Despite life seemingly throwing everything it possibly could at me to prevent this month's write-up from being finished, the Top 10 for July is here and there's some real gems in this one.

After a somewhat middling June, this month was filled with surprising standout releases, but there was a sharp drop in quality once you got past the cream. My theory is there's a bit of what I call a "summer lull": since this is typically the time bands would spend focusing on touring before a surge or releases comes out in September/October so they can make everyone's year-end list, fewer albums are put out from June-August.

Not that it really matters here at MB HQ - we've always got more metal for you to bite (ha ha ha aren't I clever), and there's more than a dozen albums here that are more than worth your time. Comrades Michael and Benjamin came in clutch for this one and covered a bunch of stuff that wasn't even on my radar.

Now, let's get on to what you're here for!

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Drawn And Quartered - Congregation Pestilence
Krucyator Productions

I've always thought D&Q was an incredibly underrated band in the death metal spectrum, especially considering how much Immolation gets praised and how similar the motifs are that they use, just with some extra speed and more attention paid to the extreme ends of tempo. Where Immolation churn through shifting rhythms that snake and stutter into each other, never absurdly slow or fast, Drawn and Quartered are either blitzing your brain with blasting or dragging you through pinch harmonics at a crawl Congregation Pestilence is another album that fiddles a bit with the knobs and refines and plays with the band's now-signature sound to create a couple of riff juggernauts, a couple of songs that drown you in a tar pit, and a few things in between.
-Nate

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Vomit Ritual - Callous
Pulverised Records

Callous didn't really make sense at first. It's got a more streamlined and stripped-down delivery, which you don't expect from dudes wearing Black Witchery shirts. Even with the surface aesthetic feeling like a fusion of Blasphemy-styled war metal and death/doom, There's a backbone of monotone, heavy-handed influence that brings Fuming Mouth-styled modern metalcore to mind. The drummer in particular seems allergic to really fast tempos, preferring a more straightforward approach, even when the occasional blast beat or double-kick pattern makes its way in. He likes to emphasize the snare and isn't big on fills.

For some inexplicable reason, it works - and with an approach that other bands typically bore me with. There's something special in the intangibles of this. The magic is not in the material itself, but the execution. Jerry Whiting doesn't have a lot of other mixing credits to his name (that I'm aware of), but something about the way everything is constantly forced to the front hits different. Vomit Ritual has the kind of singular power that makes them the envy of more primitive extreme metal bands - they can do more with two notes than most bands can do with ten.
-Nate

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Brilliant Coldness - The Ultimate Dream Plan B: The Disposal Of Humanity
Dead Center Productions

I'm pleased to see that Neuraxis didn't split up...they just moved to the Ukraine! Brilliant Coldness has all the mechanical grinding, start-stop grooves, and subtle melodic sensibilities that defined the Quebecois group, with some Martyr-esque yelling adding on a bit more plagiarism of the best tech-death scene in the world. There aren't many high points, just intricate and well-composed songs that are always technical with a purpose and never obfuscate in excess.

It's been 15 years since Brilliant Coldness put out a new album, and you can hear it. The Ultimate Dream Plan B has that feeling like a ton of these riffs were written way back in the mid-00s, because nothing else that came out this year gives me that "classic brutal death metal" feeling like this does, save for maybe Ominous Ruin. Brilliant Coldness has even more of that dry, clinical production quality, mostly a product of the rubbery bass tone. The benefit of these ideas feeling like they're a decade old, is they also sound incredibly refined, crisp and flow more with their specific, focused calculation.
-Nate

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METALBITE'S TOP 10 ALBUMS OF THE MONTH

 

10: Hexenklad - Heathenheart
CDN Records

Any time I get the chance to promote the Civilian Death Network, I'm going to do so, because they're one of the longest-running extreme metal labels from my neck of the woods. However, even with a solid overall roster, they put out music that's outside the realm of what I would want to listen to or cover. They release a lot of slam, and that's more of an occasional spice on my listening plate rather than the main ingredient. When they do pick something outside of their comfort zone to give the seal of approval, though, chances are it really smokes.

