Kommodus - An Imperial Sun Rises (2019)

Artist: Kommodus

Album: An Imperial Sun Rises (demo)

Genre: Black Metal

Country: Australia

Label: Unsigned

Preview Track:

At the end of the day, I think I just like Kommodus because they're weird. I mean, they're not necessarily the weirdest band I've come across and all four of main-man Lepidus Plague's demos under the Kommodus name have amounted to similarly raw and inscrutable black metal. There's definitely kookier musicians in extreme metal today, but Kommodus have my kind of kooky in them, the kind of kooky that amounts to an Aussie black metaller that normally writes about ancient Rome due to his Italian ancestry suddenly dropping a demo centered around Japanese author Yukio Mishima. I'm going to ignore for now that Mishima was an outspoken anti-Marxist activist in a nation that is to this day extremely nationalistic and racist (frankly there's a couple of lines in the Bandcamp description for this album that imply a bit about Lepidus Plague's politics) since it's all very vague and ambiguous. While I'm not a fan of all that, I am a fan of the visceral, vicious black metal on An Imperial Sun Rises. The difficulty is that it really is a very inscrutable style that makes it difficult to talk about. It's cavernous, warm yet with a bit of harsh treble in the mix to keep it old school, and the riffs trend a bit towards first wave classics more so than the second wave. There's a fair helping of melody in there too so it's not all angry blasting. That's about it. Part of what draws me to this demo and its predecessors is that vagueness you can't quite grasp, that quality that pushes you away as much as it draws you in. Maybe Kommodus aren't really the weird ones. Maybe it's just me.

K O M M O D U S

Ancient Hostility - Ancient Hostility (2019)

Artist: Ancient Hostility

Album: Ancient Hostility (S/T)

Genre: Dissonant Black Metal

Country: Ukraine

Label: Akashic Envoy Records

Preview Track:

At this point it seems undeniable that 2019 is the year of black metal. The parade of excellence has been nearly unending; Yellow Eyes, Remete, Saor, Vanum, Vimur, Akasha, even total shockers like Murg's latest have exceeded expectations. Thus, it comes as little surprise now that Ancient Hostility, a brand new Ukrainian/American duo (most of the work done by Ukraine's SadVoice while Imber provides vocals from the US), have succeeded in slipping their self-titled debut into my list of favorites for the year.

At first appearing fairly normal, Ancient Hostility soon advance beyond the well trodden boundaries of dissonant hellfire black metal into more interesting territory. Not that their take on it is stale in the first place, there's an unusually weighty low end to the album and the riffs, while not as demonically concocted as some from the famous Icelandic scene, vary wildly between straightforward tremolo barrages to doom dirges and death metal thunder. Dismal melodies dance on top of the often pummeling riffs so that there's always a multi-dimensional sound, a foundation laid to maintain atmosphere and imagery while the guitars paint grim portraits from the abyss. "Bloodied Fields", found late in the back half, betrays the duo's ambitions beyond just nihilistic BM. It's a startling melodic song backed with the same colossal low end, but with truly beautiful and meditative sounds overhead. It's not long though that we see a return to pummeling riffs and even some spastic breaks akin to something you might find in metalcore were it not for the murkier paint job. Ultimately not as adventurous as their follow-up will likely be, Ancient Hostility still impress greatly with a varied and well executed debut that sets up grander things in the future.

A N C I E N T H O S T I L I T Y

Neckbeard Deathcamp - So Much For The Tolerant Left (2019)

Artist: Neckbeard Deathcamp

Album: So Much For The Tolerant Left

Genre: Harsh Noise/War Metal

Country: 

Label: Prosthetic Records

Preview Track:

With So Much For The Tolerant Left, Neckbeard Deathcamp return with a second full length helping of what they do best; piss off Nazis and play some loud, proud, and unapologetic black metal. Surprisingly, deep analysis of their music does little good for anyone. By their own admission via the description on their bandcamp page, the album was "RECORDED WITH THE SAME CONTEMPT FOR CLEAN PRODUCTION AND MUSIC THEORY" as their previous record. Yes, it really was in all caps. That's just kind of their thing. 

What can be said of the actual music is short and sweet. Neckbeard Deathcamp play a vicious, frenzied variant of war metal pissed on by harsh noise and guitar feedback. Aside from "HORSESHOE THEORY" which is a ten minute exercise in droning noise, every song here is a 3-4 minute banger or an interlude with some dumbass quote from an alt-right dude. The songs are graced with satirical takes on the alt-right for titles, such as "POZERFAUST DIVISION" or "CONSERVATIVE CRYBULLYING". That's all that really needs said. They make it clear which side of the fence they're on and people that don't like it tend to fall on the other side. The message is clear; make no apologies and have no mercy.

T O L E R A N C E

With The End In Mind - Unraveling; Arising (2016)

Artist: With The End In Mind
Album: Unraveling; Arising

Genre: Atmospheric/Cascadian Black Metal 

Country: United States

Label: U N S I G N E D 

Preview Track: 

The season for Cascadian black metal has come and gone. It feels like only yesterday the movement was still green -from 2009 to 2012, you couldn't escape Cascadia's looming shadow - but in recent years, its popularity has silently withered away. It's certainly not for lack of quality material; last year Alda released Passage, their finest fusion of folk and black metal yet, while on …And the Lamps Expire Addaura further harvested the forestral landscape they cultivated on prior albums. As with most things in this age of the internet though, the focus of black metal fans has simply shifted elsewhere. However, in 2010, when With the End in Mind formed, a seed was planted, first sprouting with their 2013 effort Thresholder, and finally coming to bloom with this year's Unraveling: Arising. There may be hope for Cascadia yet. 

