Greetings, Decibel readers!
There’s something beautiful about how upsetting extreme metal is. You’re not going to make people cheery with the albums below. You can’t put any of the song titles on a pillow at TJ Maxx. Well, maybe you could. And I’d buy that pillow. But I’m not most people. And neither are you, and that’s why you’re here.
Enjoy!
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Antichrist Siege Machine – Vengeance of Eternal Fire
Oppressive, ferocious warlike power and hatred. This is what you go for when you want pure violence and malevolence mainlined into your soul. Not for the faint, or even sturdy, of heart.
Stream: Apple Music
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Dool – The Shape of Fluidity
Dark and melancholy rock very much in the vein of mid-90s era Paradise Lost and a myriad of other sounds. It’s the kind of band your mind would create when you imagine Prophecy Productions in the abstract.
Stream: Apple Music
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Engulfed – Unearthly Litanies of Despair
Brutal excellence from Turkey’s Engulfed. The band’s particular blend of aggression, melody, and subterranean vocals reminds me a lot of bands like Intestine Baalism and early Amorphis. In other words, they remind me of the finer things in life.
Stream: Apple Music
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My Dying Bride – A Mortal Binding
The masters of grief return on their latest effort of dark brilliance. The album is a broadly satisfying piece of doom metal artistry, but pay particular attention to the pair of special withering flowers with “Unthroned Creed” and “The Apocalyptist.”
Stream: Apple Music
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Uttertomb – Nebulas Of Self-Desecration
More dark and menacing death metal from Chile. There’s something both chaotic and systematized about the band’s music. To most people’s ears, there’s no telling where the band will go next on its sonic assault. But to all of us, it all makes perfect, grim sense.
Stream: Apple Music