Apes - Penitence

 

This is a ripper. For those in the know, Apes are one of the most potent acts in a legion of Canadian grindcore bands. Their new record, Penitence just speaks to the growth of the band and the twisted vision that they bring to the table time and time again. This is heavy music done right, and is a huge step up for the band. The blackened grindcore sextet is operating on another level and with some of their most impressive work to date they hint at all there is to come.

There's a moment in grindcore bands career when the production really levels up and they're really able to showcase their songs at the highest possible level. This is what's happened with Apes, who use Penitence to show that they really are among the best out there doing this. This is a record that shine because of the breadth of what Apes bring to the table, not only is there punishing grindcore fury throughout the album, but there's also moments of wonderful sonic poetry that help to showcase they are much more than just another heavy and fast band. Tracks like "Pillars" are borderline anthemic and speak to just how talented Apes are. 

Penitence feels like Apes have managed to prove themselves as a band. They've taken the early promise of their blackened grindcore sound and found a way to elevate it, to showcase all that they are and all they can become. The end result is an album that is exciting, dynamic and hints at bold new directions, not just for Apes, but for grindcore as a whole.

Pre-order the album!

https://apesqc.bandcamp.com/album/penitence

Vredehammer - God Slayer

 

It's been four long years since the last album from Norway's blackened death metal stalwarts, Vredehammer. There new album, God Slayer is wonderfully fierce and a potent extension on all that the band has done over the past fifteen years. This is a record that benefits from sumptuous, all encompassing production, twisted black metal vocals and an overarching sense of skull cracking sorcery that makes for some truly compelling work. Vredehammer is punishing, unrelenting and highly polished, a clear step up for the band. 

God Slayer is magical in how it feels larger than life. Every blast beat hits like a hammer and the guitar tones are some of the most impressive of Vredehammer's career. They've been able to take what they've been crafting over the years and bring their brand of angular, slicing blackened death metal and execute it in inspiring new ways. The athletic performances on tracks like the hectic "Blood Of Wolves" make for a headbanging good time, and it's hard to distance yourself from the bludgeoning crush of the rhythm section. Yet counterbalancing this is an ambition in the songwriting and a willingness to experiment with outside elements (Like the industrial fringes you hear throughout the album) that take it to the next level.

Ultimately - Vredehammer understand that the best Norwegian black metal has to rock and at their best, God Slayer truly rocks. These are songs that will snap your neck and which are fit to fill arenas. The band has clearly been hard at work over the pandemic and after it in order to give us their most salient possible recordings. God Slayer is the path to the future that Vredehammer needed, and a record that devotees of underground music will be enamored with for years to come.

Pre-order the album! 

https://vredehammer.bandcamp.com/album/god-slayer

Cult of Erinyes - Metempsychosis

 

It's hard to believe it's been five years since the last release from Cult of Erinyes. Maybe I'm getting old. But now they are back with their fifth album and it's a scorcher. Made up of just two songs that splay out across 43 minutes of black metal wizardry, Metempsychosis is a wonderfully dark, transcendent and blisteringly evil offering. These multi part epics are sure to sweep up your imagination and guide you ever deeper into the darkness. There is a twisted poetry and sublime darkness that fuels Metempsychosis and drives us ever towards the bring.

The tortured hatred that helps to define this album is only one part of its multifaceted glory. There is something to be said for the larger than life ministrations and surprising poetry that the band brings to the table on these songs. Cult of Erinyes have always had a flair for the bombastic and the epic, but Metempsychosis seems to see them operating at the highest possible level, punishing listeners and then guiding them into blasted black metal fields of sound that are impossible to tear yourself away from. This is black metal done with minor key melodies at the fore and tormented screams clawing at the fringes of your sanity. 

Metempsychosis is an impressive offering to say the least. Cult of Erinyes have found routes towards madness that few of their peers dre trod and the visionary approach that makes these tracks so engaging is sure to draw in devotees of the genre. I sincerely hope to get to experience these spiraling, larger than life pieces performed somewhere in Europe this year. The music is too good to just exist on tape.

Pre-order the album!

https://amorfatiproductions.bandcamp.com/album/cult-of-erinyes-aestivation

Heimland - Tronearvingens Doed

Now this is a scorcher. The new 2 song EP from Norway's Heimland is a scorcher. Tronearvingens Doed is 9 minutes of deliciously executed black metal. While they might not be reinventing the steel Tronearvingens Doed is triumphant, showcasing potent atmospheres and thoroughly engaging songwriting. There is a wonderfully transcendent and poetic vision behind the music, with surprisingly intricate guitars and thoughtful song structures. Heimland seek to wash you away in a wave of sound, and it's by giving in that you start to get a sense of just how good they are. So indulge in these tracks today and prepare for black metal absolution. Hopefully this is just an indicator of good things to come from the project.

Pre-order the EP! 

https://edgedcircleproductions.bandcamp.com/album/tronearvingens-doed

Dauþuz - Uranium

 

Dauþuz have held sway on my imagination for years. They are one of the most distinct and potent German black metal bands, and have been for years now. Their sound is influenced by the mines, the world underneath our own that we all rely on but seem to rarely acknowledge. Such is the power of Dauþuz and their new record, Uranium. On their fifth full length the band take their potent sounds to brave new heights and leave devout listeners obsessed with the wizardry of what they have crafted. This is black metal done right. 

I think what impresses me the most with Dauþuz is their ability to blend majesty with dark and transcendent metal. The use of clean vocals throughout this record is potent, a clear step forward for the band. Uranium is a remarkably diverse and well executed record. The vision throughout though remains clear and the bands ambition shines through. This is a truly dynamic and exciting black metal record, an album that acknowledges the monochromatic nature of their sonic ancestors but adds incredibly stirring panoramas of sound. It makes for an all encompassing, mesmerizing and beautiful listen that fans of the underground will fall deeply in love with. 

Uranium is mind blowing at best and excellent at worst. It's a record that showcases just how talented the members of Dauþuz are and encourages me at least to delve back into their discography. There are myriad layers here, but Dauþuz manage to touch on so much of what makes black metal great. This album is wonderfully evil, subterranean and dark, but also cinematic and deeply emotional. Pained and triumphant, tortured and powerful. If you haven't spun it already, you need too, this one is going to start turning heads fast. 

Buy the album! 

https://amorfatiproductions.bandcamp.com/album/dau-uz-uranium