And here we are again! Another month, another album voted on by our beloved users as the best release of the month. November’s winner is Veilburner and our buddy Arthropod has prepared a blurb for us!
Longing for Triumph, Reeking of Tragedy is like a bog: once you’ve stepped in, it’s hard to get out. Except, in this case, you’re going to like it. It’s a 50-minute onslaught of genuinely unnerving vocals and riffs, bone-shattering rhythms and thoughtful unpredictability. Whether it’s guitars going angle grinder mode, suspiciously melancholic leads emerging amidst the extreme metal mayhem or the sheer range of screaming styles, the sound is truly caleidoscopic. And yet, everything here feels perfectly adjusted.
This flaming ride of a record is both consistently filthy and so variable that it’s impossible not to pay attention. –arthropod
It’s about that time boys, its the release of the month for October! The winner for this month is Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration by Finnish doomsters Hooded Menace! Our very own Dedes has written a blurb for us all to enjoy!
“Hooded Menace are entrenching themselves deeper into the mire of grizzled death-doom while simultaneously zoning in to an EXORBITANT degree their penchant for og 80s metal cheese and I absolutely adore it. This is an evolution that, while having some deeply ingrained roots to start (Fulfill the Curse being decidedly more morbid ofc) really only spread its wings around The Tritonus Bell, and like the glorious valkyrie taking flight, they did so with flash and grandeur. There’s even enough gleam and glimmer for a fucking Duran Duran cover (“Save a Prayer”) to make an iota of sense. I could wax poetic for days on how damn beautiful, fun, grotesque, caveman-gutturaled and riff-chonkified (if skronk is a descriptor so is chonkified, no @’s!!!) but uhhhh idk digs is listz m/m/m/.”
Hello fellow Sputters, we are back with another edition of our contributor’s favorite songs of the month (plus yours truly lmao). Let’s see what JoyfulPlatypus, Shamus and Futures have to say about their favorites from October!
JoyfulPlatypus’ SOTM: Artificial Angels by Grimes
“Grimes has always been a very (for lack of a better word) interesting figure in the music industry. I could write an entire essay on why that is, but we’re here to discuss her new single, not her controversial public image. Outside of Art Angels, Grimes has never been what I would describe as a “pop artist.” She has always leaned more into the atmospheric side of things, and typically forgoes the big, catchy hooks typical of pop songs in favor of layered, complex synth melodies. “Artificial Angels” takes all the best elements of Grimes’ musical prowess and throws them into a blender. The result is a near-perfect three minutes that combines Grimes’ trademarked zaniness (after all, the song is written from the perspective of a rogue A.I. who is trying to hunt humans) with a sugary sweet earworm chorus. Some may hear this track and think of it as a bit of a clusterf**k, especially with the hyper-pop-esque glitchy vocals in the verses. To me, however, it clicks in a way that only Grimes could pull off. And, thankfully, the song is a perfect length. It’s just short enough not to overstay its welcome, yet just long enough…
Hi there everyone! Some staff and contribs have decided to start a new series featuring our top songs of each month. Hope everyone enjoys!
Hawks’ SOTM: Eos by Der Weg Einer Freiheit
“The guys in Der Weg Einer Freiheit always know how to draw listeners in with their extraterrestrial riffage and soaring atmospheres. Eos starts with a two-minute post-rock(ish) buildup before unleashing a blizzard of tremolo picking, hellish blast beats and a cult-like throat-singing. This track is both an atmospheric clinic and a furious black metal banger. The back-and-forth between the “softer” and more maniacal parts makes for a beautifully monumental track altogether that takes the listener on a macabre rollercoaster ride. If you aren’t a fan of black metal, I’d say that Eos, and the whole new album in general would be a great starting point. Cleaner production in this genre can sometimes be detrimental, but here, it helps everything breathe naturally, and therefore excel in making what is possibly my SOTY.”
Calc’s SOTM: Stuck by Vower
“I had initially chosen “Marimba” by Vianova as my song of September. Its straight-forward, relentlessly energetic structure reminiscent of early Periphery and Tesseract stood out on an album of *thoroughly* modern metalcore where the production job was as much a highlight as the actual music itself. But then England’s Vower went and dropped “Stuck,” and immediately became one of my most anticipated bands of the year. Born from the graceful sunsetting of Palm Reader, Vower treads much of the same…
Ladies and gents, another month has passed and that means we have another release of the month! September’s race was close between a few albums, but Crippling Alcoholism’s ‘Camgirl’ has come out on top! Enjoy a blurb about the album from our very own Lasssie!
“Listening to Camgirl is like taking a step into a dark and foggy discotheque of self loathing and looming despair; taking us on a journey through the eyes of the titular Camgirl experiencing the exploitation of the type of entertainment she’s involved in and the kind of crowd that sort of activities attracts.
In other words this is a glimpse into the degenerate nature of the sex industry, a girl who falls victim to it and the men who circles around her like vultures.
The subject matter dealing with parts of the society or flaws with the human nature feels somehow reminiscent of records like “Gods Country” by Chat Pile
Following their impressive second album from last year “With Love From a Padded Room”, which revolves around the psyche of incarcerated criminals, Crippling Alcoholism are not stranger to dark subject matter and don’t shy away from it; in fact they seem to cling on to that darkness with both pride and curiosity. They embrace it all so unabashedly one might mistake these young guys from being old veterans in the music industry by both their lyrical maturity and the fact that the singer sounds like he has been drinking and smoking nonstop for decades.…
It may have been a few months, but we are back with another edition of Sputnikmusic’s release of the month for August 2025! This month’s winner is ‘Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You’ by Ethel Cain! One of our contributing reviewers, Matty (mkmusic1995), put together a nice blurb about the album for all of you to enjoy!
“There’s nothing like the changing of the seasons; summer to autumn introduces colder breezes, the slow decay of the vibrant greens and yellows into browns and grays and truthfully, no other modern artist soundtracks this time of the year better than Hayden Anhedonia, better known as Ethel Cain. From the gentle plucky acoustic cuts drenched in reverb and dreamy atmosphere to the more tense, visceral monolithic songs that carry the backend of the record, Hayden makes use of all her experiences, pain, grief and love to create something that is immensely gratifying to listen to while being musically and sonically impressive. Following up a beloved record is no easy task, yet Hayden Anhedonia made easy work of it enchanting her rabid fans with a second helping of southern gothic tinged americana. ‘Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You’ takes some of the most experimental ambient tones and textures from her lengthy EP ‘Perverts’ and applies it aptly to her solidified sound for a dense, nuanced and highly emotive collection of tracks with a whole new story to tell.”
