After a 6 year hiatus, Withered return, joined by Ethan McCarthy of Primitive Man and Colin Marston of Dysrhythmia/Gorguts. Grief Relic sees the band doing what they do best, adding lots of atmosphere and nuance to the filth. With their unique mix of bestial and thoughtful, it's good to have Withered back. [$9.99]
Like a classic horror movie, Howls of Ebb keep things lo fi and creepy. Cursus Impasse is a take on psychedelic black/death quite unlike anything I've heard before, filled with discordant parts that wouldn't be out of place on an old Am Rep record, and lots of unsettling atmospheric interludes. One of the more intriguing bands I've heard in recent years. [€7]
It's rare that I feel compelled to listen to an album immediately after finishing it, but the debut by Ireland's Mortichnia kept reeling me back in. Heir To Scoria And Ash mixes black metal melodies, doom metal tempos and post metal nuance. A pitch black streak through the Emerald Isle. [£5]
Coming from Iceland, ZHRINE surely know a thing or two about cold and dark. Unortheta is atmospheric and expansive, but unrelenting in its bleakness. Icelandic black metal is quickly becoming the hot new thing, bands like Zhrine show that the scene isn't limited in its scope. [$9.99]