That long preamble is to make this point: regardless of any inherent favoritism I may have for CDN, Hexenklad kicks ass. I would have been blown away by this no matter how I discovered them. I don't remember being as floored by their debut - time and maturity have refined the band's production values and allowed them to add several exuberant flourishes to their sound, with some despondent melodies creeping their way into a Viking metal-laden surface only to surge into upwards storms of powerful riffing. At times, it overflows to the brim with busy vocal lines, spacious keyboards and triumphant melodies, but this group of Ontarians know the right times to dial it back into sublime contemplation. If this album doesn't put Hexenklad on the folk metal map, I have no idea what will.
-Nate

MetalBite's Rating: 7.9/10

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9: Felled - The Intimate Earth
Transcending Obscurity Records

I swear, every single one of these lists has at least one Transcending Obscurity release on it, and not only that, it's a different genre each time. We've had vicious black/death metal (Crypts of Despair), funeral doom metal (Sepulcros), melodic death metal (Eye of Purgatory), and now we can add Agalloch-styled folk/black/doom.

The first thing you'll notice with Felled is that warm, resonant violin and how it seems to be the main thing driving the song. It's frequently, if not almost entirely, used as the lead instrument and the guitars function as the melodic skeleton. The drums feel oddly light for the style, but eventually your ears adjust and it enhances the foresty vibe. You get the feeling this band is made up of people who hand-weave their clothes and wouldn't mind living in the middle of the woods. The contributions from seasoned, versatile bassist Isamu Sato add depth in a unique way - this isn't a style known for bass players standing out, and he somehow still pulled it off. The band doesn't have a massive range of motion, preferring to slowly build and draw on their established atmosphere, but that isn't a concern because this is a debut album and it's better that they gave their initial mission statement a cohesive sound and a clear focus.

In a year where the only bands that put out "Agalloch metal" were the established veterans (Empyrium, The Flight of Sleipnir) it's comforting for me to see some fresh blood keeping my favorite subgenre afloat - hailing from Agalloch's home state of Oregon, no less!
-Nate

MetalBite's Rating: 7.9/10

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8: Galvanizer - Prying Sight of Imperception
Everlasting Spew/Me Saco Un Ojo

We already premiered this disgustingly rifftastic full album last week right here at MetalBite, so go over there if you want to read more in-depth rambling. This is just your reminder to check it out if you haven't already!!!
-Nate

MetalBite's Rating: 8/10

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7: Diabolizer - Khalkedonian Death
Everlasting Spew

Istanbul is not exactly be a hotbed of modern death metal (or pre-modern death metal for that matter), and Diabolizer is the kind of generic name that mediocre bands have saddled themselves with since time immemorial, so it's fair to say that the supreme quality of their debut album caught this listener completely off-guard. Closer inspection of the band's heritage reveals sometime membership of both Hyperdontia and Burial Invocation, and Diabolizer are not doing anything drastically different to either of those bands, spewing forth a moderately technical, but still catchy version of death metal that has its roots in both the Floridian explosion of the early 1990s, and the European (but not Scandinavian) sound of the early 2000s typified by Vomitory, Sinister and Demigod-era Behemoth. Labyrinthine song structures switch between syncopated eighth-note E-string chugging and flurries of higher register guitar figures, with tempos frequently switching from a mid-paced battery to thrashy speed. Superb songs such as 'Cloaked In An Aura Of Madness' also recall both Slayer and Deicide, with staccato riffing and sinister harmonies abounding, all coalescing into an authentically dark and dank atmosphere, dripping with horror.

