No preamble this month, let’s just get right down to it…

Let us begin with the powerhouse of destructive dark energy that is Sulphuric Omnipotence by Fornicus. This album offers a brutally effective blackened death metal masterclass, and it’s a hideously satisfying listen. It’s hard not to get blown away by this one.

Ulthar’s twisted atypical take on death metal made a strong impression on Providence. Esoteric, inscrutable, and shot through with blackened tones, this is an exceptionally well-crafted album that takes diverse death metal influences and fuses them into something special.

Exocrine’s modern technical/progressive death metal was on fine form with the release of their latest stormer, Maelstrom. A seething mass of violence and carnage, Maelstrom is a great album for when working out, with its high energy aggression.

I was very impressed by Descend’s The Deviant, especially as I only originally picked it to listen to because of its artwork. What I found was luscious and rich progressive death metal, filled with emotion and feeling.

I was also impressed by A Peaceful Annihilation by Tiberius. This is a modern metallic feast of melody and powerful singing. Driven by modern metal that’s both technical and progressive in places, this is a song-focused album that has plenty of chops.

For me, the top pick of June’s releases was Glory, Glory! Apathy Took Helm! by Vile Creature. Adventurous progressive sludge doom like this doesn’t come along every month, so it’s great to be blessed by Vile Creature’s crushing emotive weight. One of my favourites from this year so far.