OBSCURITIES – VOLUME I: WHAT DID WE (ALMOST) MISS LAST YEAR?

(Daniel Barkasi, an NCS writer from long ago, has returned here with the first installment in a planned monthly column. In this inaugural edition he recommends 10 albums released last year that deserve a closer look.)

Welcome NCS readers to my first, brand new column of music that’s been bouncing around in my often deranged cranium. I feel vigorous.

What we’re going to be doing here is highlighting releases that have – at least, according to my spidey senses – slipped under the radar and haven’t gotten much attention or buzz. We’ll cover an undetermined number of these unsung heroes monthly. Most of these will be relatively current and put out within the last few months, but I also don’t want to be that rigid all the time, so we’ll do so liberally and make sure to add a release date for each entry.

For this inaugural piece, I’m going to highlight a few albums from 2023 that were unsung gems that deserve a little love, in no particular order.

 

Decompression – Love is the Beauty of the Soul

Release Date: August 5, 2023

Lush, gorgeous, and downtrodden doom is at the core of Decompression – a solo project helmed by Rosalina, with additional vocals from Solaria. The music is dreamlike and heart-wrenching, while maintaining that melancholic doom feel. Opening track “Empty” is tearfully emotional, with Solaria’s soothing ethereal singing and that sorrowful lead that injects itself into your soul.

Rosalina is also brave enough to experiment with unlikely combinations that simply work, especially with a focus on anime. Most notably, a cover originating from the OST of Shinji Orito’s Clannad titled “Roaring Tides” tears me apart every single time. Beginning with somber pianos and audio samples telling a tragic story, smoothly ebbing into a depressive doom masterclass for the latter half, this may be unlike anything you’ve heard last year. “Flash in a Glance” and “Through My Eyes” are a bit more abrasive, but still lush with that dreary atmosphere; a signature of Decompression.

There’s a lot of talent here, and I hope we hear more from Rosalina and Decompression very soon. Overflowing with genuine authenticity is Love is the Beauty of the Soul, serving as a glimpse into an artist with significant potential.

 

Returning – Severance

Release Date: February 3, 2023

If Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze was in your wheelhouse, then the haunting Returning is a band worth an immediate listen. Our own Andy Synn gave wonderful credence to these folks, and we definitely must as well. Nature-centric atmospheric black metal with twisted soundscapes and searing waves of unrestrained aggression mixed with emotive tremolos, ritualistic screams and howls, and drone-inspired heft are the main attributes that make up their first full-length Severance.

The songs are long, but don’t wear out their welcome for those with an open mind and a bit of patience. The builds are well-orchestrated, paying off with furious black metal that pairs organically with the more hypnotic quieter portions. “Path of Ashes” is a chaotic tapestry with an array of colors and textures from the soothing to the sinister, whereas “Primal Remembrance” is a bit more riffy with no lack of lucid atmospheres.

Returning requires patience, as this isn’t your typical straightforward lo-fi ’90s era black metal. There’s a bit of Agalloch in some ways, a drop of Wolves in the Throne Room in others, but on the whole, they’re traversing their own path. Most importantly, they know how to write interesting tunes that reward the listener bountifully.

 

Tryglav – The Ritual

Release Date: February 17, 2023

Melodic black metal was taken by storm by Moonlight Sorcery in 2023, a band who yours truly can’t get enough of. However, managing to slip by many was Italy’s Tryglav. Their second album The Ritual is an example of a band who improved upon their debut, tightening up their sound to become a force of nature that serenades you with sweet foggy melodies.

This album is infectiously catchy, galloping along like a stampede of one delicious string-bending lead after another, with frigid screams and pulsing rhythms adding a level of punchiness that’s missing from the majority of their contemporaries. My head can’t stand still to those crunchy guitars in “The Evocation” or the frenetic pace of “The Plague” and “The Redemption.”

The most impressive overarching theme of The Ritual is that it’s relentless, breezing by with glee and steely determination. Truly a compact, memorably great freaking time. I dare you to listen to this and not crack a grin.

