TesseracT - Altered State

TesseracT - Altered State
2013 / Progressive metal

Djent. Profanity to some and an attraction to some. The amount of 'djent' artists has exploded this decade and the absolutely atrocious quality of some of the bands who call themselves 'djent' have caused the word itself to describe awful chugging riffs and other generic elements. TesseracT are one of the most known artists in this field, but fortunately, they know how to do this right. 

As people read that TesseracT are a modern progressive metal band, they already expect low tuned guitars and rhythmic guitar passages, but TesseracT is more than that. The departure of Daniel Tompkins caused quite many people to sort of avoid 'Altered State', but Ashe O'Hara's performance is top notch. The vocals are, in my opinion, one of the best ones in progressive metal. Moody and powerful and even though the pitch is pretty high, the vocals don't sound whiny.

The rhythmically playful guitar passages and the lead guitars in the foreground create a pleasantly energetic mood and the overall mood range goes from joyous to gloomy. TesseracT don't just chug open strings. The variation of the guitar passage is wonderful and ranges from powerful and loud riffs to ambient influenced clean guitars. The way the songs and the album are built is also magnificent. Every song has its own position on the album and has a smooth transition to the next song. The album actually consists of four parts, which are divided into separate songs. 

Even though 'djent' usually predicts awful wannabe progressive metal or 'progressive deathcore', TesseracT shows how 'djent' should be done. 'Altered State' and 'One' (TesseracT's first album) are definitely essential modern progressive metal albums, whether people like it or not. 

Favourite songs: 'Of Mind - Exiled', 'Of Reality - Calabi-yau

Nothing More To Eat - Nothing More To Eat

Nothing More To Eat - Nothing More To Eat

2013 / Hardcore, Grindcore

Hardcore and grindcore are usually considered rather grim genres. Not in the same way as black metal, but they are not the most joyous genres. Usually. Nothing More To Eat takes couple of steps away from the serious school of grindcore and offers a slab of grinding hardcore with enjoyable twists. If the lyrical themes range from getting killed while skating and ending up in league with satan to a boring zombie apocalypse, the result could be anything.

Luckily, Nothing More To Eat have managed to create one of the most energetic and uplifting album in the genre. The tempo is kept up throughout the album, but the amount of blast beats and other 'generic' ways to create rapid bursts of energy are not excessive. Instead, the drive is kept alive through the groove. 'Nature Is Our Enemy' is a perfect example of this. In hardcore and especially grindcore songs the structure can consist of only two or three parts, but Nothing More to Eat keeps the different parts short and manages to throw several absolutely amazing riffs and parts in every song. Even though all the instruments are handled well and the vocals are fierce, the riffs and the groove are the reason 'Nothing More To Eat' spends a lot of time in my playlists. Nothing More to Eat together with Nistikko (who actually did a solid cover of Mo'Money couple of years ago) are the riff and groove lords of their own scene.

'Nothing More To Eat' is a solid and enjoyable album, but its fourteen song length has space for weaker songs. 'Anticlimactic Zombie Uprise', 'Death From Below' and 'Happy Camper' are awfully mediocre in comparison to other songs on the album. They are not bad songs, but after several solid barrages, they sound a bit like filler songs and because the songs are quite close to the end of the album, the album sounds a bit dull for a while. 'There's No Glory In Space' saves the day and together with 'Proper Manners' they manage to deliver a proper beating. If an album consist of eleven solid tracks and three weaker, but not bad, songs, there's no reason to not recommend this slab to every hardcore and grindcore loving person. 

Favourite songs: 'Nature Is Our Enemy', 'Satanic Sailors', 'Two-Headed Dog.'

Listen here! (Bandcamp)

Hateful Abandon - Liars/Bastards

Hateful Abandon - Liars/Bastards

2014 / Post-Punk, Black metal

Imagine a cold, merciless and colourless concrete hell where misery and hatred flow like wine flows at higher class parties. Utter frustration causes unrest and fear is used to keep the situation stationary. If imagining is too hard, the movie 'Hobo With a Shotgun' shows you a setting quite close to the former description. 'Liars/Bastards' is a perfect soundtrack for an urban dystopia.

Hateful Abandon's other releases are not familiar to me at all, but according to the almighty internet, their material has moved from black metal to post-punk step by step. 'Liars/Bastards' shows only slight black metal elements anymore and it mainly consists of eerie and hollow synths accompanied with frustration filled semi-harsh vocals. Even though the parts are repeated for quite a long time, the album doesn't feel dull at all. In the end, the songs differ from each other quite a lot, but the feel of misery and mental nausea is present throughout the album.

