Bleak, gray and boring November may be, but the same cannot be said about the stream of great albums that emerged in this time of gloom.
Dark Tranquility – Moment
Dark Tranquillity’s decision to expand their sound with electronica was a controversial one among fans, but they did a commendable job in keeping the past and future aligned. The three albums following Fiction, however, were somewhat lukewarmly received, which made the anticipation for Moment a little, let’s say, dampened. Their 12th studio album, though, seems to pick up roundabout where Fiction had left off without sounding like a carbon copy, striking a good balance between melodic death metal and the more atmospheric side, which also seems Mikael Stanne prove once more that on top of his already established outstanding growls his clear vocals also can more than hold their own. Overall there is far more energy in this album than the last three, showing that these Swedish wolves still have teeth!
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Soulskinner – Seven Bowls of Wrath
Greece’s Soulskinner won me over this month with an excellent blend of hammering old-school death metal and mournful melodic leads. Seven Bowls of Wrath is a furious and enraged experience, but involving and warm rather than cold and aloof. That contrast between the old-school pummelling and the deep melody and songwriting really makes this a memorable record that I can see myself playing repeatedly in the coming years.
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Plini – Impulse Voices
Weird instrumental music can go wrong in so many ways, but if there’s one way it’s guaranteed to go right, it’s the way Plini does it. The Australian composer returned this month with his second full-length release Impulse Voices, a superb piece blending djenty riffage, jazzy influences and atmospheric experimentation, but most of all, Plini’s unique guitar leads. Everything that makes him great is taken one step further on this album and it truly shines. And to top it off, there’s a saxophone performance on one song, just to spark a surprise element in there.
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Sodom – Genesis XIX
The best and most natural Sodom have sounded in years. Keeping that beautifully old-school production quality, but sacrificing none of the bold songwriting moves that have had them impressing me since the 2010s, the Germans have definitely made one of the best records of their career. Blackfire’s return to the outfit is felt through the sheer number of riffs this album churns out. Simultaneously simple – thanks to rippers like Sodom & Gomorrah and Friendly Fire, and expansive – thanks to masterpieces like the title-track or The Harpooneer; Genesis XIX is yet another top-tier LP to slot into this year of excellent thrash metal.
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Pyramaze – Epitaph
There were other albums I liked in November, but this was the one I kept coming back to. The production is pristine and despite a moment or two that feel a little poppy for me the hooks are undeniably excellent and the majority of this material feels well thought out and executed. Having Brittany Slayes guest vocal? Yes please, actually “more please” would be more accurate. Last but not least the ending 12 minute epic involving the three iconic singers for the band (wow they’ve had a lot of vocalists for such a short career). Anyway, the Time Traveler is great and the whole album is well worth your time.
Moeror – The Ghosts of Armour Propre
In November’s twilight Moeror released their debut album and catapulted themselves upwards into my personal top 10 of the year. What is there not to like here? The instrumentals swing between full force black metal and spaced out post rock parts, imbued with electronic elements, cacophonous embellishments and some of the most beautiful melodic parts I’ve heard all year. The pace of the record resembles that of a rollercoaster, the tracks ebb and flow with admirable ease and elegance and there’s a great sense of balance in the entire album. In a year filled with thrilling releases by some of the greatest names of the genre, the Greek madmen in Moeror have unleashed a 36 minute beast that deserves every bit of praise and attention. Nothing short of a spectacular release, I’ll be keeping an eye on this band.
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Eternal Champion – Ravening Iron
Eternal Champion’s sophomore album came with high expectations for me. And, questionable album art aside, it mostly met them. The band’s love for classic epic heavy metal like Cirith Ungol and Manilla Road is still very much present, but Ravening Iron is also a more diverse album, with some very aggressive thrashy moments sprinkled throughout. I need a little more time to tell just how much I like it; I don’t know if I consider it one of the best of the decade like the debut, but it’s a more than worthy follow-up and brilliant album in its own right.
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Intervals – Circadian
November was big on instrumental music and the fourth full length outing from Canada’s Intervals lead by string theoretician Aaron Marshall brought us a particularly groovy and chunky collection of jams. As opposed to the last couple of releases, Circadian is more focused on the riff side with special attention to the groove and a super engaging drum section. And as always Aaron’s lead guitar brings some of the most colorful expressive and tasteful lines you can imagine. For a guitar focused album, this is as easy going, entertaining and ego free as instrumental music gets, but still embodies a cool guitar duel and a beautifully pretentious saxophone solo courtesy of guest performances.
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Revolting – The Shadow at the World’s End
Death metal is a nasty business, but Sweden’s Rogga Johansson has got it down to a fine art. For the umpteenth time (this year even!) one of his many bands has delivered the goods in face-smacking form with a brief and gritty slab of DM that pays homage to Swedish and British masters of the style. Some of the riffing is just electrifying, while the atmosphere pops and sizzles with underground murk. Frequent quality from such a source may not surprise any more, but that doesn’t take away from each fantastic album.
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Dismal – Quinta Essentia
This one is going to be like Marmite: either you love it or hate it! And I love it! On Quinta Essentia, Dismal combine classical music, gothic, doom, jazz, alt-rock, dark ambient, progressive rock, poetry recitations, and operatic female vocals. It’s a melting pot that in less capable hands could have easily spun out of control, but Dismal managed to make it work beautifully. The contrast between classical instrumentation (violins, double-bass) and raw, distorted guitar chords is dramatic and arresting. Tasteful alt-rock aesthetics tie the whole thing together, giving the album a coherent identity. Quinta Essentia is not a light album, musically or thematically, and requires some significant time investment on the part of the listener, but it is worth it. The album is certainly very different from everything else I listened to this year and is likely to end up in the top-half of my top-30 list of 2020 metal releases.
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Inquisition – Black Mass for a Mass Grave
Antoni: Inquisition are one of the bands that have been always improving. Almost every next album of them means raising the bar. Each record feels like a magnum opus, until the next one is released. During their quite long already career, they’ve been changing their style, but only slightly. Almost every record has a different specificity, but it’s easy to make 2 or 3 “boxes” subordinating the records to the styles. This time, the virtuosos Dagon and Incubus opened a new box. A new, mighty and mysterious box. The band has kept a big part of their signature style on Black Mass for a Mass Grave, but changed a few things in it and added a few. The amount of blast beats and wall of sound has been greatly reduced and in their place, we received very subtly played and distinctive clean melodies performed not only on guitar, but also organs (keyboards), for example. This resulted in creating an enormously atmospheric masterpiece, that I can certainly call the very best Inquisition album… so far!
Dave: Inquisition are one of very few bands where I can unabashedly recommend their entire discography. It is no exaggeration to state that Black Mass for a Mass Grave may very well be their finest hour. Still keeping in line with their particular brand of ferocious black metal, this album nevertheless sparks a new direction for the band, as they have introduced a whole array of new sounds. The atmosphere is dark as ever, but now accented by haunting, clean guitar fills and open arpeggios. The result is something that is perhaps more accessible than previous albums, but without sacrificing their signature sound.
Dmitry: Inquisition killed two birds with one stone: they remained faithful to their previous style and spiritual concept, without abandoning any manner or technique, and along the way they made a remarkable innovation.
