Ritual Necromancy: Disinterred Horror (2018)

Would you believe this band is from Portland, Oregon?  I have discussed a number of times here how much of a metal hotbed the Pacific Northwest city has become.  This is yet another example of an extremely high quality band from the city.

This album is one of those that grabbed me on the strength of the album cover.  I had never heard of the band before, but that cover catches the eye with its bizarre occult artwork.  That would be a pretty good description of the music as well.  Ritual Necromancy plays music whose influences can be traced to the grimy, otherworldly, evil-sounding death metal of groups like Immolation, Incantation, Angelcorpse and Morbid Angel. 

The sound here is absolutely massive with monolithic, bestial riffs and dark and evil atmosphere seeping through every opening.  It is extremely dark and evil, with the only glimpses of brightness coming through the shredding solos and occasional leads.  Otherwise it is completely murky and chaotic, the sound of a lumbering Great Old One rising from its eons-long slumber.  The vocals exhibit this well with their cavernous sounding deep guttural roar.  The songs are lengthy, but so well-crafted that they do not fail to keep attention.  The album is spell-binding, grabbing attention and refusing to let go for the duration of the runtime.

This album fits in well with some of the other similar groups I have previously covered like Dysphotic and Howls of Ebb.  There is something to be said for well-written occult death metal groups like this that sound utterly alien.  Portland just continues to churn out great metal bands.

Father Befouled: Desolate Gods (2017)

I am not sure how this band has existed for almost ten years and escaped my notice.  It is not even as if the band has not put out many releases.  This is their fourth full-length amongst several other splits and EPs.  I am a big fan of grimy, dingy death metal, and Father Befouled has those qualities in ample supply.

Father Befouled at times touches on death/doom, sounding somewhat similar to a mix of Asphyx and Incantation, both of whom I am a huge fan.  They have a generally gloomy, dark and hostile sound with low-tuned guitar riffs, heavy bass, and deep, rumbled vocals.  Occasionally, a brief guitar solo shines through for a rare melodic moment.  But for the most part, this is an incredibly bleak recording.  The standout track is "Ungodly Rest" which is probably the most melodic song and features a very powerful slower section in the middle.  The two part punch "Vestigial Remains of..." and "Desolate Gods" is also captivating, building very slowly thoughout the former and then releasing into a frantic opening riff for the title track that is the fastest and most energetic the band sounds throughout the entire album.

Father Befouled sort of falls into the trap of playing an old school style of death metal.  There are quite a few bands these days doing that, but Father Befouled's point of reference is a little bit different, choosing to sound more like Incantation than Death.  What does set them apart from other bands that worship Incantation though is the recording quality.  While murky itself, at least the instrumentation is easy to hear and the album actually sounds fantastic.

I really enjoyed this album.  Father Befouled does not bring anything really new to the table, but builds on what others have done before them.  That being said, they do it extremely well and the album's production sets it apart. 

Craven Idol: The Shackles of Mammon (2017)

Anytime I come across a blurb recommending a band for fans of groups like Destroyer 666, Gospel of the Horns, and other groups of their ilk, I have to check it out.  That was just the case with Craven Idol, a British blackened thrash metal band on their second full-length release.  I am damn glad I did.  This is a contender for Album of the Year here.

Apparently, the band has undergone a bit of a stylistic shift coming into this album.  Where previously they had been more of a traditional/speed metal band, now they have amped up the black metal influences resulting in a sound similar to the Australian "war metal" sound that I love so much.  That certainly does not bother me one bit. 

Much of the music is fast-paced with lightning-fast riffs, pounding drums, and the psychotic shrieking of singer Immolator of Sadistik Wrath.  The true star of the album though is dual guitar work of Immolator and Obscenitor, particularly the soaring lead guitars that come out of nowhere to lend an epic feel to the songs.  The songs are also infectious as hell.  Picking one best song is damn near impossible, but if pressed, I suspect I would name "A Ripping Strike".

This is an absolutely epic slab of blackened thrash metal.  It is exactly the kind of style that I have spent a lot of time tracking down, without being too derivative as to be a copycat.  Craven Idol does have their own spin on the sound, but still captures a lot of the elements that make the style so fascinating.  And that makes it a top contender for Album of the Year.