'Liars/Bastards' is not meant for a joyful summer day without a single worrying thing in mind. It's a journey through the world of oppressed people and their every day frustration. This is a recommended listen to anyone into eerie and cold music.

Favourite tracks: 'Culprit' & 'There Will Never Be Peace'

Batushka - Litourgiya

Batushka - Litourgiya

2015 / Black metal, Doom metal

Mysticism has always been part of black metal and the interpretations of it usually differ from each other quite a lot. The mystic elements are not always present of course and on some albums the absence of these elements is one of the reasons they are dull. Also, some artists' views of the arcane element fail to evoke any sort of feelings  and some artists' executions of the element blow you away. Batushka definitely belongs to the latter group.

The identities of Batushka's musicians are still unknown, but that's only a visual element in their mysticism. The music itself, which is fantastic blend of black metal and doom metal elements, feels so mysterious, emotive and piercing. Even though at least some of Batushka's members are Polish, 'Litourgiya' always gives me Soviet era lo-fi vibes. Like a musical equivalent to the gloomy and melancholic Soviet produced cartoons. Somehow I link their production quality and especially their instrument tones to Soviet Union. These are not bad traits at all and in my opinion, for they are one of the largest factors in Batushka's sound's mysticism.

Quite many have praised Batushka's use of orthodox chants and I'll gladly join this crowd. Using orthodox chants isn't a new thing in black metal at all, but the usage is usually only a minor element. Batushka, on the other hand, uses the chants as a major element and it works wonderfully. Massive choir melodies on top of heavy doom and black metal riffs and parts that have focus on the chants show extraordinary songwriting skills and the chants aren't even the only reason for this. 'Litourgiya' is one of the most solid black metal albums I've heard and the album in its entirety has no weak points. When listening to 'Litourgiya' on vinyl, the coherence stays solid until the end. It's actually quite difficult to notice the moment when a track changes and that's actually an excellent thing in this case.

Black metal albums don't usually charm me instantly, but Batushka managed to succeed in that. I would go as far as to say that 'Litourgiya' might easily be the best black metal album released in 2015 and could be, even in 2010's.

Favourite track: 'Yekteníya 3'

Magrudergrind - II

Magrudergrind - II

2016 / Grindcore, Powerviolence

Magrudergrind's self-titled album, released in 2009, is easily one of favourite grindcore albums, so needless to say, I was quite hyped when 'II' was announced. Getting hyped is sometimes quite a bad idea because it mostly leads to disappointment, but this time, it didn't. Magrudergrind are back and with full force. 

Filthy, fierce and groovy grindcore, filled with tasty hooks and crushing slower parts, is the most accurate description of Magrudergrind's distinguishable take on grindcore I can come up with. An inexperienced listener could argue that they sound like any other grindcore band or that you can't really tell the songs apart from each other, but if grindcore is an old friend of yours, the catchy and clever hooks are easy to find. And if the hooks are not enough, the amount of energy pumped into the listener is enormous and should be enough of a reason to check both 'II' and the self-titled album.

Magrudergrind shows no signs of slowing down and if they plan to release quality albums rather seldom instead of releasing possibly mediocre albums every two years or so, I have nothing against it. 'II' may not be on par with the self-titled album due to some changes in production and songwriting. Both production and songwriting are excellent on 'II' but on self titled album they were even better. The self titled album's modern but raw production was one of best one's I've ever heard in grindcore and the all of the songs felt equally good. I'm not saying that 'II' has any low quality songs, but some of the songs are clearly more powerful than some. Still, an instant album of the year candidate. 

Agalloch - Faustian Echoes

Agalloch - Faustian Echoes

2012/ Black metal, Doom metal, Post-black metal

Agalloch, Portland's gift to the world, are usually known for their distinct atmospheric black metal sound which mixes black metal to doom metal and neofolk and so on. They are also known for their EPs that somewhat differ from their main releases. 'Faustian Echoes' is not an exception, even though its sound is closer to Agalloch's full-lengths' than most of their EPs.

'Faustian Echoes' consists of just one 21.5 minute song, which is the longest recorded Agalloch song to date. The lyrics are actually taken directly from Goethe's play Faust's English translation. The music itself ranges from traditional black metal to funeral doomish parts and to the familiar post-black metal-esque sound of Agalloch. The song manages to keep consistency all the way to the end and all the transitions are executed without breaking the flow.

The use of the samples from the 1994 movie 'Faust' are an excellent addition and the presence of the samples is a prime example of a successful sample usage. The song wouldn't be as powerful as it is without the samples, but since the samples aren't that frequent, their absence wouldn't ruin the song. 'Faustian Echoes' is recommended to anyone into atmospheric black metal or post-metal.

