February saw the release of some very good metal. Let’s have a look at some of the top picks below…
We’ll start with something utterly massive – Carrier of Weight by Eremit. If colossal doom/sludge is your thing, if you love being completely crushed by repetitive, hypnotic riffs, if you love sprawling, epic songs full of monolithic atmosphere played at glacial speeds, then Carrier of Weight is definitely for you.
At the opposite end of the scale, (the last track on Carrier of Weight is longer than this entire album), we have The Language of Injury by Ithaca. It’s been a while since I’ve heard metalcore that’s as vital and vibrant as the music that Ithaca produce. This album is just so easy to listen to over and over again, and I thoroughly enjoy all of the various ideas and textures that it has across its playing time. This is what modern heavy music should sound like in 2019.
For some high-energy violence, look no further than Seclusions by Endorphins Lost. Put simply, this is just a very good grindcore album. The songs are well-written and hit the spot nicely, and the entire album has a lot to offer fans of short brutality and aggression. In 21 minutes Endorphins Lost treat us to a grinding, raging beast of an album.
I’ve been waiting for Ad Patres to return for many years, and February 2019 is when they finally did. A Brief Introduction to Human Experiments is a solid and muscular death metal release, one which I can easily imagine any death metal fan easily enjoying. Play at full bludgeoning volume, and try to avoid getting experimented on.
Pig’s Blood’s A Flock Slaughtered is a filthy wild ride of savage, ugly death metal. Different in many ways to what Ad Patres offered this month, but equally as enjoyable. VIsceral and heart-pumping stuff is this; Pig’s Blood have vomited out a thoroughly nasty piece of work here.
We now have more colossal doom for you in the shape of Abyssic‘s High the Memory. Abyssic’s orchestral doom metal has been a favourite of mine for a while now, and their new album finds them on top form once more. Full of crushing heaviness and textured depth, this is an album that’s extremely compelling and absorbing, despite the hefty playing time.
Living Tomb by Ossuarium is a solid, muscular, doom-infected slab of old-school death metal, and it’s very good indeed. Reeking of macabre atmosphere and grim darkness, these songs feed off the bones of the dead and stomp out of their tombs into the light with confidence and sinister intent.
Finally, we come to Ethic of Radical Finitude by the ever reliable Downfall of Gaia. Now here’s a band that just seem to keep getting better and better, and on their fifth album they’re sounding pretty damn special. Downfall of Gaia’s mix of post-black metal and atmospheric sludge is layered and multifaceted, captivating the listener with atmosphere and depth of songwriting and delivery. If you only check out one album on this list, make sure it’s this one.
Wonderbox Metal 