Greetings, Decibel readers!
It’s a great week for fans of death metal, as four of the albums below basically run on that old-faithful engine of blood, fire, and guts. As for the exception, well. I make no apologies for my loyalty to early-2000s metalcore. So you’ll just have to deal with it.
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Egregore – It Echoes in the Wind
Bands like Egregore are doing important work out there. In blending recognizable forms within an atmosphere of chaos, they attempt to find new ways forward for extreme metal. This is evident from the immediate impact the music makes on you. Sure, there’s death metal in there, a fair amount of black metal (especially first wave), and some doom metal with the guitar tones — but there’s lots of odd techy and thrashy moments too. You’re never quite sure where the music is going to go next, but it’s also not boring or self-indulgent. Think of Morbus Chron if they really loved early Bathory, Coroner, Candlemass and maybe even some Leviathan-era Mastodon (listen to the title track, you’ll hear it there).
Stream: Apple Music
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Hautajaisyö – Surun Paino
Classic Finnish death metal craftsmanship. It’s a style that never really gets old, especially when it’s done with riffs like this. Check out “Kasvoton Kuljettaja” to hear what this band is capable of. Death metal like this needs to bring the crushing grooves, but also requires an ear for memorability and catchy hooks. You’ll want to hit the repeat button on this record.
Stream: Apple Music
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Poison the Well – Peace in Place
It’s been a long time. In the 17 years since the last Poison the Well album, the style they pioneered has been on a perilous journey — from the hypercommercialization of the Rise Records era, the hollowed-out guitar tones borrowed from djent, and the homogenized arena-rock-aspiring dreck that followed. But in recent years, younger bands have rediscovered the raw, punishing, and emotionally resonant spirit of the late 90s and early 2000s. And so the time is ripe for a return. How fitting that the band is set to hit the road with Converge. On Peace In Place, the band displays all the stylistic hallmarks that made them legends back in the day. However, this record also feels like a fresh progression of that style, and not a cynical retread of their first three records. In that way, it takes a moment to let the sound sink in. But once “Primal Bloom” pops off and “Everything Hurts” has its way with you, it all starts to make sense. It’s a powerful, engaging, and deadly serious record. All these years later, their eyes still paralyze us.
Stream: Apple Music
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Putred – Blestemul din Adânc
From our full album stream, a quote from the band:
“This album is a manifestation of everything Putred stands for. No polished sound, no comfort, just a wall of sound pushed until it starts to rot. The album moves slowly and violently, dragging the listener into its own nauseating pace. The best way to describe it is as a mix between the brutality and aggression of Repulsie Post-Mortem and the grandiosity of Megalit Al Putrefacției; this time, the sound production feels more natural and organic.”
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Gutvoid – Liminal Shrines
The sound of fiery devastation. This is the Toronto-based quartet’s second full-length album, and follows up 2024’s Breathing Obelisk EP. The band’s style holds equal appeal for fans of off-putting, dissonant death metal and for devotees of cavernous, unrelenting darkness.
Stream: Apple Music
