🌶️ To The Teeth: the definition of Deafheaven

Plus: Amenra, Teitanblood, Cult of Fire, Telepathy, Grey Aura, Alien Weaponry, Lucifer's Child and much more!

Mar 29, 2025

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 🌶️!

“Part of me wishes this whole thing hadn't become a trend, but, you know, people like to dress up.”

New Albums

🌶️ Deafheaven

Post-black, USA (Roadrunner Records)

FFO: Agriculture, Bosse-de-Nage, Liturgy

Can’t lie: I thought Infinite Granite was a disappointment. I don’t want it heavy and nothing else, I’m not a knuckle dragger. No, it was the lack of dynamics: Deafheaven’s power lies in diving into deep valleys and soaring over high mountains with a power not many bands can conjure. On Infinite Deafheaven were cruising comfortably somewhere in between, and in the end that route just doesn’t go anywhere. But the dynamics are so back. Lonely People With Power is intense, atmospheric and beautiful. They’ve kept some of what made Infinite Granite worth it for some, they return to what made New Bermuda such a poisonous affair, they never forgot what made Sunbather so special, and it’s all worked out into something fresh and exciting. Really really good record.

🌶️ Amenra

Sludge, Belgium (Relapse Records)

FFO: Neurosis, Isis, Cult of Luna

I never listen to Amenra, and still I love them to death. Such a strange band: I think their releases really are kind of boring, if I’m totally honest with you. But their live shows... man. They manage to make me feel things I never feel at any other concert, ever. Pure magic. So now there are two ep’s that I won’t listen to because I still think it’s boring, but that’s not important: they have a reason to go on and tour and crush my head and heart somewhere live once again.

🌶️ Teitanblood

Black/death, Spain (Norma Evangelium Diaboli)

FFO: Archgoat, Dead Congregation, Triumvir Foul

There is a reason this band from Madrizz is so well regarded in the underground. How many bands that blend the most intense aspects of the two most intense metal subgenres can make a 14+ minute song of total destruction and chaos, and make it work? Maybe just Teitanblood.

There’s more: Cult of Fire (black/folk, Czechia), Sarmat (experimental jazz/metal, USA), Alien Weaponry (groove/thrash, Aotearoa), Labyrinthine Heirs (🌶️ avantgarde, USA), Telepathy (sludge/post, UK), Lucifer’s Child (black, Greece), Savage Master (heavy, USA), Urn (black/thrash, Finland), Svartsyn (black, Sweden), Arch enemy (melodeath, Sweden), The Overmold (drone/doom, USA - w/ members of Krallice, Khanate), Grey Aura (post-black, The Netherlands), Doomsday (crossover, USA), an ep from new band Psalm (doom/post, USA) and a very cool fourway split from Starer, Ambergaze, Myrvandrer & Mistral (🌶️ post-black/symphonic/shoegaze USA, Mexico, Norway & Poland). The rest is in the playlist!