Vitsaus - Ajan ja ihmisen haudoilla

Vitsaus - Ajan ja ihmisen haudoilla 

2004 / Raw black metal

Black metal, especially the rawer form of it, dominated my playlists five or six years ago. My love for the genre has never gone away and my favourite albums from the mentioned years are still among my all time favourites. Vitsaus, and especially this demo of theirs, made a memorable impression straight after finishing the album for the very first time.

'Ajan ja ihmisen haudoilla' is a prime example of how Finnish raw black metal sounds like. This raw lo-fi soundscape is shared by a large amount of bands from the same scene and is often regarded as one of the main characteristics of this scene. Even if the album's (or demo's) overall sound is gritty as hell, the sweet sweet guitar riffs and their grim melodies are completely audible throughout all five tracks. People who state that raw black metal has no melodies, are just plain ignorant and probably aren't used to non-polished sounds.

This is one of the black metal albums I can honestly recommend to everyone into black metal, for this release is easily one of the best Finnish black metal releases to date. Favourite track: "II." 

Gnaw Their Tongues - Abyss of Longing Throats

Gnaw Their Tongues - Abyss of Longing Throats

2015 / Black metal, Industrial, Experimental, Noise

Throats can be used to many things. They mainly serve a purpose to deliver the foods and drinks to the right destination. Slitting them or screaming are some other things people do with them, as the mastermind behind the project, Mories, told in an interview he gave to Noisey. He also mentions the every day terrors as one of the inspirations to him, and these horrifying acts and events can be heard through his music. A soundtrack to the eternal mutilation and horror.

This is not the first time noise and industrial are being used together with black metal. The result could be quite an awful listening experience, if done in a wrong way, but 'Abyss of Longing Throats' is a wonderfully frightening album. Even if the thoughts' topics it evokes are mainly about the cruelty of the mankind, the soundscape occasionally has a soothing feel. You sort of manage to share the disappointment in humanity that Mories feels. 

Recommended to people who generally enjoy somewhat unpleasant feelings caused by music and to people who liked The Body's 'I Shall Die Here.' Top tracks: 'Abyss of Longing Throats' & 'Up into the Heavens Down into the Circles of Hell.'  

Gnaw Their Tongues / Dragged into Sunlight - NV

Gnaw Their Tongues / Dragged into Sunlight - NV

2015 / Black metal, Death metal, Experimental

What happens when a UK based blackened sludge metal band is combined with a Dutch experimental black metal band? One of the most terrifying and best releases of 2015. The combination of noise, black metal and industrial create an atmosphere of agony faced before a violent death. The soundscape is not a surprise to people aware of both of the bands, as their lyrical themes range from bondage and torture to  plain misanthropy. If the lyrical themes are not enough for some people, samples of serial killer confessions add some extra morbidity.

Music-wise the album smoothly transfers from slow industrial/noise influenced parts into more chaotic dissonant black metal with spine-chilling vocals and further into parts influenced by various genres. Isn't it sort of hard to grasp to something that uses this many influences? If the blend is well done, the integrity remains throughout the whole album. Do Gnaw Their Tongues and Dragged Into Sunlight succeed in this? In my opinion, they absolutely do. Top track: "Visceral Repulsion."

Chthe'ilist - Amechth'ntaas'm'rriachth

Chthe'ilist - Amechth'ntaas'm'rriachth 

2012 / Death metal

Chthe'ilist is a death metal band from Canada and the sort of death metal they do, is not what you usually hear. The complex riffing and deep sewer gurgle vocals probably bring Demilich to people's mind and there's no reason to wonder why. The very moment when 'Into the Vaults of Ingurgitating Obscurity (Masticated by the Cryptic Shapes That Guards the Gateway of Eil'udom' starts, the first comparison can only be to Demilich.

Even if Chthe'ilist's sound is mocked by some as Demilich ripoff, it still manages to have a rather unique sound. The presence of effects and synths create a somewhat mystical feeling and together with Demilich-esque elements, the result is absolutely amazing. Chtleilist's new album's release date is not far away and if it follows the same path is this demo, it may end up on my top 2016 list. Top track: Into the Vaults of Ingurgitating Obscurity (Masticated by the Cryptic Shapes That Guards the Gateway of Eil'udom).

