Interview: SAVAGE NECROMANCY

Over the course of an EP, a split and debut full length Feathers Fall to Flames, Phoenix, AZ’s Savage Necromancy have blazed a path of bestial black/death metal devastation that shows no signs of letting up or slowing down. The band recently re-released Feathers Fall to Flames via the venerable 20 Buck Spin and after just a few years of existence are already poised to take the metal scene at large by storm with their knack for crafting songs that are catchy and memorable without forsaking any of the crushing ultraviolence the genre is known for. In honor of the re-release, I caught up with guitarist/songwriter Conjurer of Putrid Desecrations via email to discuss Savage Necromancy’s plans for world domination.

THKD: For readers that might not be familiar, tell us about the formation of Savage Necromancy.  How did the band come to be and what goals did you have in mind when starting out?

Conjurer of Putrid Desecrations: The Grand Marshall of Hell and myself started this band just with the intention of making heavy straight-forward war metal songs. We had absolutely no goals besides working on being tight before playing shows and to put out a demo. 

THKD: You released your debut album Feathers Fall to Flames last year.  What was your mindset going into the writing and recording of the album and what did you hope to accomplish?

Conjurer of Putrid Desecrations: My mindset in writing was to create very intense and razor-sharp black metal and to solidify us as a more serious band than what was previously shown on our demo and split. It was intentional to start adding more variation to our black metal with SE Asian/Brazil and black/thrash influences. 

THKD: What is the songwriting process like for Savage Necromancy?  Is there a single primary writer or do you work on the songs as a band?

Conjurer of Putrid Desecrations: For the most part I write all the songs (the intro track was written by Grand Marshall of Hell). When I am satisfied with a song being complete we practice it. Lyrics don’t really come into play until we record. I would say I write the majority of the lyrics on the new album and GMOH arranges and structures the vocal patterns. Lately for our other band we have been writing and demoing the songs on a DAW before practicing them as a band so we might do the same for the remainder of the full-length tracks.  

THKD: One thing that immediately impressed me about Feathers Fall to Flames is that it is violent and brutal but still manages to be very catchy and riff-driven.  Was this intentional or just a natural evolution of the band’s approach to songwriting?

Conjurer of Putrid Desecrations: It’s intentional. We want to be razor-sharp and have strong memorable songs including more influence from other styles of bestial black metal.  I see a few comments saying this is not war metal because we are not chaotic enough and that’s fine, this is our evolution of where we want our black metal to go.  

THKD: Feathers Fall to Flames is being reissued by 20 Buck Spin.  How did you come in contact with the label?  Will you be releasing any other material through them?

Conjurer of Putrid Desecrations: Yes, we were currently writing the next full-length for 20 Buck Spin! I believe what happened was Nate from Spirit Adrift told Dave [Adelson, owner of 20 Buck Spin] about us and Dave was interested, and Rippy (our friend who recorded this album) relayed the message to us. We contacted Dave and it was a very smooth process and we are extremely happy to be on the label. 

THKD: You released your debut ep in 2019, followed by the split with Genocidal Sodomy in 2020 and Feathers Fall to Flames in 2021.  Are you currently working on any new material and if so when can fans expect to hear it?

Conjurer of Putrid Desecrations: Yes as mentioned before writing another full-length for 20 Buck Spin, we are maybe 2-3 songs deep into it so far. I imagine this will take a while so hopefully by Fall/Winter of next year. 

THKD: What does the rest of 2022 have in store for Savage Necromancy?  Are there any live shows/tours in the works to support the reissue of Feathers Fall to Flames?

Conjurer of Putrid Desecrations: As of writing this I can’t give exact details yet, but yes there are plans for all of these! 

THKD: Savage Necromancy hails from Phoenix, Arizona.  How would you describe the metal scene in your home city/state?  What new bands from the area should readers be on the lookout for?

Conjurer of Putrid Desecrations: Be on the lookout for Moribund Dawn, mystical & imperial Swedish style Black Metal praising Vinterland, Dawn, & Dissection! 

THKD: It seems as though in recent years there has been a proliferation of war metal or bestial black/death metal bands coming out of the US and Canada.  Why do you think this is?  Do you consider Savage Necromancy to be part of that movement?

Conjurer of Putrid Desecrations: I don’t know honestly, and history will tell! 

THKD: I often see Savage Necromancy being compared favorably to Archgoat online.  Do you consider them to be a primary influence?  What other bands have inspired you?

Conjurer of Putrid Desecrations: Archgoat has for sure been a primary influence on this band and we don’t hide it. In Feathers Fall To Flames further in writing the album I was being more influenced by bands like Impiety and Nifelheim and I see our progression going more towards this sort of bestial black/thrash influenced path. 

THKD: What are you currently listening to and what are your favorite releases of 2022 so far?  Do you have any recommendations for THKD’s readers?

