I got the newest issue of Terrorizer, issue #260, on my way down to Temples Festival, but have been so busy with copy-editing work that it’s only now that I’ve had time to sit and go through the reviews properly and pick out all those glorious ones that scored [8] or more. It’s not as high-scoring a month as the previous issue, but there have been some really great albums reviewed this year so far, and this issue does not buck that trend. The album of the month, in particular, Sigh’s Graveward, which I mentioned a number of weeks ago on this blog, is a triumphantly deranged piece of avant-garde extreme metal that everyone should hear at least a few times before making their minds up. As Ed Chapman at Terrorizer sums it up:
“It sounds like it’s come from an alternate dimension to show us what heavy metal could be like if only more bands were this ambitious.”
On top of that, the new Leprous album, The Congregation, is a definite contender for my album of the year (although there have admittedly been quite a few already)! Highly recommended if you’re looking for some of the most immaculate and cohesive arrangements in contemporary metal today.
So, this month’s albums, along with Spotify links where applicable, are as follows:
- Dead Existence – Endless Misery [8] (Spotify)
- Decayed – Into the Depths of Hell [8]
- Fórn – The Departure of Consciousness [8] (Spotify)
- Genocide Pact – Forged through Domination [8]
- Goatsnake – Black Age Blues [8.5] (Spotify)
- God Dethroned – The Ancient Ones [8]
- Gorgoroth – Instinctus Bestisalis [8] (Spotify)
- Helloween – My God-Given Right [8] (Spotify)
- Invertebrate – Regression/Devolution [8.5]
- Leechfeast / Meth Drinker – Split [8]
- Leprous – The Congregation [9] (Spotify)
- Macabre Omen – Gods of War – at War [8.5]
- Maruta – Remain Dystopian [8] (Spotify)
- Ninkharsag – Blood of Celestial Kings [8] (Spotify)
- Obsequiae – Aria of Vernal Tombs [8] (Spotify)
- Paradise Lost – The Plague Within [8.5] (Spotify)
- Prurient – Frozen Niagara Falls [8] (Spotify)
- Sigh – Graveward [9] (Spotify) (Album of the Month)
- The Sun Explodes – The Calm, the Storm [8] (Spotify)
- Tau Cross – Tau Cross [8] (Spotify)
- Throat – Short Circuit [8]
- Will Haven – Open the Mind to Discomfort [8] (Spotify)
- Winterfylleth – The Fathers of Albion: An Anthology 2007-2013 [8] (Spotify)
As always, any feedback or comments are greatly appreciated. Let me know if you discover any gems among these new releases.
Foundations of Burden 
If you haven’t checked it out yet I can confirm that the Tau Cross album is indeed an absolute cracker. Thanks for posting these, I always get a bunch of great listening out of ’em.
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You’re welcome; I’m always glad to hear that it gives you some inspiration for your listening! I gave the Tau Cross album a ‘background’ spin a week or so ago, since I’m a bit of a Voivod fan. Really enjoyed what I was hearing, but I’ll make a point of giving it a couple of proper listens after your recommendation. I actually saw Voivod at the aforementioned Temples Festival, and Away was on brilliant form behind the kit.
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