Albums You Definitely Should Listen To (And If You Haven't, Where Have You Been?) - Post June 2019

Yes, we are back once again. I would like to first off apologize. We here at PM really have not been consistent with our content for the last 6 months. It's been a review here, a review there; pretty simple. However, we strove to do much more than that and failed. This is a turning point. Seeing as the year is about to make its descent towards autumn and soon after winter, we need to get on our game. With school out of the way, the time comes for metal and lots of it. So we will strive to be better, for our 40 or so viewers per post. You keep this wonderful blog running, so your reading of this post right now is a huge hope.

I love making lists and spreadsheets. It's really amazing. Whenever I find new music that interests me, I put it in a spreadsheet with so far over 200 cells this year. I make it a personal goal to listen to most of the music on this list. Impossible you say? I can refute. While I have not listened to EVERY album on my list in the past 6 months, I've listened to a lot; Most of it good, actually. This is why I have decided to make this list. There has been so much amazing metal music released already in 2019, and June has not even ended yet. So much, in fact, that I thought I should highlight some of my favorites for you wonderful readers out there. A lot of these albums you may have heard of, and you probably have never seen some of these bands in your life. And some of them you have probably seen highlighted on this very blog. Out all of the awesome albums to come out this year, I am going to highlight 24 to be briefly dissected and discussed in this somewhat mega post. Some descriptions will be shorter than others, particularly in cases where we have already reviewed the albums, and some may be long-winded and rambling. But before you ask, no this is not a ranked list. That is saved for the end of the year. This list is merely informational and is listed alphabetically by the artists' name. However, I did try to provide a variety of styles and genres to highlight, and some of my favorite albums of the past 6 months have not made it onto the list, even if I believe they are stronger than contenders of another genre. 

So what exactly is going to happen here? I will provide the group's name, the name of their album, and the genre tag which I believe fits their sound best. Then I will provide a digestible one to two paragraph synopsis of everything that makes the music great. Simple, eh? Let's hope so. Without any more random babbling from the writer, enjoy.  

A Million Dead Birds Laughing - To The Ether - Technical Death Metal

We begin our list with a strange journey down a sporadically spinning wormhole that occasionally closes and reopens itself in a matter of seconds. A Million Dead Birds Laughing's fourth LP, To The Ether, is one of the oddest listening experiences I have had in recent memory. Part Gigan-esque technical death metal and part space grindcore, this album brings everything you would expect on this sort of record; ambient synth space passages, deep and evil crooning; However, there is something more to this album. Tracks like "Dim", "Phoenix Fire" and the title track, "To The Ether" are ballads on the album, but the term ballad is used loosely here. The sounds of deep space accompanied by growled and sung vocals respectively are odd breaks in the tracklist of blistering chaotic death metal tracks, like "Martyrdom in the Fourth Dimension" and "Pink Smoke // Vacuum Rot". While I have not been able to find lyrics for this band anywhere, it really feels like this band is telling a story with the release. With great pacing and killer riffing, this Australian supergroup has made one of the best death metal albums of the year, so far at least. 

Ashen Horde - Fallen Cathedrals - Progressive Black Metal

If you came in search of a black metal album that so cleverly disguises itself as a progressive death metal album, you have found your place. California's Ashen Horde is a groovy and brutal beast of a black metal band. Reminding me of last years' Idol by Horrendous in more ways than I'd like to count, Fallen Cathedrals is the band's third full length and is not very difficult to understand after hearing a few songs. Ripe with many differing styles of guitar and drum work, this album is constantly switching from a death metal chugs to Norwegian black metal, to clean progressive sections, making for a very interesting listen. It is exciting to see where each song will be heading next, and even though it is formulaic, as prog loves to be, it still provides great entertainment with its catchy riffs and hooks. While these three distinct influences never really fade from the album, this can also be assisting this album's faults. If you can get past the 45 minutes of the same type of chugging riffs, tremolo melodies, and great hooks, this is the album for you.

