Stuck in the Filter: April 2025’s Angry Misses

By Kenstrosity

The cicadas have passed, the brood has bred. And now, it’s all being washed away by a constant deluge of heavy rain and hail amidst thunderous storm of increasing intensity. I imagine those skyborne rumblings shudder every wall of the ducts where my minions toil. I am sure they are frightened, claustrophobic, and soaked. And yet, they persist under my demanding and ruthless management—all so you can have more of what you already get every day in these halls.

Show your appreciation for what we bring to you, and enjoy ov deep Filter!

Kenstrosity’s Biblically-Accurate Beast

Ancient Death // Ego Dissolution [April 18th, 2025 – Profound Lore Records]

A lot of people pine for Death. We know this due to the sheer number of Death worship acts out there, most of which operate eternally under that legend’s shadow. Less common, however, are acts of worship in the service of underground-er heroes The Chasm. Thankfully, Massachusetts death metal quartet Ancient Death take on this mantle, blending much Death and The Chasm inspo with their own curated, abyssal sound. Everything here hearkens back to the ways of olde, but updated to feel relevant in the modern era. Such as this is the case, opening salvos “Ego Dissolution” and “Breaking the Barriers of Hope” strike while the iron is hot, piercing through all expectation with sharp riffs, evolving passages, and dynamic shifts in structure. So effective is this attack strategy that even instrumental aberrations like “Journey to the Inner Soul” feel story driven and purposeful. Standout tracks like “Breathe – Transcend (Into the Glowing Streams of Forever),” “Echoing Chambers Within the Dismal Mind,” and “Unspoken Earth” steal the show, however, boasting Ancient Death’s best riffs, a downright surprising display of vocal versatility, and disgusting solos and dive bombs. It needs time and dedicated spins to bloom and come alive, though, which may discourage listeners hoping for a cheap fix. But trust me, it’s worth the investment!

Killjoy’s Flavorful Feasts

Malphas // Extinct [April 11th, 2025 – Soulseller Records]

If I’m to enjoy no-frills black metal, it needs to have lots of hooks. In this sense, Switzerland’s Malphas had their priorities straight while writing Extinct. Their melodic guitar leads may not be as exuberant or exaggerated as, say, Moonlight Sorcery’s, but they have a thrashy flair which is just as much fun. Once the riffs captured my attention, they reeled me in for a battering vocal assault of coarse barks and spiteful snarls. Drummer Jöschu Käser (also of Aara and many others) can play seemingly any rhythm or tempo, best exemplified across the entirety of “Butcher’s Broom.” This is key for Malphas to prove they have the nuance to pull off mid-paced tempos (“Majestic Moon,” “Consumed,” “Armada Christi”), a quality that I find important in black metal. There are a few neat little surprises as well, like the piano section midway through “Majestic Moon” and the icy synths popping up momentarily in the instrumental closer “Astral Dissonance.” Fans of engaging and catchy meloblack won’t want to miss out on Extinct.

Svnth // Pink Noise Youth [April 18th, 2025 – These Hands Melt]

You’ve likely heard of white noise, but what about its counterpart, pink noise? Whereas white noise contains equal amounts of all frequencies audible to humans, pink noise favors lower frequencies and is generally considered to be easier on the ears. Likewise, Pink Noise Youth, Svnth’s fourth album, is a remarkably pleasant listen. This unassuming post-black group from Rome, Italy has evolved considerably since Cherd’s review of 2020’s Spring in Blue. The familiar glossy guitar tremolos and chords now have an unexpected companion: the electric sitar. This newcomer is mainly supportive, with stray notes and lines drizzled atop the already dreamy guitars for extra sweetness. There are spicier moments, too, like the punky riffs and d-beats peppered with rasping barks that kick off “Winter Blues.” There’s also a much greater prevalence of clean singing this time around, Rodolfo Ciuffo’s hypnotic intonation complements the chunky post-metal of “Perfume” as easily as the carefree guitar strumming in “Nairoby Lullaby.” Gone are the overlong, meandering tracks of before; Pink Noise Youth gets straight to the point with sharper songs hovering in the 5-minute range across a tight 37 minutes in total. Svnth seem determined to make the post-black genre their own and, by all indications, it’s working.

