In this post, I collect my instagram reviews for the week for albums released in 2022. All my non-2022 reviews are gathered in a post as soon as a decent number has accumulated. I listen to mostly metal, but I do not limit myself to any genre.
Sadist - Firescorched
Genre: progressive Death Metal
Label: Agonia Records
Sadist is a band that I want to sound a certain way. I mentally always compare them to an idealised version of their first album, 'Above The Light'. While 'Above the Light' is a unique take on progressive extreme Metal not only for the time, I always felt there was room for improvement - the "Goblin plays Death Metal" style is unique and caters to my love for italian horror smut like few other groups did. The following albums amped up the keyboards and got rid of that atmosphere, to a degree - in favor of what I perceived as more cheese. 2018´s "Spellbound" had been wholly unenjoyable for me and I approach 'Firescorched' with caution. Luckily, it seems like some of that classic vibe is back.
Not to say there ain´t any cheese on 'Firescorched', far from it. It´s just that the cheese of the album aligns so much closer with what I want them to do. Particularly closer 'Firescorched' brings a lot of that 70s horror feeling and there is enough variety on the album that the band avoids being a one trick pony. Fretless bass that is as farty as it can ever be, odd time signatures and cheesy trad metal solos prop up at moments that aren´t unexpected for this kinda band, but that feel right in the moment. I guess my only real criticism boils down to the choices on this album feeling rather safe - as long as you´re on board with the cheesy horror synths, you´re really getting what you could get from a lot of classic progressive Death Metal Bands. But i won´t complain.
Rating: 7/10.
Scalpture - Feldwärts
Genre: Death Metal
Label: FDA Records
It´s not like War hasn´t been a common theme for death metal bands since the beginning. But as of late, I see a lot more bands flirting with it again, especially in a more historical context. Bands like 1914 and Kanonenfieber are only the tip of the iceberg, and Scalpture have apparently been on it for a while, as well. I am glad that I have now heard of Scalpture, as they bring a lot of very enjoyable stuff to the table.
Scalpture are firmly rooted in the Death Metal of old, and especially the swedish variant. This guitar tone saws aggressively and has punch, yet enough air and space to not grow tiring. I feel a very slight influence of something that could be Marduk style aggressive death metal and some melodic flourishes, but otherwise, it is clearly Death Metal. Scalpture have mastered what 1914 have sadly unlearned on the new album: 'Feldwärts' just sounds like war. Scalpture are heavy and brutal, but fractures of melodic heroism shine through as a space where propaganda meets with the harsh reality of the war to end wars. Among the recent World War I bands, Scalpture might just be one of the best.
Rating: 7/10.
The Chasm - The Scars of a Lost Reflective Shadow
Genre: (Progressive) Death Metal
Label: Lux Infra Mundis Productions
I hear a lot about the Chasm. Every so often, someone will wholeheartedly recommend them to me as a brilliant and underrated act that only isn´t as well known as it should be because the band comes from Mexico - certainly not an epicenter for death metal. A certain handmade quality certainly surrounds the band, with a lot of the album covers seeming like photoshops more than the work of a hired artist. The first impression can be deceiving, however, and I try to go into the Chasm with an open mind. 'The Scars of a Lost Reflective Shadow' is my first the chasm record, after all.
What strikes me is Death Metal that is very much rooted in the oldschool, but is hard to be placed into distinctive movements within the genre. I sense a certain je-ne-sais-quois Finndeath element to it, which might be because the finnish scene was originally loosely chasing the Swedish scene as the mexican scene has likely done with the american scene. What drives the material is clearly the inventiveness of the individual sections, with styles of riffs rarely being repeated too often. In fact, The Chasm show a commanding understanding of the Genre that I don´t often find in these 'Hidden Gem' bands that people like to praise. Right now, I can only sense two issues with this album in particular. For one, I am not a fan of the not-quite growl the vocalist is going for. It reminds me Adramelech´s whisper growl, which is as much of an acquired taste as this. Secondly, the material seems awfully linear to me, with it rarely recalling or revisiting past sections. Honestly, I might be overthinking 'Scars' a bit and maybe I just need a bit more time to get used to these 'Chasm-isms'. After hearing this album, this is definetely a discography I want to explore.
Rating: high 6/10
Doldrum - The Knocking, Or The Story of the Sound that Preceded Their Disappearance
Genre: Black Metal
Label: Katalfalque
Lately, I started valuing bands a lot that manage to take an old style and, while completely staying in the style, manage to make it their own and give it a reason to exist. Don´t get me wrong, I enjoy innovation as much as the next guy and there´s bonkers experimental stuff on my Year End Lists almost always. But if Metal doesn´t manage to smoothly innovate within it´s own boundaries, then the core of what metal was will cease to exist. Basically, the experimental stuff can only be bonkers and crazy in comparison to what is usual and bands need to find ways to make the usual exciting and fresh again. Doldrum are such an act.
