Self Released

KRAAPIDES NAHKA – MANIFESTATION I [Canada, Raw Black / Punk / Dark Ambient] (2020)

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Self Released | 5-26-20

From the cold lands of neverwhere, comes a cassette filled with icy black punk / dark ambient. Black / punk has always been a favorite of mine though the tone and style has always been scathing and alive. KRAAPIDES NAHKA takes the same idea of black / punk and buries it in a winter forest for a few decades before returning with a shovel. Through cracked ground and howling winds, Manifestation I is a haunted cassette of tortured memories and frozen emotions that hang motionless upon evergreens. This cassette just came out and it is currently limited to 2 per customer. I have no idea how popular this will be but I am in awe of its scope and effectiveness at being unreachable.

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Enucleacion – Adelanto Demo 2020 [Chile, Death] (2020)

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Self Released | 5-20-23

This is absolutely 100% rotten. If the eye gouging yellow bordered Bandcamp gore profile picture is not enough to indicate this is the realm of dripping violence, then I do not know what will keep you safe. Since this band is not on Metal Archives yet, we are just sort of shooting from the hip and the tag of black/death could mean many things including slam/death or just a gross combination of everything vile in the metal world. Enucleacion seems to be less concerned with distinction than they do pushing chainsaws into the face of listeners. Gross.

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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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Candlekeep – The Death of the Gatekeeper [France, Dungeon Synth] (2020)

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Self Released | 5-7-20

I am not going to say that it is perfect, but I am beginning to hone the craft of picking out records based on their cover. Not in terms of quality but sound as a noisy record can be distinguished from a more melodic one. I knew what Candelkeep was going to sound like before I opened the page. I was surprised, however, at how much I enjoyed the sound of Candlekeep as it whisked me away to a magical, lo-fi kingdom where its gold sparkled with worn flare. At the moment, Candlekeep has no supports on their page and this debut just came out yesterday. Finding things like this make me enjoy what I do as I feel like someone who just stumbled upon a cozy cottage far into the woods.

Grimwin’s Forge – Grimwin’s Forge III [US, Dungeon Noise] (2020)

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Self Released | 4-20-20

Dungeon noise was a foreseeable branch to come out of the great modern DS wave of the mid 10’s. When one has a group of bedroom producers, experimentation is a natural progression on any genre and noise/dark ambient/harsh experimentation in a genre whose roots go back to black metal was a logical step. Dungeon noise in the mid 10’s however was met with a polarized response which led to scene bickering and even a weird flirtation with NS themes. I hate to precede a review for Grimwin’s Forge with history but I feel it is important that the Dungeon noise scene, at its very core is a remarkable genre that just got assaulted with extra baggage. Grimwin’s Forge III, I feel is a suitable meeting point between the desire for experimentation and the need for accessibility. While noisy and full of atmosphere, the music on Grimwin’s Forge III is still narrative between the rough and burnt edges. This artist also seems to be behind Ancient Iron and both projects have a knack for extremely limited cassettes that are split between commercial products and art projects.

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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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AMON OBEL – The Night​-​fearer’s Funeral [Luxembourg, Dungeon Synth] (2020)

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Self Released | 4-30-19

I want you to be prepped for ambient noise and a sense of windy unease. AMON OBEL has made a dungeon synth record dedicated and based around the lore of Tolkien. That in of itself is not unique nor even a surprise in a genre steeped in fantasy. What is unique and striking about The Night​-​fearer’s Funeral is the anxious presentation that mixes dreamy soundscapes with roots of hidden horror. I do not know if it was intended to create a record with Tolkien lore titles and marry them with ghoulish organ synth and wrap it up with a chilly album cover that seeps any warmth from the atmosphere but I will be the first to say, it works and I am ravenous for more.

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Sørgelig – Sørgelig [Greece, Black] (2020)

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Self Released | 3-27-20

Phew, try to hold on. Sørgelig has been building up momentum for a few years with bleak looking demos and albums that look perfect for cassette tapes. the self titled EP comes quickly after a 2019 full length and by the time 12 minute EP begins, it feels like you are running to catch up with its fervor and forward momentum. With blistering black metal which is thrown at you like kitchen knives, Sørgelig rides the line between keeping their shit together and almost completely fucking losing it. there is little time for atmosphere when everything is collapsing around you.

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Augrimmer – Pantaleimon Speaks / Lynx [Germany, Black] (2020)

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Self Released | 4-5-20

I love that artwork. What a fantastic cover. Augrimmer has been around for a while, in fact, the band has been releasing music for a decade and has been an actual band since the late 90’s. This single/demo represents my first experience with them and by all accounts, Augrimmer has the formula for a chilly black metal record down to a science. With the two shortish songs on this release, Augrimmer swoops like a specter chasing its quarry through dense woods. The adherence to black metal is just as impressive as the bands ability to make the whole spectacle fun and polished. Whether or not Pantaleimon Speaks / Lynx is a herald to s forthcoming release, we will not know until later. For now, enjoy these two songs as you run through the woods with a feeling of dread coming from above you.

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