While there's nothing particularly revolutionary happening here, Khalkedonian Death is never less than compelling, and shows enough flashes of ingenuity and individualism throughout it's savage duration to retain the listener's interest - the haunting arpeggios that loom shadow-like over the churning maelstrom of what might be their calling card, 'Bringers Of Khalkedonian Death' for example, or the almost blackened chromaticism of the conclusion to 'Perishing In His Oceans Of Blood' which shows that the band have the dexterity to utilise dashes of other metallic ingredients to add extra spice and flavour to their otherwise conventional death metal mix, and which will stand them in good stead as they develop their sound to follow-up what is an impactful and highly credible debut.
-Benjamin

(Nate's note: I liked this one a lot too! Here's a premiere of "Cloaked in an Aura of Madness" in case you needed further convincing that this is necessary to check out.)

MetalBite's Rating: 8/10

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6: At The Gates - The Nightmare Of Being
Century Media

With The Nightmare of Being, At the Gates have created the legitimate successor to Slaughter of the Soul. Forget the lukewarm At War with Reality and To Drink from the Night Itself, which were far too cerebral and contrived. On the new album, the legendary Swedes bring back the wonderful guitar style that could also be heard on Terminal Spirit Disease, and put it into flawlessly constructed melodic death metal. Even as more progressive elements (and even a saxophone) flow into the songs, the album remains true to its thread. There is no longer this feeling, as there was with the two previous albums, that something is incoherent and not right... At the Gates took a big step backwards in the best way possible, and I hope that they continue to regress into their old ways even further.
-Michael

MetalBite's Rating: 8/10

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5: Temple Of Dread - Hades Unleashed
Testimony Records

For those in the know, The North Sea coast has always been a great vacation spot - unfortunately, it's becoming more and more of a trend to stay there. What is still not as known, though, is that it's also a hotspot for superb German death metal.

The trio of Temple of Dread has used the lockdown period to release their third work Hades Unleashed within a year. Compared to its predecessor World Sacrifice, the album sounds even more furious and brutal. Singer Jens sounds so hateful and aggressive that you worry about his family and friends, and you'd be afraid to meet him on the street. The compositions have come into their own, but you can still hear influences like Death, Bolt Thrower and Voivod here and there. Hades Unleashed is definitely one of the most outstanding death metal albums of this year from Germany and should be checked by every DM maniac!
-Michael

MetalBite's Rating: 8.2/10

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4: Severed Boy - Tragic Encounters
Caligari Records

The coronavirus pandemic has brought us many things over the past 18 months, from an adherence to public mask-wearing that would put Slipknot to shame, to the almost instantaneous transformation of large numbers of social media users into epidemiology experts. One of the more welcome outputs of what has been at times an almost global lockdown, however, has been the appearance of new bands formed either as a response to the current societal upheaval, or as a result of the enforced downtime facilitating new creative partnerships and the space to explore them. Severed Boy are one such band, apparently the direct result of a manic quarantined episode, and featuring Nicholas Wolf and Reid Calkin of Lunglust. Tragic Encounters, of which there have no doubt been many millions since the sun rose on the start of 2020, is the debut EP of this particular meeting of minds, and judging by the unpleasant, caustic death-doom that streams forth across the EP's five tracks, they are the minds of two troubled individuals.

The highlight of this debut is the magnificent 'Sparse Forest Of Memories', which alternates between the almost thuggish chugging of the Autopsy variant of death metal, and the kind of dissonant abstraction that you might find on a Spectral Voice record. Tragic Encounters is dripping with foetid atmosphere, but it's the sheer depths of palpable despair that are plumbed that renders Severed Boy such a worryingly intriguing proposition, In that respect, tonally, if not sonically, they remind one of Today Is The Day at their most primitive and affecting. Although their music is certainly not rudimentary or basic, Severed Boy consciously strip back their deathly doom until only the essential components remain, with off-kilter riffs and harmonic choices providing frequent unexpected moments of brilliance that less creative bands would struggle to compose. Tragic Encounters is one of the better releases of its type in 2021, and one hopes that Wolf and Calkin hold it together for long enough to continue a journey that has started with immense promise.
-Benjamin

