Demo / EP / Split

Cruel Master – Repeat Offender [US, Black / Punk] (2021)

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Self Released | 1-22-21

Black / Punk hybrids often fall into a trap. The inherit rawness of the fusion’s forebears in Ildjarn plus the contemporary sounds of Bone Awl (et al.) have inspired lots of bands to record the harshest sound they can make with sticks-and-stones instrumentation. Which is fine, there’s absolutely a base for that – in addition to the axiom that artists should make the music they want to make. And (not “but”), I hugely enjoy hearing a black / punk artist who pushes a little out of that murk. As the album and track titles demonstrate, “Repeat Offender” is a bit scarier, a bit more disturbing – bringing in abuse, harsh sex, and stalking. I don’t mean to imply voyeurism. If anything, Cruel Master sounds like a band that actually can pull off the “this stuff is pretty horrible, and it’s actually disturbing” aesthetic. If you’re not on board with that, then I can absolutely understand.

Kerasfóra – Denn Die Todten Reiten Schnell [Chile, Black] (2021)

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Self Released | 7-7-21

As of this moment when typing this, there is no information for this band. I am sure things will change in the future but at this moment in time, Kerasfóra has one streaming track and the blackness of space around it. Even purchasing the album as of this moment only allows access to the preview track. Things are a mystery. This is a perfect place for this Chilean act to thrive as its music lends itself to intrigue. By the closing acoustic guitar of the track, “Night’s Symbol” one is left with more questions like what is the rest of the release going to sound like. Pulling tougher noisy black metal, ethereal soundscapes, and the hints of dungeon synth, this band managed to pulls in the ghosts of many sounds under the banner of a title which comes from Stokers novel Dracula. “For the dead travel fast” is a perfect place to start with as a vague overture to a sound which has yet to be defined yet is still enticing.

Leprophiliac / Concilio Cadavérico – La Carne Se Desprende De Los Huesos [Spain / Mexico, Death] (2021)

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Life After Death | 4-1-21

Ah death metal – how art thee in the year of our Bandcamp 2021? Apparently pretty good. Life After Death brings us by a commodius vicus of bloodecay recirculation to a split between two hispanohablante death metal bands. Leprophiliac is from Spain; Concilio Cadavérico, Mexico. Leprophiliac’s two tracks feature that old-school pseudo death-doom, especially on the dirge-esque start to “Flesh for the Beast”. These pick up fast in a tupa-tupa beat and hoarsely growled vocals. Concilio Cadavérico’s two tracks hit the grindier side, infused with HM-2 goodness. The Leprophiliac side will definitely be better for those who are thus far into the Anthropophagous LP and deliberate, not-pejoratively-simple death metal. The Concilio Cadavérico is for those who like it raw and wriggling.

Ancient Tome – Final Tome [US, Black / Doom] (2021)

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Transylvanian Recordings | 7-27-21(?)

I sure hope that the 2027 release date is not a typo and stays up on the Bandcamp forever. I can safely say this is the best black / doom release of the late 2020’s. the combination of black and doom metal has come with a sense of wild abandonment when it comes to expectation of sound. Unlike black/death or death/thrash, there is no agreed upon meeting point and the combination can be any mixture of the elements. Final tome, the second Ep from US based Ancient Tome further complicates this with a 23 minute exploration into a landscape of slowed black metal with punctuations of violent outburst. Final Tome comes with the endorsement of Transylvanian Recordings which has ceased to be a reliable storyteller of horrid tales and a dealer for rotten sounding music. Whether or not this is coming out next month or in 6 years is little consequence since the clouds are gathering on the horizon and things are about to get fucking dismal.

Trhä – lhum jolhduc [?, Raw Black / Dark Folk / Dungeon Synth] (2021)

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Self Released | 4-26-21

Another release where I know next to nothing about anything. Trhä is an enigma. Searching the name of course only gives me Bandcamp and Metal Archives. But what’s more, searching the informational blurbs also gives me nothing. Whether that means it’s a conlang or a more obscure, less-spoken language is something up to debate. It certainly gives Trhä a deservingly mysterious aura, one bolstered by the vague band information that simply lists “Thét Älëf” as playing everything (occasionally written as “jaa”). I fear that the answer is obvious and I’m just ignorant. The music is 30 minutes of raw black metal with distinct melodic harmonies and almost constant shrieks, some of which curiously follow the leads’ notes. I appreciate the craterous snare, sounding like pieces of wood smashed together on “ëpfêrhäth”. Each of the tracks flow through different movements, some of which start or end on a dark folk meandering with distortion. Ever heard of Flying Saucer Attack? Think of the “Further” album, except raw black metal instead of shoegaze-avant-folk. This is a fascinating release, and I’m happy to recommend it.

