February was loaded with new music. Frankly I’m too new musiced out to write a compelling intro blurb. Let’s get to the new music.
Albums are ordered by release date, with the exception of #1.
#1: Daidalos - Dante
From Bandcamp: Dante is not a retelling. It is a reckoning. This is not the Inferno as imagined by others — this is the descent as lived by Dante himself. Not as a silent observer. Not in riddles. But in fire, in fear, in clarity.
Dante is the second album by one-man symphonic black metal band Daidalos, lead by composer Tobias Püschner. Pun not intended, but holy hell I love this album. It’s orchestral, it’s dramatic, it’s just chef’s kiss. I wish more black metal would embrace itself as the metal genre’s theatre kid* and make more of this.
The intro and titular track honestly had me a bit worried — I love black metal’s silly “bleh” vocals, but in small quantities. So as giddy as they made me, I was more than relieved that they weren’t the entirety of the album, in which Daidalos delivered beyond my expectations. In the context of the whole album, that dark-fantastical first track works so well to open up what becomes a grandiose theatrical experience, and I’ve become obsessed with the latter half of it. I feel like a little goblin dancing around to it with the cat, who is nothing but unamused.
Dante explodes into the much more intense Inferno seamlessly, which picks up the pace and, dare I say, turns up the heat with blastbeats and symphonies galore. Ashes continues the descent and introduces some death metal elements, and Storm is as chaotic as its title suggests. Erik Püschner is listed as the guest vocals on the interlude Minos, which features a child’s singing. I can only guess that this is Tobias’ son or another young relative, which is just the cutest thing ever to lead us into the demonic, Dimmu Borgir-esque track King.
I will say, I get the idea behind Styx and Gate. Styx is a solid interlude, with ominous gonging courtesy of :Wisielec:. But I feel that Gate should have either been split in half, wholly combined with Styx, or even attached to the following wall of sound that is Dis. The separation makes Gate sort of a weak and unnecessary track. That’s about my only criticism though.
Phlegethon takes the cake as far as the interludes go with its gargantuan sounding church organs, with the subsequent Malebolge sounding so mournful I could cry. Euphobia almost sounds vampyric, or at the very least it gives you the same sense of hellish danger. The outro, fittingly named Ultimatum, is the epic grand finale to this tragedy, and could be the soundtrack to the apocalypse.
The keyboard weaving in and out of the foreground really gives life to the overall haunted feeling. Sometimes it’s tucked in the back with the rest of the orchestration while still being just prominent enough to add that eerie touch, but when it’s out in the open, it’s striking and wonderful. I’m also impressed with Daidalos somehow throwing in so many bar chimes (which I’m honestly not much a fan of to begin with) without it feeling overdone, and without the album turning into a total cheese-fest. I don’t know how he did it, but he did!
I love when black metal gets whimsical while still being heavy and sinister as hell. It’s early yet, but this may be AOTY list material for me.
For fans of: Dimmu Borgir, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Septicflesh
Favourite track(s): Inferno, Euphobia
Listen on Bandcamp
Artwork by Bérénice Tulliez
*Black metal is the gothic fantasy theatre kid who’s a weird little nerd, and power metal is the snobby theatre kid with who only goes for the lead role. I am objectively correct.
Tailgunner - Midnight Blitz
If a modernized take on 80s heavy metal sounds appealing to you, slap this album on right now and get ready for the ride of your life. England’s Tailgunner have given us a highly energetic show of soaring vocals, noodly dual guitars, catchy choruses, and sheer power. It’s super fun without plunging too far into the cheese, and there’s guitar solos aplenty.
If the kids are making music like this, they’re definitely gonna be alright.
For fans of: Hibria, Enforcer, Skull Fist
Favourite track(s): Midnight Blitz, Night Raids
Listen on Bandcamp / YouTube
Artwork by Death By VHS
Morari - Rain of Heaven
I’m surprised to see nobody is talking about this little gem. In that case I’d happily be the first.
Agonizing screams dance with somber cleans in blackgaze duo Morari‘s latest release, Rain of Heaven. It’s an incredibly emotional and melancholic journey — even with the jazzy little intro of the titular track — that ends on a brighter, more hopeful note. Think of a long rainstorm that ends with the sun finally beaming through the dark clouds above.
For fans of: Alcest, Asunojokei, Unreqvited
Favourite track(s): Rain of Heaven, Last Train Home
Listen on Bandcamp
Artwork by Beniko Choji
Glassbone - Ruthless Savagery
What do I say about Ruthless Savagery when the title says it all?
This album straight up sounds evil, and that’s the highest compliment I can give something. It’s immensely ferocious, and just feels like you’re being bludgeoned to death for 20 minutes. There’s a dash of hardcore, but not so much that it sounds like… well, you know.
I really can see this one growing on me as the year goes on.
For fans of: Tribal Gaze, Maul, Kruelty
Favourite track(s): Apostasy Imperium, E.K.F.I.V
Listen on Bandcamp
Artwork by Paolo Girardi
Dream Fatigue - No Reqiuem
No Requiem is the second full-length from this grungey post-hardcore outfit. Matt Wood is on drums, and the inspiration from his former band Fleshwater isn’t hiding. Jonali McFadden delivers a huge vocal performance, which boasts the album’s uncomfortable lyrical themes of emotional friction and unresolved tension.
An intimate experience where softness meets aggression, and gives listeners an emotional gut punch in just over 16 minutes.
For fans of: Fleshwater, Loathe, Incubus
Favourite track(s): Look Up, Control
Listen on Bandcamp
Some more great releases worth mentioning:
Above, Below - I Guess It Was Nowhere [Progressive Metalcore]
Baby Keem - Ca$ino [Hip-Hop]
Bergtagen - In Forests Eternal [Ambient Black Metal]
Cattle Hammer - Dark Thoughts With Lights Out [Black / Doom]
Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean - Let Us Not Speak Of Them But Look And Pass On [Sludge]
Chaver - Cruzifiction [Hardcore / Death Metal]
Greyhawk - Warriors of Greyhawk [Heavy / Power Metal]
Hexenkraft - Permadeath [Darksynth / Synth Metal]
Kanonenfieber - Soldatenschicksale [Black Metal]
Moloch - Bend. Break. Kneel. Crawl. [Sludge / Doom]
Panopticon / Uprising - Split [Atmoblack / Black Metal]
Power Snatch - EP1 [Indie / Alternative]
Worm - Necropalace [Black Metal]
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