MetalBite's Rating: 8.2/10

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3: Craven Idol - Forked Tongues
Dark Descent Records

The level of pre-release hype surrounding the release of Forked Tongues, Craven Idol's third full-length, suggests that Dark Descent believed that they had something special on their hands with this release, and so it proves. With no unnecessary ambient introductions in sight, 'Venomous Rites' absolutely erupts into life, a volcano of black/thrash riffing spitting molten lava onto doomed mankind, and the album is positively brimming with boundless energy and vicious vitality from this moment all the way through to the closing section of the epic final track 'The Gods Have Left Us For Dead'. The thunderous production, perfectly balancing the razor-sharp guitars with enough grit and dirt to prevent the merest hint of sterility, but not so much as to enshroud the deliciously evil melodic runs that flow from the guitars in the kind of impenetrable murk that can sometimes be employed as a supposed shortcut to instant underground kudos.

The atmosphere is instead created by a pulverising set of concise songs that incorporate hook upon hook of memorable riffs and infernal long-form tremolo melodies. It has been 4 long years since the London-based group released their second effort (although several of their members keep active in several other similarly high calibre bands), but this time has been well-spent, with not a single one of the 7 tracks providing anything less than blistering quality. Unusually, two of the best tracks are positioned directly in the middle of the album, as twin centrepieces that the other tracks revolve around. 'Even The Demons…' pulls the throttle back a little for an Eastern-tinged blackened death masterpiece, which recalls a more punishing Melechesh, or even Nile at their most catchy, and is then immediately followed by the majestic title track, which is velocity-laden black/thrash at its best, giving Destroyer 666, a band Craven Idol are frequently and understandably compared to, a run for their money in its combination of blasting brutality and insidious melody. Forked Tongues is the album that Craven Idol have been threatening to make for some time, and should rightfully propel them with ease into the upper echelons of the year-end lists, as well as the dark hearts of any fan looking for a slab of unchained ferocity that raises fists instead of eyebrows.
-Benjamin

MetalBite's Rating: 8.5/10

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2: Space Chaser - Give Us Life
Metal Blade Records

The boys from Berlin just set the thrash metal bar extremely high. It starts with the artwork, continues with the videos and ends with the quality of the songs. Singer Siegfried still sounds like Bruce Dickinson in parts, but the songs have become much more aggressive than on the two previous albums.The band doesn't shy away from meaty death metal-tinged riffs, either. Songs like 'Antidote to Order', 'Remnants of Technology' or 'A:O:A' are absolute killers and you just have to headbang along! Absolutely worth a listen If you like uncompromising thrash in the style of old Megadeth, Exodus and co. paired with a few crossover sounds.
-Michael

(Nate's note: This was an album I had completely missed the first time, and I only listened to it after I received Michael's write-up to see what that squirmin' German was going on about, and man, this is meaty!! Even if thrash isn't your go-to, give this a shot - these riffs are impossible to deny.)

MetalBite's Rating: 8.9/10

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1: Ophidian I - Desolate
Season of Mist

What the fuck was that??? Did somebody lock Dragonforce and Spencer Prewett in a studio room and allow them to subsist only on meth?

Dear lord, tech-death is becoming the world's fastest dick-measuring contest and I am HERE for it. This is some of the most brilliant, exuberant, and simply overwhelming music in the genre I've heard in a long time, and it comes from...Iceland, a place typically known for its black metal? What is this? Who are these guys??!? I can't even write any more words because my BRAIN is MELTING.
-Nate

MetalBite's Rating: 9/10

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A month dominated by quality OSDM is never a bad thing! Thanks for checking our list out. Be sure to buy albums and merch from bands listed here you like the sound of, follow them on social media, pick up their dry cleaning, file their taxes, anything else they need - they put a ton of time, money, blood and sweat into making ear candy for us metalheads, and they need your support. Plus, some of them probably spend so much focusing on music they forget basic adult responsibilities.

