Soaring Crescendos and Woodland Creatures
The Best Metal Albums from the weeks of 9/25/20 and 10/2/20 and so much more
Welcome, grumbling ghouls and cackling fools to Apotheosis, a weekly newsletter containing the best bits of musical gristle that the world of noise and metal has to offer.
In the time since the last newsletter, we’ve designed a sickly (and sick) new logo, and I’ve finally managed to catch up on the massive backlog of metal that has been plaguing my Bandcamp for weeks.
Thanks to the monstrous backlog, this week’s letter is extra long and full of gut-wrenching goodies. We’ve got post-apocalyptic comics, animated psychedelic ultraviolence, cotton candy colored t-shirts and, oh yeah, almost a dozen killer albums for you to check out. So jump on in, the blood fountain is wonderful this time of year.
ALBUM OF THE WEEK
Morwinyon - Pristine
It may seem rude to kick off a review by talking about another band, but ever since Deafheaven released their magnum opus Sunbather back in 2013, atmospheric black metal or atmoblack as it is often called, has been unstoppable. Listening to Pristine, it’s easy to see what makes the style so appealing.
Pristine is, on its face at least, a tremendously difficult album to sell. Containing only four tracks, the record still manages to clock in at just under 40 minutes in length. Of these four tracks, one is under 10 minutes, album closer “Ethereal Night,” which hits the stopwatch at 5:08, leaving the other tracks at 11:40, 10:30 and 12:18. But in practice, the album is eminently listenable. The atmospheric black metal elements are couched in a gorgeous sheen of post-metal, making the album something of a lovechild between Deafheaven and Pelican.
Wearing those stylistic influences on their sleeve, Morwinyon proceeds to make metallic magic throughout Pristine. Album opener “The Intangible Void” kicks off with rattling guitars and a plodding, almost doomy drumbeat. From there, it begins to morph and change across its nearly 12 minute runtime. Soft valleys populate the center of the song, leaving listeners with a moment of contemplation, but even the bombastic peaks towards the front and end of the track shimmer with a glistening optimism. Vocalist Matteo Guarnello turns in an excellent performance despite being lower in the mix. His harsh screams don’t betray a sense of misanthropy and anguish, but rather a passionate outpouring of emotions so powerful that a scream is the only way they can be expressed.
Shifting yet again, “Sea of Stars” wields post metal with shocking deftness, using its soaring crescendos not as a cudgel to force emotion but as a drug to enhance the experience. The softer portions of the song are no slouch either. Twinkling atmospherics and inspired mixing lend a gravitas to a technique that can often come off as ham fisted, allowing the listener to lose themselves in the grasp of the song. The following track “Wounded Mind” doesn’t shift the balance, and instead chooses to stake its tent between the styles of the first two tracks. However, the implementation of piano and the tonality of the guitars on the high notes make it easy to get swept away.
It’s a good thing too. With defenses lowered, “Ethereal Night” is made far more effective. Atmospheric to the point of being ambient at times, the track is a soothing balm for the rollercoaster-like journey the rest of the album explores. Toss it on and lose yourself in the soft piano, heart-rending strings and synth work so warm that they’re harder to detach from than your bed at 6am.
With such an impressive offering, it would be fair to assume that Morwinyon has been at the game at least as long as respected outfits like Lantlôs and Alcest, but this is only their first release, presenting thrilling possibilities for the future of the group’s output. Even better, they’ve generously listed this record as “name your price” on Bandcamp, making their music even more accessible in a time where sounds like this are desperately needed.
Noises Worth Listening To
Pristine was of course not the only record worth listening to this week. There was plenty of great music that managed to avoid notice, but like a serial killer in the Bay Area, I’ve done the digging for you.
I’m cheating ever so slightly here as I was still catching up on new releases when the first newsletter went out. So it only seems fair to include releases from the past two weeks. Future installations will only include one week’s worth of albums.
Here are all the metal records worth listening to from the past two weeks. To avoid coloring your perception of any record, the album scores are not listed and the albums are listed chronologically in the order I listened to them. The sole exception is that albums that received a coveted 8+ rating are in bold type.
If I missed an album that you loved, included one that you hated, or exposed you to a record you have strong feelings about, let me know! As an old god, my skin is pretty thick by now, so don’t be afraid to dish it out.
Label Highlight - Bindrune Recordings
This week we’re trekking down from Valhalla to chill with the woodland folk of Bindrune Recordings. Bindrune opened their doors as a two man operation in the year 2000, and quickly gained recognition for their highly curated catalog of cutting edge black metal. After a few years, label co-founder Scott Candey left, leaving Marty Rytkonen to take the helm full time.
Since then, Rytkonen and Bindrune Recordings have brought us some of the most killer black metal releases of the past two decades. Their small but impressive roster features artists like Nechochwen, Aerial Ruin, Canis Dirus, and the incomparable Panopticon. Earlier this year Bindrune put out a remarkable split from Nechochwen and Panopticon that quickly shot up AOTY lists in the earlier part of the year.
On top of releasing some of the best and heaviest metal around, Bindrune is focused on combating societal ills, especially those that plague the metal community. Earlier this year, when the Black Lives Matter protests gripped the nation with a righteous fury, Bindrune released their remarkable OVERGROW TO OVERTHROW compilation. Proceeds from the album were donated to Black Lives Matter and to Life After Hate, an organization that assists with the rehabilitation of former hate group members. In addition to being a great cause, the compilation featured killer contributions from the likes of Chat Pile, Thou, Cloud Rat, Ripped to Shreds and dozens of other face melting groups.