 

Yfel – Beneath the Mountain’s Vigil

Release Date: December 22, 2023

Columbus, Ohio is a stomping ground from past days where many good times have been had. I’ve taken in a few of my favorite shows there, and of course late night pizza with my buddy Steve at the legendary Hounddog’s Pizza. Apparently, it’s also home to a fine upstart black metal band by the name of Yfel, whose torrid onslaught of thought-provoking musicality presented in Beneath the Mountain’s Vigil is nothing to tussle with.

Conjuring atmospheres via a cathartic rhythm section and caustic, razor-sharp guitar instrumentation is the backbone of their treatments. Add in vocalist Nickolaus Pröebstl’s gravelly snarl to add further brawn, and we have a mature, complete band who know which buttons to push. Yet, with all that blackened exuberance, they carry a social conscience and gravitas to their intricate song composition that puts them a level above many.

Examples include the dynamic and punchy “All Fleas Carry the Souls of Men” to the raging yet melodious menaces that are “Protectors of the Tomb” and “The Father’s Path.” The gem of the lot is “Battle of Blair Mountain”, a poignantly written recounting of the largest labor uprising in United States history. The song – and Beneath the Mountain’s Vigil as a whole – rumbles forth with determined grit. Unmissable.

 

Halysis – Unbury the Sun

Release Date: December 8, 2023

Modern melodic death metal has been bastardized by so many, it can be difficult to find the good stuff amongst the retreads. Halysis is one such act who stick out due to their more progressive leanings and utilization of soaring clean vocals (I know, I’m violating the site’s name) that compliment their more crunchy, harmonized melodeath onslaught.

Dropping their second full-length Unbury the Sun, these Finns have upped their game in every conceivable way. Writing is more intricate, the transitional moments are smoother, and they’ve tweaked their mixture to a fine balance. Opener “Exordium” is a notable example of said balance – from fervent techy melodic death riffage, moving into proggy territory of an In Vain or Ne Obliviscaris, though a little less grandiose than the latter.

There are some more direct, quicker hits like “Between Worlds” that are a ball of energy, residing with uplifting entries like “Equinox,” which boasts fine instrumentation and soothing vibes, with a slight resemblance to Caligula’s Horse. While I feel they have yet to hit their zenith, Halysis is an exciting up-and-comer we’ll be watching with great interest.

 

Mourning Ashes – Chapter V: Ruin

Release Date: February 17, 2023

The brotherly duo of Jason and Devin Knez have been independently dishing out progressive death metal under the moniker Mourning Ashes since 2010, which I stumbled upon doing some research for my end of year list. They don’t seem to have a big following, but their latest and fifth album Chapter V: Ruin – each album has been a “Chapter” – is a sizable slice of hard-hitting, well-composed death metal that’s a delight to take in.

Their technical skills are undeniable, with dizzying riffs and versatile drumming coupled by meaty-yet-refined song structures that equate to a rewarding listening experience. Tracks like “Ruin” are a roller coaster of frenetic pacing and deft instrumental knowhow, and dammit, do those riffs smash you hard. These guys know how to properly build tense moments, exemplified by “Crown of Suffering” and its measured blackened aesthetics, while also flexing the ability to annihilate on demand via “Invisible Destroyer.”

The Knez’s know how to make interesting death metal with a plethora of influences in a sound-coherent package. Their fifth chapter has definitely made this writer ever interested in the eventual sixth.

 

Afraid of Destiny – Contra Omnes

Release Date: March 24, 2023

Gloomy, sadness-filled black metal is on the docket with Afraid of Destiny and their fourth full-length Contra Omnes, which translates to “Against Arms.” The stunning artwork initially drew me in, and their melancholic and abrasive tonality has kept my ear. These Italians understand moody, tragic darkness.

