Welcome to another iteration of our album reviews podcast where Tim and I dissect four fresh cuts from extreme metal’s underbelly. While we have never set out to follow a distinct theme in each episode, this time around we unintentionally selected three solo projects. Had we realized this theme earlier on in our selection process, we would have opted to round out the body of this episode with a fourth solo endeavor. However, Witch Vomit was originally exhumed as a two-piece, so we think we converged close enough to our thematic throughline (that, and their latest album rips).

Irrespective of the loose thread tying these albums together, the tones contained in each are quite different from one another. ESOCTRILIHUM takes the form of blackened death metal. Chaotic and esoteric, the shrouded figure of Asthâghul conjures unrelenting riffs, cudgeling drums, and a piercing apoplectic aura. Despondent Moon writhes in veins of lo-fi black metal with a biting mist of dungeon synth ensnaring it. And Mizmor trudges across a windswept desert with a blackened doom gait to revolt against the universe’s utter indifference to human life. The genre descriptors for these solo endeavors are relatively apt, but they don’t fully prepare you for the plethora of tones and moods harbored within them. After our discussion of these three projects, we close out with the vile repugnance spewing from Witch Vomit’s latest LP.

Given our accidental stumbling into a vague theme for this episode, we are looking to adhere to consistent ones going forward. At the moment, our plan for the next episode is to review a handful of tongue in cheek bands. Cannabis Corpse’s Nug So Vile is on our list and we wanted to field some insight from you all. So if you have some favorite releases from this year that are tongue in cheek, punny, or sardonic, please feel free to leave those suggestions in the comments down below. We’d love to hear from you.