The last couple (the third in particular) have a lot of tech thrash in them. I think their default sound that they add stuff to is pretty similar to Serpent Column with that type of hyped up super fast stabby almost mathcore infused flavour of dissoblack. Generally I look at them as that with other stuff plugged into keep things different, which is handy when you put out an album every 12 weeks haha.

Vemod - The Deepening
Very nice atmo black with some post elements, fresh.

Super impressed with the new Unaussprechlichen Kulten, the album sounded amazing at first listen

It's been a week since the new Manticora is out. Sounds on par with their recent output, and has a tendency to grow, as is the norm with them.

https://bipolararchitecture.bandcamp.co ... aphysicize



https://centurymedia.bandcamp.com/album/freak-dreams

Some of the albums that came out today

Glad to hear them continuing with the style they introduced on the previous album, riffs galore!

20 Buck Spin can do no wrong, ripping technical death/thrash with dystopian cyberpunk themes.

↑↑↑↑↑↑

This is great!!!!

Into The Ashes - Consumed By The Negative Dimension

New great album.

New EP from The Meads of Asphodel

https://themeadsofasphodel.bandcamp.com/album/2024-tomb-songs-from-a-dying-bedlamite-ep

One of the best Aussie BM bands around right now. Every release is high quality.

So Drowned (Germany) has a new album, Procol His. If you liked Idola Specus (and why wouldn't you), this should be another excellent dark DM release. Keen as hell to get a copy.



Another high quality Australian BM band with a fresh release this year is Pestilential Shadows with Devil's Hammer. Consistently solid releases all through their back catalogue, and also an absolutely incredible live act, this is something well worth checking out.

Finally listening to this, not gonna lie, I was a bit scared that it would sound like the last album, it's the one I liked the least of theirs, and to my surprise I'm digging it, I see it way more focused and with richer nuances. I don't think I would put it ahead of most of their releases, but I haven't listened to them in a while so maybe my perception of their discography has changed.

I haven't gotten around to their previous albums yet, but I'm digging this one a lot. It's an early contender for my year-end list. The riffing is pretty cool and gnarly, with some melodic leads as well. There's some tastefully done synths that add a spooky vibe in the background without overpowering the guitars. And it sounds really good as well, cleaner mixing/production without being sterile. There's something in the water in Chile...

Agreed, new Unaussprechlichen Kulten is just great. If it wasn't for Inquisition this would be my fav album this year so far. I like the lovecraftian atmosphere and bleakness. Production fits the style great.

The new Gonemage album "Spell Piercings" is a fun time. Blackened nu-metal? Nu blackmetal? Think Craft, or mid-era Dødheimsgard meets Korn and Coal Chamber. It's only going to appeal to certain people, but if black metal mixed with nu-metal sounds sick as fuck to you, check it out. I got a download of the full album and it's addictive - what seemed like a "why the hell not" musical experiment actually turned out to be a solid release.

Garry B is a super creative dude and has been making great music under many different monikers for a long time - hope he builds off of this if only for the sheer novelty of it (and the moments of brilliance where I think "holy shit, he's actually pulling this combo off....")


https://gonemage.bandcamp.com/album/spell-piercings

Well that was awful.

Really digging the new Dwarrowdelf, "The Fallen Leaves". Epic, melodic black metal.

https://dwarrowdelfuk.bandcamp.com/albu ... len-leaves

Ok.... Are you the type of person who would be inclined to potentially like a nu-metal/black metal mix? If not, it's not going to win you over.

interesting, i basically havent listened to these guys since like 01. Loved their 3 demo tapes back then that i still have lying around somewhere and didnt like the first full length for some reason and havent listened to a thing they've done since. ill check this out

Have to say, this is kinda fun..

I need to spend a little more time with that Gonemage album, but I'm disappointed it's not his usual chiptune stuff.

I had a soft spot for some nu metal in my young teen years. Black metal there’s no question it’s my genre of choice. Together that just…. Did not work for me at all, and I’m not averse to the avant garde mixed with BM. This just didn’t come together for me. I probably shouldn’t have been so harsh with my opinion sorry, I’ve been trying very hard to not yuck someone else’s yum.

wasent sure if this was gonna land with me but im digging Crawlspace

Has anyone gave a Daisy Cutter a listen, it does not re-invent the wheel but is straight forward good Death Metal.