Ataraxie - Resignes - Funeral Doom Metal

Pummeling is a great word to describe this next album. While not as disgusting and dirty as Primitive Man or as glacial and melodic as Bell Witch, France's Ataraxie really bring it home on this album. It's heavy, slow and long, just as I want my funeral doom. With of the four tracks clocking in over 17 minutes each, Resignes is a monolithic piece of death infused funeral doom. Surprisingly, this band has three guitarists, which tends to add a lot of depth to what would normally be considered 'too slow' or boring' to many. There is really something to enjoy for everyone in this album. Obviously, I say this in jest. While this may not be your type of music, it really does do a lot in ensuring that the listener is entertained. While one guitar holds down the riff, the other two duel melodies in the background as brutal harsh vocals are stuffed down your throat. This changes however at multiple points into the tracklist, as the band breaks into full death metal spurts occasionally on each song. These transitions are rather flawless and add a bit more brutality when the 'mellow' music might be getting stale. The cover of this release really does it justice, as it draws similarities to watching this execution unfold; it is slow, extreme, and will ultimately leave you both satisfied and disturbed.

Bellrope - You Must Relax - Doom Metal

So I've decided to cheat a little bit. Bellrope's You Must Relax is a sludge/doom album, without question, but I felt somewhat obligated to place another album in the sludge spot for this list. This release is filled with much more fuzz and reverb than that album, so here it is. Somewhat related, Bell Witch's 2017 effort, Mirror Reaper, was my favorite release of that year, and for good reason. One of those reasons was their unconventional instrumentation for a metal band; that being a bass, a drumkit, and scattered vocals and church organ. Upon first discovering that album, this odd creature enthralled me without even having to listen to the amazing music that would follow suit. A similar effect was caused by this band. Consisting of two basses, a guitar, a drumset, two of which provide vocals, I was intrigued from the get-go. And similar to Mirror Reaper, I was provided by some of the highest quality doom metal I have heard period on this debut release. 

This band, consisting of entirely ex-Black Shape of Nexus members, uses this heavy bass sound to create a noisy and psychedelic sludge album that blows the competition out of the water in heaviness and groove. Beginning with a quick harsh noise intro track, the remaining 50 minutes are comprised of four catchy and hard-hitting sludge/doom cuts that have continued to provide me with a fresh experience on each spin. This band has a long future ahead of them, and if you haven't heard this one yet, definitely give it a listen. By the end of it, you will want to jump back and scream along with every hook so generously laid out by the band.

Big Brave - A Gaze Among Them - Drone Metal

Big Brave's 2017 effort Ardor came as a great surprise to me. I was floored by the three piece's ability to create an extremely accessible and well-written drone album. I love drone metal, I make drone metal, with this band beings one of my biggest influences in that regard. Thankful to that album, their 2019 release, A Gaze Among Them, only impressed me more with what the band could do. With refined performance, songwriting and production, this band has once again proven themselves to be the driving force of modern-day drone music. Where Ardor helped the band discover the harsher side of this music, A Gaze Among Them has brutal riffs and epic, noisy climaxes, highlighted by the downright beautiful vocals by Robin Wattie. Similar to their previous album, which landed itself on my best of list in that year, their latest effort will share the spotlight, if not usurp it, as one of the best albums of the year.

Deathspell Omega - The Furnaces of Palingenesia - Avant-Garde Black Metal

The ever infamous Deathspell Omega has returned with another hard-hitting experimental and powerful black metal album. There really is not much to say. As pioneers of the genre, this French three-piece knows their way around the style very well, and this is no less apparent on The Furnaces of Palingenesia. Mind-boggling rhythms with off-kilter drums and almost spoken harsh vocals combine on the band's sixth LP to create a truly disturbing atmosphere that can only be truly encapsulated by this genre and band in particular. The poignant religious vocals that are presented almost sermon-like are chilling lyrically and performance-wise. Every track is a blistering fury of guitars and drums, with uncomfortable melodies abrasively placed to give the listener a massive headache. If you know the band, you will not be disappointed with this release. Deathspell Omega has created perhaps the most terrifying release of the year in The Furnaces of Palingenesia; it is high-quality avant-garde black metal that is going to be satisfying to anyone that's a fan of the genre or just twisted and harsh music in general. 

