Bigger names and a few hidden gems dominate this month’s best offerings
And Shawn goes rogue. Again.
Enslaved – In Times
by Nathan Hare
Not many bands have been as good for as long as Enslaved. In Times, the band’s 13th full-length album, is another excellent entry and sure to be an album of the year candidate. The band’s inventive, progressive arrangements continue to impress, as do Grutle Kjellson’s and Herbrand Larsen’s dual-vocal approach, with Larsen in particular sounding better than ever.
There are moments that feel less proggy, mellower, and more straightforward. “Building With Fire” is one of the most straightforward songs the band has written, but it’s instantly catchy and an album highlight, and the epic “One Thousand Years Of Rain” is another gem. In Times is another masterpiece by one of metal’s most consistent, quality acts.
Dorthia Cottrell – Dorthia Cotrell
by Neil Bird
After proving herself to be a powerhouse as the vocalist of Windhand, singer Dorthia Cottrell shows a different side in her self-titled, solo debut. Dark, beautiful, tranquil and all together wonderful, this collection of songs is not at all metal, but still stands as the most replayed album I’ve heard all month.
Ufomammut – Ecate
by Ailo Ravna
One moment you’re weightless, floating in space as stars and planets pass you by. All is well. Suddenly gravity kicks in, and the pull is massive. You slam headfirst into the closest asteroid, then keep smashing into planets (or are the planets smashing into you?). This is the feeling of an Ufomammut album – Psychedelic ambient soundscapes brilliantly entwined with some of the heaviest doom metal riffing on the planet. Ecate is no exception and is a trip you won’t regret taking.
Macabre Omen – Gods of War – At War
by Shawn Miller
While the CD version was given a late February release, the digital and vinyl versions of Macabre Omen’s latest opus were not released until March. Gods of War – At War marks the band’s second full length album since their formation in 1994 and is the follow up to 2005’s The Ancient Returns.
Although no one is going to claim Macabre Omen to be the most productive black metal band ever, Gods of War – At War was surely worth the ten-year wait. Fusing the majestic and sweeping traditions of Hellenic black metal with the epic pacing of Hammerheart era Bathory, Macabre Omen’s latest album is one that fans of pagan and Hellenic black metal should not pass up.
Fulgora – Stratagem
by Evan Mugford
Grind is as grind does and Fulgora do it well. This three-piece death-grind outfit from St. Louis know just a little bit about how to write some seriously skin-flaying tunage – being comprised of cousins John Jarvis, who currently plays bass for Agoraphobic Nosebleed; and Adam Jarvis, the drum-engine behind the unstoppable Misery Index – both members Pig Destroyer – along with guitarist/vocalist B. L. LaMew.
Despite being just seven (or five) songs deep and barely tipping the scales at 19 minutes, the band’s full-length (?) debut, Stratagem, is a ferociously executed record, blending searing bouts of grinding death with a defiant hardcore swagger that is as terrifically short on temper as it is with a fuse. Nonstop, volatile, and even kind of introspective, Stratagem wastes zero time getting its point across. In Jarvis we trust.
Atten Ash – The Hourglass
by James Bushnell
Another month, another great doom/death release. This time courtesy of North Carolina’s fantastic Atten Ash. The Hourglass contains great songwriting, catchy tunes, brilliant lead guitars and a couple of wonderful tracks that will live long in the memory.
Psycroptic – Psycroptic
by Joshua Bulleid
March has been a bit of an uneventful month for me on the great-releases front, however, this shouldn’t at all take away from what an absolute beast Psycroptic’s newest is. I’d always maintained that this long-personally-reviled act would probably win me over if they’d just fix their insufferable drum sound; and lo and behold: here we are. It also doesn’t hurt that with this latest opus the Tasmanian devils decided to change things up a bit and write what are essentially mid-period Haunted tunes on some serious technical steroids while putting on a display of their finest and tightest song-writing to date.
…Now, if they’d just go back and remaster Ob(Servant) and The Inherited Repression I’d probably like those too.
And here are the albums that recently celebrated their first birthdays:
