Fawn Limbs : "Darwin Falls"

 This album starts off in a much more organic fashion than expected. They allow this false sense of security to prevail for over two minutes before beating you into spastic submission. Much more metal in their intentions than say Portrayal of Guilt, I do admire bringing some jazz into the equation which makes some of the mathematics make more since after they step on the distortion. It also makes the heaviness they hit you with easier to digest and reflects back on more musical moments. The vocals are more death metal where other influences are all over the place. Yeah there is grindcore mixed into this ,but the fact they care more about their songs, makes this seem not as dominant a force. There are dark sonic textures to their sound, but they are not as dark as many of their peers when it comes to this sort of thing. 

The second song works much like the first where we get this spoken word narrative though the music is darker and more western in feel. Then they get angrier with a staccato blast coupled with more of a yelled hard core vocal.  I like the mood they are creating , not sure if I will be a as much of a fan if this spoken word narrative is going to be a thread that runs through every song. The second song ends in a manner that sounds like a horror movie soundtrack. Then we are back to more of the spoken narrative after " Dead Horse Cavern" starts off with more of a spastic attack. Then they converge into sludge tinged torment. Not as compelling as the first two songs despite the formula varying some. Then the songs get shorter, and I begin to hear them start running into one another on "Noose Gestures' though the song does set it self apart by being both more chaotic and more atmospheric.

"Twitching lapsing"  comes the closet to being overt metal, but even then there is an eerie bleating of horns in the back ground that creates and unsettling dissonance going beyond the normal terrors summoned by metal.  There is more dark and murky atmosphere that lurks like a monster waiting in the shadows. Then the mood is broken by the narrative returning Regardless of the narration not being my thing I can still hear the bigger picture with this album and will give it a 9. Darkness makes up for a lot. 

Lantlos : Wildhund"

 No stranger to us here, this German band is no longer black gaze but now creating a double album of poppy gaze influenced 90s rock. The drummer who has now been with the band for ten years is responsible for some of the more adventurous turns the songs takes. In some ways it is progressive. Not far removed from the likes of Hum or Quicksand, they do not let you hang to comfortably on a groove for long. The guitars replicate tones from that era and the vocals are greatly improved. "Cocoon Treehouse " does not feel like it gets it's feet until midway into the song, but that is the problem when you have 26 songs , how can they be created equal. The math they are doing with these riffs can not be underestimated. You have to figure out if you are in the mood to get jerked around like this going into it. Sometimes it sounds like the Foo-fighter's trying to be Rush.  'Home" does lock into more of a drone, after the drums calm down a bit.  Then there are time when they are more like Helmet with songs like "Vertigo".

There are several moments that work off a more  syncopated jangle of guitar . Sometimes this creates a uniformity to the over all sound that makes me wonder why we are getting a double album of this. Sure bursts of harsher vocals crop up here and there.  Dreamier sequences also drip out of breakdowns, but this is not "Physical Graffiti".  But not every track is an actual song "Cloud Inhaler" is an example of such an ambient interlude. There is a pretty wide dynamic shift with "Planetarium" but it is not a song that uses melody to pull me in and make me want to listen to it more. "Dream Machine" is an homage to Hum that would be more impressive if we did not know these guys are already an established band who has a sound they are straying from.  They do a better job of this on "Dog in the Wild"  then with "Lich" they break new ground with the robo-prog.  

On the second album they get into some weird chill electro. It is very witch house in flavor but sailing on a more narcotic cloud . I am reluctant to really call these songs. Even the longer excursions into this work off of sounds more than being songs. Four tracks into an they are still just playing around with sounds. This is like the band is saying "Oh , yeah we are cool and know other kinds of music that is atmospheric aside from black metal" . I get it , but if I am going to listen to this kind of thing I am going to listen to Salem. So the first album is all that really matters here. This feels like they have a friend who makes music on Soundcloud and they were making fun of them, so the soundcloud dj said "Id what I am doing is so easy then why don't you do it" ... so they did and rubbed his face in it. The first album is all that matters here, so I will give it a 9.

