Middle Earth’s 8 – October ’22 Bandcamp Roundup

This is the second installment of the Middle Earth Bandcamp Wrap. I tried to only do albums not done by BMP on the live streams. I have seen the weekly suggestions, and hopefully some or most of this is new. November looks good album-wise, right now, but we shall see.

1. Till –  Monument to Man’s Frailty
Till - Monument to Man's Frailty

Some U.S. Black Metal from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Till has been prolific since hitting the radar in 2020 with 2 EPs, 5 Splits, and 3 Albums. The latest, a full-length album, “Monument to Man’s Frailty“ was released on 10-30-22. I was off on the 30th, and woke up to notification of the release. Sporadically, I Pre-Order an album and just forget about it until it magically re-appears in the front of my collection. Having the day off, I was able to listen to the album a few times.

Till has evolved into a three-piece band from a solo project. I think this is the best Till music to date. 8 songs ranging from approximately 3 to 5 minutes. The vocals have an interesting sharp contrast to the instruments. I have to commend Till for putting the lyrics up with the digital. Makes a huge difference for me. Physical copies will be available.

2. Firtan – Martar
Firtan - Martar

My favorite Black Metal release of October goes to “Martar“. Firtan is based out of Germany, Lörrach, Baden-Württemberg and released Martar on 10-14-22. This is another 8 song album, but these songs are stretched out from approximately 6 to 9 minutes. I generally like this song length range, and here again the lyrics are up for the digital. Again, really like that Firtan put up the lyrics. According to the notes, “… the songs deal with the isolation of the modern individual who finds himself torn between spiritual hope and existential failure.” Aside from 2 EPs, this is their third album in 10 plus years. I like everything about this album.

3. Dolchstoss – War is Eternal
Dolchstoss - War is Eternal

Stated by the band: Dolchstoss is conceptually devoted to the death, destruction, and annihilation of World War I. This is some up-tempo Belgian Black Metal. The 2021 Demo is now followed-up with this 12 song album, released on 10-14-22.

The songs range from approximately 2 minutes to 4 plus minutes. These shorter songs are suited to the music. Once again, the digital has lyrics up and there are physical versions available. WW1 is well suited as a basis for Black Metal, and Dokchstoss does the war theme justice and then some. A sleeper release for me as I never heard the demo and really like this album.

4. Nimetön Hauta – Huntu j​ä​rvien yllä
Nimetön Hauta - Huntu j​​​ä​​​rvien yllä

No month could be complete for me without some Finnish Back Metal. Solo project by “T.”
According to T, “This record was inspired innately and human struggle.” The EP consists of 5 songs ranging from approximately 1 minute to 5 plus minutes. It has a Melancholic vibe, which makes sense based on the inspiration for the album. Released on 10-28-22. I will be following T to see what comes next. Based on this promising debut, I have elevated expectations.

5. Bough Horns – IV
Bough Horns - IV

Italian Black Metal solo project by Iberna. Released on 10-13-22. Consists of four songs, entitled Chants I , II, Iii, IV. The songs range fron approximately 5 to 7 minutes. This is an excellent debut album.

Not a lot of information on this one, but it was released by the Italian label Canti Eretici. And I bought everything that Canti Eretici released in October, including number 4 in this list and number 6.

6. Karhunvartijan Tyhjiö – Vainaantuoma
Karhunvartijan Tyhjiö - Vainaantuoma

Six songs averaging around 3 minutes +/- for a tidy 19-minute Demo. This is some fiery, Raw Black Metal. According to the notes: “Six tracks of melancholic and raw Finnish Black Metal. For fans of …. nature, hiking and esoterism.” I really like the energy of this demo, so I will watch Sakari Forsman and see what he is up to moving forward.

7. Gigrøma – Ч​е​л​о​в​е​к с​о​з​д​а​т​е​л​ь с​м​е​р​т​и
Gigrøma - Ч​е​л​о​в​е​к с​о​з​д​а​т​е​л​ь с​м​е​р​т​и

Russian Black Metal by a duo-project. Released on 10-21-22. My second favorite Black Metal album of October. “Album title: Man Has Created Death / [t͡ɕɪlɐˈvʲek sɐˈzdatʲɪlʲ ˈsmʲertʲɪ] / Chelovek sozdatel’ smerti (English translation / pronounce / Latin spelling)” According to the duo, their music is “…inspired by texts, verses of the classics…. A.S. Pushkin, G. Hesse, etc. The album consists of 7 songs ranging from approximately 4 minutes to 6 minutes. This is an excellent album.

8. Hermóðr – Urbergets Återskall
Hermóðr - Urbergets Återskall

For 10 years, Hermóðr has been putting out a lot of Swedish Black Metal. For this one, as always, “Music and Lyrics by Rafn” and in addition “Female Vocals by Rosy.” Rafn is prolific and extremely talented in my opinion. The EP was released on 10-23-22 and consists of a 15-minute song and a 4-minute song. I saw another album by a band in October with a very similar, seemingly odd song pairing length-wise. In both cases, it works surprisingly well. This may not blow your hair back, but will do wonders for your mind.

Albums mentioned