Drottnar - Monolith - Technical Black Metal

Just like every other year, there are plenty of bands that I discover in my music listenings that I have never heard of. Drottnar is one of them. Groove-infused Norwegian black metal is the best thing I can describe this as. While definitely black metal, Monolith is a very enjoyable listen in the way of the flow of the album. It never slows down, a constant barrage of blast beats and guitar riffs pummeling their way through the nine-track LP. With disgestible track lengths, mostly under six minutes, this band makes very listenable, but still very technical modern black metal. Sometimes this is a hard thing to pull off, as sometimes the aesthetic takes over the music and songwriting is sacrificed, and vice-versa. However, this band has been kicking since the 90s themselves, so they seem to know a thing or two about these aspects, and are able to keep them both in check as they are performed. Regardless, Monolith is a very strong black metal album, and it would be a shock to see it not end up on end-of-the-year lists.

Endon - Boy Meets Girl - Noise

Ah, noise. Is it metal? Probably not. Can it still be brutal? Yes. More brutal than metal? This question was answered for me two years ago when I initially listened to Endon's Through the Mirror. If you haven't listened to that album, please, do yourself a favor. The eight tracks on that album made me truly respect noise as a genre. Never before have I become so emotional and disturbed from an art form as I had on that release. So when the time came for their newest albums release, Boy Meets Girl, I was more than thrilled. And to no surprise at all, this album holds the weight of the last album. Where Through The Mirror was chaotic and noisy, Boy Meets Girl keeps up and adds more drawn out droning sections to accompany those aspects. A band like this is always experimenting, and it usually turns out for the better. This is one of those cases. Endon's consistency makes them a powerhouse in the underground, and deep they will burrow. 

Flouride - Disentanglement - Grindcore

I do not know much about grindcore, so I am going to try to keep this somewhat brief; Flouride is a very good grindcore band. I listened to their self-titled debut two years ago and was bewildered. I honestly did not know what to think. It was really good, but it was also a lot for my virgin ears. Since, I have expanded my listening a lot (with a particular fondness to the next band on this list) in the "grindcore" field, but returning to this band was a great choice. Disentanglement is, to me, an amazing grindcore album. It's blistering throughout, experimental enough, AND on top of that, it is short. and to the point. So with a lack of real comprehensive knowledge about the genre, the riffs are kick-ass, the drums punchy and the vocals brutal. Give Disentanglement a listen.

Full of Hell - Weeping Choir - Death/Grind

Full of Hell. If you don't know the name, you should. As a groundbreaking band in modern-day death metal and grindcore, and a band I have seen live twice, I can assuredly say that Weeping Choir is simply breathtaking. Despite the few lower points sprinkled here and there, the follow-up to 2017's Trumpeting Ecstasy has a perfect mix of destructive death metal riffs, machine gun grindcore drumming, and some of the most talented harsh vocals in metal. Ranging from shrilling pig squeals to toilet bowl gutturals, Dylan Walker's performance on this album brings the chaos of the instrumentation together in a manic but sublime way. "Thundering Hammers" and "Armory of Obsidian Glass" are among the best tracks in the band's discography, and perhaps of the year as well. If you like any extreme music at all, pick up this album and spin it. A lot.

Helium Horse Fly - Hollowed - Avant-Garde

This album is one of the two on this list (the other oddly enough being the next on the list) that I began a review for, but could not finish. Both have different reasonings, but I have a chance now to talk about them in a smaller form. We begin with Helium Horse Fly. We must clarify that right off the bat, this is not metal. It is a beast in its own right. The reason I could not finish this album review is I could not describe it. If I had to give a genre tag, it would be "Avant-Garde Noisegaze". Yeah, I apologize. Hollowed is a very good album. Exceptionally good, in fact. It is haunting, sad, furious and perplexing all at the same time. Heavy instrumentation and light, airy vocals are very appealing to me, and this album has a lot of that. As I stated in my unfinished review, the album is great at not providing you the whole picture on your initial listen; it requires a multitude of listens to even begin to understand the dense layers that Helium Horse Fly bring on this release. An intriguing album for curious listeners. 

