March 2024, In Review
Mutiilation iis Mediiocre
As those of you who read the March 2024, So Far post know, I’ve been gearing up for a busy few months. This prediction was correct: I’ve had to sort through approximately four hundred bands, only to find that I can barely fit nine of them in an email-friendly post.
Convulsing — Perdurance
After a six-year wait, Convulsing is back. The one-man project of the blackened death aficionado Brendon Sloan is something of legendry today, with three rock solid albums that will eviscerate your mind as badly as the physical copies will eviscerate your wallet. The latest album delivers on all the heavy-hitting sounds of prior, but with even better instrumentation. My only complaint is that the album artwork feels boring when held up next to the nightmarish cover of Grievous (created by Jef Whitehead), but that’s hardly important.
Thvn — Zgnij
Haunting guitar, snappy drums, and absolutely monstrous vocals really set Thvn apart from the onslaught of albums this month. There’s some distinct sludge tones, imbuing a certain hypnotic element characteristic of post-black (extremely common in Poland). However — unlike post-black metal — these elements never carry to the level of self-indulgent, keeping the tracks moving at a steady pace. I mean it — there isn’t a single track over ten minutes. As someone with a lot of music to listen to, it’s nice to hear a style I’m such a fan of move at such an easily digested pace.
Acathexis — Immerse
These days, it seems like every sad boy with a guitar and a DAW is making DSBM. Thankfully Acathexis comes along every few years with some high-octane black metal to show that all the bleak and depressive tones sought out by DSBM fans can still be delivered through virtuosic guitar and relentless drumming. Acathexis is a side-project of Jacob Buczarski of Mare Cognitum repute. Mare Cognitum (who I talked about in this article on space-themed black metal) is certainly overflowing in austere music, but it’s nice to see it appropriated to feelings a little more earthly.
Wormwitch/Sadistic Ritual — Split
Wormwitch rightfully catapulted to the forefront of the metal scene through their early induction to Prosthetic Records, and now Profound Lore. However, I wouldn’t consider this my favorite release from them. (This is; also this killer single.) However, Atlanta’s Sadistic Ritual is certainly throwing some weight here — enough to make this split a worthy entry in anybody’s collection. Wormwitch does play well with Sadistic Ritual; they seem to be taking on a more thrash-inspired sound than usual. Regardless of my preferring Wormwitch’s earlier works, it’s very easy to see why both of these bands have taken off the way they have.
Malpas/Flegias/Rex Defunctis — Sacrilegious Curse
Here’s another split — this time a three-way between Malpas and Flegias of Italy and Rex Defunctis of Mexico. This album is probably the most true to the second-wave sound. Despite some really solid playing, there’s some questionable decisions in the mixing that I can’t help but love. One such example is the melodic bass line on Flegias’s Dismembered. One touch that I especially enjoy is that each band contributed a cover paying homage to classic bands of the first- and second-waves (Emperor, Necrodeath, and Argentum, respectively).
Satanic Magick — EP 2024
Skirting through a variety of sounds, this is a fun ride of an album. Satanic Magick is a power trio hailing from New York, but I can’t find much more information about the members. Their debut EP makes regular stops through black’n’roll, heavy, speed metal, and — of course — traditional second-wave black metal. Clocking in at under 20 minutes, the whole EP feels short-and-sweet. I’m eager to see what they make of a full-length release.
Dread Omen — Dirges for a Doomed World
It seems black’n’roll might be a running theme of this month. Thankfully, it hasn’t become so predictable as other popular styles, thanks to bands like Dread Omen. There’s some striking similarities to Satanic Magick’s EP in style, but Dirges for a Doomed World replaces a lot of the speed metal for mid-tempo grooves and d-beats.
Khold — Du dømmes til Død
Speaking of black’n’roll… Khold is back again. Khold haven’t changed much about their formula in their almost-25-year career, which is perfectly fine when considering that not many bands sound like them. The elements that have changed work well — the production is clean, the guitar work catchy, the vocals approachable, and the drums decidedly restrained. At the end of the day, Khold is keeping to the very Aughts-style of upbeat black’n’roll that they pioneered back in 2000. I doubt I’d mark this my favorite album from them, but it’s still a perfect demonstration of the adage “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.”
Ehtëk — ∆’díurd Ïəb Ádar≬m’al
Bearing a lot of similarities to the as-pretentious-as-prolific Trhä, I find Ehtëk to be a more interesting listen. The most glaring similarity (other than the atmospheric style) is the nearly identical sigil adorning the album. It wouldn’t shock me if this ended up being closely associated with Thét Älëf, detna hacëntara Trha Nönvéhhklëth, Jôdhrhä dës Khatës, Dlhâvênkléth fëhlätharan ôdlhënamsaran Ebnan.1 If not, I’d very much consider this a clone.
Ehtëk clearly puts more energy into the music than cultivating an image through made-up languages, departures into random genres, stupidly long names, rambling interviews about esoterica, and other bullshit that have nothing to do with music. The result is a fantastic 30-minute EP loaded with haunting atmosphere and introspection, occasionally departing into crunchy and energetic riffs. I sure hope Trhä clones don’t become a trend, but Ehtëk has earned my attention.
Well… Substack is telling me that I’m hitting my limit on an email-friendly post, so I’m stopping here. Feel free to share your favorite March 2024 releases that I may have missed in the comments below. If you missed the March 2024, So Far post, check it out below.
P.S. — some of you may be interested in joining our Discord channel, where the recommendations run like a river. You can also contact me directly there. Click the button below to join.
Trhä’s eyeroll-inducing full name. Too bad the music isn’t as good as the satire. Disclosure: I do own some of their stuff. Some of it is good, but most of it isn’t.