Weekly Spotlight, Week 09 / 2025

Black and extreme metal faces heavy and thrash metal, from Morax, Abduction, Pissgrave, Mean Mistreater, Gràb and Scumripper.

Morax – The Amulet

Genre: Heavy/doom metal

Subjective rating: 4.5/5

Objective rating: 4/5

Country of origin: Norway

"Occult" heavy metal, when done tastefully, can embody pretty much everything of what metal is about outside the "extreme" sphere. The Norwegian one-man project that is Morax does exactly this. It's mildly blackened, with elements of doom and speed, aside from the traditional, epic heavy metal core. The rhythm varies from slow and morose to upbeat and eager, always accompanied by a very fitting melody line, the tonality of which ranges from tongue-in-cheek evil to outright tragic. The instrumental performances are darkly vivid, never complacent - playful but always serving the theme. The vocals are dirty-clean and semi-melodic, not demonstrating the greatest range, perhaps with some room to improve, or maybe it's just a matter of taste. For me, it's got so many engaging elements I feel like every song is a treat, and at a little over 40 minutes it certainly doesn't run too long.

Highlights: "The Descent" and "A Thousand Names"

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Abduction – Existentialismus

Genre: Black metal

Subjective rating: 4/5

Objective rating: 4/5 Country of origin: England

Thank the powers below there are black metal bands out there that are still trying to intimidate its audience. Abduction play with Behemoth-level conviction, and do also border on blackened death metal heaviness at times. The vocals are those of a heretic zealot who's been screaming till his vocal cords are raw. There is also deep chanting and croaking to go with the rumbling low end. They keep you on your toes with the same, semi-chaotic, hateful approach for just the right amount of time before releasing into either visceral riff sections or abyssal-melodic atmosphere. The range of the total experience is perhaps not massive, but each track hits in a different way and earns its memorable status by never slacking - always trying to make the most of any given moment.

Highlights: "Blau ist die Farbe der Ewigkeit" and "A Legacy of Sores"

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Pissgrave – Malignant Worthlessness

Genre: Death/black/war metal

Subjective rating: 4/5

Objective rating: 4/5

Country of origin: USA

The sonic equivalent to being hit in the face by a fire hose connected to a tank of offal - maggots included. To a faithful old school death metal fan, it's not completely inaccessible, as it's got some pretty steady rhythms and decently discernible, stupidly heavy riff sections behind the hissing vocals and noisy production. In fact, compared to a straight-up grindcore or war metal album, it's actually pretty varied, although you gotta be willing to take in the nuances. Which is a filthy, soul-crushing undertaking, but also highly rewarding. Because once you accept that you're probably not gonna look at your dinner the same for a while, it's a rewarding kind of punishment that knows how to push the right buttons and ride the line between utterly extreme and fucking awesome.

Highlights: "Dissident Amputator" and "Ignomity of Putrefaction"

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Mean Mistreater – Do Or Die

Genre: Heavy metal

Subjective rating: 3.5/5

Objective rating: 4/5

Country of origin: USA

This is classic metal revival done right, at least if you're partial to the "heavy", riff-oriented, no-nonsense, tough guy (gal) stuff. Not the kind where the singer shrieks the lyrics in falsetto and the guitar solos last for 2 minutes (although there certainly are guitar solos). Much closer to Motörhead than Saxon, just with galloping riffs. It's got some melody, but the tone is close to Candlemass-style doom, which serves to further the badass quality to the thing. All that being said, you need to be a fan of this particular style in order to fully enjoy it, as a lot of the lyrics and structures will seem a bit trite on a casual listen. Still, it's consistent, confident, and stylistically it's a bullseye, fierce female vocals included.

Highlight: "Do or Die"

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Gràb – Kremess

Genre: Melodic black metal

Subjective rating: 3.5/5

Objective rating: 3.5/5

Country of origin: Germany

Yes, the Germans also know how to make icy cold, traditional black metal, and evidently also give it a melodic dimension without completely copying Scandinavian folk vibes. That being said, when it's at its least inventive there is little but the sheer quality of the performances that differentiates this from a hundred others of its ilk. But, thankfully, it doesn't sound like the band is interested in being locked into conventions, and so they add moments of gentle, traditional instrumentation, a touch of the epic here and there, and, generally, despite the "dark and "blizzard in the night" soundscape, it sounds like they've really enjoyed making this album. Which makes it enjoyable to listen to.

Highlight: "Vom Gråb im Moos (A Weihraz-Gschicht, Kapitel Zwoa)

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Scumripper – For A Few Fixes More

Genre: Thrash metal

Subjective rating: 3.5/5

Objective rating: 3.5/5

Country of origin: Finland

Murky, grindy thrash from this fairly fresh Finnish gang. There's not actually a ton of good dirty thrash out there these days, so if that's your oddly specific jam, then you should be all over this thing. The tone is that of half-serious, morbid old school death metal mixed with punky abandon and a grindcore-like disdain for absolute control. It's not super consistent, but it feels more like the band experimenting than some misguided attempt at forced variation or a conceptual album structure. It's wild, it's rough and it's pretty damn cool.

Highlight: "Early Embittered Twilight"