Effluence – Ballistic Bloodspray [US, Brutal Death / Grind / Noise] (2021)

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Self Released | 4-9-21

I can’t imagine a better title to this EP: this is a ballistic spray of blood. No question. The Czech deathgrind band Contrastic notably merged totally non-metal instruments into their self-titled LP (the one with The Little Mermaid on the cover); but if they were the fun one in the family, then Effluence is like the unhinged younger brother who took his sibling’s imagery a bit too far. This 12-minute EP is an absolutely bonkers mix of technical death metal, brutal death metal, grindcore, and noise. There’s the slightest bit of remaining wonkyness that hints at a sense of humor(???), like the piano on “Unending Separation” and the clarinet on both “Unholy Liquid” and “Miasma of Entrails”. It’s weird, experimental, and intense music – similar to what Genophobic Perversion is doing, and this feels a little more polish in perversity. Celebrate in good vibes.

deathandserenity. – Endless [US, Post Black] (2021)

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Self Released | 6-11-21

The tags for deathandserentiy.’s third release includes an umbrella of styles including DSBM, skramz, and raw black metal. This all sounds wonderful and is something I have been waiting for. The history of screamo is separate from black metal and aside from a few crossovers, the overlap between the two remains on opposite ends of impassable divide. Endless is not the crossover that is going to bring the two styles together rather the new demo from deathandserenity. allows raw black to have emotive tones and offers a chance for depressive black to be played without the need for morbid clichés. Endless is a powerful 7 minute release which not only offers an interesting path forward for wayward genres but also a chance for the band to make a bold statement for 2021.

Natürgeist – Reinvigorated Terror [US, Raw Black] (2021)

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Self Released | 5-21-21

Morris Kolontyrsky is a busy man. The member of Blood Incantation/Black Curse/Spectral Voice/etc./et seq./ad inf. now has a raw black metal project to add to this repertoire in the way of Natürgeist. The “Reinvigorated Terror” EP is a new two-track demo of the layered extreme metal that characterized 2020’s Black Curse LP (which was one of my top five albums of its year). Starting off with a powerful, Weakling-inspired style of US riffing, this demo slowly incorporates more studio tricks than raw black metal usually hits, with layering and slight psychedelia hitting at the end of both tracks. Low-tempo clean guitar leads contrast with that fast-paced black metal tremolo to cool effect. Those deep in the raw black sauce might hear this as another cash-in and dislike how obviously careful the production really is, but I find it immensely successful for that same reason that Black Curse release did the same for me. Plus, it’s obviously a bit crazier than the other Denver bands – penis metal notwithstanding. Give this a hit of mystical, cold, black hell.

Æumbra – Æumbra [US, Black] (2021)

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Self Released | 5-26-21

A search for “Æumbra metal” reveals exactly nine results, none of which tell me much about this band. From what I can tell, they’re a fresh US black metal act with at least one member. I don’t believe we’re at the point of deep fakes for raw black metal. This demo features 21 minutes of strongly melodic raw black metal more so than the punk- and/or noise-inspired strain. Vocals are a constant high-pitched screech but not annoyingly so; more like Silenius from the early Abigor releases in that raspy affect. There’s a ton of wonderfully written tremolo leads that hearken back to the early second-wave Norwegian black metal aesthetic, but in no way does it sound tired. In fact, the paunchy bass lines give this a slight “oomph” where the rawer-than-your-average-bear production really bolsters the melodic sound. While most of them follow root notes, they bolster the leads ever so slightly to make the demo stand as a sonically impressing work. If you can’t tell, I really like this – and the higher-pitched vocals round out the sound to make everything sound dynamic in a way I can’t describe without sounding like a goober or a pedant. Basically (hah!), there’s serious promise for an LP, and I hope they keep that semi-raw sound for the future. It does well.

Brainspoon – Monstrous Chains [Finland, Death] (2021)

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Self Released | 2-12-2021

Ah, this one almost passed me by. If Ye Olde Metal Archives are to go by, then Brainspoon has been around for almost a full decade with two EPs and two demos to their name. “Monstrous Chains” is the second emo – three tracks demo of monstrous Finndeath with slight crossover elements. Dirty and sloppy, but in the way I’m into. And with a name like Brainspoon, you know well what to expect: hoarse vocals, Autopsy-esque production, and punky rhythms that are firmly grounded in death riffing. This is a great example of a demo with more ideas in 12 minutes than what others do in 40; the nigh-3 minute “Graveside” swaps between Sempiternal Deathreign-style death/doom elements (read: not just quarter-speed riffs!), fast as hell switch-ups, and even a couple quick solos for good measure. There’s a slight hollow production to the sound that gives an extra paunch not usually heard in this type of death metal; I like it, beat the bloated corpse. The title and closing track matches cycling solos alongside chugging-engine rhythms. So come on! Do it!