Technical Death Metal

Can't get enough of this album

Huge week! Headbang to escape your existential panic, like me!

• Defaced Humanity - Bonecrusher (Germany) (brutal tech)
• Fractured Insanity - Age of Manipulation (Belgium)
• Griefgod - Traitor's Throne [Single] (Lithuania)
• Horizon Ignited - Tides (Finland) (not tech death in any sense, just wanted to note that the cleans are very reminiscent of Killswitch Engage, in case anyone wants that)
• L'Antre Deux Terres - Anima [EP] (France) (death/black)
• Misanthrope - Death Ascent [EP] (France) (prog death)
• Retromorphosis - Psalmus Mortis (Sweden) (awwww yeeeaaaah)
• Unhinged - The Human Nature [EP] (Germany) (bit core)
• Voidfallen - The Rituals of Resilience (Finland) (melodeath)

Now that it's much too late, here's my Album Of The Year list for 2024. Last year I took this way too seriously, invested a ton of time, and posted 4 lists; this year I went more on impulse and put together a single list with a few bonuses - enjoy, and PLEASE share any others you want to promote. On the off-chance that any escaped my notice, I am still always greedy for more.

If there's enough interest, I would love to do a nominations thread to pick out community favorites.

1. Job For A Cowboy - Moon Healer (USA-AZ)
   I cannot overstate how much I anticipated this album. Big expectations. big result, many listens.

2. Carnosus - Wormtales (Sweden)
   Second to JFAC only because my fanship of them is younger, I could not believe they dropped such a good one this year right on the heels of my overall AOTY 2023.

3. Hideous Divinity - Unextinct (Italy)
   Pairs well with the new Robert Eggers Nosferatu (this is a concept album centered around everyone's favorite spooky boye).

4. Cognizance - Phantazein (UK-ENG)

5. Apogean - Cyberstrictive (CAN-ON)

6. Hour of Penance - Devotion (Italy)
   If you can look past the AI album art, the music is great.

7. Exocrine - Legend (France)

8. Atræ Bilis - Aumicide (CAN-BC)
   Holy brutal tech, Batman! Bonus points for the upsetting album art.

9. Anoxide - Morals & Dogma (UK-ENG)

10. Blighted Eye - Agony's Bespoke (USA-WA)

Honorable mentions:

• Griefgod - Deterioration (Lithuania)
  Checked this out on a whim because I don't know any Lithuanian death metal (and I wondered if the music could possibly be as cool as the art), and wow it is a strong contender for most listens this year. Very catchy. Apparently a new single is coming soon too, can't wait.
• Iotunn - Kinship (Denmark)
  Some kind of prog death, this kept worming its way into my head.
• Summoning the Lich - Under the Reviled Throne
  If you want technical deathcore, you'd be hard-pressed to find better than this.
• Diminish the Gods - Exopaedian (AUS-NSW)
  These guys had been threatening to release this for ages, so I was very excited when it finally came out. Again, kinda on the tech deathcore side, but should resonate with people here.

Been some great releases so far this year, can't wait to see what else is in store!

Light week!

• Pyrrhic Salvation - When Society Crumbles [EP] (USA-VA)

• Eigenstate Zero - Shape of God Thought of Sun (Sweden) (prog death)
• Impending Doom - Towards the Light [EP] (USA-CA) (deathcore)
• Obscura - A Sonication (Germany) (NB: this release has included controversy about credit)

Late post again, titled for searchability

• Burn Down Eden - Dismal Epiphany (Germany)
• Synaptic - Enter the Void (Germany) (prog tech)

• The Archon Rift - The Arcane Chronicle [EP] (AUS-ACT) (instrumental prog tech with Kingkiller Chronicle themes)
• Concrete Icon - Voracious Streams (Finland)
• Descarnado - El Eterno Odio de las Almas Desterradas (Argentina)
• Fleshbore - Painted Paradise (USA-IN)
• The Summon - Deus Vult (Mexico)

• Stars in the Void - Scourge of the Despot (USA-CA) (instrumental melotech)
• Synaptic - Enter the Void (Germany)

• Faithxtractor - Loathing and the Noose (USA-OH) (TIL 2-piece!!)
• Simulation Defect - S/T [EP] (UK-ENG) (a little core/djent, but good stuff)
• Slaughtersun - Black Marrow [EP] (USA-NJ) (prog death)

This covers the end of 2024! AOTY posts to come, once I finish going through my own thoughts.