Unreqvited : "Beautiful Ghosts"

This Canadian project is under the impression that metal bands do not talk about romantic love so this is the topic of the new album. I am not sure what rock they have been living under as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, King Diamond, Megadeth, Slayer and more all have songs about it. This black gaze act might not have the most knowledge of music but they do step away from being just Deafheaven clones and since Deafheaven is no longer going to sound like themselves their throne is ripe for the taking. The first song uses more complex patterns and symphonic synths to separate themselves from the pack which I can appreciate. I think the second song does more dynamically which I appreciate even more, 

They go little overboard with the 5 minute ambient interlude. By they this is the sole work of a dude who refers to himself as a symbol.  The symphonic synths  drown out the guitar going into "Funeral Pyre" , until it breaks down into more post rock guitar and piano. The harsh vocals are mixed way back behind the drums and a more of a texture. I doubt there are any actual lyrics. If you crank this album louder you can hear them better, but they are not a focal point of the songs.  "Cherish" is a piano interlude that would have been better served worked into an actual song.

The drums wrestle with all the synths and pianos on the title track while the vocals roar in the distance and the guitars buzz around idlily The production is this album's worst enemy. There are some decent idea's that are well played but in collision with one another.. When it comes to songwriting they are certainly trying as hard as they can with this given idea. All if found has a great guitar tone and some tasteful licks, which I think we could have heard more of if the synths had been dialed back in the mix. The vocals were no great loss. I will give this one an 8.5, so not in the album of the year category when it comes to black metal, but a worthwhile listen if you want some cinematic post-black metalish tunes. 

Runespell : "Verses in Regicide "

The projects 4th album,. Like many extreme metal band when you hear the first song it is often so impressive in terms of sonics and sheer intensity that you are going to give them a pass on really digging into their song writing due to the sound they hit you with, This was the case going into this album. With the second song I began to ask more questions. What are they doing differently from the hundreds of other bands who do this sort of thing ? Well not much if anything at all seems to be the answer I am getting after giving said song another listen. By the time we get to "Realm of Fire" we are beginning to hear how all the songs sound the same. On this one the tempo picks up and the guitar has more tension to it. Sure it rages harder , but this does not bring anything unique to the table. 

There is a folky instrumental interlude which is required of all one man black metal projects these days  and then the more mid paced stomp of "Tides of Slidhr", which I appreciate more that I took time to step away from the album as it was all sounding the same. It has more of an Immortal feel here, just less thrash influence , their riffs are not as big by far. When it comes to song writing , while it does gallop across Middle Earth in one flowing pace and is not the most adventurous in terms of composition, it is an effective sound that almost gets you lost in it and forget you have been listening to the same thing prancing around for four minutes until the guitar breaks down a bit. I used to deconstruct the song writing way more than I do now so if  In some ways the song flows in a manner similar to what Watain does . Watain is just much better at doing it . 

The same could almost be said for "Shadow's Dominion" who chug is all that keeps it from sounding like all the other songs before descending into atmospheric metal mush, which in some ways is what the project gets the most about black metal, there is more form and function here than early Darkthrone , but then there is the thing about Darkthrone , the fact it was earlier than this. We have been here and done all of this before. This sums up the album as a whole I will give this a 7.5, as good at what they do doesn't really cut it it, this project does rise above that bare minimum but I do not hear much in the way of what makes it an entity of it's own with a personality that creates it\s own sound. 

Iron BoneHead Productions · Runespell - Structures Of Collapse

the Lion's Daughter : " Skin Show"

 I am not sure what is going on here and I am not sure how this album passed me by when it came out back in April. There is angry sludge vocals and other metal aggression coming in a stomping over some retro synth wave. This works for me in many ways. 'Curtains" at first listen felt more rooted in the metal tropes ,but a second listen lets you hear some of the atmospheric layers. Perhaps the bellowing of the vocals do not lend for enough of a melodic touch despite the interesting layers of them shouting at you from different directions. There is more melody on "Neon Teeth" as he makes more of an attempt to  sing.  His voice is raspy and retains it's edge. It works for what they are trying to do here. 

There is an interesting juxtaposition of guitars on "Dead in Dreams" . It opens with a apocalyptic pounding that is more industrial before a thrashier riff kicks in. The bass line pounds along with the drums . The retro synths are still in place along with the bellow of the vocals. The drums get almost blasty in parts of  "Werewolf Hospital" which has a more feral attack to it. The thrashing guitar takes a more traditional metal approach, I do not find this song as interesting as the ones before it. The atmosphere and disco like beat to "Sex Trap" make it one of the more interesting songs thus far. Not sure the best as the vocals feel more obligatory. The hold more form and function with the snarl of "Snakeface".  They stay pretty straight forward on the pounding 'All Hell is Mine" until the synths come in. The vocals have begun to sound the same at this point, though it is still forgivable. 

