SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: PSYCROPTIC, NIGHTBEARER, BEHEADED, AETHERIAN, IN MOURNING, GRAND CADAVER, IMPUREZA, DIABOLOGY

(written by Islander)

Well, I’m back here at my usual post on Saturday, having survived Maryland Deathfest after surviving Northwest Terror Fest. I only have one slow-healing knee scab and moderate soreness as detrimental physical signs of the adventures — and, amazingly, no respiratory viruses.

I have a habit of whining about how hard it is to choose music for these weekend roundups because there’s always so much to choose from, but after missing two weekend roundups in the last month the whining would reach ear-bleeding levels if I let loose today. I feel like if I laid all the song and video links I’ve saved up end to end they’d stretch up to where Musk’s latest rocket experienced “a rapid unscheduled disassembly” as it skimmed space last Tuesday night.

So, no whining, and no explanations for why I picked these out of the 100 or so possibilities, though the reasons will probably become evident. I’m very happy with this collection and hope you will be too. More picks, of the more charred variety, coming tomorrow….

 

PSYCROPTIC (Australia)

As you’ll find out, what I picked for today’s collection leans into death metal, albeit death metal of differing sub-genres and with different stylistic embellishments. I also decided to begin with four songs that arrived with very good videos, beginning with Psycroptic‘s new single “Architects of Extinction.”

In the video, the only member of the band you can see is vocalist Jason Peppiatt, but he presents a frighteningly intense vision as he howls the words with teeth bared and head thrown back. And although you won’t see guitarist Joe Haley, drummer Dave Haley, or bassist Todd Stern, you can hear them spinning up an electrifying instrumental storm (Origin‘s Jason Keyser is also roaring in this song).

The song’s fleet-fingered main riff is a rapidly darting and swirling manifestation that rapidly starts and stops, and turns out to be catchy as well as bamboozling. It morphs, as does the attention-seizing drumwork, augmented by other bursts of insectile fretwork and by periodic waves of gleaming but chilling melody that give the song an epic dimension.

You’ll see other scary things in the video besides Jason Peppiatt‘s unhinged rants — and the narrative is just as alien as Psycroptic‘s dazzling tech-metal.

“Architects of Extinction” was released to help draw attention to the fact that Psycroptic has signed to Metal Blade for the release of their next album, the band’s ninth studio full-length, which seems destined for discharge before the year is out.

https://psycroptic.bandcamp.com/album/architects-of-extinction
https://www.psycroptic.com
https://www.instagram.com/psycroptic_official
https://www.facebook.com/psycroptic

 

NIGHTBEARER (Germany)

Next up is a film-noir style video for the song “Reign Supreme” off Nightbearer‘s new album Defiance, which is based on a concept inspired by Sir Philip Pullman’s fantastic fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials. Here’s a comment about the song included in the press release we received:

“To those eternal creatures of Heaven, we are nothing but unworthy beings of clay – embodiments of weakness”, vocalist Michael Torka utters cryptically (except for readers of Sir Philip Pullman). “It’s exactly this all-consuming contempt that Metatron, Regent of the Kingdom of Heaven, expresses in ‘Reign Supreme‘ as his crushing vision of absolute power. This track once again introduces musical elements that we have not used this way previously – particularly in its rhythms and the chorus, which cast a glance across the channel to England. May we crawl in the dust and whisper His name in fear!”

Both the song and the video begin in a way that seems pastoral but haunting. Both a beautiful guitar lead and a beautiful dual-guitar solo carry the sorrowful opening melody forward in crystalline tones above mountainous low-frequency undercurrents and methodically clubbing drums.

The harsh vocals are ravaging, and when they arrive the music begins to frantically churn and then to jolt the listener with a riff of punishing Swe-death-style distortion. But Nightbearer continue to bring back that grieving opening melody, as well as trilling variations on it, and they seize attention every time they do so. The song’s big hammering, head-moving riff returns too, and it’s also a persistent attention-grabber.