Nails - Abandon All Life

Nails - Abandon All Life

2013/ Hardcore, Grindcore

"Rejected from the start. Unleash the hatred within our hearts." From the first lines of "In Exodus" till the last lines of "Suum Cuique", this album is filled with hatred and frustration. Some bands are said to sound violent as hell, but Nails channels the sheer hatred into their music and manages to output it as probably one of the most violent sounding hardcore releases ever. If there was a soundtrack for pummeling the whole mankind to death, this would be on it.

The music itself has quite a lot of variation if you compare it to some hardcore/grindcore releases. There is a reason why 'Abandon All Life' was critically acclaimed: it's one of the best albums out of its genre. The transitions from slower breakdowns, which are executed just the way they are meant to, into an utter barrage of fury. This is one of the albums I'd recommend to people, who are interested in diving into the world of grindcore or hardcore. Favourite song: "Wide Open Wound."

Unkind - Pelon juuret

Unkind - Pelon juuret

2013 / Neocrust, Dark hardcore

The writing on top of this stated that there are moments when dark and gloomy music isn't considered as an option when choosing, which album to listen to. There are also moments that are absolutely opposite, when everything that's even distantly cheery, only manages to irritate. "Pelon juuret" along with the rest of Unkind's discography are practically created for those days. Some people say that Unkind's hyper dark neocrust is just extremely emotional, but in my opinion, they have managed to capture the essence of mental nausea. Both the nausea caused by the faults of society, and the one caused by a mental disorders.

My first contact with Unkind was when I decided to purchase their 2011 album "Harhakuvat" based on several recommendations by different people. Telling that I fell in love with the album would feel wrong, as love isn't the sort of stuff Unkind's music makes you feel. The same kind of proclamation about every day grievance continues on "Pelon Juuret." There's no hate or oppression to be heard, only varieties of unhappiness, frustration and fear. This album is a definite recommendation to anyone into crust and to people seeking emotive music. Favourite track: "Valtakunta." 

RMNC - Flair

RMNC - Flair

2011 / Disco house

There are moments when, at least to me, dark and gloomy music sounds inappropriate as hell. Those moments sometimes require something energetic and colourful. Disco house as a genre works well in these scenarios and after this particular album starts spinning, the only solution is to submit to it's groovy and warm embrace. There are some flaws sound wise, and I would find it utterly magnificent, if RMNC remastered this. It is a shame that RMNC hasn't succeeded in establishing a solid listener base.

This is not everyone's cup of tea, since some fans of heavier music would probably find the cheeriness of this album completely obnoxious. I, however, manage to channel tremendous amounts of gladness from this album. Top track: "C'est La Vie"

Shining (Nor) - International Blackjazz Society

Shining (Nor) - International Blackjazz Society

2015 / Avant-garde metal

The Norwegian Shining's music's progress has been a wild roller coaster ride. After forming in 1999, they first released two pure avant-jazz albums ('Where The Ragged People Go' and 'Sweet Shanghai Devil'), then added some heavier influences on 'In the Kingdom of Kitsch You Will Be a Monster', continued to reduce the pure jazz sound and introduced vocals on 'Grindstone', added black metal influences, increased the role of the vocals and practically reforged their whole sound on 'Blackjazz' and then moved towards a more straightforward, groovy avant-garde metal on 'One One One.' 'International Blackjazz Society' is a logical continuation to 'One One One' even if the albums aren't as different as their albums usually are in comparison to their predecessors.

Straight from the beginning, Shining proves that they are still loyal to their roots. After the chaotic sax intro 'Admittance' we land on the groovy industrial influenced material that was introduced on 'One One One.' Some people might still be furious because of the movement of style Shining has been doing, but in my opinion it's great that a band succeeds in such extreme style changes and manages to do all of them in style. 'International Blackjazz Society' is one of the most interesting albums I've heard for a while, because every single one of the songs offer something new. One of the things I noticed was that 'Last Day' is probably their most straightforward song to date and is probably the easiest song done by them. Even though 'Last Day' might be the easiest one to chew on, it still offers enough intriguing parts to entertain the people who love the more complex side of Shining. 

'International Blackjazz Society' has assured me that Shining still have got the touch to do something new and interesting and so it's certain that I will regularly spin this album around to find all the wonders it still has for me to find. I would recommend this album to fans of progressive metal and open-minded people who are on a journey to find something totally different.

Favourite track at the moment: 'The Last Stand' or 'House of Warship.'

Rivers of Nihil - Monarchy

Rivers of Nihil - Monarchy

2015 / Technical death metal

Rivers of Nihil are a technical death metal band from Pennsylvania, USA, and "Monarchy" is their second album. Technical death metal as a genre is almost never an accurate description of the band's output, since almost all of them have different influences and executions of the mentioned influences. If I had to describe Rivers of Nihil briefly, I would say they play non-wankery tech death with occasional chug riffs. 