Conjurer of Putrid Desecrations: I’m currently listening to the same Chemlab song on repeat. Very much been on an industrial and old-school EBM kick lately. I’m in full-on riff writing mode now and I don’t like listening to adjacent stuff to what I’m making (especially if it’s recent) 

THKD: Are there any final thoughts you’d like to add?

Black Metal Victory!! 

Special thanks to Earsplit PR for arranging this interview.

THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #23: Dodheimsgard – A Umbra Omega (Peaceville Records, 2015)

Beginning life as a traditional-sounding Norwegian black metal outfit that featured Darkthrone’s Fenriz on bass , Oslo’s Dodheimsgard have evolved drastically with every release, to the point that if you were to play each of their five full-length recordings to someone who was completely unfamiliar, they’d likely assume they were listening to five different bands. This near-constant state of wild reinvention has made DHG into one of the most fascinating groups to emerge out of Norwegian black metal scene.

After eight long years of silence, the DHG re-emerged with A Umbra Omega, which saw them largely eschewing the industrial trappings of 1999’s groundbreaking 666 International and 2007’s more straightforward but still weird as fuck Supervillian Outcast in favor of a more organic sound that bridged the gap between black metal and dark psychedelia, resulting in five labyrinthine tracks (and a brief intro) that see-saw between light and dark, beauty and ugliness, simplicity and chaos.

Granted, DHG weren’t the first band to attempt psychedelic black metal, but they were the first to pull it off in such a convincing, seamless manner, as there is nothing about A Umbra Omega that feels disjointed or slapped together. There was a tension to Pink Floyd’s best work that often felt like the band was right on the edge of spiraling into madness; DHG answered the question, “what if Gilmour, Waters and Co. had cut loose, piled on the distortion, put on some corpse paint and let the goddamn lunatics run amok?”

A Umbra Omega‘s production scheme is dry and spacious, yet still manages to feel plenty claustrophobic whenever those icy tremolo riffs kick in and Aldrahn starts ranting and raving, at times exhibiting a rickety, clattering quality that makes the full-on black metal sections feel hideously decrepit. The psychedelic sections are impressively layered and mesmerizing; A Umbra Omega reveals new sounds with each and every listen and it’s evident that the album was crafted with the same frighteningly meticulous level of attention to detail that has become DHG’s trademark ever since 666 International.

DHG handily solidified their reputation as the ultimate avant-garde black metal chameleons with A Umbra Omega, delivering one of the genre’s finest albums of the decade in the process. There simply isn’t another band in the Norwegian scene (and arguably beyond) that can top their unwavering dedication to pushing the sonic envelope, and it is this dedication that continues to make A Umbra Omega such a joy to experience.

Read other entries in the THKD Top 100.

Leaving Las Vegas, or Lost, Found and Salem, OR Bound.

We’ve lived in Las Vegas for a little under a year. Well, technically we live in Henderson, NV, but you have to go into Las Vegas to do anything cool. Living here was always meant to be temporary, but it turned out to be a little more temporary than we anticipated for a number of reasons that I’m not going to go into here, because I like to keep it posi.

While I’m not terribly sad to be leaving, I will say that I’m sad I never got to experience the music scene here thanks to our pal COVID. There have been shows, but I’m just not comfortable going to them yet due to this pandemic we’ve all been dealing with for what seems like forever. When I first moved to Sacramento, CA, I started going to shows and checking out the local venues almost immediately, so it’s been really strange not to be able to do that here.

Although I haven’t been going to shows, I have been spending a lot of time at the local record stores, specifically Zia Records, which has two great locations in Vegas. They remind me a lot of Sacramento’s dearly departed Dimple Records, so I’ve been very happy to have at least one thing that feels familiar during our time here. Another great shop out here in the desert is Primitive Recordings, which is run by Roger Beaujard of Mortician fame. I didn’t get to go there nearly as often I would have liked to, but it was a pleasure meeting Roger and loading up on Mortician merch and other goodies; if you’re a metalhead and you’re ever in Vegas, definitely stop by his store, especially if you’ve got a taste for death metal.

I wish I had more to say about our time in Vegas, but I’m honestly at a loss as I type this. I’m glad I had the experience of living here, because I have gotten to see and do some really cool shit, but I’m also ready to move on.

Our next stop is Salem, OR. From what little research I’ve been able to do, it doesn’t seem like there’s much of a metal scene there (I just might have to figure out how to start one). Metal Archives lists thirty-six bands from Salem, but many of them seem to be split up or inactive. There are a few live music venues, but none of them appear to really cater to metal with the exception of some one-off shows here and there. I have noticed some good punk shows rolling through, such as MDC and Agent Orange, and we’ve already got tickets to see Warduna in October, so I’m hopeful that we’ll still be able to get our live music fix, even if it isn’t a constant barrage of metal.

