Albums of 9/20/24

The most interesting releases of the week!

Happy I, Voidhanger day. Esoctrilihum is a one-man atmospheric black metal band that made a name for themselves by being prolific and weird. While this project’s music hasn’t always been good, it’s always been intriguing. Some past albums, including Eternity Of Shaog, have been excellent examples of what you can do by stretching black metal to the breaking point. Döth-Dernyàlh goes in a different direction.

Without having perfect recollection of all ten previous Esoctrilihum releases, I believe that this is the softest the band has ever sounded. Döth-Dernyàlh features plenty of acoustic guitar, clean vocals, and more mellow songwriting. The black metal bite remains, but now sounds like it’s around the corner. I quite enjoyed this new take on Esoctrilihum‘s sound, and am always excited when a more experimental act tries to push themselves. The record is over eighty minutes long, but that’s just part of the band’s experience. An Esoctrilihum album wouldn’t be the same without the excess.

Just some pure, honest power metal from Scarlet Records. A worthy follow-up to Emperor Rising, Return of the Heralds features fast guitars, clean vocals, a variety of fantasy topics, and some earworm choruses. Anyone who listened to Emperor Rising or Stories of Time Forgotten will find a familiar approach here. For everyone else, this is pure, distilled euro power metal played as straight as the genre can be played.

There’s somehow a jagged edge around Return of the Heralds. There are a few times where it feels as if the vocalist is at the very edge if his ability and is trying to get a bit more range. Given the professional sheen covering the rest of the album, this seems more like a choice than a failing. “The Kingkiller’s Tale” sounds more like “The Bard’s Song” than any other non-Blind Guardian track I’ve ever heard, but it sounds like a work of love and stuck in my brain. Krilloan are making some refreshing power metal, and haven’t had a bad release yet.

Death Devil Magick is Servant‘s third full-length, released on AOP Records. I hadn’t paid much attention to Servant‘s first two albums, and this may have been a mistake. Servant write tight black metal that uses all the same pieces as every other black metal band. What sets them apart is their understanding of song structure. They write an infectious hook the same as many other band, but Servant doesn’t just that hook with verses and choruses and call it a day. Instead they shift dynamics, they shift melodies, they insert their eerie interlude passages within the tracks where they actually do something for the music. They let the drums drop out entirely so the blast beats are more meaningful.

What I’ve described isn’t unique or even rare in black metal. But Servant combine everything so smoothly that Death Devil Magick feels like a victory lap. These songs don’t just combine disparate elements of atmospheric black metal and melodic black metal, they do so in a manner that turns flaws into strengths. Melodies don’t grow stale, they sound amazing when they return. Atmospheric quiet passages add to the intensity rather than ruining momentum. Fans of Sargeist and Emperor will enjoy. This album and band deserve so much more hype.

Artificial Brain, Psycroptic, and Inter Arma playing black metal. Sure. This debut release from Relapse Records contains all of the craftsmanship and intricacy that you’d expect from a partnership like this. And the result takes a few listens for the full weight of Every Limb Of The Flood to really press down upon you. This music is dark, it’s dense, and it requires attention, but it is worth the time.

Portions of Every Limb Of The Flood sound melodic, portions sound repulsed by the idea. While the songwriting bounces from idea to idea, the absurd drumming of David Haley combines with Dan Gargiulo’s virtuosic guitar work and Mike Paparo’s desperate vocals to create music that consistently impresses as well-executed and intense. All three musicians play with emotion. All three constantly deserve the spotlight. The result is music that makes you frown and return. Dreamless Veil plays music outside the style these musicians normally play, but they make it sound trivial to master. Another one that deserves more attention.