PopMatters' 20 Best Metal Albums of 2019

On their eighth studio album, Sunn O))) wanted to take their signature drone metal back to its most minimalist form. During the past decade, the Stephen O’Malley- and Greg Anderson-led unit ventured into a series of collaborations—with artists ranging from Norwegian experimental collective Ulver to the late singer/composer/producer Scott Walker—before releasing 2015’s *Kannon*, which incorporated death-metal growls into their guitar assaults. For *Life Metal*, the band hired studio veteran Steve Albini—whose recordings distill a band\'s bare essence—to capture their expansive, amplified noise live to tape. “Troubled Air” is mired in their typically impenetrable feedback, though a gleaming pipe organ (arranged by Australian composer Anthony Pateras) faintly clears the darkness toward the song’s end. The lumbering “Between Sleipnir’s Breaths”—inspired by the creature from Norse mythology—plays like an orchestral piece, contrasting trenchant dissonance with Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir’s ghostly vocals. Simplicity is at the core of these four lengthy tracks, but those unexpected elements—and O’Malley and Anderson\'s broader palette of sounds in general—add a newfound depth to the band\'s arsenal.

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Richmond's INTER ARMA, reigning masters of the slow build, continue to trace a distinctly ambitious trajectory through modern metal. Their impulses tend toward the epic, but never bloat; they meld several styles — doom, sludge, and hard psych — without coming off like dilettantes. This newest full-length, Sulphur English, finds them mining deeper in the proggy organic doom fields that made both Paradise Gallows and Sky Burial so thrilling while expanding further the on the psych-folk strain that made those albums' peaks seem so lofty. Few metal bands have ever made such effective use of acoustic instruments in truly heavy environments as INTER ARMA do; the acoustic guitar that stitches "Stillness" together is as effective as any overdriven bass; a two-minute gloomy piano-and-feedback piece titled "Observances of the Path" rolls out the carpet for "The Atavist's Meridian," an album highlight that rides a gigantic, roomy drum sound into realms akin to a murkier Paradise Lost, a more aggressive Om, and a dreamier, more stoned Kylesa all playing together at once. Few bands make music as engrossing as INTER ARMA; their lengthy, almost meditative songs rumble patiently forward until you're ready to get thrown off a bridge — and then they throw you, with great force. - Words by John Darnielle

By now, Savannah, Georgia, metal band Baroness is down to one original member—singer/guitarist and album cover artist extraordinaire John Baizley—and based in Philadelphia. But the steady turnover during the past decade and a half hasn\'t made Baroness feel any less cohesive or consistent. Their fifth full-length album throws in a few stylistic changes (the post-rock interludes “Assault on East Falls” and “Sevens,” the hushed acoustic guitars comprising the first minute of “Tourniquet,” and “Blankets of Ash,” which is a little bit of each) but is as much of an endpoint for the band as it is a springboard. Baizley has said this will be the last Baroness album to be named after colors, an overarching concept that stretches back to 2007\'s *Red Album*. Whatever that portends, it won\'t be due to a lack of ideas. Frantic pulse-quickeners like “Throw Me an Anchor,” “Seasons,” and “Broken Halo” sit alongside the beat-heavy, atmospheric “I\'m Already Gone,” which Baizley himself has described as “Massive Attack meets TLC\'s \'Waterfalls.\'”

Funeral Doom titans ESOTERIC return with the monolithic ‘A Pyrrhic Existence,’ the collective’s first new album in eight years. Their undeniable power and time-warping arrangements are unparalleled even by doom metal standards, taking on an almost psychedelic hue at times here. As each of the six songs in this 2CD set roar to life, including the 27+ minute epic "Descent," the gravity swallows’ listeners up as they are pulled into their depths. ESOTERIC are, quite literally, one of metal’s heaviest bands, and the somber ‘A Pyrrhic Existence’ is further proof of their mastery.

