Five For Friday: May 20, 2022

Greetings, Decibel readers!

I’m really stoked we get a new Blut Aus Nord album this week. It’s always a happy occasion to plunge back into their strange, all-consuming world. But we also have some new aspiring megastars in Malevolence, along with the latest from the Hellenic veterans in Septicflesh. This weekend promises to be a scorcher, and the albums below should make a fitting soundtrack.

Enjoy!

Blut Aus Nord – Disharmonium – Undreamable Abysses

The enigmatic French black metal collective returns. If 2019’s Hallucinogen was an entrancing psychedelic take on their more melodic side, this album is where the trip turns dark. There’s echoes of the previous album, but it’s intertwined with the nightmarish dissonance of their more famous work. While in one sense, it’s a continuation of Hallucinogen, Disharmonium is also a return to form, a form only Blut Aus Nord can occupy.

Stream: Apple Music

Malevolence – Malicious Intent

Groovy. Everything about Malevolence signals that these guys want to get big. They’re on Nuclear Blast, they have hooks, solos, and meaty clean-vocal choruses — and they match it with a 2000s metalcore sensibility. It’s a blend of well-loved metal and hard rock sounds that gives fans of Unearth, Bleeding Through, Sevendust, and Crowbar each something to enjoy. Look out for these guys on big festival stages and headline tours in the near future.

Stream: Apple Music

Predatory Light – Death and the Twilight Hours

Inspired by recent events, cast through the lens of The Decameron and other classic plague-works, Predatory Light returns with a work of shimmering darkness. I know that’s a bit of a contradiction in terms, but you’ll understand once you hear that guitar tone. The band’s sound takes the experimental force of bands like Morbus Chron and combines it with an atmosphere reminiscent of Obsequiae and other atmospheric luminaries. It’s a record that captures both the bewilderment and pathos of our post-pandemic era.

Sadistic Ritual – The Enigma, Boundless

From our video premiere for “End of All Roads”:

The blackened elements of the Sadistic Ritual’s sound are still present on The Enigma, Boundless but so is an icing of psychedelic fury. On “End of All Roads,” Sadistic Ritual put the listener in a trance without ever breaking from their rhythmic, acidic core sound. The Enigma, Boundless stands out because the thrashers aren’t interested in retreading the same ground as the progenitors of the genre; their spin is noticeable and unique.

Stream: Apple Music

Septicflesh – Modern Primitive

It’s BIG. It’s LOUD. It’s THEATRICAL. It’s Septicflesh coming to you in all their post-Communion glory. If you love this era of the band, you’ll be all about this album.

Stream: Apple Music