🌶️ To The Teeth: Don't be late for the Madder Mortem train

Plus: Kontact, Acerus, Rhûn, Olhava, Caligula's Horse, Drowned, Knoll & much more!

Jan 26, 2024

Welcome to the To The Teeth newsletter! Your weekly update of new heavy music. You can listen to (most) everything in the playlist on Spotify. If you like what you read, go to Patreon (receive a patch!) & Bandcamp (buy a patch!). Peppers are hot 🌶️!

New Albums

🌶️ Madder Mortem

Prog, USA (Dark Essence)

FFO: The Gathering, The Third and the Mortal, Oceans of Slumber

Agnete Kirkevaag has such a self-assured, fierce voice that pairs so well with the kind of sturdy prog that this band makes. They’ve been doing so since the late nineties, with more or less the same proggy doomy gothicy sound throughout, and just as much they’ve always a little underrated. I’m here to tell you it’s not too late to jump on the Madder Mortem train.

🌶️ Kontact

Heavy, Canada (Dying Victims Productions)

FFO: Voivod, Manilla Road, Sacred Blade

Out last week but missed it and I shouldn’t, and so shouldn’t you. This is weirdo heavy metal and how much of that is there out there? I read that it’s an hommage to Sacred Blade, a band I wasn’t really familiar with to be honest, but that’s good news: more weirdo heavy metal to dive into. I know the voice of Kontact’s ‘The Alien’ isn’t for everybody, but I really enjoy it. I’m a weirdo too. And an alien.

🌶️ Rhûn

Black, USA (I.K. Productions)

FFO: Falls of Rauros, Noltem, Inexorum

Of course this sounds vaguely as Falls of Rauros, it’s main man Aaron Charles’ solo project, plus FoR drummer Ray Capizzo is on this too. But it has more bite, goes into directions that wouldn’t fit the main band I guess. More evil directions…

🌶️ Acerus

Heavy, USA (Nameless Grave Records)

FFO: Manilla Road, The Chasm

We know that Daniel Corchado writes a mean riff, he’s been doing it with Mexican death metal machine The Chasm for almost 30 years (and has been in Incantation for a short while!). The sound of Acerus isn’t far from death metal, it’s beefy and chunky and the vocals go hard. But in the heart of it it’s old school heavy metal, with absolutely great riffs.

There’s more: , Olhava (🌶️ atmospheric/post-black from Russia), Caligula’s Horse (🌶️ prog from Australia), Drowned (🌶️ death from Germany), Eye Flys (🌶️ sludge/hardcore from the USA) & Blood Red Throne (death from Norway, Dipygus (🌶️ death from the USA), Exocrine (prog/tech death from France), Unsouling (avantgarde death fro the USA - w/ member of Feral Light), a split from Forlesen & Lotus Thief (doom/black/ambient from the USA), Knoll (🌶️ grind/death from the USA), Lucifer (heavy/doom from Sweden), Cognizance (tech/melodic death from the UK), Dissimulator (🌶️ tech death/thrash from Canada - w/ members of Atramentus, Chthe’ilist, Beyond Creation) and Mega Colossus (heavy from the USA). The rest is in the playlist!

Bonus: Slower (🌶️ speed/slow from the USA), Slayer tracks, but slow. With Fu Manchu’s Bob Balch and members of Monolord, Kyuss, Kylesa, Lowrider and Year of the Cobra. Brilliant idea, brilliantly done.

New songs

There are new songs out from: Dool (🌶️ prog/doom from The Netherlands), Spectral Voice (🌶️ death/doom from the USA), Bruce Dickinson (heavy from the UK), Skeletal Remains (death from the USA), Chapel of Disease (🌶️ prog death from Germany), Khold (black from Norway), Vredehammer (black/death from Norway), Rage (🌶️ heavy/speed/power from Germany), Apparition (death from the USA - w/ members of Deadbody), Gåte (prog/folk from Norway) and Baest (death from Denmark). The rest is in the playlist!

Non-metal & next week

Non-metal album of the week: The Smile (indierock from the UK)

I’m looking forward to next week because of: Ghoul, Unaussprechlichen Kulten & Solbrud.

What was your favourite? What did I miss? Let me know!