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Katoaja – What We Witness (Self-Released)

Matt Coe
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Katoaja – What We Witness (Self-Released)

Active since 2020 Katoaja is a Finnish band that sit in a progressive metal landscape which has expanded horizons in terms of atmosphere and influences over the years. Releasing three previous singles to the marketplace, the quintet smartly set themselves up for this debut album What We Witness. Over the course of these seven tracks, you’ll discover a wide range of compact to longer compositions, some exploring outer dimensions of ambiance and sonic texture while others pushing musicianship parameters. As such, the multi-level experience ensures a diverse offering that can clutch deeper resonance through successive passes.

Djent sequences sit next to a jangly, progressive metal swirl of bass, keyboard, guitar, and drum infusion to take “The Sinking Cathedral” into an early highlight, the fluid bass touches of Matias Ärrälä as well as exotic keyboard parts from Unto Luoto allowing vocalist Juho Kiviniemi to use his scathing extreme melodies next to his mysterious whispers or semi-gothic clean delivery. When the band choose to go for reflective, slower shades of color, they never dismiss the possibility of heaviness as contrast – check out the alluring background vocal harmonies next to the crunchy riffs and pounding drums on “Nangijala”, where the instrumental section near the back end has this tranquil swaying feel between the introspective guitar lines and steady tribal-like plodding drum tempo. Never fear progressive metal mavens as those who want more virtuoso-oriented, time signature mastery will find plenty to digest between songs like the ten-minute opener “Nothing and Nothing More” as well as the very focused “The Great Under”. Drilling deep into social themes which delve upon personal human anguish and a yearning for faith in higher powers – these lyrical topics are worthy of exploration to fit the broad musical landscape these gentlemen deliver.

Imagine taking in aspects of early Genesis next to Gojira or Opeth while also dipping your toes in some Pain of Salvation or smoother Dream Theater leanings, and you’ll have a hint as to what Katoaja serve up on What We Witness. Living up to the unpredictable, dangerous nature described in the background information for the press kit, this is one of those groups that will be worth keeping your eyes on as they’ve opened an intriguing playbook right away that should only get more adventurous and fruitful over time.

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Moon Wizard – Sirens (Hammerheart Records)

Matt Coe
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Moon Wizard – Sirens (Hammerheart Records)

Born out of a love of stoner / doom metal, Moon Wizard contains members with roots in black / death metal acts – releasing two albums independently before signing with Hammerheart Records on this third record Sirens. Chicago-area vocalist Sami Wolf joined the fold during 2020, adding a new mesmerizing voice that’s equally as heavy as it is soulful – allowing the other musicians a chance to expand sonic horizons through these latest songs. Still the almighty riff beyond the slower moving grooves sway listeners to triumphant appeasement – as subtle branches provide additional sonic texture to cement the main hooks deep into the brain.

Many followers will be hypnotized but the natural low-tuned guitars with the right mix of fuzz / wah-wah pedal action employed by Aaron Brancheau – his sense of drive plus feel impeccable on initial to subsequent playbacks of opener “Meteor” and mammoth “Epoch”. When you sit in that stoner to doom template, there’s a certain level of comfort achieved in specific tempos, bass licks, as well as softer to louder passages that open horizons in terms of adventurous drum fills or multi-level vocal harmonies. Most will be jumping for joy to the catchy musical to vocal components for “Magnolia” that should be a future Moon Wizard set list staple – a mountaintop anthem ready to shake the foundations of any stage. The final two songs “Phantom” and “Sunday” drip in early Sabbath meets Kyuss guitar motifs and potent rhythm section foundational work – to prop up Sami’s magnificent melodies to stretch far and wide to take the band’s style to that haunting place only the greats ever achieve. The tones and production also provide that throwback organic warmth you don’t usually get in the modern marketplace – snare hits that thump your chest while placing the vocals in the ideal spotlight moments.

For this scribe’s first exposure to Moon Wizard, it’s easy to understand how this Utah group will garner accolades for their brand of heaviness should ascend their popularity across numerous subgenres. Sirens takes decades of stoner, doom, and blues-based metal into an engaging set of songs that rock – which is all one could hope for to develop a long-term, sustainable career.

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Blacktoothed – Making Headway

Katarina McGinn
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Blacktoothed – Making Headway

Set to be releasing their third album (and second for Arising Empire) is Blacktoothed. A band with a sound that merges some metalcore heaviness with some rock energy and vibes. It’s a unique feel within the hard music world, bolstered by a two-vocal approach and a playful feel that should grab fans from all over the musical spectrum. We spoke to guitarist/vocalist Matti Keitel about this newest effort, as well as finding the band’s sound, standing out from the crowd, challenges of being a newer act, and much more.

Dead Rhetoric: Were there certain things that you wanted to do differently or try this time for Headway?

Matti Keitel: I think with Blacktoothed especially, I don’t know if you have listened to our [first] album, but it was very diverse sound-wise. The goal is always to narrow down the sound [laughs]. I’m a little torn apart, because I like writing on the spot and what comes out comes out, and you have different little genre elements. I kind of want to keep that, but I also want to have a ‘Blacktoothed’ sound, and I tried that with this album because I’m mainly the songwriter. So we tried that, and I don’t think it’s as diverse as the previous album sound-wise, but I don’t know if we have sound our sound either [laughs]. 

Dead Rhetoric: If that’s the case, then what are you shooting for with the ‘Blacktoothed’ sound? Are you aiming for anything specific to hone it in?

Keitel: I think it comes in the moment. It’s like it becomes a sound I want to go for. But ask me in a year and it’s probably going to be a totally different sound. It’s also like a thing in the rock genre: you can do anything, basically. It’s still rock music. I like the diversity though.

Dead Rhetoric: It’s funny you mention it, because I haven’t heard the first album, but I’ve heard all of Headway and I thought it was pretty diverse!

Keitel: It still is, and I think it’s more extreme, but more in the genre. We have a lot of breakdowns in this album, compared to the last one, but I think the sound, when it comes down to the instruments it’s been narrowed down.

Dead Rhetoric: With it being toned down, by your standards, are you trying to make it easier for people to ‘find you’ with a sound? There are some bands that are all over the place and that’s who they are. It comes with it’s own challenges too. But is that something you are trying to do, reigning it in, in order to get on tours and things like that?

Keitel: We are always in a tough position, I feel, since we are with Arising Empire and we are in with a bunch of metalcore/hardcore bands. We are kind of the softer side of that. We always find it hard to connect to the other bands, but we are still part of the same scene here in Germany, so we are trying to hop on these tours that are mostly metalcore bands. We toured with The Amity Affliction last summer and Emmure. It was wild! We are about to go on three more dates with Cabal and Miss May I. So we thought it can’t get any heavier than Emmure, but now we have Cabal. How did that happen? We are very soft compared to these bands. So we are torn a bit. Should we go heavier to match with these bands so it would be easier to hop on tours, or stay in the rock lane? 

I don’t know if you know this, but when Papa Roach called out for these covers for “Leave a Light On,” we did it and it went really well. The management was so happy with the version we came up with, they put it on their page. That was huge for us. We feel that music a little more than the metalcore stuff. But there’s no rock scene in Germany, for our size band.

Dead Rhetoric: There’s more of a metal scene…it’s like the opposite in the United States.

Keitel: Absolutely yeah. I’m all into bands like Point North. This modern rock music, which we totally lack over here.

Dead Rhetoric: What can you say about the vocal dynamic between yourself and Hendrik?