When checking out an album, its artwork is probably the first thing you notice. If the album's artwork is intriguing or abnormal, it's quite possible I'll check the album out. "Monarchy's" artwork was the main reason I got interested in it, and I have no regrets. While the album didn't charm me completely on the fist spin, it got my interest aroused so that I'll have to listen through it again to find all the wonderful little details. One of the details I noticed now, was the sweet bass tone which was audible through the whole album. 

"Monarchy's" atmosphere was something completely different than what I've used to hear in tech death. The closest attempt to describe the atmosphere is Enslaved's progressive era sound combined with a rather modern prog sound. The overall sound of "Monarchy" is quite pleasant variation to the usual modern tech death sound, which is usually either Necrophagist's tone or The Faceless' tone these days. 

Technical death metal albums never open up enough when you listen to them the first time, so I'm unable to name any particular highlights. Recommended to anyone into technical death metal. 

The Flashbulb - Reunion

The Flashbulb - Reunion

2005 / IDM, Jazz

IDM as a genre includes quite a large variety of sounds and attributes and so do Benn Jordan's several pseudonyms. I first got to know him in 2011 when I found his 2010 album 'Arboreal', done under name The Flashbulb, which nowadays would probably end up on my top 100 albums. 'Reunion' is his album from 2005 and it's also under the discography of The Flashbulb.

'Reunion' is basically IDM with massive amounts of jazz elements. If you are new to electronic music, this isn't the album to start for it's not an easy album, but when you get a grasp of it you find wonderful jazzy melodies and intriguing beats. In my opinion, the album peaks at 'Sangari 7' which includes a variation of the amen beat, eastern melodies and deep bass slides. I really recommend this album to people who are into jazz, IDM or  even classical. If you are new to electronic music, come back to this after listening to some Aphex Twin and Squarepusher, but this isn't something to forget.   

Infernal War - Terrorfront

Infernal War - Terrorfront

2007 / Black metal

Infernal War is black metal with thrash and death influences and their use of high speed blast beats is magical. I've been jamming to their 2007 album 'Redesekration: The Gospel of Hatred and Apotheosis of Genocide' quite a lot lately and I love it, but this writing is about 'Terrorfront', which was released in 2005.

 'Terrorfront' is as blast beat-ridden as 'Redesekration' and is probably on par with it when it comes to overall quality. High speed thrashy black metal riffs, chaotic solos and lightning fast blast beats. Oh, and on 'Terrorfront' the snare goes ping. There isn't much to say, since this has to be heard oneself. Recommended for everyone who's into black metal, death metal or thrash metal.

Satan (Fr.) - L'odeur Du Sang

Satan (Fr.) - L'odeur Du Sang

2015 / Grindcore, Black metal

The French Satan was the Satan I stumbled upon when looking up the British NWOBHM Satan. These guys do really pissed off blackened grind and they released four splits and one demo before releasing their first 'full-length.' (Only 16 minutes long, hence the quotes.) 

The first notable thing is their increased black metal influence. Whereas their earlier works were filthy as fuck grindcore with black metal influences, 'L'odeur Du Sang' is black metal with grindcore influences. As it is with all the albums with several short songs, I need to spin this around quite a few times to fully form an opinion, but when compared to some of their earlier works (especially their side of split with Sete Star Sept) after the first listen, this album falls behind. Recommended for people who dig hardcore punk, grindcore and noisy black metal.

Kylesa - Exhausting Fire

Kylesa - Exhausting Fire 

2015 / Experimental sludge

I found Kylesa and their slightly experimenting sludge around the time they released Static Tensions in 2009 and have been following them since. I finally got around to check their new album I had anxiously waited. 

Like 'Ultraviolet' (2013), this album needs several spins before you can grasp it completely. It definitely is Kylesa, but I can't say for sure if it's better, worse or equal when compared to Ultraviolet. Definitely coming back to this album. If you dig sludge, stoner or even groovy hard rock, check this and other Kylesa albums. Favourite track at the moment: 'Lost and Confused.'

Atrament - Demo MMXV

Atrament - Demo MMXV

2015 / Crust

Cvlt Nation just released its top 2015 lists. The first release I decided to check was Atrament's 'Demo MMXV.' Only two songs and the way Atrament does dark crust just blew me away. Definitely going to come back to this release and follow Atrament. If you dig crust, black metal or grim music, then check this out. 

https://atrament.bandcamp.com/album/demo-mmxv