Owlswald’s Wide-Eyed Wonders

Game Over // Face the End [April 25th, 2025 – Scarlet Records]

In the absolutely loaded month that was April, two records surprised these owl ears enough to earn regular spots in my playlist. First up is Game Over’s sixth full-length, Face the End. These Italian thrashers have been peddling their version of the Bay Area sound since 2009, yet this is somehow my first encounter with them. Following the departure of co-founder/bassist/vocalist Renato Chiccoli, Game Over revamped its lineup, bringing in Danny Schiavina on vocals and Leonard Molinari on bass. This refreshed five-piece delivers a newly polished sound, making Face the End the most fun I’ve had with a thrash album in recent memory. “Grip of Time,” “Weaving Fate” and “Veil of Insanity” showcase Game Over’s mastery of Testament and Exodus-level aggression while “Neck Breaking Dance” offers a light-hearted pit call reminiscent of early Anthrax. Alessandro Sansone’s and Luca Zironi’s fast and forceful down-picking, melodic leads and flashy solos run over Anthony Dantone’s rock-solid drumming, all within a crisp and powerful production with ample punch. Schiavina’s charismatic, high-flying vocals immediately grab your attention on “Lust for Blood,” never relinquishing their grasp as they transmit their 70s and 80s horror-inspired themes above abundant gang vocals. In a genre plagued by inconsistency, Face the End is everything I want my thrash to be—aggressive, dynamic and fun.

Kiritsis // Kiritsis [April 4th, 2025 – Wise Blood Records/Pout Records]

Next up is the ruthless sludge and hardcore of Kiritsis. I hope you checked your fun at the door because this Indianapolis-based quartet isn’t here to make friends. Formed by members of Trenches, Hatesong, and Sundown, Kiritsis’ self-titled debut is here to punch you square in the face and take your lunch money. Over the course of thirty-one minutes, this foursome bludgeons listeners with uncompromisingly heavy doses of abrasive distortion, hard-hitting beats and pure unadulterated anger, all slathered in a blackened layer of Carcass-like filth. Blake Henry’s roars and rasps tear through your speakers with pure vitriol and torment, perfectly complementing Eric Mason’s grim riffing, Bill Scott’s demonic bass growls and Nik Jensen’s weighty drum strikes. “Like the Taste,” “Pissant” and “Deny.Defend.Dispose” embody a Will Haven spirit with a barrage of penetrating, assaulting riffs and pounding half-time slams underpinning Henry’s blood-curdling screams. Meanwhile, the sorrowful and doom-tinged “It Ain’t Easy” and “Thieves and Fools” drag you into anguish-ridden depths, draped in their dark, hopeless atmospheres and plodding facades. You won’t find any overly technical or flashy music here—this is pure hatred and loathing in a tight, cathartic package, meant to blast at high volume while you fuck shit up.

Tyme’s Grungy Gift

Melvins 1983 // Thunderball [April 18th, 2025 – Ipecac Recordings]

Hot on the heels and building off of 2024’s Tarantula Heart, stalwart grunge/sludge rock icon Buzz Osborne has teamed back up with original drummer Mike Dillard for Melvins 1983‘s third release and first in four years, Thunderball. This time around, Osborne and Dillard have partnered with experimental electronic artists Void Manes and Ni Maîtres to deliver yet another in a long line of inimitable, don’t-give-a-fuck-what-you-think releases that have become synonymous with the Melvins brand. As influential a band as any going right now on sludgy noise rock emanating from garages across the world, I take note anytime a new Melvins project hits shelves. With Thunderball, Buzz ‘n company have delivered another tasty morsel packed with some o’ that Houdini-sweet heaviness (“King of Rome”) that sweats grunge like “Negative Creep.” A merging of shimmery post-rock with punky garage rock and bass-laden disso-doom that meanders to a close in a wash of plodding riffs and bleep-bloop electronics, “Victory of the Pyramids” is a decent summation of what you’ll find lurking around most of Thunderball‘s thirty-four minute, five track corners, as Void Manes and Ni Maîtres don’t so much enhance as they incorporate their particular brand of electronica into Thunderball‘s sonic aesthetic. As a newcomer still assimilating into the Melvin hive mind here at AMG, I still have the independent lock-step wherewithal to recommend Melvins 1983‘s Thunderball to those who might have missed it.

