Turris Eburnea - Turris Eburnea [EP] (2021)

 

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This set was recorded primarily during the first quarantine period, when we all were locked in our homes, hotels, and hospitals, completely unaware of the feastering shitstrom we were all about to experience. This EP is short romp through existential dread, longing, and utter fucking confusion. It's a great distraction from life. Each track flows tragically into the next, seamlessly, sometimes like the early days of this pandemic. 

Turris Eburnea

Skeletal Remains - The Entombment Of Chaos (2020)

 

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I spend a lot of time driving for work, so I used that time this morning listening to this on repeat. The opener lulls you in with a false sense of calm and comfort, then stabs you in the ears. It's packed full of noodly solos, brutal guttural vocals, and a rhythm section that resembles a machine gun. For fans of old school death metal, this is right up your ass. 

The Entombment Of Chaos

Omination - The Pale Horseman (2020)

 

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A big powerful sound fills this single track. Clocking in at almost 27 minutes, this record is a stark reminder of the unrelenting alienation that swallowed the plant whole at the beginning of this decade. This track drips with dread and picks at the smallest cracks in your sanity. It's a heady trip, so tread lightly.  

The Pale Horseman

Mass Worship - Portal Tombs (2022)

 

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These dudes have managed to craft a densely layered, suffocating sound that fills me with absolute dread with every spin. They've also mastered the the quiet to loud dynamic on this album, pulling me in with beautiful acoustic passages, and then punching me right in the ears with the heaviest of riffage. 

Portal Tombs

Persefone - Metanoia (2022)

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I've been seeing this monolithic concept on so many records the last 3+ years, and for some reason I am drawn to them. This means something. The record flows really well, keeping my attention completely for the entire duration. The band melds and manages to balance a unique mixture of genres, resulting in large sounding tracks, that are sometimes so big they have their own atmosphere. This record is definitely not for everyone. I am speaking mostly to the elitist pigs that shit themselves at the first sign of clean signing. This isn't for you. As for the rest of us normal folk, this record is pretty damn great and deserves a wider audience. The album is relatively cheap as well, so grab a copy of you like it.    

Metanoia

Nerada - Icons of Ignorance (2021)

 

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There has to be something said about the high quality of extreme music and the magnificent artwork that comes along with it. If I'm scouring the internet, or on the rarest case, flipping through selections at a record store, it's often the art that stops me. This one in particular stood out. The music therein had the same effect as the cover. Crushing, suffocating, technical madness. This is just what we needed to start the last week of March.

Icons of Ignorance

Rat King - Santa Hipocresía (2021)

 

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I remember as a kid hanging out with my uncle on cold snowy days, sorting through his old cassette tapes for the ugliest cover I could find. Once I found it, that was the tape I would listen to all day. As soon as I saw the Santa Hipocresía cover it brought back some of those memories. After a single listen I immediately had to purchase a copy, and what do you know? The EP comes in a fucking  Cassette Tape format. Slide over there and check them out. The tapes are moderately priced as well. Totes worth a couple of bucks for those oh so warm nostalgia feels. 

Santa Hipocresía

Thorn - Yawning Depths (2022)

 

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HOLY SHIT we’re back with more mind melting death metal. I couldn’t stay away for long. I’ve been reaching for this record quite a bit this week. Aptly named, and with a cover to help illustrate, Yawning Portal is a deep dark cave that’s easy to fall into, with a terribly difficult climb back out. This is definitely not the sweet album you play for your kids at bedtime. Ironically, today I found out that I'm going to be a father.

Yawning Depths

Inferi - Vile Genesis (2021)

 

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My eardrums feel violated after every listen to this record. It’s a nonstop assault on your senses right out of the gate. I hate making comparisons, but any Cattle Decapitation fans will eat this shit up and ask for more. The music is tight, the vocals not over the top bullshit, and the songs flow really well. This is a must listen. 

