Antagonyze: Interpretations of the Unknown Wilderness
Out 19th April on Chaos Records
Boils the dark operas of The Chasm down to their raw materials, a process painful to watch but rewarding in outcomes. The questing surrealism of the Daniel Corchado’s signature compositional form is jettisoned at great cost, but the underlying architecture is pleasingly direct, efficient, borderline utilitarian. Blunt, linear thrash collides against drab doom licks, and alien, undulating death metal tangents deployed as milestones indicating key transitional moments. Antagonyze deserve credit for never allowing a theme to simply be. These pieces insist on recapitulation, deploying all manner of ancillary material as a means of unpacking it further. There is work to do in this regard however, as divergences or accents are deployed to cloak what can at times be rank repetition. But the flaw is minor, with most tracks throwing out a plethora of coherent and incoherent developmental material that is in turn bound together by an overarching purpose made apparent before the close. This is further enhanced by some creative melodic work in the lead guitar department, which adds much needed context to the amorality of the rhythm section. Melodic doom plays a role in juxtaposing with the blunt object of a formative South American thrash influence. All bound together with an undying commitment to unsettling monstrosity through illogical and at times frantically disruptive deviations.
Engulfed: Unearthly Litanies of Despair
Out 19th April on Me Saco Un Ojo/Dark Descent Records
Türkiye’s Engulfed return for a long awaiting second run at the full length format. Whilst I have previously praised this outfit for their ability to work on Incantation’s lawn without resorting to caverncore filler, there is a sense in which we have heard it all before. Their previous EP ‘Vengeance of the Fallen’ released in 2021 deserved attention for convincingly unpacking the ‘Diabolical Conquest’ format. ‘Unearthly Litanies of Despair’, whilst deploying many of the same magic tricks, fails to advance the discourse any further, resulting in Engulfed falling back into the homogenous blob of so much contemporary death metal pulling on these same strings in the hope of a different result. Maybe that’s too cruel. There are plenty of riffs across this album that are very much of their own brand. The problem is – you guessed it – they are not really taken anywhere. ‘Voidwalker’s Dominion’ sees the neat interplay of a handful of modest themes, before diverging into a brief solo to kill time, a hint of development via a link phrase, before devolving into simplistic, mid-paced chugging as a way to contrive some theatre or at the least a sense of progression. And so it goes. Engulfed warrant accolades for at least trying here. They are a cut above 90% of OSDM pick-me bands. They are conversant in death metal and have a clear identity buried within their riff language. This sadly cannot salvage them from looking in need of a little direction across the bulk of this album.
Nuclear Tomb: Terror Labyrinthian
Out 19th April Everlasting Spew Records
Essentially offers the melodic contours of mid-80s Voivod via the linear delivery mechanism of Sadus freneticism. There are actually many scattered grooves and borderline industrial breaks that call to mind Eric Forrest era Voivod more than anything. Odd callbacks aside, as knock-off retro prog thrash goes Nuclear Tomb present as studied, creative, dare we say intriguing. But the rolling cast of familiar characters that make an appearance across this LP leaves one questioning the purpose of this exercise. The galloping atonal runs are executed with poise, informed by early hardcore punk as much as they are speed metal. But the breakdowns that are clearly meant to align this music with the progressive tier of metal are delivered somewhat as an afterthought. Bridge material deployed when more basic ideas run out of road, or simply as a reminder that Nuclear Tomb want to look interesting. But the failure to integrate the quirks into the DNA of the music, to motivate them beyond a mere affectation leaves one questioning their efficacy. The individual components at both ends of the stylistic spectrum found on ‘Terror Labyrithinian’ are serviceable, but it suffers from an ailment common to contemporary extreme metal. A lack of integrated vision, a gestalt that clearly communicates something to the listener beyond the referential.