Dolphin Whisperer’s Ample Acquisitions

Emma Goldman // All You Are Is We [April 28th, 2025 – Zegema Beach Records]

Sassy is as sassy does or somethin’ like that. If you were wondering whether anarchist icon Emma Goldman came back to life to front a mathcore band, I’m sorry to report that that is not the case. However, if you’re in the ballpark for Canadian punks speedballin’ through skronked-out, strung-out chorus barks with a hundred words trapped in ten seconds, then Emma Goldman will be your ticket to a hot psych ward summer.1 From working class psychosis (“i don’t think much at all,” “this is your brain on minimum wage”) to patchwork insomniac ramblings as loaded as the cut-and-scan cover collage (“at rock bottom i was a piss girl,” “that is the land of lost content”), vocalist Victoria delivers a shredded flurry of barks, nags, and cries that pierce straight through the boomy mix. And though the rhythm guitars and bass pulse and industrial cracklings (particularly the two interlude scratches) register on the lower end of the sound spectrum, a fluid twang and tight, clanging snare find an abrasive balance throughout—two broken tones make a right. In under half an hour, All You Are Is We both breezes by in its effortless flow and brandishes passersby with heart-stained tirades and boiled-over emotion. Along with modern acts like Massa Nera and Blind Girls, Emma Goldman in bold, romantic, and unsettled rage makes a strong case for how true skramz can continue to evolve through rich musicianship, progressive leanings, all while maintaining an adherence to post-indebted builds (“it rubs the boycott ketchup on its brand new slacks,” “that is the land…”). And with a dollop more of that cathartic and capturing energy, Emma Goldman may yet charge with the notoriety of its namesake at the front of this genre pack.

Sonum // The Obscure Light Awaits [April 11th, 2025 – Dusktone]

As a product of a previous filter fetching, I had hoped to provide a lengthier statement on my enjoyment of Sonum’s sophomore outing The Obscure Light Awaits. You see, this Italian act has a knack for supplying death metal that holds true to the origins of dark and twisted riffage while still pushing at edges of richer composition in hypnotic rhythms. As a second attempt at deathly glory, The Obscure Light Awaits shows studio knowledge growth in a drum sound that highlights expansive cymbal textures and quick-turn tom rolls that power the mood-driven world in which Sonum inhabits. And in post-growing melodic builds—the kind of atmosphere that leans dissonant like the Ulcerate-channeling broodings of Devenial Verdict—Sonum shows that mood can swell and explode on the backs of horror-tinged orchestral accompaniment and creaking refrains (“Trapped in the Labyrinth of Aberration,” “Nobody Is Innocent”). Trimmed to a three-piece set for The Obscure Light Awaits, the focus that borders on self-similarity on this extended-length journey feels both intimate and indulgent—the closing psychedelic jam session certainly leans on the latter feeling. But with churning tremolo runs that lead to gruff-toned cries, the majority of what Sonum brings to the table lands in consistent and crushing effort (“In This Void We Dwell,” “Messenger of Cosmic Dread”). As a band still finding their footing in the grander scheme of the death metal universe, Sonum has a sense of identity that gives them a fighting edge. And though The Obscure Light Awaits wears its unique vision a little loose at the waist, its journey is well worth exploring.

Zmarłym // Wielkie Zanikanie [April 18th, 2025 – Godz of War Productions]