Doldrum throw a bunch of things into their sonic palette which I developed a taste for. The twangy, almost sparkly guitar tone the band goes for is something a bunch of bands lately have experimented with (like Wayfarer, Imperial Triumphant or even early Krallice), to varying degrees of success. Doldrum´s tone works very well as it still feels organic and while the sound is relatively dry, it doesn´t feel overprocessed or fake in any way. Similarly well executed and subtly unique are the vocals, which settle into hoarse, high shrieks most of the time but are surprisingly clean. Its hard to sound so vile and evil while going for such a clean vocal style. This makes the lyrics pop, as I can make them out at every moment - the bands goal to tell stories about the occult and american folklore is very clear. Lastly, the songwriting is just inventive and bursting with creativity. The band very rarely settles into trem picked parts, which I welcome - overuse of trem is one of my main gripes with modern bm. The clearly audible bass trades the leading role with the guitars and through the varied songwriting, Doldrum manage to tell stories as much as they do through their lyrics.
Rating: 7/10.
Mournful Congregation - The Exuviae of Gods - Part I
Genre: Funeral Doom Metal
Label: 20 Buck Spin / Osmose
I have awaited the return of these Funeral Doom Masters for a while. There has always just been something special about Mournful Congregation, the way their songs managed to sound completely logical despite being utterly linear, how melodies developed and snaked around each other. How smooth their lead guitars and how subtle their vocals are. It is clear that you can call me a fan, and a big one of that - Mournful Congregation have always been among my favorite bands. 2022 has been a lackluster year for Funeral Doom, and having these old masters deliver a platter of cosmic depression is just what I needed - even if it is just an EP and just a part of a 2 part EP series.
Of course, Funeral Doom isn´t for everyone. You need time for it, a specific headspace and an awareness for songcraft that not only goes beyond a section by section basis, but beyond the usual song lengths that we as metalheads have been accustomed to. 'The Exuviae of Gods - Part I' takes its time and starts so quietly and gradually that you wouldn´t be out of line for thinking you forgot to hit play. This approach is representative of the whole album, where the small, incremental changes are what is moving the listener forward through the repetition. Repetition, by the way, that wouldn´t be out of line on most more mainstream metal outings either; just that the parts are slow here and therefore take longer to unfold. I maintain that nit is all worth it to be engulfed in those sluggish chords that turn into textures bit by bit, for the melodicism that starts simple yet becomes more evocative by the second and those creamy, unmistakable leads that this band always serves up. I can´t wait for the second part of the EP and I am incredibly happy with what we got here.
Rating: 8/10.
Decapitated - Cancer Culture
Genre: Groove / Death Metal
Label: Nuclear Blast
Decapitated didn´t have the easiest career, I´ll say that. Opening with albums as 'Winds of Creation' or 'Nihility' only to have their highly talented drummer tragically pass away can´t have been easy. The way Decapitated develoepd away from their highly rhythmic and staccato tech death to something that is closer to the modern Groove Metal interpretation of death metal always made me suspect that in a way, they tried to mentally distance themselves from their friend who had passed away. I would call it a loss musically; but I am not one to blame the band for mentally connecting their original sound to a person they had lost.
A couple years ago, Decapitated were accused of a sexual crime that to this day, hasn´t legally been solved to my knowledge. 'Cancer Culture' seems to be a reaction to the media circus surrounding the incident, but the way Decapitated tackle the whole thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I had originally thought that they had been proven innocent, but from what I understand, the case was actually thrown out because the bands fans sent death threats to the supposed victim - even though I´ll admit that, in cases like this, it is nigh impossible to seperate the truth from layers and layers of hearsay and rumors. I am not saying that the band told their fans to brigade, but for the band to now lyrically rally against social media seems both hypocritical and in band taste. With the modern media circus, we often find public figures trying to shift blame around and aiming wo "win" the public discourse. Even if the band didn´t weaponize their fans, they now basically weaponise their label backing and the platform it gives them.
Not like the album wouldn´t leave a bad taste in my mouth anyway, because it is the usual fare for modern Decapitated where impactless groove riffs seem haphazardly assembled into songs. Sure, some of it has some physical impact in the moment, but none of it ever rises above average. What really drives this album into the red is, however, the features. Both Jinjer and Machine Head´s vocalists guest on a song, respectively, and it really shows how much Decapitated have tried to make their sound as smooth and as marketable as possible. Combined with the now not only complicated but maybe even problematic history of the band, I don´t know if I still want to touch an album like this.
Rating: 4/10
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