Defiance will be released on June 13th by Testimony Records.

http://lnk.spkr.media/nightbearer-defiance
https://nightbearer.bandcamp.com/album/defiance
https://www.nightbearer.de
https://www.facebook.com/nightbearer
https://www.instagram.com/nightbearer_official

 

BEHEADED (Malta)

Beheaded‘s new album Għadam is described by Agonia Records as one “that marks a significant evolution in the band’s journey making it the first death metal album ever written in Maltese, tying Maltese horror, literature and death metal into a cohesive concept.” They further explain that it “incorporates musical influences rooted in the island’s heritage, blending the band’s signature ferocity with elements of traditional religious and folklore music.”

“Il-Kittieb” is the song from Għadam that’s featured in the next beautifully made video, and it’s a fascinating musical excursion. The opening melody is dismal and distraught, and the distressing nature of the song is underscored by harrowing vocal ferocity — though the rock-oriented drum-and-bass patterns will simultaneously get muscles moving.

As the musical narrative unfolds further, the song grows increasingly unsettling in its moods but also more intriguing. Wailing clean vocals join in with the ravenous growls; the music jolts and moans with compulsive effect; ethereal tones gently waft high above; exotic guitar solos seem to wail as well, but become hypnotic; adamant spoken words arrive; a folk melody adds to the song’s captivating musical tapestry; and your muscles will never stop moving.

Għadam is set for release on July 25th.

http://beheaded.agoniarecords.com/
https://agoniarecords.bandcamp.com/album/g-adam
https://www.facebook.com/BeheadedMT
https://www.instagram.com/beheaded_since_1991

 

AETHERIAN (Greece)

Now we’ve got yet another video, this next one for an elaborate new single named “The Great Beyond” by the Greek melodic death metal band Aetherian. Lyrically, the song is a farewell to a loved one after their death, and a questioning by the narrator about what, if anything, lies beyond the last breath:

Tell me if you’re there
Does something lie above
Or it’s just the living
In fear of the great beyond

Perhaps unexpectedly in light of those lyrical themes, the song’s riffing opens in a way that feverishly jolts and jabs, but soon enough the music becomes more gentle and wistful. And the changes continue, channeling both beauty and tortured mental states, both affection and fury.

The narrator howls in torment; the guitars brilliantly swirl and seem to cry out in anguish; an almost-jazzy but wholly captivating guitar solo (by the band’s guest Mika Lammassaari of Mors Subita and ex-Wolfheart) adds a further dimension to the song.

“The Great Beyond” also includes gripping drum and bass work; it reaches heights of remarkable grandeur; and a classically influenced acoustic segment re-creates that poignant feeling of wistfulness before the song dramatically climbs again and reaches celestial heights.

https://aetherianband.bandcamp.com/track/the-great-beyond
https://www.instagram.com/aetherian.band
https://www.facebook.com/aetherianband

 

IN MOURNING (Sweden)

This past week the Swedish progressive death metal band In Mourning (a favorite of many of us around here) released the first single from their upcoming seventh album, The Immortal. Like the album as a whole, it includes Cornelius Althammer (Ahab) behind the In Mourning kit.

The band describe this new song, “The Sojourner“, as “a reflection on time, regret, and the weight of what’s left unsaid.” Like other tracks I’ve chosen for today, this one is a multi-faceted experience. It’s a bare-knuckled slugger, but also creates feelings of tension and confusion. The music vibrates the floor but also mysteriously glimmers. The soloing is epic, the guitar permutations intriguing.

The raging vocals are relentlessly raw and impassioned — except when guttural roars manifest as a beast, and excellent clean singing thrillingly soars high. Somber spoken words also find their moments, and even though the song is a spectacle in many respects, it also does sound like what was promised, like “a reflection on time, regret, and the weight of what’s left unsaid.”

The Immortal will be released on August 29th by Supreme Chaos Records.

https://inmourning.bandcamp.com/album/the-immortal
https://inmourning.redflame.shop/
https://www.facebook.com/inmourningband
https://www.instagram.com/inmourning/

 

GRAND CADAVER (Sweden)

Like In Mourning, Grand Cadaver are another band of veteran Swedes with a stout following among those of us who toil here. In this case, if you don’t know, those vets include current and former members of Dark Tranquillity, The Halo Effect, Tiamat, Novarupta, and Katatonia. And they’ve got a new four-song EP, The Rot Beneath, set to be released on August 15 via Majestic Mountain Records.