Once upon a time, Zmarłym fancied themselves a Polish sadboi act whose turmoil was wrapped in the urban decay of early COVID lockdown measures. And now that we’ve all stepped some distance—a safe distance you might say—away from that reality, Zmarłym has learned that the sad doesn’t dissipate quite that easily. Wielkie Zanikanie finds a familiar malaise in isolation, frustration, and a general defeated nature wrapped up in a longing black metal wane with post-punk and progressive undertones, much like you’d find on a record like Voice’s Frightened or Cursebinder’s Drifting. Blaring synth throbs give way to entrancing drum patterns and phase-shifting vocal howls (“Miejsca,” “Bunt maszyn”). Classic tremolo flurries raze playful energy to set the stage for sinister, blood-soaked cries (“Sny o lataniu,” “Plamy II”). And though a goofy mid-album Killing Joke-indebted romp—even a switch to heavy accent English from the brooding native tongue—threatens to break the sinister ambiance that Zmarłym explores throughout the rest of Wielkie Zanikanie, its soft and bouncy inclusions still find layering amongst smoldering black metal riffage. And as all elements come to join hands in the space-bound, synth squealing crescendo of the closing title track, Zmarłym has delivered an experience full of variety and surprise, curated to bore a hole into a mind searching for melancholy with a sense of adventure and play.

#2025 #Aara #AllYouAreIsWe #AmericanMetal #AncientDeath #Anthrax #Apr25 #BlackMetal #BlindGirls #Carcass #Cursebinder #Death #DeathMetal #DevenialVerdict #Dusktone #EgoDissolution #EmmaGoldman #Exodus #Extinct #FaceTheEnd #GameOver #GodzOfWarProductions #Grunge #Hardcore #Hatesong #IpecacRecordings #ItalianMetal #KillingJoke #Kirtisis #Malphas #MassaNera #Mathcore #MelodicBlackMetal #Melvins #Melvins1983 #Metal #MoonlightSorcery #NiMaîtres #PinkNoiseYouth #PolishMetal #PostBlackMetal #postPunk #PoutRecords #ProfoundLoreRecords #ProgressiveDeathMetal #Review #Reviews #ScarletRecords #Screamo #Sludge #SludgeMetal #SludgeRock #Sonum #SoulsellerRecords #StuckInTheFilter #StuckInTheFilter2025 #Sundown #Svnth #Swiss #Testament #TheChasm #TheObscureLightAwaits #TheseHandsMelt #ThrashMetal #Thunderball #Trenches #Ulcerate #Voices #VoidManes #WielkieZanikanie #WillHaven #WiseBloodRecords #ZegemaBeachRecords #Zmarłym

The flying Clown of the Mountains

Keas (Nestor notabilis) are the famous mountain parrots of Aotearoa New Zealand. Ther are considered intelligent and playful and deserve their nickname as “Clowns of the mountains”.

These parrots have the size of and acts like a one-year-old child, and with approximately the same level of cautious handling of things in its environment. Add wings and ability to fly, and the result can be troublesome, or flat out chaotic.

It has a big beak, large claws and the intelligence level capable of ripping off windscreen wipers, wheel protectors, and decorative strips from cars. Or play and destroy with anything else they can get their beak and claws on.

Sometimes they do it to the cars of the people who for some reason decide to feed them. And sometimes those Keas most accustomed to humans might do damage to parked cars without any people in proximity. Out of boredom, or spite. Like them being annoyed for not getting more food.

Very useful, this bird yells its name to us. The sound it makes as it flies is a high pitched Keeeeeeaa, which sounds very much like a bird of prey in the mountains in the Nordics.

This intelligent mountain parrot is only found in Aotearoa New Zealand.

https://drzinasia.wordpress.com/2021/03/19/the-flying-clown-of-the-fiordland-mountains/

#2009CE #adventure #Aotearoa #AotearoaNewZealand #art #bird #bluesky #Fiordland #thechasm #teanau #forkintheroad #green #Kea #Kiwi #lifestyle #Milford #Sound #MilfordSound #naturephotography #Nestornotabilis #New #Zealand #newzealand #Nikkor #Nikon #nzpacific #roadtrip #TeWaipounamu #TeWaipounamuSouthIsland #travel #mountainparrot #parrot #clownofthemountain

Apparition – Dismal Emanations from a Tranquil State Review

By Steel Druhm

As I get older and hopefully wiser, I find myself wanting life to become simpler and less cluttered. When it comes to my death metal, I want more caveman idiocy with a greater emphasis on scuzz, murk, and swamp. Based on these sage guiding principles, Apparition’s sophomore opus Dismal Emanations from a Tranquil State seemed a safe flyer for me to grab out of the promo sewer. Hailing from the City of Angels, their sound is anything but heavenly, ripe as it is with the ghastly cavern creeping of Incantation and early Tomb Mold. However, like recent Tomb Mold, these cave cretins also aspire to proggy soundscapes, and over the 38 minutes of Dismal Emanations, they attempt to weld these disparate sides of their personality into something cohesive and effective. Lord knows a wedding of expansive and refined musical adventurism to brutish OSDM thuggery is a tough one to make work and domestic bliss with such a mismatched couple is often a pipe dream. Can Apparition find that sweet spot? How much marriage counseling will it take? Should they hold off on merging their finances? All important questions awaiting answers.

