Onslaught Kommand: Malignancy
Out 18th October on Godz of War Productions
Essentially a goregrind band with a blackened edge, Onslaught Kommand justify their rather limited existence by combining a playful package of classic grind riffs with an oppressively dark atmosphere, eschewing the cutesy play of goregrind at large. Riffs circle around the usual cocktail of early Carcass, Repulsion, and maybe some Agathocles on a really bad day for good measure. But all is imbued with a submerged mix, stretched between cavernous darkness and a cloying claustrophobia, giving greater mileage to each new three power chord punch as it jolts between the regular, predictable churn of tempo changes. All is linear, transparent, knowable, but undergirded with just enough sophistication and forethought to hold the attention over and above the effective obscurantism of the demo quality mix. In one sense this album is pleasing for its playful nods to the bright and dark of grind infused extreme metal, but in another the excessive heed paid to its influences limits the appeal to an above average homage.
The Holy Flesh: Advocate, Martyr, and Redeemer
Out 25th October on Caligari Records
Take the plodding, longform threads of early Negura Bunget, the domesticated alt rock of Drudkh, and layer in some ham-fisted gestures toward the avant-garde a-la Ved Buens Ende, the presence of which, given the fact that they take the music precisely nowhere, can only be explained as a desperate act of seasoning an otherwise drab husk. I presume this artist thinks they are building emotional catharsis into harsh black metal affectations through the exaggerated nods to mid-period Opeth’s autumnal rock. The result leaves us begging for the music to develop into something (anything?) as guitar lines literally whine in circularity around the same variations on a theme. The slow, lacklustre drums doing little to relieve us of this tedium. This is essentially what happens when fragments of atmospheric black metal are partitioned off into dead-end alt-rock indulgences. The music fixates on contriving emotion, sadness, depression with an almost gauche sense of its own entitlement, making any activity, musicality, tonal or rhythmic manipulation all the more grating, put in service of an effervescent nothing.
Shaarimoth: Devildom
Out 31st October on W.T.C. Productions
As with a lot of ‘Gateways…’ derived death metal from the mid-2000s on – part Nile, part Behemoth, part Mithras – Shaarimoth spend their money in the wrong place. They have the assets, namely an ability to integrate choppy, undulating, mechanically complex riffing into equally complementary rhythmic cycles. But they also have a melodramatic conviction in delivery. This latter feature serves its purpose well in grabbing headlines, pulling the listener in as attention is drawn to fanfare with at least the veneer of substance beneath it. But interest is liable to wane as it becomes clear that Shaarimoth either have no resources to develop this template, or else are uninterested in doing so for the sake of delivering a piece of grandiose but ultimately hollow theatre. In this capacity they most resemble Behemoth, a band not without serviceable riffs even in their post 2000 iteration. But seemingly with no regard for how to articulate and develop these across a narrative, they lean into empty gestures of high octane drama, and the music is forced to bend its contours around emotive currents that lack any sense of flow or meaning beyond their own impulse to remain active. One can hear the reflection of the more sophisticated album that could have been beneath the bright lights and lavish orchestration, making ‘Devildom’ not entirely pointless, but ultimately, unless the listener’s sole intent is to embroil themselves in impotent adrenaline runs this album will hold little lasting value.
Kveldstimer: Scripture of the Woods
Out 31st October on Alte Seelen
Essentially a rerun of ‘Folkloric Necro Metal’ with the subtler overtones shaved down and replaced by amped up aggression and linear speed runs. That being said, the project achieves a greater degree of credibility as far as empty Norwegian cosplay is concerned if one can set aside their choice of a Norwegian name despite being from the US. Simple punk rhythms underpin riffs reaching for an Ildjarn inspired level of simplicity, but it takes a special degree of monomaniacalism to carry that off with conviction which is just not present here. Instead, Kveldstimer supplement this serviceable package with frequent tempo changes, phrasing bordering on narrative construction, and a clear understanding of the value of contrast even in the most frugal sense of the word (a shift in pitch). Minimal keyboards – again mimicking the choice of patches found on Sort Vokter – inject welcome harmonic accompaniments, but the textural choice and overall topography is a little too on the nose to be taken seriously. Kveldstimer would have done better to spend their time building their interpretation of Ildjarn and Nidhogg’s unique minimalism rather than attempting a carbon copy. Hints and clues as to what this may look like are scattered across this demo, but they appear more by accident than design, for the simple fact that Kveldstimer are maximalists play-acting as minimalists. As a result, too much effort is expended fighting their creative instincts as opposed to working toward a more natural synthesis of their artistic intuition and primary influences.
Asgrauw: Oorspong
Out 31st October, self-released
Asgrauw continue their quest to reinforce atmospheric black metal with more substantive musical content. With 2022’s ‘Façade’ offering only modest developments on earlier material, ‘Oorspong’, their sixth album to date, is perhaps their most successful run at this yet. Rather counter intuitively, Asgrauw deserve praise for spending more time in building up an immersive, compelling textural cathedral of atmosphere that envelops the listener with a unique eeriness. Counter intuitive, because atmosphere is the one thing that modern extreme metal is not lacking in. By contrast, to date, Asgrauw have been a primarily riff driven entity, but one that tends to throw a surplus of bracingly fast melodic material at the listener with little regard for pacing or impact. For this latest outing, Asgrauw pull back a few degrees, allowing the music too breathe, ideas to set in for a few measures, and work up an understated, ethereal undercurrent of ambient qualities that serve their purpose well in elevating the material as opposed to distracting from it. It’s a fine balancing act that few in the last fifteen years or so have been able to achieve. It’s probably a thankless task, as the delights of ‘Oorspong’ are subtle, requiring attention and context, but within the evolutionary arc of this artist this represents a greater step forward than previous efforts.
Thyrathen: Lakonic
Out 1st November on Floga
Typical of latter day Greek black metal – especially the mounting number of projects Stefan Necroabyssious is involving himself in – in that it jettisoned the quiet mysticism of the early style in favour of massive, bolshy, grandiose statements of dark stadium metal. Fragments of a unique melodic character remain, but they are almost incidental to the primary thread of music which reliably pivots back to pounding, mid-paced rabble rousing euphoria. Switch to major key, throw in a couple more crowd pleasing guitar solos and honestly you’re not far off Bon Jovi. One can’t help but get sucked in by the professionalism, the indulgent of high drama, nor some genuinely clever melodic licks. But they remain licks as opposed to purposeful ideas with telos and import in their own right. Everything is a placeholder for the next moment, everything exists to furnish these large, showstopper moments pivoting on repetition, easy to follow, fist pumping rhythms, and the infectious power of Necroabyssious’s vocals. Thyrathen avoid the depths of later Rotting Christ, or indeed the somewhat lacklustre histrionics of Katavasia or the flat Funeral Storm. But this is largely down to the fact that Thyrathen operate over a broader stylistic churn, stumbling on effective ideas as opposed to consciously calling them forth.
Hate Meditations 
Leave a comment