In case you wanted to check out past month's lists and get caught up on all the best metal in 2021, below are all the previous MetalBite Top 10s so far. See ya in August!

January 2021

February 2021

March 2021

April 2021

May 2021

June 2021

Entered: 7/29/2021 12:12:59 PM

Previous Post MB Premiere: TURN COLD - 'The End of My Rope'	Next Post MB Premiere and Review: SHRIEKING DEMONS - 'Diabolical Regurgitations'

Welcome back to MetalBite's Top 10 Albums of the Month!
February was comparatively a lighter month, but there were still a handful of landmark albums by some of the bigger names in the "mainstream underground". Like always, though, we've got a handpicked list of the goods. Let's cut the shit and get to it because the end of March is already around the corner!

-Nate

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Kolac - Kolac
Pest Records

After 10 years, the Serbian black metal band Kolac returns with their third self-titled album Kolac with plenty of awesome, catchy and blasphemous bangers filled with raw energy and aggression. The songs on the new album have a lot of heavy and thrash metal influences mixed in with black metal, while also switching their lyrical themes from blasphemy to the dark ages and various methods of medieval torture. It's got everything that I expected to get from their new album and then some, which in my eyes is a very solid work of black metal that surpasses its predecessors and strikes harder than ever before.
-Vlad

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Atoll - Inhuman Implants
Unique Leader

Didn't this band just put out an album? Yep, just checked - this came out only six months after its predecessor, which was also an honorable mention. That's impressive on its own, and it's equally as impressive that this Phoenix, AZ -based group continues to sculpt their identity of pummeling, slammy brutal death metal. There's no drastic overhauls in their sound, but the refinement of what's already there is noticeable. The slams sound even thicker, the rare traces of melody even more confounding and intricate, and the squealing vocals even more beastly and viscous. There's a jovial bounce that permeates through, and titles like 'Gay For God' and 'Missionary Opposition' hint at a tongue-in-cheek vibe that's common in the genre. Atoll is quickly rising up the ranks of brutal death metal workhorses and it's about time you take notice!
-Nate

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Night Slasher - Night Slasher
Sliptrick Records

Lithuanian black/thrash/speed metal band Night Slasher released their self-titled debut album that just slashes all the way through and completely annihilates every dead man walking. It's got a very strong post-apocalyptic feel to it that is certainly amped up with the band's intense and heavy performance, with such skull-crushing bangers that are like jackhammers and bulldozers. As I've said before, if you are into bands like Midnight and Hellripper, you really need to check this one out because it is one bad motherfucker from the Baltic region.
-Vlad

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METALBITE'S TOP 10 ALBUMS OF THE MONTH

 

10: Chapel Of Disease - Echoes Of Light
Pathologically Explicit Recordings

Huh, well this is definitely different. On the one hand, it's nice to see Chapel Of Disease is back, as their distinct brand of vaguely proggy death/thrash was sorely missed, but on the other hand you can barely consider this the same band. The tendencies they had are still kind of there, but only in occasional whispers, and the majority of this has been replaced with occult rock in the vein of The Devil's Blood and Year of the Goat - although the snarling harsh vocals are still there. It makes me wonder if this is partially why the band split up in the first place - perhaps the band was tired of their old approach and wanted to try a new direction, or maybe a couple of the guys were undecided at first and then came around in time.

They do sound at home in the new approach, and there is a certain cathartic satisfaction in this music - perhaps this is what they wanted to be all along, and never felt fully comfortable in their own skin until now.
-Nate

MetalBite's Rating: 8/10

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9: Spectral Voice - Sparagmos
Dark Descent

More of a "slow burn" kind of release, but if death/doom is your thing this will undoubtedly be high up the AOTY list. One thing I've always appreciated about Paul Riedl's projects, whether or not I completely vibe with them, is the attention to detail. Every single aspect of them, whether it's the presentation and aesthetic (apparently the album cover for this is a photo of a model painstakingly crafted through an incredibly obfuscating and complex process), carefully tailored influences (I hear a lot of Evoken, Esoteric and Disembowelment on this in particular) or even just the way the songs slowly unfold into more immersing and cathartic riffwork as the album drags on.

