Metal Monday: Ninth Circle, Animalize, Soul Remnants, and Oxygen Destroyer

It's another Metal Monday folks. That special moment every couple of weeks when I plug some metal releases that I've been listening to. One of the greatest aspects of heavy metal is that it tends to get right to the point. To that end... 

Ninth Circle - Dis, Emerge (Self-Released)

If you're going to go to hell, why stop at the fourth, fifth, or even eighth ring? Just go all the way. Dive head first into the center of the abyss and give it some gusto! Who knows? The swirl of chaos and disembodied horror might even rise to meet you. That seems to be the hope on Dis, Emerge, the debut from Texas blackened crust and thrash band Ninth Circle. Its a grizzly and well-bile-oiled monstrosity that forges a path to its own damnable ends without restraint or remorse, sounding like some twisted spiritual bonding of Kvelertak and Watain and breath of fresh, cold hell to set the mood at a backyard beer fest near you. It will inspire a mosh of revenants so amusingly frenetic and foul that it could cause the devil to heave up partially masticated bits of Judas all over his hoves from a combination of motion-sickness and excitement. Need I go on? Dis, Emerge is disambiguously good at being bad.  

Animalize - Tapes from the Crypt (Dying Victims Productions)

Resuscitated by popular demand, France's Animalize reissued their 2020 debut Tapes from the Crypt on vinyl earlier this year. It's not hard to understand the demand once you've seen this beast in the wild- its a leopard-printed burst of deadly rock and roll fury, swift as a jungle cat, determined as a dive-bombing eagle, and proud as a lion extracting a rib from a vanquished gazelle (or luckless tourist). Tracks like "Jungle Dance" are crowd-pleasing frolics played at speeds that would give Enforcer whiplash, while hungry numbers like "Meatnight Race" combine the tasty licks and camp of classic-era hair metal with the deadly resolve and executioner's grin of Iron Madden, with a prayer going up to mighty Judas Priest in the album's final moments in the form of the lockjaw iron bite and road warrior credo of "L'Aigle de la Route." You can't cage that which can't be tamed. 

Soul Remnants - Raising The Sacrificial Dagger (Self-Released)

I learned about Soul Remnants when talking with Cody of Cryostasium a couple of months back, and I'm not sure how they remained hidden from me before that point. These guys are unbelievable! Raising The Sacrificial Dagger is their fourth LP and kind of picks up where their 2017 Ouroboros left off, constituting a reentry point into an incredibly vicious but refined variety of overdriven American melo-death, a skewering of the perceptions of pain and pleasure that would even have Pinhead taking notes. At this point, Soul Remnants riffs are as catchy as anything Hypocrisy is laying down at this late stage in their career, maybe even catchier, as the intensity of the playing never really lets up, not during the chorus, not during the bridge, or even the outros- they are maxing out the effort with every distortion summoning strum and driving percussive wallop. The vocal performances are particular exciting, with singer Mitchell Fletcher sounding like he's half hyena about three-fourths of the time, and during the remaining quarter, he sounds like he's challenging you to a fight from the opposite side of the bar while your drowning in the drippy stooper of a bad, psilocybin trip. With Raising The Sacrificial Dagger, Soul Remnants have carved for themselves an idol of rogue ambition worthy of your adoration. 

Oxygen Destroyer - Sinister Monstrosities Spawned By the Unfathomable Ignorance of Humankind (Redefining Darkness Records)

God, what a mess. Oh, you thought I was talking about Oxygen Destroyer's music? Nope. They're tight as hell. What I mean is the brazen path of destruction they leave in their wake. It's like a scaly typhoon just split the town in half like a fortune cookie... and it didn't even buy us dinner first. Oxygen Destroyer's second LP Sinister Monstrosities... is a tribute to classic kaiju cinema, from American entries like The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, to admirable UK efforts like Gorgo, to definitive Japanese titles like War of the Gargantuas. True to its inspirations, the album is relentless, unstoppable, and able to melt steel building frames with its radioactive halitosis. It's on the technical side of the death-thrash equation, but with a strong emphasis on groove, and singer Lord Kaiju's notably gesticular performances, the band deploys its skills effectively to embark on a captivating and raucous rampage. Like the end of most monster movies though, and despite the carnage that the titular beast has unleashed, you'll find yourself missing the gargantuan presence of Oxygen Destroyer once their swath of terror through your town has led them back to the open sea. However, their bittersweet departure will only make their return in a much-anticipated sequel all the more triumphant... hopefully you've upped your home insurance coverage by then.