Black Grail: Misticismo Regresivo
Out 31st August on Virupi (originally released in 2015)
Concocts an accord between the eccentric operatic croak metal of early Root with the aggressive surrealism of Sigh, midwifed by tastefully restrained dissonance, entropic riff shapes, and cacophonous violence. The album presents a unique murk distinctive of non-Nordic ritualistic black metal. This refocuses the aesthetic output toward internal psychological exploration as opposed to externalised, naturalistic preoccupations. Ritualism may be the wrong word here, as it tends to imply the deployment of repetition to focus the mind and await enlightenment. ‘Misticismo Regresivo’ is primarily a work of disorientation, existing so far in spite of repetition as to frequently interrupt its own flow in order to pull apart the structure entirely, reforming it in unexpected guises. The attempt at mind warping may be kin to the ritual, but the mechanisms are a perversion of the original intent. But for all this window dressing, Black Grail succeed in carving out their own compositional space through acts of exponentially regressive riff devolutions, that, married with the veiled atmosphere spanning this work, make for a rewarding listen of left-field black metal.
Maze of Terror: The Night Where Evil Prevails
Out 4th September on Selvajaria Records
Explores the same terrain of onslaught metal as Krisiun, but attempts to maintain intensity whilst introducing tempo changes, with a convincing level of success. Although Maze of Terror bill themselves as a thrash band, this sits more in the speed/death bracket for its lack of bounce, its horror-fused aggression, and post 1990 lineage. A pleasing barrage of tunnel visioned riff interplay sees incremental developments move through a restrictive but fast moving channel, pitch and key remain limited, but relentless activity is retained through a constant churn of modest developmental material. Maze of Torment are perhaps a little too single minded in places, as violence through repetition begins to look like lack of direction. But at the macro level this EP demonstrates a competence and creativity that marks it out from the pack. A clearer mix stands in defiance of the endless flow of death/black releases in the vein of Teitanblood that replace content with homogenous noise-murk. A clear, gothic surrealism is weaved in despite the more direct approach taken at the mixing desk here. A welcome return to transparency and faith in the strength of composition to hold up without the need to lean on overworked trickery at the effects pedal.
Finsterforst: Jenseits
Out 8th September on AOP Records
Offers a stylistically abrasive concoction of bro-core groove riffs, unearned beerhall anthemics, various melodic metal detritus, and over-therapized emo drivel. The latter of which one assumes was smuggled under the guise of maturity because a bald man with a beard is singing. It’s almost cliché to point out that folk metal territory has been totally ceded to this sort of clownery. But in briefly reacquainting with the genre to explore releases such as this, it remains remarkable how far its sunk. A bucket of contextless fragments lifted from other metal genres stitched together with jaunty accordion licks or pretences to folk authenticity, here redeployed with an attempted veneer of gravitas, the resulting stew nothing more than a series of empty aesthetic flourishes in a – largely successful – attempt to make adults believe that they are engaging with a genuine artistic artefact. Step back, and genuinely contextualise the musical components here, and it becomes apparent that they are simply being shoved around in random fits and starts in the hope that the resulting mess somehow presents as cinematic.
Dantalion: Fatum
Out 8th September on Non Servium Records
Another artist who sees in black metal an opportunity to deliver an over sentimentalised slog of near limitless emotive posturing. ‘Fatum’ is one long finale, an endless melodic tease in dire need of resolution. It’s the façade in front of the building with none of the foundations required to justify its existence. We endlessly spin around washes of circular refrains, delivered without context, in an experience akin to fast forwarding to the end of the film to witness the final action scene in total ignorance of the characters or stakes involved. Dantalion want their music to appear dramatic, pregnant with passionate import, but are either unwilling or incapable of taking their compositions on the journey required to actually deliver their intent. The result is an exhausting and monotonous traverse through the same thematic territory, a stasis, we are trapped at the end of the narrative (one clearly motivated by using black metal as an opportunity for individualist therapy as opposed to naturalism) with no clear idea of why we are here. There is also no clear indication of when Dantalion will put themselves out of their misery and bring this embarrassingly one dimensional confessional to an undignified end.
Excarnated Entity: Mass Grave Horizon
Out 8th September on Nuclear Winter
Melds the earthy folk melodicism of early My Dying Bride with the guttural animalistic doom grind of a diSEMBOWELMENT, resulting in a surprisingly effective atmospheric payoff whilst remaining on familiar compositional territory. Despite its reputation, death metal was once a genre with a considerable degree of colour and bounce, chiefly concerned with unique riff blueprints and left-field approaches to lead guitar work. Today the picture – outside of pale imitations of this heyday – is one of a nihilistic arms race, an attempt to present the densest, bleakest, darkest sonic envelopment possible. With ‘Mass Grave Horizon’, it is at least refreshing to witness a band keen to shine a light into this cloying darkness with a sharp melodic edge, supplementing a perhaps overly chunky guitar tone with moments of clarity, opportunities to situate ourselves in the composition. This latter is also key, in that Excarnated Entity have clearly attempted to compose some music here, as opposed to smashing together some half formed riff ideas into an overcooked aesthetic concept whipped up at the mixing desk and calling it sophisticated. An experience of limited enjoyment, but an experience all the same, which is sadly a strong checkmark in Excarnated Entity’s favour at this point.
Hail Conjurer/Absolute Key: Trident and Vision
Out 8th September on Signal Rex
Dark ambience, noise, black metal, and surrealism collide on this part collaboration, part split EP. Whilst the opening noise track ‘Blood Vision’ feels like a scene setting event that over stays its welcome, once Hail Conjurer kick in with their patented eerie sorrow, here put in service of a minimalist gothic rock groove, the EP swims along in strained episodes of suspended animation, pained histrionics, and abrasive walls of static. There is a dreamy, half veiled aesthetic cloaking the music, as if emanating from deep within a subconscious, forcing itself to prevail upon our reality in the cold light of day. Whilst the collaboration tracks may be the weaker link here, there is still praise to offer these two acts for using the EP – and especially the split format – for its most utilitarian purpose, that of a proving ground, a testing lab for new ideas and directions that may not reach fruition in the full length environment.
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