I quickly pounced upon the EP’s title track after it premiered at Invisible Oranges — and it punched back.

It features distressing harmonies between a frantic lead-guitar and the churn of a bone-mangling rhythm guitar. It further includes chainsaw riffage that seem to slither, but also to jackhammer, along with drums that steadily snap and vividly bounce about. And of course, Mikael Stanne‘s ferocious vocals are distinctively savage. Damned catchy song too, but with this band that’s not a shock.

Grand Cadaver explain the song’s subject matter: “When you look at the state of the world today, it’s difficult not to feel despair. We see madness, death, war, corruption and polarisation. And it makes you think — what are we if not the cause of the problem? What are we but the rot beneath? This is the anthem to mankind’s demise.”

https://majesticmountainrecords.bigcartel.com
https://grandcadaver.bandcamp.com/album/the-rot-beneath
https://grandcadaver.com
https://www.facebook.com/grandcadaver
https://www.instagram.com/grandcadaver

 

IMPUREZA (France)

It’s probably beginning to dawn on you that my strategy for picking songs for today’s roundup involved a lot of defaulting to bands whose past music I’ve liked a lot. Further evidence of that comes next, with a new song and lyric video by the French group Impureza. Season of Mist describes the song’s inspiration this way:

With “La Orden del Yelmo Negro”, Impureza pay homage to a sacred brotherhood of warrior monks with their signature offering of brutal flamenco death metal. Steeped in mysticism, sacrifice and unwavering devotion, the song crusades across the desert in search of the Holy Land during a time of war that spanned more than seven centuries of Iberian history.

Like other songs in today’s roundup, this one is multi-faceted, almost theatrically so. At times it’s magical and mystifying, and at others it’s fiery and warlike or hungrily sinister. The vocals are as bestial as you could want but also suddenly switch to extravagant singing with a flamenco flare (and when the two styles join together in the finale, it might put your heart in your throat).

Impureza also layer in lots of other instrumental accents and percussive variations, including a head-spinning guitar solo (also with a Spanish flair). Best of all, the whole thing holds together very well, creating an epic musical pageant that’s quite memorable.

“La Orden del Yelmo Negro” is the second single off Impureza‘s upcoming “Reconquista-themed” third album Alcázares. SoM has announced July 11 as the album’s release date. Below, I’ve included a video stream of the first single too, “Pestilencia“.

https://orcd.co/impurezaalcazares
https://impureza.bandcamp.com/album/alc-zares
https://www.facebook.com/Impurezaconquista
https://www.instagram.com/impurezaofficial

 

DIABOLOGY (U.S.)

To close today’s roundup I again defaulted to a band whose previous music has impressed: SoCal-based Diabology. Following up on their excellent second album, 2022’s Father of Serpents, Diabology have just released a new single named “The Last of All Kings“.

Diabology don’t have as many decades of experience as other performers in today’s collection, but you’ll figure out damned fast that they sure as hell know what they’re doing. “The Last of All Kings” mounts a high-powered death-thrashing attack from the very start, with weaponry consisting of viciously vibrating riffage, neck-whipping beats, and fast-barking, wild-eyed, bleeding-raw vocals.

The eviscerating riffage also segues into episodes of dismal churning and morbid misery, backed by electrifying drum fills that batter and boom, with sudden starts and stops in the mix, as well as doubled-up vocals for extra fury and some delicious clear-toned soloing that spirals like a spirit-creature. All in all, it’s a head-spinning and pulse-pounding experience.

Lyrically, the song is an eloquent anthem to defiance, a celebration offered on behalf of humanity’s dregs to the defeat of greedy aristocrats:

O gentries and nobles
Bow down and hear my word
This age of fracture is over
The land is ripe for rebirth

No more will gold blind our monarchs
No more will baleful hearts reign
No more cruel condescension
From malfeasant men who feed off our pain

https://hypeddit.com/diabology/thelastofallkings
https://diabology.bandcamp.com/track/the-last-of-all-kings
https://www.facebook.com/diabologyband
https://www.instagram.com/diabologyband