Coffin Curse: The Continuous Nothing
Out 22nd April on Memento Mori
Coffin Curse are reminiscent of Vader in spirit if not in content. A vestigial thrash influence is clearly present, but more importantly, it leans into the dense, frantic, almost bombastic violence within death metal innovated on Slayer’s ‘Reign in Blood’, but most profoundly expressed on Deicide’s ‘Legion’, and regurgitated on Vader’s ‘Black to Blind’. Technical ability aside, it’s a style that’s easier said than done. Where Deicide exercised an almost monomaniacal focus on what they wanted to convey, there is a tendency to mistake literal density with an excess of styles. Coffin Curse move through a number of eras, locales, and traditions across a single track, but for the most part pivot on early Vader cross pollinated with classic Tampa bands. Tremolo runs of chromatic absurdism at times call to mind Profonatica, before falling back into an old reliable Slayer riff. Things further fall apart with verses falling back on a simple 4/4 chord sequence for the sake of delivering vocals dictated by garden variety phrasing. Whilst the attempt to provide an anchor for these pieces is understandable, they destroy the momentum and further clutter pieces that are already creaking under the weight of content that Coffin Curse have stuffed into them. A convergence of intent is found wanting, despite the knowledge and ability clearly present across ‘The Continuous Nothing’.
Candelabrum: Transmutations
Out 25th April on Altare Productions
Warrants comparison to Yamatu in its ability to conjure up atmospheres of a liminal, half reality. An endeavour somewhat hampered by vocals that lean into the emotive, tortured soul affectation with a little too much gusto. A light guitar tone serves as backing to modest synth lines which are in essence the lead instrument across this album, despite their simplicity. The levels in the mix would also lead one to conclude as much. Simple back-beats form the bulk of the drum work, forcing the music into a sequence of easily followable vignettes, each unique for their expressive and atmospheric qualities if not their melodic content. As with much atmospheric/ambient black metal that attempts to force the genre into spaces it may find discomforting, it suffers from a lack of a manifesto on black metal itself. As a result, it helps to read Candelabrum as an ambient project that leverages the techniques of black metal. Yes, they indulge in major keys more than is typical of atmospheric black metal, and foreground comfy synth lines to a greater extent than is usual, but as far as the actual form of black metal is concerned, this album is of little interest. That’s not to say it is without value. As a tentative experiment in texture and momentum it has much to offer. And instantly sets itself apart from the vast majority in this regard. But the need to convey an atomised, individualised anguish is a detriment to producing a coherent or lasting musical statement. Chalk this up as a wonderfully idiosyncratic curiosity offering snippets of meditative material as opposed to a fully realise statement of any kind.
Dauþuz: Uranium
Out 30th April on Amor Fati
Dauþuz lurch their cutesy conceptual gimmick into the 20th Century on this latest offering. Setting aside the satire to be mined [sic] from such a weirdly specific thematic choice, Dauþuz are noteworthy for offering a lackadaisical variant of elegant, flowing melodic black metal. In this regard they are a little blander than the kitsch packaging suggests, leaning into post metal sparsity and unearned catharsis as much “atmospheric” black metal is wont to do these days. But the melodies themselves carry a kernel of profound lyricism that elevates these works above their context. There is also a dignified folk undercurrent that lends a sense of gravitas and nuance to the undertone of proletarian tragedy at the heart of the subject of mining. That being said, the pieces, long as they are, do not seem to be directed by any clear guiding motif. Sure some passages are returned to, even developed upon, but all is linear, playing for time, with no clear sense of development. The latter of which is conjured from switches to higher pitches that fail to disguise the use of rather rudimentary harmony, or else clean vocals that, whilst delivered with spirit and ability, fail to compensate for the gaps in the compositions. For black metal focusing on pathos and obvious emotional payoffs one can do far worse. And Dauþuz deserve credit for at least pointing to a form of proletarian black metal focusing on the mechanics of industry at the macro level as opposed to the individualist protest music of RABM. But so far this is little more than a suggestion, with a blank space awaiting a fully realised musical vision to underpin these lofty ideals.
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