(Once again, we welcome Daniel Barkasi and his latest monthly roundup of recommended albums. These were released in February.)
We’re back! Yup, the ole’ brain hasn’t completely capitulated upon itself yet, but the year is young! The country is a fucking laughing stock, but the punchline is to the level of a petulant toddler throwing their toys about. If you didn’t know what a tariff is, you probably do now. Check out this feature from Last Week Tonight from six years ago. I’m no economist, but broad tariffs are stupid, and it’s not hard to figure out. Even worse, trade wars are even stupider. We pay the cost increases, nobody else. But screw Canada, eh? I never thought that Canadian Bacon would become some sort of reality. David Dunning and Justin Kruger were really onto something, am I right?
While we try to survive the insanity, my beloved Liverpool Football Club have sorrowfully exited the exalted Champions League in the cruelest of fashions – the dreaded penalty shootout. Even worse – it was against PSG, a team whose ownership group is exceedingly morally bankrupt, to put it kindly. They also lost the Carabao Cup as I’m writing this, to another face of sportswashing in Newcastle. However, the Premier League title is a realistic possibility, which would be an incredible achievement, in the first year of who has thus far been a brilliant new manager after the departure of an absolute club legend in Jürgen Klopp – now starring in a Trivago ad. Life is weird.
No more of my personal commentary – I know, enough already. February turned out to be a musical treasure trove of albums from a wide spectrum of artists. Narrowing down to six was difficult, though admittedly such a first world problem, but one we’ll gladly tackle any day. I had to leave off some truly phenomenal records, but this is my column, so they’ll get a mention dammit – Matalobos’ death/doom rumblings and Voodus’ absolutely searing slice of black metal are both highly worthy of your time and hard-earned money, if you’re so inclined.
Of those that made the final cut, the majority wade in the chilling waters of black metal, but curiously don’t bear a whole lot of commonality between them. One of the properties that these ears adore about black metal is its versatility as a base for a plethora of sounds. There’s also a crusher of a death metal record, and as violent of a murky death/doom album as one is going to come by. Strap in, enjoy the blistering audio craziness with me, and to borrow Liverpool’s wonderful club anthem that provides a valuable lesson for these trying times – You’ll Never Walk Alone.
Délirant – Thoughteater
Release Date: February 14, 2025
Being a total sucker for cavernous dissonance, we’re always seeking out the most twisted, disturbing forms of heavy music to indulge in. Sentient Ruin Laboratories is one of the best sources for these sorts of things, and they rarely drop anything that isn’t at the least good. The fact that Spanish purveyor D.B. – according to Metal Archives, his first name is Daniel, a name similarity we certainly couldn’t have predicted – has teamed up with them is unsurprising and fits like a grimy glove. One of his projects Hässlig dropped a fine record there last year in Apex Predator, and now we have Délirant’s long-awaited second album Thoughteater.
Think suffocating, deranged black metal that’s truly unique, and you’ll have a general summation of Délirant’s conjurations. Thoughteater expands upon the self-titled 2018 debut, offering more aggrandized mangled delights, though the production is of a cleaner variety, and the instrumentation feeling even more technical, which is difficult to imagine. The cleaner soundscapes allow the listener to take in every bit of this dense recording, while the music itself remains a foggy, off-kilter experience.
From the cryptic leads of “Thoughteater I,” the frenzied, dizzying pace of “Thoughteater II” and “Thoughteater IV,” to the slower burn of “Thoughteater III” – there’s enough variety in approach to keep your ears guessing at what sort of horror awaits around the next corner. The wildest entry is also the longest in “Thoughteater VI” and the almost progressive feel in the tempo changes and the unpredictability of the just over nine-minute runtime.
Thoughteater is a relatively compact yet uncontrollable beast of an album that advances Délirant to a higher plane of musical existence in the ever-growing field of dissonant-forward metal. This is a black metal record through and through, and it’s one of the creepier examples of what can be done within this now ever-versatile genre. D.B. cannot be stopped, and who in their right mind would want him to? This is core listening for the folks who yearn for the dark and unexpected.
Kryptan – Violence, Our Power
Release Date: February 14, 2025
Mattias Norman – and by familiar connection, his brother Fredrik Norman – both had long runs in Katatonia and are at the heart of death/doom masters October Tide, so there’s a particular pedigree and obvious penchant for creating excellent music that precedes them. We’ll focus on Mattias in particular here who, along with October Tide vocalist Alexander Högbom, collectively are part of the death metal project Moondark, whose full-length debut The Abysmal Womb was a hell of a solid release last year. For today’s subject, however, the pair’s team-up into the realm of atmospheric black metal via Kryptan is what we’ll be exploring; specifically, another first album in Violence, Our Power.
