The penultimate month of the year arrives unexpectedly as ever, striking fear into our hearts as we realise we’ve achieved less than expected. Amid storms, elections, and a fucking Opeth release, we had some great new music—including a fucking Opeth release. Get the headphones cord unwrapped (I refuse to go wireless because I’m a Luddite), press play on our playlist, and peruse our albums of the month as you get to Christmas shopping. We’ve got some great picks for you including some wintry folkened black metal, proggy post metal with a technicolour splash of synth and keytar, a lovely blend of layered synth-drenched prog rock with aggressive prog death, a very D&D mix of power metal and deathcore (do those mix?!), and an uncategorisable blend of trip-hop, art rock and a bunch of other genres into an eerie, paganic whole. T’is the season!
i Häxa – i Häxa
Recommended for fans of: Chelsea Wolfe, Massive Attack, Radiohead, Björk
Picked by: Christopher
The debut work from Rebecca Need-Menear and Peter Miles is an arrestingly unique and genre-traversing work that marries dark folk, trip-hop, art rock, ambient, and electronica influences together into a strange and arresting yet consummate brew. Sojourning into an eerie lyrical underworld, ominous strings, dread monologues, and explosive backbeats plunge the listener into a sonic black lodge where doppelgangers lurk and malign forces beckon. i Häxa sounds like it emanated out of an ancient forest and possessed its makers as conduits to its message. The crystalline production is unimpeachable rendering both voice and instruments crisp as a frosty autumn morning. An utterly unique listening experience, an astounding debut, and an album that has obsessed me, i Häxa reveals new depths with every successive listen, pulling the listener ever further into an emotive soundscape from which they may never escape.
You may also like: Ophelia Sullivan, Marjana Semkina, Mingjia
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review
Ungfell – De Ghörnt
Recommended for fans of: Dissection, Windir, Ulver, Immortal
Picked by: Dave
Ungfell’s De Ghörnt are a last-minute upset to my year-end list, forging a hideous, decrepit, and undeniably compelling package from meloblack, second wave, and idiosyncratic folk. Ungfell are at their best when they incorporate musical ideas which are left field for black metal, be it the myriad bass solos to be found across its runtime, the soft atmospheric keyboard breakdowns, or the occasional organ backdrop; you can rest assured that whatever the idea, it’s integrated with absolute ease. However, their execution of more standard black metal ideas deserves just as much attention, whether it be staccato riffs crashing into the listener, deft and energetic transitions between ideas, or beautiful contemplative folk interludes.
Additionally, I’d like to take a minute to discuss the album’s concept, which revolves around a hubristic hunter who climbs a mountain and encounters the Rollibock, a fearsome goat cryptid. Much to my dismay, there are no lyrics available, so it’s impossible for me to dive much deeper into the story than that. Ungfell (and any other artist reading this), if you’re going to write a concept album, I’m begging you to make the lyrics available! We’re always eager to take a deeper dive into a concept album if the lyrics are available.
You may also like: Havukruunu, Thrawsunblat, Hyperion
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review
Múr – Múr
Recommended for fans of: Gojira, Cult of Luna, The Ocean, Textures
Picked by: Christopher
Debuts rarely come along that sound so assured and mature (the other one that came out this month that I wrote up earlier in this post and that is also a self-titled work by a band with a diacritic in their name notwithstanding), but Icelandic progressive post metal quintet Múr prove their sense of vision and weight deftly enough to secure a Century Media Records signing pre-release. It’s easy to see how they managed such a coup: combining the crushing grooves of early Gojira with the layered atmospheres of Cult of Luna-esque post metal, and adding a soupçon of synths and keytar, Múr come storming out the gates with a sound all of their own and a record that’ll keep you headbanging through the final stretch of 2024.
You may also like: Hippotraktor, Seyr
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review
Bedsore – Dreaming the Strife for Love
Recommended for fans of: Opeth (Watershed/The Last Will and Testament), Blood Incantation, Edge of Sanity
Picked by: Andy
I normally disagree with the old adage that you can’t judge a book by its cover; I find it’s a pretty reasonable way to judge a book. You can’t judge a band by its name, though, or else you’d never listen to anything. Who would have thought a band called Septicflesh would write really nice symphonic death metal? Well Bedsore, despite the disgusting images the name conjures up, perform very regal progressive death metal. Where similar contemporaries like Opeth (scroll down for my take on their latest one) and Blood Incantation actually have fun with their retro aesthetic, Dreaming the Strife for Love is much more mature with its progressive meanderings, and I find it’s absolutely delightful, from the charming blackened vocals to the gorgeous organ bits, Bedsore aren’t what you’d expect but nonetheless a must listen for prog death fans.
You may also like: Perihelion Ship, The Anchoret, Mefitis, Sweven
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review
Anarchÿ – Xenötech and the Cosmic Anarchÿ
Recommended for fans of: Coroner, Annihilator, Vektor, Exmortus
Picked by: Francesco
There’s a new Anarchÿ concept album in town and this time we’re ditching Shakespeare for Space Jesus. Xenötech and the Cosmic Anarchÿ is an aggressive, progressive, and even a little bit neoclassical thrash metal album that is replete with the kinds of riffs that are sure to give you whiplash. It’s an excellent continuation of the melodic, technical sound they’ve established over the last two albums, and in my opinion, as good an album as any to start with if you’re unfamiliar with the band. With a little bit of experimentation in the acoustic landscape of Xenötech, Anarchÿ hone a listening experience that is provocative and thrilling; their distinctive sound becoming many-faceted and refined. Their lyrics are always thought-provoking even if I found the narrative idea of the album wasn’t all that interesting as a whole. But I digress; there aren’t many thrash outfits these days that are doing what Anarchÿ does on Xenötech. Certainly one of the most unique thrash metal albums released all year.
You may also like: Vexovoid, Quasarborn, VENUS
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review
Dragoncorpse – The Fall of House Abbarath
For fans of: Dragonforce, Inferi, Unleash the Archers, Worm Shephard, Brojob
Picked by: Cooper
I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t the biggest fan of Dragoncorpse’s last major output, The Drakketh Saga; after all, I gave it a 6.5 citing its clunky pacing and uncomfortable limbo between the worlds of deathcore and power metal. But with The Fall of House Abbarath, Dragoncorpse have fixed nearly every qualm I had with its predecessor all while further strengthening their uniquely quirky identity. Each track on this release is a surprise; pummeling breakdowns hide behind every corner, hand in hand with melodic choruses as catchy as the heavier moments are backbreaking. From the singalong choruses to the headbanging refrains, The Fall of House Abbarath is just a whole lot of fun. And with each track come new additions to the Dragoncorpse mythos if you’re into that sort of thing.
You might also like: Obsidious, Demonic Resurrection
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | original review
Non-Subway Picks
Opeth – The Last Will and Testament [progressive metal] THEY’RE BACK. You know what I’m talking about, and it’s glorious. Beyond Mikael’s silkily gritty growls, TLWAT is Opeth near their best and is extraordinarily inspired for a band entering their thirtieth year of existence. From Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull supplying flute and spoken word for the loony concept to new drummer Waltteri Väyrynen (who’s the same age as Opeth!!) absolutely killing it on his first studio album with the band, there’s a reason this album got so much buzz. [pick by: Andy]
Ulver – Liminal Animals [synth-pop] Another reliable collection of synth-pop bops from Norway’s most genre-fluid band, completed shortly after the tragic passing of Tore Ylwizaker, the keyboardist and sound architect who became a pivotal driver of Ulver’s ever-changing sound. Spin the album and raise a glass. [pick by: Christopher, seconded by Andy]