I’ll say this about Apparition: when they get things right, I really enjoy what they do. Opener “Asphycreation” leans hard into their love of Incantation, with crushing, nerve-flaying riffs struggling to stay above the copious murk their sound generates. It’s almost like a lost cut from Onward to Golgotha and they had me eating out of their filth-encrusted hand by the first minute. The first hint of their proggy bent doesn’t arrive until the solo at the 2-minute mark and it’s a very modest, Death-centric little interlude before they return to crushing skulls. As the song shambles on, ponderous doom segments and eerie keys arrive to increase the oppressive atmosphere and everything is in proper balance. This is the kind of stuff I can digest for hours and I hungered for more. More is delivered on “Imminent Expanse of Silence and Not (or Not)” with more Incantation-isms and riffs that sometimes recall the fretboard fury of The Chasm. That’s a can’t-miss pairing and for a while, nothing misses. However, over the nearly 7 minutes that follow, solid ideas and crushing grooves start to give way to proggy flair that sometimes feels superfluous and faffy, especially the final minute which feels like dead space. It’s still good overall, but it has extra padding that could be worked off with better self-editing.

Album centerpiece, “Paradoxysm” is an 8-minute plodyssey that winks at genre forefathers like Immolation along the way and even includes Peaceville Three-style gothy keys to punctuate the grim doom segments. But things become overly monotonous and by the sixth minute, it feels like the song has run out of steam despite interesting odes to Death’s later era scattered throughout. “Inner Altitudes, Light Transference” is a strange interlude that starts like something from ambient artist Lustmord’s infamous Stalker album before veering into odd, jazzy wonking that reminds me of Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew.1 Nearly 8-minute closer “Circulacate” is quite lively with a cool Voivod vibe snaking in and out, but it suffers from the same over-indulgence as “Paradodysm,” with good ideas stuck alongside lesser ones. By the end of the album’s journey, it feels like Apparition have a ton of potential, but need to focus their writing further to fully achieve the optimal blend of brains and brutality.

The players here are very talented. Miles McIntosh and Andrew Jay Solis (ex-Cormorant) are highly inventive guitarists and they generate an impressive collection of flesh-rending riffs and crushingly massive grooves while also proving capable of soaring, stimulating solos and oddly jangled harmonies. Taylor Young (ex-Nails) holds his own on bass and Andrew Morgan impresses with nimble kit-work while delivering appropriately disgusting sub-basement gurgles. The band is skilled at weaving dark, ominous atmospheres and moving from brutality to lighter fare and back again. Their only real flaw is in their writing, which needs to be tightened up and scaled back.

I’m not always the biggest champion of proggy excess in death metal, but I enjoy much of what Apparition do here. They don’t go as far over the ledge as Tomb Mold did on their recent outing, and gloriously caveman-esque pummeling awaits around nearly every corner. If they can smooth things out and excise the unsightly bloat, they could do great damage to ears and hearts. Good and almost very good, this is well worth a loud spin. This is a band to watch out for.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Profound Lore
Website: apparitiondeath.bandcamp.com
Releases Worldwide: March 22nd, 2024

#2024 #30 #AmericanMetal #Apparition #Death #DeathMetal #DismalEmanationsFromATranquilState #Incantation #Mar24 #ProfoundLoreRecordings #ProgressiveDeathMetal #Review #Reviews #TheChasm #TombMold

