Five For Friday: January 8, 2021

Happy New Year, Decibel readers!

Welcome to the first edition of Five For Friday for 2021. It’s hard to keep track of all the new releases each week, so we keep this column going to help you out. It’d be nice to be able to pay attention to everything, but real appreciation in life requires limits. So with that in mind, get ready to joyfully restrain yourself with the releases below.

Despondent Moon- Enshrouded in Eternal Moonlight

What better way to start the new year than with some spooky raw black metal? In a recent interview, the man behind the moon said (in refreshingly clear and excited language):

“Personally, I feel like it’s my strongest work to date. The album’s imagery is of the apparition of a vampire Countess and her estate. I guess links could be made to personalities such as Elizabeth Bathory. I have to admit it’s been a lot of fun working on the album/making the video and album art and just sort of getting lost in a haze of gothic imagery. I’m really looking forward to its release!”

Frozen Soul- Crypt Of Ice

These guys really, really, REALLY like Bolt Thrower. That’s cool, though, we do too! Here’s what we said in our review of the band’s debut album:

“while their imaginations skew cold, their debut LP is every bit as red-hot as their subterranean demos promised. Think evil-but-enunciated croaking, melodic tremolo riffs turned low and laid atop groovy drums, and near-constant double bass rolls.”

Nomadic Rituals- Tides

Thick, crushing sludge and doom. The soundtrack to dusk on a cold winter’s day, when the light struggles to win the war it inevitably loses every time.

Stellar Death- Fragments of Light

Normally I’d fault a band for the brazen act of using Papyrus font anytime after 2003, but you know what? It totally works in this case. I think instrumental post-metal like this should get a pass in this case. Anyway, it’s always a challenge to craft instrumental songs that can grab you like tunes with vocals can. The vocals are just such an easy rallying point. But if you’re a set of talented composers like this band, you find a way.

Unbounded Terror- Faith in Chaos

Hailing from Spain, the island of Mallorca to be exact, Unbounded Terror has actually been around since the halcyon death metal days of 1991. Check out some of their early stuff here. Their latest album gives off some serious Vader vibes as it pummels you through tracks like “Hiding From the Light” and the blasting fury of “Hated in Hell.”