Of course, the great news is we’re only about forty-five minutes from Portland and unsurprisingly it appears that’s where all the action is when it comes to metal in Oregon. From what I’ve seen, it looks like tons of great tours roll through there, and to be completely honest, I’m fine with having to drive a little ways to go to a show, because it means I live away from all the hustle and bustle of the “big city.” At this stage of my life I think I might finally be ready for a little peace and quiet.

So, in the last few years I’ll have gone from being pretty well immersed in Sacramento’s metal scene, to not being able to immerse myself in Las Vegas’ metal scene, to being just a short drive away from Portland’s metal scene. It’s going to be an interesting transition and I’m curious to see how it affects my writing, if at all. Only time will tell, but I’m excited for what the future may hold.

THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #22: Lifelover – Pulver (GoatowaRex, 2006)

For a brief period from 2004 to 2006, it seemed like I was discovering some weird new black metal band every other day. Indeed, bands like Nuit Noire, Circle of Ouroborus, Urfaust and Woods of Infinity were blowing my mind with their uniquely bizarre takes on the genre, but none of them prepared me for Lifelover’s astonishingly twisted debut album, Pulver.

Released in July of 2006 on cult independent label GoatowaRex, Lifelover’s first full-length is a descent into the deepest depths of depression. As someone who has suffered from depression throughout most of my life, the album drew me into its pitch black confines almost immediately. It’s combination of uneasiness, manic energy and overwhelming melancholy spoke to me in a way that very few albums have before or since, even though I didn’t understand the Swedish lyrics.

You see, I didn’t need lyrics to identify with vocalist Kim Carlsson. This is because his work on Pulver is one of the most harrowing performances in black metal this side of Silencer’s Death – Pierce Me. Carlsson’s singing gave a voice to how I often felt inside back then, language barrier be damned; it was and still is a listening experience that’s equal parts exhilarating and terrifying.

Of course, great vocals need great songs and Pulver is jam-packed with them. Owing as much to gothic rock and post punk as it does to black metal, tracks such as “M/S Salmonella” “Vardagsnytt” and “Sondagg” are dark as the dungeon, but they’re also strangely catchy. By taking their depressive black metal foundation and incorporating complimentary outside influences, Lifelover created a sound so utterly singular that to this day it has never been duplicated; I can’t think of a single band that’s even so much as tried.

All of this makes for an album that you don’t just listen to; you experience. Pulver is a record best experienced alone, in a dark room with a good pair of headphones, so as to fully immerse oneself in its infinite layers of despair. The production is lo-fi, which makes for a very interesting listen from a textural standpoint; guitars range from clean/acoustic to a fuzzy distortion that creeps around the edges of the songs, while the vocals take many forms, be they agonized screams, spoken word monologues, or strange, incoherent mutterings, sometimes with reverb or echo effects added. A piano is often incorporated, its sad melodies pulling at the heart strings to the point of agony. All of this is propelled by the simplistic beats of a drum machine; surprisingly, the canned drums do not in any way detract from the listening experience and in fact they more often than not enhance the bleakness Pulver so effortlessly conveys throughout its forty-two minute run-time.

Lifelover would go on to release three more albums before breaking up in 2011 due to multi-instrumentalist and main songwriter Jonas Bergqvist’s (credited on Lifelover releases as B) untimely passing due to an accidental prescription drug overdose that same year; a tragic end to one of the most unique and idiosyncratic bands to ever emerge from the Swedish black metal scene. Lifelover may have ended prematurely, but thanks to Pulver they’ll always have a place in both my head and my heart as one of the bands that got me through some pretty rough times mental health-wise and forever changed the way I thought about black metal in the process.

Read other entries in the THKD Top 100.

Pessimist – Cult of the Initiated, Blood for the Gods, Slaughtering the Faithful (Season of Mist reissues, 2021)

In every music scene, there are always bands that continually fly under the radar no matter how much noise they make and the metal scene is no different. Formed in 1993, Baltimore, Maryland’s Pessimist is one of those great unsung bands. Although they released only three albums before breaking up in 2006 (they’ve since reformed), each one is an incendiary slab of blasting violence from a band that doesn’t get nearly enough recognition for their commitment to the fine art of brutal death metal. In 2021 Season of Mist wisely decided to re-release all three Pessimist full-lengths with remastered sound and updated artwork, bringing the quartet’s old school brutality to a wider audience and giving them a chance to be seen and heard the way they were always meant to be.

Cult of the Initiated (1997) After first hitting the scene in 1993 with their Dark Reality demo, it would take Pessimist another four years to conjure up their debut full length, Cult of the Initiated. While this is most certainly a brutal death metal album, there is also a heavy thrash influence at work, as well as just a hint of black metal, making for a singular release that doesn’t sound quite like anything else from that era. Somewhat technical but not as tightly wound as subsequent albums, Cult of the Initiated isn’t nearly as pummeling as what would follow for Pessimist, but its looseness at times recalls early Morbid Angel at their most unhinged, and that’s never a bad thing. While Cult of the Initiated might be Pessimist’s least brutal album, it is a thoroughly unique death metal listening experience that deserves to be heard.

