Thantifaxath: Death Metal and Black Metal Just Got Weird (and Awesome)

Death metal and black metal are getting super weird and experimental. Often to the point where there’s not much difference between the two, or they combine into one super-metal hybrid. And that’s a good thing. Progress is challenging and fun!

Leaning more towards the death metal side, bands like Ulcerate, Portal, Pyrrhon and Artificial Brain have released incredibly heady, intense albums in recent years, while more established acts like Gorguts and Ephel Duath have enjoyed a resurgence in creativity and popularity. On the blackened side, records by Krallice, Keep of Kalessin and Castevet have impressed, avoiding tired genre tropes and boldly pushing forward. All of the above bands cross over to both sides of the spectrum.

Enter Thantifaxath, whose new album Sacred White Noise premiered on Stereogum yesterday and our own David Lee Rothmund previewed in this week’s new releases feature. I wouldn’t say it’s any more death metal than it is black metal, or vice versa… it’s very much both, and it’s entirely its own beast, with big, riffy, death-like passages and frosty, tremolo-picked atmospherics in equal measures. Most importantly it’s got incredible crafty melodies and arrangements that are both memorable and novel. Check it out below, and let the player roll. Sacred White Noise is out now on Dark Descent Records and can be ordered here.