Dispyt - Den Ständigt Närvarande Ångesten (2017)

Dispyt come from Jakobstad, Finland and two years ago they released digitally their debut album Den Ständigt Närvarande Ångesten. While they don't exactly sound (at least yet) like they are breaking new ground in the genre, this is an enjoyable debut, to say the least. Everyone writes about them placing them under the "blackened crust" label, but I personally wouldn't be too adamant in strictly using only this term, as the guitars have a distinct old-school deathmetal sound, the slower tempos take over quite often and the vocals reminisce of early-Entombed; meaning that deathmetal fans are also bound to dig this. So, while Den Ständigt Närvarande Ångesten was self-released by the band in 2017, last month Immortal Frost Productions re-released a remastered version that also comes in CD format, something that was signaled by a brand new video off the album, for the song "Total Alkoholist". Check it out and, if that's generally your cup of tea, you won't be disappointed.

Devil Master - Satan Spits on Children of Light (2019)

I wouldn't call it anything else but pure coincidence that my next discovery powerfully nominating itself to be in this year's list is again from Philadelphia, PA, like last week's Low Dose. Of course, here we have something that couldn't be more different, as Devil Master are anything but grunge or noise rock. What they are is a unique mix that starts as kind of chaotic, but makes perfect sense as a whole, in an orgasmic way. Satan Spits on Children of Light initially introduces itself as blackish '80s heavy metal, but on the way you get goth guitar leads, old-school deathmetal riffs, punk attitude. I've talked about this record with about 6 or 7 people, and I've got 6 or 7 different impressions when it comes to influences, depending on each one's taste and musical background. For me, it carries a Cradle of Filth atmosphere, a Paradise Lost melodiousness, a Wipers roughness, a Death Breath morbidity; and that's not even the half of it. Devil Master, apart from the theatrical satanic image, bombard the listener with fantastic riffs one after the other, while the omnipresent lead guitar and the abysmal vocals infuse the final result with a trademarked eerieness, finally making them literally incomparable to anything else I've ever heard. And this is no small achievement, given that we're in fucking 2019. I will sound repetitive now, but for me this sounds like it's going to be almost impossible to be topped this year. Then again, we still have three quarters of the year to go...