Blood for the Gods (1999) By the time Pessimist released Blood for the Gods in 1999 they’d for the most part excised the thrash and black metal influences in favor of a more pure brutal death metal sound, resulting in what many consider to to be the band’s best album. The performances are tighter here than on Cult of the Initiated, resulting in something that’s also more straightforward than what came before, but still avoids the monotony trap by piling on the killer riffs and sick solos. Tracks such as “Demonic Embrace” “Unspeakable Terror” and “Tunnel Rats” emphasize Pessimist’s increased emphasis on speed and technicality, making for a nearly flawless brutal death metal album that still holds up over two decades later, thanks to the high degree of songwriting acumen on display throughout. Indeed, Blood for the Gods is the album where Pessimist found their signature sound and remains an impressively intense slab of technically precise yet memorable brutality.

Slaughtering the Faithful (2002) Pessimist’s third and final (so far) album is their most brutal release; listening to this thing is the musical equivalent of being hit repeatedly over the head with sledgehammers. And while the band’s continued dedication to making the most brutal death metal they possibly could is highly admirable, the over-the-top brutality ultimately makes for an album that isn’t quite as memorable as Cult of the Initiated or Blood for the Gods. That said, there’s still plenty to like about Slaughtering the Faithful; songs like “Infernal Abyss” and “Metempsychosis” are whirlwinds of unmitigated violence that were clearly designed for maximum neck-snapping, aided and abetted by an Erik Rutan production job that’s so goddamn thick you could stand up a fork in it. This is some quintessential early 2000s brutal death metal that can go toe-to-toe with the best of them.

Pessimist reformed in 2013 with a re-tooled lineup that now includes current and former members of Morbid Angel, Hideous Rebirth and Black Mass in addition to founding guitarist Kelly McLauchlin. So far they’ve yet to grace us with a comeback album, but if and when they do it’ll no doubt be a total skull-crusher. Here’s to hoping that day comes sooner than later.

https://pessimist666.bandcamp.com/

Mines of Moria – Khazad-Dum (Realityfade Records, 2022)

The UK’s Realityfade Records has a knack for digging up and releasing some pretty cool and interesting oddities in the brutal death metal/slam/deathcore realm (MDMA, Omni Express, Esophagus, etc.), and if you’re in the market for odd, one need look no further than the label’s latest find, Mines of Moria, who unleash a wicked salvo of JRR Tolkien-inspired deathcore on their debut EP Khazad-Dum.

One would expect Tolkien and deathcore to go together about as well as Disneyland and pornography, but somehow, some way, against all odds, Mines of Moria pull it off in spades for the duration of this tightly written nineteen minute EP. But how do they do it? In the case of Khazad-Dum, it’s all in the songwriting; Mines of Moria wisely choose to incorporate elements from outside the world of deathcore to create a singular atmosphere. The symphonic flourishes that punctuate both the title track and “S.H.E.L.O.B.” sound like they could’ve been lifted directly from the Lord of the Rings soundtrack.

On the deathcore side of things, Mines of Moria are plenty crushing, but they add a level of technicality that gives the listener a reprieve from the pummeling beatdowns that typify the genre. The high level of musicianship lends the EP a somewhat stately aura more befitting of Tolkien and also serves to set the band apart from the deathcore hordes. Indeed, Khazad-Dum is a heavy and brutal release, but it also possesses a level of refinement and thoughtfulness that places the band a cut above the rest in terms of both songcraft and performance.

With their debut EP, Mines of Moria present a unique, refreshing and above all fun take on deathcore that should be on any fan of the genre’s listening radar as the 2022 release schedule starts heating up. There’s an awful lot to like about Khazad-Dum and one can only hope that Mines of Moria move to even more fully integrate the cinematic elements with the deathcore elements on future releases, until they eventually morph into the deathcore version of Summoning; that would fucking rule.

https://realityfade.bandcamp.com/

Blitzkrieg #13: Return Trip

Goddamn y’all, I haven’t written one of these since 2013! But, I figured THKD’s return to active duty after a pretty meager 2021, in which I only published three reviews and zero interviews, was as good a reason as any to bring back da’ blitz.

So why the absence last year? I’ve often complained of being burned out on writing, but last year it really hit me. I worked on my YouTube channel for a bit, as well as a podcast that only lasted for two episodes in an effort to stay at least somewhat creative, but for the most part I found myself in a pandemic-induced malaise that I couldn’t seem to dig myself out of no matter what I tried.

But towards the end of 2021 I started to get reflective and remembered that I love writing and I also love metal too goddamn much to ever give up on either one. They’ve always been there for me and so I feel like I need to be there for them. I might not be the best writer out there and I definitely might not be as good as I once was, but I’m either too stubborn or too stupid for surrender to ever be an option, so it looks like you guys are stuck with me for the duration. Sorry about your damn luck.