Keitel: I write the songs, and I basically write finished songs. When Hendrik and Dave hear the songs, they are done and have my vocals on them. So Hendrik comes over and sings whatever parts fit. Sometimes we decide some parts sound cool with his vocals and sometimes with mine. I feel like it just adds to our sound with two vocalists on the tracks. So far it has been received very well from the crowd. I just sing a few parts and he is the main vocalist. It just adds another layer. 

Dead Rhetoric: To circle back to what you were saying about fitting in, there’s probably a part of the crowd that’s okay with it. I know when I go to shows, and I’m stuck with four or five of the same types of bands, it gets tiring. It might be an advantage to have that difference.

Keitel: Absolutely. I feel like you are ahead of us over in the States, with diverse line-ups. I think there was Knocked Loose and Boston Manor or something a few years ago. I thought that was wild! I feel like now, it’s slowly translating to Europe that it’s okay to have diverse line-ups and that’s a plus for us. The best example is still the tour with Miss May I [laughs]. I’m very glad that it is translating over to Europe now.

Dead Rhetoric: You have a really broad sound – is it something that appeals to more than just the metal crowd, to you?

Keitel: Probably. We haven’t found that crowd yet. We are very lucky we get to play tours, but I don’t think we have managed to find our crowd, especially in Germany. It’s easy with the streaming platforms to get a crowd, but I don’t know how much of a crowd would turn up if we did a headlining show over here. This is a bit tougher.

Dead Rhetoric: What are some of the challenges of moving your way up? I know you said it’s easier to gain traction with streaming, but what are some of the challenges you face as a newer band trying to squeeze into a crowded market?

Keitel: I feel like a lot of the options we got this year, with tours, were so random. I feel like for some things, you can’t really ‘work for.’ You can’t guarantee that as you work your way up, you get ‘this’ tour or whatever deal. What I like is that we have a team of different people doing different things, such as booking agents or radio promotion agents. It’s cool – it’s basically networking. It’s really tough to get into these inner circles, so to say, but it’s a cool thing to know that now you have these connections. 

But you don’t know if they do anything, and sometimes you get a random email asking if you want to jump on a few days on this tour…which didn’t even come from our booking agent that we are working with now. It’s so wild and random. I feel that is the toughest thing. There are months when nothing happens, then you get that random email. Then you have big plans! But you can’t count on anything, which is tough.

Dead Rhetoric: What can you say about the album cover? Both your albums have more of a brighter palette than many bands in the scene.

Keitel: I feel like everyone who is working with us, including the artist that made the cover, they are putting us into this rock mask and then they just create stuff that doesn’t look as ‘metalcore’ [laughs]. I’m a simple person. I write music and I love it. I’m very happy to have other people do stuff that they are good at. Same with the artwork. 

I’m happy to give it to our artist and that’s okay, so that’s what we take. We are very easy going with these things and take what we get [laughs]. It was part of his idea for the cover. Of course, we brainstormed the ideas. We wanted birds. That was what we threw to them, and that’s what came out of it. 

Dead Rhetoric: You said you do all of the writing, what’s your process like? What inspires you to write something?

Keitel: Mostly, I have a lot of vocal ideas in my head. I have a million memos on an app on my phone. Sometimes I will do nothing with it, and other times I hear it back and be like, “ok!” But it’s not sentences, it’s just words or whatever. They probably won’t make any sense to a native speaker. But I put some words into it and throw some instruments around it. It’s pretty easy. But I always start with the vocals. The vocal melodies, and then everything comes around that.

Dead Rhetoric: So in terms of lyrics, what are one or two songs that have the most meaning to you?

Keitel: It’s great that you can produce sounds with your vocal chords that you don’t have the words for when you speak them. I think “Antidote” is most personal to me, because it’s about a cycle of mood swings where you have a low day and you kind of know that it’s going to be better the next day, but you know that you are still in this cycle and it’s repeating and it’s grating. I really feel that song, and it translates really well to the instrumentation. 

Also, I think the song, “Walls,” I wrote it first for Headway. It was after the JULI experience that we had, and I was doing a lot of the work – especially social media and everything. It was new for us, since it was the first one re did with Arising Empire. Everything was more professional and I did most of it and I felt like I could not do it another time. I needed to put up some walls and personal boundaries. I felt like with this song, I was going to do that now.

Dead Rhetoric: Where would you like Blacktoothed to be? Like, what are some goals for the next few years or so?

Keitel: Definitely hop on a full tour, I think Europe is the most realistic for now. We are working towards having a longer tour in the second half of 2025. So getting into this touring routine would be our next biggest step. Music-wise, it’s always a bit silly. This album cycle is not even finished yet, but I’m already writing new stuff. I think I have 11 songs so far. They won’t all end up being recorded, but the album cycle and my own don’t match. You are always ahead of time and it’s really annoying. I would love to put out new stuff but it won’t happen since we are in the Headway cycle. 

One big, necessary step, since this is our second album with Arising Empire and we don’t have vinyls, and it’s really annoying. I don’t even own a cd player anymore. So for the next record, we have to do vinyl.

Dead Rhetoric: So are you a vinyl fan then?

Keitel: Yeah, we have a player at home and my husband has tons of them [laughs], but its just nice to have. It looks really cool, if you touch it, it feels nice. It just feels more professional. I think all metal bands do it, so it’s a must have. Every time I see the flyer for the preorder and it’s just the cd and one shirt, it looks kind of naked. It needs something else.

Dead Rhetoric: So you are writing more now, do you think that is honing in on what you think Blacktoothed might be?

Keitel: For me personally, yeah. I feel like the sound I am going on now – I put three songs together, which is a lot for me. Usually I would write one and another would be totally different. I am really feeling it right now. But ask me in 6 months when it gets recorded and I might say something different. You always love the last song you wrote. Then five songs later, you say, “oh, what did I do?” [laughs].

Dead Rhetoric: What do you think the future of metal holds? What do you want to see as a group that is going to be moving through that space?

Keitel: Definitely keeping up the diversity in line-ups. Even for me, it was refreshing to be on the tour with Amity and Emmure, because we are watching these other bands who are totally different. I was not a fan of Amity, but listening to their set every night, I became one! I love that. I also like that metal is getting more diverse in terms of gender. There are more women in the rock and metal scene, and it’s refreshing to see. Even the fact that it’s sometimes not just one woman in the line-up now, that’s great. I appreciate that. 

Otherwise, it’s still no fun to be in the music industry as an artist. If it would be any easier to throw your hat in the ring, even if you aren’t with a certain booking agent…or even the communication. I don’t like that. If you aren’t going to take us, just write us. We can deal with that. But with no answer you are sitting there waiting and you don’t get paid for that. There’s so much time that goes into it, and what you get paid for is so little that it goes right back into the band. If you can make a living, for the time you put in, it would be great. Even if that is unrealistic.

Dead Rhetoric: What are your plans for 2025?

Keitel: It’s hard to plan. Every other week our booking agent asks us if we can do a 6-week tour, which is insane because we all work jobs. You always have to think about if you can make it happen, so we can throw our hat in the ring, then you don’t get anything out of it. We have one thing that we are waiting on, which is a 4-week European tour that we were directly contacted for, so that’s our hope. Otherwise, we just have to wait, simple as that.

Blacktoothed on Instagram
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Dominum – The Dead Don’t Die (Napalm Records)

Matt Coe
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Dominum – The Dead Don’t Die (Napalm Records)

Striking while the iron is hot, German zombie metal sensation Dominum release their second album in two years with The Dead Don’t Die. A series of prime festival appearances like Graspop and Rock Harz plus touring opportunities with Bruce Dickinson, Avantasia, and Feuerschwamz elevate the status of the group. Assuredly these opportunities instill higher levels of confidence in the melodic power metal compositions delivered through these ten original tracks beyond the special throwback cover tribute song that finishes things.