Eroded Corridors Of Unbeing was an incredible album, and though it much more immediately stuck to me than Sparagmos, this is an album that you process in layers over a period of months. If you're a fan of death/doom, you've probably already checked this out - but you should probably familiarize yourself regardless so you can have the inside scoop before it inevitably ends up on everyone's year-end list.
-Nate

MetalBite's Rating: 8/10 (for now)

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8: Sentry - Sentry
High Roller

If you are unaware of the importance and impact of Manilla Road on heavy metal, it almost goes without saying that an extraordinary world of epic and esoteric work awaits your discovery, and this writer would suggest that you peruse at least some of their discography, before returning to find out whether Sentry are suitable bearers of the eternal flame lit by Mark Shelton so many years ago. Sentry are three quarters of the final line-up of that legendary band, a band which sadly died with its founder on his untimely passing in 2018, and they take the epic-doom and thrash-adjacent chugging of Manilla Road's later output as their basis, albeit with a slightly more modern sheen burnishing the production, together with more conventional vocals than Shelton's off the wall shriek. With tracks such as the insistent 'The Haunting', Sentry will comfortably fit into the current traditional metal scene, somewhere between Candlemass and Doomsword, and it is easy to imagine them occupying the early evening slot at the kind of German and Greek festivals that drop their headliner budgets in the direction of The Atlantean Codex and Grave Digger (old school set). Sentry are at their most compelling when they stretch out a little, the seven minute 'Valkyries (Raise The Hammers)' being a prime example – the main riff displays the pounding qualities of Black Album-era Metallica, but as the track progresses through a more sophisticated instrumental section which adds classic metal guitar harmonies, it is clear pleasing to hear Sentry push their capabilities a little harder. Finishing with an almost too faithful Candlemass cover, this self-titled effort is both a strong start for Sentry, and an affectionate tribute to a band that continue to burn in the hearts of metal fans the world over.
-Benjamin

MetalBite's Rating: 8.1/10

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7: Farsot - Life Promised Death
Lupus Lounge

One of the longer-running acts of the Prophecy Productions sub-label, this has a very gradually revealing character. The transitions are smooth, the motifs are repetitive, and the atmosphere is fed to you via a slow breadcrumb trail that barely feels like it exists, but then halfway through you realize you've been locked in for several minutes. The drumming on this is great - a steady stream of rolling double kick and snare placement that feels like it's taking more from rock beats than it is metal (not unlike mid-era, pre-Dekker Agalloch), and it seals you into the riffs easily. There's a lingering discordance to the melodies, never fully diving into the post-black pool but also remaining firmly entrenched in a modern ethos. It's not reinventing the wheel, but it's exploring a very specific tenet of black metal in a thorough and well-composed manner.

Aaand of course this band is German. I've said it before and I'll say it again - most consistent regional scene in extreme metal. Anything I hear out of there, whether a fully established band, a smaller up-and-comer, or something in between - has something about it worth listening to.
-Nate

