Greetings, Decibel readers!
We’ve got a lot of great music for you this week, as all five albums below represent a different take on dark extremity. From punk-rock bluster to brutal death detonations, you’ll have no shortage of sonic energy to fuel your weekend.
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Cranial Osteotomy – Vortex of the Dark Knowledge
Alright, let’s just blow the doors off right away. This is the band’s first album since 2011’s Victim of Wicked Sickness. And although the wait has been long, it should prove totally worth it for fans of brutal death metal. If you know what you want and you want it done well (and you like it brutal), then stare right into the vortex, my friends.
Stream: Apple Music
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Grim Legion – Harbingers of Death
From our full-album stream of Harbingers of Death:
“Grim Legion is quite a departure from the music that guitarists John Paradiso and Randy Cavanaugh play with funeral doom mainstay Evoken. No one who’s heard Evoken will be surprised that Paradiso and Cavanaugh have technical chops, but they might be surprised by the speed, precision and frantic solos on Harbingers of Death. They’re matched in intensity by drummer Ryan Donato, who blasts forward with impressive energy. When Grim Legion do slow down, it recalls the death/doom style of Asphyx or Incantation.”
Stream: Apple Music
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Haserot – Advent of Suffering
A new contender enters the death metal arena! Haserot hails from Houston, Texas, and this is the band’s debut album. The band’s style is punchy, powerful, and shows a contemplative side that makes songs like “Madness and the Void” worth revisiting to hear what you missed the first time around. It’s a finely honed sound that most strongly resembles Bloodbath in that it takes a classic death metal sound and seeks a path to carry it into the future.
Stream: Apple Music
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NightFreak – Midwest Rattlesnakes
Punk rock made by people who love metal! Basically think of Zeke if they threw in some 80s riffs and drum patterns, then called up the guys from Every Time I Die to collaborate on the final product. I’m extremely picky when it comes to punk nowadays, but these Chicago-based outfit has my full endorsement.
Stream: Apple Music
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Sojourner – Gateways
Good to catch up with this band and their epic and theatrical take on gothic black metal. It’s basically like Draconian if they decided to play fast. I really liked what they band was up to on Premonitions and it’s great to hear them further perfect their brand of melancholic fury.
Stream: Apple Music