Most of the songwriting contains a mix of riffs, hooks, and melodies that possess an air of familiarity to those who like catchy musical patterns easy to headbang along with, as well as choruses that convey complementary united audience support. You can imagine flames shooting to the sky next to the grim dark, horror/zombie-like themes that also connect in real life, second level metaphors – future favorites like “One of Us” and “Happy Deadly Ending” containing the right balance between modern bounciness and playful power metal frivolity. Listeners can expect an equal infusion of Dr. Dead’s keyboard programming as Tommy Kemp’s driving guitar tones – while vocally Dr. Dead sits in that register similar to Orden Ogan or Powerwolf as far as squeezing out aggression, anger, passion, and occasional gothic/light-hearted sarcasm. Favorites change daily – it’s hard not to get swept up by the circus-like music to choir bursts for “Can’t Kill a Dead Man”, the mysteriously alluring mid-tempo opener “We Are Forlorn” that has a bit of that 80s Accept-like stomp, or the periphery 80s synthwave aspects that sit within the uplifting “The Guardians of the Night” where you feel like you are riding high above the universe.

To pay tribute to the 40th anniversary of this song, Dominum also reach into German hard rock/metal history to put a spin on “Rock You Like a Hurricane” – a huge hit for The Scorpions from the worldwide smash Love at First Sting album. Of course it’s given a slightly bombastic twist, the larger than life choirs plus pulsating keyboard orchestration heightens the undeniable, timeless chorus that will never die. In the end, The Dead Don’t Die is a compact effort keeping the band’s profile front and center if you dig European-oriented melodic power metal with that modern hard rock punch.

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Athena XIX – Everflow Part 1: Frames of Humanity (Reigning Phoenix Music)

Matt Coe
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Athena XIX – Everflow Part 1: Frames of Humanity (Reigning Phoenix Music)

A lot has happened in the career of Italian progressive / power metal band Athena since their original breakup in 2002. Most evident has been the solid productivity and elevated status of singer Fabio Lione through his work in Rhapsody, Vision Divine, Angra, and a boatload of other guest singing, project, or live performance outings. Coming back in 2019 with vocalist Giacomo Boschetto, he would leave in 2022 – allowing Fabio to return. Renamed Athena XIX, the quintet has released their first album in 23 years for Everflow Part 1: Frames of Humanity – a 13-track effort that showcases a tightly driven look into the band’s sophisticated blend of virtuoso progressive metal musicianship mechanics while focusing on shorter, compact arrangements that can be easier to digest or retain.

Immediately waves of stunted guitar/drum interplay give way to softer keyboard / vocal passages on the “Frames of Humanity” opener – Fabio carefully crafting his melodies in mesmerizing shades of happiness, sadness, and confidence to match the musical dynamic shifts. At other points EDM aspects filter in, while previous chord progressions gain additional exploration briefly in subsequent tracks – tying things together conceptually to keep listeners ears perked up. The juxtaposition of circular sequences next to propulsive progressive parts ensures deeper dives to process all the information present. Bassist Alessio Sabella and drummer Matteo Amoroso jump start “The Day We Obscured the Sun” in a morse code-ish tandem off-time underpinning, once again encouraging further left-field mysterious vocal melodies and smoother organ / guitar parts that make this an early favorite. When all five musicians come together in faster bursts, the results can be equally breathtaking much like early Dream Theater, Symphony X, or Evergrey as “The Seed” exemplifies – while modern overtones next to a commercially-infused chorus makes “The Calm Before the Storm” a comforting instant appealer.

Progressive artists these days take in numerous outside influences to generate sounds that expand horizons into what musicians can execute. Mini-gallops or staccato-like guitar squeals next to semi-classical piano play, snare / fill hits that groove one measure, then hit on off-time sequences – that’s what you’ll get on “Where Innocence Disappears”, all at a tidy 4:31 time frame. Fabio’s harmonization capabilities also carry the semi-ballad “Inception”, his soothing lower register present in the verses that rise to upper glory in the chorus. And for those who like guest appearances, you can never go wrong with ex-Kamelot singer Roy Khan as a partner on “I Wish” – the unison guitar/keyboard parts very connective as the back-and-forth vocals unfold in masterclass resonance.

Athena XIX may have been more of a mid-tier progressive metal outfit during the late 90s/early 2000s in their first incarnation, but this second chance could provide them with a bigger platform of appeal. Everflow Part 1: Frames of Humanity contains a stirring sense of collaboration to reach a multitude of listeners, from those into the origins of this style all the way through newcomers – and that’s not easy to achieve. It’s clearly evident that the time away hasn’t diminished creative prowess or execution – channeling a stirring effort that will leave listeners thirsting for future records in this series.

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Aoidos – Lightning in a Bottle

Matt Coe
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Aoidos – Lightning in a Bottle

Photo: Ruben Lopo

Translated as ‘bards’ in English from the Greek language, Aoidos is a quintet from Portugal that formed in late 2019, fusing together an interesting blend of groove-laden blackened death metal on their first studio album Oizys. With influences running the spectrum from Gojira and Behemoth to Watain and Children of Bodom, the band also take inspiration from the struggles of personal experience in their lyrics. Mental health issues surviving a toxic relationship, wildfires that took place in their home country, even Warhammer 40,000 plays a part in matching the vivid musical compositions with equally intoxicating themes. We recently caught up with guitarist/vocalist Freitanás and bassist EkID to learn more about their musical background, the songwriting process behind the band, how the band is live versus what we hear on record, thoughts on the metal landscape, as well as future plans.

Dead Rhetoric: What were some of your earliest memories surrounding music growing up in childhood? At what point did you experience heavier forms of music – and eventually the desire to pick up an instrument and perform in bands?

Freitanás: The earliest memories I have of hearing music is in my home. My mom used to play a lot of rock records, like Aerosmith, and she always had the desire to play the guitar herself, but never got the chance to. She didn’t have the drive to do it, so she kept it in the back of her mind. At first, I didn’t actually like it, I was a kid – I didn’t have a good teacher at first on guitar. The first teacher I got would tell me to do this, then go outside for half an hour. I had half an hour of doing nothing, so maybe it wasn’t for me. Then the metal arrived in my life when I was twelve years old. It came in the form of Metallica – at the time I listened to Avenged Sevenfold, Disturbed, and System of a Down. Those were my four big bands, and a friend of mine introduced me to Slayer – so I found out there could be heavier things. At that point, I started again with guitar lessons, and I wanted to do it. Even if it was just to write some of my own stuff.

The focus has always been, and even with us now as a band, to make our songs and show them to the world, not be in it for money or the fame. We wouldn’t be playing this style of music if we were in it for that.

EkID: It was Metallica for me. I was never born into a music family. One day I was pissing drunk, and a cousin showed me a show from Metallica in 2004. It was love at first sight. At first, I wanted to play guitar, but then I found out what my true instrument was, and it was the bass.

Dead Rhetoric: How did the formation of Aoidos take place in late 2019? Were you familiar with each other in the local music scene, and did you know straight away the style of blackened death metal you wanted to develop, or was it a natural feeling out process to arrive at the sound you have?

Freitanás: We knew each other already. At first, I didn’t start it with EkID. There is a scene in our town, but it isn’t very big. You will know everyone from attending one or two shows, you get to know everyone. I started playing stoner rock with the drummer. Then we got into metal – I was a thrash metal aficionado for a long time. Then I got into black metal. I decided I wanted to play black metal. In the end, EkID joined us because even though I was into black metal at the time, my roots are always in rhythmic, groovy songs. Gojira is one of the greats for me, and I take a lot of inspiration from their guitar work. Although I started as a black metal band, I take some inspiration from other sounds. When Ivo the other guitar player joined, the black metal aspect got bigger because he is the real black metal guy. He wants us to inject the tremolo melodies for ambiance, and I want more of the rhythmic stuff.

