It hasn't been mentioned yet, but the debut album from Decipher is some quality black/death metal, equal parts riff driven and atmospheric.

I'm in love with this record and I agree with you, it's a great mix of atmosphere and viciousness.
Reminds me of Suffering Hour a bit, and that's a great compliment in my book.

For you all who need more convincing, the new Krallice and Nightmarer, albeit totally different, are excellent. Do give it a try.

Also, this , I, voidhanger release. Need i say more?

Thanks for this

I have been really digging "Dark Steel and Fire" by The Gauntlet (it came out in January, but I only recently discovered it).

Definitely for fans of Bathory ("Under the Sign of the Black Mark" particularly).

https://eternaldeath.bandcamp.com/album ... l-and-fire

You're very welcome boss

More Mgla-styled powerful, melodic and surging black metal goodness by Non Est Deus. Each successive album by this project has bumped up the quality and I would say this is its crowning achievement so far. I'm just a total sucker for this sound and Noise fucking nails it here.


https://noisebringer-records.bandcamp.com/album/legacy

Non Est Deus - Legacy

https://youtu.be/PVa3MtsT1ko

Hasard - Malivore



This one is still in the band queue here, but not to be missed. The whole atmosphere is horror-themed. Hard to compare it to anything I've heard. Maybe if The Axis of Perdition played a more orthodox style of black metal, but kept its unsettling vibe, it might sound like this. Maybe. I don't know. Really great release nonetheless.

https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/malivore

Wow this is intense. Extremely cinematic. I think your comparison to Axis is appropriate. I also agree that this is more musical than Axis though. The atmosphere is smothering but not as ambient or maybe as purely atmospheric.

Great find and I'm very appreciative that you posted it. This album is indeed remarkable. One of the best and most interesting releases I've heard this year.

The old classic French death metal band Catacomb, responsible for works like "In the Maze of Kadath" released less than two months ago their first official album, 33 years after the band's formation, featuring the original bassist and the original guitarist.

Glad to help you find good music, mate.

Hrothgar - Rise of Ragnarök



Straight up early 2000s Amon Amarth worship. This album is certainly formulaic and is not going to blow your dick off with originality, but it's a great casual listen. Chunky verse riffs, soaring tremolos, and chanting choruses abound. Hrothgar manages to add a bit of their own flavor with some technical solos as well. If you're a fan of Amon Amarth but are disappointed with how much their music has dive bombed in quality, you may enjoy Rise of Ragnarök.

https://hrothgarmetalband.bandcamp.com/ ... f-ragnar-k

And great find, what I need in my death metal, the vocals mean less than the instrumental work.

I won't be so PC to call it "Mgla-styled" - a bit too blatant a rip-off to truly enjoy, although otherwise there's nothing much wrong with it.

Henget - a progressive/avantgarde black metal band from Finland release their debut album officially today (the stream has been up for a few days already). Good stuff, reminds me mostly of Arcturus with harsh vocals, but I think I can hear hints of bands such as Sigh or Oranssi Pazuzu as well.

Mystic Prophecy's newest album, Hellriot, is a right ripper just like their one from a few years back. Same usual mix of mid-paced stompers and fast-paced scorchers and vocals are still on point. Safe to say, they're back!

Good find, thanks. Pretty accurate description, always had a fondness for some Finnish weirdness.

Heretic Plague - context is a stumbling corpse

https://youtu.be/H2qDYuBYsnE

Black metal from ex-In the Woods... members, I'd say I like this a lot more than the past couple of In the Woods... albums.

Abyss of Animas - Beautiful and Hateful



MA lists this as depressive black metal, which is half-true. I hear stark symphonic elements throughout the black metal sections, and a raw yet clear production that fits the style. While it won't be the most polished thing you'll hear all year, there's an authenticity about this release that I can't quite put my finger on which makes it really engaging. It's also NYP on Bandcamp so it's literally a steal.

https://abyssofanimas.bandcamp.com/albu ... nd-hateful

I'm really digging the new Metal Church 'Congregation of annihilation', Immortal 'War against all' and Phlebotomized 'Clouds of confusion', all of which came out today. On the other hand, I'm not too keen on the new Thulcandra, although maybe it needs more spins.

Quite liking the debut Black Royal Spiritism - I​. ​O Sino da Igreja by RUÏM, black metal brainchild of Rune Eriksen. I think it balances atmosphere, aggression, and melodicism very well.
https://peaceville.bandcamp.com/album/black-royal-spiritism-i-o-sino-da-igreja

Can't seem to play all of it yet for free, but sampling a track and yeah - really good. Evil arcane shit.

Threw on Old - Dawn of Darkness too, this is another killer BM release this year. A crusty lo-fi riff sandwich.

That new Kostnateni is completely bonkers. Technical dissonant Turkish folk black metal? I don't even know. @Kalatari is going to love it.



https://kostnateni.bandcamp.com/album/pal

Holy shit, the new Phlebotomized is phenomenal. AOTY so far for me.

