NH Metal Memorandum, Part I (2021 Releases)

Stepping away from traditional reviews (due to the fact that I haven’t felt strongly enough about a release in the past week to warrant writing about it), I’ve decided to do something a little bit different. Taking a tour of our ninth state of the Union, I’m going to share some NH metal bands that need recognition. In this series, we will dive into mostly underground metal music that has been recently released from groups within our state! This week, we will begin with music released (and releasing) in 2021, but we will eventually jump back to cover a lot of music that came out last year as well. But for now, let’s jump in with some new music!

Aetheric Existence – H O R R I F I C A (Symphonic Blackened Death Metal)

While lacking a distinct location on the New Hampshire map, the duo bring to the table a surprisingly stellar blend of black and death metal with heavy, and fairly accurate, Carach Angren worship. The similarity to those veterans is not a bad one; while that Dutch group may be beloved, this group’s second full-length is leaps and bounds stronger than recent music by their major influence. Aside from being a pretty hefty release at 74 minutes, each cut is well written, produced and performed. Additionally, the programmed drums work really well against the natural synthesizers, whose textures provide a wonderful gothic backdrop for the metal on top of it, and the guitars, whose intense tremolos and gritty riffs horrify and brutalize alike. This style is nowhere near my favorite under the genre umbrella, but Aetheric Existence pull off an extremely mature release for an independent group, and is definitely a release to watch this year.

Hollow Colossus – “Wielding A Tyrant’s Sceptre” (Progressive Metal/Metalcore)

Hailing from upstate in Lebanon, progressive metalcore four piece Hollow Colossus have yet to release a full-length. “Wielding A Tyrant’s Sceptre” is the most recent single from the group, and hopefully it isn’t the last. I would probably not listen to this style in my free time, but for the most part, the performances are emotive, sound great and are well constructed. The cut begins with a great thundering deathcore section, and this translates into a chugging modern progressive metalcore section, before breaking into the catchy hook that the track has to offer, which is guaranteed to make you groove. The clean vocal performances can sometimes get too James LaBrie or Claudio Sanchez for my liking, but the guitars soar through simple but effective riffs and solos throughout the song. The fake drums also sound good here and fit the niche that the band is trying to fill.

Tomb of Anubis – Overshadowed By A False Deity EP (Brutal Death Metal)

Unflesh – Inhumation (Technical Death Metal)

The most veteran group of this lot, Unflesh is releasing their second album, Inhumation, on April 2nd. The Portsmouth-based tech death group is a wonderful amalgamation of dissonance, melody and technicality. Picture The Black Dahlia Murder with a little more variability. This three-piece includes remnants of prolific Newmarket death metal band Solium Fatalis, and their maturity certainly translates into their songwriting and performances. The two singles that have been released up to this point, “To Renounce Flesh and Blood” and “Amongst Horrors I Must Dwell,” are very dynamic and captivating tracks, the first of which follows a more sporadic vein, while the latter finds its place as a melodic and climactic banger. I’m eagerly awaiting the release of this record, and I would highly recommend checking this one out.

Thus far, this is all the music released (and releasing) in 2021, but we will be returning soon with a lot of music released by New Hampshire bands last year. You may not be a fan of this music, but supporting your local artists is extremely important, particularly in the times of COVID-19, as there are a lack of live performances (where bands make most of their money). Listening to the music is helping them out too, so don’t hesitate to check out these artists!

Check out these releases below!