Ethereal Riffian – Aeonian [Ukraine, Stoner / Doom] (2014)

Mulligore Productions | 2-25-14

Lets us get this out of the way. Ethereal Riffian is sort of a silly name unless you can shrug it off as stoner humor. From the now popular country of Ukraine comes Ethereal Riffian which wants nothing more than to add to the universe unearthed by bands like Sleep and Ufomammut. The band is seeing their 2014 debut released on cassette through distribution by Tarturus Records. I quite like the new artwork as the black and white balance is more appealing than the band’s first album art which looked like a cover for a DMT documentary.

Heresiarch – Wælwulf [New Zealand, Black / Death] (2014)

Iron Bonehead | 3-14-14

From the arms of Dark Descent Records to the equally loving hands of Iron Bonehead comes the maelstrom called Heresiarch and their second EP Wælwulf. Heresiarch was loosely related to follow New Zealand acts Diocletian and Witchchrist but since then their lineup possesses no connections. The band is free of ties and responsibility and possess a freedom to make primitive black noise. I understand sometimes people use the term “madness” and “barbaric” to describe metal music but it is important to realize what near lawlessness would sound like. It certainly would have the atmosphere yet be entirely without grooves or points for orientation.

Cemetery Fog – Shadows from the Cemetery [Finland, Black / Death / Doom] (2013)

Iron Bonehead | 3-31-14

I usually like to focus on music from the current calendar year but then again, cassette demos are usually timeless. Back in the early days of 2013, there was this Finnish band, who couldn’t decide on whether or not they wanted to be death metal, or doom metal, or black metal. So this Finnish band, whose name is Cemetery Fog, decided to be all three. Back in 2013, the band released their third demo Shadows from the Cemetery which probably stayed in the hands of friends, family, and websites who stumbled on it by accident. Today in 2014, Iron Bonehead re releases this treasured gem for a greater audience. Who knew that while we slept, the sounds of death and doom where being played with gloomy grandeur.

Wildernessking – The Devil Within [South Africa, Black] (2014)

Grimoire Cassette Cvlture | 3-14-14

The amount of metal coming out of Africa is minimal at best. The majority of African metal either comes from the northern countries (Algeria, Egypt, Libya) or South Africa. Wildernessking is from South Africa and by all intents and purposes fits within a very large family of atmospheric black metal with varying relations to post rock. The band’s debut album The Writing of Gods In the Sand impressed and surprised a handful of blogs and critics. Despite African metal being an easy prompt for review, Wildernessking survives on its own merit with their 2014 EP The Devil Within proving to be of similar caliber.

SwampHög – Pearls For Swine [US, Sludge/Doom] (2014)

Grimoire Records | 2-10-14

Swamphog has made their Bandcamp distinct from other possible iterations of the same name by being the first attach “666” to the address. Make no mistake, this Swamphog is here for evil and the possibility of Satan. This will be my third review for a Grimoire release in 2014. Though I just found this label a month ago, the level of dedication to craft and the openness to other genres is fantastic. Before was black metal, now we troll the bogs of the underworld.

Daggers – It’s Not Jazz, It’s Blues [Belgium, Hardcore / Metal] (2014)

Throatruiner Records | 3-31-14

I would like to point out that the album cover for It’s Not Jazz, It’s Blues by Belgium based Daggers ruins a nice black and white aesthetic which I have been trying to maintain. In fact, I dislike this cover immensely. It makes me uneasy, anxious and, quite frankly, ruins my day. I feel this is a great starting point to embrace Daggers.

Sun Worship – Elder Giants [Germany, Black] (2014)

View From The Coffin | 2-28-14

This right here is the reason that randomly searching the internet for music is one of the better hobbies outside shipbuilding. Sun Worship is an unsigned German black metal band with a release on what seems to be the a start up distribution called View from the Coffin. The surprise with Sun Worship and their debut Elder Giants is the level of craft present in the recording contrasted with the band’s almost non existent exposure. Make no mistake, this is one of the better releases this year and I would have missed if if not for accidentally falling into its cold withered arms.

Lie in Ruins – Towards Divine Death [Finland, Death] (2014)

Dark Descent | 2-4-14

This is an exercse in precision. Lie in Ruins is a Finnish death metal act with a release on Dark Descent Records. This is similar to Corpsessed, which is another Finnish death metal act also with a recent release from Dark Descent. In fact these two bands live less than an hour away from each other. If there were not so much good European death being released, then things wouldn’t become a problem. in fact if Corpsessed and Lie in Ruins released their records years apart, it would be cause for note. the fact that it came out within the same month is sending me to struggle to keep track.

Corpsessed – Abysmal Thresholds [Finland, Death] (2014)

Dark Descent | 2-4-14

I sort of get the introduction to Corpsessed’s debut Abysmal Thresholds. The thundering entrence to the album acts as sort of fanfare following two well reviewed EPs. It is an archway that could be thought of as, well, an abysmal threshold. Corpsessed begs its listener to fall backwards into Lovecraftian death where only madness and the occult hold political sway. While not as cavernous as bands like Grave Miasma, Corpsessed is one of a handful of bands from Finland which makes convincing and sometimes unnerving death metal.

Torrid Husk – Caesious [US, Black Metal] (2014)

Grimoire Records | 2-4-14

I just discussed Grimoire records being at the weird middle of different styles and now this record is here. Torrid Husk is not at the center of different genres rather a clean and neat package of black metal with only slight modifications. The funniest part about searching out lesser known metal bands is running into releases that may have been released last year to the attention of fewer than deserved. Torrid Husk’s debut Mingo was silently released and celebrated but without much fanfare. The band follows up their first on Grimoire records with a short yet concise EP with second wave flirtations as well as a deep groove which runs like jagged wire throughout the record.