Five For Friday: August 16, 2024

Greetings, Decibel readers!

It’s a good day if you like death metal, whether it’s the more rip-and-tear approach of bands like Cemetery Filth and Vile Rites, or the moodier takes performed by Avernus and the melodeath heroes in Dark Tranquility. Solid tunes for the approaching death of summer.

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Avernus – Grievances

A must-listen for fans of death-doom, but also for people who appreciate the gothic-leanings of bands like Dusk, Draconian and November’s Doom. It’s hard to beat the songwriting skills on display here, particularly in a style that’s so dependent on vibe and mood, in which it’s east to become boring. These guys are definitely not boring (… also, check out their demo-era stuff, holy shit!).

Stream: Apple Music

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Cemetery Filth – Senses of Detriment

From our premiere of Senses of Detriment:

What sets Cemetery Filth apart is their ability to blend the old with the new. While their sound pays homage to the greats like Death, Morbid Angel, and Pestilence, their music has a progressive edge that hints at influences from Atheist, Cynic, and latter-era Death. This fusion is evident in Senses of Detriment, where intricate riffs and complex rhythms coexist with memorable hooks that lodge themselves deep in the listener’s mind.

Stream: Apple Music

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Dark Tranquillity – Endtime Signals

The 13th album from the melodic-death metal mainstays sees them cling tightly to the sound they’ve crafted since Character. There’s echoes and reminders of the old days, but everything is neatly streamlined into a theatrical and efficient whole, a mode of musical being that has served them well. Although efforts like this will never pack the same punch as their finest records from the 90s and early 2000s, you can at least say they’ve aged more gracefully than some of their Gothenburg bretheren.

Stream: Apple Music

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Rot Coven – Nightmares Devour the Waking World

Some real cave-dweller stuff here. This is the kind of music, a term I use loosely here, that will definitely clear a room of normies. I’m a big proponent of cinematic dark ambient like Atrium Carceri and Kammarheit. But this is on a whole other level. A really deep one.

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Vile Rites – Senescence

From our full-album stream of Senescence:

Northern California death dealers Vile Rites spent a long time perfecting their sound—guitarist/vocalist Alex Miletich began writing for the project in 2017 while living in Portland—before settling on the progressive death metal sound heard on their debut album, Senescence.

Clocking in around the forty minute mark, the songs on Senescence become progressively more ambitious the further into the album the listener goes

Stream: Apple Music