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Album Review – Abraded / Ethereal Emanations from Chthonic Caries (2025)

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The newborn spawn by this American beast sees the band pushing deeper into filth, spewing slime-drenched Deathgrind, balancing frenetic blasting, grooves, grime, and putrefaction with unadulterated passion.

Formed in the festering underground of Cleveland, Ohio in 2018, the ruthless Death Metal/Grindcore entity Abraded delivers raw, repulsive Death Metal rooted in the old school traditions of the genre’s most grotesque pioneers. Drawing influence from legends like Napalm Death, Assück, Agathocles, Repulsion, Autopsy, and Carcass, the band is back in action with Ethereal Emanations from Chthonic Caries, following up on their 2023 offering Unadulterated Perversions. Originally recorded in 2017, mixed by Patric Pariano at Aggressively Uninterested Studios, mastered by Will Killingsworth at Dead Air Studios, with additional drum programming by Black Art Audio, an infernal cover art by Mihály Zichy, and layout by Nestor Carrera, the new album by the band’s mastermind Patric Pariano on guitars and drums alongside vocalist Mark Gallon and bassist David Kirsch sees the band pushing deeper into filth, spewing slime-drenched Deathgrind, balancing frenetic blasting, grooves, grime, and putrefaction with unadulterated passion.

It’s pedal to the metal from the very first second in the demented Ethereal Emanations, with Mark’s gurgling, deranged vocals matching perfectly with the song’s violent vibe, and with Patric kicking some serious ass on drums. Their depraved, gory party goes on in full force in Menticide, perfect for slamming like a wild beast inside the pit, followed by Uroboric Incest, presenting hints of Progressive Death Metal added to its core essence, with their guitars, bass and drums hammering our cranial skulls mercilessly, not to mention all inhumane screeches and gnarls by Mark. And Collectivized Enmeshment is another song where Patric’s riffage will cut your skin deep, supported by David’s thunderous bass punches in a hurricane of first-class, no shenanigans Grindcore.

Compensatory Contrarianism is highly recommended for some vigorous headbanging while Abraded keep firing their trademark riffs and evil vociferations, keeping the album’s aura burning, whereas Theonemesis should sound absolutely amazing and devastating if played live. It’s Grindcore at its finest, with no filters, no fillers, only our good old savagery and hatred, and the band still has a lot of fuel to burn starting with Mass Formation Psychosis, a bludgeoning tune that lives up to the legacy of the style. Chthonic Caries, the second composition to “form” the name of the album, is a bit generic compared to all other songs; while the album ends with its most intricate and demonic tune of all, entitled Theodicy, where Patric distills his Grindcore riff-fueled venom until the very last second like a true beast.

Executed with a relentless DIY ethos that was undoubtable carried over from founding member Patric Pariano, Ethereal Emanations from Chthonic Caries cements Abraded’s status as one of the most promising acts in the resurgence of the American Brutal Death Metal and Grindcore scene, and you can show your total support to such a vicious beast by following it on Instagram, by streaming its gory creations on Spotify, and of course by grabbing a copy of the album from the Redefining Darkness Records’ Bandcamp or webstore (in the United States or the EU / rest of the world), or by clicking HERE. Ethereal Emanations from Chthonic Caries transpires gore, violence, insanity and heaviness just the way we like it in extreme music, and you better brace for impact as once Abraded’s music embraces your darkened soul, there’s no way out.

Best moments of the album: Ethereal Emanations, Theonemesis and Theodicy.

Worst moments of the album: Chthonic Caries.

Released in 2025 Redefining Darkness Records

Track listing
1. Ethereal Emanations 2:04
2. Menticide 2:49
3. Uroboric Incest 2:35
4. Collectivized Enmeshment 2:27
5. Compensatory Contrarianism 3:10
6. Theonemesis 2:43
7. Mass Formation Psychosis 2:48
8. Chthonic Caries 2:52
9. Theodicy 4:28

Band members
Mark Gallon – vocals
Patric Pariano – guitars, drums
David Kirsch – bass

Guest musicians
Evan Crouse – guitars (live)
Brad Moore – bass (live)
Jon Gonzalez – drums (live)

Album Review – Ritual Ascension / Profanation of the Adamic Covenant (2025)

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This cryptic American Abstract Death/Doom Metal outfit will drag you further down the abyss to the sound of their anti-religious and blasphemous concept debut full-length monstrosity.

Coalesced around 2023, after Minneapolis, Minnesota’s own Death/Doom Metal beast Aberration completed their debut album, when three of its members, D.H. (Silurian, Suffering Hour) on vocals, J.H. (Annihilation Cult, Feral Light, Void Rot) on the guitars and bass, and E.C. (Annihilation Cult, Feral Light, Umbral Twilight) on drums and percussion, reconvened to continue creating together and to keep pushing their deviant ideas forward, American Abstract Death/Doom Metal outfit Ritual Ascension is unleashing upon us all their horrendous debut full-length monstrosity, Profanation of the Adamic Covenant. Recorded by Adam Tucker at Signaturetone Recording, mixed by D.H. at Black Dust Studios, mastered by Will Killingsworth at Dead Air Studios, and displaying a cryptic, grim artwork by Belial NecroArts, the album takes the masterful death-doom horror of early Temple Nightside and Grave Upheaval, and transfigures it further into the darkest abysses of surrealism.