Anyway, I’ve got some goals I wanna work on this year. First I want to post more regularly, I’m thinking I’ll start with at least two posts a month and increase from there. Secondly, I need to finish THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums before I’m too old and decrepit to type, so I wanna focus on getting more entries under my belt; I’ve already got a few in mind that I think folks will dig. I also wanna bring back some of the old semi-regular features, such as the Blitzkrieg, Bandcamp Band Crap and of course Oodles of Brutals.

One thing I don’t intend to focus on is interviews; the last four or five interviews I sent out to bands got totally flaked on, which sure as shit didn’t help with my lack of desire to do much with THKD last year. It’s a pretty crummy feeling to work hard on coming up with good questions, only for the band to not have the respect or common courtesy to hold up their end of the bargain. Honestly, they could just tell me from the get-go to “fuck off” and I’d respect that way more than agreeing to do an interview and then flaking, because at least I’d know where I stood and wouldn’t have wasted my time writing a bunch of questions.

But enough complaining about flaky metal musicians. Now that I’m back, I’d much rather focus on the positives and make up for lost time. A big thanks to everyone that continues to stick with me on this wild ride throughout all the hiatuses, identity crises and assorted other nonsense I’ve put this blog through over the last dozen or so years. I ain’t done yet, so whether ya like it or not, learn to love it, because it’s the best thing goin’ today! WOOO!

THKD’S TOP 5 METAL ALBUMS OF 2021: BEST OF THE REST EDITION

Calling this list “best of the rest” isn’t intended to indicate that these albums are somehow of a lesser quality than what came before. Rather, it is simply meant as sort of a catchall, since these albums didn’t quite fit into any of the other categories. So, without further ado and in alphabetical order, here’s the final round of albums that grabbed a hold of my crank and kept on yankin’ in 2021…

Amenra – De Doorn (Relapse Records) I have to admit, I never bothered to check out Amenra until I witnessed one of my favorite professional wrestlers, AEW’s Malakai Black, walk out to “Ogentroost” off of their latest album, De Doorn. The ominous, agonizing, ridiculously heavy track made for one hell of an entrance and upon listening to the rest of the album, I found myself utterly mesmerized by the Belgian quintet’s heady brew of doom, sludge and post metal. Sure, the band probably owes some of its inspiration to the likes of Neurosis and Cult of Luna, but one can also hear elements of heavy post-hardcore bands such a Breach and Minus, making for a unique take on the genre that alternates between unsettling and utterly terrifying. While I’m looking forward to exploring Amenra’s back catalog, I find myself still so stuck on De Doorn that I haven’t yet had a chance to venture further.

Cathexis – Untethered Abyss (Willowtip Records) Austin, TX quintet Cathexis creates just the kind of technical death metal that I absolutely love; dexterous and dissonant, but also memorable and organic-sounding. Indeed, Untethered Abyss isn’t your typical million-mile-an-hour, “Hey! Look what we can do!” style of tech death that’s become all too common; Cathexis know when to slow things down and they know how to play with feeling, as opposed to mindlessly shredding for six minutes at a time. The band also understands the value of knowing when to self-edit; the majority of the tracks on the album are under four minutes in length, making for an album that’s both compact and compelling. All in all, Untethered Abyss might be my favorite death metal album of 2021; a mesmerizing example of what technical death metal can be when it isn’t woefully overplayed and overproduced.

The Crown – Royal Destroyer (Metal Blade Records) Goddamn, I love The Crown! It’s been a bit of a rocky road for the Swedish quintet ever since 2003’s fun but uneven Possessed 13; the band reunited with OG vocalist Johan Lindstand, then he left again, then he came back again and they released a couple duds along the way (Doomsday King and Death is Not Dead). But the band regained their footing on 2018’s Cobra Speed Venom and with Royal Destroyer they’ve somehow upped the ante with an album that’s fast, violent, mean and hungry-sounding; it’s great to hear a thirty year old band still sounding like they have something to prove and putting the rest of the scene on notice with absolute bulldozers such as “Motordeath” “Scandinavian Satan” and “Beyond the Frail.” Indeed, after all these years The Crown remain the the kings of death thrash ultraviolence; long may they reign.

Crypta – Echoes of the Soul (Napalm Records) It’s always a bummer when longtime members leave a beloved band, but sometimes you end up getting two killer bands out of such a split, and that’s exactly what happened when former Nervosa members Fernanda Lira (bass, vocals) and Luana Dametto (drums) left to form international death metal powerhouse Crypta. Folks will of course be tempted to compare Crypta to Nervosa, but the two couldn’t be more different; whereas Nervosa play thrash with some death metal tendencies, Crypta’s debut is a pure death metal album and a ferocious one at that. Guitarists Sonia Anubis and Taina Bergamaschi peel off riff after scathing riff on tracks such as “Possessed” “Death Arcana” and “Under the Black Wings,” while Lira howls like she’s possessed by multiple demons and Dametto pulverizes her drums with both power and precision. Echoes of the Soul is one of the best death metal debuts not just of 2021 but of at least the last five years.