Dead Rhetoric: Oizys is the group’s debut full-length album. How do you feel about the songwriting and recording process with this set of material? What challenges, obstacles, or surprises came up during the development and how do you feel about this record at this point?

Freitanás: This record has been a long time coming. The most recent song is almost two years old. With all the lineup changes, we started in 2019 with me and Victor, the drummer. Then EkID joined us in 2020, and we started as a trio, but we never got to play live. We just did a live recording, a live session, but not a show. Then COVID struck hard, and we were without a drummer. We decided to do a project to see where it goes. I started to write more songs because I grew tired of all my older songs, I have a lot of ideas. I started playing guitar fifteen years ago, and I started writing songs fourteen years ago. Writing is my thing, my jam.

Joining forces with EkID new stuff came. Then Ivo joined, we got a new drummer with Pedro – and Pedro is more of a grunge and progressive metal guy. His approach to the songs was really different, and I wanted to give him the freedom to do more of what he likes. These songs, although the oldest are five years old, it has so many changes and differences. We have a pianist as well Erlkönig, she brought all these classical influences in as well, she’s a teacher. It really morphed the sound into something different. I mixed the record as well, so I’m tired of it (laughs). I took the time to clean my plate. I’ve been away from it for two months, and I listened to the album a week ago and I still like it.

EkID: The biggest challenge was in the songwriting. We recorded the whole thing five times probably, each song.

Freitanás: Always something new to add. When you sit on something for too long – one of my greatest inspirations is Devin Townsend, and he talks about this as well – you grow tired of it. So, you change it, this could use a new lead, a choir, or whatever. You are constantly changing things, and it never ends – it never is finished. You want to move on, but it’s a complete hurricane of emotions. It’s off to the races.

Dead Rhetoric: Considering some of these songs are over five years old, which song do you think took on the greatest transformation from the original idea to what we hear on the record?

EkID: “From the Surface Grate”.

Freitanás: Yeah. Originally when I wrote the song it was at 120 BPM. It went to a 100, and now it’s 140 BPM. It is really different. It was ten minutes, and I cut a really big chunk of it. When we play it live, I remember the lyrics that I cut sometimes. And also “Black Swan” as well. But not the recording of the single, as it was already like that. The first recording was called “Anger” at the time. I salvaged one riff from that idea, and I built “Black Swan” around it. Even that riff is gone – it’s in the single that came out last year. Now it isn’t even there, it doesn’t work.

Dead Rhetoric: You draw from personal experiences as well as ancient Greek mythology for much of the subject matter in terms of the lyrical topics. Do you draw any parallels from both that work perfectly to match the diversity present within the music to capture the best atmosphere?

Freitanás: I think the most important thing in the music for me is the storytelling of an idea. Making the song for the act of it – the song must have a message. That’s why how I came across the figure of the bard Aoidos, it’s from Greece – it’s like lightning in the bottle. It made sense to continue getting some ideas from mythology, Greek mythology has lots and lots of Gods. I found out they had one even for anxiety and depression – yes, of course! My girlfriend has always battled a lot with anxiety and depression, and at the time of COVID when most of the songs were written, it was the thing going on at the time in our lives. It made sense, most of the songs are about things she went through. It’s her experience through her eyes, how she dealt with trauma.

I started with the storytelling part of it, then EkID took it and went to the next level.

EkID: I am a big wrestling guy. Most of my inspiration comes from the old school WWF at the time. We have some stuff that I write from there. We are a bit chaotic. We take less inspiration from metal and more from everything else. Metal is our smallest inspiration.

Freitanás: Metal is our tool. Our way of showing things. We love storytelling a lot.

Dead Rhetoric: Sofya Alves did the cover art for Oizys. What was the process like developing what we see as the final product – do you still see the importance and significance of strong cover art to draw people into the band in today’s modern scene?

Freitanás: Sofya Alves is actually my sister and cover artist as well. I had the idea to have her do a full -size painting. I wanted to unite all the things that we had done up until this point. What you see on the cover is Oizys the goddess where her heart is open, then there are parts of the first single we produced. At the right side you have the trees from the fire, the cover of that single. At the left is the black swan from our third single. Then we have up top the face of the crow for the trauma. A little angel as well. To take all those isolated steps throughout our career, mix it all, and try to give a full picture of where we are right now. I did a little sketch for her in Photoshop – I can’t really draw, at all. I sent it to her; she had a sketch in two days.

Cover art is really important. We have a saying in Portuguese that we say – we eat with our eyes. I think that cover art in this day and age, it’s important. If cover art has the power to capture your attention, it’s really as important as the music itself. If the first glimpse is interesting, you are probably going to want to check out the music.

Dead Rhetoric: How would you describe Aoidos when it comes to your live performances versus what people hear and experience on record? What have been some of the more memorable shows or festival appearances for the group so far in your career?

EkID: Good memorable or bad memorable? (laughs). Bad memorable – we played in Spain for five people. Two of them were staff from the venue, and the other three were from the other band.

Freitanás: It was the first show on the tour. Still memorable. We have a mindset that if you want to hear our songs like they are on the album, play the album. Pedro the drummer, he sticks mostly to what he does, but other songs he has already changed live, and we weren’t going to go in and re-record things. He changes it, we have some breaks and moments of silence between the songs that work well in a live performance that aren’t on the album. These are two different artforms. At first when they started recording music, it was to capture the live sound. Then it inverted, trying to replicate the other way around. I had a moment in time where I said I can’t do this – because I won’t be able to replicate it. When I took a course in studio engineering, my friends said you have to paint the best picture you can. And then you do another thing, the presentation of it. It’s like sending a picture to a gallery, then you have the presentation to show it to the people. That’s the live show.

We try to be charismatic and talk to people. We are not the looking at ourselves as a black metal kind of band. I joke a lot, when I speak, I do jokes, mostly Dad jokes. We take the band seriously, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously. It gets to a point where you are too serious about being brutal and metal, and it gets a little goofy. We are not goofy, but we are a little comedic. Our guitarist Ivo is like – you can’t smile for pictures; we have to be serious. But we like to hang out together, so we are smiling because we are happy.

The first show was cool, the birth of a baby. We played as a trio, with one guitar. I knew that we needed a second guitarist after that. At the second show, we added a second guitarist. The train was running. Our first live open-air festival, we had a crowd-surfer. That was a good accomplishment for us.

Dead Rhetoric: How do you see the state of the heavy metal scene on a local versus global level? What do you enjoy most about the movement, and what changes (if any) would you like to make for the greater good of all parties involved?

EkID: Quality-wise, it’s probably great. Our bands are awesome. Being good is not enough. The metal scene, it’s almost like a grind. We don’t have any support here. There’s no tv time, no radio time. We have bands that tour the globe, but nobody in Portugal knows them because they play metal. It would be a nice change, a little bit of help.

Freitanás: You have one radio show that has been alive from the 90s. It goes on at one in the morning, really late. If you are not up at that time, you miss it. We have loads of gigs and shows happening. There are five other shows that are going on the same night as when we want to do our album release show. The quantity of shows is up there. Most of the time, you can’t even cover the costs for the gigs. Some don’t even give you food. You pay to play. On the pop side, indie rock genres, there is a little more money for them, but not that much as well. For metal, it’s like fifty Euros – we are like, eh? Most bands will say yes. The promoters, most of the promoters have bands as well. And sometimes the ones that have bands seem to be the worst. They want us to play for twenty dollars. Would you play for twenty dollars? A little more money for the bands – please!