The bells are tolling in the name of obscure music, opening the gates of the underworld to the gargantuan, venomous gnarls by D.H. in Womb Exegesis, a Blackened Doom aria where E.C. hammers his drums like a demonic entity. The same devilish aura from the opening track permeates the air in Pillars of Antecedence, even more sluggish and grim thanks to the slow and steady beats by E.C. while J.H. extracts minimalist yet visceral riffs from his axe, followed by Cursed Adamic Tongues, the shortest song of the album, and also the most punishing, violent one, with D.H. gnarling like a true demon while J.H. and E.C. build a beyond ruthless atmosphere. Then like the soundtrack to a black, sulfurous cult, the trio delivers the disturbing Consummation Rites, offering us all over ten minutes of apocalyptic passages, somber riffs, vile roars and endless despair; and last but definitely not least, Ritual Ascension will take us on a one-way trip to the netherworld in Kolob (At the Throne of Elohim), a massive wall of Doom and Death Metal masterfully crafted by the trio, spearheaded by the always caustic, austere riffs by J.H. armed with his venomous axe.

Not only the music by Ritual Ascension is harsh and disturbing, but Profanation of the Adamic Covenant is also an anti-religious, blasphemous, behemoth concept album dealing with some of the darkest and most sinister aspects in the history and theology of the so called Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the Mormon Church), and shaped by direct experiences by some of the band members themselves within said religious movement as well, inviting the listeners to a wild, sinister musical journey while casting them further down the abyss, into a bottomless sepulcher of confusion and of complete chthonic torment. Having said all that, you can find more information about such a distinct trio of death and doom on Instagram, and purchase a copy of their caustic debut from the Sentient Ruin Laboratories’ BandCamp or webstore, feeding your inner demons with their chaotic music while you enjoy your eternal descent into the abyss.

Best moments of the album: Pillars of Antecedence and Kolob (At the Throne of Elohim).

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2025 Sentient Ruin Laboratories

Track listing
1. Womb Exegesis 9:02
2. Pillars of Antecedence 8:58
3. Cursed Adamic Tongues 5:24
4. Consummation Rites 10:52
5. Kolob (At the Throne of Elohim) 13:22

Band members
D.H. – vocals
J.H. – guitars, bass
E.C. – drums, percussion

Album Review – Hierarchies / Hierarchies (2025)

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Let’s all embark on a one-way trip to incessant and inevitable hallucinations to the sound of the debut opus by this Dissonant Death Metal creature.

Members of Acausal Intrusion and Dwelling Below conspired amongst themselves to create Dissonant and Technical Death Metal that pushes the limits of reality under a newborn beast named Hierarchies, labelling their own music as “low gain high energy aggressive jazzy tech death with lots of weird timing and insane riffage,” which is exactly what they have to offer in their self-titled debut album. Mixed by Nick Turner at Malevolent Sound Studios, mastered by Will Killingsworth at Dead Air Studios, and displaying a deadly artwork by Belial NecroArts, the album showcases vocalist and drummer Jared Moran (Dwelling Below, Acausal Intrusion), guitarist Nicholas Turner (Dwelling Below, Acausal Intrusion) and bassist Anthony Wheeler (Dwelling Below, Hollowed Idols) bringing into being a truly frightening experience not merely outwardly but one that is also psychologically scarring for the listener, and endlessly fascinating all the same.

The guitar lines by Nicholas sound utterly dissonant from the very first second in Entity, accompanied by the pounding drums and demonic gnarls by Jared, being full of breaks, variations, demented moments and grim passages. Consecrate Phenomenon is another experimental beast by the trio where Anthony hammers his bass nonstop while Nicholas keeps firing strident, piercing riffs for our total delight; and the band shows no mercy for our souls in Dimension, blasting an amalgamation of the visceral sounds of Death Metal with progressive and experimental nuances, with Jared roaring like a demonic entity. Then adding elements from Doom Metal to their already evil sonority we have Twilight Tradition, turning the song into a blackened, sluggish creature.

Abstract brings forward an ever-evolving, maniacal feast of harsh gnarls and cryptic riffs, all boosted by another hammering performance by Anthony on bass, followed by Complexity Parallels, perhaps the craziest of all tracks of the album, with the visceral guitar riffs by Nicholas sounding absolutely disturbing for our vulgar delectation. Subtraction presents their second to last display of insanity and heaviness compressed into five minutes of a truly unique sonic experience led by the intricate drumming by Jared, sounding as perturbing and experimental as it can be, and Vultures displays a more than proper name for a song to end such a wicked, vile album of Dissonant Death Metal, with all band members simply crushing their instruments with endless dexterity, madness and rage.

The debut album by Hierarchies is a dark, murky, nightmarish dive into a realm where trajectories from multiple dimensions manifest to intersect and overlap before dissipating, taking different temporal forms. Nothing is permanent in their world; the tunes change every few seconds and so does everything around them – the implications are in real-time and catastrophically mind-melting. Hence, if you want to experience all that and more, you can find the band on Facebook and purchase a copy of their caustic album from their own BandCamp, as well as from the Transcending Obscurity Records’ BandCamp, main store, Europe store, or US store, joining the band on a downward spiral of your consciousness where the out-of-control thoughts overwhelm and overpower, taking you on a one-way trip to incessant and inevitable hallucinations.

Best moments of the album: Entity, Dimension and Complexity Parallels.

Worst moments of the album: Abstract.

Released in 2025 Transcending Obscurity Records

Track listing
1. Entity 7:30
2. Consecrate Phenomenon 5:02
3. Dimension 6:04
4. Twilight Tradition 6:43
5. Abstract 6:03
6. Complexity Parallels 5:07
7. Subtraction 4:56
8. Vultures 4:46

Band members
Jared Moran – vocals, drums
Nicholas Turner – guitars
Anthony Wheeler – bass