There is so much heavy, extreme, and beautiful metal music being created from every region of the world; it can be overwhelming. Fortunately, Metal Has No Borders has curated a handful of must-listens released this past month, from Hungary and India to Belarus and New Zealand, as everything in between.
Enjoy our hand-picked favorite albums, singles, and videos for September 2024 below. Share which bands we missed in the comment section…
Album of the Month (Bronze Tier)
Crypt of Reason
Stargazer
Self-Released
Belarus
Slow like poison, dense alike earth, Stargazer is a monumental debut album, honoring Pavel Minutin – the group’s songwriter who unexpectedly passed away nearly a decade ago. Finding middle ground between funeral doom, black, death, and post-metal, the band represents the eerie grit within their hometown of the Gomel region. Crypt of Reason heightens their atmospheric heaviness to astral-plane levels, thanks to production by Alex Sedin (White Ward).
Stargazer by Crypt of Reason is awarded Best Album of the Month (Bronze Tier) for September 2024
Favorite Songs: “Illusions of Meaning,” “The Bliss of Quiet,” “Savior”
FFO: Ahab, Ulcerate, Woe Unto Me
Album of the Month (Silver Tier)
Eccentric Pendulum
Perspectiva Invertalis
Released via Subcontinental Records
India
Since 2009, the Bangalore-based project Ec{c}entric Pendulum‘s tech-thrash sound has evolved to a progressive death metal identity, as if early Meshuggah took the path of Beyond Creation instead. With a current lineup holding members from Indian extreme acts such as Moral Collapse and Inner Sanctum as well as features by drummers Kévin Paradis (Benighted) and Hannes Grossmann (Alkaloid, Obscura), their sophomoric full-length Perspectiva Invertalis (latin for inverted perspective) is overwhelming, intricate, and invasive.
Perspectiva Invertalis by Eccentric Pendulum is awarded Best Album of the Month (Silver Tier) for September 2024
Favorite Songs: “Churning of the Blood Ocean,” “In Pretence,” “In Exile”
FFO: Opeth, Death, The Faceless
Album of the Month (Gold Tier)
Nest of Plagues
Hellsolation
Self-Released
Hungary
With a Kubrick stare and an eager grin, frontman Dániel Ivanics harbors vulnerable ferocity from Budapest. Hellsolation is the third album from the groove-melodeath-metalcore group, rounded out by guitarists Máté Breier and Evelin Kövecses as well as drummer Balázs Fűr. Clawing at the burden, struggle, and resolution of surviving as someone with OCD in modern society, this metallic manic episode is so worthy of applause. While the album’s promotion focused on the alternative, accessible leanings in the tracklisting, we recommend digging into the latter half of the album where Nest of Plagues expose an eccentric Eastern distinction.
Hellsolation by Nest of Plagues is awarded Best Album of the Month (Gold Tier) for September 2024
Favorite Songs: “Suffer Together,” “Circle,” “Hell is a Place on Earth”
FFO: Orbit Culture, Trivium, The Materia
Album of the Month (Honorable Mentions)
…In Viscero Italia Violenta
Hungary
Inspired by Italian cinema dating back to the 60’s, the death metal trio of Baggio, Giorgio, and Martino adds drama into their raw riffs, growls, and percussion on their debut full-length.
Listen to “Incubo sulla città contaminata“
Ifrit Haunting Charnal Grounds
New Zealand
Deep within the fiery bowels of New Zealand an eldritch entity has slumbered dormant…until now. The anonymous duo of KS and OS create Ifrit‘s debut EP with deep-cutting Lovecraftian death metal.
Listen to “Salts of Penitence“
Click Here for All Recent, Upcoming, and Past Notable Releases
Single / Video of the Month
Thy Catafalque
“Mindenevő”
Hungary
Last month, Thy Catafalque earned single / video of the month, and now, the avant-garde project by genius composer Tamás Kátai has once again enthralled. “Mindenevő” is the second track revealed off the upcoming album, “A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek,” due for November 15th via Season of Mist. The new single is blackened to the core, but still full of quirks and decadence, in addition to an attention-grabbing food fight visual.
“Mindenevő” by Thy Catafalque is awarded Best Single / Video of the Month for September 2024
Single / Video of the Month (Honorable Mentions)
SevenSins “Possessed24”
Kazakhstan
Back in 2020, Natural Selection further cemented SevenSins in the Kazakhstani metal scene. Now, the symphonic black metal act have revived the “Possessed” track off the aforementioned EP for a more flourished and grandiose single with stunning orchestration by Victor Medvedev; listen here
Jaws of a Dead Dog “Penetration”
Russia
From Korablino in the Russian territory – Ryazan Oblast, Jaws of a Dead Dog rises from the ashes of their predecessor Beyond…, now with a vicious deathcore bite on par with Carnifex; listen here