OVERFLOWING STREAMS (PART 1): AEON, APPARITION, ARS MAGNA UMBRAE, AUTOKRATOR, THE BREATHING PROCESS, CONTRITION

 

In part because the deluge of metal has continued unabated this week, and in part because I had a little more time than usual to keep track of what was coming out, I prepared a truly massive round-up of new songs and videos. To make it possible for me to recommend as much as I can, I’ve again resorted to this stripped-down format, choking down my usual verbosity and not taking time to grab all the artwork.

I’ve again alphabetized my giant list by band name and divided it into segments. I’ll get as far as I can with these segments today, and then pick up the rollout tomorrow. In Part 1 I only made it to “C”.

AEON (Sweden)

We begin with a video, and a sorrowful stroll through a cemetery which becomes a harrowing tale told partially in reverse, a tale that increasingly becomes supernatural and horrifying. The explosive and ferocious music is even more intensely harrowing. Prepare to have all your nerve endings ignited, and to chant: GOD ENDS HERE!

God Ends Here (the album) will be released by Metal Blade on October 15th.

http://www.metalblade.com/aeon
http://www.facebook.com/aeon666

 

 

APPARITION (US)

Hard to know what this next song does better — jackhammer you senseless, roil your guts, bring dismal chords and gargantuan gutturals from the abyss, or launch maniacal soloing. It actually does all that very well.

Taken from the album Feel, out Oct 22, 2021 via Profound Lore.

https://apparition23.bandcamp.com/

 

 

ARS MAGNA UMBRAE (Poland)

The return of this fantastic Polish band is marked by a new song that’s unnerving at its core, a masterfully frightening descent into madness and despair, but with a detour into ghost realms that produces chilling yet entrancing results. When the extended soloing begins to wail, the effect is both icy and electrifying.

The album is Throne Between Worlds, set for release by I, Voidhanger on November 12th.

http://metalodyssey.8merch.com/
https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/throne-between-worlds
https://www.facebook.com/arsmagnaumbrae

 

 

AUTOKRATOR (France)

The next song, which Decibel premiered, provides a good segue from that Ars Magna Umbrae song, but then becomes monstrously pulverizing and cruelly eviscerating. It too is an embodiment of hideous and unyielding madness, coupled with brute-force punishment.

From the album Persecution, set for release by Krucyator Productions on November 5th.

https://linktr.ee/autokrator
https://www.facebook.com/autokratormetal

 

 

THE BREATHING PROCESS (US)

Time for another video, and a song that’s both a pitch-black, trauma-inducing neck-ruiner and a racing, blistering assault of savagery, all of it augmented by soaring synths that convey bombastic grandeur — with a bit of ethereal dreaminess in the mix for good measure.

The album is Labyrinthian, and will be out on October 8th via Unique Leader.

https://uniqueleaderrecords.bandcamp.com/album/labyrinthian
https://www.facebook.com/thebreathingprocessusa

 

 

CONTRITION (US)

Moving back more directly into the death metal vein, next up is a clobbering, grinding, flesh-cutting burst of unhinged barbarity, intertwined with eerie episodes of utter hopelessness. The unhinged roaring, howling, and screaming intensity of the vocals (which includes a guest appearance by Trevor Strnad) stands out, but the track as a whole is also thrillingly ruinous. Credit for the premiere goes to Revolver.

The album is Broken Mortal Coil. It will be released by disorder-recordings on October 29th.

https://contritionchicago.bandcamp.com/album/broken-mortal-coil
https://www.facebook.com/contritionchicago/