Inter Arma - Sulphur English - Sludge Metal

There really has been so much good sludge metal this year. Inter Arma, however, is going to be the highlighted band of this genre. Sulphur English is the group's senior effort, following the critical and personal darling The Paradise Gallows; therefore, it had some big shoes to fill. Did it do so? Yes and no. In the complete and unreleased review of this record, I spoke upon how the band decided to focus more on the heavier sides of their music, which ultimately led to a boring listen for myself as the consumer. This has not changed. However, while yes the album is hard to listen to in full, it is still chock full of great songs, heavy riffs, and extreme high points. This is a very good album, especially for previous fans of the genre and band. But do take into consideration that the sixty-six-minute album may occasionally lose your attention. When it doesn't, it is a very good Inter Arma album.

King Apathy - Wounds - Post-Metal

Whenever I do things posts like this, where I go back and listen to A LOT of music to figure out what to write about, it seems that albums I listen to ONLY once before said return come back to haunt me and my listening rotation. King Apathy's Wounds is one of these albums. Unfortunately, as of now, the band has split up. This is very unfortunate, as this album is extraordinary. While I am excited about the next Heretoir album (the entirety of Heretoir's personnel has been in/performed with King Apathy/Thranenkind at some point), Wounds is something truly magical. The atmospheric environmental post-metal presented on this album is mesmerizing, with beautiful melodic guitars contrasted by churning bass and roaring drums. I have yet to dive back into the King Apathy/Thranenkind discography, but I am going to have to start if it is anything reminiscent to this masterwork of a post-metal album. It's sad to see them go, but at least we have this amazing album to remember them by. 

Maestus - Deliquesce - Blackened Doom Metal

Pianos are an interesting concept in metal. It seems synths are often more welcome and are definitely more used. However, when the rare occasion of a "natural" piano sound is heard in the genre, it often goes well. Deliquesceis one of these cases. Maestus is a blackened doom band that has really roped me in this year. I have been listening avidly to this and their debut, Voir Dire, and to much enjoyment. The funeral doom-esque riffs work beautifully in conjunction with the trance piano and key melodies, and the occasional unrelenting black metal sections are nothing to throw by the wayside. The vocals are gut-wrenching, reminding me too much of Bell Witch, and trigger a similar emotion; sadness. Pain. Guilt. Slow but heavy doom albums often churn these emotions by the sheer force of the music, and if an album can give me a similar album to Longing or Mirror Reaper, it must be pretty good. 

Mesarthim - Ghost Condensate - Atmospheric Black Metal

It's funny how at its core, I should enjoy electronic music. It's similar to metal in a lot of ways, even if those are mostly involved in stereotypes. "It's just noise" is similar to "A computer isn't an instrument" in sentiment, just as "Screaming takes no talent" is to "Anyone can make EDM". However, I don't listen to any electronic music. Well, that is, except for Mesarthim. This Australian duo has been making compelling atmospheric black metal since 2015, and every one of thier albums is a hit. With just over a handful of EPs and now four full-length releases, the band has mastered the mix between space synthesis and cosmic black metal. I was captivated with .- -... ... . -. -.-. . (Absence), enthralled with Isolate, and last year's The Density Parameter was a more than welcome addition to the Mesarthim discography. Ghost Condensate is simple; two songs, both exactly 20 minutes long. Swelling electronics and harsh instrumentation create an always fresh amalgamation of sounds and feelings that are untouched by other groups. Mesarthim is truly something special, jump on the train before they get too big.

Musmahhu - Reign of the Odious - Death Metal

Musmahhu's debut LP, Reign of the Odious, is almost exactly what you expect it to be. Blistering, brutal and gut-wrenching death metal. Wretched, shit-covered and beaten, the six songs on this album pound you to a mushy, pink pulp after every listen. When listening to this myself, I get everything I come for; awesome riffs, booming drums, guttural vocals about severed heads and thrones. What's not to love?

On the more serious side of things, it is hard for me to review a 'traditional' death metal album, as I barely listen to any of the genre. However, this album is atmospheric, ferocious and catchy all in one. The guitars are hooky in their haunting melodic riffage, the drums are punchy and aggressive, and of course, the vocals are spot on for the genre. This is a very good death metal album, for anyone who is a great fan of the genre. I find a lot of this style of music repetitive most of the time, but I have come back to this album quite a few times, and for good reason. While it sounds derivative, it blends is influences and put forth a truly great album. Give this one a listen.