Then slightly younger Norman’s attempt at black metal is firmly rooted in both the ’90s second wave scene and the earlier efforts of countrymates Watain, with a tad bit of Blaze of Perdition’s feistiness for good measure. True that there’s no attempt to re-invent the wheel or try anything particularly new on Violence, Our Power – it’s the writing, execution, and infectiousness of what Kryptan have put together that’s absolutely undeniable. The galloping riffage and squealing leads of “I Hope They Die” oozes machismo akin to Razor Ramon (RIP Scott Hall), while the slick atmospheres and pummeling rhythms of “The Miracle Inside” and “Purge” blast forth with forceful swagger.
Högbom’s vocal performance may be the standout element of Violence, Our Power, showcasing a wide flexibility of tones from shrill screams to coarse growls and stirring wails. “ Vägen till våld” may be the best example, seemingly effortlessly matching the miasmic instrumental groove with a commanding and electrifying vocal flex that is so damn catchy that it may have been the song we’ve repeated the most thus far in 2025.
If an overflowing dose of expertly crafted, punchy, roaring classic black metal is what one craves, Violence, Our Power will quench one’s thirst to the point of overindulgence. To be fair, we’re not sure if Kryptan could possibly overstay their welcome, with this album becoming more virulent with each spin. It’ll be hard to envision a more straightforward black metal album that exceeds the craftsmanship on display here coming down the pike anytime soon.
Abduction – Existentialismus
Release Date: February 21, 2025
Derby’s Abduction have made a sure and steady ascent in the UK black metal scene, let alone the style as a whole. Helmed alone by A|V, the project has evolved with each subsequent release, sharpening and refining the approach with a resultant of increased potency without fail. Our own Andy Synn penned a detailed overview of the band’s steady progression around when Black Blood dropped in 2022. Three years later, Abduction has returned with Existentialismus in tow, which beckons the question if A|V can continue his venture’s furious momentum.
A notable change is that the “helmed alone” statement above no longer applies – this is the first Abduction album not recorded by A|V himself, but rather a full band ensemble. Thematically, this is Abduction at its bleakest, expressing the grim current and future state of humanity. That feeling permeates Existentialismus both musically and vocally, shaping the ultimate output profoundly. What’s presented is a direct and dense record – possibly a little less dynamic in some facets than Black Blood, but somehow even more fierce and impassioned. Felt immediately within “A Legacy of Sores” is A|V’s full-on indignance; his consistently robust growls and impassioned shouts have never been so dominant, while the music is a dynamic and focused assault of the senses.
Existentialismus achieves a vice grip on the listener’s attention, never yielding for a microsecond of audible chaos. “Pyramidia Liberi” dials back the pace and gives a hypnotic, doom-adjacent pummeling, accentuated by biting tremolos to carry the emotional load along with A|V’s soulful, winding voicings. “Truth Is as Sharp a Sword as Vengeance” proves ambitiously expansive via a liquid song structure and further tweaked vocal deliveries, all while collectively brimming with fiery purpose. Chilling clean sung passages open “Razors of Occam” ominously before erupting swiftly into slick blackened guitar overtures and reverberant snarls, while finisher “Vomiting at Baalbek” signs off in a glorious over 11-minute composition that’s dark, brooding, and filled with venomous anger.
Abduction indeed has continued its constant transformation, never feeling forced or contrived. Rather, Existentialismus is an album bred by A|V’s astute societal observations and an innate ability to craft those thoughts into musical expression that’s without comparison. More people need to know about Abduction, and with such an efficacious effort, nothing short of human self-annihilation can get in the way.
Metaphobic – Deranged Excruciations
Release Date: February 28, 2025
Shifting towards filthy, rotten (in the best way) death metal, we have Metaphobic – hailing out of Atlanta, USA – a recent hotbed for superb heavy music of many persuasions. Deranged Excruciations is the five-piece’s first full-length effort, and especially with that consideration, it’s a high-octane and gritty example of enormous death metal vitality.
Don’t expect many bells and whistles from Metaphobic, though they do know how to keep their music interesting with well-inserted songwriting twists. What they do best is thunderous, meaty death metal with a limitless supply of crunch and downpicked destruction. “Spectral Circle” offers no-frills and direct punishment by way of vocalist Danny Dasher’s deep, grotesque growls and the dual guitar attack of Peter Lai and Shawn Staszko dishing out riff after glorious riff.