• Estuarine - Corporeal Furnace (International)
• Luminesce - Mirrored (CAN-QC)

Don't overlook this just because it's coming in at the tail end of the year!

• Deformatory - Upon the Throne of Violence (demo) (CAN-ON)
• Mors Atra - Eternal Rest (Slovenia)

Pretty light this week, which is good, because I'm trying to work on my AOTY!

• Necropathy - Infinite Depravity [EP] (international - AUS/USA)

And we're caught up!

• Angel Command, Demon Command - Hikikomoralist (Japan)
• August Moon - Something Eldritch and Macabre (Finland)
• Brainblast - I Awaken [EP] (Colombia)
• False Mutation - Unholy Brutality (Germany)
• Fatal Embrace - Hail Down Deep (Sweden) (originally from 1998, finally released as re-recorded with new vocals - see Additional Notes on Encyclopaedia Metallum)
• Misanthropy - The Ever-Crushing Weight of Stagnance (USA-IL)
• Rohan - Suffering with a Smile (Denmark)

Not as late as last time, here are last week's new releases!

• Cosmophobe - Beyond Out of Touch [EP] (USA-LA) (instrumental prog deathcore)
• Dekathexis - Into Deep Shadows (Germany)
• Equilibrium Falls - Inside the Void (Russia) (a bit core)
• Greylotus - Motherwort [EP] (USA-MD) (tech deathcore)
• Icon of Evil - Locust Cathedral (Poland)
• Ominous:Extant - Intercellular Fragmentation (Costa Rica) (link is a single from the album)
• Pessimus - D.E.A.T.H. [EP] (Portugal)
• Splatterums - Main Course (Russia)

Still emerging from my food coma and getting caught up on everything, so here are week-old releases (post title for searchability)

• Abysmal Death - De-liberación (Chile)
• Burning Creation - Sea of Dead Bodies (Poland)
• Cyphonism - Bound to the Kyphon [EP] (Germany)
• Deinòs - Apofenia (Italy)
• Dying Grotesque - Celestial (Ukraine)
• Origin of Infinity - Exorcism [EP] (Czechia)
• Wretched Fate - Incineration of the Pious [EP] (Sweden): 3 original (?) tracks and 3 covers

This is one of several albums from the last few weeks that I can't stop coming back to. Side note: primary riff sounds reminiscent of Alluvial - Thy Underling, which is fun

• Beyond Grace - Welcome to the New Dark Ages Pt. II [EP] (UK-ENG)
• Carnal Savagery - Graveworms, Cadavers, Coffins and Bones (Sweden) (not super tech, but I have a soft spot for these Swedes)
• Defeated Sanity - Chronicles of Lunacy (Germany) (more OSDM than TDM, but everyone seems to be excited about this)
• Exuvial - The Hive Mind Chronicles Part I - Parasitica (USA-CO)
• Terrorpy - The Bisection Collection (Denmark)
• Zaias - Deciphering Malevolence [EP] (USA-Guam)

• Aš-šur - Vestiges of Jahiliyyah (Estonia)
• Last Breath - Echoes of Human Decay (Mexico)
• Spectral Eater - Monolith [EP] (AUS-VIC)

• Disparaged - Down the Heavens (Switzerland)
• Moss Upon the Skull - Quest for the Secret Fire (Belgium) (prog death)

Late post again, but a quiet week

• Death Machine - Hara Kiri [EP] (CAN-BC)
• The Fallen Prophets - Primordial Instinct [EP] (South Africa) (on the core side)

Not much proper tech this week (aside from Gigan, and even that is waaay on the progressive side), but this is what caught my ear:

• Avtotheism - Reflections of Execrable Stillness (Italy)
• Dimethyl Mercery - Vortex to the Arc [EP] (Indonesia)
• The Fall of Creation - Enlightenment (Russia)
• Gigan - Anomalous Abstractigate Infinitessimus (USA-IL)
• Iotunn - Kinship (Denmark)
• Just Buried - Necro-Macro (Russia)
• Maledicted - Dreams from Irkalla [EP] (Russia)
• Psycrotted - Creations of Insanity (Germany)

• Amputate - Abysmal Ascent (Portugal)
• Anhedonic - Emissary [EP] (USA-OR) (instrumental)
• Carnosus - Wormtales (Sweden) (obviously I have an enormous hard-on for this band, and the new one didn't disappoint)
• Deivos - Apophenia (Poland)
• Infant Annihilator - Mister Sister Fister: Re-Conception [EP] (US-FL/UK-ENG) (tech deathcore, definitely not tech death, but likely relevant to our interests here)