We close January 2024 with 68 new releases including 10 vigorous highlights

One of the most steadfast voices in underground metal since the late 90s got to be Norwegian five-piece powerhouse Madder Mortem. Always staying true to themselves, never swaying towards any trends, working at their own pace has earned them a small, but very dedicated fan base with seven excellent albums so far. Album number eight is no different in its unswaying truthfulness, confronting us with 10 tracks full of raw emotions wrapped in ‘anything goes’ Prog Metal. Agnete Kirkevaag continues to wear her heart on her sleeve and paired with the band’s unparalleled talent for inventive songwriting, “Old Eyes, New Heart” is yet another cathartic, authentic masterpiece adding nothing but greatness to an already impressive discography. The legend of the underdogs continues! Dario

Brisbane modern melodic prog four piece Caligula’s Horse has come far since I first stumbled across their name with their 2011 debut album “Moments from Ephemeral City”, when I thought it was just a side project of then-Arcane vocalist Jim Grey together with a talented guitarist called Sam Vallen. Soon, it would become a full fledged band, and the main focus of Jim Grey’s musical activities. Soothing, uplifting melodies on top of intricate, complex, sometimes djenty riffs, interspersed with soaring lead guitar bliss, that has always been their specialty and that’s exactly what we’re getting with “Charcoal Grace”, their sixth album, as well. Triumphant and hopeful, with two albums of that emotional depth being released on the same day (the other being Madder Mortem’s “Old Eyes, New Heart”), this is just more proof for any disbelievers mocking Progressive music as technical and lacking heart and soul! As far as I’m concerned, the very opposite is true, at least when it comes to the very best the genre has to offer. And “Charcoal Grace” is definitely among them. Dario

I’ve heard rumours that there are still people who can’t enjoy some proper brutal gutturals at all, same as people who dislike saxophone in their music, and truth be told, it wasn’t until I was in my 30th year into existing on this earth in this lifetime that I learnt to fully embrace them. Multi-national technical metal band Vipassi won’t have to face either problem though, as their music might be technically extreme metal, but neither growls (or any vocals at all) nor sax might taint the listening pleasures. Who needs a vocalist anyways when you have the singing fretless bass of Arran McSporran (Virvum, ex-De Profundis…). And if you don’t like the flamboyant sounds of a fretless bass in a technical extreme metal environment, then I’m afraid to say, it’s your own fault that you’ll have to miss out on the excellent beauty of “Lightless”. Also check out Bob’s full review of the album. Dario

Danish powerhouse Manticora have been around for a while now, more precisely since 1997, yet they’re still ready to rumble through our living rooms with album Number 10, which got the lovely name “Mycelium”. While they started as a Powermetal band back then, they broadened their spectrum by adding elements of Thrash, Prog, Black and Death Metal, and refined their style that way. Compared to the previous releases, ”Mycelium” is rather short with “only” 46 minutes, during which the whole band works like a well-oiled machine, coming along with a mighty, vibrant sound thanks to their mix of amazing musicianship, diverse song-writing and huge playing joy. All-together, Manticora deliver a great listening fun for fans of heavy music, that surely will also work very well in a live setting. Horns up! Katha

American brutal/tech death band Vitriol just dropped one of the heaviest and most insane releases in recent years with their latest effort, “Suffer & Become”! This thing is just so pummeling from front to back, with punchy production that delivers the goods, and blackened atmospheres to really set that evil tone. There’s even a bit of that war metal edge to it that reminds me of that Esoctrilihum album from 2022, as well as Infernal Coil. Definitely for fans of Hate Eternal and Immolation, too. Maybe not the most proggy, but the technical aspects will appeal to fans of flashy playing abilities, because these guys are tight! And not overly technical to brush off the songwriting in any way; I actually think the songwriting in this style was perfectly executed. January has set the tone high for what to expect this year in extreme metal! Colin

Just when I thought I could use some more relaxed Progressive Post Rock in between all this Extreme madness, Copenhagen’s Nake go a lot harder at it than expected on their self-titled debut album. A lot proggier than what is the norm usually in Post Rock realms. All the more fun though. Highly energetic with a raw edge that almost feels like it was recorded live. At least it had the effect that it made me want to experience it live. Hopefully they’ll be able to spread their sounds beyond the Danish borders soon. Dario

After this short, more melodious intermezzo, we move back into heavier fields. Having convinced with their incredibly strong output over the past years, a Willowtip release will quickly spark my curiosity, and I’m happy to report that Progressive Death Metal quintet Cognizance are another great addition to their roster. “Phantazein” is already the band’s third album since their debut in 2019, and promises to transcend their previous boundaries by delving into the intricate interplay between art, obsession, and the profound influence of one’s environment. Musically speaking, they fully deliver! While the mighty soundscapes are best described as brutal, there is still enough melody within the dense harmonic layers, and despite the challenging, hard-hitting rhythmics, the music comes along pretty groovy in the overall context. The playing skills are jaw-dropping, but always serving the songs, which makes the 40 minutes a great listen, recommended for fans of the more technical, extreme side of Metal. Katha

Eerie, creepie, weird: the sound of Chicago’s rising Avantgarde Death Metal stars of Fleshvessel is definitely not for the faint of heart. Their 2023 debut full length “Yearning: Promethean Fates Sealed” was easily one of the most daring debut efforts of the last year. But before that, their first musical sign of life was 2020’s “Bile of Man Reborn” EP which is now available in a brand new remaster by April Hutchins (Anna Pest) and finally also with live drums, as opposed to the programmed ones on the original release. Our very own Colin MacAndrew put on a killer performance here and I do hope we’ll hear more live drums, be it from Colin or some other equally skilled drummer, on future Fleshvessel releases! Dario

California based Avantgarde/Ambient Doom/Black Metal entities Lotus Thief and Forlesen share quite a few members in their bodies, so it was only a natural evolution to join forces on a Split single/EP. With one almost 12 minute song credited to each entity, it embraces the differences as much as the similarities of the two if that makes any sense at all. Add in Bocaccio’s Decameron as source material for Lotus Thief’s ‘In Perdition’ and the much beloved traditional ‘Black Is The Color’ as base for Forlesen’s explorations, you’ve got yourself an intriguing little Split EP! Dario

What happens if a celebrated conductor, equally well versed in classical, film score and contemporary classical worlds, teams up with composers from the metal world to record an all-orchestral album full of metal composed and arranged for and played by a Symphony orchestra? Bright & Black happens. Strictly staying within the orchestral instrumentarium of the Baltic Sea Philharmonic (no full drum set), Estonian conductor Kristjan Järvi manages to dive deep into the soul of both worlds. With Apocalyptica founder and Cello wizard Eicca Toppinen, they have found the perfect soloist who embodies the fusion of both aesthetics to a point where his Cello-bandmates would have been either too crazy or too tame. It doesn’t quite reach the pitch black darkness of Triptykon’s 2020 “Requiem” for the entire playtime of over an hour, for that there’s still too much ‘Bright’ in there. But worry not, among the composers are members of Watain, Entombed AD, Meshuggah and Opeth, so there’s quite some ‘Black’ and some Metal to go around. An intriguing concept with a surprisingly convincing output. I wouldn’t mind a continuation at some point. Dario