The inevitable regeneration of LORD MANTIS occurred when vocalist/bassist Charlie Fell and guitarist/vocalist Andrew Markuszewski decided to mend ties and once again join forces for a new renewed union to properly carry on the LORD MANTIS legacy, mired in chaos and virulence, by honouring the memory of late drummer/founder Bill Bumgardner with their new album “Universal Death Church”. With guitarist Ken Sorceron of Abigail Williams fame (who also joined LORD MANTIS on “Death Mask”) and new drummer Bryce Butler, along with honorary vocalist/member Dylan O’Toole of Indian, “Universal Death Church” is the result of a band who has overcome dark and chaotic chapters and bitter internal feuds to set out once again to raise the bar of extreme music after the suicide of a key founding member in the ranks. “Universal Death Church” sees LORD MANTIS with a new sense of purpose and focus. More developed and immeasurable, vast and towering, “Universal Death Church” continues the doomed and blackened depraved metal paradigm that has become the signature resonating palpitation surrounding the LORD MANTIS sound. The threading between punishing, torturous yet direct and at times tangible industrial-influenced riffing with the more abstract, dark, blackened surreal-like crawling and swift passages paint a new disturbing sonic portrait for the band. The renewed union of LORD MANTIS became akin to that of repairing tissue of an unnamable and vile organism. Leveling up the beast. Having that infamous reputation of being one of the more vexed acts within the extreme metal scene, as amassed on previous releases such as 2012’s “Pervertor” and most-notably their 2014 controversial “Death Mask” LP, “Universal Death Church” ups the LORD MANTIS ante in pretty much every category; the intensity, darkness, heaviness, and of course the deviance and degeneracy.

Featuring classic 1970s artwork by Sci-Fi god Bruce Pennington, “Hidden History of the Human Race” promises to be both a meditative inquiry on the Mystery & Nature of human consciousness, and a dynamic foray into the realms of progressive, brutal & atmospheric death metal, as revealed by BLOOD INCANTATION. Recorded completely analogue at World Famous Studios in Denver, CO, “Hidden History of the Human Race” expands the sonic cosmos explored on BLOOD INCANTATION’s critically acclaimed debut “Starspawn” (Dark Descent Records) and contains the following new tracks: 1. Slave Species of the Gods - 05:31 2. The Giza Power Plant - 07:06 3. Inner Paths (to Outer Space - 05:38 4. Awakening From the Dream of Existence to the Multidimensional Nature of Our Reality (Mirror of the Soul) - 18:05

Recorded in their home country of Finland by Vesa Vatanen, Kimmo Nyssonen (who has worked with Dark Buddha Rising), Tom Brooke (NYOS, and who has previously worked with Domovoyd and Oranssi Pazuzu), Osiris Hayden is zenith of masterful music production, created by some of Finland’s foremost heavy psychedelic pioneers. Like an Ostrobothnian Föllakzoid, experimental electronic soundscapes pulverize with panache and a pop-like sensibility. Osiris Hayden is contemporary Finno-Ugric Krautrock, in keeping with the band’s earlier work but much more cinematic in scope than ever before. Vangelis-inducing, distorted Blade Runner landscapes give way to the march of slick Terminatormachines crushing human bones under foot. Psychonaut futurism from a band fusing genres ahead of their own time, and in a strange but logical evolution of the PH journey. There is a jazz-like affection for the alchemy of sound-craft at play on this record. As Hesse said, “Who would be born must first destroy a world,” and worlds of sound are destroyed and recreated again and again. From the emerging resonance of pulsing drones to euphoric dying synths, we’re taken through a cascading, continual resurrection of the principle of sound and rhythm, emphasizing the PH mission statement. Punishing industrial Nine Inch Nails beats and abyssic static-laced Gary Numan-esque chants beat a white-noise pulse into your subconscious. On tracks like “Sun Sets For One” and single track “Justified,” there’s an almost anthemic ecstasy to the way the evolving song structures coil and unwind themselves. There’s no surprise why festivals like Roadburn, Roskilde, Flow, and Tuska have championed this group to represent one of the finest examples of the modern Finnish experimental rock scene. Referring to PH, Julian Cope urged people to “get this stunning quintet out of the cold weather and into the charts.” Osiris Hayden feels like the album that will now propel them out of the smoke-filled sub-basement venues that birthed them, on to the à la modecoffee tables and dancefloors of even the most discerning and cutting-edge audio savant. PH’s 20 years of psychedelic space-travel lend them a gargantuan understanding of the roots of music, towards the core meaning and power of transcendental sound. Fine-art museum-level workmanship for apocalyptic illegal factory raves and lysergic come-downs. Look no further for a sound beyond the limits of modern psychedelia. These Finns are way out there.

