Doktor Grier has had one hell of a year. Thankfully, he’s here with his elite list so you all have something better to listen to then the shit that’s been posted by others.
Cradle of Filth
Visitant – Rubidium Review
“No matter if you’re a seasoned band or new to the game, choosing the right pre-release track is critical when kicking off PR for a new album. And in a crowded music scene, where everyone is fighting to make their mark, the challenge is even greater: can you leave a lasting impression in the first few minutes to make me want to keep listening? Pensacola, Florida’s Visitant did just that with “Starless,” the first single from their debut album, Rubidium.” Unexpected visit(ant).
Cradle of Filth – The Screaming of the Valkyries Review
“While most people reminisce about classics like Dusk and Her Embrace and Cruelty and the Beast, the latter half of the band’s career includes stellar albums like Godspeed on the Devil’s Thunder and Hammer of the Witches. So, for all the shit talking, CoF hasn’t slowed down since their naughty birth in 1991. With a new guitarist and female siren on the roster, The Screaming of the Valkyries is here to keep the sexy alive.” Bringing filthy back.
Eisregen – Abart Review
“Some bands have history. Eisregen has lore. Terrorizing Germany for almost 30 years, core members Yantit and M.Roth have managed to get 2 of their albums restricted and 2 more outright banned in their home country. The BzKJ brought down the hammer on account of the sheer fucked-up-ness of their lyrics, which feature graphic gore, necrophilia, incest, and more. I think the German government has never heard of slam, or that list would be a whole lot longer.” Banned, panned and damned.
Wraithfyre – Of Fell Peaks and Haunted Chasms Review
“A project from Tom O’Dell, mastermind behind the Tolkien-inspired black metal of Dwarrowdelf and instrumental deathgrind Gimli, Son of Glóin, as well as the power metalling Battle Born, Wraithfyre offers a different, decidedly second-wave attack. While too often symphonic black metal sees its cold and icy buried beneath the bombast of keys and choirs, debut Of Fell Peaks and Haunted Chasms is no stranger to the riff.” Feel the Wraith.
Act of Creation – Moments to Remain Review
“Germany’s Act of Creation has been around for over a decade yet it seems no one around these parts has ever heard of them. After looking into their discog and history, they’ve been down an interesting road in the last fourteen years—specifically regarding vocalists. The vocals were handled by male voices for the band’s first three releases, with the occasional guest vocalist(s). Twenty-twenty’s The Uncertain Light saw them shift to a female vocalist, Jess, who is by far their best vocalist to date.” In this moment (of creation).
Drown in Sulphur – Dark Secrets of the Soul Review
“I’m gonna be an insufferable hipster about this one: I’ve been listening to blackened deathcore before Lorna Shore made it cool. Hell, I was listening to the style before Will Ramos made Lorna Shore cool. Bands like The Breathing Process, early Make Them Suffer, and Dark Sermon were all rattling off their own takes on spooky corpse-painted Hot Topic-core in the early 2010s before some Hot Topic frequenter said “ooooh” and nabbed that Watain t-shirt they have on display while manically making pig noises to emulate “To the Hellfire.” Here we meet Drown in Sulphur, an Italian blackened deathcore act, who attempts their own spin on kvlt-y brutality.” Blackcore for the people.
Dun Ringill – 150 – Where the Old Gods Play – Act 1 Review
“I’ve always been supportive of bands branching out a little bit from their comfort zones to stretch their limbs, check out new haunts, or just freshen up their catalog a tad. Sometimes, some peanut butter needs to be added to your chocolate to make things lively and exciting. So when Swedish doom metal sextet Dun Ringill, a band I’ll admit to never having heard before, decided to add some progressive elements to their particular brand of folk doom, well… I was intrigued.” Dun and done.
Omega Infinity – The Anticurrent Review
“The infinite expanse. Oceans above. Stars whose light is a glimpse into the ancient past. Physics. Astrophysics. Space: the Final Frontier. Space odysseys are great unless you’re beaten to death with a bone by your ape bud or gaslit by your own computer – super awkward. Plenty of black metal has ventured beyond the firmament for some ethereal goodness, but do any of them chronicle creation?” Omega men.
Diabolical Raw – Elegy of Fire Dusk Review
“Remember when Dimmu Borgir was one of the biggest bands in metal? For a while in the mid-aughts they shared the ‘sort of black metal but palatable to a wider audience’ throne with Cradle of Filth, and no gig could be found that wasn’t saturated with Dimmu and Cradle shirts. Whereas Cradle filed down the black metal barbs with gothic theatricality, though, Dimmu blunted them with bludgeoning symphonics and death-adjacent melodicism. Plenty of Dimmu-like acts have sprung up over the years, following in its footsteps to greater or lesser extent, drawing inspiration from the titan even as its own status diminished. Diabolical Raw, hailing from Türkiye, is one of these adherents.” Dimmu, Dimme.