Dead Rhetoric: Where would you like to see Aoidos over the next three to five years as far as establishing yourselves in the music scene? Do you have short term and long-term goals you’d like to achieve, or bucket list items to check off?

Freitanás: First, a European tour would be awesome. We are working on it, with the contacts. We were trying to book one last year, but we didn’t have the album out yet. Going to America would be awesome as well. It’s the thing everyone wants to do. Financially speaking, the idea is always to have the band pay for itself. We don’t think we are ever going to be able to do this as a full-time job – if it comes, it comes. We would be happy for it, of course. But we do this to express ourselves, and I want all of us to be involved in the process of writing and developing the band. So, everyone will be happy participating in it. A lot of bands focus on getting bigger and getting bigger faster. But they forget that they are a group of people trying to be together, trying to do something together.

Dead Rhetoric: What’s next on the agenda for Aoidos over the next twelve months to promote the album?

Frietanás: We will start promoting the record locally. We have two shows booked right now. These are the first of this album cycle. We are planning a tour of Portugal and Spain for next year. From there, the world, I guess. We will try to do things piece by piece. Start locally, start creating a community. People know us already, before having an album that’s pretty cool. It’s our main focus right now, to expand things outwards.

Aoidos on Facebook

Virtual Symmetry – Veils of Illumination (Self-Released)

Matt Coe
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Virtual Symmetry – Veils of Illumination (Self-Released)

An Italian-Swiss combination progressive metal unit, Virtual Symmetry continue to amaze through their stellar compositions plus fluid musicianship abilities. Consistently following this group from their second studio album release Exoverse in 2020, the pandemic hasn’t slowed down any productivity as they now issue their fourth full-length for Veils of Illumination. They’ve chosen to execute an interesting promotional strategy – the physical release appearing now, but trickling out digital singles for the record monthly until May 2025. Whatever the reasons, it does not diminish the quality songwriting and performances contained within these eight tracks.

Two new members join the ranks in the period between records – keyboardist Ruben Paganelli and drummer Andrea Gianangeli, the latter with previous experience in David Reece’s solo band. The five-piece continually challenge themselves (and the listeners) through the tightly driven measures that can be bombastic in musicianship interplay one moment, then highly melodic or serene the next – yet make both sides of the coin work in the same song. Opener “Heart’s Resonance” achieves both elements right away, the Dream Theater-esque keyboard work allowing the subsequent adventurous to aggressive guitar parts more driving power – all the while encouraging Marco Pastorino’s alluring vocal range to widen the colors available in his emotional tones even further. Cinematic sections sit next to progressive passages, occasionally using more of an Evergrey or Symphony X-like down-tuned guitar texture that appeases dynamically, as “Blades of Inner Battles” illustrates. The left field distant screams beyond the prolific guitar/keyboard instrumental break angles add thrills to this almost nine-minute-long arrangement. At times you can almost close your eyes to envision magnificent, outer universe splendor – a song like “Echoes of Silence” shines through a series of jazzy meets progressive runs next to tamer verses, Ruben’s orchestration and keyboard layers rising to the peaks necessary especially on the back half of the song.

As customary for Virtual Symmetry, the band love to deliver a true ‘epic’ song in their progressive metal framework – that’s what you’ll get to conclude the record for “Eightfold Path”. At almost twenty-one minutes, there’s so much information to process between the slower, marching instrumental start with pitch-bending keyboard solo work on through to graceful guitar play, as well as tight rhythm section mechanics which shift tempos at the greatest of ease. The male/female tradeoff vocals provide dramatic tension, bassist Alessandro Poppale given minor spotlights while the instrumental passage midway through pushes all instrumentalists to their neoclassical, progressive proclivities – it’s the type of song that ardent followers of this style treasure.

With mixing and mastering under the proper hands/mind of Simone Mularoni (DGM), Virtual Symmetry recently gained a great opportunity to tour Europe with Evergrey to hopefully acquire larger followers to their ways. Veils of Illumination deserves plenty of investment, especially for those who love the classic progressive metal framework taken to the next level in a format that can appeal not just to the schooled musicians but a broader audience.

Virtual Symmetry official website

Virtual Symmetry on Facebook

Mavorim – In Omnia Paratus (Purity Through Fire)

Damian Cousins
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Mavorim – In Omnia Paratus (Purity Through Fire)

Here’s a group in Mavorim I knew very little of until their current (fifth) album fell into my lap. In Ominia Paratus is the German duo’s latest effort for a band active over a decade and I can only think, ‘how fitting!’. This is the stuff black metal is made for, if you ask me (not that anyone would). So, let’s dig in.

Right away I was all about “Zerfall” which really got the ol’ clarin pumpin’. You follow that with the fourth track “Tu’ ich meine Augen zu” and you’ve got a recipe for success! It also doesn’t hurt that this song clocks in at nearly eight minutes. I love epic tracks, and that’s not changing soon. “Stählerne Reihen” was my other favorite because it just goes from hell to an appetizing breakfast as it stops seemingly on a dime. Baptist (voices, strings, keys) and Valfor (drums, voices) really hit their stride on this number, indicating violence is imminent.

“Ein fahles Ross” sounds very much like a rallying cry, in which case I say, ‘Sign me up!’. About halfway through it takes on a faster, heavier, more sinister tone and I am here for it! “Aller Abart Gloria” bashes you over the head (in a good way) while you beg for more. My next favorite was the killer track “Träume” with its cold darkness and vibes similar to veterans Immortal. That’s not a slight because they are one of my favorites in the genre. Look, all told I loved this record. In Ominia Paratus will be out soon and it would behoove you to snag a copy, so go and do so, hey?

Standout Tracks: ” Träume”, “Stählerne Reihen”, “Zerfall”.

Mavorim on Facebook

Daniel Barkasi – 2024 End of Year Extravaganza!

Daniel Barkasi
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Daniel Barkasi – 2024 End of Year Extravaganza!

We’re back! This year was both quick and long for many reasons. Personally, we dealt with two catastrophic hurricanes that displaced us for close to a month – what we get for living in the Florida hellscape – a huge move, the trashbag of an election, amongst other bits of madness. We’re also planning another move that will hopefully happen in 2025 while trying to sell our old house.

Our ever growing fuzzy family also grew by two cats. One who was found by a good friend, whose family owns a catering company, hiding out in the engine of their business’ van. Our friend wasn’t able to keep him, so we gladly gave the little orange nutball a home. His name is Dougal (Father Ted inspiration completely, due to the whole orange cat shared brain cell thing), and he actually went viral for a moment when the wife caught him on video running into a running shower – not a normal thing for a cat! Our other and most recent kitty was found with her littermates abandoned behind a Wendy’s. A wonderful local rescue took them in and took amazing care of them, and we gave this little one – pictured with me above – a home. Her name is Mabel – named after Mabel Pines from the incredible Gravity Falls – and she’s a spicy little piece of cornbread. I don’t know what I’d do without all of them, and they enrich our lives every day. Our two horses Naru and Mystik are doing great, too. I regretfully forgot to mention them last year, so we must right that wrong!

All the thanks to the DR crew – especially the tireless Matt Coe, and the awesome Katarina McGinn – who got engaged this year, congrats! – as well as the mighty Gehlke, who are the rocks of this site. It was a great year for us, with a spiffy new redesign, and a lot of phenomenal artists covered. Some of my favorite moments this year in music were the couple of interviews that I was able to conduct – Eternal Storm and Resin Tomb both were talks that were a ton of fun and interesting.

We covered a number of shows, including the 2024 Decibel Magazine tour, Powerwolf’s return to North America, and the unreal King Diamond St. Lucifer’s Hospital tour, and a few others. We hope to cover more in the coming year, including possibly a festival or two, if things go our way! Huge shout out to the wife Brittany Barkasi for her incredible live photography for many of our live show reviews!

