Living Gate - Suffer As One

 

This is a crusher. When I first found out about Living Gate I was stoked. It's a death metal band featuring members of Yob, Amenra, Oathbreaker and Wiegedood. For a certain type of fan this is an extremely big deal. I am that type of fan. Suffer As One is an impressive and gnarled release. This is an incredibly tight death metal album very much in the vein of stuff like Gorguts. It's technical, tightly written and endlessly exciting. These aren't songs for the faint of heart but rather those of us who really want to dig into punishingly pointed death metal insanity. 

Suffer As One is a dense release. It's a record without a wasted note, and yet within there is a maelstrom of sound, every note getting more and more crippling and unforgiving. This is what death metal is done right, where it's twisted, high powered and decidedly underground. It's incredibly satisfying to have a record that feels so intensely introverted and uncompromising. Unlike most supergroups this project isn't worried about winking back at the band members main projects. It's about creating art that is bitter, unrelenting and determined to rip your goddamn face off. Angular, muscular and simply unapologetic, Suffer As One is exactly the sort of grime you love. 

Living Gate have crafted something demented here and it's hard not to be enamored with what they have granted us. This is death metal that goes for the throat and drinks your blood. It's death metal that isn't afraid to show the world exactly how twisted this music can be when done right. It's death metal that leaves you begging for more. I desperately hope this isn't a one off project but rather one that leans into the abyss that the members have created, something tells me there is so much delectable darkness to come. 

Pre-order the album! 

https://livinggate.bandcamp.com/album/suffer-as-one

Gorgon - For Those Who Stay

 

Unrelenting and unrepentant - such has been the magic of Gorgon for over thirty years. This band is one of the core French black metal acts and their upcoming album, For Those Who Stay is some of their most acerbic work to date. It's hard not to be thrilled by the devastating churn and unrelenting, bizarrely macabre charm of this new album. Wrapping up a trilogy of albums that started with 2019's The Veil Of Darkness, Gorgon find a way to consistently melt your face off for the 11 bloodthirsty tracks that have come to define this album. 

For Those Who Stay charms because of its outright stench of evil. Songs like "Despicable Beggars" are blasting paeans to suffering. The tremolo picked firestorm and unrelenting assault that the band brings to the table across For Those Who Stay is delectable and speaks to a group who have a deeper understanding of the genre. It's the kind of understanding that only comes after you've been doing this for a third of a century. Suffice it to say - 7 albums into their career, Gorgon remain great. This is black metal done with a deeper, thrilling understanding of the genre and it's hard to pull yourself away from the devastating and blasphemous vision that Gorgon bring. 

Pre-order the album! 

http://bit.ly/gorgon-shop

Bloodmoon Eclipse - For I Am Your Death

 

One of the things that I find really interesting about Norwegian black metal is how even with a relatively minimalist format bands have found ways to make the early 90's sound their own for over 30 years now. Such is the magic of Bloodmoon Eclipse, whose new record, For I Am Your Death is a tremolo picked journey through a blizzard. This is black metal done right, with vision, aplomb and a desire to make you suffer. It's easy to get lost in the monolithic wall of sound that Bloodmoon Eclipse bring to the table on For I Am Your Death and to be enamored with the bleak vision they portray for us. 

Monochromatic and uncompromising, Bloodmoon Eclipse is firmly rooted in the influence of bands like Darkthrone and Gorgoroth. While For I Am Your Death is not reinventing the steel by any stretch of the imagination, what they are doing is presenting cripplingly powerful and delectable black metal devastation. The blazing attack of the band is addictive and their dedication to the old ways immeasurable. It's hard not to be charmed by the unrelenting assault that Bloodmoon Eclipse bring to the table and I for one am eager to delve into future releases.

Pre-order the album! 

https://www.purity-through-fire.com/

Mugger - Luck Forever

 

It's interesting to se the current wave of hardcore where there is little, if no understanding of classic punk from an era well before blast beats and break downs. So it's refreshing to hear a band who really get that and bring it to the fore without coming off as burnt out old guys. The end result is Mugger, whose new album Luck Forever is blasting, abrasive and a ton of fun to sink your teeth into. This is punk rock done right, with a deep understanding of the genre and a sneer on the faces of everyone executing on it... and it rules. 

Luck Forever impresses because of the pointed nature of the sound. From the first track Mugger establish exactly who they are and what they sound like and then they stun you time and time again with some of the most impressive executions on vintage punk and hardcore sounds that I have heard in a good long while. Mugger understand the inherent magic of the genre and it's hard not to be charmed by the crushing speed punk sorcery that they bring to the table. With washed out vocals and massive waves of distortion threatening to overwhelm everything else, Luck Forever showcases a band who are wholly their own, exciting and unrelenting. 

Grab a copy of the album today! 

https://quietpanic.net/collections/mugger

The Mist From The Mountains - Portal - The Gathering of Storms

 

Now this is an excellent album. Portal - The Gathering Of Storms is a potent and gorgeous melodic atmospheric black metal album. The second full length from The Mist From The Mountains sees the band taking their music to potent new levels with incredible vocal layers, gorgeous guitars and songwriting that ensconces you in a potent journey from beginning to end. This is melodic black metal done right, transcendent, exciting and gorgeous in its execution. It's hard to pull yourself away from a record like this that simply gives the listeners so much to sink their teeth into. 

Portal - The Gathering Of Storms is a record that showcases just how much color can be brought into the world of black metal. There is a truly exciting vision behind what the band has done here and the breadth of the work makes for a record that you're going to get lost in time and time again. There is a deeper understanding of the genre showcased with this record. The Mist From The Mountains understand the elegant beauty of black metal and they execute on it time and time again. This is what black metal has always been meant to be and The Mist From The Mountains are executing with aplomb.

Pre-order the album:

https://www.primitivereaction.com/item/the_mist_from_the_mountains-portal_-_the_gathering_of---lp