Album glazing: Misery Signals, Gorement and Karras

Controller by Misery Signals (2008)

This album was recommended to me on reddit, specifically the subreddit for metalcore. For some reason, metalheads on reddit will bicker for days on end whether metalcore qualifies as "real" metal or not. Personally, I believe such distinctions are stupid. When I started to listen to Controller, it sounded as if someone was spilling out their guts to me. I want to make this album my muse and dedicate a lot of art to it. The ending track Homecoming ties everything together beautifully.

The Ending Quest by Gorement (1994)

This swedish death metal band used to go under the name Testicle Perspirant, among others. It's unforgettable for sure, but I doubt it would have fitted the vibe of the album. Soundwise, The Ending Quest skews towards the gloomy and melancholic, but within the framework of proper death metal. Parts of it feel like a dark lullaby that I could fall asleep to. This blessed album reminds me a bit of Gothic by Paradise Lost, another great piece of work from the early nineties. If you like one, you'll most likely also appreciate the other.

We Poison Their Young by Karras (2023)

The album consists of 14 songs stretched over 22 minutes. The shortest tracks have a duration less than one minute, to match the vicious pace of the music. My ears were getting POUNDED, no joke. I particularly dig their songs Lutheran Blade, Negative Life and Ritual Overdose (but you should listen to the whole thing, really). Fun fact, the group is named after a character in the cult film The Exorcist. Similarly sinister themes are integrated in the lyrics, in each song of the album.