Long time readers will know that I tend to like some different music than most people. It’s not intentional, it just works out that way. You will probably notice that there is one album missing from this list. From reading online, the album that came out on March 20th is insanely popular and most people seem to feel the same way about it as I do about the first one on my list below. That album is the new Neurosis. If you haven’t listened to it yet, you should. Just because it’s not my thing doesn’t mean it won’t be yours.
Act II - Of Iron and Blood by Lömsk
Black Metal from Sweden
Phenomenal album. Some melodies in here. AOTY so far for me and not I’m sure if anything can take this one out. Having listened to thousands of albums over 40+ years, it’s hard to be blown away by something. This is one of those rare occurrences. One of those where I listened to nothing but this for several days. The clean vocals sitting behind the growls in Fields of Elysium is a perfect addition to the song and really stuck out to me. This one absolutely deserves a listen.
Echoes by Ethereal Darkness
Melodic Death / Doom Metal with Atmospheric and Black Metal influences from Belgium
Second album from this band that focuses on the darker side of life and the relationship between life and death, love, loss and grief. Their Bandcamp page sums it up quite well, “Melancholic guitar harmonies, crushing atmospheric weight, and vocals that move between anguished growls and solemn cleans weave together into something vast yet deeply personal.”
Isle of Bliss by Hanging Garden
Melodic Death / Doom Metal from Finland
I will listen to any melodic death / doom album. Add in being from Finland and it’s almost always a win in my book. I’ve only been listening to Hanging Garden for 3 or 4 years but I quickly became a fan and this album does not disappoint. They took a more bare bones approach to this album with a little darker sound and also made use of Riikka’s ability to scream along with her clean vocals. The male growls are outstanding as always.
Under the Under by Growth
Progressive Death Metal from Australia
Second album from this band and second chapter in a planned trilogy. Growth began in 2017 as a reflective space for brothers Tristan Barnes (guitar/bass/artwork) and Nelson Barnes (drums) to explore trauma, grief and mental illness. The six tracks in here document the six stages of recovery. Heavy Metal Philosophy has a good write up on this one. You can read it here.
Summoning by Funeral Pile
Blackened Death / Doom Metal from Germany
Really great combination of epic doom metal, post black metal and death metal. They explore themes of despair, death, hopelessness and mythology with this release.
Ensis by the Holeum
Doom Metal from Spain
Listed as doom metal but this one has experimental, melodic, death, doom and post metal all mixed in here. And it is done extremely well. Space and astronomy based themes. This one was on my list to listen to but I ended up liking it even more than I thought I would.
“The Holeum is related to the dark matter that forms the black holes in the universe. The Holeum is not a black hole but theblack holes are formed by The Holeum. That is the idea where we extract our concept from.”