Desultory: Darkness Falls (The Early Years)
Out 30th April on Darkness Shall Rise Productions
Blueprint for the formation of Swedish melodic death metal as a direct descendent of late 80s thrash, specifically the Kreator school. This collection of early material from Desultory (much like the recent Unleashed collection) is instructive in the evolution of European death metal whilst no doubt pleasing longtime fans of Desultory in particular. Shortform atonal riffs delivered in punchy staccato measures are gradually elaborated upon as the compilation progresses from the ‘From Beyond’ demo, through to ‘Death Unfolds’ and ‘Visions’, and melodic material is gradually introduced as a key player in the compositional to-and-fro. Vocals also evolve from a highly accented punk bark into more emotive mid-range death growls befitting of the increasing complexity and divergent riff engagements. As the tectonic plates become more unstable, guitar leads are forced to mutate from brief bursts of chromatic energy into self-contained lyrical vignettes in their own right, serving to contrast the at times repetitive energy of the rhythm section which – for Desultory and a lot of European melodic death metal at least – failed to fully match the increasingly complex percussive nature of US death metal. A curiosity that will please academics and fans alike.
Gigantophis: Heretical Reborth
Out 22nd June (2022), self-released
Motions towards glum lo-fi black metal, all of which cloaks an unusually cohesive stylistic incontinence. This Colombian oddball introduces progressions by switching key, tempo, or even genre with a rare confidence and guile, whilst somehow maintaining a rigid aesthetic package, keeping the listener locked into an uncanny compartment of experimental gloom. Like witnessing traditional black metal come apart at the seams in real time, this musical fracturing is a once removed facsimile of Norwegian black metal of the raw variety, injected with explicitly incoherent, borderline combative non-linearity, bringing it closer to a true expression of the avant-garde in the non-hyperbolic branding sense of the term. One could draw comparisons to Beherit, Black Funeral, or even early Ungod for its playful darkness hinting at liminal gradations of open space. Mocking in its clunky facades, which in turn conceal hidden depths of sincere, well crafted melodic centres, genuine melancholia, and surrealist narrative progressions, supplemented by lavish dark ambient framing. All is offset by a profound and liberating sense of play.
Clactonian: Dea Madre
Out 12th July, self-released
Cacophonous and obscurantist grinding black metal featuring members of Thecodontion and Ashen Tomb. This brief EP showcases three tracks along with a cover of VON’s ‘Lamb’. Of the original material, it should be no surprise for anyone familiar with these musicians that it hubristically marches out with a fully formed identity, confident in its treatment of the well trodden ground of dark, grindcore inspired black metal in the shadow of Beherit and Blasphemy. Whilst a murky haze lurks over the music with suffocating vigour, Clactonian set themselves apart with an unusually pronounced melodic character, alongside a basket of riffs one would normally associate with the darker aspect of deathgrind al-la Blood. This allows them to articulate longer (relatively) tracks with multiple moving parts, different phases, foreground key revelatory moments, and a wide array of emotional contours. Any allusions to chaos are mere framing devices, build passages giving context to a broader narrative, replete with a profound mysticism befitting of their prehistoric subject matter. Rhythm, both within the drums and the articulation of riffs, is also used to great effect to contrast with linear runs of atonal tremolo riffs, allowing surprisingly elegant lead guitar measures to play around a sense of conflict and resolution. All couched within a blunt, barbaric implement of sonic violence.
Krypticy: The Non-Return
Out 25th July on Memento Mori
Commendable for its attempt to more convincingly integrate a progressive tendency into the full blooded death metal blueprint, something a lot of purportedly progressive death metal has failed at of late. This is achieved specifically by flattening out the dynamic range and recruiting frequent percussive accents of simple chromatic exchanges. But Krypticy have been overzealous in this endeavour, foregrounding “quirky” melodic contouring only to dispense with it for long stretches of the album, resulting in a serviceable but so-so slog of OSDM fodder with little to offer beyond competence. The usual incongruous transitions between poor-man’s Suffocation riffs into Autopsy offcuts make up the bulk of this album, at their lowest ebb even resorting to scraping for bottom-of-the-barrel slam. What hints we are given of a more cerebral beast lurking beneath are tantalisingly brief, but present for those willing to look for it. Although I’m not sure why you would in this glorious new age of content abundance.
Mayhemic: Toba
Out 26th July on Sepulchral Voice
Bears all the hallmarks of Chilean thrash in its excitable abandon, although perhaps a little less focused than Demoniac or Critical Defiance. Thrash, much like disco or swing, is a retro genre by its very nature. What these Chilean bands get right, Mayhemic included, is in their ability to not only draw on these explicitly pastiche calling cards, but update them, apply a lick of paint, dust off the cobwebs and add a sense of modernist gravitas, making of it an entity fit for the 21st Century. It is perhaps fitting that the individuals most suited to this project are once removed both geographically from the home of this genre in North America and Germany, and historically given that these musicians were born well after the initial wave of thrash had all but expired. The references to metal history since that time presented on ‘Toba’ are obvious but not explicit or browbeating. A refined melodic character hinting at neoclassicism, an abstract urgency borrowed from late death metal’s avant-garde wing, bracing washes of guitar noise rented out from black metal. All are fully integrated into the grounded immediacy of thrash (and earlier speed metal, yes I’m aware of the “thrash is a marketing term” take). Despite Mayhemic being slightly more by the numbers than the Chilean contemporaries I have thus far come across, even boasting some rockist tendencies at times (see ‘Valley of the Thundra’), they embody all that is exciting and unique about this part of the world and its astute ability to drag old forms kicking and screaming into the now.
ColdCell: Age of Unreason
Out 26th July on AOP Records
Attempts to re-energise depressive black metal through rhythm alone, and whilst the drummer deserves credit for injecting dynamics and tension into otherwise shortsighted material, there are clear limitations as to what they can do to elevate such an unimaginative display of lacklustre riffing. Motifs plod along, unclear of their goal or purpose besides articulating a vaguely drab aura. Ditto the bass, which, despite its clear prominence in the mix, adds little beyond percussive phrasing to route-one rainy day black metal riffing. Hammed up hyperbolic vocals embody much of what is wrong with modern black metal, clearly referencing landmark voices from the genre’s heyday, but injecting this with contrived, vulgar displays of emotionality. ColdCell are adept musicians without a voice. They understand harmony, arrangement, and how to craft the look and feel of well thought out phrasing, but – aside from the aforementioned drum work – seem devoid of a mission beyond demonstrating a checklist of techniques. They are hardly unique in this regard, but will perhaps be praised by undiscerning critics who mistake adept musicianship and clever mixing for a creative vision.
Hate Meditations 
Colombian.
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