ORBIT CULTURE - DEATH ABOVE LIFE (Century Media)
The eagerly-awaited follow-up to the 2023 triumph in Descent, in addition to the companion EP release, The Forgotten - Orbit Culture has managed to work at a rapid clip while never compromising quality. Achieving new standard among heavy music's most respected contemporaries, the band's ability to combine intricacy and intensity on the track makes for album experience that is purely consuming and deservedly cinematic. Among the new generation of players taking up the flag for the Swedish sound, Orbit Culture continue to elevate melodic metal with skilled execution and serious artistic ambition.
AFI - SILVER BLEEDS THE BLACK SUN... (Run For Cover)
Unveiling the band's first offering of new music in four years, Silver Bleeds the Black Sun finds AFI indulging their post-punk sensibilities in an impressive show of range. While AFI's hardcore and goth-leaning iterations have been well established, their worship for the likes of Siouxsie & the Banshees, Echo & the Bunnymen and Sisters of Mercy resonates as articulate and authentic with their newest endeavor. Produced by the band's own Jade Puget, Silver Bleeds The Black Sun... listens like the album the band has long wanted to make and while it is considered a significant departure from their previous work - their most devoted fans will tell you this AFI at their most AFI.
HOODED MENACE - LACHRYMOSE MONUMENTS OF OBSCURATION (Season of Mist)
The Finnish death doom specialists of Hooded Menace channel classic horror aesthetic and 80's era heft on their latest masterclass, Lachrymose Monuments Of Obscuration. Sweeping guitars, growling vocals and a relentless cadence make for a stylistic clash that both well executed and wildly effective. Among the more audacious aspects of the album, Hooded Menace take on a rendition of Duran Duran's "Save A Prayer" that soars. The unexpected move is one that pays off, punctuating an effort that positions Hooded Menace as both one of the best in their respective lane and holders of a potential AOTY candidate.
AGRICULTURE - THE SPIRITUAL SOUND (The Flenser)
The black metal, noise punk hybrid of Agriculture have a sort of sacred approach to extremity on their latest full length. The potency of Dan Meyer and Leah Levinson create a dynamic that shifts from howling vocals, abrasive guitars and punishing blast beats to hushed, harmonious moments that allow pause. A track like "My Garden" serves well in showcasing the scope and audacity of an album that bridges extreme music and spiritual exploration in ten cohesive entries. Both urgent and unbound, The Spiritual Sound is a career-defining effort for Agriculture and a showcase of heavy music and high art.
AUTHOR & PUNISHER - NOCTURNAL BIRDING (Relapse Records)
Tristan Shone is a force of nature and on Nocturnal Birding, he again succeeds in creating a universe with sound. The blunt force, bludgeoning quality of the compositions don't compute for an album that thematically embraces birds as its source material, but that is the genius of Shone. Combined with the collaborative efforts of guitarist Doug Sabolick and contributions from industrial artist Fange, Indonesian experimentalists Kuntari and vocals from Couch Slut's Megan Osztrosits, Shone crafts a bruising, brawny presentation that asserts artistry and aggression.