When it comes down to an end of year wrap-up, it’s been a full calendar of incredible releases. Throughout, we took in everything we can, and as it’s surely evident, we aren’t casual in our music consumption. Investing the proper time to take in an album is important in judging it fairly, and everything we talk about here are works that we took in many, many times to fully understand and appreciate the breadth of the art we’re diving into. Even the stuff that wasn’t particularly favorable!

With that said, we’re not going the traditional route this time around. Usually, it’s a more traditional list, with a few other things tossed in there for good fun. Instead, we’re going to go with a few different categorizations and give a brief listing of what ranked highest. Think of it as an awards ceremony of sorts, but with zero fanfare, and about seven people giving a shit about it. Yeah, seven. If you want to read a more traditional listing from me, check out my feature on No Clean Singing.

A rule for this: no repeat winners/nominations for music-based awards. That means if a band is in one category, they can’t be in another. However, they can win, say, best album artwork and best *insert category here* album. Confusing? Probably. We simply want to spread the love to as many as we can and not allow any one band be too dominant!

As such, there isn’t a sort of real physical trophy that we have to hand out, or anything of that nature. That said, we’re going to borrow a fake award from one of the greatest television shows ever invented – Father Ted. Some of you may not know what in the hell that is, and if you don’t, you can find most – if not all – of the episodes on YouTube. It’s a 90s show about three Irish Catholic priests who are all relegated by the church to an island that’s a backwater dump due to various ridiculous reasons. This is fittingly the Christmas episode, where Ted wins a Golden Cleric award, and delivers an egregiously long speech calling out people that “really fecked me over down the years.” It’s abrasive, edgy, and full of angst – perfect for our little ceremony!

Or something! Of course, we jest, and without further fanfare or rambling, we present to you…my super serious, top favorite music stuff of 2024.

Chillingly dark albums of 2024:
The realm of black metal is where these ears spend a fair amount of their listening time, as you can see by the list of recommendations below. It’s become such a diverse genre, with a wide array of sounds to pick from, of which most have more than a few standouts. However, there can be only one.

The Golden Cleric goes to: Aara – Eiger
One of the top creative forces in black metal, Berg’s flagship project always is steeped in story, with Eiger being based on the mountain of the same name in Switzerland, and the climbing disaster that occurred in 1936 that led to the deaths of four climbers. In typical Aara fashion, it’s a blizzard of sharp black metal prowess with a healthy dose of nuance and atmosphere. Eiger feels cold when listening to it, helping to push the story forward.

Runners-up:

Crushingly vile albums of 2024:

Death metal is another categorization that’s overflowing with varying approaches, and one that is a go-to for my daily listening. Twas a great year for this genre, with an originator leading the pack.

The Golden Cleric goes to: Ulcerate – Cutting the Throat of God

I dove deeply into the latest from Ulcerate; the band that took dissonant, discordant death metal and moved it into a gnarled, darker direction. Their latest delves further into atmospheric, suffocating soundscapes, as they continue to innovate and blaze their own path.

Runners-up:

Calamitously glum albums of 2024:

Doom as a genre had an interesting year. There wasn’t as high of a volume of top tier releases in the genre this year as the past few, however, the standout releases that we’ve gotten have been incredibly impactful and are amongst the best examples of the slow and mournful sound that these ears are drawn to.

The Golden Cleric goes to: Hamferð – Men Gu​ð​s hond er sterk

When a historical event is the subject of a record, my interest is piqued. Hamferð took it deeper, utilizing their native Faroese lore – a 1915 whaling incident in Sandvík where 14 people perished that’s deeply ingrained in the town’s population. The soundtrack is a smothering, intimate affair that will tug at one’s heartstrings hard. Beautiful and memorable.

Runners-up:

  • Crypt Sermon – The Stygian Rose: The Philadelphia doom merchants crafted their most sharply written record in a career of the highest of quality, bolstered by individual performances that are among the best that any member has done yet.
  • Lowen – Do Not Go to War with the Demons of Mazandaran: Stunning and ambitious, Lowen took me by surprise with their creativity, usage of middle middle eastern sounds and themes, gargantuan riffs, and the incredible voice of Nina Saeidi. There’s no other that sounds like Lowen.
  • Officium Triste – Hortus Venenum: Having been at it since 1994, the melodic yet harsh atmospheres by the Dutch ensemble continue to be a leader. Gobs of soulfulness and sorrow abound.
  • Endonomos – Endonomos II – Enlightenment: Newer to the scene, Endonomos’ impact on it is unquestionable. Their latest is a downtrodden, tightly weaved trek that’ll leave one breathless.
  • Mother of Graves – The Periapt of Absence: Quickly becoming one of the premier death/doom acts, The Periapt of Absence is a memorable album front to back.
  • My Dying Bride – A Mortal Binding: Despite the turmoil, the legends still have it. Enough said.
  • Tzompantli – Beating the Drums of Ancestral Force: Leaning heavily towards the death side of the death/doom balancing act, the authentic Aztec-inspired Tzompantli delivered what is not only the heaviest doom release that these ears listened to in 2024, but also one that’s truly one of a kind.
  • Blóð – Mara: Hypnotic, devastating, and filled with equal parts muck and haunting aura, Mara is a harsh and monstrous record highlighted by vocalist Anna W.’s extreme versatility.
  • Ghostheart Nebula – Blackshift: Spacey, vast, and ambient, Ghostheart Nebula’s latest is a complex and despair-filled journey.
  • Helevorn – Espectres: Gothic doom from Spain that has never led us astray, Espectres is a melancholic, bleak, and weighty piece that’ll stick with you.
  • Oryx – Primordial Sky: Parts drone, sludge, doom, and death, Oryx have conjured a leviathan that’ll stomp craters into the Earth.

Harmoniously melodically crushing albums of 2024:

Melodic death metal, my entry point to extreme metal many years ago, and the primary reason you’re dealing with my nonsense in this capacity. Plenty to wax poetic about in 2024, with a string of adept releases to celebrate.

The Golden Cleric goes to: Night in Gales – Shadowreaper

The million dollar/euro/sterling/whatever question: will this guy ever shut up about Night in Gales? The answer is unequivocally, no. Their historical significance and grasp on the best elements of melodeath continue to age like the finest spirits, and their hot streak continues via the darker and infectious Shadowreaper.

Runners-up:

  • Iotunn – Kinship: The second Jón Aldará band represented here, with good reason. Iotunn no doubt went more progressive and soaring with Kinship, with a well-fleshed out concept and songs that strike a chord in their own magical way.
  • Nyktophobia – To the Stars: Overflowing with rich landscapes and detailed compositions, the German’s ascended to new heights with this sharp, well-composed record.
  • Eternal Storm – A Giant Bound to Fall: Truly progressive, taking creative chances, and seeing the pay off is paramount to the success of Eternal Storm’s massive opus that is A Giant Bound to Fall.
  • Livløs – The Crescent King: A varied yet coherent and engrossing offering from the Danish riff machine that is Livløs.
  • Upon Stone – Dead Mother Moon: Bursting at the seams with energetic songs and tantalizing instrumentation, Upon Stone will be a name to watch very closely.
  • Dark Tranquillity – Endtime Signals: Their legendary reputation precedes, and this release is the band’s most engaging in years from the model for consistency in this realm.
  • Withering Surface – Exit Plan: Similar to Night in Gales in the category of not having nearly enough respect given to their name, and have released two exemplary albums since re-forming – the latest Exit Plan embraces both the classic and the contemporary.
  • Dark Oath – Ages of Man: Epic melodeath has ironically become a somewhat blaise approach, but Dark Oath breathes plenty of life with a truly original concept and momentous songwriting. More of this, please.
  • Andy Gillion – Exilium: The prolific ex-Mors Principium Est songwriter/axeman extraordinaire has been a busy bee, releasing the metal-meets-synthwave Arcade Metal, and now this year with the shredding Exilium; a fierce example of guitar-driven melodic death that’s an utter joy to take in.