The title track is more on the industrial side of what this project does, so layers with the organic synth wave sounds. Those same sounds play a much bigger role in the last song until the thrash riff come as the song progresses and takes over. Some of the shouted vocals have a more industrial feel to them as well. I will give this album a 9.  I like where they are going with this, in some ways the sound is just as important as the songs if not more, but they still are able to keep your attention.   

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2021/08/underdark-our-bodies-burned-bright-on.html

Burn In Hell : "DISAVOWAL OF THE CREATOR GOD"

Yes another heavy as fuck band to give Ruin and LLNN a run for their money. These guys have more in common with the latter. Austrailia is not the first place I think of when it comes to heavy music. But the hard core crunch of these guys which is thrown again a crusty storm of death metal is pretty convincing. Only one song breaks the three minute mark and it only does so by five seconds. The second song delivers a brutal beating to your ears but at first it feels like a continuation of the first song so dynamics and the finer points of songwriting could be lost do to the focus on brutality which is where they differ than the first two bands I mentioned who are also excellent songwriters even as heavy as they are. 

Yes "Bleach" has one of the heaviest break downs  you will hear all year, but the rule at this site is "cool riffs alone does not a good song make". The minute and a half of noise against samples that is called "Prey" does not do anything to support their case. In more of a grind core fashion they blast back for the minute long temper tantrum called "Deadkkkop". Clever song title but appropriating the problems of the American political machine makes them come across like poseurs. "Disavowal' is the longest song I mentioned earlier. Their is a more deliberate change of tempo and a little more room to breathe, which helps create dynamics that are desperately needed at this point. The growl of the vocals begins to get a little old by the point as well.   

There is more of a sense of sonics to "Armageddon" which is what this album needed more of all along as it might be the best song on the album as it is also the most musical even if it is more hammering than the previous song. I will round this down to an 8, as the hype exceeded what they delivered as whole, which is not to say they do not have potential and there were 3 songs that were worth hearing again, though they could stand to expand on some of the sonic touches they brought to life on the last song. If you care more about being brutal than songwriting them you are going to like this more than I did. 

 

Underdark: " Our Bodies Burned Bright On Re​-​Entry"

 This British band is primarily black metal, but in the most hipster sense that is why is comes across at times as being a little screamo. Be that as it may this also allows them to use other chord voicings rather than the tried and true tremolo picked fare we normally get from black metal. Also the lower growls are pretty cool as well. The more spoken second in the melodic break down of the title track has more of the emo part of the equation in play. I am not against this as it does add another color to the more post rock section of atmosphere. When it takes off into blasty chaos we have been given something to contrast it with. This supports my frequent rule that if you play loud all the time it is never loud as you have no quiet to show you what loud should look like.   

"Coyotes" starts off very sedate in terms of the delicate guitar that serves as the calm before the storm. These guys have already shown me the potential they have so when they go into the more straight forward black metal sections it feels a little like a cop out. Though this song did click more for me on the second listen. However at this point in the album it is beginning to feel like the vocals are an after thought rather than contributing a great deal to the song. Another factor here is how they are hitting all the same expected beats for what "black-gaze' is supposed to be with out re-shaping it into who they are. They did show us more of this in the first two songs, but what separates a great band from and ok one is the consistency to do this with every song. 

"With Ashen Hands Around Our Throats" they buzz to life as if they are from further north than England. Sure this kind of rabid intensity is to some extent what the genre is about , but we have heard it done in the same manner ten times over at least, making me ask once again to hear more of who they are and hear their vision of this. When the more deliberate punches come toward the second half of the song and things slow down it is really welcome, but I would like to hear this integrated in a less formulaic way. I like these emo  parts but would like to hear them worked in with a less predictable grace. It doesn't suck, but at this point this sort of thing has been done enough to where no sucking is not enough and something new needs to be brought to the table. I was midway into "Skeleton Queen " before I realized it had gone onto a new song, so they begin to lapse into a uniformity when it comes to their heavier sound. Then just when you think they are  going to get emo on you they do. I like the spoken part about drugs, perhaps if some of the other lyrics stood out it would be more meaningful. I will round this down to an 8.5, which puts them ahead of all the other bands trying to do this sort of thing at least until that new Deafheaven comes out. They are good at what they are doing, I think they are talented enough to bring something new to the table next time. For my listening time, I already have this done better in some ways so not sure if the emo twist makes enough of a difference for me to want to play this on a more regular basis.  

Our Bodies Burned Bright On Re-Entry by Underdark