Olam - I Will Guide Thy Hand - Metalcore

Olam is another one of the bands this year that has released an amazing debut album. I Will Guide Thy Hand is a fiery, tightly written metalcore album that is reminiscent of the best of Converge and Botch strung together in a tight, modern bow. Passionate and addictive riffs, ferocious vocals and vicious drums. By incorporating heavy atmospheres into the "standard" metalcore sound, the band is able to recreate familiar sounds to albums like You Fail Me but also being so mature in their craft to make new music that is entertaining on every listen.  The title track is easily the best metalcore song of the year so far, reminding me of "Jane Doe" on both a sonic and emotional level, which is really high praise if you are unfamiliar with Converge. This is a fantastic album that is only the start of this band's career and provides hope for the future of the metalcore genre as a whole. This is an album not to be missed, and it will definitely be highlighted at the end of the year.

Periphery - Periphery IV: HAIL STAN - Djent

This is the first album on this list that I have reviewed previously on this blog, so I will not speak too much about it. But what else is there to say? This album is a perfect culmination of everything Periphery has produced up until this point, with the catchy and clean metalcore hooks, and the absurd noodly solos, and the destructively heavy riffs that occupy the majority of songs on this release. Periphery IV: HAIL STAN might be the best Periphery album. I am not making that claim, however, I can totally understand why a lot of people would. An excellent job by one of the few bands keeping djent alive today. 

You can read our full Periphery IV: HAIL STAN review here: Periphery IV: HAIL STAN Review

Sermon - Birth of the Marvelous - Alternative Metal

This does not feel right. I should not be talking about this album for the first time in a somewhat "compilation style" post. This album is breathtaking. From first listen, I was caught, and since I have been pulled out of the dark waters to the surface to see the light this album provides. Sermon's The Birth of the Marvellous is one of the best albums I have heard. Ever. This has truly become one of my favorites albums and pollutes my music listening platforms as whenever I see the album, I have to listen to it. It is that good. Catchy vocals combined with Tool-esque riffs, punchy polyrhythms, and atmospheres unlike anything I have heard in prog truly make one of my favorite listening experiences ever. At a listenable 40 minutes, this album is in a great position to be listened to on perhaps a morning commute, or just before bed each night. Let's just say this album has provided me with countless hours of entertainment. 

However, you may be asking yourself, why are you labeling this as Alternative Metal? Well, although I would consider this a progressive metal album, the second tag on their Bandcamp page is "alternative metal". I can see the somewhat blatant similarities to a band like Tool, who some would call alternative rather than progressive, but who am I to say? Therefore, I must respect the band's artistic identity (and I also wanted to highlight another amazing prog album.) But regardless of genre tag, this is one of, if not the best album of this year.

Source - Totality - Progressive Metal

Tool-influenced prog seems to be in great supply this year. Perhaps this is in preparation for the new album releasing in August, perhaps it's just a coincidence. But between Wheel, Sermon, and Source, three great prog albums have been released in the last six months. Totality, similarly to Birth of the Marvelous, has infected my listening rotation like a plague. At a point, I would listen to the album daily, which I can only say about a few albums. While Sermon uses more of the atmospheric elements of a band like Tool, this band uses more of the “alt-metal” tropes, resulting in an accessible but addicting progressive metal album. Tracks like “The Witness” and “Unsure” are highlights, providing great refrains, hooky riffs, and inventive polyrhythms. Before Birth of the Marvellous, this album was my most-listened-to album of the year, so that should say a thing or two about how I feel about this album.

Together To The Stars - An Oblivion Above - Post-Black Metal

Stated in my official review of this album, which you can read here, I stated that this was my favorite album of the year at that time. While there have been many amazing albums this year, this is still in my top 5. Together To The Stars is an amazing blackgaze band that has only the sky as the limit to their musical career. An Oblivion Above showcases a young band with one of the most mature sounds in the genre on only thier first release. Amazingly hooky riffs, emotional vocals, and brilliant songwriting create amazing climaxes that are as enjoyable on the twentieth listen as the first. A brilliant release that is easily one of the best of the year.