There’s definitely a Dead Congregation meets Incantation vibe present throughout Deranged Excruciations. The songs are dense and move directly forward, with just enough breathing room so as to not stagnate. “Excreation” for example delves into tech death territory, showing off the band’s instrumental skill while crucially maintaining their robust delivery. Contrastingly, “Disciples of Vengeance” outwardly embraces death/doom with vehement intensity, while “Veiled Horizons” and “Reconstituted Grey Matter” invoke gory grooves that’ll please the pickiest of purists.
Moreover, Metaphobic is incredibly enjoyable and unabashedly merciless all at once. Deranged Excruciations adds up to being a fine, mature debut from a band that’s just getting started. Keep your eyes fixated on these fellows, as they have a high ceiling indeed.
Ritual Ascension – Profanation of the Adamic Covenant
Release Date: February 28, 2025
Traversing back to the uncanny and contorted, we have newcomers in a sense by way of Ritual Ascension. We say that because the trio that make up this new manifestation also are all part of the palpable dissonant death metal force that is Aberration, as well as black metal project Feral Light, and blackened death metallers Suffering Hour. There’s pedigree here, and with this concoction the aim is to provide death/doom that’s as bleak, morose, and unsettling as can be imagined. Inaugural foray Profanation of the Adamic Covenant achieves this with malefic efficiency.
Composed of five tracks of dizzying insanity, there’s very little rhyme or reason when it comes to Ritual Ascension’s approach, other than a motivation to create monolithic, immovable droning doom that suffocates without prejudice. “Womb Exegesis” opens with a fitting death knell, followed by a hazy, violent, incalculable nine-minute musical journey of oddball riffs and thick walls of reverberating sound. Vocally, the angle is warped with all sorts of approaches from groans, howls, and snarls of varying persuasions, coupled with thunderous percussion that’s the background force, pushing the sustained rhythm guitars to hold the listener in its captive gaze.
The remaining four tracks continue the established presence, but with slightly changing purviews. “Pillars of Antecedence” builds and pulls back before landing a lumbering knockout blow – in ways reminiscent of Mitochondrion’s genre-defying structures melded with Fossilization’s style of uncompromising death/doom. Slices such as “Cursed Adamic Tongues” add urgency with (some) increased pace and a bit more churn, whilst “Consummation Rites” nosedives deeper into the doom spectrum. Finale “Kolob (At the Throne of Elohim)” provides an avant-garde and creepier vibe to sign off to ala Abyssal, with Ritual Ascension offering their own savage framing.
Profanation of the Adamic Covenant will leave you with a feeling of what in the heck just happened, and before you can blink, the repeat button has firmly been chosen to descend down to Ritual Ascension’s level once again. Dense and rewarding to the exploratory types, this is a treasure that’s tough to pull away from. Whatever is in the water at Sentient Ruin, don’t break the ribbon.
Venomous Echoes – Dysmor
Release Date: February 28, 2025
We end with more black metal, and again a variety that’s wholly on its own plane. Solo project Venomous Echoes is the brainchild of Ben Vanweelden, who has several more recent projects blooming, but this vision of blackened death metal is surely the most visible, though not nearly enough are aware of the charms within. Somewhat similarly to other acts we’ve covered this month, there are maimed structures-a-plenty that coincide with immersive songwriting, turning convention right on its head. Last year’s Split Formations and Infinite Mania served as a firm statement of intent, and less than a year later, Dysmor arrives to take the project to the next logical step.
Dysmor gains much of its appeal by way of the vivid aura embodied. Notions of reflective suffering abound and are captured in the feelings emitted – at least to these ears – and the tone is otherworldly. Horrors fill “Wall of Memories and Despair” to set the listener up for what’s in store, trampling by way of grinding rhythm guitars and offbeat leads that weave a dire tapestry of despair. Not to be overlooked, the subtle usage of horns adds a dose of color. Venomous Echoes is always keen on the minute details, aiding the project to stand out to the point that it does.
Variety is a spice used plentifully on Dysmor, much to the enhancement of the perceptions being circulated. “Groped by Spectres” buzzes like a pissed-off hornet, highlighted by wailing guitars and a smattering of slightly differing viewpoints of the madness unfolding. “Broken” reveals a gloomy, psychedelic fog – portrayed by mood-setting pianos and electronic elements, with a blasting wall of blackened noise in the center. Closer “The Begetter” begins a spiraled build – those sax parts are delightfully off-balance – as whispered vocals morph towards splitting bellows, as the song zigs and zags with calculated verve.
Dysmor proves to be as provocative and mesmerizing as one can imagine a black/death project being, delving more into the bizarre and outlandish with confidence. Vanweelden has plenty to say via Venomous Echoes, blazing his own trail of cerebral heavy music that truly is one-of-a-kind. Like any album, spend some quality time with this record, as it has such sights to show you.
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