Beithioch: A Cold Eye on Life and Death
Out 14th November, self-released
After the barbaric primitivism of the ‘Beowulf’ EP back in 2023, this latest single sees Beithioch reach for a richer, expressive panorama of blackened doom metal reminiscent of The Ruins of Beverast amongst others. The flow is somewhat episodic, a ten minute plus piece that works its way through several different guises each motivated by competing impulses. There are callbacks to earlier material from this artist which contrasts a dirge of primal, bass ridden rhythm guitar with elegant, almost wistful lead guitar refrains that behave more like violin lines. But there is also a more explicit reference to funeral doom. A blackened version of later Skepticism seems to emerge as a dominant voice toward the end of the piece. One of the other great strengths of this track – and something that was maybe deliberately lacking on the ‘Beowulf’ EP – are the dynamics, the contrast between gentle funereal plods and patient, detailed builds to violently indifferent crescendos. This is no monotone cacophony of noise, it creates tension and release through contrasting tones, sustained notes, and volume, simple creative levers to pull but ones often left unused in an extreme metal setting.
Internal Decay: A Forgotten Dream
Out 5th December on vicrecords (originally released in 1993)
Reissue of overlooked outlier of Swedish death metal, Internal Decay took the open, sequenced melodies of early Amorphis and blended it with the dark, gothic aggression Sweden was becoming known for at the time. This album highlights the tension of Nordic metal in the early 90s between bread and butter power chord driven riffing and linear flows of graceful melody. Whilst the best loved albums of this era are noteworthy for their ability to integrate the two competing impulses (‘Beyond Sanctorum’, ‘Like an Ever Flowing Stream’ etc.), some by contrast appeared strikingly bipolar. Internal Decay are strongest when working their way through mid-paced, ponderous runs of simple but engaging lead guitar material. This is complemented by a striking degree of flamboyance most notably articulated by prominent keyboards that often take on an accompanying lead role. But these passages are sometimes stitched together with off-the-shelf atonal riffing as if the band are playing for time. The lasting impression is an artist that could have come to fruition with a second album that unfortunately never manifested. There is more than a kernel of theatrical yet majestic death metal to be mined from this release for anyone interested in the context and evolution of various iterations of melodic metal to come from Scandinavia at this time.
Dark Divination: Liitto Hengen Ja Veren
Out 12th December on Signal Rex
Understands how to communicate the essence of black metal naturalism through obscurantist atmospheres and simple, transparent currents of loose blast-beats and tremolo runs. But Dark Divination attempt to reach for the top shelf of emotional catharsis without laying any of the groundwork to get there. The result is a monotonous flow of sentimental riffs which, wrapped in different packaging, would be at home on any garden variety pop song. Whilst this works as a piece of ambience, it remains static and without motion. Only able to oscillate between one or two ideas, it achieves little more than decorating the moment.
Fleshvessel: Obstinacy: Sisyphean Dreams Unfold
Out 12th December on I, Voidhanger
Where the debut digested 70s prog elements into a Gorguts post ‘Obscura’ death metal format, this latest offering sees the Fleshvessel levee break as complex but focused composition gives way to random theatrical gestures and affectations measured on the only metric that counts to a modern avant-garde, wackiness. What poses as eclecticism is little more than the outcome of short attention spans, as the desire to flex into contrasting styles, genres, techniques, and forms overtakes any impulse to bind the resulting chimera together with the threads of coherence. Again, to compare this to the debut, this is the difference between maximalism, filtering material from a broad horizon into a highly concentrated solution, and self-indulgence, undeniably knowledgeable and talented musicians exercising no restraint in their desire to churn the sum total of their research and practice together with no compass to guide the listener through what the purpose of it all is.
Parásito: Despoblador II
Out 12th December on Signal Rex/Vertebrae
Essentially Alkaline Trio if they played black metal, with tiresome, overworked vocals propping up an otherwise bland and redundant affair of milquetoast riffs that the enthusiasm of the performance alone cannot salvage. There is an attempt to lend this music a degree of gravitas through ambience articulated through guitar noise and light synth work. And whilst Parásito are more convincing in this guise, the material is relegated to interluding threads between the focal points of the music, which is little more than pop punk. By accident or design, this artist understands black metal not as a simple artform but a simplistic one. The former aims to achieve complex outputs from a limited set of inputs, the latter regards apparently simple forms of music as low hanging fruit, a shortcut to artistry without having to prepare the ground in any way.
Joyless: Unlimited Hate
Out 19th December on ATMF (originally released in 1996)
Reissue of the first Joyless album, which was in itself a compilation in all but name made up of Forgotten Woods material amongst other things. And that’s essentially what greets the listener here. A combination of early Burzum worship delivered with a more explicitly punk approach both lyrically and through the staccato rhythmic punches permeating these lengthy tracks. In this sense the delivery feels more “indie” than metal. It remains true to the ethos of second wave black metal in that there is no attempt to adorn this material with atmospheric dressing. The production is raw but incredibly clear, leaving any textural decoration completely to the listener’s imagination. A commendable choice if for no other reason than it shows a degree of confidence in the material to stand on its own two feet. The mix of basic but effective black metal riffing, a dash of grunge audacity alongside the aggressive energy of punk carries the material through. But it also adopts a more urbanist poise compared to the Forgotten Woods material, intentionally or not, it lacks the mysticism of earlier output from these musicians in favour of a more direct, blunt object of unbridled angst.
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