NEILL JAMESON CAN’T SHUT THE FUCK UP: A 2023 LIST III

photo by Hillarie Jason

(One of the perennial highlights of our year-end LISTMANIA series are the articles Neill Jameson has contributed, and we’re very happy that he’s doing so again this year. This one is the third of five Parts we’ll be publishing. To be clear, Neill wrote the title of this feature himself. And hey, you should check out Krieg‘s new album Ruiner too.)

Five. There’s five of these things in total. This is the third one.

These are getting more and more difficult to write because I’ve always taken a minute or two to refresh my memory on what I’m writing about but this year I’ve found myself just drifting off and listening to more and more of each release, which causes a slowdown in my progress. 

This is all fascinating to you, I’m sure. I’ve let my tea grow cold, let’s dive into it before I write more about my old womanly habits.

 

Circle of Ouroborus “Mullan Tuoksu, Pehmeät Kasvot, Sisääan Katsovat Seppelsilmät” (Final Agony)

Circle of Ouroborus – Mullan Tuoksu (2012)

Circle of Ouroboros – Pehmeät Kasvot (2012)

Circle of Ouroborus (Finland) – Sisään katsovat seppelesilmät (EP 2012)

This doesn’t really count as a “new” release, so to speak, but rather a compilation of three cassette EPs from around ten or so years ago, gathered together in one flowing movement across two vinyl. This was Circle of Ouroborus at a raw and primal state, before taking on the more flowing ambience for a few years before transforming again and again. This was obviously a labor of love putting this together and is a must for devotees of outsider art.

 

Woe “Legacies of Frailty” (Vendetta)

Woe on Ampwall

It’s been fifteen years (give or take) since the first Woe record, A Spell for the Death of Man, emerged and while Chris Grigg has been actively evolving the project over the course of several albums I haven’t gotten the chills I got from A Spell… until I put Legacies of Frailty on. It feels like a homecoming of sorts, with an obvious nod to Grigg’s aggressive black metal roots but there’s nuance in the songwriting that only comes with age. With one eye in the past and the other towards the future Legacies… is a mature, focused yet feral record with harsh vocals you might not expect from this project. His best album in years and one of my favorite records this year.

 

Orkblut “Ghost Paths to Septentrion” (Medieval Prophecy)

Orkblut (Belgium) – Ghost Paths to Septentrion (MLP 2023)

Probably going to either date myself with this reference or look like I’m trying to be cool and obscure but the first thing I felt when I heard Ghost Paths… was how perfectly Orkblut would have fit on the Encyclopedia Pestilentia compilation. Another excellent recording coming from the Ancient Hounds Collective in Belgium, Orkblut carries the torch of the mid 1990s European underground, with exceptional songwriting and an aura of authenticity that is near impossible to fake.

 

Fír “Vervoekt” (Zwartkunst Smederij)

https://duivelskunst.bandcamp.com/album/vervloekt

If you’ve followed anything I’ve written for the last six years you’ll already know that I am a huge devotee of nearly anything The Spectre is attached to, especially (obviously) Old Tower and Staar. But Fír has grown into the finest of his black metal projects, with each release getting better and better. Vervoekt was one of the releases I was looking forward to the most in 2023 and the obscure 1990s demo feeling from the previous Fír releases has evolved into something truly special. One can only hope a full length isn’t too far away. 

 

Bokkenrijders “The Fatal Hour” (Tour De Garde)

Bokkenrijders – The Fatal Hour (Full Demo)

A demo that gnashes it’s fucking teeth and shows it’s claws. At times reminds me a bit of very early Destroyer 666 when Keith still had a little Bestial Warlust left in him, or maybe A Touch of Medieval Darkness era Desaster. The Fatal Hour leads with a fist in the air and an armament of savage riffs at their disposal. 

 

Quest Master “Sword & Circuitry” (Urge Records)

https://questmaster.bandcamp.com/album/sword-circuitry

Definite departure from what I was expecting from Quest Master, this veers more into synthwave territory, a sentence that normally would make me gag a little, but it really works to the project’s advantage here, adding some sci-fi elements where there were only medieval/fantasy before, hence the album’s title I suppose. I guess there’s no way to write this and not sound like I didn’t lose my virginity until I was in my thirties but instead of “Final Fantasy” you should think “Phantasy Star” and that’s where we’re at. An interesting evolution and a great album.

 

Left Cross “Upon Desecrated Altars” (Profound Lore)

https://leftcross666.bandcamp.com/album/upon-desecrated-altars

You don’t see a lot of death metal on my lists, because the vast majority of what’s coming out these days really fucking bores me. I could be diplomatic and say it’s just not for me or that it’s time for the younger generation to build their own scene but nah, most of it just fucking sucks to me. Does this mean you should take note when I dig something? Obviously, my taste is amazing.

Left Cross was one of those bands, when I actually went out to shows, that would be playing constantly, working hard and honing their craft, showing hunger. Fast forward a few years and it’s no surprise that Upon Desecrated Altars is one of the finest death metal records of this year, or the past five even. Genuine old school savagery, bestial vocals and chainsaw fucking riffs, this is one everyone who claims to be into death metal should look into.

 

Sunburster “Trudging To Extinction” (Knife Hits Records)

https://sunburster.bandcamp.com/album/trudging-to-extinction-2

I’ve always enjoyed Sunburster’s melding of Melvins meets ZZ Top sludge with ass-beating hardcore. There’s just something, and I know this will sound cliche, real to it. And Trudging to Extinction continues that tradition, with a few surprises.

We’ll start with the three originals on the release: easily the heaviest songs the band have written, just complete fucking hammers that show a band that is very comfortable with themselves and doesn’t need to prove shit to anyone. Then you have the Melvins cover (“Nightgoat”) which isn’t out of left field but skull splittingly crushing. But the highlight of this entire enterprise is the cover of Nine Inch Nails’ “Last”, which is just an assbeater from start to finish. Totally unexpected and they truly make it their own. Now… full length?

 

Forest Thrall “Amidst Pines” (Deathprayer Records)

https://forestthrall108.bandcamp.com/album/amidst-pines

There’s music that just stirs something in you, pointing you somewhere you know but can’t put your finger on it. Amidst Pines is one of those records. Meditative and flowing black metal with haunting and beautiful leads and scathing vocals. This record was a complete surprise to me as I wasn’t aware of the project beforehand but you best believe I’m paying attention now.

I had the pleasure of playing with them in New York last month and they were one of the most exceptional bands we shared the stage with that run, which was honestly a high bar. If you’re tired of shitty bands with huge borders on their covers, singing about vampires and/or anime then Forest Thrall is the answer you’ve been seeking.

 

Black Sorcery “Deciphering Torment Through Malediction” (Eternal Death)

https://blacksorcery93.bandcamp.com/album/deciphering-torment-through-malediction

When I see the genre tag USBM (™? These days, sure.) it’ll make my mind go into several directions, with only one and a half or two of them being good. One of those places is thinking about the Sacrifice of the Nazarene Child fest in Texas, specifically 1999-01, and what the American black metal scene was at the time. When I hear Black Sorcery I’m taken back to those fests. While you’re probably not old enough for that kind of sonic time travel (or any of these sentences) to matter, you should have enough of your faculties to pick up what I’m putting down and check this record out.

***

And there’s the end of part III. I have a dozen fucking windows open on my laptop, unsure what to spend the rest of the night listening to. I’m continually struck by the notion that we’re buried under a constant spray of industry approved dog shit but that, statistically speaking (I guess), means that we’re also in a time where there is a secondary spray of great quality bands and releases. 

Probably the wrong metaphor. Two more to go.