Fathomless Ritual - Hymns For The Lesser Gods (2024)

Fathomless Ritual is a Canadian one-man band (B. Dean) whose first album Hymns For The Lesser Gods has been released by the excellent Transcending Obscurity Records. People mention the similarity with Demilich, but, to be honest, I don't know Demilich enough to be able to confirm. I think at times it also evokes Suffocation, and, like them, it is bridging the gap between old school and modern technical death metal. But it sounds more dirty and cavernous, and has a weird kind of winding groove through finely crafted riffs. I struggle to describe it actually, just try it, you won't regret!

 

The BC page. 

 

Floating - Hesitating lights (2025)

Before listening to Floating I did not know prog/tech death-metal blended with post-punk was a thing, but in the form of their second album Hesitating Lights not only it exists, but it's also one of the best and most interesting album I listened to in at least a couple of years. Those typical post-punk basslines and riffs actually combines very well with a prog/tech and dissonant kind of death metal. A nice surprise that I really recommend!

The BC page.

 

Eschaton - Techtalitarian (2025)

I discovered Eschaton ew line-up after discovering their new album Techtalitarian (on Transcending Obscurity records), and I'm not very surprised to find they have Christian Muenzner (ex Necrophagist and ex Obscura) on guitar and Darren Cesca (ex Deeds of Flesh) on drums, among a crew of all experienced musicians. The quality and technicality is obviously very high. What about the music? Technical death metal, for sure, yes, but what I especially like is that they manage to craft song that are faster and more brutal than is usually melodic tech death, while staying very melodic (including some neoclassical elements), they manage to hold all this, fast and brutal and melodic as well, cohesively together. Recommended!

The BC page.

 

Fleshbore - Painted Paradise (2025)

With their second album Painted Paradise (released by Transcending Obscurity Records, who you can trust for good death metal) Fleshbore have delivered an awesome piece of technical death metal, both brutal and melodic/progressive. It can evoke both Archspire and Obscura (but I think Painted Paradise is better than the new Obscura album) and stand as the death metal album to beat in 2025. Good luck!

 

The Bandcamp page.

 

 

Gateway - Galgendood (2023)

Is Galgendood, first album from Gateway, dirty death-doom or just funeral paced rotting old school death metal? In any case it's closer to a slower Autopsy, or to Undergang, than to Amorphis. But what actually really matters is that it's an excellent album.

The BC page.

 

REPLICANT - Infinite Mortality (2024)

Been thinking about reviewing a Replicant album for a long time, and now that with Infinite Mortality they released a third excellent album in a row, it's due time I do it. They deliver some dissonant death metal, of a technical / mathy kind. What I like the most about Replicant is that they're really good at finding the right balance between avant-garde impredictibility and writing memorable songs with enough groove and melodies to be catchy enough as well (we're definitely not talking about "easy listening" music, though). Warmly recommended!

The BC page.

 

 

Plasmodium - Towers of Silence (2021)

Following their jaw-dropping first album Entheognois (reviewed HERE) wasn't an easy task, but Plasmodium are successfully doing it five years after with Towers of Silence. They lost surprise effect and raw impact but gained in attention to the details and with an even more subtle songwriting, with maybe more place for psych / dark ambient parts. Otherwise, we find again their hard to describe and very special kind of "free black metal". I'd say their music could evoke Blut Aus Nord or Chaos Echoes. But is another kind of weird beast. Strong stuff.

The BC page.