Obscuring Veil - Fleshvoid to Naught (2019)

Truly nightmarish. The word that imposes itself when listening to this first Obscuring Veil album Fleshvoid to Naught is : nightmarish. Then brilliant, psychedelic, beautifull in its twisted way. And this is what could be expected from the musicians that gathered to do this : Matron Thorn on guitars/vocals (Ævangelist, Præternatura, Benighted in Sodom, Devil Worshipper), H.V. Lyngdal on bass (Wormlust, Martröð, Guðveiki), Mories on keyboards and synths ( Gnaw Their Tongues, Cloak of Altering, De Magia Veterum, Aderlating), Jarle Byberg on drums (Urgehal, ex-Craft), and Kabukimono on voices. it's also fitting that it's released on I, Voidhanger records.
This mix of black metal, dark ambient and free jazz (somewhat) is no doubt one of the most interesting album to be released this year. Highly recommended.

The Bandcamp page.

Howls of Ebb - Cursus Impasse : The Pendlomic Vows (2016)

Howls of Ebb, from San Francisco (or is it from some Lucifer's psychotropic dreams?) plays a kind a death metal you don't know existed. A kind of "free and psychedelic" death metal. Death metal use to be very predictable but Howls of Ebb brilliantly shows that it can be completely otherwise. Cursus Impasse : The Pendlomic Vows is their second album, also on I, Voidhanger records. It's a bit different from their preious release The Marrow veil EP (read HERE my review), the songs are less atmospheric, faster and more concise. But still they're far from following traditionnal structures and the drumming and guitar playing is far from traditionnal death metal (. They maintain your attention through the album, surprising you at every turn, displaying a level of creativity hard to match. And it's far from experimenting for the sake of it, no, it's free from standard songwriting structures, but manages to be "catchy" and memorable. It makes other albums sounds flat and one-dimensionnal. If you listen to just one death metal album these days, try this one. Highly recommened!

The Bandcamp page.