The best death metal album you'll hear all year:

[Palabra de Dios]

Sulphur Aeon - Gateway to the Antisphere

It is streaming in full on Bandcamp. Holy shit, this album rules. I've known about these guys for a little bit (still a newer band). But this is thick, riff-heavy, death metal with everything you'd want without the campy goofiness that some death metal bands have. Lovecraftian lyrics, awesome artwork, etc. etc. If you like death metal at all, get this album in your life!

 

[PureXul]

This isn't just the best death metal album of the year, it's probably my overall album of the year. Crushingly heavy, completely unrelenting, and ridiculously memorable. I really hope they're among the final batch of MDF bands announced on Friday, I think they'd be an early-slot show stealing set.

Edit: Fans of newer Behemoth should especially check this out, it has quite a few similarities but is better executed.

 

[General Zod]

Sulphur Aeon - Gateway to the Antisphere

There's been a ton of hype around this record. I like it, but don't love it. I revisit it every so often to see if I can lock on to it a bit more thoroughly. There are a number of records on the spectrum of death metal I prefer:

Alkaloid
Entrails
Hackneyed
Sarin

Of all of those, I'd recommend you check out Entrails. Awesome old school death metal.

Edit: Fans of newer Behemoth should especially check this out, it has quite a few similarities but is better executed.

There are definitely a lot of similarities between the two bands. Behemoth is more polished, SA is more musically dense.

 

[dcowboys311]

This year's been weak for death metal overall but those that have landed on the mark really nailed it. Tribulation (well, not even death metal anymore), Archgoat, Chaos Echoes, Vorum, think that's about it. This sounds good though. Will investigate.

 

[General Zod]

Few releases have garnered as much praise this year as that Tribulation disc. I've given it a fair number of spins, but I'm just not hearing it. Doesn't help that the vocals aren't well suited for the music.

 

[AngraRULES]

Checked the Sulphur Aeon disc this afternoon. Excellent recommendation. Thanks, William.

 

[AeonicSlumber]

Sounds a bit too much like Immolation imo.

 

[AeonicSlumber]

Few releases have garnered as much praise this year as that Tribulation disc. I've given it a fair number of spins, but I'm just not hearing it. Doesn't help that the vocals aren't well suited for the music.

Yeah they turned into some lame absurd hipster band. Check out their first album, The Horror. It's great.

 

[PureXul]

Sounds a bit too much like Immolation imo.

Are you saying that from the standpoint of not being a fan of Immolation, or that they're treading too closely without bringing anything new to the table?

 

[VenomGA]

great, crushing....HIGHLY recommended!

 

[Palabra de Dios]

Not a bad comparison, Aeonic, but this to me is like Immolation at their very best, which is like some Unholy Cult / Close to a World Below type stuff. I also told my friends down in the Twin Cities that it sounds like The Chasm, but less chaotic and weird.

 

[General Zod]

Yeah they turned into some lame absurd hipster band. Check out their first album, The Horror. It's great.

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll have to seek that out.

 

[VenomGA]

Step up over their previous album, Swallowed by the Ocean Tide, which was a great album.

 

[Mosquito]

Im waiting for you to credit me for telling you to listen to this, Palabra.

 

[Palabra de Dios]

I will credit you with telling me to listen to this band in the first place, absolutely. I will credit myself for listening to it 20+ times because it's near perfection for death metal.

 

[MeTuLHeD]

Doesn't this border on black? Or am I just too oriented toward melo death?

 

[VenomGA]

Doesn't this border on black? Or am I just too oriented toward melo death?

no it does, for sure not pure death metal. But still kicks ass

 

[General Zod]

A couple more for folks who enjoy the heavier stuff:

Alustrium - A Tunnel to Eden. This is really quality stuff. Death metal with imagination and finesse. This will likely rival any death metal release of 2015.



Cattle Decapitation - The Anthropocene Extinction. Admittedly, I always passed on these guys because of the name. However, I checked out Monolith of Inhumanity" and it is a beast of a record. The new record may be even better.



Entrails - Obliteration. How can you not love a band with a song like "Bone Storm"? Here's the first single off the record. Nothing groundbreaking, but good quality stuff. Kind of sounds like Amon Amarth meets something a bit more old school.



Kataklysm - Of Ghosts and Gods. If you've heard any of Kataklysm's last few records, you mostly know what you're going to get here. There's a bit more variety here than on the last few. Catchy as fuck and great for the gym.



Kronos - Arisen New Era. If you like Sulphur Aeon, I can't see this not being in your sweet spot.

 

[jem777az]

A couple more for folks who enjoy the heavier stuff:

Alustrium - A Tunnel to Eden. This is really quality stuff. Death metal with imagination and finesse. This will likely rival any death metal release of 2015.



Cattle Decapitation - The Anthropocene Extinction. Admittedly, I always passed on these guys because of the name. However, I checked out Monolith of Inhumanity" and it is a beast of a record. The new record may be even better.



Entrails - Obliteration. How can you not love a band with a song like "Bone Storm"? Here's the first single off the record. Nothing groundbreaking, but good quality stuff. Kind of sounds like Amon Amarth meets something a bit more old school.



Kataklysm - Of Ghosts and Gods. If you've heard any of Kataklysm's last few records, you mostly know what you're going to get here. There's a bit more variety here than on the last few. Catchy as fuck and great for the gym.



Kronos - Arisen New Era. If you like Sulphur Aeon, I can't see this not being in your sweet spot.

Thanks for the recommendations. I have the Kataklysm and really like it too. Have you checked out the new Keep Of Kalessin or Disarmonia Mundi? The former is kind of a black/death combo and the latter is Melodic Death Metal in the vein of Soilwork. Both are excellent IMO. The new Dew Scented is pretty good too.

 

[Mardoch]

Disarmonia Mundi is pretty much Italian Soilwork. If you like the Italian flavor of metal and Soilwork I'd feel confident saying you'd like them. Strid handled vocal duties on their first couple albums, even.