Horndal – Lake Drinker (Prosthetic Records) My hometown has never meant much to me, but the same can’t be said for Sweden’s Horndal. The band’s hometown holds such importance to its members that they named said band after it, and over the course of two albums they’ve crafted a soundtrack to the small Swedish village’s tragic history. Although they’ve only been playing together since 2016, the quartet attack songs such as “The Uprising” and “Growing Graves” with such precision and ferocity it’s as if they’ve been honing their craft for much longer; perhaps the shared experience of growing up together in a near-ghost town has put them on the same wavelength. Whatever the case, Horndal are the very definition of a well-oiled machine on Lake Drinker; that may sound like a total cliche, but this is one of the rare cases where the cliche actually holds true.

Honorable Mentions:

• Aborted – Mania Cult (Century Media)
• Blood Red Throne – Imperial Congregation (Nuclear Blast)
• Carnal Savagery – Fiendish (Moribund Cult)
• Desaster – Churches Without Saints (Metal Blade Records)
• Frozen Soul – Crypt of Ice (Century Media)
• Go Ahead and Die – s/t (Nuclear Blast)
• Ingested – The Surreption II (Unique Leader Records)
• Monster Magnet – A Better Dystopia (Napalm Records)
• Nervosa – Perpetual Chaos (Napalm Records)
• Pestilence – Exitivm (Agonia Records)
• Traumatomy – Extirpation Paradigms (Gore House Productions)
• Yautja – The Lurch (Relapse Records)

THKD’S TOP 5 METAL ALBUMS OF 2021: NUCLEAR BLAST EDITION

Nuclear Blast has released a ridiculous number of rad albums this year; I guess that’s pretty easy to do when practically every big name metal band on the planet is signed to your label. Even though Nuclear Blast has never sent me a single promo or let me interview any of their artists, I gotta give the goddamn devil his due and highlight some of the amazing releases they put out in 2021.

Carcass – Torn Arteries Carcass; the masters, the kings, the gods of this shit. Carcass can do wrong and Torn Arteries is nothing short of another excellent addition to their discography. Does it bring anything new to the table? Absolutely not, but here’s the thing; Carcass just being Carcass and nothing more is automatically better than roughly 99.9% of all metal bands in the known universe. ‘Nuff said, true believer!

Cradle of Filth – Existence is Futile Cradle of Filth’s late career resurgence beginning with 2015’s Hammer of the Witches has been nothing short of awesome to behold and I’m happy to report that Existence is Futile continues their run of excellent albums. It isn’t that they’re doing anything different than what they’ve always done, it’s just that they’re doing it better; the riffage is more righteous, the songwriting has improved tenfold and ringleader Dani Filth’s vocals sound positively reinvigorated. Filth’s decision to almost completely retool CoF’s lineup back in 2014 continues to pay dividends, as guitarists Ashok and Rich Shaw bring a welcome mix of blackened melodies and old school heavy metal thunder that damn near rivals anything to be found on the band’s ’90s classics.

Exodus – Persona Non Grata While their old school thrash metal peers wimp out, call it quits, or otherwise screw the pooch, Exodus just continue to get gnarlier, meaner, uglier and heavier with age. Sure, they’ve stumbled a few times along the way, but with Persona Non Grata they’ve unleashed a brutal, burly-ass thrash metal album that improves upon the lessons in violence laid down on Blood In, Blood Out and might even surpass the viciousness of their classic 2004 comeback Tempo of the Damned. On tracks such as “Persona Non Grata” “Slipping into Madness” and “Prescribing Horror,” Gary Holt proves himself once again to be the riffmaster general of Bay Area thrash while vocalist Steve Souza still sounds like he eats bowls full of nails for breakfast and flosses with barbwire.

Massacre – Resurgence Back in 2014 when a version of Massacre announced the release of a new album called Back from Beyond, I said “No Kam Lee, no dice.” Turns out I was right, ‘cuz that album sucked. Fast-forward to 2021 and a new Kam Lee-fronted version of Massacre is back from beyond for real with Resurgence and this beast more than makes up for that dud album from a few years ago. Boasting an army of three guitarists that includes death metal juggernaut Rogga Johansson (pretty much every death metal band ever), this new iteration of Massacre brings back the pummeling heaviness of the 1991 classic From Beyond and infuses it with a creepy, Lovecraftian atmosphere to complement the subject matter. And if there was ever any question, yes, Kam Lee is the voice of Massacre; accept no substitutes.

