🌶️ To The Teeth: It's Denmark day, with the perfect split and lo-fi study black metal

Hyperdontia, Afsky, Kruelty, Dødheimsgard, Sadness, Downfall of Gaia, Mordran & much more

Welcome to the To The Teeth newsletter! Your weekly update of new heavy music. You can listen to almost everything in the playlist on Spotify. If you like what you read and want help keep this in the air: please head over to Patreon or to Bandcamp: The Taste of Teeth (also for some merch). Peppers are hot 🌶️!

This is a great week. Lots and lots of peppers. And next week looks incredibly promising as well. Spring is in the air!

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New Albums

🌶️ Hyperdontia (death from Denmark/Turkey. FFO: Incantation, Burial Invocation, Dead Congregation)

That bass. Goddamn, that bass. Hyperdontia, one of the new wave death bands I really love, is back with a mlp (who does that anymore?). They’re more relentless than ever it seems, but they never forget what’s most important: the riffs.

🌶️ Afsky (black from Denmark. FFO: Drudkh, Wolves in the Throne Room, Auðn)

I love the lyrical themes of Afsky according to the Metal Archives: Death, Despair, Danish history. I’ll have a big dose of that please. Afsky makes sweeping, atmospheric, compelling and grandiose black metal out of it.

🌶️ Kruelty (death/doom/hardcore from Japan. FFO: Xibalba, Fuming Mouth, Gatecreeper)

If the descriptors above don’t tell you enough about this band, I’d advice you to proceed with caution. This is tough, uncompromising stuff. I especially like the vocals, there’s something about the delivery of this guy, simply called 02, that hits like a maul.

🌶️ Sadness & Oculi Melancholiarum (depressive/post-black from the USA & Mexico. FFO: Midnight Odyssey, Alcest, Unreqvited)

I’ve been telling you to listen to both these acts for a while, and if I’m not mistaken I’ve been pointing out that they’ve got a lot in common: their sound, the prolificness, their roots, the balance in their music, the countless projects... Well, it finally happened: they did a split! Mexican musician Victoria Carmilla Hazemaze (Oculi Melancholarium, Cora’s Heart, AIAA7, Blitzar IV etc) and Damián Antón Ojeda (Sadness, Thrä, Life, etc) who is born in Mexico and lives in the USA, have both been making raw-edged, ethereal, beautiful, unique and often gorgeous black metal. This new split is a celebration of both these talented musicians.

🌶️ Úlfúð (black/death from Iceland. FFO: Belphegor, Misthyrming, Mannveira)

I was sold after the first scream in the first song. Completely crushing debut album from these Icelandians. Plus: isn’t that the coolest logo you have seen in a while?

🌶️ Phrozen (crossover thrash/death from Canada. FFO: Power Trip, Black Breath, Enforced)

How the hell is this unsigned? (h/t Dead Neanderthals for the tip!)

🌶️ Mordran (depressive/raw black/dark ambient. FFO: old & new Ulver at the same time, maybe Peccatum?)

Yeah this is weird and not for everyone. But if you like black metal but you also like beats and you like lo-fi study music and you think why the hell doesn’t that all exist in one band? Than there’s Mordran. Lo-fi study black.

There’s more: Downfall of Gaia (🌶️ atmospheric sludge/post-black/crust from Germany), Contrarian (🌶️ prog death from the USA), Mystic Circle (🌶️ melodic black/death from Germany), Anarkhon (black/death from Brazil), Night Demon (heavy from the USA), Kamelot (progressive/power from the USA), Leukotomy (black from Vietnam), Entropia (🌶️ black/sludge/post from Poland), Verminous Serpent (black/death from Ireland - w/ members of Primordial, Slidhr, Malthusian), Blind Oath (heavy from the USA), and Curta’n Wall (🌶️ raw black/folk/polka - I can’t believe I missed this last month, it’s so weird you have listen to this once and maybe no more).

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New songs

I tend to not do write-ups about singles, because it’s all long enough and I’ll get to it when the album comes out. But I’ve had the Dødheimsgard promo for a while and it’s completely transcendent. I’m so happy they finally shared a song, and it’s a beauty!

There are new songs out from: Dødheimsgard (🌶️ avantgarde black from Norway), Frozen Soul (death from the USA), Saturnus (melodic doom/death from Denmark), Heretoir (🌶️ post-black from Germany), Hammerfall (heavy/power from Sweden), Necrofier (melodic black from the USA - members of Oceans of Slumber), Hiidenhauta (melodic black from Finland), Óreiða (🌶️ black from Iceland), Impetuous Ritual (death from Australia), and a live track from Solar Temple (🌶️ psychedelic atmoblack from The Netherlands - w/ members of Turia, Fluisteraars, Iskandr) The rest is in the playlist!

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Non-heavy & next week

Non-heavy album of the week: Emiliana Torrini & The Colorist Orchestra (chamber pop from Iceland/Belgium

I’m looking forward to next week because of: Liturgy, Ihsahn, Spectral Lore, Dawn Ray’d, Mork, Ne Obliviscaris & Gatekeeper.

What was your favourite? Do you like the new newsletter? Should I change anything? What did I miss? Let me know!