Acerus – The Caliginous Serenade Review

By Steel Druhm

The Chasm have been cracking skulls since 1994 with their riff-intensive, wildly creative death metal. Over the years they evolved from ass-scratching caveman death to technical insanity engineers, but skulls were always smashed just the same. Though I’ve been a fan forever, somehow I missed that The Chasm’s bassist/guitarist/vocalist Daniel Corchado had an epic/trve metal side project called Acerus and had been releasing albums since 2014. For this, I feel great shame and now I must make amends. The Caliginous Serenade is their fourth release and this one will be properly exposed to the AMG masses! And what should one expect on an Acerus outing? Basically, it’s The Chasm’s blueprint directly applied to 80s trve metal like Manilla Road, Cirith Ungol, Virgin Steele, and Omen, with wild guitar work out front leading the charge. It’s retro as Hell, trve as fook, and will have you joining a rampaging horde before the first song ends. Before we go on, let me ask you this: How’s your sword arm hanging?

As soon as opener “Dying Consciousness of an Old God” kicks into life you will feel stronger and capable of great war wiolence. The galloping guitar lines attack lustily with a big clanging bass following behind as a rear guard. Esteban Julian Pena’s vocals are passionate and sit somewhere between Mark “the Shark” Shelton (Manilla Road) and Tony Taylor of (Twisted Tower Dire), with side quests into Brian Ross (Satan) style sneer-crooning. It works and it will inspire you to heroic deeds. It’s the guitar work by Ed Escamilla and Daniel Corchado that takes center stage, however, and boy do these guys bring the wizard thunder! It’s such a feel-good opener loaded with olden metal tropes, but it kicks plenty of modern day ass. The fun continues on rollicking cuts like the excellent “The Perception” where riffs overrun large swaths of the free world and establish a 1,000-year Empire of Mano-metal. “Failing Visions” fuses the classic trve metal sound with Slough Feg-isms and knocks the weird hybrid out of the park because RIFFS! My personal favorite is “The Serpent is King” which comes at you with ravenous riffcraft with just a shade of blackened menace and thrashy recklessness.

The entire first half of the album is a pornocopia smorgasbord of throwback sword and loincloth metal that’s so freaking trve it may cause hysterical sword blindness. Unfortunately, the second half can’t keep up the high energy, high-quality onslaught, and a few songs feel like lesser versions of the righteous starter set. “Toward the Enigma of No Return,” while good, feels less stunning. “Prevail” is fine but also overstays its welcome, and “The Fourth Pentacle” is quite entertaining with a HUGE Virgin Steele vibe, but the falsetto vocals don’t really work and once again, things go on too long. The album wraps with the 10-minute title track, and while it’s good with very good moments dotted throughout, including more Virgin Steele worship, it too is oversized. The combination of these family-sized tracks makes the album’s 53-minute runtime feel quite heavyset by the end of the campaign.

Excess issues aside, this whole thing is a guitar fiend’s wet dream and there’s simply no way to listen to it without cramping your air guitar fingers. The riffs are stacked on other riffs and shored up with still more riffs. It’s a mammoth riff edifice where other riffs are brought to be sacrificed to the Riff Godz. Ed Escamilla and Daniel Corchado borrow from every notable trve metal act on their way to becoming immortal guitar gods themselves through the unnaturally large volume of ass-kicking leads they cover everything with. Even if you don’t like the classic 80s metal style you won’t be able to resist the swirling, churning guitar insanity. Esteban Julian Pena does a fine job with his vocals, channeling many legendary vocalists. His forays into falsettos aren’t great, but they’re thankfully rare. Corchado’s bass is audible and pops away to imbue some Cirith Ungol atmosphere and round out the uber-macho sound.

I’ve had way too much fun with The Caliginous Serenade and am currently racing through Acerus’ back catalog. If the album was a bit shorter and the editing a tad tighter, the Score Safety Counter would feel their merciless wrath. Even with the extra dad padding, this is too much fun to quit. If you want to experience trve glory, you need to get measured for a Caliginous suit right the fuck now. Tell em’ Steel sent ya. See you on the battlefield, chumbo.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 10 | Format Reviewed: 293 kbps mp3
Label: Lux Inframundis
Website: facebook.com/thechasm.acerus
Releases Worldwide: January 26th, 2024

