John Chaos Alexander Astoundly out there Black Metal, I love the experimentation, the sporadic discordance , Yeah! there's something about this I fuckin' love \M/ Favorite track: Divide et Impera.

thornbiter This sounds kinda like someone ritually murdered the remaining members of both Root and Pineal Ventana and then immediately raised their corpses to the task of forming a new band before the synapses broke down entirely. And I mean that in the most complimentary way possible.

BoboDupla Yep, yep, yep. This is indeed weird. But fascinating and inventive. Loving the vibe and the execution of this musical nightmare.

YomaBarr DEBUT OF THE YEAR so far, and I think it will easily make my overall list too. Where did this creature crawl from?

Occult black metal with sax and trumpet in front rather than guitars and batshit crazy. Completely devilish too. Don't listen before bed folks.

Hekatomb? Is that you? Some of the riffs and musical phrases are downright Hekatombian... Another case of great minds thinking alike.

GeN2Mo Churning and twisting somehwere between the holes Psyopus, Ephel Duath and Pyrrhon crawled out of. Weaving through it a vocal performance that can very rightfully be called "acrobatic", but manages to go way beyond just showiness. The sheer amount of experimentation and wild ideas on display here is overwhelming, and on top of that, the overwhelm is used as a stylistic device in its own right, masterfully so.

Urso X On one hand, a stress test of one’s tolerance for total sonic depravity, OTOH, an almost unfathomably creative, genuinely sick/enjoyable record feat. what’s gotta be vocal performance of the decade from Zhenya Frolov. I loved the growth and maturity Voidthrone displayed on Metaphysical Degradation (see review on TDW’s listing), but I’m in absolute awe of whatever [waves hands around] tf this is! Favorite track: I-III. First Blood.

Brent Davis I'm not sure Extreme Metal is supposed to be this much fun - is this sacrilege? Blasphemy?

Ye gods, Voidthrone - what hast thou wrought?!?

Ah, but isn't that the point of Metal? To shock, offend, be adversarial, challenge expectations, et cetera?

Anyway, Dreaming Rat is proof of Metal's truly protean nature - its form can vary so radically it beggars belief...

This is peak Deranged Metal. I hail thee, Voidthrone!

🤘🤘🤘🖤🇿🇦

FASERIP Second for second (aka pound for pound) this is the greatest album of all time. Favorite track: You Know, Soon As Nobody's Looking, I'm Going To Fuck This Flag..

an BEARDS! GUTS! CAMO!! Favorite track: ICE!.

I, Da Witchfinder Bad presidents make good music! Favorite track: Body Camera Malfunction.

yakuzadog14 WHEN SOMEDAY I PASS BEYOND
GIFT MY BONES BACK TO THE GROUND
SOW MY SOUL, KEEP ME WELL
AND LET MY HEART BEAT WITH THE LAND Favorite track: Heather & Hearth.

madking80 This is not by any means a market driven retro movement. Kyle Mc Neill is blessed with the essence of the 70's and he expresses it here with five masterclass prog rock songs, plus a cover. The musicianship in this record is phenomenonal, a triumphant exploration of songwritting. Classic already! Favorite track: The Autumn Citadel.

lunarvesperia The whole album is amazing, but the title song is really special to me. Arrives straight to the heart. Favorite track: Heather & Hearth.