Warforged - I: Voice - Progressive/Blackened Death Metal

At a whopping 73 minute run-time, Warforged's I: Voice is a true musical beast to be reckoned with. A monolithic album combining sounds made by bands like Pyrrhon, Opeth, and everything in between, this debut release is one of the most chaotic, entrancing and gritty death metal albums of 2019. With random full stops mid brutality to bring out the melodic and acoustic sections, the band is able to channel a very uncomfortable album. The title seems to represent that this is a concept album, and thank god for this, as it means there is more of this to come. Tracks like "Cellar" and "Eat Them While They Sleep" provide the more "classic" and "in your face side" of progressive death metal, similar into recent bands like Replacire and Slugdge. "Voice" is an absolutely haunting track, compliments of the back half of the track. Blistering guitar riffs and drum work accompanied by frightening and painful wails screaming for something indistinguishable makes for the most chilling moment in music this year, before it abruptly cuts out to melodic and clean riffs. This does not last long, however, as the claustrophobia sets in once again, and you feel like you are being swallowed by a massive beast, as your wails echo throughout its cavernous organs, but to no avail. While the first two minutes atmospherically build to the skipping track and kvlted vocals, the payoff is more than worth it at the end of the song, which has cemented itself as one of my favorite tracks of the year. 

The band's music is only complimented by the metric tons of features by big names like Christian Munzner (Alkaloid, ex-Obscura) and Kevin Hufnagel (Gorguts, Dysrhythmia). Familiar sounds like these make the album feel almost like a classic, and the album has grown on me enough for me to say that it just might be that; a classic. Now, give it a few years, but when III: Sight releases in 2024, and everyone is talking about it, don't say I didn't predict this band's rise to fame.

Waste of Space Orchestra - Syntheosis - Psychedelic Black/Doom Metal

Oranssi Pazuzu's fourth album Varahtelija hooked me in early 2017, as many sources credited it as an amazing release. To no surprise, it was. The raw, noisy psychedelic black metal was a new find for my ears, and it loved it like a drug. This made me delve far into their back catalog, listening to all of their previous albums. And when I heard another album was coming out this year, I was stoked. However, I believe a surprise came to most when it was announced it would be a collaboration with fellow Finnish band Dark Buddha Rising, under the name Waste of Space Orchestra. They had used this moniker at Roadburn Festival 2018 in a collaborative performance, and I suppose the name stuck. Syntheosis is just over an hour of psychedelic doomy madness. While some sections share many similarities to Oranssi Pazuzu, the overwhelmingly noisy and head-spinning stoner black metal sections, there is also a handful of long droning sections of psychedelia, which although occasionally used by the previously mentioned band, must be far more a part of Dark Buddha Rising's repertoire. Having never listened to that band before, I didn't really know what to expect with this album. But what I found was a great surprise. This album is amazing, through and through. The atmospheres are eerie, the production is immaculate, and each individual performance is more than I could've wished for. Each track is another nightmare, filled with ferocious demons, walks in the desert, and machine guns blasting across the plain. If you have not listened to this, you need to. It's simply breathtaking. 

Yellow Eyes - Rare Field Ceiling - Black Metal

We end our list with the newest album on this list. Yellow Eyes blew me away with their fourth LP, Immersion Trench Reverie. One of my favorite albums of 2017, the band mixed classic, churning black metal with what seemed like field recording and shoegaze aspects, but unlike a blackgaze band like Together To The Stars or Deafheaven. They instead created amazingly written black metal and layered it with hundreds of miles of dirt and grime. Infectious riffs, painful blast beats, and throat-wrenching high scream are all mainstays on the release, with the addition of the occasional choir vocals similar to their previous release. When I listened to the bands back catalog when I discovered the band, it was apparent that this group makes, without a doubt, the BEST American black metal. Period. This album has only bolstered this status. Dig your knuckles in deep. Yellow Eyes are here to stay.  

And that was our list! I hope you were able to agree with some of our choices, and maybe discover some new ones! Stay tuned every Monday for a new album review, now from post-June 30th!