Rob Zombie – The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy At the THKD bunker we like to have fun and having fun means that every so often we get the sinister urge to listen to some goddamn muthafuckin’ Rob Zombie. Listen y’all, I’ve been following Zombie since I was in junior high and to this day I still like his stuff about a gazillion times more than whatever blackened-brolic-technical-post-screamo-polished-turd metal all the cool kids are jocking this week. I will admit that the last couple Zombie albums felt like ol’ uncle Rob was going through the motions, but on The Lunar Injection... he and the band sound reinvigorated, as evidenced by instant classics such as “The Triumph of King Freak (A Crypt of Preservation and Superstition)” and “Crow Killer Blues,” not to mention the redneck country meets industrial metal whatthefuckery of “18th-Century Cannibals, Excitable Morlocks and a One-Way Ticket on Ghost Train.”

THKD’S TOP 5 METAL ALBUMS OF 2021: BLACKENED EDITION

Confession time folks; I didn’t listen to a ton of new black metal this year. I don’t have the time or inclination to trawl the internet for weird bands to check out like I did in my youth, and a lot of the black metal I see getting hyped by other metal sites is either so “avant-garde” that it disappears up its own ass, or it sounds like it was recorded onto a boombox using two empty Campbell’s soup cans on a piece of string for a microphone, and that ain’t a complement. But as always, the cream rises to the top and I managed to find a few black metal (and black metal adjacent) albums that were well worth listening to. So without further ado and in alphabetical order…

Archgoat – Worship the Eternal Darkness (Debemur Morti Productions) Anytime Archgoat puts out an album, it’s basically automatic album of the year. Indeed, these filthy Finns are the reigning, defending, undisputed masters of blackened death metal for three decades and counting, and Worship the Eternal Darkness is yet another outstanding example of just how great they are. Sounding a bit more raw here than on 2018’s The Luciferian Crown, Archgoat effortlessly conjure an all-consuming sonic abyss on tracks such as “All Christianity Ends” “Rats Pray God” and “Burial of Creation,” unleashing riff after soul-withering riff upon the listener, crafting an album that’s as catchy as it is crushing. The band doesn’t deviate much if at all from their well-established formula (fatal to the flesh) on Worship the Eternal Darkness and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Defecrator – Unholy Hymns of Bestial Warfare (Goat Throne Records) Before moving away from Sacramento, I was lucky enough to catch Defecrator’s final(?) show. While the band attempted to level the entire city with their suffocatingly furious onslaught, someone in the audience brought a bible into the venue and started ripping pages out and setting them on fire. If that doesn’t tell you what kind of band Defecrator was, I’m not sure what else to say. Although the trio has descended into the great abyss likely never to return, Goat Throne Records blessed us with this collection of demo, EP and split tracks, which serves as an excellent companion piece to their devastating 2019 full length Abortion of Humanity. Blackened, bludgeoning and brutal as all hell, Defecrator were one of the sickest bands the West Coast had to offer and Unholy Hymns of Bestial Warfare is a testament to their unholy might.

Darkthrone – Eternal Hails…… (Peaceville Records) I know, I know, Darkthrone aren’t a black metal band anymore and haven’t really been one for a long time, but I still think of them as a black metal band and probably always will. On Eternal Hails…… (what’s with all the periods?) Nocturno Culto and Fenriz continue to crank out their weird and wonderful brew of doom, eighties trad metal, Celtic Frost/Venom-esque first wave black metal and whatever the heck else they feel like tossing in the mix, completely, gloriously oblivious to what’s going on in the outside world of music. This shit is about as old school as it gets folks, and as is the case with the last several Darkthrone albums, it takes a couple listens to get acclimated to the duo’s utterly warped, anachronistic take on metal. But those who do take the time will be rewarded with untold treasures from a band that has long since reached the “no fucks given” stage of their career.

Mental Cruelty – A Hill to Die Upon (Unique Leader Records) I wasn’t at all familiar with Germany’s Mental Cruelty prior to checking out A Hill to Die Upon, but I’ll be goddamned if they haven’t managed to blow me away with their deft mix of blackened atmospherics and brutal heaviness. The blending of black metal and deathcore lends itself to some wickedly dynamic songwriting, as evidenced by tracks such as “Abadon” “King of Fire” and “Left Hand Path,” which masterfully alternate between burly breakdowns and sinister blackened melodies, beating the listener into submission thanks to an almost unbelievably heavy mixing and mastering job from Josh Schroeder (Battlecross, Ghost Bath, For Today). Topped off by Lucca Schmerler’s blast furnace in hell vocals, A Hill to Die Upon is one of the freshest and most ferocious sounding albums of 2021.

Wolves in the Throne Room – Primordial Arcana (Relapse Records) It’s hard to believe that Wolves in the Throne Room have been around for over a decade and a half; seems like only yesterday I was getting lost in the mesmerizing distortion of Diadem of 12 Stars, or naming the utterly brilliant Two Hunters as my album of the year. At this point WITTR are a US black metal institution and to this day there isn’t a band that pulls off the Cascadian sound as masterfully as they do, no one even comes close. Primordial Arcana continues the band’s legacy of excellence, but also sees them trimming down the song lengths, making for an overall tighter and more focused attack. Indeed, songs such as “Mountain Magick” “Primal Chasm (Gift of Fire)” and “Underworld Aurora” are equal parts atmosphere and aggression, with the band honing their already impressive command of songwriting dynamics to an even finer point. Primordial Arcana is an utterly captivating listen that further cements WITTR’s well-deserved place amongst the upper echelons of black metal.

