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And thus, as 2023 writhes in the final, horrific throes of dying ecstasy, LISTCRUSH season is upon us once again – join with us as each BMD scribe reveals their own respective venerated apotheosis of the last twelve months. First up is our subterranean avant-gardeist of nightmare vision and vitriol, the Centipede Abyss commander… Pan Inentropy.
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TOP NINE
9. Nirrti – Palindromos
Nirrti’s Palindromos marks the beginning of my top 9. Offering up illusory soundscapes that are horrendously disjointed yet in a flowing manner, with what can only be described as sonic recoil throughout. This was one of the first I encountered in the year and the fact that it has stayed in mind for over six months is testament to its well crafted anatomy.
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8. Ôros Kaù – Thanatos
More vivid than the previous outing and can only be described as impactful and monolithic. Harkening to middle-eastern string work, as you’d expect, and doused in doom-meets-drone feels with some beastly vocals, simply put: Thanatos is Ôros Kaù’s best work to date.
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7. Mórnu- The Unearthly Becomes Inherent
Its deceptive introduction has stuck with me, heavily reliant on atmosphere, but with a rough and ready production that assimilates with its dissonant nature instinctively. Passages come and go, the pace changes up, and those death-doom sections can only be described as otherworldly and commanding.
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6. Domhain – Nimue
This one fills my wants for something haunting and reflectively beautiful. Lots of “post” influence on this, with what can only be described as celestial levels of somber epicness, that just instinctively feel as though they could be emanating from the hills and forests themselves.
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5. Turpitude – Une interprétation de la dissolution glaciale en quatre mouvements
There are a lot of progressive elements on this, the way the composition snakes in and out of sections is what really caught my attention. The sound is by no means “clean”, ‘though; this is nasty, feral stuff that occupies the raw black metal space. Fierce, mid-paced throughout and with enough variance and eerie interludes to give it an almost… cinematic quality.
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4. Blacnk – For This Is The Rot Of Existence
Blacnk manages to assimilate the old school sound of 90s BM with a hefty dose of hallucinogens to offer up for this is the rot of existence. I simply adore this drops’ almost playful but sinister nature. This is an album that really toys with your senses, being at once hypnotic and horrifying.
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3. Astwihad – Gatha 1: Asto-Vidatu
This is like listening to yourself being dragged into a never-ending vortex. The way the sound swirls around you is a joy to behold. Powerful, aggressive and – if you look hard enough – surprisingly melodic; but ultimately the soundtrack to plunging down a never-ending chasm.
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2. Sombre Ciel – Sombre Ciel
This sounds… like the album art. There is generous and well thought out use of composition variance here that gives the dissonance on this an ultimately more menacing form. Its wild production and drowned out vocals lend themselves well to the polarity you’ll experience on this album, going from the disjointedly malignant, to the dizzy ambient washes.
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1. Orbyssmal – Abyssom
Anyone remotely aware of my listening habits was probably expecting something like this as my number 1. Orbyssmal has, simply put, unleashed a masterpiece. Have you ever encountered something so disgustingly horrific that you stare at, getting yourself lost in its draw? Edging closer, only to be fascinated more? That is this album. Dense, suffocating and otherworldly… comparisons to Portal are inevitable, but the energy on this is something its own and separate. The relentlessness of each track, the way every instrument merges with the other to form that punishing tone, and the wails that sound as though they are from a manic beast feasting ravenously on something it killed… all awesome.
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STAY TUNED FOR MORE LISTCRUSH IN THE COMING DAYS. HAILS.
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