Not as weird as the old shit maybe - but yeah, really well done. Strong, startling material, good momentum throughout. Lots of energy.

I just can't stop listening to the new Vomitory. Every song is just banging! What a comeback.

Parity Boot - Fast Forward



Not sure how many people would be into this, but I really like it. Melodic industrial metal with some influence from Fear Factory and Strapping Young Lad. The cleans sounds soaring and grandiose without being poppy or sappy.

https://parityboot.bandcamp.com/album/fast-forward

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A Pretext to Human Suffering - Endless Cycle of Suffering



Technical and brutal death metal that I'm really loving. Fans of bands like Odious Mortem, Ominous Ruin, Septycal Gorge, and other brutal bands with technical flair will find lots to love here.

https://realityfade.bandcamp.com/album/ ... -suffering

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S.U.P. - Octa



I love everything this band has done, and Octa continues this tradition. Great avant-garde metal with lovely cleans and a flair for engaging songwriting. They've been doing it for decades and don't look like stopping now. Love that cover art, too. No Bandcamp link that I can find. EDIT: Yes there is a Bandcamp but the new album isn't on there yet.

Kostnateni are fabulous

This debut album by Olkoth sounds really neat, a slightly blackened technical/brutal death metal, somewhere between Nile, Hate, and Hate Eternal, or something like that.

Yes, been really enjoying this one. My weird gripe is that it's so layered and complex that it can sound brick walled unless you're listening with a decent setup. Sounds like a completely different album when I listen to it with my good headphones/DAC/AMP. I acknowledge that it's a strange thing to be critical about.


Another great album that came out last week is the new Ondfødt. Unrelenting Finnish Black Metal.

May was pretty successful for me so I had a few nice finds:

7H. Target - Yantra Creating: I like slam that isn't afraid to just be silly and this is absolutely that. It's still as dumb and knuckle dragging as anything but they've added in these hindu chants and silly ass melodic bolt ons and it makes me smile constantly. Ridiculous happy fun time album.

Kostnatění - Úpal: I prefer the relentless aggression and laser focus of the debut and the sound is super dry, but Kost is very good and has riffs that don't sound like anything else. It's like, melodic hook based music except every note is 6 frets away from each other.

Ascended Dead - Evenfall of the Apocalypse: Not as much of a barnburner as the first one but it has a really weird production with puts a weird emphasis on the trem noodles I haven't really heard before. Interesting.

Stikkersvin - ...og de levede ulykkeligt og alt for længe: Kitchen sink BM which changes 8 style 8 times per song. It's pretty fun.

Maze Of Sothoth - Extirpated Light: A bit like Conjureth this is OSDM built with a tech death mindset, all very mid 90's sounding except there's twice as many notes as there was back them. Like Conjureth it gets a bit eyes glaze over-y but this is a little subniche I'm ok with existing.

Infertile Surrogacy - Anthropocide: Slam go brrr.

Kruelty - Untopia: I generally don't like Kruelty as they're too beatdown-y for me, but this one got me grooving a fair bit.

My two favourite releases this past week, two very familiar sounds (Swedish-style death metal and Norwegian black metal) but approached from each band's own angle and individual character, making both these albums quite distinct and interesting:

Vomitheist 'NekroFvneral'

https://vomitheistdm.bandcamp.com/album/nekrofvneral

Nattverd 'I helvetes forakt'

https://soulsellerrecords.bandcamp.com/ ... tes-forakt

Seconding the Ondfødt. Finally got around to listening to it and it’s a ripper. Get a lot of peak Gorgoroth feels from this, thankfully was able to grab one of the limited digis as they got some returned stock… I think there’s some left.

If you're search for more doom/death in the vein of Mortiferum, Spectral Voice and Krypts, the Scottish band Order of Decay have a new full length out that may scratch that itch.



Necrofier are also back with their 90s Swedish by way of Texas melodic black metal.



Finally, the new Cloak album came out a few weeks ago and it's the most aggressive thing I've heard from them. The emphasis is very much on the black metal as opposed to the gothic metal or black'n'roll elements of their sound.

this would be the best release of the year so far if not for the guitar tone. Those melodies deserve better. Nothing against heavy distortion and low-fi, but there's a line between that sounding appealing and having the feeling that someone is constantly hammering nails in your ears.

Dodheimsgard
Excalion
Dawn Ray'd
Blood Star
Smoulder
Wytch Hazel
Sacred Outcry

Really, an embarrassment of riches this year so far.

Wytch Hazel's IV: Sacrament on bandcamp.

Their last album III: Pentecost was fourth on the 2020 AotY list, which is where I discovered them. On first listen the songwriting for IV is more mature but slightly more gentle. Usually I gravitate to black metal so it takes me several spins to get into classic metal and have the catchiness stick. So far the last track stands out, it's well-placed as an epic closer.

Swedish death metal featuring members of Vampire. Nothing revolutionary but considering there's been a relative dearth of albums in this style (Vomitory's new one is the only significant release I can think of at the moment) this does the trick very nicely.