Fu Manchu: "Clone of the Universe"

SoCal ramblings galore

Break out your skateboard, grow out your oddly specific beard style, and bring your best sunglasses: It's time for a new Fu Manchu record! If you expect a bunch of sun-baked, tarmac-scented stoner rock tunes, you never really can go wrong with Scott Hill and company.

Anna Von Hausswolff: "Dead Magic"

A bridge over the deep waters that separate styles

Thanks to a former boss who recommended me her previous album, Anna Von Hausswolff is now one of those artists that I continually look forward to hearing from. The Miraculous from 2015 received a 9/10 rating, and I'm happy to say that while 2018's Dead Magic is in many areas a vastly different endeavour, it is absolutely as deserving of the same score.

Bednja: "Doline Su Ostale Iza Nas"

Brooding darkness bisected by equal parts metal and hardcore

From the start it's clear that Croatian black metal practitioners Bednja aren't your average, garden variety black metal group. Though there is expansive tremolo riff-scapes aplenty, their mix also borrows heavily from modern hardcore, adding grooves and interesting melodies - as well as a more shout-oriented vocal style - to the concoction.

Thecodontion: "Thecodontia"

Deadly bass-driven chaos

Who would've ever thought that taxonomy and paleontology would father a metal band? However unlikely it may seem, Thecodontion channel the highly destructive forces of pre-history into a dense state of chaos on their debut demo, Thecodontia.

Galdur: "Age of Legends"

Un-cheesy dungeon music masterpiece

Though at first glance micro-genres like dungeon synth can sound rather restrictive and samey across numerous artists, there are several roads you can take as an artist. Some opt for a folk-inspired approach with many classical, real life instruments, while others emulate the midi-soundtracks of old fantasy RPGs for a more synthetic feel. Others still resort to a more true-to-life orchestral feel. You can count Galdur's 2016 opus Age of Legends among the latter.

Death Keepers: "Rock This World"

Corner-cutting heavy/power mixture

As far as Judas Priest and general late 70s/early 80s heavy metal worship goes, this Spanish leather-clad outfit are pretty good. If you aim to stay true to the roots, there's only so much you can do, and with the limited possibilities of the style, Death Keepers make just a little more than the most of it.

Botanist: "Collective: The Shape of He to Come"

Difficult to enjoy, but more than just haphazardly composed black metal

Not being familiar with the works of Botanist, you'll have to excuse me for expecting something a bit different than what Collective: The Shape of He to Come is. In a way you could easily argue that the cover for this 2017 album is indeed very fitting of the obscure, yet oddly naturalistic sounds found on the disc. Whatever it was I originally had thought this album would sound like, that notion was blown to bits and pieces.