As we transition from Autumn to Winter, metal music tends to turn more vicious. This past month brought forth some exceptional records, ranging from East Europe to Polynesia.
Beastwars
The Ship // The Sea
Released via Destroy Records
Based in Wellington, New Zealand
Gritty, epic, intoxicated, apocalyptic, and alluring – the sixth full-length album by the Kiwi sludge / stoner / doom metallers Beastwars is a heavy, aquatic journey. Recorded at the Mount Maunganui coast-adjacent Studio 11b, founding vocalist Matt Hyde compares the vibe to Picasso’s Guernica or “the sound of a ship adrift on a cruel sea.” The Ship // The Sea is a great pick to tune-in and drop out, mastered by Will Borza (Lorna Shore, Spirit Adrift).
FFO: Pallbearer, High on Fire, Khemmis
‘The Ship // The Sea’ available on Bandcamp and vinyl
Slava Zima
Harmidar
Self-released
Based in Belarus
Boasting artwork by Olga Kann (Withered Land), the sophomoric record by this Belarusian duo is invigorating. Pulling elements of black metal, doom, and folk music into the atmosphere, vocalist Andrei Apanovich (Trollwald) and multi-instrumentalist Viachaslau Zima (Vapor Hiemis, Krumkač) have me in absolute awe across the entirety of Harmidar.
FFO: Mizmor, Enslaved, Spectral Voice
‘Harmidar‘ available on Bandcamp
1914
Viribus Unitis
Released via Napalm Records
Based in Lviv, Ukraine
Just like All Quiet on the Western Front or Warfare are inherently anti-war films for simply depicting the unjustified pain and loss of war, 1914‘s spotlight on the events and death-toll of WWI has the same affect. While it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of sieges and battles on Viribus Unitis, the undeterred blackened death metal gradually subsides as the five-piece troop digs into the trenches for a three-movement lament piece titled “1918,” featuring Aaron Stainthorpe (ex-My Dying Bride). In the past handful of years, the world has seen the horrors in Ukraine and Palestine; we’re sick of the killing, we’re sick of war. 1914 may be conceptually fueled by war, but their real and emotional framing of past events is the perfect example of an anti-war album, one that gets under your skin in the most significant way.
FFO: Kanonenfieber, Rotting Christ, Type O Negative
‘Viribus Unitis‘ available on Bandcamp and vinyl & CD
Honorable Mentions
Witcher
Öröklét
Released via Filosofem Records
Based in Szombathely, Vas, Hungary
Including a Franz Schubert cover (“Piano Trio No. 2 – Andante con moto”), this new Witcher release continues their distinct identity of symphonic, mystic, and atmospheric black metal a la Enthrone Darkness Triumphant era Dimmu Borgir; watch “Örökség”
‘Öröklét‘ available on CD and cassette