Greetings, Decibel readers!
Anyone else excited for Maryland Deathfest next week? Although I’m always stoked to see some of my big favorites like Evoken, Incantation, Hulder and Oxygen Destroyer, I’m especially looking forward to seeing Dusk perform all of …Majestic Thou in Ruin. Honestly, funeral-doom fans are absolutely spoiled this year with Evoken, Dusk, Mournful Congregation, Shape of Despair AND Skepticism all playing. Going to really need to hear something fast after all that. Luckily enough, Razor is playing too.
Hope to see some of you there!
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AntropomorphiA – Devoid of Light
The latest from the long-running Dutch death-dealers. Antropomorphia’s work stands at the intersection of straightforward, grinding death metal in the style of Grave and Asphyx, and the dark, all enveloping sound of Belphegor and late-era Behemoth.
Stream: Apple Music
Devoid of Light by AntropomorphiA
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Blood Monolith – The Calling of Fire
Grind-happy newcomers from Washington DC. Includes members of Nails, Genocide Pact, Undeath and Deliriant Nerve. If that doesn’t sell it right there, the sheer brutality of this release should seal the deal.
Stream: Apple Music
The Calling Of Fire by BLOOD MONOLITH
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Desekryptor – Sarcophagal Corridors
Supremely dark goodness. I first knew about Desekryptor from their 2023 EP, Curse of the Execrated, and instantly knew they were an underground death metal band to watch. The excellence on display here only further cements this truth.
Sarcophagal Corridors by DESEKRYPTOR
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Eleventh Ray – Reviving Tehom
Speaking of darkness, Greece’s Eleventh Ray has arrived with their debut album, casting the world in a blackened hue all their own. While the band’s sound definitely reminds me of Aura Noir and other practitioners of black-thrash alchemy, their execution definitely sets them apart. Touches of death metal and doom keep things interesting and add to the power of the compositions, and the sound displays the perfect balance of clarity and raw energy.
Reviving Tehom by Eleventh Ray
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Full of Hell – Broken Sword, Rotten Shield
Not the first band I’d expect to write album “through a fantasy-tinged lens” in which “the band crafts a world of dog knights and noble quests, only to tear it all down in a violent reckoning with mortality.” But Full of Hell has never been a band to settle for predictability, so in their own unique, unhinged way, this is very much a continuation of their destructive sonic journey. Also, “Lament of All Things” is catchy as hell.
Stream: Apple Music
Broken Sword, Rotten Shield by Full of Hell
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