Episode 136 – (Mostly Weird) Metal

  All of these songs came out this year. Most of this is non-traditional black metal. The rest is other non-traditional metal that can barely even contain that wide genre. 00:00:00 RLYR – Head Womb (from RLYR) In case I haven’t made it abundantly clear in the past, RLYR is the absolute fucking best. Each of their previous two records have been all time favorites for me. This new self-titled one on Gilead Media is no different. Trevor de Brauw (Pelican, Chord, Tusk, etc), Steven Hess (Locrian, Cleared, Haptic, etc), and Colin DeKuiper (Bloodiest, founding member of Russian Circles, etc) make the most indescribable metal that will undoubtedly put a smile on your face and get your fists pumping in the air. They just fucking rock. 00:08:04 Silver Knife – Ecomimesis (from Ring) One of the two tracks from the new single/EP. Excellent black metal from Déhà and 3 others, including N from Laster and Nusquama. I don’t usually pay attention to such short releases (this is only like 13 minutes) but Silver Knife’s debut LP two years ago was incredible, so I’m definitely keeping an eye on whatever they do. As should you. 00:14:48 Ultha – Bathed In Lightning, Bathed In Heat (from All That Has Never Been True) These dudes have been around forever (aka 7 years) but for some reason I never paid much attention to them. I think that might be because up until this record, I thought they were Ulthar, who I’m not crazy about. But holy shit this record is a year end contender for sure. Premium shrieky vocals seething in a brilliant blaze of blasting and shredding. 00:25:57 Astronoid – Decades (from Radiant Bloom) Goddamn I love Astronoid. Not nearly getting the attention they deserve. Their bright metal is unrivaled, the peak of beauty in heavy music. Their first record is Top 10 material, their second is like Top 20, and only time will tell what tier this new one lands in but I can assure you it will be holding hands with the forever bests. 00:32:56 Häxenzijrkell – Part 1: Die Entschleierung (from Urgrund) I knew about their debut from 2020 but never listened to it. Chalk it up to the neverending backlog. But I’m definitely going to have to check it out now because this new one is fuckin gnarly. It opens with this 18-minute burner. It’s really fucking good, a creepy long form psyched out black metal that’s kinda like Cultes Des Ghoules as a jam band. 00:51:14 Rye (Рожь) – Amen (Аминь) (from Amen (Аминь)) I found out about this Russian dude from his full length last year and was immediately hooked. Absolutely huge melodic post-doom. 01:05:29 Cavernlight – The Ashes Of Everything I’ve Failed To Be (from As I Cast Ruin Upon The Lens That Reveals My Every Flaw) Best blackened doom this side of Mizmor. The new record is way more dynamic than the last, like this track starts out vibing with The Cure a bit before it kicks your face in, and the tremolo riff is so fucking evil. 01:09:35 Unru – Hungersteine (from Die Wiederkehr Des Verdrängten)