Life Promised Death is the German black-metallers first album in seven years, and befitting the band's professed grunge influences, it is a bleak listen. With the exception of a few passages, Farsot eschew the out-and-out velocity of some of their peers, favouring a mid-paced churn that recalls a less black 'n' roll Volcano-era Satyricon, with shades of Krallice creeping in at the edges. If the promise of a black metal album indebted to the Seattle scene seems a little gauche, fear not, this record sounds nothing like Nevermind. Farsot have, however, ingested the misery and harmonic structures of grunge, and are able to effectively integrate the downbeat melodicisme of that era into their more extreme sound without replicating the sonics wholesale. The most obvious touchpoints are the Alice In Chains EPs, Jar Of Flies and Sap, and the excellent 'Buoyant Flames' makes good use of finger-picked acoustics and the kind of ghostly harmonies that Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell made such a signature of that band's sound. With Life Promised Death, Farsot reward the listener with a singular, and intriguing take on black metal, which should appeal to those that have come under the spell of the more recent Shining albums, and it is a deft achievement indeed to create something so coherent from a combination of sounds that in the hands of many simply wouldn't work.
-Benjamin

MetalBite's Rating: 8.4/10

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6: Eternal Storm - A Giant Bound To Fall
Transcending Obscurity

Anything that gives me Insomnium vibes is bound to hook me - the amount of hours I spent listening to their albums on walks as a moody and depressed teenager was a foundational experience in my musical development. Eternal Storm packs plenty of those somber yet oh so delicious melodies into this album, while also writing songs with an expansive range of motion not unlike Swallow the Sun. Be'lakor is a good comparison too, as there's a good mix of active, riffy sections and drawn out ambiance.

It's rare that you find a band so capable of packing entrancing and accessible moments in without resorting to ham-fisted poppiness, or one that has such careful attention to detail couched in a grandiose sense of scope. Eternal Storm has both in spades, with tons of memorable moments woven throughout the over-an-hour runtime. That length is usually a deterrent, but in this case it serves as a selling point. There's even more tasty riffs to consume!
-Nate

MetalBite's Rating: 8.5/10

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5: Hulder - Verses In Oath
20 Buck Spin

For whatever reason, it took me until this album to dive into Hulder, despite them getting a lot of praise from a lot of different sources, but Verses In Oath hit me straight to the dome. It's rare that black metal can genuinely evoke the spirit of the 90s while still being a viable and interesting listen in its own right, and this checks both those boxes with aplomb. The feral, tonal rasps have a naturally appealing quality and are immediately recognizable, the washed-out keyboards and synths sound mystical and divine (reminiscent of Blut Aus Nord's debut album), and the songs have a natural groove supplemented by one of the best session dudes in the biz right now (Charlie Koryn). The title track gets stuck in my head as soon as I think about it - love the vocal rhythms on that one in particular.

This is an album (and a band) that understands exactly what classic black metal needs to be effective in 2024, reminding me of Nachtlich - more in spirit than style, as they're far more stripped down and raw, while Hulder is elegant and fantastical in the early Satyricon/Emperor sort of vein, with a slight undercurrent of grit.
-Nate

MetalBite's Rating: 8.7/10

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4: Borknagar - Fall
Century Media Records

These Norwegian superstars never slow down, as is evidenced by both Vlad and Michael's glowing reviews of their twelfth album. Do I really need to recommend Borknagar to you? You're browsing an underground metal site, if you haven't heard of them yet I don't really know what to tell you.
-Nate

MetalBite's Rating: 9/10

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3: Iron Curtain - Savage Dawn
Dying Victims Productions

Speed metal is a thing of the past?! Speed metal is dinosaur rock?! Real speed metal is not around in the 21st century?! BULLSHIT! Spanish band Iron Curtain made a triumphant return with their fifth album Savage Dawn, that is in my opinion the best living proof that speaks in high volumes "SPEED METAL IS NOT DEAD!" Coming from someone who grew up listening to classic and influential bands such as Tank, Raven, Accept, Anvil, Razor, Whiplash, Slayer, Running Wild, Iron Maiden, Grave Digger, Exciter and Destructor among others, Savage Dawn possesses everything that revives the magic of oldschool 80's metal with all the heart and soul put into their music which resulted in a majestic output that breaks all the chains and crushes the skull of those who oppose. So many songs shine with elements of heavy, thrash and speed metal that it is just so unreal, especially when a modern-day band actually managed to create something so effective and outstanding that it gives me the chills. After listening to this album on repeat, I started feeling like I was 15 again and that I never lost all that enthusiasm which made me the man who I am today. Iron Curtain is back heavier than ever, hungrier than ever, and Savage Dawn is their new weapon of ultimate destruction!
-Vlad