Unraveling: Arising is the catharsis of sole member Alexander Roland Freilich. It carries the vibe of an album forged through trial. It's summed up perfectly in opening track "Sing The Sky", where Freilich desperately caterwauls "O’ to be scoured clean/Sings the Sky in falling stars/Roaring, whipping, saying: “Cast off those tattered rags, and emerge anew”. Musically, the song reflects that rebirth. It starts out cold and emotionless, brimming with icy black metal conviction. Transitioning into a folksy, Addaura-like segue, it pensively builds to its climax, a surge of transcendental leads that ply the middle plane between Deafheaven-esque post-black metal and the naturalistic wonder of the Cascadian scene. It's a striking transformation that leave its mark. Therein lies the album's greatest strength; its ability to simultaneously embody the heart-wrenching frenzy of blackgaze and the stoic beauty of the wild. 

There's a very spiritual element to Unraveling: Arising. It sounds like a record composed around the campfire, inspired by a starry night and the reflection of flame against the trees. Many Cascadian black metal albums feel similarly, but few have ever felt quite as genuine. The title track is the best example of this. A purely ambient piece, the song features a bass-y drone, hurried acoustic strums and ritualistic chants that swirl into the sky like ashes from a blaze. The primitivism makes it feel like it was created from instinct alone, an aural manifestation of man possessed by nature. 

Alexander may be the only "official" member, but what With the End in Mind accomplished here wouldn't have been possible without a few contributions from others, which are best seen on the closing song, "Wheeling, Endlessly Wheeling". Caitlin Fate's ethereal vocals create an excellent counterpoint to Freilich's scarring rasps. Her Bjorkian croon is haunting, mesmerizing, and memorable. Drummer Pierson Roe is fantastic throughout the record, but on this track his performance is stellar. His ability to transition from a crusty punk blitz to tribal battering is essential in the album's level of immersion. The album was created from Freilich's vision, but without these other key players, he never would have been able to see it through. 

Unraveling: Arising is a gorgeous record, that modern black metal fans would be insane not to clamor for. It's both stargazing and shoegazing. It perfectly captures the idea of tumultuous introspection and reinvigorating epiphany through our connection to this earth. Nature is magical. It's ancient but revitalizing. It will always be a source of inspiration, and this record is reminder of not only that, but the woodsy charm that made us fall in love with the Cascadian scene in the first place. Like nature, we have tendency to forget its importance and impact; but thanks to With the End In Mind hopefully Olympia will come to blossom again

W H E E L I N G,   E N D L E S S L Y  W H E E L I N G

Axis of Advance - Strike (2001)

Artist: Axis of Advance

Album: Strike

Genre: Blackened Death Metal/War Metal

Country: Canada

Label: Deathrune Records

Preview Track:

Axis of Advance is a descendant of Canadian war metal royalty. Including members of Ross Bay Cult legends Conqueror and Revenge, in 1998 Axis of Advance rose from the ashes of seminal blackened death metal act Sacramentary Abolishment, who fractured after the departure of drummer/vocalist Paulus Kressman (who then went on to form the equally as impressive Rites of Thy Degringolade). The two remaining members, Vermin and Wor were then joined by legendary drummer James Read, a veritable deity in the underground metal scene, to create Axis of Advance. Strike is one of my favorite war metal albums of all time, one that is somehow exactly and nothing like you'd expect all at once.

S T R I K E

Tyrannus - The Warden (2017)

Artist: Tyrannus
Album: The Warden

Genre: Dungeon Synth/Dungeon Noise
Country: United States 

Label: Pagoda Mast

Preview Track:

The Warden was an album I discovered the very first night I decided to start exploring dungeon synth. I experienced a plethora of different sights and sounds for the first time that evening - the whimsy of Fief, the choking darkness of Old Tower, and more - but nothing shook me more than my first listen to The Warden. Reinforcing the usual sonic fare of dungeon synth, The Warden props up its harmonic resonance with beams of noise and calamity; though melodic each track lives in a realm of static, swallowed by an everlasting void of noise. It was a dichotomy I wasn't prepared for initially, yet it ended up causing The Warden to stick with me much longer that most of my other discoveries from that time. It is the perfect soundtrack to a snowy night, and as the weather continues to get warmer, it will definitely be a record I spin throughout the summer to keep myself cool. 

A R R I V A L O F G L O R Y

Enon Chapel - Enon Chapel (2019)

Artist: Enon Chapel

Album: Enon Chapel

Genre: Black Metal / Thrash Metal

Country: United States

Label: Acephale Winter Productions

Preview Track: 

Despite most of black metal's practitioners desire to remain independent and enigmatic, Enon Chapel shy away from such pretension, and as a result prove to be one of the more interesting collaborations I've seen during my time as a fan of the genre. Consisting of Meghan Wood (Crown of Asteria, Great Cold Emptiness, etc) and Balan (Botanist, Palace of Worms, etc...) Enon Chapel is a band that delivers a fierce brand of black metal while somewhat subverting expectations of the genre. Influenced by a plethora of different sources - everything from Victorian-era England, to the insidious French Les Legions Noires, to more modern entities like The Black Twilight Circle- Enon Chapel feels like culmination of the genre's long and worn history. Though it may usurp bits of character from the annals of black metal history, their conglomeration of  influences feels fresh and untapped; like their main projects Balan and Meghan continue to compose black metal on their own terms, and unsurprising of two visionaries, the result is of a class of its own. 

S E A N C E