Greetings, Decibel readers!
And thus we come to the last standard edition of Five For Friday for 2023. As always, I hope you find these lists informative and useful as you scan the endless hordes of releases that come at us every week. It can get pretty exhausting trying to keep track of it all, and while my personal lens has its own biases and restrictions, at least it gives you something coherent to follow. Or you can play a fun game trying to see which entry gets an longer paragraph each week, as it usually signifies that I’m extra-stoked about it.
You’ll definitely find one of those here.
The rest of the month will be dedicated to death metal and black metal retrospectives, so look out for that!
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Bunker 66 – Portraits of Dismay
No-nonsense witching metal from Italy’s Bunker 66. Although the album cover is clearly an homage to Sodom’s Obsessed By Cruelty and the vocals bear a similarity in approach, the rest of the band’s sound comes closer to Motörhead, Venom, and Mercyful Fate. No complaints from me!
Stream: Apple Music
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Cryptworm – Oozing Radioactive Vomition
lol, “vomition” isn’t a word. But who cares? It’s death metal! And man it’s so damn dirty. Passes the “Will it Clear a Room?” test with flying colors. You love to see (hear) it.
Stream: Apple Music
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Imperialist – Quantum
If you like Dissection-style black metal but wish the drums got an update and the songs were about science fiction, you’re in luck!
Stream: Apple Music
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Ringarë – Of Momentous Endless Night
People like putting bands into “Big Four” groups, as it recalls the level of quality associated with its original usage and makes for an easy way to rattle off bands for people to check out. For me, the big four* of black metal today are as follows: Obsequiae, Hulder, Spectral Wound, and Ringarë. For their part, Ringarë best capture the spirit of winter: cold and unrelenting, yet enchanting and majestic. Under Pale Moon will always be my favorite from the band, but I’ve loved everything they’ve done since, and this new album is no exception. Fans yearning for higher production values and more powerful drums will be very pleased with this one. But fear not, all the essential elements of the band’s sound are still here, albeit with a less aggressive low-pass filter. The perfect parting word for 2023 (*In case you’re wondering, Kehkt Arakh would round out the Big Five if I could go to five, thx).
Stream: Apple Music
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Sartegos – Portais
If you like Demoncy but want to hear that style with a different approach to riffs and more death-metal vocals, Spain’s Sartegos is the ideal dark prescription for all evil ills.