Bruce

I don't know if they've been mentioned upthread, but Calgary speed metallers Traveler released their third album, Prequel to Madness, a couple of weeks ago. I loved their debut and thought Termination Shock was a slight step down, but man, this hits me juuuuuust right. Lovely stuff.


https://travelermetal.bandcamp.com/albu ... -madness-2

This one came out of left field. If you’ve ever wanted electric guitars in your Ambient/Nordic//Whateverthefuck Folk, then this is for you. I almost passed this one up because Romuvos was a pretty standard (albeit decent) Folk Metal band until this point. They knocked it out of the park on this. Wonderful vocal/instrumental harmonies as well as top notch song writing. Hook after hook after hook and a massively cinematic sound make this an album I keep turning up. Romuvos also does a great job of not overstaying their welcome and keeps the variations in sound pretty fresh considering how niche it is on the surface. This scratched an itch I didn’t even know that I had.

What do you think, how many people actually are? Think there's something in the answer to that question.
It's pretty laughable, and basically 99% of the crappiness derives from the very concept itself being dead on arrival. Not that there's much of black metal on the bandcamp tracks, but eh, I'll go along with that tag that indicates the trailblazing and daringly innovative nature of the enterprise.


Anyhow, never listened to Madder Mortem before, pretty impressed by Old Eyes, New Heart.

New Theophonos (ex-Serpent Column) released yesterday. Almost missed this one with all the new releases coming out. More chaotic, dissonant riffing giving the Hoplites a run for its money.

https://theophonos.bandcamp.com/album/a ... uron-river

Still not sure what to think of the new Chapel of Disease, but the new Spectral Voice and Contaminated albums are both rippers.

Was just coming to post this one. It's really fucking good. My favorite moments of Serpent Column were when he'd mix in hardcore elements amidst the swirling black metal - he seems to have really leaned into that sound with Theophonos. This is some blistering and filthy blackened hardcore. Definitely my favorite release early on this year.

Speaking of blackened stuff that's abrasive and chaotic...

https://knollgrind.bandcamp.com/album/as-spoken

Blackened deathgrind with dissonance...?? I don't even know, but this is excellent.

I must say I'm very pleasantly surprised by the new Morbid Saint. Obviously it's nothing like you-know-what, nor could it ever be considering the time lapse between both albums, but it's honestly very good. As most people, I was also worried about the vocals, but I think they work just fine. Welcome back lads!

I think Knoll is going to be the next band of this type to cross over the way Full of Hell has. They've got that same blend of unhinged ferocity and unsettling experimentalism that has made FOH such a hit. There's also definitely some old-school Willowtip/Hydra Head/Robotic Empire vibes here with all the mathy tech bits.

Generally I think Knoll has been just kinda throwing shit at walls and seeing what sticks with how different each of the albums have been, but I hope they stick to this one. Grindcore Portal is a rock solid idea.

My take was more "Full of Hell + Akhlys + Kalibas", but that works too. I think this is going to be the album that really takes them places.

Ok this is fantastic. Fits a niche nicely.

Cheers for the rec!

Vassus "Warlike Madness"
raw medieval black metal with some synth... awful production, as it should be.
not AOTY, but more than worth your time, if you like the genre.

https://vassus.bandcamp.com/album/warlike-madness

Spider God released their second album a few days before the end of the year so I'm counting it as a 2024 release. Easily would have been in my top 5 of 2023. Melodic black metal with post-punk influences: https://spider-god.bandcamp.com/album/the-killing-room

I'm enjoying this album.

I don't know that I'm gonna like it as much as To Kill To Live To Kill, but that was also my introduction to them.

The new Olhava is seriously beautiful and transcendent. One thing I will say, and this is not a critique from my standpoint: It does have the tendency to melt into background noise; and I mean that in the most positive/endearing way. I've found myself basically blissed out while hearing it.

The track Eternal Fire is especially majestic. Once I used a translate app to translate the lyrics to English, it became even more special.

https://olhava.bandcamp.com/album/sacrifice