host of other influences in the mix?

DB: I don't think so... When I think of "Icelandic BM" the first thing that comes to mind is the production, since most of the stuff coming out from there is produced by the same studio. I mean, all the bands sound exactly the same and I can only relate the term "Icelandic BM" with THAT production, (which got boring pretty fast, but that's another story).

SHOM: If you had to pick out one release of all the releases out through Mystiskaos/Dissociative Visions, which would stand as your most listened to?

DB: Now that's a tough one. Most likely Vonlaus' second EP. Andavald LP would be up there for sure but pretty much all releases are great!

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SHOM: Thanks again for chewing the fat with me, looking forward to your next releases and hopefully we'll be back for a part two soon enough!

DB: Of course to both! Thanks!

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)

Assumption - Hadean Tides (2022)

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In the arenas of doom/death metal, Assumption are a brutish juggernaut of sheer force and gargantuan magnitude, wielding —Hadean Tides was officially uncaged yesterday and its presence is a seismic amalgamation of glacially paced doom with bouts of frenzied death metal peppered throughout.

As I search my skull for fashionable adjectives and pithy aphorisms to describe this I can't help but think of Convocation's debut album "Scars Across". It's equally as crumbling and bulky in its weight, with emphasis on a slow churn and plodding rhythms, albeit with flickers of a gallop but never quite hitting a sprint. Kudos to the artwork being the underbelly version of a Turner painting, bang on!

Assumption - Hadean Tides (bandcamp)