Majestically, mind-bendingly soaring albums of 2024:

I have an interesting relationship with power/prog. One of my absolute favorite festivals is ProgPower USA, who puts on one of the best events year upon year filled with exciting, forward-thinking artists. When it comes to new releases in these realms, it’s been a solid year, with some incredible records to make us ponder, though the numbers that really hit the mark for yours truly weren’t overwhelming, there are bonafide gems to be uncovered.

The Golden Cleric goes to: Caligula’s Horse – Charcoal Grace

Simply put, no album this year was more heartfelt and affected me personally more than the latest album by Caligula’s Horse. We’ve had plenty to say about this career-defining opus, so we implore you to dive deeply into this beautiful piece of aural artistry.

Runners-up:

  • VOLA – Friend of a Phantom: Witness was near-impossible to follow, and while it remains as the band’s seminal album for now to these ears, Friend of a Phantom took some creative risks that paid off, showing VOLA as a band that doesn’t stand still and will always have that knack for big hooks and effusive melody.
  • Fellowship – The Skies Above Eternity: If there was ever a band who sounded like an animated Disney classic soundtrack (they did cover a song from The Lion King, and it was wonderful) with the sweetness of maple syrup, it’s certainly Fellowship. There’s plenty of depth there, however, with The Skies Above Eternity showcasing a band who has assuredly grown substantially, but are still the most exciting and incredibly fun band in power metal.
  • Orden Ogan – The Order of Fear: No band embodies the spirit of Blind Guardian – other than the actual band, of course – while carving their own niche like Orden Ogan has. The Order of Fear is undeniable, proving the band’s ascent is in line with the ever increasing quality of their music.
  • In Vain – Solemn: Ænigma stands as an all-timer for progressive black/death metal, and while Currents had its moments, it had an impossible task to take on. Solemn stands as the strongest effort that the band has had since said classic, and it’s a creative force that will take the listener on a harrowing trip.
  • Powerwolf – Wake Up the Wicked: It’s a Powerwolf album, so we know what we’re getting, and it’s a howling blast of glorious blasphemy that’s catchy, tongue-in-cheek, and bombastic as hell. Don’t think too deeply about this one and have some fun!
  • Evergrey – Theories of Emptiness: The preeminent progressive metal band for many, their discography certainty backs up that claim, with Theories of Emptiness boasting a creative verve that has many miles left on the odometer.
  • Anciients – Beyond the Reach of the Sun: Vancouver’s Anciients sort of vanished for eight years, and we were ecstatic to see their triumphant return via Beyond the Reach of the Sun. Evidently a great album was definitely not beyond reach; it’s like they never left, and they’ve gifted us their most complex record thus far. Don’t make us wait another eight years again, please!

Violently heavy albums of 2024:

This category doesn’t have a genre attachment. The only requirement is visceral, unmitigated sonic violence. Many bands got the memo, so for those who wish to be smashed and bruised, it’s been your year.

The Golden Cleric goes to: Resin Tomb – Cerebral Purgatory

Sludgy death/grind that’s untamable and damn near impossible to stop spinning. The most aggressive Tim Tam slam you’ll ever experience.

Runners-up:

  • Kvadrat – The Horrible Dissonance of Oblivion: Solo black-death by the jack-of-all-trades Ivan Agakechagias that will suck you into a vacuum of hopeless bleakness. Fans of all things dissonant must check this out.
  • Alta Rossa – A Defiant Cure: Blackened sludge infused with hardcore’s fervent nature, France’s Alta Rossa is a thinking-person’s brand of destructive endeavor, with a smidgeon of hope shining out amongst the darkness.
  • Still – A Theft: You want a fierce audible explosion, you listen to Still. Post-sludge with much to say, done so in a voice overflowing with primal angst.
  • Spectral Voice – Sparagmos: Blood Incantation may be getting all of the headlines, but for me, the gem that three of those dudes released this year – along with Black Curse drummer Eli Wendler – is the droning cloud of death/doom known as Spectral Voice and their latest Sparagmos. Their lights out (literally) show at Maryland Deathfest of this album was also all sorts of nuts.
  • Ancst – Culture of Brutality: Blackened crust with attitude, this is some heavier than heavy, antagonistic stuff that sticks the landing.
  • Ataraxie – Le déclin: Bar none, the weightiest and most vehement funeral doom (laced with a huge dosage of death metal) that’ll be uncovered this year, or really, most years.
  • Aberration – Refracture: Death/black with a gnarled twist, Refracture is a grimy, thick wall of pure discordance.
  • Wormed – Omegon: Their reputation for mind-mashing brutal/tech death precedes them, and this stands up as one of the most in-depth, slamming machinations the Wormed fellows have forged.
  • Apes – Penitence: Black/grind that’s dark and will tear your face off. Sign us up.
  • Nekus – Death Apophenia: Cavernous, bleak black/death/doom mashup that’s focused and savage to an immeasurable scale.

Soul-shredding emotive albums of 2024:

This category is reserved for albums that touched the heart in profound ways. You’ll find a fine mixture of tearjerkers below.

The Golden Cleric goes to: Vægtløs – Aftryk

Poetic and heartbreaking, Danish post-black group Vægtløs is the most personal record that we’ve taken in, dealing with the many struggles that vocalist Troels H. Sørensen has sadly experienced – specifically, excruciating loss and trials that he has endured, like his sister to cancer (the song a hopeful dedication to her daughter), the still raw loss of his father over 20 years ago, his aunt’s battle with alcoholism, and a close friend who was diagnosed with terminal cancer, but is still fighting. It’s a challenging album that’s exquisitely written, and taken musically, is amongst the most adept and pulsating post-black/hardcore records out there.

Runners-up:

  • Pillar of Light – Caldera: Wildly heavy and burgeoning with downtrodden overtones in a post-doom wrapper that’s utterly unrelenting.
  • Midas Fall – Cold Waves Divide Us: This is an album one experiences; one that is also not a simple listen, but will affect your psyche. Also, Elizabeth Heaton’s voice will tear your emotions to bits.
  • Counting Hours – The Wishing Tomb: A DR favorite over the years, the masters of melancholy have graced our senses with another powerful offering of dreary, reflective, and intoxicating. They’re the top draw for this style of melodic doom.
  • Dark Affliction – Five Stages of Grief: Atmospheric black metal swath with a heavy subject; the five stages of grief. Genuine and complex, Panagiotis Christias has created quite the brave work for us to immerse ourselves within.
  • Dawn Treader – Bloom & Decay: Post-blackgaze with an edge, Bloom & Decay is an alluring work that puts a light on all aspects of the human experience with a caring touch.
  • Weather Systems – Ocean Without a Shore: Once Anathema split in 2020, it left quite a void. Daniel Cavanagh returns after a long few years of personal struggle to bring us his solo project Weather Systems, which continues the Anathema style of proggy rock atmospheres with that singular touch I adore so deeply.

Fantabulous non-metal of 2024:

Yeah, we listen to music other than metal. Most of which is based in the vast ocean that is electronic music. We’ve covered a few things within this spectrum here in the past, and here’s the best stuff that we thoroughly enjoyed in 2024.

The Golden Cleric goes to: Gost – Prophecy

An originator of the darksynth sound, the seminal Gost has returned to his early roots with Prophecy, which is a punchy, visceral album that’s uncompromising and cathartic.

