Beats and yelling shorts, 24th September 24

Skognatt: Andromeda
Out 6^th September, self-released

Synths, arpeggios, drum programming, the futurist starter pack melded with a batch of traditionalist black metal riffing and vocalisations binds together this new space themed direction for Germany’s Skognatt. Berlin school ambient and drone modernism meets an undercurrent of antiquarian lamentation as the cold naturalism extends its outlook upwards. Skognatt’s approach to black metal is typical on paper, undergirded by a strong melodic core. Chord sequences are expressive and teleological, providing a solid jumping off point for simple yet effective lyrical guitar leads to arise from the fog. But – brief as this EP is – less than half the material is metallic. The rest consists of various experiments in space ambient, some easily placeable within the ever expanding purview of modern dungeon synth, some reaching back to Tangerine Dream or Biosphere. It’s a mixture of washed out synth string variations, justifying their minimalism through a dynamic tonal progression, alongside sharper, sequenced melodies that grant the EP a conscious treatment of technics within the process of space exploration, the mechanics required to even behold the vastnesses revered by the traditional black metal elements.

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Vølus: Merciful the Dying Light
Out 7^th September on Vargheist Records

Solo project of Justin Vølus, whose voice will be familiar to anyone acquainted with Vargheist Records’ extensive output orbiting his many collaborations with drummer Jared Moran. Offering more coherence than some of Moran’s ablutions in dissonant death metal, Vølus takes primary influence from ‘Gateways to Annihilation’ era Morbid Angel. The core riff philosophy is a somewhat monotonous etching of staccato atonality. The tentative, stumbling approach to rhythm was likely intended to build tension but due to a lack of any obvious direction the results are mixed. Introducing a provisional tonal core and proceeding to stretch it beyond comfort in lieu of any definite progression produces the desired effect of spacey surrealism a-la turn of the century Morbid Angel. That, and lead guitar work trading in texture, reverb, and simple sequenced bursts of noise is enough to deliver this album into the worthwhile category. But it remains regrettable that much of it distracts itself by attempting to salvage a djent outlook into something more cerebral, with mixed results.

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Hammerfilosofi: Solus
Out 13^th September on ATMF

Halfway through the lengthy opener ‘Hunt or be Hunted’ Hammerfilosofi have achieved about two things if we count the needlessly long rehashing of the third movement of Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 2 (no sign of metal bands finding this reference stale at any point?…no?….ok). This pointless drone of drab, minor chord sequences offset by mild dissonance goes precisely nowhere, a fact not disguised by frequent interludes of clean arpeggios and sags in tempo. Vocals opt for the “drunk rambling” approach in a trying and futile attempt to appear tortured. Whilst one “gets” the sentiment of raw, unpolished theatre, it frankly veers into self parody here. ‘Alpha Ego’ attempts to broaden the thematic scope with the introduction of a broader harmonic palette linking up with the rhythm section as it moves beyond pointless binaries. But despite Hammerfilosofi gesturing toward an iota of compositional effort, they seem utterly confused as to what mood, theme, or even genre they are trying to convey to anyone unfortunate enough to be subjected to their efforts. Experimental and boundary pushing it is not. Tedious, testing, and indulgent are sadly the first words that come to mind on being presented with this child’s scribble of an EP.

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Firtan: Ethos
Out 13^th September on AOP Records

Gestures toward epic or folk ridden black metal, but in picking apart the substantive talking points of the album, the whole presents as surprisingly traditional, sparse even, aside from a penchant for breaking the momentum into frequent neofolk adjacent interludes. The resulting stew of big budget melodic black metal is not without its charm, but hampered by a dearth of ideas and excess of repetition. Where the majority of modern acts, free from the shackles of producers, label bosses, and other annoying but necessary editors, can and do throw everything at the wall, brevity be damned, Firtan seem genuinely short on content to populate this lengthy album. The ideas they do have are tight, engaging, and well thought through. Aided in turn by a strong, convincing delivery, one can see the redemption of Wacken metal through the translucent haze. Elements of epic doom supplement the sparse neofolk undertones, the fragile juxtaposing with the heroic as barbarity meets threnody. One can forgive the occasional histrionic cliché and the ever present crutch of repetition as surmountable barriers to enjoying the material on offer, an experience distinct but akin to Primordial’s run from ‘Spirit the Earth Aflame’ onwards.

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Aethyrick: Death is Absent
Out 13^th September on EAL Productions

Not to sound too desperate to have a “take” or anything, but the current direction of melodic black metal (the majority of it anyway) mirrors the overeagerness for emotional catharsis found in recent flagship TV programmes from Netflix, Amazon, Disney et al (think Rings of Power, Star Trek: Picard, any Marvel/Star Wars series in the last five years). Plot light, effects heavy, but more importantly fixated on achieving the look and feel of gravitas without doing the hard work of fertilising the dramatic stakes with intelligent writing. In black metal, it fundamentally misunderstands what motivated the genre to foreground its melodic self in the first place, and in the process misapplies its techniques, reaching straight for the top shelf whilst doing none of the work to get there. It’s telling that I reviewed Aethyrick’s 2021 effort ‘Apotheosis’ at the time and have no memory of doing so. Tonally – as in the literal mood being conveyed – everything is rushed. Aethyrick are so eager to get to the payoff that they spend no time building to it, resulting in a cacophony of contrived emotion, incoherent structures, and a monotony paradoxically arising from the excess of content Aethyrick throw at this album. Again provoking parallels with the reams of disposable streaming content tied to once respected IPs. No time is taken to build plot, introduce themes, create tension, subterfuge, or incrementally build compositions from the ground up. All the showstopper moments must be thrown at the listener from the off, lest their already frayed patience whither, causing them to scroll on to the next idle distraction.

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Defiled: Horror Beyond Horror
Out 20^th September on Season of Mist

Japanese death metal oddities return for another slap of idiosyncratically percussive death metal. Whilst one can still garner elements of grind and hardcore supplementing fundamentalist death metal riffing, the production somewhat hampers what little sophistication Defiled do attempt to bring to the table. Drums and vocals dominate, leaving us to guess at the contours within the riffs themselves, particularly if the drums are engaged in anything more intense than a d-beat. That being said, one can still discern the signature stylistic incontinence along with a compressed, death-metal-in miniature approach to composition, as ideas are picked up and dropped just as quickly with little regard for the development and communication of theme. Consistencies abound, it’s just that Defiled place them exactly where you would not expect. Tentpole melodic licks are delivered with glee only to be completely forgotten, whereas disposable rhythmic link phrases and minimalist atonality are revisited with gusto and resurrected as major thematic milestones. Jarring, unpleasant, and needlessly combative (yes, I’m aware this is death metal) thanks to the patchy mix. But a fundamentally entertaining listen that makes for one of the few noteworthy events for death metal in 2024.