MetalBite's Rating: 9/10

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2: Job For A Cowboy - Moon Healer
Metal Blade Records

Ten years to let the prog-death angle marinate was exactly what Job For A Cowboy needed to make the masterpiece everyone wished Sun Eater was. Perhaps the band just needed to take a break from the Big Boy Tour Circuit and breathe for a bit, maybe the more expansive, multifaceted approach is something that should be handled by more "mature" individuals, but whatever it was, it was the recipe they needed to write their best album yet. Though a groundbreaking band that enjoyed an overwhelming, rapid explosion in popularity in the MySpace era for basically single-handedly creating deathcore, you always got the sense that even by their first full-length album the band wanted to move away from the very sound they helped get huge.

Sun Eater was the moment they finally took the bold step into the music they wanted to create for themselves, but it came with a fair share of flaws - the guitars were too muffled, the vocals were way too loud (a recurring problem throughout their early career) and overall it felt like though the potential was there, it just didn't quite hit the mark. Moon Healer takes all of those qualities and goes "yep, we get it, here's the album you were looking for". It almost feels like a long con to get more people to buy into the prog approach.

The bass lines were still nasty on that one, and here they're even better. Navene Koperweis is hands down the best drummer JFAC has ever had - not to say the previous guys weren't skilled, but something about the way Koperweis plays just fits, especially with the more progressive leanings of their later direction. Instead of songs trying and bunch of things and going nowhere, he supplements them with tasteful fills and just the right amount of off-beat snare placement and speedy blastwork that underscore all of the ideas the way they were meant to. This guy is making a name for himself, and adds to an impressive resume that includes Entheos and Animosity. Each song is full with tasty little moments and a more even balance between the instruments - and lo and behold, Jonny Davy is actually mixed well and not dominating the fuck out of everything! They always mixed him like a deathcore vocalist - which, I mean, fair, he has an immediately recognizable voice and set the template for the mix of low growls and accent highs that most modern vocalists in the style employ, but now that he's actually a little bit more sifted in, everything can flow and breathe so much better - and Alan Glassman actually gets some time to be showcased, after years of being perennially underrated.

In summation, this is hands down Job For A Cowboy's best album and after years of somehow being simultaneously overrated and underrated, they've finally come into their own and are getting the proper recognition they deserve - not for accidentally inventing deathcore, but by establishing themselves as one of the finest veteran death metal bands making the rounds.
-Nate

MetalBite's Rating: 9/10

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1: Necrowretch - Swords Of Dajjal
Season Of Mist

Swords Of Dajjal was an album that I accidentally came across and UNHOLY SHIT, I was not ready for what awaits me. By far one of the most intense and extreme albums in the black/death metal branch that can be described by one of their songs, TOTAL OBLITERATION! Swords Of Dajjal delivers with every track until the very last one, without ever catching a break or dropping its balls, just constantly bashing the non-believers in the face like a very merciless and violent beast that is. This album is a great example that showcases what extreme metal should be like and you will see for yourselves that there is plenty to be found here. What really got me hooked about this album is the fact that despite its consistent style and songwriting, it actually manages to get even heavier as it progresses from one track to another, and it's absolutely magnificent. Fans of bands such as Trivax, Xalpen and Necrophobic to name a few, should definitely check out this insane son of a bitch that is Swords Of Dajjal.
-Vlad

MetalBite's Rating: 9.5/10

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Thanks as always for stopping by. Be sure to check out January's list so you can stay on top of 2024 releases while it's still manageable. Spring tends to be when the floodgates open!

January 2024

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Entered: 3/17/2024 2:57:21 PM

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