Hovering in the Afterglow of a Presumed Happiness and Wondering What is the Point of Writing about Music Apr 26-May 2

Hi, life is grand and yet my kids are screaming, so is it grand? Had the privilege of premiering a new track off of the debut full-length from black metal wizards Junon, which you should all check out and buy before you regret life. If you've ever dreamed of an Oranssi Pazuzu-Urfaust love child who is also kind of cruel, get it.

Other than that – Keep safe.

If you're new to this metal blog of bones you can also check out the various interview projects I have going on as well as the weekly recommendation posts. And if you'd like to keep abreast of the latest, most pressing developments follow us wherever I may roam (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, Bluesky, TIKTOK etc), and listen to my, I guess, active? (no) podcast (YouTube, Spotify, Apple), and to check out our amazing compilation albums. You could also possibly support my unholy work here (Patreon), if you feel like it. Early access to our bigger projects, weekly exclusive recommendations and playlists, and that wonderful feeling that you're encouraging a life-consuming habit. It's probably a bad idea, but to each their own. On to the list.

Aftoktonia – "Abyssal Dissolution II," from Drifting: Through the Endless Architecture of Voidborn Lunacy (Atmospheric Black Metal – Independent). I wrote about this unreal Norwegian project a while back, and I also promised to keep up with their stuff and apparently I didn't. So, shame on me. This new album, however, now that I have my guilt out the way, is the real deal. It's the real deal. I hope you can read this slowly enough, you see, I'd like to get the point across here: It's the real deal. You want it clearer? Easily the best atmospheric black metal album of the year so far, and easily one of the best releases of the year so far. Are we on the same page yet? Get to it.

Svrm – "Мертвий край," from Мертвий край (Atmospheric Black Metal – Vendetta Records). More outstanding atmospheric black metal, this time as it spews from the mouth from one the greatest living practitioners of that art. Svrm has been on an absolute tear of majestic music since their inception, and for sure since I've been on board, which was with 2018s Згарище. Music that feels like a spirit galloping through the misty woods while carrying a wagon filled with sorrow. I think I need to start writing holiday brochures.

The Holy Flesh – "Teschio d'Orfeo," from Notturno (Psych/Gothic Black Metal – Independent). Not sick of masterful black metal yet? Good. The majestic and dramatic The Holy Flesh are back, and they are pissed and apparently Italian too. I mean, they may have been Italian before too, I don't know, but they sure are fucking pissed. Giving off a very interesting slowed-down, gnarly version of Spider God, for whatever reason, but I fucking like it. I suspect the other tracks will feature some more of the jangly beauty for which we have become accustomed, but this is cool too.

Nourishment – "Silver Shroud," from No Longer A Corpse (Post-Punk/Black Metal – Independent). In the long list of weird things that shouldn't really make me happy (we'll talk about that list one day, today is not that day) is post-punk filtered **THE RIGHT WAY** through whatever other heavy genre. Black metal works too, and this from a project by the name of Nourishment, whoever they are and wherever they may be, makes me, yes, very happy. The wonderful coming together of gothy kids in black playing the synth and absolute killers lighting throats a flame with desolate cries. Lovely, lovely stuff.

Il Silenzio di Dio – "Tonant," from Antenne (Avant-Garde Black Metal – Independent). This track and I have developed a relationship throughout this week that's magical and quite strange. We'll begin with the fact that there's only just the one. But it's so good, so mesmerizing and beautiful, and so vaguely reminiscent of bands I love dearly (Grey Aura, Dola, and Krallice come to mind) that I couldn't stop listening to it. I put it on the couch next to me when I watch TV, I placed a plate a food beside it in an effort to ingratiate myself to it. But, nothing. Just the one track. To say I can't wait to listen to the rest of this album would be the understatement of the month. If the rest is this good (wait, I just offered it some more soup) then AOTY contender in the flesh, out of fucking nowhere. Also, fun fact: In high school I wrote a paper about the silence of God. 

Godless – "Omega Omnipotens: Hosanna in Nullificatio," from Adversus Parousia (Death Metal – Nuclear Winter Records). Ah, taking a well-deserved breather from life-challenging black metal to partake in some life-suffocating death metal. I was not aware of this band, I guess I should have, but this shit is easily some of the best death metal of the year. It's evil, it sounds so fucking good, and the whole vibe is that of a very angry man-eating swamp. Amazing dynamics, incredible songwriting, top-notch musicians. All that is good in life. Also, shout out to Nuclear Winter for being very considerate considering my whole "living in a war" situation given shipping music over to this shithole. A lot of people have been nice, but they were extra life, and so support all the fucking way.

Astriferous – "Arcane Demonomania," from Atavistic Unraveling (Death Metal – Me Saco Un Ojo Records). More brilliant death metal? OK! I fucking loved the previous Astriferous album, as evidenced by this, and am loving this amazing follow up as well. This track seems to be one of the more straight-forward, aggressive ones in a very dynamic, varied album, but even here you can tell this is basically nasty proggy death metal done by weirdo geniuses. Great stuff.

Attrition Cult – "Perverse Infectious Rotting," from Epicaricacy (Grindcore – Independent). Let me tell you, Michigan must be one boring place because the amount of incredible angry music it produces seems to indicate as much. You know what I felt after running through this incredible release? I leaned back in my uncomfortable chair and said, out loud: "God I fucking needed that." Filthy grindcore with just enough variety and pace to keep you sane before it clobbers you to death. Someone sign this crazies.

Inferno – "Circulus Vitiosus Deus (The Infinity Ravages All)," from The Anthropic Sophisms (On The Heights of Despair) (Black Metal – Debemur Morti Productions). Inferno are legends, that's basically the review. Though, to me, they are mostly legends because their previous album, Paradeigma, is one of my all-time favorite black metal albums and #54 on my decade-to-date list. So, a new album is amazing news, the first "single" sounds like the world crashing down, and that album cover is fucking perfection. 

BONUS: Luna Pythonissam – "Desolación I," from Ausencia (Depressive Black Metal – Independent) . Once again, my profound desire to get this list out with nine tracks and nine tracks only has been thwarted by reality. The reality in question being this incredible, incredible sad black metal album form Mexican project Luna Pythonissam. If you don't enjoy sorrow and if you like sunny weather, stay the fuck away from this album. But if you need some soul-cleansing beauty that sounds like winter of the heart, get to this. NOW. Oh, and apparently I already wrote of this amazing project back in 2024. Good job, Ron.

FIVE MORE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

ONE: New Emptiness album coming, a so-called sequel to Nothing but the Whole. I'm going ahead and breaking my fourth-wall as a music person and letting you know right now it's my AOTY. More when some music comes out.

TWO: Dream/synth-pop goddess SRSQ is back with some new music for the first time in literal years. Rejoice.

THREE: Speaking of Michigan madness (see Attrition Cult blurb), here's a fantastic compilation of Michigan-based heavy, thrash, black, and whatever metal. Great stuff.

FOUR: Mississippi band by the name of Seraphim once existed. I never knew that. But they remastered (hi James Plotkin) a 2008 EP of theirs and it sounds amazing. Slduge/mathcore. 

FIVE: Amazing UK atmospheric project Domhain have a great new album out.

ONE LAST THING, PROMISE: I love the Tokyo-based accounts of the great Loaded, always great shit and great taste. They mentioned this from a band by the name of Orphan Donor and they were unsurprisingly right. Aggressive, weird noise rock/mathcore.