Demo / EP / Split

Anatomia / Pazuzu – Indwelling Morbidity [Japan / Costa Rica, Death / Doom] (2020)

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Jubokko Productions | 3-13-20

So I am going with the current Bandcamp on this release and who is supporting it. Anatomia is fairly well known with a 2017 full length from Nuclear War Now but Pazuzu is a bit more obscure. This split was self released but then is also tagged as coming out from Cain Records and now Jubokko Productions. Let us just assume that there are around 100 tapes floating in the ether with some nasty riff filled death /doom. I do not think I could come up with a more perfect pair as the fatalism from Anatomia combined with the sledgehammer kick of Pazuzu makes for a split that is both intriguing as injury inducing.

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Drycholaeth – Bestial Psychosis [US, Black / Death] (2020)

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Self Released | 12-5-19

LEt us all go through this together. If you release a demo late into the year and/or it was so limited that it never made a mark on the internet, then you get to release it again and I get to include it in the current year for end of the year lists. Now that we have that out of the way, welcome ruin and rot. Much like what the Bandcamp page said, this demo is for fans of Grave and Morbid Angel but I am going to go a step further and say it is for fans of Grave and Morbid Angel and haunted unfinished basements. Drycholaeth (Old Welsh? for Spectral?) is a imposing presence which emanates weirdness and ferocity at a lo fi length. I am glad I didn’t catch this late last year since I would be frantically calling everyone I knew.

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Foul Light – Blood Of Venomous Curses [Slovakia, Raw Black] (2020)

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Self Released | 5-13-20

I feel moments like these are reasons why I search for Bandcamp releases everyday as I feel I am starting to develop an attraction to certain aesthetics. Blood of Venomous Curses has an aesthetic that is not rooted in gore, evil, or anything immediate rather ancient misanthropy. With nothing to precede this release, Foul Light comes out of darkness with the force of a rain that feels like needles against skin. The shock of Foul Light, coning out of nowhere and with the aesthetics desired by a niche of fans, is something that is jarring and wonderful all at once. If you are only going to listen to one raw black demo this Spring to grate against your existence, make it this one.

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Ænigmatum – Adorned in Wrath [US, Black / Death] (2020)

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Self Released | 5-22-20

There is something about the palette of grey, black and blue that makes a cover so enticing. Even before listening to the newest demo from Ænigmatum, one knows what they are in for. Rather than a blistering black-white-red palette of black/death, one is treated to the twisting catacombs of an alien landscapes where walls breathe and the floors arrest your movement. Adorned in Wrath manages to build a non euclidean temple on the border between accessibility and harshness with melody, hooks that dance in macabre circles with dissonant elements and angular songwriting.

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Maniac – Managed [US, Grind / Death] (2020)

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Self Released | 5-5-20

“Recorded in isolation..by choice.” Aside from the color palette of the cover, I enjoy the whole vibe of Maniac. This demo(?) is perhaps the living essence of not giving a fuck and that feeling firing like artillery shells. When Managled gets going, one is given the experience of 90’s style death just caffeinated and forced to watch more gore films than comfortable with. Maniac is perhaps a wonderful herald for times when things are uncertain and this is just a screaming harbinger for impending doom.

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Amargor – Cilicis fragmenten el que queda d’un [Raw Black, Spain] (2020)

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Self Released | 3-5-20

I think I enjoy the overall texture of this record. That sounds weird but as a whole, Cilicis fragmenten el que queda d’unis a grinding experience powered by raw emotion and even more raw production. This project also comes with the tag of depressive black but in reality when you are this far into the tunnel of raw production, there is no distinguishing emotions as you grope in the dark for anything only to find bare walls. This is the first release from Armargor and if this act keeps things up like the draining presence of “Cars fantasmes naixent amb la set que m’agita,” which seethes industrial animosity, then I feel we are going to be strained lovers.

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Abduction – Cyclopean Thunderbolt [UK, Black] (2020)

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Goatprayer Recordalbum s | 5-20-20

I remember being absolutely smitten with Abduction’s 2019 All Pain as All Pain as Penance a cathartic dive into noisy black metal. Now, without much preamble comes a blinding demo with perhaps the coolest name all year. Cyclopean Thunderbolt is a mess of ruminating atmosphere and a production that sounds like a witch loosely chained to the walls of a cellar. I say loosely as the bonds which bind her are breaking and the threat is becoming more of a reality. these are the things I think about when enveloped in throaty vocals and towering guitar lines. This is everything I need at the moment.

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Antiquary – Celestial Fire / Le Palais Noir [Spain, Black/Death] (2020)

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Self Released | 4-20-20

Even though the Bandcamp page is sort of a mess, these two releases constitute the 2020 output from Spain’s Antiquary. Both of them are short demos with a total running time of no more than 20 minutes. Within those 20 minutes however, the listener is treated to a whirlwind experience of black / death leaning towards melody and structure just with a hanging veil of raw production. I feel this band could exist in another production sphere and be even more striking as their ability to stretch their legs musically collides with a catastrophic production. Still, both demos (?) are well worth your time if you have nothing else but gravedigging to do.

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Feral Light – Life Vapor [US, Black / Rock] (2020)

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Self Released | 5-22-20

This was tagged as “Black ‘n’ Roll” in both Bandcamp and Metal Archives but I am just going to tag it as rock until further notice. I have no idea what constitutes Black ‘n’ Roll but I feel it should be more of a cohesive sound than influences of hard rock. Feral Life is strange but it is their ambiguity which works in their favor. This Us act has a cover which is pulling into the harsh dissonant black / death direction but a sound which is pushing into post metal territory. The band also has a longer history than most of the acts covered on this blog with 3 full lengths in a few short years. Also with a lyrical shift from war to mysticism, it seems like this band is going to take a little bit to bloom into the horrid creature it is becoming. For now we maybe in the evolving stages and for that, Life Vapor is full of intrigue and crisp songwriting that I am strangely okay with all of this.

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Mulla – هل تحتاج إلى [Iraq, Black] (2020)

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Self Released | 4-24-20

Well, this certainly comes with a cautious approach. Metal from non western countries is not uncommon. Black metal from non western countries is a little bit more rare but not unheard. Heavy metal from the middle east is even more of a rarity and black metal from Iraq with lyrical themes about Islam. the only reason why I am hesitant is that daydreaming concepts like this sometimes lead to incidents like Ghost Bath or Janaza where blogs run with ideas before the music catches up. Mulla is new with a full length (complete with an aggressive cover) already completed. هل تحتاج إلى is the acts follow up EP with two songs but a running time nearing 30 minutes. IT takes awhile to actually hurdle the thematic and conceptual aspects of this EP but once people do clear it, they are left with an above average second wave worship with crystal clear production and punchy execution. Its easy to review the music as its agnostic nature under shredded vocals makes it approachable and enjoyable. The lyrical and more meta review of this band is going to be forthcoming as if everything is on the level, Mulla has the potential to be talked about by many people.