Vile Genesis

Teeth - Finite (2021)

 

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Extremely crushing with subtle hints of beauty dispersed over 5 tracks, this release, albiet short, left me feeling awestruck. What seperates these dudes from what's mostly labeld death is their use of dissonance, making their tracks feel large and open. I am really into this release. Not to mention the vinyl format of this album is fucking amazing. Check it out here and really consider purchasing a copy.

Finite

Master - Vindictive Miscreant (2018)

 

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This record was my introduction to Thrash legends Master. It's evident that I'm playing catch-up. Ironically they're originally from my hometown of Chicago, but I somehow missed the call on these dudes. I will say that every time I listen to this album I laugh my ass off becuase Paul Speckmann's vocals are batshit crazy. It's pretty obvious he spent his early years spinning the oldschool legends. Take this one for a walk, you'll enjoy it. 

Vindictive Miscreant

Imperial Triumphant - Inceste (2016)

 

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The first time I heard these dudes I thought I was having a stroke. The noise coming out of my headphones was increible. I have never heard anything closely resembling this amount of intensity, while also weaving intricate layers of classical and jazz into the mix. The only other group I’ve heard come close to this would be Painkiller, which will shortly have a write up of its own. The collection presented here are what the group considers the B-Sides to their critically acclaimed 2nd record. 

Inceste

Deeds of Flesh - Nucleus (2020)

 

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Although last year was a complete pile of flaming dogshit, for the entire planet, the world of extreme metal saw some of it's most incredible releases. Another of which was previously shared here. Much in the same vein as the aforementioned, veterans Deeds of Flesh crafted another beautiful story-based progressive death metal album, and one I have been obsessively living with. I mean I honestly have to physically force myself to listen to other things, otherwise I fear either I'm going to turn into one of the soul stealing machines featured on this album, or my wife is going to strangle me because it's midnight on a Tuesday and I'm headbanging in the kitchen. Spin this shit and see for yourself. 

Nucleus

Exocrine - Maelstrom (2020)

 

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Clearly the beginning of this year is all about catching up with last years extreme music releases. I was introduced to France's Exocrine this past summer and was immediately floored by their technical work, and the tasty ass jazzy breakdowns. Not to mention the oddly satisfying synth parts that flood this record. Find the ass groove on the couch, sink in, grab some oversized headphones, and float.   

Maelstrom

Pyrrhon - Abscess Time (2020)

 

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If there were ever a soundtrack to the Midwest it would be Pyrrhon's 4th effort. In between the agonizing, snarling screams and guttural growls you'll find hard bitter truths that are quite relatable. Despite this, the groups sound has further expanded into more experimental territories, conjuring densely layered sounds with some of the most brutal baselines I’ve heard this year. Fans of Today is the Day will eat this shit up and beg for more. Fair warning, this is definitely not a light trip. 

Abscess Time

Blood Incantation - Hidden History of the Human Race (2019)

 

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This shit kicks from front to back. Banging ass death metal from Denver, this is the quartet's most ambitious project yet. Flooded with driving solos and extended passages or what they like to refer to as cosmic soundscapes, this record rose to instant classic status before it was even released. Let this record blast through those winter chills. 

Hidden History of the Human Race

Detritus - Narcissist (2019)

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The winter weather has started to really move in now. It's been dark and rainy and cold for almost 3 days straight. Detritus has been a good companion, with its brutally heavy guttural vocals, and vicious driving drum beats. It will definitely keep you awake during these ever-sooner darkening days. For best result, play at maximum volume, then turn it up some more. 

Narcissist

Asenion - Darwin Among the Machines (2020)

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The epic crunchiness of Death Metal and the story driven extended passages of Progressive Rock, neatly wrapped in 42 minutes of pure genius. I normally don't score, by any means, but this is 5 out of 5, for sure. 

Darwin Among the Machines

Cattle Decapitation - Death Atlas (2019)

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This was definitely the best extreme album of 2019. There was a bit of truth behind this album I'm sure the band didn't recognize at the time of recording. Their music brought back the plague, and the video was a slap right in our fat American faces. Seriously. Toilet paper and bullets? Oh how the mighty have fallen. I hope you're keeping your hiney clean while spinning this banger.

Death Atlas