Listening to Weirdo Extreme Metal Like it Was Reading James Joyce July 19-25

Everything is the same, only worse! 

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.

Morgue Supplier – "Mastering the Disease" from Mastering the Disease (Atmospheric Grindcore – Corrosive Delirium Records). The world is a strange, cruel place. On the one hand you have one of the bands that pioneered a more atmospheric, emotional approach to grind/hardcore, namely Converge, come around with two albums that seem to strip all of that back. On the other, you have the unrelenting Morgue Supplier (spearheaded by the equally unrelenting Paul Gillis, also of Drug Honkey – new album when?) take on a lot of what those Converge albums were missing. Now, apples and rotten oranges, of course, but still – this is is how it's done. Is it still gross and weird and borderline Discordance Axis-like in the application of demented riffs over weirdo drumming? Yes. But it has soul too. And plenty of it.

Acausal Intrusion – "Vomit Meditation," from Vomit Meditations (Avant-Garde Metal – I, Voidhanger Records). Talk about injecting soul into things, jesus fucking christ. The new Acausal Intrusion feels like a completely different band, in the best way. I'm not saying I didn't like them before, I'm on record for doing just that (to an extent), but this isn't "liking," this is "loving." Ch'ahom + Tchornobog vibes in that unbridled violence-meets-weirdo creativity kind of way. The entire album is fucking magic (trust me), this track is ruthless. 

Wailin Storms – "Never Rest," from The Arsonist (Goth Rock – Season of Mist). Here's one project that was never lacking any kind of soul. I've been consistent with my love for this band, back from their brilliant Gilead Media debut (receipts) and 2022's Silver Snake (more). If anything, what they someone didn't have on tap is aggression, which this album freely delivers on, including surprisingly Middle-Eastern riffs amid this rager of a song. And, man, lyrics I can get behind (and lyrics that might, shooting my shot here, have something to do with the slight ME tinge I've detected here. If so, right fucking on).

Ecliptic – "The Depletion," from To Sima Semu’ul o Kuakul (Avant-Garde Black Metal – Independent). One of those albums that someone might send over and say "Man, I think you'd like this" only no one sent it to me and I just happened to see the artist in question post it online. Which is to say, if you like my brand of atmospheric, aggressive weirdo black metal (Turia, Drouth, and God's Bastard and come to mind – RIP forever Drew), then this will rock your boat, float your boat, and kiss your mom (with her consent, naturally, this is seductive atmospheric black metal, not coercive). 

Anatomy of Habit – "Paired Sentinels," from Paired Sentinels (Prog/Post-Metal/Noise Rock – Independent). Water is wet, Mark Solotroff is bald, and I love Anatomy of Habit (receipts galore). This band of merry sad folk is physically incapable of making bad music, and if you like to gaze woefully into your own soul and find yourself wanting, whether because of anyone else (less interesting) or yourself (more interesting) then this band and this album were made for you. Think of it as the very much American, angry version of Rituals of Shame.

Death. Void. Terror – "( — — ) Ametähna," from To the Great Monolith 2.5  (Black/Doom Metal – Sentient Ruin Laboratories).  First of all, how fucking Ruins of Beverast is that intro? In a good way. Anyhow, the wonderful Death. Void. Terror, the brainchild of some of my favorite musicians/people on planet earth once known as the Helvetic Underground Committee and is now called Jünger Tumilon, are fucking back with a sequel of sorts to their ongoing To the Great Monolith series of albums. Expelling the demons of what sounds like wonderful Urfaust worship, adding more and more layers of both sound/texture and ferocity. In fact, I'm pretty sure in the very scant landscape that is the post-Urfaust world Death. Void. Terror and their sibling projects are as good as it fucking gets. Holy unholy beauty. 

Ripper – "Towards Rebirth," from Towards Rebirth (Thrash/Death Metal – Dark Descent Records). One of the only bands on earth that can still pull off this sound/feel and of course they're Chilean, that's basically the one country that manages to pull off dead things. Anyhow, I didn't notice a run up to this album and it seems like it's all here, so if you feel like moshing with your grandparents (with consent) get in on this.

Deamonolith – The Monolithic Cult of Death (Death Metal – Nuclear Winter Records). This is apparently a 2024 release, originally out on CD via Godz ov War Productions. But, I didn't listen to all that then, and it's now out via tape (the only way to go!) via the wonderful Nuclear Winter Records, who, on top of being a top death metal label in the cosmos, is run by decent people. This incredible 35-minute run of death metal sounds like an evil version of prime Morbid Angel. If you can't open your heart to that, you're dead.

Venomous Echoes – "Æhɔɲ," from Ŋvęŧş: Violator Of Mater (Avant-Garde Black/Death Metal – I, Voidhanger Records). Another unleashing of the I, Voidhanger bottomless pit of bottomless pits, this time with the return of nightmare architects Venomous Echoes. I head great fondness for 2024's Split Formations and Infinite Mania, but haven't been keeping up and frankly it was a warm fondness but not that much more than that. This new album feels fresh, beautiful, and cruel in wholly new ways – kind of like a heavier < c o d e > if that makes sense. Anyhow, great shit for decomposing souls.

FIVE MORE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

ONE: Siderean are making a new album to be released via 20 Buck Spin. AND THERE'S A DEMO!

TWO: Ch'ahom are too releasing new material via 20 Buck Spin. I might have said this already, but bears repeating.

THREE: Errant, the solo project from the multi-talented Rae Amitay (Immortal Bird, Wretched Blessing) released a new "soundtrack for a game that doesn't exist" thing. And it's very 90s-sounding (Aphex Twin-ish I think) and very cool.

FOUR: My four year old fell on his face a few months ago, he was three then, and hurt his front tooth. We were kind of hoping it would blow over, but it hasn't and it's going to have to come out. Today. The worst possible feeling, the sense of your child going to experience any kind of pain. Undescribable chills and heartache. Unicef says at least 63,000 children were either killed or injured in Gaza. 

FIVE: I think I may have either missed or failed to write about the most recent Kali Malone collab that came out earlier this year, with French experimental musician Leila Bordreuil. It's great. What's also great is that it led me to check out some of Bordreuil's other work. Such as this – it rules. 

ONE LAST THING, PROMISE: Last, but in no way least – Scarcity is tracking a new album + pretty sure it's the first one being recorded as a full band, so very, very exciting.