Cody Davis's Top 5 Albums Of 2017 (Thus Far)
Cavernlight – As We Cup Our Hands and Drink from the Stream of Our Ache
The debut full-length album from Oshkosh, Wisconsin’s Cavernlight is quite literally the most stirring and profound piece of music to be released this year. Through five cathartic odes to anxiety, depression, and other inner demons; the quartet rains droning doom metal that moves listeners to visible emotion. Their beautiful sadness resonates on a similar level to that of Jason Molina’s works or England’s Warning.
As We Cup Our Hands… does what many other albums are able to do: make listeners feel. Consequently, it displays the links between art and pain in a wonderful manner. As We Cup Our Hands… delivers a much-desired reminder of the emotive properties that excellent doom metal should inherently possess.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFHvu29G2I0[/youtube]
Wode – Servants of the Countercosmos
Wode made waves last year with their self-titled debut album, and with the UK group, it does appear that lightning can strike twice. The quartet’s second album in as many years sees another riveting success. Yet, this time Wode opts for a more vicious and direct approach to black metal; much different than their previous, more atmospheric effort. Songs like “Temple Interment” and “Celestial Dagger” are some of the most thunderous moments in metal this year. The overall destructive wrath of Wode’s newest effort is a huge stride forward from their scintillating debut and a bold peak in black metal in 2017.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vv7IF6Ze8Ic[/youtube]
Vanum – Burning Arrow
K. Morgan and M. Rekevics simply get black metal. They have long been pivotal members in some of the United States’ most forward-thinking metal acts. Now, the duo’s project called Vanum returns in 2017 trimmed, direct, and forceful. Their Burning Arrow EP channels early Rotting Christ and Master’s Hammer into a triumphant, three-song effort. The triumphs of this project's music mirror the triumphs of both K. and M. in their musical conquests. This powerful duo has found a sharp and exacting sound through Burning Arrow.
Should this blazing path continue to be a part of Vanum's repertoire, then they are methodically crafting a dynamic and formidable sound for the future.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ypq5ttjleac[/youtube]
One Master – Lycanthropic Burrowing
For those who are a fan of the occult, Connecticut’s One Master has been delivering bewitching black metal for the better part of 15 years. 2015 saw the group release the pummeling Reclusive Blasphemy and two years later they deliver again with an even more ruthless, new album called Lycanthropic Burrowing. The album is officially released on July 14 (take my word that this album rips). One Master channels much of the thunderous Finnish black metal scene, see bands like Satanic Warmaster or Behexen for reference.
Lycanthropic Burrowing contrasts the atmospheric black metal stylings that currently dominates the United States. It is a welcomed contrast, one that helps define the variability of the United States scene.
Skáphe – Untitled
Black metal that sends listeners into a frenzied psychosis. Alex Poole (Krieg, Chaos Moon) and D.G. (Misþyrming and Naðra) built Skáphe into a blackened, psychedelic menace. For their newest, untitled EP, Poole found himself dipping into psilocybin mushrooms to influence the direction of his project’s music. The result is enough to drive any sober person into unease and dismay. The 22-minute EP unites US and Icelandic black metal motifs, consequently swallowing the listener in a calculated assault on the senses.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVTw827nPpE[/youtube]