Here you have depressive, scathing pieces in opener “Abyss” and earnest, textured nuance exhibited in “Ramblin’”. Their use of clean guitar passages and brooding spoken-word vocals adds further dynamism to an already varied offering. At times orchestral, and always dreary, the fifteen-minute pièce de résistance “Requiem in do Diesis Minore” is a spellbinding song that showcases Afraid of Destiny at their most creative.

Worth a spin or ten if morose black metal with an artistic hand is one’s cup of tea. We’ve taken this album more than a few times, and it ages like fine wine.

 

Faidra – Militant : Penitent : Triumphant

Release Date: November 3, 2023

Nordic atmospheric black metal that’s frigid and a tad on the raw side, Sweden’s Faidra is a mysterious solo project that started in 2020. Having since created two albums that trend towards low-fi soundscapes; not so much that it’s indecipherable nonsense, but deftly balanced and natural, aiding the mid-paced tempo that they mostly stick with.

Second album Militant : Penitent : Triumphant protrudes the feel of a perfect winter album, though now living in Florida, folks bust out the Gore-Tex coats when it drops below 60 degrees fahrenheit (or 15.5 celsius for our more logical metric friends). Nevertheless, a chilly atmosphere permeates the album’s crafty nature, rounding out to be a relatively relaxing listen for a black metal record. There’s enough bite present to ultimately muster harmony with the overarching melancholy that’s central to Faidra’s sound.

Ripping yarns such as “The Leavening Rot” and “Mother Acherontia” prove to be especially sharp and cutting without encroaching on the mood. Then we have more sullen pieces like “Punishment Nailed Deep” and “Parousia Delayed” that occasionally wander into a more doom-adjacent territory. Though not as emotionally heavy and depressive as Afsky, Faidra have put together what amounts to a fine and carefully stitched album to pass the winter breeze with.

 

Autrest – Follow the Cold Path

Release Date: February 16, 2023

Continuing the trail of atmospheric black metal is Autrest, who ironically share the same label of Northern Silence Productions with previous entry Faidra, though they have a relatively differing approach. Debut album Follow the Cold Path contains more pace along with being very direct in the heavier portions, but more of a theatrical pulse in the opulent moments.

“December Dusk” is a great example of an ambitious scale, quickly transitioning from hyper-fast tremolos to ambient keyboards and a much slower tempo, all while doing so naturally without awkwardness. The title track combines chunky riffs with violins before launching into energetic blackened goodness, and then back again via clean guitar passages and moody keyboards. The whole album flows similarly, like a quiet creek backed up by icy screams and weeping guitar leads.

Autrest maintains an impressive level of intensity on an album in Follow the Cold Path that overall is majestic and at times whimsical. Highly recommended for your next nature walk.

 

Nospūn – Opus

Release Date: May 19, 2023

Like Monty Python liked to say, “And now for something completely different.” We’re going full prog with our last album in this column. North Carolina’s Nospūn literally emerged from nowhere to unleash Opus – a deeply engrossing concept album that resembles Dream Theater’s Scenes from a Memory in ambition and scope. Musically, there’s no doubt a major Dream Theater influence, but also bits of Devin Townsend, Leprous, Caligula’s Horse, and Haken. Very much their own animal, and it works.

I’m not going to call out specific songs on this one, as it’s a front-to-back complex narrative, and it makes way more sense to take this in as a whole. The story itself is wild, but here’s the basic gist: A composer lives in an old house with their folks, along with others who share the place, and he has a set goal of writing the best piece of music he’s ever done, but struggles with it. People in the house start passing away in odd ways, and he constructs a contraption to help him with his creation. Naturally, something goes horribly wrong, which bends reality, dimensions, time, etc. It’s engrossing, full of twists, and backed by a musical endeavor that takes countless risks, which are really what make Opus special.

No doubt Nospūn is a gigantic departure from the darker, heavier side of music that we love and cover, but you owe it to yourself to at least give Opus a shot. It may not be for you, and that’s ok! However, it isn’t often that I come across something that intentionally pushes the envelope this hard, and does so with such gusto, polish, and pure class.