Thanks to these progressive ideals and fundraises, Bindrune is even making a case for the reclamation of the rune. Using Nordic runes as their logo and on many of their artist’s album covers, Bindrune creates a positive association between Nordic runes, great bands and progressive ideals, which little by little is helping to erode the association between hate groups and Nordic runes.
No matter which way it’s being sliced, Bindrune is bringing positivity and brutality to the metal community in equal measure. Head on over to their Bandcamp page to check out some of their gut-churning releases.
Murderous Merch
In the world of metal merch two things have recently caught my eye, the first is the gorgeous deluxe edition of Poppy’s Inferno. The idea of metal and comics crossing over is nothing new, even Scott Ian of the legendary Anthrax has penned a comic book himself, but to be so self-insertive is a fun little Morrison-esque twist on the traditional format. The book itself is gorgeous (at least the deluxe edition is) and comes with a statuette of Poppy herself. Of course, it comes with a download of Poppy’s album I Disagree, a genre bending pop-metal explosion of creativity that sits among the best heavy releases of the year.
The next bit of merch is a simple shirt from Oklahoma based sludge metal/noise rock group Chat Pile. Consisting only of their band logo, done in a fairly typical black metal style, the shirt doesn’t really break any new ground. It’s the choice of available colors that sets it apart. For far too long us metalheads have had to drape ourselves in the same black that we purport to hold in our souls, but even gods of death have bubblier days. Following this, it’s only fitting that Chat Pile, one of the most depressing bands currently making music, would release their shirt in a vibrant blue with a hot magenta logo. You can wear it in public, still scare people and even confuse your metalhead friends. What more could you ask for?
And Now… For Something Completely Different
Anyone who is a fan of the gooier aspects of metal fandom absolutely needs to check out the animated series Dorohedoro on Netflix. Set in a world where regular people live in abject squalor and are constantly afraid of being caught up in a sorcerer's twisted experiments, the show follows Caiman, a human who has had his head turned into a lizard head, as he tries to recover his memory and human form. Gory, grimy and gleefully hilarious, the show effortlessly balances darkness and humour by taking slapstick up to and even past its breaking point. Beyond the black humour and septic setting, Dorohedoro boasts exciting, memorable characters and a compelling plot and the show’s connection to metal goes even deeper than the visuals. Inspired by Dorohedoro’s psychedelic violence, metal madmen Igorrr penned a track titled “Dorohedoro” which you can listen to below.
Non-Metal Album of the Week
This past week, Jónsi (of Sigur Rós fame) released Shiver to impressive critical acclaim. Having been critical of Jónsi’s past work, particularly the misguided Dark Morph II from earlier this year, this record completely shifted my perspective on his solo work. Where much of his previous work had continued along the calm cool lines of Sigur Rós, Shiver explores the darker, more abrasive urges he was tinkering with as part of Dark Morph. The resulting mixture is soothing, terrifying, unsettling and enveloping all at the same time.
Less Murderous Merch
Last year, Sturgill Simpson shocked the world by trading in his usual psychedelic outlaw country style for more straightforward Southern rock on SOUND & FURY. The reception from critics was predictably mixed, but the album has begun to receive more of it’s due in recent months. Digging into the lyrics (and accompanying material, but we’ll come back to that) it’s easy to see why. Set in a post-apocalyptic nightmare where corrupt government officials and greedy businessmen have destroyed the planet and forced the rest of humanity into enslavement beneath a surveillance state, the album is shockingly prescient. When coupled with its propulsive Netflix short film of the same title, the themes are made even clearer and more applicable to the current moment.
Being so relevant, it seemed impossible that the album would just wither away without additional support. To ensure that it didn’t, Z2 comics, the same company who released the aforementioned Poppy comic, have released a collaborative anthology comic, also titled SOUND & FURY, that details the events that set up the album’s storyline. Written by the ever impressive Jason Aaron, and featuring a rotating cast of illustrators such as Takashi Okazaki, Vasilis Lolos, Rosi Kampe, Rufus Dayglo and Deathburger, this comic is a must buy for any comic fan or Sturgill Simpson devotee.
Staring Out at the Horizon
This week I’m excited to dig into new releases from Sløtface, Touché Amoré, METZ, and Necrophobic. Also noteworthy is the 20th (I really am an Old God now aren’t I) anniversary of Linkin Park’s landscape shifting debut, Meteora. Whether or not you consider them to be metal, this is an album worth revisiting if only to investigate the marks it left on the heavy music scene throughout the 2000’s.
In the less aggressive music world, I’m keeping a close eye on the latest records from Sade, Yo La Tengo, Machinedrum, Mary Lattimore and The Sun Ra Arkestra.
If there are any releases you’re looking forward to that weren’t covered here, drop them down into the abyssal plain known as the comment section.
Shrinekeeping
As you may have noticed we have a fresh and shiny new logo thanks to my good friend Cody Sloan! Cody and I are former co-workers and he’s a top-notch photographer and graphic designer. If you’re in Southern California and need a photographer, or just want to look at some great photos you can find his work here.
With any luck, Cody and I will soon be collaborating on concert coverage when we’re all able to go to shows again. To see what a previous collaboration of ours looked like, check out our coverage of a Shopping concert right before shows were shut down indefinitely.
We also have a shiny new share button!
If you found an album you liked or something you enjoyed thanks to this newsletter, pass it along to a friend! If a friend sent you here and you dug the newsletter, click the subscribe button to get Apotheosis delivered weekly to your inbox.
That’s it for this week. Stay tuned for more updates from the wicked world of metal and the Best of September newsletter that should be landing in your inbox shortly.
Until then, wallow in filth you mewling demi-gods.