Hello, Decibel readers!
We’ve got another great roundup of albums for you today to support a righteous weekend full of riffs. As things slowly get better out there (::knocks on every wooden thing in the house::), hopefully this music can be more than the soundtrack that enhances your solitude or limited gathering. The music may be negative, but let’s hope life goes in the other direction soon.
Enjoy!
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Soothsayer – Echoes of the Earth
Slow, dark and menacing doom. Recalling early My Dying Bride and other greats, Soothsayer weave excellent riff work, devastating vocals and plodding rhythms into a bleak and evocative picture. The soundtrack to the last day of Earth.
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Spellforger – Upholders of Evil
From our premiere of “Lord of Possession”:
“Spontaneity (and quality) is Spellforger’s charm on Upholders of Evil. They have that just-formed feel but execute their black/thrash with aplomb, as if they were born to with spiked gauntlets, long-ass hair, and the will to kill (with music).”
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Throne – Pestilent Dawn
From our stream of “Pestilent Dawn”:
Pestilent Dawn clocks in at a lean half-hour runtime, which works to Throne’s benefit. Each song is packed to the gills—riffs, ferocious drumming, hints of melody, mosh parts to make you bang your head into the wall—and no time is spent being still. Throne are heavy on the black metal side of their sound, not shying away from blast beats, tremolo picking and raspy screams, but there’s a strong presence of boneheaded, downtuned death metal on Pestilent Dawn that really underscores the heaviness and dynamics of the album.
Stream: Apple Music
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Wode – Burn In Many Mirrors
Since their fantastic debut in 2016, Wode has become one of the preeminent forces in modern black metal. On their latest album, the band mines death, heavy and thrash metal as well to add new dimensions to their sound. This allows them to transcend the trap of stagnation and complacency so many other bands fall into. The quality riffs don’t hurt either.
Stream: Apple Music
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Zao – The Crimson Corridor
As we said in our premiere of “Coatoan,” “For metalcore fans, Pennsylvania’s Zao is an institution, carrying their own banner many years before the sound broke in the early 2000s.” This is the band’s follow-up to 2016’s The Well-Intentioned Virus (quite a title to contemplate now, huh?).
Stream: Apple Music
