Profane Ruination – Profane Ruination [US, Death / Doom] (2002)

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Self Released | 1-19-22

I would like my demo as raw as possible while still being safe to consume. Profane Ruination comes from a very complex tree of Tennessee based death/black/grind/void music and this venture seems to be the start of something sinister. At only three songs for its debut, Profane Ruination makes an opening statement which is full of not only spastic violence but also veneration for old masters of death metal. Wild solos, eternal riffs, and a drum sound that lives in the basement, this debut demo shows a duo that is ready for many sweat drenched nights in a places I can only assume are dim and humid with death.

Faceless Entity – The Great Anguish of Rapture [Netherlands, Raw Black] (2022)

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Argento Records | 4-15-22

We do not have much to go on at this point. All we have from the Netherlands based Faceless entity is one track from their new full length, a previous release, and a bunch of images and thematics that seem really fucking cool. From just the sound profile of the preview track “Decaying Banners of Existence” when compared to the multipart segments for their 2017 full length In Via ad Nusquam, Facelsss Entity has made great strides in terms of sound. While both of them are still in the raw black universe, “Decaying Banners of Existence” cuts with a more robust sound while still sounding as menacing as recently freed banshees. Combine this is the spectral ectoplasm cover and and air of mystery which builds walls around this release and one could be excused from becoming excited. I will wait until April but everything for this new full length is a promising escape into the void.

Deadyellow / BOBAK – Unbound [US, Black] (2022)

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Self Released | 1-20-22

There is something rotten in the state of New Jersey. I do not know where Bobak calls home but I am going to assume it is near an overpass in the northeast section of the United States. Both bands Deadyellow and Bobak had under reviewed full length debuts in 2021 and this followup EP might be a way to call attention to both projects. Deadyellow brings accessibility to this EP in only so much as the sound inst ear shattering upon arrival. The two songs from the New Jersey project shows the remnants of a post black sound with hints of melody. this is of course dissolved in the second track “Aporia” which is more visceral and ultimately more interesting. The two tracks leads into three from raw black act Bobak. In the style of Bone Awl and other acts found on this site, Bobak screeches and claws violently through three tracks leaving nasty gashes and a lasting impression. This EP does its duty by highlighting two up and coming acts that may have been forgotten throughout the year. Unbound is a reminder that there are horrid things hiding in grisly places.

Phlegmesis – Sewer Pop [US, Death] (2022)

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Self Released | 1-10-22

Somewhere in Massachusetts is a festering wound. This wound is spreading to various projects all centered around the vague notion of death and maybe drugs. Joey Cinz participates and leads various projects such as Morgued, Inhalement, Cacophonia and Phlegmesis which all more or less strive for the same thing which is the gross unease in ones stomach after learning something awful. Sewer Pop is the debut demo from Phlegmesis which strikes a balance between gross aesthetics and irreverent tone. Billed as music one can fuck to, the two songs from Phlegmesis tiers to recreate the manic laugh one gets while watching slasher movies in the dark with just a bong as company.

Vessel Of Iniquity – Graveyard of Dead Gods [UK, Black / Death / Noise] (2022)

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Self Released | 1-12-22

Back in 2017, I wrote about the debut from UK project Vessel Of Iniquity. The self titled debut came out on various labels and I believe I wrote about the Xenoglossy Productions version. I was blindsided by the force and reckless abandoning of the sound. Graveyard of Dead Gods and Architecture of Existence are two “new” EPs for 2022 consisting of songs that were “An old unused EP I found on my hard drive.” The dichotomy between the music and the seemingly carefree attitude of its creator is striking as both EPs feel like a terrible storm. v operates without constraints and the sound of both new EPs has a driving rhythm that feels more like a mounting wave of chaos and confusion. The addition of the music being without a time or place of conception adds to its other-worldly-ness as these two EPs have appeared in our world and now are set loose among the population. This project is unpredictable as it is intriguing and I fully expect to be terrorized by it in the near future.

Extinguished – Vomitous Manifestations [Finland, Death] (2022)

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Caligari Records | 2-24-22

As of writing this review, Extinguished is without a Metal Archives page. I am sure this will change though it seems like the band is just getting together and going through some sort of metal customs area. Extinguished comes by the way of a confluence of Finnish black / death bands namely Obscure Burial, Sickness, and Sadokist. While the sound s of grinding death maybe new for this venture, the energy of chaotic nausea might be a an aesthetic waymark. Though only one preview track available the power and force at which this music is delivered is enough for interest. At the moment of this writing, there are tapes available for preorder which I am sure will sell out soon. I am sure of it as I can see this sound hanging in the air like dangerous miasma.

Phenocryst – Explosions [Portugal, Death] (2021)

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Blood Harvest | 12-17-21

Blood Harvest is a pretty well known label for many and also the source of some great releases in 2021. In fact many of you already know the mode and operation of this label and can probably guess this new release is going to sound gross. Explosions is the debut EP for this Portuguese death metal band which has been released late in 2021. I have designated all December releases apart of a cusp of the year which includes them into the next one. this way even a stellar death metal EP being released on the 17th of December can be celebrated with all of the blood and lava as fitting. Phenocryst revels in the sound of subterranean death but now instead of graveyards, metaphysics or alien landscapes of ruin one is confronted with the violence of geology. Lyrical themes are always fun when engaging with a band as what they chose to base their music around can be illuminating to the way they see the world. As of writing this review, Phenocryst is the only band listed on the Metal Archives with Volcanology as a theme. While this theme sounds wild and random, the type of grinding death fits perfectly with images of pyroclastic flows and igneous fluids. It is truly music that makes me feel underground being pulverized into oblivion by emotionless phenomenon.

Smoke – Ralvurahvavuimago [Netherlands, Raw Black] (2022)

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The Throat | 1-5-22

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This is where we are going to have to clarify a few things. Ralvurahvavuimago by the Dutch black metal project Smoke was released on tape in 2012. You might have missed it. The Throat is a Dutch label that not only releases new works but unearths obscure releases from the past that you might have missed. I believe I would have remembered Ralvurahvavuimago as it has the capacity to make its lister physically ill. With a wall of noise and chaos which pull at the core of its audience, Smoke is the embodiment of of terror. Part of my excitement comes from discovering this label as one more resource into Dutch black metal as it continues to be a region of dark and never-ending misery. This is said in the highest regard as after listening to Ralvurahvavuimago, I need to lay down for a bit and rest.

Kjedsomhet – Reh. MMXXII – Horrors Of The Dungeon [Italy, Raw Black] (2022)

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Self Released | 1-4-22

We are going to start the year off right with some exercise, better eating, and horrid sounds from the dungeon. Kjedsomhet is an Italian black metal project that might be one person or a group of musicians working at a very quick pace. Since November 2021, this project has released four full lengths, two EPs, and one Rehearsal/Demo we are reviewing here. The way Kjedsomhet uses releases is reactionary as the tracks tend to be quite lengthy resulting in a lot of material that might not even be distinguishable from each other. The world of Kjedsomhet is bleak and tracks like the 20 minute opener “Fangehullets Redsler” (Danish for Horrors Of The Dungeon) feel like magical invocations to some horrid creature from the void. It is noisy, repetitive, and ultimately devoid of compassion. Horrors of the Dungeon poses lots of questions with not all of them being answered. Perhaps 2022 will bring closure to these inquires but for now we have a very gross declaration of putridity.