#2024 #35 #AmericanMetal #CirithUngol #HeavyMetal #IronMaiden #Jan24 #LuxInframundisProductions #ManillaRoad #Omen #Review #Reviews #TheChasm #VirginSteele

Begravement – Horrific Illusions Beckon [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]

By Saunders

Amidst the slew of mighty fine death metal releases in 2023, there were some killer debuts and plenty of albums well worth your attention, even if they didn’t feature heavily, or at all, during another epic Listurnalia campaign. One such album was the debut LP from up-and-coming Minnesota death dealers Begravement and their potential packed Horrific Illusions Beckon album. And though it didn’t quite crack my own end-of-year list, I certainly spent lots of time jamming Horrific Illusions Beckon. In a crowded modern death metal field Begravement’s lively formula features the distinct stench of the classic Florida death metal scene from yesteryear, coupled with forward-thinking arrangements, progressive flourishes and an aggressive, thrashy bent. In what we hope will be an equally robust year of death metal in 2024, let’s explore the exciting depths and twists of Horrific Illusions Beckon.

Begravement offer a busy, multifaceted sound that touches on numerous styles and influences within the broader death genre. Creating a colorful, technical and wildly adventurous offering that nonetheless doesn’t forget to have fun, Begravement unleash an abundance of fiery, headbangabale riffs and furious thrashy death salvos. There are knotty technical and proggy nods to Death and Atheist, the gnarled thrashy precision of Vader and The Chasm, and hints of modern trailblazers Horrendous. Throw in the prominent thrash influence, experimental touches and hints of smooth melodeath elements and you are left with a memorable and versatile package. Whether exploring more progressive, complex and adventurous pastures (“Valley of Everlasting Darkness,” “Intergalactic Espionage,” epic closer ‘Return to Planet Earth”), ripping, though bouncier melodic territories (“Anaphylaxis” and “Scarabs Beneath the Flesh”) or straight up proggy, death ragers (“A Horrific Illusion,” “Desecration of the Meek”), Begravement execute swiftly and thrust their rabidly aggressive stylings to the forefront.

Musically the four-piece are an accomplished bunch, collectively flexing their instrumental muscles, without letting shit get too cutsie or self-indulgent. Ezra Blumenfeld (also on vocals) and Owen Hiber share a deep appreciation for death metal’s long and varied history, slamming out a dexterous mix of slash-and-burn death-thrash riffs, striking melodic leads, and brooding, progressive turns and explorations. Grady Westling attacks his kit with feisty energy, comfortably shifting modes of speed and rhythm with the ever-shifting dynamics of the music, while extra praise is warranted for the skillfully performed melodic counterpoint of Matt Schrampfer’s fretless bass. Blumenfeld handles lead vocals, with his mid-ranged, well-enunciated and deceptively dynamic rasps and growls fitting the vibe well, though I occasionally crave a little more guttural heft.

All this impressive musicianship would count for little without decent songs, and thankfully Begravement do not disappoint in the songwriting department. This is a collection of finely crafted and diverse compositions, though at 54 minutes there is some bloat present, indicating a future need to perhaps tighten up on the editing front. Overall, for all the many positive traits, strengths and potential packed into Begravement’s debut, the pleasing takeaway is that this is early days and the prospect of Begravement improving and building on the sturdy frameworks and foundations they have created here stirs up excitement for where they head next. In the meantime, Horrific Illusions Beckon is an extremely accomplished, borderline great album for an exciting death metal act on the rise. A little more refinement of their songwriting abilities and tighter editing will hopefully see Begravement reap greater rewards on their next album.

Tracks to Check Out: ”Anaphylaxis,” “Valley of Everlasting Darkness,” “Intergalactic Espionage”.

#AmericanMetal #Atheist #Begravement #Death #DeathMetal #Horrendous #HorrificIllusionsBeckon #OldSchoolDeathMetal #ProgressiveDeath #Review #Reviews #TheChasm #ThingsYouMightHaveMissed2023 #Vader

#birdsite È uscita la terza parte della diretta #twitchtv del 29 Aprile, incentrata sulle quest secondarie e nel perdersi nel #TheChasm di #GenshinImpact.
Disponibile su #youtube al seguente link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p22dSZkaI2k