Defecrator – Unholy Hymns of Bestial Warfare (Goat Throne Records, 2021)

The career of Sacramento CA’s Defecrator was the very definition of short but sweet. In just six years, the band released a demo, an EP and two splits, not to mention the ferocious black/death metal masterpiece that is their devastating 2019 debut full length, Abortion of Humanity. But just when they were at the height of their unholy powers, guitarist/vocalist Angel Raping Invoker of Bestial Chaos relocated to Europe, which in turn lead to Defecrator going on indefinite hiatus following an incredible farewell show at the Cafe Colonial, a confluence of Satanic energies that nearly leveled the entire city with sheer heaviness.

THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #18: Demoncy – Joined in Darkness (Baphomet Records, 1999)

More so than just about any other metal album I’ve ever heard, Demoncy’s Joined in Darkness is about creating and sustaining an atmosphere.  The music is a trance-inducing hellish miasma of tremolo-picked riffage that seems to move at a snail’s pace; even the fast parts feel like they’re being played at half speed, making it the perfect album to listen to in the dark on a good pair of headphones, preferably while in a heavily altered state.

THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #14: Velvet Cacoon – Genevieve (Full Moon Productions, 2004)

I remember the first time I went to Amoeba Music’s Hollywood location like it was yesterday.  It was actually 2006; I was interning for Metal Blade Records and living in Simi Valley, CA.  I had the day off and I was itching for adventure after being stuck in an office all week, so I decided to take a commuter train down to Hollywood for the express purpose of visiting one of the largest record stores in the world.

THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #13 – Black Witchery – Desecration of the Holy Kingdom (Full Moon Productions, 2001)

I can trace my love of all things brutal, blackened and bestial to one album, and that album is Black Witchery’s Desecration of the Holy Kingdom.  Sure, I’d already heard Blasphemy when I got my grubby little mitts on it back in 2001, but as nasty as Fallen Angel of Doom was, it didn’t quite grab me by the balls and rip my fuckin’ ears off the same way that Black Witchery’s debut did.

Abhorrency – Demo MMXX (self-released, 2020)

Sacramento’s bestial black/death masters Defecrator recently went on indefinite hiatus, but from their ashes an uglier, more barbaric entity has risen in the form of Abhorrency.  The band just posted their debut demo on Bandcamp earlier this month and rest assured it’s some seriously gnarly black shit.

Interview: WIND OF THE BLACK MOUNTAINS

Formed in 1992, Wind of the Black Mountains were among the pioneering bands of US black metal, along with the likes of Profanatica and Judas Iscariot.  However, after releasing two stellar albums, the band’s career was cut tragically short with the untimely passing of founding guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Tchort in 2006.

Nyogthaeblisz – Abrahamic Godhead Besieged by Adversarial Usurpation (Hells Headbangers, 2019)

Followers of the mysterious Texan black metal cult known as Nyogthaeblisz have been anticipating their debut full length ever since it was first announced several years ago; it had gotten to the point where many were questioning whether or not it would ever see the light of day, especially given the lack of regular updates and the “controversy” that has swirled around the band in the intervening years.  But on December 27, 2019 the duo at last dropped the sickening slab of extreme noise terror that is Abrahamic Godhead Besieged by Adversarial Usurpation.

Ceremonial Culling: THKD’s Top 5 Metal Albums of 2019

In terms of new releases, 2019 was pretty damn dire.  But in spite of the rampant mediocrity, I did manage to find a small handful of releases that were truly outstanding and can more than hold their own against the best this dying decade has to offer.  So without further ado and in no particular order, here are the five albums that stuck with me throughout the year…

Defecrator – Abortion of Humanity (Drakkar Productions, 2019)

Born of an unholy union between members of Killgasm and Gloriam Draconis, Sacramento black/death warlords Defecrator have been pillaging their way across the California metal underground since 2014.  After nearly half a decade of existence, they have at last dropped the tactical nuke of an album that is Abortion of Humanity on the unsuspecting masses and make no mistake, this aggressive yet atmospheric slab of total annihilation was worth the wait and then some.

Belzebubs – Pantheon of the Nightside Gods (Century Media, 2019)

When I first saw the animated music video for “Blackened Call” I was not aware of Finnish artist J.P. Ahonen or his popular web comic Belzebubs.  As such, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of a cartoon black metal band romping about the woods, “Call of the Wintermoon” style.  I’m more than a bit ashamed to admit that my first thought was “Oh great, a corpse-painted version of Gorillaz,” yet there was something about the combination of quirky comic book visuals and frostbitten yet catchy and melodic black metal that made me want to see/hear more.