Runners-up:

  • The Anix – Voltage: One of the foremost creative forces in electronic music, The Anix evolves with every release. There’s plenty to unpack within this densely layered, forthright and trippy release that showcases a brilliant artist continuously innovating in their own space.
  • At 1980 – Forgot to Remember: Pure 80s, neon-soaked, sappy synthwave, and we love it so. Featuring one of the best vocalists on planet Earth in Josh Dally, this is a shining example of how mesmerizing the genre can be.
  • Dance with the Dead – Dark Matter EP: Dance with the Dead were one of – if not the first – band to so seamlessly combine synthwave with metal, and while they’ve been predominantly an instrumental act, their Dark Matter EP is filled with guest vocalists, seeing the band branch out with the expected catchy, fast-paced and delicious results.
  • Fury Weekend – Million Flares and Starlights: Belarus’ Ars Nikonov knows how to craft danceable synthwave tunes that are also pure earworms, and his latest Million Flares and Starlights is a furious (see what I did there?) album that doesn’t let up.
  • Dan Terminus – Gothic Engine: Another originator in the darker side of synth music, Dan Terminus simply never misses, with Gothic Engine being the most recent example of his impressive consistency.
  • Chelsea Wolfe – She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She: A highly unique artist whose cathartic, soothingly dreamlike music carries a dark undertone that many here are likely to appreciate. Captivating.
  • Timecop1983 – Metropolis EP: Synthwave legend Jordy Leenaerts and his project Timecop1983 are of the most important artists in the style, and the new Metropolis EP is an all-instrumental effort that hits on all facets.
  • Red Lokust – Hope is the Last Refuge of the Dying: Aggrotech stalwarts Red Lokust have built their deepest, most forward-thinking record to date; a testament to the genre’s underground strength and staying power.

Surprisingly stunning release of 2024:

Shocks abound this year! The following albums took us by surprise in the best ways conceivable.

The Golden Cleric goes to: Cemetery Skyline – Nordic Gothic

With the folks involved, this shouldn’t be a surprise, but the fact that they’ve created 90s era inspired gothic rock/metal that’s this potent certainly qualifies. Some of the most fun with a record that was had in 2024.

Runners-up:

  • Múr – Múr: Having first came across this band by accident via a YouTube video of a live performance, we’ve been waiting on a record from the enigmatic Múr, and the Icelandic ensemble delivered beyond any realistic expectation with a progressive wall of virulent sound that’s hard to label, but is spellbinding all the same.
  • Opeth – The Last Will and Testament: Sticking with the Father Ted theme, this meme personified the return of harsh vocals perfectly. Opeth’s most engaging – for yours truly, anyway – album in quite some time, and their first conceptual album since Still Life, this was a surprising and delightful record that has dragged me back into the Opeth world once more.
  • Reveals – Attachment, Destruction and Extinction: Though oddly in pre-order status on Bandcamp since May, Indonesian atmospheric black metallers Reveals have created a relentless, fascinating debut that’s totally worthy of a listen.
  • Vanessa Funke – Void: The multi-talented instrumentalist is a busy creator, with Void being her third solo effort, blending melodic death, black, gothic, and other styles together in a satisfyingly potent manner, resulting in an album that we re-revisited plenty.
  • Blighted Eye – Agony’s Bespoke: Progressive death metal merchants Blighted Eye took me out of the blue with Agony’s Bespoke; a blitz of a concept album that’s got more turns than a road deep in the mountains.

Creatively ambitious album of 2024:

These albums were the most creative, singular records of the year; whether musically, thematically, or just plain freaking odd, these all left an indelible mark.

The Golden Cleric goes to: Kanonenfieber – Die Urkatastrophe

To those wondering why this wasn’t in the black metal section, you can relax. Another album I reviewed in grisly detail, Kanonenfieber is a project unto themselves. A black/death work that’s momentous in stature, and met that moment with gusto.

Runners-up:

  • Veilburner – The Duality of Decapitation and Wisdom: Black metal that’s gloriously weird and out there, this conceptual release based around the number seven (number of songs, length of each song, etc.) is quite the wondrous trip.
  • Schammasch – The Maldoror Chants: Old Ocean: This being more reserved in some ways, with plenty of breathing room throughout, the surreal avant-garde black metal horde of Schammasch have yet again dazzled like only they can.
  • Hail Spirit Noir – Fossil Gardens: The always offbeat and psychedelic black metal offerings of Greece’s Hail Spirit Noir triumphed once again with a dazzling album that’s a little heavier than other recent releases, but no less odd and supremely different.
  • Hauntologist – Hollow: Post-black/rock from members of MGLA that’s quite the experience; ghostly and irreverent.
  • Bedsore – Dreaming the Strife for Love: Jazzy, rife with organs and 70s psychedelic principles, Bedsore surprised us with their atmospheric death metal offerings of the most strange varieties. Yet, it works so well that it’s difficult to contemplate.
  • Sgàile – Traverse the Bealach: Based on a Scottish nomad’s fictitious travels in a post-apocalyptic world, this progressive work takes elements of pots-metal and many others to make a singular sound that morphs as the tale unfolds. Tony Dunn outdid himself on this release.
  • Solbrud – IIII: The swansong of a Danish great, Solbrud’s enormous final album IIII, was an ambitious undertaking that’s totally in character for the band’s nature. Split into four parts representing an element – earth, water, air, and fire – with each of the four band members writing one of those parts. This results in 94 minutes of dynamic black metal that asks a lot, but gives even more.

Electric EPs of 2024:

The short players need some love, too! There were a number of quality EPs that were bestowed upon us – some serving as potential bridges towards a new album, some completely fresh – that are absolutely worth a small sliver of your time.

The Golden Cleric goes to: Golgothan Remains – Bearer of Light, Matriarch of Death

Australian death metal is in a healthy spot, and Golgothan Remains is one such act whose work has been admirable. Their latest EP is a four song massacre of huge riffs. Hopefully a new album won’t be far off.

Runners-up:

  • Glassbone – Deaf to Suffering: Among the most forthright and barbaric releases on any format, the hardcore/death metal fusion is a potent force that’s only warming up. Sick art by Paolo Girardi to top it off, too!
  • Whispers – Yom-Ma-Lok: Crunchy, slamming hardcore from Thailand, Whispers’ threw this incredibly strong EP in December, and it’s been one that we’ve dedicated plenty of time to, getting better with each rotation. This is how it’s done.
  • Obsidian Tongue – The Stone Heart: Extremely unique, organic progressive black metal that hopefully are signs to come from this underrated act.
  • Kruelty – Profane Usurpation: The angst-ridden Japanese death/doom act Kruelty is in full forward motion – this time with an EP to quickly follow their critically acclaimed Untopia album from last year. Expect more violence from this enticing romp.
  • Hexis – Relictus / Umbrae: The relentless road warriors Hexis have a two song EP with remaining songs that weren’t used on the beastly Aeternum album in 2022. Expect a similar blackened sludge vibe here, with hopefully another album in the near future.
  • Absorb – Smog: The Canadian death/doom consortium made some tweaks to their output, vying for an increase in aggression and a thicker sound profile. The resulting Smog EP is a fitting moniker for their huge Primitive Man-esque onslaught, setting the table for more.
  • Morokh – X: Opting for a black metal foundation infused with hardcore energy, Russia’s Morokh didn’t wait long to release more music after their successful Insomnia album via X; a blazing inferno of dread and swaths of atmosphere to boot.

Continue to page 2 for the rest of our overly indulgent awards, including label awards, album art, music videos, live shows, and the silliest release of the year!

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