Deep within the Hyperborean mists lies a pale blue light. It is the light of a flame whose embers have been smoldering long and low, awaiting the day when it will engulf the sky in brilliant and terrible cerulean Aurora. That day has come. Vimur is a black metal band from the American South. Despite its hot, humid origins, Vimur's sound has a layer of icy frost straight from the Arctic circle. Vimur was founded in 2006 as the singular musical vision of Vaedis, who spent several years writing music and developing his ability on drums so he could execute the compositions forming in his mind. In 2009, the first full length was recorded solely by Vaedis but was scrapped after not measuring up to his elite standards. An extremely limited demo was released in the Fall of 2010. Over 2010-2011 Vaedis revisited the debut album and with honed instrumental chops re-recorded the material at a much higher level of prowess. Vaedis waited to unleash the full-length record until he could form a live ensemble that could truly capture its power and atmosphere. Many auditioned, but none were worthy until Kiehüle in late 2009 joined as bassist/co-writer. Kiehüle and Vaedis refined early material and composed a second full length album as they searched for a drummer of proper caliber. In 2013, Ætheøs brought the unstoppable thrust that Vimur's sound demanded. Shortly after, Australis joined the ranks on guitar and the live line-up was complete. Vimur began to captivate audiences with live performances. In 2014, Vimur released a second demo with two studio recordings from the full length and three live recordings featuring the full band. At the end of 2014, the debut full length "Traversing the Ethereal Current" finally saw official release on Shades of Nyx records, and Vimur immediately set out on tour over the Northeast and Midwest to support the album. In 2015, an exemplary live tape, featuring individually hand painted artwork, was released by Ritual Ugliness Productions. Vimur toured the Southeast and Texas in support of the tape. 2016 saw the release of the 12" EP, "Exegesis" by Boris Records. This was the first studio recording to feature the entire ensemble. Vimur executed an extensive west coast tour in support of "Exegesis." Vimur would also take 2016 to record the second full length album, "Triumphant Master of Fates." Vimur has continued to perform live and write music voraciously to the present. "Triumphant Master of Fates" will be released on vinyl, CD, and digitally in March 2019. This will mark the beginning of a new era for Vimur, with unmatched energy and execution. A new ascendance is at hand!

Order Vinyl & CD: gileadmedia.bandcamp.com/album/rare-field-ceiling Rare Field Ceiling is the coldest Yellow Eyes record to date, and it is also the warmest. It is the most inviting, the most alienating, the murkiest and the sharpest, always falling apart and yet held together by a dawning sense that within the thicket is a vision of majestic clarity. But as Rare Field Ceiling climbs and climbs, majesty becomes delusion and clarity becomes mania. Yellow Eyes have always held failure up to the light and found patterns in the glow, but here they trace a doomed arc and, with unnerving focus, follow it to the very end. In the cryptic, labyrinthine tradition of Ved Buens Ende, Fleurety, and early Blut Aus Nord, Yellow Eyes play black metal, uncompromising and unbound. Rare Field Ceiling is the latest statement in an increasingly significant and singular legacy.

"'Gazing In The Dark': the black holes of life. Crushing, dense and self-indulgent moments in a seemingly indifferent universe. Recognition and memory of the beauty in painful lessons. The opportunity for regression, stagnancy or evolution. Seeing yourself and the world and being present in your birth. Bands that gave birth to my musical DNA are Helmet, The Jesus Lizard, Unsane, Godflesh, Tool and Bad Brains. Sometimes I draw musical inspiration from the most minuscule things and try to see how much I can build around that tiny moment as I experienced it. The cadence of someone in heels walking in a hallway... windshield wiper blades... I'm a welder at a shipyard and I have straight have stolen rhythms from the machines I hear at work." Copperhead is the post-hardcore meets noise rock meets black sacred ancestral technology "band" project by Richmond, VA-based multi-instrumentalist, David Leonard. Absolute fury. 'Gazing In The Dark' will be out September 6, 2019 on cassette and digital edition via PTP.

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