Omnikinetic – Dragon Hymns [US, Black / Dungeon Synth] (2021)

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Self Released | 1-6-21

Omnikinetic is a prolific one-man extreme metal project from Portland, Oregon headed by VXR. He first came to my attention last year with the release of several war metal-adjacent EPs and demos that excited my ears in a year that was fairly lacking in that genre. “Kinesis” and “Submerged” both had some serious firepower in low-to-middle-fi. Not to mention what interested me in the first place: the black and purple flowers that adorn the cover art “Kinesis”. “Dragon Hymns” continues that destructive yet quirky approach to black death. This three-track demo starts and ends with dungeon synth elements that recall the genre’s proclivity for fantasy. It then dives straight into what one might expect from a dragon: death, harshness, and destruction, with resonant yells and multi-tracked guitars streaming overhead as the synths occasionally peak their heads out among charred homes and melted rock. Firm, intense, and firmly intense black / death of harrowing experience it would be to actually be near a fire-breathing, malevolent dragon instead of a typical fantasy experience.

Grinning Death’s Head – Cataclysm [US, Black / Death] (2021)

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Youth Attack | 5-14-21

We’re on fire now. “Cataclysm” is a two-song EP of black metal plus some crust punk influences and cool use of underpinning synths. Grinning Death’s Head has two LPs so far, both apparently about “misanthropy” and “anarchy” according to Ye Olde Archives. Jason Wood is the only member of this band, hailing from Georgia. Fittingly, Jason has a strong background in noise music and power electronics, in addition to fusing noise into several of his other projects and demos. Grinning Death’s Head seems to be the primary one though, with this EP exploring one’s eventual decline into the “true purpose […] our denouement” of death. The melodic synths strongly elevate this release, giving it an occult hit in black / death fashion. No noise to be found here – this is a singularly clean yet dirty EP.

Torturers’ Lobby – Again [US, Black / Punk] (2021)

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Self Released | 1-23-21

Upon reviewing my list of so-far-listened releases in the first half of 2021, I noticed that I had missed writing on one of my favorite demos so far. Torturers’ Lobby is certainly an evocative name for a band – let alone a photo of a half-decapitated (strangled, perhaps?) dove. The group comes from the hot and humid land of Tampa (though not as bad as Tallahassee, lemme tell ya from experience). The sweat and grime is all over this 18-ish minute demo, throwing screamed black / punk vocals and some serious guitar licks. “Pro War” has a psuedo call-and-response break to it that ends in a dive bomb before blasting back into the fray. Love it. The four-minute outro is nice as well, being a slow burn of guitar feedback, cycling clean-ish progressions, and percussion going on the down side. Lots of that intense, manic black / punk on “Again” – the kind of raw fury that keeps me focused on furiously typing those Tape Wyrm reviews. Get at the power, get at the sound. It rips. Do you? Yes, you do. Believe in yourself, you cad.

AGAIN -DEMO- by TORTURERS’ LOBBY

Bleeding Shroud – DEMO I [US, Raw Black / Neofolk] (2021)

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Self Released | 7-13-21

This came out today and I think I am the only one that listened to it thus far. This is noisy and offensive and it is wonderful. It is difficult sometimes to explain to people the aesthetic of things like this. Bleeding Shroud is a dungeon synth, black metal, and neofolk project with all of those elements twisted around each other and smudged with noise. There is certainly a level of mastery that goes into a production like this as it should be immersive for people without being repellent. Well, maybe a little repellent. The whole of DEMO I isn’t longer than 5 minutes and I have a feeling that it isn’t even finished as there are tracks that feel like they are cut off before finishing. This demo is a fucking mess and for a debut it is certainly a grand statement that is full of violent outburst and layers of complexity blurred under a collapse of noise. Come for raw black and stay for the car crash.

Fossilization – He Whose Name Was Long Forgotten [Brazil, Death] (2021)

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Transylvanian Tapes | 3-21-21

More EPs! It’s a thing, y’know. This debut demo from the Brazilians of Fossilization is an excellent death EP with doom undertones and a crunchy, bassy production. I’m always going to be into a layered guitar aesthetic in death metal (quick, in how many reviews can I put “aesthetic” until Kaptain Carbon calls me out for it). Fossilization delivers on that front. This hits the same spot as a lot of those Vrasubatlat bands such as Triumvir Foul, in addition to the Mylingar LPs from the last few years. While literal vomit vocals aren’t there, we do have those deep roars that slowly build into a foggy hollow. Midway through “Caronte” shows this best, with a slow build in the gloaming resound that builds alongside frenetic guitars. The break toward the end resolves into a slow lament and a strange backing of feedback. That track is one of my favorites of the year so far in death metal. Check this out if you’re into the death / doom aesthetic (there it is again!) that’s really popped up in the last few years. Transylvanian Tapes says it’s for fans of Dead Congregation and Portal. That’s a fair cop.

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.

Sxuperion – Auscultating Astral Monuments [US, Black / Death / Ambient] (2021)

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Sxuperion landed on my digital doorstep with last year’s “Omniscient Pulse”. I reductively described it to friends as “Darkspace but death metal”. In retrospect, that’s unfair; Matthew Schott certainly has some of Tobias Möckl’s proclivity for dark ambient and sci-fi samples, but there’s far more to the Sxuperion project. The project began as something akin to war metal with dark ambient, but upon the release of “Cosmic Void”, Matthew Schott began a multi-pronged series of releases based around the harshness and emptiness of space. Yeah, you know how so much space sci-fi is about the adventure of space? Sxuperion is more like experiencing the long period of utter, incomprehensible, nigh-complete emptiness that is most of the universe. Imagine floating in the Boötes Void – the Great Nothing – with the curious effects of relativity changing your perception of space-time, having you become your own Godhead by being the only form within the formless. With, of course, some of the strongest and coolest black and death metal echoing in your afterburners, be it the laser-effect on “Eyes of Gankhar” or the dissolving threads of “Philotic Astrogation”. Sxuperion’s newest LP is one of my favorites of the year so far, and hopefully it’ll be yours too.

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.